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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/38006-0.txt b/38006-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8ea36df --- /dev/null +++ b/38006-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7654 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Heatherford Fortune, by Mrs. Georgie Sheldon + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and +most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you +will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before +using this eBook. + +Title: The Heatherford Fortune + a sequel to the Magic Cameo + +Author: Mrs. Georgie Sheldon + +Release Date: November 13, 2011 [eBook #38006] +[Most recently updated: May 11, 2021] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +Produced by: Darleen Dove, Shannon Barker, Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HEATHERFORD FORTUNE *** + + + + +The Heatherford Fortune + +A SEQUEL TO THE MAGIC CAMEO + +_By_ MRS. GEORGIE SHELDON + +AUTHOR OF + +"Tina," "The Lily of Mordaunt," "Mona," "Little Miss Whirlwind," etc. + +[Illustration: Decoration] + +A. L. BURT COMPANY PUBLISHERS NEW YORK + + * * * * * + +Popular Books + +By MRS. GEORGIE SHELDON + +In Handsome Cloth Binding + +Price per Volume, 60 Cents + + +Brownie's Triumph +Earl Wayne's Nobility +Churchyard Betrothal, The +Edrie's Legacy +Faithful Shirley +For Love and Honor + Sequel to Geoffrey's Victory +Forsaken Bride, The +Geoffrey's Victory +Golden Key, The; or a Heart's Silent Worship +Heatherford Fortune, The + Sequel to The Magic Cameo +He Loves Me For Myself +Helen's Victory +Her Faith Rewarded + Sequel to Faithful Shirley +Her Heart's Victory + Sequel to Max +Heritage of Love, A + Sequel to The Golden Key +Hoiden's Conquest, A +How Will It End + Sequel to Marguerite's Heritage +Lily of Mordaunt, The +Little Miss Whirlwind; or Lost for Twenty Years +Lost, A Pearle +Love's Conquest + Sequel to Helen's Victory +Love Victorious, A +Magic Cameo, The +Marguerite's Heritage +Masked Bridal, The +Max, A Cradle Mystery +Mona +Nora, or The Missing Heir of Callonby +Sibyl's Influence +Threads Gathered Up + Sequel to Virgie's Inheritance +Thrice Wedded +Tina +Trixy, or The Shadow of a Crime +True Aristocrat, A +True Love's Reward +Virgie's Inheritance +Wedded By Fate + +For Sale by all Booksellers or will be sent postpaid on receipt of price + +A. L. BURT COMPANY, PUBLISHERS 52 Duane Street New York + +Copyright, 1898 and 1899 BY STREET & SMITH + +THE HEATHERFORD FORTUNE + + * * * * * + +The Heatherford Fortune. + +A SEQUEL TO "THE MAGIC CAMEO." + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +MOLLIE FINDS A FRIEND. + + +Mollie Heatherford had thought no more of her brave act, by which, at +the risk of her life, she had saved the child Lucille from being +trampled to death under the hoofs of the pawing horses. + +The next morning she was greatly surprised to receive a letter from a +gentleman--Monsieur Jules Lamonti, by name--who said he was the +grandfather of little Lucille, and who, after expressing his gratitude +in most heartfelt terms, requested permission to call upon her at her +earliest convenience. + +The missive was written in French, and evidently by a highly cultured +gentleman, and Mollie felt that it would only be courteous to grant the +interview so earnestly solicited. She accordingly responded immediately, +and named an hour of the following morning for Monsieur Lamonti to call, +if the time should be convenient for him. + +She was somewhat disappointed that he did not keep the appointment, but +the next day, at the specified hour, a magnificent equipage, with +coachman and footman in cream-colored liveries, dashed to the door and +stopped. + +Presently an elderly gentleman, of apparently sixty years, with +snow-white hair and beard, his somewhat bowed and attenuated form clad +in the finest of garments, alighted. He was a trifle lame, and depended, +in a measure, upon a cane which, Mollie observed, had a massive gold +head, curiously carved. + +Eliza answered his ring and admitted him to the small parlor, then took +the visitor's card, bearing the name "M. Jules Lamonti," to her young +mistress. + +Mollie did not keep her caller waiting, to make any change in her +toilet, for she made it a point to be always neatly, if simply, clad; +and, entering his presence with perfect composure, greeted him with a +charming ease and grace of manner. + +She saw at a glance that he was an aristocrat; but that did not disturb +her in the least. + +He bowed low before her as he responded to her greeting; then, in a +voice that was tremulous from deep emotion, he observed in very fair +English: + +"Mademoiselle Heatherford has laid on me an obligation everlasting. Ah! +but my poor heart would have been broken if I the little one had lost." + +Mollie, realizing that it would be much easier for him to express +himself in his own language, responded in purest of French, disclaiming +all thought of obligation, and concluded by inquiring if little Lucille +had experienced any ill effects from her accident. The Frenchman was +delighted to find that his hostess could converse with him in his +mother-tongue, and his face beamed with pleasure. + +"You speak French, mademoiselle!" he exclaimed. "Ah! that is delightful! +Now we will talk without any difficulty, for I mix your language so +badly. No, Lucille was not hurt. She is perfectly well, and as bright as +the morning. But, Mon Dieu! I tremble when I think what might have been +to-day but for you," he interposed, growing so white that Mollie was +startled. "It was very brave, Mademoiselle Heatherford--it was grand! +They tell me you went straight in under that powerful, frightened brute +to save my precious child. You are a heroine, mademoiselle, and now I +have come to ask you what I shall do to prove my everlasting gratitude." + +Mollie flushed and smiled as he called her a "heroine." The word always +thrilled her--as she once told her father. It was like a strain of music +in her ears. + +"Please, monsieur, do not speak of any return for what was simply a +humane act," she gently returned; "I am more than recompensed in knowing +that your dear little grandchild escaped unhurt. And how is poor +Nannette to-day? She was greatly frightened and distressed, and I felt +very sorry for her." + +A frown darkened Monsieur Lamonti's face, and his eyes flashed with +sudden anger at the mention of the bonne. + +"Nannette shall go away--I will not trust my beautiful one with her ever +again," he said sternly. "Ah! if she had been killed! Mon Dieu! I tell +you I could not have survived; she is all I have, mademoiselle, the +only child of my only daughter--ah! but I cannot talk of it," he +concluded brokenly, and trembling visibly. + +"But, monsieur, it is all over--she is safe, and let us rejoice that all +is well," soothingly replied Mollie. "And I am sure," she added +confidently, "that Nannette will be very careful in the future. This +will be a lesson to her, and I would have far more confidence in her now +than in a strange maid. She seemed like a good girl and very fond of the +little one, while she bewailed her carelessness with sincere sorrow." + +"There is truth in what you say," the gentleman returned, after a moment +of thought. "Nannette has been a good girl--she is faithful, as a rule, +and Lucille loves her. I shall consider what you have said, +mademoiselle, and Nannette will have cause to be grateful to you." + +"Thank you. I should feel sorry to have her lose her situation; at the +same time I can understand your anxiety, and she should be required to +promise to be very careful in the future." + +Mollie and her caller drifted to other subjects after that and chatted +of many things--of Europe in general, of Paris in particular. Monsieur +Lamonti was charmed with the beautiful girl, while she was no less +delighted with his courtly manner, his culture and brilliant +conversation, and was sincerely sorry when he arose to take his leave. + +"Adieu, mademoiselle," he said, holding out his slim, aristocratic hand; +"it is a great pleasure to have met you--you know my country so well; +you speak my language so beautifully; while, for yesterday, I shall +always cherish you in most grateful remembrance. Ah! but to me that is +like sounding brass," he interposed, with a dissatisfied shrug of his +shoulders and in a regretful tone. Then, as his keen eyes swept the +graceful figure in its simple cambric dress, he added: "Is mademoiselle +sure that I cannot serve her in any way?" + +Mollie glanced up quickly at him, as a thought suddenly flashed through +her mind, and a bright flush suffused her face as she asked herself if +she dare put the thought into words. There was something his expressive +face, in the sincerity of his speech and his refinement and courtesy, +that inspired her with confidence in him. + +"Monsieur, there is one way in which, possibly, you might aid me," she +began, with some reluctance. + +"Name it, mademoiselle!--by all means name it!" Monsieur Lamonti eagerly +interposed. + +"To do that I shall have to open my heart to you a little," Mollie +continued, with a slight quiver of her sweet lips. + +"Ah! mademoiselle honors me," said the gentleman, with a grave and +courteous bow. + +"Monsieur," the fair girl resumed, flushing again, but with her lovely +eyes steadfastly gazing into his, for she had no false shame on account +of her poverty, "I have recently been reduced to the necessity of +supporting myself and my father, who is a hopeless invalid; but I am +unable to obtain a position. If monsieur could assist me in this +respect, I should be very grateful, for the need is urgent." + +Her companion regarded her with admiration. She looked like a young +queen, in spite of her surroundings and the simplicity of her apparel. +Her face was grave and sweet, but strong with the noble purpose that +animated her; her shining hair was like a coronet of gold above her +brow, and she bore herself with a quiet dignity and air of self-respect +that must have commanded the esteem of any one. + +"And what is mademoiselle fitted for--what is the position which she +would like best of all?" Monsieur Lamonti inquired. + +"I hardly know," Mollie thoughtfully returned. "I have a good education, +and I could teach, if I could find an opening. As you perceive, I can +speak French." + +"Mademoiselle's accent is perfect," interposed her listener. + +"I am equally familiar with German," she resumed, with an appreciative +smile at his compliment; "I studied in Heidelberg two years, and there +are some other branches which I think I may truthfully say I am +competent to teach." + +The man was silent for a moment or two after she ceased, evidently +considering some thought which had suggested itself to him. Then he +broke forth with the characteristic impulse of his nationality: + +"Ah! to teach--it is a slave's life!" he said. "The nerves they cannot +bear it, unless indeed mademoiselle has nerves of steel. I tell her what +she shall do. I know exactly the position and it is for mademoiselle's +acceptance if it meets her approval. She speaks French like the native +of Paris; would she take the place of a private secretary, to write +four hours a day for a French gentleman?" + +Mollie's heart leaped with joy at such a prospect. It seemed very +inviting, particularly the "four hours a day," which would leave her +much time to be with her dear sick one. But was she competent? That was +a question that seemed important, and for the moment she did not know +what to say. + +"Mademoiselle hesitates, and she is quite right," said her companion, +coming to the rescue. "I will explain: The gentleman's secretary was +discharged three days ago for betraying the affairs of his employer, who +not yet has been able to find another to take his place, and the +correspondence is piling up with every mail. It is important that the +letters should be answered. Mademoiselle speaks and writes German also? +Good! There will be German correspondence, too. The remuneration has +been four hundred and fifty francs--or ninety dollars of American +money--monthly. Will Mademoiselle consider the offer?" he concluded with +some eagerness. + +"It is certainly very tempting," Mollie smilingly replied, and with +rapidly beating pulses, "and I should not hesitate an instant if----" + +"Well?" + +"If I was sure I could fill the position acceptably and the gentleman is +willing to substitute a woman for the clerk who has hitherto served +him." + +"The latter doubt is easily dispelled, Mademoiselle, since I myself am +the anxious seeker for a trustworthy secretary. Regarding the ability, a +few days' trial will settle that point, and the requirements are +perfect and fluent French and German, and fidelity to the employer's +interests. I shall be pleased if Mademoiselle will come for a week and +try." + +"Monsieur Lamonti, I will, and I thank you more than I can express; for +this offer is very opportune, I assure you," said Mollie, her lips +trembling in spite of her efforts at self-control. "I will gladly make +the trial, and I will certainly do my best to please you in every way." + +"And when will Mademoiselle oblige me by beginning her duties?" queried +Monsieur Lamonti. + +"I am sure, from what you have said, that I am needed at once, and I +will come to-morrow at any hour which you may choose to name," Mollie +replied. + +"And that is considerate," returned the gentleman in a gratified tone. +"Then at nine, if that will not inconvenience Mademoiselle, and the +address she will find here." + +He drew a card-case from his pocket and presented her a card which had +his business address upon it. Then bidding her a courteous "au revoir," +he bowed himself out with as much ceremony as if he were leaving a +drawing-room, and a moment later his elegant equipage was rolling +rapidly down the street, while Mollie still stood in the middle of the +room, wondering if the interview had not been all a dream. + +She could scarcely credit the evidence of her senses. Ninety dollars a +month! It seemed too good to be true, and like a smile from fortune to +her, when, of late, she had been so anxiously counting even her pennies. +A great burden rolled from her heart and a luminous smile illumed her +face, although there were tears in her eyes. + +"At last," she murmured, "I am to know what it means to be of some +practical use in the world, and I will do my very best." + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +MOLLIE A BREAD-WINNER. + + +It was a strange experience for this hitherto delicately nurtured girl +to go out into the world and work to support herself and her father, who +had always so watchfully shielded her from every care; who had scarce +allowed her to express a wish before it was gratified, and almost +surfeited her with the luxuries of life. + +But she met it bravely. She did not once say to herself that it was a +hardship--she did not even feel it to be such. The heroic element was +strong in her nature, and it showed itself grandly now in this +emergency. + +The one thing that did seem hard and cruel to her was the fact that her +dear father was beyond realizing her good fortune and sympathizing with +her in her joy that a future of comparative comfort was assured them, if +she should prove herself competent to retain the position which Monsieur +Lamonti had offered her. She did not feel much doubt upon this point, +for she was sure that he would be very considerate until she became +accustomed to her duties, and she was determined to master every +difficulty and acquit herself with satisfaction. + +She presented herself in his office a few minutes before nine o'clock +the next morning and found him awaiting her. He received her with all +the courtesy which characterized his manner toward her the previous day +in her own home. + +"Mademoiselle is prompt; that is well," he smilingly observed, "and now, +if you please, we will attend directly to business, for it is urgent." + +He pointed to several piles of letters, lying unopened upon a desk, and +Mollie slipped into the chair before it and prepared to give her +undivided attention to his instructions. + +He selected several epistles which demanded immediate replies, and, +after clearly explaining what her duty would be, left her to do the +work. Her task was not difficult. Monsieur Lamonti possessed the faculty +of being clear and concise in his directions, and with her natural +fluency of diction, her thorough knowledge of both French and German, +she found everything moving along very smoothly. + +The hours slipped swiftly by, and Mollie was greatly surprised when the +clock on the desk above her struck one, and Monsieur Lamonti, glancing +up at the sound, observed: + +"That will be all for to-day, Mademoiselle Heatherford, and everything +has been most satisfactory. Allow me to add that I regard myself as very +fortunate in securing such a helper." + +"Thank you, monsieur," replied Mollie gratefully. Then she added as she +glanced at the numerous missives still unopened upon both desks: "Pray +let me work another hour; I am not in the least weary." + +"But your luncheon, Mademoiselle," said the gentleman in a doubtful +tone. + +"I am not in the least hungry, either," said the fair girl, smiling. "I +seldom lunch before half-past one, and I shall not mind waiting thirty +minutes longer; while I am sure there is work here which is equally as +important as what I have already done." + +"Mademoiselle is right," returned monsieur, his thoughtful glance +following hers, "but this is your first day and you should not be +overtaxed." + +"Do not fear; I have not thought of being tired, and it will give me +pleasure to work another hour and continue to do so every day until the +ordinary routine of business is attained." + +She spoke with so much of sincerity, even eagerness, that Monsieur +Lamonti accepted the offer in the same spirit that it was made. At the +end of the hour Mollie was politely dismissed, and went home with a +light heart and with a feeling of importance that was as delightful as +it was novel. + +Every morning, promptly at nine o'clock, found her at her desk, where +for five hours she worked patiently and industriously for a week, when +Monsieur Lamonti informed her that his business had been reduced to its +normal condition, and there would be no more extra hours required. + +It was a proud moment for the beautiful girl when, as she was about to +leave the office, that gentleman handed her a check for the first money +she had ever earned in her life. She thanked him with a smile and flush +of pleasure; then, as she glanced at it and saw the amount, she started +slightly and exclaimed: + +"But monsieur! this is too much; you have made a mistake." + +"Pardon, mademoiselle; there is no mistake," quietly returned her +companion. "The check is for twenty-six dollars, is it not?" + +"Yes, monsieur." + +"Very good. The agreement was that mademoiselle should work four hours a +day for ninety dollars per month; but she has labored one extra hour +every day during this week, which calls for extra remuneration, and--as +near as can be estimated--the amount which the check represents," Mr. +Lamonti explained. + +"But, monsieur, I never thought--I did not intend----" Mollie faltered +in some confusion. + +"Very true--I understand," said the gentleman, smiling kindly into the +lovely face; "but it is only just compensation, and you will oblige me +by making no objection to it. I am also exceedingly obliged for the +accommodation and well pleased with your services. We shall go on very +nicely for the future." + +This was a delightful surprise, and she felt highly elated as she ran +about, before going home, to settle some small bills which she had been +obliged to contract, and to purchase a few luxuries for the invalid. + +As the weeks slipped by she became deeply interested in her work, and +had her father been well she would have been perfectly happy, for she +felt that she had now a more worthy object in life than that of living +for her own amusement and the demands of fashionable society, as +heretofore. + +She entertained a profound respect for Monsieur Lamonti, who was +invariably courteous and considerate, and never appeared to be ruffled +in the slightest degree, no matter how perplexing his business might be. + +She gradually learned considerable of his history, as from time to time +he referred to his past, and ascertained that his life had been full of +romance and sorrow. + +He belonged to a noble family of France, but had incurred the lasting +displeasure of his relatives by marrying contrary to their wishes and +was disinherited in consequence. But he loved his beautiful girl-wife +with all the strength of his manhood, and preferred exile and poverty a +thousand times with her, to fame and fortune without her. + +They had retired to a quiet little village immediately after their +marriage, and where, with a little money, together with unlimited energy +and perseverance, Monsieur Lamonti had perfected an invention which ere +long brought him large returns in sales and royalties, and at the end of +fifteen years he was the possessor of a large fortune. + +Then his wife was suddenly taken from him, leaving him with a lovely +daughter, fourteen years of age, and who now became all-in-all to his +almost broken heart. + +Wishing her to profit by the very best education which his country +afforded and her future position would demand, he transferred his +residence to Paris, where he remained for the ten succeeding years, and +where his daughter married a worthy young man, of whom he heartily +approved. + +Her child, the little Lucille, was born a year later, and she was only a +few months old when her mother's health began to fail and she was +ordered to Italy for change of scene and climate. She was accompanied by +her husband, but the child was left behind with Monsieur Lamonti and in +the care of an efficient nurse. + +Two months later, both father and mother were drowned during a terrible +gale while on a yachting excursion in the Mediteranean, and this tragic +event and terrible affliction nearly deprived him of his mind for a time +and aged him many years in appearance. But from that time all his +thought and affection was centered in his granddaughter, who was a +bright and promising child, and who, eventually, if she lived, would +become sole heiress to his immense fortune. + +When she was a year old certain interests connected with his invention +demanded Monsieur Lamonti's presence in America, while, during the last +few years, having become somewhat prominent in matters of a political +nature, he was elected a sort of charge d'affaires to conduct certain +negotiations of a delicate nature in this country, and which would +require the exercise of tact, judgment, and diplomacy. + +He had accepted the commission, more for the sake of having plenty to +occupy his mind and prevent him from dwelling upon his many sorrows, +than because he desired public office and emolument, hence his presence +in the nation's capital, where he had resided during the last two years. + +"Thus you will understand, mademoiselle," he had observed to Mollie with +a heavy sigh, when telling her something of his life, "how utterly +desolate I should have been to-day, if you had not so bravely risked +your life to save my little Lucille. The world would hold nothing for me +if I were to lose her--she is the one link that now holds me here--that +makes me prize in the least a life that has been full of sorrow. See!" +he interposed, touching the silvery locks above his temples. "I am not +yet quite fifty years of age, and any one would declare that I am more +than sixty." + +It was all very sad, Mollie thought--there were many sad and +incomprehensible things in life that were forcing themselves more and +more upon her observation of late, and she could not be reconciled to +them. If she could have known how she cheered the sorrow-burdened man +with her sweet and sunny presence--how like a ray of bright, warm +sunshine she seemed, whenever she appeared in his office, and that her +voice was, like Lucille's, as inspiring and soothing to him as a strain +of sweetest music, she would have been very happy. + +He frequently brought the child to the office, to make a little call +upon her, and the two soon began to grow very fond of each other. Then, +too, Monsieur Lamonti would often call for her in the afternoon to go +for a drive with them, and, upon several occasions, he had invited her +to be present when he made a small fete for his granddaughter, to assist +in entertaining the children, since he had no mistress in his home to +manage such festivities, and he had learned that she dearly loved little +ones. At such times he exerted himself to make the occasion pleasant for +her in other ways--by showing her works of art and numerous curios which +he had gathered from various portions of the world by playing various +instruments, for he was very talented in music and could play the organ, +harp, piano, and violin with more skill than many a professional while +he could talk of masters and artists, giving their history and merits, +with a fluency which proved him thoroughly posted in such matters. He +was also very thoughtful for Mr. Heatherford, often sending his carriage +to take him out for an airing, the coachman and footman being instructed +to show him every attention while wines, fruits, and other delicacies +for him mysteriously found their way into Eliza's domains. + +He also had learned much of the girl's past, previous to her +misfortunes; he studied her from day to day and learned to reverence the +strength of character and purity of purpose which were apparent in her +every act, and thus there grew up a strong and abiding friendship +between the fair young girl and the courtly Frenchman. + +One morning Mollie started forth, at the usual hour, to go to the +office, and for some reason she seemed brighter and happier than common. +She was in perfect health, there was an exquisite color in her cheeks, +her lips were like holly berries, and her eyes glowed with the hope and +vigor that belonged to her young life. + +She was clad in a golden-brown broadcloth costume, trimmed with narrow +bands of sable fur. It was one of the last dresses she had bought in +Paris, recently made over by a clever modiste--whom she had discovered +near her--and it fitted her exquisitely, showing her finely proportioned +figure to good advantage. Her hat matched her suit in color and was +brightened by the wing of a Baltimore oriole. In her well-gloved hands +she carried a rich, but modest pocketbook--another relic of the past, +and no one would have dreamed, as this stylish and elegantly clad young +woman stepped upon the street-car on her way to Monsieur Lamonti's +office, that she was working for her daily bread. + +She might have passed for the wife or daughter of some senator or other +distinguished official--although it was rather an early hour for the +elite to be abroad--and many an admiring eye lingered upon her bright +beauty. + +In the car her eye was attracted by a gentleman who was standing near +her. He was clinging to a strap overhead, and as Mollie's glance swept +over him and upward, along his arm to the hand above, her heart gave a +great startled bound, her cheeks flushed a vivid scarlet, and her eyes +darkened until they seemed almost black. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +MOLLIE MEETS HER HERO. + + +The gentleman who had attracted Mollie's attention was above the medium +height, broad-shouldered, erect, and with a fine, well-poised head which +was covered with dark-brown hair. He was nicely, though not richly clad, +although he looked the gentleman, every inch, while his bearing was as +quietly dignified and self-possessed as if he had been the possessor of +millions. + +He was standing with his back toward Mollie, and she could not see his +face, thus he was utterly unconscious of the beautiful eyes that were +resting upon him and also of the commotion which he had roused in the +heart of the possessor of those same lovely eyes. + +It was not the stalwart figure, nor the proud, nobly formed head, which +had especially attracted her attention. It was the strong and shapely +hand that was firmly grasping the strap above him and upon the little +finger of which he wore an exquisitely cut cameo ring. + +Mollie had recognized it instantly--she would have known it anywhere, +for it was the ring which she had given to Clifford Faxon, six years +previous, when, acting upon the impulse of the moment, she had sought +him out at New Haven to thank him, individually, for the lives he had +saved when, though only a farmer's bound boy, he had prevented a +terrible railroad wreck. + +Again, as on that occasion, she was strangely thrilled by his presence, +even though he was unconscious of her own. + +How she wished that he would turn his head so that she could obtain a +view of his face! She knew, well enough, that it was in keeping with the +splendid form before her and with what she knew of the character of the +man, but she wanted to see if she could trace familiar lines in it; if +it still wore the same frank, honest expression of six years ago; if the +magnificent brown eyes still retained their clear, earnest, +straightforward glance; if the lips wore the same genial smile. Then she +found herself wondering if he would remember her, or whether she had +changed so much that he would merely glance indifferently at her and +then pass her like any stranger. What right had she to think he would +recognize her? she mentally questioned with an impatient shrug of her +shoulders, the flush deepening again upon her cheeks. + +She had been only a miss in short dresses and one among the hundreds who +had been eager to honor him upon that occasion--to grasp him by the hand +and shower grateful thanks upon him. True she had given him the ring as +a souvenir, and told him she should love him all her life for what he +had done--how her face burned as she recalled those impulsive words--but +he had received from others what had doubtless proved to be a far more +useful and practical gift--the generous purse of money. + +But why did he wear the ring if he treasured no pleasant memory of the +giver? This thought set her heart to fluttering again in a way that was +highly foreign to the usual self-possession of the recent society belle, +but it was quickly followed by the somewhat mortifying reflection that +the cameo was a valuable and unique affair and quite a treasure of art +to possess. + +Every pulse thrilled anew when, as she signaled the conductor to stop, +she observed the young man preceding her, as if he also was about to +alight. Mollie followed closely, hoping that she might be fortunate +enough to get a view of his face. + +He stepped off the car, and paused to wait for it to pass on, before +crossing the street, as was evidently his intention. + +Mollie, with her thoughts full of the past, in which he had figured so +conspicuously, was a little heedless as she alighted, her foot turning +awkwardly, and she would have fallen if her "hero" had not sprung to her +side, and, with a courteous, "allow me," grasped her arm and saved her +from what might have been a painful accident. + +"Thank you very much," she said with a brilliant smile and blush, as she +recovered herself, and lifted her gleaming eyes to the handsome face +which she had so longed to see. + +The young man started at the sound of her voice, and then bent an +earnest look upon her, an expression of perplexity sweeping over his +features. Then, almost instantly, his countenance cleared, a glad, eager +light leaped into his eyes, which Mollie saw were unchanged, and there +was a repressed thrill of triumph in his tones as he earnestly observed: + +"I hope you are not hurt." + +"Not in the least, I assure you, and I owe it to your timely aid," +Mollie returned, an answering ring of joy in her own voice, as she saw +that he remembered her, in spite of the changes time had made in her. + +But, even though she realized that he was lingering with the hope that +she would make the first advances and reference to their former meeting, +as certainly belonged to her to do, a sudden and unaccountable shyness +seized her. She stooped to brush some dust that had adhered to her +skirt, then, with another smile and bow, she entered Monsieur Lamonti's +office. A moment later she bitterly repented having allowed the precious +opportunity to pass unimproved. + +"Why," she mentally exclaimed, with a sense of scorn for herself. "I +acted just like a bashful schoolgirl, and ought to be ashamed of myself. +It was my place, when I saw that he knew me, to recognize him. How +unappreciative and indifferent he must think me--how ill-mannered, when +I told him that day that I should never forget him. I am more sorry than +I can express, for perhaps he is in Washington only for a few days, and +I may never meet him again. How utterly stupid of me!" + +But in spite of these keen regrets, the girl's heart was unusually light +all day, for the "hero" of her girlhood had more than fulfilled her +anticipations; she had realized, during those few months, when they had +stood face to face, that he was strong and true and manly in the +highest acceptation of the terms; she believed that he was destined to +distinguish himself in the future, but what made her especially happy +was the fact that he had not forgotten her--that he had been glad to +meet her again, as both his look and tone had testified. + +With these reflections came the sudden revelation of her exact attitude +toward Philip Wentworth. The contrast between the two young men was +marked and suggestive. Phil was the pleasure-loving man of the world, +living only for what entertainment he could extract from life and +society. Clifford Faxon was the thoughtful, conscientious worker, with +some high and earnest purpose in view that would not only promote his +own individual interests, but also advance the standard of men and +methods in general, and Mollie now saw that she had never even been in +danger of loving Phil--that he was hardly worthy of even her respect, +and she almost scorned herself for having hesitated an instant when he +had declared his love for her, a little more than a year ago, during her +visit in Brookline. + +She had never seen him since leaving Boston, although he had often +asserted that he was "coming to Washington." His letters had been +growing few and far between, each one colder and more formal in its +tone. Not once had he renewed his protestations of love for her, +although there was a vein of assumption--a kind of taken-for-granted +style in his epistles which might be interpreted to mean much or +nothing; there certainly had been nothing tangible in them, and it had +been several months now since she last heard from him. But had he +remained as true as the needle to the pole, she knew now that she never +could have married him after this meeting with Clifford Faxon. + +"Oh, any one can see that he is head and shoulders above Phil, mentally, +morally, and, almost that, physically," she mused, as she recalled +Cliff's splendid physique, his thoughtful face and earnest eyes. "I hope +I shall meet him again some day," and the sigh that supplemented this +reflection told how deeply she regretted the lost opportunity of the +morning. + +Clifford Faxon himself was fully as much exercised in view of the +unexpected meeting and its unsatisfactory results. He had not observed +Mollie particularly at first, except that he had realized that some one +had made a misstep, and almost involuntarily he had tried to avert an +accident; but the instant she spoke, her tones had betrayed her to +him--he had never forgotten them. Many and many a time in his dreams, +both waking and sleeping, he had seemed to hear her silvery voice +vibrating with its thrill of fervent gratitude in those words so +indelibly stamped upon his heart: "You have saved my life--you have +saved all our lives, and it is such a wonderful--such a grand thing to +have done! I am very grateful to you, for my life is very bright. I love +to live. Oh, I cannot say half there is in my heart; but I shall never +forget you--I shall love you for your heroism of this day always." + +Then, as he had studied the lovely face, he had traced the +well-remembered features, even though she had changed and bloomed from +the slip of a girl in short dresses and with that shining braid of hair +hanging between her shoulders, into this beautiful and stylish young +woman, with her perfect form, her queenly carriage and elegant apparel. + +He saw that she had recognized him, for he had been quick to note the +light that had leaped into her eyes and the conscious flush that had +suffused her face, and, though he was disappointed, he was half-inclined +to believe what was really the truth, that a sudden shyness, produced by +the unexpected encounter, had alone caused her to refrain from referring +to their former meeting, and yet, believing her to be still the petted +child of fortune and far above him, socially, his sensitiveness +suggested that she might not now care to renew their acquaintance--if +such it could be called--in spite of her assurance that she should +"never forget him." + +He also had been in Washington for more than a year. He had come, as he +had told Maria Kimberly he contemplated doing, with Mr. Hamilton, who +had opened the ---- House the first of that season. He had served him +for nearly a year, and then, through the influence of some gentlemen who +were guests in the hotel, he had secured a government position, and was +proving himself so efficient he bade fair to rise still higher in the +service of the nation. + +It is rather remarkable that he and Mollie should never have met before +during all this time; but it was one of those happenings which can never +be accounted for. + +And even though they had at last encountered each other, he experienced +the same perplexity that Mollie had felt, not knowing whether she was +there merely for a few days, as a sightseer, and would immediately float +away again beyond his reach, or whether her father had some official +position and was residing in the city. It was all very tantalizing, +especially the fact that he did not even know her name. He had often +heard Mrs. Temple call her Mollie, and Philip Wentworth had refused to +tell him anything about her, except to boast that she was his fiancée. + +Then, as these memories crowded upon him, he caught his breath sharply +as a sudden, terrible fear took possession of him. Possibly this fair +Mollie, this gloriously beautiful girl, who was his ideal of all that +was perfect in womanhood, might already be Philip's wife, for only a day +or two previous the Temples had passed him on the street in their +carriage, and his former classmate was with them. + +When Mollie entered the office that morning she found it empty, Monsieur +Lamonti not having arrived, although he was almost invariably there +before her. He came a few moments later, however, but appeared sad and +preoccupied, and upon Mollie inquiring if he were ill he said no, but +that Lucille was far from well. She had been feverish and restless all +night. He had called a physician that morning, but he spoke lightly, +saying that her indisposition was only the effect of a slight cold, and +she would be all right in a day or two. + +But the gentleman was evidently very much disturbed, and finally +confessed to Mollie that he would be obliged to go to New York that +afternoon, and could not return until the next evening. The approaching +separation and suspense, he said, seemed almost unbearable, particularly +as Lucille was ill. + +"I know that Nannette is, as a rule, careful and faithful," he observed, +"but somehow I feel very reluctant to leave the child alone with her." + +Mollie turned to him eagerly. + +"Monsieur, would you feel more comfortable if I should go and remain +with Lucille and Nannette until you return?" she inquired. + +The man's face cleared instantly at the suggestion. + +"Would you be so good, mademoiselle?" he asked in a relieved tone. +"Could you be spared from your father?" + +"Oh, yes; Eliza can do everything necessary for papa, and I will gladly +stay with Lucille," Mollie replied. + +Monsieur Lamonti accepted her offer most gratefully, upon this +assurance, and when his carriage came to him he drove home with her to +tell Eliza what her plans were, after which they repaired to his +residence. + +They found Lucille much better than she had been in the morning, and +Monsieur Lamonti prepared for his journey with restored cheerfulness, +and finally took his departure, feeling quite content. + +Mollie took Lucille wholly in charge for the remainder of the day, and +allowed Nannette, who had been closely confined within doors, to have a +little time to herself, and she went out to visit and take tea with a +friend. + +She returned about nine in the evening to find her charge sleeping +quietly and restfully, and Mollie reading a new book in the library. + +They soon retired, Mollie occupying Monsieur Lamonti's room, which +adjoined, although it did not connect with the one where Lucille and +Nannette slept. Mollie said she preferred this arrangement to being put +off in the guest chamber, as she would feel less lonely. + +After shutting herself into the room for the night--although she did not +lock the door--not feeling sleepy, she began to look about the +apartment, which, like the rest of the house, was full of beautiful and +interesting things--fine paintings on the walls, choice books and +bric-a-brac on tables and mantle, and in one corner a cabinet of curios, +rare and costly. + +Mollie spent a long time looking these latter over and reading from the +"key" their history and the names of the far-off places whence they had +come. But she grew weary of this occupation after a while and finally +began to prepare for bed. + +While thus engaged she observed on a stand behind the bed what appeared +to be a book having a curious cover. She attempted to take it up when +the top came off, and she was startled to find it was a box containing a +small, but beautiful silver-mounted revolver. + +Her start, however, was only momentary, for Mollie knew something about +firearms, having had some practise at shooting at a target while she was +abroad. She lifted the weapon and examined it carefully, noting the +curious chasing on the silver, the number of chambers, and also that it +was loaded. + +She finally laid it back in its place, replacing the cover, and had +scarcely done so when, for the first time, she noticed upon the opposite +side of the room a small safe. For a moment an uncomfortable sensation +began to creep over her, for the safe and the loaded revolver suggested +that there might be valuables to be defended in the former--possibly, +she thought, costly jewels, which might have belonged to Lucille's +mother and grandmother. + +But she put away the feeling with a little shrug and smile, resolutely +put out the electric lights, then crept into bed and was soon dreaming, +as on two previous nights since her meeting with him, of the hero of her +girlhood--Clifford Faxon. + +The next she knew she was vaguely conscious of hearing the cathedral +clock in the hall strike two; then she was suddenly broad awake, every +sense painfully on the alert, although she could not, for the moment, +move a muscle, as the conviction was forced upon her that some one was +moving stealthily about the room. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +A THRILLING MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE. + + +For a moment Mollie was simply paralyzed with fear; she could neither +move hand nor foot, which perhaps was the very best thing that could +have happened under the circumstances. But her mind worked with the +rapidity of lightning and to some purpose. + +She could distinctly hear the movements of some one about the room, +stealthy and cautious as the invader tried to be, and once she plainly +saw the outline of a man as the figure passed between her vision and a +window. + +She was sure that a burglar had entered the house--some one who, +doubtless, had learned of Monsieur Lamonti's absence and had taken +advantage of it to come and help himself to what valuables he could +find. + +Then a shock of dismay and fear set all her nerves tingling as she +remembered the safe; but this was almost immediately succeeded by a +great calm, a grim determination taking possession of her, and plans to +carry it out quickly forming in her active brain. + +Very cautiously she reached out her right hand and secured the revolver +that lay on the stand beside her. Her touch was so light that, as she +timed her act just as the burglar stooped to examine the safe, not a +sound was distinguishable. + +Slipping it under the bed-clothing she softly removed it from the box. +The next moment it was cocked and she drew a deep, silent breath of +relief as she realized that she could now control the situation about as +she pleased. + +Her next act was to reach out again and feel for a cluster of three +electric buttons, which had been placed in the wall close beside the +bed. + +One of these controlled a wire communicating with the nearest +police-station, and had been put there for just such an emergency as the +present. Another was connected with the electric apparatus for lighting +the house, and the third governed the lock of the front door. + +Similar buttons were in every room of the main portion of the house, and +Monsieur Lamonti had explained their operation to Mollie several weeks +previous during one of her visits, and they were grouped in the form of +a triangle; two were side by side, and the third between and above them. + +It was the upper button which Mollie had touched. Then she lay quietly +listening for several minutes, while the other occupant, having produced +a tiny dark-lantern, continued his investigations at the safe. + +All at once, in the distance, she caught the sound of hoofs and wheels, +and knew that help was coming to her. + +She now touched the button controlling the front door. A moment later +she lightly pressed the third button, and instantly the apartment was +flooded with light, as was also the hall outside. With a startled oath +the burglar sprang to his feet, and, turning, found himself confronted +by the loveliest vision he had ever seen in his life, as he afterward +told a pal in prison, and a "dandy barker" that was cocked and aimed +straight at his heart. + +Mollie had sprung to a sitting posture after touching the third button +and was prepared for duty. Her face was pale as marble, but there was a +determined light in the blue eyes which warned the invader that she was +braced for instant action while his experienced eye immediately grasped +the fact that she knew how to manipulate the weapon she held, and that +her hand was as steady as if she were holding simply a glass of water. + +But the man was a desperate and powerful fellow, and he did not mean to +be beaten at his game "by any slip of a girl like that," and so +determined to make a bluff to attain his object and watch his chance to +disarm her. + +The house was perfectly still, and he was confident that no one else in +it had been aroused, and he fondly imagined he could easily intimidate +his fair captor, for he had not the slightest suspicion that she had any +way of summoning assistance from outside. + +"You'd better put down that barker, miss, if you don't want to get into +trouble," he commanded in a gruff, though subdued voice, for he had no +desire to arouse any one else. "I don't ever like to hurt a lady, and +I'd be 'specially loath to do harm to such a pretty girl as you are." + +Mollie's eyes flashed indignant fire at his familiar language and +obnoxious compliment. + +"Silence!" she cried, in a clear, incisive tone, and her faultless +elocution served her to some purpose now, for it made her every word +tell effectively. "No!--don't you dare to attempt to get out your +revolver if you have one," she continued, as she saw his right hand +creeping toward one of his pockets. "That is right," as he instantly +dropped it again to his side. "Obey me and you will not be hurt. Show +the slightest disposition to disobey me and I will not hesitate to let +you have the contents of one of these chambers, and I shall not miss +you, either. Now sit down in that rocking-chair near you and put your +hands upon the arms." + +But the man did hesitate to obey this command and glanced nervously +toward the door, which he had left open when he entered the room, as if +contemplating a bold dash for freedom. Then he suddenly changed his +mind, as the small hand which held that costly revolver was slightly +raised as if to take a truer aim, and he obediently dropped into the +chair which Mollie had indicated, then added in a tone of mingled wrath +and admiration: + +"Well, for a girl of your years, you're the coolest specimen I've ever +seen." + +"Yes, I know something about firearms. I had considerable practise +shooting at a target in a gallery in Paris a couple of years ago," +remarked the intrepid girl with deliberate distinctness. + +Her captive cringed visibly at her remark, and, observing it, she +realized that he was at heart a coward in spite of his profession and +his attempt to bully her, and her courage rose in proportion. Just then +she heard a vehicle outside slacken speed and stop before the house. The +burglar also caught the sound and an anxious look shot into his eyes. + +"What's that?" he demanded roughly; "the boss coming home?" + +"No; Monsieur Lamonti will not return until to-morrow, or until this +afternoon, I should have said," Mollie composedly remarked. Then she +added with a gleam of triumph in her blue eyes: + +"I am expecting some friends whom I have summoned to aid me in this +emergency; doubtless they have arrived." + +"The cops!" cried the burglar in a startled tone. + +"Yes." + +"How on earth did you manage that?" he questioned breathlessly. + +"Ah!"--as his practised eye swiftly swept the walls and finally rested +on the group of electric buttons--"the house is wired for it." + +"You are right, and it is an exceedingly convenient arrangement," dryly +responded the girl. + +"Thunder and lightning! I swear I won't sit here to be caught like a rat +in a trap," snarled her companion, as he started wildly to his feet and +glanced around him for some way of escape. + +"Sit down!" and the pistol in Mollie's hand was again raised menacingly, +while footfalls were now plainly heard ascending the steps leading to +the entrance to the house. + +The man dropped with a quick, indrawn breath, as his eye fell upon the +white, slim finger that rested on the trigger of the revolver. Then a +sudden thought struck him and he breathed more freely. + +"But they can't get in," he observed with a chuckle of exultation, for +he told himself that if she was obliged to get up to admit the policemen +he would have an opportunity to make a bolt for the nearest window and +have a fair chance to escape by means of a balcony which could be +plainly discerned outside. + +"You are mistaken," his fair captor replied, "for when I touched the +button that governs the communication with the station-house I also +pressed another that unlocks the front door. Allow me to say for the +information of any of your friends who may be followers of your +profession, in case you should have an opportunity to communicate with +them, that almost every room in the house is wired in the same way." + +"Hell and furies!" groaned the unfortunate victim, and actually writhing +in his chair, for at that moment steps and voices were heard in the hall +below, and he knew that he was inextricably "bagged." Involuntarily he +clapped his hand to his pistol-pocket. + +"Sit still!" commanded the brave girl, and she leaned forward, her eyes +blazing like two points of flame. "Another movement and I fire." + +He knew she would, for there was a relentless purpose in her watchful +gaze, and he settled back limp and white to await the inevitable. + +With her glance never for an instant wavering from the form in the +rocker, Mollie called out in clarion tones: + +"Come right up-stairs, Mr. Officer, and you will find what you are +looking for." + +A moment later two policemen entered the room and took in the situation +at a glance. + +In a trice they had their prize--whom they instantly recognized as a man +they had long been trying to run down--disarmed and safely handcuffed, +he offering no resistance. + +Then they turned their attention to the heroic girl upon the bed. But +she felt little like a heroine at that moment. + +She had dropped her weapon the instant the officers appeared upon the +scene, too weak and spent to hold it longer, and now lay white and +panting upon her pillows, consciousness almost forsaking her now that +the reaction had come. + +Almost simultaneously Nannette rushed into the room, her eyes wide and +staring with fear upon beholding three strange men in the place, while +she tremulously inquired if the house was on fire. + +"No, no," one of the policemen replied reassuringly, "everything is all +right now; but you'd better get the young lady a glass of wine or +something. Did he attempt to do you any harm, miss?" he respectfully +inquired. + +"No, he did not have any opportunity," she panted, a ghost of a smile +curving her white lips as she significantly touched the revolver that +lay beside her. + +"I see," said the man with a nod, "and you are a downright plucky girl! +There, drink something, and then you shall tell us all about the +affair," he concluded as Nannette approached with a glass of port wine +which she had taken from a small cabinet which Monsieur Lamonti had in +his room. + +There was a tall Oriental screen before the fire-place, and the men +placed this between the bed and their prisoner, then retired behind it +themselves to give the exhausted girl time to recover herself. + +Mollie sipped a little of the wine and soon found her strength +returning, and with it and the friendly presence of Nannette, much of +her habitual self-possession. + +"Nannette, pray, get me a shawl or dressing-sack," she whispered to the +girl. The maid whisked into her own room and returned almost immediately +with a pretty wrapper of her own, and into which she deftly assisted +Mollie, who then signified her readiness to talk with the officers, +while she seated herself in a chair outside the screen and motioned +Nannette to another near her. + +She briefly related what had occurred from the moment when she had heard +the clock strike two until the appearance of the officers. Her language +was simple and unassuming, but the story produced a marked impression +upon her hearers. + +Nannette became greatly excited during the recital, but protested that +she had not heard a sound until Miss Heatherford called out to the +officers to come up-stairs, when she hurriedly threw on her robe and +came to her, fearing she might be ill or the house afire. + +The policemen regarded the fair narrator with undisguised admiration, +as she told how she had softly taken possession of the revolver and +cocked it beneath the bed-clothing before turning on the lights. + +"It was a mighty plucky thing to do," one of them remarked. + +"I sincerely hope that I shall not have to testify against this man at a +public trial," said Mollie anxiously. + +The officers saw that she was greatly distressed in view of such a +possibility, and their sympathies were with her. + +"Well, miss, I can't say for certain about that. I reckon you'll have to +appear and give evidence; but perhaps a private examination can be +arranged, and if the reporters don't get hold of it you'll be all right. +I'm sure I, for one, would be glad to oblige a lady who has shown more +grit than many a man would have done in such a tight place," one of the +men observed in the most respectful manner. + +"And I'm with you," said the other heartily. + +"Thank you very much," Mollie replied gratefully and with that rare +smile of hers which made every one delight to serve her. + +"Are you timid, Miss Heatherford?" the one who appeared to be the +superior officer inquired. "Would you like one of us to stay in the +house or about the place for the remainder of the night?" + +"Oh, no--thank you. I am sure that will not be necessary, for we shall +not be likely to have this experience repeated to-night. We will open +the door connecting with the servants' hall, and I shall feel perfectly +safe." + +"Very well; then we may as well be getting our jailbird into his cage. +But, upon second thought," the man added, as he caught sight of +Nannette's shiver of terror and saw that Mollie was still very pale, "I +think when I get him aboard the patrol-wagon I will leave Brown here to +watch about until daylight; maybe it will make you a little easier in +your mind." + +Mollie smiled gratefully into his honest face. + +"Thank you," she said heartily, and with a sudden sense of relief which +convinced her that she had overestimated her feeling of security; +"perhaps you are right, and I think, on the whole, we may rest better to +know that we are guarded." + +"Come," said the officer, turning to the burglar, who had not once +spoken, except to curse when the handcuffs were slipped upon his wrists, +"we must be moving." + +Then, with a respectful good-night to the two girls, the officers led +him away, and three minutes later Mollie heard the patrol-wagon drive +away and heaved a long sigh of thankfulness that the horrible experience +was over, and with no loss of valuables to her good friend, Monsieur +Lamonti. + +Nannette, who had been watching the departure from a window, informed +her that Officer Brown had been left behind, and was slowly pacing the +sidewalk before the house. + +This arrangement was so reassuring to both girls that they immediately +retired with a sense of perfect security, and were soon sleeping as +soundly and restfully as if they had not been disturbed. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE TEMPLES APPEAR. + + +It was after eight o'clock when Mollie finally awoke again, and feeling, +somewhat to her surprise, not one whit the worse for her exciting +adventure during the small hours of the morning. + +After making her toilet she sought Nannette, who was dressing Lucille, +and they both agreed not to speak of what had occurred before the +servant--at any rate, until after Monsieur Lamonti's return. + +Lucille was better, and, after they had had their breakfast, Mollie +thought, as the day was very fine, it would do her good to go for a +drive. + +The carriage was accordingly ordered, and the three--for Lucille never +went anywhere without her maid, except on rare occasions with her +grandfather--were soon rolling down Pennsylvania Avenue, thence to +Mollie's home to ascertain how Mr. Heatherford had passed the night, +after which the coachman was told to drive out toward Arlington Heights. + +They rested a while in the venerable mansion, and then started on their +homeward way. They were just passing the boundary of what was once known +as the "old Lee estate," when they met another carriage entering the +beautiful grounds. + +This vehicle contained four persons, and they were none other than Mr. +and Mrs. William Temple, with their daughter Minnie, and Philip +Wentworth. This quartet manifested no little astonishment upon beholding +Mollie, sitting like a fair young princess in her fine equipage, and she +experienced a little secret amusement as she encountered their wondering +gaze. + +Mr. and Mrs. Temple bowed politely, but with marked formality. Minnie +waved her hand, with a smile of pleasure, at her old friend, of whom she +had been very fond, while Philip removed his hat with elaborate +courtesy, his eyes beaming with admiration as he looked into Mollie's +fair face and realized that she was even lovelier than when he had seen +her last in Boston, a year and a half previous, and instantly all his +old-time passion for her revived. + +Mollie returned these greetings courteously and with the utmost +self-possession; but her eyes were very bright and the color in her +cheeks gleamed like scarlet poppies for a moment. + +Then the carriages passed and were parted without a word having been +spoken, although Minnie had been upon the point of bursting out in her +childish eagerness with some expression of greeting; but her mother +hushed her with a single low-spoken word. + +Mollie's heart burned within her with mingled scorn and indignation, in +view of this coldness, for she well remembered the days when the whole +family had been most gracious in their manner toward her--had even +fawned upon her and spared no effort to cultivate her society. + +She was stung anew, too, with the memory of the unpardonable outrage +perpetrated against her father during their last visit with the Temples; +while, even though she had long known that she had never loved and could +never love and would never marry him under any circumstances, Philip's +peculiar attitude toward her filled her with a secret contempt for him. + +"Why! how strange that we should have met Mollie Heatherford, and what +an elegant turnout that is in which she is riding!" Mrs. Temple observed +to her husband after the encounter, while she turned and peered out of +the rear window of their own carriage for another glimpse of Monsieur +Lamonti's fine victoria with its liveried coachman and footman. + +"It certainly is," Mr. Temple replied. "Those were magnificent horses, +and everything about the affair indicated lavish expenditure. I don't +quite understand the condition of things," he concluded reflectively. + +"Mollie was richly dressed, too, and looked, as she always had a way of +looking, like a queen--she has grown handsomer than ever," his wife +pursued. "Did you notice the child and its nurse who were with her?" she +went on, as if some startling thought had occurred to her. "Do you +suppose the girl has married some rich widower and is queening it here +in Washington society?" + +Philip gave a violent start as his mother propounded this solution to +the problem that was puzzling them all, and jealously regretting--as +fickle human nature is prone to do when another shows appreciation of a +discarded favorite--what he fondly imagined might have been his if he +had chosen to press his suit. + +"I have heard nothing of it if she has," said Mr. Temple, and looking +not altogether comfortable in view of finding the Heatherfords again on +an equal footing with himself. "The last I knew, Mr. Heatherford had +secured a position here with a fair salary, and they were living +comfortably, but in a very humble way compared with their former +circumstances. I will make some inquires to-morrow and ascertain, if +possible, just how they are situated." + +Philip did not join in the conversation, but he secretly resolved that +he would himself ascertain the truth about Mollie that very day. He +would seek her in the location to which he had always addressed his +letters, as long as he had written her, and if he failed to find her +there he would search the city over for her. + +Neither Mr. Temple nor his mother had known of his correspondence with +her, and the latter had flattered herself that she had been very tactful +in managing to break up certain "foolish" relations between the two that +were liable to prove very awkward. + +The family had been in Washington only a few days, and, although Philip +had thought of Mollie in an indifferent kind of way, he had not felt any +special interest to look her up. Now, however, the sight of her radiant +beauty, together with her cool and dignified bearing and the fear that +possibly she had dared to marry another, while he assumed to have a +claim--however indefinite--upon her, fired anew his old-time love for +her and aroused a fierce jealousy within him. + +Accordingly, after he had lunched, he immediately set forth upon his +quest for her, going directly to the address where his letters had been +sent. + +Eliza, of course, answered his ring, but informed him that her young +mistress was not at home--that, however, she would probably return that +evening. He then inquired for Mr. Heatherford, and was told, with a +non-committal air, that he was "comfortable." + +"Has he been ill?" questioned Philip, with some surprise. + +"Yes, sah; Marsa Heatherford have been very ill." Eliza quietly +returned, but without volunteering any information regarding the nature +of that gentleman's malady, while she eyed Philip curiously, not +half-liking his looks nor his arrogant bearing. + +The young man, however, went away, smoothing his ruffled plumage with no +little satisfaction. Mollie was not married; probably, he assumed, she +was simply a day governess in some wealthy family, and that would +account for her being out for a drive with the child and its nurse in +the elegant carriage he had seen that morning. + +He returned to his hotel quite elated and promising himself that he +would resume his old relations--to a certain extent--with Mollie, and +thus help to pass some otherwise dull hours during his sojourn in the +city. + +In spite of the secrecy which Mollie had desired to preserve regarding +her exciting adventure of the previous night, the evening papers +contained a thrilling account of a bold attempt at robbery, and how it +had been thwarted by the remarkable heroism of a young lady, who had +held the would-be burglar paralyzed at the muzzle of a revolver until +the police were summoned to her aid and captured the criminal. + +The name of the gentleman whose residence had been entered was given; +but Mollie's name was considerately withheld. She was simply designated +as Monsieur Lamonti's private secretary, who had been spending a couple +of days in the house as chaperon for the gentleman's little +granddaughter during his absence on a business trip to New York. + +Monsieur Lamonti returned, as he had planned, that same evening, and was +greatly exercised in view of what had occurred. + +"Mademoiselle has shown herself very brave," he said, after having +freely discussed the matter and regarding her admiringly, "but I tremble +when I think of the danger that threatened her. And there was much of +value in the safe, too--a large sum of money, besides many valuable +jewels. Ah! but you have been my good angel many times, mademoiselle," +he concluded in a grateful tone. + +He opened the safe and showed her the jewels, and, though she had seen +many costly articles of jewelry, she was almost dazzled by the beauty +and value of the collection before her. + +"We will not keep them here any longer," said Monsieur Lamonti, as he +returned them to their places. "I could not bear to send them away +because my dear ones had worn them," he added with a regretful sigh, +"but no one must ever be subjected again to such peril as threatened you +last night." + +And the following morning he deposited his treasure in a safety-vault, +where no burglar would attempt to seek them. + +Shortly after Monsieur Lamonti's arrival Mollie was sent home in his +carriage, that gentleman slipping into her hands a box containing a +dozen pairs of elegant kid gloves, as she left. + +"It is nothing," he said with a deprecatory shrug in reply to her +thanks; "it was only to give myself the pleasure of buying something for +some one." + +Eliza welcomed her young mistress with a beaming face when she appeared, +and she found that her father had received excellent care during her +absence; but she had not been in the house half an hour, when Philip +Wentworth again made his appearance. + +Mollie received him courteously, though somewhat coldly; but he ignored +her lack of cordiality, and, catching both her hands in his, fervently +exclaimed: + +"At last! Mollie, we meet again! It has seemed an age since I saw you in +Boston. Did your servant tell you of my call directly after lunch?" + +"Yes; Eliza gave me your card on my return. I have been away spending a +couple of days with some friends," Mollie quietly explained, as she +released her hands and indicated a chair for him, then seated herself +upon a small sofa near him. + +"Perhaps you will think me very persistent and impatient to make two +calls in one day," Philip observed apologetically, and feeling a trifle +disconcerted by the girl's perfect composure; "but I have been wild to +learn why you ceased writing to me so suddenly--I have not heard from +you for the longest while!" + +Mollie lifted a look of surprise to him. + +"I think you have transposed the situation," she said, a faint smile +curving her lips. "I have answered every letter that I have received +from you." + +"Ah! then I have wronged you; forgive me! And my last letter must have +miscarried, for when I did not hear from you I began to wonder if it +could have contained anything to offend you," Philip returned, but he +flushed beneath the clear, searching eyes looking steadily into his, as +he uttered the lie. Then unceremoniously waiving the uncomfortable +topic, he added with animation: + +"But tell me something about yourself now, Mollie. I do not need to ask +if you are well; for your blooming appearance speaks for itself; but how +is your father, and what have you been doing to amuse yourself during +all these long months?" + +Again that faint smile wreathed Mollie's lips, and there was a suspicion +of irony in it, for his question was suggestive of the tenor of his own +way of passing his time. + +"'To amuse myself'," she repeated in a peculiar tone. "I really have had +very little time to devote to amusement of any kind during the last year +and a half. For the first few months I was busy keeping house for papa, +for we were trying to be economical and kept no servant. Then he was +taken ill." + +"Yes, I remember you wrote me at one time that he was ill," Philip +interposed, "but I supposed that he had recovered long ago." + +"My father is a hopeless invalid--the physicians tell me that he will +never be any better," said Mollie sadly. + +"Can that be possible?" queried her companion, and trying to throw a +proper amount of sympathy into his tone, but secretly wondering how they +managed to keep the wolf from the door. + +"Of course, when his health gave out he lost his situation, and his +income stopped," Mollie gravely resumed, "and I was obliged to seek some +employment. I have a position as private secretary to Monsieur Lamonti, +a French gentleman of some prominence here in Washington--possibly you +may have heard of him." + +"Ah! yes, I have," said Philip with elevated eyebrows, for the wealthy +Frenchman had been pointed out to him, and now he understood how Mollie +had happened to be riding in that elegant turnout that morning. Then he +added: "I am sorry to learn that Mr. Heatherford's case is so serious." + +"Yes; papa has failed sadly; he seldom recognizes even me, now, while +his hands have become so useless that he has to be fed like a child," +Mollie returned with starting tears. + +"That must make it very hard for you, dear," Philip responded with a +tender inflection; "you must find it very irksome, reared as you have +been, to confine yourself to a position and the care of an invalid." + +"I do not," she returned brightly, though she straightened herself a +trifle and flushed at his term of endearment. "I thoroughly enjoy my +position, and if papa could only be well once more, I should feel +perfectly happy with my work and the consciousness that I am really of +some practical use in the world." + +She looked so proud and animated and bore herself with such an air of +dignity and self-reliance that the young man told himself she was a +hundredfold more lovely and attractive than she had ever been. + +But, at the same time, there was an unmistakable atmosphere about her +that held him at arm's length and made him feel as if she had drifted so +far apart from him as to have put him entirely out of her life. + +The very thought enraged him, and an insatiate desire to conquer these +conditions and make himself necessary to her happiness took possession +of him. He flushed hotly as he suddenly bent nearer to her. + +"Mollie, I cannot bear to know that you are working for wages," he said +passionately. + +Mollie laughed out musically, although she drew herself away from him +with an unmistakable chill in her manner. + +"Pray, do not be disturbed," she said lightly, "for I assure you that I +enjoy my 'wages,' as you term them, immensely." + +"But the humiliation of it," he persisted hotly; "to think of it!--you, +who are fit to queen it anywhere, becoming the servant of any one!" + +"I have no sense of humiliation, Philip. I frankly protest that I never +in my life experienced a more comforting sense of self-respect than at +the present time," Mollie spiritedly rejoined, and with a warning +sparkle in her eyes. + +"But there is no need of it," he insisted. + +"There is every need," she briefly, but gravely, replied. + +"No, no, Mollie; surely you have not forgotten the old days," he broke +forth vehemently; "you cannot have forgotten the question which I asked +you a year and a half ago, and which you have never answered. Need I +tell you that I still love you with all my heart?--that I yearn for you, +in spite of the little misunderstanding and interruption to our +correspondence? Mollie, dearest, give up this position; let me provide +for you hereafter--let me stand between you and the necessity for toil; +give yourself to me--you shall have every wish gratified, and I will +become your protector and--your slave." + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +A STARTLING PROPOSAL. + + +Mollie grew first red, then white, at this unexpected renewal of +Philip's suit. At the same time, she was conscious that it did not ring +quite true, in spite of his passionate avowal of love and eagerness of +manner; there was an indefinable undercurrent of reservation--a lack of +sincerity in it that impressed her unpleasantly. + +For one thing, she felt that if he had been a true lover, he never would +have allowed their correspondence to cease, simply because a single +letter had gone astray; he would never have been content to let a year +and a half pass without making an attempt to see her and learn how she +was living and how her father was prospering, after having been robbed +of his last dollar by the treachery of his pretended friend. + +She began to recover from her confusion almost immediately, however, and +lifting her eyes, earnestly searched her companion's face. Somehow, it +had never appeared so unattractive to her before; it was weak and showed +in the lowering brow, in the habitual expression of discontent, in the +sensuous mouth and irresolute chin, a lack of that true nobility and +strength of character which she knew she must find in the man whom she +married, and even while she looked his eyes wavered and fell before +her, while he shifted uneasily upon his chair. + +"Mollie, why do you not answer me?" he demanded, to cover his +embarrassment, and bending toward her tried to capture one of the small, +perfect hands which lay on her lap. "It cannot be possible that you have +forgotten the past or lost all the old love for me. Ah! come to me, +dearest, let me take care of you, and you never need toil another day; +you shall have every luxury which money can buy." + +"Phil," Mollie began gently, for she did not wish to wound him, even +though not one chord of her heart thrilled responsive to his ardent +appeal, while at the same time she quietly, but resolutely, released her +hand from his grasp, "I certainly have not forgotten the old days nor +the many good times which we enjoyed during our childhood. But when you +speak of 'the old love,' that is another thing, and I know now that I +never loved you; that is, in the way which you speak of now. When you +asked me before, I told you I was not prepared to say just what my +feelings toward you were, as you will remember. I felt very friendly, as +I said then, 'I liked you right well,' and, as you seemed to be so fond +of me and so anxious that our boy-and-girl play should become a reality, +I thought I would wait a little, and, perchance, as I came to like you +better, the 'like' might grow into love. I could have told you this some +time ago if you had renewed the subject, but you never did; your letters +ceased coming and I supposed you had thought better of the matter and +changed your mind. No, Phil, I do not love you as a woman should love +the man she expects to marry; so let us drop the subject here and now +and agree to be simply good friends for the future." + +But her refusal aroused all Philip's antagonism. He was one who could +never bear to be balked in anything, and her statement that she knew +'now' that she did not love him stirred him to fiercest jealousy. What +had led her to such a conclusion? he asked himself. Perhaps she had met +some one else who had awakened the affection which he so coveted, and +this possible solution of the problem made him furious. + +For the moment he forgot her poverty; forgot that he had vowed he would +never marry any girl who did not possess an ample fortune. He only +remembered that he loved her--had always loved her, and rich or poor he +was determined to carry his point, if by any possible means he could +achieve it, even though he should rudely trample upon her heart after he +had won it. + +"Mollie!" he cried appealingly, "you do not mean it--you cannot be so +cruel as to blight all my hopes, after so many years of devotion to you. +You know that I have loved you ever since we were children; you know +that I have always expected that you would give yourself to me, and do +you think that I can easily surrender you now?" + +Mollie wondered what made her shrink involuntarily every time he +mentioned his love for her. There was something that grated harshly upon +her in his every tone, and she experienced a singular distrust of him. + +"I am truly sorry, Phil, if you have really been cherishing this hope +for so long," she returned after a moment of thoughtful silence, "for, +to be perfectly frank with you, I have believed everything to be at an +end between us ever since I left Boston. I am very quick to feel any +change in my friends, and I was sure, when the financial crash came to +my father, that a union between you and me would be regarded as a great +misfortune for you. I inferred this both from your own manner and your +mother's when you made your farewell call upon me at the Adams House. I +also observed it in the tone of your letters afterward, and when they +finally ceased altogether, as I have already said, I regarded the matter +as finally settled, as far as you were concerned, and, as I had arrived +at a knowledge of my own attitude toward you, I was perfectly content. +You perceive that I am very plain with you, and now let me add, Phil, +that you will yet make the discovery that some other woman will make you +happier than I ever could have done." + +"I shall not!" Philip retorted vehemently. "I love you, and you alone. +Mollie, you shall not send me away like this--I cannot bear it. Give me +at least a little more time in which to try to make you love me; do not +throw me over utterly, for you will ruin my life if you do." + +And he began to believe what he was saying. The more he realized that +she was dropping out of his life altogether, the more he coveted her +love. In the rashness of the moment, in the heat of his anger at being +opposed in his purpose, he might even have gone to the length of +marrying her on the spot, if the conditions had been propitious. + +"No, I can give you no more 'time,' Phil, for the matter is irrevocably +settled, as far as I am concerned," Mollie responded kindly, but firmly, +"and I should only be doing you a great wrong if I should encourage you +to believe otherwise. Now, please let us dismiss the subject, once for +all, and agree to be only the best of friends in the future." + +"Mollie, I won't!" Philip exclaimed with mingled anger and wounded +pride. "There must be some reason for this unaccountable change in +you--more than appears on the surface. Perhaps you have met some one +else whom you have learned to love--tell me, is it so?" + +Two scarlet spots leaped into Mollie's cheeks at this excited and +imperative demand. They were called there by a shock of mingled +indignation and conscious guilt. She felt that, even though Phil had +been a lifelong friend, he had no right to try to extort the secrets of +her heart in any such high-handed manner. + +Yet, at the same instant, when he had accused her of loving another, +Clifford Faxon's face, with its expression of high resolve and noble +purposes, its clear, honest eyes, its frank and genial smile, arose +before her, causing a sudden, conscious heart-thrill, which also brought +with it a sense of dismay. + +Could it be possible, came the simultaneous thought, that she had +bestowed her affections upon a man whom she did not know--with whom she +had never exchanged half a dozen sentences--who had flashed like a +meteor, once or twice, across her path and was gone, perhaps never to +appear again? + +Ah! but it was true, nevertheless. Soul meets soul in the flash of an +eye, through the tones of the voice, and the touch of a hand, and, like +a revelation, there came to her the consciousness of the fact that when +she had stood before Clifford Faxon, more than six years previous, she +had recognized in him--even though he had spoken no word in response to +her impulsive outburst of gratitude--a nature the counterpart and, +therefore, the companion of her own, and with this unveiling of the holy +of holies within her soul came the realization that no other would +satisfy the cravings of her heart. + +At the same time, she was under no obligation to make Philip Wentworth +her father confessor, and she resented his imperative demand that she do +so. She drew herself up with quiet dignity as she coldly replied: + +"Excuse me, Phil, but I think you are overstepping the bounds of both +courtesy and friendship in asking me such questions." + +Philip sprang to his feet, his face a sheet of flame. + +"You do not deny it," he cried angrily. + +"I neither admit nor deny," said Mollie, as she also arose and stood +before him with a regal air. "I simply say that you have--as indeed no +one else has--the right to question me in the way you have done. +Whatever concerns you personally, you, of course, have a right to know +about. I have answered you frankly and as kindly as I knew how, and that +must settle it. Now"--her manner suddenly changing to her old-time +graciousness, and holding out her hand, with a charming smile--"shall we +drop it and still be the best of friends?" + +He regarded her in silence for a moment. She was inexpressibly lovely, +and would have disarmed a savage; but his pride was wounded, and his +heart was filled with rage at the thought of being balked in his +determination to subjugate her to his will. + +"No!" he said shortly, "there is no meaning for me in the word 'friend' +where you are concerned." + +He turned abruptly from her as he ceased and walked from the room and +the house, taking no pains to close the door after him. + +Mollie stood where he had left her for a full minute, a grave expression +on her fair face. Then she drew a long, deep breath, and her lips curled +with contempt: + +"He could not stand the test--he is not worthy to be my friend, even," +she murmured; "he is selfish to the core, for, since he cannot have just +what he wants, he repudiates all, turns and cruelly wounds the one he +has pretended to love. It is himself he loves--not me; and I am glad +that everything is finally settled between us. Still, I am sadly +disappointed in my old-time friend." + +She sighed regretfully as she thought of the failure he was making of +life, for he had had every advantage, and had he appreciated and +improved his opportunities a brilliant career might have been his, while +now he was only an idle seeker after pleasure. + +Then, in striking contrast to this pampered young man of fortune, there +arose before her the sunburned, bareheaded, coarsely clad lad to whom +she owed her life, and who, by his own efforts, had overcome every +obstacle and distanced Philip Wentworth at college. + +Clifford Faxon might never rise socially to the position that was +accorded Philip in the fashionable world--he might never acquire great +wealth, but she felt that he had already attained that which was far +more grand and desirable than fame or fortune--a noble manhood and the +pursuit of some worthy object in life. In the midst of these reflections +Mollie blushed rosy red. + +"Why do I allow my thoughts to dwell upon him?" she exclaimed, with a +shrug of her shoulders and a pretty assumption of impatience; "he is the +same as a stranger to me, and I may never see him again. How foolish I +am!" + +Nevertheless, Clifford Faxon's strong, handsome face haunted her +continually, and even in her dreams that night she saw a shapely hand +outstretched to her; in its palm there lay a heart pierced with an +arrow, its feather the shade of her own bright hair, and on the hand +there gleamed a well-remembered cameo ring. + +The following morning brought another trial to Mollie, and one which she +had never dreamed of being subjected to. When she entered Monsieur +Lamonti's office at the usual hour, she found him already there, but +looking unusually grave and preoccupied. She bade him a cheerful "bon +jour," to which he courteously but, to her sensitive ear, rather coldly +responded. + +"Yes," he briefly replied, "Lucille is well." + +Mollie began to wonder if anything had gone wrong in connection with his +business; or if, by any possibility she had made a mistake that required +a reproof, which he might be very loath to administer; or perhaps he +might not be feeling well, and did not realize how constrained his +manner was. + +However, she slipped quietly into the chair before her desk and began +her work, but with a strange feeling of sadness and embarrassment +oppressing her. She wrote steadily for more than an hour, during which +time not a word was spoken by either occupant of the room. + +Then, all at once, Monsieur Lamonti laid down his pen and, wheeling +around in his chair, faced her. + +"Will mademoiselle be kind enough to give me her attention for a few +moments?" he gravely questioned. "I have something of importance to +communicate to her." + +Mollie grew suddenly pale with apprehension. Oh! could it be possible +that Monsieur Lamonti was contemplating some change that would deprive +her of her position? Maybe he was on the point of returning to France, +or had been assigned to some other station in the United States to +continue his public duties. What could she do--where turn for employment +in such an emergency? + +"Certainly, monsieur," she managed to falter, as she mechanically placed +a paper-weight upon the sheet before her; then tried to smile bravely as +she turned her colorless face to him to await her sentence, whatever it +might be. + +The man started violently as he bent his searching glance upon her. + +"Ah mademoiselle, you are surely ill!" he exclaimed in a voice of alarm. +"Pardon me that I have not before observed the fact. Why--why have you +come to work if you are not well?" + +Something in his look and tone brought the truant color back to her face +in a crimson flood. + +"Thank you, monsieur, but I am perfectly well." + +Then, with a smile and her habitual frankness, she explained: + +"I am only in suspense since, from monsieur's manner, I have inferred +that something is wrong; that perhaps you may have disagreeable tidings +for me." + +It was now the gentleman's turn to change color and to look disturbed. +Then he broke forth with characteristic impetuosity: + +"Pardon--a thousand pardons, mademoiselle, if I have caused you one +moment of anxiety or suffering! Yes, I have been thoughtless--I have +been distrait, but not because I have any ill news to impart; but +because I had decided to ask mademoiselle an important question this +morning. Mademoiselle Heatherford, will you do me the honor--the supreme +happiness--to become my wife?" + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +A CRITICAL SITUATION. + + +Mollie was stunned by this wholly unexpected contretemps, and she lifted +to Monsieur Lamonti a face expressive of the blankest astonishment. + +"Ah! I have taken mademoiselle entirely by surprise! I see--I +understand!" he said, apologetically, though a faint smile flitted +across his lips. "Pray forgive me, mon ami; but let me explain, and then +I am sure you will not wonder so much. You have seen that I am a very +lonely man, without kith or kin. I have nothing in life to comfort me or +to throw one ray of sunshine along my path but the little Lucille. This +has been so for years, but since mademoiselle came to me I have known +more of enjoyment, I have had more pleasure in her society than I have +experienced since I lost my dear children--Lucille's father and mother. +Mademoiselle is beautiful, accomplished; she was reared for something +far better than to work out a weary life at a desk. She has earned my +profoundest respect, my gratitude and admiration by her many rare +qualities of heart and mind, her amiable and sunny temperament and her +faithfulness in my service. + +"My home is very lonely, mademoiselle; my little Lucille needs the +tender care, the gentle restraining hand, and the cultivated presence of +something better than a nursemaid or governess; she requires some one +who would exercise the wise guidance and authority of a mother, and she +has become very fond of you, mon ami. I do not ask--I do not expect +mademoiselle to bestow upon me the affection which she might perhaps +accord to a younger man; and yet----" he faltered slightly and flushed; +"such regard would make me supremely happy, for I have grown to love her +most tenderly. Mademoiselle is leading a life of toil--she has +perplexing home cares and sorrows, but these can all be mitigated to a +great extent; for her father shall become my care also, and her future +shall not have a single cloud to mar it, if it is in the power of man +and money to prevent it. Mademoiselle, will you honor me by accepting my +hand, my heart and my fortune?--become the mistress of my home, and take +your rightful position in society, where you are so well fitted to +shine. + +"If----" he added, after a moment of awkward silence, for Mollie was +still too astonished and overcome to utter a word; "if I have been too +abrupt, mon ami, and you do not feel prepared to answer me at present, +pray take time--as long as you wish--to consider the matter, and I will +patiently await your decision." + +Mollie was not only astonished, she was also deeply touched by this +unlooked-for proposal, which seemed to her a most pathetic appeal from +this distinguished gentleman, whose history had been so sad and whose +life had been so lonely. She knew that there was very little in it, even +now, to make it enjoyable, notwithstanding his great wealth and the +enviable position that he occupied. + +Of course, he loved his little granddaughter with all his heart; indeed, +his every hope hitherto had been centered upon her; but she could +readily understand that it would be utterly impossible for a child like +Lucille to satisfy the requirements of a nature like that of Monsieur +Lamonti. + +He was cultured and intellectual, and, naturally, he desired congenial +companionship. In his magnificent home there was not one with whom he +could converse upon terms of equality, either mentally or socially, or +who could sympathize with him in any of the affairs or interests of his +life. + +He had been into society but little during his residence in Washington, +for, as he had told her, he had no heart for the gaieties of the world, +since he was doomed to go alone wherever he was invited, while, too, +with no mistress at the head of his own establishment he could not +entertain in return for such courtesies. + +Surely, Mollie told herself, it was a desolate existence for one like +him to lead, for he was a polished gentleman, of high attainments, +brilliant in conversation, and well calculated to shine among the many +noted and distinguished people in the nation's capital. But, in spite of +her genuine respect and admiration, together with her deepest sympathy; +in spite of his wealth and position and the tempting future which he had +offered her, she could not become his wife. + +Mollie was too true, too conscientious a woman to marry any man whom +she could not love with all her heart, even though she would have +enjoyed the luxuries to which, nearly all of her life, she had been +accustomed, and with which she would have so liked to surround her +father; while she did sometimes yearn in secret for the old-time +gaieties and society from which she now seemed to be entirely shut out. + +All these things had flashed through her brain while Monsieur Lamonti +was talking, but never for an instant did she waver from what she knew +was right and just to herself and to him. As he concluded she lifted her +grave, sweet eyes to his face. + +"Monsieur Lamonti," she began, and her voice was husky from repressed +feeling; "you have indeed surprised me beyond measure, for I certainly +never dreamed that you entertained for me the feelings you have +expressed--although I have congratulated myself that I possessed your +esteem and friendly interest. It grieves me that I am obliged to +disappoint you; but, monsieur, I must be true to myself and to you. I +could not become the wife of any man unless I had first given him the +deepest affection of my heart. While I have, during our relations as +employer and employee, learned to regard you as a true friend--my best +and almost my only one, I may say, since nearly all who knew me in more +prosperous days have deserted me--still, such a regard would satisfy +neither you nor me if we should assume closer ties. Believe me, dear +Monsieur Lamonti, I feel greatly honored by your preference, and am also +deeply grateful to you for your many kindnesses to both my father and +myself. Forgive me if there has ever been the slightest indication in +my manner to encourage you to infer----" + +"There has not, mademoiselle, I assure you," Monsieur Lamonti +interposed, as she flushed and faltered; "there has been nothing in your +manner at any time to show me that you regarded me other than as a +friend. It was alone my affection for you--my intense yearning for the +presence of a charming woman in my home, to be a companion to and in +sympathy with me and to help me to rear Lucille, which emboldened me to +ask you to be my wife. Ah! mademoiselle, you do not know the grief, the +sorrow I feel! If you would but reconsider--take time to try to--to grow +fond of me; if I could but have a little hope," he concluded in a voice +so eager, yet, withal, so sad and tremulous that tears sprang +involuntarily to Mollie's eyes. + +"Monsieur, it would not be right; I--I could not bid you hope; my answer +must be final," she almost sobbed, for his pathetic appeal had very +nearly unnerved her. Monsieur Lamonti was very pale; but after a moment +of silence he pulled himself together bravely. + +"Pardon--pardon, mademoiselle; the sorrow--the annoyance I have +occasioned you," he said, with grave courtesy. "I bow to the inevitable; +you have been most kind, and we will regard the matter as if it had +never been. But, mon ami," and now he turned to her with his old kindly +smile, "leaving all that forever, may I now presume to ask a great favor +of you?" + +"Certainly, monsieur; you must know that anything in my power I would +gladly do for you," Mollie cordially, even eagerly, returned. + +"Many thanks; but perhaps I am a trifle premature. I should first have +told you what I desire before asking your promise. However, you are free +to refuse if you find the matter not one to your taste. I have told you +that I have no kith or kin--that aside from Lucille, I am absolutely +alone in the world. You can readily perceive that, should anything +happen to--to remove me, the child would be left without a +protector--without a soul to feel the slightest interest in her. Now, +mademoiselle, the favor I wish to crave is a great one--will you, in the +event of which I have spoken, assume the guardianship of my little +girl?" + +Mollie's breath was almost taken away again, and she regarded her +companion in grave wonderment. + +"I, monsieur! Could you trust me with so sacred a charge?" she +questioned in a voice of awe. "I am very young; I have never had any +experience with children, and it seems a grave responsibility!" + +"Mademoiselle, I could trust you with--ah! have I not asked you to care +for the greatest treasure the world holds for me, and could I manifest +greater confidence in you?" responded Monsieur Lamonti, while he +regarded the girl with a look that betrayed far more than his words. + +"I have seen," he went on, "that you are fond of Lucille--she adores +you. You have been carefully reared; you are a gentlewoman in every +sense of the word, and if my little one could become like you--could be +shielded in the future by your love and guidance, and grow up pure and +good and noble, I could ask nothing better for her on earth. You +understand, mademoiselle, this arrangement is to be contingent only upon +my demise, and I may live many years yet. I simply wish to make sure +that she will not be left to the care and cupidity of strangers, and +there will be ample remuneration for you, to enable you to live even +more comfortably than at present. Also I should leave all financial +matters so compactly arranged that you would have very little care in +the management of them. I would not like to burden you in any way except +to make sure that Lucille will be wisely and kindly nurtured. May I +depend upon you, mon ami?" + +Mollie did not reply immediately. To grant Monsieur Lamonti's request +seemed like assuming a very grave responsibility, and she was wondering +within herself if she dare attempt it. + +"Yes, I love dear little Lucille, and I believe she loves me," she +finally murmured, more to herself than in reply to her companion. "I am +sure it would be a pleasure to me to have the child with me; she would +be like a young sister, and to guard and watch her development would be +a very interesting and a great delight--if I were sure that I am equal +to the task----" + +"But the trust must be confided to some one," Monsieur Lamonti here +interposed, "and will mademoiselle kindly allow me to be the judge of +what is best for my darling?" + +Mollie was deeply touched by this evidence of his confidence in her, and +she felt that he was paying her the highest tribute which it was +possible for one human being to confer upon another. She looked up at +him with a tremulous smile and eyes full of tears. + +"Yes," she said, with evident emotion, "and I solemnly assure you that I +will do the very best that I am capable of, for her." + +"Mademoiselle does not need to promise me that; it is her nature to do +her best under all circumstances," replied the gentleman heartily, "and +she has my everlasting gratitude." + +"Thank you, my friend, for your kindly praise, and believe me, I +sincerely appreciate the trust you repose in me; let us hope that for +many years you two may be spared to each other--until, perhaps, Lucille +will be old enough and wise enough to choose a protector for life, and +you will give her away with your blessing." + +Monsieur Lamonti smiled in sympathy with her mood, then reaching out his +hand he clasped hers as if to ratify the compact they had made and +observed. + +"Thank you, mademoiselle; you always comfort and cheer me. May the good +God bless you." + +Both resumed their work, and nothing save business was mentioned during +the remainder of the morning, while Monsieur Lamonti's manner was the +same as usual, courteous and kind, and without a vestige of +disappointment or chagrin to betray how sorely he had been smitten by +Mollie's rejection of his suit. + +After partaking of her lunch that afternoon Mollie could not seem to +settle down to either reading or work. Her thoughts were full of the +events of the morning, and the grave responsibility she had assumed, and +she finally became so nervous that she resumed her street costume and +started out again to visit the Corcoran Art Gallery, hoping to forget +her anxiety. + +It was between three and four when she reached the gallery, and she soon +became so absorbed in the treasures of art all about her, she did not +observe the flight of time, especially as the various rooms were +artificially lighted, until notice was given that it was time to close +the building. + +As she stepped out upon the street she was surprised to find how dark it +had grown. Heavy clouds had covered the sky, a fine mist was falling, +and the short winter's day, dawning to its close, seemed exceedingly +gloomy and depressing. + +Drawing her coat-collar up about her throat and face, for the air was +keen, she hurried on her way toward home, deciding that walking would be +preferable to standing upon a corner to wait for a trolley in the rain. + +When she finally turned off the avenue into a side street, where the +residences were some distance apart, and which was not particularly well +lighted, she suddenly become conscious some one was following her. + +With a heart-throb of fear, she quickened her steps. The figure behind +her did the same. Then she walked more slowly in order to allow the man +to pass her. In another moment he was beside her, when, with all her +pulses throbbing like trip-hammers, she realized that he was +intoxicated. + +"Fine evening, miss," he remarked in a voice which, although rather +thick and unsteady, seemed strangely familiar. + +Her assailant was quite tall, but it was too dark to see his figure +distinctly, while a slouch-hat was drawn so far down over his face that +his features were almost entirely concealed. But Mollie was too +frightened to observe him closely, and vouchsafing no reply to his +remark, quickened her steps again. + +The man reached out his hand and laid hold upon her arm, exclaiming: + +"Hold on, now--hic--my pretty one. I'sn't--ah--dignified to run. Just +le' me--hic--see you home; then I'll take a--hic--kiss and we'll call +it--hic--square." + +Mollie stopped short, her ears actually ringing from the rapid beating +of her heart, while her blood was boiling with mingled disgust and +indignation. She swept his hand from her arm with a force that made him +stagger. But he was too quick for her, and clutched it again instantly. + +"Don't dare to touch me! Do not presume to detain me!" she cried +authoritatively. + +But his fingers only closed more roughly over her wrist. + +"Come, come, pretty one, don't be--hic--offish; or If you're in +such--hic--a deuced hurry I'll take the--hic--kiss now and let +you--hic--go." + +He drew her toward him as if to put his threat into execution, but +before Mollie's frightened cry for help had barely escaped her lips, the +hand was stricken from her arm and her assailant lay sprawling upon the +ground at her feet, while she turned with a long breath of relief to +find another stalwart figure close beside her. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +CLIFFORD MEETS HIS IDOL. + + +The night was so dark, the mist so heavy and the street so illy lighted +that Mollie could not clearly see either of her companions; but as she +turned to the stranger who had appeared upon the scene so opportunely, a +feeling of perfect confidence took possession of her, for his dignified +and self-assured bearing inspired her with a sense of absolute security. + +"Oh, thank you! thank you!" she breathed gratefully though tremulously, +as she involuntarily drew nearer to him. + +"I am very glad that I happened to be near," the gentleman replied in a +rich, deep but pleasantly modulated voice. "I was just passing out of a +gate opposite when I heard you call. The wretch was very bold to assail +you on the street at this hour of the evening! Is he intoxicated?" + +"I think so," said Mollie, and speaking more calmly now, for she was +fast recovering her self-possession, "and I am very thankful to you for +your timely assistance, I----" + +A groan from the prostrate man interrupted her at this point, and both +she and her companion turned at the sound. + +"Well, sir, what is it?" curtly demanded the stranger, as he bent over +him and tried to get a view of his face. + +"You've given me a nasty blow, whoever you are; curse you!" he growled, +as he made an effort to regain his feet. + +But he seemed to find it a difficult achievement, and the stranger +grasped him by the arm and assisted him to rise. + +"There you are," he said, "now can you walk?" + +Again his victim groaned as he attempted to take a step or two, and +almost fell a second time. + +"Well you are a trifle the worse for your fall, that is a fact," his +companion observed. "I will help you to the corner, where you can get +either a carriage or a car to take you home; and, now, if you will +accept a bit of friendly advice, I will suggest that you keep your brain +clearer in the future, when perhaps you will not be tempted to assault +unprotected women in the street and get yourself into trouble again." + +Mollie's recent assailant wrenched his arm from the other's grasp with +another oath, and, bending forward, tried to peer into the face before +him. His fall evidently had not disabled him so seriously as he had at +first feared, while the shock had served to sober him somewhat. + +"Look here!" he exclaimed in a supercilious tone; "I've a notion that I +know who you are, and this isn't the first time, either, that you have +interfered with me in what was none of your business. I know you, Faxon, +and I swear I'll make you sweat for this!" + +Clifford Faxon--for it was he--now bent forward and peered into the +face of the speaker, even though he had already recognized the speaker. + +"Great heavens!" he exclaimed in a voice resonant with mingled disgust +and indignation, "have you descended so low as this, Wentworth?" + +A startled cry broke from Mollie at this point, and she swept close to +the young man's side. + +"Philip Wentworth!" she gasped, and now she knew why his voice had +sounded familiar to her, although, having been under the influence of +liquor, his utterance had been very indistinct, while fear had so +changed hers that, in his drunken condition, he had failed to recognize +it. But as she now spoke his name a terrible shock went through him, +sobering him completely. + +"Mollie! Good God!" he cried in a tone of mingled mortification and +dismay, while Clifford's heart leaped with joy as he caught the name. +The fair girl haughtily drew herself erect and away from him. + +"Let this be the last time, Mr. Wentworth, that you ever address me so +familiarly; indeed, from this moment we are strangers." + +"By all that is sacred, Mollie, I never dreamed that it was you." + +Philip faltered with abject humility. "I swear----" + +"Silence!" she commanded imperatively. "Never presume to call me +'Mollie' again. Of course I understand that you did not know me--neither +did I recognize you under existing conditions. But you did know that you +were insulting a woman, and the fact that you had no more respect for my +sex, whoever the individual might be, I regard as direct an outrage as +if you had known me." + +"Come, now," said Philip appealingly, and his voice was husky with shame +and grief, "you are downright hard on a fellow. I was not quite myself, +I am bound to confess, and so not responsible----" + +"Not responsible!" repeated Mollie with grave reproof. "Yes, you are +responsible; for you have no moral right to put yourself in a condition +that renders it unsafe for people to come in contact with you upon the +street, or elsewhere. + +"Let me say one word more," she added more gently, yet not less +impressively, "for your mother's and sister's sake and for your own +good, I beg that you will forsake your cups and the aimless life you are +leading and try to live to some purpose in the future." + +She stepped aside to allow him to pass, whereupon Clifford Faxon +considerately inquired: + +"Shall I lend you an arm to the corner, Wentworth?" + +"No!--you!" was the passionate response, as Philip angrily struck aside +the proffered support, almost beside himself with mingled shame and +rage, "and, let me repeat, that I will yet make you sorry for this +night's work." He turned his back upon them both and strode away +limping, but not nearly so badly crippled as his companions had feared +he might be. + +Then Mollie stepped forward to Clifford. + +"Mr. Faxon," she said, and extending her hand to him, "this is the third +time that we have met under peculiar circumstances, all of which have +made me greatly your debtor. I am Miss Heatherford, and I have never +forgotten the hero of that exciting New Haven incident." + +"Thank you, Miss Heatherford," Faxon returned, and tingling to his +finger-tips with rapture as he clasped the hand so cordially offered +him, "and let me assure you that I am very much pleased to meet you +again, and, at last, learn the name of one to whom I am also indebted. I +refer to the beautiful souvenir of the event of which you have spoken, +and which I have always treasured most sacredly. I am very glad I was at +hand to rescue you from your recent unpleasant experience. Now, may I +have the additional pleasure of attending you to your home? I should +feel very uncomfortable to allow you to go alone after the shock you +have received." + +"Thank you; it is very kind of you to offer to attend me," Mollie +replied, and feeling much relieved in view of having a protector, for +she had been badly frightened. "But, Mr. Faxon, I am afraid it will seem +almost an imposition, for I have quite a walk yet," she added +doubtfully. + +"That will not disturb me in the least," Clifford returned eagerly, +"though it is very damp, and perhaps you would prefer to take a car; in +either event, however, I shall not leave you until I see you safely +housed." + +"Taking a car would not save me very much, as I must go back to +Pennsylvania Avenue to get one, and I would have just about the same +distance at the other end," said Mollie reflectively. "On the whole, I +believe I will take you at your word and we will walk." + +"Thank you," Clifford responded so earnestly that Mollie smiled +involuntarily, while she experienced a peculiar exhilaration in his +companionship. + +She unhesitatingly accepted the arm he offered her, and they fell into a +social chat which grew so absorbing to both that distance became of no +account, and Faxon was conscious of a sense of keen disappointment when +his companion finally paused before her own door. + +"Why, Miss Heatherford, you told me it was a long walk; I did not +suppose we were half-way there yet!" he exclaimed in a tone that plainly +betrayed his regret. + +"I think you must be a practised pedestrian, for it is very nearly a +mile," said Mollie with a silvery little laugh, "and, now, won't you +come in for a little rest before you make the return trip?" + +Clifford would gladly have accepted the invitation and prolonged his +enjoyment of her society for another half-hour, but he did not feel +quite justified in doing so upon so short an acquaintance, and so +politely excused himself. + +"Then some other evening, Mr. Faxon, I shall be happy to have you call +if you should feel inclined," Mollie cordially observed greatly to his +delight. + +"Thank you, Miss Heatherford; it certainly will give me great pleasure +to do so, and I shall avail myself of the privilege at an early date," +the young man responded, and he was on the point of bidding her good +evening when Mollie lifted a shy glance to him and said: + +"I feel that I owe you an apology, Mr. Faxon, for not recognizing you a +few days ago when you saved me from having a fall from the car, but I +was so surprised at the unexpected meeting that I was momentarily +embarrassed, and so failed to do my duty." + +"Pray do not be disturbed," Faxon returned with a heart-throb of +gladness. "I saw you were somewhat overcome, and the omission was not to +be wondered at under the circumstances." + +"I knew you at once," Mollie continued naively and with charming +frankness, "and I feared afterward that you might attribute my seeming +neglect to an unworthy motive." + +"Indeed, no--I hope I could not so wrong you, although you will allow me +to say that I was somewhat disappointed," Clifford replied in the same +spirit. + +He then bade her a reluctant "good evening," lifted his hat, and went +away. It seemed to him that he was walking on air as he retraced his +steps up-town. + +At last he had met and learned the name of the divinity who for years +had been his inspiration, whose fair face and deep blue eyes had haunted +both his waking and sleeping hours; whose sweet girlish tones and +thrilling words had rung like a melodious refrain in his ears for nearly +six long years. + +It had been a great trial to him not to know who she was, and he had +been more irritated over the fact that Philip Wentworth had refused to +give him any information regarding her than he usually allowed himself +to become over anything. It had been like a poisoned dagger in his heart +when that young man had arrogantly boasted of his engagement to the girl +who had given him the cameo, which was the choicest treasure he +possessed. + +But now he knew that Philip had lied--the occurrence of that evening had +proved to him that no such tie had ever existed between the two. To be +sure, Wentworth had addressed her by the familiar name "Mollie," but her +manner toward him had plainly indicated that, although she might +previously have regarded him as a friend, she had never surrendered her +heart into his keeping. + +This assurance set every pulse bounding with a feeling of exultation, +and a vague, sweet hope that possibly he might yet awaken some +responsive chord in her nature that as yet had been untouched began to +take root in his heart. + +He blessed the fates that had sent him upon an errand that night into +the locality where he had found her in trouble, and thus enabled him to +go to her rescue. Then that never-to-be-forgotten walk had seemed +leading him straight toward Paradise, the door of which Mollie had +opened to him by her invitation to call--a privilege of which he +resolved to avail himself at a very early day. + +And three evenings later found him standing at her door, seeking +admittance. + +Eliza answered his ring and showed him into the cosy homelike parlor, +and five minutes later Mollie appeared, looking charming in a dainty +house-gown of some soft, white material without an atom of color save +her blue eyes and glorious hair to mar its chaste simplicity. + +She almost always wore white at home--it had been her custom since +childhood, for her father loved to see her in it. + +She greeted Faxon with a cordiality which assured him that he was most +welcome, and his heart thrilled with joy unspeakable as he observed the +lovely color that suffused her face as he clasped her hand and responded +to her salutation. She put him at his ease at once by seating herself +near him and beginning to chat freely of Washington and its society; of +politics and politicians and various current topics. Then she gradually +drifted to other things, and finally to their first meeting, after which +she adroitly led him to speak of his college life, struggles, and +experiences. + +He was surprised to find how freely and almost involuntarily he opened +his heart to her of those things which he had seldom mentioned to +others, and when he concluded he held up and showed her the cameo ring +upon his hand. + +"It has been my mascot," he said, smiling, "and I can never make you +understand how much it has meant to me. But I never presumed to wear it +in public until the day I took my degree and only occasionally since." + +"I am afraid you have prized my simple souvenir far beyond its worth," +said Mollie, flushing. "It was really intended for a good-luck ring, +however. I purchased it, and had it marked for a cousin who was going +West to live, but as some one else had already given him a ring I kept +it and sent him something else. Have you discovered its little secret, +Mr. Faxon?" + +"Yes," said Clifford, as he touched the spring and the stone lifted from +its place; but he did not tell her then how he had learned it, "and I +have wondered during all these years until I met you the other night +what these tiny initials stood for." + +"Marie Norton Heatherford," Mollie repeated with a flush as she observed +the look with which he was regarding the letters. + +Then to dispel the feeling of embarrassment she smilingly added: + +"But, Mr. Faxon, I am afraid I should have felt that I was doing rather +a bold thing to offer a gentleman a ring marked with initials if I had +stopped to think about it that day--not that I regretted the ring, +believe me," she interposed, as he glanced up at her quickly, "it was a +very little thing to express all that I felt, but the letters rather +troubled me. I--I almost hoped you would not find them." + +"Ah! but the initials and the horseshoe have been its chief charm to +me," Clifford returned earnestly; "somehow they seemed to be a link +between the giver and myself, although, of course, I did not know what +they stood for. And, now that I have met you again, may I have your +permission to wear it constantly?" + +"By all means, if you wish--I am sure you will honor my little souvenir +by doing so," Mollie responded with downcast eyes and bounding pulses. + +She began to tell him something of her own life since that day; how a +few days later she and her parents had sailed for Europe to remain for +several years; how she had lost her mother during her sojourn abroad, +and one misfortune followed another until just after her return to this +country the grand crash had come that had made her father penniless. + +"Yes," she said, with a little regretful sigh at an exclamation of +sympathy from Faxon, "papa met with loss after loss, until a year and a +half ago we found that we were literally homeless and almost penniless. +A friend helped him to a position here in Washington, and for a while we +were very comfortable and happy; but papa lost his health, and for +several months past has been very ill--is, in fact, a hopeless invalid." + +"That is very sad," Clifford gravely observed, "and the change in your +life must have seemed hard--even cruel." + +"I don't know as I can say that," said Mollie reflectively; "I believe I +have rather enjoyed the change in some respects." + +"Enjoyed it!" repeated her companion astonished. + +"Yes," Mollie brightly affirmed, "for I then began to feel that I was +really of some use in the world. After papa gave up business I secured a +position, and I am now working regular hours every day; were it not for +my father's pitiable condition, I believe I should be perfectly happy. I +think it is grand to feel that one has the power to win one's own way in +the world." + +Faxon regarded her with mingled admiration and sympathy. He knew just +the feeling she described, for he had experienced the same thrill of +proud independence while working his way through college and also since +he had begun to know something of the real business of life, in spite of +the many crosses and hardships that he had endured. + +Then a wild, sweet hope took possession of his heart as he realized that +she no longer inhabited a sphere so far above him socially that she was, +as he had always believed her to be, utterly beyond his reach. + +She was every whit as poor as himself, according to her own frank +acknowledgment--there was now no golden barrier between them. Why, then, +might he not hope to win her--this fair, brave, sweet girl who had been +the star and the inspiration of his life during the last six years? + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +LANGUAGE OF THE MOSS-ROSE. + + +"And so you do not regret the loss of fortune nor of fortune's friends?" +Clifford questioned, while with the fond, new hope in his heart he +regarded her with more of tenderness in his glance than he was aware of. + +And Mollie flushed beneath his look, more because she was becoming +conscious that something within her was springing forth to meet that +which shone in his eyes than because of embarrassment. + +"I cannot quite say that, Mr. Faxon," she gravely replied, "for I should +be glad of an independent income--even though it was small--that would +enable me to do more for my father and put him under the constant care +of experts; for, in spite of what the physicians have told me, I cannot +quite give up all hope. I cannot bear to think that he must live on +indefinitely in his present darkened mental condition. + +"But as for myself," with an uplifting of her pretty head that denoted +conscious strength, "I do not regret the experience of the last two +years which the loss of fortune has brought me, and which has proved to +me that it is more noble and satisfactory to be a useful woman than a +butterfly of fashion. As for the 'friends of fortune,' that was well +put, Mr. Faxon, for those who have turned the cold shoulder upon me +were simply that and nothing more, and there is nothing to regret. It +is far better to have discovered the truth than to go on being cajoled +and deceived. I may say that there are but few whom I can regard as true +friends, and most of those I have made since I became a working girl. +What a queer world it is, isn't it? What a strange element there is in +humanity, which, as a rule--though there is now and then a rare +exception--does not take into account the real worth of an individual, +but is ready to hug to the heart a mental beggar and a moral leper, +provided he is sufficiently gilded with money. Can you explain it?" + +"I think it can all be summed up in one word, Miss Heatherford, and that +is--selfishness," Clifford replied. + +"Y--es," she thoughtfully assented, "and yet I think I should add pride, +vanity and ostentation." + +"And what is pride but self-esteem, self-conceit? What are vanity and +ostentation but egotism and self-sufficiency?" + +"You are right!" said Mollie, sitting suddenly erect, as if some new +thought had taken possession of her. "Why! I never thought of it before, +but the world--society so-called--is governed by selfishness!" + +"I am afraid that is the fact, as a rule," assented the young man. + +"How dreadful!" sighed his companion; "what veritable heathen idolaters +we are, in spite of our boasted civilization and Christianity; and how +little we know the meaning of the 'Golden Rule!'" + +"That is true; self is the god of this world," said Clifford; "and when +we attempt to analyze humanity we find it in every phase of life. +Royalty 'lifts its crested head' and declares, 'I am enthroned; come not +near, except on bended knee.' The multimillionaire, with lofty air, +says, 'Keep a respectful distance, unless you can match my purse with +one as heavy.' The merchant and banker refuse to associate with their +butcher and grocer; the employer looks down upon his employee; the +mistress upon her maid; and so it goes all along down the line even to +newsboys and bootblacks; for----" and here Faxon laughed, "to +illustrate, I saw two boys on the street the other day; one had a bundle +of papers under his arm; the other was stationed on a corner, with his +kit for blacking boots. 'Hello!' called out the newsboy familiarly and +with an envious glance at the kit, 'how long yer ben at it?' 'Git out!' +cried the youthful proprietor loftily, 'I've gone inter biz for myself, +I have; an' we don't take newsboys inter our 'sociation.' So from the +crowned heads of royalty down to the bootblack, who lords it over the +peddler of papers, because he makes his nickel where the other gets but +a penny, we find the serpent self with its spirit of arrogance and +malicious sting." + +"That is true," said Mollie, with a sigh, "and, worse than all, we find +it even in the churches, where the rich and intellectually proud hold +aloof from the poor widow and orphan and the beggar at their doors, +except, perhaps, to bestow, with lofty patronage a little of their +surplus wealth, and hoping thus to cancel their obligations as +Christians and believe that they have fulfilled the law of Love. Oh, I +am beginning to see how little the meaning of that word is understood." + +"And it never will be understood until the world learns how to 'deny +self' and become 'poor in spirit,' as taught by the Great Teacher +nineteen centuries ago," Clifford supplemented in a reverent tone. + +Mollie bent a thoughtful look upon his face. She thought him the +grandest character she had ever met. No young man of her acquaintance +had ever discussed such subjects in her presence before--they had always +been, for the most part, full of small talk, jest and compliment--and +she knew that most of her girl friends would have regarded such a +conversation as prosy and stupid. + +But she liked it--it seemed to meet something that she had long hungered +for. Faxon had struck a note in nature that vibrated in keenest sympathy +and perfect harmony with his thought, and when they parted that evening +both felt as if they must have known each other for years. + +After that they saw each other frequently. Mollie had invited him to +'come again,' and feeling that she was perfectly sincere, he had not +hesitated to avail himself of the privilege. Each time they met they +were drawn nearer each other, for they liked the same books and authors. +Faxon was a good reader, Mollie an appreciative listener, while they had +many an animated discussion over what they read. + +They attended lectures, concerts and occasionally the theater and opera; +though Mollie would not go often to the latter place because of the +expense, which she doubted that Faxon could afford. But she told herself +that she had never enjoyed a winter, even during her palmiest days, as +she had enjoyed this one. + +She well knew why; she had long known that she loved Clifford Faxon with +all her heart, and she was sure that he returned her affection, although +as yet no word of confession had escaped him. Nevertheless, she had +abundant evidence of the fact in his every act, in every glance of his +eyes and every tone of his voice. Yet she was not impatient--she was +content to bide his time, well knowing that when he felt it right to +speak he would do so. + +Her new happiness added greatly to her loveliness. There was a brighter +light in her deep blue eyes, a sweeter, sunnier smile--if that were +possible--on her lips, a buoyancy, an elasticity in her every movement +and step which plainly betrayed that she loved to live and lived to +love. + +Monsieur Lamonti was quick to observe these things, and wondered within +himself what had caused this radiant change in her. He was not long left +in doubt, for one afternoon he met the lovers, face to face, upon the +street. + +Mollie stopped short in his path and greeted him cordially; then, with +beaming eyes and heightened color, introduced her companion. The three +stood chatting for a few moments, then parted and went their different +ways. + +The next morning Monsieur Lamonti interrupted Mollie in her work, and, +after discussing two or three questions relating to business, suddenly +inquired: + +"By the way, mademoiselle, allow me to ask who was the gentleman to whom +you introduced me yesterday? His name, of course, I know--Monsieur +Faxon--but is he an old or a new friend?" + +Mollie blushed delightfully at the question. + +"He is both, monsieur, if you can comprehend anything so paradoxical," +she said with a musical little laugh of rippling happiness, and which +called an answering smile to her listener's lips. Then she went on and +frankly told him the whole of Cliff's history as far as she knew it, +from the time of her first meeting with him in the station at New Haven +to his coming to Washington, while Monsieur Lamonti appeared greatly +interested, and reading in the girl's every look and tone the sweet +love-story that was making her life so beautiful. + +"Ah," he observed when she concluded, "Mr. Faxon is a self-made man; he +is doubtless a noble young man. I am sure he will rise yet higher and do +himself honor." + +Mollie smiled with pleasure at his commendation of her lover. + +"I also am sure he will," she said with shining eyes. + +"And what is he doing now, mademoiselle?" queried the gentleman. + +"At present he is in the Patent Office, with the expectation of a +promotion at the beginning of the year." + +"Well, mademoiselle, it is evident he is a fine young fellow; he +certainly looks it; I am truly glad you have such a friend," said +Monsieur Lamonti, with a kindness and sincerity that touched Mollie +deeply. + +He resumed his writing, and nothing more was said upon the subject, but +Mollie observed that, from time to time, he paused in his work and gazed +abstractedly out of the window, as if his thoughts were busy elsewhere. + +A few days later on reaching the office she found a note from Clifford, +asking if she would go with him the following evening to hear Madam +Melba in "Faust." + +He mentioned the fact that he was well acquainted with a prominent +member of the company, who had offered him complimentary tickets for a +box or any seats which he might prefer elsewhere in the house, and would +she please signify which she would like best. + +Mollie smiled as she read the note. She knew it would be the "first +night" of the opera, and she understood that Clifford feared that she +either might not be able or wish to appear in evening dress, and so had +given her a choice of seats, while, too, it would settle the question +regarding what his own attire should be. + +She responded cordially, saying she would be delighted to hear Melba, +and would enjoy the box if it would be agreeable to him. Clifford wrote +a clear, symmetrical hand, and before returning his missive to its +envelope Mollie passed it to Monsieur Lamonti, remarking that perhaps he +would like to see Mr. Faxon's penmanship. + +"People claim, you know," she said, smiling, "that there is a great +deal of character expressed in a person's handwriting." + +Monsieur Lamonti read the note, then passed it back to her with the +observation: + +"It is certainly a fine hand, mademoiselle, and if it is an exponent of +Mr. Faxon's character, I should judge him to be a frank, honest, +high-minded young man." + +Mollie was, of course, pleased with this tribute to her lover, for she +saw that it was sincere, while she knew that Monsieur Lamonti was a keen +observer, and she was sure that he regarded Clifford with approbation. + +The next afternoon, while she was putting some finishing touches to an +evening dress which she had remodeled to wear to the opera, Monsieur +Lamonti's coachman drove to the door, and a few moments later Eliza came +to her, bringing a good-sized box. + +On opening it, Mollie gave a cry of delight as her eyes fell upon a rare +collection of hot-house flowers, whose perfume filled the room, and +which she well knew, without glancing at the accompanying card, had been +culled from the greenhouse of her good friend. + +"How kind, how thoughtful he always is!" she murmured appreciatively as +she buried her face in the mass of luxuriant bloom to inhale the +delicious fragrance. + +Later, when Clifford called for her she was radiantly lovely in her +rich, lustrous silk of pale blue, another creation of Worth's, and a +remnant of her old-time glory which had long been packed away as +unsuitable to wear in her present circumstances. The dress, with a few +alterations, seemed almost like new. + +She wore diamonds upon her neck and in her ears; also a dazzling +ornament in her golden hair, for her jewels--many of which had been her +mother's--had also been carefully stowed away, her father having +insisted that she should keep them, although she had cheerfully offered +to relinquish every one if such sacrifice would lighten his burdens in +any way. But he had told her, "No; every debt would be paid, and the +gems were too sacred to be surrendered." + +Her hands and arms were encased in long white gloves, chosen from the +box with which Monsieur Lamonti had presented her, and as Faxon entered, +she was just tying a long ribbon around a bouquet which she had arranged +from Monsieur Lamonti's floral offering. + +The young man's eyes glowed with tender admiration as Mollie went +forward to meet him. + +"Ah," he said ingenuously and with a thrill of fondness in his voice as +he clasped her extended hand, "I am so glad you chose the box." + +Mollie laughed musically, for his words told her that he had hoped to +find her in evening dress, and was more than pleased with her +appearance. + +"It was very kind of you to give me the option," she replied with a +glance which plainly told him that she had understood his motive and +thoroughly appreciated it. + +"Well," he observed, with a twinkle in his handsome eyes, "I thought we +might as well make the most of our opportunity. What lovely flowers!" + +"They are, indeed!" she returned. "Monsieur Lamonti sent them." + +Then as she glanced at the lapel of his coat she continued: "And you +must have a boutonniere; may I select something for you?" + +"Not if you will have to rob this; I would not have a single blossom +disarranged," said Clifford, as he eyed the bouquet admiringly. + +"Oh, no; I have quantities more," said Mollie, as she gently released +the hand which he had unconsciously been holding and turned to a table +which there was a large glass dish filled with flowers. + +She bent over them and paused to consider what she would offer him. +Presently she detached three small crimson moss-rosebuds with a single +spray of green leaves and held them up before him. + +"Will you wear these?" she queried. + +A great shock went coursing through Clifford as he took them from her +white gloved hands and regarded them with a yearning look. + +Then his eyes--almost black now with the intensity of his +emotion--sought her face. + +"May I?" he breathed, "may I wear them with the assurance of what they +express? Do you know the language of the red moss-rosebud, Mollie?" + +A scarlet flood leaped to the fair girl's temples as she realized, too +late, the significance of her gift; while his use of her given name, for +the first time, set every pulse to bounding wildly. She lifted a +startled look to his face; then as quickly her golden lashes dropped +upon her flaming cheeks. + +"Yes, I know," she murmured, "but I did not think of it when I chose +them." + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +MONSIEUR LAMONTI'S DEATH. + + +"I know you did not, love," Clifford returned as he bent forward and +gathered both her hands into his, "and it was an unfair question, I am +afraid. But I love you, dear--I love you. You must have seen it, you +must have read it for weeks, for my every thought has been of and for +you, and sometimes I have even dared to think that your thought has been +responsive to mine, assuring me that I had won your heart, and that my +future is to be crowned with the supreme blessing of your love. You do +not turn from me--you do not take your hands from mine--may I hope, +Mollie? Tell me that you love me--that you will be my wife when I shall +have won a position worthy to offer you. May I wear the buds as the +token of your assent? Oh, my darling, where can I find language to tell +you all that is in my heart? Tell me--tell me!" + +His passionate emotion moved her deeply, although his voice had been +raised scarcely above a whisper. His fond words, his rich, thrilling +tones were like the solemn notes of an organ. She never had been so +supremely happy in her life as at that moment, and yet she wanted to +weep. + +But her whole heart went out to him. She lifted her eyes to his and they +were brimming with tears. + +"Yes, you know--you must have long known that I love you, Clifford," +she whispered. + +He could not speak for the moment. He was white, even to his lips, with +joy that was beyond words. He lifted her hands and laid them about his +neck; then his arms slid around her graceful form and drew her to his +breast, where he held her close--so close that she could both feel and +hear the throbbing of his heart. + +They stood thus for a few moments, speechless from the consciousness of +the sacred union. At length Clifford gently released her and, fondly +placing one hand beneath her chin, lifted her face and scanned it +earnestly. + +"Tears?" he said softly. + +"Yes," said Mollie, with a shy, sweet laugh, "my cup is so full it +cannot hold all my joy, and some had to brim over." + +"Sweetheart!" he murmured, but he still continued to study her face with +a look that seemed to have something of wonderment in it. + +"Why do you look at me like that? Of what are you thinking?" Mollie +inquired. + +"I am wondering how it would have been with us if Mr. Heatherford had +never lost his millions," said the young man reflectively. + +"Clifford!" cried Mollie, in a tone of reproach, "you know I should have +loved you just the same; but I am glad that I am poor, for I am awfully +afraid if I had not been, you would have been too proud to tell me what +you have told me to-night." + +"Suppose such had been the case?" he smilingly questioned. + +"I--I think I should have made you confess it somehow," she replied with +an imperative little tap of her foot, "or"--with a gleam of mischief in +her happy eyes, "I might have unsexed myself and proposed to you--oh! I +am afraid I almost did as it is," she concluded, flushing again rosily +as she thought of the rosebuds. + +He laughed joyously and caught her to him again; then, bending his +handsome head, he kissed her softly, reverently on her lips. + +"I shall never wear anything but the red moss-rose after this," he said, +"and now after you have fastened them in for me, we must go, or we shall +be late for the opera. And I nearly forget, dear--I have tickets for +to-morrow night to see Willard in the 'Professor's Love-story.'" + +"Aren't you getting dissipated, Cliff?" questioned Mollie chidingly. + +"Wouldn't you like to see the play?" + +Mollie took the rosebuds daintily in her white-gloved fingers, shot a +sly glance up at him as she kissed them, then slipped them deftly into +the buttonhole and fastened them there. + +"Yes. Willard is fine," she said, "but I'm afraid that I am not quite so +deeply interested in the 'Professor's Love-story' just at present as I +am in my own." + +"My darling!" said Faxon in a voice that was tremulous with his new, +great happiness as he pressed his lips upon her white forehead. Then he +lifted a beautiful opera-cloak that was hanging over a chair, and laid +it over her shoulders. + +It was made of white brocaded satin, trimmed with ermine, and her +golden-crowned head, with the crescent of flashing diamonds rising out +of its snowy whiteness, made him think of some rare and beautiful +flower. + +"My own, you look like a queen in your coronation-robe, and I feel like +a king who has just been crowned," he fondly murmured as he fastened the +silver clasp beneath her chin. + +"You are a king, Cliff--my king," Mollie softly responded. + +A minute later they were rolling swiftly up-town, sitting hand in hand +and feeling as if an enchanted future lay before them. + +The house was filled and brilliant with a first-night audience as they +stepped within their box, and many a glass was leveled at the peerlessly +beautiful girl and her handsome escort, with expressions of mingled +admiration, wonder, and curiosity. As it happened, Philip Wentworth and +his mother were located in the box directly opposite, and both gave a +start of undisguised surprise as Mollie took her seat, for they +recognized her instantly. + +"Why, Phil!" exclaimed Mrs. Temple, "she really looks like the old-time +Mollie, doesn't she? She still has her diamonds, I see, and I suppose no +one here would believe she had ever worn that dress before. I recognize +it, however, although I must confess it looks just as fresh as it did +when she arrived from Paris. She is downright beautiful, Phil! Oh, dear! +I wish they hadn't lost their money. Do you know who that is with her? +It seems as if I had seen him before." + +"He's that cad Faxon--blast him!" Philip replied, his face flaming with +sudden anger and shame. + +"Why do you call him that, Phil?--he certainly looks like a gentleman. +Oh, by the way, isn't he the young man who worked his own way through +Harvard and took the second honor in your class?" + +"Yes." + +"And he is the one who had that ring of Mollie's. Did you ever find out +how he came by it?" + +"No." He preferred to lie about it rather than explain Faxon's heroic +deed. + +"Mercy, Phil, how monosyllabic you are," said Mrs. Temple as she shot a +curious sidelong glance at him. "I fully intended to ask Mollie about it +when she returned, but I never thought of it. Have you any idea how he +became acquainted with Mollie?" + +"How should I know?" queried Philip evasively, but he found great +difficulty in controlling himself sufficiently to preserve a respectful +tone, and his hands were so tightly clenched that the nails actually cut +the palms. + +The sight of the couple opposite had brought vividly to his mind the +night when he had overtaken and insulted Mollie upon the street and +Faxon had come to the rescue. He had never seen either of them since, +but he had felt deeply humiliated every time he had thought of the +affair, and his old hatred of Clifford increased a hundred-fold in view +of the indignity, merited though it was, that he had suffered at his +hands. + +"How handsome he is!" he mentally exclaimed as he studied those bright +faces. "He is dressed in the very latest style, too, and I wonder where +he gets the cash to sport a box? And Mollie--she is just too lovely for +anything!" A shaft of pain went quivering through him from head to foot +as he feasted his eyes upon her beauty. + +"There is no one like her--and I love her in spite of everything," he +went on, choking back something very like a sob, "but, of course, she +must positively hate me now. What a fool I was not to have made sure +that she was a stranger before I spoke to her that night!" + +These were some of the thoughts which thronged Philip Wentworth's brain +as he sat and watched the young couple, paying very little heed to the +brilliant prima donna on the stage. + +The footlights were bright enough to enable him to see their every +movement--almost their every look, and he was quick to observe Faxon's +tender glance and manner whenever he addressed his fair companion; while +Mollie's varying color, the glad light in her eyes, whenever they met +his, and the happy smiles that rippled over her lips were simply +maddening to his jealous heart, and aroused a terrible fear within him. + +"By Jove!" he said to himself, a cold chill creeping over him. "I +believe, upon my soul that there is an understanding between them, and +it would certainly cap the climax of the worst I ever dreamed if he +should win her." + +He could not tell whether Mollie was conscious of his and his mother's +presence or not. Of course, he knew that the occupants of one box were +just as conspicuous as those in another, and two or three times he had +seen her lift her gold-mounted glass and sweep the house. But if she had +seen them she gave no sign of the fact. + +He wondered if she would preserve the strict letter of the sentence +which she had pronounced upon him the last time they met, if he should +happen to encounter her again, and he was soon to have that question +settled beyond all doubt. + +When the opera was over and while Mollie and Clifford were waiting at +the entrance of the theater for their carriage, Philip and his mother +came upon them suddenly. + +Mrs. Temple, finished woman of the world though she was, was taken aback +a trifle, and the warm color flushed to her face. Yet she greeted Mollie +with something of her old-time cordiality, for the girl was so +exquisitely lovely that her heart involuntarily warmed toward her. + +Still there was a certain reserve in her manner which Mollie was quick +to feel, although she responded with equal courtesy. She was keenly +sensitive to the fact also that Mrs. Temple had felt no interest to seek +her out, even though she had been in Washington many weeks; but, at the +same time, she bore herself with a quiet dignity, which plainly +betrayed that it would take more than the loss of property and +fair-weather friends to crush either her spirit or self-respect. +Moreover, when Phil advanced as his mother moved on she looked him full +in the face and gave him the cut direct. + +He was as white as his immaculate tie as he strode on, inwardly foaming +with mingled rage and mortification. He knew now that she would adhere +to what she had said. She had taken her stand and would maintain it, and +he realized that he fully merited the punishment meted out to him. But +to see her standing so proudly by the side of the man whom he both +envied and hated, and leaning upon his arm with that air of confidence +and content, was almost more than he could endure and retain his +self-control. + +Clifford had been a deeply interested observer of the little scene. +Philip Wentworth and his mother had taken no more notice of him than if +he had been simply one of the pillars which supported the arch above +them. + +Mollie also had observed Philip's slight and resented it, her hand +involuntarily closing over Cliff's arm, and thus betraying her +indignation. Possibly she might not have been quite so frigidly +statuesque but for that. + +"I did not care to introduce you to Mrs. Temple, dear," she explained to +Clifford as soon as they were seated in their carriage. "I am afraid, +though, it made it a trifle awkward for you; but I hope you do not +mind." + +"Not in the least, for, of course, it was her place to recognize me, +since we had met before," Faxon smilingly returned. + +"What!" cried Mollie, in resentful astonishment, "and she presumed to +ignore you!" + +"It is barely possible that she did not recognize me," the young man +quietly replied, although he was quite sure to the contrary, for he had +not been unobservant of the interest which the occupants of the box +opposite his own had manifested in connection with Mollie and himself +during the evening. + +Then he told her something of the circumstances of his meeting with Mr. +Temple on the campus at Cambridge four years previous. + +"Well, it is the way of the world I suppose," said Mollie with a gentle +sigh. "She used to appear to be very fond of me when we lived in New +York, and we have exchanged visits many times, but she, like others, has +given me a very cold shoulder since I became the child of misfortune, +and what makes it seem worse in this case is the fact that Mr. Temple +was responsible for the climax of my father's financial ruin." + +She explained as well as she was able how this had happened, but the +lovers soon drifted to more agreeable topics, and, caring little for +either the smiles or frowns of the Temples, or of any one else, in fact, +for they were far too deeply absorbed in their own new-found +happiness--their world, for the present at least, was circumscribed by +each other and their individual interests. + +But for Mollie the tables were soon to be turned by a most unexpected +and signal triumph--a triumph which caused many an old friend (?) a +taste of bitter regret and mortification. + +About a week later, on entering Monsieur Lamonti's office, she found +her friend absent and a note lying on her desk. It proved to be from her +employer, who mentioned that he was a trifle under the weather, but +requested that she would go on with her work as far as she was able and +then come to him for instructions. + +She worked diligently until nearly noon, then, finding that she could do +no more without explicit directions, she donned her hat and jacket and +proceeded to Monsieur Lamonti's residence. + +She found him ill in bed with a violent cold, and quite feverish, but he +assured her that he would be all right in a day or two, when he would +rejoin her at the office. + +But the next morning a note from Nannette announced that he was worse, +and as Mollie could not work alone, she went to the house, where she +spent most of the day caring for Lucille, in order to allow the maid to +give her undivided attention to her master. She left about five o'clock +feeling greatly depressed, for Monsieur Lamonti had grown steadily +worse, and the physician had told her that he was a very sick man, +though he might pull through--a few hours would decide the matter. + +Faxon spent the evening with her, and she was somewhat cheered by his +presence. He left her at ten, but had not been gone fifteen minutes when +Mollie heard a carriage dash up to the door and the next moment the bell +clanged a vigorous and imperative peal. + +She rushed to the door to find Monsieur Lamonti's footman standing +without and looking pale and anxious. + +"Oh! what is it?" she breathed in an almost inarticulate voice. + +"The master is going, miss, for sure, and wants to see you," the man +replied. + +Mollie seized a long wrap and, while she was fastening it about her, +explained to Eliza that she should be away all night. The next minute +she was inside the carriage and being whirled at a rapid rate toward the +Lamonti mansion. + +She was comparatively calm when she arrived and followed the weeping +Nannette to her master's room without a word, although she held the +girl's hand in a clasp of sympathy on the way hither. + +She was terribly shocked at the change in her kind friend which the last +few hours had made, but she gave no outward sign of this except that she +was very pale. + +She found the physician, a trained nurse, and Monsieur Lamonti's lawyer +present; but paying no heed to them she walked quietly to the bedside, +where she sat down and took the hand which the man weakly extended to +her. He was white as wax, but very calm, and smiled as his fingers +closed over hers. He glanced up at his lawyer. + +"Tell them to go out," he said, indicating the nurse, Nannette, and the +physician, and as they passed from the room Mollie bent over her friend. + +"You sent for me," she said gently, "what can I do for you?" + +"Just this, mademoiselle," he replied gravely, but speaking with +difficulty, "you have promised to care for my Lucille, to rear and +educate her carefully, to be, in fact, a mother to her, as well as her +legal guardian until she is of age or marries?" + +"Yes," briefly but solemnly assented Mollie. + +He thanked her with a little pressure of her hand. + +"I have left explicit instructions," he resumed after a moment. "I have +made all my wishes known in my will. Promise me that you will heed them +all, that every one shall be carried out as I have directed," he +concluded with impressive earnestness. + +"I know you would not ask anything impossible of me, dear friend, so I +cheerfully promise," Mollie unhesitatingly responded. + +"Swear it, mademoiselle," said Monsieur Lamonti, glancing at the +prayerbook which lay beside his pillow. + +Mollie's lips trembled; the scene was becoming very trying to her. + +"I will swear if monsieur wishes; but my word would be just as sacred to +me as an oath," she said gently. + +The man smiled up at her. + +"That is enough--I am satisfied," he said, "and Mr. Ashley here already +knows that I trust you implicitly, as I would my own daughter had she +lived. Now, my child, let me add that you have been a great comfort to +me; do not forget in the days to come that you made the last few months +of a lonely, almost heart-broken man, much the brighter by your sweet +presence, and the highest tribute I can show you is to trust you with my +one earthly treasure--my Lucille. Now, I will not keep you, +mademoiselle, adieu, and may the good God forever bless you and yours." + +Mollie arose. She felt that she could scarcely have borne another word; +her throat was almost convulsed, her eyes heavy with unshed tears, and +yet she must not weep before him. + +She could not speak, but she bent down and left a light caress upon the +man's forehead, then swiftly but noiselessly passed from the room. + +At the door she turned for one last look at her friend, to find his eyes +fastened upon her, and in them a light of peace and gladness that she +had never seen in them before. The memory of it never left her. That +night Monsieur Lamonti passed away, and all Washington was grieved and +shocked to read of it the following day. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +THE SOCIAL WORLD SURPRISED. + + +A few days later another ripple of excitement was created among the +elite of the nation's capital when the contents of Monsieur Lamonti's +will were made known, and it was learned that a young and beautiful +woman had been made the guardian of the distinguished gentleman's +granddaughter and the executrix of the important testament. The document +was simple and concise, but betrayed careful thought, and the fact that +the testator knew exactly what he was about, for there was not a flaw in +it that could possibly have been contested, had any one been disposed to +do so. + +It provided that all real estate, horses, carriages, plate, books, +pictures, and choice bric-a-brac, together with certain stocks and bonds +therein named, were to become the sole property of his beloved +granddaughter, Lucille Gillette, to be held in trust for her, without +bonds, until she arrived at the age of twenty-one or married, by +Mademoiselle Marie Norton Heatherford, for whom the testator entertained +the most profound esteem, and in whom he placed the utmost confidence, +and who was hereby authorized and entreated to carry out his +instructions to the letter, to wit: that she would legally adopt said +Lucille Gillette as her own child, allowing her to retain her present +name, and rear and educate her as tenderly and carefully as if she were +indeed her own flesh and blood. Then there followed several minor +bequests and requests, supplemented by something that was to make a +radical change in Mollie's future. + +In return for assuming said responsibilities, said Mademoiselle +Heatherford would please accept the testator's deepest gratitude, +together with, as a slight testimonial of the same, the residue of all +that he possessed. + +The will further provided that Mademoiselle Heatherford was to exercise +perfect freedom in the choice of a place of residence; she was at +liberty to occupy the present home of the youthful heiress, retaining +the same number of servants, horses, and carriages, or dispose of the +property and reside elsewhere, as she chose; the only stipulation being +that she should always live in a style befitting the fortune and +position of the testator's grandchild, all expenses to be paid out of +the income of said grandchild, the bequest of Mademoiselle Heatherford +being intended for her own private use and disposal. + +She was advised to retain Monsieur Lamonti's present lawyer, as the +testator regarded him a trustworthy and competent attorney; but she was +not bound in any way to do so, if circumstances or her judgment should +at any time dictate otherwise. + +Of course, Mollie had expected something of this kind, in the event of +Monsieur Lamonti's demise, for she had agreed to accept the charge of +Lucille; but she was not prepared for, and was somewhat appalled by, +the magnitude of the fortune which she would be required to manage in +the future, and the absolute freedom from conditions and restrictions in +which she found herself placed. Regarding the bequest to herself, she +did not at first give much thought to it. Monsieur Lamonti, when talking +the matter over with her, had assured her that she would receive ample +remuneration, and she had inferred that she would, perhaps, be paid a +salary--possibly somewhat increased--the same as she had been getting +from him monthly for her services as private secretary. + +His stating her remuneration in the blind way "as the residue of his +property" she imagined might have been so expressed to save her feelings +and prevent the curious public from knowing the amount she was to be +paid for her services. + +But a great surprise was in store for her. She was, of course obliged to +consult with Monsieur Lamonti's lawyer, Mr. Ashley, in order to become +familiar with all the details regarding her duties in connection with +the property which she was to administer, and then she found that "the +little Lucille" was a veritable little princess--that she was heiress to +a most magnificent fortune. + +"Oh, Mr. Ashley! I never can manage it. I am utterly incompetent!" she +exclaimed in deep distress, when she began to comprehend something of +the condition of affairs. The lawyer smiled. + +"Of course, you are not expected to act alone; you must have help; your +friend had no intention of having you harassed with pecuniary burdens. +He left everything in excellent condition, and I assure you there will +be no complications. I have everything in a nutshell, so to speak, +though I confess it is a good big nut, and I am sure, from what Mr. +Lamonti has told me regarding your business-capacity, that you will +readily understand everything when I place my statements before you. +But, Miss Heatherford, let us now talk about your own fortune. I shall +want to know just what disposition to make of it." + +"Fortune!" repeated Mollie, astonished. "I imagine you magnify Monsieur +Lamonti's bequest to me; you dignify it by too high-sounding a name." + +"He has left you exactly one-fourth of all that he possessed, Miss +Heatherford," Mr. Ashley quietly returned. + +"One-fourth!" + +At first the words did not seem to mean much to Mollie. Then, as her +active mind began to grasp the situation, she started violently, +flushed, then paled. + +"Mr. Ashley! you do not mean that! I--it cannot be possible!" she gasped +in breathless astonishment. "Why! that would be----" + +"Yes, exactly; since you already know what Lucille's fortune amounts to, +it is comparatively an easy matter to compute your own," smilingly +returned her companion, and thoroughly enjoying the surprise of the +beautiful girl, for whom, although he had only recently made her +acquaintance, he was rapidly acquiring a great admiration and respect. + +"But I never dreamed of anything like this!" Mollie panted, for she was +actually quivering with excitement. "Oh! It does not seem right. I have +done nothing to deserve so much. I cannot accept it." + +"But, my dear Miss Heatherford, you have no alternative," Mr. Ashley +quietly observed. "Monsieur Lamonti has decreed what shall be done with +his property, and you gave him your solemn promise, in my presence, that +you would attend to having his wishes carried out to the letter." + +"Ah! that was why he sent for me the night he--went away; that was why +he was so particular, so explicit; that is why he tried to make me +'swear' that I would do as he wished," said Mollie, still looking much +disturbed. "Did you know at that time why he was so insistent?" + +"Yes. I had been with him a portion of every day during his illness, +helping him draw up the will," the gentleman replied. "You did not +'swear,' Miss Heatherford, but you told him that your word would be just +as sacred to you as an oath." + +"Yes, I did; but I did not once suspect that he would put me to such a +test; and, truly, I feel as if I have no moral right to such an amount, +independent of all my expenses, as the will states. Why! it will make +me, also, a rich woman!" Mollie concluded, with a look of real trouble +in her eyes. + +"Yes, it is certainly a very handsome plum, my dear young lady," Mr. +Ashley assented, with a satisfied nod of his head; "while as for the +right of the matter, allow me to say I consider that you have every +right to it. In the first place, you are wronging no one living by +accepting it, for little Miss Lucille Gillette will have more money +than she will ever know what to do with. I will also say that I think +you would wrong your late friend, Monsieur Lamonti, by rejecting the +provision he has made for you, for he gave me some of his reasons for +wishing to settle this amount upon you. For one thing, you saved the +life of his granddaughter, did you not?" + +"I--suppose I did," Mollie admitted rather reluctantly, then added: "But +any one else would have done the same thing under the same +circumstances." + +"That may be very true; at the same time, I cannot see that such a view +of the case detracts in the least from the heroism of your act, or +lessens one whit the obligation which Monsieur Lamonti would naturally +feel," the lawyer argued. "Then I understand that you were in his employ +for some time, and not only served him most faithfully, winning his +highest esteem and entire confidence, but----" + +"Well, but he paid me generously," Mollie hastily interposed, and +feeling decidedly uncomfortable to have her services so overestimated. + +"Pardon me, Miss Heatherford," Mr. Ashley laughingly retorted, "but I +can't have my argument spoiled in that way. I was about to say that you +also saved your friend a great loss, not only of money, but of valuables +which no money could replace. Am I right?" + +"Yes," faltered Mollie. Then she laughed out rather nervously, and +continued: "I perceive, Mr. Ashley, that you are determined to corner +me, and I think it might be well for me to withdraw from the argument." + +"Then it will have to be a one-sided one for a while longer, as I +perceive you are not yet quite reconciled," her companion returned, with +a smile. Then he observed very gravely: "There are some things which +money can never repay, Miss Heatherford, and I am sure that Monsieur +Lamonti felt that when he was making his will. Leaving all that had +occurred, for which he felt there was no adequate return, out of the +question, the fact that you were willing to assume the care of his +little one relieved his heart of an incalculable burden." + +"But I love Lucille; she is a dear child, and it will be a pleasure to +me to care for her," broke in Mollie earnestly. + +"You are condemning yourself, my young friend," said the lawyer, with +twinkling eyes, "for don't you see that money is no recompense for such +an interest in any one; then you have pledged yourself to be a mother to +her, according to your highest conception of the word; you are to watch +and guard her development; you are to see that she is properly educated +for the position she will occupy by and by; you have sacredly promised +to do everything in your power to make her a true and noble woman, and +thus you are accountable in a great measure for her future. If I might +be allowed to judge--and I have dear children of my own--I should say +that no pecuniary emolument could ever balance such responsibilities. +Now, let me advise you not to feel burdened by the bequest of your good +friend, but accept it in the same spirit in which it was bestowed; take +up your new duties cheerfully, and try to be just as happy as possible +in your future sphere--a sphere which, if I am not mistaken, you are +eminently fitted to grace. Don't you think that such a course would +better please Monsieur Lamonti, if he could speak, than to reject, from +an oversensitiveness, what I know he must have regarded as a small +return for what he owed you in the past and all that he has asked of you +for the future?" + +Mollie was silent for a few minutes, while she gravely considered what +he had said, and tried to realize how she herself would have felt if the +positions had been reversed. At length she looked up with clear eyes and +her own sunny smile. + +"You are right, Mr. Ashley," she said, "you have made me see things in a +different light, and yet I think it will take me some time to get over +the feeling, in view of all the wealth that has come upon me, like an +avalanche, to manage, that I have an embarrassment of riches." + +"Do not be troubled," the gentleman kindly returned, "for if affairs are +managed in the future as they have been in the past--I mean according to +Monsieur Lamonti's system--you will find that everything will move along +very smoothly." + +"You are surely very comforting," Mollie observed, her heart beginning +to grow light once more. "Of course, you must be my counselor, and I +trust you will not mind if I come to you with all my troubles, as +freely as if I were your own daughter, at least until I become +accustomed to my new duties." + +And the gentleman said he should be very happy to have her honor him +with her confidence to such an extent. + +In spite of the blind way in which Monsieur Lamonti had worded his +bequest to Mollie, it became noised abroad that the future guardian of +the youthful heiress had herself been very handsomely dowered, and +immediately all Washington became intensely interested in her. The +romantic incidents connected with the saving of the child's life and the +capturing of the midnight burglar--for that, also, had been whispered +about--the beauty and refinement of Miss Heatherford, whom numberless +people now began to remember as a previous New York belle, became, for +the time, the talk of society, and much interest and curiosity were +manifested regarding her plans for the future. + +Would she remain in Washington and maintain the fine establishment of +the late millionaire, or would she retire to some place where she would +not be so closely watched during the minority and educating of her young +charge? Would she enter society again, after a proper season of +seclusion out of respect to Monsieur Lamonti, entertain and be +entertained, and finally be won by some aspiring young man of the world? + +Of course, Mollie's early life and training had well fitted her to +preside in the palatial home of Lucille, and to shine among the most +distinguished people of Washington, or, indeed, of any city; and, +although she did not give much thought to society just now, there was +much to induce her to remain where she was. + +She believed that her friend would prefer her to do so, at least for the +present, and preserve his home just as he had left it, that Lucille +might not too soon forget him; while, as she thought the matter over in +all its bearings, it seemed almost like sacrilege to her to displace the +beautiful furnishings and many treasures of art which had been so +carefully purchased and arranged under his supervision; the servants +were all well trained and trustworthy, and it would have entailed an +infinite amount of perplexity and labor to make any change, and even +though she felt that the responsibility of keeping up such an extensive +establishment would be very great, she finally decided it was the right +thing for her to do. Moreover, and it was the greatest inducement of +all, Cliff was to remain indefinitely in Washington, and she felt that +she could not be separated from him. + +So her modest little home, in the humble street where they had lived for +nearly two years, was broken up. Mr. Heatherford was removed to the +pleasantest suite of rooms in the Lamonti residence, and the faithful +Eliza was retained to act solely as his nurse and attendant. + +"Poor, dear papa!" Mollie sighed as she bent fondly over him, after he +was comfortably settled in a sunny south window of his luxurious +apartment, "if you could only realize the good fortune that has come to +us, after our battle with poverty, I should be perfectly happy." + +When Faxon first learned of the great change that had come into +Mollie's life so unexpectedly he looked anything but pleased. + +"So, dear, you now belong to another sphere," he observed, with a +quickly repressed sigh, "or, perhaps, I should have said you have been +restored to your proper sphere." + +"Cliff," said Mollie reprovingly, but with a light on her face which +expressed far more than her words, "I belong alone to you--your sphere +will always be mine, unless--oh, you grand, aspiring fellow!--I am +unable to keep up with you mentally as you climb the ladder of fame." + +The young man's arms closed around her in a fond embrace, but a sudden +contraction in his throat would not admit of his speaking for the +moment. This little revelation of her great and absorbing love for him +moved him deeply. Mollie observed it, and, flashing a sly, mischievous +glance into his face, she demurely remarked: + +"I'm very sorry, Cliff, if you are going to feel burdened to take me +with the appendage that has been thrust upon me. Of course, you know I +would rather have you than the fortune--love in the proverbial cottage +with you than the whole world without you--but since I cannot get rid of +the fortune, I don't see but that you will have to take me just as I am, +be it for 'better or worse.'" + +"Mollie! Mollie!" murmured Faxon, in a voice that almost made her +weep--it was so intense from the emotion which nearly mastered +him--"what a rare, sweet woman you are!" + +He was silent for a moment, and then he resumed with more self-control. + +"I dared to love you when you were 'Miss Heatherford the heiress,' but I +should not have presumed to try to win you while you were rich and I was +poor. I have been so glad and proud to have won you while we were on the +same plane socially, and to feel that we love each other for just what +we are. I have exulted in the thought that it would be my privilege to +work for you, and, perchance, restore you to the position you once +occupied; but since I am to be denied that I can only bend all my +energies toward making my name one that you will be proud to bear by and +by." + +"I am already proud of it, dear," said Mollie, with beaming eyes, "but I +shall be even more so when it becomes my own." + +Clifford's answer to this loving tribute need not be recorded, but, +judging from the sweet laugh which rippled over Mollie's lips, it was +entirely satisfactory. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +MR. HEATHERFORD'S RECOVERY. + + +Immediately after Mr. Heatherford's removal to the Lamonti mansion, +Mollie resolved to make one more desperate effort for his recovery and +to spare no expense to put him under the most noted specialists for +diseases of the brain that could be secured. After making diligent +inquiries, she decided to send for Doctor ----, of New York, to come to +Washington and diagnose her father's case. The great man came, but, +after a careful and protracted examination, pronounced the fatal +verdict, which she so dreaded to hear. + +"Miss Heatherford, it pains me deeply to have to tell you that there is +not the slightest ray of hope, as far as I can see," he said, and then +lapsed into a learned description of the patient's condition, describing +the state of his brain, the probable progress of the disease, and its +inevitable termination, while Mollie felt as if she would herself become +distracted before he concluded his terrible picture. + +"Oh!" she cried at last, "then he must live on like this indefinitely, +growing gradually more and more helpless! He is never to know anything +more of life, never even give me, his only child, one fond word or look +of recognition! How can I bear it?" + +"My dear young lady, it is hard, I know," said the physician kindly, +and deeply touched by the tearless grief, "and were it in my power to +give you the least encouragement, I should be more than glad to do so. I +have given you my opinion of the case as it appears to me," he went on +after a moment of deep thought, "but if it would comfort you any to make +one more trial, I will suggest that a noted Paris specialist, who is now +in this country, be called to examine Mr. Heatherford. There is no +higher authority in the world that I know of." + +Mollie grasped eagerly at this straw, and the highest authority in the +world, the great Paris doctor, was sent for at once. He came and went; +but he left behind him only bitter disappointment and a sentence of +doom. + +Poor Mollie, who had hoped against hope, was utterly prostrated for a +time in view of this ultimatum. She shut herself into her room to meet +this terrible blow and fight her battle out where no eye could witness +her anguish. + +The fate to which her father had been doomed by the verdict of the +doctors seemed absolutely unbearable, and she cried aloud in her anguish +that she would not submit to it. + +She was nearly worn out with this conflict by luncheon-time, two hours +and more after the departure of the Paris authority, and was only able +to drink a cup of tea when her maid brought a temptingly arranged tray +to her; but she felt that she could not live through the afternoon, left +alone with her own thoughts, and finally, ringing for Nannette, she +ordered her to make Lucille ready for a drive, and half an hour later +found them rolling out toward the Washington monument. They drove for +nearly two hours, and then Mollie ordered the coachman to turn toward +home. + +As the carriage was passing through Fourteenth Street something caught +Mollie's eye--something which made her sit suddenly erect, while a look +of eager interest swept over her pale, lovely face. The object which had +attracted her attention was a very modest sign hanging in a window. + +It read thus: "John L. Freeman, Christian Science Healer," and into the +girl's mind flashed the thought, accompanied by a wild hope: "Perhaps +that man can help my father--I have heard that Christian Scientists do +wonderful things." + +Almost before she was aware of what she was doing, she had ordered the +driver to stop, when, taking Lucille by the hand, she alighted, mounted +the steps, and rang the bell of the house where Mr. Freeman resided. + +Then, as the tinkle of the bell came to her ears, she suddenly began to +feel ashamed of her errand, for she had always been both skeptical and +intolerant of all such "metaphysical nonsense," as she had termed it. + +She was half-tempted to beat a hasty retreat, and perhaps would have +done so if the door had not been opened at that instant by a sweet, +happy-looking girl, whose winning smile at once won her confidence and +inspired her with fresh hope. + +"Can I see Mr. Freeman?" she briefly inquired. + +"I think so; come in, please," replied the girl, and, turning, she led +the way into a pleasant room, where a gentleman of perhaps forty years +was sitting. + +He arose and greeted Mollie with easy courtesy, his dark eyes searching +her face with a kind but penetrating look, and instantly a strange +feeling of peace fell upon her aching, rebellious heart. She took the +chair he offered her, and then opened her heart to him, telling him all +her trouble and sorrow--of her father's long illness, of the many weary +months of anxious care and hopeless seeking after help from various +sources, and of her last despairing efforts and their result. The +gentleman did not once interrupt her, but sat with downcast eyes and +attentive mien until she concluded, when she tremulously inquired: + +"Can you help him--is there any hope, do you think?" + +"My dear child, there is every hope," her companion confidently replied. +"God is always a help in time of trouble." + +"God!" repeated Mollie, with a bitter inflection. "I have begun to +believe there is no God." + +The gentleman bent a pitiful glance upon her. + +"I am sure that you will never say that again," he replied after a +moment of silence. + +Then he asked her a few questions, after which he remarked that he would +take the case if she desired, and would visit her father later in the +day. + +Mollie arose, a peculiar feeling of restfulness and hope having +succeeded her previous weariness and despair; and, opening her purse, +inquired what she should pay for the consultation. + +"Nothing for our little talk, Miss Heatherford," said Mr. Freeman, with +a quiet smile; "we are always glad to have people come to us when in +trouble. Scientists, when they take patients, usually treat them by the +week, the sum being uniform, unless frequent visits are required; of +course, you understand that no medicines--no remedies of any kind--are +to be used." + +He then mentioned the amount for a week's treatment, and which seemed to +the wondering girl exceedingly paltry; but she paid it, and then went +away with that same strange, sweet peace still pervading her. + +A week passed, and while there was no apparent change in Mr. +Heatherford's mental condition, he was not nearly as restless as he had +been, and slept quietly the whole night through, a thing he had not done +for months. + +The second week he began to take more nourishment. At the end of a month +his face began to have some color, and Eliza declared that he was +actually gaining flesh, while now and then they found him looking about +the room, vacantly, to be sure, and yet with an air as if a dawning +consciousness was trying to assert itself. + +Mollie jealously watched every change, and each time that Mr. Freeman +came she plied him with questions, eagerly seeking to learn something of +the great principle that was governing her dear father's condition. + +She read with avidity the books which the gentleman loaned her, and +which taught her much, and gradually a joyous hope--an abiding +confidence, rather--took possession of her, assuring her that her loved +one would ere long be well again. + +At the expiration of two months he had once spoken her name, and had +began to try to use his hands to help himself; and finally there came a +day when he actually stood upon his feet, with Eliza's strong arms +around him to support him. + +"Bress de Lord! I tole yo' to trust de Lord, honey," the woman +exclaimed, her black face radiant with joy on this happy occasion. + +"I know you did, Eliza; and at last I believe I am beginning to +understand what and where God is," Mollie reverently replied, her golden +lashes laden with tears of joy. + +Early in May, when the weather began to be oppressive, she closed the +house in Washington and took her family to the beautiful villa--one of +Lucille's many possessions--at Cape May, where they remained all +summer--five delightful, happy months, for the invalid improved with +every day. + +Faxon also spent his vacation--the month of August--there, each morning +finding him early at the villa, where he and his betrothed vied with +each other in making the time pass pleasantly for Mr. Heatherford, whose +mind was fast becoming as clear and active as in the vigorous days of +his youth. + +He was still somewhat hampered physically, as the obstinate enemy, +paralysis, had not been wholly conquered, although it was rapidly +disappearing; but there was not a happier nor more grateful family in +existence than Mollie's household, all of whom felt as if the dead had +been restored to life. + +Faxon returned to Washington the first of September, and a month later +the Lamonti house was once more opened, and the family settled for the +winter. + +Mr. Heatherford was now practically well, and "prepared," he said, "to +begin life over again." + +Mollie, however, tried to persuade him not to think of business for a +long while yet; there was no need, she asserted, for her income was +ample for their every want. But Mr. Heatherford was eager to test his +recovered powers, particularly as Mr. Freeman encouraged him to do so, +and, having been educated for the bar, he soon made arrangements to go +into business with an established firm, one of the partners proving to +be an old-time friend who knew something of the reputation which Mr. +Heatherford had borne during his more prosperous days; and now the +future began to look very bright to him once more. + +As the season advanced and distinguished people began to flock to the +capital, he met many a former acquaintance, and thus it came about that +both Mollie and her father were gradually drawn into society again. + +When Mollie began to accept these courtesies and take her place once +more in social life, she insisted that her engagement should be publicly +announced, and so, of course, Clifford was always thereafter included in +all invitations. + +He was looking forward to a much brighter prospect in life after the +first of January than he had dared to anticipate for himself thus early +in his career, and it was arranged that his marriage should occur as +soon as he was well settled in his new enterprise; meantime, as he was +becoming quite a favorite in social circles, the young couple gave +themselves up to the enjoyment of the present. + +One evening, at a brilliant reception given by a distinguished senator, +Mr. Heatherford and Mollie unexpectedly encountered Mr. and Mrs. Temple +and Philip Wentworth, the family having come to Washington again for the +winter. Mr. Temple had again become interested in politics during the +last year or two, and had been elected a member of the House of +Representatives, and was ambitious for still higher honors. + +The meeting between Mr. Heatherford and Mr. Temple was somewhat +startling to both gentlemen, especially so to the latter, since he +believed the former to be still a hopeless paralytic, if, indeed, he +were yet on the earth. They met in the great hall of the mansion where +they were guests. + +A slight smile of contempt flitted over Mr. Heatherford's face as he +said: "Ah! Temple; so we meet again!" + +"My God! Heatherford!" gasped the man who had so bitterly wronged him +under the guise of friendship; and he was colorless even to his lips. + +"Yes; you were not expecting to meet me again--here," returned Mr. +Heatherford. + +"It--it is a miracle! Who was your doctor?" panted the false friend, +scarce knowing what he said. + +"God," briefly but reverently responded Heatherford. Then, with a +courtly but distant bow, he added: "Excuse me; I am looking for my +daughter." + +He passed on, leaving the other still staring blankly after him, and +actually trembling, as if he had suddenly encountered a ghost of the +past--as, indeed, he had. + +Later in the evening Mollie found herself standing almost side by side +with Philip Wentworth. She was richly and beautifully clad. Her dress +was a gauzelike material of black, made over a very light-gray satin +that gleamed like silver underneath. The trimmings were all of silver, +and a diamond spray, with a silver aigrette, gleamed in her hair. + +The corsage of her robe was cut modestly low, and the full, puffed +sleeves were short, thus revealing her perfect arms and neck, which were +like chiseled marble. It was a strikingly effective costume, and just +suited her, for it threw out the fairness of her faultless complexion to +great advantage. + +She gave a slight start as she caught Philip's voice and realized his +proximity, but did not glance at him. She turned slightly away, and was +about to address a lady whom she knew; but before she could do so, +Philip stepped directly in front of her, determined that he would not be +ignored. + +"You have told me never to speak to you again--that we are strangers," +he began in a low tone that was husky with emotion; "cannot you forgive +and forget? I have suffered bitterly for my folly of that night--I have +repented in sackcloth and ashes." + +Not a muscle of Mollie's face moved during his speech. She stood and +looked like a statue--beautiful as a young goddess--but cold as snow, +and a feeling of bitter remorse--of utter despair crept over him as he +realized how he had lowered himself in her estimation and lost all +chance of ever winning her. + +Since learning of Mr. Lamonti's will and that Mollie had now an +independent fortune, and would once more take an enviable position in +society, he had cursed himself a thousand times for his past folly. +While he was speaking Mollie was wondering how she could escape him +without replying to him and without making herself conspicuous. + +There was an awkward pause for a moment after he concluded; then +Mollie's quick ear caught the voice of her hostess, who was just behind +her, remarking: + +"No, I have not seen Mr. Wentworth since he first entered the room; but +I am sure he is still here." + +Mollie turned gracefully toward the speaker, thus revealing Philip to +her. + +"You were inquiring for Mr. Wentworth, Mrs. Blackman," she observed, +with a charming smile. "Behold him just at hand!" + +Then, with a bow to the lady, she slipped away, leaving Philip in a +white heat of rage and disappointment over having failed to win even a +glance of recognition from her. + +But Mollie escaped Philip only to run almost into the arms of Mrs. +Temple, who also had already arrived at the conclusion that the girl's +acquaintance was worth cultivating again. Mollie Heatherford, with a +handsome fortune in her own right, was an entirely different person +from the poverty-stricken private secretary of a year ago. She extended +her hand with a beaming smile, and greeted her with much of her former +maternal fondness. + +Mollie's quiet "good evening, Mrs. Temple," together with the +ceremonious touch of her finger-tips, was something of a facer; but the +shrewd woman of the world was not one to easily relinquish a project, +and she continued in her most cordial tone: + +"Really, Mollie, it seems like old times to meet you in society again; +and what a romantic experience you have had! I assure you, no one could +be more delighted than we were when we learned of your good fortune. Are +you back in the Lamonti house again this season?" + +"Yes," Mollie briefly replied. + +"I understand that it is very elegant--that Mr. Lamonti was exceedingly +refined in his tastes, and made his home a perfect gem," Mrs. Temple +continued, and determined to trap Mollie into asking her to call if it +were possible. + +"Yes," the fair girl again composedly replied, "Monsieur Lamonti spared +no expense to make his home attractive, and took great pride and +pleasure in gathering treasures from all parts of the world to beautify +it." + +"I have been told that many of the paintings are from the hands of the +best masters," pursued her inquisitor. + +"That is true." + +"Do you ever entertain as you used to in the old days in New York, +Mollie?" + +"We have not as yet; it is quite early in the season, you know," said +Mollie, and barely able to suppress a smile as she saw the drift of +these questions; "but papa and I were talking the matter over recently, +and I think we may have a regular reception evening later on." + +"Ah!" exclaimed Mrs. Temple eagerly; "then you will be well launched +upon the sea of Washington society, and if at any time you should feel +the need of some one to matronize your affairs, you will know where to +come, dear," she concluded, with her most affable smile. + +"Thank you, Mrs. Temple." + +"And I wish you would drop in upon us occasionally," the lady went on +appealingly, but flushing slightly over the failure of her scheme. "We +were all very fond of you always, Mollie, and Minnie would be delighted +to see her old friend." + +"Yes, Minnie and I were close friends; give my love to the dear child," +Mollie replied, with more of heartiness than she had yet expressed. +Then, catching sight of Mr. Heatherford, she added: "Excuse me, but I +see papa looking for me. Good-night, Mrs. Temple." + +And with a graceful inclination of her bright head she glided away. Mrs. +Temple's face was a study as she watched the slight, perfect figure move +down the room. She had been utterly baffled, and she was filled with +mingled disappointment and mortification. + +"Mollie is very shrewd, with all her sweetness," she muttered, with a +frown; "she can hold her own anywhere, and we have all made a grand +mistake." