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diff --git a/4767-h/4767-h.htm b/4767-h/4767-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1035829 --- /dev/null +++ b/4767-h/4767-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,9189 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + The Mayor's Wife, by Anna Katherine Green + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mayor's Wife, by Anna Katherine Green + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Mayor's Wife + +Author: Anna Katherine Green + +Release Date: January 11, 2010 [EBook #4767] +Last Updated: October 3, 2016 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MAYOR'S WIFE *** + + + + +Produced by An Anonymous Volunteer, and David Widger + + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + THE MAYOR’S WIFE + </h1> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + by Anna Katherine Green + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I. </a> A SPY’S DUTY + <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II. </a> QUESTIONS + <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. </a> IN THE + GABLE WINDOW <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV. </a> LIGHTS—SOUNDS + <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V. </a> THE + STRANGE NEIGHBORS NEXT DOOR <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER + VI. </a> AT THE STAIR-HEAD <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0007"> + CHAPTER VII. </a> A MOVING SHADOW <br /><br /> <a + href="#link2HCH0008"> CHAPTER VIII. </a> THE PARAGRAPH <br /><br /> + <a href="#link2HCH0009"> CHAPTER IX. </a> SCRAPS <br /><br /> + <a href="#link2HCH0010"> CHAPTER X. </a> A GLIMMER OF THE + TRUTH <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0011"> CHAPTER XI. </a> BESS + <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0012"> CHAPTER XII. </a> SEARCHINGS + <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0013"> CHAPTER XIII. </a> A + DISCOVERY <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0014"> CHAPTER XIV. </a> I + SEEK HELP <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0015"> CHAPTER XV. </a> HARDLY + A COINCIDENCE <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0016"> CHAPTER XVI. </a> IN + THE LIBRARY <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0017"> CHAPTER XVII. </a> THE + TWO WEIRD SISTERS <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0018"> CHAPTER XVIII. + </a> THE MORNING NEWS <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0019"> + CHAPTER XIX. </a> THE CRY FROM THE STAIRS <br /><br /> <a + href="#link2HCH0020"> CHAPTER XX. </a> EXPLANATION <br /><br /> + <a href="#link2HCH0021"> CHAPTER XXI. </a> THE CIPHER <br /><br /> + <a href="#link2HCH0022"> CHAPTER XXII. </a> MERCY <br /><br /> + <a href="#link2HCH0023"> CHAPTER XXIII. </a> THE WIFE’S TALE + <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0024"> CHAPTER XXIV. </a> THE + SINS OF THE FATHERS <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0025"> CHAPTER XXV. + </a> THE FINGER ON THE WALL <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0026"> + CHAPTER XXVI. </a> "BITTER AS THE GRAVE” <br /><br /> <a + href="#link2HCH0027"> CHAPTER XXVII. </a> A CHILD’S + PLAYTHINGS <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0028"> CHAPTER XXVIII. </a> RESTITUTION + <br /><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I. A SPY’S DUTY + </h2> + <p> + I am not without self-control, yet when Miss Davies entered the room with + that air of importance she invariably assumes when she has an unusually + fine position to offer, I could not hide all traces of my anxiety. + </p> + <p> + I needed a position, needed it badly, while the others— + </p> + <p> + But her eyes are on our faces, she is scanning us all with that close and + calculating gaze which lets nothing escape. She has passed me by—my + heart goes down, down—when suddenly her look returns and she singles + me out. + </p> + <p> + “Miss Saunders.” Then, “I have a word to say to you.” + </p> + <p> + There is a rustle about me; five disappointed girls sink back into their + seats as I quickly rise and follow Miss Davies out. + </p> + <p> + In the hall she faced me with these words: + </p> + <p> + “You are discreet, and you evidently desire a position. You will find a + gentleman in my sitting-room. If you come to terms with him, well and + good. If not, I shall expect you to forget all about him and his errand + the moment you leave his presence. You understand me?” + </p> + <p> + “I think so,” I replied, meeting her steady look with one equally + composed. Part of my strength—and I think I have some strength—lies + in the fact that I am quietest when most deeply roused. “I am not to talk + whatever the outcome.” + </p> + <p> + “Not even to me,” she emphasized. + </p> + <p> + Stirred still further and therefore outwardly even more calm than before, + I stopped her as she was moving on and ventured a single query. + </p> + <p> + “This position—involving secrecy—is it one you would advise me + to take, even if I did not stand in need of it so badly?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes. The difficulties will not be great to a discreet person. It is a + first-class opportunity for a young woman as experienced as yourself.” + </p> + <p> + “Thank you,” was my abrupt but grateful rejoinder; and, obeying her silent + gesture, I opened the door of the sitting-room and passed in. A gentleman + standing at one of the windows turned quickly at the sound of my step and + came forward. Instantly whatever doubt I may have felt concerning the + nature of the work about to be proposed to me yielded to the certainty + that, however much it might involve of the strange and difficult, the man + whose mission it was to seek my aid was one to inspire confidence and + respect. + </p> + <p> + He was also a handsome man, or no, I will not go so far as that; he was + only one in whom the lines of form and visage were fine enough not to + interfere with the impression made by his strong nature and intense + vitality. A man to sway women and also quite capable of moving men [this + was evident at a glance]; but a man under a cloud just at present,—a + very heavy cloud which both irked and perplexed him. + </p> + <p> + Pausing in the middle of the room, he surveyed me closely for an instant + before speaking. Did I impress him as favorably as he did me? I soon had + reason to think so, for the nervous trembling of his hands ceased after + the first moment or two of silent scrutiny, and I was sure I caught the + note of hope in his voice as he courteously remarked: + </p> + <p> + “You are seeking a place, young lady. Do you think you can fill the one I + have to offer? It has its difficulties, but it is not an onerous one. It + is that of companion to my wife.” + </p> + <p> + I bowed; possibly I smiled. I do smile sometimes when a ray of real + sunshine darts across my pathway. + </p> + <p> + “I should be very glad to try such a situation,” I replied. + </p> + <p> + A look of relief, so vivid that it startled me, altered at once the whole + character of his countenance; and perceiving how intense was the power and + fascination underlying his quiet exterior, I asked myself who and what + this man was; no ordinary personage, I was sure, but who? Had Miss Davies + purposely withheld his name? I began to think so. + </p> + <p> + “I have had some experience,” I was proceeding— + </p> + <p> + But he waved this consideration aside, with a change back to his former + gloomy aspect, and a careful glance at the door which did not escape me. + </p> + <p> + “It is not experience which is so much needed as discretion.” + </p> + <p> + Again that word. + </p> + <p> + “The case is not a common one, or, rather,”—he caught himself up + quickly, “the circumstances are not. My wife is well, but—she is not + happy. She is very unhappy, deeply, unaccountably so, and I do not know + why.” + </p> + <p> + Anxious to watch the effect of these words, he paused a moment, then added + fervently: + </p> + <p> + “Would to God I did! It would make a new man of me.” + </p> + <p> + The meaning, the deep meaning in his tone, if not in the adjuration + itself, was undeniable; but my old habit of self-control stood me in good + stead and I remained silent and watchful, weighing every look and word. + </p> + <p> + “A week ago she was the lightest hearted woman in town,—the happiest + wife, the merriest mother. To-day she is a mere wreck of her former self, + pallid, drawn, almost speechless, yet she is not ill. She will not + acknowledge to an ache or a pain; will not even admit that any change has + taken place in her. But you have only to see her. And I am as ignorant of + the cause of it all—as you are!” he burst out. + </p> + <p> + Still I remained silent, waiting, watchful. + </p> + <p> + “I have talked with her physician. He says there is something serious the + matter with her, but he can not help her, as it is not in any respect + physical, and advises me to find out what is on her mind. As if that had + not been my first care! I have also consulted her most intimate friends, + all who know her well, but they can give me no clue to her distress. They + see the difference in her, but can not tell the cause. And I am obliged to + go away and leave her in this state. For two weeks, three weeks now, my + movements will be very uncertain. I am at the beck and call of the State + Committee. At any other time I would try change of scene, but she will + neither consent to leave home without me nor to interrupt my plans in + order that I may accompany her.” + </p> + <p> + “Miss Davies has not told me your name,” I made bold to interpolate. + </p> + <p> + He stared, shook himself together, and quietly, remarked: + </p> + <p> + “I am Henry Packard.” + </p> + <p> + The city’s mayor! and not only that, the running candidate for governor. I + knew him well by name, even if I did not know, or rather had not + recognized his face. + </p> + <p> + “I beg pardon,” I somewhat tremulously began, but he waved the coming + apology aside as easily, as he had my first attempt at ingratiation. In + fact, he appeared to be impatient of every unnecessary word. This I could, + in a dim sort of way, understand. He was at the crisis of his fate, and so + was his party. For several years a struggle had gone on between the two + nearly matched elements in this western city, which, so far, had resulted + in securing him two terms of office—possibly because his character + appealed to men of all grades and varying convictions. But the opposite + party was strong in the state, and the question whether he could carry his + ticket against such odds, and thus give hope to his party in the coming + presidential election, was one yet to be tested. Forceful as a speaker, he + was expected to reap hundreds of votes from the mixed elements that + invariably thronged to hear him, and, ignorant as I necessarily was of the + exigencies of such a campaign, I knew that not only his own ambition, but + the hopes of his party, depended on the speeches he had been booked to + make in all parts of the state. And now, three weeks before election, + while every opposing force was coming to the surface, this trouble had + come upon him. A mystery in his home and threatened death in his heart! + For he loved his wife—that was apparent to me from the first; loved + her to idolatry, as such men sometimes do love,—often to their own + undoing. + </p> + <p> + All this, the thought of an instant. Meanwhile he had been studying me + well. + </p> + <p> + “You understand my position,” he commented. “Wednesday night I speak in C—-, + Thursday, in R—-, while she—” With an effort he pulled himself + together. “Miss—” + </p> + <p> + “Saunders,” I put in. + </p> + <p> + “Miss Saunders, I can not leave her alone in the house. Some one must be + there to guard and watch—” + </p> + <p> + “Has she no mother?” I suggested in the pause he made. + </p> + <p> + “She has no living relatives, and mine are uncongenial to her.” + </p> + <p> + This to save another question. I understood him perfectly. + </p> + <p> + “I can not ask any of them to stay with her,” he pursued decisively. “She + would not consent to it. Nor can I ask any of her friends. That she does + not wish, either. But I can hire a companion. To that she has already + consented. That she will regard as a kindness, if the lady chosen should + prove to be one of those rare beings who carry comfort in their looks + without obtruding their services or displaying the extent of their + interest. You know there are some situations in which the presence of a + stranger may be more grateful than that of a friend. Apparently, my wife + feels herself so placed now.” + </p> + <p> + Here his eyes again read my face, an ordeal out of which I came + triumphant; the satisfaction he evinced rightly indicated his mind. + </p> + <p> + “Will you accept the position?” he asked. “We have one little child. You + will have no charge of her save as you may wish to make use of her in + reaching the mother.” + </p> + <p> + The hint conveyed in the last phrase gave me courage to say: + </p> + <p> + “You wish me to reach her?” + </p> + <p> + “With comfort,” said he. + </p> + <p> + “And if in doing so I learn her trouble?” + </p> + <p> + “You will win my eternal gratitude by telling it to one who would give ten + years of his life to assuage it.” + </p> + <p> + My head rose. I began to feel that my next step must strike solid ground. + </p> + <p> + “In other words to be quite honest—you wish me to learn her trouble + if I can.” + </p> + <p> + “I believe you can be trusted to do so.” + </p> + <p> + “And then to reveal it to you?” + </p> + <p> + “If your sense of duty permits,—which I think it will.” + </p> + <p> + I might have uttered in reply, “A spy’s duty?” but the high-mindedness of + his look forbade. Whatever humiliation his wishes put upon me, there could + be no question of the uprightness of his motives regarding his wife. + </p> + <p> + I ventured one more question. + </p> + <p> + “How far shall I feel myself at liberty to go in this attempt?” + </p> + <p> + “As far as your judgment approves and circumstances seem to warrant. I + know that you will come upon nothing dishonorable to her, or detrimental + to our relations as husband and wife, in this secret which is destroying + our happiness. Her affection for me is undoubted, but something—God + knows what—has laid waste her life. To find and annihilate that + something is my first and foremost duty. It does not fit well with those + other duties pressing upon me from the political field, does it? That is + why I have called in help. That is why I have called you in.” + </p> + <p> + The emphasis was delicately but sincerely given. It struck my heart and + entered it. Perhaps he had calculated upon this. If so, it was because he + knew that a woman like myself works better when her feelings are roused. + </p> + <p> + Answering with a smile, I waited patiently while he talked terms and other + equally necessary details, then dropping all these considerations, + somewhat in his own grand manner, I made this remark: + </p> + <p> + “If your wife likes me, which very possibly she may fail to do, I shall + have a few questions to ask you before I settle down to my duties. Will + you see that an opportunity is given me for doing this?” + </p> + <p> + His assent was as frank as all the rest, and the next moment he left the + room. + </p> + <p> + As he passed out I heard him remark to Miss Davies: + </p> + <p> + “I expect Miss Saunders at my house before nightfall. I shall reserve some + minutes between half-past five and six in which to introduce her to Mrs. + Packard.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II. QUESTIONS + </h2> + <p> + I knew all the current gossip about Mrs. Packard before I had parted with + Miss Davies. Her story was a simple one. Bred in the West, she had come, + immediately after her mother’s death, to live with that mother’s brother + in Detroit. In doing this she had walked into a fortune. Her uncle was a + rich man and when he died, which was about a year after her marriage with + Mr. Packard and removal to C—, she found herself the recipient of an + enormous legacy. She was therefore a woman of independent means, an + advantage which, added to personal attractions of a high order, and + manners at once dignified and winning, caused her to be universally + regarded as a woman greatly to be envied by all who appreciated a + well-founded popularity. + </p> + <p> + So much for public opinion. It differs materially from that just given me + by her husband. + </p> + <p> + The mayor lived on Franklin Street in a quarter I had seldom visited. As I + entered this once aristocratic thoroughfare from Carlton Avenue, I was + struck as I had been before by its heterogeneous appearance. Houses of + strictly modern type neighbored those of a former period, and it was not + uncommon to see mansion and hovel confronting each other from the opposite + side of the street. Should I find the number I sought attached to one of + the crude, unmeaning dwellings I was constantly passing, or to one of + mellower aspect and possibly historic association? + </p> + <p> + I own that I felt a decided curiosity on this point, and congratulated + myself greatly when I had left behind me a peculiarly obnoxious + monstrosity in stone, whose imposing proportions might reasonably commend + themselves to the necessities, if not to the taste of the city’s mayor. + </p> + <p> + A little shop, one story in height and old enough for its simple wooden + walls to cry aloud for paint, stood out from the middle of a row of cheap + brick houses. Directly opposite it were two conspicuous dwellings, neither + of them new and one of them ancient as the street itself. They stood + fairly close together, with an alley running between. From the number I + had now reached it was evident that the mayor lived in one of these. + Happily it was in the fresher and more inviting one. As I noted this, I + paused in admiration of its spacious front and imposing doorway. The + latter was in the best style of Colonial architecture, and though raised + but one step from the walk, was so distinguished by the fan-tailed light + overhead and the flanking casements glazed with antique glass, that I felt + myself carried back to the days when such domiciles were few and denoted + wealth the most solid, and hospitality the most generous. + </p> + <p> + A light wall, painted to match the house, extended without break to the + adjoining building, a structure equal to the other in age and dimensions, + but differing in all other respects as much as neglect and misuse could + make it. Gray and forbidding, it towered in its place, a perfect foil to + the attractive dwelling whose single step I now amounted with cheerful + composure. + </p> + <p> + What should I have thought if at that moment I had been told that + appearances were deceitful, and that there were many persons then living + who, if left to their choice, would prefer life in the dismal walls from + which I had instinctively turned, to a single night spent in the promising + house I was so eager to enter. + </p> + <p> + An old serving-man, with a countenance which struck me pleasantly enough + at the time, opened the door in response to my ring, only to make instant + way for Mayor Packard, who advanced from some near-by room to greet me. By + this thoughtful attention I was spared the embarrassment from which I + might otherwise have suffered. + </p> + <p> + His few words of greeting set me entirely at my ease, and I was quite + ready to follow him when a moment later he invited me to meet Mrs. + Packard. + </p> + <p> + “I can not promise you just the reception you naturally look for,” said + he, as he led me around the stairs toward an opening at their rear, “but + she’s a kind woman and can not but be struck with your own kind spirit and + quiet manner.” + </p> + <p> + Happily, I was not called upon to answer, for at that moment the door + swung open and he ushered me into a room flooded brilliantly with the last + rays of the setting sun. The woman who sat in its glow made an instant and + permanent impression upon me. No one could look intently upon her without + feeling that here was a woman of individuality and power, overshadowed at + present by the deepest melancholy. As she rose and faced us I decided + instantly that her husband had not exaggerated her state of mind. Emotion + of no ordinary nature disturbed the lines of her countenance and robbed + her naturally fine figure of a goodly portion of its dignity and grace; + and though she immediately controlled herself and assumed the imposing + aspect of a highly trained woman, ready, if not eager, to welcome an + intruding guest, I could not easily forget the drawn look about mouth and + eyes which, in the first instant of our meeting, had distorted features + naturally harmonious and beautifully serene. + </p> + <p> + I am sure her husband had observed it also, for his voice trembled + slightly as he addressed her. + </p> + <p> + “I have brought you a companion, Olympia, one whose business and pleasure + it will be to remain with you while I am making speeches a hundred miles + away. Do you not see reason for thanking me?” This last question he + pointed with a glance in my direction, which drew her attention and caused + her to give me a kindly look. + </p> + <p> + I met her eyes fairly. They were large and gray and meant for smiling; + eyes that, with a happy heart behind them, would illumine her own beauty + and create joy in those upon whom they fell. But to-day, nothing but + question lived in their dark and uneasy depths, and it was for me to face + that question and give no sign of what the moment was to me. + </p> + <p> + “I think—I am sure, that my thanks are due you,” she courteously + replied, with a quick turn toward her husband, expressive of confidence, + and, as I thought, of love. “I dreaded being left alone.” + </p> + <p> + He drew a deep breath of relief; we both did; then we talked a little, + after which Mayor Packard found some excuse for taking me from the room. + </p> + <p> + “Now for the few words you requested,” said he; and, preceding me down the + hall, he led me into what he called his study. + </p> + <p> + I noted one thing, and only one thing, on entering this place. That was + the presence of a young man who sat at a distant table reading and making + notes. But as Mayor Packard took no notice of him, knowing and expecting + him to be there, no doubt, I, with a pardonable confusion, withdrew my + eyes from the handsomest face I had ever seen, and, noting that my + employer had stopped before a type-writer’s table, I took my place at his + side, without knowing very well what this move meant or what he expected + me to do there. + </p> + <p> + I was not long left in doubt. With a gesture toward the type-writer, he + asked me if I was accustomed to its use; and when I acknowledged some sort + of acquaintance with it, he drew an unanswered letter from a pile on the + table and requested me to copy it as a sample. + </p> + <p> + I immediately sat down before the type-writer. I was in something of a + maze, but felt that I must follow his lead. As I proceeded to insert the + paper and lay out the copy to hand, he crossed over to the young man at + the other end of the room and began a short conversation which ended in + some trivial demand that sent the young man from the room. As the door + closed behind him Mayor Packard returned to my side. + </p> + <p> + “Keep on with your work and never mind mistakes,” said he. “What I want is + to hear the questions you told me to expect from you if you stayed.” + </p> + <p> + Seemingly Mayor Packard did not wish this young man to know my position in + the house. Was it possible he did not wholly trust him? My hands trembled + from the machine and I was about to turn and give my full thought to what + I had to say. But pride checked the impulse. “No,” I muttered in quick + dissuasion, to myself. “He must see that I can do two things at once and + do both well.” And so I went on with the letter. + </p> + <p> + “When,” I asked, “did you first see the change in Mrs. Packard?” + </p> + <p> + “On Tuesday afternoon at about this time.” + </p> + <p> + “What had happened on that day? Had she been out?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I think she told me later that she had been out.” + </p> + <p> + “Do you know where?” + </p> + <p> + “To some concert, I believe. I did not press her with questions, Miss + Saunders; I am a poor inquisitor.” + </p> + <p> + Click, click; the machine was working admirably. + </p> + <p> + “Have you reason to think,” I now demanded, “that she brought her + unhappiness in with her, when she returned from that concert?” + </p> + <p> + “No; for when I returned home myself, as I did earlier than usual that + night, I heard her laughing with the child in the nursery. It was + afterward, some few minutes afterward, that I came upon her sitting in + such a daze of misery, that she did not recognize me when I spoke to her. + I thought it was a passing mood at the time; she is a sensitive woman and + she had been reading—I saw the book lying on the floor at her side; + but when, having recovered from her dejection—a dejection, mind you, + which she would neither acknowledge nor explain—she accompanied me + out to dinner, she showed even more feeling on our return, shrinking + unaccountably from leaving the carriage and showing, not only in this way + but in others, a very evident distaste to reenter her own house. Now, + whatever hold I still retain upon her is of so slight a nature that I am + afraid every day she will leave me.” + </p> + <p> + “Leave you!” + </p> + <p> + My fingers paused; my astonishment had got the better of me. + </p> + <p> + “Yes; it is as bad as that. I don’t know what day you will send me a + telegram of three words, ‘She has gone.’ Yet she loves me, really and + truly loves me. That is the mystery of it. More than this, her very + heart-strings are knit up with those of our child.” + </p> + <p> + “Mayor Packard,”—I had resumed work,—“was any letter delivered + to her that day?” + </p> + <p> + “That I can not say.” + </p> + <p> + Fact one for me to establish. + </p> + <p> + “The wives of men like you—men much before the world, men in the + thick of strife, social and political—often receive letters of a + very threatening character.” + </p> + <p> + “She would have shown me any such, if only to put me on my guard. She is + physically a very brave woman and not at all nervous.” + </p> + <p> + “Those letters sometimes assume the shape of calumny. Your character may + have been attacked.” + </p> + <p> + “She believes in my character and would have given me an opportunity to + vindicate myself. I have every confidence in my wife’s sense of justice.” + </p> + <p> + I experienced a thrill of admiration for the appreciation he evinced in + those words. Yet I pursued the subject resolutely. + </p> + <p> + “Have you an enemy, Mayor Packard? Any real and downright enemy capable of + a deep and serious attempt at destroying your happiness?” + </p> + <p> + “None that I know of, Miss Saunders. I have political enemies, of course + men, who, influenced by party feeling, are not above attacking methods and + possibly my official reputation; but personal ones—wretches willing + to stab me in my home-life and affections, that I can not believe. My life + has been as an open book. I have harmed no man knowingly and, as far as I + know, no man has ever cherished a wish to injure me.” + </p> + <p> + “Who constitute your household? How many servants do you keep and how long + have they been with you?” + </p> + <p> + “Now you exact details with which only Mrs. Packard is conversant. I don’t + know anything about the servants. I do not interest myself much in matters + purely domestic, and Mrs. Packard spares me. You will have to observe the + servants yourself.” + </p> + <p> + I made another note in my mind while inquiring: + </p> + <p> + “Who is the young man who was here just now? He has an uncommon face.” + </p> + <p> + “A handsome one, do you mean?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, and—well, what I should call distinctly clever.” + </p> + <p> + “He is clever. My secretary, Miss Saunders. He helps me in my increased + duties; has, in a way, charge of my campaign; reads, sorts and sometimes + answers my letters. Just now he is arranging my speeches—fitting + them to the local requirements of the several audiences I shall be called + upon to address. He knows mankind like a book. I shall never give the + wrong speech to the wrong people while he is with me.” + </p> + <p> + “Do you like him?—the man, I mean, not his work.” + </p> + <p> + “Well—yes. He is very good company, or would have been if, in the + week he has been in the house, I had been in better mood to enjoy him. + He’s a capital story-teller.” + </p> + <p> + “He has been here a week?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, or almost.” + </p> + <p> + “Came on last Tuesday, didn’t he?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I believe that was the day.” + </p> + <p> + “Toward afternoon?” + </p> + <p> + “No; he came early; soon after breakfast, in fact.” + </p> + <p> + “Does your wife like him?” + </p> + <p> + His Honor gave a start, flushed [I can sometimes see a great deal even + while very busily occupied] and answered without anger, but with a good + deal of pride: + </p> + <p> + “I doubt if Mrs. Packard more than knows of his presence. She does not + come to this room.” + </p> + <p> + “And he does not sit at your table?” + </p> + <p> + “No; I must have some few minutes in the day free from the suggestion of + politics. Mr. Steele can safely be left out of our discussion. He does not + even sleep in the house.” + </p> + <p> + The note I made at this was very emphatic. “You should know,” said I; then + quickly “Tuesday was the day Mrs. Packard first showed the change you + observed in her.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I think so; but that is a coincidence only. She takes no interest in + this young man; scarcely noticed him when I introduced him; just bowed to + him over her shoulder; she was fastening on our little one’s cap. Usually + she is extremely, courteous to strangers, but she was abstracted, + positively abstracted at that moment. I wondered at it, for he usually + makes a stir wherever he goes. But my wife cares little for beauty in a + man; I doubt if she noticed his looks at all. She did not catch his name, + I remember.” + </p> + <p> + “Pardon me, what is that you say?” + </p> + <p> + “She did not catch his name, for later she asked me what it was.” + </p> + <p> + “Tell me about that, Mr. Packard.” + </p> + <p> + “It is immaterial; but I am ready to answer all your questions. It was + while we were out dining. Chance threw us together, and to fill up the + moment she asked the name of the young man I had brought into the library + that morning. I told her and explained his position and the long training + he had had in local politics. She listened, but not as closely as she did + to the music. Oh, she takes no interest in him. I wish she did; his + stories might amuse her.” + </p> + <p> + I did not pursue the subject. Taking out the letter I had been writing, I + held it out for his inspection, with the remark: + </p> + <p> + “More copy, please, Mayor Packard.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III. IN THE GABLE WINDOW + </h2> + <p> + A few minutes later I was tripping up-stairs in the wake of a smart young + maid whom Mayor Packard had addressed as Ellen. I liked this girl at first + sight and, as I followed her up first one flight, then another, to the + room which had been chosen for me, the hurried glimpses I had of her + bright and candid face suggested that in this especial member of the + household I might hope to find a friend and helper in case friendship and + help were needed in the blind task to which I stood committed. But I soon + saw cause—or thought I did—to change this opinion. When she + turned on me at the door of my room, a small one at the extreme end of the + third floor, I had an opportunity of meeting her eyes. The interest in her + look was not the simple one to be expected. In another person in other + circumstances I should have characterized her glance as one of inquiry and + wonder. But neither inquiry nor wonder described the present situation, + and I put myself upon my guard. + </p> + <p> + Seeing me look her way, she flushed, and, throwing wide the door, remarked + in the pleasantest of tones: + </p> + <p> + “This is your room. Mrs. Packard says that if it is not large enough or + does not seem pleasant to you, she will find you another one to-morrow.” + </p> + <p> + “It’s very pleasant and quite large enough,” I confidently replied, after + a hasty look about me. “I could not be more comfortable.” + </p> + <p> + She smiled, a trifle broadly for the occasion, I thought, and patted a + pillow here and twitched a curtain there, as she remarked with a certain + emphasis: + </p> + <p> + “I’m sure you will be comfortable. There’s nobody else on this floor but + Letty and the baby, but you don’t look as if you would be easily + frightened.” Astonished, not so much by her words as by the furtive look + she gave me, I laughed as I repeated “Frightened? What should frighten + me?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, nothing.” Her back was to me now, but I felt that I knew her very + look. “Nothing, of course. If you’re not timid you won’t mind sleeping so + far away from every one. Then, we are always within call. The attic door + is just a few steps off. We’ll leave it unlocked and you can come up if—if + you feel like it at any time. We’ll understand.” + </p> + <p> + Understand! I eyed her as she again looked my way, with some of her own + curiosity if not wonder. + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Packard must have had some very timorous guests,” I observed. “Or, + perhaps, you have had experiences here which have tended to alarm you. The + house is so large and imposing for the quarter it is in I can readily + imagine it to attract burglars.” + </p> + <p> + “Burglars! It would be a brave burglar who would try to get in here. I + guess you never heard about this house.” + </p> + <p> + “No,” I admitted, unpleasantly divided between a wish to draw her out and + the fear of betraying Mayor Packard’s trust in me by showing the extent of + my interest. + </p> + <p> + “Well, it’s only gossip,” she laughingly assured me. “You needn’t think of + it, Miss. I’m sure you’ll be all right. We girls have been, so far, and + Mrs. Packard—” + </p> + <p> + Here she doubtless heard a voice outside or some summons from below, for + she made a quick start toward the door, remarking in a different and very + pleasant tone of voice: + </p> + <p> + “Dinner at seven, Miss. There’ll be no extra company to-night. I’m + coming.” This to some one in the hall as she hastily passed through the + door. + </p> + <p> + Dropping the bag I had lifted to unpack, I stared at the door which had + softly closed under her hand, then, with an odd impulse, turned to look at + my own face in the glass before which I chanced to be standing. Did I + expect to find there some evidence of the excitement which this strange + conversation might naturally produce in one already keyed up to an + expectation of the mysterious and unusual? If so, I was not disappointed. + My features certainly betrayed the effect of this unexpected attack upon + my professional equanimity. What did the girl mean? What was she hinting + at? What underlay—what could underlie her surprising remark, “I + guess you never heard about this house?” Something worth my knowing; + something which might explain Mayor Packard’s fears and Mrs. Packard’s— + </p> + <p> + There I stopped. It was where the girl had stopped. She and not I must + round out this uncompleted sentence. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile I occupied myself in unpacking my two bags and making + acquaintance with the room which, I felt, was destined to be the scene of + many, anxious thoughts. Its first effect had been a cheerful one, owing to + its two large windows, one looking out on a stretch of clear sky above a + mass of low, huddled buildings, and the other on the wall of the adjacent + house which, though near enough to obstruct the view, was not near enough + to exclude all light. Another and closer scrutiny of the room did not + alter the first impression. To the advantages of light were added those of + dainty furnishing and an exceptionally pleasing color scheme. There was no + richness anywhere, but an attractive harmony which gave one an + instantaneous feeling of home. From the little brass bedstead curtained + with cretonne, to the tiny desk filled with everything needful for + immediate use, I saw evidences of the most careful housekeeping, and was + vainly asking myself what could have come into Mrs. Packard’s life to + disturb so wholesome a nature, when my attention was arrested by a picture + hanging at the right of the window overlooking the next house. + </p> + <p> + It gave promise of being a most interesting sketch, and I crossed over to + examine it; but instead of doing so, found my eyes drawn toward something + more vital than any picture and twice as enchaining. + </p> + <p> + It was a face, the face of an old woman staring down at me from a + semicircular opening in the gable of the adjoining house. An ordinary + circumstance in itself, but made extraordinary by the fixity of her gaze, + which was leveled straight on mine, and the uncommon expression of + breathless eagerness which gave force to her otherwise commonplace + features. So remarkable was this expression and so apparently was it + directed against myself, that I felt like throwing up my window and asking + the poor old creature what I could do for her. But her extreme immobility + deterred me. For all the intentness of her look there was no invitation in + it warranting such an advance on my part. She simply stared down at me in + unbroken anxiety, nor, though I watched her for some minutes with an + intensity equal to her own, did I detect any change either in her attitude + or expression. + </p> + <p> + “Odd,” thought I, and tested her with a friendly bow. The demonstration + failed to produce the least impression. “A most uncanny neighbor,” was my + mental comment on finally turning away. Truly I was surrounded by + mysteries, but fortunately this was one with which I had no immediate + concern. It did not take me long to put away my few belongings and prepare + for dinner. When quite ready, I sat down to write a letter. This + completed, I turned to go downstairs. But before leaving the room I cast + another look up at my neighbor’s attic window. The old woman was still + there. As our glances met I experienced a thrill which was hardly one of + sympathy, yet was not exactly one of fear. My impulse was to pull down the + shade between us, but I had not the heart. She was so old, so feeble and + so, evidently the prey of some strange and fixed idea. What idea? It was + not for me to say, but I found it impossible to make any move which would + seem to shut her out; so I left the shade up; but her image followed me + and I forgot it only when confronted once again with Mrs. Packard. + </p> + <p> + That lady was awaiting me at the dining-room door. She had succeeded in + throwing off her secret depression and smiled quite naturally as I + approached. Her easy, courteous manners became her wonderfully. I + immediately recognized how much there was to admire in our mayor’s wife, + and quite understood his relief when, a few minutes later, we sat at table + and conversation began. Mrs. Packard, when free and light-hearted, was a + delightful companion and the meal passed off cheerily. When we rose and + the mayor left us for some necessary business it was with a look of + satisfaction in my direction which was the best possible preparation for + my approaching tete-a-tete with his moody and incomprehensible wife. + </p> + <p> + But I was not destined to undergo the contemplated ordeal this evening. + Guests were announced whom Mrs. Packard kindly invited me to meet, but I + begged to be allowed to enjoy the library. I had too much to consider just + now, to find any pleasure in society. Three questions filled my mind. + </p> + <p> + What was Mrs. Packard’s secret trouble? + </p> + <p> + Why were people afraid to remain in this house? + </p> + <p> + Why did the old woman next door show such interest in the new member of + her neighbor’s household? + </p> + <p> + Would a single answer cover all? Was there but one cause for each and + every one of these peculiarities? Probably, and it was my duty to ferret + out this cause. But how should I begin? I remembered what I had read about + detectives and their methods, but the help I thus received was small. + Subtler methods were demanded here and subtler methods I must find. + Meantime, I would hope for another talk with Mayor Packard. He might clear + up some of this fog. At least, I should like to give him the opportunity. + But I saw no way of reaching him at present. Even Mrs. Packard did not + feel at liberty to disturb him in his study. I must wait for his + reappearance, and in the meantime divert myself as best I could. I caught + up a magazine, but speedily dropped it to cast a quick glance around the + room. Had I heard anything? No. The house was perfectly still, save for + the sound of conversation in the drawing-room. Yet I found it hard to keep + my eyes upon the page. Quite without my volition they flew, first to one + corner, then to another. The room was light, there were no shadowy nooks + in it, yet I felt an irresistible desire to peer into every place not + directly under my eye. I knew it to be folly, and, after succumbing to the + temptation of taking a sly look behind a certain tall screen, I resolutely + set myself to curb my restlessness and to peruse in good earnest the + article I had begun. To make sure of myself, I articulated each word + aloud, and to my exceeding satisfaction had reached the second column when + I found my voice trailing off into silence, and every sense alarmingly + alert. Yet there was nothing, absolutely nothing in this well-lighted, + cozy family-room to awaken fear. I was sure of this the next minute, and + felt correspondingly irritated with myself and deeply humiliated. That my + nerves should play me such a trick at the very outset of my business in + this house! That I could not be left alone, with life in every part of the + house, and the sound of the piano and cheerful talking just across the + hall, without the sense of the morbid and unearthly entering my + matter-of-fact brain! + </p> + <p> + Uttering an ejaculation of contempt, I reseated myself. The impulse came + again to look behind me, but I mastered it this time without too great an + effort. I already knew every feature of the room: its old-fashioned + mantel, large round center-table, its couches and chairs, and why should I + waste my attention again upon them? + </p> + <p> + “Is there anything you wish, Miss?” asked a voice directly over my + shoulder. + </p> + <p> + I wheeled about with a start. I had heard no one approach; it was not + sound which had disturbed me. + </p> + <p> + “The library bell rang,” continued the voice. “Is it ice-water you want?” + </p> + <p> + Then I saw that it was Nixon, the butler, and shook my head in mingled + anger and perplexity; for not only had he advanced quite noiselessly, but + he was looking at me with that curious concentrated gaze which I had met + twice before since coming into this house. + </p> + <p> + “I need nothing,” said I, with all the mildness I could summon into my + voice; and did not know whether to like or not like the quiet manner in + which he sidled out of the room. + </p> + <p> + “Why do they all look at me so closely?” I queried, in genuine confusion. + “The man had no business here. I did not ring, and I don’t believe he + thought I did. He merely wanted to see what I was doing and whether I was + enjoying myself. Why this curiosity? I have never roused it anywhere else. + It is not myself they are interested in, but the cause and purpose of my + presence under this roof.” I paused to wonder over the fact that the one + member of the family who might be supposed to resent my intrusion most was + the one who took it most kindly and with least token of surprise—Mrs. + Packard. + </p> + <p> + “She accepts me easily enough,” thought I. “To her I am a welcome + companion. What am I to these?” + </p> + <p> + The answer, or rather a possible answer, came speedily. At nine o’clock + Mayor Packard entered the room from his study across the hall, and, seeing + me alone, came forward briskly. “Mrs. Packard has company and I am on my + way to the drawing-room, but I am happy to have the opportunity of + assuring you that already she looks better, and that I begin to hope that + your encouraging presence may stimulate her to throw aside her gloom and + needless apprehensions. I shall be eternally grateful to you if it will. + It is the first time in a week that she has consented to receive + visitors.” I failed to feel the same elation over this possibly temporary + improvement in his wife’s condition, but I carefully refrained from + betraying my doubts. On the contrary, I took advantage of the moment to + clear my mind of one of the many perplexities disturbing it. + </p> + <p> + “And I am glad of this opportunity to ask you what may seem a foolish, if + not impertinent question. The maid, Ellen, in showing me my room, was very + careful to assure me that she slept near me and would let me into her room + in case I experienced any alarm in the night; and when I showed surprise + at her expecting me to feel alarm of any kind in a house full of people, + made the remark, ‘I guess you do not know about this house.’ Will you + pardon me if I ask if there is anything I don’t know, and should know, + about the home your suffering wife inhabits? A problem such as you have + given me to solve demands a thorough understanding of every cause capable + of creating disturbance in a sensitive mind.” + </p> + <p> + The mayor’s short laugh failed to hide his annoyance. “You will find + nothing in this direction,” said he, “to account for the condition I have + mentioned to you. Mrs. Packard is utterly devoid of superstition. That I + made sure of before signing the lease of this old house. But I forgot; you + are doubtless ignorant of its reputation. It has, or rather has had, the + name of being haunted. Ridiculous, of course, but a fact with which Mrs. + Packard has had to contend in”—he gave me a quick glance—“in + hiring servants.” + </p> + <p> + It was now my turn to smile, but somehow I did not. A vision had risen in + my mind of that blank and staring face in the attic window next door, and + I felt—well, I don’t know how I felt, but I did not smile. + </p> + <p> + Another short laugh escaped him. + </p> + <p> + “We have not been favored by any manifestations from the spiritual world. + This has proved a very matter-of-fact sort of home for us. I had almost + forgotten that it was burdened with such an uncanny reputation, and I’m + sure that Mrs. Packard would have shared my indifference if it had not + been for the domestic difficulty I have mentioned. It took us two weeks to + secure help of any kind.” + </p> + <p> + “Indeed! and how long have you been in the house? I judge that you rent + it?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, we rent it and we have been here two months. It was the only house I + could get in a locality convenient for me; besides, the old place suits + me. It would take more than an obsolete ghost or so to scare me away from + what I like.” + </p> + <p> + “But Mrs. Packard? She may not be a superstitious woman, yet—” + </p> + <p> + “Don’t be fanciful, Miss Saunders. You will have to look deeper than that + for the spell which has been cast over my wife. Olympia afraid of creaks + and groans? Olympia seeing sights? She’s much too practical by nature, + Miss Saunders, to say nothing of the fact that she would certainly have + confided her trouble to me, had her imagination been stirred in this way. + Little things have invariably been discussed between us. I repeat that + this possibility should not give you a moment’s thought.” + </p> + <p> + A burst of sweet singing came from the drawing-room. + </p> + <p> + “That’s her voice,” he cried. “Whatever her trouble may be she has + forgotten it for the moment. Excuse me if I join her. It is such pleasure + to have her at all like herself again.” + </p> + <p> + I longed to detain him, longed to put some of the numberless questions my + awakened curiosity demanded, but his impatience was too marked and I let + him depart without another word. + </p> + <p> + But I was not satisfied. Inwardly I determined to see him again as soon as + possible and gain a more definite insight into the mysteries of his home. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV. LIGHTS—SOUNDS + </h2> + <p> + I am by nature a thoroughly practical woman. If I had not been, the many + misfortunes of my life would have made me so. Yet, when the library door + closed behind the mayor and I found myself again alone in a spot where I + had not felt comfortable from the first, I experienced an odd sensation + not unlike fear. It left me almost immediately and my full reasoning + powers reasserted themselves; but the experience had been mine and I could + not smile it away. + </p> + <p> + The result was a conviction, which even reason could not dispel, that + whatever secret tragedy or wrong had signalized this house, its + perpetration had taken place in this very room. It was a fancy, but it + held, and under its compelling if irrational influence, I made a second + and still more minute survey of the room to which this conviction had + imparted so definite an interest. + </p> + <p> + I found it just as ordinary and unsuggestive as before; an old-fashioned, + square apartment renovated and redecorated to suit modern tastes. Its + furnishings I have already described; they were such as may be seen in any + comfortable abode. I did not linger over them a moment; besides, they were + the property of the present tenant, and wholly disconnected with the past + I was insensibly considering. Only the four walls and what they held, + doors, windows and mantel-piece, remained to speak of those old days. Of + the doors there were two, one opening into the main hall under the stairs, + the other into a cross corridor separating the library from the + dining-room. It was through the dining-room door Nixon had come when he so + startled me by speaking unexpectedly over my shoulder! The two windows + faced the main door, as did the ancient, heavily carved mantel. I could + easily imagine the old-fashioned shutters hidden behind the modern + curtains, and, being anxious to test the truth of my imaginings, rose and + pulled aside one of these curtains only to see, just as I expected, the + blank surface of a series of unslatted shutters, tightly fitting one to + another with old-time exactitude. A flat hook and staple fastened them. + Gently raising the window, and lifting one, I pulled the shutter open and + looked out. The prospect was just what I had been led to expect from the + location of the room—the long, bare wall of the neighboring house. I + was curious about that house, more curious at this moment than ever + before; for though it stood a good ten feet away from the one I was now + in, great pains had been taken by its occupants to close every opening + which might invite the glances of a prying eye. A door which had once + opened on the alley running between the two houses had been removed and + its place boarded up. So with a window higher up; the half-circle window + near the roof, I could not see from my present point of view. + </p> + <p> + Drawing back, I reclosed the shutter, lowered the window and started for + my own room. As I passed the first stair-head, I heard a baby’s laugh, + followed by a merry shout, which, ringing through the house, seemed to + dispel all its shadows. + </p> + <p> + I had touched reality again. Remembering Mayor Packard’s suggestion that I + might through the child find a means of reaching the mother, I paid a + short visit to the nursery where I found a baby whose sweetness must + certainly have won its mother’s deepest love. Letty, the nurse, was of a + useful but commonplace type, a conscientious nurse, that was all. + </p> + <p> + But I was to have a further taste of the unusual that night and to + experience another thrill before I slept. My room was dark when I entered + it, and, recognizing a condition favorable to the gratification of my + growing curiosity in regard to the neighboring house, I approached the + window and stole a quick look at the gable-end where, earlier in the + evening I had seen peering out at me an old woman’s face. Conceive my + astonishment at finding the spot still lighted and a face looking out, but + not the same face, a countenance as old, one as intent, but of different + conformation and of a much more intellectual type. I considered myself the + victim of an illusion; I tried to persuade myself that it was the same + woman, only in another garb and under a different state of feeling; but + the features were much too dissimilar for such an hypothesis to hold. The + eagerness, the unswerving attitude were the same, but the first woman had + had a weak round face with pinched features, while this one showed a + virile head and long heavy cheeks and chin, which once must have been full + of character, though they now showed only heaviness of heart and the dull + apathy of a fixed idea. + </p> + <p> + Two women, total strangers to me, united in an unceasing watch upon me in + my room! I own that the sense of mystery which this discovery brought + struck me at the moment as being fully as uncanny and as unsettling to + contemplate as the idea of a spirit haunting walls in which I was destined + for a while to live, breathe and sleep. However, as soon as I had drawn + the shade and lighted the gas, I forgot the whole thing, and not till I + was quite ready for bed, and my light again turned low, did I feel the + least desire to take another peep at that mysterious window. The face was + still there, peering at me through a flood of moonlight. The effect was + ghastly, and for hours I could not sleep, imagining that face still + staring down upon me, illuminated with the unnatural light and worn with a + profitless and unmeaning vigil. + </p> + <p> + That there was something to fear in this house was evident from the + halting step with which the servants, one and all, passed my door on their + way up to their own beds. I now knew, or thought I knew, what was in their + minds; but the comfort brought by this understanding was scarcely + sufficient to act as antidote to the keen strain to which my faculties had + been brought. Yet nothing happened, and when a clock somewhere in the + house had assured me by its own clear stroke that the dreaded midnight + hour had passed I rose and stole again to the window. This time both + moonlight and face were gone. Contentment came with the discovery. I crept + back to bed with lightened heart and soon was asleep. + </p> + <p> + Next morning, however, the first face was again at the window, as I at + once saw on raising the blind. I breakfasted alone. Mrs. Packard was not + yet down and the mayor had already left to fulfil an early appointment + down-town. Old Nixon waited on me. As he, like every other member of the + family, with the possible exception of the mayor, was still an unknown + quantity in the problem given me to solve, I allowed a few stray glances + to follow him as he moved decorously about the board anticipating my wants + and showing himself an adept in his appointed task. Once I caught his eye + and I half expected him to speak, but he was too well-trained for that, + and the meal proceeded in the same silence in which it had begun. But this + short interchange of looks had given me an idea. He showed an eager + interest in me quite apart from his duty to me as waiter. He was nearer + sixty, than fifty, but it was not his age which made his hand tremble as + he laid down a plate before me or served me with coffee and bread. Whether + this interest was malevolent or kindly I found it impossible to judge. He + had a stoic’s face with but one eloquent feature—his eyes; and these + he kept studiously lowered after that one quick glance. Would it help + matters for me to address him? Possibly, but I decided not to risk it. + Whatever my immediate loss I must on no account rouse the least distrust + in this evidently watchful household. If knowledge came naturally, well + and good; I must not seem to seek it. + </p> + <p> + The result proved my discretion. As I was rising from the table Nixon + himself made this remark: + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Packard will be glad to see you in her room up-stairs any time after + ten o’clock. Ellen will show you where.” Then, as I was framing a reply, + he added in a less formal tone: “I hope you were not disturbed last night. + I told the girls not to be so noisy.” + </p> + <p> + Now they had been very quiet, so I perceived that he simply wanted to open + conversation. + </p> + <p> + “I slept beautifully,” I assured him. “Indeed, I’m not easily kept awake. + I don’t believe I could keep awake if I knew that a ghost would stalk + through my room at midnight.” + </p> + <p> + His eyes opened, and he did just what I had intended him to do,—met + my glance directly. + </p> + <p> + “Ghosts!” he repeated, edging uneasily forward, perhaps with the intention + of making audible his whisper: “Do you believe in ghosts?” + </p> + <p> + I laughed easily and with a ringing merriment, like the light-hearted girl + I should be and am not. + </p> + <p> + “No,” said I, “why should I? But I should like to. I really should enjoy + the experience of coming face to face with a wholly shadowless being.” + </p> + <p> + He stared and now his eyes told nothing. Mechanically I moved to go, + mechanically he stepped aside to give me place. But his curiosity or his + interest would not allow him to see me pass out without making another + attempt to understand me. Stammering in his effort to seem indifferent, he + dropped this quiet observation just as I reached the door. + </p> + <p> + “Some people say, or at least I have heard it whispered in the + neighborhood, that this house is haunted. I’ve never seen anything, + myself.” + </p> + <p> + I forced myself to give a tragic start [I was half ashamed of my arts], + and, coming back, turned a purposely excited countenance toward him. + </p> + <p> + “This house!” I cried. “Oh, how lovely! I never thought I should have the + good fortune of passing the night in a house that is really haunted. What + are folks supposed to see? I don’t know much about ghosts out of books.” + </p> + <p> + This nonplussed him. He was entirely out of his element. He glanced + nervously at the door and tried to seem at his ease; perhaps tried to copy + my own manner as he mumbled these words: + </p> + <p> + “I’ve not given much attention to the matter, Miss. It’s not long since we + came here and Mrs. Packard don’t approve of our gossiping with the + neighbors. But I think the people have mostly been driven away by strange + noises and by lights which no one could explain, flickering up over the + ceilings from the halls below. I don’t want to scare you, Miss—” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, you won’t scare me.” + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Packard wouldn’t like me to do that. She never listens to a word + from us about these things, and we don’t believe the half of it ourselves; + but the house does have a bad name, and it’s the wonder of everybody that + the mayor will live in it.” + </p> + <p> + “Sounds?” I repeated. “Lights?”—and laughed again. “I don’t think I + shall bother myself about them!” I went gaily out. + </p> + <p> + It did seem very puerile to me, save as it might possibly account in some + remote way for Mrs. Packard’s peculiar mental condition. + </p> + <p> + Up-stairs I found Ellen. She was in a talkative mood, and this time I + humored her till she had told me all she knew about the house and its + ghostly traditions. This all had come from a servant, a nurse who had + lived in the house before. Ellen herself, like the butler, Nixon, had had + no personal experiences to relate, though the amount of extra wages she + received had quite prepared her for them. Her story, or rather the nurse’s + story, was to the following effect. + </p> + <p> + The house had been built and afterward inhabited for a term of years by + one of the city fathers, a well-known and still widely remembered + merchant. No unusual manifestations had marked it during his occupancy. + Not till it had run to seed and been the home of decaying gentility, and + later of actual poverty, did it acquire a name which made it difficult to + rent, though the neighborhood was a growing one and the house itself + well-enough built to make it a desirable residence. Those who had been + induced to try living within its spacious walls invariably left at the end + of the month. Why, they hesitated to say; yet if pressed would acknowledge + that the rooms were full of terrible sights and sounds which they could + not account for; that a presence other than their own was felt in the + house; and that once [every tenant seemed to be able to cite one instance] + a hand had touched them or a breath had brushed their cheek which had no + visible human source, and could be traced to no mortal presence. Not much + in all this, but it served after a while to keep the house empty, while + its reputation for mystery did not lie idle. Sounds were heard to issue + from it. At times lights were seen glimmering through this or that chink + or rift in the window curtain, but by the time the door was unlocked and + people were able to rush in, the interior was still and dark and seemingly + untouched. Finally the police took a hand in the matter. They were on the + scent just then of a party of counterfeiters and were suspicious of the + sounds and lights in this apparently unoccupied dwelling. But they watched + and waited in vain. One of them got a scare and that was all. The mystery + went unsolved and the sign “To Let” remained indefinitely on the + house-front. + </p> + <p> + At last a family from the West decided to risk the terrors of this + domicile. The nurse, whose story I was listening to, came with them and + entered upon her duties without prejudice or any sort of belief in ghosts, + general or particular. She held this belief just two weeks. Then her + incredulity began to waver. In fact, she saw the light; almost saw the + ghost, certainly saw the ghost’s penumbra. It was one night, or rather + very early, one morning. She had been sitting up with the baby, who had + been suffering from a severe attack of croup. Hot water was wanted, and + she started for the kitchen for the purpose of making a fire and putting + on the kettle. The gas had not been lit in the hall—they had all + been too busy, and she was feeling her way down the front stairs with a + box of matches in her hand, when suddenly she heard from somewhere below a + sound which she could never describe, and at the same moment saw a light + which spread itself through all the lower hall so that every object stood + out distinctly. + </p> + <p> + She did not think of the ghost at first, her thoughts were so full of the + child; but when a board creaked in the hall floor, a board that always + creaked when stepped on, she remembered the reputation and what had been + told her about a creaking board and a light that came and went without + human agency. Frightened for a minute, she stood stock-still, then she + rushed down. Whatever it was, natural or supernatural, she went to see it; + but the light vanished before she passed the lower stair, and only a + long-drawn sigh not far from her ear warned her that the space between her + and the real hall was not the solitude she was anxious to consider it. A + sigh! That meant a person. Striking a match, she looked eagerly down the + hall. Something was moving between the two walls. But when she tried to + determine its character, it was swallowed up in darkness,—the match + had gone out. Anxious for the child and determined to go her way to the + kitchen, she now felt about for the gas-fixture and succeeded in lighting + up. The whole hall again burst into view but the thing was no longer + there; the space was absolutely empty. And so were the other rooms, for + she went into every one, lighting the gas as she went; and so was the + cellar when she reached it. For she had to go to its extreme length for + wood and wait about the kitchen till the water boiled, during which time + she searched every nook and cranny. Oh, she was a brave woman, but she did + have this thought as she went upstairs: If the child died she would know + that she had seen a spirit; if the child got well, that she had been the + victim of her own excitement. + </p> + <p> + And did the child die? + </p> + <p> + “No, it got well, but the family moved out as soon as it was safe to leave + the house. Her employees did not feel as easy about the matter as she + did.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V. THE STRANGE NEIGHBORS NEXT DOOR + </h2> + <p> + When I joined Mrs. Packard I found her cheerful and in all respects quite + unlike the brooding woman she had seemed when I first met her. From the + toys scattered about her feet I judged that the child had been with her, + and certainly the light in her eyes had the beaming quality we associate + with the happy mother. She was beautiful thus and my hopes of her + restoration to happiness rose. + </p> + <p> + “I have had a good night,” were her first words as she welcomed me to a + seat in her own little nook. “I’m feeling very well this morning. That is + why I have brought out this big piece of work.” She held up a baby’s coat + she was embroidering. “I can not do it when I am nervous. Are you ever + nervous?” + </p> + <p> + Delighted to enter into conversation with her, I answered in a way to lead + her to talk about herself, then, seeing she was in a favorable mood for + gossip, was on the point of venturing all in a leading question, when she + suddenly forestalled me by putting one to me. + </p> + <p> + “Were you ever the prey of an idea?” she asked; “one which you could not + shake off by any ordinary means, one which clung to you night and day till + nothing else seemed real or would rouse the slightest interest? I mean a + religious idea,” she stammered with anxious attempt of to hide her real + thought. “One of those doubts which come to you in the full swing of life + to—to frighten and unsettle you.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” I answered, as naturally and quietly as I knew how; “I have had + such ideas—such doubts.” + </p> + <p> + “And were you able to throw them off?—by your will, I mean.” + </p> + <p> + She was leaning forward, her eyes fixed eagerly on mine. How unexpected + the privilege! I felt that in another moment her secret would be mine. + </p> + <p> + “In time, yes,” I smiled back. “Everything yields to time and persistent + conscientious work.” + </p> + <p> + “But if you can not wait for time, if you must be relieved at once, can + the will be made to suffice, when the day is dark and one is alone and not + too busy?” + </p> + <p> + “The will can do much,” I insisted. “Dark thoughts can be kept down by + sheer determination. But it is better to fill the mind so full with what + is pleasant that no room is left for gloom. There is so much to enjoy it + must take a real sorrow to disturb a heart resolved to be happy.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, resolved to be happy. I am resolved to be happy.” And she laughed + merrily for a moment. “Nothing else pays. I will not dwell on anything but + the pleasures which surround me.” Here she took up her work again. “I will + forget—I will—” She stopped and her eyes left her work to + flash a rapid and involuntary glance over her shoulder. Had she heard a + step? I had not. Or had she felt a draft of which I in my bounding health + was unconscious? + </p> + <p> + “Are you cold?” I asked, as her glance stole back to mine. “You are + shivering—” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, no,” she answered coldly, almost proudly. “I’m perfectly warm. I + don’t feel slight changes. I thought some one was behind me. I felt—Is + Ellen in the adjoining room?” + </p> + <p> + I jumped up and moved toward the door she indicated. It was slightly ajar, + but Ellen was not behind it. + </p> + <p> + “There’s no one here,” said I. + </p> + <p> + She did not answer. She was bending again over her work, and gave no + indication of speaking again on that or the more serious topic we had + previously been discussing. + </p> + <p> + Naturally I felt disappointed. I had hoped much from the conversation, and + now these hopes bade fair to fail me. How could I restore matters to their + former basis? Idly I glanced out of the side window I was passing, and the + view of the adjoining house I thus gained acted like an inspiration. I + would test her on a new topic, in the hope of reintroducing the old. The + glimpse I had gained into Mrs. Packard’s mind must not be lost quite as + soon as this. + </p> + <p> + “You asked me a moment ago if I were ever nervous,” I began, as I regained + my seat at her side. “I replied, ‘Sometimes’; but I might have said if I + had not feared being too abrupt, ‘Never till I came into this house.’” + </p> + <p> + Her surprise partook more of curiosity than I expected. + </p> + <p> + “You are nervous here,” she repeated. “What is the reason of that, pray? + Has Ellen been chattering to you? I thought she knew enough not to do + that. There’s nothing to fear here, Miss Saunders; absolutely nothing for + you to fear. I should not have allowed you to remain here a night if there + had been. No ghost will visit you.” + </p> + <p> + “No, I hear they never wander above the second story,” I laughed. “If they + did I should hardly anticipate the honor of a visit. It is not ghosts I + fear; it is something quite different which affects me,—living eyes, + living passions, the old ladies next door,” I finished falteringly, for + Mrs. Packard was looking at me with a show of startling alarm. “They stare + into my room night and day. I never look out but I encounter the uncanny + glance of one or the other of them. Are they live women or embodied + memories of the past? They don’t seem to belong to the present. I own that + they frighten me.” + </p> + <p> + I had exaggerated my feelings in order to mark their effect upon her. The + result disappointed me; she was not afraid of these two poor old women. + Far from it. + </p> + <p> + “Draw your curtains,” she laughed. “The poor things are crazy and not + really accountable. Their odd ways and manners troubled me at first, but I + soon got over it. I have even been in to see them. That was to keep them + from coming here. I think if you were to call upon them they would leave + you alone after that. They are very fond of being called on. They are + persons of the highest gentility, you know. They owned this house a few + years ago, as well as the one they are now living in, but misfortunes + overtook them and this one was sold for debt. I am very sorry for them + myself. Sometimes I think they have not enough to eat.” + </p> + <p> + “Tell me about them,” I urged. Lightly as she treated the topic I felt + convinced that these strange neighbors of hers were more or less involved + in the mystery of her own peculiar moods and unaccountable fears. + </p> + <p> + “It’s a great secret,” she announced naively. “That is, their personal + history. I have never told it to any one. I have never told it to my + husband. They confided it to me in a sort of desperation, perhaps because + my husband’s name inspired them with confidence. Immediately after, I + could see that they regretted the impulse, and so I have remained silent. + But I feel like telling you; feel as if it would divert me to do so—keep + me from thinking of other things. You won’t want to talk about it and the + story will cure your nervousness.” + </p> + <p> + “Do you want me to promise not to talk about it?” I inquired in some + anxiety. + </p> + <p> + “No. You have a good, true face; a face which immediately inspires + confidence. I shall exact no promises. I can rely on your judgment.” + </p> + <p> + I thanked her. I was glad not to be obliged to promise secrecy. It might + become my imperative duty to disregard such a promise. + </p> + <p> + “You have seen both of their faces?” she asked. + </p> + <p> + I nodded. + </p> + <p> + “Then you must have observed the difference between them. There is the + same difference in their minds, though both are clouded. One is weak + almost to the point of idiocy, though strong enough where her one settled + idea is concerned. The other was once a notable character, but her fine + traits have almost vanished under the spell which has been laid upon them + by the immense disappointment which has wrecked both their lives. I heard + it all from Miss Thankful the day after we entered this house. Miss + Thankful is the older and more intellectual one. I had known very little + about them before; no more, in fact, than I have already told you. I was + consequently much astonished when they called, for I had supposed them to + be veritable recluses, but I was still more astonished when I noted their + manner and the agitated and strangely penetrating looks they cast about + them as I ushered them into the library, which was the only room I had had + time to arrange. A few minutes’ further observation of them showed me that + neither of them was quite right. Instead of entering into conversation + with me they continued to cast restless glances at the walls, ceilings, + and even at the floor of the room in which we sat, and when, in the hope + of attracting their attention to myself, I addressed them on some topic + which I thought would be interesting to them, they not only failed to + listen, but turned upon each other with slowly wagging heads, which not + only revealed their condition but awakened me to its probable cause. They + were between walls rendered dear by old associations. Till their first + agitation was over I could not hope for their attention. + </p> + <p> + “But their agitation gave no signs of diminishing and I soon saw that + their visit was far from being a ceremonial one; that it was one of + definite purpose. Preparing myself for I knew not what, I regarded them + with such open interest that before I knew it, and quite before I was + ready for any such exhibition, they were both on their knees before me, + holding up their meager arms with beseeching and babbling words which I + did not understand till later. + </p> + <p> + “I was shocked, as you may believe, and quickly raised them, at which Miss + Thankful told me their story, which I will now tell you. + </p> + <p> + “There were four of them originally, three sisters and one brother. The + brother early went West and disappeared out of their lives, and the third + sister married. This was years and years ago, when they were all young. + From this marriage sprang all their misfortune. The nephew which this + marriage introduced to their family became their bane as well as their + delight. From being a careless spendthrift boy he became a reckless, + scheming man, adding extravagance to extravagance, till, to support him + and meet his debts, these poor aunts gave up first their luxuries, then + their home and finally their very livelihood. Not that they acknowledged + this. The feeling they both cherished for him was more akin to infatuation + than to ordinary family love. They did not miss their luxuries, they did + not mourn their home, they did not even mourn their privations; but they + were broken-hearted and had been so for a long time, because they could no + longer do for him as of old. Shabby themselves, and evidently + ill-nourished, they grieved not over their own changed lot, but over his. + They could not be reconciled to his lack of luxuries, much less to the + difficulties in which he frequently found himself, who was made to ruffle + it with the best and be the pride of their lives as he was the darling of + their hearts. All this the poor old things made apparent to me, but their + story did not become really interesting till they began to speak of this + house we are in, and of certain events which followed their removal to the + ramshackle dwelling next door. The sale of this portion of the property + had relieved them from their debts, but they were otherwise penniless, and + were just planning the renting of their rooms at prices which would barely + serve to provide them with a scanty living, when there came a letter from + their graceless nephew, asking for a large amount of money to save him + from complete disgrace. They had no money, and were in the midst of their + sorrow and perplexity, when a carriage drove up to the door of this house + and from it issued an old and very sick man, their long absent and almost + forgotten brother. He had come home to die, and when told his sisters’ + circumstances, and how soon the house next door would be filled with + lodgers, insisted upon having this place of his birth, which was empty at + the time, opened for his use. The owner, after long continued entreaties + from the poor old sisters, finally consented to the arrangement. A bed was + made up in the library, and the old man laid on it.” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Packard’s voice fell, and I cast her a humorous look. + </p> + <p> + “Were there ghosts in those days?” I lightly asked. + </p> + <p> + Her answer was calm enough. “Not yet, but the place must have been + desolate enough for one. I have sometimes tried to imagine the scene + surrounding that broken-down old man. There was no furniture in the room, + save what was indispensable to his bare comfort. Miss Thankful expressly + said there was no carpet,—you will presently see why. Even the + windows had no other protection than the bare shutters. But he was in his + old home, and seemed content till Miss Charity fell sick, and they had to + call in a nurse to assist Miss Thankful, who by this time had a dozen + lodgers to look after. Then he grew very restless. Miss Thankful said he + seemed to be afraid of this nurse, and always had a fever after having + been left alone with her; but he gave no reason for his fears, and she + herself was too straitened in means and in too much trouble otherwise to + be affected by such mere whims, and went on doing her best, sitting with + him whenever the opportunity offered, and making every effort to conceal + the anxiety she felt for her poor nephew from her equally poor brother. + The disease under which the brother labored was a fatal one, and he had + not many days to live. She was startled when one day her brother greeted + her appearance, with an earnest entreaty for the nurse to be sent out for + a little while, as this was his last day, and he had something of great + importance to communicate to her before he died. + </p> + <p> + “She had not dreamed of his being so low as this, but when she came to + look at him, she saw, that he had not misstated his case, and that he was + really very near death. She was in a flurry and wanted to call in the + neighbors and rout her sister up from her own sick bed to care for him. + But he wanted nothing and nobody, only to be left alone with her. + </p> + <p> + “So she sent the nurse out and sat down on the side of the bed to hear + what he had to say to her, for he looked very eager and was smiling in a + way to make her heart ache. + </p> + <p> + “You must remember,” continued Mrs. Packard, “that at the time Miss + Thankful was telling this story we were in the very room where it had all + happened. As she reached this part of her narration, she pointed to the + wall partitioning off the corridor, and explained that this was where the + bed stood,—an old wooden one brought down from her own attic. + </p> + <p> + “‘It creaked when I sat down on it,’ said she, ‘and I remember that I felt + ashamed of its shabby mattress and the poor sheets. But we had no better,’ + she moaned, ‘and he did not seem to mind.’ I tell you this that you may + understand what must have taken place in her heart when, a few minutes + later, he seized her hand in his and said that he had a great secret to + communicate to her. Though he had seemed the indifferent brother for + years, his heart had always been with his home and his people, and he was + going to prove it to her now; he had made money, and this money was to be + hers and Charity’s. He had saved it for them, brought it to them from the + far West; a pile of money all honestly earned, which he hoped would buy + back their old house and make them happy again in the old way. He said + nothing of his nephew. They had not mentioned him, and possibly he did not + even know of his existence. All was to be for them and the old house, this + old house. This was perhaps why he was content to lie in the midst of its + desolation. He foresaw better days for those he loved, and warmed his + heart at his precious secret. + </p> + <p> + “But his sister sat aghast. Money! and so little done for his comfort! + That was her first thought. The next, oh, the wonder and the hope of it! + Now the boy could be saved; now he could have his luxuries. If only it + might be enough! Five thousand, ten thousand. But no, it could not be so + much. Her brother was daft to think she could restore the old home on what + he had been able to save. She said something to show her doubt, at which + he laughed; and, peering slowly and painfully about him, drew her hands + toward his left side. ‘Feel,’ said he, ‘I have it all here. I would trust + nobody. Fifty, thousand dollars.’ + </p> + <p> + “Fifty thousand dollars! Miss Thankful sprang to her feet, then sat again, + overcome by her delight. Placing her hand on the wallet he held tied about + his body, she whispered, ‘Here?’ + </p> + <p> + “He nodded and bade her look. She told me she did so; that she opened the + wallet under his eye and took out five bonds each for ten thousand + dollars. She remembers them well; there was no mistake in the figures. She + held fifty thousand dollars in her hands for the space of half a minute; + then he bade her put them back, with an injunction to watch over him well + and not to let that woman nurse come near him till she had taken away the + wallet immediately after his death. He could not bear to part with it + while alive. + </p> + <p> + “She promised. She was in a delirium of joy. In one minute her life of + poverty had changed to one of ecstatic hope. She caressed her brother. He + smiled contentedly, and sank into coma or heavy sleep. She remained a few + minutes watching him. Picture after picture of future contentment passed + before her eyes; phantasmagoria of joy which held her enthralled till + chance drew her eyes towards the window, and she found herself looking out + upon what for the moment seemed the continuation of her dream. This was + the figure of her nephew, standing in the doorway of the adjoining house. + This entrance into the alley is closed up now, but in those days it was a + constant source of communication between the two houses, and, being + directly opposite the left-hand library window, would naturally fall under + her eye as she looked up from her brother’s bedside. Her nephew! the one + person of whom she was dreaming, for whom she was planning, older by many + years than when she saw him last, but recognizable at once, as the best, + the handsomest—but I will spare you her ravings. She was certainly + in her dotage as concerned this man. + </p> + <p> + “He was not alone. At his side stood her sister, eagerly pointing across + the alley to herself. It was the appearance of the sister which presently + convinced her that what she saw was reality and no dream. Charity had + risen from her bed to greet the newcomer, and her hasty toilet was not one + which could have been easily imagine, even by her sister. The long-absent + one had returned. He was there, and he did not know what these last five + minutes had done for them all. The joy of what she had to tell him was too + much for her discretion. Noting how profoundly her brother slept, she + slipped out of the room to the side door and ran across the alley to her + own house. Her nephew was no longer in the doorway where she had seen him, + but he had left the door ajar and she rushed in to find him. He was in the + parlor with Miss Charity, and no sooner did her eyes fall on them both + than her full heart overflowed, and she blurted out their good fortune. + Their wonder was immense and in the conversation which ensued unnoted + minutes passed. Not till the clock struck did she realize that she had + left her brother alone for a good half-hour: This was not right and she + went hurrying back, the happiest woman in town. But it was a short-lived + happiness. As she reentered the sick-room she realized that something was + amiss. Her brother had moved from where she had left him, and now lay + stretched across the foot of the bed, where he had evidently fallen from a + standing position. He was still breathing, but in great gasps which shook + the bed. When she bent over him in anxious questioning, he answered her + with a ghastly stare, and that was all. Otherwise, everything looked the + same. + </p> + <p> + “‘What has happened? What have you done?’ she persisted, trying to draw + him up on the pillow. He made a motion. It was in the direction of the + front door. ‘Don’t let her in,’ he muttered. ‘I don’t trust her, I don’t + trust her. Let me die in peace.’ Then, as Miss Thankful became conscious + of a stir at the front door, and caught the sound of a key turning in the + lock, which could only betoken the return of the nurse, he raised himself + a little and she saw the wallet hanging out of his dressing gown. ‘I have + hidden it,’ he whispered, with a nervous look toward the door: ‘I was + afraid she might come and take it from me, so I put it in—’ He never + said where. His eyes, open and staring straight before him, took on a look + of horror, then slowly glazed under the terrified glance of Miss Thankful. + Death had cut short that vital sentence, and simultaneously with the + entrance of the nurse, whose return he had so much feared, he uttered his + last gasp and sank back lifeless on his pillow. With a cry Miss Thankful + pounced on the wallet. It opened out flat in her hand, as empty as her + life seemed at that minute. But she was a brave woman and in another + instant her courage had revived. The money could not be far away; she + would find it at the first search. Turning on the nurse, she looked her + full in the face. The woman was gazing at the empty wallet. ‘You know what + was in that?’ queried Miss Thankful. A fierce look answered her. ‘A + thousand dollars!’ announced Miss Thankful. The nurse’s lip curled. ‘Oh, + you knew that it was five,’ was Miss Thankful’s next outburst. Still no + answer, but a look which seemed to devour the empty wallet. This look had + its effect. Miss Thankful dropped her accusatory tone, and attempted + cajolery. ‘It was his legacy to us,’ she explained. ‘He gave it to me just + before he died. You shall be paid out of it. Now will you call my sister? + She’s up and with my nephew, who came an hour ago. Call them both; I am + not afraid to remain here for a few moments with my brother’s body.’ This + appeal, or perhaps the promise, had its effect. The nurse disappeared, + after another careful look at her patient, and Miss Thankful bounded to + her feet and began a hurried search for the missing bonds. They could not + be far away. They must be in the room, and the room was so nearly empty + that it would take but a moment to penetrate every hiding-place. But alas! + the matter was not so simple as she thought. She looked here, she looked + there; in the bed, in the washstand drawer, under the cushions of the only + chair, even in the grate and up the chimney; but she found nothing—nothing! + She was standing stark and open-mouthed in the middle of the floor, when + the others entered, but recovered herself at sight of their surprise, and, + explaining what had happened, set them all to search, sister, nephew, even + the nurse, though she was careful to keep close by the latter with a + watchfulness that let no movement escape her. But it was all fruitless. + The bonds were not to be found, either in that room or in any place near. + They ransacked, they rummaged; they went upstairs, they went down; they + searched every likely and every unlikely place of concealment, but without + avail. They failed to come upon the place where he had hidden them; nor + did Miss Thankful or her sister ever see them again from that day to + this.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh!” I exclaimed; “and the nephew? the nurse?” + </p> + <p> + “Both went away disappointed; he to face his disgrace about which his + aunts were very reticent, and she to seek work which was all the more + necessary to her, since she had lost her pay, with the disappearance of + these bonds, whose value I have no doubt she knew and calculated on.” + </p> + <p> + “And the aunts, the two poor old creatures who stare all day out of their + upper window at these walls, still believe that money to be here,” I + cried. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, that is their mania. Several tenants have occupied these premises—tenants + who have not stayed long, but who certainly filled all the rooms, and must + have penetrated every secret spot the house contains, but it has made no + difference to them. They believe the bonds to be still lying in some + out-of-the-way place in these old walls, and are jealous of any one who + comes in here. This you can understand better when I tell you that one + feature of their mania is this: they have lost all sense of time. It is + two years since their brother died, yet to them it is an affair of + yesterday. They showed this when they talked to me. What they wanted was + for me to give up these bonds to them as soon as I found them. They seemed + to think that I might run across them in settling, and made me promise to + wake them day or night if I came across them unexpectedly.” + </p> + <p> + “How pathetic!” I exclaimed. “Do you suppose they have appealed in the + same way to every one who has come in here?” + </p> + <p> + “No, or some whisper of this lost money would have become current in the + neighborhood. And it never has. The traditions associated with the house,” + here her manner changed a little, “are of quite another nature. I suppose + the old gentleman has walked—looking, possibly, for his lost bonds.” + </p> + <p> + “That would be only natural,” I smiled, for her mood was far from serious. + “But,” I quietly pursued, “how much of this old woman’s story do you + believe? Can not she have been deceived as to what she saw? You say she is + more or less demented. Perhaps there never was any old wallet, and + possibly never any money.” + </p> + <p> + “I have seen the wallet. They brought it in to show me. Not that that + proves anything; but somehow I do believe in the money, and, what is more, + that it is still in this house. You will think me as demented as they.” + </p> + <p> + “No, no,” I smiled, “for I am inclined to think the same; it lends such an + interest to the place. I wouldn’t disbelieve it now for anything.” + </p> + <p> + “Nor I,” she cried, taking up her work. “But we shall never find it. The + house was all redecorated when we came in. Not one of the workmen has + become suddenly wealthy.” + </p> + <p> + “I shall no longer begrudge these poor old souls their silent watch over + these walls that hold their treasure,” I now remarked. + </p> + <p> + “Then you have lost your nervousness?” + </p> + <p> + “Quite.” + </p> + <p> + “So have I,” laughed Mrs. Packard, showing me for the first time a face of + complete complacency and contentment. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI. AT THE STAIR-HEAD + </h2> + <p> + I spent the evening alone. Mrs. Packard went to the theater with friends + and Mayor Packard attended a conference of politicians. I felt my + loneliness, but busied myself trying to sift the impressions made upon me + by the different members of the household. + </p> + <p> + It consisted, as far as my present observation went, of seven persons, the + three principals and four servants. Of the servants I had seen three, the + old butler, the nurse, and the housemaid, Ellen. I now liked Ellen; she + appeared equally alive and trustworthy; of the butler I could not say as + much. He struck me as secretive. Also, he had begun to manifest a certain + antagonism to myself. Whence sprang this antagonism? Did it have its + source in my temperament, or in his? A question possibly not worth + answering and yet it very well might be. Who could know? + </p> + <p> + Pondering this and other subjects, I remained in my cozy little room + up-stairs, till the clock verging on to twelve told me that it was nearly + time for Mrs. Packard’s return. + </p> + <p> + Hardly knowing my duties as yet, or what she might expect of me, I kept my + door open, meaning to speak to her when she came in. The thought had + crossed my mind that she might not return at all, but remain away with her + friends. Some fear of this kind had been in Mr. Packard’s mind and + naturally found lodgment in mine. I was therefore much relieved when, + sharp on the stroke of midnight, I heard the front door-bell ring, + followed by the sound of her voice speaking to the old butler. I thought + its tone more cheerful than before she went out. At all events, her face + had a natural look when, after a few minutes’ delay, she came upstairs and + stepped into the nursery—a room on the same floor as mine, but + nearer the stair-head. + </p> + <p> + From what impulse did I put out my light? I think now, on looking back, + that I hoped to catch a better glimpse of her face when she came out + again, and so be in a position to judge whether her anxiety or secret + distress was in any special way connected with her child. But I forgot the + child and any motive of this kind which I may have had; for when Mrs. + Packard did reappear in the hall, there rang up from some place below a + laugh, so loud and derisive and of so raucous and threatening a tone that + Mrs. Packard reeled with the shock and I myself was surprised in spite of + my pride and usual impassibility. This, had it been all, would not be + worth the comment. But it was not all. Mrs. Packard did not recover from + the shock as I expected her to. Her fine figure straightened itself, it is + true, but only to sink again lower and lower, till she clung crouching to + the stair-rail at which she had caught for support, while her eyes, + turning slowly in her head, moved till they met mine with that unseeing + and glassy stare which speaks of a soul-piercing terror—not fear in + any ordinary sense, but terror which lays bare the soul and allows one to + see into depths which— + </p> + <p> + But here my compassion drove me to action. Advancing quietly, I caught at + her wrap which was falling from her shoulders. She grasped my hand as I + did so. + </p> + <p> + “Did you hear that laugh?” she panted. “Whose was it? Who is down-stairs?” + </p> + <p> + I thought, “Is this one of the unaccountable occurrences which have given + the house its blighted reputation?” but I said: “Nixon let you in. I don’t + know whether any one else is below. Mayor Packard has not yet come home.” + </p> + <p> + “I know; Nixon told me. Would you—would you mind,”—how hard + she strove to show only the indignant curiosity natural to the situation—“do + you object, I mean, to going down and seeing?” + </p> + <p> + “Not at all,” I cheerfully answered, glad enough of this chance to settle + my own doubts. And with a last glance at her face, which was far too white + and drawn to please me, I hastened below. + </p> + <p> + The lights had not yet been put out in the halls, though I saw none in the + drawing-room or library. Indeed, I ran upon Nixon coming from the library, + where he had evidently been attending to his final duties of fastening + windows and extinguishing lights. Alive to the advantage of this opportune + meeting, I addressed him with as little aggressiveness as possible. + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Packard has sent me down to see who laughed just now so loudly. Was + it you?” + </p> + <p> + Strong and unmistakable dislike showed in his eyes, but his voice was + restrained and apparently respectful as he replied: “No, Miss. I didn’t + laugh. There was nothing to laugh at.” + </p> + <p> + “You heard the laugh? It seemed to come from somewhere here. I was on the + third floor and I heard it plainly.” + </p> + <p> + His face twitched—a habit of his when under excitement, as I have + since learned—as with a shrug of his old shoulders he curtly + answered: + </p> + <p> + “You were listening; I was not. If any one laughed down here I didn’t hear + ‘em.” + </p> + <p> + Confident that he was lying, I turned quietly away and proceeded down the + hall toward Mayor Packard’s study. + </p> + <p> + “I wish to speak to the mayor,” I explained. + </p> + <p> + “He’s not there.” The man had eagerly followed me. “He’s not come home + yet, Miss.” + </p> + <p> + “But the gas is burning brightly inside and the door ajar. Some one is + there.” + </p> + <p> + “It is Mr. Steele. He came in an hour ago. He often works here till after + midnight.” + </p> + <p> + I had heard what I wanted to know, but, being by this time at the very + threshold, I could not forbear giving the door a slight push, so as to + catch at least a momentary glimpse of the man he spoke of. + </p> + <p> + He was sitting at his post, and as he neither looked up nor stirred at my + intrusion, I had an excellent opportunity for observing again the + clear-cut profile which had roused my admiration the day before. + </p> + <p> + Certainly, seen as I saw it now, in the concentrated glow of a lamp shaded + from every other corner of the room, it was a face well worth looking at. + Seldom, perhaps never, had I beheld one cast in a more faultless mold. + Smooth-shaven, with every harmonious line open to view, it struck the eye + with the force and beauty of a cameo; masculine strength and feminine + grace equally expressed in the expansive forehead and the perfectly + modeled features. Its effect upon the observer was instantaneous, but the + heart was not warmed nor the imagination awakened by it. In spite of the + perfection of the features, or possibly because of this perfection, the + whole countenance had a cold look, as cold as the sculpture it suggested; + and, though incomparable in pure physical attraction, it lacked the + indefinable something which gives life and meaning to such faces as Mayor + Packard’s, for instance. Yet it was not devoid of expression, nor did it + fail to possess a meaning of its own. Indeed, it was the meaning in it + which held my attention. Abstracted as the man appeared to be, even to the + point of not perceiving my intruding figure in the open doorway, the + thoughts which held him were not common thoughts, nor were they such as + could be easily read, even by an accustomed eye. Having noted this, I + softly withdrew, not finding any excuse for breaking in upon a man so + occupied. + </p> + <p> + The butler stood awaiting me not three feet from the door. But taking a + lesson from the gentleman I had just left, I ignored his presence + completely, and, tripping lightly up-stairs, found Mrs. Packard awaiting + me at the head of the first flight instead of the second. + </p> + <p> + Her fears, or whatever it was which moved her, had not diminished in my + absence. She stood erect, but it was by the help of her grasp on the + balustrade; and though her diamonds shone and her whole appearance in her + sweeping dinner-dress was almost regal, there was mortal apprehension in + her eye and a passion of inquiry in her whole attitude which I was glad + her husband was not there to see. + </p> + <p> + I made haste to answer that inquiry by immediately observing: + </p> + <p> + “I saw Nixon. He was just coming out of the library. He says that he heard + no laugh. The only other person I came upon down-stairs was Mr. Steele. He + was busy over some papers and I did not like to interrupt him; but he did + not look as if a laugh of any sort had come from him.” + </p> + <p> + “Thank you.” + </p> + <p> + The words were hoarsely uttered and the tone unnatural, though she tried + to carry it off with an indifferent gesture and a quick movement toward + her room. I admired her self-control, for it was self-control, and was + contrasting the stateliness of her present bearing with the cringing + attitude of a few minutes before—when, without warning or any + premonitory sound, all that beauty and pride and splendor collapsed before + my eyes, and she fell at my feet, senseless. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VII. A MOVING SHADOW + </h2> + <p> + I bent to lift the prostrate form of the unhappy woman who had been placed + in my care. As I did so I heard something like a snarl over my shoulder, + and, turning, saw Nixon stretching eager arms toward his mistress, whose + fall he had doubtless heard. + </p> + <p> + “Let me! let me!” he cried, his old form trembling almost to the point of + incapacity. + </p> + <p> + “We will lift her together,” I rejoined; and though his eyes sparkled + irefully, he accepted my help and together we carried her into her own + room and laid her on a lounge. I have had some training as a nurse and, + perceiving that Mrs. Packard had simply fainted, I was not at all alarmed, + but simply made an effort to restore her with a calmness that for some + reason greatly irritated the old man. + </p> + <p> + “Shall I call Ellen? Shall I call Letty?” he kept crying, shifting from + one foot to another in a frightened and fussy way that exasperated me + almost beyond endurance. “She doesn’t breathe; she is white, white! Oh, + what will the mayor say? I will call Letty.” + </p> + <p> + But I managed to keep him under control and finally succeeded in restoring + Mrs. Packard—a double task demanding not a little self-control and + discretion. When the flutter of her eyelids showed that she would soon be + conscious, I pointed out these signs of life to my uneasy companion and + hinted very broadly that the fewer people Mrs. Packard found about her on + coming to herself, the better she would be pleased. His aspect grew quite + ferocious at this, and for a moment I almost feared him; but as I + continued to urge the necessity of avoiding any fresh cause of agitation + in one so weak, he gradually shrank back from my side where he had kept a + jealous watch until now, and reluctantly withdrew into the hall. + </p> + <p> + Another moment and Mrs. Packard had started to rise; but, on seeing me and + me only standing before her, she fell wearily back, crying in a subdued + way, which nevertheless was very intense: + </p> + <p> + “Don’t, don’t let him come in—see me—or know. I must be by + myself; I must be! Don’t you see that I am frightened?” + </p> + <p> + The words came out with such force I was startled. Leaning over her, with + the natural sympathy her condition called for, I asked quietly but firmly: + </p> + <p> + “Whom do you mean by him? There is only one person in the hall, and that + is your butler.” + </p> + <p> + “Hasn’t Mr. Packard returned?” + </p> + <p> + “No, Madam.” + </p> + <p> + “But I thought I saw him looking at me.” + </p> + <p> + Her eyes were wild, her body shaking with irrepressible agitation. + </p> + <p> + “You were mistaken. Mayor Packard has not yet come home.” + </p> + <p> + At this double assurance, she sank back satisfied, but still trembling and + very white. + </p> + <p> + “It is Mr. Packard I meant,” she whispered presently. “Stay with me and, + when he comes in, tell him what will keep him from looking in or speaking + to me. Promise!” She was growing wild again. “Promise, if you would be of + any use to me.” + </p> + <p> + “I do promise.” At which I felt her hand grasp mine with grateful + pressure. “Don’t you wish some assistance from me? Your dress—I + tried to loosen it, but failed to find the end of the cord. Shall I try + again?” + </p> + <p> + “No, no; that is, I will do it myself.” + </p> + <p> + I did not see how she could, for her waist was laced up the back, but I + saw that she was too eager to have me go to remember this, and recognizing + the undesirability of irritating her afresh, I simply asked if she wished + me to remain within call. + </p> + <p> + But even this was more than she wanted. + </p> + <p> + “No. I am better now. I shall be better yet when quite alone.” Then + suddenly: “Who knows of this—this folly of mine?” + </p> + <p> + “Only Nixon and myself. The girls have gone to bed.” + </p> + <p> + “Nixon I can trust not to speak of it. Tell him to go. You, I know, will + remember only long enough to do for me what I have just asked.” + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Packard, you may trust me.” The earnest, confiding look, which for a + moment disturbed the melancholy of her large eyes, touched me closely as I + shut the door between us. + </p> + <p> + “Now what is the meaning of this mystery?” I asked myself after I had seen + Nixon go downstairs, shaking his head and casting every now and then a + suspicious glance behind him. “It is not as trivial as it appears. That + laugh was tragedy to her, not comedy.” And when I paused to recollect its + tone I did not wonder at its effect upon her mind, strained as it + undoubtedly was by some secret sorrow or perplexity. + </p> + <p> + And from whose lips had that laugh sprung? Not from ghostly ones. Such an + explanation I could not accept, and how could Mrs. Packard? From whose, + then? If I could settle this fact I might perhaps determine to what extent + its effect was dependent upon its source. The butler denied having even + heard it. Was this to be believed? Did not this very denial prove that it + was he and no other who had thus shocked the proprieties of this orderly + household? It certainly seemed so; yet where all was strange, this strange + and incomprehensible denial of a self-evident fact by the vindictive Nixon + might have its source in some motive unsuggested by the circumstances. + Certainly, Nixon’s mistress appeared to have a great deal of confidence in + him. + </p> + <p> + I wished that more had been told me about the handsome secretary. I wished + that fate would give me another opportunity for seeing that gentleman and + putting the same direct question to him I had put to Nixon. + </p> + <p> + Scarcely had this thought crossed my mind before a loud ring at the + telephone disturbed the quiet below and I heard the secretary’s voice in + reply. A minute after he appeared at the foot of the stairs. His aspect + was one of embarrassment, and he peered aloft in a hesitating way, as if + he hardly knew how to proceed. + </p> + <p> + Taking advantage of this hesitation, I ran softly down to meet him. + </p> + <p> + “Any message for Mrs. Packard?” I asked. + </p> + <p> + He looked relieved. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, from his Honor. The mayor is unavoidably detained and may not be + home till morning.” + </p> + <p> + “I will tell her.” Then, as he reached for his overcoat, I risked all on + one venture, and enlarging a little on the facts, said: + </p> + <p> + “Excuse me, but was it you we heard laughing down-stairs a few minutes + ago? Mrs. Packard feared it might be some follower of the girls’.” + </p> + <p> + Pausing in the act of putting on his coat, he met my look with an air of + some surprise. + </p> + <p> + “I am not given to laughing,” he remarked; “certainly not when alone.” + </p> + <p> + “But you heard this laugh?” + </p> + <p> + He shook his head. His manner was perfectly courteous, almost cordial. + </p> + <p> + “If I did, it made no impression on my mind. I am extremely busy just now, + working up the mayor’s next speech.” And with a smile and bow in every way + suited to his fine appearance, he took his hat from the rack and left the + house. + </p> + <p> + I drew back more mystified than ever. Which of these two men had told me a + lie? One, both, or neither? Impossible to determine. As I try never to + waste gray matter, I resolved to spend no further energy on this question, + but simply to await the next development. + </p> + <p> + It came unexpectedly and was of an entirely different nature from any I + had anticipated. + </p> + <p> + I had not retired, not knowing at what moment the mayor might return or + what I might be called upon to do when he did. It will be remembered that + one of my windows looked out upon the next house. I approached it to see + if my ever watchful neighbors had retired. Their window was dark, but I + observed what was of much more vital interest to me at that moment. It was + that I was not the only one awake and stirring in our house. The light + from a room diagonally below me poured in a stream on the opposite wall, + and it took but a moment’s consideration for me to decide that the shadow + I saw crossing and recrossing this brilliant square was cast by Mrs. + Packard. + </p> + <p> + My first impulse was to draw back—[that was the lady’s impulse not + quite crushed out of me by the occupation circumstances had compelled me + to take up]—my next, to put out my own light and seat myself at the + post of observation thus afforded me. The excuse I gave myself for this + was plausible enough. Mrs. Packard had been placed in my charge and, if + all was not right with her, it was my business to know it. + </p> + <p> + Accordingly I sat and watched each movement of my mysterious charge as it + was outlined on the telltale wall before me, and saw enough in one + half-hour to convince me that something very vigorous and purposeful was + going on in the room so determinedly closed against every one, even her + own husband. + </p> + <p> + What? + </p> + <p> + The moving silhouette of her figure, which was all that I could see, was + not perfect enough in detail for me to determine. She was busy at some + occupation which took her from one end of the room to the other; but after + watching her shadow for an hour I was no surer than at first as to what + that occupation was. It was a serious one, I saw, and now and then the + movements I watched gave evidence of frantic haste, but their character + stood unrevealed till suddenly the thought came: + </p> + <p> + “She is rummaging bureau-drawers and emptying boxes,—in other words, + packing a bag or trunk.” + </p> + <p> + Should I be witness to a flight? I thought it very likely, especially when + I heard the faint sound of a door opening below, followed by the swish of + silken skirts. I recalled Mayor Packard’s fears and began to suspect that + they were not groundless. + </p> + <p> + This called for action, and I was about to open my door and rush out when + I was deterred by the surprising discovery that the steps I heard were + coming up rather than going down, and that in another moment she would be + in the hall outside, possibly on her way to the nursery, possibly with the + intention of coming to my own room. + </p> + <p> + Greatly taken aback, I stood with my ear to the door, listening intently. + Yes, she has reached the top of the stairs and is stopping no, she passes + the nursery door, she is coming my way. What shall I say to her,—how + account for my comfortable wrapper and the fact that I have not yet been + abed? Had I but locked my door! Could I but lock it now, unseen and + unheard before the nearing step should pause! But the very attempt were + folly; no, I must stand my ground and—Ah! the step has paused, but + not at my door. There is a third one on this hall, communicating, as I + knew, with a covered staircase leading to the attic. It was at this she + stopped and it was up this staircase she went as warily and softly as its + creaking boards would allow; and while I marveled as to what had taken her + aloft so late, I heard her steps over my head and knew that she had + entered the room directly above mine. + </p> + <p> + Striking a match, I consulted my watch. It was just ten minutes to three. + Hardly knowing what my duty was in the circumstances, I blew out the match + and stood listening while the woman who was such a mystery to all her + friends moved about overhead in much the same quick and purposeful way as + had put life into her shadow while she was in her own room. + </p> + <p> + “Packing! Nothing less and nothing more,” was my now definite decision. + “That is a trunk she is dragging forward. What a hurry she is in, and how + little she cares whether anybody hears her!” + </p> + <p> + So little did she care that during the next few minutes of acute attention + I distinguished the flinging down of article after article on to the + floor, as well as many other movements betraying haste or irritation. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly I heard her give a bound, then the sound of a heavy lid falling + and then, after a minute or two of complete silence, the soft pat-pat of + her slippered feet descending the stair. + </p> + <p> + Half-past three. + </p> + <p> + Waiting till she was well down the second flight, I pushed my door ajar + and, flying down the hall, peered over the balustrade in time to see her + entering her room. She held a lighted candle in her hand and by its small + flame I caught a full glimpse of her figure. To my astonishment and even + to my dismay she was still in the gown she had refused to have me unlace,—a + rich yellow satin in which she must have shone resplendent a few hours + before. She had not even removed the jewels from her neck. Whatever had + occupied her, whatever had taken her hither and thither through the house, + moving furniture out of her way, lifting heavy boxes, opening dust-covered + trunks, had been of such moment to her as to make her entirely oblivious + of the rich and delicate apparel she thus wantonly sacrificed. But it was + not this alone which attracted my attention. In her hand she held a paper, + and the sight of that paper and the way she clutched it rather disturbed + my late conclusions. Had her errand been one of search rather than of + arrangement? and was this crumpled letter the sole result of a half-hour’s + ransacking in an attic room at the dead of night? I was fain to think so, + for in the course of another half-hour her light went out. Relieved that + she had not left the house, I was still anxious as to the cause of her + strange conduct. + </p> + <p> + Mayor Packard did not come in till daybreak. He found me waiting for him + in the lower hall. + </p> + <p> + “Well?” he eagerly inquired. + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Packard is asleep, I hope. A shrill laugh, ringing through the house + shortly after her return, gave her a nervous shock and she begged that she + might be left undisturbed till morning.” + </p> + <p> + He turned from hanging up his overcoat, and gave me a short stare. + </p> + <p> + “A laugh!” he repeated. “Who could have laughed like that? We are not a + very jolly crowd here.” + </p> + <p> + “I don’t know, sir. I thought it must have been either Mr. Steele or + Nixon, the butler, but each denied it. There was no one else in this part + of the house.” + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Packard is very sensitive just now,” he remarked. Then as he turned + away toward the library door: “I will throw myself on a lounge. I have but + an hour or two before me, as I have my preparations to make for leaving + town on the early morning train. I shall have some final instructions to + give you.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VIII. THE PARAGRAPH + </h2> + <p> + I was up betimes. Would Mrs. Packard appear at breakfast? I hardly thought + so. Yet who knows? Such women have great recuperative powers, and from one + so mysteriously affected anything might be expected. Ready at eight, I + hastened down to the second floor to find the lady, concerning whom I had + had these doubts, awaiting me on the threshold of her room. She was + carefully dressed and looked pale enough to have been up for hours. An + envelope was in her hand, and the smile which hailed my approach was cold + and constrained. + </p> + <p> + “Good morning,” said she. “Let us go down. Let us go down together. I + slept wretchedly and do not feel very strong. When did Mr. Packard come + in?” + </p> + <p> + “Late. He went directly to the library. He said that he had but a short + time in which to rest, and would take what sleep he could get on the + lounge, when I told him of your very natural nervous attack.” + </p> + <p> + She sighed—a sigh which came from no inconsiderable depths—then + with a proud and resolute gesture preceded me down-stairs. + </p> + <p> + Her husband was already in the breakfast-room. I could hear his voice as + we turned at the foot of the stairs. Mrs. Packard, hearing it, too, drew + herself up still more firmly and was passing bravely forward, when Nixon’s + gray head protruded from the doorway and I heard him say: + </p> + <p> + “There’s company for breakfast, ma’am. His Honor could not spare Mr. + Steele and asked me to set a place for him.” + </p> + <p> + I noted a momentary hesitation on Mrs. Packard’s part, then she silently + acquiesced and we both passed on. In another instant we were receiving the + greetings and apologies of the gentlemen. If Mr. Steele had expected that + his employer’s wife would offer him her hand, he was disappointed. + </p> + <p> + “I am happy to welcome one who has proved so useful to my husband,” she + remarked with cool though careful courtesy as we all sat down at the + table; and, without waiting for an answer, she proceeded to pour the + coffee with a proud grace which gave no hint of the extreme feeling by + which I had seen her moved the night before. + </p> + <p> + Had I known her better I might have found something extremely unnatural in + her manner and the very evident restraint she put upon herself through the + whole meal; but not having any acquaintance with her ordinary bearing + under conditions purely social, I was thrown out of my calculations by the + cold ease with which she presided at her end of the table, and the set + smile with which she greeted all remarks, whether volunteered by her + husband or by his respectful but affable secretary. I noticed, however, + that she ate little. + </p> + <p> + Nixon, whom I dared not watch, did not serve with his usual precision,—this + I perceived from the surprised look cast at him by Mayor Packard on at + least two occasions. Though to the ordinary eye a commonplace meal, it had + elements of tragedy in it which made the least movement on the part of + those engaged in it of real moment to me. I was about to leave the table + unenlightened, however, when Mrs. Packard rose and, drawing a letter from + under the tray before which she sat, let her glances pass from one + gentleman to the other with a look of decided inquiry. I drew in my breath + and by dropping my handkerchief sought an excuse for lingering in the room + an instant longer. + </p> + <p> + “Will—may I ask one of you,” she stammered with her first show of + embarrassment during the meal, “to—to post this letter for me?” + </p> + <p> + Both gentlemen were standing and both gentlemen reached for it; but it was + into the secretary’s hand she put it, though her husband’s was much the + nearer. As Mr. Steele received it he gave it the casual glance natural + under the circumstances,—a glance which instantly, however, took on + an air of surprise that ended in a smile. + </p> + <p> + “Have you not made some mistake?” he asked. + </p> + <p> + “This does not look like a letter.” And he handed her back the paper she + had given him. With an involuntary ingathering of her breath, she seemed + to wake out of some dream and, looking down at the envelope she held, she + crushed it in her hand with a little laugh in which I heard the note of + real gaiety for the first time. + </p> + <p> + “Pardon me,” she exclaimed; and, meeting his amused gaze with one equally + expressive, she carelessly added: “I certainly brought a letter down with + me.” + </p> + <p> + Bowing pleasantly, but with that indefinable air of respect which bespeaks + the stranger, he waited while she hastened back to the tray and drew from + under it a second paper. + </p> + <p> + “Pardon my carelessness,” she said. “I must have caught up a scrawl of the + baby’s in taking this from my desk.” + </p> + <p> + She brought forward a letter and ended the whole remarkable episode by + handing it now to her husband, who, with an apologetic glance at the + other, put it in his pocket. + </p> + <p> + I say remarkable; for in the folded slip which had passed back and forth + between her and the secretary, I saw, or thought I saw, a likeness to the + paper she had brought the night before out of the attic. + </p> + <p> + If Mayor Packard saw anything unusual in his wife’s action he made no + mention of it when I went into his study at nine o’clock. And it was so + much of an enigma to me that I was not ready to venture a question + regarding it. + </p> + <p> + Her increased spirits and more natural conduct were the theme of the few + sentences he addressed me, and while he urged precaution and a continued + watch upon his wife, he expressed the fondest hope that he should find her + fully restored on his return at the end of two weeks. + </p> + <p> + I encouraged his hopes, and possibly shared them; but I changed my mind, + as he probably did his, when a few minutes later we met her in the hall + hurrying toward us with a newspaper in her hand and a ghastly look on her + face. “See! see! what they have dared to print!” she cried, with a look, + full of anguish, into his bewildered face. + </p> + <p> + He took the sheet, read, and flushed, then suddenly grew white. + “Outrageous!” he exclaimed. Then tenderly, “My poor darling! that they + should dare to drag your name into this abominable campaign!” + </p> + <p> + “And for no reason,” she faltered; “there is nothing wrong with me. You + believe that; you are sure of that,” she cried. I saw the article later. + It ran something like this: + </p> + <p> + “Rumor has it that not even our genial mayor’s closet is free from the + proverbial skeleton. Mrs. Packard’s health is not what it was,—and + some say that the causes are not purely physical.” + </p> + <p> + He tried to dissimulate. Putting his arm about her, he kissed her fondly + and protested with mingled energy and feeling: + </p> + <p> + “I believe you to be all you should be—a true woman and true wife.” + </p> + <p> + Her face lighted and she clung for a moment in passionate delight to his + breast; then she caught his look, which was tender but not altogether + open, and the shadows fell again as she murmured: + </p> + <p> + “You are not satisfied. Oh, what do you see, what do others see, that I + should be the subject of doubt? Tell me! I can never right myself till I + know.” + </p> + <p> + “I see a troubled face when I should see a happy one,” he answered + lightly; then, as she still clung in very evident question to his arm, he + observed gravely: “Two weeks ago you were the life of this house, and of + every other house into which your duties carried you. Why shouldn’t you be + the same to-day? Answer me that, dear, and all my doubts will vanish, I + assure you.” + </p> + <p> + “Henry,”—drooping her head and lacing her fingers in and out with + nervous hesitation,—“you will think me very foolish,—I know + that it will sound foolish, childish even, and utterly ridiculous; but I + can explain myself no other way. I have had a frightful experience—here—in + my own house—on the spot where I have been so happy, so unthinkingly + happy. Henry—do not laugh—it is real, very real, to me. The + specter which is said to haunt these walls has revealed itself to me. I + have seen the ghost.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IX. SCRAPS + </h2> + <p> + We did not laugh; we did not even question her sanity; at least I did not; + there was too much meaning in her manner. + </p> + <p> + “A specter,” her husband repeated with a suggestive glance at the + brilliant sunshine in which we all stood. + </p> + <p> + “Yes.” The tone was one of utter conviction. “I had never believed in such + things—never thought about them, but—it was a week ago—in + the library—I have not seen a happy moment since—” + </p> + <p> + “My darling!” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, yes, I know; but imagine! I was sitting reading. I had just come + from the nursery, and the memory of Laura’s good-night kiss was more in my + mind than the story I was finishing when—oh, I can not think of it + without a shudder!—the page before me seemed to recede and the words + fade away in a blue mist; glancing up I beheld the outlines of a form + between me and the lamp, which a moment before had been burning brightly. + Outlines, Henry,—I was conscious of no substance, and the eyes which + met mine from that shadowy, blood-curdling Something were those of the + grave and meant a grave for you or for me. Oh, I know what I say! There + was no mistaking their look. As it burned into and through me, everything + which had given reality to my life faded and seemed as far away and as + unsubstantial as a dream. Nor has its power over me gone yet. I go about + amongst you, I eat, I sleep, or try to; I greet men, talk with women, but + it is all unreal, all phantasmagoric, even yourself and your love and, O + God, my baby! What is real and distinctive, an absolute part of me and my + life, is that shape from the dead, with its threatening eyes which pierce—pierce—” + </p> + <p> + She was losing her self-control. Her husband, with a soothing touch on her + arm, brought her back to the present. + </p> + <p> + “You speak of a form,” he said, “a shadowy outline. The form of what? A + man or a woman?” + </p> + <p> + “A man! a man!” With the exclamation she seemed to shrink into herself and + her eyes, just now deprecating and appealing, took on a hollow stare, as + if the vision she described had risen again before her. + </p> + <p> + In spite of himself and the sympathy he undoubtedly felt for her, an + ejaculation of impatience left her husband’s lips. Obligations very far + removed from the fantasies of a disturbed mind made these unsubstantial + fears of hers seem puerile enough to this virile, outspoken man. No doubt + she heard it, and to stop the matter-of-fact protest on his lips added + quickly: + </p> + <p> + “Not the form, face and eyes of a man, as they usually appear. Hell was in + his gaze and the message he gave, if it was a message, was one of + disaster, if not death. Do you wonder that my happiness vanished before + it? That I can not be myself since that dreadful day?” + </p> + <p> + The mayor was a practical man; he kept close to the subject. + </p> + <p> + “You saw this form between you and the lighted lamp. How long did it stay + there and what became of it?” + </p> + <p> + “I can not tell you. One moment it was there and the next it was gone, and + I found myself staring into vacancy. I seem to be staring there still, + waiting for the blow destined to shatter this household.” + </p> + <p> + “Nonsense! give me a kiss and fix your thoughts on something more + substantial. What we have to fear and all we have to fear is that I may + lose my election. And that won’t kill me, whatever effect it may have on + the party.” + </p> + <p> + “Henry,”—her voice had changed to one more natural, also her manner. + The confidence expressed in this outburst, the vitality, the masculine + attitude he took were producing their effect. “You don’t believe in what I + saw or in my fears. Perhaps you are right. I am ready to acknowledge this; + I will try to look upon it all as a freak of my imagination if you will + promise to forget these dreadful days, and if people, other people, will + leave me alone and not print such things about me.” + </p> + <p> + “I am ready to do my part,” was his glad reply, “and as for the other + people you mention, we shall soon bring them to book.” Raising his voice, + he called out his secretary’s name. As it rang loud and cheery down the + hall, the joy and renewed life which had been visible in her manner lost + some of their brightness. + </p> + <p> + “What are you going to do?” she gasped, with the quickness of doubt and + strong if reasonless apprehension. “Give an order,” he explained; then, as + the secretary appeared at our end of the hall, he held out the journal + which he had taken from his wife and indicating the offensive paragraph, + said: + </p> + <p> + “Find out who did that.” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Steele with a surprised look ran his eyes over the paragraph, knitting + his brows as he did. + </p> + <p> + “It is calumny,” fell from Mrs. Packard’s lips as she watched him. + </p> + <p> + “Most certainly,” he assented, with an energy which brought a flush of + pleasure to the humiliated woman’s cheek. “It will detain me two days or + more to follow up this matter,” he remarked, with a look of inquiry + directed at Mayor Packard. + </p> + <p> + “Never mind. Two days or a week, it is all one. I would rather lose votes + than pass over such an insult. Pin me down the man who has dared attack me + through my wife, and you will do me the greatest favor one man can show + another.” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Steele bowed. “I can not forego the final consultation we had planned + to hold on the train. May I ride down with you to the station?” + </p> + <p> + “Certainly; most happy.” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Steele withdrew, after casting a glance of entirely respectful + sympathy at the woman who up to this hour had faced the world without a + shadow between her and it; and, marking the lingering nature of the look + with which the mayor now turned on his wife, I followed the secretary’s + example and left them to enjoy their few last words alone. + </p> + <p> + Verily the pendulum of events swung wide and fast in this house. + </p> + <p> + This conclusion was brought back to me with fresh insistence a few minutes + later, when, on hearing the front door shut, I stepped to the balustrade + and looked over to see if Mrs. Packard was coming up. She was not, for I + saw her go into the library; but plainly on the marble pavement below, + just where we had all been standing, in fact, I perceived the piece of + paper she had brought with her from the dining-room and had doubtless + dropped in the course of the foregoing conversation. + </p> + <p> + Running down in great haste, I picked it up. This scrap of I knew not + what, but which had been the occasion of the enigmatic scene I had + witnessed at the breakfast-table, necessarily interested me very much and + I could not help giving it a look. I saw that it was inscribed with + Hebraic-looking characters as unlike as possible to the scrawl of a little + child. + </p> + <p> + With no means of knowing whether they were legible or not, these + characters made a surprising impression upon me, one, indeed, that was + almost photographic. + </p> + <p> + I also noted that these shapes or characters, of which there were just + seven, were written on the face of an empty envelope. This decided any + doubts I may have had as to its identity with the paper she had brought + down from the attic. That had been a square sheet, which even if folded + would fail to enter this long and narrow envelope. The interest which I + had felt when I thought the two identical was a false interest. Yet I + could not but believe that this scrap had a value of its own equal to the + one with which, under this misapprehension, I had invested it. + </p> + <p> + Carrying it back to Mrs. Packard, I handed it over with the remark that I + had found it lying in the hall. She cast a quick look at it, gave me + another look and tossed the paper into the grate. As it caught fire and + flared up, the characters started vividly into view. + </p> + <p> + This second glimpse of them, added to the one already given me, fixed the + whole indelibly in my mind. This is the way they looked. + </p> + <p> + []; V; [];.}; V; [-]; {; + </p> + <p> + While I watched these cabalistic marks pass from red to black and finally + vanish in a wild leap up the chimney, Mrs. Packard remarked: + </p> + <p> + “I wish I could destroy the memory of all my mistakes as completely as I + can that old envelope.” + </p> + <p> + I did not answer; I was watching the weary droop of her hand over the arm + of her chair. + </p> + <p> + “You are tired, Mrs. Packard,” was my sympathetic observation. “Will you + not take a nap? I will gladly sit by you and read you to sleep.” + </p> + <p> + “No, no,” she cried, at once alert and active; “no sleep. Look at that + pile of correspondence, half of it on charitable matters. Now that I feel + better, now that I have relieved my mind, I must look over my letters and + try to take up the old threads again.” + </p> + <p> + “Can I help you?” I asked. + </p> + <p> + “Possibly. If you will go to my room up-stairs, I will join you after I + have sorted and read my mail.” + </p> + <p> + I was glad to obey this order. I had a curiosity about her room. It had + been the scene of much I did not understand the night before. Should I + find any traces there of that search which had finally ended over my head + in the attic? + </p> + <p> + I was met at the door by Ellen. She wore a look of dismay which I felt + fully accounted for when I looked inside. Disorder reigned from one end of + the room to the other, transcending any picture I may have formed in my + own mind concerning its probable condition. Mrs. Packard must have + forgotten all this disarray, or at least had supposed it to have yielded + to the efforts of the maid, when she proposed my awaiting her there. There + were bureau-drawers with their contents half on the floor, boxes with + their covers off, cupboard-doors ajar and even the closet shelves showing + every mark of a frenzied search among them. Her rich gown, soiled to the + width of half a foot around the bottom, lay with cut laces and its + trimmings in rags under a chair which had been knocked over and left where + it fell. Even her jewels had not been put away, but lay scattered on the + dresser. Ellen looked ashamed and, when I retired to the one bare place I + saw in the bay of the window, muttered as she plunged to lift one of the + great boxes: + </p> + <p> + “It’s as bad as the attic room up-stairs. All the trunks have been emptied + on to the floor and one held her best summer dresses. What shall I do? I + have a whole morning’s work before me.” + </p> + <p> + “Let me help you,” I proposed, rising with sudden alacrity. My eyes had + just fallen on a small desk at my right, also on the floor beneath and + around it. Here, there and everywhere above and below lay scraps of + torn-up paper; and on many, if not on all of them, could be seen the + broken squares and inverted angles which had marked so curiously the + surface of the envelope she had handed to Mr. Steele, and which I had + afterward seen her burn. + </p> + <p> + “A baby can make a deal of mess,” I remarked, hurriedly collecting these + scraps and making a motion of throwing them into the waste-paper basket, + but hiding them in my blouse instead. + </p> + <p> + “The baby! Oh, the baby never did that. She’s too young.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I didn’t know. I haven’t seen much of the child though I heard her + cry once in the nursery. How old is she?” + </p> + <p> + “Twenty months and such a darling! You never saw such curls or such eyes. + Why, look at this!” + </p> + <p> + “What?” I demanded, hurrying to the closet, where Ellen stood bending over + something invisible to me. “Oh, nothing,” she answered, coming quickly + out. But in another moment, her tongue getting the better of her + discretion, she blurted out: “Do you suppose Mrs. Packard had any idea of + going with the mayor? Her bag is in there almost packed. I was wondering + where all her toilet articles were. That accounts—” Stopping, she + cast a glance around the room, ending with a shake of the head and a + shrug. “She needn’t have pulled out all her things,” she sharply + complained. “Certain, she is a mysterious lady;—as queer as she is + kind.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER X. A GLIMMER OF THE TRUTH + </h2> + <p> + This was a sentiment I could thoroughly indorse. Mrs. Packard was + certainly an enigma to me. Leaving Ellen to finish her work, I went + upstairs to my own room, and, taking out the scraps of paper I had so + carefully collected, spread them out before me on the lid of the desk. + </p> + <p> + They were absolutely unintelligible to me—marks and nothing more. + Useless to waste time over such unmeaning scrawls when I had other and + more tangible subjects to consider. But I should not destroy them. There + might come a time when I should be glad to give them the attention which + my present excitement forbade. Putting them back in my desk, I settled + myself into a serious contemplation of the one fact which seemed to give a + partial if not wholly satisfactory explanation of Mrs. Packard’s peculiar + conduct during the last two weeks—her belief that she had been + visited by a specter of an unholy, threatening aspect. + </p> + <p> + That it was a belief and nothing more seemed sufficiently clear to me in + the cold-blooded analysis to which I now subjected the whole matter. + </p> + <p> + Phantoms have no place in the economy of nature. That Mrs. Packard thought + herself the victim of one was simply a proof of how deeply, though perhaps + unconsciously, she had been affected by the traditions of the house. Such + sensitiveness in a mind naturally firm and uncommonly well poised, called + for attention. Yet a physician had asserted that he could do nothing for + her. Granting that he was mistaken, would an interference of so direct and + unmistakable a character be wise in the present highly strung condition of + her nerves? I doubted it. It would show too plainly the light in which we + regarded her. I dared not undertake the responsibility of such a course in + Mayor Packard’s absence. Some other way must be found to quiet her + apprehensions and bring her into harmony again with her surroundings. I + knew of only one course. If the influence of the house had brought on this + hallucination, then the influence of the house must be destroyed. She must + be made to see that, despite its unfortunate reputation, no specter had + ever visited it; that some purely natural cause was at the bottom of the + various manifestations which had successively driven away all previous + tenants. + </p> + <p> + Could I hope to effect this? It was an undertaking of no small moment. Had + I the necessary judgment? I doubted it, but my ambition was roused. While + Mr. Steele was devoting himself to the discovery of Mayor and Mrs. + Packard’s political enemy, I would essay the more difficult task of + penetrating the mystery threatening their domestic peace. I could but + fail; a few inquiries would assure me of the folly or the wisdom of my + course. + </p> + <p> + Having reached this point and satisfied myself as to my real duty, I rose + to leave my room for another word or two with Ellen. As I did so my eyes + fell on the shade still drawn between me and the next house. The impulse + to raise it was irresistible. I must see if either of the two old faces + still occupied that gable window. It was not likely. It was not in + ordinary human nature to keep up so unremitting a watch. Yet as the shade + flew up at my touch I realized that my astonishment would have been great + and my expectations altogether disappointed if I had not encountered the + fixed countenance and the set stare with which I had come to connect this + solitary window. Miss Charity was there, and, though I now knew what + underlay her senile, if not utterly mad watch, the impression made upon me + by her hopeless countenance was as keen as it had ever been, and lent + point and impetus to the task I had just set for myself. + </p> + <p> + It was apparent that Mrs. Packard had forgotten or changed her mind about + joining me in her own room, but nevertheless I went out, to discover what + possible duties she might have laid out for me. Ascertaining from Ellen + that Mrs. Packard had engagements which would take her out at noon, I + waited for that hour to pass, then excused myself and went out also. + </p> + <p> + The owner of the house whose shaded history I was now determined to learn + was John Searles, a real estate agent. To his office in Main Street I at + once proceeded, not without doubts and much inward trepidation, but buoyed + up by the assurance of Mayor Packard’s approval of any attempt, however + far-fetched or unpromising, which held out the least possibility of + relieving Mrs. Packard from her superstitious fears and restoring the + peace and happiness of the household. If only Mr. Searles should prove to + be an approachable man! + </p> + <p> + I had never seen him or heard him spoken of, or I should not have + encouraged myself with this hope. At my first glimpse of his tall, gaunt + figure, hard features, and brisk impatient movements, I knew that my wit + and equanimity would be put to their full test in the interview. + </p> + <p> + He was engaged, at my entrance, in some harsh dispute with a couple of + other men, but came forward quickly enough when he saw me. Recognizing at + once that any attempt at ingratiation would fail with this man, I entered + at once upon my errand by asking a question direct enough to command his + attention, if it did not insure the desired reply. + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Searles, when you purchased the house on Franklin Street, did you + know enough about it to have an answer ready for any one who might declare + it haunted?” + </p> + <p> + The abruptness of the attack produced its effect. Annoyance swept every + hint of patience from face and manner, and he exclaimed in a tone which + conveyed, only too openly, how disagreeable the subject was to him. + </p> + <p> + “Again!” + </p> + <p> + I smiled. It would not do to show how much I felt the total lack of + sympathy in his manner. + </p> + <p> + “You will have trouble,” said I, “until it is proved that the occurrences + which have provoked this report have a very natural and quite human + source.” + </p> + <p> + He stopped in his nervous fidgeting and gave me a quick hard look. + </p> + <p> + “Who are you?” he asked, “and why has Mrs. Packard made you her messenger + instead of coming herself?” + </p> + <p> + “I am her companion, engaged by Mayor Packard to stay with her during his + contemplated absence. I am here instead of Mrs. Packard because it is she + herself who is the present sufferer from the disagreeable experiences + which attend life in the Franklin Street house.” + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Packard?” His tone betrayed a complete incredulity. “Mrs. Packard? a + woman of such strong good sense! I think you must have been misled by some + foolish attempt at humor on her part. Does she know that you have come to + me with this complaint?” + </p> + <p> + “She does not. She is not in a condition to be consulted on the subject. I + am Mayor Packard’s emissary. He is very anxious about his wife.” Then as + Mr. Searles continued unmoved, I added in a straightforward manner, and + with all the earnestness I felt: “Mrs. Packard believes herself to have + come face to face with an undoubted specter in the library of the house + they have rented from you. She related the circumstances to her husband + and to myself this very morning. It occurred, according to her story, + several days ago; meantime her manner and appearance have shown a great + change. Mayor Packard is not the only one who has noticed it. The whole + household has been struck by her condition, though no one knew its cause + until to-day. Of course, we do not believe in the specter; that was pure + hallucination on her part. This we no more doubt than you do.” + </p> + <p> + “Then what do you want here?” he asked, after a moment of harsh scrutiny. + </p> + <p> + “Proof which will convince her that it was an hallucination and without + the least basis in any spiritual fact,” I returned. “If you will give me a + few minutes of your time, I will explain just what I mean and also make + known to you my wishes. I can wait till you have finished your business + with the gentlemen I see over there.” + </p> + <p> + He honored me with a look, which for the first time showed any + appreciation of my feelings, and pushing open a door near by, called out + to some one within: + </p> + <p> + “Here, Robinson, talk with this lady. Her business is not in my line.” + Then, turning to me with a quick, “Step in, Madam,” he left me with the + greatest abruptness and hurried back to the gentlemen awaiting him on the + other side of the room. + </p> + <p> + I was considerably taken aback by this move, but knew no other course than + to enter the room he had pointed out and pursue my conversation with + whomever I should find there. + </p> + <p> + Alas! the gentleman who rose at my entrance was also one of the tall, thin + and nervous type. But he was not without heart, like the other, as was + soon made apparent to me. Very few human faces are plainer than the one I + now searched for the encouragement of which I stood in such sore need, but + also very few faces, handsome or otherwise, have the attraction of so + pleasant a smile. Its affable greeting was followed by the hasty pushing + forward of a chair and a kind inquiry as to what he could do for me. + </p> + <p> + My answer woke an immediate interest. “My name is Saunders,” I said. “I am + at present an inmate of Mayor Packard’s house—a house belonging to + Mr. Searles, and one which has its drawbacks.” + </p> + <p> + The meaning look with which I uttered the last sentence called forth an + answering one. A flash of excitement broke over his features and he cast a + quick glance at the door which fortunately had swung to at my entrance. + </p> + <p> + “Has—have they—has anything of a disagreeable nature happened + to any one in this house?” he asked with ill-concealed perturbation. “I + did not expect it during their tenantry, but if such has occurred, I am + obliged to Mrs. Packard for letting me know. She promised to, you see, and—” + </p> + <p> + “She promised!” I cried. + </p> + <p> + “Yes; in joke no doubt, being at the time in a very incredulous state of + mind. She vowed that she would let me know the very day she saw the lights + or encountered anything in the house, which could be construed into a + spiritual visitation. Has such a manifestation occurred?” he eagerly + inquired. “Has it? has it? Am I to add her name to the list of those who + have found the house uninhabitable?” + </p> + <p> + “That I am not ready to say,” was my cautious response. “Mrs. Packard, + during the period of her husband’s candidacy, would scarcely wish to draw + public attention to herself or these supernatural happenings by any such + move. I hope that what I say to you on this subject will go no further.” + </p> + <p> + “You may rest assured that it will never become public property,” he + assured me. “One person I am bound to tell; but that is all. That person + is too much interested in the house’s good name to spread so damaging a + story. An experience, more or less disagreeable, must have occurred to + some member of the family,” continued Mr. Robinson. “Your presence here + assures me of that. What kind of experience? The—manifestations have + not always been of the same nature.” + </p> + <p> + “No; and that is what so engages my attention. These experiences differ so + much in their character. Do you happen to know the exact nature of each? I + have a theory which I long to substantiate. May I trust you with it?” + </p> + <p> + “You certainly may, Miss. No one has thought over this matter more + earnestly than I have. Not because of any superstitious tendency on my + part; rather from the lack of it. I don’t believe in spirits. I don’t + believe in supernatural agencies of any kind; yet strange things do happen + in that house, things which we find it hard to explain.” + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Packard’s experience was this. She believes herself to have + encountered in the library the specter of a man; a specter with a gaze so + terrifying that it impressed itself upon her as an omen of death, or some + other dire disaster. What have your other tenants seen?” + </p> + <p> + “Shadows mostly; but not always. Sometimes the outline of an arm + projecting out of darkness; sometimes, the trace of steps on the hall + floors, or the discovery in the morning of an open door which had been + carefully closed at bedtime. Once it was the trailing of ghostly fingers + across the sleeper’s face, and once a succession of groans rising from the + lower halls and drawing the whole family from their beds, to find no one + but themselves within the whole four walls. A clearly outlined phantom has + been scarce. But Mrs. Packard has seen one, you say.” + </p> + <p> + “Thinks she has seen one,” I corrected. “Mayor Packard and myself both + look upon the occurrence as a wholly imaginary one, caused by her secret + brooding over the very manifestations you mention. If she could be + convinced that these manifestations had a physical origin, she would + immediately question the reality of the specter she now believes herself + to have seen. To bring her to this point I am ready to exert myself to the + utmost. Are you willing to do the same? If so, I can assure you of Mayor + Packard’s appreciation.” + </p> + <p> + “How? What? You believe the whole thing a fraud? That all these tenants + coming from various quarters manufactured all these stories and submitted + to endless inconvenience to perpetuate a senseless lie?” + </p> + <p> + “No, I don’t think that. The tenants were honest enough, but who owned the + house before Mr. Searles?” I was resolved to give no hint of the + information imparted to me by Mrs. Packard. + </p> + <p> + “The Misses Quinlan, the two maiden ladies who live next door to Mayor + Packard.” + </p> + <p> + “I don’t know them,” said I truthfully. + </p> + <p> + “Very worthy women,” Mr. Robinson assured me. “They are as much disturbed + and as completely puzzled as the rest of us over the mysterious + visitations which have lessened the value of their former property. They + have asked me more than once for an explanation of its marked + unpopularity. I felt foolish to say ghosts, but finally I found myself + forced to do so, much to my lasting regret.” + </p> + <p> + “How? Why?” I asked, with all the force of a very rapidly increasing + curiosity. + </p> + <p> + “Because its effect upon them has been so disastrous. They were women of + intelligence previous to this, one of them quite markedly so, but from + that day they have given evidence of mental weakness which can only be + attributed to their continual brooding over this mysterious topic. The + house, whose peculiarities we are now discussing, was once their family + homestead, and they shrink from the reproach of its unfortunate + reputation. What! you don’t think so?” he impetuously asked, moved, + perhaps, by my suggestive silence. “You are suspicious of these two poor + old women? What reason have you for that, Miss Saunders? What motive could + they have for depreciating the value of what was once their own property?” + </p> + <p> + So he knew nothing of the lost bonds! Mrs. Packard had made no mistake + when she assured me of the secrecy with which they had endured their + misfortune. It gave me great relief; I could work more safely with this + secret unshared. But the situation called for dissimulation. It was with + anything but real openness that I declared: + </p> + <p> + “You can not calculate the impulses of an affected mind. Jealousy of the + past may influence these unfortunate women. They possibly hate to see + strangers in the rooms made sacred by old associations.” + </p> + <p> + “That is possible, but how could they, shut up in a house, separated from + yours by a distance of several feet, be held accountable for the phenomena + observed in 393? There are no means of communication between the two + buildings; even the doors, which once faced each other across the dividing + alley, have been closed up. Interference from them is impossible.” + </p> + <p> + “No more impossible than from any other outside source. Is it a fact that + the doors and windows of this strangely haunted house were always found + securely locked after each occurrence of the phenomena you have + mentioned?” + </p> + <p> + “So I have been told by every tenant I have questioned, and I was careful + to question them, I assure you.” + </p> + <p> + “That settles the matter in my mind,” I asserted. “These women know of + some means of entrance that has escaped general discovery. Cunning is a + common attribute of the unsettled brain.” + </p> + <p> + “And they are very cunning. Miss Saunders, you have put a totally new idea + into my head. I do not place much stress upon the motive you have + attributed to them, nor do I see how the appearances noted could have been + produced by these two antiquated women; but the interest they have + displayed in the effect these have had upon others has been of the most + decided nature. They have called here after the departure of every fresh + tenant, and it was all that I could do to answer their persistent + inquiries. It is to them and not to Mr. Searles I feel bound to report the + apparition seen by Mrs. Packard.” + </p> + <p> + “To them!” I ejaculated in amazement. “Why to them? They no longer have a + proprietary interest in the house.” + </p> + <p> + “Very true, but they long ago exacted a promise from me to keep a strict + account of such complaints as were raised against the house. They, in + short, paid me to do so. From time to time they have come here to read + this account. It annoys Mr. Searles, but I have had considerable patience + with them for reasons which your kind heart will instantly suggest.” + </p> + <p> + I thought of the real pathos of the situation, and how much I might + increase his interest by giving him the full details of their pitiful + history, and the maddening hopes it engendered of a possible discovery of + the treasure they still believed to be hidden in the house. What I said, + however, was this: + </p> + <p> + “You have kept an account, you say, of the varied phenomena seen in this + house? You have that account now?