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diff --git a/old/66907-h/66907-h.htm b/old/66907-h/66907-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 18e9165..0000000 --- a/old/66907-h/66907-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,17264 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - Broken Barriers, by Meredith Nicholson—A Project Gutenberg eBook - </title> - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2, h3 { - text-align: center; - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - - - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -@media print { hr.chap {display: none; visibility: hidden;} } - - -div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} -h2.nobreak {page-break-before: avoid;} - -.pagenum { - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; - font-style: normal; - font-weight: normal; - font-variant: normal; -} - - - -.blockquot { - margin-left: 5%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - - -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; - page-break-inside: avoid; - max-width: 100%; -} - -.ph1 {text-align: center; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;} -.ph2 {text-align: center; font-size: xx-large; font-weight: bold;} - -div.titlepage {text-align: center; page-break-before: always; page-break-after: always;} -div.titlepage p {text-align: center; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5; margin-top: 2em;} - -.xlarge {font-size: 150%;} -.large {font-size: 125%;} - -.poetry-container {text-align: center;} -.poetry {display: inline-block; text-align: left;} -.poetry .verse {text-indent: -2.5em; padding-left: 3em;} -.poetry .indent2 {text-indent: 2.5em;} -@media print { .poetry {display: block;} } -.x-ebookmaker .poetry {display: block;} - - -.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; - color: black; - font-size:smaller; - margin-left: 17.5%; - margin-right: 17.5%; - padding: 1em; - margin-bottom: 1em; - font-family:sans-serif, serif; } - - </style> - </head> -<body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Broken Barriers, by Meredith Nicholson</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Broken Barriers</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Meredith Nicholson</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: December 8, 2021 [eBook #66907]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: D A Alexander, David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BROKEN BARRIERS ***</div> - - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/cover.jpg" width="40%" alt="" /></div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<p class="ph1"><i>BY MEREDITH NICHOLSON</i></p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - -<p>BROKEN BARRIERS<br /> -BEST LAID SCHEMES<br /> -THE MAN IN THE STREET<br /> -BLACKSHEEP! BLACKSHEEP!<br /> -LADY LARKSPUR<br /> -THE MADNESS OF MAY<br /> -THE VALLEY OF DEMOCRACY</p> - -<p><i>CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS</i></p> -</div></div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<h1>BROKEN BARRIERS</h1> -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<p><span class="xlarge">BROKEN BARRIERS</span></p> - -<p>BY<br /> - -<span class="large">MEREDITH NICHOLSON</span></p> - -<p>NEW YORK<br /> -CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS<br /> -1922</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Copyright, 1922, by</span><br /> -CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS<br /> -<br /> -<span class="smcap">Copyright, 1921, 1922, by THE INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE CO.</span><br /> -<br /> -Printed in the United States of America<br /> -<br /> -Published September, 1922</p> - -<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_logo.jpg" alt="" /></div> -</div> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<p class="center">TO<br /> -<br /> -<span class="large">RAY LONG</span><br /> -<br /> -WITH AFFECTIONATE REGARD<br /> -AND IN TOKEN OF<br /> -THE OLD HOOSIER FELLOWSHIP<br /> -OF MONTGOMERY AND BOONE</p> -</div> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> - -<p class="ph2">BROKEN BARRIERS</p> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_1">[1]</span> -<p class="ph2">BROKEN BARRIERS</p> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER ONE</h2> -</div> - - -<h3>I</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">As</span> the train sped through the night Grace Durland -decided that after all it didn’t matter so much!</p> - -<p>She had parted tearfully from the girls at the -sorority house and equally poignant had been the goodbyes -to her friends among the faculty; but now that -it was all over she was surprised and a little mystified -that she had so quickly recovered from her disappointment. -Bitterness had welled in her heart at the -first reading of her mother’s letter calling her home. -Her brother Roy, always the favored one, was to remain -at the University to finish the law course, for -which he had shown neither aptitude nor zeal, and -this hurt a little. And they might have warned her -of the impending crisis in the family fortunes before -she left home to begin the fall term, only a -month earlier.</p> - -<p>But her resentment had passed. The spirit of -adventure beat in her breast with strong insistent -wing. With the fatalism of imaginative youth she -was already assuring herself that some force beyond -her control had caught her up and was bearing her -on irresistibly.</p> - -<p>She lay back at ease in her seat in the day -coach, grateful that there were no acquaintances on -the train to interrupt her reveries. She was twenty-one,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">[2]</span> -tall, slightly above medium height and bore -every mark of sound health and wholesome living—a -fair representative of the self-reliant American girls -visible on the campus of all Mid-Western colleges. -The excitement of her hasty packing and leave-taking -had left a glow in her olive cheeks. Her hair, where -it showed under her sport hat, was lustrous black; -her eyes were brown, though in shadow they changed -to jade,—variable, interesting eyes they were, that -arrested attention by their quick play of emotion. -They expressed her alert intelligence, her frank curiosity, -her sympathetic and responsive nature.</p> - -<p>When the train reached Indianapolis she left her -trunk check with the transfer agent and boarded a -street-car. At Washington street, she transferred to -the trolley line that ran down New York street, where -the Durland home faced Military Park. New York -street between the old canal and the western end of -the park had once been a fashionable quarter of the -town, and the old houses still stood though their -glory of the Civil War time and the years immediately -succeeding had departed. The Durlands lived in a big -square brick house, set well back in a yard that rose -a little above the street. The native forest trees in -the lots all along the block added to the impression -of age imparted by the houses themselves. Under the -branches of the big walnut in the Durland front yard -the neighborhood children of Grace’s generation had -gathered to play. The tree was identified with her -earliest recollections; it had symbolized the stability -of the home itself.</p> - -<p>She pushed open the iron gate and hurried up the -brick walk. Her ring brought her mother to the -door, clutching a newspaper.</p> - -<p>“Why, <i>Grace</i>! I had no <i>idea</i>——”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">[3]</span>She caught the girl in her arms, then held her away, -looked into her eyes and kissed her.</p> - -<p>“I’m so sorry, dear! I know what it means to you. -It’s a terrible disappointment to all of us.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I understand everything, mother.”</p> - -<p>“But I didn’t expect you so soon. I don’t see how -you managed it. I thought you’d probably wait till -Saturday.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I couldn’t have done that, mother.”</p> - -<p>“How’s Roy? He didn’t write at all last week.”</p> - -<p>“He’s flourishing and sent his love to everybody. -He promises to work harder than ever now.”</p> - -<p>“I’m sure he will. I know he was sorry to see you -leave; he’d know what a wrench it would be for -you.”</p> - -<p>They had been talking in the hall, with Grace’s -suitcase and tennis racket lying on the floor where -she had dropped them. She pushed them out of the -way at the foot of the old-fashioned stair that rose -steeply just inside the door.</p> - -<p>“Don’t bother about your things now, Grace. Your -father’s in the sitting room and Ethel’s up in the -spare room sewing. Have you had your supper? -There’s some cold baked chicken in the ice-box and -I can make you some hot tea.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I had supper before I left, mother.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Durland lifted her head and called her older -daughter’s name and from some remote place Ethel -answered. Mrs. Durland was as dark as Grace, but -cast in a larger mold, and while there were points of -resemblance in their faces there was a masculine vigor -in the mother that the girl lacked. Mrs. Durland’s -iron-gray hair was brushed back smoothly from her -low broad forehead. She wore an authoritative air, -suggesting at once managerial capacity; a woman,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">[4]</span> -one would say, strongly independent in her thinking; -self-assertive and obstinate, but of kind and generous -impulses.</p> - -<p>Grace was already in the sitting room, where she -tip-toed up behind her father, who was absorbed in a -book that he read as it lay on the table before him. -His bent shoulders suggested that this was his habitual -manner of managing a book. Grace passed her hands -over his thick shock of disordered hair and patted his -cheek; then bent and laid her face against his.</p> - -<p>“Well, here I am, daddy!”</p> - -<p>“Not home, Grace!” he exclaimed looking up at -her bewilderedly. “They didn’t tell me you were -coming.”</p> - -<p>“I’m a surprise! Nobody knew I was coming tonight!”</p> - -<p>“Well, well; I didn’t know there was a train at this -hour. It’s nice to see you, Grace.”</p> - -<p>He turned to the open volume with an absent confused -air, as though uncertain whether anything -further was expected of him, then pushed his chair -back from the table. Mrs. Durland had come in, -followed quickly by Ethel carrying a work-basket -and a blouse that she had been at work on when interrupted -by the announcement of her sister’s arrival.</p> - -<p>Ethel was twenty-seven, an indefinite blonde, and -not so tall as Grace. Her mother said that she was a -Durland, specifically like one of her husband’s sisters -in Ohio, a person for whom Mrs. Durland had never -evinced any great liking. Mrs. Durland was a Morley -and the Morleys were a different stock, with the -Kentucky background so precious in the eyes of many -Indianians. Mrs. Durland’s father had been a -lawyer of small attainments in a southern Indiana<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">[5]</span> -county, but it was in her grandfather Josiah B. Morley, -who sat in the Constitutional Convention of 1851, -and was later a speaker of the Indiana house of representatives, -that her pride concentrated. She had -married Durland in Rangerton, where as a young -man he had begun with Isaac Cummings the manufacture -of a few mechanical specialties, removing -shortly to Indianapolis with a number of Durland’s -inventions and Cummings’s small capital as the -foundation of their fortune.</p> - -<p>“Things have changed some since you left, Grace. -And I’m sorry you had to quit school,” Durland was -saying, while Ethel, having greeted her sister, sat -down by the smoldering coal fire and resumed her -sewing.</p> - -<p>“It’s all right, father,” said Grace, who had taken -off her hat and coat. “I came back as soon as I got -the news so you and mother would know it’s all -right with me. We’re all going to put up a cheerful -front, no matter what happens.”</p> - -<p>“Of course we’ve all got to do that,” murmured -Ethel without looking up.</p> - -<p>“It’s hard on you children,” said Durland. “It’s -all my fault; I’ve got nobody to blame but myself, -Grace. Cummings always seemed willing for me to -go on as I did for twenty years, trying to improve -on the old patents and develop new ideas. But ideas -don’t come as fast as they used to. I guess he -thought he’d got everything I was ever likely to have -to offer.”</p> - -<p>“It was certainly unkind, after all the years you’d -been together. But I don’t believe for a minute your -work’s done. You’ll strike something bigger than -any of your old inventions.”</p> - -<p>“That’s what I’ve been telling father,” said Ethel.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[6]</span> -“A man who’s spent years inventing things is likely -to find something big any time. Of course, without -the shop father can’t work as well, but he’s going to -have a shop of his own.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that’s fine, father!” exclaimed Grace. “Where -is the new place going to be?”</p> - -<p>“It’s not much of a place,” Durland answered -apologetically. “I rented a little room in the Billings -Power Building and am going to run a pattern and -model shop. I hope to get enough work right away -to pay the rent.”</p> - -<p>“I’m sure you will. Everybody who knows anything -about the machinery business knows you’re the -inventor of the only good things Cummings-Durland -make.”</p> - -<p>“They’ve changed the name of the company now,” -Ethel remarked. “They’ve cut father’s name out.”</p> - -<p>“They changed the name in reorganizing the company,” -Durland explained patiently in his colorless -tone. “I had some loans the bank wouldn’t carry any -longer; stock I put up as collateral had to be sold and -Cummings bought it.”</p> - -<p>“A man who will do a thing like that will be punished -for it; he won’t prosper,” said Ethel in a -curious, strained voice.</p> - -<p>Durland frowned at his older daughter. Evidently -her remark was distasteful to him; he found no consolation -in the prediction that unseen powers would -punish Cummings for his perfidy.</p> - -<p>“I’d probably have done the same thing if I’d been -in his place. Everything he turned down—my new -ideas, I mean—proved to be no good when I put -my own money into ’em on the side. You’ve got -to be fair about it.”</p> - -<p>It was clear that he set great store by the new shop.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[7]</span> -The fact that he still had a place to work preserved -his self-respect. With a place in which to continue -his experiments he was not utterly condemned to the -scrap heap. He lifted his head and his jaws tightened. -Grace noted with pity these manifestations of a resurgence -of his courage. His laborious life, his few -interests outside the shop or more accurately the -private laboratory he had maintained for years in a -corner of the Cummings-Durland plant; his evenings -at home poring over scientific books and periodicals; -his mild unquestioning assent to everything his wife -proposed with reference to family affairs, all had their -pathos. She had always been aware that he had a -fondness for her that was not shared by Roy and -Ethel. Grace imagined that it was a disappointment -to her father that Roy had not manifested a mechanical -bent. In his gentle, unassertive fashion, Durland -had tried to curb the lad’s proneness to seek amusement, -to skimp his lessons—this in Roy’s high school -days; but Mrs. Durland had always been quick to -defend Roy; in her eyes he could do no wrong.</p> - -<p>Ethel and her father were almost equally out of -sympathy. Ethel was intensely religious, zealous in -attendance upon a down-town church, a teacher in -its Sunday school and active in its young people’s -society. While Mrs. Durland had long been a member -of a West End church she was not particularly -religious; she believed there was good in all churches; -but she was proud of Ethel’s prominence in a church -whose membership was recruited largely from the -prosperous. Ethel was on important committees and -she was now and then a delegate to conventions of -church workers in other cities; the pastor called upon -her frequently and she had been asked to dinner at -the houses of wealthy members of the congregation,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[8]</span> -though usually some church business inspired the invitation. -In a day when the frivolity of the new generation -was a subject of general lamentation, Ethel -could be pointed to as a pattern of sobriety and rectitude. -Durland had ceased going to church shortly -after his marriage and his wife had accounted to his -children for his apostacy on the ground of his scientific -learnings. He never discussed religion; indeed, -he rarely debated any question that rose in the family.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Durland came bustling in carrying an apron -which she was hemstitching and the talk at once became -more animated.</p> - -<p>“The Cummings are in their new house on Washington -Boulevard, Grace. They’ve left the house on -Meridian they bought when they moved away from -here. They haven’t sold their place; they’ve leased it -for ninety-nine years to an automobile company. -We’re the only people on this block who were here -when your father bought this house.”</p> - -<p>Ethel and her mother engaged in a long discussion -of the Cummings family, not neglecting to abuse Isaac -Cummings for his ungenerous conduct in dropping -Durland from the business. Meanwhile Durland -crossed and recrossed his short thin legs to express -his impatience or disapproval. Nothing interested him -less than the Cummings family history; and his elimination -from the old company was a closed incident.</p> - -<p>“Bob Cummings’s wife is certainly a pretty -woman,” continued Ethel. “She’s very popular, too. -You see her name nearly every day in the society -column. Bob was always so quiet; I wonder how he -likes being dragged about so much.”</p> - -<p>“I shall always think,” remarked Mrs. Durland expansively, -“that if the Cummings hadn’t moved away<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[9]</span> -when they did Bob and Grace might—well, I always -thought he liked you particularly, Grace, and you -were fond of him. Of course, he’s five years older, -but when you were still in high school and he was in -Yale he always came to see you and took you places -when he was home. But when they moved away -everything changed.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that didn’t amount to anything, mother,” -Grace replied carelessly. “He was always shy as a -boy and I suppose he still is. After they moved away -he didn’t know the girls out there so he hung on to -me for a while. He just used me to cover up his -diffidence among strange young people at country -club dances, and other places where he didn’t know -many people. When he got acquainted out there he -didn’t need me any more.”</p> - -<p>“It would be like Hetty Cummings to tell him he’d -better cut his West End friends,” said Mrs. Durland -tartly. “Even back in Rangerton she was always -setting up to be better than most folks. It must have -been in their minds when they moved away that they -were going to force your father out of the business -and burn all the old bridges.”</p> - -<p>“The canal bridge,” remarked Grace with a little -laugh which the others ignored.</p> - -<p>“Now, Allie,” said Durland in mild protest, “they -didn’t force me out. It was losing my stock in the -company that put me out.”</p> - -<p>“It was merciless,” said Ethel, her voice rising, -“Cummings took advantage of you. He always knew -you were not a business man. Everything he’s got -came through your genius.”</p> - -<p>“I guess he thought my genius was worn out,—and -he may be right about it,” said Durland.</p> - -<p>“Don’t be so foolish, daddy,” said Grace gently.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[10]</span> -“Any day you may have an inspiration that will be -worth a lot of money.”</p> - -<p>“It’s always possible, of course,” said Mrs. Durland -with a little sigh susceptible of the interpretation that -she had no great confidence in her husband’s further -inspirations. “Ethel,” she continued, “tell Grace -about your work.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, please do, sis,” said Grace.</p> - -<p>“Well, I’ve just begun,” Ethel replied primly. “I -don’t know much about it myself. I’m in the Gregg -and Burley company; they’re one of the biggest insurance -agencies in town. Mr. Burley’s been ever so -nice to me. His little girl’s in my Sunday-school class. -Mrs. Burley asked me to a birthday party they had -for Louise last summer, so I really feel that I know -the family. I’m handling the telephone calls and doing -other little things till I get the run of the office. I’ve -started at eighteen a week but Mr. Burley says they’ll -raise me just as soon as I’m worth more. There are -six other girls in the office and one who’s been there -ten years get fifty a week and I don’t see how they -ever could get along without her. She knows more -about the details of the business than the members of -the firm.”</p> - -<p>“That sounds good,” said Grace warmly. “I suppose -there are women in business here who make large -salaries, far more than high school teachers or teachers -in colleges.”</p> - -<p>“I never thought my girls would have to battle for -their bread,” said Mrs. Durland. “I’ve always clung -to the old-fashioned idea that girls should stay with -their mothers till they married. Of course thousands -of splendid girls are at work in every kind of -business, but it’s hard for me to get used to it.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t see why women shouldn’t work if they need -to or want to,” said Grace, “I think that’s one of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[11]</span> -things that’s settled; women can do anything they -please these days.”</p> - -<p>“I can’t bring myself to see it,” Mrs. Durland replied, -“I remember that it seemed queer when my -father employed a woman stenographer in his office.”</p> - -<p>“Well, times have changed, mother,” Grace remarked. -“I have an idea that I can sell things; I -read an article in a magazine about the psychology -of salesmanship, and I have a strong hunch that that -would be a good field for me. The big stores must -be taking on more help at this season. I think I’ll see -what the chances are.”</p> - -<p>“Grace, surely you’re not in earnest!” cried Mrs. -Durland. “Of course we will need your help, but it -would be a lot better, considering your education, for -you to take up teaching or go into an office as Ethel’s -doing. It’s so much more in keeping with your bringing -up. It would break my heart to see you behind -a counter!”</p> - -<p>Durland shifted uncomfortably in his chair as the -matter was discussed. For years he had lived his own -life, his thoughts centered constantly upon mechanical -projects. He was now confronted by the fact that as -the result of his intense preoccupation with tools, -metals and wood and his inattention and incapacity in -business he was hardly a factor in family affairs. He -listened almost as though he were a stranger in a -strange house, his guilt heavy upon him. He started -when Grace addressed him directly.</p> - -<p>“Well, daddy, don’t you think I’m right about trying -my arts of persuasion as a saleslady? I’ve always -loved that word! I think it would be fascinating.”</p> - -<p>“You make it sound interesting,” said Durland cautiously, -after a timid glance at his wife. “I want you -to know it hurts me to think that you girls have got -to go to work. But as long as it can’t be helped I want<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[12]</span> -you to do the best you can for yourselves. You ought -to be sure you get into something where you’ll have a -chance to forward yourself.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, daddy,” said Grace kindly. “I want to make -my time count. If I’m going to be a business woman -I mean to play the game for all I’m worth.”</p> - -<p>“I simply couldn’t be reconciled to having you in -a store,” said Mrs. Durland. “An office would be -much more dignified.”</p> - -<p>“I guess Grace can take care of herself,” Durland -ventured.</p> - -<p>“Of course!” replied Mrs. Durland quickly, “we -can trust our girls anywhere. I was only thinking -of the annoyances. I’ve seen girls humiliated by floor-walkers—right -before customers, and it always makes -me boil. And I’m ashamed to say there are women -who are perfectly hateful to the clerks who wait on -them.”</p> - -<p>“Well, who’s afraid!” said Grace cheerfully. “School -teachers have a hard time too, with principals and -supervisors pecking at them all the time. Now that -I’m going out into the world I’m not going to ask any -special favors because I’m a woman. The day for -that’s all passed.”</p> - -<p>“And it’s a pity it’s so!” declared Mrs. Durland.</p> - -<p>“Oh, mother, I’m for taking the world as I find it!” -She glanced laughingly at her father who smiled -at her approvingly. In his undemonstrative way he -was relieved that Grace was meeting family -misfortunes so bravely. His courage was strengthened -by her very presence in the house. Prematurely -aged as he was, he rejoiced in her youth, her radiant -vitality, her good humor and high spirits. He followed -her with admiring eyes as she moved about the -room. She bent for a moment over the book he had -been reading, asked questions about it, drawing him<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[13]</span> -out as to its nature and merits. He was as happy as -a boy when a sympathetic grown-up manifests an intelligent -interest in his toys.</p> - -<p>“I hope you won’t be in too much of a hurry about -going to work, Grace,” said Mrs. Durland. “It’s a -serious matter for you and all of us. Perhaps Ethel -could make some suggestions. Some of her church -friends might be able to help you.”</p> - -<p>“I shall be glad to do anything I can,” Ethel murmured -without looking up from her sewing.</p> - -<p>“Oh, thanks; I’ll certainly call on you if I see any -place where you can help. I’ve been thinking about it -ever since I got mother’s letter, and I believe I’ll call -up Irene Kirby right now and make an appointment -to see her tomorrow. She’s been in Shipley’s ever -since she left high school.”</p> - -<p>“Now, Grace, please don’t do that,” protested Mrs. -Durland, “you must take time to consider your future. -Irene’s people are very ordinary and I never liked -your intimacy with her when you went to school together.”</p> - -<p>“Why, mother, Irene’s one of the finest girls I ever -knew! She was a good student in high school and -certainly behaved herself. She can tell me all about -Shipley’s and the chances of getting in there.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t like it at all, Grace,” replied Mrs. Durland. -“It’s bad enough having my daughters going down -town to work but I’d hate having you ask favors -of a girl like Irene Kirby. I don’t see why you can’t -wait a little and let Ethel help you find something -more suitable.”</p> - -<p>“But it won’t do any harm to see Irene and talk -to her.”</p> - -<p>They heard her voice at the telephone in the hall -and caught scraps of her lively talk with Irene.</p> - -<p>“Grace is so headstrong,” Mrs. Durland sighed.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[14]</span> -“And you never can tell how anything’s going to strike -her. I’m always amazed at her inconsistencies. She’s -the last girl in the world you’d think would want -to work in a department store. She isn’t that type at -all. Stephen, I wish you’d put your foot down.”</p> - -<p>Durland looked at his wife blankly, trying to recall -any other instance where he had been asked to put -his foot down. If he had been a man of mirth he -might have laughed.</p> - -<p>“Grace ain’t going to do anything foolish; you can -trust Grace,” he said.</p> - -<p>“What did Irene say?” asked Ethel when Grace -came back from the telephone.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I am going to have lunch with her tomorrow -at the store and she’ll tell me everything,” said Grace -carelessly. “Well, daddy, it’s about time for the -regular evening apple.”</p> - -<p>There was a plate of apples on the table with a knife -beside it, and Durland, pleased that she remembered -his habit of eating an apple before going to bed, took -one she chose for him and peeled it with care, tossing -the unbroken peeling into the grate.</p> - - -<h3>II</h3> - -<p>As Grace and her mother washed the dishes and -made the beds the next morning Mrs. Durland recurred -to the ill fortune that had brought Grace home -from the university. Repetition was a habit with her, -and she explained again and with more detail the manner -in which Cummings had thrust her husband out -of Cummings-Durland. She praised the spirit in which -Ethel had met the situation—all this as a prelude to -another plea that Grace should plan her future with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[15]</span> -care and not take the first employment that offered. -One of these days the right man would come along -and she would marry; Mrs. Durland hoped that both -her daughters would marry good men and keep up the -traditions of the American home.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I’ve never felt that I’d marry,” Grace replied. -“The reason I went to college was to fit myself -to be something in the world; and now that I’ve -got to begin over again I’m going to experiment a -little. I may try a lot of things before I find something -that suits me.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Grace, you know I’ve done the best I could -for all you children. When my time comes to go I -want to know that you are all happy and well placed -in life.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, mother; you’ve been wonderful to all of us. -And I want you to be sure I’m not bitter about anything. -You and father have always done the best -you could for us.”</p> - -<p>It was a clear, crisp morning and Grace decided -to walk the short distance to the business district. -Her buoyant step expressed her lightness of spirit; -never had she felt so well, never had she been so sure -of herself. She was convinced that it was only her -pride that had suffered in the sudden termination of -her college life and that the blow was not to any -lofty ideal that she had erected for herself. The -thought of freedom fascinated her. Her mother’s constant -lament that the world was not what it used to be -and that the change was not all for the better only -piqued her curiosity. While the university had thrown -its protecting arm about her she had not thought of -perils or dangers; they were only the subject of tedious -warnings by pessimists who had despaired of youth in -all ages. But now that she had been thrust into the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[16]</span> -world she refused to be appalled by hints of unseen -dangers; the fact that they were only hints, intimations, -vague insinuations, only increased her incredulity -while creating a wonder in her mind as to their -exact nature. She was afraid of nothing; dared everything.</p> - -<p>A car screeched discordantly as it negotiated a turn -on its way into the interurban station. She noted the -faces of the passengers at the windows—country folk -and small town people—and felt her comradeship with -them. She had once heard the president of the university -say that the state was like a big neighborhood -of cheerful, industrious, aspiring people, and the -thought pleased her.</p> - -<p>To Grace the capital city of her native state was -merely an aggregation of three hundred and some odd -thousand people. The rust-colored dome of the State -House and the majestic shaft of the Soldier’s and -Sailor’s Monument connoted history and implied -changes that were to influence and affect her as a child -of the commonwealth; but she was only vaguely conscious -of them. It was her fate to become an active -member of the community at a time when elderly citizens, -who professed to believe that nothing had -changed since the last wild turkey was shot within the -town’s original mile square, found themselves walking -from the post office to the old Bates House site without -meeting a single acquaintance. The languor that -for years gave Indianapolis a half-southern air was -gone. Here indeed was abundant material for the -student of change.</p> - -<p>Still a sprawling country town at the end of the -Civil War, Indianapolis was booming gaily when the -panic of ’73 punished it for its temerity. The few conservative -capitalists who patiently sawed wood while<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[17]</span> -the bubbles were bursting had money to invest when -the Eastern insurance companies began foreclosing -their mortgages on the best corners. Such banks as -survived established new low records of refrigeration. -Newcomers, stupidly desirous of initiating new enterprises, -were chilled by their reception. Melancholy -recollections of the panic of ’73 were long a sufficient -excuse for restricted credits. Not going to take any -chances! As a matter of fact they never had taken -any, those cautious souls, and in the trail of the whirlwind -they had gathered enough spoil to enrich themselves -a thousand fold. Stinginess nobly standardized -by a few merely, one might think, that the generous of -hand and spirit might shine the more effulgently. The -town got by the pinching times of ’84 and ’93 and continued -to grow right along until the automobile craze -arrived with a resulting multiplication of smokestacks. -With the old guard, and such portions of a new generation -as had been intimidated by its caution, sitting -in pigeon-toed fear predicting calamity, the growth -persisted.</p> - -<p>Prosperity began to wear strange faces; the old-timers -didn’t know the new people or pretended they -didn’t. Many of these new folk who rolled over the -asphalt in large expensive limousines didn’t go to -church at all. A singular thing. Once it hadn’t been -respectable to abstain from church. Spectacle of perfectly -good citizens riding gaily to the country clubs -on Sunday morning without fear of eternal damnation. -Churches moving uptown, or those that clung to their -old sites trying valiantly to adjust themselves to changing -spiritual needs.</p> - -<p>Sentiment—oodles and scads of sentiment about the -town and its people! Visitors expected to confess that -here throbs a different atmosphere—an ampler ether, a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[18]</span> -diviner air. Politics, no end. Statesmen and stateswomen -everywhere visible. Families torn asunder by -the battles of the primaries. A political bomb hidden -under the socks in every darning basket. The fine -arts not neglected. An honest interest, dating back -to the founders, in bookish things; every mail box a -receptacle for manuscript. Riley in Lockerbie street -thrumming his lyre with the nation for audience.</p> - -<p>No reason why any one should go friendless or stray -from the straight and narrow path in a town so solidly -based on the ten commandments, except that the percentage -of the wayward seems bound to grow with a -mounting population, particularly when the biggest -war in all creation comes along and jars most disturbingly -all the props of civilization. Changes! Changes -of course, not local as to cause and effect, but part of -the general onward sweep of the Time-Spirit impelled -by gasoline to jazzy music.</p> - -<p>In so far as she paid any attention to the talk -about changes that she had heard at home and at the -university, Grace believed it was all for good; that it -was well to be done with hypocrisy, cant, prudishness; -that a frank recognition of evil rather than an attempt -to cloak it marked a distinct advance. When she -was about nine her mother had rebuked her severely -for using the word leg; a leg was a limb and not vulgarly -to be referred to as a leg. The use of leg when -leg was meant was still considered vulgar by fairly -broad-minded folk in the corn-belt, probably as late -as 1906—if one may attempt to fix a date for so -momentous a matter.</p> - -<p>Grace Durland was no more responsible for the -changes going on about her than her parents had been -for the changes of their day. They had witnessed the -passing of the hoop-skirt and red flannel underwear,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[19]</span> -the abandonment of the asafetida bag as a charm -against infection, and other follies innumerable. Boys -and girls had once stolen down the back stairs or -brazenly lied to gain an evening of freedom; now the -only difference was that they demanded—and received—a -key to the front door. Civilization will hardly go -to smash over the question of a girl’s refusal to wear a -corset or her insistence on her right to roll her stockings. -The generation of Grace Durland isn’t responsible -for changes that began the day after creation -and started all over again after the flood and will continue -right on to the end of all things.</p> - - -<h3>III</h3> - -<p>The last of a number of errands she had undertaken -for her mother brought Grace to Shipley’s a little -before twelve. She observed the young women who -waited on her with a particular attention inspired by -the feeling that she too might soon be standing behind -a counter. Some of the clerks at Shipley’s were -women well advanced in middle life, whom she remembered -from her earliest visits to the establishment. -These veterans contributed to Shipley’s reputation for -solidity and permanence. They enjoyed the friendly -acquaintance of many customers, who relied upon their -counsel in their purchases. There were many more -employees of this type in Shipley’s than in any other -establishment in town; they were an asset, a testimony -to the consideration shown the employees, the -high character of the owners. Grace’s imagination -played upon her own future: what if she should find -herself in ten or twenty years behind a counter, ambition -and hope dead in her and nothing ahead but<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[20]</span> -the daily exhibition of commodities and the making -out of sale slips!</p> - -<p>But this cloud was only the tiniest speck on her -horizon. She had already set a limit upon the time -she would spend in such a place if her services were -accepted; it was the experience she wanted, and when -she had exhausted the possibilities of Shipley’s or some -similar place she meant to carry her pitcher of curiosity -to other fountains.</p> - -<p>While waiting for Irene outside the lunch room she -found amusement in watching the shoppers, studying -them, determining their financial and social status. -Some one had told her that she was endowed with -special gifts for appraising character, and she had the -conceit of her inexperience as a student of the human -kind. Her speculations as to the passers-by were interrupted -by the arrival of Irene.</p> - -<p>“It’s perfectly wonderful to see you again! I was -that delighted to hear your voice over the wire last -night. You’re looking marvelous! I always adored -your gypsy effect! Come along—there’s a particular -table in a far corner they keep for me and we can -buzz for just one hour.”</p> - -<p>She had put on her coat and hat, to disguise the -fact, she explained, that she was one of Shipley’s hired -hands. She was a tall blonde, with a wealth of -honey-colored hair, china blue eyes and a dear brilliant -complexion. Grace’s admiration, dating from -high school days, quickened as she noted the girl’s -ease and the somewhat scornful air with which she -inspected the lunch card. Irene’s father was a locomotive -engineer and the family lived in a comfortable -house on a pleasant street in the East End, not far -from the railway shops. Irene had brothers and sisters, -but they did not share her good looks or her social<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[21]</span> -qualities. Irene met the rest of the world with a lofty -condescension which fell short of being insufferable -only by reason of her good humor. Selfishness with -Irene was almost a virtue, it manifested itself so candidly. -She had no intention of being bored, or of -putting herself out. Ugliness and clumsiness were -repugnant to her. Disagreeable things did not trouble -her because she had schooled herself not to see them. -She was clever, adroit, resourceful, and wise with the -astonishing worldly-wisdom that is the heritage of the -children of the Twentieth Century. In school she had -been a fair scholar but the grand manner and a ready -wit had assisted her even there. When puzzled by -Irene’s ability to dress better than most of her girl -companions in the high school, Grace had been impressed -by the revelation that Irene made her own -clothes and could retouch last year’s hat with a genius -that brought it into conformity with the latest and -most exclusive designs.</p> - -<p>“You still have the same queenly look, Irene,” -Grace remarked.</p> - -<p>“Queenly nothing! You’re nearly as tall as I am -and I haven’t a thing on you when it comes to hauteur. -I suppose the Lord made me tall and gave me square -shoulders just to hang clothes on for women with -money to look at. I wish I had your black hair. Being -a blonde is an awful handicap if you’re doomed to -work for a living. And a complexion like mine, which -is called good by experts, is a nuisance. I’ve refused -an offer about once a month to go on the road selling -and demonstrating cosmetics. Can you see me?”</p> - -<p>“I supposed you’d be married before this, Irene. -You must have had loads of chances.”</p> - -<p>“Chances but not opportunities,” replied Irene with -a shrug. “Don’t tell me you’ve quit college to get<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[22]</span> -married; it’s not a professor, I hope! I’d hate to see -you sacrificing yourself in the noble cause of education.”</p> - -<p>“Nothing like that. I quit because we’re broke—father -couldn’t afford to keep me in college any longer. -Some one had to drop out and as Roy has only a -year more in the law school it seemed better for him -to keep on.”</p> - -<p>“Roy?” Irene repeated the name languidly as -though Roy were a negligible figure in the affairs of -the Durlands.</p> - -<p>“My brother,” said Grace.</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes!” Irene’s eyes lighted as with some memory. -“Oh, yes—brothers do rather have the best of it, -don’t they? But it’s too bad you couldn’t finish. -You’re just the type of girl that ought to be rounded -out at college.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, it’s all right; I’m rather glad to be free.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I’d dreamed of seeing you land high as a -writer or something like that. I’ll hand you this right -now: women can’t know too much these days. It’s -a big advantage to a woman to know how to talk to -men; I don’t mean the pool room boys but the real -men—the men who draw the large mazuma. They -have the brains themselves and they respect the same -ingredient in girls, a lot of silly ideas to the contrary -notwithstanding. Just by knowing Thackeray I’m -the assistant manager of the ready-to-wear department -of this spacious emporium—the youngest assistant -in the house. Funny, but it’s true!”</p> - -<p>Asked for an elucidation of the statement, Irene explained -that the general superintendent of Shipley’s, -who had power of life and death over everything pertaining -to the establishment, was Thackeray-mad. -Learning this she had carelessly referred to “Becky<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[23]</span> -Sharp” in a chance conversation with him in the elevator -on a day when he deigned to notice her. In a -week she had been called to his office and promoted.</p> - -<p>“Oh, don’t imagine he was leading up to anything; -he’s a gentleman with a wife and three children and -teaches a Sunday-school class. But he yearns to talk -to some one—any one who has a scrap of interest in -Thackeray. His wife invited me to their house for -Sunday dinner awhile back and I was never so bored -in my life. But I did manage to show an intelligent -interest in his library, so I guess I’ll hold my job.”</p> - -<p>Irene had finished at the high school two years -before Grace, but the difference in their ages was not -to be calculated in years. Irene had always seemed -to Grace to be endowed with the wisdom of all the -centuries.</p> - -<p>“About those correspondence courses, Grace,” Irene -was saying, “I’ve had most of the stuff on the schedule -of that English course I wrote you about. I -wouldn’t read Carlyle’s ‘Heroes and Hero-worship’ -again for a farm in Texas.”</p> - -<p>“Or Bacon’s ‘Novum Organum’,” groaned Grace.</p> - -<p>“Well—I’m concentrating on French. You know -I had French in high school, and I’m keeping it up -in the hope the house will send me to Paris next year. -You know Shipley’s is one of the most progressive -houses in the whole west; they certainly do treat you -white.”</p> - -<p>“Mother’s not wildly enthusiastic about my going -into a store. You know mother; she thinks——”</p> - -<p>“I know,” Irene caught her up, “she thinks it’s not -as respectable as working in an office or teaching -a kindergarten. I met Ethel on the street the other -day and she told me she’d taken a place with an insurance -firm. That’s all right for Ethel but no good<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[24]</span> -for you. I looked over the office game before I -decided to come here and there’s nothing to it, my -dear. You can make a good thing of this if you have -selling talent. My salary is nothing to speak of but -I get a bonus—I drew seventy-five dollars last week -and I expect to hit the hundred mark before Christmas. -They steer the customers who look like real money -to me. When you’ve learned the trick you can make -them think it’s a disgrace not to buy the highest -priced thing we carry. The women from the country -towns whose husbands have grabbed the water power -on ’Possum creek or foreclosed on ninety per cent -of the farmers in the township, bring said husbands -along and they are the easiest. I throw the wrap or -whatever it is on my own stately person, then clap -it on the wife and hubby doesn’t dare let his wife -suspect he doesn’t think her as much of a Venus de -Milo as I am! A modest little violet!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Irene!” cried Grace, enchanted with her -friend’s wisdom.</p> - -<p>She marveled at Irene’s poise, and envied her the -light ironic flick she gave to the business of bargain -and sale. Irene complained in the most ladylike manner -of the chicken salad, which Grace had thought -very good. The head-waitress listened respectfully -and offered to substitute something else, but Irene declined, -with the indifference of one to whom petty annoyances -are merely incidental and to be mentioned -merely for the good of the service.</p> - -<p>As they ate their chocolate eclairs Grace became -impatient to broach the matter of her own ambition -to become a factor in Shipley’s, but it seemed a pity -to break in upon Irene, who went on tranquilly discussing -their old companions of high school days. Presently, -after paying the checks, she brought her wrist<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[25]</span> -watch within range of her eyes with a graceful gesture, -and disposed of the matter with characteristic ease.</p> - -<p>“I’ve spoken to Miss Lupton—she manages our employment -bureau—about you. She’s a very good -friend of mine; and I mentioned you to Miss Boardman, -the head of my department. I didn’t wait to ask -where you’d rather be; but of course I’d like to have -you with me. I can’t just see you in the toilet goods -or infants’ wear. They’re pretty full in all departments, -but I think I’ve got you fixed.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Irene——”</p> - -<p>“All you do is to fill out an application blank—they -always require that—and give two references. -You’ve had no experience, but your figure and general -intelligence will more than balance that. They do -their best to keep the standard high and it won’t be -lost on them that you’re of good family and have taken -a whirl at college.”</p> - -<p>“I’m certainly obliged to you, Irene. I didn’t know -it would be as easy as this—but”—she laughed, “they -haven’t seen me yet!”</p> - -<p>“Don’t fish! Your appearance is nothing to complain -of; you know that as well as I do. It will be -fine to have you where we can talk and play together -as we did in school. Between us we ought to be able -to give tone to our end of the shop!”</p> - - -<h3>IV</h3> - -<p>Miss Lupton received Grace amiably, asked her a -few questions, and pushed a blank toward her.</p> - -<p>“We always require this; it’s just a matter of routine,” -she explained, and as Grace filled in the blank -she looked at Irene and nodded her approval of the -candidate.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[26]</span>Miss Boardman, a woman of forty, short, plump and -brisk in manner and speech, surveyed Grace with full -appreciation, remarking that Miss Kirby had covered -all the details.</p> - -<p>“We’ll be ready for you Monday morning,” she said. -Then she directed Irene’s attention to a lady who had, -she explained, inspected all the garments in the shop -and still lingered, a prey to uncertainty. “Miss Flagg -doesn’t seem to be getting anywhere with that woman. -It’s a Mrs. Bascomb from up in the state somewhere—Muncie -or Anderson, or maybe Delphi. She’s a -new customer and the fussiest person I ever saw. -Maybe you can help Miss Flagg, Miss Kirby, but be -careful not to rattle her. Very glad to know you, Miss -Durland. You will begin at twelve fifty; Miss Kirby -will explain about the bonuses and other little things.”</p> - -<p>“Watch me work,” said Irene, her eyes upon Miss -Flagg’s customer. “You can sit right here.”</p> - -<p>Without taking off her coat and hat Irene walked -toward the customer and clerk who were evidently in -a hopeless deadlock. Grace saw the slight gesture with -which Irene signalled to Miss Flagg. The import of -the signal was evidently that Miss Flagg was to continue -her attentions to the lady from Muncie, Anderson -or Delphi while Irene idly examined the garments -heaped on a table, with which Miss Flagg had -been tempting her difficult shopper. Irene picked -out a coat, held it at arm’s length, and slipped it on. -Walking to a glass she passed back and forth the -better to observe the effect of the garment upon her -own person.</p> - -<p>Miss Flagg’s customer became interested, watching -Irene enviously, and the moment the girl divested herself -of the garment she took it up. The lady from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[27]</span> -Muncie, Anderson or Delphi exchanged a few words -with Irene; and again Irene put on the coat. Irene -was soon discussing with her the merits of other raiment -which Miss Flagg produced from the show cabinets. -Grace watched intently, hearing nothing of the -talk of the trio, but interpreting the pantomime. Irene -had evidently assumed the role of adviser in the delicate -matter of the lady’s choice. Presently she took -off her hat, disclosing the fact that she was a member -of the selling staff of the establishment. Two gowns -having been added to the wrap and the lady from -the more northern provinces having been escorted to -the fitting room, Irene returned to Grace.</p> - -<p>“Six hundred dollars worth,” she said, flicking a -raveling from her sleeve. “I’ll stay on the job till she’s -given her shipping order. Miss Flagg is one of our -best saleswomen; but she just didn’t hit it off with -that woman. They were both tired and irritating each -other. If I’d butted in and taken her away from Miss -Flagg that would have spoiled everything. I saved the -day by pretending I wasn’t interested in her at all; -but now she knows I belong here and she wants me to -come back to the fitting room and make sure her -things are all right. All she needed was a little coaxing -and the right kind of flattery. You’d better not -wait unless you want to watch the show a while. -There’s a convention of women’s clubs in town and -we’re likely to be rushed this afternoon.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll run along,” said Grace. “And thank you ever -so much.”</p> - -<p>On her way to the elevator she passed a clerk who -was patiently answering the questions of a captious -customer as to the merits of a garment.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know about this,” said the woman pecking<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[28]</span> -at the silk lining in the sleeve; “it looks cheap.”</p> - -<p>“What’s the difference, lady,” exclaimed the girl, -“nobody’s going to notice the lining.”</p> - -<p>Grace smiled. The girl’s phrase fastened itself in -her memory. “What’s the difference, lady?” It was -susceptible of many interpretations and applications -not related to suits that sold for $19.50.</p> - -<p>She left the store elated, feeling herself already an -essential unit of Shipley’s. The great lower room -seemed larger than when she had entered. She went -into the book department and idled over the counters, -opening volumes that roused her interest. She had no -intention of relinquishing her interest in bookish things. -She would test life, probe into the heart of things, but -she would hold fast to all that she had gained in her -two years at the university. She had been impressed -by what the worldly-wise Irene had said of the value -of a little learning in getting on. She meant to propose -to her friend that they attack French together; -and there were many lines of reading she intended -to pursue with a view to covering the more important -cultural courses which she had been obliged to abandon. -Grace rejoiced in her sense of freedom; she was -tremendously sure of herself.</p> - -<p>When she reached home her mother was leaving for -the first fall meeting of the West End Literary Club -which had held together for years in spite of the deterioration -of the neighborhood. Mrs. Durland made -much of her loyalty to the organization, of which she -had been the founder. While her old friends had -dropped out when they moved away she thought it -her duty to fill up the membership with new arrivals -in the neighborhood. Women needed the inspiration -of just such a society. She had enrolled a number -of young married women, some of them hardly more<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[29]</span> -than transients domiciled in boarding houses, with a -view to keeping them in touch with the best thought -of the world. Ethel, sharing her mother’s interest in -all movements and devices for uplift, had acted as her -scout in discovering these recruits.</p> - -<p>“Well, Grace, I hope—” Mrs. Durland began, gathering -up a number of magazines she was carrying to -the meeting.</p> - -<p>“I’ve done gone and done it, mother! I go to work -at Shipley’s Monday morning.”</p> - -<p>“I was afraid you would,” said Mrs. Durland with a -sigh. “You’re so headstrong, Grace. With a little -patience we’d have found something more suitable—more -in keeping——”</p> - -<p>“Well, I may not like it. If I don’t I’ll change to -something else, so please don’t worry about it.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Durland had mislaid a glove; the loss of it -overshadowed immediately her daughter’s grievous -error in accepting employment in a department store. -Grace found the glove and held the magazines while -her mother drew it on.</p> - -<p>“The old security, the reticences and decencies of -life have passed,” said Mrs. Durland. Grace suspected -that her mother was quoting from a magazine article -or a club paper. She declined an urgent invitation -to go to the meeting; she wanted to look over her -clothes, she said.</p> - -<p>“I hope you’ll not give up your interest in literature -now that you’re going to work. You should save a little -time every day for self-culture. There are some -new books on that line I want you to read. I sometimes -think the poorer we are the more we lean on the -things of the spirit.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve already decided to do some studying,” said -Grace, who at the moment didn’t feel the need of leaning<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[30]</span> -on anything. She was relieved that her mother, -preoccupied with the club meeting, had so lightly -passed over the matter of her engagement at Shipley’s.</p> - -<p>“If I’m not back at five-thirty, put on that pot-roast,” -said Mrs. Durland from the door. “It’s all -fixed in the ice-box. And if that collector comes about -the coal bill tell him I’ll call at the office the next -time I’m down town. That last load we had was full -of slate and I’m not going to pay the bill till they -make it right.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[31]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER TWO</h2> -</div> - - -<h3>I</h3> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">I mustn’t</span> seem to be too much interested in you,” -said Irene when Grace reported for duty at Shipley’s -on Monday morning. “I can’t play favorites and it -wouldn’t do to make the other girls jealous. The first -few days everything will seem strange but all you have -to do is to stand around and keep your eyes open. Be -nice to everybody—that’s the card to play. One girl -in a department can make all the rest uncomfortable. -Miss Boardman’s a little sharp sometimes—but never -talk back! She knows her business and prides herself -on keeping away ahead of her quota of sales. The -management is strong for <i>esprit de corps</i> and there’s a -social club that’s supposed to promote that sort of -thing. There’ll be a few dances during the winter and -a theatre party and a few little things like that. You -won’t mind them. They’re really good fun.”</p> - -<p>Grace was number eighteen. Her investiture with -a number was the only real shock she experienced in -taking her place in Shipley’s. One of her new associates -who was instructing her in the routine, which began -with inspection of the stock, tightening of buttons, -the repair of minor damages incurred in the handling -of garments, addressed her casually as “Eighteen” as -though that had been Grace’s name bestowed in baptism. -For an instant Grace resented her numerical -designation; it was almost as though she had been -robbed of her identity. Miss Boardman had given her -a quick looking over to satisfy herself that the new employee -met the store’s requirements as to raiment. She<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[32]</span> -nodded her approval of the frock of dark taffeta which -Grace had worn to simple afternoon affairs at college -and told her to watch the other girls and lend a hand -where she could.</p> - -<p>Miss Boardman was beyond question a person of -strong executive talent. Though burdened with much -desk work as the head of the department, nothing -escaped her watchful eye on the floor confided to her -care. By eleven o’clock the ready-to-wear presented -a scene of greatest animation. The day was -fine and a throng of out-of-town customers, lured by -double page advertisements of fall apparel in the -newspapers, were attacking the department in dauntless -battalions. Grace was constantly on the alert, -keeping the much-examined stock in order, conducting -customers to the trying-on room, and otherwise making -herself useful to the experienced clerks.</p> - -<p>A spectacled old lady fortified with a handbag appeared -and surveyed the scene of confusion with dismay.</p> - -<p>“Eighteen, see what that lady wants,” said Miss -Boardman as she hurried by.</p> - -<p>“What is it, please, that I can show you?” asked -Grace, feeling her heart thump as she realized that she -had accosted her first customer. She smiled encouragingly -and the old lady returned the smile.</p> - -<p>“I want two suits—a gray and a blue, cut as nearly -like this thing I have on as possible. I’ve written -my exact measurements on this card, so don’t jump -at me with a tape-line. And I want a plain long -coat for rough weather—something serviceable and -unfashionable. You <i>look</i> like an intelligent girl, so -I don’t expect you to show me anything in red or green. -And don’t tell me what they’re wearing in Paris, London -or New York—, as though <i>I</i> cared! I pay cash,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[33]</span> -so there’ll be no time lost in looking up my credit -card.”</p> - -<p>Grace placed a chair for her singular customer, took -hurried counsel of Irene and was soon in the throes of -her first sale. The little old lady asked few questions -but her inquiries were much to the point.</p> - -<p>“Show me only good quality,” she said, tossing aside -a skirt after asking its price. “You know perfectly -well it can’t be wool for that money, and the color -will run the first time it gets rained on.”</p> - -<p>“This,” began Grace, “is genuine home-spun, hand-wove——”</p> - -<p>“That’s better. This will do for the blue. Find -a gray of similar style.”</p> - -<p>The gray was more difficult than the blue. She -hadn’t wanted a mixed weave but a plain gray, which -was not in stock. Grace warmed to her work, praising -the quality of a gray with a misty heather mixture. -Holding the coat at arm’s length and becoming -eloquent as to the fine quality of the garment, Grace -turned to find the customer regarding her with a whimsical -smile.</p> - -<p>“My dear child, you do that very well. How long -have you been here?” she demanded.</p> - -<p>Grace colored. “This is my first day,” she confessed. -The old lady seemed greatly amused at her -discomfiture. Her alert eyes brightened behind her -glasses.</p> - -<p>“Am I your first customer? Well, you’re going -to get on. You’ve made me change my mind and not -many people ever do that. That heather tone really -pleases me better than the plain smooth cloth I had in -mind and I’ll take it.”</p> - -<p>The customer explained that she walked in all weathers, -and wanted warmth, not style, in the topcoat with<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[34]</span> -loose sleeves which she described succinctly. Grace -produced half a dozen such coats, one of which her -customer chose immediately. She slipped it on, said -the sleeves were too short, and Irene passing along -opportunely said that nothing could be easier than -to let out the sleeve the required two inches.</p> - -<p>“Be sure she’s perfectly satisfied before she leaves,” -whispered Irene. “She looks like real money.”</p> - -<p>The old lady who looked like real money was watching -attentively an evening gown which was being displayed -before a smartly-dressed young woman on the -further side of the room. She drew out a memorandum -book and turned over the leaves.</p> - -<p>“I’ll wait a moment to see whether that woman over -there buys that gown. You might find out the measurements, -if it will do for a thirty-six I’ll take it for a -niece of mine in Evansville. She’s very fond of that -rose color.”</p> - -<p>The rose colored gown was rejected a moment later -by the lady who had been considering it and Grace -laid it before her customer.</p> - -<p>“My niece is just about your height and build, and -has your coloring. I’d like to see that on you!”</p> - -<p>Grace asked the nearest clerk whether there was any -objection to meeting this unlooked for request. Certainly -not, though there was a model for such purposes. -The old lady who looked like real money didn’t -care to see the model in the gown and frankly said so. -She expressed her gratification when Grace paraded -before her in the gray and ivory fitting room. The -price was three hundred dollars.</p> - -<p>“Thank you, I’ll take it.”</p> - -<p>Grace got out of the gown as quickly as possible, -and presented the garments already chosen for final -approval. The old lady who looked like real money<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[35]</span> -produced from her satchel a checkbook and a fountain -pen.</p> - -<p>The total was six hundred and ninety dollars. Grace -regarded the bit of paper with awe; it was the largest -check she had ever seen. The customer wrote out -the shipping directions for her niece’s gown, screwed -the cap on her pen, took the cash-sale slip Grace -gave her and tucked it carefully away.</p> - -<p>“You’ve been very nice to me. Thank you very -much.” She smilingly extended her hand. “Let this -be a little secret between us!”</p> - -<p>The secret was a ten dollar bill. The little old -lady who really didn’t look like real money was already -in the elevator and Grace turned with relief to Irene, -who inspected the office end of the cash-sale slip, and -read aloud the signature on the check.</p> - -<p>“Beulah Reynolds—you certainly drew a prize! I -never saw her before but you’ve heard of her. She -belongs to the old Hoosier nobility. Her people landed -before the Indians left. She’s lived all over the world -and has just come back here and bought a house on -Washington Boulevard. I read a piece about her in -the paper. If she tipped you ten dollars it’s a good -sign. Don’t you be squeamish about taking tips—it’s -all perfectly right and it won’t happen often. Don’t -let your good luck turn your head; there’s a lady -coming now who looks as though she lived on lemons. -Pass the sugar and see what you can do with her.”</p> - - -<h3>II</h3> - -<p>Mrs. Durland was greatly distressed that a daughter -of hers should have met Miss Beulah Reynolds in what -she was pleased to term a servile capacity. Miss Reynolds -was a personage, she said—a Colonial Dame,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[36]</span> -a D. A. R. and everything else that implied noble -American ancestry. Mrs. Durland had met her at a -tea, which she described with minute detail. It was -in Harrison’s administration, she thought, though it -might have been in the second consulship of Cleveland. -That a lady so distinguished and wealthy should have -given Grace ten dollars quite as though she were a -waitress was humiliating. Miss Reynolds would never -have thought of tipping the daughter of Alicia Morley -Durland.</p> - -<p>“I’m number Eighteen to all the world when I’m -at Shipley’s,” Grace replied good-naturedly. “If I’d -told her in a burst of confidence that I was your daughter -she probably wouldn’t have given me the ten which -I sorely need. She was nice as possible and I didn’t -see anything wrong in taking her money.”</p> - -<p>“Well, of course she meant to be kind, dear; but it -hurts me just a little.”</p> - -<p>Thanks to Mrs. Reynolds’ generous purchases, -Grace’s envelope for the first week contained $35.21. -Though warned by Irene that this was beginner’s -luck she was satisfied that she could master the selling -art and earn a good income.</p> - -<p>“You’ve got the gift, my dear. You’ll build up a -line of regular customers,” Irene expatiated, “who’ll always -ask for you, and that’s what counts. I notice -that a good many customers already pick you out -and refuse to be steered to the other girls at your end -of the room. All due to your <i>beaux yeux</i>, as we say -in Paris, and general air of being somebody in particular.”</p> - -<p>Grace quickly made friends in the store, both in -and out of her own department. Two members of -her sorority, who like herself had been obliged to leave -college before finishing, sought her out; an alumna of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[37]</span> -the state university, a woman of thirty, who was -employed in the office as auditor, took her to lunch; -a charming English woman, stranded in America and -plying her needle in the alteration room, brought her -books to read. Miss Vail at the glove counter knew -all there was to know about palmistry, table-tipping -and automatic writing and aroused Grace’s curiosity -as to the mysteries of the ouija board.</p> - -<p>To break the monotony of her evenings, Grace asked -Miss Vail and two other girls from the store to the -house for some experiments. She had not announced -in advance that the purpose of the meeting was to -probe into the unknown, and had counted on Ethel’s -assistance in entertaining her friends; but when the -ouija board was produced Ethel expressed a chilling -disapproval of ouija and everything else pertaining to -the occult. Mrs. Durland, anxious to promote harmony, -suggested that they read aloud an article in a -late magazine that explained ouija writing and similar -phenomena. Of course Grace and her friends did -not want scientific explanations of ouija; they wanted -to see the thing work.</p> - -<p>“Much unhappiness may be caused by such things,” -said Mrs. Durland; “and of course they mean nothing.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve always felt,” remarked Ethel, “that there’s -something just a little vulgar about it.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, piffle!” exclaimed Grace impatiently. “We -all know it’s a joke; we just wanted to have a little -fun out of it.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t bother, Grace,” said Miss Vail. “We’ll just -forget about it.”</p> - -<p>Stephen Durland, who had changed his clothes in -honor of Grace’s party, broke his silence to say:</p> - -<p>“I don’t see any harm in those things. They’re<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[38]</span> -all explained on scientific grounds. I think it would -be interesting to watch it work.”</p> - -<p>“It probably wouldn’t work in such an atmosphere,” -said Grace, thoroughly irritated.</p> - -<p>“Suppose,” said Mrs. Durland with sudden inspiration, -“you girls make fudge! I’ll get the things ready. -I never saw a girl yet who didn’t like fudge.”</p> - -<p>Something had to be done to amuse the guests -and Grace assented. Ethel, however, did not participate -in the fudge making, but took herself off to bed. -Grace resolved never again to ask any one to the house. -She said as much to Ethel the next morning.</p> - -<p>“You seem to forget that I pay my board here and -help with the housework, too. I ought to have a few -privileges. Those are as nice girls as I ever knew and -you and mother drove us into the kitchen as though -we were a lot of silly children. You’re certainly the -queen of the kill-joys.”</p> - -<p>“I should think,” said Ethel, regarding her sister -pityingly, “that with your education you’d be above -putting yourself on the level with the cheap people -who patronize fortune-tellers. People who really have -faith that there’s a life to come don’t <i>need</i> such things. -They have no place in a Christian home.”</p> - -<p>Grace stared at her helplessly. Ethel was an -enigma; it was incredible that any one could feel so -intensely about so small a matter, or find so complete -a joy in making others uncomfortable.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[39]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER THREE</h2> -</div> - - -<h3>I</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Durland</span>, no doubt to show her sympathetic -interest in her daughters’ labors, asked innumerable -questions every evening when the family gathered at -the supper table. As Ethel’s experiences were much -less interesting than Grace’s, the burden of these conversations -fell largely upon Grace. Whenever Grace -mentioned some customer her mother or Ethel knew or -knew about, that person was subjected to the most -searching analysis. It was incredible that they could -be so interested in people of whom they knew only -from reading of their social activities in the newspapers.</p> - -<p>Ethel’s preoccupations with her church and philanthropic -affairs took her away several evenings in the -week, and at such times Grace played checkers or sniff -with her father while Mrs. Durland read or sewed. -The fact that Grace’s earnings averaged higher than -Ethel’s made it necessary for Mrs. Durland to soothe -any feeling the older daughter manifested as to this -disparity.</p> - -<p>Grace found no joy in Ethel. Ethel hinted constantly -that her work in Gregg and Burley’s office -placed her in a class much above that of a salesgirl. -She had brought to perfection a kind of cloying sweetness -in her attitude toward the other members of the -family which Grace found hard to bear. Ethel was at -pains to remind her father from time to time that it -was due to his lack of foresight and initiative that she -had been obliged to become a wage-earner. Her remarks<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[40]</span> -expressed something of the solicitude a mother -might manifest toward a slightly deficient child. The -effect of this upon Grace was to deepen her affection -and sympathy for her father. Several times she persuaded -him to go down town with her to a big motion -picture house where there was good music. He enjoyed -the pictures, laughing heartily at the comics; -and laughter had been the rarest of luxuries in Stephen -Durland’s life. Mrs. Durland refused to accompany -them; all the pictures she had ever seen had been vulgar -and she was on a committee of the State Federation -to go before the legislature and demand a more -rigid censorship.</p> - -<p>Grace’s announcement that, on evenings when she -went to the French class she had entered with Irene, -she would stay down town for supper did not pass -unchallenged at the supper table, which she had begun -to dread for its cheerlessness and the opportunity -it afforded her mother and sister to express their dire -forebodings as to the future of the human race. One -evening after listening to a reiteration of their predictions -of calamity Grace broke the silence in which -she usually listened to these discussions.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know where you get these ideas, Ethel. -You must be unfortunate in your acquaintances if -you’re talking from your own knowledge.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Durland rallied at once to Ethel’s support.</p> - -<p>“Now, Grace, you know Ethel is older and views -everything much more soberly than you do. You -know she’s in touch with all these agencies that are -trying to protect the young from the evils of a growing -city.”</p> - -<p>“Just what evils?” Grace demanded.</p> - -<p>“There are some things,” said Ethel impressively, -“that it’s better not to talk about.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[41]</span>“That’s always the way!” Grace flared. “You’re -always insinuating that the world’s going to the devil -but you never say just how. I know perfectly well -what you’re driving at. You think because I work -in a department store I can’t be as good as you are! -I’ll tell you right now that the girls I know in Shipley’s -are just as good as any girls in town—perfectly splendid -hard-working girls. And one other thing I can -tell you, they don’t spend their time sneering at everybody -else. I’d rather be the worst sinner in creation -than so pure I couldn’t see a little good in other -people.”</p> - -<p>“Please, Grace!” Mrs. Durland pleaded. “You’re -unreasonable. No one was saying anything about -you or any other girl in Shipley’s.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Ethel doesn’t have to say it straight out! I’m -not so stupid! Every time she takes that sanctified -air she’s preaching at me. I don’t pretend to be an -angel but I’m tired of hearing how wicked everybody -is. I don’t dare ask any of the girls I work with to -the house; you think they’re all rotten.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think they’re all bad, and I’ve never said -such a thing,” Ethel declared, “But I <i>have</i> said that -Irene Kirby is not the type of girl I’d deliberately -choose to be my sister’s most intimate friend, and -I say it again.”</p> - -<p>“Now, Ethel, you girls mustn’t hurt each other’s -feelings! If you must quarrel please don’t do it before -your father and me.”</p> - -<p>This consideration for her father’s feelings was so -unusual that Grace laughed. Durland had been twisting -uneasily in his chair. His sympathies were wholly -with Grace. Ethel’s indirect method of criticizing her -younger sister enraged him, and in this particular instance -he was secretly pleased that Grace was striking<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[42]</span> -back. He glanced about the table, cleared his -throat and asked in his mild tone for a second cup -of coffee.</p> - -<p>“I hardly know Irene Kirby,” said Ethel, “but I -have heard some things about her I hate to hear about -<i>any</i> girl.”</p> - -<p>“Such as what? Tell me just what you’ve heard,” -said Grace, sharply.</p> - -<p>“Well, if you <i>insist</i>,” replied Ethel, with affected -reluctance, “she’s keeping company with a married -man. It’s been going on for some time. They were -seen together last Sunday night, quite late, driving -into town. Suppose you ask Irene where she was -last Sunday.”</p> - -<p>“What’s the man’s name?” Grace demanded.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I needn’t mention his name! You ask Irene -to tell you. A girl friend of mine who used to work -in his office saw them.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe a word of it,” said Grace. “You or -I or any other girl might be seen driving with a married -man without there being anything wicked about -it.”</p> - -<p>“Well, you asked me and I told you,” returned -Ethel complacently. “It’s not a new story. I knew it -when I tried to persuade you not to go into Shipley’s, -but I thought I wouldn’t tell you why I thought it -best for you to keep away from Irene.”</p> - -<p>“Irene has been fine to me,” said Grace quickly; -“she’s one of the nicest and one of the most intelligent -girls I ever knew. I think it poor business -for a girl like you, who pretends to be a Christian, to -listen to scandalous stories about some one you hardly -know. I’ll say for Irene that I never heard her speak -an unkind word of any one. Every day she does a -lot of little kindnesses for people and she doesn’t -strut around about it either.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[43]</span>“I don’t question that you believe all that, Grace,” -remarked Mrs. Durland as she served the rice pudding -that was the regular dessert for Thursday evening. -“But you know Ethel is very careful what -she says about <i>every</i> one.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I’ve noticed that,” said Grace coldly.</p> - -<p>Durland had eaten his pudding and was stolidly -slipping his napkin into its ring. The better course -might be to follow his example. Silence, Grace reflected, -offered the surest refuge from family bickering. -She saw the years stretching on endlessly, with -her work-day followed by evenings of discord in the -cheerless home circle. The prospect was not heartening. -It was two against two, and her father was only -passively an ally. When Roy came home he would -be pretty sure to align himself with his mother and -Ethel, in keeping with his general policy of taking -the easier and more comfortable way in everything. -It flashed through her mind that she might leave -home and take a room somewhere or join with two -or three girls and rent an apartment. But her parents -needed her help. She knew that her father was wholly -unlikely to assist materially with the household expenses. -Ethel had not demurred when she volunteered -to contribute in ratio to her earnings, which made -her share at least a third more each week than Ethel’s.</p> - - -<h3>II</h3> - -<p>Ethel’s intimations that Irene Kirby was not as -good as she ought to be so exasperated Grace that in -a spirit of contrariness she hoped they were true. At -least she didn’t care whether they were true or not. -She knew little of Irene’s family but the bitterness -engendered by her own home life made it seem a -natural and pardonable thing for a girl who worked<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[44]</span> -hard and was obliged to live in an atmosphere of -perpetual criticism to take her pleasure where she -pleased. Her curiosity as to Irene’s social contacts -was greatly aroused. Irene, outwardly at least the -most circumspect of young women, certainly had mastered -the art of keeping her private affairs to herself. -Now and then she spoke of having gone to the -theatre or to a dance with some young man whose -name she always mentioned; but when Grace tried to -tease her about her suitors Irene dismissed them disdainfully. -They were impossible, she said, in her -large manner—bank clerks, traveling salesmen or -young fellows just starting in small businesses. She -wasn’t at all interested in marrying a young man with -his way to make, cooking for him in the kitchenette -of a four-room apartment, with a movie once a week -as the reward for faithful service.</p> - -<p>These views on matrimony were revealed one day -early in November when they were lunching together -in Shipley’s tea room. She went on to say that she -would wait a few years in the hope of meeting some -man of importance who could give her a position in -life worth while.</p> - -<p>“It has been done before, my dear. It may not -sound romantic but it’s the only way to play safe. I -want to get away from this town! It smothers and -chokes me. The firm has sent me to New York twice -this last year, and I think I could get along very well -down there if I had money to spend. I’ve been a -little afraid you’d engaged yourself to some struggling -young professor at the university. No? Well, -I’d hate to see you wasting yourself. You’ve got -brains and good looks and I hope you won’t throw -yourself away. By the way—just what do you do -with yourself evenings?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[45]</span>“Oh, I stay at home, mostly. I do a turn in the -kitchen, play a game of checkers with father and go -to bed to read.”</p> - -<p>“Wholesome but not exciting! I’d imagined you -had a few suitors who dropped in occasionally.”</p> - -<p>“Haven’t had a caller since I came home,” said -Grace. “The beaux I had last summer don’t know I’m -home and I haven’t felt like stirring them up.”</p> - -<p>Irene was wearing a handsome emerald ring that -Grace had not noticed before. In keeping with the -tone of subdued elegance she affected, Irene never -wore jewelry; the ring was a departure and required -an explanation for which Grace hesitated to ask. In -spite of their long acquaintance Grace never overcame -her feeling of humility before Irene’s large view of -things, her lofty disdain for small change. Grace -knew more out of books than Irene; but in her -cogitations she realized that beyond question Irene -knew much more of life. Aware of Grace’s frequent -glances at the emerald, Irene held up her hand.</p> - -<p>“Rather pretty, isn’t it?” she asked carelessly. -“That cost some real money. A little gift from a -man who is foolish enough to admire me.”</p> - -<p>“It’s perfectly beautiful,” said Grace as Irene -spread her fingers on the table. “It’s the very newest -setting and a wonderful stone. I don’t believe I ever -saw you wear a ring before.”</p> - -<p>“It’s the first I’ve worn in years; but this is too -good to hide.” She looked at the stone absently. “By -the way, Grace, you don’t seem to be burdened with -engagements. I wonder if you’d care to drive into -the country tomorrow evening for dinner—a little -party of four. My friend—the man who gave me -this,”—she held up her hand,—“has a guest, a most -interesting man you’d be sure to like. If you haven’t<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[46]</span> -anything better to do it might amuse you to meet -him. A party of three is a little awkward and you’d -balance things beautifully.”</p> - -<p>Grace’s heart quickened to find herself at last admitted -to Irene’s confidence, a thing flattering in itself. -Ethel’s charge that Irene was accepting the attentions -of a married man was probably true, or the girl would -have approached the matter differently. It dawned -upon Grace that the word party had a meaning -previously unknown to her, signifying a social event -clandestine in character, in which the wives of married -men were not participants. The idea was novel and -it caused Grace’s wits to range over a wide field of -speculation.</p> - -<p>“I suppose men do sometimes take their wives on -parties that are a little different—just a quiet little -kick-up?” she ventured.</p> - -<p>“Not so you’d exactly notice it,” Irene answered, -with a shrug and a smile of indulgence at Grace’s -innocence. “A wife knows her husband and all his -jokes; why should she meet him socially?”</p> - -<p>“Tomorrow night’s our French class,” said Grace, -recovering herself quickly. “We’d have to cut it.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I hadn’t forgotten that. To be frank about it, -I thought that would make it easier for you to get -away. I don’t know just how your folks at home -are—whether they always check you up as to where -you go. As you’ve been staying down town on lesson -nights that would help you put it over. I suggested -Friday night to my friend instead of Saturday, hoping -to make sure of you. There are plenty of girls who’ll -go on parties but this is a case where just any girl -won’t do. You’ll fit in perfectly and I hope you’ll -go.”</p> - -<p>“Thanks, ever so much, Irene; of course, I’m<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[47]</span> -pleased to death to go,” said Grace. “But, you’ll -have to tell me what to wear; my wardrobe’s rather -limited.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, the occasion doesn’t call for magnificence. -Dinner’s to be in a charming old house about fourteen -miles from town. I’m going to wear the simplest -thing I have.”</p> - -<p>“It’s awfully nice of you to ask me,” said Grace, -her eyes dancing at the prospect. “But if I mustn’t -mention the party at home, I’ll have to get in early so -mother and Ethel won’t suspect anything.”</p> - -<p>“Let them suspect, honey! My family used to try -to check me up every time I went to the corner to -mail a postal; but they’ve got over it. By the way, -I think that sister of yours doesn’t like me. I passed -her in the street yesterday and she gave me what I -shouldn’t call a loving look.”</p> - -<p>“She didn’t mean anything,” said Grace. “It’s just -that Ethel takes herself a little bit too seriously. She -has all the old-fashioned ideas about things.”</p> - -<p>“She’s got the uplift idea and all that sort of stuff. -I met her in the office one day looking up a girl who -had dropped out of her church club or something. -That’s all fine work; I’m not sneering at it; but people -who go in for that kind of thing ought to remember -we’re not all born with wings.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Ethel means well,” said Grace, her mind upon -the proposed dinner for four in the country, of which -she was anxious to hear more. “What time do we -start?”</p> - -<p>“Seven o’clock. You may be sure I trust you or I -shouldn’t be asking you to go on this party,” said -Irene. “It’s not a social event for the society columns—just -an intimate little dinner to be forgotten -when we all say good-night. Our host is Mr. Kemp—Thomas<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[48]</span> -Ripley Kemp. You’ve seen his factory; -it’s as big as all outdoors. Don’t look so scared! -Tommy’s a peach! You can’t fail to like Tommy.”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Kemp is—married?” Grace ventured a little -timorously.