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+Project Gutenberg's The Triumph of Virginia Dale, by John Francis, Jr.
+
+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 Triumph of Virginia Dale
+
+Author: John Francis, Jr.
+
+Illustrator: W. Haskell Coffin
+             John Goss
+
+Release Date: December 5, 2010 [EBook #34575]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TRIUMPH OF VIRGINIA DALE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Roger Frank and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: _VIRGINIA DALE_]
+
+
+
+
+THE TRIUMPH OF VIRGINIA DALE
+
+BY JOHN FRANCIS, JR.
+
+WITH A FRONTISPIECE IN FULL COLOR
+
+FROM A PAINTING BY W. HASKELL COFFIN
+
+AND OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS FROM DRAWINGS
+
+BY JOHN GOSS
+
+BOSTON
+
+THE PAGE COMPANY
+
+MDCCCCXXI
+
+
+
+
+Copyright, 1921
+
+By The Page Company
+
+All rights reserved
+
+Entered at Stationers' Hall, London
+
+First Impression, August, 1921
+
+THE COLONIAL PRESS
+
+C. H. SIMONDS CO., BOSTON, U. S. A.
+
+
+
+
+DEDICATED
+
+TO THE MEMORY OF
+
+MY FATHER AND MOTHER
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+  Chapter                                                     Page
+        I HER MISSION IN LIFE                                    1
+       II THE MISSION BEGUN                                     17
+      III UNGIVEN ADVICE                                        29
+       IV THOSE DARKIES AGAIN                                   37
+        V ACCIDENTS WILL HAPPEN                                 45
+       VI IKE EXPLAINS                                          59
+      VII JOE PROVES INTERESTING                                74
+     VIII ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY                                   97
+       IX HEZEKIAH HAS A SOLUTION                              118
+        X AN AFTERNOON OFF                                     143
+       XI OLD HEARTS MADE YOUNG                                161
+      XII MORE TROUBLE                                         183
+     XIII VIRGINIA HELPS AGAIN                                 195
+      XIV AN OUTING AND AN ACCIDENT                            209
+       XV A MAN IN DISGRACE                                    236
+      XVI VIRGINIA MUST GO                                     262
+     XVII A FRIEND IN NEED                                     276
+    XVIII AUNT KATE LENDS A HAND                               292
+      XIX OBADIAH "COMES-TO"                                   308
+       XX HIS JOURNEY'S END                                    330
+      XXI THE TRIUMPH                                          339
+     XXII NOBODY HOME, MR. DEVIL                               353
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+Virginia Dale (in full color)                         Frontispiece
+"This request appeared to require deep thought"                155
+"'I must choose between your way and the way of my Mother'"    251
+"'I think that I shall love it,' she said softly"              261
+"'You are my sweetheart,' the brazen Helen told him"           297
+
+
+
+
+THE TRIUMPH OF VIRGINIA DALE
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+HER MISSION IN LIFE
+
+
+Obadiah Dale was the richest man in South Ridgefield. He owned the great
+textile mill down by the river where hundreds of people were employed
+and which hummed and clattered from morning until night to add to his
+wealth. He lived in a fine house. About it, broad lawns, shaded by
+ancient elms and dotted with groups of shrubbery, formed a verdant
+setting for the walls and massive porch pillars spotless in white paint.
+
+Obadiah's only child was Virginia. She was a charming bit of girlhood
+with a complexion so clear that it seemed pale in contrast to the black
+hair and the clearly lined brows which arched those big, serious, blue
+eyes.
+
+On an afternoon in early June she was reading on the couch which swung
+from the lofty ceiling of the porch when she became aware that some one
+was coming up the walk from the gate. She arose and her face lighted
+with happiness as she ran down the steps to greet a smartly dressed
+woman of middle age. "Oh, Hennie dear," she cried, "I am so glad
+that you've come."
+
+The older woman laughed gaily as she caught the girl in her arms, "You
+know I couldn't forget your birthday, Virginia."
+
+"No, you wouldn't do that, Hennie. You don't come often," the girl
+sighed, "but you always remember that."
+
+Mrs. Henderson kissed her little hostess. Always had her big heart gone
+out to this motherless maid. Long ago she had been the intimate friend of
+Virginia's mother. Elinor Dale had died when her daughter was a year
+old so that Hennie had a twofold reason for loving her young friend.
+
+"It's good to have you here," exclaimed the girl as she drew her
+visitor to a chair by the couch. "I wish you would come every day."
+
+"Now, listen to that. Wouldn't it be better, please, for you to come
+and see me instead of planning for a poor old woman,"--Mrs. Henderson
+did not look the part--"who has twinges of rheumatism, to make daily
+calls upon you?"
+
+Virginia regarded her guest with great seriousness. "I come to your
+house very often, Hennie. I was over the other day, but,"--she gave
+another sigh,--"you were not home."
+
+"I do remember. Carrie told me that you were over with Serena. I
+supposed that you came to see her. I am on so many committees for
+various charitable organizations----" She stopped short and reaching
+over patted the girl's hand. "I am sorry that I was not home, dear.
+I should remember that you are rather old to call upon my negro cook."
+
+Virginia's eyes danced. "I must have called upon Carrie a thousand
+times since I was a baby. A few more calls in your kitchen instead of
+your parlor won't hurt me."
+
+"Why are you laughing?" demanded Mrs. Henderson.
+
+"I can tell you a secret about your own house but you must agree not to
+use it against Carrie."
+
+"I promise."
+
+"Well, Hennie, you might be interested to know that refreshments are
+served oftener in your kitchen than your parlor. I learned that years
+ago."
+
+"The very idea!" exclaimed the caller.
+
+The girl's gaze wandered thoughtfully over the beautiful grounds. "I do
+so love to have you here. I don't see very many people." Her voice
+was wistful. "This big place gets lonesome sometimes. I think I envy
+girls who live in houses with stoops on the sidewalk. They have the
+cars, peddlers, policemen and lots of people going by all of the time.
+It would be great fun to live that way." She was very sober now. "I
+think that I want noises and lots of things going on. Am I very strange,
+Hennie?"
+
+"No indeed, all young people are that way," declared Mrs. Henderson
+with emphasis. "I felt so myself, once. Of course, it is lonely for you
+in this big house with only Serena. Your father is home for so short a
+time each day."
+
+"Please don't misunderstand me, I am not very lonely--only a
+little bit. If something interesting--something exciting and wildly
+adventurous--would happen, Hennie, it would be fine."
+
+Mrs. Henderson smiled. "I am afraid that I can't help you in such
+ways, dear, but I have something here which I am very sure that you will
+dearly love." She drew forth a small parcel from her bag.
+
+Virginia waited in pleased expectation. "I am going to adore it," she
+cried joyously, as, accepting the package, she prolonged anticipation
+by inspecting it curiously, "because you gave it to me."
+
+"You will care for it for other reasons," replied the older woman
+soberly.
+
+Within the wrappings, the girl found a little volume, the cover of which
+was much worn.
+
+"Don't be misled by appearances," Mrs. Henderson suggested as Virginia
+opened the book.
+
+Upon the fly leaf, written in ink faded with age, was the name, Elinor
+Clark. The girl's eyes opened wide in wonder and suppressed delight.
+"It was my mother's book, Hennie?" she asked gently.
+
+"Yes, dear, it was a girlhood possession of your mother. During her last
+illness she gave it to me and asked me to see that you got it on your
+eighteenth birthday. She explained that she didn't want to trouble
+your father, yet she wanted you to have it. It was the last request
+Elinor ever made of me." Mrs. Henderson's eyes winked suspiciously and
+leaning forward she peered at the worn cover. When she spoke her voice
+was husky with emotion. "It's a gift that you will always cherish,
+dear."
+
+A great tenderness swept over Virginia's face. "It's my mother's
+birthday present to me, isn't it, Hennie?"--she almost whispered--"the
+only one that I can remember."
+
+As the older woman bowed her agreement, she moved over upon the couch by
+the girl and for a time they were silent.
+
+Virginia was the first to speak. "Tell me about my mother, please,"
+she said softly, her hand caressing the cover of the book. "It makes
+Daddy sad if I talk to him too much about her so I never do. But Hennie,
+I should like to know more of her if I could."
+
+"Bless your heart, I will gladly tell you everything I can, dear." She
+was thoughtful for a moment and then resumed, "Your mother was three
+years older than you are now when I first met her."
+
+"And married," cried the girl in surprise, "I never thought of my
+mother as so young. I pictured her as much older."
+
+"Old, nonsense! Your mother was my age. She was hardly grown at the time
+of her death."
+
+"Where did my father meet her? I know that she lived down South. Serena
+is always talking about the old home."
+
+"He met her here in South Ridgefield. He had come here from New England
+and started his mill. It was small in those days, but prosperous.
+Social affairs had little attraction for your father. That made him
+very interesting to us girls. I suppose too we did not forget that he
+was making lots of money and could give the girl of his choice everything
+she desired. He had been here four or five years when the marriage
+took place. Its announcement caused much excitement among us young
+people. We had given your father up as a hopeless old bachelor. Think
+of it, in a week, your mother snatched the best catch from under the
+noses of the South Ridgefield girls." Mrs. Henderson laughed gaily.
+"Elinor did that very thing."
+
+"My mother must have been very beautiful?"
+
+"She was, every one admitted that, but she had the advantage in another
+way. She came from Virginia after her father's death to settle some
+business affairs with your father." Again Mrs. Henderson laughed.
+"The girls used to say that he took Elinor in full settlement of all
+indebtedness. After the marriage he built this house and you were born,"
+she pointed upwards, "in that big corner room on the second floor."
+
+"Please go on, Hennie," begged the girl, after a pause in which the
+older woman's thoughts wandered in the past.
+
+"I was thinking of the good times I've had in this house. Your mother
+used to give delightful dances."
+
+"Dances, _here_!" Virginia's astonishment was evident.
+
+"Certainly, I have danced here many times until three o'clock in the
+morning and thought nothing of it."
+
+"You danced, too?" It was as if the girl were shocked.
+
+"Of course I danced. Do you think I was a wall flower who could lure no
+partners to myself?" Mrs. Henderson demanded with spirit. "Remember, I
+had been married only a year. There were grand dinners, too." She went
+on more calmly. "How we enjoyed Serena's cooking and afterwards many
+is the gay crowd this porch sheltered in those days."
+
+"It is hard to imagine, Hennie." The girl shook her head soberly.
+"Daddy and I are so quiet. We sit here in the evenings and I talk until
+he falls asleep. Then I watch the fire-flies until he wakes up and we
+go to bed. The thought of him dancing is very strange."
+
+There was a note of pity in Mrs. Henderson's voice when she spoke, "To
+be sure it is, dear. I never said that your father danced. He seemed
+to enjoy having people here. It was your mother, though, who loved that
+sort of thing and her word was law to him in everything. She depended on
+Hezekiah Wilkins to set the pace by wielding a rhythmic toe, as he used
+to call it." A smile of gay memories died in her eyes at more solemn
+thoughts. "Those good times lasted only a couple of years. Your mother
+was taken ill and then--" she paused and continued softly, "--one
+afternoon she went away from the room upstairs and left you, dear,"
+her voice caught, "to Serena and me."
+
+Mrs. Henderson's arm went about the girl but in a moment she resumed,
+"After the death of your mother your father devoted himself to money
+making again. It took all of his time." There was a flash of anger in
+her eye. "He has succeeded very well in that."
+
+Mrs. Henderson arose hastily. "Dear me, child, I am staying too long.
+You should go to some of these youthful affairs about town. I imagine
+that the boys and girls of South Ridgefield have some very good times."
+
+The girl's eyes lighted with interest but in a moment it had gone,
+replaced by a thoughtful little smile. "Daddy would be lonely without
+me. I ought not to leave him alone in the evening."
+
+Again the angry glint came in Mrs. Henderson's eyes, but she controlled
+herself and said quietly, "You are the best judge of that, dear. But
+now that you have finished school you should have something to occupy
+your time. I know that Serena would have you play great lady, but,
+with due respect to her ideas, you will find it a lonely game in these
+busy days. Why don't you give some of your time to helping those not so
+fortunate as you? Think it over, child," she urged as she left.
+
+After her caller had departed Virginia returned to the couch and with
+intense interest gave herself up to the examination of the book which had
+been her mother's.
+
+A negress of uncertain age appeared in the doorway of the house. Her hair
+was streaked with grey and she was enormously fat. She wore a calico
+dress over the front of which stretched a snowy white apron, its strings
+lost in a crease of flesh at the waist line. Bound about her head was a
+white handkerchief and her sleeves were rolled to her elbows.
+
+She moved about the porch replacing the wicker furniture. Stopping by
+the couch she rearranged some magazines, and then, "Honey chil', ain'
+you gwine git dressed? De clock done struck fo'."
+
+"In a minute."
+
+Serena's eyes wandered to the side lawn. Instantly her attention was
+riveted upon certain objects protruding from some shrubbery. They were
+conspicuous and unusual as lawn decorations, bulking large beside a
+recumbent lawn mower, a rake and grass shears.
+
+"You Ike," she shouted. The objects moved convulsively. "Wot you
+mean a sleepin' under dat bush?" The commotion in the shrubbery ceased
+and the objects reappeared in their normal position as the feet of a
+sleepy-eyed negro youth.
+
+"Ah ain' a sleepin' none, Miss Sereny, ah was a layin' under dat bush
+a ca'culatin' whar ah gwine to trim it."
+
+"You got a po' haid fo' figgers den. You computen all dis yere
+afternoon, ah guesses. Ma eye is on you, boy. Go change you' clothes
+an' git dat ca'ah down to de office a fo' you is late."
+
+Ike gathered the tools and disappeared in haste.
+
+Serena turned again to the girl, who had displayed but slight interest
+in the sleeping laborer. "It gittin' mighty late, chil'."
+
+"Yes, I know, Serena."
+
+"You bettah dress you'se'f."
+
+"Please, only a little longer."
+
+"You gwine be fo'ced to be mighty spry den," warned the old negress
+as she waddled into the house.
+
+"Oh, how wonderful," breathed the girl, a great joy suddenly showing in
+her face. "It's for me--from mother. Really."
+
+The worn volume lay open in her lap. It contained selections from the
+works of many poets. Upon the page before her these lines, taken from
+Coleridge's, "The Ancient Mariner," were printed,
+
+    "He prayeth best who loveth best
+    All things both great and small:
+    For the dear God who loveth us,
+    He made and loveth all."
+
+They were heavily underlined. In the broad margin was written in a
+tremulous hand which displayed the effects of illness,
+
+    "My darling little daughter--
+    --live these lines. ELINOR DALE."
+
+A vast tenderness enfolded the girl. She reread the lines. "My mother
+is telling me how to live," she whispered. "Her voice is calling to me
+through all the years--the only time." She touched her lips impulsively
+to the place where the cherished hand had rested and then, clasping the
+book to her breast, she closed her eyes and remained so for awhile. When
+her lids raised anew, the blue eyes were filled with a great yearning
+as she breathed softly and reverently as if in prayer, "Yes, mother."
+
+A little later, Virginia entered the house and Serena told her, "Ah done
+lay out yo'all's clothes, honey chil'. Ef you want anythin' else jes
+yell."
+
+The girl dreamily climbed the broad staircase. At the bend she remembered
+something, and, turning back, smiled down at the old colored woman below.
+"Thank you, Serena," she called.
+
+Amply rewarded, the faithful servant contentedly busied herself once more
+with the affairs of the Dale household. From that far away day when she
+had, "'cided ah gwine foller Miss Elinor to de no'th," she had been
+recognized by well informed persons as one in authority in that home.
+
+It was Serena who first held Virginia in her arms and tenderly rocked the
+squirming red mite across her ample bosom. During those long days and
+nights of watching in the last illness of Elinor Dale, it was Serena
+who, with undisguised distrust of the trained nurse, was in and out of
+the sick room almost every hour. It was Serena who closed Elinor Dale's
+eyes, and it was Serena who held the motherless child with great tears
+rolling down her black face as she stood by the open grave.
+
+No formal agreement held Serena after the death of her mistress. She saw
+the home as a storm tossed craft, from whose deck the navigator had been
+swept, drifting aimlessly upon the sea of domesticity. Unhesitatingly,
+she had assumed the vacant command which carried with it the mothering
+of Virginia.
+
+In the early months of his bereavement, Obadiah Dale gave some attention
+to the establishment which he had created for his wife's enjoyment.
+Yet all things followed a well managed routine and, more important than
+all to a man of his nature, the monthly bills evidenced economical
+judgment. Quick to recognize a valuable subordinate, Obadiah saw no
+necessity for immediate change.
+
+Serena had excellent ideas in child training. Although in her mind
+Virginia was a young lady of position who could properly demand
+appropriate attention, yet must she learn to meet the responsibilities
+of her station.
+
+Obadiah was assured that his daughter in Serena's charge was in the
+care of one who loved her. From time to time he made vague plans for
+the child's future. As they were to commence at an indefinite time
+they never materialized. More and more the business activities of the
+manufacturer occupied his time, and slowly but surely the duty of
+Virginia's upbringing was shifted to the negro woman.
+
+When Virginia was five, Serena told her employer, "Dis yere chil'
+orter be in school a learnin' mo' an' ah kin teach her," and so
+the mill owner's daughter was started upon her scholastic career at a
+kindergarten.
+
+Obadiah never knew the worries of this illiterate negro woman in
+planning suitable clothing for his child. No man could appreciate that
+watchful eye ever ready to copy styles and materials from the garments
+of children of families deemed worthy as models.
+
+Virginia's education was continued under the guidance of a Miss Keen
+who conducted a select school for young ladies in South Ridgefield. This
+institution, highly esteemed as a seat of learning by Serena, offered
+courses usually terminating when pupils refused longer to attend the
+establishment. In its most prosperous years its enrollment never exceeded
+twenty misguided maidens.
+
+Now, Virginia had arrived at the age of eighteen, a serious, rather shy
+girl, whose youth had been spent under the supervision of an old negro
+woman, narrowed by the influence of a small school and neglected by a
+busy father.
+
+When Obadiah came home that night for dinner, she met him in the hall.
+He was a very tall man and extremely thin. His sharp features gave a
+shrewd expression and his smooth shaven face displayed a cruel mouth
+and an obstinate jaw.
+
+"Hello, Daddy dear," cried the girl as she held up her mouth to be
+kissed. She gave a happy little laugh when he pinched her cheek, and
+demanded of him, "What day is this?"
+
+"Tuesday," he answered indifferently, "the tenth of June."
+
+"Can't you think of anything else?"
+
+He looked puzzled. "It's not a holiday, is it?"
+
+"No, but it's my birthday, Daddy dear."
+
+He displayed some interest now. "Is that so? How old are you today?"
+
+"I am eighteen," she explained proudly. "Serena made me a cake with
+candles. She brought it in at lunch. She said it might bother you,
+tonight." She looked up at him quickly. "Do you love me, Daddy?"
+
+"Surely," he answered absently and shaking his iron grey head he
+ascended the stairs to prepare for dinner, muttering, "Time flies--how
+time flies."
+
+He joined his daughter again in the dining room in response to the
+gong. Serena had planned the meal with due regard to the fact that the
+day had been warm. A lobster, magnificent in its gorgeousness, reposed
+upon a bed of lettuce on the platter before Obadiah. A potato salad
+flanked it and a dish of sliced tomatoes reflected the color scheme of
+the crustacean. Dainty rolls, Serena's pride, peeped from the folds
+of a napkin and the ice clinked refreshingly in the tall tumblers of tea
+as they were stirred.
+
+Sometimes Virginia and her father chatted, but there were long silences.
+At intervals, Serena, noiselessly in spite of her weight, appeared to
+replenish or change a dish and to see that all things were in order.
+
+As they waited for the table to be cleared for dessert, the girl said
+wistfully, "I wish that I could help somebody, Daddy."
+
+He looked at her curiously. "What ever put that into your head? You are
+a help to me sitting there and smiling at me."
+
+"Oh, but that's not much. To sit at a table and smile and eat good
+things only helps oneself."
+
+"Well, why should you want to help anybody but you and me?"
+
+She gazed at him thoughtfully. "Don't joke, Daddy. I know I would be
+happier if I could do something for some one."
+
+Obadiah chuckled. "Where did you get that idea? I am perfectly happy
+tonight, and I haven't bothered myself about other people."
+
+"The very idea. All this livelong day you have been planning for those
+who work in your mill."
+
+A sudden light came to him, he chuckled again. "Surely, I look after
+my employees or they would look after me."
+
+"That makes you happy." Virginia was certain that she had made her
+point.
+
+"No," Obadiah shook his head vigorously, "my employees make me angry
+more than they make me happy. My happiness is the result of my own
+efforts."
+
+"That is what I mean, Daddy. You have had such great opportunities to
+make yourself happy." She viewed him with eyes of fond admiration. "You
+have accomplished so much."
+
+Obadiah was filled with a comfortable egotism. "I have accomplished
+a whole lot," he boasted. His mind was upon his commercial success and
+the wealth he had accumulated. "I'm not through," he bragged. He
+became thoughtful as he dwelt upon certain fertile fields awaiting
+his financial plough. His jaw set. He had rivals who would contest his
+tillage. He would fight as he had always fought. His eyes glistened
+beneath his shaggy brows as he sensed the fray.
+
+The conversation languished as they ate their dessert, but Obadiah's
+pride of accomplishment had not departed. "I am going to do bigger
+things than ever before," he exulted. "When you are older you will
+realize what I have done for you," he explained as they went out on
+the porch.
+
+For a time the girl and the old man followed their own thoughts while
+the fire-flies sparkled and gleamed about the lawn as if they were
+the flashlights of a fairy patrol. Emma Virginia was thinking of her
+father's words. He was going to do more for her. She must certainly
+share her blessings.
+
+"Daddy dear, do you mind if I help some one?" she asked gently.
+
+"Back on that?" he demanded with a note of sharpness.
+
+She gave an emphatic little nod. "It is very important. I--I--can't
+tell you now, why," she hesitated. "I should feel much better, though."
+
+"You are not sick, are you?" Obadiah worried.
+
+"Oh, no indeed, perfectly well. Only, I am sure that I would be much
+happier if I could do something for someone else. I don't know whom.
+That doesn't make any difference."
+
+"What a strange idea!" It seemed to bother Obadiah. "You want to help
+someone but you don't know whom." He considered a moment. "Here's
+my advice. Help somebody who can help you."
+
+"Now you are teasing me, Daddy?" she protested. "I am really serious
+about this. I want to be of more use in the world." Her voice was very
+soft and gentle now. "I know that I should share my blessings and I
+want to do it. It is such a comfort to talk things over with you, Daddy
+dearest." She moved quietly over to him and seated herself upon his lap.
+
+As she touched him, he jumped. "Gracious, you startled me so, Virginia.
+I was asleep."
+
+"Please, Daddy, don't mind," she whispered, "I'll be quiet as a
+mouse."
+
+Almost grudgingly, he let her settle herself and drop her head against
+his shoulder. In a moment his head slipped down against the soft hair
+of the girl and Obadiah dozed anew.
+
+She murmured softly, "It was so easy to explain to you. Serena wouldn't
+understand, I am afraid. All of your life, Daddy, you have been helping
+other people."
+
+"Whom?" asked Obadiah in alarm, starting up and shaking the girl's
+head from his shoulder.
+
+"Daddy, wake up. You were asleep while I was talking to you." She tried
+to kiss him as he rubbed his eyes, but his arms were in her way. "You
+are such a comfort, Daddy. I wish I could be like you," she said softly.
+
+"You can try," conceded Obadiah immodestly. "You are keeping me up.
+I am tired. I want to go to bed. My legs are asleep from your sitting on
+them," he complained and then told her shortly, "The place for you to
+dream is in bed, not on my lap."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+THE MISSION BEGUN
+
+
+Obadiah Dale's car was waiting at his home. It stood upon the gravel
+driveway opposite the steps at the end of the porch. Virginia was seated
+in the rear seat and her eyes rested seriously upon Serena, who from the
+higher floor of the porch, viewed Ike, lounging by the car, as from a
+rostrum.
+
+The young negro was attired in a neat livery which gave him a natty
+aspect distinctly absent when his siesta was disturbed by Serena.
+Regardless of his more attractive guise, however, he shifted nervously
+under her stern gaze. He, who ever bore himself, in hours of leisure,
+before the black population of South Ridgefield as one of imperial
+blood, was abashed before her. That poise, that coolness of demeanor,
+that almost insolent manner exhibited at crap games, chicken fights or
+those social functions where the gentler sex predominates, was absent
+now. Before Serena, his lofty soul became as a worm, desirous of burying
+itself from the pitiless light of publicity.
+
+"You Ike," she said with great severity, "mine wot ah say. Stop you'
+fas' drivin'. Miss Virginy ain' wantin' to go shootin' aroun' dis
+yere town lak er circus lady in er cha'iot race."
+
+The girl displayed interest in the remark, but remained silent.
+
+Ike climbed into the car and sought support from the steering wheel.
+In a gentle manner, as if desirous of averting wrath, he made answer,
+"Ah ain' no speeder, Miss Sereny. Ah is de carefulest chauffah in dis
+town. Ah sez, 'Safety fust.' Dat's ma motta." At the sound of his
+own voice he gained in assurance. He had acquired these statements by
+heart from frequent repetition.
+
+"Wat you down in dat co't fo', den?" inquired Serena. "Mr. Dale he
+done say, he gittin' tired er payin' fines fo' yo'all. He say de
+nex' time he gwine ax de jedge to let you rot in dat calaboose."
+
+Ike listened to this promise of extended incarceration with the casual
+interest due an oft repeated tale. Disregarding it, he continued, "Ah
+goes to co't 'count o' de inexpe'ienced drivers." He spoke as an
+expert. "Ef dey had 'spe'ienced drivers dey ain' gwine be no trouble
+a tall."
+
+"Dey bettah be no mo' trouble," snapped Serena, "les yo'all gits in
+worse. G'wan now 'bout you' business. Take Miss Virginy down to de
+sto' an' den out on de river road. You gotta git back in time to bring
+her pa home fo' lunch." The solution of a difficult problem dawned
+upon her and instantly she returned to her former argument. "Don' you
+drive dat caah no fas'er den er hoss an' er ker'idge kin go," she
+commanded.
+
+It is of record that even a worm upon extreme irritation will fall upon
+its tormentor. Thus Ike reacted to this notable example of feminine
+ignorance. "How's ah gwine mek dis yere high powah caah run dat slow?
+Ah ast you dat? How's ah gwine do it?"
+
+Apparently heedless of this incipient rebellion, Serena gave her
+attention to her young mistress, "Good bye, honey chil'," she
+worried. "Don' you mek youse'f sick on sody an' ice cream."
+
+Virginia smiled sweetly at the now beaming black face of the negro woman.
+"I'll be very careful," she promised.
+
+Serena devoted herself again to her minion. "You Ike, go slow. Go mighty
+cafful. Dat's wot ah say."
+
+He looked askance at her. Every vestige of humor had departed from the
+black face replaced by a cold, implacable glare. Without a word, he
+started the machine and it glided down the drive.
+
+Her purchases completed, Virginia sat musing upon the message from her
+mother as the big car hummed softly towards the quiet beauty of the river
+road. Vague plans, indefinite as dreams, floated through her mind.
+
+Ike was obeying Serena's wishes so faithfully that the absence of
+excitement, so essential to the display of what he considered his best
+talents, was almost lulling him to sleep.
+
+A large bill board fenced the front of a vacant lot, on their way. A
+magnificent example of the lithographer's art, as adapted to the
+advertising needs of a minstrel show, was posted upon it. It's
+coloring, chiefly red, was effective and forceful and displayed an
+extravagant disregard of the high cost of ink. It portrayed the
+triumphant passage of the Jubilee Minstrels. The brilliant uniforms,
+the martial air of the musicians as well as the exceeding pleasure with
+which this aggregation appeared to be welcomed by the reviewing
+public, was of a character to please, to impress, yes, even to stun
+all beholders, except the blind.
+
+This picture caught the soul of Ike as he came within the scope of its
+influence. To him, applause and admiration were as strong drink. Envy
+knocked at his heart as he beheld the bright raiment. He visualized
+himself, thus dazzlingly attired, exhibited to his admiring fellow
+townsmen. Violating speed laws was infantile piffle to this. A syncopated
+melody, appropriate to a victorious march, blared in memory's ear.
+He hummed it softly. His body twitched to the rhythm and his feet took up
+the cadence. He pressed a pedal and the powerful car accelerated its
+motion well above the modest limits commanded by Serena. To the shell of
+Ike, the increased speed was but a return to normal. His spirit was
+away. Expanding as a morning-glory to the sun, it paraded, in wondrous
+garments, to martial music, before gaping thousands.
+
+A turn in their way was before them. Ike partially roused himself from
+his sweet dreams and automatically attended to the necessities of the
+moment. These included no slackening of speed.
+
+The car swung a corner and instantly thereafter there came a mighty
+groaning of brakes as it was finally stopped in the midst of what had
+been an orderly procession of small negro children. The startling arrival
+of the big machine had scattered them, with shrill cries and screams,
+in every direction.
+
+Virginia was alarmed at the sudden halt and at the frightened outcries
+of the youngsters. She leaped out. On the curb an excited colored woman
+was holding a weeping black boy by the hand. He was very small and,
+because of a deformed leg, used a crutch. Between efforts to reassemble
+her scattered charges, she endeavored to calm and comfort him.
+
+Hurrying to the woman, Virginia cried, "I'm so sorry."
+
+"Much good sorry gwine do after you kill somebody," shouted the woman,
+much angered by the occurrence. "Ain' you got no bettah sense 'en to
+run down a lot o' chillun?"
+
+"It would have been terrible if we had hurt one of them. I never would
+have forgiven myself. We couldn't see them until we turned the corner."
+In her excitement she sought friendly support. "Could we, Ike?"
+
+To Ike, it was a duty from which much pleasure could be derived to
+take part in any controversy. Likewise, one acquires merit, when one
+is a chauffeur, by strongly maintaining the contention of one's
+mistress--she may reciprocate in a difficult hour. Ike turned an
+unfriendly countenance upon the woman, and asked for information, "How
+ah gwine see 'roun' er corner? Does you 'spect dat ma eyes is
+twisted?"
+
+"Go long, man. Mine you' own business."
+
+Not thus summarily was Ike to be dismissed. "Dese yere chillun ain' no
+call to be in de street. Howcum 'em der? Ain' it yo'all's business
+to keep 'em outen de way?" A uniformity in costume struck him. "Ain'
+dey orphant chillun runnin' loose?"
+
+"Orphans! The poor things!" Virginia cried.
+
+"Wot ef dey is orphants?" the woman protested with great belligerence.
+
+"Den," Ike behaved as if he, a public spirited citizen, had discovered
+the warden of a penitentiary seeking pleasure beyond the walls with
+notorious criminals, "howcum dey heah? Wharfo?"
+
+The suspicion and force in the chauffeur's manner brought fresh tears to
+orphan eyes.
+
+Encouraged by these evidences of public attention, Ike continued his
+investigation. "Ah axes you woman, why ain' dey in de 'sylum whar
+dey 'long?"
+
+The chauffeur's words had not soothed the guardian of the children. She
+showed unmistakable signs of increasing wrath. Glaring fixedly at him,
+she blazed, "Mine you' own business, you black po'cupine."
+
+Although the application of the epithet was obscure, its effect was
+all that could be desired. Ike suffered a species of fit. His mouth
+opened and closed without sound. His wildly rolling eyes exposed wide
+areas of white and then glued themselves in invenomed hatred upon the
+woman. Muscles contracted and worked in his neck. Even as a panther, he
+appeared about to spring upon his foe.
+
+Virginia interfered. Her experience of life was limited, but she
+understood the negro. "Don't get out of the car, Ike," she ordered.
+
+"Ef dat spindle legged dude git outen dat caah, ah is boun' to bus'
+his haid wid ma fist," predicted the woman.
+
+Virginia feared no blood shed but deemed it desirable to take steps to
+avoid an argument certain to be loud and long and to add nothing to her
+dignity as a bystander. She answered Ike's inquiries herself. "The
+children were out walking, I suppose, and had to cross the street?"
+
+This overture slightly mollified the woman but she yet viewed the
+porcupine with distinct hostility.
+
+"Are all of these poor children orphans?" continued Virginia, shaking
+her head at the pity of it.
+
+"Yas'm, dey's all orphants f'om the Lincoln Home, up de street."
+
+"And you had them out for their daily walk?"
+
+"No, mam, dey gits out onest er week. Ah ain' got no time to take 'em
+out every day."
+
+Virginia looked at the woman very thoughtfully. "Your work makes you
+very happy, doesn't it?" she asked.
+
+"Ah ain' heard o' no kind er wo'k mekin' nobody happy. Ah jes allers
+was, an' allers is happy. Dat's me," the woman explained.
+
+"Why, you are a mother to all of those children."
+
+"Yas'm, de onlies' mother dey gwine git, ah guesses." The woman
+viewed her reassembled charges speculatively. She patted the little
+cripple at her side. "Po' li'l Willie, he cain't walk ve'y fas',
+kin you, sweetheart?"
+
+"You poor little fellow," sighed Virginia.
+
+"Ah bettah tote you, Willie. We gotta move right smart afo' noon an'
+you ain' ve'y spry on dat crutch." Picking up the lame boy, the woman
+began to issue instructions for the advance of her forces.
+
+Virginia surveyed the manoeuvering orphans comprehensively. "If I could
+get them all into the car I would take them for a ride," she exclaimed,
+and then, "They can be crowded in, I believe. May they go?"
+
+The woman regarded the girl in great astonishment. "Cou'se dey kin
+go eff yo'all wants 'em." Her conscience appeared to demand a
+further warning. "Dey is er powe'ful mouthy and mischievous lot o'
+rascallions."
+
+Ike was disgusted. To be required to act as chauffeur for a crowd of
+screaming infants of his own race was another wound to that dignity so
+recently and fearfully lacerated. He submitted protest. "Dis yere caah
+ain' gwine hol' all dem chillun. It ain' no dray. Dey gwine bus' de
+springs smack bang offen it."
+
+"If the car breaks down you can have them fix it at the garage, Ike.
+They always have been able to mend it," Virginia told him with great
+complacency as she proceeded with her plans.
+
+"Ef all de chillun stan' close, 'ceptin fo' or five wid li'l Willie
+an' me on de back seat, dey is plenty room," the orphan's guardian
+indicated, greatly pleased at the prospect of the ride.
+
+The sullen fire of eternal hatred burned in the eye which Ike turned
+upon her. He fired his last shot. "Miss Virginy, you' Daddy ain' want
+all des yere chillun in dis caah. He mighty biggoty about whoall ride
+in it. Ah 'spects dey is gwine dirty it up sumpin fierce."
+
+"Who yo'all call dirty?" demanded the woman; but Virginia made peace
+by an emphatic "Hush," as the colored orphans were packed into the back
+of the machine. With their attendant they filled the entire space.
+
+The car moved away as soon as Virginia had taken her seat by the
+irritated Ike. They left the town and sped along country roads. The
+little negroes, awed by their new surroundings, became noisy with
+familiarity and expressed their joy by screaming.
+
+The young hostess of this strange party was at first uncomfortable and
+embarrassed at the clamor of her small guests, but as she awakened to the
+enjoyment she was giving the orphans she forgot herself in their pleasure.
+
+It was a beautiful ride along the river shore, through the woods, and
+then back between great fields of growing grain the surfaces of which
+were broken into moving waves of green at the touch of the summer breeze.
+
+They reentered the town a few minutes before noon and were almost back
+to the turn towards the Orphans' Home, when far down the street they
+caught the glitter of brass and the glow of red. "Er ban', er ban',"
+screamed the little negroes.
+
+The enticing strains of melody called to Ike across the intervening
+blocks. There was a look of deep guile in his face, which became regret,
+as he suggested to Virginia, "Des po' orphants ain' no chans to heah
+fine ban' music. Ah might circle aroun' dat minst'el ban' an' let
+de chillun lis'en fo' er spell."
+
+As Virginia nodded assent, the car shot away, straight down the street.
+In a few moments they had overtaken the marching musicians, the reality
+of the poster which had charmed Ike. From them burst melody which coursed
+through his veins. As he drifted away on a sea of syncopated bliss,
+the car, subconsciously driven, closed upon the marching minstrels.
+In the midst of a delegation of youth, honoring the snare and bass
+drummers, it rolled. Bearing Virginia and her guests behind the pageant
+and as an apparent part thereof, it proceeded towards the center of
+the city.
+
+The negro children were clamorous with delight at the wonderful
+concentration of humanity, noise, and excitement. Their screams vied
+with the band and their guardian on the rear seat assumed a careless
+dignity.
+
+Virginia's mind was occupied with the infants. To her, the onlookers,
+more numerous as they neared the business part of town, were the
+background of a picture. She was utterly unconscious that the load of
+pickaninnies formed a most appropriate part of the spectacle.
+
+Laughter pealed from the increasing crowds at the nonsensical behavior of
+the orphans. In the center of town, prominent business men were away
+from their offices for luncheon. They gazed indifferently at the marching
+band, but as the machine approached, they recognized its monogram,
+and, attracting the attention of companions, they burst into shouts of
+laughter. Here was the car of wealthy Obadiah Dale, packed with negro
+children, chaperoned by his daughter, taking part in a minstrel parade.
+
+Suddenly upon the sidewalk near the curb, Virginia espied her father.
+Regardless of her surroundings, the girl endeavored to attract his
+attention by waving her hand. The pickaninnies joined with shouts,
+considering it a pleasant game.
+
+Plunged in thought and heedless of the band, the increased clamor aroused
+Obadiah. Incredulity and amazement, at the sight of his daughter and
+her company, held him. An acquaintance approached, spoke and laughed.
+Anger flushed the mill owner as he marked the staring eyes fixed in
+unveiled amusement on himself and his daughter.
+
+"Daddy is over there,--there." She indicated the place to Ike, delight
+in her discovery accenting her cry.
+
+The chauffeur, thus rudely torn from his musical reverie, solaced his
+disturbed harmoniousness, by smiting the ears of the crowd and wrecking
+the sweet tones of the band, by a discordant honk. Thus soothed, he
+attempted to turn towards the sidewalk, but the congested traffic blocked
+him and he had to delay a few moments before he could swing the car over
+to the curb.
+
+Obadiah came up. He glared at the assembled orphans with manifest
+disapproval and gave gruff tongue to his astonishment. "What does
+this mean? I don't understand it," he snarled at Virginia.
+
+In the depths of her big blue eyes lay tenderness as she anxiously
+searched his cold grey ones for some sign of sympathetic appreciation.
+"Daddy, dear"--there was a note of pride in her manner--"these are
+orphans from the Lincoln Home. I have had them out riding all morning."
+
+The pickaninnies acknowledged the introduction with screams.
+
+This attention added fuel to Obadiah's irritation, "How are you going
+to get rid of this bunch?" he asked loudly, giving no heed to the
+listening ears of guests. "I want to go home and get my lunch."
+
+The girl wrinkled her nose in thoughtful consideration of the social
+dilemma she faced. The truly resourceful are never long at a loss. "You
+get in here, Daddy," she urged, "you can hold me on your lap and we
+will run over to the Orphans' Home. We can leave the children there and
+go straight home."
+
+"The idea!" snapped Obadiah, "I won't be made more ridiculous than I
+have been, today. You must learn to give thought to others, Virginia."
+
+Instantly, her happiness faded before his words. "I am so sorry. I
+forgot how time was passing and I didn't mean to get in this big crowd.
+How will you get home? What can I do for you, Daddy?"
+
+Once more he realized that amused faces watched him as he interviewed
+his daughter, a lily in a bed of black tulips. "Get out of this crowd.
+Everybody is laughing at me. I'll get home some way," he declared
+peevishly. "You get rid of that outfit as soon as you can," he called,
+as he moved away, apparently in a hurry to escape the orphans' company.
+"I'll see you at home."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+UNGIVEN ADVICE
+
+
+Obadiah Dale's office was in a modern building. He considered it the
+finest in South Ridgefield, but then--Obadiah owned it. The proximity
+of an army of employees disturbed him. So he had gathered his principal
+assistants about him, away from the mill, in this more peaceful
+environment.
+
+Obadiah's personal suite contained three rooms. His private lair was
+in the corner. Its windows overlooked metal cornices, tin roofs and
+smoke stacks. The view should have afforded inspiration to sheet metal
+workers, and professional atmosphere was available at all times to such
+chimney sweeps as called.
+
+The personal staff consisted of Obadiah's stenographer, Mr. Percy
+Jones, who referred to himself as the "Private Secretary" and was
+habitually addressed in discourteous terms by his employer, and a
+bookkeeper identified by the name Kelly.
+
+Across the hall was the sanctum of Hezekiah Wilkins, general attorney
+for the Dale interests. The other executive officers of the organization
+occupied the rest of the floor.
+
+Certain preparatory sounds evidencing to the discriminating ear of youth
+the probability of a band bursting into melody had reached Mr. Jones.
+Rising hurriedly from his desk in the center of the middle room of
+Obadiah's suite, he had gone to a window, and peering down, discovered
+that the Jubilee Minstrels were about to favor South Ridgefield with a
+parade.
+
+Mr. Jones watched the preparations with interest. He was a dapper little
+fellow with thin, dark hair, who sported a very small mustache with a
+very great deal of pride. As much of a dandy as his small salary would
+permit, he had indefinite social aspirations, and rather considered
+himself a man of much natural culture and refinement.
+
+His curiosity satisfied, he turned to a door, opposite to the one
+which insured privacy to Obadiah, and entered the domain of Kelly.
+The bookkeeper was perched upon a high stool before an equally elevated
+desk burdened with the mill owner's ledgers. He was red headed, big
+and raw boned, clearly designed by nature for the heaviest of manual
+labor but by a joke of fate set to wielding a pen.
+
+"Hi, Kelly,--minstrels," thus Mr. Jones advertised the forthcoming
+pageant as he lighted a cigarette.
+
+The upper part of Kelly's person was brilliantly illuminated by the
+reflected light of a globe hanging an inch above his head. "Where?"
+he asked, blinking about from his area of high illumination into the
+shadows of the room as though looking for callers.
+
+"In the street, you chump. They are going to parade. As soon as the old
+man goes, we'll hustle out and look 'em over."
+
+A movement in the corner room sent Mr. Jones scurrying to his desk. From
+the street sounded the staccato taps of a snare drum, rhythmically
+punctuated by the boom of the bass, passing up the street. Obadiah
+emerged from his room as one marching to martial music. He broke step
+like a rooky to tell his stenographer, "I'm going to lunch."
+
+Leaping to his feet, Mr. Jones bowed profoundly as his employer departed,
+his manner filled with the awe and respect due a man of such wealth and
+position. He listened intently until the elevator descended, then he
+shouted, "Get a move on you, in there. He's gone."
+
+The bookkeeper appeared, his hat on the back of his head and struggling
+into his coat.
+
+"Hurry, we can get the elevator on its next trip," urged the
+stenographer.
+
+"What's the rush--we don't want to run into the old man," the
+bookkeeper demurred.
+
+"We've got a right to eat, ain't we? What's the lunch hour for?"
+
+"Say, who's talking about not eating? I don't want the old man's face
+as an appetizer," protested Kelly.
+
+"Gee, he has got you bluffed. You are scared of him."
+
+The bookkeeper shrugged his big shoulders and laughed. "Not on your life
+am I afraid of that old spider, but I don't like him. That's all."
+
+"The old man is a good enough scout when you know how to handle him,"
+boasted Mr. Jones. "Tell him where to get off once in awhile and he'll
+eat out of your hand."
+
+"Say," chuckled Kelly. "The next time you decide to call him down,
+put me wise. I don't want to miss it."
+
+"Quit your kidding and come on. You think that I am shooting hot air.
+I'll show you some day."
+
+Their hasty luncheon was completed when the strains of music heralding
+the return of the minstrel show hurried them forth to the curb to procure
+suitable places to watch the parade.
+
+"Kelly, look at the pickaninnies in the automobile following the band,"
+exclaimed Mr. Jones, greatly interested. "That's something new. I never
+saw it before." Thus he confirmed originality from the wealth of his
+own knowledge.
+
+"What's the white girl doing there?" Kelly sought information at the
+fountain of wisdom.
+
+The sagacious Mr. Jones was puzzled, but for an instant only. He
+elucidated. "They have a white manager and that's his wife who won't
+black up."
+
+The explanation struck Kelly as reasonable and for the moment it
+sufficed, as he gave his attention to the passing machine. "That's a
+peach of a car," he proclaimed, and in further commendation, "Gosh,
+it's as fine as the old man's!"
+
+Now it was so close that Mr. Jones was enabled to place an expert's
+eyes upon it. "Why," gasped that specialist, astounded by the
+revelations of his own keen optic, "blamed if it ain't the old
+man's car and," he stammered in his excitement, "I--I--It's the
+old man's daughter--Virginia--in that minstrel parade."
+
+In silent wonder the young men watched the passing marvel and, turning,
+followed it as if expecting further events of an extremely sensational
+nature.
+
+"By Jove, there's the old man." The eagle eye of Mr. Jones had
+picked his employer unerringly from amidst the multitude. "He sees the
+car," the stenographer continued, as one announcing races, on distant
+tracks, to interested spectators. "Wilkins is kidding him. He's getting
+sore. We'd better beat it." Regardless of previous fearlessness, Mr.
+Jones guided his companion into the entrance of a building from which
+vantage point they watched the meeting of Obadiah and his daughter.
+
+"By crackie, he's hot. Everybody is laughing at him." To prove the
+truth of his own assertion, Mr. Jones threw back his head and guffawed
+cruelly at the embarrassment of his employer.
+
+One o'clock found the two clerks at their desks. Obadiah was a punctual
+man. Always on time himself, he demanded it of his employees. Today,
+however, minutes flew by with no sign of the manufacturer's return.
+
+At one thirty, Mr. Jones entered Kelly's room to confer in regard to
+this unwonted tardiness. Resting his elbows upon the bookkeeper's desk
+he projected his head within the area of light in which his colleague
+labored and submitted a sporting proposition. "I'll bet my hat that
+the old man is raising the deuce somewhere."
+
+Kelly inspected the illuminated face of the stenographer with interest,
+as if the brilliant rays exposed flaws which he had not previously
+noted. Disregarding the wager, he replied with emphasis, "You said a
+mouthful."
+
+Mr. Jones displayed marked uneasiness. "I'm surprised that he is not
+back. He had important matters to attend to." The stenographer waxed
+mysterious. "Only this morning he called me in. 'Mr. Jones,' sez he,
+'I must have your invaluable assistance, today, on a matter of great
+importance. I couldn't get along without your help. Please, don't step
+out without warning me.'"
+
+Apparently Kelly regarded the stenographer's secret revelations lightly.
+"You told him that you didn't have the time?" he suggested with a grin.
+
+Mr. Jones attempted to frown down unseemly levity regarding serious
+matters.
+
+Kelly burst into laughter. "Gee, if I wasn't here to keep you off the
+old man, he sure would suffer."
+
+Mr. Jones changed the subject, before such frivolity. "He ought to fire
+that feller Ike. I'll bet he's to blame for the whole thing. The idea
+of getting a young lady mixed up in a mess like that. He ought to be
+fired." Mr. Jones' soul revolted at the notoriety which had befallen
+his employer's daughter. He became thoughtful and then confidential.
+"That girl is a pippin, Kelly. A regular pippin."
+
+"You've said it." The bookkeeper's emphasis spoke volumes.
+
+"Did you ever think about her?"
+
+"Sure," admitted Kelly with candor, "lots of times."
+
+"That girl lives a lonesome life in that big house with only the colored
+servants and her father," alleged the knowing Mr. Jones. "What fun
+does she ever have? The old man thinks that she is only a baby. If
+she has a nurse and is taken out every day for an airing, he imagines
+nothing else is necessary."
+
+"You are talking," quoth Kelly.
+
+"If the old man had any brains--" Mr. Jones noted a correction--"I
+mean, if he was a cultured and refined man, if he was alive--" Mr.
+Jones's manner expressed grave doubt of Obadiah's vitality--"He would
+understand that young people must enjoy themselves once in awhile."
+Poignant memories of the mill owner's refusal to grant certain hours
+off for social purposes embittered the stenographer at this point in
+his discourse. He paused. "If he had any brains, instead of hanging
+around and trying to grab every cent that isn't locked in a burglar
+proof safe, the old duffer would open up his swell house and spend some
+coin. He's got plenty of money. It sticks to him as if his hands were
+magnets and his fingers suction cups."
+
+"I say so," agreed Kelly, with a vigorous nod.
+
+For a moment Mr. Jones departed to assure himself that Obadiah did not
+surreptitiously draw nigh. Thus reassured, he returned and vigorously
+pursued his scathing arraignment of the absent one. "If he had red
+blood in his veins he'd have a heart where that girl is concerned. Why
+doesn't he ever give a dance for her? If he wasn't an old tight wad
+he'd give several a week, have a swell dinner every night and a theater
+party each time a decent show comes to town. He'd do that thing if he
+wasn't a short sport. He ought to get a lively bunch of young people
+to make his place their social headquarters and tear things loose."
+
+"That's me." Thus did the laconic Kelly record his position.
+
+Mr. Jones went on, "He should give his daughter the opportunity to
+enjoy the better things of life." The stenographer drifted over to a
+window and fell to musing. He gave thought to volumes of lighter
+literature which had led him to believe that, in well conducted
+families of wealth and position, private secretaries often assumed
+the responsibilities of social secretaries or major domos. Turning
+again to the bookkeeper, he resumed, "It takes certain peculiar
+qualifications to handle that sort of thing. Everybody knows that the old
+man couldn't do it. He ought to come out like a man and admit that he
+has no conception of that bigger social life which plays such an
+important part in the world today. Then--" Mr. Jones spoke with great
+meaning--"there are those who understand such matters and could relieve
+him of all responsibilities except--" Mr. Jones snapped his fingers
+as though it was a bagatelle--"signing the checks."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+THOSE DARKIES AGAIN
+
+
+After Obadiah, highly indignant at the presence of the black orphans,
+had departed, his car moved slowly up the street. It stopped at the
+corner for the policeman's signal. At the edge of the sidewalk stood a
+newsboy eating an ice cream cone with great enjoyment. The shouts of
+the pickaninnies were stilled at the pleasing spectacle of a fellow
+man partaking of food. Every eye watched the disappearing cone as if
+fascinated by some novel mechanical process.
+
+The unusual silence aroused Virginia from uneasy thoughts of her father.
+Following the eyes of her guests she caught the common target as the
+last bite disappeared, and noted that the lips of the black company moved
+sympathetically coincident with its departure.
+
+"These children will be late for lunch?" worried the young hostess,
+awakening to the requirements of the hour.
+
+"Yas'm," the woman confessed with indifference. "It ain' no
+mattah." From outward appearances the infants took issue upon the
+question, deeming it one of grave concern. "Dey eats at noon but ah
+fix 'em up er snack w'en we git back." The orphans registered relief.
+
+"How would they like an ice cream cone?" suggested Virginia.
+
+The infants awaited the verdict in breathless anticipation.
+
+"Ah guesses dey lak it mighty well." The woman looked about her at the
+upturned mouths even as in a nest of fledgeling blackbirds. The financial
+extravagance daunted her. "Yo'all mought git one fo' each two."
+
+Sore disappointment depressed the fledgelings.
+
+Virginia sensed the prevalent dejection. "No," she decided, "each
+child shall have one. Go on to Vivian's, Ike."
+
+Now, Mr. Vivian maintained an establishment for the distribution of those
+mild refreshments appealing to youth. His fastidious soul endeavored
+to foster the delicate things of life. He dealt in sugars and syrups
+in preference to lard or kerosene. This spirit prevailed in his public
+parlors. Golden rays reflected in dazzling brilliancy in many mirrors
+from gilded grills. It was meet that in such a temple only the elect
+should partake of ambrosia. This thought exuded from every pore of Mr.
+Vivian. At times he spoke of it.
+
+The world accepts a man at his own value. So, South Ridgefield appraised
+Mr. Vivian's resort at his own valuation; but by no means does this
+mean that his clientele was limited. Far from it. The youth of South
+Ridgefield were not modest in their self-esteem. In spite of individual
+embarrassment, when first brought under the influence of the Vivian
+presence and decorations, they gathered daily in great numbers in the
+Vivian parlors, that the world might bear witness, through their
+presence, to their elevated social status.
+
+Indeed, certain hardy and desperate spirits did, by continued presence
+and notable consumption of wares, become so bold that they dared to
+address the proprietor as "Bill," and risked mild pleasantries as
+that the nectar was "rotten dope," or that, through error, a "dash
+er onion or sumpin'" had been introduced into their sacchariferous
+cup. Such familiarity was for the few. Did not eye witnesses support
+tradition in evidence of the casting forth of the unworthy from the
+Vivian portals?
+
+Had not reputable bibbers testified that certain dirty faced urchins,
+essaying early adventures in trade and tendering but five coppers instead
+of the eight, well known to be the post war value of the cone, been
+driven into the street with loud objurgation?
+
+Likewise, there was the memorable episode of the drunken tramp. Stumbling
+into this resort of innocent youth under the belief that it was a
+saloon, he was summarily ejected by the police. For a time, a splintered
+mirror gave silent testimony to this banishment. It evidenced the casting
+of a root beer mug at the white coated soda dispenser by the vulgar
+varlet, obsessed by the delusion that he was enjoying the more thrilling
+sport of heaving a beer stein at a bartender.
+
+But by far the greater number of refusals of service, with its corollary
+of altercation and throwings out, had to do with negroes.
+
+"I ain't serving 'em in my place," Mr. Vivian had proclaimed, with a
+frank disregard of at least the spirit of the fifteenth amendment.
+
+The sweets dispensed by Mr. Vivian drew the black people as molasses
+does the fly, and South Ridgefield had a large percentage of negro
+residents. For a time hardly a day passed without noisy wrangles.
+Comfortably seated in full view and hearing of such disputes, the
+elect were greatly edified thereby. Of late, such disturbances had
+decreased, and, as they had ended always in favor of the confectioner,
+he felt assured that he had settled the race issue in his own place at
+least.
+
+Mr. Vivian waited today behind his marble topped counter and supervised
+his numerous assistants. Through the front windows he watched the
+multitude which had assembled to view the minstrel parade disperse. He
+observed an influx of gilded youth over his threshold. One listening
+to explanations would have gathered that the unusual number present was
+not due to interest in such low concerns as minstrel bands. Through
+untoward events the pageant had obtruded itself, as it were, into
+blase vision.
+
+Mr. Vivian's eyes, as has been suggested, rested upon the street.
+Into his optical angle rolled the Dale car. It was well known to the
+confectioner. Often it paused for long periods before his place while
+Virginia refreshed herself within. It was his delight, at these times,
+to greet the maiden with profound respect, as his heart swelled with
+pride. The car of Obadiah Dale, the wealthiest, and in consequence, in
+Mr. Vivian's judgment, the peak of the town's social strata, awaited
+without. Within the house of Vivian, the heiress partook of Vivian
+products. What could be more appropriate?
+
+The spectacle of the big machine given up to the conveyance of this small
+maiden had always pleased Mr. Vivian. There was a cavalier disregard of
+the cost of gasoline, oil, and tires which appealed to him. Today, the
+large passenger list astonished him, and, even as the number impressed
+him, their aspect amazed him.
+
+"Negroes," he gasped, "coming _here_!" There are moments in every
+life which have far-reaching consequences. The confectioner faced one.
+
+The car stopped at the Vivian door. The glad shouts of infants penetrated
+the halls set apart for the fashionable. They offended the ears of the
+elect.
+
+"There is Virginia Dale and those colored kids with whom she was making
+a spectacle of herself in the minstrel parade," sneered an excited girl.
+"If she brings them in here, I'll leave and never come back."
+
+"Oh, don't worry," a man of the world, of sixteen, calmed her. "Old
+Viv won't stand for any foolishness. You watch him."
+
+"Virginia Dale has lived so long in that big house with only colored
+people that she likes them for friends," declared another girl
+contemptuously. "Too good to associate with any of the young people of
+this town, she parades around like that. I think it is disgusting
+myself and I would tell her so, for very little."
+
+These and similar remarks filled the ears of the perplexed proprietor.
+He decided that whatever was done in this instance had better be done,
+contrary to his usual practice, beyond the hearing of the elect.
+
+He rushed out to the waiting car. A smile was upon his face but it was
+not his usual one of hearty welcome. It spoke of hidden pain and anxiety.
+
+"How do you do, Mr. Vivian," Virginia courteously greeted the dispenser
+of toothsome delicacies. "I want you to meet these little people from
+the Lincoln Home."
+
+He cast a glance into the nest of the blackbirds. It lacked that interest
+with which new friends should be greeted. He felt the curious glances
+of the chosen, impinging against his back.
+
+"They are hungry, Mr. Vivian. We have had a long ride and the children
+missed their lunch watching the parade. Each of us wants the nicest ice
+cream cone you can make. Seventeen, please."
+
+"Cones!" Light dawned in Mr. Vivian's darkness.
+
+"Bring them out, please?" Virginia begged.
+
+"Out?" The clouds which had veiled the true Mr. Vivian rolled aside.
+Came sunshine and gladsome welcome.
+
+In a moment the confectioner was behind his counter urging his assistants
+to diligence. In joyous relief, he shouted, "Make 'em big, boys. Make
+'em big!"
+
+Then, disregarding the feelings of the staring elect, Mr. Vivian hastened
+forth, bearing a box of cones. In a moment, with his kindest smile,
+encouraged by Virginia, he delivered with his own hand, to each infant,
+one of his products.
+
+"The poor things. I don't suppose orphans get ice cream cones very
+often, do they?" Virginia asked the woman.
+
+"Some ain' nevah had none afo', Ah bets. Has you, chillun? Who had
+one?" Six worldly wise infants voted in the affirmative.
+
+Mr. Vivian was stirred deeply by this information. That human beings were
+permitted to arrive at such an age without experience of cones struck
+him as an economic mistake. "It's a shame," he cried.
+
+"They eat them as though they were used to them," laughed Virginia.
+
+"Yes," he agreed, as he watched the mouths of the blackbirds wag in
+solemn unison. Another thought struck him. "You have had these orphans
+out for a ride all morning, Miss Dale?"
+
+She nodded. "We've had a grand time, too. Haven't we, children?"
+
+Mouths were too full for utterance but there was a unanimous bobbing of
+heads.
+
+When Virginia opened her purse to pay for the cones, Mr. Vivian, after
+inspecting the tendered currency for a moment, submitted a proposal.
+"Miss Dale, would you object if I presented the cones to the children?
+I would be glad to do it."
+
+There was a look of understanding in Virginia's eyes as she answered
+him, "I know how you feel about it. I can't let you do it today,
+though, Mr. Vivian. You see, it is my treat."
+
+Motionless as a statue, Mr. Vivian stood before the door of his
+establishment and watched the machine depart. As it disappeared a
+look of great approval rested upon his countenance. "There goes a darn
+fine girl," he muttered. He threw back his fat shoulders and worked
+them as though a great load had been recently removed from them.
+"Thank heaven," he cried, "she didn't take it into her head to
+unload that outfit in my place." He scratched his head. "What
+would I have done?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+ACCIDENTS WILL HAPPEN
+
+
+It was past one o'clock when Virginia left the colored children at the
+Orphans' Home. The purchase of the cones had detained them much longer
+than she had anticipated. Now, rid of her guests, she remembered her
+meeting with her father. Appreciating with dismay how the minutes had
+flown, she considered it advisable to return home as soon as practicable
+that rough water might be lubricated.
+
+"Hurry, Ike," she told the chauffeur.
+
+Now, Ike needed little encouragement in this matter. It delighted him
+exceedingly to find excuse to unloose the surplus power of the fast
+machine. Tantalizing qualms which only Serena's cooking could quiet
+likewise beset him. It was his custom to lunch early and abundantly.
+
+Ike hurried. In a moment the car was rushing along one of South
+Ridgefield's residential streets at a high rate of speed. Virginia's
+thoughts rehearsed the events of the morning. Those of the chauffeur
+anticipated his delayed repast.
+
+They approached a corner. The hoarse honk of a horn sounded from the
+intersecting street. At the crossing came an instantaneous perception
+of a man approaching at high speed upon a motorcycle and trying to
+dodge. The sickening sensation of impending peril held the girl as the
+emergency brake squealed. A heavy shock at the back of the automobile
+seemed to lift it. Virginia screamed. The motorcycle rider half dove,
+half tumbled out from the back of the big car and crumpled an inert and
+senseless heap in the street.
+
+The Dale car stopped almost at the instant of the shock. Seeming to
+fall from his seat, Ike ran back and stared for a second at the upset
+motorcycle and then hurried to the recumbent figure.
+
+A bystander rushed out and joined the chauffeur, crying, "Is he dead?"
+
+Ike, filled with personal woes, took no heed of the inquiry. "Run
+squa'e into me. Smack bang. Done knock er big dent in ma caah," he
+protested.
+
+Luckily the bystander was a man of action rather than words. He gave
+attention to the stricken one. "Get the doctor, over there," he
+commanded sharply, pointing to a white house nearby.
+
+Ike disappeared on the run.
+
+For seconds which seemed hours, Virginia, held by fright, could not move.
+Her eyes, wide with horror, stared back at the motionless motorcyclist.
+His flattened figure resembled a bundle of old clothes dropped carelessly
+in the roadway. Certain that the man was dead, the terrible thought came
+to the girl that she was responsible for it. She could hear herself
+saying, "Hurry, Ike." It made her frantic, she could not sit still
+and yet she wondered if she had the strength to move. In a moment, she
+found herself standing. Hardly knowing what she did, she climbed from
+the car and moved slowly towards the figure lying in the dust. She
+watched it fearfully, as if it might suddenly leap at her. Now she
+saw the face. How dreadfully white it was. Surely he was dead. The pity
+of this great fellow lying helpless in the street moved her strangely.
+The pathos of his weakness wrung her heart.
+
+The bystander removed his coat intending to make a pillow of it. Guessing
+his purpose, Virginia hastened to the car and brought back a cushion.
+
+"Thank you, that will be better," he told her. Taking the cushion, he
+held it irresolutely as though planning how best to use it.
+
+"May I help?" To Virginia it seemed that the words came of their own
+accord. She doubted if she had the strength to do anything.
+
+"If you would, please? When I lift his head, will you push the cushion
+under?"
+
+The girl dropped upon her knees in the dust of the roadway. It brought
+her face very near to that of the unconscious man. She noticed that
+he was young, not much older than herself. When the cushion was placed
+it lifted his head into an awkward position. Readjusting the cushion,
+Virginia pushed it too far. The motorcyclist's head slid over and rested
+against her knee. For an instant she hesitated and then, making a pillow
+of her lap, she very gently lifted his head into it.
