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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Quill's Window, by George Barr McCutcheon
+(#13 in our series by George Barr McCutcheon)
+
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+*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!*****
+
+
+Title: Quill's Window
+
+Author: George Barr McCutcheon
+
+Release Date: July, 2004  [EBook #6044]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on October 23, 2002]
+
+Edition: 10
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, QUILL'S WINDOW ***
+
+
+
+
+Charles Aldarondo, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading
+Team.
+
+
+
+[Illustration: "What are you doing up here?"]
+
+QUILL'S WINDOW
+
+BY GEORGE BARR McCUTCHEON
+
+FRONTISPIECE BY
+
+C. ALLAN GILBERT
+
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER
+
+    I THE FORBIDDEN ROCK
+   II THE STORY THE OLD MAN TOLD
+  III COURTNEY THANE
+   IV DOWD'S TAVERN
+    V TRESPASS
+   VI CHARLIE WEBSTER ENTERTAINS
+  VII COURTNEY APPEARS IN PUBLIC
+ VIII ALIX THE THIRD
+   IX A MID-OCTOBER DAY
+    X THE CHIMNEY CORNER
+   XI THANE VISITS TWO HOUSES
+  XII WORDS AND LETTERS
+ XIII THE OLD INDIAN TRAIL
+  XIV SUSPICION
+   XV THE FACE AT THE WINDOW
+  XVI ROSABEL
+ XVII SHADOWS
+XVIII MR. GILFILLAN IS PUZZLED
+  XIX BRINGING UP THE PAST
+   XX THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ROSABEL VICK
+  XXI OUT OF THE NIGHT
+ XXII THE THROWER OF STONES
+XXIII A MESSAGE AND ITS ANSWER
+ XXIV AT QUILL'S WINDOW
+
+
+
+
+
+QUILL'S WINDOW
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE FORBIDDEN ROCK
+
+
+
+
+A young man and an old one sat in the shade of the willows beside
+the wide, still river. The glare of a hot August sun failed to
+penetrate the shelter in which they idled; out upon the slow-gliding
+river it beat relentlessly, creating a pale, thin vapour that
+clung close to the shimmering surface and dazzled the eye with an
+ever-shifting glaze. The air was lifeless, sultry, stifling; not a
+leaf, not a twig in the tall, drooping willows moved unless stirred
+by the passage of some vagrant bird.
+
+The older man sat on the ground, his back against the trunk of a
+tree that grew so near to the edge that it seemed on the point of
+toppling over to shatter the smooth, green mirror below. Some of its
+sturdy exposed roots reached down from the bank into the water,
+where they caught and held the drift from upstream,--reeds and
+twigs and matted grass,--a dirty, sickly mass that swished lazily
+on the flank of the slow-moving current.
+
+The water here in the shade was deep and clear and limpid, contrasting
+sharply with the steel-white surface out beyond.
+
+The young man occupied a decrepit camp stool, placed conveniently
+against the trunk of another tree hard by. A discarded bamboo rod
+lay beside him on the bank, the hook and line hopelessly tangled
+in the drift below. He smoked cigarettes.
+
+His companion held a well-chewed black cigar in the vise-like corner
+of his mouth. His hook and line were far out in the placid water,
+an ordinary cork serving as a "bob" from which his dreary, unwavering
+gaze seldom shifted.
+
+"I guess they're through bitin' for today," he remarked, after a
+long unbroken silence.
+
+"How many have we got?" inquired the other languidly.
+
+"Between us we've got twenty-four. That's a fair-sized mess. Sunfish
+don't make much of a showing unless you get a barrel of 'em."
+
+"Good eating though," mused the young man.
+
+"Fried in butter," supplemented the other. "What time is it?"
+
+"Half-past nine."
+
+"Well, that's just about what I'd figured. I've been fishin' in
+this 'hole' for something like forty years, off and on, and I've
+found out that these here sunfish get through breakfast at exactly
+eighteen minutes past nine. I always allow about ten minutes' leeway
+in case one or two of 'em might have been out late the night before
+or something,--but as a general thing they're pretty dog-goned
+prompt for breakfast. Specially in August. Even a fish is lazy in
+August. Look at that fish-worm. By gosh, it's BOILED! That shows
+you how hot the water is."
+
+He removed the worm from the hook and slowly began to twist the
+pole in the more or less perfunctory process of "winding up" the
+line. The young man looked on disinterestedly.
+
+"Ain't you going to untangle that line?" inquired the old man,
+jerking his thumb.
+
+"What's the use? The worm is dead by this time, and God knows
+I prefer to let him rest in peace. The quickest way to untangle a
+line is to do it like this."
+
+He severed it with his pocket-knife.
+
+"A line like that costs twenty-five cents," said the old man, a
+trace of dismay in his voice.
+
+"That's what it cost when it was new," drawled the other. "You
+forget it's been a second-hand article since eight o'clock this
+morning,--and what's a second-hand fish-line worth?--tell me that.
+How much would you give, in the open market, or at an auction sale,
+for a second-hand fish-line?"
+
+"I guess we'd better be gittin' back to the house," said the other,
+ignoring the question. "Got to clean these fish if we're expectin'
+to have 'em for dinner,--or lunch, as you fellers call it. I'll
+bet your grandfather never called it lunch. And as for him callin'
+supper DINNER,--why, by crickey, he NEVER got drunk enough for
+that."
+
+"More than that," said the young man calmly, "he never saw a cigarette,
+or a telephone, or a Ford, or a safety-razor,--or a lot of other
+things that have sprung up since he cashed in his checks. To be
+sure, he did see a few things I've never seen,--such as clay-pipes,
+canal boats, horse-hair sofas, top-boots and rag-carpets,--and he
+probably saw Abraham Lincoln,--but, for all that, I'd rather be
+where I am today than where he is,--and I'm not saying he isn't in
+heaven, either."
+
+The older man's eyes twinkled. "I don't think he's any nearer heaven
+than he was forty years ago,--and he's been dead just about that
+long. He wasn't what you'd call a far-seeing man,--and you've got
+to look a long ways ahead if you want to see heaven. Your grandma's
+in heaven all right,--and I'll bet she was the most surprised mortal
+that ever got inside the pearly gates if she found him there ahead
+of her. Like as not she would have backed out, thinking she'd got
+into the wrong place by mistake. And if he IS up there, I bet he's
+making the place an everlastin' hell for her. Yep, your grandpa was
+about as mean as they make 'em. As you say, he didn't know anything
+about cigarettes, but he made up for it by runnin' after women and
+fast horses,--or maybe it was hosses and, fast women,--and cheatin'
+the eye teeth out of everybody he had any dealings with."
+
+"I don't understand how he happened to die young, If all these things
+were true about him," said the other, lighting a fresh cigarette
+and drawing in a deep, full breath of the pungent smoke. The old
+man waited a few seconds for the smoke to be expelled, and then,
+as it came out in a far-reaching volume, carrying far on the still
+air, his face betrayed not only relief but wonder.
+
+"You don't actually swaller it, do you?" he inquired.
+
+"Certainly not. I inhale, that's all. Any one can do it."
+
+"I'd choke to death," said the old man, shifting his cigar hastily
+from one side of his mouth to the other, and taking a fresh grip on
+it with his teeth,--as if fearing the consequences of a momentary
+lapse of control.
+
+"You've been chewing that cigar for nearly two hours," observed
+the young man. "I call that a filthy habit."
+
+"I guess you're right," agreed the other, amiably. "The best you
+can say for it is that it's a man's job, and not a woman's," he
+added, with all the scorn that the cigar smoker has for the man
+who affects nothing but cigarettes.
+
+"You can't make me sore by talking like that," said his companion,
+stretching himself lazily. "Approximately ten million men smoked
+cigarettes over in France for four years and more, and I submit
+that they had what you might call a man's job on their hands."
+
+"How many of them things do you smoke in a day?"
+
+"It depends entirely on how early I get up in the morning,--and
+how late I stay up at night. Good Lord, it's getting hotter every
+minute. For two cents, I'd strip and jump in there for a game of
+hide and seek with the fish. By the way, I don't suppose there are
+any mermaids in these parts, are there?"
+
+"You stay out of that water," commanded the old man. "You ain't
+strong enough yet to be takin' any such chances. You're here to get
+well, and you got to be mighty all-fired careful. The bed of that
+river is full of cold springs,--and it's pretty deep along this
+stretch. Weak as you are,--and as hot as you are,--you'd get cramps
+in less'n a minute."
+
+"I happen to be a good swimmer."
+
+"So was Bart Edgecomb,--best swimmer I ever saw. He could swim
+back an' forth across this river half a dozen times,--and do you
+know what happened to him last September? He drowned in three foot
+of water up above the bend, that's what he did. Come on. Let's be
+movin'. It'll be hotter'n blazes by eleven o'clock, and you oughtn't
+to be walkin' in the sun."
+
+The young man settled himself a little more comfortably against
+the tree.
+
+"I think I'll stay here in the shade for a while longer. Don't be
+uneasy. I shan't go popping into the water the minute your back's
+turned. What was it you said early this morning about sniffing rain
+in the air?"
+
+"Thunderstorms today, sure as my name's Brown. Been threatening
+rain for nearly a week. Got to come some time, and I figure today's--"
+
+"Threats are all we get," growled the young man peevishly. "Lord,
+I never dreamed I could get so sick of white skies and what you call
+fresh air. You farmers go to bed every night praying for rain, and
+you get up in the morning still praying, and what's the result?
+Nothing except a whiter sky than the day before, and a greater
+shortage of fresh air. Don't talk to me about country air and
+country sunshine and country quiet. My God, it never was so hot
+and stifling as this in New York, and as for peace and quiet,--why,
+those rotten birds in the trees around the house make more noise
+than the elevated trains at the rush hour, and the rotten roosters
+begin crowing just about the time I'm going to sleep, and the
+dogs bark, and the cows,--the cows do whatever cows do to make a
+noise,--and then the crows begin to yawp. And all night long the
+katydids keep up their beastly racket, and the frogs in the pond
+back of the barns,--my God, man, the city is as silent as the grave
+compared to what you get in the country."
+
+"I manage to sleep through it all," said the old man drily. "The
+frogs and katydids don't keep me awake."
+
+"Yes, and that reminds me of another noise that makes the night
+hideous. It's the way you people sleep. At nine o'clock sharp,
+every night, the whole house begins to snore, and--Say, I've seen
+service in France, I've slept in barracks with scores of tired
+soldiers, I've walked through camps where thousands of able-bodied
+men were snoring their heads off,--but never have I heard anything
+so terrifying as the racket that lasts from nine to five in the
+land of my forefathers. Gad, it sometimes seems to me you're all
+trying to make my forefathers turn over in their graves up there
+on the hill."
+
+"You're kind of peevish today, ain't you?" inquired the other,
+grinning. "You'll get used to the way we snore before long, and
+you'll kind of enjoy it. I'd be scared to death if I got awake in
+the night and didn't hear everybody in the house snoring. It's kind
+of restful to know that everybody's asleep,--and not dead. If they
+wasn't snoring, I'd certainly think they was dead."
+
+The young man smiled. "I'll say this much for you farmers,--you're
+a good-natured bunch. I ought to be ashamed of myself for grousing.
+I suppose it's because I've been sick. You're all so kind and
+thoughtful,--and so darned GENUINE,--even when you're asleep,--that
+I feel like a dog for finding fault. By the way, you said something
+awhile ago about that big black cliff over yonder having a history.
+I've been looking at that cliff or hill or rock, or whatever it is,
+and it doesn't look real. It doesn't look as though God had made
+it. It's more like the work of man. So far as I can see, there isn't
+another hill on either bank of the river, and yet that thing over
+there must be three or four hundred feet high, sticking up like a
+gigantic wart on the face of the earth. What is it? Solid rock?"
+
+"Sort like slate rock, I guess. There's a stretch of about a mile
+on both sides of the river along here that's solid rock. This bank
+we're standin' on is rock, covered with six or eight foot of earth.
+You're right about that big rock over there being a queer thing.
+There's been college professors and all sorts of scientific men
+here, off and on, to examine it and to try to account for its being
+there. But, thunderation, if it's been there for a million years
+as they say, what's the sense of explaining it?"
+
+"There's something positively forbidding about it. Gives you the
+willies. How did it come by the name you called it a while ago?"
+
+"Quill's Window? Goes back to the days of the Indians. Long before
+the time of Tecumseh or The Prophet. They used to range up and down
+this river more than a hundred years ago. The old trail is over
+there on the other bank as plain as day, covered with grass but
+beaten down till it's like a macadam road. I suppose the Indians
+followed that trail for hundreds of years. There's still traces
+of their camps over there on that side, and a little ways down the
+river is a place where they had a regular village. Over here on
+this side, quite a little ways farther down, is the remains of an
+old earthwork fort used by the French long before the Revolution,
+and afterwards by American soldiers about the time of the War of
+1812. We'll go and look at it some day if you like. Most people
+are interested in it, but for why, I can't see.
+
+"There ain't nothing to see but some busted up breastworks and
+lunettes, covered with weeds, with here and there a sort of opening
+where they must have had a cannon sticking out to scare the squaws
+and papooses. You was askin' about the name of that rock. Well, it
+originally had an Indian name, which I always forget because it's
+the easiest way to keep from pronouncing it. Then the French came
+along and sort of Frenchified the name,--which made it worse, far
+as I'm concerned. I'm not much on French. About three-quarters of
+the way up the rock, facing the river, is a sort of cave. You can't
+see the opening from here, 'cause it faces north, looking up the
+river from the bend. There are a lot of little caves and cracks in
+the rock, but none of 'em amounts to anything except this one. It
+runs back something like twenty foot in the rock and is about as
+high as a man's head.
+
+"Shortly after General Harrison licked The Prophet and his warriors
+up on the Tippecanoe, a man named Quill,--an Irishman from down
+the river some'eres towards Vincennes,--all this is hearsay so far
+as I'm concerned, mind you,--but as I was saying, this man Quill
+begin to make his home up in that cave. He was what you might call
+a hermit. There were no white people in these parts except a few
+scattered trappers and some people living in a settlement twenty-odd
+miles south of here. As the story goes, this man Quill lived up there
+in that cave for about four or five years, hunting and trapping all
+around the country. White people begin to get purty thick in these
+parts soon after that, Indiana having been made a state. There was
+a lot of coming and going up and down the river. A feller named
+Digby started a kind of settlement or trading-post further up,
+and clearings were made all around,--farms and all that, you see.
+Your great grandfather was one of the first men to settle in this
+section. Coming down the river by night you could see the light,
+up there in Quill's Cave. You could see it for miles, they say.
+People begin to speak of it as the light in Quill's window,--and
+that's how the name happened. I'm over seventy, and I've never
+heard that hill called anything but Quill's Window."
+
+"What happened to Quill?"
+
+"Well, that's something nobody seems to be quite certain about.
+Whether he hung himself or somebody else done the job for him,
+nobody knows. According to the story that was told when I was a
+boy, it seems he killed somebody down the river and come up here
+to hide. The relations of the man he killed never stopped hunting
+for him. A good many people were of the opinion they finally tracked
+him to that cave. In any case, his body was found hanging by the
+neck up there one day, on a sort of ridge-pole he had put in. This
+was after people had missed seeing the light in Quill's Window for
+quite a spell. There are some people who still say the cave is
+ha'nted. When I was a young boy, shortly before the Civil War, a
+couple of horse thieves were chased up to that cave and--ahem!--I
+reckon your grandfather, if he was alive, could tell you all about
+what became of 'em and who was in the party that stood 'em up against
+the back wall of the cave and shot 'em. There's another story that
+goes back even farther than the horse thieves. The skeleton of
+a woman was found up there, with the skull split wide open. That
+was back in 1830 or 1840. So, you see, when all of them ghosts get
+together and begin scrapping over property rights, it's enough to
+scare the gizzard out of 'most anybody that happens to be in the
+neighbourhood. But I guess old man Quill was the first white man
+to shuffle off, so it's generally understood that his ghost rules
+the roost. Come on now, let's be moving. It's gettin' hotter
+every minute, and you oughtn't to be out in all this heat. For the
+Lord's sake, you ain't going to light another one of them things,
+are you?"
+
+"Sure. It's the only vice I'm capable of enjoying at present. Being
+gassed and shell-shocked, and then having the flu and pneumonia
+and rheumatism,--and God knows what else,--sort of purifies a chap,
+you see."
+
+"Well, all I got to say is--I guess I'd better not say it, after
+all."
+
+"You can't hurt my feelings."
+
+"I'm not so sure about that," said the old man gruffly.
+
+"How do you get up to that cave?"
+
+"You ain't thinking of trying it, are you?" apprehensively.
+
+"When I'm a bit huskier, yes."
+
+The old man removed his cigar in order to obtain the full effect
+of a triumphant grin.
+
+"Well, in the first place, you can't get up to it. You've got to
+come down to it. The only way to get to the mouth of that cave is
+to lower yourself from the top of the rock. And in the second place,
+you can't get DOWN to it because it ain't allowed. The owner of all
+the land along that side of the river has got 'no trespass' signs
+up, and NOBODY'S allowed to climb to the top of that rock. She's
+all-fired particular about it, too. The top of that rock is sacred
+to her. Nobody ever thinks of violatin' it. All around the bottom
+of the slope back of the hill she's got a white picket fence, and
+the gate to it is padlocked. You see it's her family buryin'-ground."
+
+"Her what?"
+
+"Buryin'-ground. Her father and mother are buried right smack on
+top of that rock."
+
+The young man lifted his eyebrows. "Does that mean there are a
+couple of married ghosts fighting on top of the rock every night,
+besides the gang down in the--"
+
+"It ain't a joking matter," broke in the other sharply.
+
+"Go on, tell me more. The monstrosity gets more and more interesting
+every minute."
+
+The old man chewed his cigar energetically for a few seconds before
+responding.
+
+"I'll tell you the story tonight after supper,--not now. The only
+thing I want to make clear to you is this. Everybody in this section
+respects her wishes about keeping off of that rock, and I want to
+ask you to respect 'em, too. It would be a dirty trick for you to
+go up there, knowin' it's dead against her wishes."
+
+"A dirty trick, eh?" said the young man, fixing his gaze on the
+blue-black summit of the forbidden rock.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+THE STORY THE OLD MAN TOLD
+
+
+
+
+David Windom's daughter Alix ran away with and married Edward Crown
+in the spring of 1894.
+
+Windom was one of the most prosperous farmers in the county. His
+lands were wide, his cattle were many, his fields were vast stretches
+of green and gold; his granaries, his cribs and his mows, filled
+and emptied each year, brought riches and dignity and power to this
+man of the soil.
+
+Back when the state was young, his forefathers had fared westward
+from the tide-water reaches of Virginia, coming at length to the
+rich, unbroken region along the river with the harsh Indian name,
+and there they built their cabins and huts on lands that had cost
+them little more than a song and yet were of vast dimensions.
+They were of English stock. (Another branch of the family, closely
+related, remains English to this day, its men sitting sometime in
+Parliament and always in the councils of the nation, far removed
+in every way from the Windoms in the fertile valley once traversed
+by the war-like redskins.) But these Windoms of the valley were no
+longer English. There had been six generations of them, and those
+of the first two fought under General Washington against the
+red-coats and the Hessians in the War of '76.
+
+David Windom, of the fourth generation, went to England for a
+wife, however,--a girl he had met on the locally celebrated trip
+to Europe in the early seventies. For years he was known from one
+end of the county to the other as "the man who has been across the
+Atlantic Ocean." The dauntless English bride had come unafraid to
+a land she had been taught to regard as wild, peopled by savages
+and overrun by ravenous beasts, and she had found it populated
+instead by the gentlest sort of men and equally gentle beasts.
+
+She did a great deal for David Windom. He was a proud man
+and ambitious. He saw the wisdom of her teachings and he followed
+them, not reluctantly but with a fierce desire to refine what God
+had given him in the shape of raw material: a good brain, a sturdy
+sense of honour, and above all an imagination that lifted him
+safely,--if not always sanely,--above the narrow world in which the
+farmer of that day spent his entire life. Not that he was uncouth
+to begin with,--far from it. He had been irritatingly fastidious
+from boyhood up. His thoughts had wandered afar on frequent journeys,
+and when they came back to take up the dull occupation they had
+abandoned temporarily, they were broader than when they went out to
+gather wool. The strong, well-poised English wife found rich soil
+in which to work; he grew apace and flourished, and manifold were
+the innovations that stirred a complacent community into actual
+unrest. A majority of the farmers and virtually all of the farmers'
+wives were convinced that Dave Windom was losing his mind, the way
+he was letting that woman boss him around.
+
+The women did not like her. She was not one of them and never
+could be one of them. Her "hired girls" became "servants" the day
+she entered the ugly old farmhouse on the ridge. They were no longer
+considered members of the family; they were made to feel something
+they had never felt before in their lives: that they were not their
+mistress's equals.
+
+The "hired girl" of those days was an institution. As a rule, she
+moved in the same social circle as the lady of the house and it
+was customary for her to intimately address her mistress by her
+Christian name. She enjoyed the right to engage in all conversations;
+she was, in short, "as good as anybody." The new Mrs. Windom was
+not long in transporting the general housework "girl" into a totally
+unexampled state of astonishment. This "girl,"--aged forty-five and
+a prominent member of the Methodist Church,--announced to everybody
+in the community except to Mrs. Windom herself that she was going
+to leave. She did not leave. The calm serenity of the new mistress
+prevailed, even over the time-honoured independence in which
+the "girl" and her kind unconsciously gloried. Respect succeeded
+injury, and before the bride had been in the Windom house a month,
+Maria Bliss was telling the other "hired girls" of the neighbourhood
+that she wouldn't trade places with them for anything in the world.
+
+Greatly to the consternation and disgust of other householders,
+a "second girl" was added to the Windom menage,--a parlour-maid
+she was called. This was too much. It was rank injustice. General
+housework girls began to complain of having too much work to
+do,--getting up at five in the morning, cooking for half a dozen
+"hands," doing all the washing and ironing, milking, sweeping and
+so on, and not getting to bed till nine or ten o'clock at night,--to
+say nothing of family dinners on Sunday and the preacher in every
+now and then, and all that. Moreover, Mrs. Windom herself never
+looked bedraggled. She took care of her hair, wore good clothes,
+went to the dentist regularly (whether she had a toothache or not),
+had meals served in what Maria Bliss loftily described as "courses,"
+and saw to it that David Windom shaved once a day, dressed better
+than his neighbours, kept his "surrey" and "side-bar buggy" washed,
+his harness oiled and polished, and wore real riding-boots.
+
+The barnyard took on an orderly appearance, the stables were
+repaired, the picket fences gleamed white in the sun, the roof of
+the house was painted red, the sides a shimmering white, and there
+were green window shutters and green window boxes filled with
+geraniums. The front yard was kept mowed, and there were great
+flower-beds encircled by snow-white boulders; a hammock was swung
+in the shade of two great oaks, and--worst of all! a tennis-court
+was laid out alongside the house.
+
+Tennis! That was a game played only by "dudes"! Passers-by looked
+with scorn upon young David Windom and his flaxen-haired wife
+as they played at the silly game before supper every evening. And
+they went frequently to the "opera house" at the county seat, ten
+miles up the river; they did not wait for summer to come with its
+circus, as all the other farmers were content to do; whenever there
+was a good "show" at the theatre in town they sent up for reserved
+seats and drove in for supper at the principal hotel. Altogether,
+young Mrs. Windom was simply "raising Cain" with the conventions.
+
+Strange to say, David did not "go to smash." To the intense chagrin
+of the wiseacres he prospered despite an unprecedented disregard
+for the teachings of his father and his grandfather before him. The
+wolf stayed a long way off from his door, the prophetic mortgage
+failed to lay its blight upon his lands, his crops were bountiful,
+his acreage spread as the years went by,--and so his uncles, his
+cousins and his aunts were never so happy as when wishing for the
+good old days when his father was alive and running the farm as it
+should be run! If David had married some good, sensible, thrifty,
+hard-working farmer's daughter,--Well, it might not have meant an
+improvement in the crops but it certainly would have spared him
+the expense of a tennis court, and theatre-going, and absolutely
+unnecessary trips to Chicago or Indianapolis whenever SHE took it
+into her head to go. Besides, it wasn't natural that they should
+deliberately put off having children. It wasn't what God and the
+country expected. After a year had passed and there were no symptoms
+of approaching motherhood, certain narrow-minded relatives began to
+blame Great Britain for the outrage and talked a great deal about
+a worn-out, deteriorating race.
+
+Then, after two years, when a girl baby was born to David and his
+wife, they couldn't, for the life of them, understand how it came
+to pass that it wasn't a boy. There had been nothing but boys in
+the Windom family for years and years. It appeared to be a Windom
+custom. And here was this fair-haired outsider from across the
+sea breaking in with a girl! They could not believe it possible.
+David,--a great, strong, perfect specimen of a Windom,--the father
+of a girl! Why, they emphasized, he was over six feet tall, strong
+as an ox, broad-shouldered,--as fine a figure as you would see in
+a lifetime. There was something wrong,--radically wrong.
+
+The district suffered another shock when a nurse maid was added to
+David's household,--a girl from the city who had nothing whatever
+to do, except to take care of the baby while the unnatural mother
+tinkered with the flower-beds, took long walks about the farm,
+rode horseback, and played tennis with David and a silly crowd of
+young people who had fallen into evil ways.
+
+She died when her daughter was ten years old. Those who had
+misunderstood her and criticized her in the beginning, mourned
+her deeply, sincerely, earnestly in the end, for she had triumphed
+over prejudice, narrow-mindedness, and a certain form of malice.
+The whole district was the better for her once hateful innovations,
+and there was no one left who scoffed at David Windom for the choice
+he had made of a wife.
+
+Her death wrought a remarkable, enduring change in Windom. He became
+a silent, brooding man who rarely smiled and whose heart lay up
+in the little graveyard on the ridge. The gay, larksome light fled
+from his eyes, his face grew stern and sometimes forbidding. She
+had taken with her the one great thing she had brought into his
+life: ineffable buoyancy. He no longer played, for there was no
+one with whom he would play; he no longer sang, for the music had
+gone out of his soul; he no longer whistled the merry tunes, for
+his lips were stiff and unyielding. Only when he looked upon his
+little daughter did the soft light of love well up into his eyes
+and the rigid mouth grow tender.
+
+She was like her mother. She was joyous, brave and fair to look
+upon. She had the same heart of sunshine, the same heart of iron,
+and the blue in her eyes was like the blue of the darkening skies.
+She adored the grim, silent man who was her father, and she was
+the breath of life to him.
+
+And then, when she was nineteen, she broke the heart of David Windom.
+For two years she had been a student in the University situated
+but half a score of miles from the place where she was born,
+a co-educational institution of considerable size and importance.
+Windom did not believe in women's colleges. He believed in the
+free school with its broadening influence, its commingling of the
+sexes in the search for learning, and in the divine right of woman
+to develop her mind through the channels that lead ultimately and
+inevitably to superiority of man. He believed that the girl trained
+and educated in schools devoted exclusively to the finer sex fails
+to achieve understanding as well as education. The only way to give
+a girl a practical education,--and he believed that every woman
+should have one,--was to start her off even with the boy who was
+training to become her master in all respects.
+
+During her second year at the University she met Edward Crown,
+a senior. He was the son of a blacksmith in the city, and he was
+working his way through college with small assistance from his
+parent, who held to the conviction that a man was far better off
+if he developed his muscles by hard work and allowed the brain
+to take care of itself. Young Crown was a good-looking fellow of
+twenty-three, clean-minded, ambitious, dogged in work and dogged
+in play. He had "made" the football team in his sophomore year.
+Customary snobbishness had kept him out of the fraternities and
+college societies. He may have been a good fellow, a fine student,
+and a cracking end on the eleven, and all that, but he was not
+acceptable material for any one of the half dozen fraternities.
+
+When he left college with his hard-earned degree it was to accept
+a position with a big engineering company, a job which called him
+out to the far Northwest. Alix Windom was his promised wife. They
+were deeply, madly in love with each other. Separation seemed
+unendurable. She was willing to go into the wilderness with him,
+willing to endure the hardships and the discomforts of life in a
+construction camp up in the mountains of Montana. She would share
+his poverty and his trials as she would later share his triumphs.
+But when they went to David Windom with their beautiful dream, the
+world fell about their ears.
+
+David Windom, recovering from the shock of surprise, ordered Edward
+from the house. He would sooner see his child dead than the wife
+of Nick Crown's son,--Nick Crown, a drunken rascal who had been
+known to beat his wife,--Nick Crown who was not even fit to lick
+the feet of the horses he shod!
+
+One dark, rainy night in late June, Alix stole out of the old
+farmhouse on the ridge and met her lover at the abandoned tollgate
+half a mile up the road. He waited there with a buggy and a fast
+team of horses. Out of a ramshackle cupboard built in the wall of
+the toll-house, they withdrew the bundles surreptitiously placed
+there by Alix in anticipation of this great and daring event, and
+made off toward the city at a break-neck, reckless speed. They
+were married before midnight, and the next day saw them on their
+way to the Far West. But not before Alix had despatched a messenger
+to her father, telling him of her act and asking his forgiveness
+for the sake of the love she bore him. The same courier carried
+back to the city a brief response from David Windom. In a shaken,
+sprawling hand he informed her that if she ever decided to return
+to her home ALONE, he would receive her and forgive her for the
+sake of the love he bore her, but if she came with the coward who
+stole her away from him, he would kill him before her eyes.
+
+II
+
+The summer and fall and part of the winter passed, and in early
+March Alix came home.
+
+David Windom, then a man of fifty, gaunt and grey and powerful,
+seldom had left the farm in all these months. He rode about his
+far-spread estate, grim and silent, his eyes clouded, his voice
+almost metallic, his manner cold and repellent. His tenants, his
+labourers, his neighbours, fearing him, rarely broke in upon his
+reserve. Only his animals loved him and were glad to see him,--his
+dogs, his horses, even his cattle. He loved them, for they were
+staunch and faithful. Never had he uttered his daughter's name in
+all these months, nor was there a soul in the community possessed
+of the hardihood to inquire about her or to sympathize with him.
+
+It was a fierce, cruel night in March that saw the return of Alix.
+A fine, biting snow blew across the wide, open farmlands; the beasts
+of the field were snugly under cover; no man stirred abroad unless
+driven by necessity; the cold, wind-swept roads were deserted. So
+no one witnessed the return of Alix Crown and her husband. They came
+out of the bleak, unfriendly night and knocked at David Windom's
+door. There were lights in his sitting-room windows; through them
+they could see the logs blazing in the big fireplace, beside which
+sat the lonely, brooding figure of Alix's father. It was late,--nearly
+midnight,--and the house was still. Old Maria Bliss and the one
+other servant had been in bed for hours. The farmhands slept in
+a cottage Windom had erected years before, acting upon his wife's
+suggestion. It stood some two or three hundred yards from the main
+house.
+
+A dog in the stables barked, first in anger and then with unmistakable
+joy. David's favourite, a big collie, sprang up from his place on
+the rug before the fire and looked uneasily toward the door opening
+onto the hall. Then came a rapping at the front door. The collie
+growled softly as he moved toward the door. He sniffed the air in
+the hall and suddenly began to whine joyously, wagging his tail as
+he bounded back and forth between his master and the door.
+
+David Windom knew then that his daughter had come home.
+
+He sprang to his feet and took two long strides toward the door.
+Abruptly, as if suddenly turned to stone, he stopped. For a long
+time he stood immovable in the middle of the room. The rapping was
+repeated, louder, heavier than before. He turned slowly, retraced
+his steps to the fireplace and took from its rack in the corner a
+great iron poker. His face was ashen grey, his eyes were wide and
+staring and terrible. Then he strode toward the door, absolutely
+unconscious of the glad, prancing dog at his side.
+
+In the poor shelter of the little porch stood Alix, bent and
+shivering, and, behind her, Edward Crown, at whose feet rested two
+huge "telescope satchels." The light from within fell dimly upon
+the white, upturned face of the girl. She held out her hands to
+the man who towered above her on the doorstep.
+
+"Daddy! Daddy!" she cried brokenly. "Oh, my daddy! Let me come
+in--let me,--I--I am freezing."
+
+But David Windom was peering over her head at the indistinct face
+of the man beyond. He wanted to be sure. Lifting his powerful arm,
+he struck.
+
+Edward Crown, stiff and numb with cold and weak from an illness of
+some duration, did not raise an arm to ward off the blow, nor was
+he even prepared to dodge. The iron rod crashed down upon his head.
+His legs crumpled up; he dropped in a heap at the top of the steps
+and rolled heavily to the bottom, sprawling out on the snow-covered
+brick walk.
+
+The long night wore on. Windom had carried his daughter into the
+sitting-room, where he placed her on a lounge drawn up before the
+fire. She had fainted. After an hour he left her and went out into
+the night. The body of Edward Crown was lying where it had fallen.
+It was covered by a thin blanket of snow. For a long time he stood
+gazing down upon the lifeless shape. The snow cut his face, the
+wind threshed about his coatless figure, but he heeded them not. He
+was muttering to himself. At last he turned to re-enter the house.
+His daughter was standing in the open doorway.
+
+"Is--is that Edward down there?" she asked, in weak, lifeless tones.
+She seemed dull, witless, utterly without realization.
+
+"Go back in the house," he whispered, as he drew back from her in
+a sort of horror,--horror that had not struck him in the presence
+of the dead.
+
+"Is that Edward?" she insisted, her voice rising to a queer,
+monotonous wail.
+
+"I told you to stay in the house," he said. "I told you I would look
+after him, didn't I? Go back, Alix,--that's a good girl. Your--your
+daddy will--Oh, my God! Don't look at me like that!"
+
+"Is he dead?" she whispered, still standing very straight in
+the middle of the doorway. She was not looking at the inert thing
+on the walk below, but into her father's eyes. He did not, could
+not answer. He seemed frozen stiff. She went on in the same dull,
+whispered monotone. "I begged him to let me come alone. I begged
+him to let me see you first. But he would come. He brought me all
+the way from the West and he--he was not afraid of you. You have
+done what you said you would do. You did not give him a chance.
+And always,--always I have loved you so. You will never know how I
+longed to come back and have you kiss me, and pet me, and call me
+those silly names you used--"
+
+"What's done, is done," he broke in heavily. "He is dead. It had to
+be. I was insane,--mad with all these months of hatred. It is done.
+Come,--there is nothing you can do. Come back into the house. I
+will carry him in--and wake somebody. Tomorrow they will come and
+take me away. They will hang me. I am ready. Let them come. You
+must not stand there in the cold, my child."
+
+She toppled forward into his arms, and he lifted her as if she were
+a babe and carried her into the house. The collie was whining in
+the corner. Windom sat down in the big armchair before the fire,
+still holding the girl in his arms. She was moaning weakly. Suddenly
+a great, overwhelming fear seized him,--the fear of being hanged!
+
+A long time afterward,--it was after two,--he arose from his knees
+beside the lounge and prepared to go out into the night once more.
+Alix had promised not to send her father to the gallows. She was
+almost in a stupor after the complete physical and mental collapse,
+but she knew what she was doing, she realized what she was promising
+in return for the blow that had robbed her of the man she loved.
+
+No one will ever know just what took place in that darkened
+sitting-room, for the story as afterwards related was significantly
+lacking in details. The light had been extinguished and the doors
+silently closed by the slayer. The stiffening body of Edward Crown
+out in the snow was not more silent than the interior of the old
+farmhouse, apart from the room in which David Windom pleaded with
+his stricken daughter.
+
+And all the while he was begging her to save him from the consequences
+of his crime, his brain was searching for the means to dispose
+of the body of Edward Crown and to provide an explanation for the
+return of Alix without her husband.
+
+Circumstances favoured him in a surprising manner. Young Crown and
+his wife had travelled down from Chicago in a day coach, and they
+had left the train at a small way station some five miles west of
+the Windom farm. Crown was penniless. He did not possess the means
+to engage a vehicle to transport them from the city to the farm,
+nor the money to secure lodging for the night in the cheapest hotel.
+Alix's pride stood in the way of an appeal to her husband's father
+or to any one of his friends for assistance. It was she who insisted
+that they leave the train at Hawkins station and walk to Windom's
+house. They had encountered no one who knew them, either on the
+train or at the station; while on their cold, tortuous journey
+along the dark highway they did not meet a solitary human being.
+
+No one, therefore, was aware of their return.
+
+Edward Crown's presence in the neighbourhood was unknown. If David
+Windom's plan succeeded, the fact that Crown had returned with his
+wife never would be known. To all inquirers both he and his daughter
+were to return the flat but evasive answer: "It is something I cannot
+discuss at present," leaving the world to arrive at the obvious
+conclusion that Alix's husband had abandoned her. And presently
+people, from sheer delicacy, would cease to inquire. No one would
+know that Crown had been ill up in the mountains for weeks, had
+lost his position, and had spent his last penny in getting his wife
+back to the house in which she was born,--and where her own child
+was soon to be born.
+
+Windom went about the task of secreting his son-in-law's body in a most
+systematic, careful manner. He first carried the two "telescopes"
+into the house and hid them in a closet. Then he put on an old
+overcoat and cap, his riding boots and gloves. Stealing out to the
+rear of the house, he found a lantern and secured it to his person
+by means of a strap. A few minutes later he was ready to start
+off on his ghastly mission. Alix nodded her head dumbly when he
+commanded her to remain in the sitting-room and to make no sound
+that might arouse Maria Bliss. He promised to return in less than
+an hour.
+
+"Your father's life depends on your silence, my child, from this
+moment on," he whispered in her ear.
+
+She started up. "And how about my husband's life?" she moaned.
+"What of him? Why do you put yourself--"
+
+"Sh! Your husband is dead. You cannot bring him to life. It is your
+duty,--do your hear?--your duty to spare the living. Remember what
+I said to you awhile ago. Never forget it, my child."
+
+"Yes," she muttered. "'Blood is thicker than water.' I remember."
+
+III
+
+He went out into the night, closing the door softly behind him.
+The collie was at his heels. He was afraid to go alone. Grimly,
+resolutely he lifted the body of Edward Crown from the ground and
+slung it across his shoulder, the head and arms hanging down his
+back. Desperation added strength to his powerful frame. As if his
+burden were a sack of meal, he strode swiftly down the walk, through
+the gate and across the gravel road. The night was as black as
+ink, yet he went unerringly to the pasture gate a few rods down
+the road. Unlatching it, he passed through and struck out across
+the open, wind-swept meadow. The dog slunk along close behind him,
+growling softly. Snow was still falling, but the gale from the
+north was sweeping it into drifts, obliterating his tracks almost
+as soon as they were made.
+
+Straight ahead lay the towering, invisible rock, a quarter of a
+mile away. He descended the ridge slope, swung tirelessly across
+the swales and mounds in the little valley, and then bent his back
+to the climb up the steep incline to Quill's Window. Picking his
+way through a fringe of trees, he came to the tortuous path that
+led to the crest of the great rock. Panting, dogged, straining every
+ounce of his prodigious strength, he struggled upward, afraid to
+stop for rest, afraid to lower his burden. The sides and the flat
+summit of the rock were full of treacherous fissures, but he knew
+them well. He had climbed the sides of Quill's Window scores of
+times as a boy, to sit at the top and gaze off over the small world
+below, there to dream of the great world outside, and of love,
+adventure, travel. Many a night, after the death of his beloved
+Alix, he had gone up there to mourn alone, to be nearer to the
+heaven which she had entered, to be closer to her. He knew well of
+the narrow fissure at the top,--six feet deep and the length of a
+grave! Filled only with the leaves of long dead years!
+
+He lowered his burden to the bare surface of the rock. The wind
+had swept it clean. Under the protecting screen of his overcoat
+he struck a match and lighted the lantern. Then for the first time
+he studied closely the grey, still face of the youth he had slain.
+The skull was crushed. There was frozen blood down the back of the
+head and neck--He started up in sudden consternation. There would
+be blood-stains where the body had lain so long,--tell-tale,
+convicting stains! He must be swift with the work in hand. Those
+stains must be wiped out before the break of day.
+
+Lowering himself into the opening, he began digging at one end with
+his hands, scooping back quantities of wet leaves. There was snow
+down there in the pit,--a foot or more of it. After a few minutes
+of vigorous clawing, a hole in the side of the fissure was revealed,--an
+aperture large enough for a man to crawl into. He knew where it
+led to: down into Quill's cave twenty feet below.
+
+Some one,--perhaps an Indian long before the time of Quill, or it
+may have been Quill himself,--had chiselled hand and toe niches in
+the sides of this well and had used the strange shaft as means of
+getting into and out of the cave. Windom's father had closed this
+shaft when David was a small boy, after the venturesome youngster
+had gone down into the cave and, unable to climb out again, had
+been the cause of an all-day search by his distracted parent and
+every neighbour for miles around. The elder Windom had blocked the
+bottom of the hole with a huge boulder, shorn from the side of the
+cave by some remote wrench of nature. Then he had half filled the
+cavity from the top by casting in all of the loose stones to be
+found on the crest of the rock, together with a quantity of earth.
+The work had never been completed. There still remained a hole some
+ten feet deep.
+
+David Windom clambered out, leaving his lantern below. Letting the
+dead man's body slide into the crevice, he followed, bent on at
+least partially finishing the job. When he climbed out a second
+time, Edward Crown was at the bottom of the hole and the wet, foul
+leaves again hid the opening. Tomorrow night, and the night after,
+he would come again to close the hole entirely with earth and
+stones, hiding forever the grewsome thing in Quill's "chimney," as
+the flue-like passage was called.
+
+Extinguishing the lantern, he started down the hill at a reckless,
+break-neck speed. He had the uncanny feeling that he was being
+followed, that Edward Crown was dogging his footsteps. Halfway
+down, he stumbled and fell sprawling. As he started to rise, a
+sound smote his ears--the sound of footsteps. For many seconds he
+held his breath, terror clutching his throat. He WAS being followed!
+Some one was shuffling down the rock behind him. The collie! He
+had forgotten the dog. But even as he drew in the deep breath of
+relief, he felt his blood suddenly freeze in his veins. It was not
+the dog. Something approached that moaned and whimpered and was
+not mortal. It passed by him as he crouched to the earth,--a shadow
+blacker than the night itself. Suddenly the truth burst upon him.
+
+"My God! Alix!"
+
+Half an hour later he staggered into his house, bearing the form
+of his daughter,--tenderly, carefully, not as he had borne the
+despised dead.
+
+She had followed him to the top of Quill's Window, she had witnessed
+the ghastly interment, and she had whispered a prayer for the boy
+who was gone.
+
+The next day her baby was born and that night she died. Coming out
+of a stupor just before death claimed her, she said to David Windom:
+
+"I am going to Edward. I do not forgive you, father. You must not ask
+that of me. You say it is my duty to save you from the gallows,--a
+child's duty to her parent. I have promised. I shall keep my
+promise. It is not in my heart to send you to the gallows. You
+are my father. You have always loved me. This is my baby,--mine
+and Edward's. She may live,--God knows I wish I might have died
+yesterday and spared her the accursed breath of life,--she may grow
+up to be a woman, just as I grew up. I do not ask much of you in
+return for what I have done for you, father. You have killed my
+Edward. I loved him with all my soul. I do not care to live. But
+my child must go on living, I suppose. My child and his. She is his
+daughter. I cannot expect you to love her, but I do expect you to
+take care of her. You say that blood is thicker than water. You
+are right. I cannot find it in my heart to betray you. You may tell
+the world whatever story you like about Edward. He is dead, and I
+shall soon be dead. You can hurt neither of us, no matter what you
+do. I ask two things of you. One is that you will be good to my
+baby as long as you may live, and the other is that you will bury
+me up there where you put Edward last night. I must lie near him
+always. Say to people that I have asked you to bury me in that pit
+at the top of Quill's Window,--that it was my whim, if you like.
+Close it up after you have placed me there and cover it with great
+rocks, so that Edward and I may never be disturbed. I want no
+headstone, no epitaph. Just the stones as they were hewn by God."
+
+David Windom promised. He was alone in the room with her when she
+died.
+
+IV
+
+Twenty years passed. Windom came at last to the end of his days.
+He had fulfilled his promises to Alix. He had taken good care of
+her daughter, he had given her everything in his power to give,
+and he had worshipped her because she was like both of the Alixes
+he had loved. She was Alix Crown,--Alix the Third, he called her.
+
+On the day of his death, Windom confessed the crime of that far
+off night in March. In the presence of his lawyer, his doctor,
+his granddaughter and the prosecuting attorney of the county, he
+revealed the secret he had kept for a score of years. The mystery
+of Edward Crown's disappearance was cleared up, and for the first
+time in her young life Alix was shorn of the romantic notion that
+one day her missing father would appear in the flesh, out of the
+silences, to claim her as his own. From earliest childhood, her
+imagination had dealt with all manner of dramatic situations; she
+had existed in the glamour of uncertainty; she had looked upon
+herself as a character worthy of a place in some gripping tale of
+romance. The mound of rocks on the crest of Quill's Window, surrounded
+by a tall iron paling fence with its padlocked gate, covered only
+the body of the mother she had never seen. She did not know until
+this enlightening hour that her father was also there and had been
+throughout all the years in which fancy played so important a part.
+
+Like all the rest of the world, she was given to understand that
+her father had cruelly abandoned her mother. In her soul she had
+always cherished the hope that this heartless monster might one
+day stand before her, pleading and penitent, only to be turned away
+with the scorn he so richly deserved. She even pictured him as rich
+and powerful, possessed of everything except the one great boon
+which she alone could give him,--a daughter's love. And she would
+point to the top of Quill's Window and tell him that he must first
+look there for forgiveness,--under the rocks where his broken-hearted
+victim slept.
+
+The truth stunned her. She was a long time in realizing that her
+grandfather, whom she both loved and feared,--this grim, adoring
+old giant,--not only had murdered her father but undoubtedly had
+killed her mother as well. The story that David Windom had written
+out and signed at the certain approach of death, read aloud in
+his presence by the shocked and incredulous lawyer, and afterwards
+printed word for word in the newspapers at the old man's command,
+changed the whole course of life for her. In fact, her nature
+underwent a sharp but subtle change. There was nothing left to her
+of the old life, no thought, no purpose, no fancy; all had been
+swept up in a heap and destroyed in the short space of half an
+hour. Everything in her life had to be reconstructed, made-over to
+suit the new order. She could no longer harbour vengeful thoughts
+concerning her father, she could no longer charge him with the
+wanton destruction of her mother's happiness.
+
+The grandfather she had loved all her life assumed another shape
+entirely; he was no longer the same, and never again could be the
+same. She did not hate him. That was impossible. She had never seen
+her parents, so she had not known the love of either. They did not
+belong in her life except through the sheerest imagination. Her
+grandfather was the only real thing she had had in life, and she
+had adored him. He had killed two people who were as nothing to her,
+but he had taken the place of both. How could she bring herself to
+hate this man who had destroyed what were no more than names to
+her? Father,--Mother! Two words,--that was all. And for twenty
+long years he had been paying,--Oh, how he must have paid!
+
+She recalled his reason for taking her to England when she was less
+than eight years old and leaving her there until she was twelve.
+She remembered that he had said he wanted her to be like her
+grandmother, to grow up among her people, to absorb from them all
+that had made the first Alix so strong and fine and true. And then
+he had come to take her from them, back to the land of her birth,
+because, he said, he wanted her to be like her mother, the second
+Alix,--an American woman. She recalled his bitter antipathy to
+co-educational institutions and his unyielding resolve that she should
+complete her schooling in a Sacred Heart Convent. She remembered
+the commotion this decision created among his neighbours. In her
+presence they had assailed him with the charge that he was turning
+the girl over, body and soul, to the Catholic Church, and he had
+uttered in reply the never to be forgotten words:
+
+"If I never do anything worse than that for her, I'll be damned
+well satisfied with my chance of getting into heaven as soon as
+the rest of you."
+
+When David's will was read, it was found that except for a few
+small bequests, his entire estate, real and personal, was left to
+his granddaughter, Alix Crown, to have and to hold in perpetuity
+without condition or restriction of any sort or character.
+
+The first thing she did was to have a strong picket fence constructed
+around the base of the hill leading up to Quill's Window, shutting
+off all accessible avenues of approach to the summit. Following
+close upon the publication of David Windom's confession, large
+numbers of people were urged by morbid curiosity to visit the
+strange burial-place of Edward and Alix Crown. The top of Quill's
+Window became the most interesting spot in the county. Alix the
+Third was likewise an object of vast interest, and the old, deserted
+farmhouse on the ridge came in for its share of curiosity.
+
+Almost immediately after the double tragedy and the birth of little
+Alix, David Windom moved out of the house and took up his residence
+in the riverside village of Windomville, a mile to the south.
+The old house was closed, the window shutters nailed up, the doors
+barred, and all signs of occupancy removed. It was said that he never
+put foot inside the yard after his hasty, inexplicable departure.
+The place went to rack and ruin. In course of time he built a new
+and modern house nearer the village, and this was now one of the
+show places of the district.
+
+The influence of Alix the First was expressed in the modelling
+of house and grounds, the result being a picturesque place with a
+distinctly English atmosphere, set well back from the highway in
+the heart of a grove of oaks,--a substantial house of brick with
+a steep red tile roof, white window casements, and a wide brick
+terrace guarded by a low ivy-draped wall. English ivy swathed the
+two corners of the house facing the road, mounting high upon the
+tall red chimneys at the ends. There were flower-beds below the
+terrace, and off to the right there was an old-fashioned garden.
+The stables were at the foot of the hill some distance to the rear
+of the house.
+
+The village of Windomville lay below, hugging the river, a relic of
+the days when steamboats plied up and down the stream and railways
+were remote, a sleepy, insignificant, intensely rural hamlet of
+less than six hundred inhabitants. Its one claim to distinction was
+the venerable but still active ferry that laboured back and forth
+across the river. Of secondary importance was the ancient dock,
+once upon a time the stopping place of steamboats, but now a rotten,
+rickety obstruction upon which the downstream drift lodged in an
+unsightly mass.
+
+In the solid red-brick house among the oaks Alix the Third had spent
+her childhood days. She was taken to England when she was eight
+by her haunted grandfather, not only to receive the bringing-up of
+an English child, but because David Windom's courage was breaking
+down. As she grew older, the resemblance to Edward Crown became
+more and more startling. She had his dark, smiling eyes; his wavy
+brown hair; her very manner of speech was like his. To David Windom,
+she was the re-incarnation of the youth he had slain. Out of her
+eyes seemed to look the soul of Edward Crown. He could not stand it.
+She became an obsession, a curious source of fascination. He could
+not bear her out of his sight, and yet when she was with him, smiling
+up into his eyes,--he was deathly afraid of her. There were times
+when he was almost overcome by the impulse to drop to his knees
+and plead for forgiveness as he looked into the clear, friendly,
+questioning eyes of Edward Crown.
+
+And her voice, her speech,--therein lay the true cause of his taking
+her to England. When she came home to him, after four years, there
+was no trace of Edward Crown in her voice or manner of speaking.
+She was almost as English as Alix the First. But her eyes had not
+changed; he was still a haunted man.
+
+In the little graveyard on the outskirts of the village more than
+a score of Windoms lie. With them lies all that was mortal of fair
+Alix the First, and beside her is David Windom, the murderer.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+COURTNEY THANE
+
+
+
+
+"And what has become of Alix the Third?" inquired the young man,
+squinting at his wristwatch and making out in the semi-darkness
+that it was nearly half-past nine.
+
+He had listened somewhat indulgently to the story of the three Alixes.
+The old man, prompted and sometimes disputed by other members of
+the family, had narrated in his own simple way the foregoing tale,
+arriving at the end in a far more expeditious and certainly in a
+less studied manner than the present chronicler employs in putting
+the facts before his readers. The night was hot. He was occasionally
+interrupted by various members of the little group on the front
+porch of the big old farmhouse, the interruption invariably taking
+the form of a conjecture concerning the significance of certain
+signs ordinarily infallible in denoting the approach of rain. Heat
+lightning had been playing for an hour or more in the gloomy west;
+a tree-toad in a nearby elm was prophesying thunder in unmelodious
+song: night-birds fluttered restlessly among the lofty branches;
+widely separated whiffs of a freshening wind came around the corner
+of the house. All of these had a barometric meaning to the wistful
+group. There was a thunderstorm on the way. It was sure to come
+before morning. The prayers inaugurated a month ago were at last
+to be answered.
+
+As old man Brown drily remarked: "There's one satisfaction about
+prayin' for rain. If you keep at it long enough, you're bound to
+get what you're askin' for. Works the same way when you're prayin'
+for it to stop rainin'. My grandfather once prayed for a solid two
+months before he got rain, and then, by gosh, he had to pray for
+nearly three weeks to get it to quit."
+
+Supper over, the young man had reminded his venerable angling
+companion of his promise to relate the history of Quill's Window.
+Old Caleb Brown was the father of Mrs. Vick,--Lucinda Vick, wife
+of the farmer in whose house the young man was spending a month as
+a boarder.
+
+The group on the porch included Amos Vick, anxious, preoccupied,
+and interested only in the prospect of rain; his daughter Rosabel,
+aged eighteen, a very pretty and vivacious girl, interested only
+in the young man from the far-off, mysterious city in the East; his
+son Caleb, a rugged youth of nineteen; Mrs. Vick, and a neighbour
+named White, who had come over for the sole purpose of finding out
+just what Amos Vick thought about the weather. Two dogs lay panting
+on the dry grass at the foot of the steps.
+
+"Oh, she's living over there in the Windom house," said Mrs. Vick.
+
+"Sort of running the place," explained Mr. Brown, a trace of irony
+in his voice.
+
+"Well," put in Amos Vick, speaking for the first time in many minutes,
+"she's got a lot of sense, that girl has. She may be letting on
+that she's running the farm, but she ain't, you bet. That's where
+she's smart. She's got sense enough to know she don't know anything
+about running a farm, and while she puts on a lot of airs and acts
+kind of important like, the real truth is she leaves everything to
+old Jim Bagley. I guess you don't know who Jim Bagley is, do you,
+Courtney?"
+
+"I can't say that I do," replied the young man.
+
+"Well, he's about the slickest citizen you ever saw. From what
+father here says about your granddad, he must have been a purty
+hard customer to deal with, but, by ginger, if he was any worse
+than Jim Bagley in driving a bargain, I'm glad he died as long ago
+as he did."
+
+"You're just sore, Amos," said his wife, "because Mr. Bagley got
+the best of you in that hog deal three years ago."
+
+"Oh, Lord, ain't you ever going to get tired of throwin' that up
+to me?" groaned Mr. Vick. "I never mention Jim Bagley's name but
+what you up and say something about them hogs. Now, as a matter of
+fact, them hogs--"
+
+"For goodness sake, Pa, you're not going to tell Mr. Thane about
+that hog business, are you?" cried Rosabel.
+
+"Well, when your Ma begins to insinuate that I got the worst of--"
+
+"I don't say that you got the worst of it, Amos," interrupted Mrs.
+Vick good-humouredly. "I only say that he got the best of it."
+
+"Well, if that don't come to the same--"
+
+"Looks to me, Amos, like we'd get her good and plenty before mornin',"
+broke in Mr. White. He was referring to the weather. "That ain't
+all heat lightnin' over there. Seems to me I heard a little thunder
+just now."
+
+"Alix Crown is away a good part of the time, Courtney," said Mrs.
+Vick, taking up the thread where it had been severed by recrimination.
+"All through the war,--long before we went in,--she was up in town
+working for the Belgiums, and then, when we did go in, she went
+East some'eres to learn how to be a nurse or drive an ambulance or
+something,--New York, I believe. And as for money, she contributed
+quite a bit--how much do they say it was, Amos?"
+
+"Well, all I know is that Mary Simmons says she gave ten thousand
+dollars and Josie Fiddler says it was three hundred,--so you can
+choose between 'em."
+
+"She did her share, all right," said young Caleb defensively.
+"That's more'n a lot of people around here did."
+
+"Gale's in love with her, Mr. Thane," explained Rosabel. "She's
+five years older than he is, and don't know he's on earth."
+
+"Aw, cut that out," growled Caleb.
+
+"Is she good-looking?" inquired Courtney Thane.
+
+"I don't like 'em quite as tall as she is," said Mr. White.
+
+"She's got a good pair of legs," said old Caleb Brown, shifting
+his cigar with his tongue.
+
+"We're not talking about horses, father," said Mrs. Vick sharply.
+
+"Who said we was?" demanded old Caleb.
+
+"Most people think she's good-looking," said Rosabel, somewhat
+grudgingly. "And she isn't any taller than I am, Mr. White."
+
+"Well, you ain't no dwarft, Rosie," exclaimed Farmer White, with a
+brave laugh. "You must be five foot seven or eight, but you ain't
+skinny like she is. She'd ought to weigh about a hunderd and sixty,
+for her height, and I'll bet she don't weigh more'n a hunderd and
+thirty."
+
+"I wouldn't call that skinny," remarked Courtney.
+
+"She wears these here new-fangled britches when she's on horseback,"
+said old Caleb, justifying his observation. "Rides straddle, like
+a man. You can't help seeing what kind of--"
+
+"That will do, Pa," broke in his wife. "It's no crime for a woman
+to wear pants when she's riding, although I must say I don't think
+it's very modest. I never rode any way except side-saddle,--and
+neither has Rosabel. I've brought her up--"
+
+"Don't you be too sure of that, Ma," interrupted young Caleb
+maliciously.
+
+"I never did it but once, and you know it, Cale Vick," cried Rosabel,
+blushing violently.
+
+The subject was abruptly changed by Mr. White.
+
+"Well, I guess I'll be moseyin' along home, Amos. That certainly
+did sound like thunder, didn't it? And that tree-toad has stopped
+signallin',--that's a sure sign. Like as not I'll get caught in
+the rain if I don't,--what say, Lucindy?"
+
+"Do you want an umberell, Steve?"
