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diff --git a/old/68399-0.txt b/old/68399-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 024d3ff..0000000 --- a/old/68399-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,12220 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The hope of happiness, by Meredith -Nicholson - -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 -www.gutenberg.org. 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. - -Title: The hope of happiness - -Author: Meredith Nicholson - -Release Date: July 1, 2022 [eBook #68399] - -Language: English - -Produced by: D A Alexander, David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was - produced from images made available by the HathiTrust - Digital Library.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HOPE OF HAPPINESS *** - - - - - -_BY MEREDITH NICHOLSON_ - - THE HOPE OF HAPPINESS - BEST LAID SCHEMES - THE MAN IN THE STREET - BLACKSHEEP! BLACKSHEEP! - LADY LARKSPUR - THE MADNESS OF MAY - THE VALLEY OF DEMOCRACY - -_CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS_ - - - - -THE HOPE OF HAPPINESS - - - - - THE - HOPE OF HAPPINESS - - BY - MEREDITH NICHOLSON - - NEW YORK - CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS - 1923 - - - - - COPYRIGHT, 1923, BY - CHARLES SCRIBNER’S SONS - - COPYRIGHT, 1923, BY THE INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE CO. - - Printed in the United States of America - - Published October, 1923 - - [Illustration] - - - - -TO - -FRANK SCOTT COREY WICKS - - - “Only themselves understand themselves, and the like of themselves, - As Souls only understand Souls.” - - - - -THE HOPE OF HAPPINESS - - - - -THE HOPE OF HAPPINESS - - - - -CHAPTER ONE - - -I - -Bruce Storrs stood up tall and straight on a prostrate sycamore, the -sunlight gleaming upon his lithe, vigorous body, and with a quick, -assured lifting of the arms plunged into the cool depths of the river. -He rose and swam with long, confident strokes the length of a pool -formed by the curving banks and returned to the log, climbing up with -the same ease and grace that marked his swimming. He dashed the water -from his eyes and pressed his deeply-tanned hands over his shapely -head. It was evident that he was the fortunate inheritor of clean -blood in a perfectly fashioned body; that he had used himself well in -his twenty-eight years and that he found satisfaction and pride in -his health and strength. He surveyed the narrow valley through which -the river idled and eddied before rushing into the broader channel -beyond--surveyed it with something of the air of a discoverer who has -found and appropriated to his own uses a new corner of the world. - -It was a good place to be at the end of a day that was typical of -late August in the corn belt, a day of intense dry heat with faint -intimations on the horizon of the approach of autumn. With a contented -sigh he sat down on the log, his feet drawn up, his shoulders bent, -and aimlessly tore bits of bark from the log and tossed them into the -water. Lulled by the lazy ripple, he yielded himself to reverie and -his eyes filled with dreams as he stared unseeingly across the stream. -Suddenly he raised his head resolutely as if his thoughts had returned -to the world of the actual and he had reached a conclusion of high -importance. He plunged again and now his short, rapid strokes threshed -the water into foam. One might have thought that in the assertion of -his physical strength he was testing and reassuring himself of his -complete self-mastery. - -Refreshed and invigorated, he clambered up the bank and sought a great -beech by whose pillar-like trunk he had left his belongings, and -proceeded to dress. From a flat canvas bag he produced a towel and a -variety of toilet articles. He combed his thick curly hair, donned a -flannel shirt and knotted a blue scarf under its soft collar. His shoes -of brogan type bore the imprint of a metropolitan maker and his gray -knickerbockers and jacket indicated a capable tailor. - -He took from the bag a package of letters addressed in a woman’s -hand to Bruce Storrs, and making himself comfortable with his back -to the tree, he began to read. The letters had been subjected to -many readings, as their worn appearance testified, but selecting the -bulkiest, he perused it carefully, as though wishing to make sure that -its phrases were firmly fixed in his memory. - -“... Since my talk with you,” he read, “I have had less pain, but the -improvement is only temporary--the doctors do not deceive me as to -that. I may go quickly--any day, any hour. You heard my story the other -night--generously, with a fine tolerance, as I knew you would. If I -had not been so satisfied of your sense of justice and so sure of your -love, I could never have told you. But from the hour I knew that my -life was nearing its end I felt more and more that you must know. One -or two things I’m afraid I didn’t make clear ... that I loved the man -who is your father. Love alone could be my justification--without that -I could never have lived through these years. - -“The man you have called father never suspected the truth. He trusted -me. It has been part of my punishment that through all these years -I have had to endure the constant manifestations of his love and -confidence. But for that one lapse in the second year of my marriage, I -was absolutely faithful in all my obligations to him. And he was kind -to you and proud of you. He did all for you that a father could, never -dreaming that you were not his own. It was one of my sorrows that I -couldn’t give him a child of his own. Things went badly with him in -his last years, as you know, and what I leave to you--it will be about -fifty thousand dollars--I inherited from my father, and it will help -you find your place in the world. - -“Your father has no idea of your existence.... Ours was a midsummer -madness, at a time when we were both young. I only knew him a little -while, and I have never heard from him. My love for him never wholly -died. Please, dear, don’t think harshly of me, but there have been -times when I would have given my life for a sight of him. After all you -are his--his as much as mine. You came to me from him--strangely dear -and beautiful. In my mind you have always been his, and I loved you the -dearer. I loved him, but I could not bring myself to leave the man you -have called father for him. He was not the kind of man women run away -with.... - -“When I’m gone I want you to put yourself near him--learn to know him, -if that should be possible. I am trusting you. You would never, I -know, do him an injury. Some day he may need you. Remember, he does not -know--it may be he need never know. But oh, be kind to him....” - -He stared at the words. Had it been one of those unaccountable -affairs--he had heard of such--where a gently reared woman falls prey -to a coarse-fibered man in every way her inferior? The man might be -common, low, ignorant and cruel. Bruce had been proud of his ancestry. -The Storrs were of old American stock, and his mother’s family, the -Bruces, had been the foremost people in their county for nearly a -century. He had taken a pardonable pride in his background.... That -night when he had stumbled out of the house after hearing his mother’s -confession he had felt the old friendly world recede. The letters, -sealed and entrusted to the family physician for delivery at her death, -merely repeated what she had told him. - -In his constant rereadings he had hoped that one day he would find -that he had misinterpreted the message. He might dismiss his mother’s -story as the fabrication of a sick woman’s mind. But today he knew the -folly of this; the disclosure took its place in his mind among the -unalterable facts of his life. At first he had thought of destroying -himself; but he was too sane and the hope of life was too strong for -such a solution of his problem. And there had been offers--flattering -ones--to go to New York and Boston. He convinced himself that his -mother could not seriously have meant to limit the range of his -opportunities by sending him to the city where his unknown father -lived. But he was resolved not to shirk; he would do her bidding. -There was a strain of superstition in him: he might invite misfortune -by disregarding her plea; and moreover he had the pride and courage -of youth. No one knew, no one need ever know! He had escaped from -the feeling, at first poignant, that shame attached to him; that he -must slink through life under the eyes of a scornful world. No; he had -mastered that; his pride rallied; he felt equal to any demand fate -might make upon him; he was resolved to set his goal high.... - -Life had been very pleasant in Laconia, the Ohio town where John -Storrs had been a lawyer of average attainments--in no way brilliant, -but highly respected for his probity and enjoying for years a fair -practice. Bruce had cousins of his own age, cheery, wholesome -contemporaries with whom he had chummed from childhood. The Storrs, -like the Bruces, his mother’s people, were of a type familiar in -Mid-western county seats, kindly, optimistic, well-to-do folk, not too -contented or self-satisfied to be unaware of the stir and movement of -the larger world. - -The old house, built in the forties by John Storrs’s grandfather, -had become suddenly to Bruce a strange and alien place that denied -his right of occupancy. The elms in the yard seemed to mock him, -whispering, “You don’t belong here!” and as quickly as possible he -had closed the house, made excuses to his relatives, given a power of -attorney to the president of the local bank, an old friend, to act for -him in all matters, and announced that he’d look about a bit and take a -vacation before settling down to his profession. - -This was all past now and he had arrived, it seemed inevitably, at the -threshold of the city where his father lived. - -The beauty of the declining day stirred longings and aspirations, -definite and clear, in his mind and heart. His debt to his mother was -enormous. He remembered now her happiness at the first manifestation of -his interest in form, color and harmony; her hand guiding his when he -first began to draw; her delight in his first experiment with a box of -colors, given him on one of his birthdays. Yes; he should be a painter; -that came first; then his aptitude in modeling made it plain that -sculpture was to be his true vocation. To be a creator of beautiful -things!--here, she had urged, lay the surest hope of happiness. - -Very precious were all these memories; they brought a wistful smile to -his face. She had always seemed to him curiously innocent, with the -innocence of light-hearted childhood. To think of her as carrying a -stain through her life was abhorrent. Hers was the blithest, cheeriest -spirit he had known. The things she had taught him to reverence were -a testimony to her innate fineness; she had denied herself for him, -jealously guarding her patrimony that it might pass to him intact. The -manly part for him was to live in the light of the ideals she had set -for him. Pity and love for one who had been so sensitive to beauty in -all its forms touched him now; brought a sob to his throat. He found a -comfort in the thought that her confession might be attributable to a -hope that in his life her sin might be expiated.... - -He took up the letters and turned them over for the last time, his eyes -caught and held now and then by some phrase. He held the sheets against -his face for a moment, then slowly tore them into strips, added the -worn envelopes and burned them. Not content with this, he trampled the -charred fragments into the sandy turf. - - -II - -The sun, a huge brazen ball, was low in the west when he set off along -the river with confident, springy step. He stopped at a farmhouse -and asked for supper. The evening meal was over, the farmer’s wife -explained; but when he assured her that his needs were few and that he -expected to pay for his entertainment, she produced a pitcher of milk -and a plate of corn bread. She brought a bowl of yellow glaze crockery -and he made himself comfortable on a bench by the kitchen door. He -crumbled the bread into the creamy milk and ate with satisfaction. - -Her husband appeared, and instantly prejudiced by Bruce’s -knickerbockers, doggedly quizzed him as to the nature and direction -of his journey. Bruce was a new species, not to be confused with the -ordinary tramp who demands food at farmhouses, and suddenly contrite -that the repast she was providing was so meager, the woman rose and -disappeared into the kitchen, returning with a huge piece of spice -cake and a dish of sliced peaches. She was taken aback when he rose -deferentially to accept the offering, but her tired face relaxed in a -smile at his cordial expressions of gratitude. She joined her husband -on the stoop, finding the handsome pilgrim’s visit a welcome break in -the monotonous day. As he ate he answered their questions unhurriedly. - -“I guess the war left a lot o’ you boys restless,” she suggested. - -“Oh, it wasn’t the war that made a rover of me!” he replied with -a smile. “It was this way with me. When I got home I found I had -something to think out--something I had to get used to”--he frowned -and became silent for a moment--“so I decided I could do it better by -tramping. But I’ve settled things in my own mind pretty well now,” he -ended, half to himself, and smiled, hardly aware of their presence. - -“Yes?” The woman’s tone was almost eager. She was curious as to the -real reason for his wanderings and what it was that he had settled. In -the luminous afterglow her dull imagination quickened to a sense of -something romantic in this stranger, and she was disappointed when he -told of an experience as a laborer in a great steel mill, just to see -what it was like, he said--of loitering along the Susquehanna, and of a -more recent tramp through the Valley of Virginia. - -“I reckon you don’t have to work?” the farmer asked, baffled in his -attempts to account for a young man who strolled over the country so -aimlessly, wearing what struck him as an outlandish garb. - -“Oh, but I do! I’ve done considerable work as I’ve sauntered around. -I’m an architect--or hope to be! I’ve earned my keep as I’ve traveled -by getting jobs as a draughtsman.” - -“Going to stop in the city?” the woman inquired. “I guess there’s lots -of architects over there.” - -“Yes,” Bruce replied, following the direction of her glance. - -“You know folks there?” she persisted. “I guess it’s hard getting -started if you ain’t got friends.” - -“There’s a chap living there I knew in college; that’s all. But when -you strike a strange town where you don’t know anyone the only thing to -do is to buckle in and make them want to know you!” - -“I guess you can do that,” she remarked with shy admiration. - -The farmer shuffled his feet on the brick walk. For all he knew the -young stranger might be a burglar. He resented his wife’s tone of -friendliness and resolved to deny the request if the young man asked -the privilege of sleeping in the barn; but the stranger not only -failed to ask for lodging, but produced a dollar bill and insisted -that the woman accept it. This transaction served instantly to dispel -the farmer’s suspicions. He answered with unnecessary detail Bruce’s -questions as to the shortest way to town, and walked with him to a lane -that ran along the edge of a cornfield and afforded a short cut to the -highway. - -Bruce had expected to reach the city before nightfall, but already -the twilight was deepening and the first stars glimmered in the pale -sky. Now that he was near the end of his self-imposed wanderings, he -experienced a sense of elation. The unhappy thoughts with which he had -left his Ohio home a little more than a year earlier had gradually -become dim in his memory. The letters he had burned at the riverside -really marked in his consciousness a dispersion of doubts and questions -that left his spirit free. His mother’s revelation had greatly shaken -him; but she need never have told him; and it spoke for her courage -and her faith in him that she had confessed the truth. They had been -companions in an unusual sense. From his earliest youth she had -interested him in the things that had been her delight--books, music, -pictures. She was herself an accomplished musician, and strains of old -melodies she had taught him recurred to him now, and as he swung along -the country road he whistled them, happy for the first time in the -awakening of old memories. - -With the cool breeze blowing upon him from fields of tall ripening -corn, there was no bitterness in his soul. He had beaten down the -bitter thoughts that had assailed him in the early days of his -journeying--the sense that a stigma attached to him, not the less -hateful because he alone had knowledge of it; and the feeling that -there was something fantastic in the idea that he should put himself -where, in any need, he could serve the father he had never known. - -This had now all the sanctity of a commission from the dead. Again he -speculated as to what manner of man this could be who had awakened so -deep a love in the heart of the good woman he knew his mother to have -been--a love which she had carried in her heart to her last hours. In -his long ponderings he had, he felt, come to understand her better than -he ever had in her lifetime--her imaginative and romantic side, her -swiftly changing moods, her innumerable small talents that had now a -charm and a pathos in the retrospect. Age had never, to his eyes, laid -hands upon her. Even through the last long illness she had retained the -look and the spirit of youth. - -Rounding a bend in the river, the flare of an amusement park apprised -him that he was close upon the city--a city he had heretofore never -visited and knew of only from his newspaper reading as a prosperous -industrial center. Here, for the strangest reason in the world, he was -to make his home, perhaps spend the remainder of his days! He crossed a -stone bridge with a sense that the act marked an important transition -in his life, and quickly passing through the park, boarded a trolley -car and rode into town. - -He had formed a very clear idea of what he meant to do, and arriving at -the business center he went directly to the Hotel Fordham, to which he -had expressed his trunk from Cincinnati. - - -III - -He spent an hour unpacking and overhauling his belongings, wrote notes -to his banker friend in Laconia and to the cousin there with whom he -had maintained a correspondence since he first went away to school. - -The pencil with which he idly scribbled on a sheet of hotel paper -traced his name unconsciously. _Bruce Storrs._ - -It was not his name; he had no honest right to it. He had speculated -many times in his wanderings as to whether he shouldn’t change it, -but this would lead to endless embarrassments. Now, with his thoughts -crystalized by the knowledge that this other man who had been his -mother’s lover was within reach, he experienced a strong sense of -loyalty to the memory of the man he had called father. It would be a -contemptible thing to abandon the name of one who had shown him so -tender an affection and understood so perfectly his needs and aims. - -Somewhere among the several hundred thousand people of the city -about him was the man his mother had described. In the quiet room he -experienced suddenly a feeling of loneliness. Usually in his wanderings -he had stopped at cheap lodging houses, and the very comfort of his -surroundings now added to his feeling of strangeness in having at last -arrived at a goal which marked not merely the end of his physical -wandering, but the termination of a struggle with his own spirit. - -He sent down for the evening papers and found himself scanning -carefully the local news, thinking that he might find some clue to the -activities of Franklin Mills. - -His attention was immediately caught by the caption, “Franklin Mills -Sells Site of Old Homestead to Trust Company.” The name fell like a -blow upon his consciousness. He seized the telephone book and hurriedly -turned the pages. - - Mills Franklin--r 5800 Jefferson Ave...King 1322 - Mills Franklin--1821 First Ntl Bnk....Main 2222 - -He stared at the two lines till they were a blur before his eyes. There -was but one man of the name in the directory; there could be no mistake -as to his identity. - -It was a disconcerting thought that by calling these numbers he might -at any time hear Franklin Mills’s voice. The idea both fascinated and -repelled him. What, after all, had he to do with Franklin Mills? - -He turned to the newspaper and reread the report of the real estate -transaction, then opened to the personal and society page, where he -found this item: - - Miss Leila Mills of Jefferson Avenue gave a luncheon yesterday at the - Faraway Country Club for her house guest, Miss Helene Ridgeway of - Cincinnati. The decorations were purple asters and pink roses. - -Helene Ridgeway he knew; she had been the college chum of one of his -Laconia cousins. He had not realized the strain he had undergone in the -past year till he saw the familiar name. The nightmare pictures of his -year-long speculations faded; whatever else Mills might be he was at -least a reputable citizen, and this was something to be thankful for; -and obviously he was not poor and helpless. - -The Leila referred to must be Mills’s daughter, and the same blood ran -in her veins as in his own. Bruce flung the paper away; touched his -forehead, found it covered with perspiration. He paced the floor till -he had quieted himself, paused at the window, finding relief in the -lights and sounds of the street, the bells and whistles of trains at -the railway station somewhere in the distance. The world surged round -him, indifferent to his hopes and aims and fears. He must keep tight -hold of himself.... - -His mother had urged him to think kindly of Franklin Mills; and yet, -now that the man was within reach, a contempt that bordered upon -hatred filled his heart. For his mother his love turned for the moment -to pity. He recalled the look she had bent upon him at times when he -and his putative father had talked happily together. John Storrs had -lavished an unusual devotion upon his wife to the end of his life. The -wrong done him seemed monstrous as Bruce thought of it, remembering -Storrs’s pride in him, the sympathetic interest he had taken in his -education, the emotion with which they had parted when Bruce went away -to war. There was a vast pathos in all this--in the very ignorance of -his wife’s infidelity that John Storrs had carried to his grave. - - - - -CHAPTER TWO - - -I - -Awake early, Bruce donned a freshly-pressed gray suit and went down to -breakfast. His immediate concern was to find employment, for in work, -he knew, lay his hope of happiness and peace. He had thrust into his -pocket letters from architects who had employed him in various cities -commending him as an excellent draughtsman; and he bore a letter -certifying to his good character and trustworthiness from the president -of the bank in his native town. He was not pressed by immediate need. -His travels had been inexpensive; in fact, he had a little more than -earned his way; and he had not only the fifty thousand dollars his -mother had left invested in securities, but he carried drafts for the -accumulated income--something over a thousand dollars--to tide him over -any possible difficulties in finding an opening that promised well for -the future. He had finished his breakfast, and lingered at the table, -deep in thought, when a young man who had just entered the dining-room -paused beside him. - -“Is it or is it not Bruce Storrs?” he demanded. “I spotted you from the -door--didn’t think there could be another such head and shoulders.” - -“Bud Henderson!” - -Storrs was on his feet, wringing the hand of the young man, who was -regarding him with a pleased grin. - -“You good old Indian! I was just about to go out and ask the nearest -cop where to find you! You’re the only man in town I know!” - -“Thanks for the compliment. You might have warned me of your approach. -I’ll sit right here and eat while you unfold yourself.” - -Henderson was short, lean and dark, with a curiously immobile face. His -lips smiled oddly without any accompanying expression of humor in his -rather small brown eyes. Without inquiring what had brought Storrs to -town, he began talking of their years together at Boston, where they -had been fellow students at the Tech. He had a dry, humorous way of -saying things, particularly when he talked of himself, which puzzled -strangers but delighted his friends. He was treating Storrs quite as -though there had been no break in their intercourse. - -“Met some of our old Boston pals during the recent unpleasantness and -heard of you occasionally on the other side,” he was saying. “Frankly, -I’m not keen about war”--he was composedly eating a melon--“war is -fatiguing. I hope the great nations will behave for the rest of my -life, so I won’t be annoyed by having to go out and settle the row.” - -“Here too, Bud; I got enough. I want to have a try at the arts of -peace.” - -“So say we all. By the way, are you married yet?” - -“No.” - -“That’s bad. Marriage is an honorable estate; I’m rather keen about -it. I took me a wife as soon as I got back from France. Oh, Lord, -no! None of the girls we knew around Boston. Couldn’t afford them, -and besides it’s a mistake not to marry in your home town, and it’s -also easier when you’re a bloomin’ pauper. I married into one of the -strongest wholesale grocery houses in all these parts. I’ll drive you -by the warehouse, an impressive pile--one of the biggest concerns west -of Pittsburgh. Maybelle is the name of the lucky girl, and Maybelle -is the only child of the Conrad of Conrad, Buxton and Pettibone. A -wonderful girl--one of the really strong, powerful women of this great -nation. She’s out of town at present, playing a golf tournament for the -huckleberry association championship. That’s why I’m chasing downtown -for breakfast--cook’s on a vacation. You’ll meet Maybelle; she’s a -person, that girl! Married me out of pity; thinks I’m half-witted, and -right, at that!” - -“Of course you’d have to marry a girl who’d make allowance for your -mental infirmities,” Bruce replied. “Getting on in your profession, I -suppose?” - -“Hell, no! I chucked that. There are too many really capable electrical -experts, and after Maybelle’s father had tried me for six months in the -grocery and I failed to show any talent for distributing the well-known -Verbena Brand of canned stuff, he set me up in the automobile business. -Shameful to relate, I really make money. I handle the Plantagenet--one -of the worst cars on the market. You know it was a mistake--my feeling -that I was called to be another Edison or Marconi. I was really cut out -for the literary life--another sad case of mute, inglorious Milton. -I exercise my talents now designing ‘ads’ and come-on letters as a -lure to customers for the Plantagenet. Would you ride with kings? The -Plantagenet is the car that takes you out and brings you back. That’s -my latest slogan; you’ll find it glaring at you all over the landscape.” - -“Oh, what a fall, my countryman!” - -“Not at all. You know I always had a knack of making phrases. It’s a -gift, my boy. I suppose you’re here to figure on a new state-house or -perhaps a hospital for lame cats. I know nearly everybody in town, so -if I can be of use to you, just warble.” - -“My aim isn’t so high,” said Bruce, who remembered Henderson as -somewhat eccentric but the kindest of souls. His manner of talking was -no indication of his true character. Bruce’s heart warmed to Henderson; -already the town seemed less strange, and he at once disclosed his -intention of establishing himself in the city, though without in the -least surprising the imperturbable Bud. - -“Welcome!” he exclaimed with his mouth full of toast. “You shall be -our Michelangelo, our Sir Christopher Wren! I see, as in a dream,” he -went on as he thrust his fork into a poached egg, “I see our fair city -adorned with the noble fruits of the genius of Bruce Storrs, the prince -of architects. You will require a fleet of Plantagenets to whirl you -from one rising edifice to another. I might make you a special price on -six cars--but this must be confidential.” - -“I really want to get into a good office, and I’m not expecting to be -taken right into the firm,” said Bruce, laughing. “It will take me a -year or two to get acquainted, and then I’d like to set up for myself.” - -“Certainly a worthy ambition, Bruce. It’s a good thing I’m here on -the ground to give you the true dope on the people who count in this -teeming village. The old order changeth, yielding place to new, and -there’s danger of getting pinched between the old hard-boiled bunch -and the birds of gayer plumage who flew in when no one was looking -and insist on twittering sweetly on our tallest trees. Let me be your -social booster; no one better fitted. I’m the only scion of one of -our earliest and noblest families. My grandfather’s bank busted in -seventy-three with a loud bang and I had an uncle who was indicted for -embezzling public funds. He hid in Patagonia and died there in sinful -splendor at a ripe old age. Talk about the aristocracy--I’m it! I -derive a certain prestige among what you might call the paralytic group -from the fact that my ancestors were mixed up in all the financial -calamities that ever befell this town. But it’s the crowd that are the -spenders--build the lordly palaces and treat the Eighteenth Amendment -with the contempt it so richly deserves--that you want to train with. -Your profession is cursed with specialization and I’d warn you against -public work. Too much politics there for one of your fastidious nature. -Our best man in domestic architecture is Freeman--he’s a Tech man, -about seven years ahead of our class. He has a weakness for sun parlors -with antique Italian fountains that are made for him special by a -pottery right here in town. You’re sure to like Freeman; he’s a whist -fiend, but otherwise he’s a decent chap. His wife and Maybelle are -chums and we play around together a good deal.” - -While listening to Henderson’s rambling talk Bruce had been turning -over the pages of a memorandum book. He asked about several architects -whose names he had noted. Henderson described them succinctly, praising -or deriding them for reasons which struck Bruce as not necessarily -final as to their merits. - -“I don’t expect to land a job the first day,” said Bruce. “I may have -to go through the list before I find what I want.” - -“Oh, Freeman will take you on,” replied Henderson easily. “But he -never does anything important without consulting his wife--one of -his eccentricities. My own system is to go ahead and tell Maybelle -afterward, being careful, of course, to conceal my mistakes.” - -“You haven’t changed a bit,” laughed Bruce. “I wish I could view the -world as chipperly as you do.” - -“My dear Bruce”--with his forefinger Henderson swept Storrs’s breakfast -check to his own side of the table with a single gesture--“never try -to view the whole world at one glance; it’s too damned big. All I see -at present on this suffering, sinning planet is a Plantagenet runabout -with Maybelle and me rolling through fields of asphodel. Everything -else is superfluous. My fellow creatures simply don’t exist except as -prospects for the Plantagenet.” - -“Oh, rot! You’re the most unselfish biped I ever knew!” - -“Superficially, yes; but it’s all on the surface. Let’s go out and -plant our feet firmly upon the city.” - -He led the way to his car and drove to the Plantagenet salesroom and -garage. A young woman whom he introduced as Miss Ordway apparently ran -the whole establishment. Henderson said that she did. He sat down at -his desk and signed, without reading, a pile of letters which she had -written the day before, talking to her meantime, not of business, but -of a novel he had given her to read. Her attempts to interest him in -the fact that one of the salesmen wanted his assistance in rounding -up a certain difficult customer were provocative only of scornful -comments, but when she handed him a memorandum of an appointment with -the prospect at ten o’clock the next morning, he meekly thrust the -paper into his pocket and said all right; he’d see what he could do. -Miss Ordway was already busy with other matters; she seemed to make due -allowance for her employer’s peculiarities. - -“This girl’s mighty firm with me,” he said in a tone perfectly audible -to Miss Ordway. “A cruel tyrant; but she really does get some work out -of me.” - -He sat on the edge of his desk as he talked over the extension -telephone. Bruce inferred that he was speaking to Mrs. Freeman, and it -was evident from his tone that Bud had not exaggerated in speaking of -his intimacy with the architect and his wife. - -“Maybelle’s pushing the pill somewhere and won’t be back for a -week. This being Friday, I’d like to be invited to your shanty for -the week-end.... Ah! That’s nice of you. And may I bring a little -friend?... Oh, a man, of course! And list, Dale, he’s an architect--a -Tech grad and everything pretty, and I want Bill to take him on--see? -Nice boy and perishing for a job. You fix it for me--that’s the -girl!... Oh! my friend isn’t fussy; we’ll both sleep on the grass.... -What? Yes; I’ll bring some poison; my pet bootlegger broke through the -entanglements yesterday.” - -“All set,” he remarked as he hung up the receiver. “Mighty nice girl, -Dale.” - -Miss Ordway intercepted him on his way out to ask what she should do -about a claim for damages to a car belonging to a man named Smythe, -which had been scratched in the garage. The owner threatened to sue, -and Miss Ordway expressed the belief that the valued patron was not -bluffing. - -“We took the stand it wasn’t done in our shop and we can’t weaken,” -said Henderson. “Also, we don’t want a row. Were my eyes deceiving me -or have I seen Smythe looking longingly at that blue touring car in -our front window? Yes? Well, suppose we send Briggs to call on him, -carrying the olive branch. Tell him to roll home in the blue car and -we’ll take his old junk and seven hundred berries cash on the counter.” - -“I think we could get eight hundred on the deal.” Miss Ordway’s tones -were crisp and businesslike. - -“Sold! I despise Smythe, but it’s worth a thousand to have him riding -in a Plantagenet. I’ll look in again at five.” - - -II - -Henderson spent the morning exhibiting the city’s industries and wound -up at the University Club for luncheon. - -“Now I’ll show you where the big frogs of our little puddle live,” he -said as they started off again. - -In his racy description of the owners of the houses they passed, their -ancestry, the skeletons in their closets, their wealth and how it was -attained, Henderson shone effulgently. Bruce, marveling that one head -could carry so much local history, was almost equally astonished by the -sins and foibles of the citizens as Henderson pictured them. - -“Great Scott! Are there no perfectly normal people in this town?” he -demanded. - -“A few, maybe,” Henderson replied, lifting his hand from the wheel to -stroke his chin. “But they’re not what you’d call conspicuous.” - -Pausing before a handsome colonial house, the presence of an elderly -gentleman calmly perusing a newspaper on the veranda, inspired -Henderson to a typical excursion in biography. The owner, thinking -visitors impended, pattered down the steps and stared belligerently at -the car. - -“Note the carpet slippers,” remarked Henderson as the gentleman, -satisfied that his privacy was not to be invaded, returned to his -chair. “Here we have Bill Fielding, one of the most delightful old -scoundrels in town. Observe his pants--sleeps in ’em to avoid the -fatigue of disrobing. To keep off evil spirits he wears the first -nickel he ever earned on a string around his neck. He’s the smoothest -tax-dodger in America. His wife starved to death and his three children -moved to California to get as far away from the old skunk as possible. -Why does he live in a house like that? Bless your simple soul, he took -it on a mortgage and camps in two rooms while he waits for a buyer.” - -“I don’t believe I’d like him! If you’ve got many such birds I’d better -try another town,” laughed Bruce as Henderson started the car. - -“Oh, don’t worry! He’s the last of his school. Now we’re approaching -a different proposition--one that baffles even my acute analytical -powers.” - -He drew up before a handsome Georgian house that stood lengthwise to -the street in a broad lot in which a dozen towering forest trees had -been preserved when the land was subdivided. There were no frivolous -lines in this residence, Bruce noted, surveying it with a professional -eye; it was beyond criticism in its fidelity to type. The many windows -were protected by awnings of deep orange and the ledges were adorned -with boxes of flowers. The general effect was one of perfect order and -uniformity. Bruce, with his interest in houses as an expression of the -character of their owners whetted by Henderson’s slangy lectures before -other establishments, turned expectantly to his friend. - -“Wind up the machine and put on the record! That’s a sound piece of -architecture, anyhow, and I can see that you are dying to turn out the -skeletons.” - -“Painful as it is for me to confess it, the truth is that in this -case I can only present a few bald facts and leave you to make your -own deductions.” Henderson lighted a fresh cigarette and drew a deep -draught of smoke into his lungs. “Franklin Mills,” he said, and -crossed his legs. “Mills is around fifty, maybe a shade more. The first -of the tribe settled here in 1820 and Frank is the fourth of the name. -The family always had money and this bird’s father never lost a cent -in his life. Now Frank’s rich--nothing spectacular, but recognized as -a rich man. His pop left him well fixed and he’s piled up considerable -mazuma on his own hook. Does this interest you?” - -“You always interest me, Bud; please proceed.” - -“Well, you might call Franklin Mills the original man who couldn’t -lose. No active business now, but he controls a couple of banks and a -trust company without figuring in the picture at all, and he set his -son up in a storage battery plant and is a silent factor in a dozen -other flourishing contributors to the smoke nuisance. Nice chap, by -the way, Shep Mills; pleasant little cuss. Franklin Mills isn’t one of -the up-from-the-office-boy type nor the familiar variety of feverish -business man; velvet glove stuff. Do you follow me? Only human touch -I’ve discovered in this house is the billiard room, and Mills is a -shark at the sport. I’ve poked the ivories with him now and then just -for the fun of watching him play. His style of playing is a sort of -clue to his character--cool, deliberate, never misses. One thing, -though, I’ve never been able to figure out: once in a while he makes -a wild shot, unnecessarily and with malice aforethought, as though to -spite himself. If you’d tell Franklin Mills he’d lost his last cent he -wouldn’t blink an eye, but before you got out of the room he’d have -thought up a scheme for making it all back.” - -“A business genius,” commented Bruce, who had missed no word of -Henderson’s sketch. “I can’t say your snapshot’s very alluring.” - -“Oh, I may be wrong! If you’d ask anybody else about him you’d hear -that he’s a leading citizen and a cultivated gentleman, which he is! -While of our city’s back-number or paralytic group, he’s far from being -ripe for the mortician. One sees him around socially now and then--on -occasions when our real nobility shake the moth balls from their dress -suits. And that’s characteristic; he has the pride, you might say, of -his long connection with the town. If it’s necessary for somebody to -bunk a distinguished visitor, Frank Mills opens his door--not that he’s -keen to get his name in the village sheet, but he likes for the town to -make a good impression--sort of ‘I am a citizen of no mean city,’ like -St. Paul or whoever the bird was that said it first. I doubt if the -visitors enjoy his entertainments, but they’re probably used to being -bored by the gloomy rich.” - -“There are other children, perhaps? A house like that rather suggests a -big family,” Bruce remarked. - -“The size only indicates Frank’s pride. He’s given only two hostages to -fortune. There’s Leila, the daughter. There must have been a naughty -little devil in some of the Mills or Shepherd tribe away back yonder, -for that girl certainly is a lively little filly. Shep, who is named -for his mother’s people, never browsed in the wild-oat fields, but -Leila makes up for it. Bounced from seven boarding schools--holds the -champeen record there. Her mother passed hence when Leila was about -fourteen, and various aunts took a hand in bringing the kid up, but all -they got for their trouble was nervous prostration. Frank’s crazy about -her--old stuff of doting father bullied by adorable daughter.” - -“I think I get the picture,” said Bruce soberly as his thoughts caught -up and played upon this summary of the history of Franklin Mills. - -Glancing back at the house as Henderson drove away, Bruce was aware -of the irony of his very presence in the town, sent there by the whim -of a dying woman to be prepared to aid a man who in no imaginable -circumstances could ever require any help it might be in his power -to give. His mother had said that she had kept some track of Mills’s -life; she could never have realized that he was so secure from any -possibility of need. As Bruce thought of it, Henderson had not limned -an attractive portrait. Only Mills’s devotion to the daughter, -whom Henderson had described in terms that did not conceal his own -admiration for the girl, brightened the picture. - -“What can such a man do with his time in a town like this?” asked Bruce -meditatively. “No active business, you say. Shooting billiards and -cutting coupons hardly makes an exciting day.” - -“Well,” Henderson replied, “I’ve seen him on the golf links--usually -alone or with the club professional. Frank’s not one of these ha-ha -boys who get together after the game with a few good sports and sneak -a bottle of unlawful Scotch from the locker. Travels a bit; several -times a year he beats it somewhere with Leila. Shep’s wife bores him, -I think; and Shep’s not exciting; too damned nice. From all I can see, -Leila’s her pop’s single big bet. Some say he’s diffident; others hold -that he’s merely a selfish proposition. He’s missed a number of chances -to marry again--some of the most dashing widows in our tall corn cities -have made a play for him; but he follows G. Washington’s advice and -keeps clear of entangling alliances.” - -“Interesting personality,” said Bruce carelessly. But Mills had fixed -himself in his mind--he had even fashioned a physical embodiment for -the traits Henderson had described. On the whole, Bruce’s dominant -feeling was one of relief and satisfaction. Franklin Mills was as -remote from him as though they were creatures of different planets, -separated by vast abysses of time and space. - - -III - -In spite of Henderson’s sweeping declaration that he needn’t waste -time calling on architects, that Freeman would take care of him, Bruce -spent the next morning visiting the offices of the architects on his -list. Several of these were out of town; the others received him -amiably; one of them promised him some work a little later, but was -rather vague about it. When he returned to the hotel at noon he found -Henderson waiting for him. He had nothing to do, he declared, but to -keep Bruce amused. Everything was a little incidental with Henderson, -but he seemed to get what he wanted without effort, even buyers for the -Plantagenet. Bruce related the results of his visits to the offices of -the architects and Henderson pursed his lips and emitted a cluck of -disapproval. - -“Next time mind your Uncle Dudley. Bill Freeman’s the bird for you. You -just leave every little thing to me. Now what else is troubling you?” - -“Well, I want a place to live; not too expensive, but a few of the -minor comforts.” - -Two hours later Bruce was signing the lease for a small bachelor -apartment that Henderson had found for him with, apparently, no effort. -He had also persuaded some friends of his who lived across the street -to give the young architect breakfast and provide a colored woman to -keep his place in order. - -Henderson’s acquaintance with his fellow citizens appeared to -be unlimited. He took Bruce to the State House to call on the -Governor--brought that official from a conference from which he -emerged good-naturedly to shake hands and hear a new story. From this -interruption of affairs of state Henderson convoyed Bruce to a barber -shop in the midst of an office building where there was a venerable -negro workman who told a story about a mule which Henderson said was -the funniest story in the world. The trimming of a prominent citizen’s -hair was somewhat delayed by the telling of the yarn, but he, like -everyone else, seemed to be tolerant of Henderson’s idiosyncrasies; and -the aged barber’s story was unquestionably a masterpiece. Henderson -began telephoning acquaintances who had offices in the building to -come forthwith to meet an old college friend. When two men actually -appeared--one an investment broker and the other a middle-aged -lawyer--Henderson organized a quartette and proceeded to “get harmony.” -Neighboring tenants assembled, attracted by the unwonted sounds, -and Henderson introduced Bruce to them as a new man in town who was -entitled to the highest consideration. - -“This is a sociable sort of village,” he said as they left the shop. “I -could see you made a hit with those fellows. You’re bound to get on, my -son.” - -At noon on Saturday Henderson drove Bruce to the Freemans’, where with -the utmost serenity he exercised all the rights of proprietorship. The -house, of the Dutch Colonial type, was on the river in a five-acre -tract. A real estate operator had given Freeman the site with the -stipulation that he build himself a home to establish a social and -artistic standard for the neighborhood. - -“Don’t be afraid of these people,” remarked Henderson reassuringly. -“Take your cue from me and act as though you had a deed for the house -in your pocket. Bill’s a dreamy sort of cuss, but Dale’s a human -dynamo. She looks fierce, but responds to kind treatment.” - -Bruce never knew when Henderson was serious, and when a diminutive -young lady ran downstairs whistling he assumed that he was about to be -introduced to the daughter of the house. - -“Dale, this is old Bruce Storrs, one of the meanest men out of jail. -I know you’ll hate each other; that’s why I brought him. At the first -sign of any flirtation between you two I’ll run you both through the -meat chopper and take a high dive into the adjacent stream.” - -Mrs. Freeman was absurdly small and slight, and the short skirt of -her simple linen dress and her bobbed hair exaggerated her diminutive -stature. Having gathered from Henderson an idea that Mrs. Freeman was -an assertive masculine person, Bruce was taken aback as the little -woman smiled up at him and shook hands. - -“It really isn’t my fault that I broke in,” he protested. “It was this -awful Henderson person who told me you’d be heart-broken if I didn’t -come.” - -“I should have been! He’d have come alone and bored me to death. How is -every little thing, Bud?” - -“Soaring!” mumbled Henderson, who had chosen a book from the rack on -the table and, sprawling on a couch, became immediately absorbed in it. - -“That’s the way Bud shows his noble breeding,” remarked Mrs. Freeman, -“but he is an easy guest to entertain. I suppose you’re used to him?” - -“Oh, we lived together for a couple of years! Nothing he does -astonishes me.” - -“Then I needn’t apologize for him. Bud’s an acquired taste, but once -you know him, he’s highly diverting.” - -“When I began rooming with him in Boston I thought he wasn’t all there, -but finally decided he was at least three-quarters sane.” - -“One thing’s certain; he’s mastered the art of not being bored, which -is some accomplishment!” said Mrs. Freeman, as Henderson rose suddenly -and disappeared in the direction of the kitchen, whence proceeded -presently a sound as of cracking ice. - -Mrs. Freeman had something of Henderson’s air of taking things for -granted, and she talked to Bruce quite as though he were an old friend. -She spoke amusingly of the embarrassments of housekeeping in the new -quarter; they were pioneers, she said, and as servants refused to bury -themselves so far from the bright lights, she did most of her own -housework, which was lots of fun when you had everything electric to -play with. There was an old colored man who did chores and helped in -the kitchen. She told several stories to illustrate his proneness to -error and his ingenuity in excusing his mistakes. - -“You’ve never lived here? Bud gave me that idea, but you never know -when he’s telling the truth.” - -“I never saw the town before, but I hope to stay.” - -“It’s up to us to make you want to stay,” she said graciously. - -She had settled herself in the largest chair in the room, sitting on -one foot like a child. She smoked a cigarette as she talked, one arm -thrown back of her head. She tactfully led Bruce to talk of himself and -when he spoke of his year-long tramp her eyes narrowed as she gave him -a more careful inspection. - -“That sounds like a jolly lark. I want to know more about it, but we -must wait for Bill. It’s the sort of thing he’d adore doing.” - -Freeman appeared a moment later. He had been cleaning up after a -morning’s work in the garden. He was thirty-five, short and burly, with -a thick shock of unruly chestnut hair over which he passed his hand -frequently, smoothing it only to ruffle it again. He greeted Bruce -cordially and began talking of the Tech and men he assumed Bruce might -have known there. He produced pipe and tobacco from the pockets of his -white flannel trousers and smoked fitfully. Mrs. Freeman answered the -telephone several times and reappeared to report the messages. One -had to do with changes in a house already under construction. Freeman -began explaining to his wife the impossibility of meeting the client’s -wishes; the matter had been definitely settled before the letting of -the contract and it would be expensive to alter the plans now. He -appealed to Bruce for support; people might be sane about everything -else in the world, but they became maddeningly unreasonable when they -began building houses. - -“Oh, you’d better fix it for them, Bill,” advised Mrs. Freeman quietly. -“They pay the bills; and I’m not sure but you were wrong in holding out -against them in the first place.” - -“Oh, well, if you say so, Dale!” and Freeman resumed his talk. - -Henderson reappeared wearing an apron and bearing a tray with a -cocktail-shaker and four glasses. - -“Don’t flinch, Bill,” he said; “it’s my gin. You pay for the oranges. -I say, Dale, I told Tuck to peel some potatoes. And you wanted those -chops for lunch, didn’t you? There’s nothing else in the icebox and I -told Tuck to put ’em on.” - -“He’ll probably ruin them,” said Mrs. Freeman. “Excuse me, Mr. Storrs, -while I get some work out of Bud.” - -It was some time before Bruce got accustomed to Freeman’s oddities. He -was constantly moving about with a quick, catlike step; or, if he sat -down, his hands were never quiet. But he talked well, proved himself a -good listener, and expressed approval by slapping his knee when Bruce -made some remark that squared with his own views. He was pleased in a -frank, boyish way when Bruce praised some of his houses which Henderson -had pointed out. - -“Yes; clients didn’t bother me; I had my own way in those cases. I’ve -got some plans under way now that I want to show you. Dale said you -were thinking of starting in here. Well, I need some help right away. -My assistant is leaving me--going to Seattle. Suppose you drop in -Monday. We might be able to fix up something.” - - -IV - -There was tennis in the afternoon and in the evening visitors began -to drop in--chiefly young married people of the Freemans’ circle. -Some of these were of well-to-do families and others, Henderson -explained to Bruce, were not rich but “right.” The talk was lively and -pitched in that chaffing key which is possible only among people who -are intimately acquainted. This was Dale Freeman’s salon, Henderson -explained. Any Saturday or Sunday evening you were likely to meet -people who had something worth while to offer. - -He drew Bruce from one group to another, praising or abusing him with -equal extravagance. He assured everyone that it was a great honor to -meet a man destined, as he declared Bruce to be, to cut a big figure -in the future of the town. He never backed a dead one, he reminded -them. Bruce was the dearest friend he had in the world, and, he would -ruefully add, probably the only one. It was for this reason that he had -urged the young architect to establish himself in the city--a city that -sorely needed men of Bruce’s splendid character and lofty ideals. - -A number of the guests had gone when late in the evening the depleted -company was reinforced by the arrival of Shepherd Mills and his wife. - -“Shep and the Shepherdess!” Henderson cheerfully announced as he -ushered them in. - -Mrs. Mills extended her hand with a gracious smile as Bruce was -presented. She was tall and fair and moved with a lazy sort of grace. -She spoke in a low, murmurous tone little broken by inflections. Bruce -noted that she was dressed rather more smartly than the other women -present. It seemed to him that the atmosphere of the room changed -perceptibly on her appearance; or it might have been merely that -everyone paused a minute to inspect her or to hear what she had to say. -Bruce surmised from the self-conscious look in her handsome gray eyes -as she crossed the room that she enjoyed being the center of attention. - -“Shep just would spend the day motoring to some queer place,” she was -saying, “where a lot of people were killed by the Indians ages ago. -Most depressing! Ruined the day for me! He’s going to set up a monument -or something to mark the painful affair.” - -Shepherd Mills greeted Bruce in the quick, eager fashion of a diffident -person anxious to appear cordial but not sure that his good intentions -will be understood, and suggested that they sit down. He was not so -tall as his wife; his face was long and rather delicate. His slight -reddish mustache seemed out of place on his lip; it did not quite -succeed in giving him a masculine air. His speech was marked by odd, -abrupt pauses, as though he were trying to hide a stammer; or it might -have been that he was merely waiting to note the effect of what he -was saying upon the hearer. He drew out a case and offered Bruce a -cigarette, lighted one himself, smoking as though it were part of a -required social routine to which he conformed perforce but did not -relish particularly. - -There was to be a tennis tournament at the country club the coming week -and he mentioned this tentatively and was embarrassed to find that -Bruce knew nothing about it. - -“Oh, I’m always forgetting that everyone doesn’t live here!” he laughed -apologetically. “A little weakness of the provincial mind! I suppose -we’re horribly provincial out here. Do we strike you that way, Mr. -Storrs?” - -One might have surmised from his tone that he was used to having his -serious questions ignored or answered flippantly, but hoped that the -stranger would meet him on his own ground. - -“Oh, there isn’t any such thing as provincialism any more, is there?” -asked Bruce amiably. “I haven’t sniffed anything of the sort in your -city: you seem very metropolitan. The fact is, I’m a good deal of a -hick myself!” - -Mills laughed with more fervor than the remark justified. Evidently -satisfied of the intelligence and good nature of the Freemans’ guest, -he began to discuss the effect upon industry of a pending coal strike. - -His hand went frequently to his mustache as he talked and the leg -that he swung over his knee waggled nervously. He plunged into a -discussion of labor, mentioning foreign market conditions and citing -figures from trade journals showing the losses to both capital and -labor caused by the frequent disturbances in the industrial world. He -expressed opinions tentatively, a little apologetically, and withdrew -them quickly when they were questioned. Bruce, having tramped through -one of the coal fields where a strike was in progress, described the -conditions as he had observed them. Mills expressed the greatest -interest; the frown deepened on his face as he listened. - -“That’s bad; things shouldn’t be that way,” he said. “The truth of -the matter is that we haven’t mastered the handling of business. -It’s stupendous; we’ve outgrown the old methods. We forget the vast -territory we have to handle and the numbers of men it’s necessary to -keep in touch with. When my Grandfather Mills set up as a manufacturer -here he had fifty men working for him, and he knew them all--knew their -families, circumstances, everything. Now I have six hundred in my -battery plant and don’t know fifty of them! But I’d like to know them -all; I feel that it’s my duty to know them.” - -He shrugged his shoulders impatiently when Henderson’s sharp little -laugh at the other end of the room broke in discordantly upon Bruce’s -sympathetic reply to this. - -“Bud, how silly you are!” they heard Mrs. Mills saying. “But I don’t -know what we’d do without you. You do cheer things up a bit now and -then!” - -Mrs. Freeman effected a redistribution of the guests that brought Mrs. -Mills and Bruce together. - -“Shep, you mustn’t monopolize Mr. Storrs. Give Connie a chance. Mr. -Storrs is an ideal subject for you, Connie. Take him out on the terrace -and put him through all your degrees.” And then to Bruce: “Mrs. Mills -is not only our leading vamp but a terrible highbrow--reads all the -queer stuff!” - -Shepherd Mills was not wholly successful in concealing his displeasure -in thus being deprived of Bruce’s company. And noting this, Bruce put -out his hand, saying: - -“That’s a deep subject; we shall have to tackle it again. Please don’t -forget that we’ve left it in the air and give me another chance.” - -“My husband really wants so much to save the human race,” remarked Mrs. -Mills as she stepped