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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Day of Fate, by E. P. Roe
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: A Day of Fate
+
+Author: E. P. Roe
+
+Posting Date: September 8, 2012 [EBook #6113]
+Release Date: July, 2004
+First Posted: November 11, 2002
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A DAY OF FATE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks and the
+Online Distributed Proofreading Team.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: "SHE FELT MY PRESENCE AND LOOKED UP QUICKLY."]
+
+The Works of E. P. Roe
+
+_VOLUME FOURTEEN_
+
+A DAY OF FATE
+
+_ILLUSTRATED_
+
+1880
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+"Some shallow story of deep love."
+
+--Shakespeare
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+_BOOK FIRST_
+
+CHAPTER I
+  AIMLESS STEPS
+
+CHAPTER II
+  A JUNE DAY DREAM
+
+CHAPTER III
+  A SHINING TIDE
+
+CHAPTER IV
+  REALITY
+
+CHAPTER V
+  MUTUAL DISCOVERIES
+
+CHAPTER VI
+  A QUAKER TEA
+
+CHAPTER VII
+  A FRIEND
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+  THE MYSTERY OF MYSTERIES
+
+CHAPTER IX
+  "OLD PLOD"
+
+CHAPTER X
+  A BIT OF EDEN
+
+CHAPTER XI
+  "MOVED"
+
+CHAPTER XII
+  ONE OF NATURE'S TRAGEDIES
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+  THE LIGHTNING AND A SUBTLER FLAME
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+  KINDLING A SPARK OF LIFE
+
+CHAPTER XV
+  MY FATE
+
+
+_BOOK SECOND_
+
+CHAPTER I
+  THE DAY AFTER
+
+CHAPTER II
+  "IT WAS INEVITABLE"
+
+CHAPTER III
+  RETURNING CONSCIOUSNESS
+
+CHAPTER IV
+  IN THE DARK
+
+CHAPTER V
+  A FLASH OF MEMORY
+
+CHAPTER VI
+  WEAKNESS
+
+CHAPTER VII
+  OLD PLOD IDEALIZED
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+  AN IMPULSE
+
+CHAPTER IX
+  A WRETCHED FAILURE
+
+CHAPTER X
+  IN THE DEPTHS
+
+CHAPTER XI
+  POOR ACTING
+
+CHAPTER XII
+  THE HOPE OP A HIDDEN TREASURE
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+  THE OLD MEETING-HOUSE AGAIN
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+  LOVE TEACHING ETHICS
+
+CHAPTER XV
+  DON'T THINK OF ME
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+  "RICHARD"
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+  MY WORST BLUNDER
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+  MRS. YOCOMB'S LETTERS
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+  ADAH
+
+CHAPTER XX
+  THANKSGIVING DAY
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+  RIPPLES ON DEEP WATER
+
+
+
+
+_BOOK FIRST_
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+AIMLESS STEPS
+
+
+"Another month's work will knock Morton into 'pi,'" was a remark that
+caught my ear as I fumed from the composing-room back to my private
+office. I had just irately blamed a printer for a blunder of my own,
+and the words I overheard reminded me of the unpleasant truth that I
+had recently made a great many senseless blunders, over which I chafed
+in merciless self-condemnation. For weeks and months my mind had been
+tense under the strain of increasing work and responsibility. It was my
+nature to become absorbed in my tasks, and, as night editor of a
+prominent city journal, I found a limitless field for labor. It was
+true I could have jogged along under the heavy burden with
+comparatively little wear and loss, but, impelled by both temperament
+and ambition, I was trying to maintain a racer's speed. From casual
+employment as a reporter I had worked my way up to my present position,
+and the tireless activity and alertness required to win and hold such a
+place was seemingly degenerating into a nervous restlessness which
+permitted no repose of mind or rest of body. I worked when other men
+slept, but, instead of availing myself of the right to sleep when the
+world was awake, I yielded to an increasing tendency to wakefulness,
+and read that I might be informed on the endless variety of subjects
+occupying public attention. The globe was becoming a vast
+hunting-ground, around which my thoughts ranged almost unceasingly that
+I might capture something new, striking, or original for the benefit of
+our paper. Each day the quest had grown more eager, and as the hour for
+going to press approached I would even become feverish in my intense
+desire to send the paper out with a breezy, newsy aspect, and would be
+elated if, at the last moment, material was flashed in that would
+warrant startling head-lines, and correspondingly depressed if the
+weary old world had a few hours of quiet and peace. To make the paper
+"go," every faculty I possessed was in the harness.
+
+The aside I had just overheard suggested, at least, one very probable
+result. In printer's jargon, I would soon be in "pi."
+
+The remark, combined with my stupid blunder, for which I had blamed an
+innocent man, caused me to pull up and ask myself whither I was
+hurrying so breathlessly. Saying to my assistant that I did not wish to
+be disturbed for a half hour, unless it was essential, I went to my
+little inner room. I wished to take a mental inventory of myself, and
+see how much was left. Hitherto I had been on the keen run--a condition
+not favorable to introspection.
+
+Neither my temperament nor the school in which I had been trained
+inclined me to slow, deliberate processes of reasoning. I looked my own
+case over as I might that of some brother-editors whose journals were
+draining them of life, and whose obituaries I shall probably write if I
+survive them. Reason and Conscience, now that I gave them a chance,
+began to take me to task severely.
+
+"You are a blundering fool," said Reason, "and the man in the
+composing-room is right. You are chafing over petty blunders while
+ignoring the fact that your whole present life is a blunder, and the
+adequate reason why your faculties are becoming untrustworthy. Each day
+you grow more nervously anxious to have everything correct, giving your
+mind to endless details, and your powers are beginning to snap like the
+overstrained strings of a violin. At this rate you will soon spend
+yourself and all there is of you."
+
+Then Conscience, like an irate judge on the bench, arraigned me. "You
+are a heathen, and your paper is your car of Juggernaut. You are
+ceasing to be a man and becoming merely an editor--no, not even an
+editor--a newsmonger, one of the world's gossips. You are an Athenian
+only as you wish to hear and tell some new thing. Long ears are
+becoming the appropriate symbols of your being. You are too hurried,
+too eager for temporary success, too taken up with details, to form
+calm, philosophical opinions of the great events of your time, and thus
+be able to shape men's opinions. You commenced as a reporter, and are a
+reporter still. You pride yourself that you are not narrow, unconscious
+of the truth that you are spreading yourself thinly over the mere
+surface of affairs. You have little comprehension of the deeper forces
+and motives of humanity."
+
+It is true that I might have pleaded in extenuation of these rather
+severe judgments that I was somewhat alone in the world, living in
+bachelor apartments, without the redeeming influences of home and
+family life. There were none whose love gave them the right or the
+motive to lay a restraining hand upon me, and my associates in labor
+were more inclined to applaud my zeal than to curb it. Thus it had been
+left to the casual remark of a nameless printer and an instance of my
+own failing powers to break the spell that ambition and habit were
+weaving.
+
+Before the half hour elapsed I felt weak and ill. The moment I relaxed
+the tension and will-power which I had maintained so long, strong
+reaction set in. Apparently I had about reached the limits of
+endurance. I felt as if I were growing old and feeble by minutes as one
+might by years. Taking my hat and coat I passed out, remarking to my
+assistant that he must do the best he could--that I was ill and would
+not return. If the Journal had never appeared again I could not then
+have written a line to save it, or read another proof.
+
+Saturday morning found me feverish, unrefreshed, and more painfully
+conscious than ever that I was becoming little better than the presses
+on which the paper was printed. Depression inevitably follows weariness
+and exhaustion, and one could scarcely take a more gloomy view of
+himself than I did.
+
+"I will escape from this city as if it were Sodom," I muttered, "and a
+June day in the country will reveal whether I have a soul for anything
+beyond the wrangle of politics and the world's gossip."
+
+In my despondency I was inclined to be reckless, and after merely
+writing a brief note to my editorial chief, saying that I had broken
+down and was going to the country, I started almost at random. After a
+few hours' riding I wearied of the cars, and left them at a small
+village whose name I did not care to inquire. The mountains and scenery
+pleased me, although the day was overcast like my mind and fortunes.
+Having found a quiet inn and gone through the form of a dinner, I sat
+down on the porch in dreary apathy.
+
+The afternoon aspect of the village street seemed as dull and devoid of
+interest as my own life at that hour, and in fancy I saw myself, a
+broken-down man, lounging away days that would be like eternities,
+going through my little round like a bit of driftwood, slowly circling
+in an eddy of the world's great current. With lack-lustre eyes I
+"looked up to the hills," but no "help" came from them. The air was
+close, the sky leaden; even the birds would not sing. Why had I come to
+the country? It had no voices for me, and I resolved to return to the
+city. But while I waited my eyes grew heavy with the blessed power to
+sleep--a boon, for which I then felt that I would travel to the Ultima
+Thule. Leaving orders that I should not be disturbed, I went to my
+room, and Nature took the tired man, as if he were a weary child, into
+her arms.
+
+At last I imagined that I was at the Academy of Music, and that the
+orchestra were tuning their instruments for the overture. A louder
+strain than usual caused me to start up, and I saw through the open
+window a robin on a maple bough, with its tuneful throat swelled to the
+utmost. This was the leader of my orchestra, and the whole country was
+alive with musicians, each one giving out his own notes without any
+regard for the others, but apparently the score had been written for
+them all, since the innumerable strains made one divine harmony. From
+the full-orbed song from the maple by my window, down to the faintest
+chirp and twitter, there was no discord; while from the fields beyond
+the village the whistle of the meadow-larks was so mellowed and
+softened by distance as to incline one to wonder whether their notes
+were real or mere ideals of sound.
+
+For a long time I was serenely content to listen to the myriad-voiced
+chords without thinking of the past or future. At last I found myself
+idly querying whether Nature did not so blend all out-of-door sounds as
+to make them agreeable, when suddenly a catbird broke the spell of
+harmony by its flat, discordant note. Instead of my wonted irritation
+at anything that jarred upon my nerves, I laughed as I sprang up,
+saying,
+
+"That cry reminds me that I am in the body and in the same old world.
+That bird is near akin to the croaking printer."
+
+But my cynicism was now more assumed than real, and I began to wonder
+at myself. The change of air and scene had seemingly broken a malign
+influence, and sleep--that for weeks had almost forsaken me--had
+yielded its deep refreshment for fifteen hours. Besides, I had not
+sinned against my life so many years as to have destroyed the
+elasticity of early manhood. When I had lain down to rest I had felt
+myself to be a weary, broken, aged man. Had I, in my dreams, discovered
+the Fountain of Youth, and unconsciously bathed in it? In my rebound
+toward health of mind and body I seemed to have realized what the old
+Spaniard vainly hoped for.
+
+I dressed in haste, eager to be out in the early June sunshine. There
+had been a shower in the night, and the air had a fine exhilarating
+quality, in contrast with the close sultriness of the previous
+afternoon.
+
+Instead of nibbling at breakfast while I devoured the morning dailies,
+I ate a substantial meal, and only thought of papers to bless their
+absence, and then walked down the village street with the quick glad
+tread of one whose hope and zest in life have been renewed. Fragrant
+June roses were opening on every side, and it appeared to me that all
+the sin of man could not make the world offensive to heaven that
+morning.
+
+I wished that some of the villagers whom I met were more in accord with
+Nature's mood; but in view of my own shortcomings, and still more
+because of my fine physical condition, I was disposed toward a large
+charity. And yet I could not help wondering how some that I saw could
+walk among their roses and still look so glum and matter-of-fact. I
+felt as if I could kiss every velvet petal.
+
+"You were unjust," I charged back on Conscience; "this morning proves
+that I am not an ingrained newsmonger. There is still man enough left
+within me to revive at Nature's touch;" and I exultantly quickened my
+steps, until I had left the village miles away.
+
+Before the morning was half gone I learned how much of my old vigor had
+ebbed, for I was growing weary early in the day. Therefore I paused
+before a small gray building, old and weather-stained, that seemed
+neither a barn, nor a dwelling, nor a school-house. A man was in the
+act of unlocking the door, and his garb suggested that it might be a
+Friends' meeting-house. Yielding to an idle curiosity I mounted a stone
+wall at a point where I was shaded and partially screened by a tree,
+and watched and waited, beguiling the time with a branch of sweetbriar
+that hung over my resting-place.
+
+Soon strong open wagons and rockaways began to appear drawn by sleek,
+plump horses that often, seemingly, were gayer than their drivers.
+Still there was nothing sour in the aspect or austere in the garb of
+the people. Their quiet appearance took my fancy amazingly, and the
+peach-like bloom on the cheeks of even well-advanced matrons suggested
+a serene and quiet life.
+
+"These are the people of all others with whom I would like to worship
+to-day," I thought; "and I hope that that rotund old lady, whose face
+beams under the shadow of her deep bonnet like a harvest moon through a
+fleecy cloud, will feel moved to speak." I plucked a few buds from the
+sweet-briar bush, fastened them in my button-hole, and promptly
+followed the old lady into the meeting-house. Having found a vacant pew
+I sat down, and looked around with serene content. But I soon observed
+that something was amiss, for the men folk looked at each other and
+then at me. At last an elderly and substantial Friend, with a face so
+flushed and round as to suggest a Baldwin apple, arose and creaked with
+painful distinctness to where I was innocently infringing on one of
+their customs.
+
+"If thee will follow me, friend," he said, "I'll give thee a seat with
+the men folks. Thee's welcome, and thee'll feel more at home to follow
+our ways."
+
+His cordial grasp of my hand would have disarmed suspicion itself, and
+I followed him meekly. In my embarrassment and desire to show that I
+had no wish to appear forward, I persisted in taking a side seat next
+to the wall, and quite near the door; for my guide, in order to show
+his goodwill and to atone for what might seem rudeness, was bent on
+marshalling me almost up to the high seats that faced the congregation,
+where sat my rubicund old Friend lady, whose aspect betokened that she
+had just the Gospel message I needed.
+
+I at once noted that these staid and decorous people looked straight
+before them in an attitude of quiet expectancy. A few little children
+turned on me their round, curious eyes, but no one else stared at the
+blundering stranger, whose modish coat, with a sprig of wild roses in
+its buttonhole, made him rather a conspicuous contrast to the other men
+folk, and I thought--
+
+"Here certainly is an example of good-breeding which could scarcely be
+found among other Christians. If one of these Friends should appear in
+the most fashionable church on the Avenue, he would be well stared at,
+but here even the children are receiving admonitory nudges not to look
+at me."
+
+I soon felt that it was not the thing to be the only one who was
+irreverently looking around, and my good-fortune soon supplied ample
+motive for looking steadily in one direction. The reader may justly
+think that I should have composed my mind to meditation on my many
+sins, but I might as well have tried to gather in my hands the reins of
+all the wild horses of Arabia as to curb and manage my errant thoughts.
+My only chance was for some one or something to catch and hold them for
+me. If that old Friend lady would preach I was sure she would do me
+good. As it was, her face was an antidote to the influences of the
+world in which I dwelt, but I soon began to dream that I had found a
+still better remedy, for, at a fortunate angle from my position, there
+sat a young Quakeress whose side face arrested my attention and held
+it. By leaning a little against the wall as well as the back of my
+bench, I also, well content, could look straight before me like the
+others.
+
+The fair profile was but slightly hidden by a hat that had a
+perceptible leaning toward the world in its character, but the brow was
+only made to seem a little lower, and her eyes deepened in their blue
+by its shadow. My sweet-briar blossoms were not more delicate in their
+pink shadings than was the bloom on her rounded cheek, and the white,
+firm chin denoted an absence of weakness and frivolity. The upper lip,
+from where I sat, seemed one half of Cupid's bow. I could but barely
+catch a glimpse of a ripple of hair that, perhaps, had not been
+smoothed with sufficient pains, and thus seemed in league with the
+slightly worldly bonnet. In brief, to my kindled fancy, her youth and
+loveliness appeared the exquisite human embodiment of the June morning,
+with its alternations of sunshine and shadow, its roses and their
+fragrance, of its abounding yet untarnished and beautiful life.
+
+No one in the meeting seemed moved save myself, but I felt as if I
+could become a poet, a painter, and even a lover, under the inspiration
+of that perfect profile.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+A JUNE DAY-DREAM
+
+
+Moment after moment passed, but we all sat silent and motionless.
+Through the open windows came a low, sweet monotone of the wind from
+the shadowing maples, sometimes swelling into a great depth of sound,
+and again dying to a whisper, and the effect seemed finer than that of
+the most skilfully touched organ. Occasionally an irascible humble-bee
+would dart in, and, after a moment of motionless poise, would dart out
+again, as if in angry disdain of the quiet people. In its irate hum and
+sudden dartings I saw my own irritable fuming and nervous activity, and
+I blessed the Friends and their silent meeting. I blessed the fair June
+face, that was as far removed from the seething turmoil of my world as
+the rosebuds under her home-windows.
+
+Surely I had drifted out of the storm into the very haven of rest and
+peace, and yet one might justly dread lest the beauty which bound my
+eyes every moment in a stronger fascination should evoke an unrest from
+which there might be no haven. Young men, however, rarely shrink from
+such perils, and I was no more prudent than my fellows. Indeed, I was
+inclining toward the fancy that this June day was the day of destiny
+with me; and if such a creature were the remedy for my misshapen life
+it would be bliss to take it.
+
+In our sweet silence, broken only by the voice of the wind, the twitter
+of birds beguiling perhaps with pretty nonsense the hours that would
+otherwise seem long to their brooding mates on the nests, and the hum
+of insects, my fancy began to create a future for the fair stranger--a
+future, rest assured, that did not leave the dreamer a calm and
+disinterested observer.
+
+"This day," I said mentally, "proves that there is a kindly and
+superintending Providence, and men are often led, like children in the
+dark, to just the thing they want. The wisdom of Solomon could not have
+led me to a place more suited to my taste and need than have my blind,
+aimless steps; and before me are possibilities which suggest the vista
+through which Eve was led to Adam."
+
+My constant contact with men who were keen, self-seeking, and often
+unscrupulous, inclined me toward cynicism and suspicion. My editorial
+life made me an Arab in a sense, for if there were occasion, my hand
+might be against any man, if not every man. I certainly received many
+merciless blows, and I was learning to return them with increasing
+zest. My column in the paper was often a tilting-ground, and whether or
+no I inflicted wounds that amounted to much, I received some that long
+rankled. A home such as yonder woman might make would be a better
+solace than newspaper files. Such lips as these might easily draw the
+poison from any wound the world could make. Wintry firelight would be
+more genial than even June sunlight, if her eyes would reflect in into
+mine. With such companionship, all the Gradgrinds in existence would
+prose in vain; life would never lose its ideality, nor the world become
+a mere combination of things. Her woman's fancy would embroider my
+man's reason and make it beautiful, while not taking from its strength.
+Idiot that I was, in imagining that I alone could achieve success!
+Inevitably I could make but a half success, since the finer feminine
+element would be wanting. Do I wish men only to read our paper? Am I a
+Turk, holding the doctrine that women have no souls, no minds? The
+shade of my mother forbid! Then how was I, a man, to interpret the
+world to women? Truly, I had been an owl of the night, and blind to the
+honest light of truth when I yielded to the counsel of ambition, that I
+had no time for courtship and marriage. In my stupid haste I would try
+to grope my way through subjects beyond a man's ken, rather than seek
+some such guide as yonder maiden, whose intuitions would be unerring
+when the light of reason failed. In theory, I held the doctrine that
+there was sex in mind as truly as in the material form. Now I was
+inclined to act as if my doctrine were true, and to seek to double my
+power by winning the supplemental strength and grace of a woman's soul.
+
+Indeed, my day-dream was becoming exceedingly thrifty in its character,
+and I assured ambition that the companionship of such a woman as yonder
+maiden must be might become the very corner-stone of success.
+
+Time passed, and still no one was "moved." Was my presence the cause of
+the spiritual paralysis? I think not, for I was becoming conscious of
+reverent feeling and deeper motives. If the fair face was my Gospel
+message, it was already leading me beyond the thoughts of success and
+ambition, of mental power and artistic grace. Her womanly beauty began
+to awaken my moral nature, and her pure face, that looked as free from
+guile as any daisy with its eye turned to the sun, led me to ask, "What
+right have you to approach such a creature? Think of her needs, of her
+being first, and not your own. Would you drag her into the turmoil of
+your world because she would be a solace? Would you disturb the
+maidenly serenity of that brow with knowledge of evil and misery, the
+nightly record of which you have collated so long that you are callous?
+You, whose business it is to look behind the scenes of life, will you
+disenchant her also? It is your duty to unmask hypocrisy, and to drag
+hidden evil to light, but will you teach her to suspect and distrust?
+Should you not yourself become a better, truer, purer man before you
+look into the clear depths of her blue eyes? Beware, lest thoughtlessly
+or selfishly you sully their limpid truth."
+
+"If she could be God's evangel to me, I might indeed be a better man,"
+I murmured.
+
+"That is ever the way," suggested Conscience; "there is always an 'if'
+in the path of duty; and you make your change for the better depend on
+the remote possibility that yonder maiden will ever look on you as
+other than a casual stranger that caused a slight disturbance in the
+wonted placidity of their meeting hour."
+
+"Hush," I answered Conscience, imperiously; "since the old Friend lady
+will not preach, I shall endure none of your homilies. I yield myself
+to the influences of this day, and during this hour no curb shall be
+put on fancy. In my soul I know that I would be a better man if she is
+what she seems, and could be to me all that I have dreamed; and were I
+tenfold worse than I am, she would be the better for making me better.
+Did not Divine purity come the closest to sinful humanity? I shall
+approach this maiden in fancy, and may seek her in reality, but it
+shall be with a respect so sincere and an homage so true as to rob my
+thoughts and quest of bold irreverence or of mere selfishness. Suppose
+I am seeking my own good, my own salvation it may be, I am not seeking
+to wrong her. Are not heaven's best gifts best won by giving all for
+them? I would lay my manhood at her feet. I do not expect to earn her
+or buy her, giving a quid pro quo. A woman's love is like the grace of
+heaven--a royal gift; and the spirit of the suitor is more regarded
+than his desert. Moreover, I do not propose to soil her life with the
+evil world that I must daily brush against, but through her influence
+to do a little toward purifying that world. Since this is but a dream,
+I shall dream it out to suit me.
+
+"That stalwart and elderly Friend who led me to this choice point of
+observation is her father. The plump and motherly matron on the high
+seat, whose face alone is a remedy for care and worry, is her mother.
+They will invite me home with them when meeting is over. Already I see
+the tree-embowered farmhouse, with its low, wide veranda, and
+old-fashioned roses climbing the lattice-work. In such a fragrant nook,
+or perhaps in the orchard back of the house, I shall explore the
+wonderland of this maiden's mind and heart. Beyond the innate reserve
+of an unsophisticated womanly nature there will be little reticence,
+and her thoughts will flow with the clearness and unpremeditation of
+the brook that I crossed on my way here. What a change they will be
+from the world's blotted page that I have read too exclusively of late!
+
+"Perhaps it will appear to her that I have become smirched by these
+pages, and that my character has the aspect of a printer at the close
+of his day's tasks.
+
+"This source of fear, however, is also a source of hope. If she has the
+quickness of intuition to discover that I know the world too well, she
+will also discern the truth that I would gladly escape from that which
+might eventually destroy my better nature, and that hers could be the
+hand which might rescue my manhood. To the degree that she is a genuine
+woman there will be fascination in the power of making a man more manly
+and worthy of respect. Especially will this be true if I have the
+supreme good-fortune not to offend her woman's fancy, and to excite her
+sympathy; without awakening contempt.
+
+"But I imagine I am giving her credit for more maturity of thought and
+discernment than her years permit. She must be young, and her
+experiences would give her no means of understanding my life. She will
+look at me with the frank, unsuspecting gaze of a child. She will
+exercise toward me that blessed phase of charity which thinketh no evil
+because ignorant of evil.
+
+"Moreover, while I am familiar with the sin of the world, and have
+contributed my share toward it, I am not in love with it; and I can
+well believe that such a love as she might inspire would cause me to
+detest it. If for her sake and other good motives, I should resolutely
+and voluntarily; turn my back on evil, would I not have the right to
+walk at the side of one who, by the goodhap of her life, knows no evil?
+At any rate, I am not sufficiently magnanimous to forego the
+opportunity should it occur. Therefore, among the lengthening shadows
+of this June day I shall woo with my utmost skill one who may be able
+to banish the deeper shadows that are gathering around my life; and if
+I fail I shall carry the truth of her spring-time beauty and girlish
+innocence back to the city, and their memory will daily warn me to
+beware lest I lose the power to love and appreciate that which is her
+pre-eminent charm.
+
+"But enough of that phase of the question. There need be no failure in
+my dream, however probable failure may be in reality. Let me imagine
+that in her lovely face I may detect the slight curiosity inspired by a
+stranger passing into interest. She will be shy and reserved at first;
+but as the delicious sense of being understood and admired gains
+mastery, her thoughts will gradually reveal her heart like the opening
+petals of a rose, and I can reverently gaze upon the rich treasures of
+which she is the unconscious possessor, and which I may win without
+impoverishing her.
+
+"Her ready laugh, clear and mellow as the robin's song that woke me
+this morning, will be the index of an unfailing spring of
+mirthfulness--of that breezy, piquant, laughing philosophy which gives
+to some women an indescribable charm, enabling them to render gloom and
+despondency rare inmates of the home over which they preside. When I
+recall what dark depths of perplexity and trouble my mother often hid
+with her light laugh, I remember that I have never yet had a chance
+even to approach her in heroism. In my dream, at least, I can give to
+my wife my mother's laugh and courage; and surely Nature, who has
+endowed yonder maiden with so much beauty, has also bestowed every
+suitable accompaniment. Wherefore I shall discover in her eyes
+treasures of sunshine that shall light my home on stormy days and
+winter nights.
+
+"As I vary our theme of talk from bright to sad experiences, I shall
+catch a glimpse of that without which the world would become a
+desert--woman's sympathy. Possibly I may venture to suggest my own need,
+and emphasize it by a reference to Holy Writ. That would be appropriate
+in a Sunday wooing. Surely she would admit that if Adam could not endure
+being alone in Eden, a like fate would be far more deserving of pity in
+such a wilderness as New York.
+
+"Then, as a sequel to her sympathy, I may witness the awakening of that
+noble characteristic of woman--self-sacrifice--the generous impulse to
+give happiness, even though at cost to self.
+
+"As the winged hours pass, and our glances, our words, our intuitions,
+and the subtle laws of magnetism that are so powerful, and yet so
+utterly beyond the ken of reason, reveal us to each other, I detect in
+the depths of her blue eyes a light which vanishes when I seek it, but
+returns again--a principle which she does not even recognize, much less
+understand, and yet which she already unconsciously obeys. Her looks
+are less frank and open, her manner grows deliciously shy, she
+hesitates and chooses her words, but is not so happy in their choice as
+when she spoke without premeditation. Instead of the wonted bloom on
+her cheek her color comes and goes. Oh, most exquisite phase of human
+power! I control the fountain of her life; and by an act, a word, a
+glance even, can cause the crimson tide to rise even to her brow, and
+then to ebb, leaving her sad and pale. Joy! joy! I have won that out of
+which can be created the best thing of earth, and the type of heaven--a
+home!"
+
+At this supreme moment in my day-dream, an elderly Friend on the high
+seat gave his hand to another white-haired man who had, for the last
+hour, leaned his chin on his stout cane, and meditated under the shadow
+of his broad-brimmed hat, and our silent meeting was over. The
+possessor of the exquisite profile who had led me through a flight of
+romance such as I had never known before, turned and looked directly at
+me.
+
+The breaking of my dream had been too sudden, and I had been caught too
+high up to alight again on the solid ground of reality with ease and
+grace. The night-editor blushed like a school-girl under her glance, at
+which she seemed naturally surprised. She, of course, could imagine no
+reason why her brief look of curiosity should cause me confusion and
+bring a guilty crimson to my face. I took it as a good omen, however,
+and said mentally, as I passed out with the others,
+
+"My thoughts have already established a subtle influence over her,
+drawing her eyes and the first delicate tendril of interest toward one
+to whom she may cling for life."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE SHINING TIDE
+
+
+As I was strenuously seeking to gain possession of my wits, so that I
+could avail myself of any opportunity that offered, or could be made by
+adroit, prompt action, the stalwart and elderly Friend, who had seemed
+thus far one of the ministers of my impending fate, again took my hand
+and said:
+
+"I hope thee'll forgive me for asking thee to conform to our ways, and
+not think any rudeness was meant."
+
+"The grasp of your hand at once taught me that you were friendly as
+well as a Friend," I replied.
+
+"We should not belie our name, truly. I fear thee did not enjoy our
+silent meeting?"
+
+"You are mistaken, sir. It was just the meeting which, as a weary man,
+I needed."
+
+"I hope thee wasn't asleep?" he said, with a humorous twinkle in his
+honest blue eyes.
+
+"You are quite mistaken again," I answered, smiling; but I should have
+been in a dilemma had he asked me if I had been dreaming.
+
+"Thee's a stranger in these parts," he continued, in a manner that
+suggested kindness rather than curiosity.
+
+"Possibly this is the day of my fate," I thought, "and this man the
+father of my ideal woman." And I decided to angle with my utmost skill
+for an invitation.
+
+"You are correct," I replied, "and I much regret that I have wandered
+so far from my hotel, for I am not strong."
+
+"Well, thee may have good cause to be sorry, though we do our best; but
+if thee's willing to put up with homely fare and homely people, thee's
+welcome to come home with us."
+
+Seeing eager acquiescence in my face, he continued, without giving me
+time to reply, "Here, mother, thee always provides enough for one more.
+We'll have a stranger within our gates to-day, perhaps."
+
+To my joy the Friend lady, with a face like a benediction, turned at
+his words. At the same moment a large, three-seated rockaway, with a
+ruddy boy as driver, drew up against the adjacent horse-block, while
+the fair unknown, who had stood among a bevy of young Quakeresses like
+a tall lily among lesser flowers, came toward us holding a little girl
+by the hand. The family group was drawing together according to my
+prophetic fancy, and my heart beat thick and fast. Truly this was the
+day of fate!
+
+"Homely people" indeed! and what cared I for "fare" in the very hour of
+destiny!
+
+"Mother," he said, with his humorous twinkle, "I'm bent on making
+amends to this stranger who seemed to have a drawing toward thy side of
+the house. Thee didn't give him any spiritual fare in the
+meeting-house, but I think thee'll do better by him at the farmhouse.
+When I tell thee that he is not well and a long way from home, thee'll
+give him a welcome."
+
+"Indeed," said the old lady, taking my hand in her soft, plump palm,
+while her face fairly beamed with kindness; "it would be poor faith
+that did not teach us our duty toward the stranger; and, if I mistake
+not, thee'll change our duty into a pleasure."
+
+"Do not hope to entertain an angel," I said.
+
+"That's well," the old gentleman put in; "our dinner will be rather too
+plain and substantial for angels' fare. I think thee'll be the better
+for it though."
+
+"I am the better already for your most unexpected kindness, which I now
+gratefully accept as a stranger. I hope, however, that I may be able to
+win a more definite and personal regard;" and I handed the old
+gentleman my card.
+
+"Richard Morton is thy name, then. I'll place thee beside Ruth Yocomb,
+my wife. Come, mother, we're keeping Friend Jones's team from the
+block. My name is Thomas Yocomb. No, no, take the back seat by my wife.
+She may preach to thee a little going home. Drive on, Reuben," he
+added, as he and his two daughters stepped quickly in, "and give Friend
+Jones a chance. This is Adah Yocomb, my daughter, and this is little
+Zillah. Mother thought that since the two names went together in
+Scripture they ought to go together out of it, and I am the last man in
+the world to go against the Scripture. That's Reuben Yocomb driving.
+Now thee knows all the family, and I hope thee don't feel as much of a
+stranger as thee did;" and the hearty old man turned and beamed on me
+with a goodwill that I felt to be as warm and genuine as the June
+sunshine.
+
+"To be frank," I exclaimed, "I am at a loss to understand your
+kindness. In the city we are suspicious of strangers and stand aloof
+from them; but you treat me as if I had brought a cordial letter of
+introduction from one you esteemed highly."
+
+"So thee has, so thee has; only the letter came before thee did. 'Be
+not forgetful to entertain strangers'--that's the way it reads, doesn't
+it, mother?"
+
+"Moreover, Richard Morton," his wife added, "thee has voluntarily come
+among us, and sat down with us for a quiet hour. Little claim to the
+faith of Abraham could we have should we let thee wander off to get thy
+dinner with the birds in the woods, for the village is miles away."
+
+"Mother'll make amends to thee for the silent meeting," said Mr.
+Yocomb, looking around with an impressive nod.
+
+"I trust she will," I replied. "I wanted to hear her preach. It was her
+kindly face that led to my blunder, for it so attracted me from my
+perch of observation on the wall that I acted on my impulse and
+followed her into the meeting-house, feeling in advance that I had
+found a friend."
+
+"Well, I guess thee has, one of the old school," laughed her husband.
+
+The daughter, Adah, turned and looked at me, while she smiled
+approvingly. Oh, blessed day of destiny! When did dream and reality so
+keep pace before? Was I not dreaming still, and imagining everything to
+suit my own fancy? When would the perverse world begin to assert itself?
+
+Sitting just before me, on the next seat, so that I could often see the
+same perfect profile, was the maiden that I had already wooed and won
+in fancy. Though she was so near and in the full sunlight, I could
+detect no cloudiness in her exquisite complexion, nor discover a fault
+in her rounded form. The slope of her shoulders was grace itself. She
+did not lean back weakly or languidly, but sat erect, with a quiet,
+easy poise of vigor and health. Her smile was frank and friendly, and
+yet not as enchanting as I expected. It was an affair of facial muscles
+rather than the lighting up of the entire visage. Nor did her full
+face--now that my confusion had passed away and I was capable of close
+observation--give the same vivid impression of beauty made by her
+profile. It was pretty, very pretty, but for some reasons
+disappointing. Then I smiled at my half-conscious criticism, and
+thought, "You have imagined a creature of unearthly perfection, and
+expect your impossible ideal to be realized. Were she all that you have
+dreamed, she would be much too fine for an ordinary mortal like
+yourself. In her rich, unperverted womanly nature you will find the
+beauty that will outlast that of form and feature."
+
+"I fear thee found our silent meeting long and tedious," said Mrs.
+Yocomb, deprecatingly.
+
+"I assure you I did not," I replied, "though I hoped you would have a
+message for us."
+
+"It was not given to me," she said meekly. Then she added, "Those not
+used to our ways are troubled, perhaps, with wandering thoughts during
+these silent hours."
+
+"I was not to-day," I replied with bowed head; "I found a subject that
+held mine."
+
+"I'm glad," she said, her face kindling with pleasure. "May I ask the
+nature of the truth that held thy meditations?"
+
+"Perhaps I will tell you some time," I answered hesitatingly; then
+added reverently, "It was of a very sacred nature."
+
+"Thee's right," she said, gravely. "Far be it from me to wish to look
+curiously upon thy soul's communion."
+
+For a moment I felt guilty that I should have so misled her, but
+reassured myself with the thought, "That which I dwelt upon was as
+sacred to me as my mother's memory."
+
+I changed the subject, and sought by every means in my power to lead
+her to talk, for thus, I thought, I shall learn the full source of
+womanly life from which the peerless daughter has drawn her nature.
+
+The kind old lady needed but little incentive. Her thoughts flowed
+freely in a quaint, sweet vernacular that savored of the meeting-house.
+I was both interested and charmed, and as we rode at a quiet jog
+through the June sunlight felt that I was in the hands of a kindly fate
+that, in accordance with the old fairy tales, was bent on giving one
+poor mortal all he desired.
+
+At last, on a hillside sloping to the south, I saw the farmhouse of my
+dream. Two tall honey locusts stood like faithful guardians on each
+side of the porch. An elm drooped over the farther end of the piazza.
+In the dooryard the foliage of two great silver poplar or aspen trees
+fluttered perpetually with its light sheen. A maple towered high behind
+the house, and a brook that ran not far away was shadowed by a weeping
+willow. Other trees were grouped here and there as if Nature had
+planted them, and up one a wild grape-vine clambered, its unobtrusive
+blossoms filling the air with a fragrance more delicious even than that
+of the old-fashioned roses which abounded everywhere.
+
+"Was there ever a sweeter nook?" I thought as I stepped out on the wide
+horse-block and gave my hand to one who seemed the beautiful
+culmination of the scene.
+
+Miss Adah needed but little assistance to alight, but she took my hand
+in hers, which she had ungloved as she approached her home. It was her
+mother's soft, plump hand, but unmarked, as yet, by years of toil. I
+forgot we were such entire strangers, and under the impulse of my fancy
+clasped it a trifle warmly, at which she gave me a look of slight
+surprise, thus suggesting that there was no occasion for the act.
+
+"You are mistaken," I mentally responded; "there is more occasion than
+you imagine; more than I may dare to tell you for a long time to come."
+
+A lady who had been sitting on the piazza disappeared within the house,
+and Adah followed her.
+
+"Now, mother," said Mr. Yocomb, "since thee did so little for friend
+Morton's spiritual man, see what thee can do for the temporal. I'll
+take the high seat this time, and can tell thee beforehand that
+there'll be no silent meeting."
+
+"Father may seem to thee a little irreverent, but he doesn't mean to
+be. It's his way," said his wife, with a smile. "If thee'll come with
+me I'll show thee to a room where thee can rest and prepare for dinner."
+
+I followed her through a wide hall to a stairway that changed its mind
+when half-way up and turned in an opposite direction. "It suggests the
+freedom and unconventionality of this home," I thought, yielding to my
+mood to idealize everything.
+
+"This is thy room so long as thee'll be pleased to stay with us," she
+said, with a genial smile, and her ample form vanished from the doorway.
+
+I was glad to be alone. The shining tide of events was bearing me
+almost too swiftly. "Can this be even the beginning of true love, since
+it runs so smoothly?" I queried. And yet it had all come about so
+simply and naturally, and for everything there was such adequate cause
+and rational explanation, that I assured myself that I had reason for
+self-congratulation rather than wonder.
+
+Having seen such a maiden, it would be strange indeed if I had not been
+struck by her beauty. With an hour on my hands, and thoughts that
+called no one master, it would have been stranger still if I had not
+been beguiled into a dream which, in my need, promised so much that I
+was now bent on its fulfilment. Kind Mr. and Mrs. Yocomb had but
+carried out the teachings of their faith, and thus I was within the
+home of one who, developing under the influences of such a mother and
+such surroundings, would have the power beyond most other women of
+creating another home. I naturally thought that here, in this lovely
+and sheltered spot, and under just the conditions that existed, might
+be perfected the simple, natural flower of womanhood that the
+necessities of my life and character required.
+
+I was too eager to prove my theories, and too strongly under the
+presentiment that my hour of destiny had come, to rest, and so gladly
+welcomed the tinkle of the dinner-bell.
+
+The apparent mistress of my fate had not diminished her unconscious
+power by exchanging her Sunday-morning costume for a light muslin, that
+revealed more of her white throat than the strict canons of her sect
+would warrant perhaps, but none too much for maidenly modesty and
+artistic effect. Indeed, the gown harmonized with her somewhat worldly
+hat. I regarded these tendencies as good omens, however, felicitating
+myself with the thought that while her Quaker antecedents would always
+give to her manner and garb a beautiful simplicity, they would not
+trammel her taste with arbitrary custom. Though now more clearly
+satisfied that the beauty of her full face by no means equalled that of
+her profile, I was still far more than content with a perfection of
+features that sustained a rigorous scrutiny.
+
+"Richard Morton," said Mrs. Yocomb, "let me make thee acquainted with
+Emily Warren."
+
+I turned and bowed to a young woman, who seemed very colorless and
+unattractive to my brief glance, compared with the radiant creature
+opposite me. It would appear that I made no very marked impression on
+her either, for she chatted with little Zillah, who sat beyond her, and
+with Reuben across the table, making no effort to secure my attention.
+
+If Mrs. Yocomb's powers as a spiritual provider were indicated by the
+table she had spread for us, the old meetinghouse should be crowded
+every Sunday, on the bare possibility that she might speak. From the
+huge plate of roast-beef before her husband to the dainty dish of wild
+strawberries on the sideboard, all was appetizing, and although it was
+the day of my destiny, I found myself making a hearty meal. My
+beautiful vis-a-vis evidently had no thoughts of destiny, and proved
+that the rich blood which mantled her cheeks had an abundant and
+healthful source. I liked that too. "There is no sentimental nonsense
+about her," I thought, "and her views of life will never be dyspeptic."
+
+I longed to hear her talk, and yet was pleased that she was not
+garrulous. Her father evidently thought that this was his hour and
+opportunity, and he seasoned the ample repast with not a little homely
+wit and humor, in which his wife would sometimes join, and again curb
+and deprecate.
+
+I began to grow disappointed that the daughter did not manifest some of
+her mother's quaint and genial good sense, or some sparkle and piquancy
+that would correspond to her father's humor: but the few remarks she
+made had reference chiefly to the people at the meeting, and verged
+toward small gossip.
+
+I broached several subjects which I thought might interest her, but
+could obtain little other response than "Yes," with a faint rising
+inflection. After one of these unsuccessful attempts I detected a
+slight, peculiar smile on Miss Warren's face. It was a mischievous
+light in her dark eyes more than anything else. As she met my puzzled
+look it vanished instantly, and she turned away. Everything in my
+training and calling stimulated alertness, and I knew that smile was at
+my expense. Why was she laughing at me? Had she, by an intuition,
+divined my attitude of mind? A plague on woman's intuitions! What man
+is safe a moment?
+
+But this could scarcely be, for the one toward whom my thoughts had
+flown for the last three hours, and on whom I had bent glances that did
+her royal homage, was serenely unconscious of my interest, or else
+supremely indifferent to it. She did not seem unfriendly, and I
+imagined that she harbored some curiosity in regard to me. My dress,
+manner, and some slight personal allusions secured far more attention
+than any abstract topic I could introduce. Her lips, however, were so
+exquisitely chiselled that they made, for the time, any utterance
+agreeable, and suggested that only tasteful thoughts and words could
+come from them.
+
+"Now, mother," said Mr. Yocomb, leaning back in his chair after
+finishing a generous cup of coffee, "I feel inclined to be a good
+Christian man. I have a broad charity for about every one except
+editors and politicians. I am a man of peace, and there can be no peace
+while these disturbers of the body politic thrive by setting people by
+the ears. I don't disparage the fare, mother, that thee gives us at the
+meetinghouse, that is, when thee does give us any, but I do take my
+affirmation that thee has prepared a gospel feast for us since we came
+home that has refreshed my inner man. As long as I am in the body,
+roast-beef and like creature comforts are a means of grace to me. I am
+now in a contented frame of mind, and am quite disposed to be amiable.
+Emily Warren, I can even tolerate thy music--nay, let me speak the
+truth, I'd much like to hear some after my nap. Thee needn't shake thy
+head at me, mother, I've caught thee listening, and if thee brings me
+up before the meeting, I'll tell on thee. Does thee realize, Emily
+Warren, that thee is leading us out of the straight and narrow way?"
+
+"I would be glad to lead you out of a narrow way," she replied, in a
+tone so quiet and yet so rich that I was inclined to believe I had not
+yet seen Miss Warren. Perhaps she saw that I was becoming conscious of
+her existence, for I again detected the old mirthful light in her eyes.
+Was I or Mr. Yocomb's remark the cause?
+
+Who was Emily Warren anyway, and why must she be at the farmhouse at a
+time when I so earnestly wished "the coast clear?" The perverse world
+at last was asserting its true self, and there was promise of a
+disturbance in my shining tide. Moreover, I was provoked that the one
+remark of this Emily Warren had point to it, while my perfect flower of
+womanhood had revealed nothing definitely save a good appetite, and
+that she had no premonitions that this was the day of her destiny.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+REALITY
+
+
+"Father," said my fair ideal abruptly, as if a bright idea had just
+struck her, "did thee notice that Friend Jones's rockaway had been
+painted and all fixed up? I guess he rather liked our keeping him there
+before all the meeting."
+
+"Mother, I hope thee'll be moved to preach about the charity that
+thinketh no evil," said her father gravely.
+
+The young girl tossed her head slightly as she asserted, "Araminta
+Jones liked it anyway. Any one could see that."
+
+"And any one need not have seen it also," her mother said, with a
+pained look. Then she added, in a low aside, as we rose from the table,
+"Thee certainly need not have spoken about thy friend's folly."
+
+The daughter apparently gave little heed to her mother's rebuke, and a
+trivial remark a moment later proved that she was thinking of something
+else.
+
+"Adah, thee can entertain Richard Morton for a time, while mother
+attends to the things," said her father.
+
+The alacrity with which she complied was flattering at least, and she
+led me out on the piazza, that corresponded with my day-dream.
+
+"Zillah," called Mrs. Tocomb to her little girl, "do not bother Emily
+Warren. She may wish to be alone. Stay with Adah till I am through."
+
+"Oh, mother, please, let me go with Emily Warren. I never have a good
+time with Adah."
+
+"There, mother, let her have her own way," said Adah, pettishly. "Emily
+Warren, thee shouldn't pet her so if thee doesn't want to be bothered
+by her."
+
+"She does not bother me at all," said Miss Warren quietly. "I like her."
+
+The little girl that had been ready to cry turned to her friend a
+radiant face that was eloquent with the undisguised affection of
+childhood.
+
+"Zillah evidently likes you, Miss Warren," I said, "and you have given
+the reason. You like her."
+
+"Not always a sufficient reason for liking another," she answered.
+
+"But a very good one," I urged.
+
+"There are many better ones."
+
+"What has reason to do with liking, anyway?" I asked.
+
+The mirthfulness I had noted before glimmered in her eyes for a moment,
+but she answered demurely, "I have seen instances that gave much point
+to your question, but I cannot answer it," and with a slight bow and
+smile she took her hat from Zillah and went down the path with an easy,
+natural carriage, that nevertheless suggested the city and its
+pavements rather than the country.
+
+"What were you two talking about?" asked Adah, with a trace of vexed
+perplexity on her brow, for I imagined that my glance followed Miss
+Warren with some admiration and interest.
+
+"You must have heard all we said."
+
+"Where was the point of it?"
+
+"What I said hadn't any point, so do not blame yourself for not seeing
+it. Don't you like little Zillah? She seems a nice, quiet child."
+
+"Certainly I like her--she's my sister; but I detest children."
+
+"I can't think that you were detested when you were a child."
+
+"I don't remember: I might have been," she replied, with a slight shrug.
+
+"Do you think that, as a child, you would enjoy being detested?"
+
+"Mother says it often isn't good for us to have what we enjoy."
+
+"Undoubtedly your mother is right."
+
+"Well, I don't see things in that way. If I like a thing I want it, and
+if I don't like it I don't want it, and won't have it if I can help
+myself."
+
+"Your views are not unusual," I replied, turning away to hide my
+contracting brow. "I know of others who cherish like sentiments."
+
+"Well, I'm glad to meet with one who thinks as I do," she said
+complacently, and plucking a half-blown rose that hung near her, she
+turned its petals sharply down as if they were plaits of a hem that she
+was about to stitch.
+
+"Here is the first harmonic chord in the sweet congeniality of which I
+dreamed," I inwardly groaned; but I continued, "How is it that you like
+Zillah as your sister, and not as a little girl?"
+
+"Oh, everybody likes their brothers and sisters after a fashion, but
+one doesn't care to be bothered with them when they are little.
+Besides, children rumple and spoil my dress," and she looked down at
+herself approvingly.
+
+"Now, there's Emily Warren," continued my "embodiment of June." "Mother
+is beginning to hold her up to me as an example. Emily Warren is half
+the time doing things that she doesn't like, and I think she's very
+foolish. She is telling Zillah a story over there under that tree. I
+don't think one feels like telling stories right after dinner."
+
+"Yes, but see how much Zillah enjoys the story."
+
+"Oh, of course she enjoys it. Why shouldn't she, if it's a good one?"
+
+"Is it not possible that Miss Warren finds a pleasure in giving
+pleasure?"
+
+"Well, if she does, that is her way of having a good time."
+
+"Don't you think it's a sweet, womanly way?"
+
+"Ha, ha, ha! Are you already smitten with Emily Warren's sweet, womanly
+ways?"
+
+I confess that I both blushed and frowned with annoyance and
+disappointment, but I answered lightly, "If I were, would I be one
+among many victims?"
+
+"I'm sure I don't know," she replied, with her slight characteristic
+shrug, which also intimated that she didn't care.
+
+"Miss Warren, I suppose, is a relative who is visiting you?"
+
+"Oh, no, she is only a music teacher who is boarding with us. Mother
+usually takes two or three boarders through the summer months, that is
+if they are willing to put up with our ways."
+
+"I suppose it's correct to quote Scripture on Sunday afternoon. I'm
+sure your mother's ways are those of pleasantness and peace. Do you
+think she would take me as a boarder?"
+
+"I fear she'll think you would want too much city style."
+
+"That is just what I wish to escape from."
+
+"I think city style is splendid."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Oh, the city is gay and full of life and people. I once took walks
+down Fifth Avenue when making a visit in town, and I would be perfectly
+happy if I could do so every day."
+
+"Perfectly happy? I wish I knew of something that would make me
+perfectly happy. Pardon me, I am only a business man, and can't be
+expected to understand young ladies very well. I don't understand why
+walking down Fifth Avenue daily would make you happy."
+
+"Of course not. A man can't understand a girl's feelings in such
+matters."
+
+"There is nothing in New York so beautiful as this June day in the
+country."
+
+"Yes, it's a nice day: but father says we need more rain dreadfully."
+
+"You have spoiled your rose."
+
+"There are plenty more."
+
+"Don't you like roses?"
+
+"Certainly. Who does not like roses?"
+
+"Let me give you another. See, here is one that has the hue of your
+cheeks."
+
+"I suppose a city pallor like Emily Warren's is more to your taste."
+
+"I am wholly out of humor with the city, and I do not like that which
+is colorless and insipid. I think the rose I have just given you very
+beautiful."
+
+"Thanks for your roundabout compliment," and she looked pleased.
+
+"I suppose your quiet life gives you much time for reading?"
+
+"I can't say that I enjoy father and mother's books."
+
+"I doubt whether I would myself, but you have your own choice?"
+
+"I read a story now and then; but time slips away; and I don't do much
+reading. We country girls make our own clothes, and you have no idea
+how much time it takes."
+
+"Will you forgive me if I say that I think you make yours very
+prettily?"
+
+Again she looked decidedly pleased; and, as if to reward me, she
+fastened the rose on her bosom. "If she would only keep still," I
+thought, "and I could simply look at her as at a draped statue, I could
+endure another half-hour; but every word she speaks is like the note of
+that catbird which broke the spell of harmony this morning. I have not
+yet seen a trace of ideality in her mind. Not a lovable trait have I
+discovered beyond her remarkable beauty, which mocks one with its
+broken promise. What is the controlling yet perverse principle of her
+life which makes her seem an alien in her own home? I am glad she does
+not use the plain language to me, since by nature she is not a Friend."
+
+Miss Yocomb interrupted my thoughts by saying:
+
+"I thought my dress would be much too simple and country-like for your
+taste. I can see myself that Emily Warren's dress has more style."
+
+Resolving to explore a little, I said:
+
+"I know a great many men in town."
+
+"Indeed!" she queried, with kindling interest.
+
+"Yes, and some of them are fine artists; and the majority have
+cultivated their tastes in various ways, both at home and abroad: but I
+do not think many of them have any respect for what you mean by
+'style.' Shop-boys, clerks, and Fifth Avenue exquisites give their
+minds to the arbitrary mode of the hour; but the men in the city who
+amount to anything rarely know whether a lady's gown is of the latest
+cut. They do know, however, whether it is becoming and lady-like. The
+solid men of the city have a keen eye for beauty, and spend hundreds of
+thousands of dollars to enjoy its various phases. But half of the time
+they are anathematizing mere style. I have seen fashion transform a
+pretty girl into as near an approach to a kangaroo as nature permitted.
+Now, I shall be so bold as to say that I think your costume this
+afternoon has far better qualities than mere style. It is becoming, and
+in keeping with the day and season, and I don't care a fig whether it
+is the style or not."
+
+My "perfect flower of womanhood" grew radiant, and her lips parted in a
+smile of ineffable content. In bitter disappointment I saw that my
+artifice had succeeded, and that I had touched the key-note of her
+being. To my horror, she reminded me of a pleased, purring kitten that
+had been stroked in the right direction.
+
+"Your judgment is hasty and harsh," I charged myself, in half-angry
+accusation, loth to believe the truth. "You do not know yet that a
+compliment to her dress is the most acceptable one that she can
+receive. She probably takes it as a tribute to her good taste, which is
+one of woman's chief prerogatives."
+
+I resolved to explore farther, and continued:
+
+"A lady's dress is like the binding of a book--it ought to be
+suggestive of her character. Indeed, she can make it a tasteful
+expression of herself. Our eye is often attracted or repelled by a
+book's binding. When it has been made with a fine taste, so that it
+harmonizes with the subject under consideration, we are justly pleased;
+but neither you nor I believe in the people who value books for the
+sake of their covers only. Beauty and richness of thought, treasures of
+varied truth, sparkling wit, droll humor, or downright earnestness are
+the qualities in books that hold our esteem. A book must have a soul
+and life of its own as truly as you or I; and the costliest materials,
+the wealth of a kingdom, cannot make a true book any more than a
+perfect costume and the most exquisite combination of flesh and blood
+can make a true woman." (I wondered if she were listening to me; for
+her face was taking on an absent look. Conscious that my homily was
+growing rather long, I concluded.) "The book that reveals something
+new, or puts old truths in new and interesting lights--the book that
+makes us wiser, that cheers, encourages, comforts, amuses, and makes a
+man forget his stupid, miserable self, is the book we tie to. And so a
+man might well wish himself knotted to a woman who could do as much for
+him, and he would naturally be pleased to have her outward garb
+correspond with her spiritual beauty and worth."
+
+My fair ideal had also reached a momentous conclusion, for she said,
+with the emphasis of a final decision:
+
+"I won't cut that dress after Emily Warren's pattern. I'll cut it to
+suit myself."
+
+I had been falling from a seventh heaven of hope for some time, but at
+this moment I struck reality with a thump that almost made me sick and
+giddy. The expression of my face reminded her of the irrelevancy of her
+remark, and she blushed slightly, but laughed it off, saying:
+
+"Pardon me, that I followed my own thoughts for a moment rather than
+yours. These matters, no doubt, seem mere trifles to you gentlemen, but
+they are weighty questions to us girls who have to make a little go a
+great way. Won't you, please, repeat what you said about that lady who
+wrote a book for the sake of its binding? I think it's a pretty idea."
+
+I was so incensed that I answered as I should not have done. "She was
+remarkably successful. Every one looked at the binding, but were soon
+satisfied to look no farther."
+
+I was both glad and vexed that she did not catch my meaning, for she
+said, with a smile:
+
+"It would make a pretty ornament."
+
+"It would not be to my taste," I replied briefly. "The beautiful
+binding would hold out the promise of a good book, which, not being
+fulfilled, would be tantalizing."
+
+"Do you know the lady well?"
+
+"Yes, I fear I do."
+
+"How strangely you look at me!"
+
+"Excuse me," I said, starting. "I fear I followed your example and was
+thinking of something else."
+
+But I let what I was thinking about slip out.
+
+"It was indeed a revelation. My thoughts will not interest you, I fear.
+The experience of a man who saw a mirage in the desert came into my
+mind."
+
+"I don't see what put that into your head."
+
+"Nor do I, now. The world appears to me entirely matter-of-fact."
+
+"I'm glad to hear you say that. Mother is always talking to me about
+spiritual meanings and all that. Now I agree with you. Things are just
+what they are. Some we like, and some we don't like. What more is there
+to say about them? I think people are very foolish if they bother
+themselves over things or people they don't like. I hope mother will
+take you to board, for I would like to have some one in the house who
+looks at things as I do."
+
+"Thanks. Woman's intuition is indeed unerring."
+
+"I declare, there comes Silas Jones with his new top-buggy. You won't
+mind his making one of our party, will you?"
+
+"I think I will go to my room and rest awhile, and thus I shall not be
+that chief of this world's evils--the odious third party." And I rose
+decisively.
+
+"I'd rather you wouldn't go," she said. "I don't care specially for
+him, and he does not talk half so nicely as you do. You needn't go on
+his account. Indeed, I like to have half a dozen gentlemen around me."
+
+"You are delightfully frank."
+
+"Yes, I usually say what I think."
+
+"And do as you please," I added.
+
+"Certainly. Why shouldn't I when I can? Don't you?"
+
+"But I came from the wicked city." "So does Emily Warren."
+
+"Is she wicked?"
+
+"I don't know; she keeps it to herself if she is; and, by the way, she
+is very quiet, I can never get her to talk much about herself. She
+appears so good that mother is beginning to quote her as an example,
+and that, you know, always makes one detest a person. I think there is
+some mystery about her. I'm sorry you will go, for I've lots of
+questions I'd like to ask you now we are acquainted."
+
+"Pardon me; I'm not strong, and must have a rest. Silas Jones will
+answer just as well."
+
+"Not quite," she said softly, with a smile designed to be bewitching.
+
+As I passed up the hall I heard her say, "Silas Jones, I'm pleased to
+see thee."
+
+I threw myself on the lounge in my room in angry disgust.
+
+"O Nature!" I exclaimed, "what excuse have you for such perverseness?
+By every law of probability--by the ordinary sequence of cause and
+effect--this girl should have been what I fancied her to be. This,
+then, forsooth, is the day of my fate! It would be the day of doom did
+some malicious power chain me to this brainless, soulless, heartless
+creature. What possessed Nature to make such a blunder, to begin so
+fairly and yet reach such a lame and impotent conclusion? To the eye
+the girl is the fair and proper outcome of this home and beautiful
+country life. In reality she is a flat contradiction to it all,
+reversing in her own character the native traits and acquired graces of
+her father and mother.
+
+"As if controlled and carried forward by a hidden and malign power, she
+goes steadily against her surrounding influences that, like the winds
+of heaven, might have wafted her toward all that is good and true. Is
+not sweet, quaint Mrs. Yocomb her mother? Is not the genial, hearty old
+gentleman her father? Has she not developed among scenes that should
+ennoble her nature, and enrich her mind with ideality? There is
+Oriental simplicity and largeness in her parents' faith. Abraham
+sitting at the door of his tent, could scarcely have done better. Hers
+is the simplicity of silliness, which reveals what a woman of sense,
+though no better than herself, would not speak of. It is exasperating
+to think that her eyes and fingers are endowed with a sense of harmony
+and beauty, so that she can cut a gown and adorn her lovely person to
+perfection, and yet be so idiotic as to make a spectacle of herself in
+her real womanhood. As far as I can make out, Nature is more to blame
+than the girl. There is not a bat blinking in the sunlight more blind
+than she to every natural beauty of this June day; and yet her eyes are
+microscopic, and she sees a host of little things not worth seeing. A
+true womanly moral nature seems never to have been infused into her
+being. She detests children, her little sister shrinks from her; she
+speaks and surmises evil of the absent; to strut down Fifth Avenue in
+finery, to which she has given her whole soul, is her ideal of
+happiness--there, stop! She is the daughter of my kind host and
+hostess. The mystery of this world's evil is sadly exemplified in her
+defective character, from which sweet, true womanliness was left out. I
+should pity her, and treat her as if she were deformed. Poor Mrs.
+Yocomb! Even mother-love cannot blind her to the truth that her fair
+daughter is a misshapen creature." After a little, I added wearily, "I
+wish I had never seen her; I am the worse for this day's mirage," and I
+closed my eyes in dull apathy.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+MUTUAL DISCOVERIES
+
+
+I must have slept for an hour or more, for when I awoke I saw through
+the window-lattice that the sun was declining in the west. Sleep had
+again proved better than all philosophy or medicine, for it had
+refreshed me and given something of the morning's elasticity.
+
+I naturally indulged in a brief retrospect, conscious that while
+nothing had happened, since the croaking printer's remark, that I would
+care to print in the paper, experiences had occurred that touched me
+closer than would the news that all the Malays of Asia were running
+amuck. I felt as if thrown back on to my old life and work in precisely
+their old form. My expedition into the country and romance had been
+disappointing. It is true I had found rest and sleep, and for these I
+was grateful, and with these stanch allies I can go on with my work,
+which I now believe is the best thing the world has for me. I shall go
+back to it to-morrow, well content, after this day's experience, to
+make it my mistress. The bare possibility of being yoked to such a
+woman as in fancy I have wooed and won to-day makes me shiver with
+inexpressible dread. Her obtuseness, combined with her microscopic
+surveillance, would drive me to the nearest madhouse I could find. The
+whole business of love-making and marriage involves too much risk to a
+man who, like myself, must use his wits as a sword to carve his
+fortunes. I've fought my way up alone so far, and may as well remain a
+free lance. The wealthy, and those who are content to plod, can go
+through life with a woman hanging on their arm. Rich I shall never be,
+and I'll die before I'll plod. My place is in the midst of the world's
+arena, where the forces that shall make the future are contending, and
+I propose to be an appreciable part of those forces. I shall go back
+the wiser and stronger for this day's folly, and infinitely better for
+its rest, and I marched down the moody stairway, feeling that I was not
+yet a crushed and broken man, and cherishing also a secret complacency
+that I had at last outgrown my leanings toward sentimentality.
+
+As I approached the door of the wide, low-browed parlor, I saw Miss
+Warren reading a paper; a second later and my heart gave a bound: it
+was the journal of which I was the night editor, and I greeted its
+familiar aspect as the face of an old friend in a foreign land. It was
+undoubtedly the number that had gone to press the night I had broken
+down, and I almost hoped to see some marks of the catastrophe in its
+columns. How could I beguile the coveted sheet from Miss Warren's hands
+and steal away to a half-hour's seclusion?
+
+"What! Miss Warren," I exclaimed, "reading a newspaper on Sunday?"
+
+She looked at me a moment before replying, and then asked:
+
+"Do you believe in a Providence?"
+
+Thrown off my guard by the unexpected question, I answered:
+
+"Assuredly; I am not quite ready to admit that I am a fool, even after
+all that has happened."
+
+There was laughter in her eyes at once, but she asked innocently:
+
+"What has happened?"
+
+I suppose my color rose a little, but I replied carelessly, "I have
+made some heavy blunders of late. You are adroit in stealing away from
+a weak position under a fire of questions, but your stratagem shall not
+succeed," I continued severely. "How can you explain the fact, too
+patent to be concealed, that here in good Mrs. Yocomb's house, and on a
+Sunday afternoon, you are reading a secular newspaper?"
+
+"You have explained my conduct yourself," she said, assuming a fine
+surprise.
+
+"I?"
+
+"You, and most satisfactorily. You said you believed in a Providence. I
+have merely been reading what he has done, or what he has permitted,
+within the last twenty-four hours."
+
+I looked around for a chair, and sat down "struck all of a heap," as
+the rural vernacular has it.
+
+"Is that your definition of news?" I ventured at last.
+
+"I'm not a dictionary. That's the definition of what I've been reading
+this afternoon."
+
+"Miss Warren, you may score one against me."
+
+The mischievous light was in her eyes, but she said suavely:
+
+"Oh, no, you shall have another chance. I shall begin by showing mercy,
+for I may need it, and I see that you can be severe."
+
+"Well, please, let me take breath and rally my shattered wits before I
+make another advance. I understand you, then, that you regard
+newspapers as good Sunday reading?"
+
+"You prove your ability, Mr. Morton, by drawing a vast conclusion from
+a small and ill-defined premise. I don't recall making any such
+statement."
+
+"Pardon me, you are at disadvantage now. I ask for no better premise
+than your own action; for you are one, I think, who would do only what
+you thought right."
+
+"A palpable hit. I'm glad I showed you mercy. Still it does not follow
+that because I read a newspaper, all newspapers are good Sunday
+reading. Indeed, there is much in this paper that is not good reading
+for Monday or any other day."
+
+"Ah!" I exclaimed, looking grave, "then why do you read it?"
+
+"I have not. A newspaper is like the world of which it is a brief
+record--full of good and evil. In either case, if one does not like the
+evil, it can be left alone."
+
+"Which do you think predominates in that paper?"
+
+"Oh, the good, in the main. There is an abundance of evil, too, but it
+is rather in the frank and undisguised record of the evil in the world.
+It does not seem to have got into the paper's blood and poisoned its
+whole life. It is easily skipped if one is so inclined. There are some
+journals in which the evil cannot be skipped. From the leading
+editorial to the obscurest advertisement, one stumbles on it
+everywhere. They are like certain regions in the South, in which there
+is no escape from the snakes and malaria. Now there are low places in
+this paper, but there is high ground also, where the air is good and
+wholesome, and where the outlook on the world is wide. That is the
+reason I take it."
+
+"I was not aware that many young ladies looked, in journals of this
+character, beyond the record of deaths and marriages."
+
+"We studied ancient history. Is it odd that we should have a faint
+desire to know what Americans are doing, as well as what the
+Babylonians did?"
+
+"Oh, I do not decry your course as irrational. It seems
+rather--rather--"
+
+"Rather too rational for a young lady."
+
+"I did not say that; but here is my excuse," and I took from a table
+near a periodical entitled "The Young Lady's Own Weekly," addressed to
+Miss Adah Yocomb.
+
+"Have not young men their own weeklies also--which of the two classes
+is the more weakly?"
+
+"Ahem! I decline to pursue this phase of the subject any further. To
+return to our premise, this journal," and I laid my hand on the old
+paper caressingly. "It so happens that I read it also, and thus learn
+that we have had many thoughts in common; though, no doubt, we would
+differ on some of the questions discussed in it. What do you think of
+its politics?"
+
+"I think they are often very bad."
+
+"That's delightfully frank," I said, sitting back in my chair a little
+stiffly. "I think they are very good--at any rate they are mine."
+
+"Perhaps that is the reason they are so good?"
+
+"Now, pardon me if I, too, am a trifle plain. Do you consider yourself
+as competent to form an opinion concerning politics as gray-headed
+students of affairs?"
+
+"Oh, certainly not; but do I understand that you accept,
+unquestioningly, the politics of the paper you read?"
+
+"Far from it: rather that the politics of this paper commend themselves
+to my judgment."
+
+"And you think 'judgment' an article not among a young woman's
+possessions?"
+
+"Miss Warren, you may think what you please of the politics of this
+paper. But how comes it that you think about them at all? I'm sure that
+they interest but comparatively few young ladies."
+
+Her face suddenly became very grave and sad, and a moment later she
+turned away her eyes that were full of tears. "I wish you hadn't asked
+that question; but I will explain my seeming weakness," she said, in a
+low, faltering voice. "I lost my only brother in the war--I was
+scarcely more than a child; but I can see him now--my very ideal of
+brave, loyal manhood. Should I not love the country for which he died?"
+
+Politics! a word that men so often utter with contempt, has been
+hallowed to me since that moment.
+
+She looked away for a moment, swiftly pressed her handkerchief to her
+eyes, then turning toward me said, with a smile, and in her former
+tones:
+
+"Forgive me! I've been a bit lonely and blue this afternoon, for the
+day has reminded me of the past. I won't be weak and womanish any more.
+I think some political questions interest a great many women deeply. It
+must be so. We don't dote on scrambling politicians; but a man as a
+true statesman makes a grand figure."