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Tommy’s been married for centuries! His -wife’s one of Shipley’s best customers. She’s awfully -nice; I tell Tommy he ought to be ashamed of himself! -Tommy’s not stingy with his family, and he’s -terribly proud of them. He has a daughter in an -Eastern college—a stunning girl. Elaine is just about -my age,—isn’t it weird!”</p> - -<p>“I think I never saw Mr. Kemp, but of course I’ve -heard of him,” remarked Grace, bewildered by the -familiar tone in which Irene spoke of Kemp and his -family. “The other man—what’s he like?” she asked -with feigned carelessness.</p> - -<p>“Oh, his name’s Ward Trenton and he lives in Pittsburgh -and is a consulting engineer and a way-upper all -right. Tommy thinks the sun rises and sets in Ward. -Ward drops in here every month or two and Tommy -always throws him a party, sometimes at home or at -one of the clubs; and when that’s the ticket he -naturally forgets to invite me! Screaming, isn’t it? -Ward isn’t really a sport like Tommy, but he’ll go on -a party and keep amused in his own peculiar way. -He does a lot of thinking, that man. You’ll understand -when you meet him. I’m never sure whether -Ward approves of me, but he’s always nice.”</p> - -<p>“He may not like me at all,” said Grace.</p> - -<p>“Don’t be foolish! You’re just the kind of girl men -of that sort like. They’re bored to death by girls—you -know the kind—who begin every sentence with -‘say’ or ‘listen,’ and would drop dead if they ever had -an idea. Tommy’s the higher type of business man,”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[49]</span> -Irene went on. “College education, fond of music and -pictures and that sort of thing. By the way, Tommy -has no particular love for that Cummings your father -was in business with so long. Make the same line of -stuff, don’t they? The Cummingses are going strong -since they moved up among the swells and it annoys -Tommy a good deal. You know his folks landed here -in 1820 and he’s full of old family pride. He’s perfectly -screaming about it!”</p> - -<p>“And Mr. Trenton—” Grace ventured, “is he married -too?”</p> - -<p>“All the nice men are more or less married, my -dear! Ward is and he isn’t. Tommy’s never seen -Mrs. Trenton, but there is such a person. Ward -speaks of his wife in the friendliest sort of way, but -they don’t meet often, I imagine.”</p> - -<p>When Grace recurred to the matter of changing -her clothes for the party, Irene’s resourcefulness -promptly asserted itself.</p> - -<p>“There’s a very chic suit in stock, marked down -from eighty-seven to forty-two on account of an imperfection -in the embroidery on the cuffs. It will do -wonderfully and if you haven’t the money handy I’ll -take care of it till you strike a fat week. We’ll try it -on you this afternoon and if you like it we’ll send it up -to Minnie Lawton’s apartment and you can change -there. I’ll be doing the same—fact is, I keep a few -duds at Minnie’s for just such emergencies. Minnie’s -a good scout and attends strictly to her own business.”</p> - -<p>The Minnie Lawton Irene referred to held a responsible -position with a jobbing house. Grace had -met her at lunch with Irene several times and had -found her a diverting person.</p> - -<p>“Minnie’s a broad-minded woman,” Irene remarked. -“I usually meet Tommy at Minnie’s when we’re going<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[50]</span> -on a party, and that’s the schedule for tomorrow -evening. I’ll call Tommy now and tell him everything’s -set.”</p> - -<p>The suit proved to be all that Irene had promised. -Grace was not unaware that the attendants were observing -her with frankly approving eyes.</p> - -<p>“It certainly sets you off, Eighteen. That shade of -Oriental blue is just right for you,” said one girl.</p> - -<p>“An inch off the sleeve will help; the collar pinches -the least bit—or does it?” remarked Irene to the -hovering fitter. “All right then; thank you.”</p> - -<p>Grace asked for an extra hour at noon the next day -for a hair-washing, marcelling and manicuring, saying -to Miss Boardman that she had an engagement with -the dentist. Irene had suggested this, explaining that -it wasn’t lying as all the girls gave the same reason -when asking extra time for any purpose, and Miss -Boardman wasn’t deceived by it.</p> - -<p>Beyond a few experiments in her youth for which -she was promptly punished, Grace had rarely resorted -to deception; but manifestly she would be obliged to -harden herself to the practice if she yielded to the -temptation to broaden her experiences beyond the -knowledge of the home circle. She tried to think of -all the calamities that might befall her. Her father -or mother might become ill suddenly; an attempt -might be made to reach her at the rooms of the French -instructor; but instead of being dismayed by the possibility -Grace decided that it would be easy enough to -explain that she had gone unexpectedly to the house -of some friends of Irene who lived in the country. -She was sure she could make a plausible story of this; -and besides, if any one became so ill as to cause search -to be made for her the fact that she hadn’t gone to -the French lesson would be overlooked. There might<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[51]</span> -be an automobile accident; the thought was disturbing -but it troubled Grace only passingly.</p> - -<p>“You’ll soon learn to be ready with an <i>alibi</i> if you -get caught,” said Irene. “But the more independence -you show the less you’ll be bothered.”</p> - -<p>Lively expectations of a novel experience that promised -amusement outweighed Grace’s scruples before -the closing hour of the appointed day. She and Irene -left the store together and found a taxi to carry them -to Minnie Lawton’s apartment.</p> - -<p>“We’ll escape the trolley crowd,” said Irene placidly, -“and save time. Minnie’s not going home for supper -but I’ve got a key to her flat and we’ll have the -place to ourselves.”</p> - -<p>They were dressed and waiting when Kemp and -his friend Trenton arrived. Assailed at the last -moment by misgivings as to the whole adventure, -Grace was relieved by her first glimpse of the two -men. Kemp was less than her own height, of slender -build and with white hair that belied the youthful color -in his cheeks. The gray in his neatly trimmed -mustache was almost imperceptible. Grace had pictured -him of a size commensurate with his importance -as the head of one of the largest industries in the -city, but he was almost ridiculously small and didn’t -even remotely suggest the big masterful type she had -imagined. His face lighted pleasantly as Irene introduced -him. His power was denoted in his firm -mouth and more particularly in his clear steady hazel -eyes.</p> - -<p>“It’s so nice that you could come,” he said. “I’ve -known of your family a long time, of course, and -Irene brags about you a great deal.”</p> - -<p>In marked contrast to Kemp, Trenton was tall and -of athletic build, with gray-blue eyes, and a smile that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[52]</span> -came a little slowly and had in it something wistful -and baffling that piqued curiosity and invited a -second glance. Grace appraised his age at about forty. -She instantly decided that she preferred him to Kemp; -he was less finished with nothing of Kemp’s dapperness. -His careless way of thrusting his hands into the -pockets of his coat pleased her; he was not thinking -of himself, not concerned as to the impression he -made; slightly bored perhaps by the whole proceeding.</p> - -<p>Trenton had greeted Irene cordially as an old -acquaintance and it was evident that the three had -met at other parties.</p> - -<p>“I’m starving,” said Irene; “let’s be moving, -Tommy.”</p> - -<p>“Certainly,” replied Kemp. “I’m beginning to feel -a pang myself.”</p> - -<p>A chauffeur opened the door of a big limousine that -was waiting at the curb. They were quickly speeding -countryward with Irene and Grace on the back seat -with Trenton between them. Kemp, on one of the adjustable -chairs, crossed his legs with the easy nonchalance -characteristic of him.</p> - -<p>“How’s business, Irene?” he asked. “Are the dollars -rolling into the Shipley till?”</p> - -<p>“My department is running ahead of last year’s -business,” said Irene, “but there’s less call for the -best grades.”</p> - -<p>“So? Same reports all over the country. We must -charge it up to the war. Well, we can’t change business -conditions tonight. We’ll all die bankrupt if -things don’t take a brace and we may as well eat and -be merry while we can. Am I right, Ward?”</p> - -<p>“Certain, Tommy.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[53]</span>“Don’t always agree with me!” cried Kemp with -feigned asperity. “You have a most disagreeable way -of pretending to agree with me when you don’t.”</p> - -<p>“You’re too good a client for me to quarrel with. -And besides you’re always right, Tommy.”</p> - -<p>“Do stop spoiling him!” cried Irene. “Everybody -spoils Tommy.”</p> - -<p>“Not you!” returned Kemp. “Your business in -life seems to be to keep me humble.”</p> - -<p>“It doesn’t show on you! You don’t see any signs -of it, do you, Ward?”</p> - -<p>“I think he’s aging fast,” replied Trenton. “He’s -breaking down under the weight of his own humility.”</p> - -<p>“Find the man who’s giving the party! It’s going -to be a beautiful evening for me. Just one knock -after another! Grace, don’t let these birds prejudice -you against me!”</p> - -<p>Kemp addressed her by her first name quite as -though they were old acquaintances. They were skimming -rapidly over the Meridian street bridge and her -diffidence began to pass.</p> - -<p>“I’ll be your friend, Mr. Kemp,” she said. “You -needn’t mind what the others say.”</p> - -<p>“That will be all right; he needs friends; but don’t -mister him. He’s Tommy to one and all.”</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“‘O it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Tommy, go away”;</div> -<div class="verse">But it’s “Thank you, Mister Atkins,” when the band begins to play’,”—</div> -</div></div> - -<p>Kemp quoted. “It’s the same old story!” he finished -in mock dejection.</p> - -<p>“Speaking of music, did you bring some new -records, Tommy?” Irene inquired. “The ones you -have at the farm date from Rameses.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[54]</span>“Yes; there’s a package of ’em up in front, the very -latest jazz, and a few classic pieces for my own private -consolation.”</p> - -<p>“That’s just like him,” said Irene. “Tommy thinks -no one appreciates good music but himself.”</p> - -<p>Kemp and Irene continued to do most of the talking, -occasionally appealing to Grace or Trenton to -support them in their good-natured contentions. For -a time Kemp and Trenton discussed business as -frankly as though they were alone. Grace began to -understand what Irene meant when she spoke of -knowing men of attainment and enjoying their confidence. -Kemp was saying that he was prepared to -enlarge his plant the moment business took an upward -turn. He meant to strike out more boldly into -the South American markets than he had ever done -before. His competitors didn’t know it, and he didn’t -want them to know it, but he already had men down -there preparing for an aggressive campaign. His tone -was optimistic and confident. It was evident that he -paid great deference to Trenton’s opinions and was -anxious for his approval of his plans. Once after -Trenton had answered at length and with the care -that seemed to be habitual with him a technical question -as to the production by a new method of castings -of a certain kind, Kemp turned and remarked to the -young women:</p> - -<p>“That answer’s worth money! It’s a joy to talk to -a man who knows his stuff.”</p> - -<p>“Even I could understand it!” said Grace, “or I -thought I did.”</p> - -<p>Her father sometimes had explained to her problems -in mechanics and Trenton had employed terms with -which she was familiar.</p> - -<p>“I’d rather expect you to know something about<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[55]</span> -such things, Grace,” said Kemp. “Your father was -a pioneer in certain fields. Stephen Durland, you -know, Ward,—used to be in the Cummings concern.”</p> - -<p>“I know the name of course. I’ve run across it -frequently in the patent office reports. Your father’s -been a prolific inventor.”</p> - -<p>“Yes; he’s always inventing something, but I’m -afraid many of his things don’t work!”</p> - -<p>“That’s true of hundreds,” said Kemp, “but certain -of Stephen Durland’s inventions are still standard. -I know because I’ve tried to cut under ’em with things -of my own! It was a scoundrelly trick for Cummings -to put him out of the company—that’s what I understand -happened. You know I believe every mean -thing I hear about Cummings.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I suppose it was strictly a business matter,” -said Grace.</p> - -<p>“Beastly ingratitude, I’d call it,” exclaimed Kemp. -“I’ve been told that your father waived all rights to -royalty on all the patents he put into the company and -Cummings only gave him a fifth of the stock in the -original corporation to cover everything. Do pardon -me! But that whole business made me hot when I -heard about it.”</p> - -<p>“It was pretty hard to bear,” Grace murmured.</p> - -<p>“I’m no angel,” said Kemp, “but in the long run I -think we get it in the neck if we don’t play the game -straight. Cummings is riding for a fall. It tickles me -to see two or three places right now where he’s likely -to come a cropper. His narrowness and lack of vision -are going to have the usual result.”</p> - -<p>“But you, the great Kemp, are going to push right -ahead!” laughed Trenton, laying his hand on his -friend’s knee.</p> - -<p>“Oh, nothing can keep Tommy down,” exclaimed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[56]</span> -Irene in mock admiration. “Tommy’s brain isn’t -just cottage cheese.”</p> - -<p>Kemp enjoyed their chaffing and encouraged it. -They were still discussing Grace’s suggestion that -Mars and other planets might become littered with -Kemp machinery as new markets were sought for it -when they reached the farm.</p> - - -<h3>III</h3> - -<p>A winding road led from the highway through a strip -of woodland that bore upward to a ridge where the -lights of the house suddenly burst upon them. The -river, Kemp explained, lay just below.</p> - -<p>A Japanese boy in white duck flung open the door -and smilingly bowed them in.</p> - -<p>Kemp called his place The Shack, but in reality -it was a dignified old homestead that had been enlarged -and only slightly modernized. The parlor and -sitting room of the old part had been thrown into one -room with the broad fireplace preserved. The floors -were painted and covered with rag rugs; the furniture -was of a type that graced the homes of well-to-do -Middle Westerners in about the period of the -Mexican war. The rooms were lighted by a variety -of glass table-lamps with frosted shades adorned with -crystal pendants. These survivals of the days of -“coal-oil” lighting were now cleverly arranged to conceal -the electrical source of their illumination.</p> - -<p>“Isn’t it a peach of a house?” demanded Irene as -she convoyed Grace through the lower rooms with a -careless air of proprietorship. She led the way up -the steep stairway, that had been retained as built by -the original owner, to the rooms above. The extensions,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[57]</span> -following strictly the original simple architecture, -made a commodious place of the house, which -rambled on in an inadvertent fashion bewildering to -a first visitor. A wing that had been added in recent -years was hardly distinguishable from the old rooms. -Concessions to modern convenience and comfort had -been made in the sleeping rooms, of which there were -half a dozen, with white woodwork, walls in neutral -tints, and wicker furniture in summer cottage style.</p> - -<p>“It’s all perfectly adorable,” cried Grace as they -paused in one of the rooms.</p> - -<p>“You’ve got to hand it to Tommy,” remarked Irene; -“he does have taste.”</p> - -<p>“Maybe—” Grace hesitated and Irene instantly -read her thoughts.</p> - -<p>“Oh, you’re looking for the traces of a woman’s -hand! Bless your heart, Mrs. Kemp doesn’t bother -about The Shack! It was Tommy’s idea. The family -come out for week ends in the spring and fall and -Tommy makes a point of having Thanksgiving and -Christmas dinners out here, and Mrs. Kemp invites -the guests. I need hardly say”—Irene walked to a -chiffonier and inspected her face intently in the mirror—“that -I’ve never been invited to these <i>en famille</i> -functions.”</p> - -<p>“It seems queer,” remarked Grace, dropping her -hat on the bed,—“I mean it’s queer our being here -when <i>she</i> doesn’t know!”</p> - -<p>“Why not?” said Irene, surveying herself slowly -before the glass. “She’d probably like us if she knew -us, and didn’t know we work for a living. If Tommy -just has to play a little isn’t it fine that he chooses nice -little playmates like us? He might do much worse, -and get into awful scrapes. You needn’t be afraid -that the lady of the house will come tearing in and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[58]</span> -make a fuss. Tommy never takes a chance. Her -ladyship’s in New York spending a lot of money and -having a grand old time. For all we know she’s playing -around a little bit herself!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, it wasn’t that I was thinking of so much,” -Grace replied hastily. “I was just thinking that it’s -like a play, this quaint interesting house hidden away, -with all these lovely things, and kind of funny to think -that there is a woman somewhere who belongs here.”</p> - -<p>“While we’re here <i>we</i> belong, my dear. We’ll pretend -it’s all ours. My conscience had awful twinges -the first time I came out; but one does somehow get -used to things. There’s no use bucking the spirit of -the age; we’ve got to step to the music of the band. -Tommy prefers a party of four and nearly always -brings an out-of-town man, so I have to find the other -girl. If you like this party I’ll put you on for some -more.”</p> - -<p>She swung around and eyed Grace critically.</p> - -<p>“You’re just right! Tommy whispered to me in -the car that you were wonderful,—the first thing you -know he’ll be flirting with you.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t be so foolish! Any one can see that he’s -crazy about you.”</p> - -<p>“Well, that kind of insanity doesn’t last. These -little affairs are good for a while, but something always -happens sooner or later.”</p> - -<p>She spoke with cheerful indifference as though it -were the inevitable ordering of fate that such affairs -should be brief.</p> - -<p>At the table, with candles diffusing a yellow glow -upon the silver and crystal the party struck at once -a key of gaiety.</p> - -<p>“Don’t be afraid of the cocktail, Grace,” said Kemp,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[59]</span> -lifting his glass; “only a little orange juice and a very -good gin I planted out here in the woods before prohibition.”</p> - -<p>“When all the rest of the world is dry Tommy will -still have a few bottles put away,” said Irene. “There’s -going to be champagne, too! Here’s to you, Tommy!”</p> - -<p>Grace sipped the cocktail warily, drank a third of it -and put it down with a covert glance at the others to -see whether they were watching her.</p> - -<p>“We’re all entitled to a dividend,” said Kemp. “Get -busy, Jerry.”</p> - -<p>Grace was fingering the stem of the cocktail glass, -meditating whether she should try it again, when Trenton -met her gaze. Irene and Kemp were talking -animatedly, quite indifferent to the other members of -the party.</p> - -<p>“You really don’t want that,” Trenton said. “If -you’re not used to it let it alone.”</p> - -<p>He took her glass, brimming from the dividend -Jerry had poured into it, and slowly drained it.</p> - -<p>With a smile Grace quickly moved the glass back in -front of her plate, glancing at Irene and Kemp to see -whether they were observing her.</p> - -<p>“Thank you ever so much. I really am not used -to those things.”</p> - -<p>“I thought not; otherwise I should have let you -alone.”</p> - -<p>“How did you know?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“Oh, that’s part of my business, to know things -without being told. You might say that I earn my -living that way.”</p> - -<p>He seemed amused about something; he constantly -seemed secretly amused in a way of his own; but there -was no mistaking his wish to be kind, and Grace was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[60]</span> -grateful for his kindness. The light touch of his -fingers as he took the glass from her hand was in -itself reassuring.</p> - -<p>“We’re alone in the midst of a deep, dark forest,” -she heard Kemp exclaim.</p> - -<p>Turning, she saw him bending toward Irene, his -arm round her shoulders, kissing her.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[61]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER FOUR</h2> -</div> - - -<h3>I</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">That</span> Irene and Kemp should embrace and kiss at -the table Grace assumed to be the accepted procedure -at such parties. Kissing to the accompaniment of -cocktails was not without its piquancy, but the picture -presented by Irene and Kemp she found unedifying. -Under the stimulus of alcohol Kemp and -Irene seemed to have thrown away the dignity with -which they had begun the party. Grace was not -without her experience of kissing, but her experiences -had been boy-and-girl transactions, all the sweeter for -their privacy. She wondered whether it might not be -necessary for Trenton to kiss her, but instead he rebuked -Kemp and Irene with mock severity for their -unbecoming conduct.</p> - -<p>“You two have no manners! We’re terribly embarrassed -on this side of the table.”</p> - -<p>“Do excuse us!” cried Kemp. “We were merely -carried away by our emotions. I just happened to remember -that I hadn’t kissed Irene for a week.”</p> - -<p>“Well, you needn’t pull that cave man stuff here,” -said Irene petulantly. She opened her vanity box -and squinted at herself in the tiny mirror.</p> - -<p>“Pardon, everybody, while I powder my nose.”</p> - -<p>“Ward’s never been kissed to my knowledge, -Grace,” said Kemp, apparently undisturbed by Irene’s -complaint of his roughness. “The field’s open to -you!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, we’re not going to begin in public,” said -Grace; “are we Ward?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[62]</span>She turned smilingly toward Trenton, who met her -gaze quizzically.</p> - -<p>“I’ll say I’ve never been so tempted before,” he -answered.</p> - -<p>“Oh, you’re bound to come to it!” cried Irene. -“Grace can’t pretend she’s never been kissed. She’s -just a little coy, that’s all.”</p> - -<p>“I’m not coy!” Grace protested. “But I’m all out -of practice.”</p> - -<p>“Well, we can easily fix that!” said Kemp, jumping -to his feet. “I’m going to kiss you right now. My -sense of hospitality demands it.”</p> - -<p>“Not much you’re not!” cried Irene, forcing him -back into his chair. “I see you kissing Grace!”</p> - -<p>“Jealous!” cried Kemp, striking his hands together -with delight. “Jealous at last! But you needn’t be -scared Grace. There’s no fun kissing a girl against -her will.”</p> - -<p>“How do you know it would be against my will?” -Grace demanded.</p> - -<p>“Well, it would be against mine,” said Irene. -“Ward, why don’t you keep Grace interested? I’m -not going to have Tommy falling in love with her. -We’ve had some girls out here who played up to -Tommy and tried to take him away from me. That’s -why I brought Grace. She’s an old pal of mine and -my little boy’s not going to flirt with her, is you -Tommy?”</p> - -<p>“Of course I isn’t!” Kemp answered and in proof -of his loyalty he kissed Irene again.</p> - -<p>The food Jerry was serving called for praise and the -Japanese grinned his appreciation of the compliments -they bestowed upon his cooking. Kemp carved the -turkey; he always did his own carving; it gave the -home touch, he explained. Irene said she would make -the salad dressing and that would be another home<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[63]</span> -touch. The essentials were placed before her and she -composed the dressing after a recipe Kemp had taught -her. It was the inspiration of Kemp’s pet waiter in a -New York club. Kemp talked for some time of -waiters he knew and their genius in the composition -of salads.</p> - -<p>Grace had never before heard food discussed by -an epicure. It seemed odd that a busy man should -have given so much time and thought to the formulae -of the kitchen. Kemp appealed to Trenton for confirmation -of his appraisement of the merits of the -cooking they had enjoyed together in various parts of -the country, Trenton replying in a whimsical fashion, -tolerant of his friend’s enthusiasm, but letting it be -known that as for himself he was much less fastidious -about his food. Kemp paused in his neat, skilled carving -of the turkey to deliver a lecture on green turtle -soup. One might have thought that the whole progress -of civilization depended on settling then and there -exactly where green turtle soup attained perfection. -Kemp’s insistence that the New York Yacht Club was -entitled to highest honors in this particular brought -from Trenton the remark that he knew a place in -Kansas where the mock turtle was preferable to any -other liquid food he knew.</p> - -<p>“Heathen!” cried Kemp disdainfully.</p> - -<p>“Let’s talk of ham and eggs,—a brain food superior -to the much-boasted pie,” Trenton suggested. “There’s -a boarding house in a coal mining town in Southern -Colorado where a woman sets out the best ham and -eggs I ever ate. I ought to know; I ate ’em three -times a day for two months!”</p> - -<p>“You’re an ostrich! If you don’t swear this is the -finest turkey you ever ate I’ll tell Jerry to serve you -ham and eggs and I’ll make you eat ’em.”</p> - -<p>Grace eyed her champagne glass with the same<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[64]</span> -hesitancy with which she had regarded the cocktail. -She had never before seen champagne. From what -she had heard and read of it she knew it to be one of -the essentials of the new order of life into which she -was being initiated.</p> - -<p>“That’s the very last,” said Kemp, taking the bottle -from the cooler and holding it up for their admiration. -“Positively the last!”</p> - -<p>“Same old joke!” exclaimed Irene. “Tommy’s got -enough liquor hid away out here to last forty years. -I’ve seen the cave he built to keep it in—there’s -oceans of it!”</p> - -<p>“A rotten exaggeration,” Kemp rejoined, thrusting -the bottle back into the cooler and taking up his glass. -“I haven’t enough to last me twenty.”</p> - -<p>Irene now engaged him in a lively debate as to the -merits of the wine. She pretended to a critical knowledge -of vintages and after demanding to see the label -expressed serious doubts as to the authenticity of the -contents.</p> - -<p>Kemp challenged her assertions; apparently the -two found the greatest pleasure in taunting each other.</p> - -<p>“They’re off!” groaned Trenton; “you’d think they -hated each other from the way they talk. We’ll be -dignified, Grace, and keep out of their silly controversies. -Between ourselves, I’ve been exposed to a -great deal of champagne, but I can’t tell one brand -from another.”</p> - -<p>“It’s terribly dangerous, isn’t it?” asked Grace, -peering into her glass. “I took your advice about -the cocktail and I didn’t feel it at all; how much may -I drink of this?”</p> - -<p>“Well, about a quarter of that won’t do you any -harm,” Trenton replied after pondering the matter -with exaggerated gravity. “It seems to me you’re rubbing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[65]</span> -it in just a little by asking my opinion in that tone -of voice. One might think I was your father.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, you’re not nearly old enough for that! But -would you be ashamed of me,” Grace asked, sipping -the wine and holding up the glass each time that he -might see that she was not exceeding her allowance.</p> - -<p>“I shouldn’t be ashamed of you even if you were -my aunt! I was just thinking how singular it is that -when a man reaches forty he wants every girl he meets -to think he’s only twenty-seven. Have you noticed -that?”</p> - -<p>“No; but I’ll remember it. I can see you’re terribly -wise. Have I had enough of this pretty stuff?”</p> - -<p>He inspected her glass carefully and nodded.</p> - -<p>“Just about.”</p> - -<p>“If I drank it all I might be more amusing,” she -suggested. “I might be as lively as Irene.”</p> - -<p>“Let me study you first without artificial stimulation. -As I have every intention of keeping sober myself -you’ll get some little idea of what manner of -being I am. A first meeting is important—it’s either -that or nothing. If we both got tipsy it would be -different; but frankly I don’t like being tipsy. Oh, -don’t think I’ve never been! Far, far from it. But -tonight I have a feeling that it wouldn’t be appropriate -for me to lose my head.”</p> - -<p>“No-o?” she inquired, with all the mockery she -dared employ.</p> - -<p>They were interrupted by a question from Kemp, -who was now discussing automobiles with Irene. -Kemp invited Trenton’s support in his defense of the -limousine in which they had driven to The Shack. -The car was not to Irene’s liking and she warned him -never to buy another of the same make. Kemp tried -to explain why he had not met her wishes in the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[66]</span> -matter. The car was a product of his home town and -the manufacturer was a friend and it was his policy -to patronize local industries. Grace thought it -ridiculous that Irene should show so much feeling -about a matter which was, strictly speaking, none of -her concern. The car had seemed to Grace a machine -of much splendor and it had borne them speedily -and comfortably to the farm. She was unable to understand -why her friend was so earnestly denouncing -it.</p> - -<p>“Don’t let them bother you,” said Trenton, “they -get into a row about cars every time I’m here. Their -ignorance is pitiful; neither one of them knows a -thing about it.”</p> - -<p>“Who doesn’t know anything about cars?” demanded -Irene testily.</p> - -<p>“Ah! I’ve wakened the enemy’s pickets,” laughed -Trenton. “You two ought to remember that just six -weeks ago tonight you threshed out the whole business. -You ought to know by this time, Irene, that -Tommy is as obstinate as a mule. He’d be sure to -buy the very car you warned him against.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I knew all the time that’s what he’d do. Of -course I don’t have to be satisfied. But I’d rather -ride in a jitney,” Irene rejoined scornfully.</p> - -<p>“Knowing your aristocratic taste I don’t see you,” -said Kemp, turning to the others. “We are not really -fussing today; it’s just a little sketch we’re putting on. -Irene and I never quarrel. I just lead her on for the -joy of seeing how ignorant she is about the things she -spouts about the loudest.”</p> - -<p>The talk now shifted to the theatre, it appearing -that Kemp in his business trips to New York found -time to cultivate the acquaintance of many actors and -actresses. Irene had met some of them, both in New -York, where she seemed to have encountered Kemp<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[67]</span> -on her buying excursions for Shipley’s, and at home, -where Kemp always “threw a party” for his particular -admirations among theatrical people when they -visited Indianapolis. Apparently these parties had -been very gay from the manner in which Irene and -Kemp referred to them. They recounted with particular -delight an occasion on which the star of a -musical comedy had with the greatest difficulty been -put into condition to resume his itinerary after a Saturday -night at The Shack. Irene was moved to immoderate -laughter at the recollection.</p> - -<p>“When he gets a bun he’s ever so much funnier off -the stage than he ever is on. He climbed out of a -window when we were trying to get him in shape to -go to his train and would you believe it!—we found -him in the barnyard talking to a pig! Then he cried -to take the little brown piggy with him; he said he -wanted it for his understudy. He was perfectly -screaming about that silly little pig, and we fooled -around so long he missed the last possible train and -Tommy had to drive him clear to Chicago for a Sunday -night opening. He kept saying every time we -told him he had missed another train that he would -wait till it came back! You couldn’t beat that!”</p> - -<p>Grace and Trenton were laughing more at Irene’s -enjoyment of her own story than at the incident itself. -They learned that the comedian had finally been -landed at the stage door of the Chicago theatre where -he was to appear barely in time to dress for his part. -Kemp was enthusiastic about the drive, which had -broken all records. He interrupted Irene’s story with -many details of the flight which she had forgotten.</p> - -<p>When Irene and Kemp again became absorbed in -each other Grace picked up the thread of her talk with -Trenton.</p> - -<p>“We stopped just where it was growing interesting,”<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[68]</span> -she remarked. “Let’s go right on where we left off. -You were saying you thought it better not to lose your -head tonight. Was that on my account? Am I such -a young innocent that you’ve got to take care of -me?”</p> - -<p>He laughed at the eagerness with which she flung -these sentences at him. If she was affected by her restricted -potations there was nothing in her manner or -speech to indicate the fact. Her eyes were bright, -but only from the excitement of her entrance upon -a new field of adventure. Once a young student at the -university had addressed some verses “To Her Questing -Eyes” and published them in one of the college -periodicals. The poem had been instantly recognized -as a tribute to Grace Durland; questing was a fitting -term for a certain look that came into her eyes at -times when her habitual eager gaze became crossed -oddly with a far-away look of revery. Trenton was -doing full justice to her eyes and was mindful of their -swift changes.</p> - -<p>“On the whole I don’t really believe you need protecting,” -he answered. “Oh, just a little, perhaps; -but I think I’d trust you to take care of yourself.”</p> - -<p>“But what if I don’t want to be taken care of! What -if I want to jump into the water with a big splash!”</p> - -<p>“Um! So that’s the idea? Well, I think you’d -swim out; and yet again you mightn’t. There are -those who don’t,” he ended gravely.</p> - -<p>“I’m not afraid—I’m not afraid of anything!” she -said with a defiant lifting of her head.</p> - -<p>“Dear me!” He narrowed his eyes and looked at -her sharply. “Broadly speaking, it’s better not to be -afraid of life; life’s got to be lived.” He pecked at -his salad for a moment, then put down his fork and -went on. “We’ve got to meet situations; play the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[69]</span> -game with the cards as they’re dealt. We hear a good -deal these days about our grand old grandfathers and -what heroic stuff they were made of. They fought -with savages who didn’t have the right ammunition -to fight back with; but nowadays the savages are inside -of us. The wild streak in man is showing itself. -It’s in all of us.”</p> - -<p>He touched his breast lightly and smiled to minimize -the seriousness of what he was saying.</p> - -<p>“Right around here, where the corn grows tall, you -might think—and probably a lot of people back -yonder in the city like to think—that everything’s safe -and it’s easy to be good! We’re all being tested all -the time. The man who was an angel fifty years ago -would probably be a perfect devil these days if he had -half a chance. The world is a different place every -morning; but that’s only an old habit the world has. -It keeps spinning a little faster all the time. Now -we’ve got right here—” with a slight movement of the -head he indicated Kemp and Irene—“we’ve got a situation -that wouldn’t have been possible twenty years -ago—at least not in a town like this. But we may be -sure something of the kind was going on only it was -better hidden. Nowadays with more people and more -wealth and the general craving for excitement things -happen differently. We may regret such things, you -and I, but we are not helping matters by denying they -exist. Everybody is restless; people are living as -though they expected to die tomorrow and are afraid -they’re going to miss something; but I don’t believe -people are wickeder than they used to be. What we -used to call wicked we call naughty now, and pretend -it doesn’t matter!”</p> - -<p>He spoke half questioningly, as though not sure of -her assent.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[70]</span>“I suppose that’s so,” she replied soberly. “I never -thought of it in that way. But,” she added, “you -must have lots of other responsibilities—more important -ones, without troubling about me.”</p> - -<p>“We’re not much use in the world if we haven’t a -few. I think—I think I might put you on my list. -How would you like that?”</p> - -<p>“It would be wonderful if you thought me worth -thinking about after we leave here!” she answered, -her eyes bright.</p> - -<p>“If I never saw you again I shouldn’t forget you. -You’re a vivid person; I can honestly say that you’re -the most interesting person I’ve met in a long time.”</p> - -<p>They were interrupted by Irene and Kemp who -rose suddenly from the table.</p> - -<p>“Tommy and I are going to dance,” said Irene. -“You two can have your coffee where you like. There’s -a cordial if you want it—Tommy has everything, you -know.” She rested her hand for a moment on Trenton’s -shoulder. Her face was flushed and her voice a -little strident. “You two are spooning beautifully. -You may be awfully proud of yourself, Grace. I never -saw Ward so interested in any girl before.”</p> - -<p>“Run along, Irene; Grace and I are talking of -serious matters,” Trenton replied.</p> - -<p>“Listen to that, Tommy! These idiots are serious! -It’ll never do to leave them here.”</p> - -<p>Kemp caught Trenton by the arm and dragged him -from his chair.</p> - -<p>“Can’t be serious ’n my house, Ward Trenton! Always -too serious for Irene and me. Just look ’t that -beautiful girl I got you to play with; silly to be serious -with a girl like that.”</p> - -<p>“All right; we’ll dance then,” said Trenton, -amiably.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[71]</span>“Thass the talk! Don’t forget this’s a party, not -a funeral.”</p> - -<p>Jerry had rolled back the rugs and pushed the -furniture out of the way in the living room. Kemp -and Irene were already on the floor dancing exaggeratedly -to the air of one of the new records.</p> - -<p>“I’m not up to date on the new stuff,” remarked -Trenton apologetically; but Grace found that he -danced well and evidently with enjoyment.</p> - -<p>“You two not drinkin’ enough,” said Kemp in -one of the pauses, planting himself waveringly before -Trenton and Grace and extending a glass. “Gotta -drink more; party’s no good without wine; lots o’ -wine. Want everybody t’ get soused like me.”</p> - - -<h3>II</h3> - -<p>Grace’s experience of drunkenness had been limited -to the occasional sight of a tipsy man in the street -and she was shocked by the unhappy change in -Kemp’s appearance. His suave courtesy had disappeared. -His hair was in disorder; Irene had rumpled -it before they left the table, saying that he was too -pretty; and as he talked his head moved queerly in -time with his jerky articulation. And he looked old; -one might have thought that Age, as a punishment -for his intemperance had snatched away his youthful -mask. Finding that Grace and Trenton paid no heed -to his demand that they drink more wine he followed -them over the floor and finally arrested them while he -apologized elaborately for neglecting Grace. She was -his guest and it was time that he was dancing with -her. Irene rose from the couch where she had been -watching them and announced her determination to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[72]</span> -teach Trenton a new step; his manner of dancing was -all out of date she said. She flung her arms around his -neck and with her head on his shoulder pushed him -about, while Kemp, delighted at Trenton’s discomfiture, -clapped his hands in time to the music.</p> - -<p>Grace, finding herself free, seized the moment to -try to escape, but Kemp lunged to the door and intercepted -her.</p> - -<p>“Runnin’ ’way from me! Awfu’ bad manners run -away from host. Gotta dance with me like Irene. -Thass right, Grace; good li’l’ sport; Irene’s friends all -good sports.”</p> - -<p>He caught her arms and clasped them about his -neck but as his muddled senses were unequal to responding -to the rhythm of the music the performance -resolved itself chiefly into an attempt on Grace’s part -to keep him on his feet.</p> - -<p>“Sorry I stepped on you. Awfu’ sorry, Grace. -Wouldn’t step on you for anything in this wide, wide -world.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, it was great fun!” Grace cried when the -record had played itself out. She was determined to -make the best of it, but Trenton, mopping his brow, -intervened.</p> - -<p>“Tommy, you’re too rough! Grace doesn’t want to -dance any more; we’re going to have our coffee. You -go and dance with Irene.”</p> - -<p>“Poor sport! Awfu’ poor sport,” Kemp retorted -as Trenton led Grace away. He bawled after them -his conviction that they were both poor sports and -resumed dancing with Irene.</p> - -<p>Jerry had placed the coffee-tray in a long, comfortably -furnished sun porch opening off the dining -room, where the music and the voices from the living -room penetrated only feebly.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[73]</span>“I think I’m going to like this better,” said Grace -with a sigh of relief.</p> - -<p>“A little calm <i>is</i> agreeable after a rough house,” -said Trenton watching her intently as she seated herself -by the table and filled the cups. “Tommy never -knows his limit,” he went on, taking a cigarette from -a silver box on the stand. “He can’t carry the stuff -as he used to and he doesn’t act pretty when he’s -shot. But he recovers quickly; he’ll be all right soon. -Irene knows how to manage him. One lump, thank -you.”</p> - -<p>Grace was still breathing deeply from the violence -of her romp with Kemp. She was hoping that Trenton -would renew the talk she had been enjoying at the -table; but his silence was disconcerting. She wondered -whether he was not purposely waiting for her -to speak, to show her reaction to the scenes in which -they had been participating in the living room.</p> - -<p>She turned to him presently with a slight smile on -her lips.</p> - -<p>“You can see that I’m a terrible greenhorn. I -don’t know how to act at a party—not this kind of -a party. I suppose it isn’t nice of us to run away, -but you were an angel to come to the rescue.”</p> - -<p>“It’s always pleasant to be called an angel!” he -remarked. “It hasn’t happened to me for some time. -Tommy would die of chagrin if he knew he’d been -making a monkey of himself; but he’s likely to do -most anything when he gets a bun.”</p> - -<p>Jerry came in to inspect the wick of the coffee -lamp and Trenton detained him.</p> - -<p>“Oh! Jerry, you needn’t serve any more drinks. -Mr. Kemp doesn’t need any more.”</p> - -<p>“Yezzah.” The boy bowed imperturbably and withdrew.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[74]</span>“Jerry and I understand each other perfectly. He’ll -take care of that. I wonder what the boy thinks! But -you never can penetrate the innermost recesses of the -Oriental mind. He probably doesn’t approve of -Tommy’s parties, if we knew the truth.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose he’s used to them. Let me see, what -were we talking about?”</p> - -<p>“We hadn’t settled anything; we were going round -in a circle.”</p> - -<p>“Then let’s keep revolving! I want to hear you -talk some more. I want to know your ideas about -everything.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that’s a large order,” he laughed. “But I’ll -do my best!”</p> - -<p>She was struck suddenly with a fear that he might -be finding her company irksome. It was quite likely -that at other times, when he had been provided with -a companion familiar with the technic of such parties, -he had contributed more to the gaiety of the occasions. -But her imagination was unequal to the task of -visualizing him in such antics as Kemp was engaged -in. He impressed her more and more as she studied -him as a man who kept himself in perfect control; -who found indeed a secret enjoyment in merely looking -on when others were bent upon making an exhibition -of themselves.</p> - -<p>“We were speaking awhile ago of our naughtiness in -accepting an invitation to a function like this. I’ve -attended a lot of such parties here and elsewhere. I -am always wondering why I’m invited and why I go. -Perhaps,” he smiled quizzically, “it’s to give moral -tone! That’s undoubtedly why you were invited.”</p> - -<p>“That excuse won’t do for me!” she replied quickly. -“I wanted to come; I was perfectly crazy to come!”</p> - -<p>“Well, it’s just as well to satisfy your curiosity. I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[75]</span> -assure you these parties are all alike. I’ve taken a -hand in them in every part of the world. The only -thing that makes this one different is—” he smiled -broadly and his eyes danced with humor—“is you! I -might say that you are quite different. You create -an atmosphere quite your own.”</p> - -<p>“Hurry up and explain that!” She clasped her -hands in mock appeal. “I might be different and still -very unsatisfactory!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, there is that possibility,” he answered musingly. -“A girl requires a little practice to catch the -stroke. That is, she has got to get over the first shock -before she becomes a good party girl. You’re a novice. -It will be interesting to know just how you emerge -from the novitiate.”</p> - -<p>“Would you be interested in that,—really?”</p> - -<p>“Vastly!”</p> - -<p>Her attention wavered and with a quick lifting of -the head she bent a startled questioning look upon -him. The new records of distinguished operatic stars -which Kemp and Irene had been playing had served -as a faint accompaniment to their talk, but the music -and the sound of voices were no longer audible in the -sun porch. Grace glanced nervously about, oppressed -by the silence. Voices and steps were heard in the -rooms above. Trenton asked if she had read a -novel which he took from the lower shelf of the -stand that held the coffee things. Her negative -reply was almost hostile and she did not meet -his gaze. Her face wore a look of cold detachment. -It seemed to him that the girl was no longer -there; that what he saw was merely a shadowy shape -that might pass utterly at any moment. He rose -and dropped his half-smoked cigarette into an ashtray -on the stand. When he faced her again the look<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[76]</span> -had changed. He interpreted it as an appeal and he -was not unmindful of its poignancy. She sat erect, -her head lifted, her hands clasped upon her knees.</p> - -<p>“I was just wondering—” she began.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Tommy and Irene? They’re about somewhere,” -he said carelessly. He reached for a fresh -cigarette, eyed it as though it were an unfamiliar thing -and lighted it deliberately. That look in her face, the -appeal in her eyes, had struck deep into him. He sat -down beside her on the davenport, crossed his knees -and folded his arms. His composure restored her -confidence. In a moment she settled back, quite herself -again.</p> - -<p>He touched rapidly upon a great number of problems, -talking well, with an animation that surprised -her. But she knew that he was trying to make her -forget her perturbation of a moment ago. It was an -enormous satisfaction to know that he understood; it -was almost uncanny that he understood so much of -what was in her mind and heart without being told.</p> - -<p>“If it isn’t impudent for me to ask, I’d like to know -just what you’re aiming at,” he said. “You look like -a girl who might be cursed with ambitions. Can’t -you let me into the secret?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, honestly, I haven’t any! When I was at the -university I thought I had some—but they were silly. -Like every other girl I was crazy for a while to be -a trained nurse, then a settlement worker, and I even -thought I might be a writer, and for about a week -I had a craze to study medicine. Then I had to leave -college, so I took a job in a department store! How’s -that for ambition!”</p> - -<p>“A little mixed; but the books are not closed yet! -There’s plenty of time for fresh entries. There’s marriage. -You’ve overlooked that. That must be on -the program!”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[77]</span>“It’s not the first number! College girls who don’t -get married the day after commencement are likely -to wait awhile. I’m not a bit excited about getting -married. I want to look the world over before I settle -down.”</p> - -<p>“Suppose you fell in love—some fine fellow who could -take good care of you. What then?”</p> - -<p>“Well, I’ve had chances to marry and I couldn’t see -it. I’ve never been in love—not really. There’s -a professor who wanted to marry me—a widower with -two children. You wouldn’t have me do that? And -young fellows, several of them, very nice, who caused -me a lot of bother before I got rid of them. I liked -them all but I couldn’t love them.”</p> - -<p>“Then I’ll make the prediction that always applies -in such cases; some day you’ll meet just the right man -and that will be the end of it.”</p> - -<p>“Maybe; but I don’t see it now. All I want—all I -want right now is to be free!” she said and a far-away -look came into the dark eyes.</p> - -<p>“One can be free and terribly lonesome too,” he -suggested. “There’s nothing quite so horrible as being -lonesome. This is a big world and just knocking -around by yourself isn’t much good. We all need -companionship; the soul cries for it.”</p> - -<p>She glanced at him quickly, surprised at his sudden -seriousness and the note of depression in his voice. -In her great liking for him she groped for an explanation -of his change of mood. He had not struck -her as at all a moody person. Some reply seemed -necessary and she was at a loss to know what to say -to him.</p> - -<p>“But you’re a success!” she exclaimed. “It’s only -when a man fails that he’s likely to be lonesome.”</p> - -<p>“Success is a beautiful word, but to myself I’m a -decided failure. I’ve failed in the most important<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[78]</span> -thing a man ever undertakes. Don’t look at me like -that! I’ll explain. I’m supposed to be a mechanical -expert, but there’s one mechanism that’s beyond me. -I’m referring to the heart of a woman. My ignorance -of that contrivance is complete.”</p> - -<p>The grim look that had come into his face yielded -to a smile as he saw her bewilderment.</p> - -<p>“You’re going to be bored in a minute! I didn’t -want you to think me more than twenty-seven and -you’re already guessing that I’m at least seventy and -a doddering wreck!”</p> - -<p>“I wasn’t thinking that at all. You seemed unhappy -and I was sorry!”</p> - -<p>“Well, don’t be sorry for me. I’m not deserving -of any one’s pity—not even my own. When I spoke -of failure I was thinking of my marriage. Irene probably -told you I’m married?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes; I asked her the first thing!”</p> - -<p>“And it made no difference to you—about coming -I mean.”</p> - -<p>“None whatever,” she laughed. “I just thought of -it as an experience.”</p> - -<p>“Rather like studying a bug under glass, is that it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, something of the sort. But—you were speaking -of your wife.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” he said with a smile; “my being married -is not a confidential matter; nothing to hide or be -ashamed of. My wife is a very charming woman. -You’d probably fall under her spell if you knew her; -people frequently do. And I think she’d probably -like you.”</p> - -<p>“Not if she knew I had met you at a party like -this.”</p> - -<p>“Bless you, that wouldn’t make a particle of difference -in her liking you or not liking you! She’s broad-minded—very<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[79]</span> -much so! And it’s one of her many -good points that she isn’t jealous. If she came in here -and found me talking to you she wouldn’t scream -and break up the furniture; she’d join in the conversation -and make herself interesting—say startling -things just to make us sit up. After a fashion she’s a -philosopher, very much entertained by what the -world’s doing. She sees in me only one of the many -millions, a queer specimen for the microscope. She -actually puts me into the books she writes!”</p> - -<p>Grace bent her head, lifted it quickly and exclaimed: -“Is she Mary Graham Trenton? I’ve read her ‘Clues -to a New Social Order’ but I never imagined——”</p> - -<p>“No, you wouldn’t connect me with anything so -daring! I need hardly repeat that she’s a broad-minded -woman. I’d be interested to know how you -come to know about that book.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that’s easy enough. We had a lecture on it in -our sociology course at the university. The head -of the department didn’t approve of Mrs. Trenton’s -views and warned us against the book, so of course -I read it!”</p> - -<p>“Naturally!”</p> - -<p>“But it’s interesting; awfully interesting.”</p> - -<p>“Written, I assure you,” laughed Trenton, “by a -remarkable woman!”</p> - - -<h3>III</h3> - -<p>The unhappy marriages of which Grace had known -had failed for obvious reasons, but Trenton’s case was -fascinating in its subtleties. He spoke of his wife -as a man might speak of a woman he admired in a -detached sort of way without really knowing her.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[80]</span> -In spite of his amiable attitude toward Mrs. Trenton, -Grace found herself instantly his partisan; she was -sure his failure as he called it was his wife’s fault. -She greatly disliked this woman she had never seen. -She started and flushed when he said abruptly, almost -as though he had read her thoughts:</p> - -<p>“You’re getting ready to pity me—but don’t do -it! It’s something in me that’s wrong. We don’t -quarrel and throw dishes across the table or call each -other names. We respect each other tremendously. -It isn’t even one of these triangular affairs,—another -man or woman. When we meet now and then we -talk quite sanely and sensibly of the news of the -day and the arts and sciences, as two strangers -might talk in a smoking car. The trouble may lie -right there. A man and wife must be necessary to -each other to make a perfect marriage and we are not. -For seven or eight years we’ve mostly gone our separate -ways. She has her own interests, plenty of them. -If I tell her I’m going to Hong Kong to do a job and -ask her to go along she’ll say that she doesn’t think -it would amuse her. She’ll go to Paris and stay till -I come back. All cheerful, you understand; no row! -Mrs. Trenton’s quite able to do as she pleases,—as to -money, I mean,—independently of me. And she -knows people everywhere and they like to have her -around. I like having her around myself!”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps one of these days everything will come -right,” said Grace.</p> - -<p>“Possibly,” he said. “But that’s enough of me. -Let’s talk about you a little.”</p> - -<p>He drew her out as to her experiences at the university -but when these were exhausted he told her something -of his own history. He had been thrown upon -the world at an early age, and, not without difficulty,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[81]</span> -had worked his way through a technical school. His -profession had carried him to every part of the world. -He told amusing stories of the reaction of remote -foreign peoples to the magic of modern machinery. -No other man had ever interested Grace half so much. -Trenton was like a pilgrim from another and larger -world; she was fascinated by the cosmopolitan fashion -in which he changed the scene of his adventures from -China to South Africa and from South America to -far-flung islands whose very names were touched with -the glamour of romance. Some of his journeys had -been merely pleasure excursions; he got restless sometimes, -he said, and had to go somewhere; but chiefly -he had traveled to sell or to install machinery, or to -work out mechanical problems under new and difficult -conditions. There was no conceit in him—a vein of -self-mockery ran through most of his talk. He made -light of the perplexities and dangers he had encountered; -there was no fun, he said, in the performance -of easy tasks. He knew usually when he was employed -that his services were sought in the hope that he -might be able to solve riddles which other very capable -persons had given up.</p> - -<p>Grace studied him at leisure through his desultory -monologue, interrupting only to ask questions to keep -him assured of her interest. Her mind turned back -repeatedly to what he had said of his wife. She was -quite sure that Mrs. Trenton didn’t appreciate her -husband’s fine qualities. He was a man of genius, -and as such probably wasn’t always easy to understand; -but it was Mrs. Trenton’s business, the girl reflected, -to learn to understand him, to seek ways of -making him happy. She was more and more struck -by his seeming indifference to most things, even to -is own achievements. Her imagination played upon<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[82]</span> -him with girlish romanticism. He ought to be aroused, -awakened; he deserved to be loved, to have the companionship -he craved. And yet from the manner in -which he spoke of his wife it was a serious question -whether he didn’t love her. Whether the unknown -woman loved him was another question that kept -thrusting itself into her thoughts.</p> - -<p>As he rambled on through the hour they were alone -he played fitfully with the end of a gold locket which -he carried on his watch chain. He would draw this -from his right hand waistcoat pocket, seemingly unconscious -of what he was doing, and hold it in his hand -or smooth it caressingly. She speculated as to whether -it did not contain a picture of Mrs. Trenton; she even -considered asking him to let her see it.</p> - -<p>Again steps and voices were heard above and Trenton -looked at his watch.</p> - -<p>“It’s eleven o’clock and Tommy and I are taking -the midnight train for St. Louis,” he said. “We’ve -got to beat it.”</p> - -<p>She rose and stood beside him, sorry that the evening -was so nearly over.</p> - -<p>“I’ll always remember tonight; you’ve been awfully -nice to me!” she said.</p> - -<p>“Please don’t! If you begin thanking me I’ll know -you feel I’m older than the hills. I see it all now! -I made my story cover too many years!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that’s not it at all!” she protested. “I was -just wondering how you ever crowded so much into -your young life!”</p> - -<p>“You do that sort of thing very prettily! And when -you look at me like that you become dangerous.”</p> - -<p>“You really don’t think I’m dangerous—not in the -least little bit!”</p> - -<p>“I’m not to be caught in that trap! A wise man<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[83]</span> -never acknowledges to a woman that she’s dangerous. -They ought to have taught you that at the university. -But you’re patient! You’ve listened to me as Desdemona -listened to Othello!”</p> - -<p>“I believe,” she said daringly, tilting her head, “I -believe I’d like to flirt with you—oh, just a little bit!”</p> - -<p>He took a step nearer, his hands thrust into his -pockets in his characteristic way. He drew them out -and they fell to his side as he regarded her fixedly -with a smile on his lips. Then very gently he took her -cheeks between his hands. She thrilled at the touch. -They were fine strong hands; she had noted repeatedly -all through the evening how finely formed they were, -and the strength implied in them.</p> - -<p>“It’s meant very much to me to meet you—you -can’t know how much. I almost feel that I know you -a little bit.”</p> - -<p>“It’s meant so much more to me,” she returned -sincerely. “I’d be ashamed if I wasn’t grateful. And -that doesn’t mean at all that I feel that you’re a day -older than I am!”</p> - -<p>They were smiling gravely into each other’s eyes. -There was not for the moment at least any question -of a disparity of years. She drew away slowly until -her face was free of his touch; then she laid her hands -lightly on his shoulders.</p> - -<p>“Please kiss me,” she whispered, and their lips met.</p> - -<p>“Here, you two!”</p> - -<p>They swung around to find Kemp in the door, watch -in hand.</p> - -<p>“We’ve just got time to make it. Your bag is at -the station, Ward? All right. Go up and get your -things, Grace. And tell Irene to hurry.”</p> - -<p>Kemp was again the man of business, his preoccupation -with the journey already showing in his eyes.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[84]</span>Irene was giving the last touches to her hair when -Grace found her.</p> - -<p>“Ready in just a minute,” she said. “How did you -get on with good old Ward?”</p> - -<p>“He’s perfectly lovely! He’s the most interesting -man I ever met!”</p> - -<p>“That’s what they all say. Have any luck vamping -him?”</p> - -<p>“Of course not,” replied Grace, putting on her hat. -“You couldn’t expect me to make a hit with a man -like that. He’s too big and much too wise.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, the wiser they are the harder they fall!” replied -Irene carelessly. “It’s something that he didn’t -leave you and go out for a walk all by his lonesome. -That’s the way he treated a girl I wished on him once. -Actually, my dear, walked out of the house and didn’t -come back till Tommy and I were ready to go! But -she got soused, the little fool. I guess I was lit up -for a little while tonight and Tommy certainly was -feeling his poison when Jerry put the wine away. He’s -all right now. It hits him quick and then it’s all over.”</p> - -<p>Jerry appeared to bow them ceremoniously into the -car. On the way into town they talked only fitfully. -When the men spoke it was to discuss the business -that was calling them to St. Louis.</p> - -<p>“I’m going to Minnie Lawton’s for the night, Grace,” -said Irene. “You’d better stop there with me. It’s -easier doing that than explaining things at home. -There won’t be time for you to stop at Minnie’s to -change your things.”</p> - -<p>Grace had considered the possible embarrassment -that might result from going home at midnight in the -new gown. She meant to explain that she had changed -before leaving the store and had gone home with Irene<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[85]</span> -after the French lesson, and some of Irene’s friends -had dropped in.</p> - -<p>“Don’t take a chance of being scolded,” remarked -Kemp. “You know your family and I suppose you -have some leeway. I’d hate for you to get into trouble.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I’ll fix everything all right. It isn’t so awfully -late. I’ll be home by twelve.”</p> - -<p>They dropped Irene at Minnie’s and then swung -westward. Grace indicated a point a block from home -where they might leave her.</p> - -<p>“If you like The Shack I hope you’ll come again,” -said Kemp. “It’s been fine to have you along.”</p> - -<p>“We’ll meet again,” said Trenton. “We didn’t settle -much! There’ll have to be some more talks—many -of them I hope!”</p> - -<p>“I hope so too! Thank you both ever so much.”</p> - -<p>When she reached the Durland gate she caught a -last glimpse of the tail light as the car swung southward -round the park.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[86]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER FIVE</h2> -</div> - - -<h3>I</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">She</span> turned off the hall light at the switch at the -head of the stairs and gained her room unchallenged. -Usually her mother waited up for her, and Grace -breathed a sigh of relief to find her door closed. She -quickly undressed, hiding the new suit in the closet -and throwing out another to wear to work in the morning.</p> - -<p>She lay for nearly an hour thinking over the -events of the night but slept at last the sleep of weary -youth and was only roused by the importunate alarm -clock at six thirty. On her way to the bathroom for -a shower—the shower had been a concession to her -and Roy—she passed Ethel whose good morning she -thought a little constrained. As she dressed she rehearsed -the story she meant to tell to account for her -late home-coming. Something would be said about it -and she went downstairs whistling to fortify herself -for the ordeal. Her father was reading the morning -paper by the window in the living room and in response -to her inquiry as to whether there was any news -muttered absently that there was nothing in particular, -the remark he always made when interrupted -in the reading of his paper.</p> - -<p>She found her mother and sister in the kitchen.</p> - -<p>“Good morning, Grace,” said Mrs. Durland pleasantly. -“We’re a little late, so you might set the table. -Ethel and I have started breakfast.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Durland usually made a point of setting the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[87]</span> -breakfast table herself and Grace wondered whether -this delegation of the task might not mean that her -mother and Ethel wished to be alone to discuss just -what should be said about her arrival at midnight -when they had every reason to expect her home from -her French lesson by half-past nine.</p> - -<p>When they were established at the table Ethel -praised the clear bright morning. It was her habit to -say something hopeful and cheering at the breakfast -table, illuminated at times by an appropriate quotation. -Mrs. Durland encouraged this practice and if -Ethel did not at once volunteer her contribution to the -felicity of the matutinal meal, would ask:</p> - -<p>“Ethel, haven’t you some <i>word</i> for us this morning?”</p> - -<p>Ethel had offered a quotation from Emerson and -Grace had correctly guessed that it was from the essay -on “Compensation” when Mrs. Durland, having filled -and passed the coffee cups, glanced at Grace.</p> - -<p>“What kept you so late last night, dear?” she asked -in the kindest of tones. “I waited up till eleven. I -didn’t hear you come in. You must have been very -late.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I didn’t get in until twelve. After the lesson -I went home with Irene and there were some people -there and we just talked and played cards. I didn’t -know the time was passing till it was after eleven.”</p> - -<p>“That’s rather strange, dear. They didn’t <i>know</i> -at the Kirby’s that you were at their house.”</p> - -<p>“Why didn’t they know?” Grace demanded.</p> - -<p>“Because we called up!” her mother answered. -“John Moore’s in town and telephoned about eight -o’clock to know if he could come out. Ethel talked -to him.”</p> - -<p>“He’s such a fine fellow,” said Ethel. “You know<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[88]</span> -mother and I met him when we went down to see you -at the University last spring. He’s such a splendid -type!”</p> - -<p>“The kind of high-minded, self-respecting young -man we like to have you know, Grace,” remarked Mrs. -Durland.</p> - -<p>“John’s a dear,” said Grace warmly. “And you told -him to go to Professor Duroy’s, and of course he -didn’t find me there.”</p> - -<p>“No; and he called a second time, thinking he had -misunderstood. He was very anxious to get you to -go with him to the football game tomorrow and was -afraid you might make some other engagement. It -was just a <i>little</i> embarrassing that we couldn’t tell -him where you were.”</p> - -<p>“You might have told him to come to the store in -the morning,” Grace replied. “Well, I guess I may -as well make a clean breast of it! I played hooky! -Irene and I went to a supper party.”</p> - -<p>“So you told me an untruth!” exclaimed Mrs. Durland, -staring wide-eyed at the culprit. “Grace, this -isn’t like you. You should have told me you were -not going to Professor Duroy’s. You might have -saved me my worry last night when you were so late -and the Kirbys said Irene had not been home and that -she told her family she was spending the night with a -friend.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, mamma: I shouldn’t have told you a fib. I’m -sorry. It was a dreadful sin!”</p> - -<p>She looked from one to the other smiling, hoping -to dispel the gloom that seemed to hang above the -table. It was not however in her sister’s mind to -suffer the deception to pass unrebuked.</p> - -<p>“You’ll tell us, I suppose, <i>whom</i> you had supper -with besides Irene?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[89]</span>Her sister’s question angered Grace the more by reason -of the tone of forbearance in which it was uttered. -She would tell them nothing. A crisis had risen in her -relations with her family and she resolved to meet it -boldly.</p> - -<p>“I’ll not answer your question,” she said, addressing -herself directly to Ethel. “It’s none of your business -where I go or what I do. Ever since I came home I’ve -been staying in at night except when I’ve gone to a -movie with father. I’m working hard every day to -help keep things going here at home. And I mean -to keep on doing it; but I’m not a child and I’m -not going to be checked up for every hour I’m out -of your sight.”</p> - -<p>“Calm yourself, Grace. Don’t say anything you’ll -be sorry for!” admonished Mrs. Durland.</p> - -<p>“After I’d warned you about the Kirby girl—” -began Ethel with the serene patience due an erring -child who may yet be saved from further misdemeanors.</p> - -<p>“Oh, you warned me all right enough!” Grace interrupted. -“You’ve done a lot to make things pleasant -for me since I came home! When I asked those -girls here to the house you made everything as disagreeable -as possible. You shied from a harmless -ouija board! And now if I go out for an evening -you’re terribly shocked because I lie about it and -refuse to tell you exactly where I’ve been! But I do -refuse! I’m never going to tell you anything! The -sooner you understand that, Ethel Durland, the sooner -we’ll have peace in this house.”</p> - -<p>Her eyes were bright with tears but she held her -head high. In so far as she reasoned at all in her -anger she was satisfied that justice was on her side. -She was of age, she was self-supporting, she was bearing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[90]</span> -her full share of the family expenses, and she -meant to establish once and for all her right to freedom.</p> - -<p>“I hadn’t expected you to take the matter in this -spirit,” said Mrs. Durland. “It isn’t like you, Grace. -We want the very best for you. We want you to -have your friends and to enjoy yourself. And be -sure we all appreciate the fine way you met your -disappointment at being obliged to give up college. -But you know we owe it to you, dear, to protect you -in every way possible. There are so many perils -these days.”</p> - -<p>“Not only here, but everywhere through the country, -the moral conditions are terrible,” said Ethel -plaintively. “A young girl can’t be too careful.”</p> - -<p>“Well, if I’m wicked your goodness more than -makes up for it,” Grace flashed back; and then, her -anger mounting, “Why do you assume that I’ve been -wicked? Are you going to take my character away -from me right here at home? If I’ve got to live here -in an atmosphere of suspicion I’ll leave. I can easily -find another boarding place where I won’t be pecked -at all the time.”</p> - -<p>“You wouldn’t think of doing that!” cried her -mother aghast. “This is your home, dear; it will -always be your home. We should be so grateful that -we’ve been able to keep the dear old place.”</p> - -<p>“Well, you’re making me think of it! If I go -you’ll be driving me out!”</p> - -<p>“No one has any intention of driving you from -home,” said Ethel. “We want to guard you with -our faith and love.”</p> - -<p>“Your faith!” Grace laughed ironically.</p> - -<p>“Of course we have all the faith in the world in -you!” declared Mrs. Durland.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[91]</span>Stephen Durland, who had remained silent during -this discussion, was now folding his napkin. He -cleared his throat, glanced from his wife to his daughters -and back to his wife.</p> - -<p>“Seems to me this has gone far enough, Alicia. -There’s no use acting as though Grace had done anything -wrong.”</p> - -<p>“Of course we didn’t mean that, Stephen,” said -Mrs. Durland quickly. “It was <i>only</i>——”</p> - -<p>The fact that Durland so rarely expressed an opinion -on any matter pertaining to family affairs had -so surprised her that she found herself unequal to -the task of completing her sentence.</p> - -<p>“I guess it’s a good place to let the matter drop,” -he said. “The way to show Grace we trust her is to -trust her. Twelve o’clock is not late. I heard Grace -when she came in. I don’t blame her for not answering -questions when she’s jumped on. Don’t nag -Grace. Grace is all right.”</p> - -<p>This was the longest speech Stephen Durland had -delivered in a family council for years. He rose, -paused to drain the glass of water at his plate and left -the room. A moment later the front door closed very -softly. The gentleness with which it closed had curiously -the effect of an emphasis upon his last words. -They waited to give him time to reach the gate. Having -broken one precedent he might break another; -he might come back. He had even addressed his -wife as Alicia instead of the familiar Allie—a radical -and disconcerting departure.</p> - -<p>“We may as well clear the table,” said Mrs. Durland, -when a full minute had passed. Grace assisted -in the clearing up. All the processes of this labor -were executed in silence save for an occasional deep -sigh from Mrs. Durland. When the dishes had been<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[92]</span> -washed and put away in the pantry Grace hung up -her apron and went to her room. She made her bed -and straightened up her dressing table and had put -on her hat and coat when Ethel appeared in the -door.</p> - -<p>“Grace, I want you to know how sorry I am if I -said anything to hurt you. You know that not for -worlds would I be unkind or unjust to my own sister.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that’s all right, Ethel; just forget it,” Grace -replied indifferently.</p> - -<p>She bade her mother good-bye with all the cheer -she could muster.</p> - -<p>“Good-bye, Grace,” called Mrs. Durland from the -window where she was scanning the newspaper. “I -hope you’ll have a good day.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, mother.”</p> - - -<h3>II</h3> - -<p>As the trolley bore her townward she decided that -all things considered she had come off fairly well -in the encounter; but she was not jubilant. She had -probably established her right to go and come as -she pleased, but the victory brought her no happiness. -Ethel’s conciliatory words meant nothing; it -was her sister’s way to manifest forbearance and -tolerance, to smooth things over when there had been -a clash between them. Grace had for her mother -a real affection, sincerely admiring the effort she -made to keep in touch with the best thought of the -world—a pet phrase of Mrs. Durland’s. Mrs. Durland -was kind, unselfish, well-meaning. She meant -to live up to her ideal of motherhood. It was -despicable to lie to her. Grace’s conscience was now<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[93]</span> -busy tearing down the defenses behind which she had -excused herself for going to Kemp’s party. Any -uncertainty as to Irene’s relations with the manufacturer -were dispelled by the visit to The Shack. The -fact that Kemp’s money made it possible to surround -the relationship with a degree of glamour did not -mitigate the ugly fact. It might be that the people -who talked so dolefully of the new generation and -the low ebb to which old-fashioned morals had sunk -were right. Irene’s affair with Kemp presented a -situation which, if greatly multiplied, would mean -the destruction of all that made womanhood precious.</p> - -<p>Could she, Grace Durland, ever be like that? What -was to prevent her from doing exactly what Irene -was doing or falling even lower? Nothing, she pondered, -but her own will and innate sense of righteousness. -She would have no excuse for following Irene’s -example. The home she had just left really stood -for all those things she had been taught to believe -were essential to right living. Her mother, with all -her failings and weaknesses, had labored hard to implant -in her children the principles of honor and rectitude. -And her father, pitiful figure though he was, -was a man of ideals and a pattern of morality. He -believed in her; he was her friend and it would be -shameful to do aught to bring disgrace upon him. -And with an accession of generosity as she pondered, -Grace saw Ethel, too, in a different light. With all -her offensive assumption of saintly airs Ethel’s ideas -of human conduct were sound. Ethel was a disagreeable -person to live with, but nevertheless she was -not always wrong. She had indubitably been right -about Irene Kirby.</p> - -<p>As Grace left the car she saw by a street clock -that she still had ten minutes in which to report at<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[94]</span> -the store and she loitered, eager to remain in the open -as long as possible. And she rather dreaded meeting -Irene.</p> - - -<h3>III</h3> - -<p>Happily for her peace of mind the day opened -briskly. She had disposed of a rapid succession of -customers before Irene, who had arrived late, passed -her in the salesroom with a careless nod and smile. -At half-past nine Grace espied John Moore, the unwitting -cause of the exposure of her truancy from -the French class, standing in the entrance. So many -other thoughts had filled her mind since she left -the breakfast table that she had forgotten about -Moore and the football game. She was carrying a -gown she had just sold flung over her arm when the -sight of the young man, who was clearly dismayed -by the unfamiliar scene, brought a smile to her face. -He sprang forward beaming when he caught sight -of her.</p> - -<p>“I was just about to run; I’m scared to death!” -he exclaimed.</p> - -<p>In his joy at finding her he dropped his hat as he -grasped her hand. He was big of frame but trained -fine, and the deep tan of his summer on a Kansas -farm had not yet worn off. His gray suit was only -saved from shabbiness by a recent careful pressing. -His lean cheeks were neatly shaven and his thick -brown hair was evenly parted and smoothly brushed, -though a wisp of it persisted in slipping down over -his forehead. Twenty-seven or thereabouts, John -Barton Moore—as he was written on the university -books—seemed older with the maturity of one who -begins early to plan and fashion his life.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[95]</span>“I’m awfully glad to see you, John!” she cried. -“Up for the game, of course! I was terribly sorry not -to be home when you called. The trouble was that -I cut my French lesson at the last minute to go to -a party.”</p> - -<p>“Perfectly all right, Grace. I ought to have written -you a note to say I was coming up.”</p> - -<p>He glanced about anxiously. “Am I blocking the -wheels of commerce?” he asked with the drawl that -proclaimed him one of those children of Indiana -whose ancestors reached the Wabash country by way -of North Carolina and Kentucky.</p> - -<p>“Nothing like that! Just a minute till I send this -dress to be packed.”</p> - -<p>She motioned him to a chair but he remained standing -like a soldier at attention till she came back.</p> - -<p>“Now then! Let’s proceed to business.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I. U. needs all her children to root this -afternoon, though I think we’re going to win. And -you’ve got to go. Got good seats and everything’s -all set.”</p> - -<p>“Why, John, I’m afraid I can’t go. Saturdays are -busy days here. I don’t like to ask to get off.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, you can fix it somehow. And besides I want -to talk. I’ve got about a million things to tell you. -You left in such a hurry I didn’t know you were gone -till Roy told me the next day. I’ve certainly missed -our talks.”</p> - -<p>“Well, we’ll have some more; I’m starving for a -talk with you!”</p> - -<p>“Well, this is a fearsome place and I mustn’t keep -you. So please see your boss and tell him or her this -is a matter of life and death.”</p> - -<p>At this moment Irene swept by with a valued -customer and Grace appealed to her.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[96]</span>“Miss Kirby, Mr. Moore. Irene, Mr. Moore is an -old friend of mine from I. U. and he wants me to -go to the game. Would I be shot if I asked to get -off?”</p> - -<p>Irene surveyed Moore carefully and weighed the -question for an instant.</p> - -<p>“What do I get if I fix it?” she asked, giving the -young man the benefit of her handsome eyes.</p> - -<p>“I might offer a bushel of hickory-nuts,” said -Moore. “I counted a lot on seeing the game with -Grace.”</p> - -<p>“I think,” said Irene with mock gravity, “I <i>think</i> -it can be arranged. Miss Boardman sent word this -morning that she’s ill and won’t be down, so I’m in -charge. We’re likely to have a busy afternoon, but -you run along, Grace.”</p> - -<p>“Well, that’s mighty nice of you, Miss Kirby”; and -Moore thrust out his hand. It was evidently his habit -to express all manner of emotion with a handshake. -He was regarding Irene with a frank curiosity manifest -in his steady gray eyes. The grand manner of -the Irenes of the world, one would have assumed, was -new to him.</p> - -<p>“I wish you could go along too,” he said. “It’s -likely to be a lively scrap. If you say the word, Miss -Kirby, I’ll get another seat right away.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, thank you so much! But with Miss Boardman -away it can’t be done. It’s nice of you to ask -me though.”</p> - -<p>If she was to him a puzzling type, alien to all his -experience, he was equally of an unfamiliar species -to her. Grace noted with secret amusement the interest -they apparently awakened in each other.</p> - -<p>“Excuse me; I must run along,” said Irene. “Have -a good time!” She left them with her queenliest air.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[97]</span>“I told you it could be fixed all right,” said Moore. -“Fine girl; Miss Kirby.”</p> - -<p>“It was mighty nice of her to do it. I’d hardly -have had the nerve to tackle Miss Boardman.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I mustn’t keep you. There’s lots of folks -on the streets. Looks like the whole of the grand old -Hoosier State was in town. Where can I meet you?”</p> - -<p>“At the main entrance of this emporium at one -o’clock. You get your lunch first and I’ll snatch -something in the tea room. We’ll want to get out -early to see the crowd gather. I’m that thrilled, -John!”</p> - -<p>Grace greeted her next customer with a smile that -was not wholly inspired by the hope of making a substantial -sale. John had been one of her best friends -at the university, where every one knew and liked him. -Even the governor of the State knew Moore and referred -to him indirectly in public addresses as a justification -for taxing the people to place higher education -within reach of the humblest.</p> - -<p>Moore was born on a farm and his parents dying -just as he finished the common schools, he had worked -his way through college, doing chores during the -school terms and spending his vacations on farms -wherever employment offered. In like fashion he was -now plodding his way through the law school. His -good humor was unfailing and his drolleries were -much quoted in the university town. When urged in -his undergraduate days to take up football he pleaded -important engagements, not scrupling to explain that -they were the most solemn pledges to saw wood or -cut grass for his clients or drive the truck on Saturdays -for a grocer. He called his employers his noble -patrons and praised them for their consideration and -generosity. He enjoyed music, and possessing a good<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[98]</span> -baritone voice he had been enrolled in the glee club. -He never had danced until, in his senior year, a number -of co-eds conspired to instruct him. He was the -star performer of the debating society and had several -times represented the university in the contests -of the Inter-State Association.</p> - -<p>Though she had so quickly overcome her disappointment -at leaving the University, Grace found that the -sight of Moore awoke in her a keen regret that her college -days were over. She was far less sure of herself -than she had been before her evening at The Shack. -She clutched at memories of her happy care-free yesterdays. -A band in the street was playing the air of the -college song, which was punctuated by the familiar -yell from the throats of a mighty phalanx of undergraduates. -Young women from all the state colleges -were coming into the store for hurried purchases. Two -members of her sorority, girls she had lived with for -two years, dropped in to see her—cheery, hopeful -young women, eagerly flinging at her scraps of college -news and giving a sharper edge to her homesickness -for the campus and all it connoted. She was -beset with serious doubts as to her fitness to meet -the problems of life; the conceit was gone out of her. -She recalled what a lecturer had once said at a student’s -convocation, that the great commonwealth of -Indiana stood behind them, eager to serve them, to -put them in the way of realizing the abundant promise -of life. In her mood of contrition she reflected -that not only had the arm of the State been withdrawn, -but that she had gone far toward estranging -those to whom she was bound by the closest ties, who -had every right to expect the best of her. If it had -been in her power she would have elected to join the -throng of young men and women who, victor or vanquished,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[99]</span> -would go back to the university that night -singing songs which echoed in her memory now and -made a continuing little ache in her heart.</p> - -<p>Moore’s pride in her was manifest as he hung to -a strap and bent over her in the crowded street-car -on the way to the battlefield. Grace was a pretty -girl, and John was not unmindful of the fact that she -attracted attention. He talked steadily—of university -affairs, of their friends among the students.</p> - -<p>“Did Roy come up?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“I haven’t seen him. He may have come up with -the bunch this morning. But you might overlook the -king of England in this crowd.”</p> - -<p>“Roy’s not terribly enthusiastic about the law,” she -suggested leadingly.</p> - -<p>“Well, maybe not just what you’ll call crazy about -it; but he’ll come along all right. There’s good stuff -in Roy.”