out on the tiled flooring of a broad terrace where -there were rugs and comfortable places to sit. There was moonlight and -the great phalanx of stars marched across the clear heavens; below -flowed the river. She seated herself on a couch, suffered him to adjust -a pillow at her back and indicated that he was to sit beside her. - -“I’m really done up by our all-day motor trip, but my husband insisted -on dropping in here. The Freemans are a great resource to all of us. -You’re always likely to find someone new and interesting here. Dale -Freeman has a genius for picking up just the right sort of people and -she’s generous about letting her friends know them. Are you and the -Freemans old friends?” - -“Oh, not at all! Bud Henderson’s my only friend here. He vouched for me -to the Freemans.” - -“Oh, Bud! He’s such a delightful rascal. You don’t mind my calling -him that? I shouldn’t if I weren’t so fond of him. He’s absolutely -necessary to our social existence. We’d stagnate without him.” - -“Bud was always a master hand at stirring things up. His methods are a -little peculiar at times, but he does get results.” - -“There’s no question but that he’s a warm admirer of yours.” - -“That’s because he’s forgotten about me! He hadn’t seen me for five -years.” - -“I think possibly I can understand that one wouldn’t exactly forget -you, Mr. Storrs.” - -She let the words fall carelessly, as though to minimize their daring -in case they were not wholly acceptable to her auditor. The point was -not lost upon him. He was not without his experience in the gentle art -of flirtation, and her technic was familiar. There was always, however, -the possibility of variations in the ancient game, and he hoped that -Mrs. Shepherd Mills was blessed with originality. - -“There’s a good deal of me to forget; I’m six feet two!” - -“Well, of course I wasn’t referring altogether to your size,” she said -with her murmurous little laugh. “I adore big men, and I suppose that’s -why I married a small one. Isn’t’ it deliciously funny how contrary we -are when it comes to the important affairs of our lives! I suppose it’s -just because we’re poor, weak humans. We haven’t the courage of our -prejudices.” - -“I’d never thought of that,” Bruce replied. “But it is an interesting -idea. I suppose we’re none of us free agents. It’s not in the great -design of things that we shall walk a chalk line. If we all did, it -would probably be a very stupid world.” - -“I’m glad you feel that way about it. For a long time half the world -tried to make conformists of the other half; nowadays not more than a -third are trying to keep the rest on the chalk line--and that third’s -skidding! People think me dreadfully heretical about everything. -But--I’m not, really! Tell me you don’t think me terribly wild and -untamed.” - -“I think,” said Bruce, feeling that here was a cue he mustn’t miss, “I -think you are very charming. If it’s your ideas that make you so, I -certainly refuse to quarrel with them.” - -“How beautifully you came up on that! Something tells me that I’m not -going to be disappointed in you. I have a vague sort of idea that we’re -going to understand each other.” - -“You do me great honor! It will be a grief to me if we don’t.” - -“It’s odd how instantly we recognize the signals when someone really -worth while swims into our ken,” she said pensively. “Dear old Nature -looks after that! Bud intimated that you’re to be one of us; throw -in your lot with those of us who struggle along in this rather nice, -comfortable town. If you enjoy grandeur in social things, you’ll not -find much here to interest you; but if just nice little companies and a -few friends are enough, you can probably keep amused.” - -“If the Freemans’ friends are specimens and there’s much of this sort -of thing”--he waved his hand toward the company within--“I certainly -shall have nothing to complain of.” - -“We must see you at our house. I haven’t quite Dale’s knack -of attracting people”--she paused a moment upon this note of -humility--“but I try to bring a few worth while people together. I’ve -educated a few men to drop in for tea on Thursdays with usually a few -of my pals among the young matrons and a girl or two. If you feel -moved----” - -“I hope you’re not trifling with me,” said Bruce, “for I shall -certainly come.” - -“Then that’s all settled. Don’t pay any attention to what Bud says -about me. To hear him talk you might think me a man-eater. My husband’s -the dearest thing! He doesn’t mind at all my having men in for tea. -He comes himself now and then when his business doesn’t interfere. -Dear Shep! He’s a slave to business, and he’s always at work on some -philanthropic scheme. I just talk about helping the world; but he, poor -dear, really tries to do something.” - -Henderson appeared presently with a dark hint that Shepherd was peeved -by their long absence and that the company was breaking up. - -“Connie never plays all her cards the first time, Bruce; you must give -her another chance.” - -“Oh, Mr. Storrs has promised me a thousand chances!” said Mrs. Mills. - - - - -CHAPTER THREE - - -I - -Sunday evening the Freemans were called unexpectedly into town -and Bruce and Henderson were left to amuse themselves. Henderson -immediately lost himself in a book and Bruce, a little homesick for the -old freedom of the road, set out for a walk. A footpath that followed -the river invited him and he lounged along, his spirit responding -to the beauty of the night, his mind intent upon the future. The -cordiality of the Freemans and their circle had impressed him with the -friendliness of the community. It would take time to establish himself -in his profession, but he had confidence in his power to achieve; the -lust for work was already strong in him. He was satisfied that he had -done wisely in obeying his mother’s mandate; he would never have been -happy if he had ignored it. - -His meeting with Shepherd Mills had roused no resentment, revived no -such morbid thoughts as had troubled him on the night of his arrival -in town. Shepherd Mills was his half-brother; this, to be sure, -was rather staggering; but his reaction to the meeting was void of -bitterness. He speculated a good deal about young Mills. The gentleness -and forbearance with which he suffered the raillery of his intimates, -his anxiety to be accounted a good fellow, his serious interest in -matters of real importance--in all these things there was something -touching and appealing. It was difficult to correlate Shepherd with his -wife, but perhaps their dissimilarities were only superficial. Bruce -appraised Connie Mills as rather shallow, fond of admiration, given to -harmless poses in which her friends evidently encouraged and indulged -her. She practiced her little coquetries with an openness that was in -itself a safeguard. As they left the Freemans, Shepherd and his wife -had repeated their hope of seeing him again. It was bewildering, but -it had come about so naturally that there seemed nothing extraordinary -in the fact that he was already acquainted with members of Franklin -Mills’s family.... - -Bruce paused now and then where the path drew in close to the river -to look down at the moonlit water through the fringe of trees and -shrubbery. A boy and girl floated by in a canoe, the girl singing as -she thrummed a ukulele, and his eyes followed them a little wistfully. -Farther on the dull put-put-put of a motor-boat broke the silence. The -sound ceased abruptly, followed instantly by a colloquy between the -occupants. - -“Damn this fool thing!” ejaculated a feminine voice. “We’re stuck!” - -“I had noticed it!” said another girl’s voice good naturedly. “But such -is the life of the sailor. I wouldn’t just choose this for an all-night -camp!” - -“Don’t be so sweet about it, Millicent! I’d like to sink this boat.” - -“It isn’t Polly’s fault. She’s already half-buried in the sand,” -laughed the other. - -Bruce scrambled down to the water’s edge and peered out upon the river. -A small power boat had grounded on a sandbar in the middle of the -stream. Its occupants were two young women in bathing suits. But for -their voices he would have taken them for boys. One was tinkering with -the engine while the other was trying to push off the boat with an oar -which sank ineffectually in the sand. In their attempts to float their -craft the young women had not seen Bruce, who, satisfied that they were -in no danger, was rather amused by their plight. They were presumably -from one of the near-by villas and their bathing suits implied -familiarity with the water. The girl at the engine talked excitedly -with an occasional profane outburst; her companion was disposed to -accept the situation philosophically. - -“We can easily swim out, so don’t get so excited, Leila,” said the girl -with the oar. “And do stop swearing; voices travel a long way over the -water.” - -“I don’t care who hears me,” said the other, though in a lower tone. - -She gave the engine a spin, starting the motor, but the power was -unequal to the task of freeing the boat. With an exclamation of disgust -she turned off the switch and the futile threshing of the propeller -ceased. - -“Let’s swim ashore and send back for Polly,” said the girl addressed as -Millicent. - -“I see myself swimming out!” the other retorted. “I’m not going to -leave Polly here for some pirate to steal.” - -“Nobody’s going to steal her. This isn’t the ocean, you know.” - -“Well, no fool boat’s going to get the best of me! Where’s that flask? -I’m freezing!” - -“You don’t need any more of that! Please give it to me!” - -“I hope you are enjoying yourself,” said the other petulantly. “I don’t -see any fun in this!” - -“Hello, there!” called Bruce, waving his arms to attract their -attention. “Can I be of help?” - -Startled by his voice, they did not reply immediately, but he heard -them conferring as to this unlooked-for hail from the bank. - -“Oh, I’m perfectly harmless!” he cried reassuringly. “I was just -passing and heard your engine. If there’s a boat near by I can pull you -off, or I’ll swim out and lift your boat off if you say so.” - -“Better get a boat,” said the voice he had identified with the name of -Millicent. “There’s a boathouse just a little farther up, on your side. -You’ll find a skiff and a canoe. We’ll be awfully glad to have your -help. Thank you ever so much!” - -“Don’t forget to come back,” cried Leila. - -“Certainly not!” laughed Bruce and sprang up the bank. - -He found the boathouse without trouble, chose the skiff as easier to -manage, and rowed back. In the moonlight he saw Millicent standing -up in the launch watching him, and as he approached she flashed an -electric torch along the side of the boat that he might see the nature -of their difficulty. - -“Do you need food or medical attention?” he asked cheerfully as he -skillfully maneuvered the skiff and grounded it on the sand. - -“I think we’d better get out,” she said. - -“No; stay right there till I see what I can do. I think I can push you -off. All steady now!” - -The launch moved a little at his first attempt to dislodge it and a -second strong shove sent it into the channel. - -“Now start your engine!” he commanded. - -The girl in the middle of the boat muttered something he didn’t catch. - -“Leila, can you start the engine?” demanded Millicent. “I think--I -think I’ll have to row back,” she said when Leila made no response. “My -friend isn’t feeling well.” - -“I’ll tow you--that’s easy,” said Bruce, noting that her companion -apparently was no longer interested in the proceedings. “Please throw -me your rope!” - -He caught the rope and fastened it to the stern of the skiff and called -out that he was ready. - -“Please land us where you found the boat,” said Millicent. She settled -herself in the stern of the launch and took the tiller. No word was -spoken till they reached the boathouse. - -“That’s all you can do,” said Millicent, who had drawn on a long bath -wrapper and stepped out. “And thank you very, very much; I’m sorry to -have caused you so much trouble.” - -This was clearly a dismissal, but he loosened the rope and tied up the -skiff. He waited, holding the launch, while Millicent tried to persuade -Leila to disembark. - -“Perhaps----” began Bruce, and hesitated. It seemed unfair to leave the -girl alone with the problem of getting her friend ashore. Not to put -too fine a point on the matter, Leila was intoxicated. - -“Now, Leila!” cried Millicent exasperatedly. “You’re making yourself -ridiculous, besides keeping this gentleman waiting. It’s not a bit nice -of you!” - -“Jus’ restin’ lil bit,” said Leila indifferently. “I’m jus’ restin’ and -I’m not goin’ to leave Polly. I should shay not!” - -And in assertion of her independence she began to whistle. She seemed -greatly amused that her attempts to whistle were unsuccessful. - -Millicent turned to Bruce. “If I could get her out of the boat I could -put her in our car and take her home.” - -“Surely!” he said and bent over quickly and lifted the girl from the -launch, set her on her feet and steadied her. Millicent fumbled in the -launch, found a bath wrapper and flung it about Leila’s shoulders. She -guided her friend toward the long, low boathouse and turned a switch. - -“I can manage now,” she said, gravely surveying Bruce in the glare of -light. “I’m so sorry to have troubled you.” - -She was tall and fair with markedly handsome brown eyes and a great -wealth of fine-spun golden hair that escaped from her bathing cap and -tumbled down upon her shoulders. Her dignity was in nowise diminished -by her garb. She betrayed no agitation. Bruce felt that she was paying -him the compliment of assuming that she was dealing with a gentleman -who, having performed a service, would go his way and forget the whole -affair. She drew her arm about the now passive Leila, who was much -shorter--quite small, indeed, in comparison. - -“Our car’s here and we’ll get dressed and drive back into town. Thank -you so much and--good-night!” - -“I was glad to help you;--good-night!” - -The door closed upon them. Bruce made the launch fast to the landing -and resumed his walk. - - -II - -When he returned to the Freemans, Henderson flung aside his book and -complained of Bruce’s prolonged absence. “I had begun to think you’d -got yourself kidnapped. Go ahead and talk,” he said, yawning and -stretching himself. - -“Well, I’ve had a mild adventure,” said Bruce, lighting a cigarette; -and he described his meeting with the two young women. - -“Not so bad!” remarked Henderson placidly. “Such little adventures -never happen to me. The incident would make good first page stuff for a -newspaper; society girls shipwrecked. You ought to have taken the flask -as a souvenir. Leila is an obstreperous little kid; she really ought to -behave herself. Right the first time. Leila Mills, of course; I think -I mentioned her the other day. Her friend is Millicent Harden. Guess -I omitted Millicent in my review of our citizens. Quite a remarkable -person. She plays the rôle of big sister to Leila; they’re neighbors on -Jefferson Avenue. That’s just a boathouse on the Styx that Mills built -for Leila’s delectation. She pulls a cocktail tea there occasionally. -Millicent’s pop made a fortune out of an asthma cure--the joy of all -cut-rate druggists. Not viewed with approval by medical societies. -Socially the senior Hardens are outside the breastworks, but Millicent -is asked to very large functions, where nobody knows who’s there. They -live in that whopping big house just north of the Mills place, and old -Doc Harden gives Millicent everything she wants. Hence a grand organ, -and the girl is a regular Cecelia at the keys. Really plays. Strong -artistic bent. We can’t account for people like the Hardens having -such a daughter. There’s a Celtic streak in the girl, I surmise--that -odd sort of poetic strain that’s so beguiling in the Irish. She models -quite wonderfully, they tell me. Well, well! So you were our little -hero on the spot!” - -“But Leila?” said Bruce seriously. “You don’t quite expect to find the -daughter of a prominent citizen tipsy on a river, and rather profane at -that.” - -“Oh, thunder!” exclaimed Henderson easily. “Leila’s all right. You -needn’t worry about her. She’s merely passing through a phase and -will probably emerge safely. Leila’s hardly up to your standard, but -Millicent is a girl you’ll like. I ought to have told Dale to ask -Millicent here. Dale’s a broad-minded woman and doesn’t mind it at all -that old Harden’s rolled up a million by being smart enough to scamper -just a nose length ahead of the Federal grand jury carrying his rotten -dope in triumph.” - -“Miss Mills, I suppose, is an acceptable member of the Freemans’ -group?” Bruce inquired. - -“Acceptable enough, but this is all too tame for Leila. Curious sort of -friendship--Leila and Millicent. Socially Millicent is, in a manner of -speaking, between the devil and the deep sea. She’s just a little too -superior to train with the girls of the Longview Country Club set and -the asthma cure keeps her from being chummy with the Faraway gang. But -I’ll say that Leila’s lucky to have a friend like Millicent.” - -“Um--yes,” Bruce assented. “I’m beginning to see that your social life -here has a real flavor.” - -“Well, it’s not all just plain vanilla,” Bud agreed with a yawn. - - - - -CHAPTER FOUR - - -I - -Henderson made his wife’s return an excuse for giving a party at the -Faraway Country Club. Mrs. Henderson had brought home a trophy from -the golf tournament and her prowess must be celebrated. She was a tall -blonde with a hearty, off-hand manner, and given to plain, direct -speech. She treated Bud as though he were a younger brother, to be -humored to a certain point and then reminded a little tartly of the -limitations of her tolerance. - -When Bruce arrived at the club he found his hostess and Mrs. Freeman -receiving the guests in the hall and directing them to a dark end -of the veranda where Bud was holding forth with a cocktail-shaker. -Obedient to their hint, he stumbled over the veranda chairs until -he came upon a group of young people gathered about Bud, who was -energetically compounding drinks as he told a story. Bruce knew the -story; it was the oldest of Bud’s yarns, and his interest wavered to -become fixed immediately upon a girl beside him who was giving Bud her -complete attention. Even in the dim light of the veranda there was no -mistaking her: she was the Millicent Harden he had rescued from the -sand bar. At the conclusion of the story she joined in the general -laugh and turned round to find Bruce regarding her intently. - -“I beg your pardon,” he said and bowed gravely. - -“Oh, you needn’t!” she replied quickly. - -He lifted his head to find her inspecting him with an amused smile. - -“I might find someone to introduce us--Mr. Henderson, perhaps,” he -said. “My name--if the matter is important--is Bruce Storrs.” - -“Possibly we might complete the introduction unassisted--my name is -Millicent Harden!” - -“How delightful! Shall we dance?” - -After the dance he suggested that they step out for a breath of air. -They found seats and she said immediately: - -“Of course I remember you; I’d be ashamed if I didn’t. I’m glad of this -chance to thank you. I know Leila--Miss Mills--will want to thank you, -too. We must have seemed very silly that night on the river.” - -“Such a thing might happen to anyone; why not forget it?” - -“Let me thank you again,” she said seriously. “You were ever so kind.” - -“The incident is closed,” he remarked with finality. “Am I keeping you -from a partner? They’re dancing again. We might sit this out if I’m not -depriving you----” - -“You’re not. It’s warm inside and this is a relief. We might even -wander down the lawn and look for elves and dryads and nymphs. Those -big trees and the stars set the stage for such encounters.” - -“It’s rather nice to believe in fairies and such things. At times I’m a -believer; then I lose my faith.” - -“We all forget our fairies sometimes,” she answered gravely. - -He had failed to note at their meeting on the river the loveliness -of her voice. He found himself waiting for the recurrence of certain -tones that had a curious musical resonance. He was struck by a certain -gravity in her that was expressed for fleeting moments in both voice -and eyes. Even with the newest dance music floating out to them and -the light and laughter within, he was aware of an indefinable quality -in the girl that seemed somehow to translate her to remote and shadowy -times. Her profile--clean-cut without sharpness--and her manner of -wearing her abundant hair--carried back loosely to a knot low on her -head--strengthened his impression of her as being a little foreign to -the place and hour. She spoke with quiet enthusiasm of the outdoor -sports that interested her--riding she enjoyed most of all. Henderson -had intimated that her social life was restricted, but she bore herself -more like a young woman of the world than any other girl he remembered. - -“Maybelle Henderson will scold me for hiding you away,” she said. -“But I just can’t dance whenever the band plays. It’s got to be an -inspiration!” - -“Then I thank you again for one perfect dance! I’m afraid I didn’t -appreciate what you were giving me.” - -“Oh, I danced with you to hide my embarrassment!” she laughed. - -Half an hour passed and they had touched and dismissed many subjects -when she rose and caught the hand of a girl who was passing. - -“Miss Mills, Mr. Storrs. It’s quite fitting that you should meet Mr. -Storrs.” - -“Fitting?” asked the girl, breathless from her dance. - -“We’ve all met before--on the river--most shockingly! You might just -say thank you to Mr. Storrs.” - -“Oh, this is _not_----” Leila drew back and inspected Bruce with a -direct, candid gaze. - -“Miss Harden is mistaken; this is the first time we ever met,” declared -Bruce. - -“Isn’t he nice!” Leila exclaimed. “From what Millie said I knew you -would be like this.” And then: “Oh, lots of people are bragging about -you and promising to introduce me! Here comes Tommy Barnes; he has this -dance. Oh, Millie! if you get a chance you might say a kind word to -papa. He’s probably terribly bored by this time.” - -“Leila’s a dear child! I’m sure you’ll like her,” said Millicent as the -girl fluttered away. “Oh, I adore this piece! Will you dance with me?” - -As they finished the dance Mrs. Henderson intercepted them. - -“Aren’t you the limit, you two? I’ve had Bud searching the whole place -for you and here you are! Quite as though you hadn’t been hiding for -the last hour.” - -“I’m going to keep Mr. Storrs just a moment longer,” said Millicent. -“Leila said her father was perishing somewhere and I want Mr. Storrs to -meet him.” - -“Yes; certainly,” said Bruce. - -He walked beside her into the big lounge, where many of the older -guests were gathered. - -“Poor Mr. Mills!” said Millicent after a quick survey of the room. -“There he is, listening to one of Mr. Tasker’s interminable yarns.” - -She led the way toward a group of men, one of whom was evidently -nearing the end of a long story. One of his auditors, a dark man of -medium height and rather stockily built, was listening with an air of -forced attention. His grayish hair was brushed smoothly away from a -broad forehead, his neatly trimmed mustache was a trifle grayer than -his hair. Millicent and Bruce fell within the line of his vision, and -his face brightened instantly as he nodded to the girl and waved his -hand. The moment the story was ended he crossed to them, his eyes -bright with pleasure and a smile on his face. - -“I call it a base desertion!” he exclaimed. “Leila brings me here and -coolly parks me. A father gets mighty little consideration these days!” - -“Don’t scold! Mr. Mills--let me present Mr. Storrs.” - -“I’m very glad to meet you, Mr. Storrs,” said Mills with quiet -cordiality. He swept Bruce with a quick, comprehensive scrutiny. - -“Mr. Storrs has lately moved here,” Millicent explained. - -“I congratulate you, Mr. Storrs, on having fallen into good hands.” - -“Oh, Miss Harden is taking splendid care of me!” Bruce replied. - -“She’s quite capable of doing that!” Mills returned. - -Bruce was studying Franklin Mills guardedly. A man of reserves and -reticences, not a safe subject for quick judgments. His manner was -somewhat listless now that the introduction had been accomplished; and -perhaps aware of this, he addressed several remarks to Bruce, asking -whether the music was all that the jazzy age demanded; confessed with -mock chagrin that his dancing days were over. - -“You only think they are! Mr. Mills really dances very well. You’d be -surprised, Mr. Storrs, considering how venerable he is!” - -“That’s why I don’t dance!” Mills retorted with a rueful grin. -“‘Considering his age’ is the meanest phrase that can be applied to a -man of fifty.” - -Bud Henderson here interrupted them, declaring that dozens of people -were disconsolate because Bruce had concealed himself. - -“Of course you must go!” said Millicent. - -“I hope to meet you again,” Mills remarked as Bruce bowed to him. - -“Thank you, Mr. Mills,” said Bruce. - -He was conscious once more of Mills’s intent scrutiny. It seemed to him -as he walked away that Mills’s eyes followed him. - -“What’s the matter, old top?” Bud demanded. “You’re not tired?” - -“No; I’m all right,” Bruce replied, though his heart was pounding hard; -and feeling a little giddy, he laid his hand on Henderson’s arm. - - - - -CHAPTER FIVE - - -I - -Franklin Mills stood by one of the broad windows in his private office -gazing across the smoky industrial district of his native city. With -his hands thrust into his trousers’ pockets, he was a picture of -negligent ease. His face was singularly free of the markings of time. -His thick, neatly trimmed hair with its even intermixture of white -added to his look of distinction. His business suit of dark blue with -an obscure green stripe was evidently a recent creation of his tailor, -and a wing collar with a neatly tied polka-dot cravat contributed -further to the impression he gave of a man who had a care for his -appearance. The gray eyes that looked out over the city narrowed -occasionally as some object roused his attention--a freight train -crawling on the outskirts or some disturbance in the street below. Then -he would resume his reverie as though enjoying his sense of immunity -from the fret and jar of the world about him. - -_Bruce Storrs._ The name of the young man he had met at the Country -Club lingered disturbingly in his memory. He had heard someone ask -that night where Storrs came from, and Bud Henderson, his sponsor, had -been ready with the answer, “Laconia, Ohio.” Mills had been afraid to -ask the question himself. Long-closed doors swung open slowly along -the dim corridor of memory and phantom shapes emerged--among them a -figure Franklin Mills recognized as himself. Swiftly he computed the -number of years that had passed since, in his young manhood, he had -spent a summer in the pleasant little town, sent there by his father -to act as auditor of a manufacturing concern in which Franklin Mills -III for a time owned an interest. Marian Storrs was a lovely young -being--vivacious, daring, already indifferent to the man to whom she -had been married two years.... He had been a beast to take advantage -of her, to accept all that she had yielded to him with a completeness -and passion that touched him poignantly now as she lived again in his -memory.... Was this young man, Bruce Storrs, her son? He was a splendid -specimen, distinctly handsome, with the air of breeding that Mills -valued. He turned from the window and walked idly about the room, only -to return to his contemplation of the hazy distances. - -The respect of his fellow man, one could see, meant much to him. He was -Franklin Mills, the fourth of the name in succession in the Mid-western -city, enjoying an unassailable social position and able to command more -cash at a given moment than any other man in the community. Nothing -was so precious to Franklin Mills as his peace of mind, and here was a -problem that might forever menace that peace. The hope that the young -man himself knew nothing did not abate the hateful, hideous question -... was he John Storrs’s son or his own? Surely Marian Storrs could not -have told the boy of that old episode.... - -Nearly every piece of property in the city’s original mile square had -at some time belonged to a Mills. The earlier men of the name had -been prominent in public affairs, but he had never been interested -in politics and he never served on those bothersome committees that -promote noble causes and pursue the public with subscription papers. -When Franklin Mills gave he gave liberally, but he preferred to make -his contributions unsolicited. It pleased him to be represented at the -State Fair with cattle and saddle horses from Deer Trail Farm. Like -his father and grandfather, he kept in touch with the soil, and his -farm, fifteen miles from his office, was a show place; his Jersey herd -enjoyed a wide reputation. The farm was as perfectly managed as his -house and office. Its carefully tended fields, his flocks and herds and -the dignified Southern Colonial house were but another advertisement of -his substantial character and the century-long identification of his -name with the State. - -His private office was so furnished as to look as little as possible -like a place for the transaction of business. There were easy lounging -chairs, a long leathern couch, a bookcase, a taboret with cigars and -cigarettes. The flat-top desk, placed between two windows, contained -nothing but an immaculate blotter and a silver desk set that evidently -enjoyed frequent burnishing. It was possible for him to come and go -without traversing the other rooms of the suite. Visitors who passed -the office boy’s inspection and satisfied a prim stenographer that -their errands were not frivolous found themselves in communication -with Arthur Carroll, Mills’s secretary, a young man of thirty-five, -trained as a lawyer, who spoke for his employer in all matters not -demanding decisions of first importance. Carroll was not only Mills’s -confidential man of business, but when necessary he performed the -duties of social secretary. He was tactful, socially in demand as an -eligible bachelor, and endowed with a genius for collecting information -that greatly assisted Mills in keeping in touch with the affairs of the -community. - -Mills glanced at his watch and turned to press a button in a plate on -the corner of his desk. Carroll appeared immediately. - -“You said Shep was coming?” Mills inquired. - -“Yes; he was to be here at five, but said he might be a little late.” - -Mills nodded, asked a question about the survey of some land adjoining -Deer Trail Farm for which he was negotiating, and listened attentively -while Carroll described a discrepancy in the boundary lines. - -“Is that all that stands in the way?” Mills asked. - -“Well,” said Carroll, “Parsons shows signs of bucking. He’s thought of -reasons, sentimental ones, for not selling. He and his wife moved there -when they were first married and their children were all born on the -place.” - -“Of course we have nothing to do with that,” remarked Mills, slipping -an ivory paper knife slowly through his fingers. “The old man is a -failure, and the whole place is badly run down. I really need it for -pasture.” - -“Oh, he’ll sell! We just have to be a little patient,” Carroll replied. - -“All right, but don’t close till the title’s cleared up. I don’t buy -law suits. Come in, Shep.” - -Shepherd Mills had appeared at the door during this talk. His father -had merely glanced at him, and Shepherd waited, hat in hand, his -topcoat on his arm, till the discussion was ended. - -“What’s that you’ve got there?” his father asked, seating himself in a -comfortable chair a little way from the desk. - -In drawing some papers from the pocket of his overcoat, Shepherd -dropped his hat, picked it up and laid it on the desk. He was trying to -appear at ease, and replied that it was a contract calling for a large -order which the storage battery company had just made. - -“We worked a good while to get that,” said the young man with a ring of -pride in his voice. “I thought you’d like to know it’s all settled.” - -Mills put on his glasses, scanned the document with a practiced eye and -handed it back. - -“That’s good. You’re running full capacity now?” - -“Yes; we’ve got orders enough to keep us going full handed for several -months.” - -The young man’s tone was eager; he was clearly anxious for his father’s -approval. He had expected a little more praise for his success in -getting the contract, but was trying to adjust himself to his father’s -calm acceptance of the matter. He drummed the edge of the desk as he -recited certain figures as to conditions at the plant. His father -disconcertingly corrected one of his statements. - -“Yes; you’re right, father,” Shepherd stammered. “I got the July -figures mixed up with the June report.” - -Mills smiled indulgently; took a cigarette from a silver box on the -taboret beside him and unhurriedly lighted it. - -“You and Constance are coming over for dinner tonight?” he asked. “I -think Leila said she’d asked you.” - -His senior’s very calmness seemed to add to Shepherd’s nervousness. He -rose and laid his overcoat on the couch, drew out his handkerchief and -wiped his forehead, remarking that it was warm for the season. - -“I hadn’t noticed it,” his father remarked in the tone of one who is -indifferent to changes of temperature. - -“There’s a little matter I’ve been wanting to speak to you about,” -Shepherd began. “I thought it would be better to mention it here--you -never like talking business at the house. If it’s going to be done it -ought to be started now, before the bad weather sets in.” - -He paused, a little breathless, and Mills said, the least bit -impatiently: - -“Do you mean that new unit at the plant? I thought we’d settled that. -I thought you were satisfied you could get along this winter with the -plant as it is.” - -“Oh, no! It’s not that!” Shepherd hastily corrected. “Of course that’s -all settled. This is quite a different matter. I only want to suggest -it now so you can think it over. You see, our employees were all -mightily pleased because you let them have the use of the Milton farm. -There’s quite a settlement grown up around the plant and the Milton -land is so near they can walk to it. I’ve kept tab this summer and -about a hundred of the men go there Saturday afternoons and Sundays; -mostly married men who take their families. I could see it made a big -difference in the morale of the shop.” - -He paused to watch the effect of his statements, but Mills made no -sign. He merely recrossed his legs, knocked the ash from his cigarette -and nodded for his son to go on. - -“I want you to know I appreciate your letting me use the property -that way,” Shepherd resumed. “I was out there a good deal myself, -and those people certainly enjoyed themselves. Now what’s in my mind -is this, father”--he paused an instant and bent forward with boyish -eagerness--“I’ve heard you say you didn’t mean to sell any lots in the -Milton addition for several years--not until the street car line’s -extended--and I thought since the factory’s so close to the farm, we -might build some kind of a clubhouse the people could use the year -round. They can’t get any amusements without coming into town, and -we could build the house near the south gate of the property, where -our people could get to it easily. They could have dances and motion -pictures, and maybe a few lectures and some concerts, during the -winter. They’ll attend to all that themselves. Please understand that I -don’t mean this as a permanent thing. The clubhouse needn’t cost much, -so when you get ready to divide the farm the loss wouldn’t be great. -It might even be used in some way. I just wanted to mention it; we can -talk out the details after you’ve thought it over.” - -In his anxiety to make himself clear Shepherd had stammered repeatedly. -He waited, his face flushed, his eyelids quivering, for some -encouraging word from his father. Mills dropped his cigarette into the -tray before he spoke. - -“What would such a house cost, Shep?” - -“It can be built for twenty thousand dollars. I got a young fellow in -Freeman’s office to make me some sketches--Storrs--you met him at the -country club; a mighty nice chap. If you’ll just look at these----” - -Mills took the two letter sheets his son extended, one showing a floor -plan, the other a rough sketch of the proposed building, inspected them -indifferently and gave them back. - -“If you’d like to keep them----” Shepherd began. - -“No; that isn’t necessary. I think we can settle the matter now. It -was all right for those people to use the farm as a playground during -the summer, but this idea of building a house for them won’t do. We’ve -got to view these things practically, Shep. You’re letting your -sentimental feelings run away with you. If I let you go ahead with -that scheme, it would be unfair to all the other employers in town. -If you stop to think, you can see for yourself that for us to build -such a clubhouse would cause dissatisfaction among other concerns -I’m interested in. And there’s another thing. Your people have done -considerable damage--breaking down the shrubbery and young trees I’d -planted where I’d laid out the roads. I hadn’t spoken of this, for -I knew how much fun you got out of it, but as for spending twenty -thousand dollars for a clubhouse and turning the whole place over to -those people, it can’t be done!” - -“Well, father, of course I can see your way of looking at it,” Shepherd -said with a crestfallen air. “I thought maybe, just for a few years----” - -“That’s another point,” Mills interrupted. “You can’t give it to them -and then take it away. Such people are bound to be unreasonable. Give -them an inch and they take a mile. You’ll find as you grow older that -they have precious little appreciation of such kindnesses. Your heart’s -been playing tricks with your head. I tell you, my dear boy, there’s -nothing in it; positively nothing!” - -Mills rose, struck his hands together smartly and laid them on his -son’s shoulders, looking down at him with smiling tolerance. Shepherd -was nervously fumbling Storrs’s sketches, and as his father stepped -back he hastily thrust them into his pocket. - -“You may be right, father,” he said slowly, and with no trace of -resentment. - -“Storrs, you said?” Mills inquired as he opened a cabinet door and took -out his hat and light overcoat. “Is he the young man Millie introduced -me to?” - -“Yes; that tall, fine-looking chap; a Tech man; just moved here--friend -of Bud Henderson’s.” - -“I wasn’t quite sure of the name. He’s an architect, is he?” asked -Mills as he slowly buttoned his coat. - -“Yes; I met him at the Freemans’ and had him for lunch at the club. -Freeman is keen about him.” - -“He’s rather an impressive-looking fellow,” Mills replied. “Expects to -live here, does he?” - -“Yes. He has no relatives here; just thought the town offered a good -opening. His home was somewhere in Ohio, I think.” - -“Yes; I believe I heard that,” Mills replied carelessly. “You have your -car with you?” - -“Yes; the runabout. I’ll skip home and dress and drive over with -Connie. We’re going to the Claytons’ later.” - -When they reached the street Shepherd ordered up his father’s limousine -and saw him into it, and waved his hand as it rolled away. As he turned -to seek his own car the smile faded from his face. It was not merely -that his father had refused to permit the building of the clubhouse, -but that the matter had been brushed aside quite as a parent rejects -some absurd proposal of an unreasoning child. He strode along with -the quick steps compelled by his short stature, smarting under what -he believed to be an injustice, and ashamed of himself for not having -combated the objections his father had raised. The loss of shrubs or -trees was nothing when weighed against the happiness of the people who -had enjoyed the use of the farm. He thought now of many things that he -might have said in defence of his proposition; but he had never been -able to hold his own in debate with his father. His face burned with -humiliation. He regretted that within an hour he was to see his father -again. - - -II - -The interior of Franklin Mills’s house was not so forbidding as -Henderson had hinted in his talk with Bruce. It was really a very -handsomely furnished, comfortable establishment that bore the marks -of a sound if rather austere taste. The house had been built in the -last years of Mrs. Mills’s life, and if a distinctly feminine note was -lacking in its appointments, this was due to changes made by Mills -in keeping with the later tendency in interior decoration toward the -elimination of nonessentials. - -It was only a polite pretense that Leila kept house for her father. -Her inclinations were decidedly not domestic, and Mills employed and -directed the servants, ordered the meals, kept track of expenditures -and household bills, and paid them through his office. He liked -formality and chose well-trained servants capable of conforming to his -wishes in this respect. The library on the second floor was Mills’s -favorite lounging place. Here were books indicative of the cultivated -and catholic taste of the owner, and above the shelves were ranged -the family portraits, a considerable array of them, preserving the -countenances of his progenitors. Throughout the house there were -pictures, chiefly representative work of contemporary French and -American artists. When Mills got tired of a picture or saw a chance to -buy a better one by the same painter, he sold or gave away the discard. -He knew the contents of his house from cellar to garret--roved over it -a good deal in his many lonely hours. - -He came downstairs a few minutes before seven and from force of habit -strolled through the rooms on a tour of inspection. In keeping with -his sense of personal dignity, he always put on his dinner coat in the -evening, even when he was alone. He rang and asked the smartly capped -and aproned maid who responded whether his daughter was at home. - -“Miss Leila went to the Country Club this afternoon, sir, and hasn’t -come in yet. She said she was dining here.” - -“Thank you,” he replied colorlessly, and turned to glance over some -new books neatly arranged on a table at the side of the living-room. A -clock struck seven and on the last solemn stroke the remote titter of -an electric bell sent the maid to the door. - -“Mr. and Mrs. Shepherd Mills,” the girl announced in compliance with -an established rule, which was not suspended even when Mills’s son and -daughter-in-law were the guests. - -“Shep fairly dragged me!” Mrs. Mills exclaimed as she greeted her -father-in-law. “He’s in such terror of being late to one of your -feasts! I know I’m a fright.” She lifted her hand to her hair with -needless solicitude; it was perfectly arranged. She wore an evening -gown of sapphire blue chiffon,--an effective garment; she knew that it -was effective. Seeing that he was eyeing it critically, she demanded to -know what he thought of it. - -“You’re so fastidious, you know! Shep never pays any attention to my -clothes. It’s a silly idea that women dress only for each other; it’s -for captious men like you that we take so much trouble.” - -“You’re quite perfectly turned out, I should say,” Mills remarked. -“That’s a becoming gown. I don’t believe I’ve seen it before.” - -Her father-in-law was regarding her quizzically, an ambiguous smile -playing about his lips. She was conscious that he never gave her -his whole approval and she was piqued by her failure to evoke any -expressions of cordiality from him. Men usually liked her, or at least -found her amusing, and she had never been satisfied that Franklin -Mills either liked her or thought her clever. It was still a source of -bitterness that Mills had objected strongly to Shepherd’s marrying her. -His objections she attributed to snobbery; for her family was in nowise -distinguished, and Constance, an only child, had made her own way -socially chiefly through acquaintances and friendships formed in the -Misses Palmers’ school, a local institution which conferred a certain -social dignity upon its patrons. - -She had never been able to break down Mills’s reserves, and the tone -which she had adopted for her intercourse with him had been arrived at -after a series of experiments in the first year of her marriage. He -suffered this a little stolidly. There was a point of discretion beyond -which she never dared venture. She had once tried teasing him about -a young widow, a visitor from the South for whom he had shown some -partiality, and he hadn’t liked it, though he had taken the same sort -of chaff from others in her presence with perfect good nature. - -Shepherd, she realized perfectly, was a disappointment to his father. -Countless points of failure in the relationship of father and son were -manifest to her, things of which Shepherd himself was unconscious. -It was Mills’s family pride that had prompted him to make Shepherd -president of the storage battery company, and the same vanity was -responsible for the house he had given Shepherd on his marriage--a much -bigger house than the young couple needed. He expected her to bear -children that the continuity of the name might be unbroken, but the -thought of bearing children was repugnant to her. Still, the birth of -an heir, to take the name of Franklin Mills, would undoubtedly heighten -his respect for her--diminish the veiled hostility which she felt she -aroused in him. - -“Where’s Leila?” asked Shepherd as dinner was announced and they moved -toward the dining-room. - -“She’ll be along presently,” Mills replied easily. - -“Dear Leila!” exclaimed Constance. “You never disciplined her as you -did Shep. Shep would go to the stake before he’d turn up late.” - -“Leila,” said Mills a little defensively, “is a law unto herself.” - -“That’s why we all love the dear child!” said Constance quickly. “Not -for worlds would I change her.” - -To nothing was Mills so sensitive as to criticism of Leila, a fact -which she should have remembered. - -As they took their places Mills asked her, in the impersonal tone -she hated, what the prospects were for a gay winter. She was on the -committee of the Assembly, whose entertainments were a noteworthy -feature of every season. There, too, was the Dramatic Club, equally -exclusive in its membership, and Constance was on the play committee. -Mills listened with interest, or with the pretense of interest, as -she gave him the benefit of her knowledge as to the winter’s social -programme. - -They were half through the dinner when Leila arrived. With a cheerful -“Hello, everybody,” she flung off her wrap and without removing her -hat, sank into the chair Shepherd drew out for her. - -“Sorry, Dada, but Millie and I played eighteen holes this afternoon; -got a late start and were perfectly starved when we finished and just -had to have tea. And some people came along and we got to talking and -it was dark before we knew it.” - -“How’s your game coming on?” her father asked. - -“Not so bad, Dada. Millie’s one of these lazy players; she doesn’t care -whether she wins or loses, and I guess I’m too temperamental to be a -good golfer.” - -“I thought Millie was pretty strong on temperament herself,” remarked -Shepherd. - -“Well, Millie is and she isn’t. She’s not the sort that flies all to -pieces when anything goes wrong.” - -“Millie’s a pretty fine girl,” declared Shepherd. - -“Millicent really has charm,” remarked Constance, though without -enthusiasm. - -“Millie’s a perfect darling!” said Leila. “She’s so lovely to her -father and mother! They’re really very nice. Everybody knocks Doc -Harden, but he’s not a bad sort. It’s a shame the way people treat -them. Mrs. Harden’s a dear, sweet thing; plain and sensible and doesn’t -look pained when I cuss a little.” She gave her father a sly look, but -he feigned inattention. “Dada, how do you explain Millie?” - -“Well, I don’t,” replied Mills, with a broad smile at the abruptness of -the question. “It’s just as well that everything and everybody on this -planet can’t be explained and don’t have to be. I’ve come to a time of -life when I’m a little fed up on things that can be reduced to figures. -I want to be mystified!” - -Leila pointed her finger at him across the table. - -“I’ll say you like mystery! If there was ever a human being who just -had to have the facts, you’re it! I know because I’ve tried hiding -milliners’ bills from you.” - -“Well, I usually pay them,” Mills replied good-humoredly. “Now that -you’ve spoken of bills, I’d like to ask you----” - -“Don’t!” Leila ejaculated, placing her hands over her ears with -simulated horror. “I know what you’re going to say. You’re going to ask -why I bought that new squirrel coat. Well, winter’s coming and it’s to -keep me from freezing to death.” - -“Well, the house is well heated,” Mills replied dryly. “The answer is -for you to spend a little time at home.” - -Leila was a spoiled child and lived her own life with little paternal -interference. After Mills had failed utterly to keep her in school, or -rather to find any school in which she would stay, he had tried tutors -with no better results. He had finally placed her for a year in New -York with a woman who made a business of giving the finishing touches -to the daughters of the provincial rich. There were no lessons to learn -which these daughters didn’t want to learn, but Leila had heard operas -and concerts to a point where she really knew something of music, and -she had acquired a talent that greatly amused her father for talking -convincingly of things she really knew nothing about. He found much -less delight in her appalling habit of blurting out things better left -unsaid, and presumably foreign to the minds of well-bred young women. - -Her features were a feminized version of her father’s; she was dark -like him and with the same gray eyes; but here the resemblance ended. -She was alert, restless, quick of speech and action. The strenuous life -of her long days was expressing itself in little nervous twitchings of -her hands and head. Her father, under his benignant gaze, was noting -these things now. - -“I hope you’re staying in tonight, Leila?” he said. “It seems to me -you’re not sleeping enough.” - -“Well, no, Dada. I was going to the Claytons’. I told Fred Thomas he -might come for me at nine.” - -“Thomas?” Mills questioned. “I don’t know that I’d choose him for an -escort.” - -“Oh, Freddy’s all right!” Leila replied easily. “He’s always asking me -to go places with him, and I’d turned him down until I was ashamed to -refuse any more.” - -“I think,” said her father, “it might be as well to begin refusing -again. What about him, Shep?” - -“He’s a good sort, I think,” Shepherd replied after a hasty glance at -his wife. “But of course----” - -“Of course, he’s divorced,” interposed Constance, “and he hasn’t been -here long. But people I know in Chicago say he was well liked there. -What is it he has gone into, Shep?” - -“He came here to open a branch of a lumber company--a large concern, I -think,” Shepherd replied. “I believe he _has_ been divorced, Father, if -that’s what’s troubling you.” - -“Oh, he told me all about the divorce!” interposed Leila imperturbably. -“His wife got crazy about another man and--biff! Don’t worry, Dada; he -isn’t dangerous.” - - -III - -When they had gone upstairs to the library for coffee, Leila lighted a -cigarette and proceeded to open some letters that had been placed on a -small desk kept in the room for her benefit. She perched herself on the -desk and read aloud, between whiffs of her cigarette, snatches of news -from a letter. Shepherd handed her a cup and she stirred her coffee, -the cigarette hanging from her lip. Constance feigned not to notice -a shadow of annoyance on her father-in-law’s face as Leila, her legs -dangling, occasionally kicked the desk frame with her heels. - -“By the way, Leila,” said Constance, “the Nelsons want to sell their -place at Harbor Hills. They haven’t been there for several years, you -know. It’s one of the best locations anywhere in Michigan. It would -solve the eternal summer problem for all of us--so accessible and a -marvelous view--and you could have all the water sports you wanted. And -they say the new clubhouse is a perfect dream.” - -Shepherd Mills’s cup tottered in its saucer with a sharp staccato. He -had warned his wife not to broach the matter of purchasing the northern -Michigan cottage, which she had threatened to do for some time and had -discussed with Leila in the hope of enlisting her as an ally for an -effective assault upon Mills. - -“It’s a peach of a place, all right,” Leila remarked. “I wonder if the -yacht goes with the house. I believe I could use that yacht. Really, -Dada, we ought to have a regular summer place. I’m fed up on rented -cottages. If we had a house like the Nelsons’ we could all use it.” - -She had promised Constance to support the idea, but her sister-in-law -had taken her off guard and she was aware that she hadn’t met the -situation with quite the enthusiasm it demanded. Mills was lighting a -cigar in his usual unhurried fashion. He knew that Constance was in the -habit of using Leila as an advocate when she wanted him to do something -extraordinary, and Leila, to his secret delight, usually betrayed the -source of her inspiration. - -“What do the Nelsons want for the property?” he asked, settling himself -back in his chair. - -“I suppose the yacht isn’t included,” Constance answered. “They’re -asking seventy thousand for the house, and there’s a lot of land, you -know. The Nelsons live in Detroit and it would be easy to get the -details.” - -“You said yourself it was a beautiful place when you were there last -summer,” Leila resumed, groping in her memory for the reasons with -which Constance had fortified her for urging the purchase. “And -the golf course up there is a wonder, and the whole place is very -exclusive--only the nicest people.” - -“I thought you preferred the northeast coast,” her father replied. -“What’s sent you back to fresh water?” - -“Oh, Dada, I just have to change my mind sometimes! If I kept the same -idea very long it would turn bad--like an egg.” - -Constance, irritated by Leila’s perfunctory espousal of the proposed -investment, tried to signal for silence. But Leila, having undertaken -to implant in her father’s mind the desirability of acquiring the -cottage at Harbor Hills, was unwilling to drop the subject. - -“Poor old Shep never gets any vacation to amount to anything. If we had -a place in Michigan he could go up every week-end and get a breath of -air. We all of us could have a perfectly grand time.” - -“Who’s all?” demanded her father. “You’d want to run a select boarding -house, would you?” - -“Well, not exactly. But Connie and I could open the place early and -stay late, and we’d hope you’d be with us all the time, and Shep, -whenever he could get away.” - -“Shep, I think this is only a scheme to shake you and me for the -summer. Connie and Leila are trying to put something over on us. And of -course we can’t stand for any such thing.” - -“Of course, Father, the upkeep of such a place is considerable,” -Shepherd replied conciliatingly. - -“Yes; quite as much as a town house, and you’d never use it more than -two or three months a year. By the way, Connie, do you know those -Cincinnati Marvins Leila and I met up there?” - -Connie knew that her father-in-law had, with characteristic deftness, -disposed of the Harbor Hills house as effectually as though he had -roared a refusal. Shepherd, still smarting under the rejection of his -plan for giving his workmen a clubhouse, marveled at the suavity with -which his father eluded proposals that did not impress him favorably. -He wondered at times whether his father was not in some degree a -superman who in his judgments and actions exercised a Jovian supremacy -over the rest of mankind. Leila, finding herself bored by her father’s -talk with Constance about the Marvins, sprang from the table, stretched -herself lazily and said she guessed she would go and dress. - -When she reached the door she turned toward him with mischief in her -eyes. “What are you up to tonight, Dada? You might stroll over and see -Millie! The Claytons didn’t ask her to their party.” - -“Thanks for the hint, dear,” Mills replied with a tinge of irony. - -“I think I’ll go with you,” said Constance, as Leila impudently kissed -her fingers to her father and turned toward her room. “Whistle for me -at eight-thirty, Shep.” - -Both men rose as the young women left the room--Franklin Mills was -punctilious in all the niceties of good manners--but before resuming -his seat he closed the door. There was something ominous in this, and -Shepherd nervously lighted a cigarette. He covertly glanced at his -watch to fix in his mind the amount of time he must remain with his -father before Constance returned. He loved and admired his wife and he -envied her the ease with which she ignored or surmounted difficulties. - -Connie made mistakes in dealing with her father-in-law and Shepherd -was aware of this, but his own errors in this respect only served to -strengthen his reliance on the understanding and sympathy of his wife, -who was an adept in concealing disappointment and discomfiture. When -Shepherd was disposed to complain of his father, Connie was always -consoling. She would say: - -“You’re altogether too sensitive, Shep. It’s an old trick of fathers -to treat their sons as though they were still boys. Your father can’t -realize that you’re grown up. But he knows you stick to your job and -that you’re anxious to please him. I suppose he thought you’d grow up -to be just like himself; but you’re not, so it’s up to him to take you -as the pretty fine boy you are. You’re the steadiest young man in town -and you needn’t think he doesn’t appreciate that.” - -Shepherd, fortifying himself with a swift recollection of his wife’s -frequent reassurances of this sort, nevertheless wished that she had -not run off to gossip with Leila. However, the interview would be -brief, and he played with his cigarette while he waited for his father -to begin. - -“There’s something I’ve wanted to talk with you about, Shep. It will -take only a minute.” - -“Yes, father.” - -“It’s about Leila”--he hesitated--“a little bit about Constance, too. -I’m not altogether easy about Leila. I mean”--he paused again--“as -to Connie’s influence over your sister. Connie