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| author | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-03-03 15:39:46 -0800 |
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| committer | nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org> | 2025-03-03 15:39:46 -0800 |
| commit | 6559301505816b7bf86fb4dcbd19344f40197312 (patch) | |
| tree | bd457d11dea633593464714b13b54d649cc88614 /47434-h/47434-h.html | |
| parent | 6daab98aefe3e3fb64d3b54df89ad3ec453a5ac8 (diff) | |
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- float: left; - margin-right: 1em } - -.align-right { clear: right; - float: right; - margin-left: 1em } - -.align-center { margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto } - -div.shrinkwrap { display: table; } - -/* SECTIONS */ - -body { margin: 5% 10% 5% 10% } - -/* compact list items containing just one p */ -li p.pfirst { margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0 } - -.first { margin-top: 0 !important; - text-indent: 0 !important } -.last { margin-bottom: 0 !important } - -span.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.1em 0 0; line-height: 1 } -img.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.5em 0 0; max-width: 25% } -span.dropspan { font-variant: small-caps } - -.no-page-break { page-break-before: avoid !important } - -/* PAGINATION */ - -.pageno { position: absolute; right: 95%; font: medium sans-serif; text-indent: 0 } -.pageno:after { color: gray; content: '[' attr(title) ']' } -.lineno { position: absolute; left: 95%; font: medium sans-serif; text-indent: 0 } -.lineno:after { color: gray; content: '[' attr(title) ']' } -.toc-pageref { float: right } - -@media screen { - .coverpage, .frontispiece, .titlepage, .verso, .dedication, .plainpage - { margin: 10% 0; } - - div.clearpage, div.cleardoublepage - { margin: 10% 0; border: none; border-top: 1px solid gray; } - - .vfill { margin: 5% 10% } -} - -@media print { - div.clearpage { page-break-before: always; padding-top: 10% } - div.cleardoublepage { page-break-before: right; padding-top: 10% } - - .vfill { margin-top: 20% } - h2.title { margin-top: 20% } -} - -/* DIV */ -pre { font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.9em; white-space: pre-wrap } -</style> -<title>INFATUATION</title> -<meta name="PG.Title" content="Infatuation" /> -<meta name="PG.Released" content="2014-11-22" /> -<meta name="DC.Created" content="1909" /> -<meta name="MARCREL.ill" content="Karl Anderson" /> -<link rel="coverpage" href="images/img-cover.jpg" /> -<meta name="PG.Id" content="47434" /> -<meta name="PG.Producer" content="Al Haines" /> -<meta name="PG.Rights" content="Public Domain" /> -<meta name="DC.Title" content="Infatuation" /> -<meta name="DC.Creator" content="Lloyd Osbourne" /> -<meta name="DC.Language" content="en" /> - -<link rel="schema.DCTERMS" href="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" /> -<link rel="schema.MARCREL" href="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/" /> -<meta content="Infatuation" name="DCTERMS.title" /> -<meta content="/home/ajhaines/infat/infat.rst" name="DCTERMS.source" /> -<meta content="en" name="DCTERMS.language" scheme="DCTERMS.RFC4646" /> -<meta content="2014-11-22T18:06:13.742621+00:00" name="DCTERMS.modified" scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" /> -<meta content="Project Gutenberg" name="DCTERMS.publisher" /> -<meta content="Public Domain in the USA." name="DCTERMS.rights" /> -<link rel="DCTERMS.isFormatOf" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/47434" /> -<meta content="Lloyd Osbourne" name="DCTERMS.creator" /> -<meta content="Karl Anderson" name="MARCREL.ill" /> -<meta content="2014-11-22" name="DCTERMS.created" scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" /> -<meta content="width=device-width" name="viewport" /> -<meta content="Ebookmaker 0.4.0a5 by Marcello Perathoner <webmaster@gutenberg.org>" name="generator" /> -</head> -<body> -<div class="document" id="infatuation"> -<h1 class="center document-title level-1 pfirst title"><span class="x-large">INFATUATION</span></h1> - -<!-- this is the default PG-RST stylesheet --> -<!-- figure and image styles for non-image formats --> -<!-- default transition --> -<!-- default attribution --> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="clearpage"> -</div> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="align-None container language-en pgheader" id="pg-header" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>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 </span><a class="reference internal" href="#project-gutenberg-license">Project Gutenberg License</a><span> included with -this ebook or online at </span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/license">http://www.gutenberg.org/license</a><span>. If you -are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws -of the country where you are located before using this ebook.</span></p> -<p class="noindent pnext"></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<div class="align-None container" id="pg-machine-header"> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span>Title: Infatuation -<br /> -<br />Author: Lloyd Osbourne -<br /> -<br />Release Date: November 22, 2014 [EBook #47434] -<br /> -<br />Language: English -<br /> -<br />Character set encoding: UTF-8</span></p> -</div> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst" id="pg-start-line"><span>*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK </span><span>INFATUATION</span><span> ***</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst" id="pg-produced-by"><span>Produced by Al Haines.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="noindent pfirst"><span></span></p> -</div> -<div class="align-None container titlepage"> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold xx-large">INFATUATION</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">BY</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="large">LLOYD OSBOURNE</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="small">AUTHOR OF -<br />The Motomaniacs, The Adventurer, Etc.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">With Illustrations by -<br />KARL ANDERSON</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="medium">INDIANAPOLIS -<br />THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY -<br />PUBLISHERS</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -</div> -<div class="align-None container verso"> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="small">COPYRIGHT 1909 -<br />THE BOBBS-MERRILL COMPANY</span></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="small">MARCH</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="small">PRESS OF -<br />BRAUNWORTH & CO. -<br />BOOKBINDERS AND PRINTERS -<br />BROOKLYN, N. Y.</span></p> -</div> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-i"><span class="bold x-large">INFATUATION</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER I</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Phyllis Ladd lost her mother at twelve; -and this bereavement, especially terrible to -an only child, brought with it two consequences -that had a far-reaching effect on her character. -An ardent, high-strung nature, acquainted -so early with a poignant sorrow, gets an outlook on -the world that is so just and true as to constitute -a misfortune in itself. A child ought not to think; -ought not to suffer; ought not to understand. -Individuality, sympathy, sensibility awaken--qualities -that go to make a charming human being--but -which have to be paid for in the incessant -balance of our complex existence. Phyllis' -school-fellows were no longer the same to her; she felt -herself a person apart; though she played as gaily -as any of them, and chattered her head off, and -tripped blithely along Chestnut Avenue entwined -in the arms of her companions, she was aware, down -in her secret heart, that she was "different."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At twelve, then, her path diverged from the -commonplace, in which, as we all have to admit, -however reluctantly, the chances for a happy life are best.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The second consequence of her mother's death -was to bring her into contact with a scarcely known -individual--her father. This grave, handsome -man, who sat behind a newspaper at breakfast, and -who was not seen again till dinner time; who drove -away every morning behind a liveried coachman -and a pair of shining bays to a region called "the -office"; whose smile and voice were always a shy -delight to her--this demigod, admired, unknown, -from whom there emanated a delicious sense of -security and strength, now suddenly drew her to his -heart, and became her world, her all.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Robert T. R. Ladd was the president of the K. B. and -O. Railway. Rich himself, and the son of a -rich man, his interests in Carthage were varied and -many, engaging his activities far beyond the great -road that was associated with his name. Carthage -was an old-fashioned city; and the boys who had -grown up together and succeeded their fathers were -clannish to a degree little known in the newer parts -of this country. Joe, who was prominent in -electricity and gas, might want to consolidate a -number of scattered plants, and to that end would seek -the assistance of Tom and Harry and Bob. George, -perhaps, in forecasting the growth of Carthage a -little too generously, was in temporary straits -with his land-scheme--well, he would ask Tom -and Bob to tide him over, making a company of -himself, and taking them in. Frank and his -brother, in converting their private bank into the -Fifth National--induced as much as anything by -the vanity of seeing their own names on their -own greenbacks--would feel the need of a strong -local man on the new directorate. Would Bob -oblige them? "Why, with pleasure, though if -somebody else would do as well--" "Oh, we -must have </span><em class="italics">you</em><span>, old fellow."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Such was Carthage--at least the Carthage of -Chestnut Avenue, of the long lines of stately and -beautiful mansions on what was called the West -Side, the Carthage that supported the Symphony -Orchestra, owned the parterre boxes at the opera, -dined, drove, danced, and did business -together--as compact and jealous a little aristocracy as any -in Hungary or Silesia. Of course there was -another Carthage--several other Carthages--one a -teeming riverside quarter where English was an -unknown tongue, a place black with factory -chimneys, full of noise and refuse, dirt and ugliness, -where forty thousand nondescript foreigners pigged -together, and contributed forty thousand pairs of -very grimy and unwilling hands to the material -advancement of the city and state. There was a -business Carthage, with banks and sky-scrapers, and -vast webs of wires that darkened the sky. There -was a pleasure Carthage that awoke only at night, -blazing out with a myriad lights, and a myriad -enticements. There was a middle-class residence -Carthage; a second-class residence Carthage; an -immense, poor, semi-disreputable, altogether dreary -Carthage that was popularly alluded to as "South -of the slot," the name dating from the time of the -first cable-car line, now long since discarded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But to return to Phyllis Ladd.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In losing her mother, it might be said she had -discovered her father. At first perhaps it was pity, -loneliness, almost terror that caused Mr. Ladd to -take this little creature in his arms, and hold her -as he might a shield. He had idolized his wife; he -hardly knew how to go on living without her; one -day, in his office, as his old friend Latham was -leaving him, he had pulled open a drawer, and taken -a loaded revolver from it. "Latham," he said, -with a very slight tremor in his voice, "would you -mind putting this damned thing in your -pocket--I--I--find it tempts me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Yes, his little daughter was a shield; he held her -slim body between himself and despair; he told her -this again and again, as he sat with bowed head and -suffusing eyes in the shadow of an irrevocable -happiness. And she in whom there stirred, mysteriously, -dimly, the tenderness of the sublime love that -had called her into being--she, even while she -mingled her tears with his, felt within herself the -welling of an exquisite joy. To love, to solace, -to protect, here again instincts were prematurely -awakened; here again her little feet departed from -the commonplace to carry her far afield.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In time, as weeks and months rolled on, the -blow, so unendurable at first, so crushing and -terrible, softened, as such things will, and a busy world -again engrossed a busy man. But the intimacy -between father and daughter remained, and -continued unimpaired. Indeed, it grew even closer, for -now laughter came into it, and gay bubbling little -confidences, and a delightful hour before bedtime, -full of eagerness and zest. Mr. Ladd, cigar in -mouth, and his keen handsome face as deferential -as any courtier's, listened to the interminable -doings of Satty and Nelly and Jessie, with an -enjoyment that never seemed to tire.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He, too, had his budget of the day, which, often -begun whimsically, not seldom ended in a serious -exposition of his difficulties and problems. It -amused him to state such complexities in simple -language; to bring them down, by some homely -metaphor, to the comprehension of this adorable -little coquette, who tried with so many childish arts -to dazzle and ensnare him. Even at thirteen she -was learning the value of drawing out a man about -himself; she was quite willing to understand the -Interstate Commerce Law, and become pink and -indignant over a new classification of "Coal at the -pit's mouth"--if it meant her father would hold -her a little tighter, and give her one of those sudden -glances of approval.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Such intercourse with a shrewd, strong, brilliant -mind--to a child naturally precocious and adaptive--could -not fail to have far-reaching consequences -on her development. She caught something of her -father's independence; of his lofty and yet indulgent -outlook on a universe made up so largely of fools -and knaves; learned the greatest and rarest of all -imaginative processes--to put oneself in the other -fellow's shoes. When Joe Howard turned traitor -at the state legislature, and sold out the K. B. and -O. on the new mileage bill, her wrath at his -duplicity rose to fever. "Well, there's his side to it," -said Mr. Ladd, with unexpected serenity. "He -hasn't a cent; he's mortgaged up to the ears; and -has a sick daughter dying of consumption. He's a -well-meaning man, and I suppose would be honest -if he could. But if I were in his place, and your -life was at stake, and the doctor ordered you to some -ten-dollar-a-minute place in Colorado or somewhere, -I guess I'd sell out the K. B. and O. too!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And for that he got a hug that nearly choked him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Money and love, my lamb," he said to her once, -"those are the wheels the old wagon runs on. Miss -Simpkins will fluff you up with a whole lot of fancy -fixings--but I tell you, it boils right down to -that."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Papa," she asked him on another occasion, -with round wondering eyes, "if it's all like that, -why are you honorable and noble and splendid?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't know," he answered, smiling. "I guess -it's pride more than anything else. Theoretically -the man with the fewest scruples gets farthest in the -race; but thank the Lord, most of us are handicapped -with some good qualities that stick to us -like poor relations."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But Miss Simpkins says that anybody who is -bad gets punished for it sooner or later. She says -that was why her brother-in-law's house burned -down; because he was so uncharitable."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It may be so with the people Miss Simpkins is -acquainted with," said Mr. Ladd, "but it doesn't -hold in the railroad business, nor anywhere else -that I have seen, and I can't help thinking she's a -trifle more hopeful than the traffic can bear!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This philosophy, so picturesquely expressed, so -genial, so amiably cynical, was not perhaps the best -training for an unusually impressionable mind. -Miss Simpkins learned to dread Phyllis' preface: -"But Papa says--" What Papa said was often -a bombshell that blew shams to pieces; tore down the -pretty pink scenery of conventional illusions; and -drove cobble-stones through the gauze that separated -Miss Simpkins and her kind from the real world -beyond. It was a harsh process, and bad for gauze.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At first, not knowing how else to maintain a -fairly large establishment, Mr. Ladd had sought -the services of a "managing housekeeper." But -the trouble with her--or rather with them, for he -had a succession--was that the "managing" was -considerably overdone. They were discharged, the -one after the other, without having "managed" to -achieve their one consuming ambition, which was to -capture the rich widower, and lead him to the altar. -After a while, growing weary of being hunted, and -altogether at his wits' end, he invited his unmarried -sister, Henrietta Ladd, to take the foot of his -table, and a place at his hearth.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She was a thin, plain, elderly woman, with a -very low voice and a deceptive appearance of -meekness. The casual guest at Mr. Ladd's board might -have taken her for a silent saint, who, unwillingly -sojourning in this vale of tears, was waiting with -ladylike impatience for a heavenly crown. In some -ways this description would have fitted Aunt -Henrietta well enough, though it took no account of a -perverse and interfering nature that was more than -trying to live with. The silent saint attempted to -rule her brother and her niece with a rod of iron, -and so far succeeded that her two years "tenure of -the gubernatorial chair" (as Mr. Ladd bitterly -called it), was fraught with quarrels and unhappiness. -Her tyranny, like all tyrannies, ended in a -revolution. Mr. Ladd brought his "unmarried -misery"--also his own phrase--to a sharp conclusion, -and Henrietta departed with a large check -and a still larger ill-will.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Phyllis," he said, "I guess we'll just have to -rustle along by our poor little selves. The people -who take charge of us seem to take charge too hard. -They mean well, but why should they stamp on -us?--Yes, let's try it ourselves."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And Phyllis, not quite fifteen years old, became -the acknowledged mistress of the big house.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In her demure head she knew that to fail would -be to incur a danger that was almost too terrible to -contemplate. Her father might be persuaded into -marrying again, and the thought of such a catastrophe -sobered and restrained her. She was on her -mettle, and was determined to succeed. She had -her check-book, her desk, her receipted bills. She -had her morning interviews with the cook; sent -curtains to the cleaners; rang up various tradespeople -on the telephone; gently criticized Mary's -window-cleaning, and George's nails, and busied herself -with these, and innumerable other little cares, -while Miss Simpkins waited in the study, restlessly -drumming her long, lean fingers on a French grammar.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Of course, she did several foolish, impulsive -things, but no more than some little bride might -have done in the first novelty of controlling a large -household. She gave a tramp one of her father's -best suits of clothes; she was prevailed upon by -the servants to buy many things that neither they -nor anybody else could possibly need--including -an electrically driven knife-cleaner, and a cook's -table, so compact and ingenious, that it would have -been priceless on an airship, though in her own -spacious kitchen it was decidedly out of place; and -it took her several months to discover that James -was apparently feeding five elephants instead of -five horses.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But she was quick to learn better; and with the -innate capacity she inherited from her father, she -soon had everything running on oiled wheels. And -all this, if you please, at fifteen, with quite a bit -of stocking between her dress and her trimly-shod feet.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was seldom that her father ever ventured into -the realm of criticism; but once or twice, in his -smiling, easy-going way, he gently pulled her up.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't know much about these things," he -remarked once, "but don't there seem to be a lot of -new dresses in this family?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"One can't go naked, Papa."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Admitting that, my dear, which with people -of our position would certainly give rise to -comment--couldn't we compromise on--well--going -</span><em class="italics">half</em><span>-naked, and perhaps show a more Spartan -spirit, besides, in regard to our hats?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Phyllis' eyes filled with tears; and flushing with -shame, she pressed her hot cheek against the back -of the chair she was sitting in, and felt herself the -most miserable, disgraced, unworthy little creature -in the whole world.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Ladd's voice deepened, as it always did when -he was moved.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My darling," he said, "don't feel badly about -it, because it is only a trifle. But it is not kind -to your companions to dress better than they do, -and I am sure you do not wish them to feel envious -or resentful. I just ask you to bear it in mind, -that's all, and be somewhat on your guard."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I will, Papa."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now come and kiss your daddy, and tell him -you're not cross with him for being such an old -fuss-cat."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Y-y-ou are n-not an old fu-u-uss-cat, but the -dearest, darlingest, bestest--"</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"Do you think it's right to bite a railroad -president's ear?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, if you love him!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Or muss up the only hair he has, which isn't -very much?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, if it helps you to think."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What's that--</span><em class="italics">thinking</em><span>?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, Papa."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It worries me, dearest, to have you doing -anything as serious as that."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Papa, it is serious. Listen!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm listening,"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I've a wonderful idea--I'm going to give a party!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Splendid--hope you'll ask me!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And I'm going to invite Satty Morrison, and -Julia Grant, and Hetty Van Buren, and Maisie -Smith, and the two Patterson girls, and perhaps -Alicia Stewart--and we are going to have -ice-cream, and lady's-fingers, and chocolate-cake, and -Christmas crackers, if I can buy them this time of -year--and, Papa, it's going to be a </span><em class="italics">hat</em><span>-party."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, a hat-party, goodness me, what's that?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"To give away all the silly, extravagant hats -I've bought--though I'll have to get two new ones -to make them go round--but you won't mind that, -will you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, indeed--not for a hat-party."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And next day the invitations were out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This scandalous way of bringing up an only -daughter caused many people to shake their heads.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It'll end in a peck of trouble for Mr. Ladd -some day," said the old cats, with which Carthage -was as liberally stocked as any other great and -flourishing American city. "Mark my words, my -dear, no good can come of bringing up a girl like -a wild Indian, and he'll have nobody to blame but -himself if she goes headlong to the bad."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-ii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER II</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>At twenty, Phyllis Ladd was one of the -prettiest girls in Carthage. A little above -medium height, slim, dark, and glowing -like a rose, she moved with that charming -consciousness of beauty that is in itself almost a -distinction. The French and Spanish in her mother's -southern blood showed itself in her slender feet and -hands, in her grace, her voice, her gentle, gracious, -and engaging manners. One could not long talk -to her without realizing that behind those sparkling -eyes there was a fine and highly-sensitive nature, -whimsical, original and intrepid; and to know her -well was to perceive that she was one of those -women who would love with rare intensity; and -whose future, for good or evil, for happiness or -disaster, was irretrievably dependent on the heart.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In a dim sort of way she had the consciousness -of this herself; her flirtations went no further than -to dance with the same partner three or four times -in the course of the same evening; and Carthage, -which gave its young people a great deal of -innocent liberty--and which its young people took -with the greediness of children--in time got to -consider her, in spite of deceptive appearances, as -being cold, proud, and "exclusive." Certainly her -exclusiveness drew the line at being kissed by -boisterous young men, and though their company -pleased and amused her, she refused to single out -one of them for any special favor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They are all such idiots, Papa," she said -plaintively. "Aren't there any real men -anywhere--real men that a girl </span><em class="italics">could</em><span> love?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm sure I don't know," returned Mr. Ladd. -"I haven't come across one I'd trust a yellow dog -to, let alone my daughter. But, frankly, I'm -prejudiced on the young-man question--anybody would -be who has to run a railroad with them!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Papa," she cried, throwing her arms around -his neck, and her mood changing to one of her -gayest phantasies, "let's go away together, you and I, -and see if we can't find him. The Quest of the -Golden Young Man! There must be one somewhere, -and we'll look for him in every hidy-hole -in the world--in street-cars and banks, and -ice-cream places, and cellars, and factories, and -mountains, and ships--just you and me, with a little -steamer-trunk--and we'll run across him in the -unlikeliest spot--and he may be a bandit in a cave, -or a wild, roystering cow-boy shooting up one of -those awful little western towns--but we'll know -right off that he's our Golden Young Man--and -we'll take him, and put him in a crate, and bring -him home in the baggage-car, and poke him with a -long sharp stick till he's willing to marry me!"</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The Quest of the Golden Young Man! It began -sooner than Phyllis could ever have believed -possible, and with a companion she would have -been the last to dream of. Mr. Ladd had a -married sister in Washington, the wife of a -highly-placed treasury official. Mrs. Sam Fensham was -a very fashionable, energetic, pushing woman, -wholly absorbed in the task of pulling competitors -off the social ladder, and planting her own faultless -French shoes on the empty rung. Brother and -sister had about as much in common as you could -spread on a dime; but Robert Ladd had all the -American's admiration of ability, no matter in what -direction it was exercised; and Sally Fensham -dearly loved her fraternal relationship to the K. B. and O.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This social strategist had volunteered one of her -rare visits to Carthage under the stress of bad -financial weather. Brother Bob, who regularly -brightened her Christmas with a check in four -figures, had some peculiarities of purse and heart that -Mrs. Fensham was well acquainted with. You -might dash him off a letter, slashed with underlining, -and piteous in the extremity of its </span><em class="italics">cri de coeur</em><span>, -and get nothing in reply but two pages of humorous -typewriting, wanting to know why two people, -without children, could not manage to scrape along -in Washington on sixteen thousand dollars a year?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Brother Bob, face to face, was a very different -person. If you sat on the arm of his chair, -and talked of pa and ma and the old days, and -perhaps cried a little, not altogether insincerely, over -faces and things long since vanished--if, indeed, -under the spell of that grave, kindly brother, you -somehow shed your cares into an infinite tenderness, -and forgot everything save that you loved him best -of any one on earth--if--but it always happened--you -did not need to give another thought, to -what, after all, was the real object of your visit.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In a day or two, Brother Bob would say; "Sally, -just how many dollars would make you feel eighteen -again, and as though you were waiting for Elmer -Boyd to take you out sleighing?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>You could answer thirty-seven hundred, and get -it as readily as a postage stamp; and with it a look -of such honest affection, such a glisten in those -fine eyes, that your words of thanks stammered a -little on your tongue.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Well, here was Aunt Sally again--arm-chair--pa -and ma--the old days--check--and in her -restless, scheming eyes the birth of a vague idea -that grew ever more and more alluring,--nothing -else than to take this very pretty niece of hers back -to Washington, and enhance the Fensham position -by a splendid marriage. She had a vision of balls -and dinner-parties, all paid for by her millionaire -brother; a showy French limousine; unlimited boxes -at the theater and opera; and a powerful nephew-to-be, -with a name to hoist the portcullis of many a -proud social stronghold, and allow the wife of a -highly-placed treasury official to squeeze in. The -Motts, the Glendennings, the Pastors, the Van -Schaicks--the Port Arthurs of Washington -society--Sarah Fensham would assail all of them, -holding before her one of their cherished sons, and -defying them to shoot. A fascinating prospect -indeed, and one not beyond realization, considering -the girl's beauty, and her father's money.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On the subject being broached to Brother Bob, -it was met with a hostility only comparable to a -Polar bear being robbed of its cub. The whole -marriage-market business nauseated him, he -declared; his daughter should never be set up on the -counter to be priced and pawed over; not only -would her natural refinement revolt at it, but he -inconsistently and with much warmth announced -that Carthage was full of splendid young men, the -sons of his old associates, amongst whom Phyllis -should find her husband when the time came, and a -fellow worth fifty of those Washington dudes and dough-heads.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's all very well for you to talk," said Sally -coldly, "but I should say it was more for Phyllis -to decide than for you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She wouldn't hear of such a thing," protested -Mr. Ladd heatedly. "She is a quiet, home-loving -girl, and wouldn't put herself in a show-window -for anything on earth."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My house is not a show-window; and what is -there immodest or wrong in her meeting the nicest -men in America?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Besides, she wouldn't care to leave me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Angry as she was, there was something in this -remark that suddenly touched Sally Fensham. She -was hard and aggressive, but her heart was not -altogether withered, and under extraordinary -circumstances could even be moved.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My poor Bob," she said, holding the lapels of -his coat, and looking up at him; "do you not know -that Phyllis may meet a man to-day at dinner, and -to-morrow at tea, and the day after drive with him -for an hour in the Park--and then what's father -or mother or anything in the world if she loves -him? Bob, dear, just get it out of your head that -you are going to keep Phyllis. When the right -man comes you will no more count to her than--than -that chair!--Oh, yes, of course, every girl -loves her father in a way--but you have only -been keeping her heart warm--and once it's set -on fire--good-by! And, Bob, dear, listen, is it -not common sense to let her see the right kind of -young men; to sift them and weigh them a bit? -Is it a marriage-market to admit none but those -who are presentable and well-bred and come of -nice people? Is that a show-window? No, it's -giving a girl a chance to choose--the chance I -wish to Heaven I'd had. We simply try to get -the nicest man there is, and you are more apt to -get a prize from a hundred than from six!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That applies just as much to Carthage as to -Washington."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bob, you don't know what you've been risking. -Your whole way of living is utterly crazy. Why, -anybody--</span><em class="italics">anybody</em><span> could come here, and make -love to her, and carry her off under your -nose--some awful commercial traveler or cheap pianist -with frowzy hair--Oh, Bob, girls are such -fools--such crazy, crazy fools!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Phyllis isn't."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Was I?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, I don't think you were."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But didn't I marry Sam Fensham?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't see that that--"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sally laughed; and it was not a pleasant laugh -to hear in its self-revelation. Sam was notoriously -more successful as a treasury official than as a -husband.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bob, she has to go to Washington with me, -and you must put your hand in your pocket, and do -things handsomely."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Against her will?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Again Sally laughed, more harshly and cynically -than before.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Just you ask her," she said.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>That night Mr. Ladd did so, and saw with a sinking -heart the electrifying effect it had on her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Go! Why, she'd jump out of her shoes to go, -and wasn't daddy the dearest, darlingest, adorablest -person in the world to propose it! And Aunt -Sally's kindness--wasn't it wonderful! She would -meet senators and ambassadors, and dance in the -White House with lovely barons and counts, and -try out her French on a real Frenchman and see if -he could understand it!--A winter in Washington! -What could be more exciting, more delirious!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Ladd affected to share her delight, and -manfully concealed his true feelings, which were -altogether bitter and sad. But he was a brave old -fellow, and knew how to take his disappointments -smilingly. Besides, what claim had he to resist the -inevitable? What right? What justification? -He would have bitten his tongue out before he -would have reproached her, or marred, by the slightest -word, her overflowing and girlish exuberance. -It was only as they kissed each other good night that -the pent-up appeal came.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't forget your old dad in the shuffle," he -said. "It's--it's going to be very hard for him -without you, Phyllis."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Her instant contrition was very sweet to him, -very comforting and dear. In fact, he had to -struggle pretty desperately to allay the storm of -tenderness he evoked.--No, no, he wanted her to go to -Washington. It was the right thing to do--the -only thing to do. A girl ought to see something -of the big world before she married and settled -down.--Oh, every girl said that to herself, but -you couldn't get away from the fact that they were -made for men, and men for them, and a father -just held the fort till the Golden Young Man arrived.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>How they laughed, with tears in their eyes! -How infinitely precious was the love that bound -them together! Dad was never to be lost in the -shuffle--never, never; and he was to write every -day, and she was to write; and if it were a hundred -Washingtons she'd come straight back to him if he -were lonely, for to her there was only one real -Golden Young Man, and that was her darling, -darling father.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Yet as Mr. Ladd shut the study door, and returned -to his seat beside the lamp, he knew in spite -of himself that he had said good-by. His -guardianship was over; near, now, was that unknown -man, that unknown rival, for whose pleasure he had -lavished twenty years of incessant care and -devotion. Though Ladd was hardly a believer, the -wish came out with the fervency of a prayer: "Oh, -my God, let him be worthy of her!"</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-iii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER III</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>She did write every day; sometimes the -merest snippets, sometimes long, graphic letters, -full of the new life and the new people. -Her début had been an immense success. Eddie -Phelps, a horrid, tallowy, patronizing person, but -socially a dictator, had put the stamp of his -approval on her, and she had managed to receive it -and not burst--which, if Papa only knew it, was -a very remarkable feat. But, anyway, she had -been hall-marked "sterling," and was enjoying -herself furiously. And the young men were so -different from Carthage, so much more polished and -elegant--and pertinacious. Washington young -men simply didn't know what "No" meant, and -it was like shoveling snow to get rid of them. But -Aunt Sarah was a regular White Wings, and the -poor, the detrimental, and the fast--every one, in -fact, who wasn't a first-class </span><em class="italics">parti</em><span> with references -from his last place--got carted away before he -knew what had struck him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And Aunt Sally! "Why, Papa, we didn't know -her at all. She is as young as I am, and twice as -eager, and dances her stockings through every other -night. Washington is divided between the people -who hate her, and the people who love her, and -they put a tremendous zip into either end of it. -What she really wants is to marry me at the cold -end, and strengthen her position as she calls it; -and though I say it, who shouldn't, the cold-end -young men are coming in fast. When one proposes -to me, she calls it a scalp, and looks, oh, so -pleased! But if I see any of them working up to -that I try to stop him in time, though it's awfully -exciting just the same. That's why I've only three -scalps to report instead of about eight. Oh, Papa, -what fun it is!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In time her letters began to change, and there -were little signs of disillusionment. One was -almost a tract on worldliness, in which she talked -about Vanity Fair, and dancing on coffins, and the -inner hunger of the soul. There were also -increasing references to J. Whitlock Pastor, always -coupled with "ideals." J. Whitlock Pastor was quite -a remarkable young man of thirty, with "a beautiful -austerity," and "fine mind." His people were -immensely wealthy, and immensely fashionable--even -in Carthage there was a sacredness about the -name of Pastor--and Phyllis said there was -something splendid in his taking up forestry as a -life work, and devoting himself to it, heart and soul, -when he had been born--not with a silver spoon--but -with a bird's-egg diamond in his mouth.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>If there was anything to be said against J. Whitlock -Pastor, it was that he was almost too good to -be true. He wanted to leave the world better for -his having been, and all that--and seemed to have -what might be called an excruciating sense of duty. -"A very quiet and rather a sad man," wrote -Phyllis, "whom one might easily mistake for a muff if -one hadn't seen him on horseback. He rides -superbly, and I never saw a ring-master in a circus -who could come anywhere near him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>All this worked up to a telegram that reached -Mr. Ladd a few weeks later: "I accepted him last -night, and, Papa, please come on quick and bless us."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Ladd hastened to Washington as speedily as -his affairs would allow, which was five days later, -and arrived just in time to dress for the -introductory dinner at Mrs. Pastor's--J. Whitlock's -mother's. He tried to imagine he was delighted, -and caught his daughter in his arms with the -enthusiasm of a stage parent. But Phyllis was so -pale, so calm, so undemonstrative that he hardly -knew what to make of her. He put her cool -indifference down to Washington training, but still it -puzzled and troubled him. It was so unlike a girl -who had met her fate--so unlike another pair of -lovers that had been so much in his head that -day--Genivieve de Levancour, and a certain Bob Ladd. -The contrast gave him a certain sense of foreboding.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the carriage she was very silent, and nestled -against him like a tired child. He repeated his -congratulations; he strove again to be delighted; -joked, not without effort, about the exalted position -of the Pastors, and what a come-down it was for -them to marry such poor white trash as the Ladds. -Then it occurred to him that perhaps this jarred -upon her! "Forgive me, Phyllis," he said humbly. -"I--I hardly know what I am saying. I--I -guess I'm trying to hide what this recalls to -me--what this means to me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She pressed his hand, and snuggled it against -her cheek, but still shrouded herself in reserve.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Papa," she said suddenly, "you'd stick to me -through thick and thin, wouldn't you? Whatever -I did--however foolish or silly I might be, you'd -always love me, wouldn't you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"By God, yes," he answered, "though why on -earth you should ask--"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Only to make sure," she exclaimed, brightening. -"Just to be certain that my old-dog father -hadn't changed. Now say bow-wow, just to show -that you haven't!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Ladd, very much mystified, and not at all -comfortable in his mind, obediently bow-wowed. -It set Phyllis off in a peal of laughter, and it was -with apparent hilarity that both descended at the -Pastor's front door.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Whitlock's mother received them in the -drawing-room. She was a stately, gray-haired woman, -with a subdued voice, and a graciousness that was -almost oppressive. Her guests had hardly been -seated, when J. Whitlock himself appeared, and -excused himself, with faultless and somewhat -unnecessary courtesy, for not having been found awaiting -their arrival. Mr. Ladd saw before him a tall, -thin young man, of a polished and somewhat cold -exterior, with a dryness of expression that was -positively parching. Like one of those priceless -enamels of the Orient, one felt that J. Whitlock Pastor -had been roasted and glazed, roasted and glazed, -roasted and glazed until the substance beneath -had become but a matter of conjecture. The enamel -was magnificent--but where was the man? -Mr. Ladd, with a choking sense of disappointment, -began to suspect there was none.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>J. Whitlock opened the proceedings much as the -czar might have opened a Duma. He recited a -neat, dry, commonplace little address of welcome, -and sounded a key-note of constraint and formality -that was rigorously maintained throughout the -evening. The address was seconded by the -empress-dowager, and then it was Mr. Ladd's turn -to swear loyalty to the throne, and burst into -cheers. He did so as well as he could, but it was a -poor, lame attempt; and when, almost in despair, -he went up to J. Whitlock, and impulsively wrung -the Imperial hand, the very atmosphere seemed to -shiver at the sacrilege.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A frigid dinner followed in a dining-room of -overpowering magnificence. There was a -high-class conversation to match, interrupted from time -to time by a small British army--small in -number--but prodigal of inches, and calves, and -chest-measure--who stealthily pounced on plates, -obtruded thumbs, and stopped breathing when they -served you. Mr. Ladd, smarting with an inexplicable -resentment, compounded of jealousy, scorn -and chagrin, writhed in his chair, and tugged at his -mustache, and gazed from his daughter to his -prospective son-in-law with melancholy wonder.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Yet Phyllis seemed to be perfectly contented, -sitting there so demure, elegant and self-possessed at -the terrible board of the Romanoffs. Mr. Ladd -could have wished that she had shown a little more -assertion, a little more--well, he hardly knew what -but something to offset the unconscious arrogance -of these people, and to show them that a Ladd was -as good as they were, if not a darned sight better! -But Phyllis, if anything, was too much the other -way. There was a humility in her sweetness, her -deference, her touching desire to please. To her -father she seemed to have accepted too readily, too -gratefully, her beggar-maid position at that kingly -table.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But as he watched her some doubts assailed him. -He remembered how singular she had been in the -carriage, how over-wrought, and unlike her usual -self. Her eyes, fixed so constantly on her -intended's, had in them more pleading than love; -more a curious, studying, seeking look, as though -she, too, was trying to penetrate the enamel, and -see beneath. But her voice softened as she spoke -to him; she smiled and colored at his allusions to -"us" and "our"; she shyly referred to their -projected honeymoon in the western forests, and -spoke rapturously of galloping through the glades -at the head of twenty rangers, all sunburned and -jingling and armed to the teeth.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>What was an old fellow to make of it, anyway? -One could bring up a girl from a baby, and still -not know her. Mr. Ladd was very much perplexed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After dinner, the ladies left the two men at their -coffee, and retired. The British Army set out -liqueurs, cigars, a spirit-lighter, and then noiselessly -vanished. Now that they were alone together, -Mr. Ladd hoped that J. Whitlock would unbend; hoped -that the long-deferred process of making his -acquaintance would begin. He might not be an ideal -son-in-law, but it was horse-sense to make the best -of him. You had to take the son-in-law God gave -you. Besides, the man that Phyllis loved was -bound to have a fine nature; and if he could unveil -it to her, he surely could unveil it to her father. -So, between sips of Benedictine, and through the -haze of a good cigar, Mr. Ladd essayed the task.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He commenced by describing his own early manhood; -his courtship of Phyllis' mother; his marriage -in face of a thousand difficulties. Again and again -he faltered; it was all so sacred; his eyes were often -moist--but he persevered; he had to win this -young man, and how better than by appealing to -the sentiment that unites all true lovers? The -elderly railroad president could not bear utterly to be -left out of these two young lives. His daughter -was lost to him; at best a husband leaves little for a -father; this stranger had it now in his power to -make that little almost nothing. Small wonder, -then, that Mr. Ladd struggled for his shred of -happiness; put pride on one side; exerted every faculty -he possessed to attract the friendship of Phyllis' -master. For a husband is a master; a woman is -the slave of the man she loves; forty centuries have -changed nothing but the words, and the size and -metal of the ring.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It used to be of iron, and was worn on the neck.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Ladd's gaze, that had been fixed in vacancy, -of a sudden fell full on J. Whitlock's face. What -he saw was an expression so cold, so delicately -supercilious, so patiently polite, that he stopped as -suddenly as though he had been struck by lightning. -Was it for this, then, that he had opened this holy -of holies, into which no human being before had -ever looked,--this inmost recess of his soul, now -profaned, it seemed to him, for ever? For a second -his shame transcended even his disappointment. He -had dishonored the dead, besides dishonoring himself. -He had allowed this tall, thin, bored creature -to hear things too dear, too intimate, to be spoken -even to Phyllis. My God, what an old fool he -had been, what an ass!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Had we not better join the ladies?" inquired -J. Whitlock, after the pause had lasted long enough -to redeem the proposal from any appearance of rudeness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I suppose we had," returned Mr. Ladd, in a -tone as dry as his host's; and together they both -sought the drawing-room.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A long, long hour followed before, in decency, -a very flustered, embittered, and upset middle-aged -gentleman could dare to say his adieux. From the -frescoed ceiling the painted angels must certainly -have wept at the sight beneath; or, if they did not -weep, they surely yawned. The labored conversation, -the make-believe cordiality, the awful gap -when a topic fell to rise no more, certainly made it -an evening that never could be forgotten. Blessed -Briton who said: "Mr. Ladd's kerridge!" Twice -blessed Briton who handed them into it, and -uttered the magic word "'Ome!"</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"Did you like him, Papa?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A delightful young man, Phyllis, perfectly delightful."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And his mother?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Charming, charming!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I never saw either one of them unbend as they -did to you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It was a great compliment. I appreciate it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You don't think I could have done better?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, indeed. Not if you love him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Papa?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, dearest?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Papa, I've done something awful. Shut your -eyes, and I'll try to tell you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Phyllis, what do you--?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Are they shut--tight--</span><em class="italics">tight</em><span>?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, but I don't--"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, don't talk, Papa, but listen like a good -little railroad president, and I'll tell you what I -think of J. Whitlock Pastor, and that is he's -</span><em class="italics">unbearable</em><span>! No, no, I'm not joking--I mean it, I -mean it! He's unbearable, and his mother's -unbearable, and the forty yards around them is -unbearable, and I wouldn't marry him for anything -under the sun, no, not if he was the only man in the -world except the clergyman who would do it; and -Papa, I'm so mortified and ashamed and miserable -that I don't know what to do. Didn't you notice -me to-night, and how shy and crushed I was, sitting -there like a little Judas, and feeling, oh, horribly -wicked and treacherous? It was </span><em class="italics">all</em><span> I could do not -to scream out that I hated him, just as loud as I -could: I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!--I -was trying to tell you that when we started, but I -didn't have the courage. I wanted you to see him -for yourself; to realize how unendurable he is; -I--I--wanted you not to blame me too much, Papa."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To Mr. Ladd it was like a reprieve at the gallows' -foot. Blame her? Why, elation ran to his head -like wine; he caught her in his arms and hugged -her; had he saved her from drowning he could not -have been more passionately thankful. His -opinion of the young man came out in a torrent of -unvarnished Anglo-Saxon. To every epithet he -applied to him, Phyllis added a worse. In their wild -humor, and bubbling over with a laughter that -verged on the hysterical, they vied with each other -in tearing J. Whitlock to pieces.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But, Phyllis, Phyllis, how did you ever come -to do it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't know, Papa."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But you must have liked him?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I thought I did."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Was it the attraction of his position--his -name--and all that kind of thing?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, I thought I loved him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How </span><em class="italics">could</em><span> you have thought such a thing?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's incredible, but I did, Papa. I loved him -right up to the moment when he kissed me. And -how could I stop him after having looked down -at my toes, and said 'Yes.' He's been kissing me -for five days--and, Papa, I hate him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The fierceness she put into these three words was -vitriolic. Disgust, revulsion, outraged pride flooded -her cheek with carmine.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Papa, I can't make any excuses for myself. -It's not prudery; it's not that; but somehow the -real </span><em class="italics">me</em><span> didn't like the real </span><em class="italics">him</em><span>, and that's all I can -say about it!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You'll have to write to him, and break it off."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But what am I to tell him, Papa? It's so -awful and humiliating for him. I guess I'll just -put it down to insanity in my family."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But, good Lord, we haven't any--we've a very -decent record."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Papa, I simply must have been insane to -have got engaged to him.--I'll write him a beautiful -letter of regret, and inclose a doctor's certificate!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Her incorrigible humor was again asserting itself. -She outlined the letter, her eyes dancing with -merriment. Mr. Ladd, in no mood to criticize these -swift transitions, joined in whole-heartedly. They -laughed and laughed till the tears came, and arrived -home like noisy children from a party.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Fensham, in a very décolleté gown, and -looking like a sylph of twenty-five, was waiting for -the carriage to take her to a ball. She swam up -in front of Bob, and raised her two little hands to -his shoulders--a graceful gesture, and one she was -very fond of.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And you found him a perfect dear, didn't you?" -she murmured ecstatically.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I don't know that I did," faltered Brother -Bob, placing a kiss on the top of her head. "The -fact is, Sally, we've decided to call it off!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bob, you haven't broken the engagement!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Her lisping voice turned suddenly metallic. She -stared from her brother to her niece, a sylph no -longer, but a woman of forty-five, pale with -apprehension and anger.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Phyllis has made a mistake, that's all," he said. -"He looked very nice in the show-window, but -now we are going to take him back, and get a -credit-slip for something we want more."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A new automobile coat for Papa," put in -Phyllis mischievously.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And you can both laugh about it!" exclaimed -Aunt Sarah in appalled accents. "Laugh at -throwing over J. Whitlock Pastor! Oh, you little -Carthage nobodies--haven't you any sense at -all--don't you know what you are doing--isn't he -as much a duke with us as any Marlborough or -Newcastle in England? He was too good; he was -too nice; he wasn't enough of a snob to blow and -brag--and that's what he gets for it, the 'No' of -a silly girl, who'd prefer a barber's block clerk to -the greatest gentleman in America!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She tottered to the mantelpiece and burst into -tears--the first tears she had shed in twenty -worldly and scheming years--and the only tears -that did attend the rupture of the Pastor-Ladd -engagement.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-iv"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER IV</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>There was the usual chatter, the usual -slanders, the usual innuendoes that -follow such an event. Charming little assassins, -in Paquin gowns and picture hats flew about -sticking pins into Phyllis' reputation. Those worse -gossips, the clubs, were not behindhand either; and -old gentlemen, who ought to have known better, -unctuously laid their heads together and passed the -lies along. It is so much the custom to dwell on -the good side of human nature that we are apt to -forget the existence of another--that cruel -malignancy, which, in embryo, may be seen any time at -the monkey-house in the Zoo. In its more -developed human form it jostles at our elbows every day.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The American duke himself behaved with a beautiful -propriety. Publicly he took all the blame on -his own shoulders, and hied him to the western -wilds to scourge the campers and cigarette-smokers -who infested his beloved forests. Thus congenially -employed, he was quite willing to wait for Time's -healing hand to do the rest. In a year he was -completely reënameled, and took a finer polish than -ever.