</p> - -<p>Moore was usually so candid that his equivocal answer -did not escape her. Grace had the greatest -misgivings as to her brother’s future. He had wanted -to leave the university when she was summoned home. -He had won his A. B. by the narrowest margin and -had gone into the law school only because of his mother’s -obsession that he was destined to a career similar -to that of her father and grandfather, whose attainments -at the bar and services to the State provided -what Mrs. Durland called a background for her -children.</p> - - -<h3>IV</h3> - -<p>Arriving early at the ball park they found their -seats and John continued talking as the crowd assembled.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[100]</span> -On many Sunday afternoons they had taken -long tramps, discussing all manner of things. Moore -was a prodigious reader of poetry and made it his -practice to commit to memory a certain number of -lines every day. Politics, too, interested him seriously. -He always spoke with deepest reverence of the -founders of the republic, referring to them familiarly -as though they were still living. Between the cheers -to which he vociferously contributed his own voice, -he rambled on comfortably and happily, satisfied that -he had a sympathetic auditor.</p> - -<p>“There’s Bill Trumbull—hello there, Bill! Well, -to tell the truth, Grace, I don’t get much out of this -new poetry. Flimsy stuff; doesn’t satisfy you somehow. -The times call for another old Walt Whitman. -That bird had ideas. He certainly hit some -grand old truths. ‘Produce great men,’ he says; -‘the rest follows.’ Just as easy! Wow! There’s -our team coming out now!” (prolonged cheering) -“Well, there’s the old saying that the time brings -the man. Can’t tell but there’s a future president -right here in this crowd!”</p> - -<p>“It might be you, John!” remarked Grace, laughing -at the serenity with which he returned to his -subject after joining in the uproar.</p> - -<p>“No, Grace; I’ve chosen the chief justiceship!” he -said, swinging round at her. “Isn’t that Daisy Martin?—Fred -Ragsdale with her. Hello, Fred! and if, -there ain’t old Pop Streeter! Greetings Pop! No, sir; -the times call for men and we’re going to produce a -fine new crop right out of this generation here present.”</p> - -<p>Moore was enjoying himself; there was no question -of it. And Grace was experiencing a grateful sense<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[101]</span> -of security in John’s company. He was paying her -his highest compliment, and she knew that the money -for his excursion to the capital had been earned by -his own labor. Her girl friends at the university had -tormented her a good deal about John’s attentions, -which were marked by the shy deference and instinctive -courtesy with which he treated all women. He -was not a person to be flirted with; Grace had never -in the prevalent phrase “teased him along.” She respected -him too much for that, and, moreover, he was -not fair game. Any attempt to practice on him the -usual cajoleries and coquetries would have sent him -away running. When a girl visitor at the university, -meeting John at a dance, had referred to him as a -hick, Grace had resented it on the spot, informing -the surprised offender that John Moore was the finest -gentleman on the campus.</p> - -<p>John was not wholly silenced by the spirited opening -of the game.</p> - -<p>“Too bad Crump’s not here. Hurt his leg last -week in practice. Thought he’d make it. Break his -heart not to be in the game. Thompson in his place. -You know Thompy? He’s a wonder on the trap -drum. Wow! Illinois got the ball. Where was I? -Oh, yes! I read Landor last summer—Walter Savage; -a theological student from New York, working -along with me out in Kansas, put me on to Landor. -Quite a man—Landor, I mean. The theolog’s a bully -chap, too, for that matter. Look at that! No; sending -’em back. Wow! That’s first blood for us! Well, -you might like Landor if you took a whack at him. -That referee’s awful fussy. Wonder where they got -him. Remember that day we read ‘The Passing of -Arthur,’ sitting on a log by that gay little creek in -the woods? I’ve thought a lot about that and the way<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[102]</span> -you <i>cried</i>. Yes; you did, Grace; and I guess I shed -a few tears myself!...”</p> - -<p>In moments of despair when Indiana’s fortunes -were low, John’s optimism evoked laughter from his -neighbors, for he possessed in good measure the -homely humor which is indigenous to the corn-belt.</p> - -<p>Before the game ended it had occurred to Grace -to ask John to go home with her for supper. After -they had joined in the demonstration for the victorious -Hoosier team and had made their way to the -street she went into a drugstore and called her mother -on the telephone. Mrs. Durland replied cordially -that she would be delighted to see John; it was too -late to put on any extras but any friend of Grace’s was -always welcome. It would serve to ease the situation -she had left behind her to take John home, Grace reflected, -and moreover, she was glad of an excuse for -seeing more of him.</p> - -<p>“Of course I’ll be glad to break bread with you. -I’ll be glad to see your folks again. If you’re not -too tired, let’s walk. Fine zippy air! Well, that was -sure some game! I nearly died an unnatural death -about seven times in the last quarter, but we managed -to pull through. Let’s see, what were we talking -about?”</p> - -<p>He let her into a great secret as they crossed the -park toward the Durland house. He had seen Judge -Sanders, the senior member of one of the best law -firms in the capital and a university trustee, who had -offered to take him into his office.</p> - -<p>“Wants me to come in January,” John explained. -“Says they’ll guarantee my board and keep for running -errands and attending to collections; and I can -go on studying and be ready for my exams in the -spring just the same. So I’ll be in the city for keeps<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[103]</span> -after Christmas. Grand man, the Judge. Found I -was washing automobiles at night to pay for my room -over Westlake’s garage and he just couldn’t stand -it. There’s a friend, I say!”</p> - -<p>He waited for her to laugh and laughed with -her. It was enormously funny that among other -jobs he washed automobiles on his way to the chief -justiceship!</p> - -<p>“Nothing can keep you back, John. You’re like -the men we read about, who strike right out for the -top and get there and plant their flag on the battlements.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t say a word! There’s luck as well as hard -work in this business of getting on. All summer I -used to think about it—out in the fields in Kansas. -A big, hot harvest field’s a grand place for healthy -thought. I say, Grace, life’s a lot more complicated -than it used to be. Things all sort o’ mixed up since -the war.”</p> - -<p>“You really believe the world’s so different, John? -Everybody’s saying that and the papers and magazines -are full of stuff about the changes and knocking -our generation.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t let that talk throw you! It’s up to all -of us to sit tight on the toboggan and wait till she -slows down. There’s a lot of good in this grand old -world yet. By the way, it was hard luck you had -to quit college. Excuse me for mentioning it, but -I just wanted you to know I was sorry you left.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, it’s all right, John. I miss the good times but -there’s no use crying. I’m ashamed now, though, to -think how I just fooled along. I ought to have got -more out of it than I did.”</p> - -<p>“You don’t know how much you got,” he replied -quickly. “Kind of a mystery what we get and what<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[104]</span> -we don’t. We got to keep braced for anything we -bump into. When the war came along I thought that -was the end of me so far as going into the law was -concerned, but being shot at by the Kaiser sort o’ -made me mad. I wasn’t going to let a little thing like -that stop me; so my life being providentially spared, -I thought it all out on the ship coming home—on the -deck at night with the stars blinking at me. I’ve got -health and a fair second-rate head and I’m going to -give the world a good wrestle before I quit.”</p> - -<p>“Fine!” she exclaimed, noting the lifting of his -head as he swung along in the gathering dusk. “You -make me ashamed of myself, John. I think I’ve -begun to drift—I don’t know what I’m headed for.”</p> - -<p>“We all think we’re drifting when we’re not! It’s -in the back of our minds all the time that we’re aiming -for something,” he replied; “we don’t fool ourselves -there!”</p> - -<p>“I hope you’re right,” she said, pensively. “But I’ve -wondered a lot lately about myself. Do you suppose -there’s anything wrong with me—lack of ambition, -maybe?”</p> - -<p>He paused abruptly the more emphatically to dispose -of her question, which had a deeper meaning -than he knew.</p> - -<p>“Don’t be foolish, Grace! You could keep up your -college work if you wanted to—there’s a way of doing -that, and get your degree. Suppose you thought -of that—and teaching?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. But I don’t feel any strong pull that way. -I’m in a French class and I mean to keep that up. -But before I was off the campus I was all keyed up -to jump right into things. I want experiences—not -teaching or anything like that—but to be as close to -the heart of things as I can get!”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[105]</span>“Not a bit of fault with that! I’d trust you to -find yourself anywhere. You’re too fine a girl ever -to get lost in the shuffle. I guess you’ll learn a lot -in Shipley’s; you see all kinds of people there every -day, and as Aleck Pope says the proper study of mankind -is man—also woman!”</p> - -<p>In spite of herself the unhappiness with which the -day had begun had stolen into her heart again. It -had betrayed itself in her speech, the eagerness with -which she appealed to Moore for approval and sympathy. -She was contrasting what he was saying with -what Trenton had said the previous night. No two -men could be more unlike—Trenton the man of the -world, with a hint of cynicism in his attitude toward -life; John Moore, a son of the soil, with all his ideals -intact, viewing life with hope and confidence.</p> - - -<h3>V</h3> - -<p>Grace had not been mistaken in thinking that John’s -presence would exert a cheering influence on the -household. It was clearly written in the faces of -Mrs. Durland and Ethel that they believed Grace was -not beyond redemption so long as she was capable -of appreciating the sterling worth of a high-minded -and ambitious young man like Moore. John was not -without a sense of the fitness of things. When Mrs. -Durland and Ethel showed a disposition to maintain -the conversation on lofty heights John indulged them -for a time and then concentrated upon Stephen -Durland. Farm machinery seemed to John a subject -likely to interest the silent head of the house. -Durland was soon painstakingly answering Moore’s -questions as to the possibility of further reducing -the man power required in crop production.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[106]</span>“I’ve hopped the clods since I could reach a plow -handle,” said John, “and it does seem to me that with -the tractor coming in——”</p> - -<p>Durland delivered what amounted to a condensed -lecture on the subject, spurred on by John’s sincere -interest and practical questions.</p> - -<p>“Thank you, Mr. Durland. I’ve been wanting to -get an expert opinion on those points for a long time. -I tell you,” he said glancing round at the others, “it -does tickle me to run into a man who really <i>knows</i>.”</p> - -<p>“Father’s an authority on those things,” said Grace -proudly. “He reads everything that’s written on mechanics.”</p> - -<p>“Stephen <i>ought</i> to know!” remarked Mrs. Durland -with a sigh which Grace translated as signifying that -it was too bad that his knowing really profited him -so little.</p> - -<p>“We’re so sorry,” said Mrs. Durland, when the -cold ham, baked potatoes and canned peas had received -attention and Ethel brought in a bread pudding—“it’s -a great grief to all of us that Grace had to leave -college. It meant so much to her. But her spirit -about it all has been fine.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” remarked John, after he had met Ethel’s -apology for the pudding with the assurance that it -was his favorite of all desserts—“Well, I’m not sure -it isn’t a good thing for Grace to go into business -for awhile. I argue that things somehow work out for -good in the long run. Her English and the sociology -courses were what interested her most; and being in -a big place like Shipley’s and running into all sorts -and conditions of folks the way she’s got to is bound to -have a broadening effect. It’s right along the line -of things she’s keenest about.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[107]</span>“But, Mr. Moore, what we don’t like is the unfortunate -contacts with people who may not be—<i>wholly</i> -desirable acquaintances,” suggested Ethel.</p> - -<p>Grace frowned. It was ungracious of Ethel to -draw John into the discussion of a subject that had -been a matter of contention in the family. But John, -having convinced Mrs. Durland of his appreciation -of her hospitality by accepting a second helping of -the pudding, met the situation promptly.</p> - -<p>“Well, now Miss Durland, who’s going to draw -the line between the desirable and undesirable? Now -I’m not saying that we haven’t a right to choose our -friends; but for me, I like all kinds. Why, on that -farm in Kansas where I slept in the hay mow for the -sake of the ventilation and to study the constellations -through the cracks, a fugitive burglar crawled in -one night and we nearly scared each other to death! -But I made a friend of that poor chap. Tucked him -away and fed him for a couple of days. Had a letter -from him last week. He’s away up in Canada -working in a lumber camp. Now sleeping in the hay -with that poor devil didn’t do me any harm. Maybe -I did him some good! He swore he wasn’t guilty, -so my conscience was easy about not calling up the -sheriff and turning him over. Give everybody the -benefit of the doubt; that’s my idea!”</p> - -<p>It was not Ethel’s way to give any one the benefit -of the doubt. Mr. Durland covered a queer little -chuckle by pretending to cough. Grace tried to change -the subject; but Ethel was not to be thwarted in -her attempt to elicit from John an expression of disapproval -of Grace’s course in becoming a salesgirl.</p> - -<p>“That’s a good story, Mr. Moore, but when you -think of a girl like Grace, being <i>numbered</i> and put<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[108]</span> -in with girls who’ve had nothing like her advantages—that’s -what I meant. Not that Grace won’t be -equal to the test, but——”</p> - -<p>“Well,” John interrupted, “I’ve never been in these -big stores much but this morning while I was trying -to get my eye on Grace I saw all those girls stepping -round and I thought what a fine looking lot they -were! And all busy and right on the job! Now there’s -that Miss Kirby—was that the name, Grace?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” Grace answered, strongly inclined to giggle, -now that the innocent and well-meaning John had -brought Irene to the table.</p> - -<p>“You take a girl like that,” said John warming to -his work, “moving around like a duchess, and with -that way about her that makes you <i>know</i> she’s onto -her job! I’ll bet there’s lots of ’em just like her. I -say you’ve got to hand it to ’em. I tell you, Mrs. Durland, -while we’ve got girls like Miss Kirby and Grace -Durland I’ll say America’s safe! Wasn’t it nice, -Grace, the way Miss Kirby fixed it for you to get -off. You could see she was pleased clear through to -have the authority!”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think—” began Ethel; but scenting battle, -Mrs. Durland rose from the table.</p> - -<p>“You and Mr. Moore go into the parlor, Grace. -Ethel and I will straighten up out here.”</p> - -<p>“Not on your tin-type!” John protested. “I just -love to dry dishes. You just let me take a hand. -I’ll pay for every plate I smash!”</p> - -<p>As he refused to be denied Grace found an apron -for him and they made merry over the dishwashing.</p> - -<p>While they were in the midst of it Ethel came to -the door to say that Grace was wanted on the telephone. -Ethel’s manner of conveying the information -prepared Grace for Irene’s voice.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[109]</span>“Can you talk a minute? I had a telegram from -some friends of ours this afternoon. They wanted to -be remembered to you; that’s all. I think your particular -friend will stop on his way east. Tell me, did -you get in bad?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, it’s all right now,” Grace replied. “I’ve got -company and we mustn’t talk.”</p> - -<p>“I understand perfectly. I’m spending an evening -at home for a change and I just thought I’d let you -know our gay cavaliers hadn’t forgotten us. Is your -company exciting?”</p> - -<p>“Just nice. You met him this morning.”</p> - -<p>“I’d guessed it. And you took him home for supper, -like the good little girl you are! Well, it’s a joy -to meet one of the unvarnished occasionally. I may -try to take him away from you; just hand him that!”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[110]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER SIX</h2> -</div> - - -<h3>I</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> repentant mood induced by the spectacle of -the football game and John Moore’s visit still lay -upon Grace the next morning when she went down -to the Durland eight o’clock Sunday breakfast.</p> - -<p>“I’m sorry you hurried down,” said her mother -cheerily. “I don’t want you girls to come into the -kitchen Sunday mornings; you’re both tired from your -week’s work and I want you to make the Sabbath a -real day of rest.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I’m for getting up when I wake up,” Grace -answered. “I’m feeling fine. Let me do the toast, -Ethel. I just love toasting.”</p> - -<p>She led the talk at the table, recurring to the football -game, exploring the newspaper for the sporting -page to clarify her impressions of certain points in -the contest.</p> - -<p>“John was simply a scream! He talked of everything -under the sun. You might have thought he -didn’t want me to know what was going on at all!”</p> - -<p>John was the safest of topics; they had all liked -him; and Grace related many stories illustrative of -the young man’s determination to refuse no task by -which he could earn the dollars he needed to lodge, -clothe and feed himself while gaining his education. -Now that they had seen him at their own table they -could the better enjoy Grace’s enumeration of John’s -sturdy qualities.</p> - -<p>This was the happiest breakfast the Durlands had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[111]</span> -known since Grace came home. It was in her heart -to do her full share in promoting the cheer of the -household. The unfortunate revelation of her duplicity -of Friday night would no doubt be forgotten -if she behaved herself; and she had no intention of -repeating the offense. Nevertheless she was glad that -she had asserted herself. It had done no harm to -declare her right to independent action and the exercise -of her own judgment in the choice of friends; -she would have had no peace, she assured herself, if -she hadn’t taken a stand against an espionage that -would have been intolerable. She persuaded herself -that her mother and sister were treating her with much -more respect now that she had shown that she couldn’t -be frightened or cowed by their criticisms.</p> - -<p>Before breakfast was over Ethel asked quite casually -whether Grace wouldn’t go to church with her, -and Mrs. Durland promptly approved the invitation.</p> - -<p>“You can go as well as not, Grace. Ethel has her -Sunday school class first, but she can meet you right -afterwards. I don’t want you girls bothering with the -Sunday dinner.”</p> - -<p>Grace didn’t question that this matter had been -canvassed privately by Ethel and her mother; very -likely it had been Ethel’s suggestion; but she decided -instantly that it would be good policy to go. Her -church-going had always been desultory and her -mother had ceased to insist on it. But the situation -called for a concession on her part.</p> - -<p>“Why, yes; thank you ever so much, Ethel,” she -said. “I haven’t been in ages. I’d meant to do some -sewing but that can wait.”</p> - -<p>“I think,” said Mrs. Durland, “we all need the -help and inspiration of the church. Stephen, wouldn’t -you like to go with the girls? I don’t believe you’ve<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[112]</span> -ever heard Dr. Ridgley; he’s very liberal and a stimulating -speaker.”</p> - -<p>Durland mumbled an incoherent rejection of the -idea; then looked up from his reading to explain -that he had some things to attend to at the shop. -There was nothing surprising in the explanation. He -always went to his shop on Sunday mornings. Even -in the old days of his identification with Cummings-Durland -he had betaken himself every Sunday to the -factory to ponder his problems.</p> - - -<h3>II</h3> - -<p>As the congregation assembled Grace yielded herself -to the spell of the organ, whose inspiring strains gave -wings to her imagination. Always impressionable, she -felt that she had brought her soul humbled and -chastened into the sanctuary. Here were the evidences -of those more excellent things that had been -pointed out to her from her earliest youth. The -service opened spiritedly with the singing of a -familiar hymn which touched chords in her heart that -had long been silent. She joined in the singing and -in the responsive reading of a selection of the Psalms. -She had read somewhere that the church, that Christianity -indeed, was losing its hold upon the mind and -the conscience of mankind. But this church was -filled; many men and women must still be finding a -tangible help in the precepts and example of Jesus.</p> - -<p>Ethel, sitting beside her, certainly found here something -that brought her back Sunday after Sunday, and -made her a zealous helper in the church activities. -Bigoted and intolerant, unkind and ungenerous as -Ethel was, there was something in her devotion to the -church that set her a little apart, spoke for something<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[113]</span> -fine in her, that for the moment caused Grace a -twinge of envy. In her early youth she had “joined” -the West End church that her mother attended; -but before she left high school the connection -had ceased to interest her. Dr. Ridgley’s congregation -was composed largely of the prosperous and -well-to-do. Did these people about her really order -their lives in keeping with the teachings of Jesus? -Was the Christian life a possible thing? Were these -women in their smart raiment really capable of living -in love and charity with their neighbors, eager to help, -to serve, to save? Absorbed in her own thoughts she -missed the text; found herself studying the minister, -a young man of quiet manner and pleasing voice. -Then detached sentences arrested her truant thoughts, -and soon she was giving his utterances her complete -attention.</p> - -<p>... “Leaving God out of the question,” he was -saying, “what excuse have we to offer ourselves if -we fail to do what we know to be right? We must -either confess to a weakness in our own fibre, or lay -the burden on some one else. We must be either -captain or slave.... We hear much about the -changed spirit of the time. It is said that the old barricades -no longer shield us from evil; that the checks -upon our moral natures are broken down; that many -of the old principles of uprightness and decent living -have been superseded by something new, which makes -it possible for us to do very much as we please without -harm to our souls. Let us not be deceived by -such reasoning. There’s altogether too much talk -about the changes that are going on. There are no -new temptations; they merely wear a new guise. The -soul and its needs do not change; the God who ever -lives and loves does not change.... There’s a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[114]</span> -limit upon our capacity for self-deception. We may -think we are free, but at a certain point we find that -after all we are the prisoners of conscience.</p> - -<p>“The business of life is a series of transactions between -the individual soul and God. We can change -that relationship only by our own folly. We can deceive -ourselves with excuses; but the test of an excuse -is whether it will pass muster with God. God -is not mocked; we can’t ‘just get by’ with God. We -may be sure that we are pretty close to a realization -of the Christian life when we feel that we have an -excuse for any sin or failure that we dare breathe -into a prayer. There’s hope for all of us as long as -our sins are such that we’re not ashamed to carry them -to God.... Let us live on good terms with -ourselves first of all and with God be the rest. Let -us keep in harmony with that power above us and -beyond us which in all ages has made for righteousness.”...</p> - -<p>The minister was uttering clearly and forcibly the -thoughts that had been creeping through her own -mind like tired heralds feebly crying warning to a -threatened fortress. Captain or slave, that was the -question. She had told Trenton that she was afraid -of the answers to vexed problems of life and conduct. -She saw now the cowardice of this. Her intelligence -she knew to be above the average, and her conscience -had within twenty-four hours proved itself -to be uncomfortably sensitive and vigilant. There -might be breaks in the old moral barriers but if this -were really true it would be necessary for her to -stumble over the debris to gain the inviting freedom -of the territory beyond. No; there would be no excuse -for her if she failed to fashion something fine -and noble of her life.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[115]</span>In the vestibule Ethel introduced her to the minister, -who greeted her warmly and praised Ethel; she -was one of his standbys he said. While he and Ethel -were conferring about some matter connected with -the young people’s society Grace was accosted by a -lady whom she identified at once as her first customer -at Shipley’s.</p> - -<p>“Do I know you or not?” demanded Miss Reynolds -pleasantly. “Hats make such a difference, but I -thought I recognized you. I’ve been away so many -years that I look twice at every one I meet. I was -caught in England by the war and just stayed on. It -gives you a queer feeling to find yourself a stranger in -your native town. It was silly of me to stay away -so long. Well, how are things going with you?”</p> - -<p>“Just fine,” Grace answered, noting that Miss Reynolds -wore one of the suits she had sold her, and -looked very well in it.</p> - -<p>The old lady (the phrase was ridiculous in the case -of one so alert and spirited) caught the glance; indeed -nothing escaped the bright eyes behind Beulah Reynolds’ -spectacles. She bent toward Grace and whispered: -“This suit’s very satisfactory!” And then: -“Well, we’ve caught each other in a good place. My -grandfather was one of the founders of this church, -so I dropped in to have a look. Haven’t seen more -than a dozen people I used to know. There was a -good deal of sense in that sermon; the best I’ve heard -in years. They don’t scatter fire and brimstone the -way they used to.”</p> - -<p>One would have thought from her manner that -she was enormously relieved to find that fire and -brimstone had been abandoned as a stimulus to the -Christian life.</p> - -<p>“I’m not a member,” said Grace, “but my sister<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[116]</span> -is. I never heard Dr. Ridgley before. I liked his -sermon; I think I needed it.”</p> - -<p>Grace was smiling but something a little wistful -in her tone caused Miss Reynolds to regard her with -keen scrutiny.</p> - -<p>“Do you know, you’ve come into my mind frequently -since our meeting at the store? I’ve thought -of you—uncommercially, I mean, if that’s the way to -put it! I’d like to know you better.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, thank you, Miss Reynolds; I’ve thought of -you, too, and have hoped you’d come into Shipley’s -again.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, clothes don’t interest me a particle; I may -not visit Shipley’s again for years! But that doesn’t -mean I shan’t see you. I wonder if you’d come to my -house some evening for dinner—just ourselves. Would -that bore you?”</p> - -<p>“It certainly wouldn’t!” Grace responded smilingly.</p> - -<p>“The sooner the better then! Tomorrow evening -shall we say? Don’t think of dressing. Come direct -from your work. Here’s my address on this card. -I’ll send my motor for you.”</p> - -<p>“Please don’t trouble to do that! I can easily come -out on the street-car.”</p> - -<p>“Suit yourself. It’s almost like kidnapping and—it -just occurs to me that I don’t really know your name!” -Her ignorance of Grace’s name greatly amused Miss -Reynolds. “For all you know this might be a scheme -to snare you to my house and murder you!”</p> - -<p>“I’ll cheerfully take the chance!” laughed Grace, -and gave her name. The minister had now finished -with Ethel, and Grace introduced her sister to Miss -Reynolds, who did not, however, include Ethel in her -invitation to dinner.</p> - -<p>“She charmingly eccentric,” Ethel remarked as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[117]</span> -Miss Reynolds turned away. “And awfully rich; one -of the richest woman taxpayers in the state.”</p> - -<p>“Yes; I understand she is,” said Grace without -enthusiasm. “But we needn’t hold that against her.” -And then, recalling Ethel’s complacent tone in mentioning -any social recognition by her church friends, -Grace remarked carelessly, “She’s invited me to dine -with her tomorrow night. I’m to be the only guest. -She seems to have a crush on me!”</p> - -<p>At the midday dinner Ethel disclosed Miss Reynolds’ -partiality for Grace with all impressiveness.</p> - -<p>“Why, Grace!” exclaimed Mrs. Durland, “do you -fully <i>appreciate</i> what that means?”</p> - -<p>“It means that a very nice lady has invited me to -share her dinner,” Grace answered.</p> - -<p>“I hope you realize,” said Ethel, “what a great compliment -that is. Why, she can do worlds for you!”</p> - -<p>“Here’s hoping she keeps a good cook!” Grace retorted, -irritated that they were attributing so much -importance to what she preferred to look upon as -no more than an act of spontaneous kindness in a -generous hearted woman.</p> - -<p>“Miss Reynolds represents the old conservative -element here,” Mrs. Durland remarked in a tone that -implied her deep reverence for that element of the population—“the -people who always stood for the best -things of life. Her father was a colonel in the -Civil War. They always had money. A woman like -that can make herself <i>felt</i>. Now that she’s back, I -hope she’ll see that she has a work to do. She has no -ties and with her position and wealth she can make -herself a power for good in checking the evil tendencies -so apparent in our city.”</p> - -<p>“She’s so quaint; so deliciously old-fashioned,” -added Ethel, “and you can see from her clothes that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[118]</span> -she’s an independent character. I’m going to ask -Dr. Ridgely to invite her to take the chairmanship -of our girl’s club committee.”</p> - -<p>“That would be splendid, Ethel,” exclaimed Mrs. -Durland, “perhaps <i>you</i> could say a word to her about -it, Grace. You know better than Ethel the dangers -and temptations of the girl wage-earner.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know why I should,” Grace replied. -“Please don’t talk to me as though I had a monopoly -of all the wickedness in the world.”</p> - -<p>“Grace, dear, I didn’t <i>mean</i>——”</p> - -<p>“All right, mother. But I have my feelings, you -know.”</p> - -<p>“The old Reynolds house on Meridian Street has -been turned into a garage,” said Ethel; “it’s too bad -those old homes had to go. Miss Reynolds has bought -a house not far from where Bob Cummings built.”</p> - -<p>Any mention of the Cummingses, no matter how -inadvertent, inevitably precipitated a discussion of -that family from some angle. Mrs. Durland said for -the hundredth time that they didn’t deserve their prosperity; -she doubted very much whether they were -happy.</p> - -<p>“Bob’s the best one of the family,” she continued. -“Tom and Merwin haven’t amounted to anything and -they never will. It must have been a blow to the -family when Merwin married a girl who was nobody, -or worse. She worked in some automobile office.”</p> - -<p>Ethel challenged the statement that the girl Merwin -Cummings married worked in an automobile office. -It was a railroad office, and though it didn’t -matter particularly with which method of transportation -the young woman was identified before her marriage, -Mrs. Durland and Ethel debated the question -for several minutes. Mrs. Durland had only heard<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[119]</span> -somewhere that Mrs. Merwin Cummings had been -a stenographer for an automobile agent while Ethel -was positive that a railroad office had been the scene -of the girl’s labors, her authority being another girl -who worked in the same place.</p> - -<p>“Jessie didn’t speak any too highly of her,” Ethel -added; “not that there was anything <i>really</i> wrong with -the girl. She ran around a good deal, and usually -had two or three men on the string.”</p> - -<p>“A good many very nice girls keep two or three -men on the string,” said Grace. “I don’t see that -there’s anything so terrible in that.”</p> - - -<h3>III</h3> - -<p>The next day at noon Grace went to a trust company -where she kept an account that represented the -aggregate of small gifts of cash she had received -through a number of years at Christmas and on her -birthdays. As she waited at the window for her passbook, -Bob Cummings crossed the lobby on his way to -the desk of one of the officers. She wondered how he -would greet her if they met, and what her attitude -toward him ought to be in view of the break between her -father and Isaac Cummings. She found a certain -mild excitement as she pondered this, her eyes occasionally -turning toward Cummings as he leaned -against the railing that enclosed the administrative -offices of the company. Grace had always liked and -admired him; and it had hurt her more than she ever -confessed that after the removal of the Cummingses -from the old neighborhood Bob had gradually ceased -his attentions. Perhaps his family had interfered as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[120]</span> -her mother had hinted; but it made no difference now -that he had married and passed completely out of her -ken.</p> - -<p>Cummings had finished his errand and was walking -quickly toward the door when he caught sight of her.</p> - -<p>“Hello, Grace! I’m mighty glad to see you,” he -said cordially. “Why—” He checked himself and -the smile left his face abruptly as he remembered that -their friendly status had changed since their last -meeting.</p> - -<p>Grace relieved his embarrassment promptly by -smilingly putting out her hand.</p> - -<p>“I’m very glad to see you, Bob,” she said. “It’s -really been a long time, almost three years!”</p> - -<p>“Just about,” he answered slowly.</p> - -<p>“Old Father Time has a way of romping right on!” -she remarked lightly.</p> - -<p>They were in the path of customers intent upon -reaching the cages and she took a step toward the -door when he said, glancing toward a long bench at -the side of the room, “If you’re not in a rush let’s sit -down a minute. There’s something I’d like to say to -you.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, very well,” she assented, surprised but not -displeased.</p> - -<p>He was the son of a man who had dismissed her -father from the concern in which their names had -long been identified; but in so public a place there -could be no harm in talking to him. Her old liking -for him at once outweighed any feeling she had against -his father. He was a big boy when she was still a -small girl and he was her first hero. He was always -quiet, thoughtful and studious, with a chivalrous regard -for the rights and feelings of others. They had -been chums, confiding their troubles to each other.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[121]</span> -It was to her that he had revealed his succession of -boyish ambitions, and she had encouraged his fondness -for music when other youngsters twitted him -for taking piano lessons like a girl. He had never -thought he would like business; he wanted to be a -musician, with the leadership of an orchestra as his -ultimate goal. It was because his brother Merwin -had from an early age shown a refractory spirit that -the parental authority had thwarted Bob’s aspirations; -one of the sons at least had to go into the -business and Bob was now a vice-president of the -reorganized Cummings Manufacturing Company.</p> - -<p>“I’ve been hoping for a chance to see you, Grace. -It’s not easy to speak of it but I want you to know -I’m sorry things turned out as they did. About your -father and the business, I mean. You must all of you -feel pretty hard about it. I hope it doesn’t mean any -change in your plans for finishing at the university. -I know how you’d counted on that.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve given it up; I’m home to stay,” she answered. -“But you needn’t feel badly about it. Of course it -must have been necessary—about father and the business, -I mean.”</p> - -<p>He was embarrassed by her cheerful acceptance of -the situation, and stammered, leaving one or two -sentences unfinished before he got hold of himself.</p> - -<p>“I want you to know I did all I could to prevent the -break. It seemed a pity after your father and mine -had been together so long. But for some time the -plant had needed an active superintendent; just trusting -the foremen of the shops wouldn’t serve any -longer, and you won’t mind my saying it but your -father never liked executive work. I suggested another -way of handling it that would have made Mr. -Durland a vice-president and free to go on with his<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[122]</span> -experiments, but I couldn’t put it through. I did my -best; honestly I did, Grace!”</p> - -<p>There was the old boyish eagerness in this appeal. -He regarded her fixedly, anxious for some assurance -that she understood. She understood only too well -that her father had become an encumbrance, and that -in plain terms the company couldn’t afford to keep him -at his old salary any longer. It was unnecessary for -Bob to apologize; but it was like him to seize the first -possible moment to express his sympathy. She had -always felt the gentleness in him, which was denoted -in his blue eyes, which just now shone with the reflection -of his eagerness to set himself right with her. -He turned his hat continually in his hands—they were -finely shaped, with long supple fingers. At the base of -his left thumb there was a scar, almost imperceptible, -the result of a slash with a jack knife one day in the -Durland yard where he had taken her dare to bring -down a particular fine spray of blossoms from an -old cherry tree. In his anxiety to deliver it unbroken -on the bough he had cut himself. She remembered -her consternation at seeing the injury, his swaggering -attempt to belittle it; his submission to her ministrations -as she tied it up with a handkerchief. She was -twelve then; he sixteen. He saw the direction of her -eyes, lifted the hand and with a smile glanced at the -scar. She colored as she realized that he had read -her thoughts.</p> - -<p>“That was centuries ago,” he said. “We did use to -have good times in your back yard! Do you remember -the day you tumbled out of the swing and broke -your arm? You didn’t cry; you were a good little -sport.” And then, his eyes meeting hers, “You’re still -a mighty good sport!”</p> - -<p>“If I never have anything worse than a broken arm -to cry over I’ll be lucky,” she answered evasively.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[123]</span>There was no excuse for lingering; he had expressed -his regret at her father’s elimination from Cummings-Durland, -and it served no purpose to compare memories -of the former friendly relation between the -young people of the two families, which were now -bound to recede to the vanishing point. But he -seemed in no haste to leave her. She on her side -was finding pleasurable sensations in the encounter. -He had been her first sweetheart, so recognized by the -other youngsters of the neighborhood, and they had -gone to the same dancing class. And he had kissed -her once, shyly, on a night when the Cummingses -were giving a children’s party. This had occurred on -a dark corner of the veranda. It had never -been repeated or referred to between them, but -the memory of it was not without its sweetness. She -was ashamed of herself for remembering it now. She -wondered whether he too remembered it. And there -had been those later attentions after the Cummingses -had moved away that had encouraged hopes in her -own breast not less than in her mother’s that Bob’s -early preference might survive the shock of the -Cummingses’ translation to the fashionable district, with -its inevitable change of social orientation.</p> - -<p>Ethel and her mother had questioned the happiness -of his marriage, and her mind played upon this -as she sat beside him, feeling the charm he had always -had for her and wondering a little about the -girl he had married whom she had never seen and -knew of only from the talk at home. But two years -was not long enough; it was ridiculous to assume that -he wasn’t happy with his wife.</p> - -<p>“We certainly had a lot of fun over there,” he was -saying. “I suppose the park fountain plays just the -same and the kids still sail their boats in the pond.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, and go wading and fall in and have to be fished<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[124]</span> -out by the policeman! But we can’t be kids always, -Bob!”</p> - -<p>“No; that’s the worst of it!” he said with a tinge of -dejection.</p> - -<p>“I’m all grown up now and have a job. I’m a working -girl!”</p> - -<p>“No!” he exclaimed incredulously. “And Roy——”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Roy’s to finish his law course; he’ll be through -in June.”</p> - -<p>“That’s too bad, Grace!” he exclaimed. “It’s you -who ought to have stayed on! You’re the very type of -girl who ought to go to college. It would have made -all the difference in the world to you! And Ethel—is -she at work too?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; she’s in an insurance office and I’m in -Shipley’s!” she went on smiling to relieve his evident -discomfiture. “I’m in the ready-to-wear and I’ll appreciate -any customers you send my way. Call for Number -Eighteen!”</p> - -<p>“Why, Grace! You don’t mean it! You have no -business doing a thing like that. You could do a lot -better.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I didn’t just see it. I’m an unskilled laborer -and haven’t time to fit myself for teaching, stenography -or anything like that. You get results quicker -in a place like Shipley’s. That is, I hope to get them -if I’m as intelligent as I think I am!”</p> - -<p>“I’m terribly sorry, Grace. I feel— I feel— as -though we were responsible, father and I; and we are, -of course. There ought to have been some other way -for you; something more——”</p> - -<p>“Please don’t! That’s the way mother and Ethel -talk.”</p> - -<p>She rose quickly, feeling that nothing was to be -gained by continuing the discussion of matters that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[125]</span> -were irrevocably settled. And, moreover, his distress -was so manifest in his face that she feared the scrutiny -of passers-by.</p> - -<p>“Good-bye, Bob,” she said. “I’m awfully glad I -met you. Please don’t trouble at all about what can’t -be helped. I haven’t any hard feeling—not the slightest.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t like it at all,” he said impatiently.</p> - -<p>He kept beside her to the entrance, where she gave -him a nod and smile and hurried away. She was -troubled at once for fear she hadn’t expressed cordially -enough her appreciation of his sympathy. Very -likely they would never meet again; there was no -reason why they should. He had merely done what -was perfectly natural in view of their old friendship, -made it clear that he was sorry her father had been -thrust out of the company of which he had been one -of the founders. She was unable to see anything in -the interview beyond a wish on his part to be kind, to -set himself right. And it was like Bob to do that.</p> - - -<h3>IV</h3> - -<p>The strong romantic strain in her was quickened by -the meeting. All afternoon her thoughts played about -Bob Cummings. She reviewed their associations in -childhood on through those last attentions after the -Cummingses left the Military Park neighborhood. -Her mother had probably been right in saying that if -fortune hadn’t borne the Cummingses steadily upward, -leaving the Durlands behind, Bob might have married -her. It had been a mistake for him to marry a society -girl who was, she surmised, incapable of appreciating -his temperament. A matter of propinquity very -likely; she had heard that the girl was not rich but<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[126]</span> -belonged to one of the old families; and very likely on -her side it had been an advantageous arrangement.</p> - -<p>Why did men marry the wrong women? she asked -herself with proneness of youth to propound and -answer unanswerable questions. There was Trenton, -who had so frankly admitted the failure of -his own marriage and with equal frankness took the -burden of his failure upon himself. No two men could -be more utterly unlike than Ward Trenton and -Bob Cummings, and she busied herself contrasting -them. Trenton was practical-minded; Bob a dreamer, -and save for his college experiences the range of his -life had been narrow. If both were free which would -she choose? So great was her preoccupation with -these speculations that her work suffered; through -sheer inattention she let a promising customer escape -without making a purchase.</p> - -<p>In the afternoon distribution of mail she received -a letter from Trenton. It began, “Dear Grace” and -read:</p> - -<p>“I expected to see you again this week—that is, of -course, if you’d be willing; but I’m called to Kansas -City unexpectedly and may not touch your port for -ten days or so. I’m not conceited enough to assume -that you will be grief-stricken over my delay, and -strictly speaking there’s no excuse for writing except -that you’ve rather haunted me,—a welcome ghost, I -assure you! I talked far too much about myself the -other night. One matter I shouldn’t have spoken of at -all. No question of confidence in you or anything of -that sort. But it’s something I never discuss even -with old and intimate friends. You have guessed what -I mean. Bad taste, you probably thought it. It was -quite that! I want you to think as well of me as you -can. I’m counting very much on seeing you again.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[127]</span> -I hope you are well and happy and that nothing has -happened to your eyes since I saw them last!”</p> - -<p>This was all except that he named a Kansas City -club where he could be reached for the next week if -she felt moved to write. She hadn’t expected to hear -from him and the note was a distinct surprise. At -every opportunity she reread it, and, catching her in -the act, Irene teased her about it.</p> - -<p>“Oh, you’ve started something! I’ll wager he -signed his name in full; that’s just like him. Tommy -never writes to me and when he wires he signs an -assumed name. But Ward Trenton’s different. I -think if he decided to commit murder he’d send his -own account of it to the papers. He didn’t talk to -you about his wife, I suppose, when Tommy and I -left you alone so long at The Shack? Tommy’s known -him for years but he says he wouldn’t think of -mentioning his wife to him. I’d like to see Ward in love! -These quiet ones go strong when they get started.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, his letter’s just a little friendly jolly. He’s had -to go to Kansas City instead of coming back here -right away.”</p> - -<p>“Of course he just had to explain that!” Irene -laughed. “I can see this is going to be a real case. -See what you can do with that woman just coming in. -She looks as though she might really have some of -the mazuma.”</p> - -<p>It was not so easy as Grace had imagined in her -spiritual ardor of Sunday to begin retreating from -Irene. She realized that Irene would hardly listen in -an amiable spirit to the warning she had thought in her -hours of contrition it was her duty to give her friend. -Irene’s serenity as she paced the aisles of the department, -her friendliness and unfailing good humor were -all disarming. Irene wasn’t so bad perhaps; Grace<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[128]</span> -was much more tolerant of Irene than she had thought -on Sunday would ever be possible again.</p> - -<p>The letter from Ward Trenton had the effect of -reopening a door which Grace had believed closed and -the key thrown away. She found herself wondering -whether he might not always write to girls he met -and liked; and yet as his image appeared before her—and -he lived vividly in her thoughts—she accepted as -sincere his statement that he had broken an established -reserve in talking of his wife. This of course -was what he referred to; and she saw a fine nobility -in his apprehension lest the recipient of his confidences -might think the less of him for mentioning his wife -at all.</p> - -<p>Grace was again tormented by curiosity as to -whether Trenton still loved his wife and the hope that -he did not. She hated herself for this; hated herself -for having lost her grip upon the good resolutions of -Sunday to forget the whole episode of Kemp’s party. -She knew enough of the mind’s processes to indulge -in what she fancied was a rigid self-analysis. She -wondered whether she was really a normal being, -whether other girls’ thoughts ran riot about men as -hers did; whether there might not be something vulgar -and base in her nature that caused her within a few -hours to tolerate the thought of two men, both married, -as potential lovers....</p> - -<p>It occurred to her that she might too effectually -have burned her bridges when she left the university. -There were young men she had known during her two -years in Bloomington whose interest she might have -kept alive; among them there were a number of sons -of well-to-do families in country towns. But she was -unable to visualize herself married and settled in a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[129]</span> -small town with her prospect of seeing and knowing -the world limited by a husband’s means or ambition. -There were one or two young professors who had paid -her attentions. One of them, a widower and a man -of substantial attainments, had asked her to marry -him, but she was unable to see herself a professor’s -wife, beset by all the uncertainties of the teaching -profession.</p> - -<p>She had always been used to admiration, but until -now she had heavily discounted all the compliments -that were paid her good looks. She found herself -covertly looking into the mirrors as she passed. -Trenton had been all over the world and no -doubt had seen many beautiful women; and yet he -wrote that she haunted him, which could only mean -that he was unable to escape from the thought of her. -Again, deeply humble, she scouted the idea that he -could have fallen in love with her; he was only a little -sorry for her, thinking of her probably as a rather -nice girl who was to be pitied because she had to -work for her living.</p> - -<p>He had spoken of being lonely. Maybe it was only -for lack of anything better to do that he fell to thinking -of her as he sat in the club in St. Louis and wrote -to her out of his craving for sympathy. At twenty-one -Grace did not know that the only being in the -world who is more dangerous than a lonely woman -is a lonely man.</p> - - -<h3>V</h3> - -<p>Grace was correct in her assumption that Ward -Trenton had written her in a fit of loneliness but she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[130]</span> -did not know that in the same hour he had written -also to his wife. After a few sentences explaining his -presence in St. Louis, the letter to Mrs. Trenton ran:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>“It’s almost ridiculous,—the distinctly separate lives -we lead. I was just studying the calendar and find -that we haven’t met for exactly six months. When -I’m at home—if I may so refer to the house in Pittsburgh -that fixes my voting place and—pardon me!—doesn’t -fix much of anything else—I occasionally find -traces of your visits. I must say the servants do -pretty well considering that they go their own gait. -You’re a wonderful housekeeper at long range! But -I’m not kicking. The gods must have their will with -us.</p> - -<p>“I read of you in the newspapers frequently and -judge that you’re living the life that suits you best. -I found a copy of your ‘Clues to a New Social Order’ -on the new book table here in the club library and reread -parts of it. It never ceases to tickle me that a -woman of your upbringing, with your line of blue-nosed -New England ancestors, should want to pull -down the pillars of society. I marvel at you!...</p> - -<p>“You’ve asked me now and then not to be afraid -to tell you if ever I ran into a woman who interested -me particularly. I haven’t had anything to report till -now. But the other night I met a girl,—she’s probably -just crossing the line into the twenties,—an -interesting, provocative young person. She represents -in a mild degree the new order of things you’re so -mad about; going to live her own life; marriage not -in the sketch. She’s a salesgirl in a big shop, but -her people have known better days and she went half-way -through college. She’s standing with reluctant -feet where the brook and river meet, but I’m afraid<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[131]</span> -won’t be satisfied to play in the brook; she’s keen for -the deeper waters. She’s as handsome as a goddess. -She kissed me very prettily—her own idea I assure -you! The remembrance of this incident is not wholly -displeasing to me; it was quite spontaneous; filial -perhaps....</p> - -<p>“Those bonds you have in the Ashawana Water -Power Company are all right. I had a look at the -plant recently and the dividends are sure....”</p> -</div> - -<p>Having sealed and addressed the envelopes Trenton -laid them side by side on the blotter before him, -lighted a cigarette, and then drew out and opened the -locket that Grace had noted at The Shack, studying -the woman’s face within a little wistfully. Then with -a sigh he thrust it into his pocket and went out into -the night and tramped the streets, coming at last to -the post office where he mailed both letters.</p> - - -<h3>VI</h3> - -<p>Grace set off with the liveliest expectations to keep -her appointment with Miss Reynolds. The house -struck her at once as a true expression of the taste -and characteristics of its owner. It was severely -simple in design and furnishing, but with adequate -provision for comfort. Grace had seen pictures of -such rooms in magazines and knew that they represented -the newest ideas in house decoration. The -neutral tint of the walls was an ease to eye and spirit. -Ethel had spoken of Miss Reynolds as quaint, an -absurd term to apply either to the little woman or any -of her belongings. She was very much up to date, -even a little ahead of the procession, it seemed to -Grace.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[132]</span>“Oh, thank you! I’m glad if it seems nice,” Miss -Reynolds replied when Grace praised the house. “All -my life I’ve lived in houses where everything was old -and the furniture so heavy you had to get a derrick -to move it on cleaning day. But I can’t accept praise -for anything here. The house was built for a family -that moved away from town without occupying it. -The young architect who designed it had ideas about -how it ought to be fixed up and I turned him loose. -There was a music room, so I had to get a grand piano -to fit into the alcove made for it. That young man is -most advanced and I thought at first he wouldn’t let -me have any place to sit down but you see he did allow -me a few chairs! Are you freezing? I hate an over-heated -house.”</p> - -<p>“I’m perfectly comfortable,” said Grace, noting -that Miss Reynolds wore the skirt of the blue suit -she had sold her, with a plain white waist and a loose -collar. Her snow white hair was brushed back loosely -from her forehead. Her head was finely modeled and -her face, aglow from an afternoon tramp in the November -air, still preserved the roundness of youth. -The wrinkles perceptible about her eyes and mouth -seemed out of place,—only tentative tracings, not the -indelible markings of age. She had an odd little way -of turning her head to one side when listening, and -mistaking this for a sign of deafness Grace had lifted -her voice slightly.</p> - -<p>“Now, my dear child!” cried Miss Reynolds, “just -because I cock my head like a robin don’t think I’m -shy of hearing. It always amuses me to have people -take it for granted that I can’t hear. I hear everything; -I sometimes wish I didn’t hear so much! I’ve -always had that trick. It’s because one of my eyes is -a bit stronger than the other. You’ll find that I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[133]</span> -don’t do it when I wear my glasses, but I usually take -them off in the house.”</p> - -<p>At the table Miss Reynolds rambled on as though -Grace were an old friend.</p> - -<p>“Our old house down on Meridian Street was sold -while I was abroad. It had grown to be a dingy hole. -Garret full of trunks of letters and rubbish like that. -I cabled at once to sell or destroy everything in the -place. So that’s why I’m able to have a new deal. -Are you crazy about old furniture? Please tell me -you are not?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I like new things ever so much better!” Grace -assured her.</p> - -<p>“I thought you would. I despise old furniture. Old -stuff of every kind. Old people too!” With a smile -on her lips she watched Grace to note the effect of -this speech. “I shouldn’t have dreamed of asking you -to give up an evening for me if I meant to talk to you -like an old woman. My neighbors are mostly young -married people, but they don’t seem to mind my settling -among them. I’m sixty-two; hurry and say I -don’t look a day over fifty!”</p> - -<p>“Forty!” Grace corrected.</p> - -<p>“I knew I was going to like you! I think I’ll -spend my remaining years here if I can keep away -from people who want to talk about old times, meaning -of course when I was a girl. It doesn’t thrill me -at all to know that right here where this house stands -my grandfather owned a farm. Every time I go -down town I dodge old citizens I’ve known all my -life for fear they’ll tell me about the great changes -and expect me to get tearful about it. I can’t mourn -over the passing of old landmarks and I’d certainly not -weep at the removal of some of the old fossils around -this town who count all their money every day to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[134]</span> -make sure nobody’s got a nickel away from them. -They keep their lawyers busy tightening up their -wills. They’ve invented ways of tying up property in -trusts so you can almost take it with you!”</p> - -<p>“That’s their way of enjoying life, I suppose,” remarked -Grace, who was taking advantage of Miss -Reynolds’ talkativeness to do full justice to a substantial -dinner. The filet of beef and the fresh mushrooms -testified to the presence of an artist in the -kitchen, and the hot rolls were of superlative lightness. -Miss Reynolds paused occasionally to urge -Grace to a second helping of everything offered.</p> - -<p>“I detest anemic people,” Miss Reynolds declared. -“If you don’t eat my food I’ll feel terribly guilty at -asking you here.”</p> - -<p>“It’s the best food I ever ate! We were going to -have corned beef and cabbage at home, so all these -wonderful dishes seem heavenly!”</p> - -<p>“You’ve probably wondered why I grabbed you as -I did and asked you to sit at meat with me?”</p> - -<p>“Why, I hope you asked me because you liked me!” -Grace answered.</p> - -<p>“That’s the correct answer, Grace—may I call you -Grace? I hate having a lot of people around; I like -to concentrate on one person, and when I met you in -the church entry it just popped into my head that -you wouldn’t mind a bit giving me an evening. It’s -awfully tiresome going to dinners where the people -are all my own age. I’ve always hated formal entertaining. -You struck me as a very fair representative -of the new generation that appeals to me so -much. Don’t look so startled; I mean that, my dear, -as a compliment! And of course I really don’t know -a thing about you except that you have very pretty -manners and didn’t get vexed that day in the store<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[135]</span> -when I must have frightened you out of your wits.”</p> - -<p>“But you didn’t,” Grace protested. “I liked your -way of saying exactly what you wanted.”</p> - -<p>“I always try to do that; it saves a lot of bother. -And please don’t be offended if I say that it’s a joy -to see you sitting right there looking so charming. -You have charming ways; of course you know that. -And the effect is much enhanced when you blush that -way!”</p> - -<p>Grace was very charming indeed as she smiled at -her singular hostess, who had a distinct charm of her -own. She felt that she could say anything to Miss -Reynolds and with girlish enthusiasm she promptly -told her that she was adorable.</p> - -<p>“I’ve been called a crank by experts,” Miss Reynolds -said challengingly, as though she were daring her -guest to refute the statement. “I get along better -with foreigners than with my own people. Over there -they attribute my idiosyncrasies to American crudeness, -to be tolerated only because they think me much -better off in worldly goods than I really am.”</p> - -<p>They remained at the table for coffee, and the waitress -who had served the dinner offered cigarettes. -Grace shook her head and experienced a mild shock -when Miss Reynolds took a cigarette and lighted it -with the greatest unconcern.</p> - -<p>“Abominable habit! Got in the way of it while I -was abroad. Please don’t let me corrupt you!”</p> - -<p>“I suppose I’ll learn in time,” Grace replied, amused -as she remembered the stress her mother and Ethel -had laid on Miss Reynolds’ conservatism.</p> - -<p>It occurred to her that Miss Reynolds was entitled -to know something of her history and she recited the -facts of her life simply and straightforwardly. She -had only said that her father had been unfortunate<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[136]</span> -without explaining his connection with Cummings-Durland. -Miss Reynolds smoked and sipped her -coffee in silence; then asked in her quick fashion:</p> - -<p>“Cummings-Durland? Those names tinkle together -away back in my memory.”</p> - -<p>“Father and Mr. Cummings came here from -Rangerton and began business together. The Cummingses -used to live neighbors to us over by Military -Park.”</p> - -<p>“Bob Cummings is one of my neighbors,” said Miss -Reynolds. “Rather tragic—putting that young man -into business. He hates it. There ought to be some -way of protecting artistic young men from fathers -who try to fit square pegs into round holes. I suppose -the business troubles broke up the friendship of your -families.”</p> - -<p>“Yes; my mother and sister are very bitter about -it; they think father was unfairly treated. But I met -Bob only this morning and he was very friendly. He -seemed terribly cut up because I’d left college.”</p> - -<p>“He’s a sensitive fellow; he would feel it,” said -Miss Reynolds. “So you children grew up together—the -Durlands and the Cummings. I’m asking about -your present relations because Bob comes in occasionally -to play my piano—when there’s something -on at his own house that he doesn’t like. His wife’s -the sort that just can’t be quiet; must have people -around. She’s crazy about bridge and he isn’t! He -called me on the telephone just before you came to ask -if he might come over after dinner, as his wife’s having -people in for bridge. I told him to come along. I -enjoy his playing; he really plays very well indeed. -You don’t mind?”</p> - -<p>“Not at all,” said Grace, wondering at the fate that -was throwing her in Bob Cummings’ way twice in one<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[137]</span> -day and a day in which she had been torn with so -many conflicting emotions.</p> - -<p>“If you have the slightest feeling about meeting him -do say so; you may always be perfectly frank with -me.”</p> - -<p>“Yes; thank you, Miss Reynolds. But I’d love -to hear Bob play.”</p> - -<p>When they were again in the living room Grace -stood for a moment scanning a table covered with -periodicals and new books.</p> - -<p>“Since I came home I’ve been trying to find out -what’s going on in America, so I read everything,” -Miss Reynolds explained. “The general opinion -seems to be that things are going to pot. Right under -your hand there’s a book called ‘Clues to a New -Social Order,’ written by a woman named Trenton. -I understand she’s a respectable person and not a -short-haired lunatic; but she throws everything overboard!”</p> - -<p>“I’ve read it,” said Grace. “It’s certainly revolutionary.”</p> - -<p>“All of that!” Miss Reynolds retorted. “But it -does make you think! Everybody’s restless and crazy -for excitement. My young married neighbors all belong -to families I know or know about; live in very -charming houses and have money to spend—too much -most of them—and they don’t seem able to stand an -evening at home by themselves. But maybe the new -way’s better. Maybe their chances of happiness are -greater where they mix around more. I’m curious -about the whole business. These young folks don’t -go to church. Why don’t they, when their fathers -and grandfathers always did? Their parents stayed -at home in the evening. My father used to grumble -horribly when my mother tried to get him into a dress<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[138]</span> -suit. But there was wickedness then too, only people -just whispered about it and tried to keep it from the -young folks. There were men right here in this town -who sat up very proper in the churches on Sunday -who didn’t hesitate to break all the commandments -during the week. But now you might think people -were sending up fireworks to call attention to their -sins! I remember the first time I went to a dinner—that -was thirty years ago—where cocktails were -passed around. It seemed awful—the very end of -the world. When I told my mother about it she was -horrified; said what she thought of the hostess who -had exposed her daughter to temptation! But now -prohibition’s driven everybody to drink. I asked my -chauffeur yesterday how long it would take him to -get me a quart of whiskey and he said about half an -hour if I’d let him use the car. I told him to go ahead -and sure enough he was back with it in twenty minutes. -It was pretty fair whiskey, too,” Miss Reynolds -concluded. “I was curious to see just how it felt to -break the law and I confess to you, my dear, that I -experienced a feeling of exultation!”</p> - -<p>She reached for a fresh cigarette and lighted it -tranquilly.</p> - -<p>“Everybody’s down on the young people,” said -Grace, confident that she had a sympathetic listener. -“They tell us all the time that we’re of no account.”</p> - -<p>“There are pages of that on that table,” Miss Reynolds -replied. “Well, I’m for the young people; particularly -you girls who have to rustle for yourselves. -If I stood up in a store all day or hammered a typewriter -I’m sure I’d feel that I was entitled to some -pleasure when I got through. Just what do girls do—I -don’t mean girls of your upbringing exactly and your<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[139]</span> -schooling,—but less lucky girls who manage their own -affairs and are not responsible to any one.”</p> - -<p>“I haven’t been at work long enough to know much -about that,” said Grace; “but—nearly every girl who’s -at all attractive has a beau!”</p> - -<p>“Certainly!” Miss Reynolds affirmed promptly. -“It’s always been so. There’s nothing new in that.”</p> - -<p>“And they go to dances. Every girl likes to dance. -And sometimes they’re taken out to dinner or to a -show if the young man can afford it. Girls don’t have -parties at home very much; I mean even where they -live at home. There’s not room to dance usually; the -houses are too small and it isn’t much fun. And if -the beau has a car he takes the girl driving.”</p> - -<p>“And these girls marry and have homes of their -own? That still happens, doesn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“Well, a good many girls don’t want to marry,—not -the young men they’re likely to meet. Or if they -do, some of them keep on working. There are girls -in Shipley’s who are married and keep their jobs. -They like the additional money; they can wear better -clothes, and they like to keep their independence.”</p> - -<p>“There you are!” Miss Reynolds exclaimed. “The -old stuff about woman’s place being in the home isn’t -the final answer any more. If you won’t think it impertinent -just how do you feel on that point, Grace?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I shouldn’t want to marry for a long, long -time!—even if I had the chance,” Grace answered -with the candor Miss Reynolds invited. “I’ve got that -idea about freedom and independence myself! I hope -I’m not shocking you!”</p> - -<p>“Quite the contrary. I had chances to marry myself,” -Miss Reynolds confessed. “I almost did marry -when I was twenty-two but decided I didn’t love the -young man enough. I had these ideas of freedom<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[140]</span> -too, you see. I haven’t really been very sorry; I suppose -I ought to be ashamed of myself. But the man -I almost married died miserably, an awful failure. -I have nothing to regret. How about college girls—you -must know a good many?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, a good many co-eds marry as soon as they -graduate, and settle down. But those I’ve known are -mostly country town girls. I think it’s different with -city girls who have to go to work. They’re not so -anxious to get married.”</p> - -<p>“The fact seems to be that marriage isn’t just the -chief goal of a woman’s life any more. Things have -reached such a pass that it’s really respectable to be a -spinster like me! But we all like to be loved—we -women, don’t we? And it’s woman’s blessing and her -curse that she has love to give!”</p> - -<p>She was silent a moment, then bent forward and -touched Grace’s hand. There was a mist of dreams -in the girl’s lovely eyes.</p> - -<p>“I wish every happiness for you, dear. I hope with -all my heart that love will come to you in a great way, -which is the only way that counts!”</p> - - -<h3>VII</h3> - -<p>A moment later Bob Cummings appeared and -greeted Grace with unfeigned surprise and pleasure.</p> - -<p>“I’ll say we don’t need to be introduced! Grace -and I are old friends,” he said, still unable to conceal -his mystification at finding Grace established on terms -of intimacy in his neighbor’s house.</p> - -<p>“I inveigled Grace here without telling her it was to -be a musical evening,” said Miss Reynolds.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I’d have come just the same!” laughed Grace.</p> - -<p>“We’ll cut the music now,” said Cummings. “It<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[141]</span> -will be a lot more fun to talk. I tell you, Grace, it’s -a joy to have a place of refuge like this! Miss Reynolds -is the kindest woman in the world. I’ve adopted -her as my aunt.”</p> - -<p>He bowed to Miss Reynolds, and glanced from one -to the other with boyish eagerness for their approval.</p> - -<p>“That’s the first I’ve heard of it,” Miss Reynolds -retorted with a grieved air. “Why don’t you tell him, -Grace, that being an aunt sounds too old. You might -both adopt me as a cousin!”</p> - -<p>Grace and Bob discussed the matter with mock -gravity and decided that there was no good reason -why they shouldn’t be her cousin.</p> - -<p>“Then you must call me Cousin Beulah!” said Miss -Reynolds. Her nephews and nieces were widely scattered -she said, and she didn’t care for her lawful -cousins.</p> - -<p>Grace talked much more freely under the stimulus -of Bob’s presence. It appeared that Miss Reynolds -had not known Bob until she moved into the neighborhood -and their acquaintance had begun quite romantically. -Miss Reynolds had stopped him as he -was passing her house shortly after she moved in and -asked him whether he knew anything about trees. -Some of the trees on her premises were preyed upon -by malevolent insects and quite characteristically she -had halted him to ask whether he could recommend -a good tree doctor.</p> - -<p>“You looked intelligent; so I took a chance,” Miss -Reynolds explained. “And the man you recommended -didn’t hurt the trees much—only two died. -I’ve bought a tree book and hereafter I’ll do my own -spraying.”</p> - -<p>When Miss Reynolds spoke of Mrs. Cummings she -referred to her as Evelyn, explaining to Grace that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[142]</span> -she was the daughter of an old friend. Evelyn, it -appeared, was arranging a Thanksgiving party for one -of the country clubs. Bob said she was giving a lot -of time to it; it was going to be a brilliant affair. -Then finding that Grace did not know Evelyn and -remembering that in all likelihood her guest wouldn’t -be invited to the entertainment, Miss Reynolds turned -the talk into other channels. It was evident that Bob -was a welcome visitor to Miss Reynolds’s house and -that she understood and humored him and indulged -and encouraged his chaffing attitude toward her. That -he should make a practice of escaping from a company -at home that did not interest him was just like -Bob! He was lucky to have a neighbor so understanding -and amiable as Miss Reynolds. Perhaps again and -often she would meet Bob at Miss Reynolds’s when he -found Evelyn irksome. Grace rose and changed her -seat, as though by so doing she were escaping from -an idea she felt to be base, an affront to Miss Reynolds, -an insult to Bob.</p> - -<p>“The piano’s waiting, Bob”; and Miss Reynolds led -the way to the music room across the hall.</p> - -<p>Bob began, as had always been his way, Grace remembered, -by improvising, weaving together snatches -of classical compositions, with whimsical variations. -Then, after a pause, he sat erect, struck into Schumann’s -Nachtstuck, and followed it with Handel’s -Largo and Rubenstein’s Melody in F, all associated -in her memory with the days of their boy-and-girl -companionship. He shook his head impatiently, waited -a moment and then a new mood laying hold of him he -had recourse to Chopin, and played a succession of -pieces that filled the room with color and light. Grace -watched the sure touch of his hands, marveling that he -had been so faithful to the music that was his passion<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[143]</span> -as a boy. It had always been his solace in the unhappy -hours to which he had been a prey as far back -as she could remember. There was no questioning his -joy in the great harmonies. He was endowed with a -talent that had been cultivated with devotion, and he -might have had a brilliant career if fate had not -swept him into a business for which his temperament -wholly unfitted him.</p> - -<p>While he was still playing Miss Reynolds was called -away by callers and left the room quietly.</p> - -<p>“You and Bob stay here,” she whispered to Grace. -“These are people I have to see.”</p> - -<p>When Bob ended with a Chopin valse, graceful -and capricious, that seemed to Grace to bring the joy -of spring into the room, he swung round, noted Miss -Reynolds’s absence and then the closed door.</p> - -<p>“My audience reduced one-half!” he exclaimed -ruefully. “At this rate I’ll soon be alone.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t stop! Those last things were marvelous!”</p> - -<p>“Just one more! Do you remember how I cornered -you one day in our old house—you were still wearing -pigtails—and told you I’d learned a new piece and -you sat like a dear angel while I played this—my first -show piece?”</p> - -<p>It was Mendelssohn’s Spring Song, and she thrilled -to think that he hadn’t forgotten. The familiar chords -brought back vividly the old times; he had been so -proud and happy that day in displaying his prowess.</p> - -<p>Her praise was sweet to him then, and she saw that -it was grateful to him now.</p> - -<p>“You play wonderfully, Bob; it’s a pity you couldn’t -have kept on!”</p> - -<p>“We can’t do as we please in this world,” he said, -throwing himself into a chair and reaching for the -cigarettes. “But I get a lot of fun out of my music.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[144]</span> -I’m not sorry I stuck to it as I did from the time I -could stretch an octave. Are you spending the night -with Miss Reynolds?”</p> - -<p>“No; we’re not quite that chummy. Miss Reynolds -said she’d send me home.”</p> - -<p>“Not on your life she won’t! I’m going to run you -out in my roadster. That’s settled. I don’t have to -show up at home till midnight, so there’s plenty of -time. You and Cousin Beulah seem to get on -famously.”</p> - -<p>Grace gave a vivacious account of the beginning of -her acquaintance with Miss Reynolds, not omitting -the ten dollar tip.</p> - -<p>He laughed; then frowned darkly.</p> - -<p>“I’ve been troubled about this thing ever since I -met you today,” he said doggedly; “your having to -quit college, I mean. I feel guilty, terribly guilty.”</p> - -<p>“Please, Bob! don’t spoil my nice evening by mentioning -those things again. I know it wasn’t your -fault. So let’s go on being friends just as though -nothing had happened.”</p> - -<p>“Of course. But it’s rotten just the same. You -can hardly see me without——”</p> - -<p>She raised her hand warningly.</p> - -<p>“Bob, I’d be ashamed if anything could spoil our -friendship. I’m perfectly satisfied that you had nothing -to do with father’s troubles. So please forget it.”</p> - -<p>She won him back to good nature—she had always -been able to do that—and they talked of old times, of -the companions of their youth in the park neighborhood. -This was safe ground. The fact that they were -harking back to their childhood and youth emphasized -the changed circumstances of both the Durlands and -the Cummingses. It didn’t seem possible that he was -married; it struck her suddenly that he didn’t appear<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[145]</span> -at all married; and with this came the reflection that -he was the kind of man who should never marry. He -should have kept himself free; he had too much -temperament for a harmonious married life.</p> - -<p>“You don’t know Evelyn,” he remarked a little -absently. And then as though Grace’s not knowing -Evelyn called for an explanation he added: “She was -away at school for a long time.”</p> - -<p>“What’s she like, Bob?” Grace asked. “A man -ought to be able to draw a wonderful picture of his -wife.”</p> - -<p>“He should indeed! Let me see. She’s fair; blue -eyes; tall, slender; likes to have something doing; -wins golf cups; a splendid dancer.... Oh, -pshaw! You wouldn’t get any idea from that!” he -said with an uneasy laugh. “She’s very popular; people -like her tremendously.”</p> - -<p>“I’m sure she’s lovely, Bob. Is she musical?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, she doesn’t care much for music; my practicing -bores her. She used to sing a little but she’s given -it up.”</p> - -<p>He hadn’t said that he hoped she might meet -Evelyn; and for a moment Grace resented this. She -was a saleswoman in a department store and Evelyn -had no time for an old friend of her husband who -sold ready-to-wear clothing. A snob, no doubt, self-centered -and selfish; Bob’s failure to suggest a meeting -with his wife made it clear that he realized the -futility of trying to bring them together.</p> - -<p>“You haven’t missed me a bit!” cried Miss Reynolds -appearing suddenly. “Is the music all over?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, we’ve been reminiscing,” said Grace. “And -you missed the best of Bob’s playing.”</p> - -<p>“I’m sorry those people chose tonight for their call. -It was Judge Sanders, my lawyer, and his wife, old<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[146]</span> -friends—but I didn’t dare smoke before <i>them</i>! -You’ve got to stay now while I have a cigarette.”</p> - -<p>When Grace said presently that she must go and -Miss Reynolds reached for the bell to ring for her car, -Bob stayed her hand.</p> - -<p>“That’s all fixed! I’ll run around and bring my -car and <i>I’ll</i> take Grace home. Please say you don’t -mind!”</p> - -<p>“Of course, I don’t mind; but you needn’t think -you’re establishing a precedent. The next time Grace -comes I’ll lock the door against you and all the rest -of the world!”</p> - -<p>While Bob went for his car Miss Reynolds warned -Grace that she was likely to ask her to the house again.</p> - -<p>“You’ll be doing me a favor by coming, dear. And -remember, if there’s ever anything I can do for you -you’re to tell me. That’s a promise. I should be -sorry if you didn’t feel that you could come to me with -<i>anything</i>.”</p> - - -<h3>VIII</h3> - -<p>“It’s only a little after ten,” said Bob as he started -the car, “and I’m going to touch the edge of the country -before I take you home. Is that all right? How -long’s it been since we went driving together?”</p> - -<p>“Centuries! It was just after you moved.”</p> - -<p>“I was afraid you’d forgotten. I remember the evening -perfectly. We stopped at the Country Club to -dance and just played around by ourselves. But we -did have a good time!”</p> - -<p>His spirits were soaring; through his talk ran an -undercurrent of mischievous delight in his freedom. -“It’s just bully to see you again!” he repeated several -times. “While I was playing I kept thinking of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[147]</span> -royal fun we used to have. Do you remember that day -our families had a picnic—we were just kids then—and -you and I wandered away and got lost looking -for wild flowers or whatever the excuse was; and a -big storm came up and our mothers gave us a good -raking when we came back all soaked and everybody -was scared for fear we’d tumbled into the river!”</p> - -<p>To Grace the remembrance of this adventure was -not nearly so thrilling as the fact that Bob, now married, -still chortled over the recollection and was obviously -delighted to be spending an evening with her -while his wife enjoyed herself in her own fashion at -home. He would probably not tell Evelyn that he had -taken the daughter of his father’s old business associate -driving, a girl who clerked in a department store -and was clearly out of his social orbit. Here was another -episode which Grace knew she dared not mention -at home; Ethel and her mother would be horrified. -But Grace was happy in the thought that Bob Cummings -still found pleasure in her company even if she -was Number Eighteen at Shipley’s and took and accepted -tips from kindly-disposed customers. He -halted the car at a point which afforded a broad sweep -of moonlit field and woodland.</p> - -<p>“You know, Grace, sometimes I’ve been hungry -and positively homesick for a talk with you such as -we’ve had tonight.”</p> - -<p>“Please drive on! You mustn’t say things like -that.”</p> - -<p>“Well, that’s the way I feel anyhow. It’s queer -how I haven’t been able to do anything I wanted to -with my life. I’m like a man who’s been pushed on a -train he didn’t want to take and can’t get off.”</p> - -<p>Here again was his old eager appeal for sympathy. -He was weak, she knew, with the weakness that is a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[148]</span> -defect of such natures. It would be perfectly easy -to begin a flirtation with him, possibly to see him -frequently in some such way as she saw him now. It -was wrong to encourage him, but her curiosity as to -how far he would go overcame her scruples; it would -do no harm to lead him on a little.</p> - -<p>“You ought to be very happy, Bob. You have -everything to make you happy!”</p> - -<p>“I’ve made mistakes all down the line,” he answered -with a flare of defiance. “I ought to have -stood out against father when he put me into the -business. I’m no good at it. But Merwin made a -mess of things; father’s got him on a ranch out in -Montana now, and Tom’s got the bug to be a doctor -and nothing can shake him. So I have to sit at a desk -every day doing things I hate and doing them badly -of course. And for the rest of it——!”</p> - -<p>He stopped short of the rest of it, which Grace -surmised was his marriage to Evelyn. It was his -own fault that he had failed to control and manage -his life. He might have resisted his father when -it came to going into business and certainly it spoke -for a feeble will if he had married to gratify his -mother’s social ambitions. She was about to bid him -drive on when he turned toward her saying:</p> - -<p>“I feel nearer to you, Grace, than to anybody else -in the world! It was always that way. It’s got hold -of me again tonight—that feeling I used to have that -no matter what happened you’d know, you’d understand!”</p> - -<p>“Those days are gone, Bob,” she said, allowing a -vague wistfulness to creep into her tone. “I mustn’t -see you any more. We’ve both got our lives to live. -You know that as well as I do. You’re just a little -down tonight; you always had moods like this when<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[149]</span> -you thought the world was against you. It’s just a -mood and everything will look differently tomorrow.”</p> - -<p>“But I’ve got to see you, Grace; not often maybe, -but now and then. There’ll be some way of managing.”</p> - -<p>“No!” she exclaimed, her curiosity fully satisfied as -to how far he would go. “I’ll be angry with you in a -minute! This is positively the last time!”</p> - -<p>“Please don’t say that!” he pleaded. “I wouldn’t -offend you for anything in the world, Grace.”</p> - -<p>“I know you wouldn’t, Bob,” she said kindly. “But -there are some things that won’t do, you know.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I know,” he conceded with the petulance of -a child reluctantly admitting a fault.</p> - -<p>“I’m glad you still like me, but you know perfectly -well this kind of thing’s all wrong. I mustn’t -see you again.”