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +AN ASTONISHING DISCOVERY. + + +"Waal, squire, I reckon everything is done now to the turn of the key. +I've packed a dozen shirts, and, if I do say it, no Chang Wang could +have put a better shine on 'em than I've given 'em. There's two dozen +pocket-handkerchiefs, as white as snow; collars and cuffs to last a +month, if you're careful; and everything else all in shipshape. Now I'll +have lunch for you in about ten minutes, and that'll give you plenty of +time to catch the train." + +So spoke Maria Kimberly, as she stood in the doorway leading from the +kitchen into the dining-room, where Squire Talford was sitting at his +desk filling out some checks to settle his monthly bills. He was on the +point of starting for Washington, whither he was going on business +connected with some patents in which he had recently become interested, +and which would keep him away from home for about six weeks or two +months. + +"All right, Maria. I'm about through; but what are you going to do with +yourself while I'm gone?" the man responded, but without looking up from +his employment. + +"Oh, I'll take good care o' things, and I'll find enough to do, never +you fear," said the woman, with a peculiar glitter in her eyes. "I +ain't cleaned house yet; I've put it off, waitin' for you to git away, +so's I could have full swing. I'll see that Pat and the boy don't do no +loafin'; and you needn't give yourself a mite of oneasiness--things'll +go on just as straight if you was goin' to be here yourself." + +The squire knew this without being told, for Maria was an excellent +manager, an efficient housekeeper, and, barring the fact that she had a +sharp tongue, and was rather more independent than was sometimes quite +agreeable, no one could have suited him better as a superintendent of +affairs, both on the farm and in the house. + +She had been in his family for many years, and having been thoroughly +trained by his wife in every department of domestic life and economy, +while being honest and faithful as the day is long in the performance of +every duty, she was entirely competent to assume the management as she +had done upon Mrs. Talford's death, and everything had gone on like +clockwork from that day. + +Squire Talford had never manifested any desire to marry again. Maria +asserted that he was "too tight" to be willing to increase his expenses +in any such way; for, although he always wanted the nicest of everything +for himself, he used to grumble over the expense of clothing his wife. + +He was very proud of his fine estate--his handsome mansion and broad +acres, and kept them in first-class order; but, while he wanted every +comfort for himself, he had dispensed with some luxuries and style +after Mrs. Talford's demise, was close and mean with his help, and +seemed to think of nothing save accumulating money. + +"Though goodness knows what'll ever become of it when he's gone, for he +ain't a kindred soul to leave it to, as far as I know," Mrs. Kimberly +would sometimes remark in a confidential manner to her friends. + +"Yes, I reckon I can trust you to keep a sharp eye out while I'm gone," +the squire returned to Maria's observation, "though I'm not so sure +about the loafing--you're a little inclined to be too soft-hearted with +the boys. I want to find that pile of wood all sawed, split, and housed +when I get back." + +Maria sniffed audibly as she glanced through a window at the pile of +wood referred to, and which comprised a good many cords of solid timber, +and she had no idea of pushing "the boys" beyond a certain limit. + +"Waal, maybe you will, and maybe you won't," she returned after a +moment, with an independent toss of her head. "It'll depend a good deal +on what kind o' weather we have. I suppose you know," she continued, +with a sudden softening of her face and tone, "that Cliff is in +Washington. I hear he's got a fine position, too. Do you imagine you'll +feel any interest to look him up?" + +"Not the slightest, Maria," returned Squire Talford, in a cold tone, and +with a sudden stiffening of his angular figure. "Clifford Faxon is +nothing to me, and I shall not concern myself in the least to learn +anything about his movements." + +"Oh!" returned his companion, with a peculiar inflection, while she +screwed her lips into a resentful pucker, "I didn't know but you'd feel +a kind o' curiosity to find out if he's workin' his way along up toward +the top o' the heap in Washington, same's he did at college. You know +you didn't prophecy anything very flatterin' to him when he started out +for himself, but he got there, all the same." + +The squire flushed hotly at this reminder. + +"I think you'd better hurry up lunch, Maria," was all the reply he +deigned her, and the woman vanished, but chuckling to herself as she +went: + +"He pretends he ain't curious, but he is, all the same, and I'd be +willin' to bet my new black silk--which I ain't had on since that day at +Cambridge, I'm goin' to keep it for Cliff's wedding--that he will find +out about the boy," she muttered to herself, while dishing up the +tempting meal which she had prepared for the master of the house. + +An hour later Squire Talford was en route for New York, and Maria was +left mistress of the field. + +Early next morning she vigorously set about preparations for the +semi-annual house-cleaning, although, to all appearance, the mansion was +immaculate from garret to cellar. Nevertheless, twice every year every +room was religiously upset, cleaned, and renovated. + +She invariably began in the attic and went down in the most methodical +manner, just as her mistress had done every year of her married life. +Every box, drawer, and trunk--excepting a couple which the squire never +allowed any one to touch--had to be overhauled, their contents +thoroughly brushed and shaken, for fear of moths, and every nook and +corner swept and scrubbed. + +For some reason Maria experienced a greater sense of freedom to-day than +she had ever felt before; doubtless it was because of the squire's +absence, for there would be no fear of disturbing him with the noise +overhead, and having no regular dinner to get, there would be nothing to +interrupt operations. + +She always said that the worst was over when she got through with the +attic, and late in the afternoon, when she cast a satisfied glance +around the clean, orderly, sweet-smelling room, every beam and rafter of +which had undergone vigorous treatment, a sigh of content escaped her. + +"You can't put your finger on a speck o' dust anywhere," she +soliloquized, "and everything is in shipshape. It's a good job done, +too, and I'm not sorry it's over." + +She gathered up her brushes, pail, and mop and turned to leave the +place, when her glance fell upon a small hair trunk which she had +dragged out into the hall at the head of the stairs, and had neglected +to replace in its accustomed corner. It was one of those which the +squire never allowed to be opened and overhauled. + +"I s'h'd jest like to know what's in the old thing," Maria remarked as +she sat down her utensils and picked it up in her strong arms. "It +looks's if it had been made in the year one, and it's always locked +tighter'n a drum--goodness! goodness me!" + +The latter explosive ejaculations were occasioned by an unlucky slip of +the antiquated receptacle, then a resounding crash upon the floor, when +the hinges snapped, the cover flew off, and a promiscuous assortment of +things were scattered in every direction in the attic, which but a +moment previous had presented such an orderly appearance. + +Maria stood for a moment looking ruefully upon the havoc she had made, +her arms akimbo, her temper ruffled in view of the work of gathering up +the débris before her. + +"Waal," she at length observed, with a sigh of resignation, "I guess I'm +likely to find out what was in it, after all, though"--with a +contemptuous sniff--"I don't imagine I'm going to be very much +entertained by the operation." + +The trunk had been packed full of papers--deeds, letters, bills, etc., +which had been tied up in separate bundles, but the strings having given +way in the force of the fall, they now lay in confused heaps and +irretrievably mixed, as far as Maria was concerned. + +She sat down upon the floor and began to gather them up, restoring them +in as orderly a manner as possible to the trunk. Among other things she +came upon a box which had slid a little to one side of the heap. This, +also, had burst open, and its contents were partially spilled out. +Reaching for it, she drew it toward her, and was attracted by a pungent +odor which clung to it. + +It was made from some sweet-smelling, fine-grained wood, and the corners +were ornamented with heavily wrought silver, although the metal was +badly tarnished from having lain so long unused. There were numerous +letters in it, some being addressed in a woman's delicate handwriting +and others in a bold, clear, masculine chirography. + +"Miss Belle Abbott," Maria read from one of the envelopes addressed in +the bold hand. + +Then she gave a violent start. + +"Goodness--gracious! How came this here?" she ejaculated. "Belle Abbott! +Why, that was Cliff's mother's name afore she was married. But I wonder +who W. F. T. Wilton was?" she continued as she closely inspected the +handwriting on another envelope. "I'm sure Mis' Faxon must have writ +these letters, for the writin' looks just like what I've seen in some of +Cliff's books that he told me she gave him. But it beats me to know how +these things ever got into Squire Talford's old trunk, 'less Mis' Faxon +gave them to him to keep for the boy, 'n' if she did he'd oughter had +'em long ago. What's this, I wonder?" + +"This" comprised two pieces of parchment attached to each other by a +pin. They were folded long and narrow, like legal documents, and were +also bound about with a narrow blue ribbon. + +With firmly compressed lips and a flushed face, Maria sat regarding them +intently, and as if deliberating a point within herself for a few +moments. + +"I'm going to know," she said at last, in tones of stern decision, and, +suiting the action to the words, she deliberately removed the ribbon and +pin, unfolded one of the papers, and began to read it with eager +interest. + +Every bit of color faded out of her face by the time she reached the +bottom of the sheet, and with staring eyes and bated breath she seized +its mate and proceeded to read that. + +"Good land!" she ejaculated at length. "Now I understand some things +that have always puzzled me afore! So this is Belle Atwood's +marriage-bill, and this tells about Cliff's baptism! And Faxon isn't his +last name, either!" she went on, with a gasp of excitement. "It is--he +is--why, good Lord!--now I know why Squire Talford has always hated him +so; though I never did take much stock in that story I heard when I +first came here--that he was in love with her once, and she jilted him +for some one else." + +She sat thinking deeply for some time, a look of perplexity on her +plain, honest face. + +"There's some things I can't quite see through, after all," she resumed +after a time; "if what I suspect is true--and there ain't much doubt +about it--why on earth did Mis' Faxon ever bind that boy to the squire? +Aha!" a flash of intelligence sweeping over her face, "I begin to +see--it was a trick of his. He is not a man that ever forgives a +wrong--he hated her and the boy's father and the boy himself, because of +what they'd done. He meant to crush 'em all, and so he pretended to +befriend Mis' Faxon--wormed himself into her confidence, so got her to +sign them bond papers, and then, when she died, stole this box, so the +boy could never find out who he really is. I remember now that she sent +for him the night she died. I'll bet he stole these papers at that time. +Oh! he's a tricky one, Squire Talford is! He thought he'd fixed things +so that nobody'd ever find out the truth; but it's a long lane that +hasn't any turn in it, and I'm goin' to prove it to you, you miserly, +gray-headed, hard-hearted old rascal!" + +And Mrs. Kimberly emphasized her words by angrily shaking the papers in +her hand at the demolished old trunk, in lieu of the man himself, until +they rattled noisily. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +THE SQUIRE MEETS MISS HEATHERFORD. + + +"Humph!" Maria resumed after some minutes, and, arousing herself from +another fit of musing into which she had fallen, "I always thought there +was a skeleton hid in this old hair trunk, and now I've unearthed it. +'Murder will out,' they say, and I guess the Lord thought He'd make me +His instrument to see justice done that boy. He just sent me up here +to-day to smash the thing, and now I s'pose I've got to finish the +business up. I'm going to take charge of these papers and see that Cliff +gets them." + +She began to replace them and the letters in the box as she spoke, with +a set face and determined air. + +"Of course, I shall tell the squire just how I happened to find 'em," +she went on. "I ain't one to hide anything. I'll just face him and out +with the whole matter, but they ain't never goin' back into his +possession again if I lose my place for it!" She handled the letters +reverently as she laid them, one by one, into their receptacle, her face +softening involuntarily. + +"Of course, these letters will tell Cliff a lot that I may never know +anything about, and what is none o' my business," she mused, but with a +yearning curiosity to know their contents, nevertheless. "I only hope, +if the squire has been trying to cheat him out o' anything that belongs +to him, they'll help to set him right." + +Having restored all that she thought belonged there to the box, she set +it one side, then finished packing the trunk, replaced the cover, and, +rising, drew it to the corner where it was accustomed to stand. + +Then taking the exhumed "skeleton" under her arm she marched straight +down to her own room, where she locked it safely away in her own trunk +and hid the key. + +She was quite upset by the exciting discovery of the afternoon, and for +the first time in many years lay awake until after midnight nervously +conning the matter over in her mind, and trying to decide just what she +ought to do about it. It proved to be a perplexing question, and she +chewed the cud of indecision industriously for the next two weeks, while +she scrubbed and cleaned, took up and put down carpets, washed, ironed, +and hung curtains, and performed the manifold duties that throng upon +the busy matron during house-cleaning time. + +Half a dozen times she began a letter to Cliff asking him to come to +Cedar Hill, as she had something important to tell him, but she tore +each one up, her sense of loyalty to the squire making her feel that she +ought to tell him of her discovery first; while, too, she doubted the +wisdom of asking Cliff to leave his business and be at the expense of +such a journey. Once she thought she would go to a lawyer and tell him +the whole story, for she had a suspicion that there might be some +property coming to Cliff if his identity could be proven. But such a +measure did not quite commend itself to her, for she thought he might +not care to have another party let into the secrets of his origin and +his mother's domestic troubles, while she also reasoned that it would be +only fair to give the squire a chance to voluntarily right the wrong he +had committed. + +The two weeks lengthened into a month, and she was no nearer a decision +than on the day of her discovery. + +Meantime, however, Providence was opening the way for her to be relieved +of the burden which she felt was fast becoming too heavy to be borne. + +Squire Talford, on arriving in Washington, took a room in a +boarding-house in a quiet street. He did not like hotel-life for +numerous reasons, the chief one being that he was too economically +inclined to spend his money in that way, while he also objected to the +constant change, rush, and excitement of such a place. + +Now, it happened, strangely enough, that Clifford had a room in a house +adjoining Squire Talford's boarding-place, although he took his meals +farther down on the same street. + +Thus it naturally came about that the whilom bound boy and his former +master ran up against each other only a few days after the arrival of +the latter in the nation's capital. The encounter occurred on Sunday, +about the middle of the afternoon, when Clifford, with a red +moss-rosebud on his coat, started forth for the Lamonti mansion, where +he was to dine with the Heatherfords. + +The squire had been out to post some letters at the nearest box, and +was returning to his boarding-place when the two met on a corner. + +Clifford flushed slightly, and was greatly surprised to see the man so +far from home, but with the politeness which always characterized him, +lifted his hat and cordially saluted him. The man shot a frowning glance +at him and passed on without a word, as if he had been a total stranger +to him. Possibly, if Clifford had been shabbily clad and had not looked +so prosperous, happy, and handsome, he might not have been quite so +churlish; but it made him secretly furious to see him clothed better +than himself, a fact which plainly indicated to him that he was still +making his way steadily upward, while his buoyant air and alert, +energetic step told of perfect health and a heart at peace with the +world. + +The slight stung Clifford for the instant, but, replacing his hat and +straightening himself with an air of conscious superiority, he went on +his way, and half an hour later had forgotten the existence of the man. + +He had far more interesting things to think about just then, for he and +Mollie were laying their plans for the most important event of their +lives--their marriage, which it had been decided should take place some +time during the latter part of January. + +Several times during the next three weeks Clifford met the squire, and, +out of respect for his years, invariably saluted him in a gentlemanly +manner, but always with the same result--the man as often passed him +with a cold stare and without moving a muscle of his hard, forbidding +face. + +"I wonder why he has always hated me so?" Clifford mused upon one of +these occasions. "I served him faithfully during the four years that I +lived with him--my conscience is clear of ever having once wilfully +disobeyed him or neglected my work. I cannot understand how one human +being can entertain such an unreasonable grudge against another. I am +sure I have no desire to exchange places with him, rich as he is, for I +think it must be very uncomfortable to hate one as he seems to me. I +wish Mollie could meet him--she reads faces like books, and I really +would like to know what her analysis of his character would be." + +He had his wish granted not very long afterward. Squire Talford stepped +into a stationery-store one afternoon on his way home to dinner, to lay +in a fresh supply of paper and envelopes. He had observed before +entering that a very handsome equipage was standing before the door, for +being fond of fine horses, and a good judge of them, as well, he never +passed them unnoticed. + +He even turned to take a second look out of the window of the store +before making his purchase, and found himself wondering who could be the +fortunate owner of the blooded pair, while his appreciative eyes also +took in the elegant appointments of the carriage and harness and the +liveried coachman and footman. + +Presently he turned to the counter, and found himself standing beside a +beautiful girl, very richly attired. She was sitting on a stool, +evidently waiting for something, and after giving his own order, Squire +Talford's glance wandered again to the vision of loveliness beside him, +noting her delicate, high-bred features, her wonderfully blue eyes, and +hair of shining gold. + +A clerk came to her after a moment or two and apologized for the +necessity of keeping her waiting still longer--something seemed to have +gone wrong with the order she had given. + +"Never mind," said Mollie--for it was she--with the rarest of smiles and +in sweetest tones. "I am not in any hurry, and do not mind waiting in +the least." + +"Humph" grunted the squire to himself, as he took his package and left +the place. + +The little incident had somehow jarred upon him and set him thinking, +for he well knew that if he had been kept waiting like that, whether he +had been in a hurry or not, he would have fretted and fumed and taken +pains to make the clerk as uncomfortable as possible; but the lovely +girl had unconsciously given him a lesson in true courtesy and charity. + +He could not resist the temptation to pause on the sidewalk as he went +out and take another look at the beautiful horses which he had +previously admired. + +"A fine pair you have there," he observed to the coachman. + +"Yes, sir," replied the man, but looking neither to the right nor left, +nor unbending from his stiff, upright position a hairsbreadth. + +"Morgan?" + +"Yes, sir," with the same rigidity as before. + +"How old are they?" + +"Six years, or thereabouts." + +The squire eyed them yearningly a moment, then, turning, was about to +proceed on his way when a passer-by jostled him, and, as he was just on +the edge of the curb, caused him to lose his balance, when he nearly +fell inside the carriage, which was a victoria. + +He recovered himself almost immediately, however, and, after brushing +the dust from his clothing, passed on, but grumbling over the rudeness +and carelessness of him who had caused his discomfort. + +Three minutes later Mollie emerged from the store, stepped into her +carriage, and gave the order to be driven "home." + +As the vehicle drew up before her door and she was about to alight, her +foot came in contact with some object upon the floor. Stooping to +ascertain what it was, she was greatly surprised to find a gentleman's +wallet lying upon the mat just inside the carriage. + +"Why, I wonder how this could have come here?" she exclaimed. Upon +opening it she found several papers neatly arranged in one pocket and a +number of bank-notes of various denominations, together with a slip of +paper bearing the name, "A. H. Talford, No. ---- Twelfth Street, N. E.," +in another. + +"Talford!" she repeated thoughtfully. + +Where had she heard that name before? she wondered. + +"Walker," she said, holding the wallet up for her coachman to see, "do +you know anything about this? I have just found it on the floor." + +The man thought a moment, and then told her of the elderly gentleman who +had admired the horses, and then, making a misstep, had almost fallen +into the carriage. + +"Ah! Then the wallet must be his. Walker, you may turn around and drive +me to No. ---- Twelfth Street, N. E.," said Mollie, as she resumed her +seat. + +The man swung his horses around, and they went trotting down-town again. +Arriving at the residence corresponding to the number on the slip, +Mollie alighted and inquired of the maid who responded to her ring if +Mr. Talford was in. + +"Yes," the girl replied, with a peculiar smile, for the man had +discovered his loss only a few moments before, and was turning the house +upside down in his efforts to discover the missing wallet. Mollie passed +the maid her card, and told her to say to the gentleman that she would +like to see him. + +She waited in the parlor nearly five minutes before the squire made his +appearance, and then he seemed to be greatly excited and in a very +unhappy frame of mind. He started upon finding himself face to face with +the beautiful girl whom he had seen in the stationer's store, and +searched her face curiously. + +Mollie arose as he entered, and, approaching him, extended the wallet. +She said afterward she never saw a more avaricious expression on any +human face. + +"I found this in my carriage, sir, after leaving the store where I met +you a short time ago," she said. "My coachman thinks it must have +slipped from your pocket as you stumbled and almost fell close beside +the vehicle." + +The man sprang forward and seized the purse with a greedy look and +grasp. + +"Yes, it is mine," he exclaimed in eager, tremulous accents. "My address +is inside--I will show you." + +"That is not necessary, Mr. Talford," Mollie pleasantly returned. "I +took the liberty of opening the wallet, and found it, or I should not +have known to whom to return it." + +"Yes, yes; of course," said the squire, with some embarrassment, as he +whipped it open and began to finger the bills nervously. Mollie's red +lips curled slightly at the act, for she read his thoughts like a +printed page. She saw that it was his nature to distrust every one, and +a fear that he would be overreached by those with whom he came in +contact that he was wondering, even then, whether he should find his +precious money intact. + +"I am very glad I found it and was enabled to restore it so soon," she +went on, "and I preferred to bring it to you myself rather than to +entrust it to a messenger." + +She moved toward the door as she concluded, for the man's forbidding and +churlish presence chilled her like an icy wind. + +"Ah! yes--yes, thank you, young woman. I'm much obliged to you, I am +sure," stammered the squire as he glanced irresolutely from his wallet +to her, then back again at the crisp bills within it. "I--I suppose I +ought to pay you something for your trouble." + +Mollie flushed a vivid crimson at the reluctant suggestion, and drew +herself up with involuntary hauteur. + +"Indeed no, sir," she coldly responded. "I assure you you are very +welcome to what I have done, and I will not detain you longer. Good +evening, Mr. Talford," and she bowed herself out with a grace that could +not wholly veil the vein of mockery and contempt that underlay her +words, and vanished from his sight, but leaving him with a sense of +shame and meanness such as he had seldom experienced in life. + +"Talford! Talford! Where have I heard that name? It rings in the +chambers of my memory with a strangely familiar sound, and it almost +seems as if I have seen that face before," Mollie mused, with a look of +perplexity on her face, as she drove back in the fast gathering twilight +toward home; but she failed to place either face or name, and soon +forgot all about them for the time. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +PHILIP'S MAD PLEA. + + +Five hours later Mollie, clad in a trailing robe of pale-yellow satin, +and looking a veritable princess, with her shining hair coiled high upon +her shapely head and encircled with a tiara of diamonds, stood in the +drawing-room of the residence of the English ambassador making her +obeisance to that distinguished gentleman and his courtly wife. + +She was accompanied by her father, who was now the picture of health, +whose every movement was replete with vigor and almost youthful energy; +for, as he claimed, after fifty years of aimless groping he was just +beginning to learn how to live. Clifford was also with them, but +following a step or two in the rear, and, with his fine face and manly +bearing, there was not a handsomer man in the room. Their salutations +over, they moved aside to make way for others, when a beautiful girl, +all in white, except that she wore a great bunch of scarlet poppies in +her belt, stepped forward and extended a faultlessly gloved hand to +Clifford. + +"I am sure that Mr. Faxon is not one to forget his old friends," she +smilingly observed, while her face glowed with undisguised pleasure at +the meeting. + +"Miss Athol!" he exclaimed, as he cordially clasped her hand, "this is +indeed an unexpected pleasure! Of course, I could not forget you, and I +am most happy to meet you again." + +"The pleasure is mutual, I assure you," Miss Athol heartily returned, +"neither have I forgotten the auspicious occasion of our last meeting at +Harvard, while too"--with a significant glance--"there are some other +memories that haunt me. Mr. Faxon, when I think of that terrible +accident and that awful descent that you made over the precipice I grow +faint and dizzy even now." + +"Then please don't think of it," said Clifford, laughing, and, anxious +to change the subject, he added: "Allow me to inquire if this is your +first visit to Washington?" + +"Oh, no; we have all been here a number of times, but papa was elected +Senator for our district this winter, and we are going to be located +here for the present. He has been in town some weeks, but mama and I +arrived only last Saturday," Gertrude explained. Then she added, +smiling, "How singular that you also should have drifted to Washington +just at this time!" + +"Yes, we meet people where we least expect to, sometimes. I have been +here for more than a year, and have a position in the Patent Office +Department." + +"Climbing all the time, I am sure," said the girl, as her glance swept +his handsome face and figure with a thrill of admiration. "I knew you +would. I should not be in the least surprised to find you located in the +White House some day." + +"Oh, Miss Athol! I beg that I may escape the responsibilities of such a +position," Clifford exclaimed, flushing to his temples and feeling +decidedly uncomfortable to be so lauded. Then, with a sudden thought, he +continued: "But now I am going to ask the privilege of presenting you to +a friend whom I am sure you will find very congenial--may I?" + +"Certainly. I shall be delighted to meet any friend of yours, Mr. +Faxon," said Gertrude cordially. + +Clifford turned to attract the attention of Mollie, who had been +exchanging greetings with a prominent society woman, and a moment later +he had introduced the two girls to each other. + +The moment Miss Athol looked into Mollie's beautiful face and observed +the tender glance which Clifford bestowed upon her, she knew +instinctively that she had met the woman whom he was to marry. + +"And she is worthy of him, which is saying a great deal for her," she +mentally affirmed. "She is exquisitely lovely, but the best in the land +is none too good for Clifford Faxon." + +The young ladies appeared to be instantly attracted to each other, and +in less than ten minutes felt as if they had been acquainted for years, +and would be friends for the remainder of their lives. + +In a corner, not far from this interesting group, and curiously watching +the brilliant throng all about him, stood Squire Talford. And the man, +if one did not closely observe his cold gray eyes and the cruel, cynical +expression about his mouth, made quite a fine appearance in his +evening-attire. + +He had never been anything of a society man, but since he was in +Washington he was determined to go the whole figure and see all there +was to be seen, and as money was no object where his own gratification +was concerned, he easily found ways of obtaining the entrée to +fashionable circles. + +He had observed Mollie when she entered the room, and instantly +recognized her as the young lady who had restored his wallet to him that +afternoon. He had thought her a remarkably pretty girl at that time, but +now, in her evening-costume, she seemed a hundred-fold more lovely, and +he was positively fascinated by her beauty. + +He also noted the richness of her dress and costly jewels, and, at once +recalling the fine equipage which he had seen before the stationer's +store, decided that she must be the daughter of some very wealthy man. + +Her loveliness and charm of manner grew upon him continually, and he +became anxious to learn more about her. He sought a gentleman whom he +knew, and after chatting for a few moments upon current events, suddenly +broke off and remarked: + +"I've been watching that young woman in yellow over there; can you tell +me who she is?" + +"Ah, yes; that is Miss Heatherford. She's an out-and-out beauty, isn't +she? A regular stunner!" was the animated reply. "She is one of the most +attractive young ladies in Washington this winter, and a favorite +wherever she goes. She is rich, also--has a handsome fortune in her own +right, although a year ago this time she was working for a living in +this city." + +"Can that be possible?" inquired the squire, and appearing to be deeply +interested in the gentleman's statements. + +"Yes, and that is her father, that fine-looking man with the snow-white +hair. Five years ago he was known as one of the money-kings of New York, +but he lost every dollar of it by a series of misfortunes, and came here +and went to work as a clerk for the government. Then he was taken ill, +lost his position, and was reduced almost to the verge of beggary; but +his daughter, like the true-blue she is, came nobly to the front, got a +situation as private secretary to a wealthy old Frenchman who had some +mission to this country, and supported herself and her father." + +"But where did she get her present fortune?" inquired Squire Talford. + +"Well, it is quite a story, and I cannot go into the details just now," +his companion replied, "but the girl proved herself a heroine in two or +three instances, and saved the life of the Frenchman's grandchild, +prevented a robbery in the house, and won his confidence to such an +extent that he made her the guardian of the child, to whom he left an +immense amount of money, and a snug sum to Miss Heatherford herself. She +has only recently appeared in society here, but every one has fallen in +love with her--men and women alike. She is spoken for, however, for she +is soon going to marry a fine fellow who bids fair to become a prominent +man in the world if he keeps on as he has begun, for he is as smart as +chain-lightning--there he is now, just in the act of introducing a lady +to Miss Heatherford." + +Squire Talford started and flushed crimson as he instantly recognized +Cliff. He had not observed him before, and now to find him in that +brilliant assemblage, and apparently received on an equal footing with +the most distinguished, was a shock which he had not been prepared for. + +"Humph! So she is going to marry him!" he managed to say without +betraying how much he had been startled. + +"Yes, the engagement was announced the first of the season, and, of +course, any one can see that, morally and mentally, the young man is her +equal in every respect. But it has leaked out that he has worked his own +way up from boyhood. His name is Faxon--Clifford Faxon--and I am told +that he first met his fiancée in a railroad accident--or, rather, what +would have proved to be a terrible smash-up but for the boy's superhuman +efforts to remove an obstruction that lay upon the track, and which made +a veritable hero of him. It seems that the girl was on board the train, +and she was so impressed by the wonderful achievement that she gave him +a very handsome ring, which he wears constantly." + +Squire Talford remembered the ring well, but it galled him inexpressibly +to hear Clifford so vaunted--this boy whom he had always hated because +of a secret wrong in which his mother had once figured, and which he had +nursed for half a life-time. It rasped him almost beyond endurance to +find that, in spite of the efforts he had made to crush him, he had +overcome every obstacle in the past, and was steadily rising toward fame +and fortune; that even now, in his early manhood, he had far outstripped +himself in attaining a social position in the world. + +"He is a handsome, intellectual-looking fellow, don't you think?" his +companion inquired. "You do not often see a finer head, a more frank, +honest face on a man, while his eyes are simply magnificent." + +The squire literally ground his teeth with rage, but controlling himself +after a moment, he remarked, with a touch of sarcasm in his tones: + +"You are enthusiastic over him, I perceive. But it seems that he isn't +above becoming a fortune-hunter, since he is going to marry the rich +Miss Heatherford." + +"There you are mistaken, sir," was the spirited retort. "Faxon is no +fortune-hunter--I'd take my oath that he would never stoop to win any +one from a mercenary motive. The fact is that he and Miss Heatherford +met and became acknowledged lovers while the girl was working for her +living, and, notwithstanding he has no fortune or social position except +what he has won for himself, she is prouder of him than she would be of +a crown prince." + +The squire could bear no more of that kind of talk in his present frame +of mind, and, excusing himself to his communicative companion, he left +him and made his way toward the hall, with the intention of slipping out +unobserved and returning to his boarding-place. He was so absorbed in +his disagreeable reflections that he paid no heed to any of the people +about him, and had just reached the great archway leading out of the +drawing-room when his way was suddenly blocked by some one who had +paused before him and given vent to a startled exclamation. + +Squire Talford lifted his head with a great, inward shock, and found a +familiar form confronting him. The two men glared into each other's +faces for a full minute without speaking, both looking like a couple of +specters. Then the stranger gasped with colorless lips: + +"You--here!" + +"Looks like it," laconically returned the squire, who instantly began to +recover himself, while his eyes glittered like points of polished steel. +"Perhaps you'll be wanting to buy another ticket for New York, now that +you know I'm around, eh?" + +"No, I'll be ---- if I will!" fiercely retorted the other, in a low, +angry tone. Then he elbowed his way by his enemy, and disappeared among +the crowd. + +The squire chuckled viciously to himself, his irritation against +Clifford forgotten for the moment in his new and rather startling +encounter. + +"Ha, ha! Bill. You're afraid of me, and you can't conceal the fact. And +you have even more cause than you dream of," he muttered, a cruel smile +wreathing his lips. "I wonder what you are doing here in +Washington--I'll bet you're trying to lobby some devilish scheme or +other, for your own private interests. But I think there'll be a day of +reckoning between you and me before you're much older." + +A little later Mollie and Gertrude Athol slipped away from the company +and went for a stroll through the fine conservatory that led from the +south side of the house. They wandered about, chatting socially, for a +time, until Gertrude, chancing to glance up, saw her father standing in +the doorway beckoning to her. + +"Papa wants me," she said. "I expect he wishes to introduce me to some +friends of whom he told me to-day. I am sorry to leave you, Miss +Heatherford, but you will come to see me soon, will you not? and then we +will plan to meet often. Good night, if I should not see you again." + +She tripped away, but Mollie, who was a dear lover of flowers, lingered +in that bower of beauty to examine some rare and exquisite orchids which +were in full bloom. Suddenly, as she rounded a corner at the extreme end +of the conservatory, some one started up from a seat that was +half-concealed by some palms and foliage plants, and she found herself +confronted by Philip Wentworth. + +She had not dreamed of his being in the house, for she had seen none of +the family that evening, and, in truth, he had been there but a few +minutes, having had another engagement, but had promised to join his +fiancée, Gertrude Athol, before the evening was over. He had been +looking for her--had come to the conservatory to seek her, entering by a +door leading from the dining room, instead of the hall, when, seeing the +two girls, and not wishing to meet them together, he had sought the seat +referred to, and concealed himself among the foliage until they should +return to the house. + +But when he saw Gertrude leave and Mollie loitering among the flowers, +a wild desire to talk with her took possession of him, and he arose and +stood in her path. + +Mollie drew herself haughtily erect, and would have passed him without a +word, but he stretched forth his arms and barred her way. + +"No, you shall not evade me this time," he cried in a voice tremulous +with passion and wounded feeling. "I have the right to vindicate myself, +and no criminal is ever condemned without a hearing. Oh, Mollie! Mollie! +forgive me--forgive me! I was not myself that night. I own I had been +drinking more than was good for me, and I hardly knew what I was about." + +Mollie had not intended to exchange a word with him, but the +self-reproach in his tones--the misery in his face--appealed to her +gentle heart, and she began to be sorry for him. She told herself that +she had no right to condemn him utterly, even though she felt that she +could never respect or admit him to her friendship again. She recoiled a +step or two from him, and her face involuntarily softened. + +"If that is so," she began gently, "let it be a lesson to you, and never +again make such free use of that which you admit has power to control +you." + +"I will not, Mollie--I will not, indeed. I promise you," Philip eagerly +returned, adding appealingly: "And you will forgive me--say that you +will forgive, and let us be friends, as of old, once more." + +Mollie's face flushed, and she shrank involuntarily. She knew that she +could never receive him as a friend again--she had no wish ever to +resume the old relations with any of the family, for their treachery and +ill usage had done more to weaken her faith in humanity than anything +that had ever occurred in all her experience. + +"No," she said, after a moment of thought. "I will be frank with you, +Philip--we can never be friends again, as I understand the term. One +must have confidence in one's friends--you have destroyed my confidence +in you. One must respect one's friends--you have forfeited my respect. +It is not easy to tell you this, but you know that I was never guilty of +deception, and so I cannot pretend to a friendship that is not real." + +The young man staggered back a pace. He felt as if some one had struck +him a blow upon his bare heart, and in all his life he had not known +such genuine suffering as he experienced at that moment. Mollie seemed +beautiful as a goddess--as far above him in strength and purity of +character as the stars, and yet he had never yearned for her as he did +now. + +"Oh! I deserve it all--I deserve you should despise me!" he exclaimed in +a voice of agony; "but I love you--I love you! You, and you alone, hold +my life and my future in your hands! Forgive me, Mollie--let me try to +win back your respect. I swear that no one shall lead a more exemplary +life--no one shall be more worthy of your confidence--your love, than I, +if you will but give me a chance. See! I kneel--I beg----" + +"Stop!" cried Mollie authoritatively, as she put out one hand to stay +him, "never do that, for no true woman would ever wish a man to +humiliate himself. And now let me say," she continued even more +impressively, "you must never speak like this to me again, for--I am +already the promised wife of another." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +WENTWORTH SPURNED. + + +At Mollie's words Philip sprang erect, a sudden rage possessing him. + +"You engaged!" he faltered in a scarcely audible voice. He had only +rejoined his mother in Washington a few days previous, and, as yet, had +not heard of the formal announcement of Mollie's engagement to Clifford. +He had been secretly enraged during the latter part of the previous +winter because of the young man's attentions to her, and he had feared +that they might result in their union; but now that the blow had fallen, +he found that he was entirely unprepared for it, and was almost beside +himself with mingled hate and jealousy. + +It did not once occur to him that he himself was playing the part of a +treacherous villain, for he was still pledged to Gertrude Athol. But he +would not have hesitated an instant to throw her over if he could have +won Mollie and her fortune. + +"You engaged!" he repeated, his clouded eyes searching the fair face +before him. + +Mollie flushed. She had felt almost sure he must have known the fact, +and she was considerably embarrassed to be obliged to explain matters to +him. But she was determined to make him understand, once for all, that +their old-time friendship could never be renewed, and that he must cease +persecuting her with avowals of love. + +"Yes," she quietly returned, but with downcast eyes, and a tender +inflection unconsciously creeping into her tones, "I am going to marry +Mr. Faxon the 25th of January." + +The ax had fallen! The man whom he had hated for years had won the prize +which he coveted. He could have borne it better if she had named some +stranger, but to be told that his old enemy, who, in spite of every +adverse circumstance, had gone straight to the front, distancing him in +college; who had proved himself a hero over and over; to whom he owed +the life of his young sister; against whom he had once lifted a +murderous hand, and who was now rapidly rising, both in the social and +political world. Oh! it was too much; it was crushing, maddening! + +He stood rigid as a statue for a full minute after Mollie concluded, +trying to master the tempest of jealous hate that raged within him. Then +he said in a voice that was ominous in its calmness: + +"And you love him?" + +Mollie flashed him a glance that answered him even before she spoke, for +there was a light of ineffable happiness in her eyes. + +"You do not need to ask such a question!" she replied, "you know that I +would never give my hand to any man who had not first won my deepest +affection." + +"Enough!" cried Philip, now wrought up to uncontrollable fury, "you need +say no more. So that low-born upstart has effectually cut me out; curse +him! Bah! I could cut his heart out!" + +"Stop!" commanded Mollie, facing him with an air and look that silenced +him for the moment. "If you must give expression to such ignoble +sentiments regarding one who is vastly your superior in every respect, +you at least shall not offend my ears with such language." + +She turned abruptly as she ceased, and swept down the marble walk with +the hauteur of an offended queen, and a moment later disappeared within +the mansion. + +Philip Wentworth, left to himself, paced back and forth in the +flower-bordered path with the restless step of a caged lion, while he +muttered and swore and raved like one almost on the verge of insanity, +and wholly unaware of the slender, white-clad figure which had a few +minutes previous flitted down another path and suddenly halted behind a +huge Japanese vase taller than herself, and in which there was growing a +luxuriant mass of vines, which entirely concealed her from view. + +The second time he turned the sound of a quick, elastic step caught his +ear. He peered around the corner, and instantly a lurid light began to +blaze in his eyes. The man he hated, the rival who had come between him +and the--to him--one woman in the world, was approaching him, and +evidently in search of some one. + +Philip Wentworth stood still, concealed from the other's view by the +heavy foliage beside him, and involuntarily reaching out his hand, +grasped the stem of a plant that was growing in a pot, and lifted it +from its place. + +Clifford, who was seeking Mollie, came rapidly on, rounded the corner, +and almost ran upon Philip. He pulled himself up short, and, after a +swift glance around, he observed in an easy tone, as he courteously +inclined his head to his former classmate: + +"Ah, Wentworth, pardon me! I should have moderated my movements somewhat +before turning this corner." + +He was about to pass on, when Philip hoarsely exclaimed while he faced +him: + +"Hold! What is this I hear? I am told that you are going to marry Mollie +Heatherford. Is it true?" + +Clifford drew himself up slightly before replying. + +"It is true, Mr. Wentworth; I am going to marry Miss Heatherford," he +coldly replied, but with significant emphasis. + +"Curse you!" fairly hissed Wentworth, while his grip tightened on the +stem of the plant. "So that has been your game, has it? You have +deliberately set yourself to cut me out. I told you four years ago that +she was my promised wife; we had been pledged to each other from +childhood, and heavens! do you think I am going to tamely submit to +being robbed by a low-born pauper like you? Do you imagine that I'm +going to let you marry her? Never, so help me!" + +His right hand swung out with tremendous force, lifting the flower-pot +above his head and aiming it directly at Clifford's face. + +But Faxon was too quick for him. He sprang to one side, caught the +uplifted arm with a grip that almost paralyzed it, and, wrenching the +dangerous missile--which fortunately remained intact, the plant having +become root-bound in the pot--from his grasp, calmly replaced it where +it belonged. + +"Mr. Wentworth, this is the second time that you have made a rash +attempt upon my life," he quietly observed. "I advise you never to +repeat it, and you will remember that Miss Heatherford is my promised +wife, and I shall not tolerate anything that verges upon a recurrence of +what has just taken place." + +He paused a moment, while a softer expression swept over his fine face. + +"Wentworth, what ails you?" he continued in a more friendly tone. "What +has made you so strangely antagonistic toward me all these years? I fail +to understand it. It began away back during our first term in college; +what caused it? Where is your manliness that you could cherish a grudge +for so long? Believe me, I never had the slightest personal ill-will +against you, and certainly you must have been in a very uncomfortable +frame of mind most of this time. If I have unconsciously done you any +wrong in the past, I should be very glad to be told of it." + +Again he paused, but Philip stood silent, with downcast eyes and a +sullen frown upon his brow. Clifford saw that he was incorrigible, and, +repressing a sigh of regret for a life so warped by selfishness, he +observed: + +"Possibly I am unwise in appealing to you in any such way; but I +believe the day will yet come when you will regret some of these +things." + +He turned and went swiftly back the way he had come, while Philip +watched him with a lowering brow and a look of hate in his eyes. + +Suddenly a slight rustle caused him to turn and look behind him, when an +exclamation of dismay escaped him, for, leaning against the tall vase, +and pale as the snowy dress she wore, he saw Gertrude Athol standing not +a dozen feet from him. + +"Gertrude!" the young man faltered, for he knew from her manner that she +must have overheard much of what had passed--how much he dared not +think. + +The sound of his voice acted like a shock of electricity upon her. She +stood erect, swept into the path where he was, and confronted him. + +"I have heard all," she said in a cold, quiet tone. "I had no intention +of playing the eavesdropper, however. Miss Heatherford and I were here +in the conservatory a while ago, when my father called me, but he only +wished to ask me a question or two, and then I thought that I would come +back to Miss Heatherford, and that is how I happened to be here. I came +just as you were declaring that she and she alone held your life and +your future in her hands----" and the beautiful girl's nostrils dilated +with supreme contempt as she thus repeated his words. "Therefore, +considering the relations that have existed between you and me for the +last four years, I felt that I had the right to hear you out and learn +just to what extent I had been made your dupe----" + +"Oh, Gertrude!" + +"Hush!" she commanded imperatively. "I will not listen to a word of +extenuation from you--there is none--there can be none. I will say my +say out, and that will end everything between us. I have long felt that +I might perhaps be building my hopes for the future upon shifting +sand--there have been many indications of it, but I hoped that you might +change for the better--that your good qualities would in the end +overbalance your weakness. For more than four years I have worn your +ring, believing myself pledged to you," Gertrude went on, as she calmly +began to unlace the glove on her left hand, "but to-night you have said +in my presence that for many years you have been betrothed to +another--that you have loved--worshiped that other." + +She turned the glove wrong-side out, to remove it the more quickly, +slipped the ring from her finger, and held it out to him. "Here, take +it. You and I will part here and now. And do not think that I shall eat +my heart out and die because of disappointed love--like the girl of whom +we read that summer in the mountains. I am not in the slightest danger +of such a fate, for you have this night slain every spark of regard or +respect that I ever entertained for you." + +"Gertrude, hear me----" Philip began, as he shrank away from the hand +that held the ring out to him. + +"I have already heard all I wish to hear," she spiritedly returned, and +with an inflection that made him wince. "Take it!" she reiterated as she +again offered him the ring. "Very well," as he still refused, "I will +leave it here for you to think about." + +She hung it upon a twig of the plant before him, then turning abruptly +from him, swept down and out of the conservatory with the air and step +of one who exulted in recovered freedom. + +As she disappeared he reached forth his hand and secured the ring, for +it was a valuable one, but with a shamefaced air and a muttered curse at +his--"luck." + +Fifteen minutes later, when he sought his mother, to inform her that he +"was not well, and was going home," he espied Mollie and Gertrude +standing in an alcove chatting socially together, and as calmly and +serenely as if no thought of regret in connection with him had power to +cast a shadow across their pathway. Gertrude was perhaps a trifle paler +than usual, but she was bright and animated, and he was assured that she +"never would eat her heart out for him." + +The contempt that had vibrated in her tones as she said it was still +ringing in his ears as he left the house, making him quiver from head to +foot with a sense of humiliation such as he had never experienced +before. + +When Gertrude Athol entered her own room, after her return from the +reception, she sat down and tried to calmly review the recent scene +between her discarded lover and herself, and to consider what influence +it was likely to have upon her future. + +"I believe I can truly say that I am glad to be free," she said after a +while, with a sudden proud uplifting of her head. "I have known from +almost the first of our acquaintance that Philip Wentworth is a weak +and selfish man; but he is a handsome fellow, entertaining, and well +versed in all the little courtesies of life and possessing strong +mesmeric power, and I believe that he was fond of me. I foolishly +imagined that, because of this supposed fondness, I might be able to +help him overcome his faults and arouse within him an ambition to +cultivate the best there is in him; but I know him now for a treacherous +villain--for a coward, and almost a murderer. Oh, yes; I am glad that I +am free, and I shall not grieve for him; though, of course, any woman +would naturally be keenly stung to discover that she has only been made +a tool of--simply held in reserve in the event of the failure of other +plans!" + +Her cheeks grew crimson, and her eyes flashed indignantly at the +thought, while two tears fell upon her jeweled hands. She flung them off +with an impatient gesture. + +"They are not for him!" she cried scornfully; "they fell only for my own +wounded pride; and they are the last I shall ever shed for that. The +hurt is not so very deep, thank Heaven! and will soon heal. So he has +been in love with Mollie Heatherford 'all his life?' Well, she certainly +is one of the dearest and loveliest girls I have ever met, and she has +shown good judgment in her choice of a husband, for Clifford Faxon is +worth a dozen men like Philip Wentworth." + +A little later, after her acquaintance with Mollie had ripened into a +strong and enduring friendship--when she learned how Philip had played +fast and loose with her, according to the changes in her +circumstances--her contempt merged into positive repulsion for the young +man; and before the season was over her acquaintance with a son of the +British ambassador, whom she met that evening for the first time, +developed into a strong mutual attachment which bade fair to result in +an early marriage. + +Upon their return from the reception, Clifford lingered a while with +Mollie before proceeding to his lodgings, and it was, therefore, quite +late when he reached home. He was somewhat surprised to find a carriage +standing before the house where Squire Talford boarded, while the +coachman was assisting his former employer up to the door, the man +groaning at every step. + +"Here, sir!" called the cabman, as he espied Clifford, "will you lend a +hand here, please? The gentleman has sprained his ankle, and he is more +than I can manage." + +"Certainly," Clifford cheerfully responded, as he sprang forward with +alacrity to render what assistance he could. + +"Here is his latch-key, sir," the driver continued, passing it to the +young man, "If you'll open the door, we'll make an armchair and carry +him up to his room, as easy as snapping your thumb and finger." + +Clifford did as he was requested, and then the two clasped hands, making +the squire sit upon them, with an arm around the neck of each of his +helpers, and in this way he was borne up two flights of stairs and +deposited upon a chair in his own room, which was little better than a +closet at the back of a hall. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +SQUIRE TALFORD'S ACCIDENT. + + +It was evident that the man was suffering intensely; but resolutely +repressing, as far as he was able, outward manifestations of the fact, +he turned to the cabman and briefly inquired: + +"What's to pay for this?" + +The man named his price, and, with a grunt of disapprobation, the squire +drew forth his wallet--the same that Mollie had restored to him only a +few hours previous--and paid the amount, whereupon the driver hurried +away to his team below. + +Squire Talford had not taken the slightest notice of Clifford, but the +young man, although he found himself in an awkward position, felt that +he had a duty to perform, and courteously inquired if he should go for a +surgeon to attend to the injured limb. + +"No," was the gruff response, "the leg has already been attended to at +the drug-store, where I made the mis-step." + +Cliff glanced down and observed for the first time that his boot had +been removed and the ankle bandaged. + +"But you will have to get to bed, sir; let me assist you," he remarked. + +"No--I can do well enough by myself--I don't want any help," the squire +returned ungraciously. + +Cliff flushed and stood irresolute for a moment. Then a look of +determination flashed into his eyes, and he deliberately unbuttoned and +removed his overcoat. + +"Excuse me, Squire Talford, but you do need help," he calmly observed. +"I know that you are not at all fond of me; that my presence is +disagreeable to you; but suppose, for this once, you ignore those facts +and accept the aid you require. You cannot stir from your chair without +great suffering if I leave you, and will probably have to sit in it all +night, unless you call some one in the house, and everybody appears to +be in bed. Here, let me have your hat," and without more ado he removed +it from the man's head and placed it on a table. + +"Now the coat," he added. "I am sure I can help you undress without +disturbing you very much, and when I get you comfortably settled in bed +I will leave you." + +Squire Talford was beginning to realize his helplessness, and submitted +to the disrobing without further objection, although not with the best +grace in the world, and he never once met Clifford's eyes during the +operation. + +"Now," said the young man, when that task was over, "the next move will +be to try to get you into bed without hurting this crippled foot if +possible. I will move your chair close beside it, then I think I can +easily lift you on." + +He swung the chair around, while he was speaking, and, it being a +rocker without arms, it was not difficult to place it just where he +wanted it, when, almost before he had time to dread the change, the +squire found himself reclining in a comparatively comfortable position, +although the pain in his ankle seemed unbearable. + +"Is there anything else I can do for you?" Clifford inquired, with a +great pity in his heart for the lonely man, as he saw how deathly white +he was and noted the lines of pain about his mouth. + +"I don't think of anything," said the squire, in a more subdued tone +than he had yet used. + +Clifford hung his clothing in the closet, and straightened things +generally in the room, then found his way to the bath-room, where he +procured a glass of water, which he placed on a chair beside the +patient, in case he should be thirsty during the night. + +"I am going to my room now, Squire Talford," he said when these +arrangements were completed, "but if you should need me before morning +and can arouse any one, you can send for me, and I will gladly come to +you. I will drop in anyway after breakfast, to see how you are." + +The man nodded, but did not unclose his eyes, and Clifford, after +turning the gas low, went quietly out, taking care to close the door +softly after him. + +The next morning on inquiring at the door regarding the squire's +condition before going to his business, he was told by the landlady that +he had slept but little, and was suffering very much, both from the +sprain and a high fever, for he had evidently taken a severe cold. + +Clifford went up to his room and tried to persuade him to have medical +advice, but the man curtly refused to do so; and after doing what little +he could for his comfort, he was obliged to leave him to himself. + +He found him even worse on his return at night, and he spent most of the +evening with him, bathing the injured ankle, rubbing it thoroughly with +a liniment which he had procured of a druggist, and afterward +rebandaging it as deftly as if he were accustomed to such duties. He +also bathed the man's fevered face and hands, and he seemed much +refreshed afterward. + +The squire did not submit to these operations with a very good grace at +first, but Clifford had assumed a masterful air, and went straight ahead +as if he had a perfect right to do so, and was so gentle and handy that +before he was through he could see that the squire's antagonism to his +presence was merging into a sort of helpless reliance upon him. + +He had brought some lemons with him, and with these he made a small +pitcher of lemonade, some of which the sufferer drank with thirsty +relish, the remainder being left where he could easily reach it. +Clifford felt very reluctant to leave him alone, for he saw that he was +very ill; but the squire bade him go, saying that he was all right, and +he felt obliged to obey him. + +He did not feel wearied or like sleeping after reaching his own room, +and, having a new book, he read until very late, retiring just as the +clock in a room below struck the half-hour after twelve. + +He fell asleep almost immediately; but suddenly--it seemed as if he +could hardly have lost himself--he was aroused by hearing the rapid +"chug-chug" of a steam fire-engine close by and a perfect babel of +voices in the street below him. + +He sprang from his bed and rushed to a window, and was appalled to see +smoke and flame issuing from both the door and windows of the adjoining +house, which he had left only a few hours previous. His first thought +was for Squire Talford, who was on the third floor, and who, in his +crippled condition, would find it very difficult to get out of the +burning building. + +He hurriedly threw on some clothing; then dashed down-stairs and out of +doors. The entire lower floor of the burning house was in flames. The +fire had started in the basement, and had gained great headway before it +was discovered. + +The stairway leading to the second story was also on fire, and thus +rendered impassable, and the family and servants were being taken out of +the second-floor windows by the firemen when Clifford appeared upon the +scene. + +"Where is Squire Talford?" he demanded of the landlady, as soon as he +could find her. + +"Merciful heavens, sir! I'm sure I don't know. He must be up-stairs in +his room. With so many other things on my mind I haven't thought of him +till this minute!" cried the almost distracted woman, wringing her +hands in terror. + +Clifford turned suddenly white with a terrible fear. One sweeping glance +aloft told him that the man would shortly be suffocated by smoke, even +if the flames had not already reached him. He knew that he could not put +his injured foot to the floor; that he was almost as helpless as an +infant; and unless he had immediate assistance the chances in his favor +were very small indeed. + +It was too late to try to save him by getting him out of the windows on +the front of the house, for some of the firemen had been burned while +making their last trip down the ladder with their burdens, and the +flames were now pouring out of them. + +Without saying a word to any one, he dashed back into his own house, +bounded up three flights of stairs, and made his way out upon the roof, +through a skylight, and ran across to the one on the roof of the fated +building. + +It was fastened; but with one blow of his heel he smashed a pane of +glass, and reaching inside, unhooked it, throwing it open with a force +that nearly tore it from its hinges. The next moment he was making his +way down the stairs; but the whole place was black with smoke so dense +that he could scarcely see or breathe. + +He sprang into the squire's room, to find the man lying crossway of the +bed, his face downward, panting for breath and moaning piteously. He had +tried to get up to escape, wrenched his ankle, and fallen back again +half-fainting from the pain, from fear, and a horrible sense of his own +helplessness. + +"Courage, Squire Talford!" cried Clifford, in forceful tones. "I will +have you out of this very shortly. Now think quick--have you any papers +and valuables that you want to take with you?" + +"Yes--a package of documents in my trunk--my watch and wallet are under +my pillow," the man feebly responded, though he had lifted his head +eagerly the instant he caught the sound of the familiar, encouraging +voice. + +Clifford had the wallet and watch in his pocket almost before he ceased +speaking; then he flew to the trunk--fortunately it was not +locked--found the papers, and thrust them into his pocket. The next +moment he was bending over the squire. + +"Here, let me help you up," he said; "you must not mind if you are hurt +a little--put your arms around my neck and give yourself up to me, and I +will save you." + +The man rolled over, and with Clifford's help stood upon his well foot, +though a groan burst from him in making the effort. He clasped his hands +about the young man's neck, as he was bidden, and Clifford lifted him in +his arms, bore him from the room, through the volume of smoke that was +now rolling up through the aperture above, up the stairs to the roof, +and across it to the next house. + +Here he deposited his burden upon the upper step of the flight of stairs +leading below, while the fresh, frosty air had done much toward +reviving the almost suffocated man. + +"Now," said Clifford, "if you can manage to get inside out of the cold +by yourself, I will go back and see if I can save some of your clothing. +Can you?" + +"Yes, I will try; but don't run any risk for the clothes, Cliff," the +squire replied as he began to ease himself down the stairs; for he was +shivering with cold and excitement. + +In spite of the gravity of the situation, a smile flashed over +Clifford's face as he noted the change in the man's tone when he +pronounced his name, and marked the consideration expressed for him. He +darted back and down into the room which he had only just left, although +now the flames smote him as he went, for they were rolling up from below +with devouring force. + +He snatched a sheet from the bed, and, without making a false movement +or step, piled upon it everything belonging to the squire that he could +lay his hands on, emptying both trunk and closet; then gathering it up +by the four corners, he knotted them, swung the pack over his head, and +a moment later was again on the roof of the house, and this time getting +a thorough drenching from the stream of water which had been directed to +the column of smoke that was pouring out of the skylight. + +He had not been any too expeditious, for almost at the same instant +there came a terrible crash, which told of falling floors and stairways +within the burning building. Dropping his pack through the roof of his +own dwelling, he quickly followed it, to find the squire shivering in +the hall below. + +He assisted him down the next flight to the room he occupied, which was +a large square apartment in the front of the house, and made him get +into his own bed. + +The man was a little inclined to rebel against this arrangement, for he +seemed to think that they were still in danger from the fire; but Cliff +assured him that the department were getting the flames under control, +and they were in no danger, as the walls between the houses were +fireproof. + +As soon as he had made him comfortable, he went up-stairs again to bring +down the clothing he had saved, and arranged it neatly in his closet and +an empty trunk of his own; after which he had a bath and put on dry +garments. + +Although the engines continued to play for more than an hour after this, +the worst was over, no lives had been lost, although much personal +property was destroyed, and the excitement soon subsided. + +But when morning broke Squire Talford was raving in the delirium of +fever. Clifford felt it his duty to act upon his own responsibility, and +immediately called a physician, who at once declared that the man must +either go to a hospital, or have a trained nurse where he was, for he +was very sick, and liable to have a tedious illness. Knowing the +squire's horror of incurring heavy expenses, Clifford did not quite like +to send him to a hospital, while the cost of a trained nurse in the +house, with her board to be paid, would very soon amount to an appalling +sum. + +The man was in no condition to plan for himself, and so, after thinking +the matter over seriously, and consulting with his landlady, who was a +kind-hearted, sensible woman, Clifford decided to send for Maria +Kimberly to come and take care of her master. + +Mrs. Woodruff, the owner of the house, had a couple of empty rooms which +she was very glad to rent--one on the same floor and another above--and +Clifford said he would take one and Maria could have the other. + +So, about the middle of the forenoon, while Mrs. Kimberly was ironing +the last parlor curtain--which, after it was hung, would complete her +house-cleaning for that season--a messenger-boy appeared at the door +with a telegram for her. + +It was Cliff's message, briefly telling of the squire's illness, and +bidding her come to nurse him. She was to take the earliest possible +train for New York, wire Clifford when she reached that city what hour +she would leave for Washington, and he would meet her upon her arrival. + +It was the first telegram that the woman had ever received in her life, +and it naturally gave her quite a shock, but she was equal to the +emergency, and after reading the message through twice, her mind began +to act vigorously. + +"Goodness gracious me!" she ejaculated as she drew a long breath. "It's +come like a clap of thunder! But of course I've got to go. Yes, and--I'm +sure it's another dispensation of Providence--I shall take that box +belonging to Cliff along with me." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +MARIA SPEAKS HER MIND. + + +After Maria had settled the question of duty, she went very +systematically to work to prepare for her journey. She calmly finished +ironing her curtain, hung it nicely in its place, and then swept a +satisfied look around the neatly arranged and immaculate room before +closing and locking the door to keep out all intruders during her +absence. + +Then she rolled up her sleeves, and for the next three hours baked and +boiled and fried until her pantry was well stocked with substantial and +toothsome provisions for the hired man and chore-boy. + +"This'll last you nigh onto two weeks, with what you can cook for +yourselves," she said to Pat, as she showed him the result of her +labors. "There's plenty of salt pork in the barrel that you can fry when +you want a change from corned beef and ham, and there's all kinds of +veg'tables in the cellar. I guess you can manage some way till I come +back, and if you get out of bread you can ask Miss Barnes to bake you +some, or you can buy it of the baker." + +Her cooking out of the way and everything about the house left in the +most tidy manner imaginable, Maria packed her small trunk, arrayed +herself in a good, serviceable gown for traveling, and was driven into +New Haven in ample time to catch her train. + +She made her connections in New York without any difficulty, after +having wired Clifford what hour she expected to arrive in Washington the +following morning. He was at the station to meet her when the train +rolled into it, and welcomed her most cordially; indeed, a great burden +rolled from his heart the moment he caught sight of her strong, honest +face, for he felt that she was equal to the responsibilities awaiting +her. + +To her inquiries regarding the squire's condition, he replied that he +was pretty sick and had been delirious all night, but had fallen asleep +a few moments before he left him to come to her. + +"Who's been taking care of him?" Maria questioned. + +"Well, he has not needed much care until yesterday and last night, and +I've done what I could," Clifford modestly returned. + +Then he told her about his accident and of his narrow escape from being +burned to death, although he made as light as possible of his own agency +in these matters; but Maria learned all about it later, when she had +made the acquaintance of the landlady, who could not say enough in +praise of him. + +For three weeks Squire Talford was a very sick man, and even Maria found +her powers of endurance taxed to the utmost, in spite of the aid of +Clifford, who insisted upon sharing her vigils at night and doing all +that he could besides out of business hours. He pulled through, however, +though it was a hard pull; yet when he began to convalesce he mended +very rapidly. + +Five weeks after Maria's arrival he was able to be up and dressed; his +appetite had returned, and he said he felt as if he had "been made over +new." + +One morning, after she had served him a nice breakfast and put his room +to rights, Mrs. Kimberly seated herself directly opposite her patient, +with a very determined look on her honest face. + +"Well, what is it, Maria?" the squire questioned, for he always knew +that matters of importance weighed heavily on her mind when she looked +like that. + +"I've got something to tell you," she replied, and coming directly to +the point. + +"I thought so. What is it? Go ahead." + +"Waal, I expect you won't like it very well, but it's got to be told," +the woman observed, and flushing slightly. "When I was cleanin' the +attic, after you left, I took that little hair trunk o' your'n up to +move it, dropped it, and smashed the lid off." + +The squire started and shot a quick look at her at this. + +"Of course, everything tumbled out," she pursued, "and I had to pick 'em +up and put 'em back. I suppose I don't need to tell you that I found +among the mess a box belonging to Cliff." + +She glanced up as she concluded, to find that her companion had lost +some of his recently recovered color during her recital. + +There was a moment of awkward silence, then the man curtly remarked: + +"Well?" + +"Waal, the box had come apart in the smash, and I found a lot of letters +directed to Cliff's mother and--to his father. I found, too, the papers +that told about Mis' Faxon's marriage and Cliff's christening." + +"Well?" questioned the squire again as she paused, but with white lips. + +"Of course, I didn't read the letters. I thought 'twas none o' my +business what was in 'em, but when I saw them certificates I made up my +mind that a burnin' wrong had been done that boy--a wrong that must be +righted, squire; so, when I got his message to come to take care o' you, +I brought that box along with me." + +"You did!" exclaimed Squire Talford, in a startled tone. "What have you +done with it--have you given it to Cliff?" + +"No, sir! You don't ketch Maria Kimberly doin' anything underhanded if +she knows it," responded the woman, with considerable spirit. "As long +as I found the things in your trunk, I made up my mind I'd tell you +about it first and see what you'd do before I went any farther." + +"That shows your good sense and honesty, Maria," said the squire +appreciatively. "I suppose, however, you think the boy ought to have the +papers," he added thoughtfully. + +"Of course I do, and that ain't all he oughter have, either," his +companion retorted, with stout-hearted frankness. + +"What do you mean?" demanded the squire, with well-assumed surprise. + +Maria sniffed significantly and tossed her head. + +"I suppose you imagine I don't know who Cliff's father was," she said, +with a wise smile. "I suppose you think I never heard that story about +Belle Abbot, who, after she was engaged to one man, fell in love with +another and jilted the first one. But I never suspected that the man she +married was anything to you--I never heard that part of it--until just +afore I came to Washington. I was dustin' the books in that old +secretary in your bedroom, and came across that old Bible your mother +used to like because the type was so clear. I'd seen it a hundred times, +but never took any notice of the family record till that day, when I +found the same name, among a lot of others, that I saw on Belle Abbot's +marriage-certificate. + +"You could have knocked me over with a feather, for I always believed +Cliff's mother married a man by the name o' Faxon--and she did, too, for +that was one of the names. I never could understand afore why you hated +the boy so; but now I see through it. You knew he didn't know anything +about his father; you pretended to be a friend to Mis' Faxon after she +came back from the West, influenced her to bind the boy to you when she +was dyin', and managed, some way, to get hold o' them papers and have +kep' 'em hid from him ever since, for you didn't mean he should ever +have his rights if you could help it." + +"Don't you think you are getting pretty sharp and familiar in your talk, +Maria?" the squire demanded shortly, as she paused for breath, but the +hand that was fingering an envelope trembled visibly. + +"Maybe," she coolly retorted. "I'd made up my mind that the right time +had come for some 'sharp and familiar' talk to you, and I wasn't going +to shirk my duty. I've lived with you, Squire Talford, nigh on to +eighteen years, and I've tried to do my best for you and your'n all that +time--'specially since Mis' Talford died, for I felt I owed her a lot +for the pains she took to train me; then, of course, I wanted to feel +that I earned the money you was payin' me, though I've never had a rise +in my wages. So my conscience is clear on that score, and I don't think +I've neglected anything except to speak my mind, and that I'm goin' to +make up for now, if I never set foot in the old place again. + +"I've had hard work to hold my tongue in the past when you was abusin' +Cliff as you used to, and you'd no cause to hate him as you seemed to, +either. He never wronged you; he wasn't to blame for comin' into the +world the son o' the other man instead o' your'n. A better, brighter boy +never drew breath; he served you faithful as the day was long and you +treated him shameful--worse'n a slave. I used to wonder how you could +sleep nights after some o' those awful thrashin's you gave him. I never +felt meaner in my life for anybody than I did for you when you let him +go off to college without even a word o' kindness and encouragement, and +if I knew then what I know now he'd never have gone away as empty-handed +as he did." + +"You are spreading it on pretty thick, Maria, and I think it is about +time you stopped," the squire here interposed, and with a face that was +now crimson with mingled anger and shame. + +"Yes, I s'pose I am spreadin' it on thick," she composedly admitted, +"and I tell you I'm downright glad of the chance for once. I reckon I am +about through, though, only I'd like to ask what you propose to do for +Cliff." + +"I'm not sure that I propose to do anything," was the sullen reply. + +"You don't," cried Maria, bridling again, "Well, then, I do. I propose +to see that that young man gets his rights. I'm far from bein' a rich +woman, but I've saved up a plump little sum out o' my wages and Cliff +shall have every dollar of it to help him fight for his share of the +fortune that his grandmother left, and if you was clothed and in your +right mind you'd want him to have the rest of it when you're done with +it. + +"What are you thinking of, Squire Talford," she went on, glowing with +indignation, "to nurse, at your time o' life, such a spite against such +a splendid fellow like Clifford Faxon--a fellow that any man might be +proud to own as a son? Haven't you any gratitude for what he's done for +you? You'd have been burned to a cinder and lyin' under them brick walls +outside, but for him; he did what precious few men would have done that +night o' the fire, to save a man he knew hated him and had abused him as +you did when he was a boy. + +"And that ain't all, neither; he gave up this nice room to you and has +been sleepin' in a back room that's little better'n a closet, at the end +o' the hall, so's he could be handy to spell me when I had to rest. And +he's set up watchin' with you, night after night, just as faithful 's if +you was his own father. I could never have done it alone; for, squire, +you came mighty nigh slippin' over Jordan some o' them nights--mighty +nigh. Man alive! haven't you got any heart? What are you made of, +anyway? Waal," drawing a long breath and looking a trifle frightened as +she began to realize that she had been holding forth with more vigor +than discretion, "I guess I've said enough for now, and I'll leave you +to think it over. I've got that box in my trunk, and if you don't see +fit to do the square thing by Cliff I shall give it to him, tell him all +I know and then you an' I'll settle our accounts." + +The woman arose as she concluded and walked quietly from the room, +leaving the squire to meditate, in no enviable frame of mind, upon a +situation which he had never dreamed would overtake him. + +Maria did not go near him again until luncheon-time, when she carried +him a tray of daintily prepared viands that would have tempted an +epicure. + +She watched him out of the corners of her eyes while she arranged his +table, and the thoughtful expression on his face appeared to afford her +an immense amount of satisfaction, for two or three times, when she +passed behind his chair, she nodded her head with a gratified air which +spoke volumes. + +The man did not refer to the conversation of the morning, but there was +that in his manner and in the tones of his voice whenever he addressed +her, which assured her that he did not think any the less of her for the +stand she had taken. + +She kept out of his way during most of the afternoon, also, giving as a +reason that she was going to be busy in the laundry, but at night, as at +noon, his dinner was prepared with the greatest care and nicety. + +"You are a good cook, Maria," he remarked as she brought him a second cup +of coffee, the aroma of which pervaded the whole room, "and," he added +gravely, "you have proved yourself to be a tip-top nurse." + +"Thank you, sir," Maria respectfully responded and flushing with +pleasure at the unusual praise; "I had a good woman to train me--Mis' +Talford made me what I am, and I'm not backward to give her the credit +of it; she was a prime housekeeper and one o' the salt o' the earth." + +Whether it was this reference to his wife, or whether some other matters +were pressing heavily upon him, Maria had no means of knowing, but she +was sure she heard him sigh and saw his lips contract +spasmodically--signs of emotion which were very rare with him. + +He finished his dinner in silence, but as she was about to leave the +room with his tray he suddenly inquired: + +"Maria, has Cliff come in yet?" + +"Yes, sir; I met him in the hall as I was bringing up that last cup of +coffee." + +"Well, will you go to his door and ask him if he can spare me an hour +this evening? Say that it is a matter of importance." + +"All right, sir; I'll tell him," Maria responded, but with a sudden +choking in her throat which rendered her utterance somewhat indistinct. + +"And, Maria----" + +"Yes, sir." + +She paused with her hand upon the handle of the door, but did not look +around. + +"When I ring you may bring me that box, of which you told me to-day." + +"Yes, sir." + +It was all she could say; then she passed out of the room, shutting the +door softly behind her, but paused in the hall to wipe away the tears +that were raining over her cheeks. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +THE SQUIRE'S STORY. + + +Maria hurried away to the basement with her tray, then, all unmindful of +the fact that as yet her own fast had not been broken, sought Cliff, who +was in the library, his landlady having considerately offered him the +freedom of the house while he was excluded from his own room. + +"Is it anything particular, Maria?" the young man inquired when she had +delivered her message, while he glanced at his watch, for he had an +engagement with Mollie for nine o'clock. + +"Yes, 'tis," the woman replied with an emphatic nod of her head; "it's +very particular, and I'd advise you to 'tend to it now, while the +squire's in the right mood." + +Cliff regarded her curiously a moment; but, as she did not seem inclined +to say more, he observed: + +"Very well, I will go to him at once," and, following her from the room, +he mounted the stairs and was soon knocking for admission at the door of +the room above. + +"Good evening, Squire Talford, how do you find yourself to-night?" he +inquired pleasantly upon entering at the man's bidding. + +"I'm getting on very well," was the somewhat laconic reply. + +"Maria told me that you wished to see me. What can I do for you?" +Clifford asked, but instinctively scenting something unusual in the +atmosphere. + +"Sit down," briefly commanded the squire and pointing at a chair +opposite him. Clifford obeyed, smiling indulgently at the peremptory +tone. + +"I've got a story to tell you," began the squire plunging at once into +the disagreeable task before him, "and I expect it may surprise you a +bit in some ways. My father died when I was a baby. He was a rich man, +owning the place which has always been my home, besides considerable +other property. He made a will before he died giving everything he +possessed to my mother, and leaving her free to do with it just what she +chose. Two years afterward she married a second time--a man with no +means, a bookworm and would-be literary man, who sometimes earned a +little by his pen, though for the most part he was a failure from a +pecuniary point of view. + +"Less than a year later there came another boy into the family--my +half-brother--and at the end of another twelve months my mother was +again a widow. From that time she lived only to rear and educate her +children, who grew up together, nominally as brothers, but secretly +antagonistic to each other from their earliest youth. From my boyhood I +was thrifty and ambitious; all my interest and my pride were centered in +my home, and I was always planning and working to improve it and make it +yield a handsome income. My brother, on the contrary, would not work; +he was fond of books, like his father, and, more than all, of a +rollicking good time. + +"He had no interest in the farm or in anything that pertained to the +ways and means of living, and, as he grew toward manhood, he became wild +and unmanageable, giving our mother many a heartache because of his +reckless habits and extravagance. He always managed to get the lion's +share of everything, and, although I know my mother did not mean to be +unfair to me, she favored him in many ways, and denied herself almost +every luxury to keep his pockets well filled. We both went to college, +but when I was through I settled down to manage the estate and make the +most out of it and what other property my mother owned. When Bill +finished his education he insisted that he must have a trip to Europe. +He had his way, and spent a pile of money--more than he had any right +to--while I trudged on at home and bore all the burdens. About six +months after he went away I became attracted to a--a handsome girl in +New Haven. Her name was Isabelle Abbot." + +"My mother!" exclaimed Cliff with a sudden start and thrill of dismay, +while he grew first crimson, then white. + +"Yes, your mother," sharply repeated the squire, "and, as I said, she +lived in New Haven, her father doing a good business there in gents' +furnishing goods. She returned--or appeared to return--my regard for +her, and we shortly became engaged and planned to be married the next +fall, as soon as the harvesting was over. In June my brother returned +from Europe--the same rollicking, pleasure-loving, indolent fellow he +had always been. My mother urged him to settle down to some business or +profession, but he kept putting her off, telling her that when he found +something that suited him he'd dip in, as he expressed it; but he didn't +find what he wanted and continued to live his lazy life, but spending +money just as freely as ever. It was a bitter day for me when I +introduced him to the girl I expected to marry. He expressed a great +deal of admiration for her, called me a 'lucky dog' and said he should +'be very fond of his pretty sister-in-law.'" + +The bitterness in Squire Talford's tones as he repeated these sayings of +his brother plainly betrayed that his heart was still very sore from +these painful experiences of the past. + +"Well, it is the old story of treachery, and confidence betrayed," he +resumed after a short pause. "He began to visit Belle on the sly, and +wormed himself into her affections, and I, while I could see that she +was not quite the same as she was before he came home, never dreamed of +what was going on between them, until one day--just a month before the +day set for our wedding--they both disappeared, leaving only this to +tell what had occurred." + +The squire paused again and drew from the inner pocket of his +dressing-gown a small, square leather case, which he passed over to +Clifford. + +The young man took it with fingers that were trembling visibly, opened +it and drew forth a soiled and yellow envelope addressed to Mr. Alfred +H. Talford and in a hand which he instantly recognized to be his +mother's. + +Slipping the missive from the envelope, he unfolded it and read the +following brief letter: + + + "ALFRED: I know that you can never forgive me the wrong I am doing + you, but, too late, I have learned that I love another and not you. + When you receive this I shall be the wife of that other--you well + know who. I wish I could have saved you this blow, so near the day + that was set for our wedding; but I should have doubly wronged you + had I remained and fulfilled my pledge to you, with my heart + irrevocably elsewhere. Forget and forgive if you can. T.A." + + +Clifford was very pale as he perused these lines; which had crushed all +the brightest hopes of the man before him and embittered and warped his +whole life. + +He sighed, and a feeling of sympathy thrilled his heart as he returned +the epistle to its worn, leathern receptable and handed it back to his +companion, while he told himself that there must be depths to the man's +nature that he had never suspected, or he would not have preserved and +carried about with him for so many years this relic of an old-time love. + +The squire hesitated before taking it, glancing irresolutely from it to +Clifford, as if half-ashamed of the tenacity with which he had clung to +it, and was inclined to repudiate any further interests in it, but he +finally put forth his hand to receive it and returned it to the pocket +from which he had taken it. + +"Then, my mother married your half-brother, Squire Talford," Clifford +gravely observed, after a thoughtful pause, "and that makes you--" + +"Yes, it makes me your uncle, or half-uncle, though perhaps the least +said about the relationship the better," was the somewhat bitter reply. +Then he resumed with pale, pain-drawn lips, which betrayed that it was +no easy matter for him to lay bare these secrets of his heart; "You can, +perhaps, imagine something of what that letter meant to me--it changed +in one moment of time my whole life; it made a devil of me, and all the +affection which I had previously entertained for those who had so +wronged me turned to rankest hatred, and I vowed that I would some day +make them conscious of the fact; that I would spare neither of them if +the time ever came when I could set my heel upon them. + +"That time came, at least for one, sooner than I expected. Meantime, I +married a thrifty, sensible girl who made me a good wife. I'd got to +have somebody to keep house for me and look out for things generally, +for my mother was giving out; that last act of Bill's broke her heart as +well as turned mine to stone. But she--my wife--didn't live so very +long. I expect she found life rather disappointing, for she never seemed +very chipper after the first month or two. So, when she died, I +concluded I was better off alone, and, as Maria had been thoroughly +trained in the ways of the house and farm, I concluded I'd fight it out +by myself. But, to go back a little," he continued, his voice suddenly +hardening again, a little note of regret having crept into it while he +was speaking of his mother and his dead wife. "Mr. Abbot, Belle's +father, was all broken up over her elopement; he had a long sickness, +during which his business went to rack and ruin, and when he finally got +out again he settled up the best he could and bought that little place +where you spent the first thirteen years of your life, paying down what +he could and giving a mortgage for the rest. I bought up that mortgage +just as soon as I got wind of it, and that was the first grip I got +toward paying off old scores. He and his wife lived there very quietly +for a couple of years; then Mrs. Abbot died. Her husband struggled on +alone for ten or eleven months longer, and then he gave up the battle. + +"He made his will only a few weeks previous, leaving his interest in his +house to his daughter, if she ever came back, and made me administrator +of the estate--that was another grip for me. You see, I held the +mortgage, and as I'd never let on about my state of mind regarding that +old disappointment, he naturally thought I'd be the best one to manage +the business, if I could ever get trace of his daughter. Ha!" + +Clifford moved uneasily in his chair, for the vindictiveness in his +companion's voice rasped almost beyond endurance. The squire observed +it, and a wintry smile flitted over his face. + +"That strikes you as rather vicious, doesn't it?" he said. "But I told +you that that wrong made a devil of me. Well, Mr. Abbot hadn't been gone +two months when his daughter came home, bringing her four-weeks'-old +baby--you--with her." + +"But, my father--where was he?" questioned Clifford in an eager tone. + +"That was more than any one could tell; he had deserted his wife nearly +a year previous, and she never saw or heard from him afterward. Here is +the letter he wrote her, informing her of his intention. I found it +among her papers after she died, and, as it struck me as being something +rather unique, I have kept it as a curiosity and with the thought that +it might prove useful to me at some time or other. It may, perhaps, +serve to give you an inkling regarding his character." + +He lifted a letter from the table beside him and handed it to Clifford +with a grim smile on his face. + +This is what the young man read; + + + "I'm off. There is no use in longer trying to conceal the fact that + I am tired of the continual grind of the last two years. It was a + great mistake that we ever married, and I may as well confess what + you have already surmised, that I never really loved you. Why did I + marry you, then? Well, you know that I never could endure to be + balked in anything, and as I had made up my mind to cut a certain + person out, I was bound to carry my point. You know who I mean, and + that he and I were always at cross-purposes. The best thing you can + do will be to go back to your own people--tell whatever story you + choose about me. I shall never take the trouble to refute it, + neither will I ever annoy you in any way. Get a divorce if you want + one. I will not oppose it; as I said before, I am tired of the + infernal grind and bound to get out of it. I'll go my way, and you + may go yours; but don't attempt to find or follow me, for I won't + be hampered by any responsibilities in the future." + + +"Wretch!" he muttered between his tightly locked teeth. "And have you +never heard anything of him since?" + +"Wait; let me tell my story in my own way and you will know all there is +to know when I am through," the squire replied, and then resumed: "I +told you that Belle Abbott came home with her baby, to find her father +and mother both gone and with no resources for herself except the +interest in the house where her parents had died. But she was thankful +for even a roof to cover her, and, being a woman of considerable energy +and strength of character, she began to look about for something to do +to support herself and her child, and--to pay the interest on the +mortgage, which, even then, was overdue." + +Again Clifford moved restlessly, for the man's malice irritated him +excessively, for he began to realize now, as he never had before, +something of what his mother's wrongs and sufferings had been, and how +this vindictive man had oppressed her to gratify a mean revenge. + +"You think I was a 'wretch,' too, no doubt," said the squire. "I don't +deny it; but you know the old saying that 'even a worm will turn when +trod upon,' and my heart had been trampled to adamant and I had sworn +that I would have my pay for it. Your mother never went by her husband's +surname after she came back--she called herself Mrs. Faxon, for she did +not want you to know anything about the troubles of her life until you +were old enough to comprehend them clearly. That was why she would +never talk with you about your father. She had a first-rate education, +having stood at the head of her class when she graduated from the Normal +School in New Haven, and so she decided to open a private school in her +own house and try to get her living that way. She managed to just about +cover her expenses, except that she couldn't meet the interest on that +mortgage, during the last few years, and so the place came into my +hands, as you know, when she died. I didn't press her for the money, and +I didn't show my hoofs to her very much. I--well, I had my reasons for +it, as you will see." The man faltered and changed color here a trifle. + +"So," he went on, bracing himself after a moment, "she naturally +believed that I had wiped out old scores; but I hadn't. I simply wanted +to work out certain plans which I had in view for you, and when I +proposed that she should bind you to me for a term of years she fell +into the trap without a suspicion, believing that I would look out for +your future interests, and, if at any time your father's death could be +proved, you would come in for a certain share of the property. But that +was the very thing that I was determined should never happen, and so, +when, the night before she died, she sent for me and gave me a box of +letters and other papers explaining your parentage to keep for you until +your time was out----" + +"What!" cried Clifford, flushing crimson with sudden indignation, "and +you never gave them to me! Why have you done this--this wicked, inhuman +thing--why have you kept them from me?" + +"Because of that old devil in me, I suppose," was the dogged response. +"The hatred which I had been nursing against your father and mother for +so many years seemed to concentrate upon you. I never meant you should +know who your father was, nor your relationship to me, nor that you +should get a penny of your grandmother's property, if I could help it." + +"Did my grandmother make a will?" Clifford briefly inquired. + +"No, there was no will; but as nothing was ever heard of my brother, and +as I had managed everything for years, the property has all remained in +my hands," the squire replied. + +"Why have you told me all this now--why have you changed your mind and +revealed these secrets?" Clifford demanded as he leaned forward and +gazed steadily into his companion's face. Something about him seemed to +fascinate the man, for he regarded him with a peculiar, searching look +for a full minute. + +"Your eyes are very like your mother's," he musingly observed. "She had +the most beautiful eyes I ever saw, and your features are something like +hers. I used to think you looked like your father, but you have changed +during the last few years, and you make me think of her to-night. +Oh!"--with a sudden start and giving himself a rough shake--"why have I +told you this story now? Well, for one reason, I was compelled to do so. +I thought that box of papers would never see the light again--I meant to +have burned it long ago, but kept putting it off--but fate has taken the +matter entirely out of my hands. I had it safely locked away in an old +trunk, with a lot of other papers, but while Maria was cleaning house, +after I came to Washington, the trunk got a fall, was smashed, and she +found it. She brought it along with her, and this morning she informed +me that I must relate the facts of your history to you or she should +take the matter into her own hands. Of course, I preferred to face the +inevitable," he concluded stoically. + +"What are the papers in the box?" queried Clifford. + +"Some old love-letters that passed between your father and mother while +they were fooling me to the top of their bent, the certificate of their +marriage, and another of your baptism, with some other things of minor +importance." + +"Oh! then there is proof that my mother was legally married?" said +Clifford eagerly. + +"Yes, they were married, straight enough; though it wouldn't have +surprised me at all if my scapegrace of a brother had made a fool of +her. I never knew him to consult his conscience much where his own +pleasure was concerned," said the squire dryly. + +"I once inferred from something you said that there was some doubt about +it," said Clifford flushing. + +"Well, I was pretty mad at you that night, and I didn't care much what I +said." + +"You have said that my father was your half-brother, and that Faxon was +not his surname. What was his name?" the young man inquired with a +clouded brow. + +"Well, it is natural that you should want to know, and these papers will +tell you. I'll call Maria and she will bring them to you," Squire +Talford replied, and he rang the little handbell by his side, and which +was to summon Mrs. Kimberly to the scene. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +CLIFFORD LEARNS HIS FATHER'S NAME. + + +Maria, evidently, was not far away, for she entered the room almost +immediately after the ringing of Squire Talford's bell and bearing the +box in her hands. She paused, after closing the door, and glanced +inquiringly at the squire. + +"Give it to him," he said, with a nod toward Clifford, and Maria placed +it in his hands, after which she walked quietly from the room again. + +Clifford was deeply moved, and his hands trembled visibly as he untied +the cord that held the cover in place and removed it. He merely glanced +at the letters as he took them out; but seized the folded parchment with +an eagerness which betrayed how anxious he was to learn the identity of +the man who had married and deserted his mother. + +He removed the pin that held the two papers together and unfolded the +topmost one, which proved to be the marriage-certificate. He searched it +eagerly for the name he wanted, and a perplexed look swept over his face +as he read it: "W. F. T. Wilton." + +"W. F. T. Wilton," he repeated thoughtfully. "Well, it does not +enlighten me very much. What do the initials 'W. F. T.' stand for?" + +"William Faxon Temple," briefly replied his companion, and regarding him +with a peculiar look. + +At first the name did not seem to mean much to Clifford. Then, all at +once, he started erect, a terrible shock galvanizing him from head to +foot, as his mind flew back to his first summer in the mountains, where +he had met the wealthy banker, William F. Temple, and his family; as he +recalled also his interview with the man on the morning after Minnie +Temple's rescue, when he had been so strangely moved upon learning his +own name. + +"But it cannot be possible!" he muttered, repudiating the thought almost +as soon as it had taken form in his mind. + +"What cannot be possible?" inquired the squire. + +"Why, I know a man here in Washington by the name of William F. Temple, +and it struck me as an odd coincidence that is all," Clifford explained, +but with clouded eyes. + +"Well?" said the squire, but with such a peculiar intonation that +Clifford started again. + +"You cannot mean--surely it cannot be possible that he is the man you +refer to--your half-brother!" he cried breathlessly. + +"Yes, he, and no other, is the man," was the emphatic response, "only he +has found it convenient to drop the name of Wilton." + +"But are you sure? Have you met this man who calls himself William F. +Temple? Do you know that he is your brother?" + +"Yes, I am sure--we have met and recognized each other, greatly to his +confusion. I could take my oath as to his identity and that he is the +man who married Belle Abbot more than twenty-three years ago, though I +am sure he has never dreamed of your existence, for you were born eight +months after he had deserted your mother. She called herself by the name +of Faxon and named you Clifford, for your grandfather, Abbot. She said +you should never be known by the name of Wilton, and as the population +of New Haven was constantly changing, and her home was on the outskirts +of the city, she hoped to keep your identity a secret and your young +life unhampered by any knowledge of the great wrong of which your father +had been guilty. She never heard one word from her husband, and she +finally came to the conclusion that he must be dead. I also shared that +belief, for I was pretty sure that if he was alive and needed money he +would make some effort to get his share of his mother's property; but +four years ago last summer we suddenly ran across each other on a train +between New York and Albany----" + +"You did?" sharply interposed Clifford, "and did you tell him of my +existence?" + +"You may be sure I didn't. I never meant that any one should know that +there was any tie of kinship between you and me," replied the squire, +with some asperity. "At first Bill pretended that he did not know me, +but I very soon brought him down from his high horse and convinced him +that I knew my man. He was dressed like a nabob, and told me that he had +become rich--he even told me that I was welcome to all that our mother +left, and that he should never give me any trouble about his share of +it; but I supposed that was a kind of bribe for me to let him alone, +and, as I'd come to look upon everything as belonging to me, I concluded +to give him a wide berth, rather than to get into an expensive lawsuit +over the matter. I never met him again until the day you took your +degree at Harvard--bah! I did not mean to let that cat out of the bag!" +the man interposed, with a shrug of irritation and flushing hotly. + +"Oh! I knew you were there," Clifford quietly returned. "I saw you +almost as soon as I entered the hall, and your presence was a great +inspiration--I feel I owe you a great deal for it." + +"An inspiration!" repeated his companion, wonderingly. + +"Yes; for I knew you had come to criticize--to ascertain for yourself if +I had been able to work my own way through college and acquit myself +creditably, and the knowledge proved a wonderful bracer for me. But you +were telling me about your second meeting with Mr. Temple." + +"Yes, I ran against him and his whole family just as I was leaving the +grounds. They were a stunning party, and their carriage and horses as +fine as one would care to see. But it nearly took Bill's breath away to +see me--he looked as if he had met a ghost, though neither of us let on +that he knew the other," the squire explained. + +"And that man is my father!--you have taken my breath away by the +revelation," said Clifford, with an air of bewilderment and a sudden +sense of repulsion. "However, I have no desire to lay claim to any such +relationship. Do you know where he went and how he made his money after +he deserted my mother?" + +"I've been told that he 'struck pay-gravel' in some Western mines; then +went to San Francisco, where he set up as a banker, got into society +there, and served one or two terms as Mayor of the city and met his +present wife--who was a rich widow by the name of Wentworth and married +her there. I learned this from a San Francisco man whom I met when I +first came to Washington." + +"When--how long ago was he married to this woman?" Clifford questioned, +with a violent start. + +"I'm sure I don't know--I haven't felt interest enough in their affairs +to make any inquiries about the matter," said the squire indifferently. +"I remember when I met him on that trip to Albany I told him that all +the folks at home were gone. He said he knew it--he'd kept himself +posted; so I suppose he must have married this woman after that." + +But Clifford had grown deathly pale while he was speaking, for his mind +had been working rapidly. + +"No--no; great heaven;" he exclaimed, "I am sure he must have married +her before my mother died!" + +"What's that?" exclaimed the squire, and now all on the alert, while a +malicious gleam flashed into his eyes. + +"Yes, I am sure of it--oh! the shame of it!" groaned Clifford in deep +distress, "and that dear, sweet child, Minnie, who is, of course, my +half-sister, has no legal right to the name she bears; neither has her +proud-spirited mother. What a wretch that man has been!" + +"Hold on, my boy--don't go so fast," interposed his companion, with +considerable excitement. "What is all this lament about?--explain what +you mean." + +"You have said that you have seen Mr. Temple's whole family; then of +course you know that he has a beautiful little daughter about eleven +years old----" + +"His child by this second marriage?--are you sure?" exclaimed the squire +breathlessly. + +"Yes; her name is Minnie Temple." + +"Ha! I had never given a thought to the girl nor her possible age. But +if what you say is true, I have lived to see him bitterly punished," and +the man chuckled maliciously. + +"Ah, yes, he must long have felt that a sword was hanging over his +head," Clifford gravely observed. "Let me see; I met the family in the +White Mountains during the vacation after my first year at college. +Minnie was then five years old; more than five years have elapsed since +then, so she must be between ten and eleven now, and my mother died ten +years ago last August," he concluded, with a look of keen pain in his +eyes. + +"And that proves Mrs. Temple to be no wife and the child illegitimate. +Bill Wilton was a fool ever to show his face this side of the Rockies +again--it's a true saying, 'give a rogue rope enough and he'll hang +himself.' We'll fix him now, though I never dared to hope for such a +triumph as this," said the squire, with another chuckle that actually +made Clifford's flesh creep. + +"Oh, don't!" he exclaimed, with mingled disgust and distress. + +"Don't!" repeated the man in a tone of astonishment. "Don't you want to +see a rascal like that brought to justice? I do. His whole life has been +one long story of selfish indulgence and crime." + +"I am not thinking of him at all," said Clifford sorrowfully, "but of +the innocent ones who have been so deeply wronged by him--that lovely +woman and her sweet child----" + +"How about yourself?" snapped the squire. "You have your rights." + +"My dear mother was a legal wife. Assured of that, I am not disturbed +about myself, as far as Mr. Temple is concerned. I have fought my way +thus far, and I shall go still higher, without extorting anything from +him." + +"But you surely will demand that he shall do the fair thing by you in +the disposition of his property." + +"No!" cried Clifford, in a tone of scornful repudiation. "I would never +claim kinship with such a man and I want none of his gold. But"--a +wistful expression creeping into his eyes and dropping into a musing +tone--"I could love that dear child--my little half-sister--very +tenderly if I might be allowed to. I have always felt a sort of +proprietorship in her ever since the day that I went over that precipice +after her--somehow she has seemed to belong to me in a way, though I +little imagined that I was rescuing my own sister from a terrible +death----" + +"'Death!--rescue!'" repeated the squire wonderingly, "what are you +talking about, Cliff?" + +The young man looked up with a smile and shook himself. "I was dreaming +of the past, and hardly realized that I was speaking aloud," he said. + +Then he described the event, while the man listened attentively, his +eyes fastened upon the manly young face, and a look of wonder grew in +his eyes as he began to comprehend the heroism of the deed. + +"And you did that! you went over that precipice and down a hundred feet +on a rope and back again, the same way, with that child on your back!" +he demanded in astonishment when Clifford concluded. + +"Of course--there was nothing else to be done." + +"Weren't you afraid?--you must have known that you were liable to lose +your head, fall and be dashed to atoms on the rocks below." + +"Well, I knew there was a risk, of course; but I did not stop to think +about being afraid. I should have gone, just the same, if I had known I +should fail--I could not leave that child there without making an effort +to save her," was the grave reply. + +"Well, that makes another!" ejaculated the squire thoughtfully. + +"Another what?" questioned Clifford, who did not catch his companion's +meaning. + +"Another deed to be proud of," was the hearty, but almost involuntary +response. + +It was now Clifford's turn to look astonished--and he was beyond +measure--for it was the first time he had ever heard a word of genuine +commendation from the man's lips. + +"Thank you, sir," he earnestly returned. + +"Humph!" grunted the squire, as if half-ashamed of having betrayed so +much weakness; "so you don't appear to be very much elated over the fact +that you are the sole heir to William Faxon Temple's millions." + +"No, sir; I do not want a dollar of his money," was the spirited reply, +"and I should never--under any circumstances--attempt to prove myself +his heir, or entitled to bear his name. My mother named me Clifford +Faxon, and while I live I will bear no other." + +"Well, I must say, you are mighty indifferent about your rights; and you +do not seem to grasp the fact either, that, as my nephew, there is a +possibility that you may inherit something handsome from me one of these +days," and the man regarded him curiously as he said this. + +Clifford flushed again. + +"I had not thought of such a thing, I assure you," he said coldly. "Of +course I cannot help the fact that a certain relationship exists between +us; but I do not want your property, Squire Talford--I don't want any +man's money." + +"Oh, you don't! It strikes me that you are mighty independent, and +perhaps may live to regret assuming such airs," snapped his companion, +in evident irritation. Then he added maliciously: "But then, I forgot +for the moment that you are expecting to marry a fortune--I am told +that Miss Heatherford is a rich girl." + +Clifford was secretly furious at this spiteful thrust; nothing but his +respect for the man's age and weakened condition kept him from voicing a +scathing retort. + +"Miss Heatherford's property will be settled exclusively upon herself +before she becomes my wife," he merely replied, with an air of dignity +that sat well upon him. "I have no desire to build myself up upon the +foundation of another. From my earliest boyhood I have been conscious of +something within me that was bound to rise, and if I have my health I +have no fear that I shall be able to make for myself a name and position +of which neither I nor my friends will be ashamed." + +"Humph!" grunted the squire again; but he shot a look at the fine face +opposite him that had an unwonted gleam of respect in it. + +"You remarked a while ago," Clifford resumed after a moment of silence, +"that you believe Mr. Temple is unaware of the fact that he has a son. I +am confident you are mistaken. I am quite sure that he knows that I am +his son, although he evidently thinks that I am ignorant regarding my +relationship to him." + +He then described his first meeting with Mr. Temple a few days after +Minnie Temple's accident, and how agitated the man had been upon +learning of his name and the fact that he had been bound to Squire +Talford for four years. + +The squire smiled grimly as he concluded: + +"Well, it does look as if he had an inkling of the truth, that's a +fact," he said, "and he must have had quite a shock at the time--he +couldn't have felt over and above easy, I'm thinking, especially since I +came to Washington. I don't see that it has done much good telling you +this story," he went on moodily, "except that perhaps it has set your +mind at rest about your origin. I don't suppose I should ever have told +it if it hadn't been for Maria--she was bound that you should know the +truth, and, on the whole, I am not sorry it is over with." + +Clifford made no reply to these remarks--he felt they called for +none--but busied himself with gathering up his papers and replacing them +in their box, his companion regarding him curiously while he did so. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +CLIFFORD MEETS HIS FATHER. + + +When he had arranged everything in an orderly manner, Clifford tied the +cover on the box, after which he arose to go. + +"I am very glad that we have had this explanation, Squire Talford," he +thoughtfully remarked, "for I never could understand why I was such an +object of aversion to you. I sincerely regret that I should have been +the innocent cause of so much discomfort to you; but let me say now, as +it is probable we shall never meet again after you leave Washington, +that you need give yourself no uneasiness for the future, for no one +shall ever learn from me the relationship that exists between us." + +"Humph! and you really mean, too, that you will never tell your father +that you have learned you are his son and can prove the fact?" + +"Never. I have no wish ever to meet the man again," Clifford returned +with decision. + +"Suppose he should some day approach you upon the subject?" + +"That is a different matter, though I think it is not a supposable case; +he has too much at stake to care to agitate so serious a subject. I hope +our long talk has not wearied you and that you will still continue to +improve as rapidly as I am glad to see you have been during the last few +days." + +"Yes, I am getting along finely, and we are going home the first of next +week," the squire observed, but with his eyes downcast in a thoughtful +mood. + +"Ah! I was not aware you had set the day; but no doubt you will be far +more comfortable in your pleasant home at Cedar Hill. I trust, if there +is anything I can do for you in a business way, or otherwise, before you +go, you will command me. Now, as I have an engagement, I must go. Good +night." + +"Good night," briefly returned the man, but without looking up, and +Clifford quietly left the room. He met Maria in the hall. + +"Waal, you've got it," she observed, and glancing significantly at the +box in his hands. + +"Yes, thanks to you, my faithful friend. I feel that I owe you a great +deal, first and last," the young man replied in a grateful tone; "and +the squire tells me you are going home next week." + +"I guess there ain't no call for you to feel overburdened," said the +woman, swallowing hard to keep a sob from choking her, as she thought of +the coming separation, "I never had to ask you twice to do anything for +me, even when you was a boy; you was always careful about makin' +trouble, you never made any litter bringin' wood--you never got any +ashes on the floor when you made the fire in the mornin', and you always +had a pleasant word for me when other folks were cross'n two sticks. I +don't forget them things, I can tell you." + +"And I am sure I have just as many pleasant memories. You were always +very kind to me, Maria," said Clifford. Then, as he saw she was almost +ready to weep, he added, with a laugh: "Oh, those turnovers and +doughnuts that you used to tuck into my basket when I had to take my +dinner to school on stormy winter days were things a boy could never +forget! I believe nobody can make such doughnuts as yours, +Maria--really, my mouth waters for one this very moment." + +"Sho!--now you're giving me taffy," the woman retorted, with an +answering laugh; but her face flushed with pleasure at his tribute +nevertheless. + +The next morning Squire Talford busied himself with writing a somewhat +lengthy epistle, which, after addressing it, he directed Maria to post +immediately. + +Mrs. Kimberly was not above glancing at the superscription as she went +out, and nodded significantly as she read the name, "William Faxon +Temple, Esq." for she had recently seen the same, with another added, in +the old family Bible at home. She, therefore, had a shrewd suspicion +that the contents of that envelope related to matters of grave +importance that were closely connected with Clifford. She looked even +more wise when, that same evening, the maid who waited upon the door +handed her a card and told her a gentleman was in the parlor and wanted +to see Squire Talford, for one glance at the bit of pasteboard had +revealed the same name that she had seen on the letter which she had +posted that morning. + +The squire told her to show the gentleman up immediately, and the two +men were closeted together for more than two hours. + +When the visitor left, Maria, who of course, was on the alert, observed +that he was deathly pale, and that he walked unsteadily like one who had +received a severe blow or had suddenly aged. + +"So, that's the man; waal, the day o' judgment has come for him at last! +The way of the transgressor is hard," she muttered gravely to herself. + +The next afternoon, shortly before leaving his office, Clifford received +the following note: + + + "Will Mr. Clifford Faxon have the kindness to call this evening + about nine o'clock at No. 54 ---- Street? A matter of great + importance is the excuse for the request. Very respectfully, + WILLIAM F. TEMPLE." + + +Clifford was somewhat appalled as he read this, and readily understood +that Squire Talford had taken matters into his own hands. + +His whole soul arose in rebellion as he read the formal note, and his +first impulse was to pen a curt refusal to comply with the writer's +request. He had hoped that he need never meet the man again, now that he +had learned who and what he was; this man, devoid of all honor, who, +according to his own written statement, had deliberately set himself to +win the love of a pure and innocent girl, just out of a spirit of +rivalry with his brother, and then, as soon as he had become weary of +his toy, he had remorselessly broken her heart by deserting her and +leaving her in a strange city to fight the desperate battle of life +alone. + +His contempt for the man was beyond the power of expression, especially +when he thought of how he had daringly ignored all moral and civil law +by marrying another without taking any pains to ascertain whether his +first victim was still living, and thus had entailed upon the second +wife and her child irrevocably shame and sorrow. + +Of course he understood that motives of revenge alone had prompted +Squire Talford to precipitate matters in this way--that he would gloat +over this opportunity to pay off, in a measure, the old scores which he +had nursed for so many years, and his scorn for him was little less than +that for his more daring and reckless brother. + +But after giving the matter some serious thought, and realizing that a +meeting between himself and Mr. Temple was bound to occur sooner or +later, he decided to comply with his request, boldly declare the +attitude which he intended to maintain toward him, and thus settle the +matter for all time. + +Accordingly the hour designated--nine o'clock--found him standing upon +the marble steps of Mr. Temple's palatial residence ringing for +admittance. A dignified butler admitted him to a reception-room and took +his card to his master. He reappeared very shortly with a request from +Mr. Temple that he would kindly step into the library. + +As Clifford followed the man through the spacious hall he could not fail +to observe everywhere the numerous evidences of great wealth and the +exquisite taste displayed in the choice of furnishings, pictures, +bric-a-brac, etc., and a pang of bitterness, mingled with righteous +indignation, smote his heart as he recalled how his mother had toiled +and struggled to eke out a miserable existence. + +As he entered the luxurious library and the servant withdrew, closing +the door after him, Mr. Temple came forward to greet him with extended +hand, but with an almost colorless face and unsteady step. + +"We have met before," he said, "we need no introduction----" + +"That is true, Mr. Temple," Clifford observed, as the man faltered, +while he gravely met his glance but ignored his proffered hand, "and +while I would have much preferred--since learning from Squire Talford +yesterday of the relations existing between us--that we need never meet +again, it has seemed best to me to respond to your request and come to +some definite understanding regarding our attitude toward each other in +the future." + +Mr. Temple had grown red and white by turns during this formal speech, +and his eyes wavered and fell beneath the clear, direct look of the +young man before him. He felt deeply humiliated in the presence of his +unacknowledged son--a son whom he realized any father might be proud to +own. + +"I comprehend," he said after a moment of awkward silence, "you refuse +to take the hand of the man who you feel has deeply wronged both +yourself and your mother; you perhaps have no desire to recognize any +tie of kinship between us." + +"You are right, sir," Clifford briefly but positively declared. + +Mr. Temple flushed again, but bowed a grave acquiescence to his +decision. + +"Will you be seated?" he remarked. "I will not presume to question the +justice of the attitude you have chosen to adopt, at the same time there +are some matters regarding which I wish to consult you. + +"We might as well come straight to the point," the gentleman began, but +with white lips and averted eyes, for he had never been as conscious of +his own littleness of soul and lack of manliness as at that moment in +the presence of his son, whom he recognized as infinitely his superior +in every respect. "I spent a couple of hours with Alfred Talford last +evening, and he told me of his interview with you and also gave me the +history of your life. Since this conference must necessarily be mostly +one of confession, I may as well state plainly at the outset that I +never really loved your mother. She was a bright, handsome girl, and I +was temporarily attracted toward her, while a spirit of deviltry +prompted me to try to make her prove false to Alf, between whom and +myself there had always existed a feeling of jealousy and rivalry. + +"How well I succeeded you already know. I completely mesmerized the girl +into believing that her existence depended upon me, and persuaded her to +elope with me, leaving her discarded lover to bear his disappointment as +best he could. We went West, but I soon grew weary of my unloved wife. +Perhaps I could have borne our relations better if we had been +prosperous; but after the money I had taken with me had given out and I +knew I would not be likely to get any more out of the estate while my +mother lived, I had hard luck--I did not get business that amounted to +anything, and every day was a struggle for a meager existence. Belle had +to work hard to help along, and so had no time to spend upon pretty +toilets to make herself attractive as before our marriage, while anxiety +and disappointment stole all her color and beauty. I stood it as long as +I could, and then I made up my mind to bolt. I----" + +"Pardon, Mr. Temple," Clifford here interposed, a look of mingled pain +and aversion sweeping over his face, "pray spare yourself and me a +rehearsal of that--I have in my possession the letter which you wrote my +mother at that time, and it needs no elucidation." + +"Very well," the man curtly observed, though he shrank visibly, as he +realized how utterly contemptible he must appear in the eyes of his son +if he had read the cruel lines he had written. "On leaving Chicago I +dropped my last name, Wilton, and called myself Temple. I drifted into a +mining-district of Colorado, where, after a time, I made a lively +strike, and, in a few years, became independently rich. Then, as I did +not like the rough life of a miner and craved better society, I sold out +and went to San Francisco, where I established myself as a banker." + +"Did no sense of responsibility make you feel that you ought to make +some provision for the wife you had left after you became so +prosperous?" Clifford here inquired. + +"Well," replied Mr. Temple, with a restless movement, "I supposed she +had gone back to her own folks, and, as Mr. Abbot was doing a good +business when she left home, I imagined she would be well provided for, +while I wanted to keep dark. I was perfectly willing that all my old +acquaintances in the East should believe me dead. I knew my mother was +dead, for I had read a record of it, having ordered a New Haven paper +sent to a certain address after I went to San Francisco, and there was +nobody else in that region that I cared anything about. Later, I became +interested in politics, made myself popular, and served two terms as +Mayor of the city. + +"Then"--he paused and swallowed hard, while his face became drawn and +pinched with pain--"I met my present wife, who was a wealthy widow with +one son, visiting some friends in the city, and I fell really in love +for the first time in my life, and--and my affection for her has +strengthened with every passing year. You doubtless wonder how I dared +to marry her without procuring a divorce from Belle. I admit it was a +bold and risky thing to do; but I knew that I had no grounds for a +divorce--that if I should attempt such a measure, very likely I should +fail, for I felt very sure that Alf must hate me to that extent that he +would spare nothing to thwart any plan of that kind. I told myself that +I was practically dead to all who had known me earlier in life--that it +would be better for me not to arouse sleeping dogs, who would be likely +to blight all the dearest hopes of my life; the continent was between +us, and as I had changed my name, it seemed more than probable that I +could live out my life without the fear of being molested by any one. + +"So I boldly won the woman I loved and resolutely silenced every fear +for the future. In less than a year my little daughter, Minnie, was +born, and then for a while I confess I experienced some uneasiness on +her account; but a year later that all vanished when one day I read in +my New Haven paper of the death of Mrs. W. F. T. Wilton, and knew that +at last I was free. I told myself that now I could enjoy life to the +utmost--my past was a sealed book, and the future was bright with +unlimited wealth, a beautiful wife, a lovely child. I felt as if I had +been released from a terrible bondage, and lived accordingly. We had the +entrée of the best society, and there was even some talk of making me +governor of the State. An almost ideal existence was ours, and yet, even +then, occasionally there would be forced upon my consciousness the fact +that my wife had no legal right to the position she occupied and that my +idolized child was----" + +"Oh, I beg you will not speak like that of that innocent child!" +Clifford here broke forth, with a note of keen pain in his tones. "It is +wholly unnecessary to rehearse all that to me." + +"Yes, yes, I suppose it is," Mr. Temple assented, as he shook himself +roughly as if arousing from a disagreeable dream, "and I hardly know why +I have allowed myself to go so into details. Well, the greatest mistake +of my life was made when I yielded to Mrs. Temple's persuasions to come +East and settle, so that her son could be educated at Harvard--and, by +the way, it seemed like the mockery of fate that you two should have +been in the same class. At first I objected to the plan, for I, of +course, felt safer to be three thousand miles from the scenes of my +youthful escapades, and I was still ambitious for political honors, in +spite of the fact that my own party had been defeated in the last +elections; but her heart was so set on the project that I finally gave +up the point. We accordingly went to Boston, and a little later I +purchased a fine estate in Brookline, which has been our home ever +since. + +"Mind you, during all this time I had never dreamed of your existence. +My first intimation of the fact that I had a son was that morning when I +sought you to express my gratitude to you for having saved the life of +my little daughter. The moment I looked into your eyes I was conscious +that there was something strangely familiar about you, and when you told +me that your name was Clifford Faxon, it seemed as if the earth was +slipping out from underneath me. I knew the truth then, for your mother +had often said that if she ever had a son she would name him Clifford, +for her father; and I understood that she had refrained from giving you +your true surname because she wished to keep from you the knowledge of +who your father was. + +"I have learned all about her life after she returned to New Haven, and +also her history from Squire Talford. I know what you have had to meet +and overcome, and that you have steadily and resolutely risen above +every obstacle. I realize the fact that you are a young man, morally and +intellectually, of whom any man might feel proud as a son, and yet, +situated as I am, you can readily see that such a recognition would +entail----" + +"I beg that you will give yourself no uneasiness, sir; I have no desire +to recognize such a tie, nor to have any one else informed of the fact," +Clifford quietly interposed. + +Mr. Temple changed color, yet at the same time the look of intense +anxiety which his face had worn hitherto faded out and he drew a breath +of relief. + +"Very well; and now we have arrived at a point where I wish to discuss +matters from a business point of view. I tell you candidly I adore my +wife, I worship my child, and I would far rather that a millstone should +crush me at this instant than have either learn the terrible facts +regarding their true position. Therefore, I am going to throw myself +upon your mercy; I know that you are an honorable man, and that your +word would be as sacred to you as your oath, and I am going to ask you +to pledge yourself never to reveal to any one the secret of my past. In +return for such a pledge I will settle upon you outright the sum of +three hundred thousand dollars----" + +Clifford drew himself suddenly erect, and a statue could scarcely have +been colder or more rigid. + +"Mr. Temple," he interrupted, with a dignity that was most impressive, +"there is not the slightest need of purchasing my silence. As I have +said, I have no wish to have any part of this history known; my love +for my mother, who was a pure, sweet, gentle woman, and my pride alike, +forbid that I should lay any claim to kinship with you, and I would not +accept a dollar of your money to save myself from starvation." + +"You are hard on me, young man," said Mr. Temple, cringing beneath the +scathing words as under a blow. + +"Hard!" repeated Clifford, whose scorn for the man was almost beyond +control, for he not only had his own and his mother's wrongs to +remember, but the treachery of the man in connection with Mr. +Heatherford, "the greatest condemnation that could be pronounced upon +you, you have yourself voiced to-night in the heartless story which you +have related to me; and let me assure you that I am actuated by no +sympathy with or pity for you in promising that my lips will forever be +sealed regarding our relations to each other, but out of regard alone +for the dear child whom I saved from a terrible death, and for whom I +have ever since entertained a strong affection. For her sake this +secret, which would blight her young life, shall be guarded most +sacredly--ah!--what does that mean?" + +And Clifford paused briefly, a look of blank dismay upon his face, as a +low, wailing, shuddering moan sounded through the room. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +"THE WAY OF THE TRANSGRESSOR." + + +That heart-broken cry struck instant terror to the souls of both men. +Clifford started to his feet, and Mr. Temple sprang forward, with a +muttered oath, toward the portières that screened an alcove at one end +of the room, just as they parted, and Minnie Temple appeared in the +aperture. + +"Oh, papa, papa! what does it all mean?" she wailed as she fell into his +outstretched arms, and he caught her almost fiercely to his breast. "I +have heard every word that you have said. I came in here after dinner, +laid down on the couch in the alcove and went to sleep. I awoke when +Clifford Faxon came in, but was too late to leave; then when you began +to talk I remained where I was--forgot everything but what you were +saying. Oh, tell me, what is this dreadful story about mamma and me, and +about Mr. Faxon being your son? I must know--I must know! I will know!" + +The poor girl was fearfully wrought up, and at this point lapsed into +violent hysterics that alarmed both her companions. + +With the child still hugged to his bosom and a face like chalk, Mr. +Temple strode to the mantle and touched an electric button. + +"Send Mrs. Maxfield immediately--Miss Minnie is ill," he said when the +butler appeared. + +Then he attempted to soothe her, calling her every endearing name he +could think of, and assuring her that there was no story--she simply +dreamed or had a horrible nightmare. + +But she was past all reason, and when the housekeeper appeared she was +borne up-stairs in an almost unconscious condition and put to bed, while +Clifford quietly left the house, but with an exceedingly heavy heart. + +A physician was summoned, and after powerful anodynes had been +administered the child fell into a profound stupor, from which she did +not arouse until the next morning. + +But, of course, when the effects of the sleeping potion wore off and +memory returned, the girl, who was mature beyond her years, sent for her +father and insisted upon being told the truth about herself. + +Mr. Temple tried to evade her as he had done the night previous, by +trying to convince her that she had only been dreaming; but she asserted +that she knew better, and appealed to her mother--who had been out at a +reception the night before--to make her father explain what she had +overheard. + +Mr. Temple was in despair--he felt that the web of fate was closing +around him, and, for the first time in his life, fell into a violent +passion with her, sternly commanding her to stop questioning him +regarding what was none of her affairs, but had been purely a matter of +business between himself and Mr. Faxon. + +Of course, the curiosity of both Mrs. Temple and Philip, who was also +present, was aroused, and, upon their insistence, Minnie faithfully +rehearsed the conversation between her father and Clifford, and, thus +brought to bay, the wretched millionaire was forced to make a clean +breast of everything. + +It was a crushing blow to the entire family. Mrs. Temple shut herself up +in her own room and would see no one for three days. + +Then she sent for Philip, who seemed to have been suddenly transformed, +and bore himself with a grave dignity that he had never worn before. + +They were closeted for several hours; then they requested Mr. Temple to +come to them. He obeyed the summons, but appeared like an old man, out +of whom all hope and ambition had been crushed. + +He tried many times to see his wife during those three, to him, endless +days; but she would not admit him. He had sent her note after note that +were pitiful in their expressions of remorse and appeals for +forgiveness. His heart sank anew within him as he now entered her +presence and noted how she had also changed. When he would have greeted +her with his customary caress he was waved to a distant chair with an +air of repulsion. + +"I have come to the decision, Mr. Temple, that there is but one thing +for me to do," she began, but without looking at him, "and that is to +leave Washington immediately, seek some place of retirement and hide my +shame as best I can." + +"Don't Nell! Oh--don't!" cried the stricken man, cringing before her; +"no breath of shame shall touch you, my darling; we will right +everything." + +"Right everything!" exclaimed the outraged woman, turning upon him in +righteous indignation. "Do you presume to talk of righting such a wrong +as mine at this late day? Do you imagine that the formal benediction of +a clergyman would restore to me the self-respect of which you have +deliberately robbed me, or wipe out the stigma that rests upon my child? +I am not your wife--I have never been your wife--I have simply been, +like a piece of merchandise, labeled with your name, and--I will never +answer to it again." + +"Oh, Nell! forgive--you break my heart!" groaned the wretched listener. + +"Break your heart!" the almost maddened woman exclaimed with a bitter +laugh. "Ah, me! one could scarce expect anything else--you think only of +your heart, your suffering. It is all of a piece with the selfishness +and recklessness that wrecked the life of that other woman, although the +wrong done her is not to be compared with mine. She at least was a legal +wife and her child legitimate, while I--oh, heavens!--to think what I +am! what my child is!" and she threw out her clenched hands with a cry +of mingled shame and agony that rang sharply through the room. + +"Mother, hush! do not go over all that again!" Philip here interposed, +with quiet authority. "There is no call for you to mourn any loss of +self-respect, for you are in no way responsible for this wrong, and we +will guard Minnie so tenderly that the world shall never have an +opportunity to make her suffer a single pang. Of course," he continued +with grave thoughtfulness, "things cannot go on as they are. If your +decision--that you will not legally assume the name that you have +hitherto borne--is irrevocable, we must arrange for as quiet a +separation as possible, for Minnie's sake----" + +"Oh, Nell! spare me that, I beg," pleaded Mr. Temple, with a heartbroken +sob. "Oh, forgive me this great wrong; don't talk of separation; let me +make you legally my wife, then we will go away to Europe--or anywhere +you like--and I will be your slave--I will do my utmost to atone for the +past and make you happy for the future. No one need ever know aught of +this secret. Faxon is honor itself, and he assured me that no hint of it +should ever escape his lips, and I am sure he would keep his word--Phil, +you know that he can be depended upon." + +"Yes," Philip gravely asserted, after a moment of hesitation, "I know, +if Faxon said that he will abide by it. But, Mr. Temple," he resumed in +a tone which was an indication of his own attitude, "I feel sure that my +mother has received a shock from which she can never recover, and I +agree with her that a separation will be the wisest measure to adopt +under the circumstances." + +"Let your mother speak for herself, if you please, Phil," Mr. Temple +interrupted, as he braced himself in his chair and turned his haggard +face toward the woman whom he adored. + +The proud, beautiful worldling shivered as if an icy wind had blown over +her, for she had loved this man who, for twelve almost idealistic years, +she had regarded as her husband. She had scarce had a wish ungratified; +she had enjoyed his wealth and been proud of her position in society. + +But, as Philip had said, the shock which she had sustained had been one +from which she could never rally, for it had killed both love and +respect at one blow. She did not move or lift her glance to him as she +said in an almost inaudible voice. + +"Phil has stated it right--I can never forgive the fearful wrong that +you have done me. We must part." + +"How about--Minnie?" Mr. Temple questioned, a look of despair on his +face. + +It was an unfortunate question. It aroused all the lioness in the +outraged woman, and she turned upon him with a burst of passion of which +he had never imagined her capable. + +"Minnie is mine!" she cried in a voice that rang shrilly through the +room--"mine by the right of motherhood and--oh, God!--mine, exclusively +mine, by right of the shame which you have entailed upon us both." + +It was a terrible thrust, and William Temple threw out his hands with a +gesture of keenest anguish, as if warding off the point of a dagger. He +sat like one stunned for several moments, and there was no sound in the +room. + +Finally the man lifted his bowed head and observed in a hollow tone and +with a look of utter hopelessness: + +"Very well, Nell, it will have to be as you say; but no breath of shame +from the world shall ever touch either of you--I could not bear that. I +know I deserve my punishment, and I bow to the inevitable. You shall +have Minnie--I relinquish her to you--and you shall go where you will; +or, if you prefer to remain here in Washington, I will go to the ends of +the earth, on some plausible errand, and you shall never hear of me +again. + +"Now"--rising feebly and holding onto the back of his chair, while he +gazed on her with the look of one whose heart was breaking--"arrange +everything to suit yourself. I will not lay a straw in your way, and you +shall have all the money you want." + +He tottered from the room, groping his way down-stairs and walking like +one who has been stricken blind, sought the library, and locked himself +in to keep out intruders, while trying to face a future which did not +seem to have a single ray of hope to make it worth the living. + +There they found him five hours later, sitting before his desk, his head +bowed upon his outstretched arms, unconscious and almost rigid. + +The butler, desiring some instructions regarding certain orders his +master had given him, rapped upon the door for admission; but, after +repeated attempts, receiving no answer, he had gone out upon the veranda +and entered the room by a window, to find the occupant of the room in +the condition described. + +He was borne to his room and the family physician summoned, when the +attack was pronounced an apoplectic stroke. + +He recovered consciousness after a few days, but could move neither hand +nor foot, while the verdict of the doctors was that his days, even his +hours, were numbered. + +When this was made known to Mrs. Temple she seemed to become like one +petrified. She sat motionless and speechless for several minutes; then +she burst into a passion of weeping, so violent in her utter abandonment +to her overwhelming grief that she was utterly prostrated by it; the +flood-gates that had hitherto been held back by an almost indomitable +will and pride were lifted, and all her pent-up sorrow and shame were +let loose. + +When the storm finally spent itself she slept from sheer exhaustion, and +did not wake for several hours. Then she was calm, and once more +mistress of herself, and clothing herself in soft, noiseless garments, +she went directly to her husband, a chastened look on her face, an air +of gentleness and resignation in her bearing that hitherto had been +wholly foreign to her. + +Almost ever since memory had returned to him, the sick man had lain with +his eyes fastened upon the door leading from his room, and with a look +of longing in them that was pathetic beyond description. + +When, at length, it opened to admit his wife, his whole face lighted +with an expression of joy that nearly made her weep again, but which +sent a thrill to her own heart that told her she loved him still, in +spite of the irreparable wrong he had done her. + +She went to his bed and sat down beside him, gathering one of his +lifeless hands into hers, and, bending over him, kissed him on the +forehead. + +Two great tears welled up from the fountain of his heart and brimmed +over upon his cheeks. His wife gently wiped them away and questioned +tenderly: + +"Will, is there anything you would like me to do for you?" + +He closed his eyes slowly, thus signifying that there was, then, opening +them again, he glanced toward the nurse. + +"Do you wish to be alone with me for a while?" Mrs. Temple inquired. + +Yes, the sad eyes signified, and the attendant went immediately out. + +"Now, dear, how can I manage to find out just what you want?" said Mrs. +Temple, when the door was closed. + +Again that intensely yearning look was fastened upon her face, and she +instinctively divined his thought at once. + +"Is it that you wish me to say something kind to you?" she asked. + +His look brightened, but the tears started at the same time. + +"Well, then, Will, dear," began the chastened wife, in a voice that was +tremulous with emotion, "I have fought my battle out, and I believe I +can truly say that I forgive all. I see now that I was selfish in +thinking only of my own suffering--I had no right to be cruel to you +when you were more wretched than I. Get well, Will--try to get well, and +then we will all go to some quiet place and begin to live in a more +earnest and sensible way." + +The tears were raining thick and fast now from the man's eyes, but she +wiped them away, while she continued to talk to him in a soothing, +comforting strain, until he became more composed. But she soon saw that +there was still something on his mind, and she tried to ascertain what +it was, but though she asked many questions regarding his business and +certain appointments which she knew he had made, she could not seem to +get at his thought. + +At last she told him that she would say the alphabet and they would +spell out his wish. When she reached the letter M, he signified that was +right, and she instantly jumped to a conclusion, and inquired: + +"Do you want Minnie?--how strange I did not think of that before!" + +Yes, the eyes assented. Mrs. Temple rang the bell and sent for the +child, who had not been allowed to come into the room, except for a +moment or two, while her father was sleeping. + +She soon made her appearance, looking pale and drooping, for the +sensitive girl had been stricken to the heart by what she had learned, +and inexpressibly lonely and wretched while her mother was brooding over +her own misery. + +Mrs. Temple folded her in her arms and kissed her tenderly, then made +her sit down in her own chair, while she drew another near for herself. + +"Papa wished me to send for you, dear," she said; "he cannot speak, but +you may talk to him a little; and, love, say something kind to him," she +concluded, with her lips close to Minnie's ear. + +Minnie sat down by the sick man and laid her cheek against his with all +her accustomed fondness. + +"Papa," she murmured, "I love you--I am so sorry you are ill and cannot +talk to me; but"--now lifting her head and looking earnestly into his +eyes--"you know that I love you--that I shall always love you." + +The look of yearning and agony which he bent upon her was more than she +could bear, and, dropping her head again upon his pillow, she added: + +"Now cannot you go to sleep for a little while; I will sit here beside +you and hold your hand; then, perhaps, when you are rested you can talk +to me a little." + +She clasped his hand in both of her own soft, warm palms, raised it to +her lips, kissed it, and held it there, and for nearly half an hour +there was no sound in the room. + +Finally the nurse came softly in, to look after her patient, and Mrs. +Temple turned, with her finger upon her lips. + +"They are both asleep," she whispered. + +It was true, both the man and child were wrapped in slumber; one in that +which knows no waking, the other in the innocent, restful sleep of +childhood. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +CLIFFORD REFUSES A FORTUNE. + + +So William Faxon Temple Wilton's mortal experience on this plane of +existence came to an end. Love of ease and pleasure, selfishness and +greed, the fostering of malice, passion, and appetite invariably bring +their punishment, even here. + +When all was over it was found, upon making a thorough examination of +his papers, that the man had left no will. A memorandum of a few +bequests was discovered in a little blankbook in his desk, showing that +he had given some thought to the subject; but these, of course, amounted +to nothing, and Philip Wentworth was appalled when he realized what such +culpable neglect on the part of Mr. Temple meant in connection with his +mother and sister. + +"Mother, this is simply awful!" he exclaimed, when they were at last +obliged to relinquish their fruitless search; "you and Minnie are +literally penniless, for not a dollar of Mr. Temple's fortune can either +of you touch. Clifford Faxon, who is his son by that other woman, +becomes the sole heir to his magnificent property." + +"Can that be possible?" said Mrs. Temple, greatly distressed. "Oh, it +seems dreadful that Minnie--that innocent child--must suffer for the sin +of another. She was her father's idol, and, of course, he intended that +she should be his heiress. I know if he had even dreamed that the truth +would be revealed he would have made a will in her favor, and settled +the matter irrevocably." + +"He did know," said Phil, flushing with indignation; "don't you know he +said that he realized that Faxon was his son, as long ago as when he met +him at the mountains. I cannot understand how he dared to leave matters +so at loose ends." + +"Well," observed Mrs. Temple, after a thoughtful pause, "I am not going +to cast reflections upon him now. I told him that I forgave him, and I +will hold to what I said. I begin to think that unlimited wealth is a +snare which binds and warps all that is best in our natures. I am not +literally penniless, as you said. I have my own small fortune, which +Will insisted upon settling upon me when we were--ah! why do I refer to +that miserable farce!" she interposed with sudden passion. + +But she calmed herself almost instantly and continued: + +"I am sure I can manage with what I have quite comfortably, though, of +course, we will have to give up all this style and exercise economy. +Now, Phil"--with an air of determination--"I am not going to have any +legal contest or gossip over these matters. Everything has been kept +quiet so far, and for both Minnie's and my sake there must be no +scandal. I am going to send for Mr. Faxon, tell him frankly that there +is no will, and relinquish everything to him." + +"That would be neither right nor sensible!" cried Philip hotly, his old +grudge against Clifford flaming up anew. "Of course, I can understand +that Faxon--hem! has certain legal rights that will have to be +respected; but, morally, he has no right to this fortune--Minnie should +have every dollar of it. Blast it all!" he burst forth, as he sprang to +his feet and excitedly paced the room, "we are in a horrible situation. +If we fight for the property that damnable secret will all have to come +out----" + +"Yes, and there would be no use in fighting, for Mr. Faxon can easily +prove his own position and get everything. Oh, it would be worse than +folly, Phil, to attempt to contest the matter--our hands are tied--we +are utterly helpless; so I am going to quietly give up everything. I +would rather forfeit every penny than have the world know our shameful +story." + +Philip was almost beside himself in view of this unforeseen calamity. +Since the trouble has fallen upon his mother he had borne himself with +more dignity and manliness than he had ever manifested. He had seemed to +be suddenly transformed, and had been a veritable staff and support to +her. He had even appeared somewhat softened toward Clifford upon +learning how nobly considerate he had been and that he had given his +word to preserve their secret inviolate. + +But now, when he realized that he alone was Mr. Temple's heir, and that +his mother and sister would be deprived of the luxuries to which they +had always been accustomed, his old hatred revived with tenfold fury, +and he became capable for the time of almost any crime in his desire to +wreck vengeance upon his rival. + +But Mrs. Temple proceeded to put her resolution into immediate action, +and wrote a brief, courteous note to Clifford, requesting him to call at +his earliest convenience, as she had a matter of the most vital +importance to discuss with him. + +He at once surmised something of the nature of the matter--for he knew +that if he had not been mentioned in Mr. Temple's will he could break it +if he chose--and accordingly presented himself at the Temple mansion +that same evening. + +Mrs. Temple received him cordially, but Phil, his mother having insisted +that he should be present during the interview, barely accorded him a +recognition. + +Mrs. Temple came to the point at once, stating the case briefly, but +plainly, and to say that Clifford was astonished upon learning that +there was no will and that he alone was heir to the large fortune which +Mr. Temple had left would not feebly express his feelings. + +He had never once thought of such a contingency. He supposed, of course, +that Mr. Temple had made his will, leaving everything to the woman he +adored and the child he worshiped, and that they had sent for him simply +to make terms with him to prevent him from making them any trouble in +settling the estate. But to learn that there were no terms to be +made--to learn that they had sent for him to relinquish everything, +without a desire or a condition, except that he would reassure them of +his willingness to keep their miserable secret, almost dazed him. + +To most people that would have been a moment of signal triumph; but it +was not in Clifford's nature to triumph in any one's misfortune, +although it did flash upon him, as his mind reverted to that day when +Philip Wentworth had so rudely saluted him--"Say, here! you +window-washer!"--that the tables had been turned in a most wonderful +manner. + +It seemed like a dream to be sitting there and know that, for the +moment, at least, he was a millionaire, while his old-time enemy and his +proud mother were groveling before him in the valley of humiliation. + +He listened gravely to all Mrs. Temple had to say, and his heart ached +for her in her sorrow, and grew very tender toward her, as well, for was +she not the mother of his young sister? + +When, at the close of her explanations, she begged him, for Minnie's +sake, to take everything and welcome if he would only save them the +disgrace of having the world learn the truth and point the finger of +scorn at them, he flushed to his brows with wounded feeling. + +"My dear madam," he said as she concluded, "I am wondering what your +estimate of me can be! I assure you that I am as eager as yourself to +keep these matters from the world. I may as well tell you that Mr. +Temple offered to settle three hundred thousand dollars upon me upon the +same condition; but I say to you now, as I said to him that evening, I +cheerfully promise that, as far as I am concerned, the secret shall be +inviolate, and I do not want--I will not have--a dollar of this fortune +which you assert, and which I can understand, might be mine by the law +of inheritance." + +At this point Philip Wentworth turned and faced him for the first time +during the interview, his face wearing an expression of profound +astonishment. + +"What are you saying?" he demanded sharply; "you do not intend to take +any of Mr. Temple's money?" + +"Not a penny, Wentworth," Clifford quietly returned. + +"But--I do not understand it!" said Philip, with a blank stare of +wonderment. + +"It is very simple," returned Clifford, with a frank smile. "Mr. Temple +never knew of my existence until a little over five years ago, and even +after he learned the fact he manifested no interest in me. All his hopes +and plans were centered in his daughter and her mother; his fortune was +made for them, and he expected and intended that it would become theirs +in the event of his death. Now, I feel that I have no more right to it, +morally, than I have to the fortune of one of the Vanderbilts. I can +see, as you do, that I might, according to the law governing such +matters, claim it all if I was so disposed; but I assure you I want no +part of it. Probably the world--if it were conversant with the +circumstances--would judge me to be quixotic and say that my pride +outweighed my judgment. Possibly, that may be true to a certain +extent--I cannot quite define my own feelings regarding the matter; +but," he concluded decidedly, "the fact remains--I will not touch it!" + +Mrs. Temple had observed him with growing interest, mingled with +deepest respect and admiration, during these remarks, and as he +concluded she turned to him with an eager light in her eyes: + +"Mr. Faxon," she said, "there is, I suppose, a great deal of money; may +I beg, as a personal favor, that you will take at least a portion of +it--that you will share it with Minnie?" + +"Madam, that would be impossible. I most cheerfully resign everything to +her," was the firm but courteous response. + +"I am amazed!" said the lady, with visible emotion, "and, morally, it +does not seem right to me that my child should, under the circumstances, +alone be enriched by Mr. Temple's wealth. Oh! I trust that the innocent +girl may not fall under the ban of your censure because of her father's +wrongdoing." + +"Surely not, Mrs. Temple," said Clifford earnestly; "on the contrary, I +have long entertained a very tender feeling toward her. How could I help +it after the thrilling experience in which we participated a few years +ago?--and now the knowledge that we are akin to each other has only +served to strengthen the bond. With your permission, I shall be glad to +cultivate an even closer friendship than has hitherto existed between +us." + +"You not only have my permission--I shall be proud to have you for her +friend, and--mine," said Mrs. Temple huskily; and then, utterly overcome +by his magnanimity, she buried her face in her hands and wept. + +"Thank you," returned Clifford heartily, "and allow me to say that you +both have had my deepest sympathies during this trial. Had I dreamed of +these results I should certainly have refused to comply with Mr. +Temple's request for an interview. But we will never refer to the +subject again, only let me add that I feel you have shown yourself very +honorable in your proposals to me this evening." + +"Oh!" cried Mrs. Temple, with a gesture of repudiation, as she lifted +her face to him, "do not commend me for what was prompted by purely +selfish motives; my only thought was to secure your silence at any cost, +but now I really wish, out of a spirit of gratitude and of admiration +for your nobility, that I could persuade you to revoke your decision." + +"I cannot, Mrs. Temple," said Clifford gravely and decisively, "but"--a +genial smile chasing the gravity away--"I will most thankfully avail +myself of your proffered friendship, and even though--because of the +world--I may not claim my young sister as such, I assure you I shall +love her none the less tenderly." + +Feeling that the interview should end, Clifford now arose to go, +pleading another engagement. Mrs. Temple also arose and came toward him, +with outstretched hand. + +"I am more grateful to you than I can express," she said, with the tears +springing afresh. "I have had a bitter cup to drink--a terrible wound to +bear, but you have greatly soothed and comforted me to-night; if I can +ever serve you in any way, believe me I shall esteem it a privilege to +do so." + +"Thank you," said Clifford heartily, as he clasped her trembling hand. + +Then he glanced somewhat doubtfully at Philip, who during the last +half-hour, had been sitting silent and apparently preoccupied, and +wearing a strangely depressed air. + +"Good night, Wentworth," he said cordially, after an instant of +irresolution. + +There was a moment of awkward silence. + +"Phil!" broke in his mother, in a tone of surprised reproof. + +The young man sprang to his feet and turned a flushed, shamed face upon +Clifford. + +"I say, Faxon," he faltered huskily, "this has been too much for me! +I've been a cad and a knave time and again, but you have set your heel +upon me pretty effectually this time! I am simply crushed. You have done +to-night what I did not believe any man was capable of doing, and when +you entered the room I was in a more murderous frame of mind than I have +ever been before; but you have taken the starch all out of me, and I am +ready now to eat humble pie. If you won't feel insulted, after all that +has passed, I'd like to ask you to shake hands and wipe out old scores." + +Clifford's hand went out to him with instant cordiality. + +"Gladly!" he said, and in that friendly clasp there was ratified a +treaty which endured throughout their lives. + +No other word was spoken, for Philip was now beyond the power of +speech, and Clifford, recognizing the fact, beat a considerate retreat, +and left the house with a buoyant heart, an elastic step, a smile on his +lips, and the consciousness of a noble victory gleaming in his +expressive brown eyes, for of an enemy he had at last made a friend. + +Mrs. Temple and Philip set themselves immediately about winding up Mr. +Temple's affairs, and both seemed to have undergone a radical +transformation. + +The proud, gay butterfly of fashion had suddenly become the gentle, +tender, considerate mother--a thoughtful, womanly woman; the indolent, +aimless man was fast developing into an attentive son, a wise adviser, +an efficient helper and protector. + +"You are growing very like your father, Phil," his mother said to him +one day, after many hours of patient labor over perplexing accounts and +papers. + +"Thank you, mother, you could not have said anything to have encouraged +me more," the young man replied, with grave appreciation, but with a +sigh over the wasted years of his life. + +Upon completing their business-arrangements, Mrs. Temple insisted that +the sum of fifty thousand dollars should be made over to Mr. +Heatherford, who, she asserted, must have lost fully that amount, first +and last, in his dealings with her husband, she and Phil having +discovered the fact during their examination of the man's account. The +man, at first, demurred against taking it, but she assured him that out +of her abundance it would never be missed, and that she would feel that +she was retaining money which did not belong to her if he did not +accept it; and he finally acceded to her request, for he well knew that +the methods which Mr. Temple had employed had amounted to the same thing +as taking so much money out of his pockets and transferring it to his +own. + +During this time Clifford saw considerable of the family, and between +him and Minnie there grew up a strong and endearing friendship, which, +in after years, became the source of much happiness to them both. + +Mollie, also, feeling her sympathies aroused in view of the wrongs and +trials of the family, renewed her friendship with them--even with Phil, +who was so thoroughly repentant for the past and so changed that she had +not the heart to keep him longer under the ban of her displeasure. + +Their business-affairs in Washington once arranged, they returned to +their home in Brookline, where they dropped into a quiet, peaceful way +of living, Minnie throwing her whole heart into her studies to prepare +for college; Philip settling down to business in a firm where a young +and enterprising man with some capital was needed, while Mrs. Temple +devoted herself exclusively to her two children and their interests. + +The twenty-fifth of January there was a brilliant society wedding in +Washington, when Mollie Heatherford gave herself to her king, and +believed that she was the happiest woman living, while Clifford felt +himself truly crowned with the supreme joy of his life. Miss Athol was +maid of honor to the fair bride, and her fiancé, the son of the British +ambassador, was Clifford's best man. + +Maria Kimberly and Squire Talford were both bidden to the festivities. + +The squire did not respond in any way to the courtesy extended to him, +but Maria presented herself a week beforehand, to help the affair along, +and she could not have shown a more vigorous interest if Clifford and +Mollie had been her own children. + +The Temples and Philip Wentworth also received invitations, but they +excused themselves on account of their mourning. + +Mollie, however, received a family remembrance in the form of a solid +silver service, and Clifford a magnificent saddle-horse for his own +private use. + +Life looked very bright to the happy couple, and, indeed, to Mr. +Heatherford, as well, for he had grown very fond of the noble fellow +whom his daughter had chosen to be her life companion, and, with health, +wealth and congenial tastes, there seemed to be nothing to be desired +for their future, and they formed an ideal family in their ideal home. + +When the wedding was over Maria returned to the squire, but with a +somewhat heavy heart, for she yearned to keep her old-time promise to +Clifford--to superintend his culinary department when he was able to set +up an establishment of his own. + +He had told her that the place was open to her whenever she saw fit to +take it, but her sense of duty would not allow her to leave the squire, +"who wasn't nigh so chipper as he used to be afore he had that +sickness," and she hadn't the heart to leave him--at least, until he +got stronger. + +The result was she continued to live at Cedar Hill for two years longer, +and during which the squire gradually failed in health, and finally was +found one morning cold and still in his bed. + +He preserved his gruff, cynical, reticent manner till the last; but when +his will was read, to the astonishment of every one, it was found he had +bequeathed his entire property--excepting three thousand dollars to +Maria--which proved to be a very handsome inheritance, to Clifford +Faxon; while among his papers there was also found a letter addressed to +the young man, in which he had poured out much of the pent-up feeling of +many years, and showing plainly that his love for Clifford's mother had +been the strongest and most enduring sentiment of his nature. + +"I've been proud of you, too," he closed the characteristic epistle by +saying--"prouder than you will ever know; but the devil in me that hated +your father would never let me show it." + +"Poor old man!" said Clifford, as he finished the strange missive, "how +glad I would have been to have made his life more enjoyable." + +Henceforth the fine estate at Cedar Hill became the summer home of the +Faxons, while Maria continued to preside there, a proud and happy queen, +in her way, of all she surveyed, for Mollie declared she would never +presume to call herself mistress in a place so immaculately kept and +well ordered as Clifford's home in the East. + +She grew to love the place very dearly, for from the window she could +look out upon the very spot where, as a boy, her husband had wielded +those vigorous blows which had doubtless saved the lives of hundreds of +people and resulted in their first meeting, when she had lost her heart +while looking into his brown eyes and had given him the magic cameo, +which still graced his strong hand. + +THE END. + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HEATHERFORD FORTUNE *** + +***** This file should be named 38006-0.txt or 38006-0.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/3/8/0/0/38006/ + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will +be renamed. + +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, +so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the +United States without permission and without paying copyright +royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms +of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online +at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you +are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the +country where you are located before using this eBook. +</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Heatherford Fortune<br/> +a sequel to the Magic Cameo</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Mrs. Georgie Sheldon</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Release Date: November 13, 2011 [eBook #38006]<br /> +[Most recently updated: May 11, 2021]</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Darleen Dove, Shannon Barker, Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team</div> +<div style='margin-top:2em;margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HEATHERFORD FORTUNE ***</div> + +<hr /> + +<h1><span>The Heatherford Fortune<br />A SEQUEL TO THE MAGIC CAMEO</span> <i>By</i> <span>MRS. GEORGIE SHELDON</span></h1> + +<p class="center">AUTHOR OF</p> + +<p class="center">"Tina," "The Lily of Mordaunt," "Mona,"<br />"Little Miss Whirlwind," etc.</p> + +<p class="tbrk"> </p> + +<div class="center"><img src="images/dec.jpg" width='100' height='72' alt="decoration" /></div> + +<p class="tbrk"> </p> + +<p class="center">A. L. BURT COMPANY<br /><span class="smcap">Publishers<span class="s6"> </span>New York</span></p> + +<hr /> + +<div class="fig" style="width:100%;"> +<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="472" height="700" alt="[Illustration]" /> +</div> + +<hr /> + +<p class="bold2">Popular Books</p> + +<p class="bold">By MRS. GEORGIE SHELDON</p> + +<p class="center">In Handsome Cloth Binding</p> + +<p class="center">Price per Volume, 60 Cents</p> + +<hr class="smler" /> + +<table class="left" summary="Popular Books By Mrs. Georgie Sheldon"> + <tr> + <td>Brownie's Triumph</td> + <td>Little Miss Whirlwind; or</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Earl Wayne's Nobility</td> + <td> Lost for Twenty Years</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Churchyard Betrothal, The</td> + <td>Lost, A Pearle</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Edrie's Legacy</td> + <td>Love's Conquest</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Faithful Shirley</td> + <td> Sequel to Helen's Victory</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>For Love and Honor</td> + <td>Love Victorious, A</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> Sequel to Geoffrey's Victory</td> + <td>Magic Cameo, The</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Forsaken Bride, The</td> + <td>Marguerite's Heritage</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Geoffrey's Victory</td> + <td>Masked Bridal, The</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Golden Key, The; or a</td> + <td>Max, A Cradle Mystery</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> Heart's Silent Worship</td> + <td>Mona</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Heatherford Fortune, The</td> + <td>Nora, or The Missing Heir</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> Sequel to The Magic Cameo</td> + <td> of Callonby</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>He Loves Me For Myself</td> + <td>Sibyl's Influence</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Helen's Victory</td> + <td>Threads Gathered Up</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Her Faith Rewarded</td> + <td> Sequel to Virgie's Inheritance</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> Sequel to Faithful Shirley</td> + <td>Thrice Wedded</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Her Heart's Victory</td> + <td>Tina</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> Sequel to Max</td> + <td>Trixy, or The Shadow of a </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Heritage of Love, A</td> + <td> Crime</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> Sequel to The Golden Key</td> + <td>True Aristocrat, A</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Hoiden's Conquest, A</td> + <td>True Love's Reward</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>How Will It End</td> + <td>Virgie's Inheritance</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> Sequel to Marguerite's Heritage </td> + <td>Wedded By Fate</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>Lily of Mordaunt, The</td> + <td></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<hr class="smler" /> + +<p class="center">For Sale by all Booksellers<br />or will be sent postpaid on receipt of price</p> + +<p class="center">A. L. BURT COMPANY, PUBLISHERS<br />52 Duane Street<span class="s6"> </span>New York</p> + +<hr class="smler" /> + +<p class="center">Copyright, 1898 and 1899 <span class="smcap">By Street & Smith</span></p> + +<p class="center">THE HEATHERFORD FORTUNE</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2>CONTENTS</h2> + +<table summary="CONTENTS"> + + <tr> + <td><a href="#chap01">CHAPTER I. MOLLIE FINDS A FRIEND.