is enough older to -realize that Leila needs a little curbing as to things I can’t talk -to her about as a woman could. Leila doesn’t need to be encouraged -in extravagance. And she likes running about well enough without -being led into things she might better let alone. I’m not criticizing -Connie’s friends, but you do have at your house people I’d rather Leila -didn’t know--at least not to be intimate with them. As a concrete -example, I don’t care for this fellow Thomas. To be frank, I’ve made -some inquiries about him and he’s hardly the sort of person you’d care -for your sister to run around with.” - -Shepherd, blinking under this succession of direct statements, felt -that some comment was required. - -“Of course, father, Connie wouldn’t take up anyone she didn’t think -perfectly all right. And she’d never put any undesirable acquaintances -in Leila’s way. She’s too fond of Leila and too deeply interested in -her happiness for that.” - -“I wasn’t intimating that Connie was consciously influencing Leila -in a wrong way in that particular instance. But Leila is very -impressionable. So far I’ve been able to eliminate young men I haven’t -liked. I’m merely asking your cooperation, and Connie’s, in protecting -her. She’s very headstrong and rather disposed to take advantage of -our position by running a little wild. Our friends no doubt make -allowances, but people outside our circle may not be so tolerant.” - -“Yes, that’s all perfectly true, father,” Shepherd assented, relieved -and not a little pleased that his father appeared to be criticizing him -less than asking his assistance. - -“For another thing,” Mills went on. “Leila has somehow got into the -habit of drinking. Several times I’ve seen her when she’d had too much. -That sort of thing won’t do!” - -“Of course not! But I’m sure Connie hasn’t been encouraging Leila to -drink. She and I both have talked to her about that. I hoped she’d -stop it before you found it out.” - -“Don’t ever get the idea that I don’t know what’s going on!” Mills -retorted tartly. “Another thing I want to speak of is Connie’s way of -getting Leila to back her schemes--things like that summer place, for -example. We don’t need a summer place. The idea that you can’t have a -proper vacation is all rubbish. I urged you all summer to take Connie -East for a month.” - -“I know you did. It was my own fault I didn’t go. Please don’t think -we’re complaining; Connie and I get a lot of fun just motoring. And -when you’re at the farm we enjoy running out there. I think, Father, -that sometimes you’re not--not--quite just to Connie.” - -“Not just to her!” exclaimed Mills, with a lifting of the brows. “In -what way have I been unjust to her?” - -Shepherd knew that his remark was unfortunate before it was out of -his mouth. He should have followed his habit of assenting to what his -father said without broadening the field of discussion. He was taken -aback by his father’s question, uttered with what was, for Franklin -Mills, an unusual display of asperity. - -“I only meant,” Shepherd replied hastily, “that you don’t always”--he -frowned--“you don’t quite give Connie credit for her fine qualities.” - -“Quite the contrary,” Mills replied. “My only concern as her -father-in-law is that she shall continue to display those qualities. -I realize that she’s a popular young woman, but in a way you pay for -that, and I stand for it and make it possible for you to spend the -money. Now don’t jump to the conclusion that I’m intimating that you -and Connie wouldn’t have just as many friends if you spent a tenth of -what you’re spending now. Be it far from me, my boy, to discredit your -value and Connie’s as social factors!” - -Mills laughed to relieve the remark of any suspicion of irony. There -was nothing Shepherd dreaded so much as his father’s ironies. The dread -was the greater because there was always a disturbing uncertainty as to -what they concealed. - -“About those little matters I mentioned,” Mills went on, “I count on -you to help.” - -“Certainly, father. Connie and I both will do all we can. I’m glad you -spoke to me about it.” - -“All right, Shep,” and Mills opened the door to mark the end of the -interview. - - -IV - -In Leila’s room Constance had said, the moment they were alone: - -“Well, you certainly gummed it!” - -“Oh, shoot! Dada wouldn’t buy that Nelson place if it only cost a -nickel.” - -“Well, you didn’t do much to advance the cause!” - -“See here,” said Leila, “one time’s just as good as another with Dada. -I knew he’d never agree to it. I only spoke of it because you gave me -the lead. You never seem to learn his curves.” - -“If you’d backed me up right we could have got him interested and won -him over. Anybody could see that he was away off tonight--even more -difficult than usual!” - -“Oh, tush! You and Shep make me tired. You take father too seriously. -All you’ve got to do with him is just to kid him along. Let’s have a -little drink to drown our troubles.” - -“Now, Leila----” - -Leila had drawn a hat-box from the inner recesses of a closet and -extracted from it a quart bottle of whiskey. - -“I’m all shot to hell and need a spoonful of this stuff to pep me up! -Hands off, old thing! Don’t touch--Leila scream!” Constance had tried -to seize the bottle. - -“Leila, _please_ don’t drink! The Claytons are having everybody of any -consequence at this party and if you go reeking of liquor all the old -tabbies will babble!” - -“Well, darling, let them talk! At least they will talk about both of us -then!” - -“Who’s talking about me?” Constance demanded. - -“Be calm, dearest! You certainly wore the guilty look then. Let’s call -it quits--I’ve got to dress!” - -She poured herself a second drink and restored the bottle to its hiding -place. - - - - -CHAPTER SIX - - -I - -Several interviews with Freeman had resulted in an arrangement by which -Bruce was to enter the architect’s office immediately. As Henderson had -predicted, Mrs. Freeman was a real power in her husband’s affairs. She -confided to Bruce privately that, with all his talents, Bill lacked -tact in dealing with his clients and he needed someone to supply this -deficiency. And the office was a place of confusion, and Bill was prone -to forgetfulness. Bruce, Mrs. Freeman thought, could be of material -assistance in keeping Bill straight and extricating him from the -difficulties into which he constantly stumbled in his absorption in -the purely artistic side of his profession. Bruce was put to work on -tentative sketches and estimates for a residence for a man who had no -very clear idea of what he wanted nor how much he wanted to spend. - -Bruce soon discovered that Freeman disliked interviews with contractors -and the general routine necessary to keep in touch with the cost of -labor and materials. When he was able to visualize and create he was -happy, but tedious calculations left him sulky and disinclined to work. -Bruce felt no such repugnance; he had a kind of instinct for such -things, and was able to carry in his head a great array of facts and -figures. - -On his first free evening after meeting Millicent Harden at the Country -Club he rang the Harden doorbell, and as he waited glanced toward the -Mills’ house in the lot adjoining. He vaguely wondered whether Franklin -Mills was within its walls. - -He had tried to analyze the emotions that had beset him that night when -he had taken the hand of the man he believed to be his father. There -was something cheap and vulgar in the idea that blood speaks to blood -and that possibly Mills had recognized him by some sort of intuition. -But Bruce rejected this as preposterous, a concession to the philosophy -of ignorant old women muttering scandal before a dying fire. Very -likely he had been wrong in fancying that Mills had taken any special -note of him. And there was always his mother’s assurance that Mills -didn’t know of his existence. Mills probably had the habit of eyeing -people closely; he shouldn’t have permitted himself to be troubled by -that. He was a man of large affairs, with faculties trained to the -quick inspection and appraisment of every stranger he met.... - -The middle-aged woman who opened the door was evidently a member of the -household and he hastily thrust into his pocket the card he had taken -out, stated his name and asked if Miss Harden was at home. - -“Yes, Millie’s home. Just come in, Mr. Storrs, and I’ll call her.” - -But Millicent came into the hall without waiting to be summoned. - -“I’m so glad to see you, Mr. Storrs!” she said, and introduced him to -her mother, a tall, heavily built woman with reddish hair turning gray, -and a friendly countenance. - -“I was just saying to Doctor Harden that I guessed nobody was coming -in tonight when you rang. You simply can’t keep a servant in to answer -the bell in the evening. You haven’t met Doctor Harden? Millie, won’t -you call your papa?” - -Millicent opened a door that revealed a small, cozy sitting-room and -summoned her father--a short, thick-set man with a close-trimmed gray -beard, who came out clutching a newspaper. - -“Shan’t we all go into the library?” asked Millicent after the two men -had been introduced and had expressed their approval of the prolonged -fine weather. - -“You young folks make yourselves comfortable in the library,” said Mrs. -Harden. “I told Millie it was too warm for a fire, but she just has to -have the fireplace going when there’s any excuse, and this house does -get chilly in the fall evenings even when it’s warm outside.” - -Harden was already retreating toward the room from which he had -been drawn to meet the caller, and his wife immediately followed. -Both repeated their expressions of pleasure at meeting Bruce; but -presumably, in the accepted fashion of American parents when their -daughters entertain callers, they had no intention of appearing again. - -Millicent snapped on lights that disclosed a long, high-ceilinged room -finished in dark oak and fitted up as a library. A disintegrating log -in the broad fireplace had thrown out a puff of smoke that gave the air -a fleeting pungent scent. - -The flooring was of white and black tiles covered with oriental rugs in -which the dominant dark red brought a warmth to the eye. Midway of the -room stood a grand piano, and beyond it a spiral stair led to a small -balcony on which the console of an organ was visible. Back of this was -a stained glass window depicting a knight in armor--a challenging, -militant figure. Even as revealed only by the inner illumination, its -rich colors and vigorous draughtsmanship were clearly suggested. And it -was wholly appropriate, Bruce decided, and altogether consonant with -the general scheme of the room. Noting his interest, Millicent turned -a switch that lighted the window from a room beyond with the effect of -vitalizing the knight’s figure, making him seem indeed to be gravely -riding, with lance in rest, along the wall. - -“Do pardon me!” Bruce murmured, standing just inside the door and -glancing about with frank enjoyment of the room’s spaciousness. The -outer lines of the somewhat commonplace square brick house had not -prepared him for this. The room presented a mingling of periods in both -architecture and furnishing, but the blending had been admirably done. - -“Forgive me for staring,” he said as he sat down on a divan opposite -her with the hearth between them. “I’m not sure even yet that I’m in -the twentieth century!” - -“I suppose it is a queer jumble; but don’t blame the architect! He, -poor wretch, thought we were perfectly crazy when we started, but I -think before he got through he really liked it.” - -“I envy him the fun he had doing it! But someone must have furnished -the inspiration. I’m going to assume that it was mostly you.” - -“You may if you’ll go ahead and criticize--tear it all to pieces.” - -“I’d as soon think of criticizing Chartres, Notre Dame, or the -hand that rounded Peter’s dome!” Bruce exclaimed. “Alas that -our acquaintance is so brief! I want to ask you all manner of -questions--how you came to do it--and all that.” - -“Well, first of all one must have an indulgent father and mother. I’m -reminded occasionally that my little whims were expensive.” - -“I dare say they were! But it’s something to have a daughter who can -produce a room like this.” - -He rose and bowed to her, and then turning toward the knight in the -window, gravely saluted. - -“I’m not so sure,” he said as he sat down, “that the gentleman up there -didn’t have something to do with it.” - -“Please don’t make too much of him. Everyone pays me the compliment of -thinking him Galahad, but I think of him as the naughty Launcelot. I -read a book once on old French glass and I just had to have a window. -And the organ made this room the logical place for it. Papa calls this -my chapel and refuses to sit in it at all. He says it’s too much like -church!” - -“Ah! But that’s a tribute in itself! Your father realizes that this is -a place for worship--without reference to the knight.” - -She laid her forefinger against her cheek, tilted her head slightly, -mocking him with lips and eyes. - -“Let me think! That was a pretty speech, but of course you’re referring -to that bronze Buddha over there. Come to think of it, papa does rather -fancy him.” - -When she smilingly met his gaze he laughed and made a gesture of -despair. - -“That was a nice bit of side-stepping! I’m properly rebuked. I see my -own worshiping must be done with caution. But the room is beautiful. -I’m glad to know there’s such a place in town.” - -“I did have a good time planning and arranging it. But there’s nothing -remarkable about it after all. It’s merely what you might call a -refuge from reality--if that means anything.” - -“It means a lot--too much for me to grasp all at once.” - -“You’re making fun of me! All I meant was that I wanted a place to -escape into where I can play at being something I really am not. We all -need to do that. After all, it’s just a room.” - -“Of course that’s just what it isn’t! It’s superb. I’ve already decided -to spend a lot of time here.” - -“You may, if you won’t pick up little chance phrases I let fall and -frighten me with them. I have a friend--an awful highbrow--and he bores -me to death exclaiming over things I say and can’t explain and then -explaining them to me. But--why aren’t you at the Claytons’ party?” - -“I wasn’t asked,” he said. “I don’t know them.” - -“I know them, but I wasn’t asked,” she replied smilingly. - -“Well, anyhow, it’s nicer here, I think.” - -Bruce remembered what Henderson had said about the guarded social -acceptance of the patent medicine manufacturer and his family; but -Millicent evidently didn’t resent her exclusion from the Claytons’ -party. Social differentiations, Bruce imagined, mattered little to -this girl, who was capable of fashioning her own manner of life, even -to the point of building a temple for herself in which to worship gods -of her own choosing. When he expressed interest in her modeling, which -Dale Freeman had praised, Millicent led the way to a door opening into -an extension of the library beyond the knight’s window, that served -her as a studio. It was only a way of amusing herself, she said, -when he admired a plaque of a child’s profile she confessed to be -her work. The studio bore traces of recent use. Damp cloths covered -several unfinished figures. There was a drawing-board in one corner -and scattered among the casts on the wall were crayon sketches, merely -notes, she explained, tacked up to preserve her impressions of faces -that had interested her. - -He was struck by her freedom from pretense; when he touched on -something of which she was ignorant or about which she was indifferent, -she did not scruple to say so. Her imaginative, poetical side expressed -itself with healthy candor and frequent flashes of girlish enthusiasm. -She was wholly natural, refreshingly spontaneous in speech, with no -traces of pedantry or conceit even in discussing music, in which her -training had gone beyond the usual amateur’s bounds. - -“You haven’t been to see Leila yet? She asked you to call, and if you -don’t go she’ll think it’s because of that little unpleasantness on the -river. Leila’s altogether worth while.” - -Bruce muttered something about having been very busy. He had determined -never to enter Franklin Mills’s house, and he was embarrassed by -Millicent’s intimation that Leila might take it amiss that he ignored -her invitation. - -“Leila’s a real person,” Millicent was saying. “Her great trouble is -in trying to adjust herself to a way of life that doesn’t suit her a -little bit.” - -“You mean----” he began and paused because he didn’t know at all what -she meant. - -“I mean that living in a big house and going to teas and upholding the -dignity of a prominent and wealthy family bores her to distraction. Her -chief trouble is her way of protesting against the kind of life she’s -born to. It’s screamingly funny, but Leila just hates being rich, and -she’s terribly bored at having so much expected of her as her father’s -daughter.” - -“His standard, then, is so high?” Bruce ventured, curious as to what -further she might say of her neighbor. - -“Oh, Mr. Mills is an interesting man, and he worships Leila; but -she worries and puzzles him. It isn’t just the difference between -age and youth----” She paused, conscious perhaps of the impropriety -of discussing her neighbor with a comparative stranger, but Bruce’s -gravely attentive face prompted her to go on. “He’s one of those people -we meet sometimes who don’t seem--how can one put it?--they don’t seem -quite at ease in the world.” - -“Yes,” he said slowly, “but--where all the conditions of happiness are -given--money, position, leisure to do as you please--what excuse has -anyone for not finding happiness? You’d conclude that there was some -fundamental defect----” - -“And when you reach that conclusion you’re not a bit better off!” she -interrupted. “You’re back where you started. Oh, well!” she said, -satisfied now that she had said quite enough about her neighbor and -regretting that she had mentioned him at all, “it’s too bad happiness -can’t be bought as you buy records to play on a machine and have -nothing to do but wind it up and listen. You have to do a little work -yourself.” - -“We’ve all got to play in the band--that’s the idea!” he laughed, and -to escape from the thought of Mills, asked her whether she ever played -for an ignorant heathen like himself. - -“You’re probably a stern critic,” she replied, “but I’ll take a chance. -If you don’t mind I’ll try the organ. Papa and Mamma always like me to -play some old pieces for them before they go to bed. Afterwards I’ll -do some other things.” - -In a moment she was in the balcony with the knight towering above her, -but he faded into the shadows as she turned off the lights in the -studio below. Bruce’s eyes at once became attentive to her golden head -and clearly limned profile defined by the lamp over the music rack. -She seemed suddenly infinitely remote, caught away into a world of -legendary and elusive things. The first reedy notes of the organ stole -eerily through the room as though they too were evoked from an unseen -world. - -The first things she played were a concession to her parents’ taste, -but she threw into them all the sentiment they demanded--the familiar -airs of “Annie Laurie,” “Ben Bolt,” and “Auld Lang Syne.” She played -them without flourishes, probably in deference to the preferences of -the father and mother who were somewhere listening. To these she added -old revival songs--“Beulah Land,” and “Pull for the Shore”--these also -presumably favorites of the unseen auditors. He watched her aureoled -head, the graceful movement of her arms and shoulders as she gave -herself to her task with complete absorption. She was kind to these -parents of hers; possibly it was through her music that she really -communicated with them, met them on ground of their simpler knowledge -and aspirations. - -He was conscious presently of the faint ring of a bell, followed by -the murmur of voices in the hall. Someone entered the room and sat -down quietly behind him. Millicent, who had paid no heed to him since -mounting to the organ, was just beginning the Tannhäuser overture. She -followed this with passages from Lohengrin and Parsifal and classical -liturgical music touched with a haunting mystery.... - -She came down slowly into the room as though the spell of the music -still held her. - -“I shan’t say anything--it might be the wrong word,” he said as he went -to meet her. “But it was beautiful--very beautiful!” - -“You were a good listener; I felt that,” she replied. - -He had forgotten that there had been another listener until she -smilingly waved her hand to someone behind him. - -“So I had two victims--and didn’t know it! Patient sufferers! Mr. -Mills, you and Mr. Storrs have met--I needn’t introduce you a second -time.” - -It was Franklin Mills, then, exercising a neighbor’s privilege, who had -arrived in the middle of the recital and taken a seat by the door. - -“Mr. Storrs is a perfect listener,” Mills was saying as he shook hands -with Bruce. “He didn’t budge all the time you were playing.” - -Mills’s easy, gracious manners, the intimacy implied in his chaffing -tone as he complained that she played better when she didn’t know -he was in the house, irritated Bruce. He had been enjoying himself -so keenly, the girl’s talk had so interested him and he had been so -thrilled and lifted by her music that Mills’s appearance was like a -profanation. - -They were all seated now, and Millicent spoke of a book Mills had -sent her which it happened Bruce had read, and she asked his opinion -of it before expressing her own. Very likely Mills was in the habit -of sending her books. She said that she hadn’t cared greatly for the -book--a novel that discussed the labor question. The author evidently -had no solution of his own problem and left the reader in the air as to -his purpose. - -“Maybe he only meant to arouse interest--stir people up and leave the -solution to others,” Bruce suggested. - -“That was the way I took it,” said Mills. “The fact is, nobody has any -solution short of a complete tearing down of everything. And that,” he -added with a smile and a shrug, “would be very uncomfortable.” - -“For us--yes,” Millicent replied quickly. “But a good many of our -millions would probably welcome a chance to begin over again.” - -“What with,” Mills demanded, “when everything had been smashed?” - -“Oh, they’d be sure to save something out of the wreck!” Millicent -replied. - -“Well,” Mills remarked, “I’m hoping the smash won’t come in my day. I’m -too old to go out with a club to fight for food against the mob.” - -“You want us to say that you’re _not_ too old,” laughed Millicent; “but -we’re not going to fall into that trap!” - -“But--what _is_ going to happen?” asked Bruce. - -“Other civilizations!” Mills replied, regarding the young man with an -intent look. “We’ve had a succession of them, and the world’s about -due to slip back into chaos and perhaps emerge again. It’s only the -barbarians who never change; they know they’ll be on top again if they -just wait.” - -“What an optimist you are!” cried Millicent. “But you don’t really -believe such things.” - -“Of course I do,” Mills answered with a broad smile. - -She made it necessary for Bruce to assist her in combating Mills’s -hopeless view of the future, though she bore the main burden of the -opposition herself. Mills’s manner was one of good-natured indulgence; -but Bruce was wondering whether there was not a deep vein of cynicism -in the man. Mills was clever at fencing, and some of the things he -said lightly no doubt expressed real convictions. - -Bruce was about to take his leave when Mills with assumed petulance -declared that the fire had been neglected and began poking the embers. -Carefully putting the poker and tongs back in the rack, he lounged -toward the door, paused halfway and said good-night formally, bowing -first to one and then the other. - -“Come in again sometime!” Millicent called after him. - -“Is that impudence?” Mills replied, reappearing from the hall with his -coat and hat. In a moment the door closed and they heard the sound of -his stick on the walk outside. - -“He’s always like that,” Millicent remarked after a moment of silence. -“It’s understood that he may come in when I’m playing and leave when he -pleases. Sometimes when I’m at the organ he sits for an hour without my -knowing he’s here. It made me nervous at first--just remembering that -he _might_ be here; but I got over that when I found that he really -enjoyed the playing. I’m sorry he didn’t stay longer and really talk; -he wasn’t at his best tonight.” - -Bruce made the merest murmur of assent, but something in Mills’s -quizzical, mocking tone, the very manner of his entrance into the -house, affected him disagreeably. - -He realized that he was staying too long for a first call, but he -lingered until they had regained the cheery note with which the evening -began, and said good night. - - -II - -When he reached the street Bruce decided to walk the mile that lay -between the Hardens’ and his apartment. His second meeting with -Franklin Mills had left his mind in tumult. He was again beset by an -impulse to flee from the town, but this he fought and vanquished. - -Happiness and peace were not to be won by flight. In his soldiering he -had never feared bodily injury, and at times when he had speculated -as to the existence of a soul he had decided that if he possessed -such a thing he would not suffer it to play the coward. But this -unexpected meeting at the Hardens’, which was likely to be repeated -if he continued his visits to the house, had shaken his nerve more -than he liked to believe possible. Millicent evidently admired Mills, -sympathized with him in his loneliness, was flattered perhaps by his -visits to her home in search of solace and cheer, or whatever it was -Mills sought. - -The sky was overcast and a keen autumn wind whipped the overhanging -maples as Bruce strode homeward with head bent, his hands thrust deep -into the pockets of his overcoat. He hummed and whistled phrases of the -Parsifal, with his thoughts playing about Millicent’s head as she had -sat at the organ with the knight keeping watch above her. After all, -it was through beautiful things, man-made and God-made, as his mother -had taught him, that life found its highest realizations. In this idea -there was an infinite stimulus. Millicent had found for herself this -clue to happiness and was a radiant proof of its efficacy. It had been -a privilege to see her in her own house, to enjoy contact with her -questioning, meditative mind, and to lose himself in her entrancing -music. - -The street was deserted and only a few of the houses he passed -showed lights. Bruce experienced again, as often in his night tramps -during the year of his exile, a happy sense of isolation. He was -so completely absorbed in his thoughts that he was unaware of the -propinquity of another pedestrian who was slowly approaching as though -as unheedful as he of the driving wind and the first fitful patter -of rain. They passed so close that their arms touched. Both turned, -staring blankly in the light of the street lamps, and muttered confused -apologies. - -“Oh, Storrs!” Franklin Mills exclaimed, bending his head against the -wind. - -“Sorry to have bumped into you, sir,” Bruce replied, and feeling that -nothing more was required of him, he was about to go on, but Mills said -quickly: - -“We’re in for a hard rain. Come back to my house--it’s only half a -dozen blocks--and I’ll send you home.” - -There was something of kindly peremptoriness in his tone, and Bruce, at -a loss for words with which to refuse, followed, thinking that he would -walk a block to meet the demands of courtesy and turn back. Mills, -forging ahead rapidly, complained good-naturedly of the weather. - -“I frequently prowl around at night,” he explained; “I sleep better -afterwards.” - -“I like a night walk myself,” Bruce replied. - -“Not afraid of hold-ups? I was relieved to find it was you I ran into. -My daughter says I’m bound to get sandbagged some night.” - -At the end of the first block both were obliged to battle against -the wind, which now drove the rain in furious gusts through the -intersecting streets. In grasping his hat, Mills dropped his stick, and -after picking it up, Bruce took hold of his arm for their greater ease -in keeping together. It would, he decided, be an ungenerous desertion -to leave him now, and so they arrived after much buffeting at Mills’s -door. - -“That’s a young hurricane,” said Mills as he let himself in. “When -you’ve dried out a bit I’ll send you on in my car.” - -In response to his ring a manservant appeared and carried away their -hats and overcoats to be dried. Mills at once led the way upstairs -to the library, where a fire had been kindled, probably against the -master’s return in the storm. - -“Sit close and put your feet to the blaze. I think a hot drink would be -a help.” - -Hot water and Scotch were brought and Mills laughingly assured Bruce -that he needn’t be afraid of the liquor. - -“I had it long before Prohibition. Of course, everybody has to say -that!” - -In his wildest speculations as to possible meetings with his father, -Bruce had imagined nothing like this. He was not only in Franklin -Mills’s house, but the man was graciously ministering to his comfort. -And Bruce, with every desire to resist, to refuse these courteous -offices, was meekly submitting. Mills, talking easily, with legs -stretched to the fire, sipped his drink contentedly while the storm -beat with mounting fury round the house. - -“I think my son said you had been in the army; I should say that the -experience hadn’t done you any harm,” Mills remarked in his pleasant -voice. - -“Quite the contrary, sir. The knocking about I got did me good.” - -“I envy you young fellows the experience; it was a ghastly business, -but it must mean a lot in a man’s life to have gone through it.” - -In response to a direct question Bruce stated concisely the nature of -his service. His colorless recital of the bare record brought a smile -to Mills’s face. - -“You’re like all the young fellows I’ve talked with--modest, even a -little indifferent about it. I think if I’d been over there I should do -some bragging!” - -Still bewildered to find himself at Mills’s fireside, Bruce was -wondering how soon he could leave; but Mills talked on in leisurely -fashion of the phenomenal growth of the town and the opportunities it -offered to young men. Bruce was ashamed of himself for not being more -responsive; but Mills seemed content to ramble on, though carefully -attentive to the occasional remarks Bruce roused himself to make. -Bruce, with ample opportunity, observed Mills’s ways--little tricks -of speech, the manner in which he smoked--lazily blowing rings at -intervals and watching them waver and break--an occasional quick -lifting of his well-kept hand to his forehead. - -It was after they had been together for half an hour that Bruce -noted that Mills, after meeting his gaze, would lift his eyes and -look intently at something on the wall over the bookcases--something -immediately behind Bruce and out of the range of his vision. It seemed -not to be the unseeing stare of inattention; but whatever it was, it -brought a look of deepening perplexity--almost of alarm--to Mills’s -face. Bruce began to find this upward glance disconcerting, and -evidently aware that his visitor was conscious of it, Mills got up and, -with the pretence of offering his guest another cigarette, reseated -himself in a different position. - -“I must run along,” said Bruce presently. “The storm is letting up. I -can easily foot it home.” - -“Not at all! After keeping you till midnight I’ll certainly not send -you out to get another wetting. There’s still quite a splash on the -windows.” - -He rang for the car before going downstairs, and while he was waiting -for the chauffeur to answer on the garage extension of the house -telephone, Bruce, from the fireplace, saw that it must have been a -portrait--one of a number ranged along the wall--that had invited -Mills’s gaze so frequently. It was the portrait of a young man, the -work of a painstaking if not a brilliant artist. The clean-shaven face, -the long, thick, curly brown hair, and the flowing scarf knotted under -a high turn-over collar combined in an effect of quaintness. - -There was something oddly familiar in the young man’s countenance. -In the few seconds that Mills’s back was turned Bruce found himself -studying it, wondering what there was about it that teased his -memory--what other brow and eyes and clean-cut, firm mouth he had ever -seen were like those of the young man who was looking down at him from -Franklin Mills’s wall. And then it dawned upon him that the face was -like his own--might, indeed, with a different arrangement of the hair, -a softening of certain lines, pass for a portrait of himself. - -Mills, turning from the telephone, remarked that the car was on the way. - -“Ah!” he added quickly, seeing Bruce’s attention fixed on the portrait, -“my father, at about thirty-five. There’s nothing of me there; I take -after my mother’s side of the house. Father was taller than I and -his features were cleaner cut. He died twenty years ago. I’ve always -thought him a fine American type. Those other----” - -Bruce lent polite attention to Mills’s comments on the other portraits, -one representing his maternal grandfather and another a great-uncle -who had been killed in the Civil War. When they reached the lower -floor Mills opened the door of a reception room and turned on the frame -lights about a full-length portrait of a lady in evening dress. - -“That is Mrs. Mills,” he said, “and an excellent likeness.” - -He spoke in sophisticated terms of American portraiture as they went -to the hall where the servant was waiting with Bruce’s hat and coat. A -limousine was in the porte-cochère, and Mills stood on the steps until -Bruce got in. - -“I thank you very much, Mr. Mills,” Bruce said, taking the hand Mills -extended. - -“Oh, I owe you the thanks! I hope to see you again very soon!” - -Mills on his way to his room found himself clinging to the stair rail. -When he had closed the door he drew his hand slowly across his eyes. He -had spoken with Marian Storrs’s son and the young man by an irony of -nature had the countenance, the high-bred air of Franklin Mills III. It -was astounding, this skipping for a generation of a type! It seemed to -Mills, after he had turned off the lights, that his father’s eyes--the -eyes of young Storrs--were still fixed upon him with a disconcerting -gravity. - - - - -CHAPTER SEVEN - - -I - -In the fortnight following his encounter with Mills at the Hardens’, -and the later meeting that same night in the storm, Bruce had thrown -himself with fierce determination into his work. There must be no -repetitions of such meetings; they added to his self-consciousness, -made him ill at ease even when walking the streets in which at a turn -of any corner he might run into Mills. - -He had never known that he had a nerve in his body, but now he was -aware of disturbing sensations, inability to concentrate on his work, -even a tremor of the hands as he bent over his drawing-board. His -abrupt change from the open road to an office in some measure accounted -for this and he began going to a public golf links on Saturday -afternoons and Sundays, and against the coming of winter he had his -name proposed for membership in an athletic club. - -He avoided going anywhere that might bring him again in contact with -the man he believed to be his father. Shepherd Mills he ran into at -the University Club now and then, and he was not a little ashamed of -himself for repelling the young man’s friendly overtures. Shepherd, -evidently feeling that he must in some way explain his silence about -the clubhouse, for which Bruce had made tentative sketches, spoke of -the scheme one day as a matter he was obliged to defer for the present. - -“It’s a little late in the season to begin; and father’s doubtful about -it--thinks it might cause feeling among the men in other concerns. I -hadn’t thought of that aspect of the matter----” - -Shepherd paused and frowned as he waited for Bruce to offer some -comment on the abandonment of the project. It was none of Bruce’s -affair, but he surmised that the young man had been keenly disappointed -by his father’s refusal. - -“Oh, well, it doesn’t matter!” Bruce remarked as though it were merely -a professional matter of no great importance. But as he left Shepherd -he thought intently about the relations of the father and son. They -were utterly irreconcilable natures. Having met Franklin Mills, sat at -his fireside, noted with full understanding the man’s enjoyment of ease -and luxury, it was not difficult to understand his lack of sympathy -with Shepherd’s radical tendencies. Piecing together what he had heard -about Mills from Henderson and Millicent Harden with his own estimate, -Bruce was confident that whatever else Franklin Mills might be he was -no altruist. - -After he left Shepherd Bruce was sorry that he had been so brusque. He -might at least have expressed his sympathy with the young man’s wish -to do something to promote the happiness of his workmen. The vitality -so evident in Franklin Mills’s vigorous figure, and his perfect poise, -made Shepherd appear almost ridiculous in contrast. - -Bruce noted that the other young men about the club did not treat -Shepherd quite as one of themselves. When Shepherd sat at the big -round table in the grill he would listen to the ironic give and take of -the others with a pathetic eagerness to share in their good fellowship, -but unable to make himself quite one of them. This might have been -due, Bruce thought, to the anxiety of Shepherd’s contemporaries--young -fellows he had grown up with--to show their indifference to the fact -that he was the son of the richest man in town. Or they felt, perhaps, -that Shepherd was not equal to his opportunities. Clearly, however, no -one ever had occasion to refer to Shepherd Mills as the typical young -scion of a wealthy family whose evil ways were bound to land him in the -poorhouse or the gutter. - -In other circumstances Bruce would have felt moved to make a friend of -Shepherd, but the fact that they were of the same blood haunted him -like a nightmare. - - -II - -As the days went by, Bruce fell prey to a mood common to sensitive men -in which he craved talk with a woman--a woman of understanding. It was -Saturday and the office closed at noon. He would ask Millicent to share -his freedom in a drive into the country; and without giving himself -time to debate the matter, he made haste to call her on the telephone. - -Her voice responded cheerily. Leila had just broken an engagement with -her for golf and wouldn’t he play? When he explained that he wasn’t a -member of a club and the best he could do for her would be to take her -to a public course, she declared that he must be her guest. The point -was too trivial for discussion; the sooner they started the better, -and so two o’clock found them both with a good initial drive on the -Faraway course. - -“Long drives mean long talks,” she said. “We begin at least with the -respect of our caddies. You’ll never guess what I was doing when you -called up!” - -“At the organ, or in the studio putting a nose on somebody?” - -“Wrong! I was planting tulip bulbs. This was a day when I couldn’t have -played a note or touched clay to save my life. Ever have such fits?” - -“I certainly do,” replied Bruce. - -Each time he saw her she was a little different--today he was finding -her different indeed from the girl who had played for him, and yet not -the girl of his adventure on the river or the Millicent he had met at -the Country Club party. There was a charm in her variableness, perhaps -because of her habitual sincerity and instinctive kindness. He waited -for her to putt and rolled his own ball into the cup. - -“Sometimes I see things black; and then again there _does_ appear to be -blue sky,” he said. - -“Yes; but that’s not a serious symptom. If we didn’t have those little -mental experiences we wouldn’t be interesting to ourselves!” - -“Great Scott! _Must_ we be interesting to ourselves?” - -“Absolutely!” - -“But when I’m down in the mouth I don’t care whether I’m interesting or -not!” - -“Nothing in it! Life’s full of things to do--you know that! I believe -you’re just trying to psychoanalyze me!” - -“I swear I’m not! I was in the depths this morning; that’s why I called -you up!” - -“Now----” She carefully measured a short approach and played it neatly. -“Oh, you didn’t want to see me socially, so to speak; you just wanted -someone to tell your troubles to! Is that a back-handed compliment?” - -“Rather a confession--do you hate it?” - -“No--I rather like that.” - -With an artistic eye she watched him drive a long low ball with his -brassie. His tall figure, the free play of arms and shoulders, his -boyish smile when she praised the shot, contributed to a new impression -of him. He appeared younger than the night he called on her, when she -had thought him diffident, old-fashioned and stiffly formal. - -As they walked over the turf with a misty drizzle wetting their faces -fitfully it seemed to both that their acquaintance had just begun. When -he asked if she didn’t want to quit she protested that she was dressed -for any weather. It was unnecessary to accommodate himself to her in -any way; she walked as rapidly as he; when she sliced her ball into -the rough she bade him not follow her, and when she had gotten into -the course again she ran to join him, as though eager not to break the -thread of their talk. The thing she was doing at a given moment was, he -judged, the one thing in the world that interested her. The wind rose -presently and blew the mist away and there was promise of a clearing -sky. - -“You’ve brought the sun back!” he exclaimed. “Something told me you had -influence with the weather.” - -“I haven’t invoked any of my gods today; so it’s just happened.” - -“Your gods! You speak as though you had a list!” - -“Good gracious! You promised me once not to pick me up and make me -explain myself.” - -“Then I apologize. I can see that it isn’t fair to make a goddess -explain her own divinity.” - -“Oh-o-o-o,” she mocked him. “You get zero for that!” - -She was walking along with her hands thrust into the pockets of her -sweater, the brim of her small sport hat turned up above her face. - -“But seriously,” she went on, “out of doors is the best place to think -of God. The churches make religion seem so complicated. We can’t -believe in a God we can’t imagine. Where there’s sky and grass it’s -all so much simpler. The only God I can feel is a spirit hovering all -about, watching and loving us--the God of the Blue Horizons. I can’t -think of Him as a being whose name must be whispered as children -whisper of terrifying things in the dark.” - -“The God of the Blue Horizons?” He repeated the phrase slowly. “Yes; -the world has had its day of fear--anything that lifts our eyes to the -blue sky is good--really gives us, I suppose, a sense of the reality of -God....” - -They had encountered few other players, but a foursome was now -approaching them where the lines of the course paralleled. - -“Constance Mills and George Whitford; I don’t know the others,” said -Millicent. - -Mrs. Mills waved her hand and started toward them, looking very fit in -a smart sport suit. Idly twirling her driver, she had hardly the air of -a zealous golfer. - -“Ah!” she exclaimed. “Aren’t we the brave ones? Scotch blood! Not -afraid of a little moisture. Mr. Storrs! I know now why you’ve never -been to see me--you’re better occupied. It’s dreadful to be an old -married woman. You see what happens, Millicent! I warn you solemnly -against marriage. Yes, George--I’m coming. Nice to meet you, even by -chance, Mr. Storrs. By-by, Millie.” - -“You’ve displeased her ladyship,” Millicent remarked. “You ought to go -to see her.” - -“I haven’t felt strongly moved,” Bruce replied. - -“She doesn’t like being ignored. Of course nobody does, but Mrs. Mills -demands to be amused.” - -“Is she being amused now?” Bruce asked. - -“I wish Leila could have heard that!” - -“Doesn’t Leila like her sister-in-law?” - -“Yes, of course she does, but Constance is called the most beautiful -and the best dressed woman in town and the admiration she gets -goes to her head a little bit. George Whitford seems to admire her -tremendously. Leila has a sense of humor that sees right through -Constance’s poses.” - -“Doesn’t Leila pose just a little herself?” - -“You might say that she does. Just now she’s affecting the fast young -person pose; but I think she’s about through with it. She’s really the -finest girl alive, but she kids herself with the idea that she’s an -awful devil. Her whole crowd are affected by the same bug.” - -“I rather guessed that,” said Bruce. “Let me see--was that five for -you?” - - -III - -When they reached the clubhouse Millicent proposed that they go home -for the tea which alone could fittingly conclude the afternoon. The -moment they entered the Harden hall she lifted her arms dramatically. - -“Jumbles!” she cried in a mockery of delight. “Mother has been making -jumbles! Come straight to the kitchen!” - -In the kitchen they found Mrs. Harden, her ample figure enveloped -in a gingham apron of bright yellow checks that seemed to fill the -immaculate white kitchen with color. Bruce was a little dismayed by his -sudden precipitation into the culinary department of the establishment. -Millicent began piling a plate with warm jumbles; a maid appeared and -began getting the tea things ready. Mrs. Harden, her face aglow from -its recent proximity to the gas range, explained to Bruce that it was -the cook’s afternoon out and at such times she always liked to cook -something just to keep her hand in. She was proud of the kitchen with -its white-tiled walls and flooring and glittering utensils. The library -and the organ belonged to Millie, she said, but Doctor Harden had given -her free swing to satisfy her own craving for an up-to-date kitchen. - -Bruce’s heart warmed under these revelations of the domestic sanctuary. -Mrs. Harden’s motherliness seemed to embrace the world and her humor -and sturdy common sense were strongly evident. She regaled Bruce with a -story of a combat she had lately enjoyed with a plumber. She warned him -that if he would succeed as an architect he must be firm with plumbers. - -Alone in the living-room with their tea, Millicent and Bruce continued -to find much to discuss. She was gay and serious by turns, made him -talk of himself, and finding that this evidently was distasteful to -him, she led the way back to impersonal things again. - -“Why go when there will be dinner here pretty soon?” she asked when he -rose. - -“Because I want to come back sometime! I want some more jumbles! -It’s been a great afternoon for me. I do like the atmosphere of this -house--kitchen and everything. And the outdoors was fine--and you----” - -“I hoped you’d remember I was part of the scenery!” - -“I couldn’t forget it if I wanted to--and I don’t! Do you suppose we -could do it all over again--sometime when you’re not terribly busy?” - -“Oh, I’ll try to bear another afternoon with you!” - -“Or we might do a theater or a movie?” - -“Even that is possible.” - -He didn’t know that she was exerting herself to send him away cheerful. -When he said soberly, his hand on the door, “You don’t know how much -you’ve helped me,” she held up her finger warningly. - -“Not so serious! Always cheerful!--that’s the watchword!” - -“All right! You may have to say that pretty often.” - -Her light laugh, charged with friendliness, followed him down the -steps. She had made him forget himself, lifted him several times to -heights he had never known before. He was sorry that he had not asked -her further about the faith to which she had confessed, her God of -the Blue Horizons. The young women he had known were not given to -such utterances,--certainly not while playing very creditable golf! -Her phrase added majesty to the universe, made the invisible God -intelligible and credible. He felt that he could never again look -at the heavens without recalling that phrase of hers. It wakened in -him the sense of a need that he had never known before. It was as if -she had interpreted some baffling passage in a mysterious book and -clarified it. He must see her again; yes, very often he must see her. - -But on his way home a dark thought crossed his mind: “_What would -Millicent say if she knew?_” - - - - -CHAPTER EIGHT - - -I - -Two weeks later Bud Henderson sought Bruce at Freeman’s office. Bruce -looked up from his desk with a frown that cleared as he recognized his -friend. With his cap pushed back on his head and buttoned up in a long -ulster, Henderson eyed him stolidly and demanded to know what he was -doing. - -“Going over some specifications; I might say I’m at work, if you knew -what the word means.” - -“Thanks for the compliment, but it’s time to quit,” Henderson replied, -taking a cigarette from a package on Bruce’s desk. “I happen to know -your boss is playing handball this moment at the Athletic and he’ll -never know you’ve skipped. I haven’t liked a certain look in your eye -lately. You’re sticking too close to your job. Bill is pleased to death -with your work, so you haven’t a thing to worry about. Get your bonnet -and we’ll go out and see what we can stir up.” - -“I’m in a frame of mind to be tempted. But I ought to finish this -stuff.” - -“Don’t be silly,” replied Bud, who was prowling about the room viewing -the framed plans and drawings on the walls, peering into cabinets, -unrolling blue prints merely to fling them aside with a groan of -disgust. - -“My God! It doesn’t seem possible that Bill Freeman would put his name -to such things!” - -“Don’t forget this is a _private_ office, Mr. Henderson. What’s -agitating your bean?” - -“Thought I’d run you up to the art institute to look at some Finnish -work they’re showing. Perhaps it’s Hottentotish; or maybe it’s Eskimo -art. We’ve got to keep in touch with the world art movement.” Henderson -yawned. - -“Try again; I pant for real excitement,” said Bruce, who was wondering -whether his friend really had noticed signs of his recent worry. -Henderson, apparently intent upon a volume of prints of English country -houses, swung round as Bruce, in putting on his overcoat, knocked -over a chair. He crossed the room and laid his hands on Bruce’s broad -shoulders. - -“I say, old top; this will never do! You’re nervous; you’re damned -nervous. Knocking over chairs--and you with the finest body known in -modern times! I watched you the other day eating your lunch all alone -at the club--you didn’t know I was looking at you. Your expression -couldn’t be accounted for even by that bum club lunch. Now if it’s -money----” - -“Nothing of the kind, Bud!” Bruce protested. “You’ll have me scared in -a minute. There’s nothing the matter with me. I’m all right; I just -have to get readjusted to a new way of living; that’s all.” - -“Well, as you don’t thrill to the idea of viewing works of art, I’ll -tell you what I’m really here for. I’m luring you away to sip tea with -a widow!” - -“A widow! Where do you get the idea that I’m a consoler of widows?” - -“This one doesn’t need consoling! Helen Torrence is the name; relict -of the late James B. deceased. She’s been away ever since you lit in -our midst and just got home. About our age and not painful to look -at. Jim Torrence was a good fifty when he met her, at White Sulphur -or some such seat of opulence, and proudly brought her home for local -inspection. The gossips forcibly removed most of her moral character, -just on suspicion, you understand--but James B.’s money had a soothing -effect and she got one foot inside our social door before he passed -hence three years ago and left her the boodle he got from his first -wife. Helen’s a good scout. It struck me all of a heap about an hour -ago that she’s just the girl to cheer you up. I was just kidding about -the art stuff. I telephoned Helen I was coming, so we’re all set.” - -“Ah! I see through the whole game! You’re flirting with the woman and -want me for a blind in case Maybelle finds you out.” - -“Clever! The boy’s clever! But--listen--I never try to put anything -over on Maybelle. A grand jury hasn’t an all-seeinger eye than Mrs. Bud -Henderson. Let’s beat it!” - -On the drive uptown Henderson devoted himself with his usual -thoroughness to a recital of the history of Mrs. Torrence. The lady’s -social status lay somewhere between the old and the new element, Bud -explained. The president of the trust company that administered her -affairs belonged to the old crowd--the paralytic or angina pectoris -group, as Bud described it, and his wife and daughters just _had_ to -be nice to Torrence’s wife or run a chance of offending her and losing -control of the estate. On the other hand her natural gaiety threw her -toward the camps of the newer element who were too busy having a good -time to indulge in ancestor worship. - -Henderson concluded his illuminative exposition of Mrs. Torrence’s life -history as they reached the house. They were admitted by a colored -butler who took their coats and flung open a door that revealed a -spacious living-room. - -“Helen!” exclaimed Henderson dramatically. - -It was possible that Mrs. Torrence had prepared for their entrance -by posing in the middle of the room with a view to a first effect, -an effect to which her quick little step as she came forward to meet -them contributed. Her blue tea gown, parted a little above the ankles, -invited inspection of her remarkably small feet adorned with brilliant -buckles. She was short with a figure rounded to plumpness and with -fluffy brown hair, caught up high as though to create an illusion as to -her stature. Her complexion was a clear brilliant pink; her alert small -eyes were a greenish blue. Her odd little staccato walk was in keeping -with her general air of vivacity. She was all alive, amusingly abrupt, -spontaneous, decisive. - -“Hello! Bud, the old reliable! Mr. Storrs! Yes; I _had_ been hoping for -this!” - -She gave a hand to each and looked up at Bruce, who towered above her, -and nodded as though approving of him. - -“This is delightful! A new man! Marvelous!” - -As she explained that she had been away since June and was only just -home, Bruce became aware that Henderson had passed on and was standing -by a tea table indulging in his usual style of raillery with a young -woman whose voice even before he looked at her identified her as -Constance Mills. - -“You know Mrs. Mills? Of course! If you’d only arrived this morning -you’d know Connie. Not to know Connie is indeed to be unknown.” - -Constance extended her hand from the divan on which she was seated -behind the tea table--thrust it out lazily with a minimum of effort. - -“Oh--the difficult Mr. Storrs! I’m terribly mortified to be meeting you -in a friend’s house and not in my own!” - -“To meet you anywhere----” began Bruce, but she interrupted him, -holding him with her eyes. - -“----would be a pleasure! Of course! I know the formula, but I’m not a -debutante. You didn’t like me that night we met at Dale Freeman’s, and -I was foolish enough to think I’d made an impression!” - -“Let’s tell him the truth,” said Henderson, helping himself to a slice -of cinnamon toast. “Bruce, I bet a hundred cigarettes with Connie I -could deliver you here and I win!” - -“Not a word of truth in that!” declared Constance. “Bud’s such a liar!” - -Mrs. Torrence said they must have tea, and Henderson protested that tea -was not to be thought of. Tea, he declared, was extremely distasteful -to him; and Bruce always became ill at the sight of it. - -“But when I told Connie you were bringing Mr. Storrs she said he was -terribly proper and for me not to dare mention cocktails.” - -“Now, Helen, I didn’t say just that! What I meant, of course, was that -I hoped that Mr. Storrs wasn’t too proper,” said Constance. - -“Proper!” Bruce caught her up. “This is an enemy’s work. Bud, I suspect -you of this dastardly assault on my character!” - -“Not guilty!” Bud retorted. “The main thing right now is that we’re all -peevish and need martinis. What’s the Volstead signal, Helen?” - -“Three rings, Bud, with a pause between the first and second.” - -The tea tray was removed and reappeared adorned with all the essentials -for the concoction of cocktails. When the glasses were filled and all -had expressed their satisfaction at the result, Henderson detained -the negro butler for a conference on dice throwing. He seated himself -on the floor the better to receive the man’s instructions. The others -taunted him for his inaptitude. The butler retired finally with five -dollars of Bud’s money, a result attained only after the spectators -were limp with laughter. - -“You’re a scream, Bud! A perfect scream!” and Mrs. Torrence refilled -the glasses. - -She took Bud to the dining-room to exhibit a rare Japanese screen -acquired in her travels, and Bruce found himself alone with Constance. -She pointed to her glass, still brimming, and remarked: - -“Please admire my abstemiousness! One is my limit.” - -“Let me see; did I really have three?” asked Bruce as he sat down -beside her. - -“I want to forget everything this afternoon,” she began. “I feel that -I’d like to climb the hills of the unattainable, be someone else for a -while.” - -“Oh, we all have those spells,” he replied. “That’s why Prohibition’s a -failure.” - -“But life is a bore at times,” she insisted. “Maybe you’re one of the -lucky ones who never go clear down. A man has his work--there’s always -that----” - -“Hasn’t woman got herself everything--politics, business, philanthropy? -You don’t mean to tell me the new woman is already pining for her old -slavery! I supposed you led a complete and satisfactory existence!” - -“A pretty delusion! I just pretend, that’s all. There are days when -nothing seems of the slightest use. I thought there might be something -in politics, but after I’d gone to a few meetings and served on a -committee or two it didn’t amuse me any more. I played at being a -radical for a while, but after you’ve scared all your friends a few -times with your violence it ceases to be funny. The only real joy I got -out of flirting with socialism was in annoying my father-in-law. And I -had to give that up for fear he’d think I was infecting Shep with my -ideas.” - - -II - -A tinge of malice was perceptible in her last words, but she smiled -instantly to relieve the embarrassment she detected in his face. He -was not sure just how she wanted him to take her. The unhappiness she -had spoken of he assumed to be only a pose with her--something to -experiment with upon men she met on gray afternoons in comfortable -houses over tea and cocktails. Mrs. Shepherd Mills might be amusing, or -she might easily become a bore. The night he met her at the Freemans’ -he had thought her probably guileless under her mask of sophistication. -She was proving more interesting than he had imagined, less obvious; -perhaps with an element of daring in her blood that might one day get -the better of her. She was quite as handsome as he remembered her from -the meeting at the Freemans’ and she indubitably had mastered the art -of dressing herself becomingly. - -He was watching the play of the shadow of her picture hat on her face, -seeking clues to her mood, vexed that he had permitted himself to be -brought into her company, when she said: - -“I’m not amusing you! Please forgive me. I can’t help it if I’m a -little _triste_. Some little devilish imp is dancing through my silly -head. If I took a second glass----” - -Bruce answered her look of inquiry with a shake of the head. - -“Are you asking my advice? I positively refuse to give it; but if you -command me, of course----” - -He rose, took the glass, and held it high for her inspection. - -“The man tempts me----” she said pensively. - -“The man doesn’t tempt you. We’ll say it’s the little imp. Mrs. Mills, -do you want this cocktail or do you not?” - -“It might cheer me up a little. I don’t want you to think me stupid; I -know I’m terribly dull!” - -She drank half the cocktail and bade him finish it. - -“Oh, certainly!” he replied and drained the glass. “Now, under the -additional stimulus, we can proceed with the discussion. What were we -talking about, anyhow?” - -“It doesn’t matter. Life offers plenty of problems. How many people do -you really think are happy--really happy? Now Bud’s always cheerful; he -and Maybelle are happy--remarkably so, I think. Helen Torrence--well, I -hesitate to say whether she’s really happy or not; she always appears -gay, just as you see her today; and it’s something to be able to give -the impression, whether it’s false or not.” - -“Yes; it’s well to make a front,” Bruce replied, determined to keep a -frivolous tone with her. “The Freemans enjoy themselves; they’re quite -ideally mated, I’d say.” - -“Yes, they’re making a success of their lives. Dale and Bill are always -cheerful. Now there’s dear old Shep----” - -“Well, of course he’s happy. How could he be otherwise?” - -“You’re not taking me seriously at all! I’m disappointed. I was -terribly blue today; that’s why I plotted with Bud to get you here--I -shamelessly confess that I want to know you better.” - -“Come now! You’re just kidding!” - -“You’re incorrigible. I’m that rarest of beings--a frank woman. You -refuse to come to my house, presumably because you don’t like me, so I -have to trap you here.” - -“How you misjudge me! I haven’t been around because I’ve been busy; I -belong to the toiling masses!” - -“You have time for Miss Harden; you two seemed ever so chummy on -the golf course. Of course, I can’t compete with Millie--she’s so -beautiful and so artistic--so many accomplishments. But you ought to be -considerate of a poor thing like me. I’m only sorry I have so little to -offer. I really thought you would be a nice playmate; but----” - -“A playmate? Aren’t we playing now?