</p> - -<p>“But Grace, what if I just have to see you!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, don’t be so silly! You’ll never just have to. -You’ve got a wife to tell your troubles to.”</p> - -<p>She wasn’t sure that she wanted to make it impossible -for him to see her again or that she really -preferred that he tell his troubles to his wife. His -troubles were always largely imaginary, due to his -sensitive and impressionable nature.</p> - -<p>“You needn’t remind me of that!” he said.</p> - -<p>“Oh, start the car! Let’s all be cheerful! We might -as well laugh as cry in this world. Did you see the -game Saturday? I had a suitor turn up from the university -and we had a jolly time.”</p> - -<p>“Who was he?” Bob demanded savagely.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Bob, you’re a perfect scream! Well, you -needn’t be jealous of <i>him</i>.”</p> - -<p>“I’m jealous of every man you know!” he said.</p> - -<p>“Now, you’re talking like a crazy man! Suppose<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[150]</span> -I were to tell you I’m jealous of Evelyn! Please remember -that you forgot all about me and married another -girl quite cheerfully with a church wedding and -flowers and everything. You needn’t come to me -now for consolation!”</p> - -<p>She refused to hear his defense from this charge, -and mocked him by singing snatches of college songs -till they were in town. When they reached the Durland -house she told him not to get out.</p> - -<p>“I won’t tell the family you brought me home; -they wouldn’t understand. Thanks ever so much, -Bob.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Durland and Ethel were waiting to hear of her -evening with Miss Reynolds and she told everything -except that she had met Cummings there. She satisfied -as quickly as possible their curiosity as to Miss -Reynolds and her establishment, and hurried to her -room eager to be alone. She assured herself that she -could never love Bob Cummings, would never have -loved him even if their families had remained neighbors -and it had been possible to marry him. He wasn’t -her type—the phrase pleased her—and in trying to determine -just what type of man most appealed to her -Trenton loomed large in her speculations. Within a -few weeks she had encountered two concrete instances -of the instability of marriage. Love, it seemed, was -a fleeting thing and loyalty had become a by-word. -Bob was only a spoiled boy, shallow, easily influenced, -yet withal endowed with graces and charms. But -graces and charms were not enough. She brought herself -to the point of feeling sorry for Evelyn, who probably -refused to humor and pet Bob and was doubtless -grateful that he had music as an outlet for his -emotions. It was something, though, to have found -that he hadn’t forgotten; that there were times when<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[151]</span> -he felt the need of her. She wondered whether he -would take her word as final and make no further -attempt to see her.</p> - - -<h3>IX</h3> - -<p>Grace addressed herself sincerely to the business -of bringing all the cheer possible to the home circle. -She overcame her annoyance at being obliged to recount -the details of her work, realizing that her -mother spent her days at home and save for the small -affairs of her club had little touch with the world -beyond her dooryard. Ethel’s days in the insurance -office were much alike and she lacked Grace’s gift -for making a good story out of a trifling incident. -Even Mr. Durland enjoyed Grace’s account of the -whims and foibles of the women she encountered at -Shipley’s. Grace reasoned that so long as she lived -at home it would be a mistake not to make the best -of things; but even in her fits of repentance she had -not regretted her assertion of the right to go and come -unquestioned.</p> - -<p>In the week following she left the house on two -evenings saying merely that she was going out. On -one of these occasions she returned a book to the public -library; on another she walked aimlessly for an -hour. These unexplained absences were to determine -whether her new won liberty was really firmly established. -Nothing was said either by her mother or -Ethel, though it was clear that they were mystified by -her early return, though not to the point of asking -where she had been. On a third evening she announced -at the table that she had earned a good bonus -that day and would celebrate by taking them all to -the vaudeville. Mrs. Durland and Ethel gave plausible<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">[152]</span> -excuses for declining, but not without expressing -their appreciation of the invitation in kind terms, -and Grace and her father set off alone.</p> - -<p>In her cogitations Grace was convinced that nothing -short of a miracle could ever improve materially -the family fortunes. They had the house free of -encumbrance, but it needed re-roofing, and the furnishings -were old and dingy. Mrs. Durland had -worked out a budget by which to manage the family -finances, and it was clear enough to Grace that what -she and Ethel earned would just about take care of -the necessary running expenses. Mrs. Durland had -received for many years an income of five hundred -dollars a year from her father’s estate, and this Grace -learned had always been spent on the family. The -last payment had been put away, Mrs. Durland explained -to her daughters, to help establish Roy after -he completed his law course. It was impressed upon -Grace constantly that all the hopes of bettering the -family conditions centered in Roy. Ethel shared, -though in less degree, her mother’s confidence in the -son of the house. Grace kept silent when Roy’s prospects -were discussed, feeling that it would serve no -purpose to express her feeling that Roy had no special -talent for the law, and even if he had the Durlands -were without family or business connections -that could possibly assist him in establishing himself.</p> - - -<h3>X</h3> - -<p>Grace’s meeting with Bob Cummings served to -sharpen her sense of social differentiations. Her -mother had always encouraged the idea that the Durlands -were a family of dignity, entitled to the highest -consideration; but stranded as they were in a neighborhood<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[153]</span> -that had no lines of communication with -polite society, Mrs. Durland now rarely received an -invitation even to the houses of her old friends. -Grace’s excursions in social science had made her -aware of the existence of such a thing as class consciousness; -but she had never questioned that she -belonged to the favored element. The thought assailed -her now that as a wage-earning girl she had -a fixed social status from which there was little likelihood -she would ever escape. The daughters of -prominent families she waited on at Shipley’s were -no better looking, no more intelligent and had no -better social instincts than she possessed; but she was -as completely shut off from any contact with them -as though she were the child of a Congo chieftain. -With all her romanticism she failed to picture the son -of one of the first families making her acquaintance -and introducing her to his family as the girl he meant -to marry. Several young men with whom she became -acquainted in Shipley’s had asked her to go to dances, -or for Sunday drives. Irene sniffed when Grace reported -these overtures.</p> - -<p>“Oh, they’re nice fellows; but what have they got -to offer? They’re never going to get anywhere. You -can’t afford to waste your time on them.”</p> - -<p>However, Grace accepted one of these invitations. -The young man took her to a public dance hall where -the music was good, but the patrons struck her as -altogether uninspiring; and she resented being inspected -by a police matron. She danced with her -escort all evening, and then they went to a cafeteria -for sandwiches and soda water.</p> - -<p>Irene had warned Grace that such young fellows -were likely to prove fresh; that they always expected -to kiss a girl good-night, and might even be insulting;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">[154]</span> -but this particular young man was almost pathetically -deferential. Grace was ashamed of herself for not -inviting him to call, but she shrank from encouraging -his further attentions; he might very easily become a -nuisance.</p> - -<p>Again, she went to Rosemary Terrace, a dance -and supper place on the edge of town, in company with -a young man who carried a bottle on his hip to which -he referred with proud complacency, as though it -were the symbol of his freedom as an American -citizen. The large dance hall was crowded; the -patrons were clearly the worse for their indulgence in -the liquor carried by their escorts; the dancing of -many of the visitors was vulgar; the place was hot and -noisy and the air heavy with tobacco smoke. Grace’s -young man kept assuring her that the Rosemary was -the sportiest place in town; you didn’t see any dead -ones there. His desire to be thought a sport would -have been amusing if he hadn’t so strenuously insisted -upon explaining that he was truly of the great company -of the elect to whom the laws of God and man -were as nothing. When Grace asked to be taken -home he hinted that there were other places presumably -even less reputable, to which they might go. But -he did not press the matter, when, reaching the Durland -gate, he tried to kiss her and she, to mark the -termination of their acquaintance, slapped him.</p> - -<p>These experiences were, she reflected, typical of -what she must look forward to unless she compromised -with her conscience and accepted Irene’s philosophy -of life.</p> - -<p>She had replied immediately to Trenton’s letter -from St. Louis with a brief note which she made as -colorless as possible. She knew that it was for her -to decide whether to see more of him or drop the acquaintance.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">[155]</span> -He was not a man to force his attentions -upon any young woman if he had reason to -think them unwelcome. Hearing nothing from him -for several days she had decided that he had settled -the matter himself when she received a note explaining -that he had been very busy but would start East -the next day. He hoped she would dine with him on -Thursday night and named the Indianapolis hotel -where her reply would reach him.</p> - -<p>“Don’t turn him down!” exclaimed Irene when -Grace told her Trenton was coming. “He wouldn’t -ask you if he didn’t want you. Tommy skipped for -New York last night so it’s a safe bet that Ward’s -stopping on purpose to see you.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know—” began Grace doubtfully.</p> - -<p>“Oh, have a heart! There’s no harm in eating dinner -with a married man in a hotel where you’d get by -even if all your family walked in and caught you! Of -course Tommy can’t appear with me at any public -place here at home, but it’s different with you and -Ward. He doesn’t know a dozen people in town.”</p> - -<p>“I wouldn’t want to offend him,” Grace replied -slowly, a prey to uncertainty; but she withheld her -acceptance until the morning of the day of Trenton’s -arrival.</p> - - -<h3>XI</h3> - -<p>When she reached the Hotel Sycamore at seven -o’clock he was waiting for her at the entrance.</p> - -<p>“On time to the minute!” he exclaimed. “I took -you at your word that you’d rather not have me call -for you.”</p> - -<p>“Thanks; but it was easier this way,” she answered.</p> - -<p>He had been so much in her thoughts, and she had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[156]</span> -considered him from so many angles that at first she -was shy in his presence. But by the time they were -seated in the dining room her diffidence was passing. -He appeared younger than at The Shack, but rather -more distinguished; it might have been the effect -of his dinner coat; and she noticed that he was the -only man in the room who had dressed for dinner.</p> - -<p>“You’ve been busy of course and I’ve been up to -my eyes in work,” he said; “so we’ll dismiss business. -Shall we talk of the weather or see what we can do -to save the world from destruction!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I’ve had a lot of ideas about things since -I saw you,” she said. “Half of them were right and -half wrong.”</p> - -<p>“Oh,” he exclaimed, “our old friend conscience!”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” she replied, meeting his gaze squarely. “I’ve -been trying to decide a thousand questions, but I’ve -got nowhere!”</p> - -<p>“Terrible! But I’m glad to find that you’re so -human; most of us are like that. Honest, now, you -weren’t at all sure you wanted to see me tonight!”</p> - -<p>“No,” she assented under his smiling gaze; “I -didn’t send the answer to your note till nearly noon!”</p> - -<p>“So I noticed from the hotel stamp on the envelope! -But I’d have been very much disappointed if you’d -refused.”</p> - -<p>His tone was too serious for comfort. She felt that -she must have a care lest he discover the attraction he -had for her.</p> - -<p>“Oh, you’d have got over it! You know you would. -You needn’t have dined alone—Tommy’s out of town, -but there’s Irene!”</p> - -<p>“Much as I admire Irene she would be no substitute! -I was sincerely anxious to see you again, if -only to make sure you were still on earth.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[157]</span>“Oh, I have no intention of leaving it!”</p> - -<p>She was finding it easy to be flippant with him. -Whatever liking he had for her was no doubt due -to the seriousness she had manifested in their talk -at The Shack. And the effect of that talk had been -to awaken a sympathy and interest on both sides; in -her case she knew that it was trifle more than that. -She was sorry now that she had kissed him; she was -puzzled that she had ever had the courage to do it, -though it was such a kiss as she might have given any -man older than herself in the same circumstances. -She had heard of women, very young women, who were -able to exert a strong influence upon men much older -than themselves. She felt for the first time the power -of sex—at least she had never before thought of it in -the phrases that now danced through her brain. If -he was annoyed not to find her as interesting and -agreeable as at The Shack he was successful in concealing -his disappointment. He continued to be unfailingly -courteous, meeting her rejoinders with characteristic -mockeries until she began to feel ashamed of her -lack of friendliness. He deserved better of her than -this.</p> - -<p>“We’re going to the theatre; did you know that?” -he asked toward the end of the dinner. “And we’re -going to be fashionably late.”</p> - -<p>“‘Stolen Stars!’ Oh, that’s perfectly marvelous,” -she exclaimed. “I’ve been just dying to see it!”</p> - -<p>“Then it’s lucky that you can live and see it!” -Through the performance the thought kept recurring -to her that he meant to be kind. No one had ever -been so kind or shown her so flattering a deference as -Ward Trenton. She was proud to be sitting beside -him. When the lights went up after the first act a buzz -of talk in one of the boxes drew her attention, and she -caught a glimpse of Bob Cummings. At the same<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">[158]</span> -moment he saw her and bowed. There were six in the -party and she decided that Bob’s wife was the young -woman he most rarely addressed. Evelyn was not -beautiful; she was gratified to have Trenton’s confirmation -of her opinion on this point when she directed -his attention to the box party.</p> - -<p>“I’ll be here for several days,” said Trenton when -they reached the Durland house and he stood for a -moment on the doorstep. “Could you give me another -evening? Tomorrow night I’m tied up with a business -appointment, but may we say day after tomorrow?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” she assented, “but isn’t there danger of seeing -too much of me?”</p> - -<p>“I’ll take the risk!” he said. “And thank you ever -so much.”</p> - -<p>She fell asleep glad that she was to see him again.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">[159]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER SEVEN</h2> -</div> - - -<h3>I</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> second evening with Trenton was very like -the first except that after dinner at the Sycamore they -attended a concert given by a world-famous violinist. -Again as under the spell of Bob Cummings’ playing -at Miss Reynolds’, Grace was caught away into a -wonder-world, where she wandered like a disembodied -spirit seeking some vestige of a personality that had -not survived her transition to another realm. She -was assailed by new and fleeting emotions, in which -she studied Trenton and tried to define her attitude -toward him, conscious that the time might be close -at hand when some definition would be necessary. -Now and then she caught a glimpse of his rapt look -and saw the lines about his mouth tighten. Once he -clasped his hands as though, in response to some inner -prompting, he were attempting by a physical act to -arrest some disturbing trend of his thoughts.</p> - -<p>There was a fineness in his face that she had not -before fully appreciated, and it was his fineness and -nobility, Grace assured herself, that appealed to her. -Then there were moments when she was undecided -whether she loved or hated him, not knowing that -this is a curious phase which women of highly sensitive -natures often experience at the first consciousness -of a man’s power over them. She saw man as -the hunter and woman as his prey. Then with a quick -revulsion she freed herself of the thought and drifted -happily with the tide of harmony.</p> - -<p>When they left the theatre Trenton asked whether<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[160]</span> -she felt like walking. The night was clear and the -air keen and stimulating.</p> - -<p>“Of course; it would be a shame to ride! That -music would carry me a thousand miles,” she answered.</p> - -<p>As soon as they were free of the crowd he began -to talk of music, its emotional appeal, its power to -dissociate the hearer from material things.</p> - -<p>“I never felt it so much before,” he said. “I’m -afraid there’s not much poetry in me. I’m not much -affected by things that I can’t reduce to a formula, -and I’m a little suspicious of anything that lifts me -off the earth as that fiddle did. If I exposed myself -to music very often it would ruin me for business.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, never that! I feel music tremendously; everybody -must! It wakes up all manner of hopes and -ambitions even if they don’t live very long. That -violin really made me want to climb!”</p> - -<p>“Yes; I can understand that. For a few minutes -I was conscious myself of reaching up the ladder for -a higher round. It’s dangerous to feel so keenly. I -wonder if there ever comes a time when we don’t feel -any more—really feel a desire to bump against the -stars; when the spirit goes dead and for the rest of -our days we just settle into a rut with no hope -of ever pulling out? I have a dread of that. It’s -ghastly to think of. Marking time! Going through -the motions of being alive when you’re really dead!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, don’t even think of it! You could never be -like that!”</p> - -<p>“Maybe I’m like that now!”</p> - -<p>“You’re clear off the key!” she cried. “Of course -you’re not at the end of things. It’s wicked to talk -that way.”</p> - -<p>“Do you really think that?” he asked eagerly. “Do -you see any hope ahead for me?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[161]</span>“You know you see it yourself! We wouldn’t -any of us go on living if we didn’t see some hope -ahead.” Then with greater animation she added:</p> - -<p>“You’re not a man to sit down at the roadside and -burst into tears because things don’t go to suit you! -I don’t believe you’re that kind at all. If you are—well, -I’m disappointed!”</p> - -<p>“Now you’ve got me with my back to the wall!” -he laughed. “No man ever wants a woman to think -him a coward. I’ll keep away from all music hereafter -except the snappiest jazz. But give music the -benefit of the doubt; it may not have been the fiddle -at all!”</p> - -<p>“More likely you ate too much dinner!”</p> - -<p>“Impossible! The ostrich has nothing on me when -it comes to digestion. Maybe you’re the cause of -my depression! Please consider that for a moment!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that’s terribly unkind! If I depress you this -must be our last meeting.”</p> - -<p>“You know I didn’t mean that, it’s because——”</p> - -<p>“Don’t begin becausing! You know you’re in a -tight corner; you hint that I’ve given you a bad -evening just by sitting beside you at a concert—and -a very beautiful concert at that.”</p> - -<p>“The mistake is mine! You haven’t the slightest -respect for my feelings. I show you the wounds in -my very soul and you laugh at them.”</p> - -<p>“I certainly am not going to weep my eyes out -merely because you let a few bars of music throw -you. I had a fit of the blues too; several times I -thought I was going to cry. How embarrassed you’d -have been!”</p> - -<p>“No; I should have held your hand until you regained -your composure!”</p> - -<p>“Then we’d both have been led out by the ushers!”</p> - -<p>He joined with her in playing whimsically upon all<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">[162]</span> -the possibilities of their ejection. They would have -been arrested for disturbing a public gathering and -their names would have figured in the police reports, -probably with pictorial embellishments. This sort -of fooling was safe; she thought perhaps he meant to -maintain the talk on an impersonal plane but in a -moment he said:</p> - -<p>“I’m going away tomorrow, first home to Pittsburgh -for about a week; then to New York. I may not -get back here for two or three weeks; I’m mixed up -in some things that I can’t neglect. I’d like to think -you’ll miss me!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I always miss my friends when they go away,” -she replied. Then realizing the banality of this she -laughed and added: “How silly that sounded!”</p> - -<p>“Then you mean you wouldn’t miss me?”</p> - -<p>“Of course I didn’t mean that!”</p> - -<p>Under a street lamp she saw in his face once more -the grave troubled look that she had observed at intervals -during the concert. It was foolish to question -now that his interest in her was something more than -a passing fancy. Her thoughts flew to the other -woman, the wife of whom he had spoken at The -Shack only to apologize for it in his letter from St. -Louis. He was thinking of her of course; it was impossible -for him to ignore the fact that he had a wife. -And again as so many times before she speculated -as to whether he might not still love this woman -and be seeking diversion elsewhere out of sheer loneliness. -But as they passed into the shadows again, -her hand resting lightly on his arm, she experienced -suddenly a strong desire to be kind to him. She was -profoundly moved by the thought that it was in her -power to pour out to him in great measure the affection -and comradeship which he had confessed he hungered -for.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">[163]</span>They had crossed the canal bridge and were nearing -the Durland house. Trenton was accommodating -himself perforce to her rapid pace. The tonic air kept -her pulses throbbing. She was sure that she loved -this man; that the difference in their years was as -nothing weighed against his need for her. Tonight, -she knew, marked a crisis in their relationship. If she -parted from him without making it clear that she -wished never to see him again she would be putting -herself wholly at the mercy of a fate that might bear -her up or down. With only a block more to traverse -she battled with herself, summoned all her courage to -resist him, only to find that her will was unequal to -the contest.</p> - -<p>Deep in her heart she did not want to send him -away with no hope of seeing him again. He was -her one link with the great world beyond the city in -which, without his visits to look forward to, she was -doomed to lead a colorless, monotonous existence. -She was moved by a compassion for him, poignantly -tender, that swept away all sense of reality and transcended -the bounds of time and space. The very -thought of losing him, of not knowing where he would -be in the endless tomorrows, only that she would -never see him again, was like a pain in her heart. -The need in him spoke to the need in her—for companionship, -help, affection.</p> - -<p>They seemed vastly isolated in the quiet street, as -though the world had gone away and left them to -settle their affairs with only the stars for witnesses. -It had been easy to parry Bob Cummings’s attempts -to assume a lover-like attitude toward her. But with -Trenton this would be impossible. With him it would -be necessary to state in the plainest terms that their -acquaintance must end.</p> - -<p>Nothing had been said since her last remark and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[164]</span> -if she meant to thrust him away from her she must -act quickly. In a winning fashion of his own he was -frank and forthright. She found it difficult to anticipate -him and prepare her replies. There was no leer -in him and he did not take refuge in timid gallantries; -he addressed her as a man who felt that he had a -right to a hearing. And this, in her confused, bewildered -senses, gave dignity to the situation. He -loved her and she loved him—she was sure she loved -him—and her heart was in a wild tumult. She was -afraid to speak lest the merest commonplace might -betray her eagerness to confess her love for him.</p> - -<p>He stepped in front of her and clasped the hand -that lay lightly on his arm.</p> - -<p>“I’ve got to say it; I must say it now,” he said in -grave even tones. “No woman ever meant to me -what you mean. The first night I met you I knew -it had come—the thing I had hoped for—and sometimes -had dreaded,—a woman I could know as I’ve -never known any woman, not my wife or any other! -After I left you I couldn’t get you out of my mind.” -He paused for an instant, then went on hurriedly with -undisguised intensity of feeling. “You may think me -mad when I’ve seen you so little; and I know I have -no right to love you at all! But I do love you! I -want you to belong to me!”</p> - -<p>A gust of wind caught up a mass of leaves from the -gutter and flung them about their feet as though -to remind them of the mutability of all things. He -had said that he loved her; almost savagely he had -demanded that she give herself to him. It was incredible -that he cared so much, that his desire for her -could be so great.</p> - -<p>He released her hand as though in sign that he -wanted her to speak without compulsion. He waited<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">[165]</span> -quietly, his shoulders thrown a little forward, and in -the dim starlight she saw his eyes, bright and eager, -searching her own.</p> - -<p>“You know I care,” she said softly.</p> - -<p>The words fell from her lips inevitably; no other -reply was possible, and it seemed that a great weight -had lifted from her heart and that in entrusting herself -to him she had found security and peace. She -questioned nothing, feeling his arms about her, his -kiss warm on her lips. All her doubts were lost in -the joy of the moment in which he had confessed -his love for her. It was a strange place for the -pledging of love and the moment was not to be prolonged.</p> - -<p>“We must go on, dear,” she said laying her cheek -against his for an instant. The touch of her face -caused him to clasp her again.</p> - -<p>“Oh, my dearest one!” he cried hoarsely.</p> - -<p>As they went on, loitering to delay the moment of -parting, they caught hands like happy children.</p> - -<p>“I don’t see how you can love me,” she said with -the anxiety of new love for confirmations and assurances. -“I don’t belong to your world.”</p> - -<p>“There’s the strangest thing of all!” he exclaimed. -“We are born into a new world that is all ours. We -have inherited all the kingdoms tonight.”</p> - -<p>“And the stars up there—do they shine just for -us?” she asked, bringing herself closer to him. “And -can we keep every one else out of our world? I want -it all to be our very own. Oh, it’s so sweet, so wonderful!”</p> - -<p>“It’s a miracle beyond any words,” he said, “to -know that you care. It’s easy for me to love you; -I loved you in that very first hour we spent together.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">[166]</span> -We don’t account for things like that, that come so -suddenly and without warning; we merely accept -them. I’ve fought this; I want you to know that I’ve -fought it.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, so have I! But—why did you fight it?”</p> - -<p>Her voice betrayed her confused emotions. Her -sense of right was as nothing against the belief that -he loved her and that she loved him. A masterful tide -had caught them up and borne them far, leaving them -islanded on territory remote and touched with a mystical -light that souls had never known before.</p> - -<p>She was now fully persuaded that henceforth her -life was to be bound up with his; that until death -took one or the other they would never face separation. -Space and distance were as nothing; if he -went to far and waste places there would be still -the strong spiritual tie which it pleased her to think -was the real bond between them—something which, -in her absolute surrender, she felt to be above all laws -of men and of kinship with heavenly things. It struck -her as odd that she was able so thoroughly to analyze -her sensations, seeking and finding explanation and -justification cleansed of all passion.</p> - -<p>“I know I have no right to your love; none whatever,” -he said steadily. “There are people who would -call me a scoundrel for saying what I have just said -to you. But every man in my plight feels that his -case is different. I’ve thought of all this in the plainest -terms, not sparing myself.”</p> - -<p>“It would be like you to do that,” she replied.</p> - -<p>Now that she had taken him for her lover she -saw him as a paragon of generosity and nobility. He -would not spare himself; she was anxious to apply -balm to his conscience, to make him understand that -her happiness was so complete that nothing else mattered.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[167]</span>“Just so you love me!” she said gently. “Nothing -could be so dear as just knowing that you care. Oh, -do I mean so much to you?”</p> - -<p>“Everything,” he exclaimed and lifted her hand and -kissed it.</p> - -<p>“That’s the way it has to be—everything or nothing. -I never loved any one before.”</p> - -<p>“I’m so glad! I was afraid to ask you that. I had -even thought there might be some one else—some -younger man——”</p> - -<p>“Stop! We’re not going to talk of ages,” she -laughed, with a quick gesture laying her hand for a -moment against his lips. “It must be understood -right now that you’re not a day over twenty-five.”</p> - -<p>“You’re going to spoil me! And you don’t know -how much I want to be spoiled.”</p> - -<p>“You poor dear! I’m going to love petting and -spoiling you!”</p> - -<p>Instantly it occurred to her that the other woman, -the unknown wife of her frequent conjecture, had -neither petted nor spoiled him and that this accounted -for his eagerness for a new experience. A cloud -crossed the bright heaven of her happiness. His wife -was not to be relegated to oblivion merely because he -had found another object for his affections. The wife -had a very real existence in Grace’s imagination; to -Trenton’s lightly limned sketch the girl had added a -line here and there until she fancied she possessed -a very true portrait of Mrs. Trenton. Somewhere -there existed a Mrs. Ward Trenton, who wrote books -and lectured and otherwise advertised herself as a -vital being.</p> - -<p>“Dear little girl!” said Trenton tenderly. “You -are all the world to me. Do you understand?”</p> - -<p>“I must believe that,” she said.</p> - -<p>“There’s nothing I can offer you now—neither a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">[168]</span> -home nor the protection of my name. It’s got to -be just love that’s our tie. I’m not going to deceive -you about that.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I understand what it means,” she answered.</p> - -<p>“You must believe that I’ll do the best I can to -make you happy. Love that doesn’t bring happiness -is an empty and worthless thing. You don’t know -how much I count on you. I’m laying a burden on -you; I’m clutching at you for all the things I’ve missed -out of my life.”</p> - -<p>“Yes; I know dear.”</p> - -<p>“There’s something not fair about it—about casting -myself upon you as I’m doing,” he said doggedly.</p> - -<p>“I’m proud that you want me! I want to fill your -heart and your life.”</p> - -<p>“You can; you do even now! But first of all I -want you to be sure—sure of yourself, dear. There -must be no regrets afterward. I can’t see you again -before I go, but I’ll write.”</p> - -<p>“I shall miss you so! You <i>will</i> write to me!” she -cried, feeling already the loneliness of the days of his -impending absence. His calmness was disconcerting -but she readily forgave this as she would have forgiven -him anything. He was thinking of the long -future no doubt, planning ways of seeing her.</p> - -<p>“Promise me you’ll consider everything.”</p> - -<p>“It’s enough that we love each other!” she replied -softly.</p> - -<p>“You’re not a child but a woman, able to see it all -in every light. You must be very sure that you care; -that you do love me.”</p> - -<p>“I’m very sure, dear,” she said, not a little disturbed -by his solicitude, fearing that he himself might -now be a prey to misgivings.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[169]</span>“You can write to me at the addresses I’ll send. -And then wire me when you’re quite sure—not till -then!”</p> - -<p>“Yes; I’ll do as you say. But tell me again that -you love me! I shall be so lonely without you!”</p> - -<p>“With all my heart I love you. I wish we need -never part again. Some day that will be. Some day -I can have you with me always! But now——”</p> - -<p>The sentence died on his lips. What could be now -he did not say, shrank from saying perhaps. It was -not for her to express in words what could be now. -She felt a sudden strong impulse to speak of his wife; -to ask him whether he did not still care for her. But -it was in her heart, the battleground of many and -confused emotions, to give him the benefit of every -doubt. Her forces of defense had mutinied and left -her powerless even to question him. The joy of the -knowledge that he loved her and that she returned -his love thrilled her like the song of triumphant -bugles.</p> - -<p>Her heart was throbbing as they passed through -the Durland gate. At the door he took her in his -arms.</p> - -<p>“My dearest! I wouldn’t lie to you; I love you -with all my heart. You will write me; and don’t -forget the telegram. I shall come flying at the first -possible moment after I get that. And don’t trouble -about anything. I want you to say you trust me -and are sure of me.”</p> - -<p>His kisses smothered her replies.</p> - -<p>“Promise to be careful of yourself, dear. I should -die without you!”</p> - -<p>There were tears in her eyes as she fumbled for -her latch key. She watched him as he struck out -with a long stride toward the city. She thought<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">[170]</span> -that he looked back and waved his hand out of the -shadows just as she opened the door.</p> - - -<h3>II</h3> - -<p>It was long before she slept but she rose obedient -to the summons of the alarm clock and assisted as -usual in the preparation of breakfast. At the table -her silence and preoccupation caused her mother to -scrutinize her closely.</p> - -<p>“You don’t seem quite like yourself, Grace. Don’t -you feel well?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, there’s nothing at all the matter. I had a -hard day at the store yesterday.”</p> - -<p>“Maybe you ate something for supper that didn’t -agree with you.”</p> - -<p>Grace read into this suggestion a hint that her -mother and sister were not without their curiosity as -to where she had dined and the manner in which she -had spent the remainder of the evening. They had -been accepting so meekly her silence as to her evenings -away from home that it occurred to Grace -that it would serve to allay suspicion if she told occasionally -just what she had been doing.</p> - -<p>“I had dinner at the Sycamore with an acquaintance—a -man from out of town—and we went to the concert. -The music was perfectly wonderful. And then -we walked home. Nothing terribly exciting in that!”</p> - -<p>“I thought I heard voices at the door just before -you came in,” said Mrs. Durland with an effort at indifference -that was only partly successful.</p> - -<p>“Very likely you did, mamma. Mr. Trenton and I -walked home; it seemed a pity to ride when the night -was so fine and there was all that music still ringing -in our ears.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">[171]</span>She was pleased with her own audacity and smiled -as she saw Ethel and her mother exchange glances. -But having ventured so far it would be necessary -now to explain how she had met Trenton and she was -prepared with a small lie with which to fortify the -truth when she saw that something more was expected.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Trenton, did you say, Grace?” inquired Mrs. -Durland as though not sure she had heard aright.</p> - -<p>“Yes, mother; Mr. Ward Trenton, of Pittsburgh. -I knew his niece very well at the University, and as -he comes here now and then Mabel wrote and asked -him to look me up. He’s ever so nice. He’s been -everywhere and talks wonderfully. He’s a mechanical -engineer and rated very high, isn’t he, daddy?”</p> - -<p>Trenton’s name had impinged upon Durland’s consciousness -and he put down the morning newspaper -to which he had been referring from time to time during -the consumption of his breakfast.</p> - -<p>“Ward Trenton? Yes, he’s one of the ablest engineers -in the country. Did you say he’d been in town, -Grace?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, he comes here now and then. I had dinner -with him last night at the Sycamore and we went to -the concert. I meant to tell you about him. He -knows of you; he says he’s always stumbling into you -in the patent office records.”</p> - -<p>“Did Trenton say that?” asked Durland, greatly -pleased.</p> - -<p>“Yes; he spoke of you in the kindest way, father.”</p> - -<p>“You don’t say! I wouldn’t have thought he’d ever -heard of me. He’s in touch with all the big industrial -concerns of the country,” said Durland. “I guess -there is hardly a man whose word is worth more than -Trenton’s. I read just the other day, in one of the -trade journals, an address he made somewhere on shop<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">[172]</span> -efficiency. His opinions are quoted a good deal; he -knows what he’s talking about.”</p> - -<p>Her father’s manifestation of interest in a man so -eminent in his own field did not prevent Ethel from -taking advantage of Grace’s unexpected frankness -to ask:</p> - -<p>“Was it Mr. Trenton you were with at the theatre -a few nights ago? One of the girls in the office said -she saw you there with a very distinguished looking -man.”</p> - -<p>“The very same!” Grace replied promptly. “You -know Mr. Trenton is awful keen about Mabel, so -when she wrote him that I was at Shipley’s he came -in to see me.”</p> - -<p>Having gone so far with the imaginary niece she -thought it best to endow her with a full name.</p> - -<p>“Mabel Conwell is awfully nice, though you -wouldn’t exactly call her pretty.”</p> - -<p>“Does she live here?” asked Mrs. Durland.</p> - -<p>“Oh, no! Her home’s in Jeffersonville or New Albany, -I forget which. It’s one of those Ohio river -towns.”</p> - -<p>“It was certainly kind of her to have Mr. Trenton -look you up,” said Mrs. Durland. “But I wish you’d -asked him to the house. It doesn’t seem just right -for you to be going out with a man your family -doesn’t know. I’m not saying, dear, that there’s any -impropriety; only I think it would give him a better -impression of all of us if we met him.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I meant to bring him up but he’s so terribly -busy. He works everywhere he goes right up to the -last minute. And it was much simpler to meet him at -the Sycamore.”</p> - -<p>“He’s married, is he not?” asked Ethel.</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes!” said Grace, heartily regretting now that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">[173]</span> -she had opened the way for this question. “His wife -is Mary Graham Trenton who write and lectures.”</p> - -<p>“That woman,” exclaimed Mrs. Durland, plainly -horrified. “She is one of the most dangerous of all -the foes of decency in this country! Last spring we -had a discussion of her ideas in the West End Club. -I hadn’t known how utterly without shame a woman -could be till one of our members wrote a paper about -her.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve heard that she’s very wealthy,” interposed -Ethel in a tone which suggested that, no matter how -utterly destructive of public morals Mrs. Trenton’s -ideas might be, as a rich woman she was not wholly -beyond the pale. “It’s all the more remarkable that -she’s opposed to marriage and nearly everything else, -or pretends to be, when she belongs to one of the -oldest American families and inherited her wealth.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know that Mr. Trenton accepts her ideas,” -said Grace. “He hasn’t discussed them with me. He -seemed rather amused when I told him I’d read her -‘Clues to a New Social Order’.”</p> - -<p>“You haven’t read that awful thing?” cried Mrs. -Durland.</p> - -<p>“Why, certainly, mother; I read it last winter. It’s -not so awfully shocking; I suppose there are a good -many people who believe as Mrs. Trenton does.”</p> - -<p>“How can you speak so, Grace! What would become -of the home and the family if such ideas prevailed? -That woman’s positively opposed to marriage.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I don’t believe it’s as bad as that! I think -it’s more her idea that where marriages are unhappy -it’s cruel to make people live together. But, you -needn’t be afraid that Mr. Trenton’s trying to convert -me to his wife’s notions. I don’t believe he is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">[174]</span> -terribly tickled to have her gallivanting over the country -lecturing.”</p> - -<p>“You can’t be too careful, you know, Grace, about -letting a married man pay you attentions. People -are bound to talk. And Mrs. Trenton, being known -for her loose ideas on marriage, naturally causes -people to look twice at her husband.”</p> - -<p>“And at any woman her husband pays attention -to,” Ethel added.</p> - -<p>“Of course I’m careful what I do,” replied Grace. -“Mr. Trenton is a perfect gentleman in every way -and just as kind and considerate as can be. He gave -me two of the pleasantest evenings I ever spent. You -certainly can’t object to my knowing a man like that.”</p> - -<p>“No, dear,” replied Mrs. Durland, “except that it -seems strange for a daughter of mine to be meeting -a married man and having dinner with him and going -to the theatre when I don’t know him at all.”</p> - -<p>Durland had lingered, pretending to be looking for -something in the paper but really prepared to support -Grace in the event that his wife and Ethel showed -a disposition to carry their criticisms further.</p> - -<p>“I suppose we have to put up with such things,” -said Ethel, “but that doesn’t make them right. I -hope, Grace, you won’t let your independence carry -you <i>too</i> far.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Mr. Trenton has passed on and I don’t know -when he’ll turn up here again, so you needn’t worry.”</p> - -<p>“It’s fine you can know a man like Trenton,” Durland -ventured from the hall door.</p> - -<p>“Here’s an idea!” cried Grace, springing after him -to hold his overcoat, “the next time Mr. Trenton -comes to town I’ll try to have you meet him.”</p> - -<p>“I think some of us ought to meet him,” said Mrs. -Durland, who had begun to clear the table.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">[175]</span>“By all means,” Ethel affirmed. “I think the family -dignity calls for at least that!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, we must preserve the family dignity at any -hazard,” Grace retorted.</p> - -<p>Having buttoned her father into his coat she -snatched his hat and planted it at a rakish angle on -his head. He submitted good-naturedly, pleased as -he always was by her attentions.</p> - -<p>“You bring Trenton down sometime, Grace. I’ve -some old junk I’d be glad to show him,” he said, -glancing furtively at his wife.</p> - -<p>“Grand! Between us we ought to be able to put -something over on him.”</p> - -<p>She flung her arm across his shoulder and walked -with him to the front door.</p> - -<p>No highly developed talent for mind reading was -necessary to an understanding of the mental operations -of Mrs. Durland and Ethel in matters pertaining -to the father and younger daughter. When Grace -entered the kitchen she knew that she had interrupted -a conference bearing upon her acquaintance with -Trenton. Her mother and Ethel would study the matter -in all its aspects. She derived a cynical satisfaction -from the knowledge that her apparent frankness was -probably causing them more anxiety than an evasion -or a downright lie.</p> - - -<h3>III</h3> - -<p>Grace’s thoughts raced madly in the days that followed. -She saw herself in new aspects, dramatized -herself in new and fascinating situations. She was like -a child peering into a succession of alluring shop windows,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">[176]</span> -the nature and value of whose strange wares -it only imperfectly understands. Life was disclosing -itself, opening long vistas before her. As to men -she now believed that she knew a great deal. Confident -that she loved Trenton and without regret that -she had confessed her love she did not question her -happiness. She lived in a paradise whose walls were -fashioned of the stuff that dreams are made of. It -pleased her to think of herself as a figure of romance -and she got from the public library several novels in -which young women, imaginably like herself, had given -their all for love. She was satisfied that her own case -was far more justifiable than those of these heroines.</p> - -<p>Her heart was filled with kindness toward all the -world. On the day that brought her Trenton’s first -letter she went to her father’s new shop in the Power -Building carrying lunch for two from a cafeteria. Her -father’s silence in his hours at home, his absorption -in his scientific books, had for her an increasing -pathos. Mrs. Durland referred not infrequently to -the fallen estate of the family in terms well calculated -to wound him from the very tone of helpless resignation -in which they were uttered.</p> - -<p>Durland pushed his hat back on his head and stared -as Grace appeared in the door of his little shop.</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter, Grace? Anything happened?” -he asked with his bewildered air.</p> - -<p>“Not a thing, daddy. I just thought I’d come -around and have lunch; so here’s sandwiches for two.”</p> - -<p>“I never eat lunch,” he said, turning reluctantly -from the bench at which he had been at work.</p> - -<p>“Well, you’re going to today!”</p> - -<p>Over his protests she cleared a space on the bench -and laid out the contents of her package—sandwiches, -cakes and apples. She dusted off a chair for him<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[177]</span> -and then swung herself on to the bench within easy -reach of the food. She ignored his warning that there -was grease on the bench and flung him a paper napkin.</p> - -<p>“The banquet’s begun! Now proceed and tell me -how every little thing’s a going.”</p> - -<p>“Just about the same, Grace. I’m working on an -idea or two. Not sure yet just what I’ve got, but -I think maybe I’m on to something that’ll turn out -big.”</p> - -<p>“You’re bound to, daddy! You work so hard!”</p> - -<p>“Cummings may have scrapped me too soon,” he -muttered and looked at her with an ironic grin and -a fanatical gleam in his eyes that caused her to wonder -for a moment whether from his lonely brooding he -might not be going mad.</p> - -<p>A man came in to see about some patterns he had -ordered. They were not ready and even while Durland -expressed his regret at the delay Grace saw that -his thoughts were still upon his inventions. The customer -manifested impatience, remarking angrily as -he left that if his work wasn’t ready the next day -he would take it elsewhere.</p> - -<p>“Really, daddy, you oughtn’t to keep people waiting -when you take their jobs. If you’ll only build -up this pattern and model business you can make a -good thing of it.”</p> - -<p>“You’re right, Grace. But I can’t keep my mind -off my own work. I know all the weaknesses of my -old things that Cummings is making. I’m going to -put him out of business!”</p> - -<p>“That’s all right, but you mustn’t take jobs for -other people unless you mean to do them right away. -This place is in an awful mess!”</p> - -<p>As she began straightening up a litter of papers on<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">[178]</span> -one end of the bench a bill for the rent of the room -caught her eye.</p> - -<p>“Don’t look at these things, Grace!” he pleaded, as -he tried to snatch the bill. “I’ll be able to pay that in -a day or two. I got a check coming for a model and -it’ll cover the rent.”</p> - -<p>Her questioning elicited the information that the -check had been expected for several weeks and that -the man for whom the model had been made left -town without leaving his address.</p> - -<p>“It seems pretty uncertain, daddy, and this rent’s -three weeks over due. I have a little money in the -trust company and I’ll send my check for it.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t like taking your money, Grace,” he said -as she thrust the bill into her purse.</p> - -<p>“Don’t you worry about that. I’d be ashamed if I -didn’t help you when you’ve always been so good to -me.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t see where I’ve done much for you. I -never expected you girls would have to work. You -know I’m sorry, Grace!”</p> - -<p>“Well, I’m perfectly happy, so don’t you worry.”</p> - -<p>She took his old-fashioned watch from his pocket -and noted the time.</p> - -<p>“I’ve got to skip.”</p> - -<p>“Nice of you to come round, Grace; but you’re always -good to me. By the way, I guess you’d better -not tell your mother about the rent. She wouldn’t -like my taking your money.”</p> - -<p>“Then we won’t say a word!” She whispered, -touched by his fear of her mother’s criticisms. She -flung her arms about him and hugged him till he cried -for mercy.</p> - -<p>Her savings account was further depleted the next -Saturday. She was surprised to find Roy waiting for -her when she left the department at her lunch hour.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">[179]</span>“No, sis; I didn’t write I was coming. I’ve got to -go back on the first train.”</p> - -<p>“But of course you’ll see mother!”</p> - -<p>“Well, I thought I might call her up,” he said -evasively.</p> - -<p>“Call her up!” Grace repeated sharply. “If you’re -not going out home don’t call her! She’d never forgive -you. Come and have lunch with me so we can -talk.”</p> - -<p>Roy Durland was tall and fair, a handsome young -fellow, though his face might have been thought too -delicate, a trifle too feminine. One would have known -that as a child he had been pointed out as a very -pretty boy.</p> - -<p>“I hate like thunder bothering you, sis,” he began -when they were seated in the lunch room. “But I’m -up against it hard. Harry Sayles and I got a car from -Thornton’s garage the other night and took a couple -of girls out for a ride. It was Harry’s party,—he was -going to pay for the machine. Well, we were letting -’er go a pretty good clip, I guess, when something went -wrong with the steering gear and we ran smash into -a barn and mussed things up considerable. Harry and -Freda Barnes were on the front seat and got cut up a -little. We had to wake up a farmer and telephone to -Thornton to send out for us. Thornton wants fifty -dollars to cover his damage and of course I’ve got to -stand half of it; that’s only square. He’s pretty ugly -about it and says if we don’t come through with the -money he’ll take it up with the college people. Now -I know, Grace,—”</p> - -<p>“Yes, you know you have no business going on joy -rides, particularly with a boy like Harry Sayles who’s -always in nasty scrapes! Who’s Freda Barnes? I -don’t remember a student of that name.”</p> - -<p>“Well, she isn’t exactly a student,” Roy replied,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">[180]</span> -nervously buttering a piece of bread, “but she’s a -perfectly nice girl. She works in Singleton’s store.”</p> - -<p>“That’s one girl; who was the other?”</p> - -<p>“Sadie Denton; you must remember her; she was -cashier in Fulton’s for a while.”</p> - -<p>“No; I never heard of her,” said Grace eyeing him -coldly. “You know plenty of nice girls on the campus -and plenty of decent, self-respecting boys. There’s -not the slightest excuse for you. I suppose Harry provided -the whiskey. There <i>was</i> whiskey of course. -Come, out with the truth about it!”</p> - -<p>“Well,” Roy admitted shamefacedly, “we did have -a bottle but we didn’t drink enough of it to make any -difference. Really, Grace, it was an accident; no one -could have helped it.”</p> - -<p>“I’m not so sure of that. I understand now why -you didn’t want to show yourself at home. The day -I left college you promised to behave yourself and -put in your best licks on your work and already you’re -mixed up in a nasty scrape. It would break mother’s -heart if she knew it. Mother’s crazy about you; she’d -sacrifice all the rest of us for you, and you evidently -don’t appreciate it at all!”</p> - -<p>“I understand all that, sis. I told you I’d be glad -to quit and let you stay on and finish. My hanging -on in the law school is all a mistake.”</p> - -<p>“Well, don’t whimper! It’s too late to weaken now. -You were old enough to know what you were doing -when you took up the law. It begins to look as though -you simply wanted to hang on at the university to loaf -and have a good time. You don’t deserve any pity for -getting into a mess like this. I suppose the story’s all -over the campus.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think so,” he answered quickly, with hope<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">[181]</span> -lighting his eyes. “Thornton promised to keep his -mouth shut if we’d pay his bill. And Harry and the -girls won’t talk.”</p> - -<p>“I imagine not! And you’re letting me into the -secret merely in the hope of getting twenty-five dollars -out of me.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t be so hard on me, Grace! I know I’m a -fool and haven’t sense enough to say no when anybody -asks me to do things like that. But if you’ll help me -out this time I swear never to bother you again.”</p> - -<p>“All right, Roy. I haven’t the money here but I’ll -walk over to the trust company with you and get it. -But be sure this doesn’t happen again. I don’t want -to rub it in but it may help you to keep straight if I -tell you that it’s just about all we can do to get by at -home. Father is earning nothing; the family’s clean -busted. Mother’s pinching and denying herself to be -ready to give you a start when you leave the law -school. I’m not complaining; I’m only telling you this -because I don’t think you mean to make it any harder -for the rest of us than you can.”</p> - -<p>“It’s all a silly mistake,” he said dully, “this trying -to make a lawyer of me. I’ve a good notion to have it -out with mother now and tell her I’ve come home to -stay.”</p> - -<p>“If you do you’re the rankest kind of quitter! You -could have refused to take up the law when you -graduated from college, but now that you have only -a few more months you’ve simply got to make good. -Mother would die of humiliation if you stopped. -Come along; we’ve got to step lively.”</p> - -<p>“Now, Roy,” she said as she gave him the money at -the teller’s window: “Please behave yourself!”</p> - -<p>He left her at the store, repeating his promises that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">[182]</span> -he would never again ask her for money and assuring -her that he would make the most of his time for the -remainder of the year.</p> - -<p>She had dealt with him more severely than it was -in her heart to do and she was a little sorry that she -hadn’t shown more tolerance for his misadventure. -Fairly considered, his joy-riding with undesirable companions -was hardly more censurable than her participation -in Kemp’s party at The Shack, a matter as to -which her conscience was still at times a little tender.</p> - - -<h3>IV</h3> - -<p>Trenton wrote every day, letters in which there was -no attempt to disguise his love for her. He hadn’t -warned her against keeping his letters but she -destroyed each one after writing her reply. These -answers were little more than notes which she wrote -and rewrote in trepidation lest she say too much or too -little. Now that he had declared himself and was -reiterating daily his complete absorption in her as to -everything that affected his future she could afford to -risk certain reserves and coynesses. But she did love -him; she had positively settled this question. It was -a tremendous thing that had happened to her, the -realization of a great love, love awakened at a first -meeting and endowed with all the charm of romance -and the felicity of clandestine adventure. In one of -her notes, written with her door locked—her family -imagined her to be zealously devoting herself to her -French studies—she wrote:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>It is all like a dream. I never cease to marvel that -<i>you</i> should care for me.... Every note you -send me is a happy surprise. If one failed to come I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">[183]</span> -think I should die.... You wanted me to take -time to think. That is like my good and true knight. -But I want you to consider too,—everything.... -Your world is so much bigger than mine. Any day -you may meet some one so much finer than I am, so -much worthier of your love.... I like to think -that it all had to be just as it has been,—you and I -wandering toward each other, guided and urged on -by destiny.</p> -</div> - -<p>To her intimations that he might have regrets he replied -in his next message with every assurance that he, -too, shared her feeling that their meeting had been -predestined of all time. Now and then in his life, he -wrote, he had felt the hand of a directing and beneficent -fate. She wondered how he would have replied -to a direct question as to the forces that had -combined to bring about his marriage to the woman -he had no doubt loved at some time, but she refrained. -In Grace’s thoughts, Mrs. Ward Trenton, the Mary -Graham Trenton who sought clues to social problems -and moved restlessly about the country proclaiming -revolutionary ideas, was receding further and further -toward a vanishing point.</p> - -<p>At the end of a week she became restless, eager for -Trenton’s return. She several times considered telegraphing -him to make haste, but after going once to -the telegraph office at her lunch hour and writing the -message she tore it up. He had asked her to wire -whenever she was sure; the mere sending of a telegram -would commit her irrevocably. It was not so easy as -she had imagined to write the words which meant that -after pondering the matter with the gravity it demanded -she was ready to enter into a relationship with -him which would have no honest status, no protection,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">[184]</span> -but would be just such an arrangement as Irene -maintained with Kemp.</p> - -<p>Irene, aware of Trenton’s daily letters, now refrained -from giving her further encouragement to the -affair. On the other hand she seemed disposed to -counsel caution.</p> - -<p>“Some days you seem as cheerful as a spring robin -and then again you don’t seem so chipper. You don’t -want to take your love affairs so hard!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, we’re just having a little flirtation, that’s all,” -said Grace carelessly.</p> - -<p>“That’s not the way you’re acting! You’re terribly -intense, Grace. I knew you had temperament, but I -didn’t know you had so much. But I’ll say this for -Ward, that he’s a fine, manly fellow,—frankly a much -finer type than Tommy Kemp. Tommy’s a sport and -Ward isn’t. Ward really has ideals, but such as -Tommy has don’t worry him much.”</p> - -<p>This left Grace, again a prey to doubts, wondering -whether after all Trenton was so utterly different from -Kemp. Intellectually he was a higher type than -Tommy Kemp, but when it came to morals he was -not a bit better.</p> - - -<h3>V</h3> - -<p>Grace had not yet wholly escaped from the effect of -Dr. Ridgely’s sermon, with its warning against the -too-readily-found excuse for wrong-doing. She continued -to observe carefully her associates in Shipley’s -and other business girls she became acquainted with, -and she had no reason for suspecting that by far the -greater number were not high-minded young women -who met cheerily all the circumstances of their lives. -She found herself stumbling uncomfortably over the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">[185]</span> -excuses she made for herself. Other girls forced to -labor and blessed with equal charm and wit did not -find it necessary “to play around with married men” -as the phrase went, or encourage the attentions of -young unmarried men who were not likely to show -them every respect. There were societies and associations -whose purpose was to safeguard young -womanhood; some of her new acquaintances were -members of such organizations. She accepted invitations -to go for lunch or supper to several of these, -but thought them dull.</p> - -<p>Finding that Grace hadn’t attempted to enlist Miss -Reynolds in the girl’s club of Dr. Ridgley’s church, -Ethel Durland had sent the pastor himself to invite -that lady to one of the meetings.</p> - -<p>“I hope you will come Tuesday night,” said Ethel, -when she reported this to Grace. “We want Miss -Reynolds to see the scope of our work and your being -there will be a help. Maybe you’d ask some of the -girls in Shipley’s? We want to have a record attendance. -And we want the girls to bring their young -men friends with them. It’s our idea that the girls -should feel that the church is like another home.”</p> - -<p>The attempt to establish a new high record of attendance -brought twenty-five girls and four young -men to the church parlors. Three of the young women -were from Shipley’s and they had gone at Grace’s earnest -solicitation; four were Servians, employed in a -garment factory, and they were convoyed by young -men of their own race.</p> - -<p>“I wish you’d be specially nice to those Servian -girls,” Ethel remarked to Grace. “It wasn’t easy to -get them to come, but they brought their beaux with -them. We must be sure they have a good time.”</p> - -<p>The beaux did not seem to relish the hopeless minority<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">[186]</span> -of their sex. The meeting was opened formally -by Ethel as chairman of the entertainment committee. -She introduced Dr. Ridgely, who expressed -the hope that the club would develop into one of the -strongest agencies of the church. He referred to religion -only indirectly. Grace was again impressed by -his sincerity; and he was tactful and gracious in his -effort to put the visitors at ease. He would not -linger, he said, as a reminder that they were in a -church; the evening was theirs and he wanted the -club to manage its own affairs and define its own -policy to meet the tastes and needs of the members. -No one of any shade of religious faith could have -taken offense from anything he said or feared that -the pastor wished to use the club for proselyting purposes. -However, when he had left, Ethel Durland extended -an invitation to those present who were not -already enrolled in the Sunday school to become -affiliated, and urged attendance upon the regular -church services.</p> - -<p>“How tactless! Why couldn’t she let well enough -alone!” whispered Miss Reynolds to Grace. “Dr. -Ridgely knows better than that.”</p> - -<p>“My sister has a strong sense of duty,” Grace answered. -“She couldn’t bear to let the opportunity -go by.”</p> - -<p>“She might have waited at least till they’d got -their refreshments,” Miss Reynolds retorted.</p> - -<p>A young lady elocutionist who had volunteered her -services recited a number of poems after Ethel had -prepared the way with a few words on the new movement -in poetry. The audience manifested no great interest -in the movement and seemed utterly mystified -by the poems offered. However, Ethel now announced<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">[187]</span> -that the formal exercises were concluded and that they -would repair to the basement where there would -be dancing. Ethel, who did not dance herself and -thought it a wicked form of amusement, had yielded -reluctantly to the suggestion of the other members of -the committee that dancing be included in the programme. -Dr. Ridgely had given his approval on the -ground that young people were bound to dance somewhere -and as there was so much criticism of the prevailing -fashion in dancing he thought it highly desirable -to provide the amusement under auspices calculated -to discourage the objectionable features complained -of in the public dance halls.</p> - -<p>“Well, where are all the young men?” inquired Miss -Reynolds as she stood beside Grace in the basement. -“Those four Servians look frightened to death and -girls don’t enjoy dancing with each other. If the -church is going to do this thing, why don’t they do it -right? You’d think the committee would have got -some young men here if they’d had to ask the police to -drag them in.”</p> - -<p>The music was provided by two negroes, one of -whom played the piano and the other the drum. As -Twentieth Century dance music it was not of a high -order. The musicians, duly admonished by the Chairman -of the entertainment committee, were subduing -their performance in the attempt to adjust it to the -unfamiliar and sobering environment. And the room -itself was not a particularly inspiring place for social -entertaining. A map of the Holy Land and several -enlarged photographs of early members of the church -were the only adornments of the plaster wall, and -the chairs were of that unsteady, collapsible type that -suggest funerals and give the sitter a feeling of undergoing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">[188]</span> -penance for grievous sins. The low ceiling -was supported by iron pillars that added nothing to -the pleasure of dancing.</p> - -<p>A number of girls began dancing together and after -some persuasion Grace succeeded in getting the four -couples of Servians on the floor. The young men -danced with something of a ceremonial air as though, -finding themselves in an alien atmosphere, they wished -fitly to represent the dignity and pride of their race. -Grace picked out several young girls who were huddled -helplessly in a corner and danced with them and -then seized upon the young men and introduced them -in the hope of breaking the racial deadlock. The -young fellows proved to be painfully shy when -confronted by the necessity of dancing with girls they -had never seen before. Nevertheless Grace’s efforts -resulted in putting some life and animation into the -party. It had been said of her in college that she had -the knack of making things go and it struck her suddenly -that something might be done to inject some -spirit and novelty into the occasion by asking the -Servians to give their folk dances. One of the Servian -girls undertook to instruct the negroes in the rhythms -required for the folk dances and the young woman’s -vivacity and the negroes’ good-natured eagerness to -meet her wishes evoked much merriment. The dances -were given with spirit in a circle formed by the rest -of the company, who warmly applauded the quaint -performance.</p> - -<p>“I always wanted to try these folk dances myself!” -cried Grace appealing to the tallest of the young men. -“Won’t you teach me?”</p> - -<p>He would be honored, he said, and the girl with whom -he had been dancing went to the piano. Grace quickly -proved herself an apt and enthusiastic pupil. When<span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">[189]</span> -she had learned the postures and steps of one of the -group dances her instructor took her as his partner and -she went through with it without an error. Others of -the American girls now began trying the steps with -the Servian young men and women, who entered zestfully -into the work of teaching them. The result was -the breaking down of restraint and by the time the refreshments -were served the room presented a scene -of gaiety and good fellowship.</p> - -<p>“You have a genius for that kind of thing, my dear; -you managed that beautifully,” said Miss Reynolds to -Grace as they assisted in pouring chocolate and passing -sandwiches. “You saved the evening! Dear me! -There’s something wrong with this. As an effort to -interest young people in the church this club can’t -say much for itself. Girls won’t go where there are -no young men; I imagine young men are not easy to -lure into church parlors to hear poetry read to them, -particularly poetry that doesn’t mean anything. And -this cellar and the piano and drum can’t compete with -a big dance hall and a real jazz band. This has been -going on about like this for several years, but without -as many girls as came tonight. I don’t know what -could be done, but this doesn’t seem worth while.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know the answer either,” said Grace, who, -more or less consciously, was observing this attempt -to do something for working girls with reference to -her own problems. Her reading had made her familiar -with the efforts of church organizations to meet the -social needs of the changing times. It seemed to her -that these all presupposed a degree of aspiration in -the class sought to be helped. And knowing herself -to have enjoyed probably the best opportunities as to -education of any girl in the room she was troubled, -knowing how feeble was her hold on such ideals of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">[190]</span> -conduct as only a little while ago she had believed -herself to possess.</p> - -<p>“Maybe,” said Miss Reynolds, “those people are -right who say we’re running too much to organizations. -We start a club like this and stick it in a -church basement and are terribly pleased with ourselves. -These girls are all good girls; naughty girls -wouldn’t come; they can have a better time somewhere -else. And they’re just the ones we’ve got to -reach. Am I right about that?”</p> - -<p>“I think you are,” replied Grace, wondering what -Miss Reynolds would say if she could read her -thoughts. To drop Trenton while it was still possible -would make it necessary to reconcile herself to the -acceptance of just such pleasures as Ethel thought -sufficient social stimulus for girls who worked for a -living.</p> - -<p>“Why don’t the church members come to these -meetings?” Miss Reynolds demanded, “or send their -sons and daughters? The minister of this church has -sense and I’ll wager he sees that side of it. A miserable -thing like this only strengthens class feeling. I -don’t believe there’s any way of making such a club -go. The church is put in the position of tagging the -rich and the poor so nobody can mistake one for the -other. I think I’ll spend my time and money on individual -cases—find a few young people who really -need help and concentrate on them!”</p> - -<p>At eleven o’clock the musicians left and the entertainment -came to an end.</p> - -<p>“I’m so grateful to you, Grace, for helping; this is -the best meeting we’ve ever had,” said Ethel after -she had pressed a folder describing the church’s activities -upon the last of the company. “Don’t you think -our work well worth while, Miss Reynolds?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">[191]</span>“I was greatly interested,” Miss Reynolds replied -evasively.</p> - -<p>She took Grace and Ethel home in her car but did -not encourage Ethel’s attempt to discuss the evening. -However, in bidding Ethel good-night she said she -would send her a check for one hundred dollars for -the girls’ club.</p> - -<p>“Your work is important, Miss Durland; I sympathize -with the purpose; but I don’t think you’ve got -quite the right plan. But I confess that I have no -suggestion worth offering. I realize that it’s not easy -to solve these problems.”</p> - - -<h3>VI</h3> - -<p>Grace was not happy! Much as she tried to avoid -the flat conclusion, the best she could do was to twist -it into a question. Love was a worthless thing if its -effect was merely to torture, to inflict pain. She had -told Trenton that she loved him and had virtually -agreed to accept him on his own terms. Why, as the -days passed, was she still doubting, questioning, challenging -her love for him?</p> - -<p>At the end of a rainy day that had been full of -exasperations Grace left the store to take the trolley -home. The rain had turned to sleet that beat spitefully -upon her umbrella and the sidewalks were a -mass of slush. She was dreading the passage home -in the crowded car and the evening spent in her room, -thinking of Trenton, fashioning her daily letter. She -had begun to hate her room where every object seemed -to be an animate, malevolent embodiment of some -evil thought. She had half decided to persuade her -father to brave the weather and return down town<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">[192]</span> -after supper to go to a picture show when, turning the -corner, she heard her name called.</p> - -<p>“Hello, there, Grace!”</p> - -<p>“Why, Bob, is it you?” she cried peering out at -Cummings from under her umbrella.</p> - -<p>He took her umbrella and fell into step with her.</p> - -<p>“Don’t look so scared; of course it’s I. Frankly -this isn’t just chance alone; I’ve been lying in ambush!”</p> - -<p>“This will never do!” she cried, but in spite of -herself she was unable to throw any resentment into -her tone.</p> - -<p>“I’ve got a grand idea!” he said. “I’m playing -hooky tonight. Evelyn called me up this afternoon -to ask if I’d go to dine with an uncle of hers who’s -having a birthday. These family parties are bad -enough at Christmas and Thanksgiving but when they -begin ringing in birthdays I buck. So I told Evelyn -I was too tired to go and that I had a business engagement -anyhow, and would get my dinner down -town.”</p> - -<p>“Do you realize that I’m getting wet? You beat it -for your family party; I’m going home.”</p> - -<p>“Please, Grace, don’t desert me!” he replied coaxingly. -“Let’s have a cozy supper together and I’ll -get you home early.”</p> - -<p>“I told you I’d never see you again!” she said indignantly. -“You have no excuse for waylaying me -like this. It’s unpardonable!”</p> - -<p>“Don’t be so cruel!” he pleaded. “I’ll be awfully -nice—honestly I will! You won’t have a thing to be -sorry for.”</p> - -<p>Firm as her resolution had been not to see him -again she was weighing the relief it would be to avoid -going home against the danger of encouraging him.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">[193]</span>“Where are your manners, sir? You haven’t even -offered to drive me home.”</p> - -<p>“God pity us homeless children in the great city tonight!” -he cried, aware that she was relenting. “My -car’s parked yonder by the Sycamore Tavern. The -night invites the adventurous spirit. We’ll dare the -elements and ride hard and fast like king’s messengers.”</p> - -<p>“Will you keep that up—just that way—pretending -we’re two kids cutting up, as we used to do?”</p> - -<p>“Of course, Grace; you may count on it.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I’m tired and bored with myself, and was -dreading the ride home—I’ll go! But whither?”</p> - -<p>“To McGovern’s house of refreshment at the border -of a greenwood, known to Robin Hood in olden -times!” cried Cummings, elated by her consent. -“We’ll stop at the Sycamore and I’ll telephone the -varlet to make the coffee hot.”</p> - -<p>“I supped there once, years agone! But the crowd -was large and boisterous,” she replied, now entering -fully into the spirit of the proposed adventure. Their -attempt at archaic speech recalled their youthful delight -in the Arthurian legends in days when their world -was enfolded in a golden haze of romance.</p> - -<p>It was impossible to think of Cummings otherwise -than as a boy, and a foolish boy, but amusing when -the humor was on him as now, and to have supper -with him would work injury to no one.</p> - -<p>While he talked to McGovern she went into a booth -and explained to her mother that she wouldn’t be -home for supper, saying that she was going to a -movie with a girl friend.</p> - -<p>“All set?” asked Cummings. “That’s fine. We’ll -move right along. You’ll be in early; that’s a cinch. -Evelyn’s sure to be home by ten and I’ll be practising<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">[194]</span> -Chopin furiously when she gets back from her uncle’s. -Mac wasn’t keen about taking us in as he shuts down -at the first frost. But that’s all the better; nobody -else would think of going there on such a night!”</p> - -<p>They were planning with much absurd detail the -strategy of their approach to a beleaguered capital when -they reached McGovern’s and were warmly welcomed -by the proprietor.</p> - -<p>“It gets mighty lonesome out here in the winter,” he -said. “The missus thought you’d like having supper -right here in the living room so you could sort o’ -chum with the fire.”</p> - -<p>“That’s a heavenly idea,” said Grace, eyeing the -table with covers laid for two. Mrs. McGovern, a -stout woman whose face shone with good nature, appeared -and bade her husband help bring in the dishes. -Whereupon Cummings and Grace rushed to the -kitchen to assist and filed in behind him, bearing serving -dishes and singing a song they had learned in their -childhood:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> - -<div class="verse">“It’s over the river to feed the sheep,</div> -<div class="indent2">It’s over the river to Charlie;</div> -<div class="verse">It’s over the river to feed the sheep</div> -<div class="indent2">And measure out the barley!”</div> -</div></div> - - -<h3>VII</h3> - -<p>The wind whined in the chimney and somewhere a -shutter banged spitefully.</p> - -<p>“That’s the only touch we needed to make a perfect -evening!” said Grace, her cheeks glowing. “I expect -to hear a stage coach come tearing into the yard any -minute pursued by highwaymen. How did you ever -come to think of McGovern’s?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">[195]</span>“Just one of my little happy thoughts! Now that -we’ve found the way there’s no reason why we can’t -repeat,” said Cummings.</p> - -<p>“There you go! This doesn’t establish a precedent; -it belongs to those experiences it’s better never to try -again. But, it’s certainly jolly so far as we’ve gone. -What if somebody should come prancing in?”</p> - -<p>“It’s not a good night for prancing. McGovern -said there hadn’t been a soul here for a week. That’s -why he let us come, I suppose.”</p> - -<p>“I can think of certain persons who wouldn’t add -much to the joy of this particular party,” said Grace -musingly.</p> - -<p>“A little danger adds to the fun! You seem to forget -that I thought it all up; I’m ready to go right on -round the world!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, you are!” she retorted teasingly. “It sounds -awful but sometimes I think it’s cowardice that keeps -most of us good! If you were a philosopher I’d ask -your opinion on that subject but I see you haven’t a -ghost of an idea!”</p> - -<p>He frowned. There had always been a serious side -to Grace. In her high school days she was constantly -dipping into books that were beyond her, treatises -on social science and the like that only depressed him. -He didn’t know, of course, how eagerly she had caught -at the opportunity of spending the evening with him -merely to enjoy a few hours freedom from the turmoil -of her own soul. It interested her for a moment to -sound him as to whether by any chance he was conscious -of the general transformation of things or knew -that their visit to McGovern’s in itself had a significance; -but he was a dreamer who responded only to -the harmonies of life and avoided all its discords. He -was caught up in the whirligig of apparently changing<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">[196]</span> -conditions just as she knew herself to be. Were they -really breaking down the old barriers? Or was the -world, aided by gasoline and jazz, moving so rapidly -that in the mad rush it required a more alert eye to -discern the danger signs?</p> - -<p>The fact that she was eating supper with another -woman’s husband in a place frankly chosen for its -isolation interested her, as so many social phenomena -had interested her since she left the University.</p> - -<p>“Oh, thunder!” he said with a shrug. “There’s no -use in our worrying. Let the old folks do that. I -guess we’ve all got a right to be happy and tastes differ -as to what happiness is. That’s all.”</p> - -<p>This, of course, wasn’t all, but she refrained from -saying so. A look came into his eyes that warned her -to have a care. She must guard herself from an attempt -on his part, which she saw was impending, to -take advantage of the hour to make love to her.</p> - -<p>“Grace,” he resumed, “every time I get blue it’s -you I want to see.”</p> - -<p>“Tush, tush! I’d never have come if I’d thought -you were going to be foolish. Don’t you get the -notion into your silly head that you can run to me -every time you get down in the mouth. There’s no -reason why I should hold your hand when you’re sorrowful; -I don’t want the job!”</p> - -<p>She was eating with an honest appetite that discouraged -his hope of interesting her in sentiment.</p> - -<p>“Wow! I thought you’d jump at the offer!”</p> - -<p>“Have another biscuit! I want to laugh! How -silly this is, Bob! I supposed you brought me out -here to show me a good time and we’re almost at the -point of quarreling.”</p> - -<p>“Now, Grace, we’ll never do that! I didn’t think<span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">[197]</span> -you’d mind the compliment! But,” dolefully, “I suppose -you get so many!”</p> - -<p>He became tractable, obedient, anxious to please -her. She knew that she could do with him very much -as she pleased; but there was no satisfaction in the -exercise of her power over so unstable a character. -She was sorry for him, much as she would have been -sorry for a child who never quite learned his lessons; -and there were lessons Bob Cummings would never -learn.</p> - -<p>After they had eaten their dessert they started the -victrola and danced, and Bob was again the good play-fellow. -They began burlesquing classic dances, and -laughed so boisterously at their success in making -themselves ridiculous that McGovern and his wife -came in to watch them. They had brought themselves -to a high pitch of merriment when McGovern, who -was assisting his wife in clearing the table, darted -across the room and stopped the music.</p> - -<p>“Good Lord; it’s some one knocking!” cried Bob, -as the outer door shook under a heavy thumping.</p> - -<p>“Just keep quiet,” said McGovern. “I guess it’s -some one who’s got into trouble on the road.”</p> - -<p>“People stop for a little gas to help ’em out sometimes,” -said Mrs. McGovern. “Mac’ll get rid of -’em.”</p> - -<p>McGovern, with his shoulder against the door -threw a look of inquiry at Cummings and Grace. -Cummings lifted his head as the voice again demanded -admittance.</p> - -<p>“Sounds like Atwood,—a chap I know,” he said to -Grace. “Who’s with him, Mac?”</p> - -<p>As McGovern opened the door a few grudging -inches a male voice called him by name.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">[198]</span>“Let us in, Mac: we’re freezing to death!”</p> - -<p>“Sorry, but we’re closed for the season,” McGovern -answered.</p> - -<p>“That doesn’t go, Mac! You can’t turn <i>me</i> down,” -replied the voice.</p> - -<p>Before McGovern could answer a vigorous pressure -flung the door open and a young man stepped in followed -by a young woman in a fur coat and smart -toque.</p> - -<p>“Never thought you’d shut the door in my face, -Mac!” said the young man reproachfully. “We’ve got -to have some coffee and sandwiches. Hello, Mrs. -Mac: how’s everything?”</p> - -<p>The young woman, blinking in the light, was walking -toward the fireplace when she became aware that McGovern -and his wife had been entertaining other -guests. She paused and stared, her gaze passing -slowly from Cummings to Grace. Her companion, -finding that McGovern and his wife were receiving -coldly his voluble expressions of regard, now first -caught sight of the two figures across the room.</p> - -<p>“Hello-o-o!” he exclaimed. “Look who’s here!”</p> - -<p>“Why, Jimmie, is that you?” said Cummings with -a gulp.</p> - -<p>“I call it some night! And Mac, the old pirate, -didn’t want to let me in!”</p> - -<p>The McGoverns were hastily retiring toward the -kitchen, Mac tiptoeing as though leaving a death -chamber. The weight of his grievous error was upon -him; never before had he precipitated a wife upon a -husband in so disturbing a fashion.</p> - -<p>Grace was watching the young woman, who pulled -a chair away from the table that still bore evidences -of the recent repast and sank into it. She was tall and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">[199]</span> -slender and the light struck gold in her hair. Feeling -perhaps that Grace’s eyes were upon her, she bent and -plucked a raveling, real or imaginary, from the skirt of -her coat. She unbottoned her coat and drew off her -gloves with elaborate care.</p> - -<p>Her companion stood with his hands thrust into the -pockets of his overcoat, grinning. An old-fashioned -clock on the mantel began to strike to the accompaniment -of queer raspings of its mechanism. The hands -indicated the hour as ten but in the manner of its -kind the hammer within pounded out twelve. There -was a suggestion of insolence in the protracted thumping -of the bell. As the last torturing sound was dying -Grace turned her head slightly to look at Cummings, -who was staring blankly at the lady in the fur coat.</p> - -<p>“What a funny clock!” Atwood remarked with the -jubilant tone of one who has made a discovery of -great value to mankind.</p> - -<p>“It’s a dreadful liar!” said Grace.