+
+"That's better. That's the stuff," approved the bystander. Noticing
+her pallor, he added, "If you can do it."
+
+"I--I--I will be all right," she hesitatingly reassured him. Yet, at
+the moment, she was not at all sure of herself. Was she not holding the
+head of a dead youth in her lap? It had shifted and a rivulet of blood
+oozed from a small wound in the forehead, formerly hidden. A deathly
+sickness swept the girl. But even as it seized her came a determination
+to fight her feelings and conquer them. She would not faint.
+
+The motorcyclist groaned. Virginia almost dropped his head in alarm. He
+wasn't dead, but certainly that melancholy sound marked the passing of
+his soul. Other groans followed of such grievous quality that she was
+sure each one was his last.
+
+"He's coming around, I believe," declared the bystander.
+
+The words reawakened hope in Virginia's breast. "Isn't he dead?" she
+murmured gently.
+
+"No." The voice came from her lap.
+
+Her startled blue eyes dropped. Two wide open black eyes looked up into
+them wonderingly for an instant and the lids closed.
+
+"Lord," moaned the stricken one in unmistakable language.
+
+"He's praying," thought Virginia and solemnly bowed her head.
+
+Ike returned, followed soon by a doctor.
+
+"He's regained consciousness," the bystander told the medical man.
+
+The physician knelt by the injured youth. He listened to his heart and
+then started to lift an eyelid when both lids opened so wide that
+Virginia was enabled to confirm her previous impression that the
+motorcyclist's eyes were black. The doctor felt the man's body and
+the groans redoubled as he touched one of the legs. The medical man
+straightened up. "His head seems to be all right. There is a fracture of
+the right leg and probably a rib or two broken. He is lucky to get off
+so easy. He will be a mass of bruises, too, I suppose," he announced.
+He glanced curiously at the waiting car and then at Virginia and went
+on, "You are Obadiah Dale's daughter, are you not?"
+
+As she nodded her assent, he asked, "How did the accident happen?"
+
+"I was to blame," confessed Virginia, her eyes filling with tears.
+
+"You weren't driving the car?" he argued sympathetically and when she
+admitted it, "I don't see how you can be in fault."
+
+"I was though, doctor."
+
+He gave her an enveloping professional glance. The pale face and the
+flood of tears fighting to break their dams did not escape him. "You are
+suffering from the shock of the accident. You have been under a strain
+and are nervous and unstrung."
+
+Ike considered this an appropriate moment to make public outcry. "Dat
+man was to blame. Ran smack into me. Lak to punch er hole in de tiah wid
+'is haid. Ah gwine look fo' er punkcher," he assured the crowd which
+had assembled.
+
+This attempt to win public favor at the expense of a semi-unconscious
+opponent filled the doctor with indignation. "You talk like a fool,"
+he informed the chauffeur. "Without inquiring into the matter I conclude
+that you are to blame. You help me carry this man under the trees and
+make him comfortable until I can call an ambulance."
+
+The snap judgment of the medical man apparently struck Ike as of
+uncontrovertible accuracy, because he prepared in silence to assist
+in caring for the injured until Virginia suggested,
+
+"Why not take the man in our machine and get him to the hospital so much
+quicker?"
+
+"Very good," agreed the doctor. He eyed Ike sternly. "It's not a
+question of speed now. There has been too much of that around here in my
+opinion."
+
+"Yas'r," the chauffeur made illogical response. "Ah ain' no speeder.
+Ah is de carefles' drivah in dis yere town. Safety fust. Dat's ma
+motta."
+
+"Appearances are against you," the doctor snorted as he prepared a
+rough splint to protect the leg of the motorcyclist during his removal.
+
+They placed the youth in the Dale car, the doctor holding him in his
+arms but using a middle seat to support the lower part of the body. Ike
+pulled down the other seat and, at a sign from the physician, Virginia
+took it.
+
+As they slowly left the scene of the accident, the girl noticed that the
+arm of the youth nearest to her swung helplessly at every jolt of the
+car. Taking the hand in her own, she lifted it into her lap. When she
+released it, there was a faint movement as if the fingers searched for
+her own. Knowing him to be suffering, Virginia regrasped his hand and
+it seemed to her that there came an answering pressure as of appreciation.
+
+Yet woe descended anew upon the girl. The youth could not walk. He
+could not talk. As she looked at his grotesquely postured body, she
+became convinced that he was dying. The doctor's remarks were to cheer
+her. No one could forecast the results of such an accident. The victim
+might pass away in the car. He was so young to die, a mere boy. She had
+killed him. Such thoughts were overwhelming her with fear when they
+reached the hospital.
+
+In the reception room of the institution, she awaited in dread the
+outcome of a more thorough examination. As she looked about her, there
+was nothing in the furnishing of the apartment to distinguish it from
+thousands of others except the faint, sickening odor of ether which told
+its own story.
+
+A most attractive young woman in a nurse's uniform came across the hall
+from a small office opposite. "Were you with the emergency case Dr.
+Millard brought?" she asked.
+
+Virginia thought the blonde curls, beneath the cap, very attractive.
+Also she approved of the hazel eyes. They seemed sympathetic and the
+overwrought girl longed for that. "I came with a motorcyclist who was
+hurt. I don't know the doctor's name," she responded.
+
+"If you can give me the information about the patient I will fill out
+his card."
+
+Virginia looked at the nurse in astonishment. "Why I don't know him. I
+never met him until he ran into our car."
+
+"A violent introduction," giggled the nurse, and then, more seriously,
+"I am glad that it is not your husband."
+
+"_Husband_," gasped Virginia, "on a _motorcycle_." Her face reddened
+in an embarrassment the absurdity of which provoked her.
+
+The nurse broke into a gale of soft laughter. "They come in automobiles,
+on motorcycles and on foot. Evidently, you don't care for those on
+motorcycles." She considered a moment. "I don't blame you. He would
+have so many accidents that you would never know whether you were
+wife or widow."
+
+Virginia was uncomfortable. The strain of the most exciting day in her
+life was telling. The mischievous eyes of the nurse were not helping
+matters. "I think that I am quite young to be married," the girl
+announced with a prim dignity meant to suppress this frivolous person.
+
+That sophisticated young woman shook anew with amusement. "Oh, I don't
+know. Have a look at our maternity ward."
+
+The shot went wide of the mark with Virginia. "Oh," she exclaimed, with
+rapturous interest, "I'd love to. That's where you keep the babies,
+isn't it? I adore them."
+
+"We were speaking of husbands, not babies, you know." The irrepressible
+nurse persisted. "They are closely related but not the same thing. That
+is, unless the wife, as many of them do, insists upon making a baby of
+her husband."
+
+Husbands! Babies! Where was this strange conversation leading? Again
+an annoyed Virginia felt herself flush beneath the amused eyes of this
+very complacent young person. With a rush, horrible thoughts of the
+youth upstairs, surely suffering, possibly dying, through her fault,
+obsessed her. Yet this nurse could look at one with hazel eyes dancing
+with merriment. The mill owner's daughter whirled to a window, but,
+regardless of her efforts, the tears came.
+
+She heard the nurse move. In a moment a hand touched her shoulder and
+a kind voice whispered, "Dearie, you are all broken up, aren't you?
+It's a shock from the accident. I should have remembered. Let me get
+you something?"
+
+"No,--no," protested Virginia, dissolved in tears. "It's not medicine
+I need. Oh, if I could only be sure that poor fellow isn't going to die.
+I will never have a happy moment the rest of my life if he does." She
+raised her tear drenched face. "I wanted to make people happy, not
+to bring sorrow or trouble to any one. And now," she sobbed, "I've
+killed a man."
+
+"Don't be silly, girlie. You couldn't kill a flea, let alone a man.
+Accidents will happen. We get hundreds of such cases every month."
+
+"You don't get motorcyclists though. They are injured while riding at
+fearful speed."
+
+"Oh yes, we do. I don't mean to criticise your friend but most
+motorcyclists are dreadfully reckless."
+
+"He isn't my friend. I told you that I don't know him," grieved
+Virginia.
+
+"Why worry so, then? I heard the doctor say that it was not a serious
+case myself."
+
+"He was concealing something. Anyway, it is wrong of us to say unkind
+things about the poor fellow when he has no friends to help him,"
+Virginia concluded with a note of defiance.
+
+"_Have_ we?" the nurse responded, "I think that I said,--you may
+remember--that motorcyclists are reckless."
+
+"But," sobbed the unhappy girl, "I thought it, too."
+
+"He wouldn't care about it, anyway," argued the nurse soothingly.
+"Cheer up, he'll soon be well. I never remember a motorcyclist dying in
+this hospital. They are either killed outright," she explained in a
+matter of fact tone, "or they soon recover. They have so many accidents
+learning to ride, I suppose, that they get toughened. I don't mean
+that they are tough fellows," she explained hastily, fearful that
+Virginia might deem the remark unkind. "I mean that one must be young,
+and strong, and hard, to run one of the things."
+
+Virginia's tears had ceased to flow. "I should think that a
+motorcyclist would have to be--quick--and graceful," she interrupted,
+and then ended, "--and very brave," being, evidently much uplifted by
+the nurse's remarks.
+
+"And," continued the very observant attendant of the sick, "I
+should think that they would have to be very strong and healthy,
+perfectly nerveless, and," she smiled, "not a bit fastidious to ride a
+motorcycle."
+
+Virginia's face bore a look of mild reproof which melted away as she
+joined in the hearty laugh of the nurse.
+
+"I am going up stairs," resumed that energetic person cheerfully, "and
+see your motorcyclist. In a minute, I will be back able to assure you
+that he is not seriously injured."
+
+As the girl waited, the quiet of the great building depressed her. To her
+came the thought that it was a place of weariness, pain, suffering.
+The hall before her was the highway along which men and women passed on
+their way to those white bed battle-grounds beyond. Through hours, and
+days of weariness and suffering the combat dragged its weary length or
+moved in strenuous actions, short and sharp, towards victory, with the
+joyous return of the pale and weakened warrior to loved ones, home,
+friends, and all that makes life worth living, or else--
+
+A door opened above stairs. Something very like a smothered laugh echoed
+and the soft pad of rubber soles came on the steps.
+
+"He's all right," the nurse reassured Virginia, as she reentered the
+room. "He's perfectly conscious and the doctor says that he sees no
+reason why he should not get along nicely." Her manner became very
+professional as she went on, "Your motorcyclist has a fractured leg,
+three fractured ribs, and many bruises." She shrugged her shoulders
+deprecatingly, "That's nothing."
+
+"Nothing! I think that it is dreadful." Virginia displayed indications
+of renewed agitation.
+
+The nurse made haste to comfort her, "Remember, I have seen him. That
+young man may be brittle but he'll mend fast."
+
+"He will suffer so," worried Virginia.
+
+"No, not after his leg is set. Of course he will be in some pain for a
+few days but that will soon pass." The nurse giggled. "Right now he
+has a bad headache from striking either your car or the street with his
+head. It must be made of extraordinarily strong material."
+
+Virginia gave no heed to the concluding sentence. A look of alarm spread
+over her face. "He struck the car an awful blow. It fairly lifted it.
+Was that his head?" she gasped.
+
+"Possibly," admitted the dancing eyed nurse. "His headache is severe.
+But he'll be over that in the morning."
+
+Another matter of anxiety recurred to the girl. "How's his fever?" she
+troubled, her eyes big with pity.
+
+"Fever!" Surprise claimed the nurse as its own. "Now what ever put
+that into your head?"
+
+"I held his hand when we brought him here. It was very hot."
+
+"Oh, I see," admitted the nurse with a solemnity of tone which belied
+her tell-tale orbs. "What a little helper you _were_. You held the
+patient's hand, and, discovering it to be warm, you believed him dead."
+
+"Wasn't it strange?" Virginia gravely pursued her own line of thought.
+"It seemed to me that he wanted me to hold his hand, so I did."
+
+"Kind girl," the nurse complimented her, and then, as from a wealth of
+experience, explained, "I never knew a man who disliked to hold hands.
+Certainly a motorcyclist would have no compunctions about it. Don't
+worry about fever in this case."
+
+"You are laughing at me again. You love to tease me," protested
+Virginia.
+
+"I can't help it after seeing that motorcyclist."
+
+"Why should you laugh about him? Poor fellow, he suffers so."
+
+"Yes, I suppose he does, but his appearance does not draw sympathy.
+They've dressed him up in pink pajamas. He's a great big fellow and
+his eyes--"
+
+"Are black," announced Virginia with great assurance.
+
+"Yes, but how on earth did you know it?"
+
+"He looked up at me," Virginia confessed soberly.
+
+"Looked up at you? Please tell me when? While you were holding his
+hand?"
+
+"No." The girl spoke with great gentleness, as if in a dream she
+reenacted the scene she described. "His head was lying in my lap and
+suddenly he opened his eyes and looked up at me for a moment--and closed
+them."
+
+The nurse choked with suppressed laughter. "I thought," she rippled,
+"that it was a collision of vehicles, not of hearts."
+
+"How very silly," thought Virginia, and regarding the nurse coldly,
+she said aloud, "I'll go now. I am sorry to have been so much trouble
+to you."
+
+Unmoved by the change in the mood of the visitor, the nurse accompanied
+her to the door. "You'll be coming back to see your patient?" she
+suggested.
+
+"I suppose I should," Virginia mused. Her coolness towards the nurse
+melted. "It would be dreadfully embarrassing to visit a strange man."
+
+"I can help you. I go back to ward duty tomorrow and will have charge
+of the surgical cases. I'll know him by the time you call."
+
+"That will be fine. I'll bring him something to eat." A further
+courtesy occurred to Virginia. "Would you let him know, please, that I
+waited to be sure that he was as comfortable as possible?"
+
+"That has been done," the nurse told her. "When I was up stairs I
+explained to him that you were waiting, in almost your very words."
+
+The curiosity of her sex beset the mill owner's daughter. "Did he say
+anything about it?" she questioned.
+
+Great merriment, promptly subdued, shook the nurse. "I should hardly
+call it 'anything.' Of course, I could not question him in his
+condition. I caught two words. Perhaps I misunderstood them."
+
+"What were they?"
+
+"He said"--again the nurse was shaken by concealed
+amusement--"something which sounded to me like"--she hesitated to
+regain control of her feelings--"Some chicken."
+
+"Poor fellow," sympathized compassionate Virginia. "He is hungry.
+Serena fries chicken deliciously, and he shall have some of it." As
+she hurried away, she wondered what it was that had amused the nurse so
+much that she could not overcome a final outburst.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+IKE EXPLAINS
+
+
+Obadiah Dale gave unusual thought to his daughter during a period
+following the minstrel parade. This attention was due primarily to the
+appearance of Virginia as a seeming part of the pageant. It was due
+secondarily, and consequently in ever increasing force as the minutes
+passed, to the girl's unexplained delay in returning home to lunch.
+
+Immediately upon his arrival, Obadiah had attempted to elicit from Serena
+all information in her possession concerning orphans and minstrels. His
+approach to the subject was craftily obscured.
+
+"I don't see the car. Virginia not home, yet?"
+
+"Yas'r. She orter bin back er long time ergo." From Serena's
+appearance one would have judged her deeply aggrieved.
+
+"Where is she?"
+
+"She tek er li'l ride. Ain't she bin at yo'all's office?"
+
+Serena was conscious that her speed regulations, literally interpreted
+and conscientiously obeyed by Ike, might be responsible for the delayed
+return of the absent ones. She was aware, that regardless of the real
+reason, Ike, constitutionally, would not be adverse to transferring
+all blame to her. She deemed it advantageous, therefore, to submit
+her defence before the arrival of the complainant and thus win the
+sympathetic support of the court.
+
+"Ah tole dat Ike to drive mo'e cafful. Ah ain' wantin' Miss Virginy
+broke up 'count o' his foolishness."
+
+"They were safe enough when I saw them down town. As far as I could make
+out they had been following a minstrel band about," Obadiah informed her.
+
+"Minst'el band!" Serena lifted up her voice loudly. "Dat's Ike. Wot
+inte'est dat chil' got in er ole minst'el band. It sure is dat fool
+Ike."
+
+"They had a negro woman and a lot of negro children in the back of the
+car."
+
+"Black woman an' chillun," shouted the old negress. "Howcum dey in
+dat caah? Ah axes you dat?" Serena's temper was rising. "Dat fool boy
+Ike done fill up dat caah wid trash. Yas'r. Whar was dey?"
+
+"Following that band down the middle of Main Street."
+
+"On Main Street, wid all de high tone folks er lookin' at ma po' li'l
+honey chil' er packed in wid er bunch o' trash er laughin' an' er
+hollerin' at er minst'el band." Serena became almost inarticulate in
+her anger.
+
+Obadiah kicked angrily at the rug in front of him. Again he remembered
+the smiles of the crowd. Gruffly dismissing the servant, he watched her
+depart, every line of her body quivering with indignation and muttering
+dire threats at Ike.
+
+The manufacturer dropped into a chair and attempted to read a newspaper
+but he could not keep his mind from the episode of the morning. It had
+been an absurd affair. His sense of personal dignity rebelled at his
+daughter being entangled in such a thing. The thought came that Virginia
+was only a child who had become involved in an escapade of Ike's which
+every one had already forgotten.
+
+He settled himself more comfortably but the picture of the parade
+would not depart from his thoughts. Obadiah could not stand ridicule
+and those laughing faces danced before him. That child argument was
+unsatisfactory, too. Virginia had appeared quite proud of the load
+of colored children when he had talked to her. She didn't look the
+child part, either. To the contrary she seemed quite mature--almost
+a woman. With a start, he remembered his daughter's age. "Confound
+it," he muttered, "she is a woman. She should behave as one. She must
+learn to have some regard for my dignity and to uphold my position in
+this town."
+
+He arose, looked at his watch, and, striding out upon the porch, gazed
+anxiously down the street. As he watched, there came a distant honk of
+familiar note and in a few moments his car turned in through the gate.
+
+"What made you so late?" roared Obadiah before the machine stopped.
+
+Virginia leaped out as the car paused and running up the steps threw
+her arms about her father. "Oh Daddy," she responded, "I have been
+so frightened." Laying her head against his arm, she shuddered.
+
+"What happened?" Obadiah's voice was cutting, sharp.
+
+"We almost killed a man. We broke his legs and ribs and gave him a
+terrible headache. We had to take him to the hospital where he is
+suffering dreadfully."
+
+"Dat man done knock er big dent in dis yere caah wid his haid,"
+proclaimed Ike. "Ran slap bang into me."
+
+At the sound of the chauffeur's well remembered voice, Serena, as a
+privileged member of the household, returned to the porch. Approaching
+Virginia who had drawn an arm of her father about herself, the old
+negress patted the girl reassuringly upon the shoulder and pledged
+revenge. "Nev' mine, honey chil', nev' mind, ah gwine 'tend to
+dat fool, Ike, presen'ly." Hurrying to the end of the porch she
+glared down at the chauffeur as if he were the root of all evil in that
+vicinity. "Wot you mean er takin' er woman an' 'er fambly in dat
+caah wid ma honey chil' an' er runnin' ovah er ban' an' er killin'
+er minst'el man? 'Splain youse'f, boy."
+
+Ike was puzzled to identify the victim of his alleged manslaughter under
+the conditions named. "Wot minst'el man? Ah ain' kill no minst'el
+man a tall."
+
+"Who dat done dent yo'all's caah?" cried the accusing voice.
+
+"How ah gwine tell if dat man wot bre'k hisse'f up on ma caah is er
+minst'el man? Ah ain' ax 'im. Ah ain' kill no man."
+
+"Who dat woman an' her fambly you 'vite into dat caah? Wot mar'ied
+woman is yo'all makin' up to? Wot's de name o' dat frien', wid
+chillun?"
+
+Ike had to suffer much that morning. He writhed under this new
+inquisition which displayed a tendency to besmirch his reputation. No
+love light glowed in the porcupine's eyes but hatred, intense and
+eternal, flashed from them, and he bristled as he made forceful
+denial. "Dat female sco'pion ain' no frien' o' mine."
+
+Before such dislike, who could suspect? Where dwelt such frankness? Who
+could doubt? Yet, Serena, conjecturing that a more complete understanding
+of the case might insure some interesting developments, excused him with
+words of warning, "You ain' nevah kep' nothin' f'on me, no time."
+
+After Obadiah had heard his daughter's story of the accident, his mind
+reverted to the minstrel parade. "You seem to have had a very strenuous
+morning, Virginia," he remarked. "When we met, you had quite a load of
+passengers with you. Tell me about them." He wanted to know how those
+orphans got into the car.
+
+Virginia was in the midst of her description of the morning's events
+when her father interrupted,
+
+"Why should you take those negro children for a ride? What made you do
+it?"
+
+"Can't you understand, Daddy? Those poor little darkies were frightened
+almost out of their wits by our car. They cried, and they looked so
+forlorn. The walk is their big pleasure each week. We spoiled it in a
+way, today, and I tried to make up for it." She was lost in thought
+for a moment and then went on. "Think of it! Those children are shut up
+within the walls of that institution every minute of the time except
+for that weekly walk."
+
+"What's the matter with that? Where else would you keep them? They
+can't run loose upon the streets." Obadiah wished to bring his daughter
+to a reasonable and sensible view of the situation.
+
+"Of course, Daddy, the orphans can't be allowed to run wild. That would
+never do. But that makes it no less hard for them to be shut up in that
+yard year after year with only a walk now and then for a change." She
+looked appealingly at him. "How would you like to be shut up in a yard
+all of the time, Daddy?"
+
+Obadiah almost shuddered. The thought of being confined in an inclosure
+was repulsive to him. It savored of the penalties prescribed in certain
+anti-trust laws of which he had an uncomfortable knowledge. He would
+have gladly eliminated the question of restraint, but not being able to,
+asked, "How can you help it?"
+
+Virginia gleefully clinched her argument. "Take the orphans out oftener
+and take them riding so that they can go farther than their little legs
+can carry them. I did the last thing, Daddy, don't you see?"
+
+Obadiah saw, and, admitting the strength of his daughter's argument to
+himself, recognized that it had logical strength as a plea for a series
+of rides. He dropped the matter promptly and in this was assisted by the
+gong calling them to a belated luncheon.
+
+Virginia, because of the excitement of the morning, had little appetite.
+She watched her father for a time and then her eyes took on a deeper
+blue as, without averting her gaze, she drifted away into one of those
+mysterious musings of girlhood.
+
+He gulped his food hastily as if he had a train to catch. "I should
+be back," he fretted. "My time is worth money. You must learn to be
+considerate of others, Virginia."
+
+The shadow of unhappiness veiled the face of dreams as the girl started
+at his words. "I am very thoughtless, I am afraid, Daddy," she
+answered. "I shall try to be more careful." And then in a whisper so
+low that he could not hear it, she continued, "It would make mother
+unhappy to know that I was that way."
+
+"You should overcome your faults, particularly your thoughtlessness in
+regard to others," he grumbled, and immediately changed the subject.
+"Do you know the name of the fellow who ran into you?"
+
+"No, Daddy."
+
+He considered a moment. "Don't you bother about it." He gave her a
+smile and the traces of her unhappiness faded before it. "I will have
+some one call up the hospital. I must take the matter up with Wilkins."
+
+"Honey, chil', ain' yo'all gwine res' you'se'f dis afternoon?"
+Serena demanded, as they arose from the table.
+
+"In a minute, Serena, I want to ask Daddy something."
+
+She hurried after him. There was almost a trace of embarrassment in her
+voice, as she asked, "Daddy, may I go to the hospital tomorrow and visit
+that man?"
+
+"What?" Obadiah was surprised. "Why on earth should you want to do
+that?"
+
+"I think I should. I told Ike to hurry, as I explained to you. If I
+hadn't done that the man would not have been hurt." She gave a woeful
+little sigh. "I helped to take him to the hospital and so I feel
+acquainted with him."
+
+A shrewd, calculating look swept over Obadiah's face. "That's a most
+informal introduction, I am thinking. However, it will do no harm to get
+on friendly terms with that fellow. I suppose that it will mean a suit,
+anyway, but I won't oppose your going."
+
+Virginia's face lighted with happiness and pride. "Daddy dear, you
+have the kindest and most thoughtful heart. You are always trying to do
+something nice," she laughed, softly. "You've made a mistake this
+time, and you will have to think of something else. The man in the
+hospital doesn't need clothes. I noticed that his were not hurt in the
+accident."
+
+"_Clothes_," cried Obadiah, much perplexed by the tribute to himself
+and the subsequent explanation. "Who said anything about clothes?"
+Suddenly, understanding came to him. "I'll swear--" promised the
+astounded manufacturer.
+
+Virginia quickly kissed him squarely upon the mouth.
+
+"No, you won't," she said, her eyes tender with love and pride, "you
+are much too good and generous and noble to do that."
+
+For an instant, Obadiah appeared about to contradict his daughter, but,
+changing his mind, he hurried out to his waiting car and pressed the
+button on the horn.
+
+At the signal, Ike appeared, coming hurriedly from the kitchen. As he
+advanced, he deposited in his mouth the remains of a slice of pie.
+Because of the unfortunate events of the morning, the procurement of
+this pastry partook of the nature of a diplomatic triumph. Ike had
+but little pride in this. His mind was upon weightier matters. As he
+approached his employer, he bolted the remnants in a manner conducive
+neither to his present dignity nor future health.
+
+Obadiah endeavored to fix the shifting glance of his chauffeur with a
+piercing eye. "Ike," he demanded, roughly, "how did that accident
+occur?"
+
+"Yas'r, dat man come er speedin' down Secon' Street an' ran smack
+bang into dis yere caah. He dent it wid his haid," the chauffeur
+testified glibly.
+
+"Show me the dent!"
+
+Ike promptly indicated a slight depression in the body of the car above
+a rear fender.
+
+"You did that when you ran into a coal truck and smashed the fender."
+
+Ike was greatly astonished but admitted erroneous conclusions. "Ah mek
+er mistake. Dat man mus' er landed on de wheel den."
+
+"Don't make any more mistakes about this accident," the manufacturer
+rapped. "Virginia tells me that you were coming out Forest Avenue and
+that this fellow was going down Second Street."
+
+Ike considered this with care, that deception be eliminated. "Yas'r,
+Miss Virginny ain' mek no mistake, neither."
+
+Obadiah glared at his humble retainer. "He was on your right hand
+then?" he suggested.
+
+"Ah dis'remembers jes whar dat man cum f'om, Misto Dale. He cum so
+fas' it plum slip ma mind." Ike scratched his head thoughtfully. "It
+done gone f'om me."
+
+"He was going down Second Street towards the Court House and you were
+coming out home, weren't you?"
+
+"Yas'r, dat's jes de way o' it."
+
+"Then, he approached you on your right hand. He had the right of way."
+
+"Misto Dale, dat man done took all de way."
+
+"You know he had the right of way under the law," bawled Obadiah,
+provoked by the stupidity of his servitor.
+
+"Yas'r, dat's de law." A most flattering note of admiration for his
+employer's legal acumen crept into Ike's voice. "Misto Dale, yo'all
+sutinly knows de law."
+
+"Never mind what I know," roared Obadiah, thrusting compliments rudely
+aside. "If that fellow hit my car you must have been in his way."
+
+"No, sar, Ah was er gwine to hit 'im, 'ceptin' he dodge. He done cum
+so quick ah ain' seen 'im 'till he whar der. Yas'r."
+
+Puzzled at what he had unearthed, Obadiah sought illumination along other
+lines. "How fast was that fellow running, Ike, when he hit you?"
+
+The chauffeur lifted his eyes heavenward as if seeking inspiration. A
+crow winged its way slowly across the sky. He followed it critically as
+if using its speed as a measure for the estimate sought. "'Bout seventy
+seven mile er hour," he ventured.
+
+Obadiah boiled. "Seventy seven miles an hour on Second Street is
+absurd," he blurted. "It's too rough. A man would have to fly to do
+it."
+
+"Yas'r dat's hit. He was er flyin'. Jest er hittin' de high places."
+
+Obadiah scorched his menial with a look which should have reduced him
+to a cinder.
+
+Ike shifted uneasily under the unkind gaze of his indignant employer as
+he waited further interrogation.
+
+"How fast were you running?" Obadiah's tone was as warm as his aspect.
+
+Ike deemed it advisable at this point to make his statements general.
+"Ah drives cafful. Safety furst, dat's ma motta."
+
+"I have heard that nonsense of yours before. What I want to know,"
+Obadiah bleated in a high falsetto, "is, how fast were you going?"
+
+Again, Ike turned to the skies. Suddenly came a change. His doubtful
+demeanor disappeared. He met the stern countenance of his employer
+with a glad smile of confidence and assurance. To him, in the hour
+of need, had been vouchsafed a solution of his problem. "Miss Sereny,"
+he explained, with great satisfaction, "she done tell me not to drive
+no fas'er den er hoss an' ker'idge kin go. Dat's jes how fas' ah
+goes."
+
+Obadiah leaped into his car and slammed the door. "Take me to my
+office," he blazed.
+
+Ike obeyed him, running, it may be noted, at a speed well above that
+usually attained by the horses and carriages of Serena's fond
+remembrance.
+
+Obadiah entered his office yet much irritated by the recent examination
+of his chauffeur. "Jones," he shouted peevishly.
+
+"At your service, Sir," responded the ever courteous private secretary,
+ceasing his social plannings for the House of Dale, hurriedly, and
+leaving the bookkeeper sorely embarrassed in his labors, through the
+loss of the voucher from which he was working snatched away by Mr.
+Jones, and borne into the manufacturer's presence, as proof that his
+absence was due to zealous watchfulness of his employer's interests,
+rather than to personal motives.
+
+"Tell Mr. Wilkins that I want to see him."
+
+"Immediately, sir." Obadiah's voice demanded speed and Mr. Jones sped,
+bearing the bookkeeper's work away with him.
+
+In a moment the expeditious private secretary returned followed by
+Hezekiah Wilkins who passed on into Obadiah's room and closed the door.
+
+Obadiah was waiting behind a large desk in the center, and motioning to
+his legal adviser to be seated, made known his business in these words.
+"An embarrassing personal matter has occurred, Hezekiah, in which I
+must ask your assistance." The manufacturer chose his words with care.
+Diplomacy is necessary when asking corporation lawyers to attend to the
+minor concerns of life. "It is so small a matter, I hesitate to ask
+your advice."
+
+Mr. Wilkins was short and fat. His head was bald and his face
+intellectual. There was a glint of humor in his eyes which was very
+noticeable when he removed his nose glasses for purposes of
+gesticulation. His defective sight did not prevent him from casting a
+keen glance at his employer, meanwhile tapping upon his front teeth
+with the gold frame of his glasses. "Don't hesitate on my account,
+Obadiah." There was a shadow of a smile on the attorney's face.
+"I've done everything for you, but--" he intended to suggest as a
+pleasantry--"bail you out of jail," but after a second's
+consideration of his employer's grim countenance, he continued, "buy
+you a marriage license," as being less likely to affront a sensitive
+soul.
+
+Now, Obadiah Dale had never given a moment's consideration to a second
+marriage, and the thought that his attorney harbored inner suspicions
+of matrimonial designs upon his part interfered with the thread of his
+remarks. "What put that into your head?" he demanded, testily.
+
+"Put what?" The fat face of the lawyer reflected great innocence.
+
+"Marriage licenses," retorted Obadiah.
+
+"Oh," chuckled the attorney, and quite frankly for one of his
+profession, he confessed, "It just slipped out, I suppose."
+
+The mill owner gave Hezekiah a severe glance as if to warn him of the
+grave danger of slips of the tongue to one in his profession.
+
+This attention was lost, because the lawyer seemed greatly interested in
+the erection of a sign over the way.
+
+Finding looks unavailing, Obadiah reverted to his business. "A fellow
+on a motorcycle ran into my car this morning. He broke a leg and they
+took him to the hospital where he is now, I believe."
+
+"Who was to blame?" asked the attorney.
+
+"I can't tell," Obadiah replied crossly, as he remembered Ike's
+testimony. "I can't get a thing out of that fool chauffeur of mine.
+His story is absurd."
+
+"Were there witnesses?"
+
+"One, I think, besides my daughter."
+
+"What does she say?" Hezekiah tickled his chin with his glasses and
+examined the picture moulding as if it were something unique in that line.
+
+"I have not asked her, directly. I thought it inadvisable. I gather that
+she believes herself to blame because she told the chauffeur to hurry
+home."
+
+"Ahem," said the lawyer, resuming his dental tattoo with great spirit.
+"Who had the right of way?"
+
+"The motorcycle was approaching from the right," admitted Obadiah
+grudgingly.
+
+Hezekiah arose to his feet and moved around until he stood opposite to
+his employer. "Keep out of court, Obadiah," he warned him. "A jury
+will soak you in this kind of case. How far can I go in a compromise?"
+he concluded, perfunctorily.
+
+"I won't pay a cent," roared Obadiah, flying into a rage. "They
+can't bleed me."
+
+Hezekiah understood the manufacturer's mood. He paused for a minute and
+then continued very calmly. "How about a couple of hundred dollars and
+hospital expenses?"
+
+"No."
+
+"The fellow's hospital expenses?" There was a persuasive note in the
+lawyer's voice.
+
+"No!" Obadiah's face was flushed and set in its obstinacy.
+
+"The man may be poor. He may have dependents who will be deprived of
+the actual necessities of life. It could easily be that suffering and
+want would arise from this little case." There was a pleading note in
+Hezekiah's voice and almost a look of entreaty upon his kindly face.
+
+"I don't give a hang," snarled Obadiah. "That's their bad luck, not
+mine."
+
+Yet, the attorney waited, silently watching the angry manufacturer thrust
+papers from side to side of his desk.
+
+Finally he glanced up. His temper had worn itself out. "Fix it up for
+twenty-five dollars," he snapped. "That's my limit."
+
+Hezekiah shrugged his shoulders in frank disgust at the smallness of the
+sum named, nodded his head in recognition of his instructions and left
+the room.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+JOE PROVES INTERESTING
+
+
+The morning was beautiful. During the hours of darkness a shower had
+cleansed the great outdoor world with its gentle moisture. Now, in
+all of its new laundered freshness, the earth welcomed the warm rays of
+the rising sun, sweeping with millions of scintillating reflections
+through the air, clear and pellucid in its purity. The rays sparkled
+and glittered on the drops of moisture which clung to the grass blades
+and to the leaves. They gave warm caresses to the bushes and to the
+trees and from the upturned faces of the flowers, waving coyly and
+coquettishly, they stole sly kisses, until the blossoms blushed red and
+pink and hid their faces beneath the leaves for very shame.
+
+Down from the hills danced a gentle breeze, and, catching the naughty
+lovemakers, laughed merrily and rushed away to whisper the story in the
+branches of the trees. The birds overheard it and they laughed, too, and
+spread the news, the naughty gossips, in a cheery chorus of song.
+
+Then the world awakened and heard the laughter of the wind and the merry
+song of the birds and felt the caress of the sun and wise men threw
+back their shoulders and took deep draughts of the morning air and were
+happy, too.
+
+At the hospital, a nurse in her garb of white was humming softly as she
+moved about among the awakening patients, setting the ward in order. She
+stopped by a bed to remove a glass from the enameled table.
+
+A big, handsome fellow, arrayed in pink pajamas, opened a pair of black
+eyes beneath a mop of disheveled black hair and smiled up at her.
+
+"Good morning," she greeted him. "How are you this morning?"
+
+"Good--ouch!" An attempt to move was the cause of the peculiar response.
+
+She came to his assistance. "Isn't that better?"
+
+"Yes, thank you. I forgot about yesterday's troubles while I slept.
+How could I get so many sore spots when I only struck in one place?"
+he asked.
+
+The nurse laughed as she inspected his chart. "How's your head this
+morning?"
+
+"Sister--" he grinned good humoredly--"that dome of mine has
+completely recovered. I am healing from the top down."
+
+She raised a shade and a ray of sunshine flashed across the foot of his
+bed. "Isn't that better? It's a beautiful day."
+
+He rolled and twisted his eyes until he was able to get a glimpse of a
+bit of blue sky through the window. His face registered great regret.
+"What a day for a two or three hundred mile spin, sister," he mused.
+
+Again she examined his chart. "Say, Mr. Joseph Tolliver Curtis," she
+remonstrated sharply.
+
+"Those who love me call me Joe," he interrupted in a gentle voice as
+he watched with great interest and amusement the snap in her hazel eyes.
+
+She disregarded the brazen hint and proceeded to reprimand. "It's time
+for you to cut out this 'sister' business. I might stand for it once
+in awhile but you have a chronic case of it. You took a spin yesterday
+which is going to make us intimate acquaintances for some time."
+
+"Oh death, where is thy sting?" he interjected.
+
+Perfectly oblivious to his remark, she continued, "It will be better,
+particularly for you, if our acquaintance is a pleasant one. You will
+call me--Miss Knight--Mr. Curtis," she intimated with a grave dignity
+which the wayward blonde curls beneath her cap did not loyally support.
+
+"'Night, sable goddess, from ebon throne descends,'" he quoted with
+dramatic emphasis. "Do you furnish breakfast as well as lectures on
+behavior in this hospital?"
+
+She retired with great hauteur between smiling masculine eyes to the end
+of the ward. Suddenly, she whirled and waved her hand at the injured
+one, and, as if addressing an old and intimate friend, called, "You can
+have your breakfast in a minute, Joe."
+
+In his apartment above the garage at the Dale home, Ike was awakened by
+the shrill alarm of an electric bell rung from a button pressed by Serena
+in the comfort of her own bed. Thus he arose betimes of necessity, rather
+than from personal desire to salute the rising sun.
+
+Breathing deeply, the spirit of the morning entered into the chauffeur's
+veins as he watched a couple of fat robins enjoying a breakfast of
+elastic worms pulled from the moist earth. Lifting his voice in muffled
+song, he ran the big car out of the garage, and, opening its bonnet,
+reclined on the radiator and lazily looked at the engine.
+
+Like a high priestess veiled in clouds of incense while engaged in holy
+mysteries, Serena moved about her kitchen in the midst of appetizing
+odors, preparing coffee, frying ham and cooking waffles for the morning
+refreshment of the Dales. Now, as if such dainties were insufficient, she
+brought forth another skillet and put diverse parts of a fowl therein,
+and with skilled, fork-armed hand shifted them about until they sissled
+and hissed and fried.
+
+The morning breeze faintly wafted pleasing odors to Ike. They assailed
+his nostrils delightfully. He breathed yet a little deeper and sang
+yet a little louder. Closing the bonnet, he climbed into a seat that
+he might, in pleasant anticipation, rest from labor. Suddenly, there
+came to him a more delicious scent. He sniffed in disbelief that fate
+could be so kind, but his experienced olfactory nerves reassured him.
+In such matters, they could not err.
+
+"Chicken!" He sniffed and sought appropriate outlet for joy. With a
+roar which shook the early peace of the neighborhood as a salute of
+artillery, Ike raced the engine of the machine and in the midst of this
+diabolical furore, he sang a paean of joy.
+
+The uproar smote the calm of Serena's kitchen. She jerked with alarm,
+but the wisdom of years asserted itself. Rushing out on the stoop she
+fixed indignant eyes on the chauffeur. "You, Ike," she cried, "stop
+dat noise."
+
+He returned her words with a cheery smile of trust and confidence.
+Deafened by his own row, he judged that she desired speech with him. The
+engine slowed and the noise decreased until there could be distinguished
+the words of a ballad of strenuous love,
+
+    "Ah kissed 'er in de mouf
+    An' ah hugged 'er in de souf."
+
+"Ain' you know bettah an' to mek a noise dat a way, dis time in de
+mo'ning?" the irritated cook inquired.
+
+"Ah ain' mek no noise, Miss Sereny. Hit de _caah_," he made reply in
+pleasant tones. It would be folly to irritate unduly the custodian of
+the chicken lest the fowl be consumed before friendly relations could be
+reestablished. His black face was bathed in good humor as he went on.
+"Miss Sereny, ma hand an' ma foot done slip."
+
+That smile disarmed the cook. It was his strongest weapon, but Ike
+usually resorted to a sullen obstinacy which infuriated her, to his
+undoing. She glared at him for a moment and then his smile and the
+spirit of the morning claimed her. "You bettah watch you' step, den,"
+she returned, and their voices blended in a boisterous gust of laughter.
+
+Ike's salute to his favorite fowl awakened Virginia from her sleep
+with a start. Sitting up in bed, she cast a frightened glance about
+her pretty bedroom. For a moment she listened intently, drawn up in a
+little white heap on her bed, her blue eyes misty with dreams, peeping
+out from a frame of towsled hair. "It's Ike running the engine,"
+she decided.
+
+She gave a little yawn as she poked her feet into her slippers and
+ran over to a window. From it she could look, between the tops of two
+great elms, across the valley in which South Ridgefield lay to the
+top of a small hill upon which, bathed in the morning sun, stood the
+brick hospital building. Her eyes rested upon it, thoughtfully, and she
+took a deep breath of morning air. She began to sing happily as she
+turned to dress.
+
+Obadiah was shaving in his bath room. He used an old fashioned razor,
+the pride of his youth. His deep cut wrinkles made it a matter of
+care--almost a ceremony. Ike's disturbance nearly resulted in the
+amputation of a lip. Obadiah was peeved. Rushing to the window, he threw
+it open. He heard Serena's words of remonstrance and determined to
+dismiss Ike. He often did that.
+
+Suddenly the morning breeze played caressingly about him. He pulled his
+bath robe closer to him and slammed the window down. His face felt stiff
+where the lather had dried upon it. "Darn the luck," growled Obadiah.
+He washed his face, restropped his razor, reprepared his lather, and
+finally completed his shave by nicking his neck on his Adam's apple.
+"Dang it all," he howled. The world was ill using Obadiah and he
+resented it. He dressed slowly and from his bedroom window moodily
+viewed his beautiful grounds.
+
+Into his view danced Virginia, swinging a wide brimmed hat by its
+streamers and singing gaily as she made for a bed of sweet peas.
+
+Obadiah watched her, but the harsh lines upon his face did not soften
+nor the irascible look fade. He gave a grim nod when the girl discovered
+him and shouted a merry greeting.
+
+There was no one in the dining room when the manufacturer entered it that
+morning. He seated himself and began to eat his melon.
+
+The rich voice of Serena with all of its carrying power came in at the
+window, "Yo' all bettah git in yere mighty fas'. You' Daddy done eat
+up all de breakfus'."
+
+Then sounded the answering words of the girl, ringing silvery and sweet,
+"Ask Daddy to wait. I have some beautiful flowers for him."
+
+Serena was suddenly beset with internal mutterings and grumblings
+and broke into incoherent utterances. "Ah ain' got no time--no
+time--flowers--tell him dat--No siree--Ah ain' no fool." A few moments
+later she entered the dining room worrying aloud. "Dat chil' gwine be
+fo'ced to eat a col' breakfus. Ah caint keep grub hot all day."
+
+"She must learn to be on time at her meals," Obadiah scolded.
+
+Serena gave him a look of stern disapprobation. "Dat gal miss 'er
+breakfus er gittin' flowers fo' yo' all."
+
+Light feet ran through the hall and Virginia skipped into the room, her
+face flushed, her hair tossed and a bunch of sweet peas in either hand.
+
+Unexpectedly, two soft arms were about Obadiah's neck. He found his face
+buried in a mass of blossoms while girlish laughter in peals of delight
+rang in his ears.
+
+Virginia shifted her position to examine in mock solemnity the sober
+face of her father blinking from the mass of delicate colors. She gave a
+shout of amusement. "Daddy, you don't match very well." She shifted
+the bouquets about his face. "There, that is much better," she decided.
+"Don't you think so, Serena?"
+
+Obadiah sneezed.
+
+"God bless you," Virginia whispered.
+
+"Take those things out of my nose," protested Obadiah.
+
+"You look so beautiful," the girl giggled. "Doesn't he, Serena?"
+
+The colored woman watched the proceedings with great gravity. "Leave
+you' Daddy 'lone, chil'," she urged. "De breakfus gwine be ruined."
+
+Obadiah released himself from his daughter's embrace and the blossoms
+dropped in a glowing mass upon the table. "Eat your breakfast and stop
+this foolishness," he told her.
+
+"I'll eat anything you'll give me, Daddy dear. I am as hungry as a
+bear." She glanced at the clock. "It's late. I must hurry to get over
+to the hospital."
+
+"What for?" he asked in apparent surprise.
+
+"To see the man who was hurt yesterday. I spoke to you about it."
+
+"Yes, but upon reflection I think it inadvisable. You might catch some
+disease in a place like that. You must think of yourself."
+
+A look of disappointment came into her face. She ate in silence, the
+gayety of the morning swept away by his refusal.
+
+When breakfast was over, she followed him into the living room where he
+sank into a chair and devoted himself to his paper. Thinking deeply,
+she paused by the center table. Very quietly, she opened a drawer and
+took from it the book which had belonged to her mother. She caressed
+the little volume gently for a moment, a great tenderness in her eyes.
+Then she replaced it. Determination had driven disappointment from her
+face and there was a faint reflection of his obstinacy in her jaw when
+she went over and confronted her father. "Daddy," she commenced,
+very softly. "All your life you have been helping people--thinking
+of others. In your thoughtfulness for my health you wish to keep me away
+from the hospital. But, don't you see, I was to blame for that accident.
+It is my duty to help that man, if I can. I must go."
+
+Obadiah glanced over his paper at Virginia as she began to speak.
+Realizing that her words savored of rank rebellion, he reddened and
+glared at the sheet before him as if it contained a warning of the
+presence in his household of a serpent pledged to destroy its peace.
+"What--what--what's this?" he spluttered.
+
+"I can't allow your love to make a coward of me--turn me from my duty,
+Daddy."
+
+Obadiah blinked as he considered this mutiny. Judgment and experience
+warned him to control himself. Unpleasant differences in the past had
+not always resulted as he could have wished. There had been times when
+he had been forced not only to sue Virginia for peace but likewise to
+make abject overtures to that firmest of allies, Serena.
+
+Obadiah thought rapidly. Outside of moral suasion, modern opinion
+recognizes but few methods for the influencing of eighteen year old
+female insurgents. If Obadiah argued, he would get mad. In his dilemma,
+he surrendered, but not with good grace. "Well," he yielded sulkily,
+"if you feel that way about it, have it your own way." Scowling
+darkly, he flung his paper from him and departed for his office with
+asperity.
+
+From the porch Virginia waved him a last good bye. "Poor Daddy. He is so
+afraid that I will get sick," she thought, pensively, as she watched
+the disappearing car. But in a moment her good spirits returned and she
+hurried into the kitchen. Serena was forced to lay aside her work until
+the chicken was daintily arranged in a basket with other delicacies
+added by the old negress in reparation, possibly, for her weakness in
+yielding to Ike a small portion of the invalid's fare.
+
+Later that morning Virginia arrived at the hospital. Following the
+directions given her, she found herself standing in the doorway of a
+long room on the second floor. On each side of a center aisle ran a row
+of white bedsteads. The walls, painted a dull buff, were pierced by
+many windows and the linoleum in the aisle and the hard wood floor
+were waxed and polished until they shone. In this place, cleanliness,
+fresh air, and sunshine reigned.
+
+The beds were filled with pajama clad men. To the embarrassed young girl
+it was as if she had blundered into a man's bedroom, and impulsively
+she turned to flee.
+
+A cheery voice arrested her, and the nurse whom she had met in the
+reception room on the previous day greeted her. "I told you that I
+would meet you here." She smiled with a frank cordiality which instantly
+dissipated the visitor's embarrassment.
+
+Virginia knew now that she liked this young woman, even though she was
+a great tease, so she answered the smile with one of equal friendliness
+and told her, "It is nice to find someone I know"; but instantly she
+referred to the cause for her visit. "How is he?"
+
+"I think that we have his fever under control," laughed the nurse.
+
+"Now she is beginning to tease," thought Virginia. "I won't notice
+it."
+
+The nurse went on. "He is really getting along fine. If I were you I
+shouldn't give a moment's worry to that young man's health. Don't
+trouble to plan your remarks to him, either. He won't listen to them. He
+does most of the talking."
+
+The walk down the aisle between those beds, each with its pair of
+masculine optics, was a trial for the girl. It seemed miles. At last,
+safely by this gauntlet of inquisitive male glances, she found herself
+looking down into those same black eyes which had looked into hers
+for a second out on Forest Avenue. Then they were dazed with pain,
+now they were filled with friendly inquiry.
+
+The nurse, Miss Knight, was direct and explicit. "Joe," she announced,
+"this is the young lady who says that she put you here."
+
+Joe accepted this surprising remark as a matter of amusement which
+increased as the nurse went on.
+
+"Now she comes to soften the hard blows with tender words and kind
+attentions."
+
+Virginia blushed furiously. She thought Miss Knight's manner towards
+men distinctly common.
+
+A deep voice came from the bed. "I am very glad to meet you and be able
+to thank you for what I have been told you did for me, Miss Dale. That
+accident was my hard luck." He put his whole soul into his smile of
+welcome and the girl knew that she liked it.
+
+Having endeavored to relieve his guest's embarrassment, he turned upon
+Miss Knight, the greatly delighted cause of it, and adapted his manner
+and speech to her case. "Say, sister, blow. Blow while the breeze will
+toss you away. I haven't noticed any invitations for you to sit in on
+this peace conference."
+
+The nurse flared at his words, although his smile had tempered them.
+Drawing herself up, she made answer with great dignity.
+
+"You don't need to urge me not to hang around while your wounds are
+being dressed with soothing lotions. It's not necessary to hit me with
+an automobile to get me out of the way," she exclaimed with great
+sarcasm, and flounced away.
+
+"The gloom of night departs," he chuckled, and, turning dancing eyes
+upon his visitor, continued softly, "and now comes dawn."
+
+Virginia flushed again. "For all that you know, it may be stormy,"
+she retorted, astonished at her own glib tongue. The merry banter of
+the patient and nurse had surprised her. She had been taught that this
+sort of thing was vulgar. Yet, somehow, it didn't seem so dreadful.
+She suspected that she rather liked it and was troubled by this symptom
+of innate depravity. Now she became aware that those black eyes were
+studying her, and mischief gleamed in their depths.
+
+"Our meeting was very sudden yesterday," he laughed. "I didn't
+have a chance to give you my card. My name is Joseph Tolliver Curtis.
+Those who--" he hesitated and then went on--"are my friends, call me
+Joe." Happiness radiated from him. He was so good humored that it
+was contagious.
+
+The visitor beamed upon the patient. "My name is Virginia Dale," she
+explained.
+
+"I know it," he admitted, and then, with the manner of intense personal
+interest, he demanded, "Do your friends--your intimate friends--by any
+chance call you 'Virge'?"
+
+"I should say not." The girl's eyes flashed as she retorted, "They
+would hear from me."
+
+"By letter," he inquired, "or telephone?" In a moment he continued,
+"I have it. You will sing to them just as you are going to sing to me."
+
+"Sing to you?"
+
+"Of course you are going to sing to me. Every one who visits a hospital
+should sing. It was found wonderfully soothing to the patients in
+the big army hospitals during the war. After they had listened to
+the performers they were more contented to endure their suffering."
+
+"They would have died on the spot if I'd sung," she answered.
+
+They both laughed in the exuberance of their youth at their own nonsense
+until his injured ribs stopped him and she became very serious.
+
+"I came, today--" her manner was almost shy--"to tell you how sorry
+I am for that accident. It makes me unhappy to think of you suffering
+here through my fault."
+
+"How can you blame yourself? You had nothing at all to do with it," he
+declared with great earnestness.
+
+"I told our chauffeur to hurry," she explained, and then with finality,
+"if he hadn't, there would have been no collision."
+
+Again his injured ribs subdued his laughter. "If everybody had stayed
+off the street, I wouldn't have been hurt. That's your argument." He
+studied her face for a moment and then resumed. "Listen, I am going to
+tell you a secret. Promise never to tell."
+
+"Honest," she agreed.
+
+"I was running away over the speed limit. I must have been going forty
+miles an hour."
+
+Virginia became the custodian of his secret with great calmness and
+solemnly confessed, "We were running over the speed limit, too. Ike
+usually does. He knows that I enjoy going fast. The speed limit in this
+town is away too low, I think."
+
+"Yes," he concurred, "I wouldn't have been hurt worse if I had been
+running twice as fast. The point is, that we could both be arrested and
+fined for speeding."
+
+"They always arrest Ike," she explained with complacency. "He doesn't
+care a bit. He's used to it." Anxiety arose in her eyes. "Surely,
+they wouldn't arrest one as badly hurt as you?"
+
+"You don't know that judge." Joe spoke with experience. "If they
+brought a dying man into his court who had only fifty dollars to leave
+to his widow and children, that judge would take it from him for
+speeding. That is, if he rode a motorcycle."
+
+"Oh, the injustice of it. Doesn't he care for motorcyclists?"
+
+"No," asserted Joe with great forcefulness. "Nobody likes a
+motorcyclist."
+
+"I do," proclaimed Virginia, and then, after taking a moment to recover
+from the embarrassment of her own outspokenness, she continued, "It's
+not right. They are entitled to equal justice," as if enunciating a
+newly discovered truth.
+
+"Sure, they are entitled to it, but they don't get it. That's why I
+must keep quiet. My accident insurance will take care of my hospital
+bills and my job will keep."
+
+"Why don't you collect damages?" urged Virginia with great gravity.
+
+"From whom?"
+
+After a moment's consideration, she solved the legal problem. "From
+me--that is, from my father, for me."
+
+At the reference to her father a change came in the injured man. His good
+humor faded. "No," he said decidedly. "In the first place I wouldn't
+accept money from your father and in the second place he would not give
+any."
+
+"You don't know my father," she said with pride. "He is a very
+just man. Sometimes he's gruff and a little cross but he doesn't
+mean anything by that. He always wants to do the right and generous
+thing." Her face was alight with loyalty and admiration.
+
+"Does he?" There was a note of sarcasm in his voice which disappeared,
+and he said no more after he had read her eyes.
+
+She misinterpreted the change in him. "I have stayed too long," she
+worried. "You are tired." She remembered the chicken. "I brought you
+something." She put the plate of fowl beside him.
+
+He viewed it in joyous anticipation. "Fine," he shouted. "If there is
+one thing I love, it is fried chicken. How did you guess it?"
+
+She smiled at Miss Knight who had joined them. "A bird told me," she
+answered him.
+
+The nurse put her hands on her hips and viewed the visitor with marked
+suspicion at this remark, but, as if satisfied that her distrust was
+unfounded, she retired to the diet kitchen from which hearty laughter
+immediately thereafter resounded.
+
+"Good bye," she told him almost shyly.
+
+His good spirits had returned. "You and I are friends, and remember, we
+are always going to be friends."
+
+She nodded and said again, "Good bye, Mr. Curtis."
+
+"My friends call me Joe," he reminded her.
+
+Virginia hesitated, and then, "Good bye--Joe," she whispered and left
+the ward with a sweet little smile.
+
+In the hall Miss Knight rejoined her. "Before you go I want to show
+you something which is our pride and joy at the present moment," she
+explained to the girl. She opened a door and displayed a beautifully
+furnished room which glistened in its cleanliness.
+
+"It is very attractive, but why is the room different?" asked Virginia.
+
+The nurse pointed to a bronze tablet. It bore the name of the donor, one
+well known in South Ridgefield.
+
+"What a beautiful idea," the girl exclaimed.
+
+"Isn't it?" responded the nurse. "The gift includes not only the
+furniture but the endowment of the bed for five years." She laughed.
+"The man who gave it is ahead of the game. He was hurt in a railroad
+accident and was here for a couple of months. He sued the railroad
+company and collected more than enough from them to do this."
+
+Afterwards, by Virginia's express wish, she was taken to the nursery
+and permitted to hold a recently arrived guest in her arms, who
+happened at the moment to be awake. She was allowed to peek into the
+maternity ward with its beds filled with women, and her tour ended in
+the dispensary where she met Dr. Jackson and a nurse who were busily
+engaged in caring for the ailments of the sick babies the mothers
+brought in from outside. At last she left for home, and on the way
+she thought of this strange new world she had been shown in this big
+brick building, but principally she thought of a pair of black eyes that
+laughed and of the gross injustices to which down trodden motorcyclists
+were the victims.
+
+Later that afternoon, Miss Knight was very busy among the shining
+utensils in the diet kitchen when she was disturbed by another visitor.
+
+"I beg your pardon," said a voice, "but could you direct me to a
+patient? My name," he continued suavely, "is Wilkins--Hezekiah
+Wilkins." He wiped his bald head, and went on. "It's very warm
+today--extremely so."
+
+"Sure, it's warm," agreed Miss Knight, "and this electric heater
+makes it a darn sight warmer."
+
+Hezekiah intended to give the nurse a look of sympathetic understanding,
+but ended by giving her a friendly grin. "I comprehend your point of
+view," he added. "A trip to a pleasant resort would be more agreeable,
+don't you think?"
+
+Miss Knight viewed his words in the sense of a tentative invitation and
+considered the merriment in his eyes suspicious in one of his age. She
+froze and demanded with the utmost frigidity, "Whom do you wish to see?"
+
+Utterly innocent that he had all but persuaded this sophisticated nurse
+that he was one of those aged profligates of whom young women had
+best beware, Hezekiah drew forth an envelope upon which he had entered
+certain notes which he now found difficult to decipher, and told her.
+
+She led the way and the lawyer followed through the ranks of curious
+eyes. He vigorously mopped at his shining cranium and held his inverted
+panama before him as if taking a collection of errant drops of moisture
+that they might not mar the polished floor. This detracted from the
+dignity of Hezekiah's progress.
+
+Seating himself by Joe Curtis's bed, the attorney gazed at the youth
+for a few moments in polite curiosity.
+
+The motorcyclist returned the look with one of undisguised distrust.
+
+"My name is Hezekiah Wilkins," announced the lawyer when the mutual
+scrutiny had continued so long that it threatened to become embarrassing.
+"I have reasons to believe that I am speaking to Mr. Joseph Tolliver
+Curtis."
+
+"You've got me, Steve," responded Joe.
+
+"I've what?" inquired Hezekiah, much perplexed. Light dawned upon
+him. "Oh, yes--quite so--assuredly," he indulged in a soft chuckle.
+"I am dense at times. Slow might be better, eh?" Again he chuckled.
+"Slow for the rising generations, particularly--" he smiled genially
+at Joe--"when they ride motorcycles."
+
+Joe abated none of his vigilance. His policy was that of watchful waiting.
+
+"The day is very warm," continued Hezekiah, looking about the ward
+with interest. "This is a delightfully cool and pleasant place. You
+are to be congratulated upon having such comfortable quarters in which
+to recuperate."
+
+"Say!" Joe's voice was distinctly hostile. "Are you the advertising
+agent for this hospital?"
+
+Hezekiah's trained ear sensed unfriendliness abroad. He changed his
+manner of approach with the quickness of a skilled strategist. "Mr.
+Curtis," he went on briskly, "I represent Mr. Obadiah Dale. You have
+no doubt heard of him?"
+
+Joe nodded.
+
+"Your motorcycle ran into Mr. Dale's automobile yesterday," the
+lawyer resumed. "I do not come to seek compensation for the injury to
+his car. I am delighted, finding you as I do upon a bed of pain, to
+be upon a much pleasanter mission." Hezekiah smiled benignantly.
+"There was a witness to the accident. With some difficulty, I have
+located him and procured his statement. While it may be conceded that
+this person has no special skill or training in estimating the speed of
+moving vehicles, he is" (the attorney's manner expressed assurance)
+"prepared to testify that you were operating your machine at a speed
+in excess of that permitted by law." He paused as if awaiting an
+incriminating admission.
+
+"Go on," snapped Joe.
+
+Hezekiah continued with increased emphasis. "Assuming this to be true,
+it appears that you were entirely or in part responsible for the accident
+and the consequent damage to Mr. Dale's car and your own person."
+
+"Not on your life," cried Joe with great excitement. "I have a witness
+who says the Dale car was to blame for the accident and that it was
+exceeding the speed limit."
+
+"Surely." Mr. Wilkins chuckled. "There are always witnesses for both
+sides. My gracious, if this were not true how could we have law suits?
+It's the reputation of a witness for truth and veracity which counts
+in court, my boy."
+
+"I know it."
+
+"Admitting your witness," Hezekiah resumed with great cheerfulness,
+"the speed of your own machine is certain to be the subject of
+controversy. My client has no desire to enter into this. He waives
+it." Hezekiah likewise waved his glasses and then went on speaking
+much more rapidly as one hurrying to be rid of a task in which he has
+no heart. "My client not only waives your personal responsibility
+and the material damage suffered by him, but authorizes me, in his
+behalf, to tender you this check in the sum of twenty-five dollars to
+assist in the defrayment of your hospital expenses."
+
+Joe Curtis's eyes flashed with temper. "Obadiah Dale and his money can
+go straight to the devil," he roared, in a voice which startled the
+entire ward and made the lawyer jump.
+
+"Calm yourself, Sir," urged Hezekiah. "Undue excitement is injudicious
+in your physical condition. Bless my soul, there may be grounds for
+differences over the sum tendered, but I can see no reason for intense
+anger."
+
+Down the aisle came Miss Knight, stern of face. "Say," she demanded,
+"do you think that this is a livery stable, Joe? If you do, you had
+better wake up. That rough stuff doesn't go around here. Do you get me?"
+
+He gave her a most sheepish glance. "Sister," he began.
+
+The nurse's eyes flashed. "Must I speak to you again about that
+'sister' habit. I won't stand for it." She explained to the lawyer,
+"I not only have to nurse these men but I have to teach them manners,
+too."
+
+Before her righteous indignation, a great meekness descended upon Joe.
+"I am sorry, Miss Knight. I didn't mean to start a rough house, only
+I--got mad." He smiled at her.
+
+She surrendered to his humility and that smile. She adjusted his pillow
+and brushed the hair back from his eyes with her hand. "You are a bad
+boy, Joe. I am going to forgive you for this, but the next time you
+start anything, you will be punished." She shook a threatening finger
+at him. "Do you understand?"
+
+"Yes'm," he answered in the tone and manner of a naughty small boy.
+He rolled his head towards the lawyer. "I owe you an apology for losing
+my temper."
+
+"Never mind, my boy," said Hezekiah, who had viewed the calming of the
+storm with relief. "A gale clears the atmosphere. Plain speaking begets
+clear understanding." Resuming his glasses, the lawyer regarded the
+youth with great friendliness, and, after a moment, deemed it safe to go
+on. "You expressed yourself so--ah--" (he sought for an inoffensive
+term) "with such certainty of feeling that I assume that you have
+determined upon some measure of adjustment yourself."