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Ladd hoped that Phyllis would return to -Carthage to hide her head from the storm. But -she insisted on staying in Washington, and "seeing -it through," which she did with the prettiest -defiance imaginable, returning pin for pin with gay -insouciance, and dancing the night out in all -manner of lions' dens. In her veins there ran the blood -of that old aristocratic South--of those fighting-cock -Frenchmen, dark, lithe and graceful, who had -loved, gambled and gone the pace with headlong -recklessness and folly; of those fiery Spaniards, -more grave and still more dissolute, to whom pride -was the very breath of life, and who could call out a -man and shoot him with the stateliest of courtesy.--What -a race it had been in the heyday of its -wildness and youth, the torment of women, the terror of -men, alluring even now through the haze of by-gone -pistol-smoke! And though it has been dead and -gone these hundred and fifty years, the strain yet -persists in some Phyllis here, some stripling there, -attenuated perhaps, but far, far from lost.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Even to-day such intrepidity casts its spell. The -eyes that are unafraid, the mouth that can smile in -peril, do we not still admire their possessor--and -that most of all in a young, high-bred and exceedingly -attractive woman? Washington certainly did -in Phyllis Ladd--young-man Washington, that -is,--and they trooped after her in cohorts, and would -have drunk champagne from her little slipper had -she let them.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Months rolled by. The tide of Phyllis' letters -rose in Mr. Ladd's drawer--countless pages in -that fine girlish hand, full of zest, full of the joy -of living, revealing, intimate, and silent only in -regard to the most important matter of all--J. Whitlock's -successor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Ladd knew what value to set on her assertion -that she was "tired of men." He waited, not -without jealousy, for preference to show itself; -reading and re-reading every allusion that might -afford a clue. If she wrote that "the ambassador -was a very kind old man, with aristocratic legs, and -a profile like a horse, who singled me out for -much more than my share of attention"--Mr. Ladd -would forthwith look up that ambassador; -get his diplomatic rating; and worry about his -being sixty-six, and twice a widower.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One day, quite out of the sky, a card was brought -him inscribed, "Captain Baron Sempft von Piller, -First Attaché, Imperial German Embassy, -Washington." As a rule, applicants to see Mr. Ladd had -first to state their business, and undergo a certain -amount of sifting before they were admitted. In -this manner inventors were weeded out, cranks, -people with a grievance against the claims' department, -book-agents, labor-leaders, charity-mongers, bogus -clergymen who had been refused half-rates--all -that host who buzzed like mosquitoes outside -Mr. Ladd's net. But the First Attaché of the Imperial -German Embassy was given an open track, which -he took with a military stride, and the clank of an -invisible sword.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Ladd turned in his chair, and beheld a florid, -tall, fine-looking young man of twenty-eight or so, -with the stiff carriage of a Prussian officer, and -unshrinking blue eyes that had been trained not to -droop in the face of anything.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The captain wasted no time in preliminaries. -In a carefully-rehearsed sentence, innocent of all -punctuation, and delivered in a breath, he said: -"It is not my intention to trespass overlong on the -time of I know a much-engrossed gentleman but if -you will kindly grant me three minutes I shall be -happy to convince you of the integrity of my -character and the honor of my intentions Mr. Ladd Sir."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Taking another breath that swelled out his -magnificent chest at least four inches, he resumed: -"This I now lay before you is my birth-certificate -these are the reports on my gymnasium courses at -Pootledam respectively marked good very good -indifferent good very good till inspired by the thought -of a military career I entered on probation -subsequently made permanent by the vote of my -fellow-officers the tenth regiment of Uhlans which after -six years of honorable commendation I left -regretted by every one to place myself in the diplomatic -service Mr. Ladd Sir."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Taking a third breath, he went on:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"By kindly glancing at this letter which I have -the honor to bear from my esteemed chief whom -I am proud also to call my friend you will see to -your complete satisfaction that I am no needy -adventurer trading on an historic and greatly-renowned -name but a man of substance promise and -ability with the assurance of reaching if I live the -highest place it is in the power of my country and -my emperor to grant Mr. Ladd Sir."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was inhaling his fourth breath when Mr. Ladd -managed to interpose a speech of his own.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am delighted to see you, captain," he said, -"and I shall be happy to oblige you in any way I -can. Perhaps you desire to inspect what is really -one of the most perfect double-track railroad -systems in this country, operated at the minimum of -expense, and with an efficiency that makes the K. B. and -O. very favorably regarded by our public. If it -falls below the high standard of your own -government-owned lines, you must credit us with a traffic -at least sixteen-fold larger per mile than that of -yours. I will ask you to bear this in mind before -making too critical a comparison."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A boyish and most engaging smile overspread the -captain's features, and for the moment he almost -forgot how to go on with the set speech he had -learned so carefully. But he stiffened his shoulders, -threw back his head, and continued, like a student -up for a difficult and trying examination: -"Before paying my addresses to one whose youth -beauty and charm has taken captive a heart hitherto -untouched by the sentiment of love I judged it only -right as a gentleman and a former German officer -before seeking to compromise the lady's inclination -in any way whatever to provide myself with the -necessary proofs of my unassailable position and -honor and lay them with profound respect in the -hands of her highly-considered and greatly-esteemed -father Mr. Ladd Sir."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Ladd nearly fell off his chair at this -announcement; but controlling himself, he bent hastily -over the papers, and managed to hide his stupefaction. -He was very much bewildered, and though -favorably impressed by Von Piller, had the American's -distrust of all foreigners, particularly if titled. -The word "baron" conjured up horrible stories of -imposture and mortification; hungry fortune-hunters; -shameless masqueraders preying on credulity -and snobbishness, always with debts at home and -often wives; old-world wolves ravening for the -trusting lambs of the new.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But the ambassador's letter was most explicit, -and its authenticity could be tested in an hour. The -craftiest of wolves would not dare to take such a -risk. Wonder of wonders, it seemed, too, that the -baron was rich--one of the Westphalian iron -kings--with great landed estates besides. Yes, he was -certainly a very eligible young man. No harm -could be done by rising and shaking hands with -him. Mr. Ladd did so, impressively.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You are very punctilious," he said. "I wish -we had more of that ourselves. Your conduct is -manly and straightforward, and I esteem it highly. -Frankly, I should prefer my daughter to marry an -American--but if a foreigner is to win her, I -should be very happy to have that foreigner you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The baron, who was now quite out of set-speeches, -and had to flounder in English of his own -making, murmured: "I lofe her--oh, how I lofe -her! My friends they say, 'crazy, crazy,' but I -say, 'no, this tells me I am wise.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And with that he pressed his hand to his heart, -with an air of such simplicity and devotion that -Mr. Ladd was touched.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You're a fine young man," he said, "and I wish -you luck."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You will speak well of me to her?--Manly, -straightforward--you will say those words?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"With pleasure, Baron."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The florid face beamed; the blue eyes were -shining; Mr. Ladd remembered the tendency of -foreigners to embrace, and hastened to put the desk -between them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I will go now," exclaimed Von Piller. "I will -what you call, get busy. I will lay at her little feet -the heart of a man that adores her!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't be in too big a hurry," said the railroad -president kindly. "Take an old fellow's advice; -begin by trying to make a good impression."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Von Piller smiled complacently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Already have I done it," he remarked. "She -likes me very mooch. The battle is half-won, and -all I need is General Papa to reinforce."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It suddenly shot through General Papa's mind -that the baron was not so simple as he appeared. -Mr. Ladd's first feeling of compassion for a -hopeless suit changed to a grinding jealousy. It was -intolerable to him that anybody should carry off his -precious daughter, and this amiable young man at -once took on the hue of an enemy. Their farewell -was stiff and formal; and when, two hours later, -the confirming telegram arrived from the German -embassy, Mr. Ladd hotly consigned Captain Baron -Sempft von Piller to the devil.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-v"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER V</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Von Piller had not under-estimated the -"good impression." It was certainly good -enough for him to become, two days later, -the successful suitor for Phyllis' hand. The -engagement was in the papers, and everybody was -happy--save Mr. Ladd. On top of his natural -resentment at any poor human biped in trousers -daring to aspire to his daughter, there were two -letters from Washington that embittered him beyond -measure. The one was from Phyllis; the other -from Sarah Fensham; and though very different in -expression their gist was the same. He was -besought </span><em class="italics">not</em><span> to come to Washington.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Dear, darling old daddy," wrote Phyllis, "The -whole thing is such gossamer, so faint and delicate -and eider-downish, that one belittling look of yours, -one unguarded and critical word--would utterly -destroy it. Of course, Sempft is not the Golden -Young Man, and I know it very well, but I really -do like him lots, and if you will give it six weeks -to 'set,' as masons say, I believe that it will turn -very nicely into love. But just now--! Oh, -Papa, the poor little building would topple so -easily--and you know how hard I have found it already -to stay too close to those big, greedy, grasping -creatures who want to race off with one as a -poodle does with a stick. Not that Sempft isn't -awfully nice and considerate, but I know there will -be times when--! Oh, Papa, be patient, and give -me a chance, for if you should hurry over and catch -me in the right humor, I would send him away so -fast that he would think he was fired out of a -Zalinski cannon!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sarah's letter was in a more wounding strain: -"For Heaven's sake, stay away, my dearest brother, -or you will ruin everything. That girl of yours is -too fastidious and wilful for belief, and from the -bottom of my heart I am sorry for the poor dear -baron, who is making such a goddess out of an -icicle. She is possessed of the same insane pride -that you have, and is quite of your own opinion that -nobody is good enough for her. After bringing her -up all wrong, don't add to your folly by breaking -off a second splendid match. Stay in Carthage, -and try to acquiesce in the fact that sooner or later -she is bound to marry somebody; and thank your -stars that it is somebody to be proud of. I know -she is too good for any one but an archangel, but -still, steel yourself to accept a young, wealthy, -handsome, brilliant, accomplished, high-born and -distinguished son-in-law, who has the world at his -feet. Naturally to you it is an intolerable prospect. -I don't ask you to say that it is not. But for -Heaven's sake, remain in Carthage, and keep your -sulks at a distance."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After his first anger had passed, Mr. Ladd took -himself seriously to task, and forced that other self -of his to admit the undeniable justice of both these -letters. He was a cantankerous, cross-grained old -curmudgeon, and the right place for a cantankerous, -cross-grained old curmudgeon was unquestionably--Carthage. -If he were so utterly unable to make -allowances for youth and immaturity--and he had -to assent to the fact that he was unable--he ought, -at any rate, to have the grace to keep his -fault-finding face turned to the wall. Phyllis was right. -Sarah was right. Everybody was right, except a -hot-headed old fellow, with a sick and jealous heart, -who, if he did not restrain himself, would end by -marring his daughter's future beyond recall.--Yes, -he would hold himself in; he would do nothing -to incur reproach; he would let things take their -course, and pretend to be a sort of Sunny Jim, -smilingly regarding events from Carthage.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was none too easy an undertaking, but he -was sustained in some degree by the hurried little -scrawls that reached him, day by day, from Phyllis.--It -was all going splendidly. She was so proud -of Sempft. He was everywhere such a favorite. -He was so high-spirited, and manly--and so crazily -in love with her. It was nice to have him so crazily -in love with her. It was nice to lead such a big, -swaggering soldier by a pink ribbon--to pin him -with a little, girlish ticket marked "reserved"--to -see him jump at the mere raising of an eyebrow -when some embezzling young débutante had -sneaked him away into a corner.--Then there was -the engagement ring she could not pull her glove -over, with diamonds so large and flashing that they'd -light the gas; there was the gorgeous pearl-necklace, -which Aunt Sarah would not allow her to -accept yet; there was the emperor's wonderful -cablegram of congratulation, all about Germany and -America, as though the two countries were -engaged, instead of merely she and Sempft. It made -her feel so important, so international--and -horrid, shabby men snap-shotted her on the street like -a celebrity, walking backwards with cameras in -their hands while everybody fell over everybody to -see what was going on!--Oh, yes, Papa, she was -saving it up to brag about to her grandchildren--when -she was a tiresome old lady in a castle corner, -with nothing to do but bore chubby little German -aristocrats.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Her gaiety and sprightliness never wavered. -Her content, her happiness were transparent. If -her ardor for Baron von Piller seemed never to -pass the big-brother limits, it might be assumed -she concealed her feelings, and was either too shy -or too modest to betray them. Mr. Ladd, who read -her letters with a microscope, noticed the omission, -and--wondered. His misgivings were not -untinged with pleasure. Did she really love this man, -he asked himself again and again? It was -impossible to be certain. Had it not been for the -J. Whitlock Pastor episode he would have been -in less doubt. But with this in mind, he could not -help wondering--wondering a great deal.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The answer to these conjectures came with a -startling unexpectedness. One afternoon, on his -return home, he found the front door open, and -an expressman staggering up to it with a trunk. -In the hall were five more trunks, and Henry and -Edwards, both in shirt-sleeves, were departing for -the upper regions with another. Before Mr. Ladd -could ask a question there was a swift rush of -skirts, an inroad of barking dogs, and a radiant -young person was hanging to his neck with round, -bare arms. It was Phyllis, her eyes dancing, her -face flushed with the romp she had been having with -the dogs, her hair in wild disorder, and half down -her back.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm home, Papa," she cried, "home for good, -and in such awful disgrace you oughtn't to take -me in! Yes, your wayward girl has crept back to -the dear old farm, and though the snow was deep, -and all she had was a crust from a crippled child--she's -here, Papa, at last, and, oh, oh, oh, so glad!--Down, -Watch, down! Teddy, you'll get one in -the nose if you don't stop!--Oh, the little wretch -has got my slipper off!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Teddy scampered away with it, and there was -a lively tussle before it was recovered, with all -manner of laughter and slaps and growls.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But Captain von Piller?" demanded Mr. Ladd. -"Is he coming? Is he here, too?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, Papa," she returned, "he isn't here, and -he never will be here, and I left him screaming -till you could hear it all over Washington. Just -howling, Papa, and calling for warships! And -Aunt Sarah was hollering, too, till the only dignified -thing left was to tie my sheets together and let -myself out, which I did before there was a riot!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Phyllis, you don't mean that your engagement--"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hush, Papa, we can't talk here.--Come upstairs -to your den."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There she heaped up a dozen pillows on the -divan; settled herself with Watch's head on her -lap, and Wally and Teddy beside her; asked if -there were any chocolate creams, and resigned -herself to there being none; and then, pushing back the -soft, thick hair from her eyes, told her father to -sit at her feet, and not to crowd a valuable dog.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, all that's finished," she said. "It was -splendid and international, and all that, but I could -not stand it any more. He was just like poor -Whitlock, only worse. I don't know how to describe it, -Papa, for he was awfully correct and all that--I -wouldn't for worlds have you think he wasn't--only -he expected all the conventional things that go -with being engaged, and wanted me to nestle against -his waistcoat, and, and--pant with joy I suppose--and -whisper what a beautiful, wonderful, irresistible, -bubble-bubble-bubble person he was--and -shyly kiss his hand, probably--Oh, well, Papa, -I tried to, and I didn't like it, and in spite of myself -it seemed wrong and humiliating--and he was so -large, and pink, and German, and so much of him -rolled over his collar, and everybody seemed in -such a conspiracy to poke us into dark corners and -leave us there, and so finally I just said, 'No, I've -made a mistake, and here's your ring, and here's -the cablegram from the Kaiser, and here's the -photograph of your dead mother--and would you -mind getting out of my life, please?--and friends -are requested to accept this the only intimation.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And how did he take it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He wouldn't take it--that was the trouble. -He made a frightful fuss. He couldn't have made -more if we had been really married, and I had -announced my intention of running away with the -elevator-boy! He scrunched my hands till I thought -the bones would break, and might have thrown -me out of the window if tea hadn't come in the -nick of time. Then he went off to Aunt Sarah, -with the German idea of stinging up the family--as -though twenty aunts could make me love a man -I didn't--and succeeded so well that she -practically drove me out. Oh, her position! I never -heard the end of it--and of course she said I had -ruined it, and that she never could hold up her -head again. The only thing to do was to run. So -I ran and ran and ran--to my old dad!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She slipped her hand down, and held her father's -collar as though he, too, were a dog, and gave it -an affectionate little tug.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My darling old dad," she murmured.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's not so bad to have one, is it?" he said. -"To know where there is a snug harbor, and an -old fellow who thinks you are perfect, and -everything you do is right. You will get a lot of -criticism for this, and I suppose Washington will boil -over--but to my thinking, you couldn't have done -better, and I am thankful for your courage. If -you don't love a man, for God's sake, don't marry -him, even if you're both walking up the aisle, and -he's twiddling the ring!--To tell the truth, I -wasn't a bit partial to Von Piller, and found it -pretty hard to sit tight, and be told he was forty -different kinds of a paragon."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My darling Papa," she observed sweetly, -"you're never going to like anybody who wants -to marry me, and it's sure to cost me some worry -when the right person does come.--Do you -suppose he ever will?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I guess so."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"In spite of the awful record I have made? -Aunt Sarah says I am branded as a coquette, and -no decent man will ever have anything more to -do with me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Rubbish."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Phyllis fondled Watch's ears, which were long -and silky, and tried the effect on dog-beauty of -overlapping them on his head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Papa, what's the matter with me? Why -haven't I any sense? Why am I not like other -girls?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You are very fastidious."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, that's true."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And very proud."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, inherited."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And demand a great deal."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes--everything."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You are in love with love--and are rather -in a hurry."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Papa--shut your eyes--I am love-hungry. -I want to love--I'm crazy to love. Only--only--"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The right man hasn't arrived?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I hope it's that. If it isn't, I'm going to have -a bad time of it. It seems so useless; this getting -engaged and then hating the poor wretch.--It's -such a terrible waste of energy and heart-beats all -round."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Dad included."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What a nuisance I am, to be sure! I've -exhausted everybody's patience except yours, and -that's getting thin. It will end in my living alone -in a shanty with nothing but dogs, and the faded -photographs of the men I've thrown over. Aunt -Sarah called me an awful name; called me an -engagement-buster; said that the habit would grow -and grow till I was a horrid old maid with nothing -to tease but a parrot.--Though I'd love to have a -parrot--two of them--and raise little parrots! -Little fluffy baby parrots must be adorable. Papa, -let's buy a pair to-morrow, and you'll teach the -he-one to swear, and I'll teach the she-one to be -gentle and submissive and always have her own -way. And Papa--?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, dearest?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You aren't cross with me, are you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not a bit."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And I may live with you, and add up your -bills, and bring you your slippers, and dream all -day of that Golden Young Man who doesn't exist?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, don't say that--He does, Phyllis."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Papa, he doesn't, he doesn't, he doesn't!"</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-vi"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER VI</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Socially speaking Carthage was as distant -from Washington as is Timbuctoo. While -the Von Piller hurricane was raging in the -nation's capital, the Carthage barometer showed -"fair and rising." To a storm-tossed little mariner, -it was like gaining the lee of some palmy isle, and -casting anchor in still water. The islanders, too, if -a trifle homespun and provincial, were the most -delightful people, and unspoiled by any intrusion of a -higher civilization. Phyllis had not realized how -entirely her outlook had changed until she returned -to her own home. She saw her former school -fellows with new eyes, and while she could not forbear -smiling at some of their ways, she liked them -better than ever before.--They, on their side, -regarded with awe this fashionable young beauty, -who had jilted a Pastor, and given the mitten to -a real, live, guaranteed baron, and who had -descended in their midst, like a racer in a paddock of -donkeys.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Some of them felt very donkeyfied indeed. Tom -Fergus, a gelatinous young man, somewhat -forward and familiar, who was alluded to in the local -papers as "one of the leaders of the younger set" -said she was "raving pretty, but, my stars, what -was a fellow to talk to her about?" Billy -Phillpots, who worked in his father's store (many of -the young fellows "worked in his father's store") -vetoed her as "insufferably stuck up," he having -escorted her home one night, and failed to extort -the usual toll at the garden-gate.--The good night -kiss at the garden-gate was quite a Carthage -institution, and as innocent as the kiss of an early -Christian.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Life in Carthage was altogether Early Christian--for -the young people of the better families. -They met every night, and moved in flocks, like -sparrows, alighting first in one house and then -another--taking up the carpets for dancing, -improvising suppers, crowding round the fireplaces -to sing, and tell stories. Presumably there was -some social line drawn somewhere; but money at -least counted for little, and anybody that was "nice" -was allowed in. And it must be said, on the whole, -that they were remarkably "nice," and very much -a credit to high-class democracy. The boys were -well-mannered, brotherly and respectful; the girls -charming in their blitheness and gaiety. Occasionally -there was a match, and a couple disappeared as -completely as though they had fallen into the river -and been swept away. You couldn't marry, and -still be a sparrow. No, indeed! You passed into -another world, and six months after the sparrows -would hardly know you on the street. One would -not venture to say this was cruel--though it -always came as a shock to the newly-wedded -pair--it was just the sparrow way, that's all.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Phyllis was soon flying with the rest of them, -and her ready adaptability caused her to be accepted -in their midst without more than a passing -hesitation. Hiding her riper and more womanly nature, -and absorbing herself in this animated triviality, -she pretended to be as much a sparrow as any -of the flock, and no less lively and empty-headed. -She was lonely, heart-tired, and very much adrift -on the sea of life; and in the engaging childishness -of these girls and boys, who, though of her own -age, were mentally only up to her elbow, she found -a sort of solace, a sort of peace. They kept her -from thinking; their chatter and good spirits were -exhilarating; the naïve admiration of the young -men warmed, and yet did not disturb her.--Before -her long flight to other skies, the little bird might -well be thankful for the sparrows.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Spring came--summer. Her twenty-first birthday -passed in the Adirondacks, where her father -had a cottage in that wilderness of woods and lakes. -She was in her twenty-second year now, and knew -what it was to feel old--oh, so old! That she -was able, by the laws of the land, to buy and hold -real-estate seemed but a poor set-off to this -encroachment of time--though her father repeatedly -pointed out this new privilege the years had brought. -She could marry, too, without his consent--another -empty concession to maturity, considering there was -no one to marry with or without it. Of course, -there were a few silly babies running after her as -though she were a woolly sheep--but no one that -the wildest stretch of imagination could consider -a man. Some of their fathers ran, too--stout -widowers panting with the unaccustomed exertion,--but -that was grotesque and disgusting. Far or -wide, high or low, there wasn't a pin feather of -the Golden Young Man. His noble race was -extinct. He lived in books, but you never met him. -Never, never. He had died out a million years -ago, leaving nothing save a tradition for poets and -novelists to paw over.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Quite convinced that it was a wretched world, -Phyllis danced and rode, picnicked and camped out -after deer in a bewitching Wild West costume, and -was always the first to a party, and the last to leave -it--all very much like one who found it tolerable -enough. Some would have called her an insatiable -little pleasure-seeker, and been wholly misled. -"What are any of us doing except waiting for a -man?" she once announced with shocking candor. -"It's the fashion to talk of 'other interests' and -we girls are all graduating, and slumming, and -teaching little foreign Jews to sing '</span><em class="italics">My Country -'Tis of Thee</em><span>, and </span><em class="italics">Columbia</em><span>, </span><em class="italics">Gem of the Ocean</em><span>, -and learning to be trained nurses and bacteriologists--just -in the effort to save our poor little -self-respect. We ruin our complexions, dim our eyes, -and spoil our nice hands--all the property of some -future lord and master, whom we really are -pilfering--and who's deceived? Who takes it seriously? -We don't, who do it. Poof, what a pretense it -is!--If you have to wait, why not two-step through -it as I do, and be as happy as you can, like people -snowed up in a train. That's what a young girl -is--snowed up--and I only wish some one would -come with a spade and dig me out!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>These racy confidences entertained and delighted -her father, but on other people they often had a -contrary effect. The truth from the lips of babes -and sucklings, however phenomenal, is also -disconcerting. Old women, who in private taught their -daughters a revolting cynicism, and called it -"putting them on their guard," were much overcome -by Phyllis' frankness. It was "bold"; it was -"unladylike"; it was "dreadful." They tore Phyllis -to pieces, and prophesied the most awful things. -It may be that they were right. Selfishness is a -fine ballast, and an anxious regard for number one -keeps many a little ship on an undeviating course. -Phyllis was made to smart for her unconventional -sayings, and they often came back to her, so distorted -and coarsened by their travels, that her cheeks -flushed with anger.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There's one thing I am learning fast," she said, -"and that is, all my friends seem to be men, and -all my enemies, women--and I may as well get -used to it now. I know there are a few exceptions -either way, but it's substantially that, anyhow, and -one might as well face up to it, and save trouble."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm afraid you are what they call a man's -woman, my dear," said Mr. Ladd.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm glad of it," exclaimed Phyllis saucily. "I -don't want to be any other kind of a woman, least -of all one of those sneaking, cowardly, backbiting, -hypocritical things. I don't wonder they used to -whip them in the good old days. If men hadn't -degenerated so terribly, they'd be whipping them now!"</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Autumn saw her back in Carthage again. Aunt -Sarah was begging to have her for another Washington -winter, and was in a beautifully forgiving -humor. The breaches in her social position had -been repaired, and the Demon Want, confound him, -was knocking loudly at the door of her elegant -establishment--so that the hope of another visit, -with its accompanying shower of Brother Bob's -gold, loomed very attractively before these cold, -blue eyes. But Phyllis could not be beguiled; she -had no wish to repeat that mad winter; her mood -was all the other way--for her big tranquil house, -her books, her dogs, her horses, and long dreaming -hours to herself, undisturbed. She had loved -Washington, and had exhausted it. The strain of its -business-like gaiety was not to be endured again. -It was a factory of pleasure, and the hours -over-long, the tasks over-hard. Aunt Sarah might ring -the bell all she wished, but the factory that winter -would be one toiler short. When a person has -entered her twenty-second year, that advanced age -brings with it a certain serenity unknown to wilder -twenty. You are glad to lie back with a dog's -head in your lap, and lazily watch the procession. -Silly young men, choking in immense collars, no -longer can keep you out of bed till three A.M. -Let the new débutantes have that doubtful joy. -Twenty-two preferred her book, and her silent -rooms.--Not that Carthage was without its simple -relaxations, but they were well spaced out, with -long intervals between.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"Miss Daisy wants you on the 'phone, Miss."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, all right--I'm coming.--Hello, hello, -hello--What a dear you are to ask me--A--matinée -Wednesday? Love to!--What's it to be?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Phyllis, you won't be offended, will you, -but I'm so poor, and their boxes are only five -dollars, and will hold six, and they've promised to -squeeze in three more chairs--and so I've invited -nine--and it's in that cheap, horrid Thalia Theater, -but nobody can hurt us in a box, and everybody says -the play's wonderful, and you can eat peanuts, -which you can't do in a real theater; and it's -</span><em class="italics">Moths</em><span>, by Ouida, and Cyril Adair is the star, and -he is so wonderfully handsome--oh, you must -have seen his pictures in the barber-shop windows--and -anyway, even if he isn't, the play is delightfully -wicked--because I had such a fight with -mama about it, and then Howard has been twice, -which he wouldn't have done if it wasn't; and even -if it isn't, how am I to give a theater-party on no -more than five dollars? The Columbia boxes are -fifteen, and so are the Lyceum's, and when they -say six, it's six, and you simply couldn't dare to -ask nine girls because they wouldn't let them in. -But the Thalia man was so pleased and impressed -that I believe he would have included ice-cream if -I had asked him--and Phyllis?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, darling."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It would give such a lot of ginger to it, if -you would lend me your carriage and the -dog-cart--! Oh, I knew you would! What a -comfort you are, Phyllis. I don't know how I'd get -along without you, you are always so generous and -obliging. Nettie Havens has volunteered tea at -her house--just insisted on it when I told her. -I guess that poor little five never went so far in -all its little history! I can't think it ever ran a -whole theater-party before, with carriages and teas. -It's an awful tacky way of doing things, I admit, -but what does it matter if we have a good time?--Yes, -that's the only way to look at it, and you're -a darling. Do you know I think Harry Thayre -is sweet on--! Oh, bother, she says I've to ring -off, or pay another nickel. If it was a man she'd let -him have fifteen cents' worth! Well, good-by, -good-by--!"</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>It was a pretty sight they presented in their box, -a veritable flower-bed of young American womanhood. -The bright, girlish faces, the laughter, the -animation, the sparkling eyes, the ripples of -merriment, the air of innocent bravado--all were in -such contrast to the usual patrons of the Thalia -that the house could not take its eyes off them. -It was essentially a shop-girl-and-best-young-man -theater, with a hoodlum gallery, and a general -appearance of extreme youth. Those who did not -chew gum were almost conspicuous, and a formidable -young man with a voice of brass, perambulated -the aisles with a large tray, and terrorized nickels -and dimes from the pockets of swains. He had a -humorous directness that made the price of -immunity seem cheap at the money. It was worth a -dime any time to escape him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And the play?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was a rousing love-story, crude, stilted, -old-fashioned, but developed with a force and -earnestness that Ouida has always possessed. The brutal -Prince, the ill-used Princess, Corrèze, the idol of the -public, the tenor whose voice has taken the world -by storm, heart-broken and noble in his hopeless -love--here were full-blooded situations to make -the heart beat. And how nine of them </span><em class="italics">did</em><span> beat -in that crowded box. And what scalding tears -rolled down those youthful cheeks! And what -little fists clenched as the Prince, passing all bounds, -and incensed to frenzy, struck--positively -struck--the adorable being who was clinging so -desperately to honor and duty! Who could blame -Corrèze for what was to follow? Assuredly not -our nine rosebuds, who, if anything, found the -splendid creature almost too backward, too -self-sacrificing. But--!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And Cyril Adair, who played Corrèze with a -fervid pathos that tore the heart out of your breast! -Of course, you knew he had taken the world by -storm. Of course you knew the public idolized -him. Wasn't he the handsomest, manliest, most -chivalrous fellow alive? Hadn't he a voice to melt -a stone, or drive, as cutting as a rapier, through -even a Prince? His firm chin, his faultless teeth, -his strange, smoldering, compelling eyes, his -vigorous yet graceful frame--small wonder that the -Princess threw everything to the winds for such a -man. Under the circumstances none of the nine -would have waited half so long. The Princess' -devotion to honor and duty seemed hardly less than -morbid. Her patience under insults was positively -exasperating. She clung to respectability with both -hands--screamed, raged, but stuck to it as tight -as a limpet--until a blow in the face, and the vilest -of epithets from her brutal husband, toppled her -finally to perdition--that is, if it were perdition -to link the remainder of her life with that glorious -being, and abandon everything for love.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The box applauded wildly, and led off the whole -house. The curtain was made to rise again and -again. Corrèze, advancing to the footlights, was -left in no doubt as to where he had scored his -heaviest hit, and rewarded those eager, girlish faces with -a glance of his fine eyes, and a bow intended for -them alone. Phyllis was the least enthusiastic of -the party, and her silence during the first -intermission was noisily commented on. She ate caramels -slowly, and added nothing but monosyllables and -an enigmatic smile to the rapturous demonstrations -of her companions. But had they noticed her -during the further course of the performance, they -might have had something else to wonder at. With -parted lips, and breath so faint that she seemed not -to breathe at all--with a face paling to marble, -and poignant with a curious and unreasoning -distress, her eyes never quitted those of Cyril Adair, -and fixed themselves on his in a stare so troubled, -so fascinated, that her soul seemed to leave her -body and to pass the footlights.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-vii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER VII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The tea that followed was but a blurred -memory, a confused recollection of noise -and chatter, with a stab at the heart every -time the actor's name was mentioned. She was -thankful to get home, and lock herself in her room. -She was in a tumult of shame, agitation, and an -exquisite guilty joy. She partly undressed, and -threw herself on her bed, shutting her eyes to win -back the face and voice that had moved her to -the depths. What had he done to her? A few -hours before she had never known of his existence. -The merest accident had revealed it to her, and -now he was causing the blood to surge through her -veins, and mantle her cheeks with dishonor. For -it was dishonor. Everything in her revolted at -such a position. His preposterous name struck -fiercely on her pride and her sense of the -ridiculous--Cyril Adair! How could any one, masquerading -under such an egregious alias, dare to give her -a moment's concern. She burst out laughing at -herself, a contemptuous and bitter laugh. Cyril -Adair! No dazzled little housemaid could have -been sillier than she.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Yet his face haunted her, the tones of his voice, -that strange, smoldering look in his eyes. How -greedily that dreadful woman had kissed him! -Those were no stage kisses. Before a thousand -people she had abandoned herself to his arms, and -fastened that painted mouth to his in an ecstasy. -The audience thought it was acting. Phyllis, with -a keener perception, saw the truth, and it made her -savage with jealousy. That dreadful woman was -shameless, crazy, beside herself. She had wooed -him with every fiber of her body, pressing his head -to her bosom, using every artifice to inflame him, -and what had brought down the thunders of the -house had not been a delineation of passion, but -the naked thing itself.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was horrible. Actors and actresses were -horrible. No wonder they were despised even while -they were run after. No wonder their lives were -notorious. How could it be otherwise when--? -But she envied that woman. Yes, she envied that -woman, terrible as it was to admit it. Hated her, -and envied her.--No, she pitied her as one of her -own silly, headlong sex, cursed with this need to -love. She was no longer young; she was thirty -years old if a day; she was probably poor, -disreputable, with nothing in the world but a trunk full -of trashy finery, and no home but a cheap hotel. -Love was the only thing she had, poor wretch, the -only thing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And Cyril Adair? It was hard to imagine him -in private life except as Corrèze. But, of course, -he wasn't Corrèze--that was absurd. Perhaps he -would be so changed that one would scarcely know -him on the street. She had heard of such -disillusions--of tottering old men playing boys--and -wasn't Bernhardt sixty? But a woman can tell, a -woman who--who--cares. That vigorous manhood -was no made-up pretense; such freshness, such -warmth, such grace, could not be affected; he was -certainly not much more than thirty, on the border -line of youth and early-maturity when men, to her, -possessed their greatest charm.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lying there, in a swoon of shy delight, she -allowed her fancy to fly away in dreams. Hand in -hand, they trod a fairy-land of love and rapture. -She stole sentences from his part, and made him -repeat them to her alone--avowals, passionate and -tender, in all the mellow sweetness of the voice that -still reëchoed in her heart. He was Corrèze, and -she, in the madness of her infatuation, had forced -her way to him and thrown herself humbly at his -feet. His love was not for her; she aspired to no -such heights; but she had come to be his little -slave; to follow him in his wanderings; to sleep -across his door, and guard him while he slept. To -be near him was all she asked. His little slave, -who, when he was dejected and weary, would nestle -beside him, and cover his hand with the softest -kisses. She wanted no reward; she would try not -to be jealous of those great ladies, though there -would be times when she could not hold back her -feelings, and his hand, as she drew it across her -eyes, would be all wet with tears.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>With her maid's knock at the door there came a -sudden revulsion. Phyllis called to her to go away, -unwilling to be seen in her defenselessness, and -fearful of she knew not what. But the spell was -broken. The bubble of that pretty fantasy vanished -at one touch of fact. Harsh reality obtruded itself, -and with it a pitiless self-arraignment. She had -been swept off her feet by a third-class actor, in a -third-class play, full of mawkish sentiment and -unreality, in a third-class theater where they chewed -gum, and ate apples while they wept over the hero's -woes! A wave of self-disgust rose within her. -She felt soiled, humiliated. How dared this cheap, -showy creature reach out to take such liberties with -a woman a thousand times above him? A creature, -who in all probability ate with his knife, carried -on low love affairs with admiring shop-girls, and -practised his fascinations before a mirror, like a -trick-monkey! Pah, the thought of her amorous -imaginings reddened her cheeks, and consumed -her with bitterness and shame. Where was her -self-respect, her modesty? If wishes could have -killed, there would have been no performance of -</span><em class="italics">Moths</em><span> that night at the Thalia Theater.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At dinner she convulsed her father with an -account of the play, in which neither Adair nor the -audience were in any way spared. In her zest -and mockery, it all took on a richly humorous -aspect, and at times she was interrupted by her -own silvery peals of laughter. To hear her, how -could any one have guessed that she had been -stirred as she had never been stirred before, and -that the screaming farce she described had been in -reality the one drama that had ever touched her? -Was it in revenge for what she had suffered? Was -it perversity? Or was it the attempt to conquer a -physical attraction so irresistible that it tormented -and terrified her even while she fought it with the -best of all weapons--derision?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She passed a wretched night, tossing and turning -on her bed in a whirl of emotions. She was -haunted by that face which appeared to regard her -with such reproach. Why had she betrayed him, it -seemed to ask? The smoldering eyes, compelling -always, were questioning and melancholy. That -look, of such singular intensity, and with its strange -and mysterious appeal to some other self of hers, -again asserted its resistless power. She felt -herself slipping back, in a langour of tenderness, to the -mood that had shocked her so much before. In -vain she repeated the saving words--threw out -those little life-buoys to a swimmer drowning in -unworthy love--"third-class actor"--"matinée -hero"--"shop-girls' idol."--The drowning -swimmer continued to drown, unhelped. The -life-buoys floated away, and disappeared. Engulfing -love, worthy or unworthy, drew down her spent -body to the blue and coraled depths, and held her -there, fainting with delight.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In our secret hearts, who has not, at some time -or other, felt an unreasoning desire for one all -unknown. Is love, indeed--true love, anything else? -Glamour and idealization--we would not go far -without either, and many, hand in hand, have trod -the long path to the grave, and died happy with -their illusions. Nature, to screen her coarser -intent, fools us, little children that we are, with these -pretty and poetic artifices. May it always be so, -for God knows, it is an ugly world, and it does not -do to peer too curiously behind the scenes.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>There was a Mrs. Beekman that Phyllis knew, -the widow of a distinguished lawyer, left with -nothing, who had bravely set herself to earn her living -as a milliner. It was to the credit of Carthage that -Mrs. Beekman's altered fortunes had not impaired -its regard for her. She kept her friends in spite -of the "Hortense" over her shop, and a window -full of home-made hats, which, of themselves, -would have amply justified ostracism. It was no -new thing for Mrs. Beekman to act as chaperon, -and repay, in this small measure, many kindnesses -that verged on charity. So she was not surprised, -though much pleased and excited, when Phyllis -telephoned, and asked her to go with her to the theater. -"I liked the play so much I want to see it again," -trickled that tiny voice into her ear, "and though -it's at that awful Thalia Theater, we can sit in a -box, and be quite safe and comfortable.--May I -call for you a little after eight, dear?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mrs. Beekman, who was an indefatigable pleasure-seeker, -consented with effusiveness. Phyllis -was a darling to have thought of her. One of her -girls had told her the play was splendid, and that -the star--oh, what didn't she say about the star! -Was Phyllis crazy about him, too? Hee, hee, all -alike under their skins, as Kipling said! Not that -she liked Kipling--he was so unrefined--but -Miss Britt (you know Miss Britt, the silly one, -with poodle eyes, and a poodle-fool if ever there -was one) Miss Britt raved for hours about his -"somber beauty." Wasn't it killing! If Adair -wanted to, he could leave town with two box-cars -of conquests! My, the milliners wouldn't have a -girl left, and the ice-cream parlors would all have -to shut.--At eight, dear?--And dress quietly so -as not to attract attention? Hee, hee, it was quite -a lark, wasn't it?</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Sitting in the same box, on the same chair, but -with a feeling as though years had elapsed since she -had last been there, Phyllis again saw the curtain -rise on </span><em class="italics">Moths</em><span>. The impulse that had brought -her, the mad desire to see the man who had -tortured her so cruelly, had changed to a cold -critical mood, to a disdain so comprehensive that it -included herself no less than Adair. Dispassionate -and contemptuous, it cost her no effort to steel -herself against his first appearance. His mouth was -undeniably rather coarse; she detected a self-complacency -beneath his Corrèze that his acting failed to -hide; she saw his glance seek the back-benches with -a satisfaction at finding them filled, that struck her -as somehow greedy and tradesmanlike. What a -disgusting business it was to posture and rant, and -choke back sham tears, and mimic the sacredest -things in life--and watch back-benches with an -eye to the evening's profits! The wretchedest -laborer, with his pick and shovel, was more of a man. -At any rate he did something that was dignified, -that was useful and wanted. He was not framed -in cardboard; there was no row of lights at his -honest, muddy feet; his loving was a private matter, -and when he kissed he meant it.--How fortunate -it was that she had come! How unerring the -instinct that had brought her back to be cured!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But as the play proceeded such reflections were -forgotten in the intensity of her absorption. Again -she was leaning forward with parted lips; rapt, -over-borne, lost to everything, and pale with an -indescribable tumult of emotion. She was conscious -of no audience; of naught save the man who held -her captive with a power so absolute and irresistible -that birth, training, pride, weighed as nothing -in the balance. His voice pierced her heart; his -eyes seemed to draw the soul from her body; she -trembled at her own helplessness, though the -realization of it was also a strange and intoxicating -pleasure.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But intermingled with that pleasure, darting -through it like a tongue of flame, was a jealousy of -Miss de Vere that not even the bitterest of -contempt could allay. Phyllis felt to the full the -degradation of being jealous of any one bearing so -preposterous a name. Lydia de Vere! Her lips -curled at herself. Oh, that shoddy affectation of -aristocracy! Lydia de Vere! And that in a -ten-twenty-thirty cent theater, and hardly clothed above -the waist; and yet, in spite of her painted face, -her dyed hair, and all of her thirty years, with -shoulders and breast that a duchess might have -envied, she was handsome in her common, -flamboyant, chorus-girl way, with the meaningless good -looks that one associates with tights and gilt spears. -Her acting was stilted and false; her fine ladyism -an impossible assumption; she railed at the Prince -in the accents of a cook giving notice. But her -love for Corrèze taxed no histrionic powers. It -was vehement and real, as were the kisses she -bestowed so freely, and the caresses she lingered over -with voluptuous satisfaction. Beneath the drama -of fictitious personages was another of flesh and -blood, like a splash of scarlet on a printed page.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>What fury and anguish lay pent up in one girlish -bosom! What a suffocating sense of defeat, -bitterness and shame!-- To burn with jealousy of such -a woman was more lowering than to-- No, she -would not admit that word to herself. It was folly, -infatuation, madness--but not love. It would -pass with the swiftness it had come, leaving her in -wonder at herself, though the scar would remain -for many a long day. This man was robbing her -of something that never perhaps could be altogether -replaced. How wicked it was, how unjust--she -who had done nothing to tempt the lightning! -She hated him for it; she clenched her teeth and -defied him; she understood now what she had read -in books that there are men the mind scorns even -while the body surrenders. But she was made of -stronger stuff; she had pride and courage; her pearls -were not for swine to trample on. She would -put him out of her head for ever.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was terrible how he always got back again. -There were tones in his voice that melted every -resolution. If ever laughter was music, it was -his, and the contagion of it swept the house; and -his face, though not handsome in the accepted sense, -was striking in the effect it gave of an untamed, -extraordinary and powerful nature, only half -revealed. What was pride or courage or anything? -What availed the hatred of that hotly-beating little -heart? Had he not but to look her way to make -it his own? Had he crushed it in his hand, would -it not have died of joy? Hatred, resentment, -outraged self-respect--words, nothing but words.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As the house streamed out she waited in dread -for Mrs. Beekman's criticism. However desperately -she might belittle Adair to herself, Phyllis -shrank from hearing condemnation on other lips. -The pride that had failed so utterly to defend her, -had taken sides with the enemy, devotedly, -passionately. Judge of her surprise, then, her -pleasure and relief, when Mrs. Beekman said to her -solemnly: "Phyllis, that man's a genius! He's -perfectly splendid!" Misunderstanding her -companion's silence, and thinking it implied dissent, -she went on with a note of argument in her voice. -"Of course one can feel somehow that he has had -no advantages--that he has probably never been -within ten miles of the people he is trying to -represent--(do you remember his shaking hands with -his gloves on?)--but just the same he has a -wonderful and magnificent talent, and we'll hear of him -as surely as the world heard of Henry Irving, or -Booth, or Bernhardt. Truly, Phyllis, I believe the -day will come when we'll be bragging of having -admired Adair before he was famous; that is, if -you feel like me about it," she added doubtfully.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I do, I do!" cried Phyllis. "I've never seen -anybody on the stage I've liked as much."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I have," said Mrs. Beekman candidly. -"He certainly suffered from being with all those -idiots, and I don't like that fling-ding walk of -his.--I guess he's about five years short of the -winning-post, but we'll see him romp in as sure as -my name's Emma Beekman."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Romping in" jarred somewhat on Phyllis' ear, -but all the same Mrs. Beekman's admiration was -very sweet to her, and in a queer sort of way was -comforting and reassuring. There was dignity in -idolizing a genius; it raised her in her own good -opinion.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She forgot the apples and the chewing-gum; -she forgot even Miss de Vere; a mantle of -unreasoning happiness enveloped her, and with it -came a gush of affection for Mrs. Beekman that -quite astonished the latter. She held her hand in -the dark, and tried, with many unseen blushes, to -keep the one subject uppermost. To lie back in -the carriage and hear Adair praised, thrilled her -with delicious sensations. She was insatiable, and -kept the milliner repeating "genius, genius, -genius," like a parrot. It cost her an order for a -twenty dollar hat, but what did she care? She -would have given the clothes off her back in the -extravagance of her desire. Fortunately -Mrs. Beekman was nothing loath, and would have -chattered for ever on this entrancing topic. "I guess -we're as bad as my girls," she said, with her -good-natured laugh, "and he could put us both in the -box-car, too, if he had the mind."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I shouldn't care if I was the only one," returned -Phyllis gaily, "and anyway, I've always loved -traveling!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It would be to the devil," said Mrs. Beekman -half-seriously. "That's where such men come -from, and that's where they go back--and if you -could follow round the circle, I guess you'd find it -mile-stoned with silly girls."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, if I went, I would stay to the end," cried -Phyllis. "No putting me off at a way-station. -I'd take a through ticket."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And get there alone," put in Mrs. Beekman. -"Men like that don't go far with any girl. They -are a power for mischief, and they weren't much -wrong in the old days to run them out of -town--vagabonds and strolling players, you know. I -guess in those times they used to take chickens, too, -and anything portable. A bad lot, my dear, and -they aren't any better to-day."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This was a poor return for a twenty-dollar hat, -and without knowing exactly why, it made Phyllis -exceedingly miserable. She felt a diminishing -affection for Mrs. Beekman; and the world altogether -suddenly took on a cold and dismal aspect. Her -spirits were not revived by finding her father -sitting up for her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What was the play?" he asked, taking her wraps.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"</span><em class="italics">Moths</em><span>, Papa."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What? Twice?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I thought it would amuse me to see it -again, and besides, Mrs. Beekman preferred it to -anything else in town, and I really went for her -sake, you know. It's a charity to take her out -sometimes; her life is so monotonous, and one feels -so sorry for her."