+
+I was not thinking of statecraft or the craftsmen.
+
+"By Jove!" I exclaimed mentally, "this girl is more beautiful than my
+'perfect flower of womanhood.' Night-owl that I am, I am just gaining
+the power to see her clearly as the sun declines."
+
+I know my face was full of honest sympathy as I said, gently and
+reverently:
+
+"Tell me more of your brother. The thoughts of such men make me better."
+
+She shot a quick, grateful glance, looked down, trembled, shook her
+head as she faltered:
+
+"I cannot--please don't; speak of something far removed."
+
+The feeling was so deep, and yet so strongly curbed, that its
+repression affected me more deeply than could its manifestation. Her
+sorrow became a veiled and sacred mystery of which I could never be
+wholly unconscious again; and I felt that however strong and brilliant
+she might prove in our subsequent talk, I should ever see, back of all,
+the tender-hearted, sensitive woman.
+
+"Please forgive me. I was cruelly thoughtless," I said, in a voice that
+trembled slightly. Then, catching up the paper, I continued, with
+attempted lightness, "We have found this journal, that we mutually
+read, a fruitful theme. What do you think of its literary reviews?"
+
+Mirth and tears struggled for the mastery in her eyes; but she
+answered, with a voice that had regained its clear, bell-like tone:
+
+"In some I have seen indisputable proof of impartiality and freedom
+from prejudice."
+
+"In what did that proof consist?"
+
+"In the evident fact that the reviewer had not read the book."
+
+"You are severe," I said, coloring slightly.
+
+She looked at me with a little surprise, but continued:
+
+"That does not happen very often. It is clear that there are several
+contributors to this department, and I have come to look for the
+opinions of one of them with much interest. I am sure of a careful and
+appreciative estimate of a book from his point of view. His one fault
+appears to be that he sees everything from one perspective, and does
+not realize that the same thing may strike other intelligent people
+very differently. But he's a fixed and certain quantity, and a good
+point to measure from. I like him because he is so sincere. He sits
+down to a book as a true scientist does to a phase of nature, to really
+learn what there is in it, and not merely to display a little learning,
+sarcasm, or smartness. I always feel sure that I know something about a
+book after reading one of his reviews, and also whether I could afford
+to spend a part of my limited time in reading it."
+
+"I have singled out the same reviewer, and think your estimate correct.
+On another occasion, when we have more time, I am going to ask how you
+like the musical critic's opinions; for on that subject you would be at
+home."
+
+"What makes you think so?"
+
+"Miss Yocomb told me that you taught music in the city, and music is
+about the only form of recreation for which I have taken time in my
+busy life. There are many things concerning the musical tendencies of
+the day that I would like to ask you about. But I hear the clatter of
+the supper dishes. What do you think of the editorial page, and its
+moral tendencies? That is a good Sunday theme."
+
+"There is evidence of much ability, but there is a lack of earnestness
+and definite purpose. The paper is newsy and bright, and, in the main,
+wholesome. It reflects public opinion fairly and honestly, but does
+little to shape it. It is often spicily controversial, sometimes
+tiresomely so. I do a good deal of skipping in that line. I wish its
+quarrels resulted more from efforts to right some wrong; and there is
+so much evil in our city, both in high and low places, that ought to be
+fought to the death. The editor has exceptional opportunities, and
+might be the knight-errant of our age. If in earnest, and on the right
+side, he can forge a weapon out of public opinion that few evils could
+resist. And he is in just the position to discover these dragons and
+drive them from their hiding-places. If, for instance, the clever
+paragraphist in this column, whose province, it seems, is to comment at
+the last moment on the events of the day, were as desirous of saying
+true, strong, earnest words, as bright and prophetic ones, in which the
+news of the morrow is also outlined-why, Mr. Morton, what is the
+matter?"
+
+"Are you a witch?"
+
+She looked at me a moment, blushed deeply, and asked hesitatingly:
+
+"Are-are you the paragraphist?"
+
+"Yes," I said, with a burst of laughter, "as truly as yours is the only
+witchcraft in which I believe-that of brains." Then putting my finger
+on my lips, I added, _sotto voce_: "Don't betray me. Mr. Yocomb would
+set all his dogs on me if he knew I were an editor, and I don't wish to
+go yet."
+
+"What have I been saying!" she exclaimed, with an appalled look.
+
+"Lots of clever things. I never got so many good hints in the same time
+before."
+
+"It wasn't fair in you, to lead me on in the dark."
+
+"Oh, there wasn't any 'dark,' I assure you. Your words were
+coruscations. Never was the old journal so lighted up before."
+
+There were both perplexity and annoyance in her face as she looked
+dubiously at me. Instantly becoming grave, I stepped to her side and
+took her hand, as I said, with the strongest emphasis:
+
+"Miss Warren, I thank you. I have caught a glimpse of my work and
+calling through the eyes of a true, refined, and, permit me to add, a
+gifted woman. I think I shall be the better for it, but will make no
+professions. If I'm capable of improvement this column will show it."
+
+Her hand trembled in mine as she looked away and said:
+
+"You are capable of sympathy."
+
+Then she went hastily to the piano.
+
+Before she could play beyond a bar or two, little Zillah bounded in,
+exclaiming:
+
+"Emily Warren, mother asks if thee and Richard Morton will come out to
+tea?"
+
+"I may be in error, but is not a piano one of the worldly vanities?" I
+asked, as she turned to comply. "I did not expect to see one here."
+
+"Mrs. Yocomb kindly took this in with me. I could scarcely live without
+one, so you see I carry the shop with me everywhere, and am so linked
+to my business that I can never be above it."
+
+"I hope not, but you carry the business up with you. The shop may be,
+and ought to be, thoroughly respectable. It is the narrow, mercenary
+spirit of the shop that is detestable. If you had that, you would leave
+your piano in New York, since here it would have no money value."
+
+"You take a nice view of it."
+
+"Is it not the true view?"
+
+In mock surprise she answered:
+
+"Mr. Morton, I'm from New York. Did you ever meet a lady from that city
+who was not all that the poets claimed for womanhood?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+A QUAKER TEA
+
+
+"Richard Morton," said Mrs. Yocomb genially, "thee seems listening very
+intently to something Emily Warren is saying, so thee may take that
+seat beside her."
+
+"Richard Morton," said Mr. Yocomb from the head of the table, "has thee
+made the acquaintance of Emily Warren?"
+
+"No, sir, but I am making it."
+
+"So am I, and she has been here a week."
+
+"I should esteem that one of the highest of compliments," I said; then
+turning to her, I added, in an aside, "You found me out in half an
+hour."
+
+"Am I such a sphinx?" she asked Mr. Yocomb with a smile; while to me
+she said, in a low tone: "You are mistaken. You have had something to
+say to me almost daily for a year or more."
+
+"I am not acquainted with the article, and so can't give an opinion,"
+Mr. Yocomb replied, with a humorous twinkle in his eye. "If the
+resemblance is close, so much the better for the sphinxes."
+
+"Now, father, thee isn't a young man that thee should be complimenting
+the girls," his wife remarked.
+
+"I've persuaded Silas Jones to stay," said Adah, entering.
+
+"Silas Jones, I hope thee and thy parents are well," Mrs. Yocomb
+answered, with a courtesy somewhat constrained. "Will thee take that
+seat by Adah? Let me make thee acquainted with Richard Morton and Emily
+Warren."
+
+We bowed, but I turned instantly to Miss Warren and said.
+
+"Do you note how delightfully Mrs. Yocomb unites our names? I take it
+as an omen that we may become friends in spite of my shortcomings. You
+should have been named first in the order of merit."
+
+"Mrs. Yocomb rarely makes mistakes," she replied.
+
+"That confirms my omen."
+
+"Omens are often ominous."
+
+"I'm prepared for the best."
+
+"Hush!" and she bowed her head in the grace customary before meals in
+this house.
+
+I had noted that Mr. Yocomb's bow to Mr. Jones was slightly formal
+also. Remembering the hospitable traits of my host and hostess, I
+concluded that the young man was not exactly to their taste. Indeed, a
+certain jauntiness in dress that verged toward flashiness would not
+naturally predispose them in his favor. But Adah, although disclaiming
+any special interest in him, seemed pleased with his attentions. She
+was not so absorbed, however, but that she had an eye for me, and
+expected my homage also. She apparently felt that she had made a very
+favorable impression on me, and that we were congenial spirits. During
+the half hour that followed I felt rather than saw that this fact
+amused Miss Warren exceedingly.
+
+For a few moments we sat in silence, but I fear my grace was as
+graceless as my morning worship had been. Miss Warren's manner was
+reverent. Were her thoughts also wandering? and whither? She certainly
+held mine, and by a constraint that was not unwelcome.
+
+When she lifted her expressive eyes I concluded that she had done
+better than merely comply with a religious custom.
+
+"The spirit of this home has infected you," I said.
+
+"It might be well for you also to catch the infection."
+
+"I know it would be well for me, and wish to expose myself to it to the
+utmost. You are the only obstacle I fear."
+
+"I?"
+
+"Yes. I will explain after supper."
+
+"To explain that you have good cause to ask for time,"
+
+"Richard Morton, does thee like much sugar in thy tea?" Mrs. Yocomb
+asked.
+
+"No-yes, none at all, if you please."
+
+My hostess looked at me a little blankly, and Adah and Silas Jones
+giggled.
+
+"A glass of milk will help us both out of our dilemma," I said, with a
+laugh.
+
+"An editor should be able to think of two things at once," Miss Warren
+remarked, in a low aside.
+
+"That depends on the subject of his thoughts. But don't breathe that
+word here, or I'm undone."
+
+"Richard Morton," said Mr. Yocomb, "I hope thee feels the better for
+mother's ministrations since we came home. Will thee pass thy plate for
+some more of the same kind?"
+
+"Mrs. Yocomb has done me good ever since I followed her into the
+meeting-house," I replied. "I am indeed the better for her dinner, and
+I ought to be. I feared you would all be aghast at the havoc I made.
+But it is your kindness and hospitality that have done me the most
+good, I would not have believed yesterday afternoon that my fortunes
+could have taken so favorable a turn."
+
+"Why, what was the matter with you then?" asked Adah, with wide-eyed
+curiosity; and little Zillah looked at me with a pitying and puzzled
+glance.
+
+"A common complaint in the city. I was committing suicide, and
+yesterday became conscious of the fact."
+
+"Mr. Morton must have hit on an agreeable method of suicide, since he
+could commit it unconsciously," Miss Warren remarked mischievously. "I
+read in Emily Warren's newspaper this afternoon," said Silas Jones,
+with awkward malice, "of a young fellow who got a girl to marry him by
+pretending to commit suicide. He didn't hurt himself much though."
+
+The incident amused Adah exceedingly, and I saw that Miss Warren's eyes
+were full of laughter. Assuming a shocked expression, I said:
+
+"I am surprised that Miss Warren takes a paper so full of insidious
+evil." Then, with the deepest gravity, I remarked to Silas Jones, "I
+have recently been informed, sir, on good authority, that each one
+instinctively finds and reads in a newspaper that which he likes or
+needs. I sincerely hope, my dear sir, that the example you have quoted
+will not lead you to adopt a like method."
+
+Adah laughed openly to her suitor's confusion, and the mouths of the
+others were twitching. With the complexion of the rose at his
+button-hole Mr. Jones said, a trifle vindictively:
+
+"I thought the paragraph might refer to you, sir, you seem so slightly
+hurt."
+
+"I don't like to contradict you, but I cannot be this ingenious youth
+whose matrimonial enterprise so deeply interests you, since I am not
+married, and I was hurt severely."
+
+"Thee had been overworking," said Mrs. Yocomb kindly.
+
+"Working foolishly rather. I thought I had broken down, but sleep and
+your kindness have so revived me that I scarcely know myself. Are you
+accustomed to take in tramps from New York?"
+
+"That depends somewhat upon the tramps. I think the right leadings are
+given us."
+
+"If good leadings constitute a Friend, I am one to-day, for I have been
+led to your home." "Now I'm moved to preach a little," said Mr. Yocomb.
+"Richard Morton, does thee realize the sin and folly of overwork? If
+thee works for thyself it is folly. If thee toils for the good of the
+world, and art able to do the world any good, it is sin; if there are
+loved ones dependent on thee, thee may do them a wrong for which there
+is no remedy. Thee looks to me like a man who has been over-doing."
+
+"Unfortunately there is no one dependent on me, and I fear I have not
+had the world's welfare very greatly at heart. I have learned that I
+was becoming my own worst enemy, and so must plead guilty of folly."
+
+"Well, thee doesn't look as if thee had sinned away thy day of grace
+yet. If thee'll take roast-beef and common-sense as thy medicine,
+thee'll see my years and vigor."
+
+"Richard Morton," said his wife, with a gentle gravity, "never let any
+one make thee believe that thee has sinned away thy day of grace."
+
+"Mother, thee's very weak on the 'terrors of the law.' Thee's always
+for coaxing the transgressors out of the broad road. Thee's
+latitudinarian; now!"
+
+"And thee's a little queer, father."
+
+"Emily Warren, am I queer?"
+
+"You are very sound and sensible in your advice to Mr. Morton," she
+replied. "One may very easily sin against life and health beyond the
+point of remedy. I should judge from Mr. Morton's words that he is in
+danger."
+
+"Now, mother, thee sees that Emily Warren believes in the terrors of
+the law."
+
+"Thee wouldn't be a very good one at enforcing them, Emily," said Mrs.
+Yocomb, nodding her head smilingly toward her favorite.
+
+"The trouble is," said Miss Warren a little sadly, "that some laws
+enforce themselves. I know of so many worn-out people in New York, both
+men and women, that I wish that Mr. Yocomb's words were printed at the
+head of ail our leading newspapers."
+
+"Yes," said Mr. Yocomb, "if editors and newspaper writers were only as
+eager to quiet the people as they are to keep up the hubbub of the
+world, they might make their calling a useful one. It almost takes away
+my breath to read some of our great journals."
+
+"Do you not think laziness the one pre-eminent vice of the world?"
+tasked.
+
+"Not of native-born Americans. I think restlessness, nervous activity,
+is the vice of our age. I am out of the whirl, and can see it all the
+more clearly. Thee admits that thy city life was killing thee--I know
+it would kill me in a month."
+
+"I would like to have a chance to be killed by it," said Adah, with a
+sigh.
+
+"Thy absence would be fatal to some in the country," I heard Silas
+Jones remark, and with a look designed to be very reproachful.
+
+"Don't tell me that. Melissa Bunting would soon console thee."
+
+"Thee stands city life quite well, Emily," said Mrs. Yocomb.
+
+"Yes, better than I once did. I am learning how to live there and still
+enjoy a little of your quiet; but were it not for my long summers in
+the country I fear it would go hard with me also."
+
+"You have suggested my remedy," I said. "My business does not permit
+much chance for rest, unless it is taken resolutely; and, like many
+other sinners, I have great reforms in contemplation."
+
+"It must be a dreadful business that came so near killing you," Adah
+remarked, looking at me curiously. "What can it be?"
+
+Mrs. Yocomb glanced at her daughter reprovingly, but Miss Warren's eyes
+were dancing, and I saw she was enjoying my rather blank look immensely.
+
+T decided, however, that honesty and audacity would be my best allies,
+and at the same time I hoped to punish Adah a little through her
+curiosity.
+
+"I must admit that it is a dreadful business. Deeds of darkness occupy
+much of my time; and when good, honest men, like your father, are
+asleep, my brain, and hand are busiest. Now you see what a suspicious
+character your father and mother have harbored in their unquestioning
+hospitality."
+
+The young lady looked at me with a thoroughly perplexed and half
+alarmed expression.
+
+"My gracious!" she exclaimed. "What do you do?"
+
+"You do not look as if 'inclined to mercy,'" I replied. "Mr. Yocomb and
+Miss Warren believe in the terrors of the law, so I have decided to
+make a full confession to Mrs. Yocomb after supper. I think that I am
+one of the 'transgressors' that she could 'coax.'"
+
+After a momentary and puzzled glance at my laughing critic, Mrs. Yocomb
+said:
+
+"Emily Warren knows thy secret."
+
+"So you have told Emily Warren, but will not tell us," Adah complained,
+in a piqued tone and manner.
+
+"Indeed, you are mistaken. Miss Warren found me out by intuition. I am
+learning that there is no occasion to tell her things: she sees them."
+
+Mr. Yocomb's face wore a decidedly puzzled look, and contained also the
+suggestion of an apt guess.
+
+"Well," he said, "thee has shown the shrewdness of an editor, and a
+Yankee one at that."
+
+Miss Warren now laughed outright.
+
+"Thee thinks," he continued, "that if thee gets mother on thy side
+thee's safe. I guess I'll adopt a common editorial policy, and sit
+safely on the fence till I hear what mother says to thy confession."
+
+"Are you laughing at me?" I asked Miss Warren, with an injured air.
+
+"To think that one of your calling should have got into such a
+dilemma!" she said, in a low tone. "It's delicious!"
+
+"My cheeks may become bronzed, but never brazen, Miss Warren. My
+guilelessness should touch your sympathies."
+
+"Well," said Adah, with rather a spiteful look at Miss Warren, "I'm
+glad I've not got a prying disposition. I talked with you half the
+afternoon and did not find you out."
+
+Even Mrs. Yocomb laughed at this.
+
+"Now, Miss Warren," I said, turning to her with a triumphant look, "I
+hope you feel properly quenched."
+
+"Is there any record of your crime, or misfortune, or whatever it may
+be, in Miss Warren's newspaper?" asked Silas Jones, with a slight sneer.
+
+"Yes, sir, of both, if the truth must be told," I replied. "That is the
+way she found me out."
+
+This unexpected admission increased the perplexity all around, and also
+added to Miss Warren's merriment.
+
+"Where is the paper?" said Adah, quickly.
+
+At this peculiar proof of his daughter's indifference Mr. Yocomb fairly
+exploded with laughter. He seemingly shared his wife's confidence in
+Miss Warren to that degree that the young lady's knowledge of my
+business, combined with her manner, was a guarantee against anything
+seriously wrong. Moreover, the young girl's laugh was singularly
+contagious. Its spontaneity and heartiness were irresistible, and I
+feared that her singing would not be half so musical.
+
+"Richard Morton," said Mrs. Yocomb, rising, "if thee wishes to free thy
+mind, or conscience, or heart, I will now give thee an opportunity."
+
+"My fate is in your hands. If you send me back to my old life and work
+I will go at once."
+
+"Ah!" exclaimed Miss Warren, in mock gravity, "now there is a touch of
+tragedy in your words. Must we all hold our breaths till you return,
+absolved or condemned?"
+
+"And were I condemned would you breathe freely?"
+
+"Yes, indeed I would, if Mrs. Yocomb condemned you. But after my sense
+of justice was satisfied I might be moved to pity."
+
+"And you think I may become a pitiable object?"
+
+"You would be, indeed, if Mrs. Yocomb condemned you."
+
+"Lead on," I exclaimed, with a gesture of mock tragedy; "this is the
+hour of destiny."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+A FRIEND
+
+
+"Richard Morton," said Mrs. Yocomb, as she sat down encouragingly near
+me in the low-studded parlor, "thee does not look into my eyes as if
+thee had a great burden on thy conscience."
+
+"I have a great fear in my heart," I said.
+
+"The two should go together," she remarked a little gravely; "and
+strength will be given thee to cast away both."
+
+The spirit of jesting left me at once, and I know that I looked into
+her kind motherly face very wistfully and appealingly. After a moment I
+asked:
+
+"Mrs. Yocomb, did you ever treat an utter stranger so kindly before?"
+
+"I think so," she said, with a smile. "Emily Warren came to us an
+entire stranger and we already love her very much."
+
+"I can understand that. Miss Warren is a genuine woman--one after your
+own heart. I was not long in finding that out. But I am a man of the
+world, and you must have noted the fact from the first."
+
+"Richard Morton, supposing thee is a sinner above all others in
+Galilee, where do I find a warrant for the 'I am better than thou'
+spirit?"
+
+She said these words so gently and sincerely that they touched my very
+soul, and I exclaimed:
+
+"If evil had been my choice a thousand years, you might me from it."
+
+She shook her head gravely as she said:
+
+"Thee doesn't understand. Weak is the arm of flesh."
+
+"But kindness and charity are omnipotent."
+
+"Yes, if thee turns to Omnipotence for them. But far be it from me to
+judge thee, Richard Morton. Because thee does not walk just where I am
+walking is no proof that thou art not a pilgrim."
+
+"I must tell you in all sincerity that I am not. My brain, heart, and
+soul have been absorbed by the world, and not by its best things
+either. Fifteen years ago, when scarcely more than a child, I was left
+alone in it. I have feared it inexpressibly, and with good reason. I
+have fought it, and have often been worsted. At times I have hated it;
+but as I began to succeed I learned to love it, and to serve it with an
+ambition that gave me so little respite that yesterday I thought that I
+was a broken and worn-out man. If ever the world had a slave, I am one;
+but there have been times during this June day when I earnestly wished
+that I might break my chains; and your serene, kindly face, that is in
+such blessed contrast to its shrewd, exacting, and merciless spirit,
+gave hope from the first."
+
+"So thee has been alone in the world since thee was a little boy," she
+said, in a tone that seemed the echo of my dead mother's voice.
+
+"Since I was twelve years of age," I replied, after a moment, and
+looking away. I could not meet her kind eyes as I added: "My mother's
+memory has been the one good, sacred influence of my life; but I have
+not been so true to it as I ought to have been--nothing like so true."
+
+"Has thee no near friends or relatives?"
+
+"I have acquaintances by the hundred, but there is no one to whom I
+could speak as I have to you, whom I have known but a few hours. A man
+has intuitions sometimes as well as a woman."
+
+"How strange it all is!" said Mrs. Yocomb, with a sigh, and looking
+absently out of the window to where the sun glowed not far above the
+horizon. Its level rays lighted up her face, making it so beautiful and
+noble that I felt assured that I had come to the right one for light
+and guidance. "Every heart seems to have its burden when the whole
+truth is known," she added, meditatively. "I wonder if any are exempt.
+Thee seemed indeed a man of the world when jesting at the table, but
+now I see thy true self Thee is right, Richard Morton; thee can speak
+to me as to thy friend."
+
+"I fear your surmise is true, Mrs. Yocomb; for in two instances to-day
+have I caught glimpses of burdens heavier than mine." She looked at me
+hastily, and her face grew pale. I relieved her by quietly continuing:
+
+"Whether you have a burden on your heart or not, one thing I know to be
+true--the burdened in heart or conscience would instinctively turn to
+you. I am conscious that it is this vital difference between your
+spirit and that of the world which leads me to speak as I do. Except as
+we master and hold our own in the world, it informs us that we are of
+little account--one of millions; and our burdens and sorrows are
+treated as sickly sentimentalities. There is no isolation more perfect
+than that of a man of the world among people of his own kind, with whom
+manifestations of feeling are weaknesses, securing prompt ridicule.
+Reticence, a shrewd alertness to the main chance of the hour, and the
+spirit of the entire proverb, 'Every man for himself,' become such
+fixed characteristics that I suppose there is danger that the deepest
+springs in one's nature may dry up, and no Artesian shaft of mercy or
+truth be able to find anything in a man's soul save arid selfishness.
+In spite of all that conscience can say against me--and it can say very
+much--I feel sure that I have not yet reached that hopeless condition."
+
+"No, Richard Morton, thee has not."
+
+"I honestly hope I never may, and yet I fear it. Perhaps the
+turning-point has come when I must resolutely look my old life and its
+tendencies in the face and as resolutely work out such changes as true
+manhood requires. If you will permit a metaphor, I feel like a
+shipmaster whom a long-continued and relentless gale has driven into an
+unexpected and quiet harbor. Before I put to sea again I would like to
+rest, make repairs, and get my true bearings, otherwise I may make
+shipwreck altogether. And so, impelled by my stress and need, I venture
+to ask if you will permit me to become an inmate of your home for a
+time on terms similar to those that you have made with Miss Warren.
+That you may very naturally decline is the ground of the fear to which
+I referred."
+
+"Richard Morton," said the old lady heartily, "thee's welcome to stay
+with us as long as thee pleases, and to come whenever thee can. The
+leadings in this case are plain, and I shall pray the kind Heavenly
+Father that all thy hopes may be realized."
+
+"One has been realized truly. You cannot know how grateful I am."
+
+"Thee's welcome, surely, and father will tell thee so, too. Come," and
+she led me out to the further end of the veranda, where Mr. Yocomb sat
+with Miss Warren, his daughters, and Silas Jones grouped near him.
+
+"Well," exclaimed Adah eagerly, "what is Mr. Morton's calling? It must,
+indeed, be a dreadful business, since you have had such a long and
+serious time."
+
+Mrs. Yocomb looked at me a little blankly.
+
+"I declare," I exclaimed, laughing, "I forgot to tell you."
+
+"Forgot to tell!" cried Adah. "Why, what on earth did you tell? There
+is nothing about you in this paper that I can find."
+
+Mr. Yocomb looked perplexed, and I saw Miss Warren's quick glance at
+Mrs. Yocomb, who smiled back reassuringly.
+
+"Father," she said, "Richard Morton wishes to stay with us for a time,
+I have told him that he was welcome, and that thee would tell him so,
+too. I think thee will. Thee may ask him any questions thee pleases. I
+am satisfied."
+
+"Thee is mistress of thy home, mother, and if thee's satisfied I am.
+Richard Morton, thee's welcome. Thee was wise to get mother on thy
+side."
+
+"So I instinctively felt ever since I saw her at the meeting-house
+door."
+
+"Perhaps mother gave thee a bit of a sermon?"
+
+"She has given me two things that a man can't be a man without--hope
+and courage."
+
+"Well, thee does kind of look as if thee had plucked up heart."
+
+"You, too, are catching the infection of this home," Miss Warren said,
+in a low voice, as she stood near me.
+
+"So soon? I feel that I shall need an exposure of several weeks. There
+is now but one obstacle in the way."
+
+"Ah, yes! I remember what you said. It's time you explained."
+
+"Not yet." And I turned and answered Adah's perplexed and frowning brow.
+
+"You will find me in that paper, Miss Adah, as one of its chief faults.
+I am one of its editors, and this fact will reveal to you the calling
+from which I and many others, no doubt, have suffered. Thus you see
+that, after all, I have revealed my secret to you only. To your mother
+I revealed myself. I hope, sir, you will not reverse your decision?" I
+said to Mr. Yocomb.
+
+The old gentleman laughed heartily as he answered, "I have had my say
+about editors in general. Mother and--I may add--something in thy own
+manner, has inclined me to except present company. But I'll read thy
+paper since Emily Warren takes it, so thee'd better beware."
+
+I saw that Adah was regarding me with complacency, and seemed
+meditating many other questions. I had fully decided, however, that
+while I should aim to keep her goodwill I would not permit her to make
+life a burden by her inane chatter, or by any sense of proprietorship
+in me. She must learn, as speedily as possible, that I was not one of
+her "half-dozen young men."
+
+"Richard Morton, thee can keep thy room, and I hope thee will not find
+our quiet, homely ways irksome, since we cannot greatly change them,"
+said my hostess.
+
+"I have a request to make, Mrs. Yocomb," I replied earnestly; "and I
+shall derive no pleasure or benefit from my sojourn with you unless you
+grant it. It is, that your family life may go on just the same as if I
+were not here. As surely as I see that I am a source of restraint or
+extra care and trouble, you will drive me out into the wilderness
+again. You know why I wish to stay with you," I added meaningly.
+
+"We shall take thee at thy word," said Mrs. Yocomb, with a smile on her
+lips but a very wistful, kindly light in her eyes.
+
+"Reuben, tell Richard Morton the truth," said his father. "Would it
+give thee a great deal of trouble or much pleasure to take Dapple and
+drive to the village for friend Morton's valise?"
+
+The youth, who was a good-natured and manly boy, to whom Sundays passed
+a trifle slowly, sprang up with such alacrity that I laughed as I said,
+"No need of words, Reuben, but I owe you a good turn all the same."
+Then turning to Miss Warren, I continued:
+
+"You have been here a week. Will your conscience permit you to teach me
+a little topography? It would be no worse than reading that newspaper."
+
+"Indeed, I think it might be better. It will be a useful task, at
+least; for, left to yourself, you might get lost, and make Mr. Yocomb
+no end of trouble. Did you not tell me, sir (to our host), that on one
+occasion you had to hunt some one up with fish-horns, lanterns, etc.?"
+
+"Yes, and he was from New York, too," said Mr. Yocomb.
+
+"If I get lost, leave me to my fate. There will be one editor the less."
+
+"Very true; but I'd rather have thee on thy paper than on my
+conscience. So Emily Warren, thee look after him, and show him the
+right and proper ways, for I am now too old to enjoy a night hunt, even
+with the music of fish-horns to cheer us on. I ask thee, Emily, for
+some of thine instead when thee comes back."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+THE MYSTERY OF MYSTERIES
+
+
+"Is it a task, then, to show me the right paths and proper ways?" I
+asked, as we strolled away, leaving Adah looking as if--in her
+curiosity to know more of the new species, a night editor--she wished
+Silas Jones in the depths of the Dead Sea.
+
+"That may depend on how apt and interesting a scholar you prove. I'm a
+teacher, you know, and teaching some of my scholars is drudgery, and
+others a pleasure."
+
+"So I'm put on my good behavior at once."
+
+"You ought to be on your good behavior anyway--this is Sunday."
+
+"Yes, and June. If a man is not good now he'll never be. And yet such
+people as Mrs. Yocomb--nor will I except present company--make me aware
+that I am not good--far from it."
+
+"I am glad Mrs. Yocomb made just that impression on you."
+
+"Why?"
+
+"Because it proves you a better man than your words suggest, and, what
+is of more consequence, a receptive man. I should have little hope for
+any one who came from a quiet talk with Mrs. Yocomb in a complacent
+mood or merely disposed to indulge in a few platitudes on the sweetness
+and quaintness of her character, and some sentimentalities in regard to
+Friends. If the depths of one's nature were not stirred, then I would
+believe that there were no depths. She is doing me much good, and
+giving me just the help I needed."
+
+"I can honestly say that she uttered one sentence that did find
+soundings in such shallow depths as exist in my nature, and I ought to
+be a better man for it hereafter."
+
+"She may have found you dreadfully bad, Mr. Morton: but I saw from her
+face that she did not find you shallow. If she had, you would not have
+touched her so deeply."
+
+"I touched her?"
+
+"Yes. Women understand each other. Something you said--but do not think
+I'm seeking to learn what it was--moved her sympathies."
+
+"Oh, she's kind and sympathetic toward every poor mortal."
+
+"Very true; but she's intensely womanly; and a woman is incapable of a
+benevolence and sympathy that are measured out by the yard--so much to
+each one, according to the dictates of judgment. You were so fortunate
+as to move Mrs. Yocomb somewhat as she touched your feelings; and you
+have cause to be glad; for she can be a friend that will make life
+richer."
+
+"I think I can now recall what excited her sympathies, and may tell you
+some time, that is, if you do not send me away."
+
+"I send you away?"
+
+"Yes, I told you that you were the one obstacle to my remaining."
+
+She looked at me as if perplexed and a little hurt. I did not reply at
+once, for her countenance was so mobile, so obedient to her thought and
+feeling, that I watched its varied expressions with an interest that
+constantly deepened. In contrast to Adah Yocomb's her face was usually
+pale; and yet it had not the sickly pallor of ill-health, but the
+clear, transparent complexion that is between the brunette and the
+blonde. Her eyes were full, and the impression of largeness, when she
+looked directly at you, was increased by a peculiar outward curve of
+their long lashes.
+
+Whether her eyes could be called blue I could not yet decide, and they
+seemed to darken and grow a little cold as she now looked at me; but
+she merely said, quietly:
+
+"I do not understand you."
+
+"This was your chosen resting-place for the summer, was it not, Miss
+Warren?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Well, then, what right have I, an entire stranger, to come blundering
+along like a June beetle and disturb your rest? You did not look
+forward to associations with night editors and like disreputable people
+when you chose this sheltered nook of the world, and nestled under Mrs.
+Yocomb's wing. You have the prior right here."
+
+As I spoke, her face so changed that it reminded me of the morning of
+this eventful day when I first looked out upon its brightness, and as I
+ceased her laugh rang out heartily.
+
+"So after all your fate is in my hands."
+
+"It is. You have pre-empted this claim."
+
+"Suppose I am a little non-committal, and should say, You may spend the
+evening, you may stay till to-morrow; would you be content?"
+
+"No, indeed, but I would have to submit."
+
+"Well, this is rich. Who ever heard of an editor--and the shrewd,
+alert, night editor at that--in such a dilemma! Do you realize what an
+unwise step you have taken? Mr. Yocomb justly complimented your
+shrewdness in getting Mrs. Yocomb on your side, and having won her over
+you were safe, and might have remained in this Eden as long as you
+chose. Now you place it within the power--the caprice even--of an utter
+stranger to send you out into the wilderness again."
+
+I said, with a smile, "I am satisfied that you differ from your mother
+Eve in one respect."
+
+"Ah! in what respect?"
+
+"You are not the kind of woman that causes banishment from Eden."
+
+"You know very little about me, Mr. Morton."
+
+"I know that."
+
+She smiled and looked pleased in spite of herself.
+
+"I think I'll let you stay till--till to-morrow," she said, with an
+arch side glance; then added, with a laugh, "What nonsense we are
+talking! As if you had not as good a right to be here as I have."
+
+"I beg your pardon. I spoke in downright sincerity. You found this
+quiet place first. In a large hotel, all kinds of people can meet
+almost as they do on Broadway; but here we must dwell together as one
+family, and I feel that I have no right to force on you any association
+without your leave, especially as you are here alone. In a certain
+sense I introduce myself, and compel you to meet me socially without
+your permission. You may have formed a very different plan for your
+summer's rest."
+
+"It is rather rare for a music-teacher to receive so much
+consideration. It bewilders me a little."
+
+"Pardon me. I soon discovered that you possessed woman's highest rank."
+
+"Indeed! Am I a princess in disguise?"
+
+"You are more than many princesses have been--a lady. And, as I said
+before, you are here alone."
+
+She turned and looked at me intently, and I felt that if I had not been
+sincere she would have known it. It was a peculiar and, I eventually
+learned, a characteristic act. I am now inclined to think that she saw
+the precise attitude of my mind and feeling toward her; but my
+awakening interest was as far removed from curiosity as is our natural
+desire to have a melody completed, the opening strains of which are
+captivating.
+
+Her face quickly lost its aspect of grave scrutiny, and she looked
+away, with a slight accession of color.
+
+"Do you want to stay very much?" she asked.
+
+"Miss Warren," I exclaimed, and my expression must have been eager and
+glad, "you looked at me then as you would at a doubtful stranger, and
+your glance was searching. You looked as only a woman can--as one who
+would see her way rather than reason it out. Now tell me in sincerity
+what you saw."
+
+"You know from my manner what I saw," she said, smiling and blushing
+slightly.
+
+"No, I only hoped; I have not a woman's eyesight."
+
+She bit her lip, contracted her wide, low brow for a moment, then
+turned and said frankly:
+
+"I did not mean to be rude in my rather direct glance. Even though a
+music-teacher, I have had compliments before, and I have usually found
+them as empty and insincere as the people who employed them. I am
+somewhat alone in the world, Mr. Morton, and I belong to that class of
+timid and rather helpless creatures whose safety lies in their
+readiness to run to cover. I have found truth the best cover for me,
+situated as I am. I aim to be just what I seem--neither more nor less;
+and I am very much afraid of people who do not speak the truth,
+especially when they are disposed to say nice things."
+
+"And you saw?"
+
+"I saw that bad as you are, I could trust you," she said, laughing; "a
+fact that I was glad to learn since you are so bent on forcing your
+society upon us all for a time."
+
+"Thank Heaven!" I exclaimed, "I thought yesterday that I was a
+bankrupt, but I must have a little of the man left in me to have passed
+this ordeal. Had I seen distrust in your eyes and consequent reserve in
+your manner, I should have been sorely wounded."
+
+"No," she replied, shaking her head, "when a man's character is such as
+to excite distrust, he could not be so sorely wounded as you suggest."
+
+"I'm not sure of that," I said. "I think a man may know himself to be
+weak and wicked, and yet suffer greatly from such consciousness."
+
+"Why should he weakly suffer? Why not simply do right? I can endure a
+certain amount of honest wickedness, but there is a phase of moral
+weakness that I detest," and for a moment her face wore an aspect that
+would have made any one wronging her tremble, for it was pure, strong,
+and almost severe.
+
+"I do believe," I said, "that men are more merciful to the foibles of
+humanity than women." "You are more tolerant, perhaps. Ah! there's
+Dapple," and she ran to meet the spirited horse that was coming from
+the farmyard. Reuben, driving, sat confidently in his light open wagon,
+and his face indicated that he and the beautiful animal he could
+scarcely restrain shared equally in their enjoyment of young, healthful
+life. I was alarmed to see Miss Warren run forward, since at the moment
+Dapple was pawing the air. A second later she was patting his arched
+neck and rubbing her cheek against his nose. He looked as if he liked
+it. Well he might.
+
+"Oh, Reuben," she cried, "I envy you. I haven't seen a horse in town
+that could compare with Dapple."
+
+The young fellow was fairly radiant as he drove away.
+
+She looked after him wistfully, and drew a long sigh.
+
+"Ah!" she said, "they do me good after my city life. There's life for
+you, Mr. Morton--full, overflowing, innocent life--in the boy and in
+the horse. Existence, motion, is to them happiness. It seems a pity
+that both must grow old and weary! My hand fairly tingles yet from my
+touch of Dapple's neck, he was so alive with spirit. What is it that
+animates that great mass of flesh and blood, bone and sinew, making him
+so strong, yet so gentle. At a blow he would have dashed everything to
+pieces, but he is as sensitive to kindness as I am. I sometimes half
+think that Dapple has as good a right to a soul as I have. Perhaps you
+are inclined toward Turkish philosophy, and think so too."
+
+"I should be well content to go to the same heaven that receives you
+and Dapple. You are very fearless, Miss Warren, thus to approach a
+rearing horse."
+
+Her answer was a slight scream, and she caught my arm as if for
+protection. At the moment I spoke a sudden turning in the lane brought
+us face to face with a large matronly cow that was quietly ruminating
+and switching away the flies. She turned upon us her large, mild,
+"Juno-like" eyes, in which one might imagine a faint expression of
+surprise, but nothing more.
+
+My companion was trembling, and she said hurriedly:
+
+"Please let us turn back, or go some other way."
+
+"Why, Miss Warren," I exclaimed, "what is the matter?"
+
+"That dreadful cow! Cows are my terror."
+
+I laughed outright as I said, "Now is the time for me to display
+courage, and prove than an editor can be the knight-errant of the age.
+Upon my soul, Miss Warren, I shall protect you whatever horn of this
+dilemma I may be impaled upon." Then advancing resolutely toward the
+cow, I added, "Madam, by your leave, we must pass this way."
+
+At my approach the "dreadful cow" turned and ran down the lane to the
+pasture field, in a gait peculiarly feminine.
+
+"Now you know what it is to have a protector," I said, returning.
+
+"I'm glad you're not afraid of cows," she replied complacently. "I
+shall never get over it. They are my terror."
+
+"There is one other beast," I said, "that I am sure would inspire you
+with equal dread."
+
+"I know you are going to say a mouse. Well, it may seem very silly to
+you, but I can't help it. I'm glad I wasn't afraid of Dapple, for you
+now can think me a coward only in streaks."
+
+"It does appear to me irresistibly funny that you, who, alone and
+single-handed, have mastered this great world so that it is under your
+foot, should have quailed before that inoffensive cow, which is
+harmless as the milk she gives."
+
+"A woman, Mr. Morton, is the mystery of mysteries--the one problem of
+the world that will never be solved. We even do not understand
+ourselves."
+
+"For which truth I am devoutly thankful. I imagine that instead of a
+week, as Mr. Yocomb said, it would require a lifetime to get acquainted
+with some women. I wish my mother had lived. I'm sure that she would
+have been a continuous revelation to me. I know that she had a great
+deal of sorrow, and yet my most distinct recollection of her is her
+laugh. No earthly sound ever had for me so much meaning as her laugh. I
+think she laughed when other people would have cried. There's a tone in
+your laugh that has recalled to me my mother again and again this
+afternoon."
+
+"I hope it is not a source of pain," she said gently.
+
+"Far from it," I replied. "Memories of my mother give me pleasure, but
+I rarely meet with one to whom I would even think of mentioning her
+name."
+
+"I do not remember my mother," she said sadly.
+
+"Come," I resumed hastily, "you admit that you have been dull and
+lonely to-day. Look at that magnificent glow in the west. So assuredly
+ended in brightness the lives of those we loved, however clouded their
+day may have been at times. This June evening, so full of glad sounds,
+is not the time for sad thoughts. Listen to the robins, to that saucy
+oriole yonder on the swaying elm-branch. Beyond all, hear that thrush.
+Can you imagine a more delicious refinement of sound? Let us give way
+to sadness when we must, and escape from it when we can. I would prefer
+to continue up this shady lane, but it may prove too shadowy, and so
+color our thoughts. Suppose we return to the farmyard, where Mr. Yocomb
+is feeding the chickens, and then look through the old garden together.
+You are a country woman, for you have been here a week; and so I shall
+expect you to name and explain everything. At any rate you shall not be
+blue any more to-day if I can prevent it. You see I am trying to reward
+your self-sacrifice in letting me stay till to-morrow."
+
+"You are so considerate that I may let you remain a little longer."
+
+"What is that fable about the camel? If he once gets his head in--"
+
+"He next puts his foot in it, is the sequel, perhaps," she replied,
+with the laugh that was becoming to me like a refrain of music that I
+could not hear too often.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+"OLD PLOD"
+
+
+"Emily Warren, why does thee bring Richard Morton back so soon?" asked
+Mr. Yocomb, suspending for a moment the sweep of his hand that was
+scattering grain.
+
+"You are mistaken, sir," I said; "I brought Miss Warren back. I thought
+she would enjoy seeing you feed the poultry, the horses, and especially
+the cows."
+
+"Thee's more self-denying than I'd a been," he resumed, With his
+humorous twinkle. "Don't tell mother, but I wouldn't mind taking a walk
+with Emily Warren myself on a June evening like this."
+
+"I will take a walk with you whenever you wish," laughed Miss Warren;
+"but I'll surely tell Mrs. Yocomb."
+
+"Oh! I know I'd get found out," said the old man, shaking his head
+ruefully; "I always do."
+
+"I'm sure you would if Miss Warren were here," I added. "I'm at a loss
+to know how early in the day she found me out."
+
+"Well, I guess thee's a pretty square sort of a man. If thee'd been
+stealing sheep Emily Warren wouldn't laugh at thee so approvingly. I'm
+finding out that she rather likes the people she laughs at. At least, I
+take that view, for she laughs at me a great deal. I knew from Emily
+Warren's laugh that thee hadn't anything very bad to tell mother."
+
+"I admit that, at the time, I enjoyed being laughed at--a rather rare
+experience."
+
+"You needn't, either of you, plume yourselves that you are irresistibly
+funny. I laugh easily. Mr. Yocomb, why do you feed the chickens so
+slowly? I have noticed it before. Now Reuben and Hiram, the man, throw
+the corn all down at once."
+
+"They are in more of a hurry than I am. I don't like to do anything in
+a hurry, least of all to eat my dinner. Now, why should these chickens,
+turkeys and ducks gobble everything right down? The corn seems to taste
+good to them; so, after a handful, I wait till they have had a chance
+to think how good the last kernel was before they get another. You see
+I greatly prolong their pleasure."
+
+"And in these intervals you meditate on Thanksgiving Day, I suppose,"
+she said.
+
+"Emily Warren, thee's a good Yankee. I admit that that young gobbler
+there did suggest a day on which I'm always very thankful, and with
+good reason. I had about concluded before thee came that, if we were
+both spared--i.e., that gobbler and I--till next November, I would
+probably survive him."
+
+"How can you have the heart to plan against that poor creature's life
+so coolly? See how he turns his round, innocent eyes toward you, as if
+in gratitude. If he could know that the hand that feeds him would chop
+off his head, what a moral shock he would sustain! That upturned beak
+should be to you like a reproachful face."
+
+"Emily Warren, we expect thee to eat thy Thanksgiving dinner with us;
+and that young gobbler will probably be on the table. Now what part of
+him will thee take on that occasion?"
+
+"A piece of the breast, if you please."
+
+"Richard Morton, is not Emily Warren as false and cruel as I am?"
+
+"Just about."
+
+"Is thee not afraid of her?"
+
+"I would be if she were unfriendly."
+
+"Oh, thee thinks everybody in this house is friendly. Emily Warren,
+thee must keep up our good name," he added, with a mischievous nod
+toward her.
+
+"Mr. Yocomb, you are forgetting the chickens altogether. There are some
+staid and elderly hens that are going to bed in disgust, you have kept
+them waiting so long."
+
+"See how quick they'll change their minds," he said, as he threw down a
+handful of corn. "Now isn't that just like a hen?" he added, as they
+hastened back.
+
+"And just like a woman also, I'm sure you want to suggest," said Miss
+Warren.
+
+"I suppose thee never changes thy mind."
+
+"I'm going to change the subject. Poultry with their feathers on don't
+interest me very much. The male birds remind me of a detestable class
+of conceited men, that one must see daily in the city, whose gallantry
+is all affectation, and who never for a moment lose sight of themselves
+or their own importance. That strutting gobbler there, Mr. Morton,
+reminds me of certain eminent statesmen whom your paper delights to
+honor, and I imagine that that ridiculous creature embodies their idea
+of the American eagle. Then the hens have such a simple, unthinking
+aspect. They act as if they expected to be crowed over as a matter of
+course; and thus typify the followers of these statesmen, who are so
+pre-eminent in their own estimation. Their exalted perches seem to be
+awarded unquestioningly."
+
+"So you think, Miss Warren, that I have the simple, unthinking aspect
+typified by the physiognomy of these hens?"
+
+"Mr. Morton, I was generalizing. We always except present company.
+Remember, I disagree with your paper, not you; but why you look up to
+these human species of the gobbler is something I can't understand, and
+being only a _woman_, that need not seem strange to you."
+
+"Since I must tell you the truth on all occasions, _nolens volens_, you
+have hit on a subject wherein I differ from my paper. Human phases of
+the gobbler are not pleasant."
+
+"But the turkey phase _is, very_," said Mr. Yocomb, throwing a handful
+of corn down before his favorite, which, like certain eminent
+statesmen, immediately looked after his own interests.
+
+"Mr. Yocomb, please, let me help you feed the horses," said Miss
+Warren, leading the way into the barn, where on one side were mows for
+hay and grain, and, on the other, stalls for several horses. The sleek
+and comfortable animals seemed to know the young girl, for they thrust
+out their black and brown noses toward her and projected their ears
+instead of laying them back viciously, as when I approached; and one
+old plow-horse that had been much neglected, until Miss Warren began to
+pet him, gave a loud ecstatic whinny.
+
+"Oh, you big, honest old fellows!" she exclaimed, caressing one and
+another, "I'd rather teach you than half my pupils."
+
+"In which half do you place me?" I asked.
+
+"You? oh, I forgot; I was to teach you topography. I will assign you by
+and by, after you have had a few lessons."
+
+"A man ought to do as well as a horse, so I hope to win your favor."
+
+"I wish all men did as well as Mr. Yocomb's horses. They evidently feel
+they have the family name and respectability to keep up. Mr. Yocomb,
+what is it that smells so sweetly?"
+
+"That is the red-top clover we cut last week."
+
+"Oh, isn't it good? I wouldn't mind having some myself," and she
+snatched down a fragrant handful from the mow. "Here, Old Plod," she
+said, turning to the plow-horse, "the world has rather snubbed you, as
+it has honest worth before. Mr. Yocomb, you and Reuben are much too
+fond of gay horses."
+
+"Shall I tell Reuben that thee'd rather ride after Old Plod, as thee
+calls him?"
+
+"No, I thank you; I'll go on as I've begun. I'm not changeable."
+
+"Now, Friend Morton, is not Emily Warren as bad as I am about gay
+horses?"
+
+"I'm inclined to think she is about as bad as you are in all respects."
+
+"Emily Warren, thee needn't put on any more airs. Richard Morton thinks
+thee isn't any better than I am, and there's nothing under the sun an
+editor doesn't know."
+
+"I wish he were right this time," she said, with a laugh and sigh
+curiously blended. "It seems to me, Mr. Yocomb, that you have grown
+here in the country like your clover-hay, and are as good and
+wholesome. In New York it is so different, especially if one has no
+home life; you breathe a different atmosphere from us in more respects
+than one. This fragrant old barn appears to me more of a sanctuary than
+some churches in which I have tried to worship, and its dim evening
+light more religious." "According to your faith," I said, "no shrine
+has ever contained so precious a gift as a manger."
+
+"According to _our_ faith, if you please, Mr. Morton."
+
+By an instinct that ignored a custom of the Friends, but exemplified
+their spirit, the old man took off his hat as he said, "Yes, friend
+Morton, according to _our_ faith. The child that was cradled in a
+manger tends to make the world innocent."
+
+"The old barn has indeed become a sanctuary," I thought, in the brief
+silence that followed. Miss Warren stepped to the door, and I saw a
+quick gesture of her hands to her eyes. Then she turned and said, in
+her piquant way:
+
+"Mr. Yocomb, our talk reminds me of the long grace in Latin which the
+priests said before meals, and which the hungry people couldn't
+understand. The horses are hinting broadly that oats would be more
+edifying. If it were Monday, I'd wager you a plum that they would all
+leave your oats to eat clover-hay out of my hand."
+
+"We'll arrange about the bet to-morrow, and now try the experiment,"
+said Mr. Yocomb, relapsing into his genial humor at once.
+
+I was learning, however, that a deep, earnest nature was hidden by this
+outward sheen and sparkle. Filling his four-quart measure from the
+cobwebbed bin, he soon gave each horse his allowance.
+
+"Now, Richard Morton, thee watch her, and see that she doesn't coax too
+much, or come it over them with any unlawful witchery. Take the hay
+thyself, Emily, and we'll stand back."
+
+I went to the further end of the barn, near Old Plod, and stood where I
+could see the maiden's profile against the light that streamed through
+the open door. Never shall I forget the picture I then saw. The tall,
+ample figure of the old Quaker stood in the background, and his smile
+was broad and genial enough to have lighted up a dungeon. Above him
+rose the odorous clover, a handful of which Miss Warren held out to the
+horse in the first stall. Her lips were parted, her eyes shining, and
+her face had the intent, eager interest of a child, while her attitudes
+and motions were full of unstudied and unconscious grace.
+
+The first horse munched stolidly away at his oats. She put the tempting
+wisp against his nose, at which he laid back his ears and looked
+vicious. She turned to Mr. Yocomb, and the old barn echoed to a laugh
+that was music itself as she said:
+
+"You have won your plum, if it is Sunday. I shall try all the other
+horses, however, and thus learn to value correctly the expressions of
+affection I have received from these long-nosed gentlemen."
+
+One after another they munched on, regardless of the clover. Step by
+step she came nearer to me, smiling and frowning at her want of
+success. My heart thrilled at a beauty that was so unconventional and
+so utterly self-forgetful. The blooming clover, before it fell at a
+sweep of the scythe, was the fit emblem of her then, she looked so
+young, so fair, and sweet.
+
+"They are as bad as men," she exclaimed, "who will forgive any wrong
+rather than an interruption at dinner."
+
+She now stood at my side before Old Plod, that thus far, in his
+single-minded attention to his oats, had seemingly forgotten her
+presence; but, as he lifted his head from the manger and saw her, he
+took a step forward, and reached his great brown nose toward her,
+rather than for the clover. In brief, he said, in his poor dumb way:
+
+"I like you better than hay or oats."
+
+The horse's simple, undisguised affection, for some reason, touched the
+girl deeply; for she dropped the hay and threw her arm around the
+horse's head, leaning her face against his. I saw a tear in her eye as
+she murmured:
+
+"You have more heart than all the rest put together. I don't believe
+any one was ever kind to you before, and you've been a bit lonely, like
+myself." Then she led the way hastily out of the barn, saying, "Old
+Plod and I are sworn friends from this time forth; and I shall take
+your advice, Old Plod."
+
+I was soon at her side, and asked:
+
+"What advice did Old Plod give you?"
+
+For some inexplicable reason she colored deeply, then laughed as she
+said:
+
+"It's rarely wise to think aloud; but impulsive people will do it
+sometimes. I suppose we all occasionally have questions to decide that
+to us are perplexing and important, though of little consequence to the
+world. Come; if we are to see the old garden, we must make the most of
+the fading light. After my interview with Old Plod, I can't descend to
+cows and pigs; so good-by, Mr. Yocomb."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+A BIT OF EDEN
+
+
+"This is my first entrance into Eden," I said, as we passed through the
+rustic gate made of cedar branches and between posts green with
+American ivy.
+
+"Like another man, you won't stay here long."
+
+"Like Adam, I shall certainly go out when you do."
+
+"That will be before very long, since I have promised Mr. Yocomb some
+music."
+
+"Even though a Bohemian editor, as you may think, I am conscious of a
+profound gratitude to some beneficent power, for I never could have
+chosen so wisely myself. I might have been in Sodom and Gomorrah--for
+New York in contrast seems a union of both--receiving reports of the
+crimes and casualties of the day, but I am here with this garden in the
+foreground and music in the background."
+
+"You don't know anything about the music, and you may yet wish it so
+far in the background as to be inaudible."
+
+"I admit that I will be in a dilemma when we reach the music, for no
+matter how much I protest, you will know just what I think."
+
+"Yes, you had better be honest."
+
+"Come, open for me the treasures of your ripe experience. You have been
+a week in the country. I know you will give me a rosebud--a rare
+old-fashioned one, if you please, with a quaint, sweet meaning, for I
+see that such abound in this garden, and I am wholly out of humor with
+the latest mode in everything. Recalling your taste for homely, honest
+worth, as shown by your passion for Old Plod, I shall seek a blossom
+among the vegetables for you. Ah, here is one that is sweet, white, and
+pretty," and I plucked a cluster of flowers from a potato-hill. "By the
+way, what flower is this?" I asked demurely.
+
+She looked at it blankly for a moment, then remarked, with a smile,
+"You have said that it was sweet, white, and pretty. Why inquire
+further?"
+
+"Miss Warren, you have been a week in the country and don't know a
+potato-blossom."
+
+"Our relations may be changed," she said, "and you become the teacher."
+
+"Oh, here comes Zillah. We will settle the question according to
+Scripture. Does it not say, 'A little child shall lead them'? Who are
+you so glad to see, little one, Miss Warren or me?"
+
+"I don't know thee very well yet," she said shyly.
+
+"Do you know Miss Warren very well?"
+
+"Oh, yes, indeed."
+
+"How soon did you come to know her well?"
+
+"The first day when she kissed me."
+
+"I think that's a very nice way of getting acquainted. Won't you let me
+kiss you good-night when you get sleepy."
+
+She looked at me with a doubtful smile, and said, "I'm afraid thy
+mustache will tickle me."
+
+The birds were singing in the orchard near, but there was not a note
+that to my ear was more musical than Miss Warren's laugh. I stooped
+down before the little girl as I said:
+
+"Suppose we see if a kiss tickles you now, and if it don't now, you
+won't mind it then, you know."
+
+She came hesitatingly to me, and gave the coveted salute with a
+delicious mingling of maidenly shyness and childish innocence and
+frankness.
+
+"Ah!" I exclaimed, "Eden itself contained nothing better than that. To
+think that I should have been so honored--I who have written the
+records of enough crimes to sink a world!"
+
+"Perhaps if you had committed some of them she wouldn't have kissed
+you."
+
+"If I had to live in a ninety-nine story tenement-house, as so many do,
+I think I would have committed them all. Well, I may come to it. Life
+is a risky battle to such as I, but I'm in heaven now."
+
+"You do seem very happy," she said, looking at me wistfully.
+
+"I am very happy. I have given myself up wholly to the influences of
+this day, letting them sway me, lead me whithersoever they will. If
+this is a day of destiny, no stupid mulishness of mine shall thwart the
+happy combination of the stars. That the Fates are propitious I have
+singular reason to hope. Yesterday I was a broken and dispirited man.
+This evening I feel the influence of all this glad June life. Good Mrs.
+Yocomb has taken me in hand. I'm to study topography with a teacher who
+has several other bumps besides that of locality, and Zillah is going
+to show us the garden of Eden."
+
+"Is this like the garden of Eden?" the little girl asked, looking up at
+me in surprise.
+
+"Well, I'm not sure that it's just like it, but I'm more than content
+with this garden. In one respect I think it's better--there are no
+snakes here. Now, Zillah, lead where you please, I'm in the following
+mood. Do you know where any of these birds live? Do you think any of
+them are at home on their nests? If so, we'll call and pay our
+respects. When I was a horrid boy I robbed a bird's nest, and I often
+have a twinge of remorse for it." "Do you want to see a robin's nest?"
+asked Zillah excitedly.
+
+"Yes, indeed."
+
+"Then come and walk softly when I do. There's one in that lilac-bush
+there. If we don't make a noise, perhaps we can see mother robin on the
+nest. Sh--, sh--, very softly; now lift me up as father did--there,
+don't you see her?"
+
+I did for a moment, and then the bird flew away on a swift, silent
+wing, but from a neighboring tree the paternal robin clamored loudly
+against our intrusion. Nevertheless, Zillah and I peeped in.
+
+"Oh, the queer little things!" she said, "they seem all mouth and
+swallow."
+
+"Mrs. Robin undoubtedly thinks them lovely. Miss Warren, you are not
+quite tall enough, and since I can't hold you up like Zillah, I'll get
+a box from the tool-house. Isn't this the jolliest housekeeping you
+ever saw? A father, mother, and six children, with a house six inches
+across and open to the sky. Compare that with a Fifth Avenue mansion!"
+
+"I think it compares very favorably with many mansions on the Avenue,"
+she said, after I returned with a box and she had peered for a moment
+into the roofless home.
+
+"I thought you always spoke the truth," I remarked, assuming a look of
+blank amazement.
+
+"Well, prove that I don't."
+
+"Do you mean to say that you think that a simple house, of which this
+nest is the type, compares favorably with a Fifth Avenue mansion?"
+
+"I do."
+
+"What do you know about such mansions?"
+
+"I have pupils in some of the best of them."
+
+"I hear the voices of many birds, but you are the _rara avis_ of them
+all," I said, looking very incredulous.
+
+"Not at all; I am simply matter-of-fact. Which is worth the more, a
+furnished house or the growing children in it?"
+
+"The children ought to be."
+
+"Well, many a woman has so much house and furniture to look after that
+she has no time for her children. The little brown mother we have
+frightened away can give nearly all her time to her children; and, by
+the way, they may take cold unless we depart and let her shelter them
+again with her warm feathers. Besides, the protesting paterfamilias on
+the pear-tree there is not aware of our good-will toward him and his,
+and is naturally very anxious as to what we human monsters intend. The
+mother bird keeps quiet, but she is watching us from some leafy cover
+with tenfold his anxiety."
+
+"You will admit, however, that the man bird is doing the best he can."
+
+"Oh, yes, I have a broad charity for all of his kind."
+
+"Well, I am one of his kind, and so shall take heart and bask in your
+general good-will. Stop your noise, old fellow, and go and tell your
+wife that she may come home to the children. I differ from you, Miss
+Warren, as I foresee I often shall. You are not matter-of-fact at all.
+You are unconventional, unique--" "Why not say queer, and give your
+meaning in good plain English?"
+
+"Because that is not my meaning. I fear you are worse--that you are
+romantic. Moreover, I am told that girls who dote on love in a cottage
+all marry rich men if the chance comes." She bit her lip, colored, and
+seemed annoyed, but said, after a moment's hesitation, "Well, why
+shouldn't they, if the rich men are the right men?"
+
+"Oh, I think such a course eminently proper and thrifty. I'm not
+finding fault with it in the least. They who do this are a little
+inconsistent, however, in shunning so carefully that ideal cottage,
+over which, as young ladies, they had mild and poetic raptures. Now, I
+can't associate this kind of thing with you. If you had 'drawings or
+leadings,' as Mrs. Yocomb would say, toward a Fifth Avenue mansion, you
+would say so in effect. I fear you are romantic, and are under the
+delusion that love in a cottage means happiness. You have a very honest
+face, and you looked into that nest as if you liked it."
+
+"Mr. Morton," she said, frowning and laughing at the same time, "I'm
+not going to be argued out of self-consciousness. If we don't know what
+we know, we don't know anything. I insist upon it that I am utterly
+matter-of-fact in my opinions on this question. State the subject
+briefly in prose. Does a family exist for the sake of a home, or a home
+for the sake of a family? I know of many instances in which the former
+of these suppositions is true. The father toils and wears himself out,
+often gambles--speculating, some call it--and not unfrequently cheats
+and steals outright in order to keep up his establishment. The mother
+works and worries, smooths her wrinkled brow to curious visitors,
+burdens her soul with innumerable deceits, and enslaves herself that
+her house and its belongings may be as good or a little better than her
+neighbor's. The children soon catch the same spirit, and their souls
+become absorbed in wearing apparel. They are complacently ignorant
+concerning topics of general interest and essential culture, but would
+be mortified to death if suspected of being a little off on 'good form'
+and society's latest whims in mode. It is a dreary thraldom to mere
+things in which the soul becomes as material, narrow, and hard as the
+objects which absorb it. There is no time for that which gives ideality
+and breadth."
+
+"Do you realize that your philosophy would stop half the industries of
+the world? Do you not believe in large and sumptuously furnished
+houses?"
+
+"Yes, for those who have large incomes. One may live in a palace, and
+yet not be a slave to the palace. Our home should be as beautiful as
+our taste and means can make it; but, like the nest yonder, it should
+simply serve its purpose, leaving us the time and means to get all the
+good out of the world at large that we can."
+
+A sudden cloud of sadness overcast her face as she continued, after a
+moment, half in soliloquy:
+
+"The robins will soon take wing and leave the nest; so must we. How
+many have gone already!"
+
+"But the robins follow the sun in their flight," I said gently, "and
+thus they find skies more genial than those they left."
+
+She gave me a quick, appreciative smile as she said:
+
+"That's a pleasant thought."
+
+"Your home must be an ideal one," I remarked unthinkingly.
+
+She colored slightly, and laughed as she answered:
+
+"I'm something like a snail; I carry my home, if not my house, around
+with me. A music-teacher can afford neither a palace nor a cottage."
+
+I looked at her with eager eyes as I said, "Pardon me if I am unduly
+frank; but on this day I'm inclined to follow every impulse, and say
+just what I think, regardless of the consequences. You make upon me a
+decided impression of what we men call comradeship. I feel as if I had
+known you weeks and months instead of hours. Could we not have been
+robins ourselves in some previous state of existence, and have flown on
+a journey together?"
+
+"Mrs. Yocomb had better take you in hand, and teach you sobriety."
+
+"Yes, this June air, laden with the odors of these sweet old-style
+roses and grape-blossoms, intoxicates me. These mountains lift me up.
+These birds set my nerves tingling like one of Beethoven's symphonies,
+played by Thomas's orchestra. In neither case do I know what the music
+means, but I recognize a divine harmony. Never before have I been
+conscious of such a rare and fine exhilaration. My mood is the product
+of an exceptional combination of causes, and they have culminated in
+this old garden. You know, too, that I am a creature of the night, and
+my faculties are always at their best as darkness comes on. I may seem
+to you obtuseness itself, but I feel as if I had been endowed with a
+spiritual and almost unerring discernment. In my sensitive and highly
+wrought condition, I know that the least incongruity or discord in
+sight or sound would jar painfully. Yes, laugh at me if you will, but
+nevertheless I'm going to speak my thoughts with no more restraint than
+these birds are under. I'm going back for a moment to the primitive
+condition of society, when there were no disguises. You are the mystery
+of this garden--you who come from New York, where you seem to have
+lived without the shelter of home life, to have obtained your
+livelihood among conventional and artificial people, and to whom the
+false, complicated world must be well known, and yet you make no more
+discord in this garden than the first woman would have made. You are in
+harmony with every leaf, with every flower, and every sound; with that
+child playing here and there; with the daisies in the orchard; with the
+little brown mother, whose children you feared might take cold. Hush!"
+I said, with a deprecatory gesture, "I will speak my mind. Never before
+in my life have I enjoyed the utter absence of concealment. In the city
+one must use words to hide thoughts more often than to express them,
+but here, in this old garden, I intend to reproduce for a brief moment
+one of the conditions of Eden, and to speak as frankly as the first man
+could have spoken. I am not jesting either, nor am I irreverent. I say,
+in all sincerity, you are the mystery of this garden--you who come from
+New York, and from a life in which your own true womanhood has been
+your protection; and yet if, as of old, God should walk in this garden
+in the cool of the day, it seems to me you would not be afraid. Such is
+the impression--given without reserve--that you make on me--you whom I
+have just seen, as it were!"
+
+As she realized my sincerity she looked at me with an expression of
+strong perplexity and surprise.
+
+"Truly, Mr. Morton," she said slowly, "you are in a strange, unnatural
+mood this evening."
+
+"I seem so," I replied, "because absolutely true to nature. See how far
+astray from Eden we all are! I have merely for a moment spoken my
+thoughts without disguise, and you look as if you doubted my sanity."
+
+"I must doubt your judgment," she said, turning away.
+
+"Then why should such a clearly defined impression be made on me? For
+every effect there must be a cause."
+
+She turned upon me suddenly, and her look was eager, searching, and
+almost imperious in its demand to know the truth.
+
+"Are you as sincere as you are unconventional?" she asked.
+
+I took off my hat, as I replied, with a smile, "A garden, Miss Warren,
+was the first sacred place of the world, and never were sincerer words
+spoken in that primal garden."
+
+She looked at me a moment wistfully, and even tearfully. "I wish you
+were right," she said, slowly shaking her head; "your strange mood has
+infected me, I think; and I will admit that to be true is the struggle
+of my life, but the effort to be true is often hard, bitterly hard, in
+New York. I admit that for years truthfulness has been the goal of my
+ambition. Most young girls have a father and mother and brothers to
+protect them: I have had only the truth, and I cling to it with the
+instinct of self-preservation."
+
+"You cling to it because you love it. Pardon me, you do not cling to it
+at all. Truth has become the warp and woof of your nature. Ah! here is
+your emblem, not growing in the garden, but leaning over the fence as
+if it would like to come in, and yet, among all the roses here, where
+is there one that excels this flower?" And I gathered for her two or
+three sprays of sweetbrier.
+
+"I won't mar your bit of Eden by a trace of affectation," she said,
+looking directly into my eyes in a frank and friendly manner; "I'd
+rather be thought true than thought a genius, and I will make allowance
+for your extravagant language and estimate on the ground of your
+intoxication. You surely see double, and yet I am pleased that in your
+transcendental mood I do not seem to make discord in this old garden.
+This will seem to you a silly admission after you leave this place and
+recover your everyday senses. I'm sorry already I made it--but it was
+such an odd conceit of yours!" and her heightened color and glowing
+face proved how she relished it.
+
+It was an exquisite moment to me. The woman showed her pleasure as
+frankly as a happy child. I had touched the keynote of her character as
+I had that of Adah Yocomb's a few hours before, and in her supreme
+individuality Emily Warren stood revealed before me in the garden.