+
+Again Joe Curtis's eyes flashed. "There can be no adjustment between
+Obadiah Dale and me," he answered coldly.
+
+"No?" Hezekiah's regret had the ring of sincerity. "In a friendly
+spirit towards you, my boy," he urged, "I would advise against the
+development of an hostile feeling towards Mr. Dale. He had no more to
+do with that accident than the man in the moon."
+
+"I know it," admitted Joe.
+
+"The institution of an action at law is an expensive proceeding. As a
+lawyer I warn you that the outcome would be extremely uncertain. Who can
+tell what a jury will do?" Hezekiah shook his head solemnly, thereby
+registering his grave doubts of the action of twelve men good and true.
+
+"Institute an action," repeated Joe, his eyes dancing with mischief.
+"Say, Uncle, when I sue that old skate, it sure is going to be some
+case."
+
+Hezekiah waxed indignant. This may have been due either to Joe's
+intimation of relationship to himself or to the opprobrious designation
+of his client as an old skate. "Don't mislead yourself," he exclaimed
+peevishly. "You will be thrown out of court."
+
+Joe ruffled visibly. "Who is going to throw me out of court?" he
+demanded. "Obadiah Dale?" Another idea struck him. He gave the lawyer a
+most threatening and pugnacious glance. "Maybe you think _you_ can
+do it?"
+
+Hezekiah's amazement at the suspicion that either he or his client
+contemplated physical violence upon this young giant, swathed in
+bandages, was extreme. "Gorry diamonds, you must be crazy," he
+gasped, and then the other's point of view came to him. He burst into
+a big booming peal of honest amusement, an infectious laugh which
+brought instant peace. "My friend," he chuckled, "you misunderstand
+me. I attempted to suggest that in view of the evidence which I can
+produce, a court would refuse to consider your claim."
+
+"Not with the witness I have," Joe insisted.
+
+"Well, what about this wonderful witness of yours?" chuckled Hezekiah,
+comfortable in the assurance of holding the master hand.
+
+"My witness" (the calmness of his voice did not quite conceal a note of
+exultation in it) "is Virginia Dale."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY
+
+
+In the Dale home, dinner was served in the middle of the day on Sunday,
+and Serena caused the meal to partake of the nature of a banquet.
+Abstemious in week day luncheons, Obadiah succumbed to the flesh pots
+on the seventh day and thereafter relapsed into slumber during digestion
+even as a boa-constrictor.
+
+He was sleeping off his Sunday engorgement in a porch chair. His head
+drooped awkwardly and he had slumped into his best clothes, while from
+time to time he choked and coughed and made weird noises. All about him
+lay the peace of a summer Sabbath broken only by the low hum of the bees
+gathering sweetness from the blooming honeysuckle vine near by. Only
+the energetic resisted the combined attacks of plenteousness and the
+somnolent afternoon.
+
+Virginia had not surrendered to the soporific tendencies of the hour.
+She had conversed with her father until made aware that, mentally
+speaking, he was no longer with her. Such knowledge is discouraging even
+to the most enthusiastic of female dialogists, and so, as the minutes
+passed, her words lost force and her sentences fire. Compelled to seek
+other fields of interest, the girl strolled aimlessly about the lawn
+until she came to the gate. The street looked cool and inviting beneath
+its arching elms and she moved down it slowly. She had almost reached
+the corner when a woman's voice sounded from an awning shaded porch,
+"Virginia, come here. Don't you pass my house without stopping." It
+was Mrs. Henderson.
+
+"Yes, Hennie, I'm coming. I was sure that you were taking a nap."
+The girl turned up a walk, bordered with blooming rose bushes, towards
+an old-fashioned house. "You are as busy as usual, I suppose?" she
+continued, after she had been affectionately greeted by her hostess.
+
+Mrs. Henderson nodded. No other woman in South Ridgefield gave as much
+of her time and, proportionately, of her wealth to help others as did
+this strangely constituted widow. Hers was a frank nature, given to the
+expression of its views without regard to time or place. She had the
+faculty of so phrasing her remarks that they cut their victim cruelly
+and convulsed her hearers. So, respected for her innate goodness, and
+feared for her sharp tongue, Mrs. Henderson had many acquaintances
+but few friends. She was judged in the light of a magazine of high
+explosives, dangerous to those near, but likely to blow up if left
+without attention. Many were her friends because they were afraid not
+to be, but there were those who appreciated her character. Strangely,
+these were they who had waged mighty battles with her, to emerge from
+strife her devoted adherents. Having felt her sting, they dubbed her
+harmless as a dove, delighting in her intimate companionship. Such a one
+had been Virginia's mother.
+
+But Obadiah had no place in this category. Soon after the death of his
+wife, Mrs. Henderson had discovered that a girl who worked in his mill
+was sick and in dire want. She asked him to assist the sufferer, but,
+to her surprise, the mill owner refused. Thereupon, Mrs. Henderson,
+without mincing words, expressed her opinion of him. Also, she repeated
+her remarks to a friend.
+
+Obadiah's legs were thin, and under stress of excitement he pitched
+his voice high. When it became known that Mrs. Henderson had likened the
+mill owner, to his face, to a mosquito sucking blood from his employees,
+the whole town laughed. The tale spread to his mill, during a time of
+labor unrest, and a cartoon portraying the manufacturer as a mosquito
+hovering about emaciated workers was circulated.
+
+A strike followed in which the employees were successful and Obadiah
+never forgave Mrs. Henderson for giving a weapon to his opponents.
+Yet, strangely enough, he had never attempted to interfere with her
+friendship for his daughter. Possibly, knowing the widow, he feared that
+she would openly defy him, and, abetted by Serena, carry the war into his
+own house, to the greater enjoyment of his fellow townsmen.
+
+As Mrs. Henderson welcomed Virginia, she was thinking of other things
+than Obadiah. She was filled with amusement and gave vent to laughter.
+"Dearie, how on earth did you get mixed up with that minstrel parade? I
+never dreamed that my little girl would startle this town." Again the
+widow gave way to merriment. She was thinking of a group of women she
+had caught discussing with great unkindness the outcome of the girl's
+efforts to make the pickaninnies happy. Hennie's championship of her
+favorite had been unusually vigorous, and the endeavors of the critics
+to reverse themselves had resembled a stampede.
+
+"We had nothing to do with the parade," Virginia told her. "We
+followed it so that the orphans might enjoy the music. As we had nearly
+frightened them out of their wits, I took them for a ride to make up."
+
+"I heard how you came to take the orphans for a ride. I could understand
+that, but the minstrel part puzzled me," Mrs. Henderson's amusement
+faded into seriousness. "That ride idea is a splendid one. It would
+add so much to the happiness of those children." She continued, "I
+have been on the Board of that Home for years. There are so many
+things to be done over there and so little to do with. No one is
+particularly interested in the place. We must find some way, though,
+to arrange rides for those orphans now that you have started things
+going."
+
+Virginia was instantly fired with great enthusiasm. "I'll take them
+out each week, myself," she promised.
+
+Mrs. Henderson smiled. "We can't allow you to continue to excite too
+much interest in this town."
+
+The girl disregarded the objection. "But I started it, Hennie."
+
+"That is very true, but you can't expect your father to let you use
+his fine car for those children. Anyway, it is not necessary to bother
+about that, because it is entirely too small. We need a truck. Something
+in which movable seats can be placed."
+
+"Like those at the mill? Why not ask Daddy for one of them?" suggested
+Virginia.
+
+"They would be the very thing," Mrs. Henderson admitted, but she shook
+her head hopelessly. "Your father would never let you have one of them.
+We must look elsewhere."
+
+"Oh, yes, he will, Hennie," Virginia assured her with great confidence.
+The widow's doubting eye moved the girl to remonstrate, "You don't
+know him at all. I think that it is the strangest thing, that you have
+been my father's neighbor all of these years and don't understand him
+better."
+
+Mrs. Henderson displayed sudden stern-eyed interest in a flower bed upon
+her lawn, and the toe of her shoe softly tapped the floor of the porch.
+
+The girl leaned towards the older woman, her face aglow with pride
+and admiration, as she searched for some acknowledgment of her words.
+"Daddy is so noble and so good," she explained in a voice modulated by
+tenderness. "He spends all of his time thinking about other people."
+
+The lines of Mrs. Henderson's mouth relaxed, and the tempo of the
+tapping toe slowed. Her eyes twinkled merrily.
+
+"Isn't it wonderful, Hennie?" and Virginia looked up to a face for a
+moment puzzled.
+
+"Very wonderful, child," responded the widow, and Virginia never
+dreamed that there was a delicate note of sarcasm in the voice. Leaning
+forward, Mrs. Henderson clasped the girl's hand. "Your father is a
+lucky man to have such love and affection," she said, and then as
+though thinking aloud, she murmured, "I hope that he appreciates it."
+After a pause she returned to the subject of the orphans with great
+vigor. "Some one in this town must loan us a truck. That is all there is
+about it."
+
+"Let Daddy do it. He will love to."
+
+The hopeful enthusiasm of the girl was lost upon the older woman. "Well,
+it will do no harm to give him the opportunity," she conceded dryly;
+"but I wouldn't count on it too much if I were you." Suddenly, she
+remembered something. "Dear me, I almost forgot it. I must run over to
+the Lucinda Home a minute. You come along, dear," she urged.
+
+"Hennie, I can't. I haven't a hat. I am not dressed to go out."
+
+Mrs. Henderson smiled. "It doesn't make any difference what you wear
+over there. Most of the old ladies are so nearly blind that they can't
+tell what you have on."
+
+So Virginia agreed to go, and, as the distance to the institution was
+short, in a few minutes they entered the grounds.
+
+The Lucinda Home for Aged Women occupied a large brick building. A
+triple-decked porch, supported by posts and brackets of ornamental iron
+work covered the entire front of the edifice and afforded delightful
+resting places from which to view the beautiful grounds.
+
+The two women ascended the steps to the lower porch. On either side of
+the entrance stretched a line of chairs occupied by old ladies. They
+rocked and fanned and stared across the grounds with dulled, unseeing
+eyes, as if watching and waiting for something.
+
+The afternoon light flashed against the spectacles. It brought out the
+snow of the moving heads. It showed the deep carved lines of age and it
+disclosed the hands, knotted and toil worn.
+
+Once these faces were soft and full; these eyes snapped with health and
+joy. Love showered its kisses. The world showed wondrously beautiful
+in the tender light of romance and the voice of hope rang clear and
+strong. Came babies for these hands to fondle and caress, and tiny
+forms to be upheld as little feet struggled in first steps upon the
+rough and hilly path. Noble deeds of unselfishness gleamed in the
+shadowed lives of these women as they battled with the adversities
+which all who live must face. Slowly their beauty faded; their eyes
+no longer sparkled; their hands were red and hard. Little ones grew
+into men and women and went away, filled with hope and proud in their
+strength, leaving loneliness behind. Through the years, a shadow,
+almost indiscernible to youthful eyes, drew ever closer. One by one,
+they had seen friends and loved ones pass behind the black veil, until
+they were alone in a world, cold, loveless, without hope, waiting----
+
+Waiting. Yes, waiting--slowly rocking and fanning--living anew the past,
+and peering out into the sunshine as if they sought with their poor eyes
+to glimpse the approach of that enfolding shadow of mystery.
+
+The visitors paused for a moment at the entrance, sobered by the tragedy
+of age. Near them, an old woman became suddenly active. The sweep of her
+chair increased as she glanced at Virginia. She stopped and whispered to
+her neighbor.
+
+This aged one started, as if awakened from slumber, and she, too,
+inspected the girl. Then, she placed her lips by the ear of her deaf
+companion and in a shrill voice of great carrying power, cried, "Powder
+makes her look pale. They all use it nowadays." She stopped for breath
+and screamed, "Her dress is too short. Her mother ought to have better
+sense than to let her run around that way."
+
+Luckily for the embarrassed girl, at this moment Mrs. Henderson led her
+into the reception room and left her to regain her composure while she
+transacted her business with the matron in an adjoining room.
+
+The remarkable quiet which reigned in this home of age oppressed
+Virginia, so that when Mrs. Henderson returned with the matron, she
+cried, impulsively, "Oh, Hennie, I am glad that you are back. This
+place is so still that it is lonesome."
+
+Mrs. Henderson turned to Mrs. Smith, the matron. "That is what I have
+always said," she argued. "The old ladies like it quiet, but we overdo
+it here. The place is a grave. We should have more entertainment." She
+looked questioningly at the girl. "What do you think should be done,
+child?"
+
+Virginia's blue eyes were very serious as she answered, "I hardly
+know--almost anything which would make it happier. It needs something
+to stir it up," she ended impulsively.
+
+The older woman laughed and Mrs. Henderson put her arm about the girl's
+waist, and suggested, "You have nothing on your hands, child. Why can't
+you arrange some sort of an entertainment for these elderly women?"
+
+"Oh, I couldn't," she demurred shyly.
+
+"Certainly you can, you are quite old enough to undertake the task of
+making these old people happier for an afternoon."
+
+Into the girl's mind came a remembrance of her birthday gift. "I will
+be glad to do it, Hennie," she agreed with great seriousness.
+
+They paused at Mrs. Henderson's gate as they returned from the Lucinda
+Home. "Won't you come in, dear?" urged the older woman.
+
+The girl, dreamily engaged in planning marvelous but impossible
+entertainments for the stirring up of the old ladies, did not hear.
+
+"Come and have tea with a solitary somebody?" the widow begged the
+girl wistfully. "You think that the Lucinda Home is lonesome, but
+don't forget that an old lady who loved your mother and who loves
+you is lonesome, too."
+
+"Dearest Hennie, you haven't the slightest idea of what loneliness
+is." Virginia smiled sweetly at the older woman and kissed her. "I
+would enjoy taking tea with you but I must not forget my father. Probably
+all afternoon he has been making plans to help the people who work in his
+mill. I think he is so like my mother--always trying to make other people
+happier. You loved her, Hennie, and you know him. I want you to help me
+to be unselfish like them."
+
+During this recital, Mrs. Henderson underwent a severe test in
+self-repression, the high praise of Obadiah's disinterestedness
+nearly causing severe internal injury. There was yet an ominous flash
+in her eye as she bade the girl farewell.
+
+Virginia found her father awaiting her. His digestive organs were
+protesting by certain unpleasant twinges, against the extra work he had
+forced upon them.
+
+"Where have you been?" he demanded of her sharply.
+
+She dropped into the chair by his side. "At Mrs. Henderson's, Daddy."
+
+"You left me alone," he complained.
+
+"You went to sleep and I was so lonesome, Daddy dear."
+
+"That makes no difference. You should not have left me. You have the
+week days to yourself. I ought to have your Sundays."
+
+"Oh, I am sorry that I was so thoughtless," Virginia reproached
+herself, with a suspicion of tears in her eyes.
+
+"Yes, you were thoughtless," Obadiah grumbled. "You must learn to
+think of others. Don't get teary. That always disturbs me."
+
+Virginia was engaged in a battle to keep back her tears when the notes of
+a ragtime melody resounded through the calm of the Sabbath evening. Ike
+approached. The gorgeousness of his apparel eliminated every variety of
+lily, except the tiger, from consideration. His suit was of electric
+blue. His shirt was white, broadly striped with royal purple, and it
+peeped modestly from beneath a tie of crimson. His hat was straw,
+decorated with a sash of more tints than the bow of promise.
+
+Ike was happy. He had loitered through the afternoon before the meeting
+house of his faith, impressing the brethren and the sisters with the
+magnificence of his attire. He deemed it, socially speaking, to have
+been a perfect day.
+
+It was now his intention to partake of refreshment before returning
+again into the shadow of the sacred edifice, not then, however, to give
+pleasure to the faithful in general, but rather for the special and
+particular delight of an amber hued maiden who at the moment held his
+flitting fancy.
+
+Filled with pleasant anticipations and in cadence with his melody, Ike
+approached the house.
+
+Obadiah arose hastily as the sweet tones struck his ear and awaited the
+arrival of the musical one at the edge of the porch.
+
+At the sight of the gaunt form of the manufacturer, a dulcet timbre
+departed from Ike's performance and as he approached, the volume of
+sound diminished in proportion to the square of the distance. Opposite
+the mill owner it ceased.
+
+"Good evening Misto Dale." The voice was humbly courteous.
+
+Disdaining the kindly salutation of his hireling, Obadiah made outcry.
+"I want the car. Get the car," he commanded.
+
+Ike halted.
+
+These were portentous words. The Dale car was not often used on the
+seventh day. Ike himself was opposed to the Sunday riding habit.
+Assuming a confidential attitude towards his employer as if imparting
+a secret of moment, he intimated, "Ah ain' got no confidence in dat
+lef' han' hin' tiah, Misto Dale, a tall."
+
+Obadiah glared at the tasty garb of his minion with disgust, and flew
+into a rage. "I pay you to put confidence in that tire," he bleated.
+
+"Yas'r, yas'r," Ike surrendered hurriedly. "Ah gwine pump er li'l
+aiah in dat tiah. Dat fix 'im."
+
+When Ike, shorn of his finery, returned with the car, Virginia, in
+obedience to an abrupt invitation from her father, was prepared to
+join him for the ride.
+
+Obadiah's conscience did not usually trouble him; but today, as the
+machine started and he settled himself by his daughter, it struck him
+that she seemed unusually pale. He could not well overlook, either,
+the note of sadness which had played about the girl's mouth and eyes
+since his remarks to her. These things made Obadiah uncomfortable. His
+explosion at Ike had acted as a counter-irritant to his indigestion,
+and he felt relieved.
+
+They passed a woman driving a pretty runabout. In times of great good
+feeling Obadiah had avowed his intention of purchasing Virginia a light
+car which she could drive herself. However, it took direct affirmative
+action to persuade the mill owner to open his check book even for his
+own family; and, as Virginia had been contented with the big car and Ike
+to drive it, nothing had ever come of the intention.
+
+"Did you notice that runabout?" Obadiah inquired. "How would one of
+that type suit you?" If he could get Virginia to chatter along as usual,
+he could enjoy his evening.
+
+"Oh, I'd like it," she exclaimed. The girl was thinking rapidly. Not
+for nothing was she Obadiah's daughter when it was necessary to take
+advantage of a situation. "I thought that you had given up the idea of
+getting me a car, Daddy."
+
+"No, indeed. It seemed to me that you were not particularly interested
+in one." He shrewdly placed the responsibility for delay upon her.
+
+"I am _now_. More so than ever," Virginia declared. "I wasn't sure
+before what kind of a car I wanted. Now I know."
+
+"Well?" Obadiah's enthusiasm in the proposed purchase had cooled as
+hers increased.
+
+She squeezed his arm up against her and announced breathlessly, "I want
+a truck, Daddy."
+
+"A truck!" Obadiah viewed his daughter as if he deemed the immediate
+attentions of an alienist essential in her case. "What on earth would
+you do with a truck?"
+
+"I need it to take those colored orphans out for a ride each week," she
+explained, full of the plan. "I am going to have benches made to fit on
+each side of the truck so that it will take them all comfortably. Isn't
+it a fine idea?"
+
+Obadiah, dumfounded for the moment, regained speech and sought
+information as one who had not heard aright. "Do you mean to say that
+you want me to buy a truck to haul those negro children around town?"
+
+"Yah--yah--yah." Upon the front seat, Ike so far forgot the proprieties
+of his station that he gave vent to noisy merriment at the domestic
+perplexities of gentlefolk.
+
+"Keep your mind on your business," Obadiah commanded, glaring at his
+chauffeur's neck.
+
+Virginia, disregarding the _faux pas_ of the chauffeur and its condign
+reproof, proceeded to explain her plans. "We have decided, Daddy, that
+those orphans must be taken for a ride every week."
+
+"Who has decided that?"
+
+"Hennie and I have worked it all out."
+
+"What has that woman got to do with it?" he snapped. "Does she expect
+me to buy trucks to haul all the negro children in town on pleasure
+trips?"
+
+Violent paroxysms beset Ike and bent him as a sapling in a gale.
+
+Obadiah's eyes glared at the black neck as if, discharging X-rays, they
+might expose the chauffeur's malady.
+
+Heedless of disturbing influences, Virginia went on, "Hennie thought
+that this car was too small. She felt that it would be better to get a
+truck which would carry all the orphans than to use this."
+
+"Indeed!" interjected Obadiah.
+
+"I suggested to her that I would get you to loan us a truck from the
+mill; but Hennie said that she was sure that you wouldn't let us have
+it."
+
+"Ahem--ahem," choked the mill owner, getting red in the face.
+
+"I told her that I knew you would be glad to let us have it because you
+did so love to help people," explained Virginia with great pride.
+
+Obadiah shifted uneasily in his seat. "What did she say?"
+
+"Hennie said that she wished me success."
+
+Obadiah relaxed as one relieved from strain.
+
+Sensing the change in him, Virginia cuddled up to her father full of
+happiness and contentment as if the purchase of the truck was settled.
+"Isn't it sweet, Daddy dear," she murmured gently, "within an hour
+after I talked to Hennie you offer to buy me a car? Of course, you
+don't care, so long as I am satisfied, whether I choose a runabout or a
+truck." She took his hand and held it in her own, pressing it.
+
+Obadiah appeared greatly interested in something upon the skyline.
+
+"A truck," Virginia continued thoughtfully, "especially a fine large
+one such as we would need--" Obadiah flinched--"would be in the way.
+Our garage wouldn't hold it and Serena would object to it being left
+in the yard." She arrived at a sudden determination. "Choose, Daddy,
+whether you will buy me a truck or loan me one from the mill."
+
+Obadiah's response was not delayed. "You had better use a mill truck,"
+he agreed with a sigh which might have been of relief.
+
+"Thank you, Daddy. I can hardly wait to tell Hennie," she exclaimed,
+highly delighted at the outcome of her efforts.
+
+Obadiah leaned towards his chauffeur. "Ike," he ordered, "you get the
+new truck down at the mill, the first thing in the morning. Run it out
+to Mrs. Henderson's house. Make all the row around her place you wish.
+Tell her," Obadiah continued, "that it is there by my instructions, to
+take those negro orphans riding." He paused. "Ike," he resumed more
+forcibly, "don't you forget the noise."
+
+"Yas'r," promised Ike with happy smiles of anticipation.
+
+"That will be a dandy joke on Hennie," giggled Virginia. "Go very
+early, Ike."
+
+They were following a boulevard which now brought them to the Soldiers'
+Home. Its fine buildings and large acreage were matters of great pride
+to South Ridgefield. As they approached the central group of edifices,
+they heard music.
+
+"Let's stop for the band concert," suggested Virginia.
+
+Obadiah, much relieved physically and mentally from recent disquietude,
+was unusually complaisant. "Drive in, Ike," he directed.
+
+They turned into a broad, paved road which followed the sides of a square
+about which were located the principal buildings of the institution.
+It bounded a tree shaded park with a band-stand in the center. Walks
+radiating to the sides and corners of the square were lined with benches
+occupied by veterans in campaign hats and blue uniforms, smoking,
+chatting, and enjoying the music.
+
+The inner edge of the roadway was lined with automobiles full of
+visitors. Ike stopped upon the opposite side, in front of the quarters
+of the Commanding Officer.
+
+Hardly had they paused when a tall, fine looking man of a distinctly
+military bearing, despite his white hair, hurried out to meet them.
+
+"Mr. Dale," he greeted the manufacturer in a big booming voice, "I
+am glad to welcome you to the Home."
+
+Obadiah genially returned the salutation of Colonel Ryan. That officer,
+being a man of rank, in charge of the Soldiers' Home, with power of
+recommendation in government purchases, was one whose acquaintance it was
+wise for even wealthy mill owners to cultivate.
+
+When presented to Virginia, the Colonel bowed deeply. "I want you to
+come up to the house and meet Mrs. Ryan," he urged. "You can hear
+the music more comfortably there. I am proud of my band. They are old
+fellows like you and me, Dale, but give them a horn and they have lots
+of musical 'pep' left."
+
+Mrs. Ryan met them at the head of the porch steps. "You have often heard
+me speak of Mr. Dale," the Colonel, discreetly noncommittal as to his
+manner of speaking, reminded her.
+
+"Oh, yes, and I have heard of you, too." She smiled at Virginia and
+explained to Obadiah, "I happen to have a good friend in that splendid
+Mrs. Henderson, your neighbor."
+
+The mill owner received this information with little enthusiasm, but,
+learning that Mrs. Ryan was a victim of rheumatism, he advocated the
+use of a liniment prepared by his father and applied with remarkable
+results to both man and beast. Obadiah was hazy upon the mixture's
+ingredients but was clear upon its curative qualities. Mrs. Ryan evincing
+marked interest, the manufacturer entertained her with the intimate
+details of miraculous recoveries.
+
+Neither Virginia nor the Colonel being rheumatic, they failed to give
+Obadiah's discourse the rapt interest of a true brother in pain. Their
+attention wavered, wandered and failed, and the band played a crashing
+air; but the rheumatic heeded not.
+
+All hope of a general conversation having departed, the Colonel praised
+his band to Virginia. "Every man in that organization is over sixty
+years old," he bragged. "They get as much pleasure out of playing as
+their audience does from their concert. It's a great band."
+
+"They _do_ play well," the girl agreed. "I don't wonder that you are
+proud of them. I love a brass band, myself. You do, too, Colonel Ryan.
+I can tell by your face, when they play."
+
+The Colonel grinned boyishly. "Yes," he admitted, "I think a band is
+one of humanity's boons. I can't get close enough to one, when they
+are playing, to satisfy me. I have to have some sort of an excuse to do
+that, now-a-days--you'll do fine--let's go nearer."
+
+The medical lecture was disturbed, that the audience might nod
+understandingly to its husband, as they departed.
+
+The Colonel chatted gaily. In the presence of a pretty woman he was a
+typical soldier. About them were the benches filled with the white headed
+veterans, as they entered the square. But a few years and these had
+been the fighting men of the country--its defence--playing parts modest
+or heroic on a hundred half forgotten battle fields. Now, they, too,
+bowed with age, rested in their years, and waited--waited calmly, as
+true soldiers should, with the taste of good tobacco upon their lips
+and the blare of martial music in their ears, the coming of the ever
+nearing shadow.
+
+"Why have I never heard this band down town, Colonel Ryan? It is a
+shame when they play so beautifully. Do they charge for concerts?"
+asked Virginia, as an idea developed behind the blue eyes.
+
+"People want young and handsome men to play for them if they pay for
+it," laughed Colonel Ryan. "So my old codgers don't get many chances
+of that sort."
+
+"Who has charge of the band?" Virginia's manner meant business.
+
+The Colonel loved a pretty face. He was enjoying himself. "Do you want
+to object to the leader about his interpretation of a favorite air?"
+
+"Don't tease, Colonel Ryan," she protested. "I want to know who has
+authority to make engagements for the band. Please be serious."
+
+"You frighten me into submission, Miss Dale. Do you wish to engage the
+band?"
+
+"I do, Colonel Ryan." The girl's voice was almost imploring.
+
+He looked down into the depths of the pleading eyes. Never in his long
+life had he refused a pretty woman anything, and it is doubtful if he
+could have done so. Yet, he desired to prolong the pleasure of the
+moment. "May I ask, without undue curiosity, for what purpose you desire
+the organization?"
+
+"I want them to give a concert for the old ladies at the Lucinda Home,"
+she explained.
+
+Colonel Ryan choked. He recovered himself quickly. Military training is
+of value in difficult moments.
+
+"I was over there this afternoon, Colonel Ryan. The place was so
+lonesome that I thought it needed some excitement. They asked me to
+give an entertainment. Your band would be the very thing. It plays so
+loud that even the deaf ladies could hear."
+
+He who had borne the burden of a regiment of men bowed sympathetically,
+but his face and neck displayed symptoms of apoplexy.
+
+"The Lucinda Home is a graveyard, Colonel Ryan. When I see all of these
+old men sitting around and talking and smoking while the band plays
+lively airs to them, it makes me sorry for those women. I should love to
+live here. But I should die over there. It is dreadful to be lonesome."
+
+Colonel Ryan agreed with great gravity.
+
+Virginia waxed forceful. "Those old ladies should be made as happy as
+these soldiers," she argued. "Isn't a woman as good as a man, Colonel
+Ryan?"
+
+The Commandant by his silence refused this challenge to a discussion upon
+woman's rights.
+
+"Those old ladies should have everything that these men have,"
+maintained the girl, with great emphasis.
+
+"Including tobacco?" suggested the Colonel solicitously.
+
+"Of course not." Blue eyes snapped indignantly.
+
+The boyish look was back in the Colonel's face. "I only wanted to be
+sure," he explained soberly. "It has a very important place here."
+
+"Oh, Colonel Ryan, you will joke, and I am so in earnest." Her eyes
+were dark and tender and a soft pink flushed her cheeks. "A concert at
+the Lucinda Home would be a wonderful thing if I could get your band."
+
+"You can," the Colonel promised, laconically, "and it won't cost
+you a cent." He became enthusiastic, "It will be a fine treat for
+the old ladies and my boys will enjoy it, too. I'll have to warn the
+old rascals about flirting," he chuckled. "They think that they are
+regular devils among the ladies. I think that I will have to come along
+myself to keep the old boys from breaking any ancient hearts."
+
+"Will you come, Colonel Ryan?"
+
+"Surely. You may count on me. Are there to be refreshments?"
+
+"Why--yes!" She had never given a thought to them before, and when she
+considered the food that it would take it almost frightened her.
+
+"My old boys can eat as well as ever, particularly if it is soft stuff.
+That band has less teeth than any similar organization in the world. It
+is the toothless wonder," chuckled the Colonel. "Be sure that you have
+plenty to eat."
+
+As they ascended the steps of the Colonel's porch, Virginia warned him,
+"Don't mention the concert to my father. I want to surprise him."
+
+They found that Obadiah had exhausted his praises of the marvelous
+liniment. Mrs. Ryan was now talking, and, though the subject-matter
+was the same, the mill owner was not a reciprocal listener. He felt that
+an immediate departure for home was necessary.
+
+The Dale car rolled away from the Soldiers' Home, leaving the Commanding
+Officer standing, hat in hand, upon the curb. A broad smile broke over
+his face. "A band concert at the Lucinda Home," he chuckled. "You
+might as well give one out in the cemetery." His face softened. "Bless
+her heart," he whispered, as he turned back towards his house.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+HEZEKIAH HAS A SOLUTION
+
+
+Mr. Jones had finished transcribing Obadiah Dale's morning dictation and
+awaited a fitting moment to place the letters before the manufacturer to
+receive his signature. Meanwhile, he smoked a cigarette and, with his
+face sadly distorted on account of the smoke, manicured his nails with
+his pocket knife.
+
+This important part of a gentleman's toilet would gladly have been left
+by Mr. Jones to a professional manicurist, because of the more skilled
+attention and the valuable social privileges attached to such services,
+had not the chronically depleted condition of his purse demanded the
+exercise of rigorous economy.
+
+In the glare of the pendant bulb, Kelly was engaged artistically in the
+preparation of a crude but libelous cartoon of the stenographer.
+
+A moment of rest and mental relaxation had descended upon the personal
+staff of Obadiah. His hive of commercial industry had, for the moment,
+ceased to buzz. Suddenly, the hall door was thrown open. Mr. Jones
+suffered a severe laceration from the point of his own blade. Even
+the artistic soul of Kelly was shaken by the abrupt intrusion.
+
+Hezekiah Wilkins entered. His manner was hurried. Not as a messenger
+bearing joyous news of great triumphs, but rather as an emissary charged
+with intelligence of bitter flavor, who desires to get rid of it, that
+he may turn to happier matters.
+
+Having been courteously advised by the bleeding outer guard that the
+manufacturer was not engaged at the moment, Hezekiah entered the inner
+citadel. Obadiah was reading a voluminous mass of typewritten pages
+which he laid aside at the coming of his attorney. Waving the lawyer to a
+chair, he intimated that he awaited the further pleasure of his legal
+adviser.
+
+Seating himself, Hezekiah shoved both of his feet as far in front of him
+as his short legs would permit. He studied the aspect of his shoes thus
+presented, as if he had never before appreciated their beauty.
+
+"Well?" Obadiah spoke curtly.
+
+"I wish to discuss the matter of that young man in the hospital. Curtis
+is his name--I think."
+
+"All right," Obadiah agreed.
+
+Hezekiah placed his palms together and gazed upwards as if in pious
+meditation upon the words which he was about to utter.
+
+Obadiah viewed the attitude of his adviser with disapprobation. "Go
+ahead," he urged roughly. "Don't take all day."
+
+The lawyer gave his employer a look of reproof. "It is very important,"
+he announced with great calmness, "that legal matters be accurately
+presented so that the facts deduced shall afford a sound basis for
+correct judgment when appearing in court." Hezekiah explained with
+dignity. "I have found that a moment given to the correct logical
+presentation of facts tends to expedite a just solution of perplexing
+questions." As he ceased speaking, he appeared to drift away into a
+condition of deep cogitation under the very eyes of his employer.
+
+Before this display of profound thought, Obadiah was helpless. Properly
+chastened, he awaited in patience the outcome of the mental processes of
+his learned subordinate.
+
+After a period in which no sound was heard but the ticking of the clock,
+Hezekiah recovered from his abstraction with a start, and announced,
+"This young Curtis refuses to accept your check."
+
+"Bigger fool he," Obadiah responded with indifference.
+
+Hezekiah turned sharply upon the mill owner, "I don't agree with you
+at all," he rapped.
+
+Obadiah had great confidence in the judgment of his legal adviser. There
+had been times when failing to follow it had cost him money. He became
+uneasy. "Do you think that he has a case against me?"
+
+"I would rather have his chances before a jury than yours."
+
+"Is he going to bring suit?" Obadiah's uneasiness increased. He did
+not care to be at the mercy of a South Ridgefield jury. He usually was
+stuck.
+
+"Yes, it's my opinion that he intends to bring an action against you.
+He displayed marked animus."
+
+"He displayed what?"
+
+"Animus--unfriendliness," Hezekiah interpreted.
+
+Obadiah's uneasiness affected his temper. "Why don't you speak
+English?" he demanded, the pitch of his voice getting higher.
+
+For an instant there was a flash in Hezekiah's eyes but when he spoke
+he was perfectly calm. "I beg pardon, I failed to make allowances
+for--your understanding."
+
+Obadiah regarded his attorney angrily but made no reply. Years of
+experience had warned him against verbal combat with this man. Usually he
+did not awaken to the danger until he rankled under one of Hezekiah's
+darts.
+
+Disregarding the exchange of compliments, the lawyer went on, perfectly
+unruffled, "Is there a reason for this young man to entertain ill will
+against you?"
+
+"I never heard of the fellow before," protested Obadiah.
+
+"Is he acquainted with your daughter?"
+
+"No." Obadiah hesitated after his denial and modified it. "She helped
+to take him to the hospital and she has visited him since, I understand."
+
+"Ah!" Comprehension lighted Hezekiah's face. "You told me," he
+suggested, "that your daughter considered herself to be to blame for
+the accident."
+
+"Yes," Obadiah agreed with reluctance. "Virginia has a silly idea that
+she was at fault. She felt very badly over the matter."
+
+"And went to the hospital to express her regret and conceded
+responsibility for the accident to the injured man. He told me that he
+could rely on your daughter as a witness in his behalf."
+
+"I'll be hanged," cried Obadiah, the tone of his voice reminding one
+of Hennie's likening of him to a mosquito.
+
+"You'll be stung with a fat verdict if he gets you into court with your
+own daughter testifying against you. That's what will happen to you.
+Probably she admitted responsibility in the presence of witnesses,"
+Hezekiah pointed out with deepest pessimism.
+
+"I won't have my daughter dragged into court as a witness against me,"
+groaned Obadiah.
+
+"How are you going to stop it? Ship her out of the state?" Hezekiah
+suggested with a promptness which displayed unethical resourcefulness
+in the suppression of embarrassing witnesses.
+
+"Can't you arrange a compromise?" begged Obadiah.
+
+"Not after this mistake." Hezekiah returned the check for twenty-five
+dollars. "I'm as popular as a mouse in a pantry with that young fellow
+after attempting to pass that on him." He gave the mill owner a glance
+of curiosity. "How far would you let me go now?"
+
+"Use your own judgment, only keep Virginia out of court."
+
+Both men were silent for a time and then the lawyer spoke. "I tried to
+sound young Curtis. I endeavored to discover if he had any settlement
+in mind. All I found was a pronounced hostility to you personally and,"
+Hezekiah smiled reminiscently, "to me as your representative."
+
+"That's your imagination," exclaimed Obadiah and then, after the
+custom of a malefactor of great wealth, went on, "How can we get at
+him? He must be got at."
+
+"I might suggest something--," Hezekiah appeared doubtful, lacking in
+his usual assurance.
+
+It irritated Obadiah to have this man upon whose judgment he had staked
+his fortune display indecision in this trivial affair. "Out with it!
+What's the matter with you? Have you got cold feet?" he stormed.
+
+Hezekiah chuckled. "This case is complicated. The other side is most
+unfriendly. It's pretty hard to keep out of court when the other fellow
+wants to put you there," he argued, "I believe that I see a way if you
+will give me full authority to make such settlement as I deem advisable
+and," Hezekiah shifted uneasily, "allow me the assistance of counsel."
+
+"Hezekiah Wilkins, have you gone crazy? Do you mean to ask me to hire
+another lawyer to help you in this insignificant automobile case?"
+groaned Obadiah.
+
+"I haven't asked you to employ a lawyer. I asked for counsel."
+
+"For the love of Mike, whose counsel do you require in this tempest in
+a teapot?" shouted the exasperated mill owner.
+
+"I wish, with your permission, to ask your daughter Virginia to be of
+counsel."
+
+"Thunderation," bawled Obadiah, shrilly, exploding with pent up
+aggravation. "Have you gone out of your wits?" He surveyed the lawyer
+as if he really believed his legal mentality to be addled. "Can't
+I get it into your head--" he cast a look of utter contempt at the
+massive cranium of the lawyer--"that my interest in this case is to
+keep my daughter out of court? If it wasn't for her, I'd let that
+brittle shanked motorcycling ass sue until they grow bananas in Canada."
+
+"Your verbal pyrotechnics are interesting but hardly germane to the
+subject," Hezekiah reproved his employer. "I have no intention of
+dragging your daughter into court in the guise of a Portia, although
+her beauty would----"
+
+Obadiah's temper was on edge. "Come to the point, sir," he demanded.
+"Cut out the hot air. My time is worth money."
+
+For a moment Hezekiah gazed thoughtfully out of a window making strange
+gestures with his glasses. Then, turning to the mill owner he smilingly
+agreed. "As much valuable time has been utilized by you in prolix
+descriptions, possibly amusing, assuredly slanderous and not tending in
+the slightest degree to shed light upon our problem, I admit a necessity
+for expedition."
+
+Obadiah viewed his attorney with wrathful eyes but remained silent.
+
+Even under the angry eyes of his employer a benignant look lighted the
+countenance of the lawyer and his voice was very gentle as he resumed,
+"It's an old adage--'Youth will be served.' In its arrogance,
+youth defies the wisdom of age and the judgment of the ages. In its
+careless irresponsibility, it knows not danger. In its assurance and
+self-confidence it knows not fear. Clad in the armor of health, it
+basks in the sunshine of its strength and blatantly rejoices in its
+hopes."
+
+"Hezekiah Wilkins, are you sick, or what in the devil is the matter with
+you?" inquired the overwrought manufacturer.
+
+"No, not sick, Obadiah," Hezekiah explained placidly, "not sick,
+but happy--happy in that thought--a distinctly attractive one, and
+exceptionally well-developed for your benefit. I regret," the lawyer
+lamented, "that a stenographer was not present to preserve it. It is a
+pity that the world should lose it--that it should be lost to those who
+would understand and appreciate it--even love it."
+
+Obadiah sank deep into his chair, encircled by gloom, as, appreciating
+his inability to direct the train of his legal adviser's thought, he
+allowed that worthy to pursue his own course.
+
+"Youth calls to youth," the sentimental Hezekiah continued. "Youth
+understands youth. Youth can persuade youth." Suddenly the attorney
+seemed to thrust aside the gentle atmosphere in which he had been
+immersed, and, fixing a most crafty look upon Obadiah, he snapped,
+"You and I can't handle that fellow, but your daughter can. It's going
+to cost you some money, though." He suffered a relapse. "Youth knows
+neither the value of time nor money."
+
+Obadiah was filled with relief. "By gum, you've hit it," he shouted.
+"But why couldn't you get that off your chest without throwing a fit?"
+he complained, ill-humoredly.
+
+Once more Hezekiah reverted to sentiment. "The language of youth is
+song, and its thought poetry," he sighed, after which he arose and
+faced the manufacturer across his desk. "I am authorized to proceed in
+accordance with my plan?" he asked--"to make the best settlement which
+in my judgment can be made in the premises, through," he chuckled,
+"the extraordinary channels to which I have recourse?"
+
+"Go the limit, only keep it out of court," grumbled Obadiah. "Give
+such instructions as you wish to Virginia and let her understand that
+I am only interested in an amicable adjustment and do not care to be
+bothered with details."
+
+As Hezekiah departed through the outer office, he interrupted a
+conversation between Mr. Jones and Kelly.
+
+The stenographer met the intrusion with characteristic activity. Rushing
+to his desk, he seized the recently typed letters and bore them into
+Obadiah's presence. His haste, if noted by the attorney, should have
+indicated that prolonged presence in the throne room had resulted in
+marked delay to the normal performance of imperial functions.
+
+Apparently Hezekiah's mind was engrossed by lighter matters. He moved
+spryly, whistling a cheery melody not at present in vogue but much in
+favor in his youth.
+
+Mr. Jones came out of Obadiah's room hurriedly. The sound of stern
+reproof came also, until it was shut off by the closing of the door. It
+seemed as if the spirit of the stenographer expanded in relief, in the
+familiar atmosphere of his own domain; as one who, having accomplished
+a hazardous journey, returns to the peace of his own fireside.
+
+He entered Kelly's room with great dignity. Taking a position in the
+center, he raised his arms horizontally, inhaled a deep breath, bowed
+deeply, straightened up, exhaled, rose on his toes, descended, and
+dropped his arms.
+
+The massive Kelly viewed this athletic exhibition with interest.
+"What's that exercise for?" he demanded.
+
+Mr. Jones yawned. "It gives me relaxation from the strain," he answered.
+
+"What strain? Where did you strain yourself?" asked Kelly with kindly
+interest in his friend's welfare.
+
+"The office responsibility," explained the stenographer. "It knocks
+the sap out of a fellow." He lighted a cigarette.
+
+"Oh, is that it?" Kelly gave a cruel laugh. "I thought you had sprung
+something. If you do that exercise often, young fellow, you'll bust a
+lung. Let's see you do it again," urged the bookkeeper, as if desirous
+of witnessing the fulfillment of his prophecy.
+
+Without fear, Mr. Jones laid aside his cigarette with care, and gulped
+such a deep draught of air that he became red in the face and gave other
+evidences of being about to burst from undue pneumatic pressure.
+
+Kelly viewed with undisguised amusement the undeveloped protuberance
+thrust forward in pride by the stenographer. "You haven't the chest
+expansion of a lizard," he told him.
+
+Mr. Jones received this deadly insult in the midst of deep bowing. He
+exploded, and, leaning against a desk, breathed rapidly while the injured
+look in his eyes attempted to carry that reproof which his speechlessness
+otherwise forbade.
+
+"If you do that exercise much," Kelly gloomily predicted, "you are
+going to relax in a wooden box. Who gave you that stuff? You must have
+been getting your ideas from the gymnasium of a bug house."
+
+For obvious reasons Mr. Jones failed to reply.
+
+"There is no sense in the thing. What you need is--" Kelly descended
+from his perch and seizing him, only that instant recovered from
+speechlessness, in his strong grasp, made exploratory investigations
+with his fingers throughout the panting one's anatomy.
+
+"Ouch," wailed the pained Mr. Jones.
+
+"Shut up. Do you want the old man out here? I'm not going to hurt you.
+I want to find out what ails you."
+
+"Leggo, you are nearly killing me."
+
+Mr. Jones rubbed himself ruefully when Kelly loosed him. "You big stiff,
+ain't you got no sense, gouging around in a fellow's insides that way?
+You are liable to put a man out of business," he protested.
+
+Utterly indifferent to these complaints, Kelly was judging the
+stenographer coldly and dispassionately. "You've got no bone.
+You've got no muscle. You've got no fat." Kelly forgot that pride and
+dignity are intangible assets. "You'd better take correct breathing
+exercises or you'll get T. B.," he told him. "I shouldn't be
+surprised if you've got it now."
+
+Naturally, Mr. Jones was greatly alarmed and showed it.
+
+"Here's the way to take a breathing exercise." Kelly slowly inhaled
+a mighty volume of air until his chest arched forth in all of its
+magnificent development. He held it so for a moment and beat upon it
+resoundingly in accordance with the supposed custom of the orang-outang
+in moments of victory. "No tuberculosis there," he boasted, after
+exhaling with the rush of a gale of wind.
+
+"That's some expansion, Kelly," the stenographer admitted, and he
+continued as in excuse for his own physical deficiencies, "I should
+take more exercise. My work is confining, and the strain is heavy. I'm
+all run down. The old man must have noticed it, too, because the other
+day he says to me, 'Mr. Jones, you're working too hard--it's telling
+on you--I'd give you a good rest if I could manage to get along without
+you.'"
+
+Kelly burst into a roar of laughter. "If you wait for the old man to
+give you a rest, my son, you are going to get tired, believe me. Cut
+out the bluff for a minute. I want to talk seriously to you. You're
+in rotten physical condition and you owe it to yourself to keep from
+playing leading man at a funeral."
+
+Mr. Jones's countenance registered horror.
+
+Kelly went on. "I happen to know a darn sight more about physical
+training than I do about book-keeping. I ought to--I spent enough time
+around a college gymnasium when I should have been some place else."
+
+Even Mr. Jones's alarm faded before this astounding information.
+"College," he remarked in surprise.
+
+"Sure," Kelly grinned, "I spent a couple of years in college. I'm
+proud of them. I nearly flunked out before I learned that I leaned to
+muscle instead of to literature." He returned to the subject under
+discussion. "I can give you a bunch of exercises which will do you a
+lot of good in six months if you are faithful. I'll give you gentle
+exercises at first, darn gentle," he laughed, "otherwise you'll
+snap something. I believe that I'll make a man out of you, young
+grasshopper." He shook his head wearily. "Gosh, but it's going to take
+a lot of work."
+
+Mr. Jones flushed hotly. "Say," he said, "it's not necessary to
+insult me, is it?"
+
+"Yes, you've got to use a harpoon to get anything through that
+rhinoceros' hide of egotism of yours." He fastened a stern and
+foreboding eye upon Mr. Jones. "Do you want to die?" he inquired.
+
+Mr. Jones sought the motive behind the startling question. "What's
+going to kill me?" he demanded.
+
+"Lack of air." Kelly's answer was obscure. It was too general. He
+thought it necessary to restate it with modifying amendments. "The lack
+of good fresh air," he concluded.
+
+"Oh," said Mr. Jones, apparently much relieved at the distinction made.
+
+"You want to get out into the air and breathe," Kelly explained as if
+the stenographer were carelessly given to omit this function.
+
+"I don't have the time." Mr. Jones visualized a dignified stroll over
+a golf links.
+
+Kelly gave thought to the difficulty. "A motorcycle would be the
+thing," he decided.
+
+The effect upon Mr. Jones would have been no different if Kelly had
+prescribed an aeroplane or a submarine. "I can't ride a motorcycle,
+and even if I could, where can I get one?" he objected.
+
+"That's the point." Kelly was as enthusiastic as a life insurance
+agent. "I have a friend who has one. He nearly killed himself on it and
+now he is in the hospital. I'll bet that he is tired of it and will
+sell it cheap."
+
+"What do I want with the thing if it nearly killed him?" Mr. Jones
+protested logically.
+
+"Don't be a fool. The motorcycle never hurt him. He ran into an
+automobile and hurt himself."
+
+Mr. Jones believed the difference to be immaterial. "I won't ride a
+motorcycle," he declared obstinately.
+
+Kelly clung to his scheme with constructive pride. "It's up to you, my
+friend," he argued. "You are going to die unless you get out into the
+air. I suggest the way to do it."
+
+"Yes, and I'll get killed on the blamed old motorcycle," predicted
+Mr. Jones mournfully.
+
+"Take your choice!" the generous Kelly invited. "I am going up to the
+hospital to see that fellow after office hours. Why don't you come along
+and meet him and then you can decide about the machine."
+
+Mr. Jones, fearful that he might overlook an important engagement,
+consulted a note-book with care. After concluding his investigation of
+the records, he said, "Well, as I don't happen to have anything on,
+I don't mind going up there with you, but you can write it in your
+hat that I'm not strong for any motorcycle business."
+
+Within a few moments after the prescribed closing hour, Obadiah's
+official staff appeared upon the streets of South Ridgefield. Their
+steps lead them towards the hospital and on the way they passed Mr.
+Vivian's cool oasis of refreshment amidst the burning sands of the
+town's business section.
+
+Here, the confectioner and his assistants arrayed in pure white moved
+gracefully about, serving the guests with cooling drink or, from time
+to time, gave attention to the adjustment of the mechanical piano which
+furnished melody for the lovers of music.
+
+Mr. Jones feasted his eyes upon this scene of innocent revelry and good
+fellowship. "Come on," he said to Kelly, "have a drink?"
+
+Kelly received the invitation with insulting words. "That's your
+trouble," he exclaimed in a voice which carried far. "That's what
+makes your complexion so fierce."
+
+The sensitive soul of Mr. Jones rebelled at this public outcry of his
+physical defects. "Say, you big chump," he burst out, "don't you know
+any better than to bawl a fellow out that way in a place where everybody
+can hear you? That's a dickens of a thing to do."
+
+"Come on. Nobody was listening." Kelly looked about as if disappointed
+at failing to find an audience awaiting other personal allusions. "It's
+the truth," he maintained vigorously.
+
+Mr. Jones hesitated, torn as many another good man, between his vanity
+and his appetite. Before his eyes flowed a tantalizing stream of those
+delicacies so dear to his palate. In his pocket reposed two dimes, his
+wealth until pay day on the morrow would replenish his purse. Why should
+not a good fellow entertain his friends even though they resort to
+personal comments? Rent by conflicting desires, he jingled the coins.
+As he fingered them, there flashed the remembrance of the war tax. He
+turned to Kelly and his voice was very sad, as he murmured, "I guess
+that you're right, old man. We'll cut out the sweet stuff."
+
+They had no difficulty in locating Joe Curtis. His sunny characteristics
+had won him already wide spread friendships among the hospital staff,
+so that the way to his bed was indicated as the path to a neighbor's
+door.
+
+Kelly grinned amiably at Miss Knight, and inquired, "May I speak to Joe
+Curtis?"
+
+The nurse looked at the big fellow with the appraising eye of a
+connoisseur of men. "Sure," she retorted, "if you can talk and he
+will give you a chance to."
+
+The participants in this repartee were much pleased with its cleverness.
+They laughed loudly.
+
+Mr. Jones, considering the remarks frivolous, did not deign to unbend
+from a stately poise assumed by him when in the presence of ladies.
+Miss Knight was evidently a person of ordinary origin, lacking in
+discrimination. She had failed to notice the stenographer, confining
+her attentions, including her smiles, to the husky Kelly.
+
+"Here's another friend, Joe," the nurse told the injured motorcyclist
+when they arrived at his bedside. She failed to take account of Mr.
+Jones who had progressed down the aisle with mien of great distinction.
+His entrance was marred only by a remark of a vulgar patient who in a
+coarse whisper desired to be advised, "Who let Charlie Chaplin in?"
+much to the amusement of other low fellows.
+
+"Hello, Joe, how's business?" asked Kelly.
+
+"Fine, Mike, fine. Never better," responded the patient.
+
+"Meet my friend, Mr. Percy Jones." The introduction was impaired as the
+stenographer's attention was devoted to frowning down masculine giggles
+reminiscent of the reference to the illustrious movie star.
+
+That the social exigencies of the moment might not be overlooked, Kelly
+dug a finger into the stenographer's side.
+
+Mr. Jones undulated as to a measure of the Hula Hula. "Wough," he
+yelled. "Wot cher doin'?"
+
+Happy laughter arose from nearby beds.
+
+Miss Knight swept her recumbent charges with a glance of stern
+reproof. "Where's your manners?" she demanded. "Cut out this rough
+stuff or--" she paused for effect and then launched this terrifying
+threat--"you'll get no ice cream on Wednesday." The male surgical
+cases quailed before this menace of cruel and unusual punishment.
+Peace reigned.
+
+"Gentlemen, be seated," invited Joe, in the rich and mellow tones of
+an interlocutor.
+
+Miss Knight departed. Mr. Jones sat down in the only chair and Kelly made
+preparations to rest his huge form on the bed of the injured one.
+
+Joe viewed this arrangement with alarm. "Don't you sit on my broken
+leg, you hippopotamus," he protested.
+
+Kelly withdrew so hastily that he nearly knocked Mr. Jones off his chair.
+
+"Mike, go over there and get that other chair. Don't try to rob a
+little fellow like Jonesy," Joe told him.
+
+Pain swathed the features of Mr. Jones. To be publicly addressed as
+"Jonesy" was bad enough, but when coupled with an insulting reference
+to his size, it was too much.
+
+Kelly finally seated himself by the invalid's head and remarked with
+a smile of pleasure, "Joe, they tell me you're about dead. Is there
+anything in it?"
+
+"Listen to words of warning," suggested the injured man. "Even with my
+game leg, it would take a bigger man than you to put me out of business."
+
+Kelly disregarded the challenge. "Is there any truth in the report that
+landing on your head is all that saved you?"
+
+Joe grunted in disdain and Mr. Jones openly yawned at such commonplace
+humor.
+
+Regardless of popular displeasure, Kelly went on. "I understand that
+your head ruined the truck?"
+
+"Mike, you are a heavy kidder." Joe smiled affectionately at his big
+friend. "Your conversation is usually agreeable, sometimes interesting,
+but never reliable. You guessed wrong about a truck. I ran into a seven
+passenger touring car."
+
+"Ha, a chariot of the awful rich. In the excitement did you
+surreptitiously abstract any diamonds, tires, gasoline or other
+valuables shaken loose by your dome?"
+
+"No such luck, Mike. There was only a girl in the car."
+
+"The priceless jewel of the Isle of Swat and you did not kidnap it?"
+exclaimed Kelly.
+
+Mr. Jones displayed a superior interest. "Was she beautiful?" he
+inquired.
+
+"Was she beautiful?" mimicked Kelly. "She must have been. That's why
+Joe tried to make a hit." He leaned over the motorcyclist. "For once I
+am proud of you, young man. You used your head."
+
+Mr. Jones displayed extreme animation. "By Jove," he laughed.
+"Possibly the lady thought that Mr. Curtis was butting in."
+
+Kelly inspected the stenographer with great intentness. "Good morning,
+old top. When did you wake up?"
+
+"Your kidding is contagious, Mike. Jonesy has caught it," chuckled Joe.
+
+"No, you don't understand the nature of the brute. It's not me--it's
+the ladies. Jones awakens at a reference to them and blossoms beneath
+their smiles," explained Kelly.
+
+A gentle look spread over Joe's face. "The girl I ran into happened
+to be the right sort. She stuck by me when I was hurt and helped to bring
+me here--" He paused for a moment and then continued, "Let's not talk
+about her in this room full of men."
+
+"Sure," boomed Kelly. "You're right as usual, Joe. Never stopped
+to think myself." He turned and pointed to the stenographer. "My old
+friend Jones is on the edge of a decline." The bookkeeper disregarded
+the presence of the private secretary as if he were deaf. "If he starts
+to slide he hasn't far to go to land in a cemetery."
+
+Mr. Jones displayed no marked pleasure in the conversation. He maintained
+a dignified aloofness.
+
+"I have decided to train him," Kelly explained. "It's going to be
+a hard job. He's got no bone. He's got no muscle. He's got no fat.
+He's got nothin'."
+
+Again Kelly overlooked the proud and sensitive spirit which protested
+against this public dissection of physical defects.
+
+The eyes of Kelly and Joe viewed the puny figure of the stenographer in
+the manner of disgusted farmers examining a runt which resists their
+efforts to fatten it.
+
+"To get flesh and muscle and bone on him I must give him plenty of
+exercise and get him out into the air. That will make him eat," Kelly
+went on.
+
+"His present diet is mostly cigarettes, isn't it?" Joe inquired.
+
+"He eats them by the bale," confessed Kelly.
+
+Apparently Joe deemed himself invited into the case as a consulting
+specialist. "Make him cut them out," he prescribed. "Take the little
+fellow out for a run every night and give him a good sweat out. Give him
+a bath and a rub down and get him in bed by ten o'clock. Watch your
+distances at first. Jonesy is full of dope. Look at his eyes."
+
+Mr. Jones quailed under this keen scrutiny of experts.
+
+"He'll fall dead if he runs a block," predicted Joe. "He'll be
+able to cover some ground, though, after a couple of weeks of plugging.
+You can speed him up, then." He studied the stenographer with impersonal
+interest. "Make a feather weight boxer of him, Mike, if he isn't
+yellow. Get him in shape for the fall meet of the Athletic Club. If he
+can't box, make him run. He's built like a jack rabbit."
+
+The course of treatment outlined by the consulting specialist filled
+Mr. Jones with undisguised alarm. His mind and body alike protested
+against the indignities which threatened him. To him came recognition
+that immediate resistance was necessary to prevent the advent of a
+gruelling course of physical training, repugnant to his flesh and
+revolting to his soul. "S-s-s-say," he stammered in the intenseness of
+his opposition, "I don't want----"
+
+"Look here," Joe interrupted with fierceness, "you asked Mike to train
+you, didn't you?"
+
+Mr. Jones's mental anguish did not make for quick thinking. He worked
+his lips but emitted no sound.
+
+To Joe this silence acquiesced in his assumption and he went on, "You
+begged him to train you and he finally consented. You have shown judgment
+in selecting him--you couldn't find a better man. But, remember this,
+my friend. Training is hard work. You are in for a rough time of it,
+Jonesy, and don't you forget it. Remember this--it's not what you
+want--it's what Mike wants that is going to count. He has undertaken the
+devil's own job to make a man out of a shrimp like you. Do you get me?"
+he concluded ferociously.
+
+Before the sheer brute masculinity of the attack, the gentle courage of
+Mr. Jones gave way. "Yes, sir," he agreed meekly.
+
+"Now, that's all settled, Mike," Joe indicated with satisfaction.
+"Jonesy knows where he gets off. How about the grub?"
+
+"No trouble there," Kelly explained. "We board at the same place. The
+food is plain enough and I can eat his dessert and make him fill up on
+solid stuff. I wanted to ask about your motorcycle."
+
+"You are welcome to use it, Mike. It will be fine to chase Jonesy on
+or to get ahead of him if you want to time him. The machine was badly
+smashed in my crash. There is a repair bill of seven dollars against it.
+If you will pay that, you can use it until I need it again. Put Jones
+up on it, too, if you like."
+
+There was a rustling of skirts and the sound of soft footsteps. Virginia
+came towards the young men. Mr. Jones and Kelly instantly recognized
+their employer's daughter. They came to their feet as kitchen police
+in the presence of the Commanding General, which is with the speed of
+the lightning.
+
+Virginia smiled sweetly at the invalid. "I am sorry to intrude," she
+explained, "but the hospital closes to visitors in ten minutes; so I
+had to come now or not see Joe today."
+
+"It is fine of you to come even for a minute." Joe smiled happily and
+then attempted to present Kelly and Mr. Jones to her.
+
+She gave them a friendly smile. "I know you both. I have seen you in
+my father's office so often that we are really old acquaintances."
+
+Kelly looked her squarely in the eyes and beamed, "Thanks, I like that."
+
+Mr. Jones assumed a manner containing all that was best from the several
+books upon social usages he had perused. Often had he longed for an
+opportunity to show the manufacturer's daughter that at least her
+father's private secretary was well versed in such matters. His chance
+had come and he must make the most of it. He bowed profoundly, "I am
+honored, indeed," he murmured gently. "Permit me to express the extreme
+pleasure Miss Dale's presence gives me." Apparently, at this point,
+Mr. Jones expected Virginia to extend her lily white hand to be kissed.
+
+She, being a young thing, a mere chit as it were, was unversed in this
+procedure. She looked at the low-bowed Mr. Jones and then at Joe and
+Kelly with a somewhat puzzled expression.
+
+The athletes, being men of vulgar minds, burst into a roar of laughter
+which shocked Mr. Jones exceedingly. Finding nothing better to do, he was
+forced to join in amusement at his own expense.
+
+"Gee, I'm going to miss my supper," cried Kelly, and, with a breezy
+"Good bye" to Virginia and Joe, and a hurried "Come on" to Mr. Jones,
+he rushed away.
+
+Mr. Jones was astounded at this exhibition of haste and ill-breeding,
+before this lady of position. However, he found himself torn between
+conflicting desires. He would have gladly spent some hours in the company
+of Miss Dale engaged in elegant conversation, but, at the moment, for
+the life of him, he could recall no subject of sufficient gentility for
+discussion.
+
+"Come on, Jones," came Kelly's voice from the hall.
+
+Virginia had taken Kelly's chair and, leaning over the bed, was
+engrossed in conversation with the injured man.
+
+The presence of Mr. Jones was being overlooked. He deemed it better to
+depart with Kelly. Immediate action was essential. He arose and again
+bowed deeply. "Allow me," he pleaded, in dulcet tones, "to express my
+delight and joy in meeting Miss Dale and to inform her that circumstances
+beyond my individual control require my withdrawal from her company."
+
+"Blow, Jonesy, before your beans get cold," suggested Joe.
+
+At this low remark, Mr. Jones straightened up to his full height very
+suddenly and stepped backwards with dignity. Unhappily, his heel hooked
+against the leg of his chair and twisted the piece of furniture beneath
+him so that, tripping, he lost his balance upon the waxed floor.
+Simultaneously, Mr. Jones lost his dignity and waved his arms wildly in
+a frantic endeavor to recover himself.
+
+"Come on," Kelly urged again.
+
+Mr. Jones obeyed the words of his trainer literally. Coming on over the
+chair, he landed with a crash between the beds on the other side of the
+aisle.
+
+"Bring the ambulance up here," suggested a facetious patient.