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Ladd waited, smiling in advance, for another -humorous take-off of the piece. But there was no -fun in Phyllis that night. She drank a glass of -water, kissed him good night, and went silently up -to bed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She doesn't seem very well," he thought, with a -shade of concern, and remembered that she had -been pale and tired for some days past. "If she -doesn't pick up in a day or two, I believe I'll get -the doctor."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Had he seen her an hour later, his misgivings -would have increased. Kneeling beside her bed, -her face crushed in the coverlet, she was weeping -softly and heart-brokenly to herself.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-viii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER VIII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Friday, the day that followed, was memorable -to her for its decisiveness and remorse. -She took a long ride, and between canters, -busied her head with plans of escape. Washington, -Florida, Europe--it mattered little where--so -long as she got away at once. She looked at -herself dispassionately, and the more she looked -the more utterly despicable did she seem. She -was undoubtedly in love with this cheap, showy -actor--(somehow in the sunshine his genius had -withered, and he seemed to share the general -tawdriness of gum and apples and shop-boy -sentiment)--crazily in love, infatuated; and to refuse to -admit it was but to hide her head in the sand, like an -ostrich.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The comparison was not a pretty one, but then -she was not looking for pretty comparisons. In -fact, as far as her feelings for Adair were concerned, -she was eager to find words that could make her -wince. She said them out loud, exulting in their -brutality; gross words, picked up she hardly knew -where, and put out of mind as unclean and horrible. -To use them now was a form of self-flagellation, -and she laid on the whip with a will. It was -good for a little fool, she said viciously. Lash! lash! -It would keep her out of mischief. Lash! lash! -Let her understand once for all what it -really meant, even if the skin curled off her back.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On her return home she stopped at the telegraph-office -to carry out her intention of volunteering a -visit to Aunt Sarah's. Night or day, in season or -out, there she always had a refuge. If blood in -Aunt Sarah's case, was not thicker than water, there -was the more robust bond of hard cash always to be -relied upon. A niece who descended in a shower -of gold could count with confidence on the bread -and salt of hospitality, and the sincerest of -welcoming kisses. There is something to be said for -people you can count on with confidence. An -affectionate, love-you-like-a-daughter aunt might have -made excuses. A money-loving, pleasure-loving, -wholly selfish aunt, living very much above her -income, was one of the certainties of life.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But as she reined in her horse, and the groom -ran to give her his hand to dismount, she wondered, -after all, whether she would telegraph. The -flagellation had been very successful; the September -sunshine had killed the pitiful glimmer of the -footlights; the crisp invigorating air had brought -sanity with every breath. No, indeed, she would not -telegraph, she was not half the fool she had thought -herself; it was a girlish weakness to exaggerate -everything--infatuation included. She would -telephone to that nice New Yorker instead and -invite him to tea. That oldish man with the -charming distinction and courtesy, who had shown -symptoms of infatuation, too.--Yes, a good whipping -to be followed by two hours of an excessively -devoted Mr. Van Suydam, and perhaps a -boy-and-girl-evening later with the carpet up--and why -should anybody be scared of anything?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So the telegram was not sent; and a young lady, -very much restored, and looking adorably fresh and -pretty on her Kentucky mare, came galloping up -Chestnut Avenue in excellent spirits and appetite.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As for Mr. Van Suydam--he threw over a big -reception to come, and was so agreeable and eager, -in such a sweet, restrained, smiling way, that he -was allowed to hold a little hand a long, long while, -and murmur a whole heartful of tender things that -amounted virtually to a declaration--which was -cruel of Phyllis, not to say unladylike and shocking; -for with half-shut eyes she tried to imagine it was -quite another man who was wooing her, and -abandoned herself to the fiction with a waywardness -that was inexcusable. But however unjust it was -towards Mr. Van Suydam, who was an honorable -man, and meant what he said, and was naturally -much elated--his suit did Phyllis good, and even -as dummy for another, an inevitable comparison -would insist upon obtruding itself. Caste is very -strong; it is difficult to associate good-breeding, -honor and distinction with a ten-twenty-thirty cent -star; and though Mr. Van Suydam, was nothing -to Phyllis personally she could not help realizing -the high value she set on the qualities he exemplified--so -high, indeed, that it began to seem impossible -for her to care seriously for any man without them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>An evening with the sparrows rounded out that -day of good resolves and healthy common sense. -She danced with a zest that no genuinely-infatuated -person could have felt, and told ghost stories -afterwards before the fire, and listened to others being -told, with shudders of unaffected enjoyment. -"And my dear, when she looked at that man again, -</span><em class="italics">she saw that his throat was cut from ear to ear!</em><span>"--It -was a jolly evening, innocently hilarious, and -as wholesome as an ocean breeze. Morbidity and -introspection could not persist in an atmosphere so -genially youthful. Phyllis never thought once of -Cyril Adair, and flirted outrageously with Sam -Hargreaves, convulsing the sparrows by sharing his -ice-cream spoon. Ordinarily quiet and backward, -and even a little disdainful, she showed herself in -wild spirits that night, and her audacity, humor -and gaiety were irresistible.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>It was very discouraging, after a night's sleep, -as untroubled as a babe's, to awaken again with a -dull ache within her, and to discover, with -hopeless despondency, that she was not cured at all. -Alas for the girlish armor she had striven so hard -to put about her--Mr. Van Suydam, Sam Hargreaves, -the bitter, ugly things she had said to herself, -the defiant resolutions. Where was that pride -she had stung to fury? Where was that sense of -caste which yesterday had seemed so peremptory?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The morning found her bereft of everything, -wretched, defenseless, with no longer even the will -to fly. She was under the spell once more, and -powerless to throw it off. Her whole prepossession -was to see Adair again, cost what it might. -Nothing else mattered. She was mad, infatuated, -contemptible to herself--but she could only be -appeased by the sight of him. Yet how was it -possible? How could she contrive it? She could -not well ask Mrs. Beekman a second time. That -any one should suspect her secret was intolerable--she -would rather have died. The circle of her girl -friends was too small to arrange another theater-party -without submitting herself to unbearable -innuendoes and home-thrusts. Those young women -had a preternatural instinct for detecting the dawn -of love. In other things they might be stupid and -blind, but for this they were as watchful as hawks, -and as merciless as only twenty can be. What of -her admirers then--Mr. Van Suydam, say, or -good-natured, fat Sam? But they could be very -sharp, too--and besides, she could not be so -forward as to seek an invitation. Young girls in -Carthage had a great deal of liberty--but it had -its limits. Perhaps she could take one of the -house-maids with her to the matinée--it was Saturday -and the piece was given twice. But this would -appear queer, especially if it reached her father.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There seemed nothing for it but to dress very -plainly and go by herself. It was something to -remember that matinées practically existed for -women only--though attending one alone was -unheard of in Phyllis' set. It was less a social law -than a sort of fact. Girls went to matinées in pairs -apparently--always had--and apparently always -would. "Who did you go with, my dear?" was -an inevitable question. Well, if necessary, one -could meet that with a fib; and if one were found -out, it was no great crime after all--but rather -a mild escapade that a blush could condone. Of -course a box was out of the question. She could -not sit solitary in a box for the whole house to gape -at. But there was nothing to prevent her buying -two orchestra seats, so that any one recognizing -her might draw a natural deduction. An -adjoining empty seat was almost a chaperon, besides -permitting her to widen her distance from an -unpleasant neighbor. If there should be two -unpleasant neighbors, she could always rise and walk out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At two she was passing the Thalia Theater with -an air of well-feigned unconcern, though her steps -grew slower, and she stole quick frightened -glances at the bustling entrance. She felt the need -of such a preliminary survey before she could -screw her courage up to the point of joining the -in-going throng, who by daylight looked so -depressingly dingy and common that she was fairly -daunted by the sight of them. Even in the plainest -clothes she possessed, she felt that she would be -noticeable among people like that, and this was -brought home to her the more by the impudent -stare of several young men, who parted, none too -politely, for her to pass. They knew she had no -business there alone; that she belonged to another -world; and there was speculation, as well as -forward admiration, in the looks they cast at her. -She felt they had somehow divined her hesitating -purpose, and were grinning at her humiliation. -She quickened her pace, and got by with fiercely -flaming cheeks, and a desolating sense of failure.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But the desire was so overmastering that after -a few minutes she turned, and again coerced her -reluctant feet. Impudent young men could do her -no harm. What a coward she had been to let them -disconcert her. She would put down her sixty -cents, and enter boldly, telling herself she was a -factory girl, whose young man happened to be late. -She might even leave the second ticket at the -box-office with the phantom's name on it--though no, -that would mean too much talking, and she -distrusted her voice. But, anyhow, nothing was -going to keep her out of the theater. Didn't soldiers -walk tip to breastworks, bristling with guns and -cannons--whole rows of them, with probably a -very similar shakiness in their legs? She would -advance on that box-office in the same spirit--right, -left, right, left--rubadub, rubadub--with -sixty cents in her hot little hand.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She had scarcely reached the outskirts of the -crowd when she suddenly heard her name called -aloud. It went through her like a knife, and she -hardly dared turn her guilty head. There, beside -the curb, in a big automobile, was Mr. Van Suydam, -with a party of women in veils and furs, all -signaling to her. There ensued an animated -conversation. Where was she going? Why shouldn't -she jump in with them? Mr. Van Suydam would -sit on the floor of the tonneau, and give her his -place. They were so insistent that it was not easy -to refuse. She fibbed manfully, and invented -pressing engagements.... At last they rolled -off, waving their hands....</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But this chance meeting cost her all the poor -courage she possessed. Why, she could not explain -to herself--but it was gone, and there was nothing -for it but to hasten away. She felt she had escaped -detection by a hair; the precious matinée was lost; -her eyes smarted with disappointment and chagrin. -She rankled with the injustice of it, too--the -unmerited and unsought disaster that this infatuation -really was. She was so wholly innocent of any -blame. She had done nothing--absolutely -nothing--to incur it. If you caught measles or -smallpox every one was sorry for you; it was admittedly -a misfortune for which you were in no way -responsible. But if you caught love (she smiled -at her own phrase), it was an unspeakable disgrace! -Yet what was the difference? Did it not lie -outside one's self? How unjust it was, then, to make -a criminal of a woman for what was beyond her -power to control; and the exasperating part was -that she felt a criminal to herself!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Her heart was heavy with shame. One instinct -made her love unreasonably; another instinct -arrogated the right to criticize with unsparing -venom. What a contradiction! What a cruel -heritage from all those thousands of dead people -who had gone to make her body and her mind -with odds and ends of themselves! She had done -no harm, yet some blind, unknown, malignant force -was grinding her under its heel. She understood -now why old-fashioned people believed so implicitly -in the devil. It was their crude explanation of -the unexplainable.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She locked herself in her room, and impelled by -a thought that had been dancing dizzily in her -head, opened her desk, and drew out a sheet of -note-paper. She managed to write: "Dear -Mr. Adair"; and then, blushing crimson, covered her -face with her hands, and began to tremble with an -uncontrollable emotion. To continue that letter--to -send it--was to outrage every feeling of -modesty within her. Under the circumstances any -letter, however cold or conventional, was an avowal. -She might almost as well write "</span><em class="italics">je t'adore</em><span>" under -her photograph, and leave it at the stage-door. -But that blind, unknown, malignant force, after a -moment of respite, again drove her on. She might -shiver and blush, but the compulsion of it was like -iron, and she had to obey.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Dear Mr. Adair," she wrote, "I have seen -</span><em class="italics">Moths</em><span> twice, and may I, a mere member of the -public, and altogether unknown to you, take the -great liberty of expressing my admiration of your -wonderful performance?" She stopped at the -last word, and debated it over with herself--quite -coolly, considering the throes she had been in a -minute before. No, "performance" would not do. -Bears performed; so did acrobats; it was not the -right word at all.--She took another sheet of -paper, and began again: "Dear Mr. Adair: I have -seen </span><em class="italics">Moths</em><span> twice, and may I, a mere member of -the public, and altogether unknown to you, take -the great liberty of expressing my admiration of -your powerful portrayal of a noble nature struggling -against an illicit passion? Nothing I have -ever seen on the stage has moved me so deeply, and -though praise from an absolute stranger may seem -little in your eyes, I can not resist the impulse that -makes me write. Trusting you will receive this -in the spirit that prompts it, believe me, in sincere -homage, Phyllis Ladd."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She read it, and re-read it till the words lost all -meaning. What would he think of it? What -sort of person would it conjure up to him? The -hand, and the paper, and the engraved address all -denoted refinement and good taste. It would be -quite evident to him that she was a lady, with a -social position of the best--that is, if he knew -what Chestnut Avenue meant in Carthage, and -especially such a number as 214. But there was -nothing to show that she was young, or -unmarried--or--or--good-looking. The letter might just as -well have been written by a matron of fifty. If -only she could have added "aged twenty-one, and -generally considered a very pretty woman." She -would have liked him to know that, even if she -were never to see him again; would have liked -to tantalize his curiosity in regard to the unknown -Phyllis Ladd whose name was signed at the end.--Though -he probably received bushels of notes. All -actors were said to. And being a man he would -probably like some of the warmer ones better--those -from frankly adoring shop-girls, hampered -neither by social position nor backwardness. Hers -would be pushed to one side, and never thought of -again. Oh, the little fool she was to send it! -What could come of it but shame, and good -Heavens, hadn't she had enough of that already?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But undeterred, and wilful in spite of everything, -she addressed an envelope, folded her letter inside -it, and went out to drop it herself into the box. As -it slipped from her fingers she felt an intense -pleasure in her daring. It was only a coward who -took no risks. There was her letter in the box -gone beyond retaking. For better or worse, for -good or evil, it had started on its road, and let -come what might.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-ix"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER IX</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The next morning, towards noon, Cyril -Adair was lounging over the bar of the -Good Fellows' Grotto, with one well-shod -foot perched on the metal rest below. Before him -was a Martini cocktail, and the admiring, deferential -face of Larry, the bar-keeper. Adair stood the -scrutiny of daylight better than most actors. Late -hours, dissipation and grease-paint had not -impaired a fine and ruddy skin that the morning razor -left as fresh as a boy's. His brown eyes were clear, -and there was about him an air of unassailable -health that was enhanced by broad shoulders, a neck -as firm as any ever cut from Greek marble, and a -finely-swelling chest--the physique, in fact, of -what he had some pretensions to be--a good, -welter-weight boxer. His skill in this direction was -well known, and his readiness when tipsy to -exercise it on any one unfortunate enough to offend -him, was one of the scandals of his stormy and -scandalous life. His engagements, nine times out -of ten, had the knack of ending in the police -court, with raw beefsteak for the plaintiff's eye, -and the option of "seven day's hard" for the -uncontrite defendant. Even when stark sober--and -to do him justice he drank only in fits and starts, -with long intermissions between--there was -something subtly formidable in the man, and people -instinctively made way for him, and treated him -with a respect verging on fear.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was over-dressed in what was the last -accentuation of the prevailing fashion--with far too -much braided cuff, with far too startling a -waistcoat, with far too extravagant a tie and pin--and -worse than anything, wore them all with assertiveness -and self-complacency. Though his manners -were good (when he liked,) and his address -agreeable, and even ingratiating, he was too showy, too -self-satisfied, too elaborately at ease, and his -assurance seemed to rest, not on the conventional -groundwork of birth and breeding, but rather on -his power and will to knock you through the door -if he cared to take the trouble.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Of course, he was profoundly ignorant, knowing -nothing, reading little, his life bounded by the -footlights on one side, and the stage-door on the -other--and like all such men perpetually nervous -lest he should be found out. His inherent ability -was enormous--as enormous as his vanity. He -had fought his way up from nothing--from the -muddy streets in which he had sold papers, and -begged, and starved, his whole boyhood long. He -was full of instincts that had never had the chance -of becoming anything more--instincts, which, if -cultivated, might have made him a very different -man. He was passionately fond of bad music; -delighted in the only pictures he knew, those in hotels -and saloons; he had, stored away in a memory -that never forgot anything, half the plays of -Shakespeare, and thousands of lines of trashy verse. -A savage, in fact, in the midst of our civilization, -which, after trying to grind him into powder, and -denying him everything, was unjust enough to -despise him heartily for what he had made of -himself unaided. Could he have refrained from taking -offense at trifles, and from punching people's heads, -he could easily have retained the high place he had -once held on the New York stage. He had no one -to thank but himself if he were now touring the -country in a fifty-class company, with an enemy in -every manager who had ever employed him. He -had a strong, unusual talent. In the delineation of -somber and misunderstood natures, contradictory, -pent-up, heroic--the out and out bad man with a -spark of good--he was admitted by metropolitan -critics to have no equal in America. Others copied -him slavishly and made successes, while he, their -inspiration and their model, remained comparatively -unknown. There were times when he felt -very badly about it, but a pretty face and a -provocative petticoat could always divert his attention. -Needless to say he had not to look far to find either.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Larry," he asked nonchalantly, "do you know -any people in Carthage here named Ladd?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't believe I do, Mr. Adair," returned -Larry, scratching his head. "Leastways, none -except Robert T. R. Ladd, the railroad president." Larry -was unable to conceive that this mighty name -could possibly have any bearing on Adair's -question. "No, I don't believe I do."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, the railroad president? Any family?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Just one daughter."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, go on--tell me about her."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, there isn't much to say, except people -call her the prettiest girl in Carthage--but then -they always say that of a millionaire's daughter--Emma -Satterlee would turn the milk sour, and yet -in the society notes--"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Did you ever see her?--No, no, I don't mean -that one--the railroad man's--the Ladd girl?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, I saw her onst in a church fair. She -hit </span><em class="italics">me</em><span> all right. Slender brunette, very -aristocracy, with the kind of eyes that if you're </span><em class="italics">fond</em><span> -of brunettes--seem like--"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How old is she?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hell, how do I know! Twenty--twenty-one--something -around there. Just a girl."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And the prettiest one in Carthage?" repeated -Adair, sipping his cocktail as though the -description pleased him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I would leave </span><em class="italics">my</em><span> happy home for her," -said Larry, with a grin. "Pretty--I'd say she -was pretty--pretty enough to eat."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lives out Chestnut Avenue way, doesn't she?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, in the stone house that's set back in a -kind of park, with a big gate in front and a -driveway. The Ladds' are at the top of the top, you -know. My, I felt I was breaking into the swell -bunch myself when she told my fortune for a dollar. -If I had had the nerve and the money I guess -she would be telling it yet! And she smiled so -sweet when she took it, like I was as good as -anybody. God forgive me if I seem to talk -disrespectful of her, for she's a lady through and -through, and I knew it even if I was only a -bar-keeper."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Toss you for the drinks," said Adair, draining -his glass. "Hand over the box, Larry."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Sure Mike," said the bar-keeper rattling the -dice.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Adair encountered an acquaintance, a commercial -traveler named Hellman, on the sidewalk outside.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Just the fellow I wanted to see," he cried. -"Hellman, there is such a word as temerity, isn't -there?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bet your life," said Hellman. "The temerity -of my playing </span><em class="italics">Hamlet</em><span>, you know--the temerity of -you thinking yourself a better-looking man than I -am--the temerity of--"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And you spell it t-e-m-e-r-i-t-y?" interrupted -Adair.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, why?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I used it in a letter I was writing to a girl, -and I didn't want to mail it till I was sure." He -showed the envelope in his hand, with his thumb -hiding the name.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Always at it," said Hellman, with an unpleasant -laugh. "Who are you throwing the handkerchief -at now?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The prettiest girl in Carthage," returned Adair -genially. "There's a box over there--let's drop -it in."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And together they crossed the street, and sent -the letter on its way.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was to Phyllis, begging in warm but respectful -language for the privilege of calling on her.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-x"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER X</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"Dear Mr. Adair: I hardly expected you -to reply to my note, nor could I have -thought it would please you so much as -you say. Indeed, I hope you will not misjudge -it--or me--for it was written on the same impulse -that makes one applaud in the theater itself, and -with no ulterior idea. Frankly, I do not think -I ought to ask you to call--the circumstances are -so peculiar--and it is all so against the -conventionalities. In Washington or New York it would -be different, but this little place--like all little -places--is strait-laced beyond belief. It will be -my loss more than yours, which perhaps will be -some consolation to you. Yet it seems too stupid -to say no--that is, if you really </span><em class="italics">do</em><span> want to -come--and I am going to ask you after all. Surely -a little talk over a cup of tea to-morrow at five -ought not to arrest the stars in their courses, or -bring down the pillars of the universe on our -unfortunate heads? And if any one should come in, -we might say that we had met before in Washington? -That would place our acquaintance on a -more correct footing, and save me, at least, the -possibility of embarrassment. Is this asking too -much of you? Sincerely yours, Phyllis Ladd."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xi"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XI</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>There are men who pursue women with a -skill, zest and pertinacity that others do -bears or tigers, and with very much the -same hardihood and delight. In the rich preserves -of the world, so well stocked with youth and beauty, -they find an unending enjoyment, and an unending -occupation. No sooner have they brought down -one, and beheld her bleeding and stricken at their -feet, than they are up and off, with another notch -on their gun, and fresh ardor in their hearts. They -are debarred from taking the tangible trophies of -skin and head; a slipper, a glove, a bundle of letters -are often all they have to show; but within them -wells the satisfaction of the hunter who has made -a "kill."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Amongst this race of sportsmen there were few -hardier or more daring than Cyril Adair. That -the game was cruel or cowardly had never occurred -to him. The women he knew--all of the lower -class--frequently played their side of it with eyes -wide open, and ran--not to escape--but with the -full intention of being caught. This is not urged -in his extenuation. Often he was not aware of -the subterfuge. Women to him were but prey, -and in more venerable times he would have -waylaid any lady he favored, with a club.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Behold him in immaculate afternoon costume, -striding along Chestnut Avenue--boutonniere, -silk-hat, cane, new suede gloves, etc.--a devil of a -fellow in his own estimation, with an air and a -swagger that reflected his profound contentment -with himself. He had never gone a-hunting before -in such a splendid wood. The thought that he was -actually going to invade one of those imposing -mansions made his pulses leap. How big they -were, how aristocratic! What incomes they -represented! What mysteries of ease and luxury lay -hidden behind those stately windows! He was -tremendously stirred; tremendously excited. He -swelled with self-complacency. He was hardly -over thirty, he was handsome, he was a -genius--and the women loved him!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A man-servant admitted him. Yes, Miss Ladd -was expecting him. His hat and cane were taken, -while he gazed, somewhat daunted, at the immense -hall in which he found himself. He had a -confused sense of tapestries; of stone bas-reliefs very -worn and old; of oriental rugs; of strange-looking, -moldy chairs, straight-backed and carved, with -massive arms, on which there was still the fading -gilt of the fifteenth century.--He was led through -another room of a similar cold and spacious -magnificence, and then up-stairs to the drawing-room. -Here he was left, while the man departed to inform -his mistress of the visitor's arrival.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The elegance and beauty with which Adair found -himself surrounded fairly took his breath away. -His only standard was that of fashionable hotels, -yet here was something that made the splendors of -the Waldorf or the Auditorium seem suddenly -tawdry in comparison. His instinctive good taste -was ravished by the old Venetian brocades, the -rich dark pictures, the Sheriton furniture, the -harmonious blending of all these, and so many other -half-seen and half-comprehended things into a -gracious and exquisite whole. Near him was the -table set out for tea, with silver that it was a joy -to look at; and about the little island it made in -the vastness of the room was a wealth of red roses, -marking as it were the boundaries of coziness and -intimacy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adair's complacency was not proof against such -aristocratic and undreamed of surroundings. His -exultation fell, and pangs of self-pity assailed him. -What was he but a child of the gutter, an outcast--a -man full of yearning for the unattainable, who -had been starved and kept down by merciless -circumstances? Such swift transitions were not -unusual in his peculiar and contradictory nature. -After all, he was an artist, even if often a brute and -a fool, and somewhere within him, very much -overlaid and shrouded, there was a spark of the divine -fire. Yes, he said to himself, he was coarse and -common, and ignorant and unrefined. He had done -much with himself; he had achieved wonders, -considering the handicap he had always been -under--but admitting all that, what enormous deficiencies -still remained! How ill at ease he was in such a -room as this! How hard he would have to strive -to hide his lack of knowledge and breeding! He -had almost wished he had never come. In such a -place he was an intruder--a boor--condemned -to blunder through a part with no author's lines to -help him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As it turned out, nothing could have been more -fortunate for him than this dejected mood. First -appearances are everything, and he might easily--so -easily--have made an intolerable impression. -Indeed, in the cold fit, almost the terror, succeeding -the impulse that had caused Phyllis to invite him, -she was prepared to find him forward, and perhaps -eager to take advantage of her recklessness, and -misconstrue it. At the hint of such a thing she -would have frozen; and the fact that she would -only have had herself to blame would have doubled -her humiliation. A woman who makes the first -advances to a man is more capable than any of -sudden revulsions. Her pride is on edge, and -morbidly apprehensive.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But the grave, quiet, handsome man awaiting her -dispelled these fancies as soon as their eyes had -met. He thanked her with an embarrassment not -unbecoming under the circumstances, for the -unconventionality that had given him the privilege of -meeting her. His smile as he said this was charming; -his respect and courtesy beyond reproach; that -other nature of his, the artist-nature, so quick and -responsive in its intuitions warned him to put a -guard on himself. Besides, if the room had -over-awed him, how much more overpowering was the -apparition of this slim and radiant woman, the -mistress of all this splendor, whose pure dark face filled -him with an indefinable sense of another world in -which he was but a clod. Though he was a -connoisseur of pretty women, and had possessed in -his disreputable past many of greater physical -beauty than Phyllis, not one of them had had the -least pretensions to what in her appealed to him so -strongly--distinction. From her glossy hair to -the tips of her little feet, she was the embodiment -of race, of high-breeding and high spirit; it was as -marked in her girlish beauty as in any thoroughbred. -She was the child of those who had admitted -no superior save their God and their King.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adair found himself bereft of all his assurance. -The professional besieger, accustomed to advance -with sureness and precision, unaccountably held -back, hardly knowing why his heart had turned to -water. It seemed presumptuous enough that he -should even talk on terms of equality with one so -immeasurably above him. His humility was -painful. He stammered. He colored. His hand -trembled on his tea-cup as he strove to keep alive -a conversation of the usual commonplaces.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Miss Ladd," he said suddenly, "you mustn't -think I am a gentleman--because I am not. I -am not accustomed to this kind of thing; you are -the first lady I--I've ever met." He arrested the -expostulation on her lips and went on hurriedly. -"It's much better to tell you that right off. I -don't know those books you speak of; I don't know -anything very much; I am awfully uncultivated -and ignorant. There, I have said it! It will make -me feel more comfortable, and it will be lots better -than pretending I am something I'm not."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You are a great actor, Mr. Adair."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My God," he returned with simplicity, "sometimes -I'm not so sure that I am." Then he burst -into laughter at his own artlessness--a delightful -laugh, contagious and musical, that no one could -hear without liking him the better. Phyllis -laughed, too, and somehow with it the ice seemed -broken, and constraint disappeared. "Miss Ladd," -he went on, "people like you, and places like this, -are the realities which we try so hard to copy with -our poor theatrical pasteboard and calico. I used -to hate Mansfield for saying we ought to work as -servants amongst--well, people we couldn't meet -in any other way, and yet the ones we are audacious -enough to represent on the stage. He meant it as -an insult, of course--but he was right in some -ways. Just seeing you pour tea makes me feel how -badly we do even that!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Phyllis, naturally, was touched and flattered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, we just pour it anyhow," she said, smiling.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Precisely," exclaimed Adair, "and now let me -do it our way!" He drew nearer the table, put his -hand to the tea-pot, and grimacing at an imaginary -company, proceeded to pour and pass several -imaginary cups with a grotesque affectation of grace -and elegance. "Two lumps, dear Sir James?--Patricia, -the Bishop is famishing for some almond -cake.--Oh, mercy me, and what's become of the -Dook?" It was an admirable bit of mimicry, and -so gay and captivating in its satire that Phyllis -thought she had never seen anything so clever. -She laughed with delight and clapped her hands.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Though you shock me, too," she protested. -"Corrèze mustn't do things like that--it isn't in -keeping."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Corrèze?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, you are not Mr. Adair to me, though I -know that's your name, and I have invited you. I -can only think of you as Corrèze."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Was I as good as that in the part?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I told you what I thought of it in my note."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And you really meant it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Would I have written if I hadn't? It was an -awful thing to do. I can't think of it without -burning with shame.--How can you say you are -not a gentleman, Mr. Adair? Only a gentleman -would have put the right construction on it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was questioning her face with his fine eyes. -His intuition again stood him in good stead. This -was not provocation, it was innocence. To himself -he said: "No, it is impossible."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then aloud: "It was the only construction--and -I felt childishly pleased. We're great children, -you know, we actors; and after all, are we -to blame for liking approbation? Just think a -moment. How close it all is to the ridiculous, our -standing up there and declaiming all sorts of -red-hot emotions, with painted paper on one side, and -bald-headed fiddlers on the other! Doesn't it -sometimes come over a man--sort of shoot through -him--the feeling of what a monkey-spectacle he -is making of himself? </span><em class="italics">You</em><span> go ahead and play -Lady Macbeth in a nightgown; rage and strut -before those cold, scornful faces. Then let one -amongst them cry: 'Bravo, bravo,' and give you -a hand!--My Lord, you'd give him your watch -and chain, your diamond pin--don't you see, he -returns you your self-respect, makes your work -worth the doing?--and that's what your note did -for me, Miss Ladd."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Mr. Adair, don't talk to me about the -cold, scornful faces at your performance. I was -there twice, and saw how they called you out!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Miss Ladd," he said, his strong, handsome, -eager face whimsically alight, "let me confess the -honest truth--an actor simply can't have enough -admiration!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You worry me for fear I didn't make mine -warm enough! For really, Mr. Adair, in all -sincerity, I--"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, go on."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Bravo, bravo!" Her lips parted mockingly -over her white teeth as she pretended to -applaud madly. It was the daintiest teasing, and -more charming in the intimacy it implied than any -downright praise. Adair glowed with a pleasure -so honest and boyish that Phyllis might be forgiven -for not suspecting the baser depths he hid so well.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm a conceited ass," he admitted, "and after -all, isn't it enough to turn a man's head to be -here with you, and feel I owe it to the ginger I put -into Corrèze? Most people get their friends by -introductions and all that, but I just snatched you -out of a whole theater full of strangers. For you -are my friend, aren't you, Miss Ladd?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, Corrèze."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You'll be making me jealous of the chap," he -cried running his hands through his hair with -make-believe exasperation. "I think he is a good -deal of a whining humbug myself, and the sly way -he throws bouquets at himself is disgusting. Miss -Ladd, I am ever so much nicer than he is--really -I am--though I see I shall never be able to -convince you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No reason why you shouldn't try."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Perhaps I am ashamed to," he returned, with -an intensity of expression that became him well. -"You find me in a wretched little theater, the -cheapest of cheap stars--the hoodlum's pet, the -shop-girl's dream--and how can it help coloring -your whole idea of me? You admire my Corrèze, -but for me myself how can you have anything but -contempt? No, no--listen--it's true--and the -more you knew of my history the more contemptuous -you'd be. I've been rated very high; I've had -every chance in the world; I've played with the -biggest kind of people, and--succeeded. Yet I -have always been the dog who hanged himself. -No, there is no mystery about it--there never is -with a man who is sinking--a man of ability. It's -his own fault every time--every, every time."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His earnestness made Phyllis thrill. Adair was -playing his best rôle--himself, and playing it with -the fire and eloquence he could always bring to it. -His voice, incomparable in the beauty and range -of its tones, was never so effective as when tinged -with emotion. Nothing was more manly, more -sincere, more moving. It rose and fell in cadences -that lingered in the ear after the words themselves -were spoken--veritable music, affecting not only -the listener, but the musician as well. Under the -spell of it he now found himself tempted into -strange confidences. Never before had he spoken -of his childhood and early life except to lie, to -brag, to romance. Yet here, to his own wonder, -and impelled by he hardly knew what, he was -unbosoming himself of the whole ignoble truth. -That instinct of his, so often wiser than himself, -so diabolically helpful, was showing him the right -road. Had Phyllis been some little milliner this -would have been no road at all; such a one would -have been too familiar with the seamy side of life -to find any glamour in the tale; such a one would -have preferred the bogus palaces and bogus splendors -his instinct would then have indicated. Phyllis' -intelligence was too keen thus to be deceived; -even genuine splendors would have interested her -less than this pitiful story of the slums; it not only -touched her sensibility to the quick, but enhanced -Adair in her tender and sympathetic eyes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His father had been an Englishman--a remittance -man named Mayne--George Cyril Augustus -Fitzroy Mayne. Whether his pretensions were -justified or not, and they were inordinate, -including "Wales" and "Cambridge," he was beyond -all doubt a gentleman, with grand manners, a back -like a ramrod, and a curt, military directness in -speaking. He used to say "dammy"; was fond -of alluding to himself as "an old Hussar"; was -wont to remark that a gentleman could always be -told by his hat and his boots; and once, when -attacked on the street, had shown extraordinary -courage and adroitness in defending himself with a light -cane. This was about all Adair remembered of -him, except that he drank hard; had recurring fits -of delirium tremens in which he raged and fought -like a wild beast; and finally, dying in a hospital -ward, was buried like a dog in the Potter's Field.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adair's mother had been an Irish peasant girl. -She was kind and warm-hearted, and spoke with a -brogue; she was always laughing and singing, even -under circumstances when a right-minded person -would have thrown himself into the East River. -She drank, too. Everybody drank. He used to -be given sips from her glass, and knew what it was -to be tipsy before he was eight. It was about that -time he began to sell papers on the streets, for -his father was dead, and his mother-- Well, he -wouldn't go into that. But in her way she had -always been good to him. She wouldn't let the -men beat him. When she was sent to the Island -for the second time he thought his little heart would -break. She didn't last long after that. How -could she, gone as she was in consumption, and -drinking like a fish? Oh, what a hell it was--what -a hell! His pennies were all his own now, -though he often had to fight to keep them. He -was always fighting to keep them--first in -desperation, then by degrees with some coolness and -science. The bigger boys coached him; egged -him on; he became a regular little bantam. They'd -make up a purse--a quarter or something--and -set two little wretches to pounding each other. -Anything was allowed, you know--biting, kicking, -scrooging, hair pulling! There was only one rule, -and that was to win.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Well, so it went on, till he was sixteen or -thereabouts, the toughest young tough you could see -on Avenue A. He was nicknamed Fighting Joe, -and they used to get up cheap little matches for him -in the back rooms of saloons--real fighting, -stripped to the waist, and four ounce gloves. His -only ambition was to get into the prize ring, and in -his dreams at night he would see his picture in the -</span><em class="italics">Police Gazette</em><span>. Then the Settlement workers came--a -pale-looking outfit, with Mission furniture and -leaflets. They were regarded as a great -infliction--as an insult to an honest tough neighborhood. -It was the correct thing to break their windows, -and lambast their followers. Fighting Joe took a -prominent part in this righteous task. What did -it matter that several of them were women? What -did such brutes care for that? If ever there was -a young savage on earth it was he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One of the women was tall and pretty--not -very young--twenty-eight or twenty-nine perhaps. -Miss Cooke, she was--Miss Grace Cooke. She -would never see him but what she would turn white -with anger and fear. You see, everything was put -down to him, all that he did do, and all that he -didn't--and totaling up both sides of it, it ran -to a lot. He couldn't begin to remember the -caddish things he was answerable for; he didn't care to -try; my God, what a brute he was, what a brute! -And yet he admired this woman; guessed he was -in love with her in a calfy way; took every chance -to see her--and insult her! Of course, there -wasn't the faintest reason why he shouldn't have -walked into the Settlement, said he was sorry, and -have been received with open arms. But people -like that can't say they are sorry--they don't know -how. Besides, the social disgrace of it would have -been awful! Joe Mayne running with that gospel -gang! The thing was incredible.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Late one winter afternoon he saw her in the -midst of a crowd of hobbledehoys, hooting and -jeering at her. She was walking as fast as she -dared, looking straight ahead of her, and pretending -not to notice. It was dark; the street was empty; -and if she was scared she had mighty good reason -for it. One of the fellows lurched against her, and -down she went on the sidewalk; as she tried to -rise another rolled her over, and tore her hat off. -Of course, it was a great joke, and they were all -roaring with laughter. Then it was he came -running up--Joe--and when she saw him she gave -him a look he would remember to the day he died. -Oh, the terror of it--the shrinking! But he -smashed one on the jaw, caught another between -the eyes, and lifted her up, half fainting as she -was, and tried with his dirty hands to smooth her -hair, and put on her hat again.--That's how they -came to be friends; that's how he came to be landed -in the Settlement; everything real in his life dated -from that moment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was with them two years; with them as long -as she lived. There wasn't a good quality in him -that she didn't put there. On census forms, and -such things, when asked his religion, he always -felt inclined to write: "Grace Cooke." By God, -it would have been the truth. She was his -religion yet, far though he had fallen away from -it--oh, so far--! She stood for everything that -was good and beautiful and noble. It wasn't love. -It was beyond all love. She was a Madonna, a -saint, and he had had the privilege to kneel at -her feet--a Caliban of the slums, a tough, a -hoodlum, unworthy to touch the hem of her garment. -Then she died, and that was the end of it. He -didn't care for the Settlement after she died. He -got a job as chucker-out in a low place called the -Crystal Palace. There was a dais, and performers -used to sing. He thought he would try it himself, -and made quite a hit. Then he began giving -recitations--</span><em class="italics">The Fi-erman's Dream</em><span>, and that kind -of thing, and they caught on. He owed it all to -Grace Cooke, who had taught him to read--(not -ordinary reading, he had picked that up somehow -for himself)--but real reading, dramatic reading. -From this it was a step to monologues in costume, -and from that to the vaudeville stage.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sitting there in the growing dusk, and in an -atmosphere so conducive to confidence, Adair -unfolded his early life with a tender, persuasive and -charming humor. He often laughed; often he was -silent; again and again he would look up, and -seek Phyllis' eyes in a lingering glance as though -to assure himself of her interest. For once in his -life he was shy; the slim, pretty hand he gazed -at so covetously was safe from any touch of his; -something told him that the least familiarity would -cost him all he had gained.--It was not policy on -his part. He was too humble to think of policy. -To be with her alone seemed presumption enough--to -feel her sympathy, her friendship. Not a -word or act of his should mar that wonderful day.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He rose, apologizing for having stayed so long.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is your own fault," he said, holding out his -hand, "you've made me forget everything."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm afraid it was the other way round, Mr. Adair," -she returned, trying to smile, and thankful -for the darkness that veiled her face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Am I ever to see you again?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She shook her head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You mean it is good-by, Miss Ladd?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, it's good-by."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Her hand was in his, so soft, so motionless, yet -somehow so reluctant to leave his grasp. His head -was turning; he could not go like that. No, no, -he could not. He suddenly pulled her towards -him, and caught her in his arms, kissing her hair, -her cheek, her mouth, with a passion that cared -little whether she was crushed or smothered in -his embrace. Good God, what was he doing? -After holding back so long, what diabolical folly -had tempted him to this? Yet she had said it was -good-by. He had nothing to lose. Let her pant -and struggle and tremble, he would take tribute -of her beauty nevertheless, however much she was -insulted or outraged. His lips were wet with her -tears. He forced her to receive his kisses on her -mouth, exulting in the strength that allowed her -no escape. But was she resisting him? A tremor -of maddening delight shot through his frame. Her -mouth was seeking his, and he heard her whispering -breathlessly: "I love you, I love you, I love you!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was so unexpected, so surprising, that he let -her free. She sank into a chair and covered her -burning face, repelling him as he threw himself -on his knees beside her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If you don't go, I shall never forgive you!" -she exclaimed. "Haven't you shamed me enough? -Do you want me to die of humiliation?" Then, -from the heart, came the woman's cry: "What will -you think of me?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That instinct, which in Adair took the place of -conscience, honor, all the conventional virtues and -restraints, again came steadfastly to his help. He -bent down; kissed her on the brow; and getting -his hat and cane abruptly took his departure.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The dictionary with unhesitating positiveness -informs us that infatuation is "unreasonable -or extravagant passion." But -are there not those who have stayed unreasonably -impassioned to the end, those whose earthly -parting has been but at the grave? And does not love -of the admitted, recognized, unextravagant, very -much approved, bless-you-my-children kind only -too often ring out its knell in the divorce court? -That Phyllis was infatuated with this good-looking -scamp was beyond question, if by that one meant -his physical attraction held her as much a slave -as any of our ravished ancestors in the Vikings' -boats. Her will was gone; her judgment; all her -nicely-balanced highly-critical young-ladyism. It -was horrifying to her to realize it; her powerlessness -was at once an agony and a delight; it came over -her, with a frightening sense of injustice, that a -woman's happiness lies beyond herself, and is for -ever dependent on some man.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Naturally she sat down, and wrote him a sad -little letter. He was to forget everything that had -passed, and not misjudge her for an uncontrollable -impulse. Were he to presume upon it, she would -not only die of shame, but would be forced to -perceive that her trust had been misplaced. As a -gentleman and a man of honor--and she knew him -to be both--he would understand that it was -impossible for them ever to meet again, and that her -good-by was indeed irrevocable. But her good -wishes would always attend him, and she would -sign herself, in all sincerity, his friend, Phyllis -Ladd. This done, she waited in a fever of -impatience for his answer, hoping, dreading, tumultuously -inconsistent, hot fits and cold succeeding each -other in her troubled and anxious heart.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It may be imagined how unkindly Adair took -her commands. In his large, straggling hand, and -over six sheets of hotel paper he expressed his -energetic dissent. It was a trite letter--flowery -and theatrical--her haunting eyes, the memory -of her adorable beauty, the despair of a man who -had found love only to lose it, etc. Had Phyllis -been herself it would have made her smile. -Nothing, indeed, could have shown how far she had -traveled on the road of illusion than her acceptance -of these well-worn phrases. The tears sprang to -her eyes at the smooth and nicely-rounded description -of his wretchedness; she glowed and thrilled -at the praise of herself, its boldness redeemed by -what she ascribed to a lover's ardor; the pathetic -plea for another meeting was irresistible. It might -be unwise; it was sure to be painful; but, after all, -it was his right. He loved her; he bowed to her -decision; his life was hard at best, and now doubly -so; what he asked was so little for her to give, -yet to him it was everything--to see her once -more before they parted for ever.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>They met this time at the corner of a remote -street. He was very pale, very quiet, and it was -not a lie he told her that he had been unable to -sleep for thinking of her. Had she known better -what those thoughts were she would have shrunk -from him. But, fortunately or not, she did not -know. She, too, was quiet and pale, and it was with -the sense of an impending fate that she took his arm, -and slowly walked with him along the foot-path. -Unconsciously he was more masterful with her, -now that she was away from that daunting house, -and that awe-inspiring drawing-room. The -sanctity that had enveloped her there had largely -disappeared. Here was a situation he was used -to--a distractingly pretty girl, a sidewalk rendezvous, -and an infatuation that needed but the right -handling to bring it to the proper conclusion.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Yet with everything so plain--and apparently -so easy, Adair himself was in a whirl of strange -and new emotions. Something had pierced his -colossal selfishness, and was disturbing him. It -was annoying at a time when he needed all his -wits about him, and he resented it as a symptom -of unmanly weakness. One drop of real love in -that ocean of sham was threatening to poison the -whole. He did not put it thus concretely. He only -knew that he was uncomfortable, and not rising -as he should to the occasion. Except for that -far-away Grace Cooke he had never known a decent -woman. His counterfeit love had been lavished -on counterfeit innocence: and counterfeit purity. -Fooling, he had always been fooled.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But this proud and melting young beauty lay -outside of all his experience. Had she defended -herself he would have known better how to attack. -But she made no demur when he took her hand -and kissed it; she did not resist, when, after -looking up and down the street to see if they had it -to themselves, he caught her boldly in his arms, -and crushed her against himself, murmuring a -torrent of words that came so readily to his practised -lips. How radiantly she smiled when he tore off -a tiny corner of her letter, and told her she had -to eat it as a punishment. Her saucy obedience put -him in a seventh heaven, and it was with a sort -of ecstasy that he snatched it from her, fearful -lest it might do her harm. That letter, in one -sense, had been disposed of almost as soon as they -had met. She had tried, for a moment or two, -to adhere to it, and to make him see the necessity -of that good-by. But under the glamour of his -presence she faltered and broke down, and all that -was left of the matter was her incoherent plea -for forgiveness. What tenderness she put into this -request! There never could be a good-by between -them--never, never--and her eyes swam with -tears at her disloyalty to him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Both felt an uplifting gaiety and light-heartedness, -as she said, in extenuation of her happy -laughter, that they were like people who had grown -rich overnight, for had they not discovered an -enormous nugget--a nugget of love? It had been -lying there for any to find, but they had been the -lucky ones! They had a right to be excited, hadn't -they? The only really serious thing was the fact -that they might have missed it. They might have -stubbed against it, and passed on--like idiots. -She developed this fantasy with captivating grace -and archness, Adair meanwhile lost in admiration, -not only of the delicate fancy that kept him smiling, -but of her varying expressions so revealing of -unexpected charm. She grew prettier and prettier -to him--more kissable, more adorable. He kept -forgetting his ulterior purpose in the rapture of -being with her; he forgot his conceit, forgot his -role; he was perilously near being in love. Perhaps -he was in love. At any rate, when he recollected -to take advantage of this unconcealed regard for -him--of all this young ardor and innocent -passion--the words somehow would not leave his tongue.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Her sensitive mouth, so responsive to every look -of his, the sweet candor of her eyes, her -transparent belief in him--all forbade. There would -be time enough for that; and having made this -concession to his manhood, he straightway put the -idea by, dimly realizing to himself that it was -unpleasant to him. It takes a bad man to appreciate -and exalt the best of women; he sees her in such -a contrasting light; her baser sisters give her by -relief an angelic brightness. It is not for nothing -that they say the reformed rake makes the best -husband. Not that Adair had gone so far as this, -however. He was not reformed, and cold chills -would have run down his back at the horrid -prospect; while his own brief career as a husband had -left him with a hatred for the word and the -institution. It was merely a fleeting impulse, -stronger for the moment than he was, and induced -by his artist love of beauty, which included this -time in its comprehension, a rare, gracious and -exquisite nature.