</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#chap02">CHAPTER II. MOLLIE A BREAD-WINNER.</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#chap03">CHAPTER III. MOLLIE MEETS HER HERO.</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#chap04">CHAPTER IV. A THRILLING MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE.</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#chap05">CHAPTER V. THE TEMPLES APPEAR.</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#chap06">CHAPTER VI. A STARTLING PROPOSAL.</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#chap07">CHAPTER VII. A CRITICAL SITUATION.</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#chap08">CHAPTER VIII. CLIFFORD MEETS HIS IDOL.</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#chap09">CHAPTER IX. LANGUAGE OF THE MOSS-ROSE.</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#chap10">CHAPTER X. MONSIEUR LAMONTI'S DEATH.</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#chap11">CHAPTER XI. THE SOCIAL WORLD SURPRISED.</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#chap12">CHAPTER XII. MR. HEATHERFORD'S RECOVERY.</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#chap13">CHAPTER XIII. AN ASTONISHING DISCOVERY.</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#chap14">CHAPTER XIV. THE SQUIRE MEETS MISS HEATHERFORD.</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#chap15">CHAPTER XV. PHILIP'S MAD PLEA.</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#chap16">CHAPTER XVI. WENTWORTH SPURNED.</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#chap17">CHAPTER XVII. SQUIRE TALFORD'S ACCIDENT.</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#chap18">CHAPTER XVIII. MARIA SPEAKS HER MIND.</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#chap19">CHAPTER XIX. THE SQUIRE'S STORY.</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#chap20">CHAPTER XX. CLIFFORD LEARNS HIS FATHER'S NAME.</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#chap21">CHAPTER XXI. CLIFFORD MEETS HIS FATHER.</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#chap22">CHAPTER XXII. "THE WAY OF THE TRANSGRESSOR."</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td><a href="#chap23">CHAPTER XXIII. CLIFFORD REFUSES A FORTUNE.</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<hr /> + +<p class="bold2">The Heatherford Fortune.</p> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">A Sequel To "The Magic Cameo</span>."</p> + +<hr class="smler" /> + +<h2><a name="chap01"></a>CHAPTER I.<br/> +<span class="smaller">MOLLIE FINDS A FRIEND.</span></h2> + +<p>Mollie Heatherford had thought no more of her brave act, by which, at +the risk of her life, she had saved the child Lucille from being +trampled to death under the hoofs of the pawing horses.</p> + +<p>The next morning she was greatly surprised to receive a letter from a +gentleman—Monsieur Jules Lamonti, by name—who said he was the +grandfather of little Lucille, and who, after expressing his gratitude +in most heartfelt terms, requested permission to call upon her at her earliest convenience.</p> + +<p>The missive was written in French, and evidently by a highly cultured +gentleman, and Mollie felt that it would only be courteous to grant the +interview so earnestly solicited. She accordingly responded immediately, +and named an hour of the following morning for Monsieur Lamonti to call, +if the time should be convenient for him.</p> + +<p>She was somewhat disappointed that he did not keep the appointment, but +the next day, at the specified hour, a magnificent equipage, with +coachman and footman in cream-colored liveries, dashed to the door and stopped.</p> + +<p>Presently an elderly gentleman, of apparently sixty years, with +snow-white hair and beard, his somewhat bowed and attenuated form clad +in the finest of garments, alighted. He was a trifle lame, and depended, +in a measure, upon a cane which, Mollie observed, had a massive gold +head, curiously carved.</p> + +<p>Eliza answered his ring and admitted him to the small parlor, then took +the visitor's card, bearing the name "M. Jules Lamonti," to her young mistress.</p> + +<p>Mollie did not keep her caller waiting, to make any change in her +toilet, for she made it a point to be always neatly, if simply, clad; +and, entering his presence with perfect composure, greeted him with a +charming ease and grace of manner.</p> + +<p>She saw at a glance that he was an aristocrat; but that did not disturb +her in the least.</p> + +<p>He bowed low before her as he responded to her greeting; then, in a +voice that was tremulous from deep emotion, he observed in very fair English:</p> + +<p>"Mademoiselle Heatherford has laid on me an obligation everlasting. Ah! +but my poor heart would have been broken if I the little one had lost."</p> + +<p>Mollie, realizing that it would be much easier for him to express +himself in his own language, responded in purest of French, disclaiming +all thought of obligation, and concluded by inquiring if little Lucille +had experienced any ill effects from her accident. The Frenchman was +delighted to find that his hostess could converse with him in his +mother-tongue, and his face beamed with pleasure.</p> + +<p>"You speak French, mademoiselle!" he exclaimed. "Ah! that is delightful! +Now we will talk without any difficulty, for I mix your language so +badly. No, Lucille was not hurt. She is perfectly well, and as bright as +the morning. But, Mon Dieu! I tremble when I think what might have been +to-day but for you," he interposed, growing so white that Mollie was +startled. "It was very brave, Mademoiselle Heatherford—it was grand! +They tell me you went straight in under that powerful, frightened brute +to save my precious child. You are a heroine, mademoiselle, and now I +have come to ask you what I shall do to prove my everlasting gratitude."</p> + +<p>Mollie flushed and smiled as he called her a "heroine." The word always +thrilled her—as she once told her father. It was like a strain of music +in her ears.</p> + +<p>"Please, monsieur, do not speak of any return for what was simply a +humane act," she gently returned; "I am more than recompensed in knowing +that your dear little grandchild escaped unhurt. And how is poor +Nannette to-day? She was greatly frightened and distressed, and I felt +very sorry for her."</p> + +<p>A frown darkened Monsieur Lamonti's face, and his eyes flashed with +sudden anger at the mention of the bonne.</p> + +<p>"Nannette shall go away—I will not trust my beautiful one with her ever +again," he said sternly. "Ah! if she had been killed! Mon Dieu! I tell +you I could not have survived; she is all I have, mademoiselle, the +only child of my only daughter—ah! but I cannot talk of it," he +concluded brokenly, and trembling visibly.</p> + +<p>"But, monsieur, it is all over—she is safe, and let us rejoice that all +is well," soothingly replied Mollie. "And I am sure," she added +confidently, "that Nannette will be very careful in the future. This +will be a lesson to her, and I would have far more confidence in her now +than in a strange maid. She seemed like a good girl and very fond of the +little one, while she bewailed her carelessness with sincere sorrow."</p> + +<p>"There is truth in what you say," the gentleman returned, after a moment +of thought. "Nannette has been a good girl—she is faithful, as a rule, +and Lucille loves her. I shall consider what you have said, +mademoiselle, and Nannette will have cause to be grateful to you."</p> + +<p>"Thank you. I should feel sorry to have her lose her situation; at the +same time I can understand your anxiety, and she should be required to +promise to be very careful in the future."</p> + +<p>Mollie and her caller drifted to other subjects after that and chatted +of many things—of Europe in general, of Paris in particular. Monsieur +Lamonti was charmed with the beautiful girl, while she was no less +delighted with his courtly manner, his culture and brilliant +conversation, and was sincerely sorry when he arose to take his leave.</p> + +<p>"Adieu, mademoiselle," he said, holding out his slim, aristocratic hand; +"it is a great pleasure to have met you—you know my country so well; +you speak my language so beautifully; while, for yesterday, I shall +always cherish you in most grateful remembrance. Ah! but to me that is +like sounding brass," he interposed, with a dissatisfied shrug of his +shoulders and in a regretful tone. Then, as his keen eyes swept the +graceful figure in its simple cambric dress, he added: "Is mademoiselle +sure that I cannot serve her in any way?"</p> + +<p>Mollie glanced up quickly at him, as a thought suddenly flashed through +her mind, and a bright flush suffused her face as she asked herself if +she dare put the thought into words. There was something his expressive +face, in the sincerity of his speech and his refinement and courtesy, +that inspired her with confidence in him.</p> + +<p>"Monsieur, there is one way in which, possibly, you might aid me," she +began, with some reluctance.</p> + +<p>"Name it, mademoiselle!—by all means name it!" Monsieur Lamonti eagerly +interposed.</p> + +<p>"To do that I shall have to open my heart to you a little," Mollie +continued, with a slight quiver of her sweet lips.</p> + +<p>"Ah! mademoiselle honors me," said the gentleman, with a grave and courteous bow.</p> + +<p>"Monsieur," the fair girl resumed, flushing again, but with her lovely +eyes steadfastly gazing into his, for she had no false shame on account +of her poverty, "I have recently been reduced to the necessity of +supporting myself and my father, who is a hopeless invalid; but I am +unable to obtain a position. If monsieur could assist me in this +respect, I should be very grateful, for the need is urgent."</p> + +<p>Her companion regarded her with admiration. She looked like a young +queen, in spite of her surroundings and the simplicity of her apparel. +Her face was grave and sweet, but strong with the noble purpose that +animated her; her shining hair was like a coronet of gold above her +brow, and she bore herself with a quiet dignity and air of self-respect +that must have commanded the esteem of any one.</p> + +<p>"And what is mademoiselle fitted for—what is the position which she +would like best of all?" Monsieur Lamonti inquired.</p> + +<p>"I hardly know," Mollie thoughtfully returned. "I have a good education, +and I could teach, if I could find an opening. As you perceive, I can speak French."</p> + +<p>"Mademoiselle's accent is perfect," interposed her listener.</p> + +<p>"I am equally familiar with German," she resumed, with an appreciative +smile at his compliment; "I studied in Heidelberg two years, and there +are some other branches which I think I may truthfully say I am competent to teach."</p> + +<p>The man was silent for a moment or two after she ceased, evidently +considering some thought which had suggested itself to him. Then he +broke forth with the characteristic impulse of his nationality:</p> + +<p>"Ah! to teach—it is a slave's life!" he said. "The nerves they cannot +bear it, unless indeed mademoiselle has nerves of steel. I tell her what +she shall do. I know exactly the position and it is for mademoiselle's +acceptance if it meets her approval. She speaks French like the native +of Paris; would she take the place of a private secretary, to write +four hours a day for a French gentleman?"</p> + +<p>Mollie's heart leaped with joy at such a prospect. It seemed very +inviting, particularly the "four hours a day," which would leave her +much time to be with her dear sick one. But was she competent? That was +a question that seemed important, and for the moment she did not know what to say.</p> + +<p>"Mademoiselle hesitates, and she is quite right," said her companion, +coming to the rescue. "I will explain: The gentleman's secretary was +discharged three days ago for betraying the affairs of his employer, who +not yet has been able to find another to take his place, and the +correspondence is piling up with every mail. It is important that the +letters should be answered. Mademoiselle speaks and writes German also? +Good! There will be German correspondence, too. The remuneration has +been four hundred and fifty francs—or ninety dollars of American +money—monthly. Will Mademoiselle consider the offer?" he concluded with +some eagerness.</p> + +<p>"It is certainly very tempting," Mollie smilingly replied, and with +rapidly beating pulses, "and I should not hesitate an instant if——"</p> + +<p>"Well?"</p> + +<p>"If I was sure I could fill the position acceptably and the gentleman is +willing to substitute a woman for the clerk who has hitherto served him."</p> + +<p>"The latter doubt is easily dispelled, Mademoiselle, since I myself am +the anxious seeker for a trustworthy secretary. Regarding the ability, a +few days' trial will settle that point, and the requirements are +perfect and fluent French and German, and fidelity to the employer's +interests. I shall be pleased if Mademoiselle will come for a week and try."</p> + +<p>"Monsieur Lamonti, I will, and I thank you more than I can express; for +this offer is very opportune, I assure you," said Mollie, her lips +trembling in spite of her efforts at self-control. "I will gladly make +the trial, and I will certainly do my best to please you in every way."</p> + +<p>"And when will Mademoiselle oblige me by beginning her duties?" queried Monsieur Lamonti.</p> + +<p>"I am sure, from what you have said, that I am needed at once, and I +will come to-morrow at any hour which you may choose to name," Mollie replied.</p> + +<p>"And that is considerate," returned the gentleman in a gratified tone. +"Then at nine, if that will not inconvenience Mademoiselle, and the +address she will find here."</p> + +<p>He drew a card-case from his pocket and presented her a card which had +his business address upon it. Then bidding her a courteous "au revoir," +he bowed himself out with as much ceremony as if he were leaving a +drawing-room, and a moment later his elegant equipage was rolling +rapidly down the street, while Mollie still stood in the middle of the +room, wondering if the interview had not been all a dream.</p> + +<p>She could scarcely credit the evidence of her senses. Ninety dollars a +month! It seemed too good to be true, and like a smile from fortune to +her, when, of late, she had been so anxiously counting even her pennies. +A great burden rolled from her heart and a luminous smile illumed her +face, although there were tears in her eyes.</p> + +<p>"At last," she murmured, "I am to know what it means to be of some +practical use in the world, and I will do my very best."</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="chap02"></a>CHAPTER II.<br/> +<span class="smaller">MOLLIE A BREAD-WINNER.</span></h2> + +<p>It was a strange experience for this hitherto delicately nurtured girl +to go out into the world and work to support herself and her father, who +had always so watchfully shielded her from every care; who had scarce +allowed her to express a wish before it was gratified, and almost +surfeited her with the luxuries of life.</p> + +<p>But she met it bravely. She did not once say to herself that it was a +hardship—she did not even feel it to be such. The heroic element was +strong in her nature, and it showed itself grandly now in this emergency.</p> + +<p>The one thing that did seem hard and cruel to her was the fact that her +dear father was beyond realizing her good fortune and sympathizing with +her in her joy that a future of comparative comfort was assured them, if +she should prove herself competent to retain the position which Monsieur +Lamonti had offered her. She did not feel much doubt upon this point, +for she was sure that he would be very considerate until she became +accustomed to her duties, and she was determined to master every +difficulty and acquit herself with satisfaction.</p> + +<p>She presented herself in his office a few minutes before nine o'clock +the next morning and found him awaiting her. He received her with all +the courtesy which characterized his manner toward her the previous day +in her own home.</p> + +<p>"Mademoiselle is prompt; that is well," he smilingly observed, "and now, +if you please, we will attend directly to business, for it is urgent."</p> + +<p>He pointed to several piles of letters, lying unopened upon a desk, and +Mollie slipped into the chair before it and prepared to give her +undivided attention to his instructions.</p> + +<p>He selected several epistles which demanded immediate replies, and, +after clearly explaining what her duty would be, left her to do the +work. Her task was not difficult. Monsieur Lamonti possessed the faculty +of being clear and concise in his directions, and with her natural +fluency of diction, her thorough knowledge of both French and German, +she found everything moving along very smoothly.</p> + +<p>The hours slipped swiftly by, and Mollie was greatly surprised when the +clock on the desk above her struck one, and Monsieur Lamonti, glancing +up at the sound, observed:</p> + +<p>"That will be all for to-day, Mademoiselle Heatherford, and everything +has been most satisfactory. Allow me to add that I regard myself as very +fortunate in securing such a helper."</p> + +<p>"Thank you, monsieur," replied Mollie gratefully. Then she added as she +glanced at the numerous missives still unopened upon both desks: "Pray +let me work another hour; I am not in the least weary."</p> + +<p>"But your luncheon, Mademoiselle," said the gentleman in a doubtful +tone.</p> + +<p>"I am not in the least hungry, either," said the fair girl, smiling. "I +seldom lunch before half-past one, and I shall not mind waiting thirty +minutes longer; while I am sure there is work here which is equally as +important as what I have already done."</p> + +<p>"Mademoiselle is right," returned monsieur, his thoughtful glance +following hers, "but this is your first day and you should not be overtaxed."</p> + +<p>"Do not fear; I have not thought of being tired, and it will give me +pleasure to work another hour and continue to do so every day until the +ordinary routine of business is attained."</p> + +<p>She spoke with so much of sincerity, even eagerness, that Monsieur +Lamonti accepted the offer in the same spirit that it was made. At the +end of the hour Mollie was politely dismissed, and went home with a +light heart and with a feeling of importance that was as delightful as it was novel.</p> + +<p>Every morning, promptly at nine o'clock, found her at her desk, where +for five hours she worked patiently and industriously for a week, when +Monsieur Lamonti informed her that his business had been reduced to its +normal condition, and there would be no more extra hours required.</p> + +<p>It was a proud moment for the beautiful girl when, as she was about to +leave the office, that gentleman handed her a check for the first money +she had ever earned in her life. She thanked him with a smile and flush +of pleasure; then, as she glanced at it and saw the amount, she started +slightly and exclaimed:</p> + +<p>"But monsieur! this is too much; you have made a mistake."</p> + +<p>"Pardon, mademoiselle; there is no mistake," quietly returned her +companion. "The check is for twenty-six dollars, is it not?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, monsieur."</p> + +<p>"Very good. The agreement was that mademoiselle should work four hours a +day for ninety dollars per month; but she has labored one extra hour +every day during this week, which calls for extra remuneration, and—as +near as can be estimated—the amount which the check represents," Mr. +Lamonti explained.</p> + +<p>"But, monsieur, I never thought—I did not intend——" Mollie faltered +in some confusion.</p> + +<p>"Very true—I understand," said the gentleman, smiling kindly into the +lovely face; "but it is only just compensation, and you will oblige me +by making no objection to it. I am also exceedingly obliged for the +accommodation and well pleased with your services. We shall go on very +nicely for the future."</p> + +<p>This was a delightful surprise, and she felt highly elated as she ran +about, before going home, to settle some small bills which she had been +obliged to contract, and to purchase a few luxuries for the invalid.</p> + +<p>As the weeks slipped by she became deeply interested in her work, and +had her father been well she would have been perfectly happy, for she +felt that she had now a more worthy object in life than that of living +for her own amusement and the demands of fashionable society, as +heretofore.</p> + +<p>She entertained a profound respect for Monsieur Lamonti, who was +invariably courteous and considerate, and never appeared to be ruffled +in the slightest degree, no matter how perplexing his business might be.</p> + +<p>She gradually learned considerable of his history, as from time to time +he referred to his past, and ascertained that his life had been full of +romance and sorrow.</p> + +<p>He belonged to a noble family of France, but had incurred the lasting +displeasure of his relatives by marrying contrary to their wishes and +was disinherited in consequence. But he loved his beautiful girl-wife +with all the strength of his manhood, and preferred exile and poverty a +thousand times with her, to fame and fortune without her.</p> + +<p>They had retired to a quiet little village immediately after their +marriage, and where, with a little money, together with unlimited energy +and perseverance, Monsieur Lamonti had perfected an invention which ere +long brought him large returns in sales and royalties, and at the end of +fifteen years he was the possessor of a large fortune.</p> + +<p>Then his wife was suddenly taken from him, leaving him with a lovely +daughter, fourteen years of age, and who now became all-in-all to his +almost broken heart.</p> + +<p>Wishing her to profit by the very best education which his country +afforded and her future position would demand, he transferred his +residence to Paris,where he remained for the ten succeeding years, and +where his daughter married a worthy young man, of whom he heartily approved.</p> + +<p>Her child, the little Lucille, was born a year later, and she was only a +few months old when her mother's health began to fail and she was +ordered to Italy for change of scene and climate. She was accompanied by +her husband, but the child was left behind with Monsieur Lamonti and in +the care of an efficient nurse.</p> + +<p>Two months later, both father and mother were drowned during a terrible +gale while on a yachting excursion in the Mediteranean, and this tragic +event and terrible affliction nearly deprived him of his mind for a time +and aged him many years in appearance. But from that time all his +thought and affection was centered in his granddaughter, who was a +bright and promising child, and who, eventually, if she lived, would +become sole heiress to his immense fortune.</p> + +<p>When she was a year old certain interests connected with his invention +demanded Monsieur Lamonti's presence in America, while, during the last +few years, having become somewhat prominent in matters of a political +nature, he was elected a sort of charge d'affaires to conduct certain +negotiations of a delicate nature in this country, and which would +require the exercise of tact, judgment, and diplomacy.</p> + +<p>He had accepted the commission, more for the sake of having plenty to +occupy his mind and prevent him from dwelling upon his many sorrows, +than because he desired public office and emolument, hence his presence +in the nation's capital, where he had resided during the last two years.</p> + +<p>"Thus you will understand, mademoiselle," he had observed to Mollie with +a heavy sigh, when telling her something of his life, "how utterly +desolate I should have been to-day, if you had not so bravely risked +your life to save my little Lucille. The world would hold nothing for me +if I were to lose her—she is the one link that now holds me here—that +makes me prize in the least a life that has been full of sorrow. See!" +he interposed, touching the silvery locks above his temples. "I am not +yet quite fifty years of age, and any one would declare that I am more than sixty."</p> + +<p>It was all very sad, Mollie thought—there were many sad and +incomprehensible things in life that were forcing themselves more and +more upon her observation of late, and she could not be reconciled to +them. If she could have known how she cheered the sorrow-burdened man +with her sweet and sunny presence—how like a ray of bright, warm +sunshine she seemed, whenever she appeared in his office, and that her +voice was, like Lucille's, as inspiring and soothing to him as a strain +of sweetest music, she would have been very happy.</p> + +<p>He frequently brought the child to the office, to make a little call +upon her, and the two soon began to grow very fond of each other. Then, +too, Monsieur Lamonti would often call for her in the afternoon to go +for a drive with them, and, upon several occasions, he had invited her +to be present when he made a small fete for his granddaughter, to assist +in entertaining the children, since he had no mistress in his home to +manage such festivities, and he had learned that she dearly loved little +ones. At such times he exerted himself to make the occasion pleasant for +her in other ways—by showing her works of art and numerous curios which +he had gathered from various portions of the world by playing various +instruments, for he was very talented in music and could play the organ, +harp, piano, and violin with more skill than many a professional while +he could talk of masters and artists, giving their history and merits, +with a fluency which proved him thoroughly posted in such matters. He +was also very thoughtful for Mr. Heatherford, often sending his carriage +to take him out for an airing, the coachman and footman being instructed +to show him every attention while wines, fruits, and other delicacies +for him mysteriously found their way into Eliza's domains.</p> + +<p>He also had learned much of the girl's past, previous to her +misfortunes; he studied her from day to day and learned to reverence the +strength of character and purity of purpose which were apparent in her +every act, and thus there grew up a strong and abiding friendship +between the fair young girl and the courtly Frenchman.</p> + +<p>One morning Mollie started forth, at the usual hour, to go to the +office, and for some reason she seemed brighter and happier than common. +She was in perfect health, there was an exquisite color in her cheeks, +her lips were like holly berries, and her eyes glowed with the hope and +vigor that belonged to her young life.</p> + +<p>She was clad in a golden-brown broadcloth costume, trimmed with narrow +bands of sable fur. It was one of the last dresses she had bought in +Paris, recently made over by a clever modiste—whom she had discovered +near her—and it fitted her exquisitely, showing her finely proportioned +figure to good advantage. Her hat matched her suit in color and was +brightened by the wing of a Baltimore oriole. In her well-gloved hands +she carried a rich, but modest pocketbook—another relic of the past, +and no one would have dreamed, as this stylish and elegantly clad young +woman stepped upon the street-car on her way to Monsieur Lamonti's +office, that she was working for her daily bread.</p> + +<p>She might have passed for the wife or daughter of some senator or other +distinguished official—although it was rather an early hour for the +elite to be abroad—and many an admiring eye lingered upon her bright beauty.</p> + +<p>In the car her eye was attracted by a gentleman who was standing near +her. He was clinging to a strap overhead, and as Mollie's glance swept +over him and upward, along his arm to the hand above, her heart gave a +great startled bound, her cheeks flushed a vivid scarlet, and her eyes +darkened until they seemed almost black.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="chap03"></a>CHAPTER III.<br/> +<span class="smaller">MOLLIE MEETS HER HERO.</span></h2> + +<p>The gentleman who had attracted Mollie's attention was above the medium +height, broad-shouldered, erect, and with a fine, well-poised head which +was covered with dark-brown hair. He was nicely, though not richly clad, +although he looked the gentleman, every inch, while his bearing was as +quietly dignified and self-possessed as if he had been the possessor of millions.</p> + +<p>He was standing with his back toward Mollie, and she could not see his +face, thus he was utterly unconscious of the beautiful eyes that were +resting upon him and also of the commotion which he had roused in the +heart of the possessor of those same lovely eyes.</p> + +<p>It was not the stalwart figure, nor the proud, nobly formed head, which +had especially attracted her attention. It was the strong and shapely +hand that was firmly grasping the strap above him and upon the little +finger of which he wore an exquisitely cut cameo ring.</p> + +<p>Mollie had recognized it instantly—she would have known it anywhere, +for it was the ring which she had given to Clifford Faxon, six years +previous, when, acting upon the impulse of the moment, she had sought +him out at New Haven to thank him, individually, for the lives he had +saved when, though only a farmer's bound boy, he had prevented a +terrible railroad wreck.</p> + +<p>Again, as on that occasion, she was strangely thrilled by his presence, +even though he was unconscious of her own.</p> + +<p>How she wished that he would turn his head so that she could obtain a +view of his face! She knew, well enough, that it was in keeping with the +splendid form before her and with what she knew of the character of the +man, but she wanted to see if she could trace familiar lines in it; if +it still wore the same frank, honest expression of six years ago; if the +magnificent brown eyes still retained their clear, earnest, +straightforward glance; if the lips wore the same genial smile. Then she +found herself wondering if he would remember her, or whether she had +changed so much that he would merely glance indifferently at her and +then pass her like any stranger. What right had she to think he would +recognize her? she mentally questioned with an impatient shrug of her +shoulders, the flush deepening again upon her cheeks.</p> + +<p>She had been only a miss in short dresses and one among the hundreds who +had been eager to honor him upon that occasion—to grasp him by the hand +and shower grateful thanks upon him. True she had given him the ring as +a souvenir, and told him she should love him all her life for what he +had done—how her face burned as she recalled those impulsive words—but +he had received from others what had doubtless proved to be a far more +useful and practical gift—the generous purse of money.</p> + +<p>But why did he wear the ring if he treasured no pleasant memory of the +giver? This thought set her heart to fluttering again in a way that was +highly foreign to the usual self-possession of the recent society belle, +but it was quickly followed by the somewhat mortifying reflection that +the cameo was a valuable and unique affair and quite a treasure of art to possess.</p> + +<p>Every pulse thrilled anew when, as she signaled the conductor to stop, +she observed the young man preceding her, as if he also was about to +alight. Mollie followed closely, hoping that she might be fortunate +enough to get a view of his face.</p> + +<p>He stepped off the car, and paused to wait for it to pass on, before +crossing the street, as was evidently his intention.</p> + +<p>Mollie, with her thoughts full of the past, in which he had figured so +conspicuously, was a little heedless as she alighted, her foot turning +awkwardly, and she would have fallen if her "hero" had not sprung to her +side, and, with a courteous, "allow me," grasped her arm and saved her +from what might have been a painful accident.</p> + +<p>"Thank you very much," she said with a brilliant smile and blush, as she +recovered herself, and lifted her gleaming eyes to the handsome face +which she had so longed to see.</p> + +<p>The young man started at the sound of her voice, and then bent an +earnest look upon her, an expression of perplexity sweeping over his +features. Then, almost instantly, his countenance cleared, a glad, eager +light leaped into his eyes, which Mollie saw were unchanged, and there +was a repressed thrill of triumph in his tones as he earnestly observed:</p> + +<p>"I hope you are not hurt."</p> + +<p>"Not in the least, I assure you, and I owe it to your timely aid," +Mollie returned, an answering ring of joy in her own voice, as she saw +that he remembered her, in spite of the changes time had made in her.</p> + +<p>But, even though she realized that he was lingering with the hope that +she would make the first advances and reference to their former meeting, +as certainly belonged to her to do, a sudden and unaccountable shyness +seized her. She stooped to brush some dust that had adhered to her +skirt, then, with another smile and bow, she entered Monsieur Lamonti's +office. A moment later she bitterly repented having allowed the precious +opportunity to pass unimproved.</p> + +<p>"Why," she mentally exclaimed, with a sense of scorn for herself. "I +acted just like a bashful schoolgirl, and ought to be ashamed of myself. +It was my place, when I saw that he knew me, to recognize him. How +unappreciative and indifferent he must think me—how ill-mannered, when +I told him that day that I should never forget him. I am more sorry than +I can express, for perhaps he is in Washington only for a few days, and +I may never meet him again. How utterly stupid of me!"</p> + +<p>But in spite of these keen regrets, the girl's heart was unusually light +all day, for the "hero" of her girlhood had more than fulfilled her +anticipations; she had realized, during those few months, when they had +stood face to face, that he was strong and true and manly in the +highest acceptation of the terms; she believed that he was destined to +distinguish himself in the future, but what made her especially happy +was the fact that he had not forgotten her—that he had been glad to +meet her again, as both his look and tone had testified.</p> + +<p>With these reflections came the sudden revelation of her exact attitude +toward Philip Wentworth. The contrast between the two young men was +marked and suggestive. Phil was the pleasure-loving man of the world, +living only for what entertainment he could extract from life and +society. Clifford Faxon was the thoughtful, conscientious worker, with +some high and earnest purpose in view that would not only promote his +own individual interests, but also advance the standard of men and +methods in general, and Mollie now saw that she had never even been in +danger of loving Phil—that he was hardly worthy of even her respect, +and she almost scorned herself for having hesitated an instant when he +had declared his love for her, a little more than a year ago, during her +visit in Brookline.</p> + +<p>She had never seen him since leaving Boston, although he had often +asserted that he was "coming to Washington." His letters had been +growing few and far between, each one colder and more formal in its +tone. Not once had he renewed his protestations of love for her, +although there was a vein of assumption—a kind of taken-for-granted +style in his epistles which might be interpreted to mean much or +nothing; there certainly had been nothing tangible in them, and it had +been several months now since she last heard from him. But had he +remained as true as the needle to the pole, she knew now that she never +could have married him after this meeting with Clifford Faxon.</p> + +<p>"Oh, any one can see that he is head and shoulders above Phil, mentally, +morally, and, almost that, physically," she mused, as she recalled +Cliff's splendid physique, his thoughtful face and earnest eyes. "I hope +I shall meet him again some day," and the sigh that supplemented this +reflection told how deeply she regretted the lost opportunity of the morning.</p> + +<p>Clifford Faxon himself was fully as much exercised in view of the +unexpected meeting and its unsatisfactory results. He had not observed +Mollie particularly at first, except that he had realized that some one +had made a misstep, and almost involuntarily he had tried to avert an +accident; but the instant she spoke, her tones had betrayed her to +him—he had never forgotten them. Many and many a time in his dreams, +both waking and sleeping, he had seemed to hear her silvery voice +vibrating with its thrill of fervent gratitude in those words so +indelibly stamped upon his heart: "You have saved my life—you have +saved all our lives, and it is such a wonderful—such a grand thing to +have done! I am very grateful to you, for my life is very bright. I love +to live. Oh, I cannot say half there is in my heart; but I shall never +forget you—I shall love you for your heroism of this day always."</p> + +<p>Then, as he had studied the lovely face, he had traced the +well-remembered features, even though she had changed and bloomed from +the slip of a girl in short dresses and with that shining braid of hair +hanging between her shoulders, into this beautiful and stylish young +woman, with her perfect form, her queenly carriage and elegant apparel.</p> + +<p>He saw that she had recognized him, for he had been quick to note the +light that had leaped into her eyes and the conscious flush that had +suffused her face, and, though he was disappointed, he was half-inclined +to believe what was really the truth, that a sudden shyness, produced by +the unexpected encounter, had alone caused her to refrain from referring +to their former meeting, and yet, believing her to be still the petted +child of fortune and far above him, socially, his sensitiveness +suggested that she might not now care to renew their acquaintance—if +such it could be called—in spite of her assurance that she should +"never forget him."</p> + +<p>He also had been in Washington for more than a year. He had come, as he +had told Maria Kimberly he contemplated doing, with Mr. Hamilton, who +had opened the —— House the first of that season. He had served him +for nearly a year, and then, through the influence of some gentlemen who +were guests in the hotel, he had secured a government position, and was +proving himself so efficient he bade fair to rise still higher in the +service of the nation.</p> + +<p>It is rather remarkable that he and Mollie should never have met before +during all this time; but it was one of those happenings which can never +be accounted for.</p> + +<p>And even though they had at last encountered each other, he experienced +the same perplexity that Mollie had felt, not knowing whether she was +there merely for a few days, as a sightseer, and would immediately float +away again beyond his reach, or whether her father had some official +position and was residing in the city. It was all very tantalizing, +especially the fact that he did not even know her name. He had often +heard Mrs. Temple call her Mollie, and Philip Wentworth had refused to +tell him anything about her, except to boast that she was his fiancée.</p> + +<p>Then, as these memories crowded upon him, he caught his breath sharply +as a sudden, terrible fear took possession of him. Possibly this fair +Mollie, this gloriously beautiful girl, who was his ideal of all that +was perfect in womanhood, might already be Philip's wife, for only a day +or two previous the Temples had passed him on the street in their +carriage, and his former classmate was with them.</p> + +<p>When Mollie entered the office that morning she found it empty, Monsieur +Lamonti not having arrived, although he was almost invariably there +before her. He came a few moments later, however, but appeared sad and +preoccupied, and upon Mollie inquiring if he were ill he said no, but +that Lucille was far from well. She had been feverish and restless all +night. He had called a physician that morning, but he spoke lightly, +saying that her indisposition was only the effect of a slight cold, and +she would be all right in a day or two.</p> + +<p>But the gentleman was evidently very much disturbed, and finally +confessed to Mollie that he would be obliged to go to New York that +afternoon, and could not return until the next evening. The approaching +separation and suspense, he said, seemed almost unbearable, particularly +as Lucille was ill.</p> + +<p>"I know that Nannette is, as a rule, careful and faithful," he observed, +"but somehow I feel very reluctant to leave the child alone with her."</p> + +<p>Mollie turned to him eagerly.</p> + +<p>"Monsieur, would you feel more comfortable if I should go and remain +with Lucille and Nannette until you return?" she inquired.</p> + +<p>The man's face cleared instantly at the suggestion.</p> + +<p>"Would you be so good, mademoiselle?" he asked in a relieved tone. +"Could you be spared from your father?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, yes; Eliza can do everything necessary for papa, and I will gladly +stay with Lucille," Mollie replied.</p> + +<p>Monsieur Lamonti accepted her offer most gratefully, upon this +assurance, and when his carriage came to him he drove home with her to +tell Eliza what her plans were, after which they repaired to his residence.</p> + +<p>They found Lucille much better than she had been in the morning, and +Monsieur Lamonti prepared for his journey with restored cheerfulness, +and finally took his departure, feeling quite content.</p> + +<p>Mollie took Lucille wholly in charge for the remainder of the day, and +allowed Nannette, who had been closely confined within doors, to have a +little time to herself, and she went out to visit and take tea with a friend.</p> + +<p>She returned about nine in the evening to find her charge sleeping +quietly and restfully, and Mollie reading a new book in the library.</p> + +<p>They soon retired, Mollie occupying Monsieur Lamonti's room, which +adjoined, although it did not connect with the one where Lucille and +Nannette slept. Mollie said she preferred this arrangement to being put +off in the guest chamber, as she would feel less lonely.</p> + +<p>After shutting herself into the room for the night—although she did not +lock the door—not feeling sleepy, she began to look about the +apartment, which, like the rest of the house, was full of beautiful and +interesting things—fine paintings on the walls, choice books and +bric-a-brac on tables and mantle, and in one corner a cabinet of curios, +rare and costly.</p> + +<p>Mollie spent a long time looking these latter over and reading from the +"key" their history and the names of the far-off places whence they had +come. But she grew weary of this occupation after a while and finally +began to prepare for bed.</p> + +<p>While thus engaged she observed on a stand behind the bed what appeared +to be a book having a curious cover. She attempted to take it up when +the top came off, and she was startled to find it was a box containing a +small, but beautiful silver-mounted revolver.</p> + +<p>Her start, however, was only momentary, for Mollie knew something about +firearms, having had some practise at shooting at a target while she was +abroad. She lifted the weapon and examined it carefully, noting the +curious chasing on the silver, the number of chambers, and also that it was loaded.</p> + +<p>She finally laid it back in its place, replacing the cover, and had +scarcely done so when, for the first time, she noticed upon the opposite +side of the room a small safe. For a moment an uncomfortable sensation +began to creep over her, for the safe and the loaded revolver suggested +that there might be valuables to be defended in the former—possibly, +she thought, costly jewels, which might have belonged to Lucille's +mother and grandmother.</p> + +<p>But she put away the feeling with a little shrug and smile, resolutely +put out the electric lights, then crept into bed and was soon dreaming, +as on two previous nights since her meeting with him, of the hero of her +girlhood—Clifford Faxon.</p> + +<p>The next she knew she was vaguely conscious of hearing the cathedral +clock in the hall strike two; then she was suddenly broad awake, every +sense painfully on the alert, although she could not, for the moment, +move a muscle, as the conviction was forced upon her that some one was +moving stealthily about the room.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="chap04"></a>CHAPTER IV.<br/> +<span class="smaller">A THRILLING MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE.</span></h2> + +<p>For a moment Mollie was simply paralyzed with fear; she could neither +move hand nor foot, which perhaps was the very best thing that could +have happened under the circumstances. But her mind worked with the +rapidity of lightning and to some purpose.</p> + +<p>She could distinctly hear the movements of some one about the room, +stealthy and cautious as the invader tried to be, and once she plainly +saw the outline of a man as the figure passed between her vision and a window.</p> + +<p>She was sure that a burglar had entered the house—some one who, +doubtless, had learned of Monsieur Lamonti's absence and had taken +advantage of it to come and help himself to what valuables he could find.</p> + +<p>Then a shock of dismay and fear set all her nerves tingling as she +remembered the safe; but this was almost immediately succeeded by a +great calm, a grim determination taking possession of her, and plans to +carry it out quickly forming in her active brain.</p> + +<p>Very cautiously she reached out her right hand and secured the revolver +that lay on the stand beside her. Her touch was so light that, as she +timed her act just as the burglar stooped to examine the safe, not a +sound was distinguishable.</p> + +<p>Slipping it under the bed-clothing she softly removed it from the box. +The next moment it was cocked and she drew a deep, silent breath of +relief as she realized that she could now control the situation about as she pleased.</p> + +<p>Her next act was to reach out again and feel for a cluster of three +electric buttons, which had been placed in the wall close beside the bed.</p> + +<p>One of these controlled a wire communicating with the nearest +police-station, and had been put there for just such an emergency as the +present. Another was connected with the electric apparatus for lighting +the house, and the third governed the lock of the front door.</p> + +<p>Similar buttons were in every room of the main portion of the house, and +Monsieur Lamonti had explained their operation to Mollie several weeks +previous during one of her visits, and they were grouped in the form of +a triangle; two were side by side, and the third between and above them.</p> + +<p>It was the upper button which Mollie had touched. Then she lay quietly +listening for several minutes, while the other occupant, having produced +a tiny dark-lantern, continued his investigations at the safe.</p> + +<p>All at once, in the distance, she caught the sound of hoofs and wheels, +and knew that help was coming to her.</p> + +<p>She now touched the button controlling the front door. A moment later +she lightly pressed the third button, and instantly the apartment was +flooded with light, as was also the hall outside. With a startled oath +the burglar sprang to his feet, and, turning, found himself confronted +by the loveliest vision he had ever seen in his life, as he afterward +told a pal in prison, and a "dandy barker" that was cocked and aimed +straight at his heart.</p> + +<p>Mollie had sprung to a sitting posture after touching the third button +and was prepared for duty. Her face was pale as marble, but there was a +determined light in the blue eyes which warned the invader that she was +braced for instant action while his experienced eye immediately grasped +the fact that she knew how to manipulate the weapon she held, and that +her hand was as steady as if she were holding simply a glass of water.</p> + +<p>But the man was a desperate and powerful fellow, and he did not mean to +be beaten at his game "by any slip of a girl like that," and so +determined to make a bluff to attain his object and watch his chance to disarm her.</p> + +<p>The house was perfectly still, and he was confident that no one else in +it had been aroused, and he fondly imagined he could easily intimidate +his fair captor, for he had not the slightest suspicion that she had any +way of summoning assistance from outside.</p> + +<p>"You'd better put down that barker, miss, if you don't want to get into +trouble," he commanded in a gruff, though subdued voice, for he had no +desire to arouse any one else. "I don't ever like to hurt a lady, and +I'd be 'specially loath to do harm to such a pretty girl as you are."</p> + +<p>Mollie's eyes flashed indignant fire at his familiar language and +obnoxious compliment.</p> + +<p>"Silence!" she cried, in a clear, incisive tone, and her faultless +elocution served her to some purpose now, for it made her every word +tell effectively. "No!—don't you dare to attempt to get out your +revolver if you have one," she continued, as she saw his right hand +creeping toward one of his pockets. "That is right," as he instantly +dropped it again to his side. "Obey me and you will not be hurt. Show +the slightest disposition to disobey me and I will not hesitate to let +you have the contents of one of these chambers, and I shall not miss +you, either. Now sit down in that rocking-chair near you and put your +hands upon the arms."</p> + +<p>But the man did hesitate to obey this command and glanced nervously +toward the door, which he had left open when he entered the room, as if +contemplating a bold dash for freedom. Then he suddenly changed his +mind, as the small hand which held that costly revolver was slightly +raised as if to take a truer aim, and he obediently dropped into the +chair which Mollie had indicated, then added in a tone of mingled wrath +and admiration:</p> + +<p>"Well, for a girl of your years, you're the coolest specimen I've ever seen."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I know something about firearms. I had considerable practise +shooting at a target in a gallery in Paris a couple of years ago," +remarked the intrepid girl with deliberate distinctness.</p> + +<p>Her captive cringed visibly at her remark, and, observing it, she +realized that he was at heart a coward in spite of his profession and +his attempt to bully her, and her courage rose in proportion. Just then +she heard a vehicle outside slacken speed and stop before the house. The +burglar also caught the sound and an anxious look shot into his eyes.</p> + +<p>"What's that?" he demanded roughly; "the boss coming home?"</p> + +<p>"No; Monsieur Lamonti will not return until to-morrow, or until this +afternoon, I should have said," Mollie composedly remarked. Then she +added with a gleam of triumph in her blue eyes:</p> + +<p>"I am expecting some friends whom I have summoned to aid me in this +emergency; doubtless they have arrived."</p> + +<p>"The cops!" cried the burglar in a startled tone.</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"How on earth did you manage that?" he questioned breathlessly.</p> + +<p>"Ah!"—as his practised eye swiftly swept the walls and finally rested +on the group of electric buttons—"the house is wired for it."</p> + +<p>"You are right, and it is an exceedingly convenient arrangement," dryly +responded the girl.</p> + +<p>"Thunder and lightning! I swear I won't sit here to be caught like a rat +in a trap," snarled her companion, as he started wildly to his feet and +glanced around him for some way of escape.</p> + +<p>"Sit down!" and the pistol in Mollie's hand was again raised menacingly, +while footfalls were now plainly heard ascending the steps leading to +the entrance to the house.</p> + +<p>The man dropped with a quick, indrawn breath, as his eye fell upon the +white, slim finger that rested on the trigger of the revolver. Then a +sudden thought struck him and he breathed more freely.</p> + +<p>"But they can't get in," he observed with a chuckle of exultation, for +he told himself that if she was obliged to get up to admit the policemen +he would have an opportunity to make a bolt for the nearest window and +have a fair chance to escape by means of a balcony which could be +plainly discerned outside.</p> + +<p>"You are mistaken," his fair captor replied, "for when I touched the +button that governs the communication with the station-house I also +pressed another that unlocks the front door. Allow me to say for the +information of any of your friends who may be followers of your +profession, in case you should have an opportunity to communicate with +them, that almost every room in the house is wired in the same way."</p> + +<p>"Hell and furies!" groaned the unfortunate victim, and actually writhing +in his chair, for at that moment steps and voices were heard in the hall +below, and he knew that he was inextricably "bagged." Involuntarily he +clapped his hand to his pistol-pocket.</p> + +<p>"Sit still!" commanded the brave girl, and she leaned forward, her eyes +blazing like two points of flame. "Another movement and I fire."</p> + +<p>He knew she would, for there was a relentless purpose in her watchful +gaze, and he settled back limp and white to await the inevitable.</p> + +<p>With her glance never for an instant wavering from the form in the +rocker, Mollie called out in clarion tones:</p> + +<p>"Come right up-stairs, Mr. Officer, and you will find what you are looking for."</p> + +<p>A moment later two policemen entered the room and took in the situation at a glance.</p> + +<p>In a trice they had their prize—whom they instantly recognized as a man +they had long been trying to run down—disarmed and safely handcuffed, +he offering no resistance.</p> + +<p>Then they turned their attention to the heroic girl upon the bed. But +she felt little like a heroine at that moment.</p> + +<p>She had dropped her weapon the instant the officers appeared upon the +scene, too weak and spent to hold it longer, and now lay white and +panting upon her pillows, consciousness almost forsaking her now that +the reaction had come.</p> + +<p>Almost simultaneously Nannette rushed into the room, her eyes wide and +staring with fear upon beholding three strange men in the place, while +she tremulously inquired if the house was on fire.</p> + +<p>"No, no," one of the policemen replied reassuringly, "everything is all +right now; but you'd better get the young lady a glass of wine or +something. Did he attempt to do you any harm, miss?" he respectfully inquired.</p> + +<p>"No, he did not have any opportunity," she panted, a ghost of a smile +curving her white lips as she significantly touched the revolver that lay beside her.</p> + +<p>"I see," said the man with a nod, "and you are a downright plucky girl! +There, drink something, and then you shall tell us all about the +affair," he concluded as Nannette approached with a glass of port wine +which she had taken from a small cabinet which Monsieur Lamonti had in his room.</p> + +<p>There was a tall Oriental screen before the fire-place, and the men +placed this between the bed and their prisoner, then retired behind it +themselves to give the exhausted girl time to recover herself.</p> + +<p>Mollie sipped a little of the wine and soon found her strength +returning, and with it and the friendly presence of Nannette, much of +her habitual self-possession.</p> + +<p>"Nannette, pray, get me a shawl or dressing-sack," she whispered to the +girl. The maid whisked into her own room and returned almost immediately +with a pretty wrapper of her own, and into which she deftly assisted +Mollie, who then signified her readiness to talk with the officers, +while she seated herself in a chair outside the screen and motioned +Nannette to another near her.</p> + +<p>She briefly related what had occurred from the moment when she had heard +the clock strike two until the appearance of the officers. Her language +was simple and unassuming, but the story produced a marked impression +upon her hearers.</p> + +<p>Nannette became greatly excited during the recital, but protested that +she had not heard a sound until Miss Heatherford called out to the +officers to come up-stairs, when she hurriedly threw on her robe and +came to her, fearing she might be ill or the house afire.</p> + +<p>The policemen regarded the fair narrator with undisguised admiration, +as she told how she had softly taken possession of the revolver and +cocked it beneath the bed-clothing before turning on the lights.</p> + +<p>"It was a mighty plucky thing to do," one of them remarked.</p> + +<p>"I sincerely hope that I shall not have to testify against this man at a +public trial," said Mollie anxiously.</p> + +<p>The officers saw that she was greatly distressed in view of such a +possibility, and their sympathies were with her.</p> + +<p>"Well, miss, I can't say for certain about that. I reckon you'll have to +appear and give evidence; but perhaps a private examination can be +arranged, and if the reporters don't get hold of it you'll be all right. +I'm sure I, for one, would be glad to oblige a lady who has shown more +grit than many a man would have done in such a tight place," one of the +men observed in the most respectful manner.</p> + +<p>"And I'm with you," said the other heartily.</p> + +<p>"Thank you very much," Mollie replied gratefully and with that rare +smile of hers which made every one delight to serve her.</p> + +<p>"Are you timid, Miss Heatherford?" the one who appeared to be the +superior officer inquired. "Would you like one of us to stay in the +house or about the place for the remainder of the night?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, no—thank you. I am sure that will not be necessary, for we shall +not be likely to have this experience repeated to-night. We will open +the door connecting with the servants' hall, and I shall feel perfectly safe."</p> + +<p>"Very well; then we may as well be getting our jailbird into his cage. +But, upon second thought," the man added, as he caught sight of +Nannette's shiver of terror and saw that Mollie was still very pale, "I +think when I get him aboard the patrol-wagon I will leave Brown here to +watch about until daylight; maybe it will make you a little easier in your mind."</p> + +<p>Mollie smiled gratefully into his honest face.</p> + +<p>"Thank you," she said heartily, and with a sudden sense of relief which +convinced her that she had overestimated her feeling of security; +"perhaps you are right, and I think, on the whole, we may rest better to +know that we are guarded."</p> + +<p>"Come," said the officer, turning to the burglar, who had not once +spoken, except to curse when the handcuffs were slipped upon his wrists, +"we must be moving."</p> + +<p>Then, with a respectful good-night to the two girls, the officers led +him away, and three minutes later Mollie heard the patrol-wagon drive +away and heaved a long sigh of thankfulness that the horrible experience +was over, and with no loss of valuables to her good friend, Monsieur Lamonti.</p> + +<p>Nannette, who had been watching the departure from a window, informed +her that Officer Brown had been left behind, and was slowly pacing the +sidewalk before the house.</p> + +<p>This arrangement was so reassuring to both girls that they immediately +retired with a sense of perfect security, and were soon sleeping as +soundly and restfully as if they had not been disturbed.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="chap05"></a>CHAPTER V.<br/> +<span class="smaller">THE TEMPLES APPEAR.</span></h2> + +<p>It was after eight o'clock when Mollie finally awoke again, and feeling, +somewhat to her surprise, not one whit the worse for her exciting +adventure during the small hours of the morning.</p> + +<p>After making her toilet she sought Nannette, who was dressing Lucille, +and they both agreed not to speak of what had occurred before the +servant—at any rate, until after Monsieur Lamonti's return.</p> + +<p>Lucille was better, and, after they had had their breakfast, Mollie +thought, as the day was very fine, it would do her good to go for a drive.</p> + +<p>The carriage was accordingly ordered, and the three—for Lucille never +went anywhere without her maid, except on rare occasions with her +grandfather—were soon rolling down Pennsylvania Avenue, thence to +Mollie's home to ascertain how Mr. Heatherford had passed the night, +after which the coachman was told to drive out toward Arlington Heights.</p> + +<p>They rested a while in the venerable mansion, and then started on their +homeward way. They were just passing the boundary of what was once known +as the "old Lee estate," when they met another carriage entering the beautiful grounds.</p> + +<p>This vehicle contained four persons, and they were none other than Mr. +and Mrs. William Temple, with their daughter Minnie, and Philip +Wentworth. This quartet manifested no little astonishment upon beholding +Mollie, sitting like a fair young princess in her fine equipage, and she +experienced a little secret amusement as she encountered their wondering gaze.</p> + +<p>Mr. and Mrs. Temple bowed politely, but with marked formality. Minnie +waved her hand, with a smile of pleasure, at her old friend, of whom she +had been very fond, while Philip removed his hat with elaborate +courtesy, his eyes beaming with admiration as he looked into Mollie's +fair face and realized that she was even lovelier than when he had seen +her last in Boston, a year and a half previous, and instantly all his +old-time passion for her revived.</p> + +<p>Mollie returned these greetings courteously and with the utmost +self-possession; but her eyes were very bright and the color in her +cheeks gleamed like scarlet poppies for a moment.</p> + +<p>Then the carriages passed and were parted without a word having been +spoken, although Minnie had been upon the point of bursting out in her +childish eagerness with some expression of greeting; but her mother +hushed her with a single low-spoken word.</p> + +<p>Mollie's heart burned within her with mingled scorn and indignation, in +view of this coldness, for she well remembered the days when the whole +family had been most gracious in their manner toward her—had even +fawned upon her and spared no effort to cultivate her society.</p> + +<p>She was stung anew, too, with the memory of the unpardonable outrage +perpetrated against her father during their last visit with the Temples; +while, even though she had long known that she had never loved and could +never love and would never marry him under any circumstances, Philip's +peculiar attitude toward her filled her with a secret contempt for him.</p> + +<p>"Why! how strange that we should have met Mollie Heatherford, and what +an elegant turnout that is in which she is riding!" Mrs. Temple observed +to her husband after the encounter, while she turned and peered out of +the rear window of their own carriage for another glimpse of Monsieur +Lamonti's fine victoria with its liveried coachman and footman.</p> + +<p>"It certainly is," Mr. Temple replied. "Those were magnificent horses, +and everything about the affair indicated lavish expenditure. I don't +quite understand the condition of things," he concluded reflectively.</p> + +<p>"Mollie was richly dressed, too, and looked, as she always had a way of +looking, like a queen—she has grown handsomer than ever," his wife +pursued. "Did you notice the child and its nurse who were with her?" she +went on, as if some startling thought had occurred to her. "Do you +suppose the girl has married some rich widower and is queening it here +in Washington society?"</p> + +<p>Philip gave a violent start as his mother propounded this solution to +the problem that was puzzling them all, and jealously regretting—as +fickle human nature is prone to do when another shows appreciation of a +discarded favorite—what he fondly imagined might have been his if he +had chosen to press his suit.</p> + +<p>"I have heard nothing of it if she has," said Mr. Temple, and looking +not altogether comfortable in view of finding the Heatherfords again on +an equal footing with himself. "The last I knew, Mr. Heatherford had +secured a position here with a fair salary, and they were living +comfortably, but in a very humble way compared with their former +circumstances. I will make some inquires to-morrow and ascertain, if +possible, just how they are situated."</p> + +<p>Philip did not join in the conversation, but he secretly resolved that +he would himself ascertain the truth about Mollie that very day. He +would seek her in the location to which he had always addressed his +letters, as long as he had written her, and if he failed to find her +there he would search the city over for her.</p> + +<p>Neither Mr. Temple nor his mother had known of his correspondence with +her, and the latter had flattered herself that she had been very tactful +in managing to break up certain "foolish" relations between the two that +were liable to prove very awkward.</p> + +<p>The family had been in Washington only a few days, and, although Philip +had thought of Mollie in an indifferent kind of way, he had not felt any +special interest to look her up. Now, however, the sight of her radiant +beauty, together with her cool and dignified bearing and the fear that +possibly she had dared to marry another, while he assumed to have a +claim—however indefinite—upon her, fired anew his old-time love for +her and aroused a fierce jealousy within him.</p> + +<p>Accordingly, after he had lunched, he immediately set forth upon his +quest for her, going directly to the address where his letters had been sent.</p> + +<p>Eliza, of course, answered his ring, but informed him that her young +mistress was not at home—that, however, she would probably return that +evening. He then inquired for Mr. Heatherford, and was told, with a +non-committal air, that he was "comfortable."</p> + +<p>"Has he been ill?" questioned Philip, with some surprise.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sah; Marsa Heatherford have been very ill." Eliza quietly +returned, but without volunteering any information regarding the nature +of that gentleman's malady, while she eyed Philip curiously, not +half-liking his looks nor his arrogant bearing.</p> + +<p>The young man, however, went away, smoothing his ruffled plumage with no +little satisfaction. Mollie was not married; probably, he assumed, she +was simply a day governess in some wealthy family, and that would +account for her being out for a drive with the child and its nurse in +the elegant carriage he had seen that morning.</p> + +<p>He returned to his hotel quite elated and promising himself that he +would resume his old relations—to a certain extent—with Mollie, and +thus help to pass some otherwise dull hours during his sojourn in the city.</p> + +<p>In spite of the secrecy which Mollie had desired to preserve regarding +her exciting adventure of the previous night, the evening papers +contained a thrilling account of a bold attempt at robbery, and how it +had been thwarted by the remarkable heroism of a young lady, who had +held the would-be burglar paralyzed at the muzzle of a revolver until +the police were summoned to her aid and captured the criminal.</p> + +<p>The name of the gentleman whose residence had been entered was given; +but Mollie's name was considerately withheld. She was simply designated +as Monsieur Lamonti's private secretary, who had been spending a couple +of days in the house as chaperon for the gentleman's little +granddaughter during his absence on a business trip to New York.</p> + +<p>Monsieur Lamonti returned, as he had planned, that same evening, and was +greatly exercised in view of what had occurred.</p> + +<p>"Mademoiselle has shown herself very brave," he said, after having +freely discussed the matter and regarding her admiringly, "but I tremble +when I think of the danger that threatened her. And there was much of +value in the safe, too—a large sum of money, besides many valuable +jewels. Ah! but you have been my good angel many times, mademoiselle," +he concluded in a grateful tone.</p> + +<p>He opened the safe and showed her the jewels, and, though she had seen +many costly articles of jewelry, she was almost dazzled by the beauty +and value of the collection before her.</p> + +<p>"We will not keep them here any longer," said Monsieur Lamonti, as he +returned them to their places. "I could not bear to send them away +because my dear ones had worn them," he added with a regretful sigh, +"but no one must ever be subjected again to such peril as threatened you last night."</p> + +<p>And the following morning he deposited his treasure in a safety-vault, +where no burglar would attempt to seek them.</p> + +<p>Shortly after Monsieur Lamonti's arrival Mollie was sent home in his +carriage, that gentleman slipping into her hands a box containing a +dozen pairs of elegant kid gloves, as she left.</p> + +<p>"It is nothing," he said with a deprecatory shrug in reply to her +thanks; "it was only to give myself the pleasure of buying something for some one."</p> + +<p>Eliza welcomed her young mistress with a beaming face when she appeared, +and she found that her father had received excellent care during her +absence; but she had not been in the house half an hour, when Philip +Wentworth again made his appearance.</p> + +<p>Mollie received him courteously, though somewhat coldly; but he ignored +her lack of cordiality, and, catching both her hands in his, fervently exclaimed:</p> + +<p>"At last! Mollie, we meet again! It has seemed an age since I saw you in +Boston. Did your servant tell you of my call directly after lunch?"</p> + +<p>"Yes; Eliza gave me your card on my return. I have been away spending a +couple of days with some friends," Mollie quietly explained, as she +released her hands and indicated a chair for him, then seated herself +upon a small sofa near him.</p> + +<p>"Perhaps you will think me very persistent and impatient to make two +calls in one day," Philip observed apologetically, and feeling a trifle +disconcerted by the girl's perfect composure; "but I have been wild to +learn why you ceased writing to me so suddenly—I have not heard from +you for the longest while!"</p> + +<p>Mollie lifted a look of surprise to him.</p> + +<p>"I think you have transposed the situation," she said, a faint smile +curving her lips. "I have answered every letter that I have received from you."</p> + +<p>"Ah! then I have wronged you; forgive me! And my last letter must have +miscarried, for when I did not hear from you I began to wonder if it +could have contained anything to offend you," Philip returned, but he +flushed beneath the clear, searching eyes looking steadily into his, as +he uttered the lie. Then unceremoniously waiving the uncomfortable +topic, he added with animation:</p> + +<p>"But tell me something about yourself now, Mollie. I do not need to ask +if you are well; for your blooming appearance speaks for itself; but how +is your father, and what have you been doing to amuse yourself during +all these long months?"</p> + +<p>Again that faint smile wreathed Mollie's lips, and there was a suspicion +of irony in it, for his question was suggestive of the tenor of his own +way of passing his time.</p> + +<p>"'To amuse myself'," she repeated in a peculiar tone. "I really have had +very little time to devote to amusement of any kind during the last year +and a half. For the first few months I was busy keeping house for papa, +for we were trying to be economical and kept no servant. Then he was taken ill."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I remember you wrote me at one time that he was ill," Philip +interposed, "but I supposed that he had recovered long ago."</p> + +<p>"My father is a hopeless invalid—the physicians tell me that he will +never be any better," said Mollie sadly.</p> + +<p>"Can that be possible?" queried her companion, and trying to throw a +proper amount of sympathy into his tone, but secretly wondering how they +managed to keep the wolf from the door.</p> + +<p>"Of course, when his health gave out he lost his situation, and his +income stopped," Mollie gravely resumed, "and I was obliged to seek some +employment. I have a position as private secretary to Monsieur Lamonti, +a French gentleman of some prominence here in Washington—possibly you +may have heard of him."</p> + +<p>"Ah! yes, I have," said Philip with elevated eyebrows, for the wealthy +Frenchman had been pointed out to him, and now he understood how Mollie +had happened to be riding in that elegant turnout that morning. Then he +added: "I am sorry to learn that Mr. Heatherford's case is so serious."</p> + +<p>"Yes; papa has failed sadly; he seldom recognizes even me, now, while +his hands have become so useless that he has to be fed like a child," +Mollie returned with starting tears.</p> + +<p>"That must make it very hard for you, dear," Philip responded with a +tender inflection; "you must find it very irksome, reared as you have +been, to confine yourself to a position and the care of an invalid."</p> + +<p>"I do not," she returned brightly, though she straightened herself a +trifle and flushed at his term of endearment. "I thoroughly enjoy my +position, and if papa could only be well once more, I should feel +perfectly happy with my work and the consciousness that I am really of +some practical use in the world."</p> + +<p>She looked so proud and animated and bore herself with such an air of +dignity and self-reliance that the young man told himself she was a +hundredfold more lovely and attractive than she had ever been.</p> + +<p>But, at the same time, there was an unmistakable atmosphere about her +that held him at arm's length and made him feel as if she had drifted so +far apart from him as to have put him entirely out of her life.</p> + +<p>The very thought enraged him, and an insatiate desire to conquer these +conditions and make himself necessary to her happiness took possession +of him. He flushed hotly as he suddenly bent nearer to her.</p> + +<p>"Mollie, I cannot bear to know that you are working for wages," he said passionately.</p> + +<p>Mollie laughed out musically, although she drew herself away from him +with an unmistakable chill in her manner.</p> + +<p>"Pray, do not be disturbed," she said lightly, "for I assure you that I +enjoy my 'wages,' as you term them, immensely."</p> + +<p>"But the humiliation of it," he persisted hotly; "to think of it!—you, +who are fit to queen it anywhere, becoming the servant of any one!"</p> + +<p>"I have no sense of humiliation, Philip. I frankly protest that I never +in my life experienced a more comforting sense of self-respect than at +the present time," Mollie spiritedly rejoined, and with a warning +sparkle in her eyes.</p> + +<p>"But there is no need of it," he insisted.</p> + +<p>"There is every need," she briefly, but gravely, replied.</p> + +<p>"No, no, Mollie; surely you have not forgotten the old days," he broke +forth vehemently; "you cannot have forgotten the question which I asked +you a year and a half ago, and which you have never answered. Need I +tell you that I still love you with all my heart?—that I yearn for you, +in spite of the little misunderstanding and interruption to our +correspondence? Mollie, dearest, give up this position; let me provide +for you hereafter—let me stand between you and the necessity for toil; +give yourself to me—you shall have every wish gratified, and I will +become your protector and—your slave."</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="chap06"></a>CHAPTER VI.<br/> +<span class="smaller">A STARTLING PROPOSAL.</span></h2> + +<p>Mollie grew first red, then white, at this unexpected renewal of +Philip's suit. At the same time, she was conscious that it did not ring +quite true, in spite of his passionate avowal of love and eagerness of +manner; there was an indefinable undercurrent of reservation—a lack of +sincerity in it that impressed her unpleasantly.</p> + +<p>For one thing, she felt that if he had been a true lover, he never would +have allowed their correspondence to cease, simply because a single +letter had gone astray; he would never have been content to let a year +and a half pass without making an attempt to see her and learn how she +was living and how her father was prospering, after having been robbed +of his last dollar by the treachery of his pretended friend.</p> + +<p>She began to recover from her confusion almost immediately, however, and +lifting her eyes, earnestly searched her companion's face. Somehow, it +had never appeared so unattractive to her before; it was weak and showed +in the lowering brow, in the habitual expression of discontent, in the +sensuous mouth and irresolute chin, a lack of that true nobility and +strength of character which she knew she must find in the man whom she +married, and even while she looked his eyes wavered and fell before +her, while he shifted uneasily upon his chair.</p> + +<p>"Mollie, why do you not answer me?" he demanded, to cover his +embarrassment, and bending toward her tried to capture one of the small, +perfect hands which lay on her lap. "It cannot be possible that you have +forgotten the past or lost all the old love for me. Ah! come to me, +dearest, let me take care of you, and you never need toil another day; +you shall have every luxury which money can buy."</p> + +<p>"Phil," Mollie began gently, for she did not wish to wound him, even +though not one chord of her heart thrilled responsive to his ardent +appeal, while at the same time she quietly, but resolutely, released her +hand from his grasp, "I certainly have not forgotten the old days nor +the many good times which we enjoyed during our childhood. But when you +speak of 'the old love,' that is another thing, and I know now that I +never loved you; that is, in the way which you speak of now. When you +asked me before, I told you I was not prepared to say just what my +feelings toward you were, as you will remember. I felt very friendly, as +I said then, 'I liked you right well,' and, as you seemed to be so fond +of me and so anxious that our boy-and-girl play should become a reality, +I thought I would wait a little, and, perchance, as I came to like you +better, the 'like' might grow into love. I could have told you this some +time ago if you had renewed the subject, but you never did; your letters +ceased coming and I supposed you had thought better of the matter and +changed your mind. No, Phil, I do not love you as a woman should love +the man she expects to marry; so let us drop the subject here and now +and agree to be simply good friends for the future."</p> + +<p>But her refusal aroused all Philip's antagonism. He was one who could +never bear to be balked in anything, and her statement that she knew +'now' that she did not love him stirred him to fiercest jealousy. What +had led her to such a conclusion? he asked himself. Perhaps she had met +some one else who had awakened the affection which he so coveted, and +this possible solution of the problem made him furious.</p> + +<p>For the moment he forgot her poverty; forgot that he had vowed he would +never marry any girl who did not possess an ample fortune. He only +remembered that he loved her—had always loved her, and rich or poor he +was determined to carry his point, if by any possible means he could +achieve it, even though he should rudely trample upon her heart after he had won it.</p> + +<p>"Mollie!" he cried appealingly, "you do not mean it—you cannot be so +cruel as to blight all my hopes, after so many years of devotion to you. +You know that I have loved you ever since we were children; you know +that I have always expected that you would give yourself to me, and do +you think that I can easily surrender you now?"</p> + +<p>Mollie wondered what made her shrink involuntarily every time he +mentioned his love for her. There was something that grated harshly upon +her in his every tone, and she experienced a singular distrust of him.</p> + +<p>"I am truly sorry, Phil, if you have really been cherishing this hope +for so long," she returned after a moment of thoughtful silence, "for, +to be perfectly frank with you, I have believed everything to be at an +end between us ever since I left Boston. I am very quick to feel any +change in my friends, and I was sure, when the financial crash came to +my father, that a union between you and me would be regarded as a great +misfortune for you. I inferred this both from your own manner and your +mother's when you made your farewell call upon me at the Adams House. I +also observed it in the tone of your letters afterward, and when they +finally ceased altogether, as I have already said, I regarded the matter +as finally settled, as far as you were concerned, and, as I had arrived +at a knowledge of my own attitude toward you, I was perfectly content. +You perceive that I am very plain with you, and now let me add, Phil, +that you will yet make the discovery that some other woman will make you +happier than I ever could have done."</p> + +<p>"I shall not!" Philip retorted vehemently. "I love you, and you alone. +Mollie, you shall not send me away like this—I cannot bear it. Give me +at least a little more time in which to try to make you love me; do not +throw me over utterly, for you will ruin my life if you do."</p> + +<p>And he began to believe what he was saying. The more he realized that +she was dropping out of his life altogether, the more he coveted her +love. In the rashness of the moment, in the heat of his anger at being +opposed in his purpose, he might even have gone to the length of +marrying her on the spot, if the conditions had been propitious.</p> + +<p>"No, I can give you no more 'time,' Phil, for the matter is irrevocably +settled, as far as I am concerned," Mollie responded kindly, but firmly, +"and I should only be doing you a great wrong if I should encourage you +to believe otherwise. Now, please let us dismiss the subject, once for +all, and agree to be only the best of friends in the future."</p> + +<p>"Mollie, I won't!" Philip exclaimed with mingled anger and wounded +pride. "There must be some reason for this unaccountable change in +you—more than appears on the surface. Perhaps you have met some one +else whom you have learned to love—tell me, is it so?"</p> + +<p>Two scarlet spots leaped into Mollie's cheeks at this excited and +imperative demand. They were called there by a shock of mingled +indignation and conscious guilt. She felt that, even though Phil had +been a lifelong friend, he had no right to try to extort the secrets of +her heart in any such high-handed manner.</p> + +<p>Yet, at the same instant, when he had accused her of loving another, +Clifford Faxon's face, with its expression of high resolve and noble +purposes, its clear, honest eyes, its frank and genial smile, arose +before her, causing a sudden, conscious heart-thrill, which also brought +with it a sense of dismay.</p> + +<p>Could it be possible, came the simultaneous thought, that she had +bestowed her affections upon a man whom she did not know—with whom she +had never exchanged half a dozen sentences—who had flashed like a +meteor, once or twice, across her path and was gone, perhaps never to appear again?</p> + +<p>Ah! but it was true, nevertheless. Soul meets soul in the flash of an +eye, through the tones of the voice, and the touch of a hand, and, like +a revelation, there came to her the consciousness of the fact that when +she had stood before Clifford Faxon, more than six years previous, she +had recognized in him—even though he had spoken no word in response to +her impulsive outburst of gratitude—a nature the counterpart and, +therefore, the companion of her own, and with this unveiling of the holy +of holies within her soul came the realization that no other would +satisfy the cravings of her heart.</p> + +<p>At the same time, she was under no obligation to make Philip Wentworth +her father confessor, and she resented his imperative demand that she do +so. She drew herself up with quiet dignity as she coldly replied:</p> + +<p>"Excuse me, Phil, but I think you are overstepping the bounds of both +courtesy and friendship in asking me such questions."</p> + +<p>Philip sprang to his feet, his face a sheet of flame.</p> + +<p>"You do not deny it," he cried angrily.</p> + +<p>"I neither admit nor deny," said Mollie, as she also arose and stood +before him with a regal air. "I simply say that you have—as indeed no +one else has—the right to question me in the way you have done. +Whatever concerns you personally, you, of course, have a right to know +about. I have answered you frankly and as kindly as I knew how, and that +must settle it. Now"—her manner suddenly changing to her old-time +graciousness, and holding out her hand, with a charming smile—"shall we +drop it and still be the best of friends?"</p> + +<p>He regarded her in silence for a moment. She was inexpressibly lovely, +and would have disarmed a savage; but his pride was wounded, and his +heart was filled with rage at the thought of being balked in his +determination to subjugate her to his will.</p> + +<p>"No!" he said shortly, "there is no meaning for me in the word 'friend' +where you are concerned."</p> + +<p>He turned abruptly from her as he ceased and walked from the room and +the house, taking no pains to close the door after him.</p> + +<p>Mollie stood where he had left her for a full minute, a grave expression +on her fair face. Then she drew a long, deep breath, and her lips curled with contempt:</p> + +<p>"He could not stand the test—he is not worthy to be my friend, even," +she murmured; "he is selfish to the core, for, since he cannot have just +what he wants, he repudiates all, turns and cruelly wounds the one he +has pretended to love. It is himself he loves—not me; and I am glad +that everything is finally settled between us. Still, I am sadly +disappointed in my old-time friend."</p> + +<p>She sighed regretfully as she thought of the failure he was making of +life, for he had had every advantage, and had he appreciated and +improved his opportunities a brilliant career might have been his, while +now he was only an idle seeker after pleasure.</p> + +<p>Then, in striking contrast to this pampered young man of fortune, there +arose before her the sunburned, bareheaded, coarsely clad lad to whom +she owed her life, and who, by his own efforts, had overcome every +obstacle and distanced Philip Wentworth at college.</p> + +<p>Clifford Faxon might never rise socially to the position that was +accorded Philip in the fashionable world—he might never acquire great +wealth, but she felt that he had already attained that which was far +more grand and desirable than fame or fortune—a noble manhood and the +pursuit of some worthy object in life. In the midst of these reflections +Mollie blushed rosy red.</p> + +<p>"Why do I allow my thoughts to dwell upon him?" she exclaimed, with a +shrug of her shoulders and a pretty assumption of impatience; "he is the +same as a stranger to me, and I may never see him again. How foolish I am!"</p> + +<p>Nevertheless, Clifford Faxon's strong, handsome face haunted her +continually, and even in her dreams that night she saw a shapely hand +outstretched to her; in its palm there lay a heart pierced with an +arrow, its feather the shade of her own bright hair, and on the hand +there gleamed a well-remembered cameo ring.</p> + +<p>The following morning brought another trial to Mollie, and one which she +had never dreamed of being subjected to. When she entered Monsieur +Lamonti's office at the usual hour, she found him already there, but +looking unusually grave and preoccupied. She bade him a cheerful "bon +jour," to which he courteously but, to her sensitive ear, rather coldly responded.</p> + +<p>"Yes," he briefly replied, "Lucille is well."</p> + +<p>Mollie began to wonder if anything had gone wrong in connection with his +business; or if, by any possibility she had made a mistake that required +a reproof, which he might be very loath to administer; or perhaps he +might not be feeling well, and did not realize how constrained his manner was.</p> + +<p>However, she slipped quietly into the chair before her desk and began +her work, but with a strange feeling of sadness and embarrassment +oppressing her. She wrote steadily for more than an hour, during which +time not a word was spoken by either occupant of the room.</p> + +<p>Then, all at once, Monsieur Lamonti laid down his pen and, wheeling +around in his chair, faced her.</p> + +<p>"Will mademoiselle be kind enough to give me her attention for a few +moments?" he gravely questioned. "I have something of importance to +communicate to her."</p> + +<p>Mollie grew suddenly pale with apprehension. Oh! could it be possible +that Monsieur Lamonti was contemplating some change that would deprive +her of her position? Maybe he was on the point of returning to France, +or had been assigned to some other station in the United States to +continue his public duties. What could she do—where turn for employment +in such an emergency?</p> + +<p>"Certainly, monsieur," she managed to falter, as she mechanically placed +a paper-weight upon the sheet before her; then tried to smile bravely as +she turned her colorless face to him to await her sentence, whatever it +might be.</p> + +<p>The man started violently as he bent his searching glance upon her.</p> + +<p>"Ah mademoiselle, you are surely ill!" he exclaimed in a voice of alarm. +"Pardon me that I have not before observed the fact. Why—why have you +come to work if you are not well?"</p> + +<p>Something in his look and tone brought the truant color back to her face +in a crimson flood.</p> + +<p>"Thank you, monsieur, but I am perfectly well."</p> + +<p>Then, with a smile and her habitual frankness, she explained:</p> + +<p>"I am only in suspense since, from monsieur's manner, I have inferred +that something is wrong; that perhaps you may have disagreeable tidings for me."</p> + +<p>It was now the gentleman's turn to change color and to look disturbed. +Then he broke forth with characteristic impetuosity:</p> + +<p>"Pardon—a thousand pardons, mademoiselle, if I have caused you one +moment of anxiety or suffering! Yes, I have been thoughtless—I have +been distrait, but not because I have any ill news to impart; but +because I had decided to ask mademoiselle an important question this +morning. Mademoiselle Heatherford, will you do me the honor—the supreme +happiness—to become my wife?"</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="chap07"></a>CHAPTER VII.<br/> +<span class="smaller">A CRITICAL SITUATION.</span></h2> + +<p>Mollie was stunned by this wholly unexpected contretemps, and she lifted +to Monsieur Lamonti a face expressive of the blankest astonishment.</p> + +<p>"Ah! I have taken mademoiselle entirely by surprise! I see—I +understand!" he said, apologetically, though a faint smile flitted +across his lips. "Pray forgive me, mon ami; but let me explain, and then +I am sure you will not wonder so much. You have seen that I am a very +lonely man, without kith or kin. I have nothing in life to comfort me or +to throw one ray of sunshine along my path but the little Lucille. This +has been so for years, but since mademoiselle came to me I have known +more of enjoyment, I have had more pleasure in her society than I have +experienced since I lost my dear children—Lucille's father and mother. +Mademoiselle is beautiful, accomplished; she was reared for something +far better than to work out a weary life at a desk. She has earned my +profoundest respect, my gratitude and admiration by her many rare +qualities of heart and mind, her amiable and sunny temperament and her +faithfulness in my service.</p> + +<p>"My home is very lonely, mademoiselle; my little Lucille needs the +tender care, the gentle restraining hand, and the cultivated presence of +something better than a nursemaid or governess; she requires some one +who would exercise the wise guidance and authority of a mother, and she +has become very fond of you, mon ami. I do not ask—I do not expect +mademoiselle to bestow upon me the affection which she might perhaps +accord to a younger man; and yet——" he faltered slightly and flushed; +"such regard would make me supremely happy, for I have grown to love her +most tenderly. Mademoiselle is leading a life of toil—she has +perplexing home cares and sorrows, but these can all be mitigated to a +great extent; for her father shall become my care also, and her future +shall not have a single cloud to mar it, if it is in the power of man +and money to prevent it. Mademoiselle, will you honor me by accepting my +hand, my heart and my fortune?—become the mistress of my home, and take +your rightful position in society, where you are so well fitted to shine.</p> + +<p>"If——" he added, after a moment of awkward silence, for Mollie was +still too astonished and overcome to utter a word; "if I have been too +abrupt, mon ami, and you do not feel prepared to answer me at present, +pray take time—as long as you wish—to consider the matter, and I will +patiently await your decision."</p> + +<p>Mollie was not only astonished, she was also deeply touched by this +unlooked-for proposal, which seemed to her a most pathetic appeal from +this distinguished gentleman, whose history had been so sad and whose +life had been so lonely. She knew that there was very little in it, even +now, to make it enjoyable, notwithstanding his great wealth and the +enviable position that he occupied.</p> + +<p>Of course, he loved his little granddaughter with all his heart; indeed, +his every hope hitherto had been centered upon her; but she could +readily understand that it would be utterly impossible for a child like +Lucille to satisfy the requirements of a nature like that of Monsieur Lamonti.</p> + +<p>He was cultured and intellectual, and, naturally, he desired congenial +companionship. In his magnificent home there was not one with whom he +could converse upon terms of equality, either mentally or socially, or +who could sympathize with him in any of the affairs or interests of his life.</p> + +<p>He had been into society but little during his residence in Washington, +for, as he had told her, he had no heart for the gaieties of the world, +since he was doomed to go alone wherever he was invited, while, too, +with no mistress at the head of his own establishment he could not +entertain in return for such courtesies.</p> + +<p>Surely, Mollie told herself, it was a desolate existence for one like +him to lead, for he was a polished gentleman, of high attainments, +brilliant in conversation, and well calculated to shine among the many +noted and distinguished people in the nation's capital. But, in spite of +her genuine respect and admiration, together with her deepest sympathy; +in spite of his wealth and position and the tempting future which he had +offered her, she could not become his wife.</p> + +<p>Mollie was too true, too conscientious a woman to marry any man whom +she could not love with all her heart, even though she would have +enjoyed the luxuries to which, nearly all of her life, she had been +accustomed, and with which she would have so liked to surround her +father; while she did sometimes yearn in secret for the old-time +gaieties and society from which she now seemed to be entirely shut out.</p> + +<p>All these things had flashed through her brain while Monsieur Lamonti +was talking, but never for an instant did she waver from what she knew +was right and just to herself and to him. As he concluded she lifted her +grave, sweet eyes to his face.</p> + +<p>"Monsieur Lamonti," she began, and her voice was husky from repressed +feeling; "you have indeed surprised me beyond measure, for I certainly +never dreamed that you entertained for me the feelings you have +expressed—although I have congratulated myself that I possessed your +esteem and friendly interest. It grieves me that I am obliged to +disappoint you; but, monsieur, I must be true to myself and to you. I +could not become the wife of any man unless I had first given him the +deepest affection of my heart. While I have, during our relations as +employer and employee, learned to regard you as a true friend—my best +and almost my only one, I may say, since nearly all who knew me in more +prosperous days have deserted me—still, such a regard would satisfy +neither you nor me if we should assume closer ties. Believe me, dear +Monsieur Lamonti, I feel greatly honored by your preference, and am also +deeply grateful to you for your many kindnesses to both my father and +myself. Forgive me if there has ever been the slightest indication in +my manner to encourage you to infer——"</p> + +<p>"There has not, mademoiselle, I assure you," Monsieur Lamonti +interposed, as she flushed and faltered; "there has been nothing in your +manner at any time to show me that you regarded me other than as a +friend. It was alone my affection for you—my intense yearning for the +presence of a charming woman in my home, to be a companion to and in +sympathy with me and to help me to rear Lucille, which emboldened me to +ask you to be my wife. Ah! mademoiselle, you do not know the grief, the +sorrow I feel! If you would but reconsider—take time to try to—to grow +fond of me; if I could but have a little hope," he concluded in a voice +so eager, yet, withal, so sad and tremulous that tears sprang +involuntarily to Mollie's eyes.</p> + +<p>"Monsieur, it would not be right; I—I could not bid you hope; my answer +must be final," she almost sobbed, for his pathetic appeal had very +nearly unnerved her. Monsieur Lamonti was very pale; but after a moment +of silence he pulled himself together bravely.</p> + +<p>"Pardon—pardon, mademoiselle; the sorrow—the annoyance I have +occasioned you," he said, with grave courtesy. "I bow to the inevitable; +you have been most kind, and we will regard the matter as if it had +never been. But, mon ami," and now he turned to her with his old kindly +smile, "leaving all that forever, may I now presume to ask a great favor of you?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly, monsieur; you must know that anything in my power I would +gladly do for you," Mollie cordially, even eagerly, returned.</p> + +<p>"Many thanks; but perhaps I am a trifle premature. I should first have +told you what I desire before asking your promise. However, you are free +to refuse if you find the matter not one to your taste. I have told you +that I have no kith or kin—that aside from Lucille, I am absolutely +alone in the world. You can readily perceive that, should anything +happen to—to remove me, the child would be left without a +protector—without a soul to feel the slightest interest in her. Now, +mademoiselle, the favor I wish to crave is a great one—will you, in the +event of which I have spoken, assume the guardianship of my little girl?"</p> + +<p>Mollie's breath was almost taken away again, and she regarded her +companion in grave wonderment.</p> + +<p>"I, monsieur! Could you trust me with so sacred a charge?" she +questioned in a voice of awe. "I am very young; I have never had any +experience with children, and it seems a grave responsibility!"</p> + +<p>"Mademoiselle, I could trust you with—ah! have I not asked you to care +for the greatest treasure the world holds for me, and could I manifest +greater confidence in you?" responded Monsieur Lamonti, while he +regarded the girl with a look that betrayed far more than his words.</p> + +<p>"I have seen," he went on, "that you are fond of Lucille—she adores +you. You have been carefully reared; you are a gentlewoman in every +sense of the word, and if my little one could become like you—could be +shielded in the future by your love and guidance, and grow up pure and +good and noble, I could ask nothing better for her on earth. You +understand, mademoiselle, this arrangement is to be contingent only upon +my demise, and I may live many years yet. I simply wish to make sure +that she will not be left to the care and cupidity of strangers, and +there will be ample remuneration for you, to enable you to live even +more comfortably than at present. Also I should leave all financial +matters so compactly arranged that you would have very little care in +the management of them. I would not like to burden you in any way except +to make sure that Lucille will be wisely and kindly nurtured. May I +depend upon you, mon ami?"</p> + +<p>Mollie did not reply immediately. To grant Monsieur Lamonti's request +seemed like assuming a very grave responsibility, and she was wondering +within herself if she dare attempt it.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I love dear little Lucille, and I believe she loves me," she +finally murmured, more to herself than in reply to her companion. "I am +sure it would be a pleasure to me to have the child with me; she would +be like a young sister, and to guard and watch her development would be +a very interesting and a great delight—if I were sure that I am equal +to the task——"</p> + +<p>"But the trust must be confided to some one," Monsieur Lamonti here +interposed, "and will mademoiselle kindly allow me to be the judge of +what is best for my darling?"</p> + +<p>Mollie was deeply touched by this evidence of his confidence in her, and +she felt that he was paying her the highest tribute which it was +possible for one human being to confer upon another. She looked up at +him with a tremulous smile and eyes full of tears.</p> + +<p>"Yes," she said, with evident emotion, "and I solemnly assure you that I +will do the very best that I am capable of, for her."</p> + +<p>"Mademoiselle does not need to promise me that; it is her nature to do +her best under all circumstances," replied the gentleman heartily, "and +she has my everlasting gratitude."</p> + +<p>"Thank you, my friend, for your kindly praise, and believe me, I +sincerely appreciate the trust you repose in me; let us hope that for +many years you two may be spared to each other—until, perhaps, Lucille +will be old enough and wise enough to choose a protector for life, and +you will give her away with your blessing."</p> + +<p>Monsieur Lamonti smiled in sympathy with her mood, then reaching out his +hand he clasped hers as if to ratify the compact they had made and observed.</p> + +<p>"Thank you, mademoiselle; you always comfort and cheer me. May the good +God bless you."</p> + +<p>Both resumed their work, and nothing save business was mentioned during +the remainder of the morning, while Monsieur Lamonti's manner was the +same as usual, courteous and kind, and without a vestige of +disappointment or chagrin to betray how sorely he had been smitten by +Mollie's rejection of his suit.</p> + +<p>After partaking of her lunch that afternoon Mollie could not seem to +settle down to either reading or work. Her thoughts were full of the +events of the morning, and the grave responsibility she had assumed, and +she finally became so nervous that she resumed her street costume and +started out again to visit the Corcoran Art Gallery, hoping to forget her anxiety.</p> + +<p>It was between three and four when she reached the gallery, and she soon +became so absorbed in the treasures of art all about her, she did not +observe the flight of time, especially as the various rooms were +artificially lighted, until notice was given that it was time to close the building.</p> + +<p>As she stepped out upon the street she was surprised to find how dark it +had grown. Heavy clouds had covered the sky, a fine mist was falling, +and the short winter's day, dawning to its close, seemed exceedingly +gloomy and depressing.</p> + +<p>Drawing her coat-collar up about her throat and face, for the air was +keen, she hurried on her way toward home, deciding that walking would be +preferable to standing upon a corner to wait for a trolley in the rain.</p> + +<p>When she finally turned off the avenue into a side street, where the +residences were some distance apart, and which was not particularly well +lighted, she suddenly become conscious some one was following her.</p> + +<p>With a heart-throb of fear, she quickened her steps. The figure behind +her did the same. Then she walked more slowly in order to allow the man +to pass her. In another moment he was beside her, when, with all her +pulses throbbing like trip-hammers, she realized that he was intoxicated.</p> + +<p>"Fine evening, miss," he remarked in a voice which, although rather +thick and unsteady, seemed strangely familiar.</p> + +<p>Her assailant was quite tall, but it was too dark to see his figure +distinctly, while a slouch-hat was drawn so far down over his face that +his features were almost entirely concealed. But Mollie was too +frightened to observe him closely, and vouchsafing no reply to his +remark, quickened her steps again.</p> + +<p>The man reached out his hand and laid hold upon her arm, exclaiming:</p> + +<p>"Hold on, now—hic—my pretty one. I'sn't—ah—dignified to run. Just +le' me—hic—see you home; then I'll take a—hic—kiss and we'll call +it—hic—square."</p> + +<p>Mollie stopped short, her ears actually ringing from the rapid beating +of her heart, while her blood was boiling with mingled disgust and +indignation. She swept his hand from her arm with a force that made him +stagger. But he was too quick for her, and clutched it again instantly.</p> + +<p>"Don't dare to touch me! Do not presume to detain me!" she cried authoritatively.</p> + +<p>But his fingers only closed more roughly over her wrist.</p> + +<p>"Come, come, pretty one, don't be—hic—offish; or If you're in +such—hic—a deuced hurry I'll take the—hic—kiss now and let +you—hic—go."</p> + +<p>He drew her toward him as if to put his threat into execution, but +before Mollie's frightened cry for help had barely escaped her lips, the +hand was stricken from her arm and her assailant lay sprawling upon the +ground at her feet, while she turned with a long breath of relief to +find another stalwart figure close beside her.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="chap08"></a>CHAPTER VIII.<br/> +<span class="smaller">CLIFFORD MEETS HIS IDOL.</span></h2> + +<p>The night was so dark, the mist so heavy and the street so illy lighted +that Mollie could not clearly see either of her companions; but as she +turned to the stranger who had appeared upon the scene so opportunely, a +feeling of perfect confidence took possession of her, for his dignified +and self-assured bearing inspired her with a sense of absolute security.</p> + +<p>"Oh, thank you! thank you!" she breathed gratefully though tremulously, +as she involuntarily drew nearer to him.</p> + +<p>"I am very glad that I happened to be near," the gentleman replied in a +rich, deep but pleasantly modulated voice. "I was just passing out of a +gate opposite when I heard you call. The wretch was very bold to assail +you on the street at this hour of the evening! Is he intoxicated?"</p> + +<p>"I think so," said Mollie, and speaking more calmly now, for she was +fast recovering her self-possession, "and I am very thankful to you for +your timely assistance, I——"</p> + +<p>A groan from the prostrate man interrupted her at this point, and both +she and her companion turned at the sound.</p> + +<p>"Well, sir, what is it?" curtly demanded the stranger, as he bent over +him and tried to get a view of his face.</p> + +<p>"You've given me a nasty blow, whoever you are; curse you!" he growled, +as he made an effort to regain his feet.</p> + +<p>But he seemed to find it a difficult achievement, and the stranger +grasped him by the arm and assisted him to rise.</p> + +<p>"There you are," he said, "now can you walk?"</p> + +<p>Again his victim groaned as he attempted to take a step or two, and +almost fell a second time.</p> + +<p>"Well you are a trifle the worse for your fall, that is a fact," his +companion observed. "I will help you to the corner, where you can get +either a carriage or a car to take you home; and, now, if you will +accept a bit of friendly advice, I will suggest that you keep your brain +clearer in the future, when perhaps you will not be tempted to assault +unprotected women in the street and get yourself into trouble again."</p> + +<p>Mollie's recent assailant wrenched his arm from the other's grasp with +another oath, and, bending forward, tried to peer into the face before +him. His fall evidently had not disabled him so seriously as he had at +first feared, while the shock had served to sober him somewhat.</p> + +<p>"Look here!" he exclaimed in a supercilious tone; "I've a notion that I +know who you are, and this isn't the first time, either, that you have +interfered with me in what was none of your business. I know you, Faxon, +and I swear I'll make you sweat for this!"</p> + +<p>Clifford Faxon—for it was he—now bent forward and peered into the +face of the speaker, even though he had already recognized the speaker.</p> + +<p>"Great heavens!" he exclaimed in a voice resonant with mingled disgust +and indignation, "have you descended so low as this, Wentworth?"</p> + +<p>A startled cry broke from Mollie at this point, and she swept close to +the young man's side.</p> + +<p>"Philip Wentworth!" she gasped, and now she knew why his voice had +sounded familiar to her, although, having been under the influence of +liquor, his utterance had been very indistinct, while fear had so +changed hers that, in his drunken condition, he had failed to recognize +it. But as she now spoke his name a terrible shock went through him, +sobering him completely.</p> + +<p>"Mollie! Good God!" he cried in a tone of mingled mortification and +dismay, while Clifford's heart leaped with joy as he caught the name. +The fair girl haughtily drew herself erect and away from him.</p> + +<p>"Let this be the last time, Mr. Wentworth, that you ever address me so +familiarly; indeed, from this moment we are strangers."</p> + +<p>"By all that is sacred, Mollie, I never dreamed that it was you."</p> + +<p>Philip faltered with abject humility. "I swear——"</p> + +<p>"Silence!" she commanded imperatively. "Never presume to call me +'Mollie' again. Of course I understand that you did not know me—neither +did I recognize you under existing conditions. But you did know that you +were insulting a woman, and the fact that you had no more respect for my +sex, whoever the individual might be, I regard as direct an outrage as +if you had known me."</p> + +<p>"Come, now," said Philip appealingly, and his voice was husky with shame +and grief, "you are downright hard on a fellow. I was not quite myself, +I am bound to confess, and so not responsible——"</p> + +<p>"Not responsible!" repeated Mollie with grave reproof. "Yes, you are +responsible; for you have no moral right to put yourself in a condition +that renders it unsafe for people to come in contact with you upon the +street, or elsewhere.</p> + +<p>"Let me say one word more," she added more gently, yet not less +impressively, "for your mother's and sister's sake and for your own +good, I beg that you will forsake your cups and the aimless life you are +leading and try to live to some purpose in the future."</p> + +<p>She stepped aside to allow him to pass, whereupon Clifford Faxon +considerately inquired:</p> + +<p>"Shall I lend you an arm to the corner, Wentworth?"</p> + +<p>"No!—you!" was the passionate response, as Philip angrily struck aside +the proffered support, almost beside himself with mingled shame and +rage, "and, let me repeat, that I will yet make you sorry for this +night's work." He turned his back upon them both and strode away +limping, but not nearly so badly crippled as his companions had feared he might be.</p> + +<p>Then Mollie stepped forward to Clifford.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Faxon," she said, and extending her hand to him, "this is the third +time that we have met under peculiar circumstances, all of which have +made me greatly your debtor. I am Miss Heatherford, and I have never +forgotten the hero of that exciting New Haven incident."</p> + +<p>"Thank you, Miss Heatherford," Faxon returned, and tingling to his +finger-tips with rapture as he clasped the hand so cordially offered +him, "and let me assure you that I am very much pleased to meet you +again, and, at last, learn the name of one to whom I am also indebted. I +refer to the beautiful souvenir of the event of which you have spoken, +and which I have always treasured most sacredly. I am very glad I was at +hand to rescue you from your recent unpleasant experience. Now, may I +have the additional pleasure of attending you to your home? I should +feel very uncomfortable to allow you to go alone after the shock you have received."</p> + +<p>"Thank you; it is very kind of you to offer to attend me," Mollie +replied, and feeling much relieved in view of having a protector, for +she had been badly frightened. "But, Mr. Faxon, I am afraid it will seem +almost an imposition, for I have quite a walk yet," she added doubtfully.</p> + +<p>"That will not disturb me in the least," Clifford returned eagerly, +"though it is very damp, and perhaps you would prefer to take a car; in +either event, however, I shall not leave you until I see you safely housed."</p> + +<p>"Taking a car would not save me very much, as I must go back to +Pennsylvania Avenue to get one, and I would have just about the same +distance at the other end," said Mollie reflectively. "On the whole, I +believe I will take you at your word and we will walk."</p> + +<p>"Thank you," Clifford responded so earnestly that Mollie smiled +involuntarily, while she experienced a peculiar exhilaration in his companionship.</p> + +<p>She unhesitatingly accepted the arm he offered her, and they fell into a +social chat which grew so absorbing to both that distance became of no +account, and Faxon was conscious of a sense of keen disappointment when +his companion finally paused before her own door.</p> + +<p>"Why, Miss Heatherford, you told me it was a long walk; I did not +suppose we were half-way there yet!" he exclaimed in a tone that plainly +betrayed his regret.</p> + +<p>"I think you must be a practised pedestrian, for it is very nearly a +mile," said Mollie with a silvery little laugh, "and, now, won't you +come in for a little rest before you make the return trip?"</p> + +<p>Clifford would gladly have accepted the invitation and prolonged his +enjoyment of her society for another half-hour, but he did not feel +quite justified in doing so upon so short an acquaintance, and so +politely excused himself.</p> + +<p>"Then some other evening, Mr. Faxon, I shall be happy to have you call +if you should feel inclined," Mollie cordially observed greatly to his delight.</p> + +<p>"Thank you, Miss Heatherford; it certainly will give me great pleasure +to do so, and I shall avail myself of the privilege at an early date," +the young man responded, and he was on the point of bidding her good +evening when Mollie lifted a shy glance to him and said:</p> + +<p>"I feel that I owe you an apology, Mr. Faxon, for not recognizing you a +few days ago when you saved me from having a fall from the car, but I +was so surprised at the unexpected meeting that I was momentarily +embarrassed, and so failed to do my duty."</p> + +<p>"Pray do not be disturbed," Faxon returned with a heart-throb of +gladness. "I saw you were somewhat overcome, and the omission was not to +be wondered at under the circumstances."</p> + +<p>"I knew you at once," Mollie continued naively and with charming +frankness, "and I feared afterward that you might attribute my seeming +neglect to an unworthy motive."</p> + +<p>"Indeed, no—I hope I could not so wrong you, although you will allow me +to say that I was somewhat disappointed," Clifford replied in the same spirit.</p> + +<p>He then bade her a reluctant "good evening," lifted his hat, and went +away. It seemed to him that he was walking on air as he retraced his steps up-town.</p> + +<p>At last he had met and learned the name of the divinity who for years +had been his inspiration, whose fair face and deep blue eyes had haunted +both his waking and sleeping hours; whose sweet girlish tones and +thrilling words had rung like a melodious refrain in his ears for nearly +six long years.</p> + +<p>It had been a great trial to him not to know who she was, and he had +been more irritated over the fact that Philip Wentworth had refused to +give him any information regarding her than he usually allowed himself +to become over anything. It had been like a poisoned dagger in his heart +when that young man had arrogantly boasted of his engagement to the girl +who had given him the cameo, which was the choicest treasure he possessed.</p> + +<p>But now he knew that Philip had lied—the occurrence of that evening had +proved to him that no such tie had ever existed between the two. To be +sure, Wentworth had addressed her by the familiar name "Mollie," but her +manner toward him had plainly indicated that, although she might +previously have regarded him as a friend, she had never surrendered her +heart into his keeping.</p> + +<p>This assurance set every pulse bounding with a feeling of exultation, +and a vague, sweet hope that possibly he might yet awaken some +responsive chord in her nature that as yet had been untouched began to +take root in his heart.</p> + +<p>He blessed the fates that had sent him upon an errand that night into +the locality where he had found her in trouble, and thus enabled him to +go to her rescue. Then that never-to-be-forgotten walk had seemed +leading him straight toward Paradise, the door of which Mollie had +opened to him by her invitation to call—a privilege of which he +resolved to avail himself at a very early day.</p> + +<p>And three evenings later found him standing at her door, seeking admittance.</p> + +<p>Eliza answered his ring and showed him into the cosy homelike parlor, +and five minutes later Mollie appeared, looking charming in a dainty +house-gown of some soft, white material without an atom of color save +her blue eyes and glorious hair to mar its chaste simplicity.</p> + +<p>She almost always wore white at home—it had been her custom since +childhood, for her father loved to see her in it.</p> + +<p>She greeted Faxon with a cordiality which assured him that he was most +welcome, and his heart thrilled with joy unspeakable as he observed the +lovely color that suffused her face as he clasped her hand and responded +to her salutation. She put him at his ease at once by seating herself +near him and beginning to chat freely of Washington and its society; of +politics and politicians and various current topics. Then she gradually +drifted to other things, and finally to their first meeting, after which +she adroitly led him to speak of his college life, struggles, and experiences.</p> + +<p>He was surprised to find how freely and almost involuntarily he opened +his heart to her of those things which he had seldom mentioned to +others, and when he concluded he held up and showed her the cameo ring upon his hand.</p> + +<p>"It has been my mascot," he said, smiling, "and I can never make you +understand how much it has meant to me. But I never presumed to wear it +in public until the day I took my degree and only occasionally since."</p> + +<p>"I am afraid you have prized my simple souvenir far beyond its worth," +said Mollie, flushing. "It was really intended for a good-luck ring, +however. I purchased it, and had it marked for a cousin who was going +West to live, but as some one else had already given him a ring I kept +it and sent him something else. Have you discovered its little secret, Mr. Faxon?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Clifford, as he touched the spring and the stone lifted from +its place; but he did not tell her then how he had learned it, "and I +have wondered during all these years until I met you the other night +what these tiny initials stood for."</p> + +<p>"Marie Norton Heatherford," Mollie repeated with a flush as she observed +the look with which he was regarding the letters.</p> + +<p>Then to dispel the feeling of embarrassment she smilingly added:</p> + +<p>"But, Mr. Faxon, I am afraid I should have felt that I was doing rather +a bold thing to offer a gentleman a ring marked with initials if I had +stopped to think about it that day—not that I regretted the ring, +believe me," she interposed, as he glanced up at her quickly, "it was a +very little thing to express all that I felt, but the letters rather +troubled me. I—I almost hoped you would not find them."</p> + +<p>"Ah! but the initials and the horseshoe have been its chief charm to +me," Clifford returned earnestly; "somehow they seemed to be a link +between the giver and myself, although, of course, I did not know what +they stood for. And, now that I have met you again, may I have your +permission to wear it constantly?"</p> + +<p>"By all means, if you wish—I am sure you will honor my little souvenir +by doing so," Mollie responded with downcast eyes and bounding pulses.</p> + +<p>She began to tell him something of her own life since that day; how a +few days later she and her parents had sailed for Europe to remain for +several years; how she had lost her mother during her sojourn abroad, +and one misfortune followed another until just after her return to this +country the grand crash had come that had made her father penniless.</p> + +<p>"Yes," she said, with a little regretful sigh at an exclamation of +sympathy from Faxon, "papa met with loss after loss, until a year and a +half ago we found that we were literally homeless and almost penniless. +A friend helped him to a position here in Washington, and for a while we +were very comfortable and happy; but papa lost his health, and for +several months past has been very ill—is, in fact, a hopeless invalid."</p> + +<p>"That is very sad," Clifford gravely observed, "and the change in your +life must have seemed hard—even cruel."</p> + +<p>"I don't know as I can say that," said Mollie reflectively; "I believe I +have rather enjoyed the change in some respects."</p> + +<p>"Enjoyed it!" repeated her companion astonished.</p> + +<p>"Yes," Mollie brightly affirmed, "for I then began to feel that I was +really of some use in the world. After papa gave up business I secured a +position, and I am now working regular hours every day; were it not for +my father's pitiable condition, I believe I should be perfectly happy. I +think it is grand to feel that one has the power to win one's own way in the world."</p> + +<p>Faxon regarded her with mingled admiration and sympathy. He knew just +the feeling she described, for he had experienced the same thrill of +proud independence while working his way through college and also since +he had begun to know something of the real business of life, in spite of +the many crosses and hardships that he had endured.</p> + +<p>Then a wild, sweet hope took possession of his heart as he realized that +she no longer inhabited a sphere so far above him socially that she was, +as he had always believed her to be, utterly beyond his reach.</p> + +<p>She was every whit as poor as himself, according to her own frank +acknowledgment—there was now no golden barrier between them. Why, then, +might he not hope to win her—this fair, brave, sweet girl who had been +the star and the inspiration of his life during the last six years?</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="chap09"></a>CHAPTER IX.<br/> +<span class="smaller">LANGUAGE OF THE MOSS-ROSE.</span></h2> + +<p>"And so you do not regret the loss of fortune nor of fortune's friends?" +Clifford questioned, while with the fond, new hope in his heart he +regarded her with more of tenderness in his glance than he was aware of.</p> + +<p>And Mollie flushed beneath his look, more because she was becoming +conscious that something within her was springing forth to meet that +which shone in his eyes than because of embarrassment.</p> + +<p>"I cannot quite say that, Mr. Faxon," she gravely replied, "for I should +be glad of an independent income—even though it was small—that would +enable me to do more for my father and put him under the constant care +of experts; for, in spite of what the physicians have told me, I cannot +quite give up all hope. I cannot bear to think that he must live on +indefinitely in his present darkened mental condition.</p> + +<p>"But as for myself," with an uplifting of her pretty head that denoted +conscious strength, "I do not regret the experience of the last two +years which the loss of fortune has brought me, and which has proved to +me that it is more noble and satisfactory to be a useful woman than a +butterfly of fashion. As for the 'friends of fortune,' that was well +put, Mr. Faxon, for those who have turned the cold shoulder upon me +were simply that and nothing more, and there is nothing to regret. It +is far better to have discovered the truth than to go on being cajoled +and deceived. I may say that there are but few whom I can regard as true +friends, and most of those I have made since I became a working girl. +What a queer world it is, isn't it? What a strange element there is in +humanity, which, as a rule—though there is now and then a rare +exception—does not take into account the real worth of an individual, +but is ready to hug to the heart a mental beggar and a moral leper, +provided he is sufficiently gilded with money. Can you explain it?"</p> + +<p>"I think it can all be summed up in one word, Miss Heatherford, and that +is—selfishness," Clifford replied.</p> + +<p>"Y—es," she thoughtfully assented, "and yet I think I should add pride, +vanity and ostentation."</p> + +<p>"And what is pride but self-esteem, self-conceit? What are vanity and +ostentation but egotism and self-sufficiency?"</p> + +<p>"You are right!" said Mollie, sitting suddenly erect, as if some new +thought had taken possession of her. "Why! I never thought of it before, +but the world—society so-called—is governed by selfishness!"</p> + +<p>"I am afraid that is the fact, as a rule," assented the young man.</p> + +<p>"How dreadful!" sighed his companion; "what veritable heathen idolaters +we are, in spite of our boasted civilization and Christianity; and how +little we know the meaning of the 'Golden Rule!'"</p> + +<p>"That is true; self is the god of this world," said Clifford; "and when +we attempt to analyze humanity we find it in every phase of life. +Royalty 'lifts its crested head' and declares, 'I am enthroned; come not +near, except on bended knee.' The multimillionaire, with lofty air, +says, 'Keep a respectful distance, unless you can match my purse with +one as heavy.' The merchant and banker refuse to associate with their +butcher and grocer; the employer looks down upon his employee; the +mistress upon her maid; and so it goes all along down the line even to +newsboys and bootblacks; for——" and here Faxon laughed, "to +illustrate, I saw two boys on the street the other day; one had a bundle +of papers under his arm; the other was stationed on a corner, with his +kit for blacking boots. 'Hello!' called out the newsboy familiarly and +with an envious glance at the kit, 'how long yer ben at it?' 'Git out!' +cried the youthful proprietor loftily, 'I've gone inter biz for myself, +I have; an' we don't take newsboys inter our 'sociation.' So from the +crowned heads of royalty down to the bootblack, who lords it over the +peddler of papers, because he makes his nickel where the other gets but +a penny, we find the serpent self with its spirit of arrogance and +malicious sting."</p> + +<p>"That is true," said Mollie, with a sigh, "and, worse than all, we find +it even in the churches, where the rich and intellectually proud hold +aloof from the poor widow and orphan and the beggar at their doors, +except, perhaps, to bestow, with lofty patronage a little of their +surplus wealth, and hoping thus to cancel their obligations as +Christians and believe that they have fulfilled the law of Love. Oh, I +am beginning to see how little the meaning of that word is understood."</p> + +<p>"And it never will be understood until the world learns how to 'deny +self' and become 'poor in spirit,' as taught by the Great Teacher +nineteen centuries ago," Clifford supplemented in a reverent tone.</p> + +<p>Mollie bent a thoughtful look upon his face. She thought him the +grandest character she had ever met. No young man of her acquaintance +had ever discussed such subjects in her presence before—they had always +been, for the most part, full of small talk, jest and compliment—and +she knew that most of her girl friends would have regarded such a +conversation as prosy and stupid.</p> + +<p>But she liked it—it seemed to meet something that she had long hungered +for. Faxon had struck a note in nature that vibrated in keenest sympathy +and perfect harmony with his thought, and when they parted that evening +both felt as if they must have known each other for years.</p> + +<p>After that they saw each other frequently. Mollie had invited him to +'come again,' and feeling that she was perfectly sincere, he had not +hesitated to avail himself of the privilege. Each time they met they +were drawn nearer each other, for they liked the same books and authors. +Faxon was a good reader, Mollie an appreciative listener, while they had +many an animated discussion over what they read.</p> + +<p>They attended lectures, concerts and occasionally the theater and opera; +though Mollie would not go often to the latter place because of the +expense, which she doubted that Faxon could afford. But she told herself +that she had never enjoyed a winter, even during her palmiest days, as +she had enjoyed this one.</p> + +<p>She well knew why; she had long known that she loved Clifford Faxon with +all her heart, and she was sure that he returned her affection, although +as yet no word of confession had escaped him. Nevertheless, she had +abundant evidence of the fact in his every act, in every glance of his +eyes and every tone of his voice. Yet she was not impatient—she was +content to bide his time, well knowing that when he felt it right to +speak he would do so.</p> + +<p>Her new happiness added greatly to her loveliness. There was a brighter +light in her deep blue eyes, a sweeter, sunnier smile—if that were +possible—on her lips, a buoyancy, an elasticity in her every movement +and step which plainly betrayed that she loved to live and lived to +love.</p> + +<p>Monsieur Lamonti was quick to observe these things, and wondered within +himself what had caused this radiant change in her. He was not long left +in doubt, for one afternoon he met the lovers, face to face, upon the +street.</p> + +<p>Mollie stopped short in his path and greeted him cordially; then, with +beaming eyes and heightened color, introduced her companion. The three +stood chatting for a few moments, then parted and went their different +ways.</p> + +<p>The next morning Monsieur Lamonti interrupted Mollie in her work, and, +after discussing two or three questions relating to business, suddenly +inquired:</p> + +<p>"By the way, mademoiselle, allow me to ask who was the gentleman to whom +you introduced me yesterday? His name, of course, I know—Monsieur +Faxon—but is he an old or a new friend?"</p> + +<p>Mollie blushed delightfully at the question.</p> + +<p>"He is both, monsieur, if you can comprehend anything so paradoxical," +she said with a musical little laugh of rippling happiness, and which +called an answering smile to her listener's lips. Then she went on and +frankly told him the whole of Cliff's history as far as she knew it, +from the time of her first meeting with him in the station at New Haven +to his coming to Washington, while Monsieur Lamonti appeared greatly +interested, and reading in the girl's every look and tone the sweet +love-story that was making her life so beautiful.</p> + +<p>"Ah," he observed when she concluded, "Mr. Faxon is a self-made man; he +is doubtless a noble young man. I am sure he will rise yet higher and do +himself honor."</p> + +<p>Mollie smiled with pleasure at his commendation of her lover.</p> + +<p>"I also am sure he will," she said with shining eyes.</p> + +<p>"And what is he doing now, mademoiselle?" queried the gentleman.</p> + +<p>"At present he is in the Patent Office, with the expectation of a +promotion at the beginning of the year."</p> + +<p>"Well, mademoiselle, it is evident he is a fine young fellow; he +certainly looks it; I am truly glad you have such a friend," said +Monsieur Lamonti, with a kindness and sincerity that touched Mollie +deeply.</p> + +<p>He resumed his writing, and nothing more was said upon the subject, but +Mollie observed that, from time to time, he paused in his work and gazed +abstractedly out of the window, as if his thoughts were busy elsewhere.</p> + +<p>A few days later on reaching the office she found a note from Clifford, +asking if she would go with him the following evening to hear Madam +Melba in "Faust."</p> + +<p>He mentioned the fact that he was well acquainted with a prominent +member of the company, who had offered him complimentary tickets for a +box or any seats which he might prefer elsewhere in the house, and would +she please signify which she would like best.</p> + +<p>Mollie smiled as she read the note. She knew it would be the "first +night" of the opera, and she understood that Clifford feared that she +either might not be able or wish to appear in evening dress, and so had +given her a choice of seats, while, too, it would settle the question +regarding what his own attire should be.</p> + +<p>She responded cordially, saying she would be delighted to hear Melba, +and would enjoy the box if it would be agreeable to him. Clifford wrote +a clear, symmetrical hand, and before returning his missive to its +envelope Mollie passed it to Monsieur Lamonti, remarking that perhaps he +would like to see Mr. Faxon's penmanship.</p> + +<p>"People claim, you know," she said, smiling, "that there is a great +deal of character expressed in a person's handwriting."</p> + +<p>Monsieur Lamonti read the note, then passed it back to her with the +observation:</p> + +<p>"It is certainly a fine hand, mademoiselle, and if it is an exponent of +Mr. Faxon's character, I should judge him to be a frank, honest, +high-minded young man."</p> + +<p>Mollie was, of course, pleased with this tribute to her lover, for she +saw that it was sincere, while she knew that Monsieur Lamonti was a keen +observer, and she was sure that he regarded Clifford with approbation.</p> + +<p>The next afternoon, while she was putting some finishing touches to an +evening dress which she had remodeled to wear to the opera, Monsieur +Lamonti's coachman drove to the door, and a few moments later Eliza came +to her, bringing a good-sized box.</p> + +<p>On opening it, Mollie gave a cry of delight as her eyes fell upon a rare +collection of hot-house flowers, whose perfume filled the room, and +which she well knew, without glancing at the accompanying card, had been +culled from the greenhouse of her good friend.</p> + +<p>"How kind, how thoughtful he always is!" she murmured appreciatively as +she buried her face in the mass of luxuriant bloom to inhale the +delicious fragrance.</p> + +<p>Later, when Clifford called for her she was radiantly lovely in her +rich, lustrous silk of pale blue, another creation of Worth's, and a +remnant of her old-time glory which had long been packed away as +unsuitable to wear in her present circumstances. The dress, with a few +alterations, seemed almost like new.</p> + +<p>She wore diamonds upon her neck and in her ears; also a dazzling +ornament in her golden hair, for her jewels—many of which had been her +mother's—had also been carefully stowed away, her father having +insisted that she should keep them, although she had cheerfully offered +to relinquish every one if such sacrifice would lighten his burdens in +any way. But he had told her, "No; every debt would be paid, and the +gems were too sacred to be surrendered."</p> + +<p>Her hands and arms were encased in long white gloves, chosen from the +box with which Monsieur Lamonti had presented her, and as Faxon entered, +she was just tying a long ribbon around a bouquet which she had arranged +from Monsieur Lamonti's floral offering.</p> + +<p>The young man's eyes glowed with tender admiration as Mollie went +forward to meet him.</p> + +<p>"Ah," he said ingenuously and with a thrill of fondness in his voice as +he clasped her extended hand, "I am so glad you chose the box."</p> + +<p>Mollie laughed musically, for his words told her that he had hoped to +find her in evening dress, and was more than pleased with her +appearance.</p> + +<p>"It was very kind of you to give me the option," she replied with a +glance which plainly told him that she had understood his motive and +thoroughly appreciated it.</p> + +<p>"Well," he observed, with a twinkle in his handsome eyes, "I thought we +might as well make the most of our opportunity. What lovely flowers!"</p> + +<p>"They are, indeed!" she returned. "Monsieur Lamonti sent them."</p> + +<p>Then as she glanced at the lapel of his coat she continued: "And you +must have a boutonniere; may I select something for you?"</p> + +<p>"Not if you will have to rob this; I would not have a single blossom +disarranged," said Clifford, as he eyed the bouquet admiringly.</p> + +<p>"Oh, no; I have quantities more," said Mollie, as she gently released +the hand which he had unconsciously been holding and turned to a table +which there was a large glass dish filled with flowers.</p> + +<p>She bent over them and paused to consider what she would offer him. +Presently she detached three small crimson moss-rosebuds with a single +spray of green leaves and held them up before him.</p> + +<p>"Will you wear these?" she queried.</p> + +<p>A great shock went coursing through Clifford as he took them from her +white gloved hands and regarded them with a yearning look.</p> + +<p>Then his eyes—almost black now with the intensity of his +emotion—sought her face.</p> + +<p>"May I?" he breathed, "may I wear them with the assurance of what they +express? Do you know the language of the red moss-rosebud, Mollie?"</p> + +<p>A scarlet flood leaped to the fair girl's temples as she realized, too +late, the significance of her gift; while his use of her given name, for +the first time, set every pulse to bounding wildly. She lifted a +startled look to his face; then as quickly her golden lashes dropped +upon her flaming cheeks.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I know," she murmured, "but I did not think of it when I chose them."</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="chap10"></a>CHAPTER X.<br/> +<span class="smaller">MONSIEUR LAMONTI'S DEATH.</span></h2> + +<p>"I know you did not, love," Clifford returned as he bent forward and +gathered both her hands into his, "and it was an unfair question, I am +afraid. But I love you, dear—I love you. You must have seen it, you +must have read it for weeks, for my every thought has been of and for +you, and sometimes I have even dared to think that your thought has been +responsive to mine, assuring me that I had won your heart, and that my +future is to be crowned with the supreme blessing of your love. You do +not turn from me—you do not take your hands from mine—may I hope, +Mollie? Tell me that you love me—that you will be my wife when I shall +have won a position worthy to offer you. May I wear the buds as the +token of your assent? Oh, my darling, where can I find language to tell +you all that is in my heart? Tell me—tell me!"</p> + +<p>His passionate emotion moved her deeply, although his voice had been +raised scarcely above a whisper. His fond words, his rich, thrilling +tones were like the solemn notes of an organ. She never had been so +supremely happy in her life as at that moment, and yet she wanted to weep.</p> + +<p>But her whole heart went out to him. She lifted her eyes to his and they +were brimming with tears.</p> + +<p>"Yes, you know—you must have long known that I love you, Clifford," +she whispered.</p> + +<p>He could not speak for the moment. He was white, even to his lips, with +joy that was beyond words. He lifted her hands and laid them about his +neck; then his arms slid around her graceful form and drew her to his +breast, where he held her close—so close that she could both feel and +hear the throbbing of his heart.</p> + +<p>They stood thus for a few moments, speechless from the consciousness of +the sacred union. At length Clifford gently released her and, fondly +placing one hand beneath her chin, lifted her face and scanned it +earnestly.</p> + +<p>"Tears?" he said softly.</p> + +<p>"Yes," said Mollie, with a shy, sweet laugh, "my cup is so full it +cannot hold all my joy, and some had to brim over."</p> + +<p>"Sweetheart!" he murmured, but he still continued to study her face with +a look that seemed to have something of wonderment in it.</p> + +<p>"Why do you look at me like that? Of what are you thinking?" Mollie +inquired.</p> + +<p>"I am wondering how it would have been with us if Mr. Heatherford had +never lost his millions," said the young man reflectively.</p> + +<p>"Clifford!" cried Mollie, in a tone of reproach, "you know I should have +loved you just the same; but I am glad that I am poor, for I am awfully +afraid if I had not been, you would have been too proud to tell me what +you have told me to-night."</p> + +<p>"Suppose such had been the case?" he smilingly questioned.</p> + +<p>"I—I think I should have made you confess it somehow," she replied with +an imperative little tap of her foot, "or"—with a gleam of mischief in +her happy eyes, "I might have unsexed myself and proposed to you—oh! I +am afraid I almost did as it is," she concluded, flushing again rosily +as she thought of the rosebuds.</p> + +<p>He laughed joyously and caught her to him again; then, bending his +handsome head, he kissed her softly, reverently on her lips.</p> + +<p>"I shall never wear anything but the red moss-rose after this," he said, +"and now after you have fastened them in for me, we must go, or we shall +be late for the opera. And I nearly forget, dear—I have tickets for +to-morrow night to see Willard in the 'Professor's Love-story.'"</p> + +<p>"Aren't you getting dissipated, Cliff?" questioned Mollie chidingly.</p> + +<p>"Wouldn't you like to see the play?"</p> + +<p>Mollie took the rosebuds daintily in her white-gloved fingers, shot a +sly glance up at him as she kissed them, then slipped them deftly into +the buttonhole and fastened them there.</p> + +<p>"Yes. Willard is fine," she said, "but I'm afraid that I am not quite so +deeply interested in the 'Professor's Love-story' just at present as I +am in my own."</p> + +<p>"My darling!" said Faxon in a voice that was tremulous with his new, +great happiness as he pressed his lips upon her white forehead. Then he +lifted a beautiful opera-cloak that was hanging over a chair, and laid +it over her shoulders.</p> + +<p>It was made of white brocaded satin, trimmed with ermine, and her +golden-crowned head, with the crescent of flashing diamonds rising out +of its snowy whiteness, made him think of some rare and beautiful +flower.</p> + +<p>"My own, you look like a queen in your coronation-robe, and I feel like +a king who has just been crowned," he fondly murmured as he fastened the +silver clasp beneath her chin.</p> + +<p>"You are a king, Cliff—my king," Mollie softly responded.</p> + +<p>A minute later they were rolling swiftly up-town, sitting hand in hand +and feeling as if an enchanted future lay before them.</p> + +<p>The house was filled and brilliant with a first-night audience as they +stepped within their box, and many a glass was leveled at the peerlessly +beautiful girl and her handsome escort, with expressions of mingled +admiration, wonder, and curiosity. As it happened, Philip Wentworth and +his mother were located in the box directly opposite, and both gave a +start of undisguised surprise as Mollie took her seat, for they +recognized her instantly.</p> + +<p>"Why, Phil!" exclaimed Mrs. Temple, "she really looks like the old-time +Mollie, doesn't she? She still has her diamonds, I see, and I suppose no +one here would believe she had ever worn that dress before. I recognize +it, however, although I must confess it looks just as fresh as it did +when she arrived from Paris. She is downright beautiful, Phil! Oh, dear! +I wish they hadn't lost their money. Do you know who that is with her? +It seems as if I had seen him before."</p> + +<p>"He's that cad Faxon—blast him!" Philip replied, his face flaming with +sudden anger and shame.</p> + +<p>"Why do you call him that, Phil?—he certainly looks like a gentleman. +Oh, by the way, isn't he the young man who worked his own way through +Harvard and took the second honor in your class?"</p> + +<p>"Yes."</p> + +<p>"And he is the one who had that ring of Mollie's. Did you ever find out +how he came by it?"</p> + +<p>"No." He preferred to lie about it rather than explain Faxon's heroic +deed.</p> + +<p>"Mercy, Phil, how monosyllabic you are," said Mrs. Temple as she shot a +curious sidelong glance at him. "I fully intended to ask Mollie about it +when she returned, but I never thought of it. Have you any idea how he +became acquainted with Mollie?"</p> + +<p>"How should I know?" queried Philip evasively, but he found great +difficulty in controlling himself sufficiently to preserve a respectful +tone, and his hands were so tightly clenched that the nails actually cut +the palms.</p> + +<p>The sight of the couple opposite had brought vividly to his mind the +night when he had overtaken and insulted Mollie upon the street and +Faxon had come to the rescue. He had never seen either of them since, +but he had felt deeply humiliated every time he had thought of the +affair, and his old hatred of Clifford increased a hundred-fold in view +of the indignity, merited though it was, that he had suffered at his +hands.</p> + +<p>"How handsome he is!" he mentally exclaimed as he studied those bright +faces. "He is dressed in the very latest style, too, and I wonder where +he gets the cash to sport a box? And Mollie—she is just too lovely for +anything!" A shaft of pain went quivering through him from head to foot +as he feasted his eyes upon her beauty.</p> + +<p>"There is no one like her—and I love her in spite of everything," he +went on, choking back something very like a sob, "but, of course, she +must positively hate me now. What a fool I was not to have made sure +that she was a stranger before I spoke to her that night!"</p> + +<p>These were some of the thoughts which thronged Philip Wentworth's brain +as he sat and watched the young couple, paying very little heed to the +brilliant prima donna on the stage.</p> + +<p>The footlights were bright enough to enable him to see their every +movement—almost their every look, and he was quick to observe Faxon's +tender glance and manner whenever he addressed his fair companion; while +Mollie's varying color, the glad light in her eyes, whenever they met +his, and the happy smiles that rippled over her lips were simply +maddening to his jealous heart, and aroused a terrible fear within him.</p> + +<p>"By Jove!" he said to himself, a cold chill creeping over him. "I +believe, upon my soul that there is an understanding between them, and +it would certainly cap the climax of the worst I ever dreamed if he +should win her."</p> + +<p>He could not tell whether Mollie was conscious of his and his mother's +presence or not. Of course, he knew that the occupants of one box were +just as conspicuous as those in another, and two or three times he had +seen her lift her gold-mounted glass and sweep the house. But if she had +seen them she gave no sign of the fact.</p> + +<p>He wondered if she would preserve the strict letter of the sentence +which she had pronounced upon him the last time they met, if he should +happen to encounter her again, and he was soon to have that question +settled beyond all doubt.</p> + +<p>When the opera was over and while Mollie and Clifford were waiting at +the entrance of the theater for their carriage, Philip and his mother +came upon them suddenly.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Temple, finished woman of the world though she was, was taken aback +a trifle, and the warm color flushed to her face. Yet she greeted Mollie +with something of her old-time cordiality, for the girl was so +exquisitely lovely that her heart involuntarily warmed toward her.</p> + +<p>Still there was a certain reserve in her manner which Mollie was quick +to feel, although she responded with equal courtesy. She was keenly +sensitive to the fact also that Mrs. Temple had felt no interest to seek +her out, even though she had been in Washington many weeks; but, at the +same time, she bore herself with a quiet dignity, which plainly +betrayed that it would take more than the loss of property and +fair-weather friends to crush either her spirit or self-respect. +Moreover, when Phil advanced as his mother moved on she looked him full +in the face and gave him the cut direct.</p> + +<p>He was as white as his immaculate tie as he strode on, inwardly foaming +with mingled rage and mortification. He knew now that she would adhere +to what she had said. She had taken her stand and would maintain it, and +he realized that he fully merited the punishment meted out to him. But +to see her standing so proudly by the side of the man whom he both +envied and hated, and leaning upon his arm with that air of confidence +and content, was almost more than he could endure and retain his +self-control.</p> + +<p>Clifford had been a deeply interested observer of the little scene. +Philip Wentworth and his mother had taken no more notice of him than if +he had been simply one of the pillars which supported the arch above +them.</p> + +<p>Mollie also had observed Philip's slight and resented it, her hand +involuntarily closing over Cliff's arm, and thus betraying her +indignation. Possibly she might not have been quite so frigidly +statuesque but for that.</p> + +<p>"I did not care to introduce you to Mrs. Temple, dear," she explained to +Clifford as soon as they were seated in their carriage. "I am afraid, +though, it made it a trifle awkward for you; but I hope you do not +mind."</p> + +<p>"Not in the least, for, of course, it was her place to recognize me, +since we had met before," Faxon smilingly returned.</p> + +<p>"What!" cried Mollie, in resentful astonishment, "and she presumed to +ignore you!"</p> + +<p>"It is barely possible that she did not recognize me," the young man +quietly replied, although he was quite sure to the contrary, for he had +not been unobservant of the interest which the occupants of the box +opposite his own had manifested in connection with Mollie and himself +during the evening.</p> + +<p>Then he told her something of the circumstances of his meeting with Mr. +Temple on the campus at Cambridge four years previous.</p> + +<p>"Well, it is the way of the world I suppose," said Mollie with a gentle +sigh. "She used to appear to be very fond of me when we lived in New +York, and we have exchanged visits many times, but she, like others, has +given me a very cold shoulder since I became the child of misfortune, +and what makes it seem worse in this case is the fact that Mr. Temple +was responsible for the climax of my father's financial ruin."</p> + +<p>She explained as well as she was able how this had happened, but the +lovers soon drifted to more agreeable topics, and, caring little for +either the smiles or frowns of the Temples, or of any one else, in fact, +for they were far too deeply absorbed in their own new-found +happiness—their world, for the present at least, was circumscribed by +each other and their individual interests.</p> + +<p>But for Mollie the tables were soon to be turned by a most unexpected +and signal triumph—a triumph which caused many an old friend (?) a +taste of bitter regret and mortification.</p> + +<p>About a week later, on entering Monsieur Lamonti's office, she found +her friend absent and a note lying on her desk. It proved to be from her +employer, who mentioned that he was a trifle under the weather, but +requested that she would go on with her work as far as she was able and +then come to him for instructions.</p> + +<p>She worked diligently until nearly noon, then, finding that she could do +no more without explicit directions, she donned her hat and jacket and +proceeded to Monsieur Lamonti's residence.</p> + +<p>She found him ill in bed with a violent cold, and quite feverish, but he +assured her that he would be all right in a day or two, when he would +rejoin her at the office.</p> + +<p>But the next morning a note from Nannette announced that he was worse, +and as Mollie could not work alone, she went to the house, where she +spent most of the day caring for Lucille, in order to allow the maid to +give her undivided attention to her master. She left about five o'clock +feeling greatly depressed, for Monsieur Lamonti had grown steadily +worse, and the physician had told her that he was a very sick man, +though he might pull through—a few hours would decide the matter.</p> + +<p>Faxon spent the evening with her, and she was somewhat cheered by his +presence. He left her at ten, but had not been gone fifteen minutes when +Mollie heard a carriage dash up to the door and the next moment the bell +clanged a vigorous and imperative peal.</p> + +<p>She rushed to the door to find Monsieur Lamonti's footman standing +without and looking pale and anxious.</p> + +<p>"Oh! what is it?" she breathed in an almost inarticulate voice.</p> + +<p>"The master is going, miss, for sure, and wants to see you," the man +replied.</p> + +<p>Mollie seized a long wrap and, while she was fastening it about her, +explained to Eliza that she should be away all night. The next minute +she was inside the carriage and being whirled at a rapid rate toward the +Lamonti mansion.</p> + +<p>She was comparatively calm when she arrived and followed the weeping +Nannette to her master's room without a word, although she held the +girl's hand in a clasp of sympathy on the way hither.</p> + +<p>She was terribly shocked at the change in her kind friend which the last +few hours had made, but she gave no outward sign of this except that she +was very pale.</p> + +<p>She found the physician, a trained nurse, and Monsieur Lamonti's lawyer +present; but paying no heed to them she walked quietly to the bedside, +where she sat down and took the hand which the man weakly extended to +her. He was white as wax, but very calm, and smiled as his fingers +closed over hers. He glanced up at his lawyer.</p> + +<p>"Tell them to go out," he said, indicating the nurse, Nannette, and the +physician, and as they passed from the room Mollie bent over her friend.</p> + +<p>"You sent for me," she said gently, "what can I do for you?"</p> + +<p>"Just this, mademoiselle," he replied gravely, but speaking with +difficulty, "you have promised to care for my Lucille, to rear and +educate her carefully, to be, in fact, a mother to her, as well as her +legal guardian until she is of age or marries?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," briefly but solemnly assented Mollie.</p> + +<p>He thanked her with a little pressure of her hand.</p> + +<p>"I have left explicit instructions," he resumed after a moment. "I have +made all my wishes known in my will. Promise me that you will heed them +all, that every one shall be carried out as I have directed," he +concluded with impressive earnestness.</p> + +<p>"I know you would not ask anything impossible of me, dear friend, so I +cheerfully promise," Mollie unhesitatingly responded.</p> + +<p>"Swear it, mademoiselle," said Monsieur Lamonti, glancing at the +prayerbook which lay beside his pillow.</p> + +<p>Mollie's lips trembled; the scene was becoming very trying to her.</p> + +<p>"I will swear if monsieur wishes; but my word would be just as sacred to +me as an oath," she said gently.</p> + +<p>The man smiled up at her.</p> + +<p>"That is enough—I am satisfied," he said, "and Mr. Ashley here already +knows that I trust you implicitly, as I would my own daughter had she +lived. Now, my child, let me add that you have been a great comfort to +me; do not forget in the days to come that you made the last few months +of a lonely, almost heart-broken man, much the brighter by your sweet +presence, and the highest tribute I can show you is to trust you with my +one earthly treasure—my Lucille. Now, I will not keep you, +mademoiselle, adieu, and may the good God forever bless you and yours."</p> + +<p>Mollie arose. She felt that she could scarcely have borne another word; +her throat was almost convulsed, her eyes heavy with unshed tears, and +yet she must not weep before him.</p> + +<p>She could not speak, but she bent down and left a light caress upon the +man's forehead, then swiftly but noiselessly passed from the room.</p> + +<p>At the door she turned for one last look at her friend, to find his eyes +fastened upon her, and in them a light of peace and gladness that she +had never seen in them before. The memory of it never left her. That +night Monsieur Lamonti passed away, and all Washington was grieved and +shocked to read of it the following day.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="chap11"></a>CHAPTER XI.<br/> +<span class="smaller">THE SOCIAL WORLD SURPRISED.</span></h2> + +<p>A few days later another ripple of excitement was created among the +elite of the nation's capital when the contents of Monsieur Lamonti's +will were made known, and it was learned that a young and beautiful +woman had been made the guardian of the distinguished gentleman's +granddaughter and the executrix of the important testament. The document +was simple and concise, but betrayed careful thought, and the fact that +the testator knew exactly what he was about, for there was not a flaw in +it that could possibly have been contested, had any one been disposed to +do so.</p> + +<p>It provided that all real estate, horses, carriages, plate, books, +pictures, and choice bric-a-brac, together with certain stocks and bonds +therein named, were to become the sole property of his beloved +granddaughter, Lucille Gillette, to be held in trust for her, without +bonds, until she arrived at the age of twenty-one or married, by +Mademoiselle Marie Norton Heatherford, for whom the testator entertained +the most profound esteem, and in whom he placed the utmost confidence, +and who was hereby authorized and entreated to carry out his +instructions to the letter, to wit: that she would legally adopt said +Lucille Gillette as her own child, allowing her to retain her present +name, and rear and educate her as tenderly and carefully as if she were +indeed her own flesh and blood. Then there followed several minor +bequests and requests, supplemented by something that was to make a +radical change in Mollie's future.</p> + +<p>In return for assuming said responsibilities, said Mademoiselle +Heatherford would please accept the testator's deepest gratitude, +together with, as a slight testimonial of the same, the residue of all +that he possessed.</p> + +<p>The will further provided that Mademoiselle Heatherford was to exercise +perfect freedom in the choice of a place of residence; she was at +liberty to occupy the present home of the youthful heiress, retaining +the same number of servants, horses, and carriages, or dispose of the +property and reside elsewhere, as she chose; the only stipulation being +that she should always live in a style befitting the fortune and +position of the testator's grandchild, all expenses to be paid out of +the income of said grandchild, the bequest of Mademoiselle Heatherford +being intended for her own private use and disposal.</p> + +<p>She was advised to retain Monsieur Lamonti's present lawyer, as the +testator regarded him a trustworthy and competent attorney; but she was +not bound in any way to do so, if circumstances or her judgment should +at any time dictate otherwise.</p> + +<p>Of course, Mollie had expected something of this kind, in the event of +Monsieur Lamonti's demise, for she had agreed to accept the charge of +Lucille; but she was not prepared for, and was somewhat appalled by, +the magnitude of the fortune which she would be required to manage in +the future, and the absolute freedom from conditions and restrictions in +which she found herself placed. Regarding the bequest to herself, she +did not at first give much thought to it. Monsieur Lamonti, when talking +the matter over with her, had assured her that she would receive ample +remuneration, and she had inferred that she would, perhaps, be paid a +salary—possibly somewhat increased—the same as she had been getting +from him monthly for her services as private secretary.</p> + +<p>His stating her remuneration in the blind way "as the residue of his +property" she imagined might have been so expressed to save her feelings +and prevent the curious public from knowing the amount she was to be +paid for her services.</p> + +<p>But a great surprise was in store for her. She was, of course obliged to +consult with Monsieur Lamonti's lawyer, Mr. Ashley, in order to become +familiar with all the details regarding her duties in connection with +the property which she was to administer, and then she found that "the +little Lucille" was a veritable little princess—that she was heiress to +a most magnificent fortune.</p> + +<p>"Oh, Mr. Ashley! I never can manage it. I am utterly incompetent!" she +exclaimed in deep distress, when she began to comprehend something of +the condition of affairs. The lawyer smiled.</p> + +<p>"Of course, you are not expected to act alone; you must have help; your +friend had no intention of having you harassed with pecuniary burdens. +He left everything in excellent condition, and I assure you there will +be no complications. I have everything in a nutshell, so to speak, +though I confess it is a good big nut, and I am sure, from what Mr. +Lamonti has told me regarding your business-capacity, that you will +readily understand everything when I place my statements before you. +But, Miss Heatherford, let us now talk about your own fortune. I shall +want to know just what disposition to make of it."</p> + +<p>"Fortune!" repeated Mollie, astonished. "I imagine you magnify Monsieur +Lamonti's bequest to me; you dignify it by too high-sounding a name."</p> + +<p>"He has left you exactly one-fourth of all that he possessed, Miss +Heatherford," Mr. Ashley quietly returned.</p> + +<p>"One-fourth!"</p> + +<p>At first the words did not seem to mean much to Mollie. Then, as her +active mind began to grasp the situation, she started violently, +flushed, then paled.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Ashley! you do not mean that! I—it cannot be possible!" she gasped +in breathless astonishment. "Why! that would be——"</p> + +<p>"Yes, exactly; since you already know what Lucille's fortune amounts to, +it is comparatively an easy matter to compute your own," smilingly +returned her companion, and thoroughly enjoying the surprise of the +beautiful girl, for whom, although he had only recently made her +acquaintance, he was rapidly acquiring a great admiration and respect.</p> + +<p>"But I never dreamed of anything like this!" Mollie panted, for she was +actually quivering with excitement. "Oh! It does not seem right. I have +done nothing to deserve so much. I cannot accept it."</p> + +<p>"But, my dear Miss Heatherford, you have no alternative," Mr. Ashley +quietly observed. "Monsieur Lamonti has decreed what shall be done with +his property, and you gave him your solemn promise, in my presence, that +you would attend to having his wishes carried out to the letter."</p> + +<p>"Ah! that was why he sent for me the night he—went away; that was why +he was so particular, so explicit; that is why he tried to make me +'swear' that I would do as he wished," said Mollie, still looking much +disturbed. "Did you know at that time why he was so insistent?"</p> + +<p>"Yes. I had been with him a portion of every day during his illness, +helping him draw up the will," the gentleman replied. "You did not +'swear,' Miss Heatherford, but you told him that your word would be just +as sacred to you as an oath."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I did; but I did not once suspect that he would put me to such a +test; and, truly, I feel as if I have no moral right to such an amount, +independent of all my expenses, as the will states. Why! it will make +me, also, a rich woman!" Mollie concluded, with a look of real trouble +in her eyes.</p> + +<p>"Yes, it is certainly a very handsome plum, my dear young lady," Mr. +Ashley assented, with a satisfied nod of his head; "while as for the +right of the matter, allow me to say I consider that you have every +right to it. In the first place, you are wronging no one living by +accepting it, for little Miss Lucille Gillette will have more money +than she will ever know what to do with. I will also say that I think +you would wrong your late friend, Monsieur Lamonti, by rejecting the +provision he has made for you, for he gave me some of his reasons for +wishing to settle this amount upon you. For one thing, you saved the +life of his granddaughter, did you not?"</p> + +<p>"I—suppose I did," Mollie admitted rather reluctantly, then added: "But +any one else would have done the same thing under the same +circumstances."</p> + +<p>"That may be very true; at the same time, I cannot see that such a view +of the case detracts in the least from the heroism of your act, or +lessens one whit the obligation which Monsieur Lamonti would naturally +feel," the lawyer argued. "Then I understand that you were in his employ +for some time, and not only served him most faithfully, winning his +highest esteem and entire confidence, but——"</p> + +<p>"Well, but he paid me generously," Mollie hastily interposed, and +feeling decidedly uncomfortable to have her services so overestimated.</p> + +<p>"Pardon me, Miss Heatherford," Mr. Ashley laughingly retorted, "but I +can't have my argument spoiled in that way. I was about to say that you +also saved your friend a great loss, not only of money, but of valuables +which no money could replace. Am I right?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," faltered Mollie. Then she laughed out rather nervously, and +continued: "I perceive, Mr. Ashley, that you are determined to corner +me, and I think it might be well for me to withdraw from the argument."</p> + +<p>"Then it will have to be a one-sided one for a while longer, as I +perceive you are not yet quite reconciled," her companion returned, with +a smile. Then he observed very gravely: "There are some things which +money can never repay, Miss Heatherford, and I am sure that Monsieur +Lamonti felt that when he was making his will. Leaving all that had +occurred, for which he felt there was no adequate return, out of the +question, the fact that you were willing to assume the care of his +little one relieved his heart of an incalculable burden."</p> + +<p>"But I love Lucille; she is a dear child, and it will be a pleasure to +me to care for her," broke in Mollie earnestly.</p> + +<p>"You are condemning yourself, my young friend," said the lawyer, with +twinkling eyes, "for don't you see that money is no recompense for such +an interest in any one; then you have pledged yourself to be a mother to +her, according to your highest conception of the word; you are to watch +and guard her development; you are to see that she is properly educated +for the position she will occupy by and by; you have sacredly promised +to do everything in your power to make her a true and noble woman, and +thus you are accountable in a great measure for her future. If I might +be allowed to judge—and I have dear children of my own—I should say +that no pecuniary emolument could ever balance such responsibilities. +Now, let me advise you not to feel burdened by the bequest of your good +friend, but accept it in the same spirit in which it was bestowed; take +up your new duties cheerfully, and try to be just as happy as possible +in your future sphere—a sphere which, if I am not mistaken, you are +eminently fitted to grace. Don't you think that such a course would +better please Monsieur Lamonti, if he could speak, than to reject, from +an oversensitiveness, what I know he must have regarded as a small +return for what he owed you in the past and all that he has asked of you +for the future?"</p> + +<p>Mollie was silent for a few minutes, while she gravely considered what +he had said, and tried to realize how she herself would have felt if the +positions had been reversed. At length she looked up with clear eyes and +her own sunny smile.</p> + +<p>"You are right, Mr. Ashley," she said, "you have made me see things in a +different light, and yet I think it will take me some time to get over +the feeling, in view of all the wealth that has come upon me, like an +avalanche, to manage, that I have an embarrassment of riches."</p> + +<p>"Do not be troubled," the gentleman kindly returned, "for if affairs are +managed in the future as they have been in the past—I mean according to +Monsieur Lamonti's system—you will find that everything will move along +very smoothly."</p> + +<p>"You are surely very comforting," Mollie observed, her heart beginning +to grow light once more. "Of course, you must be my counselor, and I +trust you will not mind if I come to you with all my troubles, as +freely as if I were your own daughter, at least until I become +accustomed to my new duties."</p> + +<p>And the gentleman said he should be very happy to have her honor him +with her confidence to such an extent.</p> + +<p>In spite of the blind way in which Monsieur Lamonti had worded his +bequest to Mollie, it became noised abroad that the future guardian of +the youthful heiress had herself been very handsomely dowered, and +immediately all Washington became intensely interested in her. The +romantic incidents connected with the saving of the child's life and the +capturing of the midnight burglar—for that, also, had been whispered +about—the beauty and refinement of Miss Heatherford, whom numberless +people now began to remember as a previous New York belle, became, for +the time, the talk of society, and much interest and curiosity were +manifested regarding her plans for the future.</p> + +<p>Would she remain in Washington and maintain the fine establishment of +the late millionaire, or would she retire to some place where she would +not be so closely watched during the minority and educating of her young +charge? Would she enter society again, after a proper season of +seclusion out of respect to Monsieur Lamonti, entertain and be +entertained, and finally be won by some aspiring young man of the world?</p> + +<p>Of course, Mollie's early life and training had well fitted her to +preside in the palatial home of Lucille, and to shine among the most +distinguished people of Washington, or, indeed, of any city; and, +although she did not give much thought to society just now, there was +much to induce her to remain where she was.</p> + +<p>She believed that her friend would prefer her to do so, at least for the +present, and preserve his home just as he had left it, that Lucille +might not too soon forget him; while, as she thought the matter over in +all its bearings, it seemed almost like sacrilege to her to displace the +beautiful furnishings and many treasures of art which had been so +carefully purchased and arranged under his supervision; the servants +were all well trained and trustworthy, and it would have entailed an +infinite amount of perplexity and labor to make any change, and even +though she felt that the responsibility of keeping up such an extensive +establishment would be very great, she finally decided it was the right +thing for her to do. Moreover, and it was the greatest inducement of +all, Cliff was to remain indefinitely in Washington, and she felt that +she could not be separated from him.</p> + +<p>So her modest little home, in the humble street where they had lived for +nearly two years, was broken up. Mr. Heatherford was removed to the +pleasantest suite of rooms in the Lamonti residence, and the faithful +Eliza was retained to act solely as his nurse and attendant.</p> + +<p>"Poor, dear papa!" Mollie sighed as she bent fondly over him, after he +was comfortably settled in a sunny south window of his luxurious +apartment, "if you could only realize the good fortune that has come to +us, after our battle with poverty, I should be perfectly happy."</p> + +<p>When Faxon first learned of the great change that had come into +Mollie's life so unexpectedly he looked anything but pleased.</p> + +<p>"So, dear, you now belong to another sphere," he observed, with a +quickly repressed sigh, "or, perhaps, I should have said you have been +restored to your proper sphere."</p> + +<p>"Cliff," said Mollie reprovingly, but with a light on her face which +expressed far more than her words, "I belong alone to you—your sphere +will always be mine, unless—oh, you grand, aspiring fellow!—I am +unable to keep up with you mentally as you climb the ladder of fame."</p> + +<p>The young man's arms closed around her in a fond embrace, but a sudden +contraction in his throat would not admit of his speaking for the +moment. This little revelation of her great and absorbing love for him +moved him deeply. Mollie observed it, and, flashing a sly, mischievous +glance into his face, she demurely remarked:</p> + +<p>"I'm very sorry, Cliff, if you are going to feel burdened to take me +with the appendage that has been thrust upon me. Of course, you know I +would rather have you than the fortune—love in the proverbial cottage +with you than the whole world without you—but since I cannot get rid of +the fortune, I don't see but that you will have to take me just as I am, +be it for 'better or worse.'"</p> + +<p>"Mollie! Mollie!" murmured Faxon, in a voice that almost made her +weep—it was so intense from the emotion which nearly mastered +him—"what a rare, sweet woman you are!"</p> + +<p>He was silent for a moment, and then he resumed with more self-control.</p> + +<p>"I dared to love you when you were 'Miss Heatherford the heiress,' but I +should not have presumed to try to win you while you were rich and I was +poor. I have been so glad and proud to have won you while we were on the +same plane socially, and to feel that we love each other for just what +we are. I have exulted in the thought that it would be my privilege to +work for you, and, perchance, restore you to the position you once +occupied; but since I am to be denied that I can only bend all my +energies toward making my name one that you will be proud to bear by and +by."</p> + +<p>"I am already proud of it, dear," said Mollie, with beaming eyes, "but I +shall be even more so when it becomes my own."</p> + +<p>Clifford's answer to this loving tribute need not be recorded, but, +judging from the sweet laugh which rippled over Mollie's lips, it was +entirely satisfactory.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="chap12"></a>CHAPTER XII.<br/> +<span class="smaller">MR. HEATHERFORD'S RECOVERY.</span></h2> + +<p>Immediately after Mr. Heatherford's removal to the Lamonti mansion, +Mollie resolved to make one more desperate effort for his recovery and +to spare no expense to put him under the most noted specialists for +diseases of the brain that could be secured. After making diligent +inquiries, she decided to send for Doctor ——, of New York, to come to +Washington and diagnose her father's case. The great man came, but, +after a careful and protracted examination, pronounced the fatal +verdict, which she so dreaded to hear.</p> + +<p>"Miss Heatherford, it pains me deeply to have to tell you that there is +not the slightest ray of hope, as far as I can see," he said, and then +lapsed into a learned description of the patient's condition, describing +the state of his brain, the probable progress of the disease, and its +inevitable termination, while Mollie felt as if she would herself become +distracted before he concluded his terrible picture.</p> + +<p>"Oh!" she cried at last, "then he must live on like this indefinitely, +growing gradually more and more helpless! He is never to know anything +more of life, never even give me, his only child, one fond word or look +of recognition! How can I bear it?"</p> + +<p>"My dear young lady, it is hard, I know," said the physician kindly, +and deeply touched by the tearless grief, "and were it in my power to +give you the least encouragement, I should be more than glad to do so. I +have given you my opinion of the case as it appears to me," he went on +after a moment of deep thought, "but if it would comfort you any to make +one more trial, I will suggest that a noted Paris specialist, who is now +in this country, be called to examine Mr. Heatherford. There is no +higher authority in the world that I know of."</p> + +<p>Mollie grasped eagerly at this straw, and the highest authority in the +world, the great Paris doctor, was sent for at once. He came and went; +but he left behind him only bitter disappointment and a sentence of +doom.</p> + +<p>Poor Mollie, who had hoped against hope, was utterly prostrated for a +time in view of this ultimatum. She shut herself into her room to meet +this terrible blow and fight her battle out where no eye could witness +her anguish.</p> + +<p>The fate to which her father had been doomed by the verdict of the +doctors seemed absolutely unbearable, and she cried aloud in her anguish +that she would not submit to it.</p> + +<p>She was nearly worn out with this conflict by luncheon-time, two hours +and more after the departure of the Paris authority, and was only able +to drink a cup of tea when her maid brought a temptingly arranged tray +to her; but she felt that she could not live through the afternoon, left +alone with her own thoughts, and finally, ringing for Nannette, she +ordered her to make Lucille ready for a drive, and half an hour later +found them rolling out toward the Washington monument. They drove for +nearly two hours, and then Mollie ordered the coachman to turn toward +home.</p> + +<p>As the carriage was passing through Fourteenth Street something caught +Mollie's eye—something which made her sit suddenly erect, while a look +of eager interest swept over her pale, lovely face. The object which had +attracted her attention was a very modest sign hanging in a window.</p> + +<p>It read thus: "John L. Freeman, Christian Science Healer," and into the +girl's mind flashed the thought, accompanied by a wild hope: "Perhaps +that man can help my father—I have heard that Christian Scientists do +wonderful things."</p> + +<p>Almost before she was aware of what she was doing, she had ordered the +driver to stop, when, taking Lucille by the hand, she alighted, mounted +the steps, and rang the bell of the house where Mr. Freeman resided.</p> + +<p>Then, as the tinkle of the bell came to her ears, she suddenly began to +feel ashamed of her errand, for she had always been both skeptical and +intolerant of all such "metaphysical nonsense," as she had termed it.</p> + +<p>She was half-tempted to beat a hasty retreat, and perhaps would have +done so if the door had not been opened at that instant by a sweet, +happy-looking girl, whose winning smile at once won her confidence and +inspired her with fresh hope.</p> + +<p>"Can I see Mr. Freeman?" she briefly inquired.</p> + +<p>"I think so; come in, please," replied the girl, and, turning, she led +the way into a pleasant room, where a gentleman of perhaps forty years +was sitting.</p> + +<p>He arose and greeted Mollie with easy courtesy, his dark eyes searching +her face with a kind but penetrating look, and instantly a strange +feeling of peace fell upon her aching, rebellious heart. She took the +chair he offered her, and then opened her heart to him, telling him all +her trouble and sorrow—of her father's long illness, of the many weary +months of anxious care and hopeless seeking after help from various +sources, and of her last despairing efforts and their result. The +gentleman did not once interrupt her, but sat with downcast eyes and +attentive mien until she concluded, when she tremulously inquired:</p> + +<p>"Can you help him—is there any hope, do you think?"</p> + +<p>"My dear child, there is every hope," her companion confidently replied. +"God is always a help in time of trouble."</p> + +<p>"God!" repeated Mollie, with a bitter inflection. "I have begun to +believe there is no God."</p> + +<p>The gentleman bent a pitiful glance upon her.</p> + +<p>"I am sure that you will never say that again," he replied after a +moment of silence.</p> + +<p>Then he asked her a few questions, after which he remarked that he would +take the case if she desired, and would visit her father later in the +day.</p> + +<p>Mollie arose, a peculiar feeling of restfulness and hope having +succeeded her previous weariness and despair; and, opening her purse, +inquired what she should pay for the consultation.</p> + +<p>"Nothing for our little talk, Miss Heatherford," said Mr. Freeman, with +a quiet smile; "we are always glad to have people come to us when in +trouble. Scientists, when they take patients, usually treat them by the +week, the sum being uniform, unless frequent visits are required; of +course, you understand that no medicines—no remedies of any kind—are +to be used."