+
+She probably saw more admiration in my face than she liked, for her
+manner changed suddenly.
+
+"Being honest doesn't mean being made of glass," she said brusquely;
+"you don't know anything about me, Mr. Morton. You have simply
+discovered that I have not a leaning toward prevarication. That's all
+your fine words amount to. Since I must keep up a reputation for
+telling the truth, I'm obliged to say that you don't remind me of Adam
+very much."
+
+"No, I probably remind you of a night editor, ambitious to be smart in
+print."
+
+She bit her lip, colored a little. "I wasn't thinking of you in that
+light just then," she said. "And--and Adam is not my ideal man."
+
+"In what light did you see me?"
+
+"It is growing dusky, and I won't be able to see you at all soon."
+
+"That's evasion."
+
+"Come, Mr. Morton, I hope you do not propose to keep up Eden customs
+indefinitely. It's time we returned to the world to which we belong."
+
+"Zillah!" called Mrs. Yocomb, and we saw her coming down the garden
+walk.
+
+"Bless me! where is the child!" I exclaimed.
+
+"When you began to soar into the realms of melodrama and forget the
+garden you had asked her to show you, she sensibly tried to amuse
+herself. She is in the strawberry-bed, Mrs. Yocomb."
+
+"Yes," I said, "I admit that I forgot the garden; I had good reason to
+do so."
+
+"I think it is time we left the garden. You must remember that Mrs.
+Yocomb and I are not night editors, and cannot see in the dark."
+
+"Mother," cried Zillah, coming forward, "see what I have found;" and
+her little hands were full of ripe strawberries. "If it wasn't getting
+so dark I could have found more, I'm sure," she added,
+
+"What, giving them all to me?" Miss Warren exclaimed, as Zillah held
+out her hands to her favorite. "Wouldn't it be nicer if we all had
+some?"
+
+"Who held you up to look into the robin's nest?" I asked reproachfully.
+
+"Thee may give Richard Morton my share," said the little girl, trying
+to make amends.
+
+I held out my hand, and Miss Warren gave me half of them.
+
+"Now these are mine?" I said to Zillah. "Yes!"
+
+"Then I'll do what I please with them."
+
+I picked out the largest, and stooping down beside her, continued: "You
+must eat these or I won't eat any."
+
+"Thee's very like Emily Warren," the little girl laughed; "thee gets
+around me before I know it."
+
+"I'll give you all the strawberries for that compliment."
+
+"No, thee must take half."
+
+"Mrs. Yocomb, you and I will divide, too. Could there possibly be a
+more delicious combination!" and Miss Warren smacked her lips
+appreciatively.
+
+"The strawberry was evolved by a chance combination of forces," I
+remarked.
+
+"Undoubtedly," added Miss Warren, "so was my Geneva watch."
+
+"I like to think of the strawberry in this way," said Mrs. Yocomb.
+"There are many things in the Scriptures hard to understand; so there
+are in Nature. But we all love the short text: 'God is love.' The
+strawberry is that text repeated in Nature."
+
+"Mrs. Yocomb, you could convert infidels and pagans with a gospel of
+strawberries," I cried.
+
+"There are many Christians who prefer tobacco," said Mrs. Yocomb,
+laughing.
+
+"That reminds me," I exclaimed, "that I have not smoked to-day. I fear
+I shall fall from grace to-morrow, however."
+
+"Yes, I imagine you will drop from the clouds by tomorrow," Miss Warren
+remarked.
+
+"By the way, what a magnificent cloud that is rising above the horizon
+in the southwest. It appears like a solitary headland in an azure sea."
+
+"Ah--h!" she said, in satirical accent.
+
+"Mrs. Yocomb, Miss Warren has been laughing at me ever since I came. I
+may have to claim your protection."
+
+"No! thee and father are big enough to take care of yourselves."
+
+"Emily Warren, is thee and Richard Morton both lost?" called Mr. Yocomb
+from the piazza. "I can't find mother either. If somebody don't come
+soon I'll blow the fish-horn."
+
+"We're all coming," answered Mrs. Yocomb, and she led the way toward
+the house.
+
+"You have not given me a rose yet," I said to Miss Warren.
+
+"Must you have one?"
+
+"A man never uses the word 'must' in seeking favors from a lady."
+
+"Adroit policy! Well, what kind of a one do you want?"
+
+"I told you long ago."
+
+"Oh, I remember. An old-fashioned one, with a pronounced meaning. Here
+is a York and Lancaster bud. That has a decided old-style meaning."
+
+"It means war, does it not?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"I won't take it. Yes I will, too," I said, a second later, and I took
+the bud from her hand. "You know the law of war," I added: "To the
+victor belong the spoils."
+
+She gave me a quick glance, and after a moment said, a trifle coldly,
+
+"That remark seems bright, but it does not mean anything."
+
+"It often means a great deal. There, I'm out of the garden and in the
+ordinary world again. I wonder if I shall ever have another bit of Eden
+in my life."
+
+"Oh, indeed you shall. I will ask Mr. Yocomb to give you a day's
+weeding and hoeing there."
+
+"What will you do in the meantime?"
+
+"Sit under the arbor and laugh at you."
+
+"Agreed. But suppose it was hot and I grew very tired, what would you
+do?"
+
+"I fear I would have to invite you under the arbor."
+
+"You fear?"
+
+"Well, I would invite you if you had been of real service in the
+garden."
+
+"That would be Eden unalloyed."
+
+"Since I am not intoxicated, I cannot agree with you."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+"MOVED"
+
+
+"Mr. Yocomb," I said, as we mounted the piazza, "what is the cause of
+the smoke rising above yonder mountain to the east of us? I have
+noticed it several times this afternoon, and it seems increasing."
+
+"That mountain was on fire on Saturday. I hoped the rain of last night
+would put it out, but it was a light shower, and the fire is under
+headway again. It now seems creeping up near the top of the mountain,
+for I think I see a faint light."
+
+"I do distinctly; the mountain begins to remind me of a volcano."
+
+"The moon will rise before very long, and you may be treated to a grand
+sight if the fire burns, as I fear it will."
+
+"This is a day of fate," I said, laughing, "and almost any event that
+could possibly happen would not surprise me."
+
+"It has seemed a very quiet day to me," said the old gentleman.
+"Neither mother nor any one on the high seat had a message for us this
+morning, and this afternoon I took a very long nap. If thee had not
+come and stirred us up a little, and Emily Warren had not laughed at us
+both, I would call it almost a dull day, as far as any peaceful day can
+be dull. Such days, however, are quite to my mind, and thee'll like 'em
+better when thee sees my age."
+
+"I'm inclined to think," I replied, "that the great events of life
+would rarely make even an item in a newspaper."
+
+Mrs. Yocomb looked as if she understood me, but Miss Warren remarked,
+with a mischievous glance:
+
+"Personals are generally read."
+
+"Editors gossip about others, not themselves."
+
+"You admit they gossip."
+
+"That one did little else seems your impression."
+
+"News and gossip are different things; but I'm glad your conscience so
+troubles you that you exaggerate my words."
+
+"Emily Warren, thee can squabble with Richard Morton all day to-morrow
+after thy amiable fashion, but I'm hankering after some of thy music."
+
+"I will keep you waiting no longer, sir, and would have come before,
+but I did not wish you to see Mr. Morton while he was in a very
+lamentable condition."
+
+"Why, what was the matter with him?" asked Adah, who had just joined us
+in the lighted hall; "he seems to have very queer complaints."
+
+"He admits that he was intoxicated, and he certainly talked very
+strangely."
+
+"Miss Adah, did I talk strangely or wildly this afternoon?"
+
+"No, indeed, I think you talked very nicely; and I told Silas Jones
+that I never met a gentleman before who looked at things so exactly as
+I did."
+
+This was dreadful. I saw that Miss Warren was full of suppressed
+merriment, and was glad that Mrs. Yocomb was in the parlor lighting the
+lamps.
+
+"I suppose Mr. Jones was glad to hear what you said," I remarked,
+feeling that I must say something.
+
+"He may have been, but he did not look so."
+
+"Mr. Yocomb, you have your daughter's testimony that I was sober this
+afternoon, and since that time I have enjoyed nothing stronger than
+milk and the odor of your old-fashioned roses. If I was in a lamentable
+condition in the garden, Miss Warren was the cause, and so is wholly to
+blame."
+
+"Emily Warren, does thee know that thy mother Eve made trouble in a
+garden?"
+
+"I've not the least intention of taking Mr. Morton out of the garden.
+He may go back at once, and I have already suggested that you would
+give him plenty of hoeing and weeding there."
+
+"I'm not so sure about that; I fear he'd make the same havoc in my
+garden that I'd make in his newspaper."
+
+"Then you think an editor has no chance for Eden?"
+
+"Thee had better talk to mother about that. If there's any chance for
+thee at all she'll give thee hope. Now, Emily Warren, we are all ready.
+Sing some hymns that will give us all hope--no, sing hymns of faith."
+
+Adah took a seat on the sofa, and glanced encouragingly at me, but I
+found a solitary chair by an open window, where I could look out across
+the valley to the burning mountain, and watch the stars come out in the
+darkening sky. Within I faced Miss Warren's profile and the family
+group.
+
+I had not exaggerated when I told Miss Warren that I was conscious of a
+fine exhilaration. Sleep and rest had banished all dragged and jaded
+feelings. For hours my mind had been free from a sense of hurry and
+responsibility, which made it little better than a driving machine. In
+the mental leisure and quiet which I now enjoyed I had grown
+receptive--highly sensitive indeed--to the culminating scenes of this
+memorable day. Even little things and common words had a significance
+that I would not have noted ordinarily, and the group before me was not
+ordinary. Each character took form with an individuality as sharply
+defined as their figures in the somewhat dimly lighted room, and when I
+looked without into the deepening June night it seemed an obscure and
+noble background, making the human life within more real and attractive.
+
+Miss Warren sat before her piano quietly for a moment, and her face
+grew thoughtful and earnest. It was evident that she was not about to
+perform some music, but that she would unite with her sincere and
+simple friends, Mr. and Mrs. Yocomb, in giving expression to feelings
+and truths that were as real to her as to them.
+
+"How perfectly true she is!" I thought, as I noted the sweet, childlike
+gravity of her face. Then, in a voice that proved to be a sympathetic,
+pure soprano, well trained, but not at all great, she sang:
+
+    "My faith looks up to Thee."
+
+Their faith seemed very real and definite, and I could not help feeling
+that it would be a cruel and terrible thing if that pronoun "Thee"
+embodied no living and loving personality. The light in their faces,
+like that of a planet beaming on me through the open window, appeared
+but the inevitable reflection of a fuller, richer spiritual light that
+now shone full upon them.
+
+One hymn followed another, and Reuben, who soon came in, seemed to have
+several favorites. Little Zillah had early asked for those she liked
+best, and then her head had dropped down into her mother's lap, and
+Miss Warren's sweet tones became her lullaby, her innocent, sleeping
+face making another element in a picture that was outlining itself
+deeply in my memory.
+
+Adah, having found that she could not secure my attention, had fallen
+into something like a revery. Very possibly she was planning out the
+dress that she meant to "cut to suit herself," but in their repose her
+features became very beautiful again.
+
+Her face to me, however, was now no more than a picture on the wall;
+but the face of the childlike woman that was so wise and gifted, and
+yet so simple and true, had for me a fascination that excited my
+wonder. I had seen scores of beautiful women--I lived in a city where
+they abounded--but I had never seen this type of face before. The truth
+that I had not was so vivid that it led to the thought that, like the
+first man, I had seen in the garden the one woman of the world, the
+mistress of my fate. A second later I was conscious of a sickening
+fear. To love such a woman, and yet not be able to win her--how could
+one thereafter go on with life! Beware, Richard Morton! On this quiet
+June evening, in this home of peace and the peaceful, and with hymns of
+love and faith breathed sweetly into your ears, you may be in the
+direst peril of your life. From this quiet hour may come the unrest of
+a lifetime. Then Hope whispered of better things. I said to myself, "I
+did not come to this place. I wandered hither, or was led hither; and
+to every influence of this day I shall yield myself. If some kindly
+Power has led me to this woman of crystal truth, I shall be the most
+egregious fool in the universe if I do not watch and wait for further
+possibilities of good."
+
+How sweet and luminous her face seemed in contrast with the vague
+darkness without! More sweet and luminous would her faith be in the
+midst of the contradictions, obscurities, and evils of the world. The
+home that enshrined such a woman would be a refuge for a man's tempted
+soul, as well as a resting-place for his tired body.
+
+"Sing 'Tell me the Old, Old Story,'" said Mr. Yocomb, in his warm,
+hearty way. Was I a profane wretch because the thought would come that
+if I could draw, in shy, hesitating admission, another story as old as
+the world it would be heavenly music?
+
+Could it have been that it was my intent gaze and concentrated thought
+that made her turn suddenly to me after complying with Mr. Yocomb's
+request? She colored slightly as she met my eyes, but said quietly,
+"Mr. Morton, you have expressed no preference yet."
+
+"I have enjoyed everything you have sung," I replied, and I quietly
+sustained her momentary and direct gaze.
+
+She seemed satisfied, and smiled as she said, "Thank you, but you shall
+have your preference also."
+
+"Miss Warren, you have sung some little time, and perhaps your voice is
+tired. Do you play Chopin's Twelfth Nocturne? That seems to me like a
+prayer."
+
+"I'm glad you like that," she said, with a pleased, quick glance. "I
+play it every Sunday night when I am alone."
+
+A few moments later and we were all under the spell of that exquisite
+melody which can fitly give expression to the deepest and tenderest
+feelings and most sacred aspirations of the heart.
+
+Did I say all? I was mistaken. Adah's long lashes were drooping, her
+face was heavy with sleep, and it suggested flesh and blood, and flesh
+and blood only.
+
+Miss Warren's eyes, in contrast, were moist, her mouth tremulous with
+feeling, and her face was a beautiful transparency, through which shone
+those traits which already made her, to me, pre-eminent among women.
+
+I saw Mrs. Yocomb glance from one girl to the other, then close her
+eyes, while a strong expression of pain passed over her face. Her lips
+moved, and she undoubtedly was speaking to One near to her, though so
+far, seemingly, from most of us.
+
+A little later there occurred one or two exquisite movements in the
+prayer harmony, and I turned to note their effect on Mrs. Yocomb, and
+was greatly struck by her appearance. She was looking fixedly into
+space, and her face had assumed a rapt, earnest, seeking aspect, as if
+she were trying to see something half hidden in the far distance. With
+a few rich chords the melody ceased. Mr. Yocomb glanced at his wife,
+then instantly folded his hands and assumed an attitude of reverent
+expectancy. Reuben did likewise. At the cessation of the music Adah
+opened her eyes, and by an instinct or habit seemed to know what to
+expect, for her face regained the quiet repose it had worn at the
+meeting-house in the morning.
+
+Miss Warren turned toward Mrs. Yocomb, and sat with bowed head. For a
+few moments we remained in perfect silence. There was a faint flash of
+light, followed after an interval by a low, deep reverberation. The
+voices in nature seemed heavy and threatening. The sweet, gentle
+monotone of the woman's voice, as she began to speak, was divine in
+contrast. Slowly she enunciated the sentences:
+
+"What I do, thou knowest not now: but thou shalt know hereafter."
+
+After a pause she continued: "As the dear young friend was playing,
+these words were borne in upon my mind. They teach the necessity of
+faith. Thanks be to the God of heaven and earth, that He who spake
+these words is so worthy of the faith He requires! The disciple of old
+could not always understand his Lord; no more can we. We often shrink
+from that which is given in love, and grasp at that which would
+destroy. Though but little, weak, erring children, we would impose on
+the all-wise God our way, instead of meekly accepting His way. Surely,
+the One who speaks has a right to do what pleases His divine will. He
+is the sovereign One, the Lord of lords; and though He slay me, yet
+will I trust in Him.
+
+"But though it is a King that speaks, He does not speak as a king. He
+is talking to His friends; He is serving them with a humility and
+meekness that no sinful mortal has surpassed. He is proving, by the
+plain, simple teaching of actions, that we are not merely His subjects,
+but His brethren, His sisters; and that with Him we shall form one
+household of faith, one family in God. He is teaching the sin of
+arrogance and the folly of pride. He is proving, for all time, that
+serving--not being served--is God's patent of nobility. We should not
+despise the lowliest, for none can stoop so far as He stooped."
+
+Every few moments her low, sweet voice had, as an accompaniment,
+distant peals of thunder, that after every interval rolled nearer and
+jarred heavier among the mountains. More than once I saw Miss Warren
+start nervously, and glance apprehensively at the open window where I
+sat, and through which the lightning gleamed with increasing vividness.
+Adah maintained the same utterly quiet, impassive face, and it seemed
+to me that she heard nothing and thought of nothing. Her eyes were
+open; her mind was asleep. She appeared an exquisite breathing
+combination of flesh and blood, and nothing more. Reuben looked at his
+mother with an expression of simple affection; but one felt that he did
+not realize very deeply what she was saying; but Mr. Yocomb's face
+glowed with an honest faith and strong approval.
+
+"The Master said," continued Mrs. Yocomb, after one of the little
+pauses that intervened between her trains of thought, "'What I do, thou
+knowest not now.' There He might have stopped. Presuming is the subject
+that asks his king for the why and wherefore of all that he does. The
+king is the highest of all; and if he be a king in truth, he sees the
+furthest of all. It is folly for those beneath the throne to expect to
+see so far, or to understand why the king, in his far-reaching
+providence, acts in a way mysterious to them. Our King is kingly, and
+He sees the end from the beginning. His plans reach through eternities.
+Why should He ever be asked to explain to such as we? Nevertheless, to
+the fishermen of Galilee, and to us, He does say, 'Thou shalt know
+hereafter.'
+
+"The world is full of evil. We meet its sad mysteries on every side, in
+every form. It often touches us very closely--" For a moment some deep
+emotion choked her utterance. Involuntarily, I glanced at Adah. Her
+eyes were drooping a little heavily again, and her bosom rose and fell
+in the long, quiet breath of complete repose. Miss Warren was regarding
+the suffering mother with the face of a pitying angel.
+
+"And its evils _are_ evil," resumed the sad-hearted woman, in a tone
+that was full of suppressed anguish; "at least, they seem so, and I
+don't understand them--I can't understand them, nor why they are
+permitted; but He has promised that good shall come out of the evil,
+and has said, 'Thou shalt know hereafter.' Oh, blessed hereafter! when
+all clouds shall have rolled away, and in the brightness of my Lord's
+presence every mystery that now troubles me shall be made clear. Dear
+Lord, I await Thine own time. Do what seemeth good in Thine own eyes;"
+and she meekly folded her hands and bowed her head. For a moment or two
+there was the same impressive silence that fell upon us before she
+spoke. Then a louder and nearer peal of thunder awakened Zillah, who
+raised her head from her mother's lap and looked wonderingly around, as
+if some one had called her.
+
+Never had I witnessed such a scene before, and I turned toward the
+darkness that I might hide the evidence of feelings that I could not
+control.
+
+A second later I sprang to my feet, exclaiming, "Wonderful!"
+
+Miss Warren came toward me with apprehension in her face, but I saw
+that she noted my moist eyes.
+
+I hastened from the room, saying, "Come out on the lawn, all of you,
+for we may now witness a scene that is grand indeed."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+ONE OF NATURE'S TRAGEDIES
+
+
+I had been so interested in Mrs. Yocomb's words, their effect on the
+little group around her, and the whole sacred mystery of the scene,
+that I had ceased to watch the smoking mountain, with its increasingly
+lurid apex. In the meantime the fire had fully reached the summit, on
+which stood a large dry tree, and it had become a skeleton of flame.
+Through this lurid fire and smoke the full moon was rising, its silver
+disk discolored and partially obscured.
+
+This scene alone, as we gathered on the piazza and lawn below it, might
+well have filled us with awe and wonder; but a more impressive
+combination was forming. Advancing from the southwest, up the star-lit
+sky, which the moon was brightening momentarily, was a cloud whose
+blackness and heaviness the vivid lightning made only the more apparent.
+
+"I am an old man," said Mr. Yocomb, "but I never saw anything so grand
+as this before."
+
+"Mother, mother," said little Zillah, "I'm afraid. Please take me
+upstairs and put me to bed." And the mother, to whom the scene in the
+heavens was a glorious manifestation of the God she loved rather than
+feared, denied herself of what was almost like a vision, for the sake
+of the child.
+
+"It's awful," said Adah; "I won't look at it any longer. I don't see
+why we can't have nice quiet showers that one can go to sleep in;" and
+she disappeared within the house. Reuben sat down on the piazza, in his
+quiet, undemonstrative way. Miss Warren came down and stood close to
+Mr. Yocomb's side, as if she half unconsciously sought the good man's
+protection.
+
+Incessant lightnings played from some portion of the cloud, zigzagging
+in fiery links and forkings, while, at brief intervals, there would be
+an exceptionally vivid flash, followed more and more closely by heavier
+and still heavier explosions. But not a leaf stirred around us: the
+chirp of a cricket was sharply distinct in the stillness. The stars
+shone serenely over our heads, and the moon, rising to the left out of
+the line of the smoke and fire, was assuming her silvery brightness,
+and at the same time rendering the burning mountain more lurid from
+contrast.
+
+"Herbert, Herbert, now I know how brave you were," I heard Miss Warren
+exclaim, in a low, awed tone.
+
+I saw by the frequent flashes that she was very pale, and that she was
+trembling.
+
+"You mean your brother," I said gently.
+
+With her eyes fixed on the threatening and advancing cloud as if
+fascinated by it, she continued in the same tone, that was full of
+indescribable dread: "Yes, yes, I never realized it so fully before,
+and yet I have lain awake whole nights, going, by an awful necessity,
+over every scene of that terrible day. He stood in his place in the
+line of battle on an open plain, and he watched battery after battery
+come down from the heights above and open fire. He stood there till he
+was slain, looking steadily at death. This cloud that is coming makes
+me understand the more awful storm of war that he faced. Oh, I wish
+this hadn't happened," and there was almost agony in her tone. "I'm not
+brave as he was, and every nearer peal of thunder shakes my very soul."
+
+Mr. Yocomb put his hand tenderly on her shoulder as he said:
+
+"My dear, foolish little child--as if thy Father in heaven would hurt
+thee!"
+
+"Miss Warren," I said earnestly, "I have too little of Mr. and Mrs.
+Yocomb's faith; but it seems impossible that anything coming from
+heaven could harm you."
+
+She drew closer to Mr. Yocomb's side, but still looked at the cloud
+with the same wide-eyed dread, as if spellbound by it.
+
+"To me," she resumed in her former tone, that only became more hurried
+and full of fear as the tempest approached, "these awful storms are no
+part of heaven. They are wholly of earth, and seem the counterparts of
+those wild outbreaks of human passion from which I and so many poor
+women in the past have suffered;" and a low sob shook her frame. "I
+wish I had more of good Mr. Yocomb's spirit; for this appalling cloud
+seems to me the very incarnation of evil. Why _does_ God permit such
+things?"
+
+With a front as calm and serene as that of any ancient prophet could
+have been, Mr. Yocomb began repeating the sublime words, "The voice of
+Thy thunder was in the heavens; the lightnings lightened the world."
+
+"Oh, no, no!" cried the trembling girl, "the God I worship is not in
+the storm nor in the fire, but in the still small voice of love. You
+may think me very weak to be so moved, but truly I cannot help it. My
+whole nature shrinks from this." I took her hand as I said warmly, "I
+do understand you, Miss Warren. Unconsciously you have fully explained
+your mood and feeling. It's in truth your nature, your sensitive,
+delicate organism, that shrinks from this wild tumult that is coming.
+In the higher moral tests of courage, when the strongest man might
+falter and fail, you would be quietly steadfast."
+
+She gave my hand a quick, strong pressure, and then withdrew it as she
+said, "I hope you are right; you interpret me so generously that I hope
+I may some day prove you right."
+
+"I need no proof. I saw your very self in the garden."
+
+"How strange--how strange it all is!" she resumed, with a manner that
+betokened a strong nervous excitability. "Can this be the same
+world--these the same scenes that were so full of peace and beauty an
+hour ago? How tremendous is the contrast between the serene, lovely
+June day and evening just passed and this coming tempest, whose sullen
+roar I already hear with increasing dread! Mr. Morton, you said in jest
+that this was a day of fate. Why did you use the expression? It haunts
+me, oppresses me. Possibly it is. I rarely give way to presentiments,
+but I dread the coming of this storm inexpressibly. Oh!" and she
+trembled violently as a heavier peal than we had yet heard filled the
+wide valley with awful echoes.
+
+"Not even a sparrow shall fall to the ground without your Father. We
+are safe, my child. God will shield thee more lovingly than I;" and he
+drew her closer to him.
+
+"I know what you say is true, and yet I cannot control this mortal fear
+and weakness."
+
+"No, Miss Warren, you cannot," I said; "therefore do not blame
+yourself. You tremble as these trees and shrubs will be agitated in a
+few moments, because you cannot help it."
+
+"You are not so moved."
+
+"No, nor will that post be moved," I replied, with a reckless laugh. "I
+must admit that I am very much excited, however, for the air is full of
+electricity. I can't help thinking of the little robins in a home open
+to the sky."
+
+Her only answer was a low sob, but not for a moment did she take her
+wide, terror-stricken gaze from the cloud whose slow, deliberate
+advance was more terrible than gusty violence would have been.
+
+The phenomena had now become so awful that we did not speak again for
+some moments. The great inky mass was extending toward the eastward,
+and approaching the fire burning on the mountain-top, and the moon
+rising above and to the left of it; and from beneath its black shadow
+came a heavy, muffled sound that every moment deepened and intensified.
+
+Suddenly, as if shaken by a giant's hands, the tree-tops above us
+swayed to and fro; then the shrubbery along the paths seemed full of
+wild terror and writhed in every direction.
+
+Hitherto the moon had shone on the cloud with as serene a face as that
+with which Mr. Yocomb had watched its approach, but now a scud of vapor
+swept like a sudden pallor across her disk, giving one the odd
+impression that she had just realized her peril, and then an abyss of
+darkness swallowed her up. For a few moments longer the fire burned on,
+and then the cloud with its torrents settled down upon it, and the
+luridly luminous point became opaque.
+
+The night now alternated between utter darkness and a glare in which
+every leaf and even the color of the tossing roses were distinct.
+
+After the first swirl of wind passed, there fell upon nature round us a
+silence that was like breathless expectation, or the cowering from a
+blow that cannot be averted, and through the stillness the sound of the
+advancing tempest came with awful distinctness, while far back among
+the mountains the deep reverberations scarcely ceased a moment.
+
+Broken masses of vapor, the wild skirmish line of the storm, passed
+over our heads, blotting out the stars. The trees and shrubbery were
+bending helplessly to the gust, and Miss Warren could scarcely stand
+before its violence. The great elm swayed its drooping branches over
+the house as if to protect it. The war and whirl of the tempest was all
+about us, the coming rain reminded one of the resounding footsteps of
+an innumerable host, and great drops fell here and there like
+scattering shots.
+
+"Come in, my child," said Mr. Yocomb; "the storm will soon be passed,
+and thee and the robins shall yet have quiet sleep to-night. I've seen
+many such wild times among the mountains, and nothing worse than
+clearer skies and better grain followed. You will hear the robins
+singing--"
+
+A blinding flash of lightning, followed by such a crash as I hope I may
+never hear again, prevented further reassuring words, and he had to
+half support her into the house.
+
+I had never been in a battle, but I know that the excitement which
+mastered me must have been akin to the grand exaltation of conflict,
+wherein a man thinks and acts by moments as if they were hours and
+years. Well he may, when any moment, may end his life. But the thought
+of death scarcely entered my mind. I had no presentiment of harm to
+myself, but feared that the dwelling or outbuildings might be struck.
+
+Almost with the swiftness of lightning came the calculation:
+
+"Estimating distance and time, the next discharge of electricity will
+be directly over the house. If there's cause, which God forbid, may I
+have the nerve and power to serve those who have been so kind!"
+
+As I thought, I ran to an open space which commanded a view of the
+farmhouse. Scarcely had I reached it before my eyes were blinded for a
+second by what seemed a ball of intense burning light shot vertically
+into the devoted home.
+
+"O God!" I gasped, "it is the day of fate." For a moment I seemed
+paralyzed, but the igniting roof beside the chimney roused me at once.
+
+"Reuben!" I shouted.
+
+A flash of lightning revealed him still seated quietly on the piazza,
+as if he had heard nothing. I rushed forward, and shook him by the
+shoulder.
+
+"Come, be a man; help me. Quick!" and I half dragged him to a
+neighboring cherry-tree, against which I had noticed that a ladder
+rested.
+
+By this time he seemed to recover his senses, and in less than a moment
+we had the ladder against the house. Within another moment he had
+brought me a pail of water from the kitchen.
+
+"Have two more pails ready," I cried, mounting the low, sloping roof.
+
+The water I carried, and rain, which now began to fall in torrents,
+extinguished the external fire, but I justly feared that the woodwork
+had been ignited within. Hastening back at perilous speed, I said to
+Reuben, who stood ready: "Take one of the pails and lead the way to the
+attic and the rooms upstairs."
+
+The house was strangely and awfully quiet as we rushed in.
+
+I paused a second at the parlor door. Miss Warren lay motionless upon
+the floor, and Mr. Yocomb sat quietly in his great armchair.
+
+A sickening fear almost overwhelmed me, but I exclaimed loudly, "Mr.
+Yocomb, rouse yourself; I smell fire; the house is burning!"
+
+He did not move nor answer, and I followed Reuben, who was half-way up
+the stairs. It took but a few seconds to reach the large, old-fashioned
+garret, which already was filling with smoke.
+
+"Lead the way to the chimney," I shouted to Reuben in my terrible
+excitement. "Do not waste a drop of water. Let me put it on when I find
+just where the fire is."
+
+Through the smoke I now saw a lurid point. A stride brought me thither,
+and I threw part of the water in my pail up against it. The hissing and
+sputtering proved that we had hit on the right spot, while the torrents
+falling on the roof so dampened the shingles that further ignition from
+without was impossible.
+
+"We must go down a moment to breathe," I gasped, for the smoke was
+choking us.
+
+As we reached the story in which were the sleeping apartments, I cried:
+
+"Great God! Why don't some of the family move or speak?"
+
+Hitherto Reuben had realized only the peril of his home; but now he
+rushed into his mother's room, calling her in a tone that I shall never
+forget.
+
+A second later he uttered my name in a strange, awed tone, and I
+entered hesitatingly. Little Zillah apparently lay sleeping in her
+crib, and Mrs. Yocomb was kneeling by her bedside.
+
+"Mother!" said Reuben, in a loud whisper.
+
+She did not answer.
+
+He knelt beside her, put his arm around her, and said, close to her
+ear, "Mother! why don't you speak to me?" She made no response, and I
+saw that she leaned so heavily forward on the bed as to indicate utter
+unconsciousness.
+
+The boy sprang up, and gazed at me with wild questioning in his eyes.
+
+"Reuben!" I said quickly, "she's only stunned by the lightning. Will
+you prove yourself a man, and help me in what must be done? Life may
+depend upon it."
+
+"Yes," eagerly.
+
+"Then help me lift your mother on the bed; strong and gentle,
+now--that's it."
+
+I put my hand over her heart.
+
+"She is not dead," I exclaimed joyously; "only stunned. Let us go to
+the attic again, for we must keep shelter this wild night."
+
+We found that the smoke had perceptibly lessened; I dashed the other
+pail of water on the spot that had been burning, then found that I
+could place my hand on it. We had been just in time, for there was
+light woodwork near that communicated with the floor, and the attic was
+full of dry lumber, and herbs hanging here and there, that would have
+burned like tinder. Had these been burning we could not have entered
+the garret, and as it was we breathed with great difficulty. The roof
+still resounded to the fall of such torrents that I felt that the
+dwelling was safe, unless it had become ignited in the lower stories,
+and it was obviously our next duty to see whether this was the case.
+
+"Reuben," I said, "fill the pails once more, while I look through the
+house and see if there's fire anywhere else. It's clear that all who
+were in the house were stunned--even you were, slightly, on the
+piazza--so don't give way to fright on their account. If you do as I
+bid, you may do much to save their lives; but we must first make sure
+the house is safe. If it isn't, we must carry them all out at once."
+
+He comprehended me, and went for the water instantly.
+
+I again looked into Mrs. Yocomb's room. It was impregnated with a
+strong sulphurous odor, and I now saw that there was a discolored line
+down the wall adjoining the chimney, and that little Zillah's crib
+stood nearer the scorching line of fire than Mrs. Yocomb had been. But
+the child looked quiet and peaceful, and I hastened away.
+
+My own room was dark and safe. I opened the door of Miss Warren's room,
+and a flash of lightning, followed by complete darkness, showed that
+nothing was amiss.
+
+I then opened another door, and first thought the apartment on fire, it
+was so bright; but instantly saw that two lamps were burning, and that
+Adah lay dressed upon the bed, with her face turned toward them. By
+this common device she had sought to deaden the vivid lightning. Her
+face was white as the pillow on which it rested; her eyes were closed,
+and from her appearance she might have been sleeping or dead. Even
+though almost overwhelmed with dread, I could not help noting her
+wonderful beauty. In my abnormal and excited condition of mind,
+however, it seemed a natural and essential part of the strange,
+unexpected experiences of the day.
+
+I was now convinced that there was no fire in the second story, and the
+thought of Miss Warren drew me instantly away. I already had a strange
+sense of self-reproach that I had not gone to her at once, feeling as
+if I had discarded the first and most sacred claim. I met Reuben on the
+stairway, and told him that the second story was safe, and asked him to
+look through the first story and cellar, and then to go for a physician
+as fast as the fleetest horse could carry him.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+THE LIGHTNING AND A SUBTLER FLAME
+
+
+On entering the parlor, I found Mr. Yocomb standing up and looking
+around in a dazed manner. He did not seem to know me, and in my deep
+anxiety I did not heed him. Kneeling beside Miss Warren, I found that
+her pulse was very feeble. I lifted her gently upon the sofa, and threw
+open a window, so that the damp, gusty wind, full of spray from the
+rain, might blow in upon her.
+
+Mr. Yocomb laid his hand heavily on my shoulder, and asked, in a thick
+voice, "What does it all mean?"
+
+I saw that he was deathly pale, and that he tottered. Taking his arm, I
+supported him to a lounge in the hall, and said, "Mr. Yocomb, you were
+taken ill. You must lie down quietly till the physician comes."
+
+He seemed so confused and unable to think that he accepted my
+explanation. Indeed, he soon became so ill from the effects of the
+shock that he could not rise.
+
+Again I knelt at Miss Warren's side, and began chafing her hands; but
+the cool wind and spray did the most to revive her. She opened her
+eyes, looked at me fixedly a few moments, and then tried to rise.
+
+"Please keep quiet," I said, "till I bring you some brandy;" and I
+hastened to my room, tore open my valise, and was soon moistening her
+lips from a small flask. After swallowing a little she regained
+self-possession rapidly.
+
+"What happened?" she asked.
+
+"I fear you swooned."
+
+She passed her hand over her brow, and looked around as if in search,
+of some one, then said, "Where is Mrs. Yocomb?"
+
+"She is in her room with Zillah."
+
+"Please let me go to her;" and she again essayed to rise.
+
+"Miss Warren," I said gently, "I have no right to ask a favor of you,
+but I will thank you very much if you will just remain quietly on this
+sofa till you are better. You remember we had a frightful storm. I
+never knew such heavy thunder."
+
+"Ah! there it is again," she said, shuddering, as a heavy peal rolled
+away to the north.
+
+"Miss Warren, you said once to-day that you could trust me. You can. I
+assure you the storm is past; there is no more danger from it, but
+there is danger unless you do as I bid you. Remain quietly here till
+you have recovered from--from your nervous prostration. I happen to
+have some knowledge in a case of this kind, and I know that much
+depends on your being quiet for an hour or more. You need not be
+alarmed if you do as I bid you. I will see to it that some one is
+within call all the time;" and I tried to speak cheerfully and
+decisively.
+
+She smiled as she said, "Since you have assumed the role of doctor,
+I'll obey, for I know how arbitrary the profession is."
+
+Then she again reclined wearily on the sofa, and I went out, closing
+the door.
+
+I found Reuben beside his father, who certainly needed care, for the
+terrible nausea which attends recovery from a severe shock from
+electricity had set in.
+
+"Reuben," I urged, "_do_ go for the doctor; I'll do everything for your
+father that I can, but we must have a good physician at once. Go in
+your buggy as fast as you can drive in the dark--can't you take a
+lantern?--and bring the doctor with you. First tell him what has
+happened, so that he can bring the proper remedies. Be a man, Reuben;
+much depends on you to-night."
+
+Within five minutes I heard the swift feet of Dapple splash out upon
+the road. The night was growing still and close, and the gusts occurred
+at longer intervals. The murky cloud had covered the sky, utterly
+obscuring the moonlight, and there was a steady and heavy fall of rain.
+
+After Reuben had gone, a terrible sense of isolation and helplessness
+oppressed me. I remembered strange tales of lightning and its effects
+that I had heard. Would the mother and her two daughters survive? Was
+Mr. Yocomb seriously ill? But I found that the anxiety which tortured
+me most was in behalf of the one who gave the best promise of speedy
+recovery; and it was my chief hope that she would remain quietly where
+I had left her till the physician arrived. I had pretended to a far
+greater knowledge than I possessed, since in truth I had had very
+little experience in illness. If Miss Warren should leave the parlor,
+and thus learn that the farmhouse might become the scene of an awful
+tragedy, the effect upon her would probably be disastrous in the
+extreme.
+
+These and like thoughts were coursing swiftly through my mind as I
+waited upon Mr. Yocomb, and sought to give him relief.
+
+"Ice!" he gasped; "it's in cellar."
+
+I snatched up the candle that Reuben had left burning on the
+hall-table, and went for it. The place was strange, and I was not as
+quick and deft as many others would have been, and so was absent some
+moments.
+
+Great was my surprise and consternation when I returned, for Miss
+Warren stood beside Mr. Yocomb, holding his head.
+
+"Why are you here?" I asked, and my tone and manner betokened deep
+trouble.
+
+"I'm better," she said, quietly and firmly.
+
+"Miss Warren," I remonstrated, "I won't answer for the consequences if
+you don't go back to the parlor and remain there till the doctor comes.
+I know what I'm about."
+
+"You don't look as if master of the situation. You are haggard--you
+seem half desperate--"
+
+"I'm anxious about you, and if--"
+
+"Mr. Morton, you are far more anxious about others. I've had time to
+think. A swoon is not such a desperate affair. You guessed rightly--a
+thunderstorm prostrates me, but as it passes I am myself again."
+
+After aiding Mr. Yocomb to recline feebly on the lounge, she came to
+the table where I was breaking the ice, and said, in a low tone:
+
+"Something very serious has happened."
+
+I could not look at her. I dared not to speak even, for I was oppressed
+with the dread of a worse tragedy. With her morbid fear of lightning
+she might almost lose her reason if now, in her weak, unnerved
+condition, she saw its effect on Mrs. Yocomb and Adah.
+
+"Mother," moaned Mr. Yocomb; "why don't mother come?"
+
+"She's with Zillah upstairs," I faltered. "Zillah's ill!"
+
+"Then why does not Adah come to her father?" Miss Warren questioned,
+looking at me keenly.
+
+I felt that disguise was useless.
+
+"Mr. Morton, your hand so trembles that you can scarcely break the ice.
+Something dreadful has happened--there's the smell of smoke and fire in
+the house. Tell me, tell me!" and she laid her hand appealingly on my
+arm.
+
+"Oh, Miss Warren," I groaned, "let me shield you. If further harm
+should come to you to-night--"
+
+"Further harm will come unless you treat me as a woman, not as a
+child," she said firmly. "I know you mean it kindly, and no doubt I
+have seemed weak enough to warrant any amount of shielding."
+
+At this moment there came a peal of thunder from the passing storm, and
+she sank shudderingly into a chair. As it passed she sprang up and said:
+
+"I can't help that, but I can and will help you. I understand it all.
+The house has been struck, and Zillah, Adah, and Mr. Yocomb have been
+hurt. Let me feed Mr. Yocomb with the ice. Are you sure he should have
+ice? I would give him brandy first if I had my way, but you said you
+knew--"
+
+"Miss Warren, I don't know--I'm in mortal terror in behalf of the
+family; but my chief dread has been that you would come to know the
+truth, and now I can't keep it from you. If you can be brave and strong
+enough to help me in this emergency, I will honor you and thank you
+every day of my life."
+
+"Mother! mother! why doesn't mother come?" Mr. Yocomb called.
+
+Miss Warren gave me a swift glance that was as reassuring as sunlight,
+and then went quietly into the parlor. A moment later she was giving
+Mr. Yocomb brandy and water, and quieting him with low, gentle words.
+
+"You remember, Mr. Yocomb," she said, "that Zillah was greatly
+frightened by the storm. You would not have the mother leave the child
+just yet. Mr. Morton, will you go upstairs and see if I can be of any
+assistance? I will join you there as soon as I have made Mr. Yocomb a
+little more comfortable," and she went to the parlor and brought out
+another pillow, and then threw open the hall-door in order that her
+patient might have more air, for he respired slowly and laboriously.
+Her words seemed to quiet him, and he gave himself into her hands. I
+looked at her wonderingly for a moment, then said, in a low tone:
+
+"You are indeed a woman and a brave one. I recognize my superior
+officer, and resign command at once."
+
+She shook her head as she gave me a glimmer of a smile, but urged, in a
+whisper, "Hasten, we must not lose a moment."
+
+I swiftly mounted the stairs, relieved of my chief anxiety.
+
+Through the open door I saw Adah's fair white face. She had not
+stirred. I now ventured in and spoke to her, but she was utterly
+unconscious. Taking her hand I was overjoyed to find a feeble pulse.
+
+"It may all yet be well. God grant it," I muttered.
+
+"He will," said Miss Warren, who had joined me almost immediately;
+"this is not a day of fate, I trust;" and she began moistening Adah's
+lips with brandy, and trying to cause her to swallow a little, while I
+chafed her pretty hands and rubbed brandy on her wrists.
+
+"It seems to me as if an age, crowded with events, had elapsed since I
+started on my aimless walk this morning," I said, half in soliloquy.
+
+"That you were directed hither will be cause for lasting gratitude. Was
+not the house on fire?"
+
+"Yes, but Reuben was invaluable. He was out on the piazza, and so was
+not hurt."
+
+"Was Mrs. Yocomb hurt?" she asked, looking at me in wild alarm.
+
+"Please do not fail me," I entreated; "you have been so brave thus far.
+Mrs. Yocomb will soon revive, I think. You were unconscious at first."
+
+She now realized the truth that Mrs. Yocomb was not caring for Zillah,
+and hastened to their room, impelled by an overmastering affection for
+the woman who had treated her with motherly kindness.
+
+I followed her, and assured her that her friend was living. It needed
+but a moment to see that this was true, but little Zillah scarcely gave
+any sign of life. Both were unconscious.
+
+The young girl now looked at me as if almost overwhelmed, and said, in
+a low shuddering tone, "This is awful--far worse than I feared; I do
+wish the doctor was here."
+
+"He must be here soon. I know you won't give way. In great emergencies
+a true woman is great. You may save--"
+
+A thunder-peal from the retreating storm drowned my words. She grew
+white, and would have fallen had I not caught her and supported her to
+a chair.
+
+"Give me--a few moments," she gasped, "and I'll be--myself again. This
+shock is awful. Why, we would all have burned up--had you not put the
+fire out," and her eyes dilated with horror.
+
+"We have no time for words," I said, brusquely. "Here, take this
+brandy, and then let us do everything in our power to save life. I
+scarcely know what to do, but something must be done. If we can only do
+the right thing, all may yet be well."
+
+In a moment the weakness passed, and she was her brave, quiet self once
+more.
+
+"I won't fail you again," she said resolutely, as she tried to force a
+little brandy between Mrs. Yocomb's pallid lips.
+
+"You are a genuine woman," I replied heartily, as I chafed Mrs.
+Yocomb's wrists with the spirits; "I know how terrible the ordeal has
+been for you, and most young ladies would have contributed to the
+occasion nothing but hysterics."
+
+"And you feared I would."
+
+"I feared worse. You are morbidly timid in a thunder-storm, and I
+dreaded your learning what you now know beyond measure."
+
+"You were indeed burdened," she said, looking at me with strong
+sympathy.
+
+"No matter. If you can keep up and suffer no ill consequences from this
+affair, I believe that the rest will come through all right. After all,
+they are affected only physically, but you--"
+
+"I have been a little weak-minded. I know it. But if it doesn't thunder
+any more I'll keep up. Ever since I was a child the sound of thunder
+paralyzed me. Thank God, Mrs. Yocomb is beginning to revive."
+
+"I will leave her in your care, and see if I can do anything for Mr.
+Yocomb. I thus show that I trust you fully."
+
+As I passed out I heard a faint voice call, "Mother!"
+
+Going to the door of Adah's room I saw that she was conscious, and
+feebly trying to rise. As I entered she looked at me in utter
+bewilderment, then shrank with instinctive fear from the presence of a
+seeming intruder. I saw the impulse of her half-conscious mind, and
+called Miss Warren, who came at once, and her presence seemed
+reassuring.
+
+"What's the matter?" she asked, with the same thick utterance that I
+had noted in Mr. Yocomb's voice. It seemed as if the organs of speech
+were partially paralyzed.
+
+"You have been ill, my dear, but now you are much better. The doctor
+will be here soon," Miss Warren said soothingly.
+
+She seemed to comprehend the words imperfectly, and turned her
+wondering eyes toward me.
+
+"Oh, that the doctor would come!" I groaned. "Here you have two on your
+hands, and Mr. Yocomb is calling."
+
+"Who's that?" asked Adah, feebly pointing to me.
+
+"You remember Mr. Morton," Miss Warren said quietly, bathing the girl's
+face with cologne. "You brought him home from meeting this morning."
+
+The girl's gaze was so fixed and peculiar that it held me a moment, and
+gave the odd impression of the strong curiosity of one waking up in a
+new world. Suddenly she closed her eyes and fell back faint and sick.
+At that moment, above the sound of the rain, I heard the quick splash
+of a horse's feet, and hastened down to greet the doctor.
+
+In a few hasty words I added such explanation of the catastrophe as
+Reuben's partial account rendered necessary, and by the time I had
+finished we were at Mrs. Yocomb's door. Mr. Yocomb seemed sufficiently
+at rest to be left for a while.
+
+"This is Miss Warren," I said. "She will be your invaluable assistant,
+but you must be careful of her, since she, too, has suffered very
+severely, and, I fear, is keeping up on the strength of her brave will,
+mainly."
+
+The physician, fortunately, was a good one, and his manner gave us
+confidence from the start.
+
+"I think I understand the affair sufficiently," he said; "and the best
+thing you can do for my patients, and for Miss Warren also, Mr. Morton,
+is to have some strong black coffee made as soon as possible. That will
+now prove an invaluable remedy, I think."
+
+"I'll show you where the coffee is," Miss Warren added promptly.
+"Unfortunately--perhaps fortunately--Mrs. Yocomb let the woman who
+assisted her go away for the night. Had she been here she might have
+been another burden."
+
+Even though I had but a moment or two in the room, I saw that the
+doctor was anxious about little Zillah.
+
+As Miss Warren waited on me I said earnestly, "What a godsend you are!"
+
+"No," she replied with a tone and glance that, to me, were sweeter and
+more welcome than all the June sunshine of that day. "I was here, and
+you were sent." Then her eyes grew full of dread, reminding me of the
+gaze she had bent on the storm before which she had cowered. "The house
+was on fire," she said; "we were all helpless--unconscious. You saved
+us. I begin to realize it all."
+
+"Come, Miss Warren, you now are 'seeing double.' Here, Reuben," I said
+to the young fellow, who came dripping in from the barn. "I want to
+introduce you in a new light. Miss Warren doesn't half know you yet,
+and I wish her to realize that you are no longer a boy, but a brave,
+level-headed man, that even when stunned by lightning could do as much
+as I did."
+
+"Now, Richard Morton, I didn't do half as much as thee did. How's
+mother?" and he spoke with a boy's ingenuousness.
+
+"Doing well under the care of the doctor you brought," I said; "and if
+you will now help me make this dying fire burn up quickly, she will
+have you to thank more than any one else when well again."
+
+"I'm going to thank you now," Miss Warren exclaimed, seizing both of
+his hands. "God bless you, Reuben! You don't realize what you have done
+for us all."
+
+The young fellow looked surprised. "I only did what Richard Morton told
+me," he protested, "and that wasn't much."
+
+"Well, there's a pair of you," she laughed. "The fire put itself out,
+and Dapple went after the doctor." Then, as if overwhelmed with
+gratitude, she clasped her hands and looked upward, as she said, in
+low, thrilling tones: "Thank God, oh thank God! what a tragedy we have
+escaped!"
+
+"Yes," I said, "it might have been a day of fate indeed. Life would
+have been an unendurable burden if what you feared had happened. What's
+more, I would have lost my faith in God had such a home and its inmates
+been destroyed. The thought of it makes me sick," and I sank into a
+chair.
+
+"We must not think of it," she cried earnestly, "for there's much to be
+done still. There, I've helped you all I can here. When the coffee's
+ready, call me, and I'll come for it. Get on dry clothes as soon as you
+can, Reuben, for you can be of great service to us upstairs. I'm
+astonished at you, Mr. Morton, you haven't any nerve at all--you who
+have dealt in conflagrations, murders, wars, pestilences, earthquakes,
+writing them up in the most harrowing, blood-curdling style; you have
+absolutely turned white and faint because the inmates of a farmhouse
+were shocked. I won't believe you are an editor at all unless you call
+me within five minutes."
+
+Whether because her piquant words formed just the spur I needed, or
+because she had a mysterious power over me which made her will mine, I
+threw off the depression into which I had reacted from my overwhelming
+excitement and anxiety, and soon had my slowly kindling fire burning
+furiously, dimly conscious in the meantime that deep in my heart
+another and subtler flame was kindling also.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+KINDLING A SPARK OF LIFE
+
+
+I soon had coffee made that was as black as the night without. Instead
+of calling Miss Warren, I took a tray from the dining-room, and carried
+it with several cups upstairs.
+
+"Bring it here!" called the doctor.
+
+I entered Mrs. Yocomb's room, and found that she had quite fully
+revived, and that Reuben had supported his father thither also. He
+reclined on the lounge, and his usually ruddy face was very pale. Both
+he and his wife appeared almost helpless; but the doctor had succeeded
+in arresting, by the use of ice, the distressing nausea that had
+followed consciousness. They looked at me in a bewildered manner as I
+entered, and could not seem to account for my presence at once. Nor did
+they, apparently, try to do so long, for their eyes turned toward
+little Zillah with a deeply troubled and perplexed expression, as if
+they were beginning to realize that the child was very ill, and that
+events of an extraordinary character had happened.
+
+"Let me taste the coffee," said the doctor. "Ah! that's the kind--black
+and strong. See how it will bring them around," and he made Mr. and
+Mrs. Yocomb each swallow a cup of it.
+
+"Miss Warren," he called, "give some of this to Miss Adah, if she is
+quiet enough to take it. I cannot leave the child."
+
+Miss Warren came at once. Her face was clouded and anxious, and she
+looked with eager solicitude toward the still unconscious Zillah, whose
+hands Reuben was chafing.
+
+"I think Miss Adah will soon be better," she replied to the doctor's
+inquiring glance, and she went back to her charge.
+
+"Take some yourself," said the physician to me, in a low tone. "I fear
+we are going to have a serious time with the little girl."
+
+"You do not realize," I urged, "that Miss Warren needs keeping up
+almost as truly as any of them."
+
+"You'll have to take care of her then," said the doctor hastily; "she
+seems to be doing well herself, and doing well for others. Take her
+some coffee, and say that I said she must drink it."
+
+I knocked at Adah's door and called, "Miss Warren, the doctor says you
+must drink this coffee."
+
+"In a few moments," she answered, and after a little time she came out.
+
+"Where's your cup?" she asked. "Have you taken any?"
+
+"Not yet, of course."
+
+"Why of course? If you want me to drink this you must get some at once."
+
+"There may not be enough. I don't know how much the doctor may need."
+
+"Then get a cup, and I'll give you half of this."
+
+"Never," I answered promptly. "Do as the doctor bade you."
+
+She went swiftly to Mrs. Yocomb's room and filled another cup.
+
+"I pledge you my word I won't touch a drop till you have taken this.
+You don't realize what you have been through, Mr. Morton. Your hand so
+trembled that you could scarcely carry the cup; you are all unnerved.
+Come," she added gravely, "you must be in a condition to help, for I
+fear Zillah is in a critical condition."
+
+"I'm not going to break down," I said resolutely. "Give it to Reuben.
+Poor fellow, he was very wet."
+
+She looked at my clothes, and then exclaimed:
+
+"Why, Mr. Morton, don't you know you are wet through and through?"
+
+"Am I?" and I looked down at my soaked garments.
+
+"I don't believe you have a dry thread on you."
+
+"I've been too excited to think of it. Of course, I got wet on the
+roof; but what's a summer shower! Your coffee's getting cold."
+
+"So is yours."
+
+"You have the doctor's orders."
+
+"I would be glad if my wishes weighed a little with you," she said,
+appealingly.
+
+"There, Miss Warren, if you put it that way I'd drink gall and
+vinegar," and I gulped down the coffee.
+
+She vanished into Adah's room, saying, "You must take my word for it
+that I drink mine. I shall sip it while waiting on my patient."
+
+Having insisted on Reuben's taking some also, I returned to the kitchen
+and made a new supply. Mr. and Mrs. Yocomb's extreme prostration, both
+mental and physical, perplexed me. Their idolized child was still
+unconscious, and yet they could only look on in wondering and perplexed
+anxiety. I afterward learned that a partial paralysis of every faculty,
+especially of memory, was a common effect of a severe shock of
+electricity. It was now evident that Miss Warren, from some obscure
+cause, escaped harm from lightning. The words I had employed to
+reassure her turned out to be true--she had merely swooned--and thus,
+on recovery, had full possession of all her faculties.
+
+"I would be glad if my wishes weighed a little with you," she had said.
+In wonder at myself, I asked, "What weighs more with me? By what right
+is this maiden, whom I have met but to-day, taking such absolute
+control of my being? Am I overwrought, morbid, fanciful, deluded by an
+excited imagination into beliefs and moods that will vanish in the
+clear sunlight and clearer light of reason? or has the vivid lightning
+revealed with absolute distinctness the woman on whom I can lean in
+perfect trust, and yet must often sustain in her pathetic weakness? The
+world would say we are strangers; but my heart and soul and every fibre
+of my being appear to recognize a kinship so close that I feel we never
+can be strangers again. It is true the lightning fuses the hardest
+substances, making them one; however, I am beginning to think that my
+hitherto callous nature has been smitten by a diviner fire. If so,
+Heaven grant that I'm not the only one struck.
+
+"Well, it's a queer world. When I broke down, last Friday night, and
+sat cowering before the future in my editorial sanctum, I little
+dreamed that on Sunday night I should be making coffee in a good old
+Quaker's kitchen, and, what is still more strange, making a divinity
+out of a New York music-teacher!"
+
+A moment later I added, "That's a stupid way of putting it. I'm not
+making a divinity out of her at all. She is one, and I've had the wit
+to recognize the truth. Are her gentlemen friends all idiots that they
+have not--"
+
+"What! talking to yourself, Mr. Morton? I fear the events of this day
+are turning your head." And Miss Warren entered.
+
+"Speak of an angel--you know the saying." "Indeed! The only word I
+heard as I entered was 'idiot.'"
+
+"Pardon me, you overheard the word 'idiots,' so can gather nothing from
+that."
+
+"No, your mutterings are dark indeed. I see no light or sense in them;
+but the doctor came to Adah's door and asked me for more coffee."
+
+"How is Miss Adah?"
+
+"Doing nicely. She'll sleep soon, I think."
+
+"I do hope little Zillah is recovering."
+
+"Yes, Reuben put a radiant face within the door, a few minutes since,
+and said Zillah was 'coming to,' as he expressed it. Adah is doing so
+well that I feel assured about the others. Now that she is becoming
+quiet, I think I can leave her and help with Zillah."
+
+"And you're not exhausting yourself?"
+
+"I've not yet reached the stage of muttering delirium. Mr. Morton, will
+you permit me to suggest that you go to your room and put on dry
+clothes. You are not fit to be seen. Moreover, there is a mark athwart
+your nose that gives to your face a sinister aspect, not becoming in
+one whose deeds of darkness this night will bear the light of all
+coming time. It might be appropriate in a printing-office; but I don't
+intend to have little Zillah frightened. Oh, I'm so glad and grateful
+that we have all escaped! There, that will do; give me the tray."
+
+"Beg your pardon: I shall carry it up myself. What on earth would I
+have done without you in this emergency?"
+
+"Come, Mr. Morton, I'm not used to being disobeyed. Yes, you did look
+as helpless as only a man can look when there's illness; and there's no
+telling what awful remedies you might have administered before the
+doctor came. I think I shall take the credit of saving all our lives,
+since you and Reuben won't."
+
+She pushed open the door of Mrs. Yocomb's room, and her face changed
+instantly.
+
+Little Zillah lay on the bed and was still unconscious. Mrs. Yocomb had
+been moved into an armchair, and every moment comprehension of the
+truth grew clearer, and her motherly solicitude was intensified.
+
+Reuben evidently was frightened, and the doctor's brow was knitted into
+a frown of perplexity.
+
+"We thought she was coming to," said Reuben to Miss Warren, "but she's
+gone back worse than ever."
+
+"Mr. Morton, I wish you to give to all a cup of that coffee and take
+some yourself," said the physician, in a quiet but authoritative voice.
+"Mr. Yocomb, you must not rise; you will be ill again, and I now need
+all the help I can get with this child. We must try artificial
+respiration, spraying the chest with cold water, and every possible
+means."
+
+"Would to God that I could help thee!" cried Mrs. Yocomb.
+
+"You can help by keeping absolutely quiet. Mr. Morton, in this
+emergency you must become as a brother or one of the family."
+
+"I am one with them to-night," I said earnestly; "let me help you in
+any way."
+
+"You three must rub her with flannel and spirits, while I lift her arms
+slowly up and down to try to induce respiration."
+
+The poor limp little body--how sacred it seemed to me!
+
+We worked and worked till the perspiration poured from our faces. Every
+expedient was tried, until the physician at last desisted and stood
+back for a moment in anxious thought.
+
+Then, in a tone broken with anguish, Mr. Yocomb exclaimed:
+
+"Would to God the bolt had fallen on my head, and not on this dear
+little lamb."
+
+In bitter protest against it all I cried, "The bolt has fallen on your
+heart, Mr. Yocomb. How is it that God has thunderbolts for lambs?"
+
+"Richard Morton, thee's unjust," began Mrs. Yocomb, in a voice that she
+tried to render quiet and resigned. "Who art thou to judge God? 'What I
+do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know--' Oh, my child, my
+child!" broke out her wailing cry, and motherhood triumphed.
+
+Reuben was sobbing over his sister with all the abandon of boyish
+grief, but Miss Warren stood before the little form, apparently
+lifeless, with clasped hands and dilated eyes.
+
+"I can't--I won't give her up," she exclaimed passionately, and darted
+from the room.
+
+I followed wonderingly. She was already in the kitchen, and had found a
+large tub.
+
+"Fill this with hot water," she said to me. "No! let me do it; I'll
+trust no one. Yes, you may carry it up, but please be careful. I'll
+bring some cold water to temper it. Doctor," she exclaimed, re-entering
+the room, "we must work till we know there is no chance. Yes, and after
+we know it. Is not hot water good?"
+
+"Anything is good that will restore suspended circulation," he replied;
+"we'll try it. But wait a moment. I've employed a nice test, and if
+there's life I think this little expedient will reveal it." He held the
+child's hand, and I noted that a string had been tied around one of the
+small white fingers, and that he intently watched the part of the
+finger beyond the string. I comprehended the act at once, and
+recognized the truth that there would be little hope of life if this
+test failed. If there was any circulation at all the string would not
+prevent the blood flowing out through the artery, but it would prevent
+its return, and, therefore, if there was life a faint color would
+manifest itself in the finger. I bent over and held my breath in my
+eager scrutiny.
+
+"The child's alive!" I exclaimed.
+
+By a quick, impressive gesture the physician checked my manifestation
+of feeling and excitement as he said:
+
+"Yes, she's alive, and that's about all. We'll try a plunge in the hot
+bath, and then friction and artificial respiration again."
+
+We set to work once more with double zeal under the inspiration of Miss
+Warren's words and manner, but especially because assured that life
+still lingered. In less than a quarter of an hour there was a
+perceptible pulse. At last she was able to swallow a little stimulant,
+and the faint spark of life, of which we scarcely dared to speak lest
+our breath might extinguish it, began to kindle slowly. When at last
+she opened her eyes, Miss Warren turned hers heavenward with a fulness
+of gratitude that must have been sweet to the fatherly heart of God if
+the words be true, "Like as a father pitieth his children."
+
+Mrs. Yocomb threw herself on her knees by the bedside, sobbing, "Thank
+God! thank God!"
+
+Reuben was growing wild with joy, and the father, overwhelmed with
+emotion, was struggling to rise, when the doctor said, in low, decided
+tones:
+
+"Hush! Nothing must be said or done to excite or surprise her. Mr. and
+Mrs. Yocomb, as you love your child, control yourselves. You, Mr.
+Morton, would seem strange to her, and, with Reuben, had better leave
+us now. Miss Warren will help me, and I think all will be well."
+
+"Don't overtax Miss Warren," I urged, lingering anxiously at the door a
+moment.
+
+She gave me a smiling, reassuring nod, as much as to say that she would
+take care of herself.
+
+"God bless her!" I murmured, as I sought my room. "I believe she has
+saved the child."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+MY FATE
+
+
+Having lighted the lamp in my room, I looked around it with a delicious
+sense of proprietorship. Its quaint, homely comfort was just to my
+taste, and now appeared doubly attractive. Chief of all, it was a
+portion of the home I had had some part in saving, and we instinctively
+love that which ministers to our self-complacency. An old house seems
+to gain a life and being of its own, and I almost imagined it conscious
+of gratitude that its existence had not been blotted out. Mrs. Yocomb's
+cordial invitation to come and stay when I could gave me at the time a
+glad sense that I had found a country refuge to which I could
+occasionally escape when in need of rest. I felt now, however, as if
+the old walls themselves would welcome me. As to the inmates of the
+home, I feared that their grateful sense of the services I was so
+fortunate as to render might make their boundless sense of obligation
+embarrassing to me. It would be their disposition to repay an ordinary
+favor tenfold, and they would always believe that Reuben and I had
+saved their lives, and the old home which no doubt had long been in
+their family.
+
+"Well, I'll never complain of fortune again," I thought, "since I've
+been permitted to do for these people what I have;" and I threw myself
+down on the lounge, conscious of the warm, comfortable glow imparted by
+dry clothes and the strong coffee, still more conscious of an inner
+satisfaction that the threatening events of the night had ended just as
+I could have wished.
+
+"Since it was to be, thank God I was here and was able to act for the
+best," I murmured. "The June sunshine and the lightning have thrown
+considerable light on my future. I said to Emily Warren, 'What could I
+have done without you in this emergency?' With still greater emphasis I
+feel like asking, What would life be without you? It seems absurd that
+one person should become essential to the life of another in a few
+brief hours. And yet, why absurd? Is it not rather in accord with the
+deepest and truest philosophy of life? Is the indissoluble union of two
+lives to result from long and careful calculations of the pros and
+cons? In true marriage it seems to me the soul should recognize its
+mate when meeting it."
+
+It thus may be seen that I was no exception to that large class who
+accept or create a philosophy pleasing to it, and there is usually
+enough truth in any system to prevent its being wholly unreasonable.
+
+I heard a step in the hall, and as I had left my door open so that at
+any sound I could spring up, I was so fortunate as to intercept the
+object of my thoughts. Her face was full of deep content, but very
+pale. To the eager questioning of my manner, she replied:
+
+"The doctor says Zillah is doing as well as we could expect. Oh, I'm so
+glad!" "Miss Warren, you don't know how pale you are. When are _you_
+going to rest? I've been lying down, and my conscience troubled me as I
+thought of you still working."
+
+"I never imagined that editors had such tender consciences," she said,
+with a low laugh, and she vanished into Adah's room.
+
+I knew she wouldn't stay long, and remained at the end of the hall,
+looking out of the window. The lightning flashes had grown faint and
+distant, but they were almost incessant, and they revealed that the
+clouds were growing thin toward the west, while near the horizon a star
+glimmered distinctly.
+
+"Miss Warren," I called, as she came out of Adah's room, "I've a good
+omen to show you. Do you see that star in the west? I think the morning
+will be cloudless?"
+
+"But those flashes prove that the storm is causing fear and loss to
+other and distant homes."
+
+"Not at all. It is, no doubt, causing 'better grain and clearer skies,'
+as Mr. Yocomb said. Such an experience as we have had to-night, while
+having its counterparts not infrequently, take the world over, is by no
+means common."
+
+"Oh, I hope we may have no more heavy thunderstorms this summer. They
+are about the only drawback to this lovely season."
+
+"You are perfectly safe so long as you remain here," I laughed; "you
+know the lightning never strikes twice in the same place."
+
+"I hope to stay here, but for better reasons than that."
+
+"So do I."
+
+"I should think you would. You, certainly, are no longer homeless. Mr.
+and Mrs. Yocomb will adopt you in spite of yourself as soon as they
+realize it all. The string of the latch will always hang outside of the
+door for you, I can tell you; and a nice place it will be for a city
+man to come."
+
+"And for a city woman, too. Mrs. Yocomb had adopted you before all this
+happened, and I don't believe she'll forget that you really saved
+little Zillah's life."
+
+"The dear little thing!" she exclaimed, tears starting to her eyes.
+"How pathetic her little unconscious form was!"
+
+"To me," I replied earnestly, "it was the most exquisite and sacred
+thing I ever saw. I don't wonder you felt as you did when you said, 'I
+can't--I won't give her up,' for it seemed at the moment almost as if
+my life depended on her life, so powerful was her hold on my sympathy.
+The doctor spoke truer than he thought, for it seems as if the
+lightning had fused me into this family, and my grief would have been
+almost as great as Reuben's had little Zillah not revived."
+
+"I feel as if it would have broken my heart," and her tears fell fast.
+Dashing them away she said, "I cry as well as laugh too easily, and I'm
+often so provoked that I could shake myself. I must say that I think
+we're all becoming well acquainted for people who have met so recently."
+
+"Oh, as for you," I replied, "I knew you well in some previous state of
+existence, and have just met you again."
+
+"Mr. Morton," she said, turning on me brusquely, "I shall not be quite
+sure as to your entire sanity till you have had a long sleep. You have
+seemed a little out of your head on some points ever since our extended
+acquaintance began. You have appeared impressed or oppressed with the
+hallucination that this day--is it to-day or to-morrow?"
+
+"It's to-day for a little while longer," I replied, looking at my watch.
+
+"Well, then, that to-day was 'a day of fate,' and you made me nervous
+on the subject--"
+
+"Then I'm as sane as you are."