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They were together for nearly two hours, and -when they were forced at last to part it seemed as -though only the half had been said. Yet not for -an instant had they ever got near the realities. -With Adair these were consciously avoided. It -was one thing to say: "I love you," with mellow -vibrations, and impassioned eyes; quite another to -descend to the practical considerations that might -reasonably be expected to follow. He felt neither -in the humor to lie, nor to palter with the ugly -truth, and in a sort of anger dismissed both -alternatives. He was intoxicated with her; she mounted -to his brain like wine; he only knew one thing, that -come what might, she should never get away from -him. This was all his dizzy head could hold. -The future could take care of itself.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As for Phyllis she was in that rapt state of -happiness when a woman can do nothing but glow -and worship. Had not the king descended from -his throne for her? At last was not her long -heart-hunger gloriously appeased? Was she not -so possessed with this demigod that all other -sublunary concerns seemed to vanish into -insignificance? She walked on air; she exulted in the -memory of his caresses; she was the more precious -to herself now that she was his, now that she -belonged to him so utterly. She hoarded every -compliment he had paid her; and wondered, in delicious -doubt, though not altogether unconvinced, whether -she could be, indeed, all that she had seemed to him. -As for the deeper questions, she had the woman's -faculty of answering them in formless dreams.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They were settled in a vague, tender and -altogether perfect manner. He--and she--and a -billowing bliss on which they floated evermore, hand -pressed in hand, mouth against mouth, in an -ineffable and transcendant content.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adair, once beyond her influence, was aware of -a certain sagging of that higher nature she had -conjured into being. Not that he loved her any -less; he was on fire for her, and his coarse passion -was inflamed a thousandfold by their second -meeting. But, as he said to himself, he had muffed it. -He was not the first man to feel a twinge of guilt -at having been </span><em class="italics">good</em><span>. He was a child of his world, -of his conditions, upbringing and environment, and -ought not to be blamed over-much--rather commended -for the first faint stirrings of an embryo -conscience, which, if it had died all too soon, was -still a spark of grace.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The performance tired him more than usual. He -was slack, and could not get into his part. As a -consequence, to offset his disinclination, he -overplayed, and left the theater thoroughly -exasperated, and out of heart. He took supper moodily -by himself, and though ordinarily abstemious--for -no one with his complexion could be accused of -habitual excess--he drank high-ball after high-ball -with a brutal satisfaction in fuddling himself. -He grew wickeder with every gulp, more -cold-blooded and determined. He would see this thing -through, by God. He would take her with him -on the road. She was ripe for it; she was crazy -about him--lady and all, there was the devil in -her all right. The nicest women were the worst -when they let themselves go. What a fool he had -been ever to bother with the other kind. He had -always been a cheap fellow, pleased with cheap -things--with raddled actresses, and silly tiresome -shop-girls. Here was a little piece that put them -all in the shade; prettier than the prettiest, dewy -fresh, with a twist to everything she said so that -it was an endless pleasure to be with her. She was -so quick, so daintily impudent, so finely bred and -educated. God, what an armful! God, what a -little mistress for a tired and lonely man, sick to -death of common women!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He reeled up-stairs, half drunk, and sought his -room, to sleep the sleep of perfect health and -perfect digestion. Whatever else Adair was, he was -a sound and vigorous human animal, with a -constitution of iron. No dreams disturbed his -repose--no spectral finger of remorse pointed at him. A -child could not have lain more peacefully on its cot -than he.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It will be asked why he could not Have married -Phyllis properly and honestly? Apart from other -considerations was she not the only daughter of -a millionaire father? How did Adair come to -overlook this very obvious advantage, and embark -instead on all the troubles and vexations attending an -illicit connection? To answer this question it is -necessary to go back four or five years, and rake -up his marriage with Ruby Raeburn, the dancer. -She, too, had been the daughter of a rich -man--Laidlaw Wright, the Michigan lumber king. Adair -had thought he was doing a very good thing for -himself. To have a father-in-law who is a "lumber -king" has a pleasant sound. Without knowing -exactly how it was to happen, he looked forward -confidently to a flow of dollars in his direction, either -in cash, or vicariously in royal "tips." Surely a -lumber king would take care of his own--and of -his own's husband. Ruby herself had not been -above reproach in holding out the bait, and -everybody had congratulated him, or sneered at him for -"marrying money." Alas, for the disillusion that -followed. Laidlaw Wright was the hardest-fisted -man on the Lakes, and no bulldog, guarding a -lunch basket, could have shown more formidable -fangs than he at any hand slipping towards his -money-bags. Adair learned the sad truth that when -you possess the millionaire's daughter, it does not -necessarily follow that you possess the millionaire. -His dead body must too often be crossed first--and -this event, however desirable, can not be unduly -hurried.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And meanness was not the only drawback to -Laidlaw Wright's character. He could spend -money as viciously as he withheld it, and make -of it a whip of scorpions for the scourging of -sons-in-law. When Adair's domestic unhappiness -reached the acute stage, the cantankerous old -fellow jumped into the ring, snorting battle and -destruction. Money was poured out like water; -giants of the bar were retained at enormous fees; -detective bureaus' worked night and day. Adair -was shadowed; his door was burst open at a time -of all others when he would have much preferred -to have it stay shut; statutes of which he had never -dreamed, lying hidden and unrepealed in the dark -recesses of the law, were evoked against him with -startling effect. He was sent to prison in default -of the bail he could not give. Then after eighteen -weary days, which the giants of the bar would -willingly have made eighteen months, he was tried, -and his case dismissed. But as he left the court -room he was again arrested. That implacable old -man, with his cohorts of lawyers and detectives, -had furbished up fresh charges. The indictment -was a mile long. Again there was bail, default, and -gnashing of teeth in a stinking cell. Of course, -he had legal remedies, but these involved legal -tender. He had spent his last dollar; legal remedies -had to be paid for, and he had nothing to pay with. -A wealthy and vindictive man, if he choose to do -so, and does not grudge the outlay, can make our -judicial machinery into a most serviceable steam-roller.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After the divorce, when all seemed settled and -done with, there were alimony bomb-shells to be -contended with. This tribute on his son-in-law's -freedom became the obsessing prepossession of -Laidlaw Wright's life. He subordinated the -lumber business to collecting this forty-five dollars a -week, until it became Adair's fixed and unalterable -purpose to escape payment by every means in his -power. North or South, East or West, the battle -went on. Injunctions, contempt proceedings, -printed forms in immense envelopes, beginning with -the familiar phrase: "You are cited to appear -before Judge So-and-So to show cause why that you, -etc., etc."--rained on Adair's head wherever -Saturday night might find it. Incidentally eyes were -blackened; blood streamed on box-office floors; -bandaged functionaries and limping attorneys cried -for vengeance in shabby court rooms--and not -only cried, but often got it, in a heaping measure. -And afar, the lumber king, like a horrible spider -whose net covered the country from sea to sea, -kept the wires busy and hot with hate.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When Ruby was killed in what was called "the -hansom cab mystery"--an ugly affair that was -never really cleared up--the old man probably -mourned less for her than for the loss of his -cheerless hobby--the persecution of Cyril Adair. -However wealthy you are, you can not move the -legal steam-roller without at least a pretense of -justification; and now the justification lay with -Ruby Raeburn in the grave, as stilled as her dancing -feet, as finished and done with as the life that -had gone out so tragically.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It had all left Adair with a profound hatred of -marriage, and a still profounder hatred of rich -fathers-in-law. The one suggested jail, mortification, -alimony, raided box-offices, large and determined -individuals bursting in your doors; the other -an unrelenting monster, pitiless and crafty, trailing -after you night and day, like a bloodhound. There -was no glamour to Adair in Robert Ladd's millions, -but rather a sinister and awful significance; and -as for marrying Phyllis, and putting his head again -in that noose--who that had been in hell ever -willingly went back to it? The very thought made -him shudder. He might be weak and impulsive, -and easily swept off his feet by her damned -beauty--but he wasn't as weak and impulsive as </span><em class="italics">that</em><span>!</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xiii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XIII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>As had been previously arranged he met her -the next day at the same place. He had -come in a closed cab, which he had left a -couple of blocks away, and he insisted on their -returning to it, and having out their talk in its -shelter. Phyllis demurred at first; it wore an -unpleasant look to her; it was not fear exactly--she -trusted Adair too absolutely for that--but rather -a disinclination in which good taste played the -bigger part. It seemed to her low, and discreditable, -and unworthy. Her love was too fine a thing, -and too dear to her, to have it associated with -dingy cushions, a dirty floor carpet, and the -vulgarizing secrecy of that shabby interior. It took some -persuasion to get her to consent; and though she -did so at last under the spell of that irresistible -voice, it was with a sudden quenching of the -brightness that had illumined her heart.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But it never occurred to her to think the worse -of Adair. A man could not be expected to have -the sensitiveness of a woman. His love was like -himself, robust and masterful; he fastened a string -to your little collar, and dragged you after him -with a splendid insouciance. Every one of your -four little paws might be holding back; you might -be whimpering most pitifully, but if he wanted a -closed cab, in you had to go, whether you liked it -or not. Not that you would have had him different; -it was sweet to submit; and if he were big, and -direct, and unshakable--so, too, was his love.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They drove slowly through the suburban streets, -locked in each other's arms. He kissed her back to -happiness, to rapture, the discreet twilight screening -them in its shadow. Her qualms disappeared, her -reluctance, her shrinkings from the ugliness and -commonness of that horrid old box. Nothing -mattered so long as they could be together, and in -her exaltation she even suffered some pangs of -remorse for having resisted his pleadings at -all.--She had never cared for children, but as her arms -were clasped about his neck, she felt a welling -tenderness for him that opened her understanding to -the love of a mother for her babe--the divine -compassion, the exquisite desire to protect and shield, -the willingness, if need be, to die herself rather than -to have it suffer the least of harm. She whispered -this to him in words so sincere and moving, with -eyes so moist, and lips so quivering, and her whole -young face so glorified by the shining soul within, -that Adair would have been less than human had -he not succumbed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was abashed; his carefully rehearsed plans -were glad to creep out of sight and hide; it would -have needed very little for him to fall on his knees, -penitent and ashamed, and blurt out--not the -truth; the truth wasn't tellable--but enough to -make him seem less of a beast to himself, less of a -hypocrite and villain. But he paused midway; and -the impulse, which, if he had allowed it to control -him might have carried him into unsuspected regions -of honor and manliness, died still-born; and left -him--if not exactly what he had been--at least -not so very much the better.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>With everything so favorable to his purpose, it -continued to be a mystery to him that he still held -back. This backwardness, this fear, was a new -sensation. He had won prettier women in his -day, and had won them briskly and straightforwardly, -move by move, with cool premeditation.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Why should he falter at this one, like a ninny? -What was it about her that checked and daunted -him? She had flung herself at him; she had neither -the will nor the knowledge to protect herself; she -was as innocent as a child, and had delivered -herself over to him as guilelessly. But it was not her -innocence that stood in his way; he had no such -scruples about innocence; innocence, if anything, -ought to have whetted the pursuit. It was -something subtler than that--this withholding force. -It was more as though she were some proud young -queen who had been craftily made drunk with drugs, -and then had been abandoned in her helplessness -to become the sport of a passing soldier.... -How surprised Adair would have been had he been -told that the love always on his lips, profaned with -every breath he drew, a lie in every sense save the -very lowest, was, in all good earnest, stealthily -making entry in his heart!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Making? Why, it had been there from the first, -all unknown to him. But like many a man the -devious road seemed to him the straighter; it was -the one he meant to follow, anyhow, lead where -it might; he would overcome this strange -squeamishness that annoyed and bewildered him. What -an ass he was! He remembered his first deer, and -how the rifle had shaken in his hands--how his -teeth had chattered--how it had calmly walked -past him, not twelve yards away, and disappeared -unscathed. The boys had called it "buck fever," -and had guyed him. Hell, this was a kind of buck -fever, too, though without the excuse of -inexperience ... but still there was no sense in -hurrying matters. There was plenty of time, old -fellow, plenty of time.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Thus the day lingered out in talk and vows and -kisses, with nothing achieved in any direction, and -the situation apparently unchanged. Love has a -wonderful power of floating on without ever -touching the banks of reality! And when one of the -lovers keeps the bark deliberately in mid-stream, and -the other poor lunatic is so lost in ecstasy that her -understanding is in the skies--hours can pass like -minutes, and darkness descend all unawares.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Again they kissed and parted, and Phyllis -returned home in the sweet weariness of one who -has drunk deep of the cup of love. No unanswered -questions fretted her, no disturbing thoughts of -why he had been silent on the most important thing -of all. She was young, fresh, pretty, well-born -and rich--why then should she doubt? What, to -a little milliner, would have been the inevitable and -all-engrossing conjecture, troubled her not a bit. -Men had been proposing to her for two years; love -out of wedlock, while it might be familiar in books, -was inconceivably remote to her; marriage was like -breathing; it was one of the great unconsidered -facts of life; one loved--one married.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Her preoccupation was rather with closer and -dearer things--the varying expressions of that -fine and intensely alive face; the mouth with its -ever changing charm; that, smiling, could lift one -to paradise, that, laughing, seemed to gladden the -whole world; the eyes so lustrous, so melting, and -yet that at a word could turn so fierce; the wavy -hair that was such a joy to her to caress; the broad -shoulders that had pillowed her girlish head, and -had given her such a comforting sense of vigor and -strength--all her own by the divinest of divine -rights. Womanlike, she was trying to merge -herself in the man she loved; to subordinate her own -individuality in his; to become, if she could, a slim, -small, dainty counterpart of this God-given creature -who had stooped to her from high Heaven itself.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She ate a good dinner and enjoyed it; drank a -glass of claret with a connoisseur-like satisfaction -in its fine bouquet; for she came of a stock with -a royal taste for pleasure, in little things as well -as big. If her father appeared somewhat -constrained, and more grave and silent than was his -wont, she ascribed it to nothing more than a hard -day at the office; and exerted herself with all her -superabundant good humor to amuse and distract -him. But for once she was unsuccessful, and as -the meal proceeded his brown study increased. -After dinner, as usual when they were alone, they -went up to his "den," the custom being for him -to smoke a cigar while she glanced over the -evening papers, and read to him what seemed to be -of interest. As she stood leaning negligently -against the mantelpiece she was surprised to notice -that he did not settle himself in his usual chair. -He came up to her instead, and she felt a sudden -knocking at the heart as her uplifted eyes met his.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How long has this been going on?" he demanded -in a low voice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What do you mean, Papa?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He paused as though to control himself.--She -knew very well what he meant, and shivers ran -down her back.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Your carrying on with this actor fellow. -This--this Adair." He snapped out the name as -though it tasted bitter on his lips--spat it--his -gray mustache bristling.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She was panic-stricken; her knees weakened -beneath her; she had only presence of mind enough -to tell herself that lies could not help her. But -lies or not, at that moment she could not have -uttered a word. It was all she could do to hold to -the mantel for support.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Ladd drew out his pocket-book, and from it -a letter.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A man like that always has some female consort," -he went on brutally, "some woman of his -own class who follows his shabby fortunes, and -considers him for the time being as her especial -property; and who protects herself when that -property is in danger by ways that suggest themselves -to vulgar and common minds. At least, I do not -consider it an unjust inference that this anonymous -letter--"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Phyllis uttered a little cry, and hid her face -in her hands.--So that was what it was?--She -ought to have suspected it. But even in her shame -a dart of jealousy passed through her heart. Who -was this woman who was trying to rob her of Adair?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is a typical letter of the kind," continued -Mr. Ladd, with grim persistence, "and written in -a hand supposed to be disguised, as though -anything could disguise the greater matter of the -writer's innate vileness and swinishness. It starts -with the usual pretense of good will, of friendly -warning; and then passes, with hardly a transition, -to charges that in a police court would entail its -being cleared of any women amongst the spectators. -Frankly, Phyllis, it is abominable--though I am -going to read it to you, not with the idea of causing -you pain, of punishing you, but to show you much -better than any words of mine could do, the sort -of cattle you are getting mixed up with. One -judges men by the company they keep; whoever -this woman is, it may be presumed she knows Adair -well, and is a friend of his; otherwise what could -prompt all this venom? The letter is a mass of -lies, but it has a side-light value on this man you're -letting fool you. They are a squalid, contemptible -crew, and all tarred with the same stick."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He stopped to put his glasses on his nose; and -smoothing out the letter, began deliberately to read -it: "'You ought to know the goings-on of that -girl of yours, and if nobody else is enough your -friend to tell you, I--'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But Phyllis cried out before he could proceed further.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Papa," she exclaimed in passionate -entreaty, "don't, don't! You mustn't! You're -degrading me! I--I can't stand it!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You know my reasons for wanting you to hear -it," he said coldly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And you are going to force me to?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, I am--for your own good, Phyllis."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As their eyes met something within her seemed -to break. In all her life her father had been -everything that was kind and gentle and indulgent. His -arms had ever been her refuge; she had cried out -her baby sorrows on his shoulder; how often, in -contrast to other girls, she had thought herself the -most fortunate of women to have such a father. -Now, in her direst need he was pitiless and -inflexible. He was determined to humiliate her with -that horrible letter--for his manner, everything, -said that it was horrible. To gain his point he was -willing to sweep away the fabric of all these years. -Oh, the stupidity of it, the cruelty! Nothing could -ever be the same again between them after that. -He could degrade her, but it would cost him every -iota of her love.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Her bosom swelled. Her anger was at so white -a heat that she no longer felt the fears and shrinkings -that had at first assailed her; her heart beat -high, but to another and a fiercer measure.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>What a moment for him to begin again: "'You -ought to know the goings-on of that girl of yours, -and if nobody else--'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Papa, </span><em class="italics">Papa</em><span>!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My dear, you must not interrupt me. I insist on--"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then let me read it to myself."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He paused, looking at her in indecision; and -from her to the coals in the grate. She perceived -the meaning of his hesitation, and laughed scornfully.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, you can trust me," she said, holding out -her hand. "Do you want my word, or what? -I won't destroy it. Rest assured I shall give you -the pleasure of knowing I am reading every word -of it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He resigned it to her, tugging at his mustache, -and watching her covertly as she moved nearer the -light and began to read. He marveled at her -composure, her decision. She was not evading the -ugly task--her eyes moved too slowly for that, -and her face reflected too clearly the unsparing -comments on her behavior.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was coarse beyond belief. Only a man half -out of his wits could have allowed any woman of -his family to read such a thing. Many of the -expressions she had never heard before, but it is -a peculiarity of gross Anglo-Saxon to be readily -understood. Nothing was lost on Phyllis, either -in the description of the man she loved, or the -accusations of the vilest kind leveled at herself. -It was an infamous production, soiling and disgusting, -nakedly spiteful, and nakedly pornographic.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She perused it unflinchingly to the end; studied -the signature, "One who knows," and handed it -back to her father.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I thought people were put in prison for writing -such letters," she said in an even voice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"So they are," he returned curtly, "though that -isn't quite the point."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What is the point?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"To know how much of it is true."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Again her composure startled him. "Is it -possible you believe any of it?" she asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, I do," he said.--He was holding the letter -in his hand, like a lawyer in court, cross-examining -a witness. He was determined to get at the bottom -of all this.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Is it true you went to the theater twice?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"As a spectator--yes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Is it true that you wrote a letter to him?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Is it true you invited him here?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, he came once."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And it's true you met him afterwards on one -of the streets in the Richmond district?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's true you let him kiss you there before -everybody--embrace you--hug you like a silly -servant-girl?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She ignored the insult, and answered imperturbably: -"It was a deserted place; I didn't know -any one was spying on us."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And it's true to-day you met him again?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And drove together in a closed cab?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, Phyllis, my girl, on your honor; I am -asking you this as your father; I have the right to -ask it, and the right to a sacredly truthful answer--the -affair has gone no further than this?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"On your honor?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"On my honor."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And all the rest of it?"--He touched the letter.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Lies, Papa--revolting, hideous lies."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He stumbled towards his chair; seated himself -in it; reached for the cigar-box. He had expected -a scene; he had expected tears, pleading, and -repentance. He had a penetrating sense of having -mismanaged everything. Perhaps he ought not to -have shown her that letter. It had shocked her -through and through, but not in the way he had -intended. He had meant it to be like a surgeon's -knife--one sure swift stroke, and she was to rise -cured, disillusioned. The effect had been -disconcertingly different; he had affronted her to the -quick, he had roused a defiance all the more to be -feared because it was cool, subdued, controlled--the -kind that is apt to last.--He lit his cigar, and -blew out breath after breath of smoke. He must -not make another mistake. He would think a little -while before he began again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She glided slowly towards the door, but with -an air so unconcerned, so free from any suggestion -of flight, that he suspected nothing. The fact of -her leaving the door ajar seemed to imply an -immediate return. Several minutes passed before he -suddenly became uneasy. So peremptory was his -conviction that she was near that he cried: -"Phyllis, Phyllis," before rising to find out what had -become of her. But she was not in the corridor -outside. He sought her boudoir--nor was she here -either. Her bedroom off it? It was empty, too. -Thoroughly alarmed, he descended the stairs, softly -calling out, "Phyllis, Phyllis!" He was answered -by a servant's voice below: "Is it you, Sir?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, Henry, I am looking for Miss Phyllis?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She went out a minute ago, Sir."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Went out?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, Sir."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Good God, she was gone!</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xiv"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XIV</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Once outside the door, she had raced -downstairs like the wind, put on her hat anyhow, -and sped into the darkness, without waiting -for wrap or gloves. Her first idea had been -to reach the theater, but as she turned down side -streets in order to evade pursuit and get the -Fairmount Avenue car line, she realized that this -involved too much time. Her watch, hastily looked -at under a lamp, showed that it was after eight -o'clock, and that she could not hope to gain the -theater before the first act began. She decided to -telephone instead, and accordingly, walking very -fast, and sometimes running until a pain in her -side forced her to desist, she made her way to -Fairmount Avenue, and to a drug-store she knew -to be there. It was the matter of a moment to -look up the number of the Thalia Theater, unhook -the receiver, and get central.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Nick-el," murmured that impersonal arbiter of -human destinies.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't understand--please give me my -number, I'm in such a hurry."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Nick-el!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Drop a nickel in the slot, Miss," said the clerk -helpfully.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She had come away without her purse. She -hadn't a penny!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As quick as thought she pulled off one of her -rings, and laid it on the counter.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I have forgotten my purse," she said. "Please -let me have a quarter, and I'll redeem the ring -to-morrow."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She had been resourceful enough to recollect -she needed more than a nickel--there was the -trolley fare to the theater and back.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The clerk took the ring with no great willingness; -examined it with every apparent intention of -denying her request; then examined her with the -same sharp look. The horrid creature recognized -her, and his manner changed to a cringing -deference. "Oh, Miss Ladd, I beg your pardon, I didn't -know it was you, Miss Ladd. A quarter? Why -certainly, Miss Ladd. Only too happy to oblige -you, Miss Ladd. Take back your ring, and pay -any time at your convenience, Miss Ladd." He -rang open his cash register, and passed her three -nickels and a dime, together with the ring. "Put -it back where it belongs," he said, smirking and -rubbing his hands. "My, what would the boss -say to me if I told him I had kept Miss Phyllis -Ladd's ring!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She thanked him, and again gave the number -at the telephone, dropping in the nickel that had -cost her so much. The clerk, though he had moved -away, was all eyes and ears, and she had an -unpleasant sensation of being watched. But it was -too late to draw back now. Her need was too -urgent, too desperate for such irritating trifles to -deter her from her purpose. The horrid creature -would stare. Well, let him stare! He would chatter -about it, too, of course. Well, let him chatter!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Thalia Theater--box-office."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I want to speak to Mr. Adair at once."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's impossible--he's in his dressing-room, and -we ring up in eight minutes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I simply have to speak to him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Can't do it--it's against the rules."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, you must, you simply must!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Who are you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Miss Ladd!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Who did you say?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Miss Ladd--L-A-D-D."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What is it, please, that you want to see -Mr. Adair about?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Something very important."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm sorry, but I can't do it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, no, please. Mr. Adair will never forgive -you if you don't." Then she had an inspiration. -Where or how she had learned the name she hardly -knew, but it flashed across her mind at this -moment. "Is Mr. Merguelis there?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am Mr. Merguelis."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr. Tom Merguelis?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then you might know who I am. Mr. Adair--"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, say, yes--you're not the little lady that he--"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, that's me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But, my dear, he's in his dressing-room, and -that's on the level."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I simply must talk to him for a second, and -you must go and get him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hello, hello--is that you? Hello--yes, my -dear, I'm sending for him. Please hold the line."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>What an age it seemed, standing there with the -receiver to her ear, and her heart bursting with -impatience. Meaningless scraps of talk strained -her attention; when these stopped she was in terror -lest she had been cut off; at last there was the -peculiar jarring and disturbance that showed -someone getting into touch at the other end, followed -by Adair's strong clear challenge.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Who wants Mr. Adair?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I do--it's Phyllis."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, my little girl, I'm in a frightful rush. -Hurry up, tell me what's the matter?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I want to see you as soon as I can--something -awful has happened."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I can't tell you here--but can't you guess?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Trouble at home?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Found out?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Your father?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adair paused. Events were moving faster than -he had anticipated. He was both thrilled and -bewildered at the suddenness of it all.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's risky," he said, in a voice that shook a -little, "but you'll have to come up and see me -here--there's nothing else for it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's what I want to do," she answered.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll fix it up with the door-keeper to take you -to my dressing-room. Just say you have an -appointment with me, and he'll understand. Wait -there for me until the first act is over--will you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, Cyril."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And you will excuse me if I run? They'll -have to hold the curtain as it is."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, yes--and I'll be there."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Au revoir, sweetheart!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Good-by--I won't be long."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The stage-door, like most stage-doors, was to be -found in a cut-throat alley, so dark, dangerous, and -forbidding in its aspect that it took all of Phyllis' -courage to enter it. A ratty-looking individual, so -compactly built into the entrance that he could open -the door by a shove of his boot, exerted this -labor-saving device in answer to her knock, and glowered -at her from over the paper he was reading.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What do you want?" demanded the ratty individual.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I have an appointment with Mr. Adair."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He rose without a word; and leading her up some -steps, guided her inside the theater. In the -twilight of the wings were some stage-hands in -overalls; an actor whom she recognized as the wicked -prince, sitting on a soap-box, waiting listlessly for -his cue; from the stage itself came the sound of -voices raised to an unreal pitch, and strangely -exciting and fantastic, in a cadence that was neither -recitative nor speech. She could not help noticing, -even in her agitation, the shabby, dilapidated, -disorderly appearance of everything--the ropes, the -dusty props, the frayed material of the scenes, the -general air of comfortlessness--receiving the shock -that comes to every one on first seeing the theater -from the wrong side. But the ratty individual gave -her no time to take more than a passing glance, -leading the way with whispered warnings through -a gorge of canvas, and down a twisting iron stair -to the dressing-rooms below. He stopped at one of -the little cabin-like doors, opened it, and ushered -her in. Then he left her, and shuffled away with -diminishing footfalls.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The dressing-room was bald, bare, uncarpeted, -and painted a staring white. Below a mirror -flanked by two flaring gas-jets there ran a sort of -shelf on which were grease-paints, crayons, brushes, -a pot of cold-cream, a pot of rouge, and other -necessaries for "making up." From nails on the -wall--common, every-day nails--there straggled an -untidy line of men's clothes. On a box in the -corner was a wash-basin, pitcher, soap, and a towel that -was none too clean. Three empty chairs, and a -wall decoration completed the picture. The wall -decoration was a printed notice, in large and -emphatic letters: "Smoking positively prohibited in -this theater. Ladies must not use alcohol curling-irons."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Most young women, in a situation so equivocal -and so unfamiliar, would have been ill at ease, -frightened, apprehensive of many vague and dimly -suspected dangers. But Phyllis' faith in Adair had -none of this faltering quality. She loved, and -loving she trusted. Her tremors had ended the -moment the door had closed her in--the moment, in -fact, when the others would have trembled most. -To her, on the contrary, the little room breathed -security for the very reason that it was Adair's. -With adorable folly she pressed kisses on all his -outstretched possessions; nuzzled her cheek against his -coat; put her little foot beside one of his big man's -shoes, delighting in the contrast--and altogether -felt greatly comforted and refreshed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After a while she heard a tremendous commotion -overhead that swelled, sank and swelled again -as the house broke into applause at the end of the -act. There was a lumbering, scratchy, pattering -sound as of a dozen pianos being moved at once by -stalwart men in slippers--it was the new scene -being set. The passageway outside, previously so -still, resounded with a rush of feet--with -exclamations and laughter as the company scudded to make -their respective changes. The door was flung open, -and there, brisk and smiling, on the threshold stood -Corrèze!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Phyllis ran to his arms, and hiding her face -against him began to cry. She was so happy, so -wretched; the misery of that last hour had tried -her more than she knew; her joy at seeing Adair -seemed to exhaust the little strength she had left, -and her conflicting emotions could find vent only -in tears. How sweet it was to be petted, to be -soothed--to feel so small, and weak, and helpless -in that powerful clasp! Her tears flowed afresh. -Flowed at the thought of her love for him, of his -love for her, at the beauty, wonder, and solace -of it all. Nothing could ever harm them as long -as they had each other, nothing, nothing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She made him take a chair, and seating herself -at his feet crossed her arms on his knees and looked -up at him. In this position it seemed easier to -confide, easier to answer his persistent questions, -easier at the same time to satisfy her craving to -nestle close. As Adair heard of the letter he -turned as black as a thunder-cloud and his hands -clenched.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I know whom I've to thank for that!" he -exclaimed furiously. "The damned little treacherous -hound, I could choke her for it! I've seen -something working in her eyes all along, but I never -dreamed she could be as low and contemptible as -that! And so she was keeping tab on us, was she, -with all her mean little eyes and ears, the dyed toad!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Cyril, you really know who it is?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He made a hissing sound--a disgusted assent. -"She isn't twenty feet from here," he exclaimed, -"unless she is at the key-hole this moment." He -rose; stepped to the door, and looked out. "Not -here," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But tell me, is she one of the actresses in the -company?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Never you mind," he returned roughly; and -then, with a quick remorse at the look in Phyllis' -face, he apologized in a roundabout fashion by -denouncing the stage in general. "It's a low, dirty -business," he cried, "and the people in it are a -low, dirty lot; and I guess I'm not so damned much -better myself; and if you had a spark of sense -you'd clear out, and never see me again! Do you -hear what I'm telling you, little chap? Do you -hear, Phyllis girl?" He put down his hand, and -caught her ear between his thumb and finger, giving -it a shake. "Skin out, you darling baby. Your -father's right. Go back with my compliments, and -tell him I said so!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His jeering tone hurt her; there was too much -sincerity in his self-contempt, too genuine a ring -to his proposed dismissal. The contradictory -creature, stung to the quick by that letter, and -indignantly conscious of much of its truth, was -floundering towards righteousness, like a walrus -after a floe. Hell, he didn't mean her any harm. -Let her get out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You'd better hurry," he said, pinching her ear -again. "I'm just a cheap actor, as common as the -dirt in the road, and you're a beautiful young lady -a million times too good for this kind of game. -All that you can get out of it is dishonor and -disgrace. Go away--let's drop it--love somebody -who's worth loving."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He tried to push her from him, but she clung -only the tighter, her face paling at his earnestness, -and stubbornly looking up at his.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You couldn't say that if you were--what you -say you are."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How do you know it isn't a trick!" he -exclaimed, "just another move in the game--just -to get you a little further out of your depth, and -then drown you?" His hands closed round her -neck with brutal pleasure in her youth, her -softness, her delicacy, her powerlessness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's strange," he said wonderingly, "but at -this moment when you have never been more tempting -to me, I am willing to let you go--want to let -you go. It's the first good resolution in my life, -yet you stick here like an infatuated little noodle, -waiting for it to pass."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She snuggled closer against him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Am I tempting?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My God, yes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And you love me?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, my darling, I do, I do!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And wouldn't it be nice for a poor little lonesome -cheap actor, who's really a great big splendid -noble person of genius, if he only knew it--to -have me to pet him and love him and adore him, -and kiss away his morbid, silly moods, and make -such a darling baby of him that he'd burst out -crying if I were out of his sight a minute?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He looked at her sharply for an underlying -meaning--a comprehension--an assent. But her -candor and innocence were transparent; the purity -beneath those limpid depths shone like a diamond in -a pool. Her love took no thought of anything -base or wrong, either in him or in her; all she -sought was the assurance that he loved her, and -wanted her; and this achieved she was content to -leave the rest to him with unquestioning faith. She -did not come of the class to whom marriage is -vividly seen as a protection, a safe-guard, a coveted -lien on a pocket-book and a man, enforceable by the -police; to her it was more one of those inevitable -formalities that attend all the big events of life, -from being born to being buried, and which one -accepts as a matter of course.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adair, in a gust of passion, caught her up on -his knees, and crushed her unresisting body in his -arms. Everything was forgotten in the maddening -rapture of the moment. The fragrance of her -young beauty over-mastered him. His head reeled -in the greatest of all intoxications--the -woman-drunkenness that makes men crazy. Between his -clenched teeth he whispered: "You are mine, and -I am going to keep you--you shall never get -away now. You had your chance, but it's gone, -fool that I was ever to offer it. But now I'll kill -you first; do you hear, Phyllis, I'll kill you first, -for you're mine, body and soul, and you've gone too -far ever to draw back." His voice sank lower; he -was beside himself; all he knew was that she was -shaking convulsively--that her face, her lips were -burning--that love, shame, devouring fever all -flamed in the eyes she tried to hide from him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A knock at the door startled him to his feet. -Rap, rap, rap!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You're called, Mr. Adair," said the voice from -without.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"All right, Williams!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His quick, matter-of-fact tone was as much a -shock to Phyllis as the interruption itself. To fall -from the clouds, and then land so squarely and -coolly on the earth below was a performance -disturbing to witness. It seemed to cast suspicion on -his sincerity up above. But the misgiving was a -fleeting one, for as he turned to her, she perceived -in his air of concern and resolution that she was -still the dominant thought in his mind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"See here, Phyllis," he said, speaking fast, "this -means only one thing. The company leaves -Saturday night after the show to jump to Ferrisburg. -You must come with me--that's all there is to -it.--Will you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She bowed her head, for somehow she could -not answer in words.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It won't do for us to see each other till then; -but you ring me up on Saturday between twelve -and one at the St. Charles Hotel, and we'll fix up -the dates. Have you got that straight?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She bowed her head again, more overcome than ever.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't worry about a trunk, or any damned -foolishness of that sort. Trunks have busted more -elopements than six-shooters--just a nightie and -a tooth-brush, and we'll manage the rest at -Ferrisburg!" His glance sought for some evasion, some -backwardness, but there was neither.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's the only thing to do," she said simply. -"Only, only--" She was holding fast to his hand, -swaying a little.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He waited for some objection; some silly, -feminine obstacle--</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You do love me, don't you?" she asked as -pleadingly as a child. "If you love me I could do -anything. Tell me you love me, Cyril."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He kissed her hastily, saying "yes," and again -"yes," and ran out of the dressing-room. A thin -deferential man peeped in. "I'm Mr. Adair's -dresser, Miss," he said. "He told me to show you -the way out. If you would be so good as to -follow me, Miss."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>* * * * *</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"Good-night, Miss!"</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xv"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XV</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>In the meanwhile, Mr. Ladd, closely buttoned -up and walking to keep himself warm, -restlessly paced the drive-way, awaiting Phyllis' -return. At every nearing footfall he would stiffen -and stop, and his throat would contract with -something very much like trepidation. His anger was -all gone. In its place was not only contrition and -self-reproach for having shown her that letter, but -a very real alarm of the situation he had precipitated. -He had been inconceivably stupid--inconceivably -unkind and blundering. He had driven -the girl straight into the fellow's arms, and had -now doubled what he had to undo. Looking back -on it he seemed to have said everything he ought -not to have said; done everything he ought not to -have done. It was a case for frankness, tenderness, -and considerate understanding. Hurry, too, -in such matters, was the root of all evil. Romance, -like faith, grew with persecution. Gad, if she really -thought herself in love with this egregious actor, -he would put his pride in his pocket, invite him to -the house, pretend to like him, and thus earn the -right to stipulate for conventions and a long -engagement. No cruel father here, but a cool man -of the world, craftily leaving it to others to -tittle-tattle, to disparage, and best of all to deride with -a laughter infinitely more effective than the sternest -and angriest of arguments. Yes, that was the -program and he must put an iron hold upon himself -to see that he did not swerve from it by a hair.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He ran forward in the dark as he heard some one -coming, and recognized Phyllis dimly against the -lighted street behind.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Phyllis!" he cried, "Phyllis!" and he caught -her hand and held it. Her touch, even more than -her silence, told him how estranged they were. His -agitation paralyzed his tongue; he hardly knew -how to begin; he murmured under his breath, -"Forgive me, forgive me"; and then, louder, with an -uncontrollable resentment that flashed up in spite -of all his self-warnings: "Don't deny it--you've -been to him!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I wasn't going to deny it, Papa."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Where? At the theater?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You went there alone--not even a maid with -you? Have you parted with all sanity?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His tone was overbearing, harsh, scornful. -Alas, for his good and wise intentions! In the -impact of two stubborn natures, each rousing in -the other an invincible antagonism, there could be -no tenderness, no consideration. Each was fighting -with the flag nailed to the mast; she for Adair, -he for his daughter.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It was your doing, Papa. I had no alternative."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, what a lie! I'd sooner have gone with -you myself, however bitter or humiliating it might -have been for me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The picture of such an escort to such a rendezvous -made her laugh in spite of herself. It was not the -kind of laughter to soften or turn away wrath. To -Ladd it seemed heartlessness itself.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's unbelievable," he broke out, "my God, -Phyllis, what am I to say to you? Isn't the man -self-condemned on the face of it--with his closed -cabs, and underhanded meetings, and now stripping -you of every rag of reputation by letting you come -to him at his theater? And what do you mean -by the theater, anyhow?--His dressing-room, of -course?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Her answer wrung a groan from him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Phyllis, Phyllis!" he exclaimed. Then in an -altered voice, full of irritated reasonableness, he -went on: "Do you realize that we could have had -the same--well, disagreement--over that Pastor -fellow you were engaged to? Wouldn't you have -been just as wilful in his case--just as sure? -Wouldn't it have been the same with Baron von -Piller if I had objected violently at the time you -engaged yourself to him? Look back on both these -affairs. You aren't altogether a fool. Mayn't this -be a third mistake?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She seized his hand in both her own, and squeezed -it with all her strength.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's because I love him </span><em class="italics">like that</em><span>! Not the -love that comes of compliments, of attentions and -flowers, but </span><em class="italics">that</em><span>!--But of course you don't -understand--you can't."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Ladd ignored this slight on his more limited -knowledge, though his lip curled sardonically -under his mustache.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am more concerned in how he loves you," he -said. "He's acting like a cad, and you know it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Papa!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His voice outrang hers. "Love," he cried, with -piercing contempt, "that kind of love is the -commonest thing there is. There isn't a drab on the -streets who hasn't tasted it to the dregs. God -help you when you wake up, and see this man as -he is--schemer, scoundrel, blackguard. Do you -think I don't know? Do you think I haven't run -across hundreds? Do you think I'm going to let -an adventurer like that get his hooks into you, -and drag you down into his own filthy mire? -You're the only thing I have in life; I live for you; -there isn't an hour of the day when you're not in -my mind. You can't dismiss all this at the nod of -a stranger. It carries its obligations--for you, -too; the obligation of more than twenty years; not -for feeding and clothing you, I don't mean anything -so banal--but the deeper one of a love that has -kept you warm and happy--that has grown without -your knowing it to be a very part of you, as -it is all of me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Had he stopped there the harm might still have -been undone. But with a perversity inexplicable -at that moment when the tide had turned, and -responsive tears were streaming down those girlish -cheeks, he had a sudden outburst of rancor that -destroyed everything he had gained.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"To think that anybody named Cyril Adair--my -God, </span><em class="italics">Cyril Adair</em><span>, with its suggestion of sticky -sweetness, and tinsel, and footlights, and mock -heroics--could come between two sane, grown-up -people like you and me!--Cyril Adair!" he -repeated, and laughed mirthlessly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was nothing he could have urged against -Adair that could have hurt her more. A young -and devoted woman can always find excuses for -her lover's past. It belongs to a time before her -little hand had been stretched out to save him, -before she had brought hope and light to one who -had never known either, and had consequently--and -naturally--abandoned himself to despair. -With a feeling surely divine, and often justified by -results, she never doubts her ability to wash that -black sheep to the fleecy whiteness of her own dainty -wool. But poor Cyril's name was a very different -matter; it was worse in its pinchbeck and aristocratic -pretensions, and school-girl-novel picturesqueness -than the most crimson of sins. It would still be -stamped on the luckless sheep after he had been -whitened as white as snow--the Scarlet Letter of -vulgarity, so to speak--affronting good taste on -every hill-side. Nothing more showed the degree -of Phyllis' infatuation than that she had been able -to tolerate this name; and now, to have it flung in -her face, with an emphasis so sneering--the one -taunt for which she had no answer--was more than -she felt herself able to bear.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She drooped beside her father, realizing the -futility of any further argument, and of a sudden -so tired that the woes of the world seemed to be -on her shoulders. Her voice, when at last she -broke the silence, was weary, though with none -of the weariness of surrender, but rather that of a -settled and altogether sad determination.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We seem to have said all there is to say--good -night, Papa."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He would have detained her, but she moved away -from him, and preceded him into the house. He -followed, respecting her wish to terminate the -scene. He was weary, too, and no less willing to -be alone. He had to think and to act, and much -had to be done that night.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>They met at breakfast as usual. She kissed him -dutifully, and poured out his coffee as though this -Wednesday morning was no different from any -other Wednesday morning. They talked on -indifferent subjects until the servants had left them. -Then the suspended battle was renewed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My dear," said Mr. Ladd, with an uncertain -smile, "I am thinking of sending you on a visit -to your Aunt Sarah's. It will be better for both -of us to stay apart for a time, and see matters with -a little more calmness and--consideration for each -other. There's no sense in being over-hasty, and -making momentous resolutions in this twinkling-of-an-eye -sort of way. There's lots of time--oceans -of time. You may change, I may change--for I -don't set up to be inflexible, and neither do you. -Yes, you'll go to your Aunt Sarah's, and then to -Paris with her if you like, or Monte Carlo. I guess -I can fix it up to the nines, even to a look-in at -Paquin's, and one of those expensive strolls down -the Rue de La Paix. Go ahead--why not?