--at least you are playing with me!” - -“Am I?” she asked. - -She bent toward him with a slight, an almost imperceptible movement -of her shoulders, and her lips parted tremulously in a wistful smile -of many connotations. She was not without her charms; she was a very -pretty woman; and there was nothing vulgar in her manner of exercising -her charms. Bruce touched her hand, gently clasped it--a slender, cool -hand. She made no attempt to release it; and it lay lingering and -acquiescent in his clasp. He raised it and kissed the finger tips. - -“You really understand me; I knew you would,” she murmured. “It’s -terrible to be lonely. And you are so big and strong; you can help me -if you will----” - -“I have no right to help you,” he said. “It’s part of the game in this -funny world that we’ve got to help ourselves.” - -“But if you knew I needed you----” - -“Ah, but you don’t!” he replied. - -Bud tiptoed in with a tray containing highball materials and placed -it on the tea table. He urged them in eloquent pantomime to drink -themselves to death and tiptoed out again. Bruce, wondering if he dared -leave, hoped the interruption would serve to change the current of his -talk with Constance, when she said: - -“Shep speaks of you often; he likes you and really Shep’s ever so -interesting.” - -“Yes,” Bruce answered, “he has ideas and ideals--really thinks about -things in a fine way.” - -He did not care to discuss Shepherd Mills with Shepherd’s wife, even -when, presumably, she was merely making talk to create an atmosphere of -intimacy. - -“Shep isn’t a cut-up,” she went on, “and he doesn’t know how to be a -good fellow with men of his own age. And he’s so shy he’s afraid of the -older men. And his father--you’ve met Mr. Mills? Well, Shep doesn’t -seem able to get close to his father.” - -“That happens, of course, between fathers and sons,” Bruce replied. -“Mr. Mills----” - -He paused, took a cigarette from his case and put it back. He was by -turns perplexed, annoyed, angry and afraid--afraid that he might in -some way betray himself. - -“Mr. Mills is a curious person,” Constance went on. “He seems to me -like a man who lives alone in a formal garden with high walls on four -sides and has learned to ignore the roar of the world outside--a -prisoner who carries the key of his prison-house but can’t find the -lock!” - -Bruce bent his head toward her, intent upon her words. He hadn’t -thought her capable of anything so imaginative. Some reply was -necessary; he would make another effort to get rid of a subject that -both repelled and fascinated him. - -“I suppose we’re all born free; if we find ourselves shut in it’s -because we’ve built the walls ourselves.” - -“How about my prison-house?” she asked. “Do you suppose I can ever -escape?” - -“Why should you? Don’t you like your garden?” - -“Not always; no! It’s a little stifling sometimes!” - -“Then push the walls back a little! It’s a good sign, isn’t it, when we -begin to feel cramped?” - -“You’re doing a lot better! I begin to feel more hopeful about you. You -really could be a great consolation to me if--if you weren’t so busy!” - -“I really did appreciate your invitation. I’ll be around very soon.” - -After all, he decided, she was only flirting with him; her confidences -were only a means of awakening his interest, stirring his sympathy. -She had probably never loved Shepherd, but she respected his -high-mindedness and really wanted to help him. The depression to which -she confessed was only the common ennui of her class and type; she -needed occupation, doubtless children would solve her problem to some -extent. Her life ran too smooth a course, and life was not meant to be -like that.... - -He was impatient to leave, but Mrs. Torrence and Henderson had started -a phonograph and were dancing in the hall. Constance seemed unmindful -of the noise they were making. - -“Shall we join in that romp?” asked Bruce. - -“Thanks, no--if you don’t mind! I suppose it’s really time to run -along. May I fix a drink for you? It’s too bad to go away and leave all -that whisky!” - -The music stopped in the midst of a jazzy saxophone wail and Mrs. -Torrence and Henderson were heard noisily greeting several persons who -had just come in. - -“It’s Leila,” said Constance, rising and glancing at the clock. “She -has no business being here at this time of day.” - -“Hello, Connie! Got a beau?” - -Leila peered into the room, struck her hands together and called over -her shoulder: - -“Come in, lads! See what’s here! Red liquor as I live and breathe! Oh, -Mr. What’s-your-name----” - -“Mr. Storrs,” Constance supplied. - -“Oh, of course! Mr. Storrs--Mr. Thomas and Mr. Whitford!” - -Bruce had heard much of Whitford at the University Club, where he was -one of the most popular members. He had won fame as an athlete in -college and was a polo player of repute. A cosmopolitan by nature, -he had traveled extensively and in the Great War had won honorable -distinction. Having inherited money he was able to follow his own bent. -It was whispered that he entertained literary ambitions. He was one -of the chief luminaries of the Dramatic Club, coached the players and -had produced several one-act plays of his own that had the flavor of -reality. He was of medium height and looked the soldier and athlete. -Women had done much to spoil him, but in spite of his preoccupation -with society, men continued to like George, who was a thoroughly good -fellow and a clean sportsman. - -Whitford entered at once into a colloquy with Constance. Thomas, having -expressed his pleasure at meeting Bruce, was explaining to Mrs. -Torrence how he and Whitford had met Leila downtown. - -“Liar!” exclaimed Leila, who was pouring herself a drink. “You did -nothing of the kind. We met at the Burtons’ and Nellie gave us a little -drink--just a tweeney, stingy little drink.” - -The drink she held up for purposes of illustration was not -infinitesimal. Mrs. Torrence said that everyone must have a highball -and proceeded to prepare a drink for Thomas and Whitford. - -“You and Connie are certainly the solemn owls,” she remarked to Bruce. -“Anyone would have thought you were holding a funeral in here. Say -when, Fred. This is real Bourbon that Jim had for years. You’ll never -see anything like it.” - -“Bruce,” cried Henderson, “has Connie filled you with gloom? She gets -that way sometimes, but it doesn’t mean anything. A little of this -stuff will set you up. This bird, Storrs, always did have glass legs,” -he explained to Thomas; “he can drink gallons and be ready to converse -with bishops. Never saw such a capacity! If I get a few more Maybelle -will certainly hand it to me when I get home.” - -Constance walked round the table to Leila, who had drunk a glass of the -Bourbon to sample it and, satisfied of its quality, was now preparing a -highball. - -“No more, Leila!” said Constance, in a low tone. The girl drew back -defiantly. - -“Go away, Connie! I need just one more.” - -“You had more than you needed at the Burtons’. Please, Leila, be -sensible. Helen, send the tray away.” - -“Leila’s all right!” said Thomas, but at a sign from Mrs. Torrence he -picked up the tray and carried it out. - -“I don’t think it pretty to treat me as though I were shot when I’m -not,” said Leila petulantly. She walked to the end of the room and sat -down with the injured air of a rebellious child. - -“Leila, do you know what time it is?” demanded Constance. “Your -father’s having a dinner and you’ve got to be there.” - -“I’m going to be there! There’s loads of time. Everybody sit down and -be comfortable!” Leila composedly sipped her glass as though to set an -example to the others. Thomas had come back and Constance said a few -words to him in a low tone. - -“Oh, shucks! I know what you’re saying. Connie’s telling you to take me -home,” said Leila. She turned her wrist to look at her watch--frowned -in the effort of focusing upon it and added with a shrug: “There’s all -the time in the world. If you people think you can scare me you’ve -got another guess coming. It’s just ten minutes of six; dinner’s at -seven-thirty! I’ve got to rest a little. You all look so ridiculous -standing there glaring at me. I’m no white mouse with pink eyes!” - -“Really, dear,” said Mrs. Torrence coaxingly, walking toward Leila with -her hands outstretched much as though she were trying to make friends -with a reluctant puppy. “Do run along home like a good girl!” - -Leila apparently had no intention of running along home like a good -little girl. She dropped her glass--empty--and without warning caught -the astounded lady tightly about the neck. - -“Step-mother! Dear, nice step-mamma!” she cried. “Nice, dear, sweet, -kind step-mamma! Helen’s going to be awful good to poor little Leila. -Helen not be bad step-mamma like story books; Helen be sweet, kind -step-mamma and put nice, beautiful gin cocktails in baby’s bottle!” - -As she continued in cooing tones Leila stroked her captive’s cheek -and kissed her with a mockery of tenderness. Henderson and Thomas were -shouting with laughter; Constance viewed the scene with lofty disdain; -Whitford was mildly amused; Bruce, wishing himself somewhere else, -withdrew toward the door, prepared to leave at the earliest possible -moment. When at last Mrs. Torrence freed herself she sank into a chair -and her laughter attained a new pitch of shrillness. - -“Leila, you’ll be the death of me!” she gasped when her mirth had spent -itself. - -“Leila will be the death of all of us,” announced Constance solemnly. - -“Oh, I don’t know!” said Leila, straightening her hat composedly at the -mantel mirror. - -“Too bad Leila’s ‘step-mama’ couldn’t have heard that!” sighed -Henderson. - -“Now, Leila,” said Constance severely, “do run along home. Please let -me take you in my car; you oughtn’t to drive in the condition you’re -in.” - -The remark was not fortunate. Leila had discovered a box of bonbons -and was amusing herself by tossing them into the air and trying to -catch them in her mouth. She scored one success in three attempts and -curtsied to an imaginary audience. - -“My condition!” she said, with fine scorn. “I wish you wouldn’t speak -as though I were a common drunk!” - -“Anyone can see that you’re not fit to go home. Your father will be -furious.” - -“Not if I tell him I’ve been with you!” Leila flung back. - -“Say, Leila!” began Henderson, ingratiatingly. “We’re old pals, you and -I--let’s shake this bunch. I’ll do something nice for you sometime.” - -“What will you do?” Leila demanded with provoking deliberation. - -“Oh, something mighty nice! Maybelle and I will give you a party and -you can name the guests.” - -“Stupid!” she yawned. “Your hair’s mussed, Helen. You and Bud have been -naughty.” - -“Your behavior isn’t ladylike,” said Thomas. “The party’s getting -rough! Come on, let’s go.” - -“Oh, I’m misbehaving, am I? Well, I guess my conduct’s as good as -yours! Where do you get this stuff that I’m a lost lamb? Even an -expert like you, Freddy, wouldn’t call me soused. I’m just little bit -tipsy--that’s all! If I had a couple more highballs----” - - -III - -By a signal passed from one to the other they began feigning to ignore -her. Constance said she was going; Bud, Whitford and Thomas joined -Bruce at the door where he was saying good-night to Mrs. Torrence. -Leila was not so tipsy but that she understood what they were doing. - -“Think you can freeze me out, do you? Well, I’m not so easily friz! Mr. -What’s-your-name----” She fixed her eyes upon Bruce detainingly. - -“Storrs,” Bruce supplied good-naturedly. - -“You’re the only lady or gentleman in this room. I’m going to ask you -to take me home!” - -“Certainly, Miss Mills!” - -With a queenly air she took his arm. Henderson ran forward and opened -the door, the others hanging back, silent, afraid to risk a word that -might reopen the discussion and delay her departure. - -“Shall I drive?” Bruce asked when they reached the curb. - -“Yes, thanks; if you don’t mind.” - -“Home?” he inquired as he got her car under way. - -“I was just doing a little thinking,” she said deliberatingly. “It will -take only five minutes to run over to that little cafeteria on Fortieth -Street. Some coffee wouldn’t be a bad thing; and would you mind turning -the windshield--I’d like the air.” - -“A good idea,” said Bruce, and stepped on the gas. The car had been -built for Leila’s special use and he had with difficulty squeezed -himself into the driver’s seat; but he quickly caught the hang of it. -He stopped a little beyond the cafeteria to avoid the lights of the -busy corner and brought out a container of hot coffee and paper cups. - -“Like a picnic, isn’t it?” she said. “You won’t join me?” - -She sipped the coffee slowly while he stood in the street beside her. - -“There!” she said. “Thank you, ever so much. Quarter of seven? -Forty-five minutes to dress! Just shoot right along home now. Would -you mind driving over to the boulevard and going in that way? The air -certainly feels good.” - -“Nothing would please me more,” he said, giving her a quick inspection -as they passed under the lights at a cross-street. She was staring -straight ahead, looking singularly young as she lay back with her hands -clasped in her lap. - -“Constance was furious!” she said suddenly. “Well, I suppose she had a -right to be. I had no business getting lit.” - -“Well, strictly speaking, you shouldn’t do it,” he said. It was not the -time nor place and he was not the proper person to lecture her upon -her delinquencies. But he had not been displeased that she chose him to -take her home, even though the choice was only a whim. - -“You must think me horrid! This is the second time you’ve seen me teed -up too high.” - -“I’ve seen a lot of other people teed up much higher! You’re perfectly -all right now?” - -“Absolutely! That coffee fixed me; I’m beginning to feel quite bully. I -can go home now and jump into my joy rags and nobody will ever be the -wiser. This is an old folks’ party, but Dada always wants to exhibit me -when he feeds the nobility--can you see me?” - -Her low laugh was entirely reassuring as to her sobriety, and he was -satisfied that she would be able to give a good account of herself at -her father’s table. - -“Just leave the car on the drive,” she said as they reached the house. -“Maybe I can crawl up to my room without Dada knowing I’m late. I’m a -selfish little brute--to be leaving you here stranded! Well, thanks -awfully!” - -He walked with her to the entrance and she was taking out her key when -Mills, in his evening clothes, opened the door. - -“Leila! You’re late!” he exclaimed sharply. “Where on earth have you -been?” - -“Just gadding about, as usual! But I’m in plenty of time, Dada. Please -thank Mr. Storrs for coming home with me. Good-night and thank you some -more!” - -She darted into the house, leaving Bruce confronting her father. - -“Oh, Mr. Storrs!” The emphasis on the name was eloquent of Mills’s -surprise that Bruce was on his threshold. Bruce had decided that any -explanations required were better left to Leila, who was probably an -adept in explanations. He was about to turn away when Mills stepped -outside. - -“We’re entertaining tonight,” he said pleasantly. “I was a little -afraid something had happened to my daughter.” - -A certain dignity of utterance marked his last words--my daughter. He -threw into the phrase every possible suggestion of paternal pride. - -Bruce, halfway down the steps, paused until Mills had concluded his -remark. Then lifting his hat with a murmured good-night, he hurried -toward the gate. An irresistible impulse caused him to look back. Mills -remained just inside the entry, his figure clearly defined by the -overhead lights, staring toward the street. Seeing Bruce look back, he -went quickly into the house and the heavy door boomed upon him. - -Bruce walked to the nearest street car line and rode downtown for -dinner. The fact that Mills was waiting at the door for his daughter -was not without its significance, hinting at a constant uneasiness for -her safety beyond ordinary parental solicitude. What Constance had -said that afternoon about Mills came back to him. He was oppressed by -a sense of something tragic in Mills’s life--the tragedy of a failure -that wore outwardly the guise of success. - -In spite of a strong effort of will to obliterate these thoughts he -found his memory dragging into his consciousness odd little pictures -of Mills--fragmentary snapshots, more vivid and haunting than complete -portraits: the look Mills gave him the first time they met at the -Country Club; Mills’s shoulders and the white line of his collar above -his dinner coat as he left the Hardens’; and now the quick change from -irritation to relief and amiable courtesy when he admitted Leila. - -Henderson and Millicent and now today Constance had given him hints -of Mills’s character, and Bruce found himself trying to reconcile -and unify their comments and fit them into his own inferences and -conclusions. The man was not without his fascinations as a subject for -analysis. Behind that gracious exterior there must be another identity -either less noble or finer than the man the world knew.... Before he -slept, Bruce found it necessary to combat an apprehension that, if he -continued to hear Mills dissected and analyzed, he might learn to pity -the man. - - -IV - -That evening when Shepherd Mills went home he found Constance seated -at her dressing table, her heavy golden-brown hair piled loosely upon -her head, while her maid rubbed cold cream into her throat and face. -She espied him in the mirror and greeted him with a careless, “Hello, -Shep. How did the day go with you?”--the question employed by countless -American wives in saluting their husbands at the end of a toilsome day. - -“Oh, pretty good!” he replied. No husband ever admits that a day has -been wholly easy and prosperous. - -She put out her hand for him to kiss and bade him sit down beside her. -He was always diffident before the mysteries of his wife’s toilet. He -glanced at the gown laid across a chair and surveyed the crystal and -silver on the dressing table with a confused air as though he had never -seen them before. - -The room denoted Constance Mills’s love of luxury, and incidentally her -self-love. The walls on two sides were set in mirrors that reached -from ceiling to floor. The furniture, the rugs, the few pictures, the -window draperies had been chosen with an exquisite care and combined in -an evocation of the spirit of indolence. There was a much be-pillowed -divan across one corner, so placed that when she enjoyed a siesta -Constance could contemplate herself in the mirrors opposite. Scents--a -mingling of faint exotic odors--hung upon the air. - -She was quick to note that something was on Shepherd’s mind and half -from curiosity, half in a spirit of kindness, dismissed the maid as -quickly as possible. - -“You can hook me up, Shep. I’ll do my hair myself. I won’t need you any -more, Marie. Yes--my blue cloak. Now, little boy, go ahead and tell me -what’s bothering you.” - -Shepherd frowned and twisted his mustache as he sat huddled on the -divan. - -“It’s about father; nothing new, just our old failure to understand -each other. It’s getting worse. I never know where I stand with him.” - -“Well, does anyone?” Constance asked serenely. “You really mustn’t let -him get on your nerves. There are things you’ve got to take because we -all do; but by studying him a little and practicing a little patience -you’ll escape a lot of worry.” - -“Yes,” he assented eagerly. “You know he just pretends that I’m the -head of the plant; Fields is the real authority there. It’s not the -president but the vice-president who has the say about things. Father -consults Fields constantly. He doesn’t trust me--I’m just a figurehead.” - -“Fields is such an ass,” remarked Constance with a shrug of her shapely -shoulders. “An utterly impossible person. Why not just let him do all -the explaining to your father? If any mistakes are made at the plant, -then it’s on him.” - -“But that’s not the way of it,” Shepherd protested plaintively. “He -gets the praise; I get the blame.” - -“Oh, well, you can’t make your father over. You ought to be glad you’re -not of his hard-boiled variety. You’re human, Sheppy, and that’s better -than being a magnificent iceberg.” - -“Father doesn’t see things; he doesn’t realize that the world’s -changing,” Shepherd went on stubbornly. “He doesn’t see that the old -attitude toward labor won’t do any more.” - -“He’ll never see it,” said Constance. “Things like that don’t hit him -at all. He’s like those silly people who didn’t know there was anything -wrong in France till their necks were in the guillotine.” - -“I told you about that clubhouse I wanted to build for our people on -the Milton farm? I hate to give that up. It would mean so much to those -people. And he was all wrong in thinking it would injure the property. -I think it’s only decent to do something for them.” - -“Well, how can you do it without your father?” she asked, shifting -herself for a better scrutiny of her head in the mirror. - -“You know that little tract of land--about twenty acres, back of the -plant? I could buy that and put the clubhouse there. I have some stock -in the Rogers Trust Company I can sell--about two hundred shares. It -came to me through mother’s estate. Father has nothing to do with it. -The last quotation on it is two hundred. What do you think of that?” - -“Well, I think pretty well of it,” said Constance. “Your father ought -to let you build the clubhouse, but he has a positive passion for -making people uncomfortable.” - -“I suppose,” continued Shepherd dubiously, “if I go ahead and build the -thing--even with my own money--he would be angry. Of course there may -be something in his idea that if we do a thing of this kind it would -make the workmen at other plants restless----” - -“Piffle!” exclaimed Constance. “That’s the regular old stock whimper of -the back-number. You might just as well say that it would be a forward -step other employers ought to follow!” - -“Yes, there’s that!” he agreed, his eyes brightening at the suggestion. - -“If you built the house on your own land the storage battery company -wouldn’t be responsible for it in any way.” - -“Certainly not!” Shepherd was increasingly pleased that she saw it all -so clearly. - -She had slipped on her gown and was instructing him as to the position -of the hooks. - -“No; the other side, Shep. That’s right. There’s another bunch on the -left shoulder. Now you’ve got it! Thanks ever so much.” - -He watched her admiringly as she paraded before the mirrors to make -sure that the skirt hung properly. - -“If there’s to be a row----” he began as she opened a drawer and -selected a handkerchief. - -“Let there be a row! My dear Shep, you’re always too afraid of -asserting yourself. What could he do? He might get you up to his -office and give you a bad quarter of an hour; but he’d respect you -more afterwards if you stood to your guns. His vanity and family pride -protect you. Catch him doing anything that might get him into the -newspapers--not Franklin Mills!” - -Relieved and encouraged by her understanding and sympathy, he explained -more particularly the location of the property he proposed buying. -It was quite as convenient to the industrial colony that had grown -up about the storage battery plant as the Milton land his father had -declined to let him use. The land was bound to appreciate in value, he -said. - -“What if it doesn’t!” exclaimed Constance with mild scorn. “You’ll have -been doing good with your money, anyhow.” - -“You think, then, you’d go ahead--sell the stock and buy the land? It’s -so late now, maybe I’d better wait till spring?” - -“That might be better, Shep, but use your own judgment. You asked your -father to help and he turned you down. Your going ahead will have a -good effect on him. He needs a jar. Now run along and dress. You’re -going to be late for dinner.” - -“Yes, I know,” he said, rising and looking down at her as she sat -turning over the leaves of a book. “Connie----” - -“Yes, Shep,” she murmured absently; and then, “Oh, by the way, Shep, I -was at Helen’s this afternoon.” - -“Helen Torrence’s? What was it--a tea?” - -“In a manner of speaking--tea! Dramatic Club business. George Whitford -was there--he’s concentrating on theatricals. George is such a dear!” - -“One of the best fellows in the world!” said Shep. - -“He certainly is!” Constance affirmed. - -“Connie----” he stammered and took her hand. “Connie--you’re awfully -good to me. You know I love you----” - -“Why, of course, you dear baby!” She lifted her head with a quick, -reassuring smile. “But for goodness’ sake run along and change your -clothes!” - - -V - -When his guests had gone, Mills, as was his habit, smoked a cigar and -discussed the dinner with Leila. He was aware that in asking her to -join him on such occasions of state he was subjecting her to a trying -ordeal, and tonight he was particularly well pleased with her. - -“They all enjoyed themselves, Dada; you needn’t worry about that -party!” Leila remarked, smoking the cigarette she had denied herself -while the guests remained. - -“I think they did; thank you very much for helping me.” - -Leila had charm; he was always proud of an opportunity to display her -to her mother’s old friends, whose names, like his own, carried weight -in local history. His son was a Shepherd; Leila, he persuaded himself, -was, with all her waywardness and little follies, more like himself. -Leila looked well at his table, and her dramatic sense made it possible -for her to act the rôle of the daughter of the house with the formality -that was dear to him. Whenever he entertained he and Leila received the -guests together, standing in front of Mrs. Mills’s portrait. People who -dared had laughed about this, speculating as to the probable fate of -the portrait in case Mills married again. - -“I’d got nervous about you when you were so late coming,” Mills was -saying. “That’s how I came to be at the door. I’d just called Millicent -to see if you were over there.” - -“Foolish Dada! Don’t I always turn up?” she asked, kicking off her -slippers. “I’d been fooling around all afternoon, and I hate getting -dressed and waiting for a party to begin.” - -“I’ve noticed that,” Mills replied dryly. “Just what did you do all -day? Your doings are always a mystery to me.” - -“Well--let me see--I went downtown with Millie this morning, and home -with her for lunch, and we talked a while and I ran out to the Burtons’ -and there were some people there and we gassed; and then I remembered -I hadn’t seen Mrs. Torrence since she got home, so I took a dash up -there. And Connie was there, and Bud Henderson came up with Mr. Storrs -and we had tea and Mr. Storrs was coming this way so I let him drive me -home.” - -This, uttered with smooth volubility, was hardly half the truth. She -lighted a fresh cigarette and blew a series of rings while waiting to -see whether he would crossexamine her, as he sometimes did. - -“Constance was there, was she? Anyone else?” - -“Fred Thomas and Georgy Whitford blew in just as I was leaving.” - -“So? I shouldn’t have thought Mrs. Torrence would be interested in -them.” - -“Oh, she isn’t!” replied Leila, who hadn’t intended to mention Thomas -or Whitford. “Connie was trying to talk Helen into taking a perfectly -marvelous part in a new play the Dramatic Club’s putting on soon, and -they are in it, too. Highbrow discussion; it bored me awfully--Mr. -Storrs and I managed to escape together. Oh, dear, I’m sleepy!” - -“Does this Storrs go about among people you know?” Mills asked, -extending his arm to the ash tray. - -“Oh, I think so, Dada! He was in college with Bud Henderson, you know, -and is in Mr. Freeman’s office. Dale’s crazy about him. You could -hardly say he’s pushing himself. Millie and I met him at the Faraway -Club--didn’t you meet him that same night? I asked him to call and he -hasn’t and he _has_ been to see Millie. I guess the joke’s on me!” - -“I saw him again at the Hardens’,” Mills remarked carelessly. “And ran -into him afterwards when I was strolling around, and I brought him back -with me to get out of the storm. It was the night of the Claytons’ -party.” - -“Then you know as much about him as I do,” said Leila indifferently. “I -think, Dada, if you don’t mind, I’ll seek the hay.” - -He stood to receive her good-night kiss. When he heard her door close -he took several turns across the room before resuming his cigar. He sat -down in the chair in which he had sat the night he brought Bruce into -the house. Magazines and books were within easy reach of his hand, but -he was not in a mood to read. He lifted his eyes occasionally to the -portrait of his father on the opposite wall. It might have seemed that -he tried to avoid it, averting his gaze to escape the frank, steady -eyes. But always the fine face drew him back. When he got up finally -and walked to the door it was with a hurried step as if the room or his -meditations had suddenly become intolerable. - - - - -CHAPTER NINE - - -I - -The morning after his dinner party Franklin Mills rose at eight -o’clock. He had slept badly, an unusual thing with him, and he found -little satisfaction in an attempt to account for his wakefulness on -the score of something he had eaten. As he shaved he found that he was -not performing the familiar rite automatically as usual. He tried a -succession of blades and became impatient when they failed to work with -their usual smoothness.... Perhaps he was smoking too much, and he made -a computation of the number of cigars and cigarettes he had smoked the -day before, and decided that he had exceeded his usual allowance by a -couple of cigars. - -The mental exercise necessary to reach this conclusion steadied him. He -had no intention of breaking, as some of his friends and contemporaries -had broken, from sheer inattention to the laws of health. He attained a -degree of buoyancy as he dressed by thinking of his immunity from the -cares that beset most men. No other man in town enjoyed anything like -his freedom. He had not dreaded age because he never thought of himself -as old. And yet the years were passing. - -He must study means of deferring old age. Marriage might serve to -retard the march of time. The possibility of remarrying had frequently -of late teased his imagination. Leila would leave him one of these -days; he must have a care that she married well. Mills had plans for -Carroll’s future; Carroll would be a most acceptable son-in-law. Leila -had so far shown no interest in the secretary, but Leila had the Mills -common sense; when it came to marrying, Leila would listen to reason. - -He called his man to serve breakfast in his room, read the morning -paper, inspected his wardrobe and indicated several suits to be pressed. - -From his south window he viewed the Harden house across the hedge. -Millicent was somewhere within.... It might be a mistake to marry a -girl as young as Millicent. He knew of men who had made that mistake, -but Millicent was not to be measured by ordinary standards. With all -the charm of youth, she was amazingly mature; not a feather-brained -girl who would marry him for his money. There was the question of -her family, her lack of social background; but possibly he magnified -the importance of such things. His own standing, he argued, gave him -certain rights; he could suffer nothing in loss of dignity by marrying -Millicent. It gave a man the appearance of youth to be seen with a -young wife. Helen Torrence would not do; she lacked the essential -dignity, and her background was far too sketchy--no better than the -Hardens’. He had settled that.... - -The remembrance of the young architect’s head superimposed upon the -portrait of Franklin Mills III caused him an uneasiness which he was -not able to dispel by a snap of the fingers. Any attempt to learn what -had prompted Storrs to choose for his residence the city so long sacred -to the Mills family might easily arouse suspicions. The portrait in -itself was a menace. People were such fools about noting resemblances! -If his sister, Alice Thornberry, met Storrs she might remark upon his -resemblance to their father. And yet she was just as likely to note the -removal of the picture if he relegated it to the attic.... - -By the time he had interviewed the house servants and driven to the -office Mills had passed through various moods ranging from his habitual -serenity and poise to apprehension and foreboding. This puzzled him. -Why should he, the most equable of men, suddenly fall a prey to moods? -He put on a pair of library glasses that he kept in his desk, though he -usually employed a pince-nez at the office--a departure that puzzled -Carroll, who did not know that Mills, in the deep preoccupation of -the morning, had left his pocket case at home. Mills, in normal -circumstances, was not given to forgetfulness. Aware that something was -amiss, Carroll made such reports and suggestions as were necessary with -more than his usual economy of words. - -“Doctor Lindley telephoned that he’d be in to see you at eleven. You -have no engagements and I told him all right.” - -“Lindley? What does Lindley want?” Mills demanded, without looking up -from a bank statement he was scanning. - -“He didn’t say, sir; but as you always see him----” - -“I don’t know that I care to see him today,” Mills mumbled. Mills -rarely mumbled; his speech was always clean-cut and definite. - -Carroll, listening attentively to his employer’s instructions as to -answering letters and sending telegraphic orders for the sale of -certain stocks, speculated as to what had caused Mills’s unwonted -irascibility. - -A few minutes after eleven word was passed from the office boy to the -stenographer and thence from Carroll to Mills that the Reverend Doctor -Lindley was waiting. - -Mills detained Carroll rather unnecessarily to discuss matters of no -immediate moment. This in itself was surprising, as the rector of St. -Barnabas, the oldest and richest church in town, had heretofore always -been admitted without delay. The Mills family had been identified with -St. Barnabas from pioneer times and Doctor Lindley was entertained -frequently by Mills, not only at home but at the men’s luncheons Mills -gave at his clubs for visiting notables. - -“Ah, Mills! Hard at it!” exclaimed the minister cheerfully. He was -short, rotund and bald, with a large face that radiated good nature. -A reputation for breadth of view and public spirit had made him, in -the dozen years of his pastorate, one of the best liked men in town. -He gave Mills a cordial handshake, asked after Leila and assured Mills -that he had never seen him looking better. - -Lindley was a dynamic person and his presence had the effect of -disturbing the tranquility of the room. Mills wished now that he hadn’t -admitted the rector of St. Barnabas, with his professional good cheer -and optimism. He remembered that Lindley always wanted something when -he came to the office. If it proved to be help for a negro mission St. -Barnabas maintained somewhere, Mills resolved to refuse to contribute. -He had no intention of encouraging further the idea that he could be -relied upon to support all of Lindley’s absurd schemes for widening -the sphere of the church. It was a vulgar idea that a sinner should -prostrate himself before an imaginary God and beg for forgiveness. -Where sin existed the main thing was to keep it decently out of sight. -But the whole idea of sin was repellent. He caught himself up sharply. -What had he to do with sin? - -But outwardly Mills was serene; Lindley was at least a diversion, -though Mills reflected that someone ought to warn him against his -tendency to obesity. A fat man in a surplice was ridiculous, though -Mills hadn’t seen Lindley in vestments since the last fashionable -wedding. At the reception following the wedding Mills remembered -that he had been annoyed by Lindley’s appetite; more particularly by -a glimpse of the rector’s plump hand extended for a second piece of -cake--cake with a thick, gooey icing. - -Mills wondered what he had ever seen that was likable in the rector, -who certainly suggested nothing of apostolic austerity. Lindley threw -back his coat, disclosing a gold cross suspended from a cord that -stretched across his broad chest. Mills’s eyes fixed upon the emblem -disapprovingly as he asked his visitor to have a cigar. - -“No, thanks, Mills; I never smoke so early in the day--found it upset -me. Moderation in all things is my motto. I missed you at the Clayton -party the other night; a brilliant affair. Dear Leila was there, -though, and Shepherd and his charming wife, to represent your family. -Margaret and I left early.” The clergyman chuckled and lowering his -voice continued: “I’ve heard--I’ve heard _whispers_ that later on the -party got quite gay! I tell you, Mills, the new generation is stepping -high. All the more responsibility for the forces that make for good -in this world! I was saying to the bishop only the other day that the -church never before faced such perplexities as now!” - -“Why do you say perplexities?” asked Mills in the quiet tone and -indulgent manner of an expert cross-examiner who is preparing pitfalls -for a witness. - -“Ah, I see you catch at the word! It’s become a serious question what -the church dare do! There’s the danger of offending; of estranging its -own membership.” - -“Yes, but why is it a danger?” Mills persisted. - -The minister was surprised at these questions, which were wholly -foreign to all his previous intercourse with Mills. His eyes opened and -shut quickly. The Reverend Stuart Lindley was known as a man’s man, a -clergyman who viewed humanity in the light of the twentieth century and -was particularly discerning as to the temptations and difficulties that -beset twentieth century business men. - -“My dear Mills,” he said ingratiatingly, “you know and I know that -this is an age of compromise. We clergymen are obliged to temper our -warnings. The wind, you know, no longer blows on the lost sheep with -the violence it once manifested, or at least the sheep no longer notice -it!” A glint in Mills’s eyes gave him pause, but he went on hurriedly. -“In certain particulars we must yield a little without appearing to -yield. Do you get my point?” - -“Frankly, I don’t know that I do,” Mills replied bluntly. “You preach -that certain things are essential to the salvation of my soul. What -right have you to compromise with me or anyone else? You either believe -the Gospel and the creeds that are used every day in our churches or -you don’t. I didn’t mean to start a theological discussion; I was -just a little curious as to what you meant by perplexities, when the -obligation is as plain as that table.” - -“But--you see the difficulties! We have a right to assume that God is -perfectly aware of all that goes on in His world and that the changing -times are only a part of His purpose.” - -“Well, yes,” Mills assented without enthusiasm. “But I was thinking -of what you and the church I was born into declare to be necessary -to the Christian life. I go to church rarely, as you know, but I’m -fairly familiar with the New Testament. I’ve got a copy with the words -of Jesus printed in bold type, so you can’t miss His meaning. He was -pretty explicit; His meaning hits you squarely in the eye!” - -“But, my dear friend, above all He preached tolerance! He knew human -frailty! There’s the great secret of His power.” - -“Oh, that’s all true!” said Mills, with courteous forbearance. “But -you know very well that few of us--no--I’ll admit that _I_ don’t live -the Christian life except where it’s perfectly easy and convenient. -Why talk of the perplexities of the ministry when there’s no excuse -for any of us to mistake His teachings? You either preach Jesus or you -don’t! We lean heavily on His tolerance because we can excuse ourselves -with that; it’s only an alibi. But what of His courage? Whatever I may -think of Him--divine or merely a foolish idealist--He did die for His -convictions! It occurs to me sometimes that He’s served nowadays by a -pretty cowardly lot of followers. Oh--not you, my friend!--I don’t mean -anyone in particular--except myself! Probably there are other men who -think much as I do, but we don’t count. We pay to keep the churches -going, but we don’t want to be bothered about our duty to God. _That’s_ -a disagreeable subject!” - -He ended with a smile that was intended to put Lindley at ease. - -“You are absolutely right, Mills!” declared the minister -magnanimously. “But as a practical man you realize that there _are_ -embarrassments in the way of doing our full duty.” - -“No; truly, I don’t!” Mills retorted. “We either do it or we don’t. -But please don’t think I meant to quiz you or be annoying. I wouldn’t -offend you for anything in the world!” - -“My dear _Mills_!” cried the clergyman with the disdain demanded by so -monstrous a suggestion. - -“It never occurred to me before,” Mills went on, his good humor only -faintly tinged with irony, “it never struck me in just this way before, -but I suppose if you were to preach to your congregation just what -Jesus preached you’d empty the church.” - -“Well, of course----” began Lindley, with difficulty concealing his -surprise at the dogged fashion in which Mills was pursuing the subject. - -“Of course you can’t do it!” With a bland smile Mills finished the -sentence for him. “Jesus is the Great Example of a perfect life; but do -we any of us really want to live as He lived?” - -“Ah, Mills, we can only approximate perfection; that’s the best we can -hope for!” - -“Thank you! There’s some consolation in that!” Mills laughed. “But if -we really took the teachings of Jesus literally we wouldn’t be sitting -here; we’d be out looking up people who need shelter, food, cheer. -As it is I’m not bothering my head about them. I pay others to do -that--Carroll hands me a list of organizations he considers worthy of -assistance and all I do is to sign the checks--ought to be ashamed of -myself, oughtn’t I?” - -“Well, now, Mills,” Lindley laughed pleasantly, “that’s a matter I -leave to your own conscience.” - -“But you oughtn’t to! It’s your duty to tell me that instead of -riding up to a comfortable club today to eat luncheon with a couple of -bankers I ought first to be sure that every man, woman and child in the -community is clothed and fed and happy.” - -“What would you do if I did?” Lindley demanded, bending forward and -regarding Mills fixedly. - -“I’d tell you to go to the Devil!” - -“There you are!” cried Lindley with a gesture of resignation. “You know -your duty to your neighbor as well as I do. The affair isn’t between -you and me, after all, my dear friend--it’s between you and God!” - -“God?” Mills repeated the word soberly, his eyes turning to the window -and the picture it framed, of a sky blurred by the smoke of factory -chimneys. “I wonder----” he added, half to himself. - -Lindley was puzzled and embarrassed, uncertain whether to try to -explain himself further. His intuitions were keen and in his attempt -to adjust himself to a new phase of Mills’s character he groped for -an explanation of the man’s surprising utterances. There had been -something a little wistful in Mills’s use of the word _God_. Lindley -was sincerely eager to help where help was needed, but as he debated -whether Mills really had disclosed any need that he could satisfy, -Mills ended the matter by saying a little wearily: - -“What was it you wanted to see me about, Lindley?” - -“It’s about the Mills memorial window in St. Barnabas; the transept -wall’s settled lately and pulled the window out of plumb. Some of the -panels are loose. The excavations for the new building across the alley -caused the disturbance. Now that the building’s up we’ll hope the worst -is over. That’s one of the finest windows in the West. The figure of -our Lord feeding the multitude is beautifully conceived. I had Freeman -look at it and he says we’ll have to get an expert out from New York -to take care of it properly. The vestry’s hard up as usual, but I felt -sure you’d want us to have the job well done----” - -“Certainly, Lindley. Go ahead and send me the bill. Of course I’m glad -to take care of it.” - - -II - -Mills was himself again. The mention of the Mills memorial window had -touched his pride. The window not only symbolized the miraculous powers -of Jesus, but quite concretely it visualized for the congregation of -St. Barnabas the solid worth and continuity of the house of Mills. - -He detained Lindley, gave him a chance to tell a story, made sure -before he permitted him to go that the minister had not been wounded -by anything he had said. He had come out pretty well in his talk with -the minister; it did no harm to ruffle the complacency of a man like -Lindley occasionally. But he wanted to guard against a return of the -vexatious thoughts with which the day had begun. - -A ride would set him up and he would find some cheerful companions to -join him at the farm. Usually he planned his parties ahead, but the -day was too fine to let pass. He rang for Carroll, his spirits already -mounting at the thought of escaping from town. - -“I believe I’ll run out to Deer Trail this afternoon. I’ll ask some -people who like to ride to join me. Will you call Mrs. Freeman, Mrs. -Torrence, Leila and Miss Harden? I’ll be glad to have you go if you can -arrange it--I’ll leave it all to you. As to men, try Doctor Armstrong, -Mr. Turner, Ralph Burton--say that I’ll send machines to take them out -unless they prefer using their own cars. You’ll look after that?” - -“Yes, sir.” - -“Oh, yes; if Shep calls up tell him I’ll see him later about those -battery plant matters. I want to talk to Fields first....” - -“Yes; I understand, sir.” - -“Let me see; this was the day Freeman was to meet me out there to look -over the superintendent’s house. I’ve promised Jackson to make the -addition he wants this fall. Freeman’s probably forgotten it--he has a -genius for forgetting engagements, and I’d overlooked your memorandum -till just now. Freeman hates a horse, but if he goes it will only take -a few minutes to show him what’s wanted.” - - - - -CHAPTER TEN - - -I - -Bruce was finding his association with Freeman increasingly agreeable. -The architect, amusingly indifferent and careless as to small things, -was delighted to find that his new subordinate was not afraid to -assume responsibility and grateful that Bruce was shielding him from -the constant pecking of persons who called or telephoned about trivial -matters. - -“By the way, Storrs, can you run into the country this afternoon?” -Freeman asked. “I promised Franklin Mills I’d meet him at his farm to -look at the superintendent’s house. I’ve put him off several times -and now that Brookville man’s coming in to talk house and I’ve got to -see him. There’s not much to do but get data and make my apologies to -Mills. Mrs. Freeman just called up to say she’s going out there to -ride. Mills is having a party, so he’ll get through with you quickly. -I don’t want him to think me indifferent about his work. He’s been a -loyal client.” - -“Yes, certainly,” Bruce replied, reluctant to trouble Freeman by -refusing, but not relishing another meeting with Mills. - -“Everybody knows where Deer Trail is--you’ll have no trouble finding -it. I think he said he’d be there by two-thirty. Listen carefully to -what he says, and I’ll take the matter up with him tomorrow. Now about -the specifications for that Sterling house----” - -It was thus that Bruce found himself at Deer Trail Farm on the -afternoon of the day that Mills was giving his riding party. Mills, -with whom punctuality was a prime virtue, came down the steps in his -riding clothes and good-naturedly accepted Bruce’s excuses in Freeman’s -behalf. - -“Freeman’s a busy man, of course, and a job like this is a good deal of -a nuisance. You can get the idea just as well. Can you ride a horse?” - -Bruce, whose eyes had noted with appreciation the horses that had been -assembled in the driveway, said that he could. - -“All right, then; we’ll ride over. It’s nearly a mile and we’ll save -time.” - -He let Bruce choose a horse for himself from a dozen or more -thoroughbreds, watched him mount with critical but approving eyes, and -they set off over a road that led back through the fields. Mills sat a -horse well; he had always ridden, he explained as they traversed the -well-made gravel road at a trot. Finding that Bruce knew something -of the American saddle stocks, he compared various breeds, calling -attention to the good points of the horses they were riding. - -When they reached the superintendent’s house Bruce found that what was -required was an extension that would provide the family with additional -sleeping rooms. He took measurements, made notes, suggested a few -difficulties, and in reply to Mills’s questions expressed his belief -that the addition could be made without spoiling the appearance of the -house. - -“I suppose I really ought to tear it down and build a new house, but -this hundred acres right here has been in my family a long time and -the place has associations. I hate to destroy it.” - -“I can understand that,” said Bruce, busy with his notebook. “I think I -have all the data Mr. Freeman will need, sir.” - -As they rode back Mills talked affably of the country; spoke of the -history and traditions of the neighborhood, and the sturdy character of -the pioneers who had settled the region. - -“I used to think sometimes of moving East--settling somewhere around -New York. But I’ve never been able to bring myself to it. This is my -own country right here. Over there--you notice that timber?--well, I’ll -never cut that. This whole region was forest in the early days. I’ve -kept that strip of woodland as a reminder of the men who broke through -the wilderness with nothing but their rifles and axes.” - -“They were a great race,” Bruce remarked.... - -Mills called attention to a young orchard he had lately planted, and to -his conservatories, where he amused himself, he said, trying to produce -a new rose. - -“Won’t you stay and join in the ride?” he asked as they dismounted. “I -can fit you out with breeches and puttees. I’d be delighted to have -you.” - -“Thanks, but I must get into town,” Bruce replied. - -“Well, if you must! Please don’t let Freeman go to sleep on this job!” - -Bruce, glad that his duty had been performed so easily, was starting -toward his car when a familiar voice hailed him from the broad pillared -veranda. - -“Why the hurry? Aren’t you in this party?” - -He swung round to find Millicent Harden, dressed for the saddle, -standing at the edge of the veranda a little apart from the animated -group of Mills’s other guests. As he walked toward her she came down -the steps to meet him. The towering white pillars made a fitting frame -for her. Here, as in the library of her own house, the ample background -served to emphasize her pictorial effectiveness. Her eyes shone with -happy expectancy. - -“I don’t care if you are here on business, you shouldn’t be running -away! On a day like this nobody should be in town.” - -“Somebody has to work in this world. How are the organ and the noble -knight?” - -“Both would be glad to welcome you. Leila’s growing superstitious -about you; she says you’re always saving her life. Oh, she confessed -everything about last night!