</p> + +<p>He then mentioned the amount for a week's treatment, and which seemed to +the wondering girl exceedingly paltry; but she paid it, and then went +away with that same strange, sweet peace still pervading her.</p> + +<p>A week passed, and while there was no apparent change in Mr. +Heatherford's mental condition, he was not nearly as restless as he had +been, and slept quietly the whole night through, a thing he had not done +for months.</p> + +<p>The second week he began to take more nourishment. At the end of a month +his face began to have some color, and Eliza declared that he was +actually gaining flesh, while now and then they found him looking about +the room, vacantly, to be sure, and yet with an air as if a dawning +consciousness was trying to assert itself.</p> + +<p>Mollie jealously watched every change, and each time that Mr. Freeman +came she plied him with questions, eagerly seeking to learn something of +the great principle that was governing her dear father's condition.</p> + +<p>She read with avidity the books which the gentleman loaned her, and +which taught her much, and gradually a joyous hope—an abiding +confidence, rather—took possession of her, assuring her that her loved +one would ere long be well again.</p> + +<p>At the expiration of two months he had once spoken her name, and had +began to try to use his hands to help himself; and finally there came a +day when he actually stood upon his feet, with Eliza's strong arms +around him to support him.</p> + +<p>"Bress de Lord! I tole yo' to trust de Lord, honey," the woman +exclaimed, her black face radiant with joy on this happy occasion.</p> + +<p>"I know you did, Eliza; and at last I believe I am beginning to +understand what and where God is," Mollie reverently replied, her golden +lashes laden with tears of joy.</p> + +<p>Early in May, when the weather began to be oppressive, she closed the +house in Washington and took her family to the beautiful villa—one of +Lucille's many possessions—at Cape May, where they remained all +summer—five delightful, happy months, for the invalid improved with +every day.</p> + +<p>Faxon also spent his vacation—the month of August—there, each morning +finding him early at the villa, where he and his betrothed vied with +each other in making the time pass pleasantly for Mr. Heatherford, whose +mind was fast becoming as clear and active as in the vigorous days of +his youth.</p> + +<p>He was still somewhat hampered physically, as the obstinate enemy, +paralysis, had not been wholly conquered, although it was rapidly +disappearing; but there was not a happier nor more grateful family in +existence than Mollie's household, all of whom felt as if the dead had +been restored to life.</p> + +<p>Faxon returned to Washington the first of September, and a month later +the Lamonti house was once more opened, and the family settled for the +winter.</p> + +<p>Mr. Heatherford was now practically well, and "prepared," he said, "to +begin life over again."</p> + +<p>Mollie, however, tried to persuade him not to think of business for a +long while yet; there was no need, she asserted, for her income was +ample for their every want. But Mr. Heatherford was eager to test his +recovered powers, particularly as Mr. Freeman encouraged him to do so, +and, having been educated for the bar, he soon made arrangements to go +into business with an established firm, one of the partners proving to +be an old-time friend who knew something of the reputation which Mr. +Heatherford had borne during his more prosperous days; and now the +future began to look very bright to him once more.</p> + +<p>As the season advanced and distinguished people began to flock to the +capital, he met many a former acquaintance, and thus it came about that +both Mollie and her father were gradually drawn into society again.</p> + +<p>When Mollie began to accept these courtesies and take her place once +more in social life, she insisted that her engagement should be publicly +announced, and so, of course, Clifford was always thereafter included in +all invitations.</p> + +<p>He was looking forward to a much brighter prospect in life after the +first of January than he had dared to anticipate for himself thus early +in his career, and it was arranged that his marriage should occur as +soon as he was well settled in his new enterprise; meantime, as he was +becoming quite a favorite in social circles, the young couple gave +themselves up to the enjoyment of the present.</p> + +<p>One evening, at a brilliant reception given by a distinguished senator, +Mr. Heatherford and Mollie unexpectedly encountered Mr. and Mrs. Temple +and Philip Wentworth, the family having come to Washington again for the +winter. Mr. Temple had again become interested in politics during the +last year or two, and had been elected a member of the House of +Representatives, and was ambitious for still higher honors.</p> + +<p>The meeting between Mr. Heatherford and Mr. Temple was somewhat +startling to both gentlemen, especially so to the latter, since he +believed the former to be still a hopeless paralytic, if, indeed, he +were yet on the earth. They met in the great hall of the mansion where +they were guests.</p> + +<p>A slight smile of contempt flitted over Mr. Heatherford's face as he +said: "Ah! Temple; so we meet again!"</p> + +<p>"My God! Heatherford!" gasped the man who had so bitterly wronged him +under the guise of friendship; and he was colorless even to his lips.</p> + +<p>"Yes; you were not expecting to meet me again—here," returned Mr. +Heatherford.</p> + +<p>"It—it is a miracle! Who was your doctor?" panted the false friend, +scarce knowing what he said.</p> + +<p>"God," briefly but reverently responded Heatherford. Then, with a +courtly but distant bow, he added: "Excuse me; I am looking for my +daughter."</p> + +<p>He passed on, leaving the other still staring blankly after him, and +actually trembling, as if he had suddenly encountered a ghost of the +past—as, indeed, he had.</p> + +<p>Later in the evening Mollie found herself standing almost side by side +with Philip Wentworth. She was richly and beautifully clad. Her dress +was a gauzelike material of black, made over a very light-gray satin +that gleamed like silver underneath. The trimmings were all of silver, +and a diamond spray, with a silver aigrette, gleamed in her hair.</p> + +<p>The corsage of her robe was cut modestly low, and the full, puffed +sleeves were short, thus revealing her perfect arms and neck, which were +like chiseled marble. It was a strikingly effective costume, and just +suited her, for it threw out the fairness of her faultless complexion to +great advantage.</p> + +<p>She gave a slight start as she caught Philip's voice and realized his +proximity, but did not glance at him. She turned slightly away, and was +about to address a lady whom she knew; but before she could do so, +Philip stepped directly in front of her, determined that he would not be +ignored.</p> + +<p>"You have told me never to speak to you again—that we are strangers," +he began in a low tone that was husky with emotion; "cannot you forgive +and forget? I have suffered bitterly for my folly of that night—I have +repented in sackcloth and ashes."</p> + +<p>Not a muscle of Mollie's face moved during his speech. She stood and +looked like a statue—beautiful as a young goddess—but cold as snow, +and a feeling of bitter remorse—of utter despair crept over him as he +realized how he had lowered himself in her estimation and lost all +chance of ever winning her.</p> + +<p>Since learning of Mr. Lamonti's will and that Mollie had now an +independent fortune, and would once more take an enviable position in +society, he had cursed himself a thousand times for his past folly. +While he was speaking Mollie was wondering how she could escape him +without replying to him and without making herself conspicuous.</p> + +<p>There was an awkward pause for a moment after he concluded; then +Mollie's quick ear caught the voice of her hostess, who was just behind +her, remarking:</p> + +<p>"No, I have not seen Mr. Wentworth since he first entered the room; but +I am sure he is still here."</p> + +<p>Mollie turned gracefully toward the speaker, thus revealing Philip to +her.</p> + +<p>"You were inquiring for Mr. Wentworth, Mrs. Blackman," she observed, +with a charming smile. "Behold him just at hand!"</p> + +<p>Then, with a bow to the lady, she slipped away, leaving Philip in a +white heat of rage and disappointment over having failed to win even a +glance of recognition from her.</p> + +<p>But Mollie escaped Philip only to run almost into the arms of Mrs. +Temple, who also had already arrived at the conclusion that the girl's +acquaintance was worth cultivating again. Mollie Heatherford, with a +handsome fortune in her own right, was an entirely different person +from the poverty-stricken private secretary of a year ago. She extended +her hand with a beaming smile, and greeted her with much of her former +maternal fondness.</p> + +<p>Mollie's quiet "good evening, Mrs. Temple," together with the +ceremonious touch of her finger-tips, was something of a facer; but the +shrewd woman of the world was not one to easily relinquish a project, +and she continued in her most cordial tone:</p> + +<p>"Really, Mollie, it seems like old times to meet you in society again; +and what a romantic experience you have had! I assure you, no one could +be more delighted than we were when we learned of your good fortune. Are +you back in the Lamonti house again this season?"</p> + +<p>"Yes," Mollie briefly replied.</p> + +<p>"I understand that it is very elegant—that Mr. Lamonti was exceedingly +refined in his tastes, and made his home a perfect gem," Mrs. Temple +continued, and determined to trap Mollie into asking her to call if it +were possible.</p> + +<p>"Yes," the fair girl again composedly replied, "Monsieur Lamonti spared +no expense to make his home attractive, and took great pride and +pleasure in gathering treasures from all parts of the world to beautify +it."</p> + +<p>"I have been told that many of the paintings are from the hands of the +best masters," pursued her inquisitor.</p> + +<p>"That is true."</p> + +<p>"Do you ever entertain as you used to in the old days in New York, +Mollie?"</p> + +<p>"We have not as yet; it is quite early in the season, you know," said +Mollie, and barely able to suppress a smile as she saw the drift of +these questions; "but papa and I were talking the matter over recently, +and I think we may have a regular reception evening later on."</p> + +<p>"Ah!" exclaimed Mrs. Temple eagerly; "then you will be well launched +upon the sea of Washington society, and if at any time you should feel +the need of some one to matronize your affairs, you will know where to +come, dear," she concluded, with her most affable smile.</p> + +<p>"Thank you, Mrs. Temple."</p> + +<p>"And I wish you would drop in upon us occasionally," the lady went on +appealingly, but flushing slightly over the failure of her scheme. "We +were all very fond of you always, Mollie, and Minnie would be delighted +to see her old friend."</p> + +<p>"Yes, Minnie and I were close friends; give my love to the dear child," +Mollie replied, with more of heartiness than she had yet expressed. +Then, catching sight of Mr. Heatherford, she added: "Excuse me, but I +see papa looking for me. Good-night, Mrs. Temple."</p> + +<p>And with a graceful inclination of her bright head she glided away. Mrs. +Temple's face was a study as she watched the slight, perfect figure move +down the room. She had been utterly baffled, and she was filled with +mingled disappointment and mortification.</p> + +<p>"Mollie is very shrewd, with all her sweetness," she muttered, with a +frown; "she can hold her own anywhere, and we have all made a grand mistake."</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="chap13"></a>CHAPTER XIII.<br/> +<span class="smaller">AN ASTONISHING DISCOVERY.</span></h2> + +<p>"Waal, squire, I reckon everything is done now to the turn of the key. +I've packed a dozen shirts, and, if I do say it, no Chang Wang could +have put a better shine on 'em than I've given 'em. There's two dozen +pocket-handkerchiefs, as white as snow; collars and cuffs to last a +month, if you're careful; and everything else all in shipshape. Now I'll +have lunch for you in about ten minutes, and that'll give you plenty of +time to catch the train."</p> + +<p>So spoke Maria Kimberly, as she stood in the doorway leading from the +kitchen into the dining-room, where Squire Talford was sitting at his +desk filling out some checks to settle his monthly bills. He was on the +point of starting for Washington, whither he was going on business +connected with some patents in which he had recently become interested, +and which would keep him away from home for about six weeks or two months.</p> + +<p>"All right, Maria. I'm about through; but what are you going to do with +yourself while I'm gone?" the man responded, but without looking up from +his employment.</p> + +<p>"Oh, I'll take good care o' things, and I'll find enough to do, never +you fear," said the woman, with a peculiar glitter in her eyes. "I +ain't cleaned house yet; I've put it off, waitin' for you to git away, +so's I could have full swing. I'll see that Pat and the boy don't do no +loafin'; and you needn't give yourself a mite of oneasiness—things'll +go on just as straight if you was goin' to be here yourself."</p> + +<p>The squire knew this without being told, for Maria was an excellent +manager, an efficient housekeeper, and, barring the fact that she had a +sharp tongue, and was rather more independent than was sometimes quite +agreeable, no one could have suited him better as a superintendent of +affairs, both on the farm and in the house.</p> + +<p>She had been in his family for many years, and having been thoroughly +trained by his wife in every department of domestic life and economy, +while being honest and faithful as the day is long in the performance of +every duty, she was entirely competent to assume the management as she +had done upon Mrs. Talford's death, and everything had gone on like +clockwork from that day.</p> + +<p>Squire Talford had never manifested any desire to marry again. Maria +asserted that he was "too tight" to be willing to increase his expenses +in any such way; for, although he always wanted the nicest of everything +for himself, he used to grumble over the expense of clothing his wife.</p> + +<p>He was very proud of his fine estate—his handsome mansion and broad +acres, and kept them in first-class order; but, while he wanted every +comfort for himself, he had dispensed with some luxuries and style +after Mrs. Talford's demise, was close and mean with his help, and +seemed to think of nothing save accumulating money.</p> + +<p>"Though goodness knows what'll ever become of it when he's gone, for he +ain't a kindred soul to leave it to, as far as I know," Mrs. Kimberly +would sometimes remark in a confidential manner to her friends.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I reckon I can trust you to keep a sharp eye out while I'm gone," +the squire returned to Maria's observation, "though I'm not so sure +about the loafing—you're a little inclined to be too soft-hearted with +the boys. I want to find that pile of wood all sawed, split, and housed +when I get back."</p> + +<p>Maria sniffed audibly as she glanced through a window at the pile of +wood referred to, and which comprised a good many cords of solid timber, +and she had no idea of pushing "the boys" beyond a certain limit.</p> + +<p>"Waal, maybe you will, and maybe you won't," she returned after a +moment, with an independent toss of her head. "It'll depend a good deal +on what kind o' weather we have. I suppose you know," she continued, +with a sudden softening of her face and tone, "that Cliff is in +Washington. I hear he's got a fine position, too. Do you imagine you'll +feel any interest to look him up?"</p> + +<p>"Not the slightest, Maria," returned Squire Talford, in a cold tone, and +with a sudden stiffening of his angular figure. "Clifford Faxon is +nothing to me, and I shall not concern myself in the least to learn +anything about his movements."</p> + +<p>"Oh!" returned his companion, with a peculiar inflection, while she +screwed her lips into a resentful pucker, "I didn't know but you'd feel +a kind o' curiosity to find out if he's workin' his way along up toward +the top o' the heap in Washington, same's he did at college. You know +you didn't prophecy anything very flatterin' to him when he started out +for himself, but he got there, all the same."</p> + +<p>The squire flushed hotly at this reminder.</p> + +<p>"I think you'd better hurry up lunch, Maria," was all the reply he +deigned her, and the woman vanished, but chuckling to herself as she went:</p> + +<p>"He pretends he ain't curious, but he is, all the same, and I'd be +willin' to bet my new black silk—which I ain't had on since that day at +Cambridge, I'm goin' to keep it for Cliff's wedding—that he will find +out about the boy," she muttered to herself, while dishing up the +tempting meal which she had prepared for the master of the house.</p> + +<p>An hour later Squire Talford was en route for New York, and Maria was +left mistress of the field.</p> + +<p>Early next morning she vigorously set about preparations for the +semi-annual house-cleaning, although, to all appearance, the mansion was +immaculate from garret to cellar. Nevertheless, twice every year every +room was religiously upset, cleaned, and renovated.</p> + +<p>She invariably began in the attic and went down in the most methodical +manner, just as her mistress had done every year of her married life. +Every box, drawer, and trunk—excepting a couple which the squire never +allowed any one to touch—had to be overhauled, their contents +thoroughly brushed and shaken, for fear of moths, and every nook and +corner swept and scrubbed.</p> + +<p>For some reason Maria experienced a greater sense of freedom to-day than +she had ever felt before; doubtless it was because of the squire's +absence, for there would be no fear of disturbing him with the noise +overhead, and having no regular dinner to get, there would be nothing to +interrupt operations.</p> + +<p>She always said that the worst was over when she got through with the +attic, and late in the afternoon, when she cast a satisfied glance +around the clean, orderly, sweet-smelling room, every beam and rafter of +which had undergone vigorous treatment, a sigh of content escaped her.</p> + +<p>"You can't put your finger on a speck o' dust anywhere," she +soliloquized, "and everything is in shipshape. It's a good job done, +too, and I'm not sorry it's over."</p> + +<p>She gathered up her brushes, pail, and mop and turned to leave the +place, when her glance fell upon a small hair trunk which she had +dragged out into the hall at the head of the stairs, and had neglected +to replace in its accustomed corner. It was one of those which the +squire never allowed to be opened and overhauled.</p> + +<p>"I s'h'd jest like to know what's in the old thing," Maria remarked as +she sat down her utensils and picked it up in her strong arms. "It +looks's if it had been made in the year one, and it's always locked +tighter'n a drum—goodness! goodness me!"</p> + +<p>The latter explosive ejaculations were occasioned by an unlucky slip of +the antiquated receptacle, then a resounding crash upon the floor, when +the hinges snapped, the cover flew off, and a promiscuous assortment of +things were scattered in every direction in the attic, which but a +moment previous had presented such an orderly appearance.</p> + +<p>Maria stood for a moment looking ruefully upon the havoc she had made, +her arms akimbo, her temper ruffled in view of the work of gathering up +the débris before her.</p> + +<p>"Waal," she at length observed, with a sigh of resignation, "I guess I'm +likely to find out what was in it, after all, though"—with a +contemptuous sniff—"I don't imagine I'm going to be very much +entertained by the operation."</p> + +<p>The trunk had been packed full of papers—deeds, letters, bills, etc., +which had been tied up in separate bundles, but the strings having given +way in the force of the fall, they now lay in confused heaps and +irretrievably mixed, as far as Maria was concerned.</p> + +<p>She sat down upon the floor and began to gather them up, restoring them +in as orderly a manner as possible to the trunk. Among other things she +came upon a box which had slid a little to one side of the heap. This, +also, had burst open, and its contents were partially spilled out. +Reaching for it, she drew it toward her, and was attracted by a pungent +odor which clung to it.</p> + +<p>It was made from some sweet-smelling, fine-grained wood, and the corners +were ornamented with heavily wrought silver, although the metal was +badly tarnished from having lain so long unused. There were numerous +letters in it, some being addressed in a woman's delicate handwriting +and others in a bold, clear, masculine chirography.</p> + +<p>"Miss Belle Abbott," Maria read from one of the envelopes addressed in +the bold hand.</p> + +<p>Then she gave a violent start.</p> + +<p>"Goodness—gracious! How came this here?" she ejaculated. "Belle Abbott! +Why, that was Cliff's mother's name afore she was married. But I wonder +who W. F. T. Wilton was?" she continued as she closely inspected the +handwriting on another envelope. "I'm sure Mis' Faxon must have writ +these letters, for the writin' looks just like what I've seen in some of +Cliff's books that he told me she gave him. But it beats me to know how +these things ever got into Squire Talford's old trunk, 'less Mis' Faxon +gave them to him to keep for the boy, 'n' if she did he'd oughter had +'em long ago. What's this, I wonder?"</p> + +<p>"This" comprised two pieces of parchment attached to each other by a +pin. They were folded long and narrow, like legal documents, and were +also bound about with a narrow blue ribbon.</p> + +<p>With firmly compressed lips and a flushed face, Maria sat regarding them +intently, and as if deliberating a point within herself for a few +moments.</p> + +<p>"I'm going to know," she said at last, in tones of stern decision, and, +suiting the action to the words, she deliberately removed the ribbon and +pin, unfolded one of the papers, and began to read it with eager +interest.</p> + +<p>Every bit of color faded out of her face by the time she reached the +bottom of the sheet, and with staring eyes and bated breath she seized +its mate and proceeded to read that.</p> + +<p>"Good land!" she ejaculated at length. "Now I understand some things +that have always puzzled me afore! So this is Belle Atwood's +marriage-bill, and this tells about Cliff's baptism! And Faxon isn't his +last name, either!" she went on, with a gasp of excitement. "It is—he +is—why, good Lord!—now I know why Squire Talford has always hated him +so; though I never did take much stock in that story I heard when I +first came here—that he was in love with her once, and she jilted him +for some one else."</p> + +<p>She sat thinking deeply for some time, a look of perplexity on her +plain, honest face.</p> + +<p>"There's some things I can't quite see through, after all," she resumed +after a time; "if what I suspect is true—and there ain't much doubt +about it—why on earth did Mis' Faxon ever bind that boy to the squire? +Aha!" a flash of intelligence sweeping over her face, "I begin to +see—it was a trick of his. He is not a man that ever forgives a +wrong—he hated her and the boy's father and the boy himself, because of +what they'd done. He meant to crush 'em all, and so he pretended to +befriend Mis' Faxon—wormed himself into her confidence, so got her to +sign them bond papers, and then, when she died, stole this box, so the +boy could never find out who he really is. I remember now that she sent +for him the night she died. I'll bet he stole these papers at that time. +Oh! he's a tricky one, Squire Talford is! He thought he'd fixed things +so that nobody'd ever find out the truth; but it's a long lane that +hasn't any turn in it, and I'm goin' to prove it to you, you miserly, +gray-headed, hard-hearted old rascal!"</p> + +<p>And Mrs. Kimberly emphasized her words by angrily shaking the papers in +her hand at the demolished old trunk, in lieu of the man himself, until +they rattled noisily.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="chap14"></a>CHAPTER XIV.<br/> +<span class="smaller">THE SQUIRE MEETS MISS HEATHERFORD.</span></h2> + +<p>"Humph!" Maria resumed after some minutes, and, arousing herself from +another fit of musing into which she had fallen, "I always thought there +was a skeleton hid in this old hair trunk, and now I've unearthed it. +'Murder will out,' they say, and I guess the Lord thought He'd make me +His instrument to see justice done that boy. He just sent me up here +to-day to smash the thing, and now I s'pose I've got to finish the +business up. I'm going to take charge of these papers and see that Cliff +gets them."</p> + +<p>She began to replace them and the letters in the box as she spoke, with +a set face and determined air.</p> + +<p>"Of course, I shall tell the squire just how I happened to find 'em," +she went on. "I ain't one to hide anything. I'll just face him and out +with the whole matter, but they ain't never goin' back into his +possession again if I lose my place for it!" She handled the letters +reverently as she laid them, one by one, into their receptacle, her face +softening involuntarily.</p> + +<p>"Of course, these letters will tell Cliff a lot that I may never know +anything about, and what is none o' my business," she mused, but with a +yearning curiosity to know their contents, nevertheless. "I only hope, +if the squire has been trying to cheat him out o' anything that belongs +to him, they'll help to set him right."</p> + +<p>Having restored all that she thought belonged there to the box, she set +it one side, then finished packing the trunk, replaced the cover, and, +rising, drew it to the corner where it was accustomed to stand.</p> + +<p>Then taking the exhumed "skeleton" under her arm she marched straight +down to her own room, where she locked it safely away in her own trunk +and hid the key.</p> + +<p>She was quite upset by the exciting discovery of the afternoon, and for +the first time in many years lay awake until after midnight nervously +conning the matter over in her mind, and trying to decide just what she +ought to do about it. It proved to be a perplexing question, and she +chewed the cud of indecision industriously for the next two weeks, while +she scrubbed and cleaned, took up and put down carpets, washed, ironed, +and hung curtains, and performed the manifold duties that throng upon +the busy matron during house-cleaning time.</p> + +<p>Half a dozen times she began a letter to Cliff asking him to come to +Cedar Hill, as she had something important to tell him, but she tore +each one up, her sense of loyalty to the squire making her feel that she +ought to tell him of her discovery first; while, too, she doubted the +wisdom of asking Cliff to leave his business and be at the expense of +such a journey. Once she thought she would go to a lawyer and tell him +the whole story, for she had a suspicion that there might be some +property coming to Cliff if his identity could be proven. But such a +measure did not quite commend itself to her, for she thought he might +not care to have another party let into the secrets of his origin and +his mother's domestic troubles, while she also reasoned that it would be +only fair to give the squire a chance to voluntarily right the wrong he +had committed.</p> + +<p>The two weeks lengthened into a month, and she was no nearer a decision +than on the day of her discovery.</p> + +<p>Meantime, however, Providence was opening the way for her to be relieved +of the burden which she felt was fast becoming too heavy to be borne.</p> + +<p>Squire Talford, on arriving in Washington, took a room in a +boarding-house in a quiet street. He did not like hotel-life for +numerous reasons, the chief one being that he was too economically +inclined to spend his money in that way, while he also objected to the +constant change, rush, and excitement of such a place.</p> + +<p>Now, it happened, strangely enough, that Clifford had a room in a house +adjoining Squire Talford's boarding-place, although he took his meals +farther down on the same street.</p> + +<p>Thus it naturally came about that the whilom bound boy and his former +master ran up against each other only a few days after the arrival of +the latter in the nation's capital. The encounter occurred on Sunday, +about the middle of the afternoon, when Clifford, with a red +moss-rosebud on his coat, started forth for the Lamonti mansion, where +he was to dine with the Heatherfords.</p> + +<p>The squire had been out to post some letters at the nearest box, and +was returning to his boarding-place when the two met on a corner.</p> + +<p>Clifford flushed slightly, and was greatly surprised to see the man so +far from home, but with the politeness which always characterized him, +lifted his hat and cordially saluted him. The man shot a frowning glance +at him and passed on without a word, as if he had been a total stranger +to him. Possibly, if Clifford had been shabbily clad and had not looked +so prosperous, happy, and handsome, he might not have been quite so +churlish; but it made him secretly furious to see him clothed better +than himself, a fact which plainly indicated to him that he was still +making his way steadily upward, while his buoyant air and alert, +energetic step told of perfect health and a heart at peace with the +world.</p> + +<p>The slight stung Clifford for the instant, but, replacing his hat and +straightening himself with an air of conscious superiority, he went on +his way, and half an hour later had forgotten the existence of the man.</p> + +<p>He had far more interesting things to think about just then, for he and +Mollie were laying their plans for the most important event of their +lives—their marriage, which it had been decided should take place some +time during the latter part of January.</p> + +<p>Several times during the next three weeks Clifford met the squire, and, +out of respect for his years, invariably saluted him in a gentlemanly +manner, but always with the same result—the man as often passed him +with a cold stare and without moving a muscle of his hard, forbidding +face.</p> + +<p>"I wonder why he has always hated me so?" Clifford mused upon one of +these occasions. "I served him faithfully during the four years that I +lived with him—my conscience is clear of ever having once wilfully +disobeyed him or neglected my work. I cannot understand how one human +being can entertain such an unreasonable grudge against another. I am +sure I have no desire to exchange places with him, rich as he is, for I +think it must be very uncomfortable to hate one as he seems to me. I +wish Mollie could meet him—she reads faces like books, and I really +would like to know what her analysis of his character would be."</p> + +<p>He had his wish granted not very long afterward. Squire Talford stepped +into a stationery-store one afternoon on his way home to dinner, to lay +in a fresh supply of paper and envelopes. He had observed before +entering that a very handsome equipage was standing before the door, for +being fond of fine horses, and a good judge of them, as well, he never +passed them unnoticed.</p> + +<p>He even turned to take a second look out of the window of the store +before making his purchase, and found himself wondering who could be the +fortunate owner of the blooded pair, while his appreciative eyes also +took in the elegant appointments of the carriage and harness and the +liveried coachman and footman.</p> + +<p>Presently he turned to the counter, and found himself standing beside a +beautiful girl, very richly attired. She was sitting on a stool, +evidently waiting for something, and after giving his own order, Squire +Talford's glance wandered again to the vision of loveliness beside him, +noting her delicate, high-bred features, her wonderfully blue eyes, and +hair of shining gold.</p> + +<p>A clerk came to her after a moment or two and apologized for the +necessity of keeping her waiting still longer—something seemed to have +gone wrong with the order she had given.</p> + +<p>"Never mind," said Mollie—for it was she—with the rarest of smiles and +in sweetest tones. "I am not in any hurry, and do not mind waiting in +the least."</p> + +<p>"Humph" grunted the squire to himself, as he took his package and left +the place.</p> + +<p>The little incident had somehow jarred upon him and set him thinking, +for he well knew that if he had been kept waiting like that, whether he +had been in a hurry or not, he would have fretted and fumed and taken +pains to make the clerk as uncomfortable as possible; but the lovely +girl had unconsciously given him a lesson in true courtesy and charity.</p> + +<p>He could not resist the temptation to pause on the sidewalk as he went +out and take another look at the beautiful horses which he had +previously admired.</p> + +<p>"A fine pair you have there," he observed to the coachman.</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir," replied the man, but looking neither to the right nor left, +nor unbending from his stiff, upright position a hairsbreadth.</p> + +<p>"Morgan?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir," with the same rigidity as before.</p> + +<p>"How old are they?"</p> + +<p>"Six years, or thereabouts."</p> + +<p>The squire eyed them yearningly a moment, then, turning, was about to +proceed on his way when a passer-by jostled him, and, as he was just on +the edge of the curb, caused him to lose his balance, when he nearly +fell inside the carriage, which was a victoria.</p> + +<p>He recovered himself almost immediately, however, and, after brushing +the dust from his clothing, passed on, but grumbling over the rudeness +and carelessness of him who had caused his discomfort.</p> + +<p>Three minutes later Mollie emerged from the store, stepped into her +carriage, and gave the order to be driven "home."</p> + +<p>As the vehicle drew up before her door and she was about to alight, her +foot came in contact with some object upon the floor. Stooping to +ascertain what it was, she was greatly surprised to find a gentleman's +wallet lying upon the mat just inside the carriage.</p> + +<p>"Why, I wonder how this could have come here?" she exclaimed. Upon +opening it she found several papers neatly arranged in one pocket and a +number of bank-notes of various denominations, together with a slip of +paper bearing the name, "A. H. Talford, No. —— Twelfth Street, N. E.," +in another.</p> + +<p>"Talford!" she repeated thoughtfully.</p> + +<p>Where had she heard that name before? she wondered.</p> + +<p>"Walker," she said, holding the wallet up for her coachman to see, "do +you know anything about this? I have just found it on the floor."</p> + +<p>The man thought a moment, and then told her of the elderly gentleman who +had admired the horses, and then, making a misstep, had almost fallen +into the carriage.</p> + +<p>"Ah! Then the wallet must be his. Walker, you may turn around and drive +me to No. —— Twelfth Street, N. E.," said Mollie, as she resumed her +seat.</p> + +<p>The man swung his horses around, and they went trotting down-town again. +Arriving at the residence corresponding to the number on the slip, +Mollie alighted and inquired of the maid who responded to her ring if +Mr. Talford was in.</p> + +<p>"Yes," the girl replied, with a peculiar smile, for the man had +discovered his loss only a few moments before, and was turning the house +upside down in his efforts to discover the missing wallet. Mollie passed +the maid her card, and told her to say to the gentleman that she would +like to see him.</p> + +<p>She waited in the parlor nearly five minutes before the squire made his +appearance, and then he seemed to be greatly excited and in a very +unhappy frame of mind. He started upon finding himself face to face with +the beautiful girl whom he had seen in the stationer's store, and +searched her face curiously.</p> + +<p>Mollie arose as he entered, and, approaching him, extended the wallet. +She said afterward she never saw a more avaricious expression on any +human face.</p> + +<p>"I found this in my carriage, sir, after leaving the store where I met +you a short time ago," she said. "My coachman thinks it must have +slipped from your pocket as you stumbled and almost fell close beside +the vehicle."</p> + +<p>The man sprang forward and seized the purse with a greedy look and +grasp.</p> + +<p>"Yes, it is mine," he exclaimed in eager, tremulous accents. "My address +is inside—I will show you."</p> + +<p>"That is not necessary, Mr. Talford," Mollie pleasantly returned. "I +took the liberty of opening the wallet, and found it, or I should not +have known to whom to return it."</p> + +<p>"Yes, yes; of course," said the squire, with some embarrassment, as he +whipped it open and began to finger the bills nervously. Mollie's red +lips curled slightly at the act, for she read his thoughts like a +printed page. She saw that it was his nature to distrust every one, and +a fear that he would be overreached by those with whom he came in +contact that he was wondering, even then, whether he should find his +precious money intact.</p> + +<p>"I am very glad I found it and was enabled to restore it so soon," she +went on, "and I preferred to bring it to you myself rather than to +entrust it to a messenger."</p> + +<p>She moved toward the door as she concluded, for the man's forbidding and +churlish presence chilled her like an icy wind.</p> + +<p>"Ah! yes—yes, thank you, young woman. I'm much obliged to you, I am +sure," stammered the squire as he glanced irresolutely from his wallet +to her, then back again at the crisp bills within it. "I—I suppose I +ought to pay you something for your trouble."</p> + +<p>Mollie flushed a vivid crimson at the reluctant suggestion, and drew +herself up with involuntary hauteur.</p> + +<p>"Indeed no, sir," she coldly responded. "I assure you you are very +welcome to what I have done, and I will not detain you longer. Good +evening, Mr. Talford," and she bowed herself out with a grace that could +not wholly veil the vein of mockery and contempt that underlay her +words, and vanished from his sight, but leaving him with a sense of +shame and meanness such as he had seldom experienced in life.</p> + +<p>"Talford! Talford! Where have I heard that name? It rings in the +chambers of my memory with a strangely familiar sound, and it almost +seems as if I have seen that face before," Mollie mused, with a look of +perplexity on her face, as she drove back in the fast gathering twilight +toward home; but she failed to place either face or name, and soon +forgot all about them for the time.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="chap15"></a>CHAPTER XV.<br/> +<span class="smaller">PHILIP'S MAD PLEA.</span></h2> + +<p>Five hours later Mollie, clad in a trailing robe of pale-yellow satin, +and looking a veritable princess, with her shining hair coiled high upon +her shapely head and encircled with a tiara of diamonds, stood in the +drawing-room of the residence of the English ambassador making her +obeisance to that distinguished gentleman and his courtly wife.</p> + +<p>She was accompanied by her father, who was now the picture of health, +whose every movement was replete with vigor and almost youthful energy; +for, as he claimed, after fifty years of aimless groping he was just +beginning to learn how to live. Clifford was also with them, but +following a step or two in the rear, and, with his fine face and manly +bearing, there was not a handsomer man in the room. Their salutations +over, they moved aside to make way for others, when a beautiful girl, +all in white, except that she wore a great bunch of scarlet poppies in +her belt, stepped forward and extended a faultlessly gloved hand to +Clifford.</p> + +<p>"I am sure that Mr. Faxon is not one to forget his old friends," she +smilingly observed, while her face glowed with undisguised pleasure at +the meeting.</p> + +<p>"Miss Athol!" he exclaimed, as he cordially clasped her hand, "this is +indeed an unexpected pleasure! Of course, I could not forget you, and I +am most happy to meet you again."</p> + +<p>"The pleasure is mutual, I assure you," Miss Athol heartily returned, +"neither have I forgotten the auspicious occasion of our last meeting at +Harvard, while too"—with a significant glance—"there are some other +memories that haunt me. Mr. Faxon, when I think of that terrible +accident and that awful descent that you made over the precipice I grow +faint and dizzy even now."</p> + +<p>"Then please don't think of it," said Clifford, laughing, and, anxious +to change the subject, he added: "Allow me to inquire if this is your +first visit to Washington?"</p> + +<p>"Oh, no; we have all been here a number of times, but papa was elected +Senator for our district this winter, and we are going to be located +here for the present. He has been in town some weeks, but mama and I +arrived only last Saturday," Gertrude explained. Then she added, +smiling, "How singular that you also should have drifted to Washington +just at this time!"</p> + +<p>"Yes, we meet people where we least expect to, sometimes. I have been +here for more than a year, and have a position in the Patent Office +Department."</p> + +<p>"Climbing all the time, I am sure," said the girl, as her glance swept +his handsome face and figure with a thrill of admiration. "I knew you +would. I should not be in the least surprised to find you located in the +White House some day."</p> + +<p>"Oh, Miss Athol! I beg that I may escape the responsibilities of such a +position," Clifford exclaimed, flushing to his temples and feeling +decidedly uncomfortable to be so lauded. Then, with a sudden thought, he +continued: "But now I am going to ask the privilege of presenting you to +a friend whom I am sure you will find very congenial—may I?"</p> + +<p>"Certainly. I shall be delighted to meet any friend of yours, Mr. +Faxon," said Gertrude cordially.</p> + +<p>Clifford turned to attract the attention of Mollie, who had been +exchanging greetings with a prominent society woman, and a moment later +he had introduced the two girls to each other.</p> + +<p>The moment Miss Athol looked into Mollie's beautiful face and observed +the tender glance which Clifford bestowed upon her, she knew +instinctively that she had met the woman whom he was to marry.</p> + +<p>"And she is worthy of him, which is saying a great deal for her," she +mentally affirmed. "She is exquisitely lovely, but the best in the land +is none too good for Clifford Faxon."</p> + +<p>The young ladies appeared to be instantly attracted to each other, and +in less than ten minutes felt as if they had been acquainted for years, +and would be friends for the remainder of their lives.</p> + +<p>In a corner, not far from this interesting group, and curiously watching +the brilliant throng all about him, stood Squire Talford. And the man, +if one did not closely observe his cold gray eyes and the cruel, cynical +expression about his mouth, made quite a fine appearance in his +evening-attire.</p> + +<p>He had never been anything of a society man, but since he was in +Washington he was determined to go the whole figure and see all there +was to be seen, and as money was no object where his own gratification +was concerned, he easily found ways of obtaining the entrée to +fashionable circles.</p> + +<p>He had observed Mollie when she entered the room, and instantly +recognized her as the young lady who had restored his wallet to him that +afternoon. He had thought her a remarkably pretty girl at that time, but +now, in her evening-costume, she seemed a hundred-fold more lovely, and +he was positively fascinated by her beauty.</p> + +<p>He also noted the richness of her dress and costly jewels, and, at once +recalling the fine equipage which he had seen before the stationer's +store, decided that she must be the daughter of some very wealthy man.</p> + +<p>Her loveliness and charm of manner grew upon him continually, and he +became anxious to learn more about her. He sought a gentleman whom he +knew, and after chatting for a few moments upon current events, suddenly +broke off and remarked:</p> + +<p>"I've been watching that young woman in yellow over there; can you tell +me who she is?"</p> + +<p>"Ah, yes; that is Miss Heatherford. She's an out-and-out beauty, isn't +she? A regular stunner!" was the animated reply. "She is one of the most +attractive young ladies in Washington this winter, and a favorite +wherever she goes. She is rich, also—has a handsome fortune in her own +right, although a year ago this time she was working for a living in +this city."</p> + +<p>"Can that be possible?" inquired the squire, and appearing to be deeply +interested in the gentleman's statements.</p> + +<p>"Yes, and that is her father, that fine-looking man with the snow-white +hair. Five years ago he was known as one of the money-kings of New York, +but he lost every dollar of it by a series of misfortunes, and came here +and went to work as a clerk for the government. Then he was taken ill, +lost his position, and was reduced almost to the verge of beggary; but +his daughter, like the true-blue she is, came nobly to the front, got a +situation as private secretary to a wealthy old Frenchman who had some +mission to this country, and supported herself and her father."</p> + +<p>"But where did she get her present fortune?" inquired Squire Talford.</p> + +<p>"Well, it is quite a story, and I cannot go into the details just now," +his companion replied, "but the girl proved herself a heroine in two or +three instances, and saved the life of the Frenchman's grandchild, +prevented a robbery in the house, and won his confidence to such an +extent that he made her the guardian of the child, to whom he left an +immense amount of money, and a snug sum to Miss Heatherford herself. She +has only recently appeared in society here, but every one has fallen in +love with her—men and women alike. She is spoken for, however, for she +is soon going to marry a fine fellow who bids fair to become a prominent +man in the world if he keeps on as he has begun, for he is as smart as +chain-lightning—there he is now, just in the act of introducing a lady +to Miss Heatherford."</p> + +<p>Squire Talford started and flushed crimson as he instantly recognized +Cliff. He had not observed him before, and now to find him in that +brilliant assemblage, and apparently received on an equal footing with +the most distinguished, was a shock which he had not been prepared for.</p> + +<p>"Humph! So she is going to marry him!" he managed to say without +betraying how much he had been startled.</p> + +<p>"Yes, the engagement was announced the first of the season, and, of +course, any one can see that, morally and mentally, the young man is her +equal in every respect. But it has leaked out that he has worked his own +way up from boyhood. His name is Faxon—Clifford Faxon—and I am told +that he first met his fiancée in a railroad accident—or, rather, what +would have proved to be a terrible smash-up but for the boy's superhuman +efforts to remove an obstruction that lay upon the track, and which made +a veritable hero of him. It seems that the girl was on board the train, +and she was so impressed by the wonderful achievement that she gave him +a very handsome ring, which he wears constantly."</p> + +<p>Squire Talford remembered the ring well, but it galled him inexpressibly +to hear Clifford so vaunted—this boy whom he had always hated because +of a secret wrong in which his mother had once figured, and which he had +nursed for half a life-time. It rasped him almost beyond endurance to +find that, in spite of the efforts he had made to crush him, he had +overcome every obstacle in the past, and was steadily rising toward fame +and fortune; that even now, in his early manhood, he had far outstripped +himself in attaining a social position in the world.</p> + +<p>"He is a handsome, intellectual-looking fellow, don't you think?" his +companion inquired. "You do not often see a finer head, a more frank, +honest face on a man, while his eyes are simply magnificent."</p> + +<p>The squire literally ground his teeth with rage, but controlling himself +after a moment, he remarked, with a touch of sarcasm in his tones:</p> + +<p>"You are enthusiastic over him, I perceive. But it seems that he isn't +above becoming a fortune-hunter, since he is going to marry the rich +Miss Heatherford."</p> + +<p>"There you are mistaken, sir," was the spirited retort. "Faxon is no +fortune-hunter—I'd take my oath that he would never stoop to win any +one from a mercenary motive. The fact is that he and Miss Heatherford +met and became acknowledged lovers while the girl was working for her +living, and, notwithstanding he has no fortune or social position except +what he has won for himself, she is prouder of him than she would be of +a crown prince."</p> + +<p>The squire could bear no more of that kind of talk in his present frame +of mind, and, excusing himself to his communicative companion, he left +him and made his way toward the hall, with the intention of slipping out +unobserved and returning to his boarding-place. He was so absorbed in +his disagreeable reflections that he paid no heed to any of the people +about him, and had just reached the great archway leading out of the +drawing-room when his way was suddenly blocked by some one who had +paused before him and given vent to a startled exclamation.</p> + +<p>Squire Talford lifted his head with a great, inward shock, and found a +familiar form confronting him. The two men glared into each other's +faces for a full minute without speaking, both looking like a couple of +specters. Then the stranger gasped with colorless lips:</p> + +<p>"You—here!"</p> + +<p>"Looks like it," laconically returned the squire, who instantly began to +recover himself, while his eyes glittered like points of polished steel. +"Perhaps you'll be wanting to buy another ticket for New York, now that +you know I'm around, eh?"</p> + +<p>"No, I'll be —— if I will!" fiercely retorted the other, in a low, +angry tone. Then he elbowed his way by his enemy, and disappeared among +the crowd.</p> + +<p>The squire chuckled viciously to himself, his irritation against +Clifford forgotten for the moment in his new and rather startling +encounter.</p> + +<p>"Ha, ha! Bill. You're afraid of me, and you can't conceal the fact. And +you have even more cause than you dream of," he muttered, a cruel smile +wreathing his lips. "I wonder what you are doing here in +Washington—I'll bet you're trying to lobby some devilish scheme or +other, for your own private interests. But I think there'll be a day of +reckoning between you and me before you're much older."</p> + +<p>A little later Mollie and Gertrude Athol slipped away from the company +and went for a stroll through the fine conservatory that led from the +south side of the house. They wandered about, chatting socially, for a +time, until Gertrude, chancing to glance up, saw her father standing in +the doorway beckoning to her.</p> + +<p>"Papa wants me," she said. "I expect he wishes to introduce me to some +friends of whom he told me to-day. I am sorry to leave you, Miss +Heatherford, but you will come to see me soon, will you not? and then we +will plan to meet often. Good night, if I should not see you again."</p> + +<p>She tripped away, but Mollie, who was a dear lover of flowers, lingered +in that bower of beauty to examine some rare and exquisite orchids which +were in full bloom. Suddenly, as she rounded a corner at the extreme end +of the conservatory, some one started up from a seat that was +half-concealed by some palms and foliage plants, and she found herself +confronted by Philip Wentworth.</p> + +<p>She had not dreamed of his being in the house, for she had seen none of +the family that evening, and, in truth, he had been there but a few +minutes, having had another engagement, but had promised to join his +fiancée, Gertrude Athol, before the evening was over. He had been +looking for her—had come to the conservatory to seek her, entering by a +door leading from the dining room, instead of the hall, when, seeing the +two girls, and not wishing to meet them together, he had sought the seat +referred to, and concealed himself among the foliage until they should +return to the house.</p> + +<p>But when he saw Gertrude leave and Mollie loitering among the flowers, +a wild desire to talk with her took possession of him, and he arose and +stood in her path.</p> + +<p>Mollie drew herself haughtily erect, and would have passed him without a +word, but he stretched forth his arms and barred her way.</p> + +<p>"No, you shall not evade me this time," he cried in a voice tremulous +with passion and wounded feeling. "I have the right to vindicate myself, +and no criminal is ever condemned without a hearing. Oh, Mollie! Mollie! +forgive me—forgive me! I was not myself that night. I own I had been +drinking more than was good for me, and I hardly knew what I was about."</p> + +<p>Mollie had not intended to exchange a word with him, but the +self-reproach in his tones—the misery in his face—appealed to her +gentle heart, and she began to be sorry for him. She told herself that +she had no right to condemn him utterly, even though she felt that she +could never respect or admit him to her friendship again. She recoiled a +step or two from him, and her face involuntarily softened.</p> + +<p>"If that is so," she began gently, "let it be a lesson to you, and never +again make such free use of that which you admit has power to control +you."</p> + +<p>"I will not, Mollie—I will not, indeed. I promise you," Philip eagerly +returned, adding appealingly: "And you will forgive me—say that you +will forgive, and let us be friends, as of old, once more."</p> + +<p>Mollie's face flushed, and she shrank involuntarily. She knew that she +could never receive him as a friend again—she had no wish ever to +resume the old relations with any of the family, for their treachery and +ill usage had done more to weaken her faith in humanity than anything +that had ever occurred in all her experience.</p> + +<p>"No," she said, after a moment of thought. "I will be frank with you, +Philip—we can never be friends again, as I understand the term. One +must have confidence in one's friends—you have destroyed my confidence +in you. One must respect one's friends—you have forfeited my respect. +It is not easy to tell you this, but you know that I was never guilty of +deception, and so I cannot pretend to a friendship that is not real."</p> + +<p>The young man staggered back a pace. He felt as if some one had struck +him a blow upon his bare heart, and in all his life he had not known +such genuine suffering as he experienced at that moment. Mollie seemed +beautiful as a goddess—as far above him in strength and purity of +character as the stars, and yet he had never yearned for her as he did +now.</p> + +<p>"Oh! I deserve it all—I deserve you should despise me!" he exclaimed in +a voice of agony; "but I love you—I love you! You, and you alone, hold +my life and my future in your hands! Forgive me, Mollie—let me try to +win back your respect. I swear that no one shall lead a more exemplary +life—no one shall be more worthy of your confidence—your love, than I, +if you will but give me a chance. See! I kneel—I beg——"</p> + +<p>"Stop!" cried Mollie authoritatively, as she put out one hand to stay +him, "never do that, for no true woman would ever wish a man to +humiliate himself. And now let me say," she continued even more +impressively, "you must never speak like this to me again, for—I am +already the promised wife of another."</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="chap16"></a>CHAPTER XVI.<br/> +<span class="smaller">WENTWORTH SPURNED.</span></h2> + +<p>At Mollie's words Philip sprang erect, a sudden rage possessing him.</p> + +<p>"You engaged!" he faltered in a scarcely audible voice. He had only +rejoined his mother in Washington a few days previous, and, as yet, had +not heard of the formal announcement of Mollie's engagement to Clifford. +He had been secretly enraged during the latter part of the previous +winter because of the young man's attentions to her, and he had feared +that they might result in their union; but now that the blow had fallen, +he found that he was entirely unprepared for it, and was almost beside +himself with mingled hate and jealousy.</p> + +<p>It did not once occur to him that he himself was playing the part of a +treacherous villain, for he was still pledged to Gertrude Athol. But he +would not have hesitated an instant to throw her over if he could have +won Mollie and her fortune.</p> + +<p>"You engaged!" he repeated, his clouded eyes searching the fair face +before him.</p> + +<p>Mollie flushed. She had felt almost sure he must have known the fact, +and she was considerably embarrassed to be obliged to explain matters to +him. But she was determined to make him understand, once for all, that +their old-time friendship could never be renewed, and that he must cease +persecuting her with avowals of love.</p> + +<p>"Yes," she quietly returned, but with downcast eyes, and a tender +inflection unconsciously creeping into her tones, "I am going to marry +Mr. Faxon the 25th of January."</p> + +<p>The ax had fallen! The man whom he had hated for years had won the prize +which he coveted. He could have borne it better if she had named some +stranger, but to be told that his old enemy, who, in spite of every +adverse circumstance, had gone straight to the front, distancing him in +college; who had proved himself a hero over and over; to whom he owed +the life of his young sister; against whom he had once lifted a +murderous hand, and who was now rapidly rising, both in the social and +political world. Oh! it was too much; it was crushing, maddening!</p> + +<p>He stood rigid as a statue for a full minute after Mollie concluded, +trying to master the tempest of jealous hate that raged within him. Then +he said in a voice that was ominous in its calmness:</p> + +<p>"And you love him?"</p> + +<p>Mollie flashed him a glance that answered him even before she spoke, for +there was a light of ineffable happiness in her eyes.</p> + +<p>"You do not need to ask such a question!" she replied, "you know that I +would never give my hand to any man who had not first won my deepest +affection."</p> + +<p>"Enough!" cried Philip, now wrought up to uncontrollable fury, "you need +say no more. So that low-born upstart has effectually cut me out; curse +him! Bah! I could cut his heart out!"</p> + +<p>"Stop!" commanded Mollie, facing him with an air and look that silenced +him for the moment. "If you must give expression to such ignoble +sentiments regarding one who is vastly your superior in every respect, +you at least shall not offend my ears with such language."</p> + +<p>She turned abruptly as she ceased, and swept down the marble walk with +the hauteur of an offended queen, and a moment later disappeared within +the mansion.</p> + +<p>Philip Wentworth, left to himself, paced back and forth in the +flower-bordered path with the restless step of a caged lion, while he +muttered and swore and raved like one almost on the verge of insanity, +and wholly unaware of the slender, white-clad figure which had a few +minutes previous flitted down another path and suddenly halted behind a +huge Japanese vase taller than herself, and in which there was growing a +luxuriant mass of vines, which entirely concealed her from view.</p> + +<p>The second time he turned the sound of a quick, elastic step caught his +ear. He peered around the corner, and instantly a lurid light began to +blaze in his eyes. The man he hated, the rival who had come between him +and the—to him—one woman in the world, was approaching him, and +evidently in search of some one.</p> + +<p>Philip Wentworth stood still, concealed from the other's view by the +heavy foliage beside him, and involuntarily reaching out his hand, +grasped the stem of a plant that was growing in a pot, and lifted it +from its place.</p> + +<p>Clifford, who was seeking Mollie, came rapidly on, rounded the corner, +and almost ran upon Philip. He pulled himself up short, and, after a +swift glance around, he observed in an easy tone, as he courteously +inclined his head to his former classmate:</p> + +<p>"Ah, Wentworth, pardon me! I should have moderated my movements somewhat +before turning this corner."</p> + +<p>He was about to pass on, when Philip hoarsely exclaimed while he faced +him:</p> + +<p>"Hold! What is this I hear? I am told that you are going to marry Mollie +Heatherford. Is it true?"</p> + +<p>Clifford drew himself up slightly before replying.</p> + +<p>"It is true, Mr. Wentworth; I am going to marry Miss Heatherford," he +coldly replied, but with significant emphasis.</p> + +<p>"Curse you!" fairly hissed Wentworth, while his grip tightened on the +stem of the plant. "So that has been your game, has it? You have +deliberately set yourself to cut me out. I told you four years ago that +she was my promised wife; we had been pledged to each other from +childhood, and heavens! do you think I am going to tamely submit to +being robbed by a low-born pauper like you? Do you imagine that I'm +going to let you marry her? Never, so help me!"</p> + +<p>His right hand swung out with tremendous force, lifting the flower-pot +above his head and aiming it directly at Clifford's face.</p> + +<p>But Faxon was too quick for him. He sprang to one side, caught the +uplifted arm with a grip that almost paralyzed it, and, wrenching the +dangerous missile—which fortunately remained intact, the plant having +become root-bound in the pot—from his grasp, calmly replaced it where +it belonged.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Wentworth, this is the second time that you have made a rash +attempt upon my life," he quietly observed. "I advise you never to +repeat it, and you will remember that Miss Heatherford is my promised +wife, and I shall not tolerate anything that verges upon a recurrence of +what has just taken place."</p> + +<p>He paused a moment, while a softer expression swept over his fine face.</p> + +<p>"Wentworth, what ails you?" he continued in a more friendly tone. "What +has made you so strangely antagonistic toward me all these years? I fail +to understand it. It began away back during our first term in college; +what caused it? Where is your manliness that you could cherish a grudge +for so long? Believe me, I never had the slightest personal ill-will +against you, and certainly you must have been in a very uncomfortable +frame of mind most of this time. If I have unconsciously done you any +wrong in the past, I should be very glad to be told of it."</p> + +<p>Again he paused, but Philip stood silent, with downcast eyes and a +sullen frown upon his brow. Clifford saw that he was incorrigible, and, +repressing a sigh of regret for a life so warped by selfishness, he +observed:</p> + +<p>"Possibly I am unwise in appealing to you in any such way; but I +believe the day will yet come when you will regret some of these +things."</p> + +<p>He turned and went swiftly back the way he had come, while Philip +watched him with a lowering brow and a look of hate in his eyes.</p> + +<p>Suddenly a slight rustle caused him to turn and look behind him, when an +exclamation of dismay escaped him, for, leaning against the tall vase, +and pale as the snowy dress she wore, he saw Gertrude Athol standing not +a dozen feet from him.</p> + +<p>"Gertrude!" the young man faltered, for he knew from her manner that she +must have overheard much of what had passed—how much he dared not +think.</p> + +<p>The sound of his voice acted like a shock of electricity upon her. She +stood erect, swept into the path where he was, and confronted him.</p> + +<p>"I have heard all," she said in a cold, quiet tone. "I had no intention +of playing the eavesdropper, however. Miss Heatherford and I were here +in the conservatory a while ago, when my father called me, but he only +wished to ask me a question or two, and then I thought that I would come +back to Miss Heatherford, and that is how I happened to be here. I came +just as you were declaring that she and she alone held your life and +your future in her hands——" and the beautiful girl's nostrils dilated +with supreme contempt as she thus repeated his words. "Therefore, +considering the relations that have existed between you and me for the +last four years, I felt that I had the right to hear you out and learn +just to what extent I had been made your dupe——"</p> + +<p>"Oh, Gertrude!"</p> + +<p>"Hush!" she commanded imperatively. "I will not listen to a word of +extenuation from you—there is none—there can be none. I will say my +say out, and that will end everything between us. I have long felt that +I might perhaps be building my hopes for the future upon shifting +sand—there have been many indications of it, but I hoped that you might +change for the better—that your good qualities would in the end +overbalance your weakness. For more than four years I have worn your +ring, believing myself pledged to you," Gertrude went on, as she calmly +began to unlace the glove on her left hand, "but to-night you have said +in my presence that for many years you have been betrothed to +another—that you have loved—worshiped that other."</p> + +<p>She turned the glove wrong-side out, to remove it the more quickly, +slipped the ring from her finger, and held it out to him. "Here, take +it. You and I will part here and now. And do not think that I shall eat +my heart out and die because of disappointed love—like the girl of whom +we read that summer in the mountains. I am not in the slightest danger +of such a fate, for you have this night slain every spark of regard or +respect that I ever entertained for you."</p> + +<p>"Gertrude, hear me——" Philip began, as he shrank away from the hand +that held the ring out to him.</p> + +<p>"I have already heard all I wish to hear," she spiritedly returned, and +with an inflection that made him wince. "Take it!" she reiterated as she +again offered him the ring. "Very well," as he still refused, "I will +leave it here for you to think about."</p> + +<p>She hung it upon a twig of the plant before him, then turning abruptly +from him, swept down and out of the conservatory with the air and step +of one who exulted in recovered freedom.</p> + +<p>As she disappeared he reached forth his hand and secured the ring, for +it was a valuable one, but with a shamefaced air and a muttered curse at +his—"luck."</p> + +<p>Fifteen minutes later, when he sought his mother, to inform her that he +"was not well, and was going home," he espied Mollie and Gertrude +standing in an alcove chatting socially together, and as calmly and +serenely as if no thought of regret in connection with him had power to +cast a shadow across their pathway. Gertrude was perhaps a trifle paler +than usual, but she was bright and animated, and he was assured that she +"never would eat her heart out for him."</p> + +<p>The contempt that had vibrated in her tones as she said it was still +ringing in his ears as he left the house, making him quiver from head to +foot with a sense of humiliation such as he had never experienced +before.</p> + +<p>When Gertrude Athol entered her own room, after her return from the +reception, she sat down and tried to calmly review the recent scene +between her discarded lover and herself, and to consider what influence +it was likely to have upon her future.</p> + +<p>"I believe I can truly say that I am glad to be free," she said after a +while, with a sudden proud uplifting of her head. "I have known from +almost the first of our acquaintance that Philip Wentworth is a weak +and selfish man; but he is a handsome fellow, entertaining, and well +versed in all the little courtesies of life and possessing strong +mesmeric power, and I believe that he was fond of me. I foolishly +imagined that, because of this supposed fondness, I might be able to +help him overcome his faults and arouse within him an ambition to +cultivate the best there is in him; but I know him now for a treacherous +villain—for a coward, and almost a murderer. Oh, yes; I am glad that I +am free, and I shall not grieve for him; though, of course, any woman +would naturally be keenly stung to discover that she has only been made +a tool of—simply held in reserve in the event of the failure of other +plans!"</p> + +<p>Her cheeks grew crimson, and her eyes flashed indignantly at the +thought, while two tears fell upon her jeweled hands. She flung them off +with an impatient gesture.</p> + +<p>"They are not for him!" she cried scornfully; "they fell only for my own +wounded pride; and they are the last I shall ever shed for that. The +hurt is not so very deep, thank Heaven! and will soon heal. So he has +been in love with Mollie Heatherford 'all his life?' Well, she certainly +is one of the dearest and loveliest girls I have ever met, and she has +shown good judgment in her choice of a husband, for Clifford Faxon is +worth a dozen men like Philip Wentworth."</p> + +<p>A little later, after her acquaintance with Mollie had ripened into a +strong and enduring friendship—when she learned how Philip had played +fast and loose with her, according to the changes in her +circumstances—her contempt merged into positive repulsion for the young +man; and before the season was over her acquaintance with a son of the +British ambassador, whom she met that evening for the first time, +developed into a strong mutual attachment which bade fair to result in +an early marriage.</p> + +<p>Upon their return from the reception, Clifford lingered a while with +Mollie before proceeding to his lodgings, and it was, therefore, quite +late when he reached home. He was somewhat surprised to find a carriage +standing before the house where Squire Talford boarded, while the +coachman was assisting his former employer up to the door, the man +groaning at every step.</p> + +<p>"Here, sir!" called the cabman, as he espied Clifford, "will you lend a +hand here, please? The gentleman has sprained his ankle, and he is more +than I can manage."</p> + +<p>"Certainly," Clifford cheerfully responded, as he sprang forward with +alacrity to render what assistance he could.</p> + +<p>"Here is his latch-key, sir," the driver continued, passing it to the +young man, "If you'll open the door, we'll make an armchair and carry +him up to his room, as easy as snapping your thumb and finger."</p> + +<p>Clifford did as he was requested, and then the two clasped hands, making +the squire sit upon them, with an arm around the neck of each of his +helpers, and in this way he was borne up two flights of stairs and +deposited upon a chair in his own room, which was little better than a +closet at the back of a hall.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="chap17"></a>CHAPTER XVII.<br/> +<span class="smaller">SQUIRE TALFORD'S ACCIDENT.</span></h2> + +<p>It was evident that the man was suffering intensely; but resolutely +repressing, as far as he was able, outward manifestations of the fact, +he turned to the cabman and briefly inquired:</p> + +<p>"What's to pay for this?"</p> + +<p>The man named his price, and, with a grunt of disapprobation, the squire +drew forth his wallet—the same that Mollie had restored to him only a +few hours previous—and paid the amount, whereupon the driver hurried +away to his team below.</p> + +<p>Squire Talford had not taken the slightest notice of Clifford, but the +young man, although he found himself in an awkward position, felt that +he had a duty to perform, and courteously inquired if he should go for a +surgeon to attend to the injured limb.</p> + +<p>"No," was the gruff response, "the leg has already been attended to at +the drug-store, where I made the mis-step."</p> + +<p>Cliff glanced down and observed for the first time that his boot had +been removed and the ankle bandaged.</p> + +<p>"But you will have to get to bed, sir; let me assist you," he remarked.</p> + +<p>"No—I can do well enough by myself—I don't want any help," the squire +returned ungraciously.</p> + +<p>Cliff flushed and stood irresolute for a moment. Then a look of +determination flashed into his eyes, and he deliberately unbuttoned and +removed his overcoat.</p> + +<p>"Excuse me, Squire Talford, but you do need help," he calmly observed. +"I know that you are not at all fond of me; that my presence is +disagreeable to you; but suppose, for this once, you ignore those facts +and accept the aid you require. You cannot stir from your chair without +great suffering if I leave you, and will probably have to sit in it all +night, unless you call some one in the house, and everybody appears to +be in bed. Here, let me have your hat," and without more ado he removed +it from the man's head and placed it on a table.</p> + +<p>"Now the coat," he added. "I am sure I can help you undress without +disturbing you very much, and when I get you comfortably settled in bed +I will leave you."</p> + +<p>Squire Talford was beginning to realize his helplessness, and submitted +to the disrobing without further objection, although not with the best +grace in the world, and he never once met Clifford's eyes during the +operation.</p> + +<p>"Now," said the young man, when that task was over, "the next move will +be to try to get you into bed without hurting this crippled foot if +possible. I will move your chair close beside it, then I think I can +easily lift you on."</p> + +<p>He swung the chair around, while he was speaking, and, it being a +rocker without arms, it was not difficult to place it just where he +wanted it, when, almost before he had time to dread the change, the +squire found himself reclining in a comparatively comfortable position, +although the pain in his ankle seemed unbearable.</p> + +<p>"Is there anything else I can do for you?" Clifford inquired, with a +great pity in his heart for the lonely man, as he saw how deathly white +he was and noted the lines of pain about his mouth.</p> + +<p>"I don't think of anything," said the squire, in a more subdued tone +than he had yet used.</p> + +<p>Clifford hung his clothing in the closet, and straightened things +generally in the room, then found his way to the bath-room, where he +procured a glass of water, which he placed on a chair beside the +patient, in case he should be thirsty during the night.</p> + +<p>"I am going to my room now, Squire Talford," he said when these +arrangements were completed, "but if you should need me before morning +and can arouse any one, you can send for me, and I will gladly come to +you. I will drop in anyway after breakfast, to see how you are."</p> + +<p>The man nodded, but did not unclose his eyes, and Clifford, after +turning the gas low, went quietly out, taking care to close the door +softly after him.</p> + +<p>The next morning on inquiring at the door regarding the squire's +condition before going to his business, he was told by the landlady that +he had slept but little, and was suffering very much, both from the +sprain and a high fever, for he had evidently taken a severe cold.</p> + +<p>Clifford went up to his room and tried to persuade him to have medical +advice, but the man curtly refused to do so; and after doing what little +he could for his comfort, he was obliged to leave him to himself.</p> + +<p>He found him even worse on his return at night, and he spent most of the +evening with him, bathing the injured ankle, rubbing it thoroughly with +a liniment which he had procured of a druggist, and afterward +rebandaging it as deftly as if he were accustomed to such duties. He +also bathed the man's fevered face and hands, and he seemed much +refreshed afterward.</p> + +<p>The squire did not submit to these operations with a very good grace at +first, but Clifford had assumed a masterful air, and went straight ahead +as if he had a perfect right to do so, and was so gentle and handy that +before he was through he could see that the squire's antagonism to his +presence was merging into a sort of helpless reliance upon him.</p> + +<p>He had brought some lemons with him, and with these he made a small +pitcher of lemonade, some of which the sufferer drank with thirsty +relish, the remainder being left where he could easily reach it. +Clifford felt very reluctant to leave him alone, for he saw that he was +very ill; but the squire bade him go, saying that he was all right, and +he felt obliged to obey him.</p> + +<p>He did not feel wearied or like sleeping after reaching his own room, +and, having a new book, he read until very late, retiring just as the +clock in a room below struck the half-hour after twelve.</p> + +<p>He fell asleep almost immediately; but suddenly—it seemed as if he +could hardly have lost himself—he was aroused by hearing the rapid +"chug-chug" of a steam fire-engine close by and a perfect babel of +voices in the street below him.</p> + +<p>He sprang from his bed and rushed to a window, and was appalled to see +smoke and flame issuing from both the door and windows of the adjoining +house, which he had left only a few hours previous. His first thought +was for Squire Talford, who was on the third floor, and who, in his +crippled condition, would find it very difficult to get out of the +burning building.</p> + +<p>He hurriedly threw on some clothing; then dashed down-stairs and out of +doors. The entire lower floor of the burning house was in flames. The +fire had started in the basement, and had gained great headway before it +was discovered.</p> + +<p>The stairway leading to the second story was also on fire, and thus +rendered impassable, and the family and servants were being taken out of +the second-floor windows by the firemen when Clifford appeared upon the +scene.</p> + +<p>"Where is Squire Talford?" he demanded of the landlady, as soon as he +could find her.</p> + +<p>"Merciful heavens, sir! I'm sure I don't know. He must be up-stairs in +his room. With so many other things on my mind I haven't thought of him +till this minute!" cried the almost distracted woman, wringing her +hands in terror.</p> + +<p>Clifford turned suddenly white with a terrible fear. One sweeping glance +aloft told him that the man would shortly be suffocated by smoke, even +if the flames had not already reached him. He knew that he could not put +his injured foot to the floor; that he was almost as helpless as an +infant; and unless he had immediate assistance the chances in his favor +were very small indeed.</p> + +<p>It was too late to try to save him by getting him out of the windows on +the front of the house, for some of the firemen had been burned while +making their last trip down the ladder with their burdens, and the +flames were now pouring out of them.</p> + +<p>Without saying a word to any one, he dashed back into his own house, +bounded up three flights of stairs, and made his way out upon the roof, +through a skylight, and ran across to the one on the roof of the fated +building.</p> + +<p>It was fastened; but with one blow of his heel he smashed a pane of +glass, and reaching inside, unhooked it, throwing it open with a force +that nearly tore it from its hinges. The next moment he was making his +way down the stairs; but the whole place was black with smoke so dense +that he could scarcely see or breathe.</p> + +<p>He sprang into the squire's room, to find the man lying crossway of the +bed, his face downward, panting for breath and moaning piteously. He had +tried to get up to escape, wrenched his ankle, and fallen back again +half-fainting from the pain, from fear, and a horrible sense of his own +helplessness.</p> + +<p>"Courage, Squire Talford!" cried Clifford, in forceful tones. "I will +have you out of this very shortly. Now think quick—have you any papers +and valuables that you want to take with you?"</p> + +<p>"Yes—a package of documents in my trunk—my watch and wallet are under +my pillow," the man feebly responded, though he had lifted his head +eagerly the instant he caught the sound of the familiar, encouraging +voice.</p> + +<p>Clifford had the wallet and watch in his pocket almost before he ceased +speaking; then he flew to the trunk—fortunately it was not +locked—found the papers, and thrust them into his pocket. The next +moment he was bending over the squire.</p> + +<p>"Here, let me help you up," he said; "you must not mind if you are hurt +a little—put your arms around my neck and give yourself up to me, and I +will save you."</p> + +<p>The man rolled over, and with Clifford's help stood upon his well foot, +though a groan burst from him in making the effort. He clasped his hands +about the young man's neck, as he was bidden, and Clifford lifted him in +his arms, bore him from the room, through the volume of smoke that was +now rolling up through the aperture above, up the stairs to the roof, +and across it to the next house.</p> + +<p>Here he deposited his burden upon the upper step of the flight of stairs +leading below, while the fresh, frosty air had done much toward +reviving the almost suffocated man.</p> + +<p>"Now," said Clifford, "if you can manage to get inside out of the cold +by yourself, I will go back and see if I can save some of your clothing. +Can you?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I will try; but don't run any risk for the clothes, Cliff," the +squire replied as he began to ease himself down the stairs; for he was +shivering with cold and excitement.</p> + +<p>In spite of the gravity of the situation, a smile flashed over +Clifford's face as he noted the change in the man's tone when he +pronounced his name, and marked the consideration expressed for him. He +darted back and down into the room which he had only just left, although +now the flames smote him as he went, for they were rolling up from below +with devouring force.</p> + +<p>He snatched a sheet from the bed, and, without making a false movement +or step, piled upon it everything belonging to the squire that he could +lay his hands on, emptying both trunk and closet; then gathering it up +by the four corners, he knotted them, swung the pack over his head, and +a moment later was again on the roof of the house, and this time getting +a thorough drenching from the stream of water which had been directed to +the column of smoke that was pouring out of the skylight.</p> + +<p>He had not been any too expeditious, for almost at the same instant +there came a terrible crash, which told of falling floors and stairways +within the burning building. Dropping his pack through the roof of his +own dwelling, he quickly followed it, to find the squire shivering in +the hall below.</p> + +<p>He assisted him down the next flight to the room he occupied, which was +a large square apartment in the front of the house, and made him get +into his own bed.</p> + +<p>The man was a little inclined to rebel against this arrangement, for he +seemed to think that they were still in danger from the fire; but Cliff +assured him that the department were getting the flames under control, +and they were in no danger, as the walls between the houses were +fireproof.</p> + +<p>As soon as he had made him comfortable, he went up-stairs again to bring +down the clothing he had saved, and arranged it neatly in his closet and +an empty trunk of his own; after which he had a bath and put on dry +garments.</p> + +<p>Although the engines continued to play for more than an hour after this, +the worst was over, no lives had been lost, although much personal +property was destroyed, and the excitement soon subsided.</p> + +<p>But when morning broke Squire Talford was raving in the delirium of +fever. Clifford felt it his duty to act upon his own responsibility, and +immediately called a physician, who at once declared that the man must +either go to a hospital, or have a trained nurse where he was, for he +was very sick, and liable to have a tedious illness. Knowing the +squire's horror of incurring heavy expenses, Clifford did not quite like +to send him to a hospital, while the cost of a trained nurse in the +house, with her board to be paid, would very soon amount to an appalling +sum.</p> + +<p>The man was in no condition to plan for himself, and so, after thinking +the matter over seriously, and consulting with his landlady, who was a +kind-hearted, sensible woman, Clifford decided to send for Maria +Kimberly to come and take care of her master.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Woodruff, the owner of the house, had a couple of empty rooms which +she was very glad to rent—one on the same floor and another above—and +Clifford said he would take one and Maria could have the other.</p> + +<p>So, about the middle of the forenoon, while Mrs. Kimberly was ironing +the last parlor curtain—which, after it was hung, would complete her +house-cleaning for that season—a messenger-boy appeared at the door +with a telegram for her.</p> + +<p>It was Cliff's message, briefly telling of the squire's illness, and +bidding her come to nurse him. She was to take the earliest possible +train for New York, wire Clifford when she reached that city what hour +she would leave for Washington, and he would meet her upon her arrival.</p> + +<p>It was the first telegram that the woman had ever received in her life, +and it naturally gave her quite a shock, but she was equal to the +emergency, and after reading the message through twice, her mind began +to act vigorously.</p> + +<p>"Goodness gracious me!" she ejaculated as she drew a long breath. "It's +come like a clap of thunder! But of course I've got to go. Yes, and—I'm +sure it's another dispensation of Providence—I shall take that box +belonging to Cliff along with me."</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="chap18"></a>CHAPTER XVIII.<br/> +<span class="smaller">MARIA SPEAKS HER MIND.</span></h2> + +<p>After Maria had settled the question of duty, she went very +systematically to work to prepare for her journey. She calmly finished +ironing her curtain, hung it nicely in its place, and then swept a +satisfied look around the neatly arranged and immaculate room before +closing and locking the door to keep out all intruders during her +absence.</p> + +<p>Then she rolled up her sleeves, and for the next three hours baked and +boiled and fried until her pantry was well stocked with substantial and +toothsome provisions for the hired man and chore-boy.</p> + +<p>"This'll last you nigh onto two weeks, with what you can cook for +yourselves," she said to Pat, as she showed him the result of her +labors. "There's plenty of salt pork in the barrel that you can fry when +you want a change from corned beef and ham, and there's all kinds of +veg'tables in the cellar. I guess you can manage some way till I come +back, and if you get out of bread you can ask Miss Barnes to bake you +some, or you can buy it of the baker."</p> + +<p>Her cooking out of the way and everything about the house left in the +most tidy manner imaginable, Maria packed her small trunk, arrayed +herself in a good, serviceable gown for traveling, and was driven into +New Haven in ample time to catch her train.</p> + +<p>She made her connections in New York without any difficulty, after +having wired Clifford what hour she expected to arrive in Washington the +following morning. He was at the station to meet her when the train +rolled into it, and welcomed her most cordially; indeed, a great burden +rolled from his heart the moment he caught sight of her strong, honest +face, for he felt that she was equal to the responsibilities awaiting +her.</p> + +<p>To her inquiries regarding the squire's condition, he replied that he +was pretty sick and had been delirious all night, but had fallen asleep +a few moments before he left him to come to her.</p> + +<p>"Who's been taking care of him?" Maria questioned.</p> + +<p>"Well, he has not needed much care until yesterday and last night, and +I've done what I could," Clifford modestly returned.</p> + +<p>Then he told her about his accident and of his narrow escape from being +burned to death, although he made as light as possible of his own agency +in these matters; but Maria learned all about it later, when she had +made the acquaintance of the landlady, who could not say enough in +praise of him.</p> + +<p>For three weeks Squire Talford was a very sick man, and even Maria found +her powers of endurance taxed to the utmost, in spite of the aid of +Clifford, who insisted upon sharing her vigils at night and doing all +that he could besides out of business hours. He pulled through, however, +though it was a hard pull; yet when he began to convalesce he mended +very rapidly.</p> + +<p>Five weeks after Maria's arrival he was able to be up and dressed; his +appetite had returned, and he said he felt as if he had "been made over +new."</p> + +<p>One morning, after she had served him a nice breakfast and put his room +to rights, Mrs. Kimberly seated herself directly opposite her patient, +with a very determined look on her honest face.</p> + +<p>"Well, what is it, Maria?" the squire questioned, for he always knew +that matters of importance weighed heavily on her mind when she looked +like that.</p> + +<p>"I've got something to tell you," she replied, and coming directly to +the point.</p> + +<p>"I thought so. What is it? Go ahead."</p> + +<p>"Waal, I expect you won't like it very well, but it's got to be told," +the woman observed, and flushing slightly. "When I was cleanin' the +attic, after you left, I took that little hair trunk o' your'n up to +move it, dropped it, and smashed the lid off."</p> + +<p>The squire started and shot a quick look at her at this.</p> + +<p>"Of course, everything tumbled out," she pursued, "and I had to pick 'em +up and put 'em back. I suppose I don't need to tell you that I found +among the mess a box belonging to Cliff."</p> + +<p>She glanced up as she concluded, to find that her companion had lost +some of his recently recovered color during her recital.</p> + +<p>There was a moment of awkward silence, then the man curtly remarked:</p> + +<p>"Well?"</p> + +<p>"Waal, the box had come apart in the smash, and I found a lot of letters +directed to Cliff's mother and—to his father. I found, too, the papers +that told about Mis' Faxon's marriage and Cliff's christening."</p> + +<p>"Well?" questioned the squire again as she paused, but with white lips.</p> + +<p>"Of course, I didn't read the letters. I thought 'twas none o' my +business what was in 'em, but when I saw them certificates I made up my +mind that a burnin' wrong had been done that boy—a wrong that must be +righted, squire; so, when I got his message to come to take care o' you, +I brought that box along with me."</p> + +<p>"You did!" exclaimed Squire Talford, in a startled tone. "What have you +done with it—have you given it to Cliff?"</p> + +<p>"No, sir! You don't ketch Maria Kimberly doin' anything underhanded if +she knows it," responded the woman, with considerable spirit. "As long +as I found the things in your trunk, I made up my mind I'd tell you +about it first and see what you'd do before I went any farther."</p> + +<p>"That shows your good sense and honesty, Maria," said the squire +appreciatively. "I suppose, however, you think the boy ought to have the +papers," he added thoughtfully.</p> + +<p>"Of course I do, and that ain't all he oughter have, either," his +companion retorted, with stout-hearted frankness.</p> + +<p>"What do you mean?" demanded the squire, with well-assumed surprise.</p> + +<p>Maria sniffed significantly and tossed her head.</p> + +<p>"I suppose you imagine I don't know who Cliff's father was," she said, +with a wise smile. "I suppose you think I never heard that story about +Belle Abbot, who, after she was engaged to one man, fell in love with +another and jilted the first one. But I never suspected that the man she +married was anything to you—I never heard that part of it—until just +afore I came to Washington. I was dustin' the books in that old +secretary in your bedroom, and came across that old Bible your mother +used to like because the type was so clear. I'd seen it a hundred times, +but never took any notice of the family record till that day, when I +found the same name, among a lot of others, that I saw on Belle Abbot's +marriage-certificate.</p> + +<p>"You could have knocked me over with a feather, for I always believed +Cliff's mother married a man by the name o' Faxon—and she did, too, for +that was one of the names. I never could understand afore why you hated +the boy so; but now I see through it. You knew he didn't know anything +about his father; you pretended to be a friend to Mis' Faxon after she +came back from the West, influenced her to bind the boy to you when she +was dyin', and managed, some way, to get hold o' them papers and have +kep' 'em hid from him ever since, for you didn't mean he should ever +have his rights if you could help it."</p> + +<p>"Don't you think you are getting pretty sharp and familiar in your talk, +Maria?" the squire demanded shortly, as she paused for breath, but the +hand that was fingering an envelope trembled visibly.</p> + +<p>"Maybe," she coolly retorted. "I'd made up my mind that the right time +had come for some 'sharp and familiar' talk to you, and I wasn't going +to shirk my duty. I've lived with you, Squire Talford, nigh on to +eighteen years, and I've tried to do my best for you and your'n all that +time—'specially since Mis' Talford died, for I felt I owed her a lot +for the pains she took to train me; then, of course, I wanted to feel +that I earned the money you was payin' me, though I've never had a rise +in my wages. So my conscience is clear on that score, and I don't think +I've neglected anything except to speak my mind, and that I'm goin' to +make up for now, if I never set foot in the old place again.</p> + +<p>"I've had hard work to hold my tongue in the past when you was abusin' +Cliff as you used to, and you'd no cause to hate him as you seemed to, +either. He never wronged you; he wasn't to blame for comin' into the +world the son o' the other man instead o' your'n. A better, brighter boy +never drew breath; he served you faithful as the day was long and you +treated him shameful—worse'n a slave. I used to wonder how you could +sleep nights after some o' those awful thrashin's you gave him. I never +felt meaner in my life for anybody than I did for you when you let him +go off to college without even a word o' kindness and encouragement, and +if I knew then what I know now he'd never have gone away as empty-handed +as he did."</p> + +<p>"You are spreading it on pretty thick, Maria, and I think it is about +time you stopped," the squire here interposed, and with a face that was +now crimson with mingled anger and shame.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I s'pose I am spreadin' it on thick," she composedly admitted, +"and I tell you I'm downright glad of the chance for once. I reckon I am +about through, though, only I'd like to ask what you propose to do for +Cliff."</p> + +<p>"I'm not sure that I propose to do anything," was the sullen reply.</p> + +<p>"You don't," cried Maria, bridling again, "Well, then, I do. I propose +to see that that young man gets his rights. I'm far from bein' a rich +woman, but I've saved up a plump little sum out o' my wages and Cliff +shall have every dollar of it to help him fight for his share of the +fortune that his grandmother left, and if you was clothed and in your +right mind you'd want him to have the rest of it when you're done with +it.</p> + +<p>"What are you thinking of, Squire Talford," she went on, glowing with +indignation, "to nurse, at your time o' life, such a spite against such +a splendid fellow like Clifford Faxon—a fellow that any man might be +proud to own as a son? Haven't you any gratitude for what he's done for +you? You'd have been burned to a cinder and lyin' under them brick walls +outside, but for him; he did what precious few men would have done that +night o' the fire, to save a man he knew hated him and had abused him as +you did when he was a boy.</p> + +<p>"And that ain't all, neither; he gave up this nice room to you and has +been sleepin' in a back room that's little better'n a closet, at the end +o' the hall, so's he could be handy to spell me when I had to rest. And +he's set up watchin' with you, night after night, just as faithful 's if +you was his own father. I could never have done it alone; for, squire, +you came mighty nigh slippin' over Jordan some o' them nights—mighty +nigh. Man alive! haven't you got any heart? What are you made of, +anyway? Waal," drawing a long breath and looking a trifle frightened as +she began to realize that she had been holding forth with more vigor +than discretion, "I guess I've said enough for now, and I'll leave you +to think it over. I've got that box in my trunk, and if you don't see +fit to do the square thing by Cliff I shall give it to him, tell him all +I know and then you an' I'll settle our accounts."</p> + +<p>The woman arose as she concluded and walked quietly from the room, +leaving the squire to meditate, in no enviable frame of mind, upon a +situation which he had never dreamed would overtake him.</p> + +<p>Maria did not go near him again until luncheon-time, when she carried +him a tray of daintily prepared viands that would have tempted an +epicure.</p> + +<p>She watched him out of the corners of her eyes while she arranged his +table, and the thoughtful expression on his face appeared to afford her +an immense amount of satisfaction, for two or three times, when she +passed behind his chair, she nodded her head with a gratified air which +spoke volumes.</p> + +<p>The man did not refer to the conversation of the morning, but there was +that in his manner and in the tones of his voice whenever he addressed +her, which assured her that he did not think any the less of her for the +stand she had taken.</p> + +<p>She kept out of his way during most of the afternoon, also, giving as a +reason that she was going to be busy in the laundry, but at night, as at +noon, his dinner was prepared with the greatest care and nicety.</p> + +<p>"You are a good cook, Maria," he remarked as she brought him a second cup +of coffee, the aroma of which pervaded the whole room, "and," he added +gravely, "you have proved yourself to be a tip-top nurse."</p> + +<p>"Thank you, sir," Maria respectfully responded and flushing with +pleasure at the unusual praise; "I had a good woman to train me—Mis' +Talford made me what I am, and I'm not backward to give her the credit +of it; she was a prime housekeeper and one o' the salt o' the earth."</p> + +<p>Whether it was this reference to his wife, or whether some other matters +were pressing heavily upon him, Maria had no means of knowing, but she +was sure she heard him sigh and saw his lips contract +spasmodically—signs of emotion which were very rare with him.</p> + +<p>He finished his dinner in silence, but as she was about to leave the +room with his tray he suddenly inquired:</p> + +<p>"Maria, has Cliff come in yet?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir; I met him in the hall as I was bringing up that last cup of +coffee."</p> + +<p>"Well, will you go to his door and ask him if he can spare me an hour +this evening? Say that it is a matter of importance."</p> + +<p>"All right, sir; I'll tell him," Maria responded, but with a sudden +choking in her throat which rendered her utterance somewhat indistinct.</p> + +<p>"And, Maria——"</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir."</p> + +<p>She paused with her hand upon the handle of the door, but did not look +around.</p> + +<p>"When I ring you may bring me that box, of which you told me to-day."</p> + +<p>"Yes, sir."</p> + +<p>It was all she could say; then she passed out of the room, shutting the +door softly behind her, but paused in the hall to wipe away the tears +that were raining over her cheeks.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="chap19"></a>CHAPTER XIX.<br/> +<span class="smaller">THE SQUIRE'S STORY.</span></h2> + +<p>Maria hurried away to the basement with her tray, then, all unmindful of +the fact that as yet her own fast had not been broken, sought Cliff, who +was in the library, his landlady having considerately offered him the +freedom of the house while he was excluded from his own room.</p> + +<p>"Is it anything particular, Maria?" the young man inquired when she had +delivered her message, while he glanced at his watch, for he had an +engagement with Mollie for nine o'clock.</p> + +<p>"Yes, 'tis," the woman replied with an emphatic nod of her head; "it's +very particular, and I'd advise you to 'tend to it now, while the +squire's in the right mood."</p> + +<p>Cliff regarded her curiously a moment; but, as she did not seem inclined +to say more, he observed:</p> + +<p>"Very well, I will go to him at once," and, following her from the room, +he mounted the stairs and was soon knocking for admission at the door of +the room above.</p> + +<p>"Good evening, Squire Talford, how do you find yourself to-night?" he +inquired pleasantly upon entering at the man's bidding.</p> + +<p>"I'm getting on very well," was the somewhat laconic reply.</p> + +<p>"Maria told me that you wished to see me. What can I do for you?" +Clifford asked, but instinctively scenting something unusual in the +atmosphere.</p> + +<p>"Sit down," briefly commanded the squire and pointing at a chair +opposite him. Clifford obeyed, smiling indulgently at the peremptory tone.</p> + +<p>"I've got a story to tell you," began the squire plunging at once into +the disagreeable task before him, "and I expect it may surprise you a +bit in some ways. My father died when I was a baby. He was a rich man, +owning the place which has always been my home, besides considerable +other property. He made a will before he died giving everything he +possessed to my mother, and leaving her free to do with it just what she +chose. Two years afterward she married a second time—a man with no +means, a bookworm and would-be literary man, who sometimes earned a +little by his pen, though for the most part he was a failure from a +pecuniary point of view.</p> + +<p>"Less than a year later there came another boy into the family—my +half-brother—and at the end of another twelve months my mother was +again a widow. From that time she lived only to rear and educate her +children, who grew up together, nominally as brothers, but secretly +antagonistic to each other from their earliest youth. From my boyhood I +was thrifty and ambitious; all my interest and my pride were centered in +my home, and I was always planning and working to improve it and make it +yield a handsome income. My brother, on the contrary, would not work; +he was fond of books, like his father, and, more than all, of a +rollicking good time.</p> + +<p>"He had no interest in the farm or in anything that pertained to the +ways and means of living, and, as he grew toward manhood, he became wild +and unmanageable, giving our mother many a heartache because of his +reckless habits and extravagance. He always managed to get the lion's +share of everything, and, although I know my mother did not mean to be +unfair to me, she favored him in many ways, and denied herself almost +every luxury to keep his pockets well filled. We both went to college, +but when I was through I settled down to manage the estate and make the +most out of it and what other property my mother owned. When Bill +finished his education he insisted that he must have a trip to Europe. +He had his way, and spent a pile of money—more than he had any right +to—while I trudged on at home and bore all the burdens. About six +months after he went away I became attracted to a—a handsome girl in +New Haven. Her name was Isabelle Abbot."</p> + +<p>"My mother!" exclaimed Cliff with a sudden start and thrill of dismay, +while he grew first crimson, then white.</p> + +<p>"Yes, your mother," sharply repeated the squire, "and, as I said, she +lived in New Haven, her father doing a good business there in gents' +furnishing goods. She returned—or appeared to return—my regard for +her, and we shortly became engaged and planned to be married the next +fall, as soon as the harvesting was over. In June my brother returned +from Europe—the same rollicking, pleasure-loving, indolent fellow he +had always been. My mother urged him to settle down to some business or +profession, but he kept putting her off, telling her that when he found +something that suited him he'd dip in, as he expressed it; but he didn't +find what he wanted and continued to live his lazy life, but spending +money just as freely as ever. It was a bitter day for me when I +introduced him to the girl I expected to marry. He expressed a great +deal of admiration for her, called me a 'lucky dog' and said he should +'be very fond of his pretty sister-in-law.'"</p> + +<p>The bitterness in Squire Talford's tones as he repeated these sayings of +his brother plainly betrayed that his heart was still very sore from +these painful experiences of the past.</p> + +<p>"Well, it is the old story of treachery, and confidence betrayed," he +resumed after a short pause. "He began to visit Belle on the sly, and +wormed himself into her affections, and I, while I could see that she +was not quite the same as she was before he came home, never dreamed of +what was going on between them, until one day—just a month before the +day set for our wedding—they both disappeared, leaving only this to +tell what had occurred."</p> + +<p>The squire paused again and drew from the inner pocket of his +dressing-gown a small, square leather case, which he passed over to +Clifford.</p> + +<p>The young man took it with fingers that were trembling visibly, opened +it and drew forth a soiled and yellow envelope addressed to Mr. Alfred +H. Talford and in a hand which he instantly recognized to be his +mother's.</p> + +<p>Slipping the missive from the envelope, he unfolded it and read the +following brief letter:</p> + +<blockquote><p>"<span class="smcap">Alfred</span>: I know that you can never forgive me the wrong I am doing +you, but, too late, I have learned that I love another and not you. +When you receive this I shall be the wife of that other—you well +know who. I wish I could have saved you this blow, so near the day +that was set for our wedding; but I should have doubly wronged you +had I remained and fulfilled my pledge to you, with my heart +irrevocably elsewhere. Forget and forgive if you can.<span class="s6"> </span>T.A."</p></blockquote> + +<p>Clifford was very pale as he perused these lines; which had crushed all +the brightest hopes of the man before him and embittered and warped his +whole life.</p> + +<p>He sighed, and a feeling of sympathy thrilled his heart as he returned +the epistle to its worn, leathern receptable and handed it back to his +companion, while he told himself that there must be depths to the man's +nature that he had never suspected, or he would not have preserved and +carried about with him for so many years this relic of an old-time love.</p> + +<p>The squire hesitated before taking it, glancing irresolutely from it to +Clifford, as if half-ashamed of the tenacity with which he had clung to +it, and was inclined to repudiate any further interests in it, but he +finally put forth his hand to receive it and returned it to the pocket +from which he had taken it.</p> + +<p>"Then, my mother married your half-brother, Squire Talford," Clifford +gravely observed, after a thoughtful pause, "and that makes you—"</p> + +<p>"Yes, it makes me your uncle, or half-uncle, though perhaps the least +said about the relationship the better," was the somewhat bitter reply. +Then he resumed with pale, pain-drawn lips, which betrayed that it was +no easy matter for him to lay bare these secrets of his heart; "You can, +perhaps, imagine something of what that letter meant to me—it changed +in one moment of time my whole life; it made a devil of me, and all the +affection which I had previously entertained for those who had so +wronged me turned to rankest hatred, and I vowed that I would some day +make them conscious of the fact; that I would spare neither of them if +the time ever came when I could set my heel upon them.</p> + +<p>"That time came, at least for one, sooner than I expected. Meantime, I +married a thrifty, sensible girl who made me a good wife. I'd got to +have somebody to keep house for me and look out for things generally, +for my mother was giving out; that last act of Bill's broke her heart as +well as turned mine to stone. But she—my wife—didn't live so very +long. I expect she found life rather disappointing, for she never seemed +very chipper after the first month or two. So, when she died, I +concluded I was better off alone, and, as Maria had been thoroughly +trained in the ways of the house and farm, I concluded I'd fight it out +by myself. But, to go back a little," he continued, his voice suddenly +hardening again, a little note of regret having crept into it while he +was speaking of his mother and his dead wife. "Mr. Abbot, Belle's +father, was all broken up over her elopement; he had a long sickness, +during which his business went to rack and ruin, and when he finally got +out again he settled up the best he could and bought that little place +where you spent the first thirteen years of your life, paying down what +he could and giving a mortgage for the rest. I bought up that mortgage +just as soon as I got wind of it, and that was the first grip I got +toward paying off old scores. He and his wife lived there very quietly +for a couple of years; then Mrs. Abbot died. Her husband struggled on +alone for ten or eleven months longer, and then he gave up the battle.</p> + +<p>"He made his will only a few weeks previous, leaving his interest in his +house to his daughter, if she ever came back, and made me administrator +of the estate—that was another grip for me. You see, I held the +mortgage, and as I'd never let on about my state of mind regarding that +old disappointment, he naturally thought I'd be the best one to manage +the business, if I could ever get trace of his daughter. Ha!"</p> + +<p>Clifford moved uneasily in his chair, for the vindictiveness in his +companion's voice rasped almost beyond endurance. The squire observed +it, and a wintry smile flitted over his face.</p> + +<p>"That strikes you as rather vicious, doesn't it?" he said. "But I told +you that that wrong made a devil of me. Well, Mr. Abbot hadn't been gone +two months when his daughter came home, bringing her four-weeks'-old +baby—you—with her."</p> + +<p>"But, my father—where was he?" questioned Clifford in an eager tone.</p> + +<p>"That was more than any one could tell; he had deserted his wife nearly +a year previous, and she never saw or heard from him afterward. Here is +the letter he wrote her, informing her of his intention. I found it +among her papers after she died, and, as it struck me as being something +rather unique, I have kept it as a curiosity and with the thought that +it might prove useful to me at some time or other. It may, perhaps, +serve to give you an inkling regarding his character."</p> + +<p>He lifted a letter from the table beside him and handed it to Clifford +with a grim smile on his face.</p> + +<p>This is what the young man read;</p> + +<blockquote><p>"I'm off. There is no use in longer trying to conceal the fact that +I am tired of the continual grind of the last two years. It was a +great mistake that we ever married, and I may as well confess what +you have already surmised, that I never really loved you. Why did I +marry you, then? Well, you know that I never could endure to be +balked in anything, and as I had made up my mind to cut a certain +person out, I was bound to carry my point. You know who I mean, and +that he and I were always at cross-purposes. The best thing you can +do will be to go back to your own people—tell whatever story you +choose about me. I shall never take the trouble to refute it, +neither will I ever annoy you in any way. Get a divorce if you want +one. I will not oppose it; as I said before, I am tired of the +infernal grind and bound to get out of it. I'll go my way, and you +may go yours; but don't attempt to find or follow me, for I won't +be hampered by any responsibilities in the future."</p></blockquote> + +<p>"Wretch!" he muttered between his tightly locked teeth. "And have you +never heard anything of him since?"</p> + +<p>"Wait; let me tell my story in my own way and you will know all there is +to know when I am through," the squire replied, and then resumed: "I +told you that Belle Abbott came home with her baby, to find her father +and mother both gone and with no resources for herself except the +interest in the house where her parents had died. But she was thankful +for even a roof to cover her, and, being a woman of considerable energy +and strength of character, she began to look about for something to do +to support herself and her child, and—to pay the interest on the +mortgage, which, even then, was overdue."</p> + +<p>Again Clifford moved restlessly, for the man's malice irritated him +excessively, for he began to realize now, as he never had before, +something of what his mother's wrongs and sufferings had been, and how +this vindictive man had oppressed her to gratify a mean revenge.</p> + +<p>"You think I was a 'wretch,' too, no doubt," said the squire. "I don't +deny it; but you know the old saying that 'even a worm will turn when +trod upon,' and my heart had been trampled to adamant and I had sworn +that I would have my pay for it. Your mother never went by her husband's +surname after she came back—she called herself Mrs. Faxon, for she did +not want you to know anything about the troubles of her life until you +were old enough to comprehend them clearly. That was why she would +never talk with you about your father. She had a first-rate education, +having stood at the head of her class when she graduated from the Normal +School in New Haven, and so she decided to open a private school in her +own house and try to get her living that way. She managed to just about +cover her expenses, except that she couldn't meet the interest on that +mortgage, during the last few years, and so the place came into my +hands, as you know, when she died. I didn't press her for the money, and +I didn't show my hoofs to her very much. I—well, I had my reasons for +it, as you will see." The man faltered and changed color here a trifle.</p> + +<p>"So," he went on, bracing himself after a moment, "she naturally +believed that I had wiped out old scores; but I hadn't. I simply wanted +to work out certain plans which I had in view for you, and when I +proposed that she should bind you to me for a term of years she fell +into the trap without a suspicion, believing that I would look out for +your future interests, and, if at any time your father's death could be +proved, you would come in for a certain share of the property. But that +was the very thing that I was determined should never happen, and so, +when, the night before she died, she sent for me and gave me a box of +letters and other papers explaining your parentage to keep for you until +your time was out——"</p> + +<p>"What!" cried Clifford, flushing crimson with sudden indignation, "and +you never gave them to me! Why have you done this—this wicked, inhuman +thing—why have you kept them from me?"</p> + +<p>"Because of that old devil in me, I suppose," was the dogged response. +"The hatred which I had been nursing against your father and mother for +so many years seemed to concentrate upon you. I never meant you should +know who your father was, nor your relationship to me, nor that you +should get a penny of your grandmother's property, if I could help it."</p> + +<p>"Did my grandmother make a will?" Clifford briefly inquired.</p> + +<p>"No, there was no will; but as nothing was ever heard of my brother, and +as I had managed everything for years, the property has all remained in +my hands," the squire replied.</p> + +<p>"Why have you told me all this now—why have you changed your mind and +revealed these secrets?" Clifford demanded as he leaned forward and +gazed steadily into his companion's face. Something about him seemed to +fascinate the man, for he regarded him with a peculiar, searching look +for a full minute.</p> + +<p>"Your eyes are very like your mother's," he musingly observed. "She had +the most beautiful eyes I ever saw, and your features are something like +hers. I used to think you looked like your father, but you have changed +during the last few years, and you make me think of her to-night. +Oh!"—with a sudden start and giving himself a rough shake—"why have I +told you this story now? Well, for one reason, I was compelled to do so. +I thought that box of papers would never see the light again—I meant to +have burned it long ago, but kept putting it off—but fate has taken the +matter entirely out of my hands. I had it safely locked away in an old +trunk, with a lot of other papers, but while Maria was cleaning house, +after I came to Washington, the trunk got a fall, was smashed, and she +found it. She brought it along with her, and this morning she informed +me that I must relate the facts of your history to you or she should +take the matter into her own hands. Of course, I preferred to face the +inevitable," he concluded stoically.</p> + +<p>"What are the papers in the box?" queried Clifford.</p> + +<p>"Some old love-letters that passed between your father and mother while +they were fooling me to the top of their bent, the certificate of their +marriage, and another of your baptism, with some other things of minor +importance."</p> + +<p>"Oh! then there is proof that my mother was legally married?" said +Clifford eagerly.</p> + +<p>"Yes, they were married, straight enough; though it wouldn't have +surprised me at all if my scapegrace of a brother had made a fool of +her. I never knew him to consult his conscience much where his own +pleasure was concerned," said the squire dryly.</p> + +<p>"I once inferred from something you said that there was some doubt about +it," said Clifford flushing.</p> + +<p>"Well, I was pretty mad at you that night, and I didn't care much what I +said."</p> + +<p>"You have said that my father was your half-brother, and that Faxon was +not his surname. What was his name?" the young man inquired with a +clouded brow.</p> + +<p>"Well, it is natural that you should want to know, and these papers will +tell you. I'll call Maria and she will bring them to you," Squire +Talford replied, and he rang the little handbell by his side, and which +was to summon Mrs. Kimberly to the scene.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="chap20"></a>CHAPTER XX.<br/> +<span class="smaller">CLIFFORD LEARNS HIS FATHER'S NAME.</span></h2> + +<p>Maria, evidently, was not far away, for she entered the room almost +immediately after the ringing of Squire Talford's bell and bearing the +box in her hands. She paused, after closing the door, and glanced +inquiringly at the squire.</p> + +<p>"Give it to him," he said, with a nod toward Clifford, and Maria placed +it in his hands, after which she walked quietly from the room again.</p> + +<p>Clifford was deeply moved, and his hands trembled visibly as he untied +the cord that held the cover in place and removed it. He merely glanced +at the letters as he took them out; but seized the folded parchment with +an eagerness which betrayed how anxious he was to learn the identity of +the man who had married and deserted his mother.</p> + +<p>He removed the pin that held the two papers together and unfolded the +topmost one, which proved to be the marriage-certificate. He searched it +eagerly for the name he wanted, and a perplexed look swept over his face +as he read it: "W. F. T. Wilton."</p> + +<p>"W. F. T. Wilton," he repeated thoughtfully. "Well, it does not +enlighten me very much. What do the initials 'W. F. T.' stand for?"</p> + +<p>"William Faxon Temple," briefly replied his companion, and regarding him +with a peculiar look.</p> + +<p>At first the name did not seem to mean much to Clifford. Then, all at +once, he started erect, a terrible shock galvanizing him from head to +foot, as his mind flew back to his first summer in the mountains, where +he had met the wealthy banker, William F. Temple, and his family; as he +recalled also his interview with the man on the morning after Minnie +Temple's rescue, when he had been so strangely moved upon learning his +own name.</p> + +<p>"But it cannot be possible!" he muttered, repudiating the thought almost +as soon as it had taken form in his mind.</p> + +<p>"What cannot be possible?" inquired the squire.</p> + +<p>"Why, I know a man here in Washington by the name of William F. Temple, +and it struck me as an odd coincidence that is all," Clifford explained, +but with clouded eyes.</p> + +<p>"Well?" said the squire, but with such a peculiar intonation that +Clifford started again.</p> + +<p>"You cannot mean—surely it cannot be possible that he is the man you +refer to—your half-brother!" he cried breathlessly.</p> + +<p>"Yes, he, and no other, is the man," was the emphatic response, "only he +has found it convenient to drop the name of Wilton."</p> + +<p>"But are you sure? Have you met this man who calls himself William F. +Temple? Do you know that he is your brother?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, I am sure—we have met and recognized each other, greatly to his +confusion. I could take my oath as to his identity and that he is the +man who married Belle Abbot more than twenty-three years ago, though I +am sure he has never dreamed of your existence, for you were born eight +months after he had deserted your mother. She called herself by the name +of Faxon and named you Clifford, for your grandfather, Abbot. She said +you should never be known by the name of Wilton, and as the population +of New Haven was constantly changing, and her home was on the outskirts +of the city, she hoped to keep your identity a secret and your young +life unhampered by any knowledge of the great wrong of which your father +had been guilty. She never heard one word from her husband, and she +finally came to the conclusion that he must be dead. I also shared that +belief, for I was pretty sure that if he was alive and needed money he +would make some effort to get his share of his mother's property; but +four years ago last summer we suddenly ran across each other on a train +between New York and Albany——"</p> + +<p>"You did?" sharply interposed Clifford, "and did you tell him of my +existence?"</p> + +<p>"You may be sure I didn't. I never meant that any one should know that +there was any tie of kinship between you and me," replied the squire, +with some asperity. "At first Bill pretended that he did not know me, +but I very soon brought him down from his high horse and convinced him +that I knew my man. He was dressed like a nabob, and told me that he had +become rich—he even told me that I was welcome to all that our mother +left, and that he should never give me any trouble about his share of +it; but I supposed that was a kind of bribe for me to let him alone, +and, as I'd come to look upon everything as belonging to me, I concluded +to give him a wide berth, rather than to get into an expensive lawsuit +over the matter. I never met him again until the day you took your +degree at Harvard—bah! I did not mean to let that cat out of the bag!" +the man interposed, with a shrug of irritation and flushing hotly.</p> + +<p>"Oh! I knew you were there," Clifford quietly returned. "I saw you +almost as soon as I entered the hall, and your presence was a great +inspiration—I feel I owe you a great deal for it."</p> + +<p>"An inspiration!" repeated his companion, wonderingly.</p> + +<p>"Yes; for I knew you had come to criticize—to ascertain for yourself if +I had been able to work my own way through college and acquit myself +creditably, and the knowledge proved a wonderful bracer for me. But you +were telling me about your second meeting with Mr. Temple."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I ran against him and his whole family just as I was leaving the +grounds. They were a stunning party, and their carriage and horses as +fine as one would care to see. But it nearly took Bill's breath away to +see me—he looked as if he had met a ghost, though neither of us let on +that he knew the other," the squire explained.</p> + +<p>"And that man is my father!—you have taken my breath away by the +revelation," said Clifford, with an air of bewilderment and a sudden +sense of repulsion. "However, I have no desire to lay claim to any such +relationship. Do you know where he went and how he made his money after +he deserted my mother?"</p> + +<p>"I've been told that he 'struck pay-gravel' in some Western mines; then +went to San Francisco, where he set up as a banker, got into society +there, and served one or two terms as Mayor of the city and met his +present wife—who was a rich widow by the name of Wentworth and married +her there. I learned this from a San Francisco man whom I met when I +first came to Washington."</p> + +<p>"When—how long ago was he married to this woman?" Clifford questioned, +with a violent start.</p> + +<p>"I'm sure I don't know—I haven't felt interest enough in their affairs +to make any inquiries about the matter," said the squire indifferently. +"I remember when I met him on that trip to Albany I told him that all +the folks at home were gone. He said he knew it—he'd kept himself +posted; so I suppose he must have married this woman after that."</p> + +<p>But Clifford had grown deathly pale while he was speaking, for his mind +had been working rapidly.</p> + +<p>"No—no; great heaven;" he exclaimed, "I am sure he must have married +her before my mother died!"</p> + +<p>"What's that?" exclaimed the squire, and now all on the alert, while a +malicious gleam flashed into his eyes.</p> + +<p>"Yes, I am sure of it—oh! the shame of it!" groaned Clifford in deep +distress, "and that dear, sweet child, Minnie, who is, of course, my +half-sister, has no legal right to the name she bears; neither has her +proud-spirited mother. What a wretch that man has been!"</p> + +<p>"Hold on, my boy—don't go so fast," interposed his companion, with +considerable excitement. "What is all this lament about?—explain what +you mean."</p> + +<p>"You have said that you have seen Mr. Temple's whole family; then of +course you know that he has a beautiful little daughter about eleven +years old——"</p> + +<p>"His child by this second marriage?—are you sure?" exclaimed the squire +breathlessly.</p> + +<p>"Yes; her name is Minnie Temple."</p> + +<p>"Ha! I had never given a thought to the girl nor her possible age. But +if what you say is true, I have lived to see him bitterly punished," and +the man chuckled maliciously.</p> + +<p>"Ah, yes, he must long have felt that a sword was hanging over his +head," Clifford gravely observed. "Let me see; I met the family in the +White Mountains during the vacation after my first year at college. +Minnie was then five years old; more than five years have elapsed since +then, so she must be between ten and eleven now, and my mother died ten +years ago last August," he concluded, with a look of keen pain in his +eyes.</p> + +<p>"And that proves Mrs. Temple to be no wife and the child illegitimate. +Bill Wilton was a fool ever to show his face this side of the Rockies +again—it's a true saying, 'give a rogue rope enough and he'll hang +himself.' We'll fix him now, though I never dared to hope for such a +triumph as this," said the squire, with another chuckle that actually +made Clifford's flesh creep.</p> + +<p>"Oh, don't!" he exclaimed, with mingled disgust and distress.</p> + +<p>"Don't!" repeated the man in a tone of astonishment. "Don't you want to +see a rascal like that brought to justice? I do. His whole life has been +one long story of selfish indulgence and crime."</p> + +<p>"I am not thinking of him at all," said Clifford sorrowfully, "but of +the innocent ones who have been so deeply wronged by him—that lovely +woman and her sweet child——"</p> + +<p>"How about yourself?" snapped the squire. "You have your rights."</p> + +<p>"My dear mother was a legal wife. Assured of that, I am not disturbed +about myself, as far as Mr. Temple is concerned. I have fought my way +thus far, and I shall go still higher, without extorting anything from +him."</p> + +<p>"But you surely will demand that he shall do the fair thing by you in +the disposition of his property."</p> + +<p>"No!" cried Clifford, in a tone of scornful repudiation. "I would never +claim kinship with such a man and I want none of his gold. But"—a +wistful expression creeping into his eyes and dropping into a musing +tone—"I could love that dear child—my little half-sister—very +tenderly if I might be allowed to. I have always felt a sort of +proprietorship in her ever since the day that I went over that precipice +after her—somehow she has seemed to belong to me in a way, though I +little imagined that I was rescuing my own sister from a terrible +death——"</p> + +<p>"'Death!—rescue!'" repeated the squire wonderingly, "what are you +talking about, Cliff?"</p> + +<p>The young man looked up with a smile and shook himself. "I was dreaming +of the past, and hardly realized that I was speaking aloud," he said.</p> + +<p>Then he described the event, while the man listened attentively, his +eyes fastened upon the manly young face, and a look of wonder grew in +his eyes as he began to comprehend the heroism of the deed.</p> + +<p>"And you did that! you went over that precipice and down a hundred feet +on a rope and back again, the same way, with that child on your back!" +he demanded in astonishment when Clifford concluded.</p> + +<p>"Of course—there was nothing else to be done."</p> + +<p>"Weren't you afraid?—you must have known that you were liable to lose +your head, fall and be dashed to atoms on the rocks below."</p> + +<p>"Well, I knew there was a risk, of course; but I did not stop to think +about being afraid. I should have gone, just the same, if I had known I +should fail—I could not leave that child there without making an effort +to save her," was the grave reply.</p> + +<p>"Well, that makes another!" ejaculated the squire thoughtfully.</p> + +<p>"Another what?" questioned Clifford, who did not catch his companion's +meaning.</p> + +<p>"Another deed to be proud of," was the hearty, but almost involuntary +response.</p> + +<p>It was now Clifford's turn to look astonished—and he was beyond +measure—for it was the first time he had ever heard a word of genuine +commendation from the man's lips.</p> + +<p>"Thank you, sir," he earnestly returned.</p> + +<p>"Humph!" grunted the squire, as if half-ashamed of having betrayed so +much weakness; "so you don't appear to be very much elated over the fact +that you are the sole heir to William Faxon Temple's millions."</p> + +<p>"No, sir; I do not want a dollar of his money," was the spirited reply, +"and I should never—under any circumstances—attempt to prove myself +his heir, or entitled to bear his name. My mother named me Clifford +Faxon, and while I live I will bear no other."</p> + +<p>"Well, I must say, you are mighty indifferent about your rights; and you +do not seem to grasp the fact either, that, as my nephew, there is a +possibility that you may inherit something handsome from me one of these +days," and the man regarded him curiously as he said this.</p> + +<p>Clifford flushed again.</p> + +<p>"I had not thought of such a thing, I assure you," he said coldly. "Of +course I cannot help the fact that a certain relationship exists between +us; but I do not want your property, Squire Talford—I don't want any +man's money."</p> + +<p>"Oh, you don't! It strikes me that you are mighty independent, and +perhaps may live to regret assuming such airs," snapped his companion, +in evident irritation. Then he added maliciously: "But then, I forgot +for the moment that you are expecting to marry a fortune—I am told +that Miss Heatherford is a rich girl."</p> + +<p>Clifford was secretly furious at this spiteful thrust; nothing but his +respect for the man's age and weakened condition kept him from voicing a +scathing retort.</p> + +<p>"Miss Heatherford's property will be settled exclusively upon herself +before she becomes my wife," he merely replied, with an air of dignity +that sat well upon him. "I have no desire to build myself up upon the +foundation of another. From my earliest boyhood I have been conscious of +something within me that was bound to rise, and if I have my health I +have no fear that I shall be able to make for myself a name and position +of which neither I nor my friends will be ashamed."</p> + +<p>"Humph!" grunted the squire again; but he shot a look at the fine face +opposite him that had an unwonted gleam of respect in it.</p> + +<p>"You remarked a while ago," Clifford resumed after a moment of silence, +"that you believe Mr. Temple is unaware of the fact that he has a son. I +am confident you are mistaken. I am quite sure that he knows that I am +his son, although he evidently thinks that I am ignorant regarding my +relationship to him."</p> + +<p>He then described his first meeting with Mr. Temple a few days after +Minnie Temple's accident, and how agitated the man had been upon +learning of his name and the fact that he had been bound to Squire +Talford for four years.</p> + +<p>The squire smiled grimly as he concluded:</p> + +<p>"Well, it does look as if he had an inkling of the truth, that's a +fact," he said, "and he must have had quite a shock at the time—he +couldn't have felt over and above easy, I'm thinking, especially since I +came to Washington. I don't see that it has done much good telling you +this story," he went on moodily, "except that perhaps it has set your +mind at rest about your origin. I don't suppose I should ever have told +it if it hadn't been for Maria—she was bound that you should know the +truth, and, on the whole, I am not sorry it is over with."</p> + +<p>Clifford made no reply to these remarks—he felt they called for +none—but busied himself with gathering up his papers and replacing them +in their box, his companion regarding him curiously while he did so.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="chap21"></a>CHAPTER XXI.<br/> +<span class="smaller">CLIFFORD MEETS HIS FATHER.</span></h2> + +<p>When he had arranged everything in an orderly manner, Clifford tied the +cover on the box, after which he arose to go.</p> + +<p>"I am very glad that we have had this explanation, Squire Talford," he +thoughtfully remarked, "for I never could understand why I was such an +object of aversion to you. I sincerely regret that I should have been +the innocent cause of so much discomfort to you; but let me say now, as +it is probable we shall never meet again after you leave Washington, +that you need give yourself no uneasiness for the future, for no one +shall ever learn from me the relationship that exists between us."</p> + +<p>"Humph! and you really mean, too, that you will never tell your father +that you have learned you are his son and can prove the fact?"</p> + +<p>"Never. I have no wish ever to meet the man again," Clifford returned +with decision.</p> + +<p>"Suppose he should some day approach you upon the subject?"</p> + +<p>"That is a different matter, though I think it is not a supposable case; +he has too much at stake to care to agitate so serious a subject. I hope +our long talk has not wearied you and that you will still continue to +improve as rapidly as I am glad to see you have been during the last few +days."</p> + +<p>"Yes, I am getting along finely, and we are going home the first of next +week," the squire observed, but with his eyes downcast in a thoughtful +mood.</p> + +<p>"Ah! I was not aware you had set the day; but no doubt you will be far +more comfortable in your pleasant home at Cedar Hill. I trust, if there +is anything I can do for you in a business way, or otherwise, before you +go, you will command me. Now, as I have an engagement, I must go. Good +night."</p> + +<p>"Good night," briefly returned the man, but without looking up, and +Clifford quietly left the room. He met Maria in the hall.</p> + +<p>"Waal, you've got it," she observed, and glancing significantly at the +box in his hands.</p> + +<p>"Yes, thanks to you, my faithful friend. I feel that I owe you a great +deal, first and last," the young man replied in a grateful tone; "and +the squire tells me you are going home next week."</p> + +<p>"I guess there ain't no call for you to feel overburdened," said the +woman, swallowing hard to keep a sob from choking her, as she thought of +the coming separation, "I never had to ask you twice to do anything for +me, even when you was a boy; you was always careful about makin' +trouble, you never made any litter bringin' wood—you never got any +ashes on the floor when you made the fire in the mornin', and you always +had a pleasant word for me when other folks were cross'n two sticks. I +don't forget them things, I can tell you."</p> + +<p>"And I am sure I have just as many pleasant memories. You were always +very kind to me, Maria," said Clifford. Then, as he saw she was almost +ready to weep, he added, with a laugh: "Oh, those turnovers and +doughnuts that you used to tuck into my basket when I had to take my +dinner to school on stormy winter days were things a boy could never +forget! I believe nobody can make such doughnuts as yours, +Maria—really, my mouth waters for one this very moment."</p> + +<p>"Sho!—now you're giving me taffy," the woman retorted, with an +answering laugh; but her face flushed with pleasure at his tribute +nevertheless.</p> + +<p>The next morning Squire Talford busied himself with writing a somewhat +lengthy epistle, which, after addressing it, he directed Maria to post +immediately.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Kimberly was not above glancing at the superscription as she went +out, and nodded significantly as she read the name, "William Faxon +Temple, Esq." for she had recently seen the same, with another added, in +the old family Bible at home. She, therefore, had a shrewd suspicion +that the contents of that envelope related to matters of grave +importance that were closely connected with Clifford. She looked even +more wise when, that same evening, the maid who waited upon the door +handed her a card and told her a gentleman was in the parlor and wanted +to see Squire Talford, for one glance at the bit of pasteboard had +revealed the same name that she had seen on the letter which she had +posted that morning.</p> + +<p>The squire told her to show the gentleman up immediately, and the two +men were closeted together for more than two hours.</p> + +<p>When the visitor left, Maria, who of course, was on the alert, observed +that he was deathly pale, and that he walked unsteadily like one who had +received a severe blow or had suddenly aged.</p> + +<p>"So, that's the man; waal, the day o' judgment has come for him at last! +The way of the transgressor is hard," she muttered gravely to herself.</p> + +<p>The next afternoon, shortly before leaving his office, Clifford received +the following note:</p> + +<blockquote><p>"Will Mr. Clifford Faxon have the kindness to call this evening +about nine o'clock at No. 54 —— Street? A matter of great +importance is the excuse for the request. Very respectfully,<span class="s6"> </span> +<span class="smcap">William F. Temple</span>."</p></blockquote> + +<p>Clifford was somewhat appalled as he read this, and readily understood +that Squire Talford had taken matters into his own hands.</p> + +<p>His whole soul arose in rebellion as he read the formal note, and his +first impulse was to pen a curt refusal to comply with the writer's +request. He had hoped that he need never meet the man again, now that he +had learned who and what he was; this man, devoid of all honor, who, +according to his own written statement, had deliberately set himself to +win the love of a pure and innocent girl, just out of a spirit of +rivalry with his brother, and then, as soon as he had become weary of +his toy, he had remorselessly broken her heart by deserting her and +leaving her in a strange city to fight the desperate battle of life +alone.</p> + +<p>His contempt for the man was beyond the power of expression, especially +when he thought of how he had daringly ignored all moral and civil law +by marrying another without taking any pains to ascertain whether his +first victim was still living, and thus had entailed upon the second +wife and her child irrevocably shame and sorrow.</p> + +<p>Of course he understood that motives of revenge alone had prompted +Squire Talford to precipitate matters in this way—that he would gloat +over this opportunity to pay off, in a measure, the old scores which he +had nursed for so many years, and his scorn for him was little less than +that for his more daring and reckless brother.</p> + +<p>But after giving the matter some serious thought, and realizing that a +meeting between himself and Mr. Temple was bound to occur sooner or +later, he decided to comply with his request, boldly declare the +attitude which he intended to maintain toward him, and thus settle the +matter for all time.</p> + +<p>Accordingly the hour designated—nine o'clock—found him standing upon +the marble steps of Mr. Temple's palatial residence ringing for +admittance. A dignified butler admitted him to a reception-room and took +his card to his master. He reappeared very shortly with a request from +Mr. Temple that he would kindly step into the library.</p> + +<p>As Clifford followed the man through the spacious hall he could not fail +to observe everywhere the numerous evidences of great wealth and the +exquisite taste displayed in the choice of furnishings, pictures, +bric-a-brac, etc., and a pang of bitterness, mingled with righteous +indignation, smote his heart as he recalled how his mother had toiled +and struggled to eke out a miserable existence.</p> + +<p>As he entered the luxurious library and the servant withdrew, closing +the door after him, Mr. Temple came forward to greet him with extended +hand, but with an almost colorless face and unsteady step.</p> + +<p>"We have met before," he said, "we need no introduction——"</p> + +<p>"That is true, Mr. Temple," Clifford observed, as the man faltered, +while he gravely met his glance but ignored his proffered hand, "and +while I would have much preferred—since learning from Squire Talford +yesterday of the relations existing between us—that we need never meet +again, it has seemed best to me to respond to your request and come to +some definite understanding regarding our attitude toward each other in +the future."</p> + +<p>Mr. Temple had grown red and white by turns during this formal speech, +and his eyes wavered and fell beneath the clear, direct look of the +young man before him. He felt deeply humiliated in the presence of his +unacknowledged son—a son whom he realized any father might be proud to +own.</p> + +<p>"I comprehend," he said after a moment of awkward silence, "you refuse +to take the hand of the man who you feel has deeply wronged both +yourself and your mother; you perhaps have no desire to recognize any +tie of kinship between us."</p> + +<p>"You are right, sir," Clifford briefly but positively declared.</p> + +<p>Mr. Temple flushed again, but bowed a grave acquiescence to his +decision.</p> + +<p>"Will you be seated?" he remarked. "I will not presume to question the +justice of the attitude you have chosen to adopt, at the same time there +are some matters regarding which I wish to consult you.</p> + +<p>"We might as well come straight to the point," the gentleman began, but +with white lips and averted eyes, for he had never been as conscious of +his own littleness of soul and lack of manliness as at that moment in +the presence of his son, whom he recognized as infinitely his superior +in every respect. "I spent a couple of hours with Alfred Talford last +evening, and he told me of his interview with you and also gave me the +history of your life. Since this conference must necessarily be mostly +one of confession, I may as well state plainly at the outset that I +never really loved your mother. She was a bright, handsome girl, and I +was temporarily attracted toward her, while a spirit of deviltry +prompted me to try to make her prove false to Alf, between whom and +myself there had always existed a feeling of jealousy and rivalry.</p> + +<p>"How well I succeeded you already know. I completely mesmerized the girl +into believing that her existence depended upon me, and persuaded her to +elope with me, leaving her discarded lover to bear his disappointment as +best he could. We went West, but I soon grew weary of my unloved wife. +Perhaps I could have borne our relations better if we had been +prosperous; but after the money I had taken with me had given out and I +knew I would not be likely to get any more out of the estate while my +mother lived, I had hard luck—I did not get business that amounted to +anything, and every day was a struggle for a meager existence. Belle had +to work hard to help along, and so had no time to spend upon pretty +toilets to make herself attractive as before our marriage, while anxiety +and disappointment stole all her color and beauty. I stood it as long as +I could, and then I made up my mind to bolt. I——"</p> + +<p>"Pardon, Mr. Temple," Clifford here interposed, a look of mingled pain +and aversion sweeping over his face, "pray spare yourself and me a +rehearsal of that—I have in my possession the letter which you wrote my +mother at that time, and it needs no elucidation."</p> + +<p>"Very well," the man curtly observed, though he shrank visibly, as he +realized how utterly contemptible he must appear in the eyes of his son +if he had read the cruel lines he had written. "On leaving Chicago I +dropped my last name, Wilton, and called myself Temple. I drifted into a +mining-district of Colorado, where, after a time, I made a lively +strike, and, in a few years, became independently rich. Then, as I did +not like the rough life of a miner and craved better society, I sold out +and went to San Francisco, where I established myself as a banker."</p> + +<p>"Did no sense of responsibility make you feel that you ought to make +some provision for the wife you had left after you became so +prosperous?" Clifford here inquired.</p> + +<p>"Well," replied Mr. Temple, with a restless movement, "I supposed she +had gone back to her own folks, and, as Mr. Abbot was doing a good +business when she left home, I imagined she would be well provided for, +while I wanted to keep dark. I was perfectly willing that all my old +acquaintances in the East should believe me dead. I knew my mother was +dead, for I had read a record of it, having ordered a New Haven paper +sent to a certain address after I went to San Francisco, and there was +nobody else in that region that I cared anything about. Later, I became +interested in politics, made myself popular, and served two terms as +Mayor of the city.</p> + +<p>"Then"—he paused and swallowed hard, while his face became drawn and +pinched with pain—"I met my present wife, who was a wealthy widow with +one son, visiting some friends in the city, and I fell really in love +for the first time in my life, and—and my affection for her has +strengthened with every passing year. You doubtless wonder how I dared +to marry her without procuring a divorce from Belle. I admit it was a +bold and risky thing to do; but I knew that I had no grounds for a +divorce—that if I should attempt such a measure, very likely I should +fail, for I felt very sure that Alf must hate me to that extent that he +would spare nothing to thwart any plan of that kind. I told myself that +I was practically dead to all who had known me earlier in life—that it +would be better for me not to arouse sleeping dogs, who would be likely +to blight all the dearest hopes of my life; the continent was between +us, and as I had changed my name, it seemed more than probable that I +could live out my life without the fear of being molested by any one.</p> + +<p>"So I boldly won the woman I loved and resolutely silenced every fear +for the future. In less than a year my little daughter, Minnie, was +born, and then for a while I confess I experienced some uneasiness on +her account; but a year later that all vanished when one day I read in +my New Haven paper of the death of Mrs. W. F. T. Wilton, and knew that +at last I was free. I told myself that now I could enjoy life to the +utmost—my past was a sealed book, and the future was bright with +unlimited wealth, a beautiful wife, a lovely child. I felt as if I had +been released from a terrible bondage, and lived accordingly. We had the +entrée of the best society, and there was even some talk of making me +governor of the State. An almost ideal existence was ours, and yet, even +then, occasionally there would be forced upon my consciousness the fact +that my wife had no legal right to the position she occupied and that my +idolized child was——"</p> + +<p>"Oh, I beg you will not speak like that of that innocent child!" +Clifford here broke forth, with a note of keen pain in his tones. "It is +wholly unnecessary to rehearse all that to me."</p> + +<p>"Yes, yes, I suppose it is," Mr. Temple assented, as he shook himself +roughly as if arousing from a disagreeable dream, "and I hardly know why +I have allowed myself to go so into details. Well, the greatest mistake +of my life was made when I yielded to Mrs. Temple's persuasions to come +East and settle, so that her son could be educated at Harvard—and, by +the way, it seemed like the mockery of fate that you two should have +been in the same class. At first I objected to the plan, for I, of +course, felt safer to be three thousand miles from the scenes of my +youthful escapades, and I was still ambitious for political honors, in +spite of the fact that my own party had been defeated in the last +elections; but her heart was so set on the project that I finally gave +up the point. We accordingly went to Boston, and a little later I +purchased a fine estate in Brookline, which has been our home ever +since.</p> + +<p>"Mind you, during all this time I had never dreamed of your existence. +My first intimation of the fact that I had a son was that morning when I +sought you to express my gratitude to you for having saved the life of +my little daughter. The moment I looked into your eyes I was conscious +that there was something strangely familiar about you, and when you told +me that your name was Clifford Faxon, it seemed as if the earth was +slipping out from underneath me. I knew the truth then, for your mother +had often said that if she ever had a son she would name him Clifford, +for her father; and I understood that she had refrained from giving you +your true surname because she wished to keep from you the knowledge of +who your father was.</p> + +<p>"I have learned all about her life after she returned to New Haven, and +also her history from Squire Talford. I know what you have had to meet +and overcome, and that you have steadily and resolutely risen above +every obstacle. I realize the fact that you are a young man, morally and +intellectually, of whom any man might feel proud as a son, and yet, +situated as I am, you can readily see that such a recognition would +entail——"</p> + +<p>"I beg that you will give yourself no uneasiness, sir; I have no desire +to recognize such a tie, nor to have any one else informed of the fact," +Clifford quietly interposed.</p> + +<p>Mr. Temple changed color, yet at the same time the look of intense +anxiety which his face had worn hitherto faded out and he drew a breath +of relief.</p> + +<p>"Very well; and now we have arrived at a point where I wish to discuss +matters from a business point of view. I tell you candidly I adore my +wife, I worship my child, and I would far rather that a millstone should +crush me at this instant than have either learn the terrible facts +regarding their true position. Therefore, I am going to throw myself +upon your mercy; I know that you are an honorable man, and that your +word would be as sacred to you as your oath, and I am going to ask you +to pledge yourself never to reveal to any one the secret of my past. In +return for such a pledge I will settle upon you outright the sum of +three hundred thousand dollars——"</p> + +<p>Clifford drew himself suddenly erect, and a statue could scarcely have +been colder or more rigid.</p> + +<p>"Mr. Temple," he interrupted, with a dignity that was most impressive, +"there is not the slightest need of purchasing my silence. As I have +said, I have no wish to have any part of this history known; my love +for my mother, who was a pure, sweet, gentle woman, and my pride alike, +forbid that I should lay any claim to kinship with you, and I would not +accept a dollar of your money to save myself from starvation."</p> + +<p>"You are hard on me, young man," said Mr. Temple, cringing beneath the +scathing words as under a blow.</p> + +<p>"Hard!" repeated Clifford, whose scorn for the man was almost beyond +control, for he not only had his own and his mother's wrongs to +remember, but the treachery of the man in connection with Mr. +Heatherford, "the greatest condemnation that could be pronounced upon +you, you have yourself voiced to-night in the heartless story which you +have related to me; and let me assure you that I am actuated by no +sympathy with or pity for you in promising that my lips will forever be +sealed regarding our relations to each other, but out of regard alone +for the dear child whom I saved from a terrible death, and for whom I +have ever since entertained a strong affection. For her sake this +secret, which would blight her young life, shall be guarded most +sacredly—ah!—what does that mean?"</p> + +<p>And Clifford paused briefly, a look of blank dismay upon his face, as a +low, wailing, shuddering moan sounded through the room.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="chap22"></a>CHAPTER XXII.<br/> +<span class="smaller">"THE WAY OF THE TRANSGRESSOR."</span></h2> + +<p>That heart-broken cry struck instant terror to the souls of both men. +Clifford started to his feet, and Mr. Temple sprang forward, with a +muttered oath, toward the portières that screened an alcove at one end +of the room, just as they parted, and Minnie Temple appeared in the +aperture.</p> + +<p>"Oh, papa, papa! what does it all mean?" she wailed as she fell into his +outstretched arms, and he caught her almost fiercely to his breast. "I +have heard every word that you have said. I came in here after dinner, +laid down on the couch in the alcove and went to sleep. I awoke when +Clifford Faxon came in, but was too late to leave; then when you began +to talk I remained where I was—forgot everything but what you were +saying. Oh, tell me, what is this dreadful story about mamma and me, and +about Mr. Faxon being your son? I must know—I must know! I will know!"</p> + +<p>The poor girl was fearfully wrought up, and at this point lapsed into +violent hysterics that alarmed both her companions.</p> + +<p>With the child still hugged to his bosom and a face like chalk, Mr. +Temple strode to the mantle and touched an electric button.</p> + +<p>"Send Mrs. Maxfield immediately—Miss Minnie is ill," he said when the +butler appeared.</p> + +<p>Then he attempted to soothe her, calling her every endearing name he +could think of, and assuring her that there was no story—she simply +dreamed or had a horrible nightmare.</p> + +<p>But she was past all reason, and when the housekeeper appeared she was +borne up-stairs in an almost unconscious condition and put to bed, while +Clifford quietly left the house, but with an exceedingly heavy heart.</p> + +<p>A physician was summoned, and after powerful anodynes had been +administered the child fell into a profound stupor, from which she did +not arouse until the next morning.</p> + +<p>But, of course, when the effects of the sleeping potion wore off and +memory returned, the girl, who was mature beyond her years, sent for her +father and insisted upon being told the truth about herself.</p> + +<p>Mr. Temple tried to evade her as he had done the night previous, by +trying to convince her that she had only been dreaming; but she asserted +that she knew better, and appealed to her mother—who had been out at a +reception the night before—to make her father explain what she had +overheard.</p> + +<p>Mr. Temple was in despair—he felt that the web of fate was closing +around him, and, for the first time in his life, fell into a violent +passion with her, sternly commanding her to stop questioning him +regarding what was none of her affairs, but had been purely a matter of +business between himself and Mr. Faxon.</p> + +<p>Of course, the curiosity of both Mrs. Temple and Philip, who was also +present, was aroused, and, upon their insistence, Minnie faithfully +rehearsed the conversation between her father and Clifford, and, thus +brought to bay, the wretched millionaire was forced to make a clean +breast of everything.</p> + +<p>It was a crushing blow to the entire family. Mrs. Temple shut herself up +in her own room and would see no one for three days.</p> + +<p>Then she sent for Philip, who seemed to have been suddenly transformed, +and bore himself with a grave dignity that he had never worn before.</p> + +<p>They were closeted for several hours; then they requested Mr. Temple to +come to them. He obeyed the summons, but appeared like an old man, out +of whom all hope and ambition had been crushed.</p> + +<p>He tried many times to see his wife during those three, to him, endless +days; but she would not admit him. He had sent her note after note that +were pitiful in their expressions of remorse and appeals for +forgiveness. His heart sank anew within him as he now entered her +presence and noted how she had also changed. When he would have greeted +her with his customary caress he was waved to a distant chair with an +air of repulsion.</p> + +<p>"I have come to the decision, Mr. Temple, that there is but one thing +for me to do," she began, but without looking at him, "and that is to +leave Washington immediately, seek some place of retirement and hide my +shame as best I can."</p> + +<p>"Don't Nell! Oh—don't!" cried the stricken man, cringing before her; +"no breath of shame shall touch you, my darling; we will right +everything."</p> + +<p>"Right everything!" exclaimed the outraged woman, turning upon him in +righteous indignation. "Do you presume to talk of righting such a wrong +as mine at this late day? Do you imagine that the formal benediction of +a clergyman would restore to me the self-respect of which you have +deliberately robbed me, or wipe out the stigma that rests upon my child? +I am not your wife—I have never been your wife—I have simply been, +like a piece of merchandise, labeled with your name, and—I will never +answer to it again."</p> + +<p>"Oh, Nell! forgive—you break my heart!" groaned the wretched listener.</p> + +<p>"Break your heart!" the almost maddened woman exclaimed with a bitter +laugh. "Ah, me! one could scarce expect anything else—you think only of +your heart, your suffering. It is all of a piece with the selfishness +and recklessness that wrecked the life of that other woman, although the +wrong done her is not to be compared with mine. She at least was a legal +wife and her child legitimate, while I—oh, heavens!—to think what I +am! what my child is!" and she threw out her clenched hands with a cry +of mingled shame and agony that rang sharply through the room.</p> + +<p>"Mother, hush! do not go over all that again!" Philip here interposed, +with quiet authority. "There is no call for you to mourn any loss of +self-respect, for you are in no way responsible for this wrong, and we +will guard Minnie so tenderly that the world shall never have an +opportunity to make her suffer a single pang. Of course," he continued +with grave thoughtfulness, "things cannot go on as they are. If your +decision—that you will not legally assume the name that you have +hitherto borne—is irrevocable, we must arrange for as quiet a +separation as possible, for Minnie's sake——"</p> + +<p>"Oh, Nell! spare me that, I beg," pleaded Mr. Temple, with a heartbroken +sob. "Oh, forgive me this great wrong; don't talk of separation; let me +make you legally my wife, then we will go away to Europe—or anywhere +you like—and I will be your slave—I will do my utmost to atone for the +past and make you happy for the future. No one need ever know aught of +this secret. Faxon is honor itself, and he assured me that no hint of it +should ever escape his lips, and I am sure he would keep his word—Phil, +you know that he can be depended upon."</p> + +<p>"Yes," Philip gravely asserted, after a moment of hesitation, "I know, +if Faxon said that he will abide by it. But, Mr. Temple," he resumed in +a tone which was an indication of his own attitude, "I feel sure that my +mother has received a shock from which she can never recover, and I +agree with her that a separation will be the wisest measure to adopt +under the circumstances."</p> + +<p>"Let your mother speak for herself, if you please, Phil," Mr. Temple +interrupted, as he braced himself in his chair and turned his haggard +face toward the woman whom he adored.</p> + +<p>The proud, beautiful worldling shivered as if an icy wind had blown over +her, for she had loved this man who, for twelve almost idealistic years, +she had regarded as her husband. She had scarce had a wish ungratified; +she had enjoyed his wealth and been proud of her position in society.</p> + +<p>But, as Philip had said, the shock which she had sustained had been one +from which she could never rally, for it had killed both love and +respect at one blow. She did not move or lift her glance to him as she +said in an almost inaudible voice.</p> + +<p>"Phil has stated it right—I can never forgive the fearful wrong that +you have done me. We must part."</p> + +<p>"How about—Minnie?" Mr. Temple questioned, a look of despair on his +face.</p> + +<p>It was an unfortunate question. It aroused all the lioness in the +outraged woman, and she turned upon him with a burst of passion of which +he had never imagined her capable.</p> + +<p>"Minnie is mine!" she cried in a voice that rang shrilly through the +room—"mine by the right of motherhood and—oh, God!—mine, exclusively +mine, by right of the shame which you have entailed upon us both."</p> + +<p>It was a terrible thrust, and William Temple threw out his hands with a +gesture of keenest anguish, as if warding off the point of a dagger. He +sat like one stunned for several moments, and there was no sound in the +room.</p> + +<p>Finally the man lifted his bowed head and observed in a hollow tone and +with a look of utter hopelessness:</p> + +<p>"Very well, Nell, it will have to be as you say; but no breath of shame +from the world shall ever touch either of you—I could not bear that. I +know I deserve my punishment, and I bow to the inevitable. You shall +have Minnie—I relinquish her to you—and you shall go where you will; +or, if you prefer to remain here in Washington, I will go to the ends of +the earth, on some plausible errand, and you shall never hear of me +again.</p> + +<p>"Now"—rising feebly and holding onto the back of his chair, while he +gazed on her with the look of one whose heart was breaking—"arrange +everything to suit yourself. I will not lay a straw in your way, and you +shall have all the money you want."</p> + +<p>He tottered from the room, groping his way down-stairs and walking like +one who has been stricken blind, sought the library, and locked himself +in to keep out intruders, while trying to face a future which did not +seem to have a single ray of hope to make it worth the living.</p> + +<p>There they found him five hours later, sitting before his desk, his head +bowed upon his outstretched arms, unconscious and almost rigid.</p> + +<p>The butler, desiring some instructions regarding certain orders his +master had given him, rapped upon the door for admission; but, after +repeated attempts, receiving no answer, he had gone out upon the veranda +and entered the room by a window, to find the occupant of the room in +the condition described.</p> + +<p>He was borne to his room and the family physician summoned, when the +attack was pronounced an apoplectic stroke.</p> + +<p>He recovered consciousness after a few days, but could move neither hand +nor foot, while the verdict of the doctors was that his days, even his +hours, were numbered.</p> + +<p>When this was made known to Mrs. Temple she seemed to become like one +petrified. She sat motionless and speechless for several minutes; then +she burst into a passion of weeping, so violent in her utter abandonment +to her overwhelming grief that she was utterly prostrated by it; the +flood-gates that had hitherto been held back by an almost indomitable +will and pride were lifted, and all her pent-up sorrow and shame were +let loose.</p> + +<p>When the storm finally spent itself she slept from sheer exhaustion, and +did not wake for several hours. Then she was calm, and once more +mistress of herself, and clothing herself in soft, noiseless garments, +she went directly to her husband, a chastened look on her face, an air +of gentleness and resignation in her bearing that hitherto had been +wholly foreign to her.</p> + +<p>Almost ever since memory had returned to him, the sick man had lain with +his eyes fastened upon the door leading from his room, and with a look +of longing in them that was pathetic beyond description.</p> + +<p>When, at length, it opened to admit his wife, his whole face lighted +with an expression of joy that nearly made her weep again, but which +sent a thrill to her own heart that told her she loved him still, in +spite of the irreparable wrong he had done her.</p> + +<p>She went to his bed and sat down beside him, gathering one of his +lifeless hands into hers, and, bending over him, kissed him on the +forehead.</p> + +<p>Two great tears welled up from the fountain of his heart and brimmed +over upon his cheeks. His wife gently wiped them away and questioned +tenderly:</p> + +<p>"Will, is there anything you would like me to do for you?"</p> + +<p>He closed his eyes slowly, thus signifying that there was, then, opening +them again, he glanced toward the nurse.</p> + +<p>"Do you wish to be alone with me for a while?" Mrs. Temple inquired.</p> + +<p>Yes, the sad eyes signified, and the attendant went immediately out.</p> + +<p>"Now, dear, how can I manage to find out just what you want?" said Mrs. +Temple, when the door was closed.</p> + +<p>Again that intensely yearning look was fastened upon her face, and she +instinctively divined his thought at once.</p> + +<p>"Is it that you wish me to say something kind to you?" she asked.</p> + +<p>His look brightened, but the tears started at the same time.</p> + +<p>"Well, then, Will, dear," began the chastened wife, in a voice that was +tremulous with emotion, "I have fought my battle out, and I believe I +can truly say that I forgive all. I see now that I was selfish in +thinking only of my own suffering—I had no right to be cruel to you +when you were more wretched than I. Get well, Will—try to get well, and +then we will all go to some quiet place and begin to live in a more +earnest and sensible way."</p> + +<p>The tears were raining thick and fast now from the man's eyes, but she +wiped them away, while she continued to talk to him in a soothing, +comforting strain, until he became more composed. But she soon saw that +there was still something on his mind, and she tried to ascertain what +it was, but though she asked many questions regarding his business and +certain appointments which she knew he had made, she could not seem to +get at his thought.</p> + +<p>At last she told him that she would say the alphabet and they would +spell out his wish. When she reached the letter M, he signified that was +right, and she instantly jumped to a conclusion, and inquired:</p> + +<p>"Do you want Minnie?—how strange I did not think of that before!"</p> + +<p>Yes, the eyes assented. Mrs. Temple rang the bell and sent for the +child, who had not been allowed to come into the room, except for a +moment or two, while her father was sleeping.</p> + +<p>She soon made her appearance, looking pale and drooping, for the +sensitive girl had been stricken to the heart by what she had learned, +and inexpressibly lonely and wretched while her mother was brooding over +her own misery.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Temple folded her in her arms and kissed her tenderly, then made +her sit down in her own chair, while she drew another near for herself.</p> + +<p>"Papa wished me to send for you, dear," she said; "he cannot speak, but +you may talk to him a little; and, love, say something kind to him," she +concluded, with her lips close to Minnie's ear.</p> + +<p>Minnie sat down by the sick man and laid her cheek against his with all +her accustomed fondness.</p> + +<p>"Papa," she murmured, "I love you—I am so sorry you are ill and cannot +talk to me; but"—now lifting her head and looking earnestly into his +eyes—"you know that I love you—that I shall always love you."</p> + +<p>The look of yearning and agony which he bent upon her was more than she +could bear, and, dropping her head again upon his pillow, she added:</p> + +<p>"Now cannot you go to sleep for a little while; I will sit here beside +you and hold your hand; then, perhaps, when you are rested you can talk +to me a little."</p> + +<p>She clasped his hand in both of her own soft, warm palms, raised it to +her lips, kissed it, and held it there, and for nearly half an hour +there was no sound in the room.</p> + +<p>Finally the nurse came softly in, to look after her patient, and Mrs. +Temple turned, with her finger upon her lips.</p> + +<p>"They are both asleep," she whispered.</p> + +<p>It was true, both the man and child were wrapped in slumber; one in that +which knows no waking, the other in the innocent, restful sleep of +childhood.</p> + +<hr /> + +<h2><a name="chap23"></a>CHAPTER XXIII.<br/> +<span class="smaller">CLIFFORD REFUSES A FORTUNE.</span></h2> + +<p>So William Faxon Temple Wilton's mortal experience on this plane of +existence came to an end. Love of ease and pleasure, selfishness and +greed, the fostering of malice, passion, and appetite invariably bring +their punishment, even here.</p> + +<p>When all was over it was found, upon making a thorough examination of +his papers, that the man had left no will. A memorandum of a few +bequests was discovered in a little blankbook in his desk, showing that +he had given some thought to the subject; but these, of course, amounted +to nothing, and Philip Wentworth was appalled when he realized what such +culpable neglect on the part of Mr. Temple meant in connection with his +mother and sister.</p> + +<p>"Mother, this is simply awful!" he exclaimed, when they were at last +obliged to relinquish their fruitless search; "you and Minnie are +literally penniless, for not a dollar of Mr. Temple's fortune can either +of you touch. Clifford Faxon, who is his son by that other woman, +becomes the sole heir to his magnificent property."</p> + +<p>"Can that be possible?" said Mrs. Temple, greatly distressed. "Oh, it +seems dreadful that Minnie—that innocent child—must suffer for the sin +of another. She was her father's idol, and, of course, he intended that +she should be his heiress. I know if he had even dreamed that the truth +would be revealed he would have made a will in her favor, and settled +the matter irrevocably."</p> + +<p>"He did know," said Phil, flushing with indignation; "don't you know he +said that he realized that Faxon was his son, as long ago as when he met +him at the mountains. I cannot understand how he dared to leave matters +so at loose ends."</p> + +<p>"Well," observed Mrs. Temple, after a thoughtful pause, "I am not going +to cast reflections upon him now. I told him that I forgave him, and I +will hold to what I said. I begin to think that unlimited wealth is a +snare which binds and warps all that is best in our natures. I am not +literally penniless, as you said. I have my own small fortune, which +Will insisted upon settling upon me when we were—ah! why do I refer to +that miserable farce!" she interposed with sudden passion.</p> + +<p>But she calmed herself almost instantly and continued:</p> + +<p>"I am sure I can manage with what I have quite comfortably, though, of +course, we will have to give up all this style and exercise economy. +Now, Phil"—with an air of determination—"I am not going to have any +legal contest or gossip over these matters. Everything has been kept +quiet so far, and for both Minnie's and my sake there must be no +scandal. I am going to send for Mr. Faxon, tell him frankly that there +is no will, and relinquish everything to him."</p> + +<p>"That would be neither right nor sensible!" cried Philip hotly, his old +grudge against Clifford flaming up anew. "Of course, I can understand +that Faxon—hem! has certain legal rights that will have to be +respected; but, morally, he has no right to this fortune—Minnie should +have every dollar of it. Blast it all!" he burst forth, as he sprang to +his feet and excitedly paced the room, "we are in a horrible situation. +If we fight for the property that damnable secret will all have to come +out——"</p> + +<p>"Yes, and there would be no use in fighting, for Mr. Faxon can easily +prove his own position and get everything. Oh, it would be worse than +folly, Phil, to attempt to contest the matter—our hands are tied—we +are utterly helpless; so I am going to quietly give up everything. I +would rather forfeit every penny than have the world know our shameful +story."</p> + +<p>Philip was almost beside himself in view of this unforeseen calamity. +Since the trouble has fallen upon his mother he had borne himself with +more dignity and manliness than he had ever manifested. He had seemed to +be suddenly transformed, and had been a veritable staff and support to +her. He had even appeared somewhat softened toward Clifford upon +learning how nobly considerate he had been and that he had given his +word to preserve their secret inviolate.</p> + +<p>But now, when he realized that he alone was Mr. Temple's heir, and that +his mother and sister would be deprived of the luxuries to which they +had always been accustomed, his old hatred revived with tenfold fury, +and he became capable for the time of almost any crime in his desire to +wreck vengeance upon his rival.</p> + +<p>But Mrs. Temple proceeded to put her resolution into immediate action, +and wrote a brief, courteous note to Clifford, requesting him to call at +his earliest convenience, as she had a matter of the most vital +importance to discuss with him.</p> + +<p>He at once surmised something of the nature of the matter—for he knew +that if he had not been mentioned in Mr. Temple's will he could break it +if he chose—and accordingly presented himself at the Temple mansion +that same evening.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Temple received him cordially, but Phil, his mother having insisted +that he should be present during the interview, barely accorded him a +recognition.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Temple came to the point at once, stating the case briefly, but +plainly, and to say that Clifford was astonished upon learning that +there was no will and that he alone was heir to the large fortune which +Mr. Temple had left would not feebly express his feelings.</p> + +<p>He had never once thought of such a contingency. He supposed, of course, +that Mr. Temple had made his will, leaving everything to the woman he +adored and the child he worshiped, and that they had sent for him simply +to make terms with him to prevent him from making them any trouble in +settling the estate. But to learn that there were no terms to be +made—to learn that they had sent for him to relinquish everything, +without a desire or a condition, except that he would reassure them of +his willingness to keep their miserable secret, almost dazed him.</p> + +<p>To most people that would have been a moment of signal triumph; but it +was not in Clifford's nature to triumph in any one's misfortune, +although it did flash upon him, as his mind reverted to that day when +Philip Wentworth had so rudely saluted him—"Say, here! you +window-washer!"—that the tables had been turned in a most wonderful +manner.</p> + +<p>It seemed like a dream to be sitting there and know that, for the +moment, at least, he was a millionaire, while his old-time enemy and his +proud mother were groveling before him in the valley of humiliation.</p> + +<p>He listened gravely to all Mrs. Temple had to say, and his heart ached +for her in her sorrow, and grew very tender toward her, as well, for was +she not the mother of his young sister?</p> + +<p>When, at the close of her explanations, she begged him, for Minnie's +sake, to take everything and welcome if he would only save them the +disgrace of having the world learn the truth and point the finger of +scorn at them, he flushed to his brows with wounded feeling.</p> + +<p>"My dear madam," he said as she concluded, "I am wondering what your +estimate of me can be! I assure you that I am as eager as yourself to +keep these matters from the world. I may as well tell you that Mr. +Temple offered to settle three hundred thousand dollars upon me upon the +same condition; but I say to you now, as I said to him that evening, I +cheerfully promise that, as far as I am concerned, the secret shall be +inviolate, and I do not want—I will not have—a dollar of this fortune +which you assert, and which I can understand, might be mine by the law +of inheritance."</p> + +<p>At this point Philip Wentworth turned and faced him for the first time +during the interview, his face wearing an expression of profound +astonishment.</p> + +<p>"What are you saying?" he demanded sharply; "you do not intend to take +any of Mr. Temple's money?"</p> + +<p>"Not a penny, Wentworth," Clifford quietly returned.</p> + +<p>"But—I do not understand it!" said Philip, with a blank stare of +wonderment.</p> + +<p>"It is very simple," returned Clifford, with a frank smile. "Mr. Temple +never knew of my existence until a little over five years ago, and even +after he learned the fact he manifested no interest in me. All his hopes +and plans were centered in his daughter and her mother; his fortune was +made for them, and he expected and intended that it would become theirs +in the event of his death. Now, I feel that I have no more right to it, +morally, than I have to the fortune of one of the Vanderbilts. I can +see, as you do, that I might, according to the law governing such +matters, claim it all if I was so disposed; but I assure you I want no +part of it. Probably the world—if it were conversant with the +circumstances—would judge me to be quixotic and say that my pride +outweighed my judgment. Possibly, that may be true to a certain +extent—I cannot quite define my own feelings regarding the matter; +but," he concluded decidedly, "the fact remains—I will not touch it!"</p> + +<p>Mrs. Temple had observed him with growing interest, mingled with +deepest respect and admiration, during these remarks, and as he +concluded she turned to him with an eager light in her eyes:</p> + +<p>"Mr. Faxon," she said, "there is, I suppose, a great deal of money; may +I beg, as a personal favor, that you will take at least a portion of +it—that you will share it with Minnie?"</p> + +<p>"Madam, that would be impossible. I most cheerfully resign everything to +her," was the firm but courteous response.</p> + +<p>"I am amazed!" said the lady, with visible emotion, "and, morally, it +does not seem right to me that my child should, under the circumstances, +alone be enriched by Mr. Temple's wealth. Oh! I trust that the innocent +girl may not fall under the ban of your censure because of her father's +wrongdoing."</p> + +<p>"Surely not, Mrs. Temple," said Clifford earnestly; "on the contrary, I +have long entertained a very tender feeling toward her. How could I help +it after the thrilling experience in which we participated a few years +ago?—and now the knowledge that we are akin to each other has only +served to strengthen the bond. With your permission, I shall be glad to +cultivate an even closer friendship than has hitherto existed between +us."</p> + +<p>"You not only have my permission—I shall be proud to have you for her +friend, and—mine," said Mrs. Temple huskily; and then, utterly overcome +by his magnanimity, she buried her face in her hands and wept.</p> + +<p>"Thank you," returned Clifford heartily, "and allow me to say that you +both have had my deepest sympathies during this trial. Had I dreamed of +these results I should certainly have refused to comply with Mr. +Temple's request for an interview. But we will never refer to the +subject again, only let me add that I feel you have shown yourself very +honorable in your proposals to me this evening."</p> + +<p>"Oh!" cried Mrs. Temple, with a gesture of repudiation, as she lifted +her face to him, "do not commend me for what was prompted by purely +selfish motives; my only thought was to secure your silence at any cost, +but now I really wish, out of a spirit of gratitude and of admiration +for your nobility, that I could persuade you to revoke your decision."</p> + +<p>"I cannot, Mrs. Temple," said Clifford gravely and decisively, "but"—a +genial smile chasing the gravity away—"I will most thankfully avail +myself of your proffered friendship, and even though—because of the +world—I may not claim my young sister as such, I assure you I shall +love her none the less tenderly."</p> + +<p>Feeling that the interview should end, Clifford now arose to go, +pleading another engagement. Mrs. Temple also arose and came toward him, +with outstretched hand.</p> + +<p>"I am more grateful to you than I can express," she said, with the tears +springing afresh. "I have had a bitter cup to drink—a terrible wound to +bear, but you have greatly soothed and comforted me to-night; if I can +ever serve you in any way, believe me I shall esteem it a privilege to +do so."</p> + +<p>"Thank you," said Clifford heartily, as he clasped her trembling hand.