+
+"I should say not! What do you want me to do? Scare the rain off?
+No, sir! Rain's the funniest thing in the world. If it sees you
+got an umberell it won't come within a hunderd miles of you. That's
+why I got my Sunday clothes on, and my new straw hat. Sometimes
+that'll bring rain out of a clear sky,--that an' a Sunday-school
+picnic. It's a pity we couldn't have got up a Sunday-school
+picnic,--but then, of course, that wouldn't have done any good.
+You can't fool a rainstorm. So long, Amos. Night, everybody. Night,
+Courtney. As I was sayin' awhile ago, I used to go to school with
+your pa when him an' me was little shavers,--up yonder at the old
+Kennedy schoolhouse. Fifty odd years ago. Seems like yesterday.
+How old did you say you was?"
+
+"Twenty-eight, Mr. White."
+
+"And your pa's been dead--how long did you say?"
+
+"He died when I was twenty-two."
+
+"Funny your ma didn't bring him out here and bury him 'longside his
+father and all the rest of 'em up in the family burying-ground,"
+was Mr. White's concluding observation as he ambled off down the
+gravel walk to the front gate.
+
+"I wish you'd brought your croix de guerre along with you, Mr.
+Thane," said young Caleb, his eyes gleaming in the faint light
+from the open door. "I guess I don't pronounce it as it ought to
+be. I'm not much of a hand at French."
+
+"You came pretty close to it," said Thane, with a smile. "You see,
+Cale, it's the sort of thing one puts away in a safe place. That's
+why I left it in New York. Mother likes to look at it occasionally.
+Mothers are queer creatures, you know. They like to be reminded of
+the good things their sons have done. It helps 'em to forget the
+bad things, I suppose."
+
+"You're always joking," pouted Rosabel, leaning forward, ardour
+in her wide, young eyes. "If I was a boy and had been in the war,
+I'd never stop talking about it."
+
+"And I'd have been in it, too, if pa hadn't up and told 'em I was
+only a little more than fifteen," said Cale, glowering at his father
+in the darkness.
+
+"You mustn't blame your pa, Cale," rebuked his mother. "He knows
+what a soldier's life is better than you do. He was down in that
+camp at Chattanooga during the Spanish War, and almost died of
+typhoid, Courtney. And when I think of the way our boys died by
+the millions of the flu, I--well, I just know you would have died
+of it, sonny, and I wouldn't have had any cross or medal to look
+at, and--and--"
+
+"Don't begin cryin', Lucindy," broke in old Caleb hastily. "He didn't
+die of the flu, so what's the sense of worryin' about it now? He
+didn't even ketch it, and gosh knows, the whole blamed country was
+full of it that winter."
+
+"Well," began Mrs. Vick defensively, and then compressed her lips
+in silence.
+
+"I think it was perfectly wonderful of you, Mr. Thane, to go over
+to France and fight in the American Ambulance so long before we
+went into the war." This from the adoring Rosabel. "I wish you'd
+tell us more about your experiences. They must have been terrible.
+You never talk about them, though. I think the real heroes were the
+fellows who went over when you did,--when you didn't really have
+to, because America wasn't in it."
+
+"The American Ambulance wasn't over there to fight, you know,"
+explained Courtney.
+
+"What did you get the cross for if you weren't fighting?" demanded
+young Cale.
+
+"For doing what a whole lot of other fellows did,--simply going
+out and getting a wounded man or two in No-Man's Land. We didn't
+think much about it at the time."
+
+"Was it very dangerous?" asked Rosabel.
+
+"I suppose it was,--more or less so," replied Thane indifferently.
+He even yawned. "I'd rather talk about Alix the Third, if it's all
+the same to you. Is she light or dark?"
+
+"She's a brunette," said Rosabel shortly. "All except her eyes.
+They're blue. How long were you up at the front, Mr. Thane?"
+
+"Oh, quite a while,--several months, in fact. At first we were in
+a place where there wasn't much fighting. Just before the first
+big Verdun drive we were transferred to that sector, and then we
+saw a lot of action."
+
+"Some battle, wasn't it?" exclaimed young Cale, a thrill in his
+voice.
+
+"Certainly was," said Courtney. "We used to work forty-eight hours
+at a stretch, taking 'em back by the thousands."
+
+"How near did the shells ever come to you?"
+
+"Oh, sometimes as close as twenty or thirty feet. I remember one
+that dropped in the road about fifty feet ahead of my car, and
+before I could stop we ran plunk into the hole it made and upset.
+I suppose the Windom estate must be a pretty big one, isn't it,
+Mr. Vick?"
+
+"Taking everything into consideration, it amounts to nearly a million
+dollars. David Windom had quite a bit of property up in the city,
+aside from his farm, and he owned a big ranch out in Texas. The
+grain elevator in Windomville belonged to him,--still belongs to
+Alix Crown,--and there's a three mile railroad connecting with the
+main line over at Smith's Siding. Every foot of it is on his land.
+He built the railroad about twenty year ago, and the elevator,
+too,--out of spite, they say, for the men that run the elevator at
+Hawkins a little further up the road. Hawkins is the place where
+his daughter and Edward Crown got off the train the night of the
+murder."
+
+"And this young girl owns all of it,--farms, ranch, railroad and
+everything?"
+
+"Every cent's worth of it is her'n. There ain't a sign of a mortgage
+on any of it, either. It's as clear as a blank sheet of writin'
+paper."
+
+"When was it you were gassed, Mr. Thane?" inquired young Caleb.
+
+"Oh, that was when I was in the air service,--only a few weeks
+before the armistice."
+
+"You left your wings at home, too, I suppose?"
+
+"Yes. Mother likes to look at the only wings I'll probably ever
+have,--now or hereafter."
+
+"How does it come, Court, that you went into the British air corpse,
+'stead of in the U. S. A.?" inquired old Caleb.
+
+"I joined the Royal Flying Corps, Mr. Brown, because the Americans
+wouldn't have me," replied Thane tersely. "I tried to get in, but
+they wouldn't pass me. Said I had a weak heart and a whole lot
+of rubbish like that. It's no wonder the American Air Service was
+punk. I went over to Toronto and they took me like a shot in the
+Royal British. They weren't so blamed finicky and old womanish.
+All they asked for in an applicant was any kind of a heart at all
+so long as it was with the cause. I don't suppose I ought to say
+it, but the American Air Service was a joke."
+
+"I hope you ain't turning British in your feelings, Court," remarked
+Amos Vick. "It's purty difficult to be both, you know,--English
+and Yankee."
+
+"I'm American through and through, Mr. Vick, even though I did
+serve under the British flag till I was gassed and invalided out."
+
+"Affects the lungs, don't it?" inquired old Caleb.
+
+"I don't like to talk about it, Mr. Brown. I'm trying to forget
+what hell was like. I was in hospital for four months. It took a
+lot more nerve to draw a breath then than it did to fly over the
+German lines with the Boches popping away from all sides. I didn't
+mind the wounds I sustained,--but the gas! Gee, it was horrible."
+
+"Your ma said in her letter to me that you'd had pneumonia twice
+since you got back," said Mrs. Vick. "Was that due to the gas?"
+
+"I suppose so. They thought I had tuberculosis for awhile, you
+see. Then, this spring, I had to go and have a bout with typhoid.
+I ought to be dead, with all I've had,--but here I am, alive and
+happy, and if you keep on feeding me as you have been for the past
+three days, I'll live forever."
+
+"You mustn't overdo, Courtney," warned the farmer's wife. "Your ma
+sent you out here to get well, and I feel a kind of responsibility
+for you. I guess it's about time you was off to bed. Come on, Amos.
+It isn't going to bring rain any sooner for you to be setting out
+here watching for it."
+
+Old Caleb had his say. "I suppose it was all right for you to serve
+with the British, Court, but if you'd waited a little while longer
+you might have carried a gun over there under the Stars and Stripes.
+But, as you say, you couldn't bear to wait. I give you credit for
+it. I'm derned glad to see one member of the Thane family that had
+the nerve to volunteer. At the time of the Civil War your grandpa
+was what we call a slacker in these days. He hired a feller to go
+in his place, and when that feller was killed and a second call
+for volunteers come up, dogged if he didn't up and hire another
+one. One of your grandpa's brothers skipped off to Canada so's he
+wouldn't have to serve, and the other,--his name was George Washington
+Thane, by the way,--accidentally shot two of his fingers off while
+his company was in camp down at Crawfordsville, gettin' ready to
+go down and meet Morgan's Riders,--and that let him out. I admit
+it takes right smart of courage to accidentally shoot your fingers
+off, specially when nobody is lookin', but at any rate he had a
+uniform on when he done it. Course, there wasn't any wars during
+your pa's day, so I don't know how he would have acted. He wasn't
+much of a feller for fightin', though,--I remember that. I mean fist
+fightin'. I'm glad to know you don't take after your granddad. I
+never had any use for a coward, and that's why I'm proud to shake
+hands with you, my boy. There was a derned bad streak in your family
+back in your granddad's day, and it certainly is good to see that
+you have wiped it out. It don't always happen so. Yeller streaks
+are purty hard to wipe out. Takes more than two generations to do
+it as a rule. I'm happy to know you ain't gun shy."
+
+The young man laughed. "I don't mind telling you, Mr. Brown, that
+I never went into action without being scared half out of my boots.
+But I wasn't alone in that, you see. I never knew a man over there
+who wasn't scared when he went over the top. He went, just the
+same,--and that's what I call courage."
+
+"So do I," cried Rosabel.
+
+"Did you ever know for sure whether you got a German?" asked the
+intense young Caleb. "I mean,--did you ever KILL one?"
+
+"That's pretty hard to say, Cale. We never knew, you see,--we
+fellows up in the clouds. I was in a bombing machine. I'd hate to
+think that we WASTED any bombs."
+
+"Come now,--all of you,--off to bed," interposed Mrs. Vick. "I
+don't want to hear any more, Courtney. I wouldn't sleep a wink."
+
+"Strikin' ten," said Amos, arising from his rocking-chair and
+turning it upside down at the back of the porch.
+
+"Don't do that, Amos," protested old Caleb. "It'll NEVER rain if
+you--Why, dog-gone it, ain't you learned that it's bad luck to turn
+a chair bottom-side up when rain's needed? Turn it right-side up
+and put it right out here in front again where the rain can get at
+it. Nothin' tickles the weather more'n a chance to spoil something.
+That's right. Now we c'n go to bed. Better leave them cushions on
+the steps too, Rosie."
+
+Courtney Thane went to his room,--the spare-room on the second
+floor,--and prepared to retire. The process was attended by the
+smoking of three cigarettes. Presently he was stretched out on the
+bed without even so much as a sheet over him. The heat was stifling.
+Not a breath of air came in through the wide-open windows. He lay
+awake for a long time, staring out into the night.
+
+"So my precious granddad had a yellow streak in him, did he?
+And father wasn't much of a fighter either. Takes more than two
+generations to wipe out a yellow streak, does it? I wonder what
+the old boob meant by that rotten slam at my people."
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+DOWD'S TAVERN
+
+
+
+
+The last week in August Courtney Thane left the Vick farm and,
+crossing the river, took lodgings at the boarding house conducted
+by the Misses Dowd in the town of Windomville.
+
+In a letter to his mother, informing her of the change, he had
+said:
+
+Of course, I appreciate the fact that you are paying the bills,
+old dear, and out of consideration for you I dare say I ought to
+stick it out with the Vicks till November as we arranged. But I
+simply cannot stand it any longer. The old woman almost puts me to
+bed, the girl almost sits on my lap, the boy drives me crazy with
+his infernal questions about the war, and old man Brown,--the one
+who went to school with father out in this gosh awful land of the
+grasshopper,--he is the limit. He never lets a day go by without
+some slur about my grandfather or some other member of the family
+who existed long before I was born. Thinks he's witty. He is always
+nagging at me about cigarette smoking. I wish you could see the
+way he mishandles a cigar. As you know, I seldom smoke more than a
+half dozen cigarettes a day, but he swears to God I am everlastingly
+ruining my health, and it has got on my nerves so that if I stay
+on here another week I'll call the old jay so hard he'll drop dead
+from the shock. And, my heavens, how lonesome it is here. I almost
+die of homesickness. I just had to find a place where there is
+some one to talk to besides the cows and sheep and people who never
+think of anything but crops and the weather, last Sunday's sermon
+and Theodore Roosevelt. They are honest, but, my God, how could
+they be anything else? It would not be right for me to deny that
+I have improved a great deal in the last couple of weeks. I am
+beginning to feel pretty fit, and I've put on four or five pounds.
+Still, I'm getting sick of fresh eggs and fresh milk and their
+everlasting bacon,--they call it side-meat,--and preserves. She
+simply stuffs me with them. The air is wonderful, even during that
+awful hot spell I wrote you about. I am sure that another month or
+two out here,--perhaps three,--will put me back on my pins stronger
+than ever, and then I'll be in condition to go back to work. I am
+eager to get at it as soon as possible in order to pay back all
+you have put up for me during this beastly year. If I did not know
+you can well afford to do what you have been doing for me, mother
+dear, I wouldn't allow you to spend another penny on me. But you
+will get it all back some day, not in cash, of course,--for that
+means nothing to you,--but in the joy of knowing that it was worth
+while to bring your only son into the world. Now, as to this change
+I am going to make. I've been across the river several times and I
+like it over there much better than here. I think the air is better
+and certainly the surroundings are pleasanter. Windomville is a
+funny little village of five or six hundred people, about the same
+number of dogs (exaggeration!), and the sleepiest place you've
+ever imagined. Old Caleb Brown says it was laid out back in 1830
+or thereabouts by the first Windom to come to these parts. It has
+a public school, a town hall, a motion-picture house (with last
+year's reels), a drug store where you can get soda water, a grain
+elevator, and a wonderful old log hut that was built by the very
+first settler, making it nearly a hundred years old. Miss Alix Crown,
+who owns nearly everything in sight,--including the log hut,--has
+had the latter restored and turned into the quaintest little town
+library you've ever seen. But you ought to see the librarian! She
+is a dried-up, squinty old maid of some seventy summers, and so
+full of Jane Austen and the Bronte women and Mrs. Southworth that
+she hasn't an inch of room left in her for the modern writers. Her
+name caps the climax. It is Alaska Spigg. Can you beat it? No one
+ever calls her Miss Spigg,--not even the kids,--nor is she ever
+spoken of or to as Alaska. It is always Alaska Spigg. I wish you
+could see her. Miss Crown is the girl I wrote you about, the one
+with the dime novel history back of her. She has a house on the
+edge of the town,--a very attractive place. I have not seen her
+yet. She is up in Michigan,--Harbor Point, I believe,--but I hear
+she is expected home within a week or two. I am rather curious to
+see her. The place where I have taken a room is run by a couple of
+old maids named Dowd. It is really a sort of hotel. At least, you
+would insult them if you called it a boarding house. Their grandfather
+built the house and ran it as a tavern back before the Civil War.
+When he died his son carried on the business. And now his two
+daughters run the place. They have built on a couple of wings and
+it is really an interesting old shack. Clean as a pin, and they say
+the grub is good. It will be, as I said, a little more expensive
+living here than with the Vicks but not enough to amount to anything.
+The Dowds ask only fifteen dollars a week for room and board, which
+is cheaper than the Ritz-Carlton or the Commodore, isn't it?...Here
+is my new address in the Metropolis of Windomville-by-the-Crick:
+Dowd's Tavern, Main Street.
+
+Her reply was prompt. She wrote from Bar Harbor, where she was
+spending the summer:
+
+...perfectly silly of you, dearest, to speak of repaying me. All
+I possess will be yours some day, so why begrudge you a little of
+what should be yours now? Your dear father perhaps thought he was
+doing the right thing for both of us when he left everything to
+me during my lifetime, but I do not believe it was fair....There
+will not be a great deal, of course. You understand how heavy my
+expenses have been....In any case, you are in wretched health, my
+dear boy. Nothing must stand in the way of your complete recovery.
+When you are completely recovered, well and strong and eager to take
+up life where this cruel war cut it off, I shall be the happiest
+mother alive. I am sure you will have no difficulty in establishing
+yourself. They tell me the returned soldiers are not having an easy
+time finding satisfactory and lucrative positions. It is a shame
+the way certain concerns have treated a good many of them, after
+actually promising to hold their places open for them. But with you
+it will be different. I spoke to Mr. Roberts yesterday about you.
+He wants to have a talk with you. I have an idea he wants to put you
+in charge of one of their offices in Spain. At any rate, he asked
+if you spoke Spanish well....So I can easily afford to increase
+your allowance to one hundred and fifty a month. More, if you
+should ask for it, but you are so proud and self-reliant I can
+do absolutely nothing with you, dear boy. I quite understand your
+unwillingness to accept more than you actually need from me. It is
+splendid, and I am very proud of you....This girl you wrote me
+about, is she so very rich?...Your father used to speak of a young
+man named Windom and how he envied him because he was so tall and
+handsome. Of course, your dear father was a small boy then, and
+that is always one of the laments of small boys. That, and falling
+in love with women old enough to be their mothers....Do write me
+often. But don't be angry with me if I fail to answer all of your
+letters. I am so frightfully busy. I rarely ever have more than a
+minute to myself. How I have managed to find the time to write this
+long letter to you I cannot imagine. It is really quite a nice long
+one, isn't it?...and don't be writing home to me in a few weeks to
+say you are engaged to be married to her. It took me a great many
+years to convert your dear father into what he was as you knew
+him. I don't relish the thought at my time of life of transforming
+a crude farmer's daughter into a Fifth Avenue lady, no matter how
+pretty she may be in the rough. The days of Cinderella are long
+since past. One has so much to overcome in the way of a voice with
+these country girls, to say nothing of the letter r. Your poor
+father never quite got over being an Indiana farmer's son, but he
+did manage to subdue the aforesaid letter....And these country-girls
+take a harmless, amusing flirtation very seriously, dear boy....
+Your adoring mother.
+
+Courtney Thane's fame had preceded him to Windomville. By this
+time, the entire district had heard of the man who was gassed, and
+who had actually won two or three medals for bravery in the Great
+War. The young men from that section of the state who had seen
+fighting in France were still in New York City, looking for jobs.
+Most of them had "joined up" at the first call for volunteers. Some
+of them had been killed, many of them wounded, but not one of them
+had received a medal for bravery. The men who had been called by
+the draft into the great National Army were all home again, having
+got no nearer to the battle front than an embarkation camp in New
+Jersey,--and so this tall, slender young fellow from the East was
+an object not only of curiosity but of envy.
+
+The Misses Dowd laid themselves out to make him comfortable,--as
+well as prominent. They gave him a corner room on the upper floor
+of Dowd's Tavern, dispossessing a tenant of twelve years' standing,--a
+photographer named Hatch, whose ability to keep from living too far
+in arrears depended on his luck in inveigling certain sentimental
+customers into taking "crayon portraits" of deceased loved ones,
+satisfaction guaranteed, frames extra. Two windows, looking out
+over the roof of the long front porch, gave him an unobstructed
+view of Main Street, including such edifices as the postoffice,
+the log-hut library, the ancient watering trough, the drug store,
+and the steeple of the Presbyterian Church rising proudly above
+the roofs of the houses in between.
+
+Main Street ran almost parallel with the river. With commendable
+forethought, the first settlers had built their houses and stores
+some little distance back from the stream along the summit of a
+wooded ridge perhaps forty feet above the river at its midsummer
+low-water level. The tremendous, devastating floods that came annually
+with the breaking up of winter failed to reach the houses,--although
+in 1883,--according to the records,--the water came up to within a
+foot of Joe Roush's blacksmith shop, situated at that time halfway
+down the slope, compelling the smith to think seriously of "moving
+up a couple of hops," a precaution that was rendered unnecessary
+by a subsequent midsummer bolt of lightning that destroyed not
+only the forge but shocked Joe so severely that he "saw green"
+for a matter of six weeks and finally resulted in his falling off
+the dock into deep water in the middle of what was intended to be
+a protracted spree brought on by the discovery that his insurance
+policy did not cover "loss by lightning." To this day, the older
+inhabitants of Windomville will tell you about the way his widow
+"took on" until she couldn't stand it any longer,--and then married
+George Hooper, the butcher, four months after the shocking demise
+of Joseph.
+
+Dowd's Tavern had few transient guests. "Drummers" from the city
+hard-by dropped in occasionally for a midday meal, but they never
+stayed the night. The guests were what the Misses Dowd called
+"regulars." They included Hatch, the photographer; an old and indigent
+couple, parents of a farmer whose wife objected so vehemently to
+their well-meant efforts to "run" her house for her that he was
+obliged to "board 'em" with the Dowd girls, an arrangement that
+seemed to satisfy every one concerned except the farmer himself,
+who never missed an opportunity to praise the food and the comforts
+to be enjoyed at the county "poorhouse" when he paid his semi-annual
+visit to the venerable dependents; Mr. Charlie Webster, the rotund
+manager of the grain elevator, who spent every Saturday night and
+Sunday in the city and showed up for duty on Monday with pinkish eyes
+and a rather tremulous whistle that was supposed to be reminiscent
+of ecclesiastical associations; Miss Flora Grady, the dress-maker;
+Doctor Simpson, the dentist, a pale young man with extremely bad
+teeth and a habit of smiling, even at funerals; Miss Miller, the
+principal of the school, who was content with a small room over
+the kitchen at ten dollars a week, thereby permitting her to save
+something out of her salary, which was fifty dollars a month; A.
+Lincoln Pollock, the editor, owner and printer of the Weekly Sun,
+and his wife, Maude Baggs Pollock, who besides contributing a poem
+to each and every issue of the paper, (over her own signature),
+collected news and society items, ran the postoffice for her
+husband, (he being the postmaster), and taught the Bible Class in
+the Presbyterian Sunday-school, as well as officiating as president
+and secretary of the Literary Society, secretary to the town board,
+secretary of the W. C. T. U., secretary of the Woman's Foreign
+Missionary Society, secretary of the American Soldiers' and Sailors'
+Relief Fund, secretary of the Windomville Improvement Association,
+secretary of the Lady Maccabees, and, last but far from least,
+secretary of the local branch of the Society for the Preservation
+of the Redwood Forests of California. She was a born secretary.
+
+A. Lincoln Pollock, being a good democrat and holding office under
+a democratic administration, had deemed it wise to abbreviate his
+first name, thereby removing all taint of republicanism. He reduced
+Abraham to an initial, but, despite his supreme struggle for dignity,
+was forced by public indolence to submit to a sharp curtailment of
+his middle name. He was known as Link.
+
+The Weekly Sun duly reported the advent of Colonel Courtney Thane,
+of New York and London, and gave him quite a "send-off," at the same
+time getting in a good word for the "excellent hostelry conducted
+by the Misses Dowd," as well as a paragraph congratulating the
+readers of the Sun on the "scoop" that paper had obtained over the
+"alleged" newspapers up at the county seat. "If you want the news,
+read the Sun," was the slogan at the top of the editorial column on
+the second page, followed by a line in parenthesis: ("If you want
+the Sun, don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today. Price
+Three Dollars a Year in Advance.")
+
+All of the boarders sat at the same table in the dining-room.
+Punctuality at meals was obligatory. Miss Jennie Dowd was the cook.
+She was assisted by Miss Margaret Slattery, daughter of Martin
+Slattery, the grocer. Miss Mary Dowd had charge of the dining-room.
+She was likewise assisted by Miss Slattery. Between meals Miss
+Slattery did the dish-washing, chamber-work, light cleaning and
+"straightening," and still found room for her daily exercise, which
+consisted of half a dozen turns up and down Main Street in her
+best frock. Old Jim House did the outside chores about the place.
+He had worked at Dowd's Tavern for thirty-seven years, and it was
+his proud boast that he had never missed a day's work,--drunk or
+sober.
+
+The new guest was given the seat of honour at table. He was placed
+between Mrs. Pollock and Miss Flora Grady, supplanting Doctor Simpson,
+who had held the honour ever since Charlie Webster's unfortunate
+miscalculation as to the durability of an unfamiliar brand of
+bourbon to which he had been introduced late one Sunday evening. It
+was a brand that wore extremely well,--so well, in fact, that when
+he appeared for dinner at noon on Monday he was still in a lachrymose
+condition over the death of his mother, an event which took place
+when he was barely six years old. Doctor Simpson relinquished the
+seat cheerfully. He had held it a year and he had grown extremely
+tired of having to lean back as far as possible in his chair so that
+Mrs. Pollock and Miss Grady could converse unobstructedly in front
+of him, a position that called for the utmost skill and deliberation
+on his part, especially when it came to conveying soup and "floating
+island" to such an altitude. (He had once resorted to the expedient
+of bending over until his nose was almost in the plate, so that
+they might talk across his back, but gave it up when Miss Molly
+Dowd acridly inquired if he smelt anything wrong with the soup.)
+
+Mr. Hatch invited Courtney down to the studio to have his photograph
+taken, free of charge; Mr. Pollock subjected him to a long interview
+about the War; Mr. Webster notified him that he had laid in a small
+stock just prior to July the first and that all he had to do was
+to "say the word,"--or wink if it wasn't convenient to speak; Miss
+Grady told him, at great length, of her trip to New York in 1895,
+and inquired about certain landmarks in the Metropolis,--such as
+the aquarium, the Hoffman House, Madison Square, Stewart's Drygoods
+Store, Tiffany's place,--revealing a sort of lofty nonchalance in
+being able to speak of things she had seen while the others had
+merely read about them; Mrs. Pollock had him write in her autograph
+album, and wondered if he would not consent to give a talk before
+the Literary Society at its next meeting; and Margaret Slattery
+made a point of passing things to him first at meals, going so far
+as to indicate the choicest bits of "white meat," or the "second
+joint," if he preferred the dark, whenever they had chicken for
+dinner,--which was quite often.
+
+Old Mr. Nichols, (the indigent father), remembered Courtney's
+grandfather very well, and, being apt to repeat himself, told
+and retold the story of a horse-trade in which he got the better
+of Silas Thane. Mrs. Nichols, living likewise in the remote past,
+remembered being in his grandmother's Sunday-school class, and
+how people used to pity the poor thing because Silas ran around
+considerable after other women,--'specially a lively-stableman's
+wife up in the city,--and what a terrible time she had when John
+Robinson's Circus came to town a little while before her first child
+was born and the biggest boa-constrictor in captivity escaped and
+eat up two lambs on Silas's farm before it went to sleep and was
+shot out in the apple orchard by Jake Billings. She often wondered
+whether her worrying about that snake had had any effect on the
+baby, who, it appears, ultimately grew up and became Courtney's
+father. The young man smilingly sought to reassure her, but after
+twice repeating his remark, looked so embarrassed that Mr. Hatch
+gloomily announced from the foot of the table:
+
+"She's deef."
+
+Now, as to Mr. Courtney Thane. He was a tall, spare young man, very
+erect and soldierly, with an almost unnoticeable limp. He explained
+this limp by confessing that he had got into the habit of favouring
+his left leg, which had been injured when his machine came down
+in flames a short distance back of the lines during a vicious gas
+attack by the enemy--(it was on this occasion that he was "gassed"
+while dragging a badly wounded comrade to a place of safety)--but
+that the member was quite as sound as ever and it was silly of
+him to go on being so confounded timid about it, especially as it
+hadn't been anything to speak of in the beginning,--nothing more,
+in fact, than a cracked knee joint and a trifling fracture of the
+ankle.
+
+His hair was light brown, almost straw-coloured, and was brushed
+straight back from the forehead. A small, jaunty moustache, distinctly
+English in character, adorned his upper lip. His eyes were brown,
+set well back under a perfectly level, rather prominent brow. His
+mouth was wide and faintly satirical; his chin aggressively square;
+his nose long and straight. His voice was deep and pleasant, and he
+spoke with what Miss Miller described as a "perfectly fascinating
+drawl." Mrs. Pollock, who was quite an extensive reader of novels
+and governed her conversation accordingly went so far as to say that
+he was "the sort of chap that women fall in love with easily,"--and
+advised Miss Miller to keep a pretty sharp watch on her heart,--a
+remark that drew from Miss Miller the confession that she had
+rejected at least half a dozen offers of marriage and she guessed
+if there was any watching to be done it would have to be done by
+the opposite sex. (As Miss Miller had repeatedly alluded to these
+fruitless masculine manifestations, Mrs. Pollock merely sniffed,--and
+afterwards confided to Miss Molly Dowd her belief that if any one
+had ever asked Angie Miller to marry him she'd be a grandmother
+by this time.) From this, it may be correctly surmised that Miss
+Miller was no longer in the first bloom of youth.
+
+Whenever Courtney appeared on Main Street, he was the centre not
+only of observation but of active attention. Nearly every one had
+some form of greeting for him. Introductions were not necessary.
+Women as well as men passed the time of day with him, and not a few
+of the former solicitously paused to inquire how he was feeling.
+Young girls stared at him and blushed, young boys followed his
+progress about town with wide, worshipful eyes,--for was he not a
+hero out of their cherished romance? He had to hear from the lips
+of ancient men the story of Antietam, of Chancellorsville and
+of Shiloh; eulogies and criticisms of Grant, McClellan and Meade;
+praise for the enemy chieftains, Lee, Stonewall Jackson and Johnston;
+comparisons in the matter of fatalities, marksmanship, generalship,
+hardships and all such, and with the inevitable conclusion that the
+Civil War was the greatest war ever fought for the simple reason
+that it was fought by men and not by machinery.
+
+"And, what's more," declared old Captain House vigorously, "it was
+fit entirely by Americans, and not by every dodgasted nation on the
+face of the earth, no two of 'em able to understand a blamed word
+of what was being said by friend er foe." "And," added ex-Corporal
+Grimes, stamping the sidewalk with his peg leg, "what's more,
+there wasn't ary one of them Johnny Rebs that couldn't pick off a
+squirrel five hundred yards away with a rifle--a RIFLE, mind ye,
+not a battery of machine guns. Every time they was a fight, big er
+little, we used to stand out in the open and shoot at each other
+like soldiers--AND gentlemen--aimin' straight at the feller we'd
+picked out to kill. They tell me they was more men shot right
+smack between the eyes in the Civil War than all the other wars
+put together. Yes-sir-EE! And as fer REE-connoiterin', why it was
+nothin' for our men,--er the rebs, either, fer that matter,--to
+crawl up so close to the other side's camps that they could smell
+the vittels cookin',--and I remember a case when one of our scouts,
+bein' so overcome by the smell of a fried chicken, snuck right up
+and grabbed it offen the skillet when the cook's back was turned,
+and got away with it safe, too, b'gosh!"
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+TRESPASS
+
+
+
+
+Courtney never was without the heavy English walking-stick on which
+he occasionally leaned for support. He took long strolls in the
+country, frequently passing the Windom place, and twice he had gone
+as far as the railed-in base of Quill's Window. From the footpath at
+the bottom he could look through the trees up to the bare crest of
+the rock. The gate through the high fence was padlocked, and contained
+a sign with the curt warning: "No Trespass." On the opposite side
+of the wide strip of meadow-land, in which cattle grazed placidly,
+he could see the abandoned house where Alix Crown was born,--a
+colourless, weather-beaten, two-storey frame building with faded
+green window shutters and a high-pitched roof blackened by rain and
+rot. Every shutter was closed; an atmosphere of utter desolation
+hung over the place.
+
+Across that brown, sunburnt stretch of meadow-land when it was white
+and cold, old David Windom had carried the stiff body of Edward
+Crown,--and returning had borne the soft, limp figure of his stricken
+child. Courtney permitted his fancy to indulge in calculation. He
+followed with his eye what must have been the path of the slayer
+on that dreadful night. It led, no doubt, to the spot on which he
+now was standing, for just behind him was the suggestion of a narrow,
+weed-lined path that wormed its way through the trees toward the top
+of the great rock. He decided that one day soon he would disregard
+that sign on the gate, and climb up to the strange burial place of
+Edward Crown and Alix the Second.
+
+He had tested his increasing strength and endurance by rowing up
+the river with Rosabel for a fair view of the hole in the face of
+the rock--Quill's Window. It was plainly visible from the river, a
+wide black gash in the almost perpendicular wall that reached well
+above the fringe of trees and underbrush along the steep bank of
+the stream.
+
+He tried to picture Quill as he sat in his strange abode, a hundred
+years ago, cowering over the fire or reading perhaps by the light
+of a huge old-fashioned lanthorn. He thought of him hanging by the
+neck back in the dark recess, victim either of his own conscience
+or the implacable hatred of the enemy "down the river." And then
+there were the others who had found death in the heart of that
+mysterious cavern,--ugly death.
+
+He wondered what the interior of the cave was like, and whether he
+could devise some means of entering it. A rope ladder attached to
+a substantial support at the top of the cliff would afford the easiest
+way of reaching the mouth of the cave,--in fact, he recalled that
+Quill employed some such means of descending to his eerie home. The
+entrance appeared to be no more than twenty feet below the brow of
+the cliff. It would not even be a hazardous undertaking. Besides,
+if Quill and his successors were able to go up and down that wall
+safely and repeatedly, why not he? No doubt scores of men,--perhaps
+even schoolboys of the Tom Sawyer type,--had made frequent visits
+to the cave. He knew he would be disregarding the command of Alix
+Crown,--a command that all people respected and observed,--if he
+passed the barrier and climbed to the top of the rock, but who,
+after all, was Alix Crown that she should say "no trespass" to the
+world at large?
+
+The thought of Edward Crown wedged in at the bottom of Quill's Chimney,
+weighted down with stones and earth, alone served as an obstacle to
+the enterprise. He shrank from certain gruesome possibilities,--such
+as the dislodgment of stones at the bottom of the crevice and the
+consequent exposure of a thing that would haunt him forever. And
+even though the stones remained in place there would still remain
+the fact that almost within arm's length was imprisoned the crushed,
+distorted remains of the murdered man.
+
+Toward the end of his second week at Dowd's Tavern, he set out to
+climb to the top of the big rock. He had no intention of descending
+to the cavern's mouth on this occasion. That feat was to be reserved for
+another day. Arriving at the gate, he was surprised and gratified
+to discover that it was unlocked. While it was latched, the
+padlock and chain hung loosely from the post to which the latter
+was attached. Without hesitation, he opened the gate and strode
+boldly into proscribed territory.
+
+The ascent was gradual at first, then steep and abrupt for a matter
+of fifty or sixty feet to the bald summit of the hill. Once at the
+top, he sat down panting and exhausted upon the edge of the shallow
+fissure he had followed as a path up the rock, and again his thoughts
+went back to the night of the murder. This had been David Windom's
+route to the top of the hill. He found himself discrediting one
+feature at least of the man's confession. Only a fabled giant could
+have carried the body of a man up that steep, tortuous incline.
+Why, he was exhausted, and he had borne no heavier burden than
+his stout walking-stick. That part of Windom's story certainly was
+"fishy."
+
+Presently he arose and strode out upon the rough, uneven "roof" of
+the height. He could look in all directions over the tops of the
+trees below. The sun beat down fiercely upon the unsheltered rock.
+Off to the north lay the pall of smoke indicating the presence
+of the invisible county seat. Thin, anfractuous highways and dirt
+roads scarred the green and brown landscape, and as far as the eye
+could reach were to be seen farmhouses and barns and silos.
+
+Avoiding the significant heap of rocks near the centre of the little
+plateau, he made his way to the brink of the cliff overlooking
+the river. There he had a wonderful view of the winding stream,
+the harvest fields, the groves, and the herds in the far-reaching
+stretches of what was considered the greatest corn raising "belt"
+in the United States. Some yards back from the edge of the cliff
+he discovered the now thoroughly rotted section of a tree trunk,
+eight or ten inches in diameter, driven deeply into a narrow fissure
+and rendered absolutely immovable by a solid mass of stones and
+gravel that completely closed the remainder of the crevice. He was
+right in surmising that this was the support from which Quill's rope
+or vine ladder was suspended a hundred years ago. Nearby were two
+heavy iron rings attached to standards sunk firmly into the rock,
+a modern improvement on the hermit's crude device. (He afterwards
+learned that David Windom, when a lad of fifteen, had drilled the
+holes in the rock and imbedded the stout iron shafts, so that he
+might safely descend to the mouth of the cave.)
+
+Turning back, he approached the heap of boulders that covered the
+grave of Edward and Alix Crown. No visible sign of the cleft in
+the surface of the rock remained. Six huge boulders, arranged in
+a row, rose above a carefully made bed of stones held in place by
+a low, soundly mortared wall.
+
+Chiselled on one of the end boulders was the name of Alix Windom
+Crown, with the date of her birth and her death, with the line:
+"Rock of Ages Cleft for Me." Below this inscription was the recently
+carved name of Edward Joseph Crown, Born July 7, 1871. Died March
+22, 1895. Three words followed this. They were "Abide With Me."
+
+II
+
+Thane stood for a long time looking at the pile. He was not
+sentimental. His life had been spent in an irreverent city, among
+people hardened by pleasure or coarsened by greed. His thoughts
+as he stood there were not of the unhappy pair who reposed beneath
+those ugly rocks; they were of the far-off tragedy that had brought
+them to this singular resting-place. The fact that this was a grave,
+sacred in the same sense that his father's grave in Woodlawn was
+supposed to be sacred to him and to his mother, was overlooked in
+the silent contemplation of what an even less sophisticated person
+might have been justified in describing as a "freak." Nothing
+was farther from his mind, however, than the desire or impulse to
+be disrespectful. And yet, as he was about to turn away from this
+sombre pile, he leaned over and struck a match on one of the huge
+boulders. As he was conveying the lighted sulphur match,--with
+which Dowd's Tavern abounded,--to the cigarette that hung limply
+from his lips, he was startled by a sharp, almost agonized cry.
+It seemed to come from nowhere. He experienced the uncanny feeling
+that a ghost,--the ghost that haunted Quill's Window,--standing
+guard over the mound, had cried out under the pain inflicted by
+that profane match.
+
+Even as he turned to search the blazing, sunlit rock with apprehensive
+eyes, a voice, shrill with anger, flung these words at him:
+
+"What are you doing up here?"
+
+His gaze fell upon the speaker, standing stockstill in the cloven
+path below him, not twenty feet away. In his relief, he laughed.
+He beheld a slim figure in riding-togs. Nothing formidable or
+ghostlike in that! Nevertheless, a pair of dark blue eyes transfixed
+him with indignation. They looked out from under the rim of a black
+sailor hat, and they were wide and inimical.
+
+"Did you not see that sign on the gate?" demanded the girl.
+
+"I did," he replied, still smiling as he removed his hat,--one of
+Knox's panamas. "And I owe you an apology."
+
+She advanced to the top. He noted the riding-crop gripped rather
+firmly in her clenched hand.
+
+"No one is permitted to come up here," she announced, stopping a
+few feet away. She was quite tall and straight. She panted a little
+from the climb up the steep. He saw her bosom rise and fall under
+the khaki jacket; her nostrils were slightly distended. In that
+first glimpse of her, he took in the graceful, perfect figure; the
+lovely, brilliant face; the glorious though unsmiling eyes. "You
+must leave at once. This is private property. Go, please."
+
+"I cannot go before telling you how rotten I feel for striking that
+match. I beg of you, Miss Crown,--you ARE Miss Crown?--I can only
+ask you to believe that it was not a conscious act of desecration.
+It was sheer thoughtlessness. I would not have done it for the
+world if I had--"
+
+"It is not necessary for you to explain," she broke in curtly. "I
+saw what you did,--and it is just because of such as you that this
+spot is forbidden ground. Idle curiosity, utter disregard for the
+sacredness of that lonely grave,--Oh, you need not attempt to deny
+it. You are a stranger here, but that is no excuse for your passing
+through that gate. I AM Miss Crown. This hill belongs to me. It was
+I who had that fence put up and it was I who directed the sign to
+be put on the gate. They are meant for strangers as well as for
+friends. It was not thoughtlessness that brought you up here. You
+thought a long time before you came. Will you be good enough to
+go?"
+
+He flushed under the scornful dismissal.
+
+"The gate was unlocked--" he began.
+
+"That doesn't matter. It might have been wide open, sir,--but that
+did not grant you any special privileges."
+
+"I can only ask your pardon, Miss Crown, and depart in disgrace,"
+said he, quite humbly. As he started down the path, he paused to
+add: "I did not know you had returned. I daresay I should have been
+less venturesome had I known you were in the neighbourhood."
+
+The thinly veiled sarcasm did not escape her.
+
+"I suppose you are the young man from New York that every one is
+talking about. That may account for your ignorance. In order that
+you may not feel called upon to visit this place again to satisfy
+your curiosity, I will point out to you the objects of interest.
+This pile of rocks marks the grave of my father and mother. The
+dates speak for themselves. You may have noticed them when you
+scratched your match just above my mother's name. My father was
+murdered by my grandfather before I was born. My mother died on
+the day I was born. I never saw them. I do not love them, because
+I never knew them. But I DO respect and honour them. They were good
+people. I have no reason to be ashamed of them. If you will look
+out over those trees and across that pasture, you will see the house
+in which my mother died and where I was born. Directly in front of
+the little porch my father died as the result of a blow delivered
+by my grandfather. As to the disposal of the body, you may obtain
+all the information necessary from Alaska Spigg, our town librarian,
+who will be more than delighted to supply you with all the ghastly
+details. To your right is the post to which a man named Quill
+attached his ladder in order to reach the cave in the face of this
+rock,--where he lived for many years. This is the path leading
+down to the gate, which you will still find unlocked. It will not
+be necessary for you to come up here again. You have seen all there
+is to see."
+
+With that, she deliberately turned her back on him and walked toward
+the edge of the cliff. He stared after her for a few seconds, his
+lips parted as if to speak, and then, as the flush of mortification
+deepened in his cheeks, he began picking his way rather blindly
+down the steep path.
+
+He was never to forget his first encounter with Alix the Third.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+CHARLIE WEBSTER ENTERTAINS
+
+
+
+
+That evening at the supper table, Mr. Pollock politely informed
+him that Alix Crown had returned from Michigan, looking as fit as
+a fiddle.
+
+"You've been so sort of curious about her, Court?" (it had not
+taken the male boarders long to dispense with formalities), "that
+I thought you'd be interested in knowing that she's home. Got back
+last evening. Her Packard automobile met her at the depot up in
+the city. You'll know her when you see her. Tall girl and fairly
+good-looking. Puts on an awful lot of 'dog.' What is it you fellows
+in the Army call it? Swunk?"
+
+"Swank," said Courtney, rather shortly. He was still smarting under
+the sting of his afternoon's experience.
+
+"Lemme help you to some more squash, Mr. Thane," said Margaret
+Slattery in his ear. "And another biscuit."
+
+"Thank you, no," said he.
+
+"What's the matter with your appetite?" she demanded. "You ain't
+hardly touched anything this evenin'. Sick?"
+
+"I'm not hungry, Margaret."
+
+"Been out in the sun too much, that's what's the matter with you.
+First thing you know you'll get a sunstroke, and THEN! My Uncle
+Mike was sunstruck when I was--"
+
+"Pass me the biscuits, Maggie, and don't be all night about it," put
+in Mr. Webster. "I'm hungry, even if Court isn't. I can distinctly
+remember when you used to pass everything to me first, and almost
+stuff it--"
+
+"Yes, and she used to do the same for me before you shaved off your
+chin whiskers, Charlie," said Mr. Hatch gloomily. "How times have
+changed."
+
+"It ain't the times that's changed," said Margaret. "It's you men.
+You ain't what you used to be, lemme tell you that."
+
+"True,--oh so true," lamented Mr. Webster. "I used to be nice and
+thin and graceful before you began showering me with attention. Now
+look at me. You put something like fifty pounds on me, and then you
+desert me. I was a handsome feller when I first came here, wasn't
+I, Flora? I leave it to you if I wasn't."
+
+"I don't remember how you looked when you first came here," replied
+Miss Grady loftily.
+
+"Can you beat that?" cried Charlie to Courtney across the table.
+"And she used to say I was the handsomest young feller she'd ever
+laid eyes on. Used to say I looked like,--who was it you used to
+say I looked like, Flora?"
+
+"The only thing I ever said you looked like was a mud fence, Charlie
+Webster."
+
+"What did she say, Pa? Hey?" This from old Mrs. Nichols, holding
+her hand to her ear. "What are they laughing at?"
+
+"She says Charlie looks like a mud fence," shouted old Mr. Nichols,
+his lips close to her ear.
+
+"His pants? What about his pants?"
+
+This time Courtney joined in the laugh.
+
+After supper he sat on the front porch with the Pollocks and Miss
+Grady. It was a warm, starry night. Charlie Webster and Doc Simpson
+had strolled off down the street. Mr. Hatch and Miss Miller sat in
+the parlour.
+
+"She's going to land Furman Hatch, sure as you're a foot high,"
+confided Mr. Pollock, with a significant jerk of his head in the
+direction of the parlour.
+
+"Heaven knows she's been trying long enough," said Miss Grady. "I
+heard him ask Doc and Charlie to wait for him, but she nabbed him
+before he could get out. Now he's got to sit in there and listen
+to her tell about how interested she is in art,--and him just dyin'
+for a smoke. Why, there's Alix Crown now. She's comin' in here."
+
+A big touring car drew up to the sidewalk in front of the Tavern.
+Miss Crown sprang lightly out of the seat beside the chauffeur and
+came up the steps.
+
+"How do you do, Mrs. Pollock? Hello, Flora. Good evening, Mr.
+Editor," was her cheery greeting as she passed by and entered the
+house.
+
+"She comes around every once in a while and takes the Dowd girls
+out riding in her car," explained Mrs. Pollock.
+
+"Mighty nice of her," said Mr. Pollock, taking his feet down from
+the porch-rail and carefully brushing the cigar ashes off of his
+coat sleeve. "Takes old Alaska Spigg out too, and the Nicholses,
+and--"
+
+"We've been out with her a great many times," broke in Mrs. Pollock.
+"I think a Packard is a wonderful car, don't you, Mr. Thane? So
+smooth and--"
+
+"I think I'll take a little stroll," said Courtney abruptly; and
+snatching up his hat from the floor beside his chair he hurried
+down the steps.
+
+She had not even glanced at him as she crossed the porch. He had
+the very uneasy conviction that so far as she was concerned he
+might just as well not have been there at all. In the early dusk,
+her face was clearly revealed to him. There was nothing cold
+or unfriendly about it now. Instead, her smile was radiant; her
+eyes,--even in the subdued light,--glowed with pleasure. Her voice
+was clear and soft and singularly appealing. In the afternoon's
+encounter he had been struck by its unexpected combination of English
+and American qualities; the sharp querulousness of the English and
+the melodious drawl of the American were strangely blended, and
+although there had been castigation in her words and manner, he
+took away with him the disturbing memory of a voice he was never
+to forget. And now he had seen the smile that even the most envious
+of her kind described as "heavenly." It was broad and wholesome
+and genuine. There was a flash of white, even teeth between warm
+red lips, a gleam of merriment in the half-closed eyes, a gay tilt
+to the bare, shapely head. Her dark hair was coiled neatly, and
+the ears were exposed. He liked her ears. He remembered them as he
+had seen them in the afternoon, fairly large, shapely and close to
+the head. No need for her to follow the prevailing fashion of the
+day! She had no reason to hide her ears beneath a mat of hair.
+
+In the evening glow her face was gloriously beautiful,--clear-cut
+as a cameo, warm as a rose. It was no longer clouded with anger.
+She seemed taller. The smart riding costume had brought her trim
+figure into direct contrast with his own height and breadth, and
+she had looked like a slim, half-grown boy beside his six feet and
+over. Now, in her black and white checked sport skirt and dark
+sweater jacket, she was revealed as a woman quite well above the
+average height.
+
+He was standing in front of the drug store when the big car went
+by a few minutes later, filled with people. She was driving, the
+chauffeur sitting in the seat beside her. In the tonneau he observed
+the two Dowd sisters, Mr. and Mrs. Pollock and Flora Grady.
+
+As the car whizzed by, A. Lincoln Pollock espied him. Waving his
+hand triumphantly, the editor called out:
+
+"Hello, Court!"
+
+The object of this genial shout did not respond by word or action.
+He looked to see if the girl at the wheel turned her head for a
+glance in his direction. She did not, and he experienced a fresh
+twinge of annoyance. He muttered something under his breath. The
+car disappeared around a bend as he turned to enter the store.
+
+"That was Alix Crown, Court," remarked Charlie Webster from the
+doorway. "Little too dark to get a good look at her, but wait till
+she flashes across you in broad daylight some time. She'll make you
+forget all those Fifth Avenue skirts so quick your head'll swim."
+
+"Is THAT so?" retorted Courtney, allowing rancour to get the
+better of fairness. Down in his heart he had said that Alix Crown
+was the loveliest girl he had ever seen. "What do you know about
+Fifth Avenue?"
+
+Charlie Webster grinned amiably. He was not offended by the other's
+tone.
+
+"Well, I've seen it in the movies," he explained. "What are you
+sore about?"
+
+"Sore? I'm not sore. What put that into your head?"
+
+The rotund superintendent of the elevator fanned himself lazily
+with his straw hat.
+
+"If I was fifteen years younger and fifty pounds lighter," said
+he, "I'd be sore too. But what's the use of a fat old slob like me
+getting peeved because Miss Alix Crown don't happen to notice me?
+Oh, we're great friends and all that, mind you, and she thinks a
+lot of me,--as manager of her grain elevator. Same as she thinks
+a lot of Jim Bagley, her superintendent,--and Ed Stevens, her
+chauffeur, and so on. Now, as for you, it's different. You're from
+New York and it goes against the grain to be overlooked, you might
+say, by a girl from Indiana. Oh, I know what you New Yorkers think
+of Indiana,--and all that therein is, as the Scriptures would say.
+You think that nothing but boobs and corn-fed squaws come from
+Indiana, but if you hang around long enough you'll find you're
+mistaken. This state is full of girls like Alix Crown,--bright,
+smart, good-looking girls that have been a hell of a ways farther
+east than New York. Of course, there are boobs like me and Doc
+Simpson and Tintype Hatch who get up to Chicago once every three
+or four years and have to sew our return trip tickets inside our
+belly-bands so's we can be sure of getting back home after Chicago
+gets through admiring us, but now since prohibition has come in
+I don't know but what we're as bright and clever as anybody else.
+Most of the fellers I've run across in Chicago seem to be brightest
+just after they change feet on the rail and ask the bartender if he
+knows how to make a cucumber cocktail, or something else as clever
+as that. But that ain't what we were talking about. We were talking
+about--"
+
+"I wasn't talking about anything," interrupted Courtney.
+
+"Oh, yes, you were," said Charlie. "Not out loud, of course,--but
+talking just the same. You were talking about Alix Crown and the
+way she forgot to invite you to take a ride with the rest of--"
+
+"See here, Webster,--are you trying to be offensive?"
+
+"Offensive? Lord, no! I'm just TELLING you, that's all. On the
+level now, am I right or wrong?"
+
+"I do not know Miss Crown," replied Thane stiffly. "Why should I
+expect her to ask me,--a total stranger,--to go out in her car?"
+
+"Didn't Maude Pollock introduce you a while ago?"
+
+"No," said the other succinctly.
+
+"Well, by gosh, that ain't like Maude," exclaimed Charlie. "I'd
+'a' bet two dollars she said 'I want to present my friend from New
+York, Mr. Courtney Thane, the distinguished aviator, Miss Crown,'
+or something like that. I can't understand Maude missing a chance
+like that. She just LOVES it."
+
+Courtney smiled. "I daresay she wasn't quick enough," he said drily.
+"Miss Crown was in a hurry. And I left before she came out of the
+house. Now is your curiosity satisfied?"
+
+"Absolutely," said Charlie. "Now I'll sleep soundly tonight. I was
+afraid the darned thing would keep me awake all night. Remember
+me saying I had a small stock hid away up in my room? What say to
+going up,--now that the coast is clear,--and having a nip or two?"
+
+"No, thanks, old man. I don't drink. Doctor's orders. Besides,
+I've got some letters to write. I'll walk home with you if you're
+ready to go."
+
+II
+
+Mr. Webster shook his head sadly. "That's the one drawback to
+livin' in Windomville," he said. "People either want to drink too
+much or they don't want to drink at all. Nobody wants to drink in
+moderation. Now, here's you, for instance. You look like a feller
+that could kiss a highball or two without compromising yourself, and
+there's Hatch that has to hold his nose so's he won't get drunk if
+he comes within ten feet of a glass of whiskey." They were strolling
+slowly toward the Tavern. "Now you up and claim you're on the water
+wagon. I'd been counting on you, Court,--I certainly had. The last
+time I took Hatch and Doc Simpson up to my room,--that was on the
+Fourth of last July,--I had to sleep on the floor. Course, if I
+was skinny like Doc and Hatch that wouldn't have been necessary.
+But I can't bear sleepin' three in a bed. Doctor's orders, eh? That
+comes of livin' in New York. There ain't a doctor in Indiana that
+would stoop so low as that,--not one. Look at old man Nichols. He's
+eighty-two years old and up to about a year ago he never missed a
+day without taking a couple o' swigs of rye. He swears he wouldn't
+have lived to be more than seventy-five if he hadn't taken his
+daily nip. That shows how smart and sensible our doctors are out
+here. They--"
+
+"By the way, Mrs. Nichols appears to be a remarkably well-preserved
+old lady,--aside from her hearing. How old is she?"
+
+"Eighty-three. Wonderful old woman."
+
+"I suppose she has always had her daily swig of rye."
+
+Charlie Webster was silent for a moment. He had to think. This was
+a very serious and unexpected complication.
+
+"What did you say?" he inquired, fencing for time.
+
+"Has she always been a steady drinker, like the old man?"
+
+Charlie was a gentleman. He sighed.
+
+"I guess it's time to change the subject," he said. "The only way
+you could get a spoonful of whiskey down that old woman would be
+to chloroform her. If I'm any good at guessin', she'll outlive the
+old man by ten years,--so what's the sense of me preachin' to you
+about the life preserving virtues of booze? Oh, Lordy! There's
+another of my best arguments knocked galley-west. It's no use. I've
+been playing old man Nichols for nearly fifteen years as a bright
+and shining light, and he turns out to be nothing but a busted
+flush. She's had eleven children and he's never had anything worse
+than a headache, and, by gosh, he's hangin' onto her with both hands
+for support to keep his other foot from slippin' into the grave.
+But,"--and here his face brightened suddenly,--"there's one thing
+to be said, Court. She didn't consult any darned fool doctor about
+it."
+
+Courtney was ashamed of his churlishness toward this good-natured
+little man.
+
+"Say no more, Charlie. I'll break my rule this once if it will
+make you feel any better. One little drink, that's all,--in spite
+of the doctor. He's a long way off, and I daresay he'll never
+know the difference. Lead the way, old chap. Anything to cheer up
+a disconsolate comrade."
+
+A few minutes later they were in Webster's room, second floor
+back. The highly gratified host had lighted the kerosene lamp on
+the table in the centre of the room, and pulled down the window
+shades. Then, putting his fingers to his lips to enjoin silence,
+he tip-toed to the door and threw it open suddenly. After peering
+into the hall and listening intently for a moment, he cautiously
+closed it again.
+
+"All's well, as the watchman says at midnight," he remarked, as
+he drew his key ring from his hip pocket and selected a key with
+unerring precision from the extensive assortment. "I always do
+that," he added. "I don't suppose it was necessary tonight, because
+Angie Miller has got Hatch where he can't possibly escape. Long
+as she knows where he is, she don't do much snooping. She used
+to be the same way with me,--and Doc, too, for that matter. Poor
+Hatch,--setting down there in the parlour,--listening to her talk
+about birds and flowers and trying to help her guess what she's
+going to give him for next Christmas. It's hell to be a bachelor,
+Court."
+
+He unlocked a trunk in the corner of the room, and after lifting
+out two trays produced a half empty whiskey bottle.
+
+"I had a dozen of these to begin with," said he, holding the bottle
+up to the light. "Dollar sixty a quart. Quite a nifty little stock,
+eh?"
+
+"Is that all you have left?"
+
+Charlie scratched his ear reflectively.
+
+"Well, you see, I've had a good deal of toothache lately," he
+announced. "And as soon as Doc Simpson and Hatch found out about
+it, they begin to complain about their teeth achin' too. Seemed
+to be a sort of epidemic of toothache, Court. Nothing like whiskey
+for the toothache, you know."
+
+"But Simpson is a dentist. Why don't you have him treat your teeth?"
+
+"Seems as though he'd sooner have me treat his," said Charlie, with
+a slight grimace. Rummaging about in the top tray of the trunk,
+he produced a couple of bar glasses, which he carefully rinsed at
+the washstand. "Tastes better when you drink it out of a regular
+glass," he explained. "Always seems sort of cowardly to me to take
+it with water,--almost as if you were trying to drown it so's it
+won't be able to bite back when you tackle it. Needn't mind sayin'
+'when' The glass holds just so much, and I know enough to stop when
+it begins to run over. Well! Here's hoping your toothache will be
+better in the morning, Court."
+
+"I don't think I ought to rob you like this, Charlie,--"
+
+"Lord, man, you're not robbing me. If you're robbing anybody, it's
+Doc Simpson,--and he's been absolutely free from toothache ever
+since I told him this room was dry. Excuse me a second, Court. I
+always propose a toast before I take a drink up here. Here's to Miss
+Alix Crown, the finest girl in the U. S. A., and the best boss a
+man ever had. Course I've never said that in a saloon, but up here
+it's different,--and kind of sacred."
+
+"I usually make a wry face when I drink it neat like this," said
+Courtney.
+
+"You'll like her just as well as I do when you get to know her, boy.
+I've known her since she was a little kid,--long before she was
+sent abroad,--and she's the salt of the earth. That's one thing on
+which Doc and Hatch and me always agree. We differ on most everything
+else, but--well, as I was saying, you wait till you get to know
+her."
+
+He tossed off the whiskey in one prodigious gulp, smacked his lips,
+and then stood watching his guest drink his.