--how you ministered to her and set her on -her father’s doorstep in fine shape. And she’s going to be a good girl -now. We must see that she is!” - -At this moment Leila detached herself from the company on the veranda -and called his attention to the fact that Mrs. Freeman was trying to -bow to him. Mills, who had been discussing the fitness of one of the -horses with his superintendent, announced that he was ready to start. - -“I wish you were coming along,” said Leila; “there’s scads of horses. -We’d all adore having you!” - -“I’d adore coming!” Bruce answered. “But I’ve really got to skip.” - -“I’ll tell Dada to ask you another time. Dada isn’t at all bad when you -know him, is he, Millie?” - -“Oh, one learns to tolerate him!” said Millicent teasingly. - -“You might like driving through the farm--good road all the way -from that tall elm down there,” suggested Leila, “and it takes you -through our woods. The maples are putting on their pink bonnets. -There’s a winding stretch over yonder that’s a little wild, but it’s -interesting, and you can’t get lost. It would be a shame to dash back -to town without seeing something of this gorgeous day!” - -“All right, thanks; I’ll try it,” said Bruce. - -With his roadster in motion he wondered dejectedly whether there was -any way of remaining in the town and yet avoiding Franklin Mills and -his family. But the sight of Millicent had heartened him. The glowing -woodlands were brighter for his words with her. He wished he might have -taken her away from Mills and his party and ridden alone with her in -the golden haze of the loveliest of autumn afternoons.... - -Suddenly when he was beyond the Deer Trail boundaries and running along -slowly he came upon a car drawn up close to the stake-and-rider fence -that enclosed a strip of woodland. His quiet approach over the soft -winding road had not been noted by the two occupants of the car, a man -and a woman. - -Two lovers, presumably, who had sought a lonely spot where they were -unlikely to be observed, and Bruce was about to speed his car past them -when the woman lifted her head with an involuntary cry of surprise that -caused him, quite as involuntarily, to turn his gaze upon her. It was -Constance Mills; her companion was George Whitford. - -“Hello, there!” Whitford cried, and Bruce stopped his car and got out. -“Mrs. Mills and I are out looking at the scenery. We started for the -Faraway Club, but lost interest.” - -“Isn’t this a heavenly day?” remarked Mrs. Mills with entire serenity. -“George and I have been talking poetry--an ideal time for it!” She held -up a book. “Yeats--he’s so marvelous! Where on earth are you wandering -to?” - -“I’ve been to Deer Trail--a little errand with Mr. Mills for my boss.” - -“Oh, is Mr. Mills at the farm? What is it--a party?” she asked -carelessly. - -“Yes, Miss Mills, Miss Harden, Mrs. Torrence and Mrs. Freeman are there -to ride--I didn’t make them all out.” - -“It sounds quite gay,” she said languidly. “I’ve thought a lot about -our talk yesterday. You evidently delivered Leila home without trouble. -It was awfully sweet of you, I’m sure. I don’t believe we’ll go in to -the farm, George. I think a crowd of people would bore me today, and we -must get back to town.” - -Whitford started his car, and as they moved away Constance leaned out -and smiled and waved her hand. Bruce stood for a moment gazing after -them, deep in thought. Constance Mills, he decided, was really a very -clever woman. - - -II - -After his visit to Deer Trail Farm Bruce found himself in a cynical -humor with reference to his own life and the lives of the people -with whom he had lately come in contact. Nothing was substantial or -definite. He read prodigiously--poetry and philosophy, and the latest -discussions of the problems of the time; caught in these an occasional -gleam. It seemed centuries ago that he had walked in the Valley of the -Shadow in France. The tragedy of war seemed as nothing weighed against -the tragedy of his own life. - -Why had she told him? was a question he despairingly asked himself. His -mother had had no right to go out of the world leaving him to carry the -burden her confession had laid upon him. Then again, with a quickening -of his old affection for her, he felt that some motive, too fine and -high for his understanding, had impelled her to the revelation.... - -He had settled himself to read one evening when Henderson, always -unexpected in his manifestations of sociability, dropped in at his -apartment. - -“Maybelle’s at Shep Mills’s rehearsing in a new Dramatic Club show, -so I romped up here hoping to catch you in. I guessed you’d be here -laughing heartily all to yourself. I’ve cut the booze; honest I have. -My bootlegger strolled in today, but I kissed him good-bye forever. So -don’t offer me any licker; my noble resolution isn’t so strong that I -mightn’t yield to a whisper from the devil.” - -“You’re safe! There’s nothing stronger on the premises than a tooth -wash warranted not to remove the enamel.” - -Henderson picked up the book Bruce had been reading, “A World in Need -of God,” and ran his eye over the chapter headings. - -“‘The Unlit Lamp,’ ‘The Descent Perilous,’ ‘Untended Altars’--so you’ve -got it too, have you?” - -“I’ve got the book, if that’s what you mean,” Bruce replied. “I paid -two dollars for it. It’s a gloomy work; no wonder the author put it out -anonymously.” - -“It’s a best seller,” Henderson replied mournfully as he seated himself -and drew out his pipe. “The world is nervous about itself--doesn’t -know whether to repent and be good or stroll right along to the fiery -pit. Under my stoical exterior, Bruce, old boy, I trouble a good deal -about the silly human race. That phrase, ‘The Descent Perilous,’ gives -me a chill. If I’d edited that book I’d have made it ‘The Road to Hell -is Easy’ and drawn a stirring picture of the universe returning to -chaos to the music of jazzy bands. People seem anxious to be caught -all lit up when our little planet jumps the track and runs amuck. But -there really are a few imbeciles, like the chap who produced that book, -who’re troubled about the whole business. We all think we’re playing -comedy rôles, but if we’d just take a good square look at ourselves in -the mirror we’d see that we’re made up for tragedy.” - -“Lordy! Hear the boy talk! If I’d known you were coming I’d have hidden -the book.” - -“There’s a joke! I’ve been in several prosperous homes lately where -I got a glimpse of that joyous work stuck under the sofa pillows. -Everybody’s afraid to be caught with it--afraid it points to a state of -panic in the purchaser. It’s the kind of thing folks read and know it’s -all true, and get so low in their minds they pull the old black bottle -from its hiding place and seek alcoholic oblivion.” - -“I bought the thing as a matter of business. If all creation’s going to -shoot the chutes I want to be prepared. It’s silly for me to get all -set to build houses for people if the world’s coming to an end.” - -“By Jove, when the crash comes I’m going to be stuck with a lot of -Plantagenets!” - -“But this chap thinks the world can be saved! He says in the mad rush -to find some joy in life we’re forgetting God. The spiritual spark -growing dim--all that sort of thing.” - -“Um-m.” Henderson took the pipe from his mouth and peered into the -bowl. “Now on this spiritual dope, I’m a sinner--chock full of sin, -original and acquired. I haven’t been to church since my wedding except -to a couple of funerals--relations where I couldn’t dodge the last -sad rites. Cheerless, this death stuff; sort o’ brings you up with -a jerk when you think of it. Most of us these days are frantically -trying to forget man’s inevitable destiny by running as wild as we -dare--blindfolded. It isn’t fashionable to be serious about anything. -I tell you, my boy, I could count on the fingers of one hand all the -people I know who ever take a good square look at life.” - -“Oh, not as bad as that!” said Bruce, surprised at Henderson’s unwonted -earnestness. “There must be a lot of people who are troubled about the -state of their souls--who have some sort of ideals but are ashamed to -haul them out!” - -“Ashamed is the word!” Henderson affirmed. “We’re afraid of being -kidded if anybody sneaks up on us and catches us admiring the Ten -Commandments or practicing the Christian virtues! Now I know the rattle -of all the skeletons in all the closets in this town. If they all -took a notion to trot up and down our main thoroughfares some moonlit -evening they’d make quite a parade. You understand I’m not sitting in -judgment on my fellow man; I merely view him at times like this, when -I’m addressing a man of intellect like you, with a certain cheerful -detachment. And I see things going on--and I take part in them--that I -deplore. I swear I deplore them; particularly,” he went on with a grim -smile, “on days when I’m suffering from a severe case of hang-overitis.” - -“You must have been on a roaring tear last night. You have all the -depressing symptoms.” - -“A cruel injustice! I’m never terribly wicked. I drink more than I need -at times and I flirt occasionally to keep my hand in. Maybelle doesn’t -mind if I wander a little, but when she whistles I’m right back at my -own fireside pretending nothing happened.” - -“I’ll wager you do!” laughed Bruce. - -“Right now,” Henderson went on, “I can see a few people we both know -who are bound to come a cropper if they don’t mind their steps. -There’s Connie Mills. Not a bad sort, Connie, but a little bit too -afraid she isn’t having as much fun as she’s entitled to. And Shep--the -most high-minded, unselfish fellow I know--he, poor nut, just perishing -for somebody to love him!” - -“What sort of a chap’s George Whitford?” Bruce asked. - -“First class,” Bud answered promptly. “A real fellow; about the best -we’ve got. Something of the soldier of fortune about him. A variety of -talents; brilliant streak in him. Why do you ask? George getting on -your preserves?” - -“Lord, no! I was just wondering whether you’d knock him. I like him -myself.” - -“Well, nearly everyone does. He appeals to the imagination. Just a -little too keen about women, however, for his own good.” - -A buzzer sounded and Bruce went to the telephone by which visitors -announced themselves from the hall below. - -“Mr. Carroll? Certainly; come right up!” - -“Carroll? Didn’t know you were so chummy with him,” Henderson grumbled, -not pleased by the interruption. - -“I run into him at the club occasionally. He’s been threatening to drop -in some evening. Seems to be a nice chap.” - -“Oh, yes, Carroll’s all right!” Bud grinned. “We might proceed with our -discussion of the Millses. Arthur ought to know a few merry facts not -disclosed to the general public. He wears the mask of meekness, but -that’s purely secretarial, so to speak.” - -Carroll, having reached the apartment, at once began bantering -Henderson about the Plantagenet Bud had lately sold him. - -“I’m another Plantag victim,” said Bruce. “Bud’s conscience is hurting -him; he’s moaning over the general depravity of the world.” - -“He should worry!” said Carroll. “The Plantagenet’s shaken my faith in -Heaven.” - - -III - -Carroll, Bruce knew, was a popular man in town, no doubt deriving -special consideration from his association with Mills. His name was -written into local history almost as far back as that of the Mills -family. In giving up the law to become Mills’s right-hand man it was -assumed that he had done so merely for the benefit to be derived from -contact with a man of Mills’s importance. He dabbled somewhat in -politics, possibly, it was said, that he might be in a position to -serve Mills when necessary in frustrating any evil designs of the State -or the municipal government upon Mills’s interests. - -Bruce had wondered a little when Carroll intimated his purpose to look -him up; he had even speculated as to whether Mills might not have -prompted this demonstration of friendliness for some purpose of his -own. But Carroll bore all the marks of a gentleman; he was socially in -demand and it was grossly ungenerous to think that his call had any -motive beyond a wish to be courteous to a new member of the community. - -Carroll was tall and slender, with light brown hair and deep-set blue -eyes. His clean-shaven face was rather deeply lined for a man of his -years; there was something of the air of a student about him. But when -he spoke it was in the crisp, incisive tones of an executive. A second -glance at his eyes discovered hints of reserve strength. Serving an -exacting man had not destroyed his independence and self-respect. On -the whole a person who knew what he was about, endowed with brains and -not easily to be trampled upon or driven. - -“You mustn’t let Bud fool you about our home town. Most anything he -says is bound to be wrong; it’s temperamental with him. But you know -him of old; I needn’t tell you what a scoundrel he is.” - -“Certainly not! You can’t room with a man for four years without -knowing all his weaknesses.” - -“Yes, I certainly know all yours,” Henderson retorted. “But he isn’t -a bad fellow, Arthur. We must marry him off and settle him in life. I -already see several good chances to plant him.” - -“You’d better let Maybelle do that,” replied Carroll. “Your judgment in -such delicate matters can’t be trusted.” - -“Perhaps I’d better leave the room while you make a choice for me,” -said Bruce. - -“What would you think of Leila Mills as a fitting mate for him?” asked -Henderson. - -“Excellent,” Carroll affirmed. “It’s about time Leila was married. -You’ve met Miss Mills, haven’t you, Storrs?” - -“Yes; several times,” said Bruce. He suspected Bud of turning the -conversation upon Leila merely to gratify his passion for gossip. - -“Of course you’ve got the first call, Arthur,” said Henderson with -cheerful impudence. “The town is getting impatient waiting for you to -show your hand.” - -“I’m sorry to keep my fellow citizens waiting,” Carroll replied. “Of -course there are always Miss Mills’s wishes to consider.” - -“Oh, well, there _is_ that! Bruce, with his known affection for the -arts, may prefer the lovely Millicent. He’s not worth troubling about -as a competitor. Well, I must skip back to Maybelle! Wait till I get -downstairs before you begin knocking me!” - -“Don’t be in a rush,” said Bruce. - -“Oh, I’ll go now!” said Bud as he lounged out. “I want you to have -plenty of time to skin me properly!” - -“Bud’s a mighty good fellow,” said Carroll when they were alone. “He -and Maybelle give a real tang to our social affairs. I suppose we have -Bud to thank for bringing you here.” - -“Oh, not altogether!” Bruce replied. “I was alone in the world and my -home town hadn’t much to offer an architect.” - -“Your profession does need room. I was born right here and expect to be -buried among my ancestors. Let me see--did I hear that you’re from the -East?” - -The question on its face was courteously perfunctory; Mills would -certainly not have done anything so clumsy, Bruce reflected, as to send -Carroll to probe into his history. - -“I’m an Ohioan--born in Laconia,” he replied. - -“Not really! I have an uncle and some cousins there. Just today we had -a letter at the office from Laconia, an inquiry about a snarl in the -title to some property. Mr. Mills’s father--of the same name--once had -some interests there--a stave factory, I think it was. Long before -your day, of course. He bought some land near the plant--the Millses -have always gone in strong for real estate--thinking he might need it -if the business developed. Mr. Mills was there for a while as a young -man. Suppose he didn’t like the business, and his father sold out. I -was there a year ago visiting my relations and I met some Bruces--Miss -Carolyn Bruce--awfully jolly girl--related to you?” - -“My cousin. Bruce was my mother’s name.” - -“The old saying about the smallness of the world! Splendid girl--not -married yet?” - -“Not when I heard from her last week.” - -“We might drive over there sometime next spring and see her.” - -“Fine. Carolyn was always a great pal of mine. Laconia’s a sociable -town. Everybody knows everybody else; it’s like a big family. We can’t -laugh so gaily at the small towns; they’ve got a lot that’s mighty -fine. I sometimes think our social and political regeneration has got -to begin with the small units.” - -“I say that sometimes to Mr. Mills,” Carroll continued. “But he’s of -the old ultra-conservative school; a pessimist as to the future, or -pretends to be. He really sees most things pretty straight. But men of -his sort hate the idea of change. They prefer things as they are.” - -“I think we all want the changes to come slowly--gradual evolution -socially and politically,” Bruce ventured. “That’s the only safe way. -The great business of the world is to find happiness--get rid of misery -and violence and hatred. I’m for everything that moves toward that end.” - -“I’m with you there,” Carroll replied quickly. - -Bruce’s liking for Carroll increased. Mills’s secretary was not only -an agreeable companion but he expressed views on many questions that -showed knowledge and sound reasoning. He referred to Mills now and -then, always with respect but never with any trace of subserviency. -Bruce, now that his fear had passed, was deriving a degree of courage -merely from talking with Carroll. Carroll, in daily contact with Mills, -evidently was not afraid of him. And what had he, Bruce Storrs, to -fear from Franklin Mills? There could not have been any scandal about -Mills’s affair with his mother or she herself would probably have -mentioned it; or more likely she would never have told him her story. -Carroll’s visit was reassuring every way that Bruce considered it. - -“I got a glimpse of you at Deer Trail the other day,” Carroll was -saying. “You were there about the superintendent’s house--Mr. Mills -spoke of you afterward--said you seemed to know your business. He’s not -so hard to please as many people think--only”--Carroll smiled--“it’s -always safer to do things his way.” - -“I imagine it is!” Bruce assented. - -Carroll remained until the clock on the mantel chimed twelve. - -“I hope you’ve enjoyed this as much as I have!” he said. “If there’s -anything I can do for you, give me a ring. Mr. Mills is a regular -client of Freeman’s. We’ll doubtless meet in a business way from time -to time.” - - - - -CHAPTER ELEVEN - - -I - -On a Sunday afternoon a fortnight later Bruce, having been reproved by -Dale Freeman for his recent neglect of her, drove to the architect’s -house. He had hoped to see Millicent there and was disappointed not to -find her. - -“You expected to see someone in particular!” said Dale. “I can tell by -the roving look in your eye.” - -“I was merely resenting the presence of these other people. My eyes are -for you alone!” - -“What a satisfactory boy you are! But it was Millicent, wasn’t it?” - -“Lady, lady! You’re positively psychic! Do you also tell fortunes?” - -“It’s easy to tell yours! I see a beautiful blonde in your life! Sorry -I can’t produce Millie today. She’s not crazy about my Sunday parties; -she hates a crowd. I must arrange something small for you two. You must -meet that girl who just came in alone--the one in the enchanting black -gown. She’s a Miss Abrams, a Jewess, very cultivated--lovely voice.” - -The rooms were soon crowded. Bruce was still talking to Miss Abrams -when he caught sight of Shepherd and Constance Mills, who had drifted -in with Fred Thomas. A young man with a flowing tie and melancholy -dark eyes claimed Miss Abrams’s attention and Bruce turned to find -Shepherd at his elbow. - -“Just the man I wanted to see!” Shepherd exclaimed. “Let’s find a place -where we can talk.” - -“Not so easy to find!” said Bruce. However, he led the way to Freeman’s -den, which had not been invaded, wondering what Franklin Mills’s son -could have to say to him. - -“Do pardon me for cornering you this way,” Shepherd began. “I looked -for you several days at the club, but you didn’t show up.” - -“I’ve been too busy to go up there for luncheon,” Bruce replied. “You -could always get track of me at the office.” - -“Yes, but this was--is--rather confidential for the present.” Shepherd, -clasping and unclasping his hands in an attempt to gain composure, now -bent forward in his chair and addressed Bruce with a businesslike air. -“What I want to talk to you about is that clubhouse for our workmen. -You know I mentioned it some time ago?” - -“Yes; I remember,” Bruce replied, surprised that Shepherd still had the -matter on his mind. - -“It’s troubled me a good deal,” said Shepherd, with the earnestness -that always increased his stammering. “I’ve felt that there’s a duty--a -real duty and an opportunity there. You know how it is when you get a -thing in your head you can’t get rid of--can’t argue yourself out of?” - -“Those perplexities are annoying. I’d assumed that you’d given the -thing up.” - -“Well, I thought I had! But I’m determined now to go on. There’s a -piece of land I can get that’s just the thing. That neighborhood is so -isolated--the people have no amusements unless they come to town. I’d -like to go ahead so they can have some use of the house this winter.” - -Bruce nodded his sympathy with the idea. - -“Now since I talked with you I’ve found some pictures of such houses. -I’ve got ’em here.” He drew from his pocket some pages torn from -magazines. “I think we might spend a little more money than I thought -at first would be available. We might go thirty thousand to get about -what’s in this house I’ve marked with a pencil.” - -Bruce scrutinized the pictures and glanced over the explanatory text. - -“The idea seems to be well worked out. There are many such clubhouses -scattered over the country. You’d want the reading room and the play -room for children and all those features?” - -“Yes; and I like the idea of a comfortable sitting-room where the women -can gather and do their sewing and that sort of thing. And I’d like you -to do this for me--begin getting up the plans right away.” - -Shepherd’s tone was eager; his eyes were bright with excitement. - -“But, Mr. Mills, I can hardly do that! I’m really only a subordinate -in Mr. Freeman’s office. It would be hardly square for me to take the -commission--at least not without his consent.” - -Shepherd, who had not thought of this, frowned in his perplexity. Since -his talk with Constance he had been anxious to get the work started -before his father heard of it; and he had been hoping to run into Bruce -somewhere to avoid visiting Freeman’s office. He felt that if he had an -architect who sympathized with the idea everything would be simplified. -His father and Freeman met frequently, and Freeman, blunt and direct, -was not a man who would connive at the construction of a building, -in which presumably Franklin Mills was interested, without Mills’s -knowledge. - -His sensitive face so clearly indicated his disappointment that Bruce, -not knowing what lay behind this unexpected revival of the clubhouse -plan, said, with every wish to be kind: - -“Very likely Mr. Freeman would be glad to let me do the work--but I’d -rather you asked him. I’d hate to have him think I was going behind his -back to take a job. You can understand how I’d feel about it.” - -“I hadn’t thought of that at all!” said Shepherd sincerely. “And of -course I respect your feeling.” Then with a little toss of the head and -a gesture that expressed his desire to be entirely frank, he added: -“You understand I’m doing this on my own hook. I think I told you my -father thought it unwise for the battery company to do it. But I’m -going ahead on my own responsibility--with my own money.” - -“I see,” said Bruce. “It’s fine of you to want to do it.” - -“I’ve _got_ to do it!” said Shepherd, slapping his hand on his knee. -“And of course my father and the company being out of it, it’s no one’s -concern but my own!” - -The door was open. Connie Mills’s laugh for a moment rose above the -blur of talk in the adjoining rooms. Shepherd’s head lifted and -his lips tightened as though he gained confidence from his wife’s -propinquity. Mrs. Freeman appeared at the door, demanding to know if -they wanted tea, and noting their absorption withdrew without waiting -for an answer. - -It was clear enough that Shepherd meant to put the scheme through -without his father’s consent, even in defiance of his wishes. The idea -had become an obsession with the young man; but his sincere wish to -promote the comfort and happiness of his employees spoke for so kind -and generous a nature that Bruce shrank from wounding him. Seeing Bruce -hesitate, Shepherd began to explain the sale of his trust stock to -obtain the money, which only increased Bruce’s determination to have -nothing to do with the matter. - -“Why don’t you take it up with Mr. Carroll?” Bruce suggested. “He might -win your father over to your side.” - -“Oh, I couldn’t do that! Carroll, you know, is bound to take father’s -view of things. Father will be all right about it when it’s all done. -Of course after the work starts he’ll know, so it won’t be a secret -long. I’m going ahead as a little joke on him. I think he’ll be tickled -to know I’ve got so much initiative!” - -He laughed in his quick, eager way, hoping that he had made this -convincing. Bruce, from his observation of Franklin Mills, was not so -sanguine as to the outcome. Mills would undoubtedly be very angry. On -the face of it he would have a right to be. And one instinctively felt -like shielding Shepherd Mills from his own folly. - -“If you really want my advice,” said Bruce after a moment’s -deliberation, “I’d take a little more time to this. Before you could -get your plans we’ll be having rough weather. I’d wait till spring, -when you can develop your grounds and complete the whole thing at once. -And it would be just as well to look around a bit--visit other cities -and get the newest ideas.” - -“You think that? I supposed there’d be time to get the foundations in -if I started right away.” - -“I wouldn’t risk it; in fact I think it would be a serious mistake.” - -“Well, you are probably right,” assented Shepherd, though reluctantly, -and there was a plaintive note in his voice. “Thanks ever so much. I -guess I’ll take your advice. I’ll let it go till spring.” - -“Damon and Pythias couldn’t look more brotherly!” Constance Mills stood -at the doorway viewing them with her languid smile. “It peeves me a -good deal, Mr. Storrs, that you prefer my husband’s society to mine.” - -“This is business, Connie,” Shepherd said. “We’ve just finished.” - -“Let’s say the party is just beginning,” said Bruce. “I was just coming -out to look you up.” - -“I can’t believe it! But Leila just telephoned for us to come out -to Deer Trail and bring any of Dale’s crowd who look amusing. That -includes you, of course, Mr. Storrs. Everyone’s gone but Helen Torrence -and Fred Thomas and Arthur Carroll. Mr. Mills is at the farm; it’s a -fad of his to have Sunday supper in the country. Leila hates it and -sent out an S. O. S., so we can’t desert her. No, Mr. Storrs, you can’t -duck! Millicent is there--that may add to the attractions!” - -This with a meaningful glance at Bruce prompted him to say that Miss -Harden’s presence hardly diminished the attractions of the farm. There -was real comedy in his inability to extricate himself from the net in -which he constantly found himself enmeshed with the members of the -house of Mills. - -In discussing who had a car and who hadn’t, Freeman said his machine -was working badly, to which Shepherd replied that there was plenty of -room in his limousine for the Freemans and any others who were carless. - -“Mr. Storrs will want to take his car,” said Constance. “He oughtn’t -really to drive out alone----” - -“Not alone, certainly not!” Bruce replied. “I shall be honored if you -will drive with me!” - - -II - -“You didn’t mind?” asked Constance when Bruce got his car under way. - -“You mean do I mind driving you out? Please don’t make me say how great -the pleasure is!” - -“You’re poking fun at me; you always do!” - -“Never! Why, if I followed my inclinations I’d come trotting up to your -house every day. But it wouldn’t do. You know that!” - -“But I wouldn’t want you to do that--not unless you----” - -There was a bridge to cross and the pressure of traffic at the moment -called for care in negotiating it. - -“What were you saying?” he asked as they turned off the brilliantly -lighted boulevard. The town lay behind and they moved through open -country. - -“You know,” she said, “I gave you the sign that I wanted to be friends. -I had a feeling you knew I needed----” - -“What?” he demanded, curious as to the development of her technic. - -“Oh, just a little attention! I’ve tried in every way to tell you that -I’m horribly lonely.” - -“But you oughtn’t to be!” he said, vaguely conscious that they were -repeating themselves. - -“Oh, I know what you think! You think I ought to be very content and -happy. But happiness isn’t so easy! We don’t get it just by wishing.” - -“I suppose it’s the hardest thing in the world to find,” he assented. - -It was now quite dark and the stars hung brilliant in the cloudless -heavens. In her fur coat, with a smart toque to match, Constance had -not before seemed so beguiling. His meeting with her in the lonely -road with George Whitford and her evident wish not to be seen that -day by Franklin Mills or the members of his riding party had rather -shaken his first assumption that she could be classified as a harmless -flirt. Tonight he didn’t care particularly. If Franklin Mills’s -daughter-in-law wanted to flirt with him he was ready to meet her -halfway. - -“It’s strange, but you know I’m not a bit afraid of you. And the other -evening when the rest of us couldn’t do a thing with Leila she chose -you to take her home. You have a way of inspiring confidence. Shep -picks you out, when he hardly knows you, for confidential talks. I’ve -been trying to analyze your--fascinations.” - -“Oh, come now! Your husband thought I might help him in a small -perplexity--purely professional. Nothing to that! And your young -sister-in-law was cross at the rest of you that day at Mrs. Torrence’s -and out of pique chose me to take her home.” - -“But _I_ trust you!” - -“Maybe you shouldn’t!” - -“Well, that afternoon you caught me out here with Mr. Whitford I knew -you wouldn’t tell on me. George was a trifle nervous about it. I told -him you were the soul of discretion.” - -“But--I didn’t see you! I didn’t see you at all! I’m blind in both eyes -and I can be deaf and dumb when necessary!” - -“Oh, I knew you wouldn’t rush over town telling on me! It’s really -not that! It’s because I knew you wouldn’t that I’m wondering -what--_what_--it is that makes even your acquaintances feel that they -can rely on you. You know you’re quite a wonderful person. Leila -and Millicent were talking about you only yesterday. Not schoolgirl -twaddle, but real appreciation!” - -“That’s consoling! I’m glad of their good opinion. But you--what did -_you_ say?” - -“Oh, I said I thought you were disagreeable and conceited and generally -unpleasant!” She turned toward him with her indolent laugh. “You _know_ -I wouldn’t say anything unkind of you.” This in so low a tone that it -was necessary for him to bend his head to hear. His cheek touched the -furry edge of her hat thrillingly. - -“It seems strange, our being together this way,” she said. “I wish we -hadn’t a destination. I’d like to go right on--and on----” - -“That would be all right as long as the gas held out!” - -“You refuse to take me seriously!” - -“I seem doomed to say the wrong thing to you! You’ll have to teach me -how to act and what to say.” - -“But I’d rather be the pupil! There are many things you could teach me!” - -“Such as----” - -“There’s always love!” she replied softly, lingering upon the word; and -again it was necessary to bend down to hear. She lifted her face; he -felt rather than saw her eyes meeting his. Her breath, for a fleeting -instant on his cheek, caused him to give hurried consideration to the -ancient question whether a woman who is willing should be kissed or -whether delicate ethical questions should outweigh the desirability of -the kiss prospective. He kissed her--first tentatively on the cheek -and then more ardently on the lips. She made no protest; he offered no -apology. Both were silent for some time. When she spoke it was to say, -with serene irrelevance: - -“How smoothly your car runs! It increases my respect for the -Plantagenet.” - -“Oh, it’s very satisfactory; some of Bud’s claims for it are really -true!” - -Bruce was relieved; but he was equally perplexed. It was an ungallant -assumption that any man might, in like circumstances, kiss Constance -Mills. On the other hand it eased his conscience to find that she -evidently thought so little of it. She had been quite willing to be -kissed.... She was a puzzling person, this young woman. - - -III - -The Freemans and the others who had started with them had taken short -cuts and were already at the house. They passed through an entry hall -into a big square living-room. It was a fit residence for the owner -of the encompassing acres and Bruce felt the presence of Franklin -Mills before he saw him. This was the kind of thing Mills would like. -The house was in keeping with the fertile land, the prize herds, the -high-bred horses with which he amused himself. - -Mills welcomed the newcomers with a bluff heartiness, as though -consciously or unconsciously he adopted a different tone in the country -and wished to appear the unobtrusive but hospitable lord of the manor. -Leila joined him as he talked a moment to Constance and Bruce. - -“You see you can’t dodge me! Awfully glad you came. Millie’s here -somewhere and I think old Bud Henderson will drop in later.” - -“There’ll be supper pretty soon,” said Mills. “We’re just waiting for -everybody to get here. I think you know everyone. It’s a pleasure to -see you here, Mr. Storrs. Please make yourself at home. Constance, see -that Mr. Storrs has a cocktail.” - -The members of the company gathered about the fire began twitting -Constance and Bruce about the length of time it had taken them to drive -out. They demanded to know what Connie had talked to him about. He -answered them in kind, appealing to Constance to confirm his assertion -that they had taken the most expeditious route. They had discussed the -political conditions in Poland, he declared. - -“Come with me,” said Mrs. Torrence, drawing him away. “I want to talk -to you! I’m sorry things happened as they did on your first call. I -don’t want you to get the idea that my house is a place where I pull -nothing but rough parties! Please think better of me than that!” - -“Heavens, woman! Such a thought never entered my head! I’ve been -thinking seriously of coming back! I need some more of your spiritual -uplift!” - -“Good! There’s more of that Bourbon! But I wanted to say that I was -sorry Leila came to my house as she did. That is a problem--not a -serious problem, but the child needs a little curbing. She has one good -friend--Millicent Harden--that tall, lovely girl standing over there. -Do you know Millie?” - -“Oh, yes; I’ve even played golf with her!” - -“My! You really have an eye! Well, you might come to call on me! I’m a -trifle old to be a good playmate for you; but you might take me on as a -sort of aunt--not too old to be unsympathetic with youth. When nothing -better offers, look me up!” - -“I’d been thinking seriously of falling in love with you! Nothing is -holding me back but my natural diffidence!” - -She raised her hand warningly. - -“Go no further! I can see that you’ve been well trained. But it isn’t -necessary to jolly me. I’m not half the fool I look. My self-respect -didn’t want you to get the idea that I’m a wild woman. I was worried -that evening about Leila--she has a heart of gold, but I don’t dare -take any special interest in her for the absurd reason--what do you -think?--I’ve been suspected of having designs on--our host!” - -She laughed merrily. Her mirth was of the infectious sort; Bruce -laughed with her; one had to, even when the provocation was slight. - -“One doesn’t talk of one’s host,” she said with a deep sigh, “but I -was talked about enough when I married Mr. Torrence; I’ll never try it -again. But why am I taking you into my confidence? Merely that I want -you to know my house isn’t a booze shop all the time! I’m going to keep -my eye on you. If I see you wandering too close to the rifle pits, I’ll -warn you! May I?” - -“Of course you may!” said Bruce, conscious of an honest friendliness -in this proffer, but not at once finding words to express his -appreciation. “Tell me, do I look as though I might be gassed?” - -“I don’t know whether you’re susceptible or not. But I like you! I’m -going to prove it by doing you a favor. Come with me!” - -The supper was a buffet affair and the butler was distributing plates -and napkins. At one side of the room Franklin Mills was talking to -Millicent. Bruce had glanced at them occasionally, thinking with a -twinge how young Mills looked tonight, noting how easily he seemed -to be holding the girl’s interest, not as a man much older but as a -contemporary. And he had everything to offer--his unassailable social -position and the wealth to support it. As he crossed the room beside -Mrs. Torrence, accommodating his long stride to her pattering step, he -saw a frown write itself fleetingly on Mills’s brow. Millicent--in a -soft blue Jersey sport dress, with a felt hat of the same shade adorned -with a brilliant pheasant’s wing--kept her eyes upon Mills until he had -finished something he was saying. - -“What’s it all about?” demanded Mrs. Torrence, laying her hand -upon Millicent’s arm. “We knew you two were talking of something -confidential and important; that’s why we’re interrupting you.” - -“Oh, we’re discussing the horrors of Sunday--and whether it should be -abolished!” said Millicent. “And Mr. Mills won’t be serious!” - -“Sunday’s always a hard day,” remarked Mrs. Torrence. “I’m always worn -out trying to decide whether to go to church or stay at home.” - -“And today?” asked Mills. - -“I went! The sermon was most disagreeable. Doctor Lindley told us we -all know our duty to God and can’t pretend that we don’t!” - -“Is that what he preached?” asked Mills with a vague smile. “What do -you think of the proposition?” - -“The man’s right! But it doesn’t make me any happier to know it,” Mrs. -Torrence replied. “Next Sunday I’ll stay in bed.” - -She took Mills away for the avowed purpose of asking his private -counsel in spiritual matters. - -“Isn’t she nice?” said Millicent. - -“I’m bound to think so; she arranged this for me!” - -“Did she?” asked Millicent with feigned innocence. “She did it neatly!” - -“She promised to be my friend and then proved it,” Bruce said, and then -added, “I’m not so sure our host quite liked being taken away.” - -“How foolish of you! He can always see me!” she replied indifferently. -“Don’t scorn your food! It is of an exceeding goodness. Bring me up to -date a little about yourself. Any more dark days?” - -“No-o-o.” - -She laughed at the prolongation of his denial. - -“Come now! I’m beginning to think I’m of no use to you!” - -“Right now I’m as happy as a little lark!” he declared. - -She had begun to suspect that he had known unhappiness. A love affair -perhaps. Or it might have been the war that had taken something of the -buoyancy of youth out of him. She was happy in the thought that she was -able to help him. He was particularly responsive to a kind of humor she -herself enjoyed, and they vied with each other in whimsical ridicule of -the cubists in art and the symbolists in literature. - -... The guests were redistributing themselves and she suggested that he -single out Leila for a little attention. - -“Don’t have prejudices! There’s nothing in that,” she said. - -“I haven’t a prejudice against Miss Mills!” - -“Not so formal! I’ll give you permission to call her Leila! She’ll like -it!” - -“But you haven’t told me I might call you----” - -“Millicent let it be!” - -“Well, little one, how’s your behavior!” demanded Leila when Bruce -found her. - -“Bad!” Bruce replied in her own key. - -“My example, I suppose. I’ve heard that I’m a bad influence in the -community. Let’s sit. You and I have got to have an understanding some -day; why not now?” - -“All right, but don’t get too deep--Leila!” - -“That’s good! I didn’t suppose you knew my name. Millie’s put you up to -that.” - -“She did. I hope you like it.” - -“Intensely! Are you falling in love with Millie?” - -“That’s a secret. If I said I was, what would you say?” - -“Atta boy! But--I don’t think she is in love with you.” - -“Your penetration does you credit! I had thought of her as perishing -for the hour when I would again dawn upon her sight!” - -“You’re going good! Really, though, she admits that she likes you ever -so much.” - -“Is that the reason why you think she doesn’t love me?” - -“Of course! I’m in love myself. I’m simply wild about Freddy Thomas! -But I’d die before I’d admit the awful fact to my dearest friend! -That’s love!” - -“How about your Freddy? Is he aware of your infatuation?” - -“That’s the wonderful part. You see, it’s a secret. No one knows it but -just Freddy and me!” - -“Oh, I see! You pretend to hate Freddy but really you love him?” - -“You’re a thinker! What would you say if I told you I had a cute little -flask upstairs and asked you to meet me in the pantry and have a little -nip just to celebrate this event? I had only one cocktail; my dearest -Dada saw to that!” - -“I’d meet you in the pantry and confiscate the flask!” - -She regarded him fixedly for a moment, and her tone and manner changed -abruptly. - -“You know about life, people, things; I know you do! It’s in your eyes, -and I’d know it if Millie hadn’t said so. Do you really think it is -disgraceful for me to get--well, soused--as you’ve seen me several -times? Dada and my aunts lecture me to death--and I hate it--but, -well--what do you think?” - -Her gravity demanded kindness. He felt infinitely older; she seemed -very like a child tonight--an impulsive, friendly child. - -“I think I’d cut it out. There’s no good in it--for you or anyone else.” - -“I’ll consider that,” she replied slowly; then suddenly restless, she -suggested that they go into the long enclosed veranda that connected -the house with the conservatories. - -As they walked back and forth--Leila in frivolous humor now--Bruce -caught a glimpse of her father and Millicent just inside the -conservatory door. They were talking earnestly. Evidently they had -paused to conclude some matter they had been discussing before -returning to the house. Millicent held three roses in her hand and -lifted them occasionally to her face. - - -IV - -Still beset by uncertainties as to whether he would increase his -chances of happiness by marrying again, Mills was wondering just -how a man of his years could initiate a courtship with a girl of -Millicent Harden’s age. It must be managed in such a way as to preserve -his dignity--that must be preserved at all hazards. They had been -walking through the conservatory aisles inspecting his roses, which -were cultivated by an expert whose salary was a large item of the -farm budget. Millicent was asking questions about the development of -new floral types and he was answering painstakingly, pleased by her -interest. - -“It’s unfortunate that the human species can’t be improved as easily. -At least we don’t see our way to improving it,” he remarked. - -He had never thought her so beautiful as now; her charm was rather -enhanced by her informal dress. It would be quite possible for him to -love her, love her even with a young man’s ardor. - -“Oh, patience, sir!” she smiled. “Evolution is still going on.” - -“Or going back! There’s our old quarrel!” he laughed. “We always seem -to get into it. But your idea that we’re not creatures of chance--that -there’s some unseen power back of everything we call life--that’s too -much for me. I can understand Darwin--but you!” - -“Honestly, now, are you perfectly satisfied to go on thinking we’re all -creatures of chance?” - -“Sometimes I am and then again I’m not!” he replied with a shrug. “I -can’t quite understand why it is that with everything we have, money -and the ability to amuse ourselves, we do at times inquire about that -Something that never shows itself or gives us a word.” - -“Oh, but He does!” She held up the three perfect roses Mills had -plucked for her. “He shows Himself in all beautiful things. They’re all -trying to tell us that the Something we can’t see or touch has a great -deal to do with our lives.” - -“Millie,” he said in a tone of mock despair, tapping her hand lightly, -“you’re an incorrigible mystic!” - -They were interrupted by a knock on the glass door, which swung open, -disclosing Leila and Bruce. - -“Mr. Storrs and I are dying of curiosity! You’ve been talking here for -ages!” cried Leila. - -“Millie’s been amusing herself at my expense,” said Mills. “Mr. Storrs, -I wish you’d tell me sometime what Miss Harden means when she reaches -into the infinite and brings down----” - -“Roses!” laughed Millicent. - - -V - -His glimpse of Franklin Mills and Millicent at the conservatory door -affected Bruce disagreeably. The fact that the two had been discussing -impersonal matters did not lessen his resentment. Millicent with -Mills’s roses in her hand; Mills courteously attentive, addressing the -girl with what to Bruce was a lover-like air, had made a picture that -greatly disturbed him. - -Very likely, with much this same air, with the same winning manner -and voice, Mills had wooed his mother! He saw in Mills a sinister -figure--a man who, having taken advantage of one woman, was not to be -trusted with another. The pity he had at times felt for Mills went down -before a wave of jealous anger and righteous indignation. The man was -incapable of any true appreciation of Millicent; he was without wit or -soul to penetrate to the pure depths of the girl’s nature. - -“You two are always talking about things I don’t understand!” Leila -said to them; and led Bruce on through the conservatories, talking in -her inconsequential fashion. - -When they returned to the house someone had begun playing old-fashioned -games--blindman’s buff, drop the handkerchief and London Bridge. When -these ceased to amuse, the rugs were cleared away and they danced to -the phonograph. Mills encouraged and participated in all this as if -anxious to show that he could be as young as the youngest. And what -occasion could be more fitting than an evening in his handsome country -house, with his children and their friends about him! - -With Millicent constantly before his eyes, entering zestfully into all -these pleasures, Bruce recovered his tranquillity. For the thousandth -time he convinced himself that he was not a weakling to suffer specters -of the past and forebodings of the future to mar his life. He danced -with Millicent; seized odd moments in which to talk to her; tried to -believe that she had a particular smile for him.... - -“I wonder if you’d drive me in?” asked Mrs. Torrence when the party -began to break up. - -“I’d been counting on it!” said Bruce promptly. - -Constance came along and waived her rights to his escort, as she and -Shepherd were taking the Freemans home. - -“I believe we’re a little better acquainted than we were,” she said -meaningfully. - -“It seemed to me we made a little headway,” Bruce replied. - -“Come and see me soon! You never can tell when I’ll need a little -consoling.” - -“That was a good party,” Mrs. Torrence began as Bruce got his car in -motion. “Mr. Mills is two or three different men. Sometimes I think he -consciously assumes a variety of rôles. He’s keen about this country -gentleman stuff--unassuming grandeur and all that! But meet him out -at dinner in town tomorrow night and you’d never think him capable of -playing drop the handkerchief! Makes you wonder just which is the real -Mills.” - -“Maybe we all lead two or three existences without knowing it,” Bruce -remarked. - -“We do! We do, indeed!” the little woman cheerfully agreed. “All -except me. I’m always just the same and too much of that!” - -“Well, you always come up with a laugh and that helps. Please let me -into the secret.” - -“My dear boy, I learned early in life to hide my tears. Nobody’s -interested in a cry-baby. And minding my own business saves a lot of -bother. I think I’ve acquired that noble trait!” - -“That’s genius!” exclaimed Bruce. - -“But--in your case I may not do it! I like you, you know.” - -“Am I to believe that?” he asked seriously. - -“I hope you’ll believe it. I offered at the beginning of the evening to -be your friend until death do us part; I’ve done some thinking since. I -do think occasionally, though you’d never guess it.” - -“It’s an old trick of the world to be mistrustful of thinkers. I’ve -suffered from it myself.” - -“Listen to me, young man! I’ve got my eye on you. I suggested to Connie -that it would be simpler for her to go in with Shep. I love Connie; -she’s always been nice to me. But Connie’s not just a safe chum for -you. Your fascinations might be a trifle too--too----” - -“Too,” he supplied mockingly, “much for me?” - -“Don’t be silly! Connie’s a young woman of charm, and she likes to use -it. And you’re not without a little of the same ingredient. You may -be nice and friendly with Connie--_and_ Shep--but you mustn’t forget -that there is Shep. Shep’s a nice, dear boy. I’m strong for Shepherd. I -could cry when I see how much in love he is with Connie! And of course -she doesn’t love him in any such way. She sort o’ mothers and pets him. -She still has her grand love affair before her. Isn’t this nasty of me -to be talking of her in this fashion! But I don’t want you to be the -victim. One drive alone with her is enough for you in one evening!” - -“Oh, but----” - -“Oh, all the buts! We haven’t been talking of her at all! Aren’t the -shadows of that tall tree interesting?” - -The shadows of the tall tree were not particularly interesting, but -Bruce, speculating a little as to what Mrs. Torrence would say if she -knew he had kissed Constance on the drive out, was guiltily glad that -she had concluded what he felt to be a well-meant warning against -getting in too deep with Mrs. Shepherd Mills. - -“You’ve got a big future,” Mrs. Torrence remarked later. “Nothing’s -going to spoil it. But socially, walk softly. This is a city of -illusions. It’s the fashion to pretend that everybody’s awfully good. -Of course everybody isn’t! But it’s better to fall in with the idea. -I’m just giving you the hint. Take Franklin Mills for your model. -Always know the right people and do the right thing. There’s a man who -never sinned in all his life. You’re lucky to have caught his eye so -soon! I saw him watching you tonight--with approval, I mean. He’s a man -of power. I advise you to cultivate him a little.” - -“Oh, my knowing him is just a matter of chance,” Bruce replied -indifferently. - -“He’s the most interesting man in town and all the more so because -he’s puzzling--not all on the surface. An unusual person. And to think -he has a daughter like Leila and a son like Shep! I love them both; -they’re so unlike him! You wouldn’t know them for the same breed. One -couldn’t love _him_, you know; he’s far too selfish and self-satisfied -for that!” - - - - -CHAPTER TWELVE - - -I - -As Bruce was driving past the Mills’s residence one evening several -weeks later, Carroll hailed him. Mills, it appeared, had driven -out with Carroll and the limousine waited at the curb to carry the -secretary on home. Carroll asked Bruce whether he would go with him to -a lecture at the art institute the following night; a famous painter -was to speak and it promised to be an interesting occasion. Mills -lingered while the young men arranged to meet at the club for dinner -before the lecture, and Bruce was about to climb back into his car when -Mills said detainingly: - -“Storrs, won’t you have pity on me? Carroll’s just refused to dine with -me. My daughter’s going out and there’s just myself. Do you think you -could stand it?” - -“The soil of the day is upon me!” said Bruce. “But----” - -He very much wished to refuse, but the invitation was cordially given, -and taken by surprise, he was without a valid excuse for declining. - -“You don’t need to dress and you may leave the moment you’re bored,” -said Mills amiably. - -“Sorry, but I’ve got to run,” said Carroll. “I’ll send your car right -back, Mr. Mills. Thank you. I envy you two your quiet evening!” - -Mills led the way upstairs, opened the door of one of the bedrooms and -turned on the lights. - -“The room’s supposed to be in order--it’s my son’s old room. Ring if -you don’t find what you want.” - -Bruce closed the door and stared about him. - -Shepherd’s old room! It was a commodious chamber, handsomely furnished. -The bath was a luxurious affair. As he drew off his coat Bruce’s mind -turned back to his little room in the old frame house in Laconia; the -snowy window draperies his mother always provided, and the other little -tributes of her love, fashioned by her own hands, that adorned the room -in which he had dreamed the long, long dreams of youth. Through the -dormer windows he had heard the first bird song in the spring, and on -stormy nights in winter had sunk to sleep to the north wind’s hoarse -shout through the elms and maples in the yard. - -“My son’s room!” Franklin Mills had said carelessly as he turned away. -The phrase still rang in Bruce’s ears. Mills could not know; he could -not even suspect! No man would be callous enough to make such a remark -if he believed he was uttering it to an unrecognized child of his own -blood. - -Bruce laved his face and brushed his hair and went down the hall to the -library where Mills had taken him on the memorable night they met in -the storm. The portrait which had so disturbed Mills still hung in its -place. Bruce turned his back on it and took up the evening newspapers. - -A maid appeared to say that Mr. Mills was answering a long-distance -call, but would be free in a moment; and a little later the butler -came in with a tray and began concocting a cocktail. While this was in -preparation a low whistle from the door caused Bruce to glance round. -Leila was peering at him, her head alone being visible. - -“I thought you were a burglar!” she whispered. - -Bruce pointed to the servant, who was solemnly manipulating the shaker, -and beckoned her to enter. - -“Briggs! You lied to me again!” she said severely as she swept into the -room. “You told me there wasn’t a drop in the house!” - -“It was the truth, Miss Leila, when I told you,” the man replied -gravely. “A friend of Mr. Mills left this at the door this morning.” - -“I don’t believe it! It was more likely a friend of mine. I say, little -one, how do I look?” - -“Queenly,” Bruce replied. “If you were more beautiful my eyes couldn’t -bear it.” - -“Cut it! Am I really all right?” - -“I’d be ashamed if I didn’t know it!” - -“Good boy! You have a taste!” - -She was charming indeed in her evening gown, which he praised in -ignorant terms that she might correct him. She remained standing, -drawing on her gloves, and explaining that she was dining at the -Tarletons and wasn’t highly edified at the prospect. Her going was -a concession to her father. The Tarletons had a young guest whose -grandfather had once been a business associate of her Grandfather -Mills; hence she must sacrifice herself. - -“Dad’s keen about the old family stuff. Just look at those grand old -relics up there.” She indicated the line of family portraits with a -disdainful gesture. “I come in and make faces at them when I feel -naughty. I can’t tell my grandfathers apart, and don’t want to!” - -“How lacking in piety!” said Bruce, who could have pointed out her -Grandfather Mills! He bestowed a hasty glance at the portrait, -satisfied that Leila at least would never detect her ancestor’s -resemblance to himself. The servant, having sufficiently agitated the -cocktails, withdrew. Leila, waiting till the door to the back stairs -closed, began advancing with long steps and a rowdyish swagger toward -the tray. - -“Alone with a cocktail! And I’m going to a dry party! Hist!” She bent -her head toward the door, her hand to her ear. “What’s the Colonel -doing?” she asked. - -“At the telephone; he’ll be here any minute.” - -“Quick! Fill that glass--that’s the good sport!” - -“Service for two only! You wouldn’t rob _me_!” - -“Please--I don’t want my gloves to reek of gin--please!” - -“You can’t touch that tray--you can’t touch that shaker! You’re -hypnotized!” he declared solemnly. - -“Oh, tush!” With a quick movement she tried to grasp the shaker; but he -caught her hand, held it a moment, then let it fall to her side while -he smiled into her bright, eager eyes. - -“In the name of all your ancestors I forbid you!” he said. - -“You wouldn’t trust me with one?” she demanded, half defiant, half -acquiescing. - -“Not tonight, when you’re meeting old family friends and all that!” - -“Pshaw!” She stamped her foot. “I can stop at half a dozen houses and -get a drink----” - -“But you won’t; really you won’t!” - -“What’s it to you--why should you care?” she demanded, looking him -straight in the eyes. - -“Aren’t we friends?” he asked. “A friend wouldn’t give it to you. See! -You don’t really want it at all--it was just an hallucination!” - -“Oh, no!” she said, puckering her face and scowling her abhorrence of -the idea while her eyes danced merrily. “I just _dreamed_ I wanted it. -Well, score one for you, old top! You’re even nicer than I thought you -were!” - -“Leila, haven’t you _gone_ yet?” exclaimed Mills, appearing suddenly in -the room. - -“No, Dada! I was just kidding Bruce a little. Hope you have a nice -dinner! Don’t be too solemn, and don’t scold your guest the way you do -me. Yes, I’ve got my key and every little thing. Good-night. Come and -see me sometime, Bruce.” She lifted her face for her father to kiss, -paused in the doorway to shake her fist at Bruce and tripped down the -hall singing. - -“Do pardon me for keeping you waiting,” said Mills. “I had a New York -call and the connection was bad. Let’s see what we have here----” - -“Allow me, sir----” - -As Bruce gave the drinks a supplemental shake Mills inspected the two -glasses, ostensibly to satisfy himself that the housekeeping staff had -properly cared for them, but really, Bruce surmised, to see whether -Leila had been tippling. - - -II - -When they went down to the dining-room Bruce found it less of an ordeal -than he had expected to sit at Mills’s table. Mills was a social -being; his courtesy was unfailing, and no doubt he was sincere in his -expressions of gratitude to Bruce for sharing his meal. - -The table was lighted by four tapers in tall candlesticks of English -silver. The centerpiece was a low bowl of pink roses, the product -of the Deer Trail conservatories. Mills, in spite of his austere -preferences in other respects, deferred to changing fashions in -the furnishing of his table, to which he gave the smart touch of -a sophisticated woman. It was a way of amusing himself, and he -enjoyed the praise of the women who dined with him for his taste, the -discrimination he exercised in picking up novelties in exclusive New -York shops. Even when alone he enjoyed the contemplation of precious -silver and crystal, and the old English china in which he specialized. -He invited Bruce’s attention, as one connoisseur to another, to the -graceful lines and colors of the water glasses--a recent acquisition. -The food was excellent, but doubtless no better than Mills ate every -night, whether he dined alone or with Leila. The courses were served -unhurriedly; Franklin Mills was not a man one could imagine bolting his -food. Again Bruce found his dislike ebbing. The idea that the man was -his father only fleetingly crossed his mind. If Mills suspected the -relationship he was an incomparable actor.... - -“I’ve never warmed to the idea that America should be an asylum for the -scum of creation; it’s my Anglo-Saxon conceit, I suppose. You have the -look of the old American stock----” - -“I suppose I’m a pretty fair American,” Bruce replied. “My home town is -Laconia--settled by Revolutionary soldiers; they left their imprint. -It’s a patriotic community.” - -“Oh, yes; Laconia! Carroll was telling me that had been your home. He -has some relatives there himself.” - -“Yes, I know them,” Bruce said, meeting Mills’s gaze carelessly. “The -fact is I know, or used to know, nearly everybody in the town.” - -“Carroll may have told you that I had some acquaintance with the place -myself. That was a long time ago. I went there to look after some -business interests for my father. It was a part of my apprenticeship. -I seem to recall people of your name; Storrs is not so common--?” - -“My father was John Storrs--a lawyer,” said Bruce in the tone of one -stating a fact unlikely to be of particular interest. - -“Yes; John Storrs----” Mills repeated musingly. “I recall him very -well--and his wife--your mother--of course. Delightful people. I’ve -always remembered those months I spent there with a particular -pleasure. For the small place Laconia was then, there was a good deal -doing--dances and picnics. I remember your mother as the leading spirit -in all the social affairs. Is she----” - -“Father and mother are both gone. My mother died a little more than a -year ago.” - -“I’m very sorry,” Mills murmured sympathetically. “For years I had -hoped to go back to renew old acquaintances, but Laconia is a little -inaccessible from here and I never found it possible.” - -Whether Mills had referred to his temporary residence in Laconia merely -to show how unimportant and incidental it was in his life remained a -question. But Bruce felt that if Mills could so lightly touch upon it, -he himself was equal to gliding over it with like indifference. Mills -asked with a smile whether Gardner’s Grove was still in existence, that -having been a favorite picnic ground, an amateurish sort of country -club where the Laconians used to have their dances. The oak trees there -were the noblest he had ever seen. Bruce expressed regret that the -grove was gone.... - -Mills was shrewd; and Bruce was aware that the finely formed head -across the table housed a mind that carefully calculated all the -chances of life