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'd rather stay here, Papa."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Phyllis, this is a request--a favor to me. I -want you to."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"When?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why not the noon train? I've taken a -drawing-room for you, and a berth for your -maid--and Sarah's expecting you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You told her?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He made no attempt to avoid the implication of -her eyes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," he replied. "No, I don't believe in roaring -out your troubles over the long distance 'phone. -It was enough to call it an impulse. With you, my -dear, that is always a sufficient reason."--They -both laughed, and Mr. Ladd's anxious cordiality -redoubled at so favorable a symptom. "If it's the -real thing, Phyllis, time won't hurt it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is the real thing, Papa."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But you will go?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Phyllis, I insist."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm sorry, but it's impossible."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You have to. You must."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I won't!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It is the terrible part of stereotyped situations that -people will make use of the stereotyped expressions -that go with them. Mr. Ladd was the kindest and -most devoted father on earth, yet the venerable -formula rose to his lips: "You defy me under my -own roof?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It of course forced out the stereotyped reply: -"I can leave it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Ladd, in silence, looked at her long and -steadily; then he bent his head. She saw nothing -but the iron-gray hair; the stooping, dejected -shoulders; the hand, lying as limp as dead, on the -damask cloth.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Papa?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>No answer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Papa?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She ran to his side, all revolt gone, her only -thought to comfort him. Her bare arms entwined -themselves about his neck in a paroxysm of -remorse; her bosom swelled; her voice was incoherent -as she lavished her young tenderness upon him. It -was a moment that would decide her life. Had -her father left the initiative to her, had he been -content to accept mutely these tokens of her -surrender--he would have won, then and there, and -nothing again would ever have come between them. -But with blind stupidity he had to persevere with -the intention their clash had interrupted.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I will tell you my real reason for wanting you -to get away," he said. "It wasn't what you -thought at all--it was to spare you unnecessary -pain. Last night I sent Reynolds, our best -secret-service man, to New York with </span><em class="italics">carte blanche</em><span> to -confer with the Pinkertons and ransack this -fellow's record from top to bottom. From what -Reynolds told me he already knew--I mean what's -said down-town, I believe it will be a black one, so -black that there won't be any question about your -giving him up--just on the facts brought out--facts -that can not be disproved or contested. Reynolds--"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But, Papa, I don't understand. You are setting -detectives to go back over his life, like a -criminal? </span><em class="italics">Detectives?</em><span>"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But how dishonorable, how infamous!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, it's done every day; it's common, my dear; -if the man's straight it can't hurt him--but if -he has anything to hide, why, we turn on the -search-light, and find out what's wrong.--It's all done -secretly; he won't know; don't worry about that.--I -expect a full report in a few days, and would -rather not have you here when I get it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And do you think that's fair or right, or -anything but--fiendish?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How do you know he isn't married, Phyllis?"--he -shot this at her mercilessly. "How do you -know anything except what he's told you? You -may be willing to believe him, and all that--but -I'm your father, and I want to </span><em class="italics">know</em><span>, and by God, -I'm going to know!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Papa, don't!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Aha, you're not very confident, are you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He's a man. I don't doubt he's been foolish, -and bad, and fast, but to see it written down -cold-bloodedly on sheets of paper is more than I can -bear. I am willing to ignore that; I am willing -to take him as he is </span><em class="italics">now</em><span>. Oh, Papa, a woman -can forgive so much."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, my dear, and a great deal that a father -never could."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I beg you, Papa, I implore you to telegraph to -them to stop."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's too late--besides it has to be done; I -insist on it; I'm going to strip that man's past to -the bone."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Even if it costs you me? Even if this is the -end of everything between us?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Fiddle-de-dee, these theatrics are unworthy of -you! You're going to take the noon train to -Sarah's, and behave yourself; and this business, -however disagreeable to both of us, has got to go -through."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Her lips tightened mutinously. She was not a -young woman who could be driven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll stay here, or walk right out of your -house--and you know where."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then stay," he cried, rising wrathfully, "and -may God forgive you for the misery you are -bringing down on me. I'm only trying to do what's -best, and you treat me as though I was one of that -fellow's cruel parents on the stage! It's no time -to mince matters, and I tell you straight out, Phyllis, -he's a blackguard and a scoundrel, and when you -see the Pinkertons' report, I guess you'll go down -on your knees and beg my pardon for your -heartlessness and obstinacy."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He glared at her, expecting a retort that would -add fresh fuel to his anger, but she was silent, -downcast, trembling. The answer she made was to -herself, inaudible save to her anguished soul: "Oh, -that Saturday night were here!"</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xvi"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XVI</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The four days that followed were almost -unendurable in the strain they entailed. -Phyllis was heavy with her secret; beset -by emotions so conflicting that they seemed to rend -her to pieces; forlorn and desolate under her -father's studied coldness. The detectives' report -did not come, or was withheld perhaps,--but the -apprehension of it was always hanging horribly -above her head. It was not the facts themselves -she feared most, though she dreaded them, too; -it was to hear them tauntingly on her father's lips; -to be forced to stand, and listen, and cringe at what -the human ferrets had unearthed.--Anxious days; -leaden days; sad, introspective, interminable days, -never to be recalled in after life without a peculiar -depression.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On Saturday, at the stroke of noon, she was in -a telephone booth, with shivers cascading down her -back, and the eagerest heart in Carthage thumping -under her breast. In the time she took to get her -number, she had decided to go, not to go--then -again to go, then again not to go. It was awful, -and she couldn't; it was awful, and she would!</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"Hello, is that the St. Charles Hotel?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, Chincholchell, whodyerwant?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr. Cyril Adair?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hold the line."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He must have been waiting there for his voice -answered immediately, abrupt and deep: "Hello, -is that you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes,--you know who."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Is it all right--you are coming?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If you want me to."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His only answer to that was a laugh that shook -the wire. How manly and confident it sounded in -contrast to her own quavering whisper!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, listen, you darling baby, and get this -right. We're to pick up the Alleghany local at ten -minutes past midnight, and at half-past eleven I'll -have Tom Merguelis waiting for you in a cab, across -the Avenue on the southeastern corner. Can you -manage to get out of the house, do you think?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, yes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No trunk, you know--just the few things you -need, and the fewer the better."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I understand."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Find Tom--that's all you have to do--and -the rest is for him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, Cyril."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Say it as though you meant it! I'd rather -have you back out now than fail me at the last -moment. That's an awful faint 'yes.'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't blame me if I'm scared--you'd be -scared too, in my place."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, how scared are you going to be at -half-past eleven--that's the real point of it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Cyril, dearest?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, my darling."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm coming, I want to come, I'm crazy to come--and -you mustn't think for a single moment that -I won't."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's the way to talk!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And you'll be good to me, won't you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My precious!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And love me, oh, so well?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, yes!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And I'll try to be the best little wife that ever -made a man warm, and comfortable, and happy--and -I'm going to keep your heart-buttons sewed -on as well as the others--and darn your beautiful -big soul with girl-silk--and dress you every day -in a lovely new suit of kisses, so that people will -turn round on the street, and ask who's your tailor! -And Cyril?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, sweetheart?".</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm the happiest girl in the world, and the -luckiest! And I'm not scared a bit, and I'll be -there at half-past eleven, and I love you, and I'm -going to run away with you; and I'm glad I'm -going to run away with you, and I'm twenty-one, -and my own mistress, and as bold as brass, and six -policemen couldn't stop me, and I'm just a little -slave panting for her master, and I've gnawed the -ropes through with my teeth, and no one shall ever -tie me up again, or keep me away from you, Amen!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Again there was that manly, confident laugh.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I think that little slave had better run home -again and pretend to tie up," he said. "It would -spoil everything if your father got wind of -this--I know those rich old fellows--they can be a -power for mischief whether the law is on their -side or not. Good-by, my darling, take care of -yourself, and look out for Tommy at eleven thirty. -Good-by!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I hope we will never say that word to each -other again," exclaimed Phyllis. "It's a horrid -word and I hate it. Good-by, Cyril, and don't -forget your little slave, counting the minutes at -home!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Ta, ta, my lamb, I won't forget her. Couldn't -if I would, ta, ta!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There is no harder task than to fold one's hands -and wait. Adair had his matinée and his evening -performance to engross his thoughts, and allay to -some degree his fever of anticipation. But Phyllis -had no such resource. Restless, nervous, on edge -with suspense--fits of joy alternating with craven -terror--she wore out the longest afternoon of her -life, and an evening that was more trying still. -Her father, to make matters worse, attempted some -advances; spoke to her with unexpected kindness; -hovered on the brink of another appeal. What a -little Judas she felt, sitting opposite him for -perhaps the last time, and maintaining a constraint -that was, indeed, her armor, for if she responded -at all she knew she would never go that night. -So she parried and fenced, and kept the -conversation impersonal at any hazard, while his face -grew steadily more overcast, and the lines of his -forehead deepened. She excused herself early, -pleading fatigue, and relaxed her attitude to kiss -him tenderly good night.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It'll all come right before long," she murmured -softly. "Good night, my darling daddy, and -remember I love you whatever happens."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She was off before he could take advantage of a -mood so melting. But he felt much consoled, -nevertheless.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She's coming round," he said to himself. "I -might have known she would. That's the comfort -of her being such a good girl, and so intelligent!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Up-stairs, the young lady thus complacently -described was stripping off her dinner gown, and -wondering what dress she would replace it with. She -was the daintiest of soubrettes in her long -dark-red silk stockings, and Watch, her Russian poodle, -gazed at her with an approving, first-row-of-the-orchestra -expression that made him look too wicked -and dissipated for anything. She gave him a -gentle kick on the nose to remind him that staring -wasn't gentlemanly, and finally chose a blue -tailor-made by Redfern. When this was on, the rest of -her preparations were easy. She could not well -take Watch, so she took his collar, and this was -the first to go into the little hand-bag. A -nightgown followed, a pair of stockings, tooth-brush, -comb and brush, tooth-powder, some handkerchiefs, -the photographs of her father and mother, still in -their frames, and a pair of patent leather slippers -with gilt buckles. Surely no little bride of her -importance and social position had ever set forth -with so slender a trousseau. There it all was, -dog-collar below, slippers on top, in a bag no bigger -than an exaggerated purse. She smiled a little -tremulously as she looked at it, touched as only a -woman could be by the magnitude of her sacrifice. -Her clothes and her father--tears for both, thus -equally abandoned, suffused her eyes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The next thing was a note of farewell, to be -found the following morning on her unused -pillow. "I am going away with Mr. Adair," she -wrote, "taking my own life in my own hands for -better or worse. Whether we are to be friends--you -and I--depends entirely upon yourself, although -alienation from you will be very hard for -me to bear. Forgive me if you can, and do not -let your disappointment and chagrin embitter you -against me; or what would hurt me almost as -much--against him. To-night when I kissed you -it was good-by, and if it is for ever it will be your -own fault, and very, very cruel, for I love you, -dearest father, I love you. Ever your devoted -Phyllis."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>By half-past nine everything was ready; and it -was with a consuming impatience that she went into -her boudoir with Watch, and ensconsed herself on -the sofa to wait. A confidential Russian poodle -can be of great help to a young lady in distress. -Watch's sympathy; Watch's certainty of everything -coming out right; Watch's implied determination to -soften the blow to Mr. Ladd; Watch's willingness -to whine over the general tragedy of things--all -were whimsically comforting. Best of all, he could -listen for ever and ever with one ear cocked up, -and never lose for an instant his air of highly -gratified interest. And what didn't he hear during that -hour and three quarters on the sofa! What -secrets of longing and tenderness, of girlish hopes, -of girlish dreams, of delicious falterings and -trepidations--all breathed into that woolly ear!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then came the suffocating moment of -departure--the quieting of an unruly friend--the peeping -from the door; the tip-toeing down the stairs; the -panicky stops to cower and listen; the stealthy -passage of the great dim hall; the groping for bolts -and chains; the heavy door swinging heavily back; -the cold, dark, starry night beyond; the egress into -it; the wild sense of escape and freedom; the sound -of gravel under the eager little feet; the gate-way; -the wide silent Avenue; the glimmering lights of -the cab at the farther corner; and--</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, I'm Tom Merguelis, Miss. Jump in--everything -is ready."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She discovered herself sitting beside a very tall, -very thin young man, who smiled down at her in a -quizzical, friendly manner not unsuggestive of the -Cheshire Cat. That vague, deprecatory grin was -as much a part of Mr. Merguelis as his sandy hair, -his retreating chin, and the whole amiable vacancy -of his expression. His youth had been passed -before the public as "assistant" to Professor -Theophilus Blitz, the exhibiting hypnotist, who was -accustomed nightly to run pins into him; make him -drink kerosene under the impression it was beer; -smack his lips over furniture-polish; eat potato -peelings for sausages; bark like a dog, meow like a cat, -make love to a bolster, and generally disport -himself to the astonishment and horror of clodhopper -audiences. Six years of this had left Tommy -without a digestion, and that fixed and bewildered grin, -which to Phyllis, under the unusual circumstances -of their meeting, seemed to her not without a satiric -quality.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But as they drove through the deserted streets -she realized her mistake, and corrected so unjust -a first impression. The artless, gawky creature -idolized Adair, and was proud beyond measure to -be serving him so romantically. It gave him an -extraordinary fellow-feeling for Phyllis to have her -also on her knees at the shrine of the demigod; and -he overflowed with a hero-worship so naïve and -sincere that she could not help liking him--grin -and all. Indeed, it seemed a happy augury for her -own future that Adair could excite so profound an -admiration in those about him. Mr. Merguelis -seemed as infatuated as she, and saw nothing -strange in these midnight proceedings. There was -approval in that everlasting grin. Would she please -call him Tommy? Mr. Adair called him Tommy. -They shook hands on it in the semi-darkness, and -she knew she had found a friend.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Phyllis expected that Cyril would be waiting for -her at the station, and was much cast down to learn -that she was to remain alone with Tommy until -the train arrived. "Then we'll all bustle on board -together, and nobody will notice you," explained -Tommy. The good sense of this was apparent, -yet at the same time she could not help feeling -a little forlorn and slighted. "Nobody will notice -you," said Young Lochinvar's Tommy.--Now that -the die was cast, why should she not be noticed? -She was ready to avow herself Adair's before all -the world, and why not on that dark, ill-lighted -platform, when her courage was nearly spent and -her slim young body drooping?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They sat on a bench, and waited in a corner of -the vast cavern, she with her bag in her lap, Tommy -with his unrelaxing grin fixed on space. Waited -and waited, while stragglers passed, immigrants -with babies and bundles, hurrying couples -returning to the suburbs from a night in town. Above -the noise there suddenly rose a louder thunder. It -was the train bursting in with a roar, hissing steam -and grinding its brakes as it slowed down, -throbbing majestically. Tommy seized her by the arm -and ran along the platform.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Day car reserved for Steinberger's theatrical company?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Third car back."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Day car reserved for Steinberger's theatrical company?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Jump in!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Others were scrambling in, too. Phyllis had a -fleeting glimpse of Miss de Vere, still with dabs of -make-up on her sulky, handsome face; of the wicked -Prince, loaded down with baggage, and excitedly -taking the direction of everything on his shoulders; -of a stout, authoritative Jew with a diamond pin, -who was staring at her with a greedy curiosity, -and that cattleman's look, as of one who could tell -the shape, age, attractiveness, and market value of -a human heifer at a single glance. They jostled -into the empty car, a dozen or more, settling -themselves anywhere, anyhow, like a big boisterous -family. Tommy and Phyllis slipped into a seat at -the farther end, and they had hardly done so -before the latter felt a hand reach over and touch her -cheek; and turning, saw Adair! Tommy sprang -up, and made way for him, Adair taking the vacated -place as though by right.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Whatever pique she might have held against him -vanished in the magic of his presence. His hand, -closing on hers, communicated peace and resolution. -No longer was she afraid, or lonely, or sad, or -uneasily conscious of those other prying and -speculating occupants of the car. The goal was attained; -stronger shoulders than her own now lifted her -burden; she had run her race, and could now lie, -all spent and weary, in that haven of heart's -content. His musical voice flowed on in caressing -cadences. Had Tommy carried out his instructions? -Had Tommy explained the need of an unobtrusive -departure, so that any chance reporter or -busybody might be put off the scent?--Oh, the -poor baby, how neglected she must have felt, on -this the night of nights; how utterly ignored and -forgotten!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He drew her head against his cheap fur coat, and -stroked her cheek and tresses--his sweetheart, his -darling, his little bride! It was sweet to be petted; -sweeter still to enjoy the luxury of self-pity as he -expatiated with smiling exaggeration on her sad, -miserable, wretched waiting with Tommy, in the -sad, miserable, wretched station! She closed her -sleepy eyes, and nestled closer, awake only to catch -every soft word of endearment. Of these she could -not have enough. It was heavenly to doze away -with: "I love you, I love you, I love you," falling -in that insatiable little ear; heavenly to feel that -big hand playing with her hair, and tempting kisses -as it lingered against her mouth; heavenly to feel -so weak, and small, and helpless, and tired against -that muscular arm. Divine mystery of love! -Divine the dependence of woman on man, of man on -woman, neither complete without the other, and -each so different... "My little bride" -... "I love you, ... I love you, -... I love you..."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The train rumbled through the darkness. The -seats held the huddled figures of the company, all -as limp as sacks, as oblivion stole upon them. Feet -were cocked up; hats were pulled over brows; -haggard women, pale men, sprawling in disorder, and -through long familiarity as unrestrained as some -low, coarse family--sloppy slippers and frank -stockings to the garter; unbuttoned collars, -unbuttoned vests; dirty cuffs on racks--the squalid -evidences of a squalid intimacy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Looking down at that pure profile, and inhaling -with every breath the fragrance of an exquisite -young womanhood which would be his so soon to -take, and, if he wished, to fling away, shattered -and destroyed beyond all mending, Adair felt, with -dawning comprehension, and mingled elation and -pain, all that had gone to put this creature so -infinitely above him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>What care, what money, what anxious thought -had been lavished to make her what she was. -How incessant the effort; how jealous the -guarding through all these years; how elaborate and -costly the training to fit her for the proud, high -position to which she had been born. It came -over him with a strange new perception that the -very innocence of her surrender was but another -proof of that queenly rearing. She was not of a -world where women suspected or bargained. They -lived their gracious lives within triple walls, -unaware of the sentinels and outposts for ever -watching over them. And what were the sensations of -the lucky thief, who had closed his fingers on the -prize, and run? They were not altogether as -joyful as one might have thought. The thief was -very much bemused. That trusting head, snuggled -against his breast, was causing a curious -commotion in the heart beneath.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But he overcame the unmanly weakness. Hell, -he would take what the gods had sent him. He -hadn't raised a hand to get her; she had thrown -herself at him; oh, she knew what she was doing, -well enough, though she probably expected him to -marry her. Perhaps he would, later on. He -wasn't prepared right there to say he wouldn't. -But there was plenty of time for that. He hoped -she wouldn't turn out to be one of the crying, -troublesome kind. Add a Laidlaw Wright father-in-law -to that, and one might as well shoot oneself--what -with writs, attachments, box-office seizures, -injunctions, citations "to show cause," detectives -going through your pockets, black eyes, fines, -contempt-proceedings--all raining on a fellow in -buckets! He smiled grimly at the recollection. No -more of that for him.--Well, if she didn't like -the other way, she would just have to make the -best of it. Her innocence here again would be a -great help. The poor little lamb believed every -word he said. Besides, with women, kisses could -always atone for everything.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The train rumbled on and on. Adair succumbed -to a fitful and uneasy slumber, through which there -ran a thread of tormenting dreams. He had lost -her; they had become separated, and over the heads -of a crowd he saw her disappearing in a vortex -of hurrying people; he struggled unavailingly to -follow, swearing, hitting out, shouldering and -elbowing like a madman; the cruel reality of it -awakened him to find her sleeping in his arms. He -awakened her, too,--roughly,--to share his relief, -his joy. He made her hold him round the neck; -made her kiss him, all sleepy as she was; crushed -and cuddled her in a transport of sudden passion. -Then he nodded off again, his lips resting on her -silken hair, blissfully content, and no longer afraid -to close his heavy lids.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They were bundled off at Ferrisburg at three in -the morning, all of them so sodden with sleep that -they could scarcely keep their eyes open. A -dilapidated bus, and a freckled boy received them, the -former representing the Clarendon Hotel, the latter, -Miss MacGlidden's theatrical boarding-house. The -company divided accordingly, with some grumpy -facetiousness, the lesser members trailing away on -foot after the boy, the principals climbing into the -bus,--the trunks of both stacked high on the -platform to await the morning.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The hotel, in spite of its fine name, was a bare, -dismal, ramshackle place; and the lowered lights, -and uncarpeted floors gave it a peculiarly -forbidding air as the doors were unlocked to admit them. -Phyllis, clinging to her lover's arm, and overcome -with weariness, took little heed of the -arrangements being made for their accommodation. She -had no idea of the </span><em class="italics">Cyril Adair and wife</em><span> that -was being written almost under her nose. Even -when she accompanied Cyril up-stairs at the heels of -a yawning darky, she was equally unaware that -her room was also to be his. No sleepy child at her -father's side could have been more trusting.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The darky shuffled off, leaving them alone -together in the big, cold bedroom. Adair took her -in his arms, and kissed her, murmuring something -that she only half heard and altogether failed to -understand. All that she grasped was that he -would return in a little while--that she was to -undress, and go to bed, while he went down to get -his dress-suit case. He opened her own little bag, -and laughed as he arranged the contents on the -chiffonier, she with blushes, struggling to restrain -him. Then he was gone, and when she went to -lock the door, she found that the key was gone, also.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She took off her hat, her cloak, her bodice, and -with no light save a pair of wretched candles -began to brush her unloosened hair. A terrible -misgiving was stealing over her which she tried to -allay by prolonging this familiar task. The -missing key, the talk of coming back--what was she -to think? A deadly fear struck at her heart. It -was not all for her honor. There was more at -stake than even that--the greater disaster of -Adair's unworthiness. Could this be the love for -which she had abandoned everything? Was it all -a lie, a fraud, a trick? She suddenly seemed to -lose the strength to stand, sinking into the nearest, -chair, huddled and trembling.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>No, no, he could not be so inconceivably base. -She was wrong. His love was as real as hers. He -was incapable of such coldblooded premeditation. -Everything she had was his. It was not that. The -thought of giving herself to him had filled her with -an unreasoning joy. But to be cheated, to barter -her life, her soul in exchange for his pretense--oh, -she would have rather died! She would have -starved for him, would have sold the clothes off -her back for him, would have borne unflinchingly -odium, contempt, disgrace, asking only that he love -her well. But without that--! It was for him to -choose; she had no resistance left; but if it were, -indeed, all a lie she would kill herself the next day. -One could outlive many things, but not </span><em class="italics">that</em><span>. -There are some cheats that leave one with no -redress save death.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She heard his step in the corridor; heard the door -softly open; looked up with dilating eyes to learn -her fate. The words Adair meant to say never -were said. He stopped, staring down at her with -a gaze as questioning as her own. It was one of -those instants that decide eternities. All that she -had thought, all that she had dreaded were articulate -in the piteous face she raised to his. It was a look, -which, mysteriously, for that perceptive instant was -open for him to read.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They have got me a room on the other side of -the house," he said, "but I had to come back first -to say good night." He ran over to her, kissed her -lightly on her bared shoulder, pressed a great -handful of her hair across his lips, and hurried away -before temptation could overmaster him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was no one to be found anywhere, but he -remembered the stove still burning in the bar-room, -and the empty chairs gathered socially about it. -Thither he made his way through the silent office -and corridors, and drawing his cheap fur coat close -about him, settled himself to pass what little -remained of the night. There was sawdust on the -floor, spittoons, scraps of sausage-rind; the air stank -stalely of beer and spirits; the single gas-jet, turned -very low, flickered over the nude women that -decorated the mean, fly-blown walls, and flickered, too, -over a man, half-slumbering in a chair, who, but -glimmeringly to himself, had taken the turning road -of his life.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xvii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XVII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The sensation of most runaway couples, -after filling up a blank form, and having -a marriage service gabbled over them by -a shabby stranger in a frock-coat, is one of unmixed -astonishment at the facility of the whole proceeding. -A dog-license is no harder to obtain, and the -formalities attending vaccination are even greater.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Phyllis emerged from the Reverend Josiah Lyell's -with a ring on her finger, and a cardboard -certificate on which the Almighty, angels, and forked -lightning were depicted above her name and -Adair's. The first discussion of their married life -was what to do with this monstrosity. Phyllis was -for tearing it up, but Adair, superstitiously afraid -of bad luck, insisted stoutly on its being retained.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'll hide it at the bottom of my trunk," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They returned to the carriage, which was awaiting -them as composedly as though nothing in -particular had happened in the ten-minute interval. -Adair wished to take a drive before going back -to the hotel, thinking that the air and repose would -be soothing for their nerves,--but to his surprise -Phyllis demurred.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I've been married your way," she said, "now -you must come and be married mine."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yours, Phyllis?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, tell him to drive to a Catholic church."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He gave the order good-humoredly. "Aren't -you satisfied?" he asked. "Do you want more -angels and forked lightning?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You see, I've always been a sort of Catholic," -she explained. "Not a good Catholic, but a poor -little straggler, galloping on half a mile behind, like -a baby sheep that's got left. I've never liked -the confession part of it, but really, Cyril, there's -a sort of whiff of Heaven about a Catholic church -that I need occasionally. It's just as though you -were awfully hungry, and went in to smell a -beautiful dinner a long way off!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"All right, Phyllis, if we are going to get -married we might as well do it thoroughly," assented -Adair. "If you think that beautiful dinner will -help us any, let's go and smell it by all means."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>As kind fate would have it, it was rather an -attractive church, and better still it was altogether -deserted. The autumn sunshine was streaming -through stained-glass windows; a faint perfume of -incense lingered in the air; the peace and solitude -gave an added dignity to the altar, with its suffering -pale Christ, its tall candles, its effulgent brasses -gleaming in the rosy light. Phyllis made Adair -kneel at her side, and holding his hand tightly in -hers, prayed silently with downcast eyes, and the -least quiver of a smile at the corner of her lips.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On their way out they stopped at the font. She -crossed herself, touched her fingers to the water, -and scattered some drops on Adair's face. -"That's that you will always love me," she said, -with captivating solemnity, "that's that you will -always be true to me; and that's that--I may -die first!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adair dabbled his own hand in the holy water, -as though the act had a religious significance, "Oh, -God," he said, looking up in all seriousness, "if -there is a God--take care of this sweet wife of -mine, and guard her from every harm; and if there -isn't, I swear by this I am going to do it myself -just as well as I know how!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>They kissed each other, and were about to go, -when Phyllis noticed the poor-box. She slipped -off her best ring, a little diamond such as girls are -permitted to wear, and unhesitatingly dropped it in. -Adair, caught by the picturesqueness of the -offering, would have sacrificed his horseshoe pin had -he not been prevented.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, that's too pretty," she cried jealously. -"Haven't you something you don't like that God -</span><em class="italics">would</em><span>?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A little rummaging discovered a gold pencil-case -which seemed to fulfill this demand--at least on -Adair's side--and it forthwith followed the ring. -Then they sought the open air.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, at last I feel really married," said Phyllis -gaily, as they climbed back into the carriage. -"What a strange, dizzy, </span><em class="italics">safe</em><span> sort of feeling it -gives one. And just think I could hug you right -now before the driver, and that old lady with the -basket, and that little boy blowing his baby brother's -nose--and nobody could say Boo!"</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 64%" id="figure-31"> -<span id="she-waited-for-him-at-the-stage-door"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="She waited for him at the stage-door.--*Page* 284" src="images/img-220.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">She waited for him at the stage-door.--</span><em class="italics">Page</em><span class="italics"> </span><a class="italics reference internal" href="#id1">284</a></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>She alarmed Adair by pretending to carry the -hugging into effect until he tried to push her away, -and told her to behave. She replied with a -delighted, bubbling outcry over her new freedom: -"Oh, but I'm married now, and can do just what -I like, and can have breakfast in bed with you -every morning, and put my shoes out with yours -to be blacked, and I'm Mrs. Adair, and have a -wedding-ring, and a certificate with forked -lightning on it!" She exultantly popped up her feet -on the seat in front, showing a shocking amount -of black silk stocking with a bravado that made -him grab at her skirt to pull it down; and in -the ensuing romp there was more silk stocking still, -and so much happy laughter on her part, and scandalized -protestation on his that the driver turned -round, and they were all but disgraced.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The narrowness of the escape sobered her, and -for the rest of the drive she was demureness itself. -What a joy it was to recline with half-shut eyes, -and let the air fan away all the troubled memories -of the night before! Mind and body craved repose, -and mind and body found it in the cradle-like -movement of the carriage. Adair was very tired, too, -and willing enough to share his pretty companion's -mood. Deliciously conscious of each other, though -more asleep than awake, they abandoned themselves -to the fresh bright morning, and breathed -in deep drafts of contentment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On their return to the hotel, the carriage stopped -and Tommy Merguelis jumped up on the step. His -perennial grin, and withered, foolish face was not -unclouded by a certain anxiety. He dropped a -bunch of roses into Phyllis' lap, with an awkward -compliment which got as far as she was a rose -herself, and then ended midway with a terrified giggle.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm awful sorry," he said, addressing Adair, -"but you're wanted at the theater, Mr. Adair, and -I've been chasing around after you for the last -half-hour. They want you to rehearse right off with -Miss Clarke, and coach her a bit in the business."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, what's the matter with De Vere?" asked -Adair, surprised.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A slight glaze seemed to spread itself over the grin.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She won't be in the bill for a day or two," -said Tommy. "She's been suddenly taken awful -bad." He paused, seeking a decorous name for the -attack in question, and finally veiled it in the -obscurity of a foreign language: "A crisis de nerves," -he added.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, tantrums?" said Adair in a plainer tongue. -"What a confounded nuisance!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"She kept yelling and yelling until we got the -doctor," went on Tommy; "and then on top of that -Miss Clarke had to get into a hair-pulling match -with Miss Larkins--and so I think you had better -hurry, Mr. Adair, if there's to be anything doing -to-night."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Great Lord, I think so, too!" cried the latter, to -whom, like all stars, the evening performance was -next to a religion. "You go on to the hotel," he -went on, turning to Phyllis, "and make yourself -as comfortable as you can." The vexation in his -voice was even a better apology than the one in -words. "I'm damned sorry," he said. "It's the -most infernal shame. Forgive me, Phyllis, please -do, and try not to mind."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Thus it was that she drove to the hotel alone, -while Adair and Tommy strode off to quiet the -tempest in the theater, and start a tedious and -prolonged rehearsal with Miss de Vere's understudy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Phyllis went to her room, and found one alleviation -of its loneliness in examining that mysterious -object, her wedding-ring. It was so strange, so -unfamiliar, so charged with significance and finality. -Just a trifling hoop of gold, and yet with what -myriad meanings. Probably in days gone by, when -of brass or iron it was riveted on the neck, little -brides mirrored themselves in pools with a similar -awe at their altered state, and a similar questioning -of the unknown future.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For better or worse, for good or evil, her life -was linked to Adair's beyond all recalling, and the -emblem of their compact glittered on the hand she -gazed at so long and earnestly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But you can not hypnotize yourself for ever with -a wedding-ring--even one not two hours old. -There was another matter that called more -insistently for her attention. Cyril had promised her -two hundred and fifty dollars for her clothes, and it -behooved her to get pen and ink, and begin making -her calculations. This she did with much erasing, -much crinkling of girlish brows--with a profound, -wise-baby expression as though all the world were -at stake. There was a delicious immodesty in -spending Adair's money for such laced and ribboned -femininities--nightgowns, stockings, chemises, and -what she wrote down ambiguously as "those -things," and colored as she wrote it. How thrilling -it was, and how exquisitely shocking! Oh, dear, -what nice ones they would have to be,--twenty-five -dollars gone for six in the twinkling of an eye, -for surely economy here would be a crime, men -being notoriously fond of--</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mrs. Adair?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Her new name was so unfamiliar that she -hesitated before answering: "Come in."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A gentleman to see you, Mrs. Adair."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The door opened, and there on the threshold -stood her father! His face was white, his eyes -morose and sunken, his whole air so formidable that -in the first shock of recognition Phyllis could do -no more than stare at him in terror.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"May I enter?" he asked, in that deeper intonation -of his which he never used except under -some special stress. As he spoke he looked about -sharply, and with a bristling hostility as though -expecting to discover a second occupant of the room.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr. Adair isn't here," she said, answering the -silent question. "I am all alone, Papa."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She would have kissed him, but he brushed past -her to a chair, and seated himself heavily, laying his -silk hat and his gloves on the floor beside him. -Thus stalwartly in possession of the chamber, he -appeared more formidable than ever, and the -deliberate gaze he bent on Phyllis was masterful and -menacing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"So you've gone and thrown away your life," -he said at last. "Forgive me, my dear, if I am -not able to congratulate you upon it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I married Mr. Adair this morning, if that's -what you mean." She hardly knew how to say -more without adding to her offense. Her father -was bound to put her in the wrong whatever reply -she made. A terrible hopelessness weighed her -down, and crushed the unspoken appeal on her lips.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Thrown away like that," he repeated, with a -gesture. "You, who had everything; you, with -beauty, position, money, brains--my God, the -folly of it--the cruel, wicked, heartless folly of it!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't, Papa!" she pleaded. "It's done, and -so what's the good of wounding me now?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Done!" he cried out bitterly. "That depends -on what you mean by the word. I will call it done -in six months when you will leave him for good, -and he will name his price for a divorce. That's -the way adventurers marry money nowadays. They -enjoy the girl till they are tired of her, and then -sell!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Phyllis struggled to keep her composure under -the affront. "You are very unjust," she returned -in a low voice that trembled in spite of herself. -"You are determined to think the worst of him, -and make it impossible for us ever to be friends. -But you are wrong, Papa. He's not an adventurer, -nor anything like it. Surely I ought to know -better than you, and if I have been willing to love -him, and marry him--"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I'm not going to argue with you about -him," interrupted Mr. Ladd harshly. "You believe -in him now, of course. One can't reason with -lunatics, and I shan't try. I'll give you six -months--perhaps even less--and then I want you to -remember what I am saying to you now."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That you were right?"--Her voice was -scornful.--"Oh, Papa, this is unworthy of you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Phyllis," he retorted, "that's the last thing on -earth I would ever say to you. If you should come -back to me disillusioned, broken, utterly weary of -the muddle you have made of it all, you will find -everything unchanged between us and the whole -matter as ignored as though it had never been. -That's what you are to remember--that my heart -and my purse will never be closed against you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Though both are dependent on my giving up -my husband?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He will give you up, my dear, fast enough."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How dare you say that, Papa--how dare -you!" A mist of anger was in her eyes, and two -spots of crimson glowed dangerously on her cheeks. -Never in her life had she been more roused; up to -that moment she had still hoped to save the day -and win her father over, but now she perceived the -irrevocable nature of what was being said. Yet -outwardly, at least, she restrained herself, and hid -within her quivering breast a tumult that seemed -to rend her to pieces.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If I seem to be misjudging Mr. Adair it is only -because I know more about him that you do," -continued Mr. Ladd in a tone not untinged with a grim -satisfaction. Even as he spoke he drew out a thick -packet, and unfolded it on his knee. It was a mass -of typewriting, with here and there a notorial seal -on paper of a different color, and an occasional -newspaper cutting neatly pasted in the center of a -little sea of comment. "Here we have him in -black and white," he went on, "and frankly, Phyllis, -he offers you a very poor promise of a happy -married life."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And you expect me on my wedding morning to -sit down and read these things--these abominable -slanders your detectives have scraped together?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, no. But I demand to have Mr. Adair sit -down and answer them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Would you believe him if he did?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Facts are facts. He can't deny them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And you called </span><em class="italics">me</em><span> unreasonable? Oh, Papa!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Ladd ignored the taunt.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"When he appreciates that his whole disreputable -past is known to me," he went on, with the -same inflexible composure, "he may condescend to -consider--an arrangement."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"An arrangement?--What do you mean?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I have brought a blank check with me," he -explained. "He can name anything--and get it. -I'd rather pay more now than less later."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His brutality overwhelmed her. It took her a -few seconds to understand the incredible baseness -he imputed to Adair. In the light of this her -father's previous insults paled to insignificance. -She was too stunned to make any reply, and for -a while could do nothing but look at him in -speechless wonder. Then she rose, and rang the bell.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The marriage could be annulled," said Mr. Ladd, -oblivious of everything except his one -preoccupation. "The next thing is to keep the -newspapers quiet, and that I can do. We'll go abroad--"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The darky came running up with a pitcher of -ice water. No one ever rang for anything else in -the Clarendon Hotel. He entered, jingling the ice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Show this gentleman out," said Phyllis, "and -I want you to remember I shall not be home to -him again."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Phyllis!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The entreaty in his voice moved her not a bit, -nor the outstretched hand, veined, wrinkled and -shaking.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's conceivable I may forgive you for this, -Papa," she exclaimed, "though God knows it will -be hard. But if you offer that check to Cyril I -shall hate you till the day I die!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Have it your own way then," he returned dully, -and with a curious break in his voice. "Take your -own wilful road, and come back to me when your -heart's broken. I'll be waiting for you, Phyllis, -and ready to forget and forgive."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She disdained to make any reply. The darky -officiously gathered up the silk hat and gloves from -the floor, and presented them to Mr. Ladd. The -latter, with a last look at his daughter's unrelenting -face, turned in silence, and passed out.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The stairs are to the left, sah," said the darky.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xviii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XVIII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Whether disillusion was finally destined -to arrive or not, there was certainly not -a hint of it during those succeeding -weeks. There was no happier little bride in -America, than Phyllis Adair, and intimate acquaintance -with that extraordinary creature, man, only -redoubled her delight in him. The bigness, directness, -simplicity, intolerance, and dog-like devotion -of her husband were an unfailing joy to her. No -little girl who had been given a coveted St. Bernard -could have taken more anxious, eager, excited care -of him. She would feed Adair with the daintiest -morsels from her own plate; she would exert every -faculty she possessed to amuse and distract him -when he fell into one of his despondent moods; -she would mock him with such pretty archness when -he grew irritable over trifles. "Damn it all, -where did that fool Williams put my patent leather -shoes?"--"Damn it all, you will find them in -the bottom of the wardrobe neatly ranged with the -others," she would answer. No matter how ill -his humor she always found the means to make him -smile; her quick wit, or her slim, audacious body -each exultantly willing to tease and bewitch him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Of all human gifts surely that of loving has -received the least general recognition. A genius -for music, a genius for mathematics or natural -history, or sculpture, or mechanics, is at once admitted -and acclaimed. But what of a genius for loving, -which of all is infinitely the rarest? The trouble -is that every one is conceited enough to think that -he (or she) is a wonder at it. But frankly, do -we really indeed see so many love-geniuses about -us? Are we not rather struck instead by an almost -universal love-poverty? If the husband stays -drearily at home every night of his life, and if the -wife is entirely absorbed in the baby, are we not -asked enthusiastically to applaud a happy home? -This is the national ideal, and tens of thousands -are yawning heroically through it. But where's -love in any but half-pint sizes? Everybody insists -it is there in barrelfuls, much as they insisted in -the fairy tale in the case of the man with the -invisible clothes.--We are not defending hubby when -he gets tangled up with the blonde lady, but -emotionally speaking (only </span><em class="italics">emotionally</em><span>, be it -understood), it may be an upward step. If you have -a ten per cent. capacity to love, it is hard to be -fobbed off with a four per cent. partner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Phyllis was one of the chosen few in whom the -capacity to love was inordinate. Her one thought -was to make herself indispensable to the man to -whom she had given herself. Adair was the last -thing in her head at night, the first at dawn. Hardly -was there an act of hers in which his personality -was not a contributing factor. Her insatiable -ambition was to please and delight him, and her brain -was ever busy to find fresh ways, and improve on -the old. Her finesse, her humor, her ardent and -tender imagination--all were enlisted to a single -end. Passion she had in plenty, for she was of a -voluptuous nature, and the blood coursed hotly in -her veins--but she had more than that to give him, -and was possessed of a thousand captivating arts to -ensnare this love that was said to be so elusive, and -bind it tight with a myriad silken threads.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It will be asked was Adair worthy of so supreme -a devotion? Is it not enough to answer that he -was not altogether unworthy? There was a lot of -human clay in the creature, and while Phyllis was -exerting all her blithe young ardor to keep the -altar-fires aflame, he was content to look on lazily, and -man-like, take many things for granted. Had she -been no better, their love would have run the -ordinary course, and perished fast enough on the rocks -of habit and satiety. Adair's spiritual side was all -but dormant. He was encased in materialism as -stoutly as some of us in fat; whatever gropings he -had toward higher things were all in the direction -of the stage. Feelings he could not initiate -himself he took here ready made, and showed almost -a genius in their comprehension. He presented a -paradox of one who could admirably "get into" -any written character, and yet who was wholly -unable to "get into" his own.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Phyllis knew much more what laid beneath than -he. To her the yearning, troubled, inarticulate -soul of the man appealed as pathetically as the -sight of some great, ashamed, bearded fellow who -had never been taught to read. In the finer sense -Adair had never been taught anything. His instincts -alone had saved him from being a clod. In -his fight up from the bottom he had arrived a good -deal splashed with mud; and Phyllis, figuratively -speaking, rolled back her sleeves, and set herself to -tubbing him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was extraordinarily submissive in this respect, -extraordinarily grateful and responsive. He made -no pretense of hiding his ignorance, but questioned -her like a child, and often as artlessly. At -thirty-four he was having the universe reconstructed for -him, and the process filled him with astonishment. -Phyllis read aloud to him from such unheard-of -authors as Thackeray, Carlyle, Hardy, Stevenson, -and Meredith until these strange names became -quite familiar. She could read French, too, -translating as she went, while he sat back, profoundly -respectful and impressed, his humility tinged with -the zest of ownership. Yes, her youth, her beauty, -her intelligence, her love, all were his; and as he -gazed at her through the haze of his cigar, the -words often fell heedlessly on his ear as he felt the -mantling of a divine contentment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Yet he could be very masterful on some matters. -Phyllis was not allowed to receive the advances of -the company, or to associate with any of its members, -a prohibition not a little difficult to obey in the -course of their constant traveling together. But if -Phyllis shrank from being rude, Adair suffered from -no similar delicacy, and was brutally direct in -making his wishes plain to his stage companions. It -was not only that he feared Lydia de Vere, whose -yellowish eyes were full of enmity, and whose -powers for mischief he well knew; but in contrast -to his dainty wife these theater-people somehow -began to strike him as tarnished and common, and -he was jealously reluctant to expose her to their -familiarities. Intercourse with Phyllis was -sharpening his critical faculty; his view-point was -insensibly changing; there were even times when he -realized his own deficiencies.