+
+Tears came into Courtney's eyes as he drained the last drop of the
+fiery liquid. A shudder distorted his face.
+
+"Pretty hot stuff, eh?" observed Charlie sympathetically.
+
+Courtney's reply was a nod of the head, speech being denied him.
+
+"Don't try to talk yet," said Charlie, as if admonishing a child
+who has choked on a swallow of water. "Anyhow," he went on quaintly,
+after a moment, "it makes you forget all about your toothache,
+don't it?"
+
+The other cleared his throat raucously. "Now I know why the redskins
+call it fire water," said he.
+
+"Have another?"
+
+"Not on your life," exclaimed the New Yorker. "Put it back in the
+trunk,--and lock it up!"
+
+"No sooner said than done," said Charlie amicably. "Now I'll
+pull up the shades and let in a little of our well-known hoosier
+atmosphere,--and some real moonshine. Hello! There go Hatch and
+Angie, out for a stroll. Yep! She's got him headed toward Foster's
+soda water joint. I'll bet every tooth in his head is achin'."
+
+"How long have you been running the grain elevator, Charlie?"
+
+"Ever since David Windom built it, back in 1897,--twenty-two years.
+I took a few months off in '98, expecting to see something of Cuba,
+but the darned Spaniards surrendered when they heard I was on the
+way, so I never got any farther than Indianapolis. Twenty-two years.
+That's almost as long as Alix Crown has lived altogether."
+
+"Have you ever seen the grave at the top of Quill's Window?"
+
+"When I first came here, yes. Nobody ever goes up there now. In
+the first place, she don't like it, and in the second place, most
+people in these parts are honourable. We wouldn't any more think of
+trespassin' up there than we'd think of pickin' somebody's pocket.
+Besides which, there's supposed to be rattlesnakes up there among
+the rocks. And besides that, the place is haunted."
+
+"Haunted? I understood it was the old Windom house that is haunted."
+
+"Well, spooks travel about a bit, being restless sort of things.
+Thirty or forty years back, people swore that old Quill and the
+other people who croaked up there used to come back during the dark
+of the moon and hold high revels, as the novel writers would say.
+Strange to say, they suddenly stopped coming back when the sheriff
+snook up there one night with a couple of deputies and arrested a
+gang of male and female mortals and confiscated a couple of kegs
+of beer at the same time. Shortly after old David Windom confessed
+that he killed Alix's father and buried him on the rock, people
+begin to talk about seeing things again. Funny that Eddie Crown's
+ghost neglected to come back till after he'd been dead eighteen years
+or so. Ghosts ain't usually so considerate. Nobody ever claims to
+have seen him floating around the old Windom front yard before Mr.
+Windom confessed. But, by gosh, the story hadn't been printed in
+the newspapers for more than two days before George Heffner saw
+Eddie in the front yard, plain as day, and ran derned near a mile
+and a half past his own house before he could stop, as he told some
+one that met him when he stopped for breath. Course, that story
+sort of petered out when George's wife went down and cowhided a
+widow who lived just a mile and a half south of their place, and
+that night George kept on running so hard the other way that he's
+never been heard of since. Since then there hasn't been much talk
+about ghosts,--'specially among the married men."
+
+"And the rattlesnakes?" said Courtney, grinning.
+
+"Along about 1875 David Windom killed a couple of rattlers up
+there. It's only natural that their ghosts should come back, same
+as anybody else's. Far as I can make out, nobody has ever actually
+seen one, but the Lord only knows how many people claim to have
+heard 'em."
+
+He went on in this whimsical fashion for half an hour or more, and
+finally came back to Alix Crown again.
+
+"She did an awful lot of good during the war,--contributed to
+everything, drove an ambulance in New York, took up nursing, and
+all that, and if the war hadn't been ended by you fellers when it
+was, she'd have been over in France, sure as you're a foot high."
+
+"Strange she hasn't married, young and rich and beautiful as she
+is," mused Courtney.
+
+"Plenty of fellers been after her all right. She don't seem to
+be able to see 'em though. Now that the war's over maybe she'll
+settle down and pay some attention to sufferin' humanity. There's
+one thing sure. If she's got a beau he don't belong around these
+parts. Nobody around here's got a look-in."
+
+"Does she live all alone in that house up there? I mean, has she
+no--er--chaperon?"
+
+"Nancy Strong is keeping house for her,--her husband used to run
+the blacksmith shop here and did all of David Windom's work for
+him. He's been dead a good many years. Nancy is one of the finest
+women you ever saw. Her father was an Episcopal minister up in
+the city up to the time he died. Nancy had to earn her own living,
+so she got a job as school teacher down here. Let's see, that was
+over thirty years ago. Been here ever since. Tom Strong wasn't good
+enough for her. Too religious. He was the feller that led the mob
+that wiped out Tony Zimmerman's saloon soon after I came here. I'll
+never forget that night. I happened to be in the saloon,--just out
+of curiosity, because it was new and everybody was dropping in to
+see the bar and fixtures he'd got from Chicago,--but I got out of
+a back window in plenty of time. But as I was saying, Nancy Strong
+keeps house for Alix. She's got a cook and a second girl besides,
+and a chauffeur."
+
+"An ideal arrangement," said Courtney, looking at his wrist-watch.
+
+"I wonder if you ever came across Nancy Strong's son over in France.
+He was in the Medical Corps in our Army. He's a doctor. Went to
+Rush Medical College in Chicago and afterwards to some place in
+the East,--John Hopkins or some such name as that. Feller about
+your age, I should say. David Strong. Mr. Windom sent him through
+college. They say he's paying the money back to Alix Crown as fast
+as he makes it. Alix hates him worse'n poison, according to Jim
+Bagley, her foreman. Of course, she don't let on to David's mother
+on account of her being housekeeper and all. Seems that Alix is as
+sore as can be because he insists on paying the money to her, when
+she claims her grandpa gave it to him and it's none of her business.
+Davy says he promised to pay Mr. Windom back as soon as he was able,
+and can't see any reason why the old man's death should cancel the
+obligation. Jim was telling me some time ago about the letter Alix
+showed him from Davy. She was so mad she actually cried. He said
+in so many words he didn't choose to be beholden to her, and that
+he was in the habit of paying his debts, and she needn't be so high
+and mighty about refusin' to accept the money. He said he didn't
+accept anything from Mr. Windom as charity,--claiming it was a
+loan,--and he'd be damned if he'd accept charity from her. I don't
+believe he swore like that, but then Jim can't say good morning to
+you without getting in a cuss word or two. Alix is as stubborn as
+all get out. Jim says that every time she gets a cheque from Davy
+she cashes it and hands the money over to Mrs. Strong for a present,
+never letting on to Nancy that it came from Davy. Did I say that
+Davy is practisin' in Philadelphia? He was back here for a week to
+see his mother after he got out of the Army, but when Alix heard
+he was coming she beat it up to Chicago. I thought maybe you might
+have run across him over in France."
+
+"I was not with the American Army,--and besides there were several
+million men in France, Charlie," said Courtney, arising and stretching
+himself. "Well, good night. Thanks for the uplift. I'll skip along
+now and write a letter or two."
+
+"Snappy dreams," said Charlie Webster.
+
+Just as Courtney was closing a long letter to his mother, the
+automobile drew up in front of the Tavern and Alix Crown's guests
+got out. There were "good-nights" and "sleep-tights" and then the
+car went purring down the dimly lighted road. He had no trouble in
+distinguishing Alix's clear, young voice, and thereupon added the
+following words of comfort to his faraway mother: "You will love
+her voice, mater dear. It's like music. So put away your prejudice
+and wish me luck. I've made a good start. The fact that she refused
+to look at me on the porch tonight is the best sign in the world.
+Just because she deliberately failed to notice me is no sign that
+she didn't expect me to notice her. It is an ancient and time-honoured
+trick of your adorable sex."
+
+III
+
+The next morning his walk took him up the lane past the charming,
+red-brick house of Alix the Third. His leg was troubling him. He
+walked with quite a pronounced limp, and there were times when his
+face winced with pain.
+
+"It's that confounded poison you gave me last night," he announced
+to Charlie Webster as they stood chatting in front of the warehouse
+office.
+
+"First time I ever heard of booze going to the knee," was Charlie's
+laconic rejoinder. "It's generally aimed at the head."
+
+He made good use of the corner of his eye as he strolled leisurely
+past the Windom house, set well back at the top of a small
+tree-surrounded knoll and looking down upon the grassy slope that
+formed the most beautiful "front yard" in the whole county, according
+to the proud and boastful denizens of Windomville. Along the bottom
+of the lawn ran a neatly trimmed privet hedge. There were lilac
+bushes in the lower corners of the extensive grounds, and the wide
+gravel walk up to the house was lined with flowers. Rose bushes
+guarded the base of the terrace that ran the full length of the
+house and curved off to the back of it.
+
+A red and yellow beach umbrella, tilted against the hot morning
+sun, lent a gay note of colour to the terrace to the left of the
+steps. Some one,--a woman,--sat beneath the big sunshade, reading
+a newspaper. A Belgian police dog posed at the top of the steps,
+as rigid as if shaped of stone, regarding the passer-by who limped.
+Halfway between the house and the road stood two fine old oaks,
+one at either side of the lawn. Their cool, alluring shadows were
+like clouds upon an emerald sea. Down near the hedge a whirling
+garden spray cast its benevolent waters over the grateful turf, and,
+reaching out in playful gusts, blew its mist into the face of the
+man outside. Back of the house and farther up the timbered slope
+rose a towering windmill and below it the red water tank, partially
+screened by the tree-tops. The rhythmic beat of a hydraulic pump
+came to the stroller's ears.
+
+Courtney's saunterings had taken him past this charming place
+before,--half a dozen times perhaps,--but never had it seemed so
+alluring. Outwardly there was no change that he could detect, and
+yet there was a subtle difference in its every aspect. The spray,
+the shadows, the lazy windmill, the flowers,--he had seen them
+all before, just as they were this morning. They had not changed.
+But now, by some strange wizardry, the tranquil setting had been
+transformed into a vibrant, exquisite fairyland, throbbing with
+life, charged with an appeal to every one of the senses. It was as
+if some hand had shaken it out of a sound sleep.
+
+But, for that matter, the whole village of Windomville had undergone
+a change. It was no longer the dull, sleepy place of yesterday.
+Over night it had blossomed. Courtney Thane alone was aware of this
+amazing transformation. It was he who felt the thrill that charged
+the air, who breathed in the sense-quickening spice, who heard
+the pipes of Pan. All these signs of enchantment were denied the
+matter-of-fact, unimaginative inhabitants of Windomville. And you
+would ask the cause of this amazing transformation?
+
+Before he left the breakfast table Courtney had consented to give a
+talk before the Literary Society on the coming Friday night. Mrs.
+Maude Baggs Pollock had been at him for a week to tell of his
+experiences at the front. She promised a full attendance.
+
+"I've never made a speech in my life," he said, "and I know I'd be
+scared stiff, Mrs. Pollock."
+
+"Pooh! Don't you talk to me about being scared! Anybody who did
+the things you did over in France--"
+
+"Ah, but you forget I was armed to the teeth," he reminded her,
+with a grin.
+
+"Well," put in Charlie Webster, "we'll promise to leave our pistols
+at home. The only danger you'll be in, Court, will come from a lot
+of hysterical women trying to kiss you, but I think I can fix it
+to have the best lookin' ones up in front so that--"
+
+"I wish you wouldn't always try to be funny, Charlie Webster,"
+snapped Mrs. Pollock. "Mr. Thane and I were discussing a serious
+matter. If you can postpone--"
+
+"I defy anybody to prove that there's anything funny about being
+kissed by practically half the grown-up population of Windomville
+with the other half lookin' on and cussin' under their breath."
+
+"Don't pay any attention to him, Mr. Thane," said the poetess
+of Windomville. "Alix Crown said last night she was coming to the
+meeting this week, and I'd so like to surprise her. Now please say
+you will do it."
+
+"I really wouldn't know what to talk about," pleaded the young man.
+"You see, as a rule, we fellows who were over there don't feel
+half as well qualified to talk about the war as those who stayed
+at home and read about it in the papers."
+
+"Nonsense! All you will have to do is just to tell some of your
+own personal experiences. Nobody's going to think you are bragging
+about them. We'll understand."
+
+"Next Friday night, you say? Well, I'll try, Mrs. Pollock, if
+you'll promise to chloroform Charlie Webster," said he, and Charlie
+promptly declared he would do the chloroforming himself.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+COURTNEY APPEARS IN PUBLIC
+
+
+
+
+The meetings of the Literary Society were held once a month in the
+Windomville schoolhouse, a two story brick building situated some
+distance back from the main street at the upper edge of the town.
+There were four classrooms and three teachers, including the principal,
+Miss Angie Miller, who taught the upper grade. Graduates from her
+"room" were given diplomas admitting them to the first year of High
+School in the city hard-by in case they desired to take advantage
+of the privilege. As a rule, however, the parents of such children
+were satisfied to call it an honour rather than a privilege, with
+the result that but few of them ever saw the inside of the High
+School. They were looked upon as being quite sufficiently educated
+for all that Windomville could possibly expect or exact of them.
+When the old schoolhouse was destroyed by fire in the winter of
+1916, Alix Crown contributed fifteen thousand dollars toward the
+construction of this new and more or less modern structure, with
+the provision that the town board should appropriate the balance
+needed to complete the building. On completion the schoolhouse
+was found to have cost exactly $14,989.75, and so, at the next
+township election, the board was unanimously returned to office by
+an appreciative constituency, and Miss Crown graciously notified
+by the assessor that she had been credited with ten dollars and
+twenty-five cents against her next year's road tax.
+
+The Literary Society always met in Miss Miller's "room," not
+because it was more imposing or commodious than any of the others
+but on account of its somewhat rarified intellectual atmosphere.
+Miss Angie's literary attainments, while confined to absorption
+rather than to production, were well known. She was supposed to
+have read all of the major poets. At any rate she was able to quote
+them. Besides, she had made a study of Dickens and Thackeray and
+Trollope, being qualified to discuss the astonishing shortcomings
+of those amiable mid-Victorians in a most dependable manner. She
+made extensive use of the word "erudite," and confused a great many
+people by employing "vicarious" and "didactic" and "raison d'etre"
+in the course of ordinary conversation. For example, in complaining
+to Mr. Hodges, the school trustee, about the lack of heat in
+mid-January, she completely subdued him be remarking that there
+wasn't "the least raison d'etre for such a condition." In view of
+these and other intellectual associations, Miss Miller's "room"
+was obviously the place for the Literary Society to meet.
+
+Mr. George Ade, Mr. Booth Tarkington, Mr. James Whitcomb Riley,
+Mr. Meredith Nicholson and other noted Indiana authors had been
+invited to "read from their works" before the Society, and while
+none of them had been able to accept, each and every one had written
+a polite note of regret to the secretary, who not only read them
+aloud to the Society but preserved them in her own private scrap
+book and spoke feelingly of her remarkable "collection."
+
+The room was crowded to hear the "celebrated air-man" relate his
+experiences at the front. The exercises were delayed for nearly an
+hour while Mr. Hatch, the photographer, prepared and foozled three
+attempts to get a flashlight picture of the gathering. Everybody
+was coughing violently when A. Lincoln Pollock arose to introduce
+the speaker of the evening. In conclusion he said:
+
+"Mr. Thane was not only wounded in the service of humanity but
+he was also gassed. I wish to state here and now that it was not
+laughing gas the Germans administered. Far from it, my friends. Mr.
+Thane will tell you that it was no laughing matter. He has come
+to God's own country to recuperate and to regain his once robust
+health. After looking the world over, he chose the health-giving
+climate of his native state,--ahem! I should say, his father's
+native state,--and here he is not only thriving but enjoying himself.
+I take it upon myself to announce that he left all of his medals
+at his home in New York. They are too precious to be carried
+promiscuously about the country. It is my pleasure, ladies and
+gentlemen, to introduce to you one of the real heroes of the Great
+War, Mr. Courtney Thane, of New York City, who will now speak to
+you."
+
+Alix Crown sat at the back of the room. There were no chairs, of
+course. Each person present occupied a scholar's seat and desk.
+Courtney had seen her come in. She was so late that he began to
+fear she was not coming at all. The little thrill of exultation
+that came with her arrival was shortly succeeded by an even greater
+fear that she would depart as soon as the meeting was over, without
+stopping to meet him at the "reception" which was to follow.
+
+In his most agreeable drawl and with the barest reference to his
+own exploits, he described, quite simply, a number of incidents
+that had come under his personal observation while with the American
+Ambulance and afterwards in the British Flying Corps. Most of his
+talk was devoted to the feats of others and to the description of
+scenes and events somewhat remote from the actual fighting zone.
+He confessed that he knew practically nothing of the work of the
+American Expeditionary Force, except by hearsay, as he did not
+come in contact with the American armies, except an occasional unit
+brigaded with British troops in the Cambrai section of the great
+line. His listeners, no doubt, knew a great deal more about the
+activities and achievements of the Americans than he, so he was
+quite sure there was nothing he could say that would interest or
+enlighten them. In concluding he very briefly touched upon his own
+mishap.
+
+"We were returning from a bombing flight over the German positions
+when somebody put a bullet into our petrol and down we came in
+flames. There was a gas attack going on at the time. We managed to
+land in a cloud of it, and--somehow we got back to our own lines,
+a little the worse for wear and all that sort of thing, you know.
+It wasn't as bad as you'd think,--except for the gas, which isn't
+what you would call palatable,--and I came out not much worse off
+than a chap who has been through a hard football scrimmage. Knee
+and ankle bunged up a little,--and a dusty uniform,--that's about
+all. I hope you will excuse me from talking any longer. My silly
+throat goes back on me, you see. My mother probably would tell
+you, 'too many cigarettes.' Perhaps she is right. Thank you for
+listening to all this rot, ladies and gentlemen. You are very kind
+to have given me this undeserved honour."
+
+Not once during his remarks did he allow his gaze to rest upon Alix
+Crown. It was his means of informing her that she had not made the
+slightest impression upon him.
+
+As he resumed his seat beside Mr. Pollock, and while the generous
+hand-clapping was still going on, Pastor Mavity arose and benignly
+waited for the applause to cease. Mr. Mavity invariably claimed
+the ecclesiastical privilege of speech. No meeting was complete,
+no topic exhausted, until he had exercised that right. It did not
+matter whether he had anything pertinent to say, the fact still
+remained that he felt called upon to say something:
+
+"I should like to ask Mr. Thane if he thinks the Germans are
+preparing for another war. We have heard rumours to that effect.
+Many of our keenest observers have declared that it is only a
+matter of a few years before the Germans will be in a position to
+make war again, and that they will make it with even greater ferocity
+than before. We all know of the conflict now raging in Russia,
+and the amazing rebellion of De Annunzio in Fiume, and the--er--as
+I was saying, the possibility of the Kaiser seizing his bloody
+throne and calling upon his minions to--ah--er--renew the gigantic
+struggle. The history of the world records no such stupendous sacrifice
+of life on the cruel altars of greed and avarice and--er--ambition.
+We may turn back to the vast campaigns of Hannibal and Hamilcar
+and Julius Caesar and find no--er--no war comparable to the one we
+have so gloriously concluded. Our own Civil War, with all its,--but
+I must not keep you standing, Mr. Thane. Do you, from your experience
+and observation, regard another war as inevitable?"
+
+"I do," was Courtney's succinct reply.
+
+There was a distinctly audible flutter throughout the room. Here,
+at last, was something definite to support the general contention
+that "we aren't through with the Germans yet." A lady up in front
+leaned across the aisle and whispered piercingly to her husband:
+
+"There! What did I tell you?"
+
+Another lady arose halfway from her seat and anxiously inquired:
+
+"How soon do you think it will come, Mr. Thane?"
+
+She had a son just turning seventeen.
+
+"That is a question I am afraid you will have to put to God or the
+German Emperor," said Courtney, with a smile.
+
+"When David Strong was home this spring I asked him what he thought
+about it," said Editor Pollock. "I published the interview in the
+Sun. He was of the opinion that the Germans had had all they wanted
+of war. I tried to convince him that he was all wrong, but all I
+could get him to say was that if they ever did make war again it
+would be long after the most of us were dead."
+
+"David Strong didn't see anything of the war except what he saw in
+the hospitals," said a woman contemptuously.
+
+"Permit me to correct you, Mrs. Primmer," said Alix Crown, without
+arising. "David Strong was under fire most of the time. He was not
+in a base hospital. He was attached to a field hospital,--first with
+the French, then with the British, and afterwards with the Americans."
+
+"In that case," said Courtney, facing her, "he was in the thick
+of it. Every man in the army, from general down to the humblest
+private, takes his hat off to the men who served in the field
+hospitals. While we may differ as to the next war, I do not hesitate
+to say that Dr. Strong saw infinitely more of the last one than I
+did. It may sound incredible to you, ladies and gentlemen, but my
+job was a picnic compared to his. As a matter of fact, I have always
+claimed that I was in greater danger when I was in the American
+Ambulance than when I was flying, quite safely, a couple of miles
+up in the air. At any rate, I FELT safer."
+
+"Oh, but think of falling that distance," cried Miss Angie Miller.
+
+"It was against the rules to think of falling," said he, and every
+one laughed.
+
+The "reception" followed. Every one came up and shook hands with
+Courtney and told him how much his address was enjoyed. As the
+group around him grew thicker and at the same time more reluctant
+to move on, he began to despair of meeting Alix Crown. He could
+see her over near the door conversing with Alaska Spigg and Charlie
+Webster. Then he saw her wave her hand in farewell to some one
+across the room and bow to Charlie. There was a bright, gay smile
+on her lips as she said something to Charlie which caused that
+gentleman to laugh prodigiously. All hope seemed lost as she and
+little old Alaska turned toward the open door.
+
+It was not fate that intervened. It was Pastor Mavity. Disengaging
+himself from the group and leaving a profound sentence uncompleted,
+he dashed over to her, calling out her name as he did so.
+
+"Alix! Just a moment, please!"
+
+She paused,--and Courtney discreetly turned his back. Presently
+a benevolent hand was laid on his shoulder and the voice of the
+shepherd fell upon his ear.
+
+"I want you to meet Miss Crown, Mr. Thane. She has just been
+telling me how interested she was in your remarks. Miss Crown, my
+very dear friend, Mr. Courtney Thane. Mr. Thane, as you may already
+know, is sojourning in our midst for--"
+
+"I am delighted to meet you, Miss Crown," broke in Courtney,
+with an abashed smile. "Formally, I mean. I have a very distinct
+recollection of meeting you informally," he added wrily.
+
+"Dear me!" exclaimed Mr. Mavity, elevating his eyebrows.
+
+Courtney's humility disarmed her. She allowed her lips to curve
+slightly in a faint smile. The merest trace of a dimple flickered
+for an instant in her smooth cheek.
+
+"I suppose it was the old story of forbidden fruit, Mr. Thane,"
+said she. Then, impulsively, she extended her hand. He clasped it
+firmly, and there was peace between them.
+
+"On the contrary, Miss Crown, it was an unpardonable piece of
+impudence, for which I am so heartily ashamed that I wonder how I
+can look you in the face."
+
+"I was tremendously interested in your talk tonight," she said, coolly
+dismissing the subject. "Thank you for giving us the pleasure. It
+is just such adventures as you have had that makes me wish more
+than ever that I had not been born a girl."
+
+He bowed gallantly. "What would the world be like if God had
+neglected to create the rose?"
+
+"Bravo!" cried Mr. Mavity, slapping him on the back. "Spoken like
+a knight of old."
+
+"Good night, Mr. Thane,--and thank you again," she said. Nodding
+to Mr. Mavity, she turned to leave the group.
+
+Again the parson intervened. "My dear Alix, I can't let you go
+without saying a word about your splendid defence of David Strong.
+It was fine. And you, sir, were--ah--what shall I say?--you were
+most generous in saying what you did. David is a fine fellow. He--"
+
+"I should have said the same about any doctor who was up at the
+front," said Courtney simply. "Is he an old friend, Miss Crown?"
+
+"I have known him ever since I can remember," she replied, and he
+detected a slight stiffness in her manner.
+
+"Ahem! Er--ah--" began Mr. Mavity tactfully. "David was born here,
+Mr. Thane. Well, good night, Alix,--good night."
+
+When she was quite out of hearing, the flustered parson lowered
+his voice and said to Courtney:
+
+"They--er--don't get along very well, you see. I couldn't explain
+while she was here. Something to do with money matters,--nothing of
+consequence, I assure you,--but very distressing, most distressing.
+It is too bad,--too bad."
+
+Mrs. Pollock overheard. "They're both terribly set in their ways,"
+she remarked. "Stubborn as mules. For my part, I think Alix is too
+silly for words about it. Especially with his mother living in the
+same house with her. Now, mind you, I'm not saying anything against
+Alix. I love her. But just the same, she can be the most unreasonable--"
+
+"They haven't spoken to each other for over three years," inserted
+Angie Miller. "When they were children they were almost inseparable.
+David Windom took a fancy to little David. The story is that he
+was trying to ease his conscience by being nice to a blacksmith's
+son. You see, his own daughter ran away with a blacksmith's
+son,--and you've heard what happened, Mr. Thane. David was in my
+class for two years before he went up to High School, and I remember
+he always used to get long letters from Alix when she was in England.
+Then, when she came home,--she was about twelve I think,--they were
+great friends. Always together, playing, studying, reading, riding
+and--"
+
+"Everybody used to say old David Windom was doing his best to make
+a match of it," interrupted Mrs. Pollock, who had been out of the
+conversation longer than she liked. "Up to the time the old man
+died, we used to take it for granted that some day they would get
+married,--but, my goodness, it's like waving a red flag at a bull
+to even mention his name to Alix now. She hates him,--and I guess
+he hates her."
+
+"Oh, my dear friend," cried Mr. Mavity, "I really don't think you
+ought to say that. Hate is a very dreadful word. I am sure Alix
+is incapable of actually hating any one. And as for David, he is
+kindness, gentleness itself. It is just one of those unfortunate
+situations that cannot be accounted for."
+
+Charlie Webster came up at that juncture.
+
+"Say, Court, why didn't you tell 'em about the time you called
+Colonel What's-His-Name down,--the French guy that--" The scowl
+on Courtney's brow silenced the genial Charlie. He coughed and
+sputtered for a moment or two and then said something about "taking
+a joke."
+
+As Charlie moved away, Miss Angie Miller sniffed and said, without
+appreciably lowering her voice:
+
+"I wonder where he gets it. There isn't supposed to be a drop in
+Windomville." Suddenly her eyes flew wide open. "Furman! Oh, Furman
+Hatch!" she called out to a man who was sidling toward the door in
+the wake of the pernicious Mr. Webster.
+
+While there was nothing to indicate that Mr. Hatch heard her, the
+most disinterested spectator would have observed a perceptible
+acceleration of speed on his part.
+
+"You promised to tell me how to--" But Mr. Hatch was gone. Mr.
+Webster turned a surprised and resentful look upon him as he felt
+himself being pushed rather roughly through the door ahead of the
+hurrying photographer. When Miss Angie reached the door,--she had
+lost some little time because of the seats and the stupidity of
+Mrs. Primmer who blocked the way by first turning to the right,
+then to the left, and finally by not turning at all,--Mr. Hatch was
+nowhere in sight, even though Mr. Webster was barely two-thirds of
+the way down the stairs.
+
+A pleasant, courteous voice accosted her from behind as she stood
+glaring after the chubby warehouseman.
+
+"Do you mind if I walk home with you, Miss Miller?"
+
+"Oh, is--is that you, Mr. Thane?" she fairly gasped. Then she
+simpered. "I'm really not a bit afraid. Still,"--hastily--"if you
+really wish to, I should be delighted."
+
+If Mr. Hatch was lurking anywhere in the shadows, he must have been
+profoundly impressed by the transformation in Miss Angie Miller as
+she strode homeward at the side of the tall young New Yorker, her
+hand on his arm, her head held high,--he might also have noticed
+that she stepped a little higher than usual.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+ALIX THE THIRD
+
+
+
+
+October came, with its red and golden trees, its brown pastures,
+its crisp nights and its hazy, smoky days. Fires were kindled in
+old-fashioned fireplaces; out in the farmyards busy housewives were
+making soap and apple butter in great iron kettles suspended over
+blazing logs; wagons laden with wheat and corn rumbled through
+country roads and up to the Windom elevator; stores were thriving
+under the spur of new-found money; the school was open, Main Street
+childless for hours at a time,--and Courtney Thane was still in
+Windomville.
+
+He was a frequent, almost constant visitor at the red-brick house
+on the knoll. The gossips were busy. Sage winks were exchanged when
+Alix and he were seen together in her automobile; many a head was
+lowered so that its owner might peer quizzically over the upper
+rims of spectacles as they strolled past the postoffice and other
+public porches; convicting feminine smiles pursued the young
+man up the lane leading to Alix's home. There were some doubtful
+head-shakings, but in the main Windomville was rather well pleased
+with the prospect. Opinion, though divided, was almost unanimous:
+few there were who held that "nothin' would come of it."
+
+Charlie Webster was one of the latter. His early intimacy with the
+ex-aviator had suffered a decided slump. His jovial attempts to
+plague the young man about his intentions met with the frostiest
+reception. Indeed, on one memorable occasion, the object of these
+good-natured banterings turned upon him coldly and said:
+
+"See here, Webster, you're getting to be considerable of a nuisance.
+Cut it out, will you? You are not half as funny as you think you
+are. I'm pretty well fed up with your freshness--understand?"
+
+It was a slap in the face that Charlie DID understand, and one
+he never forgot. As the rebuke was uttered on the porch of Dowd's
+Tavern and in the presence of Flora Grady, Maude Baggs Pollock and
+one or two others, the sting was likely to endure.
+
+While Courtney's manner had undergone a decided change so far as
+nearly all of his fellow-lodgers were concerned, he still maintained
+a very friendly and courteous attitude toward the Dowd sisters and
+Mr. and Mrs. Pollock. For some reason known only to himself,--(but
+doubtless plain to the reader of this narrative),--he devoted most
+of his attention to the editor and his wife and to the two spinsters
+who were such close friends of the young lady of his dreams. As
+for the others, he made no attempt to conceal his disdain.
+
+It was not long before the Irish in Miss Flora Grady was aroused.
+She announced to Miss Angie Miller that he was a "stuck up smart-Aleck,"
+and sooner or later he'd get a piece of her mind that would "take
+him down a couple of pegs." Miss Miller, while in complete accord
+with Flora's views, was content to speak of him as "supercilious."
+
+Charlie Webster grew more and more thoughtful under the weight of
+indignity.
+
+"I certainly missed my guess as to that feller," he remarked to
+Doc Simpson and Hatch one day. "I had him sized up as a different
+sort of feller altogether. Why, up to a couple of weeks ago, he
+was as nice as pie to all of us,--'specially to me. He used to come
+over to my office and sit around for hours, chatting and smoking
+cigarettes and joshing like a good feller. But I've got it all
+figgered out, boys. He was simply workin' me. He always led the
+conversation round to Alix Crown, and then, like a dern' fool, I'd
+let him pump me dry. Why, there's nothing he don't know about that
+girl,--and all through me. Now he's got in with her,--just as he
+wanted to all along,--and what does he do but tie a can to me and
+give me a swift kick. And there's another thing I might as well
+say to you fellers while I'm about it. I've been doing a lot of
+thinking lately,--sort of putting things together in my mind,--and
+it's my opinion that he is one of the blamedest liars I've ever
+come across."
+
+He paused to see the effect of this startling assertion. Hatch
+removed the corn-cob pipe from between his lips and laconically
+observed:
+
+"Well, I know of one lie he's told."
+
+"You do?"
+
+"Remember him telling us at the supper table one night that a German
+submarine fired three torpedoes at the steamer he was coming home
+on with a lot of other sick and wounded? Well, a couple of nights
+ago he forgot himself and made the statement that he was in a
+hospital in England for nearly two months after the armistice was
+signed."
+
+"By gosh, that's right," cried Doc Simpson.
+
+"And what's more," went on Hatch, "wasn't he serving in the British
+Army? What I'd like to know is this: why would England be sending
+her wounded soldiers over to America? You can bet your life England
+wasn't doing anything like that."
+
+"There's another thing that don't sound just right to me," said
+Charlie, his brow furrowed. "He says one night he got lost driving
+his ambulance and the first thing he knew he was away behind the
+German lines. I may be wrong, but I've always thought both sides
+had trenches. What puzzles me is how the dickens he managed to
+drive that Ford of his over the German trenches without noticin'
+'em,--and back again besides."
+
+"Well," said Doc, desiring to be fair, "it seems to be the habit
+of soldiers to lie a little. That's where we get the saying, 'he
+lied like a trooper.' I know my Uncle George lied so much about what
+he did in the Civil War that he ought to have had twenty pensions
+instead of one. Still, there's a big change in Court, as you say,
+Charlie. I wonder if Alix is really keen about him. He's up there
+all the time, seems to me. Or is she just stringin' him?"
+
+Charlie frowned darkly. "He's a slick one. I--I'd hate to see Alix
+fall for him."
+
+The sententious Mr. Hatch: "The smartest women in the world lose
+their heads over a feller as soon as they find out he's in poor
+health."
+
+"He's in perfect health," exploded Charlie.
+
+"I know,--but that don't prevent him from coughing and holding
+his side and walking with a cane, does it? That's what gets 'em,
+Charlie. The quickest way to get a girl interested is to let her
+think you're in need of sympathy."
+
+"It don't work when you're as fat as I am," said Charlie gloomily.
+
+Conscious or unconscious of the varying opinions that were being
+voiced behind his back, Courtney went confidently ahead with
+his wooing. He congratulated himself that he was in Alix's good
+graces. If at times she was perplexingly cool,--or "upstage," as
+he called it,--he flattered himself that he knew women too well to
+be discouraged by these purely feminine manifestations.
+
+This was a game he knew how to play. The time was not yet ripe for
+him to abandon his well-calculated air of indifference. That he was
+desperately in love with her goes without saying. If at the outset
+of his campaign he was inspired by the unworthy motive of greed,
+he was now consumed by an entirely different desire,--the desire
+to have her for his own, even though she were penniless.
+
+Those whirlwind tactics that had swept many another girl off her
+feet were not to be thought of here. Alix was different. She was
+not an impressionable, hair-brained flapper, such as he had come in
+contact with in past experiences. Despite her sprightly, thoroughly
+up-to-the-moment ease of manner, and an air of complete sophistication,
+she was singularly old-fashioned in a great many respects. While
+she was bright, amusing, gay, there was back of it all a certain
+reserve that forbade familiarity,--sufficient, indeed, to inspire
+unexampled caution on his part. She invited friendship but not
+familiarity; she demanded respect rather than admiration.
+
+He was not slow in arriving at the conclusion that she knew men.
+She knew how to fence with them. He was distinctly aware of this.
+Other men, of course, had been in love with her; other men no doubt
+had dashed their hopes upon the barrier in their haste to seize the
+treasure. It was inconceivable that one so lovely, so desirable,
+so utterly feminine should fail to inspire in all men that which
+she inspired in him. The obvious, therefore, was gratifying. Granted
+that she had had proposals, here was the proof that the poor fools
+who laid their hearts at her feet had gone about it clumsily. Such
+would not be the case with him. Oh no! He would bide his time, he
+would watch for the first break in her enchanted armour,--and then
+the conquest!
+
+There were times, of course, when he came near to catastrophe,--times
+when he was almost powerless to resist the passion that possessed
+him. These were the times when he realized how easy it would have
+been to join that sad company of fools in the path behind her.
+
+He had no real misgivings. He felt confident of winning. True, her
+moods puzzled him at times, but were they not, after all, omens of
+good fortune? Were they not indications of the mysterious changes
+that were taking place in her? And the way was clear. So far as he
+knew, there was no other man. Her heart was free. What more could
+he ask?
+
+On her side, the situation was not so complex. He came from the
+great outside world, he brought the outside world to the lonely
+little village on the bank of the river. He was bright, amusing,
+cultivated,--at least he represented cultivation as it exists in
+open places and on the surface of a sea called civilization. He
+possessed that ineffable quality known as "manner." The spice of the
+Metropolis clung to him. He could talk of the things she loved,--not
+as she loved the farm and village and the home of her fathers, but
+of the things she loved because they stood for that which represented
+the beautiful in intellect, in genius, in accomplishment. The breath
+of far lands and wide seas came with him to the town of Windomville,
+grateful and soothing, and yet laden with the tang of turmoil, the
+spice of iniquity.
+
+Alix was no Puritan. She had been out in the world, she had come
+up against the elemental in life, she had learned that God in His
+wisdom had peopled the earth with saints and sinners,--and she was
+tolerant of both! In a word, she was broad-minded. She had been
+an observer rather than a participant in the passing show. She had
+absorbed knowledge rather than experience.
+
+The conventions remained unshaken so far as she was personally
+concerned. In others she excused much that she could not have
+excused in herself,--for the heritage of righteousness had come
+down to her through a long line of staunch upholders.
+
+She loved life. She craved companionship. She could afford
+to gratify her desires. Week-ends found two or more guests at her
+home,--friends from the city up the river. Sometimes there were
+visitors from Chicago, Indianapolis and other places,--girls she
+had met at school, or in her travels, or in the canteen. Early in
+the war her house was headquarters for the local Red Cross workers,
+the knitters, the bandage rollers, and so on, but after the entry
+of the United States into the conflict, most of her time was spent
+away from Windomville in the more intense activities delegated to
+women.
+
+She attended the theatre when anything worth while came to the
+city, frequently taking one or two of the village people with her.
+Once, as she was leaving the theatre, she heard herself discussed
+by persons in the aisle behind.
+
+"That's Alix Crown. I'll tell you all about her when we get home.
+Her father and mother were murdered years ago and buried in a well
+or something. I wish she'd turn around so that you could get a good
+look at her face. She's quite pretty and--"
+
+And she had deliberately turned to face the speaker, who never
+forgot the cold, unwavering stare that caused her to lower her own
+eyes and her voice to trail off into a confused mumble.
+
+Alix was a long time in recovering from the distress caused by the
+incident. She avoided the city for weeks. It was her first intimation
+that she was an object of unusual interest to people, that she was
+the subject of whispered comment, that she was a "character" to be
+pointed out to strangers. Even now, with the sting of injury and
+injustice eased by time and her own good sense, there still remained
+the disturbing consciousness that she was,--for want of a milder
+term,--a "marked woman."
+
+She was thoroughly acquainted with every detail connected with the
+extensive farms and industries that had been handed down to her. A
+great deal of her time was devoted to an intelligent and comprehensive
+interest in the management of the farms. She was never out of
+touch with conditions. Her tenants respected and admired her; her
+foremen and superintendents consulted with her as they would not
+have believed it possible to consult with a woman; her bankers
+deferred to her.
+
+She would have laughed at you if you had suggested to her that she
+had more than a grain of business-sense, or ability, or capacity,
+and yet she was singularly far-sighted and capable,--without being
+in the least aware of it. Her pleasures were not allowed to interfere
+with her obligations as a landlord, a citizen and a taxpayer.
+A certain part of each day was set aside for the business of the
+farms. She repaired bright and early to the little office at the
+back of the house where her grandfather had worked before her,
+and there she struggled over accounts, reports, claims,--and her
+cheque-book. And like her grim, silent grandsire, she "rode" the
+lanes that twined through field and timber,--only she rode gaily,
+blithely, with sunshine in her heart. The darkness was always behind
+her, never ahead.
+
+Courtney undoubtedly had overcome the prejudice his visit to
+Quill's Window had inspired in her. They never spoke of that first
+encounter. It was as a closed book between them. He had forgotten
+the incident. At any rate, he had put it out of his mind. He sometimes
+wondered, however, if she would ever invite him to accompany her
+to the top of that forbidden hill. In their rambles they had passed
+the closed gate on more than one occasion. The words, "No Trespass,"
+still met the eye. Some day he would suggest an adventure: the
+descent to the cave in quest of treasure! The two of them! Rope
+ladder and all! It would be great fun!
+
+He was assiduous in his efforts to amuse her house guests. He laid
+himself out to be entertaining. If he resented the presence of young
+men from the city, he managed to conceal his feelings remarkably
+well. On one point he was firm: he would not accompany her on any
+of her trips to the city. Once she had invited him to motor in with
+her to a tea, and another time she offered to drive him about the
+city and out to the college on a sight-seeing tour. It was then
+that he said he was determined to obey "doctor's orders." No city
+streets for him! Even SHE couldn't entice him! He loved every inch
+of this charming, restful spot,--every tree and every stone,--and
+he would not leave it until the time came for him to go away forever.
+
+He was very well satisfied with the fruits of this apparently
+ungracious refusal. She went to the city less frequently than before,
+and only when it was necessary. This, he decided, was significant.
+It could have but one meaning.
+
+Her dog, Sergeant, did not like him.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+A MID-OCTOBER DAY
+
+
+
+
+One chilly, rainy afternoon in mid-October Courtney appeared at the
+house on the knoll half an hour earlier than was his custom. Alix
+was expecting friends down from the city for tea. From the hall
+where he was removing his raincoat he had a fair view through
+an open door of the north end of the long living-room. Logs were
+blazing merrily in the fireplace. Alix was standing before the fire,
+tearing a sheet of paper into small pieces. She was angry. She threw
+rather than dropped the bits of paper into the flames,--unmistakably
+she was furious. He waited a moment before entering the room. Her
+back was toward him. She turned in response to his discreet cough.
+Even in the dim light that filtered in from the grey, leaden day
+outside, he could detect the heightened colour in her cheeks, and
+as he advanced he saw that her eyes were wet with illy-suppressed
+tears. She bit her lip and forced a smile.
+
+He possessed the philanderer's tact. There was nothing in his
+manner to indicate that he noticed anything unusual. He greeted
+her cheerfully and then, affecting a shiver, passed on to spread
+his hands out over the fire.
+
+"This is great," he exclaimed, his back to her. He was giving her
+a chance to compose herself. "Nothing like a big log fire to warm
+the cockles of your heart,--although it isn't my heart that needs
+warming. Moreover, I don't know what cockles are. I must look 'em
+up in the dictionary. Come here, Sergeant,--there's a good dog!
+Come over and get warm, old fellow. Toast your cockles. By Jove,
+Miss Crown, isn't he ever going to make friends with me?"
+
+"They are 'one man' dogs, Mr. Thane," she replied. "Come, Sergeant,--if
+you're going to be impolite you must leave the room. Excuse me a
+moment. Sergeant! Do you hear me, sir? Come!"
+
+The big grey dog followed her slowly, reluctantly, from the room.
+Courtney heard her going up the stairs.
+
+"That nasty brute is going to take a bite out of me some day," he
+muttered under his breath. "Fat chance I'd have to kiss her with
+that beast around."
+
+He heard the closing of an upstairs door. His thoughts were still
+of the police dog.
+
+"There's one thing sure," he said to himself. "That dog and I can't
+live in the same house." Then his thoughts rose swiftly to that
+upstairs room,--he was sure it was a dainty, inviting room,--to
+picture her before the mirror erasing all visible evidence of
+agitation. He found himself wondering what it was that caused this
+exhibition of temper. A letter? Of course,--a letter. A letter that
+contained something she resented, something that infuriated her.
+A personal matter, not a business one. She would not have treated
+a business matter in such a way. He knew her too well for that. The
+leaping flames gave no hint of what they had destroyed. Was it an
+anonymous letter? Had it anything to do with him?
+
+His eye fell upon several envelopes on the library table. After a
+moment's hesitation and a quick glance toward the door, he strode
+over to inspect them. They were all unopened. Two were postmarked
+Chicago, one New York; on the others the postmarks were indistinct.
+The handwriting was feminine on most of them. A narrow, folded slip
+of paper lay a little detached from the letters. He picked it up
+and quickly opened it. It proved to be a check on a Philadelphia
+bank. A glance sufficed to show that it was for two hundred and
+fifty dollars, payable to the order of Alix Crown, and signed "D.
+W. Strong."
+
+The door upstairs was opened and closed. Replacing the bit of
+paper on the table, he resumed his position before the fire. Quite
+a different Alix entered the room a few seconds later. She was
+smiling, her eyes were soft and tranquil. All traces of the passing
+tempest were gone.
+
+"Sit down,--draw this big chair up to the fire,--do. It IS raw and
+nasty today, isn't it? I think the Mallons are coming out in an
+open car. Isn't it too bad?"
+
+"Bad for the curls," he drawled. "Mind if I smoke?"
+
+"Certainly not. Don't you know that by this time?"
+
+He had drawn a chair up beside hers. Her reply afforded him a very
+definite sense of elation.
+
+"It seems to me that the world is getting to be a rather heavenly
+place to live in," he said, and there was a trace of real feeling
+in his voice. "You don't mind my saying it's entirely due to you,
+do you?"
+
+"Not in the least," she said calmly. "Charlie Webster once paraphrased
+a time-honoured saying. He said 'In the fall an old man's fancy
+slightly turns to thoughts of comfort.' I sha'n't deprive my fireplace
+and my big armchair of their just due by believing a word of what
+you say."
+
+He tossed the match into the fire, drew in a deep breath of smoke,
+settled himself comfortably in the chair before exhaling, and then
+remarked:
+
+"But I don't happen to be an old man. I happen to be a rather young
+one,--and a very truthful one to boot."
+
+"Do you always tell the truth?"
+
+He grinned. "More or less always," was his reply. "I never lie in
+October."
+
+"And the other eleven months of the year?"
+
+"Oh, I merely change the wording. In July I say 'I never lie in
+July,'--and so on throughout the twelve-month. I don't slight a
+single month. By the by, I hope I didn't pop in too far ahead of
+time this afternoon. You asked me to come at four. I'm half an hour
+early. Were you occupied with anything--"
+
+"I was not busy. A few letters,--but they can wait." He caught the
+faint shadow of a cloud as it flitted across her eyes. "They are
+all personal,--nothing important in any of them, I am sure."
+
+She shot a quick glance at the folded check and, arising abruptly,
+went over to the table where, with apparent unconcern, she ran
+through the little pile of letters. He saw her pick up the check
+and thrust it into the pocket of her sport skirt. Then she returned
+to the fireplace. The cloud was on her brow again as she stared
+darkly into the crackling flames. He knew now that it was Strong's
+letter she had destroyed in anger. He would have given much to
+know what the man she despised so heartily had written to her. If
+he could have seen that brief note he would have read:
+
+DEAR ALIX:
+
+I enclose my checque for two-fifty. If all goes well I hope to
+clean up the indebtedness by the first of the year. In any case, I
+am sure it can be accomplished by early spring. You may thank the
+flu for my present prosperity. It has been pretty bad here in the
+East again, although not so virulent as before. Please credit me
+with the amount. This leaves me owing you five hundred dollars. It
+should not take long to wipe it out entirely, interest and all.
+
+Sincerely yours,
+
+DAVID.
+
+Courtney eyed her narrowly as she stood for a moment looking into
+the fire before resuming her seat. He realized that her thoughts
+were far away and that they were not pleasant.
+
+"It's queer," he said presently, "that you have never learned to
+smoke."
+
+She started slightly at the sound of his voice. As she turned to
+sit down, he went on:
+
+"Almost every girl I know smokes. I will not say that I like to
+see it,--especially in restaurants and all that sort of thing,--but
+it's rather jolly if there's a nice, cosy fire like this,--see
+what I mean? Sort of intimate, and friendly, and--soothing. Don't
+you want to try one now?"
+
+"Thank you, no. If it weren't so shocking, I think I should like to
+learn how to smoke a pipe,--but I suppose that isn't to be thought
+of. Somehow I feel that a pipe might be a pal, a good old stand-by,
+or even a relative,--something to depend upon in all sorts of
+weather, fair and foul. I've noticed that the men on the place who
+smoke pipes appear to be contented and jolly and good humoured,--and
+efficient. Yes, I think I should like to smoke a pipe."
+
+"Would you like me better if I cut out the cigarettes, and took up
+the pipe of peace--and contentment?" he inquired thoughtfully.
+
+"I doubt it," she replied, smiling. "I can't imagine you smoking
+a pipe."
+
+"Is that supposed to be flattering or scornful?"
+
+"Neither. It is an impression, that's all."
+
+He frowned slightly. "I used to smoke a pipe,--in college, you know.
+Up to my sophomore year. It was supposed to indicate maturity. But
+I don't believe I'd have the courage to tackle one now, Miss Crown.
+Not since that little gas experience over there. You see, my throat
+isn't what it was in those good old freshman days. Pipe smoke,--you
+may even say tobacco smoke, for heaven only knows what these
+cigarettes are made of,--pipe smoke is too strong. My throat is so
+confounded sensitive I--well, I'd probably cough my head off. That
+beastly gas made a coward of me, I fear. You've no idea what it does
+to a fellow's throat and lungs. If I live to be a thousand years
+old, I'll never forget the tortures I went through for weeks,--yes,
+ages. Every breath was like a knife cutting the very--But what a
+stupid fool I am! Distressing you with all these wretched details.
+Please forgive me."
+
+She was looking at him wonderingly. "You are so different from the
+poor fellows I saw in New York," she said slowly. "I mean the men
+who had been gassed and shell-shocked. I saw loads of them in the
+hospitals, you know,--and talked with them. I was always tremendously
+affected by their silence, their moodiness, their unwillingness to
+speak of what they had been through. The other men, the ones who
+had lost legs or arms or even their eyes,--were as a rule cheerful
+and as chatty as could be,--oh, how my heart used to ache for
+them,--but the shell-shock men and the men who had been gassed,
+why, it was impossible to get them to talk about themselves. I
+have seen some of them since then. They are apparently well and
+strong, and yet not one word can you get out of them about their
+sufferings. You are almost unique, Mr. Thane. I am glad you feel
+disposed to talk about it all. It is a good sign. It--"
+
+"I didn't say much about it at first," he interrupted hurriedly.
+"Moreover, Miss Crown," he went on, "a lot of those chaps,--the
+majority of them, in fact,--worked that dodge for all it was worth.
+It was a deliberate pose with them. They had to act that way or
+people wouldn't think they'd been hurt at all. Bunk, most of it."
+
+"I don't believe that, Mr. Thane. I saw too many of them. The ones
+with whom I came in contact certainly were not trying to deceive
+anybody. They were in a pitiable condition, every last one of
+them,--pitiable."
+
+"I do not say that all of them were shamming,--but I am convinced
+that a great many of them were."
+
+"The doctors report that the shell-shock cases--"
+
+"Ah, the doctors!" he broke in, shrugging his shoulders. "They were
+all jolly good fellows. All you had to do was to even hint that
+you'd been knocked over by a shell that exploded two hundred yards
+away and--zip! they'd send you back for repairs. As for myself,
+the only reason I didn't like to talk about my condition at first
+was because it hurt my throat and lungs. It wasn't because I was
+afflicted with this heroic melancholy they talk so much about.
+I was mighty glad to be alive. I couldn't see anything to mope
+about,--certainly not after I found out I wasn't going to die."
+
+"I daresay there were others who took it as you did. I wish there
+could have been more."
+
+He hesitated a moment before speaking again. Then he hazarded the
+question:
+
+"What does your friend, Dr. Strong, have to say about the general
+run of such cases?"
+
+"I don't know. I have not seen Dr. Strong since the war ended."
+
+He looked mildly surprised. "Hasn't he been home since the war?"
+
+"I believe so. I was away at the time."
+
+"How long was he in France?"
+
+"He went over first in 1916 and again in the fall of 1917, and
+remained till the end of the war. His mother is here with me, you
+know."
+
+"Yes, I know. By Jove, I envy him one thing,--lucky dog." She
+remained silent. "You were playmates, weren't you?"
+
+"Yes," she said, lifting her chin slightly.
+
+"Well, that's why I envy him. To have been your playmate,--Why,
+I envy him every minute of his boyhood. When I think of my own
+boyhood and how little there was to it that a real boy should have,
+I--I--confound it, I almost find myself hating chaps like Strong,
+chaps who lived in the country and had regular pals, and girl
+sweethearts, and went fishing and hunting, and played hookey as it
+ought to be played, and grew up with something fine and sweet and
+wholesome to look back upon,--and to have had you for a playmate,--maybe
+a sweetheart,--you in short frocks, with your hair in pigtails,
+barefooted in summertime, running--"
+
+She interrupted him. "Your imagination is at fault there, Mr.
+Thane," she said, smiling once more. "I never went barefooted in
+my life."
+
+"At any rate, HE did. And he played all sorts of games with you;
+he--"
+
+"My impression of David Strong is that he was a boy's boy," she broke
+in rather stiffly. "His games were with the boys of the town,--and
+they were rough games. Football, baseball, shinney, circus,--things
+like that."
+
+"I don't mean sports, Miss Crown. I was thinking of those wonderful
+boy and girl games,--such as 'playing house,' 'getting married,'
+'hide-and-go-seek,'--all that sort of thing."
+
+"Yes, I know," she admitted. "We often played at getting married,
+and we had very large but inanimate families, and we quarrelled
+like real married people, and I used to cry and take my playthings
+home, and he used to stand outside our fence and make faces at me
+till I hated him ferociously. But all that was when we were very
+small, you see."
+
+"And as all such things turn out, I suppose he grew up and went
+off and got married to some one else."
+
+"He is not married, Mr. Thane."
+
+"Well, for that matter, neither are you," said he, leaning forward,
+his eyes fixed intently on hers. She did not flinch. "I wonder just
+how you feel toward him today, Miss Crown."
+
+She was incapable of coquetry. "We are not the best of friends,"
+she said quietly. "Now, if you please, let us talk of something
+else. Did I tell you that an old Ambulance man is coming down for
+a day or two nest week? A Harvard man who lives in Chicago. His
+sister and I went to New York together to take our chances there
+on getting over to France. I think I've told you about her,--Mary
+Blythe?"
+
+"Blythe?" repeated Courtney thoughtfully. "Blythe. Seems to me
+I heard of a chap named Blythe over there in the Ambulance, but
+I don't remember whether I ran across him anywhere or not. He may
+have been after my time, however. I was with the Ambulance in '15
+and the early part of '16, you see."
+
+"Addison Blythe. He was afterwards a Field Artillery captain. I've
+known Mary Blythe for years, but I know him very slightly. He went
+direct from Harvard to France, you see."
+
+"What section was he with?"
+
+"I don't know. I only know he was at Pont-a-Mousson for several
+months. You were there too at one time, I remember. I've heard him
+speak of the Bois le Pretre. You may have been there at the same
+time."
+
+"Hardly possible. I should have known him in that case. My section
+was sent up to Bar le Duc just before the first big Verdun battle."
+
+"Why, he was all through the first battle of Verdun. His section
+was transferred from Pont-a-Mousson at an hour's notice. Were there
+more than one section at Pont-a-Mousson?"
+
+"I don't know how they were fixed after I left. You see, I was
+trying to get into the aviation end of the game along about that
+time. I was in an aviation camp for a couple of months, but went
+back to the Ambulance just before the Verdun scrap. They slapped
+me into another section, of course. I used to see fellows from my
+own section occasionally, but I don't recall any one named Blythe.
+He probably was sent up while I was at Toul,--or it may have been
+during the time I was with a section in the Vosges. I was up near
+Dunkirk too for a while,--only for a few weeks. When did you say
+he was coming?"
+
+"Next Tuesday. They are stopping off on their way to attend a
+wedding in Louisville. You two will have a wonderful time reminiscing."
+
+"Blythe. I'll rummage around in my memory and see if I can place
+him. There was a fellow named Bright up there at one time,--at
+least I got the name as Bright. It may have been Blythe. I'll be
+tickled to death to meet him, Miss Crown."
+
+"You will love Mary Blythe. She is a darling."
+
+"I may be susceptible, Miss Crown, but I am not inconstant," said
+he, with a gallant bow.
+
+She was annoyed with herself for blushing.
+
+"Will you throw another log or two on the fire, please?" she said,
+arising. "I think I hear a car coming up the drive. The poor Mallons
+will be chilled to the bone."
+
+He smiled to himself as he took the long hickory logs from the wood
+box and placed them carefully on the fire. He had seen the swift
+flood of colour mount to her cheeks, and the odd little waver in
+her eyes before she turned them away. She was at the window, looking
+out, when he straightened himself and gingerly brushed the wood
+dust from his hands. Instead of joining her, he remained with his
+back to the fire, his feet spread apart, his hands in his coat
+pockets, comforting himself with the thought that she was wondering
+why he had not followed her. It was, he rejoiced, a very clever
+bit of strategy on his part. He waited for her to turn away from
+the window and say, with well-assumed perplexity: "I was sure I
+heard a car, Mr. Thane."
+
+And that is exactly what she did say after a short interval, adding:
+
+"It must have been the wind in the chimney."
+
+"Very likely," he agreed.
+
+She remained at the window. He held his position before the fire.
+
+"If I were just a plain damned fool," he was saying to himself,
+"I'd rush over there and spoil everything. It's too soon,--too
+soon. She's not ready yet,--not ready."
+
+Alix, looking out across the porch into the grey drizzle that drenched
+the lawn, thrust her hand into her skirt pocket and, clutching the
+bit of paper in her fingers, crumpled it into a small ball. Her
+eyes were serene, however, as she turned away and walked back to
+the fireplace.
+
+"I don't believe they are coming, after all. I think they might
+have telephoned," she said, glancing up at the old French ormula
+clock on the mantelpiece. "Half-past four. We will wait a few
+minutes longer and then have tea."
+
+His heart gave a sudden thump. Was it possible--but no! She would
+not stoop to anything like that. The little thrill of exultation
+departed as quickly as it came.
+
+"Tire trouble, perhaps," he ventured.
+
+Tea was being brought in when the belated guests arrived. Courtney,
+spurred by the brief vision of success ahead, was never in better
+form, never more entertaining, never so well provided with polite
+cynicisms. Later on, when he and Alix were alone and he was putting
+on his raincoat in the hall, she said to him impulsively:
+
+"I don't know what I should have done without you, Mr. Thane. You
+were splendid. I was in no mood to be nice or agreeable to anybody."