even into the smallest details. He wondered whether -he had borne himself as well as Mills in the ordeal. The advantage -had been on Mills’s side; it was his house, his table. Possibly he had -been waiting for some such opportunity as this to sound the son of -Marian Storrs as to what he knew--hoped perhaps to surprise him into -some disclosure of the fact if she had ever, in a moment of weakness or -folly, spoken of him as other than a passing acquaintance. - -“We’ll go down to the billiard room to smoke,” Mills remarked at the -end of the dinner. “We’ll have our coffee there.” - -Easy chairs and a davenport at one end of the billiard room invited -to comfort. On the walls were mounted animal heads and photographs of -famous horses. - -“Leila doesn’t approve of these works of art,” said Mills, seeing Bruce -inspecting them. “She thinks I ought to move them to the farm. They do -look out of place here. Sit where you like.” - -He half sprawled on the davenport as one who, having dined to his -satisfaction and being consequently on good terms with the world, -wishes to set an example of informality to a guest. Bruce wondered -what Mills did on evenings he spent alone in the big house; tried to -visualize the domestic scene in the years of Mrs. Mills’s life. - -“You see Shepherd occasionally?” Mills asked when the coffee had been -served. “The boy hasn’t quite found himself yet. Young men these -days have more problems to solve than we faced when I was your age. -Everything is more complicated--society, politics, everything. Maybe it -only seems so. Shep’s got a lot of ideas that seem wild to me. Can’t -imagine where he gets them. Social reforms and all that. I sometimes -think I made a mistake in putting him into business. He might have been -happier in one of the professions--had an idea once he wanted to be a -doctor, but I discouraged it. A mistake, perhaps.” - -Mills’s manner of speaking of Shepherd was touched with a certain -remoteness. He appeared to invite Bruce’s comment, not in a spirit of -sudden intimacy, but as if he were talking with a man of his own years -who was capable of understanding his perplexities. It seemed to Bruce -in those few minutes that he had known Franklin Mills a very long -time. He was finding it difficult to conceal his embarrassment under -equivocal murmurs. But he pulled himself together to say cordially: - -“Shepherd is a fine fellow, Mr. Mills. You can’t blame him for his -idealism. There’s a lot of it in the air.” - -“He was not cut out for business,” Mills remarked. “Business is a -battle these days, and Shep isn’t a fighter.” - -“Must the game be played in that spirit?” asked Bruce with a smile. - -“Yes, if you want to get anywhere,” Mills replied grimly. “Shall we do -some billiards?” - - -III - -Mills took his billiards seriously. It was, Bruce could see, a -pastime much to his host’s taste; it exercised his faculties of -quick calculation and deft execution. Mills explained that he had -employed a professional to teach him. He handled the cue with -remarkable dexterity; it was a pleasure to watch the ease and grace -of his playing. Several times, after a long run, he made a wild shot, -unnecessarily it seemed, and out of keeping with his habitual even -play. Bud Henderson had spoken of this peculiarity. Bruce wondered -whether it was due to fatigue or to the intrusion upon Mills’s thoughts -of some business matter that had caused a temporary break in the -unity of eye and hand. Or it might have been due to some decision -that had been crystallizing in his subconsciousness and manifested -itself in this odd way. Mills was too good a player to make a fluke -intentionally, merely to favor a less skillful opponent. He accepted -his ill fortune philosophically. He was not a man to grow fretful or -attempt to explain his errors. - -“We’re not so badly matched,” he remarked when they finished and he had -won by a narrow margin. “You play a good game.” - -“You got the best there was in me!” said Bruce. “I rarely do as well as -that.” - -“Let’s rest and have a drink.” Mills pressed a button. “I’m just tired -enough to want to sit awhile.” - -Bruce had expected to leave when the game was ended, but Mills gave him -no opportunity. He reestablished himself on the davenport and began -talking more desultorily than before. For a time, indeed, Bruce carried -the burden of the conversation. Some remark he let fall about the South -caused Mills to ask him whether he had traveled much in America. - -“I’ve walked over a lot of it,” Bruce replied. “That was after I -came back from the little splurge overseas. Gave myself a personally -conducted tour, so to speak. Met lots of real tramps. I stopped to work -occasionally--learned something that way.” - -Mills was at once interested. He began asking questions as to the -living conditions of the people encountered in this adventure and the -frame of mind of the laborers Bruce had encountered. - -“You found the experience broadening, of course. It’s a pity more of -us can’t learn of life by direct contact with the people.” - -Under Mills’s questioning the whole thing seemed to Bruce more -interesting than he had previously thought it. The real reason for his -long tramp--the fact that he had taken to the road to adjust himself -to his mother’s confession that he was the son of a man of whom he had -never heard--would probably have given Mills a distinct shock. - -“I wish I could have done that myself!” Mills kept saying. - -Bruce was sorry that he had stumbled into the thing. Mills was -sincerely curious; it was something of an event to hear first-hand of -such an experience. His questions were well put and required careful -answers. Bruce found himself anxious to appear well in Mills’s eyes. -But Mills was leading toward something. He was commenting now on the -opportunities open to young men of ability in the business world, with -Bruce’s experiences as a text. - -“A professional man is circumscribed. There’s a limit to his earning -power. Most men in the professions haven’t the knack of making money. -They’re usually unwise in the investments they make of their savings.” - -“But they have the joy of their work,” Bruce replied quickly. “We can’t -measure their success just by their income.” - -“Oh, I grant you that! But many of the doors of prosperity and -happiness are denied them.” - -“But others are open! Think of the sense of service a physician must -feel in helping and saving. And even a puttering architect who can’t -create masterpieces has the fun of doing his small jobs well. He lives -the life he wants to live. There are painters and musicians who know -they can never reach the high places; but they live the life! They -starve and are happy!” - -Bruce bent forward eagerly, the enthusiasm bright in his eyes. He -had not before addressed Mills with so much assurance. The man was a -materialist; his standards were fixed in dollars. It was because he -reckoned life in false terms that Shepherd was afraid of him. - -“Oh, don’t misunderstand me! I realize the diversity of talents that -are handed out to us poor mortals. But if you were tempted to become a -painter, say, and you knew you would never be better than second-rate, -and at the same time you were pretty sure you could succeed in some -business and live comfortably--travel, push into the big world currents -and be a man of mark--what would you do?” - -“Your question isn’t fair, because it’s not in the design of things -for us to see very far ahead. But I’ll answer! If I had a real urge to -paint I’d go to it and take my chance.” - -“That’s a fine spirit, Storrs; and I believe you mean it. But----” - -Mills rose and, thrusting his hands into his trousers’ pockets, walked -across the room, his head bent, and then swung round, took the cigar -from his lips and regarded the ash fixedly. - -“Now,” he said, “don’t think me ungracious”--he smiled -benignantly--“but I’m going to test you. I happen right now to know of -several openings in financial and industrial concerns for just such -a young man as you. They are places calling for clear judgment and -executive talent such as I’d say you possess. The chances of getting -on and up would be good, even if you had no capital. Would you care to -consider these places?” - -The smile had faded from his face; he waited gravely, with a scarcely -perceptible eagerness in his eyes, for the answer. - -“I think not, sir. No, Mr. Mills, I’m quite sure of it.” And then, -thinking that his rejection of the offer was too abrupt and not -sufficiently appreciative, Bruce added: “You see, I’m going to make a -strong effort to get close to the top in my profession. I may fall off -the ladder, but--I’ll catch somewhere! I have a little money--enough -to tide me over bad times--and I know I’d be sorry if I quit right at -the start. It’s kind of you to make the suggestion. I assure you I’m -grateful--it’s certainly very kind of you!” - -“Oh, I’m wholly selfish in suggesting it! In my various interests we -have trouble finding young men of the best sort. I know nothing of your -circumstances, of course; but I thought maybe a promising business -opening would appeal to you. On the whole”--Mills was still standing, -regarding Bruce fixedly as though trying to accommodate himself to some -newly discovered quality in his guest--“I like to see a young man with -confidence in his own powers. Yours is the spirit that wins. I hope you -won’t take it amiss that I broached the matter. You have your engaging -personality to blame for that!” - -“I’m glad to know it isn’t a liability!” said Bruce; and this ended the -discussion. - - -IV - -He left the house with his mind in confusion as to the meaning of -Mills’s offer. He drove about for an hour, pondering it, reviewing the -whole evening from the first mention of Laconia to the suggestion, -with its plausible inadvertence, that business openings might be -found for him. Mills was hardly the man to make such a proposition -to a comparative stranger without reason. The very manner in which -he had approached the subject was significant. _Mills knew!_ If he -didn’t know, at least his suspicions were strongly aroused. Either his -conscience was troubling him and he wished to quiet it by a display of -generosity, or he was anxious to establish an obligation that would -reduce to the minimum the chance that any demand might be made upon -him. Bruce was glad to be in a position to refuse Mills’s help; his -mother’s care and self-denial had made it unnecessary for him to abase -himself by accepting Mills’s bounty. - -He wished he knew some way of making Mills understand that he was in no -danger; that any fears of exposure he might entertain were groundless. -His pride rose strong in him as he reviewed his hours spent with Mills. -He had not acquitted himself badly; he had forced Mills to respect him, -and this was a point worth establishing. When finally he fell asleep -it was with satisfaction,--a comforting sense of his independence and -complete self-mastery. - - - - -CHAPTER THIRTEEN - - -I - -Mills, too, though lately mistrustful of his own emotions, was well -satisfied with the result of the long evening. He had spoken of Marian -Storrs to Marian’s son and the effect had been to strengthen his belief -that the young man knew nothing that could in any way prove annoying. -He was a little sorry that he had suggested finding a business opening -for Storrs; but decided that on the whole he had managed the matter in -a manner to conceal his real purpose. Bruce had said that he was not -wholly dependent upon his earnings for a livelihood, and this in itself -was reassuring and weighed strongly against the possibility of his ever -asserting any claim even if he knew or suspected their relationship. - -In his careful study of Bruce at their various meetings Mills had -been impressed increasingly by the young man’s high-mindedness, his -self-confidence and fine reticences, the variety and range of his -interests. Ah, if only Shepherd were like that! It was a cruel fate -that had given him a son he could never own, who had drifted across the -smooth-flowing current of his life to suggest a thousand contrasts with -Shepherd Mills--Shep with his pathetically small figure, his absurd -notions of social equality and his inability to grasp and deal with -large affairs! - -Ugly as the fact was, Bruce Storrs was a Mills; it wasn’t merely in -the resemblance to the portrait of Franklin Mills III that this was -evident. Young Storrs’s mental processes were much like those of the -man who was, to face it frankly, his grandfather. Bruce Storrs, who had -no right to the Mills name, was likely to develop those traits that had -endeared Franklin Mills III to the community--traits that nature, with -strange perversity, had failed utterly to transmit to his lawful son. - -Mills, in his new security, pondered these things with a degree of awe. -The God in whom he had much less faith than in a protective tariff or -a sound currency system might really be a more potent agent in mundane -affairs than he, Franklin Mills, who believed in nothing very strongly -that couldn’t be reduced to figures, had ever thought possible. - -As winter gripped the town Mills was uneasy in the thought that he -wasn’t getting enough out of life. Even with eight million dollars -and the tastes of a cultivated gentleman, life was paying inadequate -dividends. And there across the hedge lived Millicent. He would marry -Millicent; but there were matters to be arranged first.... - -Millicent was the most beautiful young woman he knew, and she had -brains and talents that added enormously to her desirability. Against -this was the fact that the Hardens had risen out of nowhere, and -Millicent’s possession of a father and mother could not be ignored. -Their very simplicity and the possession of the homely parochial -virtues so highly valued in the community by Mills and his generation -made it possible to do something toward giving them a social status. - -Discreet inquiry revealed the consoling fact that Nathaniel Harden was -taxed on approximately a million dollars’ worth of property. Not for -nothing had he applied himself diligently for twenty-five years to -the manufacture of the asthma cure! He was also the creator of a hair -tonic, a liver accelerator and a liniment that were almost as well -established in the proprietary drug market as the asthma remedy. Mills -was amazed to find that there was so much money in the business. - -Harden had not brought his laboratory with him when he moved to the -city, but it was still under his own direction. Fortunately, as Mills -viewed the matter, the business was conducted under a corporate -title, that of the International Medical Company, which was much less -objectionable than if it bore Harden’s name, though the doctor’s -picture did, regrettably, adorn the bottles in which the world-famous -asthma cure was offered and exposed for sale. - -In his investigations Mills found that Harden had invested his money -in some of the soundest of local securities. It spoke well for the -Doctor’s business acumen that he owned stock in the First National -Bank, which Mills controlled. A vacancy occurring in the directorate, -Mills caused Harden to be elected to the board. Harden was pleased but -not overcome by the honor. Mrs. Harden manifested a greater pleasure -and expressed herself to Mills with characteristic heartiness. - -Mills, after much careful consideration, gave a dinner for Doctor and -Mrs. Harden--made it appear to be a neighborly affair, though he was -careful to ask only persons whose recognition of the Hardens was likely -to add to their prestige. Mills had rather dreaded seeing Harden in a -dress suit, but the Doctor clad in social vestments was nothing to be -ashamed of. He revealed a sense of humor and related several stories -of a former congressman from his old district that were really funny. -Mrs. Harden looked as well and conducted herself with quite as much -ease as the other women present. No one would have guessed that she -made salt-rising bread once a week for her husband’s delectation and -otherwise continued, in spite of her prosperous state, to keep in close -touch with her kitchen. - -After giving the dinner Mills waited a little before venturing further -in his attempt to lift the social sky line for the Hardens. Much as he -disliked Constance, he was just the least bit afraid of her. Constance -was not stupid, and he was not blind to the fact that she wielded a -certain influence. His daughter-in-law could easily further his plans -for imparting dignity to the Hardens. And he foresaw that if he married -again it would be Connie, not Shepherd or Leila, who would resent the -marriage as a complicating circumstance when the dread hour arrived for -the parceling of his estate. Leila would probably see little more than -a joke in a marriage that would make her best friend her stepmother. - -“Why isn’t Millie in the Dramatic Club?” he asked Leila one day when -they were dining alone together. - -“Not so easy, Dada. I talked to some of the membership committee about -it last spring and I have a sneaking idea that they don’t want her. -Not just that, of course; it’s not Millie but the patent medicine they -can’t swallow. I think the club’s a bore myself. There’s a bunch of -girls in it--Connie’s one of them--who think they’re Ethel Barrymores -and Jane Cowlses, and Millie, you know, might be a dangerous rival. -Which she would be, all right! So they kid themselves with the idea -that the club really stands for the real old graveyard society of our -little village and that they’ve got to be careful who gets by.” - -“How ridiculous!” Mills murmured. - -“Silly! I do hate snobs! Millie isn’t asked to a lot of the nicest -parties just because she’s new in town. Doctor Harden’s guyed a -good deal about his fake medicines. I don’t see anything wrong with -Doc myself.” Leila bent her head in a quick way she had when mirth -seized her. “Bud Henderson says the Harden hair tonic’s the smoothest -furniture polish on the market.” - -Mills laughed, but not heartily. The thought of Henderson’s ridicule -chilled him. Henderson entertained a wide audience with his humor; he -must be cautious.... - - -II - -Leila was an impossible young democrat, utterly devoid of the sense of -social values. He must make an ally of Constance. Connie always wanted -something; it was one of Connie’s weaknesses to want things. Connie’s -birthday falling in the second week in December gave him a hint. Leila -had mentioned the anniversary and reminded her father that he usually -made Connie a present. Connie expected presents and was not satisfied -with anything cheap. - -Mills had asked a New York jeweler to send out some pearls from which -to make a selection for a Christmas present for Leila. They were still -in his vault at the office. He chose from the assortment a string of -pearls with a diamond pendant and bestowed it upon his daughter-in-law -on the morning of her birthday. He had made her handsome presents -before, but nothing that pleased her so much as this. - -While Connie’s gratitude was still warm, Mills found occasion to -mention Millicent one evening when he was dining at Shepherd’s. Leila -had been asked to some function to which Millicent was not bidden. -Mills made the very natural comment that it was unfortunate that -Millicent, intimate as she was with Leila, could not share all her -pleasures; the discrimination against the Hardens’ daughter was unjust. -Quick to see what was expected of her, Constance replied that it was -Millicent’s own fault that she hadn’t been taken up more generally. It -was perhaps out of loyalty to her parents that she had not met more -responsively the advances of women who, willing to accept Millicent, -yet couldn’t quite see her father and mother in the social picture. -Now that she thought of it, Constance herself had never called on Mrs. -Harden, but she would do so at once. There was no reason at all why -Millicent shouldn’t be admitted to the Dramatic Club; she would see to -that. She thought the impression had got around that Millicent was, if -not Bohemian in her sympathies, at least something of a nonconformist -in her social ideas. It was her artistic nature, perhaps. - -“That’s nonsense,” said Mills. “There isn’t a better bred girl in -town. She’s studious, quite an intellectual young woman--but that’s -hardly against her. I always feel safe about Leila when I know she -and Millicent are together. And her father and mother are really very -nice--unpretentious, kindly people. Of course the patent medicine -business isn’t looked on with great favor--but----” - -“But--it’s about as respectable as canning our native corn or cutting -up pigs,” Constance suggested. - -She was bewildered to find Mills, who had looked askance at her own -claims to social recognition because her father’s real estate and -insurance business was rather insignificant, suddenly viewing the -asthma cure so tolerantly. However, a father-in-law who gave her -valuable presents must be humored in his sudden manifestation of -contempt for snobbery. This was the first time Mills had ever shown -any disposition to recognize her social influence. No matter what had -caused his change of heart, it was flattering to her self-esteem that -he was, even so indirectly, asking her aid. She liked Millicent well -enough and gladly promised to help her along. - -When Mills left she asked Shepherd what he thought was in the wind; -but he failed to be aroused by the suggestion that his father might be -thinking of marrying Millicent. His father would never marry again, -Shepherd insisted; certainly not unless he found a woman of suitable -age, for companionship and to promote his comfort when Leila was -settled. - -“You don’t know your father any better than I do, Shep. He always has a -motive for everything he does--you may be sure of that!” - -“Father means to be just and kind,” said Shepherd, half-heartedly, as -if he were repeating a formula in which he didn’t believe. - -“When he’s moved to be generous he certainly lets go with a free -hand,” Constance remarked. “That necklace wasn’t cheap. I’m afraid it -wasn’t just a spontaneous outburst of affection for me. I think I owe -it to Millicent!” - -“Oh, father likes you, Connie. You’re foolish to think he doesn’t,” -Shepherd replied defensively. - -“I think your father’s getting nervous about Leila. He’s set his heart -on having Carroll in the family. But Arthur’s too old. Leila ought to -marry a younger man. Your father’s been suspecting me of promoting her -little affair with Freddy Thomas--I’ve seen it in his eye. But I don’t -think she’s serious about that. She says she’s crazy about him, but as -she tells everyone, it doesn’t mean anything.” - -“Thomas--no,” Shepherd replied slowly. “I shouldn’t be for that myself. -I don’t like the idea of her marrying a divorced man. Arthur would be -quite fine, I think. He’s a gentleman and he understands Leila. The man -who marries her has got to understand her--make a lot of allowances.” - -Constance smiled her amusement at his display of sagacity. - -“Wrong again, Shep! Leila will settle down and be the tamest little -matron in town. She seems to have cut out her drinking. That was more -for effect than anything else. She’s got about all the fun to be had -out of making people think her a perfect little devil. By the way, -speaking of marrying men, that young Storrs is a nice fellow--rather -impressive. I think Leila’s a little tempted to try her hand at -flirting with him. She was at the Henderson’s yesterday afternoon and -Bud was shaking up some cocktails. Mr. Storrs came in and Leila refused -to drink. She joked about it, but said he had made her promise to quit. -He’s not a prig, but he knows the danger line when he sees it.” - -“Yes--yes,” Shepherd assented eagerly. “He’s one of the most attractive -men I ever met. He’s the kind of fellow you’d trust with anything -you’ve got!” - -“Yes--and be safe,” Constance replied. “He’s hardly likely to do -anything rash.” - -They came again, as they often did, to a discussion of Franklin Mills. - -“Your father’s the great unaccountable,” sighed Constance. “I long -since gave up trying to understand him. He’s a master hand at dodging -round things that don’t strike him just right. The way he turned down -your clubhouse scheme was just like him; and the way he spurned my -little suggestion about buying a summer place. By the way, what are you -doing about the clubhouse? I thought you were selling your Rogers Trust -stock to get money to build it. You haven’t weakened, have you, Shep?” - -“No! certainly not. I’m going ahead as soon as the weather opens up. I -sold my stock yesterday and I mean to do the thing right. When I was in -Chicago last week I looked at a number of community houses and got a -lot of ideas.” - -“Well, don’t get cold feet. That thing has worried you a lot. I’d do it -or I’d forget it.” - -“Oh, I’m going to do it all right!” Shepherd replied jauntily. -He greatly wished her to think him possessed of the courage and -initiative to carry through large projects no matter how formidable the -opposition. - - - - -CHAPTER FOURTEEN - - -I - -Franklin Mills was now on better terms with himself than at any time -since Bruce Storrs’s appearance in town. Open weather had made it -possible for him to go to Deer Trail once or twice a week for a ride, -and he walked several miles every day. Leila had agreed to accompany -him on a trip to Bermuda the first of February. In his absence the -machinery he had set in motion would be projecting the Hardens a little -further into the social limelight without his appearing to be concerned -in it. - -He was hoping that the trip would serve effectually to break off -Thomas’s attentions to Leila, and that within the next year he would -see her engaged to Carroll. Leila couldn’t be driven; to attempt to -force the thing would be disastrous. But the thought of her marrying -Thomas, a divorced man, was abhorrent, while Carroll was in all ways -acceptable. What Shepherd lacked in force and experience, Carroll would -bring into the family. Mills was annoyed that he had ever entertained -a thought that he could be denied anything in life that he greatly -coveted, or deprived of the comfort and peace he had so long enjoyed. -He would prolong his Indian Summer; his last years should be his -happiest. - -He enjoyed the knowledge that he exercised, with so little trouble to -himself, a real power in the community. In a directors’ meeting no one -spoke with quite his authoritative voice. No other business man in town -was so thoroughly informed in finance and economics as he. He viewed -the life of his city with the tranquil delight of a biologist who in -the quiet of his laboratory studies specimens that have been brought to -the slide without any effort on his own part. And Mills liked to see -men squirm--silly men who overreached themselves, pretentious upstarts -who gestured a great deal with a minimum of accomplishment. Blessed -with both brains and money, he derived the keenest satisfaction in -screening himself from contact with the vulgar while he participated in -the game like an invisible master chess player.... - -Doctor Lindley had asked him to come in to St. Barnabas to look at the -Mills Memorial window, which had been restored with Mills’s money. He -stopped on his way to the office a few days before Christmas and found -Lindley busy in his study. They went into the church and inspected the -window, which was quite as good as new. While they were viewing it Mrs. -Torrence came in, her vivacity subdued to the spirit of the place. She -was on a committee to provide the Christmas decorations. - -“You’re just the man I want to see,” she said to Mills. “I was going to -call you up. There’s some stuff in your greenhouses I could use if you -don’t mind.” - -“Anything I’ve got! Tell me what you want and I’ll have the people at -the farm deliver it.” - -“That’s fine! I knew you’d be glad to help. The florists are such -robbers at Christmas.” She scribbled a memorandum of her needs on an -envelope and left them. - -Mills stood with his hand resting on the Mills pew for a last glance -at the transept window. The church, which had survived all the changes -compelled by the growth of the city, was to Mills less of a holy place -than a monument to the past. His grandfather and father had been buried -from the church; here he had been married, and here Shepherd and Leila -had been baptized. Leila would want a church wedding.... His thoughts -transcribed a swift circle; then, remembering that the rector was -waiting, he followed him into the vestry. - -“Can’t you come in for a talk?” asked Lindley after Mills had expressed -his gratification that the window had been repaired so successfully. - -“No; I see there are people waiting for you.” Mills glanced at a row of -men and women of all ages--a discouraged-looking company ranged along -the wall outside the study door. One woman with a shawl over her head -coughed hideously as she tried to quiet a dirty child. “These people -want advice or other help? I suppose there’s no end to your work.” - -“It’s my business to help them,” the rector replied. “They’re all -strangers--I never saw any of them before. I rather like that--their -sense of the church standing ready to help them.” - -“If they ask for money, what do you do?” asked Mills practically. “Is -there a fund?” - -“Well, I have a contingency fund--yes. Being here in the business -district, I have constant calls that I don’t feel like turning over to -the charity society. I deal with them right here the best I can. I make -mistakes, of course.” - -“How much have you in hand now?” Mills asked bluntly. The bedraggled -child had begun to whimper, and the mother, in hoarse whispers, was -attempting to silence it. - -“Well, I did have about four dollars,” laughed Lindley, “but Mrs. -Torrence handed me a hundred this morning.” - -“I’ll send you a check for a thousand for these emergency cases. When -it gets low again, let me know.” - -“That’s fine, Mills! I can cheer a good many souls with a thousand -dollars. This is generous of you, indeed!” - -“Oh--Lindley!” Mills had reached the street door when he paused and -retraced his steps. “Just a word--sometime ago in my office I talked to -you in a way I’ve regretted. I’m afraid I wasn’t quite--quite just, to -you and the church--to organized religion. I realize, of course, that -the church----” - -“The church,” said Lindley smilingly, “the church isn’t these walls; -it’s here!” He tapped his breast lightly. “It’s in your heart and mine.” - -“That really simplifies the whole thing!” Mills replied, and with a -little laugh he went on to his office. - -He thought it fine of the minister to give audience to the melancholy -suppliants who sought him for alms and counsel. He didn’t envy Lindley -his job, but it had to be done by someone. Lindley was really a very -good fellow indeed, Mills reflected--a useful man in the community, and -not merely an agreeable table companion and witty after-dinner speaker. - - -II - -Before he read his mail Mills dispatched the check for a thousand -dollars by special messenger. It was a pleasure to help Lindley in his -work. A man who had to deal with such unpleasant specimens of humanity -as collected at Lindley’s door shouldn’t be disregarded. He remembered -having seen Lindley driving about in a rattletrap machine that was -a disgrace to the parish and the town. It was a reflection upon St. -Barnabas that its rector was obliged to go about his errands in so -disreputable a car. - -When Carroll came in with some reports Mills told him to see Henderson -and order a Plantagenet for Lindley to be delivered at the clergyman’s -house Christmas morning. - -Carroll reported a court decision in Illinois sustaining the validity -of some municipal bonds in which Mills had invested. - -“Christmas presents coming in early,” Mills remarked as he read the -telegram. “I thought I was stung there.” - -He approved of the world and its ways. It was a pretty good world, -after all; a world in which he wielded power, as he liked to wield it, -quietly, without subjecting himself to the fever and fret of the market -place. Among other memoranda Carroll had placed on his desk was a list -of women--old friends of Mrs. Mills--to whom he had sent flowers every -Christmas since her death. The list was kept in the office files from -year to year to guard against omissions. Sentiment. Mills liked to -believe himself singularly blessed with sentiment. He admired himself -for this fidelity to his wife’s old friends. They probably spoke to one -another of these annual remembrances as an evidence of the praiseworthy -feeling he entertained for the old times. - -“You told me to keep on picking up Rogers Trust whenever it was in the -market,” said Carroll. “Gurley called up yesterday and asked if you -wanted any more. I’ve got two hundred shares here--paid three eighteen. -They’re closing the transfer books tomorrow so I went ahead without -consulting you.” - -“That part of it’s all right,” Mills remarked, scanning the -certificate. “Who’s selling this?” - -“It was in Gurley’s name--he’d bought it himself.” - -“A little queer,” Mills remarked. “There were only a few old -stockholders who had blocks of two hundred--Larsen, Skinner, -Saintsbury; and Shep and Leila had the same amount. None of them would -be selling now. Suppose you step over to the Trust Company and see -where Gurley got this. It makes no particular difference--I’m just a -little curious. There’s been no talk about the merger--no gossip?” - -“Nothing that I’ve heard. I’m pretty sure Gurley had no inkling of it. -If he had, of course he wouldn’t have let go at the price he asked.” - -When Carroll went out Mills took a turn across the floor. Before -resuming his chair he stood for a moment at the window looking -off toward the low hills vaguely limned on the horizon. His mood -had changed. He greatly disliked to be puzzled. And he was unable -to account for the fact that Gurley, a broker with whom he rarely -transacted any business, had become possessed of two hundred shares of -Roger Trust just at this time. - -Larsen, Skinner and Saintsbury were all in the secret of the impending -merger with the Central States Company. There was Shepherd; he hadn’t -told Shepherd, but there had been no reason why he should tell Shepherd -any more than he would have made a confidante of Leila, who probably -had forgotten that she owned the stock. Having acquired two-thirds of -the Rogers shares, all that was necessary was to call a meeting of the -stockholders and put the thing through in accordance with the formula -already carefully prepared by his lawyers. - -When Carroll came back he placed a memorandum on Mills’s desk and -started to leave the room. - -“Just a moment, Carroll”--Mills eyed the paper carefully. “So it was -Shep who sold to Gurley--is that right?” - -“Yes,” Carroll assented. “Gurley only held it a day before he offered -it to me.” - -“Shepherd--um--did Shep tell you he wanted to sell?” - -“No; he never mentioned it,” Carroll replied, not relishing Mills’s -inquiries. - -“Call Shep and tell him to stop in this afternoon on his way home, -and--Carroll”--Mills detained his secretary to impress him with his -perfect equanimity--“call Mrs. Rawlings and ask how the Judge is. I -understand he’s had a second stroke. I hate to see these older men -going----” - -“Yes, the Judge has been a great figure,” Carroll replied perfunctorily. - -Carroll was troubled. He was fond of Shepherd Mills, recognized the -young man’s fine qualities and sympathized with his high aims. There -was something pitiful in the inability of father and son to understand -each other. And he was not deceived by Franklin Mills’s characteristic -attempt to conceal his displeasure at Shepherd’s sale of the stock. - -It was evident from the manner in which the stock had passed through -Gurley’s hands that Shepherd wished to hide the fact that he was -selling. Poor Shep! There could have been no better illustration of -his failure to understand his father than this. Carroll had watched -much keener men than Shepherd Mills attempt to deceive Franklin -Mills. Just why Shepherd should have sold the stock Carroll couldn’t -imagine. Constance had, perhaps, been overreaching herself. No matter -what had prompted the sale, Mills would undoubtedly make Shepherd -uncomfortable about it--not explosively, for Mills never lost his -perfect self-control--but with his own suave but effective method. -Carroll wished there were something he could do to save Shep from the -consequences of his folly in attempting to hide from Franklin Mills a -transaction so obviously impossible of concealment. - - -III - -Shepherd entered his father’s office as he always did, nervous and -apprehensive. - -“Well, Father, how’s everything with you today?” he asked with feigned -ease. - -“All right, Shep,” Mills replied pleasantly as he continued signing -letters. “Everything all right at the plant?” - -“Everything running smoothly, Father.” - -“That’s good.” Mills applied the blotter to the last signature and rang -for the stenographer. When the young woman had taken the letters away -Mills filled in the assignment on the back of the certificate of stock -in the Rogers Company which Carroll had brought him that morning and -pushed it across the desk. - -“You seem to have sold your two hundred shares in the Rogers Trust, -Shep--the two hundred you got from your mother’s estate.” - -“Why, yes, Father,” Shepherd stammered, staring at the certificate. -There was no evidence of irritation in his father’s face; one might -have thought that Mills was mildly amused by something. - -“You had a perfect right to dispose of it, of course. I’m just a trifle -curious to know why you didn’t mention it to me. It seemed just a -little--a little--unfriendly, that’s all.” - -“No, Father; it wasn’t that!” Shepherd replied hastily. - -It had not occurred to him that his father would discover the sale so -soon. While he hadn’t in so many words asked Gurley to consider the -transaction a confidential matter, he thought he had conveyed that idea -to the broker. He felt the perspiration creeping out on his face; his -hands trembled so that he hid them in his pockets. Mills, his arms on -the desk, was playing with a glass paper weight. - -“How much did Gurley give you for it?” he asked. - -“I sold it at two seventy-five,” Shepherd answered. The air of the -room seemed weighted with impending disaster. An inexorable fate had -set a problem for him to solve, and his answers, he knew, exposed his -stupidity. It was like a nightmare in which he saw himself caught in a -trap without hope of escape. - -“It’s worth five hundred,” said Mills with gentle indulgence. “But -Gurley, in taking advantage of you, blundered badly. I bought it -from him at three eighteen. And just to show you that I’m a good -sport”--Mills smiled as he reflected that he had never before applied -the phrase to himself--“I’m going to sell it back to you at the price -Gurley paid you. And here’s a blank check,--we can close the matter -right now.” - -Mills pretended to be looking over some papers while Shepherd wrote -the check, his fingers with difficulty moving the pen. A crisis was at -hand; or was it a crisis? His fear of his father, his superstitious -awe of Franklin Mills’s supernatural prescience numbed his will. The -desk seemed to mark a wide gulf between them. He had frequently -rehearsed, since his talk with Constance, the scene in which he would -defend the building of the clubhouse for the battery employees; but -he was unprepared for this discovery of his purpose. He had meant to -seize some opportunity, preferably when he could drive his father to -the battery plant and show him the foundations of the clubhouse, for -disclosing the fact that he was going ahead, spending his own money. -It hadn’t occurred to him that Gurley might sell the stock to his -father. He had made a mess of it. He felt himself cowering, weak and -ineffectual, before another of those velvety strokes with which his -father was always able to defeat him. - -“You’d better go in early tomorrow and get a new certificate; they’re -closing the transfer books. The Rogers is merging with the Central -States--formal announcement will be made early in the new year. The -combination will make a powerful company. The Rogers lately realized -very handsomely on some doubtful securities that had been charged off -several years ago. It was known only on the inside. Gurley thought he -was making a nice turn for himself, but you see he wasn’t so clever -after all!” - -Shepherd shrank further into himself. It was he who was not clever! -He hoped to be dismissed like a presumptuous schoolboy caught in an -attempt to evade the rules. Franklin Mills, putting aside the crystal -weight, had taken up the ivory paper knife and was drawing it slowly -through his shapely, well-kept hands. - -“I suppose it’s none of my business, Shep, but just why did you sell -that stock? It was absolutely safe; and I thought that as it came to -you from your mother, and her father had been one of the original -incorporators, you would have some sentiment about keeping it. You’re -not embarrassed in any way, are you? If you’re not able to live within -your income you ought to come to me about it. You can hardly say that I -haven’t always stood ready to help when you ran short.” - -“Well, no, Father; it wasn’t that. The fact is--well, to tell the -truth----” - -Mills was always annoyed by Shepherd’s stammering. He considered it -a sign of weakness in his son; something akin to a physical blemish. -Shepherd frowned and with a jerk of the head began again determinedly, -speaking slowly. - -“I wanted to build that clubhouse for the factory people. I felt that -they deserved it. You refused to help; I couldn’t make you understand -how I felt about it. I meant to build it myself--pay for it with my -own money. So I sold my Rogers stock. I thought after I got the thing -started you wouldn’t object. You see----” - -Shepherd’s eyes had met his father’s gaze, bent upon him coldly, and he -ceased abruptly. - -“Oh, that’s why you sold! My dear boy, I’m surprised and not a little -grieved that you should think of doing a thing like that. It’s not--not -quite----” - -“Not quite straight!” Shepherd flung the words at him, a gleam of -defiance in his eyes. “Well, all right! We’ll say it wasn’t square. But -I did it! And you’ve beaten me. You’ve shown me I’m a fool. I suppose -that’s what I am. I don’t see things as you do; I wanted to help those -people--give them a little cheer--brighten their lives--make them more -contented! But you couldn’t see that! You don’t care for what I think; -you treat me as though I were a stupid child. I’m only a figurehead at -the plant. When you ask me questions about the business you do it just -to check me up--you’ve already got the answers from Fields. Oh, I know -it! I know what a failure I am!” - -He had never before spoken so to his father. Amazed that he had gotten -through with it, he was horror struck. He sank back in his chair, -waiting for the sharp reprimand, the violent retort he had invited. -It would have been a relief if his father had broken out in a violent -tirade. But Mills had never been more provokingly calm. - -“I’m sorry, Shep, that you have this bitterness in your heart.” Mills’s -tone was that of a man who has heard forbearingly an unjust accusation -and proceeds patiently to justify himself. “I wouldn’t have you think I -don’t appreciate your feeling about labor; that’s fine. But I thought -you accepted my reasons for refusing. I’ve studied these things for -years. I believe in dealing justly with labor, but we’ve got to be -careful about mixing business and philanthropy. If you’ll just think -it over you’ll see that for yourself. We’ve got to be sensible. I’m -old-fashioned, I suppose, in my way of thinking, but----” - -His deprecatory gesture was an appeal to his son to be merciful to a -sire so hopelessly benighted. Shepherd had hardly taken in what his -father said. Once more it was borne in upon him that he was no match -for his father. His anger had fallen upon Franklin Mills as impotently -as a spent wave breaking upon a stone wall. - -“Well, I guess that’s all,” he said faintly. - -“One thing more, Shep. There’s another matter I want to speak of. -It’s occurred to me the past year that you are not happy at the -battery plant. Frankly, I don’t believe you’re quite adapted to an -industrial career. The fact is you’re just a little too sensitive, -too impressionable to deal with labor.” Mills smiled to neutralize -any sting that might lurk in the remark. “I think you’d be happier -somewhere else. Now I want someone to represent me in the trust company -after the merger goes into effect. Carroll is to be the vice-president -and counsel, perhaps ultimately the president. Fleming did much to -build up the Rogers and he will continue at the head of the merged -companies for the present. But he’s getting on in years and is anxious -to retire. Eventually you and Carroll will run the thing. I never meant -for you to stay in the battery plant--that was just for the experience. -Fields will take your place out there. It’s fitting that you should be -identified with the trust company. I’ve arranged to have you elected a -vice-president when we complete the reorganization next month--a fine -opportunity for you, Shep. I hope this meets with your approval.” - -Shepherd nodded a bewildered, grudging assent. This was the most -unexpected of blows. In spite of the fact that his authority at the -battery plant was, except as to minor routine matters, subordinate to -that of Fields, he enjoyed his work. He had made many friends among the -employees and found happiness in counseling and helping them in their -troubles. He would miss them. To go into a trust company would mean -beginning a new apprenticeship in a field that in no way attracted him. -He felt humiliated by the incidental manner of his dismissal from one -place and appointment to another. - -His father went on placidly, speaking of the bright prospects of the -trust company, which would be the strongest institution of the kind in -the State. There were many details to be arranged, but the enlargement -of the Rogers offices to accommodate the combined companies was already -begun, and Shepherd was to be ready to make the change on the first -of February. Before he quite realized it his father had glided away -from the subject and was speaking of social matters--inquiring about a -reception someone was giving the next night. Shepherd picked up his hat -and stared at it as though not sure that it belonged to him. His father -walked round the desk and put out his hand. - -“You know, Shep, there’s nothing I have so much at heart as the welfare -of my children. You married the girl you wanted; I’ve given you this -experience in the battery company, which will be of value to you in -your new position, and now I’m sure you’ll realize my best hopes for -you in what I believe to be a more suitable line of work. I want you -always to remember it of me that I put the happiness of my children -before every other consideration.” - -“Yes, Father.” - -Shepherd passed out slowly through the door that opened directly into -the hall and, still dazed, reached the street. He wandered about, -trying to remember where he had parked his car. The city in which he -was born had suddenly become strange to him. He dreaded going home and -confessing to Constance that once more he had been vanquished by his -father. Constance would make her usual effort to cheer him, laugh a -little at the ease with which his father had frustrated him; tell him -not to mind. But her very good humor would be galling. He knew what she -would think of him. He must have time to think before facing Constance. -If he went to the club it would be to look in upon men intent upon -their rhum or bridge, who would give him their usual abstracted -greeting. They cared nothing for him: he was only the son of a wealthy -father who put him into jobs where he would do the least harm! - - -IV - -He must talk to someone. His heart hungered for sympathy and kindness. -If his father would only treat him as he would treat any other man; -not as a weakling, a bothersome encumbrance! There was cruelty in the -reflection that, envied as no doubt he was as the prospective heir to -a fortune and the inheritor of an honored name, there was no friend to -whom he could turn in his unhappiness. He passed Doctor Lindley, who -was talking animatedly to two men on a corner. A man of God, a priest -charged with the care of souls; but Shepherd felt no impulse to lay -his troubles before the rector of St. Barnabas, much as he liked him. -Lindley would probably rebuke him for rebelling against his father’s -judgments. But there must be someone.... - -His heart leaped as he thought of Bruce Storrs. The young architect, -hardly more than an acquaintance, had in their meetings impressed him -by his good sense and manliness. He would see Storrs. - -The elevator shot him up to Freeman’s office. Bruce, preparing to leave -for the day, put out his hand cordially. - -“Mr. Freeman’s gone; but won’t you sit and smoke?” - -“No, thanks. Happened to be passing and thought I’d look in. Maybe -you’ll join me in a little dash into the country. This has been an off -day with me--everything messy. I suppose you’re never troubled that -way?” - -Bruce saw that something was amiss. Shepherd’s attempt to give an air -of inadvertence to his call was badly simulated. - -“That’s odd!” Bruce exclaimed. “I’m a little on edge myself! Just -thinking of walking a few miles to pull myself together. What region -shall we favor with our gloomy presences?” - -“That is a question!” Shepherd ejaculated with a mirthless laugh; and -then striking his hands together as he recalled where he had parked his -car, he added: “Let’s drive to the river and do our walking out there. -You won’t mind--sure I’m not making myself a nuisance?” - -“Positive!” Bruce declared, though he smothered with some difficulty a -wish that Shepherd Mills would keep away from him. - -It was inconceivable that Shepherd had been drinking, but he was -clearly laboring under some strong emotional excitement. In offering -his cigarette case as they waited for the elevator, his hand shook. -Bruce adopted a chaffing tone as they reached the street, making light -of the desperate situation in which they found themselves. - -“We’re two nice birds! All tuckered out by a few hours’ work. That’s -what the indoor life brings us to. Henderson got off a good one about -the new traffic rules--said they’ve got it fixed now so you can’t turn -anywhere in this town till you get to the cemetery. Suppose the ancient -Egyptians had a lot of trouble with their chariots--speed devils even -in those days!” - -Shepherd laughed a little wildly now and then at Bruce’s efforts at -humor. But he said nothing. He drove the car with what for him was -reckless speed. Bruce good-naturedly chided him, inquiring how he got -his drag with the police department; but he was trying to adjust -himself to a Shepherd Mills he hadn’t known before.... - -They crossed a bridge and Shepherd stopped the car at the roadside. -“Let’s walk,” he said tensely. “I’ve got to talk--I’ve _got_ to talk.” - -“All right, we’ll walk and talk!” Bruce agreed in the tone of one -indulging a child’s whims. - -“I wanted to come to the river,” Shepherd muttered. “I like being where -there’s water.” - -“Many people don’t!” Bruce said, thinking his companion was joking. - -“A river is kind; a river is friendly,” Shepherd added in the curious -stifled voice of one who is thinking aloud. “Water always soothes -me--quiets my nerves”--he threw his hand out. “It seems so free!” - -It was now dark and the winter stars shone brightly over the -half-frozen stream. Bruce remembered that somewhere in the neighborhood -he had made his last stop before entering the city; overcome his -last doubt and burned his mother’s letters that he had borne on his -year-long pilgrimage. And he was here again by the river with the son -of Franklin Mills! - -Intent upon his own thoughts, he was hardly conscious that Shepherd had -begun to speak, with a curious dogged eagerness, in a high strained -voice that broke now and then in a sob. It was of his father that -Shepherd was speaking--of Franklin Mills. He was a disappointment to -his father; there was no sympathy between them. He had never wanted to -go into business but had yielded in good spirit when his father opposed -his studying medicine. At the battery plant he performed duties of -no significance; the only joy he derived from the connection was in -the friendship of the employees, and he was now to be disciplined for -wanting to help them. His transfer to the trust company was only a -punishment; in the new position he would merely repeat his experience -in the factory--find himself of less importance than the office boy. - -They paced back and forth at the roadside, hardly aware of occasional -fast-flying cars whose headlights fell upon them for a moment -and left them again to the stars. When the first passion of his -bitter indignation had spent itself, Shepherd admitted his father’s -generosity. There was no question of money; his father wished him to -live as became the family dignity. Constance was fine; she was the -finest woman alive, he declared with a quaver in his voice. But she -too had her grievances; his father was never fair to Constance. Here -Shepherd caught himself up sharply. It was the widening breach between -himself and his father that tore his heart, and Constance had no part -in that. - -“I’m stupid; I don’t catch things quickly,” he went on wearily. “But -I’ve tried to learn; I’ve done my best to please father. But it’s no -good! I give it up!” - -Bruce, astounded and dismayed by this long recital, was debating what -counsel he could offer. He could not abandon Shepherd Mills in his -dark hour. The boy--he seemed only that tonight, a miserable, tragic -boy--had opened his heart with a child’s frankness. Bruce, remembering -his own unhappy hours, resolved to help Shepherd Mills if he could. - -Their stay by the river must not be prolonged; Shepherd was shivering -with cold. Bruce had never before been so conscious of his own physical -strength. He wished that he might confer it upon Shepherd--add to his -stature, broaden the narrow shoulders that were so unequal to heavy -burdens! It was, he felt, a critical hour in Shepherd Mills’s life; the -wrong word might precipitate a complete break in his relations with -his father. Franklin Mills, as Bruce’s imagination quickened under the -mystical spell of the night, loomed beside them--a shadowy figure, -keeping step with them on the dim bank where the wind mourned like an -unhappy spirit through the sycamores. - -“I had no right to bother you; you must think me a fool,” Shepherd -concluded. “But it’s helped me, just to talk. I don’t know why I -thought you wouldn’t mind----” - -“Of course I don’t mind!” Bruce replied, and laid his hand lightly on -Shepherd’s shoulder. “I’m pleased that you thought of me; I want to -help. Now, old man, we’re going to pull you right out of this! It’s -disagreeable to fumble the ball as we all do occasionally. But this -isn’t so terrible! That was a fine idea of yours to build a clubhouse -for the workmen: but on the other hand there’s something to be said -for your father’s reasons against it. And frankly, I think you made a -mistake in selling your stock without speaking to him first. It wasn’t -quite playing the game.” - -“Yes; I can see that,” Shepherd assented faintly. “But you see I’d got -my mind on it; and I wanted to make things happier for those people.” - -“Of course you did! And it’s too bad your father doesn’t feel about it -as you do. But he doesn’t; and it’s one of the hardest things we have -to learn in this world, that we’ve got to accommodate ourselves very -often to other people’s ideas. That’s life, old man!” - -“I suppose you’re right; but I do nothing but blunder. I never put -anything over.” - -“Oh, yes, you do! You said a bit ago your father didn’t want you to -marry the girl you were in love with; but you did! That scored for you. -And about the clubhouse, it’s hard to give it up; but we passionate -idealists have got to learn to wait! Your day will come to do a lot for -humanity.” - -“No! I’m done! I’m going away; I want a chance to live my own life. -It’s hell, I tell you, never to be free; to be pushed into subordinate -jobs I hate. By God, I won’t go into the trust company!” - -The oath, probably the first he had ever uttered, cut sharply into -the night. To Bruce it hinted of unsuspected depths of passion in -Shepherd’s nature. The sense of his own responsibility deepened. - -Shepherd, surprised and ashamed of his outburst, sought and clutched -Bruce’s hand. - -“Steady, boy!” said Bruce gently. “You’ll _take_ the job and you’ll go -into it with all the pep you can muster! It offers you a bigger chance -than the thing you’ve been doing. All kinds of people carry their -troubles to a trust company. Such institutions have a big benevolent -side,--look after widows and orphans and all that sort of thing. If you -want to serve humanity you couldn’t put yourself in a better place! -I’m serious about that. And with Carroll there you’ll be treated with -respect; you can raise the devil if anybody tries any foolishness! -Why, your father’s promoting you--showing his confidence in a pretty -fine way. He might better have told you of his plans earlier--I grant -that--but he probably thought he’d save it for a surprise. It was -pretty decent of him to sell you back your stock. A mean, grasping man -would have kept it and swiped the profit. You’ve got to give him credit -for trying to do the square thing by you.” - -“It was a slap in the face; he meant to humiliate me!” cried Shepherd -stubbornly. - -“All right; assume he did! But don’t be humiliated!” - -“You’d stand for it? You wouldn’t make a row?” demanded Shepherd -quaveringly. - -“No: decidedly no!” - -“Well, I guess you’re right,” Shepherd replied after a moment’s -silence. “It doesn’t seem so bad the way you put it. I’m sorry I’ve -kept you so long. I’ll never forget this; you’ve been mighty kind.” - -“I think I’ve been right,” said Bruce soberly. - -He was thinking of Franklin Mills--his father and Shepherd’s. There was -something grotesque in the idea that he was acting as a conciliator -between Franklin Mills and this son who had so little of the Mills iron -in his blood. The long story had given him still another impression -of Mills. It was despicable, his trampling of Shepherd’s toys, his -calm destruction of the boy’s dreams. But even so, Bruce felt that his -advice had been sound. A complete break with his father would leave -Shepherd helpless; and public opinion would be on the father’s side. - -Shepherd struck a match and looked at his watch. - -“It’s nearly seven!” he exclaimed. “Connie won’t know what’s become -of me! I think she’s having a Dramatic Club rehearsal at the house -tonight.” - -“That’s good. We’ll stop at the first garage and you can telephone -her. Tell her you’re having dinner with me at the club. And--may I -say it?