--Tommy Merguelis -was the one exception he made. The lanky young -man, when weighed in the new scales, was found -to be less wanting than the others. There was -something sensitive and refined about Tommy. -Ill-health, pins, and years of furniture-polish had been -as cleansing fires. He was a humble person who -would accept his humble inch and grin gratefully, -and not reach out for an ell. Yes, Phyllis might -be friends with Tommy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>With them on their travels from town to town -went a punching-bag, which Adair inflated and -set up as soon as their trunks were unpacked. -Every morning, stripped to the waist, Phyllis had -to double up her little fists, and start a-pummelling -for ten furious minutes. There could be no begging -off from this daily rite; it was one of the iron -rules of married life; pleadings, caresses, protests -all were in vain. An icy bath had to follow, and -if she hesitated too long on the brink, or showed -too mutinous a row of toes, Adair would jump up, -and tumble her in as mercilessly as a boy with -a puppy. At night, too, he was no less rigid in -regard to her prayers. His own religion was very -nebulous. He never prayed himself nor went to -church; but apparently that was no reason why -Phyllis should be similarly backward. It gave him -a peculiar pleasure to see her kneeling beside the -bed, her night dress flowing about her slender, -girlish body, and her hair drawn back, and held -by a circlet of red ribbon. He knew no prettier -picture, nor was it without a tender and uplifting -value. For it was his name that moved on her -lips, and who would not have been proud to send -so enchanting a little deputy to plead for one -before the Throne of Grace? Then it was that he -seemed to love her best; and though all unaware of -it, he, too, was praying in the deeper, unspoken -language of the heart.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You've forgotten your prayers!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, it was so cold--I thought I wouldn't to-night."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Jump up!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's so cosy here with you--and you ought to -have said it sooner--and anyhow, I won't."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Jump up!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Cyril, that hurts!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Of course, it hurts."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's wicked to pinch as hard as that."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's wickeder not to say your prayers."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Cyril, don't, </span><em class="italics">don't</em><span>!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Jump up, then."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm not in the right frame of mind now--you -have pinched it all away.--All right, all right, -don't--I'll do it! Though I don't think a -pinch-prayer would be as good as a real one. Do you?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"This is the prayer-rush time--God won't notice it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not even if I am black and blue? Why, the -angels will be shocked."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They are that already with the fuss you have -made. Roll out, you bad little chap,--out with you!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Sometimes Adair was sharp with her--impatient -and fretful. He made very little effort to control -his moods, which, as with most artists, were as -changeable and capricious as those of a child. Nine -women out of ten would have retorted in kind, -and the honeymoon period would have insensibly -passed, and with it much of the charm and rapture -of their union. It was due to no help of Adair's -that they did not descend to the ordinary plane -of married life, with its deliquescence of nearly -everything beautiful and romantic--occasional -harshness on one side, tears and pin-prickings on -the other, and departing illusions on both. People -can still get along very tolerably in this manner, -and remain fairly fond and faithful, but no one can -contend it is the poet's ideal. It was certainly not -Phyllis', and she was determined to avoid such a -catastrophe.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In her ambitious little head the honeymoon was -to be only the beginning of a sweeter intimacy -beyond. She saw, lying latent in Adair, a capacity -to love as great as her own (she was presumptuous -enough to think that no one could love any better), -and her one consuming endeavor was to draw it -forth. Whether or not the prize was worth the -winning never occurred to her. This big, -splendid, untamed man-animal was hers, with all his -weaknesses and defects, with all his fine qualities -and bad, and she had accepted the responsibility -of him with naïve self-confidence. To love was -her vocation, and she set herself to it with delight.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Her unfailing gaiety, her pretty artifices to -amuse and cajole him, her constant study of means -to give him pleasure--all were as the drops that -wear away the stone. High-spirited, quick-tempered, -and with a sensitiveness that a glance could -wound, she yet put such a rein upon herself that -no provocation could draw from her an unkind -word. She might grow suddenly silent, her mouth -might quiver, her eyes glisten, but no sharp retort -ever passed her lips. There are many men with -whom this would not have answered. To some, -indeed, an exquisite gentleness and forbearance -almost tempts their harshness. Feeling themselves -in the wrong their vanity is insulted, and with -morbid perversity they go from bad to worse. But -Adair was not of this sort. With all his faults -he was a man of generous instincts, and capable of -quick and headlong repentances. He could come -in like a thunder-cloud, on edge with nerves, snappish, -morose, ready to fly off the tangent at a trifle--and -five minutes later would be sitting at Phyllis' -feet, his face in her lap, conquered, contrite, -declaiming hotly against himself, his ill-temper all -striking inward.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>These lapses of his helped his love much more -than they hurt it, and through them he began to -acquire some self-control, some degree of -consideration--some shame. In him devotion brought -out devotion. Instead of resenting Phyllis' -strategems to keep him good-humored and happy, he -was touched to the quick. It was a new idea, this -of keeping love alight; of consecrating thought -and care to it and guarding the precious flame from -extinction. It dawned upon him as something -entirely novel and unheard-of. Yet it was beautiful; -he approved of it heartily. He innocently ascribed -the invention to Phyllis, and as usual was -tremendously impressed. It made him wonder whether -she ever thought of anything else but love. As he -grew to know her better he saw that it inspired all -she did--that every impulse and every action -sprang from it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Had he been a king, and she the transient, pretty -butterfly of the moment, she could not have striven -harder to fascinate and hold him. Her saucy -tongue, her fancifulness, her audacity, her -often-declared determination to be as much sweetheart as -wife--all were as spice to a love that might -otherwise have cloyed. To adore a man is not -enough--there is nothing the poor darling silly animal -gets tired of so soon as being adored.--One had -to keep him interested, captivated, filling in one's -own little person all his complicated needs of -passion, comradeship, entertainment, variety, and -mental recreation. But how well one was repaid! If -one gave a whole harem's worth of love, one -received a whole harem's worth back, and sweetest -of all one could watch the unfolding and ripening -of a really fine nature. She was sure her infatuation -had guided her truly in that respect; that her -choice had fallen on a man with heart and soul big -enough to repay her devotion. He might be rough, -but she had never a moment's doubt as to the -diamond, nor as to her ability to shape and polish it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was a process, unfortunately, that could not -be hurried. Against her in the endeavor were the -ingrained habits and wilfulness of twenty years. -From his boyhood up Adair had lived in an -atmosphere of unrestraint, a Bohemian of Bohemians, -without ties, care-free, the whim of the moment his -only guide. Some backslidings on his part were -inevitable and Phyllis, with all her illusions, was -sane and cool enough to foresee them. It was hardly -a surprise to her, therefore, though frightening -and dismaying, when late one night, after -awaiting him in vain, Tommy Merguelis appeared -unexpectedly in his stead. Any stranger to the young -man would have judged him to be in high spirits; -his shrill, nervous laugh was louder than usual; -and he stammered and giggled as though bubbling -over with an unextinguishable good nature. To -Phyllis' practised eyes, however, these were ominous -signs, and her breath came a little quickly, as she -asked news of her husband.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, he's all right," said Tommy, standing with -one hand on the door-knob, and showing no -inclination to enter the room. "Oh, Mr. Adair is all -right--and hee, hee, don't you worry about him. -He's detained, that's all, and he sent me to say he -might be late, and, and--"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And what?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They've got him into a game down at -Mr. Feld's--the owner of the theater, hee, hee--and -he couldn't well refuse, or at least--"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Tommy, please--I don't understand."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Just a little game of draw."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Cards?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes--poker."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This did not strike Phyllis as anything very terrible.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And he sent you to tell me he would be late?" -she inquired, much reassured.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tommy lied manfully. As a matter of fact he -had invented the message--and the errand--to -shield Adair, who had forgotten everything in the -absorption of the game. "Yes," he said, "he can't -manage to be back to supper with you, and is awful -sorry about it, and hopes you won't mind." Though -Tommy could lie, he could not act. His -anxiety was obvious; he wriggled uncomfortably; -and his silly, convulsive smile presaged some -disagreeable revelation. Phyllis, now thoroughly -alarmed, and with characteristic directness went -straight for the truth.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Tommy, has he been drinking?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, ah, well, hee, hee--yes, he has."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And they are playing high?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A dollar limit."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And you came here to warn me? Don't deny it,"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, ah, well, hee, hee--yes, I did, -Mrs. Adair."--As Phyllis paused, troubled, uncertain, -full of distress, Tommy added: "I don't know -as it wouldn't be a good plan for you to come along -with me and get him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Would he come?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Anybody would come for you, Mrs. Adair."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Surely he doesn't often gamble, Tommy. He -has never spoken to me of it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, there's nothing he don't do when the fit -takes him. Hee, hee, he's that kind, you -know--temperamental."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The word, and the woebegone indulgence with -which it was uttered made Phyllis smile. Her -humor was always close to the surface, even when -there were tears between.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You are a dear, good fellow," she said, "and -I'll never forget your kindness to-night, though as -for doing anything, I am going to stay here."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was amazed at the gentleness of her tone.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am never going to be his taskmaster," she -went on, as much to herself as to Tommy. "As -far as I am concerned he shall always be as free -as air. If I went after him at all, it would be to -sit on his knee, and drink with him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Tommy's scandalized face again made her laugh.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't be afraid," she said with tremulous -gaiety, "I won't do it this evening, anyhow. Now -run away, Tommy, and tell them down-stairs we -shan't need any supper after all."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She shut the door after him, and stood with her -back to it, forlornly regarding the empty room. -She was more than hurt, more than mortified. She -had to ask herself if she had failed.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xix"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XIX</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>It was dawn when Adair staggered in, undressed -and rolled in beside her. Her long -vigil had been succeeded by an overpowering -slumber, and she was not aware of his return until -the streaming sunshine awakened her toward nine -o'clock. She wondered at first why her heart was -so heavy, and then, with reviving recollection, sat -up, and gazed at her sleeping husband. Even a -debauch could not impair his fine complexion, and -the thick, black hair clustered against the ruddy -skin softened Phyllis' expression as she studied -his face long and earnestly. The charm of that -vigorous manhood was irresistible, and whatever -lurking grudge she still had against Adair was lost -in a fresh access of tenderness. His uneasy -breathing, his hot dry forehead, his parched and parted -lips, all appealed as well to the woman in -her--the mother, the nurse.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>For once the routine of punching-bag and bath -was forgone, and her first task on rising was to -set about preparing breakfast. This, with the -pair, was a trifling matter, consisting of rolls, cream -and butter ordered over night and set outside their -door on a tray every morning, and the coffee Phyllis -made herself over a spirit lamp. She was thus -busily engaged when she was conscious of a movement -on the bed, and turned to see her husband -lowering at her with bloodshot eyes. Awake, he -looked disheveled, surly, ill and exasperated. His -head was splitting, and he was in one of those vile -humors when a man avenges his physical distress -on those about him. He pushed Phyllis away as -she ran over to him, and told her roughly to leave -him alone. The offer of a cup of coffee outraged -him. Groaning and swearing, he pulled himself -into a sitting posture, and in a voice as intentionally -disagreeable as he could make it demanded some -hot water.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Holding the cup in both hands, he began to drink -it in angry little sips, finding a malign satisfaction -in the change that had come over Phyllis. Pale, -silent, wounded and frightened, she was utterly at -loss to know what to do. Every word was a -stab, and she had a stupefying feeling that the end -had come. Her only coherent thought, the only -manifestation of resentment within her, was to -contribute nothing to bring about the catastrophe. If -Adair were determined to pull down their little -paradise about their ears, and destroy for ever the -filmy and poetic fabric of a perfect love, she, at -least, would hold herself innocent of the sacrilege. -But, oh, the pang of it, the heartrending misery, -the disillusion!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, go ahead," he said sullenly. "I'm ready--go ahead!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She faltered and trembled in asking him what he meant.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He burst out with a scornful laugh.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I was drunk last night," he said, "you know -that as well as I do, and here I am ready to take -my medicine--can't avoid it, I know that--and -want to get it over with. You wouldn't be a -woman if you didn't pay me out."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The vulgarity of the conception stung her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I--I don't pay people out," she said simply.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, no, you're the quiet kind," he went on with -an ugly jeer, intent somehow on putting her in the -wrong. "You don't say anything, but you sit -there and freeze a fellow--and oh, my God, yes, -cry! There you go, cry, cry, cry!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She did break down for a moment under his -deliberate cruelty, but quickly rallying, came over, -and sat beside him on the bed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't, don't quarrel with me," she said pitifully, -and then added with a gleam of humor, "after -all, it wasn't I that was drunk, you know."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She put out her hand, and for a while he -permitted it to lie against his aching forehead. All -would have been well had he not unfortunately -spilled his cup. At this his latent fury broke out -anew.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"For God's sake, don't crowd all over me!" he -cried. "Sit over there, where we can talk like -sensible people. You have made me all wet with the -damned stuff."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The fault was his own, and due to his unsteady -hands, but he was wilfully pleased to put her in the -wrong. He glowered at her with savage reproach -as she moved a little farther away in obedience to -his command. She was disconcertingly quiet, and -it seemed to him an added injustice to be cheated -of a scene. There was nothing but her anguished -eyes, and her drooping and utterly dispiriting -attitude to tell him how well he was succeeding.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You're a little fool," he announced inconsequently.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He waited for her to answer, but she made no -sign of having heard him, sitting there stricken, -numb.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"To have tied up with such a damned goat," -he added, with immense conviction.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Still no answer.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The best thing you can do is to pack up and -go," he went on.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At this she did find her voice, ghost of a one -that it was.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Is that what you really want me to do, Cyril?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's what you ought to do," he returned, with -a sternly paternal air.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's for you to decide."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His mumbling reply turned into a groan.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I lost nearly four hundred dollars last night," -he said, after a deadly pause. "Then I had to get -into a scrap with Jake Steinberger, and Willie -Latimer, and George Wright, and there was a hell of a -shindy till somebody turned in a police-alarm, and -I only dodged arrest by the skin of my -teeth--not but what I'll be summonsed to-day, sure as -sure. On top of that my engagement is gone, for -I lammed Jake half to death, and I guess he had -rather break up the tour all-standing than keep me -in the bill another night. And--and--"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You thought you'd make a clean sweep of -everything, once you were at it, and alienate me, -too?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, like a damned goat," he repeated dully.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, you have succeeded," she said in the same -low, even tone, "I dare say you'll be sorry some -day at having broken your toys. There isn't -anything more to be said, is there, except good-by?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She was about to rise when Adair flung himself -out of the bed, and kneeling before her, pulled off -her little slippers and began kissing her naked feet. -His repentance was so sudden, so abject that it was -almost as though he had gone crazy. It was indeed -an hysterical revulsion, and his frame shook, and -his hands clenched themselves on her flesh as he -abased himself before her. He begged incoherently -for forgiveness, for mercy; he would kill himself -if she were to leave him; he loved her; he could -die for her; the disgrace and despair of it all had -driven him mad. At first she resisted, struggling -to free herself, and too deeply affronted for any -atoning words to touch her; but her powerlessness -in his grasp, the warmth of his quick, tumultuous -breath against her, even the physical pain he was -unconsciously inflicting--all at last took her -womanhood by storm, and she drew up his head, -and allowed him to sob his heart out in her lap.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>How little did either of them know, she sitting -on the bed in her night-dress, he nestling close -against her in an agony of shame and contrition, -that a battle of the soul had been fought and won; -that the finer nature had triumphed over the coarser; -that an insensible but a most real step had been -taken upward. Phyllis extorted no promises; Adair -made no vows; rather they clung to each other like -little children who had safely passed the edge of -a precipice, and in security beyond were trembling -at what they had risked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The woman, always the more practical partner, -was the first to descend from the clouds to mundane -considerations.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And what's the poor little damned goat -going to do?" she asked, the quoted profanity on -her pretty lips as piquant and tender as a lullaby; -and accompanying it with a smile so arch that -Adair's face, too, could not but light with it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Face the music and then get out," returned the D. G.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Out where, dearest?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adair grew overcast.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mortimer Clark's on the road somewhere," he -said reflectively, "and I'm sure he'd make room -for me if he had to fire a whole company. Then -there's Nan O'Farrell in the </span><em class="italics">Diamond Diadem</em><span> -and Leo Foster in the </span><em class="italics">Slaves of Circumstance</em><span>. -They are all on the cheap, and would jump at the -chance of getting me at their prices. As soon as -I get round to it, I'll telegraph."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Phyllis hesitated, but at last the words came.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"On the cheap," she repeated. "Why don't -you aim higher, Cyril? Why don't you try the real -people--those who are worth while, especially now, -when you're going to break away from Steinberger?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His only reply was a shake of the head.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You know you're too good for this sort of -thing," she went on. "It isn't flattery to tell you -that--you see it yourself every night--I saw it, -and that's why I-- Oh, Cyril, let's try to get -where you belong."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You don't understand," he said moodily. -"You don't understand a bit. I had all that once, -and I kicked it over. The stage is an awfully -small place--for anybody that amounts to -anything, you know--though as big as an ocean for -the others. There isn't anybody of -importance--manager or star--who doesn't </span><em class="italics">hate</em><span> me." He -perceived the doubt in her glance, and continued -swiftly: "Oh, it's no conspiracy, or jealousy, or -anything of that kind--a tip-top man can -override all that if there's money in him for the -box-office--but I've set them all against me. There -isn't one I haven't punched or insulted somehow. -I hold the record for being the best-detested man -on Broadway. Why, Alfred Fielman once--that -was six years ago, when I was by way of being -a metropolitan favorite, and all that, ha, ha--he -had me on a forty weeks' contract, and at the end -of three he gave me a check for the rest and told -me he had no more use for my services. Thirty-seven -weeks' full salary--think of it--and the door!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But isn't it different now?" asked Phyllis, -enfolding him with a pair of the whitest, softest, -shapeliest arms in the world, and pressing her cheek -against his face. "You've got good since then, -and are now mama's little man!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Look at last night," protested mama's little -man dismally. "Drinking, fighting, gambling, and -my job out of the window! That's been me right -along--two weeks' notice, and for God's sake, -never come back!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Just a damned goat," rippled Phyllis, her teeth -shining like pearls, and her cheeks dimpling -mischievously.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A silly ass," ejaculated Adair with much self-contempt.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Now, I want to tell you my idea," cried Phyllis. -"We're going to pack up, poor booful disgraced -genius--and wife (as they add on hotel registers); -and we're going to count our poor little pennies, -and take a tourist sleeper to New York, and get -a little flat of the sort they rent to dormice in -reduced circumstances, and live on air and kisses -and hope--while poor Booful will go round -telling everybody he's a reformed character, and -looking for an engagement. And if the top all hates -him, and if the middle is all full, why Booful will -begin at the bottom, while Mrs. Booful will wash, -and cook, and darn his socks--oh, no, listen,--yes, -and darn his socks, and pet him when he is -discouraged and cross, and keep everything scrupulously -clean (in books if you're awfully poor, you're -always scrupulously clean, haven't you noticed it)? -Yes, scrupulously clean, and oh, so economical of -every nickel till everybody begins to see that Booful -isn't a damned goat, but a man of splendid talent, -and up, up, up he'll go like a balloon, till there -won't be a garbage-can without his name on it, or -a bill-board without somebody "presenting" him -in letters six feet high, and fame and money will -pour in like a Niagara, and, and--Cyril, why -shouldn't we?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His look of indulgence and amusement had -gradually changed to downright eagerness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If you can stand it, I can," he said.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Cyril, I'm not afraid--let's do it!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We'll be starvation poor."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But in a home of our own--no more of these -horrid hotels, no more traveling, and something big -to live and hope for."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Those dormice flats are awfully squeezy--and dark."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"So's a robin's nest, for that matter."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And those pretty hands--it would be wicked -to spoil them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I won't spoil them--besides, what would -be the good of them if they couldn't work for the -man I love."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Scrubbing floors, and cleaning kettles and -polishing the stove?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You can help a little."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And suppose, instead of being easy, it's very -hard? It takes courage to start again. You'll -have to be brave enough for two, for I've none of -that kind of grit or perseverance. Do you think -you can bolster up a great big fellow like me, who'll -come home like a baby and cry?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We'll bolster up each other."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I--I wish I was more worthy of you, Phyllis."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Stop kissing my toes--it tickles--and oh, -Cyril, don't bite them!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm ashamed--you are so sweet and good and -clever and brave--and the whole of me isn't worth -that little pink one, and I don't think I've ever -loved you so much as I do this minute, or -</span><em class="italics">respected</em><span> you more. If you were married to a -street-car conductor I believe you'd make him -president of the United States--and if your -husband mayn't bite you, who can?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You darling!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And I swear by that one that I love you better -than anything in the world; and by that one -I'll be true to you all my life; and by that one I'll -cut my tongue out before I'll ever say an unkind -word to you again; and by that one I'm going to -do everything you say, just as though you were an -angel from Heaven, which you are if ever there was -one; and by that fat little big toe that I'm going -to try to copy the tenderest, gentlest, most exquisite -nature that God ever breathed into a human being; -and by the whole chubby little white satin foot--"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do sit up--it's important."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I thought it was all settled. We'll start for -New York as soon as I am fired--officially."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Cyril?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, sweetheart?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm so infatuated with you that perhaps I don't -see things as they are. It is not a dream, is it, -that you really could get on in New York--I mean -if you lived down all the ill will against you there? -I try to detach myself, and criticize you -dispassionately--but you always seem to me so -tremendously good."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am good--in my own kind of work."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You've no dread of failure?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"In handing out the goods--? Not a particle, -Phyllis. Why should I? Haven't I done it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"In your New York days?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, Phyllis, this isn't brag. I've got notices -to show for it, corking notices. What you have -seen me do is not my best. No one could do that -with the support I get, and I have to carry the whole -outfit single handed. A company ought to be a -string orchestra--and they give me a brass band!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Have you got the notices?--I'd love to see them!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They're at the bottom of the trunk somewhere--three -books of them."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Do get them out, and let me read some."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After long rummaging the books were produced. -Phyllis, who in the interval had put on a peignoir, -and begun to comb her hair, seized on one of them -enthusiastically. It was an unwieldy, shabby old -volume, and so heavy it was hard to hold. The -exertion, and perhaps the excitement had caused -Adair's head to throb again, and he was glad to -stretch his length on the bed while Phyllis, -drawing up a rocking chair, seated herself as close as -she could beside him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The actor had not exaggerated his past successes. -For three seasons he had been a notable figure on -Broadway, and if his reputation had been more one -of promise than achievement it was in dazzling -contrast to what he had since become. He had himself -almost forgotten the stir he had made--not the -deafening curtain calls, the brimming box-offices, -the deferential managers,--none could forget -that--but the soberer, yet more valuable evidence of -the critics. It was electrifying to listen to them -again; to see across the mean, intervening years that -other self of his lording it so high; to realize, with -mingled bitterness, wonder and hope that he was -still the same man, with the same if not richer -powers, and a new-born resolution to regain what -he had so lightly valued and so unconcernedly -thrown away.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Phyllis, pink with excitement, and tripping -occasionally over the longer words, read notice after -notice with indefatigable zest, constantly substituting -Booful and other endearing epithets for the -more formal name in print, while her husband lay -back, listening delightedly, and contributing -exclamations, "By George, and it was William Winter -who said that!"--"Say, that's Huneker, isn't it?" -"A column in </span><em class="italics">The World</em><span> isn't handed out to -everybody, not by a long sight."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>BOOFUL OPENS AT WALLACK'S -<br />THE HONOR OF THE REGIMENT PLEASES, BUT -<br />NEEDS CUTTING. -<br />THE STAR SCORES AS MOODY HERO, AND EXCELS -<br />HIMSELF IN MAGNIFICENT PORTRAYAL OF -<br />EBHARDT.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"Those who went last night to see </span><em class="italics">Booful</em><span> were -not disappointed, however they may have disagreed -about the play itself. For that brilliant young -</span><em class="italics">darling</em><span> it was hardly less than a personal triumph, -and from the rise of the curtain--"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was a very inconsiderate moment for a heavy -rap at the door.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Come in," cried Adair.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In the shadow stood a bulky figure--a blue -figure--a figure with something shining on its -swelling chest. Phyllis looked and quailed as the -bravest of us do at the sight of the Law, intruding -its hob-nailed boot into what is metaphorically -termed our castle. In this case the castle was so -small, and the Law so large and red and impressive -that the former seemed but a trifling refuge against -oppression. In the accents of a green and troubled -island the new-comer asked: "Are you Misther -Adair--Misther Surul Adair?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's me, all right," said the actor.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You're summonsed for assault and battery, and -here's the payper, and it's before Judge Dunn ye're -to come at two o'clock."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Where do I go, officer?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The city hall, police court number one."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Two o'clock, you say? Very good. Tell -Judge Dunn I have much pleasure in accepting his -kind invitation."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The functionary unbent genially.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Tay will be served on the lawn," he said, "and -the Marine Band will be in attendance, and some of -our younger set will be there--in blue."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It seemed incredible to poor, trembling Phyllis -that Adair could burst out laughing. But he did, -and that with every indication of undiminished -spirits.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"All right, officer, I'll be there."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Good morning, sorr."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Good morning, officer."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The tears were streaming down Phyllis' face as -she ran to Adair, and threw her arms around his -neck; but he caressed and comforted her, and -gradually got her to smile again.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I feel better," he said. "Be a dear, and make -me some fresh coffee.--Oh, Phyllis, isn't it jolly!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Jolly? Oh, how can you--"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I mean about going back to New York! -A fellow who's hit them once can hit them -again, and by George, with you to help me, I just -know I'm bound to land!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But this awful police court!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Don't worry about that--they've never hanged -a Free Mason yet.--Easy with the cream, -sweetheart.--Where was it we left off? Oh, yes, here -it is: 'Adair opens at Wallack's. Those who -went last night to see Cyril Adair--'"</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 57%" id="figure-32"> -<span id="from-the-leamington-courier-of-november-28th-190"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="*From the Leamington Courier of November 28th, 190--*" src="images/img-265.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<em class="italics">From the Leamington Courier of November 28th, 190--</em><span class="italics"> -<br />AMUSING SCENE IN JUDGE DUNN'S COURT</span></div> -</div> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><em class="italics">From the Leamington Courier of November 28th, 190--.</em></p> -<p class="center pnext"><span class="bold">AMUSING SCENE IN JUDGE DUNN'S COURT</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 1em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Yesterday the proceedings -in Judge Dunn's court were -enlivened by the presence of -Cyril Adair the actor, who, -on the complaint of Jacob -Steinberger, his manager, and -Messrs. Willard Latimer and -George Augustus Wright, -brother players, was haled -before the bar of justice for -assault and battery. The three -complainants showed -unmistakable traces of a fistic -encounter, and there was a -subdued ripple of merriment -at their bandaged appearance. -The encounter was the -outcome of a midnight game of -poker, and there was a direct -conflict of evidence as to who -began the fray.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Judge Dunn finally summed -up against the defendant, and -in default of a fine, ordered -him to find personal security -to be of good behavior for -three months. Much -amusement was then caused by -Mrs. Adair unexpectedly stepping -forward, and pleading most -charmingly with the judge to -permit her to assume the -obligation. The court was -unable to resist so attractive a -bit of femininity, and though -remarking it was somewhat -irregular, consented, amid -general laughter, to grant -her request.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The judge made up for it, -however, by giving the -defendant a stiff little lecture -before dismissing the case, -expressing his surprise that the -husband of so young and -pretty a wife should care to pass -the early morning hours at -poker and fisticuffs. Adair -accepted the rebuke with -great good nature and -prompted by his wife thanked -his honor for his forbearance, -adding to the general hilarity -by repeating aloud some of -the advice that was being -whispered in his ear. -Apologies followed outside, and -the whole party returned to -their hotel in the same hack. -All's well that ends well!</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xx"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XX</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Adair waited until Christmas before -severing his connection with Steinberger. The -holidays were bad for theatrical business, -and the prospect of a temporarily reduced salary -and several extra matinées seemed to make this -period an auspicious one for departure. With two -hundred and eighty dollars, their trunks, the clothes -they stood in, and hearts beating high with eagerness -and hope, the pair took the train for the City -of Success.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Even on their way to it their respective positions -began to change. The actor, for all his broad -shoulders and big voice and commanding presence, -betrayed from the first a helplessness and dependence -that both pleased and surprised his little wife. -He anxiously deferred to her in everything; fell in -readily with every suggestion; listened with -profound respect to her plans. He knew New York -inside out; poverty was no stranger to him, nor -the makeshifts and struggles of the poor; yet in the -crisis of their fortunes it was the girl that took the -lead--the girl who had never suffered a single -privation in her life, who had been reared in luxury, -to whom money and ease were as the air she -breathed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Left to his own unguided will Adair would have -gravitated to a dingy bedroom in a dingy boarding-house. -It was Phyllis who perceived the greater -freedom, and the unspeakably greater comfort and -charm of a tiny apartment. The nest-making instinct -was strong in her, and also the bred-in-the-bone -belief that it was the woman's place to guard -her man's well-being, and to send him forth to work -in the best of trim. She did not know how to -cook; she had never swept out a room in her life, -she had never even folded a table-cloth, yet her -self-assurance and determination never wavered. -All this could be learned--pooh, it only needed -hard work and intelligence,--she would answer for -its being the nicest little flat in New York, and -would dismiss Adair every morning in his best -clothes, smiling, well-fed, and happy, to look for an -engagement.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Brave, confident little heart! Intent little head -absorbed in calculations; magic the love that could -cast effulgence over those soiled green notes, and -the phantom gray city, and the man, none too good, -or wise on whom such a treasure of devotion was -lavished! But some conception of it pierced his -thick skin, and what there was in him that was -unselfish and noble felt disquieted at the contrast, and -strangely stirred and humbled.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Phyllis," he said huskily, "I--I didn't know -what love meant until I met you. I guess lots of -men go all their lives and never know. I've been -sitting back here, thinking how nearly I might -have missed it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And getting quite scared and worried?--The -poor precious! If it wasn't for the conductor and -that bald-headed man who's sure we're not -married, because I put my feet on the seat, and wear -red stockings--I'd kiss you right now, and give -you a gurgle hug!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There are lots like me," Adair went on with -unaffected seriousness, "but, Phyllis, there is only -one of you. I suppose people are born like that -sometimes--just one of them--and there aren't -any more.--When we get round to it, we must -have children; you mustn't be allowed to die and -disappear; it wouldn't be right by the world."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Phyllis wrote down: "Pair tea-cups and saucers, -thirty cents," and announced that in the meanwhile -the world would have to wait, as one couldn't -do everything at once. She added a duster to the -list and a pie-pan, while a smile hovered at the -corners of her lips. It impelled her to press her -knee against Adair's, and whisper something so -sparklingly improper that he blushed. Then she -returned to housekeeping considerations with a -pleased and saucy air, never so happy as when she -had embarrassed him.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Accommodation for dormice, although plentiful, -left much to be desired, except for dormice fond -of grubbiness, gloom, and ill-smelling passages and -halls. For dormice willing to live on -One-hundred-and-jump-off-the-earth Street there was light -and air, and reasonably sized rooms, and even -skimpy glimpses of the Hudson. But Cyril wished -to be near the theater district and the Thespian -Club of which he was a member, and this restricted -their choice to below Fifty-ninth Street. Heavens, -what innumerable janitors they raised from the -depths, what miles and miles of stairs they climbed, -what desperate moments of indecision they endured, -as, utterly spent, the precious deposit was nearly -tempted from their pockets!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At last, however, at the tail of the most offensive -little man in New York, whose questions included -the likelihood or not of an increase in the family, -and who had to be specifically assured that his -new tenants meditated starting neither a bagnio nor -a sweatshop, nor were going to teach music, or keep -naphtha on the premises--at the tail of this -personage, who at every step remembered some fresh -prohibition, and some fresh possibility, the ideal was -reached on the seventh floor of a house between -Second and Third Avenue. It was a box of a -place--sitting-room, bedroom, kitchen and bath--but -shiny new, and with every window open to the sun, -and Fifty-eighth Street to look out on instead of -some dismal rear. It was taken at twenty-one -dollars a month; their trunks followed them in; and -they camped out their second night in New York -on the bare boards of their new home.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>With all our talk of the value of money very -few of us have any conception of it. How many at -least could believe that a small apartment in New -York could be furnished, and prettily furnished, for -a hundred and fifty dollars? On a doll-baby scale, -of course, with pictures taken from the ten cent -weeklies, and framed in blue creton and the same -invaluable material accomplishing wonders over -packing cases, improvised into wash-stands, bureaus -and seats. Phyllis sent Adair off to the club, and -set to work alone. She did not want him to see -her dirty, tousled, and wearing an old dressing-gown -of his in that chaos of disorder; though she -presented a sweeter figure than she knew on her -knees beside the pail, and scrubbing the floor like -a little stage soubrette, or hammering creton with -her mouth full of tacks and an inspired expression -that would have befitted a Madonna. She was too -girlish, too young, for anything to harm her beauty, -and so gay and charming that all who came fell -under her spell. Gawky messengers helped to move -boxes, nail down matting, and elucidate the -mysteries of setting up a bed. The janitor's wife, a -faded German woman with gentle eyes and a soft -voice, and all the European's respect for caste, -insisted on joining in; and when, Phyllis, with -difficulty and some shame, managed to explain she was -unable to pay for such services, the creature kissed -her hand, and redoubled her exertions. Beauty is -a power everywhere, and if the poor can not pay -its toll in compliments, they can wash windows, -clean up litter, and carry an offering of frankfurters -and sauerkraut up six flights of stairs; and with -many an "</span><em class="italics">Ach</em><span>" and "</span><em class="italics">lieber Gott</em><span>" urge the little -"high-born" to rest and eat.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And so amid kindliness and good will, the tiny -apartment was got into shape, while the dark wild -days without turned to snow, and the frosted panes -showed nothing through but white and desolation. -The dormice lay snug in their nest, and though -their money ebbed, and the cupboard was next to -bare, and the household work at times weighed -hardly on unaccustomed, slender shoulders, perhaps -they were too near Heaven to complain.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adair had never been a very respectable nor -popular member of the Thespian Club, that influential -organization from which the New York stage is so -largely recruited; and the return of the lost sheep -was not accompanied by any particular enthusiasm. -But Adair was too noticeable a man, and his talent -too well remembered for his presence not to cause -some stir, and soon there was comment on his -extraordinary change for the better. He was -certainly no longer the loud, swaggering, over-dressed -Adair of the old days, with the dubious geniality, -and the restless eyes. He did not drink; he seemed -to have lost his surly streak; in many other ways -more indefinite he had softened and improved. The -Thespians, who were nothing if not good-natured -and generous, very willingly let bygones be -bygones, and some of the more important began to -suggest his name to managers.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But the managers were made of sterner stuff than -the actors and playwrights; they had longer memories, -and skins that still smarted. They brightened -at the name of Adair for the unexpected pleasure -it gave them to say "No." Each had his special -wrong to avenge, each his emphatic and passionate -denunciation of a man they abominated. "I've -only two rules in running my theaters," said -Mr. Fielman. "The first is to give the public the best -that money can buy; the second, never to engage -Mr. Cyril Adair!"--Mr. Paw went further: "My -poy, they say in our peeziness that the box-office -talks, but if it said Adair all day and all night, I'd -sooner get out and sell shoe-laces on the street than -see his damn sneering face in any broduction of -mine!" Niedringer was no more encouraging, -and the Fordingham Brothers were curt and profane.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But the New York theatrical world is a big one; -and these giants, while of enormous importance, do -not rule all the roost. There are always new -producers bobbing up; stars themselves make -ventures into management and branch out; many -others, independent on a smaller scale, choose the -companies that support them. Then there are the -second class houses, the vaudeville houses, the stock -companies--all requiring an army of professional -people. Then, too, hardly a season passes without -several incoming actors from some woolly, wild, -unheard-of region, arriving, full of eagerness to add -Broadway laurels to brows already crowned in -Teepee City or Nuggetville, Nevada. Add to these, -imported English companies with the lesser parts -often unfilled, and "angels," both male and female, -with barrels of money for some stagestruck pet, -who, desirous of a short cut to greatness, insists -on beginning (and usually ending) at the top;--and -you will have some small conception of what -New York is--theatrically.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adair did not despair. Not only was the -atmosphere of the Thespian Club too redolent of -success for that, but he was sustained besides by a -couple of small offers which he received for the -"road." Determined though he was to appear on -Broadway, it was good for his courage and -perseverence to have these engagements to refuse. -They served to take the edge off the rebuffs he -constantly experienced, and gave him something not -altogether mournful to reflect on as he waited -interminable hours in agents' and managers' -anterooms. Not but what there were times when it -was almost unendurable. Rejection, with an actor, -carries with it a personal mortification; and his air -of fashion, his nosegay, his smartly folded overcoat, -his affected jauntiness--all intensify by their -contrast the bitterness of his lot. He slinks off with -pitiful bravado, and eyes suspiciously bright, to pull -himself together for another attempt at another -place, as dispirited a figure as any to be seen under -heaven.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>While Adair, with an effort as clumsy as it was -touching, strove to hide his disappointment from -his wife, and put by in their little home a steadily -deepening sense of failure--she, on her side, was -keeping him in ignorance of a matter that troubled -her exceedingly. Her father had begun to write -to her, but in such a way that a reconciliation, -instead of becoming nearer, seemed more remote and -impossible than ever. With all his tenderness and -longing, and almost pathetic appeal "to be friends -again," he was unable to resist taking flings at -Adair. His hatred for the man came out in -implications and covert allusions Phyllis could not -forgive. Ostensibly holding out the olive branch, -his letters served instead to heighten the estrangement, -for behind everything was his conviction it -was simply her pride that kept them apart; that -having made a mess of her life, and committed an -irreparable folly, she was defiantly accepting the -misery she had brought down upon herself. That -she was insanely happy--that she adored her -husband--that neither poverty nor hardship counted a -jot in her decision--all these to Mr. Ladd were -incredibilities.--Yet the same story dressed up for -him on the stage or in a book, would have won his -sympathy, and reached his heart.--Of such -inconsistencies are we made, and the poor puppets are -cried over when flesh and blood is denied.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Of course, Phyllis was abnormally sensitive. -Had her husband secured a good engagement, and -some recognition she would have been in a more -receptive mind to receive her father's advances. -But Adair's unspoken anxiety, their diminishing -money, their meager meals and the need that they -had to take account of every penny--here were so -many reasons to accentuate her critical faculties.--And -this to be held as a proof that she had been -"dragged down" was altogether too much. At -first, full of eagerness and over many a -closely-written page she had tried to explain matters to -her father; but his disbelief was chilling, and from -hopelessness her feelings gradually changed to -anger. For a couple of weeks she had kept the -thousand-dollar check he had sent her, hoping that -he would so far relent toward Adair that she might -accept it without disloyalty. Then, chagrined, she -had returned it, though her extremity was bitter, and -the tears dripped over the letter that bore it back. -No reconciliation was possible that did not include -her husband, or that was offered to him contemptuously -and grudgingly. If this were impossible she -begged her father to write no more, and spare her -further suffering. His answer was as unreasonable -as the others, and he contrived to wound even while -he thought he was conceding everything.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His next letter she sent back unopened, and also -the one after that. Then there were no more, and -the postman's whistle presaged nothing after that -but a post card from Tommy. These, with pictures -of a local court house, or a new Masonic building, -or some bald park, were almost daily visitors. But -they spoke of affection and remembrance, and to a -sad heart were not without their comfort.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Early one afternoon the sound of the key in the -lock warned her that Adair had unexpectedly -returned. His face announced his good news before -he could so much as utter a word, and then the -facts came out in a panting, breathless torrent. -Shamus O'Dowd--she knew Shamus O'Dowd, -the Irish comedian?--No?--What, never heard -of Shamus O'Dowd?--Well, anyway, O'Dowd -was at the Herald Square--big business--seats -selling three weeks in advance--</span><em class="italics">A Broth of a Boy</em><span>, -you know--and the fellow who was playing -Captain Carleton had dropped out, and the -understudy wasn't satisfactory--and--and--it was -seventy-five dollars a week--and here were the -lines--and you could have knocked him over with -a feather when O'Dowd came right up to him at -the club, and fixed it up in five minutes, and they -had run through a rehearsal to give him a notion -of the business, and it was a damned good character -part, and--then, I wonder if that twenty-one -dollar apartment had ever seen the like--with Phyllis -sitting in Booful's lap, and her arms tight around -his neck, and talking two to his one, all rapture and -exclamations as though he had done something -extraordinary instead of merely getting a job; and -Booful, no less proud and foolish and excited felt, -too, he had done something extraordinary, holding -to the lines as though they were a patent of -nobility, and crazy to begin the study of them; and -describing the play with such humor and absurdity -that his little wife thought she had never heard -anything so funny in her life, her teeth shining -as she laughed and laughed--especially at -O'Dowd, who was described as fifty, with a -bull-neck, and ever too much of him in front and -behind, with a very short coat, and bounding fat -legs, and such a Broth of a Boy that he was ready -to fight or dance or sing or make love at the drop -of a hat, and generally to caper from sheer -exuberance of Irish youth.--Then Booful turned -suddenly serious, and got up, and said that on no, no -account was he to be disturbed, and began to pace -like a lion up and down the doll-baby sitting-room, -mumbling his part to himself with a far-away -expression, and an occasional frown and swear as he -missed a word; while Phyllis, pretending to sew, -squeezed herself into a corner, and made as though -she was not watching him, which she did in timid -little peeps, thinking how handsome he was and -noble and manly and splendid, with such returning -recollections of his devotion, and gentleness, and -simple, unrepining courage in the hard days now -fast finishing, that she could have swooned from -very tenderness.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><em class="italics">A Broth of a Boy</em><span> was a typical Irish drama. -The central figure was a rollicking imbecile, with a -tuneful voice and the customary shillelah, who foils -the wicked mortgager, chucks colleens under the -chin, does a hair-raising leap over a waterfall, and -is altogether so Brothy and gay that no one can -resist him. The usual British officer, condemned -to carry out an unpalatable order, and falling under -the spell of a pair of saucy Irish eyes, is found -not to be half so bad a fellow as we had anticipated; -and though a good deal of a booby, and the target -for sarcasms that he is too obtusely English to -perceive, gradually wins the toleration and even the -affection of the gallery. In real life he would -probably have been court-martialed for his arrant -disregard of instructions, nor would a bare-legged -milk-maid have been considered quite the prize the -dramatist deemed her.--But one mustn't criticize -this dreamy region too harshly. That great baby, -the public, loves it,--and in the theater-world there -is plenty of room for this grotesque Ireland, and -always will be; and baby's patronage feeds many -worthy and deserving people, who otherwise might -have not a little trouble of it to live.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Yes, let us be lenient toward the Irish drama. -It brought seventy-five dollars a week to that little -apartment high up in East Fifty-eighth Street, and -hope and courage to hearts that were beginning to -falter.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xxi"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXI</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>In the whole house that night of Adair's return -to Broadway there was probably but one -person in front who was even aware that the -bill had been changed. That rapt little spectator -waited with her heart in her mouth for the actor's -appearance, and thrilled herself with fairy tales -while the play ponderously opened, and took its -course. Adair would be recognized; there would -be a wild demonstration of welcome; cheers, -applause, yes, an ovation, with people standing up, -and the gallery in an uproar!--It was a dream, of -course, a phantasy, for her head was too squarely -set on her shoulders to count on anything of the -sort, but nevertheless it exhilarated her enough to -make the reality doubly, trebly disappointing.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His entrance was unheralded by a single -handclap, O'Dowd having just retired amid thunders, -with part of the audience still insistently humming -the refrain of </span><em class="italics">Sweet Kitty O'Rourke</em><span>, (words by -Stevowsky; music by Cohen). Adair's first few -lines were altogether lost in consequence, the -scene beginning in vehement pantomime, and the -house only gradually, and with extreme unwillingness, -resigning itself to the exit of the star. It -must be said they had some right to regret him. -Adair was anxious and forced, and so desperately -in earnest to be funny that he suggested a -marionette. Phyllis' surprise turned to dismay, and -dismay to an inexpressible pain. That he won many -a boorish laugh only heightened her misery. It -was worse than bad, it was common, and she could -have bent down and cried in very shame. But in -the throes of her despair she was watchful, and her -pretty brows corrugated with the intensity of her -attention. Poor though the part was, surely it -could be done better, oh, so much better; and if -only she dared--! An infinite compassion dimmed -her eyes, an infinite pity, for was it not for her he -had stooped to this vile clowning, debasing himself, -blowing out his cheeks like a turkey-gobbler, feverishly -catching at every trick to get a grin or a titter? -All this sacrifice of dignity, manhood and self-respect -to keep the poor little pot boiling on Fifty-eighth Street?