+
+Sore in mind and body, Mr. Jones was assisted to his feet by the helpful
+Miss Knight. "I stumbled," he explained to her in excuse.
+
+"It's a darn good thing you didn't fall," replied the nurse with
+ill-concealed sarcasm.
+
+Virginia had watched Mr. Jones's acrobatic performances with mixed
+emotions. She glanced at her wrist watch and, rising, leaned over to
+bid Joe farewell.
+
+He caught her hand and held it. For a moment the black eyes were gazing
+squarely into the depths of the blue ones, and no word passed between
+the two, yet they were filled with a new, strange joyousness.
+
+"I must go," she whispered gently, and pulled her hand from Joe's as
+she turned towards the stricken Mr. Jones. "I hope you are not hurt,"
+she told him and left the ward with a nod at Kelly at the door.
+
+Seizing his hat, Mr. Jones limped slowly after her.
+
+"You'll get better control of your muscles after Mike handles you a
+bit," Joe called after him.
+
+"Didn't I tell you fellows that was Charlie Chaplin?" came a voice
+from one of the beds. Amidst the merriment aroused by this sally Mr.
+Jones joined Kelly and took his departure.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+AN AFTERNOON OFF
+
+
+"Dis yere fambly ain' nevah ready to eat. Dey allers has sumpin else
+dey gotta do," grumbled Serena as she moved out upon the front porch
+of the Dale home.
+
+Virginia stood upon the greensward listening to the call of a song
+sparrow in the tree above her head. The notes of the bird rang clear
+upon the morning air in all of their sweetness, until overwhelmed in
+competition with a jazz melody whistled by Ike as he moved about dragging
+a serpent-like length of hose behind him.
+
+"Cum in to you' breakfus, chil'," commanded Serena.
+
+"In a moment. Isn't it a beautiful day for the concert?"
+
+Although Virginia's tardiness was yet uppermost in her mind, Serena
+deigned to examine the heavens above and the earth beneath with a
+critical eye which proposed to allow no fault to escape it. Then she
+made answer in a cryptic reply, "You ain' said nothin' chil', you
+ain' said nothin' a tall."
+
+"Virginia," said Obadiah, when they met at the breakfast table, "Mr.
+Wilkins was here again yesterday afternoon and you were not at home."
+
+The girl laughed. "I know it, Daddy," she confessed, as she poured a
+generous measure of thick cream over her dish of sliced peaches. The
+charge of absenteeism made against her did not appear to be affecting her
+appetite as she began to eat.
+
+"I warned you that he was coming," Obadiah continued, impressively.
+
+"Yes, Daddy." The girl was enjoying her peaches and cream. "After you
+told me about it I waited for him and he didn't come," she explained
+virtuously. "The next afternoon, I had to go out and--of course, he
+had to come. The afternoon after that, I waited at home expecting Mr.
+Wilkins and he never came near. Yesterday I had to go out--and he had
+to come." She laughed gaily. "We have been playing a game of hide
+and seek. Mr. Wilkins has been it and hasn't caught me yet."
+
+"It's been an expensive game for me," protested Obadiah. "I pay Mr.
+Wilkins a large salary for his time and services and I can use them to
+better advantage than in making calls upon you."
+
+"That's an ungallant speech. I am filled with shame for my own
+father." She shook her head sadly in token of her disgrace. "If Mr.
+Wilkins wants to see me, why doesn't he arrange to come when I am
+home?" she argued stoutly.
+
+Obadiah became stern. "You should have remained home for Mr. Wilkins.
+You are out a great deal, anyway."
+
+A look of mock horror came into Virginia's face. "Would you have me
+sit alone in this big house, waiting with folded arms for Mr. Wilkins?"
+she giggled.
+
+Even Obadiah relented before this sorrowful picture. "Who said anything
+about folded arms," he demanded shortly, "or about sitting alone,
+either? You are out some place in that machine every day. It won't
+hurt you to remain at home until Mr. Wilkins has seen you. My affairs
+are of more importance than yours."
+
+Virginia looked at him with great solemnity. "You want to be cross at
+me, Daddy, and you can't make yourself," she laughed. "These peaches
+and cream are protecting me. If they didn't taste so good to you, I
+would get a scolding. I don't deserve it, though, because, after all, my
+affairs are always your affairs. Ike says that the machine runs better if
+it is used every day. I keep it in splendid order for you."
+
+The efforts of his daughter did not appear to impress Obadiah.
+
+She went on with an air of pride, "Lately, I have been busy on a
+surprise for you." She assumed an air of dignity. "I am giving an
+entertainment to the old ladies of the Lucinda Home this afternoon. I
+planned it all by myself and I invite you to be present. There'll be a
+concert by a brass band. Aren't you surprised, Daddy?"
+
+Obadiah was surprised. Without reference to natural perplexity as to
+why festivities for the benefit of the old ladies should be a matter
+of astonishment to him, there were ample grounds for amazement in
+the knowledge that his youthful daughter had assumed management of a
+production involving a brass band. It was as if she had announced her
+connection with a circus for the aged.
+
+"Where did you get the band?" demanded Obadiah, in the tone of an
+anxious parent whose infant has returned bearing personal property
+suspected of belonging to a neighbor.
+
+"Colonel Ryan loaned it to me. He is coming, too. Won't you come, Daddy
+dear, please?" There was a wistful look in the girl's face. "It's
+going to be lovely."
+
+Obadiah was uncomfortable. "I can't come today," he replied, finally.
+
+"Oh Daddy--" her disappointment showed in every note of her voice--"I
+have counted so much on having you. I would be so proud of you." She
+glanced imploringly at him.
+
+"I'm going out of town," he said.
+
+"Can't you put it off?"
+
+"No, Virginia, I have made my plans to go today. I can't let anything
+interfere with business arrangements. They mean dollars and cents."
+
+"All right, Daddy," she surrendered with a sad little sigh and tried
+to cheer herself. "Some day when I have something else you'll plan to
+come, won't you, dear?"
+
+He was interested in his newspaper now. "Perhaps," he finally answered
+absently without looking up.
+
+For a time they ate in silence. "The afternoon frightens me, Daddy,"
+she told him with a worried air. "It's a big responsibility. What if
+it should be a failure?"
+
+He crushed his paper down by his plate and snapped, "You got into the
+thing of your own accord. It's up to you to see it through. To make a
+success of it--a Dale success. You can do it."
+
+His assurance braced the girl. "I'll make a go of it, Daddy," she
+promised, and then, "It's wrong for me to expect Mr. Wilkins to run
+after me. I will go to his office this morning and see him."
+
+He gave her a look of approval. "That's business," he agreed.
+
+She hovered about him after they rose from the table. "Could I ask Mr.
+Wilkins to come to my concert, Daddy?" There was an appealing look in
+the big blue eyes. "I don't want it to seem as if I have no friends."
+
+He gave her an uneasy glance and there was almost a note of regret in
+his voice when he answered, "I am sorry that I can't come. Certainly,
+you may ask Mr. Wilkins. Tell him that I want him to go. Ask any one you
+like." Yet in spite of these concessions his conscience disturbed him.
+"How will you meet the expenses of the entertainment," he inquired.
+
+"They won't be much. Serena had the things which I needed charged at
+the store."
+
+Obadiah appeared about to protest but changed his mind.
+
+"I can pay for anything else I need out of my allowance," she went on.
+
+An unusual wave of generosity engulfed Obadiah, due, no doubt, to pricks
+of his unquiet conscience. "Don't do that," he objected. "Send the
+bills to me."
+
+A delighted Virginia lifted up her voice, joyously, "How perfectly
+grand! I'll order ice cream for everybody."
+
+Pain rested upon Obadiah's countenance, due, no doubt, rather to a
+twinge of indigestion at the mention of a large quantity of ice cream
+during the breakfast hour than to regret at the result of his unusual
+liberality. He sought relief in reproving Ike sternly, ere departing for
+his office.
+
+Virginia spent a busy morning. She telephoned to Colonel Ryan, visited
+Mrs. Henderson and conferred at length with Mrs. Smith, the matron at the
+Lucinda Home, regarding the approaching festivities.
+
+Later, she repaired to the establishment of Mr. Vivian, glittering
+brilliantly in the morning sun and graced even at this early hour by
+thirsty members of South Ridgefield's younger set.
+
+Her deliberations with the genial proprietor were prolonged. Complex
+factors hindered the meeting of minds regarded as essential to the
+contractual relationship of commerce. Mr. Vivian's knowledge of the
+law of probabilities as applied to the consumption of ice cream and
+cake by infants, by adults, or by infants and adults together, was as
+deep as the information of an insurance actuary on the mortality of
+fellow men. But specialists gain their reputation through years of
+toil, and they object to risking it on the uncertain. To Mr. Vivian
+the capacity of old ladies and aged soldiers for delicate confections
+was an unknown factor. He had no digest of leading cases to consult,
+no vital statistics to inspect, no medical journals to study. He was
+venturing into unexplored territory. Without premises he was asked to
+deduct a conclusion. Mr. Vivian was reduced to an unscientific guess.
+
+Yet, if necessary, guesses can be made. So it came to pass that Mr.
+Vivian bowed the manufacturer's daughter from his emporium, and, with
+the sweet smell of his wares in his nostrils, raised eyes of loving
+kindness from the profitable order in his hand, due account thereof to be
+rendered unto Obadiah for payment, and gazed after her in respectful
+admiration.
+
+Shortly after this, the judicial solemnity of the chamber of Hezekiah
+Wilkins, Attorney at Law, situate and being, opposite the suite of
+Obadiah, was disturbed by a timid knock. It failed to attract Hezekiah's
+attention. This was strange. The room was not unusually large. Also,
+its size was diminished by cases of reports, digests and encyclopedias
+covering the walls, except where they were pierced by the windows and
+door or broken by the fireplace and its broad chimney face. Upon this
+hung a picture of the Supreme Court and on the mantel below stood a bust
+of John Marshall, the stern eyes of which viewed the polished back of
+Hezekiah's head as he sat at his desk.
+
+It is possible that the lawyer was preoccupied through profound
+consideration of some abstract point of law. Before him lay an open
+court report and his desk was littered with documents. His head was
+bowed forward, his hands clasped over his abdomen and his eyes closed.
+
+"Tap--tap," sounded again at the door. Hezekiah brushed at his face as
+if to shoo a disturbing fly. Yet, so deep were his meditations that he
+failed to note the interruption.
+
+"Knock--knock--bang." The noise swelled to a well-defined blow of
+sufficient authority to recall the greatest mental concentration from
+the most tortuous legal labyrinth of the most learned court in the world.
+
+Hezekiah jumped. He raised his head with a jerk and his eyes opened.
+One unacquainted with the abysmal excogitations of judicial mentalities
+might describe them as having a startled look. He rubbed them with his
+fists, stroked his smooth shaven cheeks and replaced his glasses on his
+nose. Having by such simple expedients withdrawn his mind from the
+fathomless depths of legal lore into which it seemingly had been plunged,
+he shouted, "Come in."
+
+Virginia entered.
+
+Hezekiah, recognizing the daughter of his employer, sprang to his feet,
+greeting her, "I am honored, indeed, Miss Dale."
+
+"Mr. Wilkins, my father says that I have done wrong in allowing you to
+come to our house twice and not find me at home." She smiled sweetly
+at him as she held out her hand to him. "I am sorry. I thought that my
+best apology would be to save you another trip by coming to see you."
+
+"You are very considerate, Miss Dale," he responded, as he offered her
+his visitor's chair.
+
+She sat down filled with great curiosity as to his business with her.
+
+He did not approach it directly. "We are having beautiful weather, Miss
+Dale. Being given to out of door pursuits and pastimes--athletic, as it
+were--you must find it very agreeable."
+
+"I do enjoy these beautiful spring days. I like to be out of doors, too.
+But I am not what they call an athletic girl, Mr. Wilkins."
+
+"I plead guilty to an inaccuracy of nomenclature," Hezekiah responded
+with great solemnity, removing his glasses and flourishing them.
+
+"What did you say, Mr. Wilkins?" asked Virginia in smiling bewilderment.
+
+His eyes began to twinkle and in spite of his serious face she caught
+his mood and they burst into a peal of laughter.
+
+"Miss Dale--" he began.
+
+She interrupted him. "Call me Virginia as you always have done, Mr.
+Wilkins," she urged. "Please do."
+
+"It will be easier," he admitted, and then for a moment he studied
+her face thoughtfully. "You are looking more like your mother, every
+day, Virginia. She was a beautiful woman--a very beautiful woman," he
+continued dreamily. "As good, too, as she was beautiful. It seems to
+me, now, that her life was given up to doing kindnesses to others. I have
+always been proud that your mother accepted me as one of her friends."
+
+His words awakened eager interest in the girl. "Tell me about her,
+please, Mr. Wilkins," she begged, as he paused.
+
+He smiled gently into the wistful eyes of blue, as happy remembrances
+of the past returned to him. "Your mother came into our lives as a
+gentle zephyr from her own beautiful Southland. With her came memories
+of bright sunshine, growing flowers and perfumed air. These things
+radiated from her--a part of her life. Happiness and joy were ever her
+constant companions and the gifts she would shower."
+
+Virginia's eyes were big with the tender longings of her heart. "My
+mother tried to make every one else happy, didn't she?"
+
+The countenance of Hezekiah softened and his voice was tempered by gentle
+memories as he said, "If she tried to do that, she succeeded. Every one
+who knew your mother was the happier for it."
+
+"Oh--what a beautiful thing to say about her, Mr. Wilkins," she
+whispered.
+
+After a few moments of silence, Hezekiah resolutely thrust aside the
+reveries into which he and his visitor had plunged. "Ahem," he coughed
+and then he polished his scalp so vigorously that it became suffused with
+a purplish tinge. "Virginia," he inquired sternly, "are you acquainted
+with one Joseph Tolliver Curtis?"
+
+For an instant Virginia was unable to identify Joe under his formal
+appellation. "Yes, he is the man at the hospital who was hurt by our
+machine," she answered finally.
+
+"You have visited him?"
+
+She nodded.
+
+He removed his glasses and tapped his teeth. "Did you ever discuss with
+the said Joseph Tolliver Curtis the accident heretofore referred to?"
+
+"What did you say, Mr. Wilkins?" worried Virginia.
+
+"Will you please state," demanded Hezekiah absently, "whether at any
+time or any place you discussed the subject matter of this action with
+the plaintiff."
+
+"Mr. Wilkins, what are you talking about?" Virginia cried in dismay.
+
+Hezekiah came out of his preoccupation. "I beg your pardon," he said
+hastily. "I asked if you ever talked over the accident with Curtis."
+
+"Is that the question you asked me, Mr. Wilkins?"
+
+"Honest," he chuckled.
+
+"Oh, I can answer that easily. I talked it all over with him."
+
+"Have you objection to advising me of the substance--" Hezekiah stopped
+and restated his question--"Will you tell what you said, Virginia?"
+
+"Certainly, I told Mr. Curtis that I was to blame for the accident and
+he said it was his own fault."
+
+The lawyer was surprised. "Did he admit negligence?"
+
+Virginia deemed this question to imply danger to Joe and she remembered
+her promise. "I am not at liberty to say, Mr. Wilkins," she answered
+stoutly. "I can't discuss Mr. Curtis's part in the accident."
+
+For a moment Hezekiah eyed the girl thoughtfully. He arose and took a
+turn up and down the room while his eyes danced with mischief. He reached
+a decision which changed his line of questioning when he reseated
+himself. "Virginia, do you think that you were to blame for that
+accident?" he asked the girl.
+
+"I know that I was."
+
+"If you were a witness in court, would you testify that the accident was
+your fault?"
+
+"I would admit my blame anywhere and any place, Mr. Wilkins."
+
+"Did Mr. Curtis say anything to you about bringing a suit for damages
+against your father?"
+
+"No, he wouldn't do that, I'm sure."
+
+"Why are you sure?"
+
+"I told him that I believed my father should pay him damages."
+
+"What did he say to that?" asked Hezekiah with interest.
+
+"He said that he wouldn't take money from my father."
+
+"Was he angry, Virginia?"
+
+"Oh, no indeed." She hesitated for a moment. "He seemed tired and worn
+out and so I left him."
+
+"Well, Virginia, what would you say if I told you that I tried to reach
+an agreement with Mr. Curtis the other day and he refused to accept
+anything in settlement?"
+
+"I say that my father is just the dearest and noblest man that ever
+lived. He sent you to do that, didn't he, Mr. Wilkins, and never said a
+word about it to me? Isn't that just like Daddy?"
+
+Hezekiah smiled but said no word. Possibly he remembered the amount of
+the check. Professional confidences make lawyers cynical. He drummed a
+spirited march upon his desk with his fingers and took no other part in
+the acclaim of Obadiah.
+
+"Mr. Wilkins," worried Virginia, "do you suppose that you could have
+hurt Mr. Curtis's feelings?"
+
+"I did not intend to. Men are never as gentle as women, though."
+Hezekiah was playing a foxy game. "A man is rougher. It is easy for him
+to hurt the feelings of a sensitive person without having the slightest
+intention of doing so."
+
+[Illustration: "THIS REQUEST APPEARED TO REQUIRE DEEP THOUGHT"]
+
+Virginia gave serious regard to memories of a pair of black eyes. "I
+think Joe Curtis is very sensitive," she said softly.
+
+"Probably," agreed the crafty Hezekiah.
+
+"Would you mind, Mr. Wilkins--" she gave the lawyer an appealing glance
+after some moments of consideration--"if I talked with Mr. Curtis about
+it?"
+
+This request appeared to require deep thought, judging from the
+seriousness of Hezekiah's face for a few moments. Then it lightened
+as he decided, "I can see no objection to your talking to Mr. Curtis."
+The attorney's manner became cheery and hopeful. "Now, if you two
+could arrive at a friendly settlement, it might be a most satisfactory
+arrangement." Hezekiah slapped his palms together and squeezed his own
+fingers as if shaking hands with himself at the successful outcome of
+his benevolent moves. Then he chuckled softly and went on, "Let's
+see what kind of an adjustment you two youngsters can make. If I can
+approve it, I will be glad to submit it to your father."
+
+"I will see him as soon as I can, Mr. Wilkins. I can't go to the
+hospital this afternoon." Virginia's manner became very dignified,
+as she continued, "I am giving a concert, at the Lucinda Home."
+
+"Delightful." Hezekiah bowed low at the news.
+
+"I can see Mr. Curtis in the morning."
+
+"That will be quite time enough. Don't inconvenience yourself,
+Virginia." Hezekiah smiled as they arose.
+
+"Mr. Wilkins, won't you come to my concert?" asked Virginia, shyly.
+
+"It would be a pleasure, indeed, but, business first, you know." He
+waved his hands, palms upward, as if protesting the lowness of his profit.
+
+"My father said that I might tell you that he would be glad if you could
+arrange to come. He is out of town."
+
+"Oh, in that case--" Hezekiah's manner was courtly--"I deem myself
+highly privileged in accepting your invitation."
+
+As Virginia left Hezekiah's office, she found herself facing the
+open door of her father's suite. Through it Mr. Jones was visible at
+his desk, improving his mind in Obadiah's absence by reading a refined
+story by a polished author concerning genteel people. Mr. Jones needed
+physical rest and mental recreation. Upon the previous evening, Mike
+Kelly had seized his person and regardless of vigorous protests had put
+him through such a series of calisthenics, runnings, jumpings and
+rubbings that the particular soreness of each bone and muscle had merged
+into one great and common ache.
+
+At the opening of Hezekiah's door, Mr. Jones raised his eyes and,
+consequently, his head. A wave of pain swept his muscles. He grimaced
+frightfully. It was upon this distorted countenance that Virginia
+gazed. The terrifying effect of the face held the girl for a second,
+but believing it occasioned by grievous illness she hastened to the aid
+of the stricken one.
+
+Mr. Jones instantly recognized her and the course of destiny was made
+manifest. Regardless of untoward events, his social merit was appreciated
+and now one approached seeking counsel or bearing invitations to
+social festivities. She should not seek in vain. Percy Jones, private
+secretary and social adviser, was at her service. He sprang from his
+chair to meet the maid of blood with knightly bow and courtly grace.
+Alack and aday, that snare of the devil, his waste basket, was misplaced.
+He tripped against it. To avoid the thing, he raised his foot only to
+step into the throat-like neck of the monster which instantly clove
+to his shoe. Simultaneously, a flood of pain protested against his
+violent movements. In his agony, Mr. Jones lost his balance and fell
+over his desk. His outstretched hands sought safe anchorage amidst ink
+stands and mucilage bottles to rest finally in an ever spreading lake of
+ink.
+
+Virginia halted. Mr. Jones's face, rent by emotion and struggle,
+convinced her that he must be in parlous case.
+
+Kelly hurried in at the crash. He observed Mr. Jones's predicament
+with great calmness. Nodding to Virginia, he held the basket until the
+stenographer could extract his foot. Then he turned to the girl and
+said very soberly, in spite of the glint of amusement in his eye, "Mr.
+Jones is the victim of an accident and requests permission to retire
+and cleanse himself."
+
+As the crestfallen private secretary departed, Kelly and Virginia moved
+over to a window. The summer day in all of its beauty fought back the
+ugliness of the tin roofs and chimneys. The bookkeeper viewed the
+prospect. "By gum," he asked, "how'd you like to go snowshoeing?"
+This marvelous witticism was greeted by a burst of laughing applause
+from its author and the girl, far in excess of its merit.
+
+"Jones doesn't feel very well today," Kelly explained to her. "He is
+the victim of unusual exercise."
+
+"He doesn't look like a man who would over-exercise. He does not strike
+me as a man who is in the best of health," she responded.
+
+"He isn't. That's why he's so stiff and sore after a few little
+stunts. He doesn't get enough fresh air." Kelly cast a longing
+glance out of the window and turned to inspect the room. "There isn't
+enough fresh air in this place, anyway. Jones has sat in here day after
+day, sucking on cigarettes and beating on that typewriter, until good
+health no longer knows him. But," announced the bookkeeper with great
+confidence, "I am old Doctor Fix'em. I'm giving him a course in
+physical training which will fix him. I'm going to make that lad forget
+his present pains by giving him worse ones."
+
+"I think it is perfectly fine of you, Mr. Kelly, to help Mr. Jones,"
+exclaimed Virginia, highly interested in the bookkeeper's plans for the
+benefit of the stenographer. "It must make you very happy to be able
+to do it."
+
+"Sure," he agreed. "I laugh myself sick every time I give him a new
+stunt to do. That fellow has good points. One of these days he's going
+to have the smile on some one else. You can't keep a good man down."
+
+"Couldn't I help Mr. Jones, too?" asked the girl eagerly.
+
+Kelly stared at her in amazement. "No, it can't be done," he cried,
+emphatically. "Whoever heard of a woman trainer? You've had no
+experience anyway."
+
+Virginia blushed. "I didn't mean to help train him." She waxed
+indignant at the thought. "I only offered to do those things which I
+could do."
+
+"Oh--" Kelly was relieved--"go as far as you like. There is plenty of
+chance for all on that fellow. It would be dandy if you could work it to
+get him out of doors once in awhile."
+
+"Watch me," she promised.
+
+Mr. Jones reentered the room physically clean and mentally chastened but
+deep in gloom. He had forgotten that the darkest hour comes just before
+dawn. Yet, a private secretary must not allow his personal feelings to
+interfere with duty. He approached Virginia in what might be described
+as a graceful manner marred by lameness. "I regret the unfortunate
+occurrence which delayed me," he apologized. "If Miss Dale wishes to
+see her father--"
+
+A pair of blue eyes rested upon him in the kindest manner and a most
+attractive mouth said, "I know that my father is away today and that
+neither of you has much to do."
+
+Obadiah's official staff looked guilty.
+
+Virginia went on with enthusiasm. "We are going to give a concert this
+afternoon for the old ladies at the Lucinda Home. It will be lovely. A
+brass band--ice cream--Mr. Wilkins--"
+
+The high interest of the young man cooled slightly at the lawyer's name,
+regardless of the pleasing company in which he was mentioned.
+
+"Won't you both come? You could help me so much."
+
+"We can't get off," declared the practical Kelly.
+
+"Yes, you can. My father said that I could invite whom I pleased."
+She turned pleadingly to Mr. Jones. "You'll come and bring Mr. Kelly,
+won't you?"
+
+The victim of disaster was as one hypnotized by the charm of her
+presence. Before the wiles of women, his gallant soul became as putty.
+Mr. Jones stammered, he stuttered, he blushed--and from his lips came
+the whispered answer, "Yes, Ma'am."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+OLD HEARTS MADE YOUNG
+
+
+Nature left nothing to be desired in the weather as the hour approached
+for the concert at the Lucinda Home. Over the closely shaven lawn and
+beneath the shade of the trees lay the tranquillity of a summer's
+afternoon.
+
+This was disturbed, shortly after lunch, by the roaring of the Dale car
+as it rushed up the curving driveway to the main building. It was driven
+by Ike, and Serena sat beside him in the purity of apparel, freshly
+laundered and starched.
+
+But, even at this hour, the aged ladies had retired to their apartments
+to make ready for the gaieties of the late afternoon.
+
+The coming of the Dale car was the beginning of a series of commotions in
+this haven of peace. A big army truck arrived with a noise of thunder
+bringing trestles and plank for a temporary band stand. It stopped,
+and through the balmy silence sounded a rough, coarse, masculine voice,
+"Where in the devil do they want this blame thing?" Answered his
+companion, "You can search me."
+
+A window closed with a crash to shut out contamination from such vulgar
+sources.
+
+As the army truck and its crew noisily departed, another machine entered
+the grounds. It was a quiet car, not given to loud or uncouth uproar.
+Stealing up the driveway, it stopped. Mr. Vivian emerged, garbed in
+spotless white. Other soft stepping, mild mannered men, similarly
+clothed, accompanied him, bearing freezers of cream and boxes of cake.
+
+Serena entered into conference with the caterer. "Des ole ladies dey
+wants der tea mo'e den yo'alls sweet stuff."
+
+Mr. Vivian appeared pained at such taste.
+
+Serena went on, "Ah's gwine mek de tea in de kitchen an' surve it an'
+de sandwiches outen de side do'."
+
+Disgust sat upon Mr. Vivian's features. "I shall serve the cream from
+under the trees, in the cool fresh air," he announced.
+
+"You gwine surve it full o' bugs an' flies den," predicted Serena.
+
+Mr. Vivian, through the exercise of self-control, stood mute.
+
+Serena sought information. "Who gwine surve ma tea an' ma sandwiches?"
+she inquired.
+
+Mr. Vivian whistled a few measures of melody, softly. Being thus engaged,
+he could not respond.
+
+Serena pressed for an answer. "Ain' yo'all do dat?"
+
+"Possibly my men may assist you," the caterer conceded, as he glanced
+at his assistants grouped at his back.
+
+Serena was supported by Ike and several colored females, employees of the
+Home, into whose good graces the chauffeur was endeavoring to ingratiate
+himself.
+
+The situation was tense.
+
+Serena's hands were upon her hips and her entire body vibrated. Her
+eyes glistened with rage and rested menacingly upon the caterer. She
+was clothed in an air of mystery. Her opponent could not determine
+whether she proposed to rely upon logical argument, abusive language, or
+physical violence.
+
+Mr. Vivian noted uneasily the mass of vibrant temper he had aroused. He
+stood his ground, however, and did not retreat.
+
+"Whoall is er givin' dis yere sociable? Whoall pays fo' dis yere
+'tainment? Ah asts you dat? Answer me, whiteman?"
+
+Ike drew nigh, inclining an ear that he might miss no word of the
+altercation. "Dats right," he interjected in a rich mellow voice.
+
+Mr. Vivian gave no heed to the aid and comfort vouchsafed his adversary.
+
+"Ah tells you who pays. Ah'm right yere to tell yo'all who pays,"
+proclaimed Serena. "Miss Virginy done pay. Dat who." Hers was a song
+of triumph now. "Ahs her nu'se. Ah's her housekeeper." She shook a
+great fist at the caterer. "Whiteman, wot ah sez, ah means. Ef yo'all
+ain' gwine surve ma sandwiches an' ma tea, jes tek yo'se'f an' des
+yere white waiters away f'om yere."
+
+"Dat's right," concurred Ike, confident that he appeared to good
+advantage before the employees of the Home and that, through his stalwart
+support of Serena, he was laying up treasure for a rainy day.
+
+"What's all this talk about?" Mr. Vivian demanded suddenly as if being
+a stranger to the controversy he sought enlightenment. "Who said that
+I wouldn't serve your sandwiches and tea?"
+
+Serena, after the manner of her generation, was wise. She understood
+the whiteman and knew when to stop war and resort to diplomacy. She
+whirled upon the hapless Ike. "Ain' yo'all got no bettah manners
+an' to stan' der er listin' at dis gent'men an' me a talkin'.
+You 'minds me o' er ole turkey gobbler er standin der wid you' haid
+twisted."
+
+Such an unlooked-for attack, from one with whom he had publicly allied
+himself, grieved Ike sorely. He retreated crestfallen and humiliated.
+
+When Virginia entered the kitchen she found Serena and Mr. Vivian
+laboring diligently and as intimate friends, decrying the efficiency of
+their assistants without regard to color or previous condition of
+servitude.
+
+Another army truck brought the band. White collars and ties showed
+festively above brass buttoned blue coats. Hair, mustaches, and whiskers
+had been dressed with extraordinary care, and aged musicians looked
+from beneath campaign hats worn at a most rakish angle. As they took
+possession of the stand, there ensued a period of melancholy tootings
+as instruments were adjusted and lips made supple.
+
+Excitement seized the old ladies at their toilets, as these isolated
+blarings smote their ears. Certain partially deaf ones, confident
+that the concert had begun and desirous of missing no note of it,
+descended, minus switches, false fronts and, indeed, in one case, an
+over-skirt. These omissions became the subject of great embarrassment
+when discovered later.
+
+As three o'clock approached, a prim calmness fell upon the inmates of
+the home when they assembled stiffly gowned in best apparel.
+
+Hezekiah Wilkins, in holiday garb of silk hat and cutaway frock, arrived.
+Mrs. Henderson came a few moments later. Certain uninvited ancient
+men dressed as for a fiesta followed. Mr. Jones and Kelly entered the
+grounds with an air of having casually dropped in and not intending to
+stay long. The stenographer wore a natty suit, the check of which caught
+the discriminating eye of Ike as it rounded the gate. At the scheduled
+moment for the concert, Colonel Ryan approached and, after saluting
+Virginia, seated himself upon the porch and viewed the band with the
+pride and pleasure of its proprietor.
+
+At the tap of the leader, the onlookers were dazzled by golden
+reflections as the musicians lifted their instruments. With a burst
+of harmony, Virginia's concert was on. Even at the first note, the
+stiff dignity of the audience melted and they conversed. Women whose
+taciturnity had been remarked for years in that place of silence became
+loquacious.
+
+The concert made an attractive picture. The band was upon the lawn in
+front of the building. On the lower porch and in shady places about the
+grounds were groups of aged women. Their white hair blended softly with
+the dresses of grey and black, and soft fichus or treasured bits of lace
+were drawn about wrinkled necks by cameos and big brooches.
+
+Mr. Wilkins conducted Mrs. Henderson to several spots from which to
+hear the music. They were rejected summarily by the fastidious widow on
+the grounds of ants below or spiders above and the general presence of
+bugs. Finally she made her own selection, confessing a suspicion of the
+presence in concealment of grasshoppers and the fear that the place was
+attractive to frogs and grass snakes.
+
+Perceiving Hezekiah's holiday attire and Mrs. Henderson's manner,
+Mr. Vivian deemed them important personages and served them bountifully
+with his own hands. He was rewarded by hearing the widow tell her
+escort, "You can't buy decent ice cream in South Ridgefield. It's all
+adulterated and unfit for human consumption. The people who make such
+stuff should be put in jail for life."
+
+Hezekiah chuckled contentedly. "Why not chop off their heads?" he
+suggested kindly.
+
+Mr. Vivian departed hastily.
+
+From their position they could see Virginia moving busily about from
+group to group.
+
+Mrs. Henderson indicated her. "There is a dear girl," she said fondly.
+"It's Elinor Dale come back again."
+
+"Virginia is very like her mother," he agreed.
+
+"Why did Elinor ever marry a man like Obadiah?" she sighed.
+
+Hezekiah liked sandwiches. Particularly lettuce sandwiches with
+mayonnaise dressing. Mrs. Henderson's question caught him unawares.
+"Wanted to," he mumbled through his mouthful.
+
+"Hezekiah Wilkins, an answer of that sort kills conversation. You give
+me a sociable reply."
+
+The muffling sandwiches had been gotten rid of. "Fascinated," he
+suggested.
+
+"Fascinated by a serpent," sniffed Mrs. Henderson.
+
+The inference that Obadiah was a reptile failed to effect the appetite
+of his legal adviser. He appropriated another sandwich.
+
+"Why do you work for him, anyway?" she demanded sharply.
+
+"Money," confessed Hezekiah, between bites.
+
+"Hezekiah, there is something about your conversation which irritates
+me. I think that its brevity gets on my nerves." She gave him a
+questioning look. "I want to talk seriously with an old friend,
+Hezekiah. I want to ask him to do something for me."
+
+He stopped eating and turned towards her. The humor had faded from his
+face and in its place was a certain sweetness with much of sorrow in it.
+"Over twenty years ago, you asked me to be a brother to you, Mary,"
+he said softly. "I have always tried to be a good one--to be ready to
+obey your slightest wish."
+
+There was pain and pity in her countenance as she reached over and patted
+his hand. "I know it, Hezekiah," she whispered. "You have been too
+good a brother to me. You should have married." There was a catch in
+her voice and her eyes were moist, when she continued, "I never intended
+to condemn you to a life of loneliness when I married Tom Henderson."
+
+His thoughts flew back over the long years. "It has been lonely, Mary,"
+he admitted. "Are you sorry that I could not forget?"
+
+"No," she whispered, winking back her tears. "It has been a beautiful
+tribute--too beautiful for me. I was never worthy of it."
+
+"I am the better judge of that," he murmured quietly.
+
+For a time they were lost in the dreams of what might have been, when
+they were disturbed by the big booming laugh of Colonel Ryan.
+
+"Hezekiah Wilkins," exclaimed Mrs. Henderson with some sharpness, "we
+are a pair of sentimental old fools to dig up the past. We should save
+our strength for the future."
+
+"Implying that we might better be preparing to dig our own graves. Is
+that your idea?" he demanded.
+
+Indignant eyes in which but little sentiment lingered, rested upon the
+lawyer. "I suppose that you wished to be amusing, Hezekiah, but for a
+man noted for his tact that was an inexcusably gruesome speech. We may be
+old, as you intimate," she snapped, "but we have work to do before--we
+get busy on our own graves." Her gaze traveled across the lawn and
+came to rest upon the girlish figure of Virginia standing beside the
+Colonel. Hennie's mood softened, and when she spoke, it was as if she
+were thinking aloud. "If we have met sorrow and disillusionment in our
+own lives, Hezekiah, and with smiling lips have swallowed the bitter
+mouthful, should we not be willing to keep those whom we love from a
+similar experience?"
+
+Hezekiah bowed in sober agreement.
+
+"Virginia Dale is very happy this afternoon," Mrs. Henderson went
+on, "because she is doing what her mother, Elinor, always loved to
+do--make others happy. It has never entered her head that her father is
+not generous and kind--that he is the mean and selfish man that you and
+I know."
+
+The widow reached over and laid her hand upon that of the lawyer.
+"I am going to tell you a story, Hezekiah. It is about those good
+old days when you and I used to dance and do other gay and frivolous
+things--before we laid ourselves on the shelf." Her face saddened. "My
+story is mostly a guess," she continued, "and it is about what I
+think happened to Elinor Dale in those long bedridden hours before she
+died."
+
+Again, he bowed and he was saddened, too, by the memories she recalled.
+
+"It is my guess, Hezekiah," she resumed, "that before Elinor Dale
+died, the scales fell from her eyes and she knew the true Obadiah."
+Mrs. Henderson sighed. "Poor Elinor knew that she had to go. Too loyal
+to confide in any one, she wanted to fight his selfish influence over
+her baby girl after she had gone. Let me tell you what she did--the poor
+weapon she was forced to resort to, Hezekiah." The widow shook her head
+sorrowfully. "Elinor marked a poem in a book and pledged me to give it
+to Virginia on her eighteenth birthday.
+
+"This afternoon is one of the first fruits of the seed poor Elinor
+sowed years ago. Her daughter has grown, thanks to poor Serena's
+efforts--they ought to be successful because I don't believe that
+old negro ever bought the child a hat without taking it up in her
+prayers--into a beautiful woman. Fertile soil for the crop her
+mother would harvest, but--" Mrs. Henderson paused and her eyes
+flashed--"there is that Obadiah. Only the kindness of fate has kept
+Virginia from understanding him. When she does there will be a day of
+reckoning."
+
+Mrs. Henderson leaned towards Hezekiah and looked into his eyes with
+her own overflowing with a great tenderness. "My faithful brother,"
+she whispered, "when that day comes won't you do your part in keeping
+that sweet girl happy even as she is trying to do it for these old
+ladies? In your way you can do more than I can, Hezekiah. Won't you
+do it for Elinor?" She hesitated for a moment and continued, very
+softly, very gently, "Won't you do it for me?"
+
+He returned Hennie's look, his face alight with tenderness. "I will,
+Mary," he promised.
+
+The activities of Mr. Jones at this period were interesting. Regardless
+of his aches and pains, he deemed it his duty, as Obadiah's private
+secretary, to assume an active part in making the entertainment a
+success. With this in mind, he had volunteered his services to Virginia.
+Rewarding him with a sweet smile, she had sent him for a cup of tea. Mr.
+Jones performed this errand with great expedition and dispatch, thereby
+winning the gratitude of an aged tea drinker. Virginia being busy, Mr.
+Jones determined to exhibit his zeal in so signal a manner that it might
+not be overlooked. Returning to the kitchen, he seized a tray of edibles
+and, bearing it forth, began to distribute its contents with great energy.
+
+Instantly, excitement seized the white coated waiters. They laid
+aside their trays and conferred. Soon, above the music, even above
+conversation, the notes of a whistle sounded. It was not the piercing
+call of a policeman or of a referee, it was not the pipe of a boatswain,
+it was rather the low, mourning call of a dove. As it smote the ears
+of Mr. Vivian he became as one transfixed with horror. He became
+ghastly pale as he recognized that the earnest efforts of Mr. Jones
+alone stood between the guests and famine.
+
+Recovering himself, the caterer hurried towards his assembled employees.
+From his manner it appeared he hoped for the best but suspected the
+worst. "What's the matter here?" he demanded in low, tense tones.
+
+"We have struck," murmured the waiters.
+
+Mr. Vivian's worst expectations were confirmed. "Why?" he inquired,
+with the usual interest of employers under similar circumstances.
+
+The strikers turned and pointed at the form of Mr. Jones as he
+distributed a tray of viands with such marvelous rapidity that the
+effect of the walkout was as yet unnoticed by the aged. "Scab,"
+they hissed in hostile sibilation. "Strikebreaker," they groaned,
+impressed by the wonderful dexterity of the stenographer.
+
+"Where did that bird come from?" demanded the amazed Mr. Vivian as he
+viewed the skill of the gratuitous laborer.
+
+"You know," taunted an irate waiter; but Mr. Vivian's honest
+countenance gave him the lie in his teeth, noiselessly.
+
+Curiosity held the little group. They examined Mr. Jones's work with
+professional interest, making surmises as to his identity. "Looks like a
+jockey," said one. "More like a barber," urged another. "I'll bet
+ten cents he is an ex-bartender," wagered a sportive character.
+
+Even as they watched, Mr. Jones approached Virginia, offering her food
+with profound bows and courtly manners.
+
+"He is a waiter," declared the strikers with one accord, and again they
+rested suspicious eyes upon Mr. Vivian.
+
+"That dub ain't working for me," affirmed the caterer.
+
+Much elated at successfully allaying famine, Mr. Jones turned anew
+towards the kitchen. Had not Virginia smiled upon him? He swung his tray
+and whistled a merry tune. In the pleasure of serving others, the aches
+and pains of the athlete were forgotten. At the kitchen door he was
+surrounded by resolute men.
+
+"Make no resistance," a determined voice warned.
+
+The white coated mob moved away escorting Mr. Jones as towards summary
+execution.
+
+Scenting happenings of interest, Ike followed.
+
+From the kitchen Serena sought information. "Whar yo'all gwine?" she
+demanded.
+
+"Dey done struck. Yah--yah--yah," laughed Ike.
+
+"Shut you' big mouf. Ah ain' er astin' you nothin'." Serena
+reproved the chauffeur and then she charged into the midst of the mob.
+"Wot yo'all mean a leavin' ma trays an' dirty dishes out in dat
+ya'd? Ain' you know how to wait?" Her eyes flashed her indignation.
+"Go git ma dishes an' ma trays afo'e ah meks you move fas'er den you
+lak."
+
+As snow before an April sun the strike melted. The waiters departed
+hastily for their field of duty, leaving Mr. Jones alone with Serena.
+She glared at him fiercely. "How cum you mek ma waiters mad?" she
+demanded.
+
+Amazed at the strange results of his diligence, Mr. Jones stood silent
+under her accusation.
+
+She inspected his slight figure contemptuously. "Clea' out," she
+commanded, "afo ah lays ma han' on you an' breks you, boy."
+
+This last victim of woman's tongue moved rapidly towards the front lawn
+seeking safety amidst aged women. On the way he passed a fellow sufferer.
+
+Serena's cutting remarks had, for Ike, turned an afternoon of pleasure
+and recreation into a time of humiliation. Here was music, food,
+agreeable company, all turned into dust by public reprimands. Yet the
+inextinguishable fire of hope burned in his breast. In the fullness of
+time, Serena might forget, allow him to enter the kitchen as one in
+good standing and, in the alluring company of the colored maids, to
+partake of refreshments. Until then he must wait. Doing this, he
+watched the assemblage with melancholy eyes. He considered the band
+futile. It played no jazz. In an unhappy hour, tobacco brings solace to
+man. Ike produced a cigarette. Lighting it, he puffed nervously,
+suspecting the use of the weed in this haunt of aged women to be taboo.
+Happy laughter arose in the kitchen easily identified as the hearty
+tones of Serena, amused, a favorable augury to the courtier cooling
+his heels in the ante room. Casting down his cigarette, Ike turned to
+reconnoiter. The butt dropped beneath the porch into some ancient
+leaves, damp but inflammable.
+
+The leaves ignited and smouldered. Fanned by a gentle breeze the fire
+grew into a burning which produced much smoke and little flame.
+
+Upon the porch sat Mrs. Comfort Bean. Life to her was an open book. She
+had survived three husbands. The first, a drunkard, had drowned, not
+in rum, but in the river into which he had the misfortune to fall while
+returning home from a convivial evening enjoyed with other gay lads at
+the village tavern. The second, a gambler, was shot in an altercation
+over the ill-timed presence of five aces in a card game. The third, a
+fragile thing, had faded like a flower. Mrs. Bean had neither regrets
+for, nor fear of, man. She knew him too well. She had come to anchor in
+the Lucinda Home like a storm ridden ship seeking safe harbor after a
+stormy passage. Here lay a peace the like of which she had never known.
+
+But one cloud rested upon her horizon. Mrs. Bean was afraid of fire. She
+considered that because the inmates could not dwell upon the ground floor
+of the Home, the place was a fire trap and the most horrible holocaust,
+not only possible but probable. To inure herself to the inevitable, she
+read the harrowing details of every fire involving fatalities.
+
+Having enjoyed refreshments, Mrs. Bean had retired to the porch that she
+might listen to the music in the peace of her own thoughts. She sniffed.
+It was but a tentative sniff. Not a full, deep whiff. Such sniffs she
+gave many times each day. "Somethin's burnin'," said Mrs. Comfort
+Bean. Hearers being absent, there was no sympathetic response. "I smell
+fire," she announced in louder tones. A phenomenon puzzled Mrs. Bean's
+highly developed olfactory nerves. Her nostrils were assailed by the
+odor of ignited hay instead of the fateful smell of burning wood.
+
+The fire smouldered and spread. A gust of wind came. Mrs. Comfort Bean,
+sniffing expectantly, was enveloped in a thin cloud of smoke. It caught
+her when, dissatisfied by preliminary investigations, she had taken a
+full, deep whiff. Mrs. Bean was almost asphyxiated. Gasping and choking
+she strangled in the efficient smudge of Ike's preparing. A change
+in the wind relieved her. "Fire!" she screamed.
+
+As this fateful cry, anguish-toned, rang over the festive throng, many an
+aged heart stood still. Shrieks arose as well as answering alarms.
+For the moment terror held them, and then certain women rushed for
+the building that they might ascend to their apartments and rescue
+choice possessions. Other more hardened spirits removed their chairs
+to positions of advantage that in greater comfort, they might "Watch
+the blamed old thing burn down."
+
+The coolness of military men was well exemplified by Colonel Ryan. He
+arose from his chair at the first alarm and shouted, "Sit down," in a
+voice which had arisen above the roar of cannon. Perceiving the stampede
+towards the building, he thundered, "Two of you waiters keep those
+women out of there." In utter disregard of the high cost of shoes,
+he roared, "Stamp that fire out!" In searching tones, he demanded,
+"Who set it?" No guilty man confessed, but Ike became ill at ease and
+sought retirement in the crowd.
+
+The Colonel turned to the leader of the band which rested between
+numbers. "Play!" he commanded. These ancient musicians had little
+regard for modern music. They loved the tuneful airs of the past and were
+about to render some selections from "The Serenade." At the word
+of the leader, the chorus from "Don Jose of Seville," the words of
+which run, "Let her go, piff, paff," pealed forth.
+
+To avert impending peril, Mrs. Comfort Bean had remained upon the porch
+emitting loud screams at intervals as if they were minute guns. She
+disappeared into the hall. She was back in a moment. Kelly was gazing
+beneath the porch at the smouldering leaves. She called to him, "You
+big red-headed feller," and when he looked up, she screamed, "Fire
+extinguisher."
+
+He nodded understandingly and in a moment had procured the apparatus
+from the hall and carried it to the end of the porch where a group of
+waiters, assisted by their late enemy, Mr. Jones, were endeavoring to
+stamp the fire out.
+
+For an instant Kelly perused the directions. Then he inverted the
+extinguisher. There was a hissing as of a monstrous snake. From the
+nozzle gushed a fizzing, sizzling jet like a soda fountain in action.
+Kelly whirled about to bring the stream to bear upon the conflagration.
+As he turned, the frothing liquid circled with him and cut the check
+suit of Mr. Jones, the white coats of the waiters, and the Norfolk jacket
+of Ike, at the waist line. Now arose the protests and violent language of
+angry men.
+
+"You big chump, ain't you got no sense?" gasped Mr. Jones,
+ungrammatically.
+
+"Get out of the way so that I can put this fire out. You are kicking it
+all over the place," the bookkeeper responded.
+
+"I have as much right here as you--you big lump of grease," proclaimed
+Mr. Jones as he inspected with indignation the dark colored belt with
+which he had been invested.
+
+Kelly cast a menacing look at the stenographer. "If you don't shut up,
+I am going to stick this nozzle down your throat," he threatened.
+
+Mr. Jones watched the fizzling stream as if estimating its physiological
+effect under the conditions named, and remained silent.
+
+Loud laughter sounded in the kitchen. Ike, cooled by his bath, had
+presented himself for comforting.
+
+Serena thus welcomed him. "Dey souse you in saltpeter an' you done
+smoke youse'f so you mus' be cu'ed lak er ham. Sit by de stove. Ah
+gwine give you er cup o' coffee," she chuckled, "ef yo'all smells
+ham er feels youse'f er beginnin' to fry, git out o' yere afo you
+greases de flo."
+
+So Ike rested in comfort, sandwiches and coffee at his side, and smiled
+pleasantly upon the maids. Truly, after affliction, he had entered into
+the blessings of the promised land.
+
+The fire was out. Kelly moved to return the extinguisher to its place.
+With a thud, a white bundle dropped from the third floor upon his head.
+It appeared soft but upon its touch Kelly sank to the ground, blinking
+vacantly.
+
+Forgetful of their recent altercation, Mr. Jones rushed to his fellow
+worker's assistance. "What's the matter?" he demanded.
+
+Kelly rubbed his head. "Somebody hit me with a rock," he answered,
+observing Mr. Jones meanwhile with suspicion.
+
+The stenographer kicked the bundle open. Then, howling with pain, he
+grabbed his toe. In the center of the bundle lay a mantel clock. "Might
+have killed you--easy," he spluttered at Kelly, and raised indignant
+eyes to where an old woman, her wrinkled face filled with anxiety, leaned
+over the railing. "Did you throw that clock?" demanded Mr. Jones.
+
+She held her hand to her ear and smiled sweetly. "What?" she called.
+
+"Clock," bawled Mr. Jones. "Did you drop that clock?"
+
+"I can't hear you," she answered.
+
+"Clock," yelled the private secretary.
+
+"Yes, it's mine. Thank you for telling me that it is not hurt," she
+responded in great contentment to the vexed Mr. Jones.
+
+The reunited official staff of Obadiah moved on, one member limping, the
+other caressing his head.
+
+Gentle peace returned for the moment to the emotion-swept aged ones. But
+now, through the gates of the Home rushes the fire department of South
+Ridgefield. With awe inspiring roar and mighty clangor of bells the
+engines advance, reflecting gorgeously in the afternoon sun. Taxpayers
+must have thrilled with pride as they remarked the speed of approach and
+energy with which these public servants entered upon their duties. Even
+as they halt, powerful pumps sound, ready to deluge the edifice with
+water while enthusiastic men with axes rush into the halls and upon
+the roof, prepared to hew.
+
+"Where is the fire?" demanded the chief in a voice of authority.
+
+Silently, Mrs. Bean led him to the blackened leaves.
+
+"Who turned in that alarm?" he asked with great sternness.
+
+"I did," calmly replied the widow of three.
+
+For a moment he looked down into the wrinkled face filled with the pride
+and satisfaction of duty well done. He raised his helmet and scratched
+his head. "The whole department out for a bonfire," he grumbled.
+
+Virginia came and smiled timidly at this burly man. "I am sorry that
+you have been given all of this trouble," she said. "I have arranged
+to serve refreshments to your men, if you don't object."
+
+When his little hostess left him, the grim old fire fighter stood at the
+head of the steps and gazed at the waiters ministering with energy to
+the voracious appetites of his men. "Huh," he chuckled, "looks like
+that blame bonfire cooked up a pretty good feed for my boys."
+
+The concert ended and the musicians awaited, in a group, the truck which
+was to take them back to the Soldiers' Home. Colonel Ryan went to speak
+to the leader. As he turned to Virginia, who had been at his side, he
+discovered her thanking the members of the organization individually
+for their part in the concert.
+
+"Your music was beautiful," she told a cornet player. "Every one
+enjoyed it so much." She made apology to the entire number. "It is too
+bad that the fire alarm disturbed you."
+
+"That weren't no disturbance, Ma'am," the cornetist reassured
+her. He was bowed with age and had a shrill cracked voice. Tucking
+his instrument under his arm, he filled a disreputable pipe and went on.
+"No, Ma'am, that weren't what I'd call no disturbance. In the war our
+old Colonel used to make us go out on the skirmish line and play. Our
+leader allowed that the rattle of bullets on the drum heads ruined the
+time."
+
+"How brave of you," Virginia marveled at this thumping tale of war.
+
+"Had to be brave in my regiment, Ma'am. Old Colonel Dean was a bob-cat
+and he expected his men to be catamounts," he cackled.
+
+A clarionetist chewed a stubby mustache and listened to the remarks of
+the cornet player with a hostile air. "They ain't over their squallin'
+yit," he proclaimed, and the musicians roared with laughter.
+
+Shaking his old pipe wrathfully at his fellows, the man with the cornet
+challenged them. "Colonel Dean was a bob-cat," he maintained. "A
+ragin', clawin', scratchin', bob-cat of a fighter and the whole
+regiment was just like the old man."
+
+As the name Dean was mentioned, an old lady arose from a group with
+whom she had been chatting and drew near the musicians. She was tall
+and dignified and a cap of lace was pinned upon her snowy head. She
+peered at the cornetist through her spectacles. "Were you speaking of
+Colonel Dean of the Infantry?" she asked sweetly.
+
+"Yes, Ma'am," the cornet player growled. "I was a talkin' about old
+Colonel Dean of my regiment, a ragin', clawin', scratchin', fightin'
+man." His bellicose tones indicated the danger of contradiction and
+displayed a suspicion that his questioner lifted her voice in behalf
+of his opponents.
+
+"Colonel Dean," she said gently, "was my husband. Were you with him at
+Shiloh?"
+
+A great change swept over the cornetist. He bowed deeply, his hat
+sweeping the ground. His voice was reverential, even tender, as he
+replied, "I was behind him there, Ma'am--his bugler. I helped to
+carry him from the field."
+
+The group was very serious now. When the old veteran spoke again he could
+not conceal the emotion which shook him. "Colonel Dean lived a brave
+man, Ma'am, and he died--" he hesitated, seeking words--"just like a
+soldier orter die." He straightened proudly, his old eyes flashing.
+"Boys," he called, "my Colonel's lady. Attention!" As one man
+they stiffened. Each hand sought the rim of a hat and together swept
+forward in the old time salute.
+
+Mrs. Dean acknowledged the honor with a bow of great dignity, but the
+wrinkled hand at her side was shaking. For an instant the frail body held
+its poise and then broke beneath the storm of feeling which beset it.
+She seemed to shrink and would have fallen had not Virginia caught the
+withered form in her arms and helped the old lady to a seat. After a time
+the tears were fewer and the sobs lessened.
+
+Mrs. Dean turned to the girl. "Forgive me, child," she begged.
+"Forgive the weakness of an old woman." A withered hand stroked a
+soft white one. "You have given me great happiness today, dearie."
+Her eyes returned to the waiting members of the band. "I think," she
+said very gently, "my soldier boys wish to speak to me." She arose and
+one by one and silently the musicians came forward and took her hand.
+
+A little later Mrs. Henderson and Hezekiah found Virginia at the foot
+of the steps where she had just left Mrs. Dean. The girl was gazing off
+into the distance.
+
+"Virginia Dale, you have been crying," Hennie said, as she noted a
+telltale moisture of the eyes.
+
+"No, Hennie, I am wonderfully happy."
+
+"So much so that you had to cry, dearie?" The older woman smiled
+tenderly. Raising her hands she caught Virginia's cheeks between them
+and looked down into the big blue eyes. "It was a success, dear--a
+great success," she giggled mischievously for one of her years. "You
+told us, remember, that the place needed stirring up. Bless your heart,
+you shook it with an earthquake."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+MORE TROUBLE
+
+
+"It is a fine form of advertisement and comes cheap," thought Obadiah
+as he read, with pleasure, certain laudatory references to himself and
+his daughter, in an article regarding the concert at the Lucinda Home,
+prominently displayed in the morning paper.
+
+He told her about it. "There is a very nice account of your concert
+at the Lucinda Home. They give you great credit." He glanced at her
+proudly. "You made a Dale success of it, didn't you?"
+
+His words as well as her own satisfaction at the outcome of the concert
+made Virginia very happy. All that morning she sang as she went about
+her various affairs in the big house until Serena smiled to herself
+and muttered, "Dat chil' is a mekin mo'e noise an' er jay bird er
+yellin' caze de cher'ies is ripe."
+
+The joyous mood was yet upon the girl when she went to the hospital that
+afternoon and found Joe Curtis sitting up in bed for the first time.
+"You are looking fine," she told him.
+
+"Don't make me blush. I am a modest youth," he protested.
+
+Her cheeks flushed prettily. "I am not complimenting your looks but your
+health."
+
+"It is all due to the shave, anyway," he grinned. "The fatal symptoms
+are not so apparent."
+
+She observed his face with interest. "It does look smoother," she
+admitted. "Who shaved you? Did Miss Knight?"
+
+"Hush!" he whispered in mock terror. "Don't let her hear you. She
+didn't shave me, but she might want to. That would be the last straw. My
+proud spirit would never survive the outrage of that woman wielding a
+razor over my tender skin."
+
+"I will ask her to shave you. Perhaps she may let me help," giggled
+Virginia.
+
+"I have always looked forward to your visits."
+
+"You wouldn't be glad to see me even if I came to shave you?" she
+demanded with severity.
+
+He closed his eyes.
+
+"Answer me," she commanded in a stern voice.
+
+"I suffer great pain," he groaned.
+
+"You are pretending. Answer my question."
+
+With closed eyes he pondered aloud. "If she shaved me, her hands would
+touch my face. They would caress my cheeks, softly--"
+
+Virginia blushed. "I wouldn't touch your face for--for--anything,"
+she interrupted.
+
+"How would you shave me then? Who ever heard of a barber who did not
+touch the face of the people he shaved?"
+
+"I won't do the shaving. I'll bring the hot water. It will be scalding
+hot, too," she promised.
+
+"Coward," he taunted her, "to scald a man with three ribs and a leg
+broken."
+
+She gave him a very friendly look for one supposed to harbor such brutal
+intentions; but as he referred to his injuries the fun died out of her
+face. "It is unfair for you to suffer while I bear no part of the
+punishment for my own thoughtlessness." Her lips trembled.
+
+Joe reached over and patted her hand. "It was my own fault, I tell
+you," he argued. "I am all hunky dory now, anyway."
+
+"I know that my father would be glad to help you. Won't you let him,
+please?" she begged.
+
+"I want no help." His reply was brusque. "I am able to take care of
+myself."
+
+Virginia viewed him with thoughtful eyes. "I am afraid, Joe," she
+protested, "that you only look at this matter from your own point of
+view. There is my side, too. I want my conscience cleared of that old
+accident. Every time I think of it, I am miserable. Is it nice that I
+should be unhappy every time I think of the first time I met you?"
+
+His mood softened and his eyes showed it by their tenderness. "I want
+every minute of your life to be happy," he said with warmth.
+
+She reddened under his words but was quick to follow up her advantage.
+"Help me to be, then," she pleaded.
+
+"There should be a way to satisfy us both," he admitted. He dropped
+his head back upon his pillow and studied the ceiling for a time. He made
+a suggestion but she shook her head violently.
+
+She urged something and watched him expectantly.
+
+All at once he began to chuckle. "I have it," he cried.
+
+She leaned towards him and for a long time they were engaged in a
+conversation which gave them both great pleasure and aroused their
+enthusiasm to the highest degree.
+
+Miss Knight came along the aisle and stopped at Joe's bedside. "You
+people are having such a good time that I have to come and get into it."
+
+They welcomed her as an intimate friend.
+
+"We'll have Joe out in a roller chair before long," the nurse boasted.
+"That will be pleasanter because he can receive his visitors on the
+lawn these fine days," she giggled. "After that it won't be long
+until the hour of sad farewells, will it, Joe?"
+
+"Don't you worry, there will be no tears in my farewell I can tell you.
+I shall be so delighted to get from under your tyrannical sway that I
+am afraid my joy will give me a relapse and keep me in your clutches."
+
+Miss Knight shook her head at the depravity of men. "How's that for
+ungratefulness? They bring him to me helpless with pain and I bring him
+back to health. Now he calls me a tyrant. Is that the way to reward a
+faithful and devoted nurse?"
+
+"Listen a minute, Knightie," begged Joe.
+
+Virginia laughed barefacedly.
+
+Miss Knight squelched the motorcyclist with a look, and addressed her
+remarks to Virginia. "Did you hear that, now? _Knightie_--what kind of
+a way is that to address a lady? The minute you utter a kind word near
+him, he gets gay. He's the freshest thing I ever had in this ward."
+She shook her head with weariness. "I've done my part. I have tried to
+train him."
+
+Joe attempted to smooth the ruffled feelings of the nurse. "Sister,"
+he expostulated, "you don't get me--"
+
+"Say," snapped Miss Knight, "if you don't cut out that 'sister'
+habit I'll get you all right before I am done with you."
+
+"Help!" groaned Joe. "What kind of a dump is this anyway? They cure
+my leg but ruin my disposition. No one could ever be the same after two
+months in this ward."
+
+"I improve them in mind and body," Miss Knight boasted.
+
+"You don't improve a thing," he retorted. "This place is a mad house.
+I am kept awake by the voices of patients asking for poison to put them
+out of their misery."
+
+"Those voices are calling for cooling drinks these warm nights,
+which," the nurse declared ruefully, "I have to prepare in the hot
+afternoons." Determination seized her. "Joe Curtis," she exclaimed,
+"you have had enough lemonade this week to bathe in and I have carried
+it to you. Unless you apologize immediately you will get no more.
+There now."
+
+Before such a threat, Joe meekly surrendered and thus addressed the
+stern-faced nurse. "Miss Knight, after listening to your bawling out,
+I know that I should have called you 'Rapper' instead of 'Knightie,'
+and I wouldn't have you as a sister at any price."
+
+The nurse tossed her head in disdain. "I don't care to be related to a
+motorcyclist," she announced.
+
+Joe grinned at Virginia. "What did I tell you? No one cares for a
+motorcyclist. They have no friends, even in a hospital."
+
+"Why should any one care about them? Their troubles are due to their
+own foolishness. They are a noisy pest in the streets and they get
+themselves hurt and take up bed space in hospitals which might be
+devoted to better uses." Miss Knight's seriousness gave way and her
+eyes danced. "And they make their nurses like them in spite of it
+all," she laughed as she hurried away to another patient.
+
+Virginia watched Joe thoughtfully. "You take a strange way to show
+Miss Knight that you like her," she told him. "You are always in an
+argument with her."
+
+"She starts the scrap, not I."
+
+"But you make her do it!"
+
+"No," he declared with earnestness, "she jumps on me to stir things up
+and give her something to talk about."
+
+"I don't understand you at all, Joe. You treat Miss Knight so
+differently from the way you treat me. Yet, you like her," Virginia
+urged.
+
+"It's such great sport teasing her."
+
+"Why don't you tease me?"
+
+Joe considered the question. "I don't know," he answered frankly. "I
+suppose it is because you are different."
+
+Curiosity seized her. "How am I different?"
+
+Great embarrassment held his tongue.
+
+She was insistent. "Won't you answer my question?" she begged.
+
+"It's a hard one. Perhaps I can't answer it."
+
+"Oh, yes, you can. Try."
+
+He made the attempt. "Perhaps it is because I have known girls like
+Miss Knight all of my life. I played with them when I was a kid, went
+to school with them, and, since I have been older, called on them and
+took them to dances."
+
+"Did you ever take them out on your motorcycle?" demanded Virginia
+almost sharply.