--never tell her of your bad hour today. That’s better kept to -ourselves.” - -“Of course!” - -With head erect Shepherd walked to the car. His self-confidence was -returning. Before they reached the club his spirits were soaring. He -was even eager to begin his work with the trust company. - -After a leisurely dinner he drove Bruce home. When he said good-night -at the entrance to the apartment house he grasped both Bruce’s hands -and clung to them. - -“Nothing like this ever really happened to me before,” he said -chokingly. “I’ve found a friend!” - -They remained silent for a moment. Then Bruce looked smilingly into -Shepherd’s gentle, grateful eyes and turned slowly into the house. -The roar of Shepherd’s car as it started rose jubilantly in the quiet -street. - - - - -CHAPTER FIFTEEN - - -I - -Duty was a large word in Franklin Mills’s lexicon. It pleased him to -think that he met all his obligations as a parent and a citizen. In -his own cogitations he was well satisfied with his handling of his -son Shepherd. Shepherd had needed just the lesson he had given him -in the matter of the sale of the Rogers Trust Company stock. Mills, -not knowing that Bruce Storrs was responsible for Shepherd’s change -of mind, was highly pleased that his son had expressed his entire -satisfaction with his transfer from the battery plant to the new trust -company. - -The fact that Shepherd was now eager to begin his new work and -evidently had forgotten all about the community house project increased -Mills’s contentment with his own wisdom and his confidence in his -ability to make things happen as he wanted them to happen. Shepherd -was not so weak; he was merely foolish, and being foolish, it was -lucky that he had a father capable of checking his silly tendencies. -The world would soon be in a pretty mess if all the sons of rich men -were to begin throwing their money to the birds. In the trust company -Shepherd would learn to think in terms of money without the emotional -disturbances caused by contact with the hands that produced it. -Shepherd, Mills felt, would be all right now. Incidentally he had -taught the young man not to attempt to play tricks on him--something -which no one had ever tried with success. - -The social promotion of the Hardens was proceeding smoothly, thanks -to Connie’s cooperation. Mrs. Harden had been elected a member of the -Orphan Asylum board, which in itself conferred a certain dignity. -Leila and Connie had effected Millicent’s election to the Dramatic -Club. These matters were accomplished without friction, as Mills -liked to have things done. Someone discovered that Doctor Harden’s -great-grandfather, back in the year of the big wind, had collected more -bounties for wolf scalps than had ever been earned by any other settler -in Jackson County, and the Doctor was thereupon admitted to fellowship -in the Pioneer Society. The Hardens did not climb; they were pushed up -the ladder, seemingly by unseen hands, somewhat to their own surprise -and a little to their discomfiture. - - -II - -The only cloud on Mills’s horizon was his apprehension as to Leila’s -future. Mills was increasingly aware that she couldn’t be managed as -he managed Shepherd. He had gone as far as he dared in letting Carroll -know that he would be an acceptable son-in-law, and he had perhaps -intimated a little too plainly to Leila the desirability of such an -arrangement. Carroll visited the house frequently; but Leila snubbed -him outrageously. When it pleased her to accept his attentions it -was merely, Mills surmised, to allay suspicion as to her interest -elsewhere. It was his duty to see that Leila married in keeping with -her status as the daughter of the house of Mills. - -In analyzing his duty with respect to Leila, it occurred to Mills -that he might have been culpable in not laying more stress upon the -merits of religion in the upbringing of Leila. She had gone to Sunday -school in her earliest youth; but churchgoing was not to her taste. -He was unable to remember when Leila had last attended church, but -never voluntarily within his recollection. She needed, he decided, -the sobering influence of religion. God, in Mills’s speculations, -was on the side of order, law and respectability. The church frowned -upon divorce; and Leila must be saved from the disgrace of marrying a -divorced man. Leila needed religion, and the idea broadened in Mills’s -mind until he saw that probably Constance and Shepherd, too, would be -safer under the protecting arm of the church. - -The Sunday following Christmas seemed to Mills a fitting time for -renewing the family’s acquaintance with St. Barnabas. When he -telephoned his invitation to Constance, carefully putting it in the -form of a suggestion, he found his daughter-in-law wholly agreeable -to the idea. She and Shepherd would be glad to breakfast with him and -accompany him to divine worship. When he broached the matter to Leila -she did not explode as he had expected. She took a cigarette from her -mouth and expelled the smoke from her lungs. - -“Sure, I’ll go with you, Dada,” she replied. - -He had suggested nine as a conservative breakfast hour, but Constance -and Shepherd were fifteen minutes late. Leila was considerably later, -but appeared finally, after the maid had twice been dispatched to her -room. Having danced late, she was still sleepy. At the table she -insisted on scanning the society page of the morning newspaper. This -annoyed Mills, particularly when in spreading out the sheet she upset -her water glass, with resulting deplorable irrigation of the tablecloth -and a splash upon Connie’s smart morning dress that might or might not -prove permanently disfiguring. Mills hated a messy table. He also hated -criticism of food. Leila’s complaint that the scalloped sweetbreads -were too dry evoked the pertinent retort that if she hadn’t been late -they wouldn’t have been spoiled. - -“I guess that’ll hold me for a little while,” she said cheerfully. “I -say, Dada, what do we get for going to church?” - -“You’ll get what you need from Doctor Lindley,” Mills replied, frowning -at the butler, who was stupidly oblivious of the fact that the flame -under the percolator was threatening a general conflagration. Shepherd, -in trying to clap on the extinguisher, burned his fingers and emitted -a shrill cry of pain. All things considered, the breakfast was hardly -conducive to spiritual uplift. - -It was ten minutes after eleven when the Millses reached St. Barnabas -and the party went down the aisle pursued by an usher to the chanting -of the _Venite, exultemus Domino_. The usher, caught off guard, was -guiltily conscious of having a few minutes before filled the Mills -pew with strangers in accordance with the rule that reserved seats -for their owners only until the processional. Mills, his silk hat on -his arm, had not foreseen such a predicament. He paused in perplexity -beside the ancestral pew in which five strangers were devoutly -reinforcing the chanting of the choir, happily unaware that they were -trespassers upon the property of Franklin Mills. - -The courteous usher lifted his hand to indicate his mastery of the -situation and guided the Mills party in front of the chancel to seats -in the south transept. This maneuver had the effect of publishing to -the congregation the fact that Franklin Mills, his son, daughter-in-law -and daughter, were today breaking an abstinence from divine worship -which regular attendants knew to have been prolonged. - -Constance, Leila and Shepherd knelt at once; Mills remained standing. A -lady behind him thrust a prayer book into his hand. In trying to find -his glasses he dropped the book, which Leila, much diverted, recovered -as she rose. This was annoying and added to Mills’s discomfiture -at being planted in the front seat of the transept where the whole -congregation could observe him at leisure. - -However, by the time the proper psalms for the day had been read he had -recovered his composure and listened attentively to Doctor Lindley’s -sonorous reading of the lessons. His seat enabled him to contemplate -the Mills memorial window in the north transept, a fact which mitigated -his discomfort at being deprived of the Mills pew. - -Leila stifled a yawn as the rector introduced as the preacher for the -day a missionary bishop who had spent many years in the Orient. Mills -had always been impatient of missionary work among peoples who, as -he viewed the matter, were entitled to live their lives and worship -their gods without interference by meddlesome foreigners. But the -discourse appealed strongly to his practical sense. He saw in the -schools and hospitals established by the church in China a splendid -advertisement of American good will and enterprise. Such philanthropies -were calculated to broaden the market for American trade. When Doctor -Lindley announced that the offerings for the day would go to the -visitor to assist in the building of a new hospital in his far-away -diocese, Mills found a hundred dollar bill to lay on the plate.... - - -III - -As they drove to Shepherd’s for dinner he good-naturedly combated -Constance’s assertion that Confucius was as great a teacher as Christ. -Leila said she’d like to adopt a Chinese baby; the Chinese babies in -the movies were always so cute. Shepherd’s philanthropic nature had -been deeply impressed by the idea of reducing human suffering through -foreign missions. He announced that he would send the bishop a check. - -“Well, I claim it was a good sermon,” said Leila. “That funny old bird -talked a hundred berries out of Dada.” - -When they reached the table, Mills reproved Leila for asserting that -she guessed she was a Buddhist. She confessed under direct examination -that she knew nothing about Buddhism but thought it might be worth -taking up sometime. - -“Millie says there’s nothing in the Bible so wonderful as the world -itself,” Leila continued. “Millie has marvelous ideas. Talk about -miracles--she says the grass and the sunrise are miracles.” - -“Millie is such a dear,” Constance murmured in a tone that implied a -lack of enthusiasm for grass and sunrises. - -“Millicent has a poetic nature,” Mills remarked, finding himself -self-conscious at the mention of Millicent. Millicent’s belief in -a Supreme Power that controls the circling planets and guides the -destinies of man was interesting because Millicent held it and talked -of it charmingly. - -“_Did_ you see that outlandish hat Mrs. Charlie Felton was sporting?” -Leila demanded with cheerful irrelevance. “I’ll say it’s some hat! She -ought to hire a blind woman to buy her clothes.” - -“I didn’t see anything the matter with her hat,” remarked Shepherd. - -“You _wouldn’t_, dear!” said Constance. - -“Who’s Charlie Felton?” asked Mills. “It seemed to me I didn’t know a -dozen people in church this morning.” - -“Oh, the Feltons have lately moved here from Racine, Fond du Lac or St. -Louis--one of those queer Illinois towns.” - -“Those towns may be queer,” said her father gently. “But they are not -in Illinois.” - -“Oh, well, give them to Kansas, then,” said Leila, who was never -disturbed by her errors in geography or any other department of -knowledge. “You know,” she continued, glad the conversation had been -successfully diverted from religion, “that Freddy Thomas was in college -with Charlie Felton and Freddy says Mrs. Felton isn’t as bad as her -hats.” - -Mills frowned. Shepherd laughed at this more joyously than the remark -deserved and stammeringly tried to cover up the allusion to Thomas. It -was sheer impudence for Leila to introduce into the Sunday table talk -a name that could only irritate her father; but before Shepherd could -make himself articulate Mills looked up from his salad. - -“_Freddy?_ I didn’t know you were so intimate with anyone of that name.” - -This was not, of course, strictly true. Leila always referred to Thomas -as Freddy; she found a mischievous delight in doing so before her -father. Since she became aware of her father’s increasing displeasure -at Thomas’s attentions and knew that the young man’s visits at the -house were a source of irritation, she had been meeting Thomas at -the homes of one or another of her friends whose discretion could be -relied on, or at the public library or the Art Institute--it was a joke -that Leila should have availed herself of these institutions for any -purpose! Constance in giving her an admonitory prod under the table -inadvertently brushed her father-in-law’s shin. - -“I meant Mr. Frederick Thomas, Dada,” Leila replied, her gentle tone in -itself a species of impudence. - -“I hope you are about done with that fellow,” said Mills, frowning. - -“Sure, Dada, I’m about through with him,” she replied with intentional -equivocation. - -“I should think you would be! I don’t like the idea of your name being -associated with his!” - -“Well, it isn’t, is it?” - -Mills disliked being talked back to. His annoyance was increased by the -fact that he had been unable to learn anything detrimental to Thomas -beyond the fact that the man had been divorced. The decree of divorce, -he had learned in Chicago, was granted to Thomas though his wife had -brought the suit. While not rich, Thomas was well-to-do, and when it -came to the question of age, Arthur Carroll was a trifle older. But -Leila should marry Carroll. Carroll was ideally qualified to enter the -family by reason of his familiarity with its history and traditional -conservatism. He knew and respected the Franklin Mills habit of mind, -and this in itself was an asset. Mills had no intention of being -thwarted in his purpose to possess Carroll as a son-in-law.... - -Gloom settled over the table. Mills, deeply preoccupied, ate his -dessert in silence. Leila presented a much more serious and pressing -problem than foreign missions. Constance strove vainly to dispel the -cloud. Leila alone seemed untroubled; she repeated a story that Bud -Henderson had told her which was hardly an appropriate addendum for -a missionary sermon. Her father rebuked her sternly. If there was -anything that roused his ire it was a risqué story. - -“One might think,” he said severely, “that you were brought up in a -slum from the way you talk. The heathen are not all in China!” - -“Well, it is a funny story,” Leila persisted. “I told it to Doctor -Harden and he almost died laffin’. Doc certainly knows a joke. You’re -not angry--not really, terribly angry at your ’ittle baby girl, is ’ou, -Dada?” - -“I most certainly am!” he retorted grimly. A moment later he added: -“Well, let’s go to Deer Trail for supper. Connie, you and Shep are free -for the evening, I hope?” - -“We’ll be glad to go, of course,” Constance replied amiably. - - -IV - -The Sunday evening suppers at Deer Trail were usually discontinued -after Christmas, and Leila was taken aback by the announcement. Her -father had not, she noted, shown his usual courtesy in asking her if -she cared to go. She correctly surmised that the proposed flight into -the country was intended as a disciplinary measure for her benefit. -She had promised to meet Thomas at the Burtons’ at eight o’clock, and -he could hardly have hit upon anything better calculated to awaken -resentment in her young breast. She began to consider the hazards of -attempting to communicate with Thomas to explain her inability to keep -the appointment. As there were to be no guests, the evening at Deer -Trail promised to be an insufferably dull experience and she must dodge -it if possible. - -“Oh, don’t let’s do that!” she said. “It’s too cold, Dada. And the -house is always drafty in the winter!” - -“Drafty!” Her father stared at her blandly. The country house was -steam-heated and this was the first time he had ever heard that it was -drafty. The suggestion of drafts was altogether unfortunate. “Had you -any engagement for this evening?” he asked. - -“Oh, I promised Mrs. Torrence I’d go there for supper--she’s having -some people in to do some music. It’s just an informal company, but I -hate dropping out.” - -Constance perceptibly shuddered. - -“When did she give this invitation?” asked Mills, with the utmost -urbanity. - -“Oh, I met her downtown yesterday. It’s no great matter, Dada. If -you’re making a point of it, I’ll be glad to go to the farm!” - -“Mrs. Torrence must be a quick traveler,” her father replied, entirely -at ease. “I met her myself yesterday morning. She was just leaving for -Louisville and didn’t expect to be back until Tuesday.” - -“How funny!” Leila ejaculated, though she had little confidence in her -ability to give a humorous aspect to her plight. She bent her head in -the laugh of self-derision which she had frequently employed in easing -her way out of similar predicaments with her father. This time it -merely provoked an ironic smile. - -Mills, from the extension telephone in the living room, called Deer -Trail to give warning of the approach of four guests for supper; there -was no possible escape from this excursion. Thomas filled Leila’s -thoughts. He had been insisting that they be married before the -projected trip to Bermuda. The time was short and she was uncertain -whether to take the step now or postpone it in the hope of winning her -father’s consent in the intimate association of their travels. - -Today Mills’s cigar seemed to be of interminable length. As he smoked -he talked in the leisurely fashion he enjoyed after a satisfactory -meal, and Constance never made the mistake of giving him poor food. -He had caught Leila in a lie--a stupid, foolish lie; but no one would -have guessed that it had impressed him disagreeably or opened a new -train of suspicions in his mind. Constance was admiring his perfect -self-restraint; Franklin Mills, no matter what else he might or might -not be, was a thoroughbred. - -“If you don’t have to stop at home, Leila, we can start from here,” he -said--“at three o’clock.” - -“Yes, Dada. I’m all set!” she replied. - -Constance and Shepherd left the room and Leila was prepared for a sharp -reprimand, but her father merely asked whether she had everything -necessary for the Bermuda trip. He had his steamer reservation and they -would go to New York a few days ahead of the sailing date to see the -new plays and she could pick up any little things she needed. - -“Arthur’s going East at the same time. We have some business errands in -New York,” he continued in a matter of course tone. - -She was aware that he had mentioned Carroll with special intention, and -it added nothing to her peace of mind. - -“That’s fine, Dada,” she said, reaching for a fresh cigarette. “Arthur -can take me to some of the new dancing places. Arthur’s a good little -hopper.” - -She felt moved to try to gloss over her blunder in pretending to have -an engagement that evening with Helen Torrence, but her intuitions -warned her that the time was not fortunate for the practice of her -familiar cajoleries upon her father. She realized that she had outgrown -her knack of laughing herself out of her troubles; and she had never -before been trapped so neatly. Like Shepherd, she felt that in dealing -with her father she never knew what was in his mind until he laid his -cards on the table--laid them down with the serenity of one who knows -thoroughly the value of his hand. - -She was deeply in love with Thomas and craved sympathy and help; but -she felt quite as Shepherd always did, her father’s remoteness and the -closing of the common avenues of communication between human beings. -He had always indulged her, shown kindness even when he scolded and -protested against her conduct; but she felt that his heart was as -inaccessible as a safety box behind massive steel doors. On the drive -to Deer Trail she took little part in the talk, to which Shepherd -and Constance tried, with indifferent success, to impart a light and -cheery tone. When they reached the country house, which derived a -fresh picturesqueness from the snowy fields about it, Mills left them, -driving on to the stables for a look at his horses. - -“Well, that was some break!” exclaimed Constance the moment they were -within doors. “Everybody in town knows Helen is away. You ought to have -known it yourself! I never knew you to do anything so clumsy as that!” - -“Oh, shoot! I didn’t want to come out here today. It’s a bore; nobody -here and nothing to do. And I object to being punished like a child!” - -“You needn’t have lied to your father; that was inexcusable,” said -Constance. “If you’ve got to do such a thing, please don’t do it when -I’m around!” - -“See here, sis,” began Shepherd with a prolonged sibilant stutter, -“let’s be frank about this! You know this thing of meeting Fred Thomas -at other people’s houses is no good. You’ve got to stop it! Father -would be terribly cut up if he found you out. You may be sure he -suspects something now, after that foolish break about going to Helen -Torrence’s.” - -“Well, I haven’t said I was going to meet anyone, have I?” Leila -demanded defiantly. - -“You don’t have to. There are other people just as clever as you are,” -Constance retorted, jerking off her gloves. - -“I can’t imagine what you see in Thomas,” Shepherd persisted. - -“I don’t care if you don’t. It’s my business what I see in him.” Leila -nervously lighted a cigarette. “Freddy’s a fine fellow; father doesn’t -know a thing against him!” - -“If you marry him you’ll break father’s heart,” Shepherd declared -solemnly. - -“His heart!” repeated Leila with fine contempt. “You needn’t think -he’s going to treat me as he treats you. I won’t stand for it! How -about that clubhouse you wanted to build--how about this sudden idea of -taking you out of the battery business and sticking you into the trust -company? You didn’t want to change, did you? He didn’t ask you if you -wanted to move, did he? I’ll say he didn’t! That’s dada all over--he -doesn’t ask you; he tells you! And I’m not a child to be sent to bed -whenever his majesty gets peevish.” - -“Don’t be ridiculous!” said Constance with a despairing sigh. “You’re -going to make trouble for all of us if you don’t drop Freddy!” - -“You tell _me_ not to make trouble!” - -Leila’s eyes flashed her scorn of the idea and something more. Her -words had the effect of bringing a deep flush to Constance’s face. -Constance walked to the fire and sat down. There was no counting on -Leila’s discretion; and if she eloped with Thomas the town would hum -with talk about the whole Mills family. - -“Now, Leila,” began Shepherd, who had not noticed his wife’s -perturbation or understood the nature of the spiteful little stab that -caused it. “You’d better try to square yourself with father.” - -“I see myself trying! You two make me tired! Please don’t talk to me -any more!” - - -V - -She waited until Constance and Shepherd had found reading matter and -were settled before the fireplace, and then with the remark that -she wanted to fix her hair, went upstairs; and after closing a door -noisily to allay suspicions, went cautiously down the back stairs to -the telephone in the butler’s pantry. Satisfying herself by a glance -through the window that her father was still at the stables, she called -Thomas’s number and explained her inability to go to the Burtons’ where -they had planned to meet. Happy to hear his voice, she talked quite as -freely as though speaking to him face to face, and his replies over the -wire soothed and comforted her.... - -“No, dear; there’d only be a row if you asked father now. You’ll have -to take my word for that, Freddy.” - -“I’m not so sure of that--if he knows you love me!” - -“Of course I love you, Freddy!” - -“Then let us be married and end all this bother. You’re of age; there’s -nothing to prevent us. I’d a lot rather have it out with your father -now. I know I can convince him that I’m respectable and able to take -care of you. I’ve got the record of the divorce case; there’s nothing -in it I’m ashamed of.” - -“That’s all right enough; but the very mention of it would make him -furious. We’ve talked of this a hundred times, Freddy, and I’m not -going to let you make that mistake. We’re going to wait a little -longer!” - -“You won’t go back on me?” - -“Never, Freddy!” - -“You might meet someone on the trip you’d like better. I’m going to be -terribly nervous about you!” - -“Then you don’t trust me! If you don’t trust me you don’t love me!” - -“Don’t be so foolish. I’m mad about you. And I’m sick of all this -sneaking round for a chance to see you!” - -“Be sensible, dear; it’s just as hard for me as it is for you. And -people _are_ talking!” - -In her absorption she had forgotten the importance of secrecy and the -danger of being overheard. The swing doors had creaked several times, -but she had attributed this to suction from an open window in the -kitchen. Constance and Shepherd would wonder at her absence; the talk -must not be prolonged. - -“I’ve got to go!” she added hurriedly. - -“Say you care--that you’re not just putting me off----” - -“I love you, Freddy! Please be patient. Remember, I love you with all -my heart! Yes, always!” - -As she hung up the receiver she turned round to face her father. He had -entered the house through the kitchen and might or might not have heard -part of her dialogue with Thomas. But she was instantly aware that her -last words, in the tense, lover-like tone in which she had spoken them, -were enough to convict her. - -“Hello, Dada! How’s the live stock?” she asked with poorly feigned -carelessness as she hung the receiver on the hook. - -Mills, his overcoat flung over his arm, his hat pushed back from his -forehead, eyed her with a cold stare. - -“Why are you telephoning here?” he demanded. - -“No reasons. I didn’t want to disturb Connie and Shep. They’re reading -in the living-room.” - -“That’s very thoughtful of you, I’m sure!” - -“I thought so myself,” she replied, and took a step toward the -dining-room door. He flung out his arm arrestingly. - -“Just a moment, please!” - -“Oh, hours--if you want them!” - -“I overheard some of your speeches. To whom were you speaking--tell me -the truth!” - -“Don’t be so fierce about it! And do take off your hat! You look so -funny with your hat stuck on the back of your head that way!” - -“Never mind my hat! It will be much better for you not to trifle with -me. Who was on the other end of that telephone?” - -“What if I don’t tell you?” she demanded. - -“I want an answer to my question! You told me one falsehood today; I -don’t want to hear another!” - -“Well, you won’t! I was talking to Mr. Frederick V. Thomas!” - -“I thought as much. Now I’ve told you as plainly as I know how -that you’ve got to drop that fellow. He’s a scoundrel to force his -attentions on you. I haven’t wanted to bring matters to an issue with -you about him. I’ve been patient with you--let him come to the house -and go about with you. But you’ve not played fair with me. When I told -you I didn’t like his coming to the house so much you began meeting -him when you thought I wouldn’t know it--that’s a fact, isn’t it?” - -“Yes, Dada--only a few times, though.” - -“May I ask what you mean by that? That a girl brought up as you -have been, with every advantage and indulgence, should be so basely -ungrateful as to meet a man I disapprove of--meet him in ways that show -you know you’re doing a wrong thing--is beyond my understanding. It’s -contemptible; it’s close upon the unpardonable!” - -“Then why don’t you act decently about it?” She lifted her head and met -his gaze unwaveringly. “If you didn’t hear what I said I’ll tell you! I -told him I love him; I’ve promised to marry him.” - -“Well, you won’t marry him!” he exclaimed, his voice quavering in -his effort to restrain his anger. “A man who’s left a wife somewhere -and plays upon the sympathy of a credulous young girl like you is a -contemptible hound!” - -“All right, then! He’s a contemptible hound!” - -Her insolence, her refusal to cower before him, increased his -anger. His time-tried formula for meeting emergencies by superior -strategy--the method that worked so well with his son--was of no use to -him here. He had lost a point in letting her see that for once in his -life his temper had got the better of him. He had been too tolerant of -her faults; the bills for his indulgence were coming in now--a large -sheaf of them. She must be handled with care--with very great caution, -indeed; thus far in his life he had got what he wanted, and it was not -for a girl whom he saw only as a spoiled child to circumvent him. - -But he realized at this moment that Leila was no longer a child. She -was not only a woman, but a woman it would be folly to attempt to drive -or frighten. He was alarmed by the composure with which she waited for -the further disclosure of his purposes, standing with her back against -the service shelf, eyeing him half hostilely, half, he feared, with a -hope that he would carry the matter further and open his guard for a -thrust he was not prepared to parry. He was afraid of her, but she must -not know that he was afraid. - -He took off his hat and let it swing at arm’s length as he considered -how to escape with dignity from the corner into which she had forced -him. Sentiment is a natural refuge of the average man when other -resources fail. He smiled benevolently, and with a quick lifting of the -head remarked: - -“This isn’t the way for us to talk to each other. We’ve always been -the best of friends; nothing’s going to change that. I trust your good -sense--I trust”--here his voice sank under the weight of emotion--“I -trust your love for me--your love for your dear mother’s memory--to do -nothing to grieve me, nothing that would hurt her.” - -“Yes, Dada,” she said absently, not sure how far she could trust his -mood. Then she walked up to him and drew her hand across his cheek -and gave his tie a twitch. He drew his arm about her and kissed her -forehead. - -“Let this be between ourselves,” he said. “I’ll go around and come in -the front way.” - -She went up the back stairs and reappeared in the living-room, -whistling. Constance and Shepherd were still reading before the fire -where she had left them. - -After supper--served at the dining-room table tonight--Leila was -unwontedly silent, and the attempts of Constance and Shepherd to be gay -were sadly deficient in spontaneity. Mills’s Sunday, which had begun -with high hopes, had been bitterly disappointing. Though outwardly -tranquil and unbending a little more than usual, his mind was elsewhere. - - -VI - -The happy life manifestly was not to be won merely by going to church. -At the back of his mind, with all his agnosticism, he had entertained -a superstitious belief that in Christianity there was some secret of -happiness revealed to those who placed themselves receptively close -to the throne of grace. This was evidently a mistake; or at least it -was clear from the day’s experience that the boon was less easy of -attainment than he had believed. - -He recalled what the rector of St. Barnabas had said to him the morning -he had gone in to inspect the Mills window--that walls do not make -the church, that the true edifice is within man’s own breast. Lindley -shouldn’t say things like that, to perplex the hearer, baffle him, -create a disagreeable uneasiness! This hint of a God whose tabernacle -is in every man’s heart was displeasing. Mills didn’t like the idea -of carrying God around with him. To grant any such premise would be -to open the way for doubts as to his omnipotence in his own world; -and Franklin Mills was not ready for that. He groped for a deity -who wouldn’t be a nuisance, like a disagreeable guest in the house, -upsetting the whole establishment! God should be a convenience, subject -to call like a doctor or a lawyer. But how could a man reach Lindley’s -God, who wasn’t in the church at all, but within man himself? - -In his pondering he came back to his own family. He didn’t know -Shepherd; he didn’t know Leila. And this was all wrong. He knew -Millicent Harden better than he knew either of his children. - -He had friends who were good pals with their children, and he wondered -how they managed it. Maybe it was the spirit of the age that was the -trouble. It was a common habit to fix responsibility for all the -disturbing moral and social phenomena of the time on the receding World -War, or the greed for gain, or the diminished zeal for religion. This -brought him again to God; uncomfortable--the reflection that thought in -all its circling and tangential excursions does somehow land at that -mysterious door.... Leila must be dealt with. She was much too facile -in dissimulation. He was confident that no other Mills had ever been -like that. - -When they reached home he followed Leila into her room. He took the -cigarette she offered him and sat down in the low rocking chair she -pulled out for him--a befrilled feminine contrivance little to his -taste. Utterly at a loss as to how he could most effectively reprimand -her for her attempted deception and give her to understand that he -would never countenance a marriage with Thomas, he was relieved when -she took the initiative. - -“I _was_ naughty, Dada!” she said. “But Freddy was going over to the -Burtons’ tonight and I had told him I’d be there--that’s all. I wasn’t -just crazy about going to the farm.” - -She held a match for him, extinguished it with a flourish, and after -lighting her own cigarette dropped down on the chaise longue with -a weary little sigh. If she had remained standing or had sat down -properly in a chair, his rôle as the stern, aggrieved parent would have -been simpler. Leila was so confoundedly difficult, so completely what -he wished she was not! - -“About this Thomas----” he began. - -“Oh, pshaw! Don’t you bother a little tiny bit about him. I’m just -teasing him along.” - -“I must say your talk over the telephone sounded pretty serious to me!” - -“Oh, bunk! All the girls talk to men that way these days--it doesn’t -mean anything!” - -“What’s that? You say the words you used don’t _mean_ anything?” - -“Not a thing, Dada. If you’d tell a man you didn’t love him he’d be -sure to think you did!” - -“A dangerous idea, I should think.” - -“Oh, no! Everything’s different from what it was when you were young!” - -“Yes; I’ve noticed that!” he replied drily. “But seriously, Leila, this -meeting a man--a man we know little about--at other people’s houses -won’t do! You ought to have more self-respect and dignity than that!” - -“You’re making too much of it, Dada! It’s happened only two or three -times. I thought you were sore about Freddy’s coming here so much, and -I _have_ met him other places--always perfectly proper places!” - -“I should hope so!” he exclaimed with his first display of spirit. -“But you can’t afford to go about with him. You’ve got to remember the -community has a right to expect the best of you. You should think of -your dear mother even if you don’t care for me!” - -“Now, Dada!” She leveled her arm at him, the smoking cigarette in her -slim fingers. “Don’t be silly; you _know_ I adore you; I’ve always been -perfectly crazy about you!” - -She spoke in much the same tone she would have used in approving of a -new suit of clothes he had submitted for inspection. - -“Now, I have your promise----” he said, sitting up alertly in his chair. - -“Promise, Dada?” she inquired, her thoughts far afield. “Oh, about -Freddy! Well, if you’ll be happier I promise you now never to marry -him. Frankly--_frankly_--I’m not going to marry anybody right away. -When I get ready I’ll probably marry Arthur if some widow doesn’t -snatch him first. But please don’t crowd me, Dada! If there _is_ -anything I hate it’s being crowded!” - -“Nobody’s crowding you!” he said, feeling that she was once more -eluding him. - -“Then don’t push!” she laughed. - -“Let’s not have any more nonsense,” he said. “I think you do a lot of -things just to annoy me. It isn’t fair!” - -“Why, Dada!” she exclaimed in mock astonishment. “I thought you liked -being kidded. I kid all your old friends and it tickles ’em to death.” - -“Go to bed!” he retorted, laughing in spite of himself. - -She mussed his hair before kissing him good-night, but even as he -turned away he could see that her thoughts were elsewhere. - - -VII - -Behind his own door, as he thought it over, the interview was about -as unsatisfactory as an interview could be. She had kept it in her -own hands, left him no opening for the eloquent appeal he had planned -or the severe scolding she deserved. He wished he dared go back and -put his arms about her and tell her how deeply he loved her. But he -lacked the courage; she wouldn’t understand it. It was the cruelest of -ironies that he dare not knock at his child’s door to tell her how -precious she was to him. - -That was the trouble--he didn’t know how to make her understand! As he -paced the floor, he wondered whether anyone in all the world had ever -loved him! Yes, there was Marian Storrs; and, again, the woman who had -been his wife. Beyond question each had, in her own way, loved him; but -both were gathered into the great company of the dead. That question, -as to whether anyone had ever loved him, reversed itself: in the whole -course of his life had he, Franklin Mills, ever unselfishly loved -anyone? This was the most disagreeable question that had forced itself -upon Franklin Mills’s attention in a long time. As he tried to go to -sleep it took countless forms in the dark, till the room danced with -interrogation marks. - -He turned on the lights and got up. After moving about restlessly for -a time he found himself staring at his reflection in the panel mirror -in the bathroom door. It seemed to him that the shadow in the glass was -not himself but the phantom of a man he had never known. - - - - -CHAPTER SIXTEEN - - -I - -At Christmas Bruce had sent Millicent a box of flowers, which she had -acknowledged in a cordial little note, but he had not called on her, -making the excuse to himself that he lacked time. But the real reason -was a fear that he had begun to care too much for her. He must not -allow himself to love her when he could never marry her; he could never -ask any woman to take a name to which he had no honest right. - -But if he hadn’t seen Millicent he heard of her frequently. He was -established as a welcome visitor at all times at the Freemans’ and -the Hendersons’. The belated social recognition of the Hardens, in -spite of the adroitness with which Mills had inspired it, had not gone -unremarked. - -There was, Bud said, always some reason for everything Mills did; and -Maybelle, who knew everything that was said and done in town, had -remarked in Bruce’s hearing that the Hardens’ social promotion was -merely an item in Mills’s courtship of Millicent. - -“I’ll wager he doesn’t make it! Millicent will never do it,” was -Maybelle’s opinion, expressed one evening at dinner. - -“Why not?” Bruce asked, trying to conceal his suspicion that the -remark was made for his own encouragement. - -“Oh, Millie’s not going to throw herself away on an old bird like Frank -Mills. She values her youth too much for that.” - -“Oh, you never can tell,” said Bud provokingly. “Girls have done it -before this.” - -“But not girls like Millicent!” Maybelle flung back. - -“That’s easy,” Bud acquiesced. “There never was a girl like Millie--not -even you, Maybelle, much as I love you. But all that mazuma and -that long line of noble ancestors; not a spot on the whole bloomin’ -scutcheon! I wonder if Mills is really teasing himself with the idea -that he has even a look-in!” - -“What you ought to do, Bruce, is to sail in and marry Millie yourself,” -said Maybelle. “Dale and I are strong for you!” - -“Thanks for the compliment!” exclaimed Bruce. “You and Dale want me to -enter the race in the hope of seeing Mills knocked out! No particular -interest in me! You don’t want me to win half as much as you want the -great Mills to lose. Alas! And this is friendship!” - -“The idea warms my sporting blood,” said Bud. “Once the struggle begins -we’ll post the bets on the club bulletin. I’ll start with two to one on -you, old top!” - -“I’m surprised at Connie--she seems to be helping on the boosting of -the Hardens,” said Maybelle. “It must occur to her that it wouldn’t -help her own fortunes to have a healthy young stepmother-in-law prance -into the sketch. When Frank Mills passes on some day Connie’s going -to be all set to spend a lot of his money. Connie’s one of the born -spenders.” - -“That’s all well enough,” remarked Bud. “But just now Connie’s only -too glad to have Mills’s attention directed away from her own little -diversions. She and George Whitford----” - -“Bud!” Maybelle tapped her water glass sharply. “Remember, boys, these -people are our friends!” - -“Not so up-stage, darling!” said Bud. “I’m sure we’ve been talking only -in a spirit of loving kindness!” - -“Honorable men and women--one and all!” said Bruce. - -“Absolutely!” Bud affirmed, and the subject was dropped. - -A few nights later Bruce was obliged to listen to similar talk at the -Freemans’, though in a different key. Mrs. Freeman was indignant that -Mills should think of marrying Millicent. - -“There’s just one right man in the world for every woman,” she -declared. “And the right man for Millicent is you, Bruce Storrs!” - -Bruce met her gaze with mock solemnity. - -“Please don’t force me into a hasty marriage! Here I am, a struggling -young architect who will soon be not so young. Give me time to become -self-supporting!” - -“Of course Millie will marry you in the proper course of things,” said -Freeman. “If that girl should throw herself away on Franklin Mills she -wouldn’t be Millie. And she is very much Millie!” - -“Heavens!” exclaimed his wife. “The bare thought of that girl, with -her beauty, her spiritual insight, her sweetness, linking herself to -that--that----” - -“This talk is all bosh!” interrupted Freeman. “I doubt if Mills ever -sees Millicent alone. These gossips ought to be sent to the penal farm.” - -“Oh, I think they’ve seen each other in a neighborly sort of way,” said -Mrs. Freeman. “Mills is a cultivated man and Millicent’s music and -modeling no doubt really interest him. I ran in to see her the other -morning and she’s been doing a bust of Mills--she laughed when I asked -her about it and said she had hard work getting sitters and Mr. Mills -is ever so patient.” - -The intimacy implied in this kindled Bruce’s jealousy anew. Dale -Freeman, whose prescience was keen, saw a look in his face that gave -her instant pause. - -“Mr. Mills and Leila are leaving in a few days,” she remarked quickly. -“I don’t believe he’s much of a success as a matchmaker. It’s been in -the air for several years that Leila must marry Arthur Carroll, but he -doesn’t appear to be making any headway.” - -“Leila will do as she pleases,” said Freeman, who was satisfied with a -very little gossip. “Bruce, how do you feel about tackling that Laconia -war memorial?” - -Bruce’s native town was to build a museum as a memorial to the soldiers -in all her wars, from the Revolutionary patriots who had settled the -county to the veterans of the Great War. Freeman had encouraged Bruce -to submit plans, which were to be passed on by a jury of the highest -distinction. Freeman kept strictly to domestic architecture; but -Bruce’s ideas about the memorial had impressed him by their novelty. -His young associate had, he saw, a natural bent for monumental -structures that had been increased by the contemplation of the famous -memorials in Europe. They went into the Freemans’ study to talk over -the specifications and terms of the competition, and by midnight Bruce -was so reassured by his senior’s confidence that it was decided he -should go to work immediately on his plans. - -“It would be splendid, Bruce!” said Dale, who had sewed during the -discussion, throwing in an occasional apt comment and suggestion. -“The people of Laconia would have all the more pride in their heroes -if one of them designed the memorial. It’s not big enough to tempt the -top-notchers in the profession, but if you land it it will push you a -long way up!” - -“Yes; it would be a big thing for you,” Freeman added. “You’d better -drop your work in the office and concentrate on it....” - -Undeterred by the cold, Bruce drove daily into the country, left his -car and walked--walked with a new energy begotten of definite ambition -and faith in his power of achievement. To create beautiful things: this -had been his mother’s prayer for him. He would do this for her; he -would create a thing of beauty that should look down forever upon the -earth that held her dust. - -The site of the proposed building was on the crest of a hill on the -outskirts of Laconia and within sight of its main street. Bruce had -known the spot all his life and had no trouble in visualizing its -pictorial possibilities. The forest trees that crowned the hill would -afford a picturesque background for an open colonnade that he meant to -incorporate in his plans. - -Walking on clear, cold nights he fancied that he saw on every hilltop -the structure as it would be, with the winds playing through its arches -and wistful young moons coming through countless years to bless it anew -with the hope and courage of youth. - - -II - -On Shep’s account rather than because of any interest he felt in -Constance, Bruce had twice looked in at the Shepherd Mills’s on -Constance’s day at home. - -Constance made much of the informality of her “days,” but they were, -Bruce thought, rather dull. The girls and the young matrons he met -there gave Mrs. Shep the adoration her nature demanded; the few men who -dropped in were either her admirers or they went in the hope of meeting -other young women in whom they were interested. On the first of these -occasions Bruce had found Leila and Fred Thomas there, and both times -George Whitford was prominent in the picture. - -Thomas was not without his attractions. His cherubic countenance and -the infantile expression of his large myopic blue eyes made him appear -younger than his years. The men around the University Club said he had -a shrewd head for business; the women of the younger set pronounced him -very droll, a likely rival of Bud Henderson for humor. It was easy to -understand why he was called Freddy; he had the look of a Freddy. And -Bruce thought it quite natural that Leila Mills should fancy him. - -Constance’s attempts to attract the artistic and intellectual on -her Thursdays had been a melancholy failure; such persons were much -too busy, and it had occurred to the musicians, literary aspirants -and struggling artists in town that there was something a little -patronizing in her overtures. Her house was too big; it was not half so -agreeable as the Freemans’, and of course Freeman was an artist himself -and Dale was intelligently sympathetic with everyone who had an idea -to offer. As Bud Henderson put it, Dale could mix money and social -position with art and nobody thought of its being a mixture, whereas -at Constance’s you were always conscious of being either a sheep or -a goat. Connie’s upholstery was too expensive, Bud thought, and her -sandwiches were too elaborate for the plebeian palates of goats inured -to hot ham in a bun in one-arm lunch rooms. - -Gossip, like death, loves a shining mark, and Mrs. Shepherd Mills -was too conspicuous to escape the attention of the manufacturers and -purveyors of rumor and scandal. The parochial habit of mind dies -hard in towns that leap to cityhood, and the delights of the old -time cosy gossip over the back fence are not lightly relinquished. -Bruce was appalled by the malicious stories he heard about people he -was beginning to know and like. He had heard George Whitford’s name -mentioned frequently in connection with Connie’s, but he thought little -of it. He had, nevertheless, given due weight to Helen Torrence’s -warning to beware of becoming one of Connie’s victims. - -There was a good deal of flirting going on among young married people, -Bruce found, but it was of a harmless sort. Towns of two and three -hundred thousand are too small for flirtations that pass the heavily -mined frontiers of discretion. Even though he had weakly yielded to an -impulse and kissed Connie the night he drove her from the Freemans’ to -Deer Trail, he took it for granted that it had meant no more to her -than it had to him. And he assumed that on the earlier afternoon, when -he met Connie and Whitford on the road, Whitford had probably been -making love to Connie and Connie had not been unwilling to be made love -to. There were women like that, he knew, not infrequently young married -women who, when the first ardor of marriage has passed, seek to prolong -their youth by re-testing their charm for men. Shepherd Mills was -hardly a man to inspire a deep love in a woman of Connie’s temperament; -it was inevitable that Connie should have her little fling. - -On his way home from one of his afternoon tramps Bruce was moved to -make his third call at the Shepherd Mills’s. It was not Connie’s day at -home, but she had asked him to dinner a few nights earlier when it was -impossible for him to go and he hadn’t been sure that she had accepted -his refusal in good part. He was cold and tired--happily tired, for -the afternoon spent in the wintry air had brought the solution of -several difficult questions touching the Laconia memorial. His spirit -had won the elation which workers in all the arts experience when hazy -ideas begin to emerge into the foreground of consciousness and invite -consideration in terms of the tangible and concrete. - -He would have stopped at the Hardens’ if he had dared; lights shone -invitingly from the windows as he passed, but the Mills house, with -its less genial façade, deterred him. The thought of Millicent was -inseparable from the thought of Mills.... - -He hadn’t realized that it was so late until he had rung the bell -and looked at his watch under the entry light. The maid surveyed him -doubtfully, and sounds of lively talk from within gave him pause. He -was about to turn away when Constance came into the hall. - -“Oh, pleasantest of surprises!” she exclaimed. “Certainly you’re coming -in! There’s no one here but old friends--and you’ll make another!” - -“If it’s a party, I’m on my way,” he said hesitatingly. - -“Oh, it’s just Nellie Burton and George Whitford--nothing at all to be -afraid of!” - -At this moment Mrs. Burton and Whitford exhibited themselves at the -living-room door in proof of her statement. - -“Bully!” cried Whitford. “Of course Connie knew you were coming!” - -“I swear I didn’t!” Constance declared. - -“No matter if you did!” Whitford retorted. - -Mrs. Burton clasped her hands devoutly as Bruce divested himself of his -overcoat. “We were just praying for another man to come in--and here -you are!” - -“And a man who’s terribly hard to get, if you ask me!” said Constance. -“Come in to the fire. George, don’t let Mr. Storrs perish for a drink!” - -“He shall have gallons!” replied Whitford, turning to a stand on which -the materials for cocktail making were assembled. “We needed a fresh -thirst in the party to give us a new excuse. ‘Stay me with flagons’!” - -“Now, _Bruce_,” drawled Constance. “_Did_ I ever call you _Bruce_ -before? Well, you won’t mind--say you don’t mind! Shep calls you by -your first name, why not I?” - -“This one is to dear old Shep--absent treatment!” said Mrs. Burton as -she took her glass. - -“Shep’s in Cincinnati,” Constance was explaining. “He went down on -business yesterday and expected to be home for dinner tonight--but he -wired this forenoon that he has to stay over. So first comes Nellie and -then old George blows in, and we were wishing for another man to share -our broth and porridge.” - -“My beloved hubby’s in New York; won’t you be my beau, Mr. Storrs?” -asked Mrs. Burton. - -“_Bruce!_” Constance corrected her. - -“All right, then, Bruce! I’m Nellie to all the good comrades.” - -“Yes, Nellie,” said Bruce with affected shyness. He regarded them -amiably as they peppered him with a brisk fire of questions as to where -he had been and why he made himself so inaccessible. - -Mrs. Burton he knew but slightly. She was tall, an extreme blonde and -of about Constance’s age. Like Constance, she was not of the older -order of the local nobility. Her father had been a manufacturer of -horsedrawn vehicles, and when the arrival of the gasoline age destroyed -his business he passed through bankruptcy into commercial oblivion. -However, the law of compensations operated benevolently in Nellie’s -favor. She married Dick Burton, thereby acquiring both social standing -and a sound financial rating. She was less intelligent than Constance, -but more daring in her social adventures outside the old conservative -stockade. - -“George brought his own liquor,” said Constance. “We have him to thank -for this soothing mixture. Shep’s terribly law-abiding; he won’t have -the stuff on the place. Bruce, you’re not going to boast of other -engagements; you’ll dine right here!” - -“That’s all settled!” remarked Whitford cheerfully. - -“If Bruce goes he takes me with him!” declared Mrs. Burton. “I’m not -going to be left here to watch you two spoon. I’m some little spooner -myself!” - -“You couldn’t drive me from this house,” protested Bruce. - -“There spoke a real man!” cried Constance, and she rang for the maid to -order the table set for four. - -Mrs. Burton, whom Bruce had met only once before, became confidential -when Constance and Whitford went to the piano in the reception parlor, -where Whitford began improvising an air to some verses he had written. - -“Constance is always so lucky! All the men fall in love with her. -George has a terrible case--writes poems to Connie’s eyes and -everything!” - -“Every woman should have her own poet,” said Bruce. “I couldn’t make a -rhyme to save my life!” - -“Oh, well, do me something in free verse; you don’t need even an idea -for that!” - -“Ah, the reality doesn’t need metrical embellishment!” - -“Thanks so much; I ought to have something clever to hand back to you. -Constance always know just what to say to a man. I have the courage, -but I haven’t the brains for a first-class flirt.” - -“Men are timid creatures,” he said mournfully. “I haven’t the slightest -initiative in these matters. You are charming and the light of your -eyes was stolen from the stars. Does that have the right ring?” - -“Well, hardly! You’re not intense enough! You make me feel as though I -were a freak of some kind. Oh, George----” - -“Yes, Nellie----” Whitford answered from the piano. - -“You must teach Bruce to flirt. His education’s been neglected.” - -“He’s in good hands now!” Whitford replied. - -“Oh, Bruce is hopeless!” exclaimed Connie, who was seated beside -Whitford at the piano. “I gave him a try-out and he refused to play!” - -“Then I give up right now!” Mrs. Burton cried in mock despair. - -Bruce half suspected that she and Whitford had not met at Constance’s -quite as casually as they pretended. But it was not his affair, and he -was not averse to making a fourth member of a party that promised at -least a little gaiety. - -Mrs. Burton was examining him as to the range of his acquaintance -in the town, and what had prompted him to settle there, and what -he thought of the place--evoking the admission (always expected of -newcomers) that it was a place singularly marked by its generous -hospitality--when she asked with a jerk of the head toward Constance -and Whitford: - -“What would you do with a case like that?” - -“What would I do with it?” asked Bruce, who had been answering her -questions perfunctorily, his mind elsewhere. Constance and Whitford, -out of sight in the adjoining room, were talking in low tones to the -fitful accompaniment of the piano. Now and then Constance laughed -happily. - -“It really oughtn’t to go on, you know!” continued Mrs. Burton. “Those -people are _serious_! But--what is one to do?” - -“My dear Nellie, I’m not a specialist in such matters!” said Bruce, not -relishing her evident desire to discuss their hostess. - -“Some of their friends--I’m one of them--are _worried_! I know Helen -Torrence has talked to Constance. She really ought to catch herself up. -Shep’s so blind--poor boy! It’s a weakness of his to think everyone -perfectly all right!” - -“It’s a noble quality,” remarked Bruce dryly. “You don’t think Shep -would object to this party?” - -“There’s the point! Connie isn’t stupid, you know! She asked me to come -just so she could keep George for dinner. And being a good fellow, I -came! I’m ever so glad you showed up. I might be suspected of helping -things along! But with you here the world might look through the -window!” - -“Then we haven’t a thing to worry about!” said Bruce with finality. - -“It’s too bad,” she persisted, “that marriage isn’t an insurance of -happiness. Now George and Constance are ideally suited to each other; -but they never knew it until it was too late. I wish he’d go to Africa -or some far-off place. If he doesn’t there’s going to be an earthquake -one of these days.” - -“Well, earthquakes in this part of the world are never serious,” Bruce -remarked, uncomfortable as he found that Constance’s friend was really -serious and appealing for his sympathy. - -“You probably don’t know Franklin Mills--no one does, for that -matter--but with his strict views of things there’d certainly be a big -smash if _he_ knew!” - -“Well, of course there’s nothing for him to know,” said Bruce -indifferently. - -The maid came in to announce dinner and Constance and Whitford -reappeared. - -“George has been reciting lovely poetry to me,” said Constance. -“Nellie, has Bruce kept you amused? I know he _could_ make love -beautifully if he only _would_!” - -“He’s afraid of me--or he doesn’t like me,” said Mrs. Burton--“I don’t -know which!” - -“He looks guilty! He looks terribly guilty. I’m sure he’s been making -love to you!” said Constance dreamily as though under the spell of -happy memories. “We’ll go in to dinner just as we are. These informal -parties are always the nicest.” - - -III - -Whitford was one of those rare men who are equally attractive to both -men and women. Any prejudice that might have been aroused in masculine -minds by his dilettantism was offset by his adventures as a traveler, -hunter and soldier. - -“Now, heroes,” began Mrs. Burton, when they were seated, “tell us some -war stories. I was brought up on my grandfather’s stories of the Civil -War, but the boys we know who went overseas to fight never talk war at -all!” - -“No wonder!” exclaimed Whitford. “It was only a little playful -diversion among the nations. That your idea, Storrs?” - -“Nothing to it,” Bruce assented. “We had to go to find out that the -French we learned in school was no good!” - -Whitford chuckled and told a story of an encounter with a French -officer of high rank he had met one wet night in a lonely road. The -interview began with the greatest courtesy, became violent as neither -could make himself intelligible to the other, and then, when each -was satisfied of the other’s honorable intentions, they parted with -a great flourish of compliments. Bruce capped this with an adventure -of his own, in which his personal peril was concealed by his emphasis -on the ridiculous plight into which he got himself by an unauthorized -excursion through a barbed wire entanglement for a private view of the -enemy. - -“That’s the way they all talk!” said Connie admiringly. “You’d think -the whole thing had been a huge joke!” - -“You’ve got to laugh at war,” observed Whitford, “it’s the only way. -It’s so silly to think anything can be proved by killing a lot of -people and making a lot more miserable.” - -“You laugh about it, but you might both have been killed!” Mrs. Burton -expostulated. - -“No odds,” said Whitford, “except--that we’d have missed this party!” - -They played bridge afterward, though Whitford said it would be more fun -to match dollars. The bridge was well under way when the maid passed -down the hall to answer the bell. - -“Just a minute, Annie!” Constance laid down her cards and deliberated. - -“What’s the trouble, Connie? Is Shep slipping in on us?” asked Mrs. -Burton. - -“Hardly,” replied Constance, plainly disturbed by the interruption. -“Oh, Annie, don’t let anyone in you don’t know.” - -They waited in silence for the opening of the door. - -In a moment Franklin Mills’s voice was heard asking if Mr. and Mrs. -Mills were at home. - -“Um!” With a shrug Constance rose hastily and met Mills at the door. - -“I’d like to see you just a moment, Connie,” he said without prelude. - -Whitford and Bruce had risen. Mills bowed to them and to Mrs. Burton, -but behind the mask of courtesy his face wore a haggard look. - -Constance followed him into the hall where their voices--Mills’s low -and tense--could be heard in hurried conference. In a moment Constance -went to the hall telephone and called a succession of numbers. - -“The club--Freddy Thomas’s rooms----” muttered Whitford. “Wonder what’s -up----” - -They exchanged questioning glances. Whitford idly shuffled and -reshuffled the cards. - -“He’s looking for Leila. Do you suppose----” began Mrs. Burton in a -whisper. - -“You’re keeping score, aren’t you, Storrs?” asked Whitford aloud. - -They began talking with forced animation about the game to hide their -perturbation over Mills’s appearance and his evident concern as to -Leila’s whereabouts. - -“Mr. Thomas is at the club,” they heard Constance report. “He dined -there alone.” - -“You’re sure Leila’s not been here--she’s not here now?” Mills demanded -irritably. - -“I haven’t seen Leila at all today,” Constance replied with patient -deliberation. “I’m so sorry you’re troubled. She’s probably stopped -somewhere for dinner and forgotten to telephone.” - -“She usually calls me up. That’s what troubles me,” Mills replied, “not -hearing from her. There’s no place else you’d suggest?” - -“No----” - -“Thank you, Connie. Shep’s still away?” - -“Yes. He’ll be back tomorrow.” - -Mills paused in the doorway and bowed to the trio at the card table. -“I’m sorry I interrupted your game!” he said, forcing a smile. “Do -pardon me!” - -He turned up the collar of his fur-lined coat and fumbled for the -buttons. There seemed to Bruce a curious helplessness in the slow -movement of his fingers. - -Constance followed him to the outer door, and as it closed upon him -walked slowly back into the living room. - -“That’s a pretty how-d’ye-do! Leila ought to have a whipping! It’s -after eight and nothing’s been seen of her since noon. But she hasn’t -eloped--that’s one satisfaction! Freddy’s at the club all right enough.” - -“She’s certainly thrown a scare into her father,” remarked Mrs. Burton. -“He looked positively ill.” - -“It’s too bad!” ejaculated Whitford. “I hope she hasn’t got soused and -smashed up her car somewhere.” - -“I wish Freddy Thomas had never been born!” cried Constance -impatiently. “Leila and her father have been having a nasty time over -him. And she had cut drinking and was doing fine!” - -“Is there anything we can do?