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, Miss Saunders.” + </p> + <p> + “Let us look it over together. Let us see if it does not give us some clue + to the mystery puzzling us.” + </p> + <p> + He eyed me doubtfully, or as much so as his great nature would allow. + Meantime, I gauged my man. Was he to be thoroughly and unequivocally + trusted? His very hesitation in face of his undoubted sympathy with me + seemed to insure that he was. At all events, the occasion warranted some + risk on my part. At least I persuaded myself that it did; so without + waiting for his reply, I earnestly remarked: + </p> + <p> + “The matter is more serious than you suppose. If the mayor were not + unavoidably called away by his political obligations, he would add his + entreaties to mine for a complete sifting of this whole affair. The Misses + Quinlan may very well be innocent of inciting these manifestations; if so, + we can do them no harm by a little confidential consideration of the + affair from the standpoint I have given you. If they are not, then Mr. + Searles and Mayor Packard should know it.” + </p> + <p> + It appeared to convince him. His homely face shone with the fire of sudden + interest and resolve, and, reaching for a small drawer at the right of his + desk, he opened it and drew forth a folded paper which he proceeded to + open before me with the remark: + </p> + <p> + “Here is a report that I have kept for my own satisfaction. I do not feel + that in showing it to you I am violating any trust reposed in me by the + Misses Quinlan. I never promised secrecy in the matter.” + </p> + <p> + I glanced at the paper, all eagerness. He smiled and pushed it toward me. + This is what I read: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + First tenant, Mr. Hugh Dennison and family. + + Night 1: Heard and saw nothing. + Night 2: The entire household wakened by a scream seemingly + coming from below. This was twice repeated before Mr. Dennison + could reach the hall; the last time in far distant and smothered + tones. Investigation revealed nothing. No person and no trace + of any persons, save themselves, could be found anywhere in the + house. Uncomfortable feelings, but no alarm as yet. + Night 3: No screams, but a sound of groaning in the library. + The tall clock standing near the drawing-room door stopped at + twelve, and a door was found open which Mr. Dennison is sure he + shut tight on retiring. A second unavailing search. One servant + left the next morning. + Night 4: Footfalls on the stairs. The library door, locked by Mr. + Dennison’s own hand, is heard to unclose. The timepiece on the + library mantel-shelf strikes twelve; but it is slightly fast, and + Mr. and Mrs. Dennison, who have crept from their room to the + stair-head, listen breathlessly for the deep boom of the great + hall clock—the one which had stopped the night before. No light + is burning anywhere, and the hall below is a pit of darkness, when + suddenly Mrs. Dennison seizes her husband’s arm and, gasping out, + “The clock, the clock!” falls fainting to the floor. He bends to + look and faintly, in the heart of the shadows, he catches in dim + outline the face of the clock, and reaching up to it a spectral + hand. Nothing else—and in another moment that, too, disappears; + but the silence is something awful—the great clock has stopped. + With a shout he stumbles downward, lights up the hall, lights up + the rooms, but finds nothing, and no one. Next morning the second + servant leaves, but her place is soon supplied by an applicant we + will call Bess. + Night 5: Mrs. Dennison sleeps at a hotel with the children. Mr. + Dennison, revolver in hand, keeps watch on the haunted stairway. + He has fastened up every door and shutter with his own hand, and + with equal care extinguished all lights. As the hour of twelve + approaches, he listens breathlessly. There is certainly a stir + somewhere, but he can not locate it, not quite satisfy himself + whether it is a footfall or a rustle that he hears. The clock + in the library strikes twelve, then the one in the hall gives one + great boom, and stops. Instantly he raises his revolver and + shoots directly at its face. No sound from human lips answers + the discharge of the weapon. In the flash which for a moment has + lighted up the whole place, he catches one glimpse of the broken + dial with its two hands pointing directly at twelve, but nothing + more. Then all is dark again, and he goes slowly back to his own + room. + The next day he threw up his lease. + + Second tenant: Mrs. Crispin. + + Stayed but one night. Would never tell us what she saw. + + Third tenant: Mrs. Southwick. Hires Bess for maid-of-all-work, the + only girl she could get. + + Night 1: Unearthly lights shining up through the house, waking + the family. Disappeared as one and all came creeping out into the + hall. + Night 2: The same, followed by deep groans. Children waked and + shrieked. + Night 3: Nothing. + Night 4: Lights, groans and strange shadows on the walls and + ceilings of the various hallways. Family give notice the next day, + but do not leave for a week, owing to sickness. No manifestations + while doctor and nurses are in the house. + + House stands vacant for three months. Bess offers to remain in it + as caretaker, but her offer is refused. + + Police investigate. + + An amusing farce. + One of them saw something and could not be laughed out of it by his + fellows. But the general report was unsatisfactory. The mistake + was the employment of Irishmen in a task involving superstition. + + Fourth tenant: Mr. Weston and family. + + Remain three weeks. Leaves suddenly because the nurse encountered + something moving about in the lower hall one night when she went + down to the kitchen to procure hot water for a sick child. Bess + again offered her services, but the family would not stay under any + circumstances. + + Another long period without tenant. + + Mr. Searles tries a night in the empty house. Sits and dozes in + library till two. Wakes suddenly. Door he has tightly shut is + standing open. He feels the draft. Turns on light from dark + lantern. Something is there—a shape—he can not otherwise + describe it. As he stares at it, it vanishes through doorway. He + rushes for it; finds nothing. The hall is empty; so is the whole + house. +</pre> + <p> + This finished the report. + </p> + <p> + “So Mr. Searles has had his own experiences of these Mysteries!” I + exclaimed. + </p> + <p> + “As you see. Perhaps that is why he is so touchy on the subject.” + </p> + <p> + “Did he ever give you any fuller account of his experience than is + detailed here?” + </p> + <p> + “No; he won’t talk about it.” + </p> + <p> + “He tried to let the house, however.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, but he did not succeed for a long time. Finally the mayor took it.” + </p> + <p> + Refolding the paper, I handed it back to Mr. Robinson. I had its contents + well in mind. + </p> + <p> + “There is one fact to which I should like to call your attention,” said I. + “The manifestations, as here recorded, have all taken place in the lower + part of the house. I should have had more faith in them, if they had + occurred above stairs. There are no outlets through the roof.” + </p> + <p> + “Nor any visible ones below. At least no visible one was ever found open.” + </p> + <p> + “What about the woman, Bess?” I asked. “How do you account for her + persistency in clinging to a place her employers invariably fled from? She + seems to have been always on hand with an offer of her services.” + </p> + <p> + “Bess is not a young woman, but she is a worker of uncommon ability, very + rigid and very stoical. She herself accounts for her willingness to work + in this house by her utter disbelief in spirits, and the fact that it is + the one place in the world which connects her with her wandering and + worthless husband. Their final parting occurred during Mr. Dennison’s + tenancy, and as she had given the wanderer the Franklin Street address, + you could not reason her out of the belief that on his return he would + expect to find here there. That is what she explained to Mr. Searles.” + </p> + <p> + “You interest me, Mr. Robinson. Is she a plain woman? Such a one as a man + would not be likely to return to?” + </p> + <p> + “No, she is a very good-looking woman, refined and full of character, but + odd, very odd,—in fact, baffling.” + </p> + <p> + “How baffling?” + </p> + <p> + “I never knew her to look any one directly in the eye. Her manner is + abstracted and inspires distrust. There is also a marked incongruity + between her employment and her general appearance. She looks out of place + in her working apron, yet she is not what you would call a lady.” + </p> + <p> + “Did her husband come back?” + </p> + <p> + “No, not to my knowledge.” + </p> + <p> + “And where is she now?” + </p> + <p> + “Very near you, Miss Saunders, when you are at your home in Franklin + Street. Not being able to obtain a situation in the house itself, she has + rented the little shop opposite, where you can find her any day selling + needles and thread.” + </p> + <p> + “I have noticed that shop,” I admitted, not knowing whether to give more + or less weight to my suspicions in thus finding the mayor’s house under + the continued gaze of another watchful eye. + </p> + <p> + “You will find two women there,” the amiable Mr. Robinson hastened to + explain. “The one with a dark red spot just under her hair is Bess. But + perhaps she doesn’t interest you. She always has me. If it had not been + for one fact, I should have suspected her of having been in some way + connected with the strange doings we have just been considering. She was + not a member of the household during the occupancy of Mrs. Crispin and the + Westons, yet these unusual manifestations went on just the same.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I noted that.” + </p> + <p> + “So her connivance is eliminated.” + </p> + <p> + “Undoubtedly. I am still disposed to credit the Misses Quinlan with the + whole ridiculous business. They could not bear to see strangers in the + house they had once called their own, and took the only means suggested to + their crazy old minds to rid the place of them.” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Robinson shook his head, evidently unconvinced. The temptation was + great to strengthen my side of the argument by a revelation of their real + motive. Once acquainted with the story of the missing bonds he could not + fail to see the extreme probability that the two sisters, afflicted as + they were with dementia, should wish to protect the wealth which was once + so near their grasp, from the possibility of discovery by a stranger. But + I dared not take him quite yet into my full confidence. Indeed, the + situation did not demand it. I had learned from him what I was most + anxious to know, and was now in a position to forward my own projects + without further aid from him. Almost as if he had read my thoughts, Mr. + Robinson now hastened to remark: + </p> + <p> + “I find it difficult to credit these poor old souls with any such + elaborate plan to empty the house, even had they possessed the most direct + means of doing so, for no better reason than this one you state. Had money + been somehow involved, or had they even thought so, it would be different. + They are a little touched in the head on the subject of money; which isn’t + very strange considering their present straits. They even show an interest + in other people’s money. They have asked me more than once if any of their + former neighbors have seemed to grow more prosperous since leaving + Franklin Street.” + </p> + <p> + “I see; touched, touched!” I laughed, rising in my anxiety to hide any + show of feeling at the directness of this purely accidental attack. But + the item struck me as an important one. Mr. Robinson gave me a keen look + as I uttered the usual commonplaces and prepared to take my leave. + </p> + <p> + “May I ask your intentions in this matter?” said he. + </p> + <p> + “I wish I knew them myself,” was my perfectly candid answer. “It strikes + me now that my first step should be to ascertain whether there exists any + secret connection between the two houses which would enable the Misses + Quinlan or their emissaries to gain access to their old home, without + ready detection. I know of none, and—” + </p> + <p> + “There is none,” broke in its now emphatic agent. “A half-dozen tenants, + to say nothing of Mr. Searles himself, have looked it carefully over. All + the walls are intact; there is absolutely no opening anywhere for + surreptitious access.” + </p> + <p> + “Possibly not. You certainly discourage me very much. I had hoped much + from my theory. But we are not done with the matter. Mrs. Packard’s mind + must be cleared of its fancies, if it is in my power to do it. You will + hear from me again, Mr. Robinson. Meanwhile, I may be sure of your good + will?” + </p> + <p> + “Certainly, certainly, and of my cooperation also, if you want it.” + </p> + <p> + “Thank you,” said I, and left the office. + </p> + <p> + His last look was one of interest not untinged by compassion. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0011" id="link2HCH0011"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XI. BESS + </h2> + <p> + On my way back I took the opposite side of the street from that I usually + approached. When I reached the little shop I paused. First glancing at the + various petty articles exposed in the window, I quietly stepped in. A + contracted and very low room met my eyes, faintly lighted by a row of + panes in the upper half of the door and not at all by the window, which + was hung on the inside with a heavy curtain. Against two sides of this + room were arranged shelves filled with boxes labeled in the usual way to + indicate their contents. These did not strike me as being very varied or + of a very high order. There was no counter in front, only some tables on + which lay strewn fancy boxes of thread and other useless knick-knacks to + which certain shopkeepers appear to cling though they can seldom find + customers for them. A woman stood at one of these tables untangling a + skein of red yarn. Behind her I saw another leaning in an abstracted way + over a counter which ran from wall to wall across the extreme end of the + shop. This I took to be Bess. She had made no move at my entrance and she + made no move now. The woman with the skein appeared, on the contrary, as + eager to see as the other seemed indifferent. I had to buy something and I + did so in as matter-of-fact a way as possible, considering that my + attention was more given to the woman in the rear than to the articles I + was purchasing. + </p> + <p> + “You have a very convenient place here,” I casually remarked, as I handed + out my money. With this I turned squarely about and looked directly at her + whom I believed to be Bess. + </p> + <p> + A voluble answer from the woman at my side, but not the wink of an eye + from the one whose attention I had endeavored to attract. + </p> + <p> + “I live in the house opposite,” I carelessly went on, taking in every + detail of the strange being I was secretly addressing. + </p> + <p> + “Oh!” she exclaimed in startled tones, roused into speech at last. “You + live opposite; in Mayor Packard’s house?” + </p> + <p> + I approached her, smiling. She had dropped her hands from her chin and + seemed very eager now, more eager than the other woman, to interest me in + what she had about her and so hold me to the shop. + </p> + <p> + “Look at this,” she cried, holding up an article of such cheap workmanship + that I wondered so sensible an appearing woman would cumber her shelves + with it. “I am glad you live over there,” for I had nodded to her + question. “I’m greatly interested in that house. I’ve worked there as cook + and waitress several times.” + </p> + <p> + I met her look; it was sharp and very intelligent. + </p> + <p> + “Then you know its reputation,” I laughingly suggested. + </p> + <p> + She made a contemptuous gesture. The woman was really very good-looking, + but baffling in her manner, as Mr. Robinson had said, and very hard to + classify. “That isn’t what interests me,” she protested. “I’ve other + reasons. You’re not a relative of the family, are you?” she asked + impetuously, leaning over the table to get a nearer view of my face. + </p> + <p> + “No, nor even a friend. I am in their employ just now as a companion to + Mrs. Packard. Her health is not very good, and the mayor is away a great + deal.” + </p> + <p> + “I thought you didn’t belong there. I know all who belong there. I’ve + little else to do but stare across the street,” she added apologetically + and with a deep flush. “Business is very poor in this shop.” + </p> + <p> + I was standing directly in front of her. Turning quickly about, I looked + through the narrow panes of the door, and found that my eyes naturally + rested on the stoop of the opposite house. Indeed, this stoop was about + all that could be seen from the spot where this woman stood. + </p> + <p> + “Another eve bent in constant watchfulness upon us,” I inwardly commented. + “We are quite surrounded. The house should certainly hold treasure to + warrant all this interest. But what could this one-time domestic know of + the missing bonds?” + </p> + <p> + “An old-fashioned doorway,” I remarked. “It is the only one of the kind on + the whole street. It makes the house conspicuous, but in a way I like. I + don’t wonder you enjoy looking at it. To me such a house and such a + doorway suggest mystery and a romantic past. If the place is not haunted—and + only a fool believes in ghosts—something strange must have happened + there or I should never have the nervous feeling I have in going about the + halls and up and down the stairways. Did you never have that feeling?” + </p> + <p> + “Never. I’m not given to feelings. I live one day after another and just + wait.” + </p> + <p> + Not given to feelings! With such eyes in such a face! You should have + looked down when you said that, Bess; I might have believed you then. + </p> + <p> + “Wait?” I softly repeated. “Wait for what? For fortune to enter your + little shop-door?” + </p> + <p> + “No, for my husband to come back,” was her unexpected answer, uttered + grimly enough to have frightened that husband away again, had he been + fortunate or unfortunate enough to hear her. “I’m a married woman, Miss, + and shouldn’t be working like this. And I won’t be always; my man’ll come + back and make a lady of me again. It’s that I’m waiting for.” + </p> + <p> + Here a customer came in. Naturally I drew back, for our faces were nearly + touching. + </p> + <p> + “Don’t go,” she pleaded, catching me by the sleeve and turning + astonishingly pale for one ordinarily so ruddy. “I want to ask a favor of + you. Come into my little room behind. You won’t regret it.” This last in + an emphatic whisper. + </p> + <p> + Amazed at the turn which the conversation had taken and congratulating + myself greatly upon my success in insuring her immediate confidence, I + slipped through the opening she made for me between the tables serving for + a counter and followed her into a room at the rear, which from its + appearance answered the triple purpose of sleeping-room, parlor and + kitchen. + </p> + <p> + “Pardon my impertinence,” said she, as she carefully closed the door + behind us. “It’s not my habit to make friends with strangers, but I’ve + taken a fancy to you and think you can be trusted. Will—” she + hesitated, then burst out, “will you do something for me?” + </p> + <p> + “If I can,” I smiled. + </p> + <p> + “How long do you expect to stay over there?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, that I can’t say.” + </p> + <p> + “A month? a week?” + </p> + <p> + “Probably a week.” + </p> + <p> + “Then you can do what I want. Miss—” + </p> + <p> + “Saunders,” I put in. + </p> + <p> + “There is something in that house which belongs to me.” + </p> + <p> + I started; this was hardly what I expected her to say. + </p> + <p> + “Something of great importance to me; something which I must have and have + very soon. I don’t want to go there for it myself. I hid it in a very safe + place one day when my future looked doubtful, and I didn’t know where I + might be going or what might happen to me. Mrs. Packard would think it + strange if she saw where, and might make it very uncomfortable for me. But + you can get what I want without trouble if you are not afraid of going + about the house at night. It’s a little box with my name on it; and it is + hidden—” + </p> + <p> + “Where?” + </p> + <p> + “Behind a brick I loosened in the cellar wall. I can describe the very + place. Oh, you think I am asking too much of you—a stranger and a + lady.” + </p> + <p> + “No, I’m willing to do what I can for you. But I think you ought to tell + me what’s in the box, so that I shall know exactly what I am doing.” + </p> + <p> + “I can’t tell; I do not dare to tell till I have it again in my own hand. + Then we will look it over together. Do you hesitate? You needn’t; no + inconvenience will follow to any one, if you are careful to rely on + yourself and not let any other person see or handle this box.” + </p> + <p> + “How large is it?” I asked, quite as breathless as herself, as I realized + the possibilities underlying this remarkable request. + </p> + <p> + “It is so small that you can conceal it under an apron or in the pocket of + your coat. In exchange for it, I will give you all I can afford—ten + dollars.” + </p> + <p> + “No more than that?” I asked, testing her. + </p> + <p> + “No more at first. Afterward—if it brings me what it ought to, I + will give you whatever you think it is worth. Does that satisfy you? Are + you willing to risk an encounter with the ghost, for just ten dollars and + a promise?” + </p> + <p> + The smile with which she said this was indescribable. I think it gave me a + more thrilling consciousness of human terror in face of the supernatural + than anything which I had yet heard in this connection. Surely her motive + for remaining in the haunted house had been extraordinarily strong. + </p> + <p> + “You are afraid,” she declared. “You will shrink, when the time comes, + from going into that cellar at night.” + </p> + <p> + I shook my head; I had already regained both my will-power and the + resolution to carry out this adventure to the end. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “I will go,” said I. +</pre> + <p> + “And get me my box?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes!” + </p> + <p> + “And bring it to me here as early the next day as you can leave Mrs. + Packard?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, you don’t know what this means to me.” + </p> + <p> + I had a suspicion, but held my peace and let her rhapsodize. + </p> + <p> + “No one in all my life has ever shown me so much kindness! Are you sure + you won’t be tempted to tell any one what you mean to do?” + </p> + <p> + “Quite sure.” + </p> + <p> + “And will go down into the cellar and get this box for me, all by + yourself?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, if you demand it.” + </p> + <p> + “I do; you will see why some day.” + </p> + <p> + “Very well, you can trust me. Now tell me where I am to find the brick you + designate.” + </p> + <p> + “It’s in the cellar wall, about half-way down on the right-hand side. You + will see nothing but stone for a foot or two above the floor, but after + that comes the brick wall. On one of these bricks you will detect a cross + scratched. That’s the one. It will look as well cemented as the rest, but + if you throw water against it, you will find that in a little while you + will be able to pry it out. Take something to do this with, a knife or a + pair of scissors. When the brick falls out, feel behind with your hand and + you will find the box.” + </p> + <p> + “A questionable task. What if I should be seen at it?” + </p> + <p> + “The ghost will protect you!” + </p> + <p> + Again that smile of mingled sarcasm and innuendo. It was no common servant + girl’s smile, any more than her language was that of the ignorant + domestic. + </p> + <p> + “I believe the ghost fails to walk since the present tenants came into the + house,” I remarked. + </p> + <p> + “But its reputation remains; you’ll not be disturbed.” + </p> + <p> + “Possibly not; a good reason why you might safely undertake the business + yourself. I can find some way of letting you in.” + </p> + <p> + “No, no. I shall never again cross that threshold!” Her whole attitude + showed revolt and bitter determination. + </p> + <p> + “Yet you have never been frightened by anything there?” + </p> + <p> + “I know; but I have suffered; that is, for one who has no feelings. The + box will have to remain in its place undisturbed if you won’t get it for + me.” + </p> + <p> + “Positively?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, Miss; nothing would induce me even to cross the street. But I want + the box.” + </p> + <p> + “You shall have it,” said I. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0012" id="link2HCH0012"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XII. SEARCHINGS + </h2> + <p> + I seemed bound to be the prey of a divided duty. As I crossed the street, + I asked myself which of the two experiments I had in mind should occupy my + attention first. Should I proceed at once with that close study and + detailed examination of the house, which I contemplated in my eagerness to + establish my theory of a secret passage between it and the one now + inhabited by the Misses Quinlan, or should I wait to do this until I had + recovered the box, which might hold still greater secrets? + </p> + <p> + I could not decide, so I resolved to be guided by circumstances. If Mrs. + Packard were still out, I did not think I could sit down till I had a + complete plan of the house as a start in the inquiry which interested me + most. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Packard was still out,—so much Nixon deigned to tell me in + answer to my question. Whether the fact displeased him or not I could not + say, but he was looking very sour and seemed to resent the trouble he had + been to in opening the door for me. Should I notice this, even by an + attempt to conciliate him? I decided not. A natural manner was best; he + was too keen not to notice and give his own interpretation to uncalled for + smiles or words which contrasted too strongly with his own marked + reticence. I therefore said nothing as he pottered slowly back into his + own quarters in the rear, but lingered about down-stairs till I was quite + sure he was out of sight and hearing. Then I came back and took up my + point of view on the spot where the big hall clock had stood in the days + of Mr. Dennison. Later, I made a drawing of this floor as it must have + looked at that time. You will find it on the opposite page. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [transcriber’s note: The plan shows the house to have two + rows of rooms with a hall between. In the front each room + ends in a bow window. On the right the drawing-room has two + doors opening into the hall, equally spaced near the front + and rear of the room. Across the hall are two rooms of + apparently equal size; a reception room in front and the + library behind it, both rooms having windows facing on the + alley. There is a stairway in the hall just behind the door + to the reception room. The study is behind the drawing-room. + Opposite this is a side hall and the dining-room. The + library and dining-room both open off this hall with the + dining room also having doors to the main hall and kitchen. + The side hall ends with a stoop in the alley. A small room + labeled kitchen, etc. lies behind the dining-room and the + hall extends beyond the study beside the kitchen with the + cellar stairs on the kitchen side. There is a small + rectangle in the hall about two-thirds of the way down the + side of the drawing-room which is labeled A.] +</pre> + <p> + Near the place where I stood [marked A on the plan], had occurred most of + the phenomena, which could be located at all. Here the spectral hand had + been seen stopping the clock. Here the shape had passed encountered by Mr. + Weston’s cook, and just a few steps beyond where the library door opened + under the stairs Mr. Searles had seen the flitting figure which had shut + his mouth on the subject of his tenants’ universal folly. From the front + then toward the back these manifestations had invariably peeped to + disappear—where? That was what I was to determine; what I am sure + Mayor Packard would wish me to determine if he knew the whole situation as + I knew it from his wife’s story and the record I had just read at the + agent’s office. + </p> + <p> + Alas! there were many points of exit from this portion of the hall. The + drawing-room opened near; so did Mayor Packard’s study; then there was the + kitchen with its various offices, ending as I knew in the cellar stairs. + Nearer I could see the door leading into the dining-room and, opening + closer yet, the short side hall running down to what had once been the + shallow vestibule of a small side entrance, but which, as I had noted many + times in passing to and from the dining-room, was now used as a recess or + alcove to hold a cabinet of Indian curios. In which of these directions + should I carry my inquiry? All looked equally unpromising, unless it was + Mayor Packard’s study, and that no one with the exception of Mr. Steele + ever entered save by his invitation, not even his wife. I could not hope + to cross that threshold, nor did I greatly desire to invade the kitchen, + especially while Nixon was there. Should I have to wait till the mayor’s + return for the cooperation my task certainly demanded? It looked that way. + But before yielding to the discouragement following this thought, I + glanced about me again and suddenly remembered, first the creaking board, + which had once answered to the so-called spirit’s flight, and secondly the + fact which common sense should have suggested before, that if my theory + were true and the secret presence, whose coming and going I had been + considering, had fled by some secret passage leading to the neighboring + house, then by all laws of convenience and natural propriety that passage + should open from the side facing the Quinlan domicile, and not from that + holding Mayor Packard’s study and the remote drawing-room. + </p> + <p> + This considerably narrowed my field of inquiry, and made me immediately + anxious to find that creaking board which promised to narrow it further + yet. + </p> + <p> + Where should I seek it? In these rear halls, of course, but I hated to be + caught pacing them at this hour. Nixon’s step had not roused it or I + should have noticed it, for I was, in a way, listening for this very + sound. It was not in the direct path then from the front door to the + kitchen. Was it on one side or in the space about the dining-room door or + where the transverse corridor met the main hall? All these floors were + covered in the old-fashioned way with carpet, which would seem to show + that no new boards had been laid and that the creaking one should still be + here. + </p> + <p> + I ventured to go as far as the transverse hall,—I was at full + liberty to enter the library. But no result followed this experiment; my + footsteps had never fallen more noiselessly. Where could the board be? In + aimless uncertainty I stepped into the corridor and instantly a creak woke + under my foot. I had located the direction in which one of the so-called + phantoms had fled. It was down this transverse hall. + </p> + <p> + Flushed with apparent success, I looked up at the walls on either side of + me. They were gray with paint and presented one unbroken surface from + base-board to ceiling, save where the two doorways opened, one into the + library, the other into the dining-room. Had the flying presence escaped + by either of these two rooms? I knew the dining-room well. I had had + several opportunities for studying its details. I thought I knew the + library; besides, Mr. Searles had been in the library when the shape + advanced upon him from the hall,—a fact eliminating that room as a + possible source of approach! What then was left? The recess which had once + served as an old-time entrance. Ah, that gave promise of something. It + projected directly toward where the adjacent walls had once held two + doors, between which any sort of mischief might take place. Say that the + Misses Quinlan had retained certain keys. What easier than for one of them + to enter the outer door, strike a light, open the inner one and flash this + light up through the house till steps or voices warned her of an aroused + family, when she had only to reclose the inside door, put out the light + and escape by the outer one. + </p> + <p> + But alas! at this point I remembered that this, as well as all other + outside doors, had invariably been protected by bolt, and that these bolts + had never been found disturbed. Veritably I was busying myself for nothing + over this old vestibule. Yet before I left it I gave it another glance; + satisfied myself that its walls were solid; in fact, built of brick like + the house. This on two sides; the door occupied the third and showed the + same unbroken coat of thick, old paint, its surface barely hidden by the + cabinet placed at right angles to it. Enough of it, however, remained + exposed to view to give me an opportunity of admiring its sturdy panels + and its old-fashioned lock. The door was further secured by heavy pivoted + bars extending from jamb to jamb. An egg-and-dart molding extended all + around the casing, where the inner door had once hung. All solid, all very + old-fashioned, but totally unsuggestive of any reasonable solution of the + mystery I had vaguely hoped it to explain. Was I mistaken in my theory, + and must I look elsewhere for what I still honestly expected to find? + Undoubtedly; and with this decision I turned to leave the recess, when a + sensation, of too peculiar a nature for me readily to understand it, + caused me to stop short, and look down at my feet in an inquiring way and + afterward to lift the rug on which I had been standing and take a look at + the floor underneath. It was covered with carpet, like the rest of the + hall, but this did not disguise the fact that it sloped a trifle toward + the outside wall. Had not the idea been preposterous, I should have said + that the weight of the cabinet had been too much for it, causing it to sag + quite perceptibly at the base-board. But this seemed too improbable to + consider. Old as the house was, it was not old enough for its beams to + have rolled. Yet the floor was certainly uneven, and, what was stranger + yet, had, in sagging, failed to carry the base-board with it. This I could + see by peering around the side of the cabinet. Was it an important enough + fact to call for explanation? Possibly not; yet when I had taken a short + leap up and come down on what was certainly an unstable floor, I decided + that I should never be satisfied till I had seen that cabinet removed and + the floor under it rigidly examined. + </p> + <p> + Yet when I came to take a look at this projection from the library window + and saw that this floor, like that of the many entrances, was only the + height of one step from the ground, I felt the folly into which my + inquiring spirit had led me, and would have dismissed the whole subject + from my mind if my eyes had not detected at that moment on one of the + tables an unusually thin paper-knife. This gave me an idea. Carrying it + back with me into the recess, I got down on my knees, and first taking the + precaution to toss a little stick-pin of mine under the cabinet to be + reached after in case I was detected there by Nixon, I insinuated the + cutter between the base-board and the floor and found that I could not + only push it in an inch or more before striking the brick, but run it + quite freely around from one corner of the recess to the other. This was + surely surprising. The exterior of this vestibule must be considerably + larger than the interior would denote. What occupied the space between? I + went upstairs full of thought. Sometime, and that before long, I would + have that cabinet removed. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0013" id="link2HCH0013"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIII. A DISCOVERY + </h2> + <p> + Mrs. Packard came in very soon after this. She was accompanied by two + friends and I could hear them talking and laughing in her room upstairs + all the afternoon. It gave me leisure, but leisure was not what I stood in + need of, just now. I desired much more an opportunity to pursue my + inquiries, for I knew why she had brought these friends home with her and + lent herself to a merriment that was not natural to her. She wished to + forestall thought; to keep down dread; to fill the house so full of cheer + that no whisper should reach her from that spirit-world she had come to + fear. She had seen—or believed that she had seen—a specter, + and she had certainly heard a laugh that had come from no explicable human + source. + </p> + <p> + The brightness of the sunshiny day aided her unconsciously in this + endeavor. But I foresaw the moment when this brightness would disappear + and her friends say good-by. Then the shadows must fall again more heavily + than ever, because of their transient lifting. I almost wished she had + indeed gone with her husband, and found myself wondering why he had not + asked her to do so when he found what it was that depressed her. Perhaps + he had, and it was she who had held back. She may have made up her mind to + conquer this weakness, and to conquer it where it had originated and + necessarily held the strongest sway. At all events, he was gone and she + was here, and I had done nothing as yet to relieve that insidious dread + with which she must anticipate a night in this house without his presence. + </p> + <p> + I wondered if it would be any relief to her to have Mr. Steele remain upon + the premises. I had heard him come in about three o’clock and go into the + study, and when the time came for her friends to take their leave, and + their voices in merry chatter came up to my ear from the open boudoir + door, I stole down to ask her if I could suggest it to him. But I was too + late. Just as I reached the head of the stairs on the second floor he came + out of the study below and passed, hat in hand, toward the front door. + </p> + <p> + “What a handsome man!” came in an audible whisper from one of the ladies, + who now stood in the lower hall. + </p> + <p> + “Who is he?” asked the other. + </p> + <p> + I thought he held the door open one minute longer than was necessary to + catch her reply. It was a very cold and unenthusiastic one. + </p> + <p> + “That is Mr. Packard’s secretary,” said she. “He will join the mayor just + as soon as he has finished certain preparations intrusted to him.