+
+"No, I hadn't any such nonsense in my mind till you suggested it, but
+having once entertained the idea it haunted me."
+
+"Yes, and it haunts you still," I said, eagerly.
+
+"What time is it, Mr. Morton?"
+
+"It lacks but a few moments of midnight."
+
+"No," she said, laughingly, "I don't believe anything more will happen
+to-day, and as soon as the old clock downstairs strikes twelve I think
+the light of reason will burn again in your disordered mind.
+Good-night."
+
+Instead of going, however, she hesitated, looked at me earnestly a
+moment, then asked:
+
+"You said you found me unconscious?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"How did you revive me?"
+
+"I carried you to the sofa under the window, which I opened. I then
+chafed your hands, but I think the wind and spray restored you."
+
+"I don't remember fainting before; and--oh, well, this whole experience
+has been so strange that I can't realize it."
+
+"Don't try to. If I'm a little out of my head, your soul will be out of
+your body if you don't take better care of yourself. You might as well
+be killed by lightning as over-fatigue. That doctor seems to think you
+are made of india-rubber."
+
+"I've laughed to myself more than once at your injunctions to the
+doctor since Zillah revived. We've had such a narrow escape that I feel
+as if I ought not to laugh again for a year, but I can't help it. I
+won't thank you as I meant to--it might make you vain. Good-night," and
+she gave my hand a quick, strong pressure, and went swiftly back to
+Mrs. Yocomb's room.
+
+Had my hand clasped only flesh and blood, bone and sinew? No, indeed. I
+felt that I had had within my grasp a gratitude and friendly regard
+that was so full and real that the warm-hearted, impulsive girl would
+not trust herself to express it in words. Her manner, however, was so
+frank and unconstrained that I knew her feelings to be only those of
+gratitude and friendly regard, seeing clearly that she entertained no
+such thoughts as had come unbidden to me.
+
+In spite of my fatigue, the habit of my life and the strong coffee
+would have banished all thought of sleep for hours to come, if there
+had been no other cause, but the touch of a little hand had put more
+glad awakening life within me than all the stimulants of the world.
+
+I went downstairs and looked through the old house to see that all was
+right, with as much solicitude as if it were indeed my own home.
+Excepting the disorder I had caused in the kitchen and hall, it had the
+midnight aspect of quiet and order that might have existed for a
+century.
+
+"I would not be afraid of the ghosts that came back to this home," I
+muttered. "Indeed, I would like to see Mr. and Mrs. Yocomb's ancestors;
+and, now I think of it, some one of them should wear a jaunty, worldly
+hat to account for Adah. By Jove! but she was beautiful as she lay
+there, with her perfect physical life suspended instantaneously. If the
+lightning would only create a woman within the exquisite casket, the
+result would well repay what we have passed through. Her mother would
+say, as I suppose, that another and subtler fire from heaven were
+needed for such a task."
+
+As I came out into the hall the great clock began to strike, in the
+slow, dignified manner befitting its age--
+
+"One, two, three--twelve."
+
+The day of fate had passed. I knew Emily Warren was laughing at me
+softly to herself as she and the physician watched with the patients in
+Mrs. Yocomb's room.
+
+I was in no mood to laugh, for every moment the truth was growing
+clearer that I had met my fate.
+
+I looked into the parlor, in which a lamp was burning, and conjured up
+the scene I had witnessed there. I saw a fair young face, with eyes
+turned heavenward, and heard again the words, "My faith looks up to
+Thee."
+
+Their faith had been sorely tried. The burning bolt from heaven seemed
+a strange response to that faith; the crashing thunder a wild, harsh
+echo to the girl's sweet, reverent tones.
+
+"Is it all chance?" I queried, "or all inexorable law? Who or what is
+the author of the events of this night?" As if in answer, Mrs. Yocomb's
+text came into my mind: "What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt
+know hereafter."
+
+"Well," I muttered, "perhaps there is as much reason in their
+philosophy as in any other. Somebody ought to be in charge of all this
+complex life and being."
+
+I went out on the piazza. The rain was still falling, but softly and
+lightly. A freshening breeze was driving the thin, lingering clouds
+before it, and star after star looked out, as if lights were being
+kindled in the western sky. The moon was still hidden, but the vapor
+was not dense enough to greatly obscure her rays. In the partial light
+the valley seemed wider, the mountains higher, and everything more
+beautiful, in contrast with the black tempest that had so recently
+filled the scene.
+
+I sat down on the piazza to watch with those who were watching with the
+child. I made up my mind that I certainly should not retire until the
+physician departed; and in my present mood I felt that my midsummer
+night's dream would be to me more interesting than that of Will
+Shakespeare. Hour after hour passed almost unnoted. The night became
+serene and beautiful. The moon, like a confident beauty, at last threw
+aside her veil of clouds, and smiled as if assured of welcome.
+Raindrops gemmed every leaf; and when the breeze increased, myriads of
+them sparkled momentarily through the silver light. As morning
+approached the air grew so sweet that I recognized the truth that the
+new flowers of a new day were opening, and that I was inhaling their
+virgin perfume.
+
+I rose and went softly to the ivy-covered gateway of the old garden,
+and the place seemed transfigured in the white moonlight. Even the
+kitchen vegetables lost their homely, prosaic aspect. I stole to the
+lilac-bush, and peered at the home that had been roofless through all
+the wild storm. My approach had been so quiet that the little brown
+mother sat undisturbed, with her head under her wing; but the paternal
+robin, from an adjacent spray, regarded me with unfeigned surprise and
+alarm. He uttered a note of protest, and the mother-bird instantly
+raised her head and fixed on me her round, startled eyes. I stole away
+hastily, smiling to myself as I said:
+
+"Both families will survive unharmed, and both nests are safe."
+
+I went to the spot where I had stood with Emily Warren at the time I
+had half-jestingly, half-earnestly indulged my fancy to reproduce a bit
+of Eden-like frankness. Under the influence of the hour and my mood I
+was able to conjure up the maiden's form almost as if she were a real
+presence. I knew her far better now. With her I had passed through an
+ordeal that would test severely the best and strongest. She had been
+singularly strong and very weak; but the weakness had left no stain on
+her crystal truth, and her strength had been of the best and most
+womanly kind. As in the twilight, so in the white moonlight, she again
+made perfect harmony in the transfigured garden.
+
+"There is but one woman in the world for me," I murmured, "as truly as
+there was only one for the first lonely man. I know not how it is with
+her, but I hope--oh, what would life now be to me without this
+hope!--that she cannot have inspired this absolute conviction that she
+is essential to my being without some answering sympathy in her own
+woman's heart. But whether this is true or not, or whether it ever can
+be true, _I have met my fate_."
+
+As I returned from the garden I saw that the dawn was coming, and I sat
+down and watched it brighten with the feeling that a new and happy life
+was also coming.
+
+THE END OF BOOK FIRST
+
+
+
+
+_BOOK SECOND_
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+THE DAY AFTER
+
+
+The epochs of one's life are not divided according to the calendar, nor
+are they measured by the lapse of time. Within a few brief hours I had
+reached a conclusion that left no shadow of doubt on my mind. As I sat
+there in the beautiful June dawn I turned a page in my history. The
+record of future joys and ills would have to be kept in double entry,
+for I felt with absolute conviction that I could entertain no project
+and decide no question without instinctively and naturally consulting
+the maiden who had quietly and as if by divine right obtained the
+mastery of my soul. But a day since I would have said that my present
+attitude was impossible, but now it seemed both right and inevitable.
+The doubt, the sense of strangeness and remoteness that we justly
+associate with a comparative stranger, had utterly passed away, and in
+their place was a feeling of absolute trust and rest. I could place in
+her hands the best treasures of my life, without a shadow of hesitancy,
+so strongly had I been impressed with her truth.
+
+And yet it all was a beautiful mystery, over which I could have dreamed
+for hours.
+
+I had not shunned society in the past, and had greatly admired other
+ladies. Their voices had been sweet and low, as a woman's tones should
+be, and their glances gentle and kind, but not one of them had
+possessed the power to quicken my pulse or to disturb the quiet slumber
+of my heart; but this woman spoke to me as with authority from heaven.
+"My whole being," I murmured, "bows down to her by a constraint that I
+could scarcely resist, and no queen in the despotic past ever had a
+more loyal subject than I have become. To serve her, even to suffer for
+her and to stand between her and all evils the world could inflict, are
+privileges that I covet supremely. My regard is not a sudden passion,
+for passion is selfish and inconsiderate. My love is already united
+with honor and reverence, and my strongest impulse is to promote her
+happiness before my own. The thought of her is an inspiration toward a
+purer, better manhood than I have yet known. Her truth and innate
+nobility produce an intense desire to become like her, so that she may
+look into my eyes and trust also."
+
+I scarcely know how long my bright-hued dream would have lasted, but at
+length the door of Mrs. Yocomb's room opened, and steps were on the
+stairs. A moment later the physician came out, and Miss Warren stood in
+the doorway.
+
+"They are all sleeping quietly," he said, in answer to my inquiry.
+"Yes; all danger in Zillah's case is now passed, I think; but she's had
+a serious time of it, poor little thing!"
+
+"There's no need of your walking home to-night," protested Miss Warren.
+"We can make you comfortable here, and Reuben will gladly drive you
+over in the morning."
+
+"It's morning now," he said, smiling, "and I'll enjoy the walk in the
+fresh air. I'll call again before very long. Good-day!" and he walked
+lightly down the path, as if all were very satisfactory to him.
+
+"What are you doing here, Mr. Morton?" Miss Warren asked, assuming an
+expression of strong surprise.
+
+"Helping to watch."
+
+"What a waste! You haven't done Zillah a bit of good."
+
+"Didn't you know I was here?"
+
+"Yes; but I hope you don't think that I need watching?"
+
+"I was within call." "So you would have been if sleeping. I could have
+blown the great tin horn if it had been necessary to waken you, and you
+had remained undisturbed by other means."
+
+"Oh, well, then, if it made no difference to you, I'll merely say I'm a
+night editor, and kept awake from habit."
+
+"I didn't say it made no difference to me," she answered. "You ought to
+have known better than to have made that speech."
+
+"Miss Warren," I urged anxiously, "you look white as a ghost in this
+mingling of moonlight and morning. When _will_ you rest?"
+
+"When the mind and heart are at rest a tired body counts for little. So
+you're not afraid of ghosts?"
+
+I looked at her intently as I replied: "No, I would like to be haunted
+all my life."
+
+It was not wholly the reflection of the dawn that tinged the pallor of
+her face as I spoke these words.
+
+After a moment's hesitation she apparently dismissed a thought, and
+maintained her old frank manner.
+
+"Oh, how beautiful, how welcome the morning is!" she exclaimed, coming
+out on the piazza. "To think that this is the same world that we saw
+last night--it's almost impossible."
+
+"Mr. Yocomb's words will yet prove true," I said, "and clearer skies
+and better grain will be the result of the storm."
+
+"Oh, I'm so glad, I'm so very glad," she murmured. "This morning is
+like a benediction;" and its brightness and beauty glowed in her face.
+
+"I can tell you something that will please you greatly," I continued.
+"I have visited the little home in the garden that was open to last
+night's sky. The father and mother robins are well, and I'm sure all
+the little ones are too, for the mother robin had her head under her
+wing--a thing impossible, I suppose, if anything was amiss with the
+children."
+
+"Oh, I'm so glad!" she again repeated, and there was a joyous,
+exquisite thrill in her tones.
+
+At that moment there came a burst of song from the top of the pear-tree
+in the garden, and we saw the head of the little household greeting the
+day.
+
+Almost as sweetly and musically my companion's laugh trilled out:
+
+"So it wasn't the day of fate after all."
+
+Impelled by an impulse that for the moment seemed irresistible, I took
+her hand as I said earnestly:
+
+"Yes, Miss Warren, for me it was, whether for a lifetime of happiness
+or of disappointment."
+
+At first she appeared startled, and gave me a swift, searching glance;
+then a strong expression of pain passed over her face. She understood
+me well, for my look and manner would have been unmistakable to any
+woman.
+
+She withdrew her hand as she said gently:
+
+"You are overwrought from watching--from all that's happened; let us
+both forget that such rash words were spoken."
+
+"Do not think it," I replied, slowly and deliberately. "I have learned
+to know you better since we have met than I could in months or years
+amid the conventionalities of society. In you I recognize my fate as
+vividly and distinctly as I saw you in the lightning's gleam last
+night. Please hear and understand me," I urged, as she tried to check
+my words by a strong gesture of dissent. "If you had parents or
+guardians, I would ask them for the privilege of seeking your hand.
+Since you have not, I ask you. At least, give me a chance. I can never
+prove worthy of you, but by years of devotion I can prove that I
+appreciate you."
+
+"Oh, I'm so sorry, so very sorry you feel so," she said, and there was
+deep distress in her tones; "I was in hopes we should be life-long
+friends."
+
+"We shall be," I replied quietly. She looked at me hesitatingly a
+moment, then said impulsively:
+
+"Mr. Morton, you are too honorable a man to seek that which belongs to
+another. There," she added, flushing deeply, "I've told you what I've
+acknowledged to no one--scarcely to myself."
+
+I know that the light of hope faded out of my face utterly, for I felt
+ill and faint. If in truth she belonged to another, her absolute truth
+would make her so loyal to him that further hope would be not only vain
+but an insult, which she would be the first to resent.
+
+"I understand you too well," I began despondently, "to say another
+word. Miss Warren. I--I wish--it seems rather odd I should have felt so
+toward you when it was no use. It was as inevitable as our meeting. The
+world and all that's in it is an awful muddle to me. But God bless you,
+and if there's any good God, you will be blessed." I shivered as I
+spoke, and was about to leave the piazza hastily, when her eager and
+entreating tones detained me.
+
+"Mr. Morton, you said that in spite of all we should be friends; let me
+claim my privilege at once. I'm sure I'm right in believing that you're
+overwrought and morbid, from the strange experiences you have just
+passed through. Do not add to your exhaustion by starting off on
+another aimless walk to-day; though you may think it might lead you to
+a better fate, it cannot bring you to those who care so deeply for you.
+We'll be merry, true-hearted friends after we've had time to rest and
+think it all over."
+
+"True-hearted, anyway," I said emphatically. "What's more, I'll be sane
+when we meet again--entirely matter-of-fact, indeed, since I already
+foresee that I shall be troubled by no more days of fate. Good-by now;
+go and sleep the sleep of the just; I'll rest quietly here;" and I held
+out my hand.
+
+She took it in both of hers, and said gently: "Mr. Morton, I believe
+you saved my--our lives last night."
+
+"I had some hand in it--yes, that should be happiness enough. I'll make
+it answer; but never speak of it again."
+
+"When I cease to think of it I shall cease to think at all," she said,
+in strong emphasis; and with a lingering wistful glance she passed
+slowly in and up the winding stairway.
+
+I watched her as I would a ship that had left me on a desolate rock.
+
+"She is one that could not change if she would," I thought. "It's all
+over. No matter; possibly I saved her life."
+
+I sat down again in a rustic chair on the piazza, too miserable and
+disheartened to do more than endure the pain of my disappointment.
+Indeed there was nothing else to do, for seemingly I had set my heart
+on the impossible. Her words and manner had made but one
+impression--that she had given her love and faith to an earlier and
+more fortunate suitor.
+
+"It would be strange if it were otherwise," I muttered. "I was the
+'idiot,' in thinking that her gentlemen friends were blind; but I
+protest against a world in which men are left to blunder so fatally.
+The other day I felt broken down physically; I now know that I'm broken
+and disabled in all respects. The zest and color have wholly gone out
+of life. If I ever go back to my work I shall find my counterpart in
+the most jaded and dispirited stage-horse in the city. Miss Warren will
+have no more occasion to criticise light, smart paragraphs. Indeed, I
+imagine that I shall soon be restricted to the obituary notices, and I
+now feel like writing my own. Confound these birds! What makes them
+sing so? Nature's a heartless jade anyway. Last night she would have
+burned us up with lightning, and this morning there would have been not
+a whit less of song and sunshine. Oh, well, it's far better that my
+hopes are in ashes than that this house should be. I, and all there is
+of me, is a small price to pay for this home and its inmates; and if I
+saved her little finger from being scorched, I should be well content.
+But why the devil did I feel so toward her when it was of no use! That
+fact irritates me. Is my whole nature a lie, and are its deepest
+intuitions and most sacred impulses false guides that lead one out into
+the desert to perish? In the crisis of my life, when I had been made to
+see that past tendencies were wrong, and I was ready for any change for
+the better, my random, aimless steps led to this woman, and, as I said
+to her, the result was inevitable. All nature seemed in league to give
+emphasis to the verdict of my own heart, but the moment I reached the
+conviction that she was created for me and I for her, I am informed
+that she was created for another. I must therefore be one of the odd
+ones, for whom there is no mate. Curse it all! I rather feel as if
+another man were going to marry my wife, and I must admit that I have a
+consuming curiosity to see him.
+
+"But this can't be. Her heart must have recognized the true kinship in
+this other man--blast him! no, bless him, if she marries him--for she's
+the last one in the world to enter into merely legal relations,
+unsanctioned by the best and purest instincts of her womanly nature.
+
+"It's all the devil's own muddle."
+
+And no better conclusion did I reach that dismal morning--the most
+dismal I can remember, although the hour abounded in beauty and the
+glad, exuberant life that follows a summer rain. I once heard a
+preacher say that hell could be in heaven and heaven in hell. I thought
+him a trifle irreverent at the time, but now half believed him right.
+
+My waking train of thought ended in a stupor in which I do not think I
+lost for a moment the dull consciousness of pain. I was aroused by a
+step upon the gravel-path, and, starting up, saw the woman who served
+Mrs. Yocomb in the domestic labors of the farmhouse. She stopped and
+stared at me a moment, and then was about to continue around the house
+to the kitchen entrance.
+
+"Wait a moment, my good woman," I said; "and you'll now have a chance
+to prove yourself a good woman, and a very helpful and considerate one,
+too. The house was struck by lightning last night."
+
+"Lord a massy!" she ejaculated, and she struck an attitude with her
+hands on her hips, and stared at me again, with her small eyes and
+capacious mouth opened to their utmost extent.
+
+"Yes," I continued, "and all were hurt except Reuben. The doctor has
+been here, and all are now better and sleeping, so please keep the
+house quiet, and let us sleep till the doctor comes again. Then have a
+good fire, so that you can get ready at once whatever he orders for the
+patients."
+
+"Lord a massy!" she again remarked very emphatically, and scuttled off
+to her kitchen domains in great excitement.
+
+I now felt that my watch had ended, and that I could give the old
+farmhouse into the hands of one accustomed to its care. Therefore I
+wearily climbed the stairs to my room, and threw myself, dressed, on
+the lounge.
+
+After a moment or two Miss Warren's door opened, and her light step
+passed down to the kitchen. She, too, had been on the watch for the
+coming of the domestic, and, if aware that I had seen the woman, did
+not regard me as competent to enlighten her as to her duties for the
+day. The kitchen divinity began at once:
+
+"Lord a massy, Miss Em'ly, what a time yer's all had! The strange man
+told me. There hain't no danger now, is there?"
+
+In response to some remark from Miss Warren she continued, in shrill
+volubility:
+
+"Yes, he told me yer's all struck but Reub'n. I found him a-sittin' on
+the stoop, and a-lookin' all struck of a heap himself. Is that the way
+lightning 'fects folks? He looked white as a ghost, and as if he didn't
+keer ef he was one afore night. 'Twas amazin'--" and here Miss Warren
+evidently silenced her.
+
+I heard the murmur of her voice as she gave a few brief directions, and
+then her steps returned swiftly to her room.
+
+"She can be depended upon," I sighed, "to do all she thinks right. She
+must have been wearied beyond mortal endurance, and worried by my rash
+and unlooked-for words, and yet she keeps up till all need is past.
+Every little act shows that I might as well try to win an angel of
+heaven as sue against her conscience, she is so absolutely true. You're
+right, old woman; I _was_ 'struck,' and I wish it had been by lightning
+only."
+
+Just when I exchanged waking thoughts for hateful dreams I do not
+remember. At last I started to my feet, exclaiming:
+
+"It's all wrong; he shall not marry my wife!" and then I sat down on
+the lounge and tried to extricate myself from the shadows of sleep, and
+thus become able to recognize the facts of the real world that I must
+now face. Slowly the events of the previous day and night came back,
+and with them a sense of immeasurable loss. The sun was low in the
+west, thus proving that my unrefreshing stupor had lasted many hours.
+The clatter of knives, and forks indicated preparations for supper in
+the dining-room below. I dreaded meeting the family and all words of
+thanks, as one would the touching of a diseased nerve. More than all, I
+dreaded meeting Miss Warren again, feeling that we both would be under
+a wretched constraint. My evil mood undoubtedly had physical causes,
+for my mouth was parched, my head throbbed and ached, and I felt so ill
+in body and mind, so morbid and depressed, that I was ready to escape
+to New York without seeing a soul, were the thing possible.
+
+The door opened softly, and I saw Reuben's ruddy, happy face.
+
+"Oh, I'm so glad thee's awake," he said. "They're all doing well.
+Adah's got well so fast that she actually looks better than Emily
+Warren. Even Zillah's quite bright this evening, only she's so weak she
+can't sit up much, but the doctor says it'll wear away. Thee doesn't
+look very extra, and no wonder, thee did so much. Father, mother, and
+Emily Warren have been talking about thee for the last two hours, and
+Adah can't ask questions enough about thee, and how thee found her. She
+says the last thing she saw was thee on the lawn, and thee was the
+first thing she saw when she came to, and now she says she can't help
+seeing thee all the time. Emily Warren said we must let thee sleep as
+long as thee would, for that, she said, was what thee needed most of
+all."
+
+"She's mistaken," I muttered, starting up. "Reuben," I continued aloud,
+"you're a good, brave fellow. I'll come down to supper as soon, as I
+can fairly wake up. I feel as stupid as an owl at midday, but I'm
+exceedingly glad that all are doing well."
+
+When he left me I thought, "Well, I will keep up for two or three
+hours, and then can excuse myself. To-morrow I can return to New York,
+since clearly this will be no place for me. Miss Warren thinks that a
+little sleep will cure me, and that I will be sane and sensible now
+that I am awake. She will find me matter-of-fact indeed, for I feel
+like a bottle of champagne that has stood uncorked for a month; but may
+the devil fly away with me if I play the forlorn, lackadaisical lover,
+and show my wounds."
+
+I bathed my face again and again, and made as careful a toilet as
+circumstances permitted.
+
+In their kind-hearted simplicity they had evidently planned a sort of
+family ovation, for as I came out on the piazza, they were all there
+except Miss Warren, who sat at her piano playing softly; but as Mr.
+Yocomb rose to greet me she turned toward us, and through the open
+window could see us and hear all that passed. The old gentleman still
+bore marks of his shock and the illness that followed, but there was
+nothing weak or limp in his manner as he grasped my hand and began
+warmly:
+
+"Richard Morton, last night I said thee was welcome; I now say this
+home is as truly thine as mine. Thee saved mother and the children
+from--" and here his voice was choked by emotion.
+
+Mrs. Yocomb seized my other hand, and I saw that she was "moved" now if
+ever, for her face was eloquent with kindly, grateful feeling.
+
+"Please don't," I said, so sharply as to indicate irritation, for I
+felt that I could not endure another syllable. Then, slapping Reuben
+brusquely on the shoulder, I added, "Reuben was quite as helpful as I:
+thank him. Any tramp from New York would try to do as much as I did,
+and might have done better. Ah, here is Zillah!" And I saw that the
+little girl was propped up on pillows just within the parlor window,
+where she could enjoy the cool evening air without too great exposure.
+"If she'll give me another kiss we'll call it all square and say no
+more about it," and I leaned over the window-sill.
+
+The child put her arms around my neck and clung to me for a moment.
+There could have been no better antidote for my mood of irritable
+protest against my fate than the child's warm and innocent embrace, and
+for a moment it was balm indeed.
+
+"There," I cried, kissing her twice, "now I'm overpaid." Raising my
+eyes, I met those of Miss Warren as she sat by her piano.
+
+"Yes," she said, with a smile, "after that I should think you would be
+more than content."
+
+"I certainly ought to be," I replied, looking at her steadily.
+
+"Zillah's very grateful," Miss Warren continued. "She knows that you
+watched with her till morning."
+
+"So did other night-owls, Zillah, and they were quite as useful as I
+was."
+
+She reached up her hand and pulled me down. "Mother said," she began.
+
+"You needn't tell a stranger what mother said," and I put my finger on
+her lips.
+
+"Thee's no more of a stranger than Emily Warren," said the little girl
+reproachfully. "I can't think of thee without thinking of her."
+
+I raised my eyes in a quick flash toward the young lady, but she had
+turned to the piano, and her right hand was evoking a few low chords.
+
+"Miss Warren can tell you," I said, laughing, "that when people have
+been struck by lightning they often don't think straight for a long
+time to come."
+
+"Crooked thinking sometimes happens without so vivid a cause," Miss
+Warren responded, without looking around.
+
+"Zillah's right in thinking that thee can never be a stranger in this
+home," said Mrs. Yocomb warmly.
+
+"Mrs. Yocomb, please don't think me insensible to the feelings which
+are so apparent. Should I live centuries, the belief that I had served
+you and yours after your kindness would still be my pleasantest
+thought. But you overrate what I have done: it was such obvious duty
+that any one would have done the same, or else his ears should have
+been cropped. It gives me a miserably mean feeling to have you thank me
+so for it. Please don't any more."
+
+"We forget," said Miss Warren, advancing to the window, "that Mr.
+Morton is versed in tragedies, and has daily published more dreadful
+affairs."
+
+"Yes, and has written 'paragraphs' about them that no doubt seemed
+quite as lurid as the events themselves, suggesting that I gloated over
+disasters as so much material."
+
+"Mr. Morton, isn't it nearly as bad to tell fibs about one's self as
+about other people?"
+
+"My depravity will be a continuous revelation to you, Miss Warren," I
+replied.
+
+With a low laugh she answered, "I see you make no secret of it," and
+she went back to her piano.
+
+I had bowed cordially to Adah as I joined the family group, and had
+been conscious all the time of her rather peculiar and fixed scrutiny,
+which I imagined suggested a strong curiosity more than anything else.
+
+"Well, Richard Morton," said Mr. Yocomb, as if the words were
+irrepressible, "thee knows a little of how we feel toward thee, if thee
+won't let us say as much as we would like. I love this old home in
+which I was born and have lived until this day. I could never build
+another home like it if every leaf on the farm were a bank-note. But I
+love the people who live here far more. Richard Morton, I know how it
+would all have ended, and thee knows. The house was on fire, and all
+within it were helpless and unconscious. I've seen it all to-day, and
+Reuben has told us. May the Lord bless thee for what them hast done for
+me and mine! I'm not going to burden thee with our gratitude, but truth
+is truth, and we must speak out once for all, to be satisfied. Thee
+knows, too, that when a Friend has anything on his mind it's got to
+come; hasn't it, mother? Richard Morton, thee has saved us all from a
+horrible death."
+
+"Yes, Mr. Morton," said Miss Warren, coming again to the window and
+laughing at my crimson face and embarrassment, "you _must_ face that
+truth--there's no escaping it. Forgive me, Mr. Yocomb, for laughing
+over so serious a subject, but Reuben and Mr. Morton amuse me greatly.
+Mr. Morton already says that any tramp from New York would have done
+the same. By easy transition he will soon begin to insist that it was
+some other tramp. I now understand evolution."
+
+"Emily Warren, thee needn't laugh at Richard Morton," said Reuben a
+little indignantly; "thee owes more to him than to any other man
+living."
+
+She did not turn to the piano so quickly now but that I saw her face
+flush at the unlooked-for speech.
+
+"That you are mistaken, Reuben, no one knows better than Miss Warren
+herself," I replied irritably.
+
+She turned quickly and said, in a low tone, "You are right, Mr. Morton.
+Friends do not keep a debit and credit account with each other. I shall
+not forget, however, that Reuben is right also, even though I may seem
+to sometimes," and she left the room.
+
+I was by the open window, and I do not think any one heard her words
+except Zillah, and she did not understand them.
+
+I stood looking after her, forgetful of all else, when a hand laid upon
+my arm caused me to look around, and I met Adah's gaze, and it was as
+fixed and intent as that of a child.
+
+"She doesn't owe thee any more than I do," she said gravely. "I wish I
+could do something for thee."
+
+"Why do you say 'thee' to me now?--you always said 'you' before," I
+asked.
+
+"I don't know. It seems as if I couldn't say 'you' to thee any more,"
+and a delicate color stole into her face.
+
+"We all feel as if thee were one of us now," explained Mrs. Yocomb
+gently, "and I trust that life will henceforth seem to Adah a more
+sacred thing, and worthy of more sacred uses." And she passed into the
+house to prepare for supper.
+
+Mr. Yocomb followed her, and Reuben went down to the barn.
+
+"If you live to grow like your mother, Miss Adah, you will be the most
+beautiful woman in the world," I said frankly, for I felt as if I could
+speak to her almost as I would to Zillah.
+
+Her eyes drooped and her color deepened as she shook her head and
+murmured:
+
+"I'd rather be Emily Warren than any other woman in the world."
+
+Her words and manner so puzzled me that I thought she had not fully
+recovered from the effects of the shock, and I replied, in an off-hand
+way:
+
+"After a few weeks of teaching stupid children to turn noise into music
+you would gladly be yourself again."
+
+She paid no heed to this remark, but, with the same intent, exploring
+look, asked:
+
+"Thee was the first one I saw when I came to last night?"
+
+"Yes, and you were much afraid of me."
+
+"I was foolish--I fear mother's right, and I've always been foolish."
+
+"Your manner last night was most natural. I was a stranger, and a
+hard-looking customer, too, when I entered your room."
+
+"I hope I didn't look very--very bad."
+
+"You looked so like a beautiful piece of marble that I feared you were
+dead."
+
+"Thee wouldn't have cared much."
+
+"Indeed I would. If you knew how anxious I was about Zillah--"
+
+"Ugh!" she interrupted, with an expression of strong disgust, "I might
+have been a horrid, blackened thing if it hadn't been for thee."
+
+"Oh, hush!" I cried; "I merely threw a couple of pails of water on the
+roof. Please say no more about it."
+
+She passed her hand over her brow, and said hesitatingly:
+
+"I'm so puzzled--I feel so strangely. It seems an age since yesterday."
+
+"You've had a very severe shock, Miss Adah."
+
+"Yes, that may be it; but it's so strange that I was afraid of thee."
+
+"Why, Miss Adah, I was wet as a drowned rat, and had a black mark
+across my nose. I would have made an ideal burglar."
+
+"That oughtn't to have made any difference; thee was trying to save my
+life."
+
+"But you didn't know it."
+
+"I don't believe I know anything rightly. I--I feel so strange--just as
+if I had waked up and hadn't got anything clear. But I know this much,
+in spite of what Reuben said," she added impulsively; "Emily Warren
+doesn't owe thee any more than I do." And she turned like a flash and
+was gone.
+
+"Poor child," I muttered, "she hasn't recovered so fully as the others."
+
+I had been holding one of Zillah's hands during the interview, and she
+now pulled me down and whispered:
+
+"What's the matter with thee, Richard Morton?"
+
+"Heaven grant you may never know, little one. Good-by." I had scarcely
+left the piazza, however, before Mrs. Yocomb called:
+
+"Richard Morton, thee must be famished. Come to supper."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+"IT WAS INEVITABLE"
+
+
+I ought to have had a ravenous appetite but I had none at all. I ought
+to have been glad and thankful from the depths of my heart, but I was
+so depressed that everything I said was forced and unnatural. My head
+felt as if it were bursting, and I was enraged with myself and the
+wretched result of my bright dream. Indeed I found myself inclined to a
+spirit of recklessness and irritation that was wellnigh irresistible.
+
+Miss Warren seemed as wholly free from any morbid, unnatural tendencies
+as Mr. Yocomb himself, and she did her utmost to make the hour as
+genial as it should have been. At first I imagined that she was trying
+to satisfy herself that I had recovered my senses, and that my
+unexpected words, spoken in the morning, were the result of a mood that
+was as transient as it was abnormal. I think I puzzled her; I certainly
+did not understand myself any better than did poor Adah, whose mind
+appeared to be in solution from the effects of the lightning, and I
+felt that I must be appearing worse than idiotic.
+
+Miss Warren, resolutely bent on banishing every unnatural constraint,
+asked Mr. Yocomb:
+
+"How is my genuine friend, Old Plod? Did the lightning wake him up?"
+
+"No, he plods as heavily as ever this morning. Thee only can wake him
+up."
+
+"You've no idea what a compliment that is," she said, with a low laugh.
+"Old Plod inspires me with a sense of confidence and stability that is
+very reassuring in a world full of lightning flashes."
+
+"Yes," I said, "he is safe as a horse-block, and quite as exhilarating.
+Give me Dapple."
+
+She looked at me quickly and keenly, and colored slightly. She
+evidently had some association in her mind with the old plow-horse that
+I did not understand.
+
+"Exhilaration scarcely answers as a steady diet, Mr. Morton."
+
+"Little chance of its lasting long," I replied, "even in a world
+overcharged with electricity."
+
+"I prefer calm, steady sunshine to these wild alternations."
+
+"I doubt it; 'calm, steady sunshine' would make the world as dry and
+monotonous as a desert."
+
+"That's true, Richard Morton," said Mr. Yocomb. "I like peace and quiet
+more than most men, but even if we had all burned up last night, this
+part of the world would have been wonderfully the better for the storm.
+I reckon it was worth a million or more dollars to the county."
+
+"That's the right way to look at it, Mr. Yocomb," I said carelessly.
+"The greatest good to the greatest number. Individuals are of no
+account."
+
+"Your philosophy may be true, but I don't like it," Miss Warren
+protested. "A woman doesn't generalize."
+
+"Thy philosophy is only half true, Richard Morton. God cares for each
+one of His children, and every one in my house counts for much to me."
+
+"There's no getting ahead of thee, mother. If we want to talk heresy,
+Richard Morton, we must go off by ourselves."
+
+"I think God showed His love for us in a queer way last night," said
+Adah, abruptly.
+
+Both her father and mother looked pained at this speech, and Mrs.
+Yocomb said gravely:
+
+"Thee'll see things in the true light some day, I hope. The lightning
+bolt may have been a message from Heaven to thee."
+
+"It seems to me that Zillah got more of the message than I did, and she
+didn't need any," said the matter-of-fact Adah, "At any rate I hope
+Richard Morton may be here if I ever get another message."
+
+"I shall surely be struck next time," I laughed, a trifle bitterly;
+"for according to Mrs. Yocomb's view I need a message more than any of
+you."
+
+It was evident that neither Adah nor I was in a frame of mind that Mrs.
+Yocomb could commend.
+
+"As you suggested, Mr. Morton, if some other tramp from New York had
+been present, what a thrilling narrative you could write for your
+paper," Miss Warren began. Seemingly she had had enough of clouds the
+previous evening, and was bent on clear skies to-night.
+
+She found me incorrigible, however, for I said briefly:
+
+"Oh, no, it would only make an item among the crimes and casualties."
+
+Undaunted, she replied: "And such might have been its appropriate place
+had not the doctor arrived so promptly. The casualty had already
+occurred, and I'm quite sure you would have finished us all with
+original remedies if left to yourself."
+
+"I agree with you, Miss Warren; blunders are worse than crimes, and
+I've a genius for them."
+
+"Well, I'm not a genius in any sense of the word. Miss Adah and I look
+at things as they are. One would think, Mr. Morton, accepting your view
+of yourself, that you could supply your paper with all the crimes and
+casualties required, as the result of the genius you claim."
+
+"Stupid blunders would make stupid reading."
+
+"Oh, that column in your paper is very interesting, then?"
+
+"Why shouldn't it be? I've never had the bad taste to publish in it
+anything about myself."
+
+"I fail to find any logic in that remark. Have you a conscience, Mr.
+Morton?"
+
+"The idea of an editor having a conscience! I doubt whether you have
+ever seen New York, Miss Warren, you are so unsophisticated."
+
+"Emily, thee shouldn't be afraid of lightning when thee and Richard
+Morton are so ready to flash back and forth at one another."
+
+"My words are only heat lightning, very harmless, and Mr. Morton's
+partake of the aurora in character--they are cool and distant."
+
+"I hope they are not so mysterious," I replied.
+
+"Their cause is, quite."
+
+"I think I understand the cause," said Mrs. Yocomb as we rose from the
+table; and she came and took my hand. "Richard Morton, thee has fever;
+thy hands are hot and thy temples are throbbing."
+
+I saw that Miss Warren was looking at me with an expression that was
+full of kind, regretful interest; but with the perversity of a child
+that should have been shaken, I replied, recklessly:
+
+"I've taken cold, I fear. I sat on the piazza like an owl last night,
+and I learned that an owl would have been equally useful there. I fear
+I'm going to be ill, Mrs. Yocomb, and I think I had better make a
+precipitate retreat to my den in New York."
+
+"Who'll take care of thee in thy den?" she asked, with a smile that
+would have disarmed cynicism itself.
+
+"Oh, they can spare a devil from the office occasionally," I said
+carelessly; but I felt that my remark was brutal. In answer to her look
+of pained surprise I added, "Pardon me that I used the vile slang of
+the shop; I meant one of the boys employed in the printing-rooms. Mrs.
+Yocomb, I have now satisfied you that I'm too much of a bear to deserve
+any gentler nurse. I truly think I had better return to town at once.
+I've never been very ill, and have no idea how to behave. It's already
+clear that I wouldn't prove a meek and interesting patient, and I don't
+want to lose your good opinion."
+
+"Richard Morton, if thee should leave us now I should feel hurt beyond
+measure. Thee's not thyself or thee wouldn't think of it."
+
+"Richard Morton, thee cannot go," said Mr. Yocomb in his hearty way.
+"If thee knew mother as I do, thee'd give right in. I don't often put
+my foot down, but when I do, it's like old South Mountain there. Ah,
+here comes the doctor. Doctor Bates, if thee doesn't prescribe several
+weeks of quiet life in this old farmhouse for Friend Morton, I'll start
+right off to find a doctor who will."
+
+"Please stay, and I'll gather wild strawberries for thee," said Adah,
+in a low tone. She had stolen close to my side, and still had the
+wistful, intent look of a child.
+
+"You might do worse," Doctor Bates remarked.
+
+"You'll never make him believe that," laughed Miss Warren, who
+evidently believed in tonic treatment and counter-irritants. "He would
+much prefer sultry New York and an imp from the printing-rooms."
+
+"Thee may drive Dapple all thee wishes if thee'll only stay," said
+Reuben, his round, boyish face shadowed with unwonted anxiety.
+
+We were standing in the hallway, and Zillah heard our talk, for her
+little figure came tottering out of the parlor in her trailing wrapper,
+and her eyes were full of tears.
+
+"Richard Morton, if thee doesn't stay I'll cry myself sick."
+
+I caught her up in my arms and carried her back to the sofa, and I
+whispered in her ear:
+
+"I'll stay, Zillah; I'll do anything for you."
+
+The child clapped her hands gleefully as she exclaimed:
+
+"Now I've got thee. He's promised me to stay, mother."
+
+"Yes," said the physician, after feeling my pulse, "you certainly must,
+and you ought to be in bed this moment. Your pulse indicates a very
+high fever. What's more, you seem badly run down. I shall put you under
+active treatment at once; that is, if you'll trust me."
+
+"Go ahead, doctor," I said, "and get me through one way or the other
+before very long. Because these friends are so good and kind is no
+reason why I should become a burden to them," and I sank down on the
+sofa in the hall.
+
+"Thee'll do us a great wrong if thee ever thinks that, Richard Morton,"
+said Mrs. Yocomb earnestly. "Adah, thee see that his room is ready. I'm
+going to take thee in hand myself;" and she bustled off to the kitchen.
+
+"You couldn't be in better hands, Mr. Morton," said the physician; "and
+Mrs. Yocomb can do more for you than I can. I'll try and help a little,
+however, and will prescribe for you after I've seen Zillah;" and he and
+Mr. Yocomb went into the parlor, while Reuben, with a triumphant
+chuckle, started for the barn.
+
+Now that I was alone for a moment, Miss Warren, who had been standing
+in the doorway, and a little aloof, came to me, and her face was full
+of trouble as she said hurriedly, in a low tone:
+
+"I fear I'm to blame for this. You'll never know how sorry I am. I _do_
+owe you so much! Please get well quickly or I'll--" and she hesitated.
+
+"You are the only one who did not ask me to stay," I said reproachfully.
+
+"I know it; I know, too, that I'd be ill in your place if I could."
+
+"How could I help loving you!" I said impetuously. "There, forgive me,"
+I added hastily as I saw her look of pain and almost fright. "Remember
+I'm ill, delirious it may be; but whatever happens, also remember that
+I said I wouldn't change anything. Were it all to do over again I'd do
+the same. It was inevitable: I'm sane enough to know that. You are not
+in the least to blame."
+
+She hung on my last words as if I were giving her absolution from a
+mortal sin.
+
+"It's all a mistake. Oh, if you but knew how I regret--"
+
+Steps were approaching. I shook my head, with a dreary glimmer of a
+smile.
+
+"Good-by," I said in a whisper, and wearily closed my eyes.
+
+Everything soon became very confused. I remembered Mr. Yocomb's helping
+me to my room. I saw Adah's intent, wistful look as I tried to thank
+her. Mrs. Yocomb's kind, motherly face changed into the features of my
+own mother, and then came a long blank.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+RETURNING CONSCIOUSNESS
+
+
+I seemed to waken as if from a long, troubled sleep. At first I was
+merely conscious that I was awake, and I wondered how long I had slept.
+Then I was glad I was awake, and that my confused and hateful dreams,
+of which no distinct memory remained, had vanished. The only thing I
+could recall concerning them was an indefinite and oppressive sense of
+loss of some kind, at which I had vaguely and impotently protested.
+
+I knew I was awake, and yet I felt too languid to open my eyes. I was
+little more than barely conscious of existence, and I rather enjoyed
+this negative condition of complete inertia. The thought floated
+through my mind that I was like a new-born child, that knows nothing,
+fears nothing, thinks nothing, but simply breathes, and I felt so tired
+and "gone" that I coveted an age of mere respiration.
+
+But thought slowly kindled in a weak, fitful fashion. I first became
+slightly curious about myself. Why had I slept so profoundly? Why was I
+so nerveless and stupid after such a sleep?
+
+Instead of answering these questions, I weakly wandered off into
+another train of thought. "My mind seems a perfect blank," I said to
+myself. "I don't remember anything; I don't know where I am, and don't
+much care; nor do I know what my experience will be when I fully rouse
+myself. This is like beginning a new existence. What shall be the first
+entry on the blank page of my wakening mind? Perhaps I had better rouse
+up and see whether I am truly alive."
+
+And yet I did not rise, but just lay still, heavy with a strange,
+painless inertia, over which I puzzled in a vague, weak way.
+
+At last I was sure I heard a child crying. Then there was a voice, that
+I thought I had heard before, trying to hush and reassure the child,
+and I began to think who they were, and yet I did not seem to care
+enough to open my eyes to see.
+
+I next heard something like a low sob near me, and it caused a faint
+thrill among my sluggish nerves. Surely I had heard that sound before,
+and curiosity so far asserted itself that I opened my eyes and looked
+wonderingly around.
+
+The room was unfamiliar, and yet I was certain I had seen it on some
+previous occasion. Seated at a window, however, was a lady who soon
+absorbed my whole weak and wavering attention. My first thought was:
+"How very pretty she is!" Then, "What is she looking at so steadfastly
+from the window?" After a moment I mentally laughed at my stupidity.
+"She's looking at the sunset. What else should she be looking at? Can I
+have slept all day?"
+
+I saw her bosom heave with another convulsive sob, and that tears fast
+followed each other down her cheeks. I seemed to have the power of
+noting everything distinctly, but I couldn't understand or account for
+what I saw. Who was that sweet-faced girl? Beyond a doubt I had seen
+her before, but where? Why was she crying? Why was she in my room?
+
+Then I thought, "It must be all imaginary; I doubt whether I am awake
+yet. If she were only smiling instead of crying, I would like to dream
+on forever. How strangely familiar her face is! I must have seen it
+daily for years, and yet I can't recognize it."
+
+The loud whinny of a horse seemed to give my paralyzed memory an
+impetus and suggestion, by means of which I began to reconstruct the
+past.
+
+"That's Old Plod!" I exclaimed mentally. "And--and--why, that's Miss
+Warren sitting by the window. I remember now. We were in the barn
+together, and I was jealous of the old horse--how absurd! Then we were
+in the garden, and she was laughing at me. How like a dream it all is!
+It seemed as if she were always laughing, and that the birds might well
+stop singing to listen. Now she is crying here in my room. I half
+believe it's an apparition, and that if I speak it will vanish. Perhaps
+it is a warning that she's in trouble somewhere, and that I ought to go
+to her help. How lovely she looks, with her hands lying in her lap,
+forgetful of the work they hold, and her tearful eyes fixed on the
+glowing west! Her face is very pale in contrast. Surely she's only a
+shadow, and the real maiden is in need of my aid;" and I made an effort
+to rise.
+
+It seemed exceedingly strange that I could scarcely lift my hand; but
+my slight movement caused her to look around, and in answer to my gaze
+of eager inquiry she came softly and hesitatingly toward me.
+
+"Miss Warren," I said, "can it be you in very truth?"
+
+"Yes," she replied, with a sudden and glad lighting up of her face,
+"but please don't talk."
+
+"How you relieve me," I tried to say joyfully, but I found I could only
+whisper. "What the mischief--makes my voice--so weak? Do you know--that
+I had the odd--impression--that you were an apparition--and had come to
+me--as a token--that--you were in trouble--and I tried to rise--to go
+to your aid--then it seemed yourself--that looked around. But you _are_
+in trouble--why can't I get up and help you?"
+
+She trembled, and by her gesture tried to stop my words.
+
+"Will you do what I ask?" she said, in a low, eager tone.
+
+I smiled as I replied, "Little need of your asking that question."
+
+"Then please try to get well speedily; don't talk, but just keep every
+little grain of strength. Oh, I'm so glad you are in your right mind.
+You have been very ill, but will soon get well now if only careful.
+I'll call Mrs. Yocomb."
+
+"Please don't go," I whispered. "Now that I know you--it seems so
+natural--that you should be here. So I've been ill--and you have taken
+care of me;" and I gave a deep sigh of satisfaction. "I did not know
+you at first--idiot!--but Old Plod whinnied--and then it all began to
+come back."
+
+At the word "Old Plod" she turned hastily toward the door. Then, as if
+mastered by an impulse, she returned, and said, in a tone that thrilled
+even my feeble pulse:
+
+"Oh, live! in mercy live, or else I can never forgive myself."
+
+"I'll live--never fear," I replied, with a low laugh. "I'm not such a
+fool as to leave a world containing you."
+
+A rich glow overspread her face, she smiled, then suddenly her face
+became very pale, and she even seemed frightened as she hastily left
+the room.
+
+A moment later Mrs. Yocomb came in, full of motherly solicitude.
+
+"Kind Mrs. Yocomb," I murmured, "I am glad I'm in such good hands."
+
+"Thank God, Richard Morton," she said, in low, fervent tones, "thee's
+going to get well. But don't speak a word."
+
+"Wasn't that Zillah crying?"
+
+"Yes, she was heart-broken about thee being so sick, but she'll laugh
+now when I tell her thee's better. Take this, and sleep again."
+
+"Bless her kind heart!" I said.
+
+Mrs. Yocomb laid her finger on my lips. I saw her pour out something,
+which I swallowed unquestioningly, and after a moment sank into a quiet
+sleep.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+IN THE DARK
+
+
+"Yes, Mrs. Yocomb, good nursing and nourishment are all that he now
+requires," were the reassuring words that greeted my waking later in
+the evening. I opened my eyes, and found that a physician was feeling
+my pulse.
+
+I turned feebly toward my kind hostess, and smilingly whispered:
+
+"There's no fear of my wanting these where you are, Mrs. Yocomb; but
+don't let me make trouble. I fear I've made too much already."
+
+"The only way thee can make trouble, Richard, is to worry about making
+trouble. The more we can do for thee the better we shall be pleased.
+All thee's got to do is to get well and take thy time about it."
+
+"That's just like you. How long have I been ill?"
+
+"That's none of thy business at present. One thing at a time. The
+doctor has put thee in my hands, and I'm going to make thee mind."
+
+"I've heard that men were perfect bears when getting well," I said.
+
+"Thee can be a bear if thee feels like it, but not another word
+to-night--not another syllable; am I not right, doctor?"
+
+"Yes, I prescribe absolute quiet of mind and body; that and good living
+will bring you around in time. You've had a narrow graze of it, but if
+you will mind Mrs. Yocomb you will yet die of old age. Good-night."
+
+My nurse gave me what she thought I needed, and darkened the room. But
+it was not so dark but that I saw a beautiful face in the doorway.
+
+"Miss Warren," I exclaimed.
+
+"It was Adah," said Mrs. Yocomb quietly; "she's been very anxious about
+thee."
+
+"You are all so kind. Please thank her for me," I replied eagerly.
+"Mother, may I speak to Richard Morton?" asked a timid voice from the
+obscurity of the hallway.
+
+"Not to-night, Adah--to-morrow." "Forgive me if I disobey you this
+once," I interrupted hastily. "Yes, Miss Adah, I want to thank you."
+
+She came instantly to my side, and I held out my hand to her. I
+wondered why hers throbbed and trembled so strangely.
+
+"It's I who should thank thee: I can never thank thee enough. Oh, I
+feared I might--I might never have a chance."
+
+"There, Adah, thee mustn't say another word; Richard's too weak yet."
+
+Her hand closed tightly over mine. "Good-by," she breathed softly, and
+vanished.
+
+Mrs. Yocomb sat down with her knitting by a distant and shaded lamp.
+
+Too weak to think, or to realize aught except that I was surrounded by
+an atmosphere of kindness and sympathy, I was well content to lie still
+and watch, through the open window, the dark foliage wave to and fro,
+and the leaves grow distinct in the light of the rising moon, which,
+though hidden, I knew must be above the eastern mountains. I had the
+vague impression that very much had happened, but I would not think;
+not for the world would I break the spell of deep quietude that
+enthralled every sense of my body and every faculty of my mind.
+
+"Mrs. Yocomb," I said at last, "it must be you who creates this
+atmosphere of perfect peace and restfulness. The past is forgotten, the
+future a blank, and I see only your serene face. A subdued light seems
+to come from it, as from the shaded lamp."
+
+"Thee is weak and fanciful, Richard. The doctor said thee must be
+quiet."
+
+"I wish it were possible to obey the doctor forever, and that this
+exquisite rest and oblivion could last, I am like a ship becalmed on a
+summer sea in a summer night. Mind and body are both motionless."
+
+"Sleep, Richard Morton, and when rested and well, may gales from heaven
+spring up and carry thee homeward. Fear not even rough winds, if they
+bear thee toward the only true home. Now thy only duty is to rest."
+
+"You are not going to sit up to-night, Mrs. Yocomb."
+
+She put her finger on her lips.
+
+"Hush!" she said.
+
+"Oh, delicious tyranny!" I murmured. "The ideal government is that of
+an absolute and friendly power."
+
+I had a vague consciousness of being wakened from time to time, and of
+taking something from Mrs. Yocomb's hand, and then sinking back into an
+enthrallment of blessed and refreshing slumber. With every respiration
+life and health flowed back.
+
+At last, as after my first long sleep in the country, I seemed to hear
+exquisite strains of music that swelled into richer harmony until what
+seemed a burst of song awoke me. Opening my eyes, I looked intently
+through the open, window and gladly welcomed the early day. The air was
+fresh, and I felt its exhilarating quality. The drooping branches of
+the elm swayed to and fro, and the mountains beyond were bathed in
+light. I speedily realized that it was the song of innumerable birds
+that had supplied the music of my waking dream.
+
+For a few moments I gazed through the window, with the same perfect
+content with which I had watched the foliage grow distinct in the
+moonlight the previous evening, and then I looked around the room.
+
+I started slightly as I encountered the deep blue eyes of Adah Yocomb
+fixed on me with an intent, eager wistfulness. "Can I do anything for
+thee, Richard Morton?" she asked, rising from her chair near the door.
+"Mother asked me to stay with thee awhile, and to let her know if thee
+woke and wanted anything."
+
+"With you here this bright morning, how could I want anything more?" I
+asked, with a smile, for her young, beautiful face comported so well
+with the early morning of the summer day as to greatly please both my
+eye and fancy. The color of the early morning grew richer in her face
+as she replied:
+
+"I'm glad thee doesn't want me to go away, but I must go and have thy
+breakfast brought up."
+
+"No, stay; tell me all that's happened. I seem to have forgotten
+everything so strangely! I feel as if I had known you all a long time,
+and yet that can't be, for only the other day I was at my office in New
+York."
+
+"Mother says thee's too weak to talk yet, and that I must not answer
+questions. She says thee knows thee's been sick and thee knows thee's
+getting well, and that must do till thee's much stronger."
+
+"Oh, I feel ever so much stronger. Sleep and the good things your
+mother has given me have made a new man of me."
+
+"Mother says thee has never been sick, and that thee doesn't know how
+to take care of thyself, and that thee'll use thy strength right up if
+we don't take good care of thee."
+
+"And are you going to take care of me?"
+
+"Yes, if thee pleases. I'll help mother."
+
+"I should be hard to please were I not glad. I shall have so nice a
+time getting well that I shall be tempted to play sick."
+
+"I'll--I'll wait on thee as long as thee'll let me, for no one owes
+thee more than I do."
+
+"What in the world do you owe me?" I asked, much perplexed. "If you are
+going to help me to get well, and will come to my room daily with a
+face like this summer morning, I shall owe you more than I can ever
+repay."
+
+"My face would have been black enough but for thee; but I'm glad thee
+thinks I look well. They are all saying I look pale and am growing
+thin, but if thee doesn't think so I don't care," and she seemed aglow
+with pleasure.
+
+"It would make a sick man well to look at you," I said, smiling.
+"Please come and sit by me and help me to get my confused brain
+straight once more. I have the strangest sense of not knowing what I
+ought to know well. You and your kind father and mother brought me home
+from meeting. Your mother said I might stay here and rest. Miss Warren
+was here--she was singing in the parlor. Where is Miss Warren?"
+
+"She has gone out for a walk," said the girl a little coldly.
+
+Her manner perplexed me, and, together with my thought of Miss Warren,
+there came a vague sense of trouble--of something wrong. I tried to
+raise my hand to my brow, as if to clear away the mist that obscured my
+mind, and my hand was like lead, it was so heavy.
+
+"A plague on my memory!" I exclaimed. "We were in the parlor, and Miss
+Warren was singing. Your mother spoke--would that I might hear her
+again!--it's all tolerably clear up to that time, and then everything
+is confused."
+
+"Adah, how's this?" said Mrs. Yocomb reproachfully. "Thee was not to
+let Richard Morton talk."
+
+"I only am to blame, Mrs. Yocomb: I would talk. I'm trying to get the
+past straightened out; I know that something happened the other evening
+when you spoke so beautifully to us, but my memory comes up to that
+point as to an abyss, and I can't bridge it over."
+
+"Richard Morton, doesn't thee believe that I'm thy friend?"
+
+"My mind would indeed be a total blank if I doubted that."
+
+"Well, then, do what I ask thee: don't question, don't think. Isn't it
+sufficient to know that thee has been ill, and that thy life depends on
+quiet? Thee can scarcely lift thy hand to thy head; thy words are slow
+and feeble. Can't thee realize that it is thy sacred duty to rest and
+grow strong before taking up the cares and burdens that life brings to
+us all? Thee looks weak and exhausted."
+
+"I am indeed weak enough, but I felt almost well when I awoke."
+
+"Adah, I fear I can't trust thee as a nurse," her mother began gravely.
+
+"Please don't blame her; it was wholly my fault," I whispered. "I'll be
+very good now, and do just what you bid me."
+
+"Well, then, thee must take what I have prepared, and thy medicine, and
+sleep again."
+
+"Good-by, Adah," I said, smiling. "Don't look so concerned; you haven't
+done me a bit of harm. Your face was as bright and welcome as the
+sunshine."
+
+"If it hadn't been for thee--" she began.
+
+Mrs. Yocomb raised a warning finger, and the girl stole away.
+
+"Can--can I not see Miss Warren this morning?" I asked hesitatingly.
+
+"Thee must sleep first."
+
+The medicine she gave evidently contained a sedative, or else sleep was
+the remedy that Nature instinctively grasped, for it gave back part of
+the strength that I had lost.
+
+When I awoke again I felt wonderfully the better for a long rest that
+had not been broken, but made more beneficial from the fact that I was
+slightly roused from time to time to take stimulants and nourishment.
+The heat and glare of the summer day had passed. This I could perceive
+even through the half-closed window-blinds. At first I thought myself
+alone, but soon saw that Reuben was seated in the furthest corner,
+quietly carving on some woodwork that interested his boyish fancy. His
+round, fresh face was like a tonic.
+
+"Well, old fellow," I laughed, "so you are playing nurse?"
+
+"Is thee awake for good, Richard Morton?" he asked, springing up.
+
+"I hope so."
+
+"'Cause mother said that as soon as thee really waked up I must call
+her."
+
+"Oh, wait a moment, and tell me all the news."
+
+"Mother said I mustn't tell thee anything but to get well."
+
+"I'm never going to get well."
+
+"What!" exclaimed the boy, in consternation.
+
+"Your mother and Miss Adah take such good care of me that I am going to
+play sick the rest of my life," I explained, laughing. "How is Dapple?"
+
+"Oh, thee's only joking, then. Well, all I ask of thee is to get well
+just enough to drive Dapple around with me. He'll put life into
+thee--never fear. When I get hold of the reins he fairly makes my hands
+tingle. But there, mother said I shouldn't let thee talk, but tell her
+right away," and he started for the door.
+
+"How is Miss Warren? Is she never coming to see me?"
+
+"Emily Warren's been dreadfully anxious about thee. I never saw any one
+change so. But to-day she has been like a lark. She went with me to the
+village this morning, and she had almost as much spirit and life as
+Dapple. She's a jolly good girl. I like her. We're all so glad thee's
+getting well we don't know what to do. Father said he felt like jumping
+over a five-bar fence. Only Adah acts kind of queer and glum."
+
+"I think I hear talking," said Mrs. Yocomb, entering.
+
+"Dear Mrs. Yocomb," I laughed, "you are the most amiable and beneficent
+dragon that ever watched over a captive."
+
+"Thee wants watching. The moment my back's turned thee's into mischief,
+and the young people are just as bad. Reuben, I might better have left
+Zillah here."
+
+"Do let her come," I exclaimed; "she'll do more good than medicine."
+
+"Well, she shall bring thee up thy chicken broth; that will please her
+wonderfully. Go away, Reuben, and tell Zillah to bring the broth--not
+another word. Does thee feel better, Richard?"
+
+"Oh, I am almost well. I'm ashamed to own how hungry I am."
+
+"That's a good sign--a very good sign."
+
+"Mrs. Yocomb, how did I become so ill? I'm haunted by the oddest sense
+of not remembering something that happened after you spoke to us the
+other evening."
+
+"There's nothing strange in people's being sick--thee knows that. Then
+thee had been overworking so long that thee had to pay the penalty."
+
+"Yes, I remember that. Thank Heaven I drifted into this quiet harbor
+before the storm came. I should have died in New York."
+
+"Well, thee knows where to come now when thee's going to have another
+bad turn. I hope, however, that thee'll be too good a man to overwork
+so again. Now thee's talked enough."
+
+"Can I not see Mr. Yocomb, and--and--Miss Warren this evening?"
+
+"No, not till to-morrow. Father's been waiting till I said he could
+come; but he's so hearty-like that I won't trust him till thee's
+stronger."
+
+"Is--is Miss Warren so hearty-like also? It seems to me her laugh would
+put life into a mummy."
+
+"Well, thee isn't a mummy, so she can't come till to-morrow."
+
+She had been smoothing my pillow and bathing my face with cologne, thus
+creating a general sense of comfort and refreshment. Now she lifted my
+head on her strong, plump arm, and brushed my hair. Tears came into my
+eyes as I said brokenly:
+
+"I can remember my mother doing this for me when I was ill once and a
+little fellow. I've taken care of myself ever since. You can have no
+idea how grateful your manner is to one who has no one to care for him
+specially."
+
+"Thee'll always have some one to care for thee now; but thee mustn't
+say anything more;" and I saw strong sympathy in her moist eyes.
+
+"Yes," I breathed softly, "I should have died in New York."
+
+"And thee said an imp from the printing-house could take care of thee,"
+she replied, with a low laugh.
+
+"Did I say that? I must have been out of my head."
+
+"Thee'll see that all was ordered for the best, and be content when
+thee gets strong. People are often better every way after a good fit of
+sickness. I believe the Good Physician will give His healing touch to
+thy soul as well as thy body. Ah, here is Zillah. Come in, little girl.
+Richard wishes to see thee."
+
+Bearing a bowl in both hands, she entered hesitatingly.
+
+"Why, Zillah, you waiting on me, too! It's all like a fairy tale, and
+I'm transformed into a great prince, and am waited on right royally.
+I'm going to drink that broth to your health, as if you were a great
+lady. It will do me more good than all the drugs of all the doctors,
+just because you are such a good little fairy, and have bewitched it."
+
+The child dimpled all over with pleasure as she came and stood by my
+side.
+
+"Oh, I'm so glad thee's getting well!" she cried. "Thee talks queer,
+but not so queer as thee did before. Thee--"
+
+A warning gesture from her mother checked her, and she looked a little
+frightened.
+
+"That will do, Zillah. After Richard has taken this I'm not going to
+let him talk for a long time."
+
+"Do you want to make me all well, Zillah?" I asked, smiling into her
+troubled and sympathetic face.
+
+She nodded eagerly and most emphatically.
+
+"Then climb on a chair and give me a kiss."
+
+After a quick, questioning look at her mother, she complied, laughing.
+
+"Ah, that puts life into me," I said. "You can tell them all that you
+did me more good than the doctor. I'll go with you to see the robins
+soon."
+
+"I've got something else for thee downstairs," she whispered,
+"something that Emily Warren gathered for thee," and she was gone in a
+flash.
+
+A moment later she stood in the doorway, announced in advance by the
+perfume of an exquisite cluster of rosebuds arranged in a dainty vase
+entwined and half hidden with myrtle.
+
+"Put the vase on the table by Richard, and then thee mustn't come any
+more."
+
+"Thee surely are from the Garden of Eden," I exclaimed. "These and your
+kiss, Zillah, will make me well. Tell Miss Warren that I am going to
+thank her myself. Good-by now," and she flitted out of the room, bright
+with the unalloyed happiness of a child.
+
+"Dear me," said Mrs. Yocomb, "thee must indeed get strong fast, for I
+do have such a time keeping the young people out of thy room. Reuben
+asks a dozen times a day if he can see thee, and father's nearly as
+bad. No more shall see thee to-day, I promise thee. Now thee must rest
+till to-morrow."
+
+I was well content, for the roses brought a presence very near. In
+their fragrance, their beauty, their dewy freshness, their superiority
+to other flowers, they seemed the emblem of the maiden who had made
+harmony in the garden when Nature was at her best. The scene, as we had
+stood there together, grew so vivid that I saw her again almost in
+reality, her face glowing with the undisguised, irrepressible pleasure
+that had been caused by my unexpected tribute to the absolute
+truthfulness of her character. Again I heard her piquant laugh; then
+her sweet, vibratory voice as she sang hymns that awakened other than
+religious emotions, I fear. By an odd freak of fancy the flowers seemed
+an embodied strain from Chopin's nocturne that she had played, and the
+different shades of color the rising and falling of the melody.
+
+"What do they mean?" I murmured to myself. "At any rate I see no York
+and Lancaster buds among them."
+
+"Is thee so very fond of roses that thee gazes so long and intently at
+them?" Mrs. Yocomb quietly asked.
+
+I started, and I had still sufficient blood to crimson my pallid face.
+
+Turning away I said, "They recalled a scene in the garden where they
+grew. It seemed to me that Miss Warren had grown there too, she was so
+like them; and that this impression should have been made by a girl
+bred in the city struck me as rather strange."
+
+"Thy impression was correct--she's genuine," Mrs. Yocomb replied
+gravely, and her eyes rested on me in a questioning and sympathetic way
+that I understood better as I thought it over afterward.
+
+"Yes," I said, "she made just that impression on me from the first. We
+met as strangers, and in a few hours, without the slightest effort on
+her part, she won my absolute trust. This at first greatly surprised
+me, for I regret to say that my calling has made me distrustful. I soon
+learned, however, that this was just the impression that she should
+make on any one capable of understanding her."
+
+A deep sigh was my companion's only answer.
+
+"Mrs. Yocomb," I continued, earnestly, "was I taken ill while you were
+speaking? I have a vague, tormenting impression that something occurred
+which I cannot recall. The last that I can remember was your speaking
+to us; and then--and then--wasn't there a storm?"
+
+"There may have been. We've had several showers of late. Thee had been
+overdoing, Richard, and thee felt the effects of the fever in thy
+system before thee or any of us knew what was the matter. Thy mind soon
+wandered; but thee was never violent; thee made us no trouble--only our
+anxiety. Now I hope I've satisfied thee."
+
+"How wondrously kind you've all been to such a stranger! But Miss Adah
+made reference to something that I can't understand."
+
+Mrs. Yocomb looked perplexed and annoyed. "I'll ask Adah," she said,
+gravely. "It's time thee took this medicine and slept."
+
+The draught she gave me was more quieting than her words had been, for
+I remembered nothing more distinctly until I awoke in the brightness of
+another day.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+A FLASH OF MEMORY
+
+
+I found my spirits attuned to the clear sunshine of the new day, and
+congratulated myself that convalescence promised to be so speedy. Again
+I had the sense that it was my body only that was weak and exhausted by
+disease, for my mind seemed singularly elastic, and I felt as if the
+weight of years and toil had dropped away, and I was entering on a new
+and higher plane of existence. An unwonted hopefulness, too, gave
+buoyancy to my waking thoughts.
+
+My first conscious act was to look for my flowers. They had been
+removed to a distant table, and in their place was a larger bouquet,
+that, for some reason, suggested Adah. "It's very pretty," I thought,
+"but it lacks the dainty, refined quality of the other. There's too
+much of it. One is a bouquet; the other suggests the bushes on which
+the buds grew, and their garden home."
+
+From the sounds I heard, I knew the family was at breakfast, and before
+very long a musical laugh that thrilled every nerve with delight rang
+up the stairway, and I laughed in sympathy without knowing why.
+
+"Happy will the home be in which that laugh makes music," I murmured.
+"Heaven grant it may be mine. Can it be presumption to hope this, when
+she showed so much solicitude at my illness? She was crying when my
+recovery was doubtful, and she entreated me to live. Reuben's words
+suggested that she was depressed while I was in danger, and buoyant
+after the crisis had passed. That she feels as I do I cannot yet hope.
+But what the mischief do she and Adah mean by saying that they owe me
+so much? It's I who owe them everything for their care during my
+illness. How long _have_ I been ill? There seems to be something that I
+can't recall; and now I think of it, Mrs. Yocomb's account last night
+was very indefinite."