+
+"Alas!" he sighed. "That shows how unobserving I am. I could have
+sworn you were in a perfectly adorable mood."
+
+"Well, I wasn't," she said stubbornly. "I was quite horrid."
+
+"Has anything happened to--to distress you, Miss Crown?" he inquired
+anxiously. His voice was husky and a trifle unsteady. "Can't you
+tell me? Sometimes it helps to--"
+
+"Nothing has happened," she interrupted nervously. "I was--just
+stupid, that's all."
+
+"When am I to see you again?" he asked, after a perceptible pause.
+"May I come tonight?"
+
+"Not tonight," she said, shaking her head.
+
+She gave no reason,--nothing more than the two little words,--and
+yet he went away exulting. He walked home through the light, gusty
+rain, so elated that he forgot to use his cane,--and he had limped
+quite painfully earlier in the afternoon, complaining of the
+dampness and chill. He had the habit of talking to himself when
+walking alone in the darkness. He thought aloud:
+
+"She wants to be alone,--she wants to think. She has suddenly realized.
+She is frightened. She doesn't understand. She is bewildered. She
+doesn't want to see me tonight. Bless her heart! I'll bet my head
+she doesn't sleep a wink. And tomorrow? Tomorrow I shall see her.
+But not a word, not a sign out of me. Not tomorrow or next day or
+the day after that. Keep her thinking, keep her guessing, keep her
+wondering whether I really care. Pretty soon she'll realize how
+miserable she is,--and then!"
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+THE CHIMNEY CORNER
+
+
+
+
+A. Lincoln Pollock was full of news at supper that evening. Courtney,
+coming in a little late,--in fact, Miss Margaret Slattery already
+had removed the soup plates and was beginning to wonder audibly
+whether a certain guy thought she was a truck-horse or something
+like that,--found the editor of the Sun anticipating by at least
+twelve hours the forthcoming issue of his paper. He was regaling
+his fellow-boarders with news that would be off the press the first
+thing in the morning,--having been confined to the composing-room
+for the better part of a week,--and he was enjoying himself.
+Charlie Webster once made the remark that "every time the Sun goes
+to press, Link Pollock acts for all the world like a hen that's
+just laid an egg, he cackles so."
+
+"I saw Nancy Strong this morning and she was telling me about a
+letter she had from David yesterday. He wants her to pack up and
+come to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to live with him. He says he'll
+take a nice little apartment, big enough for the two of 'em, if
+she'll only come. She can't make up her mind what to do. She's so
+fond of Alix she don't see how she can desert her,--at least, not
+till she gets married,--and yet she feels she owes it to her son
+to go and make a home for him. Every once in a while Alix makes
+her a present of a hundred dollars or so,--once she gave her three
+hundred in cold, clean cash,--and actually loves her as if she was
+her own mother. Nancy's terribly upset. She is devoted to Alix,
+and at the same time she's devoted to her son. She seemed to want
+my advice, but of course I couldn't give her any. It's a thing
+she's got to work out for herself. I couldn't advise her to leave
+Alix in the lurch and I couldn't advise her to turn her back on
+her only son,--could I?"
+
+"How soon does David want her to come?" inquired Miss Molly Dowd.
+
+"Before Christmas, I believe. He wants her to be with him on
+Christmas day."
+
+"Well, it would work out very nicely," said Mrs. Pollock, "if Alix
+would only get married before that time."
+
+"I guess that's just what Nancy is kind of hoping herself," stated
+Mr. Pollock. "It would simplify everything. Of course, when she
+told Alix about David's letter and what he wanted her to do, Alix
+was mighty nice about it. She told Nancy to go by all means, her
+place was with her son if he needed her, and she wouldn't stand in
+the way for the world. Nancy says she had about made up her mind
+to go, but changed it last night. She was telling me about sneaking
+up to Alix's bedroom door and listening. Alix was crying, sort of
+sobbing, you know. That settled it with Nancy,--temporarily at any
+rate. Now she's up in the air again, and don't know what to do.
+She's gone and told Alix she won't leave her, but all the time she
+keeps wondering if Davy can get along without her in that great big
+city, surrounded by all kinds of perils and traps and pitfalls,--night
+and day. Evil women and--"
+
+"Has Alix said anything to you about it, Mr. Thane?" inquired Maude
+Baggs Pollock.
+
+"Not a word," replied Courtney, secretly irritated by the discovery
+that Alix had failed to take him into her confidence. "She doesn't
+discuss servant troubles with me."
+
+"Oh, good gracious!" cried Miss Dowd. "If Nancy Strong ever heard
+you speak of her as a servant she'd--".
+
+"She'd bite your head off," put in Miss Margaret Slattery. "Are you
+through with your soup, Mr. Thane?" Without waiting for an answer,
+she removed the plate with considerable abruptness.
+
+"Are you angry with me, Margaret?" he asked, with a reproachful
+smile. His smile was too much for Margaret. She blushed and mumbled
+something about being sorry and having a headache.
+
+"Say, Court, do you know this Ambulance feller that's coming to
+visit Alix next week?" asked the editor, with interest.
+
+"You mean Addison Blythe? He was up at Pont-a-Mousson for a while,
+I believe, but it was after I had left for the Vosges section. I've
+heard of him. Harvard man."
+
+"You two ought to have a good time when you get together," said
+Doc Simpson.
+
+"I've got an item in the Sun about him this week, and next week
+we'll have an interview with him."
+
+The usually loquacious Mr. Webster had been silent since Courtney's
+arrival. Now he lifted his voice to put a question to Miss Angie
+Miller, across the table.
+
+"Did you write that letter I spoke about the other day, Angie?"
+
+"Yes,--but there hasn't been time for an answer yet."
+
+"Speaking about David Strong," remarked Mr. Pollock, "I'll never
+forget what he did when Mr. Windom gave him a silver watch for his
+twelfth birthday. Shows what a bright, progressive, enterprising
+feller he was even at that age. You remember, Miss Molly? I mean
+about his setting his watch fifteen minutes ahead the very day he
+got it."
+
+Miss Molly smiled. "It WAS cute of him, wasn't it?"
+
+"What was the idea?" inquired Mr. Hatch.
+
+"So's he would know what time it was fifteen minutes sooner than
+anybody else in town," said Mr. Pollock.
+
+"My, what a handsome boy he was," said Miss Angie Miller.
+
+"Do you really think so?" cried Mrs. Pollock. "I never could see
+anything good looking about him,--except his physique. He has a
+splendid physique, but I never liked his face. It's so--so--well,
+so, raw-boned and all. I like smooth, regular features in a man.
+I--"
+
+"Like mine," interjected the pudgy Mr. Webster, with a very serious
+face.
+
+"David Strong has what I call a very rugged face," said Miss Miller.
+"I didn't say it was pretty, Maude."
+
+"He takes a very good photograph," remarked Mr. Hatch. "Specially
+a side-view. I've got one side-view of him over at the gallery that
+makes me think of an Indian every time I look at it."
+
+"Perhaps he has Indian blood in him," suggested Courtney, who was
+tired of David Strong.
+
+"Well, every drop of blood he's got in him is red," said Charlie
+Webster; "so maybe you're right."
+
+"The most interesting item in the Sun tomorrow," said Mr. Pollock,
+"is the word that young Cale Vick, across the river, has enlisted
+in the navy. He leaves on Monday for Chicago to join some sort
+of a training school, preparatory to taking a job on one of Uncle
+Sam's newest battleships,--the biggest in the world, according
+to his grandfather, who was in to see me a day or two ago. I have
+promised to send young Cale the Sun for a year without charging him
+a cent. Old man Brown says Amos Vick's daughter Rosabel isn't at
+all well. Something like walking typhoid, he says,--mopes a good
+deal and don't sleep well."
+
+"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," exclaimed Courtney, real concern in
+his voice. "She was such a lively, light-hearted girl when I was
+over there. I can't imagine her moping. I hope Amos Vick isn't too
+close-fisted to consult a doctor. He's an awful tight-wad--believe
+me."
+
+"Doctor can't seem to find anything really the matter ter with
+her, so old Cale Brown told me," said Mr. Pollock. "But don't you
+think it's fine of young Cale to join the navy, Court? Maybe your
+tales about the war put it into his head."
+
+"It's more likely that he'd got fed up with life on a farm," said
+Courtney. "He'll find himself longing for the farm and mother a
+good many times before he's through with the navy."
+
+Instead of going up to his room immediately after supper, as was
+his custom of late, Courtney joined the company in the "lounging
+room," so named by Mr. Webster who contended that no first-class
+hotel ever had such a thing as a parlour any more. The Misses Dowd,
+of course, called it the parlour, but as they continued to refer
+to the fireplace as the "chimney corner," one may readily forgive
+their reluctance to progress. Smoking was permitted in the "lounging
+room" during the fall and winter months only.
+
+A steady rain was beating against the windows, and a rising wind
+made itself heard in feeble wails as it turned the dark corners of
+the Tavern. Presently it was to howl and shriek, and, as the rain
+ceased, to rattle the window shutters and the ancient, creaking
+sign that hung out over the porch,--for on the wind tonight came
+the first chill touch of winter.
+
+"A fine night to be indoors," remarked Courtney in his most genial
+manner as he moved a rocking chair up to the fireplace and gallantly
+indicated to old Mrs. Nichols that it was intended for her.
+
+"Ain't you going out tonight, Court?" inquired Mr. Hatch.
+
+"Iron horses couldn't drag me out tonight," he replied. "Sit here,
+Mrs. Pollock. Doc, pull up that sofa for Miss Grady and Miss Miller.
+Let's have a chimney-corner symposium. Is symposium the right word,
+Miss Miller? Ah, I see it isn't. Well, I did my best. I could have
+got away with it in New York, but no chance here. And speaking
+of New York reminds me that at this very instant the curtains are
+going up and the lights are going down in half a hundred theatres,--and
+I don't mind confessing I'd like to be in one of them."
+
+"That's one thing I envy New York for," said Mrs. Pollock. "Hand
+me my knitting off the table, Lincoln, please. I love the theatre.
+I could go every night--"
+
+"You get tired of them after a little while, Maude," said Flora
+Grady, a trifle languidly. "Isn't that so, Mr. Thane?"
+
+"Quite," agreed Courtney. "You get fed up with 'em."
+
+"I remember once when I was in New York going six nights in succession,
+seeing all the best things on the boards at that time, and I give
+you my word," said Miss Grady, "they DID feed me up terribly."
+
+"I know just what you mean, Miss Grady," said Courtney, without
+cracking a smile. "One gets so bored with the best plays in town.
+What one really ought to do, you know, is to go to the worst ones."
+
+"I've always wanted to see 'The Blue Bird,'" said Miss Miller
+wistfully. "It's by Maeterlinck, Mr. Nichols."
+
+Old Mr. Nichols looked interested. "You don't say so," he ejaculated.
+"Give me a good minstrel show,--that's what I like. Haverly's or
+Barlow, Wilson, Primrose & West, or Billy Emerson's or--say, did
+you ever see Luke Schoolcraft? Well, sir, there was the funniest
+end man I ever see. There used to be another minstrel man
+named,--er--lemme see,--now what was that feller's name? It begin
+with L, I think--or maybe it was W. Now--lemme--think. Go on
+talkin', the rest of you. I'll think of his name before bedtime."
+Whereupon the ancient Mr. Nichols relapsed into a profound state
+of thought from which he did not emerge until Mr. Webster shook
+his shoulder some fifteen or twenty minutes later and informed him
+that if he got any worse Mrs. Nichols would be able to hear him,
+and then she couldn't go 'round telling people that he slept just
+like a baby.
+
+Courtney was in his element. He liked talking about the stage,
+and stage people. And on this night,--of all nights,--he wanted to
+talk, he wanted company. The clock on the mantel-piece struck ten
+and half-past and was close to striking eleven before any one made
+a move toward retiring,--excepting Mr. and Mrs. Nichols who had gone
+off to bed at eight-thirty. The Misses Dowd had joined the little
+company in the "parlour." He discussed books with Mrs. Pollock
+and Miss Miller, fashions with Miss Grady, politics with Mr.
+Pollock,--(agreeing with the latter on President Wilson),--art with
+Mr. Hatch and the erudite Miss Miller, the drama with every one.
+
+Now, Courtney Thane knew almost nothing about books, and even less
+about pictures. He possessed, however, a remarkable facility when
+it came to discussing them. He belonged to that rather extensive
+class of people who thrive on ignorance. If you wanted to talk
+about Keats or Shelley, he managed to give you the impression that
+he was thoroughly familiar with both,--though lamenting a certain
+rustiness of memory at times. He could talk intelligently about
+Joseph Conrad, Arnold Bennet, Bernard Shaw, Galsworthy, Walpole,
+Mackenzie, Wells and others of the modern English school of
+novelists,--that is to say, he could differ or agree with you on
+almost anything they had written, notwithstanding the fact that he
+had never read a line by any one of them. He professed not to care
+for Thomas Hardy's "Jude the Obscure," though nothing could have
+been more obscure to him than the book itself or the author thereof,
+and agreed with the delightful Mrs. Pollock that "The Mayor of
+Casterbridge" was an infinitely better piece of work than "Tess
+of the D'Urbervilles." As for the American writers, he admitted a
+shameful ignorance about them.
+
+"Of course, I read Scott when I was a boy,--I was compelled to do
+so, by the way,--but as for the others I am shockingly unfamiliar
+with them. Ever since I grew up I've preferred the English novelists
+and poets, so I fear I--"
+
+"I thought Scott was an English writer," put in Charlie Webster
+quietly.
+
+"What Scott are you referring to, Charlie?" he asked indulgently.
+
+"Why, Sir Walter Scott,--he wrote 'Ivanhoe,' you know."
+
+"Well, I happen to be speaking of William Scott, the American
+novelist,--no doubt unknown to most of you. He was one of the
+old-timers, and I fancy has dropped out of the running altogether."
+
+"Never heard of him," said Mr. Pollock, scratching his ear
+reflectively.
+
+"Indigenous to New England, I fancy,--like the estimable codfish,"
+drawled Courtney, and was rewarded by a wholesome Middle West laugh.
+
+"What are those cabarets like?" inquired Mr. Hatch. He pronounced
+it as if he were saying cigarettes.
+
+"Pretty rotten," said Thane.
+
+"Are you fond of dancing, Mr. Thane?" inquired Mrs. Pollock. "I
+used to love to trip the light fantastic."
+
+"I am very fond of dancing," said he, and then added with a smile:
+"Especially since the girls have taken to parking their corsets."
+
+There was a shocked silence, broken by Miss Grady, who, as a
+dressmaker, was not quite so finicky about the word.
+
+"What do you mean by parking?" she inquired.
+
+"Same as you park an automobile," said he, enjoying the sensation
+he had created. "It's the fashion now, among the best families as
+well as the worst, for the girls when they go to dances to leave
+their corsets in the dressing rooms. Check 'em, same as you do your
+hat."
+
+"Bless my soul," gasped Mr. Pollock. "Haven't they got any mothers?"
+
+"Sure,--but the mothers don't know anything about it. You see, it's
+this way. We fellows won't dance with 'em if they've got corsets
+on,--so off they come."
+
+"What's the world coming to?" cried the editor.
+
+"You'd better ask where it's going to," said Charlie Webster.
+
+"Do you go to the opera very often?" asked Miss Miller nervously.
+
+He spoke rather loftily of the Metropolitan Opera House, and very
+lightly of the Metropolitan Museum,--and gave Charlie Webster a
+sharp look when that amiable gentleman asked him what he thought
+of the Metropolitan Tower.
+
+But he was at home in the theatre. He told them just what Maude
+Adams and Ethel Barrymore were like, and Julia Marlowe, and Elsie
+Ferguson, and Chrystal Herne, and all the rest of them. He spoke
+familiarly of Mr. Faversham as "Favvy," of Mr. Collier as "Willie,"
+of Mr. Sothern as "Ned," of Mr. Drew as "John," of Mr. Skinner as
+"Otis," of Mr. Frohman as "Dan."
+
+And when he said good night and reluctantly wended his way to the
+room at the end of the hall, round the corner of which the fierce
+October gale shrieked derisively, he left behind him a group
+enthralled.
+
+"Isn't he a perfect dear?" cried Mrs. Pollock, clasping her hands.
+
+"The most erudite man I have ever met," agreed Miss Miller
+ecstatically. "Don't you think so, Mr. Hatch?"
+
+Mr. Hatch was startled. "Oh,--er--yes, indeed. Absolutely!"
+he stammered, and then looked inquiringly at his finger nails. He
+hoped he had made the proper response.
+
+Charlie Webster ambled over to one of the windows and peered out
+into the whistling night.
+
+"It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good," said he sententiously.
+
+"What do you mean by that, Charlie?" inquired Flora Grady, at his
+elbow.
+
+"Well, if it had been a pleasant night he'd have been up at Alix
+Crown's instead of here," said Charlie.
+
+"I see," said Flora, after a moment. "You mean the ill wind favoured
+Alix, eh?"
+
+Charlie's round face was unsmiling as he stared hard at the fire.
+
+"I wonder--" he began, and then checked the words.
+
+"Don't you worry about Alix," said Flora. "She's nobody's fool."
+
+"I wasn't thinking of Alix just then," said Charlie.
+
+II
+
+The following morning, Courtney went, as was his custom, to the
+postoffice. He had arranged for a lock-box there. His letters were
+not brought up to the Tavern by old Jim House, the handy-man.
+
+The day was bright and clear and cold; the gale had died in the
+early morning hours. Alix Crown's big automobile was standing in
+front of the post-office, the engine running. Catching sight of it
+as he left the Tavern porch, he hastened his steps. He was a good
+two hundred yards away and feared she would be off before he could
+come up with her. As he drew near, he saw the lanky chauffeur standing
+in front of the drug store, chatting with one of the villagers.
+
+Alix was in the post-office. As he passed the car, he slackened
+his pace and glanced over his shoulder into the tonneau. The side
+curtains were down. A low growl greeted him. He hastened on.
+
+She was at the registry window.
+
+"Hello!" he exclaimed, extending his hand and searching her face
+as he did so for signs of a sleepless night.
+
+"Good morning," she responded cheerily. There was nothing in her
+voice, her eyes or her manner to indicate an even remotely disturbed
+state of mind. Her gaze met his serenely; the colour did not rush
+to her cheeks as he had fondly expected, nor did her eyes waver
+under the eager, intense gleam in his. He suddenly felt cheated.
+
+"Where are you off to this morning?" he inquired.
+
+"To town for the day. I have some business to attend to and some
+shopping to do. Would you like to come along?"
+
+He was in a sulky mood.
+
+"You know I hate the very thought of going to town," he said. Then,
+as she raised her eyebrows slightly, he made haste to add: "I'd go
+from one end of the desert of Sahara to the other with you, but--"
+shaking his head so solemnly that she laughed outright,--"not to
+the city. Just ask me to go to the Sahara with you and see how--"
+
+"Haven't you had enough of No-Man's Land?" she cried merrily.
+
+"It depends on what you'd call No-Man's Land," said he, and her gaze
+faltered at last. There was no mistaking his meaning. "Sometimes
+it is Paradise, you know," he went on softly.
+
+Twice before she had seen the same look in his eyes, and both times
+she had experienced a strange sensation, as of the weakness that
+comes with ecstasy. There had been something in his eyes that
+seemed to caress her from head to foot, something that filled her
+with the most disquieting self-consciousness. Strange to say, it
+was not the ardent look of the love-sick admirer,--and she had not
+escaped such tributes,--nor the inquiring look of the adventurous
+married man. It was not soulful nor was it offensive. She reluctantly
+confessed to herself that it was warm and penetrating and filled
+her with a strange, delicious alarm.
+
+She quickly withdrew her gaze and turned to the little window where
+Mrs. Pollock was making out her receipt for a registered package.
+She felt that she was cowardly, and the thought made her furious.
+
+"Will it go out today, Mrs. Pollock?" she asked.
+
+"This afternoon," replied the postmaster's wife and assistant.
+"Wasn't that a dreadful wind last night, Alix? I thought of you.
+You must have been frightened."
+
+"I slept like a log through all of it," said Alix. "I love the
+wild night wind. It makes me feel so nice and comfy in bed. I was
+awfully tired last night. Thanks." Then turning to Courtney: "Sorry
+you will not go with me. I'll bear you in mind if I ever take a
+trip to the Sahara. Good-bye."
+
+"Will you be at home tonight?" he asked, holding the door open for
+her to pass through.
+
+"Yes," she replied composedly.
+
+"I mean,--to me?"
+
+"If you care to come," she said.
+
+He did not accompany her to the car. The big grey-brown dog with
+his paws on the back of the front seat, was eagerly watching her
+approach.
+
+She wore a long mole-skin coat and a smart little red turban. She
+had never looked so alluring to the young man who waited in the
+open door until the car started away.
+
+"Close the door, please," called out Mrs. Pollock. "This isn't
+July, you know."
+
+"So she slept like a log, did she?" muttered Courtney as he turned
+away from his lockbox with a letter. "Well, that's more than I
+did."
+
+He glanced hurriedly through the letter, crumpled it up in his hand,
+and went jauntily up the street until he came to Hatch's Photograph
+Gallery. Entering, he gave the proprietor a hearty "good morning,"
+and then drew a chair up before the low "sheet-iron stove" which
+heated the reception-room. Hatch was "printing" behind a partition,
+and their conversation was carried on at long range over the top.
+Presently the visitor drew the crumpled letter from his pocket,
+tore it into tiny pieces and cast it into the fire.
+
+"Well, so long, Hatch. I'm off for a stroll in your crisp October
+air."
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+THANE VISITS TWO HOUSES
+
+
+
+
+All day long Alix was troubled. She could not free her thoughts
+of that searing look or the spell it had cast over her during the
+brief instant of contact. She was haunted by it. At times she gave
+herself up to a reckless, unmaidenly rejoicing in the thrill it
+had given her; at such times she flushed to the roots of her hair
+despite the chill of ecstasy that swept over her. But far more
+often she found herself resenting the liberty his eyes had taken,--a
+mental rather than a physical liberty. She was resolved that it
+should not happen again.
+
+She had posted a note to David Strong that morning. Before the car
+had covered the first mile on its way to town, she was wishing she
+had not dropped it into the slot at the post-office. Only the fear
+of appearing ridiculous to Mrs. Pollock kept her from turning back
+to reclaim it. She could not explain this sudden, almost frantic
+impulse,--she did not attempt to account for it. Somehow she sensed
+that it had to do with the look in Thane's eyes,--but it was all
+so vague and intangible that even the suggestion did not take the
+form of thought.
+
+In this curt little note she had said:
+
+DEAR DAVID:
+
+I hereby acknowledge receipt of your cheque No. 372 for two hundred
+and fifty dollars, but as I have tried to make you understand
+before, it is not only an unnecessary but a most unwelcome bit of
+paper. You are perfectly well aware that my grandfather's estate
+has been settled and, as I have informed you time and again, your
+obligation to him no longer exists. You may have owed something
+to him, but you owe nothing to me. If I were to follow my impulse
+I should tear up this cheque of yours. It would be useless to return
+it to you, for you would only send it back to me, as you did with
+the first two cheques that came last winter. I want you to understand
+that I do not accept this money as my own. If it is any satisfaction
+to you to know that I give it away,--no matter how,--you are welcome
+to all the consolation you may get out of it.
+
+Yours truly,
+
+ALIX CROWN.
+
+P.S.--I have advised your mother to go to Philadelphia whenever
+you are ready for her to come. A.
+
+P.S.S.--Under separate cover by registered post I am also returning
+to you the bracelet you sent me from Paris. I think I wrote you a
+long time ago how much I admired it. A.
+
+Meanwhile, Thane was making the best of a rather empty morning. He
+put off finishing a letter to his mother, who had returned to New
+York and was so busy with dressmakers that twice she had employed
+the telegraph in promising to "write soon,"--a letter in which
+he already had written, among other rapturous passages: "She is
+positively ravishing, mater dear. I am simply mad about her, and
+I know you will be too." He was determined that the day should not
+be a total loss; he would turn at least a portion of it to profit.
+
+First of all, he visited Alaska Spigg at the log-hut village
+library. Miss Spigg was very proud of her geraniums. No one else
+in Windomville,--or in the world, for that matter, if one were to
+recall Mr. Pollock's article in the Sun,--no one else cultivated
+such geraniums as those to be seen in the pots that crowned the
+superinforced windowsills at the library.
+
+There was no such thing as a florist's shop in Windomville. Roses
+or orchids or even carnations were unobtainable. A potted geranium
+plant, in full bloom,--one of Alaska Spigg's tall, sturdy, jealously
+guarded treasures was the best he could do in the way of a floral
+offering to his goddess. So he set about the supposedly hopeless
+task of inducing Alaska to part with one of her plants. Half an
+hour after entering the library he departed with a balloon shaped
+object in his arms. He was not too proud to be seen shuffling
+up the lane with his prize, a huge thing loosely done up in
+newspapers,--leaving behind him a completely dazzled Alaska who
+went about the place aimlessly folding and unfolding a brand new
+two-dollar bill.
+
+"I don't know what come over me," explained Alaska later on to a
+couple of astonished ladies who had hurried in to see if the report
+was true that she had parted with one of her geraniums. "For the
+life of me, I don't know how I happened to do it. 'Specially the
+one I was proudest of, too. I've always said I'd never sell one of
+my plants,--not even if the President of the United States was to
+come in and offer me untold millions for it,--and here I--I--why,
+Martha, I almost GAVE it to him, honest I did. I just couldn't seem
+to help letting him have it. Of course, I don't mind its loss half
+so much, knowing that it is going to Alix. She loves flowers. She'll
+take the best of care of it. But how I ever came to--"
+
+"Don't cry, Alaska," broke in one of her callers cheerfully. "You'll
+be getting it back before long."
+
+"Never," lamented Alaska. "What makes you think I'll get it back?"
+she went on, suddenly peeping over the edge of her handkerchief.
+
+"Why, as soon as Alix knows how miserable you are about parting
+with that geranium, she'll send it back to you,--and you'll be two
+dollars ahead. Don't be silly."
+
+Repairing at once to the house on the knoll, Courtney took counsel
+with Mrs. Strong. The housekeeper could hardly believe her eyes
+when she saw the geranium.
+
+"Well, all I've got to say is that you must have stolen it," she
+exclaimed. "There couldn't be any other way to get one of those
+plants away from Alaska Spigg."
+
+"Be that as it may," said he airily, "what we've got to decide
+now, Mrs. Strong, is just where to put it. I want to surprise Miss
+Crown when she returns from town."
+
+"She'll be surprised all right when she finds out you got one
+of Alaska Spigg's pet geraniums. I remember Alaska saying not so
+long ago that she wouldn't sell one of those plants for a million
+dollars. Now let me see. It ought to go where it will get as much
+sun as possible. That would be in the dining-room. I guess we'd
+better--"
+
+"I really think it would look better right here in this room, Mrs.
+Strong," said he, indicating one of the windows looking out over
+the terrace. There was little or no sunlight there, but he did not
+mind that. As a matter of fact, he wasn't at all concerned about
+the future welfare of the plant. It meant no more to him than the
+customary bunch of violets that one sends, "sight unseen," to the
+lady of the hour.
+
+"Well, you're the boss. It's your plant," said Mrs. Strong briskly.
+"Alaska Spigg will go into hysterics when she hears where you've
+put it,--but that's of no consequence."
+
+And so the plant was placed on a small table in the window of the
+long living-room.
+
+"Link Pollock told us last night that you may go to Philadelphia to
+join your son, Mrs. Strong," said he, as he watched her arranging
+the window curtains.
+
+Mrs. Strong flushed. "It did not occur to me to ask Mr. Pollock not
+to repeat what I said to him in confidence," she said, with dignity.
+
+"I'm sorry I mentioned it. I am sure Pollock didn't understand it
+was--er--a secret or anything like that, Mrs. Strong."
+
+"It isn't a secret. I have talked it over with Miss Alix, and I
+have practically decided to remain with her. You may tell that to
+Mr. Pollock if you like."
+
+"She would miss you terribly," said he, allowing the sarcasm
+to pass over his head. "Your son and Miss Crown were boy and girl
+sweethearts, I hear,--oh, please don't be offended. Those things
+happen, you know,--and pass off like all of the children's diseases.
+Like the measles, or mumps or chicken pox. Every boy and girl has
+to go through that stage, you know. I remember being horribly in
+love with a girl in our block when I was fifteen,--and she with
+me. But, for the life of me, I can't remember her name now. I mean
+her married name," he explained, with his whimsical grin.
+
+"I don't believe Alix and David ever were in love with each other,"
+said she stiffly. "They were wonderful friends,--playmates and all
+that,--but,"--here she flushed again, "you see, my boy was only
+the blacksmith's son. People may have told you that, Mr. Thane."
+
+"What has that to do with it?" he cried instantly. "Wasn't Miss
+Crown's father the son of a blacksmith?"
+
+He caught the passing flicker of appreciation in her eyes as she
+lifted her head.
+
+"True," she said quietly. "And a fine young man, they tell me,--those
+who knew him. His father was not like my David's father, however.
+He was a drunkard. He beat his wife, they say."
+
+"Abraham Lincoln was a rail splitter. James A. Garfield drove
+a canal boat. Does anybody think the worse of them for that? Your
+son, Mrs. Strong,--I am told by all who know him,--will be a great
+surgeon, a great man. You must not forget that people will speak
+of HIS son as the son of Dr. David Strong, the famous surgeon."
+
+Her face glowed with pleasure. Mother love and mother pride kindled in
+her dark eyes. He caught himself wondering if young David Strong
+was like this tall, grey-haired woman with the steady gaze and
+quiet smile.
+
+"I am sure David will succeed," she said warmly. "He always was a
+determined boy. Mr. Windom was very fond of him. He took a great
+interest in him." A self-conscious, apologetic smile succeeded the
+proud one. "I suppose you would call Alix and David boy and girl
+sweethearts. As you say, boys and girls just simply can't help having
+such ailments. It's like an epidemic. Even the strongest catch it
+and,--get over it without calling in the doctor."
+
+He grinned. "It is a most amiable disease. The only medicine
+necessary is soda water and ice cream, with a few pills in the shape
+of chocolate caramels or marshmallows, taken at all hours and in
+large doses."
+
+Mrs. Strong's eyes softened as she looked out of the window. A
+faraway, wistful expression lurked in them.
+
+"Those were wonderful days, Mr. Thane,--when those two children
+were growing up." She sighed. "David is four years older than Alix,
+but ever since she was a tiny child she seemed older than he was.
+I guess it was because he was so big and strong that he just couldn't
+bear to lord it over her like most boys do with girls. He was kind
+of like a big shepherd dog. Always watching over her and--dear
+me, I'll never forget the time they got lost in the woods up above
+here. That was when she was about seven. They were not found till
+next morning. We had everybody for miles around beating the woods
+for them all night long. Well, sir, that boy had taken off his coat
+and put it on her, and his stockings too, and he had even removed
+his shirt to make a sort of muffler to wrap around her throat,
+because she always had sore throats and croup when she was a child.
+And when the men found them, he was sitting up against a tree sound
+asleep, almost frozen stiff, with her in his lap and his cold little
+arms around her. It was late in September and the nights were cold.
+Then there was the time when she fell off the side of the ferry
+boat and he jumped in after her,--with his best suit on, the little
+rascal,--and held her up till Josh Wilson stopped the ferry and
+old Mr. White, who was crossing with his team, managed to throw a
+buggy rein out to him and pull him in. The water out there in the
+middle of the river is ten feet deep, Mr. Thane, and David was
+just learning how to swim. And they BOTH had croup that night. My
+goodness, I thought that boy was going to die. But, my land, that
+seems ages ago. Here they are, a grown, man and woman, and probably
+don't even remember those happy days."
+
+"That's the horrible penalty one pays for growing up, Mrs. Strong."
+
+"I guess you're right. Of course, they write to each other every once
+in a while,--but nothing is like it used to be. Alix had a letter
+from Davy only a day or so ago. You'd think she might occasionally
+tell me some of the things he writes about,--but she never does.
+She never opens her mouth about them. And he never writes anything
+to me about what she writes to him. I suppose that's the way of the
+world. When they were little they used to come to me with everything.
+
+"You see, I came here to keep house for Mr. Windom soon after old
+Maria Bliss died. My husband died when David was six years old.
+Alix was only four years old when I came here, Mr. Thane. This house
+was new,--just finished. I'll never forget the rage Mr. Windom got
+into when he found out that Alix and David were going up to the old
+farmhouse where her mother died and were using one of the upstairs
+rooms as a 'den.' They got in through a cellar window, it seems.
+They were each writing a novel, and that was where they worked and
+read what they had written to each other. That lasted only about six
+weeks or so before Mr. Windom found out about it. He was terrible.
+You see, without knowing it, they had picked out the room that was
+most sacred to him. It was his wife's own room,--where she died and
+where Alix's mother was born and where she also died,--and where
+our Alix was born.
+
+"Of course, at that time nobody knew about Edward Crown. We
+all thought he was alive somewhere. The children never went there
+again. No, sirree! They both ought to have known better than to
+go at all. Alix was fifteen years old when that happened, and Davy
+was going to college in the winter time."
+
+"Did your son live here in the house with you all those years?"
+inquired Courtney.
+
+"We lived in the first cottage down the lane from here. Mr. Windom
+was a very thoughtful man. He did not want me to live here in the
+house with him because of what people might say. You see, I was a
+young woman then, and--well, people are not always kind, you know."
+She spoke simply and without the slightest embarrassment.
+
+He looked hard at her half-averted face and was suddenly confronted
+by the realization that this grey, motherly woman must have been
+young once, like Alix, and pretty. As it is with the young, he
+could not think of her except as old. He had always thought of his
+mother as old; it was impossible to think of her as having once
+been young and gay like the girls he knew. Yes, Mrs. Strong must
+have been young and pretty and desirable,--somebody's sweetheart,
+somebody's "girl." The thought astonished him.
+
+II
+
+Shortly afterward he took his departure. There was a frown of annoyance
+on his brow as he strode briskly up the lane in the direction of
+the crossroads, half a mile or more above the village. As usual,
+he thought aloud.
+
+"There's no way of finding out just how things stand between them.
+The old lady doesn't know anything, that's a cinch. If she really
+knew she would have let it out to me. I'll never get a better
+chance to pump her than I had today. She doesn't know. You can see
+she hopes her son will get her. That's as plain as the nose on your
+face. But she doesn't know anything. Is that a good sign or a bad
+one? I wish I knew. Alix isn't the sort to forget. Maybe Strong has
+gotten over it and not she. It's darned aggravating, that's what
+it is. There must be some good reason why she's never married. I
+wonder if she's still keen about him. This talk of Charlie Webster's
+may be plain bunk. If she hates him,--why? That's the question.
+WHY does she hate him? There must be some reason beside that debt
+he owed to old Windom. Gad, I wish I could have seen that letter
+he wrote her when he sent the cheque. Well, anyhow, it's up to me
+to get busy. That's sure!"
+
+His walk took him past the Windomville Cemetery and up the gravel
+turnpike leading to the city. Alix had traversed this road an hour
+or so earlier. Swinging around a bend in the highway, he came in
+view of the abandoned farmhouse half a mile ahead.
+
+It was a familiar object by this time, for he had passed it many
+times, not only on his solitary walks but on several occasions with
+Alix. The desolate house, with its weed-grown yard, its dilapidated
+paling fence, its atmosphere of decay, had always possessed
+a certain fascination for him. He secretly confessed to a queer
+little sensation as of awe whenever he looked upon the empty,
+green-shuttered house. It suggested death. More than once he had
+paused in the road below the rickety gate to gaze intently at the
+closed windows, or to scrutinize the tangled mass of weeds and
+rose bushes that almost hid the porch and its approach from view.
+He was never without the strange feeling that the body of Edward
+Crown might still be lying at the foot of the hidden steps.
+
+Now he approached the place with a new and deeper interest.
+Strangely enough, it had been shorn within the hour of much that
+was grim and terrifying. It was no longer a house to inspire dread
+and uneasiness. Two young and venturesome spirits had invaded its
+silent precincts, there to dream in safety and seclusion, unhaunted
+by its spectres, undisturbed by its secret. In one of its darkened
+rooms they had set up a "workshop," a "playhouse." A glaze came
+over his eyes as he wondered what had transpired in that room during
+the surreptitious six weeks' tenancy. Had David Strong kissed her?
+Had she kissed David Strong? Were promises made and futures planned?
+His throat was tight with the swell of jealousy.
+
+He stopped at the gate. After a moment's hesitation he lifted
+the rusty latch and jerked the gate open far enough to allow him
+to squeeze through. Then he paused to sweep the landscape with
+an inquiring eye. Far up the pike a load of fodder moved slowly.
+There were cattle in the pasture near at hand, but no human being
+to observe his actions. In a distant upland field men were moving
+among a multitude of corn-shocks, trailing the horses and wagons
+that belonged to Alix Crown. Crows cawed in the trees on the eastern
+edge of the strip of meadowland, and on high soared two or three
+big birds,--hawks or buzzards, he knew not which,--circling slowly
+in the arc of the steel blue sky.
+
+Confident that he was unobserved, he made his way up the half-buried
+walk to the porch, and, deliberately mounting the steps, tried
+the door-knob. As he expected, the door was locked. After another
+searching look in all directions, he started off through the tangle
+of weeds and burdocks to circle the house. He passed through what
+once must have been the tennis-court of Alix the First,--now a
+weedy patch,--and came to the back door. Below him lay the deserted
+stables and outbuildings, facing the barnyard in which a few worn-out
+farm implements were to be seen, weather-beaten skeletons of a past
+generation.
+
+There was no sign of human life. A lean and threadbare scarecrow
+flapped his ragged coat-sleeves in the wind that swept across the
+barren garden patch farther up the slope,--this was the nearest
+approach to human life that came within the range of vision. And
+as if to invite jovial companionship, this pathetic gentleman wore
+his ancient straw hat cocked rakishly over what would have been
+his left ear if he had had any ears at all.
+
+While standing before the gate, Courtney had come to a sudden,
+amazing decision. He resolved to enter and explore the house if it
+were possible to do so. He remembered that Mrs. Strong, in pursuing
+the subject, had declared that Alix and David were not even permitted
+to return to the house for their literary products; moreover,
+she doubted very much whether the former had taken the trouble to
+recover them after she became sole possessor of the property. If
+they were still there, with other tangible proofs of an adolescent
+intimacy, he saw no reason why he should not lay eyes,--or even
+hands,--upon them. He saw no wrong in the undertaking. It was a
+justifiable adventure, viewed from the standpoint of a lover whose
+claim was in doubt.
+
+The back door was locked and the window shutters securely nailed.
+Entrance to the cellar was barred by heavy scantlings fastened across
+the sloping hatch. In the barnyard he found a stout single-tree.
+With this he succeeded in prying off the two scantlings. The staple
+holding the padlock was easily withdrawn from one of the rotten
+boards.
+
+Descending the steps, he found himself in the small, musty cellar.
+The vault-like room was empty save for a couple of barrels standing
+in a corner and a small pile of firewood under the stairs that led
+to regions above. Selecting a faggot of kindling-wood from this
+pile, he fashioned a torch by whittling the end into a confusion
+of partially detached slivers. This he lighted with a match, and
+then mounted the stairs.
+
+The door at the head opened at the lifting of an old-fashioned
+latch. A thick screen of cobwebs almost closed the upper half of
+the aperture. He burnt it away with the flaming torch, and passed
+on into the kitchen. He was grateful for the snapping fire of the
+faggot, for otherwise the silence of the grave would have fallen
+about him as he stood motionless for a moment peering about the
+empty room. No light penetrated from the outside. The air was dead.
+Spiders had clothed the corners and the ceiling with their silk,
+over which the dust of years lay thick and ugly. He felt, with
+a queer little shiver, that the eyes of a thousand spiders peered
+gloatingly down upon him from the murky fastnesses.
+
+He hurried on. The rooms on the lower floor had been stripped of
+all signs of habitation. His footsteps resounded throughout the
+house. Boards creaked under his tread. Without actually realizing
+what he was doing, he began to tiptoe toward the stairway that led
+to the upper floor. He laughed at himself for this precaution, and
+yet could not rid himself of the feeling that some one was listening,
+that the stealth of the midnight burglar was necessary. The stairs
+groaned under his weight, the dust-covered banister cracked loudly
+when he laid his hand upon it. He had the strange notion that they
+were sounding the alarm to some guardian occupant of the premises,--to
+a slumbering ghost perhaps.
+
+He came at last to the room where Alix and David had played at
+book-writing. In the centre stood a kitchen table, on either side
+of which was a rudely constructed bench,--evidently the handiwork
+of David Strong. Two strips of rag carpet served as a rug. At each
+end of the table was a candlestick containing a half-used tallow
+candle. There was a single ink pot, but there were two penholders
+beside it, and a couple of blue blotters. Nearby were two ancient
+but substantial rocking chairs,--singularly out of place,--no
+doubt discarded survivors of long-distant days of comfort, rescued
+from an attic storeroom by the young trespassers. A scrap basket,
+half-full of torn and crumpled sheets of paper, stood conveniently
+near the table.
+
+He lighted both of the candles and extinguished the flickering
+faggot. The steady glow of the candlelight filled the room. On the
+mantel above the blackened fireplace he saw a small, white framed
+mirror. A forgotten pair of gloves lay beside it, and two or three
+hairpins. He picked up the gloves, slapped them against his leg
+to rid them of accumulated dust, and then stuck them into his coat
+pocket. They were long and slim and soiled by wear.
+
+A closet door, standing partly open, drew him across the room.
+Hanging from one of the hooks was a moth-eaten vicuna smoking jacket
+of blue. Beside this garment hung a girl's bright red blazer, with
+black collar; protecting, business-like paper cuffs were still
+attached. In the corner of the closet reposed a broom, a mop and
+an empty pail.
+
+He smiled at the thought of young Alix sweeping and scrubbing the
+floor of this sequestered retreat.
+
+Returning to the table, he pulled out the drawer, and there, side
+by side, lay two neat but far from voluminous manuscripts, each
+weighted down by the unused portion of the scratch pad from which
+the written sheets had been torn. One was in the bold, superior
+scrawl of a boy, the other ineffably feminine in its painstaking
+regard for legibility and tidiness.
+
+III
+
+These literary efforts had been cut off short in their infancy.
+David's vigorously written pages, marred by frequent scratchings
+and erasures, far outnumbered Alix's. He was in the midst of Chapter
+Three of a novel entitled "The Phantom Singer" when the calamitous
+interruption came. Alix's work had progressed to Chapter Five.
+Inspection revealed the further fact that she was thrifty. She
+had written on both sides of the sheets, while the prodigal David
+confined himself to the inexorable "one side of the sheet only."
+There were unmistakable indications of editorial arrogance on
+the part of Alix on every sheet of David's manuscript. Her small,
+precise hand was to be seen here, there and everywhere,--sometimes
+in the substitution of a single word, often in the rewriting of an
+entire sentence. But nowhere on her own pages was to be found so
+much as a scratch by the clumsy hand of her fellow novelist.
+
+Her story bore the fetching title: "Lady Mordaunt's Lover."
+
+Courtney read the first page of her script. A sudden wave of remorse,
+even guilt, swept through him. Back in his mind he pictured her
+bending studiously, earnestly to the task, her heart in every line
+she was penning, her dear little brow wrinkled in thought. He could
+almost visualize the dark, wavy hair, the soft white neck,--as
+if he were standing behind looking down upon her as she struggled
+with an obstinate muse,--and the quick, gentle rise and fall of
+her young breast. He could see her lift her head now and then to
+stare dreamily at the ceiling, searching there for inspiration. He
+could see the cramped, tense fingers that gripped the pen as she
+wrote these precious lines,--with David scratching away laboriously
+at the opposite end of the table. A strange tenderness entered his
+soul. Something akin to reverence took possession of him. He had
+invaded sanctuary.
+
+Slowly, almost tenderly, he replaced the manuscript in the drawer
+beside its bristling mate. Then he resolutely closed the drawer,
+blew out the candles, and strode swiftly from the room and down the
+creaking stairs, lighting the way with matches. Even as he convicted
+himself of wrong, he justified himself as right. The virtuous
+renunciation balanced, aye, overbalanced,--the account with cupidity.
+He was saying to himself as he made his way down to the cellar:
+
+"It would be downright rotten to take that story of hers, even
+as a joke,--and I came mighty near to doing it. Thank the Lord, I
+didn't. Of course, it's piffle,--both of 'em,--but I just COULDN'T
+take hers away for no other reason than to get a good laugh out of
+it. Anyhow, my conscience is clear. I put it back where she left
+it,--and that's the end of it so far as I'm concerned. Damn these
+cobwebs! Good Lord, I wonder if any of these spiders are poisonous!"
+
+Brushing the cobwebs from his face as he ran, he hurried across the
+cellar and bolted up the steps, out into the brilliant sunlight.
+He made frantic efforts to remove the disgusting webs from his
+garments, his eyes darting everywhere in search of the evil insects.
+
+Presently he set to work replacing the staple and padlock, inserting
+the nails in the holes they had left in the rotting board. He did
+his best to fasten the scantlings down, making a sorry job of it,
+and then, as he prepared to leave the premises, he was suddenly
+seized by the uncanny feeling that some one was watching him.
+His gaze swept the fields, the barn lot, even the high grass that
+surrounded the house. There was no one in sight, and yet he could
+FEEL the eyes of an invisible watcher.
+
+Up in the garden patch, the scarecrow flapped his empty sleeves.
+His hat was still tilted jauntily over his absent ear. It was
+ridiculous to suppose that that uncanny object could see,--yet
+somehow it seemed to Courtney that it WAS looking at him, looking
+at him with malicious, accusing eyes.
+
+Not once, but half a dozen times, he turned in the road to glance
+over his shoulder at the house he had left behind. Always his gaze
+went to the scarecrow. He shivered slightly and cursed himself for
+a fool. The silly thing COULDN'T be looking at him! What nonsense!
+Still he breathed a sigh of relief when he turned the bend and was
+safely screened from view by the grove of oaks that crowned the
+hill above the village.
+
+Several automobiles passed him as he trudged along the pike; an old
+man afoot driving a little herd of sheep gave him a cheery "good
+morning," but received no response.
+
+"I wish I hadn't gone into that beastly house," he was repeating
+to himself, a scowl in his eyes. "It gave me the 'Willies.' Jolly
+lot of satisfaction I got out of it,--I don't think. I daresay he
+kissed her a good many times up there in that,--But, Lord, what's
+the sense of worrying about something that happened ten years ago?"
+
+At the dinner table that noon, Charlie Webster suddenly inquired:
+
+"Well, what have YOU been up to this morning, Court?"
+
+Courtney started guiltily and shot a quick, inquiring look at the
+speaker. Satisfied that there was no veiled significance in Charlie's
+question, he replied:
+
+"Took a long ramble up the pike. The air is like wine today. I
+walked out as far as the old Windom house."
+
+Charlie was interested. "Is that so? Did you see Amos Vick's daughter
+hanging around the place?"
+
+"Amos Vick's--you mean Rosabel?" He swallowed hard. "No, I didn't
+see her. Was she over there?"
+
+"Jim Bagley was in the office half an hour or so ago. As he was
+coming past the house in his Ford he saw her standing at the front
+gate, so he stopped and asked her what she was doing over on this
+side of the river. She'd been over here spending the night with
+Annie Jordan,--that's Phil Jordan's girl, you know, the township
+assessor,--and went out for a long walk this morning. She looked
+awful tired and sort of sickly, so Jim told her to hop in and he'd
+give her a lift back to Phil's house. She got in with him and he
+left her at Phil's."
+
+"I saw her walking down to the ferry with Annie as I was coming
+over from the office a little while ago," said Doc Simpson.
+
+"Sorry I didn't meet her," said Courtney. "She's jolly good fun,--and
+I certainly was in need of somebody to cheer me up this morning.
+For the first time since I came out here I was homesick for New
+York,--and mother. It must have been our talk last night about the
+theatres and all that."
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+WORDS AND LETTEBS
+
+
+
+
+Mary Blythe and her brother arrived on Tuesday for a two days' visit.
+Alix motored to town and brought them out in the automobile. She
+was surprised and gratified when Courtney, revoking his own decree,
+volunteered to go up with her to meet the visitors at the railway
+station in the city. But when the day came, he was ill and unable
+to leave his room. The cold, steady rains of the past few days had
+brought on an attack of pleurisy, and the doctor ordered him to
+remain in bed. He grumbled a great deal over missing the little
+dinner Alix was giving on the first night of their stay, and sent
+more than one lamentation forth in the shape of notes carried up
+to the house on the knoll by Jim House, the venerable handy-man at
+Dowd's Tavern.
+
+"I really don't recall him," said Addison Blythe, frowning
+thoughtfully. "He probably came to the sector after I left, Miss
+Crown. I've got a complete roster at home of all the fellows who
+served in the American Ambulance up to the time it was taken over.
+I'd like to meet him. I may have run across him any number of times.
+Names didn't mean much, you see, except in cases where we hung out
+together in one place for some time. I would remember his face,
+of course. Faces made impressions, and that's more than names did.
+Courtney Thane? Seems to me I have a vague recollection of that
+name. You say he was afterward flying with the British?"
+
+"Yes. He was wounded and gassed at--at--let me think. What was the
+name of the place? Only a few weeks before the armistice."
+
+"There was a great deal doing a few weeks before the armistice,"
+said Blythe, smiling. "You'll have to be a little more definite than
+that. The air was full of British aeroplanes from London clear to
+Palestine. What is he doing here?"
+
+"Recovering his health. He has had two attacks of pneumonia, you
+see,--and a touch of typhoid. His family originally lived in this
+country. The old Thane farm is almost directly across the river
+from Windomville. Courtney's father was born there, but went east
+to live during the first Cleveland administration. He had some kind
+of a political appointment in Washington, and married a Congressman's
+daughter from Georgia, I think--anyhow, it was one of the Southern
+states. He is really quite fascinating, Mary. You would lose your
+heart to him, I am sure."
+
+"And, pray, have you offered any reward for yours?" inquired Mary
+Blythe, smiling as she studied her friend's face rather narrowly.
+
+Alix met her challenging gaze steadily. A sharper observer than
+Mary Blythe might have detected the faintest shadow of a cloud in
+the dark, honest eyes.
+
+"When I lose it, dear, I shall say 'good riddance' and live happily
+ever after without one," she replied airily.
+
+The next morning she started off with her guests for a drive down
+the river, to visit the old fort and the remains of the Indian
+village. Stopping at the grain elevator, she beckoned to Charlie
+Webster. The fat little manager came bustling out, beaming with
+pleasure.
+
+"How is Mr. Thane today, Charlie?" she inquired, after introducing
+him to the Blythes.
+
+Charlie pursed his lips and looked wise. "Well, all I can say is,
+he's doing as well as could be expected. Temperature normal, pulse
+fluctuating, appetite good, respiration improved by a good many
+cusswords, mustard plaster itching like all get out,--but otherwise
+he's at the point of death. I was in to see him after breakfast.
+He was sitting up in bed and getting ready to tell Doc Smith what
+he thinks of him for ordering him to stay in the house till he
+says he can go out. He is terribly upset because he can't get up
+to Alix's to see you, Mr. Blythe. I never saw a feller so cut up
+about a thing as he is."
+
+"He must not think of coming out in this kind of weather," cried
+Alix firmly. "It would be--"
+
+"Oh, he's not thinking of coming out," interrupted Charlie quietly.
+
+"I am sorry not to have met him," said Blythe. "We probably have
+a lot of mutual friends."
+
+A queer little light flashed into Charlie Webster's eyes and lingered
+for an instant.
+
+"He's terribly anxious to meet you. It wouldn't surprise me at all
+if he got up today sometime and in spite of Doc Smith hustled over
+to call on you. I'll tell you what we might do, Alix. If Mr. Blythe
+isn't going to be too busy, I might take him up to see Court,--that
+is, when you get back from your drive. I know he'll appreciate it,
+and be tickled almost to death."
+
+"Fine!" cried Blythe. "If you're sure he will not mind, Mr. Webster."
+
+"Why should he mind? He says he's crazy to meet you, and he's able
+to see people--"
+
+"But I've always understood that talking was very painful to any
+one suffering from pleurisy," protested Alix.
+
+"Doesn't seem to hurt Court very much," declared Charlie. "He
+nearly talked an arm off of me and Furman Hatch this morning,--and
+it certainly seemed to be a real pleasure for him to cuss. I really
+think he'll get well quicker if you drop in for a chat with him,
+Mr. Blythe."
+
+"It would be very nice," said Alix warmly, "if you could run in
+for a few minutes--"
+
+"Sure I will," cried the young man. "This afternoon, Mr. Webster,--about
+half-past two?"
+
+"Any time suits me," said the obliging Mr. Webster. As if struck
+by something irresistibly funny, he suddenly put his hand to his
+mouth and got very red in the face. After an illy-suppressed snort
+or two, he coughed violently, and then stammered: "Excuse me. I was
+just thinking about--er--about something funny. I'm always doing
+some fool thing like that. This was about Ed Jones's dog,--wouldn't
+be the least bit funny to anybody but me, so I won't tell you about
+it. Two-thirty it is, then? I'll meet you up at Alix's. It's only
+a step."
+
+"Will you tell Mr. Thane that you are bringing Mr. Blythe to see him
+this afternoon, Charlie?" said Alix. "You said he was threatening
+to disobey the doctor's--"
+
+"You leave it to me, Alix," broke in Charlie reassuringly. "Trust
+me to see that he don't escape."
+
+A little before two-thirty, tall Mr. Blythe, one time Captain in
+the Field Artillery, and short Mr. Webster wended their way through
+the once busy stableyard in the rear of Dowd's Tavern. Charlie gave
+his companion a brief history of the Tavern and indicated certain
+venerable and venerated objects of interest,--such as the ancient
+log watering-trough (hewn in 1832); the rain-barrels, ash-hoppers
+and fodder cribs (dating back to Civil War days), the huge kettle
+suspended from a thick iron bar the ends of which were supported by
+rusty standards, where apple-butter was made at one season of the
+year, lye at another, and where lard was rendered at butchering-time.
+He took him into the wagon-shed and showed him the rickety
+high-wheeled, top-heavy carriage used by the first of the Dowds
+back in the forties, now ready to fall to pieces at the slightest
+ungentle shake; the once gaudy sleigh with its great curved "runners";
+and over in a dark corner two long barrelled rifles with rusty locks
+and rotten stocks, that once upon a time cracked the doom of deer
+and wolf and fox, of catamount and squirrel and coon, of wild turkeys
+and geese and ducks--to say nothing of an occasional horsethief.
+
+"They say old man Dowd could shoot the eye out of a squirrel three
+hundreds yards away with one of these rifles," announced Charlie;
+"and it was no trick at all for him to nip a wild turkey's head
+off at five hundred yards. I'll bet you didn't run up against any
+such shooting as that over in France."
+
+Blythe shook his head. "No such rifle shooting, I grant you. But
+what would you say to a German cannon twelve miles away landing
+ten shells in succession on a battery half as big as this stable
+without even being able to see the thing they were shooting at?"
+
+"I give up," said Charlie gloomily. "Old man Dowd was SOME liar,
+but, my gosh, he couldn't hold a--well, my respect for the American
+Army is greater than it ever was, I'll say that, Captain. Dan Dowd
+was the rankest kind of an amateur."
+
+"Do you mean as a shot,--or as a liar?" inquired Blythe, grinning.
+
+"Both," said Charlie.
+
+He had a very definite purpose in leading his guest through the
+stable-yard. By doing so he avoided the customary approach to the
+Tavern, in full view from Courtney's windows. They circled the
+building and arrived at the long, low porch from the north. Here
+they encountered Furman Hatch. Charlie appeared greatly surprised
+to find the photographer there.
+
+"What are you doing here at this time o' day, Tintype?" he demanded.
+"Takin' a vacation?"
+
+"I come over for some prints I left in my room last night," explained
+Mr. Hatch.
+
+"We're going up to call on Court," said Charlie. "Won't you join
+us?"
+
+Hatch looked at his watch, frowned dubiously, and then said he could
+spare a few minutes,--and that was just what it was understood in
+advance that he was to say!
+
+"He goes by the name of Tintype," explained Mr. Webster, after
+the two men had shaken hands. "Not because he looks like one, but
+because the village idiot's name is Furman, and we have to have
+some way of tellin' them apart."
+
+A few minutes later, Charlie knocked resoundingly on Courtney's
+door.
+
+"Who is it?"
+
+"It's me,--Charlie Webster. Got a nice surprise for you."
+
+"Come in."
+
+And in strode Charlie, followed by the tall stranger and the lank
+Mr. Hatch.
+
+Courtney, full dressed,--except that he wore instead of his coat
+a thick blue bath gown,--was sitting at a table in front of the
+small wood-fire stove, playing solitaire. A saucer at one corner
+of the table served as an ash tray. It was half full of cigarette
+stubs.
+
+"Well, what the--" he began, and then, catching sight of the
+stranger, scrambled up from his chair, his mouth still open.
+
+"I thought you'd be surprised," said Charlie triumphantly. "This
+is Mr. Blythe, Mr. Thane,--shake hands with each other, comrades.
+When I told him you were so keen to see him and talk over old
+times, he said slap-bang he'd come with me when I offered to bring
+him up."
+
+"I hope we're not intruding, Mr. Thane," said Blythe, advancing with
+hand extended. "Mr. Webster assured me you were quite well enough
+to receive--"
+
+"I am glad you came," cried Courtney, recovering from his surprise.
+"Awfully good of you. These beastly lungs of mine, you know. The
+least little flare-up scares me stiff. Still, I had almost screwed
+up my nerve to going out this afternoon--"
+
+"It doesn't pay to take any risks," warned Blythe, as they shook
+hands.