+
+The question surprised him. "No, I never had another seat on my wheel.
+Why?"
+
+"Oh, nothing." She was very indifferent now. "I don't think that I
+approve of girls on motorcycles. Go on," she urged. "You were telling
+about taking girls to dances. Where else did you take them?"
+
+He thought a moment. "Sometimes I took them to Vivian's and had ice
+cream or took them to a motion picture show."
+
+"Oh, what fun." Virginia was thinking aloud.
+
+"What?" he asked.
+
+She very calmly disregarded his question. "You haven't told me how I
+am different," she relentlessly persisted. "Please do."
+
+"It was the way we met, I suppose--the way I saw you first," he
+confessed, fighting back his embarrassment.
+
+"Tell me about it, Joe," she pleaded softly.
+
+"I was regaining consciousness after the accident. My whole body was a
+great pain. I was trying to understand what had happened." He hesitated
+and then went on. "I opened my eyes. For an instant everything was
+blurred and indistinct. Things were whirling about in mists and billowy
+clouds. They rolled apart and through them, constantly growing clearer,
+came your face." He was almost whispering now. "You looked too
+beautiful for this world and I believed that I was dead." A little
+smile like a wavelet before a summer's zephyr swept over his face.
+"You are a girl from the clouds to me," he said gently.
+
+A very flushed Virginia leaned towards him. A great tenderness for this
+big fellow held her, and for a moment she could not trust herself to
+speak. She reached for his hand and held it in her own. "I must go,"
+she murmured, as if driven away by her own timidity, and then, giving
+him a smile of ineffable sweetness, she left him.
+
+Joe Curtis was so tumultuously happy for the rest of that afternoon that
+it was necessary for Miss Knight to reprove him on no less than three
+occasions.
+
+Virginia called again upon Mr. Wilkins after leaving the hospital. Her
+business with the lawyer was speedily dispatched, and upon her departure
+for home, Hezekiah presented himself before Obadiah for conference.
+
+The manufacturer glanced at his counsel and indicated a seat. "I
+was on the point of sending for you," he told Hezekiah, and in a
+characteristic way went right to the matter upon his mind. "The river
+water is bothering somebody again. They have started that old row about
+the chemicals and dyes in the waste from the dye-house at the mill
+poisoning the water. The State Board of Health is trying to tell me that
+it makes the water unfit for consumption in the towns below and is
+responsible for certain forms of sickness which have appeared."
+
+"That's bad." Hezekiah looked at the ceiling.
+
+"What's bad?" demanded Obadiah with asperity.
+
+"The sickness," the lawyer explained thoughtfully.
+
+"Oh, I thought you meant the waste from the dye-house," snarled Obadiah.
+
+"Well, isn't that bad, too? I certainly am glad that South Ridgefield
+doesn't take the water for its supply below your mill. I shouldn't care
+to drink it, would you?" Hezekiah could be frank.
+
+"What I want to drink is not the question," snapped Obadiah, raising
+his voice a tone. The attitude of his attorney had aroused his
+displeasure.
+
+"No," Hezekiah went on, "it's what you can make the other fellow
+drink which interests you."
+
+Obadiah considered the lawyer's remarks unfortunate even if true. "I
+am not trying to make anybody drink. These people have been drinking
+the same water for years and now some troublemaker stirs up a hornets'
+nest," he stormed. "They want to force me to build three thousand feet
+of sewer to connect up with the city system and its new fangled sewage
+disposal plant. I suppose this town would want rent for that, too. Did
+you ever hear of such foolishness?"
+
+The lawyer cast a keen glance at his employer. "Don't forget," he
+suggested, "that you have doubled the capacity of your mill in the
+last few years and are running twice as much waste into the river as
+formerly."
+
+"I don't care," roared Obadiah, in a high key. "It will cost several
+thousand dollars to do what they want. Let those towns take care of
+themselves. They must mistake me for a philanthropist trying to give my
+money away."
+
+Hezekiah removed his glasses and closed his eyes as if desirous that no
+point, in the interesting thought of Obadiah giving anything away, might
+perchance escape him.
+
+"I won't do it," bleated Obadiah, striking the desk a resounding thump
+which made Hezekiah open his eyes with a start. "I have been running
+waste into that river for years and I intend to keep on doing it." He
+glared at the lawyer. "You look up the decisions and be prepared to make
+those people drink ink if I want to put it into the river."
+
+Hezekiah arose and moved over to the window. Possibly the ascertainment
+of a legal method to force citizens to accept writing fluid as a
+beverage perplexed him. Yet, it couldn't have been that, because his
+eyes danced with the glee of a mischievous school boy, and he seemed to
+have difficulty in suppressing inward mirth, as one wishing to perpetrate
+a huge joke with appropriate gravity.
+
+In a moment he came back and faced Obadiah. "You will be glad to know
+that a settlement has been reached with young Curtis," he announced
+impressively.
+
+"You have kept Virginia out of court proceedings?"
+
+Hezekiah nodded.
+
+Obadiah appeared relieved. "That is fine. I would look like a fool with
+my own daughter testifying against me in court."
+
+Hezekiah was trying to catch Obadiah's eye. "It is going to cost you
+some money," he explained. "I warned you that young people have no
+idea of the value of money. Remember, you authorized me to make the best
+settlement that I could," he sternly reminded the mill owner.
+
+Obadiah shrugged his shoulders irritably. "Yes, I am bound by any
+nonsensical agreement you have made."
+
+The attorney's voice was cold, and there was a glint of steel in his
+eyes as he answered, "If you don't care to accept the compromise for
+which I accept sole responsibility, it is your privilege to reject it
+and take--the consequences."
+
+Obadiah leaped to his feet and rushing to his lawyer patted him upon the
+shoulder. "Don't be so touchy, Hezekiah," he exclaimed. "Have I ever
+failed to support you?"
+
+"No," Hezekiah admitted, "and you never will--but once."
+
+Obadiah was desirous of placating his counsel. "You misunderstand me."
+
+"I probably understand you better than any one else on earth."
+
+The remark made the manufacturer uncomfortable. "Forget it," he
+pleaded. "I agree to any arrangement which you have made, because of
+my friendship, if for no other reason." He shook the lawyer's hand.
+"Explain the agreement. I consent."
+
+Hezekiah's manner was too calm. It was like the lull before a storm.
+"You pay no money to the injured man," he announced.
+
+Obadiah's face registered his surprise. "What the devil?" he cried.
+
+Hezekiah gave no heed to this remark but went on with the solemnity
+of a judge sentencing a prisoner. "You have agreed to furnish and to
+endow for a period of five years, a private room at the South Ridgefield
+Hospital to be used exclusively for the care and treatment of injured
+motorcyclists."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+VIRGINIA HELPS AGAIN
+
+
+When Obadiah received the formal notice from the hospital authorities
+of the acceptance of his gift, being unversed in the ways of
+philanthropists, he sent for Hezekiah and handed him the letter. "I
+want nothing to do with this matter," he snapped.
+
+The lawyer bowed with great complacency.
+
+"You may be interested to know, as you didn't take the trouble to
+find out," the mill owner sneered, "that this fellow, Joseph Tolliver
+Curtis, is employed by the State Board of Health. He spent his time
+prior to the accident riding up and down the river taking samples of
+the water to make a case against me."
+
+"Ahem," coughed the lawyer.
+
+"If that fellow were getting a cent out of the agreement," Obadiah
+threatened, "I would break it."
+
+"No, you wouldn't," replied the lawyer calmly. "I drew it and it's
+enforceable. If necessary I would go into court myself to make you keep
+it."
+
+Obadiah glowered, but his eyes fell before those of his attorney.
+"Well," he growled finally, "we won't quarrel over it. You handle
+the matter." A look of distress came into his face. "I'll sign the
+checks but I don't want to talk about it."
+
+So, even though her father refused to discuss the subject Virginia
+took up the matter of furnishing the room with great enthusiasm. She
+sought advice from many persons but particularly from Joe Curtis, who was
+deemed, through sad experience, capable of expressing the desires of
+injured motorcyclists, and Miss Knight, who by long service had learned
+those things which were not good for them.
+
+After prolonged discussion, Virginia and Joe decided that the room
+should be papered in an old fashioned design with a background of
+egg-shell blue. The windows were to be curtained with a fine net
+having a filet edge, and the furniture was to be of massive mahogany.
+Pictures portraying sporting scenes believed suitable by Joe and of
+gentle landscapes considered appropriate by the girl were to adorn the
+walls in equal number. A harmonizing smoking set was added, and the
+floor was to be strewn with Oriental rugs. Thus furnished, it was
+confidently argued, the room would be restful and agreeable to the most
+discriminating of motorcyclists.
+
+When this plan was presented with pride to Miss Knight, she addressed
+the pair in a sarcastic manner, "Did you by chance have in mind the
+furnishing of a bridal suite? Haven't you forgotten a breakfast room
+and a pipe organ?"
+
+Reduced to a fitting condition of humbleness they sat at her feet, so
+to speak, as she discoursed. "The room set aside is bright and cheery.
+Its walls, windows and floor need no treatment. Put in a double enameled
+bedstead--a brass one if you like. Have an enameled dresser and a plain
+rocker and chairs of similar type. You may have a plain wardrobe and
+an enameled medicine table, too. That's all." She smiled at them. "I
+have conceded a lot, too."
+
+"You have beautiful taste, Miss Knight. Don't you think so, Joe?"
+remarked Virginia with great solemnity.
+
+The motorcyclist nodded a vigorous agreement.
+
+Thus encouraged the nurse became didactic. "The furnishing of a room
+for the sick," she lectured, "is not a matter of taste. It is a
+question of cleanliness. Give me a clean place with plenty of fresh
+air and sunshine--nothing else counts." Before such simplicity the
+pretentious plans faded, and in the end the wisdom of the nurse prevailed.
+
+When Virginia left the ward that day it had grown extremely warm.
+"Hotter than fiddlers in Tophet," Miss Knight called it.
+
+"Where are those poor babies?" Virginia asked, as from a distant part
+of the building came the petulant sound of infants protesting in the only
+way they could against the high temperature.
+
+"They are in the Free Dispensary,--the cases which are brought in from
+the outside. They would wring your heart," the nurse answered.
+
+Distress showed in Virginia's face. "I am going there and see if I can
+help," she cried, and with a parting smile at Miss Knight she hurried
+to the Dispensary.
+
+Doctor Jackson nodded to her as she entered. "Every degree that the
+temperature rises means more sick babies," he worried.
+
+The peevish, fretful cries of the infants and the troubled looks of the
+worn mothers filled the girl with pity. "How dreadful, Doctor. The poor
+darlings. I wish I could help them," she said.
+
+The medical man glanced at her with new interest. "Miss Dale, didn't
+you give that concert at the Lucinda Home?" he asked.
+
+When she answered him in the affirmative he came over to her. His duck
+suit was rumpled and his collar wilted. His hair was mussed where he
+had mopped it back. In his hand was a clinical thermometer and an
+odor of drugs surrounded him. "Miss Dale," he urged, "why don't
+you get up a picnic and take these mothers and babies into the country
+for a few hours? You entertained the old ladies but you would save lives
+if you could arrange to get some of these babies into a cool place for
+awhile." He became apologetic. "I don't mean to be insistent but I am
+interested in my work and if I can keep any of them from dying in this
+heat spell, I want to do it. You understand me, don't you?"
+
+"Indeed I do, Doctor Jackson. I will be only too glad to get up a
+picnic." A note of anxiety crept into her voice. "There isn't much
+time to prepare. If it is to do good, we must have it at once."
+
+"Tomorrow, by all means," urged the physician. "Let's go to it."
+
+His enthusiasm filled her with energy. "It will be dandy," she cried,
+her eyes sparkling with pleasure. "It will be difficult to arrange for,
+but we can do it."
+
+The young medical man gave this pretty girl, flushed with interest
+and confidence, a look of frank admiration. "That's the ticket," he
+shouted, tossing professional dignity to the winds for the moment.
+"You can make things hum. Hop to it, kiddo." Then more seriously,
+"Let me know late this afternoon the arrangements you have made. Call
+me by phone. I'll get word to the mothers if I have to carry it myself
+this evening."
+
+Virginia's head was awhirl with vague plans when she left the hospital.
+
+On the way she espied Mrs. Henderson hurrying down the street in utter
+disregard of the fiery heat.
+
+"Get in, Hennie," called Virginia, when Ike stopped the car. "I must
+talk to you and I want to make you as comfortable as I can."
+
+"Don't mind me, child," protested the widow. "I am a hardened sinner
+whom it behooves to become accustomed to heat."
+
+In a few words the girl explained the plan for the picnic.
+
+"It is a splendid thing to do," Mrs. Henderson agreed. "Of course
+I'll be glad to help. Good gracious, sick babies all around us and at
+our church we are dawdling over a new bell rope and a lock for the front
+door."
+
+"It is such a relief to know that you are going to help," exclaimed
+Virginia; "but away down in my heart I knew that you would."
+
+"There, there, dearie, I'm an old crank who is always minding other
+people's business--and getting kicked for it," she ended petulantly.
+"Hereafter," she affirmed emphatically, "I am going to attend to my
+own affairs." A great energy filled her and she turned to Virginia, her
+own words forgotten. "What can I do? If you will let Serena help me,
+I will attend to the refreshments."
+
+"Hennie, you are a dear--that much is settled." Virginia sighed with
+relief. "Now where can we have the picnic? Parks which have bands and
+dancing won't do at all."
+
+"You are right. These mothers and babies need rest and quiet. A grove
+by the river would be ideal."
+
+"Oh, surely, that is where we must go." The girl waxed enthusiastic.
+"The babies can roll upon the grass and play together."
+
+"Fiddlesticks," objected Mrs. Henderson. "If you put babies on the
+ground they will eat bugs, and if you allow them to roll they will go
+into the river."
+
+"But they must be entertained."
+
+"Proper entertainment for babies," observed the childless widow sagely,
+"is eating and sleeping with crying to while away leisure moments."
+She leaned towards Ike. "Young man, do you know of a shady place along
+the river where we can have a picnic?"
+
+"Yas'm," responded the ever courteous chauffeur. "Elgin's Grove is
+er nice place fo' er picnic or a barbecue. Heaps o' shade an' de aiah
+is mighty cool."
+
+"Who goes there?"
+
+"Ah ain' heard about nobody gwine dyah lately, Ma'm."
+
+"What made people stop going?" asked the widow, suspiciously.
+
+"Dey fou't dyah. Er man got killed in er fight an' de she'iff close
+de gamblin' house. Ain' nothin' to go dyah fo' now."
+
+"It is very strange that I never heard of the place."
+
+"Maybe dey done specify it to you by de common folk's name?"
+
+"What's that?"
+
+"Some folks calls it Faro Beach."
+
+Mrs. Henderson gasped. The name recalled shocking stories of a river
+resort where games of chance had flourished in open disregard of the law
+until a murder had awakened public conscience and it had been closed. "I
+wouldn't think of going there," she objected, and suddenly she began
+to laugh. "We are creatures of convention. What difference does it make
+what the place was? Indeed, if they were gambling now it wouldn't hurt
+these mothers and their babies." Her manner became decisive. "Virginia,
+as soon as you have your lunch, go and see the place. If it is what we
+want, make arrangements for the use of it. We don't care about its
+history."
+
+Strange as it may seem, when Virginia arrived at Elgin's Grove that
+afternoon she found that Ike's description was not exaggerated.
+Great oaks towered towards the blue sky shading a green sod, clear
+of underbrush, rolling towards the river. The buildings were good,
+although locked, and there was a well with a pump at which Ike, much
+oppressed by the heat, refreshed himself, and recommended the water to
+Virginia as of superior quality, in these words. "It tast'tes lak
+de water f'om de seep back o' ma ole home in Tennessee. Dats de
+fines' water in de worl'."
+
+The owner of the grove, a farmer, living a bachelor existence, after
+listening in a cold and suspicious manner to Virginia's enthusiastic
+description of the purposes of the picnic, suddenly thawed. Refusing pay
+for the grove, he announced his personal desire to be present. Having
+been straightway invited by Virginia, he agreed to unlock a building to
+afford shelter in case of rain, mow among the trees to scare out the
+snakes, and to clean out the well to insure a pure water supply. "Coming
+on the _Nancy Jane_?" he asked her.
+
+"_The Nancy Jane?_" questioned the girl.
+
+"Yes, the steamboat that used to run here."
+
+Virginia became interested. "I didn't know that steamboats ran on this
+river."
+
+"The _Nancy Jane_ ain't exactly running," admitted the farmer. "She
+is tied up at South Ridgefield unless she's sunk since last week. The
+_Nancy Jane_ is the best way to get to this grove and old Bill Quince
+is the man to bring the old boat here. Bill Quince knows this river."
+
+"Would it be safe to bring the babies on it?" Virginia asked, troubled.
+
+The farmer chuckled softly. "You ain't in nigh as much danger of
+drownin' on the old Lame Moose as of stickin'."
+
+"That doesn't seem such a terrible calamity," laughed Virginia. "I
+will see Mr. Quince and inquire about his boat."
+
+"It's a nice trip, Ma'am," the farmer encouraged her. "Bill Quince
+made it twice a day for two years a-carrying drunks, mostly, with nary
+an accident. He is a fine man. A natural born sailor, Bill is. Takes
+to the water like a duck. You won't make no mistake a trustin' Bill
+Quince, I promise you, Ma'am."
+
+"Dat Mr. Quince is er gran' man," Ike told Virginia, on their
+journey home. "He done save de life o' er po' colored boy wot was
+er fishin' off de bank by his house. De pole dat de boy cut f'om de
+bresh ain' long 'nough to rech out to de deep water whar de big fishes
+is. He done git hisse'f er plank an' puts one end under er log an'
+rest'tes de middle on a rock at de aidge o' de bank. Den he clum
+out on tother en' ovah de water. Long come 'nother boy an' rolls de
+log. De fisherman draps in de river. He done sink de secon' time an'
+give er scan'lous yell. Mr. Quince rest'tes hisse'f by de house
+an' he hear 'im. Mr. Quince tek er quick look an' den he grab er pole
+wid er i'on hook off de house an hooks de boy in de britches an'
+hauls 'im out, jes as he sink de las' time. Den he stan's dat kid
+on his haid an' let de water run outen him an' puts ointment on
+his purson, whar de hook dig 'im. He ain' no time think 'bout de
+floater money."
+
+"What money?" inquired Virginia, much interested.
+
+"De floater money. Mr. Quince bein' er river man, he catches de daid
+wot floats down de river, an' de county dey give 'im ten dollars fo'
+each floater he git. Dat boy jes de same as daid. If Mr. Quince catch
+'m er minute later, er hol' 'im undah er minute, dat boy die an' Mr.
+Quince git ten dollars. Dat man is er hero, Miss Virginy."
+
+The girl shuddered. "Stop talking about dead people, Ike, you make
+me nervous," she remonstrated, and, as they crossed the bridge, a
+creepy Virginia thought she caught shadowy glimpses in the green depths
+of a gruesome opportunity for Mr. Quince to win anew a reward from
+his grateful county.
+
+The habitation of Mr. Quince presented much of interest. It was airily
+although damply situated at the point of a promontory where Hog Creek
+emptied its limited flow into the Lame Moose River. The site was
+desirable for a man of Mr. Quince's tastes and aspirations. Upon the
+one hand, the river afforded a pleasant marine foreground for the
+abattoirs and packing-houses, veiled in odoriferous smoke, upon the
+opposite shore. On the other hand, the quiet waters of Hog Creek offered
+a safe anchorage for the good ship _Nancy Jane_ and a fleet of skiffs
+in various stages of decay.
+
+Mr. Quince was a man of ingenuity and resourcefulness, and a natural
+forager. On the day that he selected this site, for the sojournment
+of himself and a stray youth who had elected to follow his fortunes,
+Mr. Quince built a fire and cooked some fish. The next sun saw a brush
+leanto constructed, shortly made impervious to rain by a covering of old
+canvas. This structure was followed in turn, as freshets deposited their
+beneficent fruits, by a board shack, a hut and at last a something which
+a charitable public called a house.
+
+While the evolution of Mr. Quince's fireside furnished much of
+professional interest to sociologists, it was viewed by that soulless
+corporation which owned the land, a railroad company, as an attempt
+to establish adverse possession, by open, notorious, and hostile
+occupancy. Divers ejectments, although temporarily successful, failed of
+permanent effect and Mr. Quince dwelt in more or less of a state of siege.
+
+Virginia found the riverman seated before his house, in a chair shaped
+out of a barrel, and prevented from being mislaid by its permanent
+attachment to a post in the ground. His experienced eyes watched the
+surface of the river for signs of treasure trove awash. Upon the front of
+his residence, conveniently at hand, hung the pole with the iron hook,
+while, at the foot of a precipitous pathway, an old skiff bobbed, readily
+available to meet emergencies of the deep.
+
+The arrival of the automobile startled Mr. Quince. To this aquatic man,
+a boat upon the river offered the more agreeable pathway to his home.
+He arose nervously, as one suspecting ejectment proceedings. The wind
+blew his patched overalls and flannel shirt about his tall, thin figure.
+
+Ike, bowing respectfully, spoke words of greeting. "Howdy, Bill."
+
+"Howdy," returned the mariner, calmed by the thought that it was
+not the custom of courts to rely upon such instrumentalities as negro
+chauffeurs and young maidens.
+
+"We want to rent your boat for a picnic at Elgin's Grove tomorrow,"
+called Virginia.
+
+The tender of charter appeared to surprise Mr. Quince. He removed his
+ancient hat and scratched his scalp.
+
+"Where is your boat?" Virginia looked about as if expecting to discover
+the _Priscilla_ or _Commonwealth_ at rest upon the bosom of Hog Creek.
+
+The riverman pointed and the girl's eyes followed his finger.
+
+On the creek floated a monument to the ingenuity of Bill Quince.
+Contrary to accepted naval traditions, the _Nancy Jane_ was in two
+parts. A rusty traction engine rested upon a decked scow almost square
+in form. It was geared by belt, chains and sprockets to a water wheel
+as wide as the scow and attached to its stern. This was the power plant,
+and, coupled to the front of it, was a second scow of like width but
+greater length. Decked over, railed, and covered by a wooden canopy, it
+furnished the passenger accommodations of the craft.
+
+Such disappointment as Virginia felt was swept aside by the profound
+admiration of Ike for this vessel.
+
+"Dat's er fine boat," he exclaimed. "Ah done had ma good times on
+dat ole boat. When you gits out on de cool river on dat ship you feels
+like er fightin' cock on er hot night."
+
+Ike's reference to the cool river encouraged his mistress to continue
+negotiations. "Can we rent it?" she asked.
+
+"You kin rent it if you want to. They hain't no law again it," the
+mariner agreed. "But I hain't sure that she's goin' to move none."
+His sporting blood was aroused. "I'll bet two bits that old engine is
+a-rusted tight."
+
+Virginia desired certainty. "How am I going to find out if the boat will
+go?" she worried.
+
+Approaching the car, Mr. Quince rested an elbow upon the edge of the door
+and a huge foot upon the running board. His thin jaw wagged incessantly
+and his eyes viewed the distant reaches of the river as he pensively
+ruminated upon the problem. At last a solution came to him. "We mought
+hist 'er over by hand," he told Ike.
+
+"Do what?" the girl inquired anxiously, puzzled at what was to be
+"histed."
+
+"See if we can turn the old engine over," explained Mr. Quince.
+
+Ike having agreed to the suggestion, he and the riverman clambered down
+the bank and across a plank to the deck of the _Nancy Jane_. A period
+of silence ensued, broken by violent language when Mr. Quince put his
+confidence in and his weight against a rotten lever. There followed the
+sound of strong men grunting and breathing heavily. A sudden scramble
+took place and with a great splash the wheel of the _Nancy Jane_ clove
+the amber surface of Hog Creek.
+
+Mr. Quince and Ike returned, perspiring freely.
+
+"She turned," declared Mr. Quince with pride. "She hain't rusted up
+much in nigh unto two year."
+
+"Is it settled? We can rent the boat?" demanded Virginia, all business.
+
+"I hain't so sure," replied the mariner doubtfully. "This yere river
+bottom changes every day. I hain't took the _Nancy Jane_ to Elgin's
+Grove in two year. I dunno as I knows where the old channel has gone. I
+guess I plum forgot."
+
+"Couldn't we get some one who knows the river?" Virginia failed to
+reckon with the pride of seafaring men.
+
+"There hain't no man knows the Lame Moose like I knows her," protested
+Mr. Quince greatly offended. "I allers was the pilot of the _Nancy Jane_
+and I still aims so to be."
+
+Virginia smiled sweetly at the hurt riverman. "Please take us up in your
+boat. It will be so much fun."
+
+Mr. Quince surrendered. "I'll take the old boat to the grove if I have
+to wait for the spring freshets to do it."
+
+"It won't be dangerous, will it?" cried Virginia, disturbed by the
+vigor of the mariner's remarks. "The boat won't sink, will it?"
+
+"That wouldn't make no odds, nohow," Mr. Quince reassured her. "That
+bottom of the Lame Moose is so near the top you wouldn't know no
+difference."
+
+It was finally agreed that the _Nancy Jane_ should await the arrival of
+its passengers at a convenient place below the highway bridge at the
+hour of ten on the next morning. But, before they left, Mr. Quince, after
+inspecting the cars upon nearby switch tracks, announced, "I don't
+seem to have no coal a layin' around handy, so I better have five bucks
+on account in case I have to buy some."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+AN OUTING AND AN ACCIDENT
+
+
+The heat wave had not broken in the morning. At eight o'clock South
+Ridgefield sweltered beneath a rising temperature with no promise of
+relief.
+
+"The poor babies!" thought Virginia. "It is hotter than ever; but
+the picnic will help them." She remembered how warm it had been at the
+hospital on the previous day and fell to thinking of Joe Curtis, and
+her eyes grew soft and dreamy as she wished that he was going on the
+river trip.
+
+The high temperature had caused Obadiah to spend a restless night and he
+was peevish and irritable when Virginia told him of the plans for the
+day. "You should not have mixed up in such matters without consulting
+me," he snapped. "It is indiscreet and may lead to your embarrassment.
+That hole up the river used to have a most unsavory reputation." He
+paused as if seeking for other objections, and then went on. "You might
+get a sun stroke."
+
+In a moment she had her arms about his neck and kissed him. "There it
+is, Daddy. Thinking of me as usual."
+
+"How can I help--," he grumbled.
+
+She gave a joyous laugh and interrupted him. "I knew that you would want
+to help, too, Daddy. You may--allow Mr. Jones and Mr. Kelly to come to
+the picnic. It will be an outing which they will enjoy."
+
+Obadiah drew away from her caresses. "Don't interfere with my office,"
+he snarled. "I was greatly embarrassed when I returned on the afternoon
+of the concert and found no one there. I spoke to them both about it."
+
+Virginia flushed with feeling. "Did they tell you that I asked them
+to come?" she demanded, and when his face admitted it, she continued,
+"Regardless of the permission you gave me in this very room to ask any
+one I wished to the concert, you criticised me, Daddy, to your employees.
+If you objected to my actions, why didn't you come to me?"
+
+The unwonted stand of his daughter made Obadiah ill at ease. He flushed
+angrily and then regained control of himself. "There, there, don't get
+excited. I didn't say much--a mere nothing." He drew her towards him
+but she held her head stiffly, looking straight ahead. He kissed her
+cheek and whispered, "Don't be cross, dear. Of course Kelly and Jones
+may go to your picnic, if you want them."
+
+She turned to him. The look of injury was gone. "I was cross, Daddy.
+I did wrong, and I beg your pardon." She raised her lips for him to kiss
+and gave a little laugh in which there were memories of sadness.
+
+That morning there was unusual activity on the South Ridgefield river
+front. The peace of Hog Creek was disturbed by the clang of shovels, the
+ring of slice bars, and the hissing of steam. Billowy clouds of smoke
+curling from the funnel of the _Nancy Jane_ mixed with the river mist
+and gave variety to the smells emanating from the slaughter houses on
+the further shore.
+
+As the sun dissipated the fog, the _Nancy Jane_ left her anchorage,
+and, with much puffing and squeaking, breasted the sluggish current of
+the Lame Moose River. To the youth of the town, the reappearance of
+the craft was a matter of supreme interest, and, grouped along the bank,
+they gave voice to their pleasure in cheers. So, it is painted, the
+rural New Yorkers greeted the maiden voyage of the _Clermont_.
+
+The _Nancy Jane_ hove to and made fast at her appointed tryst with the
+babies. Thereafter, Mr. Quince, bearing the pole with the iron hook
+as arms, acted as a landing party, and dispersed groups of youth who
+displayed a disposition to visit the ship without invitation.
+
+Dr. Jackson came aboard at an early hour, and caused a truck load of cots
+to be arranged in two long rows down the center of the deck. Upon these
+he prepared comfortable beds of blankets.
+
+Mr. Quince viewed these activities in the light of his personal
+experiences. "I have seen 'em dance and sing and fight on the _Nancy
+Jane_ but I hain't never seen nobody sleep much, leastwise, if they
+was sober." Suspicion entered his mind regarding the intentions of the
+physician. "You hain't a thinkin' of pullin' off no booze party
+in these prohibition times, air yer?" he demanded. "I don't want
+no law on me. I'm a respectable man and I runs a respectable boat."
+
+The distrust cast upon his efforts to relieve suffering disgusted the
+doctor. "You attend to your business and I'll attend to mine. You can
+kick when I start something wrong," he protested.
+
+"All right, old hoss, I have warned yer. There's a cop on the bridge
+a watching yer, now." Mr. Quince pointed to where a policeman leaned
+lazily over the bridge rail and inspected the _Nancy Jane_ with the mild
+curiosity aroused by its re-advent upon the river.
+
+The absurd suggestion of the riverman irritated the doctor to redoubled
+energy. Jumping on the bank, he seized a carboy of lime water which he
+wrapped in a blanket and brought aboard, endeavoring to protect it from
+the sun's rays by concealing it beneath a cot.
+
+Mr. Quince's worst suspicions were confirmed. He called to his follower.
+"Sim, come here!"
+
+The lad approached. He was coolly attired in a worn shirt, overalls and
+a broken straw hat.
+
+"Sim, be my witness." The manner of Mr. Quince was dignified, as
+befitted one taking part in a legal ceremonial. He turned towards the
+busy medical man, a law-abiding citizen virtuously facing one of criminal
+desires. "I hereby warns yer agin' putting any licker on this yere
+boat," he cried in a stern voice.
+
+"Oh, shut up," shouted the aggravated Doctor. "Don't be a fool."
+
+"You heard him and you heard me, Sim. Now I got the goods on that feller
+if we git pinched," and, with an effort to engrave the matter upon the
+mind of his follower, the riverman concluded in the accepted tone of
+Hamlet's ghost, "Remember."
+
+"Ayah," responded the indifferent Sim.
+
+The arrival of members of the picnic party prevented further discussion
+of this matter.
+
+Down the steps from the bridge they came, a sisterhood of the tired,
+the worried, the anxious. The cruel strokes of labor and poverty were
+relentlessly erasing the softness of youth. The bearing of children and
+unceasing toil had destroyed their figures, and already the weariness
+of age was creeping into their movements.
+
+Yet this was no gathering of the sorrowing. Upon each breast rested,
+in gentle embrace, the fulfillment of womanhood. Their pledge to the
+perpetuation of their kind, their duty to the responsibilities and
+opportunities of dawning centuries. The pride of motherhood was upon
+worn faces as coverings were adjusted about soft cheeks and tiny eyes
+twinkled and fat hands made spasmodic efforts to grasp something where
+nothing was. Coarse and strident voices dropped to a musical tenderness
+as they harked to the mysterious language of baby land.
+
+Even as the first mothers arrived, came Virginia followed by Serena and
+Ike, carrying food. Mr. Vivian appeared, bringing monstrous ice cream
+freezers. Mrs. Henderson headed a small procession consisting of a man
+bringing oceans of milk and another with perfect bergs of ice.
+
+The mothers charged upon Dr. Jackson, the familiar friend of their
+households, in noisy confusion. In sharp and emphatic tones, he brought
+order out of this feminine chaos in a manner pleasing even to that
+marine disciplinarian, Mr. Quince, who had watched the arrival of his
+passengers with great astonishment. Two lines of kicking, struggling,
+emotion swept infants were stretched upon the cots, and lifted their
+voices in a chorus which sounded above the hiss of steam from the boiler.
+
+Mr. Quince was an adaptable man, and, regardless of his amazement at the
+character of his cargo, he rose to the occasion. Boarding his ship, he
+inspected the rows of infants. "Wisht I'd a knowed these yere kids,"
+he worried. "I mought a picked up some old trunk checks at the railroad
+station."
+
+"What for, Mr. Quince?" asked Virginia.
+
+"Some of these yere kids a lyin' around careless like is agoin' to
+git mixed up and start the allfiredest fight amongst these women folks.
+Nothin' makes a woman madder and want to fight quicker than to lose a
+kid." Mr. Quince spoke in the tone of one accustomed to hailing the main
+top in the midst of storm, and his voice carried authoritative anxiety
+to the ears of every mother.
+
+A scene of confusion ensued. The dire prophecy of the riverman caused
+each mother to seize her offspring and press it to her breast. The
+infants, having expressed acceptance of their new surroundings by falling
+asleep, were disturbed and made known their objections in loud wailings.
+
+"Who stirred up those babies?" Dr. Jackson demanded, angrily.
+
+"He did," chorused the mothers, indicating the worthy seafaring man.
+"He said that they would get mixed up." The hostile eyes of the matrons
+watched Mr. Quince as if suspicious that he might attempt personally to
+bring about the fulfillment of his prediction.
+
+"Nonsense," shouted Dr. Jackson. "You mothers ought to know your own
+babies by now, and, if you don't, you certainly know the clothes they
+have on."
+
+This assurance had a calming influence and quiet was slowly restored.
+For a time Dr. Jackson appeared about to reprimand the riverman, but
+hesitated, probably fearful of again being placed on record.
+
+Mr. Quince perceived the evidences of his personal unpopularity with
+great coolness. Unabashed, he remarked, "You're gettin' all het up
+a layin' around here with your kids. There's nothing to it but a heap
+of sweating. Let's go."
+
+"Wait a minute, please," begged Virginia. "I think that some one else
+is coming. Won't you blow your whistle, Mr. Quince?"
+
+At this request, real embarrassment descended upon the skipper. After
+scratching his head reflectively, he went aft to the engine room, or,
+more accurately, climbed across to the rear barge and entered into
+conference with Sim. After a period of argument and persuasion, that
+young man took a slice bar and pounded at the lever of the whistle. A
+great cloud of steam hissed forth, from the midst of which came a thin
+wailing note very like in volume those advertising the presence of hot
+roasted peanuts.
+
+Above the noise came a cry of "Whoa, hold on." Kelly, followed by
+Mr. Jones, gallantly guarding Miss Knight, lest she inadvertently
+plunge headlong into the waves below, descended from the bridge. The
+stenographer was fittingly garbed for the occasion in flannel trousers,
+silk shirt, serge coat and yachting cap.
+
+"We can go now, Mr. Quince," cried Virginia, making herself heard with
+difficulty above the roar of escaping steam.
+
+"We hain't a goin' yet awhile," bellowed the commander of the _Nancy
+Jane_. "The durned old whistle is stuck and a lettin' all the steam out
+of the old biler."
+
+Dr. Jackson and Kelly repaired to the engine room to inspect conditions.
+In a moment the medical man returned, and, procuring his surgical case,
+hurried back towards the hissing boiler.
+
+"It's de fust time ah evah seed er Doctor called fo' er enjine," Ike
+told Serena. "Maybe it got de pip."
+
+"It soun' mo'e lak de croup," chuckled Serena.
+
+With characteristic energy, the doctor applied a bandage to the whistle
+which so confined the steam that Sim was able, with sundry taps of a
+wrench, to abate "the hemorrhage of vapor," as the medical man termed
+it.
+
+There followed a pleasant period for friendly conversation, disturbed
+only by the cries of infants, the scrape of the shovel, and the clang of
+the furnace door.
+
+During this time, the skipper sat on a box and pensively viewed the
+slow movement of the needle of the steam gauge. Finally he became
+energetic. Climbing upon the bank, he cast off the forward hawser of the
+_Nancy Jane_. Noting the eyes of the passengers to be upon him, he
+assumed a care free air tinged with a certain dignity, as if the handling
+of the _Nancy Jane_, a perplexing problem to others, was a trifling
+matter to him. Likewise, he entered into explanations, ostensibly for
+Sim's benefit. "I've cast off the bow line. I'm agoin' to let the
+current swing er out, then we'll start ahead and you cast off that stern
+line."
+
+Before the eyes of the marveling mothers, Mr. Quince assumed a position
+at the extreme front of the boat, on a small deck beyond the railing.
+He held the pole across his body, as the balancing stick of a tightrope
+walker, and watched the current swing the _Nancy Jane_ away from the bank.
+
+Sim waited, motionless as a statue, with a grimy paw on the throttle.
+
+"Let 'er go," sang Mr. Quince, as from the bridge of the _Leviathan_,
+his powerful voice echoing against the bluffs far up the river.
+
+With much groaning and creaking the engine took up the play of its
+gearing, and choked down with a grunt as the paddles of the water wheel
+stuck in the clay bank.
+
+Seizing their babies, the mothers arose and screamed. The infants also
+gave tongue.
+
+As one man, Dr. Jackson and Kelly sprang to their feet. "Sit down,"
+they shouted.
+
+"Is de biler gwine blow up?" Serena asked Ike, nervously.
+
+"Dat ole enjine jes balky. Dat's all," he reassured her.
+
+In this moment of marine disaster, Mr. Quince displayed great coolness
+and judgment. "Look out," he shouted to Sim, and leaped ashore with
+great agility. From this position of vantage he commanded, "Stop 'er!"
+He then displayed wonderful presence of mind by casting off the stern
+line. Returning on board, he seized his pole and pushed the _Nancy Jane_
+out into the river.
+
+Once more, upon signal, the engine strained and a large chunk of South
+Ridgefield soil splashed into the river. The relieved paddle wheel caught
+the water and the _Nancy Jane_ headed up the Lame Moose for Elgin's
+Grove. Mr. Quince plied his pole diligently, and, exerting his good
+muscles, shoved his craft into the channel it should follow.
+
+The journey to the Grove was accomplished without notable incident. The
+sun shone upon the shallow water at such an angle that Mr. Quince was
+able to view the bottom of the river through the transparent liquid as
+a pathway stretching before him.
+
+During the voyage the heat was not oppressive, and the infants slept
+while their mothers enjoyed a restful holiday. This peace was threatened
+only when an impromptu orchestra consisting of Sim on the harmonica and
+Ike on a pair of improvised bones showed a disposition to render some
+of the frivolous airs of the moment for the edification of the ladies.
+
+Elgin's Grove lay cool and inviting as the _Nancy Jane_ stood in towards
+the shore. The shallowness of the water made it necessary to reach the
+bank by a narrow gang plank, thoughtfully provided by the steam boat
+commander. As soon as this was in position, Virginia led the party
+ashore where the farmer cordially welcomed them with the original remark,
+"Ain't you folks afraid you're lost?" The supplies were landed
+amidst much boisterous excitement by Kelly, assisted by Mr. Quince, Sim
+and Ike.
+
+Mr. Jones escorted Miss Knight ashore, bearing her parasol. She joined
+Dr. Jackson and Virginia, who were making plans for the general welfare.
+
+Suddenly the mill owner's daughter turned to the stenographer and,
+smiling sweetly, said, "Mr. Jones, may I depend upon you to see that
+the cots are brought up from the boat?"
+
+Mr. Jones bowed with great dignity. "You will always find me at your
+service, Miss Dale," he responded, in dulcet tones. The day was rosy to
+him. The system of exercise, to which Kelly had unfeelingly condemned
+him, was having its effect. He felt better than he had for years.
+Likewise it appeared that his dreams were coming true. That very morning
+Obadiah had come to him and, in quite the approved manner of addressing
+private secretaries, saving a certain undue sharpness of tone, had
+said, "Jones, I wish you and Kelly to accompany my daughter on a
+picnic which she is giving today. The boat leaves the bridge at ten
+o'clock, I believe." Now, too, had his employer's daughter, aware of
+correct usages when private secretaries were about, singled him by
+name to assist her. It was of course to be regretted that this picnic
+was charitable in its nature and attended only by vulgar persons, but
+from the intimacy of such an occasion, it was but a step to the dances
+and dinners of his heart's desire.
+
+Filled with joy, Mr. Jones cast aside his coat and ran across the
+greensward with the grace of a fawn. He shouted for Kelly and Ike,
+and in a moment had gathered about him the strong men of the party.
+He issued his instructions in the terse, certain words of a leader of
+men. Under his cheery encouragement, cots, with a man at each end,
+moved rapidly from the boat to their appointed place beneath the trees.
+
+Perceiving the flushed face and the speed of the stenographer's
+movements, Virginia bestowed upon him a glorious smile of approval and
+called, "Oh, Mr. Jones, what a help you are to me!"
+
+The private secretary became proud nigh unto the bursting point. He
+redoubled his efforts, and in a moment all but the last cot was ashore.
+Kelly uplifted the far end and bawled for aid.
+
+Instantly, Mr. Jones was at hand to seize upon the shore end of the cot.
+A leg caught upon a stanchion. The stenographer jerked at it. "Get a
+move on you!" he commanded Kelly.
+
+"Wait, you cheese! What's your hurry?" retorted the bookkeeper, as
+he attempted to withdraw the cot from the stanchion to release the leg.
+
+"Come on!" urged the strenuous Mr. Jones, turning and facing Kelly. The
+leg was freed. "Hustle, you big lobster! Can't you lift your clumsy
+feet?" persisted the driver of men.
+
+Before this admonishment Kelly advanced with alacrity.
+
+Mr. Jones moved backwards, blindly, but with haste.
+
+"Look out!" sounded Kelly's warning; but alas, too late.
+
+In his hurry Mr. Jones missed the gang plank and plunged backwards from
+the scow into three feet of mud and water. The screams of frightened
+women rent the air. A cry for the police arose from Mr. Vivian, while
+from the lips of that seasoned sailor, Sim, rang that terrifying cry,
+"Man overbo-o-o-ard."
+
+Mr. Quince sprang into action at the alarm as a fireman at the stroke of
+the gong. With a mighty leap he landed on the bow of the _Nancy Jane_.
+Seizing his pole, he ran along the edge of the barge with the agility of
+a cat towards the circling waves which alone marked where the private
+secretary had disappeared. Mr. Quince reached forth tentatively with his
+pole, as Mr. Jones, having scrambled to his knees beneath the flood,
+emerged coughing and scrambling from the water.
+
+The head of Mr. Jones came up, the pole of Mr. Quince went down. They met.
+
+"_Wough!_" The stenographer lifted his voice in anguish and seated
+himself upon the river bottom, his head protruding above the surface
+of the water.
+
+Undiscouraged, Mr. Quince, with practiced hand, continued to seek for
+Mr. Jones with the iron hook.
+
+"Get off of me with that thing. It hurts," protested the moist private
+secretary.
+
+Regardless of these objections from his victim, Mr. Quince would have
+persisted in his efforts with a diligence certain of reward had not
+Kelly reached down from the bank, and, seizing the dripping and miserable
+stenographer by the hand, pulled him ashore.
+
+Mr. Quince desisted from his fishing operations only when his prey was
+beyond his reach. Turning to Ike who had regarded his life saving
+with profound approval, he boasted, "I'd a got him by the britches
+sure, if he hadn't a bin a settin' down." He rested upon his pole and
+his eagle eye swept the river, flashing brilliant in the sunshine.
+Into his face, but recently lighted with enthusiasm, came a look of
+dissatisfaction, of disappointment, as he confided his woe to the
+chauffeur. "There hain't nobody ever gits drownded in the old Lame
+Moose," he complained. "Hain't 'nough water to drownd a weasel."
+
+To Ike came comprehension of the troubled soul of the river-man, and he
+endeavored to comfort him. "Dey am' 'nough water in dis yere river
+to slac' de thirst o' er g'asshopper," he agreed.
+
+Loud conversation took place among the mothers as Dr. Jackson announced
+his purpose of serving sustenance to those infants whose habit it was
+to resort to artificial sources for nourishment. Much attention was
+given to the sterilization of bottles, the measuring of milk, and the
+addition of lime water thereto. The medical man took the opportunity
+to deliver a lecture upon the feeding of infants with some reference to
+their early care and discipline, and Virginia took base advantage of
+her position as picnic manager to hold the babies while they enjoyed
+bottled refreshments. She would have also kissed each recipient of her
+favor had she not been sternly repressed by Dr. Jackson, much to the
+amusement of Mrs. Henderson.
+
+"Let the child kiss the babies if she wants to, Doctor," urged the
+widow.
+
+"No," he refused with firmness. "Kissing is dangerous. Now that we
+have prohibition, if we could get rid of smoking and kissing, things
+would be about right."
+
+"Are you engaged, Doctor?"
+
+"No, certainly not. What made you ask me that, Mrs. Henderson?"
+
+"I wonder why I did, myself, Doctor. It was a foolish question."
+
+At the close of the infantile banquet, the mothers returned their
+offspring to the line of cots, where, protected by mosquito netting,
+they straightway relapsed into slumber.
+
+Kelly, who had returned alone from the depths of the woods into which he
+had departed with the dripping Mr. Jones, was greatly interested, and
+addressed Miss Knight. "Watch those kids pound their ears! They sure
+eat sleep as soon as they hit the hay."
+
+The nurse looked at the bookkeeper inquiringly. "What are you? Wop,
+Guiney, Polock or Sheeny?"
+
+"Why?"
+
+"You must hate the English language. I thought that you must be
+foreign."
+
+His eyes were dancing when he looked at her and said, "My name is Kelly,
+Miss Knight."
+
+"That explains it," she laughed.
+
+The bachelor farmer who owned the grove watched the pleasant scene
+from a seat upon the well curb. Resting upon the damp planking, he
+philosophically sucked upon a black pipe, and gave ear to the prevalent
+wisdom on baby feeding. He modified this, no doubt, in his own mind, in
+the light of his own experience as a successful stock feeder.
+
+With that social spirit always noticeable in his character, Ike joined
+the agriculturist and entered into casual conversation. "Dis is er fine
+grove you got yere, Misto Elgin."
+
+"It's by long odds the best grove on the river."
+
+"Yas'r." The chat languished until reopened by Ike on other lines.
+"You has er fine view, Misto Elgin, an' you has got fine trees an'
+you has got fine aiah."
+
+The farmer chuckled. "If you'd a bin 'round here yesterday afternoon
+when I cleaned out the well I'll bet the air would have made you sick
+at your stomach, boy."
+
+"How cum?" Ike demanded sharply, his eyes rolling white with anxiety.
+
+"The old hole was full of dead reptiles and varmints. I got a skunk, a
+rabbit, two frogs and three snakes out and a couple of things so far gone
+I couldn't tell 'em. Gorry but they stunk."
+
+"You 'spec' dey mek dat water bad?" pleaded Ike, in a voice pathetic
+in its intenseness.
+
+"Water with things like that in it is deadly pizen, I cal'late," the
+farmer told him, with a shudder at his own repulsive memories.
+
+Ike leaped to his feet hurriedly. Fear lifted him "'Scuse me, Sar,"
+he murmured, as if he had been suddenly taken ill. A moment later,
+discovering the medical man resting in the shade of a great tree, the
+negro approached him with an air of indifference tempered with respect.
+For all that he knew this might be a dreaded "night doctor"--one of
+those fearful beings who steal about in the late hours of the night
+despoiling sepulchers and seizing late strollers for the benefit of
+science. It is obviously unwise to irritate such characters, lest evil
+befall one.
+
+"Dis is er fine day, Doc," Ike suggested.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Doc, do pizen hit er man suddin?"
+
+The physician glanced lazily at the negro. The spirit of mischief seized
+him. "Look here, boy," he cried, in a threatening manner, "I warn you
+as a friend as well as a medical man to keep away from poison. You are
+so tough, so ornery, so low down good for nothing and lazy, that poison
+would have to work slow under your hide and you would die a lingering
+and painful death."
+
+Without another word Ike departed. The verdict had been handed down and
+sentence passed. Before him lay a dreadful death. He sought solitude in
+which to pass his few remaining hours and to prepare for his fearful
+end. Stumbling along, he came upon the ice cream freezers and the
+lunch baskets. Serena and Mr. Vivian sat among them, engaged in debate
+regarding the preparation of certain types of cake in view of the high
+cost of eggs.
+
+To Ike's mind, this was the kitchen. His home, his place of retirement,
+should logically be back of this. Within him burned increasing fear.
+Upon self-examination, he discovered that peculiar symptoms beset every
+part of his body. Unquestionably the fatal hour approached. The time
+of paroxysms and fits was at hand. Trembling and almost blind from
+apprehension, the chauffeur circled the refreshments and the culinary
+argument. He came upon a shady nook. The tall brush had been pulled
+aside and fashioned into a rude canopy which, with the tree branches
+overhead, afforded a double protection from the sun. Within it, his
+confused eyes made out that which appeared a couch decked forth with
+old blankets and gunny sacks. Ike sank upon this with a moan of anguish
+and, with his kinky head buried in the crook of his elbow, awaited the
+final agony which would herald the passing of his soul.
+
+With that love for solitude and self-communion, so common to unusual
+minds, Mr. Quince had not mingled with the ladies. While technically a
+member of the picnic party, he was not one with it in spirit, in taste or
+in aspiration. Those who go down to the sea in ships give but little heed
+to infant culture. Therefore, he strolled about the circumference of the
+festivities instead of in their midst and thus came upon the recumbent
+Ike.
+
+"What's the matter now?" he demanded in the rough manner of a man
+hardened by contact with nature in her wildest moods.
+
+Ike emitted a dismal groan.
+
+Mr. Quince, ever one of action, promptly applied that treatment deemed
+peculiarly efficacious in the treatment of those intoxicated. He seized
+the negro by his shoulders and shook him violently. "Come up!" he
+roared. "Git a move on yer, yer lazy bum."
+
+"Lemme go!" protested Ike, astounded at the administration of such
+radical restorative measures to one about to shuffle off. "Ah'm er dead
+man. Ah'm er gwine to pass away."
+
+Mr. Quince registered intense interest. "Yer don't say?" He scratched
+his head reflectively and brought the cold light of reason to bear
+upon the problem. "Whatcher talkin' about," he went on in tones of
+regret. "Yer hain't dead"; and concluded more hopefully, "Leastways
+not yit."
+
+"He'p," moaned Ike, apparently in intense agony.
+
+Mr. Quince pensively spat a stream of tobacco juice across the bier
+of the dying one. "Maybe that doctor mought give yer some dope," he
+suggested, with great deliberation.
+
+Ike's answer was a sepulchral groan.
+
+Dr. Jackson, with the utmost possible composure was receiving from a
+group of mothers that feminine adulation usually accorded the members
+of his profession.
+
+Mr. Quince slowly approached them. "That black boy is er dying over
+there," he hailed, as an officer ex-changing casual greetings from his
+bridge with a passing ship.
+
+The doctor leaped to his feet with a startled look. So did the mothers
+as well as every one else who was sitting down. They moved in a body to
+the side of the expiring chauffeur. About his couch they grouped, as it
+is painted that courts gather by the bedside of expiring monarchs to
+receive the royal farewell.
+
+Before the assembled multitude, Ike moaned and groaned in anguish of mind
+and body.
+
+Dr. Jackson examined him. "What's the matter?" he asked.
+
+"Ah done drink poison," Ike whined. "De col' chills is er runnin'
+down ma back an' ma laigs. Ah's gwine ter die."
+
+Serena drew near. Her extensive acquaintance with the young man made her
+skeptical in all things concerning him. She examined his surroundings
+with interest and cried, "Ef dat fool ain' got no bettah sense an'
+to lay hisse'f out on ma ice why ain' he got col' chills?"
+
+Lifting a sack, Dr. Jackson exposed the smooth surface of a block of ice.
+
+Ike sprang from his chilly couch.
+
+Serena made indignant outcry. "Howcum yo'all mek er coolin' boa'd
+out er ma ice when ah needs it fo' lemonade? Ah fin' out mighty quick
+ef you is er dyin' when ah surves de fried chicken."
+
+Disgust developed among the mothers; but Ike took no note of popular
+feeling. His was the joy of a reprieved man as his pains flew away before
+the reassuring laughter of the medical man.
+
+"Let's have something to eat," suggested the chuckling practitioner,
+when he had completed this cure by faith.
+
+As if by magic, the luncheon was spread, and how those blissfully
+contented mothers did eat and make the woods ring with the merriment of
+their holiday. The fun was given greater impetus by the reappearance of
+Mr. Jones who, pending the drying of his own more luxurious apparel,
+was clothed in garments of rural simplicity loaned by the farmer.
+
+Embarrassment spoke from every feature of the stenographer as, in the
+midst of laughter, he approached the festive spread.
+
+Virginia perceived his sad case and beckoned him to her side. "Here
+is Mr. Jones," she announced. "He suffered for the cause and shall be
+our guest of honor." With her own hands she arranged a place for him
+and saw that he had food enough for two men. This she made sweeter with
+smiles of approval and appreciation.
+
+The private secretary said but little. Yet the day became beautiful, and
+once again joy rested in his heart.
+
+In the coolness of Elgin's grove, the afternoon of the hottest day
+South Ridgefield ever experienced passed lazily. The mothers chatted
+and laughed and some took naps; but best of all the babies ate and slept
+in comfortable rotation as the hot hours passed.
+
+Upon repeated urgings by Mr. Quince the tired party re-embarked upon
+the _Nancy Jane_ after supper. The riverman explained gloomily, "I
+hain't got no use for this old river after dark. The government hain't
+hangin' no lanterns on the snags in the Lame Moose, and I hain't got
+nothin' to steer by but the lightnin' bugs."
+
+Regardless of the skipper's attitude, the departure was delayed because
+a postprandial nap of Sim's had allowed the steam to get low while the
+commanding officer persuaded the passengers to return aboard.
+
+Becoming aware of this condition, rough language was used abaft the
+beam, as the Captain addressed the crew. Mutiny was evidently rampant,
+as the crew was heard to invite the Captain to return home on foot if
+dissatisfied with its efforts. Then came arbitration, and, after a time,
+above the noise of argument, the hissing of steam sounded in increasing
+volume.
+
+The shadows of night lay upon the waters as the _Nancy Jane_ left
+Elgin's Grove. Since it was too dark for the navigator to procure his
+accustomed view of the river bottom, he peered into the gloom with
+anxious eyes. Upon the banks the tops of the trees showed clear against
+the evening sky; but the shadowy mass below was of a nature to baffle
+the judgment of all but the most experienced pilots.
+
+Mr. Quince was not baffled. He laid the _Nancy Jane_ upon a course down
+the middle of the stream, and, laying aside the tiller, he retired to the
+engine room where, in a voice which reached every ear upon the lightless
+deck, he conversed with the engineer regarding the more intimate details
+of navigation. "How much steam have you got on the old tea pot?"
+he asked, and when Sim told him, complained, "That hain't enough to
+make this yere turtle crawl home."
+
+"It's all this leaky kettle kin hold," objected the engineer.
+
+Mr. Quince made technical explanations. "Steam is a blowin' out of the
+safety valve. That's where yer air losin' power. I cal'late the old
+flat iron is er slippin'. I'll fix 'er."
+
+The shuffling of feet sounded.
+
+"How kin you tell where you are a-puttin' that flat iron?" protested
+Sim. "You're a goin' to bust the darned oil biler a foolin' with
+that valve in the dark. You can't see what you're doin' no more than
+a mole."
+
+"I hain't slipped 'er out er notch. She's where she orter be. This
+biler hain't er goin' to blow up. What's it to yer any way; it hain't
+your biler."
+
+"Ain't I got to stand by the blame thing?"
+
+"What's eatin' on yer?" asked Mr. Quince, a trifle obscurely. "Yer
+know dern well you're too blame lazy to shovel enough coal under the
+old wash biler to git her het up none before we git home."
+
+This struck Sim as reasonable. He changed the subject and inquired,
+"Where are we?"
+
+A voice remarkably like that of Mr. Quince, although it could not have
+been that experienced river man, responded, "I dunno."
+
+Leaves rustled along the roof, and the skipper departed hurriedly
+for his post or, more accurately, his pole. For a time he wielded it
+energetically. The current was assisting the engine and so they moved
+fairly rapidly. The glow of South Ridgefield showed above the trees,
+and, with ever greater frequency, the lights of scattered houses gleamed
+upon either bank. They passed the suburbs. Upon either shore lay dark
+masses of manufacturing plants lighted by isolated electric lights. They
+were abreast of Obadiah Dale's mill now, while a short block away
+stretched the ghostly fabric of the highway bridge, dimly traced by its
+own arch of lights. Beneath it was their landing place; so the mothers
+began to prepare to land and to thank Virginia for their pleasant day.
+
+Mr. Quince, of course, was at his post. Resting himself upon his pole,
+he was enjoying that satisfaction over duty well performed which abides
+in the breasts of ships' captains and locomotive engineers when they
+bring their passengers to a safe journey's end.
+
+Suddenly the bow of the _Nancy Jane_ rose slowly and imperceptibly. There
+was a sizzling, grinding sound, and the boat stopped abruptly but softly
+as against a cushion, aground on a sand bar. As the craft struck there
+was a forward movement upon her deck, and a shifting of passengers and
+freight. A resounding splash sounded in front of the wrecked vessel.
+Mr. Quince, resting meditatively upon the pole, had been, sad to relate,
+hove over the bow of his own ship. At the moment of his departure he
+gave a diabolical yell.
+
+A scene of terror ensued. Mothers sending forth wild screams hugged
+their babes to their bosoms as they faced the unknown perils of the
+night. They were not made calmer by a rhythmic heaving of the deck,
+accompanied by a mighty boiling and beating of the water astern, as
+the paddle wheel exerted itself against the sand bar. Perhaps Sim wished
+to emulate "Jim Bludso" of heroic fame, and, in the absence of his
+pilot, keep the engine going "to hold her nozzle agin the bank."
+
+With soothing and calming words, Kelly and Dr. Jackson finally brought
+a partial calm when panic seemed assured.
+
+At the first alarm, Ike had leaped up from a box upon which he had been
+resting from the labors of the day. With rare presence of mind, Mr.
+Jones seized it for personal use as a life preserver in case of need.
+Reassured by the remoteness of danger, Ike endeavored to sit where no
+seat was, and, with a crash, measured his length upon the deck. This
+episode did not tend to allay the nervousness of female minds.
+
+From the shadows of the night, a dripping figure scrambled over the
+bow of the ship. It was Mr. Quince returning from whence he had been
+hove. He reassumed command. "Stop the engine!" he squeaked, in a voice
+made husky by too much moisture. "Want to burn all the coal up for
+nothin'?" Obediently the engine slowed and stopped. Again the voice
+of the skipper sang out, "Better fix that old safety valve. I mought
+a shoved 'er too far in the dark." Suddenly a tremendous hissing of
+steam arose and then died softly away. Mr. Quince hurried to the engine
+room and addressed Sim at close quarters. "Yer dern fool, what made
+yer let all the steam outer the biler. We hain't got no power now.
+How're we goin' to git 'er off?"
+
+"You ain't goin' to git 'er off. She's stuck for good," prophesied
+Sim.
+
+It is not easy to discourage great spirits. "Ef I can't git 'er off
+now, I kin wait for high water. The old tub hain't hurt none," Mr.
+Quince made answer.
+
+Basing the duration of their experience as castaways upon these remarks,
+the mothers gave away to tears. Babies awakened and wept also. A chorus
+of woe swept shoreward.
+
+"Who knows how to swim?" Dr. Jackson asked in a sharp voice.
+
+The ladies construed this remark as implying an early necessity for this
+accomplishment. The resulting increase in grief was with difficulty
+subdued.
+
+From the information educed, it was clear that Sim was among the most
+experienced swimmer among those present. Being untrammeled by the
+mandates of fearful females, he had since his early youth spent much of
+the summer season in the water.
+
+"Sim, you swim ashore and get help," ordered the doctor.
+
+A difficulty arose, "I ain't a goin' to swim with my clothes on,"
+objected Sim. "Maybe I only have to wade, but I might get into a hole
+and have to swim. Clothes drag a feller down."
+
+"Very sensible," agreed the physician. "Take them off."
+
+"I ain't no heathen. I ain't agoin' to take my clothes off before
+all of these womenfolks."
+
+"Don't be silly," urged the doctor. "We will turn our heads."
+
+"Take 'em off behind the biler," suggested Mr. Quince.
+
+"Yes, fry myself on the durned old thing." Additional complications
+struck the youth. "What am I goin' to wear when I git ashore. The cops
+will git me sure, if I run around town naked."
+
+At last, a compromise was reached. Sim, simply attired in trousers,
+disappeared towards the shore. Then followed a long period of silence
+in which the babies slept in comfort and only the sobbing mothers were
+unhappy.
+
+Voices sounded on the shore. Sim had carried the news of shipwreck to
+waiting husbands and succor drew near. They built a fire and shouted
+words of encouragement. A search was made for boats; but they were few
+in South Ridgefield and well protected from marauders. Even the only
+seaworthy skiff of Mr. Quince's fleet was securely locked, and the key
+in his pocket, as Sim reminded him from the shore.
+
+The night wore on. Great activity with little result took place about
+the fire. Policemen, firemen and newspapermen viewed the scene with
+interest. Such prominent men as Obadiah Dale and Hezekiah Wilkins
+exchanged ideas over the fire with factory employees and laborers.
+It was Pat Murphy, a teamster, who solved the problem of rescue. As
+the eastern sky was lighted by the first streaks of the coming day, a
+mule team and a wagon in a few trips landed the passengers of the
+_Nancy Jane_.
+
+In accordance with the traditions of the sea, Mr. Quince stayed by his
+ship. The last load departed leaving him drying himself before the
+furnace. The reflection of the fire lighted up the deep lines of his
+face, its pensive look and the rhythmic movement of the powerful jaws,
+as the faithful mariner kept vigil upon the waters.
+
+But, as the rays of the rising sun turned the eastern horizon into
+gold, an early observer might have perceived Mr. Quince arise, stretch
+himself, and solace his palate with chewing tobacco. The same beholder
+might then have witnessed the riverman step overboard and wade slowly
+towards the shore, bearing his shoes, wrapped in his trousers, before
+him, while the morning breeze flapped the tails of his old flannel shirt
+about his thin legs.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+A MAN IN DISGRACE
+
+
+"Virginia, come here!" roared Obadiah on the morning after the trip up
+the river.