</p> - -<p>“My grandfather used to have one just like it, with -a basket of fruit painted on the door,” said Atwood, -advancing toward Grace, beaming with gratitude for -her response to his attempt to promote conversation. -He was short, plump and blond, with thin fair hair already -menaced by baldness. He was not far advanced -in the twenties and looked very much like an overgrown -school boy. Grace appraised him as a person -of kindly impulses and possibly not wholly without -common sense.</p> - -<p>Having planted himself beside Grace he remarked -further upon clocks and their general unreliability, -while he rolled his eyes first toward Cummings and -then in the direction of the lady in the fur coat. Grace -had already assumed without the aid of this telegraphy -that the lady was Bob’s wife. Atwood seemed to be<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">[200]</span> -appealing to Grace to assist him in terminating a situation -that was verging upon the intolerable, but she -was unable to see that it was incumbent upon her to -take the initiative. But Mrs. Cummings might sit there -forever unless something happened. Bob continued to -wear the look of one condemned and awaiting the -pleasure of the executioner. Grace felt strongly -moved to walk up to him and shake him. She had -read of such unfortunate meetings between husband -and wife and they were usually attended with furious -denunciations and sometimes with pistols. Without -the sustaining presence of Atwood she would have retired -to the domestic end of the McGovern establishment -and waited for the storm to blow over, but the -storm, if such impended, was slow in developing.</p> - -<p>“This can’t last forever,” said Grace in a low tone.</p> - -<p>“If <i>something</i> doesn’t happen in a minute I’m a -dead man,” Atwood whispered.</p> - -<p>“I think it would be nice if we all got acquainted. -I’m Miss Durland, Mr. Atwood,” said Grace in a tone -audible throughout the room.</p> - -<p>“Thank you so much! I was just dying to know -your name!” he declared fervidly. “Oh, Evelyn——”</p> - -<p>Evelyn lifted her head and looked at him defiantly, -but he squared himself and said:</p> - -<p>“Mrs. Cummings, Miss Durland. I really supposed -you had met before.”</p> - -<p>His voice rose to an absurd squeak as he expressed -this last hopeful sentiment.</p> - -<p>Evelyn bit her lip and nodded, a nod that might -have been intended for Grace or quite as definitely -for an enlarged photograph of an ancestral whiskered -McGovern in a gilt frame that adorned the wall behind -her.</p> - -<p>Grace glanced at Bob, still rooted to the floor, and -he remarked with badly-feigned cheerfulness.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">[201]</span>“Well, I suppose we might as well go home—” -a suggestion not without ambiguity, as there were four -persons in the room and two at least, having just arrived -and awaiting refreshments, might be assumed -to prefer to linger.</p> - -<p>“Not just yet!” said Grace, walking slowly toward -Evelyn. “There’s something I’d like to say to Mrs. -Cummings.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, <i>really</i>——”</p> - -<p>“We’re going in a minute,” interposed Cummings, -with sudden animation. “I think maybe, Grace——”</p> - -<p>“Grace!” Evelyn repeated scornfully. “I’m going -home. Jimmy, I want you to take me home.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, Evelyn; of course we’ll go whenever you -like,” said Atwood. “But, we ought to explain things -a little. I mean you and I ought to explain them,” he -elaborated as he saw her lips tighten. “I wouldn’t -want Bob to think——”</p> - -<p>“I don’t care what Bob thinks!” she flared. “He -lied to me; he told me he had a business engagement, -to get out of taking me to Uncle Fred’s! And this -was the engagement!”</p> - -<p>“But everything’s going to be explained,” Atwood -persisted. “You know there’s always an explanation -for everything, and Bob’s the best fellow in the world—you -know that Evelyn.”</p> - -<p>“I know nothing of the kind! I’ll let him know -at the proper time and place what I think of him.”</p> - -<p>“Well, of course, Evelyn,” said Atwood with his odd -little pipe of a laugh. But he was very earnest; he -brought Cummings to his side by an imperious gesture. -As the man for the hour he was not acquitting -himself so badly; he looked at Grace for her approval, -wasn’t sure that she gave it, but with his hand resting -on Cummings’s shoulder, he spoke directly to the -point.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">[202]</span>“I’m awfully sorry about this, Bob. You know I’m -in and out of your house a lot and you never seem to -mind. And tonight I tried to get you on the telephone -to see if we could do something, the three of us I mean,—run -down to see a picture or any old thing—and the -maid said you were at Colonel Felton’s; both of you, -I thought she meant. And I called up there about the -time I thought the party would be over and found you -weren’t there and asked Evelyn to let me come for her. -And I thought it would be good fun to take a little dash -through the storm and I knew you wouldn’t care. -There couldn’t be any harm in that; we’ve all been -out here together lots of times.”</p> - -<p>“Why, that’s perfectly all right, Jimmie!” exclaimed -Cummings with a flourish of magnanimity which did -not, however, awaken the grateful response he may -have expected from Evelyn, who had murmured an -indifferent, “Thank you, Jimmie,” when Atwood concluded.</p> - -<p>“There’s nothing tragic about this,” Cummings began -a little defiantly. “Miss Durland and I have -known each other all our lives. She’s an old friend. -She came out with me just as a lark; just as you and -Jimmie came. I don’t want you to think——”</p> - -<p>“That will do!” said Evelyn rising so suddenly that -Cummings backed away from her in alarm. “Anything -you have to say to me needn’t be said before -this old friend of yours.”</p> - -<p>“But, Evelyn, you’re not fair!” cried Cummings -hotly. “It isn’t fair to Miss Durland. The whole -fault of her being out here is mine. I’ll not have -you think——”</p> - -<p>“You’re terribly anxious about what I think!” -Evelyn interrupted. “I’ll think what I please!”</p> - -<p>Grace, on her way to the sofa on which she had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">[203]</span> -left her coat and hat, swung round, her face aflame.</p> - -<p>“It may not occur to you, Mrs. Cummings, that -what you think isn’t of the slightest importance.”</p> - -<p>“You act as though you thought it was!” Evelyn -flung back.</p> - -<p>“I’m not acting; you’re doing enough of it!”</p> - -<p>“You’ve probably had far more experience in such -scenes!”</p> - -<p>“With much better actors than your husband, I -hope!”</p> - -<p>“Humph! I don’t believe we’re going to like each -other.”</p> - -<p>“The regret is not mine, I assure you!”</p> - -<p>Grace turned to a mirror to straighten her hat. Her -preparations for departure were provocative of -thought in Atwood’s mind. He expressed the thought -immediately, evidently with the laudable hope of -lessening the tension.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Miss Durland, won’t you let <i>me</i> take you -home? I can run you into town without the slightest -trouble.”</p> - -<p>Evelyn’s surprise at this suggestion betrayed itself -in a spurt of coffee that missed the cup she was filling -and spread in an amber stain on the table cloth.</p> - -<p>Grace was walking toward the veranda door drawing -on her gloves.</p> - -<p>“Thank you ever so much, Mr. Atwood,” she said -evenly. “But Mr. Cummings is going to take me -home!”</p> - -<p>Cummings glanced at his wife, uncertainty plainly -written on his face.</p> - -<p>“Why, yes—yes—” he mumbled.</p> - -<p>“I’m waiting, Bob!” said Grace.</p> - -<p>He gathered up his raincoat and cap. Grace waited -for him to open the door for her.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">[204]</span>“Good-night, Mr. Atwood!” she flung over her -shoulder, and the door closed.</p> - -<p>“Well, there was that!” Cummings said after they -were in the highway.</p> - -<p>“I hope you’re satisfied with yourself,” said Grace -angrily.</p> - -<p>“Good Lord! Didn’t I do the best I could about -it?”</p> - -<p>“You couldn’t have done worse if you’d had a -week to plan it! Instead of standing there like a -fool when your wife came in, why didn’t you walk -right up to her like a man and introduce me? You -were scared to death; you thought of nothing but -how you were going to square yourself with her. You -did everything you could to give her the idea that -you were ashamed of me.”</p> - -<p>“Why, Grace, you can’t mean this!” He slowed -down the car the better to talk. “God knows I did -the best I could. I couldn’t help being surprised when -they came in. And you never can tell how Evelyn’s -going to take anything.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes; it was Evelyn you were troubled about; -you weren’t at all worried about me! When you -came out of your trance and tried to explain how I -came to be there the mischief was already done. Of -course she wouldn’t listen to you then. You certainly -made a mess of it.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t understand you at all! I swear I did -the best I could.”</p> - -<p>“Well, it was a pretty poor best! Please mind -what you’re doing; you’re still so nervous you’ll land -in the ditch in a minute.”</p> - -<p>Thus admonished he steadied himself at the wheel. -Her anger had expended itself and she was now -silently staring ahead at the snow covered road.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">[205]</span>No word had passed between them for several -minutes and Grace, absorbed in her own thoughts, was -hoping that he wouldn’t attempt to discuss the matter -further. Her respect for him was gone; she -disliked him cordially, seeing him only as a timid, -evasive person whose primary impulse was self-protection. -He might play on the wrong side of a forbidden -wall but the moment he was discovered he -would scramble for safe territory.</p> - -<p>He touched her hand so suddenly that she started -and snatched it away with a feeling of aversion.</p> - -<p>“We’ve both been thinking about what happened -back there,” he began. “I don’t know just where it -leaves me; I don’t know how Evelyn is going to -take it.”</p> - -<p>He paused, bending forward while he waited for -some encouragement to go on.</p> - -<p>“I don’t care how Evelyn is going to take it! I -thought I’d made it clear that I didn’t want to talk of -your private affairs any more. They don’t interest -me in the least.”</p> - -<p>“Of course if Evelyn wants a row——”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Bob! <i>Please</i>, be quiet!”</p> - -<p>“But I can’t leave it this way! You’ve meant too -much to me for us to part like this. What I was -going to say was—is——”</p> - -<p>She sighed despairingly and resettled herself in her -place.</p> - -<p>“What I want you to know is that I care a lot for -you, Grace—and if there’s a row—if we break up, -Evelyn and I, I mean——”</p> - -<p>“I think you’ve lost your mind!” she cried furiously.</p> - -<p>“But, you don’t see—you don’t understand——”</p> - -<p>“Oh, but I do! If Evelyn turns you out you think<span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">[206]</span> -maybe you’d like to give <i>me</i> a trial! That’s certainly -an idea! I suppose you have visions of me figuring -in your divorce suit—Cummings against Cummings! -I don’t believe you used to be like this. It’s astonishing -how you’ve deteriorated!”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t expect this from you, Grace!” he replied -bitterly. “I’ve felt that I could always count on -you to——”</p> - -<p>The engine began to cough peevishly and he stopped -to investigate.</p> - -<p>“Here’s luck!” he exclaimed spitefully as he got -back into the car. “Just about enough gas to pull -us to that garage half a mile ahead. I guess somebody’s -pinned a jinx on the evening!”</p> - -<p>“I’ll wait outside,” she said when the car had been -coaxed to the garage.</p> - -<p>“Only a minute, Grace. I’m awfully sorry.”</p> - -<p>As she stood on the cement driveway the whistle -followed by a flash of the headlight of an incoming -interurban car on the track that ran parallel with the -highway caught her attention. Across the road several -people were waiting on the platform and she -resolved to board the car if it stopped before Cummings -reappeared. She was in a humor to annoy him -if she could and as the car slowed down she began -to walk slowly toward the platform and then with a -glance over her shoulder ran and swung herself aboard. -As the car got under way she caught a glimpse of the -roadster as Cummings backed it out. She derived -no small degree of satisfaction from the reflection that -her departure in this fashion expressed her scorn -of him more effectually than anything she could have -said.</p> - -<p>She left the car at the interurban station and walked -home. Her knowledge of life was broadening and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">[207]</span> -that too in divisions of the Great Curriculum of whose -very existence she had had only the haziest consciousness. -Her freedom, the independence she so greatly -prized, was not without its perils. Her thoughts took -a high range; she wondered whether after all the individual -could, without incurring serious hazards, -ignore the warnings and safeguards established for the -protection of society.</p> - -<p>She wanted to laugh over the encounter at McGovern’s, -but in the quiet street it was not so -easy to laugh at it. What society had done to -educate her, to fortify and strengthen her for the -battle of life—a phrase she detested from her mother’s -frequent use of it—counted for naught. She was -alarmed to find that she never really reached any -conclusion in attempting to settle her problems. -When she thought she had determined any of the -matters that rose with so malevolent an insistence for -decision some unexpected turn left her still beset by -uncertainties.</p> - -<p>Two policemen standing on a corner stopped talking -as she passed and she felt their eyes following -her. They symbolized the power of the law; they -were agents of society, they were representatives of -the order of things against which she had been trying -to persuade herself she was in rebellion. She now -seriously questioned the desirability of being a rebel; -such a status had its disagreeable and uncomfortable -side.</p> - -<p>When she reached her room she sat down thinking -she would write her usual daily letter to Trenton; -but with paper before her and a pen in her hand she -was unable to bring herself to it. The disturbance -at McGovern’s had shaken her more than she liked -to believe.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">[208]</span>In her cogitations, as she lay in the dark unable -to sleep, she wondered whether the incident at McGovern’s -might not be a warning, which she would do -well to heed, to discourage Trenton’s further attentions. -Trenton might in a similar circumstances behave -no better than Bob had behaved and she was not -anxious to subject herself to the ire of another indignant -wife.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">[209]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER EIGHT</h2> -</div> - - -<h3>I</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">Grace</span> was keenly disappointed at receiving no letter -from Trenton the next day. She canvassed all -possible explanations of this first lapse in their correspondence. -Whatever might be the cause she decided -not to write until she heard from him again. -She passed an unhappy morning and was relieved -when Irene asked her to go to lunch. It was possible -that Irene might have some news of Trenton, as -he and Kemp were constantly in touch with each -other.</p> - -<p>“Tell me I look perfectly all right—just as though -nothing had happened,” Irene remarked when they -had given their order.</p> - -<p>“Well, if you want to know, you’re just a trifle -paler than usual; but I’d never have noticed it. -What’s the trouble?”</p> - -<p>Irene answered by holding out her left hand.</p> - -<p>“The emerald is no more! Oh, I haven’t sent it -back! I’ve just stuck it down in the bottom of a -drawer with a lot of other old junk. It’s all over, -my dear.”</p> - -<p>“You and Tommy have quit!” Grace exclaimed.</p> - -<p>“Finished, quit—whatever you like. You’ll remember -I told you such things can’t last. Please don’t -think I wasn’t prepared! But to a certain extent -Tommy did fool me. I thought he really cared for -me and I won’t deny that I thought a lot of him.”</p> - -<p>“This is certainly a surprise,” Grace remarked, noting<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">[210]</span> -signs of dejection in the usually placid Irene that -had previously escaped her.</p> - -<p>“Well, I got a line on him a few days ago. It’s -a small world and things have a way of getting round.”</p> - -<p>Irene spoke as one whose philosophy is quite equal -to any demand that may be made upon it. She dilated -upon the general perfidy of man as though -her personal disappointment was negligible and only -to be mentioned for purposes of illustration. She -continued in this vein so long that Grace began to -fear she was not to learn just what had happened to -shatter Irene’s faith in Kemp.</p> - -<p>“Let’s consider all the male species dead and -buried! I’m dying of curiosity. Just what happened -to you and Tommy?”</p> - -<p>“He lied to me, that’s all; and I found him out.”</p> - -<p>“That’s too bad; I’m ever so sorry,” Grace replied, -not knowing whether Irene sought consolation for the -loss of her lover or wanted to be congratulated on -her prescience in foreseeing the inevitable end of the -affair.</p> - -<p>“Oh, it’s all right with me! But I can’t deny that -when it came it was a jar. You see Tommy’s mighty -good fun and awfully clever. I learned a lot from -Tommy; he used to tell me everything. I’ll wager -he’s sorry now he told me a lot of most intimate -things, about people and business and even his family -affairs; but they’re safe, I’d never betray his confidence -even if he has gone back on me.”</p> - -<p>“Of course not; you’d never do that,” Grace assented, -and saw that Irene was pleased by this testimony -to her high-mindedness. “Maybe there’s some -mistake about it. Of course you’ll give Tommy a -chance to explain.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I gave him the chance all right enough. It<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">[211]</span> -was over the telephone and, my dear, you should have -heard him gasp when I put it up to him!”</p> - -<p>“Go on and tell me what Tommy did or let’s stop -talking about it!”</p> - -<p>“I’m going to tell you. You and Minnie Lawton -are the only people I <i>could</i> tell. I’ve been meeting -Tommy at Minnie’s apartment and she has to know -why I’m not going there any more. Tommy’s always -told me I was the only one—that old, old story! -Well, a certain person—he didn’t know I knew -Tommy—was asking me about him the other day. -He said he’d seen Tommy in Chicago with a very -nifty girl he seemed to be chummy with. He saw -them together last Saturday night. Now, Tommy -had a date with me for Saturday evening but he told -me Friday he was going to Chicago unexpectedly with -his wife for the opera. He didn’t take his wife to -Chicago—I easily found that out. Tommy went to -Chi all right enough but not to hear Mary Garden. -So, there’s the end of our little romance.”</p> - -<p>“What did Tommy have to say for himself?”</p> - -<p>“What <i>could</i> he say!” Irene exclaimed disdainfully. -“He wanted to see me of course; said he could explain -everything, but I said good-bye very sweetly -and hung up on him. I’d like to see him explain a -thing like that! I suppose he thought he’d send me -a box of candy and everything would be lovely. I’m -a good deal of a fool, my dear, but hardly to that -extent.”</p> - -<p>“I shouldn’t just pick you out to try putting anything -over on.”</p> - -<p>“They’re all alike!” Irene resumed, ignoring Grace’s -tribute to her perspicacity. “Men expect women to -take everything. Poor Tommy! If he doesn’t stop -drinking he’s going to die real quick one of these days.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">[212]</span> -I guess he didn’t like my lecturing him so much. You -know I was interested in all his plans—he’s no end -ambitious and he used to invite my little hints and -suggestions; not that I really know about machinery -or finance, but I suppose I have got a business head.”</p> - -<p>“You certainly have, Irene. You’ll have a big business -of your own some day or a wonderful position -in New York. You could easily swing our department -now.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose I might, but I’ve almost decided to get -married. Oh, don’t jump! I mean when I see a -good chance. Now that I’m done with Tommy the -idea doesn’t seem so bad. Perhaps,” she added, “perhaps -we’re not fair to marriage! There may be something -in it after all.”</p> - -<p>“There are still people who think so,” said Grace, -impelled to laughter by Irene’s gravity.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I suppose we’ve got to recognize it! How’s -Ward these days? Still roaming the world?”</p> - -<p>“In New York the last I heard of him, and terribly -busy.”</p> - -<p>“Do you know, there’s something pathetic about -Ward Trenton,” said Irene. “There’s something away -back in his mind that he tries to hide even from himself! -You know what I mean? It’s his wife, I suppose. -I saw her picture in a magazine not so long ago -and meant to show it to you. She’s not at all the -frump you’d expect from her being an author and -lecturer, but quite handsome and smartly got up. -It’s certainly queer that a woman like that who has -scads of money and a real man for a husband won’t -stay at her own fireside, but has to trot around showing -herself off. And Ward’s fascinating; those quiet -self-contained men are always fascinating. And they -certainly keep you guessing as to what they think.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">[213]</span> -Take poor Tommy; once he’s away from business he’s -got to be amused. But Ward’s different. That man -does a lot of solid thinking even when he’s out to -play.”</p> - -<p>“He’s kind, he’s awfully kind,” Grace murmured.</p> - -<p>With the Cummings’s episode and its very obvious -lesson still playing through her thoughts Grace eagerly -welcomed Irene’s praise of Trenton, feeling the need -of just the assurances her friend was giving her as -to his fine qualities, which attained a new dignity in -view of Kemp’s inconstancy.</p> - -<p>“Ward’s perfectly splendid,” Irene continued as -though fearing she hadn’t done Trenton full justice. -“I’ve never had any illusions about Tommy; I always -knew I’d have to pass him up some day. But don’t -let me shake your faith in dear old Ward. He won’t -lie to you; he’d tell the truth if it ruined him.”</p> - -<p>“You really think that?” asked Grace with a slight -quaver in her voice which the watchful Irene did not -miss.</p> - -<p>“Of course I think it! But with two people as intense -in your different ways as you and Ward, you’re -likely to hurt each other terribly. I’ve been awfully -careful what I’ve said to you, Grace, about—well—about -going the limit with Ward. But I can see you’re -not just throwing yourself at his head. And Ward, -if I know him, is not going to expect you to.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, he’s fine!” said Grace, averting her eyes. “No -one could be finer, but——”</p> - -<p>“Yes, my dear; there’s that <i>but</i> we always bring up -against! I won’t say a word about Tommy and me. -Of course I never loved Tommy but I thought he was -a good fellow and on the level; and it was exciting -while it lasted. That’s what catches a lot of girls who -go in for such little affairs as mine with Tommy. It’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">[214]</span> -the excitement of doing something they know’s dead -wrong and bound to end in a smash-up.”</p> - -<p>As Grace was eating little and seemed dispirited, -Irene recurred to Trenton.</p> - -<p>“Ward would never be satisfied just to play around -with a girl, knowing that whenever he got tired he’d -chuck her and pick up another. I’m saying this because -I know he fell for you hard that very first night -you met; it was a clear case of love at first sight with -you two. I’m not just kidding you; you know as well -as I do you’re different from other girls. You’ve got -brains and poise. Not that you weren’t always a lot -of fun and a good pal,—I never knew a girl who was -as much fun to play with. But you’ve always kept -your self-respect and held your head high. Ward likes -that in you because he’s that sort himself.”</p> - -<p>“I wish I could believe you’re right but, Irene, -sometimes I don’t feel I know myself at all! When -I quit college I was full of self-conceit and thought -I had a strong grip on myself. I was going to test -out life—find out everything in my own way. But -there are times when I get scared. I thought it would -be fun to drift along for awhile, just trying myself -out and I was sure I could stop whenever I pleased -and settle on something. But I’m not doing it! -What’s the matter with me anyhow?” she demanded -mournfully.</p> - -<p>“You’re in love! Don’t you think I haven’t been -watching the awful symptoms. You’ve got a real -case!”</p> - -<p>“Do you really mean that? Would you really -know?” asked Grace eagerly.</p> - -<p>“Would I know? I could see it with my eyes shut. -And I can see it’s troubling you. These are things -we’ve all got to settle for ourselves, my dear. And -from what I know of Ward I’ll wager he’s taking it<span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">[215]</span> -just as hard as you are. He’s married and he knows -just what the whole thing means. I’d be disappointed -in him if he didn’t give you a good chance to drop -him now even though he suffered terribly. And he’s -of the kind who do suffer all right.”</p> - -<p>“It might be better,” said Grace soberly, “if I didn’t -see him again!”</p> - -<p>“You’re going to be unhappy if you do that. You’d -both be unhappy. Of course, there’s his wife. He’d -be likely to think of her pride and dignity,—chivalry -and all that sort of stuff. And if he got a divorce -and married you the whole business might be unpleasant. -You’re not the sort of girl who could go through -a thing like that without suffering terribly. It’s something -for you to think about, my dear!”</p> - -<p>In spite of her trouble with Kemp, Irene was eating -a substantial luncheon. There were times when -Grace felt an aversion for Irene. The most sacred -relationships of life the girl treated with a cold cynicism -that affected Grace disagreeably. She was pondering -the sordidness of Irene’s liaison with Kemp. The -lofty condescension with which Irene spoke of him -amused Grace only mildly.</p> - -<p>“Wouldn’t it be grand,” Irene continued, “to be -made love to—I mean by some one who really knew -how! Somebody who’d approach you as though you -were a queen and stand in terrible awe of you! The -trouble with all us women nowadays is that we’re -too easy. The next time a man shows any symptoms -of being interested in me I’m going to be the coy -little girl, I can tell you! Oh, I’m not thinking of -Tommy”—her lip curled—“I mean where the man -really respects you first of all. I tell you, Grace, I’m -pretty well fed up on this new woman stuff. Believe -me, I’m staying home with mother these nights knitting -a sweater for father, and Sunday I’m going to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">[216]</span> -put on a big apron and bake a cake—honest, I am! -Women do better as a domestic animal like the common -or fireside cat.”</p> - -<p>“You don’t really think that!” Grace exclaimed.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I know Grace, you’re all for our glorious independence -and fighting in the ranks shoulder to -shoulder with the men. But the trouble is we can’t -fight <i>with</i> them; we’re fighting against them every -hour of the day! My dear, there’s a curse on us—the -curse of sex! There’s absolutely no ducking it. -You may talk all you like about equality and how -men and women meet in business and the woman is -the equal of the man. All right! She may have just -as good a head as the man she’s dealing with but if -she still has home-grown teeth and her face isn’t painful -to look at sex is all mixed up in the figures. You -can’t get away from it.”</p> - -<p>“But, Irene——!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I saw you sell a woman a coat yesterday—that -old girl from up in the bushes whose husband -came along to keep her from blowing his bank roll, -and it was the man you sold that rag to, not the -woman. Sex! You’re a pretty girl, you know, and he -spent twice what he’d let her blow on herself if it -hadn’t been for your blandishments. And when I -go down to New York on a buying jaunt the polite -gentlemen in our line buy me expensive dinners -and take me in swift taxies to the theatre and -to supper and to snappy dance places afterwards. -That’s sex! If the store sends a <i>man</i> down there -the same birds buy him a quick lunch and that’s all. -But a woman’s different! Sex, my dear, sex!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, it’s not as bad as that!” Grace protested. “I -want to be considered as a human being first and -as a woman afterwards. I don’t mind saying that -there have been times lately when I’ve wished I could<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">[217]</span> -see things as mother does, but I can’t. There’s no -use trying to live backwards. I just couldn’t stay -in a house all the time and cook and sew and darn -for a husband; I’d go crazy!”</p> - -<p>“Well, the home life listens good to me right now!” -replied Irene with a sigh. “No; this is my turn -to pay the check. By the way, did you notice that -woman I waited on this morning—the dish-face with -too much paint and pearl earrings as big as your -fist—well,” she broke off abruptly—“here’s a happy -surprise! If I’m not mistaken here’s the tall sycamore -of Raccoon Creek!”</p> - -<p>“What on earth are you talking about—a raccoon -with pearl earrings?”</p> - -<p>“No; a certain party just coming in the door. -Looks like your old college chum who took you to the -football game.”</p> - -<p>Grace turned to find John Moore bearing down -upon their table.</p> - -<p>“You <i>will</i> excuse me, won’t you?” he exclaimed radiantly -as he shook hands. “Oh, I remember Miss -Kirby; ashamed of myself if I didn’t. Well, Grace, -they told me you were up here at lunch so I thought -I’d take a chance. Hope you’ve got a minute. I came -to town on particular business. Sold an Airedale pup -and brought him up to make special delivery.”</p> - -<p>“You have a kennel, Mr. Moore?” asked Irene. -“I adore Airedales.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll say it’s a kennel!” John answered as he drew -a chair from an adjoining table and seated himself. -“Grace knows the place; an old barn, one of the professors -let’s me use for taking care of his furnace. -I’m selling off my pups now before I move to the -great city. I’ll be lonesome without a dog when -I come up after Christmas. When I went West last<span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">[218]</span> -summer as an honest farm hand I had to leave my -dogs for a darky to look after and I certainly did -miss them. But I’ve got twenty-five dollars apiece for -them,” he concluded, with a frank appeal for their -approval.</p> - -<p>He gave Grace the latest news of the university, -explaining his items for Irene’s enlightenment. When -Grace asked him about particular girls he protested -that he had never heard of their existence. Grace -was just kidding him, he said.</p> - -<p>“The fact is, Miss Kirby, since Grace left the -campus I haven’t seen any girls.”</p> - -<p>“I can well believe it,” Irene replied. “With Grace -gone there’s nothing left of the picture but the frame. -She’s one in a million. You’ll look a long time before -you find another girl like Grace Durland.”</p> - -<p>“You’ve said something!” John affirmed, and pretending -that Grace was not present he and Irene engaged -in a lively discussion of Grace’s merits. With -Irene this was of course only a device for flirting -with John. John understood perfectly that she was -flirting with him. As this went on John and Irene -were taking careful note of each other. Two natures -could not have been more truly antipodal. Grace was -amused to see them at such pains to please each other. -She interrupted them occasionally with a question as to -some virtue attributed to her, which they feigned not -to hear but answered indirectly.</p> - -<p>He was already preparing for his removal to the -city and wore a new suit and hat and carried a pair of -tan gloves which obviously had not been worn. He -struck his hat with them occasionally as he talked. -John had always been quick to note little tricks of -manner and speech and when they pleased him he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">[219]</span> -frankly adopted them. His manner of playing with -his gloves was imitated from a young instructor at -the university who carried gloves with him everywhere, -even into the class room, where he played -with them as he heard recitations. John in his new -raiment looked less like a countryman than Grace -had thought possible. She recalled what a cynical -senior had once said of him—that above the collar -he looked like a signer of the Declaration of Independence -but that the rest of him was strongly suggestive -of the barnyard. His eyes missed nothing; -he was too eager to get ahead in the world not to -study his own imperfections and overcome them. -Having impressed John with the idea that for the -few minutes they spent together he was the only specimen -of the male species in the world, Irene languidly -glanced at her watch.</p> - -<p>“Only ten minutes to get back, Grace. I’ll keep -the wheels of commerce turning while you talk to -Mr. Moore. Do forgive me, old things, for keeping -you waiting.”</p> - -<p>As she gathered up her purse and vanity box Moore -protested that he and Grace had nothing to say to -each other which she might not hear.</p> - -<p>“Oh, don’t try that on me!” Irene replied, looking -from one to the other meaningfully.</p> - -<p>“If you leave us alone John will begin talking -poetry,” said Grace. “Please wait, I don’t feel a bit -like poetry today!”</p> - -<p>“There, Miss Kirby; you see Grace doesn’t want -to be alone with me! I’ll tell you what! I’m staying -in town tonight and it would be fine if we could all -go to a show together. There’s a picture I’ve read -about—‘Mother Earth,’ they call it; said to give a -fine idea of pioneer life. I guess we owe it to the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">[220]</span> -folks who drove out the Indians and cleaned up the -varmints to show ’em a little respect, and they say -that picture’s a humdinger. If you don’t like the -notion and there’s some other show——”</p> - -<p>His eyes were bright with expectancy as he awaited -their decision.</p> - -<p>“You see,” he added with a broad smile, “now that -I’ve sold my last pup and paid my debts I feel a little -like celebrating.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you ever so much, Mr. Moore,” said Irene, -“but really, I——”</p> - -<p>“Why, of course you can go, Irene,” exclaimed -Grace, who had not missed Irene’s look of consternation -when John suggested spending an evening viewing -a movie illustrative of the sacrifices of the -pioneers. However, Irene had quickly recovered from -the shock and seemed to be seriously considering -John’s invitation.</p> - -<p>“I’ll be glad to go, thank you, John; but of course -we must have Irene!”</p> - -<p>“Certainly, we want Miss Kirby,” John declared.</p> - -<p>“But if you hadn’t seen me here, Mr. Moore, you’d -never have thought of asking me. You know you -wouldn’t.”</p> - -<p>“Honestly, I thought of it before I came into the -store! Ever since that day you were so nice about -letting Grace off to go to the game I’ve had a feeling -I’d like to show you some trifling attention. I’ll take -it as another favor if you’ll go.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, if you put it that way, Mr. Moore, of course -I accept,” said Irene. “I must skip; you stay, Grace, -and arrange the little details.”</p> - -<p>“It’s mighty nice of Miss Kirby to go,” John remarked -as he resumed his seat after bowing Irene -from the table. “And it must make things a lot easier<span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">[221]</span> -for you to have a fine girl like that to work with. You -can tell she knows her business. I guess nothing’s going -to rattle her much!”</p> - -<p>“What are you trying to do, John; make me jealous?” -laughed Grace.</p> - -<p>“Now Grace, you know——”</p> - -<p>What would John think, Grace wondered—John of -the high ideals and aspirations, if he knew that it was -only because Irene had broken with a man whose mistress -she had been and in consequence was disposed to -take refuge in things wholly foreign to her nature and -experience, that she had accepted an invitation to -attend a picture show that celebrated the joys and -sorrows of the pioneers!</p> - -<p>It was settled that John should go home with her -for supper and that they would meet Irene in the -lobby of the theatre. Grace took occasion to caution -John against mentioning Irene at home. Her mother -and Ethel didn’t like Irene, she explained.</p> - -<p>“I don’t see but she’s a pretty fine girl,” John replied. -“And it makes a hit with me that she’s such a -good friend of yours.”</p> - -<p>“Of course I’m not going,” said Irene when Grace -went back to her department. “I supposed you understood -that.”</p> - -<p>“I certainly didn’t. John wanted you or he wouldn’t -have asked you. You know what you were saying -about sex! Here’s a chance to prove you can forget -it. Let’s assume John’s taking us to a movie merely -because we’re charming and amusing persons; just -as he might take a couple of young men.”</p> - -<p>“Well I don’t care anything about going to a show -right now when I’m wearing mourning for myself, but -I’d just like to sit near that suitor of yours for an -hour or two. He does me good.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">[222]</span>This was not like Irene, and Grace discounted heavily -her friend’s admiration for John. It was merely -that Irene was contrasting John with Kemp, in much -the same spirit that she had praised Trenton at the -lunch table.</p> - -<p>“If he knew me for what I am he’d probably run -like a scared rabbit,” said Irene, slipping a tape-line -through her fingers. “I felt myself an awful fraud all -the time I talked to him.”</p> - -<p>“You can always rely on John to think the best of -everybody and everything,” Grace replied. “He’s a -mighty satisfactory sort of person. If I ever got into -trouble I know John would stand by me.”</p> - -<p>“I believe you’re right,” Irene returned. “A man -with eyes like his is bound to be mighty square. But -when I sat there kidding him about you I did feel awfully -guilty and ashamed of myself. I was afraid -those eyes might see too much!”</p> - -<p>“Come out of the dark!” exclaimed Grace. “We’d -better go to work. John’s going home to supper with -me and we’ll meet you in the Pendennis lobby at a -quarter before eight.”</p> - - -<h3>II</h3> - -<p>The afternoon passed and still no letter from Trenton. -Grace was glad that she had not told Irene -how far Trenton had gone in declaring himself. Not -even Irene should know how much she cared for Trenton. -She indulged in the luxury of self-pity, picturing -herself going through life with the remembrance of him -like a wound in her heart that would never heal. And -after summoning her courage to meet such a situation -she was swept with a great tenderness as she thought<span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">[223]</span> -of him, remembering the touch of his hand, his kiss -on her lips.</p> - -<p>When she called up her mother to say that she was -bringing John home Mrs. Durland reminded her that -this was the night Ethel had asked Mr. Haley to supper. -Grace had been fully informed as to Mr. Haley’s -acceptance of Ethel’s invitation but in her confused -state of mind she had forgotten it. Haley was Ethel’s -discovery and Grace had several times encountered -him in the Durland parlor. Recently Ethel had been -referring to the young man a little self-consciously by -his first name. Osgood Haley was twenty-seven, a -well appearing young man, who was a city salesman -for a wholesale grocery firm. Mrs. Durland had satisfied -herself by inquiries of an acquaintance in the town -in which Haley had originated that he was of good -family and he was thereupon made to feel at home in -the Durland household.</p> - -<p>Ethel had met him in her Sunday school where -within a few weeks after taking a class of boys he had -doubled its membership. It was his personality, Ethel -said; and beyond question Haley had a great deal of -personality. Among other items of Haley’s biography -Ethel had acquainted the family with the fact that -his interest in religion was due to the influence of a -girl to whom he had been engaged but who died only -a short time before the day appointed for their wedding. -Ethel made a great deal of this. Haley’s devotion -to the memory of the girl he had loved was very -beautiful as Ethel described it, and Mrs. Durland said -that such devotion was rare in these times.</p> - -<p>Haley had brought to perfection a manner that not -only had proved its efficacy in selling groceries but was -equally impressive in the parlor. When he shook -a hand he clung to it while he smiled into the face of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">[224]</span> -its owner and uttered one of a number of cheerful remarks -from a list with which he was fortified. These -were applied with good judgment and went far toward -convincing the person greeted that Mr. Haley -was the possessor of some secret of happiness which -he benevolently desired to communicate to all mankind.</p> - -<p>Ethel having gone home early to prepare some special -dishes for her guest, came in flushed from the -kitchen just as Haley arrived with Grace and John, -who had met him on the street-car. Mr. Durland had -meekly submitted to investiture in a white shirt in -honor of the occasion. He had confused Haley with -a young man from Rangerton who sometimes visited -the family. When he had been set straight on this -point they went to the table where the talk opened -promisingly.</p> - -<p>Haley needed no encouragement to talk; he was a -born talker. He was abundantly supplied with anecdotes, -drawn from his experience as a salesman, which -proved that a cheery and optimistic spirit will overcome -all obstacles. John provoked him to renewed -efforts by insisting that theoretically the position of -the pessimist is sound. Haley would have none of this. -He had found, he declared, that hope is infectious and -he derived the liveliest satisfaction from his success in -overcoming the prejudice and reluctance of difficult -customers.</p> - -<p>“You two boys make a splendid team,” remarked -Mrs. Durland. “I suppose you don’t know many people -here, John.”</p> - -<p>“Only frat brothers and boys who’ve graduated -from the University since I’ve been there. There’s -quite a bunch of them, too, for I’ve been plugging -around the sacred groves of academe a long time.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">[225]</span>“I suppose you’ll be so busy when you move to town -you’ll have to limit your social life,” said Ethel. “But -we all need outside interests. Osgood has been here a -year but it was some time before he found just what -he needed.”</p> - -<p>Haley rose to this promptly by saying that being -received in a home like the Durland’s was the pleasantest -thing that had ever happened to him.</p> - -<p>“Of course, John,” Ethel continued, “you will find -a church connection helpful. I hope you will hear -Dr. Ridgley before handing in your letter anywhere -else.”</p> - -<p>“By all means,” said Haley. “I tried several -churches before I finally settled on Dr. Ridgley’s. -He’s helped me over a lot of hard places just by a word -or two. It just occurs to me, Ethel, that John,” (Haley -was already calling Moore by his first name) “would -enjoy Mr. Forman’s bible class. They’re all business -and professional men and Mr. Forman is a thorough -Bible student. If I didn’t enjoy my boys so much -I’d certainly never miss a Sunday morning with Mr. -Forman.”</p> - -<p>“You see, John, we’re trying to fix everything up -for you,” said Mrs. Durland, turning a sympathetic -glance upon Moore.</p> - -<p>Grace was unable to recall that she had ever heard -John speak of churches, though in their walks about -Bloomington he had discussed religion in general terms. -She doubted whether, with his many engrossing employments, -he had been a diligent church-goer.</p> - -<p>“Don’t let them crowd you, John,” she said, seeing -that he hesitated to commit himself.</p> - -<p>“I’m not a church member,” he said diffidently. “I -suppose I’m hardly what you’d call a believer; at least -I don’t believe all you’re supposed to believe if you<span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">[226]</span> -subscribe to a creed. I hope I’m not shocking you -folks but it always seems to me there’s something -stifling about a church. When I was a boy on the -home farm and all the neighbors met at the country -church every Sunday, I always hated to go in; it -seemed a lot cheerfuller outside. I suppose if I got -right down to it I’d say I believe in a great power -that I haven’t any name for, that moves the world. -It’s bigger than any church, and it works in all of us -whether we go to church or not. I suppose if you -got down to bed rock you’d call me an agnostic. But -I’m strong for whatever any church does to help people -live right. When it comes to believing a lot of things -I can’t square with reason I just can’t do it.”</p> - -<p>“That’s about my own idea,” ventured Mr. Durland, -who had been bending over his plate with his -usual stolid silence.</p> - -<p>“We’re not so far apart, John,” said Mrs. Durland, -anxious to avert the deliverance which she saw from -the tense look in Ethel’s face was imminent. “We -all see things differently these days and I think it -better not to discuss the subject. It’s far too personal.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t see how you can say such a thing, mother,” -said Ethel, with painstaking enunciation. “I think it -our solemn duty to discuss matters that affect our -souls. If there ever comes a time when I can’t believe -in God I want to die! I don’t see how any one can -live without the hope of a better world than this. -Without that nothing would be worth while.”</p> - -<p>“Please don’t think I want to destroy any one’s -faith,” John replied. “But for myself I try to keep -tight hold of the idea that it’s a part of our job to make -that better world right here. And if we do that and -there is a better place after death I don’t believe anybody’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">[227]</span> -going to be kept out of it for not believing -what he can’t.”</p> - -<p>“John,” began Haley with a deprecatory smile, -“that’s exactly where I used to stand! You don’t need -to feel discouraged about your doubts. If we just -will to believe we can overcome everything. That’s -the truth, isn’t it, Ethel?”</p> - -<p>Ethel promptly affirmed his statement, and Mrs. -Durland softened the affirmation out of deference for -John’s feelings.</p> - -<p>“I think I agree with John,” said Grace; “I’d like -to believe a lot of things the church teaches but I -can’t; I’m always stumbling over some doubt.”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t know <i>you</i> called yourself an agnostic,” said -Ethel severely.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know that it’s necessary to classify myself,” -Grace replied coldly.</p> - -<p>Haley volunteered to lend John certain books which -he had found helpful in overcoming his own doubts. -John listened attentively as Haley named them and -replied that he had read them and when Mr. Durland -asked John if he had read “The Age of Reason,” Mrs. -Durland thwarted Ethel’s attempt to denounce that -work by remarking that she thought they could all -agree that every effort to promote peace and happiness -in the world was worthy of encouragement.</p> - -<p>“You’ve said something there, Mrs. Durland,” said -John soberly. “I’m strong for that.”</p> - -<p>“I guess that leaves us nothing to quarrel about after -all,” said Haley, beaming with tolerance.</p> - -<p>Ethel resented her mother’s interference with the -religious discussion just when she was ready to sweep -away all agnostic literature with a quotation. And -she was displeased to find John again exchanging -stories with Haley. She had counted much on the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">[228]</span> -beneficent exercise of John’s influence on Grace after -he settled in Indianapolis. Her father was hopeless -where religion was concerned and she had no sympathy -with her mother’s oft-reiterated opinion that there -was something good in all churches. Her indignation -increased as good cheer again prevailed at the table. -She waited till a lull in the story-telling gave her an -opportunity to ask John, with an air of the utmost -guilelessness, the proportion of women to men in the -University. John answered and called upon Grace -to verify his figures. Grace, familiar with Ethel’s -mental processes, groped for the motive behind the -question. Her curiosity as to what her sister was driving -at was quickly satisfied.</p> - -<p>“I was just wondering, that’s all,” remarked Ethel -carelessly. “I suppose I might have got the figures -from the catalogue. Oh, by the way, John, Grace -has spoken of so many of her friends in college I feel -that I almost know them. Just the other day she was -speaking of a Miss Conwell—Mabel, wasn’t it, Grace?—who -must be a very interesting girl. She had her -uncle look Grace up when he was here recently.”</p> - -<p>“Conwell?” repeated John, looking inquiringly at -Grace, who sat directly opposite him. “Do I know -a Miss Conwell?” he asked and catching a hint from -Grace’s eyes that something was amiss he added, -“There’s such a lot of girls down there I get ’em all -mixed up.”</p> - -<p>“She’s from Jeffersonville, you said, didn’t you, -Grace?” asked Ethel.</p> - -<p>“Jeffersonville or New Albany,” Grace answered, -“I’m always confusing those towns.”</p> - -<p>John was now aware that Grace was telegraphing for -help.</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes;” he exclaimed, “I remember Miss Conwell.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">[229]</span> -I’d got the name wrong; I thought it was Conway. -I run into her occasionally at the library.”</p> - -<p>“She doesn’t seem to be in the catalogue,” Ethel -persisted, “but that may be because they don’t know -where she comes from.”</p> - -<p>Haley laughed boisterously at this. John, detecting -a tinge of spite in Ethel’s pursuit of a matter that -apparently was of no importance, answered that he -thought Miss Conwell hadn’t taken up her work till -after the fall term opened, which probably accounted -for the absence of her name from the catalogue.</p> - -<p>“She is a special, isn’t she, Grace?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“Yes; in English,” Grace answered, with a defiant -look at her sister.</p> - -<p>“That’s the girl who’s related to Mr. Trenton?” -asked Durland, vaguely conscious that Grace was under -fire. “I thought that was the name. Trenton,” -he explained to Moore, “is a famous engineer. I guess -there’s nobody stands higher in his line.”</p> - -<p>“He’s the husband of that Mary Graham Trenton -who writes horrible books,” announced Ethel.</p> - -<p>“That’s got nothing to do with Trenton’s standing -as an engineer,” Durland replied doggedly.</p> - -<p>“I guess no man has to stand for his wife’s opinions -these days,” said John conciliatingly.</p> - -<p>“Of course I don’t know what Mr. Trenton’s views -are on the subjects his wife writes about,” said Ethel. -“But Grace probably knows.”</p> - -<p>“You couldn’t expect me to violate Mr. Trenton’s -confidence,” Grace replied.</p> - -<p>Fortunately the meal was concluded and Mrs. Durland -rose from the table.</p> - -<p>“I’m awfully sorry, John,” said Grace, when they -reached the street. “There’s no reason why Ethel -should show her spite at me when we have company.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">[230]</span> -She thought with you there it would be easy to catch -me in a lie. It was a nasty trick; but it was splendid -of you to help me out.”</p> - -<p>“You don’t need to thank me for that,” said John. -“Ethel was sore at me for being a heathen and she -thought she’d pot us both with one shot. And I guess -she did,” he ended with a chuckle. “It would be easy -for her to prove that there’s no Mabel Conwell at the -University. But why make so much fuss about it?”</p> - -<p>“It’s just her way of nosing into other people’s -affairs. If she hadn’t been so nasty about Mr. Trenton -in the first place I wouldn’t have had to lie.”</p> - -<p>“It’s too bad Ethel’s got that spirit. It must be -hard living with such a person.”</p> - -<p>Irene was waiting for them when they reached the -Pendennis. Grace noted that her friend wore her simplest -gown and hat, perhaps as an outward sign of -the chastened mood in which Kemp’s passing had left -her. John sat between them and their enjoyment of -the picture was enhanced by his droll comments.</p> - -<p>“It’s me for the simple life,” said Irene at the end. -“I’ll dream of myself as that girl in the sunbonnet -going down the lane with the jug of buttermilk for -the harvest hands.”</p> - -<p>“The dream’s as near as you’ll ever come to it!” -said Grace. “I can see you on a farm!”</p> - -<p>“I’d be an ideal farmer’s wife, wouldn’t I, Mr. -Moore? I’ve certainly got enough sense to feed the -chickens.”</p> - -<p>“When you weren’t doing that you could feed the -mortgage,” John replied. “Let’s see, which one of -you girls am I going to take home first?”</p> - -<p>They went into a confectioner’s for a hot chocolate -and to discuss this momentous question. Irene lived -in the East End, much farther from the theatre than<span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">[231]</span> -Grace. Grace insisted that if he took her home first -she would think it because he wanted to spend more -time with Irene.</p> - -<p>“That would be perfectly satisfactory to me!” said -Irene demurely.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know that I’d hate it so much myself,” -John replied.</p> - -<p>“Do you ever use a taxi, Mr. Moore?” Irene asked.</p> - -<p>“Not on the price of one Airedale!”</p> - -<p>When he suggested seriously that the whole matter -would be greatly simplified by taking a taxi Irene -would not hear of it. She hadn’t meant to hint; she -was just joking. They continued their teasing until -they reached a corner where Grace settled the matter.</p> - -<p>“Irene wins!” she cried and before they knew what -she was about she boarded her car and was waving -to them derisively from the platform.</p> - - -<h3>III</h3> - -<p>During the preparation of breakfast the next morning -Ethel apologized for her conduct at the supper -table.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t mean to speak of that matter at all, Grace. -It’s none of my business how you met Mr. Trenton. -I don’t want there to be any hard feeling between us. -I realize that we look at things differently and I want -you to know that before Osgood left last night I made -it all right with him. I told him it was just a joke -between you and me about Miss Conwell. I wouldn’t -want him to think we spend our time quarreling.”</p> - -<p>“I hope he thought it was funny,” Grace returned. -“I don’t mind telling you that there’s no such person -as Miss Conwell. John backed me up just because -he resented the way you were ragging me. He knew<span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">[232]</span> -perfectly well there’s no Mabel Conwell at the University.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Durland entered the kitchen in time to catch -this last remark.</p> - -<p>“I hope you know, Grace, that neither Ethel nor I -have any wish to question you about your friends. -I scolded Ethel for asking you about Miss Conwell -before company. I’m sure she’s sorry.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve apologized to Grace, mother,” said Ethel -meekly.</p> - -<p>“We assume, Grace,” said Mrs. Durland, “that you -mean to hold fast to the ideals we’ve tried to teach -you at home. We trust you, dear; you know that. -You know all the dangers that a young girl’s exposed -to and I believe you mean to make something fine and -beautiful of your life. I expect that of both you girls.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t like being pecked at and quizzed,” Grace -replied. “I’ll attend to the bacon, Ethel; you needn’t -bother about it.”</p> - -<p>“I hope you and John had a pleasant evening,” said -Mrs. Durland.</p> - -<p>“Yes; it’s a very good picture. We all enjoyed it. -Irene went with us.”</p> - -<p>“Irene Kirby went with you and John to the picture -show!” exclaimed Mrs. Durland. “I don’t believe -you said Irene was going.”</p> - -<p>“Grace naturally wouldn’t mention it,” said Ethel, -lifting the lid of the coffee pot and closing it with a -spiteful snap.</p> - -<p>“Now, dear, let’s think the best we can of every one,” -said Mrs. Durland. She had with difficulty persuaded -Ethel to apologize to Grace for questioning her about -the imaginary Miss Conwell and it seemed for an instant -that her efforts to promote harmony were to fail, -now that Grace had mentioned Irene.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">[233]</span>“Oh, it happened by accident!” Grace explained. -“Irene and I were lunching together at the store -and John strolled in looking for me. And he was -polite enough to include Irene in his invitation.”</p> - -<p>“I’d hardly expect her to do anything as tame as -going to a picture show,” said Ethel.</p> - -<p>“Well, as I’ve said before, Irene isn’t as bad as you -paint her. You probably wouldn’t think she’d waste -time on John, but they get on famously.”</p> - -<p>“John isn’t quite what I thought he was,” said -Ethel, ignoring her mother’s signal for silence.</p> - -<p>“That’s because he wouldn’t let you choose a church -for him,” said Grace, gingerly drawing a pan of corn -muffins from the oven. “John lives his religion, which -is a lot better than parading it all the time.”</p> - -<p>“Now, Grace, Ethel didn’t mean to reflect on John,” -Mrs. Durland hastened to explain.</p> - -<p>“It may give you a better impression of John to -know he’s been very kind to Roy,” said Grace.</p> - -<p>“How’s that, Grace?” asked Mrs. Durland quickly. -“I didn’t get a chance to ask John about Roy.”</p> - -<p>“John wouldn’t have told you he’d been helping Roy -even if you’d asked him. John doesn’t advertise his -good works. But I had a letter from one of the girls -the other day and she was teasing me about John. -She said he must be seriously interested in me for he’d -been coaching Roy in his law work. I call it perfectly -splendid of John when he has so much to do.”</p> - -<p>“It’s certainly kind of John,” said her mother, “I -wish you’d told me so I could have thanked him. But -I didn’t suppose Roy needed coaching. He’s working -very hard; he’s sent just scraps of letters all winter -and gives as his excuse that he’s too busy to write.”</p> - -<p>“We’ve all got to begin thinking about what Roy -will do after he’s graduated,” said Ethel. “I’ve talked<span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">[234]</span> -to some of the lawyers who come into our office and -they all say he’d better go into an office as clerk until -he gets started. A young man can’t just hang out -his shingle and expect business to come to him.”</p> - -<p>“It’s too bad your father isn’t in a position to help -Roy,” sighed Mrs. Durland.</p> - -<p>“Why not let Roy make some suggestions himself -about what he wants to do,” said Grace. “He’s got to -learn self-reliance sometime. John Moore hadn’t anybody -to boost him and he’s already found a place in -one of the best offices in town.”</p> - -<p>“But Roy’s case is very different,” replied Mrs. Durland, -instantly on the defensive. “John’s older for -one thing and the hard work he’s done to get his education -naturally arouses sympathy. I want us all to -make Roy feel our confidence in him. I’m getting anxious -to have him home. He’s going to be a great comfort -to me and it will be fine for you girls to have your -brother back. You can both of you do a lot for him. -And, Grace, he can help you solve many of your problems,—socially -I mean.”</p> - -<p>“I shall want Roy to know all my friends,” said -Ethel. “Since I’ve been with Gregg and Burley I’ve -made a good many acquaintances among men who -are in a position to help Roy.”</p> - -<p>“Roy’s fine social side is bound to be a help to -him in his profession,” said Mrs. Durland. “He’s -always been a friendly boy.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, mother,” Grace replied. “Roy certainly has -a way of making friends.”</p> - -<p>She refrained from saying that these friends were -not always wisely chosen. She dreaded the time when -he would finish at the University and begin his efforts -to establish a law practice. A good many young men -of the best type of ambitious student had confided in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">[235]</span> -her as to their plans for the future and she thought she -knew pretty well the qualities essential to success. -Roy was blessed with neither initiative nor industry, -and she knew as her mother and Ethel did not, the -happy-go-lucky fashion in which he had played -through his college course, and his rebellion against -undertaking the law. It was quite like him to lean -upon John Moore. He must be doing badly or John -would not have volunteered to aid him.</p> - -<p>As they ate breakfast, with Mr. Durland dividing -attention between his food and his newspaper, Mrs. -Durland’s usual attempt to create an atmosphere of -cheer for the day struck Grace as pathetic in its futility. -Hearing her father’s voice she roused herself to find -that her mother had asked him to look in the market -reports for the quotations on turkeys. Christmas was -approaching and Roy would be home; and Mrs. Durland -was speculating as to whether a turkey for the -Christmas dinner would be too serious a strain on the -family budget. Durland shifted uneasily in his chair -as his wife recalled that they had never been without a -Christmas turkey since they were married. Grace -noting the fleeting pain in her father’s patient eyes, -hastened to say that beyond question the turkey would -be forthcoming. It was a relief to be out of the house, -walking to the car with her father who was laden as -usual with his notebooks and drawings.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_236">[236]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER NINE</h2> -</div> - - -<h3>I</h3> - -<p>“<span class="smcap">What’s</span> the difference, lady?”</p> - -<p>The remark she had heard the salesgirl make to the -critical shopper was often in Grace’s mind. What did -anything really matter! But the aisles at Shipley’s -were crowded with importunate holiday shoppers, and -she was able to forget herself in her work. She had -been complimented by the superintendent of the store; -she was already one of the most successful saleswomen -in her department. She had earned as high as fifty -dollars a week, not a contemptible sum, even if to earn -it she had become Number Eighteen at Shipley’s!</p> - -<p>Four days passed and still no word from Trenton. -On two nights Grace cried herself to sleep in a confusion -of emotions—loneliness, fear that some evil had -befallen him, mortification that she had listened to his -protestations of love, and hope that he would yet explain -himself. Her repeated efforts to shut him out of -her mind failed miserably. She had not known until -his communications ceased how much she counted on -him, or how completely he had captivated her imagination.</p> - -<p>As she waited for a customer to decide upon a wrap -her gaze fell upon a young woman whom she recognized, -after a bewildered moment of uncertainty, as -Mrs. Bob Cummings.</p> - -<p>Briskly summing up the arguments in favor of the -garment her customer was considering, Grace was disagreeably -conscious that Evelyn appeared to be waiting -for an opportunity to speak to her. Grace answered -perfunctorily the last question of her customer -and made out the charge slip. As she concluded the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">[237]</span> -transaction and bade her customer good morning -Evelyn crossed the room.</p> - -<p>“Please pardon me, Miss Durland!” she began, half -extending and then withdrawing her hand.</p> - -<p>“Is there something I can show you?” asked Grace -in her most business-like tone.</p> - -<p>“Not a thing, Miss Durland,” said Evelyn and -smiled ingratiatingly. “You are terribly busy I know, -but there’s something I want to say to you; it will -take only a minute. I’m sorry I was so rude the other -night; may I—apologize?”</p> - -<p>“That’s quite unnecessary,” said Grace coldly, and -was instantly vexed that she had thought of no better -response. Evelyn, embarrassed for a moment, smiled -again. She was much prettier than Grace had thought -her at McGovern’s.</p> - -<p>“It was all so ridiculous!” said Evelyn, now perfectly -composed. “Bob’s such a baby! I didn’t mind -at all your going out to supper with him. What I -did mind was his acting like an idiot when I walked -in on you. Jimmie was just as idiotic—the idea of explaining -anything! And then <i>Bob</i> must try to explain! -That bored me just as it bored you. Of -course I wasn’t going to let him explain! But I’m -sorry I lost my temper and spoke to you as I did. -Won’t you forgive me?”</p> - -<p>“If there’s any forgiving to be done let’s both do -it!” said Grace; and they smiled at each other.</p> - -<p>“Men are such fools!” exclaimed Evelyn, as though -greatly relishing the statement. “Nothing ever pleased -me more than the way you made Bob take you home. -And then he came back to McGovern’s and complained—actually -complained to <i>me</i>!—that you had -given him the slip! He did that—really he did! Can -you imagine it?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">[238]</span>Her mirth over the affair had communicated itself -to Grace. It hadn’t occurred to her that Bob might -have returned to McGovern’s when she left him.</p> - -<p>“Bob is so obvious!” Evelyn continued. “He’s just -got to have sympathy. Really, he wanted <i>me</i> to sympathize -with him because you shook him in the road! -Jimmy and I teased him till he cried for mercy. Bob’s -a dear boy but he needs just the jar you gave him. -You were perfect! And you won’t think the worse -of me will you, for losing my temper?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly not!” said Grace, “I’ve known Bob so -long——”</p> - -<p>“Yes; the moment Jimmy spoke your name I knew -all about you, and understood everything. He wanted -sympathy and being a sentimental person he sought -you out of the score of old friendship. Just like him! -Selfish is no name for him! But to think he was afraid -of me! He gave himself away terribly! He’s so meek -now it’s positively pathetic!”</p> - -<p>To be laughing over Bob’s frailties with Bob’s wife -was something that hadn’t figured in Grace’s calculations. -The superintendent, on his way through the -department, frowned to see Number Eighteen neglecting -her duties to chat with a caller, but recognizing -Mrs. Cummings he asked deferentially whether she -was finding what she wanted.</p> - -<p>“Miss Durland is taking excellent care of me,” -Evelyn replied. “I’m violating all the rules, I suppose,” -she said when the man had passed on. “If they -scold you let me know and I’ll speak to Mr. Shipley -about it. Just one thing more! Bob has told me -about your father and the way Mr. Cummings, senior, -treated him. It wasn’t fair; Bob says that. I’d like -you to know I’m sorry——”</p> - -<p>“It was all in the way of business,” said Grace.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">[239]</span> -“I have no feeling about it; I’m only sorry for my -father and mother. It was a blow they hadn’t expected.”</p> - -<p>“It wasn’t nice,” said Evelyn decisively. “I wish -we could really become acquainted. I’m going to ask -you up for dinner soon—please don’t say no! There -are some young people I’d like you to meet. Good-bye -and thank you ever so much.”</p> - - -<h3>II</h3> - -<p>Grace turned to a waiting customer with a kindlier -feeling for all the world. She was uncertain whether -in like circumstances she would have been capable of -the kindness and generosity Evelyn had manifested. -It pleased her to believe that her education in the ways -of the changing, baffling world was progressing.</p> - -<p>Evelyn Cummings was evidently a young woman -without illusions; she knew exactly how to manage a -temperamental husband. Marriage, as Grace viewed -it with the three different illustrations afforded by -Kemp, Trenton and Cummings, was of the realm of -insubstantial things. Even the spectacle offered in her -own home by her father and mother, between whom -disappointment and adversity had reared a wall no -less grim because of their steadfast loyalty, was hardly -convincing on the other side of the picture. Stephen -Durland and his wife were held together by habit, by -a deeply implanted sense of duty to their children. -Grace could not remember when her father had kissed -her mother, or in any way manifested any affection -for her. And yet in the beginning they must have -loved each other. She wondered whether it was always -like that!</p> - -<p>She had given up all hope of hearing again from<span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">[240]</span> -Trenton when on the tenth day she received a note -postmarked New York, that set her heart fluttering.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p>My Dear Little Girl:</p> - -<p>What must you think of me! I think pretty poorly -of myself, I can tell you. Picked up a cold on my way -East. Pretended it didn’t amount to anything; -motored down into New Jersey for a week-end with -some old friends. Got chilled on the drive; pneumonia -almost. My host was afraid I’d die on his hands and -made a frightful row—couple of doctors, nurse and -all the other frills.... I had no way of letting -you know. Found your letter when I came into town -this morning. I’m away behind on my jobs.... -The great thing is that I want to see you and look -into those dear, dark eyes again.... One day -at twilight down there in the country, I thought of -you so intently that I really brought you into the -room! The nurse was sitting beside the bed, then -suddenly you were there, your dark head clearly outlined -in the dusk. You lifted your hand to touch your -hair—that’s a pretty trick you have! You have so -many dear ways—and you smiled—another sweet way -you have!—the smile coming slowly, like a dawn, until -it brightened all the world. The illusion was so -perfect that it wasn’t an illusion at all, but really you! -I was terribly indignant at the nurse when she turned -on the light and I lost you.... The doctor says -I may travel in three or four days and my thoughts -carry me in only one direction. You haven’t sent me -the telegram I hoped for; never mind about that. -Please wire me that you are well. And if you put in -a word to say that you want to see me I shall be the -happiest man alive. Be assured of my love always.</p> -</div> - -<p>He hadn’t forgotten her; he really cared! She -moved with a quicker step; her work had never gone -so smoothly. While she had been doubting him, trying -to put him out of her heart he had been ill. She -was unsparing in self-accusation for what now seemed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">[241]</span> -the basest disloyalty. She tried to picture the room -to which his longing had summoned her. Those lines -in his letter moved her deeply and set her to speculating -whether such a thing might not be possible in the -case of two beings who loved each other greatly.</p> - -<p>There was no intimation in the letter that his wife -had been with him in his illness. Grace grew bitter -as she thought of Mrs. Trenton, who was probably -roaming the world preaching a new social order -to the neglect of her husband. In countenancing -Trenton as a lover Grace found Mrs. Trenton’s conduct -her most consoling justification. It came down -to this, that if Ward Trenton’s wife failed in her -marital obligations there was no justice in forbidding -him to seek happiness elsewhere.</p> - -<p>This view was in fact advanced in Mary Graham -Trenton’s “Clues to a New Social Order.” It seemed -a fair assumption that Mrs. Trenton wouldn’t advocate -ideas for all mankind that she wouldn’t tolerate -in her own husband.</p> - -<p>At her lunch hour Grace went to the telegraph office -and sent this message:</p> - -<p>“Greatly troubled by your illness. Please take good -care of yourself. You may be sure I shall be glad to -see you.”</p> - -<p>“Straight telegram, paid,” the clerk repeated perfunctorily, -and swept the message under the counter. -The sending of the telegram gave Grace a gratifying -sense of kinship with the larger world which Trenton’s -love had revealed to her. She found happiness all the -afternoon in wondering just what he would be doing -and how he would look when the message reached -him. She wrote that night the longest letter she had -yet written him. She thought often of what Irene -had said about wanting to be loved. To be loved, in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">[242]</span> -the great way that Miss Reynolds had said was the -only way that counted,—this had become the great -desire of her heart. Old restraints and inherited moral -inhibitions still resisted her impulse to fashion her -life and give herself as she pleased. She meant to be -very sure of Trenton and even more sure of her own -heart before committing herself further. She was not, -she kept assuring herself, an ordinary or common type. -She dropped into her letter several literary allusions -and a few French phrases with a school girl’s pride -in her erudition. There were times when Grace was -very young!</p> - -<p>Trenton’s next letter reported his complete recovery. -He was working hard to make up for lost time, but -would leave for the West as soon as possible and hoped -to spend Christmas in Indianapolis. Incidentally he -had business there in which she might be able to assist -him. This was further explained in a typewritten enclosure -which he asked her to deliver to her father. -He warned her that the inquiry might lead to nothing, -but there were certain patents held in Stephen Durland’s -name which he wished to investigate.</p> - -<p>“The name Durland,” he wrote, “gave me a distinctly -pleasant shock when the memorandum turned -up on my desk in the routine of the office. There may -be a place where I can use some of your father’s -ideas; but in this business we’re all pessimists. I appoint -you my agent and representative on the spot. -Don’t let your father dispose of any of the patents -described in my letter till we can have an interview.”</p> - -<p>She made the noon hour the occasion for one of -her picnic lunches with her father in his work shop.</p> - -<p>He looked up from a model he was tinkering and -greeted her with his usual, “That you, Grace?”</p> - -<p>“Very much Grace!” she answered, tossing her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_243">[243]</span> -packages on the bench. “What are you on today—perpetual -motion or a scheme for harnessing the sun?”</p> - -<p>“A fool thing a man left here the other day; wanted -me to tell him why it didn’t work. It doesn’t work -because there’s no sense in it.”</p> - -<p>As he began to explain why the device was impracticable -she snatched off his hat and flinging it -aside with a dramatic flourish handed him a sandwich.</p> - -<p>“Don’t waste your time on such foolishness; we’re -only interested in machines that work!”</p> - -<p>She sprang upon the bench and produced Trenton’s -letter.</p> - -<p>“Let your eye roam over that, old top! And don’t -tell me you’ve let somebody take those things away -from you.”</p> - -<p>Durland pondered the letter, lifting the business -sheet closer to his eyes as he examined Trenton’s -small neat signature. He walked to a closet and extracted -some papers from the confused mass within.</p> - -<p>“Well, daddy, what’s the answer?”</p> - -<p>“I got those patents all right; they cover my improvements -on my old gas engine Cummings is making. -There’s already been a fellow nosing round asking -about ’em; from Cummings I guess. I got something -now that’s going to interest everybody that’s -making motors; something I been working at two or -three years. Cummings can’t have ’em. He hasn’t -got any right to ’em!”</p> - -<p>His eyes flashed as his hatred of Cummings for the -moment possessed him. Grace had never taken -seriously her father’s hints that Cummings might have -got rid of him too soon. She had never before seen -him so agitated. He paced the floor, reiterating that -his former associate should never profit by his improvements<span class="pagenum" id="Page_244">[244]</span> -on any of the old Cummings-Durland devices. -He paused, picked up an apple and bit into it -savagely.</p> - -<p>“Now, daddy,” said Grace, “it isn’t at all like you -to flare up that way. Mr. Trenton hasn’t a thing to -do with Cummings; I happen to know that. But he’s -a business adviser and particular friend of Kemp.”</p> - -<p>“Kemp!” Durland repeated, lifting his head with a -jerk. “You think maybe Kemp’s interested? Kemp -could use these patents; there isn’t a thing in these -improvements that wouldn’t fit right into Kemp’s -motor!”</p> - -<p>“That’s perfectly grand! Now that you’ve got your -patents, what you want to do is to sit back and wait. -There must be something pretty good in your ideas or -Mr. Trenton wouldn’t be interested. Wouldn’t it be -wonderful if the dollars would begin to roll in?”</p> - -<p>“I’ve been fooled a lot of times, Grace,” he answered, -picking up his hat, staring at it as though it -were an unfamiliar thing and clapping it on his head. -“I guess you better not say anything about this at -home. If it doesn’t come to anything I don’t want -your mother disappointed.”</p> - -<p>“Of course not; it’s our big secret, daddy. I just -love having secrets with you. After the row at home -the other night about Mr. Trenton’s niece we’d better -never mention him.”</p> - -<p>“What was that all about, Grace?” he asked frowning. -“I didn’t get what Ethel was drivin’ at.”</p> - -<p>“Just making herself disagreeable, that’s all. I -told a fib, but Ethel had no business to attack me -that way before guests.”</p> - -<p>“Ethel’s kind o’ different somehow,” he said, drawing -the back of his hand across his mouth. “I guess -she means all right. Funny, you children ain’t any<span class="pagenum" id="Page_245">[245]</span> -of you alike,” he went on ruminatively. “I don’t -ever seem to get much out o’ Ethel and Roy.”</p> - -<p>“Roy and Ethel are both fond of you, daddy. And -you know I adore you; I’m simply crazy about you!”</p> - -<p>She pounced upon him and threw her arms about -his neck, laughing at his struggles to avoid the kisses -she distributed over such parts of his face as were -free of grime.</p> - -<p>“You’re a mighty fine girl, Grace. There mustn’t -anything happen to you,” he said, freeing himself.</p> - -<p>“Oh, you needn’t be afraid, you dear angel! Nothing’s -going to happen to me! Here’s where I skip—vamoose—disappear! -I’m going to take you to a show -tonight—yes, I am! You be awfully surprised when -I spring it at supper.”</p> - - -<h3>III</h3> - -<p>Trenton wrote again that he would reach town at -noon of Christmas day and expected to remain a -week.</p> - -<p>“Why didn’t you tell me Ward’s been sick?” asked -Irene when Grace told her that he was coming. -“You’re certainly the secretive little one.”</p> - -<p>“How did you know it?” Grace demanded. “You -and Tommy made up?”</p> - -<p>The girls were putting up stock at the end of the -day and quiet reigned over the department, broken -only by the voices of gossiping employees.</p> - -<p>“I’ve been dying to tell you something all day,” -said Irene holding up her hand on which the emerald -had been restored to it’s old place. “Yes; Tommy told -me about Ward.”</p> - -<p>“Well——”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I’ve just taken him back on trial,” said Irene<span class="pagenum" id="Page_246">[246]</span> -with a sigh. “Poor Tommy! Minnie got me up to her -apartment last night for supper and who should walk -in but Tommy! He swore that girl in Chi didn’t -mean anything in his life. He saw her just once when -he had dinner with her and some other people; he was -careful to mention the other people! I believed him -even if he had denied the whole business on the telephone. -Tommy looks terribly pathetic. He’s going to -die if he doesn’t check up. His wife’s gone to California -for the winter, and he’s drowning his sorrow in -too much booze. Another victim of prohibition! -Tommy’s one of the million who didn’t know he had -to have it till they took it away from him!”</p> - -<p>“Well, I’m glad you’ve fixed it up. It’s much nicer -to be friends with him.”</p> - -<p>“Just a friend, that’s all,” replied Irene, slowly -shaking her head. “The poor boy really needs somebody -to keep him straight. From what he said his -wife went away in disgust. Why don’t these women -stay at home and look after their husbands and not -leave the job to us poor working girls!”</p> - -<p>“Irene, you’re a perfect scream! Don’t make me -laugh like that or we’ll never get this stuff put away.”</p> - -<p>“It’s not a laughing matter,” said Irene, maintaining -her tone of lofty indignation. “I can tell you right -now that a woman who parks her husband’s taking -an awful chance.”</p> - -<p>Before they separated Irene warned Grace that -Kemp had it in mind to drive them with Trenton to -The Shack Christmas afternoon.</p> - -<p>“He wanted us to have dinner out there but I told -him nothing doing. I’d promised to play with my -family and besides I can’t let him think I’m forgiving -him too easy.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_247">[247]</span></p> - - -<h3>IV</h3> - -<p>On Christmas morning as Grace was helping in the -kitchen John Moore called her on the telephone. He -had moved to town the day before and thought it -would be fine if they could ride to the end of one of the -trolley lines that afternoon and take a tramp. Grace -excused herself with the plea that she already had an -engagement to go to a matinee.</p> - -<p>She sang about her work, watching the clock to -mark the approach of the hour of Trenton’s arrival. -His coming would bring a crisis in her life. The exchange -of gifts in the household, the cheer all the -members of the family were trying to bring to the day -and the train of associations the festival inevitably -awakened touched her; but not as in other years. -There was a difference now. She stood free, self-assured, -confidently seeing in life a great adventure.</p> - -<p>As quickly as possible after dinner she flew to her -room to dress, and at half-past two reached Minnie -Lawton’s, where she found Irene waiting.</p> - -<p>“Tommy took Ward to The Shack from the train. -They had dinner out there. Tommy’s car’s waiting, -so we’ll prance right along.”</p> - -<p>Grace was disappointed at not seeing Trenton at -Minnie’s and on the drive to The Shack talked little.</p> - -<p>“You either don’t want to see him at all, or you’re -consumed with anxiety,” commented Irene.</p> - -<p>Kemp had given her a thousand dollar bond for a -Christmas present. Her acceptance of the gift she -mentioned without apology. She was going to save -her money, she said in her spacious manner; a girl -who didn’t put away something for a rainy day was -a fool.</p> - -<p>The car was stopped suddenly just inside the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_248">[248]</span> -entrance to Kemp’s farm and Trenton smilingly -opened the door.</p> - -<p>“Merry Christmas! Tommy refused to leave the -fire!—the poor old salamander! But being of tougher -fibre, here I am to meet you!”</p> - -<p>His unexpected appearance had found Grace unprepared -and she was grateful for the moment his -banter with Irene gave her to adjust herself. He stood -with head bared, the wind ruffling his hair. The -astrakan collar of his overcoat, turned up about his -neck, set off effectively his handsome head and high-bred -face. He was indubitably handsome, a man to -be noticed in a crowd. Grace felt a new pride in the -knowledge that he loved her. She laughed at some -mocking reply he gave Irene and found his gaze upon -her, the grave eyes all tenderness.</p> - -<p>“For heaven’s sake, get in, Ward!” exclaimed Irene. -“You’ll catch your death standing there.”</p> - -<p>“I’m going to live forever! Grace, are you shod for -a walk? Then we’ll let Irene drive on!”</p> - -<p>He led the way to a point where the driveway -skirted a woods-pasture, and opened a gate. The -sense of strangeness at being with him again passed -quickly as he began answering her questions about his -illness. He declared that he was too well-seasoned -to be killed by a cold. And besides he had found -that he had something to live for, and that made a -difference. A year before he would have relinquished -his life without regret; now through her he had found -the hope and the promise of life.</p> - -<p>“I couldn’t bear the idea of going indoors until I’d -had you all to myself a little while.”</p> - -<p>The trees rose tall and black against the bluest of -winter skies. A southwest wind whined fitfully -among the boughs overhead. Grace felt the power of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_249">[249]</span> -elemental forces in her blood. She was a free spirit -in a world where the children of men were created of -all time to be free. Through what Trenton was saying -and her replies this thought was dominant. It -lifted her to a mood of exaltation; it seemed that she -could touch the heavens with her finger tips. A -branch of brier caught her skirt and Trenton was -quickly on his knees to free it. He looked up into -her face before he rose and she touched his cheek with -her hand,—lightly and caressingly.</p> - -<p>“I make you my true knight,” she said. “Arise, -Sir Ward!”</p> - -<p>He rose and took her in his arms.</p> - -<p>“Oh, my dearest! This is worth waiting for; this is -worth living for!”</p> - -<p>“You are so dear,” she whispered; “you are so wonderful!”</p> - -<p>“Have you missed me; have you really thought of -me?” he asked. “Do I really mean something to -you?”</p> - -<p>“Not something, but everything!”</p> - -<p>There was a sob in her throat. She clung to him, -laying her cheek to his face, calling him by endearing -names that were new to her lips. “Sometimes I -doubted you, dear. When I didn’t hear from you I -thought you’d forgotten; and it hurt me so!”</p> - -<p>“I understand how that would be,” he said tenderly. -“I’d have let you know if there’d been any -way. I was afraid to ask my friends to telegraph; it -would have involved explanations.”</p> - -<p>“I only want your forgiveness. I’ll never doubt -you again, dear!”</p> - -<p>“We must have faith in each other; we must trust -each other,” he said. “You know I’d trust you round -the world.