+
+The two men looked each other closely, steadily in the eye. Courtney
+was the first to speak at the end of this mutual scrutiny.
+
+"I wasn't quite sure whether I met you over there, Captain Blythe,"
+he said, "but now I know that I didn't. I've been puzzling my brain
+for days trying to recall the name, or at least your face. I may
+be wrong, however. I haven't much of a memory. I hope you will
+forgive me if we did meet and I have forgotten it. I--"
+
+"I have no recollection of ever having seen you, Mr. Thane," said
+Blythe. "It isn't surprising, however. It--it was a pretty big war,
+you know."
+
+Charlie Webster was slightly dashed. If anything, Courtney Thane was
+more at ease, more convincing than Addison Blythe. He felt rather
+foolish. Something, it seemed, had fallen very flat. He evaded Mr.
+Hatch's eye.
+
+"Sit down, Captain Blythe," said Courtney affably. "Hope you don't
+mind this bath gown. Charlie, make yourself at home on the bed,--you
+too, Hatch. We're as shy of chairs here as we were at the front,
+you see."
+
+Blythe remained for half an hour and then went away with his two
+companions. Courtney shook hands with him and said good-bye at the
+hall door; then he strode over to the bureau to look at himself
+in the glass. He saw reflected therein a very well satisfied face,
+with brightly confident eyes and the suggestion of a triumphant
+smile.
+
+Hatch accompanied the moody Mr. Webster to the warehouse office.
+
+"Strikes me, Charlie," said he, thoughtfully, "that of the two our
+friend Courtney seems a long sight more genuine than this feller
+Blythe. I guess you're off your base, old boy. Why, darn it, he
+had Blythe up in the air half the time. If I was a betting man,
+I'd put up a hundred or two that Blythe never even saw the places
+they were talking about."
+
+"Do you think Blythe is a fake?" cried Charlie in some heat.
+
+"I wouldn't go so far as to say that," said Hatch diplomatically,
+"but you'll have to admit that Court asked him a lot of questions
+he didn't seem able to answer."
+
+Charlie stared hard at the floor for a few seconds. Then: "Well, if
+I was to ask you what my mother's maiden name was, Tintype, you'd
+have to say you didn't know, wouldn't you?"
+
+"Sure," said Hatch. "But I wouldn't go so far as to say I wasn't
+certain whether she had a maiden name or not, would I?"
+
+"There's no use arguing with you, Hatch," said Charlie irritably,
+and turned to his desk by the window, there to frown fiercely over
+his scales book.
+
+II
+
+Alix and Miss Blythe were sitting in front of the fireplace when
+young Blythe entered the living-room on his return from Dowd's
+Tavern. The former looked up at him brightly, eagerly as he planted
+himself between them with his back to the cheerful blaze.
+
+"Did you see him?" she inquired. He was struck by the deep, straining
+look in her dark eyes,--as if she were searching for something far
+back in his brain.
+
+"Yes," he replied, as he took his pipe and tobacco pouch from his
+pocket. "He was up and around the room and was as pleased as Punch
+to see me." He began stuffing the bowl of the pipe. "He is a most
+attractive chap, Alix. I don't know when I've met a more agreeable
+fellow."
+
+"Then you had not met before,--over there?"
+
+"No. We missed each other by days on two or three occasions. He
+left for the Vosges just before I got to Pont-a-Mousson, and was
+transferred to another section when we all went up to Bar le Duc
+at the time of the Verdun drive. He joined the Ambulance several
+months before I did, and was shifted about a good deal. Had some
+trouble with a French officer at Pont-a-Mousson and asked to be
+transferred." Here he smiled feelingly. "He's got a mustard plaster
+on his back now, he says, that would cover an army mule. I know
+how that feels, by Jinks! I wore one for three weeks over there
+because I didn't have the nerve to rip it off."
+
+He was still aware of the unanswered question in her eyes. Changing
+his position slightly, he busied himself with the lighting of his
+pipe.
+
+"Was he expecting you?" inquired Alix.
+
+"Not at all. It seems that your roly-poly friend forgot to notify
+him. I say, Alix, what a wonderful lot of pre-historic junk there
+is in that old stable-yard. Webster took me around there and showed
+me the stuff. Tell me something about the place."
+
+Late in the afternoon Blythe,--after submitting to an interview at
+the hands of A. Lincoln Pollock,--sat alone before the fire, his
+long legs stretched out, a magazine lying idly in his lap, his pipe
+dead but gripped firmly in the hand that had remained stationary for
+a long, long time halfway to his lips. He was staring abstractedly
+into the neglected fire.
+
+His sister came in. He was not aware of her entrance until she
+appeared directly in front of him.
+
+"Hello!" he exclaimed, blinking.
+
+"What is on your mind, Addy?"
+
+He glanced over his shoulder.
+
+"Where is Alix?"
+
+"Writing letters. There were two or three she has to get off before
+we start for town." She sat down on the arm of his chair. "You may
+as well tell me what you really think of him, Addison. Isn't he
+good enough for her?"
+
+He lowered his voice. The frown of perplexity deepened in his eyes.
+
+"I can't make him out, Mary," he said, lowering his voice.
+
+"What do you mean?" she asked quickly.
+
+"Well, I may be doing him the rottenest injustice, but--somehow--he
+doesn't ring quite true to me."
+
+"For goodness sake, Addy,--" she began, and then: "In what way?
+Hurry up! Tell me before she comes down. Isn't he a--a gentleman?"
+
+"Oh, yes,--I suppose he is. He's a most engaging chap; he certainly
+seems well-bred, and he's darned good-looking. That isn't what I
+mean." He hesitated a moment and then blurted out: "Does Alix know
+POSITIVELY that he was in the American Ambulance? I mean, has she
+anybody else's word for it except his?"
+
+Mary Blythe stared at her brother, her lips parted. Then her eyes
+narrowed suddenly.
+
+"Don't--don't you think he's straight, Addy?" she half-whispered.
+
+"I confess I'm puzzled. I never dreamed of doubting him when
+I went there. But I've been doing a lot of thinking since I saw
+him, and,--by George, Mary, I'm up a tree. Good Lord, if he should
+be--well, if he should be putting something over on Alix, he ought
+to be shot, that's all. Do you think she's in love with him?"
+
+"I don't know. She's interested in him, I'm sure, but two or three
+times I have caught the queerest little look in her eyes when she
+is speaking of him,--almost as if she were afraid of something. I
+can't describe it. It's just--well, the only thing I can think of
+is that it's kind of pleading, if you know what I mean."
+
+"Groping, I guess is the word you're after."
+
+"Exactly. But go on,--tell me."
+
+"It won't do to say anything about this to Alix, Mary," said he
+firmly. "At least not at present. Not until I've satisfied myself.
+I'm going to write to three or four fellows who were in Section
+Two for months,--before I was there,--and see if they know anything
+about him. I'd write to Mr. Hereford himself, but he's in Europe.
+He could give me the right dope in a minute. Piatt Andrew's in
+France, I understand. The records will show, of course, but it will
+take time to get at them. We must not breathe a word of all this
+to Alix, Mary. Understand? I've got to make sure first. It would
+be unpardonable if I were to make a break about him and he turned
+out to be all right."
+
+"You must find out as quickly as possible, Addison. We would never
+forgive ourselves if we allowed Alix to--"
+
+"Don't you worry! It won't take long to get a line on him.
+I'd telegraph if I were sure of the addresses. I ought to hear in
+three or four days, a week at the outside. Of course, he talks very
+convincingly. That's what floors me. But, on the other hand, he's
+too darned convincing. First of all, he called me Captain Blythe
+all the time. That isn't done by fellows in the know. I'm just plain
+Mister these days. He was rather hazy about the places I know all
+about, and tremendously clear about places I've never even heard
+of,--the places around Pont-a-Mousson, I mean. He actually looked
+suspicious of me when I said I didn't know where they were. And
+he mentioned a lot of men that I am dead sure never were up at
+Pont-a-Mousson,--either before or after I was there. Names I had
+never heard before in my life. And, confound it, the way he lifted
+his eyebrows made me feel for a minute or two that I hadn't been
+there myself. He says that since his injury and his sicknesses his
+memory isn't the best, but when I spoke of some of the fellows who
+were there with me, he remembered them perfectly. Didn't know them
+well, because he wasn't with the bunch very long, it seems. When I
+remarked that he must see a good bit of the chaps who live in New
+York City, he told me he had been sick ever since he came home from
+England and hadn't seen one of the crowd. He said he knew Pottle,
+and Fay, and Tyler, Sudbery and several others,--so I'm going to
+write to all of them tomorrow."
+
+"It would be terrible, Addy, if she were to--"
+
+"Mind you, old girl, I'm not saying this fellow isn't square," he
+interrupted. "He may be all he says he is. He's got me guessing,
+that's all."
+
+"She says he has the croix de guerre and a D. S. medal."
+
+He looked at her pityingly. "I've got a couple of Iron Crosses,
+old dear, but that doesn't mean I had 'em pinned on me by a Boche
+general. I've also got a German helmet, but I got it the same way
+I got the Crosses,--off of a German whose eyes were closed. Anyhow,
+I'd like to see his medals. Has Alix seen them?"
+
+"His mother has them in New York," she replied. She stared into
+the fire for a moment or two and then turned to him, a look of deep
+concern in her eyes. "I think Alix is in love with him, Addy. She
+isn't herself at all. She is distrait. Twice this afternoon she
+has asked me if I didn't want to walk down into the village,--to
+the postoffice or the library. What she really wanted to do was to
+walk past the place where he lives. Oh, I know the symptoms. I've
+had them myself,--when I was younger than I am now. We don't do
+the things at thirty-two that we did at twenty-four. She is the
+dearest, finest girl I've ever known, Addy. We must not let anything
+happen to her."
+
+He shook his head slowly. "If she is really in love with him,
+there's nothing we can do. The saying that 'there's no fool like an
+old fool' isn't in it with 'there's no fool like a woman in love.'
+Look at Isabel Harrington. Wasn't she supposed to be as sensible
+as they make 'em? And didn't everybody she knew tell her what kind
+of a man he was? Did it do any good?"
+
+"She knew he gambled,--and drank--and he WAS a fascinating chap,
+Addy. You'll admit that."
+
+"You bet I admit it. It was certainly proved when those other women
+turned up with marriage certificates, and old Mrs. Mason jumped
+into the scrimmage and had him arrested for swindling her out of
+thirty-five thousand dollars, and the New York police came along
+with a warrant for--"
+
+"Yes, yes," she interrupted impatiently. "But Alix is quite different.
+She is NOT a fool, and Isabel was,--and still is, I maintain. You
+have seen this friend of Alix's. Is he attractive?"
+
+"Well," he mused aloud, "unless I am mistaken, he is the sort of
+fellow that women fall for without much of an effort. The sort that
+can fool women but can't fool men, Mary, if that means anything to
+you. Now that I think of it, I believe Webster and that friend of
+his are--Well, I'm sure they don't like him. He--"
+
+"Sh! She is coming!"
+
+Alix's quick, light tread was heard in the hall. She came from her
+"office" in the wing where the kitchen was situated.
+
+There was a heightened colour in her cheeks and her lovely eyes
+were shining.
+
+"Well, that job is done," she cried, tossing two or three letters
+on the table. "Don't let me forget them, Mary. I'll post them in
+the city. We leave at six o'clock, Addison. I telephoned to town
+and asked George Richards to meet us at the Raleigh at a quarter
+before seven. I am dreadfully disappointed, Mary, that Mr. Thane
+cannot go, but you will like George. Mr. Thane NEVER goes to town.
+He was going to break his rule tonight, and now he CAN'T go. Isn't
+that always the way?"
+
+"Mary's awfully partial to Georges," said Addison, "so don't you
+worry about her. I know I shall have a better time if Thane isn't
+in the party. To be perfectly frank with you, I'm jolly well fed
+up with Mary,--as we say in London. And if Thane was along I'd HAVE
+to talk to her for three solid--Why, 'pon my soul, Alix, you're
+blushing!"
+
+"Don't be silly!"
+
+"Skip along, Addy, and see how quickly you can dress," interposed
+his sister briskly. "You've got forty-six minutes."
+
+"I can dress and undress three times in forty-six minutes, and
+still have time to read the evening paper and do a few odd chores
+about the place. I say, Alix, red is awfully becoming to you." With
+that parting shot, he disappeared.
+
+III
+
+One of the envelopes on the table was addressed to David Strong. It
+was a reply to a special delivery letter received in the afternoon
+post. He had been very prompt in responding to Alix's curt note,
+and she was being equally prompt with her answer. There were stamps
+sufficient on hers to insure "special delivery" to him.
+
+He had written:
+
+DEAR ALIX:
+
+I have not received the bracelet yet. Registered mail moves slowly.
+If I did not know you so well, I might even hope that you had
+changed your mind at the last minute and did not send it. But I know
+it will come along in a day or so. I shall not ask you to explain
+why you are returning my gift. You have a good reason, no doubt.
+We have not been very friendly of late. I admit that I have been
+stubborn about paying back the money your grandfather lent to me,
+and I suppose I have not been very gentlemanly or tactful in trying
+to make you understand. I still maintain that it is a very silly
+thing for us to quarrel about, but I am not going to hector you about
+it now. I trust you will forgive me if I add to your annoyance by
+saying that I'd like to be where I could shake a little sense into
+that stubborn head of yours.
+
+You are returning my gift. As I told you when I sent it to you, it
+was given me by a French lady whose son I had taken care of and for
+whose ultimate recovery I was perhaps responsible. She appreciated
+the fact that I could not and would not accept pay for my services.
+This much I have told you before. Now, I shall tell you something
+more. When she pressed it upon me she said that I was to give it
+to my sweetheart back in America. I gave it to you. I daresay I am
+greatly to blame for never having told you before that you were my
+sweetheart, Alix.
+
+Very sincerely yours,
+
+DAVID.
+
+To this Alix replied:
+
+DEAR DAVID:
+
+By this time you will have received the bracelet. It is not beyond
+the bounds of probability that you may yet be in a position to
+carry out the terms imposed by the lady in France. All the more
+reason for my returning it to you. You are now free to give it to
+any one to whom you may have confided the astonishing secret you
+so successfully withheld from me. You seem to have forgotten that
+I gave you a receipt in full for the amount you are supposed to
+have owed my grandfather's estate. I did this with the consent of
+my lawyer. He said it was perfectly legal and that it was in my
+power to cancel the so-called obligation,--especially as we have
+no documentary evidence that you ever had promised to reimburse
+my grandfather. On the contrary, as I have told you over and over
+again, I have in my possession a statement written by Grandfather
+Windom which absolutely settles the matter. He states in so many
+words that in making his will he failed to mention his "beloved
+young friend, David Strong" as a beneficiary, in view of the fact
+that "I have made him a substantial gift during the closing years
+of my life in the shape of such education as he may require, and
+for which I trust him to repay me, not in money, but in the simplest
+and truest form of compensation: gratitude." In spite of this, you
+continue to offend me,--I might even say insult me,--by choosing to
+consider his gift as an obligation which can only be met by paying
+MONEY to me. All that you owed my grandfather was gratitude and
+respect. As for myself, I relieve you of the former but I do think
+I am entitled to the latter.
+
+Yours sincerely,
+
+ALIX CROWN
+
+The same post that carried her letter east was to take one from
+Courtney Thane to his mother.
+
+DEAREST MATER:
+
+I am going to ask Alix Crown to marry me. I have hesitated to do so
+for obvious reasons, perfectly clear to you. Now, I have decided.
+She understands my financial situation. She knows that I am almost
+entirely dependent on you for support at present. If it had not
+been for the war and my confounded ill-health, I should, of course,
+have been quite independent by this time. I have explained my
+present unbearable situation to her in a general sort of way, and
+I know that she is in complete sympathy with me. Your resolve to
+not increase my allowance is, I suppose, irrevocable. I shall soon
+be in a position, I hope, to dispense with what you are already so
+gracious as to allow me. I have not deemed it wise to tell her at
+this time of my unfortunate and, as you say, foolish mismanagement
+of my affairs before and after father's death. When all is said and
+done, he didn't leave me very much. It went before I quite knew
+what was happening, and I submit that it was bad judgment due to my
+youth rather than to recklessness, as old Mumford claims. I'll make
+him eat his words some day. Thanks for your cheque. You are a darling.
+You're the best mother a fellow ever had. I quite understand your
+position, so don't lose a moment's sleep thinking that I may be
+resenting your decision. I shall manage very nicely on what you
+give me. It is ample for my present needs. I shall probably find it
+rather humiliating when it comes time for a wedding journey, but,
+bless your dear old heart, I'll manage somehow.
+
+I am quite well and very happy. Hope you are the same. By the way,
+have you made that visit to Washington?
+
+Your loving son,
+
+COURTNEY.
+
+P.S.--I am still looking for the little parcel I asked you to send
+me. Have you forgotten to attend to it?
+
+C.
+
+As Alix and her friends went out to the automobile, the big police
+dog trotted beside Addison Blythe, looking up into his face with
+pleased and friendly eyes. He allowed the man to stroke his head
+and rumple the thick fur on his back.
+
+"He likes you, Addison," said Alix, a serious little frown in her
+eyes. "I can't understand his not liking Courtney Thane. His hair
+fairly bristles and he growls like a bear every time he sees him.
+Isn't it odd?"
+
+Blythe looked up quickly. It was on the tip of his tongue to say
+something tactless. What he did say was this:
+
+"Can you blame the poor dog for being jealous?"
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+THE OLD INDIAN TRAIL
+
+
+
+
+Courtney delayed. A certain aloofness on Alix's part caused him to
+hesitate. Something in her manner following upon the visit of the
+Blythes invited speculation. She was as pleasant as ever, yet he
+sensed a subtle change that warned him of defeat if he attempted
+to storm the citadel. His confidence was slightly shaken,--but not
+his resolve.
+
+"She's been different ever since those infernal Blythes were
+here," he reflected aloud, scowling as he watched her pass in the
+car several days after the departure of her guests.
+
+She went to the city nearly every day now, and seldom returned before
+dark. Somehow he felt that his grip was slipping. He was standing
+in front of the Tavern. She had waved her hand to him, and had
+smiled gaily, but it was not the first time that week she had failed
+to stop and repeat her usual invitation for him to accompany her,
+even though she knew he would politely decline. He resented this
+oversight. How could she know that he hadn't changed his mind about
+going to the city? As a matter of fact, he had changed it. He would
+have gone like a shot. Indeed, he had dressed with that very object
+in view,--and she had gone by with a casual wave of her hand.
+His annoyance was increased by the remark of Mr. Nichols, who was
+standing at the top of the steps at the time.
+
+"Thought you said you was going up to town, Courtney," said the
+old man, with a detestable grin on his wrinkled visage.
+
+"I didn't say anything of the kind," snapped Courtney, and strode
+off angrily.
+
+His stroll,--and his reflections,--took him up the old Indian trail
+along the bank of the river. He wanted solitude. He wanted to be
+where he could talk without fear of being overheard. There was much
+that he had to say to himself.
+
+The rarely used path through the willows and underbrush ran along
+the steep bank, sometimes within a few feet of water. Once before
+he had walked a couple of hundred yards over this ancient, hard-packed
+trail of Tecumseh's people, but had been turned back by the sight
+of a small snake wriggling off into the long grass ahead of him.
+That was in the warm days of early September. There was no likelihood
+of serpents being abroad on this chill October morning.
+
+Leaving the road at the cut above the ferry landing, he turned into
+the trail. A half hour's walk brought him to the gradually rising,
+rock-covered slope that led to the base of Quill's Window. On all
+sides were great, flat slabs of stone, some of them almost buried
+in the earth, others sticking their jagged points up above the
+brush and weeds. Back in ages dim these drab, moss-covered rocks
+had been sliced from the side of the towering mound by the forces
+that shaped the earth, to be hurled hither and thither with the calm
+disdain of the mighty. No human agency had blasted them from their
+insecure hold on the shoulders of the cliff. Uncounted centuries
+ago they had come bounding, crashing down from the heights, shaken
+loose by the convulsions of Mother Earth, tearing their way through
+the feeble barrier of trees to a henceforth place of security.
+
+The trail wound in and out among these boulders, dividing at a
+point several hundred feet south of the steep ascent to the top of
+the great black mound. The main-travelled path turned in from the
+river at this point, to skirt the hill at its rear. A more tortuous
+way, traversed presumably by the fishers and hunters of the tribes,
+or perhaps by war parties in swift pursuit or retreat, held directly
+to the bank of the stream and passed along the front of the cliff.
+
+Courtney took the latter branch. Presently he was picking his way
+carefully along the base of the cliff, scrambling over and between
+the rocks that formed a narrow ledge between the river and the
+sheer face of Quill's Window. He was now some fifty or sixty feet
+above the cold, grey water. Below him grew a line of stunted,
+ragged underbrush, springing from the earth-filled fissures among
+the boulders. Across the river stretched far away the farms and
+fields of the far-famed grain-belt.
+
+He sat down upon a rock and gazed out over these fertile lands,
+now crowded with shocks of corn or rusty with the dead glories
+of summer. There were great square fields of stubble, fenced-in
+patches of pasture-land, small oases of woodland, houses and barns
+and silos as far as the eye could reach,--and always the huge red
+barns dwarfed the houses in which the farmers dwelt. Cattle and
+sheep and horses, wagons and men, all made small and insignificant
+in the sweep of this great and solemn panorama.
+
+The home of Amos Vick was visible, standing half-a-mile back from
+the river. He looked hard and long at the house in which he had
+spent the first three weeks of his stay in the country. So young
+Cale had gone off to join the Navy, eh? Good! And Rosabel,--what
+of her? What was she doing over at the old Windom house that day?
+Could it have been she who was watching him? Looking badly, too,
+they said. Such a strong, pretty, wind-tanned young thing she was!
+How long ago was it? Not two months....He lit a cigarette and
+resumed his way, the shadow of a fond smile lingering in his eyes.
+
+Rounding the curve, he came to that side of the stone hill which
+faced up the river. He had passed many small, shallow niches along
+the base of the eminence, miniature caves from which oozed what
+might well have been described as sweat. There were, besides, deep
+upright slashes in the side of the rock, higher than his head,
+suggesting to the imagination the vain effort of some unhappy giant
+to burst through the walls of his rocky prison,--some monster of
+a man who now lay dead in the heart of the hill. The turn took him
+farther away from the river.
+
+He was looking now into the tops of several tall sycamores that
+rose from the low ground at the foot of the hill. Extending far to
+the north along the river was a fringe of these much be-sung trees.
+The space between the straight face of the cliff and the edge of
+the ledge on which he stood was not more than seven or eight feet.
+It was possible, he perceived, for one to continue along and down
+this natural path to the bottom of the hill, coming out among the
+trees in the low ground. The descent, however, was a great deal
+more precipitous than the ascent from the other direction.
+
+Now that he was immediately below the cave known as Quill's
+Window, he was surprised to find that the cliff was not absolutely
+perpendicular. There was quite a pronounced slant; the top of the
+wall was, at a guess, ten feet farther back than the foot. His
+gaze first sought the strange opening three-fourths of the way to
+the top,--a matter of eighty or ninety feet above the spot on which
+he stood. There it was,--a deep, black gash in the solid rock,
+rendered narrow by fore-shortening and a slightly protruding brow.
+He could think of nothing more analogous than an open mouth with
+a thick upper lip and the nether lip drawn in.
+
+Then he saw what surprised him even more,--something that none of
+the chroniclers had mentioned: a series of hand-cut niches up the
+face of the cliff, leading directly to the mouth of the cave. He had
+been given to understand that there was no other means of reaching
+Quill's Window save from the top of the rock. These niches or
+"hand-holds" were about two feet apart. He examined the lower ones.
+They were deeply chiselled, affording a substantial foothold as
+well as a grip for a strong, resolute climber. Most of them were
+packed with dirty, wind blown leaves from the trees nearby,--so
+tightly packed by the furious rains that beat against the rock
+that he had difficulty in removing the substance. Higher up they
+appeared to be quite clean and free from obstruction.
+
+He scraped the leaves out of five or six of the slits, one after
+the other, as he climbed a short distance up the wall. Further
+progress was checked, not so much by lack of desire to go to the
+top, but by an involuntary glance over his shoulder. He was not
+more than ten feet above the trail, but the trail was shockingly
+narrow and uneven. So down he came, quite thrilled by his discovery,
+to lean against the rock and laugh scornfully over the silly tales
+about Quill's Window and its eerie impregnability. Anybody could
+climb up there! All that one needed was a stout heart and a good
+pair of arms. Closer inspection convinced him that these niches were
+of comparatively recent origin,--certainly they were not of Quill's
+time. David Windom? Had that adventurous lad hewn this ladder to
+the cave long before the beautiful Alix the First came to complete
+the romance of his dreams?
+
+No matter who cut them, they were still there to prove that Quill's
+Window was accessible. According to tradition, no one had put foot
+inside the cave since David Windom, in his youth, had ventured to
+explore its grisly interior. Courtney promised himself that one
+day he would enter that unhallowed hole in the wall!
+
+Retracing his steps over the trail, he soon found himself in the
+village. He was more cheerful now. He had talked himself into a
+better frame of mind....She was shy. She had reached the turning
+point,--the inevitable point where women tremble with a strange
+mixture of alarm and rapture, and are as timid as the questioning
+deer. What a fool he was not to have thought of that!
+
+There was a small package in his lockbox at the postoffice--and
+two or three letters. The package was from New York, addressed in
+his mother's hand.
+
+He stopped at the general delivery window for a chat with Mrs.
+Pollock.
+
+"I had forgotten all about my birthday," he said, "but here's
+mother reminding me of it as usual. She never forgets,--and, hang
+it all, she won't let ME forget." He fingered the unopened package
+lovingly.
+
+"Goodness me, Mr. Thane,--is this your birthday?" she cried excitedly.
+"We must have a celebration. We can't allow--"
+
+"Alas, it is too late. Your super-efficient postal service has
+brought this to me just forty-eight hours behind time. Day before
+yesterday was the day, now that I think of it."
+
+Mrs. Pollock mentally resolved to indite a short poem to him,
+notwithstanding. She could feel it coming, even as she stood there
+talking to him. The first line was already written, so to speak.
+It went:
+
+"The flight of Time has brought once more--"
+
+He continued, oblivious to the workings of the Muse: "Twenty-nine!
+By Jove, I begin to feel that I'm getting on in life." He ripped
+open one of the envelopes.
+
+Maude Baggs Pollock looked intently at the ceiling of the outer
+office, and thought of line number two:
+
+"The busy Reaper to his door,"
+
+She hastily snatched a pencil from her hair and began jotting
+down these precious lines. Fumbling for a bit of paper her fingers
+encountered an envelope addressed to Alaska Spigg. The Muse worked
+swiftly. Before she had dashed off the first two lines, the second
+pair were crowding down upon them, to wit:
+
+"But while he whets his fatal scythe, Gaze ye upon his victim
+lithe."
+
+At this juncture George Rice's son came in for a half dozen postal
+cards, and while she was making change for a dime the Muse forsook
+her. Bent on preserving the lines already shaped, she stuffed
+Alaska's letter into the pocket of her apron, intending to copy
+them at the first leisure moment. Unfortunately for Alaska, there
+was a rush of business at the window, including an acrimonious
+dispute with Mrs. Ryan over the non-arrival of a letter she was
+expecting from her son, and a lengthy conversation with Miss Flora
+Grady who dropped in to say that her chilblains always began to
+bother her in October. In the meantime, Courtney departed.
+
+Two days later, Alaska Spigg received her letter, considerably
+crumpled and smelling of licorice root,--(a favourite remedy of Mrs.
+Pollock's)--but rendered precious by the presence of a mysterious
+"quatrain" done in violet hues by some poetic wielder of an indelible
+pencil. Guilt denied Maude Baggs Pollock the right to claim
+authorship of these imperishable lines, and to this day they remain
+unidentified in the archives of the Windomville Public Library,
+displayed upon request by Alaska Spigg, their proud and unselfish
+donor.
+
+Courtney read two of his letters. The third he consigned, unopened,
+to the fireplace at Dowd's Tavern. The little package, minus the
+wrapping paper, was locked away in his trunk.
+
+Charlie Webster, emerging from his office at the dinner hour,--twelve
+noon,--espied Miss Angie Miller hurrying toward the Tavern. He hailed
+her,--not ceremoniously or even gallantly,--but in the manner of
+Windomville.
+
+"Hey!" he called, and Angie promptly responded, not with the dignity
+for which she was famous but with an entirely human spontaneity:
+
+"Hey yourself!"
+
+She waited till he caught up with her.
+
+"Have you had an answer to that letter, Angie?" he inquired, glancing
+at a small bunch of letters she held in her hand.
+
+"No, I haven't." she replied, somewhat guardedly. "I can't understand
+why he hasn't answered, Charlie,--unless he's away or something."
+
+"Must be that," said he, frowning slightly. "You wrote nearly two
+weeks ago, didn't you?"
+
+"Two weeks ago yesterday."
+
+"Sure you had the right address?"
+
+"Absolutely. Thirty-three Cedar Street. He's had an office there for
+ever so long. I ought to know where my uncle's office is, oughtn't
+I?"
+
+"I thought maybe you might have got the wrong tree," explained
+Charlie.
+
+"It's Cedar," said Miss Angie flatly.
+
+"Cedar and pine are a good deal alike, except in--" began Charlie,
+doubtfully,
+
+"Goodness!" cried Miss Angie, stopping short. "It IS Pine! How
+perfectly stupid of me! How utterly reprehensible!"
+
+Charlie stared at her a moment in sheer disdain.
+
+"Well, by gosh, if that ain't like a woman," he exclaimed disgustedly.
+"I'd hate to send you for a half dozen oranges if there were any
+lemons in the market."
+
+"He is such a well-known lawyer," began Angie humbly, "that you
+would think the mail carrier would--"
+
+"What did you say his name was?"
+
+"Joseph Smith. He is my mother's brother."
+
+"East or West?"
+
+"East or west what?"
+
+"Pine Street. Same as North Fourth Street and South Fourth Street
+up in the city. It runs both ways, Angie,--you poor simp."
+
+"I shall write to him again this evening," said Angie stiffly. "And
+I'll thank you, Charlie Webster, to remember that I am a lady and
+not a--"
+
+"I apologize, Angie," cried Charlie.
+
+"You'd better!"
+
+They walked along in silence for a few rods. Then Charlie spoke.
+
+"You say your uncle was mixed up in a lawsuit of some kind concerning
+the Thane family?"
+
+"I remember it distinctly. It was five or six years ago, before my
+mother died. He wrote her a letter about it when he found out that
+the Thanes originally came from this neighbourhood. I don't remember
+what it was all about, but I think it was some kind of a rumpus
+over money."
+
+"Well, you write tonight, Angie," ordered Mr. Webster; "and remember
+it ain't Cedar, or Oak, or Mahogany. It's Pine,--the stuff you make
+boxes of."
+
+Much to Courtney's dismay, Alix remained in town over night. He went
+up to the house that evening, only to receive this disconcerting
+bit of information. Halfway home, he stopped short in the road,
+confronted by a most astonishing doubt. Had she really stayed in
+town? Could it be possible that she was at home and did not care to
+see him? Was it an excuse? He compressed his lips. With lightning
+rapidity certain bits of circumstantial evidence raced through his
+mind. In the first place, there was Sergeant, the police dog. He
+wished he could remember whether he had seen the animal in the car
+with her that morning. It was her custom to take the dog with her
+when she went up for the day. One thing was certain: Sergeant was
+now at home. Did that mean she had returned from the city?
+
+And then there was another extraordinary thing,--something to which
+he had not given a thought till now. The dog was on the terrace
+when he strode up the walk. Not only was he there, but he interposed
+his lean, bristling body between him and the porch-steps, growling
+ominously and showing his teeth. He did not bark. He merely stood
+there, daring him to approach. Courtney remembered saying to himself:
+
+"There's one thing sure, you and I can't live in the same house,
+you filthy brute. You'd better learn how to say your prayers, my
+amiable friend."
+
+It was not so much the presence of the dog or his inimical attitude
+that troubled him now as the fact that Mrs. Strong opened the front
+door without having been summoned by the bell. What did that signify?
+But one thing: either she or some one else had been waiting and
+watching for his arrival,--waiting behind the window curtains of
+a darkened room!
+
+"Well,--I'm damned!" he swore to himself, as the blood rushed
+furiously to his head. For an instant he saw red. "Good Lord, what
+have I done to deserve such a slap in the face as this? What can
+be--But, what the devil's the matter with me? Of course, she's in
+town! I must be going batty. Certainly she's in town. She--but, even
+so, why should she have gone off like this without saying a word
+to me about it? She didn't mention it last night. Not a word. And
+she must have known then she was planning to spend the night,--why,
+by gad, I wonder if she calls that being fair with me? Letting me
+trail up here tonight, expecting--Any way you want to look at it,
+it's rotten,--just plain rotten!"
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+SUSPICION
+
+
+
+
+Early the next morning she called him up from the city. She
+explained everything. The little daughter of her best friend had
+fallen downstairs, injuring herself badly,--perhaps fatally. She
+felt it her duty to remain with the distracted mother,--she hoped
+he would understand. And she was in such a hurry to reach the city
+after the child's father had called her on the telephone that she
+really did not have the time to stop and explain. He would understand
+that, too, wouldn't he? And she thought perhaps she would stay over
+another night. She couldn't leave Marjorie,--at least, not until
+something definite was known.
+
+He was vastly relieved. All his worry for nothing! He wished now
+that he had remained in his room instead of going out a second time
+last night to tramp about the dark, lonely village, driven forth
+by an ugly fit of temper.
+
+"But Mrs. Strong didn't say anything about the accident," he said
+over the wire. "She simply said you were in town for the night."
+
+"I can't understand that," replied Alix. "She knew why I came up to
+town, and I telephoned her during the afternoon that I would stay
+overnight.
+
+"She might have told me," he complained. "It would have relieved
+my mind enormously. I--I was horribly unhappy. Never closed my
+eyes. I thought you,--that is, I wondered if I had done anything to
+offend you. My Lord, you'll never know how happy I am this minute.
+My heart is singing--And to think it was like a lump of lead all
+last night. Do try to come out this evening."
+
+She did not answer at once, but he could plainly hear her breathing.
+Then she said softly:
+
+"If--if the child is better. I can't leave Marjorie until--until--"
+
+"I understand," he cried heartily. "What a selfish beast I am. Don't
+give me another thought. Your place is there. Because you are an
+angel!"
+
+Later on he sauntered over to the postoffice. A number of men
+and women were congregated in front of the drug store, among them
+Charlie Webster and A. Lincoln Pollock. The latter had his "pad"
+in hand and was writing industriously.
+
+"What's the excitement?" Courtney inquired, coming up to Charlie.
+
+"Somebody poisoned Henry Brickler's collie last night," replied
+Charlie. There was a dark scowl on his chubby face.
+
+"You don't mean that corking dog up at the white house on the--"
+
+"Yep. That's the one," replied Charlie harshly. "Anybody that would
+poison a dog ought to be tarred and feathered."
+
+"Who did it?"
+
+"You don't suppose a man mean enough to give an unsuspectin' dog a
+dose of poison would be kind enough to pin his card on the gatepost,
+do you? I should say not!"
+
+"But why on earth should any one want to poison that big beautiful
+dog?" cried Courtney indignantly. "Had he bitten anybody?"
+
+"Not as anybody knows of. Henry says he never harmed a living soul.
+That dog--"
+
+"By George!" exclaimed Courtney suddenly. "This reminds me of
+something. I passed a couple of men last night down at the corner
+where you turn up to Miss Crown's. They were leaning against the
+fence on the opposite side of the road, and I had the queerest sort
+of feeling about them. I felt that they were watching me. I remember
+turning my head to look back at them. They were still standing
+there. It was too dark to see what they looked like--"
+
+"Wait a second," broke in Charlie. "Here's Bill Foss, the constable.
+Tell it to him, Court."
+
+The town constable, vastly excited, came up the street, accompanied
+by two or three stern-visaged citizens.
+
+"Well, by thunder!" growled the officer, wiping his forehead.
+"Somebody's been making a wholesale job of it. Dick Hurdle's 'Jackie'
+and Bert Little's 'Prince' are dead as doornails. That makes three.
+Now, who the hell,--"
+
+"Just a second,--just a second," cried A. Lincoln Pollock, elbowing
+his way into the thick of the new group. "Let me get the facts.
+You first, Dick. Where did you find your dog's remains? Now, take
+it calm, Dick. Don't cuss like that. I can't print a word of it,
+you know,--not a word. Remember there are ladies present, Dick.
+You've got to--"
+
+Mr. Hurdle said he didn't give a cuss if all the women in town were
+present, he was going to say what he thought of any blankety-blank,--and
+so on at great length, despite the fact that the ladies crowded
+even a little closer, evidently reluctant to miss a word of his
+just and unbridled blasphemy.
+
+The occasion demanded the sonorous efficiency of Mr. Richard
+Hurdle. In all Windomville there was no one so well qualified to
+do justice to the situation as he. (Later on, Charlie Webster was
+heard to remark that "as long as these dogs had to be killed, it's
+a great relief that Dick's was one of 'em, because he's got the
+best pair of lungs in town. He can expand his chest nearly seven
+inches, and when he fills all that extra space up with words nobody
+ever even heard of before, people clear over in Illinois have to
+rush out and shoo their children into the house and keep 'em there
+till it blows over.")
+
+Doctor Smith came rattling up in his Ford, hopped out, and started
+to enter the drug store. Catching sight of the druggist in the
+crowd, he stopped to bawl out:
+
+"Who's been buying prussic acid of you, Sam Foster? What do you
+mean by selling--"
+
+"I ain't sold a grain of prussic acid in ten years," roared Mr.
+Foster. "Or any other kind of poison. Don't you accuse ME of--"
+
+"Anything new, Doc? Anything new?" cried the editor of the Sun,
+rushing up to the doctor.
+
+"They got that dog of Alix Crown's. I tried to save him,--but he
+was as good as dead when I got there. Of all the damnable outrages--"
+
+"Miss Crown's dog?" cried Courtney, aghast, "Good God! Why,--why,
+it will break her heart! She LOVED that dog! Men! We've got to find
+the scoundrel. We've got to FIX him. He ought to be strung up. Has
+any one called Miss Crown up, Doctor? She is in the city. She--"
+
+"Mrs. Strong called her up. The automobile started for town fifteen
+or twenty minutes ago to bring her home."
+
+"Keep your shirt on, Court," warned Charlie Webster. "You'll bust a
+blood vessel. Cool off! There's no use talkin' about GETTING him.
+Whoever it was that planted these dog-buttons around town was
+slick enough to cover up his tracks. We'll never find out who did
+it. It's happened before, and the result is always the same. Dead
+dogs tell no tales."
+
+"But those two fellows I saw down at the corner last night--"
+
+"Would you be able to identify them?"
+
+"No,--hang it all! It was too dark. It was about half-past nine.
+Why, earlier in the evening I was at Miss Crown's. I saw the dog.
+He was on the terrace. He growled at me,--he always growled at me.
+He didn't like me. Mrs. Strong came to the door and called him into
+the house. I am sure he was all right then. When is he supposed to
+have got the poison, Doctor?"
+
+"This morning. She let him out of the house about seven o'clock.
+Paid no attention to him till he came crawling around to the
+kitchen door some time afterward. He just laid down and kicked a few
+times,--that's what makes me think it was prussic acid. It knocks
+'em quick."
+
+"Come on, Charlie," cried Courtney, clutching the other's arm. "We
+must go up to the house. There may be some trace,--something that
+will give us a clue."
+
+He was at the house when the car returned without Alix. She had
+sent the chauffeur back with instructions to bury the dog. She could
+not bear looking at him. She wanted it to be all over with before
+she came home.
+
+"I don't blame her," said Charlie soberly. "Shows how much she
+thought of Sergeant when she's willing to pay five hundred dollars
+reward for the capture of the man or men who poisoned him."
+
+"Where did you hear that?" demanded Courtney, surprised.
+
+"Ed Stevens says she told him to authorize Bill Foss to have reward
+notices struck off over at the Sun office, offering five hundred
+cash. She always said that dog was the best friend she had on
+earth."
+
+"But five hundred dollars! Why, good Lord, you can buy a dozen
+police dogs for that amount of--"
+
+"You couldn't have bought Sergeant for ten times five hundred,"
+interrupted Charlie. "You see, as a matter of fact, he didn't
+actually belong to Alix."
+
+"You must be crazy. She has had him since he was a puppy three
+months old."
+
+"Sure, But, all the same, he didn't belong to her. He belonged to
+David Strong. Davy got him in France in the spring of 1918 and sent
+him clear over here for his mother to take care of for him."
+
+Courtney was silent for a moment. "It's strange Miss Crown never
+told me this," he said, biting his lip.
+
+"Well," said Charlie quaintly, "far as that goes, I don't suppose
+it ever occurred to her to tell Sergeant he belonged to somebody
+else, but even if she had I don't reckon it would have made a darn'
+bit of difference to him. He would have gone on loving her, just
+the same,--and workin' twenty-four hours a day for her, Sundays
+and holidays included. A dog don't care who he belongs to, Court,
+but he's mighty darned particular about who belongs to him."
+
+"I can't understand why he never seemed to like me," mused Courtney.
+
+"Well, maybe," began Charlie soberly, "--maybe, after all, he DID
+sort of know that he was Davy Strong's dog."
+
+II
+
+For three days Windomville talked of nothing but the "dog murders."
+The Sun came out on Thursday with a long and graphic account of
+the mysterious affairs of Monday night, including the views and
+theories of well-known citizens. It also took occasion to "lambast"
+Constable Foss with great severity. The Constable, being a Republican,
+(and not a subscriber to the Sun), was described as about the most
+incompetent official Windomville had ever known, and that it would
+have been quite possible for the miscreant or miscreants to have
+poisoned every dog in town, in broad daylight, accompanied by a
+brass band, without Bill ever "getting onto it."
+
+It goes without saying that everybody in town was stimulated to
+prodigious activity by the reward offered by Miss Crown. Notices
+were stuck up in the postoffice and on all the telephone poles. A
+great many embarrassing incidents resulted, and three fist-fights
+of considerable violence occurred,--for the gentlemen accused of
+the crimes took drastic and specific means of establishing complete
+and satisfactory alibis.
+
+Courtney Thane chafed under the prolonged absence of Alix Crown.
+Valuable time was being wasted. He had assisted at the burial of
+Sergeant, and had shed tears with Mrs. Strong while Ed Stevens, the
+chauffeur, was filling in the grave up back of the orchard; and he
+had done further homage to the dead by planting a small American
+flag at the head of the mound and,--as an afterthought,--the flag
+of Belgium at the foot.
+
+He felt that he had done very well by a dog that would have torn
+him to pieces if encouraged by the merest whisper of the words "sic
+'im!"
+
+Alix returned late on Friday afternoon. He had a box of roses,
+ordered from the city for him by Miss Flora Grady, awaiting her,
+and with them a tender little note of sympathy.
+
+She sat for a long time with Mrs. Strong. Her dark eyes softened
+and filled with tears as David's mother gently stroked her hair
+and sought by words to convince her that David would understand.
+
+"It wasn't your fault, Alix darling," she protested. "David won't
+mind,--not in the least. Sergeant didn't really mean anything to
+him. He was yours more than he was David's. Don't you worry about
+David's feelings, dear. He--"
+
+"You don't understand, Aunt Nancy,--you don't understand at all,"
+Alix repeated over and over again in her distress.
+
+"You're just worrying yourself sick over it," said the older woman.
+"Why, you look all tuckered out, child,--I was shocked when you
+first came in. Now, don't be foolish, dear. I tell you it will be
+all right with David. I wrote him all about it, and--what's that
+you are saying?"
+
+"You don't suppose he will think I--think I did it, Aunt Nancy?"
+Alix whispered bleakly.
+
+"Think you--for the land's sake, Alix, what on earth are you saying?
+Are you stark, staring crazy? You come right upstairs and get into
+bed this minute. My land, I--I believe you're going to be sick.
+You've got the queerest look in your eyes. Come on, now, deary,
+and--"
+
+"I am sick,--just sick with unhappiness, Aunt Nancy," sobbed
+the girl. "You don't know,--you don't understand. Oh, he couldn't
+believe I would do such a thing as THAT! He couldn't think me so
+cruel, and wicked and--and spiteful."
+
+"Now, listen to me," said Mrs. Strong sternly. "What is the meaning
+of all this? What has happened between you and David that makes
+you talk like this? Tell me,--tell me this minute, Alix Crown."
+
+"Hasn't he told you--written you about ANYTHING?" cried the girl.
+
+"I don't know what you are driving at, Alix, but whatever it is I
+KNOW David hasn't got anything against you that would make you say
+such things as you've just been saying." She hesitated a moment
+and then laid her hand on Alix's head. "I've been wondering a whole
+lot of late, Alix. Have you and David had a--a misunderstanding?"
+
+"We--we don't like each other as--as we used to, Aunt Nancy," said
+the girl, lifting her head almost defiantly to look David's mother
+full in the eyes.
+
+"Is it David's fault?" asked Mrs. Strong after a moment.
+
+"I--I wish you wouldn't ask me anything more about it. At least,
+not now."
+
+"Is it David's fault?" demanded the other once more, insistently.
+
+"I will say this much; it isn't my fault," replied Alix stiffly.
+
+Mrs. Strong smiled,--a tender, loving smile.
+
+"I think I could straighten everything out if David were only
+here," she said. "I would take you both across my knee and give you
+a good sound spanking. It used to work beautifully when you were
+children,--and I think it would work now. I--I wonder if it would
+help matters any if I were to spank--No, I'm sure it wouldn't. To
+do any good at all David would have to be here to see me spanking
+you and to beg me to let you off and give it to him just twice as
+hard."
+
+"Oh, Aunt Nancy," cried Alix eagerly, "if you only WOULD! How I
+wish I were a little girl again! And David a little boy!"
+
+Then she fled from the room. Nancy Strong put her hand over her
+eyes and sighed.
+
+"I wish David were here," she said to herself. "If he were only
+here today."
+
+During dinner that evening Alix was strangely repressed. It was
+plain to Mrs. Strong that she was inwardly agitated. After they
+left the table she became visibly nervous. She was "fidgety," to
+speak the thought of her perplexed companion. Time and again she
+started and appeared to be listening intently, and always there
+was a queer little expression in her eyes as of expectancy. Once
+or twice Mrs. Strong surprised a flash of anxiety,--aye, even
+fear,--in them.
+
+"You haven't read your letters yet, Alix," she said at last, seeking
+for some means to divert the girl's thoughts. "There is quite a
+pile of them there on the table."
+
+"I don't feel like reading letters tonight," said Alix. "They can
+wait till tomorrow." She arose, however, and hurriedly ran through
+the pile. "I wrote to David before dinner, Aunt Nancy," she said
+suddenly. "A long letter about Sergeant's death. I wanted him to
+know how miserably I feel about it."
+
+"Bless your heart, he'll know that without your telling him, child.
+I am glad you wrote to him, however."
+
+Alix came to a letter addressed in an unfamiliar hand,--a bold,
+masculine scrawl. The postmark was Chicago. She tore it open. It
+began with "Dear Alix." She quickly turned to the last page. It
+was signed "Addison Blythe." A "thank you" letter, of course.
+
+Her back was to Mrs. Strong as she stood beside the table, bending
+slightly forward to get the full light from the library lamp. She
+read the letter through to the end; then she walked over to the
+fireplace and threw it into the flames. Her face had lost every
+vestige of colour:
+
+DEAR ALIX: [it began] You will no doubt throw this letter into the
+fire the instant you have finished reading it, and you will hate
+me for having written it. Nevertheless, I am doing so because I
+think it is my duty. I offer no apology. I only ask you to believe
+that my intentions are good. It is best to come straight to the
+point. I have talked it all over with Mary and she approves of this
+letter. What I am about to say still requires official confirmation.
+I do not speak with authority, you must understand. I am merely
+giving you certain bits of information I have obtained from men
+who were in France in 1915 and 1916. It rests with you to believe
+or disbelieve. In any case, if you are wise, you will at least take
+the trouble to investigate. I am at your service. If I can help you
+in any way, please call upon me. If you desire it, I will provide
+you with the names of at least three men who were in Ambulance,
+all of whom have answered my letters of inquiry. One of these men
+met Courtney Thane in Paris in November, 1915. He was living at the
+Hotel Chatham with his mother. She had a husband up at the front,
+fighting with the French. This husband was a count or something of
+the sort and a good many years her junior. My informant writes me
+that young Thane, who drank a great deal and talked quite freely
+of family affairs, told him that his mother had married this young
+Frenchman a few months before the war broke out and went to Paris
+to live with him. He went so far as to say that the Frenchman married
+her for her money and he hoped the Germans would make a widow of
+her again before it was too late. According to this chap, Thane had
+also been in Paris since the beginning of the war. He spent money
+like a drunken sailor and touched nothing but the high spots. The
+second or third time he met him, Thane said he would like to get
+into the Ambulance. His mother, however, was bitterly opposed to
+his joining up. The last time he saw him, he had on an Ambulance
+uniform and was as drunk as a lord in one of the cafes. My friend
+had it straight from fellows out at Neuilly that Thane hadn't worn
+the uniform a week before it was taken away from him and he was
+kicked out of the service in disgrace.
+
+One of the other chaps has written me, saying that he was at the
+base hospital when Thane was stripped of his uniform. He was not a
+witness to this, but he heard other fellows and the nurses talking
+about it. Not only was his uniform taken away, but he was ordered
+to get out of Paris at once. They heard afterward that he went
+to Madrid with his mother. He was never at Pont-a-Mousson. It is
+obvious that he was not in the Vosges sector, in view of the fact
+that he lasted less than a week in the Ambulance, and did a vast
+amount of carousing in a uniform that I revere.
+
+It is up to you, Alix. The records of the American Ambulance are
+available. You can obtain all the information you desire, and I beg
+of you to get into communication with Mr. Hereford or Mr. Andrew
+or some other official at once. I append below the addresses of
+several persons to whom you may write. They were high in authority.
+They will give you facts.
+
+I was convinced that Thane was not on the level when I met him that
+day. His stories did not jibe. I said nothing to you at the time,
+because I could not be sure of my ground. I think I am reasonably
+sure now.
+
+I may add that I have written to Col. Andrew and others on my own
+hook. If you care to see their replies, when I get them, I shall
+send them to you. All you have to do is to say the word. In any
+case, I ask you to believe that my devotion and Mary's deep and
+honest love are the excuse for this letter, which you may show to
+Mr. Thane if you see fit. I have no right to question his statement
+that he served in the Royal Air Force. I know nothing to the
+contrary. I speak only of the Ambulance. I am, dear Alix,
+
+Yours devotedly,
+
+ADDISON BLYTHE.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+THE FACE AT THE WINDOW
+
+
+
+
+Mrs. Strong, observing her pallor, arose quickly and went to Alix's
+side, "What is it, dear?" she cried. "What was in that letter? You
+are as white as a ghost." Receiving for answer a pitiful little
+smile that was not so much a smile as a grimace of pain, she placed
+her hand on the girl's shoulder. "Why did you destroy it?"
+
+"I--I don't know," murmured Alix through set, rigid lips.
+
+"Yes, you DO know," said the other firmly.
+
+Alix looked dumbly into her old friend's eyes for a moment, and
+then her honest heart spoke: "I destroyed it, Aunt Nancy, because
+I was afraid to read it again. It was from Addison Blythe. He has
+been making inquiries concerning Courtney Thane. In that letter he
+said things which, if true, make Courtney out to be a most--a most
+unworthy person."
+
+She turned to look into the fire, her eyes narrowing. The black,
+flaky remnants of the letter were still fluttering on the hearth.
+As she watched, the draft caught them and sent them swirling up
+the chimney.
+
+A high wind was blowing outside. It whistled mournfully around the
+corners of the house. Somewhere on the floor above a door, buffeted
+by the wind from an open window, beat a slow and muffled measure
+against its frame.
+
+David's mother saw the colour slowly return to her companion's face.
+She waited. Something akin to joy possessed her. She was afraid to
+speak for fear that her voice would betray her. At last she said:
+
+"We know nothing about Mr. Thane except what he has told us, Alix."
+
+The girl looked searchingly into her eyes.
+
+"You do not like him, Aunt Nancy. I have felt it from the beginning.
+Is it because you are David's mother?"
+
+Mrs. Strong started. The direct question had struck home. She was
+confused.
+
+"Why,--Alix,--I--what a silly thing to ask. What has David to do
+with it?"
+
+Alix was still looking at her, broodingly. "Why don't you like him,
+Aunt Nancy?"
+
+"Have I ever said I didn't like him?"
+
+"No. But I know. I know that Charlie Webster does not like him. I
+knew that Addison did not like him."
+
+Mrs. Strong could not resist the impulse to add: "And Sergeant did
+not like him."
+
+"And you think THAT convicts him?" said the girl, half ironically.
+
+"I have a good deal of faith in dogs," muttered Mrs. Strong,
+flushing.
+
+Alix's gaze went to the huge vase of roses on the table. Then she
+turned quickly to look once more into her companion's eyes.
+
+"You believe that Courtney poisoned him, don't you?"
+
+"I have no more reason for believing it than you have, Alix,"
+returned Mrs. Strong calmly.
+
+"Why,--why do you say that?" cried the girl, startled.
+
+"Because you would not have asked the question if you hadn't
+been--well, wondering a little yourself, Alix."
+
+"Oh,--I don't want to think it," cried Alix miserably. "I don't
+want to think of it!"
+
+"No more do I want to think it. Listen to me, Alix. I confess that
+I do not like this man. I have no way of explaining my feeling
+toward him. He has always been polite and agreeable to me. He has
+never done a thing that I can call to mind that would set me against
+him. Maybe it's because he is not of my world, because he comes
+from a big city, because deep in his heart he probably looks down
+on us Hoosiers. I will go farther, Alix, and say that I do not trust
+him. That is a nasty thing to say. It is none of my business, but
+I--I wish you did not like him so well, Alix."
+
+"It would appear that my friends are taking more than an ordinary
+interest in my welfare," said Alix slowly, and with some bitterness.
+"Is it possible that you all believe me incapable of taking care
+of myself?"
+
+"Smarter women than you, Alix Crown, have been fooled by men," said
+the other sententiously. "Oh, I don't mean the way you think, my
+child,--so don't glare at me like that. I know you can take care
+of yourself THAT way,--but how about falling in love? And getting
+married? And finding out afterward that roses don't grow on cactus
+plants? That's how women are fooled,--and you're no different from
+the rest of us."
+
+"I think,--I am quite sure that he is in love with me, Aunt Nancy,"
+said Alix, somewhat irrelevantly. There was no sign of gladness,
+however, nor of triumph, in her dark, brooding eyes.
+
+"That's easy to understand. The point is, Alix,--are you in love
+with him?"
+
+Alix did not answer at once. The little frown in her eyes deepened.
+
+"I don't think so, Aunt Nancy," she said at last. "I don't believe
+it is love. That is what troubles me so. It is something I cannot
+understand. I don't know what has come over me. I will be honest
+with you,--and with myself. I do not really trust him. I don't
+believe he is all that he claims to be. And yet,--and yet, Aunt
+Nancy, I,--I--"
+
+"Don't try to tell me," broke in the older woman gently. "My only
+sister thought she was in love with Terry Moore, a fellow who had
+been in the penitentiary once for stealing, and was a drunkard,
+a gambler, and a bad man with women, and all that. She was crazy
+about him. She ran off with him and got married. She never was in
+love with him, Alix. She hated him after a few weeks. He just cast
+some kind of a spell over her--not a mental spell, you may be sure.
+It was something physical. He was slick and smart and good looking,
+and he just made up his mind to get her. A man can be awful nice
+when he has once set his heart on getting a girl,--and that's
+what fools 'em, great and small. All the mistakes are not made by
+ignorant, scatter-brained girls, my dear. My father used to say that
+the more sense a woman has, the more likely she is to do something
+foolish. Now, Alix dear, I know just how it is with you. Courtney
+Thane has cast a spell over you. I believe in spells, same as the
+old New Englander used to believe in witchcraft. You don't love
+him, you don't actually believe in him. You--you are sort of like
+a bird that is being charmed by a snake. It knows it ought to fly
+away and yet it can't, because it's so interested in what the snake
+is going to do next. Thane is attractive. He is, far as I know, a
+gentleman. At any rate, he would pass for one, and that's about
+all you can expect in these days. The thought has entered both our
+minds that he put Sergeant out of the way. Well, my dear, I don't
+believe either of us would ever dream of connecting him with it
+if there wasn't something back in our minds that has been asking
+questions of us ever since he came here. You say you were afraid
+to read Mr. Blythe's letter again. Does that mean you are afraid
+everything he says is true?"
+
+"Oh, I can't believe it,--I must not allow myself to even THINK
+it," cried the girl. "Why, if what Addison says is true, Courtney
+Thane is not fit to--There must be some mistake, Aunt Nancy. There
+were two men of the same name. _I_ WILL NOT BELIEVE IT!"
+
+The two tall women stood tense and rigid, side by side, their backs
+to the fire, gazing straight before them down the lamp-lit room.
+
+"Has Addison Blythe any reason for lying to you, Alix?" asked the
+elder quietly.
+
+"Of course not," Alix answered impatiently. "There is some mistake,
+that's all."
+
+"Do you mind telling me what he says?"
+
+"Mr. Thane is coming to see me tonight," said the girl, uneasily.
+"He may come at any moment now. What time is it?"
+
+"Ten minutes of eight. He never comes before half-past." She waited
+a moment, and then went on deliberately: "I always had an idea it
+was because he wanted to be sure Sergeant was in the house and not
+out in the yard."
+
+Alix closed her eyes for a second or two, as if by doing so it were
+possible to shut out the same thought that had floated through Mrs.
+Strong's mind.