+
+There was a rough commanding note in his voice which made the girl spring
+to her feet, and, shaken by dread of impending calamity, with throbbing
+heart and startled eyes, hurry down stairs to where he awaited her in the
+living room.
+
+He stood before the great mantel. The morning paper was stretched between
+his hands, his nervous fingers crushing its edges. His face was flushed
+with passion and his eyes, as they met those of his daughter, were cruel
+in their anger. "Look here! See what you have done," he cried, in a
+voice which shook with the intenseness of his emotion. In his haste he
+tore a corner from the paper as he thrust it towards the trembling girl.
+
+She accepted the sheet as if she were in a dream. Never had he spoken
+so to her. Never had she seen him in such a rage. Fear of him--of the
+primitive masculinity of the man--clutched at her heart. Everything
+seemed unreal. It was as if she were in the midst of a horrible nightmare
+from which she might, if she would, release herself. She sank into a
+chair, the paper across her knees. As her eyes dropped, the print danced
+queerly for a moment before her vision cleared. There, she read in
+staring headlines, "The Wreck of the _Nancy Jane_."
+
+The comical side of the vicissitudes of the _Nancy Jane_, with its
+passenger list of mothers and babies had so impressed the reporter that
+he had prepared his story in a humorous vein. Unfortunately, he had
+elected to weave his story about Obadiah Dale, the manufacturer, and
+his daughter, instead of about Mrs. Henderson or any humble individual.
+The story was funny. The way the scribbler linked the generosity of
+Obadiah towards the babies, the navigation of the Lame Moose by the
+_Nancy Jane_, and Elgin's Grove, was a scream to those who knew the
+selfishness of the mill owner, the shallow depth and harmlessness of
+the Lame Moose and the lurid history of the grove. The editor-owner of
+the paper had little use for Obadiah and in running this article--good
+natured and harmless on its face--he had hit the manufacturer in a
+vulnerable spot. Obadiah could not stand ridicule.
+
+While Virginia read, the wide toed shoes of her father resounded, as he
+tramped excitedly up and down the room. She finished the article and
+looked up at him. Little chills of fright thrilled up and down her spine,
+and yet she found no reason for it in the column she had been reading.
+That struck her as rather silly.
+
+As she dropped the paper, Obadiah glowered down at her. "Now," he
+yelled, in his high voice, "I hope that you are satisfied. You have
+made me the laughing stock of this town--made a perfect ass out of
+me." He shook a long forefinger at her. "I've stood enough of your
+foolishness and it's got to stop." The old man was nearly frantic with
+anger as he scowled at her, a pale, crushed little thing in the big
+arm chair. "I'm tired of it," he raged. "You make me ridiculous by
+your failure to appreciate that there is such a thing as personal
+dignity. You've mixed me in the most nonsensical affairs. Think of it!
+Parading down the main street of this town behind a minstrel band
+with a load of negroes!" He almost gnashed his teeth at the thought.
+"You got up that fool band concert at the Old Ladies' Home. It was
+a farce with the fire department dashing up in the middle of it. Now,"
+he bellowed, "you had to go and get mixed in this mess on the river."
+Obadiah had to pause in the catalogue of his grievances to catch his
+breath. His temper was choking him. "I've always tried to protect
+my reputation," he went on. "I've minded my business and let other
+people attend to theirs. But you have to drag me into this. My name
+is a hiss and a byword in this town today. I'll never hear the last
+of it. You are to blame for it all." Self-pity brought Obadiah to the
+verge of tears.
+
+But immediately a returning wave of anger engulfed his sorrow. "You
+are extravagant--wickedly so. You force me to pay out large sums of
+money. You've made me buy ice cream for the old ladies, the veterans,
+the firemen and all the mothers and babies, too.--Pretty nearly the
+whole town has been entertained at my expense," he groaned. "Worst of
+all," he continued with renewed temper, "were your fool admissions and
+asinine agreement which forced me to endow that room at the hospital.
+
+"It's time to call a halt," he raved. "I'll stand it no longer. It
+must stop." He paused before the shrinking girl and shook his fist in
+the air. "Hereafter you will mind your own business and not interfere in
+the troubles of others. You'll stay at home where you belong and quit
+gadding about."
+
+Stunned by his vehemence and crushed by his words, the forlorn little
+figure raised pleading eyes to him as he strode out of the room.
+"Daddy," she cried after him, but he took no notice of it.
+
+In her own room, tears brought relief to Virginia, and in time she was
+able to review her father's behavior with a degree of calmness. She
+trembled anew as she remembered his anger. Then, with a start, she
+awakened to the fact that he had forbidden her to continue to do those
+things which she had done in the spirit of her mother's message. Her
+mind traveled over his actions in the past and reconsidered remarks that
+he had made. Suddenly she realized that he had never been in sympathy
+with her, that he had frankly told her so, and that she had refused
+to believe him. With sickening alarm, she awakened to the conflict
+between the ideals of her father and her mother. She sat upon the
+bed, a dejected heap of sorrow, and gazed at the wall with dry eyes,
+frightened and unseeing. What must she do? That was the question. It
+smothered her acute grief at his angry words. Worshiping the mother
+whom she had never known with all the hunger of a lonely heart, it was a
+solemn and tragic decision which she forced upon herself. The gravity
+of it urged her to physical action. She could not bear to lie there,
+she must move about.
+
+It was a sad eyed girl who went downstairs. From Serena she learned that
+her father had telephoned that he would not be home for lunch.
+
+The old negress used all of her arts to persuade her mistress to eat
+something. "Ain' yo'all gwine pick at dis yere salad an' tast'tes
+some o' de custard ah fix special fo' ma honey chil'?" she begged.
+To comfort Virginia she belittled the episode of the morning. "You'
+Daddy done git mad fo' er minute caze dat ole boat stick in de mud.
+He gwine fo'git it quick. He ain' tek no 'count o' de babies wot
+'joy deyse'fs er eatin' an' er sleepin'."
+
+The girl ate sparingly as Serena forced food upon her.
+
+Suddenly the old servant reached out and patted her mistress gently upon
+the shoulder, her black face filled with a great tenderness as she said,
+"You' Mammy done say, ef er pusson try to do right, dey ain' nothin'
+else wot mek no diffe'nce. Dat's jes wot Miss Elinor she say.
+
+"Yas'm, she done say dat right befo' ma eyes," explained Serena, and
+then she hastened away to answer the door bell, leaving Virginia gazing
+dreamily out of a window, wonderfully comforted.
+
+The shrill voice of a woman uplifted in excitement sounded in the hall.
+"We must see some one. We have come a long distance and Mr. Dale is not
+at his office."
+
+"Dey ain' nobody heah fo' yo'all to talk no business to. You might
+jes as well go 'long," Serena answered with firmness.
+
+"Mr. Dale has a daughter," the voice suggested.
+
+"She ain' gwine be 'sturbed. She jes er chil' an' ain' know
+nothin' a tall 'bout her pappy's business. Bettah gwan away f'om
+heah."
+
+"What is it, Serena?" asked Virginia, hurrying into the hall.
+
+"Jes some pussons dat ain' know whar dey 'long," snarled the old
+negress, beginning to vibrate under the stress of anger as she glared at
+three highly indignant women waiting without.
+
+Virginia felt that it was necessary to interfere in the tense situation.
+"I am Miss Dale. I shall be glad to talk to you if you wish to come
+in," she told the strangers, to Serena's disgust.
+
+The hostility of these visitors melted in a degree at this display of
+hospitality; but their manner was cool as they followed the girl into
+the living room.
+
+"We are a committee from the Women's Civic Club of Amity, a town
+situated ten miles below here on the river," explained Mrs. Duncan, a
+stern faced female, after they had introduced themselves. "We ask that
+you inform your father of our call."
+
+"I shall be glad to do that," Virginia promised. "Am I to explain the
+purpose of your visit to him?"
+
+Mrs. Duncan gazed questioningly at the girl. "We ask you to do that, and
+if you have a heart we hope that you will use your influence in our
+behalf. You may tell him--" her eyes blazed--"that we come on the
+part of the women of Amity to protest against his killing us by putting
+poison in our drinking water."
+
+"What?" gasped an astonished Virginia.
+
+"We don't propose to sit quiet and allow Obadiah Dale to murder our
+children."
+
+"I don't understand."
+
+The very evident amazement and horror of the mill owner's daughter
+at her words caused Mrs. Duncan to expand upon them in the cause of
+clearness. "Amity gets its water supply from the Lame Moose River,"
+she explained. "The waste from your father's mill has made the water
+unfit for human consumption. It has been getting worse for years and
+now we have much sickness, especially among children, which the doctors
+trace to this cause."
+
+"Why, that is terrible. I am sure that my father knows nothing about
+it," cried Virginia with great earnestness.
+
+Mrs. Duncan gave an audible sniff of disbelief. "Oh, I think that he
+does. We tried to get him to do something before we took the matter up
+with the State Board of Health, but he wouldn't. They have taken samples
+of the water and have decided that the waste makes it unfit for the use
+of human beings. So that is settled."
+
+"If that is true why don't they take the matter up with my father? Why
+should you come to him?" asked Virginia, suspiciously.
+
+"Because," Mrs. Duncan continued, "your father is rich and powerful,
+and even if the Board of Health orders him to stop running waste into the
+river he may take the matter into court and fight it for years. That
+is what we are worrying about now. Must Amity go on drinking poisoned
+water while your father and the Board of Health fight in the court? Our
+purpose is to attempt to persuade him not to contest the decision of the
+Board."
+
+"If my father is certain that the waste from his mill is making people
+sick, he surely will stop running it into the river."
+
+"It is the only decent thing for him to do," agreed Mrs. Duncan,
+greatly mollified by the attitude of the girl. "Perhaps the Board of
+Health has not notified him of its final decision," she conceded. "Of
+course our Club is greatly interested and we have kept in close touch
+with the case. Our representatives have called frequently at the office
+of the Board." She laughed. "We even had a committee which used to go
+with Mr. Joe Curtis, the Board's representative, every time he took
+samples of water at Amity."
+
+"Who took the samples?" asked Virginia, instantly alert.
+
+"A young man by the name of Curtis. He used to come out on a motorcycle.
+He worked for the Board of Health."
+
+"I'll take the matter up with my father, tonight," Virginia promised
+the women when they left. "You can be sure that he will do the right
+thing about it."
+
+Her old confidence in her father surged up in the presence of the
+callers; but after they had gone the remembrance of the morning's
+episode, with her new realization of her father, persisted in returning.
+She caught herself wondering if it were possible that he, knowing that
+the waste from his mill was polluting the water and causing sickness,
+had done nothing about it. Loyally she fought back the thought. He
+wouldn't do that--a wicked thing. He didn't know the truth--if the
+water _was_ bad. That was the point. Before she talked to him she ought
+to be certain about it. Joe Curtis knew and could tell her the truth.
+Her father, hearing it from her, would be glad to do the right thing.
+
+Yet, regardless of her hopeful reasoning, the memories of the morning--of
+her father's temper torn face in all of its selfish cruelty of
+expression--came back to her and filled her with strange indefinite
+forebodings of evil.
+
+So, it was a different Virginia who came to Joe Curtis that afternoon.
+It was one in whose face there were vague shadows of anxiety and sadness
+which, regardless of pathetic efforts at disguise, spoke of an unquiet
+heart.
+
+He sensed the change in her as she greeted him. But his cheery salutation
+and his boyish bursts of humor could not arouse the care free girl whom
+he had known.
+
+She came quickly to the matter which was uppermost in her mind.
+
+"Joe, you work for the State Board of Health, don't you?"
+
+His face sobered at her question, as if he recognized the approach of
+complications. He nodded affirmatively.
+
+"You took samples of the river water to find out if it were made unfit
+for people to drink by the waste from my father's mill, didn't you?"
+
+He delayed his response so long that she was forced to repeat her
+question before she could get even a nod of admission.
+
+"Joe, does my father's mill spoil the water?"
+
+His head moved uneasily upon his pillow; but he was silent.
+
+"Please answer me," she urged. "It is very important."
+
+He turned upon her almost shortly. "How can I tell? I never analyzed
+the water. I couldn't do it if I wanted to. You know that I am working
+my way through college. I have only had one year of chemistry. On the
+rolls of the Board of Health, I am carried as a laborer. I get samples
+and certify to the time and place I took them. The laboratory analyzes
+them."
+
+"You were around the laboratory. You brought in the samples. Naturally
+you must have had some interest in the matter--in your work. Won't you
+tell me what you know?"
+
+"Why ask me?" he complained sharply. "I shouldn't discuss this matter
+with you, Virginia. Talk to your father. He knows all about the case.
+Let him tell you."
+
+"My father knows!" she exclaimed. She leaned over the bed and gazed
+down at him. Though she had guessed his answer, she must have it in
+words. "Joe," she whispered, "you promised to be my friend. I must
+know the truth. I can trust you. Please tell me about the water."
+
+There was a pathetic pleading in her eyes which tore at his heart.
+He tried to resist the spell she cast about him but his face softened
+beneath her gaze. "I'm sorry, little girl," he whispered, and then
+blurted suddenly, "Everybody connected with the Board of Health knows
+that the waste makes the water fierce. It's not fit for a dog to drink."
+
+That afternoon Obadiah arrived home early. Perhaps he meant to patch up
+a peace with his daughter. He asked for her as soon as he entered the
+house and seemed disappointed when he learned that she had gone out.
+
+Virginia came back from the hospital soon after the arrival of her
+father. Serena met her when she arrived, after having viewed her employer
+with great hostility through an opening in the portieres. The old
+negress' eyes were keen enough to read the shadow of apprehension
+lurking in the depths of the blue eyes. To the faithful servitor it
+indicated the approach of sorrow or tragedy to this peaceful domestic
+haven. She sought to intervene against fate. "Ain' you bettah res'
+youse'f befo' dinner, honey chil'? You' Daddy, he's a readin' his
+papah an' ain' want to be 'sturbed," she urged.
+
+There was determination in the girl's face. She pushed aside the black
+hand which in kindness would have detained her. "No, Serena, I must see
+him at once," she said, and passed on into the living room.
+
+"Hello, Virginia. Where have you been hiding yourself?" was her
+father's friendly greeting, but he gave her a sharp glance.
+
+She sat down as she told him. "I have been to the hospital, Daddy."
+
+Obadiah's face hardened and he scanned the page before him.
+
+She watched his movements with unconcealed anxiety. She was very pale
+and it was only with an effort that she could calm herself to say, "A
+committee of ladies from Amity came to see you this afternoon."
+
+"What did any committee of women want with me? Money?" he suggested,
+with a suspicious eye upon his daughter.
+
+"No, they came, they said, because the waste from the mill is spoiling
+the river water and causing sickness in their town."
+
+"Why didn't they come to my office about that?"
+
+"They did, but you were not in."
+
+He shifted uneasily in his chair. "Did you talk to them about it?"
+
+"Yes. They explained the matter to me. They said that the Board of
+Health has found that the water is unfit to drink. They wanted to
+persuade you not to go into court about the decision. A law suit might
+last for years."
+
+He laughed harshly. "They are waking up, are they? They thought that
+they could scare me with the Board of Health. Did you say anything to
+them?"
+
+"Yes, Daddy, I told them that if you were assured that the waste from
+your mill was making people sick you would stop running it into the
+river."
+
+There was a crackling sound as he crushed the paper in his hands.
+
+"You see, Daddy," she went on, "I was careful to make the point that
+you could not be expected to do anything unless you were sure that it was
+the waste from your mills which was responsible."
+
+Obadiah leaped to his feet. A smile of relief swept over his face. "You
+caught the point exactly, dear. How do I know that my mill is responsible
+for the trouble?"
+
+She did not respond to his change of mood but continued, "The ladies
+assured me that the Board of Health, after a careful investigation, has
+decided that it is."
+
+"Is that so?" he sneered.
+
+She looked up at the change in his tone. His manner seemed to make her
+more resolute as she spoke again. "The matter was so important that
+I wanted to be sure that you knew the truth about it." Her voice was
+trembling now. "I went to the hospital and asked Mr. Curtis. It was
+he who took the samples of water for the Board of Health, and I knew that
+he would tell me the truth."
+
+"What?" demanded Obadiah, his voice pitched high.
+
+"I asked him if the waste from your mill made the water bad."
+
+"Well of all the preposterous interferences--"
+
+"Joe said that it wasn't fit for a dog to drink."
+
+"What does that booby know about it?"
+
+"As he works for the Board of Health, even though he is only a laborer,
+he knows what they think about it, and--" she looked squarely at her
+father--"I believe him, Daddy."
+
+"Believe that idiot?" shouted Obadiah, his face black as night. "He
+didn't have sense enough to gouge me when your fool admissions gave
+him the whip hand. He's a fine specimen of a man for you to be running
+after," declared the mill owner with scorn. "It's a nice thing for a
+respectable girl to be doing. You'll get yourself talked about if I
+don't watch you."
+
+A change came over Virginia. She stiffened and her fear seemed to leave
+her. There was a glint of anger in her eyes as they showed large against
+her pale face. Her soft round chin set in an almost comical reflection of
+his obstinate jaw. She arose, and her level gaze met his angry glower,
+unafraid. "Stop, father." She spoke with wonderful self-restraint.
+"You have said quite enough about Mr. Curtis. We are talking about
+something else. The waste from your mill is making people sick. What are
+you going to do about it?"
+
+"Nothing," cried Obadiah, in his wrathful falsetto, his face working
+convulsively. "I've been running waste into the river for years. If
+people don't like it, let them make the most of it--go thirsty for all
+I care. I'll give them a real fight."
+
+"Do you mean that, knowing your mill is poisoning the water which people
+are forced to drink, you'll fight the matter in court as they were
+afraid you'd do?"
+
+"I'll drag them through the courts until they get so warm that any
+water will look good to them." Suddenly his temper blazed anew. "What
+did I tell you this morning?" he demanded. "I warned you that I
+would no longer tolerate your silly interference in other people's
+business. I certainly will not permit you to butt into my affairs. You
+go too far--you and the friends whom you pick up in the street. Do you
+understand?"
+
+"Yes, I understand. You spoke too plainly this morning for me to
+misunderstand your meaning--as you are doing now. Daddy, I know that I
+have made many mistakes. Yet, everything which you criticize was done to
+aid some one else and in a small way they did spread happiness."
+
+"If you had minded your own business you'd be happier now."
+
+"I was trying to help other people."
+
+"God helps him who helps himself," quoted Obadiah, virtuously.
+
+"That doesn't mean to think only of yourself."
+
+Her quiet voiced argument infuriated him. "You'll attend to your own
+business in the future," he bellowed.
+
+She did not flinch before his bluster but held her ground in white faced
+determination. "You want me to lead a life of selfishness when there
+are so many opportunities to help others?"
+
+"Call it what you like, only get into your head the idea that hereafter
+you will attend to your own affairs and let the rest of the world do the
+same."
+
+Abruptly her mood changed. She gazed at him with a great longing. "Oh,
+Daddy dear, surely you are not so selfish as all that. I know that deep
+in your heart you are not."
+
+For an instant it seemed as if his mood were softening to hers; but his
+obstinacy reasserted itself and he hardened himself against her appeal.
+"I have always managed to take care of myself and I expect the other
+fellow to do the same," he rapped. "In the future, you and I will
+follow that course and avoid this sort of trouble."
+
+[Illustration: "'I MUST CHOOSE BETWEEN YOUR WAY AND THE WAY OF MY
+MOTHER'"]
+
+For a moment the pleading look of the girl faded into one of utter
+helplessness. She fought to regain control of herself as if, having
+reached a decision, she needed to arouse the physical force to carry
+it out. Turning slowly, she moved over to the center table. From its
+drawer she took the book which had belonged to her mother.
+
+He watched her, silenced, as he perceived the emotional conflict which
+was shaking the girl strangely.
+
+When she confronted him again, her face was tragic in its sorrow. In
+those few seconds she had aged. She had leaped from a girl into
+womanhood. Her poise was maintained by sheer power of will. When she
+spoke it was in a forced voice, as if the muscles of her throat
+strained to hold back the sobs which her tones confessed to be near.
+"Daddy, there are two persons whom I should obey," she said. "You,
+my father, and--" her eyes filled with tears as she raised the book
+and clasped it to her breast and whispered ever so tenderly--"my
+mother."
+
+Wonder held Obadiah speechless in its grasp.
+
+"A moment ago," she went on, "you condemned me to a life of
+selfishness." She held the worn little volume towards him, and then
+clutched it to her heart. "In this book is a message from my mother. It
+is as plain and clear to me as if I had heard it from her own lips. She
+tells me to be unselfish and to think of others. I must choose
+between your way and the way of my mother. I do it now in your
+presence." The girl's voice softened into an ineffable sweetness.
+"Perhaps mother is here, too, and understands about it. I choose her
+way, Daddy."
+
+Her manner was firmer now, except for the telltale twitchings of the
+muscles of her face, as she continued. "Knowing my mother's wishes,
+I could not live as you would have me. I must go away." Her voice
+caught. "I must go where I can try to be unselfish. You can't object
+to my going to Aunt Kate's--she has asked me to visit her so often."
+She swayed. Her hand clutched at the table for support. For an instant
+her face worked convulsively, and then, with a little cry of utter
+misery, she ran from the room, holding the book to her breast.
+
+Late that evening Serena softly knocked at Virginia's door. When she was
+bidden to enter, the crumpled and disheveled form upon the bed and the
+tear streaked face told the story of grief to the big hearted negress.
+"Ain' you gwine eat er li'l suppah, honey chil'?" she urged.
+
+"No, Serena, I'm not hungry." A great sob shook the girl.
+
+"Bettah lemme han' yo'all er cup o' tea an' suthin' to pick on,"
+the old darkey pleaded. "Ah fetch it in er minute."
+
+"No, Serena, I can't eat. I don't believe that I will ever want to
+eat again." A paroxysm of sobs wrenched the little frame of the girl
+and she dabbed frantically with a moist handkerchief at the great tears
+which welled up in the blue eyes.
+
+The springs of the bed groaned and strained as Serena seated herself upon
+its edge. A gentle mothering look was in her face, and she began to rub
+the white arm gently with her big black hand. "Res' youse'f, ma li'l
+honey baby," she murmured. "Serena ain' gwine let nobody hu't her
+baby gal." Suddenly she bristled. "Dis yere hu'tin' ma honey chil'
+bettah stop. Ah bus' somebody plum wide open," she growled ferociously.
+"Ah fights fo' ma baby agin de whole wo'ld."
+
+The girl's sobs lessened enough for her to speak. "I am going away,
+Serena."
+
+"Whar you gwine go, chil'?" exclaimed the old woman with much
+excitement.
+
+"I am going to Aunt Kate's home in Maine."
+
+"W'en is we gwine start?"
+
+"I go day after tomorrow," explained Virginia sorrowfully. "You stay
+here, Serena."
+
+"Howcum? Who plan dat foolishness? Wot gwine keep me heah w'en ma
+honey chil' done leave? Ah bets ah follers ma baby ef ah has to clim'
+ba'foot th'ough fiah an' brimstone. Yas'r."
+
+"You must stay and take care of my father, Serena."
+
+"Wot ah wor'y 'bout him fo'? He done mek ma baby cry disaway. Ah
+follers yo'all."
+
+"But, Serena, he is my father."
+
+"Ain' ah know dat? But ain' you ma baby?" Serena arose in great
+excitement and pointed a quivering finger towards the hallway. "You' Ma
+done give you to me," she cried. But her voice softened tenderly as she
+resumed, "De day you' Ma pass ovah de rivah, ah wuz er settin' by
+de baid er tryin' to ease 'er wid er fan. She know dat de good Lord
+gwine call 'er home presen'ly, an' she wuz er waitin' fo' de
+soun' o' de angel's voice. Her eyes wuz closed jes as dough she
+wuz er sleepin'. Jes afo dusk she open 'em an' look up with er
+smile, jes like yourn, honey chil'. She say, 'Is you still thar,
+Serena?' Ah say, 'Yas'm, Miss Elinor.' She say, 'Ain' you bettah
+res' youse'f on dat pallet ovah thar.' Ah say, 'Ah ain' ti'ed
+none, Miss Elinor.' Den you' ma she look at me kinder pleadin' like,
+an' say, 'Serena, you is gwine tek good caah o' ma li'l baby,
+ain' yer?' Ah answer, 'Is ah gwine 'sert ma own baby?' Den she
+'pear mo'e at 'er ease. De smile come back ag'in. She whisper kinder
+sof like, 'Yes, Serena, you' own baby,' Den Miss Elinor close 'er
+eyes an' in er li'l w'ile she heah de sweet voice er callin' 'er
+home." Great tears rolled down the black cheeks of the old negress.
+Burying her face in her apron, she began to sob, and a muffled voice
+pleaded pathetically, "Ah caint let ma own baby go away f'om me."
+
+Before the sorrow of her faithful servitor, Virginia's own grief was
+temporarily subdued. She sat up on the bed and met the unexpected
+interference with her plans with firmness. "Serena, I must go. I know
+that my mother would want me to go."
+
+"How you know?" demanded the practical Serena.
+
+"I am sure of it. Something deep in my spirit moves me."
+
+"Ef de spi'it move you chil' you gotta go," she admitted, greatly
+persuaded.
+
+"But, Serena, even if my mother wants me to go, she wouldn't want
+me to take you away and break up my father's home. That would be
+dreadful. What would happen to the house? Ike would get into all sorts
+of mischief."
+
+Serena gave thoughtful heed to the catastrophe which her departure would
+bring down upon the house of Dale.
+
+"I am not going to stay away from you forever, Serena," Virginia
+continued, as she made a sorry attempt to smile through her tear stained
+eyes. "You know that I wouldn't desert you. Promise me to take good
+care of Daddy while I am gone, Serena," pleaded the girl. "Nothing
+must happen to him. He must not be disturbed or made uncomfortable."
+
+"Why ah gwine wor'y 'bout him fo'?" demanded the old negress,
+obstinately.
+
+"My mother loved him, Serena, and so do I. Won't you take care of him
+for us?"
+
+This plea weakened her stand. "Ah promises to do de bes' ah knows how
+fo' a w'ile but ef yo'all stays too long ah gwine pack ma duds an'
+come whar you is. Yas'm."
+
+Virginia awakened the next morning with a bad headache. Serena busied
+herself around her mistress and finally persuaded her to take a long
+walk. The brisk exercise in the fresh air refreshed the girl, and she
+decided to go to the hospital and see Joe Curtis for the last time before
+she left South Ridgefield.
+
+In the hall of the institution she met Dr. Jackson.
+
+"You should have seen my patients this morning," he told her. "Those
+infants are a gay lot. They cried so loud that they gave me a headache.
+None of that fretful weeping with which they serenaded me last week.
+That trip up the river helped those kids wonderfully, and, with the cool
+weather we are having now, some of those youngsters are going to see snow
+fly who never would have done so if it hadn't been for the voyage of
+the _Nancy Jane_."
+
+Miss Knight came up and slipped an arm about Virginia's waist. "Tell
+the doctor and his babies good bye. He will talk a week about them if
+you'll stand and listen to him," she laughed, and as she drew the girl
+away, explained, "I have a surprise for you, dear."
+
+"I can guess it. The room for the motorcyclists is ready."
+
+"No, you're wrong. I'll have to show you." The nurse led the girl
+through a door which opened upon a small porch and pointed over the
+railing at the grounds which, lay on the side of the building. "There,"
+she said proudly. "Look."
+
+Virginia did as she was told. In the shade of a tree was Joe Curtis
+seated with outstretched leg in a roller chair. He answered their waving
+hands, and his face lighted up with a smile of pleasure which still
+remained when the girl descended the stairs and came to him.
+
+"Isn't this fine!" she exclaimed, her delight at seeing him out of
+bed dwarfing her own anxieties. "It seems now as if you were getting
+better."
+
+His eyes danced with pleasure at her coming. Yet, when he recognized,
+regardless of her efforts at concealment, that the gloomy influence,
+the shadow of which had cloaked her spirits at their last meeting,
+had not departed, his face clouded. He was conscious that his own
+disclosures, even though forced from him by her, might have had some
+part in causing her unhappiness and he endeavored to make amends by
+cheering her. "I asked Miss Knight to send for my motorcycle engine,"
+he informed her. "I told her that I wanted to hitch it to this chair
+and get a little speed out of the thing. I promised her, 'Whither
+thou goest, Knightie, thither will I roll.'"
+
+Virginia expressed interest in the nurse's reply.
+
+"After bawling me out for calling her Knightie, she said that I was
+getting so attached to her that I spent my waking hours devising schemes
+to get hurt so as not to have to leave her."
+
+His visitor's smile of appreciation comforted Joe greatly. He took a
+deep breath and flinched when his tender ribs rebelled. His eyes roamed
+over the grass and trees and he watched the fleecy clouds floating in
+the azure sky. He pursued his campaign of encouragement. "It is great to
+take a breath of air without the ether flavor. It's a wonderful old
+world anyhow," he announced, as he again viewed his surroundings with
+great complacency. "Gosh!" he went on, "I wish I may never again see
+the inside of a building. Me for a job in God's own sunshine."
+
+In spite of the consolatory nature of Joe's remarks, a great loneliness
+had descended upon her. As she looked at him it seemed impossible that
+such a change could have come into her life since they two had planned
+for the hospital room. Then she had everything to make her happy. Now
+she was pledged to leave her father, her home, the few friends of her
+childhood, to go to a relative who was almost a stranger except in
+name. As she pictured the future, its loneliness frightened her. There
+came the temptation to bow to her father's will--to do anything to
+avoid that cheerless future.
+
+Then, in a moment, she was filled with sweet and tender thoughts of
+her mother and the creed of unselfishness. Straightway her resolution
+was strengthened. She would follow the way of her mother and be true
+to the message, no matter what the cost. Surely, God would make her
+father understand. Until that time she must wait.
+
+Joe's eyes returned to the girl at his side, when, lost in her own
+thoughts, she was unconscious of his scrutiny. The unhappiness which he
+caught in her face troubled him anew. "What makes you so sad, little
+girl?" he demanded uneasily.
+
+"Nothing," she maintained, with a smile so forced that it pathetically
+denied the truth of the statement.
+
+"There is something wrong, I know," he worried. "Am I in any way to
+blame?"
+
+She shook her head violently and then told him, "I am going away."
+
+"How long will you be gone?" He could not watch her averted face; but
+something told him that this was no ordinary trip.
+
+"I can't say, Joe. Perhaps always."
+
+As he watched the soft curls at the nape of her neck, the thought came
+to him that only owls and prairie dogs find lodgment in the same hole
+with a rattlesnake; whereupon the youth ceased to question and announced
+as a fact of noteworthy interest, "So long as nobody is dead, there is
+always a way to mend things."
+
+There was a suspicion of moisture in her eyes when she turned to him and
+said, "Joe Curtis, you are certainly a cheerful somebody."
+
+"Why shouldn't I be? I might have been killed in the accident and I
+wasn't. Now I'm nearly well." Into his optimism came tenderness, as
+he whispered, "Best of all, I met you."
+
+"Was it worth it?" She was moody for the moment.
+
+"You bet your life," he exclaimed. "Aren't you glad that you met me?"
+
+Her eyes answered him.
+
+After a moment, he went on. "Will you tell me where you are going,
+Virginia?"
+
+"I am going to Maine. To Old Rock."
+
+"Old Rock, Maine!" he shouted in surprise.
+
+"Yes. Why not?"
+
+"It is near the home of my mother. The place is so small that it seems
+strange that, with all of the rest of the world to go to, you should be
+going there."
+
+Virginia arose from the bench and came over by his chair. "Good bye,
+Joe," she said, very softly. "I hope that you will soon be well." A
+sad little face looked down at him. "Please, forgive me for hurting you.
+I am so sorry." Her lips trembled.
+
+"Forget it," he said roughly; but there was that in his face which
+contradicted his tone. "I ran into you."
+
+"We can't agree, can we?" she said thoughtfully, and her voice broke
+as she continued, "I want to ask a favor of you, Joe."
+
+"Sure." He eyed her expectantly.
+
+"Will you see that the room--is nicely arranged?"
+
+"You bet I will."
+
+"When I am gone there will be no one to care--but you." She fought back
+the tears and put up a brave front. "Good bye, Joe."
+
+"Wait a minute," he commanded.
+
+She reached for his hand and repeated, very sweetly, very softly, "Good
+bye, Joe." She moved away a few steps; but turned back to cry very
+tenderly, "Good bye, Joe."
+
+"Come back, please, Virginia," wailed Joe.
+
+She hesitated, battling with tears.
+
+"Please, come back, Virginia. Remember, I am helpless. I can't come
+after you."
+
+She retraced her steps. "What is it?" she asked, her averted gaze
+apparently interested in the street beyond the grounds.
+
+"Perhaps this is not good bye."
+
+She looked at him now with great interest.
+
+He seized her hand and drew her closer to the chair, smiling up into her
+face, as he explained, "It may not be good bye for us, because--if I
+were quite sure that you wanted to see me--I might come up to Old Rock."
+
+She smiled at him. It was as if storm clouds had broken and let the rays
+of the sun through. "Oh, Joe," she cried, "it would be lovely if you
+came up. Old Rock seems to be a dreadfully lonesome place."
+
+"Old Rock lonesome!" he protested. "Not a bit of it, Virginia. There
+are lots of interesting things to do. We can take grand tramps." In his
+enthusiasm for his home town, Joe forgot his game leg. "Some evening,
+I'll take you down to the big granite bowlder, from which the town
+gets its name, on the shore of the pond. We can get on top of it and
+watch the moon come up over the tree covered hill on the other side
+until it makes a shimmering pathway across the water and turns the old
+white church on the hill into a castle of silver. I love to sit there
+and watch the lights of the village go out, one by one. It's lovely
+then. The only sounds are the song of the crickets, the distant tinkle
+of a sheep bell, the splash of a leaping bass or maybe the hooting of
+an old owl. It is a beautiful place, Virginia, and with you there it
+would be wonderful."
+
+[Illustration: "'I THINK THAT I SHALL LOVE IT,' SHE SAID SOFTLY"]
+
+She listened to his words, her eyes big with interest, and a new
+happiness struggling in her heart. "I think that I shall love it," she
+said softly, and, after a moment's hesitation, "How long--how soon
+will you be able to come, Joe?"
+
+An attendant approached to take the injured motorcyclist back to the ward.
+
+Virginia hastily withdrew her hand from Joe's grasp and immediately gave
+it back to him, when he cried, "Not good bye but until we meet in Old
+Rock."
+
+As she watched the attendant wheel the injured man away and turned
+to leave the hospital grounds, the girl was wonderfully cheered, and
+her mind accepted Joe Curtis's picture of Old Rock by moonlight as
+conclusive evidence that this ancient village was not lonesome.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+VIRGINIA MUST GO
+
+
+Virginia sank limply into the parlor car seat. After a moment she raised
+herself and looked out through the wide window upon the busy platform of
+the South Ridgefield station. Serena and Ike waited by the car nervously,
+endeavoring to locate the position of their mistress by peering into
+the coach. The old negress was publicly weeping.
+
+As they caught sight of the girl, the train started and with rapidly
+increasing speed moved down the platform. Ike grinned a cheerful
+farewell while Serena screamed her adieu, and, as if unable to bear
+the separation, started to waddle along with the train, frantically
+waving her black hands.
+
+Virginia signaled back and shouted embarrassed little good byes,
+subconsciously aware that they would be heard by no one except her
+traveling companions. As the two negroes were swept from her sight, a
+feeling of utter loneliness wrapped her in its gloomy folds. Pent up
+tears flooded her eyes, and so, through a mist, she saw at the end of the
+platform a man and woman, waving handkerchiefs from an automobile, who
+looked remarkably like Hezekiah Wilkins and Mrs. Henderson. Likewise,
+through a curtain of moisture, when the train crossed the bridge, she
+perceived the stranded _Nancy Jane_, symbolical of her own wrecked
+efforts.
+
+As the roar of the train upon the bridge died away, the girl sank back
+again into her seat and succumbed completely to her grief. During those
+last few hours at home she had steeled herself not to display her
+feelings. She had met her father on the previous day and explained
+her plans quite as calmly as if she were about to take an ordinary
+vacation trip.
+
+The decision of his daughter to leave him, based as it was upon the
+inspiration of her mother, dead these seventeen years, had left him
+strangely helpless. In his passion he had thrust aside the cloak of
+idealism in which she had arrayed him and exposed his true character.
+She had struck back, unwittingly selecting a weapon which had swept aside
+his momentary anger and left him shaken and perplexed at the edge of
+the abyss which had opened between them. Obadiah, too, had been unhappy
+in those hours. He loved Virginia with all the affection of which his
+nature was capable. There had been moments when he would have surrendered
+abjectly to his daughter on her own terms but for the grim obstinacy
+which obsessed him.
+
+It may be that she intuitively appreciated his mental struggles, because,
+excepting only her determination to leave home, she treated him with the
+tenderest consideration. In his perplexity, Obadiah drifted for the
+moment and blindly followed the girl's lead, as if through her alone
+could come the solution of the problem which separated them. Their
+breakfast that morning had been a difficult ordeal as had been their
+leave taking. He had displayed no desire to accompany her to the train
+and had parted from her with a grim indifference which his troubled
+face belied.
+
+Now, at least, there was relief in the luxury of a good cry; but after a
+time the tears ceased and a weary peace came. Resting her head against
+the back of her chair she gave herself up to thoughts of the few little
+happinesses which gleamed like bright stars in the darkness with which
+she was surrounded.
+
+She thought of Joe Curtis and thrilled when she remembered the long
+hand clasp. His picture of Old Rock comforted her anew as she assured
+herself that such a place could not be lonely. She reviewed the few
+moments in which she had bidden farewell to Mrs. Henderson. She had
+dreaded Hennie's embarrassing questions. But, strangely, Hennie was
+not inquisitive. She had broken away to rush into her kitchen crying
+loudly that something was burning. This belief, from certain remarks
+which had floated back, had irritated Carrie, her cook, exceedingly.
+Returning, she had enveloped the girl in a wealth of motherly tenderness,
+so that in reality the visit had consisted of much sobbing upon the
+older woman's shoulder to an accompaniment of soothing endearments
+and a train of explosive exclamations from which little could be gathered.
+
+Soon she began to think of her Aunt Kate and of the new home to which she
+was going. Little enough she knew. Once, shortly before the death of
+Elinor Dale, Mrs. Kate Baker had visited South Ridgefield. At the time,
+she had a baby daughter of Virginia's age and was mourning the death
+of her husband. For years there had been irregular correspondence; but,
+as far as Virginia was concerned, her father's sister and her cousin
+were merely names.
+
+The day of tiresome travel slowly passed. There were times when, in a
+wave of despair, Virginia pictured herself adrift on a sea of sadness,
+where all was dark and cheerless; but there were moments when sweet
+thoughts of her mother strengthened her and made her resolve to stand by
+her colors, no matter what the cost.
+
+It was late that evening when the train arrived at Old Rock. The unusual
+excitement and the fatigue of traveling had brought on a persistent
+headache, so that it was a most forlorn and miserable Virginia who was
+helped down from the car. Hardly had her bag been dropped at her side
+when the train moved on. As the metal doors clanged shut, it seemed to
+the girl as if it were the sound of the gates of her old life closing
+against her. She gazed timidly about the station. It was very dark to
+this girl of the city--this child of the electric lights. The fear of
+the unknown seized her. Sick, frightened, every limb of her trembling,
+she hesitated helplessly.
+
+A figure approached through the gloom, and the soft, cheery voice of a
+girl inquired, "Cousin Virginia?"
+
+Virginia's throat was dry and husky. "Yes." Her answer was only a
+whisper. A frightened little sound, but it was all that she could make.
+
+Now a hand seized her arm and she was led along the platform. They came
+under a station lamp, and again the voice spoke as they faced a tall,
+angular, plainly dressed woman. "Here she is, mother."
+
+Virginia looked up into a face which made her gasp in astonishment. In
+the eyes, the mouth, the deep cut lines, was resemblance to her father
+but, oh, with what a difference. It was Obadiah sweetened by love and
+affection. The harshness, the obstinacy, the selfishness of him were
+memories here. In their place lay a gentle, motherly look beneath the
+soft, white hair and from the eyes beamed a tender welcome to the lonely
+girl.
+
+As Virginia hesitated diffidently, the lamp overhead brought out the
+pallor and the pathos of her wan tired little face. With never a word
+but just a soft exclamation she sank into the outstretched arms of her
+aunt.
+
+"You poor tired darling," whispered Aunt Kate. She fixed a look of
+great severity over Virginia's shoulder at her own daughter. "Helen,"
+she cried, "do you expect visitors to carry their own baggage? Take
+Virginia's bag to the surrey." As Helen obediently departed, Aunt Kate
+gave her guest a motherly hug, meanwhile making strange noises in her
+throat. Releasing one arm with great care lest the girl be disturbed,
+she endeavored to wipe a tear from her wrinkled cheek with a finger.
+"Come, child," she said sharply. "You must get to bed. How do you
+feel?" When she learned of the headache she commiserated with her niece.
+"You poor child. Sleep is the best treatment for that."
+
+A surrey drawn by a remarkably fat horse was waiting for them back of
+the station.
+
+"Don't you feel well, Cousin Virginia?" inquired Helen from the front
+seat.
+
+"It's only a headache, Cousin Helen."
+
+There was sincere relief in Helen's voice as she replied, "I am so glad
+that it is nothing worse."
+
+Virginia and her Aunt climbed into the back seat of the conveyance.
+
+"Hush," cried Helen in a loud whisper. "Archimedes is asleep. It's a
+shame to disturb him. I haven't the heart to hit him," she giggled.
+
+"Be careful and don't strike that horse cruelly, Helen," Aunt Kate
+warned her daughter, as if that maiden were habitually guilty of cruelty
+to animals.
+
+Helen disregarded her mother's remark. "Archimedes is dreaming of corn
+and oats and hay and green pastures. He must dream of such things, as
+he never thinks of anything else," she laughed.
+
+"Stop your nonsense, Helen. I have a sick girl here who should be in
+bed."
+
+"I'm better already," protested Virginia.
+
+"Get up, Arch," cried Helen.
+
+Archimedes stood fast.
+
+"Arch," she called again.
+
+No movement followed.
+
+"Pull on the reins, Helen," suggested Aunt Kate.
+
+"Mother, how many times must I tell you that to pull on the reins is
+no way to start a horse. A logical minded animal would expect you to push
+on the lines when you want him to stop, and that wouldn't do at all."
+That mischievous giggle came again and Helen gave the horse a smart tap
+with the whip.
+
+The lazy steed flinched slightly and moved slowly forward.
+
+"Don't be cruel, Helen, and keep in the gutter."
+
+"Mother, there are no automobiles out at this time of night. For once,
+when we have company, we should drive in the middle of the road. As
+we pay taxes, we have a right there," argued Helen. "I am getting
+curvature of the spine from driving with one wheel in the gutter."
+
+"It is so much safer, Helen. Archimedes can't get out of the way
+quickly."
+
+"Why should he? Let the automobiles make room for us once. Are we
+frightened chickens to flee from them?"
+
+"It makes the people in the machines so cross, Helen. They say such
+unkind things."
+
+Delightful remembrances returned to Helen. "Mother, are you thinking of
+the man who offered to lend us his jack to move Archimedes out of the
+road?"
+
+"That man was very angry."
+
+"He was, mother. I hope that he has gotten over it by now," laughed
+Helen. She clucked energetically and went on, "As you are with us
+tonight, we will pursue our usual humble way in the gutter. But," she
+declared emphatically, "when Virginia and I go driving we will take
+the middle of the road and keep it in spite of all the horn-blowing
+goggle-eyed men in the state of Maine. Archimedes shall not be insulted.
+His proud spirit rebels."
+
+They jogged along, the proud spirit of Archimedes being well content with
+a modest speed. Turning into a driveway, they ascended a slight incline
+and drove into a large barn.
+
+"This is my department," Helen told her cousin with pride as she
+unharnessed Archimedes. When he was safe in his stall she paused before
+the white face of a Holstein cow. "Cowslip," she giggled, "this is
+your cousin Virginia who has come to visit you."
+
+A door opened and Aunt Kate called, "Helen, bring your cousin in. Don't
+keep her out in that barn when she has a headache."
+
+So, with an arm about her cousin's waist, Helen guided her on her first
+trip along a Maine domestic pathway which begins in the stable, or even
+chicken house, and runs under one roof to the parlor.
+
+Virginia paused in a doorway that opened into a large oblong room. In
+its center was a great, square, brick chimney which divided it into a
+cosy kitchen forming a most convenient part of the dining room, and a
+dining room which was a most pleasant part of the kitchen. The low room
+with its old-fashioned paper, its white-curtained, square-paned windows
+and its painted floor, was delightfully homey and cheerful. It seemed
+particularly so to Virginia, with the motherly face of her aunt smiling
+a kindly welcome and the arm of her pretty blonde cousin drawing her
+affectionately towards its comfort.
+
+A few minutes later, with a bag in one hand and a candlestick in the
+other, Helen led her cousin up the stairs to the cosiest little bed room
+imaginable. Its low ceiling sloped with the roof except where broken
+by dainty curtained dormer windows. A mahogany four poster, a highboy
+and a table with some chairs constituted its furniture, while upon the
+floor were round rugs of woven rags.
+
+After Helen had departed and she had removed the traces of her journey,
+Virginia seated herself in a rocker for a moment. She felt as if a
+weight had been lifted from her shoulders. The fear of the unknown,
+which had so terrified her, was gone. In spite of her sadness, when she
+thought of her father, she felt reassured and comforted. As the girl
+sat there, a tender dreamy look of indescribable sweetness crept into
+her face. Her lips moved and she whispered ever so softly, "Mother,
+your way is not so hard."
+
+The simple little supper, to which the three women sat down that evening
+was delightful to Virginia. And afterwards, what a gay time they had
+with the dishes. The city cousin, whose headache was now a thing of the
+past, donned an apron and assisted in drying them. Never had Serena
+permitted her this proud privilege and how pleased she was to do it
+now. She polished the few plates upon which she had the time to apply her
+intensive treatment until they shone and sparkled bravely beneath the
+lamplight.
+
+Aunt Kate watched her strenuous efforts for a time in silence and then
+burst forth, "Good land, if I weren't sure that the blue on that old
+willow ware was burned deep, child, I'd be afraid you'd rub it off."
+
+"Virginia is exercising, mother," laughed Helen.
+
+"If she exercises that hard on each dish, she won't have either the
+strength or time to do the rest of her work. No man would want to marry a
+girl who puts in her time wiping dishes. Most of them would rather look
+at good things to eat in their plates than at the reflection of their
+own faces, I'll warrant you."
+
+How the two girls did enjoy Aunt Kate's sage remark and what a pleasant
+little chat they had when supper was over.
+
+Aunt Kate sat in her easy chair and sewed, and now and then interjected
+a word of wisdom into their conversation which convulsed them. Finally
+she yawned, and, looking at the old wooden cased clock upon the mantel,
+announced, "It's time all honest folks were in bed and rogues were
+movin'."
+
+A short time after this pointed remark, Virginia, tingling with the chill
+of the northern night which swept in as she opened her windows, climbed
+into bed, and, pulling the blankets about her, she gave a little sigh
+and, very much like her old self, plunged into a deep and dreamless
+slumber.
+
+When she awakened the next morning, sunlight was streaming into the
+room. Filled with curiosity over her new surroundings, she sprang from
+her bed and gazed out of the window. Across the road, which ran in
+front of the house, a newly mowed meadow rolled down to the shore of a
+lake or pond a short distance away. Its surface, rippled by the morning
+breeze, glittered and sparkled in the sun. Beyond the water, rising
+abruptly from its edge, was a great hill, its slope covered with a
+forest of pine and fur and hemlock. The green expanse of the meadow was
+broken by islands of maple and oak while several huge granite bowlders
+stood forth against the sod in all of their grey majesty. The color
+of the soft, rich summer sky, dotted with floating masses of fleecy
+white, was reflected in the flashing water. The trees and grass, yet
+glistening with the morning dew, were a moist green, untouched by the
+yellow of sun scorch or drought. It was a restful verdancy which spoke
+of frequent rains, of cool days and of cooler nights.
+
+"Virginia, are you awake?" came the voice of her aunt from the hall.
+
+She climbed hastily back into bed as her aunt entered.
+
+Aunt Kate smiled sweetly down at the girl whose serious eyes reflecting
+the color of the morning sky, gazed at her from a mass of wavy black
+hair. "How is the headache?" she asked.
+
+"It left last night, Aunt Kate, and hasn't come back."
+
+"That's good." Aunt Kate's voice was very gentle and sympathetic.
+She sat upon the edge of the bed and, leaning forward, patted the soft
+cheek of her niece.
+
+Again, in the lined face of her aunt, Virginia recognized that
+resemblance to her father, so wonderfully softened by kindness and
+sweetness. The thought came to the girl that her mother would have
+had such a tenderness of look had she lived. A flood of memories swept
+down upon her and tears welled up in her eyes.
+
+Her aunt gathered her into those mothering arms again, and almost before
+the girl appreciated what she was doing she had opened her heart and told
+her woes in the gloomiest way possible.
+
+After she had soothed her niece, until she could give a teary little
+smile, Aunt Kate arose and, moving to the window, viewed the familiar
+landscape with a stern eye, sniffing portentously. In a moment she
+began to speak. "We Dales are a selfish and obstinate family. We were
+always so." There was a note of pride in her voice. "The men are
+worse than the women--much worse--more obstinate and selfish, dear," she
+repeated. "I know my brother Obadiah--better than he knows himself.
+I am very glad, child, that you told me about the whole thing." Suddenly
+her voice became sharp and emphatic and she fastened a severe look
+upon Virginia. "Don't you for a minute get it into your head that you
+have run away from home. If you had, I should take you back myself. You
+should have visited your cousin Helen and me a dozen times before, and
+now we will make up for your neglect and give brother Obadiah a chance
+to calm himself after the disturbances you have created." She paused
+for a moment and then went on, smiling sweetly, "I want you to be
+your own sweet self here and have a jolly time with Helen." Her tones
+became gentle. "Follow the way of your mother until the end of your
+life. Sometimes it will lead through gloomy valleys but it is the road
+which leads to the sunshine of the heights. Hum," she cried sharply,
+"read 'Pilgrim's Progress,' child. It says the same thing, but
+better."
+
+A much cheered Virginia came down to breakfast, and, like the very
+healthy young person she was, in obedience to her aunt's command and the
+natural law of youth, forgot the unhappiness of yesterday in the joys
+of the present.
+
+The days which followed were crowded with happy hours. There were drives
+long in time but short in mileage behind the majestic Archimedes over
+tree-shaded roads. Unaccompanied by the timid Aunt Kate, they forsook the
+humble gutter and seized the crown of the road. With peals of ringing
+laughter, they pursued their slow way, unmindful of irate tourists filled
+with the belief that the road and the width thereof was theirs to be
+covered at fifty scorching miles an hour, and that delays from slow
+moving taxpayers were an interference with their vested rights as well
+as to their progress towards the uttermost parts of the earth.
+
+There were plunges into the cold depths of the pond followed by wild
+scrambles, when, with chilled muscles, they ran through the cool air
+over the meadow to the house.
+
+There were long paddles in the canoe where every curve and bend of a
+stream opened a new vista of loveliness, of woods, of stream, of hill,
+of rolling meadow.
+
+There were tramps through forests of fir and pine where their feet sank
+into the soft cushion of needles and they climbed until they came out
+on the rugged tops of hills where, resting in weariness, they drank deep
+of the pure air and feasted their eyes upon the pleasing prospect below
+them.
+
+Tired and weary but happy beyond relief, they would return in the evening
+and, catching sight of Aunt Kate waiting upon the porch, greet her with
+gay shouts and, both speaking at once, relate stirring adventures of
+field and flood with cows and frogs and sheep and dogs.
+
+Jolly feasts these three women had when sore muscles rested after the
+day's effort. Never were such vegetables grown as came from the garden
+back of the barn. Where else, pray tell, could such desserts be found as
+Aunt Kate made? Or what could be more delicious than those big bowls of
+raspberries or blueberries afloat in Cowslip's rich, thick contribution
+to the feast?
+
+Afterwards, Virginia would write letters until too soon a nodding head
+and leaden eyelids would force her to bed. Her correspondence was large
+in those days. She wrote to Mrs. Henderson and Serena and Joe Curtis;
+but more often she wrote to her father, telling him all that she did.
+
+Regularly to her, came letters from him. They were formal, precise
+epistles in a style which might be described as having commercial
+tendencies and obviously prepared by Mr. Jones at the dictation of
+Obadiah.
+
+As the weeks passed "V," as Helen nicknamed her cousin, developed
+muscle and flesh and grew amazingly, and the coat of tan she acquired
+would have been a scandalous thing in any beauty parlor in the land.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+A FRIEND IN NEED
+
+
+A weatherworn, disreputable hammock swung lazily between two big fruit
+laden apple trees beside Aunt Kate's home. Time was when it had been a
+gaudy, betasseled thing taken into the house each night. But familiarity
+breeds contempt for choice possessions as well as friends. Now the
+hammock hung unwatched from June until October. No longer a cherished
+chattel, it was left to face the ravages of time and weather and man.
+
+Yet, in its ripe old age, it had achieved the goal of all good hammocks.
+It had found its place, not, of course, in the sun--that not being the
+custom of hammocks--but in Aunt Kate's household. It had become a
+place of conference, of discussion, aye, even of mutual confession for
+Helen and her cousin Virginia.
+
+It swung lazily in the light breeze of the morning. Not slothfully, but
+in the relaxation of resting strength prepared instantly to meet its
+burdens and responsibilities. It was well that this was so. Upon the
+self-same breeze which swung it, came sounds of laughter and the patter
+of small feet. With sudden strain and elastic resistance, carried even to
+the uppermost twigs of the trees, the hammock received the two girls
+as they precipitated themselves into its lap.
+
+"I beat," cried Helen with the pride of victory, changed suddenly
+into a wail of anguish as a dislodged Bell-flower apple dropped upon
+her head. "Oh-o-o-o," she groaned; "those apples make me mad. This
+is the second time that one of them has struck me on the head and I am
+getting tired of it."
+
+In her own end of the hammock Virginia was coiled in a most precarious
+position. She was so interested in her letter that she failed to give
+her cousin the full measure of tender sympathy to which that maiden felt
+herself entitled.
+
+Helen rubbed her head with vigor. "Say something 'V.' Is anything the
+matter with your heart?" she exclaimed, fixing reproachful eyes upon
+her absorbed companion.
+
+"Did it hurt?" Virginia, deep in her letter, politely inquired. Her
+words, however, lacked that warm condolence for which the head and heart
+of her cousin yearned.
+
+"Did it hurt?" mimicked Helen in disgust. "What a question! It is
+exactly as bad as if a brick had fallen off the chimney on my head. Yet
+you sit there and ask if it hurt. What do you think my head is made of?"
+
+"Fudge," cried Virginia as the wind twisted her letter so that she
+could not read it.
+
+"Wh-a-at?" Helen was highly indignant until she discovered that
+her cousin's remark was not a personal allusion. "Never mind," she
+threatened; "see how I treat you the next time that you get hurt."
+
+Virginia finished her letter. She wiggled over towards Helen, an
+operation which placed both girls in imminent danger of being pitched
+upon their faces. "I am sorry for your poor head, dear," she giggled,
+"or should I be sorry for the apple? Let me look."
+
+Helen thrust aside the inquisitive fingers. "Let me alone, you
+unsympathetic wretch. Wait until my turn comes. Even if you writhe
+before me in great agony, I shall laugh. Laugh coldly--ha--ha."
+
+Virginia disregarded future calamities. "I have a letter from Joe
+Curtis. It happens to be one which I might read to you, if you are real
+nice."
+
+Instantly, feminine curiosity caused Helen to forget injuries and pledged
+vengeance. "Please, 'V.,' I should love to hear it," she begged, and
+then listened with rapt attention as her cousin read,
+
+    "_My dear little girl_:
+
+    "This morning Miss Knight brought your letter to me on the
+    grounds where I had been taken in the roller chair. She was
+    grumbling about it being the business of the Post Office
+    Department to establish a rural free delivery route and not
+    expect her to chase around with my mail.
+
+    "I spend most of my time in the chair, now. Soon I'll be
+    on crutches, and after that it won't be long before I am
+    discharged.
+
+    "But this letter is written to give you the big news. The
+    room for motorcyclists is open for business. Miss Knight took
+    me to see it and it is dandy. I asked her what she thought
+    about it now, seeing that she had so much to say when we were
+    planning it. Her answer was, 'It's the best cure for blues
+    I know. If I am downhearted, all I have to do is to come up
+    here and think about you two innocents and I laugh myself
+    sick.'
+
+    "I told her that her ideas of humor led towards the
+    psychopathic ward and warned her to beware of alienists or
+    squirrels because they might develop a personal interest in her.
+
+    "What do you think? The very day they opened the room it
+    had a patient. You never would guess who it was. It was that
+    fellow Jones who works in your father's office. He must be a
+    regular dare devil of a rider. When the accident happened,
+    he had cut in front of a moving street car. The machine hung
+    in the fender and Jones went on and landed in a city trash
+    wagon at the curb. His head and face were cut but the trash
+    was soft. He bled so that the by-standers decided that he was
+    dying and sent him to the hospital. Of course, the doctors
+    kept him.
+
+    "Miss Knight said that, from the odor about Jones when he came
+    in, she guessed people were careless about separating trash
+    from garbage. She told Jones that he must have thought he was
+    among old home folks when he landed.
+
+    "To be neighborly, I called upon him. Everything was beautiful
+    in the room but him. I told him that he looked as out of
+    place as a dead rat in a flour barrel. That peeved him, so I
+    asked him if he hadn't felt more at home in the trash wagon.
+    He got sore and grabbed up a glass. 'I'll bounce this off
+    your ventilator if you don't get out of here,' he yelled.
+
+    "That made me mad. 'You can't put me out,' I told him.
+    'I've got more right in here than you. If you don't stop
+    yapping around my heels I will pull you out of that bed and
+    get in it myself.'
+
+    "He got crazy then and started to climb out of the bed but
+    Miss Knight came in and shoved him down on his pillow. 'Take
+    that big cheese out of here before I break his other leg,' he
+    bawled.
+
+    "She began to laugh fit to kill herself and said, 'Joe, what
+    kind of gentle sympathy do you give the weak and injured which
+    makes them wish to rise up and fight?'--when she rolled me
+    away from that wild man.
+
+    "Your letter made me homesick for the north country. I have
+    fished all over that pond. You wouldn't catch hornpouts if you
+    fished in the right place and used the proper kind of bait. I
+    used to go to the north end of the pond by the lily pads.
+    Bait your hook with a live minnow and drop it in there about
+    sundown. The fun will come suddenly. Mr. Pickerel strikes
+    with the speed of an express train. Try it. When I come up we
+    will go fishing.
+
+    "A tray is coming my way so I must stop. I think of you every
+    day and, believe me, just as soon as this hospital turns me
+    loose I am going to go where I can see and talk to the nicest
+    girl in all the world.
+
+    "Good bye, Miss Hornpout catcher.
+
+                                                "Affectionately,
+                                                                "Joe."
+
+Virginia's face was aglow with happiness as she finished reading and
+turned to Helen. "He is the nicest man. Doesn't he write interesting
+letters to me?" she murmured softly.
+
+The sentimental Helen gazed into the distance, lost in dreams conjured by
+this epistle. "Yes, he does," she agreed. "You must adore him, dear."
+
+Virginia's face crimsoned at this bold remark. "We are only friends,"
+she protested.
+
+"Sincere friendship and complete understanding between two is
+wonderful," sighed Helen from her eighteen years' experience of the
+vicissitudes of life, and she displayed further keen insight into the
+problems of existence, when she continued, "Sympathetic appreciation
+strengthens one to meet sorrow."
+
+Virginia gazed raptly at her cousin.
+
+"Such sincere friendship should be cherished as some tender flower,"
+Helen went on. "Is it not written that from the mouths of babes shall
+come wisdom?"
+
+"You do express yourself so well, Helen. You have so much feeling in
+your nature--such breadth to your character, dear," responded Virginia.
+
+The two girls pensively viewed the pond, possibly recuperating from the
+strain of their conversation.
+
+"It almost seems that I know him," Helen whispered.
+
+Virginia turned suspiciously upon her cousin. "Did you know Joe Curtis?
+Did you go to school with him?" she demanded.
+
+"I can't remember the name, 'V.' What does he look like?"
+
+Very valiantly Virginia attempted a word picture of Joe. "He is a
+big fellow. His eyes are black--and large--and dreamy." She mused
+for a moment and resumed with animation. "His eyes are bright--and
+snapping--and brave--" again she paused and then she concluded very
+softly--"and sweet. He has a smile which tears your heart."
+
+"How wonderful he must be!" sighed Helen. She shook her head
+emphatically. "If I had met him, I should have remembered him until
+the last hour of my life."
+
+There followed a dreamy silence devoted to maidenly meditation concerning
+the manifold charms of Joe Curtis until an idea caused Helen to cry,
+"Virginia, you should go fishing in the place Joe wrote about. I know
+where it is. Think of it, you would fish in the same place, in the
+same water and by the same lily pads where he has been. We couldn't
+catch the same fish but we might catch relatives."
+
+"Let's go now," agreed Virginia, moved greatly by Helen's sentimental
+suggestion.
+
+It was a long pull in the row boat to the head of the pond; but they took
+turns at the oars and at last arrived at their destination. The day was
+warm and the exercise at the oars did not cool the girls.
+
+Helen noted the position of the sun which yet hung high. "Nothing will
+bite, now 'V.,'" she objected. "We came hours too soon. He said to
+fish at sundown. We had better go ashore and wait."
+
+Glad to get out of the burning sun, they rowed to the shore and,
+clambering up the bank, dropped down in a shady spot.
+
+Suddenly Helen became restless. "I hear a strange humming noise," she
+worried.
+
+Virginia was likewise nervously alert. "I hear it, too. It's a low
+buzzing--much louder than mosquitoes," she agreed.
+
+"What can it be?" Helen troubled.
+
+"It's my hornets' nest," cried a childish voice behind them.
+
+With startled exclamations, the girls turned their heads.
+
+Looking over the top of a granite bowlder a short distance away was a
+small boy. He was a very thin and delicate child about five years old,
+wearing a pair of faded khaki rompers and a shirt of the same material.
+
+"Don't you know any better than to sit under a hornets' nest?" he
+exclaimed in disgust. "Do you want to get yourselves stung to death?"