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">[250]</span>She clasped her arms about his neck and held him -in a long kiss to seal his faith in her. As they went -on she told him about Bob Cummings and the visit -to McGovern’s.</p> - -<p>“It was to give myself a chance to forget you. I -wanted to see if I <i>could</i> forget you. All that day I -had thought of you so steadily that I was unhappy. -I hated the thought of going home and sitting in my -room and thinking of you. Can you understand how -that would be?”</p> - -<p>As she began the story in a tone that was half self-accusation, -half apology, he teasingly pretended to -make something tragic of it, but when he saw that it -was a matter of conscience with her to confess he hastened -to make it easy for her. Assured that he saw -in the episode no disloyalty she gave every humorous -twist to the incident. He laughed till the woods rang -when she described the manner in which she had -slipped away from Cummings and taken the trolley -home.</p> - -<p>“I’m warned now,” he said, “but don’t you ever -try running away from me!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I don’t know!” she cried. “I dare you to -catch me!” She vaulted the fence into a corn field -and alertly dodged him as he pursued her over the -stubble and among the shocks. She was fleet of foot -and easily outdistanced him. She ended the long -chase by hiding behind a shock and then as he -blundered about seeking her, she sprang out and flung -her arms about him.</p> - -<p>“It’s time to go to the house,” he said, glancing at -the lowering sun. “Tommy threatened to have tea. -We’ll take another way back; it’s longer!”</p> - -<p>“Isn’t it too bad that things must end? I wish today -could last forever!”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">[251]</span>“Let’s think of it only as the beginning! Today I -refuse to think of anything disagreeable. I only ask -to be sure you belong to me.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, dear and splendid one, you don’t question it!” -A smile played about her lips and her dark eyes were -afire. “I love you!” she whispered. “I love you! I -love you!”</p> - -<p>The path they were following paralleled the highway -at this point and as they clung to each other a -man passed in the road, walking rapidly toward town. -He could hardly have failed to see their embrace.</p> - -<p>It was John Moore, taking alone the tramp he had -asked Grace to share with him. He paused and -stared, lifted his hat and hurried on.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">[252]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER TEN</h2> -</div> - - -<h3>I</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">Grace</span> and Trenton had sprung apart as Moore -passed in the highway and they waited in silence until -the sound of his even step over the hard macadam -died away. The romp through the corn field had -loosened her hair and she began thrusting it back -under her hat. Trenton, straightening his tie, looked -the least bit crestfallen.</p> - -<p>“Who was that?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“John Moore, an awfully nice fellow I knew in -college. He’s just moving to Indianapolis to go into -the law.”</p> - -<p>“There’s no question but he saw us. It’s so easy to -forget there are other people in the world! I hope his -seeing us won’t embarrass you.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, John’s all right,” she replied. “The only embarrassment -is that I fibbed to him about this afternoon. -He asked me to go walking,—we did a lot of -tramping at college—and I told him I was going to a -matinee.”</p> - -<p>“Well, you were!” laughed Trenton; then with an -attempt at carelessness, “Is he a suitor?”</p> - -<p>“Heavens, no! But I admire John as every one -does who knows him. He’s a mighty good friend, and -the kindest soul in the world.”</p> - -<p>As they resumed their walk toward The Shack she -continued talking of John, Trenton manifesting a -sympathetic interest and asking questions to elicit -further anecdotes of Moore’s varied activities at the -University.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_253">[253]</span>“He may be in love with you,” he suggested. “You -see I can’t help being just a little jealous of every -man you knew before you knew me.”</p> - -<p>“If John’s in love with me he’s very successful in -concealing it!” she laughed. “No; strange as it may -seem, he likes to talk to me and I’m proud of his -friendship. He does a lot of reading and thinking. -He’s a fine character and you’d be sure to like him. -He’s leaving the law school to go into Judge Sander’s -office; the Judge has picked him for a winner.”</p> - -<p>“I know Sanders; he’s Tommy’s lawyer. I see -I’ll have to keep an eye on Moore,” he went on teasingly. -“I’m not sure he isn’t likely to become a dangerous -rival!”</p> - -<p>“I wish I were sure you could be jealous! Maybe -I’m jealous too! Hasn’t that ever occurred to you?”</p> - -<p>She was a little frightened at her temerity in asking -a question that was the crystallization of her constant -speculation as to his attitude toward his wife. -There flashed through her mind everything he had -said of Mrs. Trenton, which, to be sure, was very -little though the little required clarifying. She recalled -the apology in his St. Louis letter for having spoken of -Mrs. Trenton at all. In that first talk at The Shack -he had led her to believe that his wife gave him wide -liberty to do as he pleased; but it was conceivable that -a woman might indulge her husband’s acquaintance -with women she did not know and was not likely to -meet without sanctioning infidelity. Grace had persuaded -herself that there was a distinct difference between -entering into a liaison with a man who still maintained -martial relations with his wife and one who did -not. She was vastly pleased with the moral perception -that showed her this. And she was confident that she -had the will to dismiss him if his explanation of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_254">[254]</span> -<i>modus vivendi</i> that existed between him and his wife -should prove to be unsatisfactory.</p> - -<p>The cowpath they were traversing made it necessary -for them to walk singly and he went ahead, holding -back the boughs that hung over the trail. For a -few minutes she thought he meant to ignore her question -but suddenly he stopped and swung round.</p> - -<p>“I know what you’re thinking of,” he said quietly. -“You’re thinking of Mrs. Trenton.”</p> - -<p>He pulled a twig from a young maple and broke it -into tiny bits. Grace wondered whether this trifling -unconscious act might not symbolize the casting aside -of such slight ties as bound him to his wife.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I’ve thought of her a great deal. You couldn’t -blame me for that.”</p> - -<p>“No; that’s wholly natural,” he said quickly. “You -wouldn’t be the woman I know you to be if you didn’t. -You have a right to know just what my relations are -with my wife. I’ll be frank about it. I loved her -when I married her and I believe she loved me.”</p> - -<p>There was an appeal for sympathy in his eyes, a -helplessness in his tone that was new to her knowledge -of him. It was as though the thought of Mrs. Trenton -brought a crushing depression upon him. Jealousy -yielded to pity in her heart; she was touched with -something akin to maternal solicitude for his happiness. -But she wished to know more; the time had -come for an understanding of his attitude toward his -wife and of Mrs. Trenton’s toward him.</p> - -<p>“Does love really die?” she asked almost in a -whisper. “If you two loved each other once how can -you tell whether the love is dead or not?”</p> - -<p>“It’s the saddest thing in the world,” he said, smiling -in his tolerance of her ignorance, “that love can -and does die. Mrs. Trenton and I meet rarely now;<span class="pagenum" id="Page_255">[255]</span> -but our estrangement came about gradually. I admit -that the fault has been more than half mine. In every -such case there’s always fault on both sides. When -I saw that her interests were carrying her away from -me, and particularly after she began to be a public -character through her writing and lecturing, I might -have asserted myself a little more strongly—let her -know that I wanted her and needed her even if the -first passion was gone. But—you may laugh at this—I -had old-fashioned ideas that didn’t square with her -new notions of things. I wanted children and a home -of the traditional kind. Possibly it was in my mind,” -he smiled wanly, “that I expected my wife to bring my -slippers and mother me when I was tired. All men are -babies, you know; but all women don’t understand -that. Probably there’s where the trouble began. And -I found myself more and more alone as Mrs. Trenton -got deeper into her reform work. She likes the excitement -of moving about and stirring people up. I think -she even enjoys being criticized by the newspapers. -I’m a peaceful person myself and can’t quite understand -that. We still keep a house in Pittsburgh but I -haven’t seen Mrs. Trenton there for a long time. I -doubt whether she any longer considers it her domicile. -When we’ve met it’s been by accident or where I’ve -made the opportunity by going to some place where -she was lecturing. The breach has widened until -we’re hardly more than acquaintances. She’s said -that if I ever found a woman I thought I’d be happy -with to be frank about it. It may be in her mind to -free me if I ask it. I don’t know. And that’s the -situation.”</p> - -<p>“You don’t—you’re sure you don’t—love her any -more?” Grace asked, uttering the words slowly.</p> - -<p>“No”; he answered meeting her direct gaze with a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_256">[256]</span> -candor that was a part of his charm for her. “That’s -all over. It was over before I met you. But I suppose, -after a fashion, I’m still fond of her; she was -always interesting and amusing. Even as a girl she’d -been a great hand to take up with new ideas. When -the suffrage movement developed she found she could -write and speak and I saw less of her to a point where -we began an existence quite independent of each -other. I want you to be satisfied about this; if there’s -anything you want to know——”</p> - -<p>“No; I believe you and I think I understand. And -I’m sorry—very sorry for your unhappy times. I -wish——”</p> - -<p>“Yes, dear——”</p> - -<p>“Oh, you’re so fine; so kind, so deserving of happiness! -I want so much to help you find it. I want -to be of real use to you. You deserve so much of -life.”</p> - -<p>“But—do I deserve you!” he asked softly.</p> - -<p>She answered with a look all eloquent of her love, -and kissed him.</p> - -<p>When they reached the house they found Irene and -Kemp in the living room engaged in a heated argument -over Irene’s preemption of a bottle of whiskey -which she had seized to prevent his further consumption -of the contents.</p> - -<p>“Take it, Ward!” Irene cried, flinging off Kemp’s -hold upon her arm and handing the bottle to Trenton. -“Tommy’s had too much. I’m going to take him -home.”</p> - -<p>“Gimme tha’ bottle; gotta have another drink,” -blurted Kemp, lunging toward Trenton.</p> - -<p>“Not another drop!” said Trenton, passing the bottle -to Grace, who ran with it to the dining room and -told Jerry to hide it. Kemp, caught in Trenton’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_257">[257]</span> -arms, drew back and stared, grinning stupidly in his -befuddlement at the legerdemain by which the bottle -had eluded him.</p> - -<p>“Tommy’s a naughty boy,” said Irene. “He’s nasty -when he’s drunk. Hands off!” she cried as Kemp again -menaced her. “Don’t you dare touch me!”</p> - -<p>“Not goin’ home. Never goin’ home. Goin’ to -shtay right here,” declared Kemp, tottering as he attempted -to assume an attitude of defiance.</p> - -<p>The Japanese boy had brought in the tea tray and -was lighting the kettle-lamp.</p> - -<p>“Everythin’s goin’ fine,” Kemp continued, indicating -the tray with a flourish. “Have nice chat over -teacups—hiccups—tea-cups—joke, ha, ha! Guests -drink tea; host drink whisk—key—thass thirty year -ole, Ward. Can’t change drinks; always makes me -sick change drinks. Where’s tha’ bottle?”</p> - -<p>“You’ve spoiled everything by getting drunk,” said -Irene viciously. “You’re going home. You know -what you told me the other night at Minnie’s. Your -doctor’s warned you to cut out the booze or you’ll die. -Your heart won’t stand it.”</p> - -<p>Kemp turned toward her slowly, opening and closing -his eyes in the effort to comprehend this statement. -He was very white; Trenton was watching him with -deep concern.</p> - -<p>“Nothin’ the matter with me. Jus’ foolin’ ’bout -doctor. Hadda get lil’ sympathy out o’ Irene.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll put you to bed, Tommy,” said Trenton. “A -nap will pull you out of this.”</p> - -<p>“No y’ don’t, Ward, old man! Not slippy; not bit -slippy.”</p> - -<p>“He’s got a dinner engagement in town at seven -and I’ve got a date myself,” said Irene. “I’ll take -him home. The chauffeur will look after him. There’s<span class="pagenum" id="Page_258">[258]</span> -no use letting him spoil the day for you and Grace. -You came out in the runabout, didn’t you, Jerry? Jerry -can walk over to the interurban when he’s ready to go -and you two can take your time about going in. You -can manage the runabout, can’t you, Ward?”</p> - -<p>“That’s easy enough,” Trenton replied, frowning in -his perplexity as he eyed Kemp, who had stumbled to -a chair where he sat breathing heavily. “But I don’t -like your going in alone with Tommy.”</p> - -<p>Irene bent over Kemp and drew a phial from his -pocket. She shook out a tablet and placed it in his -mouth. The vigilant Japanese boy was ready with a -glass of water.</p> - -<p>“Strych-ni-ah,” explained Kemp with a drunken -grin. “How you come think o’ that, Irene? First aid -’n all that sor’ thing. Givin’ me poison; thass wha’ -she’s doin’. Forgot I had tha’ stuff in my pocket. -Awfu’ funny. Doctor cut off whiskey and gimme rat -poison. Mos’ singular. Mos’ incomree—in-com-pre-hens-ble.”</p> - -<p>He lay back in his chair and threw out his legs, -wagging his head as he laughed inordinately at his -lingual difficulties. When Trenton tried to feel his -pulse he good-naturedly resisted. He was perfectly all -right; never felt better in his life, he declared.</p> - -<p>The question of his immediate return to town was -peremptorily settled by Irene, who rang for the car.</p> - -<p>“His heart’s certainly doing queer things,” said -Trenton. “It would be better for us all to go in.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, he’ll come out of it. It’s nearly dark and I’ll -open the car window and give him air. Craig’s driven -him for years and he’ll look after him at home. I’m -sick of this business. If he wants to kill himself let -him go ahead.”</p> - -<p>“He oughtn’t to be left alone at home,” said Grace.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_259">[259]</span> -“You’d better go in with him, Ward, and see that he -has the doctor.”</p> - -<p>“You’ll do nothing of the kind,” said Irene decisively. -“I’ve been through this before and his heart -kicking up this way doesn’t mean anything. Alcohol -hits him quick but it doesn’t last long. He really -didn’t have enough to make a baby tipsy. But he -never learns that he can’t stand it. You two just forget -all about him.”</p> - -<p>Craig, the chauffeur, came in with Kemp’s coat and -they got him into it; but Kemp played for delay. -His dinner engagement was of no consequence; he -insisted that Irene could go alone if she pleased; -she was a quitter and above all things he hated -a quitter. His engagement to dine was at the -Isaac Cummings’s, and the fact that he was asked -there called for an elaborate explanation which he -insisted on delivering from the door. People were always -boring him by asking him to do things when his -wife was away, from a mistaken idea that a man alone -in town is a forlorn and pitiable being, subject to the -wiles of people he cares nothing for and in normal circumstances -avoids. He warmed to the work of abusing -Cummings; it was an impertinence on the part -of his business competitor to invite him to his house. -The Cummingses were climbers; his wife detested Mrs. -Cummings, and if she had been home he wouldn’t have -been trapped into an engagement of which he now profoundly -repented; and besides the dinner would be -dry; he would never be able to sit through it. The -insistence of the others that it was a formal function -and that it was too late to withdraw his acceptance -aroused him to an elaborate elucidation of the Cummings’s -offer of hospitality. Cummings was hard up; -he had sunk a lot of money in oil ventures. Kemp recited<span class="pagenum" id="Page_260">[260]</span> -a list of Cummings’s liabilities, tracing imaginary -tables of figures on the wall with an unsteady finger -and turning to his auditors for their concurrence in -his opinion that Cummings was on the verge of bankruptcy.</p> - -<p>“Playin’ up to me; thinks Tom Kemp’s goin’ help -him out! Poor boob’d like to merge—merge his business -with me—me! No y’ don’t, Mr. Cummings!” he -bowed mockingly to an imaginary Cummings. The -bow would have landed him on the floor if Trenton -hadn’t caught him.</p> - -<p>“Jes’ foolin’; don’ need to hol’ me, Ward,” he said, -straightening himself. “Goin’ home ri’ now. Miss -Kirby take my arm! Guess I know my manners; -or’nary courtesy due lady ’nevery part th’ worl’.”</p> - -<p>Irene steadied him to the car, and after Craig had -lifted him in he waved his hand to Trenton and Grace -with an effort at gaiety.</p> - -<p>“House all yours, Ward; make y’ present ole Shack. -Burn it down; do’s y’ please. Jerry’ll give y’ anythin’ -y’ want—wine ’neverythin’.”</p> - - -<h3>II</h3> - -<p>Grace and Trenton watched the car turn the long -bend toward the highway and hurried back to the -fire of hickory logs that crackled merrily in the living-room -fireplace.</p> - -<p>“Now for tea!” said Grace. “I ate a huge dinner -but our tramp’s given me a new appetite.”</p> - -<p>She sat down before the tray while he stood by the -hearth, resting his elbow on the mantel-shelf, watching -her. Jerry asked if he should turn on the lights.</p> - -<p>“Thank you, no, Jerry;” Grace answered. “The -fire gives light enough. No; don’t trouble about dinner.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_261">[261]</span> -You might give us some sandwiches with our -tea.”</p> - -<p>There was a broad smile on Trenton’s face as he -took his cup and sat down near her.</p> - -<p>“What’s the joke, Ward?” she asked. She was now -finding it easy to call him Ward.</p> - -<p>“It’s not a joke; I was just admiring your manner -of addressing Jerry. It was quite perfect. He was -greatly impressed by it.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, was that it! What did you expect me to do—snap -at him?”</p> - -<p>“No; I was only thinking how charming you’d be -as the lady of a great house. Your slaves would worship -you. Jerry caught the idea too; I never saw -him bow so low.”</p> - -<p>“Jerry’s adorable,” she murmured, her eyes flashing -her appreciation of Trenton’s compliment. “But, -really I must look awful; my hair’s in a mess. I’ll run -upstairs and give it a smoothing as soon as we’ve had -tea.”</p> - -<p>“Please don’t! I like it that way. The dark frame -for your face adds a charm that’s bewildering!”</p> - -<p>“What did Tommy mean about Cummings?” she -asked presently. “Isn’t the Cummings business prospering?”</p> - -<p>“Tommy must know what he’s talking about. -He never quite loses his head even when he’s -drunk. These are anxious times and it’s quite possible -that Cummings is hard up. Tommy can afford -to feel easy because he’s well off even without his -manufacturing business. I’ve got to do something -about Tommy, though,” he went on thoughtfully. -“His New York doctor told me he’ll have to stop his -monkey shines or something unpleasant will happen -to him. While I’m here I’m going to try to get him<span class="pagenum" id="Page_262">[262]</span> -to submit to treatment. But he’s not easy to manage—frankly -says he prefers a short life and a merry one. -We’ve got to save Tommy if we can.”</p> - -<p>He smiled a little sadly. Grace liked the way he -talked of Kemp and listened attentively while he gave -many instances of Tommy’s kindness and generosity.</p> - -<p>“About your father’s improvements on the motor,” -Trenton continued, “I’ll go into that while I’m here. -From the claims of the new patents it would appear -that he’s got something of real value; but we’ll have -to give them a try-out. We can do that at Kemp’s -shop. Of course Tommy will be anxious to get the -new ideas if they’re practical.”</p> - -<p>“Even a small success just now will mean so much -to father,” said Grace. “He was greatly excited by -your letter and had to be convinced that you weren’t -acting for Cummings. He pretends to mother that -there was nothing unfair in Cummings’s treatment of -him, but deep down in his heart he’s terribly bitter.”</p> - -<p>A fire makes for intimacy and their concord was -now so complete that silence had all the felicity of -speech. The perfect expression of love may be conveyed -in a glance and from time to time their eyes -met in communications too precious for words. -After these mute periods the talk would ripple on -again unhurriedly as though they were the inheritors -of immeasurable time.</p> - -<p>In moments of animation when her dark eyes -flashed and she smilingly invited his response she disclosed -new and beguiling charms. In its disorder her -hair emphasized what Irene was fond of calling -Grace’s gypsy look.</p> - -<p>The tea disposed of, she sent away the tray and as -his cigarette case was empty she filled it from a box -Jerry found for her.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_263">[263]</span>“It seems funny to be using other people’s things -this way,” she remarked. “It’s like finding a house -in perfect running order on a desert island.”</p> - -<p>“You don’t know what a joy it is to be waited on in -this fashion.”</p> - -<p>He looked up at her fondly as she stood beside him. -When she returned the case he drew her upon his -knees, took her hand and scrutinized it closely. He -pressed a kiss upon the palm and closed his fingers -upon it.</p> - -<p>“How long will you keep it?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“The hand?” she asked provokingly.</p> - -<p>“No; what I’ve just put into it!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I don’t need to keep that, do I? Won’t there -be some more?”</p> - -<p>“Millions!” he replied and clasped her tight.</p> - -<p>“Your hands are finely shaped and interesting, -Ward. Oh, you have a double life line! You’ll never -die! The Mount of Apollo is wonderfully developed—don’t -you see it, right there? Of <i>course</i> that’s what -that is. It’s plain enough why music affects you so. -You really might have been an artist of some kind -yourself.”</p> - -<p>This called for an argument in the course of which -she got illuminative glimpses of him as a boy who -was always interested in machinery. He had been -predestined to the calling he had chosen but confessed -that sometimes he wished that he had tried his hand -at executive work.</p> - -<p>“I may do it yet,” he said. “I have opportunities -occasionally, which I’m probably foolish to let pass, to -take hold of big concerns. But I’ve liked my freedom -to roam. It’s helped solve my problem to be able to -wander.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I understand, dear,” she said softly, stroking<span class="pagenum" id="Page_264">[264]</span> -his hair. She knew that by his problem he meant his -wife. Though she had accepted as sincere his explanation -of his relations with Mrs. Trenton, she resented -in spite of herself even this remote reference to -the woman whom she had never seen but had constantly -tried to visualize.</p> - -<p>“I might even move to Indianapolis one of these -days,” he was saying. “I have a standing offer from -Tommy to come and help him run his plant. I tell -him it’s his game to wish his job on me so he can -have more time to play. And Tommy doesn’t need -that!”</p> - -<p>She drew from his waistcoat pocket the locket that -had so aroused her curiosity at their first meeting.</p> - -<p>“What’s in this, Ward?” she asked, holding up the -round gold trinket.</p> - -<p>“Oh, <i>that</i>!” he said, frowning at it.</p> - -<p>“Don’t look so cross! Must I tease you to show me -what’s inside?”</p> - -<p>As she dangled it at arm’s length he encouraged -the idea that its contents were secret by snatching it -away.</p> - -<p>“It’s the darkest of mysteries. What will you give -me for a peep?”</p> - -<p>“I might give you one kiss,” she said, deliberating, -“if I like what’s inside.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I must have three!”</p> - -<p>“Agreed. But don’t show me if you don’t want to.”</p> - -<p>“Well, it’s a great concession, a privilege reserved -only for royalty.”</p> - -<p>He opened the locket guardedly, so turning it as to -conceal the inner surfaces.</p> - -<p>“Just a moment, please. Do you stand by the bargain?”</p> - -<p>“Absolutely.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_265">[265]</span>He gave it to her, laughing at her disappointment -at finding it empty.</p> - -<p>“Fraud!” she exclaimed. “How long has it been -empty?”</p> - -<p>“Do you really want to know?” he asked, suddenly -grave.</p> - -<p>“Yes; but not if you’d rather not tell me.”</p> - -<p>“I can’t give the exact date, but you can approximate -it for yourself. Do you remember the first time -I wrote you—from St. Louis? It seems aeons ago!”</p> - -<p>“Yes; I’ll never forget that.”</p> - -<p>“Well, that night I took out and destroyed a little -photograph I’d carried there for a good many years. -I’ll leave you to guess why I didn’t care for it any -more.”</p> - -<p>“Your wife’s picture?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; I bought the locket right after we were engaged -and the picture had been there until I took it -out that night in St. Louis.”</p> - -<p>“Tell me more about how you came to take it out,” -she asked with the insistence of a child demanding the -continuation of a story. “Didn’t it have any kind of -meaning for you any more,—not even little associations—memories—you -wouldn’t lose?”</p> - -<p>“No; it was as though something had died in me -and utterly ceased to be. I was wondering about a -lot of things that night. After I had written to you -I wrote a letter to Mrs. Trenton. She had said from -time to time that if I ever found myself interested in -another woman not to be afraid to tell her. I don’t -know how seriously she meant that. Odd as it may -seem, I don’t <i>know</i> Mrs. Trenton! I used to think I -did but that was sheer conceit on my part. As long -as she had made that suggestion—about telling her if -I met a woman who really appealed to me more than<span class="pagenum" id="Page_266">[266]</span> -she did—I thought I’d tell her about you. Oh, I didn’t -tell your name nor where you live!” he exclaimed -seeing the look of consternation on Grace’s face. “My -agreement with her was half a joke; in later years I’ve -never quite known when to take her seriously. I -suppose I wrote her more to feel her out as to whether -she might not have reached the point where it would -be a good thing to quit altogether.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” Grace asked, “what did she say?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, so far her only answer has been a magnificent -silence! The philosophers agree, don’t they, that a -woman doesn’t always mean what she says? But a -silence is even more baffling. What would you say -about it?”</p> - -<p>“A little ominous—perhaps——”</p> - -<p>“Contempt, disdain, indifference? Maybe she’s just -awaiting further advices, as we say in business.”</p> - -<p>“Possibly she never got the letter.”</p> - -<p>“That’s conceivable; she’s a fast traveler; the mails -have hard work to catch up with her.”</p> - -<p>“You don’t really know whether she got the letter -or what she would have written if she received it. -Maybe she’s just waiting for a chance to talk to you -about it.”</p> - -<p>“Well, in any event we needn’t worry about it,” said -Trenton with a shrug. She rose and drew up a low -rocker and sat beside him, facing the fire.</p> - -<p>“I’d like to have seen your letter,” said Grace, -musingly.</p> - -<p>“I told her you kissed me. Like a brave man I put -the responsibility on you!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that wasn’t fair!” she cried hastily. “It would -be sure to give her a bad impression of me.”</p> - -<p>“I think I intimated that it was only such a kiss as -a daughter might bestow upon a father she didn’t<span class="pagenum" id="Page_267">[267]</span> -think so badly of! I shall always be glad that our first -kiss was like that; we’ve traveled a long way since -then.”</p> - -<p>“Every step has been so dear,” she said contentedly. -“I think I could never forget one single thing. I -don’t believe I’ve forgotten a word you’ve ever said to -me. And when you were away I lived our times all -over again. And I like to imagine that we talk to each -other by our own private wireless even when you are -miles away. I think I can imagine just what you -would say and how you would look when you said it. -Oh,—” she bent forward quickly and grasped his -hand in both of hers; her lips quivered and there was -a mist in her eyes. “Oh!—I wish I didn’t love you so -<i>much</i>!”</p> - -<p>“Has it occurred to you,” he asked, “that we’re -alone away out here in the woods?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t feel a bit lonesome; I’d never be afraid -anywhere with you!”</p> - -<p>The fire had burned low and she watched admiringly -his manner of replenishing it. He used the -shovel to push back the ashes and bring the embers together -in a neat bed, in the center of which he dropped -a fresh log with calculated accuracy. It was his -scientific mind, she reflected, habituated to careful -planning even in unimportant things. He stood for a -moment inspecting his work; moved the log a trifle; -watched attentively the effect of the change, and as -the dry loose bark broke into flame brushed the hearth -neatly and smiled into her eyes as he found her at -his side.</p> - -<p>“You do everything just right! I love to see you use -your hands,” she said. “They’re so strong and skillful.”</p> - -<p>“I ought to know something about fires; I’ve made<span class="pagenum" id="Page_268">[268]</span> -enough of them. As a young fellow I did a lot of jobs -that took me into remote places, surveying and construction -gangs; and I’ve camped a bit—hunting and -fishing. I might even say that I can make coffee and -fry bacon without utterly destroying their food -values.”</p> - -<p>She established him before the fire in the most comfortable -chair in the room and sat at his feet. With -her arms folded upon his knees to make a resting place -for her head she listened with the rapt attention a -child gives to a beguiling chronicler as he told how he -was lost for three days in the Canadian wilds, and of -a flight by canoe on a stormy night to fetch a doctor -for one of his party who had fallen ill. He had given -her from the first a sense of far horizons, and tonight -her fancy perfected every picture his narratives -suggested of hills and woodlands and streams. They -constituted a new background against which she saw -in him an heroic figure equal to any demand that -might be made upon his strength and courage.</p> - -<p>“One of these days,” he went on, “We must do the -Canadian Rockies together; and then I’d like to take -you to some places I know in Maine—just guides and -canoes and <i>us</i>; and I want to do India before I die, -but not without you. You’re in all my future! I want -to live a long time to enjoy life with you. Does that -appall you?”</p> - -<p>She was gazing wide-eyed into the fire, her dark -eyes the harbor of dreams, and he laughed and bent -forward to touch her cheek and break the spell that -bound her.</p> - -<p>“I should love it <i>all</i>, dear!” she said with a happy -sigh. “To be with you, to share everything with you! -Oh, that would be more happiness than I could bear!”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_269">[269]</span>“You do love me; tell me, dear, once more, that -you do!”</p> - -<p>“More than all this earth and the stars! More -than all the other universes beyond this one!” she -cried, laughing at her extravagance.</p> - -<p>He raised his hand and bade her listen.</p> - -<p>“I thought the wind changed awhile ago. The -weather spirit’s abroad. Let’s have a look.”</p> - -<p>He threw on the porch lights and opened the front -door. It was snowing hard; the porch steps and driveway -were already covered, and the nearest trees had -been transformed into ghostly sentinels. She clapped -her hands in delight at the beauty of it.</p> - -<p>“It makes me think of ‘Snow Bound,’” she said when -they had gone back to the fire. “I used to know some -of that poem. Little Grace will now recite for you!” -She assumed the attitude of a school girl recitationist -and repeated, gesturing awkwardly:</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"> -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="verse">“‘What matter how the night behaved?</div> -<div class="verse">What matter how the north-wind raved?</div> -<div class="verse">Blow high, blow low, not all its snow</div> -<div class="verse">Could quench our hearth-fire’s ruddy glow.’</div> -</div></div> - -<p>I’m talented; you can see that! What if we -should be snowed in?”</p> - -<p>“What if we should!” he answered. “Tommy always -carries a full larder and we wouldn’t starve to -death.”</p> - -<p>With her hands clasped before her she gazed down -at the flames. He drew his arm about her waist and -the room was silent save for the cosy murmur of the -fire.</p> - -<p>“Why not stay here all night? Jerry hasn’t left and -he’ll spend the night if I ask him and give us breakfast. -I suppose you have to go to the store tomorrow?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_270">[270]</span>“Yes,—” the assent was to one or all of his questions -as he might choose to interpret it.</p> - -<p>“We can go in of course, early in the morning. I -have a nine o’clock engagement myself.”</p> - -<p>“They’ll be expecting me at home,” she said, pondering -deeply, “but if I could telephone from -here——”</p> - -<p>“I think Tommy’s connected direct with the city -exchange. Jerry can tell us.”</p> - -<p>He rang for Jerry, who confirmed his impression -as to the telephone connection.</p> - -<p>Trenton detained the boy to ask for more logs -while Grace went to the pantry to telephone.</p> - -<p>“Were you going into town tonight, Jerry?”</p> - -<p>“No, Mr. Trenton; too complete snowing. I very -well stay all night.”</p> - -<p>“The runabout’s in order, is it?”</p> - -<p>“Yezzah.”</p> - -<p>“Miss Durland and I are spending the night. If -you could give us breakfast, Jerry?”</p> - -<p>“With much ease, Mr. Trenton.”</p> - -<p>Trenton lit a cigarette and smoked meditatively -while Jerry noiselessly filled the wood box. Grace -reappeared as Jerry stood awaiting further instructions.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Grace, what time shall we say for breakfast?” -Trenton asked casually.</p> - -<p>“I must be at the store at eight-thirty,” she answered -from the door.</p> - -<p>“Then breakfast at seven? We’d better allow a -little extra time in case the snow keeps up. Seven it -is, Jerry.”</p> - -<p>The boy left them and could be heard moving -about upstairs. A clock struck ten and Trenton exclaimed -at the hour.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_271">[271]</span>“I’d have guessed it wasn’t more than eight! The -hours do jump along when the heart’s light. Any -difficulty about not going in?”</p> - -<p>“No; not at all. Every one was out but father and -I merely said I was at the house of a girl friend and -would spend the night there.”</p> - -<p>She walked to a table and began inspecting the -books that were arranged upon it in careful order. -It might have seemed that she wished to avoid meeting -his eyes immediately. He hesitated a moment then -crossed to her quickly.</p> - -<p>“It’s always interesting to see what books you find -in a country house,” he said. “But it’s a mistake to -judge the owner by the literature you find lying about; -it’s usually the discards of the guests. At the place -where I caused so much disappointment by not -dying——”</p> - -<p>“Oh, please don’t say it, even as a joke, Ward!” -she pleaded, dropping a book she had opened and laying -her hands on his arm.</p> - -<p>“Well, I won’t then! I was jealous of that book. -You were so absorbed I almost felt that I was alone -in the room. And I was horribly oppressed by the -general vacancy, emptiness, voidness! Now my vanity -is touched to find that you hadn’t really gone away -and left me; you’re very much here!”</p> - -<p>“You’re so foolish!” she said. “What were the -books you found in your room at that place where -you were ill?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, they were on the occult and had been left -behind by some enthusiastic spook hunter. After -that hour when I so plainly saw you right there by -my bed I studied those books carefully. I wanted to -explain the transformation of a very plain nurse in -spectacles into the most beautiful girl in the world!”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_272">[272]</span>“And,—did you explain it?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; but not from the books!”</p> - -<p>“How was it then?”</p> - -<p>“My heart did the explaining. I knew I loved <i>you</i>! -That’s the answer to all my questions.”</p> - -<p>“You do love me, Ward, really and truly?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, dear,” and then with head lifted he added as -though repeating a pledge from some ritual: “With -all my heart, with all my soul, with every hope of -happiness I have for the future, I love you!”</p> - -<p>He took her in his arms and held her so that he -could look down into her eyes.</p> - -<p>“I want to be everything to you; I want to fill your -heart so that you will turn to me in every need. I want -you, all or nothing!”</p> - -<p>Her lips parted tremulously, inviting his kiss. She -felt singularly secure and content in his arms.</p> - -<p>“All or nothing?” she repeated in a low whisper.</p> - -<p>“Yes! There was no escape for us from the beginning,” -he said slowly. “It’s been like a drawing -of the tide that no man’s hand could stay.”</p> - -<p>They walked slowly to the hearth, his hands thrust -deep into his coat pockets. He eyed the fire critically -and rearranged the half-burnt logs.</p> - -<p>“Guess I’d better put this up as a precaution,” he remarked -lifting the wire screen that stood against the -wall and laying it against the arch under the mantel. -“Run along, dear. I’ll see to the locking up.”</p> - -<p>He went into the hall and snapped on the lights -and kissed his hand to her as she started up the -steep, old-fashioned stair. The lights were turned on -in all the rooms and humming softly she wandered -through them, pausing finally in one in which a suitcase -lay open on a chair, evidently placed there by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_273">[273]</span> -Jerry. She recognized it as Irene’s, kept at The Shack -for occasions when she spent the night there.</p> - -<p>Below, Trenton was testing the fastening of the -doors. She lifted her head, listening intently as she -heard his step.</p> - - -<h3>III</h3> - -<p>As she dressed the next morning Grace saw a white -world reluctantly disclosing itself in the gray dawn. -Trenton was already gone, and hearing the scraping -of a shovel she looked out and saw him clearing a -path that led to an old barn which Kemp had converted -into a garage. Jerry darted out of the kitchen -to remonstrate and Trenton ceased from his labors -to fling a shovelful of snow at him.</p> - -<p>When she went down Trenton met her in the hall, -kissed her and led her with mock ceremony to the -dining room door.</p> - -<p>“Breakfast for two! Something awfully cozy about -that table, with the plates so close together!”</p> - -<p>“Just perfect! I’d like to take a run through the -snow; wouldn’t it be jolly! And there’s that hill we -climbed yesterday that would be a grand place for -coasting!”</p> - -<p>“No time for that now!” he replied looking at his -watch. “There’s a good six inches of snow and -being out so early we’ll have to be pathfinders. -It will be about all we can do to hit Washington street -by eight-thirty. There’s going to be waffles and maple -syrup for breakfast. I got that out of Jerry; also -bacon and guaranteed eggs.”</p> - -<p>“The Olympians had nothing on us!” she replied in -his own key of gaiety.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_274">[274]</span>“Oh, we are become even as the gods!” he cried, -drawing out her chair. “This is a touch—breakfast -by candlelight!”</p> - -<p>Tall candles in glass holders lighted the table. -Grace for a fleeting moment thought of the kitchen -at home, where her mother and Ethel were now preparing -breakfast, wholly ignorant of her whereabouts. -Trenton saw the smile waver and leave her face, and -he bent over and laid his hand on hers.</p> - -<p>“You know—No! you don’t, you can’t know what -all this means to me! I feel as though I’d been dead -and come to life again!”</p> - -<p>“Does it mean so much, dear?” she asked, her eyes, -intent and searching, meeting his.</p> - -<p>“If you look at me like that, dear,” he replied, “I’ll -never be able to finish this grapefruit!” Then with a -quick change of tone he asked anxiously:</p> - -<p>“You’re not unhappy, dear?”</p> - -<p>“No; it’s just the strangeness of being here; that’s -all.”</p> - -<p>“It doesn’t seem real to me, either. I’d thought so -much of just such an hour as this, facing a new day -and a new world with you, that it’s hard to believe -the dream has really come true!”</p> - -<p>“But you’ll be going away. There will be lots of -times I can’t see you. It’s going to be hard to get -used to that,” she said pensively.</p> - -<p>“Don’t worry on that score. I’ve got a lot of work -laid out for the next year right here in the Middle -West. I can easily spend my Sundays in Indianapolis. -I’d travel a mighty long way just for a sight of you. -Let’s make the most of today and not worry about -tomorrow. Sufficient unto the day is the happiness -thereof!”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_275">[275]</span>She smiled her acquiescence in this philosophy, was -again buoyant, and joined with him in praising Jerry -as the boy appeared with a plate of fresh waffles.</p> - -<p>“I tell you what I’ll do!” exclaimed Trenton suddenly. -“I’ll cut all my engagements for today if you -will and we’ll stay right here!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, it would be wonderful! But I mustn’t even -think of it! I’d lose my job; and besides, I mustn’t -forget I have a family. Please don’t try to persuade -me. But you know I’d love to stay—not just today -but forever!”</p> - -<p>“I wish you didn’t have your job!” he said, frowning. -“I don’t feel comfortable about that.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t begin telling me I ought to be doing something -different! Everybody else does! I really enjoy -my work at Shipley’s.”</p> - -<p>“There ought to be some way,—” he began. -Something in her look caused him to pause. “I was -going to say that I don’t like the idea of your working—you -must let me—now—”</p> - -<p>“Ward!”</p> - -<p>“Forgive me, dear,” he said contritely.</p> - -<p>“I believe in work,” she went on quickly. “I mean -always to do something; maybe not just what I’m doing -now, but—something!”</p> - -<p>“When you talk that way I feel as though you -didn’t expect to belong to me always.” He rose and -drew her to her feet. “Let’s have that understood -here and now.” He held her away, his hands resting -lightly on her cheeks as he looked into her eyes with -mock severity. “We’ve got to be on our way in about -two minutes, Miss Durland, and there must be no -nonsense about this. Is it for always?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, for always,” she answered.</p> - -<p>“To the very end?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_276">[276]</span>“Yes, to the very end,” she assented soberly, and -there was the foreshadowing of tears in her eyes.</p> - -<p>“No matter what may happen; no matter if there -should be times of separation beyond our control—you -will still love me and trust me?”</p> - -<p>“Yes—always. There will never be any one else for -me but you,—not if I live a thousand years.”</p> - -<p>She put her arms about his neck and kissed him,—a -kiss without passion, on forehead and lips.</p> - -<p>“You don’t care less for me,—now?” she asked, and -pressed her face close to his.</p> - -<p>“Grace!” he cried, catching her wrists and looking -into her eyes. “You wouldn’t think that of me! I’d -be a beast——”</p> - -<p>She laid her hand over his lips.</p> - -<p>“Forgive me, dear,” she whispered. “If I didn’t -trust you I couldn’t love you; and I just,—I -thought——”</p> - -<p>“Dearest little girl!”</p> - - -<h3>IV</h3> - -<p>The sun came out of the mists as they set off for -town with the snow flung up by the rear wheels of -the car whirling behind in a miniature storm.</p> - -<p>“You’re not afraid of a little speed?”</p> - -<p>“Not with you!” she answered happily. “Was that -the right answer?”</p> - -<p>“One hundred per cent correct! Look at the smoke -from that farmer’s chimney—it goes up as straight -as a column. Not a breath of air!”</p> - -<p>“It’s a dear good old world,” she said, her eyes reflecting -her enjoyment of the swift rush between the -long stretches of white level fields broken by patches -of woodland.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_277">[277]</span>“What’s the dearest thing in all the world?” he -demanded.</p> - -<p>“You!” she replied.</p> - -<p>“Wrong that time! It’s you!”</p> - -<p>“I wonder how many lovers have said just that to -each other?”</p> - -<p>“Thousands—billions, no doubt. But that doesn’t -matter. It never was as true of the others as it is -of us.”</p> - -<p>“We’re not conceited or anything!”</p> - -<p>“No; just happy! Honestly and truly, are <i>you</i> -happy?”</p> - -<p>“Enormously! Are you?”</p> - -<p>“Right up to the perishing point!”</p> - -<p>“Then <i>why</i> are you happy?”</p> - -<p>“Because the dearest girl in the world loves me!”</p> - -<p>They laughed their delight in this interchange, -stopped to extricate from its difficulties a car which, -unprovided with skid-chains, had landed in a ditch, -and hurried on to make up for lost time. It was with -a sense of disillusionment that Grace saw the city, as -it seemed, coming out to meet her. Trenton was -talking of his day’s appointments, of the men he expected -to see. Grace’s thoughts flew ahead to the -store, where she would meet Irene—meet her friend -with a new self-consciousness—and of the deceptions -and evasions that would be necessary to explain her -night’s absence at home. But these thoughts were -fleeting. She was happy in the confidence that the -man beside her truly loved her and her love for him, -which she had so often challenged and questioned -even after she first encouraged him to think she cared, -was no longer a matter for debate. She assured herself -that there was nothing base in the relationship -into which she had entered with him; that the attraction<span class="pagenum" id="Page_278">[278]</span> -had been of the mind and spirit first of all. She -swiftly reviewed all the points upon which her justification -rested, and was satisfied that they stood the -test of the morning sunlight and the clean wholesome -air. She had no regrets; no misgivings. She had -already convinced herself that their love was sufficient -in itself. He turned from time to time to smile at -her and took her hand that it might rest beneath his -on the wheel.</p> - -<p>“We haven’t settled yet when I’m to see you again. -I want every minute you can give. Can’t we have -dinner together tonight?”</p> - -<p>“I wish we could, but I’ve got to go home for -supper.”</p> - -<p>“But I can see you afterwards,—please!”</p> - -<p>“I could go to Miss Lawton’s where we met the first -time. I think I can fix it with Minnie.”</p> - -<p>“Then that’s settled! I understand perfectly that -you have your family to consider and we’ve got to -remember there are people in the world who haven’t -much to do but pry into other people’s business. -They’re a large and mischievous phalanx. For the -present we’ve got to be careful.”</p> - -<p>She was rather relieved that he did not amplify -the suggestive “for the present.” He was thinking, -she assumed, of his wife and the freedom which he -had intimated would be his for the asking. But marriage -was no assurance of the perpetuation of love; -it was a convention, no doubt desirable and necessary -for society’s protection; but Grace was in a mood to -enjoy her sense of being in rebellion against society, -that intangible “they” which, she had brought herself -to believe, quite ignorantly established laws and -in the light of them appraised and condemned human -frailty.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_279">[279]</span>She derived the greatest comfort from this idea; it -encouraged and strengthened her belief that she was -an independent unit of the social order. If her relationship -with Trenton became known she would forfeit -the love and confidence of her family and many prized -friendships. But his love would be compensation for -anything she might lose in the eyes of people she felt -to be hopelessly shackled to old notions of rectitude -and chastity with which she no longer felt any concern. -It would be necessary, of course, to maintain -secrecy; but it was no one’s business what she did with -her life.</p> - -<p>“Last chance for a kiss,” Trenton exclaimed, slipping -his arm about her as they reached the Meridian -street bridge.</p> - -<p>She asked him to let her out at the soldiers’ monument -to avoid the possibility of being inspected by -questioning eyes at Shipley’s. Trenton was going at -once to Kemp’s house to make sure Tommy was all -right; he meant to have it out with Tommy about his -drinking.</p> - -<p>“Tell your father I’d like to see him tomorrow at -two o’clock. Yes; I have the address.”</p> - -<p>With his good-bye ringing in her ears she walked -the few remaining blocks to the store.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_280">[280]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER ELEVEN</h2> -</div> - - -<h3>I</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">When</span> Grace reached home that evening her absence -of the preceding night was barely mentioned by her -mother, and Ethel did not refer to it at all. The -conduct of another member of the family had aroused -grave apprehensions in the domestic circle and any -suspected derelictions of her own were suffered to -pass, or were accepted in a spirit of resignation, as a -part of a visitation of an inscrutable providence upon -the house of Durland.</p> - -<p>Roy had turned up in the early hours of the morning -much the worse for dalliance with a contraband -beverage that had served him ill. There was gloom -in the kitchen where she found her mother and Ethel -preparing supper and after satisfying herself that she -was not the cause of the depression she summoned -courage to ask her mother what had happened.</p> - -<p>“I think, mother,” said Ethel loftily, “that Grace -should <i>know</i>. It may be possible that she can help -us in our trouble. Roy has always been fonder of her -than of me.”</p> - -<p>Ethel’s tone was replete with intimations that this -affection was not wholly complimentary to either her -brother or sister. She entered upon a circumstantial -account of Roy’s misbehavior which omitted nothing -that could enhance its heinousness, Mrs. Durland interrupting -occasionally to soften the harsh terms in -which Ethel described Roy’s appearance on the snowy -threshold at two o’clock, in the care of two young -friends in little better condition than himself. It had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_281">[281]</span> -been necessary to summon a doctor to relieve Roy’s -stomach of the poison he had consumed.</p> - -<p>“I’m sure it’s the first and last time for Roy,” said -Mrs. Durland. “He’s terribly cut up over it; but of -course at the holiday season, and meeting old friends -and all, I suppose we must make allowances.”</p> - -<p>“That’s the way to look at it, mother,” said Grace, -sincerely grieved for her mother and anxious to restore -her confidence in Roy. “I know Roy wouldn’t do -anything to trouble you. We ought to be glad that -stuff didn’t kill him! Roy isn’t the only boy who -thinks it smart to drink now that it’s forbidden. I -hear a lot about that, down town.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose you do,” said Mrs. Durland, catching -hopefully at the suggestion that her boy was not the -only wanderer in the path that leads to destruction.</p> - -<p>“Roy knows our hopes are centered in him; there’s -not the slightest excuse for his conduct!” Ethel resumed, -unwilling that Roy’s sin should be covered up -in charitable generalizations. “Instead of running -around with a lot of dissolute young men he ought to -be making friends who can help him get a start in -life. As for prohibition, it’s the law of the land and -you’d think a young man who’s studying law would -respect it. Only the other day Osgood gave me an -article with statistics showing what’s being done to -enforce the law and it will only be a short time until -the rum power is completely vanquished.”</p> - -<p>“It’s dying mighty hard,” remarked Grace cheerfully. -“Anybody can get whiskey who has the price.”</p> - -<p>“One would think—” began Ethel, moved at once -to give battle.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I’m not hankering for it myself,” Grace interrupted. -“But they ought to enforce the law or -repeal it. I’m only saying what everybody knows.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_282">[282]</span>“Well, of course, Grace, we don’t know just <i>who</i> -your friends are,” Ethel retorted.</p> - -<p>“Oh, they probably wouldn’t amuse you even if you -knew them!” Grace flung back.</p> - -<p>Whereupon Mrs. Durland, who was arranging a -tray with coffee and toast to carry up to Roy, announced -that enough had been said on the subject.</p> - - -<h3>II</h3> - -<p>Trenton’s week in town lengthened to ten days. -Minnie Lawton’s apartment proved to be a convenient -meeting place, and on two evenings Grace and Trenton -dined there alone, with Jerry to serve them. Trenton -had persuaded Kemp to go to a hospital for rest and -observation. The reports of the local physician merely -confirmed what the New York specialist had told -Trenton as to his friend’s condition. Trenton took -Irene and Grace to the hospital to see Kemp one -evening. They found him looking a little thin and -white but he greeted them joyfully. He wasn’t wholly -cut off from civilization in spite of their efforts to get -rid of him, he said, pointing gleefully to a telephone -at his bedside which he had obtained as a special -concession. He boasted that he could lie in bed and -direct his business affairs almost as well as at his -office.</p> - -<p>“But the nurses won’t flirt with me,” he complained, -“and you girls showed up just in time to keep me from -passing up your whole unaccountable sex. I’ve got to -be amused even if I am locked up here with fourteen -disagreeable things being done to me every day. The -purpose of woman is to amuse.”</p> - -<p>“There you go, Tommy! Women are divided into -two classes,” said Irene in her spacious manner, “those<span class="pagenum" id="Page_283">[283]</span> -who amuse their husbands and those who amuse other -women’s husbands. It’s not for me to say to which -variety, subdivision or group I prefer to belong.”</p> - -<p>Trenton had visited Stephen Durland twice at his -shop in the Power Building and at the hospital he -mentioned the matter of Durland’s improvements on -the Cummings-Durland motor. The issuance of the -patents to Durland had brought inquiries from several -Eastern manufacturers and the representative of one -concern had opened negotiations for an option.</p> - -<p>“Look here, Grace,” said Kemp when Trenton had -explained concisely the nature of the improvements, -“I’m going to be mighty sore if you let this escape -before I have a look at it. Go on, Ward, and tell me -more about it.”</p> - -<p>“You father must have something good,” said Irene, -who had listened attentively to the talk, “for I don’t -understand a word of it. I hope there’s millions in it.”</p> - -<p>“That new composition Mr. Durland’s working on -for non-cracking spark-plug porcelains will be worth -something handsome if it’s as good as it promises to -be,” Trenton remarked. Kemp’s alert curiosity had -to be satisfied as to the nature of the substance Durland -was working on and Trenton went into the chemistry -of the composition and said it would have to be -subjected to more exacting tests.</p> - -<p>“We’ll test that at my plant too,” said Kemp, “but -the sooner we get to work on the motor the better. -We’ll give Mr. Durland a corner in my shop, and all -the help he needs; I’ll call up the superintendent in -the morning and explain what’s wanted.”</p> - -<p>“It’s all too good to be true!” said Grace. -“Father’s such a dear, patient, gentle soul and to land -something now will mean more than you can understand. -Thank you so much, Tommy.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_284">[284]</span>She walked to the bed and took Kemp’s hand.</p> - -<p>“I suppose your father would rather Cummings had -the new features for the engine,” he said drily.</p> - -<p>“Gracious heavens, no!” Grace exclaimed. “Father -would cheerfully die in the poor house before he’d -let Cummings have anything of his.”</p> - -<p>“That’s the spirit! Ward, don’t be stingy with Mr. -Durland. Double whatever anybody else offers for -an option on the motor improvements and we’ll hope -it’s only the beginning.”</p> - - -<h3>III</h3> - -<p>Stephen Durland discussed with Grace everything -pertaining to his new connection with the Kemp concern. -He had made so many mistakes in his life that -he didn’t want to risk making any more, he said -pathetically at a noon hour which Grace spent with -him after he had agreed to the terms Kemp had proposed -through Trenton.</p> - -<p>“A thousand dollars just for an option looks mighty -big,” he said. “I never expected to see that much -money again. And I’m to draw two hundred a month -from the Kemp Company while I’m building a motor -out there. It’s pretty nice, Grace.”</p> - -<p>He wanted to give her the thousand dollars and -any income he might derive from the improved motor -as compensation for what he felt was the wrong she -had suffered through his inability to keep her in college. -He was greatly in earnest about this and showed -his affection for her in a shy gentle fashion that -touched her deeply. She laughed him into accepting -her rejection of his offer and overruled his decision -not to tell his wife and Ethel of his brightening prospects. -The motor might not stand up under the tests,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_285">[285]</span> -he said, and he wished to avoid the necessity of confessing -a fresh failure.</p> - -<p>“Don’t be afraid; I’ll see that you don’t get scolded! -You just strut around the house and make the most of -your success—for that’s what it is! Mr. Trenton -told me he was sure your improvements were enormously -important—greater efficiency, greater economy -of operation and every other little old thing you’ve -thought up in that dear bean of yours!”</p> - -<p>“Trenton’s a fine man. He’s been mighty nice to -me,” said Durland. “It’s a pleasure to talk to a man -who catches an idea so quick. I guess Kemp does -pretty much what he says. I don’t know Kemp. I -never thought of it till after the break, but Cummings -never wanted me to meet other manufacturers in our -line. Guess he didn’t trust me,” he ended with a -grim smile. “Afraid I might get away from him before -he was sure I’d petered out.”</p> - -<p>“He guessed wrong, daddy! We’ll let Cummings -do the worrying now.”</p> - -<p>On the day he closed his shop in the Power Building -and moved to the experimental room that had been -fitted up for him at Kemp’s big plant Durland mentioned -his new prospects at the supper table. He made -the disclosure so slightingly that Mrs. Durland and -Ethel, who had been busily discussing the merits of a -novel they had been reading and Ethel thought grossly -immoral, failed to catch the point of the revelation until -he had cleared his throat and announced for a -second time that he was moving out to Kemp’s to do a -little experimenting.</p> - -<p>“I guess that’s yours, Allie,” he remarked, producing -the check. “Got it for an option on a patent I’ve -been tinkering at. Trenton, that Pittsburgh expert, -recommended it to Kemp.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_286">[286]</span>“Trenton?” repeated Ethel, carefully scrutinizing -the Kemp Manufacturing Company’s check before -passing it on to her mother.</p> - -<p>“Yes; Ward Trenton,” Durland replied with a note -of pride that so distinguished an engineer had recognized -his merits. “He keeps track of everything that -goes through the patent office for clients he’s got all -over the country. I’m going to build some of my -motors at Kemp’s; they’ve given me a lot better place -to work in than I used to have at Cummings’s, and I’m -going to have all the help I want. And I’m to draw -two hundred a month while I’m there. I guess that’s -fair enough.”</p> - -<p>“This is your friend, Trenton, is it, Grace?” asked -Ethel, awed into respect by the size of the check.</p> - -<p>“The same,” Grace replied, carelessly meeting -Ethel’s gaze across the table. “He’s the kindest man -imaginable. You can hardly complain of his treatment -of father.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve <i>always</i> believed in father,” said Ethel. “I -hope Isaac Cummings will see in this a retribution—God’s -punishment for the way he treated father.”</p> - -<p>“Let’s not hand out the retribution to Cummings -till Kemp’s satisfied about the motor,” suggested -Grace.</p> - -<p>“We’re all proud of you, Stephen,” said Mrs. Durland, -smoothing the creases in the check. “I’m writing -Roy tonight and I’ll tell him the good news. Of -course I’ll warn him not to speak of it. Your success -will be a great incentive to the dear boy. He was so -contrite over his behavior while he was home that -I’m glad to have this news for him. We should all -feel grateful. Something told me when Isaac Cummings -turned you out that it was for the best. I’ll -never again question the ways of Providence. I don’t<span class="pagenum" id="Page_287">[287]</span> -feel like taking this money, Stephen, but it will come -in handy in giving Roy a start.”</p> - -<p>In the happier spirit that now dominated the home -circle Grace’s increasingly frequent absences for -evenings and occasionally for a night passed with little -or no remark.</p> - -<p>“You’ve got to live your life in your own way,” -Mrs. Durland would say with a sigh when she found -Grace leaving the house after supper. “I hardly see -you any more.”</p> - -<p>To guard against awakening in Ethel’s mind any -suspicion that her evenings away from home coincided -with Trenton’s presence in town, which her father -usually mentioned, Grace made a point of going out -at times when Trenton was away. There were always -things she could do—entertainments among the -Shipley employees, dances, theatre parties of business -girls with whom she had become acquainted. -These engagements she refrained from describing with -any particularity as this would make the more marked -her silence on evenings when she went to Minnie Lawton’s -to meet Trenton. She had adopted a regular -formula when she left the house, saying merely, “I’m -going out for a little while,” which her mother and -Ethel had schooled themselves to accept as an -adequate explanation of her absences.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Bob Cummings looked in on her one day at -Shipley’s with the promised invitation to dinner, and -to go to a club dance afterwards, which Grace refused -only because the dramatic club of Shipley employees -was giving a play the same night and she had a leading -part. And Miss Reynolds dropped in to the ready-to-wear -department frequently when she was down -town and occasionally asked Grace to dinner.</p> - -<p>The mild winter almost imperceptibly gave way before<span class="pagenum" id="Page_288">[288]</span> -the blithe heralds of spring and April appeared -smiling at the threshold.</p> - -<p>No cloud darkened the even course of her affair -with Trenton. She was more and more convinced -of the depth and sincerity of her love for him and he -was the tenderest, the most considerate of lovers. -When she did not see him, sometimes for a week or -fortnight, his messages floated back with those constant -reassurances of his loyalty and affection that -are the very food of love. He rarely mentioned his -wife in their talks and Grace was no longer a prey to -jealousy. She wondered sometimes whether he had -ever broached to Mrs. Trenton the matter of the -divorce at which he had hinted, but Grace found herself -caring little about this one way or another. She -exulted in her independence, complacent in the thought -that she was a woman of the Twentieth Century, free -to use her life as she would.</p> - - -<h3>IV</h3> - -<p>John Moore had not crossed Grace’s vision since the -afternoon of Christmas day, when his unexpected appearance -in the highway near The Shack proved so -disconcerting. She suspected that he was avoiding her, -probably from a generous wish to spare her the embarrassment -of explaining herself.</p> - -<p>When she left Shipley’s at the closing hour of a day -early in April she was surprised to see him waiting at -the door.</p> - -<p>“Good evening, Grace! Hope you don’t mind being -held up, but I wanted to see you and this seemed the -easiest way. Got time to walk home?”</p> - -<p>Grace had meant to take the car but she decided -instantly that in view of the glimpse he had got of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_289">[289]</span> -her in Trenton’s arms on the memorable day at The -Shack it would be poor diplomacy to refuse.</p> - -<p>“Of course, I’ll walk, John,” she replied cordially. -“I’ve been wanting to see you.” She waited till they -were out of the crowd, then said with a preluding -laugh:</p> - -<p>“You must be thinking the awfulest things of me, -and that’s why you’ve given me the go-by. That -was an awful fib I told you Christmas about going to -a matinee. The truth of the matter was that I had -promised to go with some people into the country for -the afternoon and didn’t want the family to know; -and I couldn’t explain over the telephone. And out -there we all got to cutting up and well—you saw me! -I’m terribly ashamed of myself!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, pshaw, you needn’t be! I didn’t think anything -about it. I always know you’re all right. I’m -for you, Grace—you know that. I’ve been so busy -since I moved to town that I’ve kept my nose right -on the grindstone.”</p> - -<p>His words lacked the usual John Moore flavor, and -in spite of his protest she guiltily attributed his unusual -restraint to reservations as to the Christmas -day episode. But his next speech quickly shifted the -ground of her apprehensions.</p> - -<p>“I’ve just been down to Bloomington to see Roy,” -he said, doggedly blurting out the sentences. “The boy -sent for me; he’d got into a bad scrape—about a girl. -You can guess the rest of it.”</p> - -<p>“Oh!” she gasped, feeling the earth whirling. “Not -that!”</p> - -<p>“Roy was in a blue funk and threatened to run -away but I talked him out of that. The girl’s name is -Sadie Denton; she’s not really a bad girl. I had a -talk with her and went down to Louisville with them<span class="pagenum" id="Page_290">[290]</span> -yesterday and saw them married. Her folks live there -and they’ll look out for her till Roy finishes at the -law school. I guess that’s about all. He didn’t want -any of you to know about it just yet; but I sat down on -that and he agreed I should tell you. I was sure you’d -handle it right at home.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, it will break mother’s heart! She’s counted -everything on Roy.”</p> - -<p>“Well, everything isn’t lost yet,” he replied. “I -hope you think I did right.”</p> - -<p>“It was the only thing, of course, John. It was just -like you to see it straight and do the right thing.”</p> - -<p>She wormed from him the fact that he had given -Roy a hundred dollars, and that certain payments for -the support of Roy’s wife had been agreed on.</p> - -<p>“You’re certainly a friend, John. We’ll return the -money at once; that’s the least we can do.”</p> - -<p>When he protested that he did not need the money -immediately she explained that her father’s affairs -were looking brighter and that the return of the sum -advanced would work no hardship.</p> - -<p>The bad news having been delivered, Moore exerted -himself to cheer her, but a vast gloom had settled upon -her. As he shook hands at the gate her sense of his -tolerance, kindness and wisdom brought tears to her -eyes but, left alone, her only emotion was one of fury -against Roy. She stood on the doorstep pondering. -Again, as after Roy’s appeal for money to cover his -share of the expense of his automobile escapade, she -thought of her own weakness in yielding to temptation. -But for John’s advice that it would be better for the -rest of the family to know at once of Roy’s tragedy—this -being the only word that fitly described this new -and discouraging blight upon her brother’s future—she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_291">[291]</span> -would have lacked the courage to communicate -the evil tidings to the household.</p> - -<p>It was not until they had all settled in the living -room after supper that she broke the news. Her -father sat at the table, reading a technical journal, -with Ethel near by preparing her Sunday-school lesson. -Mrs. Durland had established herself by the -grate with the family darning in her lap. Since Durland’s -removal to Kemp’s establishment a new cheer -and hope had lightened the atmosphere of the home, -and Grace, moving restlessly about the room, dreaded -to launch her thunderbolt upon the tranquil scene.</p> - -<p>“I have something to tell you; please listen,—you -too, father,” she began quietly.</p> - -<p>She used much the same blunt phrases in which -Moore had condensed the story, watching with a kind -of fascination a long black stocking slip from her -mother’s hand, pause at her knee and then crawl in -a slow serpentine fashion down her apron to her feet.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Roy!” Mrs. Durland moaned, her face white.</p> - -<p>Mr. Durland coughed, took off his glasses, breathed -on the lenses and began slowly rubbing them with -the corner of the linen table cover. He desisted suddenly, -remembering that Ethel had once rebuked him -for mussing the cover.</p> - -<p>“I guess that’s all there is to say about it,” Grace -concluded when she had told everything, not omitting -their financial obligation to Moore. “We’ve all got -to make the best of it.”</p> - -<p>Grace picked up the fallen stocking and handed it -to her mother, who made a pretense of carefully inspecting -a hole in the heel.</p> - -<p>“What time’s the first train down in the morning?” -she asked. “I must see Roy—and——”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_292">[292]</span>Ethel, who had sunk back helplessly in her chair, -jumped to her feet, her eyes blazing.</p> - -<p>“You shan’t go one step mother! It’s enough that -Roy’s brought this disgrace on the family without -you going down there to pet him. It’s your spoiling -him that’s made him what he is. John Moore had -no business meddling in our affairs. What Roy should -have done was to go away and never show his face -to any of us again. Father, you tell mother to keep -away from Roy!”</p> - -<p>The appeal to Durland, who had so rarely found -himself a court of last resort in the whole course of his -life, was not without its humor and Grace smiled bitterly -as she watched her sister, who stood before her, -white, her lips set in hard lines, her hands clenched -at her sides. Durland cleared his throat and recrossed -his legs.</p> - -<p>“I guess your mother’ll do the right thing, Ethel,” -he said.</p> - -<p>“I think you’re all crazy!” Ethel flared. “What will -Osgood think of me, with my brother forced to marry a -girl off the street.”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t say she was off the street,” Grace corrected -her. “I’d show the girl a little mercy if I were you, -and I wouldn’t make it any harder than necessary for -father and mother. You’re not the only one of us -who has feelings.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll leave! The rest of you may do as you please, -but I’ll not let Osgood think I don’t feel the <i>shame</i> -of my brother’s sin.”</p> - -<p>“If Osgood reads his Testament he may not see it -in quite that light.”</p> - -<p>Ethel breathed hard in the effort to think of some -withering retort. The best she could do, however, -was not especially brilliant.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_293">[293]</span>“Osgood,” she announced grandly, “is a gentleman!”</p> - -<p>“He might be that and still be a Christian,” Grace -replied tartly.</p> - -<p>“What did you say about trains, Grace,” asked Mrs. -Durland, who, deep in thought, had scarcely heard -the colloquy between her daughters.</p> - -<p>“I’ll call the station and find out. And I’ll get -Irene on the ’phone and tell her I won’t be at the -store tomorrow. I’m going with you, mother.”</p> - -<p>“Irene!”</p> - -<p>Ethel caught up and flung back the name as though -it were some hateful and obscene thing.</p> - -<p>“Ethel,” said Mrs. Durland serenely, “If you’ve got -nothing better to do you might help me with the darning. -I don’t like to go away without clearing it up.”</p> - - -<h3>V</h3> - -<p>The visit to Bloomington was not particularly heartening. -Roy was in a sullen humor when they talked -to him in the hotel parlor. He wanted to drop the law -course and go West, and they argued the matter most -of the day, Grace alternating between despair at Roy’s -stubborn indifference to every attempt to arouse his -pride and ambition and admiration for her mother’s -courage and forbearance in the most poignant sorrow -of her life.</p> - -<p>Grace finally left them together and took a walk that -led her far from the campus. She had no heart for -looking upon the familiar scenes or meeting the -friends she had left there only a few months earlier. -When she returned to the hotel Roy had been won to -a more tractable humor; and when he left them it -was in a spirit of submission, at least, to what he considered<span class="pagenum" id="Page_294">[294]</span> -an ungenerous ordering of fate. Mrs. Durland -insisted on carrying out the plan, with which she had -left Indianapolis, of visiting the young woman who -was now her daughter-in-law.</p> - -<p>“She’s Roy’s wife,” she said when Grace tried to -dissuade her. “I’ll feel better to see her. And it’s -only right I should.”</p> - -<p>She took the train for Louisville and Grace went -home.</p> - -<p>Grace’s thoughts were given a new direction early -the next morning when Miss Beulah Reynolds appeared -at Shipley’s shortly after the doors were -opened.</p> - -<p>“My dear child, the most astounding thing has happened!” -the little woman declared immediately.</p> - -<p>“Your house hasn’t burned down!” exclaimed -Grace, amused by the little woman’s agitation.</p> - -<p>“Worse! I’m to have a visitor,—that Mary Graham -Trenton whose book we once talked about. I’ve -just had a letter from an old friend in Boston warning -me of the lady’s approach, and asking me to see the -Indians don’t get her. I’ve wired her at Cleveland -asking her to stay at my house—I could hardly do -less.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose not,” said Grace faintly, wondering why -Miss Reynolds had come to her with the news.</p> - -<p>“I’m asking some people to dinner the night the -lady lectures—Tuesday—and I want you to come. -Don’t look so scared! She may not be as terrible as -she writes but I’m going to invite Dr. Ridgely, and -my doctor and my lawyer with the hope that they’ll all -get a shock. And I want you to come; you’ve read -her stuff, and I’ll count on you to help keep the talk -going.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_295">[295]</span>“Why, I don’t know—” Grace began, her mind in -a whirl of conjecture.</p> - -<p>“Come! That’s a dear child. Don’t go back on me; -I need your moral support. At six thirty, then? We -have to dine early on account of the lecture.”</p> - -<p>“Why, yes; Miss Reynolds,” Grace answered -faintly.</p> - -<p>“By the little pink ear of Venus!” exclaimed Irene, -coming upon Grace just as Miss Reynolds left. “What’s -Little Old Ready-Money done to you?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing,” Grace replied, her mind still in confusion. -“She was just asking me to dinner.”</p> - -<p>“From your looks I’d have guessed it was a funeral,” -Irene replied, and Grace, pulling herself together, hurried -away to meet an approaching customer.</p> - -<p>Of late she had given little thought to Mrs. Trenton, -and it had never occurred to her in her wildest dreams -that she might meet Ward’s wife in the intimate contact -of a dinner table. The prospect kept her in a -state of excitement all day and at times she was -strongly impelled to trump up some excuse for refusing -to go to Miss Reynolds’s. But her earlier curiosity -as to what manner of woman it was who bore -Ward Trenton’s name was rekindled by the thought -of meeting her. Trenton was in Syracuse and might -not reach Indianapolis for a week or more. He had -said that he had not, in the letter he had written -to Mrs. Trenton from St. Louis, revealed the identity -of the woman who had so strongly appealed to him. -Mrs. Trenton would hardly suspect that a girl she -met at a dinner party was the person her husband -had described only vaguely and without indicating -her habitat.</p> - -<p>Grace decided against writing Trenton of the impending<span class="pagenum" id="Page_296">[296]</span> -meeting till it was over. Having quieted her -apprehensions she began dramatizing the scene at -Miss Reynolds’s table and she reread “Clues to a -New Social Order” against the possibility that Mrs. -Trenton’s book might become a subject of discussion -at the dinner. The thought of seeing her lover’s -wife in this fashion while she herself remained unknown -and unsuspected laid powerful hold upon her -imagination.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_297">[297]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER TWELVE</h2> -</div> - - -<h3>I</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> calamity that had befallen Roy cast a shadow -upon the Durland household. Ethel stalked about -with an insufferable air of outraged innocence. Roy -had ruined the family; after all the sacrifices that -had been made for him he had flung away his chance -and was lost beyond redemption. She was merciless -in her denunciation of her brother, and hardly less -severe upon her mother for spoiling Roy and condoning -his sin.</p> - -<p>Grace exerted herself to the utmost to dispel the -gloom. Not since her young girlhood had she felt -so closely drawn to her mother, and she endeavored -by every possible means to lighten her burdens. Mrs. -Durland’s attempts to make the best of Roy’s predicament, -even professing to see in what she called the -boy’s new responsibilities a steadying force that would -evoke his best efforts, were pathetic; but Grace encouraged -all these hopes though in her heart she was -far from optimistic as to her brother’s future.</p> - -<p>“Sadie isn’t really a bad girl,” Mrs. Durland had reported -on her return from Louisville. “Her family -are not just what we would have wanted, but they -are respectable and we ought to be grateful for that. -Her father is employed in the railroad shops and -they own their own home. Sadie’s an only child and -it wasn’t necessary for her to go to work, but she was -restless and didn’t want to stay at home. There’s -a lot of that spirit among girls these days. Sadie’s -really fond of Roy and I think she understands that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_298">[298]</span> -now she must help him to make a man of himself. -She and her mother appreciated our kindness and I -think, Ethel, when you see Sadie——”</p> - -<p>“When I see Sadie!” cried Ethel, choking at the -name. “You don’t mean to say you’re going to bring -her to this house!”</p> - -<p>“Not now, of course; she wouldn’t want to come. -But in time we’ll all know her. You must remember -Ethel that she’s one of the family, your brother’s -wife, and no matter how much we may regret the -whole thing, we’ve got to stand by her just as we -stand by Roy.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t understand you, mother; I don’t understand -you at all! It isn’t like you to pass over a thing -like this, that’s brought shame and disgrace on the -family. And to think—to <i>think</i>—” she cried hysterically—“that -you even consider bringing the -shameless creature here to this house, with all its -sacred associations that mean something to me if they -don’t to the rest of you!”</p> - -<p>“That’s right, Ethel,” said Grace ironically. “It’s -perfectly grand of you to defend the family altar! -I suppose when Sadie comes you’ll be for throwing -her into the street and stoning her to death. And -you’d be the only one who could cast the first stone!”</p> - -<p>“Please be quiet, girls,” Mrs. Durland pleaded. “It -doesn’t help any to fuss about things. You haven’t -taken this as I hoped you would, Ethel. If we don’t -stand together and help each other the family tie -doesn’t amount to much. I had hoped you were going -to feel better about Roy. We simply mustn’t let the -dear boy think that just one misstep has ruined his -life. We must try to believe that everything is for -the best.”</p> - -<p>“Certainly, mother,” said Grace. “That’s the only<span class="pagenum" id="Page_299">[299]</span> -way to look at it. Ethel doesn’t mean to trouble you. -She’ll come round all right.”</p> - -<p>Ethel failed to confirm this sanguine prediction. -She continued to sulk and when her mother proposed -plans for assisting Roy when he finished at the law -school she contributed to the discussion only the direst -predictions of disaster.</p> - -<p>“We all have a lot to be thankful for,” Mrs. Durland -insisted. “It’s a blessing your father’s going to -be in a position to help Roy. The first year will be -the hardest for the boy, but after that he ought to be -able to stand on his own feet. I’ve about decided that -it would be better for him to open an office for himself -right away and not go in with any one else. The -more independent he feels the better. We must see -what we can do about that.”</p> - -<p>“I think we’d better talk it all over with John Moore -before we decide about anything,” Grace suggested. -“He knows all about Roy and certainly has shown -himself a good friend.”</p> - -<p>“John Moore!” sniffed Ethel, who had not forgiven -John for meddling in Roy’s affairs.</p> - -<p>“I hope you love yourself, Ethel; you certainly -don’t love anybody else.” Grace remarked, and -added, “Oh, yes, there’s Osgood! I forgot that you’re -concentrating your affections on him.”</p> - -<p>“I’m not afraid to see him at home; that’s more -than you do with the men you run around with!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I wouldn’t dare introduce my friends to you; -you might vamp them away from me!”</p> - -<p>“Now girls——!”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Durland sighed heavily; Mr. Durland, intent -upon some computations he was making at the living -room table, stirred uneasily. Grace had not been unmindful -of the fact that after his first fortnight at<span class="pagenum" id="Page_300">[300]</span> -Kemp’s the elation with which he had undertaken his -new labors had passed. He was now constructing an -engine embodying his improvements on the Cummings-Durland -motor and came home at night haggard -and preoccupied. He seemed to resent inquiries as -to his progress and after the first week Mrs. Durland, -on a hint from Grace, ceased troubling him with questions. -Grace herself was wondering whether, after -all, the ideas that had attracted Trenton’s attention -in her father’s patent claims might not fail to realize -what was hoped of them. But her faith in Trenton’s -judgment was boundless; with his long experience it -was hardly possible that he could be deceived or that -he would encourage expectations that might not be -realized by the most exacting tests.</p> - -<p>Grace had not changed her mind about going to -Miss Reynolds’s dinner, though at times she had all -but reconsidered her decision not to tell Trenton of -the invitation. There was really no reason why she -should not let him know of his wife’s impending visit -to Indianapolis; what really stayed her hand when -she considered mentioning the matter in one of her -letters was a fear that he might advise her against -going. Her curiosity as to Ward Trenton’s wife was -acute and outweighed any fear of his possible displeasure -when he learned—and of course Grace -meant to tell him—that she had deliberately put herself -in Mrs. Trenton’s way.</p> - - -<h3>II</h3> - -<p>On Saturday evening the delivery of a gown she had -picked out of Shipley’s stock to wear to the dinner -made it necessary to explain why she had purchased -it. It was the simplest of dinner gowns which she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_301">[301]</span> -drew from the box and held up for her mother’s and -Ethel’s inspection.</p> - -<p>“What earthly use can you have for that, Grace?” -Ethel demanded.</p> - -<p>Grace laid it across her mother’s knees and Mrs. -Durland took a fold in her fingers to appraise the -material.</p> - -<p>“It’s certainly pretty. This is one of the new shades, -isn’t it, Grace? It isn’t blue exactly——”</p> - -<p>“They call it hydrangea blue, mother. Please -hurry and say I’ll look scrumptious in it!”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think I’d have chosen just <i>that</i>,” remarked -Ethel putting down a handkerchief she was embroidering, -in flourishing script with the initials O. H., to -eye the garment critically. “If I were in your place -and could afford to spend what that must have cost I -think I’d have got something in one of the more -definite shades. You can’t really say whether that’s -blue or pink.”</p> - -<p>“That’s the artistic part of it, old dear,” replied -Grace amiably. “It’s out of the new spring stock and -considered very smart. Wake up, daddy! Tell me -you don’t think I’m stung!”</p> - -<p>“I guess my views about dresses wouldn’t help you -much, Grace,” Durland remarked, glancing at the -gown absently and returning to his interminable calculations.</p> - -<p>“You’ll look sweet in it, Grace,” Mrs. Durland volunteered. -“You think it isn’t cut too low?”</p> - -<p>“It’s the very latest model, mother. I don’t believe -you’ll think it too low when you see me in it. I tried -it on at my lunch hour yesterday and a customer got -her eye on it and did her best to coax me to let her -have it. But I sold her another gown that cost twenty -dollars more, so Shipley’s didn’t lose anything.