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was terrible to sit through the play, and to -realize with more and more conviction that this -sacrifice was unnecessary--that the rôle, -straightforwardly acted, and the comic-policeman side of -it ignored, might be made into something worth -doing--not very much worth doing of course--but -still redeemed from utter banality. But Phyllis -knew how her husband bristled at the least touch -of criticism. Ordinarily so loving and indulgent, a -single word of disapprobation could set him off like -an hysterical woman; before now she had -inadvertently raised such storms, and looked back on -them with terror. She asked herself what she was -to do, and could find no answer. Everything in -her revolted from lying to him, and yet she would -be forced to. It was not cowardice, but the -disinclination of seeing him suffer, and the dread of -incurring the harshness and anger of the man she -idolized. Enmity in his eyes seemed to strike her -to the ground; her heart stopped beating; something -seemed to die within her.--No, at any cost, she -must lie, lie, lie.</span></p> -<p class="pnext" id="id1"><span>She waited for him at the stage-door, a slight -dejected figure under the gaslights, and conscious -for the first time that her clothes were shabby, and -that her gloves were old and worn. O'Dowd's -carriage stood by, and she envied the coachman his -warm fur collar, and with it came the thought of -all she had given up to marry Adair. This put -her in better spirits, for she was pleased with -everything that enhanced her love, and gave it an unusual -and romantic quality--so that for a moment she -seemed less cold, less sad, and a delicious -heroine-feeling enshrouded her. Had it not been for the -fear of what was to come she would have been -altogether happy. But a pang of apprehension shot -through her, and all the pretty fancies engendered -by the fur collar of a sudden disappeared.--She -was again standing on the wintry street, tired, -frightened, and disheartened.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adair emerged in a jubilant humor, and squeezed -her arm as he passed his own through hers, and -moved in the direction of the cars. Boisterous and -gay, he was in no mood to notice Phyllis' -constraint, and took her approval for granted as he -overflowed with talk. It was a great relief to her -to remain silent, and nestle close to all that bigness -and confidence, and be borne along by that strong -arm. All her doubts and fears were lost in an -unreasoning gladness, and what did anything -matter but love?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Meanwhile the genial tide of Adair's discourse -continued without intermission.--O'Dowd, who -was a prince of good fellows, had patted him on -the back. Eddie Phelps was up in the air, too, and -said he had simply walked away from the other -man--and oh, how good it was to be in a theater -again! It was a piffling part, but after all it was -something to have made the best of it, to have -shown them what could be done in it by a first -class man. That was the beauty of the stage--a -real actor could take a janitor or an organ-grinder -and create a lot out of nothing. Did she know -that all that business in the second act was his?--Yes, -positively--every bit of it his, and no wonder -O'Dowd hugged him at the wings, and said it was -great--yes, just like that--before everybody! -You see, it had pulled up the whole thing where it -had used to drag, giving it zip and go. Eddie -Phelps said that the other fellow had never got a -hand there. He had done better than that, hadn't -he? And if it hadn't been such a damned feeder -for the star--oh, well, success was success, if it -were only an inch high!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In this strain of self-laudation, Adair boarded -a car, and praised himself all the way home. -Throughout he took Phyllis' concurrence for -granted, and his exuberance was unclouded by the -least suspicion of the truth. He had half finished -his supper when with that instinct which was one -of the most unexpected endowments of his -character, he all at once perceived something to be -amiss. It wasn't Phyllis' fault; she had given not -a hint of dissatisfaction; nothing was further from -her thoughts than to mar that night.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But when he laid down his knife and fork, and -stared at her across the table she knew in an instant -what was coming.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My God, Phyllis," he exclaimed, "it is not -possible you--you didn't like it?"</span></p> -<div class="align-center auto-scaled figure margin" style="width: 73%" id="figure-33"> -<span id="it-is-not-possible-you-you-didn-t-like-it-page-287"></span><img class="align-center block" style="display: block; width: 100%" alt="It is not possible you--you didn't like it?--Page 287" src="images/img-286.jpg" /> -<div class="caption centerleft figure-caption margin"> -<span class="italics">It is not possible you--you didn't like it?--Page 287</span></div> -</div> -<p class="pnext"><span>She would have given worlds for the lie that -would not come; her eyes shrank from his; the -sincerity and conviction of his tone made deceit -impossible. It was almost in a whisper that she -answered: "Oh, Cyril, Cyril,--I'm afraid I didn't."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He pushed away his plate and got up; he could -not suffer such a mortification sitting; the flat -itself seemed too small to hold his sudden shame, -his agitation, the staggering shock of what seemed -to him his wife's disloyalty.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What was the matter with it?" he demanded -passionately. "What was it you did not like?--No, -no, you needn't try to wriggle out of it; you've -said too much to stop now; you've as good as told -me it was damned bad, and I want to know why.--The -words don't matter; it isn't a question of -how you put it, nor how much I mind being -knocked by the one person on earth--! My God, -Phyllis, what do you mean by saying I was bad?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She was terrified. No culprit in the dock ever -trembled more guiltily, or faced a brow-beating -prosecutor with so stricken a look. Her husband's -bitter and contemptuous tone cut her like a lash. -But it was too late now to make excuses, to palliate -the offense. There was nothing for it but to go -on--to justify herself--and the better she could do -it the more she would wound him! And all this -on a night that surely ought to have been their -happiest.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You made the captain too--too common," -she stammered. "He is supposed to be a high-bred, -aristocratic man--stupid, of course--but a -gentleman through and through. In real life--"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, real life!" he interrupted roughly, "that's -where all you ignorant, criticizing people go wrong. -He has nothing to do with real life--he's a -preposterous stage figure, a convention. I have to take -what I'm given; I'm not the dramatist; I can't -write new lines for him, can I? My business is to -hide the strings that pull his arms and legs, and -make him possible--and by George, I did it!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But Cyril, dearest, listen--even when you first -come on you're not polite enough, not chivalrous -enough. You almost burst out laughing at--"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's to give contrast to him afterwards."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But you can do that, and still keep him a gen--I -mean nice, and--"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This was all she was allowed to say. Adair -towered over her, convulsed, shaking, his voice hardly -governable as he stormed and raged. It was the -best thing he had ever done; it was perfect; there -was fifteen years of stage experience in that one -creation. It was awful that it should all go for -nothing; it shook his nerve; it shook his -confidence in himself; he hardly knew how he could go -on playing the part. He wouldn't, he'd throw it -up; he warned her to be more careful next time, or -as an actor he would be done for. It wasn't that -he was afraid of criticism--intelligent criticism--he -welcomed intelligent criticism--the criticism of -those who knew the stage--helpful criticism. -But to club a man in this ignorant, crass way was -simply to murder him. How could he ever bear -to let her see him again in anything? He was -sensitive; he was cruelly sensitive; it was because -he had temperament; and if he couldn't please the -person he liked he had no courage or heart left, -even if he set the whole house crazy. Here was -one of the best things he had ever done, killed for -ever--and it was she who had killed it! It was -the penalty of loving her that he could not go on -without her approval; he knew she was wrong; in -any one else he would have dismissed it with a shrug, -and forgotten it the next minute; yet with her--! -Perhaps this sounds more ignominious than it -was. To Phyllis at least there was a great pathos -in the exasperated outburst that was very far from -being due to vanity alone. The revelation of her -husband's weakness, of his utter dependence on her -good opinion, atoned not a little for the violent -things he said. It enlarged her understanding of -the childishness that lies so close beneath the -artist-nature--of its swift extremes of feeling--and -showed her, too, the amazing intensity that Adair -put even into a small rôle, and taught her afresh -what a life and death matter the stage was to him. -His frenzy, therefore, instead of rousing her -resentment, and worse still her scorn and anger, -rather quickened within her a tragic pity. His -burning face, his dilating eyes, his quivering -twitching mouth--all the evidences of an uncontrollable -mortification--brought forth instead that womanly -feeling, so rich in generosity and indulgence, that -would sacrifice everything for the one it loved.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>To prove that she was right seemed to her of -much less importance just then than to smooth -down that wild, distraught man-creature who -belonged to her. With love in peril all other -considerations were swept away. No pride stood -between, no sense of injustice; love was too precious -for such pettinesses to interfere.--Then with what -piteous artifices she began to eat her words! How -adroitly did she argue so that her surrender should -not be too apparent, giving way by such fine -gradations that Adair hardly suspected the imposture. -How contritely she confessed herself in the wrong, -her cringing little heart all submission, her whole -young body eager to atone her fault.--The wild, -distraught man-creature was by degrees coaxed -back to tameness and sanity; the thunders subsided; -with kisses and caresses he was even prevailed upon -to resume his place at table, where, lecturing her -masterfully as he ate, though with a steadily -lessening severity, dormice peace was at length restored. -By the time Phyllis had brought him his slippers, -lit his cigar, and snuggled herself against his knees, -like a sweet little Circassian who had disturbed her -Bashaw, and had been graciously forgiven by that -dearest and best of men, Adair mellowed sufficiently -to feel some slight self-reproach. He apologized -for having got so worked up; fondled her glossy -hair; called her his darling little stupid whom he -loved so well he couldn't endure her to find fault -with him. Between whiffs, mellowing even more, -he admitted that he might have been slightly -unreasonable, even unkind, but put it all down to his -disappointment at failing to please her. "I worked -so hard," he said. "I just fell over myself to make -them laugh. I--I had to think of the seventy-five, -you know, and holding down the job; and as -the others liked it, I--I thought you would. My -sweetheart girl must try and make some allowances. -I couldn't help feeling cross and nervous -and all worked up--and, and, it's awful to fail, -Phyllis."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She, at this, the naughty little hypocrite, would -have eaten more humble pie; would have protested -afresh that it was only one tiny-winy thing she had -objected to--though even on that she wasn't half -as sure as she had been. But Adair cut her short. -In his softened humor he was prepared to concede -something to her criticism; there was a speck of -truth in what she had said, however much it had -upset him; he was going to pull up the part a bit; -he was--</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Phyllis had sprung up, and darted into the bedroom, -with so sparkling a smile, and with such an -air of animation and mystery that Adair hardly -knew what to make of it all. But he was accustomed -to her girlish escapades, and lay back with -his cigar, listening to bureau-drawers being hastily -opened and shut, and awaiting developments with -amused anticipation. She could be such a little -devil when the fancy seized her, and rejoiced in -the most shocking exhibitions for his private -delectation. He was unprepared, however, for her to -bound out in a suit of his own, the sleeves and -trousers rolled up, and her hair half-hidden -beneath a jaunty cap. She had made herself up for -Captain Carleton, and the moment she opened her -mouth Adair recognized the fine parody of himself -in the rôle. The words she had pat, her -retentive memory having caught and retained them -during his laborious "study"; and while she was less -sure of the imaginary milk-maid, she paraphrased -the latter's lines with sufficient accuracy to keep her -cues straight. She knew she was playing with -fire; her face was a picture of mingled roguishness -and terror, yet she was impelled by a headlong -daring that was irresistible.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She flung herself into the scene with mad -abandonment, mimicking his voice, his gestures, his -laugh, the very way he leaned against the -pasteboard gate--a whirlwind little figure, dancing -crazily on the egg-shells of his vanity. It was the -cleverest, wickedest, most unsparing travesty of -his whole performance, carried through with -inordinate zest and mischief, and heightened by a slim -young beauty that had never seemed to him more -alluring. Her little feet had never looked so small -as with the coarse trousers flapping about her -ankles; the audacious curves above intensified her sex; -while the partly opened coat displayed the ribbons -and lace of her night-dress beneath--the whole a -vision of captivating girlhood.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adair at first made no sign at all except to -stare at her in a sort of stupefaction. His face -grew so dark that she felt shivers running down -her back, and for a moment she wondered if she -had not mortally offended him. The first smile -she wooed from him set her pulses dancing with -relief. Yes, he was smiling, he was laughing, he was -clapping his hands; and then, oh, the joy of it, -he was bursting out with great, deep "Ha, ha's" -of delight! Thus encouraged, she redoubled her -exertions; she outdid herself; she was in the second -scene now, and was tearing it to pieces like a puppy -with a rag-doll, panting with excitement and -success, and rapturous with victory. Adair jumped -up, and in a paroxysm of admiration, passion, -exultation and self-reproach, ran and crushed her in -his arms. Phyllis felt the filmy lace-stuff rip -asunder, and his lips seeking her flesh, while all -incoherent he breathed out that he loved her, loved -her, loved her, and that she was right; yes, he -had been playing it all wrong; never would he go -against her judgment again, and then and there -took back every word he had said! He was just -a vain, silly, conceited, swollen-up jackass, not even -worth her finger-tip; and he couldn't forgive -himself for the way he had treated her; and the only -thing he could think of doing to show how badly -he felt was to plump down and kiss her little -slippers, which he forthwith did with a humility that -would have been more impressive had there been -a less frantic flurry of kicks and protests.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Thus the evening that had begun so ill ended in -tenderness and profound accord. The very last -thing Mr. Dormouse murmured as he lay locked -in his wife's arms was that she was the cleverest -little actress in the world, and pretty enough to -eat, and a million times too good for him--which -on the whole was the truest thing Dormouse -had said for a long while, and showed that -his ideas were improving. Little though he knew -it he was improving in every way, and could he -have set himself back six months he would have -been astounded at the contrast. Women make men -in other senses than the physical, and this robust -lump of egoism, selfishness, ignorance and conceit -was being slowly and unconsciously transformed. -Something of Phyllis was passing into him, and in -the magic of that soul-infiltration the grosser side of -him had begun to crumble.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xxii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>It is disappointing to chronicle that the altered -and improved rendering of the English -captain passed almost unnoticed. Mr. Kemmel, -O'Dowd's right-hand man, indeed had objected to -the change; and failing to bully Adair into submission -had carried the affair up to the star. But that -comedian, with a kindness that bordered on a -sublime indifference, refused to interfere. "Hell, it -don't matter how he plays it as long as he gets the -words over," was his sage comment; and a wave -of a large, fat hand dismissed the subject for ever. -O'Dowd had his own private reasons for wishing -to stay on good terms with Adair, which he was -too regal, if not too cautious, to pass on at that -moment to Mr. Kemmel. O'Dowd, being star, -manager, and half-author of the piece was minting -money under all three heads, and his concern for -the box-office was proportionately great--so great -that he could consider the choice of an understudy -without irritation, and even accept a man who -might "draw."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>On first being commanded to understudy his principal, -Adair had accepted the task much in the spirit -of Mary Ann, when she is told: "Oh, I forgot to -say you must do the washing, too!" It was a -drudgery and a bore that he would have been well -content to avoid, for one look at O'Dowd's red -face and vigorous frame convinced him of the -remoteness of the contingency for which he was to -fit himself. He set no hopes in that direction, and -it came to him as a real surprise, a couple of weeks -after he was engaged, to be asked into the office -and told of a new contract he was to sign.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"'The Guv'nor ain't satisfied with that fourth -clause," said Mr. Kemmel. "He says it ain't -plain--hey, there, don't let Phelps go, I want him and -Klein for witnesses."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Where isn't it plain?" demanded Adair, who -remembered the document as one of unusual rigor, -without even the usual two weeks' notice. "Do -you wish to add penal servitude to my other -fifty-seven penalties?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Kemmel did not deign to smile. He was a -pale, bald Jew of about thirty-six, with a peculiarly -bleak way of addressing actors.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No," he answered, "we want to clear up the -understudy part of it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Understudy part of it? What do you mean?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, if you went on for five or six weeks, -taking the Guv'nor's place every night and -matinée--you might make out like it was a new -engagement--and try to stick us."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adair was too mystified to take offense.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Stick you?" he repeated.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, sue us afterwards for three or four times -the salary."--Mr. Kemmel sighed, and looked -upward, as though reflecting on man's inhumanity to -man. "In this business one has to be so careful," -he added, as impersonally as though he were -speaking to a stone pillar, "so careful--well, as I was -saying, here we have iron-claded it, and you are to -sign where it is penciled, and return the old -contract to-morrow."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The typewritten words swam a little as Adair -gazed at them; he was afraid of being tricked; he -wanted to make sure that the precious seventy-five -a week had not been tampered with. But there it -was, all right, along with the new proviso. It was -difficult to believe that this last amounted to -anything, for O'Dowd's appearance precluded the least -idea of illness. The man was as strong as a bull, -with a voice that shook your ear-drums, and the -shoulders of a negro coal-heaver. He was offensively -healthy, and so limited in any interest but -the theater that he moped visibly of a Sunday. -One might as well understudy the Metropolitan -Museum on the chance of its taking a night off. -Adair laughed as he signed the new contract, and -hardly thought of the matter for a day or two -afterwards.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was Kemmel who again brought it home to him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm keeping the orchestra for you to run over -the Guv'nor's songs again with them," he said. -"You sing them good enough, but the leader says -you crowd the overture, and sometimes get ahead -of him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There are no people in the world so unmurmuring -as actors; they will rehearse till their voices -crack and their legs drop off, and all this, too often, -under volleys of insults and reproaches. Adair -had played two performances that day, and was -worn out and hungry; yet it never occurred to him -to make any objection to such an unexpected order. -The poor, weary orchestra was there, as hungry -and worn out as he, but as willing as every one -connected with the stage seems always to be; they -scraped and tootled and drummed and bassooned -for two mortal hours, from a quarter past eleven -till after one A.M., while Adair sang Irish melodies -to the darkened house. O'Dowd himself, in a -stage-box, was the solitary though far from silent -spectator. Cigar in mouth, profane, morose and -savagely critical, he bellowed furiously from his -dark crimson cave.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, no, no, </span><em class="italics">no</em><span>! Hell's bells, do that again! -At the second verse there now! For God's sake, -Mr. Glauber, emphasize the key-note, boom it out -on that first cornet so he can't miss it, and lam it -in again on the minor. The minor! </span><em class="italics">The minor</em><span>, -damn it! And, oh Lord, Adair, call that a brogue? -Hell's bells, it's because you're in such a -hurry--Glauber will wait for you--damn it, give it again, -let it stick to your teeth--like this: 'Of owl the -ma-a-a-a-ids of swate Kilda-a-a-a-rrr--'"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adair had an unusually tuneful voice, and the -middle register of his rather high baritone was full -of warmth and charm. These catchy melodies -appealed to him, and the sentiment was of a -downright, popular kind. One rollicked the humor and -quavered the pathos, and either put in brogue or -didn't as one remembered or forgot it. As a -matter of fact--except for the brogue--he did the -songs more justice than the great O'Dowd himself, -and sang them more sweetly and appealingly. He -had no conception of it that night, however, as he -was hectored and bullied without cessation until his -eyes smarted, and his bewildered head was whirling. -He had a whipped feeling as he went off, and -a corroding sense of defeat and failure. It was -idiotic to expect him to sing, and now that he had -been tested and found wanting he hoped the silly -goats would leave him alone.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He turned as he was putting on his overcoat in -the wings, and saw that one of the silly goats had -followed him. It was Mr. Kemmel, more bleared -and bleak than ever, and evidently with something -disagreeable to say.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Adair," he exclaimed in a low voice, "hold -on a minute, I want to talk to you. I've called a -full rehearsal for to-morrow at nine o'clock, -orchestra and all--for you'll have to go on in the -Guv'nor's place to-morrow night!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I go on?--</span><em class="italics">I</em><span>?" Adair was thunderstruck. -"What do you mean, Kemmel?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Just that."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But he's as well as I am."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The climate ain't agreeing with him, hee, -hee!"--Kemmel's cackle was as cold as the draft off -an iceberg.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The climate?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"New York state. He's got to get right out -to-night, and that with us playing a run, and with -eight weeks of our lease unexpired. If it weren't -for the lease, and my Lord, the forfeit to Boaz and -Gotlieb, he'd jump us out with him, run or no run. -Ain't it awful, Mabel!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But Kemmel, what's the matter?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, it's like this, Adair. He and Julia -Garrett were divorced here two years ago, and the -dime museum freaks who tried it allowed her to -marry again, and forbade him. They do things -like that in New York, and if you kick it's -contempt of court! The next day he married our -Mrs. O----, Claudia Kirkwood at Chicago. See? -There's nothing they can't forget here in two years, -and so we came back, feeling pretty safe--and -would have been, too, if number one hadn't got -tired of the man who was keeping her in London, -and rushed over here with her little hatchet. We've -been trying to buy it, but it wasn't for sale--at -least not at any figure we could pay--so we made -a bluff offer of eight thousand, and reserved our -Pullman!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Are you going to try to keep the run here?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"</span><em class="italics">You</em><span> are!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And if I can't--if I don't draw?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then we'll close."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I wonder you didn't get Anderson Bailey or -Henry Millard, or that man who has just left -Blanche Mortimer--what's his name?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Costs too much--you're cheap."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Then to take the edge off this remark, he added:</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Say, that's not a knock; we wouldn't take them, -anyway; I'm not throwing any bouquets, Adair, -but you are damned good in it, really damned -good--and are exactly what we want. And don't you -feel sore about the money, either. We are paying -you seventy-five salary, and four hundred and -twenty-five worth of chance to make a big hit. You -wish to get on, don't you? Well, you may be a -made man in eight weeks. We're taking a gamble, -and so must you. What if you are a holy frost? -Don't go around belly-aching for money, but see -if you can't win out. We believe you can; we are -sure you can; go ahead!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Praise, opportunity, the belief of others in -you--how softening they are! Kemmel, the niggardly, -the fault-finding, the lean, mean jackal of -the Irish lion, suddenly took on a new hue. Adair -found himself shaking his hand. What a good -chap Kemmel was, after all! He shook his hand -cordially, effusively, all former bitterness forgotten -in an intoxication of joy. Kemmel melted too, under -that irresistible spell; had a spasm of expansiveness -and indiscretion; went so far as to say, in a -darkling, confidential manner, that Adair had sung -"all round" the boss.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"That's why I went for you like I did and balled -you up now and then," he confided. "It wouldn't -do to have him think </span><em class="italics">that</em><span>, you know. He's funny, -like all of them, and while two-thirds of him is -box-office, the other third is temperament--and -my, it don't do to jar it!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Phyllis had been sent home alone long before -this, and Adair found her sound asleep in bed. A -considerate husband would have let her lie -undisturbed, and would have kept his great news till the -morning. But Adair had no more compunction in -waking her up than if she had been a pet puppy; -and rolled her over, and tumbled her about almost -as roughly, and with the same clenched-teeth zest -in her drowsiness, beauty and helplessness. And -she, woman-like, loved it, roughness and all--which -goes to show how stupid consideration is at -times, and how misplaced. Adair never gave it a -thought, and his selfishness was rewarded by two -bare, satiny arms reaching for his neck, and the -eagerest little mouth in the world begging kisses -and taking them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>And the news?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Don't blame him if it had grown a little. It -was so truly-truly big that there could be no harm -in making it a trifle bigger. Is it not permissible, -with your adoring little wife nestling beside you in -her nightie, and holding you fast lest you might -suddenly be snatched away by some envious and -ruthless agency--is it not permissible, I say, to -add a stick and a cocked hat to some ordinary, very -plainly-dressed facts? The whole rehearsal, thus -gloriously reviewed in the retrospect, was brought -up to the key of Kemmel's appreciation. The -unexpired lease of the theater was seen to be a -subterfuge, and no doubt O'Dowd had gone away -to organize a number two company--the shrewd -fellow; he and Kemmel mighty well knew they -had made a "find"--they weren't in that business -for nothing--and both were up in the air about it. -The next thing would be a two years' contract, -with a real salary and percentages! Cyril Adair, -the Irish comedian, ha, ha! Well, why not? It -would bring him back to Broadway in the right -way, the big way! Bring him back to stay, by -George, for with this as a stepping-stone they'd -never get him off the grand old street again. -And once solid--</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>With unloosened imagination they soared the -sky, vying ecstatically with each other in that -ethereal azure where everything is possible, two little -children before the opening doors of paradise, and -hardly less simple and naïve--big hand on little, -voice outstripping voice, girl-heart and man-heart -blended in an idyllic love. But alas, closer than -paradise, oh, so much closer--on the next floor, -in fact--was an honest motorman of the Metropolitan -Street Railway, who lumbered out of bed, and -hammered loudly on the floor for silence. On East -Fifty-eighth Street this was a hint not to disturb a -sleeping toiler. Bang, bang, bang, and the creaking -springs and bedposts as the stalwart Brother of -the Ox again sought repose. He got it all right; -he often had to hammer, but never had to hammer -twice; Phyllis had a great deal of humorous -tenderness for her working-men neighbors--those -decent, silent men who used to pass her so -respectfully on the stairs; who played cheap -phonographs on Sunday nights, raised families and -canaries, owned dogs and took in boarders, till one -wondered their apartments didn't bulge out and -burst!--So McCarthy returned to the Land of -Nod, and the dormice, reduced to whispers, soon -kissed each other sleepily, and took their own road -thither.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xxiii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXIII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>One wonders sometimes why almost -anybody can not be a successful Irish -comedian? Given a good figure, a pleasing, -sympathetic voice, and a face naturally inclined to -smile--and the rest seems as easy as taking -pennies from a blind man. Certainly Adair caught his -house as surely as ever did O'Dowd, and moved -through the piece amid the same thunders of -applause. Younger, handsomer, and an incomparably -better actor, and with that charm, so baffling to -describe, which yet was ever-present and -ever-compelling, he measured himself against his -predecessor, and never for a moment had the least doubt -of the outcome. It is not often that fairy tale -came as bravely true; that the dream of overnight -turned as quickly into the fact of to-day. Small -wonder that Adair, standing there on the stage -when all was done, his ears still ringing with the -applause of that departing audience, was too -exalted, and much too self-sure to fret at Kemmel's -misgivings.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, you did fine," cried Kemmel. "You were -splendid, splendid! But will they ever come back?" -He jerked his head in the direction of the curtain.--"It -was O'Dowd that brought them--not you; -they already had their tickets; the pinch comes -to-morrow, day after to-morrow. Can you draw them -then, ah, that's the point?--No, no, don't -misunderstand me, Adair. I'm all up in the air about -you; you justified all we hoped; more than we -hoped; you don't need to be told how you hit them -to-night. But I'm scared--scared of your -success--and I'm that nervous that I--!" Again he -turned towards the curtain, and his voice was -almost a wail. "Oh, my God, Adair, will they ever -come back?"</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The astonishing thing was that they did--crowded -back, swarmed back, breaking all the records -of the piece. Business rose by leaps and -bounds till they were playing to capacity; till the -thrilling words "sold out" were posted almost -nightly on the box-office window; till a ravening -horde of speculators took possession of the -sidewalk in front, alternately delighting Kemmel with -their advertising value, and wringing his soul with -anguish at the money he saw going astray. Not -that these were his only preoccupations; he was too -loyal to his employer's interest, and too expert a -theatrical man to let a success run along without a -guiding hand. Adair's name went up in electric -letters; pictures and paragraphs were scattered -broadcast; an option was secured on another theater -to continue the run, and, what seemed to him the -best of all, he had Adair securely tied up by a new -contract. Kemmel, in his own words, was "on -to his job," and in his letters to O'Dowd he was -already urging a number two company, and submitting -estimates and names.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The new contract, of course, was a marvel of -one-sidedness; on-to-his-job Kemmel naturally -saw to that, and paid a legal iron-worker twenty-five -dollars to make it of seamless steel. But on -the running out of the existing contract at -seventy-five dollars a week, it assured Adair two hundred -and fifty as long as it pleased O'Dowd to -employ him. Seamless steel could not accomplish -everything, and a substantial increase of salary had -to be accorded. Adair would have stood out for -more; but Phyllis, with feminine caution, prevailed -on him, to make no demur. Booful's day would -come; stick to her and he would wear diamonds--not -to speak of bells on his darling fingers and toes; -but just now money was secondary to cementing -his position till he was stuck up so high on Broadway -that they'd have to feed him with a ladder.--Besides, -two hundred and fifty dollars a week was -an </span><em class="italics">awful</em><span> lot of money. Forty weeks at two -hundred and--</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Forty weeks, you goose!" expostulated Adair. -"I'd be the last person to object if it were forty -weeks. But down there, on that smudgy blue -place, they can cancel everything in forty seconds."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"People aren't cancelled who are playing to capacity."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I know, but the utter damned meanness that--"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Poor little Booful mustn't worry, and if he'll -stop damning and rampaging, I'll take him down -to his Uncle Macy's, and show him that lovely -fur coat I want him to buy as soon as we have -some money."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I suppose you are right, Phyllis, but it galls me to--"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My darling, sweetheart love," she broke in with -pretty seriousness, "nothing is so important as your -success, and once make that secure, money follows -as a matter of course. Let Booful keep shinning -up the pole, even if they do pick his pockets, and -never think of anything but the gilt ball at the -top, and--and </span><em class="italics">me</em><span>."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This was good advice and Booful acted on it. -The two hundred and fifty, too, looked less -despicable as every day drew it nearer; and as it became, -not an abstraction to be argued over and theoretically -scorned, but a tidy little bundle of greenbacks -that would go far to ease life, both on the spending -side of it and the saving. Oh, yes, half of it -was to be laid by in the bank for a rainy day. -Meanwhile, they lived up to the last cent of the -seventy-five, which once so much, now suddenly -grew meager by contrast, and by the greater -inroads made upon it. Booful rolled home in cabs; -there were little restaurant suppers with a fizzling -pint of wine; Phyllis bought a coveted peignoir, -made out of pale blue fluffy-nothingness, and with -a hand-embroidered collar delicately touched with -gold.--Well, why not? The nearing future was -too bright not to discount it a little in the present.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>We have said that Kemmel kept his press agent -busy; and in the same thoroughgoing spirit that -placarded every garbage-can from Twenty-sixth -Street to Harlem, strove by a thousand means to -get Adair's name prominently into the papers. If -he succeeded beyond all expectations he ascribed it -to his own astuteness, instead of to the fact that -Adair, for the moment, was an extremely spectacular -figure in the theatrical world. It was one of -the remarkable things about this man that he -impressed himself so indelibly in the recollection of -every one who had ever known him. It was too -often a disagreeable recollection; he had sown -hatred with a royal hand; yet, in a queer, negative, -altogether unprofitable way he had fascinated -everybody. Others might make a disagreeable -impression and be forgotten. But no one ever forgot -Adair. Magnetism, personality, genius--whatever -word one chose to call it--he had the peculiar -faculty of arresting attention, of exciting interest, of -making people talk and speculate about him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was indubitably at times a most unlucky gift. -With his reappearance and success the flood-gates -of his past were opened, and there gushed forth a -Niagara of malignant chatter. His amours, his -fights, his disreputable escapades, his divorce--all -were revived. Every one seemed to have a story -to his discredit, and to be in haste to get it into -print. Nor was his marriage to Phyllis allowed to -escape the same soiling publicity, and the tale was -embellished with slanders and innuendoes that -would have goaded a much more patient man to -fury. Adair was with difficulty restrained from -knocking editorial teeth down editorial throats; -and it showed Phyllis' power over him, and the -change generally in his disposition that the police -courts were untroubled by his presence.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Lies about herself Phyllis could bear with some -fortitude, but Adair's earlier life, as thus revealed -by the sensation-mongers, cost her many a bitter -pang.--The woman who had tried to shoot him at -the Café Martin, and the whole revelation of that -horrid affair--the Burt-Wauchope scandal, where -rather than save himself by compromising an -unknown girl, he had gone to prison for contempt; -and that, not quietly and nobly, but with a -vain-glorious satisfaction in his martyrdom--the -discreditable spree on Tim Bartlett's yacht--how -horrible, how unendurable it was--this graveyard -resurrection of bygone years!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adair never justified himself to her, never tried -to palliate or explain away the incidents of his -outrageous past. That instinct, which in all his -relations with her invariably guided him aright, served -him as well now as it had always before. He was -more gentle, more tender, trusting to kisses rather -than words. "Don't let this hurt you," he once -said to her, the only time he had ever ventured to -speak to her, "that wasn't me, Phyllis. There -wasn't any me until you came. You know that, -don't you? No me at all, but just a big brute, -and if he didn't have a soul it was because it was in -your bureau drawer along with your stockings and -handkerchiefs, and I guess you thought it was a -sachet bag or something, and never looked at it twice."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The most jealous, dismayed and heart-sick of -women could not have resisted such pleading; not -if she were in love, that is, and her lover's voice -was as appealing, and his eyes as convincing and -sincere.--In a divine commingling of wife-love and -mother-love, so pure, so uplifting that it -transcended all physical expression, save alone what the -breast could give, she drew his head to her bosom, -comforting him, comforting herself in an act -emblematic of all that is most beautiful in humanity.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The more one studies the stage the more one is -surprised by its disregard of principles that govern -every-day, ordinary affairs. Perhaps it is because -actors are all children, who have clung tenaciously -to playing Indian in the hall, and shooting tigers -under the parlor sofa long after the rest of us have -grown up. It is a good thing for the world that -"temperament" is so largely confined to the -paste-board walls of the theater; or we might see our -grocer sulking over his butter, or railway -presidents impetuously ordering off trains because they -had taken a sudden distaste to the landscape of -some state. Self-interest, that sheet anchor of -society, is but a kedge to the theatrical ship, and many -plow the main without even that. Caprice often -outweighs all money-making considerations; and -though we are far from decrying those who -sacrifice dollars to art (and there are many), may one -not be a little peevish with the others, whose vanity -and wilfulness often take such spiteful forms?</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It certainly cost Shamus O'Dowd all of twelve -thousand dollars, if not double or treble that amount -to close the run at the Herald Square Theater and -bring it to a peremptory conclusion. From his -Rocky Mountain ranch he had watched, with a -grinding and increasing anger, the success of the -man to whom he had left his rôle. The swelling -royalty returns exasperated him; the laudatory -notices, sent in such profusion by Kemmel (who was -innocent enough to think they would please)--were -as tongues of flame leaping up the legs of a captive -at the stake (such fat legs as they were, and with -such an ample scorching surface), and all the talk -of another theater and a second company clogged -his eyes with blood, and seared his low, coarse -face with the furrows of an intolerable indignation.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Nightly for twenty-five years he had been taking -others' crimes on his brawny shoulders--murder, -arson, embezzlement, forgery--he grabbed for -them all, never so happy as when misjudged, with -only the audience in the secret of his sacrifice; -nobody on the stage could do anything wrong -without his making a rush to take the blame--and the -oaths he kept with an incredible fidelity; the superb -impulses that started from him as freely as perspiration; -his goodness, chivalry, and almost insensate -honor--! Oh, the irony of reality as contrasted -with those affecting fictions!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Dear Kemmel," he wrote, in his ugly, sprawling, -impatient hand. "Take the bloody show right -off, and fire Adair, and keep the others on -half-salary till you can fix me up a route outside of New -York. In God's name, what do you think I'm made -of, that I'm to play a number two company all -around the clock while he's starring my hit on -Broadway? And don't you put up any back-talk -about it, either, for I mean every word of it if it -takes my last red--though you must see that it -don't. If we have to go forfeit on the theater, -hell's bells, pay the bloody cormorants, and do you -hear, Get Out!!! For I'm sick of the whole -business. Fix it up with Mallory to send out -something like this, even if you have to pay space -rates for it, and I want it featured:--'The -substitution of Mr. Cyril Adair for Mr. Shamus -O'Dowd in the star-rôle of </span><em class="italics">A Broth of a Boy</em><span> -has resulted so disastrously to the management that -the Herald Square Theater will be dark on Monday -night, and all outstanding tickets refunded at the -box-office. The experiment was an unfortunate -one for all parties, for Mr. O'Dowd, previous to -his departure from New York, owing to his -doctor's orders, was playing to enormous business, and -bade fair to remain all the season. In -Mr. O'Dowd's hands </span><em class="italics">A Broth of a Boy</em><span> has been a -record money-maker, and friends of the genial star -will be enthusiastic to learn of his early return to -harness. The old adage of the lion's skin is thus -verified again, and we are not disparaging -Mr. Cyril Adair when we say he was unlucky to be -cast for the Donkey.'</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I hope this is all clear, and that I have not -overlooked anything. Perhaps when you are about -it you had better fire Grace Farquar, too. Pretty -girls are cheap, and I should like another more -come-on, preferably a blonde this time. Received -your check for $1,182.40. No more for the -present. Cordially yours, Shamus O'Dowd."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xxiv"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXIV</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The right girl's cheek against his own is -usually worth more to a man than all the -philosophy to be found in books. Adair -was stunned; he was too helpless, too hurt even to -murmur. When one is struck by a thunderbolt, -one lies where one falls. He expected Phyllis to -fall also, and in a dull, heart-broken way was -surprised by her intrepidity. She picked up the great, -despairing creature; kissed him, petted him, crooned -over him like a baby, smiling through her tears, and -exerting all her pretty fancifulness to make him -smile, too. Men may excel in marching up to -cannon and saving people from burning buildings, and -descending to the bottom of the sea in submarines; -but in the forlorn hopes of life it is most often the -women who lead.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>After a while Adair was revived; on examination -it seemed that he wasn't seriously damaged at all, -only scared--oh, yes--just scared all out of his -poor Booful wits; and a fairy potion called: -"What does anything matter as long as we have -each other?" was extraordinarily effective in -pulling him together again. Then Phyllis jumbled up -all the swear-words she had ever heard, and hurled -them indiscriminately at Shamus O'Dowd, with -such piquancy and humor, coming as they did from -that sweet mouth, and with such a delicious -lady-intonation that Adair was convulsed, and a tiny -bit shocked--which was precisely what she had -schemed for, the daring little wretch.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Thus began a new era of looking for an engagement; -and it must be said it was a very sad, anxious, -bitter era, for they were dreadfully -poor--hungry-poor--and every time there was a knock at the -door it was a dun who had to be coaxed and -persuaded into going away. Adair's recent -prominence had done little to incline managers towards -him, and though they were more civil, and he -generally got greater consideration at their hands, it -was evident that their former hostility still -persisted. But his professional reputation now stood -pretty high; and occasionally one, bolder than the -rest, would coquette with him, keeping him on -tenter-hooks while a frantic search was made "for -somebody that would do as well." This somebody -was always found, and Adair would be told politely -that "the vacancy had been filled."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Incidentally he learned that his parting from -O'Dowd had been grossly misrepresented by that -"genial star," who had spread it about broadcast -that Adair was as impossible as ever, and so inflated -and top-lofty that it had been cheaper to break the -run of the piece than to stand his vagaries any -longer. This was in such accord with Adair's -former character that it found ready credence up -and down Broadway; and the great Mr. Fielman -himself enunciated the general sentiment when he -said to Rolls Reece, the dramatist: "If that -fellow Adair only had the manners and decency of a -common hod-carrier, I'd give him a five years' -contract, and make a fortune out of him; but the stage -is on too high a level nowadays for men like that -to get a second chance to disgrace it--at least from me!"</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>No one appreciates more than an actor the need -for being well-dressed when seeking an engagement. -His appearance is a considerable part of his -capital, both on the boards and off; he may have -had little breakfast, and less lunch, but his clothes -must be good, and his linen immaculate, and in a -"profession" judged so largely by superficialities, -it behooves him, poor dog, to affect at any cost an -air of fashion that but too often is the most pathetic -of masquerades.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was now that Phyllis rose to the occasion with -an unexpected capacity that showed she was, indeed, -her father's daughter. She got the janitress to -teach her how to wash and iron white shirts; and -in a short time could glaze a bosom better than her -instructress, and almost as well as a French -laundry-man. She learned how to press Adair's coats and -trousers; she turned his ties; she ironed his collars; -she cleaned his gloves with gasolene. No man was -ever valeted with more assiduous care, or sent out -every morning looking sprucer or better-groomed. -When she kissed him good-by for the day it was -always with a playful admonition, for Adair bore -adversity none too well, and though he tried to hide -his despondency he was beginning to break down -under the long continued strain.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"And he knows he's a great, big, handsome, -splendid Booful?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, he's sure of it!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And he's going to step out like a Crown Prince -going down to see his Emperor-Papa at the club?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You bet he is."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And swing his cane as though he owned all -Broadway--and throw back his head like a Greek -statue, and swagger into their horrid old offices -like a millionaire? For he </span><em class="italics">is</em><span> a millionaire, you -know--not a money-one, but a Love-Millionaire--for -don't I love him millions and millions?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It took a kiss to answer that; and then the -Love-Millionaire, laughing a little tremulously, would -hurry away, whistling with much bravado as he -went down the stairs, two at a time, as suited a -great, big, handsome, splendid Booful; who, -whatever his demerits in the past, was fast retrieving -himself before the Great Judge.--And if, on his -departure, Phyllis would lay her head on her arm -and give way to uncontrollable tears, you would -be wrong to feel too sorry for her. For the -misfortune that draws a man and woman together, -and extorts from each their noblest qualities is not -really a misfortune at all, but a precious and -beautiful thing that it would become us more to envy.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Thus the days passed in a deadening, cowing, -unutterably depressing search for work. Adair was -rebuffed, put off, told to call again; he abased -himself to men he despised; he forced his presence with -hungry persistence on dramatists and stars who -were putting on new plays, affecting a good -fellowship that was a transparent, dismal lie. He tried -to buy them wine, cigars--inveigle them into -promises, and his lunch often went in a tip to some -greedy understrapper who guarded their portals.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It is strange the mile-wide demarcation that -divides the real stage--the stage of Sothern, John -Drew, Faversham, Maude Adams, etc., from that -other to which Adair had so long associated himself. -This other had no representative save Adair in the -whole Thespian Club. It was a region apart, and -a region that Adair was determined never to -return to. It would have called him back willingly -enough, and in his desperation he might have -returned to it had it not been for Phyllis. It was -she who kept his resolution alive; she was too -confident of his talent to let him throw it back into that -Dead Sea; it meant the abandonment of every -serious ambition;--artistically speaking, suicide, -death.--Booful belonged to the top, and it was his -business and hers to get him there.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Brave words, but how about fulfilment? The -end of the month would find them turned out of -doors. Phyllis dreaded to see herself in the glass, -she was becoming so pale and wan; in the unequal -battle everything was going except her courage; -sometimes, alone in the silent apartment, even that -seemed to droop, and a daunting terror would -overwhelm her--less for herself than for Adair. He -was drinking again, and justified himself with a -bitter vehemence. "They all say, 'Have a -drink'!" he exclaimed. "Nobody ever says 'Have -an eat'!"--His harsh, despairing humor recurred -to her, as well as his sudden resentment at her pity. -He had made atonement, but the sting remained--or -rather a foreboding of something somber and -evil that in spite of herself she could not shake off.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>One day at the club a card was brought Adair, -inscribed Mr. John H. Campbell; and the boy told -him the gentleman was waiting to see him in the -visitors' room. Adair knew no such person, but -he went out to greet him with mingled curiosity -and hope, for here perhaps was the long-sought -engagement. An imposing, distinguished looking, -very well-dressed man of fifty rose from the sofa, -and asked him, with much suavity, whether he had -the pleasure of addressing Mr. Cyril Adair. This -question being quickly and politely settled, the -imposing gentleman begged for a few words of -conversation; and indicating a place for Adair beside -him, he reseated himself with a bland, kind air -which yet was not without an underlying -seriousness, not to say solemnity.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I have come on a very confidential matter," he -said, fixing Adair with his shrewd, keen, -heavy-lidded eyes. "A matter, Mr. Adair, so delicate -that it is not easy to convey it except in a -round-about form. May I explain I have sought you -out at the request of--Mr. Ladd?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a pause; the shrewd, heavy-lidded -eyes slowly inventoried Adair and read beneath -the tarnished air of fashion. Failure, need, -hunger sap a man, and can not be hid, least of all from -a professional observer. John Hampden Campbell -was one of the leaders of the New York bar and -was what they call a "court room lawyer" of high -rank; which means that others hand up the guns, -while he shoots them off. His knowledge of -human nature was profound, and being profound was -neither unsympathetic nor unkind. But he could -shoot straight, nevertheless, and it was hardly a -satisfaction to the victim to hear that murmur of -"poor devil!" as the eminent counsel laid aside -the smoking weapon.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My father-in-law!" exclaimed Adair in amazement.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He would be happier if he could cease to bear -that name," said Mr. Campbell.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He can hardly very well help himself," retorted -Adair bluntly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, but you could," put in the lawyer, with a -vagueness that was intentional. "By this time you -must realize that it is a union that is scarcely to -your own best interests nor the young lady's."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Haven't noticed it," said Adair, staring at him -queerly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Mr. Ladd would be prepared to make very -heavy sacrifices to put back things as they were -before."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"What sort of sacrifices?"--Adair's tone was -not unfriendly; it was rather questioning and -perplexed.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We would rather leave it to you to suggest -them, though we are counting more on your -concern for her welfare. Frankly, Mr. Adair, without -meaning the least disrespect, and with a thorough -knowledge of your honorable and straightforward -conduct--do you consider you're acting rightly in -holding this young lady to what most people would -call a very bad bargain?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Being married to a starving actor?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, that is putting it too--too--"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Of course, she has thrown herself away--I -know that."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>There was a gleam in the heavy-lidded eyes.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It could all be rectified," said Mr. Campbell -soothingly. "Very easily, and very quickly -rectified. It is just a question, it seems to me, of our -getting together, and talking it over reasonably. -In fact, some of the details might be omitted -entirely. Mr. Ladd is a man of very large means, -and is the soul of honor. He would see to it that -your future was made easy."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"How easy?" asked Adair.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I mean," returned Mr. Campbell, "that he -would substantially recognize your honest desire to -be guided by his wishes--wishes that you admit -are just, and so much to the young lady's advantage -that you are willing to withdraw entirely."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Those are all words," exclaimed Adair; "let's -get to figures."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Mr. Campbell looked pained. After having -confined the interview so skilfully within the limits -of irreproachable good taste, this brutality outraged -his ear. He had not been unprepossessed by Adair, -and felt sorry for him.--But here was the cloven -hoof.--The fellow was just a low, mercenary -adventurer after all.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The figures are ten thousand dollars," he answered coldly.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Why, I don't call that anything!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Cash," added Campbell, with a pursing of his lips.