+
+The two girls raised their eyes. Partially concealed by the lower
+branches of the tree, a great cone of clay hung above them. From it
+and the insects flying about it came the buzzing sound.
+
+"Crawl, Virginia, and don't you dare make a noise," whispered Helen.
+
+From the top of the rock the infant witnessed the ignominious retreat
+from dangerous territory. "Come over here," he urged. "Much hornets
+never come near me."
+
+Relying upon the superior judgment of the masculine mind, the girls
+turned and humbly crept towards this place of refuge.
+
+"I guess you might stand up, now," the boy told them. "If the hornets
+had wanted to sting you, they'd have done it before."
+
+They arose and forthwith began to dust their skirts.
+
+"Stop!" commanded the child in a voice of alarm. "Haven't you got
+any sense? Want to get me stung? If you make a noise the hornets will
+come sneaking over to see what is going on." His manner changed to one
+of great politeness as he went on, "I have a house back here. You can
+come over there and dust yourselves if you want to." He slid down back
+of the rock. When he reappeared around its corner, he made funny little
+skips and for the first time they noticed that he used a crutch. One
+of his legs was flexed by distorted muscles until he carried it a couple
+of inches above the ground. Notwithstanding this handicap, he moved
+rapidly along a pathway ahead of him. Where the grass of the meadow
+began at the edge of the woods, he waited for them and pointed with
+pride to a small opening in a clump of birches. "This is my house," he
+told them.
+
+Virginia dropped upon her knees and peeped in. "How lovely," she cried.
+
+Before her the flat top of a rock projecting slightly above the surface
+of the ground served as a floor. A thick hedge of birch saplings grew
+about it, constituting the walls. The branches arching it had been cut
+away as high as a man's head. Above this they joined in a dense mass,
+forming the roof of the bower.
+
+Following their little host, the girls entered.
+
+"What a lovely house," said Helen. "Did you make it?"
+
+"God made most of it," he answered with great solemnity. "Mother cut
+away the high branches and I cut the low ones and it was done. I didn't
+have it all, at first, though."
+
+"How was that?" Helen inquired.
+
+"Mr. Woodchuck lived in the cellar beneath the stone. There is his
+stairway." He pointed to an opening at the edge of the rock, surrounded
+by pebbles and clay. "As soon as I moved in Mr. Woodchuck moved out."
+
+"Are you all alone now?"
+
+"Oh, no indeed, a chipmunk lives over there, who is very friendly. Up
+in that tree is a bird's nest; but the young ones have gone away now.
+Then there are the hornets and a snake lives under the rock over there."
+
+"Snakes!" screamed both of the girls.
+
+"Yes, a grass snake." The infant was openly disgusted at the display
+of feminine timidity. "Who's afraid of an old snake? I'm not. That
+snake is so afraid that I will catch him that he don't dare come out."
+
+The neighborhood distrust relieved the fears of the visitors and they
+began to make themselves comfortable.
+
+"Oh, 'V.,' this would be a grand place to eat our lunch," suggested
+Helen and to the boy she said, "We have something to eat in our boat.
+May we bring it here and will you have lunch with us?"
+
+"That would be fine," he agreed. "You get your lunch and I will get
+some milk for us to drink from my mother."
+
+"Don't disturb her," protested Virginia. "We have plenty. And we have
+a thermos bottle of water, too."
+
+"My mother won't care a bit. She loves to have me eat and she wants me
+to drink lots of milk so that I will grow big and strong to take care
+of her. I haven't any father, you see." Without further words the lad
+disappeared.
+
+Taking care to avoid the hornets, the girls brought their lunch from the
+boat and were soon joined by the boy bringing a pitcher of milk and some
+tin cups.
+
+"Mother said that she was glad for us to have the milk and that after
+lunch I am to bring you up to see her. Please come," he begged. "I want
+my mother to know both of you so that after you are gone I can talk to
+her about you and she will understand. I don't often have visitors at
+my house." In a burst of confidence, "I never had any before. Please do
+come."
+
+The pleading face of the boy was very attractive to Virginia as she
+looked into it. Its wistfulness persuaded her. "We will go and see your
+mother," she promised.
+
+A happy, satisfied smile came into his face. There was something familiar
+about that to Virginia. Her eyes became dreamy.
+
+"I'm going to kiss you," Helen suddenly announced.
+
+He resisted violently but was overpowered and force prevailed. "What
+do you want to do that for?" he objected, unappreciative of the favor
+so generously showered upon him by the fair Helen. "It spoils the fun.
+Don't you know any better than to want to kiss a feller all the time?"
+he complained.
+
+The sight of food pacified the infant as the girls spread the lunch.
+They all enjoyed the feast in the leafy bower and consumed a remarkable
+quantity of sandwiches, doughnuts, apple pie and milk. "My, but that
+was good!" he announced. "Don't you think that my house is a good
+place to eat in? I told my mother that if I could eat here all of the
+time I would get fat; but she said that I would become a worse little
+savage than I am."
+
+The boy chattered on as he led them over the meadow towards the back of
+a weather-beaten farmhouse. "Moth-er, Moth-er," he shouted, as they
+approached the back door.
+
+A middle aged woman of good appearance came to the door. Trouble had
+deeply marked her face. "Won't you come in?" she urged. "Charles
+Augustus," she reproved her son, "you should bring ladies to the front
+of the house, not to the kitchen door."
+
+"What's the difference?" he argued. "You can get in either way,
+mother, and this is the nearest."
+
+The girls, much amused at the reasoning of Charles Augustus, followed his
+mother through a spotless kitchen and dining room into a very plainly
+furnished front room.
+
+For a time Charles Augustus sat most sedately in a chair, listening to
+the conversation of the girls with his mother; but as the minutes passed;
+he became restless.
+
+Recognizing this, his mother suggested that he get some sweet apples from
+a tree in front of the house for their guests.
+
+Passing out of the open front door, he paused upon the stoop and began
+a shrill little tuneless whistle. As he moved forward, his foot or his
+crutch slipped. He lurched forward as if about to plunge headlong down
+the flight of steps which led to the yard below.
+
+The eyes of the women had followed the little fellow, and as he swung
+forward they were filled with alarm. With half suppressed screams they
+sprang to their feet, thrusting out their arms as if they might catch him.
+
+By a marvelous effort, the boy recovered his balance. He resumed his
+whistling as if nothing had happened and clumped heavily down the steps,
+disappearing from their view.
+
+With a sigh of relief the girls sank back into their chairs.
+
+But the mother remained standing, her eyes yet upon the doorway through
+which her son had departed. Her raised hands dropped to her side and the
+look of horror passed from her face, leaving it old and tired looking.
+
+Helen arose and, with a word of explanation, disappeared after Charles
+Augustus.
+
+Virginia marked the hands of the woman yet trembling from her shock. She
+reached forward and, gently pulling her down into a chair, pressed her
+soft cheek against the wrinkled face.
+
+The woman fought to control her emotion, but her face sank into her hands
+and she began to weep. After a time her sobs lessened and she became
+calmer. She tried to smile through her tears at the girl. "He is my
+baby," she whispered; "my lame, helpless boy." A change came over
+her. She threw back her head and resistance blazed in her eyes. "He
+shan't be lame," she cried, shaken by the intensity of her feelings.
+Quickly the mood merged into one of utter helplessness. "If I could
+get the money," she groaned, but almost instantly her former temper
+returned. "I will get it," she resolved. "My boy shall have a fair
+start in life if I have to crawl on my hands and knees to get it for
+him."
+
+Virginia endeavored to soothe the almost hysterical woman. At last the
+tense nerves relaxed and self-control returned.
+
+"You must think me silly and weak," the woman told her. "I have been
+worrying too much. I am so alone with my thoughts here."
+
+"You have Charles Augustus," suggested Virginia, as she stroked the
+bent shoulders.
+
+"Yes," admitted the woman. "But he goes to bed at six o'clock and
+that leaves the long evening in which to sit and think--and hate," she
+blazed. Yet, in an instant her anger had departed and she went on sadly,
+"It is very lonely after Charles Augustus is asleep."
+
+"Is he your only child?" the girl asked.
+
+"No, I have another boy, much older. He is big and strong and handsome
+and can take care of himself and his mother," she explained with pride.
+"But he is young and is working his way through college. His pay is
+small and he has had some bad luck, but he is a joy and happiness in my
+life."
+
+Virginia watched the woman as if fascinated.
+
+Thought for the comfort of her callers returned with composure to the
+mother of Charles Augustus. "My dear," she said kindly, "I suppose
+that you are in Maine for a vacation. You don't look like a native.
+It's a shame for me to spoil this beautiful afternoon for you with my
+tears and troubles. I am nervous and overwrought. I had wonderful news
+yesterday. News which may make me glad all of the rest of my days or
+make me always sad."
+
+"Please tell me about it," begged Virginia.
+
+The woman yielded to the girl's entreaties and explained that, on the
+previous day, Charles Augustus had been taken to a physician in Old
+Rock because of some infantile disease. After treating the boy, the
+doctor had examined his leg with great interest. Hunting up a copy of
+a recent medical journal he had shown the mother a description of an
+operation for a similar case in a New York hospital. It had resulted
+in the complete recovery of the use of a crippled limb. "That boy's
+leg could be cured if we could get him on an operating table before
+he is too old," the doctor had declared with confidence.
+
+The news of the possibility of her son's cure had filled Charles
+Augustus's mother with joy; but her inability to raise the money
+for such an operation had almost driven her frantic.
+
+When she ended, Virginia took hold of her hands. "Won't you let me help
+you?" she begged softly. "There must be a way to do it and I should
+like to, for--" she hesitated a moment and then--"the sake of Charles
+Augustus."
+
+The woman looked into the girl's eyes. She found a sweetness there which
+appealed to her. "I would have no right to refuse any help which would
+rid my boy of that crutch," she answered.
+
+At the door Virginia glanced back. "Charles Augustus's crutch would
+make nice kindling wood," she called. "A motorcycle would be much nicer
+for him."
+
+A hopeful smile crept over the tired face of the woman. "Life would be
+very beautiful if my Charles Augustus could run and play and ride a wheel
+like other boys," she said.
+
+Virginia found her cousin and the lad in the midst of a great romp. He
+beamed at Helen, of whom he had become a great admirer, regardless of her
+sentimental tendencies. "We didn't miss your cousin one bit, did we?"
+he announced, and then, "I don't see anything in that to laugh at,"
+when the girls gave vent to their merriment.
+
+"We are going now, Charles Augustus," Helen told him. "Kiss me good
+bye."
+
+Regardless of his earlier attitude, the lad succumbed to the allure of
+a beautiful woman as has man since the beginning of things.
+
+"Are you coming again soon?" he demanded.
+
+"Yes," Virginia answered. She was very serious and thoughtful as she
+followed the lad and the gay and talkative Helen another way to the pond.
+As she passed the mail box, she raised her eyes and upon it read the
+name, "Curtis."
+
+"I knew it," she whispered. "Joe has his mother's eyes."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+AUNT KATE LENDS A HAND
+
+
+The next morning Virginia wrote Mrs. Henderson about the case of Charles
+Augustus. She wrote also to Joe Curtis, but in her letter she did not
+refer to her meeting with his mother and lame brother or to her visit
+to his home. Afterwards she went out and sat in the hammock. Swinging
+gently, she gazed with serious eyes at the landscape; but her thoughts
+gave but little heed to the beautiful scenery which lay before her.
+
+With motherly interest, Aunt Kate watched her niece through the kitchen
+window. Wise in the habits and customs of young women, she noted
+unfavorable portents. "Lands sakes," she called to Helen, "Virginia is
+moping away in the hammock trying to make herself homesick. Hurry out
+and cheer the poor child up. Don't let her get lonesome and unhappy."
+
+Helen obediently entered upon her kindly mission. Seating herself by her
+cousin, she put an arm about her and gave her cheery greeting, "Hello
+cuticomes. Of whom are you dreaming?"
+
+"I am thinking of Charles Augustus."
+
+"He is a darling kid. I could eat him for candy." The cannibalistic
+Helen smiled anything but fiercely at the thought of her tender prey.
+
+"He is so sweet, Helen. That makes it sadder."
+
+"Makes what sad?"
+
+"His lameness. It is dreadful. Think of it, Helen, never to be able to
+run and play in comfort."
+
+Shadows of unhappiness clouded the usual cheerfulness of Helen's face.
+"It is terrible," she sighed.
+
+"All through his life," the melancholy Virginia went on, "that crutch
+must be with him. Even when he proposes to a girl it will be beside him
+at her feet."
+
+"He could leave it in the hall with his hat." Helen's optimism
+attempted to thrust aside the enshrouding gloom.
+
+"No." Virginia was determined that no ray of light should brighten the
+dark picture she was painting. "When Charles Augustus proposes, unless
+the crutch is near, he can't get from his knees."
+
+Helen conceded the point by a helpless nod. "It won't be a bit
+romantic. It will be pathetic," she whispered.
+
+"Not if the girl loves him truly. Not if he is the answer to the call of
+her heart."
+
+"He would be the Knight of her thoughts then,--the Prince of her
+dreams," interjected Helen, the sentimental.
+
+"With a crutch. He will rest on it even at his wedding."
+
+"When they go away on their wedding trip, the rice and old shoes will
+beat against it," groaned Helen.
+
+"It will be at his bedside when he dies." Virginia's eyes filled
+with tears. "Were he a soldier it would be a badge of honor--a mark
+of patriotic suffering; but poor Charles Augustus was always that way
+and must always remain so unless some one will pay for an operation."
+Virginia buried her tear-drowned eyes in her handkerchief.
+
+The sympathetic Helen succumbed to the prevailing sorrow of the occasion
+and wept also.
+
+From her watch tower at the kitchen window, Aunt Kate espied the
+sorrowing ones. "My sakes alive, what has got into those girls?" she
+exclaimed. "They must be hankering for a funeral." Hastening forth, she
+planted herself before them and viewed the weepers with stern eyes.
+"What is all of this crying about?" she demanded.
+
+They told her, abating no jot or tittle of gloom.
+
+"Was Charles Augustus unhappy yesterday?"
+
+"No," they admitted.
+
+"Well then," Aunt Kate's voice rang forcefully, "what's the use of
+crying over happiness? Tears are to wash sorrows away." Her final remark
+pointed her thoughts in a practical direction. "You two can wash the
+surrey as well as for me to pay Tom fifty cents to do it. You can use
+some of those tears around here if you get tired of pumping water."
+
+So the grief stricken arrayed themselves in bathing suits and tugged
+the surrey into the sun. They hitched the hose to the force pump and
+labored diligently amidst floods of conversation and torrents of water.
+They polished and, inadvertently or with malice aforethought, turned
+water upon one another until peals of laughter echoed into the kitchen.
+A complacent Aunt Kate gave but little heed to them until they presented
+themselves before her, much bedrabbled but in an exceedingly cheerful
+frame of mind.
+
+She gazed over her glasses at them and said, "Mercy sakes, I told you
+girls to wash the surrey not yourselves. Get off those wet clothes before
+you catch your death of cold." As they disappeared towards the stairs
+she called after them, "You girls were bound to have a moist morning.
+Now I hope that you are satisfied."
+
+Days passed which Aunt Kate, in her wisdom, saw were busy ones. At last
+an answer came to Virginia's letter to Mrs. Henderson. Hennie had a
+habit of accomplishing the things which she undertook and her response
+was most satisfactory. She had arranged for the operation upon Charles
+Augustus at the New York hospital. A place had been found for Mrs. Curtis
+to stay and tickets had been placed at the Old Rock station for her
+and her son.
+
+Sufficient funds had been raised to cover everything but the operating
+fee. But as soon as the case came to the attention of the surgeon, he
+had suggested that, as the matter of age was a very important factor in
+the ultimate success of his efforts, the operation be performed at once.
+He was quite willing to await the result of Mrs. Henderson's further
+exertions for the payment of his bill.
+
+A very happy and delighted Virginia cried the good news aloud to Aunt
+Kate and Helen. "Right after lunch we will go and see Mrs. Curtis and
+Charles Augustus and tell them the good news," she planned. "Isn't
+Hennie perfectly splendid?"
+
+Aunt Kate was making pies. Her eyes twinkled as she told Virginia, "I
+don't gather from this letter that your friend Mrs. Henderson spent much
+time weeping over Charles Augustus's crutch. She is going to get rid of
+the old thing. That line or two you wrote did the lame boy much more good
+than all the tears you and Helen wasted around here the other morning."
+
+Virginia bobbed her head in agreement with the wisdom of her aunt. Then
+she climbed the stairs to make ready for her trip, lifting a sweet little
+voice in song.
+
+As Aunt Kate heard her, she smiled gently; but her face grew suddenly
+stern as she muttered, "Until I settle brother Obadiah's hash, I'd
+better keep an umbrella and a mackintosh handy if I don't want to get
+wet"; after which she dusted the flour from her hands with great vigor.
+
+The two girls gave little time to their lunch that noon, and soon
+afterwards started up the pond in a canoe. Helen was filled with energy.
+She dug her paddle into the water and pulled mightily.
+
+"Stop, Helen, we are turning around," protested Virginia.
+
+"Paddle your share, 'V.'," retorted Helen with an air of injury.
+"Remember, you are not a passenger."
+
+By vigorously wielding her paddle, Virginia managed to hold the canoe on
+its course. "Please don't make me work so hard, Helen," she objected.
+"We want to hurry and get there."
+
+"We are doing that splendidly, 'V.' We can't go very fast if you want
+to sit and dream. Paddle, dear heart--work your way."
+
+[Illustration: "'YOU ARE MY SWEETHEART,' THE BRAZEN HELEN TOLD HIM"]
+
+So it came to pass that Virginia paddled to keep up with Helen and that
+young woman paddled to make her cousin work, and thus the light canoe
+was driven over the water with speed and they soon reached the end of
+their voyage.
+
+Charles Augustus espied their approach afar off and hobbled down the
+meadow path to meet them with joyous outcry. "Hello, you came to see
+me, didn't you?"
+
+"Of course. You are my sweetheart," the brazen Helen told him.
+
+"My!" he sighed, shaking his head after the manner of an elderly
+philosopher. "It's been a long time since I saw you. I expected you
+every day. Mother said that she guessed you were busy people."
+
+Mrs. Curtis came to the door at the sound of voices. Her face lighted
+when she recognized them. "Charles has been watching for you each day,"
+she told them. "I tried to persuade him that you might have interests
+besides visiting small boys; but I wasn't very successful."
+
+Charles Augustus balked in the pathway, pulling at the hand of Helen.
+"Don't let's go in. It's much nicer out here. Let's play as we did
+the other day."
+
+Mrs. Curtis nodded understandingly when Helen bowed to her admirer's
+wishes, and led Virginia into the house. "It is nice of you to come
+and see me again so soon," she told the girl when they were seated in
+the front room; "especially after the way I must have tired you with my
+troubles and drowned you with my tears." Her forced gaiety could not
+deceive one to whom she had opened her heart. The marks of trouble and
+anxiety showed too plainly in her face.
+
+Virginia saw the opportunity to transmit the good tidings she had
+brought. Its very bigness embarrassed her. "I have some good news
+for you," she cried, and abruptly thrust the letter towards the older
+woman, her eyes big and tender with the joy of her message. "There!"
+she stammered. "Read--read that, please."
+
+Mrs. Curtis took the letter from Mrs. Henderson and began to peruse it.
+
+It seemed to Virginia that she would never finish.
+
+At last Mrs. Curtis turned towards the girl. Her face was pale and the
+stress of her emotion weakened her. "I can't thank you," she whispered
+in a queer strained voice. Suddenly her strength swept back to her. Under
+the force of the joy which enveloped her she spoke in a dead monotone,
+staring ahead of her with unseeing eyes. "My Charles will walk and play
+like other boys. In a few weeks--perhaps before Thanksgiving Day--he
+can throw aside his crutch."
+
+Virginia, agitated by the intenseness of the other's feelings, watched
+in silence.
+
+Mrs. Curtis had forgotten her visitor now. She was thinking aloud.
+"What a happy day it will be for Joe and Charles and me," she
+murmured,--"the happiest since my husband died."
+
+The gladness of the other thrilled the girl.
+
+Like a flash there came a change in Mrs. Curtis's mood. Her joy came
+into conflict with a defiant pride. Her face became cold and hard.
+"It's charity," she wailed, "just plain charity. Am I a beggar now?"
+
+She turned furiously upon Virginia, transformed by passion, "If my
+husband had lived--if I, a weak woman, had been given a fair chance to
+make an honest living in this land of the free," she sneered, "I too
+would ride in my automobile in silks and diamonds and extend charity to
+the poor. If there were justice among men I would not be in a position
+where people could offer me charity."
+
+A bewildered Virginia listened timidly as the woman, almost beside
+herself, went on, "There is no justice--there is no right," Her eyes
+seemed ablaze to the startled girl. She thrust her arms above her head.
+"The wicked prosper and the good are ruined. It's all wrong--wickedly
+wrong," she screamed and, rushing into an adjoining room, cast herself
+across the bed, sobbing convulsively.
+
+Amazed at the effect of Hennie's letter, Virginia was tempted to run
+away. She hesitated, however. Through the doorway she could see the
+shaking form of Joe's mother upon the bed. Quickly the passion died out
+of the sobs of the weeping woman and in its place came a note of pathetic
+helplessness which clutched at the girl's heart and seemed to call her.
+
+In a moment Virginia was at the side of the bed. Leaning over, she took
+one of the toil worn hands into her own. There came an answering
+pressure and the girl seated herself by the bed-side holding the
+knotted fingers in her own. The sobs lessened, the quivering form
+became calmer, and at length Mrs. Curtis sat up and raised wet eyes
+to those of her visitor. "You must think me lacking in appreciation of
+the generosity of your friends," she choked, still shaken by the reflex
+of her sobs. "It's not true, though. That was a display of my silly
+pride. It's about all that I have left of the happiest days of my
+life. Forget my words, dear, and forgive me. From the bottom of my
+heart, I thank you for what you have done for my boy and me. To have
+him walk without a crutch, on my hands and knees I'd scrub the most
+crowded street in the world. There is no humiliation too great for me to
+undergo for him. I would glory in it." In the glow of mother love
+her face softened and became beautiful. Now she seemed to grasp the
+full significance of the news and to be filled with unrest as if
+afraid that the opportunity might escape. "When can we go?" she
+worried--"tomorrow?"
+
+"Today, if you wish," Virginia explained.
+
+Her woes cast aside and filled with excitement, Mrs. Curtis dried her
+tears and returned to the other room with the girl. Through the window
+Charles Augustus could be seen hobbling about in a game with the active
+Helen. His mother watched his awkward movements intently for a moment.
+"In a few months he will be running about without the crutch," she
+whispered and, swinging about, she seized Virginia by her shoulders,
+looked deep into her eyes as she murmured gently, "May God bless you
+and yours for what you are doing for me and mine, and may happiness be
+yours and theirs until the end of time."
+
+Charles Augustus displayed greater interest in the journey he was about
+to take than in the fact that he might no longer need his crutch. As
+he passed through the meadow with the girls he explained his position.
+"It's great fun to travel on the cars. I don't care a bit where I
+go, so it's some place else." Possible objections arising from the
+change struck him. "When I come back, will you come and see me, even
+if I don't have a crutch?" he asked Helen.
+
+The enchantress caught him in her arms and answered him with a kiss.
+
+Regardless of this attention, dissatisfaction crept into his face. "If I
+don't have my crutch, I will catch you all of the time. There'll be no
+fun in playing with a girl who always has to be 'it.'"
+
+His fears did not impress Helen the agile. "When you are able to play
+without your crutch," she promised him, "I shall fly with delight."
+
+"Like an aeroplane?" inquired Charles Augustus with great seriousness.
+
+They left him standing upon the shore. As they paddled away he was
+leaning on his crutch, watching something. Suddenly he made a hopping
+dart and dropped to the ground. Instantly he was up again, shouting
+triumphantly, "Look--look at the old bullfrog I caught." He held the
+slimy creature aloft, by one of its legs, for the admiration of the
+girls and asked, "Do you think that my mother will let me take him to
+New York with me?"
+
+"Ask her," suggested the diplomatic Helen.
+
+Notwithstanding the happy outcome of her efforts to help Charles
+Augustus, Virginia was very silent and preoccupied that evening.
+
+"That child is homesick," Aunt Kate thought, as she kissed her good
+night and watched her slowly ascend the stairs, candlestick in hand.
+
+As Virginia undressed, she was very thoughtful. She went over to the
+dresser and, holding Mrs. Henderson's letter close to the candle's
+flame, re-read it. There was a wistful, helpless look in her face when
+she was ready to climb into bed. "Oh, Daddy, Daddy," she whispered
+sadly, "please believe as mother did, so that I can come back home."
+An hour afterwards she fell asleep upon a pillow moistened with tears.
+
+The two girls were at the station in the morning to say good bye to
+Charles Augustus and his mother as they departed for New York.
+
+Before the train left Charles Augustus complained to Helen, "Mother
+wouldn't let me take my frog to New York."
+
+"That is too bad," commiserated the deceitful Helen.
+
+"Mother said that the frog wouldn't care for New York. He might get
+lonesome there."
+
+Helen gravely considered the problem. "Your mother is right, Charles. A
+frog would find few friends and little amusement in New York."
+
+Virginia bade Mrs. Curtis good bye at the car steps. "You will write
+and tell us about everything, won't you?" she begged.
+
+The older woman embraced her. "Good bye," she murmured. "Words can't
+tell what I would say to you, dear. Of course I will write."
+
+Again the days passed and the best of news came from New York. The
+operation was performed and the twisted muscles worked into place. The
+surgeon was confident of the success of his efforts and felt sure that,
+at the worst, Charles Augustus would only have a slight limp which would
+disappear with age.
+
+Yet Virginia was not happy. Very sweet she was and thoughtful of others;
+but she was serious and often, too, a look of sadness rested on her face.
+
+Aunt Kate watched her with the vigilant eye of a mother in those days.
+One afternoon she discovered her niece alone in the hammock, viewing
+the pond with a melancholy countenance. "Land sakes, that child is
+moping again," she groaned. Leaving her work, she joined the girl and
+commanded, "Tell me your thoughts, Virginia?"
+
+For the moment the girl was startled. "I was thinking about South
+Ridgefield," she confessed timidly.
+
+"I knew it," Aunt Kate exclaimed, apparently much puffed up by her
+mind-reading ability. "You are trying to see how unhappy you can make
+yourself and every one else who looks at you."
+
+Virginia was mute before this accusation.
+
+"Were you thinking of your father?" asked Aunt Kate, proceeding with
+her examination of the witness.
+
+The girl nodded sadly.
+
+"Why do you think of him?" Aunt Kate seemed shocked at the depraved
+taste of Obadiah's daughter.
+
+"Oh, Aunt Kate, I do wish that he would pay for Charles Augustus's
+operation. I would feel as if there might be some chance of my going
+home some day."
+
+"I am sorry that you don't care for the company of Helen and me,
+Virginia."
+
+The girl gave her aunt a pleading look. "You know what I mean. I love
+you and Helen dearly."
+
+The older woman softened, patting her niece upon the cheek; but she stuck
+to the business at hand. "That water business would cost your father
+a lot of money, wouldn't it?"
+
+"I think so," Virginia agreed.
+
+"Hum," muttered Aunt Kate. "We'd better give Obadiah a light dose
+to begin on."
+
+"I don't understand you, Aunt Kate," said the girl.
+
+"No matter," responded the older woman. "What I want to know is, have
+you asked your father to pay for the operation on that lame boy?"
+
+"No, he knows nothing about it," admitted Virginia. "Aunt Kate, I
+would be afraid to ask him after the way he talked to me."
+
+"Afraid!" Aunt Kate was filled with astonishment. "Afraid of Obadiah?
+My stars and garters! You must begin some place! How on earth do you
+expect him to give to something he never heard of? Don't you know child,
+that to get a Dale to do anything which costs money you must ask them
+not once, but thrice. Seventy times seven is about right for Obadiah."
+
+"But, Aunt Kate, after what my father said, I couldn't ask him to help
+pay Charles Augustus's bill."
+
+"Why not?" demanded Aunt Kate.
+
+"I don't know why. I am sure, though, that I couldn't."
+
+"I know why," declared Aunt Kate. "It is obstinacy--plain Dale
+obstinacy sticking out of you."
+
+Virginia was silent for a moment, possibly reviewing her personal
+characteristics as illuminated by her aunt. Then she asked, "You think
+that I should ask him?"
+
+"Certainly, give brother Obadiah a chance."
+
+"But, Aunt Kate, he will refuse."
+
+"We will write him then that you are going to stay with me."
+
+"Oh," groaned Virginia, great tears springing into her eyes opened wide
+with alarm. "Then I could never go home as long as I live. I'd never
+see Daddy or Serena or even Ike again."
+
+"Fiddlesticks, child, don't be a weakling." Her eyes twinkled. "This
+is no tragedy. It is only a difference of opinion, with brother Obadiah,
+as usual, wrong."
+
+"It would be a tragedy if I could never go and see my father." Virginia
+shook her head sorrowfully. "I have been thinking about it lots lately,
+and sometimes I wonder if my mother would want me to stay away from home
+much longer."
+
+Aunt Kate put her arm about the girl. "Won't you trust to the judgment
+of your old aunt, who knew your mother before you? I don't want your
+efforts to help other people to be turned into a punishment."
+
+"I have thought of that, too." Virginia was very solemn as she spoke.
+"Perhaps I went about it the wrong way. If I had done things differently
+perhaps I wouldn't have made Daddy angry."
+
+"You must not allow yourself to worry, dear. We will give your father
+a chance to help Charles Augustus. If he doesn't do it, something else
+will come up and we will keep on giving him the opportunity. In the end
+everything will work out for the best, I am sure."
+
+So that afternoon Virginia wrote to her father and asked him to
+contribute towards the expense of the operation upon Charles Augustus.
+It was a cheery letter and in no word of it could one guess the tears
+and longings between the lines.
+
+Obadiah's answer, as befitted a good business man, was prompt. While he
+admitted the sadness of the case he could see no reason why he should
+be asked to pay for an operation upon a boy of whom he knew nothing. He
+enclosed a small check and concluded his letter with directions that his
+daughter return home at once.
+
+"Just as I expected," announced Aunt Kate, when Virginia, the
+bewildered subject of conflicting emotions, brought it to her. "Obadiah
+is wild to have you home. That is our strength. Don't you surrender to
+him, Virginia. I wouldn't be a slave to any man and certainly not to
+brother Obadiah. I always made him step about, I can promise you. And if
+you follow my advice you can, too."
+
+Virginia's face was wistful. "I don't want to make Daddy step about,
+Aunt Kate."
+
+"You started this revolution, Virginia, and you must see it through.
+Now, I am in it. The only slave in that big house in South Ridgefield is
+going to be Obadiah. My dander is up, child, and I am going to make him
+sweat. I must finish the job of training which I started years ago. He
+never disobeyed me then and he had better not try it now." Her eyes
+flashed and her manner was extremely menacing. "In the meantime,"
+she stormed, "he has brought you into the world, which complicates
+matters but does not relieve me of my responsibilities."
+
+The second letter to Obadiah was in the hand of Virginia but it breathed
+the words and spirit of his sister Kate. It was an independent document.
+Every line of it bristled with the spirit of '76. It regretted his
+decision not to help in the case of Charles Augustus and also that
+Virginia had not completed her visit so that she could return to South
+Ridgefield. In vague terms it referred to a home with her aunt, and
+discussed a career, as well as certain positions for teachers available
+in and about Old Rock.
+
+Virginia copied the letter and signed her name. Then she re-read with
+increasing alarm the ultimatum which she had approved. Had she been alone
+it would have been instantly destroyed; but under the stern eye of her
+aunt she was helpless. Obediently she addressed the envelope and, shaking
+way down in her very boots, she watched her aunt fold, seal and bear away
+for personal mailing the bolt which was to be cast at her father's head.
+
+At the door Aunt Kate turned and, with the greatest assurance, told the
+fear-shaken girl, "Mark my words! This letter will make brother Obadiah
+sit up and take notice."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+OBADIAH "COMES TO"
+
+
+As it is written that a prophet is not without honor save in his own
+country and in his own house, it is deemed just that such matters as
+have to do with the coming to pass of Aunt Kate's prediction concerning
+her brother Obadiah should be duly set forth herein that they may be not
+suppressed through local jealousy.
+
+Obadiah received Virginia's letter late one afternoon as he was about
+to return home. He did not immediately read it, but carried it with him
+that he might enjoy it in the greater seclusion of his own domicile. What
+took place thereafter is best described in the words of a confidential
+communication from Serena to Ike. "Dat ole man is er ra'in' an' er
+ta'in' 'roun' in dyar jes lak sumpin done stung 'im. It's de
+badness er wo'kin' out. De hot fiah o' to'ment singe 'im an'
+de cont'ary spi'it cry aloud fo' he'p lak er lamb afo' er ragin'
+lion in de wilde'ness."
+
+Ike received these tidings concerning the spiritual pass of his employer
+with an interest that lacked the kindly sympathy which should be
+extended to a brother struggling with the forces of evil. He made
+answer in a casual manner, "Mr. Devil done run dat ole man to ea'th er
+long time ergo. He jes er settin' back, lafin sof' to hisse'f, er
+watchin' de houn's er scratchin' an' er clawin'. He gwine dig
+'im out presently. Ah 'spects dat de 'pointed hour is at han'."
+
+At dinner Obadiah was in a surly mood which he vented upon Serena by
+making cutting criticisms concerning the food and service. She received
+his comments in silence, storing them up until a more propitious hour of
+reckoning. Meanwhile she solaced herself by certain outbursts at Ike.
+
+Unconscious of impending disaster, the chauffeur had seated himself
+adjacent to the range. Here he rested from the labors of the day, having
+in view a tempting repast of chicken and sweet potatoes. He endeavored
+by agreeable conversation, to make smooth, or grease if you wish, its
+pathway to his stomach. "Miss Sereny, yo'all is er movin' mighty
+peart dis evenin'," he remarked in tuneful tones, as the old negress
+hastily re-entered the kitchen, severely wounded by a barbed dart of
+Obadiah's temper.
+
+She whirled upon him and snapped, "Shet up dat big mouf. Yer 'minds
+me o' er ole alligator er settin' thar workin' yer jaws an' ain'
+say nothin'."
+
+A glance at Serena's face showed Ike that storm signals were
+unmistakably flying. He thought to assuage the tempest by the tender of
+assistance. "Caint ah he'p you, Miss Sereny? Ah 'spects dat
+yo'all is plum ti'ed er wo'kin' in dis yere hot kitchen."
+
+She fixed him with smoldering eyes. "He'p me, he'p me," she repeated
+indignantly. "De onlies way er lazy nocount lummox lak yo'all kin
+he'p me is by er movin' yer triflin' carcass out o' ma kitchen stid
+o' layin' 'round ma stove lak er houn' dawg. Lif youse'f off dat
+chair, boy."
+
+Ike, the indirect victim of Virginia's letter, removed himself in haste
+from his comfortable corner and retired to the cool steps of the back
+stoop, to allow the domestic cyclone to blow itself out before attempting
+again to procure his evening's nourishment.
+
+Obadiah had an uncomfortable night. A remembrance of the lance like
+thrusts of Aunt Kate, which, in the name of his daughter, had so cruelly
+lacerated him in spite of his armor of egotism, drove sleep away. Tossing
+upon a bed of discomfort, he heard the clocks toll out each passing
+hour until, weary and tired eyed, he left his bed, ill prepared to face
+the burdens and perplexities of the new day.
+
+At breakfast, Serena served Obadiah efficiently; but her attitude was
+hostile. The wounds of the proceeding night were yet raw. When he had
+eaten, she faced him sternly and demanded, "When is yo'all 'spectin'
+Miss Virginy is er gwine come home?"
+
+"One of these days," he answered with indifference.
+
+She was not to be thus summarily dismissed. "Dat day bettah be er
+comin' mighty quick," she threatened. "Ah is er gittin ti'ed er
+waitin' 'roun' yere. Presen'ly, ah gwine pack ma duds an' go whar
+she at."
+
+"You attend to your own business," he snarled petulantly.
+
+His irritation was an elixir of strength to her. Hands on hips she
+gazed defiantly at him. "Ma business is whar Miss Virginy is. Ah ain'
+promise Miss Elinor dat ah tek care o' yo'all. Ah gives ma word to
+watch dat chil'. Ef you is er countin' on me er stayin' in dis yere
+house yo'all bettah git dat gal back quick. Ah ain' got no time fo'
+no man so se'fish dat 'is own kin folk done turn again 'im."
+
+Before the righteous indignation of his own servant Obadiah fled from
+his dining room, speechless with indignation.
+
+He entered his office at nine o'clock. The sound of Mr. Jones's
+typewriter should have greeted him and he should have perceived Kelly
+recording profits in the great ledgers. This morning their seats were
+vacant. There was a lonesomeness about the place distasteful to the
+manufacturer. His sleepless night and the altercation with Serena had
+caused him to develop a fit of indigestion which was not allayed by the
+lack of punctuality on the part of his heretofore punctual subordinates.
+
+Footsteps sounded in the hallway, also happy laughter. Tardy employees
+approached their work joyously, not stealthily, as is the normal custom
+of such miscreants. No cheery smile of cordial welcome mantled Obadiah's
+face. No well turned quip, to amuse his minions in their hours of toil,
+was upon his lip. He sternly awaited the coming of these frivolous
+and delinquent workers.
+
+As Mr. Jones and Kelly entered, there were glad smiles upon their faces.
+There was something different about the stenographer. There was a marked
+outward change in him. His clear complexion proclaimed good health. He
+carried himself as if in complete control of his muscles. In place of
+awkwardness had come a distinct grace of carriage.
+
+There were more subtle changes in Mr. Jones, also. A clearness of eye,
+a steadiness of gaze and a quiet self-confidence were a novelty to his
+friends of other days.
+
+But, strangest of all, the private secretary's old time beauty was
+marred by a discoloration of the right eye, poorly disguised with powder,
+by several small cuts upon his face and by certain bandages on his hands.
+
+Obadiah gave Mr. Jones a sweeping glance which failed to grasp details
+essential to a clear understanding of a subordinate. "What do you mean,
+loafing in here at noon?" he demanded most inaccurately, "I pay you to
+get here at nine o'clock. What does this mean?" The cruel glance of
+Obadiah's eye pierced the optic of Mr. Jones as if to plumb the depths
+of his soul and wrest his innermost secrets forth to be exposed, naked
+and ashamed, in the pitiless light of publicity.
+
+The mill owner's efforts to read the stenographer's mind through the
+eye were futile. Had he succeeded, the result of his research would have
+shocked him. Believing himself to be peeping into the eyes of a turtle
+dove, he would have become aware that he might, with greater safety, have
+attempted to stare down the baleful glare of a Bengal tiger.
+
+Lacking in the ability to read the human mind, Obadiah could not know
+that Fate, seeking a recipient for her favor, had plucked a peaceful soul
+from in front of a typewriter and made it fierce.
+
+Had the manufacturer been able to view Mr. Jones's mind as the scenes
+of a movie, he would have beheld thrilling events taking place upon
+the previous evening. He would have observed his stenographer simply
+arrayed in trunks, socks and shoes, with eight ounce gloves laced upon
+his hands, give battle for the feather-weight championship of the Fifth
+ward, before a multitude of wildly excited male citizens.
+
+Had Obadiah by similar means reviewed the mind of Kelly, he would have
+watched the battle as through the eyes of a second. He would have seen,
+beneath the electric lights, the muscles of the little fighting men
+play, panther like, under the healthy pink of their skins. If one drop
+of red blood remained in his anaemic old body, the mill owner would
+have thrilled as Mr. Jones, his arms playing smoothly as well oiled
+connecting rods, treading upon his toes softly as a cat, advanced,
+retreated and side stepped, ever warily studying the face of his
+opponent. He would have perceived that his stenographer ducked and dodged
+with incredible swiftness, his gloved hands playing always to feign, to
+ward and to deliver blows which resounded with the thud of leather
+against quivering flesh. Obadiah's eyes would have recognized the rich
+red of blood smearing the marble of human flesh, and he would have
+tingled at the excitement of the spectators when, rising from their
+seats, they tumultuously applauded the giver of a lucky blow.
+
+Through five gruelling rounds of fighting the manufacturer would have
+followed the fortunes of his private secretary until that final moment
+when, panting and heaving, he stood over the prone form of his adversary,
+counting the motions of the referee's hands, whose voice could not
+be heard above the thunderous applause which acclaimed him victor.
+
+But no picture of this battle could have told Obadiah that in the moment
+of triumph the spirit of Mr. Jones was reborn; that from the building,
+into the portals of which he had been almost dragged by Kelly, he had
+come forth a red-blooded fighting man whose gore had mixed with that of
+his antagonist.
+
+Ignorant of these happenings, Obadiah angrily awaited an answer from his
+unpunctual servants.
+
+The smile had faded from the face of Mr. Jones at Obadiah's rough
+greeting. He failed to behave in accord with the best usages among
+private secretaries. Squaring his shoulders, he took a deep breath,
+thereby greatly straining a gusset only recently let into the back
+of his vest. Suddenly he shoved his head forward. As his face advanced,
+it changed into an ugly countenance with a nasty eye, such an one as
+would make its recipient ill at ease. This was Mr. Jones's fighting
+face, developed with care under the kindly advice of Kelly. Sporting
+characters considered it a valuable asset.
+
+Mr. Jones's expression startled Obadiah. For years, when at a loss for
+words or thoughts, he had studied the lamb like face of his stenographer.
+That timid look was gone now, replaced by a countenance which had
+borrowed coldness from the glance of a rattlesnake and combined it with a
+grizzly bear's cruelty of aspect. To Obadiah it spoke of arson, of the
+assassination of capitalists, of the proletariat running mad. He quailed
+before it.
+
+"Where do you get that noon stuff?" snarled Mr. Jones.
+
+Obadiah turned towards the clock as if to place the blame for any
+misstatements of time upon that instrument. The hands pointed to five
+minutes past nine thereby also indicating their owner to be a liar.
+
+Again Mr. Jones spoke. Roughness replaced refinement.
+
+"For five years I have worked overtime for you, two or three afternoons
+a week, sometimes fifteen minutes, sometimes an hour. I also put in many
+an evening and some Sundays for you. I never received a word of thanks
+for it. Now, because I am delayed by important business and come in five
+minutes late, you put up a squeal as if I'd stepped on your sore corn.
+Say, what kind of a cheap skate are you?" the stenographer roared in
+conclusion.
+
+Obadiah ignored the question in haughty but uneasy silence.
+
+"You think so much of your ugly old self that you can't think of
+anything else. But believe me, everybody else has got your number and
+they're wasting no time loving you. Say," growled Mr. Jones so roughly
+that Obadiah jumped, "have you a friend in the world?"
+
+For an instant it appeared that the manufacturer contemplated a hurried
+retreat from his own office, but the pugnacious stenographer barred the
+way.
+
+"You hain't," announced Mr. Jones ungrammatically but emphatically,
+producing a gigantic roll of currency from his pocket. It was his share
+of the fight receipts, and, although the denominations averaged low, it
+bulked large to the surprised eyes of Obadiah. Mr. Jones shook the money
+in the face of his employer. "See that?" he inquired, as if suspecting
+that his employer suffered from failing eyesight. "I don't care to
+hold it too near to you or you might try to pinch it."
+
+Obadiah viewed the roll of bills with a repugnance astounding in him.
+
+"I had to work to get that money, last night," Mr. Jones continued.
+"It wasn't the easy kind of money that you pull down. But that isn't
+the point. Kelly and I have bought a gymnasium up the street. We intended
+to treat you fair--to give you full notice so that you could fill our
+places before we left. But as you've had to be a little meaner than
+usual this morning, I think we'll bid you good-bye right now. How
+about it, Kelly?"
+
+"I say we will," agreed that successful trainer with emphasis, and he
+and the fighter abruptly left the room.
+
+Obadiah closed the door of the office with a resounding slam behind
+his departing staff and, taking a bunch of unopened letters from Mr.
+Jones's former place of labor, he bore them into his own lair. As he
+sank down behind his desk he thumbed them over and, selecting one,
+opened and read the paper it contained. It was a formal order from the
+State Board of Health forbidding the further discharge of waste from the
+dye house at his mill into the Lame Moose River. As the manufacturer
+grasped the import of the document, his face purpled with rage and
+the paper shook in his hands. Finally he petulantly cast it aside and
+groaned aloud at a twinge of indigestion. Dropping back in his chair
+he took Virginia's letter from his pocket and re-read it. "I've had
+bad luck ever since she left," he growled. "Things don't break right.
+I can't keep my mind on my business. She must come home." Unhooking his
+telephone, he asked Hezekiah Wilkins to come to him.
+
+Hezekiah responded, smiling pleasantly. "Good morning," he exclaimed.
+"What has happened to the boys? Not sick, I hope."
+
+"I fired them," Obadiah rapped. "They were too fresh around here and
+I let them go." His anger and resentment displayed itself. "They are no
+good. I wouldn't give them recommendations as dog catchers."
+
+"Hump," ejaculated Hezekiah. "Both at once? It leaves you short
+handed."
+
+Obadiah invited the attention of his attorney to business by handing him
+the order of the Board of Health.
+
+Hezekiah read the document with care and, returning it to the
+manufacturer, gazed at the ceiling reflectively.
+
+"Well, what do you think of it?" Obadiah's manner was short.
+
+"I have been expecting it," the lawyer replied with calmness. "What
+else could you expect? You are ruining the water that people have to
+drink."
+
+"I can't be forced. They won't drive me," Obadiah maintained with
+his usual obstinacy.
+
+"They'll drive you into court fast enough, if you don't obey that
+order," Hezekiah warned him with a chuckle.
+
+"That's just where I want to be. It's up to you to develop a plan
+to flim-flam that bunch of fool doctors. You're losing your 'pep' or
+you'd have worked out something before this," sneered Obadiah.
+
+"Perhaps I am losing my 'pep,'" Hezekiah mimicked, and his eyes
+flashed as he went on. "I have enough mental alertness left to advise
+you not to bite off your nose to spite your face."
+
+Obadiah flushed angrily but controlled his temper. "Listen," he
+snarled, "while I tell you what I pay you to tell me. The Lame Moose
+is a navigable stream, isn't it?"
+
+Hezekiah nodded, his eyes dancing with amusement.
+
+Obadiah frowned at his attorney and continued, "We'll raise a federal
+question and get the case into the U. S. Courts and with dilatory pleas,
+continuances and appeals it will take years before a final decision is
+handed down. How's that?"
+
+Hezekiah laughed. "As your legal adviser, I can't approve it. The
+waste from the dye-house at your mill is spoiling the water that some
+thousands of people have to drink. There is a simple remedy open to
+you but they have none. Common justice demands that you consider the
+rights of these beings." The attorney turned loose his oratorical voice.
+"Common justice demands it, sir."
+
+The manufacturer flushed and shifted uneasily. Quarrelsome as he was, he
+could not afford a break with this man.
+
+Hezekiah relapsed into a careful study of the metal cornice over the way.
+
+"Think it over. Think about it," snapped Obadiah after a moment's
+silence. "You may be able to catch my point of view. I have another
+subject which I want to discuss with you--an embarrassing personal
+matter."
+
+Hezekiah gave him a covert glance but immediately resumed inspection of
+the metal work across the street.
+
+"It's about my daughter," continued Obadiah. "I have a letter from
+her which I wish you to read."
+
+Hezekiah perused Virginia's letter with great care and attention. "Did
+she write that?" he asked abruptly, as he returned the communication.
+
+"It's in my daughter's handwriting but I suspect that my sister Kate
+may have had a hand in it. Virginia never wrote such a letter to me
+before. It is an unusual letter."
+
+"Yes, it is an unusual letter," Hezekiah agreed. There was merriment
+in his eyes but otherwise he presented the serious aspect befitting a
+counsellor in the presence of a client. "It is an implied threat to
+sever domestic relations. Such counsel as I give should have in
+contemplation the facts which led up to this--ahem--veiled ultimatum."
+
+This reasonable request embarrassed Obadiah greatly; but after some
+hesitation he explained the circumstances under which Virginia had left
+home as the act of a defiant, headstrong girl.
+
+"Dear me, an exceedingly unfortunate matter," exclaimed Hezekiah, as if
+astonished at the revelation. Therein his manner partook of deceit, as
+Hennie had favored him so often with the details of the matter, gathered
+from Virginia herself and more completely, through Carrie, from Serena,
+that he knew them by heart. The lawyer went on, "The adjustment of
+such family differences requires tact--the utmost tact and diplomacy."
+
+The happenings of the morning had sorely inflamed Obadiah's indigestion.
+As he repeated his woes to the attorney, remembrances of the lonely
+hours he had spent since the girl's departure came to him and he
+believed himself a sadly ill-used man. Miserable in body and spirit,
+he flamed into tempestuous rebellion at the mild measures proposed
+by his legal adviser.
+
+"Tact and diplomacy the devil!!" he exploded. "I'll use force, if
+necessary. She is my daughter, isn't she?"
+
+Hezekiah gravely conceded Obadiah's claim of paternity.
+
+"The law gives me some control of her?"
+
+"As an unmarried woman, you have certain rights over her," Hezekiah
+admitted.
+
+"Well then, I want her back," bellowed Obadiah, the notes of his voice
+getting higher as the intensity of his feeling increased. "You go and
+get her and make her come home."
+
+"Did you have in mind legal proceedings to compel your daughter to
+return under your roof?" inquired Hezekiah in a suave manner, in marked
+contrast to the bluster of his employer.
+
+"It doesn't make any difference how you do it. Kidnap her for all I
+care. What I want is to get her back," the mill owner stormed.
+
+"Has it occurred to you, that in such matters care must be taken to
+avoid a serious rupture of those affectionate relations which, after
+all, are the basis of the home and the natural tie between a father and
+daughter?" Hezekiah suggested quietly.
+
+Obadiah's face was swollen with passion, his obstinacy written deep in
+it. "She must come home," he proclaimed. "I want her. I'm tired of
+living alone. You go and make her come back."
+
+The smooth shaven countenance of the lawyer hardened. His usual
+good-humored expression melted into one of resolution as he said with
+great calmness, "I have thought, sometimes, Obadiah, that you fail
+to display a clear conception of an attorney's duties."
+
+"What?"
+
+"You don't appreciate the scope of my employment."
+
+"What has that got to do with my daughter?"
+
+"It has this. I do not conceive it my duty to force your daughter to
+return to your home against her wishes."
+
+"You refuse to obey my instructions?" Obadiah almost screamed, throwing
+discretion to the winds in the tumult of his wrath.
+
+"Yes, I refuse," answered the lawyer, leaping to his feet and talking
+down at his employer. "I refuse," he repeated in a voice in which
+passion found no place, "as I have always refused when you would
+have seduced me into doing an unjust act. There are questions upon
+which fair minds may differ. Men of honor may argue for the side in
+which they believe or have been retained. From divers contentions,
+strongly maintained, comes the bright star of right, shining clear,
+in its purity, above the storm clouds of litigation. But, Your Hon--"
+Hezekiah paused and began anew--"But, sir, there are fundamental
+questions involving moral law upon which right minded men must agree."
+
+"What's this tirade got to do with me?" Obadiah demanded.
+
+Hezekiah silenced the mill owner with a gesture of great dignity.
+"Never interrupt counsel in the midst of argument," he protested,
+absently. "Undoubtedly you will be afforded ample time to present
+your own views." He paused, blinking nervously. The interruption had
+disturbed his train of thought, but in a moment he continued. "At
+stated periods, prudent merchants take trial balances and invoices that
+they may know the condition of their business. It is likewise well for
+men at times to take account of their relations with their associates.
+It is my purpose to do that now, Obadiah Dale." In Hezekiah's eyes
+was a far away look now. "It's nearly thirty years since I entered
+your employ--thirty years, Obadiah, the cream of my life. Its period
+of highest power I have given to you. My life must be judged by my
+accomplishments for you. You and I alone know what part my judgment
+has had in the development of your great business. As a young man, I
+liked you, Obadiah. I admired your energy and perseverance and that
+combativeness which made you give battle in open competition for new
+fields of commercial activity. Success came to you in a measure permitted
+to but few, and the tremendous power of wealth accompanied it. Thoughts
+come to me of your wife, that fair rose of the Southland, who not only
+brought sunshine into your own house but spread it among all those
+who were privileged to know her. In her you were a twice blessed
+man. A daughter was born to you, the image of her mother, and so were
+you thrice blessed."
+
+Hezekiah's face became stern. "I have tried to judge you fairly at
+the bar of my heart, Obadiah. Old friendship has pleaded for you.
+Unhappiness over the loss of your wife may have swayed you. Yet,
+something tells me that you were always the man that you have been
+of late, concealing the evil in you that you might the better court
+success. At any rate, there has been a gradual outward change in you
+until here and now"--Hezekiah was very grave--"I impeach you before
+the high court of my heart for divers crimes and offenses, treasonable
+in their nature, against the good will and happiness of your fellowmen."
+
+The prisoner at the bar gave a start, possibly remembering that the
+historical punishment for treason was the headsman's axe.
+
+"You have hardened, Obadiah," the lawyer continued relentlessly,
+"until you have grown as icy cold as the winter hills of your native
+lands. You have become cruel and rapacious in your business dealings.
+Of late years your commercial pathway is strewn with the wrecks of
+enterprises, which in no sense affected your own safety but which you
+have ruined through a sheer desire to dominate, a naked lust for power.
+Controlled by greed and avarice, no generous thought for your fellowmen
+actuates you. Steeped in your own selfishness, you sit in this room
+like--" shaking a forefinger at Obadiah the attorney hesitated, seeking
+a fitting condemnatory simile. Suddenly he concluded--"like a fat
+hog," and struck the desk of the alleged swine such a thump that the
+pork jumped.
+
+"Your memory will tell you how many times I have blocked your devilish
+schemes by convincing you that, if persisted in, the anti-trust laws must
+land you behind prison bars."
+
+Hezekiah in the pose of a stout statue of liberty, thrust up his right
+arm and clasped his left hand to his breast. He fixed accusing eyes upon
+the manufacturer and cried in a big voice, "If the world knew as much
+about you as I do, I am not so sure but they'd incarcerate you under the
+first law of nature--self-preservation."
+
+"Hush!" Obadiah paled visibly and with great nervousness viewed the
+open transom.
+
+Hezekiah leveled an arraigning hand at his employer. "Your actions
+should be such that you could rest in equanimity while they are cried
+aloud in the market places. The hour of reckoning is at hand, Obadiah.
+You believe yourself invincible. Blinded by a curtain of obstinacy
+you have not read your destiny. I tear it aside and expose your dark
+future. Your daughter, beautiful and affectionate, filled, as was her
+mother, with thoughts of others, discovers your true character and,
+turning from you, prefers the peace of a good conscience amidst humbler
+surroundings to a home of wealth in your company. She leaves you--alone."
+
+Obadiah winced.
+
+Hezekiah returned to his task with renewed vigor. "This morning your
+personal staff--men who have been with you for years--separate from you.
+I have no hesitation in assuming that they departed rankling beneath
+injustice. They leave you--alone. Now your attorney"--Hezekiah's
+voice was filled with feeling--"your adviser for years, tenders his
+resignation rather than to be a party to enforcing your selfish demands
+against your own daughter. He leaves you--alone."
+
+Stunned by this unexpected shot, Obadiah appeared to shrink in his chair.
+
+Highly pleased at the effect and sound of his own words, Hezekiah seized
+upon the order of the Board of Health and, shaking it in the face of the
+mill owner, waxed ever more eloquent. Floating away upon the wings of
+his own fervid oratory, he continued in ringing tones.
+
+"The keen eye of this great Commonwealth has found you out. Now does its
+strong right arm, the law, reach forth to protect the weak and restrain
+the strong. In ardent pursuit of evil it draws ever nearer and nearer,
+until at last it embraces even the waste--"
+
+Hezekiah stopped short. A look of horror, loathing and disgust swept his
+countenance. He was inexpressibly shocked at the extraordinary conclusion
+to which his simile hastened.
+
+To Obadiah, the repugnance in Hezekiah's face depicted antipathy towards
+himself. For years the attorney had been the manufacturer's one friend.
+He had admired the lawyer's learning and leaned upon his judgment. For
+years he had known that words were playthings in his legal adviser's
+mouth; but that look was too much. The aversion and detestation displayed
+crushed the mill owner. Humbled to the dust he reviewed the calamities
+which Hezekiah had so ably painted. With due allowance for rhetorical
+exaggeration, they frightened him. He must save Hezekiah to pilot him
+through the darkness.
+
+Sick and weary and miserable but above all else lonely, Obadiah arose
+from his desk and confronted the lawyer. "Hezekiah, you will not leave
+me?" he begged, in pitiful humiliation, his anger gone.
+
+The placid Hezekiah was shaken to the depths of his soul at the
+catastrophe which had befallen him. Vain of his oratorical ability,
+he regarded his address to Obadiah as a worthy effort until his final
+bull. Such slips are remembered by one's professional brethren
+until the end of one's life. He took his grievance out on the abased
+Obadiah.
+
+"I'm tired," he growled, "tired of your greed and selfishness, tired
+of your confounded pigheadedness and the continual scrap in which you
+live. You're old, Obadiah. I bet you ten dollars that the hearse is in
+use which will haul you to the cemetery."
+
+Obadiah shuddered and displayed no disposition to take the wager.
+
+Hezekiah went on testily. "You worry about money until every one hates
+and despises you. It's bad for my reputation to work for you--to be
+caught in your company. I have saved enough to keep me comfortable
+until I die and I'm going to take it easy. I want to quit fighting
+law suits and go to compromising." A glint of his usual humor flashed in
+Hezekiah's eyes. "If you'd let me compromise your cases, I might
+stay."
+
+Obadiah made a quick motion as of consent.
+
+Hezekiah viewed his shaking employer with great severity. "You must
+prove your conversion by your works," he rapped. "You've got to show
+me."
+
+"What should I do, Hezekiah?" the manufacturer, looking helpless and
+old, begged. "Give me the benefit of your advice."
+
+"Do?" snapped Hezekiah petulantly. "Decide how you think a thing ought
+to be done and do the opposite. You're always wrong."
+
+"Please be specific, Hezekiah."
+
+At the word "please," the lawyer started in surprise. In a moment he
+growled, "Compromise. Learn to consider the rights and wishes of other
+people. The compromise is a most valuable instrument in bringing about
+domestic happiness," and with this sage advice, Hezekiah, the bachelor,
+left his employer.
+
+Stricken low by physical disorder and verbal assaults, it was a day of
+gloomy forebodings to Obadiah. After Hezekiah's oration, the path ahead,
+usually certain and clear to him, seemed beset with obstacles and lined
+with eyes of hatred.
+
+When he went home that night there seemed to be a stoop in his usually
+erect carriage and a deep anxiety dwelt in his eyes. Hardly touching his
+dinner, he sat through it, in his dining room, plunged in thought.
+
+Serena marked the change in the behavior of her employer with great
+interest. Returning to the kitchen, she told Ike, "Mr. Devil done
+sna'ah dat ole man wid er bait o' shinin' gol'. Now he gwine hawg
+tie 'im wid hot chains outen de fu'nace o' to'ment so dat he kin
+tote 'im to de aige o' de bottomless pit an' cas' 'im into de
+fiah an' brimstone. Dat ole man is er strivin' mighty fie'ce to git
+loose. He's er gnawin' off er leg to git outen de sn'ah, as de hot
+i'on burns 'im an' de brimstone smoke choke 'im."
+
+The chauffeur, being for the moment in high favor, was enjoying a piece
+of pie as a fitting appetizer for his later dinner. "He ain' lif' up
+his voice in prah or mek no sign er tall," responded the youth, giving
+close attention to the pastry and but little heed to the demoniacal
+trapping going on in the neighborhood.
+
+"Dey's er fightin' ete'nally, boy," explained Serena with scorn.
+
+Ike rolled his eyes, exposing large areas of white until they rested
+upon the woman. "Ain' you mek er mistake, Miss Sereny?" he suggested
+respectfully. "Ain' you mean infe'nally?"
+
+"Look yere, boy," she retorted with great dignity, "ah ain' er
+astin' no trash lak yo'all to teach me nothin'. Ah gits ma 'ligion
+f'om de good book in de chu'ch house. Min' you' own business."
+
+Obadiah retired early and again tossed backwards and forwards through
+long hours. Hezekiah had indeed torn aside a concealing veil from the
+manufacturer's life. Obadiah was not a man given to introspection,
+but, for the first time in years, the words of his attorney had forced
+it upon him. Tonight his boasted accomplishments were nothing, while
+episodes which he would have gladly forgotten loomed large. Above all
+else a great loneliness and fear of the future crushed him.
+
+In this hour of deepest humility, recollections of his wife and the far
+away days of his married life came to him. Sweet and tender memories
+these, of occurrences almost forgotten. He softened to them, and
+moments followed when it was as if the spirit of Elinor Dale had crossed
+the span of years and labored with the troubled soul of the selfish,
+obstinate, purse-proud old rich man until at last, Obadiah--slept in
+peace.
+
+When he appeared in the morning, a change had taken place in him. There
+was strength and decision in his face; but it seemed as if the lines of
+cruelty and obstinacy were altered and smoothed away as the ruts and
+tracks upon a sandy beach after a great storm.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+HIS JOURNEY'S END
+
+
+Excitement prevailed in the home of Aunt Kate in Old Rock. There was a
+soft sound of feminine feet rushing about. Much searching for mislaid
+articles of apparel was taking place and those hastening made nervous
+demands for assistance upon those hurrying.
+
+The disturbance in this peaceful household was due to the receipt of
+knowledge that Charles Augustus and his mother had returned from New
+York during the preceding night. Preparations were now in progress for
+the departure of Virginia and Helen to greet the returned ones in a
+fitting manner.
+
+At last the two girls were appropriately garbed and Aunt Kate kissed
+them good bye at the front door and, with a kindly smile upon her face,
+watched them run across the meadow towards the pond, making farewell
+signals with their canoe paddles.
+
+An hour later there was a sharp rap of the old fashioned knocker on the
+front door. "Mercy sakes upon us," muttered Aunt Kate. "What business
+has anybody coming here at this time of day?" A look of aversion crept
+over her face. "I'll bet my boots it is an agent or a peddler. I'll
+send him packing pretty quick with a flea in his ear." Apparently bent
+upon carrying out this peculiar attention she hurried into the hall.
+Bending low, she pulled aside the curtain of a side light and peered
+out. The feet and legs before her advertised their owner as a man.