+
+"But he need not be afraid of Sergeant now," she said, with a little
+tremor in her voice. "He will come earlier tonight." The unintentional
+sarcasm did not escape Mrs. Strong. "Wait till tomorrow, Aunt Nancy.
+Then I may tell you."
+
+"You are trembling, dear. I wish you would let me make your excuses
+to him when he comes. Don't see him tonight. Let me tell him--"
+
+Alix turned squarely and faced her. There was a harassed, haunted
+expression in her eyes,--and yet there was defiance.
+
+"I stayed away five days," she said huskily. "For five days I kept
+away from him. Then I--I gave up. I couldn't stand it any longer.
+I had to come home. Now, you have the truth. I just simply HAD to
+see him, Aunt Nancy,--I just HAD to."
+
+"Then,--then it IS a spell," cried the other, dismay in her voice.
+"You are not yourself, Alix. This is not you who say these things."
+
+"Oh, yes, it is!" cried the girl recklessly. "I wanted to come
+home. I wanted to see him. I don't love him, but I wanted to be
+with him. I don't trust him, but here I am. Now you have it all!
+I want to see him!"
+
+Mrs. Strong was looking past her. She stared hard at the window in
+the far end of the room, her eyes narrowed, her chin thrust slightly
+forward. Then suddenly she clutched the girl's arm, her eyes now
+widespread with alarm.
+
+"Look!" she whispered shrilly, pointing.
+
+The flush faded from Alix's face; the reckless, defiant light left
+her eyes, and in its place came fear.
+
+II
+
+Plainly outlined in the window was the face of a masked man. A
+narrow black mask, through which a pair of eyes gleamed brightly.
+
+The exposed lower portion of the face, save for the heavily bearded
+upper lip, was ghastly white. Brief as this glimpse was, they were
+able to see that he wore a cap, pulled well down over his forehead.
+
+For a few seconds the two women stood as if petrified, their eyes
+wide and staring, their hearts cold, their tongues paralyzed. They
+were gazing straight into his shining eyes. Suddenly he turned
+his head for a quick, startled glance over his shoulder. The next
+instant he was gone, vanishing in the blackness that hung behind
+him like the magician's curtain in a theatre. They heard rapid
+footsteps on the veranda, the crash of a chair overturned, then
+a loud shout, and again the sound of flying footsteps across the
+brick-paved terrace. Another shout, and still another, farther
+away.
+
+"Quick!" screamed Alix, the first to recover her voice. "The
+telephone! Call the drug store. Bill Foss is there."
+
+She ran swiftly out into the hall.
+
+"Come back!" cried Mrs. Strong. "What are you doing? Don't open
+that door! He's got a pistol, Alix!"
+
+Even as she spoke, the report of a pistol shot came to their ears.
+As Alix stopped short, her hand outstretched to clutch the door
+knob, a second report came.
+
+"Oh, my God!" she cried. "He has killed Courtney! He has shot
+Courtney!"
+
+By this time, her companion had reached her side. She dragged her
+back from the door.
+
+"Killed Courtney? What's the matter with you? Why do you say he
+has killed--"
+
+"Don't you see--can't you understand? It was Courtney who surprised
+him. That's why he ran. He shot,--oh, let go of me! Let go of me,
+I say!"
+
+"I'll do nothing of the sort," cried Mrs. Strong. "Do you want to
+get shot? Come away from this door!"
+
+A door slammed against the wall at the back of the house. Some
+one came running through the dining-room. First the cook, then the
+little waitress, dashed into the hall.
+
+"Wha-what is it? What's the matter?" shouted the former. "What was
+that shootin'--"
+
+"Where is Stevens?" demanded Mrs. Strong, as she fairly pushed Alix
+into the living-room. "Call him! Isn't he out there in--"
+
+"He went out,--half hour ago,--out," stuttered the waitress. "Who's
+been--what's happened to Miss Alix?"
+
+"Nothing! Go and yell for Ed! Thieves! On the porch. Don't stand
+there, Hilda. Go out back and scream!"
+
+"Oh, my God! Ed's killed! He's been shot! My husband's been shot!"
+It was the cook who sent this lamentation to the very roof of the
+house.
+
+Mrs. Strong whispered fiercely in Alix's ear: "That's it! Ed is the
+one who surprised him. Courtney nothing! Now, you stay here! I'll
+telephone. Don't you dare go outside, Alix Crown. A stray bullet--"
+
+Far away sounded the third shot, muffled by distance and the shriek
+of the wind....
+
+Mrs. Strong was off somewhere trying to telephone. Shrill voices,
+out back, were screaming. Alix stood alone in the middle of the
+long room, staring at the window in which the sinister face had
+appeared. She had not moved in what seemed to be an age. A strange,
+incredible thing was creeping through her mind,--a thought that was
+not a part of her, something that seemed to shape itself outside
+of her brain and force its way in to crowd out the fear and anxiety
+that had gripped her but a few short moments before.
+
+What would it mean to her if Courtney Thane were dead out there in
+the night?
+
+It was not the question but the answer that fixed itself in her
+mind. She was unconscious of the one, but vividly aware of the
+other. His death would mean--emancipation! For one brief instant
+she actually LONGED for the word that he was dead! The reaction
+was swift, overwhelming.
+
+"God!" she gasped, shutting her eyes and clenching her hands in an
+ecstasy of revulsion. "What a beast,--what a horrible beast I am!
+What a coward!"
+
+Her knees trembled; an icy perspiration seemed to start out all over
+her body. She had wished him dead! She had grasped at THAT as the
+solution! Her heart had leaped joyously! It was as if some great
+weight suddenly had been lifted from it. Now she was numb with
+horror. What devilish power had taken possession of her in that
+brief, soul-destroying instant? She shuddered. She was afraid to
+open her eyes. She reached out with her hand for the support of
+the table. She had longed for some one to come and tell her that
+he was dead!
+
+Some one was pounding on the outer door. She had a dim, vague
+impression that this pounding had been going on for some time.
+A sort of paralysis benumbed her sensibilities. Her eyes were now
+wide open, staring. Had her wish come true? Was some, one come to
+tell her that her horrible wish had come true? Suddenly the fetters
+fell away. She rushed frantically to the door and turned the knob.
+The driving wind flung it open with a force that almost swept her
+off her feet.
+
+Thane stood on the threshold, hatless, panting. The light from the
+hall, falling upon his face, revealed a long red stain that ran
+from temple to chin. As she drew back, alarmed, he staggered into
+the hall, limping painfully, and pushed the door shut behind him.
+
+"Oh!" she gasped.
+
+He shot a swift, searching glance down the hall and into the living-room.
+Then he held out his arms to her. She was gazing spell-bound into
+his eager, shining eyes. He waited. She came to him as if drawn
+by some overpowering magnet. His arms closed about her....She was
+crushed against his body, she seemed a part of him. His arms were
+like smothering coils that pressed the life out of her; his hungry
+lips were fastened upon hers, hot and lustful.
+
+Presently she began to struggle. Shame,--a vast, sickening
+shame,--possessed her. She was conscious of the wild, increasing
+lust that mastered him. She tried to tear herself from contact with
+his body, as from something base, unclean, revolting. His kisses
+held her. She was powerless to resist the passion that swept over
+her. Once more she surrendered,--and then came the shame, the
+overwhelming shame. She was debased, defiled! She put her hand
+to his face and pushed frantically to release herself from those
+consuming, unholy lips.
+
+Suddenly he freed her, and sprang back, panting but triumphant.
+She heard him whisper, hoarsely, rapturously:
+
+"God!"
+
+Some one was coming. He had caught the sound of footsteps,--somewhere.
+Alix sank breathless, rigid, almost fainting, upon the hall-seat.
+
+"Darling!" he whispered passionately. She half arose, caught once
+more by the irresistible spell that had first swept her into his
+embrace. He shook his head. Then she heard him speak. He was looking
+past her.
+
+"I'm all right, Mrs. Strong. Don't mind me. Telephone for help."
+
+"I have telephoned," cried Mrs. Strong, coming toward them quickly.
+"Help is coming. Good heavens! You are bleeding! Were you hit?"
+
+III
+
+The question aroused Alix. She was aware of something wet and
+sticky on the palm of her hand. She looked. It was covered with
+blood. Then she remembered putting her hand against his cheek.
+As if fascinated she stared for a second or two before her wits
+returned. Mrs. Strong must not see that bloody hand. She would
+know! Guiltily she clenched her fingers again and thrust her hand
+behind her back. She shuddered at the feel of the moist, sticky
+substance, and turned suddenly sick. Her one thought was to get to
+her room where she could wash away the tell-tale evidence. Again
+she heard him speaking, and hung on his words.
+
+"Nothing but a scratch. I fell while chasing him. He got the start
+of me. My overcoat bothered me. I got it off, but not in time.
+It's out there somewhere. My rotten old leg is the worst. I twisted
+it when I jumped over the fence. That's when I fell. Tripped over
+some bushes or something. I was gaining on him. Up in the woods,
+you see. He was making for the road above. Oh, if this leg of mine
+was any good, I would have--" He broke off short to grip his knee
+with both hands, his face twitching with pain. The sentences came
+jerkily, breathlessly.
+
+"Send for Dr. Smith!" Alix cried out suddenly. "Be quick! He has
+been shot,--I know he has been shot. Go--"
+
+"It's a scratch, I tell you, Alix," he protested. "He didn't get
+me. He fired at me, but it was dark. I'm all right. There is no
+time to lose. If they get after him at once they'll catch him. I
+can show them which way he went. Where the devil are they? We ought
+to have every man in town out there in the woods. Did you tell 'em
+to bring guns? He's armed. He--"
+
+"You ARE hurt," cried Alix. "You MUST have the doctor. Oh, for
+heaven's sake, DO SOMETHING!" The last was directed impatiently to
+Mrs. Strong.
+
+"I'll give him a basin of water,--and some court plaster," said
+the older woman, who had looked closely at the scratch on the young
+man's cheek. "It doesn't amount to anything,--if that's all, Mr.
+Thane?"
+
+"That's all,--except my knee, and that will be all right in a few
+minutes. Let me sit down here a minute. Not in there,--I'm covered
+with dirt and burrs and,--I might get some of this filthy blood
+on,--that's all right, Mrs. Strong, thank you. I'll be able to go
+out with the gang as soon as they come. Gad! It's going to be great
+sport. Man-hunting!"
+
+Alix was leaning against the end of the hall-seat, watching him as
+if fascinated. He bent an ardent, significant look upon her, and
+her eyes widened slightly under the contact.
+
+"I'll get some water ready for you in the kitchen, and a--" began
+Mrs. Strong, but Alix, suddenly alive, intercepted her with a cry.
+
+"No! I will go, Aunt Nancy,--I insist!" And before Mrs. Strong could
+offer a word of protest, she flashed past her and was running up
+the stairs.
+
+A look of chagrin leaped into Courtney's eyes. He had counted on
+another minute or two alone with her. Under his breath he muttered
+an oath.
+
+Alix's bedroom door opened and closed. Mrs. Strong was still looking
+in astonishment up the staircase.
+
+"I--she's pretty badly upset, Mr. Thane," she said at last. "That
+face in the window,--and everything."
+
+"Good Lord,--you don't mean to say you saw him?"
+
+"Yes,--looking in that window over there. Only for a second. You
+must have scared him away."
+
+"Then, by George, you can identify him!"
+
+"He had a mask on. Didn't you see his face?"
+
+"No. It was dark. Masked, you say. That's bad. It will be hard to
+swear--Still, I saw his figure. Short, heavy fellow. Wore a cap."
+
+She continued to look anxiously up the stairs.
+
+"Wait here," she said shortly. "I must go up to her. Go to the kitchen
+if you like, and wash the blood off. I'll be back in a jiffy."
+
+He waited till she was out of sight, and then limped into the
+living-room,--but with a swiftness incredible in one with a twisted
+knee. Going direct to the fireplace, he took something out of his
+coat pocket and, after a glance at door and window, quickly consigned
+it to the flames. A small black object it was, that crumpled softly
+in his palm and was consumed in a flash by the flames. A moment
+later he entered the kitchen, bringing consternation to the two
+excited domestics, both of whom sent up cries of alarm at the sight
+of his bloody face.
+
+Meanwhile Mrs. Strong had surprised Alix in her bathroom, frantically
+washing her hands. She looked up and saw the housekeeper standing
+in the door behind her. The bowl was half full of reddish water.
+The expression of disgust in her eyes remained for a moment and
+then gave way to confusion. Neither spoke for some time.
+
+"What are you doing?" asked Mrs. Strong.
+
+"Oh, Aunt Nancy!" came in a choked voice from the girl's lips.
+
+"Is that blood?"
+
+"Yes," replied Alix, looking away.
+
+"I--I understand. Oh, Alix,--Alix!"
+
+"I don't know what made me do it,--I couldn't help myself. I--Oh,
+it was terrible! I don't love him,--I don't love him! As long as
+I live,--as long as I live, I shall never forget it. I shall never
+know anything like it again. I could feel my soul being dragged out
+of my body,--Oh, Aunt Nancy! What am I to do? What is to become of
+me?"
+
+"There's only one thing for you to do now," said the other, slowly,
+levelly. "Stay in this room. Lock the door. Don't see him again.
+Keep away from him. He's--he's bad, Alix!"
+
+"But he is not a coward!" cried the girl eagerly. "He followed
+that man, he chased him, he was shot at,--that is not what a coward
+would do. Addison Blythe is mistaken. Those men are mistaken. He--"
+
+"I hear people downstairs,--and out in the yard. You must obey me,
+Alix. You must not see him again tonight. God in heaven, what kind
+of a spell has he cast upon you? The spell of the devil! Child,
+child,--don't you understand? That's what it is. The spell that
+makes women helpless! Stay here! I will send Hilda up to you."
+
+"Why do you blame him for everything?" cried the girl hotly. "Doesn't
+a woman ever cast this spell you speak of? What defence has a man
+against--"
+
+"Do you call yourself an evil woman? Nonsense! Don't talk like
+that. I am not blaming him. He can't help himself. He loves you.
+That's not his fault. But you do not love him. You are afraid
+of him. You would run from him if you could. He must go away. You
+must send him away. Tell him of Blythe's letter. Face him with it.
+Tomorrow,--not tonight. You are not yourself tonight. Trust me,
+dearest Alix. Do as I tell you. Promise."
+
+"I will not come down," said Alix slowly, and Mrs. Strong went out.
+She heard the key turn in the door.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+ROSABEL
+
+
+
+
+All night long bands of men scoured the woods and fields, with
+lanterns and dogs and guns. Courtney Thane, thrilled by that one
+glorious, overpowering moment of contact, sallied forth with the
+first of the searchers. He showed them where the masked man vaulted
+over the porch rail, and the course he took in crossing the terrace,
+below which Courtney's coat was found where he had cast it aside
+at the beginning of the chase. The first shot was fired as the man
+climbed over the fence separating the old-fashioned garden from the
+wooded district to the west, the second following almost immediately.
+Thane was over the fence and picking himself up from the ground
+after tripping when the last shot was fired. He ran forty or fifty
+yards farther on and then his knee gave out. Realizing that pursuit
+was useless under the circumstances, he hurried back to the house
+to give the alarm.
+
+It appears that he first saw the man as he was nearing the top of
+the steps leading to the terrace. The fellow's figure, in a crouching
+position, was distinctly outlined against the lighted window.
+
+"Kind of a funny time for a robber to be monkeyin' around a house,"
+said Charlie Webster, after Courtney had concluded his brief story.
+"Eight o'clock is no time to figure on breaking into a house."
+
+"He probably figured that the occupants would be at dinner," said
+Courtney. "Or maybe he was getting the lay of the land while there
+were lights to guide him. That is most likely the case. Lord, how
+I wish I had had a gun!"
+
+"Maybe it's lucky you didn't," said Charlie. "Guns are pretty
+treacherous things to monkey with, Court. You might have shot
+yourself."
+
+"Oh, I guess I know how to handle a gun, Charlie," retorted Thane,
+after a perceptible pause.
+
+"Anyhow," remarked Constable Foss, "we now know why that dog
+of Alix's was killed. This robber had things purty well sized up.
+He knowed he had to fix that dog first of all,--and that goes to
+show another thing. He is purty well posted around these parts. He
+knowed all about that dog. He ain't no tramp or common stranger.
+The chances are he ain't even a perfessional burglar. Maybe some
+dago,--or, by gosh, somebody we all know."
+
+A chosen group waited at the roadside above the Windom place
+for automobiles which were to be used in the attempt to head off
+the invader. This was Courtney's idea. He suggested a wide cordon
+of machines and men as the only means of cutting off the fellow's
+escape.
+
+"You're not likely to get anywhere, Foss, by keeping up a stern
+chase," he argued. "He has got too big a lead. Our only chance is
+to rush a lot of men out ahead of him in cars, and then work back
+through the woods."
+
+A boy came up with Courtney's fedora hat, which he had picked up
+in the brush near the fence.
+
+"There's a bullet hole through it, Mr. Thane," he cried in great
+excitement. "Lookee here!"
+
+Sure enough there was a hole in the crown of the hat.
+
+"Whew!" whistled Courtney, staring at the hat blankly. "I never
+dreamed--Why, good Lord, a couple of inches lower and he'd have
+got me. I remember my hat blowing off as I got up, but I thought
+it was the wind. Where did you find it, kid?"
+
+"Back there by the fence."
+
+"We must have that hat for evidence," said the constable. "Shows
+the calibre of the bullet, and all that. Bring it down to the office
+in the morning, Mr. Thane. Better put it on now. You'll ketch cold
+out here bareheaded."
+
+By this time the lane and grounds were alive with excited people,--men,
+women and children. Several automobiles approached, sounding their
+horns. Men were shouting directions, dogs were barking, small
+children were squalling lustily. Shadowy, indistinct figures scuttled
+through the darkness, here and there coming into bold relief as
+they passed before the lamps of automobiles or entered the radius
+of light shed by an occasional lantern. Half the town was already
+on the scene, and the belated remainder was either on the way or
+grimly guarding cash drawers in empty, deserted stores.
+
+Courtney reluctantly announced that he did not feel up to accompanying
+the searchers, his leg was bothering him so. No, he didn't need a
+doctor. The confounded thing simply gave out on him whenever he got
+the least bit reckless, but it seldom if ever amounted to anything.
+Only made him realize that he couldn't "get gay" with it. He'd be
+all right in a day or two. Hobble a little, that's all,--like a
+lame dog. More scared than hurt, you know, etc., etc.
+
+He picked his way through the ever-increasing crowd of agitated
+people, avoiding rampant automobiles and inquisitive citizens with
+equal skill, and approached Alix's gate. His blood was rioting.
+The memory of that triumphant moment when her warm body lay in his
+arms,--when her lips were his,--when his eager hand pressed the
+firm, round breast,--ah, the memory of it all set fire to his blood.
+She had come to him, she had clung to him, she had kissed him! He
+had won! She was his! He must see her again tonight, hold her once
+more in his arms, drink of the rapture that came through her lips,
+caress the throbbing heart she had surrendered to him. Anticipation
+sent the blood rushing to his head. He grew strangely dizzy. He
+narrowly escaped being struck by a car.
+
+"The darned fools!" he muttered, as he leaped aside into the shallow
+ditch.
+
+A figure separated itself from a group near the gate and approached
+him. There were no lights near and the lane was dark. He could
+not see the face of the woman who halted directly in front of him,
+barring the path.
+
+"It is I, Courtney,--Rosabel," came in low, tremulous tones.
+
+He stood stockstill, peering intently.
+
+"Rosabel!" he repeated vacantly.
+
+"I--I saw you. The auto lamp shone on your face."
+
+Her teeth were chattering. Her voice was little more than a whisper.
+
+"You--you poor child!" he cried. "What are you doing here? How do
+you happen to be--"
+
+"I came over to spend the night with Annie Jordan. I--I do that
+quite often, Courtney. Aren't--aren't you ever coming to see me
+again?"
+
+"I was planning to come over tomorrow, Rosie,--tomorrow sure. I've
+been meaning to run over to your house--"
+
+"I--I thought you had forgotten all about us," she broke in,
+pathetically. "You wouldn't do that, would you? Didn't you get my
+letters? I wrote four or five times and you never answered. You--you
+haven't forgotten, have you?"
+
+"Bless your heart, no! I should say not. I've been so busy. Working
+like a dog on my book. The one we talked about, Rosie. The story
+of my experiences over in France, you know."
+
+"Oh, Courtney, are you really, truly writing it?" she cried eagerly.
+
+"Sure," he replied. "It's a tough job, believe me. I've been so
+busy I haven't even had time to write letters. Mother complains
+that I never write to her. Dear old mater,--I ought to be kicked
+for neglecting her. Stacks of unanswered letters. Really, it's
+appalling. But I've just got to finish this work. The publisher
+wants it before Christmas."
+
+"You promised to read it to me as you wrote it, Courtney," she
+murmured wistfully. "Don't you remember?"
+
+"Just as soon as I've got it in little better shape, Rosie. You
+see, it's an awful mess now. I'm trying so hard to concentrate.
+It would be different if I were an experienced writer. But I'm a
+terrible duffer, you know. The least little thing throws me off.
+I--"
+
+"I wouldn't interfere for the world, Courtney. I will wait. I don't
+want to bother you. Please don't think about reading it to me now.
+But,--oh, Courtney, I have wanted to see you so much. You WILL come
+over, won't you. Or would you rather have me come--"
+
+"I'll be over, Rosie,--tomorrow," he said hastily. "Or the day
+after, sure. I'm all done up. I can hardly stand on this leg. Did
+they tell you? I chased the robber up through the woods. Had a bad
+fall. Bunged up this rotten old knee again."
+
+"You poor boy," she cried. "Yes, I heard them talking about how
+brave you were. And he shot at you, too. I saw the plaster on your
+face when the light shone on it a while ago. I was frightened. I
+forgot to ask you how bad it is. I forgot everything but--but just
+speaking to you. Is it dangerous? Is it a bad wound?"
+
+"I don't know. The doctor is waiting for me up at Miss Crown's.
+They sent me back, the other fellows did. I wanted to go with the
+gang,--but I was weak and--Oh, I'll be all right. Don't you worry,
+little girl. Dr. Smith may slap me into bed,--"
+
+"You must not be foolish, Courtney. Do what the doctor says. You
+must get well--oh, you MUST get well!"
+
+She had come quite close to him and was peering at his face. Even
+in the darkness he could see her big, dark eyes. Her teeth no longer
+chattered, but there was a perilous quaver in her low, tense voice.
+She put out a hand to touch him. He drew back.
+
+"I'll be as fit as a fiddle in no time at all," he said hurriedly.
+"See you tomorrow, Rosie,--or as soon as the blamed old doctor
+turns me loose. I've got to be on my way now. He's waiting for me
+up there. May have to put a stitch in my mug,--and yank my leg like
+the devil, but--"
+
+She still blocked his path.
+
+"Courtney, I'm--I'm terribly unhappy. I want to see you,--very
+soon."
+
+"I hear you have been ill, Rosie. Some one was telling me you were
+looking thin and--and all that sort of thing. I hope you're feeling
+better."
+
+She waited a moment. When she spoke it was with difficulty.
+
+"I'm awfully worried, Courtney," she cried, her voice little more
+than a whisper. He was silent, so after a little while she went
+on: "I wish I could die,--I wish I could die!"
+
+"Come, come!" he said reassuringly. "You must not talk like that,
+Rosie. Cheer up! You're too young to talk about dying. Think what
+I've been through,--and I'm still alive! I'll run over tomorrow,--or
+next day,--and try to cheer you up a bit, little girl. So long.
+I've got to see the doctor. I'm--I'm suffering like the dickens."
+
+"I mustn't keep you, Courtney," she murmured, stepping aside to
+let him pass. "Good night! You--you WILL come, won't you? Sure?"
+
+"Sure!" he replied, and limped painfully away.
+
+A little later Annie Jordan found her standing beside the road,
+where he had left her. She was looking up at the brightly lighted
+house at the top of the lane.
+
+"Goodness!" cried Annie. "I thought you were lost, Rosie. Where on
+earth have you been?"
+
+"Maybe I AM lost," replied the girl, and Annie, failing to see
+anything cryptic in the words, laughed gaily at the quaintness of
+them.
+
+"Come on," she said, thrusting her arm through Rosabel's, "let's go
+back home. There's nothing doing here. And that wind cuts through
+one like a knife. Gee, it's fierce, isn't it?"
+
+"I don't want to go in yet," protested Rosabel, hanging back.
+"Let's wait awhile. Let's wait till Dr. Smith comes out. He's up
+there with--with Alix Crown. Maybe he can tell us how--"
+
+"Doc Smith isn't up there. He's gone up the road in his car with
+Dick Hurdle and--why, Rosie, you're shivering like a leaf. Have
+you got a chill? Come on home. We'll have Dr. Smith in as soon as
+he gets back to--"
+
+"I don't want the doctor," cried Rosabel fiercely. "I won't have
+one, I tell you. I won't have one!"
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+SHADOWS
+
+
+
+
+Greatly to Courtney's chagrin, his triumphal progress was summarily
+checked when he presented himself at the door. He could hardly believe
+his ears. Miss Crown was in her room and would not be able to see
+any one that night. She was very nervous and "upset," explained the
+maid, and had given orders to admit no one. Of course, Hilda went
+on to say, if Mr. Thane wanted to come in and rest himself, or if
+there was anything she or the cook could do for him,--but Courtney
+brusquely interrupted her to say that he was sure Miss Crown did
+not mean to exclude him, and directed Hilda to take word up to her
+that he was downstairs.
+
+"It won't do any good," said Hilda, who was direct to say the least.
+"She's gone to bed. My orders is not to disturb her."
+
+"Are they her orders or Mrs. Strong's orders?" demanded Courtney,
+driven to exasperation.
+
+"All I can say, sir, is they're MY orders, sir," replied Hilda,
+quite succinctly.
+
+"All right," said he curtly. Then, as an afterthought: "Please say
+that I stopped in to see if I could be of any further service to
+Miss Crown, will you, Hilda?"
+
+He was very much crestfallen as he made his way down the steps to
+the lane. This wasn't at all what he had expected.
+
+There were a number of people near the gate. Instead of going
+directly down the walk, he turned to the right at the bottom of the
+terrace and cut diagonally across the lawn. Coming to one of the
+big oaks he sat down for a moment on the rustic seat that encircled
+its base. Sheltered from the wind he managed to strike a match and
+light a cigarette. Assured that no one was near, he leaned over
+and felt with his hand under the bench. His fingers closed upon an
+object wedged between the seat and one of the slanting supports.
+Quickly withdrawing it, he dropped it into his overcoat pocket,
+and, after a moment, resumed his progress, making for the carriage
+gate in the left lower corner of the grounds.
+
+He had a sharp eye out for Rosabel Vick. He heard Annie Jordan's
+high-pitched voice in the road ahead of him and slackened his pace.
+In due time he limped up the steps of Dowd's Tavern.
+
+Several women were in the "lounge," chattering like magpies in
+front of the fire. There were no men about. He went in and for ten
+minutes listened to the singing of his praises. Then, requesting a
+pitcher of hot water, he hobbled upstairs, politely declining not
+only the Misses Dowd's offer to bathe and bandage his heroic knee,
+but Miss Grady's bottle of witchhazel, Miss Miller's tube of Baume
+Analgesique and old Mrs. Nichols' infallible remedy for every
+ailment under the sun,--a flaxseed poultice.
+
+The first thing he did on entering his room was to open his trunk
+and deposit therein the shiny object he had recovered from its
+hiding-place under the tree-seat. Before hanging his hat on the
+clothes-tree in the corner of the room, he thoughtfully examined
+the bullet hole in the crown.
+
+"Thirty-eight calibre, all right," he reflected. Poking his
+forefinger through the hole, he enlarged it to some extent. "More
+like a forty-four now," he said in a satisfied tone.
+
+Margaret Slattery brought up the hot water and some fresh firewood
+for his stove, in which the fire burned low.
+
+"Would you be liking a drink of whiskey, Mr. Thane?" she inquired,
+with a stealthy look over her shoulder. "You're all done up,--and
+half-frozen, I guess."
+
+"Whiskey?" he exclaimed. "There ain't no sitch animal," he lamented
+dolefully.
+
+"Miss Jennie's got some cooking brandy stuck away in the cellar,"
+whispered Margaret. "We use it at Christmas time,--for the plum
+pudding, you know. I guess it's the same thing as whiskey, ain't
+it?"
+
+"Well, hardly. Still, I think I could do with a nip of it, Maggie."
+
+"I'll see what I can do," said Margaret, and departed.
+
+She did not return, for the very good reason that Miss Jennie
+apprehended her in the act of pouring something from a dark brown
+bottle into a brand new fruit jar.
+
+"What are you doing there, Maggie?" demanded Miss Dowd from the
+foot of the cellar stairs.
+
+Miss Slattery's back was toward her at the time. She was startled
+into hunching it slightly, as if expecting the lash of a whip,--an
+attitude of rigidity maintained during the brief period in which
+her heart suspended action altogether.
+
+"I'm--I'm getting some vinegar for Mr. Thane to gargle with, Miss
+Jennie," she mumbled. "He's--he's got a sore throat."
+
+"Let me smell that stuff, Maggie," said Miss Jennie sternly. One
+sniff was sufficient. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Margaret
+Slattery, leading a young man into temptation like this. You may
+be starting him on the road to perdition. It is just such things
+as this that--"
+
+"Oh, gosh!" exclaimed Margaret, recovering herself. "Don't you go
+thinking he's as good as all that. From what he was telling me at
+breakfast the other day, he used to make the round trip to purgatory
+every night or so,--only he said it was paradise. Keep your old
+brandy. He wouldn't like it anyway. Not him! He says he's swallered
+enough champagne to float the whole American Navy."
+
+"The very idea!" exclaimed Miss Jennie. "Go to your room, Maggie.
+It's bad enough for you to be stealing but when you make it worse
+by lying, I--"
+
+"I'm quitting you in the morning," said Margaret, her Irish up.
+
+"It won't be the first time," said Miss Jennie, imperturbably.
+
+Courtney sat for a long time before the booming little stove. He
+forgot Margaret Slattery and her mission.
+
+"I guess it took her off her feet," he reflected aloud. "That's
+the way with some of them. They get panicky. Go all to pieces when
+they find out what it really means to let go of themselves. God!
+She's wonderful!" He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes;
+a smile settled on his lips. For a long time he sat there, fondling
+the memory of that blissful moment. A slight frown made its appearance
+after a while. He opened his eyes. His thoughts had veered. "What
+rotten luck! If it could only have been Alix instead of that--"
+He arose abruptly and began pacing the floor. After a long time he
+sighed resignedly. "I mustn't forget to telephone her tomorrow."
+Then he began to undress for bed.
+
+He looked at his knee. There was a deep, irregular scar on the
+outside of the leg, while on the inside a knuckle-like protuberance
+of considerable size provided ample evidence of a badly shattered
+joint, long since healed. Along the thigh there was another wicked
+looking scar, with several smaller streaks and blemishes of a less
+pronounced character. He placed some hot compresses on the joint,
+gave it a vigorous massage, and, before getting into bed, worked
+it up and down for several minutes.
+
+"Clumsy ass!" he muttered. "Next time you'll watch your step. Don't
+go jumping over fences in the dark. Gad, for a couple of minutes
+I thought I'd put it on the blink for keeps."
+
+The next morning, up in the woods above Alix's house, the crude
+black mask was found, and some distance farther on an old grey cap,
+from which the lining and sweatband had been ripped. The search
+for the man, however, was fruitless. Constable Foss visited the
+camp of a gang of Italian railroad labourers near Hawkins and was
+reported to be bringing several indignant "dagoes" over to Windomville
+to see if Courtney or the two ladies could identify them. He was
+very careful to choose men with thick black moustaches.
+
+Bright and early, Courtney repaired to the house on the hill.
+His progress was slow. Aside from the effort it cost him to walk,
+he was delayed all along the route by anxious, perturbed citizens
+who either complimented him on his bravery or advised him to "look
+out for that cut" on his cheek, or he'd have "a tough time if
+blood-poisoning set in."
+
+Mrs. Strong admitted him.
+
+"Well, when will she be able to see me?" he demanded on being
+informed that Alix was in no condition to see any one.
+
+"I can't say," said Mrs. Strong shortly.
+
+"Have you had the doctor in to see her?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Well, that's rather strange, isn't it?"
+
+"Not at all, Mr. Thane. She isn't ill. She has had a shock,--same
+as I have had,--and she'll get over it in good time."
+
+"You seem to have survived the shock remarkably well, Mrs. Strong,"
+he said with unmistakable irony.
+
+"How is the scratch on your face?" she asked, ignoring the remark.
+
+"Amounts to nothing," he replied, almost gruffly. "I'll write a
+little note to Alix, if you'll be so good as to take it up to her."
+
+"Very well. I'll see that she gets it. Will you write it here?"
+
+"If you don't mind. I'll wait in case she wants to send down an
+answer."
+
+"I'll get you some paper and pen and ink," said she.
+
+"Some paper, that's all. I have a fountain pen."
+
+He dashed off a few lines, folded the sheet of note paper and
+handed it to Mrs. Strong. He had written nothing he was unwilling
+for her to read. In fact, he expected her to read it as soon as
+she was safely out of his sight.
+
+"She thinks she may feel up to seeing you tomorrow--or next day,"
+reported the housekeeper on her return from Alix's room.
+
+His rankling brain seized upon the words--" tomorrow--next day." He
+had used them himself only the night before. "Tomorrow,--or next
+day!" He frowned. Hang it all, was she putting him off? He experienced
+a slight chill.
+
+"I will run in again in the morning," he said, managing to produce
+a sympathetic smile. "And I'll telephone this evening to see how
+she is."
+
+All the way down the walk to the gate, he kept repeating the words
+"tomorrow,--or next day." In some inexplicable way they had fastened
+themselves upon him. At the gate he turned and looked up at Alix's
+bedroom windows. The lace curtains hung straight and immovable. It
+pleased him to think that she was peering out at him from behind
+one of those screens of lace, soft-eyed and longingly. Moved by a
+sudden impulse, he waved his hand and smiled.
+
+His guess was right. She WAS looking down through the narrow slit
+between the curtains. Her eyes were dark and brooding and slightly
+contracted by the perplexity that filled them. She started back in
+confusion, her hand going swiftly to her breast. Was it possible
+that he could see through the curtains? A warm flush mantled her
+face. She felt it steal down over her body. Incontinently she fled
+from the window and hopped back into the warm bed she had left on
+hearing the front door close.
+
+"How silly!" she cried irritably. She sat bolt upright and looked
+at her reflection in the mirror of her dressing-table across the
+room. Her night-dress had slipped down from one shapely shoulder;
+her dark, glossy hair hung in two long braids down her back; her
+warm, red lips were parted in a shy, embarrassed smile.
+
+"I wonder--But of course he couldn't. Unless,--" and here the
+smile faded away,--"unless he possesses some strange power to see
+through walls and--Sometimes I feel that he has that power. If he
+could not see me, why did he wave his hand at me?"
+
+There came a knock at her door. She was seized by a sudden panic.
+For a moment she was unable to speak.
+
+"Alix! Are you awake?"
+
+It was Mrs. Strong's voice. A vast wave of relief swept through
+her.
+
+"Goodness!" she gasped, and then: "Come in, Aunt Nancy?"
+
+"Courtney Thane has just been here," said the housekeeper as she
+approached the bed.
+
+"Has he?" inquired Alix innocently.
+
+"He left a note for you."
+
+"Read it to me," said the girl.
+
+"'Dearest: I am grieved beyond words to hear that you are so awfully
+done up. I am not surprised. It was enough to bowl anybody over.
+I did not sleep a wink last night, thinking about it. I have
+been living in a daze ever since. I cannot begin to tell you how
+disappointed I am in not being able to see you this morning. Perhaps
+by tonight you will feel like letting me come. Ever yours, Courtney.'"
+
+"Well?" said Mrs. Strong, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
+
+A fine line appeared between Alix's eyes. She was deep in thought.
+
+"Have they caught the man?" she asked, after a moment.
+
+"Not that I know of. What's more, they'll never catch him. Bill
+Foss sent word up he was bringing several Italians here to see if
+we could identify one of them as the man."
+
+"How can we be expected to identify a man whose face was covered
+by a mask?"
+
+"Well, Bill is doing his best," replied Mrs. Strong patiently.
+"We've got to say that much for him. Charlie Webster was here early
+this morning to say that the police up in town have been notified,
+and they're sending a detective out. But he won't be any better
+than Bill Foss, so it's a waste of time. What we ought to have is
+a Pinkerton man from Chicago."
+
+Despite the calm, deliberate manner in which she spoke, there was
+an odd, eager light in Mrs. Strong's eyes.
+
+"I wish you would go down to the warehouse, Aunt Nancy, and ask
+Charlie to take the car and go up to the city. Tell him to call
+up the Pinkerton offices in Chicago and ask them to send the best
+man they have. No one must know about it, however. Impress that
+very firmly upon Charlie. Not even the police--or Bill Foss. Have
+him arrange to meet the man in town and give him directions and
+all the information possible. Please do it at once,--and tell Ed
+to have the car ready."
+
+"That's the way I like to hear you talk," cried Mrs. Strong.
+
+Half an hour later, Charlie Webster was on his way to the city. He
+had an additional commission to perform. Mrs. Strong was sending
+a telegram to her son David.
+
+II
+
+The next day a well-dressed, breezy-looking young man walked into
+Charlie's office and exclaimed:
+
+"Hello, Uncle Charlie!"
+
+"Good Lord!" gasped Charlie Webster. "It can't be--why, by gosh, if
+it ain't Harry! Holy smoke!" He jumped up and grasped the stranger's
+hand. Pumping it vigorously, he cried: "I'd know that Conkling nose
+if I saw it in Ethiopia. God bless my soul, you're--you're a MAN!
+It beats all how you kids grow up. How's your mother? And what in
+thunder are you doing here?"
+
+"I guess I've changed a lot, Uncle Charlie," said the young man,
+"but you ain't? You look just the same as you did fifteen years
+ago."
+
+"How old are you? My gosh, I can't believe my eyes."
+
+"I was twenty-four last birthday. You--"
+
+"If ever a feller grew up to look like his father, you have, Harry.
+You're the living image of George Conkling,--and you don't look
+any more like your mother than you look like me."
+
+"Well, you and Mother look a lot alike, Uncle Charlie. She's thinner
+than you are but--"
+
+"Well, I should hope so," exploded Charlie. "Take a chair, Harry,--and
+tell us all about yourself. Wait a minute. Sam, shake hands with
+my nephew, Harry Conkling,--Mr. Slutterback, Mr. Conkling. Harry
+lives up in Laporte. His mother--"
+
+"Guess again, Uncle Charlie. No more Laporte for me. I've been
+living in Chicago ever since I got married. Working for--"
+
+"Married? You married? A kid like you? Well, I'll--be--darned!"
+
+"Sure. And I'm not Harry, Uncle Charlie. I'm Wilbur. Harry's two
+years older than I am. He's married and got a kid three years old.
+Lives in Gary."
+
+"You don't mean to say you're little Wilbur? Little freckle-faced
+Wilbur with the pipe-stem legs?"
+
+Mr. Webster's nephew took a chair near the stove, unbuttoned his
+overcoat, and held his hands to the fire. He was a tall, rather
+awkward young man, with large ears, a turned-up nose and a prominent
+"Adam's Apple."
+
+"I'm working for one of the biggest oil companies in the world.
+We've got six hundred thousand acres of the finest oil-producing
+territory in the United States, and we control most of the big
+concessions in Honduras, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and--thirty million
+dollar concern, that's all it is. Oh, you needn't look worried.
+I'm not going to try to sell you any stock, Uncle Charlie. That
+is, not unless you've got fifty thousand to invest. I'll tell you
+what I'm here for. My company wants to interest Miss Crown in--"
+
+"Hold on a minute, Wilbur," interrupted Charlie firmly. "You might
+just as well hop on a train and go back to Chicago. If you're
+expecting me to help you unload a lot of bum oil stock on Miss
+Alix Crown you're barking up the wrong tree,--I don't give a cuss
+if you are my own sister's son. Miss Crown is my--"
+
+The young man held up his hand, and favoured his uncle with a
+tolerant smile.
+
+"I'm not asking your help, old chap. I've got a letter to her from
+Mr. Addison Blythe, one of our biggest stockholders. All I'm asking
+you to do is to put me up at your house for a day or two while I
+lay the whole matter before Miss Crown."
+
+"I haven't got any house," said Charlie, rather helplessly. "Wait
+a second! Let me think. How long do you expect to be here, Wilbur?"
+
+"I wouldn't be here more than half an hour if I could get Miss
+Crown to say she'd take--"
+
+"Well, she's sick and can't see anybody for a couple of
+days,--'specially book agents or oil promoters. I was just thinking
+I might fix something up for you over at the Tavern where I'm
+staying. It won't cost you a cent, my boy. I'd be a darned cheap
+sort of an uncle if I couldn't entertain my nephew when he comes to
+our town,--out of a clear sky, you might say. I'll be mighty glad
+to have you, Wilbur, but you've got to understand I won't have Miss
+Crown bothered while she's sick."
+
+"Permit me to remind you, Uncle Charlie, that I am a gentleman.
+I don't go butting in where I'm not wanted. My instructions from
+the General Manager are very explicit. I am to see Miss Crown when
+convenient, and give her all the dope on our gigantic enterprise,--that's
+all."
+
+"By the way,--er,--is that your automobile out there?"
+
+"It's one I hired in the city."
+
+"You--er--didn't happen to bring your wife with you, did you?
+Because it would be darned awkward if you did. She'd have to sleep
+with Angie Miller or Flora--"
+
+"She's not with me, Uncle Charlie,--so don't worry. Of course,
+if it isn't convenient for you to have me for a day or two, I can
+motor in and out from the city. Money's no object, you know. I've
+got a roll of expense money here that would choke a hippopotamus."
+
+"Come on over to the Tavern, Wilbur. We'll see Miss Molly Dowd and
+fix things up. Sam, if anybody asks for me, just say I'll be back
+in fifteen minutes."
+
+And that is how "Mortie" Gilfillan, one of the ablest operatives
+in the Pinkerton service, made his entry into the village of
+Windomville. Inasmuch as he comes to act in a strictly confidential
+capacity, we will leave him to his own devices, content with the
+simple statement that he remained two full days at Dowd's Tavern
+as the guest of his "Uncle Charlie"; that he succeeded in obtaining
+an interview with the rich Miss Crown, that he "talked" oil to
+everybody with whom he came in contact, including Courtney Thane;
+that he declined to consider the appeals of at least a score of
+citizens to be "let in on the ground floor" owing to the company's
+irrevocable decision to sell only in blocks of ten thousand shares
+at five dollars per share; that he said good-bye to Mr. Webster at
+the end of his second day and departed--not for Chicago but, very
+cleverly disguised, to accept a job as an ordinary labourer with
+Jim Bagley, manager of the Crown farms.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+MR. GILFILLAN IS PUZZLED
+
+
+
+
+Three days passed. The village had recovered from its excitement.
+The Weekly Sun appeared with a long and harrowing account of
+the "vile attempt to rifle the home of our esteemed and patriotic
+citizeness," and sang the praises of Courtney Thane, whose
+"well-known valour, acquired by heroic services during the Great
+War," prevented what might have been "a most lamentable tragedy."
+
+Those three days were singularly unprofitable to the "hero." He
+was unable to see Alix crown. He made daily visits to her home but
+always with the same result. Miss Crown was in no condition to see
+any one.
+
+"But she saw this fellow Conkling," he expostulated on the third
+day. "He sold her a lot of phony oil stock. If she could see him,
+I--"
+
+"He came all the way from Chicago to see her,--with a letter from
+Mr. Blythe," explained Mrs. Strong. "She had to see him. I guess
+you can wait, can't you, Mr. Thane?"
+
+"Certainly. That isn't the point. If I had seen her in time I should
+have warned her against buying that stock. She's been let in for
+a whale of a loss, that's all I can say,--and it's too late to do
+anything about it. Good Lord, if ever a woman needed a man around
+the house, she does. She--"
+
+"I will tell her what you say," said Mrs. Strong calmly.
+
+"Don't you do anything of the kind," he exclaimed hastily. "I was
+speaking to you as a friend, Mrs. Strong. She means a great deal
+to both of us. You understand how it stands with Alix and me, don't
+you? I--I would cheerfully lay down my life for her. More than
+that, I cannot say or do."
+
+"She will be up by tomorrow," said Mrs. Strong, impressed in spite
+of herself by this simple, direct appeal. (All that day she caught
+herself wondering if he had cast his spell over her!)
+
+"Please give her my love,--and say that I am thinking about her
+every second of the day," said he gravely, and went away.
+
+Alix had received another letter from Addison Blythe. Enclosed with
+it was a communication from an official formerly connected with
+the American Ambulance. It was brief and to the point:
+
+Courtney Thane volunteered for service in the American Ambulance
+in Paris in November, 1915. He was accepted and ordered to appear
+at the hospital at Neuilly-sur-Seine for instructions. His conduct
+was such that he was dismissed from the service before the expiration
+of a week, his uniform taken away from him, and a request made to
+the French Military authorities to see that he was ordered to leave
+the country at once. Our records show that he left hurriedly for
+Spain. He was a bad influence to our boys in Paris, and there was
+but one course left open to us. We have no account of his subsequent
+movements. With his dismissal from the service, he ceased to be an
+object of concern to us.
+
+Alix did not destroy this letter. She locked it away in a drawer
+of her desk. She had made up her mind to confront Thane with this
+official communication. It was an ordeal she dreaded. Her true
+reason for refusing to see him was clear to her if to no one else:
+she hated the thought of hurting him! Moreover, she was strangely
+oppressed by the fear that she would falter at the crucial moment
+and that her half-guarded defences would go down before the assault.
+She knew his strength far better than she knew his weakness. She
+had had an illuminating example of his power. Was she any stronger
+now than on that never-to-be-forgotten night?...She put off the
+evil hour.
+
+And on the same third day of renunciation, she had a letter from
+David Strong. She wept a little over it, and driven finally by a
+restlessness such as she had never known before, feverishly dressed
+herself, and set forth late in the afternoon for a long walk in
+the open air. She took to the leaf-strewn woodland roads, and there
+was a definite goal in mind.
+
+II
+
+Courtney remembered Rosabel Vick.
+
+"I guess I'd better call her up," he said to himself. "I ought
+to have done it several days ago. Beastly rotten of me to have
+neglected it. She's probably been sitting over there waiting ever
+since--Gad, she may; have some good news. Maybe she is mistaken."
+
+He went over to the telephone exchange and called up the Vick house.
+Rosabel answered.
+
+"That you, Rosie?...Well, I couldn't. I've been laid up, completely
+out of commission ever since I saw you....What?...I--I didn't
+get that, Rosie. Speak louder,--closer to the telephone."
+
+Very distinctly now came the words, almost in a wail:
+
+"Oh, Courtney, why--why do you lie to me?"
+
+"Lie to you? My dear girl, do you know what you are--"
+
+A low moan, and a harsh, choking sob smote his ear, and then the
+click of the receiver on the hook.
+
+"Well, I'll be hanged!" he muttered angrily. "That's the last time
+I'll call you up, take it from me."
+
+And it was the last time he ever called her up.
+
+Then he, too, ravaged by uneasy thoughts, struck off into the
+country lanes, the better to commune with himself. In due course,
+he came to the gate leading up to the top of Quill's Window. Here
+he lagged. His gaze went across the strip of pasture-land to the
+deserted house above the main-travelled road. He started. His gaze
+grew more intense. A lone figure traversed the highway. It turned
+in at the gate, and, as he watched, strode swiftly up the path to
+the front door....He saw her bend over, evidently to insert a
+key in the lock. Then the door opened and closed behind her.
+
+III
+
+Every word of David's letter was impressed on Alix's brain. Over and
+over again she repeated to herself certain passages as she strode
+rapidly through the winding lanes. She spoke them tenderly,
+wonderingly, and her eyes were shining.
+
+DEAREST ALIX:
+
+I have always loved you. I want you to know it. There has never been
+an hour in all these years that I have not thought of you, that your
+dear face has not been before me. In France, here, everywhere,--always
+I am looking into your eyes, always I am hearing your voice, always
+I am feeling the gentle touch of your hand. Now you know. I could
+not have told you before. I am the blacksmith's son. God knows I
+am not ashamed of that. But I cannot forget, nor can you, that a
+blacksmith's son lies buried at the top of that grim old hill, and
+that he was not good enough for the daughter of a Windom. I hear
+that you have given your heart to some one else. You will marry
+him. But to the end of your days,--and I hope they may be many,--I
+want you to know that there is one man who will love you with all
+his heart and all his soul to the end of HIS days. I hope you will
+be happy. It is my greatest, my only wish. Once upon a time, we
+stole away, you and I, to write romances of love and adventure. Even
+then, you were my heroine. I was putting you into my poor story,
+but you were putting your dreams into yours, and I was not your
+dream hero. Then we would read to each, other what we had written.
+Do you remember how guardedly we read and how stealthy we were so
+as not to arouse suspicion or attract attention to our lair? I
+shall never forget those happy hours. Every line I wrote and read
+to you, Alix dear, was of you and FOR you. You were my heroine.
+My hero, feeble creature, told you how much I loved you, and you
+never suspected.
+
+I am telling you all this now, when my hope is dead, so that you
+may know that my love for you began when you were little more than a
+baby, and has endured to this day and will endure forever. I pray
+God you may always be happy. And now, in closing, I can only add
+the trite sentence,--which I recall reading in more than one novel
+and which I was imitative enough to put into my own unfinished
+masterpiece: If ever you are in trouble and despair and need me, I
+will come to you from the ends of the earth. I mean it, Alix. With
+all the best wishes in the world, I am and will remain
+
+Yours devotedly,
+
+DAVID.
+
+P.S.--I have just looked up from this letter to catch sight of
+myself in a mirror across the office. I have to smile. That beastly
+but honourable glass reveals the true secret of my failure to
+captivate you. How could any self-respecting heroine fall in love
+with a chap with a nose like mine, and a mouth that was intended
+for old Goliath himself, and cheek bones that were handed down
+by Tecumseh, and eyes that squint a little--but I daresay that's
+because they are somewhat blurred at this particular instant. I am
+reminded of the "Yank" who had his nose shot off at Chateau Thierry.
+He said that now that the Germans didn't have anything visible to
+train their artillery on, the war would soon be over. He had lost
+his nose but not his sense of the ridiculous. I have managed to
+retain both.
+
+Up in that bare, dust-laden room, with the two candles burning
+at her elbows, sat Alix. There were tears in her eyes, a wistful
+little smile on her lips. She was reading again the clumsy lines
+David had written in those long-ago days of adolescence. Now they
+meant something to her. They were stilted, commonplace expressions;
+she would have laughed at them had they been written by any one else,
+and she still would have been vastly amused, even now, were it not
+for the revelations contained in his letter. And the postscript,--how
+like him to have added that whimsical twist! He wanted her to smile,
+even though his heart was hurt.
+
+Ten years! Ten years ago they had sat opposite each other at this
+dusty table, their heads bent to the task, their brows furrowed,
+their hands reaching out to the same bottle of ink, their souls
+athrill with romance. And she was writing of a handsome, incredibly
+valiant hero, whilst he--he was writing of her! Time and again his
+hand, in seeking the ink, had touched the hand of his heroine,--she
+remembered once jabbing her pen into his less nimble finger as she
+went impatiently to the fount of romance, and he had exclaimed with
+a grimace: "Gee, you must have struck a snag, Alix!" She recalled
+the words as of yesterday, almost as of this very moment, and her
+arrogant rejoinder, "Well, why can't you keep your hand out of the
+way?"
+
+She was always hurting him, and he was always patient. She was
+always sorry, and he was always forgiving. She was superior in her
+weakness, he was gentle in his strength.
+
+And his heroine? She read through the mist that filled her eyes
+and saw herself. The lofty heroine wooed by the poor and humble
+musician who crept up from unutterable depths to worship unseen
+at her feet! "The Phantom Singer!" The lover she could not see
+because her starry eyes were fixed upon the peak! And yet he stood
+beneath her casement window and sang her to sleep, lulled her into
+sweet dreams,--and went his lonely way in the chill of the morning
+hours, only to return again at nightfall.
+
+She looked up from the sheet she held. She stared, not into space,
+but at the face of David Strong, sitting opposite,--the phantom
+singer. It was as plain to her as if he were actually there. She
+looked into his deep grey eyes, honest and true and smiling.
+
+What was it he said in his letter? About his nose and mouth and
+eyes? They were before her now. That keen, boyish face with its
+coat of tan,--its broad, whimsical mouth and the white, even teeth
+that once on a dare had cracked a walnut for her; its rugged jaw
+and the long, straight nose; its wide forehead and the straight
+eyebrows; and the thick hair as black as the raven's wing, rumpled
+by fingers that strove desperately to encourage a recalcitrant
+brain; and those big, bony hands, so large that her little brown
+paws were lost in them; and the broad shoulders hunched over the
+table, supported by widespread elbows that encroached upon her
+allotted space so often that she had to remind him: "I do wish you'd
+watch what you're doing," and he would get up and meekly recover
+the scattered sheets of paper from the floor. Ugly? David ugly?
+Why, he was BEAUTIFUL!
+
+Suddenly her head dropped upon her arms, now resting on David's
+manuscript; she sobbed.
+
+"Oh, Davy,--Davy, I wish you were here! I wish you were here now!"
+
+The creaking of the stairs startled her. She half arose and stared
+at the open door, expecting to see--the ghost! Goose-flesh crept
+out all over her. The ghost that people said came to--
+
+The very corporeal presence of Courtney Thane appeared in the
+doorway.
+
+For many seconds she was stupefied. She could see his lips moving,
+she knew he was speaking, she could see his smile as he approached,
+and yet only an unintelligible mumble came to her ears.
+
+"--and so I cut across the field and ventured in where angels do
+not fear to tread," were the first words that possessed any degree
+of coherency for her.
+
+She hastily thrust the precious manuscript into the drawer. He
+stopped several feet away and looked about the room curiously, his
+gaze coming back to her after a moment. The light of the candles
+was full on her face.
+
+"Well, of all the queer places," he said. "What in the world brings
+you here? I thought no one ever entered this house, Alix."
+
+"I have not been inside this house in ten years," she said, struggling
+for control of herself. "I came today to--to look for some papers
+that were left here. I was on the point of leaving when you came
+up." She picked up her gloves from the table.
+
+"It's cold here. Do you think it was wise for you to sit here in
+this chilly--Gad, it's like an ice-house or a tomb. Better let me
+give you my coat." He started to remove his overcoat. There was an
+anxious, solicitous expression in his eyes.
+
+"No,--no, thank you. I am quite warm,--and I shall be as warm
+as toast after I've walked a little way. I must be going now, Mr.
+Thane." She took a few steps toward the door.
+
+"Are you going away without blowing the candles out?" he inquired.
+
+She halted. She felt herself trapped. She did not want to be alone
+in the dark with him.
+
+"If you will go ahead while there is light, I will follow--" The
+solution came suddenly. "How stupid! There is nothing to prevent
+us carrying the candles downstairs with us, is there? Will you take
+one, please?"
+
+She returned to the table and took up one of the candlesticks.
+
+"I've been terribly worried about you, Alix," he said, without
+moving. "How wonderful it is to see you again,--to see what is
+really you and not the girl I've seen in dreams for the past few
+endless nights. You in the flesh, you with your beautiful eyes, you
+whose lips--oh, God, I--I have been nearly mad, Alix. A thousand
+times I have felt you in my arms,--you've never been out of them
+in my thoughts. I--"
+
+"Please--please!" she cried, shrinking back and putting her hands
+to her temples.
+
+Still he did not move. There was a gentleness in his voice, a
+softness that disarmed her. It was not the voice of a conqueror,
+rather it was that of a suppliant.
+
+"I am not worthy to touch the hem of your garment," he went on, an
+expression of pain leaping swiftly to his eyes. "I am most unworthy.
+My life has not been perfect. I have done many things that I am
+ashamed of, things I would give my soul to recall. But my love for
+you, Alix Crown, is perfect. All the good that God ever put into
+me is in this feeling I have for you. You are the very soul of me.
+If you tell me to go away, I will go. That is how I love you. You
+DO believe I love you with all my heart and soul, don't you, Alix?
+You DO believe that I would die for you?"
+
+Now she was looking into his eyes across the candle flames. David's
+features had vanished. She saw nothing save the white, drawn face
+of the man whose voice, sweet with passion, fell upon her ears
+like the murmur of far-off music. She felt the warm thrill of blood
+rushing back into her icy veins, surging up to her throat, to her
+trembling lips, to her eyes.
+
+"I--I don't know what to think--I don't know what to believe," she
+heard herself saying.
+
+He came a step or two nearer. Her eyes never left his. She tried
+to look away.
+
+"I want you to me mine forever, Alix. I want you to be my wife. I
+want you to be with me to the end of my life. I cannot live without
+you. Do not send me away now. It is too late."
+
+Her knees gave way. She sank slowly to the bench,--and still she
+looked into his gleaming eyes.
+
+He came to her. She was in his arms. His face was close to hers,
+his breath was on her cheek....
+
+"No! No!" she almost shrieked, and wrenched herself free. "Not now!
+Not here! Give me time--give me time to think!"
+
+She had sprung to her feet and was glaring at him with the eyes of
+an animal at bay. He fell back in astonishment.
+
+"You--you had no right to follow me here," she was crying. "You had
+no right! This place is sacred. It is sanctuary." Her voice broke.
+"My mother was born in this room. She died in this room. And I was
+born here. Go! Please go!"
+
+He controlled himself. He held back those words that were on his
+tongue, ready to be flung out at her: "Yes, and in this room you
+behaved like hell with David Strong!" But he checked them in time.
+He lowered his head.