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh!” was their quiet rejoinder, but a note of disappointment rang in both + voices as the door shut behind him. + </p> + <p> + “One does not often see a perfectly handsome man.” + </p> + <p> + I stepped down to meet her when she in turn had shut the door upon them. + </p> + <p> + But I stopped half-way. She was standing with her head turned away from me + and the knob still in her hand. I saw that she was thinking or was the + prey of some rapidly growing resolve. + </p> + <p> + Suddenly she seized the key and turned it. + </p> + <p> + “The house is closed for the night,” she announced as she looked up and + met my astonished gaze. “No one goes out or comes in here again till + morning. I have seen all the visitors I have strength for.” + </p> + <p> + And though she did not know I saw it, she withdrew the key and slipped it + into her pocket. “This is Nixon’s night out,” she murmured, as she led the + way to the library. “Ellen will wait on us and we’ll have the baby down + and play games and be as merry as ever we can be,—to keep the ghosts + away,” she cried in fresh, defiant tones that had just the faintest + suggestion of hysteria in them. “We shall succeed; I don’t mean to think + of it again. I’m right in that, am I not? You look as if you thought so. + Ah, Mr. Packard was kind to secure me such a companion. I must prove my + gratitude to him by keeping you close to me. It was a mistake to have + those light-headed women visit me to-day. They tired more than they + comforted me.” + </p> + <p> + I smiled, and put the question which concerned me most nearly. + </p> + <p> + “Does Nixon stay late when he goes out?” + </p> + <p> + She threw herself into a chair and took up her embroidery. + </p> + <p> + “He will to-night,” was her answer. “A little grandniece of his is coming + on a late train from Pittsburgh. I don’t think the train is due till + midnight, and after that he’s got to take her to his daughter’s on Carey + Street. It will be one o’clock at least before he can be back.” + </p> + <p> + I hid my satisfaction. Fate was truly auspicious. I would make good use of + his absence. There was nobody else in the house whose surveillance I + feared. + </p> + <p> + “Pray send for the baby now,” I exclaimed. “I am eager to begin our merry + evening.” + </p> + <p> + She smiled and rang the bell for Letty, the nurse. + </p> + <p> + Late that night I left my room and stole softly down-stairs. Mrs. Packard + had ordered a bed made up for herself in the nursery and had retired + early. So had Ellen and Letty. The house was therefore clear below stairs, + and after I had passed the second story I felt myself removed from all + human presence as though I were all alone in the house. + </p> + <p> + This was a relief to me, yet the experience was not a happy one. Ellen had + asked permission to leave the light burning in the hall during the mayor’s + absence, so the way was plain enough before me; but no parlor floor looks + inviting after twelve o’clock at night, and this one held a secret as yet + unsolved, which did not add to its comfort or take the mysterious threat + from the shadows lurking in corners and under stairways which I had to + pass. As I hurried past the place where the clock had once stood, I + thought of the nurses’ story and of the many frightened hearts which had + throbbed on the stairway I had just left and between the walls I was fast + approaching; but I did not turn back. That would have been an + acknowledgment of the truth of what I was at this very time exerting my + full faculties to disprove. + </p> + <p> + I knew little about the rear of the house and nothing about the cellar. + But when I had found my way into the kitchen and lit the candle I had + brought from my room, I had no difficulty in deciding which of the many + doors led below. There is something about a cellar door which is + unmistakable, but it took me a minute to summon up courage to open it + after I had laid my hand on its old-fashioned latch. Why do we so hate + darkness and the chill of unknown regions, even when we know they are + empty of all that can hurt or really frighten us? I was as safe there as + in my bed up-stairs, yet I had to force myself to consider more than once + the importance of my errand and the positive result it might have in + allaying the disturbance in more than one mind, before I could lift that + latch and set my foot on the short flight which led into the yawning + blackness beneath me. + </p> + <p> + But once on my way I took courage. I pictured to myself the collection of + useful articles with which the spaces before me were naturally filled, and + thought how harmless were the sources of the grotesque shadows which bowed + to me from every side and even from the cement floor toward the one spot + where the stones of the foundation showed themselves clear of all + encumbering objects. As I saw how numerous these articles were, and how + small a portion of the wall itself was really visible, I had my first + practical fear, and a practical fear soon puts imaginary ones to flight. + What if some huge box or case of bottles should have been piled up in + front of the marked brick I was seeking? I am strong, but I could not move + such an object alone, and this search was a solitary one; I had been + forbidden to seek help. + </p> + <p> + The anxiety this possibility involved nerved me to instant action. I + leaped forward to the one clear spot singled out for me by chance and + began a hurried scrutiny of the short strip of wall which was all that was + revealed to me on the right-hand side. Did it hold the marked brick? My + little candle shook with eagerness and it was with difficulty I could see + the face of the brick close enough to determine. But fortune favored, and + presently my eye fell on one whose surface showed a ruder, scratched + cross. It was in the lowest row and well within reach of my hand. If I + could move it the box would soon be in my possession—and what might + that box not contain! + </p> + <p> + Looking about, I found the furnace and soon the gas-jet which made + attendance upon it possible. This lit, I could set my candle down, and yet + see plainly enough to work. I had shears in my pocket. I have had a man’s + training in the handling of tools and felt quite confident that I could + pry this brick out if it was as easily loosened as Bess had given me to + understand. My first thrust at the dusty cement inclosing it encouraged me + greatly. It was very friable and so shallow that my scissors’-point picked + it at once. In five minutes’ time the brick was clear, so that I easily + lifted it out and set it on the floor. The small black hole which was left + was large enough to admit my hand. I wasted no time thrusting it in, + expecting to feel the box at once and draw it out. But it was farther back + than I expected, and while I was feeling about something gave way and fell + with a slight, rustling noise down out of my reach. Was it the box? No, + for in another instant I had come in contact with its broken edges and had + drawn it out; the falling object must have been some extra mortar, and it + had gone where? I did not stop to consider then. The object in my hand was + too alluring; the size, the shape too suggestive of a package of folded + bonds for me to think of anything but the satisfaction of my curiosity and + the consequent clearing of a very serious mystery. + </p> + <p> + Just at this moment, one of intense excitement, I heard, or thought I + heard, a stealthy step behind me. Forcing myself to calmness, however, I + turned and, holding the candle high convinced myself that I was alone in + the cellar. + </p> + <p> + Carrying the box nearer the light, I pulled off its already loosened + string and lifted the cover. In doing this I suffered from no qualms of + conscience. My duty seemed very clear to me, and the end, a totally + impersonal one, more than justified the means. + </p> + <p> + A folded paper met my eyes—one—not of the kind I expected; + then some letters whose address I caught at a glance. “Elizabeth Brainard”—a + discovery which might have stayed my hand at another time, but nothing + could stay it now. I opened the paper and looked at it. Alas! it was only + her marriage certificate; I had taken all this trouble and all this risk, + only to rescue for her the proof of her union with one John Silverthorn + Brainard. The same name was on her letters. Why had Bess so strongly + insisted on a secret search, and why had she concealed her license in so + strange a place? + </p> + <p> + Greatly sobered, I restored the paper to its place in the box, slipped on + the string and prepared to leave the cellar with it. Then I remembered the + brick on the floor and the open hole where it had been, and afterward the + something which had fallen over within and what this space might mean in a + seemingly solid wall. + </p> + <p> + More excited now even than I had been at any time before, I thrust my hand + in again and tried to sound the depth of this unexpected far-reaching + hole; but the size of my arm stood in the way of my experiment, and, + drawing out my hand, I looked about for a stick and finding one, plunged + that in. To my surprise and growing satisfaction it went in its full + length—about three feet. There was a cavity on the other side of + this wall of very sizable dimensions. Had I struck the suspected passage? + I had great hope of it. Nothing else would account for so large a space on + the other side of a wall which gave every indication of being one with the + foundation. Catching up my stick I made a rude estimate of its location, + after which I replaced the brick, put out the gas, and caught up Bess’ + box. Trembling, and more frightened now than at my descent at my own + footfall and tremulous pursuing shadow, I went up-stairs. + </p> + <p> + As I passed the corridor leading to the converted vestibule which had so + excited my interest in the afternoon, I paused and made a hurried + calculation. If the stick had been three feet long, as I judged, and my + stride was thirty inches, then the place of that hole in the wall below + was directly in a line with where I now stood,—in other words, under + the vestibule floor, as I had already, suspected. + </p> + <p> + How was I to verify this without disturbing Mrs. Packard? That was a + question to sleep on. But it took me a long time to get to sleep. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0014" id="link2HCH0014"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIV. I SEEK HELP + </h2> + <p> + A bad night, a very bad night, but for all that I was down early the next + morning. Bess must have her box and I a breath of fresh air before + breakfast, to freshen me up a bit and clear my mind for the decisive act, + since my broken rest had failed to refresh me. + </p> + <p> + As I reached the parlor floor Nixon came out of the reception-room. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, Miss!” he exclaimed, “going out?” surprised, doubtless, to see me in + my hat and jacket. + </p> + <p> + “A few steps,” I answered, and then stopped, not a little disturbed; for + in moving to open the door he had discovered that the key was not in it + and was showing his amazement somewhat conspicuously. + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Packard took the key up to her room,” I explained, thinking that + some sort of explanation was in order. “She is nervous, you know, and + probably felt safer with it there.” + </p> + <p> + The slow shake of his head had a tinge of self-reproach in it. + </p> + <p> + “I was sorry to go out,” he muttered. “I was very sorry to go out,”—but + the look which he turned upon me the next minute was of a very different + sort. “I don’t see how you can go out yet,” said he, “unless you go by the + back way. That leads into Stanton Street; but perhaps you had just as lief + go into Stanton Street.” + </p> + <p> + There was impertinence in his voice as well as aggressiveness in his eye, + but I smiled easily enough and was turning toward the back with every + expectation of going by way of Stanton Street, when Letty came running + down the stairs with the key in her hand. I don’t think he was pleased, + but he opened the door civilly enough and I gladly went out, taking with + me, however, a remembrance of the furtive look with which he had noted the + small package in my hand. I pass over the joy with which Bess received the + box and its desired contents. I had lost all interest in the matter, which + was so entirely personal to herself, and, declining the ten dollars which + I knew she could ill afford, made my visit so short that I was able to + take a brisk walk down the street and yet be back in time for breakfast. + </p> + <p> + This, like that of the preceding day, I took alone. Mrs. Packard was well + but preferred to eat up-stairs. I did not fret at this; I was really glad, + for now I could think and plan my action quite unembarrassed by her + presence. The opening under the vestibule floor was to be sounded, and + sounded this very morning, but on what pretext? I could not take Mrs. + Packard into my counsel, for that would be to lessen the force of the + discovery with which I yet hoped to dissipate at one blow the + superstitious fears I saw it was otherwise impossible to combat. I might + interest Ellen, and I was quite certain that I could interest the cook; + but this meant Nixon, also, who was always around and whose animosity to + myself was too mysteriously founded for me to trust him with any of my + secrets or to afford him any inkling of my real reason for being in the + house. + </p> + <p> + Yet help I must have and very efficient help, too. Should I telegraph to + Mayor Packard for some sort of order which would lead to the tearing up of + this end of the house? I could not do this without fuller explanations + than I could give in a telegram. Besides, he was under sufficient pressure + just now for me to spare him the consideration of so disturbing a matter, + especially as he had left a substitute behind whose business it was, not + only to relieve Mrs. Packard in regard to the libelous paragraph, but in + all other directions to which his attention might be called. I would see + Mr. Steele; he would surely be able to think up some scheme by which that + aperture might be investigated without creating too much disturbance in + the house. + </p> + <p> + An opportunity for doing this was not long in presenting itself. Mr. + Steele came in about nine o’clock and passed at once into the study. The + next moment I was knocking at his door, my heart in any mouth, but my + determination strung up to the point of daring anything and everything for + the end I had in view. + </p> + <p> + Fortunately he came to the door; I could never have entered without his + encouragement. As I met his eye I was ashamed of the color my cheeks + undoubtedly showed, but felt reconciled the next minute, for he was not + quite disembarrassed himself, though he betrayed it by a little extra + paleness rather than by a flush, such as had so disturbed myself. Both of + us were quite natural in a moment, however, and answering his courteous + gesture I stepped in and at once opened up my business. + </p> + <p> + “You must pardon me,” said I, “for this infringement upon the usual rules + of this office. I have something very serious to say about Mrs. Packard—oh, + she’s quite well; it has to do with a matter I shall presently explain—and + I wish to make a request.” + </p> + <p> + “Thank you for the honor,” he said, drawing up a chair for me. + </p> + <p> + But I did not sit, neither did I speak for a moment. I was contemplating + his features and thinking how faultless they were. + </p> + <p> + “I hardly know where to begin,” I ventured at last. “I am burdened with a + secret, and it may all appear puerile to you. I don’t know whether to + remind you first of Mayor Packard’s intense desire to see his wife’s + former cheerfulness restored—a task in which I have been engaged to + assist—or to plunge at once into my discoveries, which are a little + peculiar and possibly important, in spite of my short acquaintance with + the people under this roof and the nature of my position here.” + </p> + <p> + “You excite me,” were his few quick but sharply accentuated words. “What + secret? What discoveries? I didn’t know that the house held any that were + worth the attention of sensible persons like ourselves.” + </p> + <p> + I had not been looking at him directly, but I looked up at this and was + astonished to find that his interest in what I had said was greater than + appeared from his tone or even from his manner. + </p> + <p> + “You know the cause of Mrs. Packard’s present uneasiness?” I asked. + </p> + <p> + “Mayor Packard told me—the paragraph which appeared in yesterday + morning’s paper. I have tried to find out its author, but I have failed so + far.” + </p> + <p> + “That is a trifle,” I said. “The real cause—no, I prefer to stand,” + I put in, for he was again urging me by a gesture to seat myself. + </p> + <p> + “The real cause—” he repeated. + </p> + <p> + “—is one you will smile at, but which you must nevertheless respect. + She thinks—she has confided to us, in fact—that she has seen, + within these walls, what many others profess to have seen. You understand + me, Mr. Steele?” + </p> + <p> + “I don’t know that I do, Miss Saunders.” + </p> + <p> + “I find it hard to speak it; you have heard, of course, the common gossip + about this house.” + </p> + <p> + “That it is haunted?” he smiled, somewhat disdainfully. + </p> + <p> + “Yes. Well, Mrs. Packard believes that she has seen what—what gives + this name to the house.” + </p> + <p> + “A ghost?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, a ghost—in the library one night.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah!” + </p> + <p> + The ejaculation was eloquent. I did not altogether understand it, but its + chief expression seemed to be contempt. I began to fear he would not have + sufficient sympathy with such an unreasoning state of mind to give me the + attention and assistance I desired. He saw the effect it had upon me and + hastened to say: + </p> + <p> + “The impression Mrs. Packard has made upon me was of a common-sense woman. + I’m sorry to hear that she is the victim of an hallucination. What do you + propose to do about it?—for I see that you have some project in + mind.” + </p> + <p> + Then I told him as much of my story as seemed necessary to obtain his + advice and to secure his cooperation. I confided to him my theory of the + unexplainable sights and sounds which had so unfortunately aroused Mrs. + Packard’s imagination, and what I had done so far to substantiate it. I + did not mention the bonds, nor tell him of Bess and her box, but led him + to think that my experiments in the cellar had been the result of my + discoveries in the side entrance. + </p> + <p> + He listened gravely—I hardly feel justified in saying with a + surprise that was complimentary. I am not sure that it was. Such men are + difficult to understand. When I had finished, he remarked with a smile: + </p> + <p> + “So you conclude that the floor of this place is movable and that the + antiquated ladies you mention have stretched their old limbs in a + difficult climb, just for the game of frightening out tenants they did not + desire for neighbors?” + </p> + <p> + “I know that it sounds ridiculous,” I admitted, refraining still, in spite + of the great temptation, from mentioning the treasure which it was the one + wish of their lives to protect from the discovery of others. “If they were + quite sane I should perhaps not have the courage to suggest this + explanation of what has been heard and seen here. But they are not quite + sane; a glance at their faces is enough to convince one of this, and from + minds touched with insanity anything can be expected. Will you go with me + to this side entrance and examine the floor for yourself? The condition of + things under it I will ask you to take my word for; you will hardly wish + to visit the cellar on an exploring expedition till you are reasonably + assured of its necessity.” + </p> + <p> + His eye, which had grown curiously cold and unresponsive through this, + turned from me toward the desk before which he had been sitting. It was + heaped high with a batch of unopened letters, and I could readily + understand what was in his mind. + </p> + <p> + “You will be helping the mayor more by listening to me,” I continued + earnestly, “than by anything you can do here. Believe me, Mr. Steele, I am + no foolish, unadvised girl. I know what I am talking about.” + </p> + <p> + He suppressed an impatient sigh and endeavored to show a proper + appreciation of my own estimate of myself and the value of my + communication. + </p> + <p> + “I am at your service,” said he. + </p> + <p> + I wished he had been a little more enthusiastic, but, careful not to show + my disappointment, I added, as I led the way to the door: + </p> + <p> + “I wish we could think of some way of securing ourselves from + interruption. Nixon does not like me, and will be sure to interest himself + in our movements if he sees us go down that hall together.” + </p> + <p> + “Is there any harm in that?” + </p> + <p> + “There might be. He is suspicious of me, which makes it impossible for one + to count upon his conduct. If he saw us meddling with the cabinet, he + would be very apt to rush with his complaints to Mrs. Packard, and I am + not ready yet to take her into our confidence. I want first to be sure + that my surmises are correct.” + </p> + <p> + “You are quite right.” If any sarcasm tinged this admission, he + successfully hid it. “I think I can dispose of Nixon for a short time,” he + went on. “You are bent upon meddling with that vestibule floor?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes.” + </p> + <p> + “Even if I should advise not?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, Mr. Steele; even if you roused the household and called Mrs. Packard + down to witness my folly. But I should prefer to make my experiments + quickly and without any other witness than yourself. I am not without some + pride to counterbalance my presumption.” + </p> + <p> + We had come to a stand before the door as I said this. As I finished, he + laid his hand on the knob, saying kindly: + </p> + <p> + “Your wishes shall be considered. Take a seat in the library, Miss + Saunders, and in a few moments I will join you. I have a task for Nixon + which will keep him employed for some time.” + </p> + <p> + At this he opened the door and I glided out. Making my way to the library + I hastened in and threw myself into one of its great chairs. In another + minute I heard Mr. Steele summon Nixon, and in the short interview which + followed between them heard enough to comprehend that he was loading the + old butler’s arms with a large mass of documents and papers for immediate + consumption in the furnace. Nixon was not to leave till they were all + safely consumed. The grumble which followed from the old fellow’s lips was + not the most cheerful sound in the world, but he went back with his pile. + Presently I heard the furnace door rattle and caught the smell, which I + was careful to explain to Ellen as she went by the library door on her way + up-stairs, lest Mrs. Packard should be alarmed and come running down to + see what was the matter. + </p> + <p> + The next moment Mr. Steele appeared in the doorway. + </p> + <p> + “Now what are we to do?” said he. + </p> + <p> + I led the way to what I have sometimes called “the recess” for lack of a + better name. + </p> + <p> + “This is the place,” I cried, adding a few explanations as I saw the + curiosity with which he now surveyed its various features. “Don’t you see + now that cabinet leans to the left? I declare it leans more than it did + yesterday; the floor certainly dips at that point.” + </p> + <p> + He cast a glance where I pointed and instinctively put out his hand, but + let it fall as I remarked: + </p> + <p> + “The cabinet is not so very heavy. If I take out a few of those big pieces + of pottery, don’t you think we could lift it away from this corner?” + </p> + <p> + “And what would you do then?” + </p> + <p> + “Tear up the carpet and see what is the matter with this part of the + floor. Perhaps we shall find not only that, but something else of a still + more interesting nature.” + </p> + <p> + He was standing on the sill of what had been the inner doorway. As I said + these words he fell back in careless grace against the panel and remained + leaning there in an easy attitude, assumed possibly just to show me with + what incredulity, and yet with what kindly forbearance he regarded my + childish enthusiasm. + </p> + <p> + “I don’t understand,” said he. “What do you expect to find?” + </p> + <p> + “Some spring or button by which this floor is made to serve the purpose of + a trap. I’m sure that there is an opening underneath—a large + opening. Won’t you help me—” + </p> + <p> + I forgot to finish. In my eagerness to impress him I had turned in his + direction, and was staring straight at his easy figure and faintly smiling + features, when the molding against which he leaned caught my eye. With a + total absence of every other thought than the idea which had suddenly come + to me, I sprang forward and pressed with my whole weight against one of + the edges of the molding which had a darker hue about it than the rest. I + felt it give, felt the floor start from under me at the same moment, and + in another heard the clatter and felt the force of the toppling cabinet on + my shoulder as it and I went shooting down into the hole I had been so + anxious to penetrate, though not in just this startling fashion. + </p> + <p> + The cry, uttered by Mr. Steele as I disappeared from before his eyes, was + my first conscious realization of what had happened after I had struck the + ground below. + </p> + <p> + “Are you hurt?” he cried, with real commiseration, as he leaned over to + look for me in the hollow at his feet. “Wait and I will drop down to you,” + he went on, swinging himself into a position to leap. + </p> + <p> + I was trembling with the shock and probably somewhat bruised, but not hurt + enough to prevent myself from scrambling to my feet, as he slid down to my + side and offered me his arm for support. + </p> + <p> + “What did you do?” he asked. “Was it you who made this trap give way? I + see that it is a trap now,”—and he pointed to the square boarding + hampered by its carpet which hung at one side. + </p> + <p> + “I pressed one of those round knobs in the molding,” I explained, laughing + to hide the tears of excitement in my eyes. “It had a loose look. I did it + without thinking,—that is, without thinking enough of what I was + doing to be sure that I was in a safe enough position for such an + experiment. But I’m all right, and so is the cabinet. See!” I pointed to + where it stood, still upright, its contents well shaken up but itself in + tolerably good condition. + </p> + <p> + “You are fortunate,” said he. “Shall I help you up out of this? Your + curiosity must be amply satisfied.” + </p> + <p> + “Not yet, not yet,” I cried. “Oh! it is as I thought,” I now exclaimed, + peering around the corner of the cabinet into a place of total darkness. + “The passage is here, running directly under the alley-way. Help me, help + me, I must follow it to the end. I’m sure it communicates with the house + next door.” + </p> + <p> + He had to humor me. I already had one hand on the cabinet’s edge, and + should have pushed it aside by my own strength if he had not interfered. + The space we were in was so small, some four feet square, I should judge, + that the utmost we could do was to shove one corner of it slightly aside, + so as to make a narrow passage into the space beyond. Through this I + slipped and should have stepped recklessly on if he had not caught me back + and suggested that he go first into what might have its own pitfalls and + dangers. + </p> + <p> + I did not fear these, but was glad, nevertheless, to yield to his + suggestion and allow him to pass me. As he did so, he took out a match + from his pocket and in another moment had lit and held it out. A long, + narrow vaulting met our eyes, very rude and propped up with beams in an + irregular way. It was empty save for a wooden stool or some such object + which stood near our feet. Though the small flame was insufficient to + allow us to see very far, I was sure that I caught the outlines of a + roughly made door at the extreme end and was making for this door, + careless of his judgment and detaining hand, when a quick, strong light + suddenly struck me in the face. In the square hollow made by the opening + of this door, I saw the figure of Miss Charity with a lighted lantern in + her hand. She was coming my way, the secret of the ghostly visitations + which had deceived so many people was revealed. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0015" id="link2HCH0015"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XV. HARDLY A COINCIDENCE + </h2> + <p> + The old lady’s eyes met ours without purpose or intelligence. It was plain + that she did not see us; also plain that she was held back in her advance + by some doubt in her beclouded brain. We could see her hover, as it were, + at her end of the dark passage, while I held my breath and Mr. Steele + panted audibly. Then gradually she drew back and disappeared behind the + door, which she forgot to shut, as we could tell from the gradually + receding light and the faint fall of her footsteps after the last dim + flicker had faded away. + </p> + <p> + When she was quite gone, Mr. Steele spoke: + </p> + <p> + “You must be satisfied now,” he said. “Do you still wish to go on, or + shall we return and explain this accident to the girls whose voices I + certainly hear in the hall overhead?” + </p> + <p> + “We must go back,” I reluctantly consented. A wild idea had crossed my + brain of following out my first impulse and of charging Miss Charity in + her own house with the visits which had from time to time depopulated this + house. + </p> + <p> + “I shall leave you to make the necessary explanations,” said he. “I am + really rushed with business and should be down-town on the mayor’s affairs + at this very moment.” + </p> + <p> + “I am quite ready,” said I. Then as I squeezed my way through between the + corner of the cabinet and the foundation wall, I could not help asking him + how he thought it possible for these old ladies to mount to the halls + above from the bottom of the four-foot hole in which we now stood. + </p> + <p> + “The same way in which I now propose that you should,” he replied, lifting + into view the object we had seen at one side of the passage, and which now + showed itself to be a pair of folding steps. “Canny enough to discover or + perhaps to open this passage, they were canny enough to provide themselves + with means of getting out of it. Shall I help you?” + </p> + <p> + “In a minute,” I said. “I am so curious. How do you suppose they worked + this trap from here? They did not press the spring in the molding.” + </p> + <p> + He pointed to one side of the opening, where part of the supporting + mechanism was now visible. + </p> + <p> + “They worked that. It is all simple enough on this side of the trap; the + puzzle is about the other. How did they manage to have all this mechanism + put in without rousing any one’s attention? And why so much trouble?” + </p> + <p> + “Some time I will tell you,” I replied, putting my foot on the step. “O + girls!” I exclaimed, as two screams rang out above and two agitated faces + peered down upon us. “I’ve had an accident and a great adventure, but I’ve + solved the mystery of the ghost. It was just one of the two poor old + ladies next door. They used to come up through this trap. Where is Mrs. + Packard?” + </p> + <p> + They were too speechless with wonder to answer me. I had to reach up my + arms twice before either of them would lend me a helping hand. But when I + was once up and Mr. Steele after me, the questions they asked came so + thick and fast that I almost choked in my endeavor to answer them and to + get away. Nixon appeared in the middle of it, and, congratulating myself + that Mr. Steele had been able to slip away to the study while I was + talking to the girls, I went over the whole story again for his benefit, + after which I stopped abruptly and asked again where Mrs. Packard was. + </p> + <p> + Nixon, with a face as black as the passage from which I had just escaped, + muttered some words about queer doings for respectable people, but said + nothing about his mistress unless the few words he added to his final + lament about the cabinet contained some allusion to her fondness for the + articles it held. We could all see that they had suffered greatly from + their fall. Annoyed at his manner, which was that of a man personally + aggrieved, I turned to Ellen. “You have just been up-stairs,” I said. “Is + Mrs. Packard still in the nursery?” + </p> + <p> + “She was, but not more than five minutes ago she slipped down-stairs and + went out. It was just before the noise you made falling down into this + hole.” + </p> + <p> + Out! I was sorry; I wanted to disburden myself at once. + </p> + <p> + “Well, leave everything as it is,” I commanded, despite the rebellion in + Nixon’s eye. “I will wait in the reception-room till she returns and then + tell her at once. She can blame nobody but me, if she is displeased at + what she sees.” + </p> + <p> + Nixon grumbled something and moved off. The girls, full of talk, ran + up-stairs to have it out in the nursery with Letty, and I went toward the + front. How long I should have to stay there before Mrs. Packard’s return I + did not know. She might stay away an hour and she might stay away all day. + I could simply wait. But it was a happy waiting. I should see a renewal of + joy in her and a bounding hope for the future when once I told any tale. + It was enough to keep me quiet for the three long hours I sat there with + my face to the window, watching for the first sight of her figure on the + crossing leading into our street. + </p> + <p> + When it came, it was already lunch-time, but there was no evidence of + hurry in her manner; there was, rather, an almost painful hesitation. As + she drew nearer, she raised her eyes to the house-front and I saw with + what dread she approached it, and what courage it took for her to enter it + at all. + </p> + <p> + The sight of my face at the window altered her expression, however, and + she came quite cheerfully up the steps. Careful to forestall Nixon in his + duty, I opened the front door, and, drawing her into the room where I had + been waiting, I blurted out my whole story before she could remove her + hat. + </p> + <p> + “O Mrs. Packard,” I cried, “I have such good news for you. The thing you + feared hasn’t any meaning. The house was never haunted; the shadows which + have been seen here were the shadows of real beings. There is a secret + entrance to this house, and through it the old ladies next door, have come + from time to time in search of their missing bonds, or else to frighten + off all other people from the chance of finding them. Shall I show you + where the place is?” + </p> + <p> + Her face, when I began, had shown such changes I was startled; but by the + time I had finished a sort of apathy had fallen across it and her voice + sounded hollow as she cried: “What are you telling me? A secret entrance + we knew nothing about and the Misses Quinlan using it to hunt about these + halls at night! Romantic, to be sure. Yes, let me see the place. It is + very interesting and very inconvenient. Will you tell Nixon, please, to + have this passage closed?” + </p> + <p> + I felt a chill. If it was interest she felt it was a very forced one. She + even paused to take off her hat. But when I had drawn her through the + library into the side hall, and shown her the great gap where the cabinet + had stood, I thought she brightened a little and showed some of the + curiosity I expected. But it was very easily appeased, and before I could + have made the thing clear to her she was back in the library, fingering + her hat and listening, as it seemed to me, to everything but my voice. + </p> + <p> + I did not understand it. + </p> + <p> + Making one more effort I came up close to her and impetuously cried out: + </p> + <p> + “Don’t you see what this does to the phantasm you professed to have seen + yourself once in this very spot? It proves it a myth, a product of your + own imagination, something which it must certainly be impossible for you + ever to fear again. That is why I made the search which has ended in this + discovery. I wanted to rid you of your forebodings. Do assure me that I + have. It will be such a comfort to me—and how much more to the + mayor!” + </p> + <p> + Her lack-luster eyes fell; her fingers closed on the hat whose feathers + she had been trifling with, and, lifting it, she moved softly into the + reception-room and from there into the hall and up the front stairs. I + stood aghast; she had not even heard what I had been saying. + </p> + <p> + By the time I had recovered my equanimity enough to follow, she had + disappeared into her own room. It could not have been in a very + comfortable condition, for there were evidences about the hall that it was + being thoroughly swept. As I endeavored to pass the door, I inadvertently + struck the edge of a little taboret standing in my way. It toppled and a + little book lying on it slid to the floor; as I stooped to pick it up my + already greatly disconcerted mind was still further affected by the + glimpse which was given me of its title. It was this: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + THE ECCENTRICITIES OF GHOSTS AND COINCIDENCES + SUGGESTING SPIRITUAL INTERFERENCE +</pre> + <p> + Struck forcibly by a coincidence suggesting something quite different from + spiritual interference, I allowed the book to open in my hand, which it + did at this evidently frequently conned passage: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + A book was in my hand and a strong light was shining on it and + on me from a lamp on a near-by table. The story was interesting + and I was following the adventures it was relating, with eager + interest, when suddenly the character of the light changed, a + mist seemed to pass before my eyes and, on my looking up, I saw + standing between me and the lamp the figure of a man, which + vanished as I looked, leaving in my breast an unutterable dread + and in my memory the glare of two unearthly eyes whose menace + could mean but one thing—death. + + The next day I received news of a fatal accident to my husband. +</pre> + <p> + I closed the little volume with very strange thoughts. If Mayor Packard + had believed himself to have received an explanation of his wife’s strange + condition in the confession she had made of having seen an apparition such + as this in her library, or if I had believed myself to have touched the + bottom of the mystery absorbing this unhappy household in my futile + discoveries of the human and practical character of the visitants who had + haunted this house, then Mayor Packard and I had made a grave mistake. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0016" id="link2HCH0016"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVI. IN THE LIBRARY + </h2> + <p> + I was still in Mrs. Packard’s room, brooding over the enigma offered by + the similarity between the account I had just read and the explanation she + had given of the mysterious event which had thrown such a cloud over her + life, when, moved by some unaccountable influence, I glanced up and saw + Nixon standing in the open doorway, gazing at me with an uneasy curiosity + I was sorry enough to have inspired. + </p> + <p> + “Mrs. Packard wants you,” he declared with short ceremony. “She’s in the + library.” And, turning on his heel, he took his deliberate way + down-stairs. + </p> + <p> + I followed hard after him, and, being brisk in my movements, was at his + back before he was half-way to the bottom. He seemed to resent this, for + he turned a baleful look back at me and purposely delayed his steps + without giving me the right of way. + </p> + <p> + “Is Mrs. Packard in a hurry?” I asked. “If so, you had better let me + pass.” + </p> + <p> + He gave no appearance of having heard me; his attention had been caught by + something going on at the rear of the hall we were now approaching. + Following his anxious glance, I saw the door of the mayor’s study open and + Mrs. Packard come out. As we reached the lower step, she passed us on her + way to the library. Wondering what errand had taken her to the study, + which she was supposed not to visit, I turned to join her and caught a + glimpse of the old man’s face. It was more puckered, scowling and + malignant of aspect than usual. I was surprised that Mrs. Packard had not + noticed it. Surely it was not the countenance of a mere disgruntled + servant. Something not to be seen on the surface was disturbing this old + man; and, moving in the shadows as I was, I questioned whether it would + not conduce to some explanation between Mrs. Packard and myself if I + addressed her on the subject of this old serving-man’s peculiar ways. + </p> + <p> + But the opportunity for doing this did not come that morning. On entering + the library I was met by Mrs. Packard with the remark: + </p> + <p> + “Have you any interest in politics? Do you know anything about the + subject?” + </p> + <p> + “I have an interest in Mayor Packard’s election,” I smilingly assured her; + “and I know that in this I represent a great number of people in this town + if not in the state.” + </p> + <p> + “You want to see him governor? You desired this before you came to this + house? You believe him to be a good man—the right man for the + place?” + </p> + <p> + “I certainly do, Mrs. Packard.” + </p> + <p> + “And you represent a large class who feel the same?” + </p> + <p> + “I think so, Mrs. Packard.” + </p> + <p> + “I am so glad!” Her tone was almost hysterical. “My heart is set on this + election,” she ardently explained. “It means so much this year. My husband + is very ambitious. So am I—for him. I would give—” there she + paused, caught back, it would seem, by some warning thought. I took + advantage of her preoccupation to scrutinize her features more closely + than I had dared to do while she was directly addressing me. I found them + set in the stern mold of profound feeling—womanly feeling, no doubt, + but one actuated by causes far greater than the subject, serious as it + was, apparently called for. She would give— + </p> + <p> + What lay beyond that give? + </p> + <p> + I never knew, for she never finished her sentence. + </p> + <p> + Observing the breathless interest her manner evoked, or possibly realizing + how nearly she had come to an unnecessary if not unwise self-betrayal, she + suddenly smoothed her brow and, catching up a piece of embroidery from the + table, sat down with it in her hand. + </p> + <p> + “A wife is naturally heart and soul with her husband,” she observed, with + an assumption of composure which restored some sort of naturalness to the + conversation. “You are a thinking person, I see, and what is more, a + conscientious one. There are many, many such in town; many amongst the men + as well as amongst the women. Do you think I am in earnest about this—that + Mr. Packard’s chances could be affected by—by anything that might be + said about me? You saw, or heard us say, at least, that my name had been + mentioned in the morning paper in a way not altogether agreeable to us. It + was false, of course, but—” She started, and her work fell from her + hands. The door-bell had rung and we could hear Nixon in the hall + hastening to answer it. + </p> + <p> + “Miss Saunders,” she hurriedly interposed with a great effort to speak + naturally, “I have told Nixon that I wish to see Mr. Steele if he comes in + this morning. I wish to speak to him about the commission intrusted to him + by my husband. I confess Mr. Steele has not inspired me with the + confidence that Mr. Packard feels in him and I rather shrink from this + interview. Will you be good enough—rather will you show me the great + kindness of sitting on that low divan by the fireplace where you will not + be visible—see, you may have my work to busy yourself with—and + if—he may not, you know—if he should show the slightest + disposition to transgress in any way, rise and show yourself?” + </p> + <p> + I was conscious of flushing slightly, but she was not looking my way, and + the betrayal cost me only a passing uneasiness. She had, quite without + realizing it, offered me the one opportunity I most desired. In my search + for a new explanation of Mrs. Packard’s rapidly changing moods, I had + returned to my first suspicion—the attraction and possibly the + passion of the handsome secretary for herself. I had very little reason + for entertaining such a possibility. I had seen nothing on his part to + justify it and but little on hers. + </p> + <p> + Yet in the absence of every other convincing cause of trouble I allowed + myself to dwell on this one, and congratulated myself upon the chance she + now offered me of seeing and hearing how he would comport himself when he + thought that he was alone with her. Assured by the sounds in the hall that + Mr. Steele was approaching, I signified my acquiescence with her wishes, + and, taking the embroidery from her hand, sat down in the place she had + pointed out. + </p> + <p> + I heard the deep breath she drew, forgot in an instant my purpose of + questioning her concerning Nixon, and settled myself to listen, not only + to such words as must inevitably pass between them, but to their tones, to + the unconscious sigh, to whatever might betray his feeling toward her or + hers toward him, convinced as I now was that feeling of some kind lay back + of an interview which she feared to hold without the support of another’s + secret presence. + </p> + <p> + The calm even tones of the gentleman himself, modulated to an expression + of utmost deference, were the first to break the silence. + </p> + <p> + “You wish to see me, Mrs. Packard?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes.” The tremble in this ordinary monosyllable was slight but quite + perceptible. “Mr. Packard has given you a task, concerning the necessity + of which I should be glad to learn your opinion. Do you think it wise to—to + probe into such matters? Not that I mean to deter you. You are under Mr. + Packard’s orders, but a word from so experienced a man would be welcome, + if only to reconcile me to an effort which must lead to the indiscriminate + use of my name in quarters where it hurts a woman to imagine it used at + all.” + </p> + <p> + This, with her eyes on his face, of this I felt sure. Her tone was much + too level for her not to be looking directly at him. To any response he + might give of the same nature I had no clue, but his tone when he answered + was as cool and deferentially polite as was to be expected from a man + chosen by Mayor Packard for his private secretary. “Mrs. Packard, your + fears are very natural. A woman shrinks from such inquiries, even when + sustained by the consciousness that nothing can rob her name of its + deserved honor. But if we let one innuendo pass, how can we prevent a + second? The man who did this thing should be punished. In this I agree + with Mayor Packard.” + </p> + <p> + She stirred impulsively. I could hear the rustle of her dress as she + moved, probably to lessen the distance between them. “You are honest with + me?” she urged. “You do agree with Mr. Packard in this?” + </p> + <p> + His answer was firm, straightforward, and, as far as I could judge, free + from any objectionable feature. “I certainly do, Mrs. Packard. The + hesitation I expressed when he first spoke was caused by the one + consideration mentioned,—my fear lest something might go amiss in C—— + to-night if I busied myself otherwise than with the necessities of the + speech with which he is about to open his campaign.” + </p> + <p> + “I see. You are very desirous that Mr. Packard should win in this + election?” + </p> + <p> + “I am his secretary, and was largely instrumental in securing his + nomination for governor,” was the simple reply. There was a pause—how + filled, I would have given half my expected salary to know. Then I heard + her ask him the very question she had asked me. + </p> + <p> + “Do you think that in the event of your not succeeding in forcing an + apology from the man who inserted that objectionable paragraph against + myself—that—that such hints of something being wrong with me + will in any way affect Mr. Packard’s chances—lose him votes, I mean? + Will the husband suffer because of some imagined lack in his wife?” + </p> + <p> + “One can not say.” Thus appealed to, the man seemed to weigh his words + carefully, out of consideration for her, I thought. “No real admirer of + the mayor’s would go over to the enemy from any such cause as that. Only + the doubtful—the half-hearted—those who are ready to grasp at + any excuse for voting with the other party, would allow a consideration of + the mayor’s domestic relations to interfere with their confidence in him + as a public officer.” + </p> + <p> + “But these—” How I wish I could have seen her face! “These + half-hearted voters, their easily stifled convictions are what make + majorities,” she stammered. Mr. Steele may have bowed; he probably did, + for she went on confidently and with a certain authority not observable in + the tone of her previous remarks. “You are right. The paragraph reflecting + on me must be traced to its source. The lie must be met and grappled with. + I was not well last week and showed it, but I am perfectly well to-day and + am resolved to show that, too. No skeleton hangs in the Packard closet. I + am a happy wife and a happy mother. Let them come here and see. This + morning I shall issue invitations for a dinner to be given the first night + you can assure me Mr. Packard will be at home. Do you know of any such + night?” + </p> + <p> + “On Friday week he has no speech to make.” Mrs. Packard seemed to + consider. Finally she said: “When you see him, tell him to leave that + evening free. And, Mr. Steele, if you will be so good, give me the names + of some of those halfhearted ones—critical people who have to see in + order to believe. I shall have them at my table—I shall let them see + that the shadow which enveloped me was ephemeral; that a woman can rise + above all weakness in the support of a husband she loves and honors as I + do Mr. Packard.” + </p> + <p> + She must have looked majestic. Her voice thrilling with anticipated + triumph rang through the room, awaking echoes which surely must have + touched the heart of this man if, as I had sometimes thought, he cherished + an unwelcome admiration for her. + </p> + <p> + But when he answered, there was no hint in his finely modulated tones of + any chord having been touched in his breast, save the legitimate one of + respectful appreciation of a woman who fulfilled the expectation of one + alive to what is admirable in her sex. + </p> + <p> + “Your idea is a happy one,” said he. “I can give you three names now. + Those of Judge Whittaker, Mr. Dumont, the lawyer, and the two Mowries, + father and son.” + </p> + <p> + “Thank you. I am indebted to you, Mr. Steele, for the patience with which + you have met and answered my doubts.” + </p> + <p> + He made some reply, added something about not seeing her again till he + returned with the mayor, then I heard the door open and quietly shut. The + interview was over, without my having felt called upon to show myself. An + interval of silence, and then I heard her voice. She had thrown herself + down at the piano and was singing gaily, ecstatically. + </p> + <p> + Approaching her in undisguised wonder at this new mood, I stood at her + back and listened. I do not suppose she had what is called a great voice, + but the feeling back of it at this moment of reaction gave it a great + quality. The piece—some operatic aria—was sung in a way to + thrill the soul. Opening with a burst, it ended with low notes of an + intense sweetness like sobs, not of grief, but happiness. In their midst + and while the tones sank deepest, a child’s voice rose in the hall and we + heard, uttered at the very door: + </p> + <p> + “Mama busy; mama sing.” + </p> + <p> + With a cry she sprang from the piano and, bounding to the door, flung it + open and caught her child in her arms. + </p> + <p> + “Darling! darling! my darling!” she exclaimed in a burst of + mother-rapture, crushing the child to her breast and kissing it + repeatedly. + </p> + <p> + Then she began to dance, holding the baby in her arms and humming a waltz. + As I stood on one side in my own mood of excited sympathy, I caught + fleeting glimpses of their two faces, as she went whirling about. Hers was + beautiful in her new relief—if it was a relief—the child’s + dimpled with delight at the rapid movement—a lovely picture. Letty, + who stood waiting in the doorway, showed a countenance full of surprise. + Mrs. Packard was the first to feel tired. Stopping her dance, she peered + round at the baby’s face and laughed. + </p> + <p> + “Was that good?” she asked. “Are you glad to have mama merry again? I am + going to be merry all the time now. With such a dear, dear dearie of a + baby, how can I help it?” And whirling about in my direction, she held up + the child for inspection, crying: “Isn’t she a darling! Do you wonder at + my happiness?” + </p> + <p> + Indeed I did not; the sweet baby-face full of glee was irresistible; so + was the pat-pat of the two dimpled hands on her mother’s shoulders. With a + longing all women can understand, I held out my own arms. + </p> + <p> + “I wonder if she will come to me?” said I. + </p> + <p> + But though I got a smile, the little hands closed still more tightly round + the mother’s neck. + </p> + <p> + “Mama dear!” she cried, “mama dear!” and the tender emphasis on the + endearing word completed the charm. Tears sprang to Mrs. Packard’s eyes, + and it was with difficulty that she passed the clinging child over to the + nurse waiting to take her out. + </p> + <p> + “That was the happiest moment of my life!” fell unconsciously from Mrs. + Packard’s lips as the two disappeared; but presently, meeting my eyes, she + blushed and made haste to remark: + </p> + <p> + “I certainly did Mr. Steele an arrant injustice. He was very respectful; I + wonder how I ever got the idea he could be anything else.” + </p> + <p> + Anxious myself about this very fact, I attempted to reply, but she gave me + no opportunity. + </p> + <p> + “And now for those dinner invitations!” she gaily suggested. “While I feel + like it I must busy myself in making out my list. It will give me + something new to think about.