+"It is a peddler," she murmured. Her gentle face assumed a stern and
+forbidding aspect. Suddenly, she jerked the door open and, glowering at
+the intruder, cried, "Go away! I don't want--"
+
+The victim of this unusual reception was her brother Obadiah.
+
+"Land o' Goshen, how you frightened me, Obadiah Dale," Aunt Kate
+reproached him as soon as she recovered from her surprise. "Don't
+you know any better than to scare a body half to death?"
+
+"I didn't intend to frighten you, Kate," Obadiah protested, when he
+got over his own astonishment.
+
+"The bad place is paved with good intentions," she quoted with
+sternness and, as her brother hesitated upon the porch, puzzled at his
+extraordinary greeting, she commanded, "Come in. What are you waiting
+out there for? Must I lead you in?" Giving him a ceremonious kiss, she
+ushered him into the large back room where the table prepared for
+luncheon reminded her to be hospitable. "Have you had breakfast,
+Obadiah? I'll fix you something in a minute."
+
+"Yes, on the train. I don't want anything to eat, Kate."
+
+Satisfied that her brother was not starving, she gazed at him over the
+tops of her spectacles with a humorous twinkle in her eyes. "This _is_
+a surprise. It is the first time that you have visited me since--" She
+paused in sudden indignation. "Obadiah Dale," she went on sharply,
+"you have never deigned to honor me with a visit in my own home."
+
+He was nervous and ill at ease as he answered, "I know, Kate, but I'm a
+very--"
+
+She interrupted him, in a gentler mood. "Yes, I know, Obadiah. The years
+have run swiftly. Yesterday we were boy and girl together at the old
+home. Today we are old folks, the best part of our lives spent. The page
+of our earthly hour is nearly written and there is only room for a few
+more sentences." She glared at him with great severity and sniffed,
+"At least, we'd better see that these lines have something good about
+us."
+
+"Yes, Kate," he agreed meekly.
+
+"I know that you want to see--Virginia. She's not here, Obadiah. She
+has gone up to the head of the pond to see Charles Augustus, the lame
+boy who was operated upon," she told him.
+
+Obadiah nodded. "How far is that from here? Can I walk it?"
+
+Aunt Kate considered. "It's about three miles by road. You will get
+lost and never find the place. The girls will be back by two or three
+o'clock. Can't you make yourself comfortable and visit with me until
+then?"
+
+"I do want to see Virginia. She has been away a long time." He jumped
+to his feet and moved nervously about. "I think that I shall walk there,
+if you don't mind, Kate."
+
+His anxiety awakened the sympathy of his sister. "You are not used to
+strolls like that. I am afraid that it will not be good for you. I have
+a horse that is old and fat and slow but he can haul us there if you can
+hitch him up."
+
+"That will do." Obadiah was much relieved. "I'll drive your horse. I
+used to do it when I was a boy."
+
+"That was a long time ago. You may have forgotten." An idea struck her.
+"Do fashions change in harness? If so, you won't know a thing about
+it and it won't be safe to trust you."
+
+The employer of hundreds was disgusted at his sister's display of lack
+of confidence in his abilities. "Harnesses haven't changed," he
+insisted, dryly.
+
+At the barn, Archimedes was brought forth and Obadiah Dale, millionaire
+manufacturer, essayed to harness the steed to the family vehicle. He
+displayed great energy and his enthusiasm increased with the passage
+of time. Archimedes was an ideal animal for the mill owner's
+experimentations. In all of his impressive dignity of weight and size,
+the animal waited motionless while Obadiah buckled and unbuckled straps
+in the making and correction of his errors. Minutes passed and
+disaster threatened only when, in slipping the bit between the
+massive teeth, a couple of the manufacturer's fingers inadvertently
+attended the linked metal. Being asleep, the animal failed to take
+advantage of it.
+
+At last, Obadiah, viewing his handiwork with pride, signified that
+all things were in readiness for the journey. Aunt Kate had noted his
+prolonged efforts with grave suspicion. She now approached Archimedes in
+the critical mood of an irritated C. O. at Saturday morning inspection.
+Obadiah took humble position, two paces to her right and rear.
+
+"That trace is twisted. Straighten it!" she commanded.
+
+He corrected this oversight.
+
+She surveyed the bridle and whirled upon him, horror depicted in her
+eyes. "Obadiah Dale," she exclaimed, "haven't you any better sense
+than to take your own sister driving without buckling the reins to the
+bit. Lands sakes, I might have been dragged to a terrible death."
+
+Strange to relate, when this grave mistake had been overcome and all
+things were in order; in spite of the conclusive evidences of Obadiah's
+incompetence, Aunt Kate permitted him to drive. As she climbed into
+the surrey, she announced, "I'll sit back here where I can get out if
+anything goes wrong."
+
+This precaution as well as the general attitude of his sister towards
+Archimedes, had persuaded Obadiah that he had to do with a fractious
+steed, notwithstanding that all outward appearances justified the
+conclusion that Archimedes was a cow in soul and action.
+
+The mill owner shoved open the sliding door of the barn with an anxious
+eye upon the fat back as if fearful that he might gallop wildly forth
+even as a fire horse leaving a truck house in response to an alarm.
+
+Archimedes never budged.
+
+Obadiah climbed clumsily over the front wheel, the reins hanging loosely
+from his hands. Seating himself, he promptly drew them taut, prepared
+for any emergency.
+
+"Be careful, Obadiah," Aunt Kate warned him from the back seat.
+
+"Gid-ap!" Obadiah spoke in a soothing voice suitable to a high strung
+animal.
+
+Archimedes held his ground.
+
+Obadiah raised his voice in some degree, "Gid-ap!" he exclaimed.
+
+Archimedes might have been cast in a supporting part in an equestrian
+statue for all the notice he took of what transpired about him.
+
+In vain Obadiah amplified his efforts. "This fool horse is balky," he
+grumbled to Aunt Kate.
+
+"Archimedes balky, fiddle-de-dee," she answered. "Maybe he's tied."
+Past experience caused her to examine the vicinity to be assured that
+through inadvertence they were not made fast to anything by chains
+or cables. Suddenly, she became aware of Obadiah's firm rein. "No
+wonder!" she cried, "You are holding him too tight. You don't know how
+to drive. Give me the lines." Leaning forward over the back of the
+front seat Aunt Kate seized the reins and gave three or four swinging
+pulls as a conductor signaling to the engineman ahead. Simultaneously
+she made clicking sounds with her lips reminiscent of swine enjoying a
+milky repast.
+
+Archimedes responded readily to this treatment and moved slowly forward.
+
+"There," Aunt Kate said with great satisfaction as she returned the
+reins to Obadiah. "That's the way to drive a horse." As they turned
+out of the driveway into the road, she warned him, "Do be careful of
+the automobiles."
+
+"Why should I be careful of them? Can't they take care of themselves
+up here?" he demanded, meanwhile tugging at the reins, and then, "Who
+broke this fool horse?"
+
+Aunt Kate leaned forward. "Where?" she asked with great anxiety only
+to quickly drop back into her seat with a suppressed, "Oh!"
+
+Regardless of the efforts of the mill owner, the steed drifted gradually
+towards the gutter.
+
+"This horse isn't bridlewise," Obadiah declared in disgust. "I might
+as well be trying to drive a cow."
+
+"He has more sense than lots of people I know," Aunt Kate answered
+with a meaning look at her brother. "He wants to get out of the way
+of automobiles."
+
+For a few minutes Archimedes was permitted to follow the way of the
+gutter in peace, then, "This is ridiculous," protested Obadiah. "I
+feel like a perfect idiot driving this way. I'll be hanged if I'll
+do it." He yanked and shouted at the horse until, fighting every inch
+of the way, the animal drifted towards the crown of the road.
+
+With nervous eyes, Aunt Kate searched the highway back of them for signs
+of approaching machines. "Obadiah, look out. Here comes a car," she
+screamed.
+
+Alarmed at her tone, his body stiffened to meet the shock of imminent
+collision. He jerked his head about fearfully to perceive a car
+following them a mile away. "Why did you startle me that way? I thought
+something was about to hit us," he blurted.
+
+The horn of the approaching machine demanded the road. Obadiah tugged at
+Archimedes anew. The horse answered but slowly.
+
+"Hurry, Obadiah, they are running into us," screamed Aunt Kate.
+
+The mill owner redoubled his efforts to get out of the way as a series
+of frantic squawks and the grind of brakes sounded from behind them.
+
+In desperation, Obadiah jerked out the whip and gave Archimedes a smart
+clip. The horse bounded clumsily and stopped in the middle of the road.
+The petted animal's astonishment at this treatment was such that he had
+to pause for consideration.
+
+"Don't you strike my horse that way," cried Aunt Kate indignantly,
+her mind diverted from the menacing automobile by the punishment of her
+property. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself."
+
+Obadiah put up the whip, leaving the motionless Archimedes to meditate
+upon his injuries in the center of the highway while the automobile
+worked its way around. It came opposite to them, a flivver of the
+cheapest type--mere dust beside Obadiah's own car.
+
+A rough, angry man glared at the mill owner and bawled, "You old
+moss-back, do you think that you own this road? When somebody takes a
+wheel off of that old ark, it may"--the voice was very doubtful--"knock
+some sense into your bean. Don't you know enough to put out your hand
+when you stop, you mutton-headed fool. If there was a constable about
+I'd have you chucked into the calaboose."
+
+Obadiah sat speechless under this insolence. Possibly he was becoming
+inured to unkind words. As the car disappeared in the distance his tongue
+was loosened, "Kate, did you get their number?" he inquired with great
+anxiety.
+
+"No. Why on earth should I want their number? I hope I never see them
+again."
+
+He almost stammered in the flood of his wrath. "If I had it, I'd
+prosecute them--have them fined and put in prison."
+
+"What for--scolding us?" inquired Aunt Kate softly.
+
+He did not answer for a time. When he turned his temper had departed.
+"Kate, I was wrong, I suppose," he said.
+
+She looked at him curiously and there was affection in her glance; but
+her voice was stern as she replied, "Obadiah, you were headstrong and
+it led you into trouble, as it used to when you were a boy."
+
+"Yes, Kate." In Obadiah's tones was a new note.
+
+Thereafter, Archimedes pursued his way in the safety of the gutter
+until they turned into a little used lane where great trees, decked in
+wonderful autumnal colors, arched overhead, and unkempt hedges brushed
+their wheels. The birds, disturbed in their preparations for their
+trip South, made short, noisy flights ahead of the vehicle, protesting
+against the intrusion.
+
+Regardless of this, Obadiah and Archimedes, meditating upon recent
+injuries, pursued the path that fate would have them follow.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+THE TRIUMPH
+
+
+When Virginia and Helen came up the path towards the Curtis home, they
+missed the little figure of Charles Augustus hobbling forth to meet them
+with joyous greetings.
+
+"We'll go to the front door," suggested Helen. So they passed around
+the house and, ascending the steps, knocked at the weather-beaten front
+entrance.
+
+"Come in," cried the shrill voice of Charles Augustus. "I can't open
+the door."
+
+Virginia obeyed the command of the child with a smile of delight. As she
+swung the door back, the pleasant odor of frying doughnuts assailed her
+nostrils. Looking through the rooms, she could see Mrs. Curtis in the
+kitchen, fork in hand, awaiting their entrance with a look of inquiry
+which melted into a smile of welcome as she recognized them.
+
+In the midst of pillows, Charles Augustus sat in one chair with his legs
+propped up upon another. As usual, he was bright, cheerful and talkative.
+
+Virginia turned towards the child and then she gave a little gasp of joy
+as a big fellow with black eyes and a wonderful smile lifted himself with
+a cane and limped towards her.
+
+"Joe!" she trilled, her sparkling blue eyes revealing her heart's
+rejoicing. "Joe!" she repeated, in a voice which breathed its own
+enchantment.
+
+He was almost to her, his face alight with his happiness.
+
+"Joe!" she whispered again, and gave a startled glance of astonishment
+as this huge fellow with dancing eyes stood upon one leg, balanced
+himself with his cane and thrust forth an encircling arm. Rooted to the
+spot, she could not evade it as it drew her to him and, with fascinated
+eyes and curious thrills, she watched his head bend slowly towards her.
+
+"Joe"--this time it was the voice of his mother speaking--"Where did
+you meet Virginia?"
+
+His head went up and his arm dropped at his side. Virginia released his
+arms which she had clutched and, with reddened, telltale faces, they
+turned to Mrs. Curtis.
+
+"We met in South Ridgefield, mother," he told her, and the girl gave
+an embarrassed nod of agreement.
+
+"Hum," said Mrs. Curtis. The utterance meant little but her manner
+much. She disappeared only to return in a moment with a plate of
+doughnuts and a pitcher of milk. "Who is hungry?" she asked.
+
+Among the young people, famine stalked abroad. In its relief, flushed
+faces regained their normal color and Helen's mischievous giggles were
+quieted sufficiently for her to meet Joe with becoming gravity before
+giving her attention to her own sweetheart.
+
+But alas, the course of true love is never smooth. Charles Augustus
+made energetic protest when he became aware that Helen proposed to offer
+him nourishment by hand after the manner in which infants but recently
+weaned are treated. "Lemme be! My hands aren't lame," he objected.
+An unhappy look spread over his face. "I get so tired sitting in this
+old chair. Every little while, too, mother rubs my leg and works it
+up and down. Ding bust it, that hurts."
+
+Helen, giving up her attempt to feed the boy, endeavored to sooth and
+comfort him. "In a week or so you will be running about without a sign
+of a crutch. Think of that. Won't that be fine?"
+
+"I should be out now," he grumbled. "Something might happen to my
+hornet's nest."
+
+"Don't you worry," Helen laughed. "Neither man nor beast will
+interfere with that."
+
+"How is Miss Knight?" Virginia asked Joe.
+
+"Bossy as ever," he answered.
+
+"She was a good nurse and she was nice to you, Joe."
+
+"Yes," he admitted with a chuckle; "but she is a whole lot nicer to
+Mike Kelly these days."
+
+Virginia was all interest.
+
+"He's as pleased with her as a snow bird at a blizzard. Every time
+it was Miss Knight's evening off, he would make an early call upon me
+dressed in his best clothes."
+
+There came a knock at the front door.
+
+Hastening to it at a nod from Mrs. Curtis, Helen threw it wide open. Aunt
+Kate and Obadiah waited without.
+
+"Daddy," cried Virginia, for the moment blissfully forgetful as she
+tried to get around Joe without hurting his outstretched leg.
+
+"Obadiah Dale!" It was Mrs. Curtis who spoke from the doorway into the
+dining room and there was something in her voice which held them all.
+The happiness had gone from her face, leaving it cold and distorted with
+passion as Virginia had seen it.
+
+"Obadiah Dale!"--she fairly hissed the words--"What do you want in
+my house? Would you like to do me greater harm--you robber?" She gave
+a shrill mirthless laugh and flung her hands towards the sides of the
+poorly furnished room. "Look about you. There isn't much left since
+you got in your devil's work."
+
+Mrs. Curtis's eyes shifted to Virginia as, startled by this strange
+attack upon her father, she waited at Joe's side. It was as if the woman
+struggled between aversion and regard. "I never thought you were his
+daughter," she snarled.
+
+White, tense and sickened to the depths of her being by the fear of
+shameful disclosures, the girl could make no reply.
+
+Joe Curtis was watching his mother with worried eyes. The frightened
+faces of Helen and Charles Augustus peeped from behind Aunt Kate who,
+from the subdued exclamations and the indignant glances she gave her
+brother, was expecting to hear the worst of him.
+
+Clearly, Obadiah was amazed at the woman's words. He stood irresolute,
+his throat working as if he were trying to swallow something. At last he
+regained the power of speech. "Madam," he began.
+
+"Madam," sneered the woman, "Octavia Curtis, the widow of Augustus
+Curtis, the man whose business you ruined by your infernal scheming,
+whose wife and two children were dragged by your greed and selfishness
+from a life of comfort--to this. What business have you in my house,
+you thief?"
+
+Obadiah flushed and quailed under her words. Bewildered and puzzled, a
+guilty conscience in business catastrophes made him feel it advisable to
+allow his opponent to develop her case.
+
+Mrs. Curtis's words affected Virginia differently. Her face flushed and
+her fears passed. "Stop," she interrupted, her eyes flashing angrily.
+"What right have you to speak so to my father?"
+
+"Right?" Again that ugly laugh came from Mrs. Curtis as she urged,
+"Ask him how he ruined the Curtis mill at Brenton."
+
+Obadiah gave a start.
+
+Aunt Kate, observing her brother through suspicious eyes, noted this.
+"As ye sow, so shall ye reap," she quoted, for his greater comfort.
+
+The mill owner glanced hastily towards the door as if seeking a line of
+retreat from this assemblage of women and lame men. But Aunt Kate, the
+inner keeper of the outer gate, barred his way.
+
+Pale of face but with a determined set to her mouth, Virginia said
+softly, "Daddy, explain please. You must Daddy."
+
+"It was a perfectly legitimate business deal. The Curtis mill had notes
+upon the market, protected by a mortgage on the plant. I purchased them.
+When they became due and were not paid, to protect myself--and you--I
+foreclosed and took the mill. I suppose this woman was caught in the
+deal," Obadiah answered and moved as if to leave the room.
+
+"Stop, Daddy," the girl commanded. "We must settle this matter now.
+Either too much or too little has been said."
+
+"Settle?" Once more that acrimonious laugh came from Mrs. Curtis's
+lips. "How are you going to settle for sleepless nights, for worry
+and for tears? What can pay for those dreary days which grew into weeks
+and months since hope for my children was torn from my life?" She
+flung her arms wide in the anguish which tortured her. "How are you
+going to wipe out the fact that my poor lame baby"--she pointed at
+Charles Augustus--"had to depend upon charity to be able to play as
+other boys--plain charity," she almost screamed. "Or that he"--she
+indicated Joe--"has been forced into the world to struggle for an
+education he might have had in comfort."
+
+"Oh," moaned Virginia. The misery of the story clouded her eyes as they
+turned from the passion-torn woman to her father.
+
+The flood of the emotion-driven woman's words seemed to have made
+Obadiah helpless. He stood as if awaiting sentence for his evil doing,
+an old man abject and forlorn.
+
+As she looked at him, a wave of pity swept over Virginia and her love
+for him struggled in her heart, regardless of all that had been said
+against him. "My father can't be to blame for all of this. I couldn't
+believe it of him," she cried.
+
+It was as if the note of grief and entreaty in the girl's voice tempered
+the anger of Mrs. Curtis. She dropped into a chair and began to sob. Joe
+Curtis arose hastily, limped over to her side, and tried to sooth her. At
+the sound of his mother's grief, Charles Augustus put his head upon
+Helen's shoulder and wept also.
+
+Virginia moved over and gently touched the shoulder of the sobbing woman,
+who, flinching from contact with the girl's hand, drew herself sharply
+away.
+
+"Don't, mother," pleaded Joe.
+
+Virginia withdrew her hand, yet she remained by Mrs. Curtis's chair.
+"Tell me the whole story," she begged. "I must know. I have the right
+to know."
+
+Even through her own grief, the anxiety and unhappiness of the girl
+touched the older woman. She raised her brimming eyes. Her temper had
+died away and she spoke rapidly, almost in a monotone, broken by sob
+hiccoughs. "At my husband's death every thing that he left me was
+invested in our mill. It was a good business and should have given me
+and my boys the comforts and even the luxuries of life. Before his death,
+he had borrowed money to make improvements, giving notes secured by a
+mortgage upon the plant.
+
+"After he had gone, I took charge of the mill and tried to run it
+myself. I was not a very good business woman. I had a hard time to pay
+the interest on our indebtedness. When the notes came due, I asked for
+a renewal but my request was refused. I was thunderstruck. I learned
+that your father had bought the notes, and wherever I tried to raise
+money I was refused because of his influence as a rival manufacturer.
+So I lost my mill and had to meet life, a widow with a baby and a young
+boy, a little money, and this old farm."
+
+A flash of her anger returned and she pointed at Obadiah. "My boys are
+raised in poverty while _he_ stands there in the pride of his wealth.
+When he got the mill he never used it. He closed it, throwing good people
+who had worked for us for years out of employment. They had to move
+away and sacrifice their little homes. It brought sorrow to them as well
+as to me. He, Obadiah Dale, is to blame for all of this."
+
+Aunt Kate wiped a tear from her eye.
+
+"Daddy," Virginia said softly, "did you know the harm that you were
+doing to all of these people?" Her eyes searched his, as if to discover
+his answer before he could utter it, and her tones beseeched him to
+justify her love at the altar of her heart.
+
+Obadiah stiffened. He held up his head and returned the look of his
+daughter squarely. He knew that he was giving battle for her love,
+aye, even for her respect. The old man was a fighter. "No!" he cried.
+"It is unjust to charge me with all of the sorrows and tribulations
+of this family. I built the first mill in this country--took the
+chances of opening the industry. The Brenton mill was established to
+compete with me. There was room for one big plant here and only one.
+Augustus Curtis knew it and expected to put me out of business. Mrs.
+Curtis"--Obadiah's voice was firm now--"you have said some hard
+things about me today in the presence of my daughter and sister. I am
+entitled in common justice to my defence. I started in business without
+a dollar. Much worse off, I think, than your husband. Business has
+been a battle of supremacy with me. I have taken hard licks and I have
+given them. I have fought my way. Remember, I had to. A man must win
+or lose in business and many are the weapons used. I struck with the
+first one at hand and hit the man in front of me. Do you blame a soldier
+for the suffering of the dependents of those he kills in battle? I
+think not. Mrs. Curtis," he continued, "you never met me before."
+
+"No," she admitted.
+
+"How did you recognize me?"
+
+"My husband pointed you out to me in South Ridgefield," she sobbed.
+
+"Did you ever advertise the fact that you were running that mill?"
+
+"I was afraid to," she moaned. "I used my husband's name."
+
+"You see," said Obadiah to Virginia. "I had no way of knowing that a
+woman was running the Brenton mill. I plead guilty to fighting _men_.
+When I get whipped I smile. When I put a man out of business he starts
+another. He doesn't sit down and cry and blame me for what happens to
+his family ever afterwards. I never fought a woman in all of my life."
+
+"It's true, Obadiah. You used to talk back but you never fought with
+me. I am afraid that you are going to have to get a camel through a
+needle's eye; but you wouldn't fight a woman," interjected Aunt Kate.
+
+Obadiah disregarded his sister's fears and went on, "Did you ever hear
+of Dalton, the New York manufacturer?"
+
+Mrs. Curtis nodded.
+
+"Five years ago, he started to put me out of business by buying up the
+small mills and pooling them against me. To protect myself, I bought
+negotiable paper, covering mills in this locality wherever I could get
+it. Where I could get control of the mills, I did it. They were my
+competitors and would have taken my business or combined against me
+gladly," Obadiah's eyes rested anxiously upon the face of his daughter
+as he concluded, "I was fighting Dalton, a more powerful man than
+myself, not widows and orphans."
+
+Virginia's face had softened but there was yet a question in her manner.
+
+"I am an old man," Obadiah continued. "I find that my ideas are
+changing and my view of life shifting. I have believed that the
+accumulation of wealth was everything. I know now that the happy man
+must accumulate other things or he will find himself deserted and
+miserable with his gold. In my life I have been guilty of many wrongs.
+I would right those wrongs if I could. Will you forgive me, Mrs.
+Curtis, for unknowingly harming you and yours?"
+
+"No," she cried. "You explain your reasons for loosening the forces
+which injured me; but there is no regret in your heart. You'd do the
+same thing tomorrow."
+
+He turned to his daughter. "At least, you understand me, Virginia?"
+
+"I know what you have done, Daddy; but Mrs. Curtis has suffered, and
+she alone can wipe the slate clean." The girl's face had saddened
+again, and as she spoke it was as if she had forgotten that there were
+others in the room. "Mother wouldn't have wanted you to make all of
+this unhappiness. You brought sorrow and tears where she would have
+wanted you to carry laughter and joy. I can't judge you fairly. How
+I have longed for you during the past weeks and how I have wanted to
+go home. Unless Mrs. Curtis can forgive you, Daddy, you haven't found
+mother's way to settle this matter." She gave a queer strained little
+cry. "I can never go home with you, Daddy, until you learn to follow her
+way," she sobbed, and dropped into a chair.
+
+At the girl's words, Mrs. Curtis had raised her eyes, and as she
+listened her face softened. As Virginia sank into the chair, the woman
+was beside her, petting and soothing her.
+
+It seemed as if his daughter's words had taken the very heart out of
+Obadiah. It was a haggard old man bowed low with trouble who watched her,
+the greatness of his longing written plain upon his lined countenance.
+
+Suddenly Mrs. Curtis moved towards him. "Obadiah Dale"--she spoke so
+gently that it was hard to recognize her as the one who had so recently
+flung the accusations at him--"a moment ago I told you that I could not
+forgive you. I was wrong. Your daughter told you that it would have
+been her mother's way to have brought laughter and joy to me instead of
+sorrow and tears. That which your daughter has done for my son, Charles
+Augustus, fills my heart with joy and brings laughter to my lips. She has
+followed her mother's way. I can't believe that any man altogether bad
+could be the father of such a daughter." She held out her hand to him.
+"I forgive you."
+
+"When I was at the office of the Board of Health, yesterday, Virginia,"
+Joe announced, as one discussing a topic of great personal interest, "I
+was told that your father had agreed to keep the mill waste out of the
+river."
+
+There was a scream of delight, and a teary Virginia launched herself into
+her father's arms, giving happy cries of endearment. In a moment she
+faced Mrs. Curtis, and cried, "He's perfectly grand. He'll do anything
+to right your wrongs."
+
+Mrs. Curtis smiled. "I think that we had better let your father forget
+my troubles for a moment," she urged.
+
+"Land sakes," ejaculated Aunt Kate in a loud whisper, "I'm glad to
+see that woman laugh. I was afraid that she loved her troubles so much
+she wouldn't give them up."
+
+"Hush, mother, she'll hear you," expostulated Helen.
+
+Thus repressed, Aunt Kate delivered a moral lesson to Charles Augustus
+in a voice heard all over the room. "It is easier to receive thanks for
+doing nice things, Charles, than to have to beg forgiveness for doing
+mean ones."
+
+Fortunately Obadiah, diligently engaged at that moment in erasing the
+past, was deaf to his sister's remarks. He told Mrs. Curtis, "I'll
+re-open the Brenton mill as soon as I can have it overhauled. I can use
+it on some contracts I have. The profits shall be yours. When you can
+repay the amount of the notes from them, I'll transfer the mill back
+to you. If you wish, I'll buy it from you or rent it until your son is
+capable of assuming charge of it."
+
+He faced Joe and said, "I understand that you'll graduate from college
+this June. There'll be a position waiting for you in my mill."
+
+"In South Ridgefield?" Virginia inquired anxiously.
+
+Obadiah gave his daughter a keen glance and then stared at Joe
+appraisingly before he answered. "Yes, in South Ridgefield, until his
+mother wants him to take charge of her own business. By that time, if
+he has brains and follows my plans for him, he should be the finest
+young mill executive in this part of the country."
+
+The youthful Charles Augustus came under the mill owner's eye. "I'll
+see that every expense connected with the operation upon this young man
+is paid. We don't want outsiders in on that."
+
+He perceived Helen. "Well, well, how you have grown," he declared in
+surprise. "You want to be a teacher. I'll send you to college."
+
+"Goodness knows, Obadiah," protested Aunt Kate, "a body would think
+it was Christmas." She viewed him doubtfully. "I am afraid that you
+were always inclined to be a little extravagant."
+
+From the moment that his daughter embraced him, happiness had filled
+the soul of the mill owner. The difficulties of the past few days were
+forgotten. He beamed at his sister, generosity oozing from every pore.
+"Your house needs painting, Kate. I'll have it done. I'll sell that
+plug of a horse you have and buy you one that is broken or get you an
+automobile."
+
+"Stop right there, Obadiah," she commanded. "I have managed my affairs
+for years without your help. When you talk about selling a horse like
+Archimedes, I doubt your judgment. Look there!" She pointed proudly
+through the window. "Who'd care to own a finer horse than that?"
+
+Even as the assembled ones followed Aunt Kate's finger, Archimedes,
+wearied by the prolonged call, gathered his feet beneath him and with a
+care for the shafts evidencing practice, sank to the ground. From this
+position of comfort, usually reserved by most well bred horses for the
+privacy of the box stall, Archimedes viewed his surroundings apparently
+with great complacency.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+NOBODY HOME, MR. DEVIL
+
+
+The October night was clear, with a bite in the air which foretold sharp
+frosts and winter's snows. There was no wind, only a great silence, as
+if all nature had tucked itself away for a long night's rest.
+
+On the eastern horizon, there was a dull glow as if it were the
+reflections of a great conflagration. The light of it brightened,
+and slowly over the edge of things arose a golden streak, the curved
+top of the moon. In stately dignity, it ascended towards the zenith,
+its gold changing to silver and its beams bathing the world in a
+flood of gentle light. Over field and forest and plain the soft veil
+advanced, spreading its magic silvery sheen until all it touched
+became a mysterious fairyland.
+
+In this delicate mantle were enfolded the huts of the poor and the
+palaces of the rich, the lonely dwelling and the massed houses of
+great cities. The thriving municipality of South Ridgefield was lighted
+by this mild illumination which painted with a gleaming brush the
+residence of Mrs. Henderson, and even tinged the bald head of that
+learned lawyer, Hezekiah Wilkins, who, seated upon the porch railing,
+gazed heavenward and told the widow, "It's a beautiful moon, Mary. I
+have always admired the moon. It's the friend of youth. Since the
+beginning of time it has been the one welcome third party at sentimental
+trysts. If the moon were a gossip what stories it could tell. What
+vows have been uttered in its presence and signed and sealed--"
+
+"And broken, Hezekiah?" suggested Hennie.
+
+"What if the moon should turn tattletale, Mary?"
+
+"Don't worry. It's blind or it would blush red with shame for the
+fickleness of men," Mrs. Henderson told him and then went on, "Forget
+the moon and tell me what you did for Virginia that worked this miracle?"
+
+He chuckled. "It was so easy. I told Obadiah that he made me think of a
+fat hog. As usual he displayed--ahem--confidence in my judgment."
+
+She leaned towards him, her face filled with delight. "Hezekiah
+Wilkins," she whispered excitedly, "I could hug you for those words."
+
+"I've been waiting a good many years for you to do that, Mary."
+
+She dropped her head. "It's the moon, Hezekiah," she warned him. "I
+forgot how to embrace any one years ago."
+
+In the mysterious light, it seemed to him that a smile played about her
+mouth. His arm slipped about her waist. He tipped her chin gently and
+looked down into the face which for so long had meant to him the one
+woman. "Is it true, Mary? You'll marry me?"
+
+A stray cloud passed in front of the moon, and when it passed, the beams
+lighted the porch of Aunt Kate's house at Old Rock.
+
+The door opened and Obadiah came out, while his sister drew a shawl
+closer to her shoulders and waited in the doorway. "It's a beautiful
+night," she said, "a perfect Fall night."
+
+"It's chilly--it's really cold," he objected, shrugging his
+shoulders. He walked to the end of the porch and looked towards the apple
+tree where the hammock swung in lonesomeness. "Where is Virginia?"
+he asked.
+
+"She went walking with Joe."
+
+"She'll freeze," he worried.
+
+Humor glinted in Aunt Kate's eyes. "Girls take moonlight walks on the
+coldest winter nights and I never heard of one freezing, Obadiah. Your
+blood is thin. Come in and I'll build a fire of chips for you."
+
+"No," protested Obadiah, "I'll build one for you."
+
+The moonbeams bathed the meadow and the pond in their soft light. They
+silvered the great bowlder left by some glacier upon the edge of this
+inland water. On a depression in its side sat Joe, and Virginia was
+at his side. Before them stretched the shadowed mirror of the pond.
+Opposite loomed the tree clad hill in misty gloom. The moon clothed its
+summit in a mantle of light, reflected the tree-broken sky line in
+delicate tracery upon the water below, and pushed a shining pathway to
+their feet.
+
+The spell of the night held the girl. It seemed wrong to speak aloud.
+"Listen, Joe," she whispered, "the world is asleep." From the hill
+came the sound of a cow bell sweetened by distance. Except for this and
+the crickets all was still. "It's not a bit lonely," she sighed.
+
+"No, not nearly as lonely as South Ridgefield after you left," he
+agreed.
+
+"Did you miss me?" She was watching the pond.
+
+He stole a glance at the curves of her face and the flash of her eyes. It
+seemed to him that never since the beginning of time could there have
+been such another. He had lured a spirit of the night to a seat beside
+him. "I nearly died of loneliness," he answered.
+
+"You poor boy." Her voice was rich in tenderness. "Loneliness is
+dreadful, Joe. I don't want you to feel that way." Surely this was
+a nymph who had stolen forth to give him sympathy.
+
+"I was miserable every moment after you left," he told her pathetically.
+
+She turned her face to him, wonderful in its mysterious moonlight beauty.
+"Joe," she pleaded, "you must not be sad. Knowing me must not bring
+unhappiness to you."
+
+"You must never leave me again, Virginia. When I am away from you I
+can't be happy." Now the blue eyes were drawing a marvelous power of
+enchantment from the moonbeams, and the black eyes were reflecting the
+wonder of it. Under the charm of it, he dropped his cane.
+
+With a little cry of tenderness she tried to catch it. Losing her balance
+she fell towards him. He caught her in his arms, and the only other
+cloud in all the heavens that night drifted before the moon and the
+world darkened. Yet, on this old rock, lips touched and love blazed and
+hearts whispered words of gladness.
+
+The cloud passed on and the beams fell upon Serena, who had come forth
+upon the stoop of the Dale kitchen for a breath of fresh air. She raised
+her eyes to the great orb hanging high above her. Its light displayed
+a look of great happiness and contentment upon her black face as she
+whispered into the night, "Praise be! Ma honey chil' is er comin'
+home. De ole man done conquah de evil spi'it which to'ment 'im. Dat
+fool Ike done heard de warnin' dat come lak er cry in de night, an'
+join de chu'ch. _Nobody home, Mr. Devil._"
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+THE TRIUMPH OF VIRGINIA DALE
+
+Another GLAD Book (Trade Mark)
+
+By John Francis, Jr.
+
+Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1.90
+
+This new novel, marking the advent of a hitherto unknown writer of
+fiction, offers, along with a delightful romance of youth, a tinge of
+scintillating humor that stamps itself indelibly on the mind of the
+reader, and evokes many a sympathetic chuckle. It fairly bubbles over
+with exuberant cheerfulness, and is sure to inject a good share of its
+unlimited store of "What's good for the world" into every one who is
+lucky enough to read it.
+
+Furthermore, the peculiar magnetism of the characters is such that the
+reader cannot believe they are merely book creatures, _and_, we wager
+they are not. Virginia Dale, the heroine, is a Good Samaritan, Miss
+Sunshine, and Glad Heart--all of these--and yet the most natural young
+person imaginable, and as she progresses in her mission of "brightening
+up the corner" she builds for her own future one of the most beautiful
+characters fiction has ever claimed.
+
+The story is essentially a "character" story, but this does not
+detract from the plot what it just seems to get in the natural course of
+things, for, as a venerable reader once aptly remarked: "When story
+folk act natural, we ain't goin' to forgit 'em."
+
+
+
+
+THE PRINCESS NAIDA
+By Brewer Corcoran
+Author of "The Road to Le Reve" etc.
+Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated by H. Weston Taylor, $1.90
+
+Adventure and romance are the keynotes of this new novel by Brewer
+Corcoran--adventure which will stir the blood of every lover of
+fast-moving action and culminative plot, and romance which will charm
+all who have a tender spot for a lovably beautiful girl and a regular
+"he" man. It is a tale of today, set amid the mountains of Switzerland
+and the ugly rocks of Bolshevism on which is wrecked the mythical
+principality of Nirgendsberg--a story of a brave little princess who
+puts unfaltering faith in American manhood and resourcefulness and
+finds a newer and a better throne. Bill Hale is the sort of hero who
+would win any girl's love--a clever, capable chap with two fists and
+a keen sense of humor. Whether he is matching wits with suave Count
+Otto, romping with tiny Janos, fighting for his life in the hunting lodge
+at Wolkensberg or pleading for the love of his "princess who is all
+girl," he is a man. The story of his fight for all that counts in life
+is told with a rush and sweep of action which will hold the reader
+breathless. The dialogue, like that in Mr. Corcoran's other books,
+sparkles with humor, but there is a certain pleasurable grimness in
+his method of handling the Bolshevik which will strike an answering
+note in every true American heart today.
+
+"A romance of vivid interest, a love story full of youth and adventures
+that thrill. The dialogue is unusually clever, the characters
+delightfully real, the plot one that holds the reader's interest to the
+end." _New York Sun._
+
+
+
+
+A FLOWER OF MONTEREY
+
+A Romance of the Californias
+
+By Katherine B. Hamill
+
+Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1.90
+
+The wealth, beauty and sunshine of the Californias in the days when
+Spain controlled our western coast and England looked with covetous
+eyes, form the setting for this beautiful and artistic romance by a
+new author. Mrs. Hamill has recreated vividly the little Spanish town
+where the mission bells rang silvery at dawn, where scarlet uniforms
+flashed in the stately drill of an afternoon dress parade and beautiful
+women wore lace mantillas. Pajarita, the "Flower of Monterey," is
+an American waif, cast up by the sea, who grows up among the senors
+and senoritas, happy as the sunshine, but with a healthy American
+disrespect for the Spanish modes of life. Two men love her--Don Jose,
+the _gobernador proprietaro_ of all the Californias, and a young American
+sailor-adventurer, John Asterly.
+
+John Asterly, the hero of A FLOWER OF MONTEREY, came to the Californias
+from Boston. He is perhaps thirty years old, adventurous and impetuous.
+At a dance on the beach at Monterey, shortly after his arrival in the
+Californias, he meets Pajarita, "the Flower of Monterey," and falls
+in love with the girl, although she is promised to her benefactor,
+the Spanish Governor. On the very night before her wedding, Asterly
+tries to dissuade Pajarita from her marriage with some one other than
+an American, and then the romance, rivalry and adventure begin. The
+historical setting of the story is correct and the romance unfolds
+with dash and symmetry.
+
+
+
+
+WILD WINGS
+
+Margaret R. Piper
+
+Author of "Sylvia's Experiment," "The House on the Hill,"
+"Sylvia Arden Decides," etc.
+
+Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1.90
+
+In this "story of youth for grown-ups," the vigorous, happy Holiday
+youngsters who lived in the "House on the Hill" develop into keen,
+lovable young people, thoroughly worth knowing. To Tony, as brilliant and
+beautiful as a girl can well be and still be human, comes a successful
+theatrical career on Broadway, and a great love, and Larry grows into the
+industrious, reliant young doctor that one would expect him to be.
+
+Few writers today display the ability which Miss Piper does to "grow
+up" a large family of boys and girls, each with an individuality well
+developed and attractive, and her Holiday family holds a distinctive
+place in American fiction for young people today.
+
+As the charming characters work their way out of problems which face
+all young people of buoyant spirits and ambitions, WILD WINGS gives a
+definite message as to the happiest relationship between old and young.
+
+"There is a world of human nature and neighborhood contentment in
+Margaret R. Piper's books of good cheer. Her tales are well proportioned
+and subtly strong in their literary aspects and quality." _North
+American, Philadelphia._
+
+
+
+
+Selections from
+
+The Page Company's
+
+List of Fiction
+
+WORKS OF ELEANOR H. PORTER
+
+POLLYANNA: The GLAD Book (500,000) (Trade Mark)
+
+Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1.90
+
+Mr. Leigh Mitchell Hodges, The Optimist, in an editorial for the
+_Philadelphia North American_, says: "And when, after Pollyanna has
+gone away, you get her letter saying she is going to take 'eight
+steps' tomorrow--well, I don't know just what you may do, but I
+know of one person who buried his face in his hands and shook with the
+gladdest sort of sadness and got down on his knees and thanked the Giver
+of all gladness for Pollyanna."
+
+POLLYANNA: The GLAD Book. MARY PICKFORD EDITION (Trade Mark)
+
+Illustrated with thirty-two half-tone reproductions of scenes from the
+motion picture production, and a jacket with a portrait of Mary Pickford
+in color.
+
+Cloth decorative, 12mo, $2.25
+
+While preparing "Pollyanna" for the screen, Miss Pickford said
+enthusiastically that it was the best picture she had ever made in
+her life, and the success of the picture on the screen has amply
+justified her statement. Mary Pickford's interpretation of the beloved
+little heroine as shown in the illustrations, adds immeasurably to
+the intrinsic charm of this popular story.
+
+POLLYANNA GROWS UP: The Second GLAD Book, Trade Mark (250,000)
+
+Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1.90
+
+When the story of POLLYANNA told in The _Glad_ Book was ended, a great
+cry of regret for the vanishing "Glad Girl" went up all over the
+country--and other countries, too. Now POLLYANNA appears again, just as
+sweet and joyous-hearted, more grown up and more lovable.
+
+"Take away frowns! Put down the worries! Stop fidgeting and
+disagreeing and grumbling! Cheer up, everybody! POLLYANNA has come
+back!"--_Christian Herald._
+
+
+
+
+
+MISS BILLY (93rd thousand)
+
+Cloth decorative, with a frontispiece in full color from a painting by G.
+Tyng, $1.90
+
+"There is something altogether fascinating about 'Miss Billy,' some
+inexplicable feminine characteristic that seems to demand the individual
+attention of the reader from the moment we open the book until we
+reluctantly turn the last page."--_Boston Transcript._
+
+MISS BILLY'S DECISION (78th thousand)
+
+Cloth decorative, with a frontispiece in full color from a painting by
+Henry W. Moore, $1.90
+
+"The story is written in bright, clever style and has plenty of action
+and humor. Miss Billy is nice to know and so are her friends."--_New
+Haven Leader._
+
+MISS BILLY--MARRIED (86th thousand)
+
+Cloth decorative, with a frontispiece in full color from a painting by W.
+Haskell Coffin, $1.90
+
+"Although Pollyanna is the only copyrighted glad girl, Miss Billy is
+just as glad as the younger figure and radiates just as much gladness.
+She disseminates joy so naturally that we wonder why all girls are not
+like her."--_Boston Transcript._
+
+SIX STAR RANCH (45th thousand)
+
+Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated by R. Farrington Elwell, $1.90
+
+"'Six Star Ranch' bears all the charm of the author's genius and
+is about a little girl down in Texas who practices the 'Pollyanna
+Philosophy' with irresistible success. The book is one of the kindliest
+things, if not the best, that the author of the Pollyanna books has
+done. It is a welcome addition to the fast-growing family of _Glad_
+Books."--_Howard Russell Bangs in the Boston Post._
+
+CROSS CURRENTS
+
+Cloth decorative, illustrated, $1.50
+
+"To one who enjoys a story of life as it is to-day, with its sorrows
+as well as its triumphs, this volume is sure to appeal."--_Book News
+Monthly._
+
+THE TURN OF THE TIDE
+
+Cloth decorative, illustrated, $1.50
+
+"A very beautiful book showing the influence that went to the
+development of the life of a dear little girl into a true and good
+woman."--_Herald and Presbyter, Cincinnati, Ohio._
+
+
+
+
+NOVELS BY ELIOT HARLOW ROBINSON
+
+A book which has established its author in the front rank of American
+novelists.
+
+SMILES, A ROSE OF THE CUMBERLANDS (26th thousand)
+
+Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1.90
+
+Smiles is a girl who has already made many friends and is destined
+to make many more. Her real name is Rose, but the rough folk of the
+Cumberlands preferred their own way of addressing her, for her smile
+was so bright and winning that no other name suited her so well.
+
+"This is the best book I have ever illustrated for any publisher. I have
+tried to make the pictures all that you hoped for them."--_H. Weston
+Taylor._
+
+E. J. Anderson, former managing Editor of the Boston _Advertiser_ and
+_Record_, is enthusiastic over the story and says:
+
+"I have read 'Smiles' in one reading. After starting it I could
+not put it down. Never in my life have I read a book like this that
+thrilled me half as much, and never have I seen a more masterful piece
+of writing."
+
+THE MAID OF MIRABELLE: A Romance of Lorraine
+
+Illustrated with reproductions of sketches made by the author, and with a
+portrait of "The Maid of Mirabelle," from a painting by Neale Ordayne,
+on the cover.
+
+Cloth decorative, 12mo, $1.90
+
+A story of human and heart interest. The "Maid," Joan, is a personality
+just as real and lovable as was Smiles.
+
+"The spirit of all the book is the bubbling, the irrepressibly
+indomitable, cheerful faith of the people, at their very best, against
+the grave Quakerism from the United States standing out grimly but
+faithfully. The tale is simply, but strongly told."--_Montreal Family
+Herald and Weekly Star._
+
+MAN PROPOSES; Or, The Romance of John Alden Shaw
+
+Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1.90
+
+"This is first of all a charming romance, distinguished by a fine
+sentiment of loyalty to an ideal, by physical courage, indomitable
+resolution to carry to success an altruistic undertaking, a splendid
+woman's devotion, and by a vein of spontaneous, sparkling humor that
+offsets its more serious phases."--_Springfield Republican._
+
+
+
+
+THE ROMANCES OF L. M. MONTGOMERY
+
+Each one volume, cloth decorative, 12mo, $1.90
+
+ANNE OF GREEN GABLES (355th thousand)
+
+Illustrated by M. A. and W. A. J. Claus.
+
+"In 'Anne of Green Gables' you will find the dearest and most moving
+and delightful child since the immortal Alice."--_Mark Twain in a letter
+to Francis Wilson._
+
+"I take it as a great test of the worth of the book that while the young
+people are rummaging all over the house looking for Anne, the head of the
+family has carried her off to read on his way to town."--_Bliss Carman._
+
+ANNE OF AVONLEA (255th thousand)
+
+Illustrated by George Gibbs.
+
+"Here we have a book as human as 'David Harum,' a heroine who
+outcharms a dozen princesses of fiction, and reminds you of some sweet
+girl you know, or knew back in the days when the world was young."--_San
+Francisco Bulletin._
+
+CHRONICLES OF AVONLEA (43d thousand)
+
+Illustrated by George Gibbs.
+
+"The author shows a wonderful knowledge of humanity, great insight and
+warmheartedness in the manner in which some of the scenes are treated,
+and the sympathetic way the gentle peculiarities of the characters are
+brought out."--_Baltimore Sun._
+
+ANNE OF THE ISLAND (65th thousand)
+
+Illustrated by H. Weston Taylor.
+
+"It has been well worth while to watch the growing up of Anne, and the
+privilege of being on intimate terms with her throughout the process has
+been properly valued. The once little girl of Green Gables should have a
+permanent fictional place of high yet tender esteem."--_New York Herald._
+
+FURTHER CHRONICLES OF AVONLEA (20th thousand).
+
+Illustrated by John Goss.
+
+Nathan Haskell Dole compares Avonlea to Longfellow's Grand Pre--and
+says, "There is something in these continued chronicles of Avonlea like
+the delicate art which has made Cranford a classic."
+
+"The reader has dipped into but one or two stories when he realizes that
+the author is the most natural story teller of the day."--_Salt Lake
+City Citizen._
+
+
+
+
+WORKS OF L. M. MONTGOMERY (Continued)
+
+ANNE OF GREEN GABLES: The Mary Miles Minter Edition
+
+Illustrated with twenty-four half-tone reproductions of scenes from the
+motion picture production, and a jacket in colors with Miss Minter's
+portrait.
+
+Cloth decorative, 12mo, $2.25
+
+"You pass from tears to laughter as the story unfolds, and there is
+never a moment's hesitation in admitting that Anne has completely won
+your heart."--_Joe Mitchell Chapple, Editor, The National Magazine._
+
+"Mary Miles Minter's 'Anne' on the screen is worthy of Mark Twain's
+definition of her as the 'dearest and most moving and delightful child
+since the immortal "Alice."'"--_Cambridge Tribune._
+
+KILMENY OF THE ORCHARD (52d thousand)
+
+Illustrated by George Gibbs. Cloth decorative, 12mo, $1.90
+
+"A purely idyllic love story full of tender sentiment, redolent with
+the perfume of rose leaves and breathing of apple blossoms and the sweet
+clover of twilight meadow-lands."--_San Francisco Bulletin._
+
+"A story born in the heart of Arcadia and brimful of the sweet and
+simple life of the primitive environment."--_Boston Herald._
+
+=THE STORY GIRL (46th thousand)=
+
+Illustrated by George Gibbs. Cloth decorative, 12mo, $1.90
+
+"It will be read and, we venture to predict, reread many times, for
+there is a freshness and sweetness about it which will help to lift the
+load of care, to cheer the weary and to make brighter still the life
+of the carefree and the happy."--_Toronto, Can., Globe._
+
+"'The Story Girl' is of decidedly unusual conception and interest,
+and will rival the author's earlier books in popularity."--_Chicago
+Western Trade Journal._
+
+THE GOLDEN ROAD (28th thousand)
+
+Illustrated by George Gibbs. Cloth decorative, 12mo, $1.90
+
+In which it is proven that "Life was a rose-lipped comrade with purple
+flowers dripping from her fingers."
+
+"It is a simple, tender tale, touched to higher notes, now and then, by
+delicate hints of romance, tragedy and pathos. Any true-hearted human
+being might read this book with enjoyment, no matter what his or her age,
+social status, or economic place."--_Chicago Record-Herald._
+
+
+
+
+NOVELS BY ISLA MAY MULLINS
+
+Each, one volume, cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1.75
+
+THE BLOSSOM SHOP: A Story of the South
+
+"Frankly and wholly romance is this book, and lovable--as is a fairy
+tale properly told."--_Chicago Inter-Ocean._
+
+ANNE OF THE BLOSSOM SHOP: Or, the Growing Up of Anne Carter
+
+"A charming portrayal of the attractive life of the South, refreshing as
+a breeze that blows through a pine forest."--_Albany Times-Union._
+
+ANNE'S WEDDING
+
+"Presents a picture of home life that is most appealing in love and
+affection."--_Every Evening, Wilmington, Del._
+
+THE MT. BLOSSOM GIRLS
+
+"In the writing of the book the author is at her best as a story teller.
+It is a fitting climax to the series."--_Reader._
+
+TWEEDIE: The Story of a True Heart
+
+"The story itself is full of charm and one enters right into the very
+life of Tweedie and feels as if he had indeed been lifted into an
+atmosphere of unselfishness, enthusiasm and buoyant optimism."--_Boston
+Ideas._
+
+NOVELS BY DAISY RHODES CAMPBELL
+
+THE FIDDLING GIRL
+
+Cloth decorative, illustrated $1.65
+
+"A thoroughly enjoyable tale, written in a delightful vein of
+sympathetic comprehension."--_Boston Herald._
+
+THE PROVING OF VIRGINIA
+
+Cloth decorative, illustrated           $1.65
+
+"A book which contributes so much of freshness, enthusiasm, and healthy
+life to offset the usual offerings of modern fiction, deserves all the
+praise which can be showered upon it."--_Kindergarten Review._
+
+THE VIOLIN LADY
+
+Cloth decorative, illustrated           $1.65
+
+"The author's style remains simple and direct, as in her preceding
+books."--_Boston Transcript._
+
+
+
+
+DETECTIVE STORIES BY GEORGE BARTON
+
+Each one volume, cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1.75
+
+THE PEMBROKE MASON AFFAIR
+
+"Not until the end will the reader ever surmise how Mason was murdered.
+An absorbing and thrilling story."--_Cleveland Topics._
+
+THE MYSTERY OF THE RED FLAME
+
+"An admirable story--an engaging story of love, mystery and
+adventure."--_The Philadelphia Inquirer._
+
+THE STRANGE ADVENTURES OF BROMLEY BARNES
+
+"It would be difficult to find a collection of more interesting tales of
+mystery so well told. The author is crisp, incisive and inspiring. The
+book is the best of its kind in recent years and adds to the author's
+already high reputation."--_New York Tribune._
+
+THE AMBASSADOR'S TRUNK
+
+"Mr. Barton is in the front rank of the writers of mystery stories, and
+this is one of his best."--_Pittsburgh Chronicle._
+
+"The book is of the good red-blood type, with few dull lines and
+stirring action and episodes in almost every page."--_Montreal Herald._
+
+BUSINESS NOVELS BY HAROLD WHITEHEAD
+
+Professor of Sales Relations, The College of Business Administration,
+Boston University
+
+Each one volume, cloth, 12mo, illustrated, $1.75
+
+DAWSON BLACK, RETAIL MERCHANT
+
+"Contains much that it would profit a young merchant to know and its
+fictional interest makes a strong appeal."--_New York Tribune._
+
+THE BUSINESS CAREER OF PETER FLINT
+
+"Peter Flint is certainly a marvel.... His career reveals a most
+remarkable metamorphosis from incapacity, stubbornness, and what seemed
+a chronic inclination to fall down on every job which he undertook,
+to an amazing exposition of business capacity and skill."--_Boston
+Transcript._
+
+
+
+
+NOVELS BY MARGARET R. PIPER
+
+SYLVIA'S EXPERIMENT: The Cheerful Book (Trade Mark)
+
+Cloth decorative, with a frontispiece in full color $1.75
+
+"An atmosphere of good spirits pervades the book; the humor that now
+and then flashes across the page is entirely natural."--_Boston Post._
+
+SYLVIA OF THE HILL TOP: The Second Cheerful Book (Trade Mark)
+
+Cloth decorative, with a frontispiece in full color $1.75
+
+"There is a world of human nature and neighborhood contentment and
+quaint quiet humor in Margaret R. Piper's second book of good
+cheer."--_Philadelphia North American._
+
+"Sylvia proves practically that she is a messenger of joy to
+humanity."--_The Post Express, Rochester, N. Y._
+
+SYLVIA ARDEN DECIDES: The Third Cheerful Book (Trade Mark)
+
+Cloth decorative, with a frontispiece in full color $1.75
+
+"Its ease of style, its rapidity, its interest from page to page, are
+admirable; and it shows that inimitable power--the storyteller's gift
+of verisimilitude. Its sureness and clearness are excellent, and its
+portraiture clear and pleasing."--_The Reader._
+
+FICTION FOR YOUNGER READERS BY MARGARET R. PIPER
+
+THE HOUSE ON THE HILL
+
+By Margaret R. Piper.
+
+Cloth decorative, illustrated $1.75
+
+"'The House on the Hill' presents higher ideals of service and
+life for boys and girls, and the charming characters worked their way
+out of problems which face all young people of buoyant spirits and
+ambition."--_Buffalo News._
+
+"The story is a delightful one, with all kinds of interesting adventures
+and characters."--_Sunday Leader._
+
+THE PRINCESS AND THE CLAN
+
+By Margaret R. Piper.
+
+Cloth decorative, illustrated by John Goss $1.75
+
+"This is a delightful story for young and old, wholesome and uplifting.
+The chief charm of the story lies in its simplicity,"--_Philadelphia
+North American._
+
+
+
+
+NOVELS BY MARY ELLEN CHASE
+
+THE GIRL FROM THE BIG HORN COUNTRY
+
+Cloth, 12mo, illustrated by E. Farrington Elwell, $1.75
+
+"'The Girl from the Big Horn Country' tells how Virginia Hunter, a
+bright, breezy, frank-hearted 'girl of the Golden West' comes out of
+the Big Horn country of Wyoming to the old Bay State. Then things begin,
+when Virginia--who feels the joyous, exhilarating call of the Big Horn
+wilderness and the outdoor life--attempts to become acclimated and adopt
+good old New England 'ways.'"--_Critic._
+
+VIRGINIA, OF ELK CREEK VALLEY
+
+Cloth, 12mo, illustrated by E. Farrington Elwell, $1.75
+
+"This story is fascinating, alive with constantly new and fresh
+interests and every reader will enjoy the novel for its freshness, its
+novelty and its inspiring glimpses of life with nature."--_The Editor._
+
+NOVELS BY OTHER AUTHORS
+
+THE GOLDEN DOG. A Romance of Quebec
+
+By William Kirby. (45th thousand.)
+
+Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated by J. W. Kennedy, $1.90
+
+"A powerful romance of love, intrigue and adventure in the times of
+Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour."--_Boston Herald._
+
+SHE STANDS ALONE
+
+Being the story of Pilate's wife.
+
+By Mark Ashton.
+
+Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1.75
+
+Few novels of the present day can stand comparison with this remarkable
+book, which must be ranked in modern literature dealing with the early
+Christian era as only second to "Ben Hur."
+
+THE ROAD TO LE REVE
+
+By Brewer Corcoran.
+
+Cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated by H. Weston Taylor, $1.90
+
+"A romance of vivid interest, a love story full of youth, the great
+outdoors and adventures that thrill. The dialogue is unusually clever,
+the characters delightfully real, the plot one that holds the reader's
+interest to the end."--_New York Sun._
+
+
+
+
+THE FAMOUS SEA STORIES OF HERMAN MELVILLE
+
+MOBY DICK; Or, The White Whale
+
+TYPEE. A Real Romance of the South Sea
+
+OMOO. A Narrative of Adventures in the South Seas; a sequel to TYPEE
+
+WHITE JACKET; Or, The World on a Man-of-War
+
+Each one volume, cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated $1.90
+
+The recent centenary of Herman Melville created renewed interest in his
+famous sea stories.
+
+"Melville wove human element and natural setting into recitals which
+aroused the enthusiasm of critics and sent a thrill of delight through
+the reading public when first published, and which both for form and
+matter have ever since held rank as classics in the literature of
+travel."--_Boston Herald._
+
+DETECTIVE STORIES BY ARTHUR MORRISON
+
+Each one volume, cloth decorative, 12mo, illustrated, $1.75
+
+THE GREEN DIAMOND
+
+"A clever, ingenious story, with just the right combination of detective
+skill and mystery and with a touch of Oriental mysticism."--_Kansas
+City Star._
+
+THE RED TRIANGLE
+
+"The reader who has a grain of imagination may be defied to lay
+this book down, once he has begun it, until the last word has been
+reached."--_Boston Journal._
+
+"It is a splendid story of the kind that cannot fail to
+interest."--_Detroit Journal._
+
+THE CHRONICLES OF MARTIN HEWITT
+
+"The story is told in a forceful, straightforward style, which gives it
+impressive realism."--_Boston Herald._
+
+"The story is well-written, unique, quite out of the usual order,
+and a vein of mystery running through it that is most
+captivating."--_Christian Intelligencer._
+
+
+
+
+HISTORICAL ROMANCES OF NATHAN GALLIZIER
+
+THE LEOPARD PRINCE
+
+Cloth decorative, large 12mo, illustrated in color, $2.00
+
+"With a vividness that is electrifying and a mastery of emotion that
+thrills, Mr. Gallizier has written this story of Italy--a romance of
+Venice in the fourteenth century."--_The Lookout, Cincinnati, Ohio._
+
+UNDER THE WITCHES' MOON
+
+Cloth decorative, large 12mo, illustrated in color, $2.00
+
+"A highly colored romance of mediaeval Italy with a most interesting
+background."--_New York World._
+
+THE CRIMSON GONDOLA
+
+Cloth decorative, large 12mo, illustrated in color, $2.00
+
+"Mr. Gallizier is unusually strong in the use of description, and
+conveys vividly the gorgeous decadence and luxury of the sybaritic
+city."--_Los Angeles Sunday Times._
+
+THE HILL OF VENUS
+
+Cloth decorative, large 12mo, illustrated in color, $2.00
+
+This is a vivid and powerful romance of the thirteenth century in the
+times of the great Ghibelline wars.
+
+"It is vibrant with action and overflowing with human emotions
+throughout."--_Wilmington Every Evening._
+
+THE COURT OF LUCIFER
+
+Cloth decorative, large 12mo, illustrated in color, $2.00
+
+"The book is breathless reading, as much for the adventures, the
+pageants, the midnight excursions of the minor characters, as for
+the love story of the prince and Donna Lucrezia."--_Boston Transcript._
+
+THE SORCERESS OF ROME
+
+Cloth decorative, large 12mo, illustrated in color, $2.00
+
+"A splendid bit of old Roman mosaic, or a gorgeous piece of tapestry.
+Otto is a striking and pathetic figure. Description of the city, the
+gorgeous ceremonials of the court and the revels are a series of
+wonderful pictures."--_Cincinnati Enquirer._
+
+CASTEL DEL MONTE
+
+Cloth decorative, large 12mo, illustrated, $2.00
+
+"There is color; there is sumptuous word-painting in these pages;
+the action is terrific at times; vividness and life are in every part;
+and brilliant descriptions entertain the reader and give a singular
+fascination to the tale."--_Grand Rapids Herald._
+
+
+
+
+WORKS OF GABRIELE D'ANNUNZIO
+
+Signor d'Annunzio is known throughout the world as a poet and a
+dramatist, but above all as a novelist, for it is in his novels that
+he is at his best. In poetic thought and graceful expression he has few
+equals among the writers of the day.
+
+He is engaged on a most ambitious work--nothing less than the writing of
+nine novels which cover the whole field of human sentiment. This work he
+has divided into three trilogies, and five of the nine books have been
+published. It is to be regretted that other labors have interrupted the
+completion of the series.
+
+"This book is realistic. Some say that it is brutally so. But the
+realism is that of Flaubert, and not of Zola. There is no plain
+speaking for the sake of plain speaking. Every detail is justified in
+the fact that it illuminates either the motives or the actions of the
+man and woman who here stand revealed. It is deadly true. The author
+holds the mirror up to nature, and the reader, as he sees his own
+experiences duplicated in passage after passage, has something of the
+same sensation as all of us know on the first reading of George
+Meredith's 'Egoist.' Reading these pages is like being out in the
+country on a dark night in a storm. Suddenly a flash of lightning
+comes and every detail of your surroundings is revealed."--_Review of
+"The Triumph of Death" in the New York Evening Sun._
+
+The volumes published are as follows. Each 1 vol., library 12mo, cloth,
+$1.75
+
+THE ROMANCES OF THE ROSE
+
+  THE CHILD OF PLEASURE (Il Piacere)
+  THE INTRUDER (L'Innocente)
+  THE TRIUMPH OF DEATH (Il Trionfo della Morte)
+
+THE ROMANCES OF THE LILY
+
+  THE MAIDENS OF THE ROCKS (Le Vergini delle Rocce)
+
+THE ROMANCES OF THE POMEGRANATE
+
+  THE FLAME OF LIFE (Il Fuoco)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Triumph of Virginia Dale, by John Francis, Jr.
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TRIUMPH OF VIRGINIA DALE ***
+
+***** This file should be named 34575.txt or 34575.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/3/4/5/7/34575/
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