</p> + +<p>Then he glanced somewhat doubtfully at Philip, who during the last +half-hour, had been sitting silent and apparently preoccupied, and +wearing a strangely depressed air.</p> + +<p>"Good night, Wentworth," he said cordially, after an instant of +irresolution.</p> + +<p>There was a moment of awkward silence.</p> + +<p>"Phil!" broke in his mother, in a tone of surprised reproof.</p> + +<p>The young man sprang to his feet and turned a flushed, shamed face upon +Clifford.</p> + +<p>"I say, Faxon," he faltered huskily, "this has been too much for me! +I've been a cad and a knave time and again, but you have set your heel +upon me pretty effectually this time! I am simply crushed. You have done +to-night what I did not believe any man was capable of doing, and when +you entered the room I was in a more murderous frame of mind than I have +ever been before; but you have taken the starch all out of me, and I am +ready now to eat humble pie. If you won't feel insulted, after all that +has passed, I'd like to ask you to shake hands and wipe out old scores."</p> + +<p>Clifford's hand went out to him with instant cordiality.</p> + +<p>"Gladly!" he said, and in that friendly clasp there was ratified a +treaty which endured throughout their lives.</p> + +<p>No other word was spoken, for Philip was now beyond the power of +speech, and Clifford, recognizing the fact, beat a considerate retreat, +and left the house with a buoyant heart, an elastic step, a smile on his +lips, and the consciousness of a noble victory gleaming in his +expressive brown eyes, for of an enemy he had at last made a friend.</p> + +<p>Mrs. Temple and Philip set themselves immediately about winding up Mr. +Temple's affairs, and both seemed to have undergone a radical +transformation.</p> + +<p>The proud, gay butterfly of fashion had suddenly become the gentle, +tender, considerate mother—a thoughtful, womanly woman; the indolent, +aimless man was fast developing into an attentive son, a wise adviser, +an efficient helper and protector.</p> + +<p>"You are growing very like your father, Phil," his mother said to him +one day, after many hours of patient labor over perplexing accounts and +papers.</p> + +<p>"Thank you, mother, you could not have said anything to have encouraged +me more," the young man replied, with grave appreciation, but with a +sigh over the wasted years of his life.</p> + +<p>Upon completing their business-arrangements, Mrs. Temple insisted that +the sum of fifty thousand dollars should be made over to Mr. +Heatherford, who, she asserted, must have lost fully that amount, first +and last, in his dealings with her husband, she and Phil having +discovered the fact during their examination of the man's account. The +man, at first, demurred against taking it, but she assured him that out +of her abundance it would never be missed, and that she would feel that +she was retaining money which did not belong to her if he did not +accept it; and he finally acceded to her request, for he well knew that +the methods which Mr. Temple had employed had amounted to the same thing +as taking so much money out of his pockets and transferring it to his +own.</p> + +<p>During this time Clifford saw considerable of the family, and between +him and Minnie there grew up a strong and endearing friendship, which, +in after years, became the source of much happiness to them both.</p> + +<p>Mollie, also, feeling her sympathies aroused in view of the wrongs and +trials of the family, renewed her friendship with them—even with Phil, +who was so thoroughly repentant for the past and so changed that she had +not the heart to keep him longer under the ban of her displeasure.</p> + +<p>Their business-affairs in Washington once arranged, they returned to +their home in Brookline, where they dropped into a quiet, peaceful way +of living, Minnie throwing her whole heart into her studies to prepare +for college; Philip settling down to business in a firm where a young +and enterprising man with some capital was needed, while Mrs. Temple +devoted herself exclusively to her two children and their interests.</p> + +<p>The twenty-fifth of January there was a brilliant society wedding in +Washington, when Mollie Heatherford gave herself to her king, and +believed that she was the happiest woman living, while Clifford felt +himself truly crowned with the supreme joy of his life. Miss Athol was +maid of honor to the fair bride, and her fiancé, the son of the British +ambassador, was Clifford's best man.</p> + +<p>Maria Kimberly and Squire Talford were both bidden to the festivities.</p> + +<p>The squire did not respond in any way to the courtesy extended to him, +but Maria presented herself a week beforehand, to help the affair along, +and she could not have shown a more vigorous interest if Clifford and +Mollie had been her own children.</p> + +<p>The Temples and Philip Wentworth also received invitations, but they +excused themselves on account of their mourning.</p> + +<p>Mollie, however, received a family remembrance in the form of a solid +silver service, and Clifford a magnificent saddle-horse for his own +private use.</p> + +<p>Life looked very bright to the happy couple, and, indeed, to Mr. +Heatherford, as well, for he had grown very fond of the noble fellow +whom his daughter had chosen to be her life companion, and, with health, +wealth and congenial tastes, there seemed to be nothing to be desired +for their future, and they formed an ideal family in their ideal home.</p> + +<p>When the wedding was over Maria returned to the squire, but with a +somewhat heavy heart, for she yearned to keep her old-time promise to +Clifford—to superintend his culinary department when he was able to set +up an establishment of his own.</p> + +<p>He had told her that the place was open to her whenever she saw fit to +take it, but her sense of duty would not allow her to leave the squire, +"who wasn't nigh so chipper as he used to be afore he had that +sickness," and she hadn't the heart to leave him—at least, until he +got stronger.</p> + +<p>The result was she continued to live at Cedar Hill for two years longer, +and during which the squire gradually failed in health, and finally was +found one morning cold and still in his bed.</p> + +<p>He preserved his gruff, cynical, reticent manner till the last; but when +his will was read, to the astonishment of every one, it was found he had +bequeathed his entire property—excepting three thousand dollars to +Maria—which proved to be a very handsome inheritance, to Clifford +Faxon; while among his papers there was also found a letter addressed to +the young man, in which he had poured out much of the pent-up feeling of +many years, and showing plainly that his love for Clifford's mother had +been the strongest and most enduring sentiment of his nature.</p> + +<p>"I've been proud of you, too," he closed the characteristic epistle by +saying—"prouder than you will ever know; but the devil in me that hated +your father would never let me show it."</p> + +<p>"Poor old man!" said Clifford, as he finished the strange missive, "how +glad I would have been to have made his life more enjoyable."</p> + +<p>Henceforth the fine estate at Cedar Hill became the summer home of the +Faxons, while Maria continued to preside there, a proud and happy queen, +in her way, of all she surveyed, for Mollie declared she would never +presume to call herself mistress in a place so immaculately kept and +well ordered as Clifford's home in the East.</p> + +<p>She grew to love the place very dearly, for from the window she could +look out upon the very spot where, as a boy, her husband had wielded +those vigorous blows which had doubtless saved the lives of hundreds of +people and resulted in their first meeting, when she had lost her heart +while looking into his brown eyes and had given him the magic cameo, +which still graced his strong hand.</p> + +<p class="center">THE END.</p> + +<div style='display:block;margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HEATHERFORD FORTUNE ***</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0;'>This file should be named 38006-h.htm or 38006-h.zip</div> +<div style='display:block;margin:1em 0;'>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in https://www.gutenberg.org/3/8/0/0/38006/</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will +be renamed. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, +so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United +States without permission and without paying copyright +royalties. 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Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..fb9ff28 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #38006 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/38006) diff --git a/old/38006-8.txt b/old/38006-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..40370be --- /dev/null +++ b/old/38006-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7671 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Heatherford Fortune, by Mrs. Georgie Sheldon + +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 Heatherford Fortune + a sequel to the Magic Cameo + +Author: Mrs. Georgie Sheldon + +Release Date: November 13, 2011 [EBook #38006] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HEATHERFORD FORTUNE *** + + + + +Produced by Darleen Dove, Shannon Barker, Martin Pettit +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +The Heatherford Fortune + +A SEQUEL TO THE MAGIC CAMEO + +_By_ MRS. GEORGIE SHELDON + +AUTHOR OF + +"Tina," "The Lily of Mordaunt," "Mona," "Little Miss Whirlwind," etc. + +[Illustration: Decoration] + +A. L. BURT COMPANY PUBLISHERS NEW YORK + + * * * * * + +Popular Books + +By MRS. GEORGIE SHELDON + +In Handsome Cloth Binding + +Price per Volume, 60 Cents + + +Brownie's Triumph +Earl Wayne's Nobility +Churchyard Betrothal, The +Edrie's Legacy +Faithful Shirley +For Love and Honor + Sequel to Geoffrey's Victory +Forsaken Bride, The +Geoffrey's Victory +Golden Key, The; or a Heart's Silent Worship +Heatherford Fortune, The + Sequel to The Magic Cameo +He Loves Me For Myself +Helen's Victory +Her Faith Rewarded + Sequel to Faithful Shirley +Her Heart's Victory + Sequel to Max +Heritage of Love, A + Sequel to The Golden Key +Hoiden's Conquest, A +How Will It End + Sequel to Marguerite's Heritage +Lily of Mordaunt, The +Little Miss Whirlwind; or Lost for Twenty Years +Lost, A Pearle +Love's Conquest + Sequel to Helen's Victory +Love Victorious, A +Magic Cameo, The +Marguerite's Heritage +Masked Bridal, The +Max, A Cradle Mystery +Mona +Nora, or The Missing Heir of Callonby +Sibyl's Influence +Threads Gathered Up + Sequel to Virgie's Inheritance +Thrice Wedded +Tina +Trixy, or The Shadow of a Crime +True Aristocrat, A +True Love's Reward +Virgie's Inheritance +Wedded By Fate + +For Sale by all Booksellers or will be sent postpaid on receipt of price + +A. L. BURT COMPANY, PUBLISHERS 52 Duane Street New York + +Copyright, 1898 and 1899 BY STREET & SMITH + +THE HEATHERFORD FORTUNE + + * * * * * + +The Heatherford Fortune. + +A SEQUEL TO "THE MAGIC CAMEO." + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +MOLLIE FINDS A FRIEND. + + +Mollie Heatherford had thought no more of her brave act, by which, at +the risk of her life, she had saved the child Lucille from being +trampled to death under the hoofs of the pawing horses. + +The next morning she was greatly surprised to receive a letter from a +gentleman--Monsieur Jules Lamonti, by name--who said he was the +grandfather of little Lucille, and who, after expressing his gratitude +in most heartfelt terms, requested permission to call upon her at her +earliest convenience. + +The missive was written in French, and evidently by a highly cultured +gentleman, and Mollie felt that it would only be courteous to grant the +interview so earnestly solicited. She accordingly responded immediately, +and named an hour of the following morning for Monsieur Lamonti to call, +if the time should be convenient for him. + +She was somewhat disappointed that he did not keep the appointment, but +the next day, at the specified hour, a magnificent equipage, with +coachman and footman in cream-colored liveries, dashed to the door and +stopped. + +Presently an elderly gentleman, of apparently sixty years, with +snow-white hair and beard, his somewhat bowed and attenuated form clad +in the finest of garments, alighted. He was a trifle lame, and depended, +in a measure, upon a cane which, Mollie observed, had a massive gold +head, curiously carved. + +Eliza answered his ring and admitted him to the small parlor, then took +the visitor's card, bearing the name "M. Jules Lamonti," to her young +mistress. + +Mollie did not keep her caller waiting, to make any change in her +toilet, for she made it a point to be always neatly, if simply, clad; +and, entering his presence with perfect composure, greeted him with a +charming ease and grace of manner. + +She saw at a glance that he was an aristocrat; but that did not disturb +her in the least. + +He bowed low before her as he responded to her greeting; then, in a +voice that was tremulous from deep emotion, he observed in very fair +English: + +"Mademoiselle Heatherford has laid on me an obligation everlasting. Ah! +but my poor heart would have been broken if I the little one had lost." + +Mollie, realizing that it would be much easier for him to express +himself in his own language, responded in purest of French, disclaiming +all thought of obligation, and concluded by inquiring if little Lucille +had experienced any ill effects from her accident. The Frenchman was +delighted to find that his hostess could converse with him in his +mother-tongue, and his face beamed with pleasure. + +"You speak French, mademoiselle!" he exclaimed. "Ah! that is delightful! +Now we will talk without any difficulty, for I mix your language so +badly. No, Lucille was not hurt. She is perfectly well, and as bright as +the morning. But, Mon Dieu! I tremble when I think what might have been +to-day but for you," he interposed, growing so white that Mollie was +startled. "It was very brave, Mademoiselle Heatherford--it was grand! +They tell me you went straight in under that powerful, frightened brute +to save my precious child. You are a heroine, mademoiselle, and now I +have come to ask you what I shall do to prove my everlasting gratitude." + +Mollie flushed and smiled as he called her a "heroine." The word always +thrilled her--as she once told her father. It was like a strain of music +in her ears. + +"Please, monsieur, do not speak of any return for what was simply a +humane act," she gently returned; "I am more than recompensed in knowing +that your dear little grandchild escaped unhurt. And how is poor +Nannette to-day? She was greatly frightened and distressed, and I felt +very sorry for her." + +A frown darkened Monsieur Lamonti's face, and his eyes flashed with +sudden anger at the mention of the bonne. + +"Nannette shall go away--I will not trust my beautiful one with her ever +again," he said sternly. "Ah! if she had been killed! Mon Dieu! I tell +you I could not have survived; she is all I have, mademoiselle, the +only child of my only daughter--ah! but I cannot talk of it," he +concluded brokenly, and trembling visibly. + +"But, monsieur, it is all over--she is safe, and let us rejoice that all +is well," soothingly replied Mollie. "And I am sure," she added +confidently, "that Nannette will be very careful in the future. This +will be a lesson to her, and I would have far more confidence in her now +than in a strange maid. She seemed like a good girl and very fond of the +little one, while she bewailed her carelessness with sincere sorrow." + +"There is truth in what you say," the gentleman returned, after a moment +of thought. "Nannette has been a good girl--she is faithful, as a rule, +and Lucille loves her. I shall consider what you have said, +mademoiselle, and Nannette will have cause to be grateful to you." + +"Thank you. I should feel sorry to have her lose her situation; at the +same time I can understand your anxiety, and she should be required to +promise to be very careful in the future." + +Mollie and her caller drifted to other subjects after that and chatted +of many things--of Europe in general, of Paris in particular. Monsieur +Lamonti was charmed with the beautiful girl, while she was no less +delighted with his courtly manner, his culture and brilliant +conversation, and was sincerely sorry when he arose to take his leave. + +"Adieu, mademoiselle," he said, holding out his slim, aristocratic hand; +"it is a great pleasure to have met you--you know my country so well; +you speak my language so beautifully; while, for yesterday, I shall +always cherish you in most grateful remembrance. Ah! but to me that is +like sounding brass," he interposed, with a dissatisfied shrug of his +shoulders and in a regretful tone. Then, as his keen eyes swept the +graceful figure in its simple cambric dress, he added: "Is mademoiselle +sure that I cannot serve her in any way?" + +Mollie glanced up quickly at him, as a thought suddenly flashed through +her mind, and a bright flush suffused her face as she asked herself if +she dare put the thought into words. There was something his expressive +face, in the sincerity of his speech and his refinement and courtesy, +that inspired her with confidence in him. + +"Monsieur, there is one way in which, possibly, you might aid me," she +began, with some reluctance. + +"Name it, mademoiselle!--by all means name it!" Monsieur Lamonti eagerly +interposed. + +"To do that I shall have to open my heart to you a little," Mollie +continued, with a slight quiver of her sweet lips. + +"Ah! mademoiselle honors me," said the gentleman, with a grave and +courteous bow. + +"Monsieur," the fair girl resumed, flushing again, but with her lovely +eyes steadfastly gazing into his, for she had no false shame on account +of her poverty, "I have recently been reduced to the necessity of +supporting myself and my father, who is a hopeless invalid; but I am +unable to obtain a position. If monsieur could assist me in this +respect, I should be very grateful, for the need is urgent." + +Her companion regarded her with admiration. She looked like a young +queen, in spite of her surroundings and the simplicity of her apparel. +Her face was grave and sweet, but strong with the noble purpose that +animated her; her shining hair was like a coronet of gold above her +brow, and she bore herself with a quiet dignity and air of self-respect +that must have commanded the esteem of any one. + +"And what is mademoiselle fitted for--what is the position which she +would like best of all?" Monsieur Lamonti inquired. + +"I hardly know," Mollie thoughtfully returned. "I have a good education, +and I could teach, if I could find an opening. As you perceive, I can +speak French." + +"Mademoiselle's accent is perfect," interposed her listener. + +"I am equally familiar with German," she resumed, with an appreciative +smile at his compliment; "I studied in Heidelberg two years, and there +are some other branches which I think I may truthfully say I am +competent to teach." + +The man was silent for a moment or two after she ceased, evidently +considering some thought which had suggested itself to him. Then he +broke forth with the characteristic impulse of his nationality: + +"Ah! to teach--it is a slave's life!" he said. "The nerves they cannot +bear it, unless indeed mademoiselle has nerves of steel. I tell her what +she shall do. I know exactly the position and it is for mademoiselle's +acceptance if it meets her approval. She speaks French like the native +of Paris; would she take the place of a private secretary, to write +four hours a day for a French gentleman?" + +Mollie's heart leaped with joy at such a prospect. It seemed very +inviting, particularly the "four hours a day," which would leave her +much time to be with her dear sick one. But was she competent? That was +a question that seemed important, and for the moment she did not know +what to say. + +"Mademoiselle hesitates, and she is quite right," said her companion, +coming to the rescue. "I will explain: The gentleman's secretary was +discharged three days ago for betraying the affairs of his employer, who +not yet has been able to find another to take his place, and the +correspondence is piling up with every mail. It is important that the +letters should be answered. Mademoiselle speaks and writes German also? +Good! There will be German correspondence, too. The remuneration has +been four hundred and fifty francs--or ninety dollars of American +money--monthly. Will Mademoiselle consider the offer?" he concluded with +some eagerness. + +"It is certainly very tempting," Mollie smilingly replied, and with +rapidly beating pulses, "and I should not hesitate an instant if----" + +"Well?" + +"If I was sure I could fill the position acceptably and the gentleman is +willing to substitute a woman for the clerk who has hitherto served +him." + +"The latter doubt is easily dispelled, Mademoiselle, since I myself am +the anxious seeker for a trustworthy secretary. Regarding the ability, a +few days' trial will settle that point, and the requirements are +perfect and fluent French and German, and fidelity to the employer's +interests. I shall be pleased if Mademoiselle will come for a week and +try." + +"Monsieur Lamonti, I will, and I thank you more than I can express; for +this offer is very opportune, I assure you," said Mollie, her lips +trembling in spite of her efforts at self-control. "I will gladly make +the trial, and I will certainly do my best to please you in every way." + +"And when will Mademoiselle oblige me by beginning her duties?" queried +Monsieur Lamonti. + +"I am sure, from what you have said, that I am needed at once, and I +will come to-morrow at any hour which you may choose to name," Mollie +replied. + +"And that is considerate," returned the gentleman in a gratified tone. +"Then at nine, if that will not inconvenience Mademoiselle, and the +address she will find here." + +He drew a card-case from his pocket and presented her a card which had +his business address upon it. Then bidding her a courteous "au revoir," +he bowed himself out with as much ceremony as if he were leaving a +drawing-room, and a moment later his elegant equipage was rolling +rapidly down the street, while Mollie still stood in the middle of the +room, wondering if the interview had not been all a dream. + +She could scarcely credit the evidence of her senses. Ninety dollars a +month! It seemed too good to be true, and like a smile from fortune to +her, when, of late, she had been so anxiously counting even her pennies. +A great burden rolled from her heart and a luminous smile illumed her +face, although there were tears in her eyes. + +"At last," she murmured, "I am to know what it means to be of some +practical use in the world, and I will do my very best." + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +MOLLIE A BREAD-WINNER. + + +It was a strange experience for this hitherto delicately nurtured girl +to go out into the world and work to support herself and her father, who +had always so watchfully shielded her from every care; who had scarce +allowed her to express a wish before it was gratified, and almost +surfeited her with the luxuries of life. + +But she met it bravely. She did not once say to herself that it was a +hardship--she did not even feel it to be such. The heroic element was +strong in her nature, and it showed itself grandly now in this +emergency. + +The one thing that did seem hard and cruel to her was the fact that her +dear father was beyond realizing her good fortune and sympathizing with +her in her joy that a future of comparative comfort was assured them, if +she should prove herself competent to retain the position which Monsieur +Lamonti had offered her. She did not feel much doubt upon this point, +for she was sure that he would be very considerate until she became +accustomed to her duties, and she was determined to master every +difficulty and acquit herself with satisfaction. + +She presented herself in his office a few minutes before nine o'clock +the next morning and found him awaiting her. He received her with all +the courtesy which characterized his manner toward her the previous day +in her own home. + +"Mademoiselle is prompt; that is well," he smilingly observed, "and now, +if you please, we will attend directly to business, for it is urgent." + +He pointed to several piles of letters, lying unopened upon a desk, and +Mollie slipped into the chair before it and prepared to give her +undivided attention to his instructions. + +He selected several epistles which demanded immediate replies, and, +after clearly explaining what her duty would be, left her to do the +work. Her task was not difficult. Monsieur Lamonti possessed the faculty +of being clear and concise in his directions, and with her natural +fluency of diction, her thorough knowledge of both French and German, +she found everything moving along very smoothly. + +The hours slipped swiftly by, and Mollie was greatly surprised when the +clock on the desk above her struck one, and Monsieur Lamonti, glancing +up at the sound, observed: + +"That will be all for to-day, Mademoiselle Heatherford, and everything +has been most satisfactory. Allow me to add that I regard myself as very +fortunate in securing such a helper." + +"Thank you, monsieur," replied Mollie gratefully. Then she added as she +glanced at the numerous missives still unopened upon both desks: "Pray +let me work another hour; I am not in the least weary." + +"But your luncheon, Mademoiselle," said the gentleman in a doubtful +tone. + +"I am not in the least hungry, either," said the fair girl, smiling. "I +seldom lunch before half-past one, and I shall not mind waiting thirty +minutes longer; while I am sure there is work here which is equally as +important as what I have already done." + +"Mademoiselle is right," returned monsieur, his thoughtful glance +following hers, "but this is your first day and you should not be +overtaxed." + +"Do not fear; I have not thought of being tired, and it will give me +pleasure to work another hour and continue to do so every day until the +ordinary routine of business is attained." + +She spoke with so much of sincerity, even eagerness, that Monsieur +Lamonti accepted the offer in the same spirit that it was made. At the +end of the hour Mollie was politely dismissed, and went home with a +light heart and with a feeling of importance that was as delightful as +it was novel. + +Every morning, promptly at nine o'clock, found her at her desk, where +for five hours she worked patiently and industriously for a week, when +Monsieur Lamonti informed her that his business had been reduced to its +normal condition, and there would be no more extra hours required. + +It was a proud moment for the beautiful girl when, as she was about to +leave the office, that gentleman handed her a check for the first money +she had ever earned in her life. She thanked him with a smile and flush +of pleasure; then, as she glanced at it and saw the amount, she started +slightly and exclaimed: + +"But monsieur! this is too much; you have made a mistake." + +"Pardon, mademoiselle; there is no mistake," quietly returned her +companion. "The check is for twenty-six dollars, is it not?" + +"Yes, monsieur." + +"Very good. The agreement was that mademoiselle should work four hours a +day for ninety dollars per month; but she has labored one extra hour +every day during this week, which calls for extra remuneration, and--as +near as can be estimated--the amount which the check represents," Mr. +Lamonti explained. + +"But, monsieur, I never thought--I did not intend----" Mollie faltered +in some confusion. + +"Very true--I understand," said the gentleman, smiling kindly into the +lovely face; "but it is only just compensation, and you will oblige me +by making no objection to it. I am also exceedingly obliged for the +accommodation and well pleased with your services. We shall go on very +nicely for the future." + +This was a delightful surprise, and she felt highly elated as she ran +about, before going home, to settle some small bills which she had been +obliged to contract, and to purchase a few luxuries for the invalid. + +As the weeks slipped by she became deeply interested in her work, and +had her father been well she would have been perfectly happy, for she +felt that she had now a more worthy object in life than that of living +for her own amusement and the demands of fashionable society, as +heretofore. + +She entertained a profound respect for Monsieur Lamonti, who was +invariably courteous and considerate, and never appeared to be ruffled +in the slightest degree, no matter how perplexing his business might be. + +She gradually learned considerable of his history, as from time to time +he referred to his past, and ascertained that his life had been full of +romance and sorrow. + +He belonged to a noble family of France, but had incurred the lasting +displeasure of his relatives by marrying contrary to their wishes and +was disinherited in consequence. But he loved his beautiful girl-wife +with all the strength of his manhood, and preferred exile and poverty a +thousand times with her, to fame and fortune without her. + +They had retired to a quiet little village immediately after their +marriage, and where, with a little money, together with unlimited energy +and perseverance, Monsieur Lamonti had perfected an invention which ere +long brought him large returns in sales and royalties, and at the end of +fifteen years he was the possessor of a large fortune. + +Then his wife was suddenly taken from him, leaving him with a lovely +daughter, fourteen years of age, and who now became all-in-all to his +almost broken heart. + +Wishing her to profit by the very best education which his country +afforded and her future position would demand, he transferred his +residence to Paris, where he remained for the ten succeeding years, and +where his daughter married a worthy young man, of whom he heartily +approved. + +Her child, the little Lucille, was born a year later, and she was only a +few months old when her mother's health began to fail and she was +ordered to Italy for change of scene and climate. She was accompanied by +her husband, but the child was left behind with Monsieur Lamonti and in +the care of an efficient nurse. + +Two months later, both father and mother were drowned during a terrible +gale while on a yachting excursion in the Mediteranean, and this tragic +event and terrible affliction nearly deprived him of his mind for a time +and aged him many years in appearance. But from that time all his +thought and affection was centered in his granddaughter, who was a +bright and promising child, and who, eventually, if she lived, would +become sole heiress to his immense fortune. + +When she was a year old certain interests connected with his invention +demanded Monsieur Lamonti's presence in America, while, during the last +few years, having become somewhat prominent in matters of a political +nature, he was elected a sort of charge d'affaires to conduct certain +negotiations of a delicate nature in this country, and which would +require the exercise of tact, judgment, and diplomacy. + +He had accepted the commission, more for the sake of having plenty to +occupy his mind and prevent him from dwelling upon his many sorrows, +than because he desired public office and emolument, hence his presence +in the nation's capital, where he had resided during the last two years. + +"Thus you will understand, mademoiselle," he had observed to Mollie with +a heavy sigh, when telling her something of his life, "how utterly +desolate I should have been to-day, if you had not so bravely risked +your life to save my little Lucille. The world would hold nothing for me +if I were to lose her--she is the one link that now holds me here--that +makes me prize in the least a life that has been full of sorrow. See!" +he interposed, touching the silvery locks above his temples. "I am not +yet quite fifty years of age, and any one would declare that I am more +than sixty." + +It was all very sad, Mollie thought--there were many sad and +incomprehensible things in life that were forcing themselves more and +more upon her observation of late, and she could not be reconciled to +them. If she could have known how she cheered the sorrow-burdened man +with her sweet and sunny presence--how like a ray of bright, warm +sunshine she seemed, whenever she appeared in his office, and that her +voice was, like Lucille's, as inspiring and soothing to him as a strain +of sweetest music, she would have been very happy. + +He frequently brought the child to the office, to make a little call +upon her, and the two soon began to grow very fond of each other. Then, +too, Monsieur Lamonti would often call for her in the afternoon to go +for a drive with them, and, upon several occasions, he had invited her +to be present when he made a small fete for his granddaughter, to assist +in entertaining the children, since he had no mistress in his home to +manage such festivities, and he had learned that she dearly loved little +ones. At such times he exerted himself to make the occasion pleasant for +her in other ways--by showing her works of art and numerous curios which +he had gathered from various portions of the world by playing various +instruments, for he was very talented in music and could play the organ, +harp, piano, and violin with more skill than many a professional while +he could talk of masters and artists, giving their history and merits, +with a fluency which proved him thoroughly posted in such matters. He +was also very thoughtful for Mr. Heatherford, often sending his carriage +to take him out for an airing, the coachman and footman being instructed +to show him every attention while wines, fruits, and other delicacies +for him mysteriously found their way into Eliza's domains. + +He also had learned much of the girl's past, previous to her +misfortunes; he studied her from day to day and learned to reverence the +strength of character and purity of purpose which were apparent in her +every act, and thus there grew up a strong and abiding friendship +between the fair young girl and the courtly Frenchman. + +One morning Mollie started forth, at the usual hour, to go to the +office, and for some reason she seemed brighter and happier than common. +She was in perfect health, there was an exquisite color in her cheeks, +her lips were like holly berries, and her eyes glowed with the hope and +vigor that belonged to her young life. + +She was clad in a golden-brown broadcloth costume, trimmed with narrow +bands of sable fur. It was one of the last dresses she had bought in +Paris, recently made over by a clever modiste--whom she had discovered +near her--and it fitted her exquisitely, showing her finely proportioned +figure to good advantage. Her hat matched her suit in color and was +brightened by the wing of a Baltimore oriole. In her well-gloved hands +she carried a rich, but modest pocketbook--another relic of the past, +and no one would have dreamed, as this stylish and elegantly clad young +woman stepped upon the street-car on her way to Monsieur Lamonti's +office, that she was working for her daily bread. + +She might have passed for the wife or daughter of some senator or other +distinguished official--although it was rather an early hour for the +elite to be abroad--and many an admiring eye lingered upon her bright +beauty. + +In the car her eye was attracted by a gentleman who was standing near +her. He was clinging to a strap overhead, and as Mollie's glance swept +over him and upward, along his arm to the hand above, her heart gave a +great startled bound, her cheeks flushed a vivid scarlet, and her eyes +darkened until they seemed almost black. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +MOLLIE MEETS HER HERO. + + +The gentleman who had attracted Mollie's attention was above the medium +height, broad-shouldered, erect, and with a fine, well-poised head which +was covered with dark-brown hair. He was nicely, though not richly clad, +although he looked the gentleman, every inch, while his bearing was as +quietly dignified and self-possessed as if he had been the possessor of +millions. + +He was standing with his back toward Mollie, and she could not see his +face, thus he was utterly unconscious of the beautiful eyes that were +resting upon him and also of the commotion which he had roused in the +heart of the possessor of those same lovely eyes. + +It was not the stalwart figure, nor the proud, nobly formed head, which +had especially attracted her attention. It was the strong and shapely +hand that was firmly grasping the strap above him and upon the little +finger of which he wore an exquisitely cut cameo ring. + +Mollie had recognized it instantly--she would have known it anywhere, +for it was the ring which she had given to Clifford Faxon, six years +previous, when, acting upon the impulse of the moment, she had sought +him out at New Haven to thank him, individually, for the lives he had +saved when, though only a farmer's bound boy, he had prevented a +terrible railroad wreck. + +Again, as on that occasion, she was strangely thrilled by his presence, +even though he was unconscious of her own. + +How she wished that he would turn his head so that she could obtain a +view of his face! She knew, well enough, that it was in keeping with the +splendid form before her and with what she knew of the character of the +man, but she wanted to see if she could trace familiar lines in it; if +it still wore the same frank, honest expression of six years ago; if the +magnificent brown eyes still retained their clear, earnest, +straightforward glance; if the lips wore the same genial smile. Then she +found herself wondering if he would remember her, or whether she had +changed so much that he would merely glance indifferently at her and +then pass her like any stranger. What right had she to think he would +recognize her? she mentally questioned with an impatient shrug of her +shoulders, the flush deepening again upon her cheeks. + +She had been only a miss in short dresses and one among the hundreds who +had been eager to honor him upon that occasion--to grasp him by the hand +and shower grateful thanks upon him. True she had given him the ring as +a souvenir, and told him she should love him all her life for what he +had done--how her face burned as she recalled those impulsive words--but +he had received from others what had doubtless proved to be a far more +useful and practical gift--the generous purse of money. + +But why did he wear the ring if he treasured no pleasant memory of the +giver? This thought set her heart to fluttering again in a way that was +highly foreign to the usual self-possession of the recent society belle, +but it was quickly followed by the somewhat mortifying reflection that +the cameo was a valuable and unique affair and quite a treasure of art +to possess. + +Every pulse thrilled anew when, as she signaled the conductor to stop, +she observed the young man preceding her, as if he also was about to +alight. Mollie followed closely, hoping that she might be fortunate +enough to get a view of his face. + +He stepped off the car, and paused to wait for it to pass on, before +crossing the street, as was evidently his intention. + +Mollie, with her thoughts full of the past, in which he had figured so +conspicuously, was a little heedless as she alighted, her foot turning +awkwardly, and she would have fallen if her "hero" had not sprung to her +side, and, with a courteous, "allow me," grasped her arm and saved her +from what might have been a painful accident. + +"Thank you very much," she said with a brilliant smile and blush, as she +recovered herself, and lifted her gleaming eyes to the handsome face +which she had so longed to see. + +The young man started at the sound of her voice, and then bent an +earnest look upon her, an expression of perplexity sweeping over his +features. Then, almost instantly, his countenance cleared, a glad, eager +light leaped into his eyes, which Mollie saw were unchanged, and there +was a repressed thrill of triumph in his tones as he earnestly observed: + +"I hope you are not hurt." + +"Not in the least, I assure you, and I owe it to your timely aid," +Mollie returned, an answering ring of joy in her own voice, as she saw +that he remembered her, in spite of the changes time had made in her. + +But, even though she realized that he was lingering with the hope that +she would make the first advances and reference to their former meeting, +as certainly belonged to her to do, a sudden and unaccountable shyness +seized her. She stooped to brush some dust that had adhered to her +skirt, then, with another smile and bow, she entered Monsieur Lamonti's +office. A moment later she bitterly repented having allowed the precious +opportunity to pass unimproved. + +"Why," she mentally exclaimed, with a sense of scorn for herself. "I +acted just like a bashful schoolgirl, and ought to be ashamed of myself. +It was my place, when I saw that he knew me, to recognize him. How +unappreciative and indifferent he must think me--how ill-mannered, when +I told him that day that I should never forget him. I am more sorry than +I can express, for perhaps he is in Washington only for a few days, and +I may never meet him again. How utterly stupid of me!" + +But in spite of these keen regrets, the girl's heart was unusually light +all day, for the "hero" of her girlhood had more than fulfilled her +anticipations; she had realized, during those few months, when they had +stood face to face, that he was strong and true and manly in the +highest acceptation of the terms; she believed that he was destined to +distinguish himself in the future, but what made her especially happy +was the fact that he had not forgotten her--that he had been glad to +meet her again, as both his look and tone had testified. + +With these reflections came the sudden revelation of her exact attitude +toward Philip Wentworth. The contrast between the two young men was +marked and suggestive. Phil was the pleasure-loving man of the world, +living only for what entertainment he could extract from life and +society. Clifford Faxon was the thoughtful, conscientious worker, with +some high and earnest purpose in view that would not only promote his +own individual interests, but also advance the standard of men and +methods in general, and Mollie now saw that she had never even been in +danger of loving Phil--that he was hardly worthy of even her respect, +and she almost scorned herself for having hesitated an instant when he +had declared his love for her, a little more than a year ago, during her +visit in Brookline. + +She had never seen him since leaving Boston, although he had often +asserted that he was "coming to Washington." His letters had been +growing few and far between, each one colder and more formal in its +tone. Not once had he renewed his protestations of love for her, +although there was a vein of assumption--a kind of taken-for-granted +style in his epistles which might be interpreted to mean much or +nothing; there certainly had been nothing tangible in them, and it had +been several months now since she last heard from him. But had he +remained as true as the needle to the pole, she knew now that she never +could have married him after this meeting with Clifford Faxon. + +"Oh, any one can see that he is head and shoulders above Phil, mentally, +morally, and, almost that, physically," she mused, as she recalled +Cliff's splendid physique, his thoughtful face and earnest eyes. "I hope +I shall meet him again some day," and the sigh that supplemented this +reflection told how deeply she regretted the lost opportunity of the +morning. + +Clifford Faxon himself was fully as much exercised in view of the +unexpected meeting and its unsatisfactory results. He had not observed +Mollie particularly at first, except that he had realized that some one +had made a misstep, and almost involuntarily he had tried to avert an +accident; but the instant she spoke, her tones had betrayed her to +him--he had never forgotten them. Many and many a time in his dreams, +both waking and sleeping, he had seemed to hear her silvery voice +vibrating with its thrill of fervent gratitude in those words so +indelibly stamped upon his heart: "You have saved my life--you have +saved all our lives, and it is such a wonderful--such a grand thing to +have done! I am very grateful to you, for my life is very bright. I love +to live. Oh, I cannot say half there is in my heart; but I shall never +forget you--I shall love you for your heroism of this day always." + +Then, as he had studied the lovely face, he had traced the +well-remembered features, even though she had changed and bloomed from +the slip of a girl in short dresses and with that shining braid of hair +hanging between her shoulders, into this beautiful and stylish young +woman, with her perfect form, her queenly carriage and elegant apparel. + +He saw that she had recognized him, for he had been quick to note the +light that had leaped into her eyes and the conscious flush that had +suffused her face, and, though he was disappointed, he was half-inclined +to believe what was really the truth, that a sudden shyness, produced by +the unexpected encounter, had alone caused her to refrain from referring +to their former meeting, and yet, believing her to be still the petted +child of fortune and far above him, socially, his sensitiveness +suggested that she might not now care to renew their acquaintance--if +such it could be called--in spite of her assurance that she should +"never forget him." + +He also had been in Washington for more than a year. He had come, as he +had told Maria Kimberly he contemplated doing, with Mr. Hamilton, who +had opened the ---- House the first of that season. He had served him +for nearly a year, and then, through the influence of some gentlemen who +were guests in the hotel, he had secured a government position, and was +proving himself so efficient he bade fair to rise still higher in the +service of the nation. + +It is rather remarkable that he and Mollie should never have met before +during all this time; but it was one of those happenings which can never +be accounted for. + +And even though they had at last encountered each other, he experienced +the same perplexity that Mollie had felt, not knowing whether she was +there merely for a few days, as a sightseer, and would immediately float +away again beyond his reach, or whether her father had some official +position and was residing in the city. It was all very tantalizing, +especially the fact that he did not even know her name. He had often +heard Mrs. Temple call her Mollie, and Philip Wentworth had refused to +tell him anything about her, except to boast that she was his fiancée. + +Then, as these memories crowded upon him, he caught his breath sharply +as a sudden, terrible fear took possession of him. Possibly this fair +Mollie, this gloriously beautiful girl, who was his ideal of all that +was perfect in womanhood, might already be Philip's wife, for only a day +or two previous the Temples had passed him on the street in their +carriage, and his former classmate was with them. + +When Mollie entered the office that morning she found it empty, Monsieur +Lamonti not having arrived, although he was almost invariably there +before her. He came a few moments later, however, but appeared sad and +preoccupied, and upon Mollie inquiring if he were ill he said no, but +that Lucille was far from well. She had been feverish and restless all +night. He had called a physician that morning, but he spoke lightly, +saying that her indisposition was only the effect of a slight cold, and +she would be all right in a day or two. + +But the gentleman was evidently very much disturbed, and finally +confessed to Mollie that he would be obliged to go to New York that +afternoon, and could not return until the next evening. The approaching +separation and suspense, he said, seemed almost unbearable, particularly +as Lucille was ill. + +"I know that Nannette is, as a rule, careful and faithful," he observed, +"but somehow I feel very reluctant to leave the child alone with her." + +Mollie turned to him eagerly. + +"Monsieur, would you feel more comfortable if I should go and remain +with Lucille and Nannette until you return?" she inquired. + +The man's face cleared instantly at the suggestion. + +"Would you be so good, mademoiselle?" he asked in a relieved tone. +"Could you be spared from your father?" + +"Oh, yes; Eliza can do everything necessary for papa, and I will gladly +stay with Lucille," Mollie replied. + +Monsieur Lamonti accepted her offer most gratefully, upon this +assurance, and when his carriage came to him he drove home with her to +tell Eliza what her plans were, after which they repaired to his +residence. + +They found Lucille much better than she had been in the morning, and +Monsieur Lamonti prepared for his journey with restored cheerfulness, +and finally took his departure, feeling quite content. + +Mollie took Lucille wholly in charge for the remainder of the day, and +allowed Nannette, who had been closely confined within doors, to have a +little time to herself, and she went out to visit and take tea with a +friend. + +She returned about nine in the evening to find her charge sleeping +quietly and restfully, and Mollie reading a new book in the library. + +They soon retired, Mollie occupying Monsieur Lamonti's room, which +adjoined, although it did not connect with the one where Lucille and +Nannette slept. Mollie said she preferred this arrangement to being put +off in the guest chamber, as she would feel less lonely. + +After shutting herself into the room for the night--although she did not +lock the door--not feeling sleepy, she began to look about the +apartment, which, like the rest of the house, was full of beautiful and +interesting things--fine paintings on the walls, choice books and +bric-a-brac on tables and mantle, and in one corner a cabinet of curios, +rare and costly. + +Mollie spent a long time looking these latter over and reading from the +"key" their history and the names of the far-off places whence they had +come. But she grew weary of this occupation after a while and finally +began to prepare for bed. + +While thus engaged she observed on a stand behind the bed what appeared +to be a book having a curious cover. She attempted to take it up when +the top came off, and she was startled to find it was a box containing a +small, but beautiful silver-mounted revolver. + +Her start, however, was only momentary, for Mollie knew something about +firearms, having had some practise at shooting at a target while she was +abroad. She lifted the weapon and examined it carefully, noting the +curious chasing on the silver, the number of chambers, and also that it +was loaded. + +She finally laid it back in its place, replacing the cover, and had +scarcely done so when, for the first time, she noticed upon the opposite +side of the room a small safe. For a moment an uncomfortable sensation +began to creep over her, for the safe and the loaded revolver suggested +that there might be valuables to be defended in the former--possibly, +she thought, costly jewels, which might have belonged to Lucille's +mother and grandmother. + +But she put away the feeling with a little shrug and smile, resolutely +put out the electric lights, then crept into bed and was soon dreaming, +as on two previous nights since her meeting with him, of the hero of her +girlhood--Clifford Faxon. + +The next she knew she was vaguely conscious of hearing the cathedral +clock in the hall strike two; then she was suddenly broad awake, every +sense painfully on the alert, although she could not, for the moment, +move a muscle, as the conviction was forced upon her that some one was +moving stealthily about the room. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +A THRILLING MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE. + + +For a moment Mollie was simply paralyzed with fear; she could neither +move hand nor foot, which perhaps was the very best thing that could +have happened under the circumstances. But her mind worked with the +rapidity of lightning and to some purpose. + +She could distinctly hear the movements of some one about the room, +stealthy and cautious as the invader tried to be, and once she plainly +saw the outline of a man as the figure passed between her vision and a +window. + +She was sure that a burglar had entered the house--some one who, +doubtless, had learned of Monsieur Lamonti's absence and had taken +advantage of it to come and help himself to what valuables he could +find. + +Then a shock of dismay and fear set all her nerves tingling as she +remembered the safe; but this was almost immediately succeeded by a +great calm, a grim determination taking possession of her, and plans to +carry it out quickly forming in her active brain. + +Very cautiously she reached out her right hand and secured the revolver +that lay on the stand beside her. Her touch was so light that, as she +timed her act just as the burglar stooped to examine the safe, not a +sound was distinguishable. + +Slipping it under the bed-clothing she softly removed it from the box. +The next moment it was cocked and she drew a deep, silent breath of +relief as she realized that she could now control the situation about as +she pleased. + +Her next act was to reach out again and feel for a cluster of three +electric buttons, which had been placed in the wall close beside the +bed. + +One of these controlled a wire communicating with the nearest +police-station, and had been put there for just such an emergency as the +present. Another was connected with the electric apparatus for lighting +the house, and the third governed the lock of the front door. + +Similar buttons were in every room of the main portion of the house, and +Monsieur Lamonti had explained their operation to Mollie several weeks +previous during one of her visits, and they were grouped in the form of +a triangle; two were side by side, and the third between and above them. + +It was the upper button which Mollie had touched. Then she lay quietly +listening for several minutes, while the other occupant, having produced +a tiny dark-lantern, continued his investigations at the safe. + +All at once, in the distance, she caught the sound of hoofs and wheels, +and knew that help was coming to her. + +She now touched the button controlling the front door. A moment later +she lightly pressed the third button, and instantly the apartment was +flooded with light, as was also the hall outside. With a startled oath +the burglar sprang to his feet, and, turning, found himself confronted +by the loveliest vision he had ever seen in his life, as he afterward +told a pal in prison, and a "dandy barker" that was cocked and aimed +straight at his heart. + +Mollie had sprung to a sitting posture after touching the third button +and was prepared for duty. Her face was pale as marble, but there was a +determined light in the blue eyes which warned the invader that she was +braced for instant action while his experienced eye immediately grasped +the fact that she knew how to manipulate the weapon she held, and that +her hand was as steady as if she were holding simply a glass of water. + +But the man was a desperate and powerful fellow, and he did not mean to +be beaten at his game "by any slip of a girl like that," and so +determined to make a bluff to attain his object and watch his chance to +disarm her. + +The house was perfectly still, and he was confident that no one else in +it had been aroused, and he fondly imagined he could easily intimidate +his fair captor, for he had not the slightest suspicion that she had any +way of summoning assistance from outside. + +"You'd better put down that barker, miss, if you don't want to get into +trouble," he commanded in a gruff, though subdued voice, for he had no +desire to arouse any one else. "I don't ever like to hurt a lady, and +I'd be 'specially loath to do harm to such a pretty girl as you are." + +Mollie's eyes flashed indignant fire at his familiar language and +obnoxious compliment. + +"Silence!" she cried, in a clear, incisive tone, and her faultless +elocution served her to some purpose now, for it made her every word +tell effectively. "No!--don't you dare to attempt to get out your +revolver if you have one," she continued, as she saw his right hand +creeping toward one of his pockets. "That is right," as he instantly +dropped it again to his side. "Obey me and you will not be hurt. Show +the slightest disposition to disobey me and I will not hesitate to let +you have the contents of one of these chambers, and I shall not miss +you, either. Now sit down in that rocking-chair near you and put your +hands upon the arms." + +But the man did hesitate to obey this command and glanced nervously +toward the door, which he had left open when he entered the room, as if +contemplating a bold dash for freedom. Then he suddenly changed his +mind, as the small hand which held that costly revolver was slightly +raised as if to take a truer aim, and he obediently dropped into the +chair which Mollie had indicated, then added in a tone of mingled wrath +and admiration: + +"Well, for a girl of your years, you're the coolest specimen I've ever +seen." + +"Yes, I know something about firearms. I had considerable practise +shooting at a target in a gallery in Paris a couple of years ago," +remarked the intrepid girl with deliberate distinctness. + +Her captive cringed visibly at her remark, and, observing it, she +realized that he was at heart a coward in spite of his profession and +his attempt to bully her, and her courage rose in proportion. Just then +she heard a vehicle outside slacken speed and stop before the house. The +burglar also caught the sound and an anxious look shot into his eyes. + +"What's that?" he demanded roughly; "the boss coming home?" + +"No; Monsieur Lamonti will not return until to-morrow, or until this +afternoon, I should have said," Mollie composedly remarked. Then she +added with a gleam of triumph in her blue eyes: + +"I am expecting some friends whom I have summoned to aid me in this +emergency; doubtless they have arrived." + +"The cops!" cried the burglar in a startled tone. + +"Yes." + +"How on earth did you manage that?" he questioned breathlessly. + +"Ah!"--as his practised eye swiftly swept the walls and finally rested +on the group of electric buttons--"the house is wired for it." + +"You are right, and it is an exceedingly convenient arrangement," dryly +responded the girl. + +"Thunder and lightning! I swear I won't sit here to be caught like a rat +in a trap," snarled her companion, as he started wildly to his feet and +glanced around him for some way of escape. + +"Sit down!" and the pistol in Mollie's hand was again raised menacingly, +while footfalls were now plainly heard ascending the steps leading to +the entrance to the house. + +The man dropped with a quick, indrawn breath, as his eye fell upon the +white, slim finger that rested on the trigger of the revolver. Then a +sudden thought struck him and he breathed more freely. + +"But they can't get in," he observed with a chuckle of exultation, for +he told himself that if she was obliged to get up to admit the policemen +he would have an opportunity to make a bolt for the nearest window and +have a fair chance to escape by means of a balcony which could be +plainly discerned outside. + +"You are mistaken," his fair captor replied, "for when I touched the +button that governs the communication with the station-house I also +pressed another that unlocks the front door. Allow me to say for the +information of any of your friends who may be followers of your +profession, in case you should have an opportunity to communicate with +them, that almost every room in the house is wired in the same way." + +"Hell and furies!" groaned the unfortunate victim, and actually writhing +in his chair, for at that moment steps and voices were heard in the hall +below, and he knew that he was inextricably "bagged." Involuntarily he +clapped his hand to his pistol-pocket. + +"Sit still!" commanded the brave girl, and she leaned forward, her eyes +blazing like two points of flame. "Another movement and I fire." + +He knew she would, for there was a relentless purpose in her watchful +gaze, and he settled back limp and white to await the inevitable. + +With her glance never for an instant wavering from the form in the +rocker, Mollie called out in clarion tones: + +"Come right up-stairs, Mr. Officer, and you will find what you are +looking for." + +A moment later two policemen entered the room and took in the situation +at a glance. + +In a trice they had their prize--whom they instantly recognized as a man +they had long been trying to run down--disarmed and safely handcuffed, +he offering no resistance. + +Then they turned their attention to the heroic girl upon the bed. But +she felt little like a heroine at that moment. + +She had dropped her weapon the instant the officers appeared upon the +scene, too weak and spent to hold it longer, and now lay white and +panting upon her pillows, consciousness almost forsaking her now that +the reaction had come. + +Almost simultaneously Nannette rushed into the room, her eyes wide and +staring with fear upon beholding three strange men in the place, while +she tremulously inquired if the house was on fire. + +"No, no," one of the policemen replied reassuringly, "everything is all +right now; but you'd better get the young lady a glass of wine or +something. Did he attempt to do you any harm, miss?" he respectfully +inquired. + +"No, he did not have any opportunity," she panted, a ghost of a smile +curving her white lips as she significantly touched the revolver that +lay beside her. + +"I see," said the man with a nod, "and you are a downright plucky girl! +There, drink something, and then you shall tell us all about the +affair," he concluded as Nannette approached with a glass of port wine +which she had taken from a small cabinet which Monsieur Lamonti had in +his room. + +There was a tall Oriental screen before the fire-place, and the men +placed this between the bed and their prisoner, then retired behind it +themselves to give the exhausted girl time to recover herself. + +Mollie sipped a little of the wine and soon found her strength +returning, and with it and the friendly presence of Nannette, much of +her habitual self-possession. + +"Nannette, pray, get me a shawl or dressing-sack," she whispered to the +girl. The maid whisked into her own room and returned almost immediately +with a pretty wrapper of her own, and into which she deftly assisted +Mollie, who then signified her readiness to talk with the officers, +while she seated herself in a chair outside the screen and motioned +Nannette to another near her. + +She briefly related what had occurred from the moment when she had heard +the clock strike two until the appearance of the officers. Her language +was simple and unassuming, but the story produced a marked impression +upon her hearers. + +Nannette became greatly excited during the recital, but protested that +she had not heard a sound until Miss Heatherford called out to the +officers to come up-stairs, when she hurriedly threw on her robe and +came to her, fearing she might be ill or the house afire. + +The policemen regarded the fair narrator with undisguised admiration, +as she told how she had softly taken possession of the revolver and +cocked it beneath the bed-clothing before turning on the lights. + +"It was a mighty plucky thing to do," one of them remarked. + +"I sincerely hope that I shall not have to testify against this man at a +public trial," said Mollie anxiously. + +The officers saw that she was greatly distressed in view of such a +possibility, and their sympathies were with her. + +"Well, miss, I can't say for certain about that. I reckon you'll have to +appear and give evidence; but perhaps a private examination can be +arranged, and if the reporters don't get hold of it you'll be all right. +I'm sure I, for one, would be glad to oblige a lady who has shown more +grit than many a man would have done in such a tight place," one of the +men observed in the most respectful manner. + +"And I'm with you," said the other heartily. + +"Thank you very much," Mollie replied gratefully and with that rare +smile of hers which made every one delight to serve her. + +"Are you timid, Miss Heatherford?" the one who appeared to be the +superior officer inquired. "Would you like one of us to stay in the +house or about the place for the remainder of the night?" + +"Oh, no--thank you. I am sure that will not be necessary, for we shall +not be likely to have this experience repeated to-night. We will open +the door connecting with the servants' hall, and I shall feel perfectly +safe." + +"Very well; then we may as well be getting our jailbird into his cage. +But, upon second thought," the man added, as he caught sight of +Nannette's shiver of terror and saw that Mollie was still very pale, "I +think when I get him aboard the patrol-wagon I will leave Brown here to +watch about until daylight; maybe it will make you a little easier in +your mind." + +Mollie smiled gratefully into his honest face. + +"Thank you," she said heartily, and with a sudden sense of relief which +convinced her that she had overestimated her feeling of security; +"perhaps you are right, and I think, on the whole, we may rest better to +know that we are guarded." + +"Come," said the officer, turning to the burglar, who had not once +spoken, except to curse when the handcuffs were slipped upon his wrists, +"we must be moving." + +Then, with a respectful good-night to the two girls, the officers led +him away, and three minutes later Mollie heard the patrol-wagon drive +away and heaved a long sigh of thankfulness that the horrible experience +was over, and with no loss of valuables to her good friend, Monsieur +Lamonti. + +Nannette, who had been watching the departure from a window, informed +her that Officer Brown had been left behind, and was slowly pacing the +sidewalk before the house. + +This arrangement was so reassuring to both girls that they immediately +retired with a sense of perfect security, and were soon sleeping as +soundly and restfully as if they had not been disturbed. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE TEMPLES APPEAR. + + +It was after eight o'clock when Mollie finally awoke again, and feeling, +somewhat to her surprise, not one whit the worse for her exciting +adventure during the small hours of the morning. + +After making her toilet she sought Nannette, who was dressing Lucille, +and they both agreed not to speak of what had occurred before the +servant--at any rate, until after Monsieur Lamonti's return. + +Lucille was better, and, after they had had their breakfast, Mollie +thought, as the day was very fine, it would do her good to go for a +drive. + +The carriage was accordingly ordered, and the three--for Lucille never +went anywhere without her maid, except on rare occasions with her +grandfather--were soon rolling down Pennsylvania Avenue, thence to +Mollie's home to ascertain how Mr. Heatherford had passed the night, +after which the coachman was told to drive out toward Arlington Heights. + +They rested a while in the venerable mansion, and then started on their +homeward way. They were just passing the boundary of what was once known +as the "old Lee estate," when they met another carriage entering the +beautiful grounds. + +This vehicle contained four persons, and they were none other than Mr. +and Mrs. William Temple, with their daughter Minnie, and Philip +Wentworth. This quartet manifested no little astonishment upon beholding +Mollie, sitting like a fair young princess in her fine equipage, and she +experienced a little secret amusement as she encountered their wondering +gaze. + +Mr. and Mrs. Temple bowed politely, but with marked formality. Minnie +waved her hand, with a smile of pleasure, at her old friend, of whom she +had been very fond, while Philip removed his hat with elaborate +courtesy, his eyes beaming with admiration as he looked into Mollie's +fair face and realized that she was even lovelier than when he had seen +her last in Boston, a year and a half previous, and instantly all his +old-time passion for her revived. + +Mollie returned these greetings courteously and with the utmost +self-possession; but her eyes were very bright and the color in her +cheeks gleamed like scarlet poppies for a moment. + +Then the carriages passed and were parted without a word having been +spoken, although Minnie had been upon the point of bursting out in her +childish eagerness with some expression of greeting; but her mother +hushed her with a single low-spoken word. + +Mollie's heart burned within her with mingled scorn and indignation, in +view of this coldness, for she well remembered the days when the whole +family had been most gracious in their manner toward her--had even +fawned upon her and spared no effort to cultivate her society. + +She was stung anew, too, with the memory of the unpardonable outrage +perpetrated against her father during their last visit with the Temples; +while, even though she had long known that she had never loved and could +never love and would never marry him under any circumstances, Philip's +peculiar attitude toward her filled her with a secret contempt for him. + +"Why! how strange that we should have met Mollie Heatherford, and what +an elegant turnout that is in which she is riding!" Mrs. Temple observed +to her husband after the encounter, while she turned and peered out of +the rear window of their own carriage for another glimpse of Monsieur +Lamonti's fine victoria with its liveried coachman and footman. + +"It certainly is," Mr. Temple replied. "Those were magnificent horses, +and everything about the affair indicated lavish expenditure. I don't +quite understand the condition of things," he concluded reflectively. + +"Mollie was richly dressed, too, and looked, as she always had a way of +looking, like a queen--she has grown handsomer than ever," his wife +pursued. "Did you notice the child and its nurse who were with her?" she +went on, as if some startling thought had occurred to her. "Do you +suppose the girl has married some rich widower and is queening it here +in Washington society?" + +Philip gave a violent start as his mother propounded this solution to +the problem that was puzzling them all, and jealously regretting--as +fickle human nature is prone to do when another shows appreciation of a +discarded favorite--what he fondly imagined might have been his if he +had chosen to press his suit. + +"I have heard nothing of it if she has," said Mr. Temple, and looking +not altogether comfortable in view of finding the Heatherfords again on +an equal footing with himself. "The last I knew, Mr. Heatherford had +secured a position here with a fair salary, and they were living +comfortably, but in a very humble way compared with their former +circumstances. I will make some inquires to-morrow and ascertain, if +possible, just how they are situated." + +Philip did not join in the conversation, but he secretly resolved that +he would himself ascertain the truth about Mollie that very day. He +would seek her in the location to which he had always addressed his +letters, as long as he had written her, and if he failed to find her +there he would search the city over for her. + +Neither Mr. Temple nor his mother had known of his correspondence with +her, and the latter had flattered herself that she had been very tactful +in managing to break up certain "foolish" relations between the two that +were liable to prove very awkward. + +The family had been in Washington only a few days, and, although Philip +had thought of Mollie in an indifferent kind of way, he had not felt any +special interest to look her up. Now, however, the sight of her radiant +beauty, together with her cool and dignified bearing and the fear that +possibly she had dared to marry another, while he assumed to have a +claim--however indefinite--upon her, fired anew his old-time love for +her and aroused a fierce jealousy within him. + +Accordingly, after he had lunched, he immediately set forth upon his +quest for her, going directly to the address where his letters had been +sent. + +Eliza, of course, answered his ring, but informed him that her young +mistress was not at home--that, however, she would probably return that +evening. He then inquired for Mr. Heatherford, and was told, with a +non-committal air, that he was "comfortable." + +"Has he been ill?" questioned Philip, with some surprise. + +"Yes, sah; Marsa Heatherford have been very ill." Eliza quietly +returned, but without volunteering any information regarding the nature +of that gentleman's malady, while she eyed Philip curiously, not +half-liking his looks nor his arrogant bearing. + +The young man, however, went away, smoothing his ruffled plumage with no +little satisfaction. Mollie was not married; probably, he assumed, she +was simply a day governess in some wealthy family, and that would +account for her being out for a drive with the child and its nurse in +the elegant carriage he had seen that morning. + +He returned to his hotel quite elated and promising himself that he +would resume his old relations--to a certain extent--with Mollie, and +thus help to pass some otherwise dull hours during his sojourn in the +city. + +In spite of the secrecy which Mollie had desired to preserve regarding +her exciting adventure of the previous night, the evening papers +contained a thrilling account of a bold attempt at robbery, and how it +had been thwarted by the remarkable heroism of a young lady, who had +held the would-be burglar paralyzed at the muzzle of a revolver until +the police were summoned to her aid and captured the criminal. + +The name of the gentleman whose residence had been entered was given; +but Mollie's name was considerately withheld. She was simply designated +as Monsieur Lamonti's private secretary, who had been spending a couple +of days in the house as chaperon for the gentleman's little +granddaughter during his absence on a business trip to New York. + +Monsieur Lamonti returned, as he had planned, that same evening, and was +greatly exercised in view of what had occurred. + +"Mademoiselle has shown herself very brave," he said, after having +freely discussed the matter and regarding her admiringly, "but I tremble +when I think of the danger that threatened her. And there was much of +value in the safe, too--a large sum of money, besides many valuable +jewels. Ah! but you have been my good angel many times, mademoiselle," +he concluded in a grateful tone. + +He opened the safe and showed her the jewels, and, though she had seen +many costly articles of jewelry, she was almost dazzled by the beauty +and value of the collection before her. + +"We will not keep them here any longer," said Monsieur Lamonti, as he +returned them to their places. "I could not bear to send them away +because my dear ones had worn them," he added with a regretful sigh, +"but no one must ever be subjected again to such peril as threatened you +last night." + +And the following morning he deposited his treasure in a safety-vault, +where no burglar would attempt to seek them. + +Shortly after Monsieur Lamonti's arrival Mollie was sent home in his +carriage, that gentleman slipping into her hands a box containing a +dozen pairs of elegant kid gloves, as she left. + +"It is nothing," he said with a deprecatory shrug in reply to her +thanks; "it was only to give myself the pleasure of buying something for +some one." + +Eliza welcomed her young mistress with a beaming face when she appeared, +and she found that her father had received excellent care during her +absence; but she had not been in the house half an hour, when Philip +Wentworth again made his appearance. + +Mollie received him courteously, though somewhat coldly; but he ignored +her lack of cordiality, and, catching both her hands in his, fervently +exclaimed: + +"At last! Mollie, we meet again! It has seemed an age since I saw you in +Boston. Did your servant tell you of my call directly after lunch?" + +"Yes; Eliza gave me your card on my return. I have been away spending a +couple of days with some friends," Mollie quietly explained, as she +released her hands and indicated a chair for him, then seated herself +upon a small sofa near him. + +"Perhaps you will think me very persistent and impatient to make two +calls in one day," Philip observed apologetically, and feeling a trifle +disconcerted by the girl's perfect composure; "but I have been wild to +learn why you ceased writing to me so suddenly--I have not heard from +you for the longest while!" + +Mollie lifted a look of surprise to him. + +"I think you have transposed the situation," she said, a faint smile +curving her lips. "I have answered every letter that I have received +from you." + +"Ah! then I have wronged you; forgive me! And my last letter must have +miscarried, for when I did not hear from you I began to wonder if it +could have contained anything to offend you," Philip returned, but he +flushed beneath the clear, searching eyes looking steadily into his, as +he uttered the lie. Then unceremoniously waiving the uncomfortable +topic, he added with animation: + +"But tell me something about yourself now, Mollie. I do not need to ask +if you are well; for your blooming appearance speaks for itself; but how +is your father, and what have you been doing to amuse yourself during +all these long months?" + +Again that faint smile wreathed Mollie's lips, and there was a suspicion +of irony in it, for his question was suggestive of the tenor of his own +way of passing his time. + +"'To amuse myself'," she repeated in a peculiar tone. "I really have had +very little time to devote to amusement of any kind during the last year +and a half. For the first few months I was busy keeping house for papa, +for we were trying to be economical and kept no servant. Then he was +taken ill." + +"Yes, I remember you wrote me at one time that he was ill," Philip +interposed, "but I supposed that he had recovered long ago." + +"My father is a hopeless invalid--the physicians tell me that he will +never be any better," said Mollie sadly. + +"Can that be possible?" queried her companion, and trying to throw a +proper amount of sympathy into his tone, but secretly wondering how they +managed to keep the wolf from the door. + +"Of course, when his health gave out he lost his situation, and his +income stopped," Mollie gravely resumed, "and I was obliged to seek some +employment. I have a position as private secretary to Monsieur Lamonti, +a French gentleman of some prominence here in Washington--possibly you +may have heard of him." + +"Ah! yes, I have," said Philip with elevated eyebrows, for the wealthy +Frenchman had been pointed out to him, and now he understood how Mollie +had happened to be riding in that elegant turnout that morning. Then he +added: "I am sorry to learn that Mr. Heatherford's case is so serious." + +"Yes; papa has failed sadly; he seldom recognizes even me, now, while +his hands have become so useless that he has to be fed like a child," +Mollie returned with starting tears. + +"That must make it very hard for you, dear," Philip responded with a +tender inflection; "you must find it very irksome, reared as you have +been, to confine yourself to a position and the care of an invalid." + +"I do not," she returned brightly, though she straightened herself a +trifle and flushed at his term of endearment. "I thoroughly enjoy my +position, and if papa could only be well once more, I should feel +perfectly happy with my work and the consciousness that I am really of +some practical use in the world." + +She looked so proud and animated and bore herself with such an air of +dignity and self-reliance that the young man told himself she was a +hundredfold more lovely and attractive than she had ever been. + +But, at the same time, there was an unmistakable atmosphere about her +that held him at arm's length and made him feel as if she had drifted so +far apart from him as to have put him entirely out of her life. + +The very thought enraged him, and an insatiate desire to conquer these +conditions and make himself necessary to her happiness took possession +of him. He flushed hotly as he suddenly bent nearer to her. + +"Mollie, I cannot bear to know that you are working for wages," he said +passionately. + +Mollie laughed out musically, although she drew herself away from him +with an unmistakable chill in her manner. + +"Pray, do not be disturbed," she said lightly, "for I assure you that I +enjoy my 'wages,' as you term them, immensely." + +"But the humiliation of it," he persisted hotly; "to think of it!--you, +who are fit to queen it anywhere, becoming the servant of any one!" + +"I have no sense of humiliation, Philip. I frankly protest that I never +in my life experienced a more comforting sense of self-respect than at +the present time," Mollie spiritedly rejoined, and with a warning +sparkle in her eyes. + +"But there is no need of it," he insisted. + +"There is every need," she briefly, but gravely, replied. + +"No, no, Mollie; surely you have not forgotten the old days," he broke +forth vehemently; "you cannot have forgotten the question which I asked +you a year and a half ago, and which you have never answered. Need I +tell you that I still love you with all my heart?--that I yearn for you, +in spite of the little misunderstanding and interruption to our +correspondence? Mollie, dearest, give up this position; let me provide +for you hereafter--let me stand between you and the necessity for toil; +give yourself to me--you shall have every wish gratified, and I will +become your protector and--your slave." + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +A STARTLING PROPOSAL. + + +Mollie grew first red, then white, at this unexpected renewal of +Philip's suit. At the same time, she was conscious that it did not ring +quite true, in spite of his passionate avowal of love and eagerness of +manner; there was an indefinable undercurrent of reservation--a lack of +sincerity in it that impressed her unpleasantly. + +For one thing, she felt that if he had been a true lover, he never would +have allowed their correspondence to cease, simply because a single +letter had gone astray; he would never have been content to let a year +and a half pass without making an attempt to see her and learn how she +was living and how her father was prospering, after having been robbed +of his last dollar by the treachery of his pretended friend. + +She began to recover from her confusion almost immediately, however, and +lifting her eyes, earnestly searched her companion's face. Somehow, it +had never appeared so unattractive to her before; it was weak and showed +in the lowering brow, in the habitual expression of discontent, in the +sensuous mouth and irresolute chin, a lack of that true nobility and +strength of character which she knew she must find in the man whom she +married, and even while she looked his eyes wavered and fell before +her, while he shifted uneasily upon his chair. + +"Mollie, why do you not answer me?" he demanded, to cover his +embarrassment, and bending toward her tried to capture one of the small, +perfect hands which lay on her lap. "It cannot be possible that you have +forgotten the past or lost all the old love for me. Ah! come to me, +dearest, let me take care of you, and you never need toil another day; +you shall have every luxury which money can buy." + +"Phil," Mollie began gently, for she did not wish to wound him, even +though not one chord of her heart thrilled responsive to his ardent +appeal, while at the same time she quietly, but resolutely, released her +hand from his grasp, "I certainly have not forgotten the old days nor +the many good times which we enjoyed during our childhood. But when you +speak of 'the old love,' that is another thing, and I know now that I +never loved you; that is, in the way which you speak of now. When you +asked me before, I told you I was not prepared to say just what my +feelings toward you were, as you will remember. I felt very friendly, as +I said then, 'I liked you right well,' and, as you seemed to be so fond +of me and so anxious that our boy-and-girl play should become a reality, +I thought I would wait a little, and, perchance, as I came to like you +better, the 'like' might grow into love. I could have told you this some +time ago if you had renewed the subject, but you never did; your letters +ceased coming and I supposed you had thought better of the matter and +changed your mind. No, Phil, I do not love you as a woman should love +the man she expects to marry; so let us drop the subject here and now +and agree to be simply good friends for the future." + +But her refusal aroused all Philip's antagonism. He was one who could +never bear to be balked in anything, and her statement that she knew +'now' that she did not love him stirred him to fiercest jealousy. What +had led her to such a conclusion? he asked himself. Perhaps she had met +some one else who had awakened the affection which he so coveted, and +this possible solution of the problem made him furious. + +For the moment he forgot her poverty; forgot that he had vowed he would +never marry any girl who did not possess an ample fortune. He only +remembered that he loved her--had always loved her, and rich or poor he +was determined to carry his point, if by any possible means he could +achieve it, even though he should rudely trample upon her heart after he +had won it. + +"Mollie!" he cried appealingly, "you do not mean it--you cannot be so +cruel as to blight all my hopes, after so many years of devotion to you. +You know that I have loved you ever since we were children; you know +that I have always expected that you would give yourself to me, and do +you think that I can easily surrender you now?" + +Mollie wondered what made her shrink involuntarily every time he +mentioned his love for her. There was something that grated harshly upon +her in his every tone, and she experienced a singular distrust of him. + +"I am truly sorry, Phil, if you have really been cherishing this hope +for so long," she returned after a moment of thoughtful silence, "for, +to be perfectly frank with you, I have believed everything to be at an +end between us ever since I left Boston. I am very quick to feel any +change in my friends, and I was sure, when the financial crash came to +my father, that a union between you and me would be regarded as a great +misfortune for you. I inferred this both from your own manner and your +mother's when you made your farewell call upon me at the Adams House. I +also observed it in the tone of your letters afterward, and when they +finally ceased altogether, as I have already said, I regarded the matter +as finally settled, as far as you were concerned, and, as I had arrived +at a knowledge of my own attitude toward you, I was perfectly content. +You perceive that I am very plain with you, and now let me add, Phil, +that you will yet make the discovery that some other woman will make you +happier than I ever could have done." + +"I shall not!" Philip retorted vehemently. "I love you, and you alone. +Mollie, you shall not send me away like this--I cannot bear it. Give me +at least a little more time in which to try to make you love me; do not +throw me over utterly, for you will ruin my life if you do." + +And he began to believe what he was saying. The more he realized that +she was dropping out of his life altogether, the more he coveted her +love. In the rashness of the moment, in the heat of his anger at being +opposed in his purpose, he might even have gone to the length of +marrying her on the spot, if the conditions had been propitious. + +"No, I can give you no more 'time,' Phil, for the matter is irrevocably +settled, as far as I am concerned," Mollie responded kindly, but firmly, +"and I should only be doing you a great wrong if I should encourage you +to believe otherwise. Now, please let us dismiss the subject, once for +all, and agree to be only the best of friends in the future." + +"Mollie, I won't!" Philip exclaimed with mingled anger and wounded +pride. "There must be some reason for this unaccountable change in +you--more than appears on the surface. Perhaps you have met some one +else whom you have learned to love--tell me, is it so?" + +Two scarlet spots leaped into Mollie's cheeks at this excited and +imperative demand. They were called there by a shock of mingled +indignation and conscious guilt. She felt that, even though Phil had +been a lifelong friend, he had no right to try to extort the secrets of +her heart in any such high-handed manner. + +Yet, at the same instant, when he had accused her of loving another, +Clifford Faxon's face, with its expression of high resolve and noble +purposes, its clear, honest eyes, its frank and genial smile, arose +before her, causing a sudden, conscious heart-thrill, which also brought +with it a sense of dismay. + +Could it be possible, came the simultaneous thought, that she had +bestowed her affections upon a man whom she did not know--with whom she +had never exchanged half a dozen sentences--who had flashed like a +meteor, once or twice, across her path and was gone, perhaps never to +appear again? + +Ah! but it was true, nevertheless. Soul meets soul in the flash of an +eye, through the tones of the voice, and the touch of a hand, and, like +a revelation, there came to her the consciousness of the fact that when +she had stood before Clifford Faxon, more than six years previous, she +had recognized in him--even though he had spoken no word in response to +her impulsive outburst of gratitude--a nature the counterpart and, +therefore, the companion of her own, and with this unveiling of the holy +of holies within her soul came the realization that no other would +satisfy the cravings of her heart. + +At the same time, she was under no obligation to make Philip Wentworth +her father confessor, and she resented his imperative demand that she do +so. She drew herself up with quiet dignity as she coldly replied: + +"Excuse me, Phil, but I think you are overstepping the bounds of both +courtesy and friendship in asking me such questions." + +Philip sprang to his feet, his face a sheet of flame. + +"You do not deny it," he cried angrily. + +"I neither admit nor deny," said Mollie, as she also arose and stood +before him with a regal air. "I simply say that you have--as indeed no +one else has--the right to question me in the way you have done. +Whatever concerns you personally, you, of course, have a right to know +about. I have answered you frankly and as kindly as I knew how, and that +must settle it. Now"--her manner suddenly changing to her old-time +graciousness, and holding out her hand, with a charming smile--"shall we +drop it and still be the best of friends?" + +He regarded her in silence for a moment. She was inexpressibly lovely, +and would have disarmed a savage; but his pride was wounded, and his +heart was filled with rage at the thought of being balked in his +determination to subjugate her to his will. + +"No!" he said shortly, "there is no meaning for me in the word 'friend' +where you are concerned." + +He turned abruptly from her as he ceased and walked from the room and +the house, taking no pains to close the door after him. + +Mollie stood where he had left her for a full minute, a grave expression +on her fair face. Then she drew a long, deep breath, and her lips curled +with contempt: + +"He could not stand the test--he is not worthy to be my friend, even," +she murmured; "he is selfish to the core, for, since he cannot have just +what he wants, he repudiates all, turns and cruelly wounds the one he +has pretended to love. It is himself he loves--not me; and I am glad +that everything is finally settled between us. Still, I am sadly +disappointed in my old-time friend." + +She sighed regretfully as she thought of the failure he was making of +life, for he had had every advantage, and had he appreciated and +improved his opportunities a brilliant career might have been his, while +now he was only an idle seeker after pleasure. + +Then, in striking contrast to this pampered young man of fortune, there +arose before her the sunburned, bareheaded, coarsely clad lad to whom +she owed her life, and who, by his own efforts, had overcome every +obstacle and distanced Philip Wentworth at college. + +Clifford Faxon might never rise socially to the position that was +accorded Philip in the fashionable world--he might never acquire great +wealth, but she felt that he had already attained that which was far +more grand and desirable than fame or fortune--a noble manhood and the +pursuit of some worthy object in life. In the midst of these reflections +Mollie blushed rosy red. + +"Why do I allow my thoughts to dwell upon him?" she exclaimed, with a +shrug of her shoulders and a pretty assumption of impatience; "he is the +same as a stranger to me, and I may never see him again. How foolish I +am!" + +Nevertheless, Clifford Faxon's strong, handsome face haunted her +continually, and even in her dreams that night she saw a shapely hand +outstretched to her; in its palm there lay a heart pierced with an +arrow, its feather the shade of her own bright hair, and on the hand +there gleamed a well-remembered cameo ring. + +The following morning brought another trial to Mollie, and one which she +had never dreamed of being subjected to. When she entered Monsieur +Lamonti's office at the usual hour, she found him already there, but +looking unusually grave and preoccupied. She bade him a cheerful "bon +jour," to which he courteously but, to her sensitive ear, rather coldly +responded. + +"Yes," he briefly replied, "Lucille is well." + +Mollie began to wonder if anything had gone wrong in connection with his +business; or if, by any possibility she had made a mistake that required +a reproof, which he might be very loath to administer; or perhaps he +might not be feeling well, and did not realize how constrained his +manner was. + +However, she slipped quietly into the chair before her desk and began +her work, but with a strange feeling of sadness and embarrassment +oppressing her. She wrote steadily for more than an hour, during which +time not a word was spoken by either occupant of the room. + +Then, all at once, Monsieur Lamonti laid down his pen and, wheeling +around in his chair, faced her. + +"Will mademoiselle be kind enough to give me her attention for a few +moments?" he gravely questioned. "I have something of importance to +communicate to her." + +Mollie grew suddenly pale with apprehension. Oh! could it be possible +that Monsieur Lamonti was contemplating some change that would deprive +her of her position? Maybe he was on the point of returning to France, +or had been assigned to some other station in the United States to +continue his public duties. What could she do--where turn for employment +in such an emergency? + +"Certainly, monsieur," she managed to falter, as she mechanically placed +a paper-weight upon the sheet before her; then tried to smile bravely as +she turned her colorless face to him to await her sentence, whatever it +might be. + +The man started violently as he bent his searching glance upon her. + +"Ah mademoiselle, you are surely ill!" he exclaimed in a voice of alarm. +"Pardon me that I have not before observed the fact. Why--why have you +come to work if you are not well?" + +Something in his look and tone brought the truant color back to her face +in a crimson flood. + +"Thank you, monsieur, but I am perfectly well." + +Then, with a smile and her habitual frankness, she explained: + +"I am only in suspense since, from monsieur's manner, I have inferred +that something is wrong; that perhaps you may have disagreeable tidings +for me." + +It was now the gentleman's turn to change color and to look disturbed. +Then he broke forth with characteristic impetuosity: + +"Pardon--a thousand pardons, mademoiselle, if I have caused you one +moment of anxiety or suffering! Yes, I have been thoughtless--I have +been distrait, but not because I have any ill news to impart; but +because I had decided to ask mademoiselle an important question this +morning. Mademoiselle Heatherford, will you do me the honor--the supreme +happiness--to become my wife?" + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +A CRITICAL SITUATION. + + +Mollie was stunned by this wholly unexpected contretemps, and she lifted +to Monsieur Lamonti a face expressive of the blankest astonishment. + +"Ah! I have taken mademoiselle entirely by surprise! I see--I +understand!" he said, apologetically, though a faint smile flitted +across his lips. "Pray forgive me, mon ami; but let me explain, and then +I am sure you will not wonder so much. You have seen that I am a very +lonely man, without kith or kin. I have nothing in life to comfort me or +to throw one ray of sunshine along my path but the little Lucille. This +has been so for years, but since mademoiselle came to me I have known +more of enjoyment, I have had more pleasure in her society than I have +experienced since I lost my dear children--Lucille's father and mother. +Mademoiselle is beautiful, accomplished; she was reared for something +far better than to work out a weary life at a desk. She has earned my +profoundest respect, my gratitude and admiration by her many rare +qualities of heart and mind, her amiable and sunny temperament and her +faithfulness in my service. + +"My home is very lonely, mademoiselle; my little Lucille needs the +tender care, the gentle restraining hand, and the cultivated presence of +something better than a nursemaid or governess; she requires some one +who would exercise the wise guidance and authority of a mother, and she +has become very fond of you, mon ami. I do not ask--I do not expect +mademoiselle to bestow upon me the affection which she might perhaps +accord to a younger man; and yet----" he faltered slightly and flushed; +"such regard would make me supremely happy, for I have grown to love her +most tenderly. Mademoiselle is leading a life of toil--she has +perplexing home cares and sorrows, but these can all be mitigated to a +great extent; for her father shall become my care also, and her future +shall not have a single cloud to mar it, if it is in the power of man +and money to prevent it. Mademoiselle, will you honor me by accepting my +hand, my heart and my fortune?--become the mistress of my home, and take +your rightful position in society, where you are so well fitted to +shine. + +"If----" he added, after a moment of awkward silence, for Mollie was +still too astonished and overcome to utter a word; "if I have been too +abrupt, mon ami, and you do not feel prepared to answer me at present, +pray take time--as long as you wish--to consider the matter, and I will +patiently await your decision." + +Mollie was not only astonished, she was also deeply touched by this +unlooked-for proposal, which seemed to her a most pathetic appeal from +this distinguished gentleman, whose history had been so sad and whose +life had been so lonely. She knew that there was very little in it, even +now, to make it enjoyable, notwithstanding his great wealth and the +enviable position that he occupied. + +Of course, he loved his little granddaughter with all his heart; indeed, +his every hope hitherto had been centered upon her; but she could +readily understand that it would be utterly impossible for a child like +Lucille to satisfy the requirements of a nature like that of Monsieur +Lamonti. + +He was cultured and intellectual, and, naturally, he desired congenial +companionship. In his magnificent home there was not one with whom he +could converse upon terms of equality, either mentally or socially, or +who could sympathize with him in any of the affairs or interests of his +life. + +He had been into society but little during his residence in Washington, +for, as he had told her, he had no heart for the gaieties of the world, +since he was doomed to go alone wherever he was invited, while, too, +with no mistress at the head of his own establishment he could not +entertain in return for such courtesies. + +Surely, Mollie told herself, it was a desolate existence for one like +him to lead, for he was a polished gentleman, of high attainments, +brilliant in conversation, and well calculated to shine among the many +noted and distinguished people in the nation's capital. But, in spite of +her genuine respect and admiration, together with her deepest sympathy; +in spite of his wealth and position and the tempting future which he had +offered her, she could not become his wife. + +Mollie was too true, too conscientious a woman to marry any man whom +she could not love with all her heart, even though she would have +enjoyed the luxuries to which, nearly all of her life, she had been +accustomed, and with which she would have so liked to surround her +father; while she did sometimes yearn in secret for the old-time +gaieties and society from which she now seemed to be entirely shut out. + +All these things had flashed through her brain while Monsieur Lamonti +was talking, but never for an instant did she waver from what she knew +was right and just to herself and to him. As he concluded she lifted her +grave, sweet eyes to his face. + +"Monsieur Lamonti," she began, and her voice was husky from repressed +feeling; "you have indeed surprised me beyond measure, for I certainly +never dreamed that you entertained for me the feelings you have +expressed--although I have congratulated myself that I possessed your +esteem and friendly interest. It grieves me that I am obliged to +disappoint you; but, monsieur, I must be true to myself and to you. I +could not become the wife of any man unless I had first given him the +deepest affection of my heart. While I have, during our relations as +employer and employee, learned to regard you as a true friend--my best +and almost my only one, I may say, since nearly all who knew me in more +prosperous days have deserted me--still, such a regard would satisfy +neither you nor me if we should assume closer ties. Believe me, dear +Monsieur Lamonti, I feel greatly honored by your preference, and am also +deeply grateful to you for your many kindnesses to both my father and +myself. Forgive me if there has ever been the slightest indication in +my manner to encourage you to infer----" + +"There has not, mademoiselle, I assure you," Monsieur Lamonti +interposed, as she flushed and faltered; "there has been nothing in your +manner at any time to show me that you regarded me other than as a +friend. It was alone my affection for you--my intense yearning for the +presence of a charming woman in my home, to be a companion to and in +sympathy with me and to help me to rear Lucille, which emboldened me to +ask you to be my wife. Ah! mademoiselle, you do not know the grief, the +sorrow I feel! If you would but reconsider--take time to try to--to grow +fond of me; if I could but have a little hope," he concluded in a voice +so eager, yet, withal, so sad and tremulous that tears sprang +involuntarily to Mollie's eyes. + +"Monsieur, it would not be right; I--I could not bid you hope; my answer +must be final," she almost sobbed, for his pathetic appeal had very +nearly unnerved her. Monsieur Lamonti was very pale; but after a moment +of silence he pulled himself together bravely. + +"Pardon--pardon, mademoiselle; the sorrow--the annoyance I have +occasioned you," he said, with grave courtesy. "I bow to the inevitable; +you have been most kind, and we will regard the matter as if it had +never been. But, mon ami," and now he turned to her with his old kindly +smile, "leaving all that forever, may I now presume to ask a great favor +of you?" + +"Certainly, monsieur; you must know that anything in my power I would +gladly do for you," Mollie cordially, even eagerly, returned. + +"Many thanks; but perhaps I am a trifle premature. I should first have +told you what I desire before asking your promise. However, you are free +to refuse if you find the matter not one to your taste. I have told you +that I have no kith or kin--that aside from Lucille, I am absolutely +alone in the world. You can readily perceive that, should anything +happen to--to remove me, the child would be left without a +protector--without a soul to feel the slightest interest in her. Now, +mademoiselle, the favor I wish to crave is a great one--will you, in the +event of which I have spoken, assume the guardianship of my little +girl?" + +Mollie's breath was almost taken away again, and she regarded her +companion in grave wonderment. + +"I, monsieur! Could you trust me with so sacred a charge?" she +questioned in a voice of awe. "I am very young; I have never had any +experience with children, and it seems a grave responsibility!" + +"Mademoiselle, I could trust you with--ah! have I not asked you to care +for the greatest treasure the world holds for me, and could I manifest +greater confidence in you?" responded Monsieur Lamonti, while he +regarded the girl with a look that betrayed far more than his words. + +"I have seen," he went on, "that you are fond of Lucille--she adores +you. You have been carefully reared; you are a gentlewoman in every +sense of the word, and if my little one could become like you--could be +shielded in the future by your love and guidance, and grow up pure and +good and noble, I could ask nothing better for her on earth. You +understand, mademoiselle, this arrangement is to be contingent only upon +my demise, and I may live many years yet. I simply wish to make sure +that she will not be left to the care and cupidity of strangers, and +there will be ample remuneration for you, to enable you to live even +more comfortably than at present. Also I should leave all financial +matters so compactly arranged that you would have very little care in +the management of them. I would not like to burden you in any way except +to make sure that Lucille will be wisely and kindly nurtured. May I +depend upon you, mon ami?" + +Mollie did not reply immediately. To grant Monsieur Lamonti's request +seemed like assuming a very grave responsibility, and she was wondering +within herself if she dare attempt it. + +"Yes, I love dear little Lucille, and I believe she loves me," she +finally murmured, more to herself than in reply to her companion. "I am +sure it would be a pleasure to me to have the child with me; she would +be like a young sister, and to guard and watch her development would be +a very interesting and a great delight--if I were sure that I am equal +to the task----" + +"But the trust must be confided to some one," Monsieur Lamonti here +interposed, "and will mademoiselle kindly allow me to be the judge of +what is best for my darling?" + +Mollie was deeply touched by this evidence of his confidence in her, and +she felt that he was paying her the highest tribute which it was +possible for one human being to confer upon another. She looked up at +him with a tremulous smile and eyes full of tears. + +"Yes," she said, with evident emotion, "and I solemnly assure you that I +will do the very best that I am capable of, for her." + +"Mademoiselle does not need to promise me that; it is her nature to do +her best under all circumstances," replied the gentleman heartily, "and +she has my everlasting gratitude." + +"Thank you, my friend, for your kindly praise, and believe me, I +sincerely appreciate the trust you repose in me; let us hope that for +many years you two may be spared to each other--until, perhaps, Lucille +will be old enough and wise enough to choose a protector for life, and +you will give her away with your blessing." + +Monsieur Lamonti smiled in sympathy with her mood, then reaching out his +hand he clasped hers as if to ratify the compact they had made and +observed. + +"Thank you, mademoiselle; you always comfort and cheer me. May the good +God bless you." + +Both resumed their work, and nothing save business was mentioned during +the remainder of the morning, while Monsieur Lamonti's manner was the +same as usual, courteous and kind, and without a vestige of +disappointment or chagrin to betray how sorely he had been smitten by +Mollie's rejection of his suit. + +After partaking of her lunch that afternoon Mollie could not seem to +settle down to either reading or work. Her thoughts were full of the +events of the morning, and the grave responsibility she had assumed, and +she finally became so nervous that she resumed her street costume and +started out again to visit the Corcoran Art Gallery, hoping to forget +her anxiety. + +It was between three and four when she reached the gallery, and she soon +became so absorbed in the treasures of art all about her, she did not +observe the flight of time, especially as the various rooms were +artificially lighted, until notice was given that it was time to close +the building. + +As she stepped out upon the street she was surprised to find how dark it +had grown. Heavy clouds had covered the sky, a fine mist was falling, +and the short winter's day, dawning to its close, seemed exceedingly +gloomy and depressing. + +Drawing her coat-collar up about her throat and face, for the air was +keen, she hurried on her way toward home, deciding that walking would be +preferable to standing upon a corner to wait for a trolley in the rain. + +When she finally turned off the avenue into a side street, where the +residences were some distance apart, and which was not particularly well +lighted, she suddenly become conscious some one was following her. + +With a heart-throb of fear, she quickened her steps. The figure behind +her did the same. Then she walked more slowly in order to allow the man +to pass her. In another moment he was beside her, when, with all her +pulses throbbing like trip-hammers, she realized that he was +intoxicated. + +"Fine evening, miss," he remarked in a voice which, although rather +thick and unsteady, seemed strangely familiar. + +Her assailant was quite tall, but it was too dark to see his figure +distinctly, while a slouch-hat was drawn so far down over his face that +his features were almost entirely concealed. But Mollie was too +frightened to observe him closely, and vouchsafing no reply to his +remark, quickened her steps again. + +The man reached out his hand and laid hold upon her arm, exclaiming: + +"Hold on, now--hic--my pretty one. I'sn't--ah--dignified to run. Just +le' me--hic--see you home; then I'll take a--hic--kiss and we'll call +it--hic--square." + +Mollie stopped short, her ears actually ringing from the rapid beating +of her heart, while her blood was boiling with mingled disgust and +indignation. She swept his hand from her arm with a force that made him +stagger. But he was too quick for her, and clutched it again instantly. + +"Don't dare to touch me! Do not presume to detain me!" she cried +authoritatively. + +But his fingers only closed more roughly over her wrist. + +"Come, come, pretty one, don't be--hic--offish; or If you're in +such--hic--a deuced hurry I'll take the--hic--kiss now and let +you--hic--go." + +He drew her toward him as if to put his threat into execution, but +before Mollie's frightened cry for help had barely escaped her lips, the +hand was stricken from her arm and her assailant lay sprawling upon the +ground at her feet, while she turned with a long breath of relief to +find another stalwart figure close beside her. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +CLIFFORD MEETS HIS IDOL. + + +The night was so dark, the mist so heavy and the street so illy lighted +that Mollie could not clearly see either of her companions; but as she +turned to the stranger who had appeared upon the scene so opportunely, a +feeling of perfect confidence took possession of her, for his dignified +and self-assured bearing inspired her with a sense of absolute security. + +"Oh, thank you! thank you!" she breathed gratefully though tremulously, +as she involuntarily drew nearer to him. + +"I am very glad that I happened to be near," the gentleman replied in a +rich, deep but pleasantly modulated voice. "I was just passing out of a +gate opposite when I heard you call. The wretch was very bold to assail +you on the street at this hour of the evening! Is he intoxicated?" + +"I think so," said Mollie, and speaking more calmly now, for she was +fast recovering her self-possession, "and I am very thankful to you for +your timely assistance, I----" + +A groan from the prostrate man interrupted her at this point, and both +she and her companion turned at the sound. + +"Well, sir, what is it?" curtly demanded the stranger, as he bent over +him and tried to get a view of his face. + +"You've given me a nasty blow, whoever you are; curse you!" he growled, +as he made an effort to regain his feet. + +But he seemed to find it a difficult achievement, and the stranger +grasped him by the arm and assisted him to rise. + +"There you are," he said, "now can you walk?" + +Again his victim groaned as he attempted to take a step or two, and +almost fell a second time. + +"Well you are a trifle the worse for your fall, that is a fact," his +companion observed. "I will help you to the corner, where you can get +either a carriage or a car to take you home; and, now, if you will +accept a bit of friendly advice, I will suggest that you keep your brain +clearer in the future, when perhaps you will not be tempted to assault +unprotected women in the street and get yourself into trouble again." + +Mollie's recent assailant wrenched his arm from the other's grasp with +another oath, and, bending forward, tried to peer into the face before +him. His fall evidently had not disabled him so seriously as he had at +first feared, while the shock had served to sober him somewhat. + +"Look here!" he exclaimed in a supercilious tone; "I've a notion that I +know who you are, and this isn't the first time, either, that you have +interfered with me in what was none of your business. I know you, Faxon, +and I swear I'll make you sweat for this!" + +Clifford Faxon--for it was he--now bent forward and peered into the +face of the speaker, even though he had already recognized the speaker. + +"Great heavens!" he exclaimed in a voice resonant with mingled disgust +and indignation, "have you descended so low as this, Wentworth?" + +A startled cry broke from Mollie at this point, and she swept close to +the young man's side. + +"Philip Wentworth!" she gasped, and now she knew why his voice had +sounded familiar to her, although, having been under the influence of +liquor, his utterance had been very indistinct, while fear had so +changed hers that, in his drunken condition, he had failed to recognize +it. But as she now spoke his name a terrible shock went through him, +sobering him completely. + +"Mollie! Good God!" he cried in a tone of mingled mortification and +dismay, while Clifford's heart leaped with joy as he caught the name. +The fair girl haughtily drew herself erect and away from him. + +"Let this be the last time, Mr. Wentworth, that you ever address me so +familiarly; indeed, from this moment we are strangers." + +"By all that is sacred, Mollie, I never dreamed that it was you." + +Philip faltered with abject humility. "I swear----" + +"Silence!" she commanded imperatively. "Never presume to call me +'Mollie' again. Of course I understand that you did not know me--neither +did I recognize you under existing conditions. But you did know that you +were insulting a woman, and the fact that you had no more respect for my +sex, whoever the individual might be, I regard as direct an outrage as +if you had known me." + +"Come, now," said Philip appealingly, and his voice was husky with shame +and grief, "you are downright hard on a fellow. I was not quite myself, +I am bound to confess, and so not responsible----" + +"Not responsible!" repeated Mollie with grave reproof. "Yes, you are +responsible; for you have no moral right to put yourself in a condition +that renders it unsafe for people to come in contact with you upon the +street, or elsewhere. + +"Let me say one word more," she added more gently, yet not less +impressively, "for your mother's and sister's sake and for your own +good, I beg that you will forsake your cups and the aimless life you are +leading and try to live to some purpose in the future." + +She stepped aside to allow him to pass, whereupon Clifford Faxon +considerately inquired: + +"Shall I lend you an arm to the corner, Wentworth?" + +"No!--you!" was the passionate response, as Philip angrily struck aside +the proffered support, almost beside himself with mingled shame and +rage, "and, let me repeat, that I will yet make you sorry for this +night's work." He turned his back upon them both and strode away +limping, but not nearly so badly crippled as his companions had feared +he might be. + +Then Mollie stepped forward to Clifford. + +"Mr. Faxon," she said, and extending her hand to him, "this is the third +time that we have met under peculiar circumstances, all of which have +made me greatly your debtor. I am Miss Heatherford, and I have never +forgotten the hero of that exciting New Haven incident." + +"Thank you, Miss Heatherford," Faxon returned, and tingling to his +finger-tips with rapture as he clasped the hand so cordially offered +him, "and let me assure you that I am very much pleased to meet you +again, and, at last, learn the name of one to whom I am also indebted. I +refer to the beautiful souvenir of the event of which you have spoken, +and which I have always treasured most sacredly. I am very glad I was at +hand to rescue you from your recent unpleasant experience. Now, may I +have the additional pleasure of attending you to your home? I should +feel very uncomfortable to allow you to go alone after the shock you +have received." + +"Thank you; it is very kind of you to offer to attend me," Mollie +replied, and feeling much relieved in view of having a protector, for +she had been badly frightened. "But, Mr. Faxon, I am afraid it will seem +almost an imposition, for I have quite a walk yet," she added +doubtfully. + +"That will not disturb me in the least," Clifford returned eagerly, +"though it is very damp, and perhaps you would prefer to take a car; in +either event, however, I shall not leave you until I see you safely +housed." + +"Taking a car would not save me very much, as I must go back to +Pennsylvania Avenue to get one, and I would have just about the same +distance at the other end," said Mollie reflectively. "On the whole, I +believe I will take you at your word and we will walk." + +"Thank you," Clifford responded so earnestly that Mollie smiled +involuntarily, while she experienced a peculiar exhilaration in his +companionship. + +She unhesitatingly accepted the arm he offered her, and they fell into a +social chat which grew so absorbing to both that distance became of no +account, and Faxon was conscious of a sense of keen disappointment when +his companion finally paused before her own door. + +"Why, Miss Heatherford, you told me it was a long walk; I did not +suppose we were half-way there yet!" he exclaimed in a tone that plainly +betrayed his regret. + +"I think you must be a practised pedestrian, for it is very nearly a +mile," said Mollie with a silvery little laugh, "and, now, won't you +come in for a little rest before you make the return trip?" + +Clifford would gladly have accepted the invitation and prolonged his +enjoyment of her society for another half-hour, but he did not feel +quite justified in doing so upon so short an acquaintance, and so +politely excused himself. + +"Then some other evening, Mr. Faxon, I shall be happy to have you call +if you should feel inclined," Mollie cordially observed greatly to his +delight. + +"Thank you, Miss Heatherford; it certainly will give me great pleasure +to do so, and I shall avail myself of the privilege at an early date," +the young man responded, and he was on the point of bidding her good +evening when Mollie lifted a shy glance to him and said: + +"I feel that I owe you an apology, Mr. Faxon, for not recognizing you a +few days ago when you saved me from having a fall from the car, but I +was so surprised at the unexpected meeting that I was momentarily +embarrassed, and so failed to do my duty." + +"Pray do not be disturbed," Faxon returned with a heart-throb of +gladness. "I saw you were somewhat overcome, and the omission was not to +be wondered at under the circumstances." + +"I knew you at once," Mollie continued naively and with charming +frankness, "and I feared afterward that you might attribute my seeming +neglect to an unworthy motive." + +"Indeed, no--I hope I could not so wrong you, although you will allow me +to say that I was somewhat disappointed," Clifford replied in the same +spirit. + +He then bade her a reluctant "good evening," lifted his hat, and went +away. It seemed to him that he was walking on air as he retraced his +steps up-town. + +At last he had met and learned the name of the divinity who for years +had been his inspiration, whose fair face and deep blue eyes had haunted +both his waking and sleeping hours; whose sweet girlish tones and +thrilling words had rung like a melodious refrain in his ears for nearly +six long years. + +It had been a great trial to him not to know who she was, and he had +been more irritated over the fact that Philip Wentworth had refused to +give him any information regarding her than he usually allowed himself +to become over anything. It had been like a poisoned dagger in his heart +when that young man had arrogantly boasted of his engagement to the girl +who had given him the cameo, which was the choicest treasure he +possessed. + +But now he knew that Philip had lied--the occurrence of that evening had +proved to him that no such tie had ever existed between the two. To be +sure, Wentworth had addressed her by the familiar name "Mollie," but her +manner toward him had plainly indicated that, although she might +previously have regarded him as a friend, she had never surrendered her +heart into his keeping. + +This assurance set every pulse bounding with a feeling of exultation, +and a vague, sweet hope that possibly he might yet awaken some +responsive chord in her nature that as yet had been untouched began to +take root in his heart. + +He blessed the fates that had sent him upon an errand that night into +the locality where he had found her in trouble, and thus enabled him to +go to her rescue. Then that never-to-be-forgotten walk had seemed +leading him straight toward Paradise, the door of which Mollie had +opened to him by her invitation to call--a privilege of which he +resolved to avail himself at a very early day. + +And three evenings later found him standing at her door, seeking +admittance. + +Eliza answered his ring and showed him into the cosy homelike parlor, +and five minutes later Mollie appeared, looking charming in a dainty +house-gown of some soft, white material without an atom of color save +her blue eyes and glorious hair to mar its chaste simplicity. + +She almost always wore white at home--it had been her custom since +childhood, for her father loved to see her in it. + +She greeted Faxon with a cordiality which assured him that he was most +welcome, and his heart thrilled with joy unspeakable as he observed the +lovely color that suffused her face as he clasped her hand and responded +to her salutation. She put him at his ease at once by seating herself +near him and beginning to chat freely of Washington and its society; of +politics and politicians and various current topics. Then she gradually +drifted to other things, and finally to their first meeting, after which +she adroitly led him to speak of his college life, struggles, and +experiences. + +He was surprised to find how freely and almost involuntarily he opened +his heart to her of those things which he had seldom mentioned to +others, and when he concluded he held up and showed her the cameo ring +upon his hand. + +"It has been my mascot," he said, smiling, "and I can never make you +understand how much it has meant to me. But I never presumed to wear it +in public until the day I took my degree and only occasionally since." + +"I am afraid you have prized my simple souvenir far beyond its worth," +said Mollie, flushing. "It was really intended for a good-luck ring, +however. I purchased it, and had it marked for a cousin who was going +West to live, but as some one else had already given him a ring I kept +it and sent him something else. Have you discovered its little secret, +Mr. Faxon?" + +"Yes," said Clifford, as he touched the spring and the stone lifted from +its place; but he did not tell her then how he had learned it, "and I +have wondered during all these years until I met you the other night +what these tiny initials stood for." + +"Marie Norton Heatherford," Mollie repeated with a flush as she observed +the look with which he was regarding the letters. + +Then to dispel the feeling of embarrassment she smilingly added: + +"But, Mr. Faxon, I am afraid I should have felt that I was doing rather +a bold thing to offer a gentleman a ring marked with initials if I had +stopped to think about it that day--not that I regretted the ring, +believe me," she interposed, as he glanced up at her quickly, "it was a +very little thing to express all that I felt, but the letters rather +troubled me. I--I almost hoped you would not find them." + +"Ah! but the initials and the horseshoe have been its chief charm to +me," Clifford returned earnestly; "somehow they seemed to be a link +between the giver and myself, although, of course, I did not know what +they stood for. And, now that I have met you again, may I have your +permission to wear it constantly?" + +"By all means, if you wish--I am sure you will honor my little souvenir +by doing so," Mollie responded with downcast eyes and bounding pulses. + +She began to tell him something of her own life since that day; how a +few days later she and her parents had sailed for Europe to remain for +several years; how she had lost her mother during her sojourn abroad, +and one misfortune followed another until just after her return to this +country the grand crash had come that had made her father penniless. + +"Yes," she said, with a little regretful sigh at an exclamation of +sympathy from Faxon, "papa met with loss after loss, until a year and a +half ago we found that we were literally homeless and almost penniless. +A friend helped him to a position here in Washington, and for a while we +were very comfortable and happy; but papa lost his health, and for +several months past has been very ill--is, in fact, a hopeless invalid." + +"That is very sad," Clifford gravely observed, "and the change in your +life must have seemed hard--even cruel." + +"I don't know as I can say that," said Mollie reflectively; "I believe I +have rather enjoyed the change in some respects." + +"Enjoyed it!" repeated her companion astonished. + +"Yes," Mollie brightly affirmed, "for I then began to feel that I was +really of some use in the world. After papa gave up business I secured a +position, and I am now working regular hours every day; were it not for +my father's pitiable condition, I believe I should be perfectly happy. I +think it is grand to feel that one has the power to win one's own way in +the world." + +Faxon regarded her with mingled admiration and sympathy. He knew just +the feeling she described, for he had experienced the same thrill of +proud independence while working his way through college and also since +he had begun to know something of the real business of life, in spite of +the many crosses and hardships that he had endured. + +Then a wild, sweet hope took possession of his heart as he realized that +she no longer inhabited a sphere so far above him socially that she was, +as he had always believed her to be, utterly beyond his reach. + +She was every whit as poor as himself, according to her own frank +acknowledgment--there was now no golden barrier between them. Why, then, +might he not hope to win her--this fair, brave, sweet girl who had been +the star and the inspiration of his life during the last six years? + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +LANGUAGE OF THE MOSS-ROSE. + + +"And so you do not regret the loss of fortune nor of fortune's friends?" +Clifford questioned, while with the fond, new hope in his heart he +regarded her with more of tenderness in his glance than he was aware of. + +And Mollie flushed beneath his look, more because she was becoming +conscious that something within her was springing forth to meet that +which shone in his eyes than because of embarrassment. + +"I cannot quite say that, Mr. Faxon," she gravely replied, "for I should +be glad of an independent income--even though it was small--that would +enable me to do more for my father and put him under the constant care +of experts; for, in spite of what the physicians have told me, I cannot +quite give up all hope. I cannot bear to think that he must live on +indefinitely in his present darkened mental condition. + +"But as for myself," with an uplifting of her pretty head that denoted +conscious strength, "I do not regret the experience of the last two +years which the loss of fortune has brought me, and which has proved to +me that it is more noble and satisfactory to be a useful woman than a +butterfly of fashion. As for the 'friends of fortune,' that was well +put, Mr. Faxon, for those who have turned the cold shoulder upon me +were simply that and nothing more, and there is nothing to regret. It +is far better to have discovered the truth than to go on being cajoled +and deceived. I may say that there are but few whom I can regard as true +friends, and most of those I have made since I became a working girl. +What a queer world it is, isn't it? What a strange element there is in +humanity, which, as a rule--though there is now and then a rare +exception--does not take into account the real worth of an individual, +but is ready to hug to the heart a mental beggar and a moral leper, +provided he is sufficiently gilded with money. Can you explain it?" + +"I think it can all be summed up in one word, Miss Heatherford, and that +is--selfishness," Clifford replied. + +"Y--es," she thoughtfully assented, "and yet I think I should add pride, +vanity and ostentation." + +"And what is pride but self-esteem, self-conceit? What are vanity and +ostentation but egotism and self-sufficiency?" + +"You are right!" said Mollie, sitting suddenly erect, as if some new +thought had taken possession of her. "Why! I never thought of it before, +but the world--society so-called--is governed by selfishness!" + +"I am afraid that is the fact, as a rule," assented the young man. + +"How dreadful!" sighed his companion; "what veritable heathen idolaters +we are, in spite of our boasted civilization and Christianity; and how +little we know the meaning of the 'Golden Rule!'" + +"That is true; self is the god of this world," said Clifford; "and when +we attempt to analyze humanity we find it in every phase of life. +Royalty 'lifts its crested head' and declares, 'I am enthroned; come not +near, except on bended knee.' The multimillionaire, with lofty air, +says, 'Keep a respectful distance, unless you can match my purse with +one as heavy.' The merchant and banker refuse to associate with their +butcher and grocer; the employer looks down upon his employee; the +mistress upon her maid; and so it goes all along down the line even to +newsboys and bootblacks; for----" and here Faxon laughed, "to +illustrate, I saw two boys on the street the other day; one had a bundle +of papers under his arm; the other was stationed on a corner, with his +kit for blacking boots. 'Hello!' called out the newsboy familiarly and +with an envious glance at the kit, 'how long yer ben at it?' 'Git out!' +cried the youthful proprietor loftily, 'I've gone inter biz for myself, +I have; an' we don't take newsboys inter our 'sociation.' So from the +crowned heads of royalty down to the bootblack, who lords it over the +peddler of papers, because he makes his nickel where the other gets but +a penny, we find the serpent self with its spirit of arrogance and +malicious sting." + +"That is true," said Mollie, with a sigh, "and, worse than all, we find +it even in the churches, where the rich and intellectually proud hold +aloof from the poor widow and orphan and the beggar at their doors, +except, perhaps, to bestow, with lofty patronage a little of their +surplus wealth, and hoping thus to cancel their obligations as +Christians and believe that they have fulfilled the law of Love. Oh, I +am beginning to see how little the meaning of that word is understood." + +"And it never will be understood until the world learns how to 'deny +self' and become 'poor in spirit,' as taught by the Great Teacher +nineteen centuries ago," Clifford supplemented in a reverent tone. + +Mollie bent a thoughtful look upon his face. She thought him the +grandest character she had ever met. No young man of her acquaintance +had ever discussed such subjects in her presence before--they had always +been, for the most part, full of small talk, jest and compliment--and +she knew that most of her girl friends would have regarded such a +conversation as prosy and stupid. + +But she liked it--it seemed to meet something that she had long hungered +for. Faxon had struck a note in nature that vibrated in keenest sympathy +and perfect harmony with his thought, and when they parted that evening +both felt as if they must have known each other for years. + +After that they saw each other frequently. Mollie had invited him to +'come again,' and feeling that she was perfectly sincere, he had not +hesitated to avail himself of the privilege. Each time they met they +were drawn nearer each other, for they liked the same books and authors. +Faxon was a good reader, Mollie an appreciative listener, while they had +many an animated discussion over what they read. + +They attended lectures, concerts and occasionally the theater and opera; +though Mollie would not go often to the latter place because of the +expense, which she doubted that Faxon could afford. But she told herself +that she had never enjoyed a winter, even during her palmiest days, as +she had enjoyed this one. + +She well knew why; she had long known that she loved Clifford Faxon with +all her heart, and she was sure that he returned her affection, although +as yet no word of confession had escaped him. Nevertheless, she had +abundant evidence of the fact in his every act, in every glance of his +eyes and every tone of his voice. Yet she was not impatient--she was +content to bide his time, well knowing that when he felt it right to +speak he would do so. + +Her new happiness added greatly to her loveliness. There was a brighter +light in her deep blue eyes, a sweeter, sunnier smile--if that were +possible--on her lips, a buoyancy, an elasticity in her every movement +and step which plainly betrayed that she loved to live and lived to +love. + +Monsieur Lamonti was quick to observe these things, and wondered within +himself what had caused this radiant change in her. He was not long left +in doubt, for one afternoon he met the lovers, face to face, upon the +street. + +Mollie stopped short in his path and greeted him cordially; then, with +beaming eyes and heightened color, introduced her companion. The three +stood chatting for a few moments, then parted and went their different +ways. + +The next morning Monsieur Lamonti interrupted Mollie in her work, and, +after discussing two or three questions relating to business, suddenly +inquired: + +"By the way, mademoiselle, allow me to ask who was the gentleman to whom +you introduced me yesterday? His name, of course, I know--Monsieur +Faxon--but is he an old or a new friend?" + +Mollie blushed delightfully at the question. + +"He is both, monsieur, if you can comprehend anything so paradoxical," +she said with a musical little laugh of rippling happiness, and which +called an answering smile to her listener's lips. Then she went on and +frankly told him the whole of Cliff's history as far as she knew it, +from the time of her first meeting with him in the station at New Haven +to his coming to Washington, while Monsieur Lamonti appeared greatly +interested, and reading in the girl's every look and tone the sweet +love-story that was making her life so beautiful. + +"Ah," he observed when she concluded, "Mr. Faxon is a self-made man; he +is doubtless a noble young man. I am sure he will rise yet higher and do +himself honor." + +Mollie smiled with pleasure at his commendation of her lover. + +"I also am sure he will," she said with shining eyes. + +"And what is he doing now, mademoiselle?" queried the gentleman. + +"At present he is in the Patent Office, with the expectation of a +promotion at the beginning of the year." + +"Well, mademoiselle, it is evident he is a fine young fellow; he +certainly looks it; I am truly glad you have such a friend," said +Monsieur Lamonti, with a kindness and sincerity that touched Mollie +deeply. + +He resumed his writing, and nothing more was said upon the subject, but +Mollie observed that, from time to time, he paused in his work and gazed +abstractedly out of the window, as if his thoughts were busy elsewhere. + +A few days later on reaching the office she found a note from Clifford, +asking if she would go with him the following evening to hear Madam +Melba in "Faust." + +He mentioned the fact that he was well acquainted with a prominent +member of the company, who had offered him complimentary tickets for a +box or any seats which he might prefer elsewhere in the house, and would +she please signify which she would like best. + +Mollie smiled as she read the note. She knew it would be the "first +night" of the opera, and she understood that Clifford feared that she +either might not be able or wish to appear in evening dress, and so had +given her a choice of seats, while, too, it would settle the question +regarding what his own attire should be. + +She responded cordially, saying she would be delighted to hear Melba, +and would enjoy the box if it would be agreeable to him. Clifford wrote +a clear, symmetrical hand, and before returning his missive to its +envelope Mollie passed it to Monsieur Lamonti, remarking that perhaps he +would like to see Mr. Faxon's penmanship. + +"People claim, you know," she said, smiling, "that there is a great +deal of character expressed in a person's handwriting." + +Monsieur Lamonti read the note, then passed it back to her with the +observation: + +"It is certainly a fine hand, mademoiselle, and if it is an exponent of +Mr. Faxon's character, I should judge him to be a frank, honest, +high-minded young man." + +Mollie was, of course, pleased with this tribute to her lover, for she +saw that it was sincere, while she knew that Monsieur Lamonti was a keen +observer, and she was sure that he regarded Clifford with approbation. + +The next afternoon, while she was putting some finishing touches to an +evening dress which she had remodeled to wear to the opera, Monsieur +Lamonti's coachman drove to the door, and a few moments later Eliza came +to her, bringing a good-sized box. + +On opening it, Mollie gave a cry of delight as her eyes fell upon a rare +collection of hot-house flowers, whose perfume filled the room, and +which she well knew, without glancing at the accompanying card, had been +culled from the greenhouse of her good friend. + +"How kind, how thoughtful he always is!" she murmured appreciatively as +she buried her face in the mass of luxuriant bloom to inhale the +delicious fragrance. + +Later, when Clifford called for her she was radiantly lovely in her +rich, lustrous silk of pale blue, another creation of Worth's, and a +remnant of her old-time glory which had long been packed away as +unsuitable to wear in her present circumstances. The dress, with a few +alterations, seemed almost like new. + +She wore diamonds upon her neck and in her ears; also a dazzling +ornament in her golden hair, for her jewels--many of which had been her +mother's--had also been carefully stowed away, her father having +insisted that she should keep them, although she had cheerfully offered +to relinquish every one if such sacrifice would lighten his burdens in +any way. But he had told her, "No; every debt would be paid, and the +gems were too sacred to be surrendered." + +Her hands and arms were encased in long white gloves, chosen from the +box with which Monsieur Lamonti had presented her, and as Faxon entered, +she was just tying a long ribbon around a bouquet which she had arranged +from Monsieur Lamonti's floral offering. + +The young man's eyes glowed with tender admiration as Mollie went +forward to meet him. + +"Ah," he said ingenuously and with a thrill of fondness in his voice as +he clasped her extended hand, "I am so glad you chose the box." + +Mollie laughed musically, for his words told her that he had hoped to +find her in evening dress, and was more than pleased with her +appearance. + +"It was very kind of you to give me the option," she replied with a +glance which plainly told him that she had understood his motive and +thoroughly appreciated it. + +"Well," he observed, with a twinkle in his handsome eyes, "I thought we +might as well make the most of our opportunity. What lovely flowers!" + +"They are, indeed!" she returned. "Monsieur Lamonti sent them." + +Then as she glanced at the lapel of his coat she continued: "And you +must have a boutonniere; may I select something for you?" + +"Not if you will have to rob this; I would not have a single blossom +disarranged," said Clifford, as he eyed the bouquet admiringly. + +"Oh, no; I have quantities more," said Mollie, as she gently released +the hand which he had unconsciously been holding and turned to a table +which there was a large glass dish filled with flowers. + +She bent over them and paused to consider what she would offer him. +Presently she detached three small crimson moss-rosebuds with a single +spray of green leaves and held them up before him. + +"Will you wear these?" she queried. + +A great shock went coursing through Clifford as he took them from her +white gloved hands and regarded them with a yearning look. + +Then his eyes--almost black now with the intensity of his +emotion--sought her face. + +"May I?" he breathed, "may I wear them with the assurance of what they +express? Do you know the language of the red moss-rosebud, Mollie?" + +A scarlet flood leaped to the fair girl's temples as she realized, too +late, the significance of her gift; while his use of her given name, for +the first time, set every pulse to bounding wildly. She lifted a +startled look to his face; then as quickly her golden lashes dropped +upon her flaming cheeks. + +"Yes, I know," she murmured, "but I did not think of it when I chose +them." + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +MONSIEUR LAMONTI'S DEATH. + + +"I know you did not, love," Clifford returned as he bent forward and +gathered both her hands into his, "and it was an unfair question, I am +afraid. But I love you, dear--I love you. You must have seen it, you +must have read it for weeks, for my every thought has been of and for +you, and sometimes I have even dared to think that your thought has been +responsive to mine, assuring me that I had won your heart, and that my +future is to be crowned with the supreme blessing of your love. You do +not turn from me--you do not take your hands from mine--may I hope, +Mollie? Tell me that you love me--that you will be my wife when I shall +have won a position worthy to offer you. May I wear the buds as the +token of your assent? Oh, my darling, where can I find language to tell +you all that is in my heart? Tell me--tell me!" + +His passionate emotion moved her deeply, although his voice had been +raised scarcely above a whisper. His fond words, his rich, thrilling +tones were like the solemn notes of an organ. She never had been so +supremely happy in her life as at that moment, and yet she wanted to +weep. + +But her whole heart went out to him. She lifted her eyes to his and they +were brimming with tears. + +"Yes, you know--you must have long known that I love you, Clifford," +she whispered. + +He could not speak for the moment. He was white, even to his lips, with +joy that was beyond words. He lifted her hands and laid them about his +neck; then his arms slid around her graceful form and drew her to his +breast, where he held her close--so close that she could both feel and +hear the throbbing of his heart. + +They stood thus for a few moments, speechless from the consciousness of +the sacred union. At length Clifford gently released her and, fondly +placing one hand beneath her chin, lifted her face and scanned it +earnestly. + +"Tears?" he said softly. + +"Yes," said Mollie, with a shy, sweet laugh, "my cup is so full it +cannot hold all my joy, and some had to brim over." + +"Sweetheart!" he murmured, but he still continued to study her face with +a look that seemed to have something of wonderment in it. + +"Why do you look at me like that? Of what are you thinking?" Mollie +inquired. + +"I am wondering how it would have been with us if Mr. Heatherford had +never lost his millions," said the young man reflectively. + +"Clifford!" cried Mollie, in a tone of reproach, "you know I should have +loved you just the same; but I am glad that I am poor, for I am awfully +afraid if I had not been, you would have been too proud to tell me what +you have told me to-night." + +"Suppose such had been the case?" he smilingly questioned. + +"I--I think I should have made you confess it somehow," she replied with +an imperative little tap of her foot, "or"--with a gleam of mischief in +her happy eyes, "I might have unsexed myself and proposed to you--oh! I +am afraid I almost did as it is," she concluded, flushing again rosily +as she thought of the rosebuds. + +He laughed joyously and caught her to him again; then, bending his +handsome head, he kissed her softly, reverently on her lips. + +"I shall never wear anything but the red moss-rose after this," he said, +"and now after you have fastened them in for me, we must go, or we shall +be late for the opera. And I nearly forget, dear--I have tickets for +to-morrow night to see Willard in the 'Professor's Love-story.'" + +"Aren't you getting dissipated, Cliff?" questioned Mollie chidingly. + +"Wouldn't you like to see the play?" + +Mollie took the rosebuds daintily in her white-gloved fingers, shot a +sly glance up at him as she kissed them, then slipped them deftly into +the buttonhole and fastened them there. + +"Yes. Willard is fine," she said, "but I'm afraid that I am not quite so +deeply interested in the 'Professor's Love-story' just at present as I +am in my own." + +"My darling!" said Faxon in a voice that was tremulous with his new, +great happiness as he pressed his lips upon her white forehead. Then he +lifted a beautiful opera-cloak that was hanging over a chair, and laid +it over her shoulders. + +It was made of white brocaded satin, trimmed with ermine, and her +golden-crowned head, with the crescent of flashing diamonds rising out +of its snowy whiteness, made him think of some rare and beautiful +flower. + +"My own, you look like a queen in your coronation-robe, and I feel like +a king who has just been crowned," he fondly murmured as he fastened the +silver clasp beneath her chin. + +"You are a king, Cliff--my king," Mollie softly responded. + +A minute later they were rolling swiftly up-town, sitting hand in hand +and feeling as if an enchanted future lay before them. + +The house was filled and brilliant with a first-night audience as they +stepped within their box, and many a glass was leveled at the peerlessly +beautiful girl and her handsome escort, with expressions of mingled +admiration, wonder, and curiosity. As it happened, Philip Wentworth and +his mother were located in the box directly opposite, and both gave a +start of undisguised surprise as Mollie took her seat, for they +recognized her instantly. + +"Why, Phil!" exclaimed Mrs. Temple, "she really looks like the old-time +Mollie, doesn't she? She still has her diamonds, I see, and I suppose no +one here would believe she had ever worn that dress before. I recognize +it, however, although I must confess it looks just as fresh as it did +when she arrived from Paris. She is downright beautiful, Phil! Oh, dear! +I wish they hadn't lost their money. Do you know who that is with her? +It seems as if I had seen him before." + +"He's that cad Faxon--blast him!" Philip replied, his face flaming with +sudden anger and shame. + +"Why do you call him that, Phil?--he certainly looks like a gentleman. +Oh, by the way, isn't he the young man who worked his own way through +Harvard and took the second honor in your class?" + +"Yes." + +"And he is the one who had that ring of Mollie's. Did you ever find out +how he came by it?" + +"No." He preferred to lie about it rather than explain Faxon's heroic +deed. + +"Mercy, Phil, how monosyllabic you are," said Mrs. Temple as she shot a +curious sidelong glance at him. "I fully intended to ask Mollie about it +when she returned, but I never thought of it. Have you any idea how he +became acquainted with Mollie?" + +"How should I know?" queried Philip evasively, but he found great +difficulty in controlling himself sufficiently to preserve a respectful +tone, and his hands were so tightly clenched that the nails actually cut +the palms. + +The sight of the couple opposite had brought vividly to his mind the +night when he had overtaken and insulted Mollie upon the street and +Faxon had come to the rescue. He had never seen either of them since, +but he had felt deeply humiliated every time he had thought of the +affair, and his old hatred of Clifford increased a hundred-fold in view +of the indignity, merited though it was, that he had suffered at his +hands. + +"How handsome he is!" he mentally exclaimed as he studied those bright +faces. "He is dressed in the very latest style, too, and I wonder where +he gets the cash to sport a box? And Mollie--she is just too lovely for +anything!" A shaft of pain went quivering through him from head to foot +as he feasted his eyes upon her beauty. + +"There is no one like her--and I love her in spite of everything," he +went on, choking back something very like a sob, "but, of course, she +must positively hate me now. What a fool I was not to have made sure +that she was a stranger before I spoke to her that night!" + +These were some of the thoughts which thronged Philip Wentworth's brain +as he sat and watched the young couple, paying very little heed to the +brilliant prima donna on the stage. + +The footlights were bright enough to enable him to see their every +movement--almost their every look, and he was quick to observe Faxon's +tender glance and manner whenever he addressed his fair companion; while +Mollie's varying color, the glad light in her eyes, whenever they met +his, and the happy smiles that rippled over her lips were simply +maddening to his jealous heart, and aroused a terrible fear within him. + +"By Jove!" he said to himself, a cold chill creeping over him. "I +believe, upon my soul that there is an understanding between them, and +it would certainly cap the climax of the worst I ever dreamed if he +should win her." + +He could not tell whether Mollie was conscious of his and his mother's +presence or not. Of course, he knew that the occupants of one box were +just as conspicuous as those in another, and two or three times he had +seen her lift her gold-mounted glass and sweep the house. But if she had +seen them she gave no sign of the fact. + +He wondered if she would preserve the strict letter of the sentence +which she had pronounced upon him the last time they met, if he should +happen to encounter her again, and he was soon to have that question +settled beyond all doubt. + +When the opera was over and while Mollie and Clifford were waiting at +the entrance of the theater for their carriage, Philip and his mother +came upon them suddenly. + +Mrs. Temple, finished woman of the world though she was, was taken aback +a trifle, and the warm color flushed to her face. Yet she greeted Mollie +with something of her old-time cordiality, for the girl was so +exquisitely lovely that her heart involuntarily warmed toward her. + +Still there was a certain reserve in her manner which Mollie was quick +to feel, although she responded with equal courtesy. She was keenly +sensitive to the fact also that Mrs. Temple had felt no interest to seek +her out, even though she had been in Washington many weeks; but, at the +same time, she bore herself with a quiet dignity, which plainly +betrayed that it would take more than the loss of property and +fair-weather friends to crush either her spirit or self-respect. +Moreover, when Phil advanced as his mother moved on she looked him full +in the face and gave him the cut direct. + +He was as white as his immaculate tie as he strode on, inwardly foaming +with mingled rage and mortification. He knew now that she would adhere +to what she had said. She had taken her stand and would maintain it, and +he realized that he fully merited the punishment meted out to him. But +to see her standing so proudly by the side of the man whom he both +envied and hated, and leaning upon his arm with that air of confidence +and content, was almost more than he could endure and retain his +self-control. + +Clifford had been a deeply interested observer of the little scene. +Philip Wentworth and his mother had taken no more notice of him than if +he had been simply one of the pillars which supported the arch above +them. + +Mollie also had observed Philip's slight and resented it, her hand +involuntarily closing over Cliff's arm, and thus betraying her +indignation. Possibly she might not have been quite so frigidly +statuesque but for that. + +"I did not care to introduce you to Mrs. Temple, dear," she explained to +Clifford as soon as they were seated in their carriage. "I am afraid, +though, it made it a trifle awkward for you; but I hope you do not +mind." + +"Not in the least, for, of course, it was her place to recognize me, +since we had met before," Faxon smilingly returned. + +"What!" cried Mollie, in resentful astonishment, "and she presumed to +ignore you!" + +"It is barely possible that she did not recognize me," the young man +quietly replied, although he was quite sure to the contrary, for he had +not been unobservant of the interest which the occupants of the box +opposite his own had manifested in connection with Mollie and himself +during the evening. + +Then he told her something of the circumstances of his meeting with Mr. +Temple on the campus at Cambridge four years previous. + +"Well, it is the way of the world I suppose," said Mollie with a gentle +sigh. "She used to appear to be very fond of me when we lived in New +York, and we have exchanged visits many times, but she, like others, has +given me a very cold shoulder since I became the child of misfortune, +and what makes it seem worse in this case is the fact that Mr. Temple +was responsible for the climax of my father's financial ruin." + +She explained as well as she was able how this had happened, but the +lovers soon drifted to more agreeable topics, and, caring little for +either the smiles or frowns of the Temples, or of any one else, in fact, +for they were far too deeply absorbed in their own new-found +happiness--their world, for the present at least, was circumscribed by +each other and their individual interests. + +But for Mollie the tables were soon to be turned by a most unexpected +and signal triumph--a triumph which caused many an old friend (?) a +taste of bitter regret and mortification. + +About a week later, on entering Monsieur Lamonti's office, she found +her friend absent and a note lying on her desk. It proved to be from her +employer, who mentioned that he was a trifle under the weather, but +requested that she would go on with her work as far as she was able and +then come to him for instructions. + +She worked diligently until nearly noon, then, finding that she could do +no more without explicit directions, she donned her hat and jacket and +proceeded to Monsieur Lamonti's residence. + +She found him ill in bed with a violent cold, and quite feverish, but he +assured her that he would be all right in a day or two, when he would +rejoin her at the office. + +But the next morning a note from Nannette announced that he was worse, +and as Mollie could not work alone, she went to the house, where she +spent most of the day caring for Lucille, in order to allow the maid to +give her undivided attention to her master. She left about five o'clock +feeling greatly depressed, for Monsieur Lamonti had grown steadily +worse, and the physician had told her that he was a very sick man, +though he might pull through--a few hours would decide the matter. + +Faxon spent the evening with her, and she was somewhat cheered by his +presence. He left her at ten, but had not been gone fifteen minutes when +Mollie heard a carriage dash up to the door and the next moment the bell +clanged a vigorous and imperative peal. + +She rushed to the door to find Monsieur Lamonti's footman standing +without and looking pale and anxious. + +"Oh! what is it?" she breathed in an almost inarticulate voice. + +"The master is going, miss, for sure, and wants to see you," the man +replied. + +Mollie seized a long wrap and, while she was fastening it about her, +explained to Eliza that she should be away all night. The next minute +she was inside the carriage and being whirled at a rapid rate toward the +Lamonti mansion. + +She was comparatively calm when she arrived and followed the weeping +Nannette to her master's room without a word, although she held the +girl's hand in a clasp of sympathy on the way hither. + +She was terribly shocked at the change in her kind friend which the last +few hours had made, but she gave no outward sign of this except that she +was very pale. + +She found the physician, a trained nurse, and Monsieur Lamonti's lawyer +present; but paying no heed to them she walked quietly to the bedside, +where she sat down and took the hand which the man weakly extended to +her. He was white as wax, but very calm, and smiled as his fingers +closed over hers. He glanced up at his lawyer. + +"Tell them to go out," he said, indicating the nurse, Nannette, and the +physician, and as they passed from the room Mollie bent over her friend. + +"You sent for me," she said gently, "what can I do for you?" + +"Just this, mademoiselle," he replied gravely, but speaking with +difficulty, "you have promised to care for my Lucille, to rear and +educate her carefully, to be, in fact, a mother to her, as well as her +legal guardian until she is of age or marries?" + +"Yes," briefly but solemnly assented Mollie. + +He thanked her with a little pressure of her hand. + +"I have left explicit instructions," he resumed after a moment. "I have +made all my wishes known in my will. Promise me that you will heed them +all, that every one shall be carried out as I have directed," he +concluded with impressive earnestness. + +"I know you would not ask anything impossible of me, dear friend, so I +cheerfully promise," Mollie unhesitatingly responded. + +"Swear it, mademoiselle," said Monsieur Lamonti, glancing at the +prayerbook which lay beside his pillow. + +Mollie's lips trembled; the scene was becoming very trying to her. + +"I will swear if monsieur wishes; but my word would be just as sacred to +me as an oath," she said gently. + +The man smiled up at her. + +"That is enough--I am satisfied," he said, "and Mr. Ashley here already +knows that I trust you implicitly, as I would my own daughter had she +lived. Now, my child, let me add that you have been a great comfort to +me; do not forget in the days to come that you made the last few months +of a lonely, almost heart-broken man, much the brighter by your sweet +presence, and the highest tribute I can show you is to trust you with my +one earthly treasure--my Lucille. Now, I will not keep you, +mademoiselle, adieu, and may the good God forever bless you and yours." + +Mollie arose. She felt that she could scarcely have borne another word; +her throat was almost convulsed, her eyes heavy with unshed tears, and +yet she must not weep before him. + +She could not speak, but she bent down and left a light caress upon the +man's forehead, then swiftly but noiselessly passed from the room. + +At the door she turned for one last look at her friend, to find his eyes +fastened upon her, and in them a light of peace and gladness that she +had never seen in them before. The memory of it never left her. That +night Monsieur Lamonti passed away, and all Washington was grieved and +shocked to read of it the following day. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +THE SOCIAL WORLD SURPRISED. + + +A few days later another ripple of excitement was created among the +elite of the nation's capital when the contents of Monsieur Lamonti's +will were made known, and it was learned that a young and beautiful +woman had been made the guardian of the distinguished gentleman's +granddaughter and the executrix of the important testament. The document +was simple and concise, but betrayed careful thought, and the fact that +the testator knew exactly what he was about, for there was not a flaw in +it that could possibly have been contested, had any one been disposed to +do so. + +It provided that all real estate, horses, carriages, plate, books, +pictures, and choice bric-a-brac, together with certain stocks and bonds +therein named, were to become the sole property of his beloved +granddaughter, Lucille Gillette, to be held in trust for her, without +bonds, until she arrived at the age of twenty-one or married, by +Mademoiselle Marie Norton Heatherford, for whom the testator entertained +the most profound esteem, and in whom he placed the utmost confidence, +and who was hereby authorized and entreated to carry out his +instructions to the letter, to wit: that she would legally adopt said +Lucille Gillette as her own child, allowing her to retain her present +name, and rear and educate her as tenderly and carefully as if she were +indeed her own flesh and blood. Then there followed several minor +bequests and requests, supplemented by something that was to make a +radical change in Mollie's future. + +In return for assuming said responsibilities, said Mademoiselle +Heatherford would please accept the testator's deepest gratitude, +together with, as a slight testimonial of the same, the residue of all +that he possessed. + +The will further provided that Mademoiselle Heatherford was to exercise +perfect freedom in the choice of a place of residence; she was at +liberty to occupy the present home of the youthful heiress, retaining +the same number of servants, horses, and carriages, or dispose of the +property and reside elsewhere, as she chose; the only stipulation being +that she should always live in a style befitting the fortune and +position of the testator's grandchild, all expenses to be paid out of +the income of said grandchild, the bequest of Mademoiselle Heatherford +being intended for her own private use and disposal. + +She was advised to retain Monsieur Lamonti's present lawyer, as the +testator regarded him a trustworthy and competent attorney; but she was +not bound in any way to do so, if circumstances or her judgment should +at any time dictate otherwise. + +Of course, Mollie had expected something of this kind, in the event of +Monsieur Lamonti's demise, for she had agreed to accept the charge of +Lucille; but she was not prepared for, and was somewhat appalled by, +the magnitude of the fortune which she would be required to manage in +the future, and the absolute freedom from conditions and restrictions in +which she found herself placed. Regarding the bequest to herself, she +did not at first give much thought to it. Monsieur Lamonti, when talking +the matter over with her, had assured her that she would receive ample +remuneration, and she had inferred that she would, perhaps, be paid a +salary--possibly somewhat increased--the same as she had been getting +from him monthly for her services as private secretary. + +His stating her remuneration in the blind way "as the residue of his +property" she imagined might have been so expressed to save her feelings +and prevent the curious public from knowing the amount she was to be +paid for her services. + +But a great surprise was in store for her. She was, of course obliged to +consult with Monsieur Lamonti's lawyer, Mr. Ashley, in order to become +familiar with all the details regarding her duties in connection with +the property which she was to administer, and then she found that "the +little Lucille" was a veritable little princess--that she was heiress to +a most magnificent fortune. + +"Oh, Mr. Ashley! I never can manage it. I am utterly incompetent!" she +exclaimed in deep distress, when she began to comprehend something of +the condition of affairs. The lawyer smiled. + +"Of course, you are not expected to act alone; you must have help; your +friend had no intention of having you harassed with pecuniary burdens. +He left everything in excellent condition, and I assure you there will +be no complications. I have everything in a nutshell, so to speak, +though I confess it is a good big nut, and I am sure, from what Mr. +Lamonti has told me regarding your business-capacity, that you will +readily understand everything when I place my statements before you. +But, Miss Heatherford, let us now talk about your own fortune. I shall +want to know just what disposition to make of it." + +"Fortune!" repeated Mollie, astonished. "I imagine you magnify Monsieur +Lamonti's bequest to me; you dignify it by too high-sounding a name." + +"He has left you exactly one-fourth of all that he possessed, Miss +Heatherford," Mr. Ashley quietly returned. + +"One-fourth!" + +At first the words did not seem to mean much to Mollie. Then, as her +active mind began to grasp the situation, she started violently, +flushed, then paled. + +"Mr. Ashley! you do not mean that! I--it cannot be possible!" she gasped +in breathless astonishment. "Why! that would be----" + +"Yes, exactly; since you already know what Lucille's fortune amounts to, +it is comparatively an easy matter to compute your own," smilingly +returned her companion, and thoroughly enjoying the surprise of the +beautiful girl, for whom, although he had only recently made her +acquaintance, he was rapidly acquiring a great admiration and respect. + +"But I never dreamed of anything like this!" Mollie panted, for she was +actually quivering with excitement. "Oh! It does not seem right. I have +done nothing to deserve so much. I cannot accept it." + +"But, my dear Miss Heatherford, you have no alternative," Mr. Ashley +quietly observed. "Monsieur Lamonti has decreed what shall be done with +his property, and you gave him your solemn promise, in my presence, that +you would attend to having his wishes carried out to the letter." + +"Ah! that was why he sent for me the night he--went away; that was why +he was so particular, so explicit; that is why he tried to make me +'swear' that I would do as he wished," said Mollie, still looking much +disturbed. "Did you know at that time why he was so insistent?" + +"Yes. I had been with him a portion of every day during his illness, +helping him draw up the will," the gentleman replied. "You did not +'swear,' Miss Heatherford, but you told him that your word would be just +as sacred to you as an oath." + +"Yes, I did; but I did not once suspect that he would put me to such a +test; and, truly, I feel as if I have no moral right to such an amount, +independent of all my expenses, as the will states. Why! it will make +me, also, a rich woman!" Mollie concluded, with a look of real trouble +in her eyes. + +"Yes, it is certainly a very handsome plum, my dear young lady," Mr. +Ashley assented, with a satisfied nod of his head; "while as for the +right of the matter, allow me to say I consider that you have every +right to it. In the first place, you are wronging no one living by +accepting it, for little Miss Lucille Gillette will have more money +than she will ever know what to do with. I will also say that I think +you would wrong your late friend, Monsieur Lamonti, by rejecting the +provision he has made for you, for he gave me some of his reasons for +wishing to settle this amount upon you. For one thing, you saved the +life of his granddaughter, did you not?" + +"I--suppose I did," Mollie admitted rather reluctantly, then added: "But +any one else would have done the same thing under the same +circumstances." + +"That may be very true; at the same time, I cannot see that such a view +of the case detracts in the least from the heroism of your act, or +lessens one whit the obligation which Monsieur Lamonti would naturally +feel," the lawyer argued. "Then I understand that you were in his employ +for some time, and not only served him most faithfully, winning his +highest esteem and entire confidence, but----" + +"Well, but he paid me generously," Mollie hastily interposed, and +feeling decidedly uncomfortable to have her services so overestimated. + +"Pardon me, Miss Heatherford," Mr. Ashley laughingly retorted, "but I +can't have my argument spoiled in that way. I was about to say that you +also saved your friend a great loss, not only of money, but of valuables +which no money could replace. Am I right?" + +"Yes," faltered Mollie. Then she laughed out rather nervously, and +continued: "I perceive, Mr. Ashley, that you are determined to corner +me, and I think it might be well for me to withdraw from the argument." + +"Then it will have to be a one-sided one for a while longer, as I +perceive you are not yet quite reconciled," her companion returned, with +a smile. Then he observed very gravely: "There are some things which +money can never repay, Miss Heatherford, and I am sure that Monsieur +Lamonti felt that when he was making his will. Leaving all that had +occurred, for which he felt there was no adequate return, out of the +question, the fact that you were willing to assume the care of his +little one relieved his heart of an incalculable burden." + +"But I love Lucille; she is a dear child, and it will be a pleasure to +me to care for her," broke in Mollie earnestly. + +"You are condemning yourself, my young friend," said the lawyer, with +twinkling eyes, "for don't you see that money is no recompense for such +an interest in any one; then you have pledged yourself to be a mother to +her, according to your highest conception of the word; you are to watch +and guard her development; you are to see that she is properly educated +for the position she will occupy by and by; you have sacredly promised +to do everything in your power to make her a true and noble woman, and +thus you are accountable in a great measure for her future. If I might +be allowed to judge--and I have dear children of my own--I should say +that no pecuniary emolument could ever balance such responsibilities. +Now, let me advise you not to feel burdened by the bequest of your good +friend, but accept it in the same spirit in which it was bestowed; take +up your new duties cheerfully, and try to be just as happy as possible +in your future sphere--a sphere which, if I am not mistaken, you are +eminently fitted to grace. Don't you think that such a course would +better please Monsieur Lamonti, if he could speak, than to reject, from +an oversensitiveness, what I know he must have regarded as a small +return for what he owed you in the past and all that he has asked of you +for the future?" + +Mollie was silent for a few minutes, while she gravely considered what +he had said, and tried to realize how she herself would have felt if the +positions had been reversed. At length she looked up with clear eyes and +her own sunny smile. + +"You are right, Mr. Ashley," she said, "you have made me see things in a +different light, and yet I think it will take me some time to get over +the feeling, in view of all the wealth that has come upon me, like an +avalanche, to manage, that I have an embarrassment of riches." + +"Do not be troubled," the gentleman kindly returned, "for if affairs are +managed in the future as they have been in the past--I mean according to +Monsieur Lamonti's system--you will find that everything will move along +very smoothly." + +"You are surely very comforting," Mollie observed, her heart beginning +to grow light once more. "Of course, you must be my counselor, and I +trust you will not mind if I come to you with all my troubles, as +freely as if I were your own daughter, at least until I become +accustomed to my new duties." + +And the gentleman said he should be very happy to have her honor him +with her confidence to such an extent. + +In spite of the blind way in which Monsieur Lamonti had worded his +bequest to Mollie, it became noised abroad that the future guardian of +the youthful heiress had herself been very handsomely dowered, and +immediately all Washington became intensely interested in her. The +romantic incidents connected with the saving of the child's life and the +capturing of the midnight burglar--for that, also, had been whispered +about--the beauty and refinement of Miss Heatherford, whom numberless +people now began to remember as a previous New York belle, became, for +the time, the talk of society, and much interest and curiosity were +manifested regarding her plans for the future. + +Would she remain in Washington and maintain the fine establishment of +the late millionaire, or would she retire to some place where she would +not be so closely watched during the minority and educating of her young +charge? Would she enter society again, after a proper season of +seclusion out of respect to Monsieur Lamonti, entertain and be +entertained, and finally be won by some aspiring young man of the world? + +Of course, Mollie's early life and training had well fitted her to +preside in the palatial home of Lucille, and to shine among the most +distinguished people of Washington, or, indeed, of any city; and, +although she did not give much thought to society just now, there was +much to induce her to remain where she was. + +She believed that her friend would prefer her to do so, at least for the +present, and preserve his home just as he had left it, that Lucille +might not too soon forget him; while, as she thought the matter over in +all its bearings, it seemed almost like sacrilege to her to displace the +beautiful furnishings and many treasures of art which had been so +carefully purchased and arranged under his supervision; the servants +were all well trained and trustworthy, and it would have entailed an +infinite amount of perplexity and labor to make any change, and even +though she felt that the responsibility of keeping up such an extensive +establishment would be very great, she finally decided it was the right +thing for her to do. Moreover, and it was the greatest inducement of +all, Cliff was to remain indefinitely in Washington, and she felt that +she could not be separated from him. + +So her modest little home, in the humble street where they had lived for +nearly two years, was broken up. Mr. Heatherford was removed to the +pleasantest suite of rooms in the Lamonti residence, and the faithful +Eliza was retained to act solely as his nurse and attendant. + +"Poor, dear papa!" Mollie sighed as she bent fondly over him, after he +was comfortably settled in a sunny south window of his luxurious +apartment, "if you could only realize the good fortune that has come to +us, after our battle with poverty, I should be perfectly happy." + +When Faxon first learned of the great change that had come into +Mollie's life so unexpectedly he looked anything but pleased. + +"So, dear, you now belong to another sphere," he observed, with a +quickly repressed sigh, "or, perhaps, I should have said you have been +restored to your proper sphere." + +"Cliff," said Mollie reprovingly, but with a light on her face which +expressed far more than her words, "I belong alone to you--your sphere +will always be mine, unless--oh, you grand, aspiring fellow!--I am +unable to keep up with you mentally as you climb the ladder of fame." + +The young man's arms closed around her in a fond embrace, but a sudden +contraction in his throat would not admit of his speaking for the +moment. This little revelation of her great and absorbing love for him +moved him deeply. Mollie observed it, and, flashing a sly, mischievous +glance into his face, she demurely remarked: + +"I'm very sorry, Cliff, if you are going to feel burdened to take me +with the appendage that has been thrust upon me. Of course, you know I +would rather have you than the fortune--love in the proverbial cottage +with you than the whole world without you--but since I cannot get rid of +the fortune, I don't see but that you will have to take me just as I am, +be it for 'better or worse.'" + +"Mollie! Mollie!" murmured Faxon, in a voice that almost made her +weep--it was so intense from the emotion which nearly mastered +him--"what a rare, sweet woman you are!" + +He was silent for a moment, and then he resumed with more self-control. + +"I dared to love you when you were 'Miss Heatherford the heiress,' but I +should not have presumed to try to win you while you were rich and I was +poor. I have been so glad and proud to have won you while we were on the +same plane socially, and to feel that we love each other for just what +we are. I have exulted in the thought that it would be my privilege to +work for you, and, perchance, restore you to the position you once +occupied; but since I am to be denied that I can only bend all my +energies toward making my name one that you will be proud to bear by and +by." + +"I am already proud of it, dear," said Mollie, with beaming eyes, "but I +shall be even more so when it becomes my own." + +Clifford's answer to this loving tribute need not be recorded, but, +judging from the sweet laugh which rippled over Mollie's lips, it was +entirely satisfactory. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +MR. HEATHERFORD'S RECOVERY. + + +Immediately after Mr. Heatherford's removal to the Lamonti mansion, +Mollie resolved to make one more desperate effort for his recovery and +to spare no expense to put him under the most noted specialists for +diseases of the brain that could be secured. After making diligent +inquiries, she decided to send for Doctor ----, of New York, to come to +Washington and diagnose her father's case. The great man came, but, +after a careful and protracted examination, pronounced the fatal +verdict, which she so dreaded to hear. + +"Miss Heatherford, it pains me deeply to have to tell you that there is +not the slightest ray of hope, as far as I can see," he said, and then +lapsed into a learned description of the patient's condition, describing +the state of his brain, the probable progress of the disease, and its +inevitable termination, while Mollie felt as if she would herself become +distracted before he concluded his terrible picture. + +"Oh!" she cried at last, "then he must live on like this indefinitely, +growing gradually more and more helpless! He is never to know anything +more of life, never even give me, his only child, one fond word or look +of recognition! How can I bear it?" + +"My dear young lady, it is hard, I know," said the physician kindly, +and deeply touched by the tearless grief, "and were it in my power to +give you the least encouragement, I should be more than glad to do so. I +have given you my opinion of the case as it appears to me," he went on +after a moment of deep thought, "but if it would comfort you any to make +one more trial, I will suggest that a noted Paris specialist, who is now +in this country, be called to examine Mr. Heatherford. There is no +higher authority in the world that I know of." + +Mollie grasped eagerly at this straw, and the highest authority in the +world, the great Paris doctor, was sent for at once. He came and went; +but he left behind him only bitter disappointment and a sentence of +doom. + +Poor Mollie, who had hoped against hope, was utterly prostrated for a +time in view of this ultimatum. She shut herself into her room to meet +this terrible blow and fight her battle out where no eye could witness +her anguish. + +The fate to which her father had been doomed by the verdict of the +doctors seemed absolutely unbearable, and she cried aloud in her anguish +that she would not submit to it. + +She was nearly worn out with this conflict by luncheon-time, two hours +and more after the departure of the Paris authority, and was only able +to drink a cup of tea when her maid brought a temptingly arranged tray +to her; but she felt that she could not live through the afternoon, left +alone with her own thoughts, and finally, ringing for Nannette, she +ordered her to make Lucille ready for a drive, and half an hour later +found them rolling out toward the Washington monument. They drove for +nearly two hours, and then Mollie ordered the coachman to turn toward +home. + +As the carriage was passing through Fourteenth Street something caught +Mollie's eye--something which made her sit suddenly erect, while a look +of eager interest swept over her pale, lovely face. The object which had +attracted her attention was a very modest sign hanging in a window. + +It read thus: "John L. Freeman, Christian Science Healer," and into the +girl's mind flashed the thought, accompanied by a wild hope: "Perhaps +that man can help my father--I have heard that Christian Scientists do +wonderful things." + +Almost before she was aware of what she was doing, she had ordered the +driver to stop, when, taking Lucille by the hand, she alighted, mounted +the steps, and rang the bell of the house where Mr. Freeman resided. + +Then, as the tinkle of the bell came to her ears, she suddenly began to +feel ashamed of her errand, for she had always been both skeptical and +intolerant of all such "metaphysical nonsense," as she had termed it. + +She was half-tempted to beat a hasty retreat, and perhaps would have +done so if the door had not been opened at that instant by a sweet, +happy-looking girl, whose winning smile at once won her confidence and +inspired her with fresh hope. + +"Can I see Mr. Freeman?" she briefly inquired. + +"I think so; come in, please," replied the girl, and, turning, she led +the way into a pleasant room, where a gentleman of perhaps forty years +was sitting. + +He arose and greeted Mollie with easy courtesy, his dark eyes searching +her face with a kind but penetrating look, and instantly a strange +feeling of peace fell upon her aching, rebellious heart. She took the +chair he offered her, and then opened her heart to him, telling him all +her trouble and sorrow--of her father's long illness, of the many weary +months of anxious care and hopeless seeking after help from various +sources, and of her last despairing efforts and their result. The +gentleman did not once interrupt her, but sat with downcast eyes and +attentive mien until she concluded, when she tremulously inquired: + +"Can you help him--is there any hope, do you think?" + +"My dear child, there is every hope," her companion confidently replied. +"God is always a help in time of trouble." + +"God!" repeated Mollie, with a bitter inflection. "I have begun to +believe there is no God." + +The gentleman bent a pitiful glance upon her. + +"I am sure that you will never say that again," he replied after a +moment of silence. + +Then he asked her a few questions, after which he remarked that he would +take the case if she desired, and would visit her father later in the +day. + +Mollie arose, a peculiar feeling of restfulness and hope having +succeeded her previous weariness and despair; and, opening her purse, +inquired what she should pay for the consultation. + +"Nothing for our little talk, Miss Heatherford," said Mr. Freeman, with +a quiet smile; "we are always glad to have people come to us when in +trouble. Scientists, when they take patients, usually treat them by the +week, the sum being uniform, unless frequent visits are required; of +course, you understand that no medicines--no remedies of any kind--are +to be used." + +He then mentioned the amount for a week's treatment, and which seemed to +the wondering girl exceedingly paltry; but she paid it, and then went +away with that same strange, sweet peace still pervading her. + +A week passed, and while there was no apparent change in Mr. +Heatherford's mental condition, he was not nearly as restless as he had +been, and slept quietly the whole night through, a thing he had not done +for months. + +The second week he began to take more nourishment. At the end of a month +his face began to have some color, and Eliza declared that he was +actually gaining flesh, while now and then they found him looking about +the room, vacantly, to be sure, and yet with an air as if a dawning +consciousness was trying to assert itself. + +Mollie jealously watched every change, and each time that Mr. Freeman +came she plied him with questions, eagerly seeking to learn something of +the great principle that was governing her dear father's condition. + +She read with avidity the books which the gentleman loaned her, and +which taught her much, and gradually a joyous hope--an abiding +confidence, rather--took possession of her, assuring her that her loved +one would ere long be well again. + +At the expiration of two months he had once spoken her name, and had +began to try to use his hands to help himself; and finally there came a +day when he actually stood upon his feet, with Eliza's strong arms +around him to support him. + +"Bress de Lord! I tole yo' to trust de Lord, honey," the woman +exclaimed, her black face radiant with joy on this happy occasion. + +"I know you did, Eliza; and at last I believe I am beginning to +understand what and where God is," Mollie reverently replied, her golden +lashes laden with tears of joy. + +Early in May, when the weather began to be oppressive, she closed the +house in Washington and took her family to the beautiful villa--one of +Lucille's many possessions--at Cape May, where they remained all +summer--five delightful, happy months, for the invalid improved with +every day. + +Faxon also spent his vacation--the month of August--there, each morning +finding him early at the villa, where he and his betrothed vied with +each other in making the time pass pleasantly for Mr. Heatherford, whose +mind was fast becoming as clear and active as in the vigorous days of +his youth. + +He was still somewhat hampered physically, as the obstinate enemy, +paralysis, had not been wholly conquered, although it was rapidly +disappearing; but there was not a happier nor more grateful family in +existence than Mollie's household, all of whom felt as if the dead had +been restored to life. + +Faxon returned to Washington the first of September, and a month later +the Lamonti house was once more opened, and the family settled for the +winter. + +Mr. Heatherford was now practically well, and "prepared," he said, "to +begin life over again." + +Mollie, however, tried to persuade him not to think of business for a +long while yet; there was no need, she asserted, for her income was +ample for their every want. But Mr. Heatherford was eager to test his +recovered powers, particularly as Mr. Freeman encouraged him to do so, +and, having been educated for the bar, he soon made arrangements to go +into business with an established firm, one of the partners proving to +be an old-time friend who knew something of the reputation which Mr. +Heatherford had borne during his more prosperous days; and now the +future began to look very bright to him once more. + +As the season advanced and distinguished people began to flock to the +capital, he met many a former acquaintance, and thus it came about that +both Mollie and her father were gradually drawn into society again. + +When Mollie began to accept these courtesies and take her place once +more in social life, she insisted that her engagement should be publicly +announced, and so, of course, Clifford was always thereafter included in +all invitations. + +He was looking forward to a much brighter prospect in life after the +first of January than he had dared to anticipate for himself thus early +in his career, and it was arranged that his marriage should occur as +soon as he was well settled in his new enterprise; meantime, as he was +becoming quite a favorite in social circles, the young couple gave +themselves up to the enjoyment of the present. + +One evening, at a brilliant reception given by a distinguished senator, +Mr. Heatherford and Mollie unexpectedly encountered Mr. and Mrs. Temple +and Philip Wentworth, the family having come to Washington again for the +winter. Mr. Temple had again become interested in politics during the +last year or two, and had been elected a member of the House of +Representatives, and was ambitious for still higher honors. + +The meeting between Mr. Heatherford and Mr. Temple was somewhat +startling to both gentlemen, especially so to the latter, since he +believed the former to be still a hopeless paralytic, if, indeed, he +were yet on the earth. They met in the great hall of the mansion where +they were guests. + +A slight smile of contempt flitted over Mr. Heatherford's face as he +said: "Ah! Temple; so we meet again!" + +"My God! Heatherford!" gasped the man who had so bitterly wronged him +under the guise of friendship; and he was colorless even to his lips. + +"Yes; you were not expecting to meet me again--here," returned Mr. +Heatherford. + +"It--it is a miracle! Who was your doctor?" panted the false friend, +scarce knowing what he said. + +"God," briefly but reverently responded Heatherford. Then, with a +courtly but distant bow, he added: "Excuse me; I am looking for my +daughter." + +He passed on, leaving the other still staring blankly after him, and +actually trembling, as if he had suddenly encountered a ghost of the +past--as, indeed, he had. + +Later in the evening Mollie found herself standing almost side by side +with Philip Wentworth. She was richly and beautifully clad. Her dress +was a gauzelike material of black, made over a very light-gray satin +that gleamed like silver underneath. The trimmings were all of silver, +and a diamond spray, with a silver aigrette, gleamed in her hair. + +The corsage of her robe was cut modestly low, and the full, puffed +sleeves were short, thus revealing her perfect arms and neck, which were +like chiseled marble. It was a strikingly effective costume, and just +suited her, for it threw out the fairness of her faultless complexion to +great advantage. + +She gave a slight start as she caught Philip's voice and realized his +proximity, but did not glance at him. She turned slightly away, and was +about to address a lady whom she knew; but before she could do so, +Philip stepped directly in front of her, determined that he would not be +ignored. + +"You have told me never to speak to you again--that we are strangers," +he began in a low tone that was husky with emotion; "cannot you forgive +and forget? I have suffered bitterly for my folly of that night--I have +repented in sackcloth and ashes." + +Not a muscle of Mollie's face moved during his speech. She stood and +looked like a statue--beautiful as a young goddess--but cold as snow, +and a feeling of bitter remorse--of utter despair crept over him as he +realized how he had lowered himself in her estimation and lost all +chance of ever winning her. + +Since learning of Mr. Lamonti's will and that Mollie had now an +independent fortune, and would once more take an enviable position in +society, he had cursed himself a thousand times for his past folly. +While he was speaking Mollie was wondering how she could escape him +without replying to him and without making herself conspicuous. + +There was an awkward pause for a moment after he concluded; then +Mollie's quick ear caught the voice of her hostess, who was just behind +her, remarking: + +"No, I have not seen Mr. Wentworth since he first entered the room; but +I am sure he is still here." + +Mollie turned gracefully toward the speaker, thus revealing Philip to +her. + +"You were inquiring for Mr. Wentworth, Mrs. Blackman," she observed, +with a charming smile. "Behold him just at hand!" + +Then, with a bow to the lady, she slipped away, leaving Philip in a +white heat of rage and disappointment over having failed to win even a +glance of recognition from her. + +But Mollie escaped Philip only to run almost into the arms of Mrs. +Temple, who also had already arrived at the conclusion that the girl's +acquaintance was worth cultivating again. Mollie Heatherford, with a +handsome fortune in her own right, was an entirely different person +from the poverty-stricken private secretary of a year ago. She extended +her hand with a beaming smile, and greeted her with much of her former +maternal fondness. + +Mollie's quiet "good evening, Mrs. Temple," together with the +ceremonious touch of her finger-tips, was something of a facer; but the +shrewd woman of the world was not one to easily relinquish a project, +and she continued in her most cordial tone: + +"Really, Mollie, it seems like old times to meet you in society again; +and what a romantic experience you have had! I assure you, no one could +be more delighted than we were when we learned of your good fortune. Are +you back in the Lamonti house again this season?" + +"Yes," Mollie briefly replied. + +"I understand that it is very elegant--that Mr. Lamonti was exceedingly +refined in his tastes, and made his home a perfect gem," Mrs. Temple +continued, and determined to trap Mollie into asking her to call if it +were possible. + +"Yes," the fair girl again composedly replied, "Monsieur Lamonti spared +no expense to make his home attractive, and took great pride and +pleasure in gathering treasures from all parts of the world to beautify +it." + +"I have been told that many of the paintings are from the hands of the +best masters," pursued her inquisitor. + +"That is true." + +"Do you ever entertain as you used to in the old days in New York, +Mollie?" + +"We have not as yet; it is quite early in the season, you know," said +Mollie, and barely able to suppress a smile as she saw the drift of +these questions; "but papa and I were talking the matter over recently, +and I think we may have a regular reception evening later on." + +"Ah!" exclaimed Mrs. Temple eagerly; "then you will be well launched +upon the sea of Washington society, and if at any time you should feel +the need of some one to matronize your affairs, you will know where to +come, dear," she concluded, with her most affable smile. + +"Thank you, Mrs. Temple." + +"And I wish you would drop in upon us occasionally," the lady went on +appealingly, but flushing slightly over the failure of her scheme. "We +were all very fond of you always, Mollie, and Minnie would be delighted +to see her old friend." + +"Yes, Minnie and I were close friends; give my love to the dear child," +Mollie replied, with more of heartiness than she had yet expressed. +Then, catching sight of Mr. Heatherford, she added: "Excuse me, but I +see papa looking for me. Good-night, Mrs. Temple." + +And with a graceful inclination of her bright head she glided away. Mrs. +Temple's face was a study as she watched the slight, perfect figure move +down the room. She had been utterly baffled, and she was filled with +mingled disappointment and mortification. + +"Mollie is very shrewd, with all her sweetness," she muttered, with a +frown; "she can hold her own anywhere, and we have all made a grand +mistake." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +AN ASTONISHING DISCOVERY. + + +"Waal, squire, I reckon everything is done now to the turn of the key. +I've packed a dozen shirts, and, if I do say it, no Chang Wang could +have put a better shine on 'em than I've given 'em. There's two dozen +pocket-handkerchiefs, as white as snow; collars and cuffs to last a +month, if you're careful; and everything else all in shipshape. Now I'll +have lunch for you in about ten minutes, and that'll give you plenty of +time to catch the train." + +So spoke Maria Kimberly, as she stood in the doorway leading from the +kitchen into the dining-room, where Squire Talford was sitting at his +desk filling out some checks to settle his monthly bills. He was on the +point of starting for Washington, whither he was going on business +connected with some patents in which he had recently become interested, +and which would keep him away from home for about six weeks or two +months. + +"All right, Maria. I'm about through; but what are you going to do with +yourself while I'm gone?" the man responded, but without looking up from +his employment. + +"Oh, I'll take good care o' things, and I'll find enough to do, never +you fear," said the woman, with a peculiar glitter in her eyes. "I +ain't cleaned house yet; I've put it off, waitin' for you to git away, +so's I could have full swing. I'll see that Pat and the boy don't do no +loafin'; and you needn't give yourself a mite of oneasiness--things'll +go on just as straight if you was goin' to be here yourself." + +The squire knew this without being told, for Maria was an excellent +manager, an efficient housekeeper, and, barring the fact that she had a +sharp tongue, and was rather more independent than was sometimes quite +agreeable, no one could have suited him better as a superintendent of +affairs, both on the farm and in the house. + +She had been in his family for many years, and having been thoroughly +trained by his wife in every department of domestic life and economy, +while being honest and faithful as the day is long in the performance of +every duty, she was entirely competent to assume the management as she +had done upon Mrs. Talford's death, and everything had gone on like +clockwork from that day. + +Squire Talford had never manifested any desire to marry again. Maria +asserted that he was "too tight" to be willing to increase his expenses +in any such way; for, although he always wanted the nicest of everything +for himself, he used to grumble over the expense of clothing his wife. + +He was very proud of his fine estate--his handsome mansion and broad +acres, and kept them in first-class order; but, while he wanted every +comfort for himself, he had dispensed with some luxuries and style +after Mrs. Talford's demise, was close and mean with his help, and +seemed to think of nothing save accumulating money. + +"Though goodness knows what'll ever become of it when he's gone, for he +ain't a kindred soul to leave it to, as far as I know," Mrs. Kimberly +would sometimes remark in a confidential manner to her friends. + +"Yes, I reckon I can trust you to keep a sharp eye out while I'm gone," +the squire returned to Maria's observation, "though I'm not so sure +about the loafing--you're a little inclined to be too soft-hearted with +the boys. I want to find that pile of wood all sawed, split, and housed +when I get back." + +Maria sniffed audibly as she glanced through a window at the pile of +wood referred to, and which comprised a good many cords of solid timber, +and she had no idea of pushing "the boys" beyond a certain limit. + +"Waal, maybe you will, and maybe you won't," she returned after a +moment, with an independent toss of her head. "It'll depend a good deal +on what kind o' weather we have. I suppose you know," she continued, +with a sudden softening of her face and tone, "that Cliff is in +Washington. I hear he's got a fine position, too. Do you imagine you'll +feel any interest to look him up?" + +"Not the slightest, Maria," returned Squire Talford, in a cold tone, and +with a sudden stiffening of his angular figure. "Clifford Faxon is +nothing to me, and I shall not concern myself in the least to learn +anything about his movements." + +"Oh!" returned his companion, with a peculiar inflection, while she +screwed her lips into a resentful pucker, "I didn't know but you'd feel +a kind o' curiosity to find out if he's workin' his way along up toward +the top o' the heap in Washington, same's he did at college. You know +you didn't prophecy anything very flatterin' to him when he started out +for himself, but he got there, all the same." + +The squire flushed hotly at this reminder. + +"I think you'd better hurry up lunch, Maria," was all the reply he +deigned her, and the woman vanished, but chuckling to herself as she +went: + +"He pretends he ain't curious, but he is, all the same, and I'd be +willin' to bet my new black silk--which I ain't had on since that day at +Cambridge, I'm goin' to keep it for Cliff's wedding--that he will find +out about the boy," she muttered to herself, while dishing up the +tempting meal which she had prepared for the master of the house. + +An hour later Squire Talford was en route for New York, and Maria was +left mistress of the field. + +Early next morning she vigorously set about preparations for the +semi-annual house-cleaning, although, to all appearance, the mansion was +immaculate from garret to cellar. Nevertheless, twice every year every +room was religiously upset, cleaned, and renovated. + +She invariably began in the attic and went down in the most methodical +manner, just as her mistress had done every year of her married life. +Every box, drawer, and trunk--excepting a couple which the squire never +allowed any one to touch--had to be overhauled, their contents +thoroughly brushed and shaken, for fear of moths, and every nook and +corner swept and scrubbed. + +For some reason Maria experienced a greater sense of freedom to-day than +she had ever felt before; doubtless it was because of the squire's +absence, for there would be no fear of disturbing him with the noise +overhead, and having no regular dinner to get, there would be nothing to +interrupt operations. + +She always said that the worst was over when she got through with the +attic, and late in the afternoon, when she cast a satisfied glance +around the clean, orderly, sweet-smelling room, every beam and rafter of +which had undergone vigorous treatment, a sigh of content escaped her. + +"You can't put your finger on a speck o' dust anywhere," she +soliloquized, "and everything is in shipshape. It's a good job done, +too, and I'm not sorry it's over." + +She gathered up her brushes, pail, and mop and turned to leave the +place, when her glance fell upon a small hair trunk which she had +dragged out into the hall at the head of the stairs, and had neglected +to replace in its accustomed corner. It was one of those which the +squire never allowed to be opened and overhauled. + +"I s'h'd jest like to know what's in the old thing," Maria remarked as +she sat down her utensils and picked it up in her strong arms. "It +looks's if it had been made in the year one, and it's always locked +tighter'n a drum--goodness! goodness me!" + +The latter explosive ejaculations were occasioned by an unlucky slip of +the antiquated receptacle, then a resounding crash upon the floor, when +the hinges snapped, the cover flew off, and a promiscuous assortment of +things were scattered in every direction in the attic, which but a +moment previous had presented such an orderly appearance. + +Maria stood for a moment looking ruefully upon the havoc she had made, +her arms akimbo, her temper ruffled in view of the work of gathering up +the débris before her. + +"Waal," she at length observed, with a sigh of resignation, "I guess I'm +likely to find out what was in it, after all, though"--with a +contemptuous sniff--"I don't imagine I'm going to be very much +entertained by the operation." + +The trunk had been packed full of papers--deeds, letters, bills, etc., +which had been tied up in separate bundles, but the strings having given +way in the force of the fall, they now lay in confused heaps and +irretrievably mixed, as far as Maria was concerned. + +She sat down upon the floor and began to gather them up, restoring them +in as orderly a manner as possible to the trunk. Among other things she +came upon a box which had slid a little to one side of the heap. This, +also, had burst open, and its contents were partially spilled out. +Reaching for it, she drew it toward her, and was attracted by a pungent +odor which clung to it. + +It was made from some sweet-smelling, fine-grained wood, and the corners +were ornamented with heavily wrought silver, although the metal was +badly tarnished from having lain so long unused. There were numerous +letters in it, some being addressed in a woman's delicate handwriting +and others in a bold, clear, masculine chirography. + +"Miss Belle Abbott," Maria read from one of the envelopes addressed in +the bold hand. + +Then she gave a violent start. + +"Goodness--gracious! How came this here?" she ejaculated. "Belle Abbott! +Why, that was Cliff's mother's name afore she was married. But I wonder +who W. F. T. Wilton was?" she continued as she closely inspected the +handwriting on another envelope. "I'm sure Mis' Faxon must have writ +these letters, for the writin' looks just like what I've seen in some of +Cliff's books that he told me she gave him. But it beats me to know how +these things ever got into Squire Talford's old trunk, 'less Mis' Faxon +gave them to him to keep for the boy, 'n' if she did he'd oughter had +'em long ago. What's this, I wonder?" + +"This" comprised two pieces of parchment attached to each other by a +pin. They were folded long and narrow, like legal documents, and were +also bound about with a narrow blue ribbon. + +With firmly compressed lips and a flushed face, Maria sat regarding them +intently, and as if deliberating a point within herself for a few +moments. + +"I'm going to know," she said at last, in tones of stern decision, and, +suiting the action to the words, she deliberately removed the ribbon and +pin, unfolded one of the papers, and began to read it with eager +interest. + +Every bit of color faded out of her face by the time she reached the +bottom of the sheet, and with staring eyes and bated breath she seized +its mate and proceeded to read that. + +"Good land!" she ejaculated at length. "Now I understand some things +that have always puzzled me afore! So this is Belle Atwood's +marriage-bill, and this tells about Cliff's baptism! And Faxon isn't his +last name, either!" she went on, with a gasp of excitement. "It is--he +is--why, good Lord!--now I know why Squire Talford has always hated him +so; though I never did take much stock in that story I heard when I +first came here--that he was in love with her once, and she jilted him +for some one else." + +She sat thinking deeply for some time, a look of perplexity on her +plain, honest face. + +"There's some things I can't quite see through, after all," she resumed +after a time; "if what I suspect is true--and there ain't much doubt +about it--why on earth did Mis' Faxon ever bind that boy to the squire? +Aha!" a flash of intelligence sweeping over her face, "I begin to +see--it was a trick of his. He is not a man that ever forgives a +wrong--he hated her and the boy's father and the boy himself, because of +what they'd done. He meant to crush 'em all, and so he pretended to +befriend Mis' Faxon--wormed himself into her confidence, so got her to +sign them bond papers, and then, when she died, stole this box, so the +boy could never find out who he really is. I remember now that she sent +for him the night she died. I'll bet he stole these papers at that time. +Oh! he's a tricky one, Squire Talford is! He thought he'd fixed things +so that nobody'd ever find out the truth; but it's a long lane that +hasn't any turn in it, and I'm goin' to prove it to you, you miserly, +gray-headed, hard-hearted old rascal!" + +And Mrs. Kimberly emphasized her words by angrily shaking the papers in +her hand at the demolished old trunk, in lieu of the man himself, until +they rattled noisily. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +THE SQUIRE MEETS MISS HEATHERFORD. + + +"Humph!" Maria resumed after some minutes, and, arousing herself from +another fit of musing into which she had fallen, "I always thought there +was a skeleton hid in this old hair trunk, and now I've unearthed it. +'Murder will out,' they say, and I guess the Lord thought He'd make me +His instrument to see justice done that boy. He just sent me up here +to-day to smash the thing, and now I s'pose I've got to finish the +business up. I'm going to take charge of these papers and see that Cliff +gets them." + +She began to replace them and the letters in the box as she spoke, with +a set face and determined air. + +"Of course, I shall tell the squire just how I happened to find 'em," +she went on. "I ain't one to hide anything. I'll just face him and out +with the whole matter, but they ain't never goin' back into his +possession again if I lose my place for it!" She handled the letters +reverently as she laid them, one by one, into their receptacle, her face +softening involuntarily. + +"Of course, these letters will tell Cliff a lot that I may never know +anything about, and what is none o' my business," she mused, but with a +yearning curiosity to know their contents, nevertheless. "I only hope, +if the squire has been trying to cheat him out o' anything that belongs +to him, they'll help to set him right." + +Having restored all that she thought belonged there to the box, she set +it one side, then finished packing the trunk, replaced the cover, and, +rising, drew it to the corner where it was accustomed to stand. + +Then taking the exhumed "skeleton" under her arm she marched straight +down to her own room, where she locked it safely away in her own trunk +and hid the key. + +She was quite upset by the exciting discovery of the afternoon, and for +the first time in many years lay awake until after midnight nervously +conning the matter over in her mind, and trying to decide just what she +ought to do about it. It proved to be a perplexing question, and she +chewed the cud of indecision industriously for the next two weeks, while +she scrubbed and cleaned, took up and put down carpets, washed, ironed, +and hung curtains, and performed the manifold duties that throng upon +the busy matron during house-cleaning time. + +Half a dozen times she began a letter to Cliff asking him to come to +Cedar Hill, as she had something important to tell him, but she tore +each one up, her sense of loyalty to the squire making her feel that she +ought to tell him of her discovery first; while, too, she doubted the +wisdom of asking Cliff to leave his business and be at the expense of +such a journey. Once she thought she would go to a lawyer and tell him +the whole story, for she had a suspicion that there might be some +property coming to Cliff if his identity could be proven. But such a +measure did not quite commend itself to her, for she thought he might +not care to have another party let into the secrets of his origin and +his mother's domestic troubles, while she also reasoned that it would be +only fair to give the squire a chance to voluntarily right the wrong he +had committed. + +The two weeks lengthened into a month, and she was no nearer a decision +than on the day of her discovery. + +Meantime, however, Providence was opening the way for her to be relieved +of the burden which she felt was fast becoming too heavy to be borne. + +Squire Talford, on arriving in Washington, took a room in a +boarding-house in a quiet street. He did not like hotel-life for +numerous reasons, the chief one being that he was too economically +inclined to spend his money in that way, while he also objected to the +constant change, rush, and excitement of such a place. + +Now, it happened, strangely enough, that Clifford had a room in a house +adjoining Squire Talford's boarding-place, although he took his meals +farther down on the same street. + +Thus it naturally came about that the whilom bound boy and his former +master ran up against each other only a few days after the arrival of +the latter in the nation's capital. The encounter occurred on Sunday, +about the middle of the afternoon, when Clifford, with a red +moss-rosebud on his coat, started forth for the Lamonti mansion, where +he was to dine with the Heatherfords. + +The squire had been out to post some letters at the nearest box, and +was returning to his boarding-place when the two met on a corner. + +Clifford flushed slightly, and was greatly surprised to see the man so +far from home, but with the politeness which always characterized him, +lifted his hat and cordially saluted him. The man shot a frowning glance +at him and passed on without a word, as if he had been a total stranger +to him. Possibly, if Clifford had been shabbily clad and had not looked +so prosperous, happy, and handsome, he might not have been quite so +churlish; but it made him secretly furious to see him clothed better +than himself, a fact which plainly indicated to him that he was still +making his way steadily upward, while his buoyant air and alert, +energetic step told of perfect health and a heart at peace with the +world. + +The slight stung Clifford for the instant, but, replacing his hat and +straightening himself with an air of conscious superiority, he went on +his way, and half an hour later had forgotten the existence of the man. + +He had far more interesting things to think about just then, for he and +Mollie were laying their plans for the most important event of their +lives--their marriage, which it had been decided should take place some +time during the latter part of January. + +Several times during the next three weeks Clifford met the squire, and, +out of respect for his years, invariably saluted him in a gentlemanly +manner, but always with the same result--the man as often passed him +with a cold stare and without moving a muscle of his hard, forbidding +face. + +"I wonder why he has always hated me so?" Clifford mused upon one of +these occasions. "I served him faithfully during the four years that I +lived with him--my conscience is clear of ever having once wilfully +disobeyed him or neglected my work. I cannot understand how one human +being can entertain such an unreasonable grudge against another. I am +sure I have no desire to exchange places with him, rich as he is, for I +think it must be very uncomfortable to hate one as he seems to me. I +wish Mollie could meet him--she reads faces like books, and I really +would like to know what her analysis of his character would be." + +He had his wish granted not very long afterward. Squire Talford stepped +into a stationery-store one afternoon on his way home to dinner, to lay +in a fresh supply of paper and envelopes. He had observed before +entering that a very handsome equipage was standing before the door, for +being fond of fine horses, and a good judge of them, as well, he never +passed them unnoticed. + +He even turned to take a second look out of the window of the store +before making his purchase, and found himself wondering who could be the +fortunate owner of the blooded pair, while his appreciative eyes also +took in the elegant appointments of the carriage and harness and the +liveried coachman and footman. + +Presently he turned to the counter, and found himself standing beside a +beautiful girl, very richly attired. She was sitting on a stool, +evidently waiting for something, and after giving his own order, Squire +Talford's glance wandered again to the vision of loveliness beside him, +noting her delicate, high-bred features, her wonderfully blue eyes, and +hair of shining gold. + +A clerk came to her after a moment or two and apologized for the +necessity of keeping her waiting still longer--something seemed to have +gone wrong with the order she had given. + +"Never mind," said Mollie--for it was she--with the rarest of smiles and +in sweetest tones. "I am not in any hurry, and do not mind waiting in +the least." + +"Humph" grunted the squire to himself, as he took his package and left +the place. + +The little incident had somehow jarred upon him and set him thinking, +for he well knew that if he had been kept waiting like that, whether he +had been in a hurry or not, he would have fretted and fumed and taken +pains to make the clerk as uncomfortable as possible; but the lovely +girl had unconsciously given him a lesson in true courtesy and charity. + +He could not resist the temptation to pause on the sidewalk as he went +out and take another look at the beautiful horses which he had +previously admired. + +"A fine pair you have there," he observed to the coachman. + +"Yes, sir," replied the man, but looking neither to the right nor left, +nor unbending from his stiff, upright position a hairsbreadth. + +"Morgan?" + +"Yes, sir," with the same rigidity as before. + +"How old are they?" + +"Six years, or thereabouts." + +The squire eyed them yearningly a moment, then, turning, was about to +proceed on his way when a passer-by jostled him, and, as he was just on +the edge of the curb, caused him to lose his balance, when he nearly +fell inside the carriage, which was a victoria. + +He recovered himself almost immediately, however, and, after brushing +the dust from his clothing, passed on, but grumbling over the rudeness +and carelessness of him who had caused his discomfort. + +Three minutes later Mollie emerged from the store, stepped into her +carriage, and gave the order to be driven "home." + +As the vehicle drew up before her door and she was about to alight, her +foot came in contact with some object upon the floor. Stooping to +ascertain what it was, she was greatly surprised to find a gentleman's +wallet lying upon the mat just inside the carriage. + +"Why, I wonder how this could have come here?" she exclaimed. Upon +opening it she found several papers neatly arranged in one pocket and a +number of bank-notes of various denominations, together with a slip of +paper bearing the name, "A. H. Talford, No. ---- Twelfth Street, N. E.," +in another. + +"Talford!" she repeated thoughtfully. + +Where had she heard that name before? she wondered. + +"Walker," she said, holding the wallet up for her coachman to see, "do +you know anything about this? I have just found it on the floor." + +The man thought a moment, and then told her of the elderly gentleman who +had admired the horses, and then, making a misstep, had almost fallen +into the carriage. + +"Ah! Then the wallet must be his. Walker, you may turn around and drive +me to No. ---- Twelfth Street, N. E.," said Mollie, as she resumed her +seat. + +The man swung his horses around, and they went trotting down-town again. +Arriving at the residence corresponding to the number on the slip, +Mollie alighted and inquired of the maid who responded to her ring if +Mr. Talford was in. + +"Yes," the girl replied, with a peculiar smile, for the man had +discovered his loss only a few moments before, and was turning the house +upside down in his efforts to discover the missing wallet. Mollie passed +the maid her card, and told her to say to the gentleman that she would +like to see him. + +She waited in the parlor nearly five minutes before the squire made his +appearance, and then he seemed to be greatly excited and in a very +unhappy frame of mind. He started upon finding himself face to face with +the beautiful girl whom he had seen in the stationer's store, and +searched her face curiously. + +Mollie arose as he entered, and, approaching him, extended the wallet. +She said afterward she never saw a more avaricious expression on any +human face. + +"I found this in my carriage, sir, after leaving the store where I met +you a short time ago," she said. "My coachman thinks it must have +slipped from your pocket as you stumbled and almost fell close beside +the vehicle." + +The man sprang forward and seized the purse with a greedy look and +grasp. + +"Yes, it is mine," he exclaimed in eager, tremulous accents. "My address +is inside--I will show you." + +"That is not necessary, Mr. Talford," Mollie pleasantly returned. "I +took the liberty of opening the wallet, and found it, or I should not +have known to whom to return it." + +"Yes, yes; of course," said the squire, with some embarrassment, as he +whipped it open and began to finger the bills nervously. Mollie's red +lips curled slightly at the act, for she read his thoughts like a +printed page. She saw that it was his nature to distrust every one, and +a fear that he would be overreached by those with whom he came in +contact that he was wondering, even then, whether he should find his +precious money intact. + +"I am very glad I found it and was enabled to restore it so soon," she +went on, "and I preferred to bring it to you myself rather than to +entrust it to a messenger." + +She moved toward the door as she concluded, for the man's forbidding and +churlish presence chilled her like an icy wind. + +"Ah! yes--yes, thank you, young woman. I'm much obliged to you, I am +sure," stammered the squire as he glanced irresolutely from his wallet +to her, then back again at the crisp bills within it. "I--I suppose I +ought to pay you something for your trouble." + +Mollie flushed a vivid crimson at the reluctant suggestion, and drew +herself up with involuntary hauteur. + +"Indeed no, sir," she coldly responded. "I assure you you are very +welcome to what I have done, and I will not detain you longer. Good +evening, Mr. Talford," and she bowed herself out with a grace that could +not wholly veil the vein of mockery and contempt that underlay her +words, and vanished from his sight, but leaving him with a sense of +shame and meanness such as he had seldom experienced in life. + +"Talford! Talford! Where have I heard that name? It rings in the +chambers of my memory with a strangely familiar sound, and it almost +seems as if I have seen that face before," Mollie mused, with a look of +perplexity on her face, as she drove back in the fast gathering twilight +toward home; but she failed to place either face or name, and soon +forgot all about them for the time. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +PHILIP'S MAD PLEA. + + +Five hours later Mollie, clad in a trailing robe of pale-yellow satin, +and looking a veritable princess, with her shining hair coiled high upon +her shapely head and encircled with a tiara of diamonds, stood in the +drawing-room of the residence of the English ambassador making her +obeisance to that distinguished gentleman and his courtly wife. + +She was accompanied by her father, who was now the picture of health, +whose every movement was replete with vigor and almost youthful energy; +for, as he claimed, after fifty years of aimless groping he was just +beginning to learn how to live. Clifford was also with them, but +following a step or two in the rear, and, with his fine face and manly +bearing, there was not a handsomer man in the room. Their salutations +over, they moved aside to make way for others, when a beautiful girl, +all in white, except that she wore a great bunch of scarlet poppies in +her belt, stepped forward and extended a faultlessly gloved hand to +Clifford. + +"I am sure that Mr. Faxon is not one to forget his old friends," she +smilingly observed, while her face glowed with undisguised pleasure at +the meeting. + +"Miss Athol!" he exclaimed, as he cordially clasped her hand, "this is +indeed an unexpected pleasure! Of course, I could not forget you, and I +am most happy to meet you again." + +"The pleasure is mutual, I assure you," Miss Athol heartily returned, +"neither have I forgotten the auspicious occasion of our last meeting at +Harvard, while too"--with a significant glance--"there are some other +memories that haunt me. Mr. Faxon, when I think of that terrible +accident and that awful descent that you made over the precipice I grow +faint and dizzy even now." + +"Then please don't think of it," said Clifford, laughing, and, anxious +to change the subject, he added: "Allow me to inquire if this is your +first visit to Washington?" + +"Oh, no; we have all been here a number of times, but papa was elected +Senator for our district this winter, and we are going to be located +here for the present. He has been in town some weeks, but mama and I +arrived only last Saturday," Gertrude explained. Then she added, +smiling, "How singular that you also should have drifted to Washington +just at this time!" + +"Yes, we meet people where we least expect to, sometimes. I have been +here for more than a year, and have a position in the Patent Office +Department." + +"Climbing all the time, I am sure," said the girl, as her glance swept +his handsome face and figure with a thrill of admiration. "I knew you +would. I should not be in the least surprised to find you located in the +White House some day." + +"Oh, Miss Athol! I beg that I may escape the responsibilities of such a +position," Clifford exclaimed, flushing to his temples and feeling +decidedly uncomfortable to be so lauded. Then, with a sudden thought, he +continued: "But now I am going to ask the privilege of presenting you to +a friend whom I am sure you will find very congenial--may I?" + +"Certainly. I shall be delighted to meet any friend of yours, Mr. +Faxon," said Gertrude cordially. + +Clifford turned to attract the attention of Mollie, who had been +exchanging greetings with a prominent society woman, and a moment later +he had introduced the two girls to each other. + +The moment Miss Athol looked into Mollie's beautiful face and observed +the tender glance which Clifford bestowed upon her, she knew +instinctively that she had met the woman whom he was to marry. + +"And she is worthy of him, which is saying a great deal for her," she +mentally affirmed. "She is exquisitely lovely, but the best in the land +is none too good for Clifford Faxon." + +The young ladies appeared to be instantly attracted to each other, and +in less than ten minutes felt as if they had been acquainted for years, +and would be friends for the remainder of their lives. + +In a corner, not far from this interesting group, and curiously watching +the brilliant throng all about him, stood Squire Talford. And the man, +if one did not closely observe his cold gray eyes and the cruel, cynical +expression about his mouth, made quite a fine appearance in his +evening-attire. + +He had never been anything of a society man, but since he was in +Washington he was determined to go the whole figure and see all there +was to be seen, and as money was no object where his own gratification +was concerned, he easily found ways of obtaining the entrée to +fashionable circles. + +He had observed Mollie when she entered the room, and instantly +recognized her as the young lady who had restored his wallet to him that +afternoon. He had thought her a remarkably pretty girl at that time, but +now, in her evening-costume, she seemed a hundred-fold more lovely, and +he was positively fascinated by her beauty. + +He also noted the richness of her dress and costly jewels, and, at once +recalling the fine equipage which he had seen before the stationer's +store, decided that she must be the daughter of some very wealthy man. + +Her loveliness and charm of manner grew upon him continually, and he +became anxious to learn more about her. He sought a gentleman whom he +knew, and after chatting for a few moments upon current events, suddenly +broke off and remarked: + +"I've been watching that young woman in yellow over there; can you tell +me who she is?" + +"Ah, yes; that is Miss Heatherford. She's an out-and-out beauty, isn't +she? A regular stunner!" was the animated reply. "She is one of the most +attractive young ladies in Washington this winter, and a favorite +wherever she goes. She is rich, also--has a handsome fortune in her own +right, although a year ago this time she was working for a living in +this city." + +"Can that be possible?" inquired the squire, and appearing to be deeply +interested in the gentleman's statements. + +"Yes, and that is her father, that fine-looking man with the snow-white +hair. Five years ago he was known as one of the money-kings of New York, +but he lost every dollar of it by a series of misfortunes, and came here +and went to work as a clerk for the government. Then he was taken ill, +lost his position, and was reduced almost to the verge of beggary; but +his daughter, like the true-blue she is, came nobly to the front, got a +situation as private secretary to a wealthy old Frenchman who had some +mission to this country, and supported herself and her father." + +"But where did she get her present fortune?" inquired Squire Talford. + +"Well, it is quite a story, and I cannot go into the details just now," +his companion replied, "but the girl proved herself a heroine in two or +three instances, and saved the life of the Frenchman's grandchild, +prevented a robbery in the house, and won his confidence to such an +extent that he made her the guardian of the child, to whom he left an +immense amount of money, and a snug sum to Miss Heatherford herself. She +has only recently appeared in society here, but every one has fallen in +love with her--men and women alike. She is spoken for, however, for she +is soon going to marry a fine fellow who bids fair to become a prominent +man in the world if he keeps on as he has begun, for he is as smart as +chain-lightning--there he is now, just in the act of introducing a lady +to Miss Heatherford." + +Squire Talford started and flushed crimson as he instantly recognized +Cliff. He had not observed him before, and now to find him in that +brilliant assemblage, and apparently received on an equal footing with +the most distinguished, was a shock which he had not been prepared for. + +"Humph! So she is going to marry him!" he managed to say without +betraying how much he had been startled. + +"Yes, the engagement was announced the first of the season, and, of +course, any one can see that, morally and mentally, the young man is her +equal in every respect. But it has leaked out that he has worked his own +way up from boyhood. His name is Faxon--Clifford Faxon--and I am told +that he first met his fiancée in a railroad accident--or, rather, what +would have proved to be a terrible smash-up but for the boy's superhuman +efforts to remove an obstruction that lay upon the track, and which made +a veritable hero of him. It seems that the girl was on board the train, +and she was so impressed by the wonderful achievement that she gave him +a very handsome ring, which he wears constantly." + +Squire Talford remembered the ring well, but it galled him inexpressibly +to hear Clifford so vaunted--this boy whom he had always hated because +of a secret wrong in which his mother had once figured, and which he had +nursed for half a life-time. It rasped him almost beyond endurance to +find that, in spite of the efforts he had made to crush him, he had +overcome every obstacle in the past, and was steadily rising toward fame +and fortune; that even now, in his early manhood, he had far outstripped +himself in attaining a social position in the world. + +"He is a handsome, intellectual-looking fellow, don't you think?" his +companion inquired. "You do not often see a finer head, a more frank, +honest face on a man, while his eyes are simply magnificent." + +The squire literally ground his teeth with rage, but controlling himself +after a moment, he remarked, with a touch of sarcasm in his tones: + +"You are enthusiastic over him, I perceive. But it seems that he isn't +above becoming a fortune-hunter, since he is going to marry the rich +Miss Heatherford." + +"There you are mistaken, sir," was the spirited retort. "Faxon is no +fortune-hunter--I'd take my oath that he would never stoop to win any +one from a mercenary motive. The fact is that he and Miss Heatherford +met and became acknowledged lovers while the girl was working for her +living, and, notwithstanding he has no fortune or social position except +what he has won for himself, she is prouder of him than she would be of +a crown prince." + +The squire could bear no more of that kind of talk in his present frame +of mind, and, excusing himself to his communicative companion, he left +him and made his way toward the hall, with the intention of slipping out +unobserved and returning to his boarding-place. He was so absorbed in +his disagreeable reflections that he paid no heed to any of the people +about him, and had just reached the great archway leading out of the +drawing-room when his way was suddenly blocked by some one who had +paused before him and given vent to a startled exclamation. + +Squire Talford lifted his head with a great, inward shock, and found a +familiar form confronting him. The two men glared into each other's +faces for a full minute without speaking, both looking like a couple of +specters. Then the stranger gasped with colorless lips: + +"You--here!" + +"Looks like it," laconically returned the squire, who instantly began to +recover himself, while his eyes glittered like points of polished steel. +"Perhaps you'll be wanting to buy another ticket for New York, now that +you know I'm around, eh?" + +"No, I'll be ---- if I will!" fiercely retorted the other, in a low, +angry tone. Then he elbowed his way by his enemy, and disappeared among +the crowd. + +The squire chuckled viciously to himself, his irritation against +Clifford forgotten for the moment in his new and rather startling +encounter. + +"Ha, ha! Bill. You're afraid of me, and you can't conceal the fact. And +you have even more cause than you dream of," he muttered, a cruel smile +wreathing his lips. "I wonder what you are doing here in +Washington--I'll bet you're trying to lobby some devilish scheme or +other, for your own private interests. But I think there'll be a day of +reckoning between you and me before you're much older." + +A little later Mollie and Gertrude Athol slipped away from the company +and went for a stroll through the fine conservatory that led from the +south side of the house. They wandered about, chatting socially, for a +time, until Gertrude, chancing to glance up, saw her father standing in +the doorway beckoning to her. + +"Papa wants me," she said. "I expect he wishes to introduce me to some +friends of whom he told me to-day. I am sorry to leave you, Miss +Heatherford, but you will come to see me soon, will you not? and then we +will plan to meet often. Good night, if I should not see you again." + +She tripped away, but Mollie, who was a dear lover of flowers, lingered +in that bower of beauty to examine some rare and exquisite orchids which +were in full bloom. Suddenly, as she rounded a corner at the extreme end +of the conservatory, some one started up from a seat that was +half-concealed by some palms and foliage plants, and she found herself +confronted by Philip Wentworth. + +She had not dreamed of his being in the house, for she had seen none of +the family that evening, and, in truth, he had been there but a few +minutes, having had another engagement, but had promised to join his +fiancée, Gertrude Athol, before the evening was over. He had been +looking for her--had come to the conservatory to seek her, entering by a +door leading from the dining room, instead of the hall, when, seeing the +two girls, and not wishing to meet them together, he had sought the seat +referred to, and concealed himself among the foliage until they should +return to the house. + +But when he saw Gertrude leave and Mollie loitering among the flowers, +a wild desire to talk with her took possession of him, and he arose and +stood in her path. + +Mollie drew herself haughtily erect, and would have passed him without a +word, but he stretched forth his arms and barred her way. + +"No, you shall not evade me this time," he cried in a voice tremulous +with passion and wounded feeling. "I have the right to vindicate myself, +and no criminal is ever condemned without a hearing. Oh, Mollie! Mollie! +forgive me--forgive me! I was not myself that night. I own I had been +drinking more than was good for me, and I hardly knew what I was about." + +Mollie had not intended to exchange a word with him, but the +self-reproach in his tones--the misery in his face--appealed to her +gentle heart, and she began to be sorry for him. She told herself that +she had no right to condemn him utterly, even though she felt that she +could never respect or admit him to her friendship again. She recoiled a +step or two from him, and her face involuntarily softened. + +"If that is so," she began gently, "let it be a lesson to you, and never +again make such free use of that which you admit has power to control +you." + +"I will not, Mollie--I will not, indeed. I promise you," Philip eagerly +returned, adding appealingly: "And you will forgive me--say that you +will forgive, and let us be friends, as of old, once more." + +Mollie's face flushed, and she shrank involuntarily. She knew that she +could never receive him as a friend again--she had no wish ever to +resume the old relations with any of the family, for their treachery and +ill usage had done more to weaken her faith in humanity than anything +that had ever occurred in all her experience. + +"No," she said, after a moment of thought. "I will be frank with you, +Philip--we can never be friends again, as I understand the term. One +must have confidence in one's friends--you have destroyed my confidence +in you. One must respect one's friends--you have forfeited my respect. +It is not easy to tell you this, but you know that I was never guilty of +deception, and so I cannot pretend to a friendship that is not real." + +The young man staggered back a pace. He felt as if some one had struck +him a blow upon his bare heart, and in all his life he had not known +such genuine suffering as he experienced at that moment. Mollie seemed +beautiful as a goddess--as far above him in strength and purity of +character as the stars, and yet he had never yearned for her as he did +now. + +"Oh! I deserve it all--I deserve you should despise me!" he exclaimed in +a voice of agony; "but I love you--I love you! You, and you alone, hold +my life and my future in your hands! Forgive me, Mollie--let me try to +win back your respect. I swear that no one shall lead a more exemplary +life--no one shall be more worthy of your confidence--your love, than I, +if you will but give me a chance. See! I kneel--I beg----" + +"Stop!" cried Mollie authoritatively, as she put out one hand to stay +him, "never do that, for no true woman would ever wish a man to +humiliate himself. And now let me say," she continued even more +impressively, "you must never speak like this to me again, for--I am +already the promised wife of another." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +WENTWORTH SPURNED. + + +At Mollie's words Philip sprang erect, a sudden rage possessing him. + +"You engaged!" he faltered in a scarcely audible voice. He had only +rejoined his mother in Washington a few days previous, and, as yet, had +not heard o£ the formal announcement of Mollie's engagement to Clifford. +He had been secretly enraged during the latter part of the previous +winter because of the young man's attentions to her, and he had feared +that they might result in their union; but now that the blow had fallen, +he found that he was entirely unprepared for it, and was almost beside +himself with mingled hate and jealousy. + +It did not once occur to him that he himself was playing the part of a +treacherous villain, for he was still pledged to Gertrude Athol. But he +would not have hesitated an instant to throw her over if he could have +won Mollie and her fortune. + +"You engaged!" he repeated, his clouded eyes searching the fair face +before him. + +Mollie flushed. She had felt almost sure he must have known the fact, +and she was considerably embarrassed to be obliged to explain matters to +him. But she was determined to make him understand, once for all, that +their old-time friendship could never be renewed, and that he must cease +persecuting her with avowals of love. + +"Yes," she quietly returned, but with downcast eyes, and a tender +inflection unconsciously creeping into her tones, "I am going to marry +Mr. Faxon the 25th of January." + +The ax had fallen! The man whom he had hated for years had won the prize +which he coveted. He could have borne it better if she had named some +stranger, but to be told that his old enemy, who, in spite of every +adverse circumstance, had gone straight to the front, distancing him in +college; who had proved himself a hero over and over; to whom he owed +the life of his young sister; against whom he had once lifted a +murderous hand, and who was now rapidly rising, both in the social and +political world. Oh! it was too much; it was crushing, maddening! + +He stood rigid as a statue for a full minute after Mollie concluded, +trying to master the tempest of jealous hate that raged within him. Then +he said in a voice that was ominous in its calmness: + +"And you love him?" + +Mollie flashed him a glance that answered him even before she spoke, for +there was a light of ineffable happiness in her eyes. + +"You do not need to ask such a question!" she replied, "you know that I +would never give my hand to any man who had not first won my deepest +affection." + +"Enough!" cried Philip, now wrought up to uncontrollable fury, "you need +say no more. So that low-born upstart has effectually cut me out; curse +him! Bah! I could cut his heart out!" + +"Stop!" commanded Mollie, facing him with an air and look that silenced +him for the moment. "If you must give expression to such ignoble +sentiments regarding one who is vastly your superior in every respect, +you at least shall not offend my ears with such language." + +She turned abruptly as she ceased, and swept down the marble walk with +the hauteur of an offended queen, and a moment later disappeared within +the mansion. + +Philip Wentworth, left to himself, paced back and forth in the +flower-bordered path with the restless step of a caged lion, while he +muttered and swore and raved like one almost on the verge of insanity, +and wholly unaware of the slender, white-clad figure which had a few +minutes previous flitted down another path and suddenly halted behind a +huge Japanese vase taller than herself, and in which there was growing a +luxuriant mass of vines, which entirely concealed her from view. + +The second time he turned the sound of a quick, elastic step caught his +ear. He peered around the corner, and instantly a lurid light began to +blaze in his eyes. The man he hated, the rival who had come between him +and the--to him--one woman in the world, was approaching him, and +evidently in search of some one. + +Philip Wentworth stood still, concealed from the other's view by the +heavy foliage beside him, and involuntarily reaching out his hand, +grasped the stem of a plant that was growing in a pot, and lifted it +from its place. + +Clifford, who was seeking Mollie, came rapidly on, rounded the corner, +and almost ran upon Philip. He pulled himself up short, and, after a +swift glance around, he observed in an easy tone, as he courteously +inclined his head to his former classmate: + +"Ah, Wentworth, pardon me! I should have moderated my movements somewhat +before turning this corner." + +He was about to pass on, when Philip hoarsely exclaimed while he faced +him: + +"Hold! What is this I hear? I am told that you are going to marry Mollie +Heatherford. Is it true?" + +Clifford drew himself up slightly before replying. + +"It is true, Mr. Wentworth; I am going to marry Miss Heatherford," he +coldly replied, but with significant emphasis. + +"Curse you!" fairly hissed Wentworth, while his grip tightened on the +stem of the plant. "So that has been your game, has it? You have +deliberately set yourself to cut me out. I told you four years ago that +she was my promised wife; we had been pledged to each other from +childhood, and heavens! do you think I am going to tamely submit to +being robbed by a low-born pauper like you? Do you imagine that I'm +going to let you marry her? Never, so help me!" + +His right hand swung out with tremendous force, lifting the flower-pot +above his head and aiming it directly at Clifford's face. + +But Faxon was too quick for him. He sprang to one side, caught the +uplifted arm with a grip that almost paralyzed it, and, wrenching the +dangerous missile--which fortunately remained intact, the plant having +become root-bound in the pot--from his grasp, calmly replaced it where +it belonged. + +"Mr. Wentworth, this is the second time that you have made a rash +attempt upon my life," he quietly observed. "I advise you never to +repeat it, and you will remember that Miss Heatherford is my promised +wife, and I shall not tolerate anything that verges upon a recurrence of +what has just taken place." + +He paused a moment, while a softer expression swept over his fine face. + +"Wentworth, what ails you?" he continued in a more friendly tone. "What +has made you so strangely antagonistic toward me all these years? I fail +to understand it. It began away back during our first term in college; +what caused it? Where is your manliness that you could cherish a grudge +for so long? Believe me, I never had the slightest personal ill-will +against you, and certainly you must have been in a very uncomfortable +frame of mind most of this time. If I have unconsciously done you any +wrong in the past, I should be very glad to be told of it." + +Again he paused, but Philip stood silent, with downcast eyes and a +sullen frown upon his brow. Clifford saw that he was incorrigible, and, +repressing a sigh of regret for a life so warped by selfishness, he +observed: + +"Possibly I am unwise in appealing to you in any such way; but I +believe the day will yet come when you will regret some of these +things." + +He turned and went swiftly back the way he had come, while Philip +watched him with a lowering brow and a look of hate in his eyes. + +Suddenly a slight rustle caused him to turn and look behind him, when an +exclamation of dismay escaped him, for, leaning against the tall vase, +and pale as the snowy dress she wore, he saw Gertrude Athol standing not +a dozen feet from him. + +"Gertrude!" the young man faltered, for he knew from her manner that she +must have overheard much of what had passed--how much he dared not +think. + +The sound of his voice acted like a shock of electricity upon her. She +stood erect, swept into the path where he was, and confronted him. + +"I have heard all," she said in a cold, quiet tone. "I had no intention +of playing the eavesdropper, however. Miss Heatherford and I were here +in the conservatory a while ago, when my father called me, but he only +wished to ask me a question or two, and then I thought that I would come +back to Miss Heatherford, and that is how I happened to be here. I came +just as you were declaring that she and she alone held your life and +your future in her hands----" and the beautiful girl's nostrils dilated +with supreme contempt as she thus repeated his words. "Therefore, +considering the relations that have existed between you and me for the +last four years, I felt that I had the right to hear you out and learn +just to what extent I had been made your dupe----" + +"Oh, Gertrude!" + +"Hush!" she commanded imperatively. "I will not listen to a word of +extenuation from you--there is none--there can be none. I will say my +say out, and that will end everything between us. I have long felt that +I might perhaps be building my hopes for the future upon shifting +sand--there have been many indications of it, but I hoped that you might +change for the better--that your good qualities would in the end +overbalance your weakness. For more than four years I have worn your +ring, believing myself pledged to you," Gertrude went on, as she calmly +began to unlace the glove on her left hand, "but to-night you have said +in my presence that for many years you have been betrothed to +another--that you have loved--worshiped that other." + +She turned the glove wrong-side out, to remove it the more quickly, +slipped the ring from her finger, and held it out to him. "Here, take +it. You and I will part here and now. And do not think that I shall eat +my heart out and die because of disappointed love--like the girl of whom +we read that summer in the mountains. I am not in the slightest danger +of such a fate, for you have this night slain every spark of regard or +respect that I ever entertained for you." + +"Gertrude, hear me----" Philip began, as he shrank away from the hand +that held the ring out to him. + +"I have already heard all I wish to hear," she spiritedly returned, and +with an inflection that made him wince. "Take it!" she reiterated as she +again offered him the ring. "Very well," as he still refused, "I will +leave it here for you to think about." + +She hung it upon a twig of the plant before him, then turning abruptly +from him, swept down and out of the conservatory with the air and step +of one who exulted in recovered freedom. + +As she disappeared he reached forth his hand and secured the ring, for +it was a valuable one, but with a shamefaced air and a muttered curse at +his--"luck." + +Fifteen minutes later, when he sought his mother, to inform her that he +"was not well, and was going home," he espied Mollie and Gertrude +standing in an alcove chatting socially together, and as calmly and +serenely as if no thought of regret in connection with him had power to +cast a shadow across their pathway. Gertrude was perhaps a trifle paler +than usual, but she was bright and animated, and he was assured that she +"never would eat her heart out for him." + +The contempt that had vibrated in her tones as she said it was still +ringing in his ears as he left the house, making him quiver from head to +foot with a sense of humiliation such as he had never experienced +before. + +When Gertrude Athol entered her own room, after her return from the +reception, she sat down and tried to calmly review the recent scene +between her discarded lover and herself, and to consider what influence +it was likely to have upon her future. + +"I believe I can truly say that I am glad to be free," she said after a +while, with a sudden proud uplifting of her head. "I have known from +almost the first of our acquaintance that Philip Wentworth is a weak +and selfish man; but he is a handsome fellow, entertaining, and well +versed in all the little courtesies of life and possessing strong +mesmeric power, and I believe that he was fond of me. I foolishly +imagined that, because of this supposed fondness, I might be able to +help him overcome his faults and arouse within him an ambition to +cultivate the best there is in him; but I know him now for a treacherous +villain--for a coward, and almost a murderer. Oh, yes; I am glad that I +am free, and I shall not grieve for him; though, of course, any woman +would naturally be keenly stung to discover that she has only been made +a tool of--simply held in reserve in the event of the failure of other +plans!" + +Her cheeks grew crimson, and her eyes flashed indignantly at the +thought, while two tears fell upon her jeweled hands. She flung them off +with an impatient gesture. + +"They are not for him!" she cried scornfully; "they fell only for my own +wounded pride; and they are the last I shall ever shed for that. The +hurt is not so very deep, thank Heaven! and will soon heal. So he has +been in love with Mollie Heatherford 'all his life?' Well, she certainly +is one of the dearest and loveliest girls I have ever met, and she has +shown good judgment in her choice of a husband, for Clifford Faxon is +worth a dozen men like Philip Wentworth." + +A little later, after her acquaintance with Mollie had ripened into a +strong and enduring friendship--when she learned how Philip had played +fast and loose with her, according to the changes in her +circumstances--her contempt merged into positive repulsion for the young +man; and before the season was over her acquaintance with a son of the +British ambassador, whom she met that evening for the first time, +developed into a strong mutual attachment which bade fair to result in +an early marriage. + +Upon their return from the reception, Clifford lingered a while with +Mollie before proceeding to his lodgings, and it was, therefore, quite +late when he reached home. He was somewhat surprised to find a carriage +standing before the house where Squire Talford boarded, while the +coachman was assisting his former employer up to the door, the man +groaning at every step. + +"Here, sir!" called the cabman, as he espied Clifford, "will you lend a +hand here, please? The gentleman has sprained his ankle, and he is more +than I can manage." + +"Certainly," Clifford cheerfully responded, as he sprang forward with +alacrity to render what assistance he could. + +"Here is his latch-key, sir," the driver continued, passing it to the +young man, "If you'll open the door, we'll make an armchair and carry +him up to his room, as easy as snapping your thumb and finger." + +Clifford did as he was requested, and then the two clasped hands, making +the squire sit upon them, with an arm around the neck of each of his +helpers, and in this way he was borne up two flights of stairs and +deposited upon a chair in his own room, which was little better than a +closet at the back of a hall. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +SQUIRE TALFORD'S ACCIDENT. + + +It was evident that the man was suffering intensely; but resolutely +repressing, as far as he was able, outward manifestations of the fact, +he turned to the cabman and briefly inquired: + +"What's to pay for this?" + +The man named his price, and, with a grunt of disapprobation, the squire +drew forth his wallet--the same that Mollie had restored to him only a +few hours previous--and paid the amount, whereupon the driver hurried +away to his team below. + +Squire Talford had not taken the slightest notice of Clifford, but the +young man, although he found himself in an awkward position, felt that +he had a duty to perform, and courteously inquired if he should go for a +surgeon to attend to the injured limb. + +"No," was the gruff response, "the leg has already been attended to at +the drug-store, where I made the mis-step." + +Cliff glanced down and observed for the first time that his boot had +been removed and the ankle bandaged. + +"But you will have to get to bed, sir; let me assist you," he remarked. + +"No--I can do well enough by myself--I don't want any help," the squire +returned ungraciously. + +Cliff flushed and stood irresolute for a moment. Then a look of +determination flashed into his eyes, and he deliberately unbuttoned and +removed his overcoat. + +"Excuse me, Squire Talford, but you do need help," he calmly observed. +"I know that you are not at all fond of me; that my presence is +disagreeable to you; but suppose, for this once, you ignore those facts +and accept the aid you require. You cannot stir from your chair without +great suffering if I leave you, and will probably have to sit in it all +night, unless you call some one in the house, and everybody appears to +be in bed. Here, let me have your hat," and without more ado he removed +it from the man's head and placed it on a table. + +"Now the coat," he added. "I am sure I can help you undress without +disturbing you very much, and when I get you comfortably settled in bed +I will leave you." + +Squire Talford was beginning to realize his helplessness, and submitted +to the disrobing without further objection, although not with the best +grace in the world, and he never once met Clifford's eyes during the +operation. + +"Now," said the young man, when that task was over, "the next move will +be to try to get you into bed without hurting this crippled foot if +possible. I will move your chair close beside it, then I think I can +easily lift you on." + +He swung the chair around, while he was speaking, and, it being a +rocker without arms, it was not difficult to place it just where he +wanted it, when, almost before he had time to dread the change, the +squire found himself reclining in a comparatively comfortable position, +although the pain in his ankle seemed unbearable. + +"Is there anything else I can do for you?" Clifford inquired, with a +great pity in his heart for the lonely man, as he saw how deathly white +he was and noted the lines of pain about his mouth. + +"I don't think of anything," said the squire, in a more subdued tone +than he had yet used. + +Clifford hung his clothing in the closet, and straightened things +generally in the room, then found his way to the bath-room, where he +procured a glass of water, which he placed on a chair beside the +patient, in case he should be thirsty during the night. + +"I am going to my room now, Squire Talford," he said when these +arrangements were completed, "but if you should need me before morning +and can arouse any one, you can send for me, and I will gladly come to +you. I will drop in anyway after breakfast, to see how you are." + +The man nodded, but did not unclose his eyes, and Clifford, after +turning the gas low, went quietly out, taking care to close the door +softly after him. + +The next morning on inquiring at the door regarding the squire's +condition before going to his business, he was told by the landlady that +he had slept but little, and was suffering very much, both from the +sprain and a high fever, for he had evidently taken a severe cold. + +Clifford went up to his room and tried to persuade him to have medical +advice, but the man curtly refused to do so; and after doing what little +he could for his comfort, he was obliged to leave him to himself. + +He found him even worse on his return at night, and he spent most of the +evening with him, bathing the injured ankle, rubbing it thoroughly with +a liniment which he had procured of a druggist, and afterward +rebandaging it as deftly as if he were accustomed to such duties. He +also bathed the man's fevered face and hands, and he seemed much +refreshed afterward. + +The squire did not submit to these operations with a very good grace at +first, but Clifford had assumed a masterful air, and went straight ahead +as if he had a perfect right to do so, and was so gentle and handy that +before he was through he could see that the squire's antagonism to his +presence was merging into a sort of helpless reliance upon him. + +He had brought some lemons with him, and with these he made a small +pitcher of lemonade, some of which the sufferer drank with thirsty +relish, the remainder being left where he could easily reach it. +Clifford felt very reluctant to leave him alone, for he saw that he was +very ill; but the squire bade him go, saying that he was all right, and +he felt obliged to obey him. + +He did not feel wearied or like sleeping after reaching his own room, +and, having a new book, he read until very late, retiring just as the +clock in a room below struck the half-hour after twelve. + +He fell asleep almost immediately; but suddenly--it seemed as if he +could hardly have lost himself--he was aroused by hearing the rapid +"chug-chug" of a steam fire-engine close by and a perfect babel of +voices in the street below him. + +He sprang from his bed and rushed to a window, and was appalled to see +smoke and flame issuing from both the door and windows of the adjoining +house, which he had left only a few hours previous. His first thought +was for Squire Talford, who was on the third floor, and who, in his +crippled condition, would find it very difficult to get out of the +burning building. + +He hurriedly threw on some clothing; then dashed down-stairs and out of +doors. The entire lower floor of the burning house was in flames. The +fire had started in the basement, and had gained great headway before it +was discovered. + +The stairway leading to the second story was also on fire, and thus +rendered impassable, and the family and servants were being taken out of +the second-floor windows by the firemen when Clifford appeared upon the +scene. + +"Where is Squire Talford?" he demanded of the landlady, as soon as he +could find her. + +"Merciful heavens, sir! I'm sure I don't know. He must be up-stairs in +his room. With so many other things on my mind I haven't thought of him +till this minute!" cried the almost distracted woman, wringing her +hands in terror. + +Clifford turned suddenly white with a terrible fear. One sweeping glance +aloft told him that the man would shortly be suffocated by smoke, even +if the flames had not already reached him. He knew that he could not put +his injured foot to the floor; that he was almost as helpless as an +infant; and unless he had immediate assistance the chances in his favor +were very small indeed. + +It was too late to try to save him by getting him out of the windows on +the front of the house, for some of the firemen had been burned while +making their last trip down the ladder with their burdens, and the +flames were now pouring out of them. + +Without saying a word to any one, he dashed back into his own house, +bounded up three flights of stairs, and made his way out upon the roof, +through a skylight, and ran across to the one on the roof of the fated +building. + +It was fastened; but with one blow of his heel he smashed a pane of +glass, and reaching inside, unhooked it, throwing it open with a force +that nearly tore it from its hinges. The next moment he was making his +way down the stairs; but the whole place was black with smoke so dense +that he could scarcely see or breathe. + +He sprang into the squire's room, to find the man lying crossway of the +bed, his face downward, panting for breath and moaning piteously. He had +tried to get up to escape, wrenched his ankle, and fallen back again +half-fainting from the pain, from fear, and a horrible sense of his own +helplessness. + +"Courage, Squire Talford!" cried Clifford, in forceful tones. "I will +have you out of this very shortly. Now think quick--have you any papers +and valuables that you want to take with you?" + +"Yes--a package of documents in my trunk--my watch and wallet are under +my pillow," the man feebly responded, though he had lifted his head +eagerly the instant he caught the sound of the familiar, encouraging +voice. + +Clifford had the wallet and watch in his pocket almost before he ceased +speaking; then he flew to the trunk--fortunately it was not +locked--found the papers, and thrust them into his pocket. The next +moment he was bending over the squire. + +"Here, let me help you up," he said; "you must not mind if you are hurt +a little--put your arms around my neck and give yourself up to me, and I +will save you." + +The man rolled over, and with Clifford's help stood upon his well foot, +though a groan burst from him in making the effort. He clasped his hands +about the young man's neck, as he was bidden, and Clifford lifted him in +his arms, bore him from the room, through the volume of smoke that was +now rolling up through the aperture above, up the stairs to the roof, +and across it to the next house. + +Here he deposited his burden upon the upper step of the flight of stairs +leading below, while the fresh, frosty air had done much toward +reviving the almost suffocated man. + +"Now," said Clifford, "if you can manage to get inside out of the cold +by yourself, I will go back and see if I can save some of your clothing. +Can you?" + +"Yes, I will try; but don't run any risk for the clothes, Cliff," the +squire replied as he began to ease himself down the stairs; for he was +shivering with cold and excitement. + +In spite of the gravity of the situation, a smile flashed over +Clifford's face as he noted the change in the man's tone when he +pronounced his name, and marked the consideration expressed for him. He +darted back and down into the room which he had only just left, although +now the flames smote him as he went, for they were rolling up from below +with devouring force. + +He snatched a sheet from the bed, and, without making a false movement +or step, piled upon it everything belonging to the squire that he could +lay his hands on, emptying both trunk and closet; then gathering it up +by the four corners, he knotted them, swung the pack over his head, and +a moment later was again on the roof of the house, and this time getting +a thorough drenching from the stream of water which had been directed to +the column of smoke that was pouring out of the skylight. + +He had not been any too expeditious, for almost at the same instant +there came a terrible crash, which told of falling floors and stairways +within the burning building. Dropping his pack through the roof of his +own dwelling, he quickly followed it, to find the squire shivering in +the hall below. + +He assisted him down the next flight to the room he occupied, which was +a large square apartment in the front of the house, and made him get +into his own bed. + +The man was a little inclined to rebel against this arrangement, for he +seemed to think that they were still in danger from the fire; but Cliff +assured him that the department were getting the flames under control, +and they were in no danger, as the walls between the houses were +fireproof. + +As soon as he had made him comfortable, he went up-stairs again to bring +down the clothing he had saved, and arranged it neatly in his closet and +an empty trunk of his own; after which he had a bath and put on dry +garments. + +Although the engines continued to play for more than an hour after this, +the worst was over, no lives had been lost, although much personal +property was destroyed, and the excitement soon subsided. + +But when morning broke Squire Talford was raving in the delirium of +fever. Clifford felt it his duty to act upon his own responsibility, and +immediately called a physician, who at once declared that the man must +either go to a hospital, or have a trained nurse where he was, for he +was very sick, and liable to have a tedious illness. Knowing the +squire's horror of incurring heavy expenses, Clifford did not quite like +to send him to a hospital, while the cost of a trained nurse in the +house, with her board to be paid, would very soon amount to an appalling +sum. + +The man was in no condition to plan for himself, and so, after thinking +the matter over seriously, and consulting with his landlady, who was a +kind-hearted, sensible woman, Clifford decided to send for Maria +Kimberly to come and take care of her master. + +Mrs. Woodruff, the owner of the house, had a couple of empty rooms which +she was very glad to rent--one on the same floor and another above--and +Clifford said he would take one and Maria could have the other. + +So, about the middle of the forenoon, while Mrs. Kimberly was ironing +the last parlor curtain--which, after it was hung, would complete her +house-cleaning for that season--a messenger-boy appeared at the door +with a telegram for her. + +It was Cliff's message, briefly telling of the squire's illness, and +bidding her come to nurse him. She was to take the earliest possible +train for New York, wire Clifford when she reached that city what hour +she would leave for Washington, and he would meet her upon her arrival. + +It was the first telegram that the woman had ever received in her life, +and it naturally gave her quite a shock, but she was equal to the +emergency, and after reading the message through twice, her mind began +to act vigorously. + +"Goodness gracious me!" she ejaculated as she drew a long breath. "It's +come like a clap of thunder! But of course I've got to go. Yes, and--I'm +sure it's another dispensation of Providence--I shall take that box +belonging to Cliff along with me." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +MARIA SPEAKS HER MIND. + + +After Maria had settled the question of duty, she went very +systematically to work to prepare for her journey. She calmly finished +ironing her curtain, hung it nicely in its place, and then swept a +satisfied look around the neatly arranged and immaculate room before +closing and locking the door to keep out all intruders during her +absence. + +Then she rolled up her sleeves, and for the next three hours baked and +boiled and fried until her pantry was well stocked with substantial and +toothsome provisions for the hired man and chore-boy. + +"This'll last you nigh onto two weeks, with what you can cook for +yourselves," she said to Pat, as she showed him the result of her +labors. "There's plenty of salt pork in the barrel that you can fry when +you want a change from corned beef and ham, and there's all kinds of +veg'tables in the cellar. I guess you can manage some way till I come +back, and if you get out of bread you can ask Miss Barnes to bake you +some, or you can buy it of the baker." + +Her cooking out of the way and everything about the house left in the +most tidy manner imaginable, Maria packed her small trunk, arrayed +herself in a good, serviceable gown for traveling, and was driven into +New Haven in ample time to catch her train. + +She made her connections in New York without any difficulty, after +having wired Clifford what hour she expected to arrive in Washington the +following morning. He was at the station to meet her when the train +rolled into it, and welcomed her most cordially; indeed, a great burden +rolled from his heart the moment he caught sight of her strong, honest +face, for he felt that she was equal to the responsibilities awaiting +her. + +To her inquiries regarding the squire's condition, he replied that he +was pretty sick and had been delirious all night, but had fallen asleep +a few moments before he left him to come to her. + +"Who's been taking care of him?" Maria questioned. + +"Well, he has not needed much care until yesterday and last night, and +I've done what I could," Clifford modestly returned. + +Then he told her about his accident and of his narrow escape from being +burned to death, although he made as light as possible of his own agency +in these matters; but Maria learned all about it later, when she had +made the acquaintance of the landlady, who could not say enough in +praise of him. + +For three weeks Squire Talford was a very sick man, and even Maria found +her powers of endurance taxed to the utmost, in spite of the aid of +Clifford, who insisted upon sharing her vigils at night and doing all +that he could besides out of business hours. He pulled through, however, +though it was a hard pull; yet when he began to convalesce he mended +very rapidly. + +Five weeks after Maria's arrival he was able to be up and dressed; his +appetite had returned, and he said he felt as if he had "been made over +new." + +One morning, after she had served him a nice breakfast and put his room +to rights, Mrs. Kimberly seated herself directly opposite her patient, +with a very determined look on her honest face. + +"Well, what is it, Maria?" the squire questioned, for he always knew +that matters of importance weighed heavily on her mind when she looked +like that. + +"I've got something to tell you," she replied, and coming directly to +the point. + +"I thought so. What is it? Go ahead." + +"Waal, I expect you won't like it very well, but it's got to be told," +the woman observed, and flushing slightly. "When I was cleanin' the +attic, after you left, I took that little hair trunk o' your'n up to +move it, dropped it, and smashed the lid off." + +The squire started and shot a quick look at her at this. + +"Of course, everything tumbled out," she pursued, "and I had to pick 'em +up and put 'em back. I suppose I don't need to tell you that I found +among the mess a box belonging to Cliff." + +She glanced up as she concluded, to find that her companion had lost +some of his recently recovered color during her recital. + +There was a moment of awkward silence, then the man curtly remarked: + +"Well?" + +"Waal, the box had come apart in the smash, and I found a lot of letters +directed to Cliff's mother and--to his father. I found, too, the papers +that told about Mis' Faxon's marriage and Cliff's christening." + +"Well?" questioned the squire again as she paused, but with white lips. + +"Of course, I didn't read the letters. I thought 'twas none o' my +business what was in 'em, but when I saw them certificates I made up my +mind that a burnin' wrong had been done that boy--a wrong that must be +righted, squire; so, when I got his message to come to take care o' you, +I brought that box along with me." + +"You did!" exclaimed Squire Talford, in a startled tone. "What have you +done with it--have you given it to Cliff?" + +"No, sir! You don't ketch Maria Kimberly doin' anything underhanded if +she knows it," responded the woman, with considerable spirit. "As long +as I found the things in your trunk, I made up my mind I'd tell you +about it first and see what you'd do before I went any farther." + +"That shows your good sense and honesty, Maria," said the squire +appreciatively. "I suppose, however, you think the boy ought to have the +papers," he added thoughtfully. + +"Of course I do, and that ain't all he oughter have, either," his +companion retorted, with stout-hearted frankness. + +"What do you mean?" demanded the squire, with well-assumed surprise. + +Maria sniffed significantly and tossed her head. + +"I suppose you imagine I don't know who Cliff's father was," she said, +with a wise smile. "I suppose you think I never heard that story about +Belle Abbot, who, after she was engaged to one man, fell in love with +another and jilted the first one. But I never suspected that the man she +married was anything to you--I never heard that part of it--until just +afore I came to Washington. I was dustin' the books in that old +secretary in your bedroom, and came across that old Bible your mother +used to like because the type was so clear. I'd seen it a hundred times, +but never took any notice of the family record till that day, when I +found the same name, among a lot of others, that I saw on Belle Abbot's +marriage-certificate. + +"You could have knocked me over with a feather, for I always believed +Cliff's mother married a man by the name o' Faxon--and she did, too, for +that was one of the names. I never could understand afore why you hated +the boy so; but now I see through it. You knew he didn't know anything +about his father; you pretended to be a friend to Mis' Faxon after she +came back from the West, influenced her to bind the boy to you when she +was dyin', and managed, some way, to get hold o' them papers and have +kep' 'em hid from him ever since, for you didn't mean he should ever +have his rights if you could help it." + +"Don't you think you are getting pretty sharp and familiar in your talk, +Maria?" the squire demanded shortly, as she paused for breath, but the +hand that was fingering an envelope trembled visibly. + +"Maybe," she coolly retorted. "I'd made up my mind that the right time +had come for some 'sharp and familiar' talk to you, and I wasn't going +to shirk my duty. I've lived with you, Squire Talford, nigh on to +eighteen years, and I've tried to do my best for you and your'n all that +time--'specially since Mis' Talford died, for I felt I owed her a lot +for the pains she took to train me; then, of course, I wanted to feel +that I earned the money you was payin' me, though I've never had a rise +in my wages. So my conscience is clear on that score, and I don't think +I've neglected anything except to speak my mind, and that I'm goin' to +make up for now, if I never set foot in the old place again. + +"I've had hard work to hold my tongue in the past when you was abusin' +Cliff as you used to, and you'd no cause to hate him as you seemed to, +either. He never wronged you; he wasn't to blame for comin' into the +world the son o' the other man instead o' your'n. A better, brighter boy +never drew breath; he served you faithful as the day was long and you +treated him shameful--worse'n a slave. I used to wonder how you could +sleep nights after some o' those awful thrashin's you gave him. I never +felt meaner in my life for anybody than I did for you when you let him +go off to college without even a word o' kindness and encouragement, and +if I knew then what I know now he'd never have gone away as empty-handed +as he did." + +"You are spreading it on pretty thick, Maria, and I think it is about +time you stopped," the squire here interposed, and with a face that was +now crimson with mingled anger and shame. + +"Yes, I s'pose I am spreadin' it on thick," she composedly admitted, +"and I tell you I'm downright glad of the chance for once. I reckon I am +about through, though, only I'd like to ask what you propose to do for +Cliff." + +"I'm not sure that I propose to do anything," was the sullen reply. + +"You don't," cried Maria, bridling again, "Well, then, I do. I propose +to see that that young man gets his rights. I'm far from bein' a rich +woman, but I've saved up a plump little sum out o' my wages and Cliff +shall have every dollar of it to help him fight for his share of the +fortune that his grandmother left, and if you was clothed and in your +right mind you'd want him to have the rest of it when you're done with +it. + +"What are you thinking of, Squire Talford," she went on, glowing with +indignation, "to nurse, at your time o' life, such a spite against such +a splendid fellow like Clifford Faxon--a fellow that any man might be +proud to own as a son? Haven't you any gratitude for what he's done for +you? You'd have been burned to a cinder and lyin' under them brick walls +outside, but for him; he did what precious few men would have done that +night o' the fire, to save a man he knew hated him and had abused him as +you did when he was a boy. + +"And that ain't all, neither; he gave up this nice room to you and has +been sleepin' in a back room that's little better'n a closet, at the end +o' the hall, so's he could be handy to spell me when I had to rest. And +he's set up watchin' with you, night after night, just as faithful 's if +you was his own father. I could never have done it alone; for, squire, +you came mighty nigh slippin' over Jordan some o' them nights--mighty +nigh. Man alive! haven't you got any heart? What are you made of, +anyway? Waal," drawing a long breath and looking a trifle frightened as +she began to realize that she had been holding forth with more vigor +than discretion, "I guess I've said enough for now, and I'll leave you +to think it over. I've got that box in my trunk, and if you don't see +fit to do the square thing by Cliff I shall give it to him, tell him all +I know and then you an' I'll settle our accounts." + +The woman arose as she concluded and walked quietly from the room, +leaving the squire to meditate, in no enviable frame of mind, upon a +situation which he had never dreamed would overtake him. + +Maria did not go near him again until luncheon-time, when she carried +him a tray of daintily prepared viands that would have tempted an +epicure. + +She watched him out of the corners of her eyes while she arranged his +table, and the thoughtful expression on his face appeared to afford her +an immense amount of satisfaction, for two or three times, when she +passed behind his chair, she nodded her head with a gratified air which +spoke volumes. + +The man did not refer to the conversation of the morning, but there was +that in his manner and in the tones of his voice whenever he addressed +her, which assured her that he did not think any the less of her for the +stand she had taken. + +She kept out of his way during most of the afternoon, also, giving as a +reason that she was going to be busy in the laundry, but at night, as at +noon, his dinner was prepared with the greatest care and nicety. + +"You are a good cook, Maria," he remarked as she brought him a second cup +of coffee, the aroma of which pervaded the whole room, "and," he added +gravely, "you have proved yourself to be a tip-top nurse." + +"Thank you, sir," Maria respectfully responded and flushing with +pleasure at the unusual praise; "I had a good woman to train me--Mis' +Talford made me what I am, and I'm not backward to give her the credit +of it; she was a prime housekeeper and one o' the salt o' the earth." + +Whether it was this reference to his wife, or whether some other matters +were pressing heavily upon him, Maria had no means of knowing, but she +was sure she heard him sigh and saw his lips contract +spasmodically--signs of emotion which were very rare with him. + +He finished his dinner in silence, but as she was about to leave the +room with his tray he suddenly inquired: + +"Maria, has Cliff come in yet?" + +"Yes, sir; I met him in the hall as I was bringing up that last cup of +coffee." + +"Well, will you go to his door and ask him if he can spare me an hour +this evening? Say that it is a matter of importance." + +"All right, sir; I'll tell him," Maria responded, but with a sudden +choking in her throat which rendered her utterance somewhat indistinct. + +"And, Maria----" + +"Yes, sir." + +She paused with her hand upon the handle of the door, but did not look +around. + +"When I ring you may bring me that box, of which you told me to-day." + +"Yes, sir." + +It was all she could say; then she passed out of the room, shutting the +door softly behind her, but paused in the hall to wipe away the tears +that were raining over her cheeks. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +THE SQUIRE'S STORY. + + +Maria hurried away to the basement with her tray, then, all unmindful of +the fact that as yet her own fast had not been broken, sought Cliff, who +was in the library, his landlady having considerately offered him the +freedom of the house while he was excluded from his own room. + +"Is is anything particular, Maria?" the young man inquired when she had +delivered her message, while he glanced at his watch, for he had an +engagement with Mollie for nine o'clock. + +"Yes, 'tis," the woman replied with an emphatic nod of her head; "it's +very particular, and I'd advise you to 'tend to it now, while the +squire's in the right mood." + +Cliff regarded her curiously a moment; but, as she did not seem inclined +to say more, he observed: + +"Very well, I will go to him at once," and, following her from the room, +he mounted the stairs and was soon knocking for admission at the door of +the room above. + +"Good evening, Squire Talford, how do you find yourself to-night?" he +inquired pleasantly upon entering at the man's bidding. + +"I'm getting on very well," was the somewhat laconic reply. + +"Maria told me that you wished to see me. What can I do for you?" +Clifford asked, but instinctively scenting something unusual in the +atmosphere. + +"Sit down," briefly commanded the squire and pointing at a chair +opposite him. Clifford obeyed, smiling indulgently at the peremptory +tone. + +"I've got a story to tell you," began the squire plunging at once into +the disagreeable task before him, "and I expect it may surprise you a +bit in some ways. My father died when I was a baby. He was a rich man, +owning the place which has always been my home, besides considerable +other property. He made a will before he died giving everything he +possessed to my mother, and leaving her free to do with it just what she +chose. Two years afterward she married a second time--a man with no +means, a bookworm and would-be literary man, who sometimes earned a +little by his pen, though for the most part he was a failure from a +pecuniary point of view. + +"Less than a year later there came another boy into the family--my +half-brother--and at the end of another twelve months my mother was +again a widow. From that time she lived only to rear and educate her +children, who grew up together, nominally as brothers, but secretly +antagonistic to each other from their earliest youth. From my boyhood I +was thrifty and ambitious; all my interest and my pride were centered in +my home, and I was always planning and working to improve it and make it +yield a handsome income. My brother, on the contrary, would not work; +he was fond of books, like his father, and, more than all, of a +rollicking good time. + +"He had no interest in the farm or in anything that pertained to the +ways and means of living, and, as he grew toward manhood, he became wild +and unmanageable, giving our mother many a heartache because of his +reckless habits and extravagance. He always managed to get the lion's +share of everything, and, although I know my mother did not mean to be +unfair to me, she favored him in many ways, and denied herself almost +every luxury to keep his pockets well filled. We both went to college, +but when I was through I settled down to manage the estate and make the +most out of it and what other property my mother owned. When Bill +finished his education he insisted that he must have a trip to Europe. +He had his way, and spent a pile of money--more than he had any right +to--while I trudged on at home and bore all the burdens. About six +months after he went away I became attracted to a--a handsome girl in +New Haven. Her name was Isabelle Abbot." + +"My mother!" exclaimed Cliff with a sudden start and thrill of dismay, +while he grew first crimson, then white. + +"Yes, your mother," sharply repeated the squire, "and, as I said, she +lived in New Haven, her father doing a good business there in gents' +furnishing goods. She returned--or appeared to return--my regard for +her, and we shortly became engaged and planned to be married the next +fall, as soon as the harvesting was over. In June my brother returned +from Europe--the same rollicking, pleasure-loving, indolent fellow he +had always been. My mother urged him to settle down to some business or +profession, but he kept putting her off, telling her that when he found +something that suited him he'd dip in, as he expressed it; but he didn't +find what he wanted and continued to live his lazy life, but spending +money just as freely as ever. It was a bitter day for me when I +introduced him to the girl I expected to marry. He expressed a great +deal of admiration for her, called me a 'lucky dog' and said he should +'be very fond of his pretty sister-in-law.'" + +The bitterness in Squire Talford's tones as he repeated these sayings of +his brother plainly betrayed that his heart was still very sore from +these painful experiences of the past. + +"Well, it is the old story of treachery, and confidence betrayed," he +resumed after a short pause. "He began to visit Belle on the sly, and +wormed himself into her affections, and I, while I could see that she +was not quite the same as she was before he came home, never dreamed of +what was going on between them, until one day--just a month before the +day set for our wedding--they both disappeared, leaving only this to +tell what had occurred." + +The squire paused again and drew from the inner pocket of his +dressing-gown a small, square leather case, which he passed over to +Clifford. + +The young man took it with fingers that were trembling visibly, opened +it and drew forth a soiled and yellow envelope addressed to Mr. Alfred +H. Talford and in a hand which he instantly recognized to be his +mother's. + +Slipping the missive from the envelope, he unfolded it and read the +following brief letter: + + + "ALFRED: I know that you can never forgive me the wrong I am doing + you, but, too late, I have learned that I love another and not you. + When you receive this I shall be the wife of that other--you well + know who. I wish I could have saved you this blow, so near the day + that was set for our wedding; but I should have doubly wronged you + had I remained and fulfilled my pledge to you, with my heart + irrevocably elsewhere. Forget and forgive if you can. T.A." + + +Clifford was very pale as he perused these lines; which had crushed all +the brightest hopes of the man before him and embittered and warped his +whole life. + +He sighed, and a feeling of sympathy thrilled his heart as he returned +the epistle to its worn, leathern receptable and handed it back to his +companion, while he told himself that there must be depths to the man's +nature that he had never suspected, or he would not have preserved and +carried about with him for so many years this relic of an old-time love. + +The squire hesitated before taking it, glancing irresolutely from it to +Clifford, as if half-ashamed of the tenacity with which he had clung to +it, and was inclined to repudiate any further interests in it, but he +finally put forth his hand to receive it and returned it to the pocket +from which he had taken it. + +"Then, my mother married your half-brother, Squire Talford," Clifford +gravely observed, after a thoughtful pause, "and that makes you--" + +"Yes, it makes me your uncle, or half-uncle, though perhaps the least +said about the relationship the better," was the somewhat bitter reply. +Then he resumed with pale, pain-drawn lips, which betrayed that it was +no easy matter for him to lay bare these secrets of his heart; "You can, +perhaps, imagine something of what that letter meant to me--it changed +in one moment of time my whole life; it made a devil of me, and all the +affection which I had previously entertained for those who had so +wronged me turned to rankest hatred, and I vowed that I would some day +make them conscious of the fact; that I would spare neither of them if +the time ever came when I could set my heel upon them. + +"That time came, at least for one, sooner than I expected. Meantime, I +married a thrifty, sensible girl who made me a good wife. I'd got to +have somebody to keep house for me and look out for things generally, +for my mother was giving out; that last act of Bill's broke her heart as +well as turned mine to stone. But she--my wife--didn't live so very +long. I expect she found life rather disappointing, for she never seemed +very chipper after the first month or two. So, when she died, I +concluded I was better off alone, and, as Maria had been thoroughly +trained in the ways of the house and farm, I concluded I'd fight it out +by myself. But, to go back a little," he continued, his voice suddenly +hardening again, a little note of regret having crept into it while he +was speaking of his mother and his dead wife. "Mr. Abbot, Belle's +father, was all broken up over her elopement; he had a long sickness, +during which his business went to rack and ruin, and when he finally got +out again he settled up the best he could and bought that little place +where you spent the first thirteen years of your life, paying down what +he could and giving a mortgage for the rest. I bought up that mortgage +just as soon as I got wind of it, and that was the first grip I got +toward paying off old scores. He and his wife lived there very quietly +for a couple of years; then Mrs. Abbot died. Her husband struggled on +alone for ten or eleven months longer, and then he gave up the battle. + +"He made his will only a few weeks previous, leaving his interest in his +house to his daughter, if she ever came back, and made me administrator +of the estate--that was another grip for me. You see, I held the +mortgage, and as I'd never let on about my state of mind regarding that +old disappointment, he naturally thought I'd be the best one to manage +the business, if I could ever get trace of his daughter. Ha!" + +Clifford moved uneasily in his chair, for the vindictiveness in his +companion's voice rasped almost beyond endurance. The squire observed +it, and a wintry smile flitted over his face. + +"That strikes you as rather vicious, doesn't it?" he said. "But I told +you that that wrong made a devil of me. Well, Mr. Abbot hadn't been gone +two months when his daughter came home, bringing her four-weeks'-old +baby--you--with her." + +"But, my father--where was he?" questioned Clifford in an eager tone. + +"That was more than any one could tell; he had deserted his wife nearly +a year previous, and she never saw or heard from him afterward. Here is +the letter he wrote her, informing her of his intention. I found it +among her papers after she died, and, as it struck me as being something +rather unique, I have kept it as a curiosity and with the thought that +it might prove useful to me at some time or other. It may, perhaps, +serve to give you an inkling regarding his character." + +He lifted a letter from the table beside him and handed it to Clifford +with a grim smile on his face. + +This is what the young man read; + + + "I'm off. There is no use in longer trying to conceal the fact that + I am tired of the continual grind of the last two years. It was a + great mistake that we ever married, and I may as well confess what + you have already surmised, that I never really loved you. Why did I + marry you, then? Well, you know that I never could endure to be + balked in anything, and as I had made up my mind to cut a certain + person out, I was bound to carry my point. You know who I mean, and + that he and I were always at cross-purposes. The best thing you can + do will be to go back to your own people--tell whatever story you + choose about me. I shall never take the trouble to refute it, + neither will I ever annoy you in any way. Get a divorce if you want + one. I will not oppose it; as I said before, I am tired of the + infernal grind and bound to get out of it. I'll go my way, and you + may go yours; but don't attempt to find or follow me, for I won't + be hampered by any responsibilities in the future." + + +"Wretch!" he muttered between his tightly locked teeth. "And have you +never heard anything of him since?" + +"Wait; let me tell my story in my own way and you will know all there is +to know when I am through," the squire replied, and then resumed: "I +told you that Belle Abbott came home with her baby, to find her father +and mother both gone and with no resources for herself except the +interest in the house where her parents had died. But she was thankful +for even a roof to cover her, and, being a woman of considerable energy +and strength of character, she began to look about for something to do +to support herself and her child, and--to pay the interest on the +mortgage, which, even then, was overdue." + +Again Clifford moved restlessly, for the man's malice irritated him +excessively, for he began to realize now, as he never had before, +something of what his mother's wrongs and sufferings had been, and how +this vindictive man had oppressed her to gratify a mean revenge. + +"You think I was a 'wretch,' too, no doubt," said the squire. "I don't +deny it; but you know the old saying that 'even a worm will turn when +trod upon,' and my heart had been trampled to adamant and I had sworn +that I would have my pay for it. Your mother never went by her husband's +surname after she came back--she called herself Mrs. Faxon, for she did +not want you to know anything about the troubles of her life until you +were old enough to comprehend them clearly. That was why she would +never talk with you about your father. She had a first-rate education, +having stood at the head of her class when she graduated from the Normal +School in New Haven, and so she decided to open a private school in her +own house and try to get her living that way. She managed to just about +cover her expenses, except that she couldn't meet the interest on that +mortgage, during the last few years, and so the place came into my +hands, as you know, when she died. I didn't press her for the money, and +I didn't show my hoofs to her very much. I--well, I had my reasons for +it, as you will see." The man faltered and changed color here a trifle. + +"So," he went on, bracing himself after a moment, "she naturally +believed that I had wiped out old scores; but I hadn't. I simply wanted +to work out certain plans which I had in view for you, and when I +proposed that she should bind you to me for a term of years she fell +into the trap without a suspicion, believing that I would look out for +your future interests, and, if at any time your father's death could be +proved, you would come in for a certain share of the property. But that +was the very thing that I was determined should never happen, and so, +when, the night before she died, she sent for me and gave me a box of +letters and other papers explaining your parentage to keep for you until +your time was out----" + +"What!" cried Clifford, flushing crimson with sudden indignation, "and +you never gave them to me! Why have you done this--this wicked, inhuman +thing--why have you kept them from me?" + +"Because of that old devil in me, I suppose," was the dogged response. +"The hatred which I had been nursing against your father and mother for +so many years seemed to concentrate upon you. I never meant you should +know who your father was, nor your relationship to me, nor that you +should get a penny of your grandmother's property, if I could help it." + +"Did my grandmother make a will?" Clifford briefly inquired. + +"No, there was no will; but as nothing was ever heard of my brother, and +as I had managed everything for years, the property has all remained in +my hands," the squire replied. + +"Why have you told me all this now--why have you changed your mind and +revealed these secrets?" Clifford demanded as he leaned forward and +gazed steadily into his companion's face. Something about him seemed to +fascinate the man, for he regarded him with a peculiar, searching look +for a full minute. + +"Your eyes are very like your mother's," he musingly observed. "She had +the most beautiful eyes I ever saw, and your features are something like +hers. I used to think you looked like your father, but you have changed +during the last few years, and you make me think of her to-night. +Oh!"--with a sudden start and giving himself a rough shake--"why have I +told you this story now? Well, for one reason, I was compelled to do so. +I thought that box of papers would never see the light again--I meant to +have burned it long ago, but kept putting it off--but fate has taken the +matter entirely out of my hands. I had it safely locked away in an old +trunk, with a lot of other papers, but while Maria was cleaning house, +after I came to Washington, the trunk got a fall, was smashed, and she +found it. She brought it along with her, and this morning she informed +me that I must relate the facts of your history to you or she should +take the matter into her own hands. Of course, I preferred to face the +inevitable," he concluded stoically. + +"What are the papers in the box?" queried Clifford. + +"Some old love-letters that passed between your father and mother while +they were fooling me to the top of their bent, the certificate of their +marriage, and another of your baptism, with some other things of minor +importance." + +"Oh! then there is proof that my mother was legally married?" said +Clifford eagerly. + +"Yes, they were married, straight enough; though it wouldn't have +surprised me at all if my scapegrace of a brother had made a fool of +her. I never knew him to consult his conscience much where his own +pleasure was concerned," said the squire dryly. + +"I once inferred from something you said that there was some doubt about +it," said Clifford flushing. + +"Well, I was pretty mad at you that night, and I didn't care much what I +said." + +"You have said that my father was your half-brother, and that Faxon was +not his surname. What was his name?" the young man inquired with a +clouded brow. + +"Well, it is natural that you should want to know, and these papers will +tell you. I'll call Maria and she will bring them to you," Squire +Talford replied, and he rang the little handbell by his side, and which +was to summon Mrs. Kimberly to the scene. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +CLIFFORD LEARNS HIS FATHER'S NAME. + + +Maria, evidently, was not far away, for she entered the room almost +immediately after the ringing of Squire Talford's bell and bearing the +box in her hands. She paused, after closing the door, and glanced +inquiringly at the squire. + +"Give it to him," he said, with a nod toward Clifford, and Maria placed +it in his hands, after which she walked quietly from the room again. + +Clifford was deeply moved, and his hands trembled visibly as he untied +the cord that held the cover in place and removed it. He merely glanced +at the letters as he took them out; but seized the folded parchment with +an eagerness which betrayed how anxious he was to learn the identity of +the man who had married and deserted his mother. + +He removed the pin that held the two papers together and unfolded the +topmost one, which proved to be the marriage-certificate. He searched it +eagerly for the name he wanted, and a perplexed look swept over his face +as he read it: "W. F. T. Wilton." + +"W. F. T. Wilton," he repeated thoughtfully. "Well, it does not +enlighten me very much. What do the initials 'W. F. T.' stand for?" + +"William Faxon Temple," briefly replied his companion, and regarding him +with a peculiar look. + +At first the name did not seem to mean much to Clifford. Then, all at +once, he started erect, a terrible shock galvanizing him from head to +foot, as his mind flew back to his first summer in the mountains, where +he had met the wealthy banker, William F. Temple, and his family; as he +recalled also his interview with the man on the morning after Minnie +Temple's rescue, when he had been so strangely moved upon learning his +own name. + +"But it cannot be possible!" he muttered, repudiating the thought almost +as soon as it had taken form in his mind. + +"What cannot be possible?" inquired the squire. + +"Why, I know a man here in Washington by the name of William F. Temple, +and it struck me as an odd coincidence that is all," Clifford explained, +but with clouded eyes. + +"Well?" said the squire, but with such a peculiar intonation that +Clifford started again. + +"You cannot mean--surely it cannot be possible that he is the man you +refer to--your half-brother!" he cried breathlessly. + +"Yes, he, and no other, is the man," was the emphatic response, "only he +has found it convenient to drop the name of Wilton." + +"But are you sure? Have you met this man who calls himself William F. +Temple? Do you know that he is your brother?" + +"Yes, I am sure--we have met and recognized each other, greatly to his +confusion. I could take my oath as to his identity and that he is the +man who married Belle Abbot more than twenty-three years ago, though I +am sure he has never dreamed of your existence, for you were born eight +months after he had deserted your mother. She called herself by the name +of Faxon and named you Clifford, for your grandfather, Abbot. She said +you should never be known by the name of Wilton, and as the population +of New Haven was constantly changing, and her home was on the outskirts +of the city, she hoped to keep your identity a secret and your young +life unhampered by any knowledge of the great wrong of which your father +had been guilty. She never heard one word from her husband, and she +finally came to the conclusion that he must be dead. I also shared that +belief, for I was pretty sure that if he was alive and needed money he +would make some effort to get his share of his mother's property; but +four years ago last summer we suddenly ran across each other on a train +between New York and Albany----" + +"You did?" sharply interposed Clifford, "and did you tell him of my +existence?" + +"You may be sure I didn't. I never meant that any one should know that +there was any tie of kinship between you and me," replied the squire, +with some asperity. "At first Bill pretended that he did not know me, +but I very soon brought him down from his high horse and convinced him +that I knew my man. He was dressed like a nabob, and told me that he had +become rich--he even told me that I was welcome to all that our mother +left, and that he should never give me any trouble about his share of +it; but I supposed that was a kind of bribe for me to let him alone, +and, as I'd come to look upon everything as belonging to me, I concluded +to give him a wide berth, rather than to get into an expensive lawsuit +over the matter. I never met him again until the day you took your +degree at Harvard--bah! I did not mean to let that cat out of the bag!" +the man interposed, with a shrug of irritation and flushing hotly. + +"Oh! I knew you were there," Clifford quietly returned. "I saw you +almost as soon as I entered the hall, and your presence was a great +inspiration--I feel I owe you a great deal for it." + +"An inspiration!" repeated his companion, wonderingly. + +"Yes; for I knew you had come to criticize--to ascertain for yourself if +I had been able to work my own way through college and acquit myself +creditably, and the knowledge proved a wonderful bracer for me. But you +were telling me about your second meeting with Mr. Temple." + +"Yes, I ran against him and his whole family just as I was leaving the +grounds. They were a stunning party, and their carriage and horses as +fine as one would care to see. But it nearly took Bill's breath away to +see me--he looked as if he had met a ghost, though neither of us let on +that he knew the other," the squire explained. + +"And that man is my father!--you have taken my breath away by the +revelation," said Clifford, with an air of bewilderment and a sudden +sense of repulsion. "However, I have no desire to lay claim to any such +relationship. Do you know where he went and how he made his money after +he deserted my mother?" + +"I've been told that he 'struck pay-gravel' in some Western mines; then +went to San Francisco, where he set up as a banker, got into society +there, and served one or two terms as Mayor of the city and met his +present wife--who was a rich widow by the name of Wentworth and married +her there. I learned this from a San Francisco man whom I met when I +first came to Washington." + +"When--how long ago was he married to this woman?" Clifford questioned, +with a violent start. + +"I'm sure I don't know--I haven't felt interest enough in their affairs +to make any inquiries about the matter," said the squire indifferently. +"I remember when I met him on that trip to Albany I told him that all +the folks at home were gone. He said he knew it--he'd kept himself +posted; so I suppose he must have married this woman after that." + +But Clifford had grown deathly pale while he was speaking, for his mind +had been working rapidly. + +"No--no; great heaven;" he exclaimed, "I am sure he must have married +her before my mother died!" + +"What's that?" exclaimed the squire, and now all on the alert, while a +malicious gleam flashed into his eyes. + +"Yes, I am sure of it--oh! the shame of it!" groaned Clifford in deep +distress, "and that dear, sweet child, Minnie, who is, of course, my +half-sister, has no legal right to the name she bears; neither has her +proud-spirited mother. What a wretch that man has been!" + +"Hold on, my boy--don't go so fast," interposed his companion, with +considerable excitement. "What is all this lament about?--explain what +you mean." + +"You have said that you have seen Mr. Temple's whole family; then of +course you know that he has a beautiful little daughter about eleven +years old----" + +"His child by this second marriage?--are you sure?" exclaimed the squire +breathlessly. + +"Yes; her name is Minnie Temple." + +"Ha! I had never given a thought to the girl nor her possible age. But +if what you say is true, I have lived to see him bitterly punished," and +the man chuckled maliciously. + +"Ah, yes, he must long have felt that a sword was hanging over his +head," Clifford gravely observed. "Let me see; I met the family in the +White Mountains during the vacation after my first year at college. +Minnie was then five years old; more than five years have elapsed since +then, so she must be between ten and eleven now, and my mother died ten +years ago last August," he concluded, with a look of keen pain in his +eyes. + +"And that proves Mrs. Temple to be no wife and the child illegitimate. +Bill Wilton was a fool ever to show his face this side of the Rockies +again--it's a true saying, 'give a rogue rope enough and he'll hang +himself.' We'll fix him now, though I never dared to hope for such a +triumph as this," said the squire, with another chuckle that actually +made Clifford's flesh creep. + +"Oh, don't!" he exclaimed, with mingled disgust and distress. + +"Don't!" repeated the man in a tone of astonishment. "Don't you want to +see a rascal like that brought to justice? I do. His whole life has been +one long story of selfish indulgence and crime." + +"I am not thinking of him at all," said Clifford sorrowfully, "but of +the innocent ones who have been so deeply wronged by him--that lovely +woman and her sweet child----" + +"How about yourself?" snapped the squire. "You have your rights." + +"My dear mother was a legal wife. Assured of that, I am not disturbed +about myself, as far as Mr. Temple is concerned. I have fought my way +thus far, and I shall go still higher, without extorting anything from +him." + +"But you surely will demand that he shall do the fair thing by you in +the disposition of his property." + +"No!" cried Clifford, in a tone of scornful repudiation. "I would never +claim kinship with such a man and I want none of his gold. But"--a +wistful expression creeping into his eyes and dropping into a musing +tone--"I could love that dear child--my little half-sister--very +tenderly if I might be allowed to. I have always felt a sort of +proprietorship in her ever since the day that I went over that precipice +after her--somehow she has seemed to belong to me in a way, though I +little imagined that I was rescuing my own sister from a terrible +death----" + +"'Death!--rescue!'" repeated the squire wonderingly, "what are you +talking about, Cliff?" + +The young man looked up with a smile and shook himself. "I was dreaming +of the past, and hardly realized that I was speaking aloud," he said. + +Then he described the event, while the man listened attentively, his +eyes fastened upon the manly young face, and a look of wonder grew in +his eyes as he began to comprehend the heroism of the deed. + +"And you did that! you went over that precipice and down a hundred feet +on a rope and back again, the same way, with that child on your back!" +he demanded in astonishment when Clifford concluded. + +"Of course--there was nothing else to be done." + +"Weren't you afraid?--you must have known that you were liable to lose +your head, fall and be dashed to atoms on the rocks below." + +"Well, I knew there was a risk, of course; but I did not stop to think +about being afraid. I should have gone, just the same, if I had known I +should fail--I could not leave that child there without making an effort +to save her," was the grave reply. + +"Well, that makes another!" ejaculated the squire thoughtfully. + +"Another what?" questioned Clifford, who did not catch his companion's +meaning. + +"Another deed to be proud of," was the hearty, but almost involuntary +response. + +It was now Clifford's turn to look astonished--and he was beyond +measure--for it was the first time he had ever heard a word of genuine +commendation from the man's lips. + +"Thank you, sir," he earnestly returned. + +"Humph!" grunted the squire, as if half-ashamed of having betrayed so +much weakness; "so you don't appear to be very much elated over the fact +that you are the sole heir to William Faxon Temple's millions." + +"No, sir; I do not want a dollar of his money," was the spirited reply, +"and I should never--under any circumstances--attempt to prove myself +his heir, or entitled to bear his name. My mother named me Clifford +Faxon, and while I live I will bear no other." + +"Well, I must say, you are mighty indifferent about your rights; and you +do not seem to grasp the fact either, that, as my nephew, there is a +possibility that you may inherit something handsome from me one of these +days," and the man regarded him curiously as he said this. + +Clifford flushed again. + +"I had not thought of such a thing, I assure you," he said coldly. "Of +course I cannot help the fact that a certain relationship exists between +us; but I do not want your property, Squire Talford--I don't want any +man's money." + +"Oh, you don't! It strikes me that you are mighty independent, and +perhaps may live to regret assuming such airs," snapped his companion, +in evident irritation. Then he added maliciously: "But then, I forgot +for the moment that you are expecting to marry a fortune--I am told +that Miss Heatherford is a rich girl." + +Clifford was secretly furious at this spiteful thrust; nothing but his +respect for the man's age and weakened condition kept him from voicing a +scathing retort. + +"Miss Heatherford's property will be settled exclusively upon herself +before she becomes my wife," he merely replied, with an air of dignity +that sat well upon him. "I have no desire to build myself up upon the +foundation of another. From my earliest boyhood I have been conscious of +something within me that was bound to rise, and if I have my health I +have no fear that I shall be able to make for myself a name and position +of which neither I nor my friends will be ashamed." + +"Humph!" grunted the squire again; but he shot a look at the fine face +opposite him that had an unwonted gleam of respect in it. + +"You remarked a while ago," Clifford resumed after a moment of silence, +"that you believe Mr. Temple is unaware of the fact that he has a son. I +am confident you are mistaken. I am quite sure that he knows that I am +his son, although he evidently thinks that I am ignorant regarding my +relationship to him." + +He then described his first meeting with Mr. Temple a few days after +Minnie Temple's accident, and how agitated the man had been upon +learning of his name and the fact that he had been bound to Squire +Talford for four years. + +The squire smiled grimly as he concluded: + +"Well, it does look as if he had an inkling of the truth, that's a +fact," he said, "and he must have had quite a shock at the time--he +couldn't have felt over and above easy, I'm thinking, especially since I +came to Washington. I don't see that it has done much good telling you +this story," he went on moodily, "except that perhaps it has set your +mind at rest about your origin. I don't suppose I should ever have told +it if it hadn't been for Maria--she was bound that you should now the +truth, and, on the whole, I am not sorry it is over with." + +Clifford made no reply to these remarks--he felt they called for +none--but busied himself with gathering up his papers and replacing them +in their box, his companion regarding him curiously while he did so. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +CLIFFORD MEETS HIS FATHER. + + +When he had arranged everything in an orderly manner, Clifford tied the +cover on the box, after which he arose to go. + +"I am very glad that we have had this explanation, Squire Talford," he +thoughtfully remarked, "for I never could understand why I was such an +object of aversion to you. I sincerely regret that I should have been +the innocent cause of so much discomfort to you; but let me say now, as +it is probable we shall never meet again after you leave Washington, +that you need give yourself no uneasiness for the future, for no one +shall ever learn from me the relationship that exists between us." + +"Humph! and you really mean, too, that you will never tell your father +that you have learned you are his son and can prove the fact?" + +"Never. I have no wish ever to meet the man again," Clifford returned +with decision. + +"Suppose he should some day approach you upon the subject?" + +"That is a different matter, though I think it is not a supposable case; +he has too much at stake to care to agitate so serious a subject. I hope +our long talk has not wearied you and that you will still continue to +improve as rapidly as I am glad to see you have been during the last few +days." + +"Yes, I am getting along finely, and we are going home the first of next +week," the squire observed, but with his eyes downcast in a thoughtful +mood. + +"Ah! I was not aware you had set the day; but no doubt you will be far +more comfortable in your pleasant home at Cedar Hill. I trust, if there +is anything I can do for you in a business way, or otherwise, before you +go, you will command me. Now, as I have an engagement, I must go. Good +night." + +"Good night," briefly returned the man, but without looking up, and +Clifford quietly left the room. He met Maria in the hall. + +"Waal, you've got it," she observed, and glancing significantly at the +box in his hands. + +"Yes, thanks to you, my faithful friend. I feel that I owe you a great +deal, first and last," the young man replied in a grateful tone; "and +the squire tells me you are going home next week." + +"I guess there ain't no call for you to feel overburdened," said the +woman, swallowing hard to keep a sob from choking her, as she thought of +the coming separation, "I never had to ask you twice to do anything for +me, even when you was a boy; you was always careful about makin' +trouble, you never made any litter bringin' wood--you never got any +ashes on the floor when you made the fire in the mornin', and you always +had a pleasant word for me when other folks were cross'n two sticks. I +don't forget them things, I can tell you." + +"And I am sure I have just as many pleasant memories. You were always +very kind to me, Maria," said Clifford. Then, as he saw she was almost +ready to weep, he added, with a laugh: "Oh, those turnovers and +doughnuts that you used to tuck into my basket when I had to take my +dinner to school on stormy winter days were things a boy could never +forget! I believe nobody can make such doughnuts as yours, +Maria--really, my mouth waters for one this very moment." + +"Sho!--now you're giving me taffy," the woman retorted, with an +answering laugh; but her face flushed with pleasure at his tribute +nevertheless. + +The next morning Squire Talford busied himself with writing a somewhat +lengthy epistle, which, after addressing it, he directed Maria to post +immediately. + +Mrs. Kimberly was not above glancing at the superscription as she went +out, and nodded significantly as she read the name, "William Faxon +Temple, Esq." for she had recently seen the same, with another added, in +the old family Bible at home. She, therefore, had a shrewd suspicion +that the contents of that envelope related to matters of grave +importance that were closely connected with Clifford. She looked even +more wise when, that same evening, the maid who waited upon the door +handed her a card and told her a gentleman was in the parlor and wanted +to see Squire Talford, for one glance at the bit of pasteboard had +revealed the same name that she had seen on the letter which she had +posted that morning. + +The squire told her to show the gentleman up immediately, and the two +men were closeted together for more than two hours. + +When the visitor left, Maria, who of course, was on the alert, observed +that he was deathly pale, and that he walked unsteadily like one who had +received a severe blow or had suddenly aged. + +"So, that's the man; waal, the day o' judgment has come for him at last! +The way of the transgressor is hard," she muttered gravely to herself. + +The next afternoon, shortly before leaving his office, Clifford received +the following note: + + + "Will Mr. Clifford Faxon have the kindness to call this evening + about nine o'clock at No. 54 ---- Street? A matter of great + importance is the excuse for the request. Very respectfully, + WILLIAM F. TEMPLE." + + +Clifford was somewhat appalled as he read this, and readily understood +that Squire Talford had taken matters into his own hands. + +His whole soul arose in rebellion as he read the formal note, and his +first impulse was to pen a curt refusal to comply with the writer's +request. He had hoped that he need never meet the man again, now that he +had learned who and what he was; this man, devoid of all honor, who, +according to his own written statement, had deliberately set himself to +win the love of a pure and innocent girl, just out of a spirit of +rivalry with his brother, and then, as soon as he had become weary of +his toy, he had remorselessly broken her heart by deserting her and +leaving her in a strange city to fight the desperate battle of life +alone. + +His contempt for the man was beyond the power of expression, especially +when he thought of how he had daringly ignored all moral and civil law +by marrying another without taking any pains to ascertain whether his +first victim was still living, and thus had entailed upon the second +wife and her child irrevocably shame and sorrow. + +Of course he understood that motives of revenge alone had prompted +Squire Talford to precipitate matters in this way--that he would gloat +over this opportunity to pay off, in a measure, the old scores which he +had nursed for so many years, and his scorn for him was little less than +that for his more daring and reckless brother. + +But after giving the matter some serious thought, and realizing that a +meeting between himself and Mr. Temple was bound to occur sooner or +later, he decided to comply with his request, boldly declare the +attitude which he intended to maintain toward him, and thus settle the +matter for all time. + +Accordingly the hour designated--nine o'clock--found him standing upon +the marble steps of Mr. Temple's palatial residence ringing for +admittance. A dignified butler admitted him to a reception-room and took +his card to his master. He reappeared very shortly with a request from +Mr. Temple that he would kindly step into the library. + +As Clifford followed the man through the spacious hall he could not fail +to observe everywhere the numerous evidences of great wealth and the +exquisite taste displayed in the choice of furnishings, pictures, +bric-a-brac, etc., and a pang of bitterness, mingled with righteous +indignation, smote his heart as he recalled how his mother had toiled +and struggled to eke out a miserable existence. + +As he entered the luxurious library and the servant withdrew, closing +the door after him, Mr. Temple came forward to greet him with extended +hand, but with an almost colorless face and unsteady step. + +"We have met before," he said, "we need no introduction----" + +"That is true, Mr. Temple," Clifford observed, as the man faltered, +while he gravely met his glance but ignored his proffered hand, "and +while I would have much preferred--since learning from Squire Talford +yesterday of the relations existing between us--that we need never meet +again, it has seemed best to me to respond to your request and come to +some definite understanding regarding our attitude toward each other in +the future." + +Mr. Temple had grown red and white by turns during this formal speech, +and his eyes wavered and fell beneath the clear, direct look of the +young man before him. He felt deeply humiliated in the presence of his +unacknowledged son--a son whom he realized any father might be proud to +own. + +"I comprehend," he said after a moment of awkward silence, "you refuse +to take the hand of the man who you feel has deeply wronged both +yourself and your mother; you perhaps have no desire to recognize any +tie of kinship between us." + +"You are right, sir," Clifford briefly but positively declared. + +Mr. Temple flushed again, but bowed a grave acquiescence to his +decision. + +"Will you be seated?" he remarked. "I will not presume to question the +justice of the attitude you have chosen to adopt, at the same time there +are some matters regarding which I wish to consult you. + +"We might as well come straight to the point," the gentleman began, but +with white lips and averted eyes, for he had never been as conscious of +his own littleness of soul and lack of manliness as at that moment in +the presence of his son, whom he recognized as infinitely his superior +in every respect. "I spent a couple of hours with Alfred Talford last +evening, and he told me of his interview with you and also gave me the +history of your life. Since this conference must necessarily be mostly +one of confession, I may as well state plainly at the outset that I +never really loved your mother. She was a bright, handsome girl, and I +was temporarily attracted toward her, while a spirit of deviltry +prompted me to try to make her prove false to Alf, between whom and +myself there had always existed a feeling of jealousy and rivalry. + +"How well I succeeded you already know. I completely mesmerized the girl +into believing that her existence depended upon me, and persuaded her to +elope with me, leaving her discarded lover to bear his disappointment as +best he could. We went West, but I soon grew weary of my unloved wife. +Perhaps I could have borne our relations better if we had been +prosperous; but after the money I had taken with me had given out and I +knew I would not be likely to get any more out of the estate while my +mother lived, I had hard luck--I did not get business that amounted to +anything, and every day was a struggle for a meager existence. Belle had +to work hard to help along, and so had no time to spend upon pretty +toilets to make herself attractive as before our marriage, while anxiety +and disappointment stole all her color and beauty. I stood it as long as +I could, and then I made up my mind to bolt. I----" + +"Pardon, Mr. Temple," Clifford here interposed, a look of mingled pain +and aversion sweeping over his face, "pray spare yourself and me a +rehearsal of that--I have in my possession the letter which you wrote my +mother at that time, and it needs no elucidation." + +"Very well," the man curtly observed, though he shrank visibly, as he +realized how utterly contemptible he must appear in the eyes of his son +if he had read the cruel lines he had written. "On leaving Chicago I +dropped my last name, Wilton, and called myself Temple. I drifted into a +mining-district of Colorado, where, after a time, I made a lively +strike, and, in a few years, became independently rich. Then, as I did +not like the rough life of a miner and craved better society, I sold out +and went to San Francisco, where I established myself as a banker." + +"Did no sense of responsibility make you feel that you ought to make +some provision for the wife you had left after you became so +prosperous?" Clifford here inquired. + +"Well," replied Mr. Temple, with a restless movement, "I supposed she +had gone back to her own folks, and, as Mr. Abbot was doing a good +business when she left home, I imagined she would be well provided for, +while I wanted to keep dark. I was perfectly willing that all my old +acquaintances in the East should believe me dead. I knew my mother was +dead, for I had read a record of it, having ordered a New Haven paper +sent to a certain address after I went to San Francisco, and there was +nobody else in that region that I cared anything about. Later, I became +interested in politics, made myself popular, and served two terms as +Mayor of the city. + +"Then"--he paused and swallowed hard, while his face became drawn and +pinched with pain--"I met my present wife, who was a wealthy widow with +one son, visiting some friends in the city, and I fell really in love +for the first time in my life, and--and my affection for her has +strengthened with every passing year. You doubtless wonder how I dared +to marry her without procuring a divorce from Belle. I admit it was a +bold and risky thing to do; but I knew that I had no grounds for a +divorce--that if I should attempt such a measure, very likely I should +fail, for I felt very sure that Alf must hate me to that extent that he +would spare nothing to thwart any plan of that kind. I told myself that +I was practically dead to all who had known me earlier in life--that it +would be better for me not to arouse sleeping dogs, who would be likely +to blight all the dearest hopes of my life; the continent was between +us, and as I had changed my name, it seemed more than probable that I +could live out my life without the fear of being molested by any one. + +"So I boldly won the woman I loved and resolutely silenced every fear +for the future. In less than a year my little daughter, Minnie, was +born, and then for a while I confess I experienced some uneasiness on +her account; but a year later that all vanished when one day I read in +my New Haven paper of the death of Mrs. W. F. T. Wilton, and knew that +at last I was free. I told myself that now I could enjoy life to the +utmost--my past was a sealed book, and the future was bright with +unlimited wealth, a beautiful wife, a lovely child. I felt as if I had +been released from a terrible bondage, and lived accordingly. We had the +entrée of the best society, and there was even some talk of making me +governor of the State. An almost ideal existence was ours, and yet, even +then, occasionally there would be forced upon my consciousness the fact +that my wife had no legal right to the position she occupied and that my +idolized child was----" + +"Oh, I beg you will not speak like that of that innocent child!" +Clifford here broke forth, with a note of keen pain in his tones. "It is +wholly unnecessary to rehearse all that to me." + +"Yes, yes, I suppose it is," Mr. Temple assented, as he shook himself +roughly as if arousing from a disagreeable dream, "and I hardly know why +I have allowed myself to go so into details. Well, the greatest mistake +of my life was made when I yielded to Mrs. Temple's persuasions to come +East and settle, so that her son could be educated at Harvard--and, by +the way, it seemed like the mockery of fate that you two should have +been in the same class. At first I objected to the plan, for I, of +course, felt safer to be three thousand miles from the scenes of my +youthful escapades, and I was still ambitious for political honors, in +spite of the fact that my own party had been defeated in the last +elections; but her heart was so set on the project that I finally gave +up the point. We accordingly went to Boston, and a little later I +purchased a fine estate in Brookline, which has been our home ever +since. + +"Mind you, during all this time I had never dreamed of your existence. +My first intimation of the fact that I had a son was that morning when I +sought you to express my gratitude to you for having saved the life of +my little daughter. The moment I looked into your eyes I was conscious +that there was something strangely familiar about you, and when you told +me that your name was Clifford Faxon, it seemed as if the earth was +slipping out from underneath me. I knew the truth then, for your mother +had often said that if she ever had a son she would name him Clifford, +for her father; and I understood that she had refrained from giving you +your true surname because she wished to keep from you the knowledge of +who your father was. + +"I have learned all about her life after she returned to New Haven, and +also her history from Squire Talford. I know what you have had to meet +and overcome, and that you have steadily and resolutely risen above +every obstacle. I realize the fact that you are a young man, morally and +intellectually, of whom any man might feel proud as a son, and yet, +situated as I am, you can readily see that such a recognition would +entail----" + +"I beg that you will give yourself no uneasiness, sir; I have no desire +to recognize such a tie, nor to have any one else informed of the fact," +Clifford quietly interposed. + +Mr. Temple changed color, yet at the same time the look of intense +anxiety which his face had worn hitherto faded out and he drew a breath +of relief. + +"Very well; and now we have arrived at a point where I wish to discuss +matters from a business point of view. I tell you candidly I adore my +wife, I worship my child, and I would far rather that a millstone should +crush me at this instant than have either learn the terrible facts +regarding their true position. Therefore, I am going to throw myself +upon your mercy; I know that you are an honorable man, and that your +word would be as sacred to you as your oath, and I am going to ask you +to pledge yourself never to reveal to any one the secret of my past. In +return for such a pledge I will settle upon you outright the sum of +three hundred thousand dollars----" + +Clifford drew himself suddenly erect, and a statue could scarcely have +been colder or more rigid. + +"Mr. Temple," he interrupted, with a dignity that was most impressive, +"there is not the slightest need of purchasing my silence. As I have +said, I have no wish to have any part of this history known; my love +for my mother, who was a pure, sweet, gentle woman, and my pride alike, +forbid that I should lay any claim to kinship with you, and I would not +accept a dollar of your money to save myself from starvation." + +"You are hard on me, young man," said Mr. Temple, cringing beneath the +scathing words as under a blow. + +"Hard!" repeated Clifford, whose scorn for the man was almost beyond +control, for he not only had his own and his mother's wrongs to +remember, but the treachery of the man in connection with Mr. +Heatherford, "the greatest condemnation that could he pronounced upon +you, you have yourself voiced to-night in the heartless story which you +have related to me; and let me assure you that I am actuated by no +sympathy with or pity for you in promising that my lips will forever be +sealed regarding our relations to each other, but out of regard alone +for the dear child whom I saved from a terrible death, and for whom I +have ever since entertained a strong affection. For her sake this +secret, which would blight her young life, shall be guarded most +sacredly--ah!--what does that mean?" + +And Clifford paused briefly, a look of blank dismay upon his face, as a +low, wailing, shuddering moan sounded through the room. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +"THE WAY OF THE TRANSGRESSOR." + + +That heart-broken cry struck instant terror to the souls of both men. +Clifford started to his feet, and Mr. Temple sprang forward, with a +muttered oath, toward the portières that screened an alcove at one end +of the room, just as they parted, and Minnie Temple appeared in the +aperture. + +"Oh, papa, papa! what does it all mean?" she wailed as she fell into his +outstretched arms, and he caught her almost fiercely to his breast. "I +have heard every word that you have said. I came in here after dinner, +laid down on the couch in the alcove and went to sleep. I awoke when +Clifford Faxon came in, but was too late to leave; then when you began +to talk I remained where I was--forgot everything but what you were +saying. Oh, tell me, what is this dreadful story about mamma and me, and +about Mr. Faxon being your son? I must know--I must know! I will know!" + +The poor girl was fearfully wrought up, and at this point lapsed into +violent hysterics that alarmed both her companions. + +With the child still hugged to his bosom and a face like chalk, Mr. +Temple strode to the mantle and touched an electric button. + +"Send Mrs. Maxfield immediately--Miss Minnie is ill," he said when the +butler appeared. + +Then he attempted to soothe her, calling her every endearing name he +could think of, and assuring her that there was no story--she simply +dreamed or had a horrible nightmare. + +But she was past all reason, and when the housekeeper appeared she was +borne up-stairs in an almost unconscious condition and put to bed, while +Clifford quietly left the house, but with an exceedingly heavy heart. + +A physician was summoned, and after powerful anodynes had been +administered the child fell into a profound stupor, from which she did +not arouse until the next morning. + +But, of course, when the effects of the sleeping potion wore off and +memory returned, the girl, who was mature beyond her years, sent for her +father and insisted upon being told the truth about herself. + +Mr. Temple tried to evade her as he had done the night previous, by +trying to convince her that she had only been dreaming; but she asserted +that she knew better, and appealed to her mother--who had been out at a +reception the night before--to make her father explain what she had +overheard. + +Mr. Temple was in despair--he felt that the web of fate was closing +around him, and, for the first time in his life, fell into a violent +passion with her, sternly commanding her to stop questioning him +regarding what was none of her affairs, but had been purely a matter of +business between himself and Mr. Faxon. + +Of course, the curiosity of both Mrs. Temple and Philip, who was also +present, was aroused, and, upon their insistence, Minnie faithfully +rehearsed the conversation between her father and Clifford, and, thus +brought to bay, the wretched millionaire was forced to make a clean +breast of everything. + +It was a crushing blow to the entire family. Mrs. Temple shut herself up +in her own room and would see no one for three days. + +Then she sent for Philip, who seemed to have been suddenly transformed, +and bore himself with a grave dignity that he had never worn before. + +They were closeted for several hours; then they requested Mr. Temple to +come to them. He obeyed the summons, but appeared like an old man, out +of whom all hope and ambition had been crushed. + +He tried many times to see his wife during those three, to him, endless +days; but she would not admit him. He had sent her note after note that +were pitiful in their expressions of remorse and appeals for +forgiveness. His heart sank anew within him as he now entered her +presence and noted how she had also changed. When he would have greeted +her with his customary caress he was waved to a distant chair with an +air of repulsion. + +"I have come to the decision, Mr. Temple, that there is but one thing +for me to do," she began, but without looking at him, "and that is to +leave Washington immediately, seek some place of retirement and hide my +shame as best I can." + +"Don't Nell! Oh--don't!" cried the stricken man, cringing before her; +"no breath of shame shall touch you, my darling; we will right +everything." + +"Right everything!" exclaimed the outraged woman, turning upon him in +righteous indignation. "Do you presume to talk of righting such a wrong +as mine at this late day? Do you imagine that the formal benediction of +a clergyman would restore to me the self-respect of which you have +deliberately robbed me, or wipe out the stigma that rests upon my child? +I am not your wife--I have never been your wife--I have simply been, +like a piece of merchandise, labeled with your name, and--I will never +answer to it again." + +"Oh, Nell! forgive--you break my heart!" groaned the wretched listener. + +"Break your heart!" the almost maddened woman exclaimed with a bitter +laugh. "Ah, me! one could scarce expect anything else--you think only of +your heart, your suffering. It is all of a piece with the selfishness +and recklessness that wrecked the life of that other woman, although the +wrong done her is not to be compared with mine. She at least was a legal +wife and her child legitimate, while I--oh, heavens!--to think what I +am! what my child is!" and she threw out her clenched hands with a cry +of mingled shame and agony that rang sharply through the room. + +"Mother, hush! do not go over all that again!" Philip here interposed, +with quiet authority. "There is no call for you to mourn any loss of +self-respect, for you are in no way responsible for this wrong, and we +will guard Minnie so tenderly that the world shall never have an +opportunity to make her suffer a single pang. Of course," he continued +with grave thoughtfulness, "things cannot go on as they are. If your +decision--that you will not legally assume the name that you have +hitherto borne--is irrevocable, we must arrange for as quiet a +separation as possible, for Minnie's sake----" + +"Oh, Nell! spare me that, I beg," pleaded Mr. Temple, with a heartbroken +sob. "Oh, forgive me this great wrong; don't talk of separation; let me +make you legally my wife, then we will go away to Europe--or anywhere +you like--and I will be your slave--I will do my utmost to atone for the +past and make you happy for the future. No one need ever know aught of +this secret. Faxon is honor itself, and he assured me that no hint of it +should ever escape his lips, and I am sure he would keep his word--Phil, +you know that he can be depended upon." + +"Yes," Philip gravely asserted, after a moment of hesitation, "I know, +if Faxon said that he will abide by it. But, Mr. Temple," he resumed in +a tone which was an indication of his own attitude, "I feel sure that my +mother has received a shock from which she can never recover, and I +agree with her that a separation will be the wisest measure to adopt +under the circumstances." + +"Let your mother speak for herself, if you please, Phil," Mr. Temple +interrupted, as he braced himself in his chair and turned his haggard +face toward the woman whom he adored. + +The proud, beautiful worldling shivered as if an icy wind had blown over +her, for she had loved this man who, for twelve almost idealistic years, +she had regarded as her husband. She had scarce had a wish ungratified; +she had enjoyed his wealth and been proud of her position in society. + +But, as Philip had said, the shock which she had sustained had been one +from which she could never rally, for it had killed both love and +respect at one blow. She did not move or lift her glance to him as she +said in an almost inaudible voice. + +"Phil has stated it right--I can never forgive the fearful wrong that +you have done me. We must part." + +"How about--Minnie?" Mr. Temple questioned, a look of despair on his +face. + +It was an unfortunate question. It aroused all the lioness in the +outraged woman, and she turned upon him with a burst of passion of which +he had never imagined her capable. + +"Minnie is mine!" she cried in a voice that rang shrilly through the +room--"mine by the right of motherhood and--oh, God!--mine, exclusively +mine, by right of the shame which you have entailed upon us both." + +It was a terrible thrust, and William Temple threw out his hands with a +gesture of keenest anguish, as if warding off the point of a dagger. He +sat like one stunned for several moments, and there was no sound in the +room. + +Finally the man lifted his bowed head and observed in a hollow tone and +with a look of utter hopelessness: + +"Very well, Nell, it will have to be as you say; but no breath of shame +from the world shall ever touch either of you--I could not bear that. I +know I deserve my punishment, and I bow to the inevitable. You shall +have Minnie--I relinquish her to you--and you shall go where you will; +or, if you prefer to remain here in Washington, I will go to the ends of +the earth, on some plausible errand, and you shall never hear of me +again. + +"Now"--rising feebly and holding onto the back of his chair, while he +gazed on her with the look of one whose heart was breaking--"arrange +everything to suit yourself. I will not lay a straw in your way, and you +shall have all the money you want." + +He tottered from the room, groping his way down-stairs and walking like +one who has been stricken blind, sought the library, and locked himself +in to keep out intruders, while trying to face a future which did not +seem to have a single ray of hope to make it worth the living. + +There they found him five hours later, sitting before his desk, his head +bowed upon his outstretched arms, unconscious and almost rigid. + +The butler, desiring some instructions regarding certain orders his +master had given him, rapped upon the door for admission; but, after +repeated attempts, receiving no answer, he had gone out upon the veranda +and entered the room by a window, to find the occupant of the room in +the condition described. + +He was borne to his room and the family physician summoned, when the +attack was pronounced an apoplectic stroke. + +He recovered consciousness after a few days, but could move neither hand +nor foot, while the verdict of the doctors was that his days, even his +hours, were numbered. + +When this was made known to Mrs. Temple she seemed to become like one +petrified. She sat motionless and speechless for several minutes; then +she burst into a passion of weeping, so violent in her utter abandonment +to her overwhelming grief that she was utterly prostrated by it; the +flood-gates that had hitherto been held back by an almost indomitable +will and pride were lifted, and all her pent-up sorrow and shame were +let loose. + +When the storm finally spent itself she slept from sheer exhaustion, and +did not wake for several hours. Then she was calm, and once more +mistress of herself, and clothing herself in soft, noiseless garments, +she went directly to her husband, a chastened look on her face, an air +of gentleness and resignation in her bearing that hitherto had been +wholly foreign to her. + +Almost ever since memory had returned to him, the sick man had lain with +his eyes fastened upon the door leading from his room, and with a look +of longing in them that was pathetic beyond description. + +When, at length, it opened to admit his wife, his whole face lighted +with an expression of joy that nearly made her weep again, but which +sent a thrill to her own heart that told her she loved him still, in +spite of the irreparable wrong he had done her. + +She went to his bed and sat down beside him, gathering one of his +lifeless hands into hers, and, bending over him, kissed him on the +forehead. + +Two great tears welled up from the fountain of his heart and brimmed +over upon his cheeks. His wife gently wiped them away and questioned +tenderly: + +"Will, is there anything you would like me to do for you?" + +He closed his eyes slowly, thus signifying that there was, then, opening +them again, he glanced toward the nurse. + +"Do you wish to be alone with me for a while?" Mrs. Temple inquired. + +Yes, the sad eyes signified, and the attendant went immediately out. + +"Now, dear, how can I manage to find out just what you want?" said Mrs. +Temple, when the door was closed. + +Again that intensely yearning look was fastened upon her face, and she +instinctively divined his thought at once. + +"Is is that you wish me to say something kind to you?" she asked. + +His look brightened, but the tears started at the same time. + +"Well, then, Will, dear," began the chastened wife, in a voice that was +tremulous with emotion, "I have fought my battle out, and I believe I +can truly say that I forgive all. I see now that I was selfish in +thinking only of my own suffering--I had no right to be cruel to you +when you were more wretched than I. Get well, Will--try to get well, and +then we will all go to some quiet place and begin to live in a more +earnest and sensible way." + +The tears were raining thick and fast now from the man's eyes, but she +wiped them away, while she continued to talk to him in a soothing, +comforting strain, until he became more composed. But she soon saw that +there was still something on his mind, and she tried to ascertain what +it was, but though she asked many questions regarding his business and +certain appointments which she knew he had made, she could not seem to +get at his thought. + +At last she told him that she would say the alphabet and they would +spell out his wish. When she reached the letter M, he signified that was +right, and she instantly jumped to a conclusion, and inquired: + +"Do you want Minnie?--how strange I did not think of that before!" + +Yes, the eyes assented. Mrs. Temple rang the bell and sent for the +child, who had not been allowed to come into the room, except for a +moment or two, while her father was sleeping. + +She soon made her appearance, looking pale and drooping, for the +sensitive girl had been stricken to the heart by what she had learned, +and inexpressibly lonely and wretched while her mother was brooding over +her own misery. + +Mrs. Temple folded her in her arms and kissed her tenderly, then made +her sit down in her own chair, while she drew another near for herself. + +"Papa wished me to send for you, dear," she said; "he cannot speak, but +you may talk to him a little; and, love, say something kind to him," she +concluded, with her lips close to Minnie's ear. + +Minnie sat down by the sick man and laid her cheek against his with all +her accustomed fondness. + +"Papa," she murmured, "I love you--I am so sorry you are ill and cannot +talk to me; but"--now lifting her head and looking earnestly into his +eyes--"you know that I love you--that I shall always love you." + +The look of yearning and agony which he bent upon her was more than she +could bear, and, dropping her head again upon his pillow, she added: + +"Now cannot you go to sleep for a little while; I will sit here beside +you and hold your hand; then, perhaps, when you are rested you can talk +to me a little." + +She clasped his hand in both of her own soft, warm palms, raised it to +her lips, kissed it, and held it there, and for nearly half an hour +there was no sound in the room. + +Finally the nurse came softly in, to look after her patient, and Mrs. +Temple turned, with her finger upon her lips. + +"They are both asleep," she whispered. + +It was true, both the man and child were wrapped in slumber; one in that +which knows no waking, the other in the innocent, restful sleep of +childhood. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +CLIFFORD REFUSES A FORTUNE. + + +So William Faxon Temple Wilton's mortal experience on this plane of +existence came to an end. Love of ease and pleasure, selfishness and +greed, the fostering of malice, passion, and appetite invariably bring +their punishment, even here. + +When all was over it was found, upon making a thorough examination of +his papers, that the man had left no will. A memorandum of a few +bequests was discovered in a little blankbook in his desk, showing that +he had given some thought to the subject; but these, of course, amounted +to nothing, and Philip Wentworth was appalled when he realized what such +culpable neglect on the part of Mr. Temple meant in connection with his +mother and sister. + +"Mother, this is simply awful!" he exclaimed, when they were at last +obliged to relinquish their fruitless search; "you and Minnie are +literally penniless, for not a dollar of Mr. Temple's fortune can either +of you touch. Clifford Faxon, who is his son by that other woman, +becomes the sole heir to his magnificent property." + +"Can that be possible?" said Mrs. Temple, greatly distressed. "Oh, it +seems dreadful that Minnie--that innocent child--must suffer for the sin +of another. She was her father's idol, and, of course, he intended that +she should be his heiress. I know if he had even dreamed that the truth +would be revealed he would have made a will in her favor, and settled +the matter irrevocably." + +"He did know," said Phil, flushing with indignation; "don't you know he +said that he realized that Faxon was his son, as long ago as when he met +him at the mountains. I cannot understand how he dared to leave matters +so at loose ends." + +"Well," observed Mrs. Temple, after a thoughtful pause, "I am not going +to cast reflections upon him now. I told him that I forgave him, and I +will hold to what I said. I begin to think that unlimited wealth is a +snare which binds and warps all that is best in our natures. I am not +literally penniless, as you said. I have my own small fortune, which +Will insisted upon settling upon me when we were--ah! why do I refer to +that miserable farce!" she interposed with sudden passion. + +But she calmed herself almost instantly and continued: + +"I am sure I can manage with what I have quite comfortably, though, of +course, we will have to give up all this style and exercise economy. +Now, Phil"--with an air of determination--"I am not going to have any +legal contest or gossip over these matters. Everything has been kept +quiet so far, and for both Minnie's and my sake there must be no +scandal. I am going to send for Mr. Faxon, tell him frankly that there +is no will, and relinquish everything to him." + +"That would be neither right nor sensible!" cried Philip hotly, his old +grudge against Clifford flaming up anew. "Of course, I can understand +that Faxon--hem! has certain legal rights that will have to be +respected; but, morally, he has no right to this fortune--Minnie should +have every dollar of it. Blast it all!" he burst forth, as he sprang to +his feet and excitedly paced the room, "we are in a horrible situation. +If we fight for the property that damnable secret will all have to come +out----" + +"Yes, and there would be no use in fighting, for Mr. Faxon can easily +prove his own position and get everything. Oh, it would be worse than +folly, Phil, to attempt to contest the matter--our hands are tied--we +are utterly helpless; so I am going to quietly give up everything. I +would rather forfeit every penny than have the world know our shameful +story." + +Philip was almost beside himself in view of this unforeseen calamity. +Since the trouble has fallen upon his mother he had borne himself with +more dignity and manliness than he had ever manifested. He had seemed to +be suddenly transformed, and had been a veritable staff and support to +her. He had even appeared somewhat softened toward Clifford upon +learning how nobly considerate he had been and that he had given his +word to preserve their secret inviolate. + +But now, when he realized that he alone was Mr. Temple's heir, and that +his mother and sister would be deprived of the luxuries to which they +had always been accustomed, his old hatred revived with tenfold fury, +and he became capable for the time of almost any crime in his desire to +wreck vengeance upon his rival. + +But Mrs. Temple proceeded to put her resolution into immediate action, +and wrote a brief, courteous note to Clifford, requesting him to call at +his earliest convenience, as she had a matter of the most vital +importance to discuss with him. + +He at once surmised something of the nature of the matter--for he knew +that if he had not been mentioned in Mr. Temple's will he could break it +if he chose--and accordingly presented himself at the Temple mansion +that same evening. + +Mrs. Temple received him cordially, but Phil, his mother having insisted +that he should be present during the interview, barely accorded him a +recognition. + +Mrs. Temple came to the point at once, stating the case briefly, but +plainly, and to say that Clifford was astonished upon learning that +there was no will and that he alone was heir to the large fortune which +Mr. Temple had left would not feebly express his feelings. + +He had never once thought of such a contingency. He supposed, of course, +that Mr. Temple had made his will, leaving everything to the woman he +adored and the child he worshiped, and that they had sent for him simply +to make terms with him to prevent him from making them any trouble in +settling the estate. But to learn that there were no terms to be +made--to learn that they had sent for him to relinquish everything, +without a desire or a condition, except that he would reassure them of +his willingness to keep their miserable secret, almost dazed him. + +To most people that would have been a moment of signal triumph; but it +was not in Clifford's nature to triumph in any one's misfortune, +although it did flash upon him, as his mind reverted to that day when +Philip Wentworth had so rudely saluted him--"Say, here! you +window-washer!"--that the tables had been turned in a most wonderful +manner. + +It seemed like a dream to be sitting there and know that, for the +moment, at least, he was a millionaire, while his old-time enemy and his +proud mother were groveling before him in the valley of humiliation. + +He listened gravely to all Mrs. Temple had to say, and his heart ached +for her in her sorrow, and grew very tender toward her, as well, for was +she not the mother of his young sister? + +When, at the close of her explanations, she begged him, for Minnie's +sake, to take everything and welcome if he would only save them the +disgrace of having the world learn the truth and point the finger of +scorn at them, he flushed to his brows with wounded feeling. + +"My dear madam," he said as she concluded, "I am wondering what your +estimate of me can be! I assure you that I am as eager as yourself to +keep these matters from the world. I may as well tell you that Mr. +Temple offered to settle three hundred thousand dollars upon me upon the +same condition; but I say to you now, as I said to him that evening, I +cheerfully promise that, as far as I am concerned, the secret shall be +inviolate, and I do not want--I will not have--a dollar of this fortune +which you assert, and which I can understand, might be mine by the law +of inheritance." + +At this point Philip Wentworth turned and faced him for the first time +during the interview, his face wearing an expression of profound +astonishment. + +"What are you saying?" he demanded sharply; "you do not intend to take +any of Mr. Temple's money?" + +"Not a penny, Wentworth," Clifford quietly returned. + +"But--I do not understand it!" said Philip, with a blank stare of +wonderment. + +"It is very simple," returned Clifford, with a frank smile. "Mr. Temple +never knew of my existence until a little over five years ago, and even +after he learned the fact he manifested no interest in me. All his hopes +and plans were centered in his daughter and her mother; his fortune was +made for them, and he expected and intended that it would become theirs +in the event of his death. Now, I feel that I have no more right to it, +morally, than I have to the fortune of one of the Vanderbilts. I can +see, as you do, that I might, according to the law governing such +matters, claim it all if I was so disposed; but I assure you I want no +part of it. Probably the world--if it were conversant with the +circumstances--would judge me to be quixotic and say that my pride +outweighed my judgment. Possibly, that may be true to a certain +extent--I cannot quite define my own feelings regarding the matter; +but," he concluded decidedly, "the fact remains--I will not touch it!" + +Mrs. Temple had observed him with growing interest, mingled with +deepest respect and admiration, during these remarks, and as he +concluded she turned to him with an eager light in her eyes: + +"Mr. Faxon," she said, "there is, I suppose, a great deal of money; may +I beg, as a personal favor, that you will take at least a portion of +it--that you will share it with Minnie?" + +"Madam, that would be impossible. I most cheerfully resign everything to +her," was the firm but courteous response. + +"I am amazed!" said the lady, with visible emotion, "and, morally, it +does not seem right to me that my child should, under the circumstances, +alone be enriched by Mr. Temple' wealth. Oh! I trust that the innocent +girl may not fall under the ban of your censure because of her father's +wrongdoing." + +"Surely not, Mrs. Temple," said Clifford earnestly; "on the contrary, I +have long entertained a very tender feeling toward her. How could I help +it after the thrilling experience in which we participated a few years +ago?--and now the knowledge that we are akin to each other has only +served to strengthen the bond. With your permission, I shall be glad to +cultivate an even closer friendship than has hitherto existed between +us." + +"You not only have my permission--I shall be proud to have you for her +friend, and--mine," said Mrs. Temple huskily; and then, utterly overcome +by his magnanimity, she buried her face in her hands and wept. + +"Thank you," returned Clifford heartily, "and allow me to say that you +both have had my deepest sympathies during this trial. Had I dreamed of +these results I should certainly have refused to comply with Mr. +Temple's request for an interview. But we will never refer to the +subject again, only let me add that I feel you have shown yourself very +honorable in your proposals to me this evening." + +"Oh!" cried Mrs. Temple, with a gesture of repudiation, as she lifted +her face to him, "do not commend me for what was prompted by purely +selfish motives; my only thought was to secure your silence at any cost, +but now I really wish, out of a spirit of gratitude and of admiration +for your nobility, that I could persuade you to revoke your decision." + +"I cannot, Mrs. Temple," said Clifford gravely and decisively, "but"--a +genial smile chasing the gravity away--"I will most thankfully avail +myself of your proffered friendship, and even though--because of the +world--I may not claim my young sister as such, I assure you I shall +love her none the less tenderly." + +Feeling that the interview should end, Clifford now arose to go, +pleading another engagement. Mrs. Temple also arose and came toward him, +with outstretched hand. + +"I am more grateful to you than I can express," she said, with the tears +springing afresh. "I have had a bitter cup to drink--a terrible wound to +bear, but you have greatly soothed and comforted me to-night; if I can +ever serve you in any way, believe me I shall esteem it a privilege to +do so." + +"Thank you," said Clifford heartily, as he clasped her trembling hand. + +Then he glanced somewhat doubtfully at Philip, who during the last +half-hour, had been sitting silent and apparently preoccupied, and +wearing a strangely depressed air. + +"Good night, Wentworth," he said cordially, after an instant of +irresolution. + +There was a moment of awkward silence. + +"Phil!" broke in his mother, in a tone of surprised reproof. + +The young man sprang to his feet and turned a flushed, shamed face upon +Clifford. + +"I say, Faxon," he faltered huskily, "this has been too much for me! +I've been a cad and a knave time and again, but you have set your heel +upon me pretty effectually this time! I am simply crushed. You have done +to-night what I did not believe any man was capable of doing, and when +you entered the room I was in a more murderous frame of mind than I have +ever been before; but you have taken the starch all out of me, and I am +ready now to eat humble pie. If you won't feel insulted, after all that +has passed, I'd like to ask you to shake hands and wipe out old scores." + +Clifford's hand went out to him with instant cordiality. + +"Gladly!" he said, and in that friendly clasp there was ratified a +treaty which endured throughout their lives. + +No other word was spoken, for Philip was now beyond the power of +speech, and Clifford, recognizing the fact, beat a considerate retreat, +and left the house with a buoyant heart, an elastic step, a smile on his +lips, and the consciousness of a noble victory gleaming in his +expressive brown eyes, for of an enemy he had at last made a friend. + +Mrs. Temple and Philip set themselves immediately about winding up Mr. +Temple's affairs, and both seemed to have undergone a radical +transformation. + +The proud, gay butterfly of fashion had suddenly become the gentle, +tender, considerate mother--a thoughtful, womanly woman; the indolent, +aimless man was fast developing into an attentive son, a wise adviser, +an efficient helper and protector. + +"You are growing very like your father, Phil," his mother said to him +one day, after many hours of patient labor over perplexing accounts and +papers. + +"Thank you, mother, you could not have said anything to have encouraged +me more," the young man replied, with grave appreciation, but with a +sigh over the wasted years of his life. + +Upon completing their business-arrangements, Mrs. Temple insisted that +the sum of fifty thousand dollars should be made over to Mr. +Heatherford, who, she asserted, must have lost fully that amount, first +and last, in his dealings with her husband, she and Phil having +discovered the fact during their examination of the man's account. The +man, at first, demurred against taking it, but she assured him that out +of her abundance it would never be missed, and that she would feel that +she was retaining money which did not belong to her if he did not +accept it; and he finally acceded to her request, for he well knew that +the methods which Mr. Temple had employed had amounted to the same thing +as taking so much money out of his pockets and transferring it to his +own. + +During this time Clifford saw considerable of the family, and between +him and Minnie there grew up a strong and endearing friendship, which, +in after years, became the source of much happiness to them both. + +Mollie, also, feeling her sympathies aroused in view of the wrongs and +trials of the family, renewed her friendship with them--even with Phil, +who was so thoroughly repentant for the past and so changed that she had +not the heart to keep him longer under the ban of her displeasure. + +Their business-affairs in Washington once arranged, they returned to +their home in Brookline, where they dropped into a quiet, peaceful way +of living, Minnie throwing her whole heart into her studies to prepare +for college; Philip settling down to business in a firm where a young +and enterprising man with some capital was needed, while Mrs. Temple +devoted herself exclusively to her two children and their interests. + +The twenty-fifth of January there was a brilliant society wedding in +Washington, when Mollie Heatherford gave herself to her king, and +believed that she was the happiest woman living, while Clifford felt +himself truly crowned with the supreme joy of his life. Miss Athol was +maid of honor to the fair bride, and her fiancé, the son of the British +ambassador, was Clifford's best man. + +Maria Kimberly and Squire Talford were both bidden to the festivities. + +The squire did not respond in any way to the courtesy extended to him, +but Maria presented herself a week beforehand, to help the affair along, +and she could not have shown a more vigorous interest if Clifford and +Mollie had been her own children. + +The Temples and Philip Wentworth also received invitations, but they +excused themselves on account of their mourning. + +Mollie, however, received a family remembrance in the form of a solid +silver service, and Clifford a magnificent saddle-horse for his own +private use. + +Life looked very bright to the happy couple, and, indeed, to Mr. +Heatherford, as well, for he had grown very fond of the noble fellow +whom his daughter had chosen to be her life companion, and, with health, +wealth and congenial tastes, there seemed to be nothing to be desired +for their future, and they formed an ideal family in their ideal home. + +When the wedding was over Maria returned to the squire, but with a +somewhat heavy heart, for she yearned to keep her old-time promise to +Clifford--to superintend his culinary department when he was able to set +up an establishment of his own. + +He had told her that the place was open to her whenever she saw fit to +take it, but her sense of duty would not allow her to leave the squire, +"who wasn't nigh so chipper as he used to be afore he had that +sickness," and she hadn't the heart to leave him--at least, until he +got stronger. + +The result was she continued to live at Cedar Hill for two years longer, +and during which the squire gradually failed in health, and finally was +found one morning cold and still in his bed. + +He preserved his gruff, cynical, reticent manner till the last; but when +his will was read, to the astonishment of every one, it was found he had +bequeathed his entire property--excepting three thousand dollars to +Maria--which proved to be a very handsome inheritance, to Clifford +Faxon; while among his papers there was also found a letter addressed to +the young man, in which he had poured out much of the pent-up feeling of +many years, and showing plainly that his love for Clifford's mother had +been the strongest and most enduring sentiment of his nature. + +"I've been proud of you, too," he closed the characteristic epistle by +saying--"prouder than you will ever know; but the devil in me that hated +your father would never let me show it." + +"Poor old man!" said Clifford, as he finished the strange missive, "how +glad I would have been to have made his life more enjoyable." + +Henceforth the fine estate at Cedar Hill became the summer home of the +Faxons, while Maria continued to preside there, a proud and happy queen, +in her way, of all she surveyed, for Mollie declared she would never +presume to call herself mistress in a place so immaculately kept and +well ordered as Clifford's home in the East. + +She grew to love the place very dearly, for from the window she could +look out upon the very spot where, as a boy, her husband had wielded +those vigorous blows which had doubtless saved the lives of hundreds of +people and resulted in their first meeting, when she had lost her heart +while looking into his brown eyes and had given him the magic cameo, +which still graced his strong hand. + +THE END. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Heatherford Fortune, by Mrs. Georgie Sheldon + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HEATHERFORD FORTUNE *** + +***** This file should be named 38006-8.txt or 38006-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/8/0/0/38006/ + +Produced by Darleen Dove, Shannon Barker, Martin Pettit +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Heatherford Fortune + a sequel to the Magic Cameo + +Author: Mrs. Georgie Sheldon + +Release Date: November 13, 2011 [EBook #38006] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HEATHERFORD FORTUNE *** + + + + +Produced by Darleen Dove, Shannon Barker, Martin Pettit +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +The Heatherford Fortune + +A SEQUEL TO THE MAGIC CAMEO + +_By_ MRS. GEORGIE SHELDON + +AUTHOR OF + +"Tina," "The Lily of Mordaunt," "Mona," "Little Miss Whirlwind," etc. + +[Illustration: Decoration] + +A. L. BURT COMPANY PUBLISHERS NEW YORK + + * * * * * + +Popular Books + +By MRS. GEORGIE SHELDON + +In Handsome Cloth Binding + +Price per Volume, 60 Cents + + +Brownie's Triumph +Earl Wayne's Nobility +Churchyard Betrothal, The +Edrie's Legacy +Faithful Shirley +For Love and Honor + Sequel to Geoffrey's Victory +Forsaken Bride, The +Geoffrey's Victory +Golden Key, The; or a Heart's Silent Worship +Heatherford Fortune, The + Sequel to The Magic Cameo +He Loves Me For Myself +Helen's Victory +Her Faith Rewarded + Sequel to Faithful Shirley +Her Heart's Victory + Sequel to Max +Heritage of Love, A + Sequel to The Golden Key +Hoiden's Conquest, A +How Will It End + Sequel to Marguerite's Heritage +Lily of Mordaunt, The +Little Miss Whirlwind; or Lost for Twenty Years +Lost, A Pearle +Love's Conquest + Sequel to Helen's Victory +Love Victorious, A +Magic Cameo, The +Marguerite's Heritage +Masked Bridal, The +Max, A Cradle Mystery +Mona +Nora, or The Missing Heir of Callonby +Sibyl's Influence +Threads Gathered Up + Sequel to Virgie's Inheritance +Thrice Wedded +Tina +Trixy, or The Shadow of a Crime +True Aristocrat, A +True Love's Reward +Virgie's Inheritance +Wedded By Fate + +For Sale by all Booksellers or will be sent postpaid on receipt of price + +A. L. BURT COMPANY, PUBLISHERS 52 Duane Street New York + +Copyright, 1898 and 1899 BY STREET & SMITH + +THE HEATHERFORD FORTUNE + + * * * * * + +The Heatherford Fortune. + +A SEQUEL TO "THE MAGIC CAMEO." + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +MOLLIE FINDS A FRIEND. + + +Mollie Heatherford had thought no more of her brave act, by which, at +the risk of her life, she had saved the child Lucille from being +trampled to death under the hoofs of the pawing horses. + +The next morning she was greatly surprised to receive a letter from a +gentleman--Monsieur Jules Lamonti, by name--who said he was the +grandfather of little Lucille, and who, after expressing his gratitude +in most heartfelt terms, requested permission to call upon her at her +earliest convenience. + +The missive was written in French, and evidently by a highly cultured +gentleman, and Mollie felt that it would only be courteous to grant the +interview so earnestly solicited. She accordingly responded immediately, +and named an hour of the following morning for Monsieur Lamonti to call, +if the time should be convenient for him. + +She was somewhat disappointed that he did not keep the appointment, but +the next day, at the specified hour, a magnificent equipage, with +coachman and footman in cream-colored liveries, dashed to the door and +stopped. + +Presently an elderly gentleman, of apparently sixty years, with +snow-white hair and beard, his somewhat bowed and attenuated form clad +in the finest of garments, alighted. He was a trifle lame, and depended, +in a measure, upon a cane which, Mollie observed, had a massive gold +head, curiously carved. + +Eliza answered his ring and admitted him to the small parlor, then took +the visitor's card, bearing the name "M. Jules Lamonti," to her young +mistress. + +Mollie did not keep her caller waiting, to make any change in her +toilet, for she made it a point to be always neatly, if simply, clad; +and, entering his presence with perfect composure, greeted him with a +charming ease and grace of manner. + +She saw at a glance that he was an aristocrat; but that did not disturb +her in the least. + +He bowed low before her as he responded to her greeting; then, in a +voice that was tremulous from deep emotion, he observed in very fair +English: + +"Mademoiselle Heatherford has laid on me an obligation everlasting. Ah! +but my poor heart would have been broken if I the little one had lost." + +Mollie, realizing that it would be much easier for him to express +himself in his own language, responded in purest of French, disclaiming +all thought of obligation, and concluded by inquiring if little Lucille +had experienced any ill effects from her accident. The Frenchman was +delighted to find that his hostess could converse with him in his +mother-tongue, and his face beamed with pleasure. + +"You speak French, mademoiselle!" he exclaimed. "Ah! that is delightful! +Now we will talk without any difficulty, for I mix your language so +badly. No, Lucille was not hurt. She is perfectly well, and as bright as +the morning. But, Mon Dieu! I tremble when I think what might have been +to-day but for you," he interposed, growing so white that Mollie was +startled. "It was very brave, Mademoiselle Heatherford--it was grand! +They tell me you went straight in under that powerful, frightened brute +to save my precious child. You are a heroine, mademoiselle, and now I +have come to ask you what I shall do to prove my everlasting gratitude." + +Mollie flushed and smiled as he called her a "heroine." The word always +thrilled her--as she once told her father. It was like a strain of music +in her ears. + +"Please, monsieur, do not speak of any return for what was simply a +humane act," she gently returned; "I am more than recompensed in knowing +that your dear little grandchild escaped unhurt. And how is poor +Nannette to-day? She was greatly frightened and distressed, and I felt +very sorry for her." + +A frown darkened Monsieur Lamonti's face, and his eyes flashed with +sudden anger at the mention of the bonne. + +"Nannette shall go away--I will not trust my beautiful one with her ever +again," he said sternly. "Ah! if she had been killed! Mon Dieu! I tell +you I could not have survived; she is all I have, mademoiselle, the +only child of my only daughter--ah! but I cannot talk of it," he +concluded brokenly, and trembling visibly. + +"But, monsieur, it is all over--she is safe, and let us rejoice that all +is well," soothingly replied Mollie. "And I am sure," she added +confidently, "that Nannette will be very careful in the future. This +will be a lesson to her, and I would have far more confidence in her now +than in a strange maid. She seemed like a good girl and very fond of the +little one, while she bewailed her carelessness with sincere sorrow." + +"There is truth in what you say," the gentleman returned, after a moment +of thought. "Nannette has been a good girl--she is faithful, as a rule, +and Lucille loves her. I shall consider what you have said, +mademoiselle, and Nannette will have cause to be grateful to you." + +"Thank you. I should feel sorry to have her lose her situation; at the +same time I can understand your anxiety, and she should be required to +promise to be very careful in the future." + +Mollie and her caller drifted to other subjects after that and chatted +of many things--of Europe in general, of Paris in particular. Monsieur +Lamonti was charmed with the beautiful girl, while she was no less +delighted with his courtly manner, his culture and brilliant +conversation, and was sincerely sorry when he arose to take his leave. + +"Adieu, mademoiselle," he said, holding out his slim, aristocratic hand; +"it is a great pleasure to have met you--you know my country so well; +you speak my language so beautifully; while, for yesterday, I shall +always cherish you in most grateful remembrance. Ah! but to me that is +like sounding brass," he interposed, with a dissatisfied shrug of his +shoulders and in a regretful tone. Then, as his keen eyes swept the +graceful figure in its simple cambric dress, he added: "Is mademoiselle +sure that I cannot serve her in any way?" + +Mollie glanced up quickly at him, as a thought suddenly flashed through +her mind, and a bright flush suffused her face as she asked herself if +she dare put the thought into words. There was something his expressive +face, in the sincerity of his speech and his refinement and courtesy, +that inspired her with confidence in him. + +"Monsieur, there is one way in which, possibly, you might aid me," she +began, with some reluctance. + +"Name it, mademoiselle!--by all means name it!" Monsieur Lamonti eagerly +interposed. + +"To do that I shall have to open my heart to you a little," Mollie +continued, with a slight quiver of her sweet lips. + +"Ah! mademoiselle honors me," said the gentleman, with a grave and +courteous bow. + +"Monsieur," the fair girl resumed, flushing again, but with her lovely +eyes steadfastly gazing into his, for she had no false shame on account +of her poverty, "I have recently been reduced to the necessity of +supporting myself and my father, who is a hopeless invalid; but I am +unable to obtain a position. If monsieur could assist me in this +respect, I should be very grateful, for the need is urgent." + +Her companion regarded her with admiration. She looked like a young +queen, in spite of her surroundings and the simplicity of her apparel. +Her face was grave and sweet, but strong with the noble purpose that +animated her; her shining hair was like a coronet of gold above her +brow, and she bore herself with a quiet dignity and air of self-respect +that must have commanded the esteem of any one. + +"And what is mademoiselle fitted for--what is the position which she +would like best of all?" Monsieur Lamonti inquired. + +"I hardly know," Mollie thoughtfully returned. "I have a good education, +and I could teach, if I could find an opening. As you perceive, I can +speak French." + +"Mademoiselle's accent is perfect," interposed her listener. + +"I am equally familiar with German," she resumed, with an appreciative +smile at his compliment; "I studied in Heidelberg two years, and there +are some other branches which I think I may truthfully say I am +competent to teach." + +The man was silent for a moment or two after she ceased, evidently +considering some thought which had suggested itself to him. Then he +broke forth with the characteristic impulse of his nationality: + +"Ah! to teach--it is a slave's life!" he said. "The nerves they cannot +bear it, unless indeed mademoiselle has nerves of steel. I tell her what +she shall do. I know exactly the position and it is for mademoiselle's +acceptance if it meets her approval. She speaks French like the native +of Paris; would she take the place of a private secretary, to write +four hours a day for a French gentleman?" + +Mollie's heart leaped with joy at such a prospect. It seemed very +inviting, particularly the "four hours a day," which would leave her +much time to be with her dear sick one. But was she competent? That was +a question that seemed important, and for the moment she did not know +what to say. + +"Mademoiselle hesitates, and she is quite right," said her companion, +coming to the rescue. "I will explain: The gentleman's secretary was +discharged three days ago for betraying the affairs of his employer, who +not yet has been able to find another to take his place, and the +correspondence is piling up with every mail. It is important that the +letters should be answered. Mademoiselle speaks and writes German also? +Good! There will be German correspondence, too. The remuneration has +been four hundred and fifty francs--or ninety dollars of American +money--monthly. Will Mademoiselle consider the offer?" he concluded with +some eagerness. + +"It is certainly very tempting," Mollie smilingly replied, and with +rapidly beating pulses, "and I should not hesitate an instant if----" + +"Well?" + +"If I was sure I could fill the position acceptably and the gentleman is +willing to substitute a woman for the clerk who has hitherto served +him." + +"The latter doubt is easily dispelled, Mademoiselle, since I myself am +the anxious seeker for a trustworthy secretary. Regarding the ability, a +few days' trial will settle that point, and the requirements are +perfect and fluent French and German, and fidelity to the employer's +interests. I shall be pleased if Mademoiselle will come for a week and +try." + +"Monsieur Lamonti, I will, and I thank you more than I can express; for +this offer is very opportune, I assure you," said Mollie, her lips +trembling in spite of her efforts at self-control. "I will gladly make +the trial, and I will certainly do my best to please you in every way." + +"And when will Mademoiselle oblige me by beginning her duties?" queried +Monsieur Lamonti. + +"I am sure, from what you have said, that I am needed at once, and I +will come to-morrow at any hour which you may choose to name," Mollie +replied. + +"And that is considerate," returned the gentleman in a gratified tone. +"Then at nine, if that will not inconvenience Mademoiselle, and the +address she will find here." + +He drew a card-case from his pocket and presented her a card which had +his business address upon it. Then bidding her a courteous "au revoir," +he bowed himself out with as much ceremony as if he were leaving a +drawing-room, and a moment later his elegant equipage was rolling +rapidly down the street, while Mollie still stood in the middle of the +room, wondering if the interview had not been all a dream. + +She could scarcely credit the evidence of her senses. Ninety dollars a +month! It seemed too good to be true, and like a smile from fortune to +her, when, of late, she had been so anxiously counting even her pennies. +A great burden rolled from her heart and a luminous smile illumed her +face, although there were tears in her eyes. + +"At last," she murmured, "I am to know what it means to be of some +practical use in the world, and I will do my very best." + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +MOLLIE A BREAD-WINNER. + + +It was a strange experience for this hitherto delicately nurtured girl +to go out into the world and work to support herself and her father, who +had always so watchfully shielded her from every care; who had scarce +allowed her to express a wish before it was gratified, and almost +surfeited her with the luxuries of life. + +But she met it bravely. She did not once say to herself that it was a +hardship--she did not even feel it to be such. The heroic element was +strong in her nature, and it showed itself grandly now in this +emergency. + +The one thing that did seem hard and cruel to her was the fact that her +dear father was beyond realizing her good fortune and sympathizing with +her in her joy that a future of comparative comfort was assured them, if +she should prove herself competent to retain the position which Monsieur +Lamonti had offered her. She did not feel much doubt upon this point, +for she was sure that he would be very considerate until she became +accustomed to her duties, and she was determined to master every +difficulty and acquit herself with satisfaction. + +She presented herself in his office a few minutes before nine o'clock +the next morning and found him awaiting her. He received her with all +the courtesy which characterized his manner toward her the previous day +in her own home. + +"Mademoiselle is prompt; that is well," he smilingly observed, "and now, +if you please, we will attend directly to business, for it is urgent." + +He pointed to several piles of letters, lying unopened upon a desk, and +Mollie slipped into the chair before it and prepared to give her +undivided attention to his instructions. + +He selected several epistles which demanded immediate replies, and, +after clearly explaining what her duty would be, left her to do the +work. Her task was not difficult. Monsieur Lamonti possessed the faculty +of being clear and concise in his directions, and with her natural +fluency of diction, her thorough knowledge of both French and German, +she found everything moving along very smoothly. + +The hours slipped swiftly by, and Mollie was greatly surprised when the +clock on the desk above her struck one, and Monsieur Lamonti, glancing +up at the sound, observed: + +"That will be all for to-day, Mademoiselle Heatherford, and everything +has been most satisfactory. Allow me to add that I regard myself as very +fortunate in securing such a helper." + +"Thank you, monsieur," replied Mollie gratefully. Then she added as she +glanced at the numerous missives still unopened upon both desks: "Pray +let me work another hour; I am not in the least weary." + +"But your luncheon, Mademoiselle," said the gentleman in a doubtful +tone. + +"I am not in the least hungry, either," said the fair girl, smiling. "I +seldom lunch before half-past one, and I shall not mind waiting thirty +minutes longer; while I am sure there is work here which is equally as +important as what I have already done." + +"Mademoiselle is right," returned monsieur, his thoughtful glance +following hers, "but this is your first day and you should not be +overtaxed." + +"Do not fear; I have not thought of being tired, and it will give me +pleasure to work another hour and continue to do so every day until the +ordinary routine of business is attained." + +She spoke with so much of sincerity, even eagerness, that Monsieur +Lamonti accepted the offer in the same spirit that it was made. At the +end of the hour Mollie was politely dismissed, and went home with a +light heart and with a feeling of importance that was as delightful as +it was novel. + +Every morning, promptly at nine o'clock, found her at her desk, where +for five hours she worked patiently and industriously for a week, when +Monsieur Lamonti informed her that his business had been reduced to its +normal condition, and there would be no more extra hours required. + +It was a proud moment for the beautiful girl when, as she was about to +leave the office, that gentleman handed her a check for the first money +she had ever earned in her life. She thanked him with a smile and flush +of pleasure; then, as she glanced at it and saw the amount, she started +slightly and exclaimed: + +"But monsieur! this is too much; you have made a mistake." + +"Pardon, mademoiselle; there is no mistake," quietly returned her +companion. "The check is for twenty-six dollars, is it not?" + +"Yes, monsieur." + +"Very good. The agreement was that mademoiselle should work four hours a +day for ninety dollars per month; but she has labored one extra hour +every day during this week, which calls for extra remuneration, and--as +near as can be estimated--the amount which the check represents," Mr. +Lamonti explained. + +"But, monsieur, I never thought--I did not intend----" Mollie faltered +in some confusion. + +"Very true--I understand," said the gentleman, smiling kindly into the +lovely face; "but it is only just compensation, and you will oblige me +by making no objection to it. I am also exceedingly obliged for the +accommodation and well pleased with your services. We shall go on very +nicely for the future." + +This was a delightful surprise, and she felt highly elated as she ran +about, before going home, to settle some small bills which she had been +obliged to contract, and to purchase a few luxuries for the invalid. + +As the weeks slipped by she became deeply interested in her work, and +had her father been well she would have been perfectly happy, for she +felt that she had now a more worthy object in life than that of living +for her own amusement and the demands of fashionable society, as +heretofore. + +She entertained a profound respect for Monsieur Lamonti, who was +invariably courteous and considerate, and never appeared to be ruffled +in the slightest degree, no matter how perplexing his business might be. + +She gradually learned considerable of his history, as from time to time +he referred to his past, and ascertained that his life had been full of +romance and sorrow. + +He belonged to a noble family of France, but had incurred the lasting +displeasure of his relatives by marrying contrary to their wishes and +was disinherited in consequence. But he loved his beautiful girl-wife +with all the strength of his manhood, and preferred exile and poverty a +thousand times with her, to fame and fortune without her. + +They had retired to a quiet little village immediately after their +marriage, and where, with a little money, together with unlimited energy +and perseverance, Monsieur Lamonti had perfected an invention which ere +long brought him large returns in sales and royalties, and at the end of +fifteen years he was the possessor of a large fortune. + +Then his wife was suddenly taken from him, leaving him with a lovely +daughter, fourteen years of age, and who now became all-in-all to his +almost broken heart. + +Wishing her to profit by the very best education which his country +afforded and her future position would demand, he transferred his +residence to Paris, where he remained for the ten succeeding years, and +where his daughter married a worthy young man, of whom he heartily +approved. + +Her child, the little Lucille, was born a year later, and she was only a +few months old when her mother's health began to fail and she was +ordered to Italy for change of scene and climate. She was accompanied by +her husband, but the child was left behind with Monsieur Lamonti and in +the care of an efficient nurse. + +Two months later, both father and mother were drowned during a terrible +gale while on a yachting excursion in the Mediteranean, and this tragic +event and terrible affliction nearly deprived him of his mind for a time +and aged him many years in appearance. But from that time all his +thought and affection was centered in his granddaughter, who was a +bright and promising child, and who, eventually, if she lived, would +become sole heiress to his immense fortune. + +When she was a year old certain interests connected with his invention +demanded Monsieur Lamonti's presence in America, while, during the last +few years, having become somewhat prominent in matters of a political +nature, he was elected a sort of charge d'affaires to conduct certain +negotiations of a delicate nature in this country, and which would +require the exercise of tact, judgment, and diplomacy. + +He had accepted the commission, more for the sake of having plenty to +occupy his mind and prevent him from dwelling upon his many sorrows, +than because he desired public office and emolument, hence his presence +in the nation's capital, where he had resided during the last two years. + +"Thus you will understand, mademoiselle," he had observed to Mollie with +a heavy sigh, when telling her something of his life, "how utterly +desolate I should have been to-day, if you had not so bravely risked +your life to save my little Lucille. The world would hold nothing for me +if I were to lose her--she is the one link that now holds me here--that +makes me prize in the least a life that has been full of sorrow. See!" +he interposed, touching the silvery locks above his temples. "I am not +yet quite fifty years of age, and any one would declare that I am more +than sixty." + +It was all very sad, Mollie thought--there were many sad and +incomprehensible things in life that were forcing themselves more and +more upon her observation of late, and she could not be reconciled to +them. If she could have known how she cheered the sorrow-burdened man +with her sweet and sunny presence--how like a ray of bright, warm +sunshine she seemed, whenever she appeared in his office, and that her +voice was, like Lucille's, as inspiring and soothing to him as a strain +of sweetest music, she would have been very happy. + +He frequently brought the child to the office, to make a little call +upon her, and the two soon began to grow very fond of each other. Then, +too, Monsieur Lamonti would often call for her in the afternoon to go +for a drive with them, and, upon several occasions, he had invited her +to be present when he made a small fete for his granddaughter, to assist +in entertaining the children, since he had no mistress in his home to +manage such festivities, and he had learned that she dearly loved little +ones. At such times he exerted himself to make the occasion pleasant for +her in other ways--by showing her works of art and numerous curios which +he had gathered from various portions of the world by playing various +instruments, for he was very talented in music and could play the organ, +harp, piano, and violin with more skill than many a professional while +he could talk of masters and artists, giving their history and merits, +with a fluency which proved him thoroughly posted in such matters. He +was also very thoughtful for Mr. Heatherford, often sending his carriage +to take him out for an airing, the coachman and footman being instructed +to show him every attention while wines, fruits, and other delicacies +for him mysteriously found their way into Eliza's domains. + +He also had learned much of the girl's past, previous to her +misfortunes; he studied her from day to day and learned to reverence the +strength of character and purity of purpose which were apparent in her +every act, and thus there grew up a strong and abiding friendship +between the fair young girl and the courtly Frenchman. + +One morning Mollie started forth, at the usual hour, to go to the +office, and for some reason she seemed brighter and happier than common. +She was in perfect health, there was an exquisite color in her cheeks, +her lips were like holly berries, and her eyes glowed with the hope and +vigor that belonged to her young life. + +She was clad in a golden-brown broadcloth costume, trimmed with narrow +bands of sable fur. It was one of the last dresses she had bought in +Paris, recently made over by a clever modiste--whom she had discovered +near her--and it fitted her exquisitely, showing her finely proportioned +figure to good advantage. Her hat matched her suit in color and was +brightened by the wing of a Baltimore oriole. In her well-gloved hands +she carried a rich, but modest pocketbook--another relic of the past, +and no one would have dreamed, as this stylish and elegantly clad young +woman stepped upon the street-car on her way to Monsieur Lamonti's +office, that she was working for her daily bread. + +She might have passed for the wife or daughter of some senator or other +distinguished official--although it was rather an early hour for the +elite to be abroad--and many an admiring eye lingered upon her bright +beauty. + +In the car her eye was attracted by a gentleman who was standing near +her. He was clinging to a strap overhead, and as Mollie's glance swept +over him and upward, along his arm to the hand above, her heart gave a +great startled bound, her cheeks flushed a vivid scarlet, and her eyes +darkened until they seemed almost black. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +MOLLIE MEETS HER HERO. + + +The gentleman who had attracted Mollie's attention was above the medium +height, broad-shouldered, erect, and with a fine, well-poised head which +was covered with dark-brown hair. He was nicely, though not richly clad, +although he looked the gentleman, every inch, while his bearing was as +quietly dignified and self-possessed as if he had been the possessor of +millions. + +He was standing with his back toward Mollie, and she could not see his +face, thus he was utterly unconscious of the beautiful eyes that were +resting upon him and also of the commotion which he had roused in the +heart of the possessor of those same lovely eyes. + +It was not the stalwart figure, nor the proud, nobly formed head, which +had especially attracted her attention. It was the strong and shapely +hand that was firmly grasping the strap above him and upon the little +finger of which he wore an exquisitely cut cameo ring. + +Mollie had recognized it instantly--she would have known it anywhere, +for it was the ring which she had given to Clifford Faxon, six years +previous, when, acting upon the impulse of the moment, she had sought +him out at New Haven to thank him, individually, for the lives he had +saved when, though only a farmer's bound boy, he had prevented a +terrible railroad wreck. + +Again, as on that occasion, she was strangely thrilled by his presence, +even though he was unconscious of her own. + +How she wished that he would turn his head so that she could obtain a +view of his face! She knew, well enough, that it was in keeping with the +splendid form before her and with what she knew of the character of the +man, but she wanted to see if she could trace familiar lines in it; if +it still wore the same frank, honest expression of six years ago; if the +magnificent brown eyes still retained their clear, earnest, +straightforward glance; if the lips wore the same genial smile. Then she +found herself wondering if he would remember her, or whether she had +changed so much that he would merely glance indifferently at her and +then pass her like any stranger. What right had she to think he would +recognize her? she mentally questioned with an impatient shrug of her +shoulders, the flush deepening again upon her cheeks. + +She had been only a miss in short dresses and one among the hundreds who +had been eager to honor him upon that occasion--to grasp him by the hand +and shower grateful thanks upon him. True she had given him the ring as +a souvenir, and told him she should love him all her life for what he +had done--how her face burned as she recalled those impulsive words--but +he had received from others what had doubtless proved to be a far more +useful and practical gift--the generous purse of money. + +But why did he wear the ring if he treasured no pleasant memory of the +giver? This thought set her heart to fluttering again in a way that was +highly foreign to the usual self-possession of the recent society belle, +but it was quickly followed by the somewhat mortifying reflection that +the cameo was a valuable and unique affair and quite a treasure of art +to possess. + +Every pulse thrilled anew when, as she signaled the conductor to stop, +she observed the young man preceding her, as if he also was about to +alight. Mollie followed closely, hoping that she might be fortunate +enough to get a view of his face. + +He stepped off the car, and paused to wait for it to pass on, before +crossing the street, as was evidently his intention. + +Mollie, with her thoughts full of the past, in which he had figured so +conspicuously, was a little heedless as she alighted, her foot turning +awkwardly, and she would have fallen if her "hero" had not sprung to her +side, and, with a courteous, "allow me," grasped her arm and saved her +from what might have been a painful accident. + +"Thank you very much," she said with a brilliant smile and blush, as she +recovered herself, and lifted her gleaming eyes to the handsome face +which she had so longed to see. + +The young man started at the sound of her voice, and then bent an +earnest look upon her, an expression of perplexity sweeping over his +features. Then, almost instantly, his countenance cleared, a glad, eager +light leaped into his eyes, which Mollie saw were unchanged, and there +was a repressed thrill of triumph in his tones as he earnestly observed: + +"I hope you are not hurt." + +"Not in the least, I assure you, and I owe it to your timely aid," +Mollie returned, an answering ring of joy in her own voice, as she saw +that he remembered her, in spite of the changes time had made in her. + +But, even though she realized that he was lingering with the hope that +she would make the first advances and reference to their former meeting, +as certainly belonged to her to do, a sudden and unaccountable shyness +seized her. She stooped to brush some dust that had adhered to her +skirt, then, with another smile and bow, she entered Monsieur Lamonti's +office. A moment later she bitterly repented having allowed the precious +opportunity to pass unimproved. + +"Why," she mentally exclaimed, with a sense of scorn for herself. "I +acted just like a bashful schoolgirl, and ought to be ashamed of myself. +It was my place, when I saw that he knew me, to recognize him. How +unappreciative and indifferent he must think me--how ill-mannered, when +I told him that day that I should never forget him. I am more sorry than +I can express, for perhaps he is in Washington only for a few days, and +I may never meet him again. How utterly stupid of me!" + +But in spite of these keen regrets, the girl's heart was unusually light +all day, for the "hero" of her girlhood had more than fulfilled her +anticipations; she had realized, during those few months, when they had +stood face to face, that he was strong and true and manly in the +highest acceptation of the terms; she believed that he was destined to +distinguish himself in the future, but what made her especially happy +was the fact that he had not forgotten her--that he had been glad to +meet her again, as both his look and tone had testified. + +With these reflections came the sudden revelation of her exact attitude +toward Philip Wentworth. The contrast between the two young men was +marked and suggestive. Phil was the pleasure-loving man of the world, +living only for what entertainment he could extract from life and +society. Clifford Faxon was the thoughtful, conscientious worker, with +some high and earnest purpose in view that would not only promote his +own individual interests, but also advance the standard of men and +methods in general, and Mollie now saw that she had never even been in +danger of loving Phil--that he was hardly worthy of even her respect, +and she almost scorned herself for having hesitated an instant when he +had declared his love for her, a little more than a year ago, during her +visit in Brookline. + +She had never seen him since leaving Boston, although he had often +asserted that he was "coming to Washington." His letters had been +growing few and far between, each one colder and more formal in its +tone. Not once had he renewed his protestations of love for her, +although there was a vein of assumption--a kind of taken-for-granted +style in his epistles which might be interpreted to mean much or +nothing; there certainly had been nothing tangible in them, and it had +been several months now since she last heard from him. But had he +remained as true as the needle to the pole, she knew now that she never +could have married him after this meeting with Clifford Faxon. + +"Oh, any one can see that he is head and shoulders above Phil, mentally, +morally, and, almost that, physically," she mused, as she recalled +Cliff's splendid physique, his thoughtful face and earnest eyes. "I hope +I shall meet him again some day," and the sigh that supplemented this +reflection told how deeply she regretted the lost opportunity of the +morning. + +Clifford Faxon himself was fully as much exercised in view of the +unexpected meeting and its unsatisfactory results. He had not observed +Mollie particularly at first, except that he had realized that some one +had made a misstep, and almost involuntarily he had tried to avert an +accident; but the instant she spoke, her tones had betrayed her to +him--he had never forgotten them. Many and many a time in his dreams, +both waking and sleeping, he had seemed to hear her silvery voice +vibrating with its thrill of fervent gratitude in those words so +indelibly stamped upon his heart: "You have saved my life--you have +saved all our lives, and it is such a wonderful--such a grand thing to +have done! I am very grateful to you, for my life is very bright. I love +to live. Oh, I cannot say half there is in my heart; but I shall never +forget you--I shall love you for your heroism of this day always." + +Then, as he had studied the lovely face, he had traced the +well-remembered features, even though she had changed and bloomed from +the slip of a girl in short dresses and with that shining braid of hair +hanging between her shoulders, into this beautiful and stylish young +woman, with her perfect form, her queenly carriage and elegant apparel. + +He saw that she had recognized him, for he had been quick to note the +light that had leaped into her eyes and the conscious flush that had +suffused her face, and, though he was disappointed, he was half-inclined +to believe what was really the truth, that a sudden shyness, produced by +the unexpected encounter, had alone caused her to refrain from referring +to their former meeting, and yet, believing her to be still the petted +child of fortune and far above him, socially, his sensitiveness +suggested that she might not now care to renew their acquaintance--if +such it could be called--in spite of her assurance that she should +"never forget him." + +He also had been in Washington for more than a year. He had come, as he +had told Maria Kimberly he contemplated doing, with Mr. Hamilton, who +had opened the ---- House the first of that season. He had served him +for nearly a year, and then, through the influence of some gentlemen who +were guests in the hotel, he had secured a government position, and was +proving himself so efficient he bade fair to rise still higher in the +service of the nation. + +It is rather remarkable that he and Mollie should never have met before +during all this time; but it was one of those happenings which can never +be accounted for. + +And even though they had at last encountered each other, he experienced +the same perplexity that Mollie had felt, not knowing whether she was +there merely for a few days, as a sightseer, and would immediately float +away again beyond his reach, or whether her father had some official +position and was residing in the city. It was all very tantalizing, +especially the fact that he did not even know her name. He had often +heard Mrs. Temple call her Mollie, and Philip Wentworth had refused to +tell him anything about her, except to boast that she was his fiancee. + +Then, as these memories crowded upon him, he caught his breath sharply +as a sudden, terrible fear took possession of him. Possibly this fair +Mollie, this gloriously beautiful girl, who was his ideal of all that +was perfect in womanhood, might already be Philip's wife, for only a day +or two previous the Temples had passed him on the street in their +carriage, and his former classmate was with them. + +When Mollie entered the office that morning she found it empty, Monsieur +Lamonti not having arrived, although he was almost invariably there +before her. He came a few moments later, however, but appeared sad and +preoccupied, and upon Mollie inquiring if he were ill he said no, but +that Lucille was far from well. She had been feverish and restless all +night. He had called a physician that morning, but he spoke lightly, +saying that her indisposition was only the effect of a slight cold, and +she would be all right in a day or two. + +But the gentleman was evidently very much disturbed, and finally +confessed to Mollie that he would be obliged to go to New York that +afternoon, and could not return until the next evening. The approaching +separation and suspense, he said, seemed almost unbearable, particularly +as Lucille was ill. + +"I know that Nannette is, as a rule, careful and faithful," he observed, +"but somehow I feel very reluctant to leave the child alone with her." + +Mollie turned to him eagerly. + +"Monsieur, would you feel more comfortable if I should go and remain +with Lucille and Nannette until you return?" she inquired. + +The man's face cleared instantly at the suggestion. + +"Would you be so good, mademoiselle?" he asked in a relieved tone. +"Could you be spared from your father?" + +"Oh, yes; Eliza can do everything necessary for papa, and I will gladly +stay with Lucille," Mollie replied. + +Monsieur Lamonti accepted her offer most gratefully, upon this +assurance, and when his carriage came to him he drove home with her to +tell Eliza what her plans were, after which they repaired to his +residence. + +They found Lucille much better than she had been in the morning, and +Monsieur Lamonti prepared for his journey with restored cheerfulness, +and finally took his departure, feeling quite content. + +Mollie took Lucille wholly in charge for the remainder of the day, and +allowed Nannette, who had been closely confined within doors, to have a +little time to herself, and she went out to visit and take tea with a +friend. + +She returned about nine in the evening to find her charge sleeping +quietly and restfully, and Mollie reading a new book in the library. + +They soon retired, Mollie occupying Monsieur Lamonti's room, which +adjoined, although it did not connect with the one where Lucille and +Nannette slept. Mollie said she preferred this arrangement to being put +off in the guest chamber, as she would feel less lonely. + +After shutting herself into the room for the night--although she did not +lock the door--not feeling sleepy, she began to look about the +apartment, which, like the rest of the house, was full of beautiful and +interesting things--fine paintings on the walls, choice books and +bric-a-brac on tables and mantle, and in one corner a cabinet of curios, +rare and costly. + +Mollie spent a long time looking these latter over and reading from the +"key" their history and the names of the far-off places whence they had +come. But she grew weary of this occupation after a while and finally +began to prepare for bed. + +While thus engaged she observed on a stand behind the bed what appeared +to be a book having a curious cover. She attempted to take it up when +the top came off, and she was startled to find it was a box containing a +small, but beautiful silver-mounted revolver. + +Her start, however, was only momentary, for Mollie knew something about +firearms, having had some practise at shooting at a target while she was +abroad. She lifted the weapon and examined it carefully, noting the +curious chasing on the silver, the number of chambers, and also that it +was loaded. + +She finally laid it back in its place, replacing the cover, and had +scarcely done so when, for the first time, she noticed upon the opposite +side of the room a small safe. For a moment an uncomfortable sensation +began to creep over her, for the safe and the loaded revolver suggested +that there might be valuables to be defended in the former--possibly, +she thought, costly jewels, which might have belonged to Lucille's +mother and grandmother. + +But she put away the feeling with a little shrug and smile, resolutely +put out the electric lights, then crept into bed and was soon dreaming, +as on two previous nights since her meeting with him, of the hero of her +girlhood--Clifford Faxon. + +The next she knew she was vaguely conscious of hearing the cathedral +clock in the hall strike two; then she was suddenly broad awake, every +sense painfully on the alert, although she could not, for the moment, +move a muscle, as the conviction was forced upon her that some one was +moving stealthily about the room. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +A THRILLING MIDNIGHT ADVENTURE. + + +For a moment Mollie was simply paralyzed with fear; she could neither +move hand nor foot, which perhaps was the very best thing that could +have happened under the circumstances. But her mind worked with the +rapidity of lightning and to some purpose. + +She could distinctly hear the movements of some one about the room, +stealthy and cautious as the invader tried to be, and once she plainly +saw the outline of a man as the figure passed between her vision and a +window. + +She was sure that a burglar had entered the house--some one who, +doubtless, had learned of Monsieur Lamonti's absence and had taken +advantage of it to come and help himself to what valuables he could +find. + +Then a shock of dismay and fear set all her nerves tingling as she +remembered the safe; but this was almost immediately succeeded by a +great calm, a grim determination taking possession of her, and plans to +carry it out quickly forming in her active brain. + +Very cautiously she reached out her right hand and secured the revolver +that lay on the stand beside her. Her touch was so light that, as she +timed her act just as the burglar stooped to examine the safe, not a +sound was distinguishable. + +Slipping it under the bed-clothing she softly removed it from the box. +The next moment it was cocked and she drew a deep, silent breath of +relief as she realized that she could now control the situation about as +she pleased. + +Her next act was to reach out again and feel for a cluster of three +electric buttons, which had been placed in the wall close beside the +bed. + +One of these controlled a wire communicating with the nearest +police-station, and had been put there for just such an emergency as the +present. Another was connected with the electric apparatus for lighting +the house, and the third governed the lock of the front door. + +Similar buttons were in every room of the main portion of the house, and +Monsieur Lamonti had explained their operation to Mollie several weeks +previous during one of her visits, and they were grouped in the form of +a triangle; two were side by side, and the third between and above them. + +It was the upper button which Mollie had touched. Then she lay quietly +listening for several minutes, while the other occupant, having produced +a tiny dark-lantern, continued his investigations at the safe. + +All at once, in the distance, she caught the sound of hoofs and wheels, +and knew that help was coming to her. + +She now touched the button controlling the front door. A moment later +she lightly pressed the third button, and instantly the apartment was +flooded with light, as was also the hall outside. With a startled oath +the burglar sprang to his feet, and, turning, found himself confronted +by the loveliest vision he had ever seen in his life, as he afterward +told a pal in prison, and a "dandy barker" that was cocked and aimed +straight at his heart. + +Mollie had sprung to a sitting posture after touching the third button +and was prepared for duty. Her face was pale as marble, but there was a +determined light in the blue eyes which warned the invader that she was +braced for instant action while his experienced eye immediately grasped +the fact that she knew how to manipulate the weapon she held, and that +her hand was as steady as if she were holding simply a glass of water. + +But the man was a desperate and powerful fellow, and he did not mean to +be beaten at his game "by any slip of a girl like that," and so +determined to make a bluff to attain his object and watch his chance to +disarm her. + +The house was perfectly still, and he was confident that no one else in +it had been aroused, and he fondly imagined he could easily intimidate +his fair captor, for he had not the slightest suspicion that she had any +way of summoning assistance from outside. + +"You'd better put down that barker, miss, if you don't want to get into +trouble," he commanded in a gruff, though subdued voice, for he had no +desire to arouse any one else. "I don't ever like to hurt a lady, and +I'd be 'specially loath to do harm to such a pretty girl as you are." + +Mollie's eyes flashed indignant fire at his familiar language and +obnoxious compliment. + +"Silence!" she cried, in a clear, incisive tone, and her faultless +elocution served her to some purpose now, for it made her every word +tell effectively. "No!--don't you dare to attempt to get out your +revolver if you have one," she continued, as she saw his right hand +creeping toward one of his pockets. "That is right," as he instantly +dropped it again to his side. "Obey me and you will not be hurt. Show +the slightest disposition to disobey me and I will not hesitate to let +you have the contents of one of these chambers, and I shall not miss +you, either. Now sit down in that rocking-chair near you and put your +hands upon the arms." + +But the man did hesitate to obey this command and glanced nervously +toward the door, which he had left open when he entered the room, as if +contemplating a bold dash for freedom. Then he suddenly changed his +mind, as the small hand which held that costly revolver was slightly +raised as if to take a truer aim, and he obediently dropped into the +chair which Mollie had indicated, then added in a tone of mingled wrath +and admiration: + +"Well, for a girl of your years, you're the coolest specimen I've ever +seen." + +"Yes, I know something about firearms. I had considerable practise +shooting at a target in a gallery in Paris a couple of years ago," +remarked the intrepid girl with deliberate distinctness. + +Her captive cringed visibly at her remark, and, observing it, she +realized that he was at heart a coward in spite of his profession and +his attempt to bully her, and her courage rose in proportion. Just then +she heard a vehicle outside slacken speed and stop before the house. The +burglar also caught the sound and an anxious look shot into his eyes. + +"What's that?" he demanded roughly; "the boss coming home?" + +"No; Monsieur Lamonti will not return until to-morrow, or until this +afternoon, I should have said," Mollie composedly remarked. Then she +added with a gleam of triumph in her blue eyes: + +"I am expecting some friends whom I have summoned to aid me in this +emergency; doubtless they have arrived." + +"The cops!" cried the burglar in a startled tone. + +"Yes." + +"How on earth did you manage that?" he questioned breathlessly. + +"Ah!"--as his practised eye swiftly swept the walls and finally rested +on the group of electric buttons--"the house is wired for it." + +"You are right, and it is an exceedingly convenient arrangement," dryly +responded the girl. + +"Thunder and lightning! I swear I won't sit here to be caught like a rat +in a trap," snarled her companion, as he started wildly to his feet and +glanced around him for some way of escape. + +"Sit down!" and the pistol in Mollie's hand was again raised menacingly, +while footfalls were now plainly heard ascending the steps leading to +the entrance to the house. + +The man dropped with a quick, indrawn breath, as his eye fell upon the +white, slim finger that rested on the trigger of the revolver. Then a +sudden thought struck him and he breathed more freely. + +"But they can't get in," he observed with a chuckle of exultation, for +he told himself that if she was obliged to get up to admit the policemen +he would have an opportunity to make a bolt for the nearest window and +have a fair chance to escape by means of a balcony which could be +plainly discerned outside. + +"You are mistaken," his fair captor replied, "for when I touched the +button that governs the communication with the station-house I also +pressed another that unlocks the front door. Allow me to say for the +information of any of your friends who may be followers of your +profession, in case you should have an opportunity to communicate with +them, that almost every room in the house is wired in the same way." + +"Hell and furies!" groaned the unfortunate victim, and actually writhing +in his chair, for at that moment steps and voices were heard in the hall +below, and he knew that he was inextricably "bagged." Involuntarily he +clapped his hand to his pistol-pocket. + +"Sit still!" commanded the brave girl, and she leaned forward, her eyes +blazing like two points of flame. "Another movement and I fire." + +He knew she would, for there was a relentless purpose in her watchful +gaze, and he settled back limp and white to await the inevitable. + +With her glance never for an instant wavering from the form in the +rocker, Mollie called out in clarion tones: + +"Come right up-stairs, Mr. Officer, and you will find what you are +looking for." + +A moment later two policemen entered the room and took in the situation +at a glance. + +In a trice they had their prize--whom they instantly recognized as a man +they had long been trying to run down--disarmed and safely handcuffed, +he offering no resistance. + +Then they turned their attention to the heroic girl upon the bed. But +she felt little like a heroine at that moment. + +She had dropped her weapon the instant the officers appeared upon the +scene, too weak and spent to hold it longer, and now lay white and +panting upon her pillows, consciousness almost forsaking her now that +the reaction had come. + +Almost simultaneously Nannette rushed into the room, her eyes wide and +staring with fear upon beholding three strange men in the place, while +she tremulously inquired if the house was on fire. + +"No, no," one of the policemen replied reassuringly, "everything is all +right now; but you'd better get the young lady a glass of wine or +something. Did he attempt to do you any harm, miss?" he respectfully +inquired. + +"No, he did not have any opportunity," she panted, a ghost of a smile +curving her white lips as she significantly touched the revolver that +lay beside her. + +"I see," said the man with a nod, "and you are a downright plucky girl! +There, drink something, and then you shall tell us all about the +affair," he concluded as Nannette approached with a glass of port wine +which she had taken from a small cabinet which Monsieur Lamonti had in +his room. + +There was a tall Oriental screen before the fire-place, and the men +placed this between the bed and their prisoner, then retired behind it +themselves to give the exhausted girl time to recover herself. + +Mollie sipped a little of the wine and soon found her strength +returning, and with it and the friendly presence of Nannette, much of +her habitual self-possession. + +"Nannette, pray, get me a shawl or dressing-sack," she whispered to the +girl. The maid whisked into her own room and returned almost immediately +with a pretty wrapper of her own, and into which she deftly assisted +Mollie, who then signified her readiness to talk with the officers, +while she seated herself in a chair outside the screen and motioned +Nannette to another near her. + +She briefly related what had occurred from the moment when she had heard +the clock strike two until the appearance of the officers. Her language +was simple and unassuming, but the story produced a marked impression +upon her hearers. + +Nannette became greatly excited during the recital, but protested that +she had not heard a sound until Miss Heatherford called out to the +officers to come up-stairs, when she hurriedly threw on her robe and +came to her, fearing she might be ill or the house afire. + +The policemen regarded the fair narrator with undisguised admiration, +as she told how she had softly taken possession of the revolver and +cocked it beneath the bed-clothing before turning on the lights. + +"It was a mighty plucky thing to do," one of them remarked. + +"I sincerely hope that I shall not have to testify against this man at a +public trial," said Mollie anxiously. + +The officers saw that she was greatly distressed in view of such a +possibility, and their sympathies were with her. + +"Well, miss, I can't say for certain about that. I reckon you'll have to +appear and give evidence; but perhaps a private examination can be +arranged, and if the reporters don't get hold of it you'll be all right. +I'm sure I, for one, would be glad to oblige a lady who has shown more +grit than many a man would have done in such a tight place," one of the +men observed in the most respectful manner. + +"And I'm with you," said the other heartily. + +"Thank you very much," Mollie replied gratefully and with that rare +smile of hers which made every one delight to serve her. + +"Are you timid, Miss Heatherford?" the one who appeared to be the +superior officer inquired. "Would you like one of us to stay in the +house or about the place for the remainder of the night?" + +"Oh, no--thank you. I am sure that will not be necessary, for we shall +not be likely to have this experience repeated to-night. We will open +the door connecting with the servants' hall, and I shall feel perfectly +safe." + +"Very well; then we may as well be getting our jailbird into his cage. +But, upon second thought," the man added, as he caught sight of +Nannette's shiver of terror and saw that Mollie was still very pale, "I +think when I get him aboard the patrol-wagon I will leave Brown here to +watch about until daylight; maybe it will make you a little easier in +your mind." + +Mollie smiled gratefully into his honest face. + +"Thank you," she said heartily, and with a sudden sense of relief which +convinced her that she had overestimated her feeling of security; +"perhaps you are right, and I think, on the whole, we may rest better to +know that we are guarded." + +"Come," said the officer, turning to the burglar, who had not once +spoken, except to curse when the handcuffs were slipped upon his wrists, +"we must be moving." + +Then, with a respectful good-night to the two girls, the officers led +him away, and three minutes later Mollie heard the patrol-wagon drive +away and heaved a long sigh of thankfulness that the horrible experience +was over, and with no loss of valuables to her good friend, Monsieur +Lamonti. + +Nannette, who had been watching the departure from a window, informed +her that Officer Brown had been left behind, and was slowly pacing the +sidewalk before the house. + +This arrangement was so reassuring to both girls that they immediately +retired with a sense of perfect security, and were soon sleeping as +soundly and restfully as if they had not been disturbed. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE TEMPLES APPEAR. + + +It was after eight o'clock when Mollie finally awoke again, and feeling, +somewhat to her surprise, not one whit the worse for her exciting +adventure during the small hours of the morning. + +After making her toilet she sought Nannette, who was dressing Lucille, +and they both agreed not to speak of what had occurred before the +servant--at any rate, until after Monsieur Lamonti's return. + +Lucille was better, and, after they had had their breakfast, Mollie +thought, as the day was very fine, it would do her good to go for a +drive. + +The carriage was accordingly ordered, and the three--for Lucille never +went anywhere without her maid, except on rare occasions with her +grandfather--were soon rolling down Pennsylvania Avenue, thence to +Mollie's home to ascertain how Mr. Heatherford had passed the night, +after which the coachman was told to drive out toward Arlington Heights. + +They rested a while in the venerable mansion, and then started on their +homeward way. They were just passing the boundary of what was once known +as the "old Lee estate," when they met another carriage entering the +beautiful grounds. + +This vehicle contained four persons, and they were none other than Mr. +and Mrs. William Temple, with their daughter Minnie, and Philip +Wentworth. This quartet manifested no little astonishment upon beholding +Mollie, sitting like a fair young princess in her fine equipage, and she +experienced a little secret amusement as she encountered their wondering +gaze. + +Mr. and Mrs. Temple bowed politely, but with marked formality. Minnie +waved her hand, with a smile of pleasure, at her old friend, of whom she +had been very fond, while Philip removed his hat with elaborate +courtesy, his eyes beaming with admiration as he looked into Mollie's +fair face and realized that she was even lovelier than when he had seen +her last in Boston, a year and a half previous, and instantly all his +old-time passion for her revived. + +Mollie returned these greetings courteously and with the utmost +self-possession; but her eyes were very bright and the color in her +cheeks gleamed like scarlet poppies for a moment. + +Then the carriages passed and were parted without a word having been +spoken, although Minnie had been upon the point of bursting out in her +childish eagerness with some expression of greeting; but her mother +hushed her with a single low-spoken word. + +Mollie's heart burned within her with mingled scorn and indignation, in +view of this coldness, for she well remembered the days when the whole +family had been most gracious in their manner toward her--had even +fawned upon her and spared no effort to cultivate her society. + +She was stung anew, too, with the memory of the unpardonable outrage +perpetrated against her father during their last visit with the Temples; +while, even though she had long known that she had never loved and could +never love and would never marry him under any circumstances, Philip's +peculiar attitude toward her filled her with a secret contempt for him. + +"Why! how strange that we should have met Mollie Heatherford, and what +an elegant turnout that is in which she is riding!" Mrs. Temple observed +to her husband after the encounter, while she turned and peered out of +the rear window of their own carriage for another glimpse of Monsieur +Lamonti's fine victoria with its liveried coachman and footman. + +"It certainly is," Mr. Temple replied. "Those were magnificent horses, +and everything about the affair indicated lavish expenditure. I don't +quite understand the condition of things," he concluded reflectively. + +"Mollie was richly dressed, too, and looked, as she always had a way of +looking, like a queen--she has grown handsomer than ever," his wife +pursued. "Did you notice the child and its nurse who were with her?" she +went on, as if some startling thought had occurred to her. "Do you +suppose the girl has married some rich widower and is queening it here +in Washington society?" + +Philip gave a violent start as his mother propounded this solution to +the problem that was puzzling them all, and jealously regretting--as +fickle human nature is prone to do when another shows appreciation of a +discarded favorite--what he fondly imagined might have been his if he +had chosen to press his suit. + +"I have heard nothing of it if she has," said Mr. Temple, and looking +not altogether comfortable in view of finding the Heatherfords again on +an equal footing with himself. "The last I knew, Mr. Heatherford had +secured a position here with a fair salary, and they were living +comfortably, but in a very humble way compared with their former +circumstances. I will make some inquires to-morrow and ascertain, if +possible, just how they are situated." + +Philip did not join in the conversation, but he secretly resolved that +he would himself ascertain the truth about Mollie that very day. He +would seek her in the location to which he had always addressed his +letters, as long as he had written her, and if he failed to find her +there he would search the city over for her. + +Neither Mr. Temple nor his mother had known of his correspondence with +her, and the latter had flattered herself that she had been very tactful +in managing to break up certain "foolish" relations between the two that +were liable to prove very awkward. + +The family had been in Washington only a few days, and, although Philip +had thought of Mollie in an indifferent kind of way, he had not felt any +special interest to look her up. Now, however, the sight of her radiant +beauty, together with her cool and dignified bearing and the fear that +possibly she had dared to marry another, while he assumed to have a +claim--however indefinite--upon her, fired anew his old-time love for +her and aroused a fierce jealousy within him. + +Accordingly, after he had lunched, he immediately set forth upon his +quest for her, going directly to the address where his letters had been +sent. + +Eliza, of course, answered his ring, but informed him that her young +mistress was not at home--that, however, she would probably return that +evening. He then inquired for Mr. Heatherford, and was told, with a +non-committal air, that he was "comfortable." + +"Has he been ill?" questioned Philip, with some surprise. + +"Yes, sah; Marsa Heatherford have been very ill." Eliza quietly +returned, but without volunteering any information regarding the nature +of that gentleman's malady, while she eyed Philip curiously, not +half-liking his looks nor his arrogant bearing. + +The young man, however, went away, smoothing his ruffled plumage with no +little satisfaction. Mollie was not married; probably, he assumed, she +was simply a day governess in some wealthy family, and that would +account for her being out for a drive with the child and its nurse in +the elegant carriage he had seen that morning. + +He returned to his hotel quite elated and promising himself that he +would resume his old relations--to a certain extent--with Mollie, and +thus help to pass some otherwise dull hours during his sojourn in the +city. + +In spite of the secrecy which Mollie had desired to preserve regarding +her exciting adventure of the previous night, the evening papers +contained a thrilling account of a bold attempt at robbery, and how it +had been thwarted by the remarkable heroism of a young lady, who had +held the would-be burglar paralyzed at the muzzle of a revolver until +the police were summoned to her aid and captured the criminal. + +The name of the gentleman whose residence had been entered was given; +but Mollie's name was considerately withheld. She was simply designated +as Monsieur Lamonti's private secretary, who had been spending a couple +of days in the house as chaperon for the gentleman's little +granddaughter during his absence on a business trip to New York. + +Monsieur Lamonti returned, as he had planned, that same evening, and was +greatly exercised in view of what had occurred. + +"Mademoiselle has shown herself very brave," he said, after having +freely discussed the matter and regarding her admiringly, "but I tremble +when I think of the danger that threatened her. And there was much of +value in the safe, too--a large sum of money, besides many valuable +jewels. Ah! but you have been my good angel many times, mademoiselle," +he concluded in a grateful tone. + +He opened the safe and showed her the jewels, and, though she had seen +many costly articles of jewelry, she was almost dazzled by the beauty +and value of the collection before her. + +"We will not keep them here any longer," said Monsieur Lamonti, as he +returned them to their places. "I could not bear to send them away +because my dear ones had worn them," he added with a regretful sigh, +"but no one must ever be subjected again to such peril as threatened you +last night." + +And the following morning he deposited his treasure in a safety-vault, +where no burglar would attempt to seek them. + +Shortly after Monsieur Lamonti's arrival Mollie was sent home in his +carriage, that gentleman slipping into her hands a box containing a +dozen pairs of elegant kid gloves, as she left. + +"It is nothing," he said with a deprecatory shrug in reply to her +thanks; "it was only to give myself the pleasure of buying something for +some one." + +Eliza welcomed her young mistress with a beaming face when she appeared, +and she found that her father had received excellent care during her +absence; but she had not been in the house half an hour, when Philip +Wentworth again made his appearance. + +Mollie received him courteously, though somewhat coldly; but he ignored +her lack of cordiality, and, catching both her hands in his, fervently +exclaimed: + +"At last! Mollie, we meet again! It has seemed an age since I saw you in +Boston. Did your servant tell you of my call directly after lunch?" + +"Yes; Eliza gave me your card on my return. I have been away spending a +couple of days with some friends," Mollie quietly explained, as she +released her hands and indicated a chair for him, then seated herself +upon a small sofa near him. + +"Perhaps you will think me very persistent and impatient to make two +calls in one day," Philip observed apologetically, and feeling a trifle +disconcerted by the girl's perfect composure; "but I have been wild to +learn why you ceased writing to me so suddenly--I have not heard from +you for the longest while!" + +Mollie lifted a look of surprise to him. + +"I think you have transposed the situation," she said, a faint smile +curving her lips. "I have answered every letter that I have received +from you." + +"Ah! then I have wronged you; forgive me! And my last letter must have +miscarried, for when I did not hear from you I began to wonder if it +could have contained anything to offend you," Philip returned, but he +flushed beneath the clear, searching eyes looking steadily into his, as +he uttered the lie. Then unceremoniously waiving the uncomfortable +topic, he added with animation: + +"But tell me something about yourself now, Mollie. I do not need to ask +if you are well; for your blooming appearance speaks for itself; but how +is your father, and what have you been doing to amuse yourself during +all these long months?" + +Again that faint smile wreathed Mollie's lips, and there was a suspicion +of irony in it, for his question was suggestive of the tenor of his own +way of passing his time. + +"'To amuse myself'," she repeated in a peculiar tone. "I really have had +very little time to devote to amusement of any kind during the last year +and a half. For the first few months I was busy keeping house for papa, +for we were trying to be economical and kept no servant. Then he was +taken ill." + +"Yes, I remember you wrote me at one time that he was ill," Philip +interposed, "but I supposed that he had recovered long ago." + +"My father is a hopeless invalid--the physicians tell me that he will +never be any better," said Mollie sadly. + +"Can that be possible?" queried her companion, and trying to throw a +proper amount of sympathy into his tone, but secretly wondering how they +managed to keep the wolf from the door. + +"Of course, when his health gave out he lost his situation, and his +income stopped," Mollie gravely resumed, "and I was obliged to seek some +employment. I have a position as private secretary to Monsieur Lamonti, +a French gentleman of some prominence here in Washington--possibly you +may have heard of him." + +"Ah! yes, I have," said Philip with elevated eyebrows, for the wealthy +Frenchman had been pointed out to him, and now he understood how Mollie +had happened to be riding in that elegant turnout that morning. Then he +added: "I am sorry to learn that Mr. Heatherford's case is so serious." + +"Yes; papa has failed sadly; he seldom recognizes even me, now, while +his hands have become so useless that he has to be fed like a child," +Mollie returned with starting tears. + +"That must make it very hard for you, dear," Philip responded with a +tender inflection; "you must find it very irksome, reared as you have +been, to confine yourself to a position and the care of an invalid." + +"I do not," she returned brightly, though she straightened herself a +trifle and flushed at his term of endearment. "I thoroughly enjoy my +position, and if papa could only be well once more, I should feel +perfectly happy with my work and the consciousness that I am really of +some practical use in the world." + +She looked so proud and animated and bore herself with such an air of +dignity and self-reliance that the young man told himself she was a +hundredfold more lovely and attractive than she had ever been. + +But, at the same time, there was an unmistakable atmosphere about her +that held him at arm's length and made him feel as if she had drifted so +far apart from him as to have put him entirely out of her life. + +The very thought enraged him, and an insatiate desire to conquer these +conditions and make himself necessary to her happiness took possession +of him. He flushed hotly as he suddenly bent nearer to her. + +"Mollie, I cannot bear to know that you are working for wages," he said +passionately. + +Mollie laughed out musically, although she drew herself away from him +with an unmistakable chill in her manner. + +"Pray, do not be disturbed," she said lightly, "for I assure you that I +enjoy my 'wages,' as you term them, immensely." + +"But the humiliation of it," he persisted hotly; "to think of it!--you, +who are fit to queen it anywhere, becoming the servant of any one!" + +"I have no sense of humiliation, Philip. I frankly protest that I never +in my life experienced a more comforting sense of self-respect than at +the present time," Mollie spiritedly rejoined, and with a warning +sparkle in her eyes. + +"But there is no need of it," he insisted. + +"There is every need," she briefly, but gravely, replied. + +"No, no, Mollie; surely you have not forgotten the old days," he broke +forth vehemently; "you cannot have forgotten the question which I asked +you a year and a half ago, and which you have never answered. Need I +tell you that I still love you with all my heart?--that I yearn for you, +in spite of the little misunderstanding and interruption to our +correspondence? Mollie, dearest, give up this position; let me provide +for you hereafter--let me stand between you and the necessity for toil; +give yourself to me--you shall have every wish gratified, and I will +become your protector and--your slave." + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +A STARTLING PROPOSAL. + + +Mollie grew first red, then white, at this unexpected renewal of +Philip's suit. At the same time, she was conscious that it did not ring +quite true, in spite of his passionate avowal of love and eagerness of +manner; there was an indefinable undercurrent of reservation--a lack of +sincerity in it that impressed her unpleasantly. + +For one thing, she felt that if he had been a true lover, he never would +have allowed their correspondence to cease, simply because a single +letter had gone astray; he would never have been content to let a year +and a half pass without making an attempt to see her and learn how she +was living and how her father was prospering, after having been robbed +of his last dollar by the treachery of his pretended friend. + +She began to recover from her confusion almost immediately, however, and +lifting her eyes, earnestly searched her companion's face. Somehow, it +had never appeared so unattractive to her before; it was weak and showed +in the lowering brow, in the habitual expression of discontent, in the +sensuous mouth and irresolute chin, a lack of that true nobility and +strength of character which she knew she must find in the man whom she +married, and even while she looked his eyes wavered and fell before +her, while he shifted uneasily upon his chair. + +"Mollie, why do you not answer me?" he demanded, to cover his +embarrassment, and bending toward her tried to capture one of the small, +perfect hands which lay on her lap. "It cannot be possible that you have +forgotten the past or lost all the old love for me. Ah! come to me, +dearest, let me take care of you, and you never need toil another day; +you shall have every luxury which money can buy." + +"Phil," Mollie began gently, for she did not wish to wound him, even +though not one chord of her heart thrilled responsive to his ardent +appeal, while at the same time she quietly, but resolutely, released her +hand from his grasp, "I certainly have not forgotten the old days nor +the many good times which we enjoyed during our childhood. But when you +speak of 'the old love,' that is another thing, and I know now that I +never loved you; that is, in the way which you speak of now. When you +asked me before, I told you I was not prepared to say just what my +feelings toward you were, as you will remember. I felt very friendly, as +I said then, 'I liked you right well,' and, as you seemed to be so fond +of me and so anxious that our boy-and-girl play should become a reality, +I thought I would wait a little, and, perchance, as I came to like you +better, the 'like' might grow into love. I could have told you this some +time ago if you had renewed the subject, but you never did; your letters +ceased coming and I supposed you had thought better of the matter and +changed your mind. No, Phil, I do not love you as a woman should love +the man she expects to marry; so let us drop the subject here and now +and agree to be simply good friends for the future." + +But her refusal aroused all Philip's antagonism. He was one who could +never bear to be balked in anything, and her statement that she knew +'now' that she did not love him stirred him to fiercest jealousy. What +had led her to such a conclusion? he asked himself. Perhaps she had met +some one else who had awakened the affection which he so coveted, and +this possible solution of the problem made him furious. + +For the moment he forgot her poverty; forgot that he had vowed he would +never marry any girl who did not possess an ample fortune. He only +remembered that he loved her--had always loved her, and rich or poor he +was determined to carry his point, if by any possible means he could +achieve it, even though he should rudely trample upon her heart after he +had won it. + +"Mollie!" he cried appealingly, "you do not mean it--you cannot be so +cruel as to blight all my hopes, after so many years of devotion to you. +You know that I have loved you ever since we were children; you know +that I have always expected that you would give yourself to me, and do +you think that I can easily surrender you now?" + +Mollie wondered what made her shrink involuntarily every time he +mentioned his love for her. There was something that grated harshly upon +her in his every tone, and she experienced a singular distrust of him. + +"I am truly sorry, Phil, if you have really been cherishing this hope +for so long," she returned after a moment of thoughtful silence, "for, +to be perfectly frank with you, I have believed everything to be at an +end between us ever since I left Boston. I am very quick to feel any +change in my friends, and I was sure, when the financial crash came to +my father, that a union between you and me would be regarded as a great +misfortune for you. I inferred this both from your own manner and your +mother's when you made your farewell call upon me at the Adams House. I +also observed it in the tone of your letters afterward, and when they +finally ceased altogether, as I have already said, I regarded the matter +as finally settled, as far as you were concerned, and, as I had arrived +at a knowledge of my own attitude toward you, I was perfectly content. +You perceive that I am very plain with you, and now let me add, Phil, +that you will yet make the discovery that some other woman will make you +happier than I ever could have done." + +"I shall not!" Philip retorted vehemently. "I love you, and you alone. +Mollie, you shall not send me away like this--I cannot bear it. Give me +at least a little more time in which to try to make you love me; do not +throw me over utterly, for you will ruin my life if you do." + +And he began to believe what he was saying. The more he realized that +she was dropping out of his life altogether, the more he coveted her +love. In the rashness of the moment, in the heat of his anger at being +opposed in his purpose, he might even have gone to the length of +marrying her on the spot, if the conditions had been propitious. + +"No, I can give you no more 'time,' Phil, for the matter is irrevocably +settled, as far as I am concerned," Mollie responded kindly, but firmly, +"and I should only be doing you a great wrong if I should encourage you +to believe otherwise. Now, please let us dismiss the subject, once for +all, and agree to be only the best of friends in the future." + +"Mollie, I won't!" Philip exclaimed with mingled anger and wounded +pride. "There must be some reason for this unaccountable change in +you--more than appears on the surface. Perhaps you have met some one +else whom you have learned to love--tell me, is it so?" + +Two scarlet spots leaped into Mollie's cheeks at this excited and +imperative demand. They were called there by a shock of mingled +indignation and conscious guilt. She felt that, even though Phil had +been a lifelong friend, he had no right to try to extort the secrets of +her heart in any such high-handed manner. + +Yet, at the same instant, when he had accused her of loving another, +Clifford Faxon's face, with its expression of high resolve and noble +purposes, its clear, honest eyes, its frank and genial smile, arose +before her, causing a sudden, conscious heart-thrill, which also brought +with it a sense of dismay. + +Could it be possible, came the simultaneous thought, that she had +bestowed her affections upon a man whom she did not know--with whom she +had never exchanged half a dozen sentences--who had flashed like a +meteor, once or twice, across her path and was gone, perhaps never to +appear again? + +Ah! but it was true, nevertheless. Soul meets soul in the flash of an +eye, through the tones of the voice, and the touch of a hand, and, like +a revelation, there came to her the consciousness of the fact that when +she had stood before Clifford Faxon, more than six years previous, she +had recognized in him--even though he had spoken no word in response to +her impulsive outburst of gratitude--a nature the counterpart and, +therefore, the companion of her own, and with this unveiling of the holy +of holies within her soul came the realization that no other would +satisfy the cravings of her heart. + +At the same time, she was under no obligation to make Philip Wentworth +her father confessor, and she resented his imperative demand that she do +so. She drew herself up with quiet dignity as she coldly replied: + +"Excuse me, Phil, but I think you are overstepping the bounds of both +courtesy and friendship in asking me such questions." + +Philip sprang to his feet, his face a sheet of flame. + +"You do not deny it," he cried angrily. + +"I neither admit nor deny," said Mollie, as she also arose and stood +before him with a regal air. "I simply say that you have--as indeed no +one else has--the right to question me in the way you have done. +Whatever concerns you personally, you, of course, have a right to know +about. I have answered you frankly and as kindly as I knew how, and that +must settle it. Now"--her manner suddenly changing to her old-time +graciousness, and holding out her hand, with a charming smile--"shall we +drop it and still be the best of friends?" + +He regarded her in silence for a moment. She was inexpressibly lovely, +and would have disarmed a savage; but his pride was wounded, and his +heart was filled with rage at the thought of being balked in his +determination to subjugate her to his will. + +"No!" he said shortly, "there is no meaning for me in the word 'friend' +where you are concerned." + +He turned abruptly from her as he ceased and walked from the room and +the house, taking no pains to close the door after him. + +Mollie stood where he had left her for a full minute, a grave expression +on her fair face. Then she drew a long, deep breath, and her lips curled +with contempt: + +"He could not stand the test--he is not worthy to be my friend, even," +she murmured; "he is selfish to the core, for, since he cannot have just +what he wants, he repudiates all, turns and cruelly wounds the one he +has pretended to love. It is himself he loves--not me; and I am glad +that everything is finally settled between us. Still, I am sadly +disappointed in my old-time friend." + +She sighed regretfully as she thought of the failure he was making of +life, for he had had every advantage, and had he appreciated and +improved his opportunities a brilliant career might have been his, while +now he was only an idle seeker after pleasure. + +Then, in striking contrast to this pampered young man of fortune, there +arose before her the sunburned, bareheaded, coarsely clad lad to whom +she owed her life, and who, by his own efforts, had overcome every +obstacle and distanced Philip Wentworth at college. + +Clifford Faxon might never rise socially to the position that was +accorded Philip in the fashionable world--he might never acquire great +wealth, but she felt that he had already attained that which was far +more grand and desirable than fame or fortune--a noble manhood and the +pursuit of some worthy object in life. In the midst of these reflections +Mollie blushed rosy red. + +"Why do I allow my thoughts to dwell upon him?" she exclaimed, with a +shrug of her shoulders and a pretty assumption of impatience; "he is the +same as a stranger to me, and I may never see him again. How foolish I +am!" + +Nevertheless, Clifford Faxon's strong, handsome face haunted her +continually, and even in her dreams that night she saw a shapely hand +outstretched to her; in its palm there lay a heart pierced with an +arrow, its feather the shade of her own bright hair, and on the hand +there gleamed a well-remembered cameo ring. + +The following morning brought another trial to Mollie, and one which she +had never dreamed of being subjected to. When she entered Monsieur +Lamonti's office at the usual hour, she found him already there, but +looking unusually grave and preoccupied. She bade him a cheerful "bon +jour," to which he courteously but, to her sensitive ear, rather coldly +responded. + +"Yes," he briefly replied, "Lucille is well." + +Mollie began to wonder if anything had gone wrong in connection with his +business; or if, by any possibility she had made a mistake that required +a reproof, which he might be very loath to administer; or perhaps he +might not be feeling well, and did not realize how constrained his +manner was. + +However, she slipped quietly into the chair before her desk and began +her work, but with a strange feeling of sadness and embarrassment +oppressing her. She wrote steadily for more than an hour, during which +time not a word was spoken by either occupant of the room. + +Then, all at once, Monsieur Lamonti laid down his pen and, wheeling +around in his chair, faced her. + +"Will mademoiselle be kind enough to give me her attention for a few +moments?" he gravely questioned. "I have something of importance to +communicate to her." + +Mollie grew suddenly pale with apprehension. Oh! could it be possible +that Monsieur Lamonti was contemplating some change that would deprive +her of her position? Maybe he was on the point of returning to France, +or had been assigned to some other station in the United States to +continue his public duties. What could she do--where turn for employment +in such an emergency? + +"Certainly, monsieur," she managed to falter, as she mechanically placed +a paper-weight upon the sheet before her; then tried to smile bravely as +she turned her colorless face to him to await her sentence, whatever it +might be. + +The man started violently as he bent his searching glance upon her. + +"Ah mademoiselle, you are surely ill!" he exclaimed in a voice of alarm. +"Pardon me that I have not before observed the fact. Why--why have you +come to work if you are not well?" + +Something in his look and tone brought the truant color back to her face +in a crimson flood. + +"Thank you, monsieur, but I am perfectly well." + +Then, with a smile and her habitual frankness, she explained: + +"I am only in suspense since, from monsieur's manner, I have inferred +that something is wrong; that perhaps you may have disagreeable tidings +for me." + +It was now the gentleman's turn to change color and to look disturbed. +Then he broke forth with characteristic impetuosity: + +"Pardon--a thousand pardons, mademoiselle, if I have caused you one +moment of anxiety or suffering! Yes, I have been thoughtless--I have +been distrait, but not because I have any ill news to impart; but +because I had decided to ask mademoiselle an important question this +morning. Mademoiselle Heatherford, will you do me the honor--the supreme +happiness--to become my wife?" + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +A CRITICAL SITUATION. + + +Mollie was stunned by this wholly unexpected contretemps, and she lifted +to Monsieur Lamonti a face expressive of the blankest astonishment. + +"Ah! I have taken mademoiselle entirely by surprise! I see--I +understand!" he said, apologetically, though a faint smile flitted +across his lips. "Pray forgive me, mon ami; but let me explain, and then +I am sure you will not wonder so much. You have seen that I am a very +lonely man, without kith or kin. I have nothing in life to comfort me or +to throw one ray of sunshine along my path but the little Lucille. This +has been so for years, but since mademoiselle came to me I have known +more of enjoyment, I have had more pleasure in her society than I have +experienced since I lost my dear children--Lucille's father and mother. +Mademoiselle is beautiful, accomplished; she was reared for something +far better than to work out a weary life at a desk. She has earned my +profoundest respect, my gratitude and admiration by her many rare +qualities of heart and mind, her amiable and sunny temperament and her +faithfulness in my service. + +"My home is very lonely, mademoiselle; my little Lucille needs the +tender care, the gentle restraining hand, and the cultivated presence of +something better than a nursemaid or governess; she requires some one +who would exercise the wise guidance and authority of a mother, and she +has become very fond of you, mon ami. I do not ask--I do not expect +mademoiselle to bestow upon me the affection which she might perhaps +accord to a younger man; and yet----" he faltered slightly and flushed; +"such regard would make me supremely happy, for I have grown to love her +most tenderly. Mademoiselle is leading a life of toil--she has +perplexing home cares and sorrows, but these can all be mitigated to a +great extent; for her father shall become my care also, and her future +shall not have a single cloud to mar it, if it is in the power of man +and money to prevent it. Mademoiselle, will you honor me by accepting my +hand, my heart and my fortune?--become the mistress of my home, and take +your rightful position in society, where you are so well fitted to +shine. + +"If----" he added, after a moment of awkward silence, for Mollie was +still too astonished and overcome to utter a word; "if I have been too +abrupt, mon ami, and you do not feel prepared to answer me at present, +pray take time--as long as you wish--to consider the matter, and I will +patiently await your decision." + +Mollie was not only astonished, she was also deeply touched by this +unlooked-for proposal, which seemed to her a most pathetic appeal from +this distinguished gentleman, whose history had been so sad and whose +life had been so lonely. She knew that there was very little in it, even +now, to make it enjoyable, notwithstanding his great wealth and the +enviable position that he occupied. + +Of course, he loved his little granddaughter with all his heart; indeed, +his every hope hitherto had been centered upon her; but she could +readily understand that it would be utterly impossible for a child like +Lucille to satisfy the requirements of a nature like that of Monsieur +Lamonti. + +He was cultured and intellectual, and, naturally, he desired congenial +companionship. In his magnificent home there was not one with whom he +could converse upon terms of equality, either mentally or socially, or +who could sympathize with him in any of the affairs or interests of his +life. + +He had been into society but little during his residence in Washington, +for, as he had told her, he had no heart for the gaieties of the world, +since he was doomed to go alone wherever he was invited, while, too, +with no mistress at the head of his own establishment he could not +entertain in return for such courtesies. + +Surely, Mollie told herself, it was a desolate existence for one like +him to lead, for he was a polished gentleman, of high attainments, +brilliant in conversation, and well calculated to shine among the many +noted and distinguished people in the nation's capital. But, in spite of +her genuine respect and admiration, together with her deepest sympathy; +in spite of his wealth and position and the tempting future which he had +offered her, she could not become his wife. + +Mollie was too true, too conscientious a woman to marry any man whom +she could not love with all her heart, even though she would have +enjoyed the luxuries to which, nearly all of her life, she had been +accustomed, and with which she would have so liked to surround her +father; while she did sometimes yearn in secret for the old-time +gaieties and society from which she now seemed to be entirely shut out. + +All these things had flashed through her brain while Monsieur Lamonti +was talking, but never for an instant did she waver from what she knew +was right and just to herself and to him. As he concluded she lifted her +grave, sweet eyes to his face. + +"Monsieur Lamonti," she began, and her voice was husky from repressed +feeling; "you have indeed surprised me beyond measure, for I certainly +never dreamed that you entertained for me the feelings you have +expressed--although I have congratulated myself that I possessed your +esteem and friendly interest. It grieves me that I am obliged to +disappoint you; but, monsieur, I must be true to myself and to you. I +could not become the wife of any man unless I had first given him the +deepest affection of my heart. While I have, during our relations as +employer and employee, learned to regard you as a true friend--my best +and almost my only one, I may say, since nearly all who knew me in more +prosperous days have deserted me--still, such a regard would satisfy +neither you nor me if we should assume closer ties. Believe me, dear +Monsieur Lamonti, I feel greatly honored by your preference, and am also +deeply grateful to you for your many kindnesses to both my father and +myself. Forgive me if there has ever been the slightest indication in +my manner to encourage you to infer----" + +"There has not, mademoiselle, I assure you," Monsieur Lamonti +interposed, as she flushed and faltered; "there has been nothing in your +manner at any time to show me that you regarded me other than as a +friend. It was alone my affection for you--my intense yearning for the +presence of a charming woman in my home, to be a companion to and in +sympathy with me and to help me to rear Lucille, which emboldened me to +ask you to be my wife. Ah! mademoiselle, you do not know the grief, the +sorrow I feel! If you would but reconsider--take time to try to--to grow +fond of me; if I could but have a little hope," he concluded in a voice +so eager, yet, withal, so sad and tremulous that tears sprang +involuntarily to Mollie's eyes. + +"Monsieur, it would not be right; I--I could not bid you hope; my answer +must be final," she almost sobbed, for his pathetic appeal had very +nearly unnerved her. Monsieur Lamonti was very pale; but after a moment +of silence he pulled himself together bravely. + +"Pardon--pardon, mademoiselle; the sorrow--the annoyance I have +occasioned you," he said, with grave courtesy. "I bow to the inevitable; +you have been most kind, and we will regard the matter as if it had +never been. But, mon ami," and now he turned to her with his old kindly +smile, "leaving all that forever, may I now presume to ask a great favor +of you?" + +"Certainly, monsieur; you must know that anything in my power I would +gladly do for you," Mollie cordially, even eagerly, returned. + +"Many thanks; but perhaps I am a trifle premature. I should first have +told you what I desire before asking your promise. However, you are free +to refuse if you find the matter not one to your taste. I have told you +that I have no kith or kin--that aside from Lucille, I am absolutely +alone in the world. You can readily perceive that, should anything +happen to--to remove me, the child would be left without a +protector--without a soul to feel the slightest interest in her. Now, +mademoiselle, the favor I wish to crave is a great one--will you, in the +event of which I have spoken, assume the guardianship of my little +girl?" + +Mollie's breath was almost taken away again, and she regarded her +companion in grave wonderment. + +"I, monsieur! Could you trust me with so sacred a charge?" she +questioned in a voice of awe. "I am very young; I have never had any +experience with children, and it seems a grave responsibility!" + +"Mademoiselle, I could trust you with--ah! have I not asked you to care +for the greatest treasure the world holds for me, and could I manifest +greater confidence in you?" responded Monsieur Lamonti, while he +regarded the girl with a look that betrayed far more than his words. + +"I have seen," he went on, "that you are fond of Lucille--she adores +you. You have been carefully reared; you are a gentlewoman in every +sense of the word, and if my little one could become like you--could be +shielded in the future by your love and guidance, and grow up pure and +good and noble, I could ask nothing better for her on earth. You +understand, mademoiselle, this arrangement is to be contingent only upon +my demise, and I may live many years yet. I simply wish to make sure +that she will not be left to the care and cupidity of strangers, and +there will be ample remuneration for you, to enable you to live even +more comfortably than at present. Also I should leave all financial +matters so compactly arranged that you would have very little care in +the management of them. I would not like to burden you in any way except +to make sure that Lucille will be wisely and kindly nurtured. May I +depend upon you, mon ami?" + +Mollie did not reply immediately. To grant Monsieur Lamonti's request +seemed like assuming a very grave responsibility, and she was wondering +within herself if she dare attempt it. + +"Yes, I love dear little Lucille, and I believe she loves me," she +finally murmured, more to herself than in reply to her companion. "I am +sure it would be a pleasure to me to have the child with me; she would +be like a young sister, and to guard and watch her development would be +a very interesting and a great delight--if I were sure that I am equal +to the task----" + +"But the trust must be confided to some one," Monsieur Lamonti here +interposed, "and will mademoiselle kindly allow me to be the judge of +what is best for my darling?" + +Mollie was deeply touched by this evidence of his confidence in her, and +she felt that he was paying her the highest tribute which it was +possible for one human being to confer upon another. She looked up at +him with a tremulous smile and eyes full of tears. + +"Yes," she said, with evident emotion, "and I solemnly assure you that I +will do the very best that I am capable of, for her." + +"Mademoiselle does not need to promise me that; it is her nature to do +her best under all circumstances," replied the gentleman heartily, "and +she has my everlasting gratitude." + +"Thank you, my friend, for your kindly praise, and believe me, I +sincerely appreciate the trust you repose in me; let us hope that for +many years you two may be spared to each other--until, perhaps, Lucille +will be old enough and wise enough to choose a protector for life, and +you will give her away with your blessing." + +Monsieur Lamonti smiled in sympathy with her mood, then reaching out his +hand he clasped hers as if to ratify the compact they had made and +observed. + +"Thank you, mademoiselle; you always comfort and cheer me. May the good +God bless you." + +Both resumed their work, and nothing save business was mentioned during +the remainder of the morning, while Monsieur Lamonti's manner was the +same as usual, courteous and kind, and without a vestige of +disappointment or chagrin to betray how sorely he had been smitten by +Mollie's rejection of his suit. + +After partaking of her lunch that afternoon Mollie could not seem to +settle down to either reading or work. Her thoughts were full of the +events of the morning, and the grave responsibility she had assumed, and +she finally became so nervous that she resumed her street costume and +started out again to visit the Corcoran Art Gallery, hoping to forget +her anxiety. + +It was between three and four when she reached the gallery, and she soon +became so absorbed in the treasures of art all about her, she did not +observe the flight of time, especially as the various rooms were +artificially lighted, until notice was given that it was time to close +the building. + +As she stepped out upon the street she was surprised to find how dark it +had grown. Heavy clouds had covered the sky, a fine mist was falling, +and the short winter's day, dawning to its close, seemed exceedingly +gloomy and depressing. + +Drawing her coat-collar up about her throat and face, for the air was +keen, she hurried on her way toward home, deciding that walking would be +preferable to standing upon a corner to wait for a trolley in the rain. + +When she finally turned off the avenue into a side street, where the +residences were some distance apart, and which was not particularly well +lighted, she suddenly become conscious some one was following her. + +With a heart-throb of fear, she quickened her steps. The figure behind +her did the same. Then she walked more slowly in order to allow the man +to pass her. In another moment he was beside her, when, with all her +pulses throbbing like trip-hammers, she realized that he was +intoxicated. + +"Fine evening, miss," he remarked in a voice which, although rather +thick and unsteady, seemed strangely familiar. + +Her assailant was quite tall, but it was too dark to see his figure +distinctly, while a slouch-hat was drawn so far down over his face that +his features were almost entirely concealed. But Mollie was too +frightened to observe him closely, and vouchsafing no reply to his +remark, quickened her steps again. + +The man reached out his hand and laid hold upon her arm, exclaiming: + +"Hold on, now--hic--my pretty one. I'sn't--ah--dignified to run. Just +le' me--hic--see you home; then I'll take a--hic--kiss and we'll call +it--hic--square." + +Mollie stopped short, her ears actually ringing from the rapid beating +of her heart, while her blood was boiling with mingled disgust and +indignation. She swept his hand from her arm with a force that made him +stagger. But he was too quick for her, and clutched it again instantly. + +"Don't dare to touch me! Do not presume to detain me!" she cried +authoritatively. + +But his fingers only closed more roughly over her wrist. + +"Come, come, pretty one, don't be--hic--offish; or If you're in +such--hic--a deuced hurry I'll take the--hic--kiss now and let +you--hic--go." + +He drew her toward him as if to put his threat into execution, but +before Mollie's frightened cry for help had barely escaped her lips, the +hand was stricken from her arm and her assailant lay sprawling upon the +ground at her feet, while she turned with a long breath of relief to +find another stalwart figure close beside her. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +CLIFFORD MEETS HIS IDOL. + + +The night was so dark, the mist so heavy and the street so illy lighted +that Mollie could not clearly see either of her companions; but as she +turned to the stranger who had appeared upon the scene so opportunely, a +feeling of perfect confidence took possession of her, for his dignified +and self-assured bearing inspired her with a sense of absolute security. + +"Oh, thank you! thank you!" she breathed gratefully though tremulously, +as she involuntarily drew nearer to him. + +"I am very glad that I happened to be near," the gentleman replied in a +rich, deep but pleasantly modulated voice. "I was just passing out of a +gate opposite when I heard you call. The wretch was very bold to assail +you on the street at this hour of the evening! Is he intoxicated?" + +"I think so," said Mollie, and speaking more calmly now, for she was +fast recovering her self-possession, "and I am very thankful to you for +your timely assistance, I----" + +A groan from the prostrate man interrupted her at this point, and both +she and her companion turned at the sound. + +"Well, sir, what is it?" curtly demanded the stranger, as he bent over +him and tried to get a view of his face. + +"You've given me a nasty blow, whoever you are; curse you!" he growled, +as he made an effort to regain his feet. + +But he seemed to find it a difficult achievement, and the stranger +grasped him by the arm and assisted him to rise. + +"There you are," he said, "now can you walk?" + +Again his victim groaned as he attempted to take a step or two, and +almost fell a second time. + +"Well you are a trifle the worse for your fall, that is a fact," his +companion observed. "I will help you to the corner, where you can get +either a carriage or a car to take you home; and, now, if you will +accept a bit of friendly advice, I will suggest that you keep your brain +clearer in the future, when perhaps you will not be tempted to assault +unprotected women in the street and get yourself into trouble again." + +Mollie's recent assailant wrenched his arm from the other's grasp with +another oath, and, bending forward, tried to peer into the face before +him. His fall evidently had not disabled him so seriously as he had at +first feared, while the shock had served to sober him somewhat. + +"Look here!" he exclaimed in a supercilious tone; "I've a notion that I +know who you are, and this isn't the first time, either, that you have +interfered with me in what was none of your business. I know you, Faxon, +and I swear I'll make you sweat for this!" + +Clifford Faxon--for it was he--now bent forward and peered into the +face of the speaker, even though he had already recognized the speaker. + +"Great heavens!" he exclaimed in a voice resonant with mingled disgust +and indignation, "have you descended so low as this, Wentworth?" + +A startled cry broke from Mollie at this point, and she swept close to +the young man's side. + +"Philip Wentworth!" she gasped, and now she knew why his voice had +sounded familiar to her, although, having been under the influence of +liquor, his utterance had been very indistinct, while fear had so +changed hers that, in his drunken condition, he had failed to recognize +it. But as she now spoke his name a terrible shock went through him, +sobering him completely. + +"Mollie! Good God!" he cried in a tone of mingled mortification and +dismay, while Clifford's heart leaped with joy as he caught the name. +The fair girl haughtily drew herself erect and away from him. + +"Let this be the last time, Mr. Wentworth, that you ever address me so +familiarly; indeed, from this moment we are strangers." + +"By all that is sacred, Mollie, I never dreamed that it was you." + +Philip faltered with abject humility. "I swear----" + +"Silence!" she commanded imperatively. "Never presume to call me +'Mollie' again. Of course I understand that you did not know me--neither +did I recognize you under existing conditions. But you did know that you +were insulting a woman, and the fact that you had no more respect for my +sex, whoever the individual might be, I regard as direct an outrage as +if you had known me." + +"Come, now," said Philip appealingly, and his voice was husky with shame +and grief, "you are downright hard on a fellow. I was not quite myself, +I am bound to confess, and so not responsible----" + +"Not responsible!" repeated Mollie with grave reproof. "Yes, you are +responsible; for you have no moral right to put yourself in a condition +that renders it unsafe for people to come in contact with you upon the +street, or elsewhere. + +"Let me say one word more," she added more gently, yet not less +impressively, "for your mother's and sister's sake and for your own +good, I beg that you will forsake your cups and the aimless life you are +leading and try to live to some purpose in the future." + +She stepped aside to allow him to pass, whereupon Clifford Faxon +considerately inquired: + +"Shall I lend you an arm to the corner, Wentworth?" + +"No!--you!" was the passionate response, as Philip angrily struck aside +the proffered support, almost beside himself with mingled shame and +rage, "and, let me repeat, that I will yet make you sorry for this +night's work." He turned his back upon them both and strode away +limping, but not nearly so badly crippled as his companions had feared +he might be. + +Then Mollie stepped forward to Clifford. + +"Mr. Faxon," she said, and extending her hand to him, "this is the third +time that we have met under peculiar circumstances, all of which have +made me greatly your debtor. I am Miss Heatherford, and I have never +forgotten the hero of that exciting New Haven incident." + +"Thank you, Miss Heatherford," Faxon returned, and tingling to his +finger-tips with rapture as he clasped the hand so cordially offered +him, "and let me assure you that I am very much pleased to meet you +again, and, at last, learn the name of one to whom I am also indebted. I +refer to the beautiful souvenir of the event of which you have spoken, +and which I have always treasured most sacredly. I am very glad I was at +hand to rescue you from your recent unpleasant experience. Now, may I +have the additional pleasure of attending you to your home? I should +feel very uncomfortable to allow you to go alone after the shock you +have received." + +"Thank you; it is very kind of you to offer to attend me," Mollie +replied, and feeling much relieved in view of having a protector, for +she had been badly frightened. "But, Mr. Faxon, I am afraid it will seem +almost an imposition, for I have quite a walk yet," she added +doubtfully. + +"That will not disturb me in the least," Clifford returned eagerly, +"though it is very damp, and perhaps you would prefer to take a car; in +either event, however, I shall not leave you until I see you safely +housed." + +"Taking a car would not save me very much, as I must go back to +Pennsylvania Avenue to get one, and I would have just about the same +distance at the other end," said Mollie reflectively. "On the whole, I +believe I will take you at your word and we will walk." + +"Thank you," Clifford responded so earnestly that Mollie smiled +involuntarily, while she experienced a peculiar exhilaration in his +companionship. + +She unhesitatingly accepted the arm he offered her, and they fell into a +social chat which grew so absorbing to both that distance became of no +account, and Faxon was conscious of a sense of keen disappointment when +his companion finally paused before her own door. + +"Why, Miss Heatherford, you told me it was a long walk; I did not +suppose we were half-way there yet!" he exclaimed in a tone that plainly +betrayed his regret. + +"I think you must be a practised pedestrian, for it is very nearly a +mile," said Mollie with a silvery little laugh, "and, now, won't you +come in for a little rest before you make the return trip?" + +Clifford would gladly have accepted the invitation and prolonged his +enjoyment of her society for another half-hour, but he did not feel +quite justified in doing so upon so short an acquaintance, and so +politely excused himself. + +"Then some other evening, Mr. Faxon, I shall be happy to have you call +if you should feel inclined," Mollie cordially observed greatly to his +delight. + +"Thank you, Miss Heatherford; it certainly will give me great pleasure +to do so, and I shall avail myself of the privilege at an early date," +the young man responded, and he was on the point of bidding her good +evening when Mollie lifted a shy glance to him and said: + +"I feel that I owe you an apology, Mr. Faxon, for not recognizing you a +few days ago when you saved me from having a fall from the car, but I +was so surprised at the unexpected meeting that I was momentarily +embarrassed, and so failed to do my duty." + +"Pray do not be disturbed," Faxon returned with a heart-throb of +gladness. "I saw you were somewhat overcome, and the omission was not to +be wondered at under the circumstances." + +"I knew you at once," Mollie continued naively and with charming +frankness, "and I feared afterward that you might attribute my seeming +neglect to an unworthy motive." + +"Indeed, no--I hope I could not so wrong you, although you will allow me +to say that I was somewhat disappointed," Clifford replied in the same +spirit. + +He then bade her a reluctant "good evening," lifted his hat, and went +away. It seemed to him that he was walking on air as he retraced his +steps up-town. + +At last he had met and learned the name of the divinity who for years +had been his inspiration, whose fair face and deep blue eyes had haunted +both his waking and sleeping hours; whose sweet girlish tones and +thrilling words had rung like a melodious refrain in his ears for nearly +six long years. + +It had been a great trial to him not to know who she was, and he had +been more irritated over the fact that Philip Wentworth had refused to +give him any information regarding her than he usually allowed himself +to become over anything. It had been like a poisoned dagger in his heart +when that young man had arrogantly boasted of his engagement to the girl +who had given him the cameo, which was the choicest treasure he +possessed. + +But now he knew that Philip had lied--the occurrence of that evening had +proved to him that no such tie had ever existed between the two. To be +sure, Wentworth had addressed her by the familiar name "Mollie," but her +manner toward him had plainly indicated that, although she might +previously have regarded him as a friend, she had never surrendered her +heart into his keeping. + +This assurance set every pulse bounding with a feeling of exultation, +and a vague, sweet hope that possibly he might yet awaken some +responsive chord in her nature that as yet had been untouched began to +take root in his heart. + +He blessed the fates that had sent him upon an errand that night into +the locality where he had found her in trouble, and thus enabled him to +go to her rescue. Then that never-to-be-forgotten walk had seemed +leading him straight toward Paradise, the door of which Mollie had +opened to him by her invitation to call--a privilege of which he +resolved to avail himself at a very early day. + +And three evenings later found him standing at her door, seeking +admittance. + +Eliza answered his ring and showed him into the cosy homelike parlor, +and five minutes later Mollie appeared, looking charming in a dainty +house-gown of some soft, white material without an atom of color save +her blue eyes and glorious hair to mar its chaste simplicity. + +She almost always wore white at home--it had been her custom since +childhood, for her father loved to see her in it. + +She greeted Faxon with a cordiality which assured him that he was most +welcome, and his heart thrilled with joy unspeakable as he observed the +lovely color that suffused her face as he clasped her hand and responded +to her salutation. She put him at his ease at once by seating herself +near him and beginning to chat freely of Washington and its society; of +politics and politicians and various current topics. Then she gradually +drifted to other things, and finally to their first meeting, after which +she adroitly led him to speak of his college life, struggles, and +experiences. + +He was surprised to find how freely and almost involuntarily he opened +his heart to her of those things which he had seldom mentioned to +others, and when he concluded he held up and showed her the cameo ring +upon his hand. + +"It has been my mascot," he said, smiling, "and I can never make you +understand how much it has meant to me. But I never presumed to wear it +in public until the day I took my degree and only occasionally since." + +"I am afraid you have prized my simple souvenir far beyond its worth," +said Mollie, flushing. "It was really intended for a good-luck ring, +however. I purchased it, and had it marked for a cousin who was going +West to live, but as some one else had already given him a ring I kept +it and sent him something else. Have you discovered its little secret, +Mr. Faxon?" + +"Yes," said Clifford, as he touched the spring and the stone lifted from +its place; but he did not tell her then how he had learned it, "and I +have wondered during all these years until I met you the other night +what these tiny initials stood for." + +"Marie Norton Heatherford," Mollie repeated with a flush as she observed +the look with which he was regarding the letters. + +Then to dispel the feeling of embarrassment she smilingly added: + +"But, Mr. Faxon, I am afraid I should have felt that I was doing rather +a bold thing to offer a gentleman a ring marked with initials if I had +stopped to think about it that day--not that I regretted the ring, +believe me," she interposed, as he glanced up at her quickly, "it was a +very little thing to express all that I felt, but the letters rather +troubled me. I--I almost hoped you would not find them." + +"Ah! but the initials and the horseshoe have been its chief charm to +me," Clifford returned earnestly; "somehow they seemed to be a link +between the giver and myself, although, of course, I did not know what +they stood for. And, now that I have met you again, may I have your +permission to wear it constantly?" + +"By all means, if you wish--I am sure you will honor my little souvenir +by doing so," Mollie responded with downcast eyes and bounding pulses. + +She began to tell him something of her own life since that day; how a +few days later she and her parents had sailed for Europe to remain for +several years; how she had lost her mother during her sojourn abroad, +and one misfortune followed another until just after her return to this +country the grand crash had come that had made her father penniless. + +"Yes," she said, with a little regretful sigh at an exclamation of +sympathy from Faxon, "papa met with loss after loss, until a year and a +half ago we found that we were literally homeless and almost penniless. +A friend helped him to a position here in Washington, and for a while we +were very comfortable and happy; but papa lost his health, and for +several months past has been very ill--is, in fact, a hopeless invalid." + +"That is very sad," Clifford gravely observed, "and the change in your +life must have seemed hard--even cruel." + +"I don't know as I can say that," said Mollie reflectively; "I believe I +have rather enjoyed the change in some respects." + +"Enjoyed it!" repeated her companion astonished. + +"Yes," Mollie brightly affirmed, "for I then began to feel that I was +really of some use in the world. After papa gave up business I secured a +position, and I am now working regular hours every day; were it not for +my father's pitiable condition, I believe I should be perfectly happy. I +think it is grand to feel that one has the power to win one's own way in +the world." + +Faxon regarded her with mingled admiration and sympathy. He knew just +the feeling she described, for he had experienced the same thrill of +proud independence while working his way through college and also since +he had begun to know something of the real business of life, in spite of +the many crosses and hardships that he had endured. + +Then a wild, sweet hope took possession of his heart as he realized that +she no longer inhabited a sphere so far above him socially that she was, +as he had always believed her to be, utterly beyond his reach. + +She was every whit as poor as himself, according to her own frank +acknowledgment--there was now no golden barrier between them. Why, then, +might he not hope to win her--this fair, brave, sweet girl who had been +the star and the inspiration of his life during the last six years? + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +LANGUAGE OF THE MOSS-ROSE. + + +"And so you do not regret the loss of fortune nor of fortune's friends?" +Clifford questioned, while with the fond, new hope in his heart he +regarded her with more of tenderness in his glance than he was aware of. + +And Mollie flushed beneath his look, more because she was becoming +conscious that something within her was springing forth to meet that +which shone in his eyes than because of embarrassment. + +"I cannot quite say that, Mr. Faxon," she gravely replied, "for I should +be glad of an independent income--even though it was small--that would +enable me to do more for my father and put him under the constant care +of experts; for, in spite of what the physicians have told me, I cannot +quite give up all hope. I cannot bear to think that he must live on +indefinitely in his present darkened mental condition. + +"But as for myself," with an uplifting of her pretty head that denoted +conscious strength, "I do not regret the experience of the last two +years which the loss of fortune has brought me, and which has proved to +me that it is more noble and satisfactory to be a useful woman than a +butterfly of fashion. As for the 'friends of fortune,' that was well +put, Mr. Faxon, for those who have turned the cold shoulder upon me +were simply that and nothing more, and there is nothing to regret. It +is far better to have discovered the truth than to go on being cajoled +and deceived. I may say that there are but few whom I can regard as true +friends, and most of those I have made since I became a working girl. +What a queer world it is, isn't it? What a strange element there is in +humanity, which, as a rule--though there is now and then a rare +exception--does not take into account the real worth of an individual, +but is ready to hug to the heart a mental beggar and a moral leper, +provided he is sufficiently gilded with money. Can you explain it?" + +"I think it can all be summed up in one word, Miss Heatherford, and that +is--selfishness," Clifford replied. + +"Y--es," she thoughtfully assented, "and yet I think I should add pride, +vanity and ostentation." + +"And what is pride but self-esteem, self-conceit? What are vanity and +ostentation but egotism and self-sufficiency?" + +"You are right!" said Mollie, sitting suddenly erect, as if some new +thought had taken possession of her. "Why! I never thought of it before, +but the world--society so-called--is governed by selfishness!" + +"I am afraid that is the fact, as a rule," assented the young man. + +"How dreadful!" sighed his companion; "what veritable heathen idolaters +we are, in spite of our boasted civilization and Christianity; and how +little we know the meaning of the 'Golden Rule!'" + +"That is true; self is the god of this world," said Clifford; "and when +we attempt to analyze humanity we find it in every phase of life. +Royalty 'lifts its crested head' and declares, 'I am enthroned; come not +near, except on bended knee.' The multimillionaire, with lofty air, +says, 'Keep a respectful distance, unless you can match my purse with +one as heavy.' The merchant and banker refuse to associate with their +butcher and grocer; the employer looks down upon his employee; the +mistress upon her maid; and so it goes all along down the line even to +newsboys and bootblacks; for----" and here Faxon laughed, "to +illustrate, I saw two boys on the street the other day; one had a bundle +of papers under his arm; the other was stationed on a corner, with his +kit for blacking boots. 'Hello!' called out the newsboy familiarly and +with an envious glance at the kit, 'how long yer ben at it?' 'Git out!' +cried the youthful proprietor loftily, 'I've gone inter biz for myself, +I have; an' we don't take newsboys inter our 'sociation.' So from the +crowned heads of royalty down to the bootblack, who lords it over the +peddler of papers, because he makes his nickel where the other gets but +a penny, we find the serpent self with its spirit of arrogance and +malicious sting." + +"That is true," said Mollie, with a sigh, "and, worse than all, we find +it even in the churches, where the rich and intellectually proud hold +aloof from the poor widow and orphan and the beggar at their doors, +except, perhaps, to bestow, with lofty patronage a little of their +surplus wealth, and hoping thus to cancel their obligations as +Christians and believe that they have fulfilled the law of Love. Oh, I +am beginning to see how little the meaning of that word is understood." + +"And it never will be understood until the world learns how to 'deny +self' and become 'poor in spirit,' as taught by the Great Teacher +nineteen centuries ago," Clifford supplemented in a reverent tone. + +Mollie bent a thoughtful look upon his face. She thought him the +grandest character she had ever met. No young man of her acquaintance +had ever discussed such subjects in her presence before--they had always +been, for the most part, full of small talk, jest and compliment--and +she knew that most of her girl friends would have regarded such a +conversation as prosy and stupid. + +But she liked it--it seemed to meet something that she had long hungered +for. Faxon had struck a note in nature that vibrated in keenest sympathy +and perfect harmony with his thought, and when they parted that evening +both felt as if they must have known each other for years. + +After that they saw each other frequently. Mollie had invited him to +'come again,' and feeling that she was perfectly sincere, he had not +hesitated to avail himself of the privilege. Each time they met they +were drawn nearer each other, for they liked the same books and authors. +Faxon was a good reader, Mollie an appreciative listener, while they had +many an animated discussion over what they read. + +They attended lectures, concerts and occasionally the theater and opera; +though Mollie would not go often to the latter place because of the +expense, which she doubted that Faxon could afford. But she told herself +that she had never enjoyed a winter, even during her palmiest days, as +she had enjoyed this one. + +She well knew why; she had long known that she loved Clifford Faxon with +all her heart, and she was sure that he returned her affection, although +as yet no word of confession had escaped him. Nevertheless, she had +abundant evidence of the fact in his every act, in every glance of his +eyes and every tone of his voice. Yet she was not impatient--she was +content to bide his time, well knowing that when he felt it right to +speak he would do so. + +Her new happiness added greatly to her loveliness. There was a brighter +light in her deep blue eyes, a sweeter, sunnier smile--if that were +possible--on her lips, a buoyancy, an elasticity in her every movement +and step which plainly betrayed that she loved to live and lived to +love. + +Monsieur Lamonti was quick to observe these things, and wondered within +himself what had caused this radiant change in her. He was not long left +in doubt, for one afternoon he met the lovers, face to face, upon the +street. + +Mollie stopped short in his path and greeted him cordially; then, with +beaming eyes and heightened color, introduced her companion. The three +stood chatting for a few moments, then parted and went their different +ways. + +The next morning Monsieur Lamonti interrupted Mollie in her work, and, +after discussing two or three questions relating to business, suddenly +inquired: + +"By the way, mademoiselle, allow me to ask who was the gentleman to whom +you introduced me yesterday? His name, of course, I know--Monsieur +Faxon--but is he an old or a new friend?" + +Mollie blushed delightfully at the question. + +"He is both, monsieur, if you can comprehend anything so paradoxical," +she said with a musical little laugh of rippling happiness, and which +called an answering smile to her listener's lips. Then she went on and +frankly told him the whole of Cliff's history as far as she knew it, +from the time of her first meeting with him in the station at New Haven +to his coming to Washington, while Monsieur Lamonti appeared greatly +interested, and reading in the girl's every look and tone the sweet +love-story that was making her life so beautiful. + +"Ah," he observed when she concluded, "Mr. Faxon is a self-made man; he +is doubtless a noble young man. I am sure he will rise yet higher and do +himself honor." + +Mollie smiled with pleasure at his commendation of her lover. + +"I also am sure he will," she said with shining eyes. + +"And what is he doing now, mademoiselle?" queried the gentleman. + +"At present he is in the Patent Office, with the expectation of a +promotion at the beginning of the year." + +"Well, mademoiselle, it is evident he is a fine young fellow; he +certainly looks it; I am truly glad you have such a friend," said +Monsieur Lamonti, with a kindness and sincerity that touched Mollie +deeply. + +He resumed his writing, and nothing more was said upon the subject, but +Mollie observed that, from time to time, he paused in his work and gazed +abstractedly out of the window, as if his thoughts were busy elsewhere. + +A few days later on reaching the office she found a note from Clifford, +asking if she would go with him the following evening to hear Madam +Melba in "Faust." + +He mentioned the fact that he was well acquainted with a prominent +member of the company, who had offered him complimentary tickets for a +box or any seats which he might prefer elsewhere in the house, and would +she please signify which she would like best. + +Mollie smiled as she read the note. She knew it would be the "first +night" of the opera, and she understood that Clifford feared that she +either might not be able or wish to appear in evening dress, and so had +given her a choice of seats, while, too, it would settle the question +regarding what his own attire should be. + +She responded cordially, saying she would be delighted to hear Melba, +and would enjoy the box if it would be agreeable to him. Clifford wrote +a clear, symmetrical hand, and before returning his missive to its +envelope Mollie passed it to Monsieur Lamonti, remarking that perhaps he +would like to see Mr. Faxon's penmanship. + +"People claim, you know," she said, smiling, "that there is a great +deal of character expressed in a person's handwriting." + +Monsieur Lamonti read the note, then passed it back to her with the +observation: + +"It is certainly a fine hand, mademoiselle, and if it is an exponent of +Mr. Faxon's character, I should judge him to be a frank, honest, +high-minded young man." + +Mollie was, of course, pleased with this tribute to her lover, for she +saw that it was sincere, while she knew that Monsieur Lamonti was a keen +observer, and she was sure that he regarded Clifford with approbation. + +The next afternoon, while she was putting some finishing touches to an +evening dress which she had remodeled to wear to the opera, Monsieur +Lamonti's coachman drove to the door, and a few moments later Eliza came +to her, bringing a good-sized box. + +On opening it, Mollie gave a cry of delight as her eyes fell upon a rare +collection of hot-house flowers, whose perfume filled the room, and +which she well knew, without glancing at the accompanying card, had been +culled from the greenhouse of her good friend. + +"How kind, how thoughtful he always is!" she murmured appreciatively as +she buried her face in the mass of luxuriant bloom to inhale the +delicious fragrance. + +Later, when Clifford called for her she was radiantly lovely in her +rich, lustrous silk of pale blue, another creation of Worth's, and a +remnant of her old-time glory which had long been packed away as +unsuitable to wear in her present circumstances. The dress, with a few +alterations, seemed almost like new. + +She wore diamonds upon her neck and in her ears; also a dazzling +ornament in her golden hair, for her jewels--many of which had been her +mother's--had also been carefully stowed away, her father having +insisted that she should keep them, although she had cheerfully offered +to relinquish every one if such sacrifice would lighten his burdens in +any way. But he had told her, "No; every debt would be paid, and the +gems were too sacred to be surrendered." + +Her hands and arms were encased in long white gloves, chosen from the +box with which Monsieur Lamonti had presented her, and as Faxon entered, +she was just tying a long ribbon around a bouquet which she had arranged +from Monsieur Lamonti's floral offering. + +The young man's eyes glowed with tender admiration as Mollie went +forward to meet him. + +"Ah," he said ingenuously and with a thrill of fondness in his voice as +he clasped her extended hand, "I am so glad you chose the box." + +Mollie laughed musically, for his words told her that he had hoped to +find her in evening dress, and was more than pleased with her +appearance. + +"It was very kind of you to give me the option," she replied with a +glance which plainly told him that she had understood his motive and +thoroughly appreciated it. + +"Well," he observed, with a twinkle in his handsome eyes, "I thought we +might as well make the most of our opportunity. What lovely flowers!" + +"They are, indeed!" she returned. "Monsieur Lamonti sent them." + +Then as she glanced at the lapel of his coat she continued: "And you +must have a boutonniere; may I select something for you?" + +"Not if you will have to rob this; I would not have a single blossom +disarranged," said Clifford, as he eyed the bouquet admiringly. + +"Oh, no; I have quantities more," said Mollie, as she gently released +the hand which he had unconsciously been holding and turned to a table +which there was a large glass dish filled with flowers. + +She bent over them and paused to consider what she would offer him. +Presently she detached three small crimson moss-rosebuds with a single +spray of green leaves and held them up before him. + +"Will you wear these?" she queried. + +A great shock went coursing through Clifford as he took them from her +white gloved hands and regarded them with a yearning look. + +Then his eyes--almost black now with the intensity of his +emotion--sought her face. + +"May I?" he breathed, "may I wear them with the assurance of what they +express? Do you know the language of the red moss-rosebud, Mollie?" + +A scarlet flood leaped to the fair girl's temples as she realized, too +late, the significance of her gift; while his use of her given name, for +the first time, set every pulse to bounding wildly. She lifted a +startled look to his face; then as quickly her golden lashes dropped +upon her flaming cheeks. + +"Yes, I know," she murmured, "but I did not think of it when I chose +them." + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +MONSIEUR LAMONTI'S DEATH. + + +"I know you did not, love," Clifford returned as he bent forward and +gathered both her hands into his, "and it was an unfair question, I am +afraid. But I love you, dear--I love you. You must have seen it, you +must have read it for weeks, for my every thought has been of and for +you, and sometimes I have even dared to think that your thought has been +responsive to mine, assuring me that I had won your heart, and that my +future is to be crowned with the supreme blessing of your love. You do +not turn from me--you do not take your hands from mine--may I hope, +Mollie? Tell me that you love me--that you will be my wife when I shall +have won a position worthy to offer you. May I wear the buds as the +token of your assent? Oh, my darling, where can I find language to tell +you all that is in my heart? Tell me--tell me!" + +His passionate emotion moved her deeply, although his voice had been +raised scarcely above a whisper. His fond words, his rich, thrilling +tones were like the solemn notes of an organ. She never had been so +supremely happy in her life as at that moment, and yet she wanted to +weep. + +But her whole heart went out to him. She lifted her eyes to his and they +were brimming with tears. + +"Yes, you know--you must have long known that I love you, Clifford," +she whispered. + +He could not speak for the moment. He was white, even to his lips, with +joy that was beyond words. He lifted her hands and laid them about his +neck; then his arms slid around her graceful form and drew her to his +breast, where he held her close--so close that she could both feel and +hear the throbbing of his heart. + +They stood thus for a few moments, speechless from the consciousness of +the sacred union. At length Clifford gently released her and, fondly +placing one hand beneath her chin, lifted her face and scanned it +earnestly. + +"Tears?" he said softly. + +"Yes," said Mollie, with a shy, sweet laugh, "my cup is so full it +cannot hold all my joy, and some had to brim over." + +"Sweetheart!" he murmured, but he still continued to study her face with +a look that seemed to have something of wonderment in it. + +"Why do you look at me like that? Of what are you thinking?" Mollie +inquired. + +"I am wondering how it would have been with us if Mr. Heatherford had +never lost his millions," said the young man reflectively. + +"Clifford!" cried Mollie, in a tone of reproach, "you know I should have +loved you just the same; but I am glad that I am poor, for I am awfully +afraid if I had not been, you would have been too proud to tell me what +you have told me to-night." + +"Suppose such had been the case?" he smilingly questioned. + +"I--I think I should have made you confess it somehow," she replied with +an imperative little tap of her foot, "or"--with a gleam of mischief in +her happy eyes, "I might have unsexed myself and proposed to you--oh! I +am afraid I almost did as it is," she concluded, flushing again rosily +as she thought of the rosebuds. + +He laughed joyously and caught her to him again; then, bending his +handsome head, he kissed her softly, reverently on her lips. + +"I shall never wear anything but the red moss-rose after this," he said, +"and now after you have fastened them in for me, we must go, or we shall +be late for the opera. And I nearly forget, dear--I have tickets for +to-morrow night to see Willard in the 'Professor's Love-story.'" + +"Aren't you getting dissipated, Cliff?" questioned Mollie chidingly. + +"Wouldn't you like to see the play?" + +Mollie took the rosebuds daintily in her white-gloved fingers, shot a +sly glance up at him as she kissed them, then slipped them deftly into +the buttonhole and fastened them there. + +"Yes. Willard is fine," she said, "but I'm afraid that I am not quite so +deeply interested in the 'Professor's Love-story' just at present as I +am in my own." + +"My darling!" said Faxon in a voice that was tremulous with his new, +great happiness as he pressed his lips upon her white forehead. Then he +lifted a beautiful opera-cloak that was hanging over a chair, and laid +it over her shoulders. + +It was made of white brocaded satin, trimmed with ermine, and her +golden-crowned head, with the crescent of flashing diamonds rising out +of its snowy whiteness, made him think of some rare and beautiful +flower. + +"My own, you look like a queen in your coronation-robe, and I feel like +a king who has just been crowned," he fondly murmured as he fastened the +silver clasp beneath her chin. + +"You are a king, Cliff--my king," Mollie softly responded. + +A minute later they were rolling swiftly up-town, sitting hand in hand +and feeling as if an enchanted future lay before them. + +The house was filled and brilliant with a first-night audience as they +stepped within their box, and many a glass was leveled at the peerlessly +beautiful girl and her handsome escort, with expressions of mingled +admiration, wonder, and curiosity. As it happened, Philip Wentworth and +his mother were located in the box directly opposite, and both gave a +start of undisguised surprise as Mollie took her seat, for they +recognized her instantly. + +"Why, Phil!" exclaimed Mrs. Temple, "she really looks like the old-time +Mollie, doesn't she? She still has her diamonds, I see, and I suppose no +one here would believe she had ever worn that dress before. I recognize +it, however, although I must confess it looks just as fresh as it did +when she arrived from Paris. She is downright beautiful, Phil! Oh, dear! +I wish they hadn't lost their money. Do you know who that is with her? +It seems as if I had seen him before." + +"He's that cad Faxon--blast him!" Philip replied, his face flaming with +sudden anger and shame. + +"Why do you call him that, Phil?--he certainly looks like a gentleman. +Oh, by the way, isn't he the young man who worked his own way through +Harvard and took the second honor in your class?" + +"Yes." + +"And he is the one who had that ring of Mollie's. Did you ever find out +how he came by it?" + +"No." He preferred to lie about it rather than explain Faxon's heroic +deed. + +"Mercy, Phil, how monosyllabic you are," said Mrs. Temple as she shot a +curious sidelong glance at him. "I fully intended to ask Mollie about it +when she returned, but I never thought of it. Have you any idea how he +became acquainted with Mollie?" + +"How should I know?" queried Philip evasively, but he found great +difficulty in controlling himself sufficiently to preserve a respectful +tone, and his hands were so tightly clenched that the nails actually cut +the palms. + +The sight of the couple opposite had brought vividly to his mind the +night when he had overtaken and insulted Mollie upon the street and +Faxon had come to the rescue. He had never seen either of them since, +but he had felt deeply humiliated every time he had thought of the +affair, and his old hatred of Clifford increased a hundred-fold in view +of the indignity, merited though it was, that he had suffered at his +hands. + +"How handsome he is!" he mentally exclaimed as he studied those bright +faces. "He is dressed in the very latest style, too, and I wonder where +he gets the cash to sport a box? And Mollie--she is just too lovely for +anything!" A shaft of pain went quivering through him from head to foot +as he feasted his eyes upon her beauty. + +"There is no one like her--and I love her in spite of everything," he +went on, choking back something very like a sob, "but, of course, she +must positively hate me now. What a fool I was not to have made sure +that she was a stranger before I spoke to her that night!" + +These were some of the thoughts which thronged Philip Wentworth's brain +as he sat and watched the young couple, paying very little heed to the +brilliant prima donna on the stage. + +The footlights were bright enough to enable him to see their every +movement--almost their every look, and he was quick to observe Faxon's +tender glance and manner whenever he addressed his fair companion; while +Mollie's varying color, the glad light in her eyes, whenever they met +his, and the happy smiles that rippled over her lips were simply +maddening to his jealous heart, and aroused a terrible fear within him. + +"By Jove!" he said to himself, a cold chill creeping over him. "I +believe, upon my soul that there is an understanding between them, and +it would certainly cap the climax of the worst I ever dreamed if he +should win her." + +He could not tell whether Mollie was conscious of his and his mother's +presence or not. Of course, he knew that the occupants of one box were +just as conspicuous as those in another, and two or three times he had +seen her lift her gold-mounted glass and sweep the house. But if she had +seen them she gave no sign of the fact. + +He wondered if she would preserve the strict letter of the sentence +which she had pronounced upon him the last time they met, if he should +happen to encounter her again, and he was soon to have that question +settled beyond all doubt. + +When the opera was over and while Mollie and Clifford were waiting at +the entrance of the theater for their carriage, Philip and his mother +came upon them suddenly. + +Mrs. Temple, finished woman of the world though she was, was taken aback +a trifle, and the warm color flushed to her face. Yet she greeted Mollie +with something of her old-time cordiality, for the girl was so +exquisitely lovely that her heart involuntarily warmed toward her. + +Still there was a certain reserve in her manner which Mollie was quick +to feel, although she responded with equal courtesy. She was keenly +sensitive to the fact also that Mrs. Temple had felt no interest to seek +her out, even though she had been in Washington many weeks; but, at the +same time, she bore herself with a quiet dignity, which plainly +betrayed that it would take more than the loss of property and +fair-weather friends to crush either her spirit or self-respect. +Moreover, when Phil advanced as his mother moved on she looked him full +in the face and gave him the cut direct. + +He was as white as his immaculate tie as he strode on, inwardly foaming +with mingled rage and mortification. He knew now that she would adhere +to what she had said. She had taken her stand and would maintain it, and +he realized that he fully merited the punishment meted out to him. But +to see her standing so proudly by the side of the man whom he both +envied and hated, and leaning upon his arm with that air of confidence +and content, was almost more than he could endure and retain his +self-control. + +Clifford had been a deeply interested observer of the little scene. +Philip Wentworth and his mother had taken no more notice of him than if +he had been simply one of the pillars which supported the arch above +them. + +Mollie also had observed Philip's slight and resented it, her hand +involuntarily closing over Cliff's arm, and thus betraying her +indignation. Possibly she might not have been quite so frigidly +statuesque but for that. + +"I did not care to introduce you to Mrs. Temple, dear," she explained to +Clifford as soon as they were seated in their carriage. "I am afraid, +though, it made it a trifle awkward for you; but I hope you do not +mind." + +"Not in the least, for, of course, it was her place to recognize me, +since we had met before," Faxon smilingly returned. + +"What!" cried Mollie, in resentful astonishment, "and she presumed to +ignore you!" + +"It is barely possible that she did not recognize me," the young man +quietly replied, although he was quite sure to the contrary, for he had +not been unobservant of the interest which the occupants of the box +opposite his own had manifested in connection with Mollie and himself +during the evening. + +Then he told her something of the circumstances of his meeting with Mr. +Temple on the campus at Cambridge four years previous. + +"Well, it is the way of the world I suppose," said Mollie with a gentle +sigh. "She used to appear to be very fond of me when we lived in New +York, and we have exchanged visits many times, but she, like others, has +given me a very cold shoulder since I became the child of misfortune, +and what makes it seem worse in this case is the fact that Mr. Temple +was responsible for the climax of my father's financial ruin." + +She explained as well as she was able how this had happened, but the +lovers soon drifted to more agreeable topics, and, caring little for +either the smiles or frowns of the Temples, or of any one else, in fact, +for they were far too deeply absorbed in their own new-found +happiness--their world, for the present at least, was circumscribed by +each other and their individual interests. + +But for Mollie the tables were soon to be turned by a most unexpected +and signal triumph--a triumph which caused many an old friend (?) a +taste of bitter regret and mortification. + +About a week later, on entering Monsieur Lamonti's office, she found +her friend absent and a note lying on her desk. It proved to be from her +employer, who mentioned that he was a trifle under the weather, but +requested that she would go on with her work as far as she was able and +then come to him for instructions. + +She worked diligently until nearly noon, then, finding that she could do +no more without explicit directions, she donned her hat and jacket and +proceeded to Monsieur Lamonti's residence. + +She found him ill in bed with a violent cold, and quite feverish, but he +assured her that he would be all right in a day or two, when he would +rejoin her at the office. + +But the next morning a note from Nannette announced that he was worse, +and as Mollie could not work alone, she went to the house, where she +spent most of the day caring for Lucille, in order to allow the maid to +give her undivided attention to her master. She left about five o'clock +feeling greatly depressed, for Monsieur Lamonti had grown steadily +worse, and the physician had told her that he was a very sick man, +though he might pull through--a few hours would decide the matter. + +Faxon spent the evening with her, and she was somewhat cheered by his +presence. He left her at ten, but had not been gone fifteen minutes when +Mollie heard a carriage dash up to the door and the next moment the bell +clanged a vigorous and imperative peal. + +She rushed to the door to find Monsieur Lamonti's footman standing +without and looking pale and anxious. + +"Oh! what is it?" she breathed in an almost inarticulate voice. + +"The master is going, miss, for sure, and wants to see you," the man +replied. + +Mollie seized a long wrap and, while she was fastening it about her, +explained to Eliza that she should be away all night. The next minute +she was inside the carriage and being whirled at a rapid rate toward the +Lamonti mansion. + +She was comparatively calm when she arrived and followed the weeping +Nannette to her master's room without a word, although she held the +girl's hand in a clasp of sympathy on the way hither. + +She was terribly shocked at the change in her kind friend which the last +few hours had made, but she gave no outward sign of this except that she +was very pale. + +She found the physician, a trained nurse, and Monsieur Lamonti's lawyer +present; but paying no heed to them she walked quietly to the bedside, +where she sat down and took the hand which the man weakly extended to +her. He was white as wax, but very calm, and smiled as his fingers +closed over hers. He glanced up at his lawyer. + +"Tell them to go out," he said, indicating the nurse, Nannette, and the +physician, and as they passed from the room Mollie bent over her friend. + +"You sent for me," she said gently, "what can I do for you?" + +"Just this, mademoiselle," he replied gravely, but speaking with +difficulty, "you have promised to care for my Lucille, to rear and +educate her carefully, to be, in fact, a mother to her, as well as her +legal guardian until she is of age or marries?" + +"Yes," briefly but solemnly assented Mollie. + +He thanked her with a little pressure of her hand. + +"I have left explicit instructions," he resumed after a moment. "I have +made all my wishes known in my will. Promise me that you will heed them +all, that every one shall be carried out as I have directed," he +concluded with impressive earnestness. + +"I know you would not ask anything impossible of me, dear friend, so I +cheerfully promise," Mollie unhesitatingly responded. + +"Swear it, mademoiselle," said Monsieur Lamonti, glancing at the +prayerbook which lay beside his pillow. + +Mollie's lips trembled; the scene was becoming very trying to her. + +"I will swear if monsieur wishes; but my word would be just as sacred to +me as an oath," she said gently. + +The man smiled up at her. + +"That is enough--I am satisfied," he said, "and Mr. Ashley here already +knows that I trust you implicitly, as I would my own daughter had she +lived. Now, my child, let me add that you have been a great comfort to +me; do not forget in the days to come that you made the last few months +of a lonely, almost heart-broken man, much the brighter by your sweet +presence, and the highest tribute I can show you is to trust you with my +one earthly treasure--my Lucille. Now, I will not keep you, +mademoiselle, adieu, and may the good God forever bless you and yours." + +Mollie arose. She felt that she could scarcely have borne another word; +her throat was almost convulsed, her eyes heavy with unshed tears, and +yet she must not weep before him. + +She could not speak, but she bent down and left a light caress upon the +man's forehead, then swiftly but noiselessly passed from the room. + +At the door she turned for one last look at her friend, to find his eyes +fastened upon her, and in them a light of peace and gladness that she +had never seen in them before. The memory of it never left her. That +night Monsieur Lamonti passed away, and all Washington was grieved and +shocked to read of it the following day. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +THE SOCIAL WORLD SURPRISED. + + +A few days later another ripple of excitement was created among the +elite of the nation's capital when the contents of Monsieur Lamonti's +will were made known, and it was learned that a young and beautiful +woman had been made the guardian of the distinguished gentleman's +granddaughter and the executrix of the important testament. The document +was simple and concise, but betrayed careful thought, and the fact that +the testator knew exactly what he was about, for there was not a flaw in +it that could possibly have been contested, had any one been disposed to +do so. + +It provided that all real estate, horses, carriages, plate, books, +pictures, and choice bric-a-brac, together with certain stocks and bonds +therein named, were to become the sole property of his beloved +granddaughter, Lucille Gillette, to be held in trust for her, without +bonds, until she arrived at the age of twenty-one or married, by +Mademoiselle Marie Norton Heatherford, for whom the testator entertained +the most profound esteem, and in whom he placed the utmost confidence, +and who was hereby authorized and entreated to carry out his +instructions to the letter, to wit: that she would legally adopt said +Lucille Gillette as her own child, allowing her to retain her present +name, and rear and educate her as tenderly and carefully as if she were +indeed her own flesh and blood. Then there followed several minor +bequests and requests, supplemented by something that was to make a +radical change in Mollie's future. + +In return for assuming said responsibilities, said Mademoiselle +Heatherford would please accept the testator's deepest gratitude, +together with, as a slight testimonial of the same, the residue of all +that he possessed. + +The will further provided that Mademoiselle Heatherford was to exercise +perfect freedom in the choice of a place of residence; she was at +liberty to occupy the present home of the youthful heiress, retaining +the same number of servants, horses, and carriages, or dispose of the +property and reside elsewhere, as she chose; the only stipulation being +that she should always live in a style befitting the fortune and +position of the testator's grandchild, all expenses to be paid out of +the income of said grandchild, the bequest of Mademoiselle Heatherford +being intended for her own private use and disposal. + +She was advised to retain Monsieur Lamonti's present lawyer, as the +testator regarded him a trustworthy and competent attorney; but she was +not bound in any way to do so, if circumstances or her judgment should +at any time dictate otherwise. + +Of course, Mollie had expected something of this kind, in the event of +Monsieur Lamonti's demise, for she had agreed to accept the charge of +Lucille; but she was not prepared for, and was somewhat appalled by, +the magnitude of the fortune which she would be required to manage in +the future, and the absolute freedom from conditions and restrictions in +which she found herself placed. Regarding the bequest to herself, she +did not at first give much thought to it. Monsieur Lamonti, when talking +the matter over with her, had assured her that she would receive ample +remuneration, and she had inferred that she would, perhaps, be paid a +salary--possibly somewhat increased--the same as she had been getting +from him monthly for her services as private secretary. + +His stating her remuneration in the blind way "as the residue of his +property" she imagined might have been so expressed to save her feelings +and prevent the curious public from knowing the amount she was to be +paid for her services. + +But a great surprise was in store for her. She was, of course obliged to +consult with Monsieur Lamonti's lawyer, Mr. Ashley, in order to become +familiar with all the details regarding her duties in connection with +the property which she was to administer, and then she found that "the +little Lucille" was a veritable little princess--that she was heiress to +a most magnificent fortune. + +"Oh, Mr. Ashley! I never can manage it. I am utterly incompetent!" she +exclaimed in deep distress, when she began to comprehend something of +the condition of affairs. The lawyer smiled. + +"Of course, you are not expected to act alone; you must have help; your +friend had no intention of having you harassed with pecuniary burdens. +He left everything in excellent condition, and I assure you there will +be no complications. I have everything in a nutshell, so to speak, +though I confess it is a good big nut, and I am sure, from what Mr. +Lamonti has told me regarding your business-capacity, that you will +readily understand everything when I place my statements before you. +But, Miss Heatherford, let us now talk about your own fortune. I shall +want to know just what disposition to make of it." + +"Fortune!" repeated Mollie, astonished. "I imagine you magnify Monsieur +Lamonti's bequest to me; you dignify it by too high-sounding a name." + +"He has left you exactly one-fourth of all that he possessed, Miss +Heatherford," Mr. Ashley quietly returned. + +"One-fourth!" + +At first the words did not seem to mean much to Mollie. Then, as her +active mind began to grasp the situation, she started violently, +flushed, then paled. + +"Mr. Ashley! you do not mean that! I--it cannot be possible!" she gasped +in breathless astonishment. "Why! that would be----" + +"Yes, exactly; since you already know what Lucille's fortune amounts to, +it is comparatively an easy matter to compute your own," smilingly +returned her companion, and thoroughly enjoying the surprise of the +beautiful girl, for whom, although he had only recently made her +acquaintance, he was rapidly acquiring a great admiration and respect. + +"But I never dreamed of anything like this!" Mollie panted, for she was +actually quivering with excitement. "Oh! It does not seem right. I have +done nothing to deserve so much. I cannot accept it." + +"But, my dear Miss Heatherford, you have no alternative," Mr. Ashley +quietly observed. "Monsieur Lamonti has decreed what shall be done with +his property, and you gave him your solemn promise, in my presence, that +you would attend to having his wishes carried out to the letter." + +"Ah! that was why he sent for me the night he--went away; that was why +he was so particular, so explicit; that is why he tried to make me +'swear' that I would do as he wished," said Mollie, still looking much +disturbed. "Did you know at that time why he was so insistent?" + +"Yes. I had been with him a portion of every day during his illness, +helping him draw up the will," the gentleman replied. "You did not +'swear,' Miss Heatherford, but you told him that your word would be just +as sacred to you as an oath." + +"Yes, I did; but I did not once suspect that he would put me to such a +test; and, truly, I feel as if I have no moral right to such an amount, +independent of all my expenses, as the will states. Why! it will make +me, also, a rich woman!" Mollie concluded, with a look of real trouble +in her eyes. + +"Yes, it is certainly a very handsome plum, my dear young lady," Mr. +Ashley assented, with a satisfied nod of his head; "while as for the +right of the matter, allow me to say I consider that you have every +right to it. In the first place, you are wronging no one living by +accepting it, for little Miss Lucille Gillette will have more money +than she will ever know what to do with. I will also say that I think +you would wrong your late friend, Monsieur Lamonti, by rejecting the +provision he has made for you, for he gave me some of his reasons for +wishing to settle this amount upon you. For one thing, you saved the +life of his granddaughter, did you not?" + +"I--suppose I did," Mollie admitted rather reluctantly, then added: "But +any one else would have done the same thing under the same +circumstances." + +"That may be very true; at the same time, I cannot see that such a view +of the case detracts in the least from the heroism of your act, or +lessens one whit the obligation which Monsieur Lamonti would naturally +feel," the lawyer argued. "Then I understand that you were in his employ +for some time, and not only served him most faithfully, winning his +highest esteem and entire confidence, but----" + +"Well, but he paid me generously," Mollie hastily interposed, and +feeling decidedly uncomfortable to have her services so overestimated. + +"Pardon me, Miss Heatherford," Mr. Ashley laughingly retorted, "but I +can't have my argument spoiled in that way. I was about to say that you +also saved your friend a great loss, not only of money, but of valuables +which no money could replace. Am I right?" + +"Yes," faltered Mollie. Then she laughed out rather nervously, and +continued: "I perceive, Mr. Ashley, that you are determined to corner +me, and I think it might be well for me to withdraw from the argument." + +"Then it will have to be a one-sided one for a while longer, as I +perceive you are not yet quite reconciled," her companion returned, with +a smile. Then he observed very gravely: "There are some things which +money can never repay, Miss Heatherford, and I am sure that Monsieur +Lamonti felt that when he was making his will. Leaving all that had +occurred, for which he felt there was no adequate return, out of the +question, the fact that you were willing to assume the care of his +little one relieved his heart of an incalculable burden." + +"But I love Lucille; she is a dear child, and it will be a pleasure to +me to care for her," broke in Mollie earnestly. + +"You are condemning yourself, my young friend," said the lawyer, with +twinkling eyes, "for don't you see that money is no recompense for such +an interest in any one; then you have pledged yourself to be a mother to +her, according to your highest conception of the word; you are to watch +and guard her development; you are to see that she is properly educated +for the position she will occupy by and by; you have sacredly promised +to do everything in your power to make her a true and noble woman, and +thus you are accountable in a great measure for her future. If I might +be allowed to judge--and I have dear children of my own--I should say +that no pecuniary emolument could ever balance such responsibilities. +Now, let me advise you not to feel burdened by the bequest of your good +friend, but accept it in the same spirit in which it was bestowed; take +up your new duties cheerfully, and try to be just as happy as possible +in your future sphere--a sphere which, if I am not mistaken, you are +eminently fitted to grace. Don't you think that such a course would +better please Monsieur Lamonti, if he could speak, than to reject, from +an oversensitiveness, what I know he must have regarded as a small +return for what he owed you in the past and all that he has asked of you +for the future?" + +Mollie was silent for a few minutes, while she gravely considered what +he had said, and tried to realize how she herself would have felt if the +positions had been reversed. At length she looked up with clear eyes and +her own sunny smile. + +"You are right, Mr. Ashley," she said, "you have made me see things in a +different light, and yet I think it will take me some time to get over +the feeling, in view of all the wealth that has come upon me, like an +avalanche, to manage, that I have an embarrassment of riches." + +"Do not be troubled," the gentleman kindly returned, "for if affairs are +managed in the future as they have been in the past--I mean according to +Monsieur Lamonti's system--you will find that everything will move along +very smoothly." + +"You are surely very comforting," Mollie observed, her heart beginning +to grow light once more. "Of course, you must be my counselor, and I +trust you will not mind if I come to you with all my troubles, as +freely as if I were your own daughter, at least until I become +accustomed to my new duties." + +And the gentleman said he should be very happy to have her honor him +with her confidence to such an extent. + +In spite of the blind way in which Monsieur Lamonti had worded his +bequest to Mollie, it became noised abroad that the future guardian of +the youthful heiress had herself been very handsomely dowered, and +immediately all Washington became intensely interested in her. The +romantic incidents connected with the saving of the child's life and the +capturing of the midnight burglar--for that, also, had been whispered +about--the beauty and refinement of Miss Heatherford, whom numberless +people now began to remember as a previous New York belle, became, for +the time, the talk of society, and much interest and curiosity were +manifested regarding her plans for the future. + +Would she remain in Washington and maintain the fine establishment of +the late millionaire, or would she retire to some place where she would +not be so closely watched during the minority and educating of her young +charge? Would she enter society again, after a proper season of +seclusion out of respect to Monsieur Lamonti, entertain and be +entertained, and finally be won by some aspiring young man of the world? + +Of course, Mollie's early life and training had well fitted her to +preside in the palatial home of Lucille, and to shine among the most +distinguished people of Washington, or, indeed, of any city; and, +although she did not give much thought to society just now, there was +much to induce her to remain where she was. + +She believed that her friend would prefer her to do so, at least for the +present, and preserve his home just as he had left it, that Lucille +might not too soon forget him; while, as she thought the matter over in +all its bearings, it seemed almost like sacrilege to her to displace the +beautiful furnishings and many treasures of art which had been so +carefully purchased and arranged under his supervision; the servants +were all well trained and trustworthy, and it would have entailed an +infinite amount of perplexity and labor to make any change, and even +though she felt that the responsibility of keeping up such an extensive +establishment would be very great, she finally decided it was the right +thing for her to do. Moreover, and it was the greatest inducement of +all, Cliff was to remain indefinitely in Washington, and she felt that +she could not be separated from him. + +So her modest little home, in the humble street where they had lived for +nearly two years, was broken up. Mr. Heatherford was removed to the +pleasantest suite of rooms in the Lamonti residence, and the faithful +Eliza was retained to act solely as his nurse and attendant. + +"Poor, dear papa!" Mollie sighed as she bent fondly over him, after he +was comfortably settled in a sunny south window of his luxurious +apartment, "if you could only realize the good fortune that has come to +us, after our battle with poverty, I should be perfectly happy." + +When Faxon first learned of the great change that had come into +Mollie's life so unexpectedly he looked anything but pleased. + +"So, dear, you now belong to another sphere," he observed, with a +quickly repressed sigh, "or, perhaps, I should have said you have been +restored to your proper sphere." + +"Cliff," said Mollie reprovingly, but with a light on her face which +expressed far more than her words, "I belong alone to you--your sphere +will always be mine, unless--oh, you grand, aspiring fellow!--I am +unable to keep up with you mentally as you climb the ladder of fame." + +The young man's arms closed around her in a fond embrace, but a sudden +contraction in his throat would not admit of his speaking for the +moment. This little revelation of her great and absorbing love for him +moved him deeply. Mollie observed it, and, flashing a sly, mischievous +glance into his face, she demurely remarked: + +"I'm very sorry, Cliff, if you are going to feel burdened to take me +with the appendage that has been thrust upon me. Of course, you know I +would rather have you than the fortune--love in the proverbial cottage +with you than the whole world without you--but since I cannot get rid of +the fortune, I don't see but that you will have to take me just as I am, +be it for 'better or worse.'" + +"Mollie! Mollie!" murmured Faxon, in a voice that almost made her +weep--it was so intense from the emotion which nearly mastered +him--"what a rare, sweet woman you are!" + +He was silent for a moment, and then he resumed with more self-control. + +"I dared to love you when you were 'Miss Heatherford the heiress,' but I +should not have presumed to try to win you while you were rich and I was +poor. I have been so glad and proud to have won you while we were on the +same plane socially, and to feel that we love each other for just what +we are. I have exulted in the thought that it would be my privilege to +work for you, and, perchance, restore you to the position you once +occupied; but since I am to be denied that I can only bend all my +energies toward making my name one that you will be proud to bear by and +by." + +"I am already proud of it, dear," said Mollie, with beaming eyes, "but I +shall be even more so when it becomes my own." + +Clifford's answer to this loving tribute need not be recorded, but, +judging from the sweet laugh which rippled over Mollie's lips, it was +entirely satisfactory. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +MR. HEATHERFORD'S RECOVERY. + + +Immediately after Mr. Heatherford's removal to the Lamonti mansion, +Mollie resolved to make one more desperate effort for his recovery and +to spare no expense to put him under the most noted specialists for +diseases of the brain that could be secured. After making diligent +inquiries, she decided to send for Doctor ----, of New York, to come to +Washington and diagnose her father's case. The great man came, but, +after a careful and protracted examination, pronounced the fatal +verdict, which she so dreaded to hear. + +"Miss Heatherford, it pains me deeply to have to tell you that there is +not the slightest ray of hope, as far as I can see," he said, and then +lapsed into a learned description of the patient's condition, describing +the state of his brain, the probable progress of the disease, and its +inevitable termination, while Mollie felt as if she would herself become +distracted before he concluded his terrible picture. + +"Oh!" she cried at last, "then he must live on like this indefinitely, +growing gradually more and more helpless! He is never to know anything +more of life, never even give me, his only child, one fond word or look +of recognition! How can I bear it?" + +"My dear young lady, it is hard, I know," said the physician kindly, +and deeply touched by the tearless grief, "and were it in my power to +give you the least encouragement, I should be more than glad to do so. I +have given you my opinion of the case as it appears to me," he went on +after a moment of deep thought, "but if it would comfort you any to make +one more trial, I will suggest that a noted Paris specialist, who is now +in this country, be called to examine Mr. Heatherford. There is no +higher authority in the world that I know of." + +Mollie grasped eagerly at this straw, and the highest authority in the +world, the great Paris doctor, was sent for at once. He came and went; +but he left behind him only bitter disappointment and a sentence of +doom. + +Poor Mollie, who had hoped against hope, was utterly prostrated for a +time in view of this ultimatum. She shut herself into her room to meet +this terrible blow and fight her battle out where no eye could witness +her anguish. + +The fate to which her father had been doomed by the verdict of the +doctors seemed absolutely unbearable, and she cried aloud in her anguish +that she would not submit to it. + +She was nearly worn out with this conflict by luncheon-time, two hours +and more after the departure of the Paris authority, and was only able +to drink a cup of tea when her maid brought a temptingly arranged tray +to her; but she felt that she could not live through the afternoon, left +alone with her own thoughts, and finally, ringing for Nannette, she +ordered her to make Lucille ready for a drive, and half an hour later +found them rolling out toward the Washington monument. They drove for +nearly two hours, and then Mollie ordered the coachman to turn toward +home. + +As the carriage was passing through Fourteenth Street something caught +Mollie's eye--something which made her sit suddenly erect, while a look +of eager interest swept over her pale, lovely face. The object which had +attracted her attention was a very modest sign hanging in a window. + +It read thus: "John L. Freeman, Christian Science Healer," and into the +girl's mind flashed the thought, accompanied by a wild hope: "Perhaps +that man can help my father--I have heard that Christian Scientists do +wonderful things." + +Almost before she was aware of what she was doing, she had ordered the +driver to stop, when, taking Lucille by the hand, she alighted, mounted +the steps, and rang the bell of the house where Mr. Freeman resided. + +Then, as the tinkle of the bell came to her ears, she suddenly began to +feel ashamed of her errand, for she had always been both skeptical and +intolerant of all such "metaphysical nonsense," as she had termed it. + +She was half-tempted to beat a hasty retreat, and perhaps would have +done so if the door had not been opened at that instant by a sweet, +happy-looking girl, whose winning smile at once won her confidence and +inspired her with fresh hope. + +"Can I see Mr. Freeman?" she briefly inquired. + +"I think so; come in, please," replied the girl, and, turning, she led +the way into a pleasant room, where a gentleman of perhaps forty years +was sitting. + +He arose and greeted Mollie with easy courtesy, his dark eyes searching +her face with a kind but penetrating look, and instantly a strange +feeling of peace fell upon her aching, rebellious heart. She took the +chair he offered her, and then opened her heart to him, telling him all +her trouble and sorrow--of her father's long illness, of the many weary +months of anxious care and hopeless seeking after help from various +sources, and of her last despairing efforts and their result. The +gentleman did not once interrupt her, but sat with downcast eyes and +attentive mien until she concluded, when she tremulously inquired: + +"Can you help him--is there any hope, do you think?" + +"My dear child, there is every hope," her companion confidently replied. +"God is always a help in time of trouble." + +"God!" repeated Mollie, with a bitter inflection. "I have begun to +believe there is no God." + +The gentleman bent a pitiful glance upon her. + +"I am sure that you will never say that again," he replied after a +moment of silence. + +Then he asked her a few questions, after which he remarked that he would +take the case if she desired, and would visit her father later in the +day. + +Mollie arose, a peculiar feeling of restfulness and hope having +succeeded her previous weariness and despair; and, opening her purse, +inquired what she should pay for the consultation. + +"Nothing for our little talk, Miss Heatherford," said Mr. Freeman, with +a quiet smile; "we are always glad to have people come to us when in +trouble. Scientists, when they take patients, usually treat them by the +week, the sum being uniform, unless frequent visits are required; of +course, you understand that no medicines--no remedies of any kind--are +to be used." + +He then mentioned the amount for a week's treatment, and which seemed to +the wondering girl exceedingly paltry; but she paid it, and then went +away with that same strange, sweet peace still pervading her. + +A week passed, and while there was no apparent change in Mr. +Heatherford's mental condition, he was not nearly as restless as he had +been, and slept quietly the whole night through, a thing he had not done +for months. + +The second week he began to take more nourishment. At the end of a month +his face began to have some color, and Eliza declared that he was +actually gaining flesh, while now and then they found him looking about +the room, vacantly, to be sure, and yet with an air as if a dawning +consciousness was trying to assert itself. + +Mollie jealously watched every change, and each time that Mr. Freeman +came she plied him with questions, eagerly seeking to learn something of +the great principle that was governing her dear father's condition. + +She read with avidity the books which the gentleman loaned her, and +which taught her much, and gradually a joyous hope--an abiding +confidence, rather--took possession of her, assuring her that her loved +one would ere long be well again. + +At the expiration of two months he had once spoken her name, and had +began to try to use his hands to help himself; and finally there came a +day when he actually stood upon his feet, with Eliza's strong arms +around him to support him. + +"Bress de Lord! I tole yo' to trust de Lord, honey," the woman +exclaimed, her black face radiant with joy on this happy occasion. + +"I know you did, Eliza; and at last I believe I am beginning to +understand what and where God is," Mollie reverently replied, her golden +lashes laden with tears of joy. + +Early in May, when the weather began to be oppressive, she closed the +house in Washington and took her family to the beautiful villa--one of +Lucille's many possessions--at Cape May, where they remained all +summer--five delightful, happy months, for the invalid improved with +every day. + +Faxon also spent his vacation--the month of August--there, each morning +finding him early at the villa, where he and his betrothed vied with +each other in making the time pass pleasantly for Mr. Heatherford, whose +mind was fast becoming as clear and active as in the vigorous days of +his youth. + +He was still somewhat hampered physically, as the obstinate enemy, +paralysis, had not been wholly conquered, although it was rapidly +disappearing; but there was not a happier nor more grateful family in +existence than Mollie's household, all of whom felt as if the dead had +been restored to life. + +Faxon returned to Washington the first of September, and a month later +the Lamonti house was once more opened, and the family settled for the +winter. + +Mr. Heatherford was now practically well, and "prepared," he said, "to +begin life over again." + +Mollie, however, tried to persuade him not to think of business for a +long while yet; there was no need, she asserted, for her income was +ample for their every want. But Mr. Heatherford was eager to test his +recovered powers, particularly as Mr. Freeman encouraged him to do so, +and, having been educated for the bar, he soon made arrangements to go +into business with an established firm, one of the partners proving to +be an old-time friend who knew something of the reputation which Mr. +Heatherford had borne during his more prosperous days; and now the +future began to look very bright to him once more. + +As the season advanced and distinguished people began to flock to the +capital, he met many a former acquaintance, and thus it came about that +both Mollie and her father were gradually drawn into society again. + +When Mollie began to accept these courtesies and take her place once +more in social life, she insisted that her engagement should be publicly +announced, and so, of course, Clifford was always thereafter included in +all invitations. + +He was looking forward to a much brighter prospect in life after the +first of January than he had dared to anticipate for himself thus early +in his career, and it was arranged that his marriage should occur as +soon as he was well settled in his new enterprise; meantime, as he was +becoming quite a favorite in social circles, the young couple gave +themselves up to the enjoyment of the present. + +One evening, at a brilliant reception given by a distinguished senator, +Mr. Heatherford and Mollie unexpectedly encountered Mr. and Mrs. Temple +and Philip Wentworth, the family having come to Washington again for the +winter. Mr. Temple had again become interested in politics during the +last year or two, and had been elected a member of the House of +Representatives, and was ambitious for still higher honors. + +The meeting between Mr. Heatherford and Mr. Temple was somewhat +startling to both gentlemen, especially so to the latter, since he +believed the former to be still a hopeless paralytic, if, indeed, he +were yet on the earth. They met in the great hall of the mansion where +they were guests. + +A slight smile of contempt flitted over Mr. Heatherford's face as he +said: "Ah! Temple; so we meet again!" + +"My God! Heatherford!" gasped the man who had so bitterly wronged him +under the guise of friendship; and he was colorless even to his lips. + +"Yes; you were not expecting to meet me again--here," returned Mr. +Heatherford. + +"It--it is a miracle! Who was your doctor?" panted the false friend, +scarce knowing what he said. + +"God," briefly but reverently responded Heatherford. Then, with a +courtly but distant bow, he added: "Excuse me; I am looking for my +daughter." + +He passed on, leaving the other still staring blankly after him, and +actually trembling, as if he had suddenly encountered a ghost of the +past--as, indeed, he had. + +Later in the evening Mollie found herself standing almost side by side +with Philip Wentworth. She was richly and beautifully clad. Her dress +was a gauzelike material of black, made over a very light-gray satin +that gleamed like silver underneath. The trimmings were all of silver, +and a diamond spray, with a silver aigrette, gleamed in her hair. + +The corsage of her robe was cut modestly low, and the full, puffed +sleeves were short, thus revealing her perfect arms and neck, which were +like chiseled marble. It was a strikingly effective costume, and just +suited her, for it threw out the fairness of her faultless complexion to +great advantage. + +She gave a slight start as she caught Philip's voice and realized his +proximity, but did not glance at him. She turned slightly away, and was +about to address a lady whom she knew; but before she could do so, +Philip stepped directly in front of her, determined that he would not be +ignored. + +"You have told me never to speak to you again--that we are strangers," +he began in a low tone that was husky with emotion; "cannot you forgive +and forget? I have suffered bitterly for my folly of that night--I have +repented in sackcloth and ashes." + +Not a muscle of Mollie's face moved during his speech. She stood and +looked like a statue--beautiful as a young goddess--but cold as snow, +and a feeling of bitter remorse--of utter despair crept over him as he +realized how he had lowered himself in her estimation and lost all +chance of ever winning her. + +Since learning of Mr. Lamonti's will and that Mollie had now an +independent fortune, and would once more take an enviable position in +society, he had cursed himself a thousand times for his past folly. +While he was speaking Mollie was wondering how she could escape him +without replying to him and without making herself conspicuous. + +There was an awkward pause for a moment after he concluded; then +Mollie's quick ear caught the voice of her hostess, who was just behind +her, remarking: + +"No, I have not seen Mr. Wentworth since he first entered the room; but +I am sure he is still here." + +Mollie turned gracefully toward the speaker, thus revealing Philip to +her. + +"You were inquiring for Mr. Wentworth, Mrs. Blackman," she observed, +with a charming smile. "Behold him just at hand!" + +Then, with a bow to the lady, she slipped away, leaving Philip in a +white heat of rage and disappointment over having failed to win even a +glance of recognition from her. + +But Mollie escaped Philip only to run almost into the arms of Mrs. +Temple, who also had already arrived at the conclusion that the girl's +acquaintance was worth cultivating again. Mollie Heatherford, with a +handsome fortune in her own right, was an entirely different person +from the poverty-stricken private secretary of a year ago. She extended +her hand with a beaming smile, and greeted her with much of her former +maternal fondness. + +Mollie's quiet "good evening, Mrs. Temple," together with the +ceremonious touch of her finger-tips, was something of a facer; but the +shrewd woman of the world was not one to easily relinquish a project, +and she continued in her most cordial tone: + +"Really, Mollie, it seems like old times to meet you in society again; +and what a romantic experience you have had! I assure you, no one could +be more delighted than we were when we learned of your good fortune. Are +you back in the Lamonti house again this season?" + +"Yes," Mollie briefly replied. + +"I understand that it is very elegant--that Mr. Lamonti was exceedingly +refined in his tastes, and made his home a perfect gem," Mrs. Temple +continued, and determined to trap Mollie into asking her to call if it +were possible. + +"Yes," the fair girl again composedly replied, "Monsieur Lamonti spared +no expense to make his home attractive, and took great pride and +pleasure in gathering treasures from all parts of the world to beautify +it." + +"I have been told that many of the paintings are from the hands of the +best masters," pursued her inquisitor. + +"That is true." + +"Do you ever entertain as you used to in the old days in New York, +Mollie?" + +"We have not as yet; it is quite early in the season, you know," said +Mollie, and barely able to suppress a smile as she saw the drift of +these questions; "but papa and I were talking the matter over recently, +and I think we may have a regular reception evening later on." + +"Ah!" exclaimed Mrs. Temple eagerly; "then you will be well launched +upon the sea of Washington society, and if at any time you should feel +the need of some one to matronize your affairs, you will know where to +come, dear," she concluded, with her most affable smile. + +"Thank you, Mrs. Temple." + +"And I wish you would drop in upon us occasionally," the lady went on +appealingly, but flushing slightly over the failure of her scheme. "We +were all very fond of you always, Mollie, and Minnie would be delighted +to see her old friend." + +"Yes, Minnie and I were close friends; give my love to the dear child," +Mollie replied, with more of heartiness than she had yet expressed. +Then, catching sight of Mr. Heatherford, she added: "Excuse me, but I +see papa looking for me. Good-night, Mrs. Temple." + +And with a graceful inclination of her bright head she glided away. Mrs. +Temple's face was a study as she watched the slight, perfect figure move +down the room. She had been utterly baffled, and she was filled with +mingled disappointment and mortification. + +"Mollie is very shrewd, with all her sweetness," she muttered, with a +frown; "she can hold her own anywhere, and we have all made a grand +mistake." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +AN ASTONISHING DISCOVERY. + + +"Waal, squire, I reckon everything is done now to the turn of the key. +I've packed a dozen shirts, and, if I do say it, no Chang Wang could +have put a better shine on 'em than I've given 'em. There's two dozen +pocket-handkerchiefs, as white as snow; collars and cuffs to last a +month, if you're careful; and everything else all in shipshape. Now I'll +have lunch for you in about ten minutes, and that'll give you plenty of +time to catch the train." + +So spoke Maria Kimberly, as she stood in the doorway leading from the +kitchen into the dining-room, where Squire Talford was sitting at his +desk filling out some checks to settle his monthly bills. He was on the +point of starting for Washington, whither he was going on business +connected with some patents in which he had recently become interested, +and which would keep him away from home for about six weeks or two +months. + +"All right, Maria. I'm about through; but what are you going to do with +yourself while I'm gone?" the man responded, but without looking up from +his employment. + +"Oh, I'll take good care o' things, and I'll find enough to do, never +you fear," said the woman, with a peculiar glitter in her eyes. "I +ain't cleaned house yet; I've put it off, waitin' for you to git away, +so's I could have full swing. I'll see that Pat and the boy don't do no +loafin'; and you needn't give yourself a mite of oneasiness--things'll +go on just as straight if you was goin' to be here yourself." + +The squire knew this without being told, for Maria was an excellent +manager, an efficient housekeeper, and, barring the fact that she had a +sharp tongue, and was rather more independent than was sometimes quite +agreeable, no one could have suited him better as a superintendent of +affairs, both on the farm and in the house. + +She had been in his family for many years, and having been thoroughly +trained by his wife in every department of domestic life and economy, +while being honest and faithful as the day is long in the performance of +every duty, she was entirely competent to assume the management as she +had done upon Mrs. Talford's death, and everything had gone on like +clockwork from that day. + +Squire Talford had never manifested any desire to marry again. Maria +asserted that he was "too tight" to be willing to increase his expenses +in any such way; for, although he always wanted the nicest of everything +for himself, he used to grumble over the expense of clothing his wife. + +He was very proud of his fine estate--his handsome mansion and broad +acres, and kept them in first-class order; but, while he wanted every +comfort for himself, he had dispensed with some luxuries and style +after Mrs. Talford's demise, was close and mean with his help, and +seemed to think of nothing save accumulating money. + +"Though goodness knows what'll ever become of it when he's gone, for he +ain't a kindred soul to leave it to, as far as I know," Mrs. Kimberly +would sometimes remark in a confidential manner to her friends. + +"Yes, I reckon I can trust you to keep a sharp eye out while I'm gone," +the squire returned to Maria's observation, "though I'm not so sure +about the loafing--you're a little inclined to be too soft-hearted with +the boys. I want to find that pile of wood all sawed, split, and housed +when I get back." + +Maria sniffed audibly as she glanced through a window at the pile of +wood referred to, and which comprised a good many cords of solid timber, +and she had no idea of pushing "the boys" beyond a certain limit. + +"Waal, maybe you will, and maybe you won't," she returned after a +moment, with an independent toss of her head. "It'll depend a good deal +on what kind o' weather we have. I suppose you know," she continued, +with a sudden softening of her face and tone, "that Cliff is in +Washington. I hear he's got a fine position, too. Do you imagine you'll +feel any interest to look him up?" + +"Not the slightest, Maria," returned Squire Talford, in a cold tone, and +with a sudden stiffening of his angular figure. "Clifford Faxon is +nothing to me, and I shall not concern myself in the least to learn +anything about his movements." + +"Oh!" returned his companion, with a peculiar inflection, while she +screwed her lips into a resentful pucker, "I didn't know but you'd feel +a kind o' curiosity to find out if he's workin' his way along up toward +the top o' the heap in Washington, same's he did at college. You know +you didn't prophecy anything very flatterin' to him when he started out +for himself, but he got there, all the same." + +The squire flushed hotly at this reminder. + +"I think you'd better hurry up lunch, Maria," was all the reply he +deigned her, and the woman vanished, but chuckling to herself as she +went: + +"He pretends he ain't curious, but he is, all the same, and I'd be +willin' to bet my new black silk--which I ain't had on since that day at +Cambridge, I'm goin' to keep it for Cliff's wedding--that he will find +out about the boy," she muttered to herself, while dishing up the +tempting meal which she had prepared for the master of the house. + +An hour later Squire Talford was en route for New York, and Maria was +left mistress of the field. + +Early next morning she vigorously set about preparations for the +semi-annual house-cleaning, although, to all appearance, the mansion was +immaculate from garret to cellar. Nevertheless, twice every year every +room was religiously upset, cleaned, and renovated. + +She invariably began in the attic and went down in the most methodical +manner, just as her mistress had done every year of her married life. +Every box, drawer, and trunk--excepting a couple which the squire never +allowed any one to touch--had to be overhauled, their contents +thoroughly brushed and shaken, for fear of moths, and every nook and +corner swept and scrubbed. + +For some reason Maria experienced a greater sense of freedom to-day than +she had ever felt before; doubtless it was because of the squire's +absence, for there would be no fear of disturbing him with the noise +overhead, and having no regular dinner to get, there would be nothing to +interrupt operations. + +She always said that the worst was over when she got through with the +attic, and late in the afternoon, when she cast a satisfied glance +around the clean, orderly, sweet-smelling room, every beam and rafter of +which had undergone vigorous treatment, a sigh of content escaped her. + +"You can't put your finger on a speck o' dust anywhere," she +soliloquized, "and everything is in shipshape. It's a good job done, +too, and I'm not sorry it's over." + +She gathered up her brushes, pail, and mop and turned to leave the +place, when her glance fell upon a small hair trunk which she had +dragged out into the hall at the head of the stairs, and had neglected +to replace in its accustomed corner. It was one of those which the +squire never allowed to be opened and overhauled. + +"I s'h'd jest like to know what's in the old thing," Maria remarked as +she sat down her utensils and picked it up in her strong arms. "It +looks's if it had been made in the year one, and it's always locked +tighter'n a drum--goodness! goodness me!" + +The latter explosive ejaculations were occasioned by an unlucky slip of +the antiquated receptacle, then a resounding crash upon the floor, when +the hinges snapped, the cover flew off, and a promiscuous assortment of +things were scattered in every direction in the attic, which but a +moment previous had presented such an orderly appearance. + +Maria stood for a moment looking ruefully upon the havoc she had made, +her arms akimbo, her temper ruffled in view of the work of gathering up +the debris before her. + +"Waal," she at length observed, with a sigh of resignation, "I guess I'm +likely to find out what was in it, after all, though"--with a +contemptuous sniff--"I don't imagine I'm going to be very much +entertained by the operation." + +The trunk had been packed full of papers--deeds, letters, bills, etc., +which had been tied up in separate bundles, but the strings having given +way in the force of the fall, they now lay in confused heaps and +irretrievably mixed, as far as Maria was concerned. + +She sat down upon the floor and began to gather them up, restoring them +in as orderly a manner as possible to the trunk. Among other things she +came upon a box which had slid a little to one side of the heap. This, +also, had burst open, and its contents were partially spilled out. +Reaching for it, she drew it toward her, and was attracted by a pungent +odor which clung to it. + +It was made from some sweet-smelling, fine-grained wood, and the corners +were ornamented with heavily wrought silver, although the metal was +badly tarnished from having lain so long unused. There were numerous +letters in it, some being addressed in a woman's delicate handwriting +and others in a bold, clear, masculine chirography. + +"Miss Belle Abbott," Maria read from one of the envelopes addressed in +the bold hand. + +Then she gave a violent start. + +"Goodness--gracious! How came this here?" she ejaculated. "Belle Abbott! +Why, that was Cliff's mother's name afore she was married. But I wonder +who W. F. T. Wilton was?" she continued as she closely inspected the +handwriting on another envelope. "I'm sure Mis' Faxon must have writ +these letters, for the writin' looks just like what I've seen in some of +Cliff's books that he told me she gave him. But it beats me to know how +these things ever got into Squire Talford's old trunk, 'less Mis' Faxon +gave them to him to keep for the boy, 'n' if she did he'd oughter had +'em long ago. What's this, I wonder?" + +"This" comprised two pieces of parchment attached to each other by a +pin. They were folded long and narrow, like legal documents, and were +also bound about with a narrow blue ribbon. + +With firmly compressed lips and a flushed face, Maria sat regarding them +intently, and as if deliberating a point within herself for a few +moments. + +"I'm going to know," she said at last, in tones of stern decision, and, +suiting the action to the words, she deliberately removed the ribbon and +pin, unfolded one of the papers, and began to read it with eager +interest. + +Every bit of color faded out of her face by the time she reached the +bottom of the sheet, and with staring eyes and bated breath she seized +its mate and proceeded to read that. + +"Good land!" she ejaculated at length. "Now I understand some things +that have always puzzled me afore! So this is Belle Atwood's +marriage-bill, and this tells about Cliff's baptism! And Faxon isn't his +last name, either!" she went on, with a gasp of excitement. "It is--he +is--why, good Lord!--now I know why Squire Talford has always hated him +so; though I never did take much stock in that story I heard when I +first came here--that he was in love with her once, and she jilted him +for some one else." + +She sat thinking deeply for some time, a look of perplexity on her +plain, honest face. + +"There's some things I can't quite see through, after all," she resumed +after a time; "if what I suspect is true--and there ain't much doubt +about it--why on earth did Mis' Faxon ever bind that boy to the squire? +Aha!" a flash of intelligence sweeping over her face, "I begin to +see--it was a trick of his. He is not a man that ever forgives a +wrong--he hated her and the boy's father and the boy himself, because of +what they'd done. He meant to crush 'em all, and so he pretended to +befriend Mis' Faxon--wormed himself into her confidence, so got her to +sign them bond papers, and then, when she died, stole this box, so the +boy could never find out who he really is. I remember now that she sent +for him the night she died. I'll bet he stole these papers at that time. +Oh! he's a tricky one, Squire Talford is! He thought he'd fixed things +so that nobody'd ever find out the truth; but it's a long lane that +hasn't any turn in it, and I'm goin' to prove it to you, you miserly, +gray-headed, hard-hearted old rascal!" + +And Mrs. Kimberly emphasized her words by angrily shaking the papers in +her hand at the demolished old trunk, in lieu of the man himself, until +they rattled noisily. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +THE SQUIRE MEETS MISS HEATHERFORD. + + +"Humph!" Maria resumed after some minutes, and, arousing herself from +another fit of musing into which she had fallen, "I always thought there +was a skeleton hid in this old hair trunk, and now I've unearthed it. +'Murder will out,' they say, and I guess the Lord thought He'd make me +His instrument to see justice done that boy. He just sent me up here +to-day to smash the thing, and now I s'pose I've got to finish the +business up. I'm going to take charge of these papers and see that Cliff +gets them." + +She began to replace them and the letters in the box as she spoke, with +a set face and determined air. + +"Of course, I shall tell the squire just how I happened to find 'em," +she went on. "I ain't one to hide anything. I'll just face him and out +with the whole matter, but they ain't never goin' back into his +possession again if I lose my place for it!" She handled the letters +reverently as she laid them, one by one, into their receptacle, her face +softening involuntarily. + +"Of course, these letters will tell Cliff a lot that I may never know +anything about, and what is none o' my business," she mused, but with a +yearning curiosity to know their contents, nevertheless. "I only hope, +if the squire has been trying to cheat him out o' anything that belongs +to him, they'll help to set him right." + +Having restored all that she thought belonged there to the box, she set +it one side, then finished packing the trunk, replaced the cover, and, +rising, drew it to the corner where it was accustomed to stand. + +Then taking the exhumed "skeleton" under her arm she marched straight +down to her own room, where she locked it safely away in her own trunk +and hid the key. + +She was quite upset by the exciting discovery of the afternoon, and for +the first time in many years lay awake until after midnight nervously +conning the matter over in her mind, and trying to decide just what she +ought to do about it. It proved to be a perplexing question, and she +chewed the cud of indecision industriously for the next two weeks, while +she scrubbed and cleaned, took up and put down carpets, washed, ironed, +and hung curtains, and performed the manifold duties that throng upon +the busy matron during house-cleaning time. + +Half a dozen times she began a letter to Cliff asking him to come to +Cedar Hill, as she had something important to tell him, but she tore +each one up, her sense of loyalty to the squire making her feel that she +ought to tell him of her discovery first; while, too, she doubted the +wisdom of asking Cliff to leave his business and be at the expense of +such a journey. Once she thought she would go to a lawyer and tell him +the whole story, for she had a suspicion that there might be some +property coming to Cliff if his identity could be proven. But such a +measure did not quite commend itself to her, for she thought he might +not care to have another party let into the secrets of his origin and +his mother's domestic troubles, while she also reasoned that it would be +only fair to give the squire a chance to voluntarily right the wrong he +had committed. + +The two weeks lengthened into a month, and she was no nearer a decision +than on the day of her discovery. + +Meantime, however, Providence was opening the way for her to be relieved +of the burden which she felt was fast becoming too heavy to be borne. + +Squire Talford, on arriving in Washington, took a room in a +boarding-house in a quiet street. He did not like hotel-life for +numerous reasons, the chief one being that he was too economically +inclined to spend his money in that way, while he also objected to the +constant change, rush, and excitement of such a place. + +Now, it happened, strangely enough, that Clifford had a room in a house +adjoining Squire Talford's boarding-place, although he took his meals +farther down on the same street. + +Thus it naturally came about that the whilom bound boy and his former +master ran up against each other only a few days after the arrival of +the latter in the nation's capital. The encounter occurred on Sunday, +about the middle of the afternoon, when Clifford, with a red +moss-rosebud on his coat, started forth for the Lamonti mansion, where +he was to dine with the Heatherfords. + +The squire had been out to post some letters at the nearest box, and +was returning to his boarding-place when the two met on a corner. + +Clifford flushed slightly, and was greatly surprised to see the man so +far from home, but with the politeness which always characterized him, +lifted his hat and cordially saluted him. The man shot a frowning glance +at him and passed on without a word, as if he had been a total stranger +to him. Possibly, if Clifford had been shabbily clad and had not looked +so prosperous, happy, and handsome, he might not have been quite so +churlish; but it made him secretly furious to see him clothed better +than himself, a fact which plainly indicated to him that he was still +making his way steadily upward, while his buoyant air and alert, +energetic step told of perfect health and a heart at peace with the +world. + +The slight stung Clifford for the instant, but, replacing his hat and +straightening himself with an air of conscious superiority, he went on +his way, and half an hour later had forgotten the existence of the man. + +He had far more interesting things to think about just then, for he and +Mollie were laying their plans for the most important event of their +lives--their marriage, which it had been decided should take place some +time during the latter part of January. + +Several times during the next three weeks Clifford met the squire, and, +out of respect for his years, invariably saluted him in a gentlemanly +manner, but always with the same result--the man as often passed him +with a cold stare and without moving a muscle of his hard, forbidding +face. + +"I wonder why he has always hated me so?" Clifford mused upon one of +these occasions. "I served him faithfully during the four years that I +lived with him--my conscience is clear of ever having once wilfully +disobeyed him or neglected my work. I cannot understand how one human +being can entertain such an unreasonable grudge against another. I am +sure I have no desire to exchange places with him, rich as he is, for I +think it must be very uncomfortable to hate one as he seems to me. I +wish Mollie could meet him--she reads faces like books, and I really +would like to know what her analysis of his character would be." + +He had his wish granted not very long afterward. Squire Talford stepped +into a stationery-store one afternoon on his way home to dinner, to lay +in a fresh supply of paper and envelopes. He had observed before +entering that a very handsome equipage was standing before the door, for +being fond of fine horses, and a good judge of them, as well, he never +passed them unnoticed. + +He even turned to take a second look out of the window of the store +before making his purchase, and found himself wondering who could be the +fortunate owner of the blooded pair, while his appreciative eyes also +took in the elegant appointments of the carriage and harness and the +liveried coachman and footman. + +Presently he turned to the counter, and found himself standing beside a +beautiful girl, very richly attired. She was sitting on a stool, +evidently waiting for something, and after giving his own order, Squire +Talford's glance wandered again to the vision of loveliness beside him, +noting her delicate, high-bred features, her wonderfully blue eyes, and +hair of shining gold. + +A clerk came to her after a moment or two and apologized for the +necessity of keeping her waiting still longer--something seemed to have +gone wrong with the order she had given. + +"Never mind," said Mollie--for it was she--with the rarest of smiles and +in sweetest tones. "I am not in any hurry, and do not mind waiting in +the least." + +"Humph" grunted the squire to himself, as he took his package and left +the place. + +The little incident had somehow jarred upon him and set him thinking, +for he well knew that if he had been kept waiting like that, whether he +had been in a hurry or not, he would have fretted and fumed and taken +pains to make the clerk as uncomfortable as possible; but the lovely +girl had unconsciously given him a lesson in true courtesy and charity. + +He could not resist the temptation to pause on the sidewalk as he went +out and take another look at the beautiful horses which he had +previously admired. + +"A fine pair you have there," he observed to the coachman. + +"Yes, sir," replied the man, but looking neither to the right nor left, +nor unbending from his stiff, upright position a hairsbreadth. + +"Morgan?" + +"Yes, sir," with the same rigidity as before. + +"How old are they?" + +"Six years, or thereabouts." + +The squire eyed them yearningly a moment, then, turning, was about to +proceed on his way when a passer-by jostled him, and, as he was just on +the edge of the curb, caused him to lose his balance, when he nearly +fell inside the carriage, which was a victoria. + +He recovered himself almost immediately, however, and, after brushing +the dust from his clothing, passed on, but grumbling over the rudeness +and carelessness of him who had caused his discomfort. + +Three minutes later Mollie emerged from the store, stepped into her +carriage, and gave the order to be driven "home." + +As the vehicle drew up before her door and she was about to alight, her +foot came in contact with some object upon the floor. Stooping to +ascertain what it was, she was greatly surprised to find a gentleman's +wallet lying upon the mat just inside the carriage. + +"Why, I wonder how this could have come here?" she exclaimed. Upon +opening it she found several papers neatly arranged in one pocket and a +number of bank-notes of various denominations, together with a slip of +paper bearing the name, "A. H. Talford, No. ---- Twelfth Street, N. E.," +in another. + +"Talford!" she repeated thoughtfully. + +Where had she heard that name before? she wondered. + +"Walker," she said, holding the wallet up for her coachman to see, "do +you know anything about this? I have just found it on the floor." + +The man thought a moment, and then told her of the elderly gentleman who +had admired the horses, and then, making a misstep, had almost fallen +into the carriage. + +"Ah! Then the wallet must be his. Walker, you may turn around and drive +me to No. ---- Twelfth Street, N. E.," said Mollie, as she resumed her +seat. + +The man swung his horses around, and they went trotting down-town again. +Arriving at the residence corresponding to the number on the slip, +Mollie alighted and inquired of the maid who responded to her ring if +Mr. Talford was in. + +"Yes," the girl replied, with a peculiar smile, for the man had +discovered his loss only a few moments before, and was turning the house +upside down in his efforts to discover the missing wallet. Mollie passed +the maid her card, and told her to say to the gentleman that she would +like to see him. + +She waited in the parlor nearly five minutes before the squire made his +appearance, and then he seemed to be greatly excited and in a very +unhappy frame of mind. He started upon finding himself face to face with +the beautiful girl whom he had seen in the stationer's store, and +searched her face curiously. + +Mollie arose as he entered, and, approaching him, extended the wallet. +She said afterward she never saw a more avaricious expression on any +human face. + +"I found this in my carriage, sir, after leaving the store where I met +you a short time ago," she said. "My coachman thinks it must have +slipped from your pocket as you stumbled and almost fell close beside +the vehicle." + +The man sprang forward and seized the purse with a greedy look and +grasp. + +"Yes, it is mine," he exclaimed in eager, tremulous accents. "My address +is inside--I will show you." + +"That is not necessary, Mr. Talford," Mollie pleasantly returned. "I +took the liberty of opening the wallet, and found it, or I should not +have known to whom to return it." + +"Yes, yes; of course," said the squire, with some embarrassment, as he +whipped it open and began to finger the bills nervously. Mollie's red +lips curled slightly at the act, for she read his thoughts like a +printed page. She saw that it was his nature to distrust every one, and +a fear that he would be overreached by those with whom he came in +contact that he was wondering, even then, whether he should find his +precious money intact. + +"I am very glad I found it and was enabled to restore it so soon," she +went on, "and I preferred to bring it to you myself rather than to +entrust it to a messenger." + +She moved toward the door as she concluded, for the man's forbidding and +churlish presence chilled her like an icy wind. + +"Ah! yes--yes, thank you, young woman. I'm much obliged to you, I am +sure," stammered the squire as he glanced irresolutely from his wallet +to her, then back again at the crisp bills within it. "I--I suppose I +ought to pay you something for your trouble." + +Mollie flushed a vivid crimson at the reluctant suggestion, and drew +herself up with involuntary hauteur. + +"Indeed no, sir," she coldly responded. "I assure you you are very +welcome to what I have done, and I will not detain you longer. Good +evening, Mr. Talford," and she bowed herself out with a grace that could +not wholly veil the vein of mockery and contempt that underlay her +words, and vanished from his sight, but leaving him with a sense of +shame and meanness such as he had seldom experienced in life. + +"Talford! Talford! Where have I heard that name? It rings in the +chambers of my memory with a strangely familiar sound, and it almost +seems as if I have seen that face before," Mollie mused, with a look of +perplexity on her face, as she drove back in the fast gathering twilight +toward home; but she failed to place either face or name, and soon +forgot all about them for the time. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +PHILIP'S MAD PLEA. + + +Five hours later Mollie, clad in a trailing robe of pale-yellow satin, +and looking a veritable princess, with her shining hair coiled high upon +her shapely head and encircled with a tiara of diamonds, stood in the +drawing-room of the residence of the English ambassador making her +obeisance to that distinguished gentleman and his courtly wife. + +She was accompanied by her father, who was now the picture of health, +whose every movement was replete with vigor and almost youthful energy; +for, as he claimed, after fifty years of aimless groping he was just +beginning to learn how to live. Clifford was also with them, but +following a step or two in the rear, and, with his fine face and manly +bearing, there was not a handsomer man in the room. Their salutations +over, they moved aside to make way for others, when a beautiful girl, +all in white, except that she wore a great bunch of scarlet poppies in +her belt, stepped forward and extended a faultlessly gloved hand to +Clifford. + +"I am sure that Mr. Faxon is not one to forget his old friends," she +smilingly observed, while her face glowed with undisguised pleasure at +the meeting. + +"Miss Athol!" he exclaimed, as he cordially clasped her hand, "this is +indeed an unexpected pleasure! Of course, I could not forget you, and I +am most happy to meet you again." + +"The pleasure is mutual, I assure you," Miss Athol heartily returned, +"neither have I forgotten the auspicious occasion of our last meeting at +Harvard, while too"--with a significant glance--"there are some other +memories that haunt me. Mr. Faxon, when I think of that terrible +accident and that awful descent that you made over the precipice I grow +faint and dizzy even now." + +"Then please don't think of it," said Clifford, laughing, and, anxious +to change the subject, he added: "Allow me to inquire if this is your +first visit to Washington?" + +"Oh, no; we have all been here a number of times, but papa was elected +Senator for our district this winter, and we are going to be located +here for the present. He has been in town some weeks, but mama and I +arrived only last Saturday," Gertrude explained. Then she added, +smiling, "How singular that you also should have drifted to Washington +just at this time!" + +"Yes, we meet people where we least expect to, sometimes. I have been +here for more than a year, and have a position in the Patent Office +Department." + +"Climbing all the time, I am sure," said the girl, as her glance swept +his handsome face and figure with a thrill of admiration. "I knew you +would. I should not be in the least surprised to find you located in the +White House some day." + +"Oh, Miss Athol! I beg that I may escape the responsibilities of such a +position," Clifford exclaimed, flushing to his temples and feeling +decidedly uncomfortable to be so lauded. Then, with a sudden thought, he +continued: "But now I am going to ask the privilege of presenting you to +a friend whom I am sure you will find very congenial--may I?" + +"Certainly. I shall be delighted to meet any friend of yours, Mr. +Faxon," said Gertrude cordially. + +Clifford turned to attract the attention of Mollie, who had been +exchanging greetings with a prominent society woman, and a moment later +he had introduced the two girls to each other. + +The moment Miss Athol looked into Mollie's beautiful face and observed +the tender glance which Clifford bestowed upon her, she knew +instinctively that she had met the woman whom he was to marry. + +"And she is worthy of him, which is saying a great deal for her," she +mentally affirmed. "She is exquisitely lovely, but the best in the land +is none too good for Clifford Faxon." + +The young ladies appeared to be instantly attracted to each other, and +in less than ten minutes felt as if they had been acquainted for years, +and would be friends for the remainder of their lives. + +In a corner, not far from this interesting group, and curiously watching +the brilliant throng all about him, stood Squire Talford. And the man, +if one did not closely observe his cold gray eyes and the cruel, cynical +expression about his mouth, made quite a fine appearance in his +evening-attire. + +He had never been anything of a society man, but since he was in +Washington he was determined to go the whole figure and see all there +was to be seen, and as money was no object where his own gratification +was concerned, he easily found ways of obtaining the entree to +fashionable circles. + +He had observed Mollie when she entered the room, and instantly +recognized her as the young lady who had restored his wallet to him that +afternoon. He had thought her a remarkably pretty girl at that time, but +now, in her evening-costume, she seemed a hundred-fold more lovely, and +he was positively fascinated by her beauty. + +He also noted the richness of her dress and costly jewels, and, at once +recalling the fine equipage which he had seen before the stationer's +store, decided that she must be the daughter of some very wealthy man. + +Her loveliness and charm of manner grew upon him continually, and he +became anxious to learn more about her. He sought a gentleman whom he +knew, and after chatting for a few moments upon current events, suddenly +broke off and remarked: + +"I've been watching that young woman in yellow over there; can you tell +me who she is?" + +"Ah, yes; that is Miss Heatherford. She's an out-and-out beauty, isn't +she? A regular stunner!" was the animated reply. "She is one of the most +attractive young ladies in Washington this winter, and a favorite +wherever she goes. She is rich, also--has a handsome fortune in her own +right, although a year ago this time she was working for a living in +this city." + +"Can that be possible?" inquired the squire, and appearing to be deeply +interested in the gentleman's statements. + +"Yes, and that is her father, that fine-looking man with the snow-white +hair. Five years ago he was known as one of the money-kings of New York, +but he lost every dollar of it by a series of misfortunes, and came here +and went to work as a clerk for the government. Then he was taken ill, +lost his position, and was reduced almost to the verge of beggary; but +his daughter, like the true-blue she is, came nobly to the front, got a +situation as private secretary to a wealthy old Frenchman who had some +mission to this country, and supported herself and her father." + +"But where did she get her present fortune?" inquired Squire Talford. + +"Well, it is quite a story, and I cannot go into the details just now," +his companion replied, "but the girl proved herself a heroine in two or +three instances, and saved the life of the Frenchman's grandchild, +prevented a robbery in the house, and won his confidence to such an +extent that he made her the guardian of the child, to whom he left an +immense amount of money, and a snug sum to Miss Heatherford herself. She +has only recently appeared in society here, but every one has fallen in +love with her--men and women alike. She is spoken for, however, for she +is soon going to marry a fine fellow who bids fair to become a prominent +man in the world if he keeps on as he has begun, for he is as smart as +chain-lightning--there he is now, just in the act of introducing a lady +to Miss Heatherford." + +Squire Talford started and flushed crimson as he instantly recognized +Cliff. He had not observed him before, and now to find him in that +brilliant assemblage, and apparently received on an equal footing with +the most distinguished, was a shock which he had not been prepared for. + +"Humph! So she is going to marry him!" he managed to say without +betraying how much he had been startled. + +"Yes, the engagement was announced the first of the season, and, of +course, any one can see that, morally and mentally, the young man is her +equal in every respect. But it has leaked out that he has worked his own +way up from boyhood. His name is Faxon--Clifford Faxon--and I am told +that he first met his fiancee in a railroad accident--or, rather, what +would have proved to be a terrible smash-up but for the boy's superhuman +efforts to remove an obstruction that lay upon the track, and which made +a veritable hero of him. It seems that the girl was on board the train, +and she was so impressed by the wonderful achievement that she gave him +a very handsome ring, which he wears constantly." + +Squire Talford remembered the ring well, but it galled him inexpressibly +to hear Clifford so vaunted--this boy whom he had always hated because +of a secret wrong in which his mother had once figured, and which he had +nursed for half a life-time. It rasped him almost beyond endurance to +find that, in spite of the efforts he had made to crush him, he had +overcome every obstacle in the past, and was steadily rising toward fame +and fortune; that even now, in his early manhood, he had far outstripped +himself in attaining a social position in the world. + +"He is a handsome, intellectual-looking fellow, don't you think?" his +companion inquired. "You do not often see a finer head, a more frank, +honest face on a man, while his eyes are simply magnificent." + +The squire literally ground his teeth with rage, but controlling himself +after a moment, he remarked, with a touch of sarcasm in his tones: + +"You are enthusiastic over him, I perceive. But it seems that he isn't +above becoming a fortune-hunter, since he is going to marry the rich +Miss Heatherford." + +"There you are mistaken, sir," was the spirited retort. "Faxon is no +fortune-hunter--I'd take my oath that he would never stoop to win any +one from a mercenary motive. The fact is that he and Miss Heatherford +met and became acknowledged lovers while the girl was working for her +living, and, notwithstanding he has no fortune or social position except +what he has won for himself, she is prouder of him than she would be of +a crown prince." + +The squire could bear no more of that kind of talk in his present frame +of mind, and, excusing himself to his communicative companion, he left +him and made his way toward the hall, with the intention of slipping out +unobserved and returning to his boarding-place. He was so absorbed in +his disagreeable reflections that he paid no heed to any of the people +about him, and had just reached the great archway leading out of the +drawing-room when his way was suddenly blocked by some one who had +paused before him and given vent to a startled exclamation. + +Squire Talford lifted his head with a great, inward shock, and found a +familiar form confronting him. The two men glared into each other's +faces for a full minute without speaking, both looking like a couple of +specters. Then the stranger gasped with colorless lips: + +"You--here!" + +"Looks like it," laconically returned the squire, who instantly began to +recover himself, while his eyes glittered like points of polished steel. +"Perhaps you'll be wanting to buy another ticket for New York, now that +you know I'm around, eh?" + +"No, I'll be ---- if I will!" fiercely retorted the other, in a low, +angry tone. Then he elbowed his way by his enemy, and disappeared among +the crowd. + +The squire chuckled viciously to himself, his irritation against +Clifford forgotten for the moment in his new and rather startling +encounter. + +"Ha, ha! Bill. You're afraid of me, and you can't conceal the fact. And +you have even more cause than you dream of," he muttered, a cruel smile +wreathing his lips. "I wonder what you are doing here in +Washington--I'll bet you're trying to lobby some devilish scheme or +other, for your own private interests. But I think there'll be a day of +reckoning between you and me before you're much older." + +A little later Mollie and Gertrude Athol slipped away from the company +and went for a stroll through the fine conservatory that led from the +south side of the house. They wandered about, chatting socially, for a +time, until Gertrude, chancing to glance up, saw her father standing in +the doorway beckoning to her. + +"Papa wants me," she said. "I expect he wishes to introduce me to some +friends of whom he told me to-day. I am sorry to leave you, Miss +Heatherford, but you will come to see me soon, will you not? and then we +will plan to meet often. Good night, if I should not see you again." + +She tripped away, but Mollie, who was a dear lover of flowers, lingered +in that bower of beauty to examine some rare and exquisite orchids which +were in full bloom. Suddenly, as she rounded a corner at the extreme end +of the conservatory, some one started up from a seat that was +half-concealed by some palms and foliage plants, and she found herself +confronted by Philip Wentworth. + +She had not dreamed of his being in the house, for she had seen none of +the family that evening, and, in truth, he had been there but a few +minutes, having had another engagement, but had promised to join his +fiancee, Gertrude Athol, before the evening was over. He had been +looking for her--had come to the conservatory to seek her, entering by a +door leading from the dining room, instead of the hall, when, seeing the +two girls, and not wishing to meet them together, he had sought the seat +referred to, and concealed himself among the foliage until they should +return to the house. + +But when he saw Gertrude leave and Mollie loitering among the flowers, +a wild desire to talk with her took possession of him, and he arose and +stood in her path. + +Mollie drew herself haughtily erect, and would have passed him without a +word, but he stretched forth his arms and barred her way. + +"No, you shall not evade me this time," he cried in a voice tremulous +with passion and wounded feeling. "I have the right to vindicate myself, +and no criminal is ever condemned without a hearing. Oh, Mollie! Mollie! +forgive me--forgive me! I was not myself that night. I own I had been +drinking more than was good for me, and I hardly knew what I was about." + +Mollie had not intended to exchange a word with him, but the +self-reproach in his tones--the misery in his face--appealed to her +gentle heart, and she began to be sorry for him. She told herself that +she had no right to condemn him utterly, even though she felt that she +could never respect or admit him to her friendship again. She recoiled a +step or two from him, and her face involuntarily softened. + +"If that is so," she began gently, "let it be a lesson to you, and never +again make such free use of that which you admit has power to control +you." + +"I will not, Mollie--I will not, indeed. I promise you," Philip eagerly +returned, adding appealingly: "And you will forgive me--say that you +will forgive, and let us be friends, as of old, once more." + +Mollie's face flushed, and she shrank involuntarily. She knew that she +could never receive him as a friend again--she had no wish ever to +resume the old relations with any of the family, for their treachery and +ill usage had done more to weaken her faith in humanity than anything +that had ever occurred in all her experience. + +"No," she said, after a moment of thought. "I will be frank with you, +Philip--we can never be friends again, as I understand the term. One +must have confidence in one's friends--you have destroyed my confidence +in you. One must respect one's friends--you have forfeited my respect. +It is not easy to tell you this, but you know that I was never guilty of +deception, and so I cannot pretend to a friendship that is not real." + +The young man staggered back a pace. He felt as if some one had struck +him a blow upon his bare heart, and in all his life he had not known +such genuine suffering as he experienced at that moment. Mollie seemed +beautiful as a goddess--as far above him in strength and purity of +character as the stars, and yet he had never yearned for her as he did +now. + +"Oh! I deserve it all--I deserve you should despise me!" he exclaimed in +a voice of agony; "but I love you--I love you! You, and you alone, hold +my life and my future in your hands! Forgive me, Mollie--let me try to +win back your respect. I swear that no one shall lead a more exemplary +life--no one shall be more worthy of your confidence--your love, than I, +if you will but give me a chance. See! I kneel--I beg----" + +"Stop!" cried Mollie authoritatively, as she put out one hand to stay +him, "never do that, for no true woman would ever wish a man to +humiliate himself. And now let me say," she continued even more +impressively, "you must never speak like this to me again, for--I am +already the promised wife of another." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +WENTWORTH SPURNED. + + +At Mollie's words Philip sprang erect, a sudden rage possessing him. + +"You engaged!" he faltered in a scarcely audible voice. He had only +rejoined his mother in Washington a few days previous, and, as yet, had +not heard oL the formal announcement of Mollie's engagement to Clifford. +He had been secretly enraged during the latter part of the previous +winter because of the young man's attentions to her, and he had feared +that they might result in their union; but now that the blow had fallen, +he found that he was entirely unprepared for it, and was almost beside +himself with mingled hate and jealousy. + +It did not once occur to him that he himself was playing the part of a +treacherous villain, for he was still pledged to Gertrude Athol. But he +would not have hesitated an instant to throw her over if he could have +won Mollie and her fortune. + +"You engaged!" he repeated, his clouded eyes searching the fair face +before him. + +Mollie flushed. She had felt almost sure he must have known the fact, +and she was considerably embarrassed to be obliged to explain matters to +him. But she was determined to make him understand, once for all, that +their old-time friendship could never be renewed, and that he must cease +persecuting her with avowals of love. + +"Yes," she quietly returned, but with downcast eyes, and a tender +inflection unconsciously creeping into her tones, "I am going to marry +Mr. Faxon the 25th of January." + +The ax had fallen! The man whom he had hated for years had won the prize +which he coveted. He could have borne it better if she had named some +stranger, but to be told that his old enemy, who, in spite of every +adverse circumstance, had gone straight to the front, distancing him in +college; who had proved himself a hero over and over; to whom he owed +the life of his young sister; against whom he had once lifted a +murderous hand, and who was now rapidly rising, both in the social and +political world. Oh! it was too much; it was crushing, maddening! + +He stood rigid as a statue for a full minute after Mollie concluded, +trying to master the tempest of jealous hate that raged within him. Then +he said in a voice that was ominous in its calmness: + +"And you love him?" + +Mollie flashed him a glance that answered him even before she spoke, for +there was a light of ineffable happiness in her eyes. + +"You do not need to ask such a question!" she replied, "you know that I +would never give my hand to any man who had not first won my deepest +affection." + +"Enough!" cried Philip, now wrought up to uncontrollable fury, "you need +say no more. So that low-born upstart has effectually cut me out; curse +him! Bah! I could cut his heart out!" + +"Stop!" commanded Mollie, facing him with an air and look that silenced +him for the moment. "If you must give expression to such ignoble +sentiments regarding one who is vastly your superior in every respect, +you at least shall not offend my ears with such language." + +She turned abruptly as she ceased, and swept down the marble walk with +the hauteur of an offended queen, and a moment later disappeared within +the mansion. + +Philip Wentworth, left to himself, paced back and forth in the +flower-bordered path with the restless step of a caged lion, while he +muttered and swore and raved like one almost on the verge of insanity, +and wholly unaware of the slender, white-clad figure which had a few +minutes previous flitted down another path and suddenly halted behind a +huge Japanese vase taller than herself, and in which there was growing a +luxuriant mass of vines, which entirely concealed her from view. + +The second time he turned the sound of a quick, elastic step caught his +ear. He peered around the corner, and instantly a lurid light began to +blaze in his eyes. The man he hated, the rival who had come between him +and the--to him--one woman in the world, was approaching him, and +evidently in search of some one. + +Philip Wentworth stood still, concealed from the other's view by the +heavy foliage beside him, and involuntarily reaching out his hand, +grasped the stem of a plant that was growing in a pot, and lifted it +from its place. + +Clifford, who was seeking Mollie, came rapidly on, rounded the corner, +and almost ran upon Philip. He pulled himself up short, and, after a +swift glance around, he observed in an easy tone, as he courteously +inclined his head to his former classmate: + +"Ah, Wentworth, pardon me! I should have moderated my movements somewhat +before turning this corner." + +He was about to pass on, when Philip hoarsely exclaimed while he faced +him: + +"Hold! What is this I hear? I am told that you are going to marry Mollie +Heatherford. Is it true?" + +Clifford drew himself up slightly before replying. + +"It is true, Mr. Wentworth; I am going to marry Miss Heatherford," he +coldly replied, but with significant emphasis. + +"Curse you!" fairly hissed Wentworth, while his grip tightened on the +stem of the plant. "So that has been your game, has it? You have +deliberately set yourself to cut me out. I told you four years ago that +she was my promised wife; we had been pledged to each other from +childhood, and heavens! do you think I am going to tamely submit to +being robbed by a low-born pauper like you? Do you imagine that I'm +going to let you marry her? Never, so help me!" + +His right hand swung out with tremendous force, lifting the flower-pot +above his head and aiming it directly at Clifford's face. + +But Faxon was too quick for him. He sprang to one side, caught the +uplifted arm with a grip that almost paralyzed it, and, wrenching the +dangerous missile--which fortunately remained intact, the plant having +become root-bound in the pot--from his grasp, calmly replaced it where +it belonged. + +"Mr. Wentworth, this is the second time that you have made a rash +attempt upon my life," he quietly observed. "I advise you never to +repeat it, and you will remember that Miss Heatherford is my promised +wife, and I shall not tolerate anything that verges upon a recurrence of +what has just taken place." + +He paused a moment, while a softer expression swept over his fine face. + +"Wentworth, what ails you?" he continued in a more friendly tone. "What +has made you so strangely antagonistic toward me all these years? I fail +to understand it. It began away back during our first term in college; +what caused it? Where is your manliness that you could cherish a grudge +for so long? Believe me, I never had the slightest personal ill-will +against you, and certainly you must have been in a very uncomfortable +frame of mind most of this time. If I have unconsciously done you any +wrong in the past, I should be very glad to be told of it." + +Again he paused, but Philip stood silent, with downcast eyes and a +sullen frown upon his brow. Clifford saw that he was incorrigible, and, +repressing a sigh of regret for a life so warped by selfishness, he +observed: + +"Possibly I am unwise in appealing to you in any such way; but I +believe the day will yet come when you will regret some of these +things." + +He turned and went swiftly back the way he had come, while Philip +watched him with a lowering brow and a look of hate in his eyes. + +Suddenly a slight rustle caused him to turn and look behind him, when an +exclamation of dismay escaped him, for, leaning against the tall vase, +and pale as the snowy dress she wore, he saw Gertrude Athol standing not +a dozen feet from him. + +"Gertrude!" the young man faltered, for he knew from her manner that she +must have overheard much of what had passed--how much he dared not +think. + +The sound of his voice acted like a shock of electricity upon her. She +stood erect, swept into the path where he was, and confronted him. + +"I have heard all," she said in a cold, quiet tone. "I had no intention +of playing the eavesdropper, however. Miss Heatherford and I were here +in the conservatory a while ago, when my father called me, but he only +wished to ask me a question or two, and then I thought that I would come +back to Miss Heatherford, and that is how I happened to be here. I came +just as you were declaring that she and she alone held your life and +your future in her hands----" and the beautiful girl's nostrils dilated +with supreme contempt as she thus repeated his words. "Therefore, +considering the relations that have existed between you and me for the +last four years, I felt that I had the right to hear you out and learn +just to what extent I had been made your dupe----" + +"Oh, Gertrude!" + +"Hush!" she commanded imperatively. "I will not listen to a word of +extenuation from you--there is none--there can be none. I will say my +say out, and that will end everything between us. I have long felt that +I might perhaps be building my hopes for the future upon shifting +sand--there have been many indications of it, but I hoped that you might +change for the better--that your good qualities would in the end +overbalance your weakness. For more than four years I have worn your +ring, believing myself pledged to you," Gertrude went on, as she calmly +began to unlace the glove on her left hand, "but to-night you have said +in my presence that for many years you have been betrothed to +another--that you have loved--worshiped that other." + +She turned the glove wrong-side out, to remove it the more quickly, +slipped the ring from her finger, and held it out to him. "Here, take +it. You and I will part here and now. And do not think that I shall eat +my heart out and die because of disappointed love--like the girl of whom +we read that summer in the mountains. I am not in the slightest danger +of such a fate, for you have this night slain every spark of regard or +respect that I ever entertained for you." + +"Gertrude, hear me----" Philip began, as he shrank away from the hand +that held the ring out to him. + +"I have already heard all I wish to hear," she spiritedly returned, and +with an inflection that made him wince. "Take it!" she reiterated as she +again offered him the ring. "Very well," as he still refused, "I will +leave it here for you to think about." + +She hung it upon a twig of the plant before him, then turning abruptly +from him, swept down and out of the conservatory with the air and step +of one who exulted in recovered freedom. + +As she disappeared he reached forth his hand and secured the ring, for +it was a valuable one, but with a shamefaced air and a muttered curse at +his--"luck." + +Fifteen minutes later, when he sought his mother, to inform her that he +"was not well, and was going home," he espied Mollie and Gertrude +standing in an alcove chatting socially together, and as calmly and +serenely as if no thought of regret in connection with him had power to +cast a shadow across their pathway. Gertrude was perhaps a trifle paler +than usual, but she was bright and animated, and he was assured that she +"never would eat her heart out for him." + +The contempt that had vibrated in her tones as she said it was still +ringing in his ears as he left the house, making him quiver from head to +foot with a sense of humiliation such as he had never experienced +before. + +When Gertrude Athol entered her own room, after her return from the +reception, she sat down and tried to calmly review the recent scene +between her discarded lover and herself, and to consider what influence +it was likely to have upon her future. + +"I believe I can truly say that I am glad to be free," she said after a +while, with a sudden proud uplifting of her head. "I have known from +almost the first of our acquaintance that Philip Wentworth is a weak +and selfish man; but he is a handsome fellow, entertaining, and well +versed in all the little courtesies of life and possessing strong +mesmeric power, and I believe that he was fond of me. I foolishly +imagined that, because of this supposed fondness, I might be able to +help him overcome his faults and arouse within him an ambition to +cultivate the best there is in him; but I know him now for a treacherous +villain--for a coward, and almost a murderer. Oh, yes; I am glad that I +am free, and I shall not grieve for him; though, of course, any woman +would naturally be keenly stung to discover that she has only been made +a tool of--simply held in reserve in the event of the failure of other +plans!" + +Her cheeks grew crimson, and her eyes flashed indignantly at the +thought, while two tears fell upon her jeweled hands. She flung them off +with an impatient gesture. + +"They are not for him!" she cried scornfully; "they fell only for my own +wounded pride; and they are the last I shall ever shed for that. The +hurt is not so very deep, thank Heaven! and will soon heal. So he has +been in love with Mollie Heatherford 'all his life?' Well, she certainly +is one of the dearest and loveliest girls I have ever met, and she has +shown good judgment in her choice of a husband, for Clifford Faxon is +worth a dozen men like Philip Wentworth." + +A little later, after her acquaintance with Mollie had ripened into a +strong and enduring friendship--when she learned how Philip had played +fast and loose with her, according to the changes in her +circumstances--her contempt merged into positive repulsion for the young +man; and before the season was over her acquaintance with a son of the +British ambassador, whom she met that evening for the first time, +developed into a strong mutual attachment which bade fair to result in +an early marriage. + +Upon their return from the reception, Clifford lingered a while with +Mollie before proceeding to his lodgings, and it was, therefore, quite +late when he reached home. He was somewhat surprised to find a carriage +standing before the house where Squire Talford boarded, while the +coachman was assisting his former employer up to the door, the man +groaning at every step. + +"Here, sir!" called the cabman, as he espied Clifford, "will you lend a +hand here, please? The gentleman has sprained his ankle, and he is more +than I can manage." + +"Certainly," Clifford cheerfully responded, as he sprang forward with +alacrity to render what assistance he could. + +"Here is his latch-key, sir," the driver continued, passing it to the +young man, "If you'll open the door, we'll make an armchair and carry +him up to his room, as easy as snapping your thumb and finger." + +Clifford did as he was requested, and then the two clasped hands, making +the squire sit upon them, with an arm around the neck of each of his +helpers, and in this way he was borne up two flights of stairs and +deposited upon a chair in his own room, which was little better than a +closet at the back of a hall. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +SQUIRE TALFORD'S ACCIDENT. + + +It was evident that the man was suffering intensely; but resolutely +repressing, as far as he was able, outward manifestations of the fact, +he turned to the cabman and briefly inquired: + +"What's to pay for this?" + +The man named his price, and, with a grunt of disapprobation, the squire +drew forth his wallet--the same that Mollie had restored to him only a +few hours previous--and paid the amount, whereupon the driver hurried +away to his team below. + +Squire Talford had not taken the slightest notice of Clifford, but the +young man, although he found himself in an awkward position, felt that +he had a duty to perform, and courteously inquired if he should go for a +surgeon to attend to the injured limb. + +"No," was the gruff response, "the leg has already been attended to at +the drug-store, where I made the mis-step." + +Cliff glanced down and observed for the first time that his boot had +been removed and the ankle bandaged. + +"But you will have to get to bed, sir; let me assist you," he remarked. + +"No--I can do well enough by myself--I don't want any help," the squire +returned ungraciously. + +Cliff flushed and stood irresolute for a moment. Then a look of +determination flashed into his eyes, and he deliberately unbuttoned and +removed his overcoat. + +"Excuse me, Squire Talford, but you do need help," he calmly observed. +"I know that you are not at all fond of me; that my presence is +disagreeable to you; but suppose, for this once, you ignore those facts +and accept the aid you require. You cannot stir from your chair without +great suffering if I leave you, and will probably have to sit in it all +night, unless you call some one in the house, and everybody appears to +be in bed. Here, let me have your hat," and without more ado he removed +it from the man's head and placed it on a table. + +"Now the coat," he added. "I am sure I can help you undress without +disturbing you very much, and when I get you comfortably settled in bed +I will leave you." + +Squire Talford was beginning to realize his helplessness, and submitted +to the disrobing without further objection, although not with the best +grace in the world, and he never once met Clifford's eyes during the +operation. + +"Now," said the young man, when that task was over, "the next move will +be to try to get you into bed without hurting this crippled foot if +possible. I will move your chair close beside it, then I think I can +easily lift you on." + +He swung the chair around, while he was speaking, and, it being a +rocker without arms, it was not difficult to place it just where he +wanted it, when, almost before he had time to dread the change, the +squire found himself reclining in a comparatively comfortable position, +although the pain in his ankle seemed unbearable. + +"Is there anything else I can do for you?" Clifford inquired, with a +great pity in his heart for the lonely man, as he saw how deathly white +he was and noted the lines of pain about his mouth. + +"I don't think of anything," said the squire, in a more subdued tone +than he had yet used. + +Clifford hung his clothing in the closet, and straightened things +generally in the room, then found his way to the bath-room, where he +procured a glass of water, which he placed on a chair beside the +patient, in case he should be thirsty during the night. + +"I am going to my room now, Squire Talford," he said when these +arrangements were completed, "but if you should need me before morning +and can arouse any one, you can send for me, and I will gladly come to +you. I will drop in anyway after breakfast, to see how you are." + +The man nodded, but did not unclose his eyes, and Clifford, after +turning the gas low, went quietly out, taking care to close the door +softly after him. + +The next morning on inquiring at the door regarding the squire's +condition before going to his business, he was told by the landlady that +he had slept but little, and was suffering very much, both from the +sprain and a high fever, for he had evidently taken a severe cold. + +Clifford went up to his room and tried to persuade him to have medical +advice, but the man curtly refused to do so; and after doing what little +he could for his comfort, he was obliged to leave him to himself. + +He found him even worse on his return at night, and he spent most of the +evening with him, bathing the injured ankle, rubbing it thoroughly with +a liniment which he had procured of a druggist, and afterward +rebandaging it as deftly as if he were accustomed to such duties. He +also bathed the man's fevered face and hands, and he seemed much +refreshed afterward. + +The squire did not submit to these operations with a very good grace at +first, but Clifford had assumed a masterful air, and went straight ahead +as if he had a perfect right to do so, and was so gentle and handy that +before he was through he could see that the squire's antagonism to his +presence was merging into a sort of helpless reliance upon him. + +He had brought some lemons with him, and with these he made a small +pitcher of lemonade, some of which the sufferer drank with thirsty +relish, the remainder being left where he could easily reach it. +Clifford felt very reluctant to leave him alone, for he saw that he was +very ill; but the squire bade him go, saying that he was all right, and +he felt obliged to obey him. + +He did not feel wearied or like sleeping after reaching his own room, +and, having a new book, he read until very late, retiring just as the +clock in a room below struck the half-hour after twelve. + +He fell asleep almost immediately; but suddenly--it seemed as if he +could hardly have lost himself--he was aroused by hearing the rapid +"chug-chug" of a steam fire-engine close by and a perfect babel of +voices in the street below him. + +He sprang from his bed and rushed to a window, and was appalled to see +smoke and flame issuing from both the door and windows of the adjoining +house, which he had left only a few hours previous. His first thought +was for Squire Talford, who was on the third floor, and who, in his +crippled condition, would find it very difficult to get out of the +burning building. + +He hurriedly threw on some clothing; then dashed down-stairs and out of +doors. The entire lower floor of the burning house was in flames. The +fire had started in the basement, and had gained great headway before it +was discovered. + +The stairway leading to the second story was also on fire, and thus +rendered impassable, and the family and servants were being taken out of +the second-floor windows by the firemen when Clifford appeared upon the +scene. + +"Where is Squire Talford?" he demanded of the landlady, as soon as he +could find her. + +"Merciful heavens, sir! I'm sure I don't know. He must be up-stairs in +his room. With so many other things on my mind I haven't thought of him +till this minute!" cried the almost distracted woman, wringing her +hands in terror. + +Clifford turned suddenly white with a terrible fear. One sweeping glance +aloft told him that the man would shortly be suffocated by smoke, even +if the flames had not already reached him. He knew that he could not put +his injured foot to the floor; that he was almost as helpless as an +infant; and unless he had immediate assistance the chances in his favor +were very small indeed. + +It was too late to try to save him by getting him out of the windows on +the front of the house, for some of the firemen had been burned while +making their last trip down the ladder with their burdens, and the +flames were now pouring out of them. + +Without saying a word to any one, he dashed back into his own house, +bounded up three flights of stairs, and made his way out upon the roof, +through a skylight, and ran across to the one on the roof of the fated +building. + +It was fastened; but with one blow of his heel he smashed a pane of +glass, and reaching inside, unhooked it, throwing it open with a force +that nearly tore it from its hinges. The next moment he was making his +way down the stairs; but the whole place was black with smoke so dense +that he could scarcely see or breathe. + +He sprang into the squire's room, to find the man lying crossway of the +bed, his face downward, panting for breath and moaning piteously. He had +tried to get up to escape, wrenched his ankle, and fallen back again +half-fainting from the pain, from fear, and a horrible sense of his own +helplessness. + +"Courage, Squire Talford!" cried Clifford, in forceful tones. "I will +have you out of this very shortly. Now think quick--have you any papers +and valuables that you want to take with you?" + +"Yes--a package of documents in my trunk--my watch and wallet are under +my pillow," the man feebly responded, though he had lifted his head +eagerly the instant he caught the sound of the familiar, encouraging +voice. + +Clifford had the wallet and watch in his pocket almost before he ceased +speaking; then he flew to the trunk--fortunately it was not +locked--found the papers, and thrust them into his pocket. The next +moment he was bending over the squire. + +"Here, let me help you up," he said; "you must not mind if you are hurt +a little--put your arms around my neck and give yourself up to me, and I +will save you." + +The man rolled over, and with Clifford's help stood upon his well foot, +though a groan burst from him in making the effort. He clasped his hands +about the young man's neck, as he was bidden, and Clifford lifted him in +his arms, bore him from the room, through the volume of smoke that was +now rolling up through the aperture above, up the stairs to the roof, +and across it to the next house. + +Here he deposited his burden upon the upper step of the flight of stairs +leading below, while the fresh, frosty air had done much toward +reviving the almost suffocated man. + +"Now," said Clifford, "if you can manage to get inside out of the cold +by yourself, I will go back and see if I can save some of your clothing. +Can you?" + +"Yes, I will try; but don't run any risk for the clothes, Cliff," the +squire replied as he began to ease himself down the stairs; for he was +shivering with cold and excitement. + +In spite of the gravity of the situation, a smile flashed over +Clifford's face as he noted the change in the man's tone when he +pronounced his name, and marked the consideration expressed for him. He +darted back and down into the room which he had only just left, although +now the flames smote him as he went, for they were rolling up from below +with devouring force. + +He snatched a sheet from the bed, and, without making a false movement +or step, piled upon it everything belonging to the squire that he could +lay his hands on, emptying both trunk and closet; then gathering it up +by the four corners, he knotted them, swung the pack over his head, and +a moment later was again on the roof of the house, and this time getting +a thorough drenching from the stream of water which had been directed to +the column of smoke that was pouring out of the skylight. + +He had not been any too expeditious, for almost at the same instant +there came a terrible crash, which told of falling floors and stairways +within the burning building. Dropping his pack through the roof of his +own dwelling, he quickly followed it, to find the squire shivering in +the hall below. + +He assisted him down the next flight to the room he occupied, which was +a large square apartment in the front of the house, and made him get +into his own bed. + +The man was a little inclined to rebel against this arrangement, for he +seemed to think that they were still in danger from the fire; but Cliff +assured him that the department were getting the flames under control, +and they were in no danger, as the walls between the houses were +fireproof. + +As soon as he had made him comfortable, he went up-stairs again to bring +down the clothing he had saved, and arranged it neatly in his closet and +an empty trunk of his own; after which he had a bath and put on dry +garments. + +Although the engines continued to play for more than an hour after this, +the worst was over, no lives had been lost, although much personal +property was destroyed, and the excitement soon subsided. + +But when morning broke Squire Talford was raving in the delirium of +fever. Clifford felt it his duty to act upon his own responsibility, and +immediately called a physician, who at once declared that the man must +either go to a hospital, or have a trained nurse where he was, for he +was very sick, and liable to have a tedious illness. Knowing the +squire's horror of incurring heavy expenses, Clifford did not quite like +to send him to a hospital, while the cost of a trained nurse in the +house, with her board to be paid, would very soon amount to an appalling +sum. + +The man was in no condition to plan for himself, and so, after thinking +the matter over seriously, and consulting with his landlady, who was a +kind-hearted, sensible woman, Clifford decided to send for Maria +Kimberly to come and take care of her master. + +Mrs. Woodruff, the owner of the house, had a couple of empty rooms which +she was very glad to rent--one on the same floor and another above--and +Clifford said he would take one and Maria could have the other. + +So, about the middle of the forenoon, while Mrs. Kimberly was ironing +the last parlor curtain--which, after it was hung, would complete her +house-cleaning for that season--a messenger-boy appeared at the door +with a telegram for her. + +It was Cliff's message, briefly telling of the squire's illness, and +bidding her come to nurse him. She was to take the earliest possible +train for New York, wire Clifford when she reached that city what hour +she would leave for Washington, and he would meet her upon her arrival. + +It was the first telegram that the woman had ever received in her life, +and it naturally gave her quite a shock, but she was equal to the +emergency, and after reading the message through twice, her mind began +to act vigorously. + +"Goodness gracious me!" she ejaculated as she drew a long breath. "It's +come like a clap of thunder! But of course I've got to go. Yes, and--I'm +sure it's another dispensation of Providence--I shall take that box +belonging to Cliff along with me." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +MARIA SPEAKS HER MIND. + + +After Maria had settled the question of duty, she went very +systematically to work to prepare for her journey. She calmly finished +ironing her curtain, hung it nicely in its place, and then swept a +satisfied look around the neatly arranged and immaculate room before +closing and locking the door to keep out all intruders during her +absence. + +Then she rolled up her sleeves, and for the next three hours baked and +boiled and fried until her pantry was well stocked with substantial and +toothsome provisions for the hired man and chore-boy. + +"This'll last you nigh onto two weeks, with what you can cook for +yourselves," she said to Pat, as she showed him the result of her +labors. "There's plenty of salt pork in the barrel that you can fry when +you want a change from corned beef and ham, and there's all kinds of +veg'tables in the cellar. I guess you can manage some way till I come +back, and if you get out of bread you can ask Miss Barnes to bake you +some, or you can buy it of the baker." + +Her cooking out of the way and everything about the house left in the +most tidy manner imaginable, Maria packed her small trunk, arrayed +herself in a good, serviceable gown for traveling, and was driven into +New Haven in ample time to catch her train. + +She made her connections in New York without any difficulty, after +having wired Clifford what hour she expected to arrive in Washington the +following morning. He was at the station to meet her when the train +rolled into it, and welcomed her most cordially; indeed, a great burden +rolled from his heart the moment he caught sight of her strong, honest +face, for he felt that she was equal to the responsibilities awaiting +her. + +To her inquiries regarding the squire's condition, he replied that he +was pretty sick and had been delirious all night, but had fallen asleep +a few moments before he left him to come to her. + +"Who's been taking care of him?" Maria questioned. + +"Well, he has not needed much care until yesterday and last night, and +I've done what I could," Clifford modestly returned. + +Then he told her about his accident and of his narrow escape from being +burned to death, although he made as light as possible of his own agency +in these matters; but Maria learned all about it later, when she had +made the acquaintance of the landlady, who could not say enough in +praise of him. + +For three weeks Squire Talford was a very sick man, and even Maria found +her powers of endurance taxed to the utmost, in spite of the aid of +Clifford, who insisted upon sharing her vigils at night and doing all +that he could besides out of business hours. He pulled through, however, +though it was a hard pull; yet when he began to convalesce he mended +very rapidly. + +Five weeks after Maria's arrival he was able to be up and dressed; his +appetite had returned, and he said he felt as if he had "been made over +new." + +One morning, after she had served him a nice breakfast and put his room +to rights, Mrs. Kimberly seated herself directly opposite her patient, +with a very determined look on her honest face. + +"Well, what is it, Maria?" the squire questioned, for he always knew +that matters of importance weighed heavily on her mind when she looked +like that. + +"I've got something to tell you," she replied, and coming directly to +the point. + +"I thought so. What is it? Go ahead." + +"Waal, I expect you won't like it very well, but it's got to be told," +the woman observed, and flushing slightly. "When I was cleanin' the +attic, after you left, I took that little hair trunk o' your'n up to +move it, dropped it, and smashed the lid off." + +The squire started and shot a quick look at her at this. + +"Of course, everything tumbled out," she pursued, "and I had to pick 'em +up and put 'em back. I suppose I don't need to tell you that I found +among the mess a box belonging to Cliff." + +She glanced up as she concluded, to find that her companion had lost +some of his recently recovered color during her recital. + +There was a moment of awkward silence, then the man curtly remarked: + +"Well?" + +"Waal, the box had come apart in the smash, and I found a lot of letters +directed to Cliff's mother and--to his father. I found, too, the papers +that told about Mis' Faxon's marriage and Cliff's christening." + +"Well?" questioned the squire again as she paused, but with white lips. + +"Of course, I didn't read the letters. I thought 'twas none o' my +business what was in 'em, but when I saw them certificates I made up my +mind that a burnin' wrong had been done that boy--a wrong that must be +righted, squire; so, when I got his message to come to take care o' you, +I brought that box along with me." + +"You did!" exclaimed Squire Talford, in a startled tone. "What have you +done with it--have you given it to Cliff?" + +"No, sir! You don't ketch Maria Kimberly doin' anything underhanded if +she knows it," responded the woman, with considerable spirit. "As long +as I found the things in your trunk, I made up my mind I'd tell you +about it first and see what you'd do before I went any farther." + +"That shows your good sense and honesty, Maria," said the squire +appreciatively. "I suppose, however, you think the boy ought to have the +papers," he added thoughtfully. + +"Of course I do, and that ain't all he oughter have, either," his +companion retorted, with stout-hearted frankness. + +"What do you mean?" demanded the squire, with well-assumed surprise. + +Maria sniffed significantly and tossed her head. + +"I suppose you imagine I don't know who Cliff's father was," she said, +with a wise smile. "I suppose you think I never heard that story about +Belle Abbot, who, after she was engaged to one man, fell in love with +another and jilted the first one. But I never suspected that the man she +married was anything to you--I never heard that part of it--until just +afore I came to Washington. I was dustin' the books in that old +secretary in your bedroom, and came across that old Bible your mother +used to like because the type was so clear. I'd seen it a hundred times, +but never took any notice of the family record till that day, when I +found the same name, among a lot of others, that I saw on Belle Abbot's +marriage-certificate. + +"You could have knocked me over with a feather, for I always believed +Cliff's mother married a man by the name o' Faxon--and she did, too, for +that was one of the names. I never could understand afore why you hated +the boy so; but now I see through it. You knew he didn't know anything +about his father; you pretended to be a friend to Mis' Faxon after she +came back from the West, influenced her to bind the boy to you when she +was dyin', and managed, some way, to get hold o' them papers and have +kep' 'em hid from him ever since, for you didn't mean he should ever +have his rights if you could help it." + +"Don't you think you are getting pretty sharp and familiar in your talk, +Maria?" the squire demanded shortly, as she paused for breath, but the +hand that was fingering an envelope trembled visibly. + +"Maybe," she coolly retorted. "I'd made up my mind that the right time +had come for some 'sharp and familiar' talk to you, and I wasn't going +to shirk my duty. I've lived with you, Squire Talford, nigh on to +eighteen years, and I've tried to do my best for you and your'n all that +time--'specially since Mis' Talford died, for I felt I owed her a lot +for the pains she took to train me; then, of course, I wanted to feel +that I earned the money you was payin' me, though I've never had a rise +in my wages. So my conscience is clear on that score, and I don't think +I've neglected anything except to speak my mind, and that I'm goin' to +make up for now, if I never set foot in the old place again. + +"I've had hard work to hold my tongue in the past when you was abusin' +Cliff as you used to, and you'd no cause to hate him as you seemed to, +either. He never wronged you; he wasn't to blame for comin' into the +world the son o' the other man instead o' your'n. A better, brighter boy +never drew breath; he served you faithful as the day was long and you +treated him shameful--worse'n a slave. I used to wonder how you could +sleep nights after some o' those awful thrashin's you gave him. I never +felt meaner in my life for anybody than I did for you when you let him +go off to college without even a word o' kindness and encouragement, and +if I knew then what I know now he'd never have gone away as empty-handed +as he did." + +"You are spreading it on pretty thick, Maria, and I think it is about +time you stopped," the squire here interposed, and with a face that was +now crimson with mingled anger and shame. + +"Yes, I s'pose I am spreadin' it on thick," she composedly admitted, +"and I tell you I'm downright glad of the chance for once. I reckon I am +about through, though, only I'd like to ask what you propose to do for +Cliff." + +"I'm not sure that I propose to do anything," was the sullen reply. + +"You don't," cried Maria, bridling again, "Well, then, I do. I propose +to see that that young man gets his rights. I'm far from bein' a rich +woman, but I've saved up a plump little sum out o' my wages and Cliff +shall have every dollar of it to help him fight for his share of the +fortune that his grandmother left, and if you was clothed and in your +right mind you'd want him to have the rest of it when you're done with +it. + +"What are you thinking of, Squire Talford," she went on, glowing with +indignation, "to nurse, at your time o' life, such a spite against such +a splendid fellow like Clifford Faxon--a fellow that any man might be +proud to own as a son? Haven't you any gratitude for what he's done for +you? You'd have been burned to a cinder and lyin' under them brick walls +outside, but for him; he did what precious few men would have done that +night o' the fire, to save a man he knew hated him and had abused him as +you did when he was a boy. + +"And that ain't all, neither; he gave up this nice room to you and has +been sleepin' in a back room that's little better'n a closet, at the end +o' the hall, so's he could be handy to spell me when I had to rest. And +he's set up watchin' with you, night after night, just as faithful 's if +you was his own father. I could never have done it alone; for, squire, +you came mighty nigh slippin' over Jordan some o' them nights--mighty +nigh. Man alive! haven't you got any heart? What are you made of, +anyway? Waal," drawing a long breath and looking a trifle frightened as +she began to realize that she had been holding forth with more vigor +than discretion, "I guess I've said enough for now, and I'll leave you +to think it over. I've got that box in my trunk, and if you don't see +fit to do the square thing by Cliff I shall give it to him, tell him all +I know and then you an' I'll settle our accounts." + +The woman arose as she concluded and walked quietly from the room, +leaving the squire to meditate, in no enviable frame of mind, upon a +situation which he had never dreamed would overtake him. + +Maria did not go near him again until luncheon-time, when she carried +him a tray of daintily prepared viands that would have tempted an +epicure. + +She watched him out of the corners of her eyes while she arranged his +table, and the thoughtful expression on his face appeared to afford her +an immense amount of satisfaction, for two or three times, when she +passed behind his chair, she nodded her head with a gratified air which +spoke volumes. + +The man did not refer to the conversation of the morning, but there was +that in his manner and in the tones of his voice whenever he addressed +her, which assured her that he did not think any the less of her for the +stand she had taken. + +She kept out of his way during most of the afternoon, also, giving as a +reason that she was going to be busy in the laundry, but at night, as at +noon, his dinner was prepared with the greatest care and nicety. + +"You are a good cook, Maria," he remarked as she brought him a second cup +of coffee, the aroma of which pervaded the whole room, "and," he added +gravely, "you have proved yourself to be a tip-top nurse." + +"Thank you, sir," Maria respectfully responded and flushing with +pleasure at the unusual praise; "I had a good woman to train me--Mis' +Talford made me what I am, and I'm not backward to give her the credit +of it; she was a prime housekeeper and one o' the salt o' the earth." + +Whether it was this reference to his wife, or whether some other matters +were pressing heavily upon him, Maria had no means of knowing, but she +was sure she heard him sigh and saw his lips contract +spasmodically--signs of emotion which were very rare with him. + +He finished his dinner in silence, but as she was about to leave the +room with his tray he suddenly inquired: + +"Maria, has Cliff come in yet?" + +"Yes, sir; I met him in the hall as I was bringing up that last cup of +coffee." + +"Well, will you go to his door and ask him if he can spare me an hour +this evening? Say that it is a matter of importance." + +"All right, sir; I'll tell him," Maria responded, but with a sudden +choking in her throat which rendered her utterance somewhat indistinct. + +"And, Maria----" + +"Yes, sir." + +She paused with her hand upon the handle of the door, but did not look +around. + +"When I ring you may bring me that box, of which you told me to-day." + +"Yes, sir." + +It was all she could say; then she passed out of the room, shutting the +door softly behind her, but paused in the hall to wipe away the tears +that were raining over her cheeks. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +THE SQUIRE'S STORY. + + +Maria hurried away to the basement with her tray, then, all unmindful of +the fact that as yet her own fast had not been broken, sought Cliff, who +was in the library, his landlady having considerately offered him the +freedom of the house while he was excluded from his own room. + +"Is is anything particular, Maria?" the young man inquired when she had +delivered her message, while he glanced at his watch, for he had an +engagement with Mollie for nine o'clock. + +"Yes, 'tis," the woman replied with an emphatic nod of her head; "it's +very particular, and I'd advise you to 'tend to it now, while the +squire's in the right mood." + +Cliff regarded her curiously a moment; but, as she did not seem inclined +to say more, he observed: + +"Very well, I will go to him at once," and, following her from the room, +he mounted the stairs and was soon knocking for admission at the door of +the room above. + +"Good evening, Squire Talford, how do you find yourself to-night?" he +inquired pleasantly upon entering at the man's bidding. + +"I'm getting on very well," was the somewhat laconic reply. + +"Maria told me that you wished to see me. What can I do for you?" +Clifford asked, but instinctively scenting something unusual in the +atmosphere. + +"Sit down," briefly commanded the squire and pointing at a chair +opposite him. Clifford obeyed, smiling indulgently at the peremptory +tone. + +"I've got a story to tell you," began the squire plunging at once into +the disagreeable task before him, "and I expect it may surprise you a +bit in some ways. My father died when I was a baby. He was a rich man, +owning the place which has always been my home, besides considerable +other property. He made a will before he died giving everything he +possessed to my mother, and leaving her free to do with it just what she +chose. Two years afterward she married a second time--a man with no +means, a bookworm and would-be literary man, who sometimes earned a +little by his pen, though for the most part he was a failure from a +pecuniary point of view. + +"Less than a year later there came another boy into the family--my +half-brother--and at the end of another twelve months my mother was +again a widow. From that time she lived only to rear and educate her +children, who grew up together, nominally as brothers, but secretly +antagonistic to each other from their earliest youth. From my boyhood I +was thrifty and ambitious; all my interest and my pride were centered in +my home, and I was always planning and working to improve it and make it +yield a handsome income. My brother, on the contrary, would not work; +he was fond of books, like his father, and, more than all, of a +rollicking good time. + +"He had no interest in the farm or in anything that pertained to the +ways and means of living, and, as he grew toward manhood, he became wild +and unmanageable, giving our mother many a heartache because of his +reckless habits and extravagance. He always managed to get the lion's +share of everything, and, although I know my mother did not mean to be +unfair to me, she favored him in many ways, and denied herself almost +every luxury to keep his pockets well filled. We both went to college, +but when I was through I settled down to manage the estate and make the +most out of it and what other property my mother owned. When Bill +finished his education he insisted that he must have a trip to Europe. +He had his way, and spent a pile of money--more than he had any right +to--while I trudged on at home and bore all the burdens. About six +months after he went away I became attracted to a--a handsome girl in +New Haven. Her name was Isabelle Abbot." + +"My mother!" exclaimed Cliff with a sudden start and thrill of dismay, +while he grew first crimson, then white. + +"Yes, your mother," sharply repeated the squire, "and, as I said, she +lived in New Haven, her father doing a good business there in gents' +furnishing goods. She returned--or appeared to return--my regard for +her, and we shortly became engaged and planned to be married the next +fall, as soon as the harvesting was over. In June my brother returned +from Europe--the same rollicking, pleasure-loving, indolent fellow he +had always been. My mother urged him to settle down to some business or +profession, but he kept putting her off, telling her that when he found +something that suited him he'd dip in, as he expressed it; but he didn't +find what he wanted and continued to live his lazy life, but spending +money just as freely as ever. It was a bitter day for me when I +introduced him to the girl I expected to marry. He expressed a great +deal of admiration for her, called me a 'lucky dog' and said he should +'be very fond of his pretty sister-in-law.'" + +The bitterness in Squire Talford's tones as he repeated these sayings of +his brother plainly betrayed that his heart was still very sore from +these painful experiences of the past. + +"Well, it is the old story of treachery, and confidence betrayed," he +resumed after a short pause. "He began to visit Belle on the sly, and +wormed himself into her affections, and I, while I could see that she +was not quite the same as she was before he came home, never dreamed of +what was going on between them, until one day--just a month before the +day set for our wedding--they both disappeared, leaving only this to +tell what had occurred." + +The squire paused again and drew from the inner pocket of his +dressing-gown a small, square leather case, which he passed over to +Clifford. + +The young man took it with fingers that were trembling visibly, opened +it and drew forth a soiled and yellow envelope addressed to Mr. Alfred +H. Talford and in a hand which he instantly recognized to be his +mother's. + +Slipping the missive from the envelope, he unfolded it and read the +following brief letter: + + + "ALFRED: I know that you can never forgive me the wrong I am doing + you, but, too late, I have learned that I love another and not you. + When you receive this I shall be the wife of that other--you well + know who. I wish I could have saved you this blow, so near the day + that was set for our wedding; but I should have doubly wronged you + had I remained and fulfilled my pledge to you, with my heart + irrevocably elsewhere. Forget and forgive if you can. T.A." + + +Clifford was very pale as he perused these lines; which had crushed all +the brightest hopes of the man before him and embittered and warped his +whole life. + +He sighed, and a feeling of sympathy thrilled his heart as he returned +the epistle to its worn, leathern receptable and handed it back to his +companion, while he told himself that there must be depths to the man's +nature that he had never suspected, or he would not have preserved and +carried about with him for so many years this relic of an old-time love. + +The squire hesitated before taking it, glancing irresolutely from it to +Clifford, as if half-ashamed of the tenacity with which he had clung to +it, and was inclined to repudiate any further interests in it, but he +finally put forth his hand to receive it and returned it to the pocket +from which he had taken it. + +"Then, my mother married your half-brother, Squire Talford," Clifford +gravely observed, after a thoughtful pause, "and that makes you--" + +"Yes, it makes me your uncle, or half-uncle, though perhaps the least +said about the relationship the better," was the somewhat bitter reply. +Then he resumed with pale, pain-drawn lips, which betrayed that it was +no easy matter for him to lay bare these secrets of his heart; "You can, +perhaps, imagine something of what that letter meant to me--it changed +in one moment of time my whole life; it made a devil of me, and all the +affection which I had previously entertained for those who had so +wronged me turned to rankest hatred, and I vowed that I would some day +make them conscious of the fact; that I would spare neither of them if +the time ever came when I could set my heel upon them. + +"That time came, at least for one, sooner than I expected. Meantime, I +married a thrifty, sensible girl who made me a good wife. I'd got to +have somebody to keep house for me and look out for things generally, +for my mother was giving out; that last act of Bill's broke her heart as +well as turned mine to stone. But she--my wife--didn't live so very +long. I expect she found life rather disappointing, for she never seemed +very chipper after the first month or two. So, when she died, I +concluded I was better off alone, and, as Maria had been thoroughly +trained in the ways of the house and farm, I concluded I'd fight it out +by myself. But, to go back a little," he continued, his voice suddenly +hardening again, a little note of regret having crept into it while he +was speaking of his mother and his dead wife. "Mr. Abbot, Belle's +father, was all broken up over her elopement; he had a long sickness, +during which his business went to rack and ruin, and when he finally got +out again he settled up the best he could and bought that little place +where you spent the first thirteen years of your life, paying down what +he could and giving a mortgage for the rest. I bought up that mortgage +just as soon as I got wind of it, and that was the first grip I got +toward paying off old scores. He and his wife lived there very quietly +for a couple of years; then Mrs. Abbot died. Her husband struggled on +alone for ten or eleven months longer, and then he gave up the battle. + +"He made his will only a few weeks previous, leaving his interest in his +house to his daughter, if she ever came back, and made me administrator +of the estate--that was another grip for me. You see, I held the +mortgage, and as I'd never let on about my state of mind regarding that +old disappointment, he naturally thought I'd be the best one to manage +the business, if I could ever get trace of his daughter. Ha!" + +Clifford moved uneasily in his chair, for the vindictiveness in his +companion's voice rasped almost beyond endurance. The squire observed +it, and a wintry smile flitted over his face. + +"That strikes you as rather vicious, doesn't it?" he said. "But I told +you that that wrong made a devil of me. Well, Mr. Abbot hadn't been gone +two months when his daughter came home, bringing her four-weeks'-old +baby--you--with her." + +"But, my father--where was he?" questioned Clifford in an eager tone. + +"That was more than any one could tell; he had deserted his wife nearly +a year previous, and she never saw or heard from him afterward. Here is +the letter he wrote her, informing her of his intention. I found it +among her papers after she died, and, as it struck me as being something +rather unique, I have kept it as a curiosity and with the thought that +it might prove useful to me at some time or other. It may, perhaps, +serve to give you an inkling regarding his character." + +He lifted a letter from the table beside him and handed it to Clifford +with a grim smile on his face. + +This is what the young man read; + + + "I'm off. There is no use in longer trying to conceal the fact that + I am tired of the continual grind of the last two years. It was a + great mistake that we ever married, and I may as well confess what + you have already surmised, that I never really loved you. Why did I + marry you, then? Well, you know that I never could endure to be + balked in anything, and as I had made up my mind to cut a certain + person out, I was bound to carry my point. You know who I mean, and + that he and I were always at cross-purposes. The best thing you can + do will be to go back to your own people--tell whatever story you + choose about me. I shall never take the trouble to refute it, + neither will I ever annoy you in any way. Get a divorce if you want + one. I will not oppose it; as I said before, I am tired of the + infernal grind and bound to get out of it. I'll go my way, and you + may go yours; but don't attempt to find or follow me, for I won't + be hampered by any responsibilities in the future." + + +"Wretch!" he muttered between his tightly locked teeth. "And have you +never heard anything of him since?" + +"Wait; let me tell my story in my own way and you will know all there is +to know when I am through," the squire replied, and then resumed: "I +told you that Belle Abbott came home with her baby, to find her father +and mother both gone and with no resources for herself except the +interest in the house where her parents had died. But she was thankful +for even a roof to cover her, and, being a woman of considerable energy +and strength of character, she began to look about for something to do +to support herself and her child, and--to pay the interest on the +mortgage, which, even then, was overdue." + +Again Clifford moved restlessly, for the man's malice irritated him +excessively, for he began to realize now, as he never had before, +something of what his mother's wrongs and sufferings had been, and how +this vindictive man had oppressed her to gratify a mean revenge. + +"You think I was a 'wretch,' too, no doubt," said the squire. "I don't +deny it; but you know the old saying that 'even a worm will turn when +trod upon,' and my heart had been trampled to adamant and I had sworn +that I would have my pay for it. Your mother never went by her husband's +surname after she came back--she called herself Mrs. Faxon, for she did +not want you to know anything about the troubles of her life until you +were old enough to comprehend them clearly. That was why she would +never talk with you about your father. She had a first-rate education, +having stood at the head of her class when she graduated from the Normal +School in New Haven, and so she decided to open a private school in her +own house and try to get her living that way. She managed to just about +cover her expenses, except that she couldn't meet the interest on that +mortgage, during the last few years, and so the place came into my +hands, as you know, when she died. I didn't press her for the money, and +I didn't show my hoofs to her very much. I--well, I had my reasons for +it, as you will see." The man faltered and changed color here a trifle. + +"So," he went on, bracing himself after a moment, "she naturally +believed that I had wiped out old scores; but I hadn't. I simply wanted +to work out certain plans which I had in view for you, and when I +proposed that she should bind you to me for a term of years she fell +into the trap without a suspicion, believing that I would look out for +your future interests, and, if at any time your father's death could be +proved, you would come in for a certain share of the property. But that +was the very thing that I was determined should never happen, and so, +when, the night before she died, she sent for me and gave me a box of +letters and other papers explaining your parentage to keep for you until +your time was out----" + +"What!" cried Clifford, flushing crimson with sudden indignation, "and +you never gave them to me! Why have you done this--this wicked, inhuman +thing--why have you kept them from me?" + +"Because of that old devil in me, I suppose," was the dogged response. +"The hatred which I had been nursing against your father and mother for +so many years seemed to concentrate upon you. I never meant you should +know who your father was, nor your relationship to me, nor that you +should get a penny of your grandmother's property, if I could help it." + +"Did my grandmother make a will?" Clifford briefly inquired. + +"No, there was no will; but as nothing was ever heard of my brother, and +as I had managed everything for years, the property has all remained in +my hands," the squire replied. + +"Why have you told me all this now--why have you changed your mind and +revealed these secrets?" Clifford demanded as he leaned forward and +gazed steadily into his companion's face. Something about him seemed to +fascinate the man, for he regarded him with a peculiar, searching look +for a full minute. + +"Your eyes are very like your mother's," he musingly observed. "She had +the most beautiful eyes I ever saw, and your features are something like +hers. I used to think you looked like your father, but you have changed +during the last few years, and you make me think of her to-night. +Oh!"--with a sudden start and giving himself a rough shake--"why have I +told you this story now? Well, for one reason, I was compelled to do so. +I thought that box of papers would never see the light again--I meant to +have burned it long ago, but kept putting it off--but fate has taken the +matter entirely out of my hands. I had it safely locked away in an old +trunk, with a lot of other papers, but while Maria was cleaning house, +after I came to Washington, the trunk got a fall, was smashed, and she +found it. She brought it along with her, and this morning she informed +me that I must relate the facts of your history to you or she should +take the matter into her own hands. Of course, I preferred to face the +inevitable," he concluded stoically. + +"What are the papers in the box?" queried Clifford. + +"Some old love-letters that passed between your father and mother while +they were fooling me to the top of their bent, the certificate of their +marriage, and another of your baptism, with some other things of minor +importance." + +"Oh! then there is proof that my mother was legally married?" said +Clifford eagerly. + +"Yes, they were married, straight enough; though it wouldn't have +surprised me at all if my scapegrace of a brother had made a fool of +her. I never knew him to consult his conscience much where his own +pleasure was concerned," said the squire dryly. + +"I once inferred from something you said that there was some doubt about +it," said Clifford flushing. + +"Well, I was pretty mad at you that night, and I didn't care much what I +said." + +"You have said that my father was your half-brother, and that Faxon was +not his surname. What was his name?" the young man inquired with a +clouded brow. + +"Well, it is natural that you should want to know, and these papers will +tell you. I'll call Maria and she will bring them to you," Squire +Talford replied, and he rang the little handbell by his side, and which +was to summon Mrs. Kimberly to the scene. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +CLIFFORD LEARNS HIS FATHER'S NAME. + + +Maria, evidently, was not far away, for she entered the room almost +immediately after the ringing of Squire Talford's bell and bearing the +box in her hands. She paused, after closing the door, and glanced +inquiringly at the squire. + +"Give it to him," he said, with a nod toward Clifford, and Maria placed +it in his hands, after which she walked quietly from the room again. + +Clifford was deeply moved, and his hands trembled visibly as he untied +the cord that held the cover in place and removed it. He merely glanced +at the letters as he took them out; but seized the folded parchment with +an eagerness which betrayed how anxious he was to learn the identity of +the man who had married and deserted his mother. + +He removed the pin that held the two papers together and unfolded the +topmost one, which proved to be the marriage-certificate. He searched it +eagerly for the name he wanted, and a perplexed look swept over his face +as he read it: "W. F. T. Wilton." + +"W. F. T. Wilton," he repeated thoughtfully. "Well, it does not +enlighten me very much. What do the initials 'W. F. T.' stand for?" + +"William Faxon Temple," briefly replied his companion, and regarding him +with a peculiar look. + +At first the name did not seem to mean much to Clifford. Then, all at +once, he started erect, a terrible shock galvanizing him from head to +foot, as his mind flew back to his first summer in the mountains, where +he had met the wealthy banker, William F. Temple, and his family; as he +recalled also his interview with the man on the morning after Minnie +Temple's rescue, when he had been so strangely moved upon learning his +own name. + +"But it cannot be possible!" he muttered, repudiating the thought almost +as soon as it had taken form in his mind. + +"What cannot be possible?" inquired the squire. + +"Why, I know a man here in Washington by the name of William F. Temple, +and it struck me as an odd coincidence that is all," Clifford explained, +but with clouded eyes. + +"Well?" said the squire, but with such a peculiar intonation that +Clifford started again. + +"You cannot mean--surely it cannot be possible that he is the man you +refer to--your half-brother!" he cried breathlessly. + +"Yes, he, and no other, is the man," was the emphatic response, "only he +has found it convenient to drop the name of Wilton." + +"But are you sure? Have you met this man who calls himself William F. +Temple? Do you know that he is your brother?" + +"Yes, I am sure--we have met and recognized each other, greatly to his +confusion. I could take my oath as to his identity and that he is the +man who married Belle Abbot more than twenty-three years ago, though I +am sure he has never dreamed of your existence, for you were born eight +months after he had deserted your mother. She called herself by the name +of Faxon and named you Clifford, for your grandfather, Abbot. She said +you should never be known by the name of Wilton, and as the population +of New Haven was constantly changing, and her home was on the outskirts +of the city, she hoped to keep your identity a secret and your young +life unhampered by any knowledge of the great wrong of which your father +had been guilty. She never heard one word from her husband, and she +finally came to the conclusion that he must be dead. I also shared that +belief, for I was pretty sure that if he was alive and needed money he +would make some effort to get his share of his mother's property; but +four years ago last summer we suddenly ran across each other on a train +between New York and Albany----" + +"You did?" sharply interposed Clifford, "and did you tell him of my +existence?" + +"You may be sure I didn't. I never meant that any one should know that +there was any tie of kinship between you and me," replied the squire, +with some asperity. "At first Bill pretended that he did not know me, +but I very soon brought him down from his high horse and convinced him +that I knew my man. He was dressed like a nabob, and told me that he had +become rich--he even told me that I was welcome to all that our mother +left, and that he should never give me any trouble about his share of +it; but I supposed that was a kind of bribe for me to let him alone, +and, as I'd come to look upon everything as belonging to me, I concluded +to give him a wide berth, rather than to get into an expensive lawsuit +over the matter. I never met him again until the day you took your +degree at Harvard--bah! I did not mean to let that cat out of the bag!" +the man interposed, with a shrug of irritation and flushing hotly. + +"Oh! I knew you were there," Clifford quietly returned. "I saw you +almost as soon as I entered the hall, and your presence was a great +inspiration--I feel I owe you a great deal for it." + +"An inspiration!" repeated his companion, wonderingly. + +"Yes; for I knew you had come to criticize--to ascertain for yourself if +I had been able to work my own way through college and acquit myself +creditably, and the knowledge proved a wonderful bracer for me. But you +were telling me about your second meeting with Mr. Temple." + +"Yes, I ran against him and his whole family just as I was leaving the +grounds. They were a stunning party, and their carriage and horses as +fine as one would care to see. But it nearly took Bill's breath away to +see me--he looked as if he had met a ghost, though neither of us let on +that he knew the other," the squire explained. + +"And that man is my father!--you have taken my breath away by the +revelation," said Clifford, with an air of bewilderment and a sudden +sense of repulsion. "However, I have no desire to lay claim to any such +relationship. Do you know where he went and how he made his money after +he deserted my mother?" + +"I've been told that he 'struck pay-gravel' in some Western mines; then +went to San Francisco, where he set up as a banker, got into society +there, and served one or two terms as Mayor of the city and met his +present wife--who was a rich widow by the name of Wentworth and married +her there. I learned this from a San Francisco man whom I met when I +first came to Washington." + +"When--how long ago was he married to this woman?" Clifford questioned, +with a violent start. + +"I'm sure I don't know--I haven't felt interest enough in their affairs +to make any inquiries about the matter," said the squire indifferently. +"I remember when I met him on that trip to Albany I told him that all +the folks at home were gone. He said he knew it--he'd kept himself +posted; so I suppose he must have married this woman after that." + +But Clifford had grown deathly pale while he was speaking, for his mind +had been working rapidly. + +"No--no; great heaven;" he exclaimed, "I am sure he must have married +her before my mother died!" + +"What's that?" exclaimed the squire, and now all on the alert, while a +malicious gleam flashed into his eyes. + +"Yes, I am sure of it--oh! the shame of it!" groaned Clifford in deep +distress, "and that dear, sweet child, Minnie, who is, of course, my +half-sister, has no legal right to the name she bears; neither has her +proud-spirited mother. What a wretch that man has been!" + +"Hold on, my boy--don't go so fast," interposed his companion, with +considerable excitement. "What is all this lament about?--explain what +you mean." + +"You have said that you have seen Mr. Temple's whole family; then of +course you know that he has a beautiful little daughter about eleven +years old----" + +"His child by this second marriage?--are you sure?" exclaimed the squire +breathlessly. + +"Yes; her name is Minnie Temple." + +"Ha! I had never given a thought to the girl nor her possible age. But +if what you say is true, I have lived to see him bitterly punished," and +the man chuckled maliciously. + +"Ah, yes, he must long have felt that a sword was hanging over his +head," Clifford gravely observed. "Let me see; I met the family in the +White Mountains during the vacation after my first year at college. +Minnie was then five years old; more than five years have elapsed since +then, so she must be between ten and eleven now, and my mother died ten +years ago last August," he concluded, with a look of keen pain in his +eyes. + +"And that proves Mrs. Temple to be no wife and the child illegitimate. +Bill Wilton was a fool ever to show his face this side of the Rockies +again--it's a true saying, 'give a rogue rope enough and he'll hang +himself.' We'll fix him now, though I never dared to hope for such a +triumph as this," said the squire, with another chuckle that actually +made Clifford's flesh creep. + +"Oh, don't!" he exclaimed, with mingled disgust and distress. + +"Don't!" repeated the man in a tone of astonishment. "Don't you want to +see a rascal like that brought to justice? I do. His whole life has been +one long story of selfish indulgence and crime." + +"I am not thinking of him at all," said Clifford sorrowfully, "but of +the innocent ones who have been so deeply wronged by him--that lovely +woman and her sweet child----" + +"How about yourself?" snapped the squire. "You have your rights." + +"My dear mother was a legal wife. Assured of that, I am not disturbed +about myself, as far as Mr. Temple is concerned. I have fought my way +thus far, and I shall go still higher, without extorting anything from +him." + +"But you surely will demand that he shall do the fair thing by you in +the disposition of his property." + +"No!" cried Clifford, in a tone of scornful repudiation. "I would never +claim kinship with such a man and I want none of his gold. But"--a +wistful expression creeping into his eyes and dropping into a musing +tone--"I could love that dear child--my little half-sister--very +tenderly if I might be allowed to. I have always felt a sort of +proprietorship in her ever since the day that I went over that precipice +after her--somehow she has seemed to belong to me in a way, though I +little imagined that I was rescuing my own sister from a terrible +death----" + +"'Death!--rescue!'" repeated the squire wonderingly, "what are you +talking about, Cliff?" + +The young man looked up with a smile and shook himself. "I was dreaming +of the past, and hardly realized that I was speaking aloud," he said. + +Then he described the event, while the man listened attentively, his +eyes fastened upon the manly young face, and a look of wonder grew in +his eyes as he began to comprehend the heroism of the deed. + +"And you did that! you went over that precipice and down a hundred feet +on a rope and back again, the same way, with that child on your back!" +he demanded in astonishment when Clifford concluded. + +"Of course--there was nothing else to be done." + +"Weren't you afraid?--you must have known that you were liable to lose +your head, fall and be dashed to atoms on the rocks below." + +"Well, I knew there was a risk, of course; but I did not stop to think +about being afraid. I should have gone, just the same, if I had known I +should fail--I could not leave that child there without making an effort +to save her," was the grave reply. + +"Well, that makes another!" ejaculated the squire thoughtfully. + +"Another what?" questioned Clifford, who did not catch his companion's +meaning. + +"Another deed to be proud of," was the hearty, but almost involuntary +response. + +It was now Clifford's turn to look astonished--and he was beyond +measure--for it was the first time he had ever heard a word of genuine +commendation from the man's lips. + +"Thank you, sir," he earnestly returned. + +"Humph!" grunted the squire, as if half-ashamed of having betrayed so +much weakness; "so you don't appear to be very much elated over the fact +that you are the sole heir to William Faxon Temple's millions." + +"No, sir; I do not want a dollar of his money," was the spirited reply, +"and I should never--under any circumstances--attempt to prove myself +his heir, or entitled to bear his name. My mother named me Clifford +Faxon, and while I live I will bear no other." + +"Well, I must say, you are mighty indifferent about your rights; and you +do not seem to grasp the fact either, that, as my nephew, there is a +possibility that you may inherit something handsome from me one of these +days," and the man regarded him curiously as he said this. + +Clifford flushed again. + +"I had not thought of such a thing, I assure you," he said coldly. "Of +course I cannot help the fact that a certain relationship exists between +us; but I do not want your property, Squire Talford--I don't want any +man's money." + +"Oh, you don't! It strikes me that you are mighty independent, and +perhaps may live to regret assuming such airs," snapped his companion, +in evident irritation. Then he added maliciously: "But then, I forgot +for the moment that you are expecting to marry a fortune--I am told +that Miss Heatherford is a rich girl." + +Clifford was secretly furious at this spiteful thrust; nothing but his +respect for the man's age and weakened condition kept him from voicing a +scathing retort. + +"Miss Heatherford's property will be settled exclusively upon herself +before she becomes my wife," he merely replied, with an air of dignity +that sat well upon him. "I have no desire to build myself up upon the +foundation of another. From my earliest boyhood I have been conscious of +something within me that was bound to rise, and if I have my health I +have no fear that I shall be able to make for myself a name and position +of which neither I nor my friends will be ashamed." + +"Humph!" grunted the squire again; but he shot a look at the fine face +opposite him that had an unwonted gleam of respect in it. + +"You remarked a while ago," Clifford resumed after a moment of silence, +"that you believe Mr. Temple is unaware of the fact that he has a son. I +am confident you are mistaken. I am quite sure that he knows that I am +his son, although he evidently thinks that I am ignorant regarding my +relationship to him." + +He then described his first meeting with Mr. Temple a few days after +Minnie Temple's accident, and how agitated the man had been upon +learning of his name and the fact that he had been bound to Squire +Talford for four years. + +The squire smiled grimly as he concluded: + +"Well, it does look as if he had an inkling of the truth, that's a +fact," he said, "and he must have had quite a shock at the time--he +couldn't have felt over and above easy, I'm thinking, especially since I +came to Washington. I don't see that it has done much good telling you +this story," he went on moodily, "except that perhaps it has set your +mind at rest about your origin. I don't suppose I should ever have told +it if it hadn't been for Maria--she was bound that you should now the +truth, and, on the whole, I am not sorry it is over with." + +Clifford made no reply to these remarks--he felt they called for +none--but busied himself with gathering up his papers and replacing them +in their box, his companion regarding him curiously while he did so. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +CLIFFORD MEETS HIS FATHER. + + +When he had arranged everything in an orderly manner, Clifford tied the +cover on the box, after which he arose to go. + +"I am very glad that we have had this explanation, Squire Talford," he +thoughtfully remarked, "for I never could understand why I was such an +object of aversion to you. I sincerely regret that I should have been +the innocent cause of so much discomfort to you; but let me say now, as +it is probable we shall never meet again after you leave Washington, +that you need give yourself no uneasiness for the future, for no one +shall ever learn from me the relationship that exists between us." + +"Humph! and you really mean, too, that you will never tell your father +that you have learned you are his son and can prove the fact?" + +"Never. I have no wish ever to meet the man again," Clifford returned +with decision. + +"Suppose he should some day approach you upon the subject?" + +"That is a different matter, though I think it is not a supposable case; +he has too much at stake to care to agitate so serious a subject. I hope +our long talk has not wearied you and that you will still continue to +improve as rapidly as I am glad to see you have been during the last few +days." + +"Yes, I am getting along finely, and we are going home the first of next +week," the squire observed, but with his eyes downcast in a thoughtful +mood. + +"Ah! I was not aware you had set the day; but no doubt you will be far +more comfortable in your pleasant home at Cedar Hill. I trust, if there +is anything I can do for you in a business way, or otherwise, before you +go, you will command me. Now, as I have an engagement, I must go. Good +night." + +"Good night," briefly returned the man, but without looking up, and +Clifford quietly left the room. He met Maria in the hall. + +"Waal, you've got it," she observed, and glancing significantly at the +box in his hands. + +"Yes, thanks to you, my faithful friend. I feel that I owe you a great +deal, first and last," the young man replied in a grateful tone; "and +the squire tells me you are going home next week." + +"I guess there ain't no call for you to feel overburdened," said the +woman, swallowing hard to keep a sob from choking her, as she thought of +the coming separation, "I never had to ask you twice to do anything for +me, even when you was a boy; you was always careful about makin' +trouble, you never made any litter bringin' wood--you never got any +ashes on the floor when you made the fire in the mornin', and you always +had a pleasant word for me when other folks were cross'n two sticks. I +don't forget them things, I can tell you." + +"And I am sure I have just as many pleasant memories. You were always +very kind to me, Maria," said Clifford. Then, as he saw she was almost +ready to weep, he added, with a laugh: "Oh, those turnovers and +doughnuts that you used to tuck into my basket when I had to take my +dinner to school on stormy winter days were things a boy could never +forget! I believe nobody can make such doughnuts as yours, +Maria--really, my mouth waters for one this very moment." + +"Sho!--now you're giving me taffy," the woman retorted, with an +answering laugh; but her face flushed with pleasure at his tribute +nevertheless. + +The next morning Squire Talford busied himself with writing a somewhat +lengthy epistle, which, after addressing it, he directed Maria to post +immediately. + +Mrs. Kimberly was not above glancing at the superscription as she went +out, and nodded significantly as she read the name, "William Faxon +Temple, Esq." for she had recently seen the same, with another added, in +the old family Bible at home. She, therefore, had a shrewd suspicion +that the contents of that envelope related to matters of grave +importance that were closely connected with Clifford. She looked even +more wise when, that same evening, the maid who waited upon the door +handed her a card and told her a gentleman was in the parlor and wanted +to see Squire Talford, for one glance at the bit of pasteboard had +revealed the same name that she had seen on the letter which she had +posted that morning. + +The squire told her to show the gentleman up immediately, and the two +men were closeted together for more than two hours. + +When the visitor left, Maria, who of course, was on the alert, observed +that he was deathly pale, and that he walked unsteadily like one who had +received a severe blow or had suddenly aged. + +"So, that's the man; waal, the day o' judgment has come for him at last! +The way of the transgressor is hard," she muttered gravely to herself. + +The next afternoon, shortly before leaving his office, Clifford received +the following note: + + + "Will Mr. Clifford Faxon have the kindness to call this evening + about nine o'clock at No. 54 ---- Street? A matter of great + importance is the excuse for the request. Very respectfully, + WILLIAM F. TEMPLE." + + +Clifford was somewhat appalled as he read this, and readily understood +that Squire Talford had taken matters into his own hands. + +His whole soul arose in rebellion as he read the formal note, and his +first impulse was to pen a curt refusal to comply with the writer's +request. He had hoped that he need never meet the man again, now that he +had learned who and what he was; this man, devoid of all honor, who, +according to his own written statement, had deliberately set himself to +win the love of a pure and innocent girl, just out of a spirit of +rivalry with his brother, and then, as soon as he had become weary of +his toy, he had remorselessly broken her heart by deserting her and +leaving her in a strange city to fight the desperate battle of life +alone. + +His contempt for the man was beyond the power of expression, especially +when he thought of how he had daringly ignored all moral and civil law +by marrying another without taking any pains to ascertain whether his +first victim was still living, and thus had entailed upon the second +wife and her child irrevocably shame and sorrow. + +Of course he understood that motives of revenge alone had prompted +Squire Talford to precipitate matters in this way--that he would gloat +over this opportunity to pay off, in a measure, the old scores which he +had nursed for so many years, and his scorn for him was little less than +that for his more daring and reckless brother. + +But after giving the matter some serious thought, and realizing that a +meeting between himself and Mr. Temple was bound to occur sooner or +later, he decided to comply with his request, boldly declare the +attitude which he intended to maintain toward him, and thus settle the +matter for all time. + +Accordingly the hour designated--nine o'clock--found him standing upon +the marble steps of Mr. Temple's palatial residence ringing for +admittance. A dignified butler admitted him to a reception-room and took +his card to his master. He reappeared very shortly with a request from +Mr. Temple that he would kindly step into the library. + +As Clifford followed the man through the spacious hall he could not fail +to observe everywhere the numerous evidences of great wealth and the +exquisite taste displayed in the choice of furnishings, pictures, +bric-a-brac, etc., and a pang of bitterness, mingled with righteous +indignation, smote his heart as he recalled how his mother had toiled +and struggled to eke out a miserable existence. + +As he entered the luxurious library and the servant withdrew, closing +the door after him, Mr. Temple came forward to greet him with extended +hand, but with an almost colorless face and unsteady step. + +"We have met before," he said, "we need no introduction----" + +"That is true, Mr. Temple," Clifford observed, as the man faltered, +while he gravely met his glance but ignored his proffered hand, "and +while I would have much preferred--since learning from Squire Talford +yesterday of the relations existing between us--that we need never meet +again, it has seemed best to me to respond to your request and come to +some definite understanding regarding our attitude toward each other in +the future." + +Mr. Temple had grown red and white by turns during this formal speech, +and his eyes wavered and fell beneath the clear, direct look of the +young man before him. He felt deeply humiliated in the presence of his +unacknowledged son--a son whom he realized any father might be proud to +own. + +"I comprehend," he said after a moment of awkward silence, "you refuse +to take the hand of the man who you feel has deeply wronged both +yourself and your mother; you perhaps have no desire to recognize any +tie of kinship between us." + +"You are right, sir," Clifford briefly but positively declared. + +Mr. Temple flushed again, but bowed a grave acquiescence to his +decision. + +"Will you be seated?" he remarked. "I will not presume to question the +justice of the attitude you have chosen to adopt, at the same time there +are some matters regarding which I wish to consult you. + +"We might as well come straight to the point," the gentleman began, but +with white lips and averted eyes, for he had never been as conscious of +his own littleness of soul and lack of manliness as at that moment in +the presence of his son, whom he recognized as infinitely his superior +in every respect. "I spent a couple of hours with Alfred Talford last +evening, and he told me of his interview with you and also gave me the +history of your life. Since this conference must necessarily be mostly +one of confession, I may as well state plainly at the outset that I +never really loved your mother. She was a bright, handsome girl, and I +was temporarily attracted toward her, while a spirit of deviltry +prompted me to try to make her prove false to Alf, between whom and +myself there had always existed a feeling of jealousy and rivalry. + +"How well I succeeded you already know. I completely mesmerized the girl +into believing that her existence depended upon me, and persuaded her to +elope with me, leaving her discarded lover to bear his disappointment as +best he could. We went West, but I soon grew weary of my unloved wife. +Perhaps I could have borne our relations better if we had been +prosperous; but after the money I had taken with me had given out and I +knew I would not be likely to get any more out of the estate while my +mother lived, I had hard luck--I did not get business that amounted to +anything, and every day was a struggle for a meager existence. Belle had +to work hard to help along, and so had no time to spend upon pretty +toilets to make herself attractive as before our marriage, while anxiety +and disappointment stole all her color and beauty. I stood it as long as +I could, and then I made up my mind to bolt. I----" + +"Pardon, Mr. Temple," Clifford here interposed, a look of mingled pain +and aversion sweeping over his face, "pray spare yourself and me a +rehearsal of that--I have in my possession the letter which you wrote my +mother at that time, and it needs no elucidation." + +"Very well," the man curtly observed, though he shrank visibly, as he +realized how utterly contemptible he must appear in the eyes of his son +if he had read the cruel lines he had written. "On leaving Chicago I +dropped my last name, Wilton, and called myself Temple. I drifted into a +mining-district of Colorado, where, after a time, I made a lively +strike, and, in a few years, became independently rich. Then, as I did +not like the rough life of a miner and craved better society, I sold out +and went to San Francisco, where I established myself as a banker." + +"Did no sense of responsibility make you feel that you ought to make +some provision for the wife you had left after you became so +prosperous?" Clifford here inquired. + +"Well," replied Mr. Temple, with a restless movement, "I supposed she +had gone back to her own folks, and, as Mr. Abbot was doing a good +business when she left home, I imagined she would be well provided for, +while I wanted to keep dark. I was perfectly willing that all my old +acquaintances in the East should believe me dead. I knew my mother was +dead, for I had read a record of it, having ordered a New Haven paper +sent to a certain address after I went to San Francisco, and there was +nobody else in that region that I cared anything about. Later, I became +interested in politics, made myself popular, and served two terms as +Mayor of the city. + +"Then"--he paused and swallowed hard, while his face became drawn and +pinched with pain--"I met my present wife, who was a wealthy widow with +one son, visiting some friends in the city, and I fell really in love +for the first time in my life, and--and my affection for her has +strengthened with every passing year. You doubtless wonder how I dared +to marry her without procuring a divorce from Belle. I admit it was a +bold and risky thing to do; but I knew that I had no grounds for a +divorce--that if I should attempt such a measure, very likely I should +fail, for I felt very sure that Alf must hate me to that extent that he +would spare nothing to thwart any plan of that kind. I told myself that +I was practically dead to all who had known me earlier in life--that it +would be better for me not to arouse sleeping dogs, who would be likely +to blight all the dearest hopes of my life; the continent was between +us, and as I had changed my name, it seemed more than probable that I +could live out my life without the fear of being molested by any one. + +"So I boldly won the woman I loved and resolutely silenced every fear +for the future. In less than a year my little daughter, Minnie, was +born, and then for a while I confess I experienced some uneasiness on +her account; but a year later that all vanished when one day I read in +my New Haven paper of the death of Mrs. W. F. T. Wilton, and knew that +at last I was free. I told myself that now I could enjoy life to the +utmost--my past was a sealed book, and the future was bright with +unlimited wealth, a beautiful wife, a lovely child. I felt as if I had +been released from a terrible bondage, and lived accordingly. We had the +entree of the best society, and there was even some talk of making me +governor of the State. An almost ideal existence was ours, and yet, even +then, occasionally there would be forced upon my consciousness the fact +that my wife had no legal right to the position she occupied and that my +idolized child was----" + +"Oh, I beg you will not speak like that of that innocent child!" +Clifford here broke forth, with a note of keen pain in his tones. "It is +wholly unnecessary to rehearse all that to me." + +"Yes, yes, I suppose it is," Mr. Temple assented, as he shook himself +roughly as if arousing from a disagreeable dream, "and I hardly know why +I have allowed myself to go so into details. Well, the greatest mistake +of my life was made when I yielded to Mrs. Temple's persuasions to come +East and settle, so that her son could be educated at Harvard--and, by +the way, it seemed like the mockery of fate that you two should have +been in the same class. At first I objected to the plan, for I, of +course, felt safer to be three thousand miles from the scenes of my +youthful escapades, and I was still ambitious for political honors, in +spite of the fact that my own party had been defeated in the last +elections; but her heart was so set on the project that I finally gave +up the point. We accordingly went to Boston, and a little later I +purchased a fine estate in Brookline, which has been our home ever +since. + +"Mind you, during all this time I had never dreamed of your existence. +My first intimation of the fact that I had a son was that morning when I +sought you to express my gratitude to you for having saved the life of +my little daughter. The moment I looked into your eyes I was conscious +that there was something strangely familiar about you, and when you told +me that your name was Clifford Faxon, it seemed as if the earth was +slipping out from underneath me. I knew the truth then, for your mother +had often said that if she ever had a son she would name him Clifford, +for her father; and I understood that she had refrained from giving you +your true surname because she wished to keep from you the knowledge of +who your father was. + +"I have learned all about her life after she returned to New Haven, and +also her history from Squire Talford. I know what you have had to meet +and overcome, and that you have steadily and resolutely risen above +every obstacle. I realize the fact that you are a young man, morally and +intellectually, of whom any man might feel proud as a son, and yet, +situated as I am, you can readily see that such a recognition would +entail----" + +"I beg that you will give yourself no uneasiness, sir; I have no desire +to recognize such a tie, nor to have any one else informed of the fact," +Clifford quietly interposed. + +Mr. Temple changed color, yet at the same time the look of intense +anxiety which his face had worn hitherto faded out and he drew a breath +of relief. + +"Very well; and now we have arrived at a point where I wish to discuss +matters from a business point of view. I tell you candidly I adore my +wife, I worship my child, and I would far rather that a millstone should +crush me at this instant than have either learn the terrible facts +regarding their true position. Therefore, I am going to throw myself +upon your mercy; I know that you are an honorable man, and that your +word would be as sacred to you as your oath, and I am going to ask you +to pledge yourself never to reveal to any one the secret of my past. In +return for such a pledge I will settle upon you outright the sum of +three hundred thousand dollars----" + +Clifford drew himself suddenly erect, and a statue could scarcely have +been colder or more rigid. + +"Mr. Temple," he interrupted, with a dignity that was most impressive, +"there is not the slightest need of purchasing my silence. As I have +said, I have no wish to have any part of this history known; my love +for my mother, who was a pure, sweet, gentle woman, and my pride alike, +forbid that I should lay any claim to kinship with you, and I would not +accept a dollar of your money to save myself from starvation." + +"You are hard on me, young man," said Mr. Temple, cringing beneath the +scathing words as under a blow. + +"Hard!" repeated Clifford, whose scorn for the man was almost beyond +control, for he not only had his own and his mother's wrongs to +remember, but the treachery of the man in connection with Mr. +Heatherford, "the greatest condemnation that could he pronounced upon +you, you have yourself voiced to-night in the heartless story which you +have related to me; and let me assure you that I am actuated by no +sympathy with or pity for you in promising that my lips will forever be +sealed regarding our relations to each other, but out of regard alone +for the dear child whom I saved from a terrible death, and for whom I +have ever since entertained a strong affection. For her sake this +secret, which would blight her young life, shall be guarded most +sacredly--ah!--what does that mean?" + +And Clifford paused briefly, a look of blank dismay upon his face, as a +low, wailing, shuddering moan sounded through the room. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +"THE WAY OF THE TRANSGRESSOR." + + +That heart-broken cry struck instant terror to the souls of both men. +Clifford started to his feet, and Mr. Temple sprang forward, with a +muttered oath, toward the portieres that screened an alcove at one end +of the room, just as they parted, and Minnie Temple appeared in the +aperture. + +"Oh, papa, papa! what does it all mean?" she wailed as she fell into his +outstretched arms, and he caught her almost fiercely to his breast. "I +have heard every word that you have said. I came in here after dinner, +laid down on the couch in the alcove and went to sleep. I awoke when +Clifford Faxon came in, but was too late to leave; then when you began +to talk I remained where I was--forgot everything but what you were +saying. Oh, tell me, what is this dreadful story about mamma and me, and +about Mr. Faxon being your son? I must know--I must know! I will know!" + +The poor girl was fearfully wrought up, and at this point lapsed into +violent hysterics that alarmed both her companions. + +With the child still hugged to his bosom and a face like chalk, Mr. +Temple strode to the mantle and touched an electric button. + +"Send Mrs. Maxfield immediately--Miss Minnie is ill," he said when the +butler appeared. + +Then he attempted to soothe her, calling her every endearing name he +could think of, and assuring her that there was no story--she simply +dreamed or had a horrible nightmare. + +But she was past all reason, and when the housekeeper appeared she was +borne up-stairs in an almost unconscious condition and put to bed, while +Clifford quietly left the house, but with an exceedingly heavy heart. + +A physician was summoned, and after powerful anodynes had been +administered the child fell into a profound stupor, from which she did +not arouse until the next morning. + +But, of course, when the effects of the sleeping potion wore off and +memory returned, the girl, who was mature beyond her years, sent for her +father and insisted upon being told the truth about herself. + +Mr. Temple tried to evade her as he had done the night previous, by +trying to convince her that she had only been dreaming; but she asserted +that she knew better, and appealed to her mother--who had been out at a +reception the night before--to make her father explain what she had +overheard. + +Mr. Temple was in despair--he felt that the web of fate was closing +around him, and, for the first time in his life, fell into a violent +passion with her, sternly commanding her to stop questioning him +regarding what was none of her affairs, but had been purely a matter of +business between himself and Mr. Faxon. + +Of course, the curiosity of both Mrs. Temple and Philip, who was also +present, was aroused, and, upon their insistence, Minnie faithfully +rehearsed the conversation between her father and Clifford, and, thus +brought to bay, the wretched millionaire was forced to make a clean +breast of everything. + +It was a crushing blow to the entire family. Mrs. Temple shut herself up +in her own room and would see no one for three days. + +Then she sent for Philip, who seemed to have been suddenly transformed, +and bore himself with a grave dignity that he had never worn before. + +They were closeted for several hours; then they requested Mr. Temple to +come to them. He obeyed the summons, but appeared like an old man, out +of whom all hope and ambition had been crushed. + +He tried many times to see his wife during those three, to him, endless +days; but she would not admit him. He had sent her note after note that +were pitiful in their expressions of remorse and appeals for +forgiveness. His heart sank anew within him as he now entered her +presence and noted how she had also changed. When he would have greeted +her with his customary caress he was waved to a distant chair with an +air of repulsion. + +"I have come to the decision, Mr. Temple, that there is but one thing +for me to do," she began, but without looking at him, "and that is to +leave Washington immediately, seek some place of retirement and hide my +shame as best I can." + +"Don't Nell! Oh--don't!" cried the stricken man, cringing before her; +"no breath of shame shall touch you, my darling; we will right +everything." + +"Right everything!" exclaimed the outraged woman, turning upon him in +righteous indignation. "Do you presume to talk of righting such a wrong +as mine at this late day? Do you imagine that the formal benediction of +a clergyman would restore to me the self-respect of which you have +deliberately robbed me, or wipe out the stigma that rests upon my child? +I am not your wife--I have never been your wife--I have simply been, +like a piece of merchandise, labeled with your name, and--I will never +answer to it again." + +"Oh, Nell! forgive--you break my heart!" groaned the wretched listener. + +"Break your heart!" the almost maddened woman exclaimed with a bitter +laugh. "Ah, me! one could scarce expect anything else--you think only of +your heart, your suffering. It is all of a piece with the selfishness +and recklessness that wrecked the life of that other woman, although the +wrong done her is not to be compared with mine. She at least was a legal +wife and her child legitimate, while I--oh, heavens!--to think what I +am! what my child is!" and she threw out her clenched hands with a cry +of mingled shame and agony that rang sharply through the room. + +"Mother, hush! do not go over all that again!" Philip here interposed, +with quiet authority. "There is no call for you to mourn any loss of +self-respect, for you are in no way responsible for this wrong, and we +will guard Minnie so tenderly that the world shall never have an +opportunity to make her suffer a single pang. Of course," he continued +with grave thoughtfulness, "things cannot go on as they are. If your +decision--that you will not legally assume the name that you have +hitherto borne--is irrevocable, we must arrange for as quiet a +separation as possible, for Minnie's sake----" + +"Oh, Nell! spare me that, I beg," pleaded Mr. Temple, with a heartbroken +sob. "Oh, forgive me this great wrong; don't talk of separation; let me +make you legally my wife, then we will go away to Europe--or anywhere +you like--and I will be your slave--I will do my utmost to atone for the +past and make you happy for the future. No one need ever know aught of +this secret. Faxon is honor itself, and he assured me that no hint of it +should ever escape his lips, and I am sure he would keep his word--Phil, +you know that he can be depended upon." + +"Yes," Philip gravely asserted, after a moment of hesitation, "I know, +if Faxon said that he will abide by it. But, Mr. Temple," he resumed in +a tone which was an indication of his own attitude, "I feel sure that my +mother has received a shock from which she can never recover, and I +agree with her that a separation will be the wisest measure to adopt +under the circumstances." + +"Let your mother speak for herself, if you please, Phil," Mr. Temple +interrupted, as he braced himself in his chair and turned his haggard +face toward the woman whom he adored. + +The proud, beautiful worldling shivered as if an icy wind had blown over +her, for she had loved this man who, for twelve almost idealistic years, +she had regarded as her husband. She had scarce had a wish ungratified; +she had enjoyed his wealth and been proud of her position in society. + +But, as Philip had said, the shock which she had sustained had been one +from which she could never rally, for it had killed both love and +respect at one blow. She did not move or lift her glance to him as she +said in an almost inaudible voice. + +"Phil has stated it right--I can never forgive the fearful wrong that +you have done me. We must part." + +"How about--Minnie?" Mr. Temple questioned, a look of despair on his +face. + +It was an unfortunate question. It aroused all the lioness in the +outraged woman, and she turned upon him with a burst of passion of which +he had never imagined her capable. + +"Minnie is mine!" she cried in a voice that rang shrilly through the +room--"mine by the right of motherhood and--oh, God!--mine, exclusively +mine, by right of the shame which you have entailed upon us both." + +It was a terrible thrust, and William Temple threw out his hands with a +gesture of keenest anguish, as if warding off the point of a dagger. He +sat like one stunned for several moments, and there was no sound in the +room. + +Finally the man lifted his bowed head and observed in a hollow tone and +with a look of utter hopelessness: + +"Very well, Nell, it will have to be as you say; but no breath of shame +from the world shall ever touch either of you--I could not bear that. I +know I deserve my punishment, and I bow to the inevitable. You shall +have Minnie--I relinquish her to you--and you shall go where you will; +or, if you prefer to remain here in Washington, I will go to the ends of +the earth, on some plausible errand, and you shall never hear of me +again. + +"Now"--rising feebly and holding onto the back of his chair, while he +gazed on her with the look of one whose heart was breaking--"arrange +everything to suit yourself. I will not lay a straw in your way, and you +shall have all the money you want." + +He tottered from the room, groping his way down-stairs and walking like +one who has been stricken blind, sought the library, and locked himself +in to keep out intruders, while trying to face a future which did not +seem to have a single ray of hope to make it worth the living. + +There they found him five hours later, sitting before his desk, his head +bowed upon his outstretched arms, unconscious and almost rigid. + +The butler, desiring some instructions regarding certain orders his +master had given him, rapped upon the door for admission; but, after +repeated attempts, receiving no answer, he had gone out upon the veranda +and entered the room by a window, to find the occupant of the room in +the condition described. + +He was borne to his room and the family physician summoned, when the +attack was pronounced an apoplectic stroke. + +He recovered consciousness after a few days, but could move neither hand +nor foot, while the verdict of the doctors was that his days, even his +hours, were numbered. + +When this was made known to Mrs. Temple she seemed to become like one +petrified. She sat motionless and speechless for several minutes; then +she burst into a passion of weeping, so violent in her utter abandonment +to her overwhelming grief that she was utterly prostrated by it; the +flood-gates that had hitherto been held back by an almost indomitable +will and pride were lifted, and all her pent-up sorrow and shame were +let loose. + +When the storm finally spent itself she slept from sheer exhaustion, and +did not wake for several hours. Then she was calm, and once more +mistress of herself, and clothing herself in soft, noiseless garments, +she went directly to her husband, a chastened look on her face, an air +of gentleness and resignation in her bearing that hitherto had been +wholly foreign to her. + +Almost ever since memory had returned to him, the sick man had lain with +his eyes fastened upon the door leading from his room, and with a look +of longing in them that was pathetic beyond description. + +When, at length, it opened to admit his wife, his whole face lighted +with an expression of joy that nearly made her weep again, but which +sent a thrill to her own heart that told her she loved him still, in +spite of the irreparable wrong he had done her. + +She went to his bed and sat down beside him, gathering one of his +lifeless hands into hers, and, bending over him, kissed him on the +forehead. + +Two great tears welled up from the fountain of his heart and brimmed +over upon his cheeks. His wife gently wiped them away and questioned +tenderly: + +"Will, is there anything you would like me to do for you?" + +He closed his eyes slowly, thus signifying that there was, then, opening +them again, he glanced toward the nurse. + +"Do you wish to be alone with me for a while?" Mrs. Temple inquired. + +Yes, the sad eyes signified, and the attendant went immediately out. + +"Now, dear, how can I manage to find out just what you want?" said Mrs. +Temple, when the door was closed. + +Again that intensely yearning look was fastened upon her face, and she +instinctively divined his thought at once. + +"Is is that you wish me to say something kind to you?" she asked. + +His look brightened, but the tears started at the same time. + +"Well, then, Will, dear," began the chastened wife, in a voice that was +tremulous with emotion, "I have fought my battle out, and I believe I +can truly say that I forgive all. I see now that I was selfish in +thinking only of my own suffering--I had no right to be cruel to you +when you were more wretched than I. Get well, Will--try to get well, and +then we will all go to some quiet place and begin to live in a more +earnest and sensible way." + +The tears were raining thick and fast now from the man's eyes, but she +wiped them away, while she continued to talk to him in a soothing, +comforting strain, until he became more composed. But she soon saw that +there was still something on his mind, and she tried to ascertain what +it was, but though she asked many questions regarding his business and +certain appointments which she knew he had made, she could not seem to +get at his thought. + +At last she told him that she would say the alphabet and they would +spell out his wish. When she reached the letter M, he signified that was +right, and she instantly jumped to a conclusion, and inquired: + +"Do you want Minnie?--how strange I did not think of that before!" + +Yes, the eyes assented. Mrs. Temple rang the bell and sent for the +child, who had not been allowed to come into the room, except for a +moment or two, while her father was sleeping. + +She soon made her appearance, looking pale and drooping, for the +sensitive girl had been stricken to the heart by what she had learned, +and inexpressibly lonely and wretched while her mother was brooding over +her own misery. + +Mrs. Temple folded her in her arms and kissed her tenderly, then made +her sit down in her own chair, while she drew another near for herself. + +"Papa wished me to send for you, dear," she said; "he cannot speak, but +you may talk to him a little; and, love, say something kind to him," she +concluded, with her lips close to Minnie's ear. + +Minnie sat down by the sick man and laid her cheek against his with all +her accustomed fondness. + +"Papa," she murmured, "I love you--I am so sorry you are ill and cannot +talk to me; but"--now lifting her head and looking earnestly into his +eyes--"you know that I love you--that I shall always love you." + +The look of yearning and agony which he bent upon her was more than she +could bear, and, dropping her head again upon his pillow, she added: + +"Now cannot you go to sleep for a little while; I will sit here beside +you and hold your hand; then, perhaps, when you are rested you can talk +to me a little." + +She clasped his hand in both of her own soft, warm palms, raised it to +her lips, kissed it, and held it there, and for nearly half an hour +there was no sound in the room. + +Finally the nurse came softly in, to look after her patient, and Mrs. +Temple turned, with her finger upon her lips. + +"They are both asleep," she whispered. + +It was true, both the man and child were wrapped in slumber; one in that +which knows no waking, the other in the innocent, restful sleep of +childhood. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +CLIFFORD REFUSES A FORTUNE. + + +So William Faxon Temple Wilton's mortal experience on this plane of +existence came to an end. Love of ease and pleasure, selfishness and +greed, the fostering of malice, passion, and appetite invariably bring +their punishment, even here. + +When all was over it was found, upon making a thorough examination of +his papers, that the man had left no will. A memorandum of a few +bequests was discovered in a little blankbook in his desk, showing that +he had given some thought to the subject; but these, of course, amounted +to nothing, and Philip Wentworth was appalled when he realized what such +culpable neglect on the part of Mr. Temple meant in connection with his +mother and sister. + +"Mother, this is simply awful!" he exclaimed, when they were at last +obliged to relinquish their fruitless search; "you and Minnie are +literally penniless, for not a dollar of Mr. Temple's fortune can either +of you touch. Clifford Faxon, who is his son by that other woman, +becomes the sole heir to his magnificent property." + +"Can that be possible?" said Mrs. Temple, greatly distressed. "Oh, it +seems dreadful that Minnie--that innocent child--must suffer for the sin +of another. She was her father's idol, and, of course, he intended that +she should be his heiress. I know if he had even dreamed that the truth +would be revealed he would have made a will in her favor, and settled +the matter irrevocably." + +"He did know," said Phil, flushing with indignation; "don't you know he +said that he realized that Faxon was his son, as long ago as when he met +him at the mountains. I cannot understand how he dared to leave matters +so at loose ends." + +"Well," observed Mrs. Temple, after a thoughtful pause, "I am not going +to cast reflections upon him now. I told him that I forgave him, and I +will hold to what I said. I begin to think that unlimited wealth is a +snare which binds and warps all that is best in our natures. I am not +literally penniless, as you said. I have my own small fortune, which +Will insisted upon settling upon me when we were--ah! why do I refer to +that miserable farce!" she interposed with sudden passion. + +But she calmed herself almost instantly and continued: + +"I am sure I can manage with what I have quite comfortably, though, of +course, we will have to give up all this style and exercise economy. +Now, Phil"--with an air of determination--"I am not going to have any +legal contest or gossip over these matters. Everything has been kept +quiet so far, and for both Minnie's and my sake there must be no +scandal. I am going to send for Mr. Faxon, tell him frankly that there +is no will, and relinquish everything to him." + +"That would be neither right nor sensible!" cried Philip hotly, his old +grudge against Clifford flaming up anew. "Of course, I can understand +that Faxon--hem! has certain legal rights that will have to be +respected; but, morally, he has no right to this fortune--Minnie should +have every dollar of it. Blast it all!" he burst forth, as he sprang to +his feet and excitedly paced the room, "we are in a horrible situation. +If we fight for the property that damnable secret will all have to come +out----" + +"Yes, and there would be no use in fighting, for Mr. Faxon can easily +prove his own position and get everything. Oh, it would be worse than +folly, Phil, to attempt to contest the matter--our hands are tied--we +are utterly helpless; so I am going to quietly give up everything. I +would rather forfeit every penny than have the world know our shameful +story." + +Philip was almost beside himself in view of this unforeseen calamity. +Since the trouble has fallen upon his mother he had borne himself with +more dignity and manliness than he had ever manifested. He had seemed to +be suddenly transformed, and had been a veritable staff and support to +her. He had even appeared somewhat softened toward Clifford upon +learning how nobly considerate he had been and that he had given his +word to preserve their secret inviolate. + +But now, when he realized that he alone was Mr. Temple's heir, and that +his mother and sister would be deprived of the luxuries to which they +had always been accustomed, his old hatred revived with tenfold fury, +and he became capable for the time of almost any crime in his desire to +wreck vengeance upon his rival. + +But Mrs. Temple proceeded to put her resolution into immediate action, +and wrote a brief, courteous note to Clifford, requesting him to call at +his earliest convenience, as she had a matter of the most vital +importance to discuss with him. + +He at once surmised something of the nature of the matter--for he knew +that if he had not been mentioned in Mr. Temple's will he could break it +if he chose--and accordingly presented himself at the Temple mansion +that same evening. + +Mrs. Temple received him cordially, but Phil, his mother having insisted +that he should be present during the interview, barely accorded him a +recognition. + +Mrs. Temple came to the point at once, stating the case briefly, but +plainly, and to say that Clifford was astonished upon learning that +there was no will and that he alone was heir to the large fortune which +Mr. Temple had left would not feebly express his feelings. + +He had never once thought of such a contingency. He supposed, of course, +that Mr. Temple had made his will, leaving everything to the woman he +adored and the child he worshiped, and that they had sent for him simply +to make terms with him to prevent him from making them any trouble in +settling the estate. But to learn that there were no terms to be +made--to learn that they had sent for him to relinquish everything, +without a desire or a condition, except that he would reassure them of +his willingness to keep their miserable secret, almost dazed him. + +To most people that would have been a moment of signal triumph; but it +was not in Clifford's nature to triumph in any one's misfortune, +although it did flash upon him, as his mind reverted to that day when +Philip Wentworth had so rudely saluted him--"Say, here! you +window-washer!"--that the tables had been turned in a most wonderful +manner. + +It seemed like a dream to be sitting there and know that, for the +moment, at least, he was a millionaire, while his old-time enemy and his +proud mother were groveling before him in the valley of humiliation. + +He listened gravely to all Mrs. Temple had to say, and his heart ached +for her in her sorrow, and grew very tender toward her, as well, for was +she not the mother of his young sister? + +When, at the close of her explanations, she begged him, for Minnie's +sake, to take everything and welcome if he would only save them the +disgrace of having the world learn the truth and point the finger of +scorn at them, he flushed to his brows with wounded feeling. + +"My dear madam," he said as she concluded, "I am wondering what your +estimate of me can be! I assure you that I am as eager as yourself to +keep these matters from the world. I may as well tell you that Mr. +Temple offered to settle three hundred thousand dollars upon me upon the +same condition; but I say to you now, as I said to him that evening, I +cheerfully promise that, as far as I am concerned, the secret shall be +inviolate, and I do not want--I will not have--a dollar of this fortune +which you assert, and which I can understand, might be mine by the law +of inheritance." + +At this point Philip Wentworth turned and faced him for the first time +during the interview, his face wearing an expression of profound +astonishment. + +"What are you saying?" he demanded sharply; "you do not intend to take +any of Mr. Temple's money?" + +"Not a penny, Wentworth," Clifford quietly returned. + +"But--I do not understand it!" said Philip, with a blank stare of +wonderment. + +"It is very simple," returned Clifford, with a frank smile. "Mr. Temple +never knew of my existence until a little over five years ago, and even +after he learned the fact he manifested no interest in me. All his hopes +and plans were centered in his daughter and her mother; his fortune was +made for them, and he expected and intended that it would become theirs +in the event of his death. Now, I feel that I have no more right to it, +morally, than I have to the fortune of one of the Vanderbilts. I can +see, as you do, that I might, according to the law governing such +matters, claim it all if I was so disposed; but I assure you I want no +part of it. Probably the world--if it were conversant with the +circumstances--would judge me to be quixotic and say that my pride +outweighed my judgment. Possibly, that may be true to a certain +extent--I cannot quite define my own feelings regarding the matter; +but," he concluded decidedly, "the fact remains--I will not touch it!" + +Mrs. Temple had observed him with growing interest, mingled with +deepest respect and admiration, during these remarks, and as he +concluded she turned to him with an eager light in her eyes: + +"Mr. Faxon," she said, "there is, I suppose, a great deal of money; may +I beg, as a personal favor, that you will take at least a portion of +it--that you will share it with Minnie?" + +"Madam, that would be impossible. I most cheerfully resign everything to +her," was the firm but courteous response. + +"I am amazed!" said the lady, with visible emotion, "and, morally, it +does not seem right to me that my child should, under the circumstances, +alone be enriched by Mr. Temple' wealth. Oh! I trust that the innocent +girl may not fall under the ban of your censure because of her father's +wrongdoing." + +"Surely not, Mrs. Temple," said Clifford earnestly; "on the contrary, I +have long entertained a very tender feeling toward her. How could I help +it after the thrilling experience in which we participated a few years +ago?--and now the knowledge that we are akin to each other has only +served to strengthen the bond. With your permission, I shall be glad to +cultivate an even closer friendship than has hitherto existed between +us." + +"You not only have my permission--I shall be proud to have you for her +friend, and--mine," said Mrs. Temple huskily; and then, utterly overcome +by his magnanimity, she buried her face in her hands and wept. + +"Thank you," returned Clifford heartily, "and allow me to say that you +both have had my deepest sympathies during this trial. Had I dreamed of +these results I should certainly have refused to comply with Mr. +Temple's request for an interview. But we will never refer to the +subject again, only let me add that I feel you have shown yourself very +honorable in your proposals to me this evening." + +"Oh!" cried Mrs. Temple, with a gesture of repudiation, as she lifted +her face to him, "do not commend me for what was prompted by purely +selfish motives; my only thought was to secure your silence at any cost, +but now I really wish, out of a spirit of gratitude and of admiration +for your nobility, that I could persuade you to revoke your decision." + +"I cannot, Mrs. Temple," said Clifford gravely and decisively, "but"--a +genial smile chasing the gravity away--"I will most thankfully avail +myself of your proffered friendship, and even though--because of the +world--I may not claim my young sister as such, I assure you I shall +love her none the less tenderly." + +Feeling that the interview should end, Clifford now arose to go, +pleading another engagement. Mrs. Temple also arose and came toward him, +with outstretched hand. + +"I am more grateful to you than I can express," she said, with the tears +springing afresh. "I have had a bitter cup to drink--a terrible wound to +bear, but you have greatly soothed and comforted me to-night; if I can +ever serve you in any way, believe me I shall esteem it a privilege to +do so." + +"Thank you," said Clifford heartily, as he clasped her trembling hand. + +Then he glanced somewhat doubtfully at Philip, who during the last +half-hour, had been sitting silent and apparently preoccupied, and +wearing a strangely depressed air. + +"Good night, Wentworth," he said cordially, after an instant of +irresolution. + +There was a moment of awkward silence. + +"Phil!" broke in his mother, in a tone of surprised reproof. + +The young man sprang to his feet and turned a flushed, shamed face upon +Clifford. + +"I say, Faxon," he faltered huskily, "this has been too much for me! +I've been a cad and a knave time and again, but you have set your heel +upon me pretty effectually this time! I am simply crushed. You have done +to-night what I did not believe any man was capable of doing, and when +you entered the room I was in a more murderous frame of mind than I have +ever been before; but you have taken the starch all out of me, and I am +ready now to eat humble pie. If you won't feel insulted, after all that +has passed, I'd like to ask you to shake hands and wipe out old scores." + +Clifford's hand went out to him with instant cordiality. + +"Gladly!" he said, and in that friendly clasp there was ratified a +treaty which endured throughout their lives. + +No other word was spoken, for Philip was now beyond the power of +speech, and Clifford, recognizing the fact, beat a considerate retreat, +and left the house with a buoyant heart, an elastic step, a smile on his +lips, and the consciousness of a noble victory gleaming in his +expressive brown eyes, for of an enemy he had at last made a friend. + +Mrs. Temple and Philip set themselves immediately about winding up Mr. +Temple's affairs, and both seemed to have undergone a radical +transformation. + +The proud, gay butterfly of fashion had suddenly become the gentle, +tender, considerate mother--a thoughtful, womanly woman; the indolent, +aimless man was fast developing into an attentive son, a wise adviser, +an efficient helper and protector. + +"You are growing very like your father, Phil," his mother said to him +one day, after many hours of patient labor over perplexing accounts and +papers. + +"Thank you, mother, you could not have said anything to have encouraged +me more," the young man replied, with grave appreciation, but with a +sigh over the wasted years of his life. + +Upon completing their business-arrangements, Mrs. Temple insisted that +the sum of fifty thousand dollars should be made over to Mr. +Heatherford, who, she asserted, must have lost fully that amount, first +and last, in his dealings with her husband, she and Phil having +discovered the fact during their examination of the man's account. The +man, at first, demurred against taking it, but she assured him that out +of her abundance it would never be missed, and that she would feel that +she was retaining money which did not belong to her if he did not +accept it; and he finally acceded to her request, for he well knew that +the methods which Mr. Temple had employed had amounted to the same thing +as taking so much money out of his pockets and transferring it to his +own. + +During this time Clifford saw considerable of the family, and between +him and Minnie there grew up a strong and endearing friendship, which, +in after years, became the source of much happiness to them both. + +Mollie, also, feeling her sympathies aroused in view of the wrongs and +trials of the family, renewed her friendship with them--even with Phil, +who was so thoroughly repentant for the past and so changed that she had +not the heart to keep him longer under the ban of her displeasure. + +Their business-affairs in Washington once arranged, they returned to +their home in Brookline, where they dropped into a quiet, peaceful way +of living, Minnie throwing her whole heart into her studies to prepare +for college; Philip settling down to business in a firm where a young +and enterprising man with some capital was needed, while Mrs. Temple +devoted herself exclusively to her two children and their interests. + +The twenty-fifth of January there was a brilliant society wedding in +Washington, when Mollie Heatherford gave herself to her king, and +believed that she was the happiest woman living, while Clifford felt +himself truly crowned with the supreme joy of his life. Miss Athol was +maid of honor to the fair bride, and her fiance, the son of the British +ambassador, was Clifford's best man. + +Maria Kimberly and Squire Talford were both bidden to the festivities. + +The squire did not respond in any way to the courtesy extended to him, +but Maria presented herself a week beforehand, to help the affair along, +and she could not have shown a more vigorous interest if Clifford and +Mollie had been her own children. + +The Temples and Philip Wentworth also received invitations, but they +excused themselves on account of their mourning. + +Mollie, however, received a family remembrance in the form of a solid +silver service, and Clifford a magnificent saddle-horse for his own +private use. + +Life looked very bright to the happy couple, and, indeed, to Mr. +Heatherford, as well, for he had grown very fond of the noble fellow +whom his daughter had chosen to be her life companion, and, with health, +wealth and congenial tastes, there seemed to be nothing to be desired +for their future, and they formed an ideal family in their ideal home. + +When the wedding was over Maria returned to the squire, but with a +somewhat heavy heart, for she yearned to keep her old-time promise to +Clifford--to superintend his culinary department when he was able to set +up an establishment of his own. + +He had told her that the place was open to her whenever she saw fit to +take it, but her sense of duty would not allow her to leave the squire, +"who wasn't nigh so chipper as he used to be afore he had that +sickness," and she hadn't the heart to leave him--at least, until he +got stronger. + +The result was she continued to live at Cedar Hill for two years longer, +and during which the squire gradually failed in health, and finally was +found one morning cold and still in his bed. + +He preserved his gruff, cynical, reticent manner till the last; but when +his will was read, to the astonishment of every one, it was found he had +bequeathed his entire property--excepting three thousand dollars to +Maria--which proved to be a very handsome inheritance, to Clifford +Faxon; while among his papers there was also found a letter addressed to +the young man, in which he had poured out much of the pent-up feeling of +many years, and showing plainly that his love for Clifford's mother had +been the strongest and most enduring sentiment of his nature. + +"I've been proud of you, too," he closed the characteristic epistle by +saying--"prouder than you will ever know; but the devil in me that hated +your father would never let me show it." + +"Poor old man!" said Clifford, as he finished the strange missive, "how +glad I would have been to have made his life more enjoyable." + +Henceforth the fine estate at Cedar Hill became the summer home of the +Faxons, while Maria continued to preside there, a proud and happy queen, +in her way, of all she surveyed, for Mollie declared she would never +presume to call herself mistress in a place so immaculately kept and +well ordered as Clifford's home in the East. + +She grew to love the place very dearly, for from the window she could +look out upon the very spot where, as a boy, her husband had wielded +those vigorous blows which had doubtless saved the lives of hundreds of +people and resulted in their first meeting, when she had lost her heart +while looking into his brown eyes and had given him the magic cameo, +which still graced his strong hand. + +THE END. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Heatherford Fortune, by Mrs. Georgie Sheldon + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HEATHERFORD FORTUNE *** + +***** This file should be named 38006.txt or 38006.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/8/0/0/38006/ + +Produced by Darleen Dove, Shannon Barker, Martin Pettit +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at +http://www.pgdp.net + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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