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0017" id="link2HCH0017"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVII. THE TWO WEIRD SISTERS + </h2> + <p> + Ellen seemed to understand my anxiety about Mrs. Packard and to sympathize + with it. That afternoon as I passed her in the hall she whispered softly: + </p> + <p> + “I have just been unpacking that bag and putting everything back into + place. She told me she had packed it in readiness to go with Mr. Packard + if he desired it at the last minute.” + </p> + <p> + I doubted this final statement, but the fact that the bag had been + unpacked gave me great relief. I began to look forward with much pleasure + to a night of unbroken rest. + </p> + <p> + Alas! rest was not for me yet. Relieved as to Mrs. Packard, I found my + mind immediately reverting to the topic which had before engrossed it, + though always before in her connection. The mystery of the so-called + ghosts had been explained, but not the loss of the bonds, which had driven + my poor neighbors mad. This was still a fruitful subject of thought, + though I knew that such well-balanced and practical minds as Mayor + Packard’s or Mr. Steele’s would have but little sympathy with the theory + ever recurring to me. Could this money be still in the house?—the + possibility of such a fact worked and worked upon my imagination till I + grew as restless as I had been over the mystery of the ghosts and + presently quite as ready for action. + </p> + <p> + Possibly the hurried glimpse I had got of Miss Thankful’s countenance a + little while before, in the momentary visit she paid to the attic window + at which I had been accustomed to see either her or her sister constantly + sit, inspired me with my present interest in this old and wearing trouble + of theirs and the condition into which it had thrown their minds. I + thought of their nights of broken rest while they were ransacking the + rooms below and testing over and over the same boards, the same panels for + the secret hiding-place of their lost treasure, of their foolish attempts + to scare away all other intruders, and the racking of nerve and muscle + which must have attended efforts so out of keeping with their age and + infirmities. + </p> + <p> + It would be natural to regard the whole matter as an hallucination on + their part, to disbelieve in the existence of the bonds, and to regard + Miss Thankful’s whole story to Mrs. Packard as the play of a diseased + imagination. + </p> + <p> + But I could not, would not, carry my own doubts to this extent. The bonds + had been in existence; Miss Thankful had seen them; and the one question + calling for answer now was, whether they had been long ago found and + carried off, or whether they were still within the reach of the fortunate + hand capable of discovering their hiding-place. + </p> + <p> + The nurse who, according to Miss Thankful, had wakened such dread in the + dying man’s breast as to drive him to the attempt which had ended in this + complete loss of the whole treasure, appeared to me the chief factor in + the first theory. If any one had ever found these bonds, it was she; how, + it was not for me to say, in my present ignorant state of the events + following the reclosing of the house after this old man’s death and + burial. But the supposition of an utter failure on the part of this woman + and of every other subsequent resident of the house to discover this + mysterious hiding-place, wakened in me no real instinct of search. I felt + absolutely and at once that any such effort in my present blind state of + mind would be totally unavailing. The secret trap and the passage it led + to, with all the opportunities they offered for the concealment of a few + folded documents, did not, strange as it may appear at first blush, + suggest the spot where these papers might be lying hid. The manipulation + of the concealed mechanism and the difficulties attending a descent there, + even on the part of a well man, struck me as precluding all idea of any + such solution to this mystery. Strong as dying men sometimes are in the + last flickering up of life in the speedily dissolving frame, the lowering + of this trap, and, above all, the drawing of it back into place, which I + instinctively felt would be the hardest act of the two, would be beyond + the utmost fire or force conceivable in a dying man. No, even if he, as a + member of the family, knew of this subterranean retreat, he could not have + made use of it. I did not even accept the possibility sufficiently to + approach the place again with this new inquiry in mind. Yet what a delight + lay in the thought of a possible finding of this old treasure, and the new + life which would follow its restoration to the hands which had once + touched it only to lose it on the instant. + </p> + <p> + The charm of this idea was still upon me when I woke the next morning. At + breakfast I thought of the bonds, and in the hour which followed, the work + I was doing for Mrs. Packard in the library was rendered difficult by the + constant recurrence of the one question into my mind: “What would a man in + such a position do with the money he was anxious to protect from the woman + he saw coming and secure to his sister who had just stepped next door?” + When a moment came at last in which I could really indulge in these + intruding thoughts, I leaned back in my chair and tried to reconstruct the + room according to Mrs. Packard’s description of it at that time. I even + pulled my chair over to that portion of the room where his bed had stood, + and, choosing the spot where his head would naturally lie, threw back my + own on the reclining chair I had chosen, and allowed my gaze to wander + over the walls before me in a vague hope of reproducing, in my mind, the + ideas which must have passed through his before he rose and thrust those + papers into their place of concealment. Alas! those walls were barren of + all suggestion, and my eyes went wandering through the window before me in + a vague appeal, when a sudden remembrance of his last moments struck me + sharply and I bounded up with a new thought, a new idea, which sent me in + haste to my room and brought me down again in hat and jacket. Mrs. Packard + had once said that the ladies next door were pleased to have callers, and + advised me to visit them. I would test her judgment in the matter. Early + though it was, I would present myself at the neighboring door and see what + my reception would be. The discovery I had made in my unfortunate accident + in the old entry way should be my excuse. Apologies were in order from us + to them; I would make these apologies. + </p> + <p> + I was prepared to confront poverty in this bare and comfortless-looking + abode of decayed gentility. But I did not expect quite so many evidences + of it as met my eyes as the door swung slowly open some time after my + persistent knock, and I beheld Miss Charity’s meager figure outlined + against walls and a flight of uncarpeted stairs such as I had never seen + before out of a tenement house. I may have dropped my eyes, but I + recovered myself immediately. Marking the slow awakening of pleasure in + the wan old face as she recognized me, I uttered some apology for my early + call and then waited to see if she would welcome me in. + </p> + <p> + She not only did so, but did it with such a sudden breaking up of her + rigidity into the pliancy of a naturally hospitable nature, that my heart + was touched, and I followed her into the great bare apartment, which must + have once answered the purposes of a drawing-room, with very different + feelings from those with which I had been accustomed to look upon her face + in the old attic window. + </p> + <p> + “I should like to see your sister, too,” I said, as she hastily, but with + a certain sort of ceremony, too, pushed forward one of the ancient chairs + which stood at long intervals about the room. “I have not been your + neighbor very long, but I should like to pay my respects to both of you.” + </p> + <p> + I had purposely spoken with the formal precision she had been accustomed + to in her earlier days, and I could see how perceptibly her self-respect + returned at this echo of the past, giving her a sudden dignity which made + me forget for the moment her neglected appearance. + </p> + <p> + “I will summon my sister,” she returned, disappearing quietly from the + room. + </p> + <p> + I waited fifteen minutes, then Miss Thankful entered, dressed in her very + best, followed by my first acquaintance in her same gown, but with a + little cap on her head. The cap, despite its faded ribbons carefully + pressed out but with too cold an iron, gave her an old-time fashionable + air which for the moment created the impression that she might have been a + beauty and a belle in her early days, which I afterward discovered to be + true. + </p> + <p> + It was Miss Thankful, however, who had the personal presence, and it was + she who now expressed their sense of the honor, pushing forward another + chair than that from which I had risen, with the remark: + </p> + <p> + “Take this, I pray. Many an honored guest has occupied this seat. Let us + see you in it.” + </p> + <p> + I could detect no difference between the one she offered and the one in + which I had just sat, but I at once stepped forward and took the chair she + proffered. She bowed and Miss Charity bowed, and then they seated + themselves side by side on the hair-cloth sofa, which was the only other + article of furniture in the room. + </p> + <p> + “We are—we are preparing to move,” stammered Miss Charity, a faint + flush tingeing her faded cheeks, as she caught the involuntary glance I + had cast about me. + </p> + <p> + Miss Thankful bridled and gave her sister a look of open rebuke. She had, + as one could instantly see from her strong features and purposeful ways, + been a woman of decided parts and of strict, upright character. Weakened + as she was, the shadow of an untruth disturbed her. Her pride ran in a + different groove from that of her once over-complimented, over-fostered + sister. She was going to add a protest in words to that expressed by her + gesture, but I hastily prevented this by coming at once to the point of my + errand. + </p> + <p> + “My excuse for this early call,” I said, this time addressing Miss + Thankful, “lies in an adventure which occurred to me yesterday in the + adjoining house.” It was painful to see how they both started, and how + they instinctively caught each at the other’s hand as they sat side by + side on the sofa, as if only thus they could bear the shock of what might + be coming next. I had to nerve myself to proceed. “You know, or rather I + gather from your kind greetings that you know that I am at present staying + with Mrs. Packard. She is very kind and we spend many pleasant hours + together; but of course some of the time I have to be alone, and then I + try to amuse myself by looking about at the various interesting things + which are scattered through the house.” + </p> + <p> + A gasp from Miss Charity, a look still more expressive from Miss Thankful. + I hastened to cut their suspense short. + </p> + <p> + “You know the little cabinet they have placed in the old entrance pointing + this way? Well, I was looking at that when the whim seized me—I + hardly know how—to press one of the knobs in the molding which runs + about the doorway, when instantly everything gave way under me and I fell + into a deep hole which had been scooped out of the alley-way—nobody + knows for what.” + </p> + <p> + A cry and they were on their feet, still holding hands and endeavoring to + show nothing but concern for my disaster. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I wasn’t hurt,” I smiled. “I was frightened, of course, but not so + much as to lose my curiosity. When I got to my feet again, I looked about + in this surprising hole—” + </p> + <p> + “It was our uncle’s way of reaching his winecellar,” Miss Thankful + explained with great dignity as she and her sister sank back into their + seats. “He had some remarkable old wine, and, as he was covetous of it, he + conceived this way of securing it from everybody’s knowledge but his own. + It was a strange way, but he was a little touched,” she added, laying a + slow impressive finger on her forehead, “just a little touched here.” + </p> + <p> + The short, significant glance she cast at Charity as she said this, and + the little smile she gave were to give me to understand that this weakness + had descended in the family. I felt my heart contract; my self-imposed + task was a harder one than I had anticipated, but I could not shirk it + now. “Did this wine-cellar you mention run all the way to this house?” I + lightly inquired. “I stumbled on a passage leading here, which I thought + you ought to know is now open to any one in Mayor Packard’s house. Of + course, it will be closed soon,” I hastened to add as Miss Charity + hurriedly rose at her sister’s quick look and anxiously left the room. + “Mrs. Packard will see to that.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, yes, I have no doubt; she’s a very good woman, a very fair woman, + don’t you think so, Miss—” + </p> + <p> + “My name is Saunders.” + </p> + <p> + “A very good name. I knew a fine family of that name when I was younger. + There was one of them—his name was Robert—” Here she rambled + on for several minutes as if this topic and no other filled her whole + mind; then, as if suddenly brought back to what started it, she uttered in + sudden anxiety, “You think well of Mrs. Packard? You have confidence in + her?” + </p> + <p> + I allowed myself to speak with all the enthusiasm she so greedily desired. + </p> + <p> + “Indeed I have,” I cried. “I think she can be absolutely depended on to do + the right thing every time. You are fortunate in having such good + neighbors at the time of this mishap.” + </p> + <p> + At this minute Miss Charity reentered. Her panting condition, as well as + the unsettled position of the cap on her head, told very plainly where she + had been. Reseating herself, she looked at Miss Thankful and Miss Thankful + looked at her, but no word passed. They evidently understood each other. + </p> + <p> + “I’m obliged to Mrs. Packard,” now fell from Miss Thankful’s lips, “and to + you, too, young lady, for acquainting us with this accident. The passage + we extended ourselves after taking up our abode in this house. We—we + did not see why we should not profit by our ancestor’s old and + undiscovered wine-cellar to secure certain things which were valuable to + us.” + </p> + <p> + Her hesitation in uttering this final sentence—a sentence all the + more marked because naturally, she was a very straightforward person—awoke + my doubt and caused me to ask myself what she meant by this word “secure.” + Did she mean, as circumstances went to show and as I had hitherto + believed, that they had opened up this passage for the purpose of a + private search in their old home for the lost valuables they believed to + be concealed there? Or had they, under some temporary suggestion of their + disorganized brains, themselves hidden away among the rafters of this + unexplored spot the treasure they believed lost and now constantly + bewailed? + </p> + <p> + The doubt thus temporarily raised in my mind made me very uneasy for a + moment, but I soon dismissed it and dropping this subject for the nonce, + began to speak of the houses as they now looked and of the changes which + had evidently been made in them since they had left the one and entered + the other. + </p> + <p> + “I understand,” I ventured at last, “that in those days this house also + had a door opening on the alley-way. Where did it lead—do you mind + my asking?—into a room or into a hallway? I am so interested in old + houses.” + </p> + <p> + They did not resent this overt act of curiosity; I had expected Miss + Thankful to, but she didn’t. Some recollection connected with the name of + Saunders had softened her heart toward me and made her regard with + indulgence an interest which she might otherwise have looked upon as + intrusive. + </p> + <p> + “We long ago boarded up that door,” she answered. “It was of very little + use to us from our old library.” + </p> + <p> + “It looked into one of the rooms then?” I persisted, but with a wary + gentleness which I felt could not offend. + </p> + <p> + “No; there is no room there, only a passageway. But it has closets in it, + and we did not like to be seen going to them any time of day. The door had + glass panes in it, you know, just like a window. It made the relations so + intimate with people only a few feet away.” + </p> + <p> + “Naturally,” I cried, “I don’t wonder you wanted to shut them off if you + could.” Then with a sudden access of interest which I vainly tried to + hide, I thought of the closets and said with a smile, “The closets were + for china, I suppose; old families have so much china.” + </p> + <p> + Miss Charity nodded, complacency in every feature; but Miss Thankful + thought it more decorous to seem to be indifferent in this matter. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, china; old pieces, not very valuable. We gave what we had of worth + to our sister when she married. We keep other things there, too, but they + are not important. We seldom go to those closets now, so we don’t mind the + darkness.” + </p> + <p> + “I—I dote on old china,” I exclaimed, carefully restraining myself + from appearing unduly curious. “Won’t you let me look at it? I know that + it is more valuable than you think. It will make me happy for the whole + day, if you will let me see these old pieces. They may not look beautiful + to you, you are so accustomed to them; but to me every one must have a + history, or a history my imagination will supply.” + </p> + <p> + Miss Charity looked gently but perceptibly frightened. She shook her head, + saying in her weak, fond tones: + </p> + <p> + “They are too dusty; we are not such housekeepers as we used to be; I am + ashamed—” + </p> + <p> + But Miss Thankful’s peremptory tones cut her short. + </p> + <p> + “Miss Saunders will excuse a little dust. We are so occupied,” she + explained, with her eye fixed upon me in almost a challenging way, “that + we can afford little time for unnecessary housework. If she wants to see + these old relics of a former day, let her. You, Charity, lead the way.” + </p> + <p> + I was trembling with gratitude and the hopes I had suppressed, but I + managed to follow the apologetic figure of the humiliated old lady with a + very good grace. As we quitted the room we were in, through a door at the + end leading into the dark passageway, I thought of the day when, according + to Mrs. Packard’s story, Miss Thankful had come running across the alley + and through this very place to astound her sister and nephew in the + drawing-room with the news of the large legacy destined so soon to be + theirs. That was two years ago, and to-day—I proceeded no further + with what was in my mind, for my interest was centered in the closet whose + door Miss Charity had just flung open. + </p> + <p> + “You see,” murmured that lady, “that we haven’t anything of extraordinary + interest to show you. Do you want me to hand some of them down? I don’t + believe that it will pay you.” + </p> + <p> + I cast a look at the shelves and felt a real disappointment. Not that the + china was of too ordinary a nature to attract, but that the pieces I saw, + and indeed the full contents of the shelves, failed to include what I was + vaguely in search of and had almost brought my mind into condition to + expect. + </p> + <p> + “Haven’t you another closet here?” I faltered. “These pieces are pretty, + but I am sure you have some that are larger and with the pattern more + dispersed—a platter or a vegetable dish.” + </p> + <p> + “No, no,” murmured Miss Charity, drawing back as she let the door slip + from her hand. “Really, Thankful,”—this to her sister who was + pulling open another door,—“the look of those shelves is positively + disreputable—all the old things we have had in the house for years. + Don’t—” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, do let me see that old tureen up on the top shelf,” I put in. “I like + that.” + </p> + <p> + Miss Thankful’s long arm went up, and, despite Miss Charity’s complaint + that it was too badly cracked to handle, it was soon down and placed in my + hands. I muttered my thanks, gave utterance to sundry outbursts of + enthusiasm, then with a sudden stopping of my heart-beats, I lifted the + cover and— + </p> + <p> + “Let me set it down,” I gasped, hurriedly replacing the cover. I was + really afraid I should drop it. Miss Thankful took it from me and rested + it on the edge of the lower shelf. + </p> + <p> + “Why, how you tremble, child!” she cried. “Do you like old Colonial blue + ware as well as that? If you do, you shall have this piece. Charity, bring + a duster, or, better, a damp cloth. You shall have it, yes, you shall have + it.” + </p> + <p> + “Wait!” I could hardly speak. “Don’t get a cloth yet. Come with me back + into the parlor, and bring the tureen. I want to see it in full light.” + </p> + <p> + They looked amazed, but they followed me as I made a dash for the + drawing-room, Miss Thankful with the tureen in her hands. I was quite + Mistress of myself before I faced them again, and, sitting down, took the + tureen on my lap, greatly to Miss Charity’s concern as to the injury it + might do my frock. + </p> + <p> + “There is something I must tell you about myself before I can accept your + gift,” I said. + </p> + <p> + “What can you have to tell us about yourself that could make us hesitate + to bestow upon you such an insignificant piece of old cracked china?” Miss + Thankful asked as I sat looking up at them with moist eyes and wildly + beating heart. + </p> + <p> + “Only this,” I answered. “I know what perhaps you had rather have had me + ignorant of. Mrs. Packard told me about the bonds you lost, and how you + thought them still in the house where your brother died, though no one has + ever been able to find them there. Oh, sit down,” I entreated, as they + both turned very pale and looked at each other in affright. “I don’t + wonder that you have felt their loss keenly; I don’t wonder that you have + done your utmost to recover them, but what I do wonder at is that you were + so sure they were concealed in the room where he lay that you never + thought of looking elsewhere. Do you remember, Miss Quinlan, where his + eyes were fixed at the moment of death?” + </p> + <p> + “On the window directly facing his bed.” + </p> + <p> + “Gazing at what?” + </p> + <p> + “Sky—no, the walls of our house.” + </p> + <p> + “Be more definite; at the old side door through which he could see the + closet shelves where this old tureen stood. During the time you had been + gone, he had realized his sinking condition, and, afraid of the nurse he + saw advancing down the street, summoned all his strength and rushed with + his treasure across the alley-way and put it in the first hiding-place his + poor old eyes fell on. He may have been going to give it to you; but you + had company, you remember, in here, and he may have heard voices. Anyhow, + we know that he put it in the tureen because—” here I lifted the lid—“because—” + I was almost as excited and trembling and beside myself as they were—“because + it is here now.” + </p> + <p> + They looked, then gazed in each other’s face and bowed their heads. + Silence alone could express the emotion of that moment. Then with a burst + of inarticulate cries, Miss Charity rose and solemnly began dancing up and + down the great room. Her sister looked on with grave disapproval till the + actual nature of the find made its way into her bewildered mind, then she + reached over and plunged her hand into the tureen and drew out the five + bonds which she clutched first to her breast and then began proudly to + unfold. + </p> + <p> + “Fifty thousand dollars!” she exclaimed. “We are rich women from to-day,” + and as she said it I saw the shrewdness creep beck into her eyes and the + long powerful features take on the expressive character which they had so + pitifully lacked up to the moment. I realized that I had been the witness + of a miracle. The reason, shattered, or, let us say, disturbed by one + shock, had been restored by another. The real Miss Thankful stood before + me. Meanwhile the weaker sister, dancing still, was uttering jubilant + murmurs to which her feet kept time with almost startling precision. But + as the other let the words I have recorded here leave her lips, she came + to a sudden standstill and approaching her lips to Miss Thankful’s ear + said joyfully: + </p> + <p> + “We must tell—oh,” she hastily interpolated as she caught her + sister’s eyes and followed the direction of her pointing finger, “we have + not thanked our little friend, our good little friend who has done us such + an inestimable service.” I felt her quivering arms fall round my neck, as + Miss Thankful removed the tureen and in words both reasonable and kind + expressed the unbounded gratitude which she herself felt. + </p> + <p> + “How came you to think? How came you to care enough to think?” fell from + her lips as she kissed me on the forehead. “You are a jewel, little Miss + Saunders, and some day—” + </p> + <p> + But I need not relate all that she said or all the extravagant things Miss + Charity did, or even my own delight, so much greater even than any I had + anticipated, when I first saw this possible ending of my suddenly inspired + idea. However, Miss Thankful’s words as we parted at the door struck me as + strange, showing that it would be a little while yet before the full + balance of her mind was restored. + </p> + <p> + “Tell everybody,” she cried; “tell Mrs. Packard and all who live in the + house; but keep it secret from the woman who keeps that little shop. We + are afraid of her; she haunts this neighborhood to get at these very + bonds. She was the nurse who cared for my brother, and it was to escape + her greed that he hid this money. If she knew that we had found these our + lives wouldn’t be safe. Wait till we have them in the bank.” + </p> + <p> + “Assuredly. I shall tell no one.” + </p> + <p> + “But you must tell those at home,” she smiled; and the beaming light in + her kindled eye followed me the few steps I had to take, and even into the + door. + </p> + <p> + So Bess had been the old man’s nurse’! + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0018" id="link2HCH0018"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XVIII. THE MORNING NEWS + </h2> + <p> + That evening I was made a heroine of by Mrs. Packard and all the other + members of the household. Even Nixon thawed and showed me his genial side. + I had to repeat my story above stairs—and below, and relate just + what the old ladies had done and said, and how they bore their joy, and + whatever I thought they would do with their money now they had it. When I + at last reached my room, my first act was to pull aside my shade and take + a peep at the old attic window. Miss Charity’s face was there, but so + smiling and gay I hardly knew it. She kissed her hand to me as I nodded my + head, and then turned away with her light as if to show me she had only + been waiting to give me this joyous good night. + </p> + <p> + This was a much better picture to sleep on than the former one had been. + </p> + <p> + Next day I settled back into my old groove. Mrs. Packard busied herself + with her embroidery and I read to her or played on the piano. Happier days + seemed approaching, nay, had come. We enjoyed two days of it, then trouble + settled down on us once more. + </p> + <p> + It began on Friday afternoon. Mrs. Packard and I had been out making some + arrangements for the projected dinner-party and I had stopped for a minute + in the library before going up-stairs. + </p> + <p> + A pile of mail lay on the table. Running this over with a rapid hand, she + singled out several letters which she began to open. Their contents seemed + far from satisfactory. Exclamation after exclamation left her lips, her + agitation increasing with each one she read, and her haste, too, till + finally it seemed sufficient for her just to glance at the unfolded sheet + before letting it drop. When the last one had left her hand, she turned + and, encountering my anxious look, bitterly remarked: + </p> + <p> + “We need not have made those arrangements this morning. Seven regrets in + this mail and two in the early one. Nine regrets in all! and I sent out + only ten invitations. What is the meaning of it? I begin to feel myself + ostracized.” + </p> + <p> + I did not understand it any more than she did. + </p> + <p> + “Invite others,” I suggested, and was sorry for my presumption the next + minute. + </p> + <p> + Her poor lip trembled. + </p> + <p> + “I do not dare,” she whispered. “Oh, what will Mr. Packard say! Some one + or something is working against us. We have enemies—enemies, and Mr. + Packard will never get his election.” + </p> + <p> + Her trouble was natural and so was her expression of it. Feeling for her, + and all the more that the cause of this concerted action against her was + as much a mystery to me as it was to herself, I made some attempt to + comfort her, which was futile enough, God knows. She heard my voice, no + doubt, but she gave no evidence of noting what I said. When I had finished—that + is, when she no longer heard me speaking—she let her head droop and + presently I heard her murmur: + </p> + <p> + “It seems to me that if for any reason he fails to get his election I + shall wish to die.” + </p> + <p> + She was in this state of dejection, with the echo of this sad sentence in + both our ears, when a light tap at the door was followed by the entrance + of Letty, the nurse-maid. She wore an unusual look of embarrassment and + held something crushed in her hand. Mrs. Packard advanced hurriedly to + meet her. + </p> + <p> + “What is it?” she interrogated sharply, like one expectant of evil + tidings. + </p> + <p> + “Nothing! that is, not much,” stammered the frightened girl, attempting to + thrust her hand behind her back. + </p> + <p> + But Mrs. Packard was too quick for her. + </p> + <p> + “You have something there! What is it? Let me see.” + </p> + <p> + The girl’s hand moved forward reluctantly. “A paper which I found pinned + to the baby’s coat when I took her out of the carriage,” she faltered. “I—I + don’t know what it means.” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Packard’s eyes opened wide with horror. She seized the paper and + staggered with it to one of the windows. While she looked at it, I cast a + glance at Letty. She was crying, from what looked like pure fear; but it + was the fear of ignorance rather than duplicity; she appeared as much + mystified as ourselves. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile I felt, rather than saw, the old shadow settling fast upon the + head of her who an hour before had been so bright. She had chosen a place + where her form could not fail of being more or less concealed by the + curtain, and though I heard the paper rattle I could not see it or the + hand which held it. But the time she spent over it seemed interminable + before I heard her utter a sharp cry and saw the curtains shake as she + clutched them. + </p> + <p> + It seemed the proper moment to proffer help, but before either Letty or I + could start forward, her command rang out in smothered but peremptory + tones: + </p> + <p> + “Keep back! I want no one here!” and we stopped, each looking at the other + in very natural consternation. And when, after another seemingly + interminable interval, she finally stepped forth, I noted a haggard change + in her face, and that her coat had been torn open and even the front of + her dress wrenched apart as if she felt herself suffocating, or as if—but + this alternative only suggested itself to me later and I shall refrain + from mentioning it now. + </p> + <p> + Crossing the floor with a stumbling step, with the paper which had roused + all this indignation still in her hand, she paused before the now + seriously alarmed Letty, and demanded in great excitement: + </p> + <p> + “Who pinned that paper on my child? You know; you saw it done. Was it a + man or—” + </p> + <p> + “Oh no, ma’am, no, ma’am,” protested the girl. “No man came near her. It + was a woman—a nice-looking woman.” + </p> + <p> + “A woman!” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Packard’s tone was incredulous. But the girl insisted. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, ma’am; there was no man there at all. I was on one of the park + benches resting, with the baby in my arms, and this woman passed by and + saw us. She smiled at the baby’s ways, and then stopped and took to + talking about her,—how pretty she was and how little afraid of + strangers. I saw no harm in the woman, ma’am, and let her sit down on the + same bench with me for a few minutes. She must have pinned the paper on + the baby’s coat then, for it was the only time anybody was near enough to + do it.” + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Packard, with an irrepressible gesture of anger or dismay, turned and + walked back to the window. The movement was a natural one. Certainly she + was excusable for wishing to hide from the girl the full extent of the + agitation into which this misadventure had thrown her. + </p> + <p> + “You may go.” The words came after a moment of silent suspense. “Give the + baby her supper—I know that you will never let any one else come so + near her again.” + </p> + <p> + Letty probably did not catch the secret anguish hidden in her tone, but I + did, and after the nurse-maid was gone, I waited anxiously for what Mrs. + Packard would say. + </p> + <p> + It came from the window and conveyed nothing. Would I do so and so? I + forget what her requests were, only that they necessitated my leaving the + room. There seemed no alternative but to obey, yet I felt loath to leave + her and was hesitating near the doorway when a new interruption occurred. + Nixon brought in a telegram, and, as Mrs. Packard advanced to take it, she + threw on the table the slip of paper which she had been poring over behind + the curtains. + </p> + <p> + As I stepped back at Nixon’s entrance I was near the table and the single + glance I gave this paper as it fell showed me that it was covered with the + same Hebrew-like characters of which I already possessed more than one + example. The surprise was acute, but the opportunity which came with it + was one I could not let slip. Meeting her eye as the door closed on Nixon, + I pointed at the scrawl she had thrown down, and wonderingly asked her if + that was what Letty had found pinned to the baby’s coat. + </p> + <p> + With a surprised start, she paused in her act of opening the telegram and + made a motion as if to repossess herself of this, but seeming to think + better of it she confined herself to giving me a sharp look. + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” was her curt assent. + </p> + <p> + I summoned up all my courage, possibly all my powers of acting. + </p> + <p> + “Why, what is there in unreadable characters like these to alarm you?” + </p> + <p> + She forgot her telegram, she forgot everything but that here was a + question she must answer in a way to disarm all suspicion. + </p> + <p> + “The fact,” she accentuated gravely, “that they are unreadable. What + menace may they not contain? I am afraid of them, as I am of all obscure + and mystifying things.” + </p> + <p> + In a flash, at the utterance of these words, I saw, my way to the + fulfillment of the wish which had actuated me from the instant my eyes had + fallen on this paper. + </p> + <p> + “Do you think it a cipher?” I asked. + </p> + <p> + “A cipher?” + </p> + <p> + “I have always been good at puzzles. I wish you would let me see what I + can make out of these rows of broken squares and topsy-turvy angles. + Perhaps I can prove to you that they contain nothing to alarm you.” + </p> + <p> + The gleam of something almost ferocious sprang into this gentle woman’s + eyes. Her lips moved and I expected an angry denial, but fear kept her + back. She did not dare to appear to understand this paper any better than + I did. Besides, she was doubtless conscious that its secret was not one to + yield to any mere puzzle-reader. She could safely trust it to my + curiosity. All this I detected in her changing expression, before she made + the slightest gesture which allowed me to secure what I felt to be the + most valuable acquisition in the present exigency. + </p> + <p> + Then she turned to her telegram. It was from her husband, and I was not + prepared for the cry of dismay which left her lips as she read it, nor for + the increased excitement into which she was thrown by its few and + seemingly simple words. + </p> + <p> + With apparent forgetfulness of what had just occurred—a + forgetfulness which insensibly carried her back to the moment when she had + given me some order which involved my departure from the room—she + impetuously called out over her shoulder which she had turned on opening + her telegram: + </p> + <p> + “Miss Saunders! Miss Saunders! are you there? Bring me the morning papers; + bring me the morning papers!” + </p> + <p> + Instantly I remembered that we had not read the papers. Contrary to our + usual habit we had gone about a pressing piece of work without a glance at + any of the three dailies laid to hand in their usual place on the library + table. “They are here on the table,” I replied, wondering as much at the + hectic flush which now enlivened her features as at the extreme paleness + that had marked them the moment before. + </p> + <p> + “Search them! There is something new in them about me. There must be. Read + Mr. Packard’s message.” + </p> + <p> + I took it from her hand; only eight words in all. + </p> + <p> + Here they are—the marks of separation being mine: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + I am coming—libel I know—where is S. + Henry. +</pre> + <p> + “Search the columns,” she repeated, as I laid the telegram down. “Search! + Search!” + </p> + <p> + I hastily obeyed. But it took me some time to find the paragraph I sought. + The certainty that others in the house had read these papers, if we had + not, disturbed me. I recalled certain glances which I had seen pass + between the servants behind Mrs. Packard’s back,—glances which I had + barely noted at the time, but which returned to my mind now with forceful + meaning; and if these busy girls had read, all the town had read—what? + Suddenly I found it. She saw my eyes stop in their hurried scanning and my + fingers clutch the sheet more firmly, and, drawing up behind me, she + attempted to follow with her eyes the words I reluctantly read out. Here + they are, just as they left my trembling lips that day—words that + only the most rabid of opponents could have instigated: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + Apropos of the late disgraceful discoveries, by which a woman + of apparent means and unsullied honor has been precipitated from + her proud preeminence as a leader of fashion, how many women, + known and admired to-day, could stand the test of such an inquiry + as she was subjected to? We know one at least, high in position + and aiming at a higher, who, if the merciful veil were withdrawn + which protects the secrets of the heart, would show such a dark + spot in her life, that even the aegis of the greatest power in + the state would be powerless to shield her from the indignation + of those who now speak loudest in her praise. +</pre> + <p> + “A lie!” burst in vehement protest from Mrs. Packard, as I finished. “A + lie like the rest! But oh, the shame of it! a shame that will kill me.” + Then suddenly and with a kind of cold horror: “It is this which has + destroyed my social prestige in town. I understand those nine declinations + now. Henry! my poor Henry!” + </p> + <p> + There was little comfort to offer, but I tried to divert her mind to the + practical aspect of the case by saying: + </p> + <p> + “What can Mr. Steele be doing? He does not seem to be very successful in + his attempts to carry out the mayor’s orders. See! your husband asks where + he is. He can mean no other by the words ‘Where is S—?’ He knew that + your mind would supply the name.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes.” + </p> + <p> + Her eyes had become fixed; her whole face betrayed a settled despair. + Quickly, violently, she rang the bell. + </p> + <p> + Nixon appeared. + </p> + <p> + She advanced hurriedly to meet him. + </p> + <p> + “Nixon, you have Mr. Steele’s address?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, Mrs. Packard.” + </p> + <p> + “Then go to it at once. Find Mr. Steele if you can, but if that is not + possible, learn where he has gone and come right back and tell me. Mr. + Packard telegraphs to know where he is. He has not joined the mayor in C—-.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, Mrs. Packard; the house is not far. I shall be back in fifteen + minutes.” + </p> + <p> + The words were respectful, but the sly glint in his blinking eyes as he + hastened out fixed my thoughts again on this man and the uncommon attitude + he maintained toward the mistress whose behests he nevertheless flew to + obey. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0019" id="link2HCH0019"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIX. THE CRY FROM THE STAIRS + </h2> + <p> + I was alone in the library when Nixon returned. He must have seen Mrs. + Packard go up before he left, for he passed by without stopping, and the + next moment I heard his foot on the stairs. + </p> + <p> + Some impulse made me step into the hall and cast a glance at his ascending + figure. I could see only his back, but there was something which I did not + like in the curve of that back and the slide of his hand as it moved along + the stair-rail. + </p> + <p> + His was not an open nature at the best. I almost forgot the importance of + his errand in watching the man himself. Had he not been a servant—but + he was, and an old and foolishly fussy one. I would not imagine follies, + only I wished I could follow him into Mrs. Packard’s presence. + </p> + <p> + His stay, however, was too short for much to have been gained thereby. + Almost immediately he reappeared, shaking his head and looking very much + disturbed, and I was watching his pottering descent when he was startled, + and I was startled, by two cries which rang out simultaneously from above, + one of pain and distress from the room he had just left, and one + expressive of the utmost glee from the lips of the baby whom the nursemaid + was bringing down from the upper hall. + </p> + <p> + Appalled by the anguish expressed in the mother’s cry, I was bounding + up-stairs when my course was stopped by one of the most poignant sights it + has ever been my lot to witness. Mrs. Packard had heard her child’s laugh, + and flying from her room had met the little one on the threshold of her + door and now, crying and sobbing, was kneeling with the child in her arms + in the open space at the top of the stairs. Her paroxysm of grief, wild + and unconstrained as it was, gave less hint of madness than of intolerable + suffering. + </p> + <p> + Wondering at an abandonment which bespoke a grief too great for all + further concealment, I glanced again at Nixon. He had paused in the middle + of the staircase and was looking back in a dubious way denoting + hesitation. But as the full force of the tragic scene above made itself + felt in his slow mind, he showed a disposition to escape and tremblingly + continued his descent. He was nearly upon me when he caught my eye. A + glare awoke in his, and seeing his right arm rise threateningly, I thought + he would certainly strike me. But he slid by without doing so. + </p> + <p> + What did it mean? Oh, what did it all mean? + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0020" id="link2HCH0020"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XX. EXPLANATION + </h2> + <p> + Determined to know the cause of Mrs. Packard’s anguish, if not of Nixon’s + unprovoked anger against myself, I caught him back as he was passing me + and peremptorily demanded: + </p> + <p> + “What message did you carry to Mrs. Packard to throw her into such a state + as this? Answer! I am in this house to protect her against all such + disturbances. What did you tell her?” + </p> + <p> + “Nothing.” + </p> + <p> + Sullenness itself in the tone. + </p> + <p> + “Nothing? and you were sent on an errand? Didn’t you fulfil it?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes.” + </p> + <p> + “And didn’t tell her what you learned?” + </p> + <p> + “No.” + </p> + <p> + “Why?” + </p> + <p> + “She didn’t give me the chance.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh!” + </p> + <p> + “I know it sounds queer, Miss, but it’s true. She didn’t give me a chance + to talk.” + </p> + <p> + He muttered the final sentence. Indeed, all that we had said until now had + been in a subdued tone, but now my voice unconsciously rose. + </p> + <p> + “You found Mr. Steele?” + </p> + <p> + “No, Miss, he was not at home.” + </p> + <p> + “But they told you where to look for him?” + </p> + <p> + “No. His landlady thinks he is dead. He has queer spells, and some one had + sent her word about a man, handsome like him, who was found dead at Hudson + Three Corners last night. Mr. Steele told her he was going over to Hudson + Three Corners. She has sent to see if the dead man is he.” + </p> + <p> + “The dead man!” + </p> + <p> + Who spoke? Not Mrs. Packard! Surely that voice was another’s. Yet we both + looked up to see: + </p> + <p> + The sight which met our eyes was astonishing, appalling. She had let her + baby slip to the floor and had advanced to the stairs, where she stood, + clutching at the rail, looking down upon us, with a joy in her face + matching the unholy elation we could still hear ringing in that word + “dead.” + </p> + <p> + Such a look might have leaped to life in the eyes of the Medusa when she + turned her beauty upon her foredoomed victims. + </p> + <p> + “Dead!” came again in ringing repetition from Mrs. Packard’s lips, every + fiber in her tense form quivering and the gleam of hope shining brighter + and brighter in her countenance. “No, not dead!” Then while Nixon trembled + and succumbed inwardly to this spectacle of a gentle-hearted woman + transformed by some secret and overwhelming emotion into an image of + vindictive delight, her hands left the stair-rail and flew straight up + over her head in the transcendent gesture which only the greatest crises + in life call forth, and she exclaimed with awe-inspiring emphasis: “God + could not have been so merciful!” + </p> + <p> + It is not often, perhaps it is only once in a lifetime, that it is given + us to look straight into the innermost recesses of the human soul. Never + before had such an opportunity come to me, and possibly never would it + come again, yet my first conscious impulse was one of fright at the + appalling self-revelation she had made, not only in my hearing, but in + that of nearly her whole household. I could see, over her shoulders, + Letty’s eyes staring wide in ingenuous dismay, while from the hall below + rose the sound of hurrying feet as the girls came running in from the + kitchen. Something must be done, and immediately, to recall her to + herself, and, if possible, to reinstate her in the eyes of her servants. + </p> + <p> + Bounding upward to where she still stood forgetful and self-absorbed, I + laid my hands softly but firmly on hers, which had fallen back upon the + rail, and quietly said: + </p> + <p> + “You have some very strong reason, I see, for looking upon Mr. Steele as + your husband’s enemy rather than friend.” + </p> + <p> + The appeal was timely. With a start she woke to the realization of her + position and of the suggestive words she had just uttered, and with a + glance behind her at Letty and another at Nixon and the maids, who by this + time had pushed their way to the foot of the stairs, she gathered herself + up with a determination born of the necessity of the moment and + emphatically replied: + </p> + <p> + “No; I do not know Mr. Steele well enough for that. My emotion at the + unexpected tidings of his possible death springs from another cause.” Here + the help, the explanation for which she had been searching, came. “Girls,” + she went on, addressing them with an emphasis which drew all eyes, “I am + ashamed to tell you what has so deeply disturbed me these last few days. I + should blame any one of you for being affected as I was. The great love I + bear my husband and child is my excuse—a poor one, I know, but one + you will understand. A week ago something happened to me in the library + which frightened me very much. I saw—or thought I saw—what + some would call an apparition, but what you would call a ghost. Don’t + shriek!” [The two girls behind me had begun to scream and make as if to + run away.] “It was all imagination, of course—there can not really + be any such thing. Ghosts in these days? Pshaw! But I was very, nervous + that night and could not help feeling that the mere fact of my thinking of + anything so dreadful meant misfortune to some one in this house. Wait!” + Her voice was imperious; and the shivering, terrified girls, superstitious + to the backbone, stopped in spite of themselves. “You must hear it all, + and you, too, Miss Saunders, who have only heard half. I was badly + frightened then, especially as the ghost, spirit-man, or whatever it was, + wore a look, in the one short moment I stood face to face with it, full of + threat and warning. Next day Mr. Packard introduced his new secretary. + Girls, he had the face of the Something I had seen, without the + threatening look, which had so alarmed me.” + </p> + <p> + “Bad ‘cess to him!” rang in vigorous denunciation from the cook. “Why + didn’t ye send him ‘mejitly about his business? It’s trouble he’ll bring + to us all and no mistake!” + </p> + <p> + “That was what I feared,” assented her now thoroughly composed mistress. + “So when Nixon said just now that Mr. Steele was dead, had fallen in a fit + at Hudson Three Corners or something like that—I felt such wicked + relief at finding that my experience had not meant danger to ourselves, + but to him—wicked, because it was so selfish—that I forgot + myself and cried out in the way you all heard. Blame me if you will, but + don’t frighten yourselves by talking about it. If Mr. Steele is indeed + dead, we have enough to trouble us without that.” + </p> + <p> + And with a last glance at me, which ended in a wavering half-deprecatory + smile, she stepped back and passed into her own room. + </p> + <p> + The mood in which I proceeded to my own quarters was as thoughtful as any + I had ever experienced. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0021" id="link2HCH0021"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXI. THE CIPHER + </h2> + <p> + Hitherto I had mainly admired Mrs. Packard’s person and the extreme charm + of manner which never deserted her, no matter how she felt. Now I found + myself compelled to admire the force and quality of her mind, her + readiness to meet emergencies and the tact with which she had availed + herself of the superstition latent in the Irish temperament. For I had no + more faith in the explanation she had seen fit to give these ignorant + girls than I had in the apparition itself. Emotion such as she had shown + called for a more matter-of-fact basis than the one she had ascribed to + it. No unreal and purely superstitious reason would account for the + extreme joy and self-abandonment with which she had hailed the possibility + of Mr. Steele’s death. The “no” she had given me when I asked if she + considered this man her husband’s enemy had been a lying no. To her, for + some cause as yet unexplained, the secretary was a dangerous ally to the + man she loved; an ally so near and so dangerous that the mere rumor of his + death was capable of lifting her from the depths of despondency into a + state of abnormal exhilaration and hope. Now why? What reason had she for + this belief, and how was it in my power to solve the mystery which I felt + to be at the bottom of all the rest? + </p> + <p> + But one means suggested itself. I was now assured that Mrs. Packard would + never take me into her actual confidence, any more than she had taken her + husband. What I learned must be in spite of her precautions. The cipher of + which I had several specimens might, if properly read, give me the clue I + sought. I had a free hour before me. Why not employ it in an endeavor to + pick out the meaning of those odd Hebraic characters? I had in a way + received her sanction to do so—if I could; and if I should succeed, + what shadows might it not clear from the path of the good man whose + interests it was my chief duty to consult? + </p> + <p> + Ciphers have always possessed a fascination for me. This one, from the + variety of its symbols, offered a study of unusual interest. Collecting + the stray specimens which I had picked up, I sat down in my cozy little + room and laid them all out before me, with the following result: + </p> + <p> + __________________________ + </p> + <p> + [transcriber’s note: the symbols cannot be converted to ASCII so I have + shown them as follows:] + </p> + <p> + [] is a Square + </p> + <p> + [-] is sides and bottom of a square, + </p> + <p> + C is top, bottom and left side of a square, + </p> + <p> + L is left side and bottom of a square,, + </p> + <p> + V is two lines forming a V shape + </p> + <p> + . appearing before a symbol should be inside the symbol + </p> + <p> + ] appearing before a symbol means the mirror image of that symbol + </p> + <p> + ^ appearing before a symbol means the inverted symbol + </p> + <p> + ? is a curve inside the symbol + </p> + <p> + all other preceding symbols are my best approximation for shapes shown + inside that symbol. + </p> + <p> + ; is used to separate each symbol __________________________ + </p> + <p> + 1. []; V; [];.}; V; [-]; {; 2. []; V; [];.}; V; [-]; {; L; ].L; {; ]7;.7; + 3. []; V; [];.}; V; [-]; {; ].L;.C;[];.L; };,C; [];.{; ^[-]; ^[-];.{; + </p> + <p> + 4. []; V; [];.}; V; [-]; {; {; L; }; ^V; L; V; []; ]L; ^V; [-]; []; V; + ].C; ^[-]; }; ]C; ],C; V; {; C; ^V; ^[-];.}; [-]; {; + </p> + <p> + 5. *}; []; V; []; *V; []; ~7; ]C;.}; ^[o]; ]L; ^V; []; Lo; ^V; ]C; ]7*; V; + ]C?; L; ]L; 7;.};.^[-]; ]L; }; {;:[-], [-]; Lo;.{;?[-]; ]7; [-]; ]C; + [];.C; [-]; *7; L;.7; ^V; ]o7; *}; C; ^V;.C;.{; [-]; []; 7;.C; ]L;:7; [-]; + ]*L; C; ^V;.L;.}; ^[%]; C; 7; *L; 7; ]:L; ]7; ^.V; []; [-];.L;[-] + </p> + <p> + No. 1: My copy of the characters, as I remember seeing them on the + envelope which Mrs. Packard had offered to Mr. Steele and afterward thrown + into the fire. + </p> + <p> + Nos. 2, 3 and 4: The discarded scraps I had taken from the waste-basket in + her room. + </p> + <p> + No. 5: The lengthy communication in another hand, which Mrs. Packard had + found pinned on the baby’s cloak, and at my intercession had handed over + to me. + </p> + <p> + A goodly array, if the latter was a specimen of the same cipher as the + first, a fact which its general appearance seemed to establish, + notwithstanding the few added complexities observable in it, and one which + a remembrance of her extreme agitation on opening it would have settled in + my mind, even if these complexities had been greater and the differences + even more pronounced than they were. Lines entirely unsuggestive of + meaning to her might have aroused her wonder and possibly her anger, but + not her fear; and the emotion which I chiefly observed in her at that + moment had been fear. + </p> + <p> + So! out of these one hundred and fifty characters, many of them mere + repetitions, it remained for me to discover a key whereby their meaning + might be rendered intelligible. + </p> + <p> + To begin, then, what peculiarities were first observable in them? + </p> + <p> + Several. + </p> + <p> + First: The symbols followed one after the other without breaks, whether + the communication was limited to one word or to many. + </p> + <p> + Second: Nos. 2, 3 and 4 started with the identical characters which made + up No. 1. + </p> + <p> + Third: While certain lines in Nos. 2, 3 and 4 were heavier than others, no + such distinction was observable in the characters forming No. 1. + </p> + <p> + Fourth: This distinction was even more marked in the longer specimen + written by another hand, viz.: No. 5. + </p> + <p> + Fifth: This distinction, which we will call shading, occurred + intermittently, sometimes in two consecutive characters, but never in + three. + </p> + <p> + Sixth: This shading was to be seen now on one limb of the character it + apparently emphasized and now on another. + </p> + <p> + Seventh: In the three specimens of the seven similar characters commencing + Nos. 2, 3 and 4, the exact part shaded was not always the same as for + instance, it was the left arm of the second character in No. 2 which + showed the heavy line, while the shading was on the right-hand arm of the + corresponding character in No. 3. + </p> + <p> + Eighth: These variations of emphasis in No. 4 coincided sometimes with + those seen in No. 2 and again with those in No. 3. + </p> + <p> + Ninth: Each one of these specimens, saving the first, ended in a shaded + character. + </p> + <p> + Tenth: While some of the characters were squares or parts of a square, + others were in the shape of a Y turned now this way and now that. + </p> + <p> + Eleventh: These characters were varied by the introduction of dots, and, + in some cases, by the insertion of minute sketches of animals, birds, + arrows, signs of the zodiac, etc., with here and there one of a humorous, + possibly sarcastic, nature. + </p> + <p> + Twelfth: Dots and dots only were to be found in the specimen emanating + from Mrs. Packard’s hand; birds, arrows, skipping boys and hanging men, + etc., being confined to No. 5, the product of another brain and hand, at + present unknown. + </p> + <p> + Now what conclusions could I draw from these? I shall give them to you as + they came to me that night. Others with wits superior to my own may draw + additional and more suggestive ones: + </p> + <p> + First: Division into words was not considered necessary or was made in + some other way than by breaks. + </p> + <p> + Second: The fact of the shading being omitted from No. 1 meant nothing—that + specimen being my own memory of lines, the shading or non-shading of which + would hardly have attracted my attention. + </p> + <p> + Third: The similarity observable in the seven opening characters of the + first four specimens being taken as a proof of their standing for the same + word or phrase, it was safe to consider this word or phrase as a complete + one to which she had tried to fit others, and always to her + dissatisfaction, till she had finally rejected all but the simple one with + which she had started. + </p> + <p> + Fourth: No. 1, short as it was, was, therefore, a communication in itself. + </p> + <p> + Fifth: The shading of a character was in some way essential to its proper + understanding, but not the exact place where that shading fell. + </p> + <p> + Sixth: The dots were necessarily modifications, but not their shape or + nature. + </p> + <p> + Seventh: This shading might indicate the end of a word. + </p> + <p> + Eighth: If so, the shading of two contiguous characters would show the + first one to be a word of one letter. There are but two words in the + English language of one letter—a and i—and in the specimens + before me but one character, that of [], which shows shading, next to + another shaded character. + </p> + <p> + Ninth: [] was therefore a or i + </p> + <p> + A decided start. + </p> + <p> + All this, of course, was simply preliminary. + </p> + <p> + The real task still lay before me. It was to solve the meaning of those + first seven characters, which, if my theory were correct, was a + communication in itself, and one of such importance that, once mastered, + it would give the key to the whole situation. + </p> + <p> + []; V; [];.}; V; [-]; {; + </p> + <p> + or with the shading [same in bold - transcriber] + </p> + <p> + []; V; [];.}; V; [-]; {; + </p> + <p> + You have all read The Gold Bug, and know something of the method by which + a solution is obtained by that simplest of all ciphers, where a fixed + character takes the place of each letter in the alphabet. + </p> + <p> + Let us see if it applies to this one. + </p> + <p> + There are twenty-six letters in the English alphabet. Are there twenty-six + or nearly twenty-six different characters, in the one hundred and one I + find inscribed on the various slips spread out before me? + </p> + <p> + No, there are but fourteen. A check to begin with. + </p> + <p> + But wait; the dots make a difference. Let us increase the list by assuming + that angles or squares thus marked are different letters from those of the + same shape in which no dots or sketches occur, and we bring the list up to + twenty. That is better. + </p> + <p> + The dotted or otherwise marked squares or angles are separate characters. + </p> + <p> + Now, which one of these appears most frequently? The square, which we have + already decided must be either a or i. In the one short word or phrase we + are at present considering, it occurs twice. Now supposing that this + square stands for a, which according to Poe’s theory it should, a coming + before s in the frequency in which it occurs in ordinary English + sentences, how would the phrase look [still according to Poe] with dashes + taking the place of the remaining unknown letters? + </p> + <p> + Thus + </p> + <p> + A-a —— if the whole is a single word. + </p> + <p> + A- a- — if the whole is a phrase. That it was a phrase I was + convinced, possibly because one clings to so neat a theory as the one + which makes the shading, so marked a feature in all the specimens before + us, the sign of division into words. Let us take these seven characters as + a phrase then and not as a word. What follows? + </p> + <p> + The dashes following the two a’s stand for letters, each of which should + make a word when joined to a. What are these letters? Run over the + alphabet and see. The only letters making sense when joined with a are h, + m, n, s, t or x. Discarding the first and the last, we have these four + words, am, an, as, at. Is it possible to start any intelligible phrase + with any two of these arranged in any conceivable way? No. Then [] can not + stand for a. Let us see if it does for i. The words of two letters headed + by i we find to be if, in, is and it. A more promising collection than the + first. One could easily start a phrase with any of these, even with any + two of them such as If it, Is in, Is it, It is. [] is then the symbol of + i, and some one of the above named combinations forms the beginning of the + short phrase ending with a word of three letters symbolized by V [-].{ + </p> + <p> + What word? + </p> + <p> + If my reasoning is correct up to this point, it should not be hard to + determine. + </p> + <p> + First, one of these three symbols, the V, is a repetition of one of those + we have already shown to be s, t, f, or n. Of the remaining two, [-] {, + one must be a vowel, that is, it must be either u, e, o, u, or y; i being + already determined upon. Now how many [-]’s and {’s do we find in the + collection before us? Ten or more of the first, and six, or about six, of + the latter. Recalling the table made out by Poe—a table I once + learned as a necessary part of my schooling as a cipher interpreter—I + ran over it thus: e is the one letter most in use in English. Afterward + the succession runs thus a, o, i d, h, n, r, etc. There being then ten + [-]’s to six {’s [-] must be a vowel, and in all probability the vowel e, + as no other character in the whole collection, save the plentiful squares, + is repeated so often. + </p> + <p> + I am a patient woman usually, but I was nervous that night, and, perhaps, + too deeply interested in the outcome to do myself justice. I could think + of no word with a for one of its three letters which would make sense when + added on to It is, Is it, I f it, Is in. + </p> + <p> + Conscious of no mistake, yet always alive to the possibility of one, I + dropped the isolated scrap I was working upon and took up the longer and + fuller ones, and with them a fresh line of reasoning. If my argument so + far had been trustworthy, I should find, in these other specimens, a + double [-][-] standing for the double e so frequently found in English. + Did I find such? No. Another shock to my theory. + </p> + <p> + Should I, then, give it up? Not while another means of verification + remained. The word the should occur more than once in a collection of + words as long as the one before me. If U is really e, I should find it at + the end of the supposed thes. Do I so find it? There are several words + scattered through the whole, of only three letters. Are any of them + terminated by U? Not one. My theory is false, then, and I must begin all + over. + </p> + <p> + Discarding every previous conclusion save this, that the shading of a line + designated the termination of a word, I hunted first for the thes. Making + a list of the words containing only three letters, I was confronted by the + following: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + V [-] { + + ]L ]C C + + { L } + + ^V L V. { C ^V. .}.[-]] ]L. .V ].C L. + + .{.[-] ]7 + + ^V C 7 + + ]L.L } +</pre> + <p> + No two alike. Astonishing! Thirty-two words of English and only one the in + the whole? Could it be that the cipher was in a foreign language? The + preponderance of i’s so out of proportion to the other vowels had already + given me this fear, but the lack of thes seemed positively to indicate it. + Yet I must dig deeper before accepting defeat. + </p> + <p> + Th is a combination of letters which Poe says occurs so often in our + language that they can easily be picked out in a cipher of this length. + How many times can a conjunction of two similar characters be found in the + lines before us..}.[-] occurs three times, which is often enough, perhaps, + to establish the fact that they stand for th. Do I find them joined with a + third character in the list of possible thes? Yes..} [-] which would seem + to fix both the th and the e. + </p> + <p> + But I have grown wary and must make myself sure. Do I find a word in which + this combination of. }.[-] occurs twice, as sometimes happens with the th + we are considering? No, but I find two other instances in which like + contiguous symbols do appear twice in one word; the.{.[-] in No. 3 and + the.V.]C in No. 4—a discovery the most embarrassing of all, since in + both cases the symbols which begin the word are reversed at its end, as + witness:.V.]C - - - ]C .V —.{.[-] - - -.[-].{. For, if.V ]C stands + for th, and the whole word showed in letters th- - -ht, which to any eye + suggests the word thought, what does.{.[-] stand for, concerning which the + same conditions are observable? + </p> + <p> + I could not answer. I had run on a snag. + </p> + <p> + Rules which applied to one part of the cipher failed in another. Could it + be that a key was necessary to its proper solution? I began to think so, + and, moreover, that Mrs. Packard had made use of some such help as I + watched her puzzling in the window over these symbols. I recalled her + movements, the length of time which elapsed before the cry of miserable + understanding escaped her lips, the fact that her dress was torn apart at + the throat when she came out, and decided that she had not only drawn some + paper from her bosom helpful to the elucidation of these symbols, but that + this paper was the one which had been the object of her frantic search the + night I watched her shadow on the wall. + </p> + <p> + So convinced was I by these thoughts that any further attempt to solve the + cryptogram without such aid as I have mentioned would end by leaving me + where I was at present,—that is, in the fog,—that I allowed + the lateness of the hour to influence me; and, putting aside my papers, I + went to bed. If I had sat over them another hour, should I have been more + fortunate? Make the attempt yourself and see. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0022" id="link2HCH0022"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXII. MERCY + </h2> + <p> + “Where is my wife?” + </p> + <p> + “Sleeping, sir, after a day of exhausting emotion.” + </p> + <p> + “She didn’t wire me?” + </p> + <p> + “No, sir.” + </p> + <p> + “Perhaps she wasn’t able?” + </p> + <p> + “She was not, Mayor Packard.” + </p> + <p> + “I must see her. I came as soon as I could. Left Warner to fill my place + on the platform, and it is the night of nights, too. Why, what’s the + matter?” + </p> + <p> + He had caught me staring over his shoulder at the form drawn up in the + doorway. + </p> + <p> + “Nothing; I thought you had come alone.” + </p> + <p> + “No, Mr. Steele is with me. He joined me at noon, just after I had + telegraphed home. He has come back to finish the work I assigned him. He + has at last discovered—or thinks he has—the real author of + those libels. You have something special to say to me?” he whispered, as I + followed him upstairs. + </p> + <p> + “Yes, and I think, if I were you, that I should say nothing to Mrs. + Packard about Mr. Steele’s having returned.” And I rapidly detailed the + occurrence of the afternoon, ending with Mrs. Packard’s explanation to her + servants. + </p> + <p> + The mayor showed impatience. “Oh, I can not bother with such nonsense as + that,” he declared; “the situation is too serious.” + </p> + <p> + I thought so, too, when in another moment his wife’s door opened and she + stepped out upon the landing to meet him. Her eyes fell on Mr. Steele, + standing at the foot of the stairs, before they encountered her husband; + and though she uttered no cry and hardly paused in her approach toward the + mayor, I saw the heart within her die as suddenly and surely as the flame + goes out in a gust of wind. + </p> + <p> + “You!” There was hysteria in the cry. Pray God that the wild note in it + was not that of incipient insanity! “How good of you to give up making + your great speech to-night, just to see how I have borne this last + outrage! You do see, don’t you?” Here she drew her form to its full + height. “My husband believes in me, and it gives me courage to face the + whole world. Ah! is that Mr. Steele I see below there? Pardon me, Mr. + Steele, if I show surprise. We heard a false report of your illness this + afternoon. Henry, hadn’t Mr. Steele better come up-stairs? I presume you + are here to talk over this last dreadful paragraph with me.” + </p> + <p> + “It is not necessary for Mr. Steele to join us if you do not wish him to,” + I heard the mayor whisper in his wife’s ear. + </p> + <p> + “Oh, I do not mind,” she returned with an indifference whose reality I + probably gauged more accurately than he did. + </p> + <p> + “That is good.” And he called Mr. Steele up. “You see she is reasonable + enough,” he muttered in my ear as he motioned me to follow them into the + up-stairs sitting-room to which she had led the way. “The more heads the + better in a discussion of this kind,” was the excuse he gave his wife and + Mr. Steele as he ushered me in. + </p> + <p> + As neither answered, I considered my presence accepted and sat down in as + remote a corner as offered. Verily the fates were active in my behalf. + </p> + <p> + Mayor Packard was about to close the door, when Mrs. Packard suddenly + leaped by him with the cry: + </p> + <p> + “There’s the baby! She must have heard your voice.” And rushing into the + hall she came back with the child whom she immediately placed in its + father’s arms. Then she slowly seated herself. Not until she had done so + did she turn to Mr. Steele. + </p> + <p> + “Sit,” said she, with a look and gesture her husband would have marveled + at had he not been momentarily occupied with the prattling child. + </p> + <p> + The secretary bowed and complied. Surely men of such great personal + attractions are few. Instantly the light, shaded though it seemingly was + in all directions, settled on his face, making him, to my astonished gaze, + the leading personality in the group. Was this on account of the + distinction inherent in extreme beauty or because of a new and dominating + expression which had insensibly crept into his features? + </p> + <p> + The mayor, and the mayor only, seemed oblivious to the fact. Glancing up + from the child, he opened the conference by saying: “Tell Mrs. Packard, + Steele, what you have just told me.” + </p> + <p> + With a quiet shifting of his figure which brought him into a better line + with the woman he was asked to address, the secretary opened his lips to + reply when she, starting, reached out one hand and drew toward herself the + little innocent figure of her child, which she at once placed between + herself and him. Seeing this, I recalled the scraps of cipher left in my + room above and wished I had succeeded in determining their meaning, if + only to understand the present enigmatical situation. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile Mr. Steele was saying in the mellow tone of a man accustomed to + tune his voice to suit all occasions: “Mrs. Packard will excuse me if I + seem abrupt. In obedience to commands laid upon me by his Honor, I spent + both Tuesday and Wednesday in inquiries as to the origin of the offensive + paragraph which appeared in Monday’s issue of the Leader. Names were given + me, but too many of them. It took me two days to sift these down to one, + and when I had succeeded in doing this, it was only to find that the man I + sought was ninety miles away. Madam, I journeyed those ninety miles to + learn that meanwhile he had returned to this city. While I was covering + those miles for the second time, to-day’s paragraph appeared. I hastened + to accuse its author of libel, but the result was hardly what I expected. + Perhaps you know what he said.” + </p> + <p> + “No,” she harshly returned, “I do not.” And with the instinctive gesture + of one awaiting attack she raised her now sleepy and nodding child in + front of her laboring breast, with a look in her eyes which I see yet. + </p> + <p> + “He said—pardon me, your Honor, pardon me, Madam—that I was at + liberty to point out what was false in it.” + </p> + <p> + With a leap she was on her feet, towering above us all in her indignation + and overpowering revolt against the man who was the conscious instrument + of this insult. The child, loosened so suddenly from her arms, tottered + and would have fallen, had not Mr. Steele leaned forward and drawn the + little one across to himself. Mr. Packard, who, we must remember, had been + more or less prepared for what his secretary had to say, cast a glance at + his wife, teeming with varied emotions. + </p> + <p> + “And what did you reply to that?” were the words she hurled at the + unabashed secretary. + </p> + <p> + “Nothing,” was his grave reply. “I did not know myself what was false in + it.” + </p> + <p> + With sudden faltering, Mrs. Packard reseated herself, while the mayor, + outraged by what was evidently a very unexpected answer, leaned forward in + great anger, crying: + </p> + <p> + “That was not the account you gave me of this wretched interview. Explain + yourself, Mr. Steele. Don’t you see that your silence at such a moment, to + say nothing of the attitude you at present assume, is an insult to Mrs. + Packard?” + </p> + <p> + The smile he met in reply was deprecatory enough; so were the words his + outburst had called forth. + </p> + <p> + “I did not mean, and do not mean to insult Mrs. Packard. I am merely + showing you how hampered a man is, whatever his feelings, when it comes to + a question of facts known only to a lady with whom he has not exchanged + fifty words since he came into her house. If Mrs. Packard will be good + enough to inform me just how much and how little is true in the paragraph + we are considering, I shall see this rascally reporter again and give him + a better answer.” + </p> + <p> + Mayor Packard looked unappeased. This was not the way to soothe a woman + whom he believed to be greatly maligned. With an exclamation indicative of + his feelings, he was about to address some hasty words to the composed, + almost smiling, man who confronted him, when Mrs. Packard herself spoke + with unexpected self-control, if not disdain. + </p> + <p> + “You are a very honest man, Mr. Steele. I commend the nicety of your + scruples and am quite ready to trust myself to them. I own to no blot, in + my past or present life, calling for public arraignment. If my statement + of the fact is not enough, I here swear on the head of my child—” + </p> + <p> + “No, no,” he quickly interpolated, “don’t frighten the baby. Swearing is + not necessary; I am bound to believe your word, Mrs. Packard.” And lifting + a sheet of paper from a pile lying on the table before him, he took a + pencil from his pocket and began making lines to amuse the child dancing + on his knee. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Packard’s eyes opened in wonder mingled with some emotion deeper than + distaste, but she said nothing, only watched in a fascinated way his + moving fingers. The mayor, mollified possibly by his secretary’s last + words, sank back again in his chair with the remark: + </p> + <p> + “You have heard Mrs. Packard’s distinct denial. You are consequently armed + for battle. See that you fight well. It is all a part of the scheme to + break me up. One more paragraph of that kind and I shall be a wreck, even + if my campaign is not.” + </p> + <p> + “There will not be any more.” + </p> + <p> + “Ah! you can assure me of that?” + </p> + <p> + “Positively.” + </p> + <p> + “What are you playing there?” It was Mrs. Packard who spoke. She was + pointing at the scribble he was making on the paper. + </p> + <p> + “Tit-tat-to,” he smiled, “to amuse the baby.” + </p> + <p> + Did she hate to see him so occupied, or was her own restlessness of a + nature demanding a like outlet? Tearing her eyes away from him and the + child, she looked about her in a wild way, till she came upon a box of + matches standing on the large center-table around which they were all + grouped. Taking some in her hand, she commenced to lay them out on the + table before her, possibly in an attempt to attract the baby’s attention + to herself. Puerile business, but it struck me forcibly, possibly from the + effect it appeared to have upon the mayor. Looking from one to the other + in an astonishment which was not without its hint of some new and + overmastering feeling on his own part, he remarked: + </p> + <p> + “Isn’t it time for the baby to go to bed? Surely, our talk is too serious + to be interrupted by games to please a child.” + </p> + <p> + Without a word Mr. Steele rose and put the protesting child in the + mother’s arms. She, rising, carried it to the door, and, coming slowly + back, reseated herself before the table and began to push the matches + about again with fingers that trembled beyond her control. The mayor + proceeded as if no time had elapsed since his last words. + </p> + <p> + “You had some words then with this Brainard—I think you called him + Brainard—exacted some promise from him?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, your Honor,” was the only reply. + </p> + <p> + Did not Mrs. Packard speak, too? We all seemed to think so, for we turned + toward her; but she gave no evidence of having said anything, though an + increased nervousness was visible in her fingers as she pushed the matches + about. + </p> + <p> + “I thought I was warranted in doing so much,” continued Mr. Steele. “I + could not buy the man with money, so I used threats.” + </p> + <p> + “Right! anything to squelch him,” exclaimed the mayor, but not with the + vigor I expected from him. Some doubt, some dread—caught perhaps + from his wife’s attitude or expression—seemed to interpose between + his indignation and the object of it. “You are our good friend, Steele, in + spite of the shock you gave us a moment ago.” + </p> + <p> + As no answer was made to this beyond a smile too subtle and too fine to be + understood by his openhearted chief, the mayor proceeded to declare: + </p> + <p> + “Then that matter is at an end. I pray that it may have done us no real + harm. I do not think it has. People resent attacks on women, especially, + on one whose reputation has never known a shadow, as girl, wife, or + mother.” + </p> + <p> + “Yes,” came in slow assent from the lips which had just smiled, and he + glanced at Mrs. Packard whose own lips seemed suddenly to become dry, for + I saw her try to moisten them as her right hand groped about for something + on the tabletop and finally settled on a small paper-weight which she set + down amongst her matches. Was it then or afterward that I began to have my + first real doubt whether some shadow had not fallen across her apparently + unsullied life? + </p> + <p> + “Yes, you are right,” repeated Mr. Steele more energetically. “People do + resent such insinuations against a woman, though I remember one case where + the opposite effect was produced. It was when Collins ran for supervisor + in Cleveland. He was a good fellow himself, and he had a wife who was all + that was beautiful and charming, but who had once risked her reputation in + an act which did call for public arraignment. Unfortunately, there was a + man who knew of this act and he published it right and left and—” + </p> + <p> + “Olympia!” Mayor Packard was on his feet, pointing in sudden fury and + suspicion at the table where the matches lay about in odd and, as I now + saw, seemingly set figures. “You are doing something besides playing with + those matches. I know Mr. Steele’s famous cipher; he showed it to me a + week ago; and so, evidently, do you, in spite of the fact that you have + had barely fifty words with him since he came to the house. Let me read—ah!—give + over that piece of paper you have there, Steele, if you would not have me + think you as great a dastard as we know that Brainard to be!” + </p> + <p> + And while his wife drooped before his eyes and a cynical smile crept about + the secretary’s fine mouth, he caught up the sheet on which Steele had + been playing tit-tat-to with the child, and glanced from the table to it + and back again to the table on which the matches lay in the following + device, the paper-weight answering for the dot: + </p> + <p> + 7; L;.]7; [-]; ^V. “M,” suddenly left the mayor’s writhing lips; then + slowly, letter by letter, “E-R-C-Y. Mercy!” he vociferated. “Why does my + wife appeal for mercy to you—a stranger—and in your own + cipher! Miserable woman! What secret’s here? Either you are—” + </p> + <p> + “Hush! some one’s at the door!” admonished the secretary. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Packard turned quickly, and, smoothing his face rapidly, as such men + must, started for the door. Mrs. Packard, flinging her whole soul into a + look, met the secretary’s eyes for a moment and then let her head sink + forward on her hands above those telltale matches, from whose arrangement + she had reaped despair in place of hope. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Steele smiled again, his fine, false smile, but after her head had + fallen; not before. Indeed, he had vouchsafed no reply to her eloquent + look. It was as if it had met marble till her eyes were bidden; then— + </p> + <p> + But Nixon was in the open doorway and Nixon was speaking: + </p> + <p> + “A telegram, your Honor.” + </p> + <p> + The old man spoke briskly, even a little crisply—perhaps he always + did when he addressed the mayor. But his eyes roamed eagerly and changed + to a burning, red color when they fell upon the dejected figure of his + mistress. I fancied that, had he dared, he would have leaped into the room + and taken his own part—and who could rightly gage what that was?—in + the scene which may have been far more comprehensive to him than to me. + But he did not dare, and my eyes passed from him to the mayor. + </p> + <p> + “From Haines,” that gentleman announced, forgetting the suggestive + discovery he had just made in the great and absorbing interest of his + campaign. “‘Speech good—great applause becoming thunderous at flash + of your picture. All right so far if—‘” he read out, ceasing + abruptly at the “if” which, as I afterward understood, really ended the + message. “No answer,” he explained to Nixon as he hurriedly, dismissed + him. “That ‘if’ concerns you,” he now declared, coming back to his wife + and to his troubles at the same instant. “Explain the mystery which seems + likely to undo me. Why do you sit there bowed under my accusations? Why + should Henry Packard’s wife cry for mercy, to any man? Because those + damnable accusations are true? Because you have a secret in your past and + this man knows it?” + </p> + <p> + Slowly she rose, slowly she met his eyes, and even he started back at her + pallor and the drawn misery in her face. But she did not speak. Instead of + that she simply reached out and laid her hand on Mr. Steele’s arm, + drooping almost to the ground as she did so. “Mercy!” she suddenly wailed, + but this time to the man who had so relentlessly accused her. The effect + was appalling. The mayor reeled, then sprang forward with his hand + outstretched for his secretary’s throat. But his words were for his wife. + “What does this mean? Why do you take your stand by the side of another + man than myself? What have I done or what have you done that I should live + to face such an abomination as this?” + </p> + <p> + It was Steele who answered, with a lift of his head as full of assertion + as it was of triumph. + </p> + <p> + “You? nothing; she? everything. You do not know this woman, Mayor Packard; + for instance, you do not know her name.” + </p> + <p> + “Not know her name? My wife’s?” + </p> + <p> + “Not in the least. This lady’s name is Brainard. So is mine. Though she + has lived with you several years in ignorance of my continued existence, + no doubt, she is my wife and not yours. We were married in Boone, + Minnesota, six years ago.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0023" id="link2HCH0023"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXIII. THE WIFE’S TALE + </h2> + <p> + Ten minutes later this woman was pleading her cause. She had left the side + of the man who had just assumed the greatest of all rights over her and + was standing in a frenzy of appeal before him she loved so deeply and yet + had apparently wronged. + </p> + <p> + Mayor Packard was sitting with his head in his hands in the chair into + which he had dropped when the blow fell which laid waste his home, his + life, the future of his child and possibly the career which was as much, + perhaps more, to him than all these. He had not uttered a word since that + dreadful moment. To all appearance her moans of contrition fell upon deaf + ears, and she had reached the crisis of her misery without knowing the + extent of the condemnation hidden in his persistent silence. Collapse + seemed inevitable, but I did not know the woman or the really wonderful + grip she held on herself. Seeing that he was moved by nothing she had + said, she suddenly paused, and presently I heard her observe in quite a + different tone: + </p> + <p> + “There is one thing you must know—which I thought you would know + without my telling you. I have never lived with this man, and I believed + him dead when I gave my hand to you.” + </p> + <p> + The mayor’s fingers twitched. She had touched him at last. “Speak! tell + me,” he murmured hoarsely. “I do not want to do you any injustice.” + </p> + <p> + “I shall have to begin far, far back; tell about my early life and all its + temptations,” she faltered, “or you will never understand.” + </p> + <p> + “Speak.” + </p> + <p> + Sensible at this point of the extreme impropriety of my presence, I rose, + with an apology, to leave. But she shook her head quickly, determinedly, + saying that as I had heard so much I must hear more. Then she went on with + her story. + </p> + <p> + “I have committed a great fault,” said she, “but one not so deep or + inexcusable as now appears, whatever that man may say,” she added with a + slow turn toward the silent secretary. + </p> + <p> + Did she expect to provoke a reply from the man who, after the first + triumphant assertion of his claim, had held himself as removed from her + and as unresponsive to her anguish as had he whom she directly addressed? + If so, she must have found her disappointment bitter, for he did not + respond with so much as a look. He may have smiled, but if so, it was not + a helpful smile; for she turned away with a shudder and henceforth faced + and addressed the mayor only. + </p> + <p> + “My mother married against the wishes of all her family and they never + forgave her. My father died early—he had never got on in the world—and + before I was fifteen I became the sole support of my invalid mother as + well as of myself. We lived in Boone, Minnesota. + </p> + <p> + “You can imagine what sort of support it was, as I had no special talent, + no training and only the opportunity given by a crude western town of two + or three hundred inhabitants. I washed dishes in the hotel kitchen—I + who had a millionaire uncle in Detroit and had been fed on tales of wealth + and culture by a mother who remembered her own youth and was too ignorant + of my real nature to see the harm she was doing. I washed dishes and ate + my own heart out in shame and longing—bitter shame and frenzied + longing, which you must rate at their full force if you would know my + story and how I became linked to this man. + </p> + <p> + “I was sixteen when we first met. He was not then what he is now, but he + was handsome enough to create an excitement in town and to lift the girl + he singled out into an enviable prominence. Unfortunately, I was that + girl. I say unfortunately, because his good looks failed to arouse in me + more than a passing admiration; and in accepting his attentions, I + consulted my necessities and pride rather than the instincts of my better + nature. When he asked me to marry him I recoiled. I did not know why then, + nor did I know why later; but know why now. However, I let this + premonition pass and engaged myself to him, and the one happy moment I + knew was when I told my mother what I had done, and saw her joy and heard + the hope with which she impulsively cried: ‘It is something I can write + your uncle. Who knows? Perhaps he may forgive me my marriage when he hears + that my child is going to do so well!’ Poor mother! she had felt the + glamour of my lover’s good looks and cleverness much more than I had. She + saw from indications to which I was blind that I was going to marry a man + of mark, and was much more interested in the possible reply she might + receive to the letter with which she had broken the silence of years + between herself and her family than in the marriage itself. + </p> + <p> + “But days passed, a week, and no answer came. My uncle—the only + relative remaining in which we could hope to awaken any interest, or + rather, the only one whose interest would be worth awakening, he being a + millionaire and unmarried—declined, it appeared, any communication + with one so entirely removed from his sympathies; and the disappointment + of it broke my mother’s heart. Before my wedding-day came she was lying in + the bare cemetery I had passed so often with a cold dread in my young and + bounding heart. + </p> + <p> + “With her loss the one true and unselfish bond which held me to my lover + was severed, and, unknown to him—[perhaps he hears it now for the + first time]—I had many hours of secret hesitation which might have + ended in a positive refusal to marry him if I had not been afraid of his + anger and the consequences of an open break. With all his protestations of + affection and the very ardent love he made me, he had not succeeded in + rousing my affections, but he had my fears. I knew that to tell him to his + face I would not marry him would mean death to him and possibly to myself. + Such intuition, young as I was, did I have of his character, though I + comprehended so little the real range of his mind and the unswerving trend + of his ambitious nature. + </p> + <p> + “So my, wedding-day came and we were united in the very hotel where I had + so long served in a menial capacity. The social distinctions in such a + place being small and my birth and breeding really placing me on a par + with my employer and his family, I was given the parlor for this + celebration and never, never, shall I forget its mean and bare look, even + to my untutored eyes; or how lonely those far hills looked, through the + small-paned window I faced; or what a shadow seemed to fall across them as + the parson uttered those fateful words, so terrible to one whose heart is + not in them: What God hath joined together let no man put asunder. Death + and not life awaited me on that bleak hillside, or so I thought, though + the bridegroom at my side was the handsomest man I had ever seen and had + rather exceeded than failed in his devotion to me as a lover. + </p> + <p> + “The ceremony over, I went up-stairs to make my final preparations for + departure. No bridesmaids or real friends had lent joy to the occasion; + and when I closed that parlor door upon my bridegroom and the two or three + neighbors and boon companions with whom he was making merry, I found + myself alone with my dead heart and a most unwelcome future. I remember, + as the lock clicked and the rude hall, ruder even than the wretched + half-furnished room I had just left, opened before me, a sensation of + terror at leaving even this homely refuge and a half-formed wish that I + was going back to my dish-washing in the kitchen. It was therefore with a + shock, which makes my brain reel yet, that I saw, lying on a little table + which I had to pass, a letter directed to myself, bearing the postmark, + Detroit. What might there not be in it? What? What? + </p> + <p> + “Gasping as much with fear as delight, I caught up the letter, and, + rushing with it to my room, locked myself in and tore open the envelope. A + single sheet fell out; it was signed with the name I had heard whispered + in my ear from early childhood, and always in connection with riches and + splendor and pleasures,—it was rapture to dream of. This was an + agitation in itself, but the words—the words! I have never told them + to mortal being, but I must tell them now; I remember them as I remember + the look of my child’s face when she was first put in my arms, the child—” + </p> + <p> + She had underrated her strength. She broke into a storm of weeping which + shook to the very soul one of the two men who listened to her, though he + made no move to comfort her or allay it. The alienation thus expressed + produced its effect, and, stricken deeper than the fount of tears, she + suddenly choked back every sob and took up the thread of her narrative + with the calmness born of despair, + </p> + <p> + “These were the words, these and no others: + </p> + <p> + “‘If my niece will break all ties and come to me completely unhampered, + she may hope to find a permanent home in my house and a close hold upon my + affections. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + IRA T. HOUGHTALING.’ +</pre> + <p> + “Unhampered! with the marriage-vow scarcely cold on my lips! Without tie! + and a husband waiting below to take me to his home on the hillside—a + hillside so bare and bleak that the sight of it had sent a shudder to my + heart as the wedding ring touched my finger. The irony of the situation + was more than I could endure, and alone, with my eyes fixed on the + comfortless heavens, showing gray and cold through the narrow panes of my + windows, I sank to the floor insensible. + </p> + <p> + “When I came to myself I was still alone, and the twilight a little more + pronounced than when my misery had turned it to blackest midnight. Rising, + I read that letter again, and, plainly as the acknowledgment betrays the + selfishness lying at the basis of my character, the temptation which + thereupon seized me had never an instant of relenting or one conscientious + scruple to combat it. I simply, at that stage in my life and experience, + could not do otherwise than I did. Saying to myself that vows, as empty of + heart as mine, were void before God and man, I sat down and wrote a few + words to the man whose step on the stair I dreaded above everything else + in the world; and, leaving the note on the table, unlocked my door and + looked out. The hall connecting with my room was empty, but not so the + lower one. There I could hear voices and laughter, Mr. Brainard’s loud + above all the rest,—a fatal sound to me, cutting off all escape in + that direction. But another way offered and that one near at hand. + Communicating with the very hall in which I stood was an outside staircase + running down to the road—a means of entering and leaving a house + which I never see now wherever I may encounter it, without a gush of + inward shame and terror, so instinctive and so sharp that I have never + been able to hide it from any one whose eye might chance to be upon me at + the moment. But that night I was conscious of no shame, barely of any + terror, only of the necessity for haste. The train on which I was + determined to fly was due in a little less than an hour at a station two + miles down the road. + </p> + <p> + “That I should be followed farther than the turbulent stream which crossed + the road only a quarter of a mile from the hotel, I did not fear. For in + the hurried note I had left behind me, I had bidden them to look for me + there, saying that I had been precipitate in marrying one I did not really + love, and, overcome by a sense of my mistake, I was resolved on death. + </p> + <p> + “A lie! but what was a lie to me then, who saw in my life with this man an + amelioration of my present state, but an amelioration only, while in the + prospects held out to me by my uncle I foresaw not only release from a + hated union, but every delight which my soul had craved since my mother + could talk to me of wealth and splendor. + </p> + <p> + “Behold me, then, stealing down the side of the house in a darkness which + during the last few minutes had become impenetrable. A shadow, where all + was shadowy, I made for the woods and succeeded in reaching their shelter + just as there rose in the distance behind me that most terrible of all + sounds to a woman’s ear, a man’s loud cry of anguish and rage.” + </p> + <p> + She was not looking at that man now, but I was. As these words left her + lips, Mr. Steele’s hand crept up and closed over his heart, though his + face was like that of a marble image set in immovable lines. I feared him, + I admired him, and found myself still looking at him as she went gaspingly + on: + </p> + <p> + “Reckless of the dangers of the road, fearing nothing but what pressed + upon me from behind, I flew straight for the stream, on whose verge I + meant then to stop, and, having by some marvel of good luck or Providence + reached it without a mishap, I tore the cloak from my shoulders, and, + affixing one end to the broken edge of the bridge, flung the other into + the water. Then with one loud ear-piercing shriek thrown back on the wind—see! + I tell all—I leave out nothing—I fled away in the direction of + the station. + </p> + <p> + “For some reason I had great confidence in the success of this feint and + soon was conscious of but one fear, and that was being recognized by the + station-master, who knew my face and figure even if he did not know my new + city-made dress. So when I had made sure by the clock visible from the end + window that I was in ample time for the expected train, I decided to + remain in the dark at the end of the platform till the cars were about + starting, and then to jump on and buy my ticket from the conductor. + </p> + <p> + “But I never expected such an interminable wait. Minute after minute went + by without a hint of preparation for the advancing train. The hour for + leaving arrived, passed, and not a man had shown himself on the platform. + Had a change been made in the time-table? If so, what a prospect lay + before me! Autumn nights are chill in Minnesota, and, my cloak having been + sacrificed, I found poor protection in my neat but far from warm serge + dress. However, I did not fully realize my position till another passenger + arrived late and panting, and I heard some one shout out to him from the + open door that an accident had occurred below and that it would be five + hours at least before the train would come through. + </p> + <p> + “Five hours! and no shelter in sight save the impossible one of the + station itself. How could I pass away that time! How endure the cold and + fatigue? By pacing to and fro in the road? I tried it, resolutely tried + it, for an hour, then a new terror, a new suspense, gripped me, and I + discovered that I could never live through the hours; never, in fact, take + the train when it came without knowing what had happened in Boone and + whether the feint on which I relied had achieved its purpose. There was + time to steal back, time to see and hear what would satisfy me of my own + safety; and then to have some purpose in my movement! How much better than + this miserable pacing back and forth just to start the stagnating blood + and make the lagging moments endurable! + </p> + <p> + “So I turned again toward Boone. I was not in the mood to fear darkness or + any encounter save one, and experienced hesitation only when I found + myself reapproaching the bridge. Shadows which had protected me until now + failed me there, and it was with caution I finally advanced and emerged + upon the open spot where the road crossed the river. But even this was not + needed. In the wide stretch before me cut by the inky stream, I saw no + signs of life, and it was not till I was on the bridge itself that I + discerned in the black hollows below the glint of a lantern, lighting up + the bending forms of two or three men who were dragging at something which + heaved under their hands with the pull of the stream. + </p> + <p> + “It was a sight which has never left me, but one which gave wings to my + feet that night and sent me flying on till a fork in the road brought me + to a standstill. To the left lay the hotel. I could see its windows + glimmering with faint lights, while, away to the right, there broke upon + me from the hillside a solitary sparkle; but this sparkle came from the + house where, but for the letter hidden in my heart, I should be sitting at + this moment before my own fireside. + </p> + <p> + “What moved me? God knows. It may have been duty; it may have been + curiosity; it may have been only dread to know the worst and know it at + once; but seeing that single gleam I began to move toward it, and, before + I was aware, I had reached the house, edged up to its unshaded window and + taken a frightened look within. + </p> + <p> + “I was prepared and yet unprepared for what I saw. Within, standing alone, + with garments dripping, gazing in frenzy at a slip of paper which clung + wet about his hand, stood my husband. My words to him! I could see it in + his eyes and the desperation which lit up all his features. + </p> + <p> + “Drawing back in terror from the road, I watched him fling that letter of + from his fingers as he would a biting snake, and, striding to a cupboard + high up on the wall, take down something I could not see and did not guess + at till the sharp sound of a pistol-shot cleft my ear, and I beheld him + fall face downward on the carpet of fresh autumn leaves with which he had + hidden the bare floor in expectation of his bride. + </p> + <p> + “The shriek which involuntarily went up from my lips must have rung far + and wide, but only the groaning of the night-wind answered me. Driven by + my fears to do something to save him if he was not yet dead, I tried the + door, but it was locked; so was the window. Yet I might have battered my + way in at that moment had I not heard two men coming down the road, one of + whom was shouting to the other: ‘I did not like his face. I shan’t sleep + till I’ve seen him again.’ + </p> + <p> + “Somewhat relieved, I drew back from the road, but did not quit the spot + till those men, seeing through the window what had happened, worked their + way in and lifted him up in their arms. The look with which they let him + fall back again was eloquent, and convinced me that it was death I saw. I + started again upon my shuddering flight from Boone, secure in the belief + that while my future would surely hold remorse for me, it would nevermore + burden me with a hindrance in the shape of an unloved husband.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0024" id="link2HCH0024"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXIV. THE SINS OF THE FATHERS + </h2> + <p> + The suspense which had held us tense and speechless was for the moment + relieved and Mr. Steele allowed himself the following explanation: + </p> + <p> + “My hand trembled and the bullet penetrated an inch too high.” + </p> + <p> + Then he relapsed again into silence. + </p> + <p> + Mrs. Packard shuddered and went on: + </p> + <p> + “It may seem incredible to you, it seems incredible now to myself, but I + completed my journey, entered my uncle’s house, was made welcome there and + started upon my new life without letting my eyes fall for one instant on + the columns of a newspaper. I did not dare to see what they contained. + That short but bitter episode of my sixteenth year was a nightmare of + horror, to be buried with my old name and all that could interfere with + the delights of the cultured existence which my uncle’s means and + affection opened before me. Two years and I hardly remembered; three years + and it came to me only in dreams; four and even dreams failed to suggest + it; the present, the glorious present was all. I had met you, Henry, and + we had loved and married. + </p> + <p> + “Did any doubts come to disturb my joy? Very few. I had never received a + word from Minnesota. I was as dead to every one there as they all were to + me. I believed myself free and that the only wrong I did was in not taking + you into my confidence. But this, the very nature of my secret forbade. + How could I tell you what would inevitably alienate your affections? That + act of my early girlhood by which I had gained an undeserved freedom had + been too base; sooner than let you know this blot on my life, I was + content to risk the possibility—the inconceivable possibility—of + Mr. Brainard’s having survived the attack he had made upon his own life. + Can you understand such temerity? I can not, now that I see its results + before me. + </p> + <p> + “So the die was cast and I became a wife instead of the mere shadow of + one. You were prosperous, and not a sorrow came to disturb my sense of + complete security till that day two weeks ago, when, looking up in my own + library, I saw, gleaming between me and the evening lamp, a face, which, + different as it was in many respects, tore my dead past out of the grave + and sent my thoughts reeling back to a lonely road on a black hillside + with a lighted window in view, and behind that window the outstretched + form of a man with his head among leaves not redder than his blood. + </p> + <p> + “I have said to you, I have said to others, that a specter rose upon me + that day in the library. It was such to me,—an apparition and + nothing else. Perhaps he meant to impress himself as such, for I had heard + no footfall and only looked up because of the constraining force of the + look which awaited me. I knew afterward that it was a man whom I had seen, + a man whom you yourself had introduced into the house; but at the instant + I thought it a phantom of my forgotten past sent to shock and destroy me; + and, struck speechless with the horror of it, I lost that opportunity of + mutual explanation which might have saved me an unnecessary and cruel + experience. For this man, who recognized me more surely than I did him, + who perhaps knew who I was before he ever entered my house, has sported + for two weeks with my fears and hopes as a tiger with his prey. + Maintaining his attitude of stranger—you have been witness to his + manner in my presence—he led me slowly but surely to believe myself + deceived by an extraordinary resemblance; a resemblance, moreover, which + did not hold at all times, and which frequently vanished altogether, as I + recalled the straight-featured but often uncouth aspect of the man who had + awakened the admiration of Boone. Memory had been awakened and my sleep + filled with dreams, but the unendurable had been spared me and I was + thanking God with my whole heart, when suddenly one night, when an evening + spent with friends in the old way had made me feel safe, my love safe, my + husband and my child safe, there came to my ears from below the sound of a + laugh, loud, coarse and deriding,—such a laugh as could spring from + no member of my own household, such a laugh as I heard but once before and + that in the by-gone years when some one asked Mr. Brainard if he meant to + live always in Boone. The shock was terrible, and when I learned that the + secretary, and the secretary only, was below, I knew who that secretary + was and yielded to the blow. + </p> + <p> + “Yet hope dies hard with the happy. I knew, but it was not enough to know,—I + must be sure. There was a way—it came to me with my first fluttering + breath as I recovered from my faint. In those old days when I was thrown + much with this man, he had shown me a curious cipher and taught me how to + use it. It was original with himself, he said, and some day we might be + glad of a method of communication which would render our correspondence + inviolable. I could not see why he considered this likely ever to be + desirable, but I took the description of it which he gave me and promised + that I would never let it leave my person. I even allowed him to solder + about my neck the chain which held the locket in which he had placed it. + Consequently I had it with me when I fled from Boone, and for the first + few weeks after arriving at my uncle’s house in Detroit. Then, wishing to + banish every reminder of days I was so anxious to forget, I broke that + chain, destroyed the locket and hid away from every one’s sight the now + useless and despised cipher. Why I retained the cipher I can not explain. + Now, that cipher must prove my salvation. If I could find it again I was + sure that the shock of receiving from my hand certain words written in the + symbols he had himself taught me would call from him an involuntary + revelation. I should know what I had to fear. But so many changes had + taken place and so long a time elapsed since I hid this slip of paper away + that I was not even sure I still retained it; but after spending a good + share of the night in searching for it, I finally came across it in one of + my old trunks. + </p> + <p> + “The next morning I made my test. Perhaps, Henry, you remember my handing + Mr. Steele an empty envelope to mail which he returned with an air of + surprise so natural and seemingly unfeigned that he again forced me to + believe that he was the stranger he appeared. Though he must have + recognized at a glance—for he was an adept in this cipher once—the + seven simple symbols in which I had expressed the great cry of my soul ‘Is + it you?’ he acted the innocent secretary so perfectly that all my old + hopes returned and I experienced one hour of perfect joy. Then came + another reaction. Letty brought in the baby with a paper pinned to her + coat. She declared to us that a woman had been the instrument of this + outrage, though the marks inside, suggesting the cipher but with + characteristic variations bespeaking malice, could only have been made by + one hand. + </p> + <p> + “How I managed to maintain sufficient hold upon my mind to drag the key + from my breast and by its means to pick out the meaning of the first three + words—words which once read suggested all the rest—I can not + now imagine. Death was in my heart and the misery of it all more than + human strength could bear; yet I compared paper with paper carefully, + intelligently, till these words from the prayer-book with all their + threatening meaning to me and mine started into life before me: ‘Visiting + the sins—’ Henry, you know the words ‘Visiting the sins of the + fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.’ Upon the + children! Henry, he meant Laura! our little Laura! I had wakened vengeance + in a fiend. The man who had calmly smiled in my face as he handed me back + that empty envelope inscribed with the wild appeal, ‘Is it you?’ was the + man I had once driven to the verge of the grave and who had come back now + to destroy us all. + </p> + <p> + “Yet, such is the reaching out of the drowning for straws, I did not + utterly despair till Nixon brought me from this man’s lodging-house, where + I had sent him, a specimen of his handwriting. + </p> + <p> + “Nixon is the only confidant I have had. Nixon knew me as a girl when he + worked in my uncle’s home, and has always had the most unbounded, I may + say jealous, affection for me. To him I had dared impart that I did not + trust your new secretary; that he looked like a man I once knew who was a + determined opponent of the party now trying to elect you; that a specimen + of his writing would make me quite sure, and begged him to get it. I + thought he might pick up such in the little office below, but he was never + able to do so—Mr. Steele has taken care not to leave a line written + in this house—but he did find a few lines signed with his name in + his own room at the boarding-house, and these he showed me before he told + me the result of his errand. They settled all doubts. What is to be my + fate? Surely this man has no real claim on me, after all these years, when + I thought myself your true and honest wife. He may ruin your campaign, + defeat your hopes, overwhelm me with calumny and a loss of repute, but + surely, surely he can not separate us. The law will not uphold him in + that; will it, Henry? Say that it will not, say—oh, say that—it—will + not—do—that, or we shall live to curse the day, not when we + were born; but when our little innocent child came to us!” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0025" id="link2HCH0025"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXV. THE FINGER ON THE WALL. + </h2> + <p> + At this appeal the mayor rose and faced his secretary and the spectacle + was afforded me of seeing two strong men drawn up in conflict over a woman + both had cherished above all else. And it was characteristic of the + forceful men, as well as the extreme nature of the conflict, that both + were quiet in manner and speech—perhaps the mayor the more so, as he + began the struggle by saying: + </p> + <p> + “Is what Mrs. Packard says of your playing with her fears during these two + weeks true, Mr. Steele?” + </p> + <p> + Without a droop of his eye, or a tremor in his voice, the answer came + short, sharp and emphatic: + </p> + <p> + “Yes.” + </p> + <p> + “Then, you are a villain! and I shall not feel myself called upon to show + you any consideration beyond what justice demands. Have you any plea to + urge beyond the natural one of her seemingly unprovoked desertion of you? + Has not my wife—” the nobility with which he emphasized those two + words made my heart swell—“spoken the truth?” + </p> + <p> + Ah! then the mask of disdainful serenity with which the other had hitherto + veiled the burning anguish of his soul fell in one burst of irresistible + passion. + </p> + <p> + “True! yes, it is true. But what does that truth involve for me? Not two + weeks, but seven years of torture, five of them devoted to grief for her, + loss, and two to rage and bitter revulsion against her whole sex when I + found her alive, and myself the despised victim of her deception.” + </p> + <p> + “She wronged you—she acknowledges that—but it was the wrong of + an unthinking child—not of a realizing woman. Would you, a realizing + man, tear her now from home, from her child, from her place in the + community and my heart—make her despicable as well as unhappy, just + to feed your revenge?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, I would do that.” + </p> + <p> + “Jeopardize interests you have so often professed in my hearing to be far + above personal consideration—the success of your party, the triumph + of your political principles?” + </p> + <p> + “My political principles!” Oh, the irony of his voice, the triumph in his + laugh! “And what do you know of them? What I have said. Mayor Packard, + your education as a politician has yet to be completed before you will be + fit for the governorship of a state. I am an adept at the glorification of + the party, of the man that it suits my present exigencies to promote, but + it is a faculty which should have made you pause before you trusted me + with the furtherance and final success of a campaign which may outlast + those exigencies. I have not always been of your party; I am not so now at + heart.” + </p> + <p> + The mayor, outraged in every sentiment of honor as well as in the most + cherished feelings of his heart, lowered upon his unmoved secretary with a + wrath which would have borne down any other man before it. + </p> + <p> + “Do you mean to say, you, that your work is a traitor’s work? That the + glorification you speak of is false? That you may talk in my favor, but + that when you come to the issue, you will vote according to your heart; + that is, for Stanton?” + </p> + <p> + “I have succeeded in making myself intelligible.” + </p> + <p> + The mayor flushed; indignation gave him vehemence. + </p> + <p> + “Then,” he cried, “I take back the word by which I qualified you a moment + ago. You are not a villain, you are a dastard.” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Steele bowed in a way which turned the opprobrium into a seeming + compliment. + </p> + <p> + “I have suffered so many wrongs at your hands that I can not wonder at + suffering this one more.” + </p> + <p> + Then slowly and with a short look at her: “The woman who has queened it so + long in C—— society can not wish to undergo the charge of + bigamy?” + </p> + <p> + “You will bring such a charge?” + </p> + <p> + “Certainly, if she does not voluntarily quit her false position, and, + accepting the protection of the man whose name is really hers, go from + this house at once.” + </p> + <p> + At this alternative, uttered with icy deliberation, Mrs. Packard recoiled + with a sharp cry; but the mayor thrust a sudden sarcastic query at his + opponent: + </p> + <p> + “Which name? Steele or Brainard? You acknowledged both.” + </p> + <p> + “My real name is Brainard; therefore, it is also hers. But I shall be + content if she will take my present one of Steele. More than that, I shall + be content if she will honestly accept from my hands a place of refuge + where I swear she shall remain unmolested by me till this matter can be + legally settled. I do not wish to make myself hateful to her, for I + anticipate the day when she will be my wife in heart as she is now in + law.” + </p> + <p> + “Never!” + </p> + <p> + The word rang out in true womanly revolt. “I will die before that day ever + comes to separate me from the man I love and the child who calls me + mother. You may force me from this house, you may plunge me into poverty, + into contumely, but you shall never make me look upon myself as other than + the wife of this good man, whom I have wronged but will never disgrace.” + </p> + <p> + “Madam,” declared the inflexible secretary with a derisive appreciation + which bowed her once proud head upon her shamed breast, “you are all I + thought you when I took you from Crabbe’s back-pantry in Boone to make you + the honor and glory of a life which I knew then, as well as I do now, + would not long run in obscure channels.” + </p> + <p> + It was a sarcasm calculated to madden the proud man who, only a few + minutes before, had designated the object of it by the sacred name of + wife. But beyond a hasty glance at the woman it had bowed almost to the + ground, the mayor gave no evidence of feeling either its force or + assumption. Other thoughts were in his mind than those roused by jealous + anger. “How old were you then?” he demanded with alarming incongruity. The + secretary started. He answered, however, calmly enough: + </p> + <p> + “I? Seven years ago I was twenty-five. I am thirty-two now.” + </p> + <p> + “So I have heard you say. A man of twenty-five is old enough to have made + a record, Mr. Steele—” The mayor’s tone hardened, so did his manner; + and I saw why he had been such a power in the courts before he took up + politics and an office. “Mr. Steele, I do not mean you to disturb my house + or to rob me of my wife. What was your life before you met Olympia + Brewster?” + </p> + <p> + A pause, the slightest in the world,—but the keen eye of the astute + lawyer noted it, and his tone grew in severity and assurance. “You have + known for two years that this woman whom you called yours was within your + reach, if not under your very eye, and you forbore to claim her. Has this + delay had anything to do with the record of those years to which I have + just alluded?” + </p> + <p> + Had the random shot told? The secretary’s eye did not falter, nor his + figure lose an inch of its height, yet the impression made by his look and + attitude were not the same; the fire had gone out of them; a blight had + struck his soul—the flush of his triumph was gone. + </p> + <p> + Mayor Packard was merciless. + </p> + <p> + “Only two considerations could hold back a man like you from urging a + claim he regarded as a sacred right; the fact of a former marriage or the + remembrance of a forfeited citizenship—pardon me, we can not mince + matters in a strait like this—which would delegalize whatever + contract you may have entered into.” + </p> + <p> + Still the secretary’s eye did not swerve, though he involuntarily + stretched forth his hand toward the table as if afraid of betraying a + tremor in his rigidly drawn-up figure. + </p> + <p> + “Was there the impediment of a former marriage?” + </p> + <p> + No answer from the sternly set lips. + </p> + <p> + “Or was it that you once served a term—a very short term, cut short + by a successful attempt at escape in a Minnesota prison?” + </p> + <p> + “Insults!” broke from those set lips and nothing more. + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Steele, I practised law in that state for a period of three years. + All the records of the office and of the prison register are open to me. + Over which of them should I waste my time?” + </p> + <p> + Then the tiger broke loose in the man who from the aggressor had become + the attacked, and he cried: + </p> + <p> + “I shall never answer; the devil has whispered his own suggestions in your + ear; the devil and nothing else.” + </p> + <p> + But the mayor, satisfied that he made his point, smiled calmly, saying: + </p> + <p> + “No, not the devil, but yourself. You, even the you of seven years back, + would not have lived in any country town if necessity, or let us say, + safety, had not demanded it. You, with your looks and your ambitions,—to + marry at twenty-five a girl from the kitchen! any girl, even if she had + the making of an Olympia Packard, if you did not know that it was in your + power to shake her off when you got ready to assert yourself, or better + prospects offered? The cipher and the desirability you expressed of a + means of communication unreadable save by you two,—all this was + enough to start the suspicion; your own manner has done the rest. Mr. + Steele, you are both a villain and a bastard, and have no right in law to + this woman. Contradict me if you dare.” + </p> + <p> + “I dare, but will not,” was the violent reply. “I shall not give you even + that satisfaction. This woman who has gone through the ceremony of + marriage with both of us shall never know to which of us she is the legal + wife. Perhaps it is as good a revenge as the other. It certainly will + interfere as much with her peace.” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, oh, not that! I can not bear that!” leaped in anguish from her lips. + “I am a pure woman, let no such torture be inflicted upon me. Speak! tell + the truth as you are the son of a woman you would have us believe honest.” + </p> + <p> + A smile then, cold but alive with gloating triumph, altered the straight + line of his lips for an instant as he advanced toward the door. “A woman + over the possession of whom it is an honor to quarrel!” were his words as + he passed the mayor with a bow. + </p> + <p> + I looked to see the mayor spring and grasp him by the throat, but that was + left for another hand. As the secretary bent to touch the door it suddenly + flew violently open and Nixon, quivering in every limb and with his face + afire, sprang in and seized upon the other with a violence of passion + which would have been deadly had there been any strength behind it. + </p> + <p> + It was but child’s play for so strong a man as Mr. Steele to shake off so + futile a grasp, and he did so with a rasping laugh. But the next moment he + was tottering, blanched and helpless, and while struggling to right + himself and escape, yielded more and more to a sudden weakness sapping his + life-vigor, till he fell prone and apparently lifeless on the lounge + toward which, with a final effort, he had thrown himself. + </p> + <p> + “Good! Good!” rang thrilling through the room, as the old man reeled back + from the wall against which he had been cast. “God has finished what these + old arms had only strength enough to begin. He is dead this time, and it’s + a mercy! Thank God, Miss Olympia! thank God as I do now on my knees!” But + here catching the mayor’s eye, he faltered to his feet again, saying + humbly as he crept away: + </p> + <p> + “I couldn’t help it, your Honor. I shouldn’t have been listening at the + door; but I have loved Miss Olympia, as we used to call her, more than + anything in the world ever since she came to make my old master’s house a + place of sunshine, and all I’m sorry for is that God had to do the + finishing which twenty years ago I could have done myself.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0026" id="link2HCH0026"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXVI. “BITTER AS THE GRAVE” + </h2> + <p> + But Nixon was wrong. Mr. Steele did not die—not this time. Cared for + by the physician who had been hastily summoned, he slowly but surely + revived and by midnight was able to leave the house. As he passed the + mayor on his way out, I heard Mr. Packard say: + </p> + <p> + “I shall leave the house myself in a few minutes. I do not mean that your + disaffection shall ruin my campaign any more than I mean to leave a stone + unturned to substantiate my accusation that you had no right to marry and + possess legal claims over the woman whose happiness you have endeavored to + wreck. If you are wise you will put no further hindrance in my way.” + </p> + <p> + I heard no answer, for at that instant a figure appeared in the open door + which distracted all our attention. Miss Thankful, never an early sleeper + and much given, as we know, to looking out of her window, had evidently + caught the note of disaster from the coming and going of the doctor. She + had run in from next door and now stood panting in the open doorway face + to face with Mr. Steele, with her two hands held out, in one of which, + remarkable as it seems to relate, I saw the package of bonds which I had + been fortunate enough to find for her. + </p> + <p> + The meeting seemed to paralyze both; her face which had been full of + tremulous feeling blanched and hardened, while he, stopped in some speech + or final effort he was about to make, yielded to the natural brutality + which underlay his polished exterior, and, in an access of rage which + almost laid him prostrate again, lifted his arm and struck her out of his + path. As she reeled to one side the bonds flew from her hand and lay at + his feet; but he saw nothing; he was already half-way down the walk and in + another moment the bang of his carriage door announced his departure. + </p> + <p> + The old lady, muttering words I could not hear, stared mute and stricken + at the bonds which the mayor had hastened to lift and place in her hands. + </p> + <p> + Pitying her and anxious to relieve him from the embarrassment of her + presence when his own mind and heart were full of misery, I rushed down to + her side and endeavored to lead her away. She yielded patiently enough to + my efforts, but, as she turned away, she cast one look at the mayor and + with the tears rolling down her long and hollow cheeks murmured in horror + and amaze: + </p> + <p> + “He struck me!” + </p> + <p> + The flash in Mayor Packard’s eye showed sympathy, but the demands of the + moment were too great for him to give to those pathetic words the full + significance which I suddenly suspected them to hold. As I led her + tottering figure down the step and turned toward her door I said gently: + </p> + <p> + “Who was the man? Who was it that struck you?” + </p> + <p> + She answered quickly and with broken-hearted emphasis “My nephew! my + sister’s son, and I had come to give him all our money. We have waited + three days for him to come to us. We thought he would when he knew the + bonds had been found, but he never came near, never gave us a chance to + enrich him; and when I heard he was ill and saw the carriage which had + come to take him away, we could not stand it another minute and so I ran + out and—and he struck me! looked in my face and struck me!” + </p> + <p> + I folded her in my arms, there and then at the foot of her own doorstep, + and when I felt her heart beating on mine, I whispered: + </p> + <p> + “Bless God for it! He has a hard and cruel heart, and would make no good + use of this money. Live to spend it as your brother desired, to make over + the old house and reinstate the old name. He would not have wished it + wasted on one who must have done you cruel wrong, since he has lived so + many days beside you without showing his interest in you or even + acknowledging your relationship.” + </p> + <p> + “There were reasons,” she protested, gently withdrawing herself, but + holding me for a minute to her side. “He has had great fortune—is a + man of importance now—we did not wish to interfere with his career. + It was only after the money was found that we felt he should come. We + should not have asked him to take back his old name, we should simply have + given him what he thought best to take and been so happy and proud to see + him. He is so handsome and fortunate that we should not have begrudged it, + if he had taken it all. But he struck me! he struck me! He will never get + a dollar now.” + </p> + <p> + Relieved, for the natural good sense of the woman was reasserting itself, + I gave her hands a squeeze and quickly ran back to where the mayor was + holding the door for me. + </p> + <p> + “She is all right now,” I remarked, as I slid by him upstairs; and that + was all I said. The rest must wait a more auspicious moment—the + moment when he really would have time to take up the gage which Mr. Steele + had thrown down to him in his final words. + </p> + <p> + I was not a witness to the parting interview between Mayor Packard and his + wife; I had stolen into the nursery, for a look at the little one. I found + her sleeping sweetly, with one chubby hand under her rounded cheek. Thus + had she lain and thus had she slept during all those dreadful minutes, + when her future hung, trembling in the balance. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0027" id="link2HCH0027"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXVII. A CHILD’S PLAYTHINGS + </h2> + <p> + I was too much overwhelmed by all these events to close my eyes that + night. The revelation of Mr. Steele’s further duplicity, coming so + immediately upon the first, roused fresh surmises and awakened thoughts + which soon set my wits working in a direction as new as it was unexpected. + I had believed my work over in this house, but as I recalled all the + occurrences of the evening and turned the situation, as it now confronted + me, over and over in my mind, I felt that it had just begun. There must be + something in this latest development to help us in the struggle which lay + before us. The rage which sprang up in him as he confronted his old aunt + at this moment of his triumphant revenge argued a weakness in his armor + which it might yet be my part to discover and reveal. I knew Mrs. Packard + well enough to realize that the serenity into which she had fallen was a + fictitious serenity, and must remain so as long as any doubt remained of + the legality of the tie uniting her to this handsome fiend. Were the means + suggested by the mayor of promising enough character to accomplish the + looked-for end? + </p> + <p> + I remembered the man’s eyes as the mayor let fall his word of powerful + threat, and doubted it. Once recovered from the indisposition which now + weakened him, he would find means to thwart any attempts made by Mayor + Packard to undermine the position he had taken as the legal husband of + Olympia—sufficiently so, at least, to hinder happiness between the + pair whose wedded life he not only envied but was determined to break up, + unless some flaw in his past could be discovered through Miss Quinlan—the + aunt whose goodness he had slighted and who now seemed to be in a frame of + mind to help our cause if its pitiful aspects were once presented to her. + I resolved to present the case without delay. Morning came at last, and I + refreshed myself as well as I could, and, after a short visit to Mrs. + Packard’s bedside during which my purpose grew with every moment I gazed + down on her brave but pitiful face, put on my hat and jacket and went next + door. + </p> + <p> + I found the two old ladies seated in their state apartment making + calculations. At sight of my face they both rose and the “O my dear” from + Miss Charity and the “God bless you, child,” from Miss Thankful showed + that both hearts were yet warm. Gradually I introduced the topic of their + nephew; gradually I approached the vital question of the disgrace. + </p> + <p> + The result upset all my growing hopes. He had never told them just what + the disgrace was. They really knew nothing about his life after his early + boyhood. He had come home that one time when fortune so suddenly smiled + upon them and they thought then that he would tell them something; but the + disappointment which had followed effectually closed his lips, and he went + away after a few days of fruitless search, not to approach them again till + just before he took up the position of secretary to their great neighbor. + Then he paid them one short and peremptory visit, during which he was able + to impress upon them his importance, his reasons for changing his name, + which they could not now remember, and the great necessity which this made + for them not to come near him as their nephew. They had tried to do what + he asked, but it had been hard. “Charity,” Miss Thankful proceeded to + bewail with a forgetfulness of her own share in the matter, “had not been + able to keep her eyes long off the house which held, as she supposed, our + double treasure.” So this was all! Nothing to aid me; nothing to aid Mayor + Packard. Rising in my disappointment, I prepared to leave. I had + sufficient self-control and I hope good feeling not to add to their + distress at this time by any unnecessary revelations of a past they were + ignorant of, or the part this unhappy nephew of theirs had played and + still promised to play in the lives of their immediate neighbors. + </p> + <p> + Miss Thankful squeezed my hand and Miss Charity gave me a kiss; then as + she saw her sister looking aside, whispered in my ear “I want to show you + something, all of Johnnie’s little toys and the keepsakes he sent us when + he was a good boy and loved his aunts. You will not think so badly of him + then.” + </p> + <p> + I let Miss Charity lead me away. A drawer held all these treasures. I + looked and felt to a degree the pathos of the scene; but did not give + special attention to what she thrust under my eyes till she gave me a + little old letter to read, soiled and torn with the handling of many years + and signed John Silverthorn Brainard. Then something in me woke and I + stared at this signature, growing more and more excited as I realized that + this was not the first time I had seen it, that somewhere and in + circumstances which brought a nameless thrill I had looked upon it before + and that—it was not one remembrance but many which came to me. What + the spoken name had not recalled came at the sight of this written one. + Bess! there was her long and continued watch over the house once entered + by her on any and every pretext, but now shunned by her with a secret + terror which could not disguise her longing and its secret attraction; her + certificate of marriage; the name on this certificate—the very one I + was now staring at—John Silverthorn Brainard! Had I struck an + invaluable clue? Had I, through the weakness and doting fondness of this + poor woman, come upon the one link which would yet lead us to identify + this hollow-hearted, false and most vindictive man of great affairs with + the wandering and worthless husband of the nondescript Bess, whose hand I + had touched and whose errand I had done, little realizing its purport or + the influence it would have upon our lives? I dared not believe myself so + fortunate; it was much too like a fairy dream for me to rely on it for a + moment; yet the possibility was enough to rouse me to renewed effort. + After we had returned to Miss Thankful’s side, I asked her, with an + apology for my inexhaustible curiosity, if she still felt afraid of the + thread and needle woman across the way. + </p> + <p> + The answer was a little sharp. + </p> + <p> + “It is Charity who is afraid of her,” said she. She had evidently + forgotten her own extravagant words to me on this subject. “Charity is + timid; she thinks because this woman once hung over our brother, night and + day, that she knew about this money and had persuaded herself that she has + some right to it. Charity is sometimes mistaken, but she has some reason, + if it is inadequate, for this notion of hers. That woman, since her + dismissal after my brother’s death, has never really quit this + neighborhood. She worked next door in any capacity she could, whenever any + of the tenants would take her; and when they would not, sewed or served in + the houses near by till finally she set up a shop directly opposite its + very door. But she’ll never get these bonds; we shall pay her what is her + due, but she’ll never get any more.” + </p> + <p> + “That would make her out a thief,” I cried, “or—” but I thought + better of uttering what was in my mind. Instead I asked how they first + came to hear of her. + </p> + <p> + Miss Charity showed some flustration at this and cast her sister an + appealing look; but Miss Thankful, eying her with some severity, answered + me with becoming candor: + </p> + <p> + “She was a lodger in this house. We kept a few lodgers in those days—be + still, Charity! Just thank God those days are over.” + </p> + <p> + “A lodger?” I repeated. “Did she ever tell you where she came from?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, she mentioned the place,—it was some town farther west. That + was when we were in such trouble about our brother and how we should care + for him. She could nurse him, she said, and indeed seemed very eager to do + so, and we were glad to let her,—very glad, till my brother showed + such fear of her and of what she might do if she once got hold of his + wallet.” + </p> + <p> + “You possibly did her injustice,” I said. “A sick man’s fancies are not + always to be relied on. What did your nephew think of her? Did he share + your distrust of her?” + </p> + <p> + “John? Oh, yes, I believe so. Why do we always come back to the subject of + John? I want to forget him; I mean to forget him; I mean that Charity + shall forget him.” + </p> + <p> + “Let us begin then from this moment,” I smiled; then quickly: “You knew + that Bess was a married woman.” + </p> + <p> + “No, we knew nothing about her.” + </p> + <p> + “Not even the name she went by?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, that was Brown.” + </p> + <p> + “Brown,” I muttered, turning for a second time to go. “You must think me + inquisitive, but if I had not been,” I added with a merry laugh, “I should + never have found your bonds for you.” Pressing both their hands in mine I + ran hastily out of the room. + </p> + <p> + At once I crossed the street to Bess’ little shop. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0028" id="link2HCH0028"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XXVIII. RESTITUTION + </h2> + <p> + “Bess, why are you so white? What has happened to you in the last + twenty-four hours? Have you heard from him?” + </p> + <p> + “No, no; I’m all right.” But her eyes, hunted and wandering, belied her + words. + </p> + <p> + I drew her hands down into mine across the table lying between us. + </p> + <p> + “I want to help you,” I whispered; “I think I can. Something has happened + which gives me great hope; only do me a favor first; show me, as you + promised, the papers which I dug out for you.” + </p> + <p> + A smile, more bitter than any tear, made her face look very hard for an + instant, then she quietly led the way into the small room at the back. + When we were quite alone, she faced me again and putting her hand to her + breast took out the much creased, much crumpled bit of paper which was her + only link to youth, to her life, and to her love. + </p> + <p> + “This is all that will interest you,” said she, her eyes brimming in spite + of herself. “It is my marriage certificate. The one thing that proves me + an honest woman and the equal of—” she paused, biting back her words + and saying instead—“of any one I see. My husband was a gentleman.” + </p> + <p> + It was with trembling hands I unfolded the worn sheet. Somehow the tragedy + of the lives my own had touched so nearly for the last few days had become + an essential part of me. + </p> + <p> + “John Silverthorn Brainard,” I read, the name identical with the one I had + just seen as the early signature of the man who claimed a husband’s rights + over Mrs. Packard. The date with what anxiety I looked at it!—preceded + by two years that of the time he united himself to Olympia Brewster. No + proof of the utter falsity of his dishonorable claim could be more + complete. As I folded up the paper and handed it back, Bess noted the + change which had come to me. Panting with excitement she cried: + </p> + <p> + “You look happy, happy! You know something you have not told me. What? + what? I’m suffocating, mad to know; speak—speak—” + </p> + <p> + “Your husband is a man not unknown to any of us. You have seen him + constantly. He is—” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, yes; did he tell you himself? Has he done me so much justice? Oh, + say that his heart has softened at last; that he is ready to recognize me; + that I have not got to find those bonds—but you do not know about + the bonds—nobody does. I shouldn’t have spoken; he would be angry if + he knew. Angry? and I have suffered so much from his anger! He is not a + gentle man.” + </p> + <p> + How differently she said this from the gentleman of a few minutes back! + </p> + <p> + “But he doesn’t know that I am here,” she burst out in another instant, as + I hunted for some word to say. “He would kill me if he did; he once swore + that he would kill me if I ever approached him or put in any claim to him + till he was ready to own me for his wife and give me the place that is due + me. Don’t tell me that I have betrayed myself, I’ve been so careful; kept + myself so entirely out of his eyes, even last night when I saw the doctor + go in and felt that it was for him, and pictured him to myself as dying + without a word from me or a look to help me bear the pain. He was ill, + wasn’t he?—but he got better. I saw him come out, very feeble and + uncertain. Not like himself, not like the strong and too, too handsome man + who has wrung my heart in his hand of steel,—wrung it and thrown it + away.” + </p> + <p> + Sobs shook her and she stopped from lack of power to utter either her + terror or her grief. But she looked the questions she could no longer put, + and compassionating her misery, I gently said: + </p> + <p> + “Your love has been fixed upon a very unstable heart; but you have rights + which must yet insure you his support. There is some one who will protect + these rights and protect you in your efforts to substantiate them.” + </p> + <p> + “His aunt,” she put in, shaking her head. “She can do nothing, unless—” + Her excitement became abnormal. “Have they found the money?” she shrieked; + “have they—have they found the money?” + </p> + <p> + I could not deceive her; she had seen it in my eye. + </p> + <p> + “And they will—” + </p> + <p> + “Hardly,” I whispered. “He has displeased them; they can not be generous + to him now.” + </p> + <p> + Her hopes sank as if the very basis of her life had been taken away. + </p> + <p> + “It was my only hope,” she murmured. “With that money in my hand—some, + any of it, I could have dared his frown and won in a little while his good + will, but now—I can only anticipate rebuff. There is nothing for me + to hope for now. I must continue to be Bess, the thread and needle woman.” + </p> + <p> + “I did not say that the one to reinstate you was Miss Quinlan.” + </p> + <p> + “Who then? who then?” + </p> + <p> + “Mayor Packard.” + </p> + <p> + And then I had to tell her. + </p> + <p> + We all know the results of the election by which Governor Packard holds + his seat, but few persons outside of those mentioned in this history know + why the event of his homecoming from a trip he made to Minnesota brought a + brighter and more lasting light into his wife’s eyes than the news of his + astonishing political triumph. + </p> + <p> + He had substantiated facts by which Mr. Steele’s claims upon Mrs. Packard + were annulled and Bess restored to her rights, if not to her false + husband’s heart and affections. There are times, though, when I do not + even despair of the latter; constant illness is producing a perceptible + change in the man, and it seemed to me, from what Mrs. John Brainard told + me one day after she had been able, through the kindness of the Misses + Quinlan, to place the amount of one of the bonds in his hands, that his + eyes were beginning to learn their true lesson and that he would yet find + charm in his long neglected wife. It was not to be wondered at, for with + hope and the advantages of dress with which the Misses Quinlan now took + pleasure in supplying her, she was gradually becoming an unusually fine + woman. + </p> + <p> + I remained with Mrs. Packard till they left town for the capital; remained + to enjoy to the full the joy of these reunited hearts, and to receive the + substantial reward which they insisted on bestowing upon me. One of the + tasks with which I whiled away the many hours in which I found myself + alone was the understanding and proper mastery of the cipher which had + played such a part in the evolution of the life-drama enacted before my + eyes. + </p> + <p> + It was very simple. With the following diagram as a key and a single hint + as to its management, you will at once comprehend its apparent + intricacies: + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + AB | CD | EF \ST/ + ___|____|___ UV\/WX + GH | IJ | KL /\ + ___|____|___ /YZ\ + MN | OP | QR +</pre> + <p> + The dot designated that the letter used was the second in the indicated + division. + </p> + <p> + The hint to which I allude is this. With every other word the paper is + turned in the hands toward the left. This alters the shape and direction + of the angle or part of square symbolizing the several letters, and + creates the confusion which interfered with my solution of its mysteries + the night I subjected it, with such unsatisfactory results, to the tests + which had elucidated the cryptogram in The Gold Bug. + </p> + <p> + THE END <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg’s The Mayor’s Wife, by Anna Katherine Green + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MAYOR’S WIFE *** + +***** This file should be named 4767-h.htm or 4767-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/4/7/6/4767/ + +Produced by An Anonymous Volunteer, and David Widger + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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