+
+My further musings were interrupted by the entrance of Mrs. Yocomb with
+a steaming bowl that smelt very savory.
+
+"Mrs. Yocomb," I cried, "you're always welcome; and that bowl is, too,
+for I'm hungry as a cub."
+
+"Glad to hear it," said Mr. Yocomb's hearty voice from the doorway.
+"I'll kill for you a young gobbler that Emily Warren thinks is like the
+apple of my eye, if you will promise to eat him."
+
+"No, indeed," I answered, reaching out my hand. "He is already devoted
+to Miss Warren's Thanksgiving dinner. May he continue to gobble until
+that auspicious day."
+
+"What! do you remember that?" and Mr. Yocomb cast a quick look of
+surprise at his wife.
+
+"Yes, I remember everything up to a certain point, and then all comes
+to a full stop. I wish you would bridge over the gap for me."
+
+"Richard," interposed Mrs. Yocomb, quickly, "it wouldn't do thee any
+good to have father tell thee what thee said when out of thy mind from
+fever. I can tell thee, however, that thee said nothing of which thee
+need be ashamed."
+
+"Well, I can't account for it. I must have been taken very suddenly.
+One thing is clear: you are the kindest people I ever heard of. You
+ought to be put in a museum."
+
+"Why, Friend Morton, is it queer that we didn't turn thee out of doors
+or give thee in charge of the poormaster?"
+
+"I certainly am the most fortunate man in the world," I said, laughing.
+"I had broken myself down and was about to become very ill, and I
+started off in the dark and never stopped till I reached the shelter of
+Mrs. Yocomb's wing. If I should tell my experience in New York there'd
+be an exodus to the country among newspaper men."
+
+"Thee mustn't do it," protested Mr. Yocomb, assuming a look of dismay.
+"Thee knows I'm down on editors: I make thee an exception."
+
+"I should think you had; but they would not expect to be treated one
+hundredth part so well as you have treated me."
+
+"Well, bring thy friends, editors or otherwise. Thy friends will be
+welcome."
+
+"I fear I'll be selfish; I feel as if I had made too rich a discovery
+to show it to others."
+
+"Now, father, thee's had thy turn, and must go right out and let
+Richard take his breakfast and his medicine. I'm bent on making Dr.
+Bates say I'm the best nurse in town, and between such a lively patient
+and such a lively family I have a hard time of it."
+
+"Well, thee knows I always mind, mother," said the old gentleman,
+putting on a rueful look. "I do it, thee knows, to set the children an
+example. Good-by now; mother will make thee as hearty as I am if
+thee'll mind her."
+
+"Oh, I'm well enough to see _everybody_ to-day," I said with emphasis,
+and I imagine that Mrs. Yocomb gave as definite a meaning to my
+indefinite term as I did.
+
+"No one can stay long yet, but if thee continues to improve so nicely,
+we can move thee downstairs part of the day before very long."
+
+"At that prospect I'll mind as well as Mr. Yocomb himself," I cried
+gladly. "Mr. Yocomb, they are spoiling me. I feel like a great petted
+boy, and behave like one, I fear; but having never been ill, I don't
+know how to behave."
+
+"Thee's doing very well for a beginner. Keep on--keep on," and his
+genial visage vanished from the doorway.
+
+After I had my breakfast, Zillah flitted in and out with her mother two
+or three times.
+
+"Mother says I can look at thee, but I mustn't talk;" and she wouldn't.
+
+Then Adah, with her wide-brimmed hat hanging on her arm, brought me a
+dainty little basket of wild strawberries.
+
+"I promised to gather them for thee," she said, placing them on my
+table.
+
+"You did? I had forgotten that," I replied. "I fear my memory is
+playing me sad tricks. You have just gathered them, I think?"
+
+"What makes thee think so?"
+
+"Because their color has got into your cheeks."
+
+"I hope thee'll like them--the strawberries, I mean."
+
+I laughed heartily as I answered, "I like both. I don't see how either
+could be improved upon."
+
+"I think thee likes a city pallor best," she replied, shaking her head.
+
+I imagine that a faint tinge of the strawberry came into my face, for
+she gave me a quick glance and turned away.
+
+"Adah," said Mrs. Yocomb, entering, "thee can take thy sewing and sit
+here by the door for a while. Call me if Richard wants anything. The
+doctor will be here soon."
+
+"Would thee like to have me stay?" she asked timidly.
+
+"Indeed I would. Mrs. Yocomb, can I eat these strawberries? I've
+devoured them with my eyes already."
+
+"Yes, if the doctor says so, and thee'll promise not to talk much."
+
+I made no promise, for I was bent on talking, as convalescents usually
+are, I believe, and Adah forgot her sewing, and her blue eyes rested on
+me with an intentness that at last grew a little embarrassing. She said
+comparatively little, and her words had much of their old directness
+and simplicity; but the former flippancy and coloring of small vanity
+was absent. Her simple morning costume was scrupulously neat, and quite
+as becoming as the Sunday muslin which I had so admired, and she had
+fastened at her breastpin a rose that reminded me of the one I had
+given her on that wretched Sunday afternoon when she unconsciously and
+speedily dispelled the bright dream that I had woven around her.
+
+"For some reason she has changed very much," I thought, "and I'm glad
+it's for the better."
+
+Zillah came in, and leaned on her lap as she asked her a question or
+two. "Surely the little girl would not have done that the first day I
+met her," I mused, then added aloud:
+
+"You are greatly changed, Miss Adah. What has happened to you?"
+
+She blushed vividly at my abrupt question, and did not answer for a
+moment. Then she began hesitatingly:
+
+"From what mother says, it's time I changed a little."
+
+"I think Zillah likes you now as she does Miss Warren."
+
+"No, she likes Emily Warren best--so does every one."
+
+"You are mistaken. Zillah could not have looked at Miss Warren
+differently from the way in which she just looked at you. You have no
+idea what a pretty picture you two then made."
+
+"I did not think about it."
+
+"I imagine you don't think about yourself as much as you did. Perhaps
+that's the change I'm conscious of."
+
+"I don't think about myself at all any more," and she bent low over her
+work.
+
+Dr. Bates now entered with Mrs. Yocomb, and Adah slipped quietly away.
+
+After strong professions of satisfaction at my rapid convalescence, and
+giving a medicine that speedily produced drowsiness, he too departed.
+
+I roused up slightly from time to time as the day declined, and finding
+Reuben quietly busy at his carving, dozed again in a delicious, dreamy
+restfulness. In one of these half-waking moments I heard a low voice
+ask:
+
+"Reuben, may I come in?"
+
+Sleep departed instantly, and I felt that I must be stone dead before I
+could be unmoved by those tones, now as familiar as if heard all my
+life.
+
+"Yes, please come," I exclaimed; "and you have been long in coming."
+
+Reuben sprang up with alacrity as he said, "I'm glad thee's come,
+Emily. Would thee mind staying with Richard for a little while? I want
+to take Dapple out before night. If I don't, he gets fractious."
+
+"I will take your place for a time, and will call Mrs. Yocomb if Mr.
+Morton needs anything."
+
+"I assure you I won't need anything as long as you'll stay," I began,
+as soon as we were alone. "I want to thank you for the rosebuds. They
+were taken away this morning; but I had them brought back and placed
+here where I could touch them. They seemed to bring back that June
+evening in the old garden so vividly that I've lived the scene over and
+over again."
+
+She looked perplexed, and colored slightly, but said smilingly, "Mrs.
+Yocomb will think I'm a poor nurse if I let you talk too much."
+
+"Then talk to me. I promise to listen as long as you will talk."
+
+"Well, mention an agreeable subject."
+
+"Yourself. What have you been doing in the ages that have elapsed since
+I came to life. It seems as if I had been dead, and I can't recall a
+thing that happened in that nether world. I only hope I didn't make a
+fool of myself."
+
+"I'm sorry to say you were too ill to do anything very bad. Mr. Morton,
+you can't realize how glad we all are that you are getting well so
+fast."
+
+"I hope I can't realize how glad YOU are, and yet I would like to think
+that you are very glad. Do you know what has done me the most good
+to-day?"
+
+"How should I know?" she asked, looking away, with something like
+trouble in her face.
+
+"I heard your laugh this morning while you were at breakfast, and it
+filled all the old house with music. It seemed to become a part of the
+sunshine that was shimmering on the elm-leaves that swayed to and fro
+before my window, and then the robins took it up in the garden. By the
+way, have you seen the robin's nest that Zillah showed us?"
+
+"Yes," she replied, "but it's empty, and the queer little things that
+Zillah said were all 'mouth and swallow' are now pert young robins,
+rollicking around the garden all day long. They remind me of Reuben and
+Dapple. I love such fresh young life, unshadowed by care or experience."
+
+"I believe you; and your sympathy with such life will always keep you
+young at heart. I can't imagine you growing old; indeed, truth is never
+old and feeble."
+
+"You are very fanciful, Mr. Morton," she said, with a trace of
+perplexity again on her face.
+
+"I have heard that that was a characteristic of sick people," I laughed.
+
+"Yes; we have to humor them like children," she added, smoothing her
+brow as if this were an excuse for letting me express more admiration
+than she relished.
+
+"Well," I admitted, "I've never been ill and made much of before, since
+I was a little fellow, and my mother spoiled me, and I've no idea how
+to behave. Even if I did, it would seem impossible to be conventional
+in this house. Am I not the most singularly fortunate man that ever
+existed? Like a fool I had broken myself down, and was destined to be
+ill. I started off as aimlessly as an arrow shot into the air, and here
+I am, enjoying your society and Mrs. Yocomb's care."
+
+"It is indeed strange," she replied musingly, as if half speaking to
+herself; "so strange that I cannot understand it. Life is a queer
+tangle at best. That is, it seems so to us sometimes."
+
+"I assure you I am glad to have it tangled for me in this style," I
+said, laughing. "My only dread is getting out of the snarl. Indeed, I'm
+sorely tempted to play sick indefinitely."
+
+"In that case we shall all leave you here to yourself."
+
+"I think _you_ have done that already."
+
+"What would your paper do without you?" she asked, with her brow
+slightly knitted and the color deepening in her cheeks.
+
+"Recalling what you said, I'm tempted to think it is doing better
+without me."
+
+"You imagine I said a great deal more than I did."
+
+"No, I remember everything that happened until I was taken ill. It's
+strange I was taken so suddenly. I can see you playing Chopin's
+nocturne as distinctly as I see you now. Do you know that I had the
+fancy that the cluster of roses you sent me was that nocturne embodied,
+and that the shades of color were the variations in the melody?"
+
+"You are indeed very fanciful. I hope you will grow more rational as
+you get well."
+
+"I remember you thought me slightly insane in the garden."
+
+"Yes; and you promised that you would see things just as they are after
+leaving it."
+
+"I can't help seeing things just as they seem to me. Perhaps I do see
+them just as they are."
+
+"Oh, no! To a matter-of-fact person like myself, you are clearly very
+fanciful. If you don't improve in this respect, you'll have to take a
+course in mathematics before returning to your work or you will mislead
+your readers."
+
+"No, I'm going to take a course of weeding in the garden, and you were
+to invite me into the arbor as soon as I had done enough to earn my
+salt."
+
+"I fear you will pull up the vegetables."
+
+"You can at least show me which are the potatoes."
+
+In spite of a restraint that she tried to disguise, she broke out into
+a low laugh at this reminiscence, and said: "After that revelation of
+ignorance you will never trust me again."
+
+"I will trust you in regard to everything except kitchen vegetables," I
+replied, more in earnest than in jest. "A most important exception,"
+she responded, her old troubled look coming back. "But you are talking
+far too much. Your face is slightly flushed. I fear you are growing
+feverish. I will call Mrs. Yocomb now."
+
+"Please do not. I never felt better in my life. You are doing me good
+every moment, and it's so desperately stupid lying helplessly here."
+
+"Well, I suppose I must humor you a few moments longer," she laughed.
+"People, when ill, are so arbitrary. By the way, your editorial friends
+must think a great deal of you, or else you are valuable to them, for
+your chief writes to Mr. Yocomb every day about you; so do some others;
+and they've sent enough fruit and delicacies to be the death of an
+ostrich."
+
+"I'm glad to hear that; it rather increases one's faith in human
+nature. I didn't know whether they or any one would care much if I
+died."
+
+"Mr. Morton!" she said reproachfully.
+
+"Oh, I remember my promise to you. If, like a cat, I had lost my ninth
+life, I would live after your words. Indeed I imagine that you were the
+only reason I did live. It was your will that saved me, for I hadn't
+enough sense or spirit left to do more than flicker out."
+
+"Do you think so?" she asked eagerly, and a rich glow of pleasure
+overspread her face.
+
+"I do indeed. You have had a subtle power over me from the first, which
+I cannot resist, and don't wish to."
+
+"I must go now," she said hastily.
+
+"Please wait," I entreated. "I've a message for Mrs. Yocomb."
+
+She stood irresolutely near the door.
+
+"I wish you to tell her--why is it getting dark so suddenly?"
+
+"I fear we're going to have a shower," and she glanced apprehensively
+toward the window.
+
+"When have I seen that look on your face before?" I asked quickly.
+
+"You had a message for Mrs. Yocomb?"
+
+"Yes. I wish you would make her realize a little of my unbounded
+gratitude, which every day increases. In fact, I can't understand the
+kindness of this family, it is so hearty, so genuine. Why, I was an
+entire stranger the other day. Then Adah and--pardon me--you also used
+expressions which puzzle me very much. I can't understand how I became
+ill so suddenly. I was feeling superbly that Sunday evening, and then
+everything became a blank. Mrs. Yocomb, from a fear of disquieting me,
+won't say much about it. The impression that a storm or something
+occurred that I can't recall, haunts me. You are one that couldn't
+deceive if you tried."
+
+"You needn't think I've anything to tell when Mrs. Yocomb hasn't," she
+answered, with a gay laugh.
+
+"Miss Warren," I said gravely, "that laugh isn't natural. I never heard
+you laugh so before. Something _did_ happen."
+
+A flash of lightning gleamed across the window, and the girl gave an
+involuntary and apprehensive start.
+
+Almost as instantaneously the events I had forgotten passed through my
+mind. In strong and momentary excitement I rose on my elbow, and looked
+for their confirmation in her troubled face.
+
+"Oh, forget--forget it all!" she exclaimed, in a low, distressed voice,
+and she came and stood before me with clasped hands.
+
+"Would to God I had died!" I said, despairingly, and I sank back faint
+and crushed. "I had no right to speak--to think of you as I did.
+Good-by."
+
+"Mr. Morton--"
+
+"Please leave me now. I'm too weak to be a man, and I would not lose
+your esteem."
+
+"But you will get well--you promised me that."
+
+"Well!" I said, in a low, bitter tone. "When can I ever be well?
+Good-by."
+
+"Mr. Morton, would you blight my life?" she asked, almost indignantly.
+"Am I to blame for this?"
+
+"Nor am I to blame. It was inevitable. Curses on a world in which one
+can err so fatally."
+
+"Can you not be a brave, generous man? If this should go against
+you--if you will not get well--you promised me to live."
+
+"I will exist; but can one whose heart is stone, and hope dead, _live?_
+I'll do my best. No, yon are not to blame--not in the least. Take the
+whole comfort of that truth. Nor was I either. That Sunday _was_ the
+day of my fate, since for me to see you was to love you by every
+instinct and law of my being. But I trust, as you said, you will find
+me too honorable to seek that which belongs to another."
+
+"Mr. Morton," she said, in tones of deep distress, "you saved this
+home; you saved Mrs. Yocomb's life; you--you saved mine. Will you
+embitter it?"
+
+"Would to God I had died!" I groaned. "All would then have been well. I
+had fulfilled my mission."
+
+She wrung her hands as she stood beside me. "I can't--oh, I can't
+endure this!" she murmured, and there was anguish in her voice.
+
+I rallied sufficiently to take her hand as I said: "Emily Warren, I
+understand your crystal truth too well not to know that there is no
+hope for me. I'll bear my hard fate as well as I can; but you must not
+expect too much. And remember this: I shall be like a planet hereafter.
+The little happiness I have will be but a pale reflection of yours. If
+you are unhappy, I shall be so inevitably. Not a shadow of blame rests
+on you--the first fair woman was not truer than you. I'll do my
+best--I'll get up again--soon, I trust, now. If you ever need a
+friend--but you would not so wrong me as to go to another--I won't be
+weak and lackadaisical. Don't make any change; let this episode in your
+life be between ourselves only. Good-by."
+
+"Oh, you look so ill--so changed--what can I say--?"
+
+Helpless tears rushed into her eyes. "You saved my life," she breathed
+softly; but as she turned hastily to depart she met our hostess.
+
+"Oh, Mrs. Yocomb," she sobbed, "he knows all."
+
+"Thee surely could not have told him--"
+
+"Indeed I did not--it came to him like a flash."
+
+"Mrs. Yocomb, by all that's sacred, Miss Warren is not to blame for
+anything--only myself. Please keep my secret; it shall not trouble any
+one;" and I turned my face to the wall.
+
+"Richard Morton."
+
+"Dear Mrs. Yocomb, give me time. I'm too sorely wounded to speak to any
+one."
+
+"A man should try to do what is right under all circumstances," she
+said, firmly, "and it is your first and sacred duty to get well. It is
+time for your medicine."
+
+I turned and said desperately, "Give me stimulants--give me anything
+that will make me strong, so that I may keep my word; for if ever a man
+was mortally weak in body and soul, I am."
+
+"I'll do my best for thee," she said, gently, "for I feel for thee and
+with thee, as if thee were my own son. But I wish thee to remember now
+and always that the only true strength comes from Heaven."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+WEAKNESS
+
+
+Soul and body are too nearly related for one to suffer without the
+other's sympathy. Mrs. Yocomb mercifully shielded me that evening,
+merely saying that I had seen enough company for one day. My sleep that
+night resulted from opiates instead of nature's impulses, and so was
+unrefreshing, and the doctor was surprised to find a change for the
+worse the following morning. For two or three days the scale wavered,
+and I scarcely held what I had gained. Mrs. Yocomb rarely left me, and
+I believe that I owe my life not only to her excellent nursing, but
+even more to her strong moral support--her gentle but unspoken
+sympathy. I knew she understood me, and that her mercy was infinite for
+my almost mortal weakness; for now that the inexplicable buoyancy which
+that chief of earthly hopes imparts was gone, I sank into an abyss of
+despondency from which I feared I could never escape. Her wisdom and
+intuitive delicacy led her to select Reuben as her chief assistant. I
+found his presence very restful; for, so far from suspecting, he could
+not understand a wound often more real and painful than any received on
+battlefields. I now could not have endured Adah's intent and curious
+scrutiny, and yet I deeply appreciated her kindness, for she kept my
+table laden with delicate fruits and flowers.
+
+The dainty little vase was replenished daily also with clusters of
+roses--roses only--and I soon recognized rare and perfect buds that at
+this late season only a florist could supply. The pleasure they gave
+was almost counterbalanced by the pain. Their exquisite color and
+fragrance suggested a character whose perfection daily made my
+disappointment more intolerable. At last Mrs. Yocomb said:
+
+"Richard Morton, is thee doing thy best to get well? Thee's incurring a
+grave responsibility if thee is not. Emily Warren is quite alone in the
+world and she came to me as to a mother when thee was taken ill, and
+told me of thy unfortunate attachment. As thee said, she is not to
+blame, and yet such is her kindly and sensitive nature that she suffers
+quite as much as if she were wholly to blame. Her life almost depends
+on thine. She is growing pale and ill. She eats next to nothing, and I
+fear she sleeps but little. She is just waiting in miserable suspense
+to see if thee will keep thy word and live. I believe thee _can_ live,
+and grow strong and good and noble, if thee will."
+
+"Oh, Mrs. Yocomb, how you must despise me! If you but knew how I loathe
+myself."
+
+"No, I'm sorry for thee from the depths of my heart. If thee's doing
+thy best, I've not a word to say; but thee should know the truth. As
+Emily said, thee has the power either to embitter her life or to add
+very much to its happiness."
+
+"Well," I said, "if I have not the strength to overcome this unmanly,
+contemptible weakness, I ought to die, and the sooner the better. If
+I'm worth life, I shall live."
+
+If ever a weak, nerveless body yielded to an imperious will, mine did.
+From that hour, as far as possible, I gave my whole thought to
+recovery, and was as solicitous as I before had been apathetic. No
+captain could have been more so in regard to his ship, which he fears
+may not outride a storm.
+
+I appealed to Dr. Bates to rack his brains in the preparation of the
+most effective tonics, I took my food with scrupulous regularity; and
+in the effort to oxygenize my thin pale blood, drew long respirations
+of the pure summer air. Mrs. Yocomb daily smiled a warmer and more
+hearty encouragement.
+
+Under the impetus of a resolute purpose the wheels of life began to
+move steadily and at last rapidly toward the goal of health. I soon was
+able to sit up part of the day.
+
+As I rallied, I could not help recognizing the richer coloring that
+came into the life at the farmhouse, and the fact touched me deeply.
+
+"What is my suffering compared with the happiness of this home?" I
+thought. "It would have been brutally selfish to have died."
+
+I now had my letters brought to me. My paper--my first love--was daily
+read, and my old interest in its welfare kindled slowly.
+
+"Work," I said, "is the best of antidotes. It shall be my remedy. Men
+are respected only as they stand on their feet and work, and I shall
+win her respect to the utmost."
+
+Reuben and Adah read to me. The presence of the former, like that of
+his father and mother, was very restful; but Adah began to puzzle me.
+At first I ascribed her manner to an extravagant sense of gratitude,
+and the romantic interest which a young girl might naturally take in
+one who had passed with her through peril, and who seemingly had been
+dangerously ill in consequence; but I was compelled at last to see that
+her regard was not open, frank, and friendly, but shy, absorbing, and
+jealous. It gave her unmingled satisfaction that I did not ask for Miss
+Warren, and she rarely spoke of her. When she did she watched me
+keenly, as if seeking to read my thoughts. Reuben, on the contrary,
+spoke freely of her; but, from some restraint placed upon him by his
+mother probably, did not ask her to relieve him in his care of me again.
+
+After I began to sit up, Miss Warren would not infrequently come to my
+door, when others were present, and smilingly express her gladness that
+I was improving daily. Indeed there would often be quite gay repartee
+between us, and I think that even Adah was so blinded by our manner
+that her suspicions were allayed. It evidently puzzled her, and Reuben
+also, that I had apparently lost my interest in one who had such great
+attractions for me at first. But Adah was not one to seek long and
+deeply for subtle and hidden causes of action. She had a quick eye,
+however, for what was apparent, and scanned surfaces narrowly. I fear I
+perplexed her as sorely as she did me.
+
+In spite of every effort to remain blind to the truth, I began to fear
+that she was inclined to give me a regard which I had not sought, and
+which would embarrass me beyond measure.
+
+That a man can exult over a passion in a woman which he cannot requite
+is marvellous. That he can look curiously, critically, and complacently
+on this most sacred mystery of a woman's soul, that he can care no more
+for her delicate incense than would a grim idol, is proof that his
+heart is akin to the stony idol in material, and his nature like that
+of the gross, cruel divinity represented. The vanity that can feed on
+such food has a more depraved appetite than the South Sea Islander, who
+is content with human flesh merely. It would seem that there are those
+who can smile to see a woman waste the richest treasures of her
+spiritual life which were designed to last and sustain through the long
+journey of life--ay, and even boast of her immeasurable loss, of which
+they, wittingly or unwittingly, have been the cause.
+
+The oddest part of it all is that women can love such men instead of
+regarding them as spider-like monsters that, were the doctrine of
+transmigration true, would become spiders again as soon as compelled to
+drop their human disguise.
+
+But women usually idealize the men they love into something very
+different from what they are. Heaven knows that I was not a saint; but
+I am glad that it caused me pain, and pain only, as I saw Adah shyly
+and almost unconsciously bending on me glances laden with a priceless
+gift, which, nevertheless, I could not receive.
+
+Her nature was too simple and direct for disguises, and when she
+attempted them they were often so apparent as to be comically pathetic.
+And yet she did attempt them. There was nothing bold and unmaidenly in
+her manner, and as I look back upon those days I thank God that I was
+never so graceless and brutal as to show or feel anything like contempt
+for her gentle, childlike preference. Very possibly also my own
+unfortunate experience made me more considerate, and it was my policy
+to treat her with the same frank, undisguised affection that I
+manifested toward Zillah, with, of course, the differences required by
+their different ages.
+
+Adah was no longer repulsive to me. The events of that memorable night
+of storm and danger, and the experiences that followed, had apparently
+awakened her better nature, which, although having a narrow compass,
+was gentle and womanly. Her old flippancy was gone. My undisguised
+preference for Miss Warren after I had actually made her acquaintance,
+and my persistent blindness to everything verging toward sentiment, had
+perhaps done something toward dispelling her belief that beauty and
+dress were irresistible. Thus she may have been led honestly to compare
+herself with Emily Warren, who was not only richly endowed but highly
+cultivated; at any rate her small vanity had vanished also, and she was
+in contrast as self-distrustful and hesitating in manner as she
+formerly had been abrupt and self-asserting. Moreover she had either
+lost her interest in her neighbor's petty affairs, or else had been
+made to feel that a tendency to gossip was not a captivating trait, and
+we heard no more about what this one said or that one wore on her
+return from meeting. While her regard was undoubtedly sincere, I felt
+and hoped that it was merely a sentiment attendant on her wakening and
+fuller spiritual life, rather than an abiding and deep attachment; and
+I believed that it would soon be replaced by other interests after my
+departure. For my own sake as well as hers I had decided to leave the
+farmhouse as speedily as possible, but I soon began to entertain the
+theory that I could dispel her dreams better by remaining a little
+longer, and by proving that she held the same place in my thoughts as
+Zillah, and could possess no other. There would then be no vain
+imaginings after I had gone.
+
+I rather wanted to stay until I had fully recovered my health, for I
+was beginning to take pride in my self-mastery. If I could regain my
+footing, and stand erect in such quiet, manly strength as to change
+Miss Warren's sympathy into respect only, I felt that I would achieve a
+victory that would be a source of satisfaction for the rest of life.
+That I could do this I honestly doubted, for seemingly she had
+enthralled my whole being, and her power over me was wellnigh
+irresistible.
+
+I knew that she understood Adah even better than I did, and it seemed
+her wish to afford the girl every opportunity, for she never came to
+ask how I was when Adah was present; and the latter was honest enough
+to tell me that it was Miss Warren who had suggested some of the simple
+yet interesting stories with which my long hours of convalescence were
+beguiled; but in her latent jealousy she could not help adding:
+
+"Since Emily Warren selected them, thee cannot help liking them."
+
+"I certainly ought to like them doubly," I had quietly replied, looking
+directly into her eyes, "since I am indebted for them to two friends
+instead of one."
+
+"There's a great difference in friends," she said significantly.
+
+"Yes, indeed," I replied, smiling as frankly as if I had been talking
+to Zillah; "and your mother is the best friend I have or ever expect to
+have."
+
+Adah had sighed deeply, and had gone on with her reading in a girlish,
+plaintive voice that was quite different from her ordinary tones.
+
+Unconsciously she had imbibed the idea--probably from what she often
+heard at meeting--that anything read or spoken consecutively must be in
+a tone different from that used in ordinary conversation, and she
+always lifted up her voice into an odd, plaintive little monotone, that
+was peculiar, but not at all disagreeable. It would not have been
+natural in another, but was perfectly so to her, and harmonized with
+her unique character. The long words even in the simple stories were
+often formidable obstacles, and she would look up apprehensively, and
+color for fear I might be laughing at her; but I took pains to gaze
+quietly through the window in serene unconsciousness. She also stumbled
+because her thoughts evidently were often far away from her book, but
+at my cordial thanks when finishing the story her face would glow with
+pleasure. And yet she missed something in my thanks, or else saw, in
+the quiet manner with which I turned to my letters or paper, that which
+was unsatisfactory, and she would sigh as she left the room. Her
+gentle, patient efforts to please me, which oddly combined maidenly
+shyness and childlike simplicity, often touched the depths of my heart,
+and the thought came more than once, "If this is more than a girlish
+fancy, and time proves that I am essential to her happiness--which is
+extremely doubtful--perhaps I can give her enough affection to content
+a nature like hers."
+
+But one glimpse of Emily Warren would banish this thought, for it
+seemed as if my very soul were already wedded to her. "The thought of
+another is impossible," I would mutter. "She was my fate."
+
+Four or five of the days during which I had been sufficiently strong to
+sit up had passed away, and I was able to give more of my time to my
+mail and paper, and thus to seem preoccupied when Adah came to read. I
+found Zillah also a useful though unconscious ally, and I lured her
+into my room by innumerable stories. Reuben and Mr. Yocomb were now
+very busy in their harvest, and I saw them chiefly in the evening, but
+they were too tired to stay long. Time often hung wofully heavy on my
+hands, and I longed to be out of doors again; but Mrs. Yocomb was
+prudently inexorable. I am sure that she restrained Adah a great deal,
+for she grew less and less demonstrative in manner, and I was left more
+to myself.
+
+Thus a week passed. It was Saturday morning, and between the harvest
+without and preparations for Sunday within, all the inmates of the
+farmhouse were very busy. The forenoon had wellnigh passed. I had
+exhausted every expedient to kill time, and was looking on the
+landscape shimmering in the fierce sunlight with an apathy that was
+dull and leaden in contrast, when a low knock caused me to look up; but
+instead of Adah, as I expected, Miss Warren stood in the doorway.
+
+"They are all so busy to-day," she said hesitatingly, "that I thought I
+might help you pass an hour or two. It seems too bad that you should be
+left to yourself so long."
+
+To my disgust, I--who had resolved to be so strong and self-poised in
+her presence--felt that every drop of blood in my body had rushed into
+my face. It certainly must have been very apparent, for her color
+became vivid also.
+
+"I fear I was having a stupid time," I began awkwardly. "I don't want
+to make trouble. Perhaps Mrs. Yocomb needs your help."
+
+"No," she said, smiling, "you can't banish me on that ground. I've been
+helping Mrs. Yocomb all the morning. She's teaching me how to cook.
+I've succeeded in proving that the family would have a fit of
+indigestion that might prove fatal were it wholly dependent on my
+performances."
+
+"Tell me what you made?" I said eagerly. "Am I to have any of it for my
+dinner?"
+
+"Indeed you are not. Dr. Bates would have me indicted."
+
+She looked at me with solicitude, for although I had laughed with her I
+felt ill and faint. Despairingly, I thought, "I cannot see her and
+live. I must indeed go away."
+
+"So you are coming downstairs to-morrow?" she began. "We shall give yon
+a welcome that ought to make any man proud. Mrs. Yocomb is all aglow
+with her preparations."
+
+"I wish they wouldn't do so," I said, in a pained tone. "I'd much
+rather slip quietly into my old place as if nothing had happened."
+
+"I imagined you would feel so, Mr. Morton," she said gently; "but so
+much has happened that you must let them express their abounding
+gratitude in their own way. It will do them good, and they will be the
+happier for it."
+
+"Indeed, Miss Warren, that very word gratitude oppresses me. There is
+no occasion for their feeling so. Why, Hiram, their man, could not have
+done less. I merely happened to be here. It's all the other way now. If
+ever a man was overwhelmed with kindness, I have been. How can I ever
+repay Mrs. Yocomb?"
+
+"I am equally helpless in that respect; but I'm glad to think that
+between some of our friends the question of repaying may be forgotten.
+I never expect to repay Mrs. Yocomb."
+
+"Has she done so much for you, also?"
+
+"Yes, more than I can tell you."
+
+"Well," I said, trying to laugh, "if I ever write another paragraph it
+will be due to her good nursing."
+
+"That is my chief cause for gratitude," she said hurriedly, the color
+deepening again in her cheeks. "If you hadn't--if--I know of your brave
+effort to get well, too--she told me."
+
+"Yes, Miss Warren," I said quietly, "I am now doing my best."
+
+"And you are doing nobly--so nobly that I am tempted to give you a
+strong proof of friendship; to tell you what I have not told any one
+except Mrs. Yocomb. I feel as if I had rather you heard it from me than
+casually from others. It will show how--how I trust you."
+
+My very heart seemed to stand still, and I think my pallor alarmed her;
+but feeling that she had gone too far, she continued hurriedly, taking
+a letter from her pocket:
+
+"I expect my friend to-night. He's been absent, and now writes that he
+will--"
+
+I shrank involuntarily as if from a blow, and with her face full of
+distress she stopped abruptly.
+
+Summoning the whole strength of my manhood, I rallied sufficiently to
+say, in a voice that I knew was unnatural from the stress I was under:
+
+"I congratulate you. I trust you may be very happy."
+
+"I had hoped--" she began. "I would be if I saw that you were happy."
+
+"You are always hoping," I replied, trying to laugh, "that I may become
+sane and rational. Haven't you given that up yet? I shall be very happy
+to-morrow, and will drink to the health of you both."
+
+She looked at me very dubiously, and the trouble in her face did not
+pass away. "Let me read to you," she said abruptly. "I brought with me
+Hawthorne's 'Mosses from an Old Manse.' They are not too familiar, I
+trust?"
+
+"I cannot hear them too often," I said, nerving myself as if for
+torture.
+
+She began to read that exquisite little character study, "The Great
+Stone Face." Her voice was sweet and flexible, and varied with the
+thought as if the words had been set to music. At first I listened with
+delight to hear my favorite author so perfectly interpreted; but soon,
+too soon, every syllable added to my sense of unutterable loss.
+
+Possibly she intuitively felt my distress, possibly she saw it as I
+tried to look as stoical as an Indian chief who is tortured on every
+side with burning brands. At any rate she stopped, and said
+hesitatingly:
+
+"You--you do not enjoy my reading."
+
+With a rather grim smile I replied: "Nothing but the truth will answer
+with you. I must admit I do not."
+
+"Would--would you like to hear something else?" she asked, in evident
+embarrassment.
+
+"Nothing is better than Hawthorne," I said. "I--I fear I'm not yet
+strong enough." Then, after a second's hesitation, I spoke out
+despairingly: "Miss Warren, I may as well recognize the truth at once,
+I never shall be strong enough. I've overrated myself. Good-by."
+
+She trembled; tears came into her eyes, and she silently left the room.
+So abrupt was her departure that it seemed like a flight.
+
+After she had gone I tottered to my feet, with an imprecation on my
+weakness, and I took an amount of stimulant that Dr. Bates would never
+have prescribed; but it had little effect. In stony, sullen protest at
+my fate, I sat down again, and the hours passed like eternities.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+OLD PLOD IDEALIZED
+
+
+Adah brought me up my dinner, and I at once noted that she was in a
+flutter of unusual excitement. Her mother had undoubtedly prepared her
+for the arrival of the expected guest, and made known also his
+relations to one of whom she had been somewhat jealous, and it would
+seem that the simple-hearted girl could not disguise her elation.
+
+I was in too bitter a mood to endure a word, and yet did not wish to
+hurt her feelings; therefore she found me more absorbed in my paper and
+preoccupied than ever before.
+
+"Thank you, Miss Adah," I said, cordially but briefly. "Editors are
+wretched company; their paper is everything to them, and I've something
+on my mind just now that's very absorbing."
+
+"Thee isn't strong enough to work yet," she said sympathetically.
+
+"Oh, yes," I replied, laughing bitterly; "I'm a small edition of
+Samson. Besides, I'm as poor as Job's impoverished turkey, and must get
+to work again as soon as possible."
+
+"There is no need of thee feeling that way; we--" and then she stopped
+and blushed.
+
+"I know all about 'we,'" I laughed; "your hearts are as large as this
+wide valley, but then I must keep my self-respect, you know. You have
+no idea how happy you ought to be in such a home as yours."
+
+"I like the city better," she replied, blushing, and she hastily left
+the room.
+
+My greed for work departed as abruptly. "Poor child!" I muttered.
+"'Life is a tangle,' as Miss Warren said, and a wretched one, too, for
+many of us."
+
+Mrs. Yocomb soon after came in, and looked with solicitude at my almost
+untasted dinner.
+
+"Why, Richard," she said, "thy appetite flags strangely. Isn't thy
+dinner to thy taste?"
+
+"The fault is wholly in me," I replied.
+
+"Thee doesn't look so well--nothing like so well. Has Adah said
+anything to trouble thee?" she asked apprehensively.
+
+"No, indeed; Adah is just as good and kind as she can be. She's
+becoming as good as she is beautiful. Every day increases my respect
+for her;" and I spoke earnestly and honestly.
+
+A faint color stole into the matron's cheek, and she seemed pleased and
+relieved, but she remarked quietly:
+
+"Adah's young and inexperienced." Then she added, with a touch of
+motherly pride and solicitude, "She's good at heart, and I think is
+trying to do right."
+
+"She will make a noble woman, Mrs. Yocomb--one that you may well be
+proud of, or I'm no judge of character," I said, with quiet emphasis.
+"She and Zillah have both been so kind to me that they already seem
+like sisters. At any rate, after my treatment in this home I shall
+always feel that I owe to them a brother's duty."
+
+The color deepened in the old lady's face, that was still so fair and
+comely, and tears stood in her eyes.
+
+"I understand thee, Richard," she said quietly. "I thought I loved thee
+for saving our lives and our home, but I love thee more now. Still thee
+cannot understand a mother's heart. Thee's a true gentleman."
+
+"Dear Mrs. Yocomb, you must learn to understand me better or I shall
+have to run away in self-defence. When you talk in that style I feel
+like an arrant hypocrite. I give you my word that I've been swearing
+this very forenoon."
+
+"Who was thee swearing at?" she asked, in much surprise.
+
+"Myself, and with good reason."
+
+"There is never good reason for such wickedness," she said gravely, but
+regarding me with deep solicitude. Presently she added, "Thee has had
+some great provocation?"
+
+"No; I've been honored with unmerited kindness and trust, which I have
+ill requited." "Emily Warren has been to see thee?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Did she tell thee?"
+
+"Yes; and I feel that I could throttle that man. Now you know what a
+heathen savage I am."
+
+"Yes," she said dryly, "thee has considerable untamed human nature."
+Then added, smiling, "I'll trust him with thee, nevertheless. I'm
+inclined to think that for her sake thee'd do more for him than for any
+man living. Now wouldn't thee?"
+
+"Oh, Satan take him! Yes!" I groaned. "Forgive me, Mrs. Yocomb. I'm so
+unmanned, so desperate from trouble, that I'm not fit for decent
+society, much less your company. You believe in a Providence: why was
+this woman permitted to enslave my very soul when it was of no use?"
+
+"Richard Morton," she said reproachfully, "thee is indeed unmanned.
+Thee's wholly unjust and unreasonable. This gentleman has been Emily
+Warren's devoted friend for years. He has taken care of her little
+property, and done everything for her that her independent spirit would
+permit. He might have sought an alliance among the wealthiest, but he
+has sued long and patiently for her hand--"
+
+"Well he might," I interrupted irritably. "Emily Warren is the peer of
+any man in New York."
+
+"Thee knows New York and the world in general well enough to be aware
+that wealthy bankers do not often seek wives from the class to which
+Emily belongs, though in my estimation, as well as in thine, no other
+class is more respectable. But I'm not blinded by prejudice, and I
+think it speaks well for him that he is able to recognize and honor
+worth wherever he finds it. Still, he knew her family. The Warrens were
+quite wealthy, too, at one time."
+
+"What is his name?" I asked sullenly.
+
+"Gilbert Hearn." "What, Hearn the banker, who resides on Fifth Avenue?"
+
+"The same."
+
+"I know him--that is, I know who he is--well." Then I added bitterly,
+"It's just like him; he has always had the good things of this world,
+and always will. He'll surely marry her."
+
+"Has thee anything against him?"
+
+"Yes, infinitely much against him: I feel as if he were seeking to
+marry my wife."
+
+"That's what thee said when out of thy mind," she exclaimed
+apprehensively. "I hope thee is not becoming feverish?" "Oh, no, Mrs.
+Yocomb, I've nothing against him at all. He is pre-eminently
+respectable, as the world goes. He is shrewd, wonderfully shrewd, and
+always makes a ten-strike in Wall Street; but his securing Miss Warren
+was a masterstroke. There, I'm talking slang, and disgracing myself
+generally." But my bitter spirit broke out again in the words, "Never
+fear; Gilbert Hearn will have the best in the city; nothing less will
+serve him."
+
+"Thee is prejudiced and unjust. I hope thee'll be in a better mood
+to-morrow," and she left my room looking hurt and grieved.
+
+I sank back in my chair in wretched, reckless apathy, and from the
+depths of my heart wished I had died.
+
+After a little time Mrs. Yocomb came hastily in, looking half ashamed
+of her weakness, and in her hands was a bowl of delicious broth.
+
+"My heart relents toward thee," she said, with moist eyes. "I ought to
+have made more allowance for one whose mother left him much too early.
+Take this, every drop, and remember thy pledge to get well and be a
+generous man. I'll trust thee to keep thy word," and she departed
+before I could speak.
+
+"Well, I should be a devil incarnate if I didn't become a man after her
+kindness," I muttered, and I gulped down the broth and my evil mood at
+the same time.
+
+At the end of an hour I could almost have shaken hands with Gilbert
+Hearn, who prospered in all that he touched.
+
+As the sun declined I heard the rustle of a silk on the stairway. A
+moment later Miss Warren mounted the horseblock and stood waiting for
+Reuben, who soon appeared in the family rockaway.
+
+I thought the maiden looked a trifle pale in contrast with her light
+silk, but perhaps it was the shadow of the tree she stood under; but I
+muttered, "Even his critical taste can find no fault with that form and
+face; she'll grace his princely home, and none will recognize the truth
+more clearly than he."
+
+She hesitatingly lifted her eyes toward my window, and I started back,
+forgetting that I was hidden by the half-closed blind; but my face
+suffused with pleasure as I said to myself:
+
+"Heaven bless her! she does not forget me wholly, even on the threshold
+of her happiness."
+
+At that moment Old Plod, passing through the yard in his early Saturday
+release from toil, gave a loud whinny of recognition. The young girl
+started visibly, sprang lightly down from the block and caressed her
+great heavy-footed pet, and then, without another glance at my window,
+entered the rockaway, and was driven rapidly toward the distant depot
+at which she would welcome the most fortunate man in the world.
+
+I now felt sure that I had guessed her associations with the old
+plow-horse, and, sore-hearted as I was, I laughed long and silently
+over the quaint fancy.
+
+"Truly," I muttered, "the courtly and elegant banker would not feel
+flattered if he knew about it. How in the world did she ever come to
+unite the two in her mind?"
+
+But as I thought it all over I was led to conclude that it was natural
+enough. The lonely girl had no doubt found that even in the best
+society of a Christian city she must ever be warily on her guard. She
+was beautiful, and yet poor and apparently friendless; and, as she had
+intimated, she had found many of the young and gay ready to flatter,
+and with anything but sincere motives. The banker, considerably her
+senior, had undoubtedly proved himself a quiet, steadfast friend. He
+was not the fool to neglect her as did those stupid horses, for any
+oats the world could offer, and she always found him, like Old Plod,
+ready to drop everything for her, and well he might. "No matter how
+devoted he has been, he can never plume himself on any magnanimity," I
+said to myself. "She probably finds him a trifle formal and sedate, and
+rather lacking in ideality, just as Old Plod is very stolid till she
+appears; but then he is safe and strong, and very kind to a friendless
+girl, who might well shrink from the vicissitudes of her lot, and would
+naturally be attracted by the protection and position which he could
+offer. In spite of the disparity of years, a woman might easily love a
+man who could do so much for her, and the banker is still well
+preserved and handsome. Of course Emily Warren does love him: all the
+wealth of Wall Street could not buy her. Yes, in a world full of
+lightning flashes she has made a thrifty and excellent choice. I may as
+well own it, in spite of every motive to prejudice. Gilbert Hearn is
+not my ideal man by any means. Good things are essential to him. He
+would feel personally aggrieved if the weather was bad for two days in
+succession. He is very charitable and public-spirited, and he likes our
+paper to recognize the fact: I have proof of that too. Alms given in
+the dark are not exactly wasted--but I'm thinking scandal. He so likes
+to let his 'light so shine.' He's respectability personified, and the
+toil-worn girl will be taken into an ark of safety.
+
+"I suppose I ought to be magnanimous enough to think that it's all for
+the best, since he can do infinitely more for her than I ever could.
+She will be the millionaire's wife, and I'll go back to my dingy little
+office and write paragraphs heavy enough to sink a cork ship. Thus will
+end my June idyll; but should I live a century I will always feel that
+Gilbert Hearn married my wife."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+AN IMPULSE
+
+
+For nearly an hour I sat listlessly in my chair and watched the shadows
+lengthen across the valley. Suddenly an impulse seized me, and I
+resolved to obey it.
+
+"If I can go downstairs to-morrow, I can go just as well to-night," I
+said, "and go I will. She shall not have a shadow on her first evening
+with her lover, and she's too good-hearted to enjoy it wholly if she
+thinks I'm moping and sighing in my room. Moreover, I shall not let my
+shadows make a background for the banker's general prosperity. Stately
+and patronizing he cannot help being, and Miss Warren may lead him to
+think that he is under some obligation to me--I wish he might never
+hear of it--but, by Vulcan and his sledge! he shall have no cause to
+pity me while he unctuously rubs his hands in self-felicitation."
+
+As far as my strength permitted, I made a careful toilet, and sat down
+to wait. As the sun sank below the horizon, the banker appeared. "Very
+appropriate," I muttered; "but his presence would make it dark at
+midday."
+
+Miss Warren was talking with animation, and pointing out the
+surrounding objects of interest, and he was listening with a
+wonderfully complacent smile on his smooth, full face.
+
+"How prosperous he looks!" I muttered. "The idea of anything going
+contrary to his will or wishes!"
+
+Then I saw that a little girl sat on the front seat with Reuben, and
+that he was letting her drive, but with his hand hovering near the
+reins.
+
+Mr. and Mrs. Yocomb came out and greeted Mr. Hearn cordially, and he in
+return was very benign, for it was evident that, in their place and
+station, he found them agreeable people, and quite to his mind.
+
+"Why doesn't he take off his hat to Mrs. Yocomb as if she were a
+duchess?" I growled. "That trunk that fills half the rockaway doesn't
+look as if he had come to spend Sunday only. Perhaps we are destined to
+make a happy family. I wonder who the little girl is?".
+
+The banker was given what was known as the parlor bedroom, on the
+ground floor, and I heard Adah taking the little girl to her room.
+
+Miss Warren did not glance at my window on her return. "She would have
+been happy enough had I remained here and sighed like a furnace," I
+muttered grimly. "Well, idiot! why shouldn't she be?"
+
+She had evidently lingered to say something to Mrs. Yocomb, but I soon
+heard her light step pass up to her room.
+
+"Now's my chance," I thought. "Mrs. Yocomb is preparing for supper, and
+all the rest are out of the way," and I slipped down the stairs with
+noiseless and rather unsteady tread. Excitement, however, lent me a
+transient strength, and I felt as if the presence of the banker would
+give me sinews of steel. I entered the parlor unobserved, and taking my
+old seat, from which I had watched the approach of the memorable storm,
+I waited events.
+
+The first one to appear was the banker, rubbing his hands in a way that
+suggested a habit of complacency and self-felicitation. He started
+slightly on seeing me, and then said graciously:
+
+"Mr. Morton, I presume?"
+
+"You are correct, Mr. Hearn. I congratulate you on your safe arrival."
+
+"Thanks. I've travelled considerably, and have never met with an
+accident. Glad to see you able to be down, for from what I heard I
+feared you had not sufficiently recovered."
+
+"I'm much better to-day, sir," I replied, briefly.
+
+"Well, this air, these scenes ought to impart health and content. I'm
+greatly pleased already, and congratulate myself on finding so pleasant
+a place of summer sojourn. It will form a delightful contrast to great
+hotels and jostling crowds." I now saw Miss Warren, through the
+half-open door, talking to Mrs. Yocomb. They evidently thought the
+banker was conversing with Mr. Yocomb.
+
+Instead of youthful ardor and bubbling happiness, the girl's face had a
+grave, sedate aspect that comported well with her coming dignities.
+Then she looked distressed. Was Mrs. Yocomb telling her of my profane
+and awful mood? I lent an inattentive ear to Mr. Hearn's excellent
+reasons for satisfaction with his present abode, and in the depths of
+my soul I thought, "If she's worrying about me now, how good-hearted
+she is!"
+
+"I already foresee," Mr. Hearn proceeded, in his full-orbed tones,
+"that it will also be just the place for my little girl--safe and
+quiet, with very nice people to associate with."
+
+"Yes," I said emphatically, "they are nice people--the best I ever
+knew."
+
+Miss Warren started violently, took a step toward the door, then
+paused, and Mrs. Yocomb entered first.
+
+"Why, Richard Morton!" she exclaimed, "what does thee mean by this
+imprudence?"
+
+"I mean to eat a supper that will astonish you," I replied, laughing.
+
+"But I didn't give thee leave to come down."
+
+"You said I could come to-morrow, so I haven't disobeyed in spirit."
+
+Miss Warren still stood in the hall, but seeing that I had recognized
+her, she came forward and gave me her hand as she said:
+
+"No one is more glad than I that you are able to come down."
+
+Her words were very quiet, but the pressure of her hand was so warm as
+to surprise me, and I also noted that what must have been a vivid color
+was fading from her usually pale face. I saw, too, that Mr. Hearn was
+watching us keenly.
+
+"Oh, but you are shrewd!" I thought. "I wish you had cause to suspect."
+
+I returned her greeting with great apparent frankness and cordiality as
+I replied, "Oh, I'm much better to-night, and as jolly as Mark Tapley."
+
+"Well," ejaculated Mrs. Yocomb, "thee _has_ stolen a march on us, but
+I'm afraid thee'll be the worse for it."
+
+"Ah, Mrs. Yocomb," I laughed, "your captive has escaped. I'm going to
+meeting with you to-morrow."
+
+"No, thee isn't. I feel as if I ought to take thee right back to thy
+room."
+
+"Mr. Yocomb," I cried to the old gentleman, who now stood staring at me
+in the doorway, "I appeal to you. Can't I stay down to supper?"
+
+"How's this! how's this!" he exclaimed. "We were going to give thee a
+grand ovation to-morrow, and mother had planned a dinner that might
+content an alderman."
+
+"Or a banker," I thought, as I glanced at Mr. Hearn's ample waistcoat;
+but I leaned back in my chair and laughed heartily as I said:
+
+"You cannot get me back to my room, Mrs. Yocomb, now that I know I've
+escaped an ovation. I'd rather have a toothache."
+
+"But does thee really feel strong enough?"
+
+"Oh, yes; I never felt better in my life."
+
+"I don't know what to make of thee," she said, with a puzzled look.
+
+"No," I replied; "you little knew what a case I was when you took me in
+hand."
+
+"I'll stand up for thee, Friend Morton. Thee shall stay down to supper,
+and have what thee pleases. Thee may as well give in, mother; he's out
+from under thy thumb."
+
+"My dear sir, you talk as if you were out, too. I fear our mutiny may
+go too far. To-morrow is Sunday, Mrs. Yocomb, and I'll be as good as I
+know how all day, which, after all, is not promising much."
+
+"It must be very delightful to you to have secured such good friends,"
+began Mr. Hearn, who perhaps felt that he had stood too long in the
+background. "I congratulate you. At the same time, Mr. and Mrs.
+Yocomb," with a courtly bend toward them, "I do not wonder at your
+feelings, for Emily has told me that Mr. Morton behaved very handsomely
+during that occasion of peril."
+
+"Did I?" I remarked, with a wry face. "I was under the impression that
+I looked very ridiculous," and I turned a quick, mischievous glance
+toward Miss Warren, who seemed well content to remain in the background.
+
+"Yes," she said, laughing, "your appearance did not comport with your
+deeds."
+
+"I'm not so sure about that," I replied, dryly. "At any rate, I much
+prefer the present to reminiscences."
+
+"I trust that you will permit me, as one of the most interested
+parties, to thank you also," began Mr. Hearn, impressively.
+
+"No, indeed, sir," I exclaimed, a little brusquely. "Thanks do not
+agree with my constitution at all."
+
+"Hurrah!" cried Reuben, looking in at the parlor window.
+
+"Yes, here's the man to thank," I resumed. "Even after being struck by
+lightning he was equal to the emergency."
+
+"No, thee don't, Richard," laughed Reuben. "Thee needn't think thee's
+going to palm that thing off on me. We've all come to our senses now."
+
+For some reason Miss Warren laughed heartily, and then said to me, "You
+look so well and genial to-night that I do begin to think it was some
+other tramp."
+
+"I fear I'm the same old tramp; for, as Reuben says, we have all come
+to our senses."
+
+"Thee didn't lose thy senses, Richard, till after thee was sick. 'Twas
+mighty lucky thee wasn't struck," explained the matter-of-fact Reuben.
+
+"You must permit me to echo the young lad's sentiment," said Mr. Hearn,
+feelingly. "It was really a providence that you escaped, and kept such
+a cool, clear head."
+
+I fear I made another very wry face as I looked out of the window.
+Reuben evidently had not liked the term "young lad," but as he saw my
+expression he burst out laughing as he said:
+
+"What's the matter, Richard? I guess thee thinks thee had the worst of
+it after all."
+
+"So thee has," broke out Mr. Yocomb. "Thee didn't know what an awful
+scrape I was getting thee into when I brought thee home from meeting.
+Never was a stranger so taken in before. I don't believe thee'll ever
+go to Friends' meeting again," and the old gentleman laughed heartily,
+but tears stood in his eyes.
+
+In spite of myself my color was rising, and I saw that Mrs. Yocomb and
+Miss Warren looked uncomfortably conscious of what must be in my mind;
+but I joined in his laugh as I replied:
+
+"You are mistaken. Had I a prophet's eye, I would have come home with
+you. The kindness received in this home has repaid me a thousand times.
+With a sick bear on their hands, Mrs. Yocomb and Miss Adah were in a
+worse scrape than I."
+
+"Well, thee hasn't growled as much as I expected," laughed Mrs. Yocomb;
+"and now thee's a very amiable bear indeed, and shall have thy supper
+at once," and she turned to depart, smiling to herself, but met in the
+doorway Adah and the little stranger--a girl of about the same age as
+Zillah, with large, vivid black eyes, and long dark hair. Zillah was
+following her timidly, with a face full of intense interest in her new
+companion; but the moment she saw me she ran and sprang into my arms,
+and, forgetful of all others, cried gladly:
+
+"Oh, I'm so glad--I'm so glad thee's well!"
+
+The impulse must have been strong to make so shy a child forget the
+presence of strangers.
+
+I whispered in her ear, "I told you that your kiss would make me well."
+
+"Yes; but thee said Emily Warren's roses too," protested the little
+girl.
+
+"Did I?" I replied, laughing. "Well, there's no escaping the truth in
+this house."
+
+I dared not look at Miss Warren, but saw that Mr. Hearn's eyes were on
+her.
+
+"Confound him!" I thought. "Can he be fool enough to be jealous?"
+
+Adah still stood hesitatingly in the doorway, as if she dared not trust
+herself to enter. I put Zillah down, and crossing the room in a free,
+frank manner, I took her hand cordially as I said:
+
+"Miss Adah, I must thank you next to Mrs. Yocomb that I am able to be
+down this evening, and that I am getting well so fast. You have been
+the best of nurses, and just as kind and considerate as a sister. I'm
+going to have the honor of taking you out to supper." I placed her hand
+on my arm, and its thrill and tremble touched my very soul. In my
+thoughts I said, "It's all a wretched muddle, and, as the banker said,
+mysterious enough to be a providence"; but at that moment the ways of
+Providence seemed very bright to the young girl, and she saw Mr. Hearn
+escorting Miss Warren with undisguised complacency.
+
+As the latter took her seat I ventured to look at her, and if ever a
+woman's eyes were eloquent with warm, approving friendliness, hers
+were. I seemingly had done the very thing she would have wished me to
+do. As we bowed our heads in grace, I was graceless enough to growl,
+under my breath, "My attentions to Adah are evidently very
+satisfactory. Can she imagine for a moment--does she take me for a
+weather-vane?"
+
+When grace was over, I glanced toward her again, a trifle indignantly;
+but her face now was quiet and pale, and I was compelled to believe
+that for the rest of the evening she avoided my eyes and all references
+to the past.
+
+"Why, mother!" exclaimed Mr. Yocomb from the head of the table, "thy
+cheeks are as red--why, thee looks like a young girl."
+
+"Thee knows I'm very much pleased to-night," she said. "Does thee
+remember, Richard, when thee first sat down to supper with us?"
+
+"Indeed I do. Never shall I forget my trepidation lest Mr. Yocomb
+should discover whom, in his unsuspecting hospitality, he was
+harboring."
+
+"Well, I've discovered," laughed the old gentleman. "Good is always
+coming out of Nazareth."
+
+"It seems to me that we've met before," remarked Mr. Hearn, graciously
+and reflectively.
+
+"Yes, sir," I explained. "As a reporter I called on you once or twice
+for information."
+
+"Ah, now it comes back to me. Yes, yes, I remember; and I also remember
+that you did not extract the information as if it had been a tooth.
+Your manner was not that of a professional interviewer. You must meet
+with disagreeable experiences in your calling."
+
+"Yes, sir; but perhaps that is true of all callings."
+
+"Yes, no doubt, no doubt; but it has seemed to me that a reporter's lot
+must frequently bring him in contact with much that is disagreeable."
+
+"Mr. Morton is not a reporter," said Adah, a trifle indignantly; "he's
+the editor of a first-class paper."
+
+"Indeed!" exclaimed Mr. Hearn, growing much more benign; "why, Emily,
+you did not tell me that."
+
+"No, I only spoke of Mr. Morton as a gentleman."
+
+"I imagine that Miss Warren thinks that I have mistaken my calling, and
+that I ought to be a gardener."
+
+"That's an odd impression. Mr. Yocomb would not even trust you to
+weed," she retorted quickly.
+
+"I have a fellow feeling for weeds; they grow so easily and naturally.
+But I must correct your impressions, Miss Adah. I'm not the dignitary
+you imagine-only _an_ editor, and an obscure night one at that."
+
+"Your night work on one occasion bears the light very well. I hope it
+may be the earnest of the future," said Mr. Hearn impressively.
+
+I felt that he had a covert meaning, for he had glanced more than once
+at Miss Warren when I spoke, and I imagined him a little anxious as to
+our mutual impressions.
+
+"I feel it my duty to set you right also, Mr. Hearn," I replied, with
+quiet emphasis, for I wished to end all further reference to that
+occasion. "Through Mr. and Mrs. Yocomb's kindness, I happened to be an
+inmate of the farmhouse that night. I merely did what any man would
+have done, and could have done just as well. My action involved no
+personal peril, and no hardship worth naming. My illness resulted from
+my own folly. I'd been overworking or overworked, as so many in my
+calling are. Conscious that I am not in the least heroic, I do not wish
+to be imagined a hero. Mrs. Yocomb knows what a bear I've been," I
+concluded, with a humorous nod toward her.
+
+"Yes, I know, Richard," she said, quietly smiling.
+
+"After this statement in prose, Mr. Hearn, you will not be led to
+expect more from me than from any ordinary mortal."
+
+"Indeed, sir, I like your modesty, your self-depreciation."
+
+"I beg your pardon," I interrupted a little decisively; "I hope you do
+not think my words had any leaning toward affectation. I wished to
+state the actual truth. My friends here have become too kind and
+partial to give a correct impression."
+
+Mr. Hearn waved his hand very benignly, and his smile was graciousness
+itself as he said:
+
+"I think I understand you, sir, and respect your sincerity. I've been
+led to believe that you cherish a high and scrupulous sense of honor,
+and that trait counts with me far more than all others."
+
+I understood him well. "Oh, you _are_ shrewd!" I thought; "but I'd like
+to know what obligations I'm under to you?" I merely bowed a trifle
+coldly to this tribute and suggestive statement, and turned the
+conversation. As I swept my eyes around the table a little later, I
+thought Miss Warren looked paler than usual.
+
+"Does she understand his precautionary measures?" I thought. "He'd
+better beware--she would not endure distrust."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+A WRETCHED FAILURE
+
+
+The excitement that had sustained me was passing away, and I felt
+myself growing miserably weak and depressed. The remainder of the meal
+was a desperate battle, in which I think I succeeded fairly. I talked
+that it might not be noticed that I was eating very little; joked with
+Mr. Yocomb till the old gentleman was ruddy and tremulous with
+laughter, and made Reuben happy by applauding one of Dapple's exploits,
+the history of which was easily drawn from him.
+
+I spoke often to both Adah and Zillah, and tried to be as frank and
+unconscious in one case as the other. I even made the acquaintance of
+Mr. Hearn's little girl--indeed, her father formally presented her to
+me as his daughter Adela. I knew nothing of his domestic history, and
+gained no clew as to the length of the widowhood which he now proposed
+to end as speedily as possible.
+
+I was amused by his not infrequent glances at Adah. He evidently had a
+keen eye for beauty as for every other good thing of this world, and he
+was not so desperately enamored but that he could stealthily and
+critically compare the diverse charms of the two girls, and I imagined
+I saw a slight accession to his complacency as his judgment gave its
+verdict for the one toward whom he manifested proprietorship by a
+manner that was courtly, deferential, but quite pronounced. A stranger
+present could never have doubted their relationship.
+
+A brief discussion arose as to taste, in which Mr. Hearn assumed the
+ground that nothing could take the place of much observation and
+comparison, by means of which effects in color could be accurately
+learned and valued. In reply I said:
+
+"Theories and facts do not always harmonize any more than colors. Miss
+Adah's youth and rural life have not given her much opportunity for
+observation and comparison, and yet few ladies on your Avenue have
+truer eyes for harmony in color than she."
+
+"Mr. Morton being the judge," said the banker, with a profound and
+smiling bow. "Permit me to add that Miss Adah has at this moment only
+to glance in a mirror to obtain an idea of perfect harmony in color,"
+and his eyes lingered admiringly on her face.
+
+I was worsted in this encounter, and I saw the old gleam of
+mirthfulness in Miss Warren's eyes. How well I remembered when I first
+saw that evanescent illumination--the quick flash of a bright, genial
+spirit. "She delights in her lover's keen thrusts," was now my thought,
+"and is pleased to think I'm no match for him. She should remember that
+it's a poor time for a man to tilt when he can scarcely sit erect." But
+Adah's pleasure was unalloyed. She had received two decided
+compliments, and she found herself associated with me in the
+new-comer's mind, and by my own actions.
+
+"I frankly admit," I said, "that I'm a partial judge, and perhaps a
+very incompetent one." Then I was stupid enough to add: "But newspaper
+men are prone to have opinions. Mr. Yocomb was so sarcastic as to say
+that there was nothing under heaven that an editor did not know."
+
+"Oh, if you judge by her father's authority, you are on safe ground,
+and I yield at once."
+
+He had now gone too far, and I flushed angrily as we rose from the
+table. I saw, too, that Mr. and Mrs. Yocomb did not like it either, and
+that Adah was blushing painfully. It was one of those attempted
+witticisms that must be simply ignored.
+
+My anxiety now was to get back to my room as speedily as possible.
+Again I had overrated myself. The excitement of the effort was gone,
+and my heart was like lead. I, too, would no longer permit my eyes to
+rest even a moment on one whose ever-present image was only too vivid
+in spite of my constant effort to think of something else; for so
+complete was my enthrallment that it was intolerable pain to see her
+the object of another's man's preferred attentions. I knew it was all
+right; I was not jealous in the ordinary sense of the word; I merely
+found myself unable longer, in my weak condition, to endure in her
+presence the consequences of my fatal blunder. Therefore I saw with
+pleasure that I might in a few moments have a chance to slip back to my
+refuge as quietly as I had left it. Mrs. Yocomb was summoned to the
+kitchen; a farm laborer was inquiring for her husband, and he and
+Reuben went out toward the barn. Adah would have lingered, but the two
+children pulled her away to the swing.
+
+Mr. Hearn and Miss Warren stood by me a moment or two as I sat on the
+lounge in the hall, and then the former said: "Emily, this is just the
+time for a twilight walk. Come, and show me the old garden;" and he
+took her away, with an air of proprietorship at which I sickened, to
+that place consecrated by my first conscious vision of the woman that I
+hoped would be my fair Eve.
+
+The moment they were off the porch I tottered to the stairway, and
+managed to reach the turn of the landing, and there my strength failed,
+and I held on to the railing for support, feeling ill and faint. A
+light step came quickly through the hall and up the stairway.
+
+"Why, Mr. Morton!" exclaimed Miss Warren, "you are not going up so
+soon?"
+
+"Yes, thank you," I managed to say cheerily. "Invalids must be prudent.
+I'm only resting on the landing a little."
+
+"I found it rather cool and damp, and so came back for a shawl," she
+explained, and passed on up to her room, for she seemed a little
+embarrassed at meeting me on the stairs. In her absence I made a
+desperate effort to go on, but found that I would fall. I must wait
+till she returned, and then crawl up the best I could.
+
+"You see I'm prudence personified," I laughed, as she came back. "I'm
+taking it so leisurely that I have even sat down about it."
+
+"Are you not overtaxing yourself?" she asked gently. "I fear--"
+
+"Oh, no, indeed--will sleep all the better for a change. Mr. Hearn is
+waiting for you, and the twilight isn't. Don't worry; I'll surpass
+Samson in a week."
+
+She looked at me keenly, and hesitatingly passed down the dusky
+stairway. Then I turned and tried to crawl on, eager to gain my room
+without revealing my condition; but when I reached the topmost stair it
+seemed that I could not go any further if my life depended on it. With
+an irritable imprecation on my weakness, I sank down on the topmost
+step.
+
+"Mr. Morton," said a low voice, "why did you try to deceive me? You
+have gone far beyond your strength."
+
+"You here--you of all others," I broke out, in tones of exasperation.
+"I meant that your first evening should be without a shadow, and have
+failed, as I now fail in everything. Call Reuben."
+
+"Let me help you?" she pleaded, in the same hurried voice.
+
+"No," I replied harshly, and I leaned heavily against the wall. She
+held out her hand to aid me, but I would not take it.
+
+"I've no right even to look at you--I who have been doubly enjoined to
+cherish such a 'scrupulous sense of honor.' I'd better have died a
+thousand times. Call Reuben."
+
+"How can I leave you so ill and unhappy!" and she made a gesture of
+protest and distress whose strong effect was only intensified by the
+obscurity. "I had hoped--you led me to think to-night--"
+
+"That I was a weather-vane. Thank you."
+
+Steps were heard entering the hall.
+
+"Oh! oh!" she exclaimed, in bitter protest.
+
+"Emily," called the banker's voice, "are you not very long?"
+
+I seized her hand to detain her, and said, in a fierce whisper: "Never
+so humiliate me as to let him know. Go at once; some one will find me."
+
+"Your hand is like ice," she breathed.
+
+I ignored her presence, leaned back, and closed my eyes.
+
+She paused a single instant longer, and then, with a firm, decisive
+bearing, turned and passed quietly down the stairway.
+
+"What in the world has kept you?" Mr. Hearn asked, a trifle impatiently.
+
+"Can you tell me where Reuben is?" she answered, in a clear, firm
+voice, that she knew I must hear.
+
+"What does thee want, Emily?" cried Reuben from the piazza.
+
+"Mr. Morton wishes to see you," she replied, in the same tone that she
+would have used had my name been Mrs. Yocomb's, and then she passed out
+with her affianced.