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Of course, it's cash," cried Adair, "it's going -to be that, whatever it is. Only it isn't enough. -She's worth more than ten thousand dollars."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Campbell saw that his personal bias had made -him err. Adair's vibrating tone had caught the -note of his own; suavity and good humor were -all-important, and he scurried back to them, like an -incautious general flying for the batteries he has -left behind. When he spoke again it was in his -best lullaby manner.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My dear fellow," he said, "the real point is -that you concede the principle. That is so, is it not?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Hell, yes," returned Adair. "I'd concede a -lot for fifty thousand dollars."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But that is a very, very large sum of money."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adair, with one hand in his trousers pocket, was -restlessly turning over the two nickels that were -there--all he had.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I don't think so," he said. "Anyway, she's -worth that, and more."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I was hardly authorized to commit Mr. Ladd -to such an amount," objected Mr. Campbell, -"though I will not say right off that I might not -entertain it. But you understand, Mr. Adair, that -it implies you will not resist an action for divorce, -and-- Well, you know we'd like to have the matter -absolutely settled and done with."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"For fifty thousand dollars?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The heavy-lidded eyes were obscured by a -momentary glaze.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"We will meet you," said Mr. Campbell.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adair rubbed the nickels together, and asked, -with a slight catch of his breath, if he could have -something on account.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Certainly," assented the lawyer, producing his -pocket-book. He removed a sheaf of bills, and -Adair perceived that they were in denominations -of a thousand dollars each. He had never seen a -thousand-dollar bill before in his whole life, and -here was a thick packet of twenty or more. No -wonder that he was overawed. Campbell noticed -his fascinated stare, and dilly-dallying with the -notes, spread them out with an elaborate carelessness. -To Adair, it was all a blur of $1,000, $1,000, -$1,000, $1,000, a green mist of money, a crisp, -crinkling, dizzying affluence.--Campbell was saying -something to him. There was a paper to be signed. -It was a temporary memorandum to be replaced -later by a more formal document. Buzz, buzz, buzz! -The paper was handed to him. Buzz, buzz, buzz, -and the room going round and round. He was -standing on his feet, shaking with the pent-up -passion that he had been so long holding back. The -actor in him had been waiting for that, but the -actor was lost in the man.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You're a damned hound!" he cried hoarsely, -"And the man who sent you is a damned hound, -and here is your damned paper, and may it choke -you both! My wife isn't for sale, do you hear -that! My wife isn't for sale, whether it's for fifty -thousand or fifty million! Is that plain? Do you -concede the principle, or shall I boot it into you? -I thought I'd lead you on; I thought I'd just see -how far you'd go--you with your sable overcoat, -and fat pocket-book, and your stinking respectability. -I had you sized up all right, and was only -giving you rope to hang yourself. Get out of -here, and get out quick, or I'll kick you from here -to your cab. Get out!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was needless to say that John Hampden -Campbell did not need to be pressed. Shadrach, -Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace could have -scarcely been in a bigger hurry. Cramming the -notes and papers in his pockets, he sped from the -visitors' room like a large, imposing projectile which -had been fired from some monster cannon. A second -later his flying coat-tails were deposited in his -cab, and he was speeding away, considerably shaken -in spirit and body, for the mountain quiet of his -twenty-eight story office.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Lying on Phyllis' table, all ready for mailing, -was a long letter to her father. Pride had crumbled -and she had determined to seek his help. She -had begun it with constraint, attempting, none too -effectually, to conceal her sense of injury and -injustice; but as page followed page the old -tenderness returned with an irresistible force. That gray, -handsome head was before her, that mellow voice -was in her ears, and the wretchedness and folly -of alienation came home to her with a new and -piercing significance. The request for money; the -cold, exact exposition of her need--was passed and -forgotten in the impetuous rush of her pen. She -loved her husband, she loved her father, and this -estrangement was unbearable. Like many women -under the stress of a deep emotion she wrote with -a singular eloquence. She wept as she described -Cyril--his unceasing goodness, his loyalty, his -fortitude, his good humor and devotion. He was -everything a woman loved best in a man; and -instead of her marriage having been a mistake, a -failure, it was more than she thought life could -ever give her. Would not her father forget all -that had passed, as she, too, would forget? Their -love was too deep, too dear, to make reconciliation -impossible. She would climb into his lap again, -and put her arms about him--his sad, worn, -desolate little girl--and they would whisper to each -other what fools they had been, and kiss away the -last shadow of misunderstanding.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>So it ran, page after page, in her fine, delicate -hand, an appeal that no father could have resisted. -A beautiful letter, touched with the quality of tears; -full of womanly longing; heart crying to heart, -across an aching void. Alas, that it never went. -It was torn to pieces, and thrown passionately on -the floor. Campbell had intervened, and the news -of his offer was thus received in the little flat on -East Fifty-eighth Street. "That's the end of it," -cried Phyllis, regarding the scraps of paper. -"That's the end of everything between Papa and me!"</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xxv"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXV</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>It is one of the peculiarities of looking for a -theatrical engagement that hope is never quite -extinguished. There is always some one who -wants you to call next week; there is always a -company just short of a part they are considering -you for; there is always some friendly member -of the Thespians who has "mentioned your name," -and gives you a scribbled address or a telephone -number. This is stated to explain the fact why -Adair, instead of surrendering to circumstances, -as any other man would have done in any other -walk of life, still snatched at straw after straw with -egregious determination. His circumstances were -becoming absolutely desperate. Suspension from -the club was staring him in the face; in eight days -his sticks of furniture and his trunks would be -dumped out on the street; it was only by the most -rigid parsimony that body and soul could be kept -together. Phyllis said the dormice were floating -on a shingle, and with tearful laughter would -expatiate on the pitiful, half-drowned things, so scared -and hungry on a bobbing sea. What was to -happen when they slid off?--Oh, but Booful wasn't -to mind. She'd hold his poor, pretty, dormouse -head up, and swim him off to a lovely island where -there were peanuts on peanuts, and an alabaster -mousery with all modern improvements.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>That lovely island seemed a terribly long way -off. As the emblem of an engagement it lay so far -over the horizon that Adair began to doubt its very -existence. His eyes grew lack-luster; he lost his -confident bearing; poverty and failure stamped him, -as they stamp every man with an unmistakable -mark. We instinctively move away from the -unsuccessful. We see that mark, and widen our -distance. Success likes success. It isn't decent to -be very, very poor. Fingers tighten on pocketbooks, -and respectable, prosperous legs quicken their -steps.--Adair was sinking, though the dismal -masquerade still went on--the immaculate cuffs, -the once smart tie, the pressed clothes, shiny with -constant ironing. There is many such a figure on -Broadway--and in some mean room there is usually -a woman who believes in him, stinting herself -and starving for his sake.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>One dark, wintry Sunday afternoon in early -spring, as Phyllis was sitting near the frosted -window, sewing and thinking and dreaming by -the scanty light, she was roused by the tramp of -many footsteps on the stair outside, and a confused -bumping, scuffling sound, accompanied by a hoarse -murmur of voices. With a horrible premonition -she ran to the door and opened it, giving a cry as -she recognized Adair being supported in by two -companions. His face was swollen and discolored; -one eye was closed in a rim of crimson; his mouth -was dribbling blood; sawdust and filth befouled -his clothes, and a stench of vile whisky exhaled -from him like a nauseating steam. He was helped -over to a sofa, and allowed to collapse, while the -men hurried away as though ashamed of their task, -and thankful to have done with it.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It was the first time he had ever appeared -repugnant to Phyllis; he was drunk, and she knew -it, and the fumes of the disgusting stuff stifled her -with loathing. But she unloosened his collar, laid -a couple of pillows under his head, unlaced his -shoes; and bringing a basin, rinsed the oozing blood -from his lip. With pity, yes, but with the raging, -furious pity that goes with lost illusions, and the -falling of one's little world; a pity less for him -than for herself that this should be the end of a -love that to her had been the very breath of life.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He regarded her stupidly with his one open eye, -moaning faintly, and drawing himself laboriously -near the basin, spat into it. Then he put out his -hand, and tried to touch her, but she shrank from him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Phyllis," he said, in a raucous whisper, "Phyllis"; -and then, as though overcome by the exertion, -closed that single bleary eye, and dozed off. But it -was not for very long. He awakened again. -"They loaded me up with that cursed whisky," -he whispered. "I was all in, and needed it. God, -if they didn't pour a bottle of it down my throat!"--For -a while he rambled on brokenly, spluttering -with laughter as he held up his clenched fist as -though he found a strange, childish entertainment -in the action.--Little by little he pulled himself -together. He was a powerful man, sound to the -core, and though he was badly spent, health and -nature were rallying to his side.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Come here," he said, in the same husky whisper, -but with a noticeable increase of vigor and -self-command. "Come here, I wanter tellyerboutit."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Phyllis crouched by his side, so dejected and -heartsick that it was well for him she hid her face.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I was with Morty Stokes and a whole lot of -them," he went on, his words running together -tipsily. "Tagging on, too, you know--royal, -open-handed fellow, Morty, good fren' of mine, -always something to eat--gives bell-boy tip that -would keep us for a week. And it was down at -the Queensbury Club, pay ten dollars, and, -member--one-day member, you know--though the fight -we went to see was tipped off--wasn't any, you -know--but we stayed on, Morty opening champagne, -and Kid Kelly was there who beat Cyclone -Crandall last month; and somehow Morty and the -Kid got into a row about Tammany corruption, and -both so blind that neither of them could have spelled -Tammany for a million, and everybody had to pull -them apart. Then Morty, just blazing said: 'I -can't lick you, but here's a fellow that can,' and he -pointed at me, and says, 'Cyril, I'll give you five -hundred dollars to wipe this dirty loafer off the -map!' And I took it as a joke, and said yes I -would, and before I knew it they were appointing a -referee, and Kid Kelly was stripping down to the skin."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adair stopped and laughed--a groaning kind -of laugh, as mirthless as the wind that rattled the -window-panes. "He had only been out of training -ten days, and as for my standing up against him -he might have been Battling Nelson. But it -suddenly came into my head, why here's a chance to -make something--not Morty's five hundred dollars -for licking him--I'd only drunk half a glass -of wine, and knew better--but a bit at the other -end of it; and so I said, yes, four hundred for the -winner, and a hundred for the man out, and all as -insultingly as I could make it, as though that -hundred was for the Kid instead of me. And finally, -when it was all settled, it all wasn't--Morty -standing out for two ounce gloves, and the others for -sixes, he saying he wanted to mark the dirty mutt -with something to stay; and that it was to be two -ounces or nothing, though what was to happen to -me in the mix-up wasn't mentioned, the fact being -he didn't care as long as he could see the Kid -pounded; and it was two shakes the Kid didn't -pound </span><em class="italics">him</em><span>, it all worked up to such a hullabaloo, -with some of them holding him, and others the Kid, -and all of them yelling at once till at last they shoved -us into the ring, with Tom Hallahan for referee, -and Billy Sands holding the stakes and keeping -time, and then we shook hands and squared off.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The Kid wasn't so soused but what he had an -inkling of the truth, and at the first go-off he meant -to let me down easy, like the good-hearted Irish -boy he was, and I could see it in his eye--(half -of fighting is in the eyes, Phyllis)--and it was just -a pat here, and a wallop there, and a lot of -quick-stepping and stage-play, all feints and parries and -pretending. But I wasn't for selling the fight, -thinking Morty might sour on it, and call the whole -thing off--so I walked right into the Kid, hammer -and tongs; and by the time I had barked my -knuckles on his teeth, and landed him a lefter on -the jaw for all I was worth, he was as savage as -hell, and ready to kill me; and by George, it was -only bull-headed luck that he didn't--that, and -the wine he had drunk, and I stood up to him for -five rounds; and first it was for the hundred -dollars, and then for my very life. I managed to get -on my legs before I was counted out on the fifth, -though the floor was heaving like a ship at sea, -and I saw about eight of him, shooting out sixteen -arms, and eighty-four fists; and down I went for -keeps.--But I got it!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He opened his hand, and showed two fifty dollar bills.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"They won't put us out on the street for yet -a while," he said gloatingly. "We're a hundred -dollars ahead, not to speak of about nine quarts of -whisky! Take it, sweetheart, and, and--"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Her arms were about him, and she was sobbing, -her lips seeking his, unmindful of the blood, the -swollen, discolored flesh, the stale reek of whisky, -every fiber in her agonizing with tenderness and -remorse. Those things that but a minute before -had filled her with an unutterable revulsion, that -had shocked and dismayed her beyond expression -were of a sudden transformed into the evidences -of a tragic devotion. It was for her that he came -to be lying there, disheveled, bleeding and dirty; -covered with livid bruises; smashed, disfigured, and -cruelest of all--misjudged. No wonder that the -scorching tears fell; that the girlish arms could not -hold him tight enough; that the little head snuggled -down so pitifully, so guiltily, to atone for the cruel -wrong.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I guess the dormice are still on their shingle," -said Adair, "though a lot of skin and fur has been -rubbed off one of them. Make him a cup of tea, -dearest--his little nose is hot, and I'm sure it -would do him good!"</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xxvi"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXVI</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>It was a week before Adair ventured to go out -except at night, and it was longer still before -he outgrew the stiffness following the lost -battle. He congratulated himself on having come -so well out of it, for an ordinary man, however -good an amateur boxer, runs a serious chance of -harm in a fight with a champion pugilist. The -doctor passed his ribs, passed his jaw, deliberated over -his collarbone, and finally reduced the damages to -a pair of broken knuckle-bones and a badly-sprained -wrist. Privately he warned Phyllis that her -husband had had a narrow escape, and told her to -keep him out of mischief for the future. "He's -the worst-mauled man I have examined for a long -while," he said, "and that blow over the heart -might have killed him. Next time let him agree -with his adversary quickly according to the -Gospel--or use a club, and use it first."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But the knuckles and the wrist were not all the -damage. With lessened strength there was -lessened will, lessened courage; and acquiescence in -defeat succeeded the long spun-out endeavor to turn -the tide of fortune. Soon it was tacitly understood -between them that they could strive no longer; and -when Adair, with something of a catch in his voice, -said he would go round and see Heney, Phyllis -made no demur. Heney represented that other -stage of nonentities and fourth-raters; that -maelstrom of hopelessness, cheapness and shoddy; that -vast theatrical system which cadges for the public's -small change, and seeks to please the factory-girl -and the artisan. To go back to it was to abandon -everything--ambition, reputation, future.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Yet it was pleasant to be warmly received. -Heney was overjoyed, gave him a good cigar, -patted him on the knee, and said he was just the -chap he had been looking for to take out </span><em class="italics">The -Danites</em><span>. He had been working over the piece -himself to introduce Portolini's trained dogs, and -incidentally to "jack it up." Heney was common -and underbred and talked with a toothpick in his -mouth--but he was a man not without a certain -feeling. He made no allusions that might -embarrass Adair, and ignored recent events. His -consideration was increased perhaps by the opportunity -thus given him of getting Adair for </span><em class="italics">The Danites</em><span>. -He had been hoping to revivify it with the trained -dogs, but here was a man who could command -success, for Adair was a money-maker and the surest -"draw" in the business. Terms were quickly -settled. A hundred a week, and a forty weeks' -contract, with the usual notice on both sides. It could -be typed and signed later on; meanwhile here was -a spare carbon of the play to look over; and -rehearsals would begin as soon as the dogs had -finished their vaudeville dates at One Hundred -Twenty-fifth Street and Brooklyn.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Adair left the office feeling as though he had -sold himself to the devil. An old nickname of his -recurred to him as he walked slowly homeward: -"The Four-bit Mansfield." He kept repeating it -on the way, "The Four-bit Mansfield, The Four-bit -Mansfield!" Yes, that was what he was; that was -as near as he would ever get to the real thing; -before he hadn't cared, but now it was gall and -wormwood to him. Yet it was as "The Four-bit -Mansfield" that he had won Phyllis. It would not -do to forget that. Winning Phyllis had been the -most wonderful event in his life, little though he -had appreciated it at the time. Looking back at -it all he was astounded at his own blindness; -astounded and frightened, too, to recall how easily -the affair might have had a different ending. Love -was a queer business; he hadn't really cared very -much for her at first; he had simply taken her -because she was so bewitchingly pretty--and with -such innocence had offered herself; and yet, bit by -bit, it had grown to this, grown into something -that was the only thing in life. He could readily -conceive himself dying for Phyllis if it meant -saving her or protecting her, and that with no tom-fool -fuss either, or theatrics.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>A fellow couldn't hope to carry away all the -prizes, and he'd rather be a "Four-bit Mansfield" -with Phyllis than the biggest kind of a star without -her. What a gay, gentle, insinuating, clever little -wretch she was! He could come home in the -damnedest humor--it hurt him to think how often -he had--so cranky and impatient and cross that -any other woman in the world would have flounced -into a fury--and little by little she would coax -him and pet him and smooth him down till instead -of flinging plates at each other, as most people would -have done, by George, she'd be sitting on his knee, -and he'd be smiling down at her, a thousand times -more in love than ever, with such a pang of -self-reproach, and such a new understanding of her -sweetness and tenderness that his heart would swell -till he could hardly speak.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>When Adair left his house that afternoon to -call on Heney, he noticed a large, luxurious -limousine snailing along Fifty-eighth Street as though -the chauffeur was searching for a number; and he -wondered what so fine a car could be doing in such -a mean neighborhood. Had he seen it stop in front -of his own door he would have been more surprised -still, for that was what it did, to the extreme -gratification of the youngsters playing about the -sidewalk. A gentleman alighted, rang the bell -marked "Adair," pushed open the door when it -began to emit mysterious clicks of welcome, and -toiled up those interminable stairs till he found -Phyllis awaiting him at the entrance of her little -apartment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I beg your pardon," he said, "I'm looking for -Mr. Adair?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Phyllis saw before her a thin, dark, exceedingly -well-dressed man of about forty, with an aquiline -nose, a pale handsome face, and an air of noticeable -distinction and importance.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm sorry, but he has just gone out," she -answered. "I am Mrs. Adair--will you not come in?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He followed her into the sitting-room with a -manner of such ease and good-breeding that Phyllis -was suddenly transported back to her former -existence, and tingled with a pleasurable curiosity.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Perhaps I can do instead," she said, smiling, -and offering the stranger a chair.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not only as well--but better," he returned. -"If I had not heard about you I should not be -here at all." He kept staring at her in a keen, -questioning way with something of the penetration, -and the appearance of inner mental working of -some great specialist studying a patient. Though -continuing to look at her, Phyllis could feel that -those brilliant eyes had left nothing in the room -unnoticed, and she realized with a twinge how -pinched and shabby it all must seem to him.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am Rolls Reece, the dramatist," he observed -at last. "It may be that you've never heard of -me, though I hope you have--for it will facilitate -matters."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Of course that name was familiar to Phyllis. -Rolls Reece was the author of more successful plays -than any man in America. He was the founder -of a school--his own school--and to take a -foreign word for which we have, no equivalent -he was essentially a </span><em class="italics">féministe</em><span>. In representing -nice women on the stage, women of refinement and -position, he had a field in which he stood -paramount. Not that he confined himself wholly to -plays of this type, however. He was an indefatigable -worker; with an ambition that balked at -nothing; he was always reaching out, always trying -experiments; a piece of his, </span><em class="italics">Money, the King</em><span>, had -been strength and brutality personified.--That it -was Rolls Reece who was before her filled Phyllis -with a sudden and gratified astonishment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Certainly I know your name," she said. -"Who is there that doesn't!"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He waved the compliment from him with a -gesture of his hand--a hand as fine and small as a -woman's. One invariably associated Rolls Reece -with those fine, small hands, which, when he grew -excited, gripped themselves on his chair with the -tenacity of a sailor's in the rigging of a ship. It -showed the importance he attached to this interview -that he was already beginning to clench the -furniture.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My dear lady," he went on, "I have to be -frank with you--and being frank, especially in -regard to an absent husband, is neither easy nor -agreeable. Perhaps I had better give you the sugar -on the pill first; and that is I have outlined a play -that I should like to write with the idea of -Mr. Adair creating the central figure. If I could -write it with him in mind, I am presumptuous -enough to think I could make a big thing of it.--He -could do it, of course--do it magnificently. -This talk does not turn on his talent, his ability, -which is immense. No, no, these are not -compliments. Years ago when I was a nobody on the -</span><em class="italics">Advertiser</em><span>, doing theatrical criticism with a -recklessness and off-handedness that now makes my -gooseflesh quiver to look back on--just a -know-it-all young ass--I remember the profound -impression Mr. Adair's work used to make upon me. -I have often seen him since, going out of my way -to do so--one has had to, you know--and that -original conviction of his power has steadily grown -with me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He stopped, giving her that curious look of -his, so grave, and yet with what might be called a -smile in suspension.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>It swiftly lit up his face as Phyllis remarked: -"Now for the pill?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, the pill," faltered Rolls Reece, gripping -the arms of his chair, and appearing acutely -uncomfortable. "Ahem, the pill is--I suppose it -isn't grammatical to say are--well, in fact, some -of Mr. Adair's characteristics that those who -admire him most, must deprecate and -deplore--characteristics that have unhappily hampered, or -rather so far have ruined his career. Please, -please, Mrs. Adair, do not stop me! This is not -a question of personalities at all. Regard me -simply as a contractor, looking for a first-class -workman--Bill, we'll call him; and it having -reached me in a round-about way that Bill has -married and pulled up, I've dropped in on -Mrs. Bill to make sure."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Are you not afraid Mrs. Bill may be prejudiced -in her husband's favor?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"My dear lady, it is remarkable to find any one -prejudiced in Bill's favor! That it should be his -wife is all the better."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Better for what?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I've told you I want to write that play for him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>At this Phyllis' rising ill-will died away. There -was too much of the little Frenchwoman in her -for her not to become diplomatic and cool when her -husband's interests were at stake. Instead of -making a hot rejoinder, she replied, with a -frankness not at all easy under the circumstances: "I -understand perfectly what you mean, Mr. Reece. -It is true he has spoiled everything, and has an -awful lot to live down. I ought to be grateful to -you as the first person--the first important -person--who has realized that he has changed. -But how am I to convince you of it?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"By speaking just as you do."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, I can hardly hope that a wife's word will -count for much. Yet, Mr. Reece, it is absolutely -true."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is not his past that bothers me," went on -Rolls Reece. "Everybody has a past, and I was -a theatrical critic once myself--but what I want -to be assured of is that he won't begin a new -one. Really, Mrs. Adair, if I put him in a big -Broadway production can I be guaranteed that he -will--behave?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And neither drink, nor quarrel with anybody, -nor punch anybody's head--(including mine)--or -calmly leave us in the lurch because he doesn't -like the pattern, say, of the dressing-room carpet?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Wait and talk with him yourself.--All that -folly is over and done with."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"The longer I live," observed Rolls Reece, "the -more I appreciate that women are the power behind -the throne. Every man, in a queer, subtle sort -of way, reflects some woman. I came here to see -whom Adair was reflecting, and if I hadn't been -satisfied I shouldn't have stayed. My interest -is selfish, of course. My unwritten play to me -is much more important than Mr. Adair; -otherwise--to me, I mean--his peculiarities of -character would be of supreme unimportance.--May -I say he reflects an unusually charming and -delightful one?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Phyllis smiled.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I hope that means it is all settled?" she asked.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"If you'll go bond for him--yes."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>She clapped her hands. "Oh, I'm so glad," she -cried. "Oh, Mr. Reece, I can not tell you how -poor we are, how desperate. It has been such a -heart-breaking struggle, and we had almost reached -the giving-up place.--But tell me, you say the play -is not written yet?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, no, we're talking of an October opening."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>October! They were then in early April. The -joy, the elation died under that crushing blow. -What was to become of them during the intervening -months? Phyllis could scarcely speak, the -disappointment was so keen. "It will be very hard -for us to wait," she said at last. "Mr. Adair has -to go back to the cheap theaters, and from what he -said I am afraid he will have to sign a long -contract."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Under any other circumstances Rolls Reece -would have laughed. Adair, that disreputable -genius, as a scrupulous respecter of contracts, -foregoing the star part in a New York production at the -dictates of honor and conscience was sublimely -incredible. But nevertheless Phyllis' own -sincerity impressed him. Her beauty was of a fine, -sensitive, aristocratic type, the kind that the -dramatist, of all men, would recognize and appreciate the -most. The proud yet touching air, the exquisite -girlishness, the arch, appealing, pretty manners--all -disturbed him with a feeling that verged on -jealousy. No doubt Adair had altered. To be -believed in by such a woman surely counted for -something; to be put on a pedestal by her was to stay -there, of course; it was impossible to conceive -anything low or underhanded being confided to one -who struck him as the embodiment of candor. -The surprise was how Adair had ever got her.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I have thought of all that," he said, referring -to her last remark. "If Mr. Adair will be satisfied -with modest rôles, and will consent to go on the -road, I can contrive to keep him busy the whole -summer." In the mouth of any other man, what -he added would have sounded intolerably -conceited; but he had been successful too long, and had -grown too used to it, for the sentence to be -anything but matter-of-fact. "I have eight companies -out, you know, and whether my managers like it or -not, they'll have to find room for your husband."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>His tone was so considerate, so kind, and his -eyes gave such a sense of dawning friendship that -Phyllis' reserve melted. She spoke eagerly, with -a little tremor of emotion, and a delicious -consciousness of sympathy and responsiveness. "I -want to tell you about him," she said. "I couldn't -do it before when it seemed in doubt whether you'd -risk your play with him or not. It would have -seemed, oh, as though I were trying to plead with -you, and debasing myself and him to win you over. -But now that it is settled I am not ashamed--no, -Mr. Reece, I am proud to make you realize how -you have misjudged him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>With this as a beginning she told him of their -coming to New York; of their struggles and -privations; of Adair's unshaken, unwavering devotion -during those bitter days. With poverty love had -not flown out of the window; no, it had drawn them -closer together than ever before. She might never -have known otherwise the depth of the noblest and -tenderest heart that ever beat; he had never -complained, never railed--had borne himself -throughout with a sort of silent fortitude, and oh, -all this with such an effort to be cheerful, -to make light of things that were grinding -them to pieces. She told him of her father's -offer, of Adair's passionate rejection of it at -a moment when he was next to starving; of -the fight with Kid Kelly, and the hundred dollars -he had earned at such a cost. Through her mist -of tears she saw that Rolls Reece was not unmoved; -his eyes, too, were moist; once he took her hand, -and pressed it to his lips, with something about -their being friends--always friends. Throughout -he had perceived the other side of the story, the -side she had not dwelt on, and indeed was scarcely -aware of--her own intrepid part in that comradeship, -her own sustaining courage and love. The -picture she drew of Adair conjured up for the -dramatist another even more touching; and old -bachelor that he was, and pessimist of pessimists -on the marriage question he momentarily turned -traitor to all his convictions.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>When she stopped, with a sudden shame at -having unbosomed herself to a stranger, and in a -confusion that was all the prettier for the blush that -accompanied it, and the air at once so deprecating -and scared as though she were disgraced for ever--Rolls -Reece hastened to save her from the ensuing -embarrassment.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You mustn't regret having taken me into your -confidence," he said. "I'm just an old -sentimentalist, and belong more than anybody to that -world that loves a lover. It is worth all those -stairs to hear anything so really affecting and -beautiful, and when I said I wanted to be friends, -I meant it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm afraid you're almost as impulsive as I am, -and as indiscreet."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, my dear lady, if it wasn't for indiscretion -what a dreary planet this would be to live -in.--Imagine the heartrending effect if everybody -thought before they spoke, and men were all wise, -and women were all prudent! Why, what would -happen to dramatists?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"You are nice," she said, giving him a candid, -smiling look in which there was a lurking roguishness; -"and I'm glad we're going to be friends; and -I'm not a bit sorry I gave you a peep into an awfully -hidden place--a girl's heart, you know--though, -of course, you mustn't expect to make a habit of it; -and I'm glad you're the great, famous, splendid -Rolls Reece, and are going to like me, and write -Cyril a wonderful play, and be our fairy uncle -for ever and ever; and some day, when you are -accused of plagiarism or something, and they put you -in jail, I'll come down to the prison and bring you -a loaf of bread with a file in it, or change clothes -with you in your cell, and then it will come home -to you how very lucky you were ever to know me, -and you will skip off to South America bursting -with gratitude."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"In the meanwhile I'm afraid the fairy uncle had -better bring his call to an end," remarked Rolls -Reece. "It's less spectacular--though I can still -be grateful, mayn't I? Indeed, I am so happy, -Mrs. Adair, for you have convinced me in more -ways than you are aware of that we have been -unjust to your husband, and that I may safely trust -the play to him."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I can't help doubting whether you'll ever come -back?" she said, as they stood confronting each -other. "It's a dream, and you are a dream-dramatist, -and I'll wake up from a nap, and will -find everything more miserable than before because -of it.--Some day you will know what this means -to us," she added poignantly. "Some day when--when -it's long, long passed, and we can talk about -it like ordinary people.--You have to get a little -way off to be sorry for yourself, don't you? I am -just beginning to see how unspeakably wretched -and forlorn we were, that poor boy and I, though -I should probably have never found it out if it -hadn't been for you."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, that's over," said Rolls Reece comfortingly. -"If he'll work hard, and do his best, I'll -back Mr. Adair through thick and thin. He has an -unquestionable talent; it will be a pleasure, an -inspiration to write for him; if he'll do his share, I'll -engage to do mine, and between us we'll keep at -it, play on play, till we land a winner. Only--" -and here he paused, and raised a warning finger.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"He'll be as good as gold," said Phyllis, filling -in the interval. "Don't let the fairy uncle worry -about that."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"And when may I see him?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>An appointment was forthwith made for the -same evening; and the dramatist shook hands, and -was about to go when Phyllis exclaimed again that -it was a dream, and that it simply couldn't, couldn't, -couldn't be true, and asked him laughingly to leave -his umbrella as something tangible to show Adair. -Rolls Reece caught at the notion, but instead of -anything as prosaic as an umbrella, slipped off a -superb ruby ring instead, and laid it on the table.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"There's the pledge of the fairy uncle's return," -he said gaily, and hurried away before it could be -restored to him.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>"Good Heavens, Phyllis," cried Adair, "what's -that thing?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A ring."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But it's a ruby--why, it's valuable--where -on earth did it come from?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"A fairy uncle left it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Left it?"--Adair stared at her astounded.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, I was afraid he wouldn't keep his promise -to come back, so he said I could hold it by way -of a pledge."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"But who is He?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Rolls Reece, I think his name is."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>In an instant he was by her side, clutching at -her arm.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Phyllis--my God--it wasn't really Rolls Reece?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, Booful-love-darling, it just was, and I've -adopted him as our fairy uncle, and he has adopted -us, and he's coming back at nine this evening to talk -things over, and he wants to star you in a new play -of his, and listen, listen, Cyril, he believes in you, -and says you have an immense talent, and says he is -going to write you play after play, and, oh, my -darling, my darling, my darling--!"</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 4em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst" id="chapter-xxvii"><span class="bold large">CHAPTER XXVII</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Rolls Reece returned and redeemed his -ring, and attested his sincerity in manifold -and delightful ways. He did not mince -matters with Adair, however, and put it to -him straight, in a man-to-man talk that lasted -but twenty minutes yet in which everything -was said, accepted, and agreed on. The actor, -dosed alternately with home-truths and praise, -emerged triumphantly from the ordeal.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>He was told he had missed a magnificent career; -that it was only his own unmitigated folly he had to -thank for it; that the number of successful -dramatists who were willing to write plays for him was -reduced to precisely one--and that one was none -too sure of his, Adair's, reformation--though as -confident as ever, more than ever, of his genius. -That word, like charity, covered a multitude of sins, -if Rolls Reece could say that nothing else mattered. -Adair, in fact, let the whole case against him go by -default.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm changed," he said simply. "That's all -behind me, Reece. The reason for it is in the other -room there--and I should think the sight of her is -worth all the denials and protestations I could -make."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Yes, indeed, it is, Adair," said Rolls Reece.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I suppose there are men who can get along by -themselves, and be decent," remarked Adair. "But -I need girl-ballast in my little ship, and if I had had -it earlier I shouldn't have made such a confounded -ass of myself."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Then we can count it as all arranged--and -I'm going to start at work on the play to-morrow."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It may sound commonplace," said Adair, "but -apart from your play, and success, and all that--I'd -like to make her, well, you know--feel that she -hadn't drawn such an awful blank in the husband-raffle. -Oh, God, Reece, I've pulled her down to -this--look at this place I've made her live in, will -you?--And I shan't breathe a free breath till I -get her out of it."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It is in your own hands, Adair."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Perhaps you overestimate my--well, what I can do?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"No, I don't, and I'm not alone in that either. -Fielman, Fordingham, Taylor, Niedringer--it's -common talk with all of them. You can pull it off -if you want to."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, Lord, don't say that again, Reece. If -anybody on this mortal earth ever wanted to, it's me."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Not another word then. You're satisfied and -so am I; and if you should ever feel discouraged, -remember there are only about thirteen men in -America who can act, and you are one of them, and -not the last, either. Let's call in that charming -wife of yours, and see if she doesn't agree with me."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>Rolls Reece secured a six weeks' engagement for -Adair in a play of his called </span><em class="italics">The Upstarts</em><span>, that -was touring Washington, Baltimore, Syracuse, -Cincinnati, and what are called the near-by cities. The -hundred and fifty dollars a week seemed a veritable -fortune, though it was judged wiser to husband it -by letting Phyllis remain in New York, and thus -save the heavy traveling expenses that would -otherwise have been incurred for her. The dormice -had learned the value of money with a vengeance. -Adair himself, once the most careless of spenders, -now showed an economy that was laughable and -pathetic. He foreswore cigars; lived in the -cheapest of cheap boarding-houses; grudged every penny -that could be saved. There was to be no more -shingle for dormice, but a warm little nest lined -with green bills, from which, in hard times, they -could put out their little noses unafraid.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Rolls Reece expected to secure him another -engagement with a western company to fill in the -summer months; and with such an agent enlisted in -his service the most spendthrift of actors needed -to have taken no thought for the future. But -Adair, who never did anything by halves, was -cautious to the point of penury. He was determined -Phyllis should never suffer such privations again, -and those who called him miserly and mean little -suspected the reasons that made him appear so. -Phyllis herself was kept in the dark lest she should -emulate his example; and the savings-bank account -rose and rose without her having the least knowledge -of it. The equivalent of cabs, good dinners, -cigars, wine, expensive rooms, and Pullman berths -stacked themselves in that yellow pass-book, and -bore witness to a stoical self-denial. No more -shingles for dormice, thank you!</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>In spite of the separation Phyllis was not -unhappy during those long, silent days. Spring was -in the air, and her heart, too, basked in that inner -sunshine of contentment and hope. Like a weary -little soldier she was glad to rest on the battlefield -beside the parked cannon, and enjoy the contemplation -of victory. Body and soul had been sorely -tried; the reaction left both in a sweet languor; it -was pleasant to do nothing; to lie back dreaming.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Rolls Reece came often to see her, and many a -day they spent in his big motor racing over the -snowy landscape of Long Island or Westchester -County. He sent her flowers; he was assiduous in -the little attentions women like; he was always so -cheerful, so helpful, so kind. For him it was an -intimacy that might have had a dangerous ending. -He was perilously near falling desperately in love -with Phyllis, and the latter never showed more -address than in the way she guided him past the rock -on which their friendship might have foundered. -She was quite frank about it--disarmingly frank. -She liked him too well to lose him, and told him so, -and was prettily imperious with him, and yet never -provocative nor coquettish. A man and woman -friendship is nothing without sentiment, but it has -to be a loyal, tender sentiment, that can cause neither -the least self-reproach. Rolls Reece slipped by the -rock unhurt, admiring as he did so the adroitness -of the young beauty whom he knew had grown so -fond of him. As to that there was never any -question--it was self-confessed--and being a man he -was naturally flattered and pleased.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But he was high-bred, sensitive, clever, and -innately a gentleman, with an unusual perception, and -a taste for the rarer and finer qualities of women. -Others in his place might have persevered harder, -and then turned sullen. He did neither. Indeed, -Phyllis' whole love-story, as it came out by -degrees, touched him profoundly. Her audacity, her -daring, her blind reckless headlong surrender to the -man that had captivated her--all these to him were -more than moving. A woman that could stake -everything for love was altogether to Rolls Reece's -taste. And Phyllis had not only staked everything, -but had succeeded in the more difficult task of -making love endure and grow. There were many -subjects on which she knew nothing; she could not -have told the name of the vice-president, and she -thought the Balkans were in South America, but -when it came to love the dramatist was amazed at -her profundity. On this topic, however, the one -topic that seriously interested her, she had an -insight and a knowledge, not to speak of a whole -whimsical vocabulary that made Reece appreciate -his own shortcomings. Love, passion, sex--these -were the real things of life and that demure brown -head was insatiably concerned with them.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Of course, the new play, too, came in for an -endless amount of talk and discussion. It was to be -called </span><em class="italics">The Firebrand</em><span>, and every few days Rolls -Reece had a little sheaf of manuscript to read to her. -It dealt with a young man, who, in the whirl of -politics, had secured the place of a police-court -magistrate in a low quarter of Chicago. The suffering, -misery and injustice thus passing in review before -him, first startles and then rouses a nature -passionately sympathetic and humane. His decisions are -original, picturesque, and conventions are torn to -pieces. He clashes with the boss who has put him -into office, and defies him. The young judge makes -enemies right and left; alienates the family of the -girl he is engaged to; is sold up at auction through -liabilities assumed on behalf of a children's society -he has started.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>The boss leads in the machinations to ruin him, -which is made the easier by the firebrand's own -hot-headedness and indiscretion; the third act is in an -assignation house where the judge is trapped. He -explains his innocence to his triumphant tormentors; -he tells of the half-grown girl he has trailed there, -and appeals, with a fine outburst, to their humanity -to help him save her; the boss refuses, and taunts -him with the scandal that next day will shake -Chicago. Then the judge plays his trump card, and -tells them what he had been trying to hold back, -that the girl is no other than the boss' own daughter; -and smashing open a door discloses her and the -satyr, who has brought her there. This, in brief, -was the play, shorn of all its externals--an -intense, powerful, essentially modern play, brutally -real, and yet animated by a burning purpose, and -a resentment no less fiery against the diabolical -misgovernment of our large cities.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Rolls Reece labeled it "dangerous goods," which -in truth it was, and was correspondingly uplifted. -He said he was tired of writing sugar-candy plays, -and wished to show his detractors that he could -grapple with big emotions as well as the lesser, -pink-tea femininities with which his name was -always associated. "And remember, Mrs. Adair," -he explained, "I don't want a goody-goody young -man with a benevolent forehead and a spotless past, -and a Y.M.C.A. accent--but an impatient, -chip-on-his-shoulder, impulsive fellow, who would like -to get off the bench and fight somebody. It's a -Cyril Adair play, and I am going to fit him as -carefully as a Fifth Avenue tailor. And on the -police-court judge side of it, I am going to show the public -the colossal power those men have for good or evil. -They can blight more human lives in one morning -than the whole Supreme Court could do in ten years. -In their dingy little field they are absolute monarchs, -from which there is no appeal. We owe thousands -of criminals to their crass stupidity, and when they -work in collusion with corrupt politicians they are -a scourge and a terror to every decent man or -woman in their midst."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>The dramatist had referred several times to a -friend of his, Andrew Hexham, whom he particularly -wished Phyllis and Adair to meet. Ordinarily -so frank he was somewhat hazy and mysterious -in his references to this personage, who -apparently was a man of large fortune, and of -considerable importance in theatrical affairs. Once -Reece dropped his play, and went off for three -days--an extraordinary lapse from his habit of -persistent industry--and on his return mentioned he -had been, staying with Hexham, smiling in a queer, -guilty kind of way that tantalized Phyllis' curiosity. -But nothing could be got out of him--at least -nothing that could explain his singular -entertainment whenever Hexham's name came up. It -seemed, however, that this man had to be won over; -that </span><em class="italics">The Firebrand</em><span> was in some dim manner -dependent on his good will; that he was a fussy, -troublesome, dictatorial person, not a little -prejudiced against Adair. This had to be overcome at a -meeting; and Phyllis, especially, was commanded to -go out of her way to be "nice to him"--"You're -such an irresistible little baggage when you choose," -said Rolls Reece. "I want you to tie him up in -bow-knots, just as you tied me, to dazzle him, and -then we'll sign the contract right there before he -can undazzle himself."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I'm not much good at fascinating people unless -I like them," returned Phyllis ingenuously and -doubtfully.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Oh, you'll like him," protested Reece. "I'll -answer for that, you know."</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"Well, I'll do my best," said Phyllis, wondering -to herself what it all meant. "I'll sit very close, -and make dachshund eyes at him, and encourage -him to talk about himself. That's the secret of -woman's charm when you analyze it. See how it -caught you!"</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>It was too bad, though, that Rolls Reece should -have chosen the Sunday that Adair ran over from -Philadelphia, where </span><em class="italics">The Upstarts</em><span> was booked for -a week. The pair had been separated for nearly -four weeks, and Phyllis wanted her husband all to -herself. Rolls Reece, Andrew Hexham, even </span><em class="italics">The -Firebrand</em><span> itself, were very secondary things when -weighed against the rapture of Adair's return. -She pleaded with Rolls Reece to postpone the -meeting until Monday afternoon, but the dramatist -with unexpected obstinacy stood out for Sunday -evening. Hints were lost on him, and even some -pink-cheeked, shy, half-murmured things merely -made him laugh instead of relenting.--Sunday -night it had to be.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>But to do him justice, the dramatist tempered -severity with his usual generosity. He sent a -prodigal amount of flowers, as well as a case of -champagne, and would have contributed his colored butler -had he been allowed--which he wasn't. Phyllis -said that the Pest Person (as all that day she hotly -called Mr. Hexham)--the Pest Person had to take -them as they were, and if there was one thing worse -than a hired butler, it was a borrowed one. If the -Pest Person didn't like the way he was treated--if -he were the sort of Pest Person who judged people -by striped nigger-trousers and gilt chandeliers, -why, he could just go to the devil.--Which went to -show, incidentally, how good that four weeks' rest -had been for Phyllis, and how fast she was getting -back her former spirit.</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 2em"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst"><span>At nine that evening Adair and Phyllis were -both waiting for their visitors. True to her -promise to Rolls Reece the latter had dressed -herself with unusual care; and Adair, who was allowed -to see but not touch, swore she had never looked -more ravishing. Her fresh young womanhood -entranced him; she was so slender, so graceful, so -girlish, and the red rose in her hair was not more -exquisite. What a beauty she was! How altogether -perfect from the top of her dark head to her -trim little feet!--And the saucy mouth that was -always ready to part on the dazzling teeth; the -low, sweet, eager voice; the bubbling, caressing -laugh--after four weeks of loneliness, of dismal, -dreary separation, it was as though he had never -really appreciated them before; and it was -intolerable to be stuck to a chair and forbidden to move -when everything in him bade him seize her in his -arms, and assert his master's right.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Worst still, Rolls Reece and the Pest Person -were late. The minutes ticked away--five past, -ten past, a quarter past, twenty past--and yet there -was neither dramatist nor Pest.--Ah, there they -were at last! Phyllis ran to admit them, fumbling -at the latch of the door in her excitement. She -opened it on the dimly-lighted landing, and held -out both hands in welcome to Rolls Reece, who -stood before her. His friend was hidden in the -shadow, but as she glanced towards him recognition -suddenly pierced her heart. It was her father!</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>All he said was her name, and that so humbly, -and with an intonation so affecting that she flung -her arms about him in a paroxysm of tenderness, -unmindful of everything save the love that suddenly -flooded her whole being. Misunderstanding, -self-justification, the rights or wrongs of their unhappy -estrangement--all were forgotten, all were swept -away. Clinging to him she guided him along the -passageway and into the sitting-room, where Adair, -bewildered and astonished, was waiting to receive -them. Even in the throes of that tumultuous -moment Phyllis, trying to see with her father's eyes, -took in Adair with a welling pride. Never had he -appeared to her more manly, more distinguished -or noble; and when she said: "My husband, -Daddy," it was with a little air that told of her -own content with the man of her choice.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"I am here in the character of a repentant father, -with ashes on his head," said Mr. Ladd; and going -up to Adair, held out his hand. "Will you not -forgive me?" he asked, "and may we not be -friends?"</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>Rolls Reece had looked forward to being present -at this evening of reconciliation; of being patted on -the back for the big part he had taken in it; of -drinking his own champagne amid the ensuing -festivity and joy. But as he saw the two men's hands -meet and grasp; as he saw Phyllis press between -them, her eyes suffusing, and sobs choking her -utterance, he realized that he was gazing at a scene -too sacred for him to share. He silently effaced -himself, shut the door without noise, and tiptoed -down the stairs.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>"It's a good world," he murmured to himself, -"yes, a damned good world; and in spite of what -people say, things often work out right."</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 3em"> -</div> -<p class="center pfirst"><span>THE END</span></p> -<div class="vspace" style="height: 6em"> -</div> -<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> -<div class="backmatter"> -</div> -<p class="pfirst" id="pg-end-line"><span>*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK </span><span>INFATUATION</span><span> ***</span></p> -<div class="cleardoublepage"> -</div> -<div class="language-en level-2 pgfooter section" id="a-word-from-project-gutenberg" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<span id="pg-footer"></span><h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><span>A Word from Project Gutenberg</span></h2> -<p class="pfirst"><span>We will update this book if we find any errors.</span></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>This book can be found under: </span><a class="reference external" href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/47434"><span>http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/47434</span></a></p> -<p class="pnext"><span>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. -Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this -license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg™ -electronic works to protect the Project Gutenberg™ concept and -trademark. 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