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_302">[302]</span>“You get so many clothes, Grace,” Ethel interrupted -again intent upon her embroidery. “I don’t -just see what you can want with a dress like that.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, this is for a special occasion. Miss Reynolds -has asked me to dinner Tuesday. She’s entertaining -for Mrs. Mary Graham Trenton, who’s to lecture here -that night.”</p> - -<p>“You don’t mean it!” exclaimed Mrs. Durland. “I -read in the paper that Mrs. Trenton was to speak -here. I’d never have thought of connecting her with -Miss Reynolds!”</p> - -<p>“They’ve never met, I think. A friend of Miss -Reynolds’s in Boston wrote and asked her to see that -Mrs. Trenton was properly looked after, so she’s putting -her up and pulling off a dinner in her honor. I -might say that she didn’t appear to be awfully keen -about it. She’s asking Dr. Ridgely and Judge Sanders -and Dr. Loomis with their ladies, so theology, law -and medicine will be represented. She asked me, I -suppose, because I happened to mention to her once -that I had read Mrs. Trenton’s ‘Clues to a New Social -Order.’ And it may be in her mind that as a poor -working girl I represent the proletariat.”</p> - -<p>“She may have thought that being a friend of Mr. -Trenton’s it would be pleasant for Mrs. Trenton to -meet you,” said Ethel sweetly.</p> - -<p>“Thank you, sister, you’re certainly the little mind -reader,” Grace replied.</p> - -<p>“I’m sure it’s very kind of Miss Reynolds to ask -you,” remarked Mrs. Durland hastily, fearing a clash -between the sisters. “There are no finer people in -town than the Sanders and I have always heard splendid -things about Dr. Loomis and his wife. It’s a -privilege to meet people like that. I hope you realize -that a woman of Miss Reynolds’s position can have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_303">[303]</span> -her pick of the town. She’s certainly paying you a -great compliment, Grace.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t understand Miss Reynolds at all,” said -Ethel. “She’s the last woman in the world you’d -think would take a creature like Mary Graham Trenton -into her house.”</p> - -<p>“It’s because she is Miss Reynolds that she can do -as she pleases,” replied Mrs. Durland conciliatingly. -“And as she was asked by a friend to show some -courtesy to Mrs. Trenton, she isn’t doing any more -than any one else would do in the same circumstances. -As I said when Grace first spoke of meeting Mr. Trenton, -his wife’s a dangerous woman. It’s in her power -to do a great deal of mischief in the world. I don’t -believe Miss Reynolds has any patience with Mrs. -Trenton’s ideas, and it can’t do Grace any harm to -meet her. You ought to be glad, Ethel, that Miss -Reynolds feels that Grace would fit into a select party -like that.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll be surprised if Dr. Ridgely goes to the dinner,” -replied Ethel. “That woman is fighting everything -the church stands for. If I had my way she -wouldn’t be allowed to speak here.”</p> - -<p>“That’s no joke!” replied Grace good-naturedly. -“But there are people, you know, who are not afraid -of hearing radical ideas—a few broad-minded people -who think it safer to let the cranks talk out in the -open than to drive them into a cellar to touch off the -gentle bomb.”</p> - -<p>“Many people feel just that way, Ethel,” said Mrs. -Durland.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Durland’s disapproval of Mrs. Trenton and -the ideas identified with that lady’s name was much -softened by the fact that Grace was to be included in -a formal dinner which Miss Reynolds had undoubtedly<span class="pagenum" id="Page_304">[304]</span> -arranged with care. And while Mary Graham Trenton -might entertain and preach the most shocking -ideas she was nevertheless one of the best known -and most discussed women in America, besides being -the inheritor of wealth and social position. Miss Reynolds’s -marked liking for Grace afforded Mrs. Durland -a satisfaction not wholly attributable to veneration for -Miss Reynolds’s money or unassailable position as a -member of a pioneer Indianapolis family. Grace’s -unaccountable ways and her assertions of independence -often brought alarm and dismay to the -mother’s heart; but Grace was indubitably lovely to -look at and the fine spirit in which she had accepted -and met the curtailment of her course at the university -excused many things. Grace had wits and she -would go far, but the traveling would have to be on -broad highways of her own choosing. It was not without -twinges of heartache that Mrs. Durland realized -that this dark-eyed daughter was peculiarly a child of -the new order; that not by prayer, threat or cajolery -could she be made to walk in old paths or heed the old -admonitions. But there had been Morleys who -were independent and forthright and Miss Reynolds’s -invitation implied a recognition of Grace as a well-bred -and intelligent girl.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Durland, busily sewing, had been giving Grace -such information as she possessed about the Sanderses, -who were to be of Miss Reynolds’s company. Hardly -less than the sons and daughters of Virginia and Kentucky, -Mrs. Durland was possessed of a vast amount -of lore touching the families of her native state. Mrs. -Sanders was a Shelton of the old Bartholomew County -family of that name. Some Shelton had once been -engaged in business with a Morley who was a second -cousin of Mrs. Durland. It was a tannery she thought,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_305">[305]</span> -though it might have been a brickyard. And Sanders’s -father had been a prominent citizen somewhere -on the lower Wabash and had married into the Alston -family of Vanderburgh County. Grace lent a sympathetic -ear to this recital of ancient Hoosier history -chiefly because her mother found so great a pleasure -in reciting it. It was the cruelest of ironies that her -mother, with all her adoration of the State and its -traditions and her constant recurrence to the past -glories of the Morleys, lived a life of self-denial apart -from contemporaries capable of sharing her pride and -pleasure in the old times.</p> - -<p>The talk had wandered far from Grace’s dinner -engagement when Ethel, who had been quietly plying -her needle, took advantage of a lull to switch it back.</p> - -<p>“I suppose you won’t feel <i>quite</i> like a stranger with -Mrs. Trenton,” she suggested. “Mr. Trenton has no -doubt told his wife of his acquaintance with you.”</p> - -<p>“No doubt he has,” Grace replied calmly. “In fact -he told me he had written her about me.”</p> - -<p>This was not wholly candid; Trenton had only said -that he had written to his wife, pursuant to an understanding -between them, that he had met a girl -who greatly interested him. But Ethel’s remark occasioned -Grace a moment of discomfort. In her last -meeting with Trenton his wife had not been mentioned, -but it was possible that by now he had made -a complete confession of his unfaithfulness. Irene -Kirby had frequently commented upon Trenton’s -frankness; Grace chilled at the thought that he might -already have told his story to Mrs. Trenton in the hope -of hastening the day of his freedom.</p> - -<p>The newspapers were devoting much space to Mrs. -Trenton’s impending visit. On Saturday and Sunday -her portrait adorned the society pages, accompanied by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_306">[306]</span> -sketches of her life and activities in the feminist cause -that did full justice to her distinguished ancestry and -high social connections. In the Durland home Mrs. -Trenton continued to be a fruitful subject of discussion. -There were things which Ethel thought should -be said to Mrs. Trenton. She even considered asking -Dr. Ridgely to say them,—a proposition which Grace -derided and Mrs. Durland did not encourage. Ethel -was further inspired with the idea that a committee -of the best women of the city should wait upon Mrs. -Trenton and try to convince her of the dangerous -character of the doctrines she was advocating.</p> - -<p>“You’re taking it altogether too seriously,” said -Grace. “I don’t suppose that woman’s ever made a -single convert. About so many people have always -held her ideas—about marriage and things like that. -The real radicals probably look on her as a huge joke. -A woman who visits at Newport and goes cruising on -yachts doesn’t just put herself clear outside the social -breastworks. There are other, women besides Mrs. -Trenton who talk free love and birth control and -things like that just for the excitement and the attention -they get.”</p> - -<p>“They should be locked up, every one of them!” -Ethel declared. “I’m ashamed for our city that she -can come here and be received by people you’d expect -better things of, and be allowed to speak. The police -should stop it!”</p> - -<p>“Well, she can’t ruin the town with one lecture,” -Grace replied good-naturedly. “The Twentieth Century -Club brings all sorts of lunatics here and the -members are about the most conservative people in -town. You couldn’t change the minds of any of them -any more than you could knock over the soldiers’ -monument with a feather duster.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_307">[307]</span></p> - - -<h3>III</h3> - -<p>Grace got excused from the store at five o’clock on -Tuesday to give herself ample time to prepare for the -dinner.</p> - -<p>“That’s the prettiest gown you ever wore, dear,” -Mrs. Durland exclaimed when Grace was fully arrayed. -“I’m glad you didn’t have your hair marcelled; -that little natural wave is prettier than anything the -hairdresser could do. Carried straight away from -your forehead as you’ve got it gives just the right -effect. I guess Miss Reynolds needn’t be ashamed -of you. You’ve got the look of breeding, Grace; nobody -could fail to see that. Just be careful not to -talk too much, not even if Mrs. Trenton says brash -things you feel like disputing with her. And if you -get a chance to speak to Judge Sanders without appearing -to drag it in you might say you’re the great-granddaughter -of Josiah B. Morley. Little things like -that do count, you know.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, of course,” Grace assented, as she studied -the hang of her skirt before the mirror.</p> - -<p>Ethel came in and seated herself on the bed to -watch Grace’s preparations. Osgood Haley had -walked home with her and she was in the mood of subdued -exaltation to which the young man’s company -frequently brought her. She apologized to her mother -for being late; she and Osgood had prolonged the -walk by taking a turn in the park but she would make -up to her for the delay by doing all of the supper -work.</p> - -<p>“That dress really is becoming to you, Grace,” she -said in a fervor of magnanimity. “It sets you off -beautifully. You must tell us all about the party. I -hope you won’t let anything I said about Mrs. Trenton<span class="pagenum" id="Page_308">[308]</span> -spoil the evening for you. You know I’m always glad -when any happiness comes to you.”</p> - -<p>“Thank you, Ethel; I guess I’ll live through the -ordeal,” said Grace from her dressing table where she -had seated herself to administer the final touches to -her toilet. Zealous to be of service, Ethel and her -mother watched her attentively, offering suggestions -to which Grace in her absorption murmured replies or -ignored. Ethel brought from her room a prized lace-bordered -handkerchief which she insisted that Grace -should carry. Her generosity was spoiled somewhat -by the self-sacrificing air with which it was tendered. -To help others was really the great joy of life, Ethel -quoted Haley as saying, adding that she constantly -marveled at Osgood’s clear vision of the true way of -life. Grace accepted the handkerchief, with difficulty -concealing a smile at the change in Ethel wrought by -Haley’s talk.</p> - -<p>The car Miss Reynolds had sent was at the door and -Mrs. Durland and Ethel went down to see Grace off. -They gave her a final looking over before helping her -into her coat. The veil she had drawn over her head -required readjustment; it was a serious question -whether there was not an infinitesimal spot on one of -her slippers.</p> - -<p>“Oh, they’ve got to take me as I am!” said Grace, -finally. “There isn’t time to dress all over again.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll wait up for you, dear,” said Mrs. Durland. -“I’ll be anxious to know all about the dinner.”</p> - -<p>Grace was again torn by doubts as the car bore her -swiftly toward Miss Reynolds’s. She tried to convince -herself that she was not in the least interested in Mrs. -Trenton; that she was no more concerned with her -than she would have been with any other woman she -might meet in the house of a friend. But these attempts<span class="pagenum" id="Page_309">[309]</span> -to minimize her curiosity as to Trenton’s wife -failed miserably. It was impossible to think of the -meeting with her lover’s wife as a trifling incident. -The newspaper portraits of Mrs. Trenton rose vividly -before her and added to her discomfort. She feared -that she might in some way betray herself. When -the car stopped she felt strongly impelled to postpone -her entrance in the hope of quieting herself by walking -round the block; but to be late to a dinner was, she -knew, an unpardonable sin. Summoning all her courage -she ran up the walk to the door, which opened before -she could ring.</p> - -<p>“First room to the right upstairs,” said the colored -butler.</p> - -<p>The white maid helped her off with her wrap and -stood by watching her with frank admiration as she -surveyed herself before a long mirror. In Grace’s -perturbed state of mind the presence of the girl was -a comfort.</p> - -<p>“Do I look all right?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“You look lovely, Miss; just like a beautiful picture.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, thank you!” said Grace, smiling gratefully into -the girl’s eyes. “Am I very late?”</p> - -<p>“No, Miss, Dr. and Mrs. Ridgely haven’t come -yet.”</p> - -<p>A clock on the mantle began striking the half hour -as Grace left the room. She went down slowly with -a curious sense of being an unbidden guest in a strange -house.</p> - -<p>From the stair she caught a glimpse of a man in -evening dress in the room below. She had attended -few functions in her life where men wore evening -dress and the staring expanse of shirt front intensified -her sense of breathing an alien atmosphere.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_310">[310]</span>As she stood in the drawing room doorway the -figures within dimmed and she put out her hand to -steady herself. Then the wavering mists that blurred -her vision cleared as Miss Reynolds came quickly -forward and caught her hands.</p> - -<p>“My dear child, I didn’t hear you come down! -I’m glad to see you,—even relieved!” she added in a -whisper. “How perfectly adorable you are!” Grace -had not dared lift her eyes to the group of guests -who stood across the room talking animatedly, and -as Miss Reynolds, with her arm about Grace’s waist, -moved toward them she was arrested by a young man -who had just entered and stood waiting to present -himself.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Mr. Atwood! Miss Durland, Mr. Atwood.” -Jimmie Atwood put out his hand, smiling joyfully.</p> - -<p>“Good luck, I call this! It’s perfectly bully to -meet you again, Miss Durland.”</p> - -<p>“You two are acquainted?” Miss Reynolds exclaimed -delightedly. “That’s splendid, for you’re to -take Miss Durland in.”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Atwood’s equal to the most difficult situations,” -said Grace, meeting his eyes, which were responding -to the mirth in her own as both recalled the -night they had met at McGovern’s.</p> - -<p>“Ah! You have a secret of some kind!” said Miss -Reynolds. “Far be it from me to intrude but you’ve -got to meet the other guests.”</p> - -<p>Jimmie Atwood’s appearance had lessened the tension -for Grace and quite composedly she found herself -confronting a tall slender woman who stepped -forward to meet the newcomers.</p> - -<p>“Mrs. Trenton, Miss Durland—and Mr. Atwood.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Trenton gave each a quick little nod, murmuring:</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_311">[311]</span>“I’m very glad, indeed.”</p> - -<p>The Ridgelys at this moment arrived followed by -two unattached men. Townsend, a young physician -who was looked upon as a coming man, and Professor -Grayling, whose courses in sociology Grace -had taken at the University. He was, she learned, a -remote connection of Miss Reynolds’s and had been -summoned from Bloomington to add to the representative -character of the company.</p> - -<p>“Why didn’t you ever tell me you knew Miss Reynolds?” -Grayling demanded, as he and Grace were -left to themselves for a moment during the progress -of further introductions.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I didn’t meet her till after I left college. I -know why you’re invited; you’re here to do the -heavy high-brow work! I remember that you once -expressed views on the writings of the guest of honor.”</p> - -<p>“Did I? If I become quarrelsome tonight throw a -plate or something at me.” Grace had always admired -Grayling; he was saying now that she had been -his star student and that he missed her from his -classes.</p> - -<p>“I’d really counted on making you an instructor in -my department but you left without saying good-bye; -and here I find you launched upon a high social -career—it’s a distinct loss to social science!”</p> - -<p>“If you knew just where and how I met Miss Reynolds -you wouldn’t think me in danger of becoming -a social butterfly!” laughed Grace, her assurance -mounting. Grayling was smiling quizzically into her -eyes; he would never know how grateful she was for -these few minutes with him. The rest of the company -were grouped about Mrs. Trenton, who had -lately been in Washington and was expressing her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_312">[312]</span> -opinions, which were not apparently complimentary, -of the public men she had met there.</p> - -<p>“I’m Number Eighteen at Shipley’s,” said Grace, -finding that Grayling was giving her his complete attention. -“Miss Reynolds was my first customer.”</p> - -<p>“Ah!” he exclaimed. “You’re collecting data! I -see it all! There will be a treatise, perhaps a large -tome, on your experiences in the haunts of trade. -Perhaps you’ll allow me to write the preface. We -thought down at the University you’d got tired of us, -but I see that you’d grown beyond our feeble aid. I’m -infinitely relieved!”</p> - -<p>“Stop kidding me!” said Grace, glancing about to -make sure they were not overheard. “I’m a shop girl, -trying to earn an honest living.”</p> - -<p>Atwood came up as dinner was announced and when -they reached the table Grace found that Grayling -was to sit at her left. Mrs. Trenton’s place was a -little to her right on the further side, an arrangement -that made it possible for Grace to observe her without -falling within the direct line of her vision.</p> - -<p>Grace, turning to Atwood, who frankly declared his -purpose to monopolize her, found it possible to study -at leisure the woman about whom she had so constantly -speculated. Mrs. Trenton was, she surmised, -nearly the forty years to which Trenton himself confessed -and there was in her large gray-blue eyes -something of the look of weariness to be found in the -eyes of people who live upon excitement and sensation. -Her hair had a reddish tinge and the gray had -begun to show in it. She bore every mark which to -a sophisticated feminine inspection announces that a -woman has a particular care for her appearance. She -gave an impression of smoothness and finish. She -wore a string of pearls and on her left hand a large<span class="pagenum" id="Page_313">[313]</span> -pearl set in diamonds, but no wedding ring, a fact -which Grace interpreted as signifying that in this -fashion the author of “Clues to a New Social Order,” -let the world know her indifference to the traditional -symbol by which womankind advertise their married -state. She found herself wondering whether Ward -Trenton had given his wife the necklace or the ring -with the diamond-encircled pearl. Mrs. Trenton’s -gown had the metropolitan accent; it was the product -unmistakably of one of those ultra smart New York -dressmakers whose advertisements Grace had noted -from time to time in magazines for women.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Trenton had entered into a discussion with -Dr. Ridgely of the industrial conditions created by the -war; and she was repeating what some diplomat had -said to her at a dinner in Washington. Her head and -shoulders moved almost constantly as she talked, and -her hands seemed never idle, playing with her beads -or fingering a spoon she had unconsciously chosen as -a plaything. She laughed frequently, a quick, nervous, -mirthless little laugh, while her eyes stared vacantly, -as though she were not fully conscious of what she -said or what was being said to her. She spoke crisply, -with the effect of biting off her words. Grace was interested -in her mastery of the broad <i>a</i>, which western -folk profess to scorn but nevertheless envy in pilgrims -from the fabled East. Her voice and enunciation reminded -Grace of the speech an English woman who -had once lectured at the University.</p> - -<p>“Oh, that!”</p> - -<p>This was evidently a pet expression, uttered with a -shrug and a lifting of the brows. It meant much or -nothing as the hearer chose to take it. Grace had -read much about the neurotic American woman and -Mrs. Trenton undoubtedly expressed the type. It was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_314">[314]</span> -difficult to think of her as Ward Trenton’s wife. The -two were irreconcilably different. Grace’s mind -wearied in the attempt to correlate them, but she -gained ease as the moments sped by. By the time -the meat course was served the talk had become general. -Every one wished to hear Mrs. Trenton and she -met in a fashion of her own the questions that were -directed at her. Evidently she was used to being questioned -and she answered indifferently, sometimes disdainfully, -or turned the question upon the inquirer.</p> - -<p>Atwood was exerting himself to hold Grace’s attention. -He had never heard of Mary Graham Trenton -till Miss Reynolds’s invitation sent him to the -newspapers for information. He was not sure now -that he knew just how she came to be a celebrity and -with Grace beside him he didn’t care.</p> - -<p>“I’ve been wild to see you ever since that night we -put on the little sketch at Mac’s,” he said confidingly. -“You were perfectly grand; never saw a finer piece of -good sportsmanship. I met Evelyn the next day and -we’ve talked about it ever since when we’ve been alone. -But old Bob is certainly sore! He’s really a good fellow, -you know; but he was off his game that night. -You scored big with Evelyn. She was really hurt -when you refused her invitation to dinner. I was to -be in the party—begged for an invitation; I swear I -did! Please let me pull a party pretty soon—say at -the Country Club, and ask the Cummingses. Really -I’m respectable! I’ve got regular parents and aunts -and everything.”</p> - -<p>“We’ll have to consider that. Please listen; this is -growing interesting.”</p> - -<p>“My point, Mrs. Trenton,” Professor Grayling was -saying, “is just this: Your reform programme only -touches the top of the social structure without regard<span class="pagenum" id="Page_315">[315]</span> -to the foundation and the intermediate framework. -In your ‘Clues to a New Social Order’ you consider -how things might be—a happy state of things if the -transition could be effected suddenly. Granting that -what you would accomplish is desirable or essential -to the general happiness of mankind, we can’t just -pick out the few things we are particularly interested -in and set them up alone. They’d be sure to topple -over.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that!” Mrs. Trenton replied; and then as -though aware that something more was expected of -her she went on: “But a lot of changes have come -in—in what you scientific economists would call the -less important things. Just now I’m laying stress on -an equal wage for men and women for the same labor. -That I think more important than such things as more -liberal divorce laws, though I favor both. As to divorce”—she -gave her characteristic shrug,—“we all -know that more liberal laws came as the result of -changing conditions—the new attitude toward marriage -and all that. We’re in the midst of a tremendous -social evolution.”</p> - -<p>“May I come in right here for a moment, Mrs. -Trenton?” asked Dr. Ridgely. “You plead in your -book for a change of existing laws to make marriage -dissoluble at the will or whim of the contracting -parties; children to be turned over to the State—a -direct blow at the family. Do you really think that -desirable?” he ended smilingly.</p> - -<p>“Dear me! That idea didn’t originate with me,” -she replied. “I merely went into it a little more -concretely perhaps.”</p> - -<p>Again, her curious vacant stare, followed in an instant -by a gesture, the slightest lifting and closing -of one of her graceful hands as though her thoughts,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_316">[316]</span> -having ranged infinity, had brought back something -it was not necessary in her immediate surroundings to -disclose.</p> - -<p>“But,” the minister insisted, “would such a solution -be wise? Do you, honestly, think it desirable?”</p> - -<p>“It’s coming; it’s inevitable!” she answered quickly.</p> - -<p>“How many women can you imagine driving up to -a big barracks and checking their babies? How strong -is the maternal instinct?” asked Judge Sanders.</p> - -<p>“Most mothers don’t know how to care for their -children,” said Mrs. Trenton, bending forward to -glance at the speaker. Sanders was a big man with -a great shock of iron-gray hair. He was regarding -Mrs. Trenton with the bland smile that witnesses always -found disconcerting.</p> - -<p>“Well, that may be true,” he said, “but the poor -old human race has survived their ignorance a mighty -long time.”</p> - -<p>The laughter at this retort was scattering and tempered -by the obvious fact that Mrs. Trenton was not -wholly pleased by it.</p> - -<p>Jimmie Atwood was hoping that there would be a -row. A row among high-brows would be something to -talk about when he went to the University Club the -next day for lunch and an afternoon of sniff.</p> - -<p>“The idea is, I take it,” he said with his funny -squeak, “that there would be no aunts or in-laws; just -plain absolute freedom for everybody. Large marble -orphan asylums all over the country. Spanking machines -and everything scientific!”</p> - -<p>“You’ve got exactly the right idea,” cried Mrs. -Trenton.</p> - -<p>“Clubs for women and clubs for men; everybody -would live in a club. That <i>would</i> be jolly!” Atwood<span class="pagenum" id="Page_317">[317]</span> -continued, delighted that he had gained the attention -of the guest of honor.</p> - -<p>“Has anybody here,” began Grayling, “ever watched -a bunch of college boys listening to a phonograph -record of Patti singing ‘Home, Sweet Home?’ Well, I -have and you could cut the gloom with a knife. Home -is still sweet to most of us.”</p> - -<p>“I’d be awfully sorry to miss the weddings we have -at the parsonage,” said Mrs. Ridgely;—“trusting -young souls who pop in at all hours to be married. -They’re all <i>sure</i> they’re going to live happy forever -after. Miss Durland, it’s your generation that’s got -to solve the problem. Maybe you have the answer.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I think weddings are <i>beautiful</i>!” Grace answered, -feeling the eyes of the company upon her. -The girlish ardor she threw into her words won her a -laugh of sympathy.</p> - -<p>“Don’t let them intimidate you,” said Mrs. Trenton -with an indulgent smile. “Miss Reynolds has been -telling me that you’re a University girl and you ought -to be sound on the great questions if Professor Grayling -hasn’t spoiled you!”</p> - -<p>“No one could spoil Grace,” Grayling protested.</p> - -<p>Grace pondered, anxious for Miss Reynolds’s sake -to say nothing stupid. She was the youngest member -of the company; they were merely trying in a friendly -spirit to bring her into the talk and no wise deliverance -would be expected of her.</p> - -<p>“I wouldn’t dare speak for all my generation,” -she said, “but something <i>has</i> occurred to me. Our -elders scold us too much! It isn’t at all pleasant to -be told that we’re terribly wicked; that we haven’t -any of the fine qualities of our parents and grandparents. -We hear nothing except how times have<span class="pagenum" id="Page_318">[318]</span> -changed; well, we didn’t change them! I positively -refuse to be held responsible for changing anything! -I took the world just as I found it.”</p> - -<p>She had spoken quickly, with the ring of honest -protest in her voice, and she was abashed when Judge -Sanders clapped his hands in approval.</p> - -<p>“That’s the truest word I’ve heard on that subject,” -he said heartily. “The responsibility is on us -old folks if our children are not orderly, disciplined, -useful members of society.”</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid you’re right,” added Dr. Ridgely.</p> - -<p>“Aren’t you the Miss Durland that John Moore -talks about?” Mrs. Sanders asked. “I thought so! -Isn’t John a wonderful fellow? Since he went into -Mr. Sanders’s office we’ve seen him a good deal at -our house. He’s so simple and honest and gives promise -of great things.”</p> - -<p>“I’m very stupid,” said Sanders; “I didn’t realize -that I had met the paragon Moore brags about so -much; but I might have known it!”</p> - -<p>He began describing Moore, and told the whole table -how, as trustee of the University, he had become -acquainted with the young man and was so struck by -his fine qualities that he had taken him into his office. -He related some of the familiar anecdotes of Moore -and called upon Grace for others. Grace told her -stories well, wholly forgetting herself in her enthusiasm. -Suddenly her gaze fell upon Mrs. Trenton, -whose lips were parted in a smile of well-bred inattention. -Grace became confused, stammered, cut short a -story she was telling illustrative of John’s kindness -to a negro student whom he had nursed through a long -illness. Apparently neither John nor his philanthropic -impulses interested the author of “Clues to a New Social -Order”; or she was irritated at being obliged to relinquish<span class="pagenum" id="Page_319">[319]</span> -first place at the table. Miss Reynolds, quick -to note the bored look on her guest’s face, tactfully -brought her again into the foreground. Grace was -startled a moment later, when, as the talk again became -general, Sanders remarked:</p> - -<p>“I believe I’ve met your husband, Mrs. Trenton. -He’s a friend of Mr. Thomas Kemp, one of our principal -manufacturers.”</p> - -<p>“Yes?” she replied carelessly. “I think I’ve heard -Mr. Trenton speak of an Indianapolis client of that -name. He visits your city I know, on professional -employments. Indeed his business keeps him in -motion most of the time; but I can’t complain; I’m a -good deal of a gad-about myself! I wired for Mr. -Trenton’s address to his New York office the other -day, hoping I might be able to see him somewhere. -It’s possible he may turn up here. There’s a case for -you, Dr. Ridgely! The reason my marriage is so successful -is because of the broad freedom Mr. Trenton -and I allow each other. We haven’t met since—Heaven -knows when!”</p> - -<p>A slight hint of bravado in her tone suggested an -anxiety to establish herself in the minds of the company -as the possessor of a wider freedom and a nobler -tolerance than other wives. The other wives at the -table were obviously embarrassed if not displeased -by her declaration. It seemed to Grace that the air -of the room chilled perceptibly.</p> - -<p>She found herself resenting Mrs. Trenton’s manner -of speaking of her husband. Trenton, she remembered, -had always spoken of his wife in kind terms. -On the evening of their first meeting at The Shack -he had chivalrously taken upon himself the responsibility -for the failure of his marriage. He had spoken -of Mrs. Trenton as a charming woman, but Grace<span class="pagenum" id="Page_320">[320]</span> -thought her singularly charmless. She was at no pains -to make herself agreeable to the company Miss Reynolds -had assembled in her honor. One thing was -clear and Grace derived a deep satisfaction from the -reflection,—Mrs. Trenton not only didn’t love her husband, -but she was incapable of loving any one but -herself. Grace, having accepted the invitation to meet -Mrs. Trenton with a sense that there was something -a little brazen in her going when Miss Reynolds believed -her to be a clean-hearted, high-minded girl, in -bitterness of spirit yielded to a mood of defiance. -This woman had no right to be a burden and a -hindrance to the man she had married. It was her -fault if he found in another the love and the companionship -she had denied or was incapable of giving -him.</p> - - -<h3>IV</h3> - -<p>The Twentieth Century Club had made the occasion -a guest night and the hall was well filled when Miss -Reynolds’s party arrived. Places had been reserved -for them near the platform but Grace slipped into a -seat by the door with Atwood and Grayling.</p> - -<p>“Thank you for this!” exclaimed Atwood. “I always -sleep at lectures and I won’t be so conspicuous -back here.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Trenton, introduced by the president as one of -the foremost women of her time, laid a sheaf of notes -on the reading desk and began her address. Her subject -was “Woman’s New Freedom,” and she summarized -the long struggle for suffrage before indicating -the questions to which women should now devote -themselves to complete their victory. She recited the -familiar arguments against child labor and thought<span class="pagenum" id="Page_321">[321]</span> -existing laws should be extended and strengthened; -and she pleaded for equal pay for equal work for -women. She advocated uniform marriage and divorce -laws on a basis of the widest freedom. There was no -slavery so hideous as that of marriages where the tie -becomes irksome. She favored birth control on the -ground that a woman is entitled to be the judge of her -fitness and ability to bear and raise children. She -advocated state maternity hospitals with provision for -the care of all children by the state where parents -lack the means or the intelligence to rear them. She -was not a socialist, she protested, though there were -many socialistic ideas which she believed could profitably -be adopted under the present form of government. -Her “Clues to a New Social Order,” she explained, -contemplated the fullest recognition of the -rights of the individual. She expressed her impatience -of the multiplication of laws to make mankind better; -the widest liberty was essential to all progress.</p> - -<p>Grace had listened with the strictest attention. -Once or twice Grayling whispered some comment and -Atwood, deeply bored, inquired midway of the address -whether the first inning wasn’t nearly over. At the -conclusion the president, following the club’s custom, -said that Mrs. Trenton would be glad to answer any -questions, but the only person who took advantage of -the invitation was an elderly gentleman who asked -Mrs. Trenton whether she didn’t think the Eighteenth -Amendment marked a great moral advance for the -nation.</p> - -<p>“On the contrary, a decided retreat,” Mrs. Trenton -replied, so incisively that the meeting closed amid general -laughter.</p> - -<p>“Was it the event of a life-time?” Atwood asked -Grayling.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_322">[322]</span>“Old stuff! Miss Durland could have taken the -lady’s material and made a better story of it.”</p> - -<p>“A doubtful compliment!” said Grace. “Come -along; we must say good-night to Miss Reynolds.”</p> - -<p>They went forward to where the other guests stood -waiting while the club president introduced to Mrs. -Trenton such of the members as wished to meet her.</p> - -<p>“Don’t forget that I’m taking you home,” said Atwood. -“That’s my reward for coming.”</p> - -<p>Grace had hoped to avoid speaking to Mrs. Trenton -again but as Miss Reynolds’s other guests were bidding -her good-night she couldn’t very well escape it.</p> - -<p>“Ah, you stayed to the bitter end!” Mrs. Trenton -exclaimed with a forced brightening of her face. The -hand she gave Grace was cold, and the look of weariness -in her eyes was intensified. “I wish we might -have you as a convert. No hope, I suppose?”</p> - -<p>She turned away with a smile to greet the next in -line.</p> - -<p>“It wasn’t so shocking after all,” remarked Miss -Reynolds, as Grace bade her good-night. “I’ll always -remember this, Grace. You helped a lot—you’d have -helped a lot even if you hadn’t said a word! I was so -proud of you, dear.”</p> - -<p>When she reached home Grace found her mother -and Ethel waiting up for her and she sat down in the -living room to recount the events of the evening. -Mrs. Trenton, she said, was not so terrible; she dismissed -her lightly and concentrated upon the other -guests at the dinner. She was at pains to give the -impression that she had thoroughly enjoyed herself, -particularly her meeting with Professor Grayling. The -fact, carelessly mentioned, that Jimmie Atwood had -brought her home immediately obscured everything -else. Mrs. Durland wished to be sure that Jimmie<span class="pagenum" id="Page_323">[323]</span> -was the son of the George Rogers Atwood who had -made a fortune in the stove business; Ethel thought -he was only a nephew and that Jimmie’s father -operated coal mines somewhere near Terre Haute. -Grace, unable to assist in determining this momentous -matter, left them and sought the seclusion of her room.</p> - -<p>As she closed the door she was oppressed by an -overmastering fatigue; she felt that innumerable, -mocking, menacing hands were plucking at her. The -jealousy that had assailed her fitfully all evening now -tore at her heart. A vast loneliness, as of some bleak -unhorizoned waste, settled upon her. She locked her -door and spread out on her dressing table the sheets of -Trenton’s last letter, which had reached her that -morning, and read them over as she brushed her hair.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>... and there is no hour in which I do not think -of you. The thought of you is like a prayer in my -heart. You have touched the best in me. I rebel -against the fate that keeps me from you. Sometimes -it becomes intolerable—I want you so much, <i>now</i>—just -to see your face, to look into your eyes, to touch -your hand. You are the flower of all the world, I -think, and quick upon that comes a sense that you -have greatness in you; that you are stronger than I -am—possess a truer and broader sense of the meaning -of life....</p> -</div> - -<p>Her deep sigh as she finished became a sob and -she laid her head upon her arms and the tears came. -It was possible that he had written just such letters -to the woman who was still his wife; that once he -had found in her this same exaltation.</p> - -<p>But these thoughts she fought and conquered. As -she moved slowly about her room with its dingy old-fashioned -furniture, its odds and ends of memorabilia—her -high school diploma, framed; a University pennant<span class="pagenum" id="Page_324">[324]</span> -hung over the mahogany bed,—she slipped back -into her youth and her heart went out to Trenton with -a child-like faith and confidence. The remembrance -of him as he had held her and kissed her; his tenderness, -the wistfulness with which he regarded her at -times, his fine considerateness, the utter lack of anything -common or coarse in him—these memories -wrought peace in her heart.</p> - -<p>Ready for bed, she huddled inside the window -draperies before opening her window, gazing up at the -stars. The same bright orbs shone over him, wherever -he was. Perhaps at that very moment, he, in -the manner of lovers from time immemorial, was -invoking their council as he thought of her.</p> - -<p>“I love you! I love you, dear!” she whispered and -repeated the words, finding in them strength and -solace.</p> - -<p>She unlocked the door and got into bed just as her -mother entered.</p> - -<p>“Are you all right, Grace?” Mrs. Durland asked. -She stooped and picked up Grace’s party slippers from -the middle of the floor and put them away in the -closet.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I’m fine, mother,” Grace answered. “Please -don’t bother about my things. I’ll straighten up in the -morning.”</p> - -<p>“All right, dear,” said Mrs. Durland. “I’ll put your -dress on a hanger in the sewing room and press the -skirt out tomorrow. It’s mussed a little, I noticed.”</p> - -<p>With the gown over her arm she walked to the bed.</p> - -<p>“Are you happy, dear?” she asked, laying her hand -for a moment on the girl’s forehead.</p> - -<p>“Yes, mother. Thank you so much for coming in!”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_325">[325]</span>With an access of emotion she sat up and flung her -arms about her mother’s neck and kissed her.</p> - -<p>“You <i>are</i> happy, Grace?” Mrs. Durland repeated -solicitously.</p> - -<p>“Yes, mother; very happy.”</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_326">[326]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER THIRTEEN</h2> -</div> - - -<h3>I</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">The</span> morning paper’s account of Mrs. Trenton’s lecture -came in for discussion at the breakfast table and -Mrs. Durland read aloud the society column’s report -of Miss Reynolds’s dinner. The names of the guests -were not given, an omission which Mrs. Durland -thought singular, but which evoked from Ethel the -comment that the people who had countenanced Mrs. -Trenton merely to please Miss Reynolds probably -had asked to have their names suppressed. Durland, -deprived of his paper, which Mrs. Durland and Ethel -were clinging to in violation of his long-established -rights, asked Grace whether Trenton was in town.</p> - -<p>“Mrs. Trenton said she had hoped to see him here, -but I don’t know anything about it, daddy,” she replied -carelessly, though the possibility of Trenton’s -coming to Indianapolis in response to his wife’s summons -was now uppermost in her thoughts.</p> - -<p>She eagerly opened the letter from him which -awaited her at the store. It was a hasty lead-pencil -scrawl and said that he was leaving that night for -Indianapolis to see Mrs. Trenton, who was lecturing -there and had asked for a meeting. The summons was -most inopportune as his work in Syracuse was not -completed and it would be necessary for him to return -as quickly as possible. “But I’ll see you, of course, -if only for a moment,” he concluded.</p> - -<p>The note served only to revive with keener malevolence -the jealousy that she had vanquished the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_327">[327]</span> -previous night. Trenton had never written so -brusquely before; perhaps his wife’s demand for an -interview had alarmed him. She stabbed herself with -the thought that this woman had the right to demand -interviews with him whenever she pleased.</p> - -<p>In the search for consolation she asked Irene to go -to lunch with her. To her relief, Irene, having already -formed at long range her opinion of Mrs. Trenton, -asked only a few questions about the dinner.</p> - -<p>“Having seen Mary you will understand Ward better,” -Irene remarked, after her curiosity had been satisfied -as to what the women wore and she had suggested -that the meeting with Atwood under Miss Reynolds’s -roof might lead to something.</p> - -<p>“Ward’s coming here to see her; he may be in town -now,” said Grace, not in the least interested in Atwood. -“She told us at dinner she hadn’t seen her -husband for she didn’t know how long and had been -wiring to try to locate him. What do you make of -that, Irene? Do you suppose——”</p> - -<p>“I’d suppose nothing! You can’t tell what women -of that sort think or what they’ll do. But you can be -pretty sure they’ll do something foolish every chance -they get. Don’t you worry about her; you can trust -Ward to take care of you no matter what her ladyship -knows or guesses about him. If Ward loves you as I -think he does he’ll go clear down the line for you.”</p> - -<p>“Do you think that,—do you really mean that,” -asked Grace tremulously.</p> - -<p>“Of course I mean it! Look here, my dear! Seeing -that woman has made you nervous. If you’d -asked my advice in advance I’d have told you not to -go. But now that you went and gone and done it the -sooner you forget the whole business the better.”</p> - -<p>“Irene, I simply had to go! I was simply dying<span class="pagenum" id="Page_328">[328]</span> -of curiosity and jealousy. Can’t you understand that? -You needn’t tell me I ought to be ashamed of myself -for going; I know well enough I ought to be.”</p> - -<p>“Cut it out, old dear! I’d probably have done the -same thing myself if I’d been in your place. Why, -Grace, the first time Mrs. Kemp appeared on my floor -after I began playing around with Tommy, I nearly -broke my neck to wait on her. You ought to feel better -now you’ve seen the woman. I heard some of our -valued customers talking about the lecture this morning -and they all knocked. It’s her money they listen -to, not her ideas. She’s no rival of yours, my dear. -But, <i>speaking</i> of rivals, I’ve been keeping something -from you. Good old John Moore has called on me -twice lately and I went to a movie with him Saturday -night. Honest, I did! Don’t faint, but I actually -broke a date with Tommy to see a picture with your -old college chum! Go on and scold me!”</p> - -<p>“Why, Irene, I’m awfully pleased. John liked you -from the first time you met.”</p> - -<p>“Well, he oughtn’t to! Really it would be a lot better -if you’d warn him against me. He’s so square himself -that he refuses to believe anything mean of anybody; -and if he should fall in love with me—or worse—if -I’d get a case on <i>him</i>——”</p> - -<p>She shook her head and compressed her lips to indicate -the dire possibilities of either predicament.</p> - -<p>“Why not?” Grace demanded.</p> - -<p>“Don’t be silly; you know why not,” Irene replied. -“He thinks I’m straight and you know I’m—well, you -know what you know. And I just wouldn’t fool that -man! If I did I’d be punished for it and I’d deserve -to be.”</p> - -<p>“Why, Irene!” exclaimed Grace. “I believe you’re -already in love with him.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_329">[329]</span>“Well, hardly <i>that</i>,” Irene replied reflectively, “but -I’ve got one of the symptoms. I’m going to quit my -evil ways and chuck Tommy! Old sackcloth and -ashes stuff! I ought to have let him go when we had -the row about that girl in Chicago. You know, Grace, -we’re always hearing about the influence of a good -woman, but, my dear, it’s nothing to what a good man -can do! I suppose,” she went on in her large philosophic -manner, “it’s because really fine men are so -scarce that when you do spot one you just naturally -feel like prostrating yourself in the dust before him. -When I began lotus-eating with Tommy I thought I’d -never weary of the food, but John’s given me an appetite -for corn bread and cabbage! Just what will -you take for your interest in John?”</p> - -<p>“I never could have loved John and he’s never -thought of me in that way,” Grace replied seriously. -“But, Irene, for his friendship I wouldn’t take a -million dollars.”</p> - -<p>“Of course you wouldn’t! And just for his respect -and confidence, I’d—”</p> - -<p>Grace marvelled to see tears in Irene’s eyes.</p> - -<p>The hour spent with Irene served at least to change -the current of Grace’s thoughts. There were other girl -friends for whom she had a warm liking but Irene -continued to hold first place in her affections. The -girl’s poise and serenity, her flashes of wisdom, made -her increasingly fascinating. And there was a charm -in her very unaccountableness. That the luxury-loving -Irene, who had so recently spoken of marriage as -only a means of attaining comfort and ease, should -tolerate the attentions of a young countryman who -stood at the threshold of one of the most difficult professions -was all but incredible. But this was no more<span class="pagenum" id="Page_330">[330]</span> -puzzling than the attraction John apparently found in -Irene.</p> - - -<h3>II</h3> - -<p>By the middle of the afternoon Grace was again -enmeshed in a network of doubt and apprehension. -Trenton was making a journey for the express purpose -of meeting his wife; he had probably reached -Indianapolis at noon and gone at once to Miss Reynolds’s -to see her. Grace’s imagination was playing -cruel tricks upon her; she pictured the meeting between -Trenton and his wife in a hundred ways. He -would kiss her, perhaps take her into his arms; and -after their long separation it was possible that both -might experience a reawakening of the early passion -that had died in them. Grace, seeking the lowest -depths of humility, knew herself only as Number -Eighteen at Shipley’s, a girl to be played with and -cast aside by another woman’s husband whenever it -pleased him to be done with her. In her self-abasement -she recalled Irene’s oft-reiterated declaration -about Kemp, that she admired his brains and was -fond of him but never deceived herself with the idea -that she loved him. This was the wiser way. Grace -lashed herself pitilessly for her folly in giving her love -so unreservedly when the result could bring nothing -but unhappiness. Her love and trust wavered like -sunlight struggling to penetrate a field of cloud.</p> - -<p>She was standing near the entrance to the ready-to-wear -department, inattentive and listless, when the -rattle of the elevator door roused her and Trenton -stepped out. At the sight of him the blood rushed to -her heart till it seemed for a moment that she would -die of joy at the sight of him.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_331">[331]</span>He saw her at once and walked quickly toward her. -He had never before seemed so handsome and distinguished. -His step had the elasticity of youth, and -there was a happy light in his eyes as he took her -hand. This was the first time he had sought her at -Shipley’s and she assumed that his coming meant that -he had seized the only possible moment to see her.</p> - -<p>“We can’t talk here, of course; I’ve got Kemp’s -car and I can explain things as we ride,” he said. -“Can you get excused for the rest of the day?”</p> - -<p>Miss Boardman, busily marking price tags, gave -the permission with an absent-minded nod and Grace -hurried back to report that she was free and would get -her wraps and meet him at the main entrance.</p> - -<p>When they were in Kemp’s limousine Trenton -ordered Craig to drive straight north, without mentioning -a destination. There was no hint of trouble -in his clear steady eyes. His air of perfect self-confidence, -of knowing exactly what he was about, restored -her faith. She loved him and she was proud that she -loved him.</p> - -<p>“Please don’t be frightened!” he began, clasping -her hand when they were clear of the down-town -traffic. “I’ve just seen Mrs. Trenton. She wired me -for an appointment to discuss some of her personal -business matters. As she’s going further West lecturing -it was as convenient to see her here as anywhere -else. So I came here and have already seen her at -Miss Reynolds’s. It took some time to go over her -investments and explain some changes I had made in -them. When that was finished she suddenly asked -about that letter I wrote to her last fall from St. -Louis. That settled the question as to whether she -ever got it.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I remember,” Grace replied faintly.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_332">[332]</span>In spite of his cheerfulness she was sure that he was -leading up to some disagreeable disclosure and involuntarily -she drew away her hand.</p> - -<p>“It’s all right, dear,” he went on reassuringly. “She -said she knew we’d been drifting further apart for -a long time and that she wasn’t surprised by my -letter. She hadn’t acknowledged it because she was -waiting for a chance to see me to talk it out. She -seemed rather amused. She has a way of being -amused at things. And now—don’t jump!” he caught -her hand and clasped it tight. “She was always a -woman of surprises—she said she wanted to see the -girl I had mentioned—but not in a disagreeable way -at all. If you knew her you’d understand.”</p> - -<p>“That’s it—I do understand,” Grace replied slowly. -“I was at the dinner Miss Reynolds gave for her last -night. I ought to have asked you if it was all right -to go—but I was afraid you’d say no—and—and I -<i>had</i> to see her.” Her voice broke in a sob, but lifting -her head she hurried on. “I was jealous—terribly -jealous—and something tells me that—that—we are—near -the end.”</p> - -<p>“Please, dear; don’t give way to foolish fears!” he -implored. “I’m glad you went to the dinner; that was -all right and I want to hear all about it later. Having -seen Mrs. Trenton you ought to know that her -request is quite characteristic. Don’t you see that -she’s curious about you, just as you were about her! -I really think she means to be kind to me. It’s unusual -of course, but—Mrs. Trenton is a very unusual -woman!”</p> - -<p>Grace looked at him in a kind of dumb wonder.</p> - -<p>“You—you told her my name—” she faltered.</p> - -<p>“No; certainly not! You weren’t mentioned. I -think she assumed that the girl I wrote her about<span class="pagenum" id="Page_333">[333]</span> -lived in St. Louis. She was rather taken aback when -I said she lived here.”</p> - -<p>“And you told her you’d produce me—exhibit me -for her criticism? Ward, what can you be thinking -of; what can you think of <i>me</i> to ask such a thing? I -suppose you told her everything?”</p> - -<p>“Why Grace, this isn’t like you! You’re taking it all -too seriously. Mrs. Trenton has no cause to think -anything except that I’ve met you and fallen in love -with you. You must be reasonable, dear,” he went on -patiently. “She knows nothing and has no right to -assume—what we’d rather she didn’t. It’s just a -whim of hers. If I thought she wouldn’t treat you -as one lady should treat another I wouldn’t ask you -to go. It will be the most formal call—no chance for -anything unpleasant, even if she wanted to be disagreeable.”</p> - -<p>“She could be very disagreeable. I didn’t like her; -I didn’t like her at all! It seems to me sheer folly -to put myself in her way unnecessarily.”</p> - -<p>“I tell you it will be all right!” he protested. “She -will be surprised, of course, to find that she has already -met you. You know I wouldn’t cause you the slightest -embarrassment or pain for the world.”</p> - -<p>For a moment she pondered, her confidence in him -and her wish to accede to his wishes struggling against -suspicion and jealousy.</p> - -<p>“You’re sure this isn’t a trick—a trap?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“Of course not, dear! How can you think such a -thing? Mrs. Trenton really has a sense of humor; -and she’s a woman of the world. Besides she has no -ground whatever for attacking you; I can’t imagine -her doing that in any circumstances. I’m just meeting -her wish to see a girl I told her I admire. But—I -count more than I dare say on the result. I want<span class="pagenum" id="Page_334">[334]</span> -to give her a chance to practice what she preaches!”</p> - -<p>“Well,” said Grace, searching his eyes with a long -gaze, “I’ll go since you insist, but I think it’s foolish. -It’s the most ridiculous thing I ever heard of! But -she can’t do more than murder me.”</p> - -<p>“She can’t do more than approve of you!” he cried -and ordered Craig to drive to Miss Reynolds’s.</p> - - -<h3>III</h3> - -<p>Mrs. Trenton was immediately visible, writing at a -small table in the living room, when they were ushered -into the reception parlor. She wore a pair of shell-rimmed -library glasses, and it occurred to Grace that -the blank stare that had been so disconcerting the -previous night was probably attributable to some defect -of vision. She did not lift her head when the maid -spoke to her but nodded and went on writing for several -minutes. Then she laid aside the glasses and -walked unhurriedly to the door.</p> - -<p>“Ah, Ward, back again!”</p> - -<p>“I believe you’ve met Miss Durland, May,” said -Trenton.</p> - -<p>“Yes; of course,” she replied with a smile of recognition -that faded instantly. “It’s nice of you to come, -Miss Durland. I didn’t know last night that you were -acquainted with Mr. Trenton. Dear Miss Reynolds -didn’t mention it or I should, of course——”</p> - -<p>She broke off in her odd way, her gaze wandering. -Her indifference was an achievement in itself, a masterly -thing. She wore a blue house gown of an exquisite -simplicity. A string of crystal beads hung -about her neck and she put her hand to them -frequently as though to make sure they were there. -As she sank into a chair her long figure relaxed into<span class="pagenum" id="Page_335">[335]</span> -graceful lines. She was much more composed than at -the dinner, with a languorous composure that might -have been donned for the occasion like a garment. -She reminded Grace of those portraits of women done -by fashionable painters which satisfy the artistic sense -without conveying a sense of reality.</p> - -<p>“You forget, May, that I haven’t met Miss Reynolds,” -Trenton remarked to her; but she ignored him.</p> - -<p>“You are—what do you say—a Hoosier, Miss Durland?” -she asked, her gaze falling as if by chance -upon Grace.</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes, I’m a native.” Grace answered with -a faint smile; but her courage was ebbing. She hated -Mrs. Trenton. She tried to think of something amusing -to add to her confession that she was a native -Indianian but the atmosphere of the room was not -conducive to brilliancy. To make conversation Trenton -reminded his wife that they had once met a -certain senator from Indiana at White Sulphur -Springs.</p> - -<p>A “yes” charged with all the apathy that can be -conveyed by the rising inflexion, was the only reply -that was evoked by this attempt to link Indiana to -large affairs of state. Trenton asked Grace whether -Indiana had ever produced more than one president, -and she tried to ease her discomfiture by replying -that the state had rather specialized in vice-presidents.</p> - -<p>“Oh, that!” remarked Mrs. Trenton. “How very -droll! I suppose the Indiana school teacher has a -frightful time instilling in the young Hoosier mind the -names of all your vice-presidents. Do they pay -teachers well in Indiana?”</p> - -<p>“Not so well as farther West, I believe,” Grace -answered; “but I know little about it.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_336">[336]</span>“That’s the next thing I’m going to take up. I’m -having data collected now,” Mrs. Trenton said with -more spirit than she had before manifested.</p> - -<p>“That’s fine, May,” said Trenton cordially. “That’s -a work worth doing.”</p> - -<p>“You’d really approve of that, Ward?” she asked. -“You haven’t always been so indulgent of my whims.”</p> - -<p>Grace, increasingly uncomfortable, started when -Mrs. Trenton addressed her directly.</p> - -<p>“Miss Durland, if you see too much of Mr. Trenton -you will find him a singularly unreasonable person. -But,” with a shrug, “all men have the ancient -conceit of their sex superiority.”</p> - -<p>She had drawled the “if you see too much” in a manner -to give the phrase a peculiar insinuating emphasis. -Grace caught its significance at once and her cheeks -burned; but she was less angry at the woman than at -Trenton, whose face betrayed no resentment. She -rose and walked to the door.</p> - -<p>“Dear me, don’t run away!” Mrs. Trenton exclaimed. -“Miss Reynolds will be back shortly. She -was called away to some hospital—I think it was—to -see a friend. Do wait. There will be tea, I think.”</p> - -<p>Trenton was on his feet. No man’s mind is ever -quite so agile or discerning as a woman’s. He had -just caught up with the phrase that had angered -Grace.</p> - -<p>“I have kept my word,” he said, rising and addressing -his wife directly. “When I promised you that if -I ever met a woman I felt I could care for I would -tell you, I was in earnest. At your own suggestion -and in perfect good faith I asked Miss Durland to -come here.”</p> - -<p>“My dear Ward! You were always a man of your -word!” she said with a hint of mockery in her voice.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_337">[337]</span> -“I assure you that I’m delighted to meet Miss Durland. -She’s very charming, really.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t intend that you shall forget yourself!” he -said sharply. “Your conduct since you came into this -room has been contemptible!”</p> - -<p>“I’m most contrite! Do forgive me, Miss Durland.”</p> - -<p>She lay back in her chair in a pose of exaggerated -ease and lazily turned her head to look at Grace.</p> - -<p>“I assume,” she said, “that you are my chosen successor, -and I can’t complain of my husband’s taste. -You are very handsome and I can see how your youth -would appeal to him, but—there are things I must consider. -Please wait”—Grace had laid her hand on the -door,—“I may as well say it all now. I’ve probably -led Ward to think that if such an emergency as this -arose I’d free him and bid him Godspeed. But, you -see, confronted with the fact, I find it necessary to -think a little of myself. One must, you know, and -I’m horribly selfish. It would never do to give my -critics a chance to take a fling at me as a woman -whose marriage is a failure. You can see for yourself, -Miss Durland, how my position would be weakened -if I were a divorcee. Much as I hate to disappoint -you—it would never do—really it would not!”</p> - -<p>“Just what are you assuming, Mrs. Trenton?” demanded -Grace, meeting the gaze of the older woman.</p> - -<p>“We needn’t discuss that now!” interrupted Trenton -peremptorily.</p> - -<p>“No; I suppose you’d have to confer privately with -Miss Durland before reaching a conclusion. But, I -suggest, Miss Durland, for the sake of your own happiness, -that you avoid, if, indeed, the warning isn’t too -late, forming any—what do we call such—”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_338">[338]</span>“That will do! Stop right there!” Trenton interrupted.</p> - -<p>Grace had swung round from the door, and stood, -her lips parted and with something of the look of an -angry, hurt child in her eyes. It seemed to her that -she was an unwilling eavesdropper, hearing words not -intended for her ears, but without the power to escape. -Then she heard Trenton’s voice.</p> - -<p>“You’d better go, Grace,” he said quietly. “Craig -is waiting. He will take you home.”</p> - -<p>Grace closed the door after her and paused in the -dim hall. A nightmare numbness had seized her; -and she found herself wondering whether she could -reach the outer door; it seemed remote, unattainable. -She steadied herself against the newel, remembering -an accident in childhood that had left her dazed and -nauseated. Trenton had told her to go; at his wife’s -bidding he was sending her away and it wasn’t necessary -for him to dismiss her like that!</p> - -<p>She felt herself precipitated into a measureless -oblivion; nothing good or beautiful ever had been or -would be. He had told her to go; that was all; and -like a grieved and heartbroken child she resented being -sent away. In her distress she was incapable of -crediting him with the kindness that had prompted him -to bid her leave.</p> - -<p>She was startled by a quick step on the walk outside, -followed by the click of the lock, and the door, -flung open, revealed Miss Reynolds.</p> - -<p>“Why, Grace, I had no idea—why, child! What’s -the matter? You’re as white as a sheet!”</p> - -<p>“I must go,” said Grace in a whisper, withdrawing -the hand Miss Reynolds had clasped. The door remained -open and the world, a fantastically distorted -world, lay outside. With slow steps she passed her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_339">[339]</span> -bewildered friend, saying in the tone of one muttering -in an unhappy dream:</p> - -<p>“I must go! He told me to go.”</p> - -<p>“He—who?”</p> - -<p>The astonished Miss Reynolds, who at first thought -Grace was playing a joke of some kind, watched her -pass slowly down the walk to the gate and enter the -waiting car. She went out upon the steps, uncertain -what to do and caught a last glimpse of Grace’s face, -her eyes set straight ahead, as the machine bore her -away.</p> - - -<h3>IV</h3> - -<p>The thought of remaining at home was unbearable, -and after supper Grace telephoned Irene to ask -whether she was free for the evening.</p> - -<p>“Tommy said something about taking a drive and -I’m going over to Minnie’s to meet him. You come -right along. I saw Ward snatch you out of the store. -Pretty cool, I call it! Tommy said he was going back -East at seven, so you’re a widow once more!”</p> - -<p>Grace left the house with her father, who was -spending all his evenings at Kemp’s plant. To all -questions at home as to the progress of his motor -Durland replied that he guessed it would be all right. -On the street-car he told Grace he was anxious to see -Trenton; there were difficulties as to the motor that -he wished to discuss with him. He said he had written, -asking an interview as soon as possible, but that -Trenton had not replied. Grace answered that she -knew nothing about him and her heart sank as she -remembered that Trenton was no longer a part of her -life and that in the future he would come and go and -she would never be the wiser.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_340">[340]</span>It was all over and she faced the task of convincing -herself that her love for him had been a delusion, a -mere episode to be forgotten as quickly as possible. -She left her father at Washington street, cheerily wishing -him good luck, and took a car that ran past -Minnie’s door.</p> - -<p>Irene was alone and, in a new gown of coppergreen -crepe that enhanced the gold in her hair, might have -posed as the spirit of spring. Minnie had remained -down town, she explained, and Tommy was not expected -until nine.</p> - -<p>“What’s happened?” she demanded. “I know something’s -doing or you wouldn’t have called me up from -home.”</p> - -<p>Grace took off her coat, hung it over the back of -a chair and flung herself down on the couch.</p> - -<p>“Console me a little, Irene,—but not too much—I’ve -seen Ward for the last time.”</p> - -<p>“His wife make a row?” Irene inquired.</p> - -<p>“Yes, he took me to see her and she——”</p> - -<p>“He took you to <i>see</i> her! Grace Durland, what <i>are</i> -you talking about?”</p> - -<p>“Just that!” and Grace, no longer able to restrain -herself, burst into tears.</p> - -<p>“You poor baby!”</p> - -<p>Irene jumped up and thrust a pillow back of Grace’s -head and sat down beside her. “Tell me about it if -you want to, but not unless you feel like it, honey.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve simply got to tell you, Irene. Oh——!”</p> - -<p>“Grace Durland, don’t be silly! You know I’d <i>die</i> -for you!”</p> - -<p>She listened in patient silence while Grace told with -minute detail and many tears the story of her interview -with Mrs. Trenton.</p> - -<p>“I loved him; I still love him, Irene!” she moaned<span class="pagenum" id="Page_341">[341]</span> -pitifully when she had finished. “And it had to end -like that!”</p> - -<p>“If you want my opinion,” said Irene judicially, -“I’ll say that Ward Trenton is a perfect nut—the -final and consummate nut of the whole nut family! -The idea that he would take a girl like you—and -you’re a good deal of a kid, my dear—to call on a -woman like that wife of his, who’s an experienced -worldly creature, and as much as tell her that he’s in -love with you! It’s the limit!”</p> - -<p>“But,” said Grace, quick to defend the moment -Trenton was attacked, “he had every reason to believe -she would be decent! She’d always let him think -that if there was any one else she’d—she’d——”</p> - -<p>“She’d hand him a transfer!” Irene laughed ironically. -“Isn’t that just like poor old Ward! I tell -you men are even as little babes where women are -concerned. There isn’t a woman on earth who’d just -calmly sit by and let another woman walk off with -her husband even if she hated him like poison. It’s -against nature, dearest. I can see how that woman -would make the bluff, all right, but all she wanted -was to see what you looked like and finding you young -and beautiful she tried to make you feel like a counterfeit -nickel. The trouble with Ward is that he’s so -head over heels in love with you that he’s lost his -mind. I wonder what happened after you skipped! -I’ll bet it was some party! But don’t you believe he’s -going to give you up—not Ward! Everything’s going -to straighten out, honey. His telling you to go doesn’t -mean a blessed thing! He just wanted to get you out -of the scrap.”</p> - -<p>“It means the end,” said Grace with a sigh that lost -itself in a sob.</p> - -<p>The bell tinkled and Grace ran away to remove the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_342">[342]</span> -traces of tears from her face. When she reappeared -Kemp greeted her with his usual raillery.</p> - -<p>“I had only a word with Ward over the telephone,” -he said. “He came out to see his wife and as he borrowed -my limousine I guess he showed her the village -sights. But, of course, you know more about that -bird than I do, Grace. You couldn’t scare me up a -drink, could you, Irene? Minnie’s got some stuff of -mine concealed here somewhere. Just a spoonful—no? -Grace, this girl is a cruel tyrant. She positively -refuses to let me die a drunkard’s happy death.”</p> - -<p>He evidently wasn’t aware that Grace had seen -Trenton and Irene carefully kept the talk in safe -channels. He had brought his roadster, not knowing -that he was to find Grace at Minnie’s, but he insisted -that the car carried three comfortably and he wouldn’t -consider leaving her behind.</p> - -<p>It was the same car in which Trenton had driven her -into town after the night they spent together at The -Shack. In spite of her attempts to forget, thoughts of -him filled her mind like an implacable host of soldiery....</p> - -<p>After a plunge into the country they swung back to -town along the river.</p> - -<p>“By Jove!” exclaimed Kemp suddenly. “There’s -my little factory over there in the moonlight. Have -you ever seen it, Grace? We’ll just dash in for a -minute.”</p> - -<p>“I wonder if father’s still there?” said Grace as -they drove into the lighted yard.</p> - -<p>“We’ll soon find out. That’s his workshop yonder -where you see the bluish lights. I see O’Reilly’s light -on in the main office. That fellow works too hard.”</p> - -<p>“It’s a good thing somebody works around this -place,” said Irene. “The world knows you don’t.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_343">[343]</span>“Oh, it’s not as bad as that,” Kemp retorted, and -led the way down a long aisle of one of the steel and -glass units of the big plant. The moon diffused its -mild radiance through the glass roof, as though mocking -with a superior mystery the silent inert machinery.</p> - -<p>The sound of voices became audible in a room partitioned -off in one corner. The door was ajar and two -men in overalls and jumpers were pondering a motor -set up on a testing block.</p> - -<p>The trio remained outside, watching the two intent, -rapt figures. One Grace had recognized as her father; -the other, she realized bewilderedly, was Ward Trenton. -Trenton, unconscious that he was watched, -raised his hand and Durland turned a switch. The -hum of a motor filled the room; and Durland turned -slowly from the motor to glance at Trenton. Trenton -signalled to shut off the power and dropped upon his -knees, peering into the machine. Durland took up a -sheet of paper and from it answered the questions -which Trenton shot at him in rapid succession.</p> - -<p>“Let’s have the power again,” said Trenton. He -rose, bent his ear to study the sound, turned to Durland -and nodded.</p> - -<p>“Let’s see what they’re up to,” said Kemp and -shouted Trenton’s name. Grace drew back as the two -men turned toward them, but Irene seized her arm.</p> - -<p>“Don’t you dare run away!”</p> - -<p>Trenton came toward them snatching off his blue -mechanic’s cap. There was a smudge across his face -and his hands were black from contact with the machinery.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t really lie to you, Tommy: I meant to leave -tonight but remembered that Mr. Durland wanted to -see me, so here I am.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_344">[344]</span>They followed him to the testing block where Durland -had remained, too engrossed to heed them.</p> - -<p>“I’m glad you came just when you did,” said Trenton -addressing all of them but looking at Grace. “Mr. -Durland will be ready to begin the final tests tomorrow. -I’m sure they’re going to be successful. I -want you to be here, Tommy, and see the thing -through. Just look at this!”</p> - -<p>He deftly lifted out a part of the motor for Kemp’s -inspection, restored it and then bent over the bench, -rapidly scribbling notes on the back of a blue print.</p> - -<p>“Congratulations are now in order, I suppose,” said -Kemp. He turned and shook hands with Durland, who -was regarding the motor with a puzzled look on his -face. Trenton said he would remain a while longer—he -might stay all night, he added with a laugh.</p> - -<p>“This is too important to leave, so I’ve changed all -my plans and will be here two or three days.”</p> - -<p>“When this bird works, he works,” said Kemp, -laying his hand affectionately on Trenton’s shoulder.</p> - -<p>Trenton followed them out, keeping close to Grace. -When they were out of ear shot of her father—Durland -apparently hadn’t noticed that Grace was in the -room—Trenton said:</p> - -<p>“I called you at home this evening and found you’d -gone out. I want to see you; I <i>must</i> see you,” he -said pleadingly.</p> - -<p>Kemp had reached the main shop and was explaining -to Irene some of the points of the motor.</p> - -<p>“Kemp!” Trenton called. “What are you doing -tomorrow night?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing; I’m ready for anything.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Grace and I would like to have dinner with -you at The Shack.”</p> - -<p>“A grand idea! Only remember—none of this prohibition<span class="pagenum" id="Page_345">[345]</span> -stuff you pulled on me Christmas. I cannot -dine without my wine!” he chanted.</p> - -<p>When they reached the yard Kemp and Irene were -waiting by the car. Trenton caught Grace’s hand and -whispered:</p> - -<p>“Remember, I love you! I shall always love you.”</p> - -<p>“No—no—” she began. “Oh this isn’t kind! I -thought you had gone—or——”</p> - -<p>“Come along, Grace,” cried Kemp. “See you tomorrow, -Ward. Good-night and good luck!”</p> - -<p>To Grace, on the homeward drive, peace seemed an -unattainable thing. She had firmly resolved never to -see Trenton again; but she had not only seen him -but the sight of him had deepened the hunger in her -heart. She was without the will to deny him the -meeting for which he had asked. It was sweet to -think that he had remained if only to assist her father -when he had definitely said that he was leaving that -night. Yes; there was kindness in this; and even -though he had sent her away from Miss Reynolds’s -and wounded her deeply in his manner of doing it, -she knew that it was always his wish to be kind and -that no power could keep her from seeing him again, -if only for a last good-bye.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_346">[346]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER FOURTEEN</h2> -</div> - - -<h3>I</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">As</span> she dressed the next morning Grace hummed and -whistled, happy in the consciousness that before the -day ended she would see Trenton again. The romantic -strain in her warmed and quickened at the thought. -Even if they were to part for all time and she should -go through life with his love only a memory, it would -be a memory precious and ineffaceable, that would -sweeten and brighten all her years.</p> - -<p>In his workman’s garb, as she had seen him at -Kemp’s, she idealized him anew. If it had been his -fate to remain a laborer, his skill would have set him -apart from his fellows. He could never have been -other than a man of mark. It was a compensation -for anything she might miss in her life to have known -the love of such a man. She was impatient with herself -and sought the lowest depths of self-abasement -for having doubted him. She should never again -question his sincerity or his wisdom, but would abide -by his decision in all things.</p> - -<p>When she reached the dining room her father was -already gone, and her mother seemed troubled about -him.</p> - -<p>“He was excited and nervous when he came home -last night,” said Mrs. Durland. “He hardly slept and -he left an hour ago saying he’d get a cup of coffee -on his way through town. I’m afraid things haven’t -been going right with him. It would be a terrible -blow if the motor didn’t turn out as he expected.”</p> - -<p>“Let’s just keep hoping, mother; that’s the only<span class="pagenum" id="Page_347">[347]</span> -way,” Grace replied cheerily. “They wouldn’t be -wasting time on it at Kemp’s if there wasn’t something -in it.”</p> - -<p>“I guess you’re right there,” interposed Ethel. -“Kemp has the reputation of being a cold-blooded -proposition. And I suppose the great Trenton values -his own reputation too much to recommend anything -that hasn’t got money in it.”</p> - -<p>“Poor foolish men <i>will</i> persist in going into business -to make money, not for fun,” Grace replied. “I -suppose Gregg and Burley don’t sell insurance just as -a matter of philanthropy. Mr. Trenton would soon -be out of work if he didn’t have the confidence of -the people who hire him. I wouldn’t be so bitter if I -were you.”</p> - -<p>“I heard you rolling up in an automobile last night,” -Ethel persisted. “You seem to be getting the benefit -of somebody’s money.”</p> - -<p>“Ethel!” cried her mother despairingly.</p> - -<p>“Let her rave,” replied Grace calmly. “When Mr. -Burley drives Ethel home from the office it’s an act -of Christian kindness, but if I get a lift it’s a sin.”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Burley,” began Ethel, breathing heavily, “Mr. -Burley is the very soul of honor! He wanted to talk -to me about some of the work in our Sunday school -and hadn’t time to discuss it in the office.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t think for a minute I have any objection! -If he was just opening up a little flirtation it would be -all right with me.”</p> - -<p>“How dare you?” cried Ethel, beginning to cry.</p> - -<p>“Please, Grace,” began Mrs. Durland, pausing on -her way to the kitchen with the coffee pot.</p> - -<p>“All right, mother,” said Grace. “I resent just a -little bit having Ethel grab all the virtue in the family.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_348">[348]</span>“I’m not ashamed to tell who brings me home anyhow,” -Ethel flung at her.</p> - -<p>“Neither, for that matter, am I! It was Mr. -Thomas Ripley Kemp who brought me home last -night. He’d taken Irene and me for a drive.”</p> - -<p>“So that <i>was</i> it! I thought I recognized the car. -That Kemp! I suppose he’s getting tired of Irene -and is looking for another girl!”</p> - -<p>“Well, dearie, he hasn’t said anything about it,” -Grace replied. “But you never can tell.”</p> - -<p>“Girls! This must stop right here! We can’t -have the day beginning with a wrangle. You both -ought to be ashamed of yourselves.”</p> - -<p>“I’m through, mother,” said Grace. “I didn’t start -the row. I’ve reached a place where Ethel doesn’t -really worry me any more.”</p> - -<p>“Well, you were always a tease and Ethel is sensitive. -I do wish you’d both exercise a little restraint.”</p> - -<p>Grace found a brief note in the society column of -the morning paper recording Mrs. Trenton’s departure, -and an editorial ridiculing her opinions. -Elsewhere there were interviews with a dozen prominent -men and women on Mrs. Trenton’s lecture, -all expressing disapproval of her ideas. A leading -Socialist disavowed any sympathy with Mrs. Trenton’s -programme and denounced her “Clues to a New -Social Order” as a mere rehash of other books. He -characterized her as a woman of wealth who was -merely seeking notoriety by parading herself as a -revolutionist and who would be sure to resist, with the -innate selfishness and greed of her class, any interference -with her personal comfort and ease.</p> - -<p>Grace carried the newspaper with her to the trolley -and on the way down town reread these criticisms of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_349">[349]</span> -Mrs. Trenton with keenest satisfaction. Mrs. Trenton -was not a great woman animated by a passion of humanity -but narrow, selfish and cruel. She thought -again of the encounter at Miss Reynolds’s with renewed -sympathy for Trenton. After all he had met -the difficult situation in the only way possible. He -had said once that he didn’t understand his wife and -Grace consoled herself with the reflection that probably -no one could understand her, least of all, her -husband.</p> - -<p>In the course of the day Grace learned from Irene -that Kemp, who was on the entertainment committee -for a large national convention, had decided to ask -several friends among the delegates to The Shack.</p> - -<p>“It won’t be a shocker, like some of Tommy’s -parties, only a little personal attention for a few of -the old comrades,” said Irene. “You and Ward can -see as little of the rest of the bunch as you please. -Tommy has promised me solemnly to let booze alone. -I suppose his wife will never know how hard I’ve -worked to keep him straight! Ridiculous, isn’t it? -Before that woman came back from California Tommy -hadn’t touched a drop for a month, and he’s been -doing wonderfully ever since. The good lady was so -pleased with his appearance and conduct that she beat -it for New York last night to buy clothes and by the -time she gets back I’ll be ready to release my mortgage -on Tommy for good and all. I’ve broken the news -to him gently and he’s been awfully nice about it. -This is really my last appearance with Tommy—it’s -understood on both sides. I wouldn’t go at all if it -were not for you and Ward.”</p> - -<p>Grace envied Irene the ease with which she met -situations. Irene’s cynicism, she had decided, was -only on the surface; she wished she could be sure that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_350">[350]</span> -she herself possessed the sound substratum of character -that Irene was revealing. Irene had sinned grievously -against the laws of God and man; but after disdaining -those influences that seek to safeguard society, -and carrying her head high, with a certain serene impudence -in her wrong-doing, she now appeared to be on -good terms with her soul. It was a strange thing that -this could be—one of the most curious and baffling of -all Grace’s recent experiences. Face to face with -the problem of her future relations with Trenton, -Grace was finding in Irene something akin to a moral -tonic. Irene, by a code of her own, did somehow manage -to cling fast to things reckoned fine and noble. -Irene, in spite of herself, had the soul of a virtuous -woman.</p> - -<p>It was to be a party of ten, Grace learned after -Irene had conferred with Kemp by telephone at the -lunch hour. For the edification of the three strange -men Irene had provided three other girls who had, -as Irene said, some class and knew how to amuse -tired business men without becoming vulgar. Grace -knew these young women—they were variously employed -down town—but she would never have thought -of asking them to “go on a party.”</p> - -<p>“Not one of these girls makes less than two thousand -a year,” Irene announced loftily. “God preserve -me from cheap stuff! It makes me sick, Grace, to -see these poor little fools who run around the streets, -all dolled up with enough paint on their faces to cover -the state house and not enough brains in their heads -to make a croquette for a sick mosquito. If it hadn’t -been for all this silly rot about emancipating women -they’d be at home cooking and helping mamma with -the wash. As it is they draw twelve a week and spend -it all on clothes to advertise their sex. Do you know,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_351">[351]</span> -Grace, I sometimes shudder for the future of the human -race!”</p> - - -<h3>II</h3> - -<p>Jerry had been reinforced by a colored cateress and -the country supper produced at The Shack proved to -be a sumptuous dinner. Kemp had brought from his -well-stocked cave on the farm the ingredients for a -certain cocktail, known by his name throughout the -corn-belt. The “Tommy Kemp” was immediately pronounced -to be the last word in cocktails,—a concoction -which, one of the visitors declared, completely annulled -and set aside the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution -of the United States as an insolent assault -upon the personal liberty and the palate of man. -Kemp was in the gayest spirits; the party was wholly -to his taste. The men he entertained were conspicuously -successful, and leaders in the business and -social life of their several cities. Irene had confided -to Grace that there were at least ten millions of good -money represented in the party.</p> - -<p>The cocktails were served in the living room to the -accompaniment of much lively chatter. Grace found -herself observing with interest the readiness with -which the young women who were strangers to The -Shack’s hospitality entered into the spirit of the occasion -and met on terms of familiar good fellowship the -men they hadn’t seen before. It helped her to forget -her disappointment at the size of the party to speculate -about the men and the curious phase of human -nature that made it possible for gentlemen whose -names were well known throughout America, who -looked as though they might pass the plate in church<span class="pagenum" id="Page_352">[352]</span> -every Sunday, to enter joyfully into the pleasures of -such a function. Irene had made no mistake in her -choice of girls; they were handsome; they looked well -in their summer frocks; they were lively and responsive; -they were pastmistresses of the gentle art of -kidding. There was no question but that the visiting -gentlemen of wealth and social position enjoyed being -kidded, and the fact that some of them had daughters -at home much older than the girls who did the kidding -in no wise mitigated their joy.</p> - -<p>One of the gentlemen evidently preferred Grace to -the girl who had been assigned to him. Under the inspiration -of his cocktail he told Grace that he had long -wished to meet her; that now they had met he was -resolved that they should never part again. Grace -summoned all her powers of flirtation and encouraged -him, realizing that to snub him would be to prove -herself a poor sport; and she had heard enough of -parties from Irene to know that a girl must not when -“on a party” give cause for any suspicion that she is -of the melancholy tribe of kill-joys. She took a sip -of the “Tommy Kemp” and handed it to the gentleman -who was so beguiled by her charms, who drained -the glass, murmuring ecstatically:</p> - -<p>“To the most beautiful girl in the world!”