+
+Reuben almost ran over me as he came bounding up the stairs.
+
+"Hold on, old fellow," I whispered, and I pulled him down beside me.
+"Can you keep a secret? I'm played out--Reuben--to speak elegantly--and
+I don't wish a soul to know it. I'm sitting very--comfortably on this
+step--you see--that's the way it looks--but I'm stuck--hard
+aground--you'll have to tow me off. But not a word, remember. Lift me
+up--let me get my arm around your neck--there. Lucky I'm not
+heavy--slow and easy now--that's it. Ah, thank the Lord! I'm in my
+refuge again. I felt like a scotched snake that couldn't wriggle back
+to its hole. Hand me that brandy there--like a good fellow. Now I won't
+kelp you--any longer. If you care--for me--never speak of this."
+
+"Please let me tell mother?"
+
+"No, indeed."
+
+"But doesn't Emily Warren know?"
+
+"She knows I wanted to see you."
+
+"Please let me do something or get thee something."
+
+"No; just leave me to myself a little while, and I'll be all right. Go
+at once, that's a good fellow."
+
+"Oh, Richard, thee shouldn't have come down. Thee looks so pale and
+sick that I'm afraid thee'll die yet; if thee does, thee'll break all
+our hearts," and the warm-hearted boy burst out crying, and ran and
+locked himself in his room.
+
+I was not left alone very long, for Mrs. Yocomb soon entered, saying:
+
+"I'm glad thee's so prudent, and has returned to thy room. Thee acted
+very generously to-night, and I appreciate it. I had no idea thee could
+be so strong and carry it out so well. Emily was greatly surprised, but
+she enjoyed her first evening far more than she otherwise could have
+done, for she's one of the most kind-hearted, sensitive girls I ever
+knew. I do believe it would have killed her if thee hadn't got well.
+But thee looks kind of weak and faint, as far as I can see. Let me
+light the lamp for thee."
+
+"No, Mrs. Yocomb, I like the dusk best. The light draws moths. They
+will come, you know, the stupid things, though certain to be scorched.
+One in the room at a time is enough. Don't worry--I'm a little
+tired--that's all. Sleep is all I need."
+
+"Is thee sure?" "Yes, indeed; don't trouble about me. You won't know me
+in a few days."
+
+"Thee was a brave, generous man to-night, Richard. I understood the
+effort thee was making, and I think Emily did. A good conscience ought
+to make thee sleep well."
+
+I laughed very bitterly as I said, "My conscience is gutta-percha
+to-night, through and through, but please say no more, or I'll have to
+shock you again. I'll be in a better mood to-morrow."
+
+"Well, good-night. Thee'll excuse a housekeeper on Seventh-day evening.
+If thee wants anything, ring thy bell."
+
+She came and stroked my brow gently for a moment, and then breathed
+softly:
+
+"God bless thee, Richard. May the Sabbath's peace quiet thy heart
+to-morrow."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+IN THE DEPTHS
+
+
+I awoke late Sunday morning and found Reuben watching beside me.
+
+"Thee's better, isn't thee?" he asked eagerly.
+
+"Well, I ought to be. You're a good fellow, Reuben. What time is
+it?--nearly night again, I hope."
+
+"Oh, no, it's only about eleven; they're all gone to meeting. I made
+'em leave you in my care. Adah would have stayed, but mother told her
+she was to go. Emily Warren's grandfather wanted to go spooning off in
+the woods, but she made him go to meeting too. I don't see how she ever
+came to like him, with his grand airs."
+
+"She has good reasons, rest assured."
+
+"Well, he ain't the kind of a man I'd go for if I was a girl."
+
+"Miss Warren is not the girl to go for any man, Reuben. He had to seek
+her long and patiently. But that's their affair--we have nothing to do
+with it."
+
+"I thought thee was taken with her at first," said Reuben innocently.
+
+"I do admire Miss Warren very much--now as much as ever. I admire a
+great many ladies, especially your mother. I never knew a truer, kinder
+lady."
+
+"And if it had not been for thee, Richard, she might have been burned
+up," and tears came into his eyes.
+
+"Oh, no, Reuben. You could have got them all out easily enough."
+
+"I fear I would have lost my head."
+
+"No, you wouldn't; you are not of that kind. Please say no more about
+that affair. I've heard too much of it."
+
+"Does thee think thee'll be able to come down to dinner? Mother and
+father and all of us will be awfully disappointed if thee isn't."
+
+"Yes, I'll come down if you'll stand by me, and help me back when I
+give you the wink. I won't go down till dinner's ready; after it's over
+you can help me out under some tree. I'm just wild to get out of doors."
+
+I had a consuming desire to retrieve myself, and prove that I was not
+weakness personified, and I passed through the ordeal of dinner much
+better than I expected. Mr. Hearn was benignness itself, but I saw that
+he was very observant. The shrewd Wall Street man had the eye of an
+eagle when his interests were concerned, and he very naturally surmised
+that no one could have seen so much of Miss Warren as I had, and still
+remain entirely indifferent; besides, he may have detected something in
+my manner or imagined that the peculiar events of the past few weeks
+had made us better acquainted than he cared to have us.
+
+Miss Warren's greeting was cordial, but her manner toward me was so
+quiet and natural that he had no cause for complaint, and I felt that I
+had rather be drawn asunder by wild horses than give him a clew to my
+feelings. I took a seat next to Mr. Yocomb, and we chatted quietly most
+of the time. The old gentleman was greatly pleased about something, and
+it soon came out that Mr. Hearn had promised him five hundred dollars
+to put a new roof on the meeting-house and make other improvements. I
+drew all the facts readily from the zealous Friend, together with quite
+a history of the old meeting-house, for I proposed to make a
+complimentary item of the matter in my paper, well knowing how grateful
+such incense was to the banker's soul. Mr. Hearn, who sat nearest to
+us, may have heard my questions and divined my purpose, for he was
+peculiarly gracious.
+
+I was not able to do very much justice to Mrs. Yocomb's grand dinner,
+but was unstinted in my praise. The banker made amends for my
+inability, and declared he had never enjoyed such a repast, even at
+Delmonico's. I though Miss Warren's appetite flagged a little, but to
+the utmost extent of my power I kept my eyes and thoughts from her.
+
+After dinner Reuben helped me to a breezy knoll behind the dwelling,
+and spreading some robes from the carriage-house under a wide-branching
+tree, left me, at my request, to myself. The banker now had his way,
+and carried Miss Warren off to a distant grove. I would not look at
+them as they went down the lane together, but shut my eyes and tried to
+breathe in life and health.
+
+Adah read to the two little girls for some time, and then came
+hesitatingly toward me. I feigned sleep, for I was too weak and
+miserable to treat the girl as she deserved. She stood irresolutely a
+moment or two, and then slowly and lingeringly returned to the house.
+
+My feigning soon became reality, and when I awoke Reuben was sitting
+beside me, and I found had covered me well to guard against the
+dampness of the declining day.
+
+"You are always on hand when I need you most," I said smilingly. "I
+think I will go back to my room now, while able to make a respectable
+retreat."
+
+I saw Mr. Hearn and Miss Warren entering the house, and thought that
+they had had a long afternoon together, but that time no doubt had
+passed more quickly with them than with me, even though I had slept for
+hours. When reaching the parlor door I saw Miss Warren at the piano;
+she turned so quickly as almost to give me the impression that she was
+waiting to intercept me.
+
+"Would you not like to hear your favorite nocturne again?" she asked,
+with a friendly smile.
+
+I hesitated, and half entered the parlor. Her face seemed to light up
+with pleasure at my compliance. How divine she appeared in the quaint,
+simple room! I felt that I would gladly give the best years of my life
+for the right to sit there and feast my eyes on a grace and beauty that
+to me were indescribable and irresistible; but the heavy tread of the
+banker in the adjoining room reminded me that I had no right--that to
+see her and to listen would soon become unendurable pain. I had twice
+been taught my weakness.
+
+"Thank you," I said, with a short, dry laugh; "I'm sorely tempted, but
+it's time I learned that for me discretion is certainly the better part
+of valor," and I turned away, but not too soon to see that her face
+grew sad and wistful.
+
+"Heaven bless her kind heart!" I murmured as I wearily climbed the
+stairs.
+
+Adah brought me up my supper long before the others were through, and I
+felt a faint remorse that I had feigned sleep in the afternoon, even
+though my motive had been consideration for her as truly as for myself.
+
+"Miss Adah!" I exclaimed, "you are growing much too unselfish. Why
+didn't you get your supper first?"
+
+"I've had all I wish. I'm not hungry to-night."
+
+"Truly, you look as if you lived on roses; but you can't thrive long on
+such unsubstantial diet. It was real good of you to read to those
+children so long. If I had been an artist, I would have made a sketch
+of you three. You and that little dark-eyed girl make a lovely
+contrast."
+
+"I like her," she said simply; "I feel as if I wanted some one to pet.
+Can't I read to you while you eat your supper?"
+
+"I'd rather have you talk to me: what do you think of the little girl's
+father?"
+
+"I haven't thought much about him."
+
+"I wish you could see his house in New York; it's a superb one, and on
+your favorite Fifth Avenue."
+
+"Yes, I know," she replied absently.
+
+"I should think you would envy Miss Warren."
+
+"I don't," she said emphatically; "the man is more than the house."
+
+"I don't think you would have said that a month ago."
+
+"I fear not. I fear thee didn't like me that Sunday afternoon when I
+was so self-satisfied. I've thought it over."
+
+"Indeed, Miss Adah, I would gladly be struck by lightning myself if it
+would change me for the better as greatly as you are changed."
+
+"It wasn't the lightning," she said, blushing and slowly shaking her
+head. "I've been thinking."
+
+"Ah," I laughed, "you are shrewd. If women only knew it, there's
+nothing that gives beauty like thought, and it's a charm that increases
+every year. Well," I continued, with the utmost frankness, "I do like
+you now, and what is more, I honestly respect you. When you come to New
+York again, I am going to ask your mother to trust me as if I were your
+older brother, and I'll take you to see and hear much that I'm sure
+you'll enjoy."
+
+"Oh, that will be splendid!" she cried gladly. "I know mother will let
+me go with thee, because--because--well, she says thee is a gentleman."
+
+"Do you know, Miss Adah, I'd rather have your mother say that than have
+all Mr. Hearn's thousands. But your mother judges me leniently. To tell
+you the honest truth, I've come lately to have a very poor opinion of
+myself. I feel that I would have been a much better man if, in past
+years, I had seen more of such people as dwell in this house."
+
+"Thee remembers what father said to thee," she replied, shyly, with
+downcast eyes; "this is thy home hereafter."
+
+"She looks now," I thought, "as if she might fulfil the dream I wove
+about her on that memorable day when I first saw her in the
+meeting-house. How perverse my fate has been, giving me that for which
+I might well thank God on my knees, and yet which my heart refuses, and
+withholding that which will impoverish my whole life. Why must the
+heart be so imperious and self-willed in these matters? An elderly
+gentleman would say, Everything is just right as it is. It would be the
+absurdity of folly for Miss Warren to give up her magnificent prospects
+because of your sudden and sickly sentiment; and what more could you
+ask or wish than this beautiful girl, whose womanhood has awakened and
+developed under your very eyes, almost as unconsciously as if a rosebud
+had opened and shown you its heart? Indeed, but a brief time since I
+would have berated any friend of mine who would not take the sensible
+course which would make all happy. If I could but become 'sane and
+reasonable,' as Miss Warren would say, how she would beam upon me, and,
+the thought of my disappointment and woe-begone aspect banished, how
+serenely she would go toward her bright future! And yet in taking this
+sane and sensible course I would be false to my very soul--false to
+this simple, true-hearted girl, to whom I could give but a cold, hollow
+pretence in return for honest love. I would become an arrant hypocrite,
+devoid of honor and self-respect."
+
+"Heaven bless you, Adah!" I murmured. "I love you too well for all your
+kindness and goodness to pretend to love you so ill."
+
+Thoughts like these passed through my mind as I thanked her for all
+that she had done for me, and told her of such phases of New York life
+as I thought would interest her. She listened with so intent and
+childlike an expression on her face that I could scarcely realize that
+I was talking to one in whose bosom beat the heart of a woman. I felt
+rather as if I were telling Zillah a fairy story.
+
+Still I had faith in her intuition, and believed that after I was gone
+she would recognize and accept the frank, brotherly regard that I now
+cherished toward her.
+
+Reuben was not very long in joining us, and boy-like did not note that
+his sister evidently wished him far away. My greeting was so cordial
+that she noted with a sigh that I did not regard him as the unwelcome
+third party. Then Mr. Yocomb and the little girls came to the door and
+asked if there was room for a crowd. Soon after Mrs. Yocomb appeared,
+with her comely face ruddy from exercise.
+
+"I've hurried all I could," she said, "but thee knows how it is with
+housekeepers; and yet how should thee know, living all thy life alone
+in dens, as thee said? Why, thee's having a reception."
+
+"I fear your guests downstairs will feel neglected, Mrs. Yocomb."
+
+"Don't thee worry about that, Richard," Mr. Yocomb said, laughing. "I'm
+not so old, mother, but I can remember when we could get through an
+evening together without help from anybody. I reckon we could do so
+again--eh? mother? Ha, ha, ha! so thee isn't too old to blush yet?
+How's that, Richard, for a young girl of sixty? Don't thee worry about
+Emily Warren. I fear that any one of us would make a large crowd in the
+old parlor."
+
+This was sorry comfort, and I fear that my laugh was anything but
+honest, while Mrs. Yocomb stared out of the window, at which she sat
+fanning herself, with a fixedness that I well understood.
+
+But they were all so kind and hearty that I could no more give way to
+dejection than to chill and cheerlessness before a genial wood fire.
+They seemed in truth to have taken me into the family. Barely was I now
+addressed formally as Richard Morton. It was simply "Richard," spoken
+with the unpremeditated friendliness characteristic of family
+intercourse. Heathen though I was, I thanked God that he had brought me
+among these true-hearted people; "and may He blast me," I muttered, "if
+I ever relapse into the old sneering cynicism that I once affected. Let
+me at least leave that vice to half-fledged young men and to bad old
+men."
+
+One thing puzzled me. Miss Warren remained at her piano, and it struck
+me as a little odd that she did not find the music of her lover's voice
+preferable, but I concluded that music was one of the strongest bonds
+of sympathy between them, and one of the means by which he had won her
+affection. Sometimes, as her voice rose clear and sweet to my open
+windows, I answered remarks addressed to me with an inaptness that only
+Mrs. Yocomb understood.
+
+Before very long, that considerate lady looked into my face a moment,
+and then said decisively:
+
+"Richard, thee is getting tired. We must all bid thee good-night at
+once."
+
+Adah looked almost resentfully at her mother, and lingered a little
+behind the others. As they passed out she stepped hastily back, and
+unclasping a rosebud from her breastpin laid it on the table beside me.
+
+"It was the last one I could find in the garden," she said,
+breathlessly, and with its color in her cheeks. Before I could speak
+she was gone.
+
+"It shall be treated with reverence, like the feeling which led to the
+gift," I murmured sadly. "Heaven grant that it may be only the impulse
+of a girlish fancy;" and I filled a little vase with water and placed
+the bud near the window, where the cool night air could blow upon it.
+
+Still Miss Warren remained at the piano. "How singularly fond of music
+he is!" I thought.
+
+I darkened my room, and sat at the window that I might hear every note.
+The old garden, half hidden by trees, looked cool and Eden-like in the
+light of the July moon, athwart whose silver hemisphere fleecy clouds
+were drifting like the traces of thought across a bright face.
+Motionless shadows stretched toward the east, from which the new day
+would come, but with a dreary sinking of heart I felt as it each coming
+day would bring a heavier burden.
+
+But a little time passed before I recognized Chopin's Nocturne, to
+which I had listened with kindling hope on the night of the storm. Was
+it my own mood, or did she play it with far more pathos and feeling
+than on that never-to-be-forgotten evening? Be that as it may, it
+evoked a fiercer storm of unavailing passion and regret in my mind. In
+bitterness of heart I groaned aloud and insulted God.
+
+"It was a cruel and terrible thing," I charged, "to mock a creature
+with such a hope. Why was such power over me given to her when it was
+of no use?" But I will say no more of that hour of weak human idolatry.
+It was a revelation to me of the depths of despair and wretchedness
+into which one can sink when unsustained by manly fortitude or
+Christian principle. It is in such desperate, irrational moods that
+undisciplined, ill-balanced souls thrust themselves out from the light
+of God's sunshine and the abundant possibilities of future good. I now
+look back on that hour with shame, and cannot excuse it even by the
+fact that I was enfeebled in mind as well as body by disease. We often
+never know ourselves or our need until after we have failed miserably
+under the stress of some strong temptation.
+
+I was the worse the next day for my outburst of passion, and the
+wretched night that followed, and did not leave my room; but I was grim
+and rigid in my purpose to retrieve myself. I appeared to be occupied
+with my mail and paper much of the day, and I wrote a very
+complimentary paragraph concerning the banker's gift for the
+meeting-house. Mr. Hearn and Miss Warren were out riding much of the
+time. I saw them drive away with a lowering brow, and was not disarmed
+of my bitterness because I saw, through the half-closed blinds, that
+the young girl stole a swift glance at my window.
+
+Adah was pleased as she saw how I was caring for her gift; but I
+puzzled and disheartened her by my preoccupation and taciturnity. She
+took the children off on a long ramble in the afternoon, and heaped
+coals of fire on my head by bringing me an exquisite collection of
+ferns.
+
+The next morning I went down to breakfast resolving to take my place in
+the family, and make no more trouble during the brief remainder of my
+stay, for I proposed to go back to the city as soon as I had shown
+enough manhood to satisfy my pride, and had made Miss Warren believe
+that she could dismiss her solicitude on my account, and thus enjoy the
+happiness which apparently I had clouded. As I saw her pale face again
+I condemned my weakness unsparingly, and with the whole force of my
+will endeavored to act and appear as both she and Mr. Hearn would
+naturally wish.
+
+"Richard," said Reuben, after breakfast, "I've borrowed a low phaeton,
+and I'm going to take thee out with Dapple. He'll put life in thee,
+never fear. He'd cure me if I were half dead."
+
+He was right; the swift motion through the pure air braced me greatly.
+
+When we returned, the banker sat on the piazza. Adah was near, with
+some light sewing, and the connoisseur was leisurely admiring her. Well
+he might, for in her neat morning gown she again seemed the embodiment
+of a June day. She rose to meet me, with a faint accession to her
+delicate color, and said:
+
+"The ride has done thee good; thee looks better than thee has any day
+yet."
+
+"Reuben's right," I said, laughing; "Dapple would bring a fossil to
+life," and the young fellow drove chuckling down toward the barn,
+making Dapple rear and prance in order to show off a little before Mr.
+Hearn.
+
+I sat down a few moments to rest. Miss Warren must have heard our
+voices; but she went on with an intricate piece of music in which she
+was displaying no mean skill. I did not think Mr. Hearn was as much
+interested in it as I was. His little girl came out of the house and
+climbed into Adah's lap. She evidently liked being petted, and was not
+a little spoiled by it The banker continued to admire the picture they
+made with undisguised enjoyment, and I admitted that the most critical
+could have found no fault with the group.
+
+After exerting myself to seem exceedingly cheerful, and laughing
+heartily at a well-worn jest of Mr. Hearn's, I went to my room and
+rested till dinner, and I slept away the afternoon as on the previous
+day.
+
+My plan was now to get sufficiently strong to take my departure by the
+following Monday, and I was glad indeed that the tonic of out-of-door
+air promised an escape from a position in which I must continually seem
+to be what I was not--a cheerful man in the flood tide of
+convalescence. Were it not that my kind friends at the farmhouse would
+have been grievously hurt, I would have left at once.
+
+As I returned from my ride the next day, Mr. Hearn greeted me with a
+newspaper in his hand.
+
+"I'm indebted to you," he said, in his most gracious manner, "for a
+very kindly mention here. So small a donation was not worth the
+importance you give it, but you have put the matter so happily and
+gracefully that it may lead other men of means to do likewise at the
+various places of their summer sojourn. You editors are able to wield a
+great deal of influence."
+
+I bowed, and said I was glad the paragraph had been worded in a way not
+disagreeable to him.
+
+"Oh, it was good taste itself, I assure you, sir. It seemed the natural
+expression of your interest in that which interests your good friends
+here."
+
+When I came down to dinner I saw that there was an unwonted fire in
+Miss Warren's eyes and unusual color in her cheeks. Moreover, I
+imagined that her replies to the few remarks that I addressed to her
+were brief and constrained. "She is no dissembler," I thought;
+"something has gone wrong."
+
+After dinner I went to my room for a book, and as I came out I met her
+in the hall.
+
+"Mr. Morton," she said, with characteristic directness, "if you had
+given a sum toward a good object in a quiet country place, would you
+have been pleased to see the fact paraded before those having no
+natural interest in the matter?"
+
+"I have never had the power to be munificent, Miss Warren," I replied,
+with some embarrassment.
+
+"Please answer me," she insisted, with a little impatient tap of the
+floor with her foot.
+
+"No," I said bluntly.
+
+"Did you think it would be pleasing to me?"
+
+"Pardon me," I began, "that I did not sufficiently identify you with
+Mr. Hearn--"
+
+"What!" she interrupted, blushing hotly, "have I given any reason for
+not being identified with him?"
+
+"Not at all--not in one sense," I said bitterly. "Of course you are
+loyalty itself."
+
+She turned away so abruptly as to surprise me a little.
+
+"You had no more right to think it would be pleasing to him than to
+me," she resumed coldly.
+
+"Miss Warren," I said, after a moment, "don't turn your back on me. I
+won't quarrel with you, and I promise to do nothing of the kind again;"
+and I spoke gravely and a little sadly.
+
+"When you speak in that way you disarm me completely," she said, with
+one of the sudden illuminations of her face that I so loved to see; but
+I also noted that she had become very pale, and as my eyes met hers I
+thought I detected the old frightened look that I had seen when I had
+revealed my feelings too clearly after my illness.
+
+"She fears that I may again speak as I ought not," I thought; and
+therefore I bowed quietly and passed on. Mr. Hearn was reading the
+paper on the piazza. I took a chair and went out under the elm, not far
+away. In a few moments Miss Warren joined her affianced, and sat down
+with some light work.
+
+"Emily," I heard the banker say, as if the topic were uppermost in his
+mind, "I'd like to call your attention to this paragraph. I think our
+friend has written it with unusual good taste and grace, and I've taken
+pains to tell him so."
+
+I could not help hearing his words; but I would not look up to see her
+humiliation, and turned a leaf, as if intent on my author.
+
+After a moment she said, with slight but clear emphasis:
+
+"I can't agree with you."
+
+A little later she went to the piano; but I never heard her play so
+badly. A glance at Mr. Hearn revealed that his dignity and complacency
+had received a wound that he was inclined to resent. I strolled away
+muttering:
+
+"She has idealized him as she did Old Plod, but after all it's not a
+very serious foible in a man of millions."
+
+Before the day passed she found an opportunity to ask:
+
+"Why did you not tell me that Mr. Hearn had spoken to you approvingly
+of that paragraph?"
+
+"I would not willingly say anything to annoy you," I replied quietly.
+
+"Did you hear him call my attention to it?"
+
+"I could not help it."
+
+"You did not look up and triumph over me."
+
+"That would have given me no pleasure."
+
+"I believe you," she said, in a low tone; but she devoted herself so
+assiduously to the stately banker that he became benignness itself. I
+also observed that Mr. Yocomb looked in vain for the paper after tea.
+"I happened to destroy the copy," I said very innocently.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+POOR ACTING
+
+
+The last week that I proposed to spend at the farmhouse was passing
+quietly and uneventfully away. I was gaining steadily though not
+rapidly in physical strength, but not in my power to endure my
+disappointment with equanimity, much less with resignation. In the
+delirium of my fever I kept constantly repeating the words--so Mrs.
+Yocomb told me--"It's all wrong." Each successive day found these words
+on my lips again with increasing frequency. It seemed contrary to both
+right and reason that one should so completely enslave me, and then go
+away leaving me a bound and helpless captive. The conviction grew
+stronger that no such power over me should have been given to her, if
+her influence was to end only in darkening my life and crippling my
+power to be a forceful man among men. I felt with instinctive certainty
+that my burden would be too heavy to leave me the elastic spring and
+energy required by my exacting profession. A hopeful, eager interest in
+life and the world at large was the first necessity to success in my
+calling; but already I found a leaden apathy creeping over me which
+even the powerful motives of pride, and my resolute purpose to seem
+cheerful that she might go on to her bright future unregretfully, were
+not sufficiently strong to banish. If I could not cope with this
+despondency in its inception, how could I face the future?
+
+At first I had bitterly condemned my weakness; but now I began to
+recognize the strength of my love, which, so far from being a mere
+sudden passion, was the deep, abiding conviction that I had met the
+only woman I could marry--the woman whom my soul claimed as its mate,
+because she possessed the power to help me and inspire me to tireless
+effort toward better living and nobler achievement. Her absolute truth
+would keep me true and anchored amid the swift, dark currents of the
+world to which I was exposed. I feared, with almost instinctive
+certainty, that I would become either a brooding, solitary man or else
+a very ambitious and reckless one, for I was conscious of no reserve
+strength which would enable me to go steadfastly on my way under the
+calm and inexorable guidance of duty.
+
+Such was my faith in her that I had no hope whatever. If she loved and
+had given her troth to another man, it would not be in her nature to
+change, therefore my purpose had simplified itself to the effort to get
+through this one week at the farmhouse in a manner that would enable me
+to carry away the respect of all its inmates, but especially the esteem
+of one to whom I feared I seemed a rash, ill-balanced man. So carefully
+had I avoided Miss Warren's society, and yet so freely and frankly,
+apparently, had I spoken to her in the presence of her affianced, that
+his suspicions were evidently banished, and he treated me with a
+gracious and patronizing benignity. He saw no reason why he should not
+turn on me the light of his full and smiling countenance, which might
+be taken as an emblem of prosperity; and, in truth, I gave him no
+reason. So rigid was the constraint under which I kept myself that
+jealousy itself could not have found fault.
+
+With the exception of the two momentary interviews recorded in the
+previous chapter, we had not spoken a syllable together, except in his
+presence, nor had I permitted my eyes to follow her with a wistful
+glance that he or she could intercept. Even Mrs. Yocomb appeared to
+think that I was recovering in more senses than one, and by frequent
+romps with the children, jests and chaffing with Mr. Yocomb and Reuben,
+by a little frank and ostentatious gallantry to Adah, which no longer
+deceived even her simple mind, since I never sought her exclusive
+society as a lover would have done, I confirmed the impression.
+
+And yet, in spite of all efforts and disguises, the truth will often
+flash out unexpectedly and irresistibly, making known all that we hoped
+to hide with the distinctness of the lightning, which revealed even the
+color of the roses on the night of the storm.
+
+The weather had become exceedingly warm, and Miss Warren's somewhat
+portly suitor clung persistently to the wide, cool veranda. Adah sat
+there frequently also; sometimes she read to the children fairy
+stories, of which Adela, Mr. Hearn's little girl, had brought a great
+store, and she seemed to enjoy them quite as much as her eager-eyed
+listeners; but more often she superintended their doll dressmaking,
+over which there were the most animated discussions. The banker would
+look on with the utmost content, while he slowly waved his palm-leaf
+fan. Indeed the group was pretty enough to justify all the pleasure he
+manifested.
+
+The rustic piazza formed just the setting for Adah's beauty, and her
+light summer costume well suggested her perfect and womanly form, while
+the companionship of the children proved that she was almost as
+guileless and childlike as they. The group was like a bubbling,
+sparkling spring, at which the rather advanced man of the world sipped
+with increasing pleasure.
+
+Miss Warren also gave much of her time to the children, and beguiled
+them into many simple lessons at the piano. Zillah was true to her
+first love, but Adela gave to Adah a decided preference; and when they
+entered on the intense excitement of making a new wardrobe for each of
+the large dolls that Mr. Hearn had brought, Adah had the advantage, for
+she was a genius in such matters, and quite as much interested as the
+little girls themselves.
+
+In my desperate struggle with myself, I tried not even to see Miss
+Warren, for every glance appeared to rivet my chains, and yet I gained
+the impression that she was a little restless and _distraite_. She
+seemed much at her piano, not so much for Mr. Hearn's sake as her own,
+and sometimes I was so impressed by the strong, passionate music that
+she evoked that I was compelled to hasten beyond its reach. It meant
+too much to me. Oh, the strange idolatry of an absorbing affection! All
+that she said or did had for me an indescribable charm that both
+tortured and delighted. Still every hour increased my conviction that
+my only safety was in flight.
+
+My faithful ally, Reuben, still took me on long morning drives, and in
+the afternoon, with my mail and paper, I sought secluded nooks in a
+somewhat distant grove, which I reached by the shady lane, of which I
+had caught a glimpse with Miss Warren on the first evening of my
+arrival. But Friday afternoon was too hot for the walk thither. The
+banker had wilted and retired to his room. Adah and the children were
+out under a tree. The girl looked up wistfully and invitingly as I came
+out.
+
+"I wish I were an artist, Miss Adah," I cried. "You three make a lovely
+picture."
+
+Remembering an arbor at the further end of the garden, I turned my
+steps thither, passing rapidly by the spot where I had seen my Eve who
+was not mine.
+
+I had entered the arbor before I saw it was occupied, and was surprised
+by the vivid blush with which Miss Warren greeted me.
+
+"Pardon me," I said, "I did not know you were here," and I was about to
+depart, with the best attempt at a smile that I could muster.
+
+She sprang up and asked, a little indignantly: "Am I infected with a
+pestilence that you so avoid me, Mr. Morton?"
+
+"Oh, no," I replied, with a short, grim laugh; "if it were only a
+pestilence--I fear I disturbed your nap; but you know I'm a born
+blunderer."
+
+"You said we should be friends," she began hesitatingly.
+
+"Do you doubt it?" I asked gravely. "Do you doubt that I would hesitate
+at any sacrifice--?"
+
+"I don't want sacrifices. I wish to see you happy, and your manner
+natural."
+
+"I'm sure I've been cheerful during the past week."
+
+"No, you have only seemed cheerful; and often I've seen you look as
+grim, hard, and stern as if you were on the eve of mortal combat."
+
+"You observe closely, Miss Warren."
+
+"Why should I not observe closely? Do you think me inhuman? Can I
+forget what I owe you, and that you nearly died?"
+
+"Well," I said dejectedly, "what can I do? It seems that I have played
+the hypocrite all the week in vain. I will do whatever you ask."
+
+"I was in hopes that as you grew well and strong you would throw off
+this folly. Have you not enough manhood to overcome it?"
+
+"No, Miss Warren," I said bluntly, "I have not. What little manhood I
+had led to this very thing."
+
+"Such--such--"
+
+"Enthrallment, you may call it."
+
+"No, I will not; it's a degrading word. I would not have a slave if I
+could."
+
+"Since I can't help it, I don't see how you can. I may have been a poor
+actor, but I know I've not been obtrusive."
+
+"You have not indeed," she replied a little bitterly; "but you have no
+cause for such feelings. They seem to me unnatural, and the result of a
+morbid mind."
+
+"Yes, you have thought me very ill balanced from the first; but I'm
+constrained to use such poor wits as I possess. In the abstract it
+strikes me as not irrational to recognize embodied truth and
+loveliness, and I do not think the less of myself because I reached
+such recognition in hours rather than in months. I saw your very self
+in this old garden, and every subsequent day has confirmed that
+impression. But there's no use in wasting words in explanation--I don't
+try to explain it to myself. But the fact is clear enough. By some
+necessity of my nature, it is just as it is. I can no more help it than
+I can help breathing. It was inevitable. My only chance was never
+meeting you, and yet I can scarcely wish that even now. Perhaps you
+think I've not tried, since I learned I ought to banish your image, but
+I have struggled as if I were engaged in a mortal combat, as you
+suggested. But it's of no use. I can't deceive you any more than I can
+myself. Now you know the whole truth, and it seems that there is no
+escaping it in our experience. I do not expect anything. I ask nothing
+save that you accept the happiness which is your perfect right; for not
+a shadow of blame rests on you. If you were not happy I should be only
+tenfold more wretched. But I've no right to speak to you in this way. I
+see I've caused you much pain; I've no right even to look at you
+feeling as I do. I would have gone before, were it not for hurting Mrs.
+Yocomb's feelings. I shall return to New York next Monday; for--"
+
+"Return to New York!" she repeated, with a sudden and deep breath; and
+she became very pale. After a second she added hastily, "You are not
+strong enough yet; we are the ones to go."
+
+"Miss Warren," I said, almost sternly, "it's little that I ask of you
+or that you can give. I may not have deceived you, but I have the
+others. Mrs. Yocomb knows; but she is as merciful as my own mother
+would have been. I'm not ashamed of my love--I'm proud of it; but it's
+too sacred a thing, and--well, if you can't understand me I can't
+explain. All I ask is that you seem indifferent to my course beyond
+ordinary friendliness. There! God bless you for your patient kindness;
+I will not trespass on it longer. You have the best and kindest heart
+of any woman in the world. Why don't you exult a little over your
+conquest? It's complete enough to satisfy the most insatiable coquette.
+Don't look so sad. I'll be your merry-hearted friend yet before I'm
+eighty."
+
+But my faint attempt at lightness was a speedy failure, for my strong
+passion broke out irresistibly.
+
+"O God!" I exclaimed, "how beautiful you are to me! When shall I forget
+the look in your kind, true eyes? But I'm disgracing myself again. I've
+no right to speak to you. I wish I could never see you again till my
+heart had become stone and my will like steel;" and I turned and walked
+swiftly away until, from sheer exhaustion, I threw myself under a tree
+and buried my face in my hands, for I hated the warm, sunny light, when
+my life was so cheerless and dark.
+
+I lay almost as if I were dead for hours, and the evening was growing
+dusky when I arose and wearily returned to the farmhouse. They were all
+on the veranda except Miss Warren, who was at her piano again. Mrs.
+Yocomb met me with much solicitude.
+
+"Reuben was just starting out to look for thee," she said.
+
+"I took a longer ramble than I intended," I replied, with a laugh. "I
+think I lost myself a little. I don't deserve any supper, and only want
+a cup of tea." Miss Warren played very softly for a moment, and I knew
+she was listening to my lame excuses.
+
+"It doesn't matter what thee wants; I know what thee needs. Thee isn't
+out of my hands altogether yet; come right into the dining-room."
+
+"I should think you would be slow to revolt against such a benign
+government," remarked Mr. Hearn most graciously, and the thought
+occurred to me that he was not displeased to have me out of the way so
+long.
+
+"Yes, indeed," chimed in Mr. Yocomb; "we're always all the better for
+minding mother. Thee'll find that out, Richard, after thee's been here
+a few weeks longer."
+
+"Mr. Yocomb, you're loyalty itself. If women ever get their rights, our
+paper will nominate Mrs. Yocomb for President."
+
+"I've all the rights I want now, Richard, and I've the right to scold
+thee for not taking better care of thyself."
+
+"I'll submit to anything from you. You are wiser than the advanced
+female agitators, for you know you've all the power now, and that we
+men are always at your mercy."
+
+"Well, now that thee talks of mercy, I won't scold thee, but give thee
+thy supper at once."
+
+"Thee always knew, Richard, how to get around mother," laughed the
+genial old man, whose life ever seemed as mellow and ripe as a juicy
+fall pippin.
+
+Adah followed her mother in to assist her, and I saw that Miss Warren
+had turned toward us.
+
+"Why, Richard Morton!" exclaimed Mrs. Yocomb, as I entered the lighted
+dining-room. "Thee looks as pale and haggard as a ghost. Thee must have
+got lost indeed and gone far beyond thy strength."
+
+"Can--can I do anything to assist you, Mrs. Yocomb?" asked a timid
+voice from the doorway.
+
+I was glad that Adah was in the kitchen at the moment, for I lost at
+once my ghostly pallor. "Yes," said Mrs. Yocomb heartily, "come in and
+make this man eat, and scold him soundly for going so far away as to
+get lost when he's scarcely able to walk at all. I've kind of promised
+I wouldn't scold him, and somebody must."
+
+"I'd scold like Xanthippe if I thought it would do any good," she said,
+with a faint smile; but her eyes were full of reproach. For a moment
+Mrs. Yocomb disappeared behind the door of her china closet, and Miss
+Warren added, in a low, hurried whisper to me, "You promised me to get
+well; you are not keeping your word."
+
+"That cuts worse than anything Xanthippe could have said."
+
+"I don't want to cut, but to cure."
+
+"Then become the opposite of what you are; that would cure me."
+
+"With such a motive I'm tempted to try," she said, with a half-reckless
+laugh, for Adah was entering with some delicate toast.
+
+"Miss Adah," I cried, "I owe you a supper at the Brunswick for this,
+and I'll pay my debt the first chance you'll give me."
+
+"If thee talks of paying, I'll not go with thee," she said, a little
+coldly; and she seemingly did not like the presence of Miss Warren nor
+the tell-tale color in my cheeks.
+
+"That's a deserved rebuke, Miss Adah. I know well enough that I can
+never repay all your kindness, and so I won't try. But you'll go with
+me because I want you to, and because I will be proud of your company.
+I shall be the envy of all the men present."
+
+"They'd think me very rustic," she said, smiling.
+
+"Quite as much so as a moss-rose. But you'll see. I will be besieged
+the next few days by my acquaintances for an introduction, and my
+account of you will make them wild. I shall be, however, a very dragon
+of a big brother, and won't let one of them come near you who is not a
+saint--that is, as far as I am a judge of the article."
+
+"Thee may keep them all away if thee pleases," she replied, blushing
+and laughing. "I should be afraid of thy fine city friends."
+
+"I'm afraid of a good many of them myself," I replied; "but some are
+genuine, and you shall have a good time, never fear."
+
+"I'll leave you to arrange the details of your brilliant campaign,"
+said Miss Warren, smiling.
+
+"But thee hasn't scolded Richard," said Mrs. Yocomb, who was seemingly
+busy about the room.
+
+"My words would have no weight. He knows he ought to be ashamed of
+himself," she answered from the doorway.
+
+"I am, heartily," I said, looking into her eyes a moment.
+
+"Since he's penitent, Mrs. Yocomb, I don't see as anything more can be
+done," she replied, smilingly.
+
+"I don't think much of penitence unless it's followed by reformation,"
+said my sensible hostess. "We'll see how he behaves the next few weeks."
+
+"Mr. Morton, I hope you will let Mrs. Yocomb see a daily change for the
+better for a long time to come. She deserves it at your hands," and
+there was almost entreaty in the young girl's voice.
+
+"She ought to know better than to ask it," I thought. My only answer
+was a heavy frown, and I turned abruptly away from her appealing glance.
+
+"I think Emily Warren acts very queer," said Adah, after the young lady
+had gone; "she's at her piano half the time, and I know from her eyes
+that she's been crying this afternoon. If ever a girl was engaged to a
+good, kind man, who would give her everything, she is. I don't see--"
+
+"Adah," interrupted her mother, "I hoped thee was overcoming that
+trait. It's not a pleasing one. If people give us their confidence,
+very well; if not, we should be blind."
+
+The girl blushed vividly, and looked deprecatingly at me.
+
+"You meant nothing ill-natured, Miss Adah," I said, gently; "it isn't
+in you. Come, now, and let me tell you and your mother what a good time
+I'm planning for you in New York," and we soon made the old dining-room
+ring with our laughter. Mr. Yocomb, Reuben, and the children soon
+joined us, and the lovers were left alone on the shadowy porch. From
+the gracious manner of Mr. Hearn the following morning, I think he
+rather thanked me for drawing off the embarrassing third parties.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+THE HOPE OF A HIDDEN TREASURE
+
+
+The next day I lured Reuben off on a fishing excursion to a mountain
+lake, and so congratulated myself on escaping ordeals to which I found
+myself wholly unequal. We did not reach the farmhouse till quite late
+in the evening, and found that Mr. Hearn and Miss Warren were out
+enjoying a moonlight ride. As on the previous evening, all the family
+gathered around Reuben and me as we sat down to our late supper, the
+little girls arranging with delight the sylvan spoil that I had brought
+them. They were all so genial and kind that I grieved to think that I
+had but one more evening with them, and I thought of my cheerless
+quarters in New York with an inward shiver.
+
+Before very long Mr. Hearn entered with Miss Warren, and the banker was
+in fine spirits.
+
+"The moonlit landscapes were divine," he said. "Never have I seen them
+surpassed--not even in Europe."
+
+It was evident that his complacency was not easily disturbed, for I
+thought that a more sympathetic lover would have noted that his
+companion was not so enthusiastic as himself. Indeed Miss Warren seemed
+to bring in with her the cold pale moonlight. Her finely-chiselled oval
+face looked white and thin as if she were chilled, and I noticed that
+she shivered as she entered.
+
+"Come," cried Mr. Yocomb, in his hearty way; "Emily, thee and Mr. Hearn
+have had thy fill of moonlight, dew, and such like unsubstantial stuff.
+I'm going to give you both a generous slice of cold roast-beef. That's
+what makes good red blood; and Emily, thee looks as if thee needed a
+little more. Then I want to see if we cannot provoke thee to one of thy
+old-time laughs. Seems to me we've missed it a little of late. Thy
+laugh beats all thy music at the piano."
+
+"Yes, Emily," said Mr. Hearn, a little discontentedly, "I think you are
+growing rather quiet and _distraite_ of late. When have I heard one of
+your genuine, mirthful laughs?"
+
+With a sudden wonder my mind took up his question. When had I heard her
+laugh, whose contagious joyousness was so infectious that I, too, had
+laughed without knowing why? I now remembered that it was before he
+came; it was that morning when my memory, more kind than my fate, still
+refused to reveal the disappointment that now was crushing my very
+soul; it was when all in the farmhouse were so glad at my assured
+recovery. Reuben had said that she was like a lark that day--that she
+equalled Dapple in her glad life. I could recall no such day since,
+though her lover was present, and her happiness assured. Even he was
+beginning to note that the light of his countenance did not illumine
+her face--that she was "quiet and _distraite_."
+
+Manlike, I had to think it all out, but I thought swiftly. The echo of
+his words had scarcely died away before the light of a great hope
+flashed into my face as my whole heart put the question:
+
+"Can it be only sympathy?"
+
+She met my eager glance shrinkingly. I felt almost as if my life
+depended on the answer that she might consciously or unconsciously
+give. Why did she fall into painful and even piteous confusion?
+
+But her womanly pride and strong character at once asserted themselves,
+for she arose quietly, saying, "I do not feel well this evening," and
+she left the room.
+
+Mr. Hearn followed precipitately, and was profuse in his commiseration.
+
+"I shall be well in the morning," she said, with such clear, confident
+emphasis that it occurred to me that the assurance was not meant for
+his ears only; then, in spite of his entreaties, she went to her room.
+
+I wanted no more supper, and made a poor pretence of keeping Reuben
+company, and I thought his boy's appetite never would be satisfied. My
+mind was in such a tumult of hope and fear that I had to strive with my
+whole strength for self-mastery, so as to excite no surmises. Mrs.
+Yocomb gave me a few inquiring glances, thinking, perhaps, that I was
+showing more solicitude about Miss Warren than was wise; but in fact
+they were all so simple-hearted, so accustomed to express all they
+thought and felt, that they were not inclined to search for hidden and
+subtle motives. Even feigning more bungling than mine would have kept
+my secret from them. Adah seemed relieved at Miss Warren's departure.
+Mr. Hearn lighted a cigar and sat down on the piazza; as soon as
+possible I pleaded fatigue and retired to my room, for I was eager to
+be alone that I might, unwatched, look with fearful yet glistening eyes
+on the trace I had discovered of an infinite treasure.
+
+I again sat down by the window and looked into the old garden. The
+possibility that the woman that I had there seen, undisguised in her
+beautiful truth, might be drawing near me, under an impulse too strong
+to be resisted, thrilled my very soul. "It's contrary to reason, to
+every law in nature," I said, "that she should attract me with such
+tremendous gravitation, and yet my love have no counteraction.
+
+"And yet," I murmured, "beware--beware how you hope. Possibly she is
+merely indisposed. It is more probable that her feelings toward you are
+those of gratitude only and of deep sympathy. She is under the
+impression that you saved her life, and that she has unwittingly
+blighted yours; and, as Mrs. Yocomb said, she is so kind-hearted, so
+sensitive, that the thought shadows her life and robs it of zest and
+happiness. You cannot know that she is learning to return your love in
+spite of herself, simply because she is pale and somewhat sad. She
+would think herself, as she said, inhuman if she were happy and serene.
+I must seek for other tests;" and I thought long and deeply. "Oh, Will
+Shakespeare!" I at last murmured, "you knew the human heart, if any one
+ever did. I remember now that you wrote:
+
+"'A murd'rous guilt shows not itself more soon Than love that would
+seem hid.'
+
+"Oh, for the eyes of Argus. If all the mines of wealth in the world
+were uncovered, and I might have them all for looking, I'd turn away
+for one clear glimpse into her woman's heart to-night. Go to New York
+on Monday! No, not unless driven away with a whip of scorpions. No
+eagle that ever circled those skies watched as I'll stay and watch for
+the faintest trace of this priceless secret. No detective, stimulated
+by professional pride and vast reward, ever sought proof of 'murd'rous
+guilt' as I shall seek for evidences of this pure woman's love, for
+more than life depends on the result of my quest."
+
+Words like these would once have seemed extravagant and absurd, but in
+the abandon of my solitude and in my strong excitement they but
+inadequately expressed the thoughts that surged through my mind. But as
+I grew calmer, Conscience asked to be heard.
+
+"Just what do you propose?" it asked; "to win her from another, who now
+has every right to her allegiance and love? Change places, and how
+would you regard the man who sought to supplant you? You cannot win
+happiness at the expense of your honor."
+
+Then Reason added, with quiet emphasis, "Even though your conscience is
+not equal to the emergency, hers will be. She will do what seems right
+without any regard for the consequences. If you sought to woo her now,
+she would despise you; she would regard it as an insult that she would
+never forgive. It would appear proof complete that you doubted her
+truth, her chief characteristic."
+
+Between them they made so strong a case against me that my heart sank
+at the prospect. But hope is the lever that moves the world onward, and
+the faint hope that had dawned on my thick night was too dear and
+bright a one to leave me crushed again by my old despondency, and I
+felt that there must be some way of untangling the problem. If the wall
+of honor hedged me in on every side, I would _know_ the fact to be true
+before I accepted it.
+
+"I do not propose to woo her," I argued; and possibly my good
+resolution was strengthened by the knowledge that such a course would
+be fatal to my hope; "I only intend to discover what may possibly
+exist. I never have intentionally sought to influence her, even by a
+glance, since I knew of her relation to Mr. Hearn. I'm under no
+obligation to this prosperous banker; I'm only bound by honor in the
+abstract. They are not married. Mrs. Yocomb would say that I had been
+brought hither by an overruling Providence--it certainly was not a
+conscious choice of mine--and since I met this woman everything has
+conspired to bring me to my present position. I know I'm not to blame
+for it--no more than I was for the storm or the lightning bolt. What a
+clod I should be were I indifferent to the traits that she has
+manifested! I feel with absolute certainty that I cannot help the
+impression that she has made on me. If I could have foreseen it all, I
+might have remained away; but I was led hither, and kept here by my
+illness till my chains are riveted and locked, and the key is lost. I
+cannot escape the fact that I belong to her, body and soul.
+
+"Now suppose, for the sake of argument, that gratitude, respect,
+friendliness, a sense of being unprotected and alone in the world, have
+led to her engagement with the wealthy, middle-aged banker, and that
+through it all her woman's heart was never awakened: such a thing at
+least is possible. If this were true, she would be no more to blame
+than I, and we might become the happy victims of circumstances. I'm not
+worthy of her, and never shall be, but I can't help that either. After
+all, it seems to me that that which should fulfil my hope is not a
+ledger balance of good qualities, but the magnetic sympathy of two
+natures that supplement each other, and were designed for each other in
+Heaven's match-making. Even now my best hope is based on the truth that
+she attracts me so irresistibly, and though a much smaller body
+morally, I should have some corresponding attraction for her. If her
+woman's heart has become mine, what can she give him? Her very truth
+may become my most powerful ally. If she still loves him, I will go
+away and stay away; if it be in accordance with my trembling hope, I
+have the higher right, and I will assert it to the utmost extent of my
+power. Shall the happiness of two lives be sacrificed to his unflagging
+prosperity? Could it ever be right for him to lead her body to the
+altar and leave her heart with me? Could she, who is truth itself, go
+there and perjure herself before God and man? No! a thousand times no!
+It has become a simple question of whom she loves, and I'll find out if
+Shakespeare's words are true. If she has love for me, let her bury it
+never so deeply, my love will be the divining-rod that will inevitably
+discover it."
+
+Having reached this conclusion, I at last slept, in the small hours of
+the night.
+
+I thought I detected something like apprehension in her eyes when I met
+her in the morning. Was she conscious of a secret that might reveal
+itself in spite of her? But she was cheerful and decided in her manner,
+and seemed bent on assuring Mr. Hearn that she was well again, and all
+that he could desire.
+
+Were I in mortal peril I could not have been more vigilantly on my
+guard. Not for the world would I permit her to know what was passing in
+my mind--at least not yet--and as far as possible I resumed my old
+manner. I even simulated more dejection than I felt, to counterbalance
+the flash of hope that I feared she had recognized on the previous
+evening.
+
+I well knew that all her woman's strength, that all her woman's pride
+and exalted sense of honor would bind her to him, who was serenely
+secure in his trust. My one hope was that her woman's heart was my
+ally; that it would prove the strongest; that it would so assert itself
+that truth and honor would at last range themselves on its side. Little
+did the simple, frank old Quaker realize the passionate alternations of
+hope and fear that I brought to his breakfast-table that bright Sunday.
+
+All that my guarded scrutiny could gather was that Miss Warren was a
+little too devoted and thoughtful of her urbane lover, and that her
+cheerfulness lacked somewhat in spontaneity.
+
+It was agreed at the breakfast-table that we should all go to meeting.
+
+"Mrs. Yocomb," I said, finding her alone for a moment, "won't you be
+moved this morning? I need one of your sermons more than any heathen in
+Africa. Whatever your faith is, I believe in it, for I've seen its
+fruits."
+
+"If a message is given to me I will not be silent; if not, it would be
+presumptuous to speak. But my prayer is that the Spirit whom we worship
+may speak to thee, and that thou wilt listen. Unless He speaks, my poor
+words would be of no avail."
+
+"You are a mystery to me, Mrs. Yocomb, with your genial homely farm
+life here, and your mystical spiritual heights at the meeting-house.
+You seem to go from the kitchen by easy and natural transition to
+regions beyond the stars, and to pass without hesitancy from the
+companionship of us poor mortals into a Presence that is to me
+supremely awful."
+
+"Thee doesn't understand, Richard. The little faith I have I take with
+me to the kitchen, and I'm not afraid of my Father in heaven because he
+is so great and I'm so little. Is Zillah afraid of her father?"
+
+"I suppose you are right, and I admit that I don't understand, and I
+don't see how I could reason it out."
+
+"God's children," she replied, "as all children, come to believe many
+blessed truths without the aid of reason. It was not reason that taught
+me my mother's love, and yet, now that I have children, it seems very
+reasonable. I think I learned most from what she said to me and did for
+me. If ever children were assured of love by their Heavenly Father, we
+have been; if it is possible for a human soul to be touched by loving,
+unselfish devotion, let him read the story of Christ."
+
+"But, Mrs. Yocomb, I'm not one of the children."
+
+"Yes, thee is. The trouble with thee is that thee's ashamed, or at
+least that thee won't acknowledge the relation, and be true to it."
+
+"Dear Mrs. Yocomb," I cried in dismay, "I must either renounce
+heathenism or go away from your influence," and I left precipitately.
+
+But in truth I was too far gone in human idolatry to think long upon
+her words; they lodged in my memory, however, and I trust will never
+lose their influence.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+THE OLD MEETING-HOUSE AGAIN
+
+
+Reuben and I, with Dapple, skimmed along the country roads, and my hope
+and spirits kindled, though I scarcely knew why. We were early at the
+meeting-house, and, to my joy, I gained my old seat, in which I had
+woven my June day-dream around the fair unknown Quakeress whose face
+was now that of a loved sister. What ages, seemingly, had elapsed since
+that fateful day! What infinite advances in life's experiences I had
+made since I last sat there! How near I had come to the experiences of
+another life! The fact made me grave and thoughtful. And yet, if my
+fear and not my hope were realized, what a burden was imposed upon me
+with the life that disease had spared! Had I even Mrs. Yocomb's faith,
+I knew it would be a weight under which I would often stagger and faint.
+
+Before very long the great family rockaway unloaded its precious
+freight at the horse-block, and Adah and Miss Warren entered, followed
+by the little girls. In secret wonder I saw Adah pause before the same
+long, straight-backed bench or pew, and Miss Warren take the place
+where I had first seen my "embodiment of June." Mrs. Yocomb went
+quietly to her place on the high seat.
+
+"The spell continues to work, but with an important change," I thought.
+
+In a few moments Mr. Yocomb marshalled in Mr. Hearn, and placed him in
+the end of the pew next to Miss Warren on the men's side, so that they
+might have the satisfaction of sitting together, as if at church. He
+then looked around for me; but I shook my head, and would not go up
+higher.
+
+Soon all the simple, plainly apparelled folk who would attend that day
+were in their places, and the old deep hush that I so well remembered
+settled down upon us. The sweet low monotone of the summer wind was
+playing still among the maples. I do believe that it was the same old
+bumblebee that darted in, still unable to overcome its irate wonder at
+a people who could be so quiet and serene. The sunlight flickered in
+here and there, and shadowy leaves moved noiselessly up and down the
+whitewashed wall. Only the occasional song of a bird was wanting to
+reproduce the former hour, but at this later season the birds seem
+content with calls and chirpings, and in the July heat they were almost
+as silent as we were.
+
+But how weak and fanciful my June day-dream now seemed. Then woman's
+influence on my life was but a romantic sentiment. I had then conjured
+up a pretty vista full of serene, quiet domestic joys, which were to be
+a solace merely of my real life of toil and ambition. I had thought
+myself launched on a shining tide that would bear me smoothly to a
+quiet home anchorage; but almost the first word that Emily Warren spoke
+broke the spell of my complacent, indolent dream, and I awoke to the
+presence of an earnest, large-souled woman, who was my peer, and in
+many respects my superior; whom, so far from being a mere household
+pet, could be counsellor and friend, and a daily inspiration. Instead
+of shrinking from the world with which I must grapple, she already
+looked out upon its tangled and cruel problems with clear, intelligent,
+courageous eyes; single-handed she had coped with it and won from it a
+place and respect. And yet, with all her strength and fearlessness, she
+had kept her woman's heart gentle and tender. Oh, who could have better
+proof of this than I, who had seen her face bending over the little
+unconscious Zillah, and who had heard her low sob when she feared I
+might be dying.
+
+The two maidens sat side by side, and I was not good enough to think of
+anything better or purer than they. Adah, with her face composed to its
+meeting-house quiet, but softened and made more beautiful by passing
+shades of thought; still it seemed almost as young and childlike as
+that of Zillah. Miss Warren's profile was less round and full, but it
+was more finely chiselled, and was luminous with mind. The slightly
+higher forehead, the more delicately arched eyebrow, the deeper setting
+of her dark, changing eyes, that were placed wide apart beneath the
+overhanging brow, the short, thin, tremulous upper lip, were all
+indications of the quick, informing spirit which made her face like a
+transparency through which her thoughts could often be guessed before
+spoken; and since they were good, noble, genial thoughts, they enhanced
+her beauty. And yet it had occurred to me more than once that if Miss
+Warren were a depraved woman she could give to evil a deadly
+fascination.
+
+"Are her thoughts wandering like mine?" I mused. With kindling hope I
+saw her face grow sad, and I even imagined that her pallor increased.
+For a long time she looked quietly and fixedly before her, as did Adah,
+and then she stole a shy, hesitating glance at Mr. Hearn by her side;
+but the banker seemingly had found the silent meeting a trifle dull,
+for his eyes were heavy, and all life and animation had faded out of
+his full white face. Was it my imagination, or did she slightly shrink
+from him? In an almost instantaneous flash she turned a little more and
+glanced at me, and I was caught in the act of almost breathless
+scrutiny. A sudden red flamed in her cheeks, but not a Friend of them
+all was more motionless than she at once became.
+
+My conscience smote me. Though I watched for her happiness as truly as
+my own, the old meeting-house should have been a sanctuary even from
+the eyes of love. I knew from the expression of her face that she had
+not liked it; nor did I blame her.
+
+I was glad to have the silence of the meeting broken; for a venerable
+man rose slowly from the high seat and reverently enunciated the words:
+
+"'The Lord of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.
+
+"'He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; He breaketh the
+bow and cutteth the spear in sunder; He burneth the chariot in the fire.
+
+"'Be still, and know that I am God.'
+
+"The quiet, reverent bowing of the heart to His will is often the most
+acceptable worship that we can offer," he began, and if he had stopped
+there the effect would have been perfect; but he began to talk and to
+ramble. With a sense of deep disappointment I dreaded lest the hour
+should pass and that Mrs. Yocomb would not speak; but as the old
+gentleman sat down, that rapt look was on her face that I remembered
+seeing on the night of the storm. She rose, took off her deep Quaker
+bonnet, and laid it quietly on the seat beside her; but one saw that
+she was not thinking of it or of anything except the truth which filled
+her mind.
+
+Clasping her hands before her she looked steadfastly toward heaven for
+a few moments, and then, in a low, sweet, penetrating monotone,
+repeated the words:
+
+"'Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world
+giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it
+be afraid.'"
+
+She paused a moment, and I gazed in wonder at her serene, uplifted
+face. She had spoken with such an utter absence of self-consciousness
+or regard for externals as to give the strong impression that the words
+had come again from heaven through her lips, and were endowed with a
+new life and richer meaning; and now she seemed waiting for whatever
+else might be given to her.
+
+Could that inspired woman, who now looked as if she might have stood
+unabashed on the Mount of Transfiguration, be my genial, untiring
+nurse, and the cheery matron of the farmhouse, whose deft hands had
+made the sweet, light bread we had eaten this morning? I had long loved
+her; but now, as I realized as never before the grand compass of her
+womanly nature, I began to reverence her. A swift glance at Miss Warren
+revealed that the text had awakened an interest so deep as to suggest a
+great and present need, for the maiden was leaning slightly toward the
+speaker and waiting with parted lips.
+
+"As I sat here," Mrs. Yocomb began, looking down upon us with a grave,
+gentle aspect, "these words came to me as if spoken in my soul, and I
+am constrained to repeat them unto you. I'm impressed with the truth
+that peace is the chief need of the world--the chief need of every
+human heart. Beyond success, beyond prosperity, beyond happiness, is
+the need of peace--the deep, assured rest of the soul that is akin to
+the eternal calmness of Him who spake these words.
+
+"The world at large is full of turmoil and trouble. The sounds of its
+wretched disquietude reach me even in this quiet place and at this
+quiet hour. I seem to hear the fierce uproar of battle; for while we
+are turning our thoughts up to the God of peace, misguided men are
+dealing death-blows to their fellow men. I hear cries of rage, I hear
+the groans of the dying. But sadder than these bloody fields of open
+strife are the dark places of cruelty. I hear the clank of the
+prisoner's chain, and the crack of the slave-driver's whip. I see
+desperate and despairing faces revealing tortured souls to whom the
+light of each day brings more bitter wrongs, viler indignities, until
+they are ready to curse God for the burden of life. Sadder still, I
+hear the dark whisperings of those who would destroy the innocent and
+cast down the simple. I hear the satanic laugh of such as are false to
+sacred trusts and holy obligations, who ruthlessly as swine are rending
+hearts that have given all the pearls they had. From that sacred place,
+home, come to me hot words of strife, drunken, brutal blows, and the
+wailing of helpless women and children. Saddest of all earthly sounds,
+I hear the wild revelry of those who are not the victims of evil in
+others, but who, while madly seeking happiness, are blotting out all
+hope of happiness, and who are committing that crime of crimes, the
+destruction of their own immortal souls. Did I say the last was the
+saddest of earthly sounds? There comes to me another, at which my heart
+sinks; it is the sound of proud arrogant voices, who are explaining
+that faith is a delusion, that prayer is wasted breath, that the God of
+the Bible is a dream of old-time mystics, and that Christ died in vain.
+I hear the moan of Mary at the sepulchre repeated from thousands of
+hearts, 'They have taken away my Lord.' O God, forgive those who would
+blot out the dearest hope which has ever sustained humanity. Can there
+be peace in a world wherein we can never escape these sad, terrible,
+discordant sounds? The words that I have repeated were spoken in just
+such a world when the din of evil was at its worst, and to those who
+must soon suffer all the wrong that the world could inflict."
+
+After a brief pause of silent waiting she continued:
+
+"But is the turmoil of the world a far-away sound, like the sullen roar
+of angry waves beating on a shore that rises high and enduring,
+securing us safety and rest? Beyond the deep disquietude of the world
+at large is the deeper unrest of the human heart. No life can be so
+secluded and sheltered but that anxieties, doubts, fears, and
+foreboding will come with all their disturbing power. Often sorrows
+more bitter than death are hidden by smiling faces, and in our quiet
+country homes there are men and women carrying burdens that are
+crushing out hope and life: mothers breaking their hearts over wayward
+sons and daughters; wives desperate because the men who wooed them as
+blushing maidens have forgotten their vows, and have become swinish
+sots; men disheartened because the sweet-faced girls that they thought
+would give them a home have become vile slatterns, busybodies,
+shrill-tongued shrews, who banish the very thought of peace and rest,
+who waste their substance and eat out their hearts with care. Oh, the
+clouds of earth are not those which sweep across the sun, but those
+which rise out of unhappy hearts and evil lives. These are the clouds
+that gather over too many in a leaden pall, and it seems as if no light
+could ever break through them. There are hearts to whom life seems to
+promise one long, hopeless struggle to endure an incurable pain. Can
+there be peace for such unhappy ones? To just such human hearts were
+the words spoken, 'Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you.'"
+
+Then came one of those little pauses that were quite as impressive as
+the preceding words. Although my interest was almost breathless, I
+involuntarily looked toward one whom I now associated with every
+thought.
+
+"O God!" I exclaimed mentally, "can that be the aspect of a maiden
+happy in her love and hope?" Her face had become almost white, and
+across the pallor of her cheeks tear followed tear, as from a full and
+bitter fountain.
+
+"Never, in all this evil world," the speaker resumed, "was there such
+cruel, bitter mockery as these words would be if they were not true--if
+He who spake them had no right to speak them. And what right would He
+have to speak them if He were merely a man among men--a part of the
+world which never has and never can give peace to the troubled soul?
+How do we know these words are true? How do we know He had a right to
+speak them? Thank God! I know, because He has kept His word to me.
+Thank God! Millions know, because He has proved His power to them. The
+scourged, persecuted, crucified disciples found that He was with them
+always, even unto the end. Oh, my friends, it is this living, loving,
+spiritual Presence that uplifts and sustains the sinking heart when the
+whole great world could only stand helplessly by. 'Not as the world
+giveth, give I unto you.' Yes, thank thee, Lord, 'not as the world.' In
+spite of the world and the worst it can do, in spite of our evil and
+the worst it can do, in spite of our sorrows, our fears, our pains and
+losses, our bitter disappointments, thou canst give peace; thou hast
+given peace. No storm can harm the soul that rests on the Rock of Ages,
+and by and by He will say to the storm, 'Peace, be still,' and the
+light of heaven will come. Then there shall be no more night. 'God
+shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more
+death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain;
+for the former things are passed away.'"
+
+The light and gladness of that blessed future seemed to have come into
+her sweet, womanly face. I looked out of the window to hide tears of
+which I was fool enough to be ashamed.
+
+When she spoke again her voice was low and pitiful, and her face full
+of the divinest sympathy. "Dear friends," she said, "it was not merely
+peace that he promised, but his peace. 'My peace I give unto you.'
+Remember, it was the man of sorrows who spoke; remember that he was
+acquainted with grief; remember that years of toil and hardship were
+behind him, and that Gethsemane and Calvary were before him; remember
+that one would betray him, and that all would desert him. When he
+spoke, the storm of the world's evil was breaking upon him more cruelly
+and remorselessly than it ever has on any tempted soul. He suffered
+more because more able to suffer. But beneath all was the sacred calm
+of one who is right, and who means to do right to the end, cost what it
+may. The peace that he promises is not immunity from pain or loss, or
+the gratification of the heart's earthly desires. His natural and
+earthly desires were not gratified; often ours cannot be. His peace
+came from self-denial for the good of others, from the consciousness
+that he was doing his Father's will, and from the assurance that good
+would come out of the seeming evil. Suffer he must, because he was
+human, and in a world of suffering; but he chose to suffer that we
+might know that he understands us, and sympathizes with us when we
+suffer. To each and to all he can say, I was tempted in all points like
+unto thee. When we wander he goes out after us; when we fall he lifts
+us up; when we faint he takes us in his arms and carries us on his
+bosom. O great heart of love! thy patience never tires, never wearies.
+Thou canst make good to us every earthly loss; thy touch can heal every
+wound of the soul. Even though life be one long martyrdom, yet through
+thy Presence it may be a blessed life, full of peace.
+
+"Because our Lord was a man of sorrows, was he in love with sorrows? or
+does he love to see storms gathering around his people? No. It was not
+with _his_ sorrows, but with _our_ sorrows, that he was afflicted. He
+so loved the world that he could not be glad when we were sad. It is
+said that there is no record that Jesus ever smiled; but those little
+children whom he took in his arms and blessed know that he smiled. I
+doubt whether he ever saw a flower but that, no matter how weary from
+the hot day's long journey, he smiled back upon it. The flowers are but
+his smiles, and the world is full of them. Still he is naturally and
+very justly associated with sorrow; for when on earth he sought out
+those in trouble, and the distressed and the suffering soon learned to
+fly to him. What was the result? Were the shadows deepened? Was the
+suffering prolonged? Let the sisters of Bethany answer you; let the
+widow of Nain answer you. Let the great host of the lame, blind,
+diseased, and leprous answer. Look into the gentle, serene eyes of Mary
+Magdalene, once so desperate and clouded by evil, and then know whether
+he brings sorrow or joy to the world. Just as the sun follows the night
+that it may bring the day, so the Sun of Righteousness seeks out all
+that is dark in our lives that he may shine it away. Gladness, then,
+should be the rule of our lives. Nothing to him is so pleasing as
+gladness, if it comes from the heart of pilgrims truly homeward bound;
+but if sorrow comes, oh, turn not to the world, for the best thing in
+it can give no peace, no rest. Simply do right, and leave the results
+with him who said, even under the shadow of his cross, 'My peace I give
+unto you.' Accept this message, dear friends, and 'Let not your hearts
+be troubled, and neither let them be afraid.'" And she sat down quietly
+and closed her eyes.