+
+"Forgive me, Alix," he said abjectly. "I--I did not know. I was
+wrong to follow you here. I could not help myself. I was mad to
+see you. Nothing could have stopped me." He looked up, struck by a
+sudden thought. "You call this sanctuary. It is a sacred place to
+you. Will you make it sacred to me? Promise here and now, in this
+sanctuary of yours, to be my wife, and all my life it shall be the
+most sacred spot on earth."
+
+She turned her head quickly to look at David Strong. A startled,
+incredulous expression leaped into her eyes. He was not there.
+By what magic had he vanished? She had felt his presence. He was
+sitting there a moment ago, his tousled head bent down over the pad
+of paper,--she was sure of it! Then she realized. A wave of relief
+surged over her. He was not there to hear this man making love
+to her in the room where he had poured out his soul to her. She
+experienced a curious thrill of exultation. David could never take
+back those unspoken words of love. She had them safely stored away
+in that blessed drawer!
+
+A flush of shame leaped to her cheeks. She could not banish the
+notion that he,--honest, devoted David,--had seen her in this man's
+arms, clinging to him, giving back his passionate kisses with all
+the horrid rapture of a--She stiffened. Her head went up. She faced
+the man who had robbed David.
+
+"I cannot marry you," she said quietly. The spell was gone. She
+was herself again. "I do not love you."
+
+He stared, speechless, uncomprehending.
+
+"You--you do not love me?" he gasped.
+
+"I do not love you," she repeated deliberately.
+
+"But, good God, you--you couldn't have kissed me as you--"
+
+"Please!"
+
+"--as you did just now," he went on, honestly bewildered. "You put
+your arms around my neck,--you kissed me--"
+
+"Stop! Yes, I know I did,--I know I did. But it was not love,--it
+was not love! I don't know what it was. You have some dreadful,
+appalling power to--Oh, you need not look at me like that! I don't
+care THAT for your scorn. Call me a fool, if you like,--call me
+ANYTHING you like. It is all one to me now. What's done, is done.
+But it can never happen again. I will not even say that I am ashamed,
+for in saying so I would be confessing that I was responsible for
+my actions. I was not responsible. That is all, Mr. Thane. No
+doubt you are sincere in asking me to be your wife. No doubt your
+love for me is sincere. I should like to think so--always. It would
+help me to forget my own weakness. I am going. I want you to leave
+this house before I go, Mr. Thane."
+
+She spoke calmly, evenly, with the utmost self-possession.
+
+"I can't let you go like this, Alix! I can't take this as final.
+You--you MUST care for me. How can I think otherwise? In God's
+name, what has happened to turn you against me? You owe me more of
+an explanation than--"
+
+"You are right," she interrupted. "I do owe you an explanation.
+This is not the time or the place to give it. If you will come to
+see me tomorrow, I will tell you everything. It is only fair that
+you should know. But not now."
+
+"Has some one been lying about me?" he demanded, his eyes narrowing.
+
+She waited an instant before replying.
+
+"No, Mr. Thane," she said; "no one has been lying about you."
+
+He took up his hat from the table.
+
+"I will come tomorrow," he said. At the door he paused to say:
+"But I am not going to give you up, Alix. You mean too much to me.
+I think I understand. You are frightened. I--I should not have come
+here."
+
+"Yes, I WAS frightened," she cried out shrilly. "I was frightened,--but
+I am not afraid now."
+
+She had moved to Thane's side of the table, and there she stood
+until she heard his footsteps on the little porch outside.
+
+She was in an exalted frame of mind as she hurried from the house.
+The short October day had turned to night. For a moment she paused,
+peering ahead. A queer little thrill of alarm ran through her. She
+had never been afraid of the dark before. But now she shivered.
+A great uneasiness assailed her. She listened intently. Far up
+the hard gravel road she heard the sound of footsteps, gradually
+diminishing. He was far ahead of her and walking rapidly.
+
+At the gate she stopped again. Then she struck out resolutely for
+home,--the Phantom Singer was beside her. She was not afraid.
+
+A farm-hand, leaning on the fence at the lower corner of the yard,
+scratched his head in perplexity.
+
+"Well, here's a new angle to the case," he mused sourly. "I'm up a
+tree for sure. Why the devil should Miss Crown be meeting him out
+there in this old deserted house. My word, it begins to look a
+trifle spicy. It also begins to look like a case that ought to be
+dropped before it gets too hot. I guess it's up to me to see my
+dear old Uncle Charlie What's-His-Name."
+
+Whereupon Mr. Gilfillan set off in the wake of the girl who had
+employed him to catch the masked invader.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+BRINGING UP THE PAST
+
+
+
+
+Charlie Webster wore a troubled expression when he appeared for dinner
+that same evening. He was late. If such a thing were believable,
+his kindly blue eyes glittered malevolently as they rested upon
+the face of Courtney Thane, who had taken his place at table a few
+minutes earlier. The fat little man was strangely preoccupied. He
+was even gruff in his response to Mr. Pollock's bland inquiry as
+to the state of his health.
+
+"How's your liver, Charlie?" inquired the genial editor. This amiable
+question was habitual with Mr. Pollock. He varied it a little when
+the object of his polite concern happened to be of the opposite
+sex; then he gallantly substituted the word "appetite." It was never
+necessary to reply to Mr. Pollock's question. In fact, he always
+seemed a little surprised when any one did reply, quite as if he had
+missed a portion of the conversation and was trying in a bewildered
+sort of way to get the hang of it again.
+
+"Same as it was yesterday," said Charlie. "I don't want any soup,
+Maggie. Yes, I know it's bean soup, but I don't want it, just the
+same."
+
+"Going on a hunger strike, Charlie?" inquired Doc Simpson.
+
+"Sh! He's reducing," scolded Flora Grady.
+
+"What's on your mind, Charlie?" asked Courtney.
+
+Charlie swallowed hard. He made a determined effort and succeeded
+in recovering some of his old-time sprightliness.
+
+"Nothing, now that I've got my hat off."
+
+"Have you heard the latest news, Charlie?" inquired Mrs. Pollock,
+a thrill of excitement in her voice.
+
+He started, and looked up quickly. "There's been so blamed much
+news lately," he muttered, "I can't keep track of it."
+
+"Well, this is the greatest piece of news we've had in ages," said
+the poetess. "Wedding bells are to ring in our midst. Somebody you
+know very well is going to be married."
+
+Mr. Webster's heart went to his boots. He stared open-mouthed at
+the speaker.
+
+"Oh, my Lord!" he almost groaned. "Don't tell me she has promised
+to marry--" He broke off to glare venomously at Thane.
+
+"Don't blame me for it, Charlie," exclaimed the latter. "I am as
+innocent as an unborn babe. Charge it to woman's wiles." He laughed
+boisterously, unnaturally.
+
+Mr. Pollock spoke. "The next issue of the Sun will contain
+the formal announcement of the engagement of the most popular and
+beloved young lady in Windomville. No doubt it will be old news by
+that time,--next Thursday,--but publication in the press gives it
+the importance of officialty."
+
+"We may congratulate ourselves, however, that we are not to lose
+her," said Mrs. Pollock. "She is to remain in--"
+
+"Whe-when is it to take place?" groaned Charlie, moisture starting
+out on his brow.
+
+"That," began Mr. Pollock, "is a matter which cannot be definitely
+announced at present, owing to certain family--er--ah--conditions.
+In addition to this, I may say that there is also the children to
+consider, as well as the township trustee and, to an extent, the
+taxpayer. The--"
+
+"All I've got to say," grated Charlie, "is that the police ought
+to be consulted, first of all."
+
+"The police!" exclaimed Angie Miller.
+
+"The--the what?" gasped Furman Hatch, lifting his head suddenly.
+He was very red in the face. "I'd like to know what the devil the
+police have to do with it?"
+
+Charlie took a look at Angie Miller's face, and then the truth
+dawned upon him. He sank back in his chair so suddenly that the
+legs gave forth an ominous crack.
+
+"Don't do that!" cried Margaret Slattery sharply. "You know them
+chairs are not made of iron. And I don't want you flopping all over
+me when I'm passing the stew--"
+
+"Yes, sir!" boomed Charlie, who had collected his wits by this time,
+and was pointing his finger accusingly at Mr. Hatch. "The police
+have simply got to be called. It's going to take half the force,
+including Bill Foss, to keep me from drinking the heart's blood of
+my hated rival. Ladies and gents, that infernal, low-down villain
+over there has come between me and--But nobody shall say that
+Charles Darwin Webster is a poor loser! Say what you please about
+him, but do not say he is a short sport. It breaks my heart to do
+it, but I'm coming around there to shake hands with you, old Tintype.
+I'm going to congratulate you, but I'm never going to get through
+hating you."
+
+He arose and bolted around the table. Mr. Hatch got to his feet
+and the long and the short man clasped hands.
+
+"Put her there, old boy! I've already made up my mind what my wedding
+present is going to be. The day before the wedding I'm coming in
+and order a dozen photographs of myself,--pay for 'em in advance.
+And I'm going to give every darned one of 'em to the bride, so's she
+can stick 'em up all over the house just to make you feel at home,
+you blamed old bachelor. And as for you, Miss Angelina Miller, the
+very topmost height of my ambition will be reached in less than two
+minutes after the ceremony. Because, then and there, I'm going to
+kiss you. Bless you, my children. As old Rip Van Winkle used to
+say, 'may you live long and brosper.'"
+
+Having delivered himself of this felicitous speech, the somewhat
+relieved Mr. Webster wiped his brow.
+
+"What did he say?" quaked old Mrs. Nichols, putting her hand to
+her ear.
+
+"Says he hoped they'd be happy," bawled old Mr. Nichols, close to
+her ear.
+
+"Pass the bread, Doc," said Mr. Hatch, getting pinker and pinker.
+
+"When's it to take place, Angle?" inquired Charlie, resuming his
+seat. He cast a sharp look at Courtney. The young man shifted his
+gaze immediately.
+
+"As I explained to Mr. Pollock, everything depends on my aunt,"
+said Angie composedly. "She is very old,--eighty-three, in fact."
+
+"You don't mean to say your aunt objects to your marrying old
+Tintype," exclaimed Charlie.
+
+"Not at all," replied Angie, somewhat tartly.
+
+"You see, it's this way," volunteered Mr. Pollock. "Miss Angie is
+the sole support of a venerable and venerated aunt who lives in
+Frankfort. That is a thing to be considered. Her duty to her father's
+sister--"
+
+Courtney interrupted, chuckling. "It's too much to ask of any
+woman. I suppose it must take nearly all you earn, Miss Miller,
+to support your aged relative, so naturally you do not feel like
+taking on Mr. Hatch immediately."
+
+There was a moment's silence around the table.
+
+"I see by the Chicago Tribune," said Mr. Pollock, after a hurried
+gulp of coffee, "that there's likely to be a strike of the street-car
+men up there."
+
+"You don't say so," said Doc Simpson, looking so concerned that
+one might have been led to suspect that he was dismayed over the
+prospect of getting to his office the next day.
+
+"What's the world coming to?" sighed Maude Baggs Pollock nervously.
+"Strikes, strikes everywhere. Murder, bloodshed, robbery, revolution--"
+
+"Next thing we know," put in Charlie Webster, without looking up
+from his plate, "God will strike, and when He does there'll be hell
+to pay, begging your pardon, ladies, for using a word that sounds
+worse than it tastes."
+
+"I use it every day of my life," said Miss Flora Grady. "It's a
+grand word, Charlie," she added, a little defiantly.
+
+"Times have changed," remarked Mr. Pollock blandly. "It wasn't so
+very long ago that women Said 'pshaw' when they wanted to let off
+steam. Then they got to saying 'shucks,' and from that they progressed
+to 'darn,' and now they say 'damn' without a quiver. Only yesterday
+I heard my wife say something that sounded suspiciously like 'dammit
+to hell' when she upset a bottle of ink on her desk. She hasn't
+stubbed her toe against a rocking-chair lately, thank goodness."
+
+Doc Simpson stopped Courtney as he was starting upstairs after
+dinner. The dentist was unsmiling.
+
+"Say, Court, I'm running a little close this week. Been so much
+excitement a lot of patients have forgotten all about their teeth.
+Can you let me have that ten you borrowed last week?"
+
+"Sure," said Courtney, in his most affable manner. "I'll hand it
+to you tomorrow. I'll give it to you now if you'll wait till I run
+upstairs and get it out of my trunk. That's my bank, you know."
+
+"Tomorrow'll do all right," said Doc, a trifle abashed.
+
+"Can I see you a second, Mr. Thane?" called Miss Grady, when he
+was halfway up the stairs.
+
+He stopped and smiled down at her. "I hope you'll forgive me if
+I don't come down, Miss Flora. My knee is still on the blink. It
+hurts worse to go downstairs, than it does up."
+
+"I'll come up," said Miss Grady promptly. "You remember those roses
+I ordered for you last week? Well, I had to pay cash for them,
+including parcel post. You owe me seven dollars and thirteen cents."
+
+"I'm glad you spoke of it. I hadn't forgotten it, of course, but--I
+simply neglected to square it up with you. Have you change for a
+twenty, Miss Flora?"
+
+"Not with me."
+
+"I'll hand it to you tomorrow. Seven-thirteen, you say? Shall
+we make it seven-fifteen?" He favoured her with his most engaging
+smile, and Miss Grady, who thought she had steeled her heart
+against his blandishments, suffered a momentary relapse and said,
+"No hurry. I just thought I'd remind you."
+
+He failed completely, however, to affect the susceptibilities of
+Miss Mary Dowd, who presently rapped at his door, and rapped again
+when he called out "Come in." He opened the door.
+
+"Pardon me, Mr. Thane, for coming up to speak to you about your
+bill. Will it be convenient for you to let me have the money this
+evening?"
+
+She did not soften the dun by offering the usual excuse about
+"expenses being a little heavier this month than we expected," or
+that she "hated to ask him for the amount."
+
+"Is it three or four weeks, Miss Molly?" he inquired, taking out
+an envelope and a pencil.
+
+"Four weeks today."
+
+"Sixty dollars." He jotted it down. "I cannot let this opportunity
+pass to tell you how thoroughly satisfied I have been with everything
+here, Miss Molly. The table is really extraordinarily good. I don't
+see how you can do it for fifteen dollars a week, including room."
+He replaced the envelope in his pocket, and smiled politely, his
+hand going to the door knob.
+
+"We couldn't do it, Mr. Thane, unless we stuck pretty closely to
+our rule,--that is, of asking our patrons to pay promptly at the
+end of every week."
+
+"It's really the only way," he agreed.
+
+"So if you will be kind enough to let me have the amount now, I
+will be very much obliged to you."
+
+He stepped to the head of the stairs, ostensibly to be nearer a
+light, and took out his purse. While counting out the bills, he cast
+frequent glances down into the lower hall. The buzz of conversation
+came up from the "lounge."
+
+"I think you will find the proper amount here, Miss Molly," he
+said, after restoring the purse to his pocket.
+
+She took the bank-notes and counted them.
+
+"Quite correct, Mr. Thane. Thank you. By the way, I have been
+meaning to ask how much longer you contemplate remaining with us.
+Pastor Mavity has been inquiring for room and board for his sister,
+who is coming on from Indianapolis to spend several months in
+Windomville. If by any chance you are thinking of vacating your
+room within the next few days, I would be obliged if you would let
+me know as soon as possible in order that I may give Mr. Mavity an
+answer."
+
+"I think I shall be leaving shortly, Miss Dowd. I can let you know
+in a day or two," said he stiffly. "I am afraid your winters are
+too severe for me. Good night,--and thank you for being so patient,
+Miss Dowd."
+
+Meanwhile, Miss Angie Miller had taken Charlie Webster off to a
+corner of the "lounge" remote from the fireplace. She was visibly
+excited.
+
+"I had a letter in this afternoon's mail from my uncle, Charlie,"
+she announced in subdued tones. "My goodness, you'll simply pass
+away when you read it."
+
+"Where is it?" demanded Charlie eagerly.
+
+"I haven't even shown it to Furman," said she, looking over her
+shoulder. "I've been wondering whether I ought to let him read it
+first."
+
+"Not at all," said he promptly. "It's none of his business. This
+is between you and me, Angie. Let's have a look at it."
+
+"I don't think you'd better read it here," she whispered nervously.
+"It--it is very private and confidential."
+
+"That's all right," said Charlie. "I'll sneak upstairs with it,
+Angie."
+
+"Well, act as if you are looking out of the window," she said, and
+when his back was turned she produced the letter from its hiding
+place inside her blouse.
+
+II
+
+Charlie retired to his room a few minutes later. There he perused
+the following letter, written on the stationery of Beck, Blossom,
+Fredericks & Smith, Attorneys-at-law, New York City:
+
+MY DEAR NIECE:
+
+Pardon my delay in replying to your letter of recent date. I have
+been very busy in court and have not been in a position to devote
+even a little of my time to your inquiry. Your second letter reached
+me yesterday, and I now make amends for my previous delinquency by
+answering it with a promptness most uncommon in lawyers.
+
+The firm of which I am a member appeared in 1912 for the plaintiff
+in the case of Ritter vs. Thane. Our client was a young woman
+residing in Brooklyn. The defendant was Courtney Thane, the son
+of Howard Thane, and no doubt the young man to whom you refer. In
+any case, he was the grandson of Silas Thane, who lived in your part
+of the State of Indiana. We were demanding one hundred thousand
+dollars for our client. Miss Ritter was a trained nurse. Young
+Thane had been severely injured in an automobile accident. If YOUR
+Courtney Thane is the same as MINE, he will be walking with a slight
+limp. His left leg was badly crushed in the accident to which I
+refer. For several months he was unable to walk. Upon his removal
+from St. Luke's Hospital to his father's home in Park Avenue, a
+fortnight after the accident, our client was employed as a nurse on
+the case. This was early in the spring of 1912. In June the Thane
+family went to the Berkshires, where they had rented a house for
+the summer. Our client accompanied them. Prior to their departure,
+Thane, senior, had settled out of court with the occupants of the
+automobile with which his son's car had collided in upper Broadway.
+His son was alone in his car when the accident occurred, but there
+were a number of witnesses ready to testify that he was driving at
+a high rate of speed, regardless of traffic or crossings. If my memory
+serves me correctly, his father paid something like twenty-five
+thousand dollars to the three persons injured. That, however,
+is neither here nor there, except to illustrate the young man's
+disregard for the law.
+
+Miss Ritter had been on the case a very short time before he began
+to make ardent love to her. She was an extremely pretty girl, two
+years his senior, and, I am convinced, a most worthy and exemplary
+young woman. She became infatuated with the young man. He asked
+her to marry him. (Permit me to digress for a moment in order to
+state that while Courtney Thane was in his freshman year at college
+his father was obliged to pay out quite a large sum of money to a
+chorus-girl with whom, it appears, he had become involved.) To make
+a long story short, our client, trusting implicitly to his honour
+and submitting to the ardour of their joint passion, anticipated
+the marriage ceremony with serious results to herself. When she
+discovered that he had no intention of marrying her, she attempted
+suicide. Her mother, on learning the truth, went to Thane's parents
+and pleaded for the righting of the wrong. Howard Thane had, by this
+time, lost all patience with his son. He refused to have anything
+to do with the matter. The young man's mother ordered Miss Ritter's
+mother out of the apartment and threatened to have her arrested for
+blackmail. Shortly after this episode, we were consulted by Mrs.
+Ritter, much against the wishes of her daughter, who shrank from
+the notoriety and the disgrace of a lawsuit. The elder Thane was
+adamant in his decision that his son should marry the girl, who,
+he was fair enough to admit, was a young woman of very superior
+character and who, he was convinced, had been basely deceived. The
+mother, on the other hand, was relentlessly opposed to the sacrifice
+of her son. We took the matter to court. On the morning of the
+first day of the trial, before the opening of court, the defendant's
+counsel came to us with a proposition. They offered to settle out
+of court for twenty-five thousand dollars. In the end, we accepted
+fifty thousand, and the case was dismissed. Afterwards counsel
+for the other side informed us that the elder Thane turned his son
+out of his home and refused to have anything more to do with him.
+I understand the young man went to Europe, where he subsisted on
+an allowance provided by his mother. Thane, senior, died shortly
+after this. Our client, I am pained to say, died with her babe in
+childbirth.
+
+You may be interested to know, my dear niece, that Mrs. Thane
+married soon after her husband's death. Her second husband was
+a young French nobleman, many years her junior. He was killed in
+the war, I think at Verdun. I understand she is now living in this
+city. Her present name escapes me, but I know that her widowhood
+has been made endurable by a legacy which happens to be one in name
+only. In other words, he left her the title of Countess.
+
+If I can be of any further service to you, my dear niece, pray do
+not hesitate to call upon me. Believe me to be...etc., etc.
+
+Within ten minutes after the perusal of this very convincing
+indictment, Charlie Webster was on his way to Alix's home. He was
+quite out of breath when he presented himself at the front door,
+and his first words to Alix were:
+
+"While I'm getting my breath, Alix, you might prepare yourself for
+a shock."
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ROSABEL VICK
+
+
+
+
+Early the next morning, the telephone in township assessor Jordan's
+house rang. Annie Jordan was "setting" the breakfast table. She
+waited for the call to be repeated; she was not sure whether the
+bell had rung thrice or four times. Their call was "Party J, ring
+four." Four sharp rings came promptly. She looked at the kitchen
+clock. It lacked five minutes of seven.
+
+"Gee," she grumbled, "I didn't know anybody had to get up as early
+as I do." Taking down the receiver she uttered a sweet "hello,"
+because, as she said, "You never know who's at the other end, and
+it's just as likely to be HIM as not."
+
+"Is that you, Annie? This is Mrs. Vick. May I speak to Rosabel?"
+
+"Why, Rosabel isn't here, Mrs. Vick."
+
+"What?"
+
+"Rosabel isn't here."
+
+There was a short silence. Then: "Are you joking with me, Annie?
+If she isn't up yet, please tell her to--"
+
+"Honest to goodness, Mrs. Vick, she's not here. I haven't seen her
+since day before yesterday."
+
+"She said she was going over to spend the night with you. She left
+home about four yesterday. Oh, my goodness, I--I--is there any one
+else she might have,--I'm sure she said you, though, Annie. Can
+you think of any one else? She took her nightdress--and things."
+
+"She always comes here, Mrs. Vick," said Annie, and felt a little
+chill creeping over her. "Still she may have gone to Mrs. Urline's.
+She and Hattie are good friends. Shall I call up and ask? I'll ring
+you up in a couple of minutes."
+
+That was the beginning. Within the hour the whole of Windomville
+was talking about the strange disappearance of the pretty daughter
+of Amos Vick, across the river. Old Jim House, the handy-man at
+Dowd's Tavern, inserted his shaggy head through the dining-room
+door and informed the editor of the Sun in a far from ceremonious
+manner that he had an "item" for the paper.
+
+"I'll be out as soon as I've finished breakfast," said Mr. Pollock.
+
+"Well, you can't say I didn't tell ye," said Jim, and withdrew his
+head. "No wonder there ain't ever anything worth readin' in that
+pickerune paper of his, Maggie," he growled to Margaret Slattery.
+"If ever I DO subscribe for a paper, it's goin' to be one that's
+got some git up and go about it. Some Injinapolis er Cincinnaty
+paper, b'gosh. There's Link Pollock settin' in there eatin' pancakes
+while a girl is bein' missed from one end of the township to the
+other. Bill Foss has--"
+
+"What girl?" demanded Margaret.
+
+"That girl of Amos Vick's. They ain't seen hide er hair of her
+sence yesterday afternoon. Amos is over to the drug store, nearly
+crazy with suspicion. I got it all figgered out. One of two things
+has happened. She's either run off to get married er else she's
+been waylaid and--er--execrated by some tramp. Like as not the
+very feller that peeped in at Alix Crown's winder the other night.
+'Twouldn't surprise me a particle if she was found some'eres er
+other with her head beat in or somethin'! And Link Pollock jest
+sits in there stuffin' pan--"
+
+Margaret Slattery having disappeared abruptly into the dining-room,
+Jim grunted and edged over to the kitchen range, where Miss Jennie
+Dowd was busily engaged.
+
+"I ain't got nothin' personal ag'in Link Pollock, Jennie," he said,
+sniffing the browning batter with pleasurable longing, "but if you
+was to ask me I'd say his wife is twice the man he is, and a little
+over. The minute that woman is a widder I'm goin' to subscribe for
+the paper, 'cause I know she'll--What say, Jennie?"
+
+"Bring me another scuttle of coal,--and, for goodness' sake, don't
+smoke that pipe in my kitchen."
+
+"What's the matter with this here pipe?" demanded Mr. House in some
+surprise.
+
+"Never mind. I'm busy."
+
+"Yes,--cookin' pancakes for that--all right, ALL RIGHT, I'll get
+your coal fer ye. I ought to be out helpin' Amos Vick to investigate
+fer his daughter, that's where I ought to be. First thing you know,
+he'll be offerin' twenty-five er fifty dollars fer her and--say,
+it seems to me you ought to be more interested in that pore lost
+girl than makin' pancakes fer Link Pollock." He prepared to sit
+down. "There's a lot of people in this here town payin' him two
+dollars a year fer to git the news, and all he does is to--All
+right, I wasn't goin' to set down anyways. I was jest movin' this
+cheer out o' the way a little, so's Maggie--Yes, and with coal as
+high as it is now and a lot of pore people starvin' and freezin'
+to death, it exaggerates me considerable to see you wastin'--Well,
+is he still eatin', Maggie?"
+
+"He's beat it upstairs to change his carpet slippers," announced
+Margaret Slattery excitedly. "You needn't make any more, Miss
+Jennie. They're all beatin' it,--all except Mr. Thane, and he says
+he don't want any more. He says he ain't feelin' well and thinks
+he'll go up to his room and lay down for a while."
+
+"Well, seein's you don't need that coal, Jennie, I guess I'll mosey
+along and see if I c'n be any help to Amos. This jest goes to show
+what an ijit I'd ha' been to let my pipe go out."
+
+Courtney Thane hung over the little stove in his room, shivering
+as with a chill. About ten o'clock some one knocked at his door.
+He started up from the chair, his gaze fixed on the door. With an
+effort he pulled himself together and inquired who was there.
+
+"Is there anything I can do for you, Mr. Thane?" asked Miss Molly
+Dowd, outside.
+
+"Nothing, thank you." After a moment's indecision, he crossed over
+and opened the door. "It's awfully good of you, Miss Molly. There's
+nothing really the matter with me. I was awake most of the night
+with a pain in my back,--something like lumbago, I suppose. I was
+afraid at first it was my old pleurisy coming back for another
+visit, but it seems to be lower down. I feel much better, thank
+you. The fresh air will do me good. I think I'll go out and see
+if I can be of any assistance to poor Vick. Have they had any news
+of Rosabel?"
+
+"I think not. They have telephoned to the city to ask the police
+to watch out for her, especially at the trains. She's been terribly
+depressed, they say, since her brother went to the Navy training
+school up near Chicago. Amos thinks she may have taken it into her
+head to go up there somewhere to be near him."
+
+"It is possible. She was devoted to her brother. I hope nothing
+worse has happened to her. She is a sweet, lovable girl, and they
+worshipped her."
+
+Later on, as he was standing in front of the postoffice, smoking
+a cigarette, Vick came up in Alix Crown's automobile.
+
+The former had been to the city to consult with the police. He
+inquired anxiously if any word had been received from the men who
+had volunteered to search in the woods and along the river bank
+for the girl. Receiving a reply in the negative from several of
+the hangers-on, he turned to give an order to the chauffeur. As he
+did so, his gaze fell upon Courtney, who was on the outer edge of
+the little group surrounding the car.
+
+After a moment of indecision, the young man pushed his way forward,
+an expression of deep concern in his eyes.
+
+"Morning, Courtney," greeted the older man, extending his hand.
+"I'm glad to see you. I suppose you've heard about Rosabel?"
+
+Thane shook hands with Rosabel's father.
+
+"I wouldn't be worried if I were you, Mr. Vick. She'll turn up all
+right. I feel sure of it. If there is anything in the world I can
+do, I wish you would say so, Mr. Vick. Anything, sir. There is
+nothing I wouldn't do for you and Mrs. Vick and Rosabel. I adore
+that child. Why, I get positively sick all over when I let myself
+think that--but, it's impossible! I feel it in my bones she'll come
+home sometime today."
+
+Vick pressed the young man's hand.
+
+"I wish I could be sure of that,--God, I wish I could be sure,"
+he said, with a little catch in his gruff voice. "I don't see what
+got into her to run away like this. She ain't been very chipper
+since Cale went away, you know. Sort of sick and down in the mouth.
+Her mother's heard her crying a good bit lately up in her room. I
+promised her only a couple of days ago to take her up to Chicago
+for a spell, so's she could see Cale every once in a while. So it
+can't be she's gone off on her own hook to see him, knowin' that
+either me or her mother was planning to go up with her next week.
+Thank you, Courtney, for offering to help us. If there's anything,
+I'll let you know. We've been telegraphin' and telephonin' everywhere
+to see if we can get track of her, and we've been to all her friends'
+homes to ask if they've seen her. I wish, if you feel like it, you'd
+go over and see Mrs. Vick. Maybe you can cheer her up, encourage
+her or something. She's terribly worried. I--I think it would break
+her heart if anything happened to--to--" His lips twisted as with
+pain. He bent over and picked a burr from his trousers' leg.
+
+"Buck up, old fellow," said Courtney, a ringing note of confidence
+in his voice. He laid his hand on Vick's arm. "Tell me all about
+it. When did she leave the house, and where did she say she was
+going?"
+
+"Yesterday afternoon. She said she was going to spend the night at
+the Jordans'. She kissed her mother good-bye,--just as she always
+does,--and we ain't seen or heard anything of her since. Nobody in
+Windomville saw her. Bill Foss is afraid she may have been waylaid
+by hoboes down along the river road. If--if THAT happened there'll
+be something worse than lynchin' if I ever lay hands on--"
+
+Thane broke in with an oath.
+
+"By God, I'll do the job for you if I get hold of him first, Vick.
+I could set fire to a devil like that and see him burned alive
+without moving a muscle."
+
+"I can't let myself believe she's met with any such horrible fate
+as that, Courtney. I simply can't bear to think of my pretty little
+Rosie in the hands of--"
+
+"Don't think about it, Vick. I believe she will turn up safe and
+sound and--By the way, has it occurred to you that she may have
+eloped? Was she in love with anybody? Was she interested in any
+young fellow that you didn't approve of?"
+
+"She never spoke of being in love with anybody. She never even gave
+us an inklin' of such a thing. She would have told her mother. Why,
+good heavens, Courtney, she wasn't much more'n a little girl! She
+was eighteen her last birthday, and we never thought of her as
+anything but a child just out of short dresses. Did she ever speak
+to you about being gone on any of these young fellows that come
+to see her? She liked you tremendous, Courtney,--and I didn't know
+but what maybe she might have mentioned something to you about it
+when you were off on those long walks together. Some of the times
+when you used to take a lunch basket and go off--"
+
+"Not a word," broke in Courtney. "Why, she was just like a kid,
+laughing and singing and begging me to tell her stories about the
+war, and life in New York, and all that sort of thing. She used to
+read to me, bless her heart,--read by the hour while I smoked,--or
+went to sleep. If she was in love with anybody she certainly never
+took me into her confidence."
+
+"I--I guess there's nothing in that theory," said Amos Vick,
+shaking his head. "She didn't run away with anybody. That's out of
+the question. I'm working on the theory that she sort of went out
+of her head or something and wandered away. You read about cases
+like that in the papers. I forget what they call the disease, but
+there's--"
+
+"Aphasia," supplied Courtney absently. His gaze was fixed on a
+graceful, familiar figure down the street.
+
+Alix Crown had just dismounted from her horse in front of the
+library. She stood, straight and slim, on the sidewalk awaiting
+the approach of Editor Pollock, who was hurrying up from Assessor
+Jordan's house where he had been "interviewing" Annie.
+
+A warm glow shot through Courtney's veins. He had held that
+adorable, boyish figure tight in his arms! Nothing could rob him
+of that rapturous thought,--nothing could deprive him of those
+victorious moments. Amos Vick's voice recalled him.
+
+"I'll have to be on the move, Courtney. Here comes Bill Foss. He's
+been telephonin' to Litchtown, down the river. I do wish you'd go
+over and see Lucinda. She'll be mighty grateful to you."
+
+"Don't fail to call on me, Mr. Vick, if there's anything I can do,"
+called out Courtney after the moving machine.
+
+He did not take his eyes from Alix until she disappeared through
+the library door. The horse, a very fine animal, was wet with sweat.
+He could see, even at that distance, the "lather" on her flanks.
+
+"Any news?" he inquired of Pollock, as that worthy came up panting.
+
+"Nope. Alix Crown is just back from Jim Bagley's. Some one said
+a hired man of his had seen a woman walking across the pasture
+yesterday just before dark--out near the old Windom place,--but it
+couldn't have been Rosie Vick because she had no way to get across
+the river except by the ferry, and she didn't come that way, Joe
+Burk swears. Alix saw this hired man and he says it was almost dark
+and he couldn't be sure whether it was a man or a woman."
+
+A greyish pallor spread over Courtney's face. He turned away
+abruptly and hurried down the street. He remembered the "skiff"
+that belonged to young Cale, salvaged some years before on the
+abatement of a February flood. On more than one occasion he had
+taken Rosabel out on the river in this clumsy old boat, twice at
+least to the base of Quill's Window where she had refused to land
+because of the dread she had for the gruesome place.
+
+Cale kept his boat down among the willows, chained to a pole he had
+driven deep in the bed of the river. It was one of his treasures.
+He had fished from it up and down the stream; he had gone forth in
+it at daybreak for wild ducks and geese.
+
+Yes, Thane remembered the "skiff." Strange that no one else had
+thought of it. Strange that even Amos Vick was satisfied she could
+not have crossed the river except by the ferry. He wondered whether
+it was tied up in its accustomed place over yonder, or was it now
+on this side of the river? He felt a strange chill in his blood.
+
+He was nearing the library when Alix came out. If she saw him she
+gave no sign. She crossed the sidewalk threw the bridle rein over
+the horse's neck, and swung herself gracefully into the saddle.
+Without so much as a glance over her shoulder, she rode off at a
+brisk canter in the direction of the ferry. He knew she was on her
+way to see Mrs. Vick.
+
+The R. F. D. postman making his rounds, came to Amos Vick's shortly
+after noon that day. He volunteered a bit of information. Rosabel
+had given him a letter when he stopped the day before. It was
+addressed to Caleb Vick. She asked him how long he thought it would
+take the letter to reach its destination. When he told her that
+it might be delivered to Cale early the next day, she thanked him
+and returned to the house.
+
+He thought at the time that she looked "kind of white around the
+gills."
+
+II
+
+Jim Bagley and his new "hired man," pursuing a suggestion made
+by the latter, went to the top of Quill's Window for a bird's-eye
+view of the river and the surrounding country. The sharp eyes of
+the Pinkerton man descried the rowboat under the willows along the
+opposite bank of the stream.
+
+Half an hour later, Bagley and several companions came upon the
+boat. On one of the seats lay Rosabel Vick's heavy coat and the
+black fur collar she was known to have worn when she left home.
+Under the seat in the stern was a small paper bundle. It contained
+a nightgown, a pair of black stockings, and several toilet articles.
+
+Across the river, several hundred yards above Quill's Window, a small
+gravelly "sand-bar" reached out into the stream. Here the practised
+eyes of Gilfillan found unmistakable indications of a recent landing.
+The prow of the boat, driven well out upon the bar, had left its
+mark. Also, there were two deep cuts in the sand where an oar had
+been used in pushing off. It was impossible to make out footprints
+in the loose, shifting gravel.
+
+Mr. Gilfillan pondered deeply.
+
+"That boat crossed over here yesterday," he reflected. "It's pretty
+clear that it belongs over on that side. If the Vick girl came over
+in it, there's no use looking for her on this side of the river.
+That boat couldn't have got back to the other side unless somebody
+rowed it over. If it was a woman I saw walking across the pasture
+in the direction of the river, it must have been this girl. Now--one
+of two things happened--in case it was the Vick girl. Either she
+was up near that old house before I got there, or she saw me when
+she was approaching, and turned back. In either case, she had an
+object in hanging around that house. Now we come to the object.
+Was she going there to meet some one? If so, it would naturally be
+a man.
+
+"Now let's get this thing straight. Thane crossed the pasture from
+this direction. That's positive,--because I followed him. It is a
+dead certainty he did not meet the Vick girl. I would have witnessed
+any such meeting. The fact that he lived at her father's house for
+several weeks may have something to do with the case,--but that's
+guesswork. What we want is facts. This much is certain. I did not
+see Miss Crown go into that house,--but I did see her come out.
+I never was so paralysed in my life. It is clear, therefore, that
+she was in there before either I or Thane came upon the scene. Now
+the question is, was she there to meet Thane? I doubt it. Things
+begin to look a little clearer to me. Suppose, for instance, he
+went out to that big hill to meet some one else,--presumably the
+Vick girl, and that they had planned to go to that old deserted
+house. He was late. So, thinking she had gone on, he hustled across
+the field and received the surprise of his life. Now, we'll say
+the Vick girl was over there waiting for him when Miss Crown came
+to the house,--a thing they couldn't have foreseen in view of
+the fact that she shunned the place. Our hero comes up and enters
+the house as if he owned it. The other girl hangs around outside
+till it gets dark enough for her to risk making a getaway without
+attracting my attention,--in case she saw me. She beats it back to
+the river, and then, being afraid that I saw and recognized her, she
+concludes to beat it to somebody's house over in the next county,
+so's she'll have an alibi if I go to Miss Crown with the story.
+Now, that's one way to look at it. The other angle is that she was
+jealous and trailed Thane to his rendezvous, as my old friend Nick
+Carter would say. In that case,--By thunder!" He gave vent to a
+soft whistle.
+
+"In that case, she may have jumped into the river and--No, that
+doesn't hang together. She wouldn't have gone to the trouble to row
+back to the other side. Wait a second! Now, let me think. Here's
+an idea. We'll suppose somebody waylaid her over there on the other
+side of the river, put the quietus on her and chucked her into
+the water. Then he rowed across here and started for the turnpike.
+Seeing me and also Thane, he turns back. It's a man I see in the
+darkness instead of a woman. He goes back to the boat, rows over
+to the other side again and--Holy Mackerel! Here's a new one. That
+girl's body may be lying up there in the underbrush at this instant.
+Dumped there by the murderer, who turned back after seeing me--I'll
+take a look!"
+
+For an hour Gilfillan searched through the underbrush along the
+bank. Finally he gave it up and started toward the village. He found
+the town in a state of great excitement. Everybody was hurrying
+down to the river. Overtaking an old man, he inquired if there was
+any news of the missing girl.
+
+"They say she's been drownded," chattered the ancient. "My daughter
+says they found her things in a boat, but no sign of her. Did you
+ever see the beat? They's been more goin' on in this here town in
+the last week than--"
+
+Gilfillan hurried on. He caught Charlie Webster as he was leaving
+the warehouse.
+
+"I want to see Miss Crown as soon as possible, Webster," he said.
+"Do you suppose she will go up in the air if I mention the fact
+that I know she was with Thane yesterday up in that old house? It's
+a rather ticklish thing to spring on her if she--"
+
+"It's all right," interrupted Charlie. "I talked with her about
+it last night. She had no idea he was coming there. He told her he
+saw her from across the pasture and hustled over. She was surprised
+almost out of her skin when he popped in on her. She tells me she
+ordered him out of the house."
+
+The detective was thoughtful. "I wonder if it has occurred to Miss
+Crown that Thane might have mistaken her for some one else at that
+distance."
+
+"Not so's you'd notice it," declared Charlie. "He knew it was Alix
+all right. She isn't in any doubt on that score."
+
+"It begins to take shape," mused Gilfillan. "He didn't wait for
+her, that's all."
+
+"What say?"
+
+"I was just thinking," replied the other. "Where is Thane at the
+present moment, Webster?"
+
+"He just went off in an automobile with Dick Hurdle and a couple
+of fellows to stretch one of Joe Hart's big fish nets across the
+river down at the Narrows, five or six miles below here."
+
+"Would you mind inviting me up to your room at the Tavern for a
+little while, Webster?"
+
+"Well, I was going down to the ferry. There are half a dozen skiffs
+down--"
+
+"See here, Webster, as I understand it, my real job is to find out
+all I can about this chap Thane. I am really working for you, not
+for Miss Crown, although she is putting up the money. I am just
+as thoroughly convinced as you are that Thane staged that masked
+robber business himself. It's an old gag, especially with lovers--and
+occasionally with husbands."
+
+Charlie grinned sheepishly, a guilty flush staining his rubicund
+face.
+
+"I guess I might as well confess that I was guilty of something of
+the sort when I was about seventeen," he said. "That's how I came
+to figger out that maybe he was up to the same kind of heroism."
+
+"Nearly every kid has done the same thing. It's boy nature."
+
+"I reckon that's right. I fixed it for a boy friend of mine to
+jump out of a dark place one night when I was walkin' home from a
+church sociable with my girl. He had false whiskers on. I helped
+him glue them on,--and he had an awful time getting 'em off. Course
+when he jumped out and growled 'hands up,' I just sailed into him
+and the fur flew for a few seconds. Then he run like a whitehead.
+It didn't work out very well, however. That kid's sister got onto
+the trick and told my girl about it, and--well, I almost had to
+leave town. But it ain't a game for a grown-up man to play, and
+that's what I think this feller Thane has been pulling."
+
+"What you want to find out, before it's too late, is whether Thane
+is all that he professes to be," said the other. "Well, I'm simply
+sitting tight on the job, stalling along until I hear from our
+people in New York. They have cabled England to find out whether
+he was connected with the British air forces. Now, what I want to
+do is to get into that fellow's room for ten or fifteen minutes.
+Can you fix it?"
+
+"It--it wouldn't be legal," protested Charlie. "You've got to get
+out a search warrant."
+
+"My dear fellow, I'm not planning to steal anything," exclaimed
+Gilfillan. "I merely want to get into his room by mistake. That
+happens frequently,--you know."
+
+Charlie was finally persuaded. He cast an apprehensive glance
+down the road leading to the ferry, searched the Main Street for
+observers, and then led the way over to the practically deserted
+Tavern.
+
+Half an hour later Mr. Gilfillan re-entered Charlie's room.
+
+"Remember I don't know where you've been or what you were up to,"
+warned the fat man firmly. "I'm not a party to this nefarious--"
+
+"Righto!" said the detective cheerily. "Your skirts are clear. They
+are immaculate. Let's beat it."
+
+"Well, what did you find out?" inquired Charlie, when they were in
+the street once more. He was bursting with curiosity.
+
+"In as much as you don't know where I was or what I've been doing,
+it will not compromise you if I say that I found a thirty-eight
+calibre revolver with three empty shells in the cylinder. I also
+found a theatrical make-up box, with grease paints, gauze, and
+all that. Also currency amounting to about three hundred dollars.
+Nothing incriminating, nothing actually crooked. Simply circumstantial
+as relating to recent events in your midst, Mr. Webster."
+
+"Makes it look mighty certain that he was the feller with the mask,
+don't it? Only three shots were fired, you know. I've been thinking
+a lot about what you said awhile ago. You don't think that he had
+anything to do with--with putting the Vick girl out of the way?
+You spoke about him being mistaken in the woman."
+
+"He had nothing to do with it, Webster. I told you I saw a figure
+in the pasture after he had gone into the house. If it was the Vick
+girl, she was certainly alive then. He went straight home after
+leaving that house. He didn't go out of the Tavern again last
+night, that's positive. Now, what I want to find out is this: was
+the girl in love with him? Was there anything between them? If
+she's at the bottom of the river down there, it's a plain case of
+suicide, my friend, and people do not take their own lives unless
+there's a mighty good reason. With a young girl it's usually a
+case of unrequited love,--or worse. According to that letter Miss
+Miller had from New York, Thane is not above betraying a girl. Of
+course, if the Vick girl is dead and left nothing behind to implicate
+Thane, it will be out of the question to charge him with being even
+indirectly responsible for her death."
+
+"The main thing," said Charlie, who had turned a shade paler during
+this matter-of-fact, cold-blooded analysis, "is to keep Alix Crown
+from falling into his clutches. He's a bad egg, that feller is,
+and he's made up his mind to win her by fair means or foul."
+
+"Well, if she falls for him after reading that lawyer's letter and
+when she hears what I believe to be the truth about that heroic
+episode the other night,--why, she ought to get what's coming to
+her, that's all I have to say," said Mr. Gilfillan flatly. "I've
+discovered one thing, Mr. Webster. If a woman makes up her mind
+to marry a man, hell-fire and brimstone can't stop her. The older
+I get and the more I see of women, the more I am convinced that
+vice is its own reward. I guess we'd better stroll down to the
+river and see what's doing."
+
+"I've been thinking," said Charlie as they walked along, "that if
+Thane wasn't in the British Army and wasn't in our army, then he
+must be a slacker and wanted by the government for--"
+
+"Nothing doing on that line. You forget he was crippled long before
+the war. He couldn't get by a medical board. They'd turn him down
+in a second. If he was in this country at the time of the draft,
+he would have had no trouble getting an exemption. What I can't
+understand is why he, a New Yorker, should be hiding out here in the
+jungles of Indiana. There's something queer about that, my friend."
+
+"Kind of fishy," said Charlie darkly. Then upon reflection, he
+added with considerable vehemence: "Damn him!"
+
+Already half a dozen rowboats were out in the stream, with men
+peering over the sides into the deep, slow-moving water. Burk's
+Ferry did a thriving business. It plied back and forth from one
+"road-cut" to the other, crowded with foot passengers, all of whom
+studied the water intently. Men, women and children tramped close
+to the edge of both banks. People spoke in subdued voices; an
+atmosphere of the deepest solemnity hung over the scene.
+
+The sky itself was overcast; a raw wind moaned through the trees,
+sighing a requiem. The drab, silent river went placidly, mockingly
+on its way down to the sea, telling no tales: if Rosabel Vick was
+rolling, gliding along the bottom, gently urged by the current,
+the grim waters covered well the secret.
+
+The word went from lip to lip that motor-boats were on the way
+down from the city, with police officers and grappling-hooks and
+men experienced in the gruesome business of "dragging." The boss
+of the railway construction gang at Hawkins, where the new bridge
+was being built, had started for Windomville with a quantity of
+dynamite to be exploded on the bottom of the river in the hope and
+expectation of bringing the body to the surface.
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+OUT OF THE NIGHT
+
+
+
+
+All afternoon the search continued. At intervals and at widely
+separated points dull explosions took place on the bed of the river,
+creating smooth, round hillocks that lasted for the fraction of a
+second and then dissolved into swift-spreading wavelets, stained
+a dirty yellow by the upheaval of sand and mud, and went racing in
+ruffles to the banks which they tenderly licked before they died.
+White-bellied fish, killed by the shock of the explosions, came
+to the surface and floated away,--scores of them, large and small.
+Spider-like grappling hooks, with their curving iron prongs, raked
+the bottom from side to side, moving constantly downstream, feeling
+here, there and everywhere with insensate fingers for the body of
+Rosabel Vick.
+
+A pall settled over the river; it reached far beyond the environs
+of Windomville, for Amos Vick was a man known and respected by
+every farmer in the district.
+
+Night came. Courtney Thane, considerably shaken by the tragedy,
+set out immediately after dinner for the home of Alix Crown. He
+had been silent and depressed at dinner, taking his little part in
+the conversation, which dealt exclusively with the incomprehensible
+act of young Rosabel Vick.
+
+"What possible reason could that pretty happy young girl have had
+for killing herself?" That was the question every one asked and
+no one answered. Mrs. Maude Baggs Pollock repeatedly asked it at
+dinner, and once Thane had replied:
+
+"I still don't believe she killed herself. It is beyond belief.
+If she is out there in the river, as they suspect, it is because
+there was foul play. Some fiend attacked her. I will never believe
+anything else, Mrs. Pollock. I knew her too well. She would never
+dream of killing herself. She loved life too well. I can't help
+feeling that she is alive and well somewhere, that they will hear
+from her in a day or two, and that--"
+
+"But how about the things they found in that boat?" demanded Doc
+Simpson. "She wouldn't be so heartless as to play a trick like that
+on her folks."
+
+Courtney's answer was a gloomy shake of the head.
+
+His heart was pounding heavily as he trudged up the walk to
+Alix's door. He knew that the crisis in his affairs was at hand.
+She had asked him to come. He had not given up hope. He was still
+confident of his power to win in spite of her amazing perversity.
+Inconsistency, he called it. Of one thing he was resolved: he would
+brook no delay. She would have to marry him at once. He wanted to
+get away from Windomville as soon as possible. He loathed the place.
+
+Hilda came to the door.
+
+"Miss Crown is over at Mr. Vick's," she announced. "She's not at
+home."
+
+He stiffened. "I had an appointment with her for this evening,
+Hilda. She must be at home."
+
+"She ain't," said the maid succinctly.
+
+"Did she leave any word for me?"
+
+"Not with me, sir. She telephoned to Mrs. Strong this evening to
+say she was going to stay with Mrs. Vick."
+
+"All night?"
+
+"No, sir. The car's going down to meet her at the ferry about ten
+o'clock."
+
+He departed in a very unpleasant frame of mind. This was laying it
+on a bit thick, he complained. If she thought she could treat him
+in this cavalier fashion she'd soon find out where she "got off."
+What business had she, anyhow, over at the Vicks? All the old women
+in the neighbourhood would be there to--An idea struck him suddenly.
+
+"I'll do it," he muttered. "I'll have to go over some time, so why
+not now? It's the decent thing to do. I'll go tonight."
+
+He hurried up to his room. Opening his trunk, he took out his
+revolver, replaced the discharged shells and stuck it into his
+overcoat pocket. Picking up the little package of bank-notes, he
+fingered them for a moment and then, moved by an impulse for which
+he had no explanation, he not only counted them but quickly stuffed
+them into his trousers' pocket. Afterwards he was convinced that
+premonition was responsible for this incomprehensible act.
+
+He crossed the ferry with several other people. The moon had broken
+through the clouds. Its light upon the cold, sluggish water produced
+the effect of polished steel. It reminded him of the grey surface
+of an ancient suit of armour. The crossing was slow. He could not
+repress a shudder when he looked downstream and saw lights that
+seemed to be fixed in the centre of the river. He closed his eyes.
+He could not bear to look at the cold, silent water. The soft
+splashing against the broad, square bow of the old-fashioned ferry
+served to increase his nervousness. The horrid fancy struck him
+that Rosabel Vick was out there ahead clawing at the slimy timbers
+in the vain effort to draw herself out of the water....He wished
+to God he had not come.
+
+He was the first person off the ferry when it came to a stop on
+the farther side of the river. Ahead of him lay the road through
+the narrow belt of trees that lined the bank. He knew that a scant
+hundred yards lay between the river and the open road beyond and
+yet a vast dread possessed him. He shrank from that black opening
+in the wall of trees where dead leaves rustled and the wind whispered
+secrets to the barren branches.
+
+He fell in behind a couple of men who strode fearlessly into the
+dark avenue. After him came two men and a woman. They were all
+strangers to him, so far as he could make out, but he felt a sense
+of security in their nearness. He gathered that they were bound for
+Amos Vick's. Presently they came to the open road beyond the trees.
+The half moon rode high and clear; the figures of his companions took
+shape, dusky and ghost-like; the fences alongside the road became
+visible, while straw-ricks, lone trees and other shadowy objects
+emerged from the maw of the night. Here and there in the distance
+points of light indicated the presence of invisible farmhouses,
+while straight ahead, a mile or more away, a cluster of lights
+marked the house of Amos Vick.
+
+As he drew nearer, Thane was able to count the lights. He looked
+intently for the sixth window, an upstairs corner room was where
+it would be,--but there were lights in only five. The corner window
+was dark. He knew that window well....He wished he had a stiff
+drink of whiskey.
+
+Half a dozen automobiles stood at the roadside in front of the
+house. He stopped beside one of them to look at his wrist-watch.
+It was half-past eight. Alix would be starting home in less than
+an hour. No doubt it had been arranged that one of these cars was
+to take her down to the ferry. He had seen her saddle horse late
+that afternoon standing in front of the blacksmith's shop, evidently
+waiting to be re-shod.
+
+If he had his way,--and he was determined to have it,--Alix would
+walk with him to the ferry.
+
+As he turned in at the gate he observed that the woman and her
+two companions, after pausing for a moment to look at the house,
+continued their way up the road. The men who had preceded him all
+the way were already on the front porch. He followed the disappearing
+trio with his eyes. The woman, he noticed for the first time, was
+very tall,--quite as tall as the men. She wore a shawl over her
+head, and some sort of a long cloak.
+
+Setting his jaw he strode up the walk, looking neither to right nor
+left, mounted the steps where many a night he had sat with Rosabel
+beside him, and after passing a group of low-voiced neighbours,
+knocked on the closed door. He was admitted by an elderly woman
+who looked askance at this well-dressed stranger.
+
+"I am Mr. Thane, a friend," he said. "Will you tell Mrs. Vick,
+please?"
+
+"She's upstairs, and I--I--"
+
+"I think she is expecting me. But,--wait. I thought I might be able
+to comfort her, but I can see by your expression that she isn't
+feeling up to seeing people. I came over primarily to see if there
+is anything I can do, Madam. You see, Rosabel and I were great
+pals." His voice broke a little, and he bit his nether lip.
+
+"We've finally got her to lie down," said the woman. "She's--she's
+nearly crazy with the suspense and--everything. If you'll wait a
+little bit, I'll find out if she feels like seeing you. Alix Crown
+is with her. She coaxed her to stretch out on the bed. Miss Crown
+understands these things. She did some hospital work during the
+war--"
+
+"Yes, I know Miss Crown," he interrupted.
+
+"--and saw a lot of suffering, 'specially among mothers who came
+to see their crippled and sick sons in the hospitals."
+
+"Perhaps if you were to tell Miss Crown that I am here she could--but
+no, I sha'n't even bother Miss Crown. She's got her hands full. I
+will sit down and wait awhile, however. If by any chance, you should
+be able to get word to Mrs. Vick that I am here, I think she might
+feel like seeing me."
+
+"I'll see," said the woman dubiously, and went away.
+
+Courtney sat down on a sofa in the parlour. He looked around the
+lamp-lit room....Over in the corner was the upright piano on which
+Rosabel used to play for him. He could see her now--the shapely,
+girlish back; the round, white neck and the firm young shoulders;
+the tilt of her head; the strong, brown hands,--he could see her now.
+And she used to turn her head and smile at him, and make dreadful
+grimaces when this diversion resulted in a discord....He got up
+suddenly and walked out into the dining-room.
+
+Beyond, in the kitchen, he heard the rumble of men's voices. He
+hesitated for a moment, and then opened the door. There were half
+a dozen men in the kitchen, and one of them was Amos Vick. They
+were preparing to go out into the night. Vick's face was haggard,
+his garments were muddy, his long rubber boots were covered with
+sludge and sand. Catching sight of Thane in the doorway, the farmer
+went toward him, his hand outstretched.
+
+"I'm glad you came, Courtney," he said, his voice hoarse but steady.
+"Lucinda will be pleased. Does she know you're here?"
+
+"I sent word up, but if she doesn't feel like--"
+
+"She'll want to see you. We're starting out again. Down the river."
+(His voice shook a little.) "My soul,--boy,--you look as white as
+a sheet. Here,--take a good swig of this. It's some rye that Steve
+White brought over. We all needed it. Help yourself. You've been
+overdoing a little today, Courtney. You're not fit for this sort
+of--That's right! That will brace you up. You needed it, my boy."
+Courtney drained half a tumbler of whiskey neat. He choked a little.
+
+"I guess we'd better be starting, Amos," said Steve White.
+
+"Take me along with you, Mr. Vick," cried Courtney, squaring his
+shoulders. "I can't stand being idle while--"
+
+"You'd catch your death of cold," interrupted Vick, laying his
+hand on the young man's shoulder. "It's mighty fine of you and I--I
+sha'n't forget it. But you're not fit for an all night job like
+this. I feel sort of responsible for you, my boy. Your mother would
+never forgive me if anything happened to you, and this is a time
+when we've got to think about the mothers. Good night,--God bless
+you, Courtney."
+
+"Good night, Amos."
+
+The men trooped heavily out of the kitchen door.
+
+Presently he heard the chugging of automobile engines and then the
+roar as they sped off down the road. He returned to the parlour.
+The whiskey had given him fresh confidence.
+
+The elderly woman was talking to a couple of men in the hall. From
+the scraps of conversation he was able to pick up, he gathered that
+they were reporters from the city. She invited him into the room.
+
+"We would prefer a very recent picture," one of the men was saying.
+"Something taken within the last few weeks, if possible. A snap-shot
+will do, Madam."
+
+The speaker was a middle-aged man with horn-rimmed spectacles.
+His companion was much the younger of the two. The latter bowed
+to Thane, who had taken a position before the fireplace and was
+regarding the strangers with interest.
+
+"I'll have to speak to Mrs. Vick," murmured the woman. "I don't
+know as she would want Rosabel's picture printed in the papers."
+
+"It would be of incalculable assistance, Madam, in case she has
+run away from home. We have an idea that she may have planted those
+garments in the boat in order to throw people off the track."
+
+"Oh, she--she wouldn't have done that," cried the woman. "She
+couldn't be so heartless."
+
+"You overlook the possibility that her mind may be affected. Dementia
+frequently takes the form of--er--you might say unnatural cunning."
+
+"I'll speak to Mrs. Vick. There's a scrap-book of Kodak pictures
+there on the table. I was looking through it today. She and her
+brother, Cale, made heaps of pictures. You might be looking through
+it while I go upstairs."
+
+Thane was lighting a cigarette.
+
+"Have you told Miss Crown that I am here?" asked he, as she started
+toward the stairs.
+
+"She says she'll be down in a few minutes. Mrs. Vick wants to see
+you before you go."