</p> - -<p>“Don’t let grandpa worry you,” whispered Irene. -“Just tease him a little and he’ll think he’s having the -time of his life. We’re not drinking—you and I. -This is positively my last party! I’m going to have -my hands full keeping Tommy sober.”</p> - -<p>Trenton was talking during the cocktailing period -to one of the most attractive of the girls, and when -Grace glanced at him he smiled and held up his unemptied -glass and put it back on the tray. He was -not drinking, not even the single cocktail he usually<span class="pagenum" id="Page_353">[353]</span> -permitted himself. There was serious business before -them; both must keep their heads clear for it.</p> - -<p>The dinner seemed endlessly long. Now and then -Grace felt the reassuring pressure of Trenton’s hand, -but the gentleman on the other side of her, under the -mellowing influence of champagne piled upon the -“Tommy Kemps” he had imbibed, was making violent -love to her; and his elaborate tributes of adoration -could not be wholly ignored. Seeing that Trenton was -talking little, Kemp, still sober, thanks to Irene’s -watchfulness, addressed him directly:</p> - -<p>“I’ve got news for you, Ward. At five o’clock this -afternoon I closed a deal for Cummings’s plant. -Bought Isaac Cummings’s controlling interest and for -better or worse the darned thing’s mine. Please, -everybody, drink to good luck!”</p> - -<p>“We don’t know what it’s all about, but we’re for -you, Tommy,” cried one of the girls.</p> - -<p>“I thought you said you’d never do it, Tommy,” -said Trenton, smiling at his friend and lifting his -champagne glass, reversed as it had stood on the -table.</p> - -<p>Kemp protested that this was bad luck and ordered -Jerry to serve no more food until every one had drunk -to the success of the merger. This brought them all -to their feet with lifted glasses.</p> - -<p>“Oh, king, live forever!” cried Irene.</p> - -<p>“That’s something like it,” said Kemp. “I didn’t -mention the matter just to advertise my business. I -wanted you to know, Grace, that it gave me a special -satisfaction on your account to see Cummings pass -out. It was a downright low trick he played on your -father. Things do sort o’ even up in this world and -this struck quick and hard. When Cummings threw -your father out the business was ripe for bankruptcy.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_354">[354]</span> -Don’t let Ward scold me. He advised me against it.”</p> - -<p>“I advised you against taking on new responsibilities,” -Trenton replied. “You’ve got enough on your -hands now.”</p> - -<p>“You think I’m a sick man,” said Kemp. “But I’m -going to see you all under the sod. I like this world -and I’m going to live a hundred years. Jerry, fill ’em -up!”</p> - -<p>There was more food than any one needed or wanted -and when Jerry began serving dessert Trenton suggested -to Grace that they leave the table. Their leaving -evoked loud protests. Irene was now furiously -angry at Kemp, who had been unable to resist the lure -of the champagne, a vintage without duplicate in all -America, he declared.</p> - -<p>The gentleman at Grace’s left, reduced to a maudlin -state by his host’s generous distribution of wine, loudly -importuned her not to go. Kemp announced his purpose -to make a speech and was trying to get upon his -feet when Irene pulled him down. One of the visitors -began to sing and seized a candle from the table with -which to beat time. He was bawling, “He’s a jolly -good fellow,” as Grace and Trenton effected their -escape.</p> - -<p>They breathed deep of the clean country air when -they reached the long veranda at the side of the house.</p> - -<p>“Poor Tommy; I suppose there’s no way of stopping -him,” remarked Trenton.</p> - -<p>Both were aware of a new restraint the moment they -were alone. The still night was sweet with spring and -the earth seemed subdued by the mystery of green -things growing.</p> - -<p>Grace walked the length of the veranda, then back -to the steps, Trenton beside her. He was still troubled -by a sense of responsibility for Kemp. The discordant<span class="pagenum" id="Page_355">[355]</span> -noises from the dining room followed them -and they debated whether they should try to break up -the party but decided against it.</p> - -<p>“Let’s get away from the racket,” said Trenton. -“When I suggested coming out for supper it didn’t -occur to me that Tommy would be pulling off a bacchanalian -feast. Tommy’s incorrigible—dear old -Tommy! But—we must talk. Shall we go up yonder -where we can look out over the river?”</p> - -<p>The stars and an old moon that stared blandly -across the heavens made the path easily discernible. -As they loitered along he spoke of Kemp’s purchase of -the Cummings concern.</p> - -<p>“I did advise Tommy against it,” he said, “because -of the additional burdens he’ll have to carry. But it’s -a good business stroke. He’s wiped out an old competitor -and with your father’s improvements on Cummings’s -motor Tommy’s going to be greatly strengthened.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve been afraid,” said Grace, “that father’s ideas -wouldn’t prove practical. He’s seemed terribly worried -lately.”</p> - -<p>“Only the usual perplexities of a genius who’s worn -out from long application! He can breathe easy now. -The motor’s going to be a wonder. I was with your -father all day and he’s attained every excellence he -claimed. You have every reason to be proud of him.”</p> - -<p>“It’s all your kindness,” she murmured.</p> - -<p>“Oh, not a bit of it! There’s no sentiment about -mechanics. You’ve either got it or you haven’t. And -your father is sound on the fundamentals where most -inventors are weak.”</p> - -<p>They sat down on a rustic bench on the bluff above -the river and he threw his overcoat across her knees. -Above them towered a sycamore; below they heard<span class="pagenum" id="Page_356">[356]</span> -the murmur and ripple of running water. He put his -arm about her, drew her close and kissed her.</p> - -<p>“I wish it were all true, as we can imagine it to -be in this quiet place, that we’re absolutely alone in -the world—just ourselves.”</p> - -<p>“But it isn’t true; we’ve just run away from the -world for a little while,” she said, “but I’m glad for -this.”</p> - -<p>She laid her hand on his and gently stroked it.</p> - -<p>“I hope you understood why I didn’t go yesterday -as I’d intended. I couldn’t leave without explaining. -I couldn’t have you think that I took you to Miss -Reynolds’s just to make you uncomfortable. It was -my mistake and a stupid blunder.”</p> - -<p>“No; the mistake was mine,” she insisted. “I -realized afterwards that my first feeling was right, -that it was foolish to go.”</p> - -<p>“I was honest about it. Mrs. Trenton had led me -to think that she wouldn’t resent meeting any woman -who promised to give me the love and companionship -it wasn’t in her power to give me. I took her at her -word. You understand that, don’t you?”</p> - -<p>“You ought to have known, Ward, and so should I, -that no woman would ever have anything but hatred -for another woman her husband falls in love with.”</p> - -<p>“But what I’ve given you she never had! I want -you to believe me when I say that I was really deceived -by what I took to be her wholly friendly attitude.”</p> - -<p>“It doesn’t make the least difference now, Ward. -I know you wouldn’t have taken me to see her if you’d -known what would happen. I’ll never have any but -the kindest thoughts of you. Please believe that.”</p> - -<p>She moved a little away from him and leaned back, -her hands relaxed in her lap.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_357">[357]</span>“It’s all been a mistake—everything—from the beginning,” -she went on in a low voice.</p> - -<p>“My loving you hasn’t been a mistake,” he said -earnestly. “Nothing has changed that or can ever -change it.”</p> - -<p>“You merely think that. If you didn’t see me for -a while you’d forget me,” she said, following unconsciously -the ritual of unhappy lovers in all times.</p> - -<p>“No,” he gently protested. “That isn’t the way of -it. You don’t really think that. Please say that you -don’t.”</p> - -<p>His tone of pleading caused her to turn to him and -fling her arms about his neck.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I love you so! I love you so!” she sobbed.</p> - -<p>His face was wet with her tears. He took her again -into his arms, turning her face that he might kiss the -tears away. Her whole body shook with her convulsive -sobs.</p> - -<p>“Dearest little girl! Poor, dear little child!”</p> - -<p>In the branches above a bird fluttered and cheeped -as though startled in its dreaming. She freed herself, -sought her handkerchief to dry her eyes. With the -impotence of man before a woman’s grief he sought to -brush back a wisp of hair that had fallen across her -cheek and his hand trembled. Her face seemed to -hover in the star dusk; he saw the quiver of her lashes, -the parted lips, felt for an instant the throbbing pulse -in her throat.</p> - -<p>“I knew the end would come,” she said, with a deep -sigh, “But I didn’t know it would be like this. It’s -been so dear, so wonderful! I thought it would go on -forever!”</p> - -<p>Her gaze was upon the dark uneven line of the -trees across the river where they brushed the stars.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_358">[358]</span>“But it isn’t the end, dear! A love like ours can’t -die. It belongs to the things of all time.”</p> - -<p>“Please, Ward,” she said impatiently, drawing her -cloak more tightly about her shoulders. “Let’s not -deceive ourselves any more. You know we can’t go -on,” she continued, as one who has reasoned through -a thing and reached an irrefutable conclusion. “It’s -all been like a dream; but dreams don’t last. And -this should never have begun!”</p> - -<p>“You break my heart when you say things like -that! As we’ve said so many times—it all had to be!”</p> - -<p>“We were fools to think it could last,” she said. -“But it was more my fault than yours. And you’ve -been dear and kind—Oh, so beautifully kind.”</p> - -<p>“You’ve trusted me; you’ve proved that! You’ve -never doubted—you don’t doubt now that I love you!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, it does no good to talk—let’s just be quiet—I -do love you——”</p> - -<p>“I must talk,” he replied stubbornly. “You are the -dearest thing in the world to me. I couldn’t foresee -what happened. It’s only right you should know -what occurred after you left Miss Reynolds’s.”</p> - -<p>“No! Please no! I have no right to know; and it -can make no difference. I knew it was all over when -I left the house, but I did want to see you once -more——”</p> - -<p>She was trying to be brave but the words faltered -and died.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t discuss you, try to explain you in any way. -I only expressed my indignation at the wholly unnecessary -manner in which Mrs. Trenton treated you, after -encouraging me to believe that you would be treated -with every courtesy. I suppose it was jealousy that -prompted her to speak to you as she did. Miss Reynolds<span class="pagenum" id="Page_359">[359]</span> -came in at once. You must have met her—and -I took leave after I’d tried to cover up the fact that -something disagreeable had happened. That was all.”</p> - -<p>“It was enough. There wasn’t a thing you could -say. Mrs. Trenton had every right on her side. I -hope you’ll go back to her and tell her that any feeling -you had for me was just a mistake; make light of the -whole thing. Of course she loves you. If she didn’t -she wouldn’t be jealous. There’s nothing for you to -do now but to make your peace with her. Don’t trouble -about me. I don’t want to stand in the way of -your happiness.”</p> - -<p>“Grace,” he said, patient in spite of her strained -petulant tone, “there’s no question of love about it. -We know we love each other; but we’ve got to be -sane about this.”</p> - -<p>“Let’s not talk about it, Ward! You know as well -as I do that we’ve reached the end. And please, dear, -don’t make it harder for me by pretending it isn’t. I’m -not a child, you know.”</p> - -<p>“We’re not going to pretend anything, Grace, least -of all we’re not going to pretend that everything’s -over when we know we couldn’t forget if we wanted -to. But we’ve got to have a care for a little while at -least, now that Mrs. Trenton knows just enough to -arouse her suspicions. I feel my responsibility about -you very seriously. Please—won’t you believe me -when I say that it’s of you I’m thinking first? We -might go on seeing each other as we have been, or I -might take you away with me—I’ve thought of that; -but I’ve thought too of the danger. I can’t promise -you that Mrs. Trenton wouldn’t spy upon us,—do -something that would drag you into the newspapers, -make an ugly mess. Her prominence would make attractive<span class="pagenum" id="Page_360">[360]</span> -newspaper material of you and me, too. I -love you too dearly to take any chances. Don’t you -understand? Isn’t it better——”</p> - -<p>“Oh, please stop, Ward! Don’t talk to me as -though I were a child! It all comes to the same thing, -that we mustn’t see each other any more. I knew it -when I left Miss Reynolds’s yesterday. It would -have been better if we hadn’t come out here.”</p> - -<p>“It won’t be forever,” he doggedly persisted. “In -the end I’m going to have you. I want you to remember -that.”</p> - -<p>“Ward, how perfectly foolish of you to talk that -way! If we were to go on as we have been we -wouldn’t be happy. Let’s just acknowledge that this -is the last time.”</p> - -<p>“No,” he protested. “It’s not going to be that way! -You’ve lost your courage and I can’t blame you for -seeing things black. If I had only myself to consider -I’d run away with you tonight; but that would be a -despicable thing for me to do. I love you too much -for that!”</p> - -<p>The protestation of his love brought her no ease. -She was half angered by his stubborn refusal to face -the truth, and his professed belief that sometime in -some way they were to be reunited. He was trying -to see the light of hope ahead where all was dark to -her.</p> - -<p>It was strange to be sitting there beside him, thinking -already of their love with all its intimacies, that -had seemed to bind them together forever, as something -that had been swept into a past from which, in -a little while, memory would cease to recall it. This -was love! This was the thing that had been -written of and sung of in all the ages; and it was a -lure contrived only to bruise and break and destroy.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_361">[361]</span>She touched the lowest depths of despair, snatched -away her hand when he tried to possess it; thought of -him for an instant with repulsion. The wistful tenderness -of the night, the monotonous ripple of water beneath, -the very tranquillity of the stars seemed to -mock and taunt her.</p> - -<p>He waited patiently, silent, impassive, as though he -knew what she was thinking and knew, too, that such -thoughts were inevitable and must run their course.</p> - -<p>The silence fell upon her like a soothing hand. The -tumultuous rush of her thoughts ceased; she was -amazed at the serenity with which suddenly she -viewed the situation.</p> - -<p>He was finer than she, wiser, more far seeing. -Something in his figure, in his dimly etched profile in -the faint starlight touched her profoundly. It was -selfish of her to forget that he too suffered. He was a -man she had given herself to without reservation, and -with all the honesty and fervor of her young heart, and -to think harshly of him was to acknowledge herself a -shameless wanton, no better than a girl on the street. -She could not think ill of him without debasing herself. -And she did love him; she had loved him from -the first, and it was not the way of love to wound.</p> - -<p>Perhaps he had been sincere in saying that he -wished to protect her—this was like him, and it was -cruel of her to question his love, to fail to help him -when he sought with all kindness and consideration -to find some hope in the future. They must part and -it might be for the last time, but she would not send -him away feeling that she had not appreciated all -that his love had been and would continue to be to her. -Without him, without some knowledge of his whereabouts -and activities and the assurance of his well-being, -life would be unbearable. She was all tenderness,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_362">[362]</span> -all solicitude, wholly self-forgetful, as she softly -uttered his name.</p> - -<p>“Ward!” her arms found their way round his shoulders. -“I’m selfish,—I was thinking that you taught -me to love you only to thrust me away. But I know -better, dear. You are dearer to me than anything in -all the world—dearer than my life even and I know -you mean to be kind. I know you want to do the -right thing for both of us.”</p> - -<p>“Yes; yes!” he whispered eagerly and kissed her -gently on lips and eyes. “If we truly love each other -there will be some way. It was not of our ordering—any -of this.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, we must believe that, dear! There can never -be any man for me but you!”</p> - -<p>“And no woman for me but you!”</p> - -<p>They clung to each other, silent, fearing to utter -even the reassuring and consoling words that formed -on their lips. Beyond the river a train passed swiftly -with a long blast of the locomotive.</p> - -<p>They drew apart, listening till the whistle’s last echo -and the rumble of cars died away. Trenton sighed -deeply. The disturbance had been an unwelcome reminder -of the energies of the world of men hidden by -the night. Grace was the first to speak.</p> - -<p>“It’s been so dear to have this hour! But, we -mustn’t meet again. Please don’t ask me to see you—ever—not -in any way. We’ll both be happier if what -we say tonight is final. We can’t just begin over again -and be friends. That would mean forgetfulness—and -we can’t forget. Please don’t write me. I’m going to be -all right. I’ll be happy just thinking of you. We’re -both brave and strong and knowing that will help—won’t -it, dear?”</p> - -<p>He knew that at the moment at least she was the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_363">[363]</span> -braver and stronger. He had nothing to add to what -she had said. She rose and took his face in her hands -and kissed him gently, passionlessly; passed her hands -across his eyes, spoke his name softly. He neither -spoke nor responded to her caresses.</p> - -<p>“Come, dear!”</p> - -<p>She touched his arm lightly and started down the -path. He waited a moment before following.</p> - -<p>She talked in a cheery tone of irrelevant things, -laughed merrily when she lost the path; and so they -came back to the garden where the lights of the house -confronted them. At the veranda steps he caught her -suddenly in his arms.</p> - -<p>“It can’t be like this! I’m not going to give you up! -Tell me you understand that it’s only for a little -while——”</p> - -<p>“We’re not going to talk about it any more—” -she said without a quaver—with even a little ring of -confidence in her voice. But she suffered his kiss, -yielded for a moment to his embrace.</p> - -<p>“I’ll love you always, always, always!” she said -slowly.</p> - -<p>“I’ll love you till I die!” he replied. They stood -with hands clasped for an instant, then she turned -and ran into the house.</p> - - -<h3>III</h3> - -<p>They had been gone more than an hour and the -other members of the party stared at them as though -they were intruders. Two of the men, not too befuddled -by their potations to remember that they were -leaving town by a midnight train, were trying to convince -Kemp that it was time to go. Tommy was explaining<span class="pagenum" id="Page_364">[364]</span> -elaborately that there were plenty of trains; -that if there was anything the city was proud of it -was the frequency with which trains departed for all -points of the compass.</p> - -<p>Irene in her disgust with Kemp for exceeding the -limits she had fixed for his indulgence in the prized -champagne had retired to the kitchen to talk to Jerry. -Hearing Trenton’s voice expostulating with Tommy -she appeared, and announced that she was going -home. One of the girls, overcome by champagne had -retired and Irene went upstairs to see what could -be done to restore her.</p> - -<p>“Ask Jerry for some black coffee, Grace, that will -fix her,” said Irene.</p> - -<p>She confided to Grace her indignation at the young -woman for not behaving herself; she was disappointed -in her. A girl, she declared, shouldn’t go on a party -if she hadn’t any more sense than to get drunk. However, -she ministered to the young woman effectively -and kindly.</p> - -<p>Trenton got the three visiting gentlemen and the -young women who had accompanied them into a machine -and dispatched them to town and resumed his -efforts to persuade Kemp to go home. Kemp wished -to discuss with Trenton his business plans for the future. -He wanted Trenton to promise to move to Indianapolis -immediately to assist him in the management -of his plant. Finding Trenton unwilling to commit himself -Kemp fixed his attention upon Irene. He became -tearful as he talked of Irene. She was the most beautiful -girl in the world, and she had brightened his life; he -would always be grateful to her. And now that she -had grown tired of what he called their little arrangement, -he wanted her to be happy. He wished Trenton -and Grace to bear witness that he bore no hard -feeling but wished her well. If at any time Irene<span class="pagenum" id="Page_365">[365]</span> -needed help of any kind it would break his heart if -she didn’t appeal to him.</p> - -<p>Finding that the others were impatient at the delay -these deliverances were causing he assumed an injured -air and bade them take him home. They didn’t love -him; nobody loved him. When finally they got him -out to the big touring car he insisted that he would do -the driving and this called for a long argument before -he was dissuaded. He refused to enter the car at all -until the others were settled in the back seat. He -guessed he knew the demands of hospitality! Craig -roused his ire by attempting to help him in and he -waited till the chauffeur was seated and ready to start -before he would move. Then he adjusted one of the -disappearing seats, got in and began an ironical lecture -on the instability of friendship. Some of his remarks -were amusing and they encouraged him to go -on feeling that so long as they manifested interest he -would not revive the question of driving to the various -points he had proposed as attractive places to run for -breakfast. He announced suddenly that he had always -wanted to visit the Tippecanoe Battle Ground -and demanded an opinion from Craig as to how long -it would take to drive there. He was irritated because -the chauffeur professed not to know the route; he declared -that he would get even with Craig for lying to -him.</p> - -<p>He became quiet presently and Trenton tried to interest -him in a description of a mechanical stoker that -had lately been put on the market.</p> - -<p>“I mus’ look into it,” said Kemp. “Awfu’ nice of -you to tell me ’bout it, Ward.”</p> - -<p>Then before they knew what he was about he -clutched the back of the front seat and threw one leg -over. He swayed toward the driver and to steady -himself grabbed the wheel.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_366">[366]</span>Craig, believing Kemp wholly interested in Trenton’s -talk, was caught off guard. The car, which had -been running swiftly over the smooth road, swerved -sharply and plunged into the deep drainage ditch that -paralleled the road. As the radiator struck the further -side of the ditch Kemp was thrown forward and his -head crashed against the windshield with terrific force.</p> - -<p>The three passengers on the back seat were pitched -violently to the floor. Craig had shut off the motor -instantly and jumped out, and when Trenton joined -him in the road he was tearing off the curtains.</p> - -<p>“Get your flash, Craig,” Trenton said. But without -waiting for the light he thrust in his arms and -lifted Kemp out. Irene and Grace had crawled out -and stood in the road clinging to each other and hysterically -demanding to know what had happened to -Tommy.</p> - -<p>Craig jerked out the seat cushions and Trenton -laid Kemp upon them. The flashlight showed -Kemp’s face deathly white and smeared with blood. -Trenton was on his knees, his head against the stricken -man’s heart. He looked up with a startled awed look -and shook his head.</p> - -<p>“God!” he said under his breath.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Ward! Not <i>that</i>!” faltered Irene, “Not——”</p> - -<p>“No—No! We must keep our heads! Craig! -What’s the quickest way of getting help?”</p> - -<p>“Ward—Oh, Tommy, Tommy!” cried Irene, dropping -on her knees and taking Kemp’s head in her -arms.</p> - -<p>“Don’t Irene—don’t!” moaned Grace helplessly.</p> - -<p>“There’s a house a quarter of a mile ahead where -I can telephone,” Craig said. “I know the farmer; -you can rely on him.”</p> - -<p>“Just a minute,” said Trenton, looking at his watch.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_367">[367]</span> -“There are things to consider. We’ve got to think -of Tommy first of all. Craig, I can count on you——?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, certainly, sir. I’m afraid it was my fault; -I ought to have been watching. But I thought——”</p> - -<p>“You were no more to blame than I was. We can’t -discuss that now. We’ve got to take care of this in a -way that will protect Tommy, and you girls mustn’t -figure in it at all.”</p> - -<p>“We understand all that; we’ll do anything you -say, Ward,” sobbed Irene.</p> - -<p>“I’m trying to think of some one we can trust to -help,” said Trenton. “There will be many things to -do immediately.”</p> - -<p>“I wonder,” said Irene turning to Grace, “whether -we could reach John Moore.”</p> - -<p>“There’s no one better!” Grace eagerly assented. -“We could telephone him at his boarding house.”</p> - -<p>Trenton asked a few questions about Moore and began -instructing Craig as to the persons he was to call -by telephone; first a physician, who was also an intimate -friend of the Kemps and two of Kemp’s neighbors, -well known to Trenton.</p> - -<p>“Kemp and I had been to The Shack for dinner—alone—Jerry -and the cateress must be taken care of as -to that. Tommy was driving home. Something went -wrong with the car and it ran off into the ditch. How -about that, Craig?”</p> - -<p>“I wouldn’t say, Mr. Trenton, that Mr. Kemp was -driving. The driver in such accidents is seldom hurt. -We’d better say the car simply struck a stone and -swerved.”</p> - -<p>Craig hurriedly suggested possible explanations of -a deflection that would ditch a car at this point.</p> - -<p>“Yes; that’s better,” Trenton agreed.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_368">[368]</span>“If the young ladies could go into town on an interurban -car that would help,” said Craig. “It’s only a -little way to a stop on the crossroad back yonder. -There’ll be a car passing at half-past twelve.”</p> - -<p>These matters hastily determined, Craig hurried -away, the quick patter of his feet on the macadam -suggesting the flight of a malevolent fate that had -struck its blow and was flying from the scene.</p> - -<p>Tommy Kemp was dead. There was no question -but that he had died instantly, either from the violent -blow on the head or from a failure of the heart due -to the shock of his precipitation against the windshield.</p> - -<p>No cars had passed since the accident, but as they -were on a highway Trenton urged Irene and Grace to -go at once.</p> - -<p>“You mustn’t be seen here. It’s horrible enough -without having you mixed up in it.”</p> - -<p>Irene bent down and touched the quiet face, murmuring:</p> - -<p>“It’s cruel to leave him like this! Poor boy! Poor -dear Tommy!”</p> - - -<h3>IV</h3> - -<p>Grace and Irene had worn hats on the tragic adventure -and their long dark cloaks covered their party -dresses so that their entrance into the interurban car -awakened little interest in the half-dozen dozing passengers. -Fortunately Grace had her purse and paid -the fares. The swift rush of the car exerted a quieting -effect upon them. Irene had wrenched her shoulder -when the machine leaped into the ditch, but Grace had -escaped with only a few scratches. They conferred in -low tones, still dazed by their close contact with death.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_369">[369]</span>“I ought to have insisted on going home earlier. -But I did the best I could. Tommy wouldn’t budge. -Tell me that I did the best I could!”</p> - -<p>“Of course you did! We should never have gone—any -of us!” said Grace. “I’m as much to blame as any -one. But Tommy would have gone anyhow, you know -he would.”</p> - -<p>“Ward’s wonderful,” said Irene. “I’ll never forget -him as he stood there beside Tommy as we left. Those -men loved each other; and Tommy was <i>good</i>, Grace. -I’m glad I had it out with him—about quitting I mean. -He was sober then; perfectly all right. It was just -before you and Ward came back that he began drinking -crazily. When I told him I thought it was all -wrong and that I wanted to quit he talked to me in the -finest way. He said he wouldn’t let me think I could -be better than he was and he was going to live straight -the rest of his life. But Tommy would never have -quit. There would always have been some girl; and -he just had to have his parties. I suppose there’s no -use worrying about that!”</p> - -<p>“No,” Grace consoled her, “things just have to be. -You can’t change anything. Ward and I said good-bye -to each other tonight. So that’s all over.”</p> - -<p>“I’m not so sure,” Irene replied after a deliberate -inspection of Grace’s face. “I wouldn’t count much -on Ward giving you up. Love is a strange thing. -You’ll go on loving each other and breaking your -hearts about it and then some day you’ll meet and -things will begin all over again. I’ve always been -pretty cynical about these things, but I know love -when I see it. It’s——”</p> - -<p>“Don’t, Irene!” whispered Grace, a sob in her -throat. “I can’t bear it! To think of Tommy——”</p> - -<p>Her hand stole out and clasped Irene’s. The events<span class="pagenum" id="Page_370">[370]</span> -of the night had made upon both an impression that -never could be effaced. Aware of this, silence held -them until the lights of the station flashed upon the -windows.</p> - -<p>Moore was on the platform, and they found a quiet -corner of the waiting room where Irene told the story -of the accident. John expressed no surprise, made -no criticism; merely said that he was proud that they -had thought of him. Trenton had suggested that they -ask Moore to visit the newspaper offices and then go -to Kemp’s house—Mrs. Kemp was still away—and -notify the servants. John’s practical mind had considered -every aspect of the matter after his brief talk -with Craig over the telephone and he had already dispatched -the coroner to the scene of the accident that -there might be no delay or subsequent criticism.</p> - -<p>“The sooner you both get home the better,” he -said. “We’ll decide now that you were both with me -all evening. I’ll account for my knowledge of the -accident by explaining to the newspapers that Mr. -Kemp’s chauffeur called me on the telephone after -trying to get Judge Sanders, who’s Kemp’s lawyer -and an old friend. It happens that the judge left -for Washington tonight. I think that covers it all.”</p> - -<p>It was not until Grace had crept into bed that she -was able to think clearly. It was like a hideous -dream that Kemp was dead—that she had seen him -die. His death obscured the memory of her parting -with Trenton, or blending with it, became a part -of the dissolution of all things. Alone in the dark, -remorse stole upon her like a nightmare. From the -hour that she had met Kemp and Trenton a doom -had followed her. In a few short months she had -played havoc with her life. She groped back to -her days at the University—happy days, they were; -days of clean wholesome living and buoyant aspiration.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_371">[371]</span> -And she never could be the same care-free girl -again.</p> - -<p>It was not till near dawn that she slept, to be wakened -by her mother a little before the prompting of -the alarm clock.</p> - -<p>“Something awful’s happened, Grace. Thomas -Kemp died last night, on the way home from his -farm. There was an accident to his car but the paper -says he died of heart disease. Mr. Trenton was with -him. Your father’s terribly upset; he doesn’t know -how it will affect his prospects. It’s a strange part -of it that only yesterday Kemp closed a deal for the -purchase of the Cummings Company. The paper -says he’d gone out to the farm with Mr. Trenton -to talk over the merger.”</p> - -<p>It was necessary for Grace to hear Kemp’s death -discussed in all its bearings at the breakfast table. -The talk was chiefly between her mother and Ethel, -Durland merely confirming or correcting, when appealed -to, their statements as to items of the dead -man’s history. They speculated fruitlessly as to the -fate of Kemp’s business interests, and how much he -was worth and whether he had left large sums to -charity.</p> - -<p>Grace read the account of the accident and the long -biographical sketch of Kemp while this was in progress. -Trenton and Moore had managed the thing -well. Trenton’s statement as to the manner of his -friend’s death bore every mark of veracity, and it was -fortified by the coroner’s report and a statement from -Kemp’s physician.</p> - -<p>“I suppose,” remarked Ethel, “that Irene Kirby -will be terribly shocked. It’s a wonder she wasn’t -with him. They were always gadding about the country -together. I’m relieved, Grace, that you weren’t -mixed up in this mess.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_372">[372]</span>“Don’t speak so to your sister, Ethel,” admonished -Mrs. Durland. “There are things about Mr. Kemp -I never knew. It seems he gave large sums to some -of our needy institutions and wouldn’t let it be known. -And he was beautiful to all his employees. It’s not -for us to say he wasn’t a good man.”</p> - - -<h3>V</h3> - -<p>“Well,” said Irene, the day after Kemp’s funeral, -“I hope Tommy knows all the fine things that have -been said about him. I cried when I read about the -poor people who went to his house just to look at him -again—people he’d helped in their troubles for years, -and you can be sure he always did it with a smile. -I met Ward as I was coming down this morning. He -was on his way to Judge Sanders’s office and didn’t -see me till I spoke to him. You’d think he’d lost -his own brother! He asked about you and said to -tell you not to worry about anything. And he smiled -in that wistful way he has. He said he might be -kept here some time.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I hope not!” Grace cried, and her eyes filled -with tears.</p> - -<p>She was already trying to accustom herself to the -idea that they were never to meet again and the -prospect of encountering him filled her with mingled -hope and dismay. A few days later when Kemp’s -will was published her heart bounded as she read that -the testator had appointed Trenton the managing -trustee of Kemp’s industrial enterprises, and that -he would in all likelihood become a resident of Indianapolis. -His picture was published, with a laudatory -account of his career. The purchase of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_373">[373]</span> -Cummings concern, which was consummated on the -day of Kemp’s death, greatly increased the responsibilities -of the trustee, who was to serve for a period -of ten years.</p> - -<p>It was with confused sensations of happy pride and -poignant heartache that Grace read all this. At home -it was necessary constantly to play a part, to feign -indifference as to Trenton’s suddenly attained prominence, -while her mother and Ethel reviewed daily all -the potentialities of the situation as it affected Stephen -Durland, who stolidly refrained from expressing any -opinion as to what bearing Kemp’s death might have -on his personal affairs.</p> - -<p>The complexities of her life seemed to Grace enormously -multiplied. Trenton was there—in town—no -doubt walking at times the streets she traversed -going to and from her work, and she could not see -him—must never see him again! If only the family -affairs were less perplexing—Roy’s future, clouded by -his marriage, dominated all the domestic councils—she -could leave; go where the remembrance of -him would be less an hourly torture.</p> - -<p>In combating her longing to see him she sought -comfort in the thought that his new duties would -help him to forget; and she wanted him to forget. -With his nature he was sure to be profoundly affected -by his friend’s death and the confidence Kemp had -reposed in him even from the grave. She found a certain -luxury of sorrow in these thoughts; she wanted -him to be happy, even if his happiness were to be won -only by forgetting her.</p> -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_374">[374]</span> - -<h2 class="nobreak">CHAPTER FIFTEEN</h2> -</div> - - -<h3>I</h3> - -<p><span class="smcap">Miss Reynolds</span> called Grace on the telephone a -week after Kemp’s death and with her usual kindly -peremptoriness demanded that Grace dine with her -the following night.</p> - -<p>“I went away unexpectedly and didn’t have a chance -to let you know. I’ve got something I want to talk -to you about—just you and me. Please come!”</p> - -<p>Grace was ashamed not to manifest more cordiality -in accepting the invitation but she was beset by fears -lest Miss Reynolds was seizing the first possible moment -to question her as to her singular conduct at -the door on the afternoon when she had gone to the -house with Trenton. And that seemed long ago, hidden -by the black wall of an impenetrable past.</p> - -<p>Miss Reynolds called for her at Shipley’s at the -closing hour and greeted her as though nothing had -happened. She had been summoned to Baltimore -on business, she explained. She talked in her brisk -fashion throughout the dinner,—of impersonal matters, -not mentioning the Trentons at all until they -were settled in the living room.</p> - -<p>“After all, I think I prefer plain bread-and-butter -people—plain folks. A woman traveling with a maid -and pretending to be keen about poor suffering humanity -seems to me a good deal of a joke. Mrs. Trenton -did one thing for me though and I ought to be -grateful for that,—she sent me scampering back to the -conservatives! I’d been just a little infected with some<span class="pagenum" id="Page_375">[375]</span> -of these new ideas, but after having that woman in -my house two days and hearing her talk and seeing -how fussy she is about her personal comfort, I’m for -hanging on to the old fogy notions a while longer.”</p> - -<p>As Miss Reynolds continued her dissection of Mrs. -Trenton’s social program, Grace felt suddenly a strong -impulse to tell her friend the whole story of her acquaintance -with Trenton. In a way Miss Reynolds -had a right to know. She waited, wondering how she -could begin and what her friend would say, when -Miss Reynolds said in her characteristically abrupt -fashion:</p> - -<p>“Look here, little girl, you’ve got something on -your mind; you haven’t been listening to me at all! -You needn’t be afraid of me; I’m a queer old person -but sometimes I do understand. I wouldn’t force -your confidence; you know that,—but—why you dear -<i>child</i>!”</p> - -<p>Grace’s eyes had filled with tears. Miss Reynolds -crossed to her quickly.</p> - -<p>“How clumsy I am! I wouldn’t hurt you for -worlds, dear!”</p> - -<p>She sat down on a stool at Grace’s feet and drew -the girl’s hands into her own.</p> - -<p>“Poor dear heart,” she murmured softly. “It’s an -awful big old world and little girls do sometimes get -hurt—and lost. Maybe you’d like me to call the car -and take you for a drive.”</p> - -<p>“No; I want to tell you; I’ve got to tell you. But -I’m afraid if I do——”</p> - -<p>“You couldn’t tell me anything that would make me -stop loving you,” Miss Reynolds replied gently....</p> - -<p>Grace spared herself in nothing. She told the whole -story, told it as a child might confess a grievous fault -at a mother’s knee, described the spirit of revolt<span class="pagenum" id="Page_376">[376]</span> -in which she had thought to ignore the old barriers, -scorned the safeguards that had offered protection, -exulted in her freedom. And now, appalled by the -consequences of her treason she found herself defenceless, -groping for the support of the very wall -that she had contemptuously disregarded. Her day -of rebellion was past; she was now eager to be received -again into the ancient citadel.</p> - -<p>“I think,” she said finally, “that that’s all.”</p> - -<p>Then for the first time Miss Reynolds looked up -at her. Her eyes were wet.</p> - -<p>“Dear little girl,” she began and then was silent -for a time, gently stroking the girl’s hands.</p> - -<p>“I guessed there was something wrong, of course,” -she went on, “when I met you in the hall that day. -When I went in I saw right away that my interruption -was unfortunate. But Mrs. Trenton very calmly -introduced me to her husband. We talked a moment -and he left. As he went out he merely bowed to her -without saying anything. He struck me as being a -gentleman—none of the look of a dissolute person, -certainly a handsome man—a high-bred look and air.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, tell me you saw the fineness, the nobility in -him! I couldn’t bear to have you hate him!”</p> - -<p>“Why, no, I don’t hate him. I’m only sorry for -both of you! But—I don’t think you quite understand—well, -that as individuals we are responsible to -those who have prior claims upon our consideration. -For the sake of happiness to the greater number we -must often give up our own happiness. Many beautiful -and noble women have done that.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I love him! I love him so!” moaned the girl.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I believe you do, dear. It’s pitiful—the -whole thing. Be sure I feel for you; I want to help -you.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_377">[377]</span>Miss Reynolds rose and took a turn across the -room.</p> - -<p>“It’s in his favor that he realized the thing couldn’t -go on; that for your sake it had to stop. That woman -might easily ruin your life; and of course she has -the right on her side.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,—yes, I know. I’ve no justification at all -except—except—I love him.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I understand. I believe you truly love -him; but now its my business as your friend to urge -you to forget. I realize that it won’t be easy. It -would simplify matters if you could go away,—see -other people, develop new interests.”</p> - -<p>“Yes; I’d thought of that,” Grace replied. “But -I can’t leave home; there are difficulties; it wouldn’t -be kind.”</p> - -<p>“No; I understand that. But that brings me to the -matter I asked you here to talk about. I want to -equip a house which self-supporting young women -can manage entirely by themselves with the fewest -possible restrictions, not an institution—I hate the -word—but a club. You notice I’m not smoking!” -Miss Reynolds smiled. “Well, Mrs. Trenton cured -me of that; she left me bored with the whole business -of being an emancipated woman. I’ve got the idea -that the house I propose can set a standard of morals -and manners—something that will be good for the -whole community. But there mustn’t be a lot of restrictions. -I want the girls who live there to use it -as though it were their own home. I have every confidence -that they’ll make a happy household with just -a little sympathy and encouragement, and,” she -smiled, “I hope—my example!”</p> - -<p>“It’s perfectly wonderful!” cried Grace. “And it’s -just like you!”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_378">[378]</span>“Humph! It’s perfectly selfish on my part; I expect -to have a lot of fun getting it started; maybe the -girls will let me dig in the garden now and then. -There’ll be a garden and tennis courts, and they must -have a dance once a week, and I might drop in occasionally.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, they’ll adore you!”</p> - -<p>“Well, I don’t mean to bother them. There are -such houses in New York and Chicago and I’m going -to visit them and get all the practical ideas I can -before I say anything about it. I need some one to -help me collect data and look after the thousand -and one details of planning. We’ll call it a secretaryship. -Now, Grace,” and Miss Reynolds beamed on -her, “will <i>you</i> help me?”</p> - -<p>“Why, Miss Reynolds!”</p> - -<p>“It might be just what you need right now,” Miss -Reynolds went on, ignoring the girl’s questioning, -troubled look. “In fact, my dear child, you put the -whole idea in my head by things you’ve dropped from -time to time about the problems of young business -women.”</p> - -<p>“But now—since you know——”</p> - -<p>“Dear child, it’s knowing that makes me all the -more eager to have your help! It’s only people who -make mistakes and suffer that really understand. And -we’ve got to have some heart in our club! So we’ll -call it settled and we’ll go to New York two weeks -from today and begin our work.”</p> - - -<h3>II</h3> - -<p>Grace’s announcement at home that she was to -leave Shipley’s to become Miss Reynolds’s secretary<span class="pagenum" id="Page_379">[379]</span> -greatly pleased her mother, who saw in the change -a social advancement. It was much more in keeping -with her idea of the Durland dignity for a daughter -of the house to serve a lady of wealth as secretary -than to be selling ready-made-clothing. And Mrs. -Durland hoped Grace would appreciate the privilege -of becoming identified with so praiseworthy a philanthropy.</p> - -<p>Ethel, possibly jealous of Miss Reynolds’s growing -interest in Grace, expressed at once her concern as -to proper religious influences in the proposed club. -She confessed to disappointment that Miss Reynolds -had not manifested more interest in the girls’ club -in Dr. Ridgely’s church. Miss Reynolds might very -easily have given the church the benefit of the money -she would spend on an independent work. It was not -quite loyal, she thought, to the church and all it stood -for; but she hoped the souls of the young women who -lived in the club would be properly cared for and that -Dr. Ridgely would be on the board; she favored strong -boards to administer such institutions.</p> - -<p>“There ain’t goin’ to be no board,” Grace answered -cheerily, “of the kind you mean. The girls are going -to run the place themselves.”</p> - -<p>“Then it won’t last long. I have no faith in such -things.”</p> - -<p>“Better get some, Sis. Miss Reynolds knows what -she’s about. She’s hoping others will follow her -example and make a chain of such clubs.”</p> - -<p>Grace learned from her father that there had been -no developments in the motor since Kemp’s death; -he didn’t know where he stood, but Trenton had been -encouraging as to the outcome. The reorganization -made necessary by the absorption of the Cummings -concern was causing the delay, Durland thought.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_380">[380]</span>“Trenton’s a busy man these days, but he’s spent -several evenings with me at the shop. He’s a big -man; he knows what he’s about and he’s been mighty -fine to me.”</p> - -<p>“I’m glad of that, daddy. I’m sure Mr. Trenton -would tell you if he didn’t mean to go through with it.”</p> - -<p>“I think you’re right, Grace. It’s a little hard -waiting—and I’ve done a lot of waiting in my time.”</p> - -<p>“You dear! We’ve got to believe the patient waiter -gets the biggest tips—that’s our slogan!”</p> - -<p>She tapped him lightly on the shoulder as she -spoke, keeping time to her words. He didn’t know -how his praise of Trenton had warmed her heart. -The fact that he saw Trenton and no doubt would -continue to meet him frequently gave her father a -new interest in her eyes.</p> - -<p>Grace saw Miss Reynolds every few days, and was -finding relief and happiness in the prospect of her -new work. Irene expressed the greatest satisfaction -when Grace told her that she was leaving Shipley’s.</p> - -<p>“It’s more in your line, Grace. And I certainly -hand it to Little Old Ready-Money for having the -sense to appreciate you. If she hadn’t been the real -goods she’d have backed away when you told her about -Ward. Some woman, I say! It does sort of cheer -things up to know there are people like that in the -world. By the way, have you seen John lately?”</p> - -<p>“Not since Tommy died.”</p> - -<p>“Well, there’s another of the saints!” said Irene. -“He’s pretending now he doesn’t know we were on -a wild party and that he saved our reputations. He -won’t talk about it; not at all! So don’t try to thank -him. Tommy’s estate is going through Sanders’s office -and John’s no end busy. He’s getting acquainted -with Ward—funny how things work out! But if John<span class="pagenum" id="Page_381">[381]</span> -has any idea about you and Ward he never lets on. I -thought you might like to know that.”</p> - -<p>“Well, he’s probably done some thinking,” Grace -replied soberly; “John isn’t stupid.”</p> - -<p>“He’s my idea of a prince, if you ask me! He’s -making a big hit with my family; mother thinks he’s -the grandest young man who ever came up the pike. -She’s got him carrying all his mending and darning -out to her to do and he’s so nice to her I’m getting -jealous!”</p> - - -<h3>III</h3> - -<p>Roy came home for a week-end, but only after his -mother had written him repeatedly urging a visit. He -had really been at work—Mrs. Durland had this from -the Dean of the Law School—but his enthusiasm for -the profession his mother had chosen for him was still -at low ebb. He wanted to find work on a newspaper; -he wanted to go West; anything was preferable to -setting up as a lawyer in an office of his own. It was -disclosed that Mrs. Durland had arranged to mortgage -the house to raise money with which to establish -him. But it was the definite announcement of her -purpose to bring Roy’s wife home immediately after -commencement, that the young couple might, as Mrs. -Durland put it, begin their life together, that precipitated -a crisis in Ethel’s relations with her family.</p> - -<p>The baby would be born in August and Mrs. Durland -contended that the family dignity would suffer -far less if Roy announced his marriage when he left -the university and joined his wife in his father’s house -at Indianapolis.</p> - -<p>Ethel was outraged by the plan. She would not -live under the same roof with that creature; and she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_382">[382]</span> -availed herself of the opportunity to tell Roy what -she thought of him. He had always been petted and -indulged; his mother had favored him over the other -children; they had all been obliged to practice the -most rigid self-denial to educate him, and this was -the result!</p> - -<p>Roy surlily martyrized himself in meeting his sister’s -attack. He had never wanted to go to college; -he hated the law and if it hadn’t been for John Moore’s -stupid meddling he would have extricated himself -from the scrape with the girl he had been forced to -marry.</p> - -<p>“I never thought you’d really do it, mother,” Ethel -moaned. “I didn’t think you’d be cruel enough to -visit this shame on me. Everybody will talk; we’ll -be ostracized by all our friends.”</p> - -<p>Grace’s attempt to restore harmony only infuriated -Ethel.</p> - -<p>“I’ve told Osgood the whole story,” Ethel announced. -“I felt that was the only honorable thing to -do and he’s been splendid about it. We’ve been engaged -since Easter and he’s ready to marry me at any -time. I’d hoped we’d be able to live at home for a -little while, but now I’m going! I can already feel -that abandoned creature in the house! Osgood has a -good offer in Cincinnati and I’ll marry him tomorrow -and go away and never come back!”</p> - -<p>“I would if I were you,” said Grace, as Ethel -stalked from the room. “Safety first! Grab all the -life belts.”</p> - -<p>Ethel paused and pointed an accusing finger at -Grace.</p> - -<p>“You! You’re a pretty one to talk!”</p> - -<p>Stephen Durland raised his head, coughed and returned -to his reading. Roy announced that he was going<span class="pagenum" id="Page_383">[383]</span> -down town. The front door slammed upon him -and Mrs. Durland burst into tears.</p> - -<p>“You don’t think—you don’t think Ethel <i>means</i> -she’s going!”</p> - -<p>“I certainly hope she means it,” Grace replied wearily. -“Osgood’s not a bad fellow and maybe he can beat -some sense into her.”</p> - - -<h3>IV</h3> - -<p>Grace had never been in New York before and Miss -Reynolds gave her every opportunity to see the sights. -The investigation of devices for housing business -women Miss Reynolds pursued with her usual thoroughness, -broadening her inquiry to include a survey of -the general social effort in the metropolis. She accepted -no invitations in which Grace could not be included, -with the result that they dined or had luncheon in half -a dozen private homes, and were entertained in fashionable -restaurants and at the Colony Club.</p> - -<p>“You’re so good to me!” said Grace one night when -they reached their hotel after a dinner at the house -of some old friends of Miss Reynolds. “All the -guests were somebody except me! I wonder what -they’d think if they knew that only a little while ago -I was Number Eighteen in Shipley’s!”</p> - -<p>“They knew you were good to look at,” Miss Reynolds -replied, “and talked well and had very pretty -manners. Nothing else was any of their business.”</p> - -<p>“But sometimes—sometimes, Cousin Beulah, when -your friends are so kind and treat me so beautifully, -I can’t help thinking that if they knew about me——”</p> - -<p>“My dear Grace, this busy world’s a lot kinder -than it gets credit for being! Even if the world knew -it wouldn’t condemn you.”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_384">[384]</span>They had visited a settlement house on the East -Side one morning and were driving to Washington -Square for luncheon with a friend of Miss Reynolds -who lived in one of the old houses which she said -Grace ought to see.</p> - -<p>“We’re a bit early for our engagement,” Miss Reynolds -remarked as they reached Broadway. “We’ve -got half an hour to look at Trinity.”</p> - -<p>They walked quickly through the yard, that Grace -might experience the thrill of reading the historic -names on the grave-stones, and entered the church. -It was the noon hour and sightseers mingling with the -employees from the towering buildings came and went. -Miss Reynolds and Grace sat down in a pew near -the door. A service was in progress and Grace, unfamiliar -with liturgic churches, at once fixed her attention -on the chancel. The minister’s voice reciting -the office, the sense of age communicated by the -walls of the edifice, all had their effect on her. She -felt singularly alone. The heartache that had troubled -her little since she left home again became acute. -Here was peace, but it was a peace that mocked rather -than calmed the spirit....</p> - -<p>... “We humbly beseech thee for all sorts and -conditions of men.”...</p> - -<p>The mournful cadence of the prayer only increased -her loneliness. She was like a child who, watching night -descend in a strange place, is overcome by a stifling -nostalgia. Her throat ached with inexpressible emotions; -her heart fluttered like a wild bird in her breast. -She knew she wanted Trenton; nothing else mattered; -no one else could ever fill his place. She bowed her -head and her lips trembled.</p> - -<p>A man walked hesitatingly down the aisle and slipped -into a pew in front of her. Apparently he was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_385">[385]</span> -one of the many who were seeking relief from the -world’s turmoil. She remained motionless, staring. -It was unbelievable that it could be Trenton; and yet -beyond question it was he. His coming was like an -answer to prayer. She recalled what he had written -after his illness, that he had thought of her once so -intently that he had brought her into the room....</p> - -<p>She remembered that he had once told her that -his New York office was near Trinity. Perhaps it -was his habit to drop in as he passed.</p> - -<p>Miss Reynolds, turning the pages of a prayer book, -evidently had not noticed, or had failed to recognize -him. Presently she glanced at her watch, touched -Grace’s arm and nodded that it was time to go. As -they paused in the entry to look at the bronze doors -Grace decided not to tell her friend that Trenton was -in the church; but suddenly he stood beside them.</p> - -<p>“This is surely more than a coincidence,” he said, -smiling gravely as he shook hands. “I pass here every -day but I hadn’t been in before for years. But today——”</p> - -<p>They walked together to the gate, Grace silent, -Miss Reynolds and Trenton discussing the weather -to cover their embarrassment. Grace, still awed by -his appearance, saw that he looked careworn; even -when he smiled at some remark of Miss Reynolds his -eyes scarcely brightened.</p> - -<p>“I have a taxi here somewhere.” Miss Reynolds -was glancing about uncertainly when the machine -drew in at the curb.</p> - -<p>“Are you staying in town long?” asked Trenton as -he opened the cab door.</p> - -<p>“Only a few days,” Miss Reynolds replied guardedly. -“Grace and I are here on a little business. I -wonder——”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_386">[386]</span>Without finishing the sentence she stepped into the -car and gave the Washington Square address. Trenton -rousing as he realized that they were about to leave -him, bent forward and took Grace’s hand.</p> - -<p>“It’s so good to see you!” he said steadily. “I’m -going West tonight. Mrs. Trenton’s been very ill; -she’s in a sanitarium in Connecticut.” Then, aware -that he couldn’t detain them longer, “Miss Reynolds, -I’m sure you and Miss Durland will take good care of -each other!”</p> - -<p>“Good-bye,” said Grace faintly and watched him -disappear in the crowd.</p> - -<p>“I was going to ask him to come and dine with us,” -said Miss Reynolds when the car was in motion, “but -I changed my mind. And now I wish I could change -it again!”</p> - -<p>“I’m glad you didn’t,” Grace answered colorlessly. -“It would have been a mistake.”</p> - -<p>“Well, perhaps.” And Trenton was not referred to -again.</p> - -<p>But all the rest of the day Grace lived upon the -memory of his look, his voice. He was still in a world -she knew; any turn of the long road might bring him -in sight again.</p> - - -<h3>V</h3> - -<p>A week in Chicago followed a fortnight in New -York and Grace had filled a large portfolio with notes -and pamphlets bearing upon Miss Reynolds’s projected -house for business girls. Her mother’s letters -had kept her informed of family affairs and she was -prepared to find Ethel gone and Roy’s wife established -in the house. Ethel had refused to be married -at home and the ceremony had been performed by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_387">[387]</span> -Dr. Ridgely in his study, with only Mrs. Durland -present to represent the family. Ethel and Haley had -left at once for Cincinnati, where they were to make -their home.</p> - -<p>“I did the best I could about it, Grace,” Mrs. -Durland kept repeating pathetically. “I hated to -have her go that way, but she would do it. She said -some pretty unkind things to your father after you -left, and he didn’t go to see her married.”</p> - -<p>For Sadie, the new member of the family, Grace -formed an immediate liking. The girl was so anxious -to be friendly and to do her share of the domestic -labor and so appreciative of kindness that she brought -a new element of cheer into the household. She was -intelligent, and amusing, after a slangy fashion; even -Stephen Durland laughed at her jokes.</p> - -<p>Grace found that her position as secretary to Miss -Reynolds was far from being a sinecure. She was -present at all the conferences with the architect who -had now been engaged, and when the announcement -of the new club for business girls could no longer -be deferred it fell to Grace’s lot to answer the letters -that poured in upon Miss Reynolds. A bedroom was -fitted up as an office and there Grace spent half of -every day, keeping accounts, typing letters and answering -the importunities of the telephone.</p> - -<p>One day in June Grace went to Judge Sanders’ -office on an errand for Miss Reynolds. It was merely -a matter of leaving an abstract of title for examination, -but as she was explaining what was wanted to -the office girl John Moore came out of one of the -inner rooms.</p> - -<p>“Caught in the act!” he exclaimed. “I’ve just been -hankering to see you. Can’t you give me a few minutes, -right now?”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_388">[388]</span>She was really in a hurry, but when he earnestly -protested that he had business with her she followed -him into a room whose door bore the inscription: “Mr. -Moore.”</p> - -<p>“That looks terribly important, John,” she said -indicating the lettering. “Onward and upward!”</p> - -<p>“Well,” he said, when they were seated. “Mr. -Kemp’s death has thrown a lot of business into the -office and some of it that doesn’t require much brain -power they leave to me. Mr. Trenton just left a -few minutes ago. He came in to see if I’d go down -into Knox County to inventory a coal mine Kemp -owned. I’m getting a lot of little jobs like that.”</p> - -<p>She smiled, as he wanted her to, at his boyish pride -in his work. She derived a deep pleasure from the -thought that Trenton had just been there. Trenton -would appreciate John’s qualities; they would appreciate -each other’s qualities and talents.</p> - -<p>“Maybe you don’t know,” John went on, “and -maybe I oughtn’t to tell you; but right here on my -desk are the papers for your father to sign away -his rights in his motor patents and his formula for -that non-breakable spark-plug porcelain you probably -know about. Your father’s coming in tomorrow -to sign up. Mr. Trenton has left a check here for -advance royalties that will pay the Durland grocery -bill for sometime to come!”</p> - -<p>“Do you mean it, John! I’d been afraid Mr. -Kemp’s death would end all that.”</p> - -<p>“Trenton’s the whole cheese in that business now -and he knows what he’s doing. He says those two -things are bound to earn your father a lot of money.”</p> - -<p>“Father certainly deserves any success that may -come to him. I’m so glad for him and mother—just<span class="pagenum" id="Page_389">[389]</span> -now when things at home don’t look particularly -bright.”</p> - -<p>“You’re thinking of Roy? Well, Roy will get his -law degree but that boy had no more business in the -law than I’d have in a millinery shop. I sneaked him -up here last Sunday and had Mr. Trenton take a -look at him. You know Roy’s a smart, likable chap, -with a friendly way of meeting people and I thought -maybe there was a job somewhere in the Kemp organization -that he’d fit into.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know—” began Grace, doubtfully, remembering -Roy’s anger at John’s meddling.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Roy took it fine! Mr. Trenton’s taken a -fancy to him; in fact they liked each other immensely. -Roy’s to get his sheepskin and then go right into -the Kemp factory for six months to get an idea of -the business and then transfer to the sales department.”</p> - -<p>“Why, John, that’s wonderful!” exclaimed Grace. -“You don’t <i>know</i> how relieved I am.”</p> - -<p>“You’re not half as relieved as Roy is to dodge the -law,” John chuckled. “That boy will make good. -I’d told Mr. Trenton all about him and he was as -kind to him as a father. Roy wanted me to ask you to -spring the news on his mother. She’s so keen about -having him a lawyer that he’s afraid to tell her himself.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, John; I’ll do it tonight. And thank you! -Oh, thank you for everything!”</p> - - -<h3>VI</h3> - -<p>Stephen Durland’s announcement that the Kemp -Company had taken up the option on his motor and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_390">[390]</span> -made a contract for the manufacture of the porcelain -tempered in some degree his wife’s disappointment -when Grace broke the news that Roy had renounced -the law. Mrs. Durland took comfort in the fact that -Roy had really passed the law examinations and was -admitted to practice with the rest of his class. This -measurably satisfied her family pride by enrolling -Roy on the list of attorneys of his state in succession -to his grandfather and great-grandfather. Roy, however, -was much less thrilled by this than by the prospect -of having at once employment that he felt was -within his powers. The idea of making machinery had -never interested him, but the idea of selling it appealed -to him strongly and for the first time in his life he -found himself in sympathy and accord with his father.</p> - -<p>Stephen Durland had money in the bank and was -reasonably sure of a good income for the remainder -of his life. The Kemp publicity department had given -wide advertisement to his discoveries, and several technical -journals had asked for photographs of the inventor, -the taking of which Grace joyfully supervised. -A kind fate having intervened to prevent the -mortgaging of the old home Mrs. Durland was now -considering selling it and satisfying the great desire -of her heart by moving beyond the creek.</p> - -<p>Ethel, hearing of the family’s unexpected prosperity, -had been up for a visit, and returned to -Cincinnati with a supply of linens for her apartment. -Her mother thought it only fair that she should participate -in the good luck that had at last overtaken -the Durlands and Grace agreed with her. Haley’s -earnings were meager and Ethel received the gift graciously. -She even volunteered a few generous words -to her young sister-in-law, about whom she admitted -she might have been mistaken.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_391">[391]</span>Durland declined to become interested in the proposed -change of residence. In fact he continued to -appear dazed by his good fortune and Grace, for years -familiar with his moods, was mystified by his conduct.</p> - -<p>One evening when they were alone on the front -porch she asked a question about affairs at the factory, -really in the hope that he would speak of Trenton. -When he had answered perfunctorily that everything -was running smoothly and that they would be -ready to put the new motor on the market in six -months he remarked that Trenton was away a good -deal.</p> - -<p>“His wife’s sick, you know; down East somewhere. -I guess he’s had a good deal to worry him. When -he’s in town he works hard. There’s a lot to do -moving the stuff from Cummings’s old plant, and -putting up the new buildings.”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Trenton’s certainly been a good friend to -you, daddy. But of course he wouldn’t have taken -your patents if they hadn’t been all they promised to -be.”</p> - -<p>Durland turned his head to make sure they were -not overheard. Mrs. Durland was somewhere in the -house and Roy and Sadie had gone for a walk. Durland -cleared his throat and said in a low tone:</p> - -<p>“I’d never have got those things right, Grace. Trenton -straightened me out on a lot o’ points that were -too much for me. He worked with me every night for -a week till everything came right. He oughtn’t to give -me the credit.”</p> - -<p>“Now, daddy, that’s just like you! Of course, -they’re all your ideas! But it was fine of Mr. Trenton -to help you round them out.”</p> - -<p>“It was more than that, Grace,” Durland persisted -stubbornly.</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_392">[392]</span>This, then, was the cause of her father’s preoccupation -and the embarrassment with which he had been -hearing himself praised. It was Trenton’s genius, -not his, that had perfected the motor! Something -sweet and wistful like the scents of the summer night -crept into her heart. She was happy, supremely -happy, in the thought that Trenton had done this, -given her father the benefit of his skill, and for her. -Yes; it was all for her, and for those close and dear -to her. But her father’s confession moved her -greatly. The light from the window fell upon his hand, -which seemed to her to symbolize failure as it hung -inert from the arm of his chair.</p> - -<p>“Oh, lots of inventors must accept help from experts, -when they’ve got as far as they can by themselves. -Don’t you worry about that! I’m sure it -was a pleasure to Mr. Trenton to help you over your -difficulties. He naturally wouldn’t want any of the -credit when you did all the real work.”</p> - -<p>Durland shook his head impatiently.</p> - -<p>“I couldn’t have done it!” he said huskily. “I don’t -understand even now how he got the results he did!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, pshaw!” she exclaimed with a happy little -laugh. “No man would be so generous of his talents -as all that; men are not built that way.”</p> - -<p>But she knew that it was true, and that it was because -Trenton loved her that he had saved her father -from another and crushing failure.</p> - - -<h3>VII</h3> - -<p>She was able to keep track of Trenton’s movements -through Irene, who got her information from John. -Grace and Trenton were holding strictly to their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_393">[393]</span> -agreement not to see each other. Once, as she waited -for the traffic to break at Washington and Meridian -Streets, Trenton passed in a car. Craig was driving -and Trenton, absorbed in a sheaf of papers, didn’t -lift his head. He was so near for a fleeting second -that she could have touched him. This, then, was to -be the way of it, their paths steadily diverging; or -if they met it would be as strangers who had ceased -to have any message for each other.</p> - -<p>Sadie’s baby was born in August and Roy manifested -an unexpected degree of paternal pride in his -offspring. The summer wore on to September. Now -and then as she surveyed herself in the mirror it -seemed to Grace that she was growing old and that -behind her lay a long life-time, crowded with experience. -She felt herself losing touch with the world. -Miss Reynolds, with all her kindness, was exacting. -Grace saw no young people and her amusements were -few. Irene, who watched her with a keenly critical -eye, remarked frequently upon her good looks, declaring -that she was growing handsomer all the time.</p> - -<p>“You won’t really reach perfection till you’re forty,” -said Irene, “and have some gray in your raven tresses. -I’ll look like a fat yellow cucumber when I’m forty!”</p> - -<p>Unless all signs failed Irene and John were deeply in -love with each other—the old story of the attraction of -apparently irreconcilable natures.</p> - -<p>“I’ve told John everything—all about Tommy, of -course, to give him a chance to escape,” Irene confided. -“But I didn’t jar him a bit. That man’s faith -would make a good woman of Jezabel. John’s already -got some little jobs—secretaryships of corporations -that Judge Sanders threw his way. He thinks we can -be married early next year and I’m studying real -estate ads. I’ve got enough money to make a payment<span class="pagenum" id="Page_394">[394]</span> -on a bungalow as far from Shipley’s as a nickel -will carry me and there’ll be a cow and a few choice -hens. Back to nature for me, dearie!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, it’s just marvelous!” cried Grace. “You and -John are bound to reach the high places. You’ve -got just the qualities John needs to help him get on. -When he goes into politics after while you’ll be a big -asset.”</p> - -<p>“I think I might like a few years in Washington,” -Irene replied meditatively. “I’ve already joined up -with a woman’s political club to learn how to fool ’em -all the time!”</p> - -<p>“Isn’t that just like you!”</p> - -<p>“But, Grace——”</p> - -<p>“Yes; Irene.”</p> - -<p>“I love John.” Irene’s eyes filled with tears. “I’ve -talked so much foolish nonsense to you about men, and -you must have thought me hard and sordid. I wouldn’t -want you to think I married John just to escape from -myself. He’s the grandest man in the world, and I’d -die before I’d injure him, or cause him a second’s -heartache. You do believe that, don’t you?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; and it’s dear and beautiful. I’m so glad for -both of you! I hope—I know, you will be happy!”</p> - -<p>A few days later Grace met John in the street and -he turned and walked with her a little way.</p> - -<p>“I guess Irene’s told you? Well, I want to tell you, -too!” he said with his broadest smile.</p> - -<p>“Well, I didn’t need to be told, John! I saw it -coming. And I congratulate you both with all my -heart.”</p> - -<p>“Yes; I knew you’d be glad, Grace,” he said; then -his face grew grave. “You see Irene was troubled -a lot—well about little mistakes she’d made. She was -mighty fine about that. When I found I loved her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_395">[395]</span> -and she loved me, nothing else made any difference. -And she’s so strong and fine and splendid you just -know it was never in her <i>heart</i> to do wrong!”</p> - -<p>“Yes, John,” Grace replied, touched by his simple -earnestness, his fine tolerance, his anxiety that she -should know that Irene had withheld nothing of her -past that could ever cast a shadow upon their happiness.</p> - -<p>Late in September Miss Reynolds proposed to -Grace that they go to Colorado to look at the mountains. -The architect could be relied on to watch the -construction of the club house and Miss Reynolds insisted -that Grace had earned a vacation.</p> - -<p>They established themselves in a hotel that commanded -a view of a great valley with snowy summits -beyond and Grace tramped and rode and won a measurable -serenity of spirit. Miss Reynolds may have -thought that amid new scenes the girl would forget -Trenton, but the look that came into Grace’s eyes -at times discouraged the hope. Then one evening, as -they sat in the hotel office reading their mail Miss -Reynolds laid a Denver newspaper on Grace’s knee -and quietly pointed to a headline: “Death of Mary -Graham Trenton.”</p> - -<p>The end had come suddenly in the sanitarium -where Mrs. Trenton had been under treatment. Her -husband, the dispatch stated, was with her when -she died.</p> - -<p>“She seemed ill when she was at my house,” remarked -Miss Reynolds; “she was frightfully nervous -and seemed to be constantly forcing herself. That -tired look in her eyes gave the impression of dissipation. -I’m ashamed to say it but I really thought she -might be addicted to drugs.”</p> - -<p>“I’m sorry,” Grace murmured, numbed, bewildered<span class="pagenum" id="Page_396">[396]</span> -by the news. She had never taken the reports of -Mrs. Trenton’s illness seriously, believing Ward’s wife -was feigning illness to arouse her husband’s pity—perhaps -in the hope of reawakening his love. It had never -occurred to her that she might die.</p> - -<p>As soon as possible Grace excused herself and went -to her room, where she flung herself on the bed and -lay for a long time in the dark, pondering. In spite -of their agreement not to write she had hoped constantly -to hear from him; and his silence she had interpreted -as meaning that he had found it easy to -forget. She now attributed his silence to the remorse -that had probably assailed him when he found that -Mrs. Trenton was hopelessly ill.</p> - - -<h3>VIII</h3> - -<p>Grace had been home a week when she received a -letter from Trenton, written in Pittsburgh. He was -closing up his home; looking after the settlement of -Mrs. Trenton’s estate. She had bequeathed her considerable -property to the societies for social reform -in which she had been interested. He hoped to be -in Indianapolis shortly, he wrote, and continued:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p>... “My thoughts in these past weeks have -not been happy ones; but I must turn now to the -future. In my dark hours I have groped toward you, -felt the need of your leading hand. I love you. That -is the one great fact in the world. Whatever I have -left to me of life is yours; and it is now my right to -give it.... It was my fate, not my fault, that -I learned to love you. Nothing can change that. Let -me begin over again and prove my love for you—win<span class="pagenum" id="Page_397">[397]</span> -you as it is a woman’s right to be won, in the -world’s eyes. I want you to bear my name; belong -to me truly, help me to find and keep the path of -happiness.”</p> -</div> - -<p>She did not understand herself as the days passed -and she felt no impulse to reply. She loved him still—there -was no question of that—but she tortured -herself with the idea that he had written only from -a chivalrous sense of obligation. Trenton was free; -but she too was free; and marriage was an uncertain -quantity. She encouraged in herself the belief that to -marry him would be only to invite unhappiness. While -she was still debating with herself, she learned from -Irene that Trenton was again in town and working -hard.</p> - -<p>The new club for business girls, which Miss Reynolds -decided to name Friendship House, was in process -of furnishing and was to be opened on Thanksgiving -Day.</p> - -<p>Nothing in the preparations had proved so embarrassing -as the choice of the first occupants. It might -have seemed that all the young women in town were -clamoring for admission and only fifty could be accommodated. -Miss Reynolds and Grace spent many -hours interviewing applicants. Then, too, there was -the matter of working out a plan for the general -management of Friendship House until the club members -took hold of it for themselves.</p> - -<p>“The girls can make their own rules,” said Miss -Reynolds. “But I’m going to have one little rule -printed and put in every room and worked into all -the doormats and stamped into the linen—just two -words—Be Kind! If we’d all live up to that this -would be a lot more comfortable world to live in!”</p> - - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_398">[398]</span>Being so constantly at Miss Reynolds’s Grace had -heard the Bob Cummingses mentioned frequently. The -merger had obliterated the name from the industrial -life of the city; the senior Cummings had gone West -to live with his eldest son and Miss Reynolds had -spoken frequently of the plight in which the collapse -of the family fortunes had left Bob. Evelyn came -in one morning when Grace was alone in the improvised -office.</p> - -<p>“We’ve sold our house,” she announced, after they -had talked awhile. “It was mine, you know; a wedding -present from my uncle. And I’ve got about a -thousand a year. So I’m going to turn Bob loose -at his music. He’s already got a job as organist -in Dr. Ridgley’s church and he’s going to teach and -do some lecturing on music. He can do that wonderfully.”</p> - -<p>“That’s perfectly splendid!” said Grace warmly. -“But it’s too bad—the business troubles. I’ve wanted -to tell you how sorry I am.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I’m not so sure any one ought to be sorry -for us. Our difficulties have brought Bob and me -closer together, and our chances of happiness are -brighter than on our wedding day; really they are! -I’m saying this to you because you know Bob so well, -and I think you’ll understand.”</p> - -<p>Grace was not sure that she did understand and -when Evelyn left she meditated for a long time upon -the year’s changes. She had so jauntily gone out to -meet the world, risking her happiness in her confidence -that she was capable of directing her own destiny; -but life was not so easy! Life was an inexorable -schoolmaster who set very hard problems indeed!</p> - -<p>Irene, pretending to be jealous of Miss Reynolds,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_399">[399]</span> -declared that there was no reason why Grace, in -becoming a philanthropist should forget her old -friends. This was on an afternoon when Grace, in -Shipley’s to pick up some odds and ends for Friendship -House, looked into the ready-to-wear floor for -a word with Irene.</p> - -<p>Hard-pressed to defend her neglect she accepted -an invitation to accompany Irene and John to a movie -that night.</p> - -<p>“John will have to work for an hour or so but we -can get in for the second show. You just come up -to Judge Sanders’ office about eight and we can have -an old-fashioned heart-to-heart talk till John’s ready. -You never take me into your confidence any more,” -she concluded with an injured air.</p> - -<p>“I don’t have any confidences; but if I had you -certainly wouldn’t escape.”</p> - -<p>“You’re not seeing, Ward, I suppose?” Irene asked -carelessly.</p> - -<p>“No,” Grace replied with badly-feigned indifference. -“I haven’t seen him and I have no intention -of seeing him again.”</p> - -<p>“I suppose it’s all over,” said Irene stifling a yawn.</p> - -<p>“Yes, it’s all over,” Grace replied testily.</p> - -<p>“Strange but Ward just can’t get that idea! Of -course he’s had a lot to do and think about but he’d -never force himself on you.”</p> - -<p>“No; he wouldn’t do that,” Grace assented.</p> - -<p>“Ward’s a free man,” said Irene dreamily. “He’ll -probably marry again.”</p> - -<p>“Irene! It was silly of me to be as crazy about -him as I was. That freedom I used to talk about -was all rubbish. We can’t do as we please in this -world,—you and I both learned that! And after—well—after<span class="pagenum" id="Page_400">[400]</span> -all that happened I could never marry -Ward. And it would be a mistake for him to marry -me—a girl—who——”</p> - -<p>“Grace Durland!” Irene interrupted with lofty -scorn, “you are talking like an idiot! You’re insulting -yourself and you’re insulting Ward. I know a -few things. He telephoned you at Miss Reynolds’s -twice and asked to see you and you refused. Don’t -let Miss Beulah Reynolds intimidate you! She took -you to Colorado hoping you’d forget Ward!”</p> - -<p>“Miss Reynolds is perfectly fine!” Grace flared. -“She’s never said a word against Ward!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, she wouldn’t need to say it! She’s just trying -to keep you away from him. I’m not knocking Beulah—she’s -all right; but when there’s a man in the -world who is eating his heart out about you, you just -can’t stick your nose in the air and pretend you don’t -know he’s alive.”</p> - -<p>Grace had been proud of her strength in denying -Trenton the interview for which he had asked; but -she left Irene with an unquiet heart. Trenton was -lonely, and his letter had been written in a fine and -tender spirit. She knew that she was guilty -of dishonesty in trying to persuade herself that the -nature of their past association made marriage with -him impossible. He had said nothing that even remotely -suggested this. On the other hand he had -declared plainly that sooner or later he would have -her, meaning, of course, through marriage. She despised -herself for her inconsistencies. She had told -him that she loved him; love alone could have justified -their relationship; and yet she was viewing him -in the harshest light without giving him the hearing -for which he had asked at the earliest moment possible.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_401">[401]</span></p> - - -<h3>IX</h3> - -<p>She looked forward eagerly to the promised talk -with Irene and after supper she hurried down town -and was shot upward in the tall office building. She -found Irene and John sitting opposite each other at -a large flat top desk. Irene was helping John to -compare descriptions of property but she would be -free in a moment. He showed Grace into the big -library and laughingly gave her a law magazine to -read, saying it was the lightest literature the place -afforded.</p> - -<p>The dingy volumes on the shelves impressed her -with a sense of the continuity of law through all the -ages. She glanced idly at the titles, Torts, Contracts, -Wills, Injunctions,—there must, in this world, be order, -rule and law! Life, nobly considered, was impossible -without law. It was the height of folly that -she had ever fancied herself a rebel, confident of her -right to do as she pleased. She had made her mistakes; -henceforth she meant to walk circumspectly -in the eyes of all men. She envied Irene her happiness -with John; as for herself, love had brought her nothing -but sorrow and heartache.</p> - -<p>Her speculations were interrupted by the rustle -of papers in the adjoining room. The door was half -ajar and glancing in she saw a man seated at a desk, -busily scanning formidable looking documents and -affixing his signature.</p> - -<p>Absorbed in his work he was evidently unaware -that he was observed. Her heart beat wildly as she -watched him. She stifled a desire to call to him; -checked an impulse to run to him. Irene had played -a trick upon her in thus bringing her so near to -Trenton! She wondered whether he had seen her and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_402">[402]</span> -was purposely ignoring her. Or, he might think she -had suggested this to Irene. Her face burned; she -would escape somehow. As she watched him he lifted -his head with a sigh, threw himself back wearily in his -chair and stared at the wall. No; she would not -speak to him; never again would she speak to him. -Panic-stricken she turned and began cautiously tiptoeing -toward the hall door with no thought but to -leave the place at once.</p> - -<p>But, the door gained, her heart beat suffocatingly; -she could not go; she did love him, and to run away—</p> - -<p>She stole into the room without disturbing his -reverie, and laid her hand lightly on his shoulder.</p> - -<p>“I couldn’t go—I couldn’t leave you—”</p> - -<p>Then she was on her knees beside him, looking up -into his startled eyes.</p> - -<p>He raised her to her feet, tenderly, reverently, gazing -eagerly into her face.</p> - -<p>“How did you know?” he cried, his eyes alight.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t know; it just happened. I—I saw you—and -I just couldn’t run away!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, say that again! I’ve missed you so! You -can’t know how I’ve missed and needed you!”</p> - -<p>“Do you—do you love me,” she asked softly, “as -you used to think you did?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, more—more than all the world!”</p> - - -<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop" /> - -<div class="chapter"> -<div class="transnote"> -<p class="ph1">TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:</p> - -<p>Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.</p> - -<p>Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.</p> - -<p>Archaic or alternate spelling has been retained from the original.</p> -</div></div> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BROKEN BARRIERS ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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