+
+There was here and there a low sob from the women, and the eyes of some
+of the most rugged-featured men were moist. The hush that followed was
+broken by deep and frequent sighs. Mr. Yocomb sat with his face lifted
+heavenward, and I knew it was serene and thankful. The eyes of Reuben,
+who was beside me, rested on his mother in simple, loving devotion. As
+yet she was his religion. Adah was looking a little wonderingly but
+sympathetically at Miss Warren, whose bowed head and fallen veil could
+not hide her deep emotion. The banker, too, looked at her even more
+wonderingly. At last the most venerable man on the high seat gave his
+hand to another white-haired Friend beside him, and the congregation
+began slowly and quietly to disperse.
+
+"Come, Reuben," I said, in a whisper, "let us get away, quick."
+
+He looked at me in surprise, but in a few moments the old meeting-house
+was hidden behind us among the trees. Dapple's feet scarcely touched
+the ground; but I sat silent, absorbed, and almost overwhelmed.
+
+"Didn't--didn't thee like what mother said?" Reuben asked, after a
+while, a little hurt.
+
+I felt at once that he misunderstood my silence, and I put my arm
+around his neck as I said, "Reuben, love and honor your mother the
+longest day you live. She is one among a million. 'Liked!' It mattered
+little whether I liked it or not; she made it seem God's own truth."
+
+"And to think, Richard, that if it hadn't been for thee--"
+
+"Hush, Reuben. To think rather that she waited on me for days and
+nights together. Well, I could turn Catholic and worship one saint."
+
+"I'm glad she's only mother," said the boy, with a low laugh; "and,
+Richard, she likes me to have a good time as much as I do myself. She
+always made me mind, but she's been jolly good to me. Oh, I love her;
+don't thee worry about that."
+
+"Well, whatever happens," I said, with a deep breath, "I thank God for
+the day that brought me to her home."
+
+"So do I," said the boy; "so do we all; but confound Emily Warren's
+grandfather! I don't take to him. He thinks we're wonderfully simple
+folks, just about good enough to board him and that black-eyed witch of
+his. I do kind of like her a little bit, she's so saucy-like sometimes.
+One day she commenced ordering me around, and I stood and stared at the
+little miss in a way that she won't forget."
+
+"She'll learn to coax by and by, and then you'll do anything for her,
+Reuben."
+
+"P'raps," he said, with a half smile on his ruddy face.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+LOVE TEACHING ETHICS
+
+
+On reaching the farmhouse I went directly to my room, and I wished that
+I might stay there the rest of the day; but I was soon summoned to
+dinner. In Miss Warren's eyes still lingered the evidences of her deep
+feeling, but her expression was quiet, firm, and resolute. The effect
+of the sermon upon her was just what I anticipated in case my hope had
+any foundation--it had bound her by what seemed the strongest of
+motives to be faithful to the man who she believed had the right to her
+fealty.
+
+"Well," I thought bitterly, "life might have brought her a heavier
+cross than marrying a handsome millionaire, even though considerably
+her senior. I'm probably a conceited fool for thinking it any very
+great burden at all. But how, then, can I account--? Well, well, time
+alone can unravel this snarl. One thing is certain: she will do nothing
+that she does not believe right; and after what Mrs. Yocomb said I
+would not dare to wish her to do wrong."
+
+Mrs. Yocomb did not come down to dinner, and the meal was a quiet one.
+Mr. Yocomb's eyes glistened with a serene, happy light, but he ate
+sparingly, and spoke in subdued tones. He reminded me of the quaint old
+scripture--"A man's wisdom maketh his face to shine." Whatever might be
+said against his philosophy, it produced good cheer and peace. Adah,
+too, was very quiet; but occasionally she glanced toward Miss Warren as
+if perplexed and somewhat troubled. Mr. Hearn seemed wrought up into
+quite a religious fervor. He was demonstratively tender and sympathetic
+toward the girl at his side, and waited on her with the effusive manner
+of one whose feelings must have some outlet. His appetite, however, did
+not flag, and I thought he seemed to enjoy his emotions and his dinner
+equally.
+
+"Mr. Morton," he said impressively, "you must have liked that sermon
+exceedingly."
+
+"Indeed, sir," I replied briefly, "I have scarcely thought whether I
+liked it or not."
+
+Both he and Miss Warren looked at me in surprise; indeed all did except
+Reuben.
+
+"I beg your pardon, but I thought Mrs. Yocomb expressed herself
+admirably," he said, with somewhat of the air of championship.
+
+"She certainly expressed herself clearly. The trouble with me is that
+the sermon is just what Mrs. Yocomb would call it--a message--and one
+scarcely knows how to dodge it. I never had such a spiritual blow
+between the eyes before, and think I'm a little stunned yet."
+
+A smile lighted up Miss Warren's face. "Mrs. Yocomb would like your
+tribute to her sermon, I think," she said.
+
+"What most bewilders me," I resumed, "is to think how Mrs. Yocomb has
+been waiting on me and taking care of me. I now feel like the peasant
+who was taken in and cared for by the royal family."
+
+"I think our friend Mr. Morton is in what may be termed 'a frame of
+mind,'" said Mr. Hearn a little satirically.
+
+"Yes, sir, I am," I replied emphatically. "I believe that adequate
+causes should have some effects. It does not follow, however, that my
+frame of mind is satisfactory to any one, least of all to Mrs. Yocomb."
+
+"Your contact with the truth," said Mr. Hearn, laughing, "is somewhat
+like many people's first experience of the ocean--you are much stirred
+up, but have not yet reached the point of yielding to the mysterious
+malady."
+
+I was disgusted, and was about to reply with a sarcastic compliment
+upon the elegance of his illustration, when a look of pain upon Miss
+Warren's face checked me, and I said nothing. Lack of delicacy was one
+of Mr. Hearn's gravest faults. While courtly, polished, and refined in
+externals, he lacked in tact and nicety of discrimination. He often
+said things which a finer-fibred but much worse man would never have
+said. He had an abundance of intellect, great shrewdness, vast will
+force, and organizing power, but not much ideality or imagination. This
+lack rendered him incapable of putting himself in the place of another,
+and of appreciating their feelings, moods, and motives. The most
+revolting thought to me of his union with Miss Warren was that he would
+never appreciate her. He greatly admired and respected her, but his
+spiritual eyes were too dim to note the exquisite bloom on her
+character, or to detect the evanescent lights and shades of thought and
+feeling of which to me her mobile face gave so many hints. He would
+expect her to be like the July days now passing--warm, bright,
+cloudless, and in keeping with his general prosperity.
+
+"They will disappoint each other inevitably," I thought, "and it's
+strange that her clear eyes cannot see it when mine can. It is perhaps
+the strongest evidence of her love for him, since love is blind. Still
+she may love and yet be able to see his foibles and failings clearly;
+thousands of women do this. But whether the silken cord of love or the
+chain of supposed duty binds her to him now, I fear that Mrs. Yocomb's
+sermon has made her his for all time."
+
+Her manner confirmed my surmise, for she apparently gave me little
+thought, and was unobtrusively attentive and devoted to him. He had the
+good taste to see that further personal remarks were not agreeable; and
+since his last attempted witticism fell flat, did not attempt any more.
+Our table-talk flagged, and we hastened through the meal. After it was
+over he asked:
+
+"Emily, what shall we do this afternoon?"
+
+"Anything you wish," she replied quietly.
+
+"That's the way it will always be," I muttered as I went dejectedly to
+my room. "Through all his life it has been 'anything you wish,' and now
+it would seem as if religion itself had become his ally. There is
+nothing to me so wonderful as some men's fortune. Earth and heaven seem
+in league to forward their interests. But why was she so moved at the
+meeting-house? Was it merely religious sensibility? It might have been
+we were all moved deeply. Was it my imagination, or did she really
+shrink from him, and then glance guiltily at me? Even if she had, it
+might have been a momentary repulsion caused by his drowsy, heavy
+aspect at the time, just as his remark at dinner gave her an unpleasant
+twinge. These little back eddies are no proof that there is not a
+strong central current.
+
+"Can it be that she was sorrowful in the meeting-house for my sake
+only? I've had strong proof of her wonderful kindness of heart. Well,
+God bless her anyway. I'll wait and watch till I know the truth. I
+suppose I'm the worst heathen Mrs. Yocomb ever preached to, but I'm
+going to secure Emily Warren's happiness at any cost. If she truly
+loves this man, I'll go away and fight it out so sturdily that she need
+not worry. That's what her sermon means for me. I'm not going to pump
+up any religious sentiment. I don't feel any. It's like walking into a
+bare room to have a turn with a thumb-screw; but Mrs. Yocomb has hedged
+me up to just this course. Oh, the gentle, inexorable woman! Satan
+himself might well tremble before her. There is but one that I fear
+more, and that's the woman I love most. Gentle, tender-hearted as she
+is, she is more inexorable than Mrs. Yocomb. It's a little strange, but
+I doubt whether there is anything in the universe that so inspires a
+man with awe as a thoroughly good, large-minded woman."
+
+I could not sleep that afternoon, and at last I became so weary of the
+conflict between my hope and fear that I was glad to hear Miss Warren
+at the piano, playing softly some old English hymns. The day was
+growing cool and shadowy, but I hoped that before it passed I might get
+a chance to say something to her which would give a different aspect to
+the concluding words of Mrs. Yocomb's sermon. I had determined no
+longer to avoid her society, but rather to seek it, whenever I could in
+the presence of others, and especially of her affianced. They had
+returned from a long afternoon in the arbor, which I knew must occasion
+Miss Warren some unpleasant thoughts, and the banker was sitting on the
+piazza chatting with Adah.
+
+I strolled into the parlor with as easy and natural a manner as I could
+assume, and taking my old seat by the window, said quietly: "Please go
+on playing, Miss Warren."
+
+She turned on me one of her swift looks, which always gave me the
+impression that she saw all that was in my mind. Her color rose a
+little, but she continued playing for a time. Then with her right hand
+evoking low, sweet chords, she asked, with a conciliatory smile:
+
+"Have you been thinking over Mrs. Yocomb's words this afternoon?"
+
+"Not all the time--no. Have you?"
+
+"How could I all the time?"
+
+"Oh, I think you can do anything under heaven you make up your mind to
+do," I said, with a slight laugh. The look she gave now was a little
+apprehensive, and I added hastily: "I've had one thought that I don't
+mind telling you, for I think it may be a pleasant one, though it must
+recall that which is painful. The thought occurred to me when Mrs.
+Yocomb was speaking, and since, that your brother had perfect peace as
+he stood in that line of battle."
+
+She turned eagerly toward me, and tears rushed into her eyes.
+
+"You may be right," she said, in a low, tremulous tone.
+
+"Well, I feel sure I'm right. I know it, if he was anything like you."
+
+"Oh, then I doubt it. I'm not at all brave as he was. You ought to know
+that."
+
+"You have the courage that a veteran general most values in a soldier.
+You might be half dead from terror, but you wouldn't run away.
+Besides," I added, smiling, "you would not be afraid of shot and shell,
+only the noise of a battle. In this respect your brother, no doubt,
+differed from you. In the grand consciousness of right, and in his
+faithful performance of duty, I believe his face was as serene as the
+aspect of Mr. Yocomb when he looked at the coming storm. As far as
+peace is concerned, his heaven began on earth. I envy him."
+
+"Mr. Morton, I thank you for these words about my brother," she said
+very gently, and with a little pathetic quaver in her voice. "They have
+given me a comforting association with that awful day. Oh, I thank God
+for the thought. Remembering what Mrs. Yocomb said, it reconciles me to
+it all, as I never thought I could be reconciled. If Herbert believed
+that it was his duty to be there, it was best he should be there. How
+strange it is that you should think of this first, and not I!"
+
+"Will you pardon me if I take exception to one thing you say? I do not
+think it follows that he ought to have been there simply because he
+felt it right to be there."
+
+"Why, Mr. Morton! ought one not to do right at any and every cost? That
+seemed to me the very pith of Mrs. Yocomb's teaching, and I think she
+made it clear that it's always best to do right."
+
+"I think so too, most emphatically; but what is right, Miss Warren?"
+
+"That's too large a question for me to answer in the abstract; but is
+not the verdict of conscience right for each one of us?"
+
+"I can't think so," I replied, with a shrug. "About every grotesque,
+horrible act ever committed in this world has been sanctioned by
+conscience. Delicate women have worn hair-cloth and walked barefooted
+on cold pavements in midnight penance. The devil is scarcely more cruel
+than the Church, for ages, taught that God was. It's true that Christ's
+life was one of self-sacrifice; but was there any useless, mistaken
+self-sacrifice in it? If God is anything like Mrs. Yocomb, nothing
+could be more repugnant to him than blunders of this kind."
+
+She looked at me with a startled face, and I saw that my words had
+unsettled her mind.
+
+"If conscience cannot guide, what can?" she faltered. "Is not
+conscience God's voice within us?"
+
+"No. Conscience may become God's worst enemy--that is, any God that I
+could worship or even respect."
+
+"Mr. Morton, you frighten me. How can I do right unless I follow my
+conscience?"
+
+"Yes," I said sadly, "you would, in the good old times, have followed
+it over stony pavements, in midnight penance, or now into any thorny
+path which it pointed out; and I believe that many such paths lead away
+from the God of whom Mrs. Yocomb spoke to-day. Miss Warren, I'm a man
+of the world, and probably you think my views on these subjects are not
+worth much. It's strange that your own nature does not suggest to you
+the only sure guide. It seems to me that conscience should always go to
+truth for instructions. The men who killed your brother thought they
+were right as truly as he did; but history will prove that they were
+wrong, as so many sincere people have been in every age. He did not
+suffer and die uselessly, for the truth was beneath his feet and in his
+heart."
+
+"Dear, brave, noble Herbert!" she sighed. "Oh, that God had spared him
+to me!"
+
+"I wish he had," I said, with quiet emphasis. "I wish he was with you
+here and now."
+
+Again she gave me a questioning, troubled look through her tears.
+
+"Then you believe truth to be absolutely binding?" she asked, in a low
+voice.
+
+"Yes. In science, religion, ethics, or human action, nothing can
+last--nothing can end well that is not built squarely on truth."
+
+She became very pale; but she turned quietly to her piano as she said:
+
+"You are right, Mr. Morton; there can be no peace--not even
+self-respect--without truth. My nature would be pitiful indeed did it
+not teach me that."
+
+She had interpreted my words in a way that intensified the influence of
+Mrs. Yocomb's sermon. To be false to the trust that she had led her
+affianced to repose in her still seemed the depth of degradation. I
+feared that she would take this view at first, but believed, if my hope
+had any foundation, she would think my words over so often that she
+would discover a different meaning.
+
+And my hope was strengthened. If she loved Mr. Hearn, why did she turn,
+pale and quiet, to her piano, which had always appeared a refuge to
+her, when I had seemingly spoken words that not only sanctioned but
+made the course which harmonized with her love imperative? Even the
+possibility that in the long days and nights of my delirium I had
+unconsciously wooed and won her heart, so thrilled and overcame me that
+I dared not trust myself longer in her presence, and I went out on the
+piazza--a course eminently satisfactory to Mr. Hearn, no doubt. I think
+he regarded our interview as becoming somewhat extended. He had glanced
+at me from time to time, but my manner had been too quiet to disturb
+him, and he could not see Miss Warren's face. The words he overheard
+suggested a theological discussion rather than anything of a personal
+nature. It had been very reassuring to see Miss Warren turn from me as
+if my words had ceased to interest her, and my coming out to talk with
+Adah confirmed the impression made by my manner all along, that we were
+not very congenial spirits. It also occurred to me that he did not find
+chatting with Adah a very heavy cross, for never had she looked
+prettier than on that summer evening. But now that Miss Warren was
+alone he went in and sat down by her, saying so loudly that I could not
+help hearing him, as I stood by the window:
+
+"I think you must have worsted Mr. Morton in your theological
+discussion, for he came out looking as if he had a great deal to think
+about that was not exactly to his taste; but Miss Adah will--" and then
+his companion began playing something that drowned his voice.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+"DON'T THINK OF ME"
+
+
+Mrs. Yocomb appeared at supper, serene and cheerful; but she was paler
+than usual, and she still looked like one who had but just descended
+from a lofty spiritual height. No reference whatever was made to the
+morning. Mrs. Yocomb no longer spoke on religious themes directly, but
+she seemed to me the Gospel embodied, as with natural kindly grace she
+presided at her home table. Her husband beamed on her, and looked as if
+his cup was overflowing. Reuben's frank, boyish eyes often turned
+toward her in their simple devotion, while Zillah, who sat next to her,
+had many a whispered confidence to give. Adah's accent was gentle and
+her manner thoughtful. Miss Warren looked at her from time to time with
+a strange wistfulness--looked as if the matron possessed a serenity and
+peace that she coveted.
+
+"Emily," said Mr. Yocomb, "thee doesn't think music's wicked, does
+thee?"
+
+"No, sir, nor do you either."
+
+"What does thee think of that, mother?"
+
+"I think Emily converted thee over to her side before she had been here
+two days."
+
+"Thee's winked very hard at my apostasy, mother. I'm inclined to think
+thee was converted too, on the third or fourth day, if thee'd own up."
+
+"No," said Mrs. Yocomb, with a smile at her favorite, "Emily won my
+heart on the first day, and I accepted piano and all."
+
+"Why, Mrs. Yocomb!" I exclaimed--for I could not forego the chance to
+vindicate myself--"I never considered you a precipitate, ill-balanced
+person."
+
+Miss Warren's cheeks were scarlet, and I saw that she understood me
+well. I think Mrs. Yocomb guessed my meaning, too, for her smile was a
+little peculiar as she remarked demurely, "Women are different from
+men: they know almost immediately whether they like a person or not. I
+liked thee in half a day."
+
+"You like sinners on principle, Mrs. Yocomb. I think it was my general
+depravity and heathenism that won your regard."
+
+"No, as a woman I liked thee. Thee isn't as bad as thee seems."
+
+"Mr. Yocomb, I hope you don't object to this, for I must assure you
+most emphatically that I don't."
+
+"Mother's welcome to love thee all she pleases," said the old
+gentleman, laughing. "Indeed, I think I egg her on to it."
+
+"Good friends," said Miss Warren, with her old mirthful look, "you'll
+turn Mr. Morton's head; you should be more considerate."
+
+"I am indeed bewildered. Miss Warren's keen eyes have detected my weak
+point."
+
+"A man with so stout a heart," Mr. Hearn began, "could well afford--"
+and then he hesitated.
+
+"To be weak-headed," I said, finishing his sentence. "I fear you are
+mistaken, sir. I can't afford it at all."
+
+"Thee was clear-headed enough to get around mother in half an hour,"
+said the old gentleman again, laughing heartily. "It took me several
+months."
+
+"Thee was a little blind, father. I wasn't going to let thee see how
+much I thought of thee till I had kept thee waiting a proper time."
+
+"That's rich!" I cried, and I laughed as I had not since my illness.
+"How long is a proper time, Mrs. Yocomb? I remember being once told
+that a woman was a mystery that a man could never solve. I fear it's
+true."
+
+"Who told you that?" asked Mr. Hearn; for I think he noticed my swift
+glance at Miss Warren, who looked a little conscious.
+
+"As I think of it, I may have read it in a newspaper," I said demurely.
+
+"I'm not flattered by your poor memory, Mr. Morton," remarked Miss
+Warren quietly. "I told you that myself when you were so mystified by
+my fearlessness of Dapple and my fear of the cow."
+
+"I've learned that my memory is sadly treacherous, Miss Warren."
+
+"A man who is treacherous only in memory may well be taken as a model,"
+remarked Mr. Hearn benignly.
+
+"Would you say that of one who forgot to pay you his debts?"
+
+"What do you owe me, Mr. Morton?"
+
+"I'm sure I don't know. Good-will, I suppose Mrs. Yocomb would suggest."
+
+"Well, sir, I feel that I owe you a great deal; perhaps more than I
+realize, as I recall your promptness on that memorable night of the
+storm."
+
+"I was prompt--I'll admit that," I said grimly, looking at the ceiling.
+
+"Mr. Yocomb, how long would it have taken the house to burn up if the
+fire had not been extinguished?" Mr. Hearn asked.
+
+"The interior," replied Mr. Yocomb very gravely, "would all have been
+in flames in a very few moments, for it's old and dry."
+
+"Ugh!" exclaimed Adah, shudderingly. "Richard--"
+
+I put my finger on my lips. "Miss Adah," I interrupted, "I'd rather be
+struck by lightning than hear any more about that night."
+
+"Yes," said Miss Warren desperately, "I wish I could forget that night
+forever."
+
+"I never wish to forget the expression on your face, Miss Warren, when
+we knew Zillah was alive. If that didn't please God, nothing in this
+world ever did."
+
+"Oh, hush!" she cried.
+
+"Emily, I think you cannot have told me all that happened."
+
+"I can't think of it any more," she said; and her face was full of
+trouble. "I certainly don't know, and have never thought how I looked."
+
+"Mr. Morton seems to have been cool enough to have been very
+observant," said the banker keenly.
+
+"I was wet enough to be cool, sir. Miss Warren said I was not fit to be
+seen, and the doctor bundled me out of the room, fearing I would
+frighten Zillah into hysterics. Hey, Zillah! what do you think of that?"
+
+"I think the doctor was silly. I wouldn't be afraid of thee any more
+than of Emily."
+
+"Please let us talk and think of something else," Miss Warren pleaded.
+
+"I don't want to forget what I owe to Richard," said Reuben a little
+indignantly. I trod on his foot under the table. "Thee needn't try to
+stop me, Richard Morton," continued the boy passionately. "I couldn't
+have got mother out alone, and I'd never left her. Where would we be,
+Emily Warren, if it hadn't been for Richard?"
+
+"In heaven," I said, laughing, for I was determined to prevent a scene.
+
+"Well, I hope so," Reuben muttered; "but I don't mind being in mother's
+dining-room."
+
+Even Mrs. Yocomb's gravity gave way at this speech.
+
+As we rose from the table, Zillah asked innocently:
+
+"Emily, is thee crying or laughing?"
+
+"I hardly know myself," she faltered, and went hastily to her room; but
+she soon came down again, looking very resolute.
+
+"Emily," said Mr. Yocomb, "since thee and mother doesn't think music's
+wicked, I have a wonderful desire to hear thee sing again, 'Tell me the
+Old, Old Story,' as thee did on the night of the storm."
+
+In spite of her brave eyes and braver will, her lip trembled.
+
+I was cruel enough to add, "And I would be glad to listen to the
+Twelfth Nocturne once more."
+
+For some reason she gave me a swift glance full of reproach.
+
+"I will listen to anything," I said quickly.
+
+Mr. Hearn looked a little like a man who feared that there might be
+subterranean fires beneath his feet.
+
+"I will not promise more than to be chorister to-night," she said,
+sitting down to the piano with her back toward us. "Let us have
+familiar hymns that all can sing. Miss Adah has a sweet voice, and Mr.
+Morton, no doubt, is hiding his talent in a napkin. There's a book for
+you, sir. I'm sorry it doesn't contain the music."
+
+"It doesn't matter," I said; "I'm equally familiar with Choctaw."
+
+"Adela and Zillah, you come and stand by me. Your little voices are
+like the birds'."
+
+We all gathered in the old parlor, and spent an hour that I shall never
+forget. I had a tolerable tenor, and an ear made fairly correct by
+hearing much music. Mr. Hearn did not sing, but he seemingly entered
+into the spirit of the occasion. Before very long Miss Warren and I
+were singing some things together. Mr. Hearn no doubt compared our
+efforts unfavorably with what he had heard in the city, but the simple
+people of the farmhouse were much pleased, and repeatedly asked us to
+continue. As I was leaning over Miss Warren's shoulder, finding a place
+in the hymn-book on the stand, she breathed softly:
+
+"Have you told them you are going to-morrow?"
+
+"No," I replied.
+
+"Can you leave such friends?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"You ought not. It would hurt them cruelly;" and she made some runs on
+the piano to hide her words.
+
+"If _you_ say I ought not to go, I'll stay--Ah, this is the one I was
+looking for," I said, in a matter-of-fact tone; but she played the
+music with some strange slips and errors; her hands were nervous and
+trembling, and never was the frightened look that I had seen before
+more distinctly visible.
+
+After we had sung a stanza or two she rose and said, "I think I'm
+getting a little tired, and the room seems warm. Wouldn't you like to
+take a walk?" she asked Mr. Hearn, coming over to his side.
+
+He arose with alacrity, and they passed out together. I did not see her
+again that night.
+
+The next morning, finding me alone for a moment, she approached,
+hesitatingly, and said:
+
+"I don't think I ought to judge for you."
+
+"Do you wish me to go?" I asked, sadly, interpreting her thought.
+
+She became very pale, and turned away as she replied, "Perhaps you had
+better. I think you would rather go."
+
+"No, I'd rather stay; but I'll do as you wish."
+
+She did not reply, and went quickly to her piano.
+
+I turned and entered the dining-room where Mrs. Yocomb and Adah were
+clearing away the breakfast. Mr. Yocomb was writing in his little
+office adjoining.
+
+"I think it is time I said good-by and went back to New York."
+
+In the outcry that followed, Miss Warren's piano became silent.
+
+"Richard Morton!" Mrs. Yocomb began almost indignantly, "if thee hasn't
+any regard for thyself, thee should have some for thy friends. Thee
+isn't fit to leave home, and this is thy home now. Thee doesn't call
+thy hot rooms in New York home, so I don't see as thee has got any
+other. Just so sure as thee goes back to New York now, thee'll be sick
+again. I won't hear to it. Thee's just beginning to improve a little."
+
+Adah looked at me through reproachful tears, but she did not say
+anything. Mr. Yocomb dropped his pen and came out, looking quite
+excited:
+
+"I'll send for Doctor Bates and have him lay his commands on thee," he
+said. "I won't take thee to the depot, and thee isn't able to walk half
+way there. Here, Emily, come and talk reason to this crazy man. He says
+he's going back to New York. He ought to be put in a strait-jacket.
+Doesn't thee think so?"
+
+Her laugh was anything but simple and natural.
+
+As she said "I do indeed," Mr. Hearn had joined her.
+
+"What would thee do in such an extreme case of mental disorder?"
+
+"Treat him as they did in the good old times: get a chain and lock him
+up on bread and water."
+
+"Would thee then enjoy thy dinner?"
+
+"That wouldn't matter if he were cured."
+
+"I think Mr. Morton would prefer hot New York to the remedies that
+Emily prescribes," said Mr. Hearn, with his smiling face full of
+vigilance.
+
+"Richard," said Mrs. Yocomb, putting both her hands on my arm, "I
+should feel more hurt than I can tell thee if thee leaves us now."
+
+"Why, Mrs. Yocomb! I didn't think you would care so much."
+
+"Then thee's very blind, Richard. I didn't think thee'd say that."
+
+"You cut deep now; suppose I must go?"
+
+"Why must thee go, just as thee is beginning to gain? Thee is as pale
+as a ghost this minute, and thee doesn't weigh much more than half as
+much as I do. Still, we don't want to put an unwelcome constraint on
+thee."
+
+I took her hand in both of mine as I said earnestly, "God forbid that I
+should ever escape from any constraint that you put upon me. Well, I
+won't go to-day, and I'll see what word my mail brings me." And I went
+up to my room, not trusting myself to glance at the real controller of
+my action, but hoping that something would occur which would make my
+course clear. As I came out of my room to go down to dinner, Miss
+Warren intercepted me, saying eagerly:
+
+"Mr. Morton, don't go. If you should be ill again in New York, as Mrs.
+Yocomb says--"
+
+"I won't be ill again."
+
+"Please don't go," she entreated. "I--I shouldn't have said what I did.
+You _would_ be ill; Mrs. Yocomb would never forgive me."
+
+"Miss Warren, I will do what you wish."
+
+"I wish what is best for you--only that."
+
+"I fear I cloud your happiness. You are too kind-hearted."
+
+She smiled a little bitterly. "Please stay--don't think of me."
+
+"Again, I repeat, you are too kind-hearted. Never imagine that I can be
+happy if you are not;" and I looked at her keenly, but she turned away
+instantly, saying:
+
+"Well, then, I'll be very happy, and will test you," and she returned
+to her room.
+
+"Mrs. Yocomb," I said quietly at the dinner-table, "I've written to the
+office saying that my friends do not think I'm well enough to return
+yet, and asking to have my leave extended."
+
+She beamed upon me as she replied:
+
+"Now thee's sensible."
+
+"For once," I added.
+
+"I expect to see thee clothed and in thy right mind yet," she said,
+with a little reassuring nod.
+
+"Your hopeful disposition is contagious," I replied, laughing.
+
+"I'd like to see thee get to the depot till we're ready to let thee
+go," said Reuben, emphatically.
+
+"Yes," added Mr. Yocomb, with his genuine laugh, "Reuben and I are in
+league against thee."
+
+"You look like two dark, muttering conspirators," I responded.
+
+"And to think thee was going away without asking me!" Zillah put in,
+shaking her bright curls at me.
+
+"Well, you all have made this home to me, true enough. The best part of
+me will be left here when I do go."
+
+At these words Adah gave me a shy, blushing smile.
+
+"Mr. Morton, will you please pass me the vinegar?" said Miss Warren, in
+the most matter-of-fact tone.
+
+"Wouldn't you prefer the sugar?" I asked.
+
+"No; I much prefer the vinegar."
+
+Mr. Hearn also smiled approvingly.
+
+"Don't be too sure of your prey," I said, mentally. "If she's not yours
+at heart--which I doubt more than ever--you shall never have her." But
+she puzzled me for a day or two. If she were not happy she simulated
+happiness, and made my poor acting a flimsy pretence in contrast. She
+and the banker took long rides together, and she was always exceedingly
+cheerful on her return--a little too much so, I tried to think. She
+ignored the past as completely as possible, and while her manner was
+kind to me she had regained her old-time delicate brusqueness, and
+rarely lost a chance to give me a friendly fillip. Indeed I had never
+known her to be so brilliant, and her spirits seemed unflagging. Mr.
+Yocomb was delighted and in his large appetite for fun applauded and
+joined in every phase of our home gayety. There was too much hilarity
+for me, and my hope failed steadily.
+
+"Now that her conscience is clear in regard to me--now that I have
+remained in the country, and am getting well--her spirits have come up
+with a bound," I reasoned moodily. I began to resume my old tactics of
+keeping out of the way and of taking long rambles; but I tried to be
+cheerfulness itself in her presence.
+
+On Wednesday Miss Warren came down to breakfast in a breezy, airy way,
+and, scarcely speaking to me as I stood in the doorway, she flitted
+out, and was soon romping with Zillah and Adela. As she returned,
+flushed and panting, I said, with a smile:
+
+"You are indeed happy. I congratulate you. I believe I've never had the
+honor of doing that yet."
+
+"But you said that you would be happy also?"
+
+"Am I not?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Well, it doesn't matter since you are."
+
+"Oh, then, I'm no longer kind-hearted. You take Reuben's view, that I'm
+a heartless monster. He scarcely speaks to me any more. You think I
+propose to be happy now under all circumstances."
+
+"I wish you would be; I hope you may be. What's the use of my acting my
+poor little farce any longer? I don't deceive you a mite. But I'm not
+going to mope and pine, Miss Warren. Don't think of me so poorly as
+that. I'm not the first man who has had to face this thing. I'm going
+back to work, and I am going next Monday, surely."
+
+"I've no doubt of it," she said, with sudden bitterness, "and you'll
+get over it bravely, very bravely;" and she started off toward the
+barn, where Reuben was exercising Dapple, holding him with a long rope.
+The horse seemed wild with life and spirit, and did I not know that the
+beautiful creature had not a vicious trait I should have feared for the
+boy. Just at this moment, Dapple in his play slipped off his headstall
+and was soon careering around the dooryard in the mad glee of freedom.
+In vain Reuben tried to catch him; for the capricious beast would allow
+him to come almost within grasp, and then would bound away. Miss Warren
+stood under a tree laughing till the boy was hot and angry. Then she
+cried:
+
+"I'll catch him for you, Reuben."
+
+I uttered a loud shout of alarm as she darted out before the galloping
+horse and threw up her arms.
+
+Dapple stopped instantly; in another second she had her arm around his
+arched neck and was stroking his quivering nostrils. Her poise was full
+of grace and power; her eyes were shining with excitement and triumph,
+and, to make her mastery seem more complete, she leaned her face
+against his nose.
+
+Dapple looked down at her in a sort of mild wonder, and was as meek as
+a lamb.
+
+"There, Reuben, come and take him," she said to the boy, who stared at
+her with his mouth open.
+
+"Emily Warren, I don't know what to make of thee," he exclaimed.
+
+Never before had I so felt my unutterable loss, and I said to her
+almost savagely, in a low tone, as she approached:
+
+"Is that the means you take to cure me--doing the bravest thing I ever
+saw a woman do, and looking like a goddess? I was an unspeakable fool
+for staying."
+
+Her head drooped, and she walked dejectedly toward the house, not
+seeming to think of or care for the exclamations and expostulations
+which greeted her.
+
+"Why, Emily, were you mad?" cried Mr. Hearn above the rest; and now
+that the careering horse was being led away he hastened down to meet
+her.
+
+"No, I'm tired, and want a cup of coffee," I heard her say, and then I
+followed Reuben to the barn.
+
+"She's cut me out with Dapple," said the boy, with a crestfallen air.
+
+Already I repented of my harshness, into which I had been led by the
+sharpest stress of feeling, and was eager to make amends. Since the
+night of the storm honest Reuben had given me his unwavering loyalty.
+Still less than Adah was he inclined or able to look beneath the
+surface of things, and he had gained the impression from Miss Warren's
+words that she was inclined to make light of their danger on that
+occasion, and to laugh at me generally. In his sturdy championship in
+my behalf he had been growing cold and brusque toward one whom he now
+associated with the wealthy middle-aged banker, and city style
+generally. Reuben was a genuine country lad, and was instinctively
+hostile to Fifth Avenue. While Mr. Hearn was polite to his father and
+mother, he quite naturally laid more stress on their business relations
+than on those of friendship, and was not slow in asking for what he
+wanted, and his luxurious tastes led him to require a good deal. Reuben
+had seen his mother worried and his father inconvenienced not a little.
+They made no complaint, and had no cause for any, for the banker paid
+his way liberally. But the boy had not reached the age when the
+financial phase of the question was appreciated, and his prejudice was
+not unnatural, for unconsciously, especially at first, Mr. Hearn had
+treated them all as inferiors. He now was learning to know them better,
+however. There was nothing plebeian in Adah's beauty, and he would have
+been untrue to himself had he not admired her very greatly.
+
+It was my wish to lead the boy to overcome his prejudice against Miss
+Warren, so I said:
+
+"You are mistaken, Reuben; Dapple is just as fond of you as ever. It
+was only playfulness that made him cut up so; but, Reuben, Dapple is a
+very sensible horse, and when he saw a girl that was brave enough to
+stand right out before him when it seemed that he must run over her, he
+respected and liked such a girl at once. It was the bravest thing I
+ever saw. Any other horse would have trampled on her, but Dapple has
+the nature of a gentleman. So have you, Reuben, and I know you will go
+and speak handsomely to her. I know you will speak to her as Dapple
+would could he speak. By Jove! it was splendid, and you are man enough
+to know it was."
+
+"Yes, Richard, it was. I know that as well as thee. There isn't a girl
+in the county that would have dared to do it, and very few men. And to
+think she's a city girl! To tell the truth, Emily Warren is all the
+time making game of thee, and that's why I'm mad at her."
+
+"I don't think you understand her. I don't mind it, because she never
+means anything ill-natured; and then she loves your mother almost as
+much as you do. I give you my word, Reuben, Miss Warren and I are the
+best of friends, and you need not feel as you do, because I don't."
+
+"Oh, well, if thee puts it that way, I'll treat her different. I tell
+thee what it is, Richard, I'm one that sticks to my friends through
+thick and thin."
+
+"Well, you can't do anything so friendly to me as to make everything
+pleasant for Miss Warren. How is her favorite, Old Plod?" I asked,
+following him into the barn.
+
+"Old Plod be hanged! She hasn't been near him in two weeks."
+
+"What!" I exclaimed exultantly.
+
+"What's the matter with thee, Richard? Thee and Emily are both queer. I
+can't make you out."
+
+"Well, Reuben, we mean well; you mustn't expect too much of people."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+RICHARD
+
+
+I came in to breakfast with Reuben, feeling that Dapple had been more
+of a gentleman than I had, for he had treated the maiden with
+gentleness and courtesy, while I had thought first of myself. She
+looked up at me as I entered so humbly and deprecatingly that I wished
+that I had bitten my tongue out rather than have spoken so harshly.
+
+Straightforward Reuben went to the girl, and, holding out his hand,
+said:
+
+"Emily, I want to ask thy forgiveness. I've been like a bear toward
+thee. Thee's the bravest girl I ever saw. No country girl would have
+dared to do what thee did. I didn't need to have Richard lecture me and
+tell me that; but I thought thee was kind of down on Richard, and I've
+a way of standing by my friends."
+
+With a face like a peony she turned and took both of the boy's hands as
+she said warmly:
+
+"Thank you, Reuben. I'd take a much greater risk to win your
+friendship, and if you'll give it to me I'll be very proud of it. You
+are going to make a genuine man."
+
+"Yes, Reuben, thee'll make a man," said his mother, with a low laugh.
+"Thee is as blind as a man already."
+
+I looked at her instantly, but she dropped her eyes demurely to her
+plate. I saw that Mr. Hearn was watching me, and so did not look at
+Miss Warren.
+
+"Well," said he irritably, "I don't like such escapades; and Emily, if
+anything of the kind happens again, I'll have to take you to a safer
+place."
+
+His face was flushed, but hers was very pale.
+
+"It won't happen again," she said quietly, without looking up.
+
+"Richard," said Mr. Yocomb, as if glad to change the subject, "I've got
+to drive across the country on some business. I will have to be gone
+all day. Would thee like to go with me?"
+
+"Certainly. I'll go with you to the ends of the earth."
+
+"That would be too far away from mother. Thee always pulls me back very
+soon, doesn't thee?"
+
+"Well, I know thee comes," replied his wife. "Don't tire Richard out;
+he isn't strong yet."
+
+"Richard," said Mr. Yocomb, as we were driving up a long hill, "I want
+to congratulate thee on thy course toward Emily Warren. Thee's a
+strong-minded, sensible man. I saw that thee was greatly taken with her
+at first, and no wonder. Besides, I couldn't help hearing what thee
+said when out of thy mind. Mother and I kept the children away then,
+and Doctor Bates had the wink from me to be discreet; but thee's been a
+sensible man since thee got up, and put the whole thing away from thee
+very bravely."
+
+"Mr. Yocomb, I won't play the hypocrite with you. I love her better
+than my own soul."
+
+"Thee does?" he said, in strong surprise.
+
+"Yes, and I ought to have gone away long ago, I fear. How could I see
+her as she appeared this morning, and not almost worship her?"
+
+The old gentleman gave a long, low whistle. "I guess mother meant me
+when she said men were blind."
+
+I was silent, not daring, of course, to say that I hoped she meant me,
+but what I had heard and seen that morning had done much to confirm my
+hope.
+
+"Well," said the old gentleman, "I can scarcely blame thee, since she
+is what she is, and I can't help saying, too, that I think thee would
+make her happier than that man can, with all his money. I don't think
+he appreciates her. She will be only a part of his great possessions."
+
+"Well, Mr. Yocomb, I've but these requests to make. Keep this to
+yourself, and don't interpose any obstacles to my going next Monday.
+Don't worry about me. I'll keep up; and a man who will have to work as
+I must won't have time to mope. I won't play the weak fool, for I'd
+rather have your respect and Mrs. Yocomb's than all Mr. Hearn's
+millions; and Miss Warren's respect is absolutely essential to me."
+
+"Then thee thinks that mother and--and Emily know?"
+
+"Who can hide anything from such women! They look through us as if we
+were glass."
+
+"Mother's sermon meant more for thee than I thought."
+
+"Yes, I felt as if it were preached for me. I hope I may be the better
+for it some day; but I've too big a fight on my hands now to do much
+else. You will now understand why I wish to get away so soon, and why I
+can't come back till I've gained a strength that is not bodily. I
+wouldn't like you to misunderstand me, after your marvellous kindness,
+and so I'm frank. Besides, you're the kind of man that would thaw an
+icicle. Your nature is large and gentle, and I don't mind letting you
+know."
+
+"Richard, we're getting very frank, and I'm going to be more so. I
+don't like the way Mr. Hearn sits and looks at Adah."
+
+"Oh, you needn't worry about him. Mr. Hearn is respectability itself;
+but he's wonderfully fond of good things and pretty things. His great
+house on Fifth Avenue is full of them, and he looks at Miss Adah as he
+would at a fine oil painting."
+
+"Thee speaks charitably of him under the circumstances."
+
+"I ought to try to do him justice, since I hate him so cordially."
+
+"Well," said the old gentleman, laughing, "that's a new way of putting
+it. Thee's honest, Richard."
+
+"If I wasn't I'd have no business in your society."
+
+"I'm worried about Emily," broke out my companion. "She was a little
+thin and worn from her long season of work when she came to us lately;
+but the first week she picked up daily. While thee was so sick she
+seemed more worried than any one, and I had much ado to get her to eat
+enough to keep a bird alive; but it's been worse for the last two
+weeks. She has seemed much brighter lately for some reason, but the
+flesh just seems to drop off of her. She takes a wonderful hold of my
+feelings, and I can't help troubling about her."
+
+"Mr. Yocomb, your words torture me," I cried. "It is not my imagination
+then. Can she love that man?"
+
+"Well, she has a queer way of showing it; but it is one of those things
+that an outsider can't meddle with."
+
+I was moody and silent the rest of the day, and Mr. Yocomb had the tact
+to leave me much to myself; but I was not under the necessity of acting
+my poor farce before him.
+
+The evening was quite well advanced when we reached the farmhouse; but
+Mrs. Yocomb had a royal supper for us, and she said every one had
+insisted on waiting till we returned. Mr. Hearn had quite recovered his
+complacency, and I gathered from this fact that Miss Warren had been
+very devoted. Such was his usual aspect when everything was pleasing to
+him. But she who had added so much to his life had seemingly drained
+her own, for she looked so pale and thin that my heart ached. There
+were dark lines under her eyes, and she appeared exceedingly wearied,
+as if the day had been one long effort.
+
+"She can't love him," I thought. "It's impossible. Confound him! he's
+the blindest man of us all. Oh that I had her insight, that I might
+unravel this snarl at once, for it would kill me to see her looking
+like that much longer. What's the use of my going away? I've been away
+all day; she has had the light of his smiling countenance
+uninterruptedly, and see how worn she is. Can it be that my hateful
+words hurt her, and that she is grieving about me only? It's
+impossible. Unselfish regard for another could not go so far if her own
+heart was at rest. She is doing her best to laugh and talk and to seem
+cheerful, but her acting now is poorer than mine ever was. She is tired
+out; she seems like a soldier who is fighting mechanically after
+spirit, courage, and strength are gone."
+
+Mr. Hearn informed Mr. Yocomb that important business would require his
+presence in New York for a few days. "It's an enterprise that involves
+immense interests on both sides of the ocean, and there's to be quite a
+gathering of capitalists. Your paper will be full of it before very
+long, Mr. Morton."
+
+"I'm always glad to hear of any grist for our mill," I said. "Mrs.
+Yocomb, please excuse me. I'm selfish enough to prefer the cool piazza."
+
+"But thee hasn't eaten anything."
+
+"Oh, yes, I have, and I made a huge dinner," I replied carelessly, and
+sauntered out and lighted a cigar. Instead of coming out on the piazza,
+as I hoped, Miss Warren bade Mr. Hearn good-night in the hall, and,
+pleading fatigue, went to her room.
+
+She was down to see him off in the morning, and at his request
+accompanied him to the depot. I was reading on the piazza when she
+returned, and I hastened to assist her from the rockaway.
+
+"Miss Warren," I exclaimed, in deep solicitude, "this long, hot ride
+has been too much for you."
+
+"Perhaps it has," she replied briefly, without meeting my eyes. "I'll
+go and rest."
+
+She pleaded a headache, and did not come down to dinner. Mrs. Yocomb
+returned from her room with a troubled face.
+
+I had resolved that I would not seek to see her alone while Mr. Hearn
+was away, and so resumed my long rambles. When I returned, about supper
+time, she was sitting on the piazza watching Adela and Zillah playing
+with their dolls. She did not look up as I took a seat on the steps not
+far away.
+
+At last I began, "Can I tell you that I am very sorry you have been ill
+to-day?"
+
+"I wasn't dangerous, as country people say," she replied, a little
+brusquely.
+
+"You look as if Dapple might run over you now."
+
+"A kitten might run over me," she replied briefly, still keeping her
+eyes on the children.
+
+By and by she asked, "Why do you look at me so intently, Mr. Morton?"
+
+"I beg your pardon."
+
+"That's not answering my question."
+
+"Suppose I deny that I was looking at you. You have not condescended to
+glance at me yet."
+
+"You had better not deny it."
+
+"Well, then, to tell you the truth, as I find I always must, I was
+looking for some trace of mercy. I was thinking whether I could venture
+to ask forgiveness for being more of a brute than Dapple yesterday."
+
+"Have your words troubled you very much?"
+
+"They have indeed."
+
+"Well, they've troubled me too. You think I'm heartless, Mr. Morton;"
+and she arose and went to her piano.
+
+I followed her instantly. "Won't you forgive me?" I asked; "I've
+repented."
+
+"Oh, nonsense, Mr. Morton. You know as well as I do that I'm the one to
+ask forgiveness."
+
+"No, I don't," I said, in a low, passionate tone. "I fear you are
+grieving about what you can't help."
+
+"Can't help?" she repeated, flushing.
+
+"Yes, my being here makes you unhappy. If I knew it, I'd go to-night."
+
+"And you think that out of sight would be out of mind," she said, with
+a strange smile.
+
+"Great God! I don't know what to think. I know that I would do anything
+under heaven to make you look as you did the first night I saw you."
+
+"Do I look so badly?"
+
+"You look as if you might take wings and leave us at any moment."
+
+"Then I wouldn't trouble you any more."
+
+"Then my trouble would be without remedy. Marry Mr. Hearn; marry him
+to-morrow, if you wish. I assure you that if you will be honestly and
+truly happy, I won't mope a day--I'll become the jolliest old bachelor
+in New York. I'll do anything within the power of man to make you your
+old joyous self."
+
+Now at last she turned her large, glorious eyes upon me, and their
+expression was sadness itself; but she only said quietly:
+
+"I believe you, Mr. Morton."
+
+"Then tell me, what can I do?"
+
+"Come to supper;" and she rose and left me.
+
+I went to my old seat by the window, and the tumult in my heart was in
+wide contrast with the quiet summer evening.
+
+"You are mistaken, Emily Warren," I thought. "You have as much as said
+that I can do nothing for you. I'll break your chain. You shall not
+marry Gilbert Hearn, if I have to protest in the very church and before
+the altar. You are mine, by the best and divinest right, and with your
+truth as my ally I'll win you yet. From this hour I dedicate myself to
+your happiness. Heavens, how blind I've been!"
+
+"Come, Richard," said Mrs. Yocomb, putting her head within the door.
+
+Miss Warren sat in her place, silent and apathetic. She had the aspect
+of one who had submitted to the inevitable, but would no longer pretend
+she liked it. Mr. Yocomb was regarding her furtively, with a clouded
+brow, and Adah's glances were frequent and perplexed. I felt as if
+walking on air, and my heart was aglow with gladness; but I knew her
+far too well to show what was in my mind. My purpose now was to beguile
+the hours till I could show her what truth really required of her. With
+the utmost tact that I possessed, and with all the zest that hope
+confirmed inspired, I sought to diffuse a general cheerfulness, and I
+gradually drew her into the current of our talk. After supper I told
+them anecdotes of public characters and eminent people, for my calling
+gave me a great store of this kind of information. Ere she was aware,
+the despondent girl was asking questions, and my answers piqued her
+interest still more; at last, quite late in the evening, Mr. Yocomb
+exclaimed:
+
+"Look here, Richard, what right has thee to keep me out of my bed long
+after regular hours? I'm not a night editor. Good people, you must all
+go to bed. I'm master of this house. Now, don't say anything, mother,
+to take me down."
+
+Finding myself alone with Miss Warren a moment in the hall, I asked:
+
+"Have I not done more than merely come to supper?"
+
+She turned from me instantly, and went swiftly up the stairway.
+
+But the apathetic, listless look was on her face when she came down in
+the morning, and she appeared as if passively yielding to a dreaded
+necessity. I resumed my old tactics, and almost in spite of herself
+drew her into the genial family life. Mr. Yocomb seconded me with
+unflagging zeal and commendable tact, while Mrs. Yocomb surpassed us
+both. Adah seemed a little bewildered, as if there were something in
+the air which she could not understand. But we made the social sunshine
+of the house so natural and warm that she could not resist it.
+
+"Reuben," I said, after breakfast, "Miss Warren is not well. A ride
+after Dapple is the best medicine I ever took. Take Miss Warren out for
+a swift, short drive; don't let her say no. You have the tact to do the
+thing in the right way."
+
+She did decline repeatedly, but he so persisted that she at last said:
+
+"There, Reuben, I will go with you."
+
+"I think thee might do that much for a friend, as thee calls me."
+
+When she returned there was a faint color in her cheeks. The rapid
+drive had done her good, and I told her so as I helped her from the
+light wagon.
+
+"Yes, Mr. Morton, it has, and I thank _you_ for the drive very much.
+Let me suggest that Reuben is much too honest for a conspirator."
+
+"Well, he was a very willing one; and I see by his face, as he drives
+down to the barn, that you have made him a happy one."
+
+"It doesn't take much to make him happy."
+
+"And would it take such an enormous amount to make you happy?"
+
+"You are much too inclined to be personal to be an editor. The world at
+large should hold your interest;" and she went to her room.
+
+At the dinner-table the genial spell worked on; she recognized it with
+a quiet smile, but yielded to its kindly power. At last she apparently
+formed the resolution to make the most of this one bright day, and she
+became the life of the party.
+
+"Emily," said Mrs. Yocomb, as we rose from the table, "father proposes
+that we all go on a family picnic to Silver Pond, and take our supper
+there. It's only three miles away. Would thee feel strong enough to go?"
+
+Mrs. Yocomb spoke with the utmost simplicity and innocence; but the
+young girl laughed outright, then fixed a penetrating glance on Mr.
+Yocomb, whose florid face became much more ruddy.
+
+"Evidences of guilt clearly apparent," she said, "and Mr. Morton, too,
+looks very conscious. 'The best laid schemes of mice and men'--you know
+the rest. Oh, yes, I'd go if I had to be carried. When webs are spun so
+kindly, flies ought to be caught."
+
+"What is the matter with you all?" cried Adah.
+
+"Miss Adah, if you'll find me a match for my cigar you'll make me
+happy," I said hastily, availing myself of the first line of retreat
+open.
+
+"Is that all thee needs to make thee happy?"
+
+"Well, one thing at a time, Miss Adah, if you please."
+
+As the day grew cool, Reuben came around with the family rockaway. Mrs.
+Yocomb and Adah had prepared a basket as large as their own generous
+natures. I placed Miss Warren beside Mrs. Yocomb on the back seat,
+while I took my place by Adah, with Zillah between us. Little Adela and
+Reuben had become good friends, and she insisted on sitting between him
+and his father.
+
+As we rolled along the quiet country roads, chatting, laughing, and
+occasionally singing a snatch of a song, no one would have dreamed that
+any shadows rested on the party except those which slanted eastward
+from the trees, which often hung far over our heads.
+
+I took pains not to feign any forced gayety, nor had I occasion to, for
+I was genuinely happy--happier than I had ever been before. Nothing was
+assured save the absolute truth of the woman that I loved, but with
+this ally I was confident. I was impartial in my attentions to Adah and
+Zillah, and so friendly to both that Adah was as pleased and happy as
+the child. We chaffed the country neighbors whom we met, and even
+chattered back at the barking squirrels that whisked before us along
+the fences. Mr. Yocomb seemed almost as much of a boy as Reuben, and
+for some reason Miss Warren always laughed most at his pleasantries.
+Mrs. Yocomb looked as placid and bright as Silver Pond, as it at last
+glistened beneath us in the breathless, sunny afternoon; but like the
+clear surface fringed with shadows that sank far beneath the water,
+there were traces of many thoughts in her large blue eyes.
+
+There was a cow lying under the trees where we meant to spread our
+table. I pointed her out to Miss Warren with humorous dismay. "Shall we
+turn back?" I asked.
+
+"No," she replied, looking into my eyes gratefully. "You have become so
+brave that I'm not afraid to go on."
+
+I ignored her reference to that which I intended she should forget for
+one day, believing that if we could make her happy she would recognize
+how far her golden-haloed lover came short of this power. So I said
+banteringly, "I'll wager you my hat that you dare not get out and drive
+that terrific beast away."
+
+"The idea of Emily's being afraid of a cow, after facing Dapple!" cried
+Reuben.
+
+"Well, we'll see," I said. "Stop the rockaway here."
+
+"What should I do with your hat, Mr. Morton?"
+
+"Wear it, and suffer the penalty," laughed Adah.
+
+"You would surely win it," retorted the girl, a little nettled.
+
+"I'll wager you a box of candy then, or anything you please."
+
+"Let it be anything I please," she agreed, laughing. "Mr. Morton, you
+are not going to let me get out alone?"
+
+"Oh, no," and I sprang out to assist her down.
+
+"She wants you to be on hand in case the ferocious beast switches its
+tail," cried Adah.
+
+The hand she gave me trembled as I helped her out, and I saw that she
+regarded the placid creature with a dread that she could not disguise.
+Picking up a little stick, she stepped cautiously and hesitatingly
+toward the animal. While still ridiculously far away, she stopped,
+brandished her stick, and said, with a quaver in her threatening tone,
+"Get up, I tell you!"
+
+But the cow ruminated quietly as if understanding well that there was
+no occasion for alarm.
+
+The girl took one or two more faltering steps, and exclaimed, in a
+voice of desperate entreaty, "Oh, please get up!"
+
+We could scarcely contain ourselves for laughter.
+
+"Oh, ye gods! how beautiful she is!" I murmured. "With her arm over
+Dapple's neck she was a goddess. Now she's a shrinking woman. Heaven
+grant that it may be my lot to protect her from the real perils of
+life!"
+
+The cow suddenly switched her tail at a teasing gadfly, and the girl
+precipitately sought my side.
+
+Reuben sprang out of the rockaway and lay down and rolled in his
+uncontrollable mirth.
+
+"Was there anything ever so ridiculous?" cried Adah; for to the country
+girl Miss Warren's fear was affectation.
+
+At Adah's words Miss Warren's face suddenly became white and resolute.
+
+"You, at least, shall not despise me," she said to me in a low tone;
+and shutting her eyes she made a blind rush toward the cow. I had
+barely time to catch her, or she would have thrown herself on the horns
+of the startled animal that, with tail in air, careered away among the
+trees. The girl was so weak and faint that I had to support her; but I
+could not forbear saying, in a tone that she alone heard:
+
+"Do we ever despise that which we love supremely?"
+
+"Hush!" she answered sternly.
+
+Mrs. Yocomb was soon at our side with a flask of currant wine, and Adah
+laughed a little bitterly as she said, "It was 'as good as a play'!"
+Miss Warren recovered herself speedily by the aid of the generous wine,
+and this was the only cloud on our simple festivity. In her response to
+my ardent words she seemingly had satisfied her conscience, and she
+acted like one bent on making the most of this one occasion of fleeting
+pleasure.
+
+Adah was the only one who mentioned the banker. "How Mr. Hearn would
+have enjoyed being here with us!" she exclaimed.
+
+Miss Warren's response was a sudden pallor and a remorseful expression;
+but Mr. Yocomb and I speedily created a diversion of thought; I saw,
+however, that Adah was watching her with a perplexed brow. The hours
+quickly passed, and in the deepening shadows we returned homeward, Miss
+Warren singing some sweet old ballads, to which my heart kept time.
+
+She seemed both to bring the evening to a close, and sat down at the
+piano. Adah and I listened, well content. Having put the children to
+bed Mrs. Yocomb joined us, and we chatted over the pleasant trip while
+waiting for Mr. Yocomb and Reuben, who had not returned from the barn.
+At last Mrs. Yocomb said heartily, as if summing it all up:
+
+"Well, Richard, thee's given us a bright, merry afternoon."
+
+"Yes, Richard," Miss Warren began, as if her heart had spoken
+unawares--"I beg your pardon--Mr. Morton--" and then she stopped in
+piteous confusion, for I had turned toward her with all my unspeakable
+love in my face.
+
+Adah's laugh rang out a little harshly.
+
+I hastened to the rescue of the embarrassed girl, saying, "I don't see
+why you should beg my pardon. We're all Friends here. At least I'm
+trying to be one as fast as a leopard can change his spots and the
+Ethiopian his skin. As for you, a tailor would say you were cut from
+the same cloth as Mrs. Yocomb."
+
+But for some reason she could not recover herself. She probably
+realized, in the tumult of her feeling, that she had revealed her heart
+too clearly, and she could not help seeing that Adah understood her.
+She was too confused for further pretence, and too unnerved to attempt
+it. After a moment of pitiful hesitation she fled with a scarlet face
+to her room.
+
+"Well," said Adah, with a slight hysterical laugh, "I understand Emily
+Warren now."
+
+"Pardon me, Miss Adah, I don't think you do," I began.
+
+"If thee doesn't, thee's blind indeed."
+
+"I am blind."
+
+"Be assured I'm not any longer," and with a deep angry flush she, too,
+left us.
+
+I turned to Mrs. Yocomb, and taking both of her hands I entreated, "As
+you have the heart of a woman, never let Emily Warren marry that man.
+Help me--help us both!"
+
+"My poor boy," she began, "this is a serious matter--"
+
+"It is indeed," I said, passionately; "it's a question of life and
+death to us both."
+
+"Well," she said, thoughtfully, "I think time and truth will be on thy
+side in the end; but I would advise thee not to do or say anything rash
+or hasty. She is very resolute. Give her time."
+
+Would to God I had taken her advice!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+MY WORST BLUNDER
+
+
+I scarcely could foresee how we should get through the following day. I
+both longed for and dreaded it, feeling that though it might pass
+quietly enough, it would probably be decisive in its bearing on the
+problem of my life. Miss Warren would at last be compelled to face the
+truth squarely, that she had promised a man what she could not give,
+and that to permit him to go on blindly trusting would be impossible.
+The moment she realized fully that she had never truly loved him, and
+now never could, she would give up the pretence. Then why should she
+not see that love, duty, and truth could go together? That she had
+struggled desperately to be loyal to Mr. Hearn was sadly proved by her
+thin face and wasted form; but with a nature like hers, when once her
+genuine love was evoked, the effort to repress it was as vain as
+seeking to curb a rising tide. I now saw, as I looked back over the
+past weeks, that her love had grown steadily and irresistibly till it
+had overwhelmed all save her will and conscience; that these stood, the
+two solitary landmarks of her former world. And I knew they would
+stand, and that my only hope was to stand with them. Her love had gone
+out to me as mine had to her, from a constraint that she could not
+resist, and this fact I hoped would reveal to her its sacred right to
+live. With every motive that would naturally bind her to a man who
+could give her so much, her heart claimed its mate in one who must
+daily toil long hours for subsistence. It would be like her to
+recognize that a love so unthrifty and unselfish must spring from the
+deepest truths and needs of her being rather than from any passing
+causes. She would come to believe as I did, that God had created us for
+each other.
+
+But it seemed as if the whole world had changed and gone awry when we
+sat down to breakfast the next morning. Adah was polite to me, but she
+was cool and distant. She no longer addressed me in the Friendly
+tongue. It was "you" now. I had ceased to be one of them, in her
+estimation. Her father and mother looked grave and worried, but they
+were as kind and cordial to me as ever. Reuben and the little girls
+were evidently mystified by the great change in the social atmosphere,
+but were too inexperienced to understand it. I was pained by Adah's
+manner, but did not let it trouble me, feeling assured that as she
+thought the past over she would do me justice, and that our relations
+would become substantially those of a brother and sister.
+
+But I was puzzled and alarmed beyond measure by Miss Warren's manner
+and appearance, and my feelings alternated between the deepest sympathy
+and the strongest fear. She looked as if she had grown old in the
+night, and was haggard from sleeplessness. Her deep eyes had sunken
+deeper than ever, and the lines under them were dark indeed, but her
+white face was full of a cold scorn, and she held herself aloof from us
+all.
+
+She looked again as if capable of any blind, desperate self-sacrifice.
+
+Simple, honest Mr. Yocomb was sorely perplexed, but his wife's face was
+grave and inscrutable. If I had only gone quietly away and left the
+whole problem to her, how much better it would have been!
+
+I tried to speak to Miss Warren in a pleasant, natural way; her answers
+were brief and polite, but nothing more. Before the meal was over she
+excused herself and returned to her room. I felt almost indignant. What
+had I--most of all, what had her kind, true friends, Mr. and Mrs.
+Yocomb--done to warrant that cold, half--scornful face? Her coming to
+breakfast was but a form, and she clearly wished to leave us at the
+earliest possible moment. Adah smiled satirically as she passed out,
+and the expression did not become her fair face.
+
+I strode out to the arbor in the garden and stared moodily at the
+floor, I know not how long, for I was greatly mystified and baffled,
+and my very soul was consumed with anxiety.
+
+"She shall listen to reason," I muttered again and again. "This
+question must be settled in accordance with truth--the simple, natural
+truth--and nothing else. She's mine, and nothing shall separate us--not
+even her perverse will and conscience;" and so the heavy hours passed
+in deep perturbation.
+
+At last I heard a step, and looking through the leaves I saw the object
+of my thoughts coming through the garden, reading a letter. My eyes
+glistened with triumph. "The chance I coveted has come," I muttered,
+and I watched her intently. She soon crushed the letter in her hand and
+came swiftly toward the arbor, with a face so full of deep and almost
+wild distress that my heart relented, and I resolved to be as gentle as
+I before had intended to be decisive and argumentative. I hastily
+changed my seat to the angle by the entrance, so that I could intercept
+her should she try to escape the interview.
+
+She entered, and throwing herself down on the seat, buried her face in
+her arm.
+
+"Miss Warren," I began.
+
+She started up with a passionate gesture. "You have no right to intrude
+on me now," she said, almost sternly.
+
+"Pardon me, were I not here when you entered, I would still have a
+right to come. You are in deep distress. Why must I be inhuman any more
+than yourself? You have at least promised me friendship, but you treat
+me like an enemy."
+
+"You have been my worst enemy."
+
+"I take issue with you there at once. I've never had a thought toward
+you that was not most kind and loyal.
+
+"Loyal!" she replied, bitterly; "that word in itself is a stab."
+
+"Miss Warren," I said, very gently, "you make discord in the old garden
+to-day."
+
+She dropped her letter on the ground and sank on the seat again. Such a
+passion of sobs shook her slight frame that I trembled with
+apprehension. But I kept quiet, believing that Nature could care for
+her child better than I could, and that her outburst of feeling would
+bring relief. At last, as she became a little more self-controlled, I
+said, gravely and kindly:
+
+"There must be some deep cause for this deep grief."
+
+"Oh, what shall I do?" she sobbed. "What shall I do? I wish the earth
+would open and swallow me up."
+
+"That wish is as vain as it is cruel. I wish you would tell me all, and
+let me help you. I think I deserve it at your hands."
+
+"Well, since you know so much, you may as well know all. It doesn't
+matter now, since every one will soon know. He has written that his
+business will take him to Europe within a month--that we must be
+married--that he will bring his sister here to-night to help me make
+arrangements. Oh! oh! I'd rather die than ever see him again. I've
+wronged him so cruelly, so causelessly."
+
+In wild exultation I snatched a pocketbook from my coat and cried:
+
+"Miss Warren--Emily--do you remember this little York and Lancaster bud
+that you gave me the day we first met? Do you remember my half-jesting,
+random words, 'To the victor belong the spoils'? See, the victor is at
+your feet."
+
+She sprang up and turned her back upon me. "Rise!" she said, in a voice
+so cold and stern that, bewildered, I obeyed.
+
+She soon became as calm as before she had been passionate and
+unrestrained in her grief; but it was a stony quietness that chilled
+and disheartened me before she spoke.
+
+"It does indeed seem as if the truth between us could never be hidden,"
+she said, bitterly. "You have now very clearly shown your estimate of
+me. You regard me as one of those weak women of the past whom the
+strongest carry off. You have been the stronger in this case--oh, you
+know it well! Not even in the house of God could I escape your vigilant
+scrutiny. You hoped and watched and waited for me to be false. Should I
+yield to you, you would never forget that I had been false, and, in
+accordance with your creed, you would ever fear--that is, if your
+passion lasted long enough--the coming of one still stronger, to whom
+in the weak necessity of my nature, I again would yield. Low as I have
+fallen, I will never accept from a man a mere passion devoid of respect
+and honor. I'm no longer entitled to these, therefore I'll accept
+nothing."
+
+She poured out these words like a torrent, in spite of my gestures of
+passionate dissent, and my efforts to be heard; but it was a cold,
+pitiless torrent. Excited as I was, I saw how intense was her
+self-loathing. I also saw despairingly that she embraced me in her
+scorn.
+
+"Miss Warren," I said, dejectedly, "since you are so unjust to
+yourself, what hope have I?"
+
+"There is little enough for either of us," she continued, more
+bitterly; "at least there is none for me. You will, no doubt, get
+bravely over it, as you said. Men generally do, especially when in
+their hearts they have no respect for the woman with whom they are
+infatuated. Mr. Morton, the day of your coming was indeed the day of
+_my_ fate. I wish you could have saved the lives of the others, but not
+mine. I could then have died in peace, with honor unstained. But now,
+what is my life but an intolerable burden of shame and self-reproach?
+Without cause and beyond the thought of forgiveness, I've wronged a
+good, honorable man, who has been a kind and faithful friend for years.
+He is bringing his proud, aristocratic sister here to-night to learn
+how false and contemptible I am. The people among whom I earned my
+humble livelihood will soon know how unfit I am to be trusted with
+their daughters--that I am one who falls a spoil to the strongest. I
+have lost everything--chief of all my pearl of great price--my truth.
+What have I left? Is there a more impoverished creature in the world?
+There is nothing left to me but bare existence and hateful memories.
+Oh, the lightning was dim compared with the vividness with which I've
+seen it all since that hateful moment last night, when the truth became
+evident even to Adah Yocomb. But up to that moment, even up to this
+hour, I hoped you pitied me--that you were watching and waiting to help
+me to be true and not to be false. I did not blame you greatly for your
+love--my own weakness made me lenient--and at first you did not know.
+But since you now openly seek that which belongs to another; since you
+now exult that you are the stronger, and that I have become your spoil,
+I feel, though I cannot yet see and realize the depths into which I
+have fallen. Even to-day you might have helped me as a friend, and
+shown me how some poor shred of my truth might have been saved; but you
+snatch at me as if I were but the spoil of the strongest. Mr. Morton,
+either you or I must leave the farmhouse at once."
+
+"This is the very fanaticism of truth," I cried, desperately. "Your
+mind is so utterly warped and morbid from dwelling on one side of this
+question that you are cruelly unjust."