+
+The two reporters were examining the contents of the scrap-book.
+The younger of the two was standing at the end of the little
+marble-topped table, his body screening the book from Courtney's
+view.
+
+There were a number of loose prints lying between the leaves toward
+the end of the book. Rosabel had neglected to paste them in. The
+man with the horn-rimmed spectacles ran through them hastily. He
+stealthily slipped two of these prints up his sleeve.
+
+Thane would have been startled could he have seen those prints. They
+were not pictures of Rosabel Vick, but fair-sized, quite excellent
+likenesses of himself!
+
+The woman returned to say that Mrs. Vick was very much upset by
+the thought of her daughter's picture appearing in the paper, and
+could not think of allowing them to use it.
+
+The elder man bowed courteously. "I quite understand, Madam. We
+would not dream of using the picture if it would give pain to the
+unhappy mother. Please assure her that we respect her wishes. Thank
+you for your kindness. We must be on our way back to town. Good
+night, Madam."
+
+"These reporters are awful nuisances," remarked Courtney as the
+front door closed behind the two men. "Always butting in where
+they're not wanted."
+
+"They seemed very nice," observed the woman.
+
+"I've never seen one that wasn't a sneak," said he, raising his
+voice a little. The whiskey was having its effect.
+
+Mrs. Vick and Alix entered the room together. The former came
+straight toward the young man. Her rather heavy face was white and
+drawn, but her eyes were wide and bright with anxiety. There was
+no trace of tears. He knew there would be no scene, no hysterics.
+Lucinda Vick was made of stern, heroic stuff. As he advanced,
+holding out his hands, he noticed that she was fully dressed. She
+could be ready at a moment's notice to go to her daughter.
+
+"Oh, Courtney!" she cried, and a little spasm of pain convulsed
+her face for a fleeting second or two. Her voice was husky, tight
+with strain.
+
+He took her cold, trembling hands in his.
+
+"It's inconceivable," he cried. "I can't believe it, I won't believe
+it. You poor, poor thing!"
+
+"It's true. She's gone. My little girl is gone. I could curse God."
+She spoke in a low, emotionless voice. "Why should He have taken
+her in this way? What have we done to deserve this cruelty? Why
+couldn't He have let her die in my arms, with her head upon my
+breast,--where it belongs?"
+
+"Don't give up--yet," he stammered, confounded by this amazing
+exhibition of self-control. "There is a chance,--yes, there is a
+chance, Mrs. Vick. Don't give up. Be--be brave."
+
+She shook her head. "She is dead," came from her stiff lips, and
+that was all.
+
+He laid his arm across her shoulder. "I wish to God it was me instead
+of her," he cried fervently. "I would take her place--willingly,
+Mrs. Vick."
+
+"I--I know you would, Courtney," said she, looking into his eyes.
+"You were her best friend. She adored you. I know you would,--God
+bless you!"
+
+He looked away. His gaze fell upon Alix, standing in the door. His
+eyes brightened. The hunted expression left them. An eager, hungry
+light came into them. She was staring at him. Gradually he came to
+the realization that she was looking at him with unspeakable horror.
+
+Mrs. Vick was speaking. He hardly heard a word she uttered.
+
+"It was kind of you to come, Courtney. Thank you. I must go now.
+I--I can't stand it,--I can't stand it!"
+
+She left him abruptly. Alix stood aside to allow her to pass through
+the door. They heard her go up the stairs, heavily, hurriedly.
+
+"Alix!" he whispered, holding out his hands.
+
+She did not move.
+
+"I went up to the house to see you," he hurried on. "They told me
+you were here. I--"
+
+Her gesture checked the eager words.
+
+"You snake!" She fairly hissed the word.
+
+He drew back, speechless. She came a few steps nearer.
+
+"You snake!" she repeated, her eyes blazing.
+
+"Wha--What do you mean?" he gasped, a fiery red rushing to his
+face.
+
+"Would you have died for the Ritter girl?"
+
+A bomb exploding at his feet could not have produced a greater shock.
+His mouth fell open; the colour swiftly receded, leaving his face
+a sickly white.
+
+"Who the hell--" he began blankly.
+
+"Be good enough to remember where you are," cried Alix, lowering
+her voice as she glanced over her shoulder. "I can say all I have
+to say to you in a very few words, Mr. Thane. Don't interrupt me.
+I have been a fool,--a stupid fool. We need not go into that. Thank
+heaven, I happen to be made of a little stronger stuff than others
+who have come under your influence. You would have MARRIED me,--yes,
+I believe that,--because it would have been the only way. I have
+the complete history of your betrayal of the Ritter girl. I know
+how your leg was injured. I know that you were kicked out of the
+American Ambulance and advised to leave France. I don't believe
+you ever served in the British Army. I have every reason to believe
+that you poisoned my dog, and that you,--were the man who came to
+my window the other night. And I suspect that you are the cause of
+poor Rosabel Vick's suicide. Now you know what I think of you. My
+God, how could you have come here tonight? These people trusted
+you,--they still trust you. Until now I did not believe such men
+as you existed. You--"
+
+"I had nothing, absolutely nothing to do with Rosabel," he cried
+hoarsely. He was trembling like a leaf. "Don't you go putting such
+ideas into their heads. Don't you--"
+
+"Oh, I am not likely to do that," she interrupted scornfully. "I
+shall not add to their misery. If I could prove that you betrayed
+that poor, foolish child,--then I would see to it that you paid
+the price. But I cannot prove it. I only know that she would have
+been helpless in your hands. Oh, I know your power! I have felt it.
+And I did not even pretend to myself that I loved you. What chance
+would she have had if she loved and trusted you? I shudder at the
+thought of--If Amos Vick should even suspect you of wronging his
+child, he would not wait for proof. He would tear you to pieces.
+You may be innocent. That is why I am giving you your chance. Now,
+go!"
+
+"You certainly will give me the opportunity to defend myself, Alix.
+Am I to be condemned unheard? If you will allow me to walk to the
+ferry with you--"
+
+"And who is to act as my bodyguard?" she inquired with a significant
+sneer. "Go! I never want to see your face again."
+
+With that, she left him. He stood perfectly still, staring after
+the slender, boyish figure until it was hidden from view by the
+bend of the stairway.
+
+His eyes were glassy. Fear possessed his soul. Suddenly he was
+aroused to action.
+
+"I'd better get out of this," he muttered.
+
+His hand clutched the weapon in his coat pocket as he strode swiftly
+toward the front door. Once outside he paused to look furtively about
+him before descending the porch steps. Several men were standing
+near the gate. The porch was deserted. He wondered if Amos Vick was
+down there waiting for him. Then he remembered what Alix had said
+to him: "These people trust you,--they still trust you." What had
+he to fear? He laughed,--a short, jerky, almost inaudible laugh,--and
+went confidently down the walk. As he passed the little group
+he uttered a brief "good night" to the men, and was rewarded by a
+friendly response from all of them.
+
+Down the moonlit road he trudged, his brain working rapidly,
+feverishly. In his heart was the rage of defeat, in his soul the
+clamour of fear,--not fear now of the dark strip of woods but of
+the whole world about him. He communed aloud.
+
+"The first thing to do is to pack. I've got to do that tonight.
+I'm through here. The jig's up. She means it. How the devil did
+she find out all this stuff?...But if I leave immediately it
+will look suspicious. I've got to stick around for a few days. If
+I beat it tomorrow morning some one's bound to ask questions. It
+will look queer. Tomorrow I'll receive an urgent letter calling me
+home. Mother needs me. Her health is bad....I wonder if an autopsy
+would reveal anything....Tomorrow sure. I can't stand it here
+another day....There's nothing to worry about,--not a thing,--but
+what's the sense of my hanging around here any longer? She's on.
+Some meddling whelp has been--Good Lord, I wonder if it could be
+that fat fool, Webster?...If I skip out tonight, it would set Vick
+to thinking....What a fool I was...."
+
+And so on till he came to the woods. There, his face blanched and
+his heart began to pound like a hammer. He drew the revolver from
+his pocket and plunged desperately into the black tunnel; he was
+out of breath when he ran down to the landing.
+
+Through the gloom he distinguished the ferry boat three-quarters of
+the way across the river, nearing the opposite bank. His "halloa"
+brought an answer from the ferryman. Cursing his luck in missing
+the boat by so short a margin of time, he sat down heavily on the
+stout wooden wall that guarded the approach. It would be ten or
+fifteen minutes before the tortoise-like craft could recross and
+pick him up. His gaze instantly went downstream. The faint, rhythmic
+sound of oarlocks came to his ears. There were no lights on the
+river, but after a time he made out the vague shape of an object
+moving on the surface a long way off. From time to time it was
+lost in the shadows of the tree-lined bank, only to steal into view
+again as it moved slowly across a jagged opening in the far-reaching
+wall of black. It was a boat coming upstream, hugging the bank to
+avoid the current farther out.
+
+Some one approached. He turned quickly and beheld the figure of
+a woman coming down the road. His heart leaped. Could it be Alix?
+He dismissed the thought immediately. This was a tall woman--in
+skirts. She came quite close and stopped, her gaze evidently
+fixed upon him. Then she moved a little farther down the slope and
+stood watching the ferry which, by this time, was moving out from
+the farther side. He recognized the figure. It was that of the
+gaunt woman who crossed with him earlier in the night.
+
+The ferry was drawing out from the Windomville side when a faint
+shout came from down the river. Burk answered the call, which was
+repeated.
+
+"This is my busy night," growled the ferryman. "I ain't been up
+this late in a coon's age. Not since the Old Settlers' Picnic three
+years ago down at the old fort. I wonder if those fellers have got
+any news?"
+
+Courtney stepped off the boat a few minutes later and hurried up
+the hill. The woman followed. At the top of the slope he passed
+three or four men standing in the shelter of the blacksmith shop,
+where they were protected from the sharp, chill wind that had
+sprung up. A loud shout from below caused him to halt. Burk, the
+ferryman, had called out through his cupped hands:
+
+"What say?"
+
+The wind bore the answer from an unseen speaker in the night, clear
+and distinct: "We've got her!"
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+THE THROWER OF STONES
+
+
+
+
+An icy chill, as of a great gust of wind, swept through and over
+Courtney Thane. His mouth seemed suddenly to fill with water. He
+could not move. The men by the forge ran swiftly down the hill. The
+tall woman turned and after a moment followed the men, stopping in
+the middle of the road a few rods above the landing. She was still
+standing there when Courtney recovering his power of locomotion
+struck off rapidly in the direction of Dowd's Tavern. Halfway home
+he came to an abrupt halt. An inexplicable irresistible force was
+drawing his mind and body back to the river's edge. He did not want
+to go back there and see--Rosabel. He tried not to turn his steps
+in that direction, and yet something like a magnet was dragging
+him. A sort of fascination,--the fascination that goes with dread,
+and horror, and revulsion--took hold of him....He moved slowly,
+hesitatingly at first, then swiftly, not directly back over the
+ground he had just covered but by a circuitous route that took him
+through the lot at the rear of the forge. He made his way stealthily
+down the slope, creeping along behind a thick hedge of hazel brush
+to a point just above the ferry landing and to the left of the old
+dilapidated wharf. Here he could see without himself being seen....
+He watched them lift a dark, inanimate object from the boat and
+lay it on the wharf....He heard men's voices in excited, subdued
+conversation....He saw the tall woman running up the road toward
+the town. She paused within a dozen feet of his hiding place....
+Then something happened to him. He seemed to be losing the sense
+of sight and the sense of hearing. His brain was blurred, the sound
+of voices trailed off into utter silence. He felt the earth giving
+way beneath his quaking knees....The next he knew, men's voices
+fell upon his dull, uncomprehending ears. Gradually his senses
+returned. Out of the confused jumble words took shape. He heard
+his own name mentioned. Instantly his every faculty was alive.
+
+Through the brush he could see the dark, indistinct forms of three
+or four men. They were in the road just below him.
+
+"You shouldn't have let him out of your sight," one of the men was
+saying. "Hang it all, we can't let him give us the slip now."
+
+The listener's eyes, sharpened by anxiety, made out the figure of
+the woman. She spoke,--and he was startled to hear the deep voice
+of a man.
+
+"He was making for the boarding house. Webster says he is not in
+his room. I took it for granted he was going home or I wouldn't
+have turned back."
+
+Where had he heard that voice before? It was strangely familiar.
+
+"Well, we've got to locate him. I'll stake my life he is George
+Ritchie. I compared this snap-shot with the photograph I have with
+me. Shave off that dinky little moustache and I'll bet a hundred
+to one you'll have Ritchie's mug all right. Hustle back there,
+Gilfillan,--you and Simons. He'll be turning up at the house unless
+he's got wind of us. Don't let him see you. You stay here with me,
+Constable. The chances are he'll come back here to wait for Miss
+Crown, if he's as badly stuck on her as you say, Gilfillan. They're
+all fools about women."
+
+The hidden listener was no longer quaking. His body was tense, his
+mind was working like lightning. He was wide awake, alert; the
+fingers that clutched the weapon in his pocket were firm and steady;
+he scarcely breathed for fear of betraying his presence, but the
+courage of the hunted was in his heart.
+
+The little group broke up. Constable Foss and one of the strangers
+remained on the spot, the others vanished up the road. He glanced
+over his shoulder in the direction of the wharf. A long dark object
+was lying near the edge, while some distance away a small knot of
+men stood talking. The moon, riding high, cast a cold, sickly light
+upon the scene.
+
+"I've always been kind of suspicious of him," Foss was saying, his
+voice lowered. "What did you say his real name is?"
+
+"His real name is Thane, I suppose. I guess there's no doubt about
+that. Mind you, I'm not sure he's the man we've been looking for
+these last six months, but I'm pretty sure of it. Last February
+two men and a woman tried to smuggle a lot of diamonds through the
+customs at New York. I'll not go into details now further than to
+say they landed from one of the big ocean liners and came within
+an ace of getting away with the job. The woman was the leader. She
+was nabbed with one of the men at a hotel. The other man got away.
+He was on the passenger list as George Ritchie, of Cleveland, Ohio.
+The woman had half a dozen photographs of him in her possession.
+I've got a copy of one of 'em in my pocket now, and it's so much
+like this fellow Thane that you'd swear it was of the same man. This
+morning Gilfillan,--that's the Pinkerton man,--telephoned to his
+chief in Chicago to notify the federal authorities that he was almost
+dead certain that our man was here. He's a wonder at remembering
+faces, and he had seen our photographs. Simons and I took the
+three o'clock train. Gilfillan met us in the city and brought us
+out after we had instructed the police to be ready to help us in
+case he got onto us and gave us the slip."
+
+"How much of a reward is offered?" inquired Foss.
+
+"We are not supposed to be rewarded for doing our duty," replied
+the Secret Service man curtly. "He got away from us and it's our
+business to catch him again. You can bet he's our man. He wouldn't
+be hanging around a burg like this for months unless he had a blamed
+good reason for keeping out of sight."
+
+"He's been in mighty bad health,--and, if anybody should ask you,
+there ain't a healthier place in the world than right here in--"
+
+"It's healthier than most jails," admitted the other with a chuckle.
+
+"Umph!" grunted Mr. Foss, delivering without words a full and
+graphic opinion on the subject of humour as it exists in the minds
+of people who live in large cities. He chewed for a time in silence.
+"What became of the woman and the other man?"
+
+"Oh, they were sent up,--I don't know for how long. They're old hands.
+Husband and wife. Steamship gamblers before the war. Fleeced any
+number of suckers. She must be a peach, judging from the pictures
+I've seen of her. They probably would have got away with this last
+job if she and Ritchie hadn't tried to put something over on friend
+husband. She had the can all ready to tie to him when he got wise
+and laid for her lover with a gun. The revenue people had been
+tipped off by agents in Paris and traced the couple to the hotel.
+They sprung the trap too soon, however, and the second man got
+away."
+
+"Well, I guess there ain't any question but what this feller here
+is old Silas Thane's grandson. They say he's the livin' image of
+old Silas. So he must have sailed under a false name."
+
+"They usually do," said the other patiently.
+
+"And you want me to arrest him on suspicion, eh?"
+
+"Certainly. You're a county official, aren't you?"
+
+"I'm an officer of the law."
+
+"Well, that's the answer. We are obliged to turn such matters over
+to the local authorities. What do you suppose I'm telling you about
+the case for? When I give the word, you land him and--well, Uncle
+Sam will do the rest, never fear."
+
+"That's all right, but supposin' he ain't the man you're after and
+he turns around and sues me for false arrest?"
+
+"You can detain anybody on information and belief, my friend. Don't
+you know that?"
+
+"Certainly," said Mr. Foss with commendable asperity. "Supposin'
+he's got a revolver?"
+
+"He probably has,--but so have we. Don't worry. He won't have a
+chance to use it. Hello! Isn't that a man standing up there by that
+telephone pole? We'll just stroll up that way. Don't hurry. Keep
+cool. Talk about the drowning."
+
+They were halfway up the hill before Courtney moved. Every nerve
+was aquiver as he raised himself to his feet and looked cautiously
+about. The thing he feared had come to pass, but even as he crouched
+there in the shelter of the bushes the means of salvation flashed
+through his mind. He realized that the next fifteen or twenty
+minutes would convince these dogged, experienced man chasers that
+their quarry had "got wind of them" and was in flight. The hunt would
+be on in grim earnest; the alarm would go out in all directions.
+Men would be watching for him at every cross-roads, every railway
+station, every village, and directing the hunt would be--these men
+who never give up until they "land" their man.
+
+His only chance lay in keeping under cover for a day or two,--or
+even longer,--until the chase went farther afield and he could
+take the risk of venturing forth from his hiding place. He had the
+place in mind. They would never think of looking for him in that
+sinister hole in the wall, Quill's Window! There he could lie in
+perfect safety until the coast was clear, and then by night steal
+down the river in the wake of pursuit.
+
+Their first thoughts would be of the railroad, the highways and
+the city. They would not beat the woods for him. They would cut
+off all avenues of escape and set their traps at the end of every
+trail, confident that he would walk into them perforce before
+another day was done.
+
+Like a ghost he stole across the little clearing that lay between
+the road and the willows above the ferry. The snapping of a twig
+under his feet, the scuffling of a pebble, the rustling of dead
+leaves and grass, the scraping of his garments against weeds and
+shrubbery, were sounds that took on the magnitude of ear-splitting
+crashes. It was all he could do to keep from breaking into a mad,
+reckless dash for the trees at the farther side of this moonlit
+stretch. With every cautious, fox-like step, he expected the shout
+of alarm to go up from behind, and with that shout he knew restraint
+would fail him; he would throw discretion to the winds and bolt
+like a frightened rabbit, and the dogs would be at his heels.
+
+He was nearing the trees when he heard some one running in the road,
+now a hundred yards behind him. Stooping still lower, he increased
+his speed almost to a run. The sound of footsteps ceased abruptly;
+the runner had come to a sudden halt. Thane reached the thicket
+in another stride or two and paused for a few seconds to listen. A
+quick little thrill of relief shot through him. No one was coming
+along behind him. The runner, whoever he was, had not seen him; no
+cry went up, no loud yell of "There he goes!"
+
+Picking his way carefully down the slope he came to the trail of
+the Indians, over which he had trudged recently on his trip to the
+great rock. He could tell by the feel of the earth under his feet
+that he was on the hard, beaten path by the river's edge. Now he
+went forward more rapidly, more confidently. There were times when
+he had to cross little moon-streaked openings among the trees, and
+at such times he stooped almost to a creeping position.
+
+Occasionally he paused in his flight to listen for sounds of pursuit.
+Once his heart seemed to stop beating. He was sure that he heard
+footsteps back on the trail behind him. Again, as he drew near the
+rock-strewn base of the hill, a sound as of some one scrambling
+through the underbrush came to his straining ears, but the noise
+ceased even as he stopped to listen. He laughed at his fears. An
+echo, no doubt, of his own footsteps; the wind thrashing a broken
+limb; the action of the water upon some obstruction along the bank.
+
+Nevertheless he dropped to his hands and knees when he came to the
+outlying boulders and jagged slabs close to the foot of the black,
+towering mass. There was no protecting foliage here. Never in his
+life had he known the moon to shine so brightly. He whispered curses
+to the high-hanging lantern in the sky.
+
+The murmur of the river below brought a consoling thought to him.
+He would not suffer from thirst. He could go without food for a
+couple of days, even longer. Had not certain English women survived
+days and days of a voluntary hunger strike? But he could not do
+without water. In the black hours before dawn he would climb down
+from his eerie den and drink his fill at the river's brink.
+
+Now a sickening fear gripped him. What if he were to find it
+impossible to scale that almost perpendicular steep? What if those
+hand-hewn clefts in the rock fell short of reaching to the cave's
+entrance? The processes of time and the elements may have sealed
+or obliterated the shallow hand and toe holds. His blood ran cold.
+He had dreaded the prospect of that hazardous climb up the face
+of the rock. Now he was overcome by an even greater dread: that he
+would be unable to reach the place of refuge.
+
+He had no thought of Alix Crown now--no thought of her beauty, her
+body, her riches. His cherished dream was over. She took her place
+among other forgotten dreams. The sinister business of saving his
+own skin drove her out of his mind. It drove out all thought of
+Rosabel Vick. The hounds were at his heels. It was no time to think
+of women!
+
+II
+
+Anxiety that touched almost upon despair hastened his steps.
+Abandoning caution, he ran recklessly up the path among the rocks,
+stumbling and reeling but always keeping his feet, and came at last
+to the gloomy, forbidding facade of Quill's Window. Here he groped
+along the wall, clawing for the sunken cleats with eager, trembling
+hands. He knew they were there--somewhere. Not only had he seen
+them, he had climbed with ease, hand over hand, ten or a dozen
+feet up the cliff. He had shuddered a little that day as he looked
+first over his shoulder and then upward along the still unsealed
+stretch that lay between him and the mouth of the cave, seventy
+or eighty feet away. But that was in broad daylight. It would be
+different now, with darkness as his ally.
+
+He remembered thinking that day how easy it would be to reach
+Quill's Window by this rather simple route. All that was required
+was a stout heart, a steady hand, and a good pair of arms. All of
+these were bestowed upon him by magic of darkness. It was what the
+light revealed that made a coward of him. Why, he could shut his
+eyes tight and go up that cliff by night as easily as--but where
+were the slots?
+
+At last his hand encountered one of the sharp edges. He reached up
+and found the next one above,--and then for the first time realized
+that his eyes had been closed all the time he was feeling along
+the cold surface of the rock. He opened them in a start of actual
+bewilderment. The blackish mass rose almost sheer above him, like
+a vast wall upon which the moon cast a dull, murky light. He closed
+his eyes again and leaned heavily against the rock. His heart began
+to beat horribly. He felt his courage slipping; he wondered if he
+had the strength, the nerve to go on; he saw himself halfway up that
+endless wall, clutching wildly to save himself when a treacherous
+hand-hold broke loose and--
+
+He opened his eyes and tried to pierce the shadows below the rocky
+path. Was it best to hide in that hole up there, after all? Would
+it not be wiser, now that he had a fair start, to keep on up the
+river, trusting to--
+
+A chorus of automobile horns in the distance came to his ears
+suddenly,--a confused jumble of raucous blasts produced by many
+cars. The alarm! The search was on! The wild shriek of a siren
+broke the stillness near at hand, followed a few seconds later by
+the gradually increasing roar of an engine as it sped up the dirt
+road not three hundred yards to his left,--the road that ran past
+the gate on the other side of the hill. God! They were getting
+close!
+
+Another and even more disturbing sound came to him as he stood with
+his fingers gripping one of the little ledges, the toe of his shoe
+fumbling for a foothold in another. Somewhere back on the trail he
+had just traversed, a rock went clattering down to the river. He
+heard it bounding--and the splash as it shot into the water.
+
+He hesitated no longer. Shutting his eyes, he began the ascent....
+
+A dark object turned the corner of the cliff below and moved slowly,
+cautiously along the wall. Suddenly it stopped. From somewhere in
+the gloom ahead came a strange and puzzling sound, as of the dragging
+of a tree limb across the face of the rock. The crouching object
+in the trail straightened up and was transformed into the tall,
+shadowy figure of a man.
+
+For many seconds he stood motionless, listening, his eyes searching
+the trail ahead. The queer sound of scraping went on, broken at
+intervals by the faint rattle of sand or dirt upon the rocky path.
+At last he looked up. Far up the face of the cliff a bulky, shapeless
+thing was crawling, slowly but surely like a great beetle.
+
+The watcher could not believe his eyes. And yet there could be no
+mistake. Something WAS crawling up the sheer face of the cliff, a
+bulging shadow dimly outlined against the starlit sky.
+
+The man below went forward swiftly. Twice he stooped to search with
+eager hands for something at his feet, but always with his gaze
+fixed on the creeping shadow. He knew the creeper's goal: that
+black streak in the wall above, rendered thin by foreshortening.
+He knew the creeper!
+
+Twenty or thirty paces short of the ladder he stopped. From that
+spot he hurled his first rock. His was a young, powerful arm and
+the missile sped upward as if shot from a catapult. It struck the
+face of the cliff a short distance above the head of the climber
+and glanced off to go hurtling down among the trees beyond.
+
+Thane stopped as if paralysed. For one brief, horrible moment he
+felt every vestige of strength deserting him, oozing out through
+his tense, straining finger-tips. The shock had stunned him. He
+moaned,--a little whimpering moan. He was about to fall! He could
+hold on no longer with those weak, trembling hands. His brain
+reeled. A great dizziness seized him. He clung frantically to the
+face of the rock, making a desperate effort to regain his failing
+senses. Suddenly his strength returned; he was stronger than ever.
+A miracle had happened.
+
+The mouth of the cave was not more than half a dozen feet above
+him. He opened his eyes for one brief, daring glance upward. Not
+more than five or six steps to go. Gritting his teeth he went on.
+Now only four more ledges to grip, four more footholds to find.
+
+A second stone whizzed past his head and struck with a crash beyond
+him. He heard it whistle, he felt the rush of air.
+
+"God! If that had got my head! What an inhuman devil he is! The
+dirty beast!"
+
+The fourth stone caught him in the side after glancing off the wall
+to his left. He groaned aloud, but gripped more fiercely than ever
+at his slender support. For a few seconds he could not move. Then
+he reached up and felt for the next "cleat." He found it but, like
+many others he had encountered, it was filled with sand and dirt.
+That meant delay. He would have to dig it out with his fingers
+before risking his grip on the edge. Fast and feverishly he worked.
+Another stone struck below his feet.
+
+"Hey!" he yelled. "Let up on that! Do you want to kill me? Cut it
+out! I can't get away, you damned fool! You've got me cornered."
+His voice was high and shrill.
+
+The answer was another stone which grazed his leg.
+
+A moment later he reached over and felt along the floor of the cave
+for the final hold. Finding it, he drew himself up over the edge
+and crawled, weak and half fainting, out of range of the devilish
+marksman.
+
+For a long time he lay still, gasping for breath. They had him cold!
+There was no use in trying to think of a way out of his difficulty.
+All he wanted now was to rest, a chance to pull himself together. After
+all was said and done, what were a few years in the penitentiary?
+He was young. Five years--even ten,--what were they at his time
+of life? He would be thirty-five, at the most forty, when he came
+out, and as fit as he was when he went in.
+
+"It was all my fault anyway," he reflected bitterly. "If I had let
+Madge alone I--Oh,--what's the use belly-aching now! That's all
+over,--and here am I, paying pretty blamed dearly for a month's
+pleasure. They've got me. There's no way out of it now. Jail!
+Well, worse things could happen than that. What will mother think?
+I suppose it will hurt like the devil. But she could have fixed
+this if she'd loosened up a bit. She could have gone to Washington
+as I told her to do and--hell, it wouldn't have cost her half as
+much as it will to defend me in court. She can't get a decent lawyer
+under--well, God knows how many thousands."
+
+He sat up and unbuttoned his overcoat in order to feel of the spot
+where the stone had struck him. He winced a little. After a moment's
+reflection he drew a box of matches from his pocket.
+
+"No harm in striking a match now," he chattered aloud. "I may as
+well see what sort of a place it is."
+
+He crawled farther back in the cave, out of the wind, and struck
+a match. His hand shook violently, his chin quivered. During the
+life of the brief flare, the interior of Quill's Window was revealed
+to him. The cave was perhaps twenty feet deep and almost as wide
+at the front, with an uneven, receding roof and a flat floor that
+dropped at no inconsiderable slant toward the rear. It appeared
+to be empty except for the remains of two or three broken-up boxes
+over against one of the walls. He struck a second match to light
+a cigarette, continuing his scrutiny while the tiny blaze lasted.
+He saw no bones, no ghastly skulls, no signs of the ancient tragedies
+that made the place abhorrent.
+
+He crawled back to the entrance. Lying flat, he peered over the
+ledge.
+
+"Hallo, down there!" he called out. No response. He shouted once
+more, his voice cracking a little.
+
+"Where are you?"
+
+This time he got an answer. A hoarse voice replied:
+
+"I'm here, all right."
+
+Thane forced a laugh.
+
+"Well, I'm up here, all right. You've got me treed. What's the
+idea? Waiting for me to come down?" No answer, "Say, it's worth a
+lot of money to you if you'll just walk on and forget that I'm up
+here. I'll give you my word of honour to come across with enough
+to put you on easy street for the rest of your life." He heard the
+man below walking up and down the path.
+
+"Did you hear what I said? You can't pick up twenty-five thousand
+every day, you know." He waited for the response that never came.
+"Honesty isn't always the best policy. Think it over." Another long
+silence. Then: "I suppose you know the government does not pay any
+reward." Still that heavy, steady tread. "If you think I'm going
+to come down you're jolly well off your nut." He wriggled nearer
+the edge and peered over. The black form shuttled restlessly back
+and forth past the foot of the ladder, for all the world like a lion
+in its cage. Presently it moved off toward the bend at the corner
+of the cliff, where it stopped, still in view of the man above,--a
+vague, shapeless object in the faint light of the moon.
+
+Many minutes passed. Ten, fifteen,--they seemed hours to the trapped
+fugitive,--and then he heard a voice, suppressed but distinct.
+
+"Who's there?"
+
+There was a moment's silence, and then another voice replied, but
+he could not make out the words.
+
+The man stepped out of sight around the bend. A few seconds later,
+Thane heard a jumble of voices. Drawing away from the ledge, he
+slunk deeper into the cave. He heard some one running along the
+trail, and a muffled voice giving directions. He drew a deep, long
+breath.
+
+"The death watch, eh?" he muttered. "They're going to sit there
+till I have to come out. Like vultures. They haven't the nerve to
+come up here after me. The rotten cowards!"
+
+Then he heard something that caused him to start up in a sort of
+panic. He stood half erect, crouching back against the wall, his
+eyes glued on the opening, his hand fumbling nervously for the
+revolver in his pocket.
+
+Some one was climbing up the cliff!
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+A MESSAGE AND ITS ANSWER
+
+
+
+
+Charlie Webster met Alix at the ferry. The body of the drowned
+girl had been removed to Hart's Undertaking Parlours and Expert
+Carpenter's Shop in obedience to the County Coroner's instructions
+by telephone.
+
+The fat man was so overcome by excitement he could hardly speak.
+Sitting beside Alix in the automobile, he rattled on at a great
+rate about the extraordinary turn of affairs, and it was not until
+they were nearly home that he discovered she was sobbing quietly
+in her corner of the car.
+
+"Gosh, what are you crying for, Alix?" he demanded. "It's the
+greatest piece of good fortune that ever--"
+
+"I am thinking of poor Mrs. Vick," she murmured chokingly.
+
+"Oh! Yes, that's right. It's terrible for that poor woman. Terrible.
+As I was saying, the last anybody saw of him was when he started
+for the Tavern. Gilfillan follered him part ways and then went
+back to the ferry, never dreaming he--But didn't I tell you that
+before? I'm so upset I don't seem to remember what I--Oh, yes,
+now I know where I was. The detectives insisted on searching every
+room in the Tavern. Angie Miller got as sore as a boiled lobster
+when they knocked on her door and asked if he was in her room. You
+ought to have heard what she said to 'em from behind the door when
+she finally opened it and let 'em in,--and she nearly had a fit
+when she saw old Tintype was with 'em. She lit into him,--my gosh,
+how she lit into him! Accused him of suspecting her of having an
+erudite affair with Courtney,--erudite wasn't the word she used, but
+it don't matter, it's as good as any for an old maid. We searched
+everywhere, but no sign of him. You needn't be surprised to find
+one of the detectives hanging around your place, Alix. They think
+maybe he'll turn up there before long."
+
+"He can't be very far away," said she suddenly aroused to anxiety.
+She had ceased crying and was drying her eyes with her handkerchief.
+The car was nearing the entrance to her grounds. "He wouldn't dare
+come to my house after--after what I said to him tonight. He could
+not expect me to help him in any--"
+
+"Well, you see, it's barely possible he don't know they're after
+him, Alix. I guess maybe I'd better stay here for a while. You
+won't be so nervous with me in the house."
+
+"I am not afraid, Charlie. Of course, I am terribly unstrung and
+unhappy over poor little Rosabel,--but I am not afraid of HIM. He
+will not come here. Tell me again just what he is accused of doing."
+
+The car had drawn up under the porte-cochere. Webster repeated the
+story he had had from Gilfillan. She sat perfectly still during
+the lengthy recital.
+
+"And to think--" she began, but checked the words in time. "Oh,
+what fools we have been, Charlie!"
+
+"Anyhow," said Charlie, divining her thoughts, "there's a good deal
+to be said for that saying, 'All's well that ends well.' I've been
+thinking what a difference there is in men. Now, take for instance
+David Strong. Just stack him up alongside this slick, smooth-talking--"
+
+"Oh, Charlie!" It was almost a wail.
+
+He took her hand in one of his and gently patted it with the other.
+
+"I guess you'd kind of like to see Davy for a change, wouldn't you,
+Alix?"
+
+She caught her breath sharply, as if in pain.
+
+"Now, there's a feller," went on Charlie after a moment, "that's
+all wool and a yard wide. He--"
+
+"Good night, Charlie," she broke in abruptly. "Thank you for coming
+to meet me. You--you are the best, the dearest man in the world.
+I--"
+
+"You needen't thank me for standin' up for Davy Strong. That's what
+you're really thankin' me for, you know," said he. "I've always
+loved that boy, Alix." She pressed his hand. "That's good!" he
+cried fervently. "I love him so much I wish he was sitting right
+here where I'm sitting now. I'll bet he'd be the happiest feller
+in all--Well, so long, Alix. You've had a hard day. I won't make
+it any worse for you by talking about David Strong. I know how
+much you hate him. Just the same, I wish he was sitting here in my
+place."
+
+"So do I, Charlie," she confessed, with a deep sigh.
+
+"So's you could hate him to your heart's content, eh?" he chaffed.
+
+"Yes," she murmured,--"to my heart's content."
+
+"Well, I've got to get busy," he exclaimed briskly. "Can't sit here
+talkin' nonsense to you when there's so much to do. Link Pollock and
+Doc and Tintype are waiting for me down at the Tavern. I promised
+to hurry back with the car. That reminds me, Alix. We're going to
+use your car to go hunting in. I guess you don't mind, do you?"
+
+She spoke to the chauffeur as she got out. "Take Mr. Webster wherever
+he wants to go, Ed. I shall not need the car until eleven o'clock
+in the morning."
+
+Mrs. Strong was waiting up for her. There was a big fire in the
+living-room, and a tray with hot coffee and toast on a table beside
+the comfortable chair that had been drawn up near the fender.
+
+Alix dropped wearily into the chair and stretched her booted,
+pantalooned legs out in complete relaxation.
+
+"You poor child," cried Mrs. Strong. "You're all done up. My, but
+you're white and tired-looking. It's been a terrible strain. Sit
+still now and I'll take your hat off for you. Better have your coat
+and boots off, too, dear. Hilda will have a hot bath ready for you
+whenever you're ready to--"
+
+"I suppose you know they've found her, Auntie? In the river."
+
+"Yes. Ed told me. Now, don't talk about it. Here's some hot coffee."
+
+"Never mind my coat. I'm too tired. You know about Courtney Thane?"
+
+"I only know they're hunting for him. There's a man out in the
+kitchen. Is--is it in connection with Rosabel's death?"
+
+"No. Thank you, Auntie. That feels better. I haven't had it off since
+morning. Charlie told me about Thane, but I am not sure whether I
+can get it straight. He was so excited,--and I was so distressed."
+
+Her voice was low and husky with fatigue and emotion; it was
+apparent that she controlled it with difficulty. In her dark eyes
+there was a brooding, haunted look. She repeated as best she could
+Charlie's rambling, disjointed story.
+
+"And just to think," cried Mrs. Strong at the end, "you let that
+beast kiss you and--"
+
+"Oh, don't! Don't!" cried the girl, covering her eyes with her
+hands. "I can't bear the thought of it. I wasn't myself. I don't
+know what came over--"
+
+"There, there! Don't think about it any more. It's all right now.
+And you're not the only woman that's lost her head since God made
+Adam, my dear. It's pretty hard not to sometimes. You--"
+
+"Oh, I couldn't,--I COULDN'T have done anything bad. I couldn't--"
+
+"God bless you, of course you couldn't," cried the older woman,
+stroking the girl's hair. "Do you think this coffee will keep you
+awake?" She poured out a steaming cup and dropped two lumps of
+sugar into it.
+
+"I sha'n't go to sleep anyway, Auntie, so--"
+
+The ringing of the door bell startled them. Alix sprang to her feet
+in alarm.
+
+"Don't go to the door!" she cried. "It's--it's Courtney Thane!"
+
+"Nonsense! He'll not be coming here. Sit down. I'll inquire who it
+is before I open the door."
+
+"Under no circumstances are you to let him in, Mrs. Strong," ordered
+Alix peremptorily.
+
+"I should say not! It would look pretty, wouldn't it, if the papers
+came out and said the notorious bandit was captured in the home of
+Miss Alix Crown, the beautiful and wealthy heiress? They always--"
+The bell rang again. "Put the cream in yourself, Alix. I'll see
+who it is."
+
+Alix followed her with anxious, apprehensive eyes as she passed
+into the hall. She heard the following dialogue:
+
+"Who is it?"
+
+"Does Miss Crown live here?" came in a clear, boyish voice from
+the outside.
+
+"She does. Who are you and what do you want?"
+
+"I'm a messenger boy. I got a letter for her."
+
+"A letter? Who's it from?"
+
+"Say, open up! I can't stand out here all night."
+
+"Who is it from?" repeated Mrs. Strong firmly.
+
+"How do I know? I ain't no mind-reader."
+
+Mrs. Strong looked in at Alix. "I guess it's all right, isn't it?"
+
+"Open the door," said Alix quietly.
+
+A small, shivering messenger boy in uniform entered.
+
+"Are you Miss Crown?"
+
+"No, I'm not. Where's the letter?"
+
+"I got to deliver it to her. If she ain't here I'm to wait. I got
+to get an answer."
+
+Alix came forward. "I am Miss Crown. Come in, my boy, and warm
+yourself by the fire."
+
+"Sign here," said the boy, indicating a line in his receipt book.
+
+While Alix was signing her name, Mrs. Strong looked the boy over.
+"Dear me, you must be nearly frozen, child. No overcoat on a night
+like this. Did you come all the way out here from the city on a
+bicycle?"
+
+"Give him some coffee, Mrs. Strong," said Alix, handing back the
+book and receiving the envelope in return.
+
+"I got a taxi waiting for me out in front," said the boy. "Say,
+what's goin' on in this burg? We been held up three times, and just
+now a man stopped me out here in the yard and--"
+
+"What's the matter, Alix?" cried Mrs. Strong.
+
+The girl was staring at the address on the envelope. Doubt, wonder,
+incredulity filled her eyes.
+
+"Why,--why, Auntie,--it's David's writing! David's!" she cried.
+"See! Isn't it? I would recognize it--"
+
+"Bless my soul, so it is!" exclaimed David's mother.
+
+"Oh,--what does it mean? Boy, where did you get this letter?" Her
+voice trembled with excitement, her eyes were gleaming.
+
+"Never mind," put in Mrs. Strong, turning her head to hide a smile.
+"You run upstairs and read it, Alix, and I--"
+
+"Auntie Strong, do you know anything about this?" demanded Alix
+suspiciously. The colour was flowing back into her cheeks. "Have
+you been keeping something--"
+
+"--and I will entertain this young gentleman during your absence,"
+went on the other serenely,--but there was a flush in her cheeks and
+her eyes were very bright and happy. "You go and read your letter
+and,--did you say there was to be an answer, boy?"
+
+"Yes'm."
+
+"And write your answer," concluded Mrs. Strong. "Come along, my
+lad, and have a nice hot cup of coffee and some toast. I hope you
+take sugar. There are two lumps in it already."
+
+Alix fairly ran from the room. They heard her racing up the stairs.
+
+"Will you have cream, my boy?" asked Mrs. Strong, steadying her voice
+with an effort. He had shuffled along behind her to the fireplace.
+
+"Yes'm," and then as an afterthought: "if you please, ma'am." He
+looked up and saw that his hostess's eyes were swimming in tears.
+"I--I hope it ain't bad news," he stammered uncomfortably.
+
+"Don't you know there are such things as tears of joy?" inquired
+the lady.
+
+He looked very doubtful. "No ma'am," he solemnly confessed. The
+tears he knew about were not joyous.
+
+"Wasn't it just like David to hire an automobile to send you out
+here to deliver the letter to her? I suppose it must have cost him
+a pretty penny. Most men would have put a two cent stamp on it. But
+my son is not like other men. He is always doing the most unexpected
+things,--and the very nicest things. Now, who else in the world
+would have thought of hiring an automobile to send a message by?"
+
+"Is he your son, ma'am?"
+
+"Yes. My son David. Did you see him?"
+
+"Sure I did."
+
+"How was he looking?"
+
+"Fine," said the lad. "Gee, but he's tall."
+
+"Six feet three, my boy," said David's mother. "That's very hot. Be
+careful not to scald your mouth. Shall I put in another lump,--or
+two?"
+
+"Will it cool it off any?"
+
+"I am sure it will."
+
+Meanwhile, Alix was greedily devouring the contents of the letter.
+She stood beside the light over her dressing-table; her heart was
+pounding furiously, her eyes were radiantly bright.
+
+DEAR ALIX:
+
+I have just this instant arrived in town, and I am scribbling this
+in the hotel writing-room, with my overcoat still on my back. I
+shall not go to sleep tonight until I have had your reply. Somehow
+I will find a way to get this letter to you tonight, I don't know
+how at present, but where there's a will there's a way. If mother
+and Charlie Webster are mistaken, or if they have assumed something
+that is not true, I shall go away again without bothering you. But
+if you want me, I will come straight out to you. You are in trouble.
+I am not asking anything for myself, dear,--you know me well enough
+to understand that,--I am only asking you to let me do anything
+in the world I can for you. That is why I dropped everything to
+come. I am happy, you don't know how happy, to be even this close
+to you. I have always wanted to hang out my shingle in this dear
+old town. I do not like the East. I am a Westerner and I can't seem
+to make myself fit in with the East. I shall always be a Hoosier,
+I fear,--and hope. Just the few minutes I have been here in this
+familiar old hotel, and the ride through the quiet streets, and
+getting off the train at the insignificant little depot, and having
+the hackman,--they are taxi-drivers now,--yell out,--"Hello, Davy,"
+and run up to shake hands with me,--well, I am so homesick I could
+cry. But you know why I cannot come here to live and practise. If
+I can't be very, very near to you, Alix darling, I must keep myself
+as far away as possible. It is the only way. But if I keep on at
+this rate, you will think I am writing a love letter to you, when,
+as a matter of fact, I am only asking you if you care to see me
+and tell me what I can do to help you now,--if you need the help
+of your
+
+Always devoted
+
+DAVID.
+
+P.S.--If you would rather not see me, don't hesitate to say so. I
+will understand. And please do not blame mother and Charlie. They
+would both die for you, dear.
+
+P.S.S.--You will be pleased to know, I am sure, that I have the
+five hundred I still owe you in my pocket, all in brand new bills,
+and I think you might give me the happiness of quarrelling face to
+face with you about the matter instead of under the protection of
+a two-cent stamp.
+
+D.
+
+She read the letter aloud. When she came to the end she kissed the
+sheet of paper rapturously and then pressed it to her breast. For
+a few moments she stood there with her eyes closed, a little smile
+on her lips, the blush of roses deepening in her cheeks.
+
+Suddenly she roused herself. Hurrying to the desk across the room,
+she snatched a sheet of note paper from the rack, seated herself,
+and began to write.
+
+DEAREST DAVID:
+
+THIS is a love letter. I love you. I have always loved you, ever since
+I can remember, only I did not realize how much until you wouldn't
+let me have my own way about the money. Then I tried to hate you.
+The best thing I can say for the experiment was that it kept me
+thinking about you all the time. You were never out of my thoughts,
+David dear. Oh, how many nights have I laid awake inventing reasons
+for hating you, and how many, many times have I ended up by hating
+myself. I am a very mean, despicable creature. I am a loathsome,
+poisonous reptile, and you ought to put your foot on my neck and
+keep it there forever and ever. Now I know why I have been so mean
+to you. It is because I love you so much. You cannot grasp that,
+can you? You could if you were a woman.
+
+The boy is waiting for this. How wonderful of you to send him out
+here in a taxi!!! I shall tell him to go back to town as fast as
+the car can travel. I hope it is a fast one, because I want you to
+get in it and come to me at once. I shall wait up for you, David.
+Please come tonight. You don't know how badly I need you. You must
+stay here with your mother and me, and I don't want you ever to go
+away again,--unless you take me with you.
+
+Your humble sweetheart,
+
+ALIX.
+
+P.S.--I wouldn't quarrel with you for five hundred million dollars.
+
+P.S.S.--Oh, how I wish some kind genie could transport you to me
+INSTANTLY! A.
+
+Sealing the envelope, she sprang to her feet and started for
+the door. She stopped halfway, dashed back and fished in a drawer
+of her desk, found her purse and extracted a crumbling bank-note.
+Without so much as a glance to ascertain its denomination, she
+turned and sped downstairs.
+
+Her eyes were aglow with excitement, her lips were parted in a
+divine smile. She was a little out of breath. The boy gazed upon
+her spellbound. In that brief, transcendent moment he fell deeply,
+hopelessly in love,--and that is why, a moment later, he manfully
+endeavoured to refuse the prodigious tip she was offering him. Only
+when she stuffed it, with her own fingers, into the depths of his
+breast pocket, directly over his heart, was he able to persuade
+himself that he ought to accept it if for no other reason than it
+would hurt her feelings if he didn't.
+
+"You must go straight back just as fast as you can," she
+was saying,--and what a sweet, wonderful voice she had, just like
+some kind of a song he thought,--"and see that Mr. Strong has this
+letter at once. He is waiting for it, you know. You WILL hurry,
+won't you,--that's a good boy."
+
+"Yes'm," gulped the lad, and then, realizing he had not quite come
+up to expectations, amplified his promise with a stirring: "You
+bet your life I will."
+
+She went to the door with him, and said good night so sweetly, and
+with such a thrill in her voice, that he experienced the amazing
+sensation of having wings on his feet as he sped down to the gate.
+
+Alix ran to Mrs. Strong and threw her arms around her neck.
+
+"Oh, Auntie,--he's in town. He is coming out and--and I am going
+to marry him. Yes, I am! Tomorrow, if he'll let me. I ought not to
+be so happy, I know. It is terrible, with so much grief and sorrow
+over at--But I can't help it! I never was so happy in my life--never!"
+
+Rushing up to the waiting taxi, the boy thrust the letter in through
+the open door. It was seized by a big, eager hand. An instant later
+the owner of that hand was out on the ground, reading the missive
+by the light of a forward lamp.
+
+He was not long in getting to the end. Thrusting the precious letter
+into his overcoat pocket, he sprang to the door of the cab, jerked
+out a heavy suitcase and a small black satchel, which he deposited
+unceremoniously on the sidewalk, and then dug down into his trousers'
+pocket for a handful of bills, one of which he pressed into the
+small boy's hand. Then, turning to the driver, the tall, impetuous
+fare clapped another into his extended palm.
+
+"There you are, genie!" he exclaimed exultantly, and, grabbing up
+his bags, was off up the walk as fast as his long legs would carry
+him.
+
+"What was that he called me, kid?" demanded the driver uneasily.
+
+"Janie."
+
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+AT QUILL'S WINDOW
+
+
+
+
+The scraping, laboured sound grew nearer and louder, and presently
+there was added the thick, stertorous breathing of the climber as
+he drew close to the mouth of the cave.
+
+Courtney crept farther away from the opening and watched with narrow,
+frowning eyes for the head to appear above the ledge. He held the
+revolver in his shaking hand, but he knew he was not going to shoot.
+He thrilled with a strange sort of glee, however, at the thought of
+the ease with which he could send the fool crashing to the ground
+far below, but what would be the use? He was trapped.
+
+He had a queer and strangely ungrudging respect for the courage
+of this man of Uncle Sam's, this man who was not to be turned back
+or daunted by the prospect of sudden death when engaged in the
+performance of his duty. What use to slay this single, indomitable
+pursuer when nothing was to be gained by the act? There were others
+down there to avenge him,--to starve him out, or to burn him out
+if needs be. Murder, that's what it would be, and they would hang
+him for murder. If he shot this fellow there would be but one course
+left open to him. He would have to shoot himself. And he loved life
+too well for that. Five, even ten years behind the bars,--and then
+freedom once more. But the gallows,--God, no!
+
+He stood up and leaned with his back against the wall, bracing
+his legs which threatened to crumple up under him. With a sort of
+craven bravado, he inhaled deeply. The end of the cigarette created
+a passing but none the less comforting glow which died away almost
+instantly. A jolly brave thing, a cigarette,--No wonder the soldiers
+smoked them! Nerve steadying,--no question about it.
+
+He waited. Once he thought he was going to scream. Why was the
+fellow so slow? Surely it had not taken him so long to come up
+that ladder of stone,--and he was the pioneer, he had cleared the
+slots of dirt and sand, he had made the hand holds safe, he had torn
+his finger-tips digging them out,--what made the fellow so slow?
+
+At last he made out a vague, slender object moving like the
+tentacle of an octopus above the ledge,--and then the bulky head
+and shoulders of the climber.
+
+"I surrender!" he called out. "I give up. If you had waited till
+I pulled myself together, I would have come down. I'm all in. I
+surrender."
+
+The man scrambled over the ledge and drew himself erect. His figure
+was dimly outlined against the moon-lit sky. He came a few steps
+inside the cave and stopped, evidently striving to pierce the
+darkness with his questing eyes.
+
+Courtney pushed himself away from the supporting wall and advanced
+slowly.
+
+"Here's my gun," he faltered, and the weapon clattered on the
+rocky floor at his feet. "Don't shoot! I am unarmed. My hands are
+up,--comrade."
+
+"Stand still," warned the other hoarsely. He was breathing heavily.
+"Don't move!"
+
+Courtney took another pull at the cigarette that hung limply between
+his sagging lips. He could be as brave, as cool as the other fellow!
+He would give them something to talk about when they related the
+story of his capture. He would--
+
+Suddenly the man lunged forward...A pair of iron arms wrapped
+themselves about his waist. He went down with a crash. Even as the
+cry of surprise and indignation rose to his lips, his head struck
+and his mind became a blank.
+
+Slowly, as out of a fog, his senses came back. He was hazily aware
+of a light shining in his eyes, and of a dull pain somewhere. Things
+began to take shape before his whirling eyes. He strove to steady
+them, to concentrate on the bright thing that flitted back and
+forth before them. At last the blaze became stationary.
+
+Quite close at hand was a fire,--a bright, crackling fire whose
+flames danced merrily. Where was he? It was not like any other
+fire he had ever seen before....Then he saw a face. It gradually
+fashioned itself out of the gloom high above the flames. He blinked
+his eyes and stared. Somehow it was vaguely familiar, that face....
+He lifted his head and peered intently. Then he raised himself on
+his elbow, all the while trying to fix that floating face in his
+mind.
+
+Suddenly his brain cleared. The full picture was revealed: A man
+standing over the blazing pile of box-wood, gazing down at him with
+great, unblinking eyes. The sloping roof of the cave, half lost in
+the thin cloud of smoke, almost touched the crown of the watcher's
+head,--and this watcher was in the garb of a sailor.
+
+Caleb Vick! Young Caleb Vick!
+
+For a long time the two looked into each other's eyes. Courtney's
+wavering and uncertain, Caleb's fixed and triumphant.
+
+"Is--is that you, Cale?" mumbled the former wonderingly.
+
+Young Vick nodded his head slowly.
+
+"How did you get here?" asked Thane, sensing peril in those boring,
+unfaltering eyes. His hand went out to feel for the revolver he
+had dropped. "Where--What has become of the man that jumped on me?
+The detective."
+
+"I am the man," said Cale levelly.
+
+"You? What's the matter with you, Cale? This is a hell of a way to
+treat a friend. What do you mean by helping these--"
+
+"Cut that out," snarled Cale. "It don't go with me. Get up! You
+dirty cur,--get up!"
+
+"My God, Cale,--have you gone crazy?" gasped Thane, going cold to
+the marrow. He shot a swift, terrified look toward the mouth of
+the cave.
+
+"Get up! It won't do you any good to yell. No one will hear you."
+
+Courtney drew himself to his knees.
+
+"It won't, eh? There's a gang of Secret Service men down there.
+They'll blow your brains out if you--"
+
+"There is no one down there," said the boy, a crooked smile on his
+lips.
+
+"I tell you there is," cried the other, desperately. "I heard them.
+They trailed me here. They--"
+
+"I guess I put one over on you, Courtney," interrupted Cale, his
+voice low and deadly. "I am the fellow that chased you here. There's
+nobody else. Oh, I know they're looking for you,--but they don't
+know where you are. Nobody knows but me. I saw you sneaking across
+that lot back yonder. I was down at the ferry--I saw--Rosabel--there."
+His voice faltered. He steadied it with an effort before going on.
+"I was too late. She wrote me. Then father telegraphed me--They let
+me off. I came as soon as I could. I ran all the way from Hawkins.
+I knew what had happened. She wrote me. But I thought maybe she'd
+lose her nerve,--or, maybe you would do the right thing by her and
+save her. I saw her down there on the dock. You did it. You got
+her into trouble. You--"
+
+"I don't know what you are talking about," cried the other.
+"What's this you are saying? Have you lost your mind, Cale? My God,
+boy,--I,--why, what sort of a beast do you think I am? I--I adored
+her. Come, come, Cale! Calm yourself! You know perfectly well how
+fond I was of her. I couldn't have done anything so foul as--Why,
+Cale, she was nothing but a kid, a little girl to me. I--"
+
+"Yes,--that's what she was,--a kid, just a poor little kid. She
+trusted you. I trusted you. We all trusted you. And now she's--she's
+dead. My sister! My pretty little sister!" He straightened up and
+threw his arm across his eyes, only to withdraw it instantly. "GOD
+DAMN YOU! Get up! Come over here! Here's her letter. Read it! Read
+it, you dirty swine!"
+
+He reached inside his blouse and drew forth a folded bit of paper.
+
+"I--I don't want to read it," faltered Thane, shrinking back. "I
+know nothing about all this nonsense you are--"
+
+"I give you ten seconds to do what I tell you," grated Cale, harshly.
+"If you don't I'll blow your head off." He levelled the revolver.
+"It's your own gun,--so I guess you know it's loaded. Come on!"
+
+Thane crawled to the fire.
+
+"My God,--you wouldn't kill me, Cale?" he gasped, reaching out his
+shaking hand for the letter.
+
+"Read it!" ordered the inexorable voice.
+
+It was a short letter. Courtney took it in as a whole; the dancing,
+jumbled web of words that raced before his glazed eyes. Parts of
+sentences, a word here and there, his own name, filtered through
+the veil,--and were lost in the chaos of his own thoughts.
+
+He was not thinking of Rosabel's letter. If he could only catch
+Cale off his guard,--just for a second or two! A swift leap, a blow,
+and--but a lightning glance out of the corner of his eye killed
+the thought even as it was being created. Cale would not be off his
+guard. He was watching like a hawk, his body bent slightly forward,
+the revolver held in a grip of steel.
+
+"Well?" cried Cale. "Have you read it?"
+
+"Yes," whispered Courtney through his stiff lips. "It's not true,
+Cale,--it's not true!"
+
+"Yes, it is true. Rosie would not lie about herself like that. No
+girl would. Every word of it is true." He snatched the paper from
+Courtney's palsied hands and cast it into the waning fire. "No
+one shall ever see that letter. I would not have mother know what
+I know for all the world. She'll never know about Rosie."
+
+Courtney took hope. "By gad, Cale, that's fine of you. I promise
+you, on my word of honour, no one ever shall know. I'll keep the
+secret with you. You--"
+
+"There will be only one person left in all the world that knows
+about Rosie," said Cale in a strangely quiet tone.
+
+His left hand went out swiftly. The fingers clutched Courtney's
+hair, pushing his head back. Even as the wretch opened his lips to
+squeal for mercy, the cold muzzle of the weapon was jammed against
+the flesh under his ear. There was a loud explosion....
+
+Young Cale Vick stood for a long time looking down at the inert thing
+at his feet. Then he calmly stooped over and placed the pistol in
+one of the outstretched hands, closing the stiff fingers over it.
+Scattering the fire with his feet, he trampled out what was left
+of the feeble flames, and then strode to the mouth of the cave. He
+stood rigid for a long time, listening. A dog was howling mournfully
+away off in the night; an owl was hooting somewhere in the trees
+nearby. He turned and began the descent, and there was neither
+remorse nor terror in his soul.
+
+A few days later the report reached Windomville that a farmer up
+the river had seen a light in Quill's Window the night that Rosabel
+Vick was found, and all the superstitious shook their heads and
+talked of ghosts.
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, QUILL'S WINDOW ***
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