+
+"Would that I had been less kind and more just. I felt sorry for you,
+from the depths of my heart. Why have you had no pity for me? You are a
+man of the world, and know it. Why did you not show me to what this
+wretched weakness would lead? I thought you meant this kindness when
+you said you wished my brother was here. Oh that I were sleeping beside
+him! I thought you meant this when you said that nothing would last,
+nothing could end well unless built on the truth. I hoped you were
+watching me with the vigilance of a man who, though loving me, was so
+strong and generous and honorable that he would try to save me from a
+weakness that I cannot understand, and which was the result of strange
+and unforeseen circumstances. When you were so ill I felt as if I had
+dealt you your death-blow, and then, woman-like, I loved you. I loved
+you before I recognized my folly. Up to that point we could scarcely
+help ourselves. For weeks I tried to hide the truth from myself. I
+fought against it. I prayed against it through sleepless nights. I
+tried to hide the truth from you most of all. But I remember the flash
+of hope in your face when you first surmised my miserable secret. It
+hurt me cruelly. Your look should have been one of dismay and sorrow.
+But I know something of the weakness of the heart, and its first
+impulse might naturally be that of gladness, although honor must have
+changed it almost instantly into deep regret. Then I believed that you
+were sorry, and that it was your wish to help me. I thought it was your
+purpose yesterday to show me that I could be happy, even in the path of
+right and duty, that had become so hard, though you spoke once as you
+ought not. But when I, unawares, and from the impulse of a grateful
+heart, spoke your name last night as that of my truest and best friend,
+as I thought, you turned toward me the face of a lover, and to-day--but
+it's all over. Will you go?"
+
+"Are Mr. and Mrs. Yocomb false?" I cried.
+
+"No, they are too simple and true to realize the truth. Mr. Morton, I
+think we fully understand each other now. Since you will not go, I
+shall. You had better remain here and grow strong. Please let me pass."
+
+"I wish you had dealt me my death-blow. It were a merciful one compared
+with this. No, you don't understand me at all. You have portrayed me as
+a vile monster. Because you cannot keep your engagement with a man you
+never truly loved, you inflict the torments of hell on the man you do
+love, and whom Heaven meant you to love. Great God! you are not married
+to Gilbert Hearn. Have not engagements often been broken for good and
+sufficient reasons? Is not the truth that our hearts almost instantly
+claimed eternal kindred a sufficient cause? I watched and waited that I
+might know whether you were his or mine. I did not seek to win you from
+him after I knew--after I remembered. But when I knew the truth, you
+_were_ mine. Before God I assert my right, and before His altar I would
+protest against your marriage to any other."
+
+She sank down on the arbor seat, white and faint, but made a slight
+repellent gesture.
+
+"Yes, I'll go," I said, bitterly; "and such a scene as this might well
+cause a better man than I to go to the devil;" and I strode away.
+
+But before I had taken a dozen steps my heart relented, and I returned.
+Her face was again buried in her right arm and her left hand hung by
+her side.
+
+I took it in both of my own as I said, gently and sadly:
+
+"Emily Warren, you may scorn me--you may refuse ever to see my face
+again; but I have dedicated my life to your happiness, and I shall keep
+my vow. It may be of no use, but God looketh at the intent of the
+heart. Heathen though I am, I cannot believe he will let the June day
+when we first met prove so fatal to us both: the God of whom Mrs.
+Yocomb told us wants no harsh, useless self-sacrifice. You are not
+false, and never have been. Mrs. Yocomb is not more true. I respect and
+honor you, as I do my mother's memory, though my respect now counts so
+little to you. I never meant to wrong you or pain you; I meant your
+happiness first and always. If you care to know, my future life shall
+show whether I am a gentleman or a villain. May God show you how
+cruelly unjust you are to yourself. I shall attempt no further
+self-defence. Good-by."
+
+She trembled; but she only whispered:
+
+"Good-by. Go, and forget."
+
+"When I forget you--when I fail in loving loyalty to you, may God
+forget me!" I replied, and I hastened from the garden with as much
+sorrow and bitterness in my heart as the first man could have felt when
+the angel drove him from Eden. Alas! I was going out alone into a world
+that had become thorny indeed.
+
+As I approached the house Mrs. Yocomb happened to come out on the
+piazza.
+
+I took her hand and drew her toward the garden gate. She saw that I was
+almost speechless from trouble, and with her native wisdom divined it
+all.
+
+"I did not take your advice," I groaned, "accursed fool that I was! But
+no matter about me. Save Emily from herself. As you believe in God's
+mercy, watch over her as you watched over me. Show her the wrong of
+wrecking both of our lives. She's in the arbor there. Go and stay with
+her till I am gone. You are my only hope. God bless you for all your
+kindness to me. Please write: I shall be in torment till I hear from
+you. Good-by."
+
+I watched her till I saw her enter the arbor, then hastened to the
+barn, where Reuben was giving the horses their noonday feeding.
+
+"Reuben," I said, quietly, "I'm compelled to go to New York at once. We
+can catch the afternoon train, if you are prompt. Not a word, old
+fellow. I've no time now to explain. I must go, and I'll walk if you
+won't take me;" and I hastened to the house and packed for departure
+with reckless haste.
+
+At the foot of the moody stairway I met Adah.
+
+"Are you going away?" she tried to say distantly, with face averted.
+
+"Yes, Miss Adah, and I fear you are glad."
+
+"No," she said, brokenly, and turning she gave me her hand. "I can't
+keep this up any longer, Richard. Since we first met I've been very
+foolish, very weak, and thee--thee has been a true gentleman toward me."
+
+"I wish I might be a true brother. God knows I feel like one."
+
+"Thee--thee saved my life, Richard. I was wicked to forget that for a
+moment. Will thee forgive me?"
+
+"I'll forgive you only as you will let me become the most devoted
+brother a girl ever had, for I love and respect you, Adah, very, very
+much."
+
+Tears rushed into the warm-hearted girl's eyes. She put her arms around
+my neck and kissed me. "Let this seal that agreement," she said, "and
+I'll be thy sister in heart as well as in name."
+
+"How kind and good you are, Adah!" I faltered. "You are growing like
+your mother now. When you come to New York you will see how I keep my
+word," and I hastened away.
+
+Mr. Yocomb intercepted me in the path.
+
+"How's this? how's this?" he cried.
+
+"I must go to New York at once," I said. "Mrs. Yocomb will explain all.
+I have a message for Mr. Hearn. Please say that I will meet him at any
+time, and will give any explanations to which he has a right. Good-by;
+I won't try to thank you for your kindness, which I shall value more
+and more every coming day."
+
+For a long time we rode in silence, Reuben looking as grim and lowering
+as his round, ruddy face permitted.
+
+At last he broke out, "Now, I say, blast Emily Warren's grandfather!"
+
+"No, Reuben, my boy," I replied, putting my arm around him, "with all
+his millions, I'm heartily sorry for Mr. Hearn."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+MRS. YOCOMB'S LETTERS
+
+
+I will not weary the reader with my experiences after arriving at New
+York. I could not have felt worse had I been driven into the Dismal
+Swamp. My apartments were dusty and stifling, and as cheerless as my
+feelings.
+
+My editorial chief welcomed me cordially, and talked business. "After
+you had gone," he was kind enough to say, "we learned your value. Night
+work is too wearing for you, so please take that office next to mine. I
+feel a little like breaking down myself, and don't intend to wait until
+I do, as you did. I shall be off a great deal the rest of the summer,
+and you'll have to manage things."
+
+"Pile on work," I said; "I'm greedy for it."
+
+"Yes," he replied, laughing, "I appreciate that rare trait of yours;
+but I shall regard you as insubordinate if you don't take proper rest.
+Give us your brains, Morton, and leave hack work to others. That's
+where you blundered before."
+
+Within an hour I was caught in the whirl of the great complicated
+world, and, as I said to Mr. Yocomb, I had indeed no time to mope.
+Thank God for work! It's the best antidote this world has for trouble.
+
+But when night came my brain was weary and my heart heavy as lead. It
+seemed as if the farmhouse was in another world, so diverse was
+everything there from my present life.
+
+I had given my uptown address to Mrs. Yocomb and went home--if I may
+apply that term to my dismal boarding-place--Tuesday night, feeling
+assured that there must be a letter. Good Mrs. Yocomb had not failed
+me, for on my table lay a bulky envelope, addressed in a quaint but
+clear hand. I was glad no one saw how my hand trembled as I opened her
+missive and read:
+
+"My Dear Richard--I know how anxious thee is for tidings from us all,
+and especially from one toward whom thy heart is very tender. I will
+take up the sad story where thee left it. Having all the facts, thee
+can draw thy own conclusions.
+
+"I found Emily in an almost fainting condition, and I just took her in
+my arms and let her cry like a child until tears brought relief. It was
+no time for words. Then I brought her into the house and gave her
+something that made her sleep in spite of herself. She awoke about an
+hour before Gilbert Hearn's arrival, and her nervous trepidation at the
+thought of meeting him was so great that I resolved she should not see
+him--at least not that night--and I told her so. This gave her great
+relief, though she said it was cowardly in her to feel so. But in truth
+she was too ill to see him. Her struggle had been too long and severe,
+and her nervous system was utterly prostrated. I had Doctor Bates here
+when Gilbert Hearn came, and the doctor is very discreet. I told him
+that he must manage so that Emily need not see the one she so feared to
+meet again, and hinted plainly why, though making no reference to thee,
+of course. The doctor acted as I wished, not because I wished it, but
+on professional grounds. 'Miss Warren's future health depends on
+absolute rest and quiet,' he said to her affianced. 'I not only advise
+that you do not see her, but I forbid it,' for he was terribly
+excited--so was his sister, Charlotte Bradford--and it was as much as
+we could do to keep them from going to her room. If they had, I believe
+the excitement would have destroyed either her life or reason. Gilbert
+Hearn plainly intimated that something was wrong. 'Very well, then,' I
+said, 'bring thy own family physician, and let him consult with Doctor
+Bates,' and this he angrily said he would do on the morrow. The very
+fact they were in the house made the poor girl almost wild; but I
+stayed with her all night, and she just lay in my arms like a
+frightened child, and my heart yearned over her as if she were my own
+daughter. She did not speak of thee, but I heard her murmur once, 'I
+was cruel--I was unjust to him.'
+
+"In the morning she was more composed, and I made her take strong
+nourishment, I can tell thee. Thee remembers how I used to dose thee in
+spite of thyself.
+
+"Well, in the morning Emily seemed to be thinking deeply; and by and by
+she said: 'Mrs. Yocomb, I want this affair settled at once. I want you
+to sit by me while I write to him, and advise me.' I felt she was
+right. Her words were about as follows: (I asked her if I could tell
+thee what she wrote. She hesitated a little, and a faint color came
+into her pale face. 'Yes,' she said at last, 'let him know the whole
+truth. Since so much has occurred between us, I want him to know
+everything. He then may judge me as he thinks best. I have a horror of
+any more misunderstanding.')
+
+"'You can never know, Mr. Hearn,' she wrote, 'the pain and sorrow with
+which I address to you these words. Still less can you know my shame
+and remorse; but you are an honorable man, and have a right to the
+truth. My best hope is that when you know how unworthy I am of your
+regard your regret will be slight. I recall all your kindness to me,
+and my heart is tortured as I now think of the requital I am making.
+Still, justice to myself requires that I tell you that I mistook my
+gratitude and esteem, my respect and genuine regard, for a deeper
+emotion. You will remember, however, that I long hesitated, feeling
+instinctively that I could not give you what you had a right to expect.
+Last spring you pressed me for a definite answer. I said I would come
+to this quiet place and think it all over, and if I did not write you
+to the contrary within a few days you might believe that I had yielded
+to your wishes. I found myself more worn and weary from my toilsome
+life than I imagined. I was lonely; I dreaded my single-handed struggle
+with the world, and my heart overflowed with gratitude toward you--it
+does still--for your kindness, and for all that you promised to do for
+me. I had not the will nor the disposition to say no, or to put you off
+any longer. Still I had misgiving; I feared that I did not feel as I
+ought. When I received your kind letter accepting my silence as
+consent, I felt bound by it--I was bound by it. I have no defence to
+make. I can only state the miserable truth. I cannot love you as a wife
+ought, and I know now that I never can. I've tried--God knows I've
+tried. I'm worn out with the struggle. I fear I am very ill. I wish I
+were dead and at rest. I cannot ask you to think mercifully of me. I
+cannot think mercifully of myself. To meet again would be only useless
+suffering. I am not equal to it. My one effort now is to gain
+sufficient strength to go to some distant relatives in the West. Please
+forget me. "'In sorrow and bitter regret, "'Emily Warren.'"
+
+I started up and paced the room distractedly. "The generous girl!" I
+exclaimed, "she lays not a particle of blame on me. But, by Jove! I'd
+like to take all the blame, and have it out with him here and now.
+Blame! What blame is there? The poor child! Why can't she see that she
+is white as snow?"
+
+Again I eagerly turned to Mrs. Yocomb's words:
+
+"Emily seemed almost overwhelmed at the thought of his reading this
+letter. She is so generous, so sensitive, that she saw only his side of
+the case, and made scarcely any allowance for herself. I was a little
+decided and plain-spoken with her, and it did her good. At last I said
+to her, 'I am not weak-minded, if I am simple and plain. Because I live
+in the country is no reason why I do not know what is right and just.
+Thee has no cause to blame thyself so bitterly.' 'Does Mr. Yocomb feel
+and think as you do?' she asked. 'Of course he does,' I replied. She
+put her hands to her head and said pitifully, 'Perhaps I am too
+distracted to see things clearly. I sometimes fear I may lose my
+reason.' 'Well, Emily,' I said, 'thee has done right. Thee cannot help
+feeling as thee does, and to go on now would be as great a wrong to
+Gilbert Hearn as to thyself. Thee has done just as I would advise my
+own daughter to do. Leave all with me. Thee need not see him again. I
+am going to stand by thee;' and I left her quite heartened up."
+
+"Oh, but you are a gem of a woman!" I cried. "A few more like you would
+bring the millennium."
+
+"Gilbert Hearn was dreadfully taken aback by the letter; but I must do
+him the justice to say that he was much touched by it too, for he
+called me again into the parlor, and I saw that he was much moved. He
+had given his sister the letter to read, and she muttered, 'Poor
+thing!' as she finished it. He fixed his eyes sternly on me and said,
+'Mr. Morton is at the bottom of this thing.' I returned his gaze very
+quietly, and asked, 'What am I to infer by this expression of thy
+opinion to me?' His sister was as quick as a flash, and she said
+plainly, 'Gilbert, these people were not two little children in Mrs.
+Yocomb's care.' 'Thee is right,' I said; 'I have not controlled their
+actions any more than I have those of thy brother. Richard Morton is
+absent, however, and were we not under peculiar obligations to him I
+would still be bound to speak for him, since he is not here to speak
+for himself. I have never seen Richard Morton do anything unbecoming a
+gentleman. Has thee, Gilbert Hearn? If so, I think thee had better see
+him, for he is not one to deny thee any explanation to which thee has a
+right.' 'Why did he go to the city so suddenly?' he asked angrily. 'I
+will give thee his address,' I said coldly. 'Gilbert,' expostulated his
+sister,--we have no right to cross--question Mrs. Yocomb.' 'Since thee
+is so considerate,' I said to her, 'I will add that Richard Morton
+intended to return on Second Day at the latest, and he chose to go
+to-day. His action enables me to give thee a room to thyself.'
+'Gilbert,' said the lady, 'I do not see that we have any reason to
+regret his absence. As Mrs. Yocomb says, you can see him in New York;
+but unless you have well founded and specific charges to make, I think
+it would compromise your dignity to see him. Editors are ugly customers
+to stir up unless there is good cause.'"
+
+"I know one," I growled, "that would be a particularly ugly customer
+just now."
+
+"'In Emily Warren's case,' I said, 'it is different,'" Mrs. Yocomb
+continued. "'She is a motherless girl and has appealed to me for advice
+and sympathy. In her honest struggle to be loyal to thee she has worn
+herself almost to a shadow, and I have grave fears for her reason and
+her life, so great is her prostration. She has for thee, Gilbert Hearn,
+the sincerest respect and esteem, and the feeling that she has wronged
+thee, even though she cannot help it, seems almost to crush her.'
+'Gilbert,' said his sister warmly, 'you cannot blame her, and you
+certainly ought to respect her. If she were not an honest-hearted girl
+she would never have renounced you with your great wealth.' He sank
+into a chair and looked very white. 'It's a terrible blow,' he said;
+'it's the first severe reverse I've ever had.' 'Well,' she replied, 'I
+know from your character that you will meet it like a man and a
+gentleman.' 'Certainly,' he said, with a deep breath, 'I cannot do
+otherwise.' I then rose and bowed, saying: 'You will both excuse me if
+I am with my charge much of the time. Adah will attend to your wants,
+and I hope you will feel at home so long as it shall please you to
+stay.'"
+
+"By Jove! but her tact was wonderful. Not a diplomat in Europe could
+have done better. The innocent-looking Quakeress was a match for them
+both."
+
+"Then I went back to Emily," Mrs. Yocomb wrote, "and I found her in a
+pitiable state of excitement. When I opened the door she started up
+apprehensively, as if she feared that the man with whom she had broken
+would burst in upon her with bitter reproaches. I told her everything;
+for even I cannot deceive her, she is so quick. Her mind was
+wonderfully lightened, and I soon made her sleep again. She awoke in
+the evening much quieter, but she cried a good deal in the night, and I
+surmise she was thinking of thee more than of herself or of him. I wish
+thee had waited until all this was over, but I think all will come out
+right."
+
+"Oh, the unutterable fool that I was!" I groaned; "I'm the champion
+blunderer of the world."
+
+"Well, Richard, this is the longest letter I ever wrote, and I must
+bring it to a close, for my patient needs me. I will write soon again,
+and tell thee everything. Goodnight.
+
+"Second Day. P.S.--I left my letter open to add a postscript. Gilbert
+Hearn and his sister left this morning. The former at last seemed quite
+calm and resigned, and was very polite. His sister was too. She amused
+me not a little. I do not think that her heart was greatly set on the
+match, and she was not so troubled but that she could take an interest
+in our quiet, homely ways. I think we seemed to her like what you city
+people call _bric-a-brac_, but she was too much of a lady to let her
+curiosity become offensive. She took a great fancy to Adah, especially
+as she saw that Adela was very fond of her, and she persuaded her
+brother to leave the child here in our care, saying that she was
+improving wonderfully. He did not seem at all averse to the plan. Adah
+is behaving very nicely, if I do say it, and showed a great deal of
+quiet, gentle dignity. She and Charlotte Bradford had a long chat in
+the evening about Adela. Adah says, 'Send Richard my love'; and if I
+put in all the messages from father, Reuben, and Zillah, they would
+fill another sheet.
+
+"I asked Emily if she had any message for thee. She buried her face in
+the pillow and murmured, 'Not now, not yet'; but after a moment she
+turned toward me, looking white and resolute. 'Tell him,' she said, 'to
+forgive me and forget.' Be patient, Richard. Wait. "Thine affectionately,
+
+"Ruth Yocomb."
+
+"Forget!" I shouted. "Yes, when I am annihilated," and I paced my room
+for hours. At last, exhausted, I sought such rest as I could obtain,
+but my last thought was, "God bless Ruth Yocomb. I could kiss the
+ground she had trodden."
+
+The next morning I settled down to my task of waiting and working,
+resolving that there must be no more nights like the last, in which I
+had wasted a vast amount of vital force. I wrote to Mrs. Yocomb, and
+thanked her from a full heart. I sent messages to all the family, and
+said, "Tell Adah I shall keep her love warm in my heart, and that I
+send her twice as much of mine in return. Like all brothers, I shall
+take liberties, and will subscribe in her behalf for the two best
+magazines in the city. Give Miss Warren this simple message: The words
+I last spoke to her shall ever be true."
+
+I also told Mrs. Yocomb of my promotion, and that I was no longer a
+night-owl.
+
+Toward the end of the week came another bulky letter, which I devoured,
+letting my dinner grow cold.
+
+"Our life at the farmhouse has become very quiet," she wrote. "Emily
+improves slowly, for her nervous system has received a severe strain. I
+told her that thee had sent messages to all the family, and asked if
+she did not expect one. 'I've no right to any--there's no occasion for
+any,' she faltered; but her eyes were very wistful and entreating.
+'Well,' I said, 'I must clear my conscience, and since he sent thee
+one, I must give it. He writes, 'Say to Miss Warren in reply that the
+last words I spoke to her shall ever be true.' I suppose thee knows
+what he means,' I said, smiling; 'I don't.' She buried her face in the
+pillow again; but I think thy message did her good, for she soon fell
+asleep, and looked more peaceful than at any time yet."
+
+At last there came a letter saying, "Emily has left us and gone to a
+cousin--a Mrs. Vining--who resides at Columbus, Ohio. She is much
+better, but very quiet--very different from her old self. Father put
+her on the train, and she will have to change cars only once. 'Emily,'
+I said to her, 'thee can not go away without one word for Richard.' She
+was deeply moved, but her resolute will gained the mastery. 'I am
+trying to act for the best,' she said. 'He has appealed to the future:
+the future must prove us both, for there must be no more mistakes.'
+'Does thee doubt thyself, Emily?' 'I have reason to doubt myself, Mrs.
+Yocomb,' she replied. 'But what does thy heart tell thee?' A deep
+solemn look came into her eyes, and after a few moments she said,
+'Pardon me, my dear friend, if I do not answer you fully. Indeed, I
+would scarcely know how to answer you. I have entered on an experience
+that is new and strange to me. I am troubled and frightened at myself.
+I want to go away among strangers, where I can think and grow calm. I
+want to be alone with my God. I should always be weak and vacillating
+here. Moreover, Mr. Morton has formed an impression of me, of which,
+perhaps, I cannot complain. This impression may grow stronger in his
+mind. It has all been too sudden. His experiences have been too
+intermingled with storm, delirium, and passion. He has not had time to
+think any more than I have. In the larger sphere of work to which you
+say he has been promoted he may find new interests that will be
+absorbing. After a quiet and distant retrospect he may thank me for the
+course I am taking.' 'Emily!' I exclaimed, 'for so tender-hearted a
+girl thee is very strong.' 'No,' she replied, 'but because I have
+learned my weakness I am going away from temptation.' I then asked, 'Is
+thee willing I should tell Richard what thee has said?' After thinking
+for some time she answered, 'Yes, let everything be based on the simple
+truth. But tell him he must respect my action--he must leave me to
+myself.' The afternoon before she left us, Adah and Reuben went over to
+the village and got some beautiful rosebuds, and Adah brought them up
+after tea. Emily was much touched, and kissed her again and again. Then
+she threw herself into my arms and cried for nearly an hour, but she
+went away bravely. I never can think of it with dry eyes. Zillah was
+heart-broken, and Reuben clung to her in a way that surprised me. He
+has been very remorseful that he treated her badly at one time. Adah
+and I were mopping our eyes, and father kept blowing his nose like a
+trumpet. She gave way a little at the last moment, for Reuben ran down
+to the barn and brought out Dapple that she might say good-by to him,
+and she put her arms around the pretty creature's neck and sobbed for a
+moment or two. I never saw a horse act so. He followed her right up to
+the rockaway steps. At last she said, 'Come, let us go, quick!' I shall
+never forget the scene, and I think that she repressed so much feeling
+that we had to express it for her. She kissed little Adela tenderly,
+and the child was crying too. It seemed as if we couldn't go on and
+take up our every-day life again. I wouldn't have believed that one who
+was a stranger but a short time ago could have gotten such a hold upon
+our hearts, but as I think it all over I do not wonder. Dear little
+Zillah reminds me of what I owe to her. She is very womanly, but she is
+singularly strong. As she was driven away she looked up at thy window,
+so thee may guess that thee was the last one in her thoughts. Wait, and
+be patient. Do just as she says."
+
+I am glad that my editorial chief did not see me as I read this letter,
+for I fear I should have been deposed at once. Its influence on me,
+however, was very satisfactory to him, for if ever a man was put on his
+mettle I felt that I had been.
+
+"Very well, Emily Warren," I said, "we have both appealed to the
+future: let it judge us." I worked and tried to live as if the girl's
+clear dark eyes were always on me, and her last lingering glance at the
+window from which I had watched her go to meet the lover that, for my
+sake, she could not marry, was a ray of steady sunshine. She did not
+realize how unconsciously she had given me hope.
+
+A few days later I looked carefully over our subscription list. Her
+paper had been stopped, and I felt this keenly; but as I was staring
+blankly at the obliterated name a happy thought occurred to me, and I
+turned to the letter V. With a gleam of deep satisfaction in my eyes I
+found the address, Mrs. Adelaide Vining, Columbus, Ohio.
+
+"Now through the editorial page I can write to her daily," I thought.
+
+Late in September my chief said to me:
+
+"Look here, Morton, you are pitching into every dragon in the country.
+I don't mind fighting three or four evils or abuses at a time, but this
+general onslaught is raising a breeze."
+
+"With your permission, I don't care if it becomes a gale, as long as we
+are well ballasted with facts."
+
+"Well, to go back to my first figure, be sure you are well armed before
+you attack. Some of the beasts are old and tough, and have awful stings
+in their tails. The people seem to like it, though, from the way
+subscriptions are coming in."
+
+But I wrote chiefly for one reader. He would have opened his eyes if I
+had told him that a young music-teacher in Columbus, Ohio, had a large
+share in conducting the journal. Over my desk in my rooms I had had
+framed, in illuminated text, the words she had spoken to me on the most
+memorable day of my life:
+
+"The editor has exceptional opportunities, and might be the
+knight-errant of our age. If in earnest, and on the right side, he can
+forge a weapon out of public opinion that few evils could resist. He is
+in just the position to discover these dragons and drive them from
+their hiding-places."
+
+The spirit that breathed in these words I tried to make mine, for I
+wished to feel and think as she did. While I maintained my
+individuality of thought I never touched a question but that I first
+looked at it from her standpoint. I labored for weeks over an editorial
+entitled "Truth versus Conscience," and sent it like an arrow into the
+West.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+ADAH
+
+
+I heard often from the farmhouse, and learned that Mr. Hearn had gone
+to Europe almost immediately, but that he had returned in the latter
+part of September, and had spent a week with his little girl, Mrs.
+Bradford, his sister, accompanying him. "They seem to think Adela is
+doing so well," Mrs. Yocomb wrote, "that they have decided to leave her
+here through October. Adah spends part of every forenoon teaching the
+little girls." In the latter part of November I received a letter that
+made my heart beat thick and fast.
+
+"We expect thee to eat thy Thanksgiving dinner with us, and we expect
+also a friend from the West. I think she will treat thee civilly. At
+any rate we have a right to invite whom we please. We drew up a
+petition to Emily, and all signed it. Father added a direful
+postscript. He said, 'If thee won't come quietly, I will go after thee.
+Thee thinks I am a man of peace, but there will be commotion and
+violence in Ohio if thee doesn't come; so, strong-willed as thee is,
+thee has got to yield for once.' She wrote father the funniest letter
+in reply, in which she agreed, for the credit of the Society of
+Friends, not to provoke him to extremities. She doesn't know thee is
+coming, but I think she knows me well enough to be sure that thee would
+be invited. Emily writes that she will not return to New York to live,
+since she can obtain more scholars than she needs at Columbus."
+
+Mrs. Yocomb also added that Adah had left home that day for an extended
+visit in the city, and she gave me her address.
+
+I had written to Adah more than once, and had made out a programme of
+what we should do when she came to town.
+
+Quite early in the evening I started out to call upon her, but as I
+drew near the house I saw that a handsome coupe stood before the door,
+drawn by two horses, and that the coachman was in livery. My steps were
+speedily arrested, for the door of the dwelling was opened, and Mr.
+Hearn came out, accompanied by Adah. They entered the coupe and were
+driven rapidly toward Fifth Avenue. I gave a long, low whistle, and
+took two or three turns around the block, muttering, "Gilbert Hearn,
+but you are shrewd. If you can't have the best thing in the world,
+you'll have the next best. Come to think of it, she is the best for
+you. If this comes about for Adah, I could throw my hat over yonder
+steeple."
+
+I went back to the house, proposing to leave my card, and thus show
+Adah that I was not inattentive. The interior of the dwelling, like its
+exterior, was plain, but very substantial and elegant. The servant
+handed my card to a lady passing through the hall.
+
+"Oh, thee is Richard Morton?" she said. "Cousin Ruth and Adah have told
+us all about thee. Please come in, for I want to make thy acquaintance.
+Adah will be so sorry to miss thee. She has gone out for the evening."
+
+"If she will permit me," I said, "I will call to-morrow, on my way
+downtown, for I wish to see her very much."
+
+"Do so, by all means. Come whenever thee can, and informally. Thee'll
+always find a welcome here."
+
+Before I was aware I had spent an hour in pleasant chat, for with the
+Yocombs as mutual friends we had common interests.
+
+Mrs. Winfield, my hostess, had all the elegance of Mrs. Bradford; but
+there was also a simple, friendly heartiness in her manner that stamped
+every word she spoke with sincerity. I was greatly pleased, and felt
+that the wealthy banker and his sister could find no fault with Adah's
+connections.
+
+She greeted me the next morning like the sister she had become in very
+truth.
+
+"Oh, Richard!" she exclaimed, "I'm so glad to see thee. Why! thee's so
+improved I'd hardly know thee. Seems to me thee's grown taller and
+larger every way."
+
+"I fear I looked rather small sometimes in the country."
+
+"No, Richard, thee never looked small to me; but when I think what I
+was when thee found me, I don't wonder thee went up to thy room in
+disgust. I've thought a great deal since that day, and I've read some
+too."
+
+"If you knew how proud of you I am now, it would turn your head."
+
+"Perhaps it isn't very strong. So thee's going to eat thy Thanksgiving
+dinner at home. I shall be well out of the way."
+
+"You will never be in my way; but perhaps I might have been in
+somebody's way had I come earlier last night."
+
+"I thought thee was blind," she said, an exquisite color coming into
+her beautiful face.
+
+"Never to your interests, Adah. Count on me to the last drop."
+
+"Oh, Richard, thee has been so kind and helpful to me. Thee'll never
+know all that's in my heart. When I think what I was when I first knew
+thee, I wonder at it all."
+
+"Adah," I said, taking her hand, "you have become a genuine woman. The
+expression of your face has changed, and it has become a fine example
+of the truth, that even beauty follows the law of living growth--from
+within outward. Higher thoughts, noble principle, and unselfishness are
+making their impress. After our long separation I see the change
+distinctly, and I feel it still more. You have won my honest respect,
+Adah; I predict for you a happy life, and, what is more, you will make
+others happy. People will be the better for being with you."
+
+"Well, Richard, now that we are brother and sister, I don't mind
+telling thee that it was thee who woke me up. I was a fool before thee
+came."
+
+"But the true, sweet woman was in your nature ready to be awakened.
+Other causes would soon have produced the same effect."
+
+"Possibly; but I don't know anything about other causes. I do know
+thee, and I trust thee with my whole heart, and I'm going to talk
+frankly with thee because I want to ask thy advice. Thee knows how near
+to death I came. I've thought a great deal about it. Having come so
+near losing life, I began to think what life meant--what it was--and I
+was soon made to see how petty and silly my former life had been. My
+heart just overflowed with gratitude toward thee. When thee was so ill
+I would often lie awake whole nights thinking and trembling lest thee
+should die. I felt so strangely, so weak and helpless, that I stretched
+out my hands to thee, and thy strong hands caught and sustained me
+through that time when I was neither woman nor child. Thee never
+humiliated me by even a glance. Thee treated me with a respect that I
+did not deserve, but which I want to deserve. I am not strong, like
+Emily Warren, but I am trying to do right. Thee changed a blind impulse
+into an abiding trust and sisterly affection. Thee may think I'm giving
+thee a strange proof of my trust. I am going to tell thee something
+that I've not told any one yet. Last evening Gilbert Hearn took me to
+see his sister, Mrs. Bradford, and I spent the evening with them and
+little Adela. Coming home he asked me to be his wife. I was not so very
+greatly surprised, for he spent every First Day in October at our house
+while Adela was with us, and he was very attentive to me. Father and
+mother don't like it very much, but I think they are a little
+prejudiced against him on thy account. I believe thee will tell me the
+truth about him."
+
+"Adah dear, you _have_ honored me greatly. I will advise you just as I
+would my own sister. What did you answer him last evening?"
+
+"I told him that I was a simple country girl, and not suited to be his
+wife. Then he said that he had a right to his own views about that. He
+said he wanted a genuine wife--one that would love him and his little
+girl, and not a society woman, who would marry him for his money."
+
+"That is exceedingly sensible."
+
+"Yes, he said he wanted a home, and that he was fond of quiet home
+life; that I came of a quiet, sincere people, and that he had seen
+enough of me to know that he could trust me. He said also that I could
+be both a mother and a companion to Adela, and that the child needed
+just such a disposition as I had."
+
+I laughed as I said, "Mr. Hearn is sagacity itself. Even Solomon could
+not act more wisely than he is seeking to act. But what does your heart
+say to all this, Adah?"
+
+Her color deepened, and she averted her face. "Thee will think I'm
+dreadfully matter-of-fact, Richard, but I think that perhaps we are
+suited to each other. I've thought about it a great deal. As I said
+before, my head isn't very strong. I couldn't understand half the
+things thee thinks and writes about. I've seen that clearly. He
+wouldn't expect a wife to understand his business, and he says he wants
+to forget all about it when he comes home. He says he likes a place
+full of beauty, repose, and genial light. He likes quiet dinner parties
+made up of his business friends, and not literary people like thee. We
+haven't got great, inquiring minds like thee and Emily Warren."
+
+"You are making fun of me now, Adah. I fear Miss Warren has thrown me
+over in disgust."
+
+"Nonsense, Richard. She loves thy little finger more than I am capable
+of loving any man. She is strong and intense, and she could go with
+thee in thought wherever thee pleases. I'm only Adah."
+
+"Yes, you are Adah, and the man who has the reputation of having the
+best of everything in the city wants you badly, and with good reason.
+But I want to know what _you_ want."
+
+"I want to know what thee thinks of it. I want thee to tell me about
+him. Does thee know anything against him?"
+
+"No, Adah. Even when I feared he would disappoint my dearest hope, I
+told your mother that he was an honorable man. He is exceedingly shrewd
+in business, but I never heard of his doing anything that was not
+square. I think he would make you a very kind, considerate husband,
+and, as he says, you could do so much for his little girl. But, rich as
+he is, Adah, he is not rich enough for you unless you can truly love
+him."
+
+"I think I can love him in my quiet way. I think I would be happy in
+the life I would lead with him. I'm fond of housekeeping, and very fond
+of pretty things and of the city, as thee knows. Then I could do so
+much for them all at home. Father and mother are growing old. Father
+lent money some years ago, and lost it, and he and mother have to work
+too hard. I could do so much for them and for Zillah, and that would
+make me happy. But I am so simple, and I know so little, that I fear I
+can't satisfy him."
+
+"I have no fear on that score. What I am anxious about is, will he
+satisfy you? You can't realize how bent upon your happiness I am."
+
+"I thank thee, Richard. I was not wrong in coming to thee. Well, I told
+him that I wanted to think it all over, and I asked him to do the same.
+He said he had fully made up his mind and that his sister heartily
+approved of his course, and had advised it. He said that he would wait
+for me as long as I pleased. Now if thee thinks it's best, thy words
+would have much influence with father and mother."
+
+I raised her hand to my lips, and said, feelingly: "Adah, I am very
+grateful for this confidence. I feel more honored that you should have
+come to me than if I had been made Governor. In view of what you have
+said, I do think it's best. Mr. Hearn will always be kind and
+considerate. He will be very proud of you, and you will grow rapidly in
+those qualities that will adorn your high social position. Do not
+undervalue yourself. Gilbert Hearn may well thank God for you every day
+of his life."
+
+I went down to the office in a mood to write an interminable
+Thanksgiving editorial, for it seemed as if the clouds were all
+breaking away.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+THANKSGIVING DAY
+
+
+On the day before Thanksgiving one of my associates clapped me on the
+shoulder, and said, laughing: "Morton, what's the matter? You are as
+nervous as a girl on her wedding-day. I've spoken to you twice, and
+you've not answered. Has one of the dragons got the best of you?"
+
+I woke up, and said quietly, "It isn't a dragon this time."
+
+Oh, how vividly that evening comes back to me, as I walked swiftly
+uptown! It would have been torture to have ridden in a lumbering stage
+or crawling street-car. I scarcely knew what I thrust into my
+travelling bag. I had no idea what I ate for dinner, and only remember
+that I scalded myself slightly with hot coffee. Calling a coupe, I
+dashed off to a late train that passed through the village nearest to
+the farmhouse.
+
+It had been arranged that I should come the following morning, and that
+Reuben should meet me, but I proposed to give them a surprise. I could
+not wait one moment longer than I must. I had horrible dreams in the
+stuffy little room at the village inn, but consoled myself with the
+thought that "dreams go by contraries."
+
+After a breakfast on which mine host cleared two hundred per cent, I
+secured a light wagon and driver, and started for the world's one Mecca
+for me. My mind was in a tumult of mingled hope and fear, and I
+experienced all a young soldier's trepidation when going into his first
+battle. If she had not come: if she would not listen to me. The cold
+perspiration would start out on my brow at the very thought. What a
+mockery Thanksgiving Day would ever become if my hopes were
+disappointed. Even now I cannot recall that interminable ride without a
+faint awakening of the old unrest.
+
+When within half a mile of the house I dismissed my driver, and started
+on at a tremendous pace; but my steps grew slower and slower, and when
+the turn of the road revealed the dear old place just before me, I
+leaned against a wall faint and trembling. I marked the spot on which I
+had stood when the fiery bolt descended, and some white shingles
+indicated the place on the mossy roof where it had burned its way into
+the home that even then enshrined my dearest treasures. I saw the
+window at which Emily Warren had directed the glance that had sustained
+my hope for months. I looked wistfully at the leafless, flowerless
+garden, where I had first recognized my Eve. "Will her manner be like
+the present aspect of that garden?" I groaned. I saw the arbor in which
+I had made my wretched blunder. I had about broken myself of profanity,
+but an ugly expression slipped out (I hope the good angel makes
+allowances for human nature). Recalling the vow I had made in that
+arbor, I snatched up my valise and did not stop till I had mounted the
+piazza. Further suspense was unendurable. My approach had been unnoted,
+nor had I seen any of the family. Noiselessly as possible I opened the
+door and stood within the hallway. I heard Mrs. Yocomb's voice in the
+kitchen. Reuben was whistling upstairs, and Zillah singing her doll to
+sleep in the dining-room. I took these sounds to be good omens. If she
+had not come there would not have been such cheerfulness.
+
+With silent tread I stole to the parlor door. At my old seat by the
+window was Emily Warren, writing on a portfolio in her lap. For a
+second a blur came over my vision, and then I devoured her with my eyes
+as the famishing would look at food.
+
+Had she changed? Yes, but only to become tenfold more beautiful, for
+her face now had that indescribable charm which suffering, nobly
+endured, imparts. I could have knelt to her like a Catholic to his
+patron saint.
+
+She felt my presence, for she looked up quickly. The portfolio dropped
+from her lap; she was greatly startled, and instinctively put her hand
+to her side; still I thought I saw welcome dawning in her eyes; but at
+this moment Zillah sprang into my arms and half smothered me with
+kisses. Her cries of delight brought Reuben tearing down the stairs,
+and Mrs. Yocomb, hastening from the kitchen, left the mark of her
+floury arm on the collar of my coat as she gave me a motherly salute.
+Their welcome was so warm, spontaneous, and real that tears came into
+my eyes, for I felt that I was no longer a lonely man without kindred.
+
+But after a moment or two I broke away from them and turned to Miss
+Warren, for after all my Thanksgiving Day depended upon her.
+
+She had become very pale, but her eyes were glistening at the honest
+feeling she had witnessed.
+
+I held out my hand, and asked, in a low voice, "May I stay?"
+
+"I could not send you away from such friends, Mr. Morton," she said
+gently, "even had I the right," and she held out her hand.
+
+I think I hurt it, for I grasped it as if I were drowning.
+
+Reuben had raced down to the barn to call his father, who now followed
+him back at a pace that scarcely became his age and Quaker tenets.
+
+"Richard," he called, as soon as he saw me, "welcome home! Thee's been
+a long time coming, and yet thee's stolen a march on us after all.
+Reuben was just going for thee. How did thee get here? There's no train
+so early."
+
+"Oh, I came last night. A ship's cable couldn't hold me the moment I
+could get away."
+
+"Mother, I think that's quite a compliment to us old people," he began,
+with the humorous twinkle that I so well remembered in his honest eyes.
+"Has thee seen Adah?"
+
+"Yes, indeed, and she sent more love than I could carry to you all. She
+looked just lovely, and I nearly forgot to go down town that morning."
+
+Miss Warren was about to leave the room, but the old gentleman caught
+her hand and asked:
+
+"Where is thee going, Emily?"
+
+"Pardon me; I thought you would all have much to say to Mr. Morton."
+
+"So we have, to be sure. We won't get half through to-day, but that's
+no reason for thy leaving us. We are all one family under this roof,
+thank God, and I'm going to thank Him to-day in good old style and no
+make-believe;" and he kept her hand as she sat down by him.
+
+"If you knew how homesick I've often been you would realize how much
+good your words do me," she replied gratefully.
+
+"So thee's been homesick, has thee? Well, thee didn't let us know."
+
+"What good would it have done? I couldn't come before."
+
+"Well, I am kind of glad thee was homesick. The missing wasn't all on
+our side. Why, Richard, thee never saw such a disconsolate household as
+we were after Emily left. I even lost my appetite--didn't I,
+mother?--and that's more than I've done for any lady since Ebenezer
+Holcomb cut me out of thy company at a picnic--let me see, how many
+years ago is it, mother?"
+
+"Thee doesn't think I remember such foolishness, I hope," said the old
+lady; but with a rising color almost pretty as the blush I had seen so
+recently on Adah's face.
+
+Mr. Yocomb leaned back and laughed. "See mother blush," he cried. "Poor
+Ebenezer!"
+
+"Thee'll want more than light nonsense for thy dinner by and by, so I
+must go back to the kitchen."
+
+As she turned away she gave a sweet suggestion of the blushing girl for
+whom Ebenezer had sighed in vain, and I said emphatically, "Yes,
+indeed, Mr. Yocomb, you may well say 'Poor Ebenezer!' How in the world
+did he ever survive it?"
+
+"Thee's very sympathetic, Richard."
+
+Miss Warren looked at him threateningly.
+
+I tried to laugh it off, and said, "Even if he had a millstone for a
+heart, it must have broken at such a loss."
+
+"Oh, don't thee worry. He's a hale and hearty grandfather to-day."
+
+Miss Warren broke into a laugh that set all my nerves tingling. "Yes,"
+she cried, "I thought it would end in that way."
+
+"Why, Emily, bless thee!" said Mrs. Yocomb, running in, "I haven't
+heard thee laugh so since thee came."
+
+"She's at her old tricks," said her husband; "laughing at Richard and
+me."
+
+I found her merriment anything but reassuring, and I muttered under my
+breath: "Perdition on Ebenezer and his speedy comfort! I hope she don't
+class me with him."
+
+Very soon Mrs. Yocomb appeared again, and said: "Father, thee must take
+them all out to drive. I can't do anything straight while I hear you
+all talking and laughing, for my thoughts are with you. I've put salt
+into one pie already. A Thanksgiving dinner requires one's whole mind."
+
+"Bustle, bustle, all get ready. Mother's mistress of this house on
+Thanksgiving Day, if at no other time. We're commanded to obey the
+'powers that be,' and if the woman who can get up such a dinner as
+mother can isn't a 'power,' I'd like to know where we'll find one. I'm
+very meek and respectful on Thanksgiving morning. Get on thy wraps,
+Emily. No mutiny before dinner."
+
+She seemed very ready to go, for I think she dreaded being left alone
+with me. I, too, was glad to gain time, for I was strangely unnerved
+and apprehensive. She avoided meeting my eyes, and was inscrutable.
+
+In a few moments we were in the family rockaway, bowling over the
+country at a grand pace.
+
+"Mother's shrewd," said Mr. Yocomb; "she knew that a ride like this in
+the frosty air would give us an appetite for any kind of a dinner, but
+it will make hers taste like the Feast of Tabernacles. Let 'em go,
+Reuben, let 'em go!"
+
+"Do you call this a Quaker pace?" asked Miss Warren, who sat with
+Zillah on the back seat.
+
+"Yes, I'm acting just as I feel moved. Thee's much too slow for a
+Friend, Emily. Now I'll wager thee a plum that Richard likes it.
+Doesn't thee, Richard?"
+
+"Suppose a wheel should come off," I suggested. "I'm awfully nervous
+to-day. I was sure the train would break down or run off the track last
+night; then I had horrible dreams at the hotel."
+
+"Why, Mr. Morton!" Miss Warren exclaimed, "what did you eat for supper?"
+
+"Bless me! I don't know. Come to think of it, I didn't have any."
+
+"Did thee have any breakfast?" asked Mr. Yocomb, who seemed greatly
+amused.
+
+"I believe so. I went through the motions."
+
+"Drive slow, Reuben; Richard's afraid he'll have his neck broken before
+dinner;" and they all had a great laugh at my expense.
+
+"I've won the plum this time," cried Miss Warren.
+
+"Thee has indeed, and thee deserves it sure enough."
+
+I looked around at her, but could not catch her eyes. My efforts to
+emulate Mr. Yocomb's spirit were superhuman, but my success was
+indifferent. I was too anxious, too doubtful concerning the girl who
+was so gentle and yet so strong. She had far more quietude and
+self-mastery than I, and with good reason, for she was mistress of the
+situation. Still, I gathered hope every hour, for I felt that her face
+would not be so happy, so full of brightness, if she proposed to send
+me away disappointed, or even put me off on further probation.
+Nevertheless, my Thanksgiving Day would not truly begin until my hope
+was confirmed.
+
+Dinner was smoking on the table when we returned, and it was so
+exceedingly tempting that I enjoyed its aroma with much of Mr. Yocomb's
+satisfaction, and I sat down at his right, feeling that if one question
+were settled I would be the most thankful man in the land.
+
+We bowed our heads in grace; but after a moment Mr. Yocomb arose, and
+with uplifted face repeated words that might have been written for the
+occasion, so wonderfully adapted to human life is the Book of God.
+
+ "'Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His
+holy name.
+
+"'Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: "'Who
+forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
+
+"'Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with
+loving kindness and tender mercies.
+
+"'Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is
+renewed like the eagle's.'"
+
+ Never was there a grace so full of grace before. If a kind earthly
+father looks with joy on his happy children, so surely the divine
+Father must have smiled upon us. In the depths of my heart I respected
+a faith that was so simple, genuine, and full of sunshine. Truly, it
+had come from heaven, and not from the dyspeptic creeds of cloistered
+theologians.
+
+"Father," cried Zillah, "thee looked like my picture of King David."
+
+"Well, I'm in a royal mood," replied her father, "and I don't believe
+King David ever had half so good a dinner as mother has provided. Such
+a dinner, Richard, is the result of genius. All the cookbooks in the
+world couldn't account for it, and I don't believe mother has read one
+of them."
+
+"Thee must give Cynthia part of the credit," protested his wife.
+
+"She's the woman who says 'Lord a massy,' and insists that I was struck
+with lightning, isn't she?" and I glanced toward Miss Warren, but she
+wouldn't meet my eye. Her deepening color told of a busy memory,
+however. Mr. Yocomb began to laugh so heartily that he dropped his
+knife and fork on the table and leaned back in his chair quite overcome.
+
+"Father, behave thyself," his wife remonstrated.
+
+At last the old gentleman set to work in good earnest. "Emily," he
+said, "this is that innocent young gobbler that thee so commiserated.
+Thee hasn't the heart to eat him, surely."
+
+"I'll take a piece of the breast, if you please."
+
+"Wouldn't thee like his heart?"
+
+"No, I thank you."
+
+"What part would thee like, Richard?"
+
+"Anything but his wings and legs. They would remind me how soon I must
+go back to awful New York."
+
+"Not before Second Day."
+
+"Yes, sir, to-morrow morning. An editor's play-spells are few and far
+between."
+
+"Well, Richard, thee thrives on work," said Mrs. Yocomb.
+
+"Yes. I've found it good for me."
+
+"And you have done good work, Mr. Morton," added Miss Warren. "I like
+your paper far better now."
+
+"But you stopped it."
+
+"Did you find that out?"
+
+"Indeed I did, and very quickly."
+
+"My cousin, Mrs. Vining, took the paper."
+
+"Yes, I know that, too."
+
+"Why, Mr. Morton! do you keep track of all your readers? The
+circulation of your paper cannot be large."
+
+"I looked after Mrs. Vining carefully, but no further."
+
+"I shall certainly tell her of your interest," she said, with her old
+mirthful gleam.
+
+"Please do. The people at the office would be agape with wonder if they
+knew of the influence resulting from Mrs. Vining's name being on the
+subscription list."
+
+"Not a disastrous influence, I trust?"
+
+"It has occasioned us some hot work. My chief says that nearly all the
+dragons in the country are stirred up."
+
+"And some of them have been sorely wounded-I've noted that too," said
+the girl, flushing with pleasure in spite of herself.
+
+"Yes, please tell Mrs. Vining that also. Credit should be given where
+it's due."
+
+Her laugh now rang out with its old-time genuineness. "Cousin Adelaide
+would be more agape than the people of your office. I think the dragons
+owe their tribulations to your disposition to fight them."
+
+"If you could see some words in illuminated text over my desk you would
+know better."
+
+"Mr. Yocomb, don't you think we are going to have an early winter?" she
+asked abruptly, with a fine color in her face.
+
+"I don't think it's going to be cold--not very cold, Emily. There are
+prospects of a thaw to-day;" and the old gentleman leaned back in his
+chair and shook with suppressed merriment.
+
+"Father, behave thyself. Was there ever such a man!" Mrs. Yocomb
+exclaimed reproachfully.
+
+"I know you think there never was and never will be, Mrs. Yocomb," I
+cried, controlling myself with difficulty, for the old gentleman's
+manner was irresistibly droll and instead of the pallor that used to
+make my heart ache, Miss Warren's face was like a carnation rose. My
+hope grew apace, for her threatening looks at Mr. Yocomb contained no
+trace of pain or deep annoyance, while the embarrassment she could not
+hide so enhanced her loveliness that it was a heavy cross to withhold
+my eager eyes. Reuben kindly came to our relief, for he said:
+
+"I tell thee what it is, mother: I feel as if we ought to have Dapple
+in here with us."
+
+"Emily, wouldn't thee rather have Old Plod?" Mr. Yocomb asked.
+
+"No!" she replied brusquely; and this set her kind tormentor off once
+more.
+
+But an earnest look soon came into his face, and he said, with eyes
+moist with feeling:
+
+"Well, this is a time of thanksgiving, and never before in all my life
+has my heart seemed so full of gladness and gratitude. Richard, I crept
+in this old home when I was a baby, and I whistled through the house
+just as Reuben does. In this very room my dear old father trimmed my
+jacket for me, God bless him! Oh, I deserved it richly; but mother's
+sorrowful looks cut deeper, I can tell thee. It was to this home I
+brought the prettiest lass in the county--what am I saying?--the
+prettiest lass in the world. No offence to thee, Emily; thee wasn't
+alive then. If every man had such a home as thee has made for me and
+the children, mother, the millennium would begin before next
+Thanksgiving. In this house my children were born, and here they have
+played. I've seen their happy faces in every nook and corner, and with
+everything I have a dear association. In this home we bade good-by to
+our dear little Ruth; she's ours still, mother, and she is at home,
+too, as we are; but everything in this house that our little angel
+child touched has become sacred to me. Ah, Richard, there are some
+things in life that thee hasn't learned yet, and all the books couldn't
+teach thee; but what I have said to thee reveals a little of my love
+for this old home. How I love those whom God has given me, only He
+knows. Well, He directed thy random steps to us one day last June, and
+we welcomed thee as a stranger. But thee has a different welcome
+to-day, Richard--a very different welcome. Thee doesn't like to hear
+about it; but we never forget."
+
+"No, Richard, we never forget," Mrs. Yocomb breathed softly.
+
+"Do you think, sir, that I forget the unquestioning hospitality that
+brought me here? Can you think, Mrs. Yocomb, I ever forget the words
+you spoke to me in yonder parlor on the evening of my arrival? or that
+I should have died but for your devoted and merciful care? This day,
+with its hopes, teaches me how immeasurable would have been my loss,
+for my prospects then were not bright for either world. Rest assured,
+dear friends, I have my memories too. The service I rendered you any
+man would have given, and it was my unspeakable good-fortune to be
+here. But the favors which I have received have been royal; they are
+such as I could not receive from others, because others would be
+incapable of bestowing them."
+
+"You are right, Mr. Morton," Miss Warren began impetuously, her lovely
+eyes full of tears. "I, too, have received kindnesses that could not
+come from others, because others would not know how to confer them with
+your gentleness and mercy, Mrs. Yocomb. Oh! oh! I wish I could make you
+and your husband know how I thank you. I, too, never forget. But if we
+talk this way any more, I shall have to make a hasty retreat." "Well, I
+should say this _was_ a thanksgiving dinner," remarked Reuben
+sententiously.
+
+Since we couldn't cry, we all laughed, and I thanked the boy for
+letting us down so cleverly. The deep feeling that memories would evoke
+in spite of ourselves sank back into the depths of our hearts. The
+shadow on our faces passed like an April cloud, and the sunshine became
+all the sweeter and brighter.
+
+"If Adah were only here!" I cried. "I miss her more and more every
+moment, and the occasion seems wholly incomplete without her."
+
+"Yes, dear child, I miss her too, more than I can tell you," said Mrs.
+Yocomb, her eyes growing very tender and wistful. "She's thinking of
+us. Doesn't thee think she has improved? She used to read those
+magazines thee sent her till I had to take them away and send her to
+bed."
+
+"I can't tell you how proud I am of Adah. It was like a June day to see
+her fair sweet face in the city, and it would have had done your hearts
+good if you could have heard how she spoke of you all."
+
+"Adah is very proud of her big brother, too, I can tell thee. She
+quotes thy opinions on all occasions."
+
+"The one regret of my visit is that I shall not see her," Miss Warren
+said earnestly. "Mrs. Yocomb, I have those roses she gave me the day
+before I left you last summer, and I shall always keep them. I told
+Cousin Adelaide that they were given to me by the best and most
+beautiful girl in the world."
+
+"God bless the girl!" ejaculated Mr. Yocomb; "she has become a great
+comfort and joy to me;" and his wife smiled softly and tenderly.
+
+"Adah is so good to me," cried Zillah, "that if Emily hadn't come I
+wouldn't have half enjoyed the day."
+
+"What does thee think of that view of the occasion, Richard?" asked Mr.
+Yocomb.
+
+"Zillah and I always agreed well together," I said; "but I wish Adah
+knew how much we miss her."
+
+"She shall know," said her mother. "I truly wish we had all of our
+children with us to-day; for, Richard, we have adopted thee and Emily
+without asking your consent. I think the lightning fused us all
+together."
+
+I looked with a quick flash toward Miss Warren, but her eyes were on
+the mother, and they were full of a daughter's love.
+
+"Dear Mrs. Yocomb," I replied, in a voice not over-steady, "you know
+that as far as fusing was concerned I was the worst struck of you all,
+and this day proves that I am no longer without kindred."
+
+But how vain the effort to reproduce the light and shade that filled
+the quaint, simple room! How vain the attempt to make the myriad
+ripples of that hour flow and sparkle again, each one of us meanwhile
+conscious of the depths beneath them!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+RIPPLES ON DEEP WATER
+
+
+After dinner was over, Reuben cried, "Come, Zillah, I'm going out with
+Dapple, and I'll give thee a ride that'll settle thy dinner. Emily,
+thee hasn't petted Dapple to-day. Thee's very forgetful of one of thy
+best friends."
+
+"Do you know," said Miss Warren to me as we followed the boy, "Reuben
+sent Dapple's love to me every time he wrote?"
+
+"It's just what Dapple would have done himself if he could. Did you
+refuse to receive it?"
+
+"No, indeed. Why should I?"
+
+"Oh, I'm not jealous; only I can't help thinking that the horse had
+greater privileges than I."
+
+She bit her lip, and her color deepened, but instead of answering she
+tripped away from me toward the barn. Dapple came prancing out, and
+whinnied as soon as he saw her.
+
+"Oh, he knows thee as well as I do," said Reuben. "He thinks thee's a
+jolly good girl. Thee's kind of cut me out; but I owe thee no grudge.
+See how he'll come to thee now," and sure enough, the horse came and
+put his nose in her hand, where he found a lump of sugar.
+
+"I won't give you fine words only, Dapple," she said, and the beautiful
+animal's spirited eyes grew mild and gentle as if he understood her
+perfectly.
+
+"Heaven grant that she gives me more than words!" I muttered.
+
+While Reuben was harnessing Dapple, Miss Warren entered the barn,
+saying:
+
+"I feel a little remorseful over my treatment of Old Plod, and think I
+will go and speak to him."
+
+"May I be present at the interview?"
+
+"Certainly."
+
+Either the old horse had grown duller and heavier than ever, or else
+was offended by her long neglect, for he paid her but little attention,
+and kept his head down in his manger.
+
+"Dapple would not treat you like that, even if you hadn't a lump of
+sugar in your hand."
+
+"Dapple is peculiar," she remarked.
+
+"Do you mean a little ill-balanced? He was certainly very precipitate
+on one occasion."
+
+"Yes, but he had the grace to stop before he did any harm."
+
+"But suppose he couldn't stop? Did Old Plod give you any more advice?"
+
+"Mr. Morton, you must cub your editorial habit of inquiring into
+everything. Am I a dragon?"
+
+"I fear you more than all the dragons put together."
+
+"Then you are a brave man to stay."
+
+"Not at all. To run away would be worse than death."
+
+"What an awful dilemma you are in! It seems to me, however, the coolest
+veteran in the land could not have made a better dinner while in such
+peril."
+
+"I had scarcely eaten anything since yesterday morning. Moreover, I was
+loyally bound to compliment Mrs. Yocomb's efforts in the only way that
+would have satisfied her."
+
+"That reminds me that I ought to go and help Mrs. Yocomb clear away the
+vast debris of such a dinner."
+
+"Miss Warren, I have only this afternoon and evening."
+
+"Truly, Mr. Morton, the pathos in your tones would move a post"
+
+"But will it move you? That's the question that concerns me. Will you
+take a walk with me?"
+
+"Indeed, I think I must go now, if I would not be thought more
+insensible than a post. Wait till I put on more wraps, and do you get
+your overcoat, sir, or you will take cold."
+
+"Yes, I'm awfully afraid I shall be chilled, and the overcoat wouldn't
+help me. Nevertheless, I'll do your bidding in this, as in all
+respects."
+
+"What a lamblike frame of mind!" she cried; but her step up the piazza
+was light and quick.
+
+"She could not so play with me if she meant to be cruel, for she has
+not a feline trait," I murmured, as I pulled on my ulster. "This genial
+day has been my ally, and she has not the heart to embitter it. So far
+from finding 'other interests,' she must have seen that time has
+intensified the one chief interest of my life. Oh, it would be like
+death to be sent away again. How beautiful she has become in her
+renewed health! Her great spiritual eyes make me more conscious of the
+woman-angel within her than of a flesh-and-blood girl. Human she is
+indeed, but never of the earth, earthy. Even when I take her hand, now
+again so plump and pretty, I feel the exquisite thrill of her life
+within. It's like touching a spirit, were such a thing possible. I
+crushed her hand this morning, brute that I was! It's been red all day.
+Well, Heaven speed me now!"
+
+"What! talking to yourself again, Mr. Morton?" asked Miss Warren,
+suddenly appearing, and looking anything but spirit-like, with her rich
+color and substantial wraps.
+
+"It's a habit of lonely people," I said.
+
+"The idea of a man being lonely among such crowds as you must meet!"
+
+"I have yet to learn that a crowd makes company."
+
+"Wouldn't you like to ask Mr. Yocomb to go with us?"
+
+"No," I replied, very brusquely.
+
+"I fear your lamblike mood is passing away."
+
+"Not at all. Moreover, I'm a victim of remorse--I hurt your hand this
+morning."
+
+"Yes, you did."
+
+"I've hurt you a great many times."
+
+"I'm alive, thank you, and have had a good dinner."
+
+"Yes, you are very much alive. Are you very amiable after dinner?"
+
+"No; that's a trait belonging to men alone. I now understand your
+lamblike mood. But where are you going, Mr. Morton? You are walking at
+random, and have brought up against the barn."
+
+"Oh, I see. Wouldn't you like to visit Old Plod again?"
+
+"No, I thank you; he has forgotten me."
+
+"By the way, we are friends, are we not, and can be very confidential?"
+
+"If you have any doubt, you had better be prudent and reticent."
+
+"I wish I could find some sweetbrier; I'd give you the whole bush."
+
+"Do you think I deserve a thorny experience?"
+
+"You know what I think. When was there an hour when you did not look
+through me as if I were glass. But we are confidential friends, are we
+not?"
+
+"Well, for the sake of argument we may imagine ourselves such."
+
+"To be logical, then, I must tell you something of which I have not yet
+spoken to any one. I called on Adah the evening I learned she was in
+town, and I saw her enter an elegant coupe driven by a coachman in
+stunning livery. A millionaire of your acquaintance accompanied her."
+
+"What!" she exclaimed, her face becoming fairly radiant.
+
+I nodded very significantly.
+
+"For shame, Mr. Morton! What a gossip you are!" but her laugh rang out
+like a chime of silver bells.
+
+At that moment Mr. Yocomb appeared on the piazza, and he applauded
+loudly, "Good for thee, Emily," he cried, "that sounds like old times."
+
+"Come away, quick," I said, and I strode rapidly around the barn.
+
+"Do you expect me to keep up with you?" she asked, stopping short and
+looking so piquant and tempting that I rejoined her instantly.
+
+"I'll go as slow as you please. I'll do anything under heaven you bid
+me."
+
+"You treat Mr. Yocomb very shabbily."
+
+"You won't make me go after him, will you?"
+
+"Why, Mr. Morton? What base ingratitude and after such a dinner, too."
+
+"You know how ill-balanced I am."
+
+"I fear you are growing worse and worse."
+
+"I am, indeed. Left to myself, I should be the most unbalanced man in
+the world."
+
+"Mr. Morton, your mind is clearly unsettled. I detected the truth the
+first day I saw you."
+
+"No, my mind, such as it is, is made up irrevocably and forever. I must
+tell you that I can't afford to keep a coupe."
+
+"There is a beautiful sequence in your remarks. Then you ought not to
+keep one. But why complain. There are always omnibuses within call."
+
+"Are you fond of riding in an omnibus?"
+
+"What an irrelevant question! Suppose I followed your example, and ask
+what you think of the Copernican system?" "You can't be ill-balanced if
+you try, and your question is not in the least irrelevant. The
+Copernican system is true, and illustrates my position exactly. There
+is a heavenly body, radiant with light and beauty, that attracts me
+irresistibly. The moment I came within her influence my orbit was
+fixed."
+
+"Isn't your orbit a little eccentric?" she asked, with averted face.
+"Still your figure may be very apt. Another body of greater attraction
+would carry you off into space."
+
+"There is no such body in existence."
+
+"Mr. Morton, we were talking about omnibuses."
+
+"And you have not answered my question."
+
+"Since we are such confidential friends, I will tell you a profound
+secret. I prefer street cars to omnibuses, and would much rather ride
+in one than in a carriage that I could not pay for."
+
+"Well, now, that's sensible."
+
+"Yes, quite matter-of-fact. Where are you going, Mr. Morton?"
+
+"Wherever you wish--even to Columbus."
+
+"What! run away from your work and duty? Where is your conscience?"
+
+"Where my heart is."
+
+"Oh, both are in Columbus. I should think it inconvenient to have them
+so far off."
+
+I tried to look in her eyes, but she turned them away.
+
+"I can prove that my conscience was in Columbus; I consulted you on
+every question I discussed in the paper."
+
+"Nonsense! you never wrote me a line."
+
+"I was enjoined not to in a way that made my blood run cold. But I
+thought Mrs. Vining's opinions might be influenced by a member of her
+family, and I never wrote a line unmindful of that influence."
+
+Again her laugh rang out. "I should call the place where you wrote the
+Circumlocution Office. Well, to keep up your way of doing things, that
+member of the family read most critically all you wrote."
+
+"How could you tell my work from that of others?"
+
+"Oh, I could tell every line from your hand as if spoken to me."
+
+"Well, fair critic?"
+
+"Never compliment a critic. It makes them more severe."
+
+"I could do so much better if you were in New York."
+
+"What! Do you expect me to go into the newspaper business?"
+
+"You are in it now--you are guiding me. You are the inspiration of my
+best work, and you know it."
+
+We had now reached a point where the lane wound through a hemlock
+grove. My hope was glad and strong, but I resolved at once to remove
+all shadow of fear, and I shrank from further probation. Therefore I
+stopped decisively, and said in a voice that faltered not a little:
+
+"Emily, our light words are but ripples that cover depths which in my
+case reach down through life and beyond it. You are my fate. I knew it
+the day I first met you. I know it now with absolute conviction."
+
+She turned a little away from me and trembled.
+
+"Do you remember this?" I asked, and I took from my pocketbook the
+withered York and Lancaster rosebud.
+
+She gave it a dark glance, and her crimson face grew pale.
+
+"Too well," she replied, in a low tone.
+
+I threw it down and ground it under my heel; then, removing my hat, I
+said:
+
+"I am at your mercy. You are the stronger, and your foot is on my neck."
+
+She turned on me instantly, and her face was aflame with her eager
+imperious demand to know the truth. Taking both my hands in a tense,
+strong grasp, she looked into my eyes as if she would read my very
+soul. "Richard," she said, in a voice that was half entreaty, half
+command, "in God's name, tell me the truth--the whole truth. Do you
+respect me at heart? Do you trust me? Can you trust me as Mr. Yocomb
+trusts his wife?"
+
+"I will make no comparisons," I replied, gently. "Like the widow in the
+Bible, I give you all I have."
+
+Her tense grasp relaxed, her searching eyes melted into love itself,
+and I snatched her to my heart.
+
+"What were the millions I lost compared with this dowry!" she murmured.
+"I knew it--I've known it all day, ever since you crushed my hand. Oh,
+Richard, your rude touch healed a sore heart."
+
+"Emily," I said, with a low laugh, "that June day was the day of fate
+after all."
+
+"It was, indeed. I wish I could make you know how gladly I accept mine.
+Oh, Richard, I nearly killed myself trying not to love you. It was
+fate, or something better."
+
+"Then suppose we change the figure, and say our match was made in
+heaven."
+
+I will not attempt to describe that evening at the farmhouse. We were
+made to feel that it was our own dear home--a safe, quiet haven ever
+open to us when we wished to escape from the turmoil of the world. I
+thank God for our friends there, and their unchanging truth.
+
+I accompanied Emily to Columbus, but I went after her again in the
+spring and for a time she made her home with Mrs. Yocomb.
+
+Adah was married at Mrs. Winfield's large city mansion, for Mr. Hearn
+had a host of relatives and friends whom he wished present. The
+farmhouse would not have held a tithe of them, and the banker was so
+proud of his fair country flower that he seemed to want the whole world
+to see her.
+
+We were married on the anniversary of the day of our fate, and in the
+old garden where I first saw my Eve, my truth. She has never tempted me
+to aught save good deeds and brave work.
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Day of Fate, by E. P. Roe
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