--that’s the question,” said Whitford, -taking a turn across the floor. - -Bruce was thinking hard. What might Leila do in a fit of depression -over her father’s hostility toward Thomas?... - -“I think maybe----” he began. He did not finish, but with sudden -resolution put out his hand to Constance. “Excuse me, won’t you? It’s -just possible that I may be able to help.” - -“Let me go with you,” said Whitford quickly. - -“No, thanks; Mr. Mills may come back and need assistance. You’d better -stay. If I get a clue I’ll call up.” - -It was a bitter night, the coldest of the year, and he drove his car -swiftly, throwing up the windshield and welcoming the rush of cold air. -He thought of his drive with Shepherd to the river, and here he was -setting forth again in a blind hope of rendering a service to one of -Franklin Mills’s children!... - -On the unlighted highway he had difficulty in finding the gate that -opened into the small tract on the bluff above the boathouse where he -had taken Leila and Millicent on the summer evening when he had rescued -them from the sandbar. Leaving his car at the roadside, he stumbled -down the steps that led to the water. He paused when he saw lights in -the boathouse and moved cautiously across the veranda that ran around -its land side. A vast silence hung upon the place. - -He opened the door and stood blinking into the room. On a long couch -that stretched under the windows lay Leila, in her fur coat, with a -rug half drawn over her knees. Her hat had slipped to the floor and -beside it lay a silver flask and an empty whisky bottle. He touched her -cheek and found it warm; listened for a moment to her deep, uneven -breathing, and gathered her up in his arms. - -He reached the door just as it opened and found himself staring into -Franklin Mills’s eyes--eyes in which pain, horror and submission -effaced any trace of surprise. - -“I--I followed your car,” Mills said, as if an explanation of his -presence were necessary. “I’m sure--you are very--very kind----” - -He stepped aside, and Bruce passed out, carrying the relaxed body -tenderly. As he felt his way slowly up the icy steps he could hear -Mills following. - -The Mills limousine stood by the gate and the chauffeur jumped out and -opened the door. No words were spoken. Mills got into the car slowly, -unsteadily, in the manner of a decrepit old man. When he was seated -Bruce placed Leila in his arms and drew the carriage robe over them. -The chauffeur mounted to his place and snapped off the tonneau lights, -and Bruce, not knowing what he did, raised his hand in salute as the -heavy machine rolled away. - - - - -CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - - -I - -The day following his discovery of Leila Mills in the boathouse, Bruce -remained in his apartment. He was not a little awed by the instinct -that had led him to the river--the unlikeliest of places in which to -seek the runaway girl. The poor little drugged body lying there in the -cold room; her deep sigh and the touch of her hand on his face as he -took her up, and more poignantly the look in Franklin Mills’s face when -they met at the door, remained with him, and he knew that these were -things he could never forget.... - -There was more of superstition and mysticism in his blood than he had -believed. Lounging about his rooms, staring down at the bleak street as -it whitened in a brisk snowfall, his thoughts ranged the wide seas of -doubt and faith. Life was only a corridor between two doors of mystery. -Petty and contemptible seemed the old familiar teachings about God. Men -were not rejecting God; they were merely misled as to his nature. The -spirit of man was only an infinitesimal particle of the spirit that was -God. No other person he had ever talked with had offered so reasonable -a solution of the problem as Millicent. - -Again he went over their talk on the golf course. Millicent had the -clue--the clue to a reality no less tangible and plausible because -it was born of unreality. And here was the beginning of wisdom: to -abandon the attempt to explain all things when so manifestly life would -become intolerable if the walls of mystery through which man moves -were battered down. As near as he was able to express it, the soul -required room--all infinity, indeed, as the playground for its proper -exercise. The freer a man’s spirit the greater its capacity for loving -and serving its neighbor souls. Somewhere in the illimitable horizons -of which Millicent dreamed it was imaginable that Something august -and supreme dominated the universe--Something only belittled by every -attempt to find a name for it.... - -Strange reflections for a healthy young mind in a stalwart, vigorous -young body! Bruce hardly knew himself today. The scent of Leila’s -hair as he bore her out of the boathouse had stirred a tenderness in -his heart that was strange to him. He hoped Franklin Mills had dealt -leniently with Leila. He had no idea what the man would do or say -after finding his daughter in such a plight. He considered telephoning -Mills’s house to ask about her, but dismissed the thought. His duty was -discharged the moment he gave her into her father’s keeping; in all the -circumstances an inquiry would be an impertinence. - -Poor Leila! Poor, foolish, wilful, generous-hearted little girl! Her -father was much too conspicuous for her little excursions among the -shoals of folly to pass unremarked. Bruce found himself excusing and -defending her latest escapade. She had taken refuge in the oblivion of -alcohol as an escape from her troubles.... Something wrong somewhere. -Shep and Leila both groping in the dark for the door of happiness -and getting no help from their father in their search--a deplorable -situation. Not altogether Franklin Mills’s fault; perhaps no one’s -fault; just the way things happen, but no less tragic for all that. - -Bruce asked the janitor to bring in his meals, content to be alone, -looking forward to a long day in which to brood over his plans for the -memorial. He was glad that he had not run away from Franklin Mills. It -was much better to have remained in the town, and more comfortable to -have met Mills and the members of his family than to have lived in the -same community speculating about them endlessly without ever knowing -them. He knew them now all too well! Even Franklin Mills was emerging -from the mists; Bruce began to think he knew what manner of man Mills -was. Shepherd had opened his own soul to him; and Leila--Bruce made -allowances for Leila and saw her merits with full appreciation. One -thing was certain: he did not envy Franklin Mills or his children their -lot; he coveted nothing they possessed. He thanked his stars that he -had had the wit to reject Mills’s offer to help him into a business -position of promise; to be under obligation of any sort to Franklin -Mills would be intolerable. Through the afternoon he worked desultorily -on his sketches of the Laconia memorial, enjoying the luxury of -undisturbed peace. He began combining in a single drawing his memoranda -of details; was so pleased with the result in crayon that he began -a pen and ink sketch and was still at this when Henderson appeared, -encased in a plaid overcoat that greatly magnified his circumference. - -“What’s responsible for this!” Bruce demanded. - -“Thanks for your hearty greeting! I called your office at five-minute -intervals all day and that hard-boiled telephone girl said you hadn’t -been there. All the clubs denied knowledge of your whereabouts, so I -clambered into my palatial Plantagenet and sped out, expecting to find -you sunk in mortal illness. You must stop drinking, son.” - -“That’s a good one from you! Please don’t sit on those drawings!” - -“My mistake. You’re terribly peevish. By the way--what was the row last -night about Leila Mills?” Bud feigned deep interest in a cloisonné jar -that stood on the table. - -“Well, what was?” asked Bruce. “I might have known you had something up -your sleeve.” - -“Oh, the kid disappeared yesterday long enough to give her father heart -failure. Mills called Maybelle to see if she was at our house; Maybelle -called Connie, and Connie said you’d left a party at her house to chase -the kidnappers. Of course I’m not asking any questions, but I do like -to keep pace with the local news.” - -“I’ll say you do!” Bruce grinned at him provokingly. “Did they catch -the kidnappers?” - -“Well, Connie called Maybelle later to say that Leila was all safe at -home and in bed. But even Connie didn’t know where you found the erring -lambkin.” - -“You’ve called the wrong number,” Bruce said, stretching himself. “I -didn’t find Miss Leila. When I left Connie’s I went to the club to -shoot a little pool.” - -“You certainly lie like a gentleman! Come on home with me to dinner; -we’re going to have corn beef and cabbage tonight!” - -“In other words, if you can’t make me talk you think Maybelle can!” - -“You insult me! Get your hat and let’s skip!” - -“No; I’m taking my nourishment right here today. Strange as it may -seem--I’m working!” - -“Thanks for the hint! Just for that I hope the job’s a failure.” - - -II - -Bruce was engrossed at his drawing-board when, at half past eight, the -tinkle of the house telephone startled him. - -“Mr. Storrs? This is Mr. Mills speaking--may I trouble you for a -moment?” - -“Yes; certainly. Come right up, Mr. Mills!” - -There was no way out of it. He could not deny himself to Mills. -Bruce hurriedly put on his coat, cleared up the litter on his table, -straightened the cushions on the divan and went into the hall to -receive his guest. He saw Mills’s head and shoulders below; Mills was -mounting slowly, leaning heavily upon the stair rail. At the first -landing--Bruce’s rooms were on the third floor--Mills paused and drew -himself erect. Bruce stepped inside the door to avoid embarrassing his -caller on his further ascent. - -“It’s a comfort not to have all the modern conveniences,” Mills -remarked graciously when Bruce apologized for the stairs. “Thank you, -no; I’ll not take off my coat. You’re nicely situated here--I got your -number from Carroll; he can always answer any question.” - -His climb had evidently wearied him and he twisted the head of his cane -nervously as he waited for his heart to resume its normal beat. There -was a tired look in his eyes and his face lacked its usual healthy -color. If Mills had come to speak of Leila, Bruce resolved to make the -interview as easy for him as possible. - -“Twenty-five years ago this was cow pasture,” Mills remarked. “My -father owned fifty acres right here when I was a boy. He sold it for -twenty times its original cost.” - -Whatever had brought Franklin Mills to Bruce’s door, the man knew -exactly what he had come to say, but was waiting until he could give -full weight to the utterance. In a few minutes he was quite himself, -and to Bruce’s surprise he rose and stood, with something of the -ceremonial air of one about to deliver a message whose nature demanded -formality. - -“Mr. Storrs, I came to thank you for the great service you rendered me -last night. I was in very great distress. You can understand my anxious -concern; so I needn’t touch upon that. Words are inadequate to express -my gratitude. But I can at least let you know that I appreciate what -you did for me--for me and my daughter.” - -He ended with a slight inclination of the head. - -“Thank you, Mr. Mills,” said Bruce, taking the hand Mills extended. “I -hope Miss Mills is quite well.” - -“Quite, thank you.” - -With an abrupt change of manner that dismissed the subject Mills -glanced about the room. - -“You bring work home? That speaks for zeal in your profession. Aren’t -the days long enough?” - -“Oh, this is a little private affair,” said Bruce, noting that Mills’s -gaze had fallen upon the drawings propped against the wall. It was -understood between him and the Freemans that his participation in the -Laconia competition was to be kept secret; but he felt moved to explain -to Mills the nature of the drawings. The man had suffered in the past -twenty-four hours--it would be ungenerous to let him go without making -some attempt to divert his thoughts from Leila’s misbehavior. - -“This may interest you, Mr. Mills; I mean the general proposition--not -my little sketches. Only--it must be confidential!” - -“Yes; certainly,” Mills smiled a grave assent. “Perhaps you’d rather -not tell me--I’m afraid my curiosity got the better of my manners.” - -“Oh, not that, sir! Mr. and Mrs. Freeman know, of course; but I don’t -want to have to explain my failure in case I lose! I’m glad to tell you -about it; you may have some suggestions.” - -Mills listened as Bruce explained the requirements of the Laconia -memorial and illustrated with the drawings what he proposed to offer. - -“Laconia?” Mills repeated the name quickly. “How very interesting!” - -“You may recall the site,” Bruce went on, displaying a photograph of -the hilltop. - -“I remember the place very well; there couldn’t be a finer site. I -suppose the town owns the entire hill? That’s a fine idea--to adjust -the building to that bit of forest; the possibilities are enormous -for effective handling. There should be a fitting approach--terraces, -perhaps a fountain directly in front of the entrance--something to -prepare the eye as the visitor ascends----” - -“That hadn’t occurred to me!” said Bruce. “It would be fine!” - -Mills, his interest growing, slipped out of his overcoat and sat down -in the chair beside the drawing board. - -“Those colonnades extending at both sides give something of the effect -of wings--buoyancy is what I mean,” he remarked. “I like the classical -severity of the thing. Beauty can be got with a few lines--but they -must be the right ones. Nature’s a sound teacher there.” - -Bruce forgot that there was any tie between them; Laconia became only -a place where a soldiers’ memorial was to be constructed. Mills’s -attitude toward the project was marked by the restraint, the diffidence -of a man of breeding wary of offending but eager to help. Bruce had -seen at once the artistic value of the fountain. He left Mills at the -drawing table and paced the floor, pondering it. The look of weariness -left Mills’s face. He was watching with frankly admiring eyes the tall -figure, the broad, capable shoulders, the finely molded head, the -absorbed, perplexed look in the handsome face. Not like Shep; not like -any other young man he knew was this Bruce Storrs. He had not expected -to remain more than ten minutes, but he was finding it difficult to -leave. - -Remembering that he had a guest, Bruce glanced at Mills and caught the -look in his face. For a moment both were embarrassed. - -“Do pardon me!” Bruce exclaimed quickly. “I was just trying to see my -way through a thing or two. I’m afraid I’m boring you.” - -Mills murmured a denial and took a cigarette from the box Bruce -extended. - -“How much money is there to spend on this? I was just thinking that -that’s an important point. Public work of this sort is often spoiled by -lack of funds.” - -“Three hundred thousand is the limit. Mr. Freeman warns me that -it’s hardly enough for what I propose, and that I’ve got to do some -trimming.” - -He drew from a drawer the terms of the competition and the -specifications, and smoked in silence while Mills looked them over. - -“It’s all clear enough. It’s a joint affair--the county does half and -the rest is a popular subscription?” - -“Yes; the local committee are fine people; too bad they haven’t enough -to do the thing just right,” Bruce replied. “Of course I mean the way -I’d like to do it--with your idea of the fountain that I’d rejoice to -steal!” - -“That’s a joke--that I could offer a trained artist any suggestion of -real value!” - -Bruce was finding his caller a very different Franklin Mills from the -man he had talked with in the Jefferson Avenue house, and not at all -the man whom, in his rôle of country squire, he had seen at Deer Trail. -Mills was enjoying himself; there was no question of that. He lighted a -cigar--the cigar he usually smoked at home before going to bed. - -“You will not be known as a competitor; your plans will go in -anonymously?” he inquired. - -“Yes; that’s stipulated,” Bruce replied. - -Returning to the plans--they seemed to have a fascination for -Mills--one of his questions prompted Bruce to seize a pencil and try -another type of entrance. Mills stood by, watching the free swift -movement of the strong hand. - -“I’m not so sure that’s better than your first idea. I’ve always heard -that a first inspiration is likely to be the best--providing always -that it is an inspiration! I’d give a lot if I could do what you’ve -just done with that pencil. I suppose it’s a knack; you’re born with -it. You probably began young; such talent shows itself early.” - -“I can’t remember a time when I didn’t like to fool with a pencil. My -mother gave me my first lessons. She had a very pretty talent--sketched -well and did water colors--very nice ones, too. That’s one of them over -there--a corner of our garden in the old home at Laconia.” - -Mills walked slowly across the room to look at a framed water color -that hung over Bruce’s writing table. - -“Yes; I can see that it’s good work. I remember that garden--I seem to -remember this same line of hollyhocks against the brick wall.” - -“Oh, mother had that every year! Her flowers were famous in Laconia.” - -“And that sun-dial--I seem to remember that, too,” Mills observed -meditatively. - -“Mother liked that sort of thing. We used to sit out there in the -summer. She made a little festival of the coming of spring. I think all -the birds in creation knew her as friend. And the neighbor children -came in to hear her read--fairy stories and poetry. We had jolly good -times there--mother and I!” - -“I’m sure you did,” said Mills gravely. - -As he stepped away from the table his eyes fell upon the photograph of -a young woman in a silver frame. He bent down for a closer inspection. -Bruce turned away, walked the length of the room and glanced round to -find Mills still regarding the photograph. - -“My mother, as she was at about thirty,” Bruce remarked. - -“Yes; I thought so. Somewhat older than when I knew her, but the look -of youth is still there.” - -“I prefer that to any other picture of her I have. She refused to be -photographed in her later years--said she didn’t want me to think of -her as old. And she never was that--could never have been.” - -“I can well believe it,” said Mills softly. “Time deals gently with -spirits like hers.” - -“No one was ever like her,” said Bruce with feeling. “She made the -world a kindlier and nobler place by living in it.” - -“And you’re loyal to the ideal she set for you! You think of her, I’m -sure, in all you do--in all you mean to do.” - -“Yes, it helps--it helps a lot to feel that somewhere she knows and -cares.” - -Mills picked up a book, scanned the title page unseeingly and threw it -down. - -“I’ve just about killed an evening for you,” he said with a smile and -put out his hand cordially. “My chauffeur is probably frozen.” - -“You’ve been a big help!” replied Bruce. “It’s been fine to have you -here. I’ll see Mr. Freeman tomorrow and go over the whole thing again. -He may be able to squeeze the fountain out of the appropriation! May I -tell him it’s your idea?” - -“Oh, no! No, indeed! Just let my meddlesomeness be a little joke -between us. I shall be leaving town shortly and may not see you again -for several months. So good-bye and good luck!” - -Bruce walked downstairs with him. At the entrance they again shook -hands, as if the good will on both sides demanded this further -expression of amity. - - -III - -A brief item in the “Personal and Society” column of an afternoon -newspaper apprised Bruce a few days later of the departure of Mr. -Franklin Mills and Miss Leila Mills for the Mediterranean, they having -abandoned their proposed trip to Bermuda for the longer voyage. Bruce -wondered a little at the change of plans, suspecting that it might in -some degree be a disciplinary measure for Leila’s benefit, a scheme for -keeping her longer under her father’s eye. He experienced a curious new -loneliness at the thought of their absence and then was impatient to -find himself giving them a second thought. A month earlier he would -have been relieved by the knowledge that Mills was gone and that the -wide seas rolled between them. An amazing thing, this! To say they were -nothing to him did not help now as in those first months after he had -established himself in Mills’s town. They meant a good deal to him and -perhaps he meant something to them. It was very odd indeed how he and -the Millses circled about each other. - -As he put down the newspaper a note was brought to him at his apartment -by Mills’s chauffeur. It read: - - Dear Bruce: You said I might; I can’t just Mr. Storrs you! Trunks at - the station and Dada waiting at the front door. I couldn’t bear the - idea of writing you a note you’d read while I was still in town--so - please consider that I’m throwing you a kiss from the tail end of the - observation car. I could never, never have had the courage to _say_ - my thanks to you--if I tried I’d cry and make a general mess of it. - But--I want you to _know_ that I do appreciate it--what you did--in - saving my life and every little thing! I’d probably have died all - right enough in the frightful cold if you hadn’t found me. I really - didn’t know till yesterday, when I wormed it out of Dada, just how - it all happened! I’m simply crushed! I promise I’ll never do such a - thing again. Thank you _loads_, and be sure I’ll never forget. I wish - you were my big brother; I’d just adore being a nice, good little - sister to you. Love and kisses, from - - Leila. - -He reread it a dozen times in the course of the evening. It was so -like the child--the perverse, affectionate child--that Leila was. “_I -wish you were my big brother._” The sentence had slipped from her -flying pen thoughtlessly, no doubt, but it gave Bruce a twinge. Shep -did not know; Leila did not know! and yet for both of these children of -Franklin Mills he felt a fondness that was beyond ordinary friendship. -Shep could never be, in the highest sense, a companion of his father; -Mills no doubt loved Leila, but he loved her without understanding. -Her warm, passionate heart, the very fact that she and Shep were the -children of Franklin Mills made life difficult for them. Either would -have been happier if they had not been born into the Mills caste. The -Mills money and the Mills position were an encumbrance against which -more or less consciously they were in rebellion. - - - - -CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - - -I - -It was ten days later that a communication from the Laconia War -Memorial Association gave warning that the stipulations for the -contesting architects were being altered, and in another week Bruce -received the supplemental data sent out to all the contestants. The -amount to be expended had been increased by an unexpected addition to -the private subscriptions. - -In one of his first fits of homesickness Bruce had subscribed for the -Laconia Examiner to keep in touch with affairs in his native town. The -paper printed with a proud flourish the news of the augmentation of -the fund. One hundred thousand dollars had been contributed through -a New York trust company by “a citizen” whose identity for good and -sufficient reasons was not to be disclosed. The trust company’s -letter as quoted in the Examiner recited that the donation was from a -“patriotic American who, recognizing the fine spirit in which Laconia -had undertaken the memorial and the community’s desire that it should -be an adequate testimony to the valor and sacrifice of American youth, -considered it a high privilege to be permitted to assist.” - -Mills! Though the Laconia newspaper was evidently wholly at sea as to -the identity of the contributor, Bruce was satisfied that Mills was -the unknown donor. And he resented it. The agreeable impression left -by Mills the evening they discussed the plans was dispelled by this -unwarranted interference. Bruce bitterly regretted having taken Mills -into his confidence. Mills’s interest had pleased him, but he had never -dreamed that the man might feel moved to add to the attractiveness of -the contest by a secret contribution to the fund. He felt strongly -moved to abandon the whole thing and but for the embarrassment of -explaining himself to Freeman he would have done so. But the artist in -him prevailed. Mills had greatly broadened the possibilities of the -contest and in a few days Bruce fell to work with renewed enthusiasm. - -He was living in Laconia again, so engrossed did he become in his -work. He dined with Carroll now and then, enjoyed long evenings at the -Freemans’ and kept touch with the Hendersons; but he refused so many -invitations to the winter functions that Dale protested. He dropped -into the Central States Trust Company now and then to observe Shep -in his new rôle of vice-president. Shep was happier in the position -than he had expected to be. Carroll was seeing to it that he had real -work to do, work that was well within his powers. He had charge of -the savings department and was pleased when his old friends among the -employees of the battery plant looked him up and opened accounts. The -friends of the Mills family, where they took note of Shep’s transfer at -all, saw in it a promotion. - -Bruce, specially importuned by telephone, went to one of Constance’s -days at home, which drew a large attendance by reason of the promised -presence of an English novelist whose recent severe criticism of -American society and manners had made him the object of particular -adoration to American women readers. Bud Henderson, who had carried -a flask to the tea, went about protesting against the consideration -shown the visitor. If, he said, an American writer criticized American -women in any such fashion he would be lynched, but let an Englishman -do it and women would steal the money out of their children’s banks -to buy his books and lecture tickets. So spake Bud. If Bud had had -two flasks he would have broken up the tea; restricted as he was, his -protest against the Briton took the form of an utterly uncalled for -attack upon the drama league delivered to an aunt of Maybelle’s who was -president of the local society--a strong Volsteadian who thought Bud -vulgar, which at times Bud, by any high social standard, indubitably -was. However, if amid so many genuflections the eminent Briton was -disturbed by Bud’s evil manners or criticisms, Bud possibly soothed his -feelings by following him upstairs when the party was dispersing and -demonstrating the manner in which American law is respected by drawing -flasks from nine out of fifteen overcoats laid out on Constance’s -guest room bed and pouring half a pint of excellent bourbon into the -unresisting man of letters. - -This function was only an interlude in the city’s rather arid social -waste. The local society, Bruce found, was an affair of curiously -close groupings. The women of the ancestral crowd were so wary of the -women who had floated in on the tide of industrial expansion that one -might have thought the newcomers were, in spite of their prosperity, -afflicted with leprosy.... - -While Bruce might bury himself from the sight of others who had -manifested a friendly interest in him, Helen Torrence was not so -easily denied. She had no intention of going alone to the February -play of the Dramatic Club. She telephoned Bruce to this effect and -added that he must dine with her that evening and take her to the club. -Bud had already sent him an admission card with a warning not to come -if anything better offered, such as sitting up with a corpse--this -being Bud’s manner of speaking of the organization whose politics he -dominated and whose entertainments he would not have missed for a -chance to dine with royalty. - -Bruce, having reached the Torrence house, found Millicent there. - -“You see what you get for being good!” cried Helen, noting the surprise -and pleasure in Bruce’s face as he appeared in her drawing room. - -“I thought you’d probably run when you saw me,” said Millicent. “You -passed me at the post office door yesterday and looked straight over my -head. I never felt so small in my life.” - -“Post office?” Bruce repeated. “I haven’t been near the place for -weeks!” - -“That will do from you!” warned Helen. “We all thought you’d be a real -addition to our sad social efforts here, but it’s evident you don’t -like us. It’s very discouraging. You were at Connie’s, though, to hear -her lion roar. I saw you across the room. Connie always gets the men! -Your friend Bud insulted everybody there; I see him selling any more -Plantagenets!” - -“Bud’s patriotism leads him astray sometimes; that’s all. Any more -scolding, Millicent?” Bruce asked. “Let me see--we had arrived at the -stage of first names, hadn’t we?” - -“Yes, Bruce! But after the long separation it might be as well to -go back to the beginning. As for scolding, let’s consider that we’ve -signed an armistice.” - -“I don’t like the military lingo; it sounds as though there had been -war between us.” - -“Dear me!” Helen interposed mournfully. “You’re not going to spend the -whole evening in preliminaries! Let’s go out to dinner.” - -After they were seated Bruce was still rather more self-conscious than -was comfortable. Nothing had happened; or more truthfully, nothing had -happened except that he had been keeping away from Millicent because of -Franklin Mills. She evidently was not displeased to see him again. He -had not realized how greatly he had missed her till her voice touched -chords that had vibrated at their first meeting. Her eyes had the same -steady light and kindled responsively to any demand of mirth; her hair -had the same glint of gold. He marveled anew at her poise and ease. -Tonight her gown, of a delicate shade of crimson, seemed a subdued -reflection of her bright coloring. He floundered badly in his attempts -to bring some spirit to the conversation. It seemed stupid to ask -Millicent about her music or inquire how her modeling was coming on or -what she had been reading. He listened with forced attention while she -and Helen compared notes on recent social affairs in which they had -participated. - -“Millie, you don’t really like going about--teas and that sort of -thing,” said Helen. “I know you don’t. All you girls who have ideas are -like that.” - -“Ideas! Dearest Helen, are you as easily deceived as that! Sometimes -there are things I’d rather do than go to parties! Does one really have -to keep going to avoid seeming queer?” - -“I go because I haven’t the brains to do anything else. I like -wandering with the herd. It just thrills me to get into a big jam. And -I suppose I show myself whenever I’m asked for fear I’ll be forgotten!” - -“My sole test of a social function is whether they feed me standing or -sitting,” said Bruce when appealed to. “I can bear anything but that -hideous sensation that my plate is dripping.” - -“That’s why men hate teas,” observed Helen. “It’s because of the silly -refreshments no one wants and everybody must have or the hostess is -broken-hearted.” - -“That’s probably where jailers got the idea of forcible feeding,” -Millicent suggested. - -“At the Hendersons’,” Bruce added, “only the drinks are compulsory. -Bud’s social symbol is the cocktail-shaker!” - -“Everybody drinks too much;” said Helen, “except us. Bruce, help -yourself to the sherry.” - -“What is a perfect social occasion?” Bruce asked. “My own ideas are a -little muddled, but you--Helen?” - -“If you must know the truth--there is no such thing! However, you might -ask Millicent; she’s an optimist.” - -“A perfect time is sitting in the middle of the floor in my room -cutting paper dolls,” Millicent answered. “I’m crazy about it. Leila -says it’s the best thing I do.” - -“Do you ever exhibit your creations?” asked Bruce solicitously. - -“We’ve got her in a trap now,” exclaimed Helen. “Millie takes her -paper dolls to the sick children in the hospitals. I know, because the -children told me. I was at the City Hospital the other day and peeped -into the children’s ward. Much excitement--a vast population of paper -dolls dressed in the latest modes. The youngsters were so tickled! They -said a beautiful lady had brought them--a most wonderful, beautiful -lady. And she was going to come back with paper and scissors and show -them just how they were made!” - -“They’re such dear, patient little angels,” murmured Millicent. “You -feel better about all humanity when you see how much courage there is -in the world. It’s a pretty brave old world after all.” - -“It’s the most amazing thing about life,” said Bruce, “that so many -millions rise up every morning bent on doing their best. You’d think -the whole human race would have given up the struggle long ago and -jumped into the sea. But no! Poor boobs that we are, we go whistling -right along. Frankly, I mean to hang on a couple of weeks longer. Silly -old world--but--it has its good points.” - -“Great applause!” exclaimed Helen, satisfied now that her little party -was not to prove an utter failure. These were two interesting young -people, she knew, and she was anxious to hear their views on matters -about which she troubled herself more than most people suspected. - -“I’ve wondered sometimes,” Millicent said, “what would happen if the -world could be made altogether happy just once by a miracle of some -kind, no heartache anywhere; no discomfort! How long would it last?” - -“Only till some person among the millions wanted something another one -had; that would start the old row over again,” Bruce answered. - -“I see what you children mean,” said Helen seriously. “Selfishness is -what makes the world unhappy!” - -“Now--we’re getting in deep!” Bruce exclaimed. “Millicent always swims -for the open water.” - -“Millie ought to go about lecturing; telling people to be calm, to look -more at the stars and less at their neighbors’ new automobiles. I -believe that would do a lot of good,” said Helen. - -“A splendid idea!” Bruce declared, laughing into Millicent’s eyes. “But -what a sacrifice of herself! A wonderful exhibition of unselfishness, -but----” - -“I’d be stoned to death!” - -“You’d be surer of martyrdom if you told them to love their neighbors -as themselves,” said Helen. “Seriously now, that’s the hardest thing -there is to do! Love my neighbor as myself! Me! Why, on one side my -neighbor’s children snowball my windows; on the other side there’s a -chimney that ruins me paying cleaner’s bills. Perhaps you’d speak to -them for me, Millie?” - -“See here!” exclaimed Millicent. “Where do you get this idea of using -me as a missionary and policeman! I don’t feel any urge to reform the -world! I’m awful busy tending to my own business.” - -“Oh, all right,” said Bruce with a sigh of resignation. “Let the world -go hang, then, if you won’t save it!” - -Helen was dressing the salad, and Bruce was free to watch Millicent’s -eyes as they filled with dreams. As at other times when some grave -mood touched her, it seemed that she became another being, exploring -some realm alien to common experience. He glanced at her hands, folded -quietly on the edge of the table, and again at her dream-filled eyes. -Hers was the repose of a nature schooled in serenity. The world might -rage in fury about her, but amid the tempest her soul would remain -unshaken.... - -Helen, to whom silence was always disturbing, looked up, but stifled an -apology for the unconscionable time she was taking with the salad when -she saw Millicent’s face, and Bruce’s intent, reverent gaze fixed upon -the girl. - -“Saving the world!” Millicent repeated deliberatingly. “I never quite -like the idea. It rather suggests--doesn’t it?--that some new machinery -or method must be devised for saving it. But the secret came into the -world ever so long ago--it was the ideal of beauty. A Beautiful Being -died that man might know the secret of happiness. It had to be that way -or man would never have understood or remembered. It’s not His fault -that his ideas have been so confused and obscured in the centuries that -have passed since He came. It’s man’s fault. The very simplicity of His -example has always bewildered man; it was too good to be true!” - -“But, Millie,” said Helen with a little embarrassed laugh, “does the -world really want to live as Jesus lived? Or would it admire people who -did? Somebody said once that Christianity isn’t a failure because it’s -never been tried. Will it _ever_ be tried--does anyone care enough?” - -“Dear me! What have I gotten into?” Millicent picked up her fork and -glanced at them smilingly. “Bruce, don’t look so terribly solemn! Why, -people are trying it every day, at least pecking at it a little. I’ve -caught you at it lots of times! While we sit here, enjoying this quite -wonderful salad, scores of people are doing things to make the world -a better place to live in--safer, kinder and happier. I saw a child -walk out of the hospital the other day who’d been carried in, a pitiful -little cripple. It was a miracle; and if you’d seen the child’s delight -and the look in the face of the doctor whose genius did the work, you’d -have thought the secret of Jesus is making some headway!” - -“And knowing the very charming young woman named Millicent who found -that little crippled girl and took her to the hospital. I’d have -thought a lot more things!” - -“I never did it!” Millicent cried. - -“She’s always up to such tricks!” Helen informed Bruce. “Paper dolls -are only one item of Millie’s good works.” - -“Be careful!” Millicent admonished. “I could tell some stories on you -that might embarrass you terribly.” She turned to Bruce with a lifting -of the brows that implied their hostess’s many shameless excursions in -philanthropy. - -“How grand it would be if we could all talk about serious things--life, -religion and things like that--as Millie does,” remarked Helen. “Most -people talk of religion as though it were something disgraceful.” - -“Or they take the professional tone of the undertaker telling a late -pallbearer where to sit,” Bruce added, “and the pallbearer is always -deaf and insists on getting into the wrong place and sitting on -someone’s hat.” - -“How jolly! Anything to cheer up a funeral,” said Helen. “Go on, -Millie, and talk some more. You’re a lot more comforting than Doctor -Lindley.” - -“The Doctor’s fine,” said Millicent spiritedly. “I don’t go to -church because half of me is heathen, I suppose.” She paused as -though a little startled by the confession. “There are things about -churches--some of the hymns, the creed, the attempts to explain the -Scriptures--that don’t need explaining--that rub me the wrong way. But -it isn’t fair to criticize Doctor Lindley or any other minister who’s -doing the best he can to help the world when the times are against him. -No one has a harder job than a Christian minister of his training and -traditions who really knows what’s the trouble with the world and the -church but is in danger of being burned as a heretic if he says what he -thinks.” - -“People can’t believe any more, can they, what their grandfathers -believed? It’s impossible--with science and everything,” suggested -Helen vaguely. - -“Why should they?” asked Millicent. “I liked to believe that God moves -forward with the world. He has outgrown His own churches; it’s their -misfortune that they don’t realize it. And Jesus, the Beautiful One, -walks through the modern world weighted down with a heavier cross than -the one he died on--bigotry, intolerance, hatred--what a cruel thing -that men should hate one another in His name! I’ve wondered sometimes -what Jesus must think of all the books that have been written to -explain Him--mountains of books! Jesus is the only teacher the world -ever had who got His whole story into one word--a universal word, an -easy word to say, and the word that has inspired all the finest deeds -of man. He rested His case on that, thinking that anything so simple -would never be misunderstood. At the hospital one day I heard a mother -say to her child, a pitiful little scrap who was doomed to die, ‘I -love you so!’ and the wise, understanding little baby said, ‘Me know -you do.’ I think that’s an answer to the charge that Christianity is -passing out. It can’t, you see, because it’s founded on the one thing -in the world that can never die.” - -The room was very still. The maid, who had been arrested in the serving -of the dinner by a gesture from Helen, furtively made the sign of the -cross. The candle flames bent to some imperceptible stirring of the -quiet air. Bruce experienced a sense of vastness, of the immeasurable -horizons of Millicent’s God and a world through which the Beautiful One -wandered still, symbolizing the ineffable word of His gospel that was -not for one people, or one sect, not to be bound up into one creed, -but written into the hearts of all men as their guide to happiness. -It seemed to him that the girl’s words were part of some rite of -purification that had cleansed and blessed the world. - -“I hadn’t thought of it in quite that way,” said Bruce thoughtfully. - -Helen was a wise woman and knew the perils of anticlimax. She turned -and nodded to the maid. - -“Please forgive me! I’ve been holding back the dinner!” Millicent -exclaimed. “You must always stop me when I begin riding the clouds. -Bruce, are you seeing Dale Freeman these days? Of course you are! -Helen, we must study Dale more closely. She knows how to bring Bruce -running!” - -“I cheerfully yield to Dale in everything,” said Helen. “I must watch -the time. They promise an unusually good show tonight--three one-act -pieces and one of them by George Whitford; he and Connie are to act in -it.” - -“Connie ought to be a star,” Millicent remarked, “she gives a lot of -time to theatricals.” - -“There’s just a question whether Connie and George Whitford are -not--well, getting up theatricals does make for intimacy!” said Helen. -“I wish George had less money! An idle man--particularly a fascinating -devil like George--is a dangerous playmate for a woman like Connie!” - -“Oh, but Connie’s a dear!” exclaimed Millicent defensively. “Her -position isn’t easy. A lot of the criticism you hear of her is unjust.” - -“A lot of the criticism you hear of everybody is unjust,” Bruce -ventured. - -“Oh, we have a few people here who pass for respectable but start all -the malicious gossip in town,” Helen observed. “They’re not all women, -either! I suspect Mort Walters of spreading the story that Connie and -George are having a big affair, and that Mr. Mills gave Connie a good -combing about it before he went abroad!” - -“Ridiculous!” murmured Millicent. - -“Of course,” Helen went on. “We all know why Leila’s father dragged -her away. But Connie ought really to have a care. It’s too bad Shep -isn’t big enough to give Walters a thrashing. The trouble with Walters -is that he tried to start a little affair with Connie himself and she -turned him down cold. Pardon me, are we gossiping?” - -“Of course not!” laughed Millicent. - -“Just whetting our appetites for anything new that offers at the club,” -said Bruce. “I’m glad I’m a new man in town; I can listen to all the -scandal without being obliged to take sides.” - -“Millie! You hate gossip,” said Helen, “so please talk about the saints -so I won’t have a chance to chatter about the sinners.” - -“Don’t worry,” said Bruce. “If there were no sinners the saints -wouldn’t know how good they are!” - -“We’d better quit on that,” said Helen. “It’s time to go!” - - -II - -At the hall where the Dramatic Club’s entertainments were given they -met Shepherd Mills, who confessed that he had been holding four seats -in the hope that they’d have pity on him and not let him sit alone. - -“I’ve hardly seen Connie for a week,” he said. “This thing of having a -wife on the stage is certainly hard on the husband!” - -The room was filled to capacity and there were many out of town guests, -whom Shep named proudly as though their presence were attributable to -the fact that Connie was on the program. - -Whitford, in his ample leisure, had been putting new spirit into the -club, and the first two of the one-act plays that constituted the -bill disclosed new talent and were given with precision and finish. -Chief interest, however, lay in the third item of the bill, a short -poetic drama written by Whitford himself. The scene, revealed as the -curtain rose, was of Whitford’s own designing--the battlements of a -feudal castle, with a tower rising against a sweep of blue sky. The set -transcended anything that the club had seen in its long history and was -greeted with a quick outburst of applause. Whitford’s name passed over -the room, it seemed, in a single admiring whisper. George was a genius; -the town had never possessed anyone comparable to George Whitford, who -distinguished himself alike in war and in the arts of peace and could -afford to spend money with a free hand on amateur theatricals. - -His piece, “The Beggar,” written in blank verse, was dated vaguely in -the Middle Ages and the device was one of the oldest known to romance. -A lord of high degree is experiencing the time-honored difficulty in -persuading his daughter of the desirability of marriage with a noble -young knight whose suit she has steadfastly scorned. The castle is -threatened; the knight’s assistance is imperatively needed; and the -arrival of messengers, the anxious concern of the servitors, induce at -once an air of tensity. - -In the fading afternoon light Constance Mills, as the princess, who has -been wandering in the gardens, makes her entrance unconcernedly and -greets her distracted lover with light-hearted indifference. She begins -recounting a meeting with a beggar minstrel who has beguiled her with -his music. She provokingly insists upon singing snatches of his songs -to the irritated knight, who grows increasingly uneasy over the danger -to the beleagured castle. As the princess exits the beggar appears -and engages the knight in a colloquy, witty and good-humored on the -vagrant’s part, but marked by the knight’s mounting anger. Whitford, -handsome, jaunty, assured, even in his rags, with his shrewd retorts -evokes continuous laughter. - -A renewed alarm calls the knight away, leaving the beggar thrumming his -lute. The princess reappears to the dimming of lights and the twinkle -in the blue background of the first tremulous star. The beggar, who of -course is the enemy prince in disguise, springs forward as she slips -out of her cloak and stands forth in a flowing robe in shimmering -white. Her interchange with the beggar passes swiftly from surprise, -indifference, scorn, to awakened interest and encouragement. - -No theatre was ever stilled to an intenser silence. The audacity of -it, the folly of it! The pictorial beauty of the scene, any merit it -possessed as drama, were lost in the fact that George Whitford was -making love to Constance Mills. No make-believe could have simulated -the passion of his wooing in the lines that he had written for himself, -and no response could have been informed with more tenderness and charm -than Constance brought to her part. - -Whitford was declaiming: - - “My flower! My light, my life! I offer thee - Not jingling coin, nor lands, nor palaces, - But yonder stars, and the young moon of spring, - And rosy dawns and purple twilights long; - All singing streams, and their great lord the sea-- - With these I’d thee endow.” - -And Constance, slowly lifting her head, an enthralling picture of young -trusting love, replied: - - “I am a beggar in my heart! - My soul hath need of thee! Teach me thy ways, - And make me partner in thy wanderings, - And lead me to the silver springs of song, - I would be free as thou art, roam the world, - Away from clanging war, by murmuring streams, - Through green cool woodlands sweet with peace and love.... - Wilt thou be faithful, wilt thou love me long?” - -To her tremulous pleading he pledged his fealty and when he had taken -her into his arms and kissed her they exited slowly. As they passed -from sight his voice was heard singing as the curtain fell. - -The entire cast paraded in response to the vociferous and long -continued applause, and Whitford and Constance bowed their -acknowledgments together and singly. Cries of “author” detained -Whitford for a speech, in which he chaffed himself and promised that -in appreciation of their forbearance in allowing him to present so -unworthy a trifle, which derived its only value from the intelligence -and talent of his associates, he would never again tax their patience. - -As the lights went up Bruce, turning to his companions, saw that -Shepherd was staring at the stage as though the players were still -visible. Helen, too, noticed the tense look in Shep’s face, and touched -him lightly on the arm. He came to with a start and looked about -quickly, as if conscious that his deep preoccupation had been observed. - -“It was perfectly marvelous, Shep! Connie was never so beautiful, and -she did her part wonderfully!” - -“Yes; Connie was fine! They were all splendid!” Shep stammered. - -“I’ve seen her in plays before, but nothing to match tonight,” said -Helen. “You’ll share her congratulations--it’s a big night for the -family!” - -They had all risen, and Millicent and Bruce added their -congratulations--Shep smiling but still a little dazed, his eyes -showing that he was thinking back--trying to remember, in the way of -one who has passed through an ordeal too swiftly for the memory fully -to record it. - -“Constance was perfectly adorable!” said Millicent sincerely. - -“Yes, yes!” Shep exclaimed. “I had no idea, really. She has acting -talent, hasn’t she?” - -The question was not perfunctory; he was eager for their assurance that -they had been watching a clever piece of acting. - -The room was being cleared for the dancing, and others near by were -expressing their admiration for his wife. Helen seized a moment to -whisper to Bruce: - -“It rather knocked him. Be careful that he doesn’t run away. George -ought to be shot--Heaven knows there’s been enough talk already!” - -“The only trouble is that they were a little too good, that’s all,” -said Bruce. “That oughtn’t to be a sin--when you remember what amateur -shows usually are!” - -“It’s not to laugh!” Helen replied. “Shep’s terribly sensitive! He’s -not so stupid but he saw that George was enjoying himself making love -to Connie.” - -“Well, who wouldn’t enjoy it!” Bruce answered. - -The dancing had begun when Constance appeared on the floor. She had -achieved a triumph and it may have been that she was just a little -frightened now that it was over. As she held court near the stage, -smilingly receiving congratulations, she waved to Shep across the crowd. - -“Was I so very bad?” she asked Bruce. “I was terribly nervous for fear -I’d forget my lines.” - -“But you didn’t! It was the most enthralling half hour I ever spent. -I’m proud to know you!” - -“Thank you, Bruce. Do something for me. These people bore me; tell Shep -to come and dance with me. Yes--with you afterwards.” - -Whether it was kindness or contrition that prompted this request did -not matter. It sufficed that Connie gave her first dance to Shep and -that they glided over the floor with every appearance of blissful -happiness. Whitford was passing about, paying particular attention to -the mothers of debutantes, quite as unconcernedly as though he had not -given the club its greatest thrill.... - -As this was Millicent’s first appearance since her election to the -club, her sponsors were taking care that she met such of the members -as had not previously been within her social range. Franklin Mills’s -efforts to establish the Hardens had not been unavailing. Bruce, -watching her as she danced with a succession of partners, heard an -elderly army officer asking the name of the golden-haired girl who -carried herself so superbly. - -Bruce was waiting for his next dance with her and not greatly -interested in what went on about him, when Dale Freeman accosted him. - -“Just look at the girl! Seeing her dancing just like any other -perfectly healthy young being, you’d never think she had so many -wonderful things in her head and heart. Millie’s one of those people -who think with their hearts as well as their brains. When you find that -combination, sonny, you’ve got something!” - -“Um--yes,” he assented glumly. - -Dale looked up at him and laughed. “I’ll begin to suspect you’re in -love with her now if you act like this!” - -“The suspicion does me honor!” he replied. - -“Oh, I’m not going to push you! I did have some idea of helping you, -but I see it’s no use.” - -“Really, none,” he answered soberly. And for a moment the old -unhappiness clutched him.... - -At one o’clock he left the hall with Helen and Millicent. - -“I suppose the tongues will wag for a while,” Helen sighed wearily. -“But you’ve got to hand it to Constance and George! They certainly put -on a good show!” - -At the Harden’s Bruce took Millicent’s key and unlocked the door. - -“I’ve enjoyed this; it’s been fine,” she said and put out her hand. - -“It was a pretty full evening,” he replied. “But there’s a part of it -I’ve stored away as better than the plays--even better than my dances -with you!” - -“I know!” she said. “Helen’s salad!” - -“Oh, better even than that! The talk at the table--your talk! I must -thank you for that!” - -“Oh, please forget! I believe I’d rather you’d remember our last dance!” - -She laughed light-heartedly and the door closed. - -“They’ve done it now!” exclaimed Helen as the car rolled on. “Why will -people be such fools! To think they had to go and let the whole town -into the secret!” - -“Cease worrying! If they’d really cared anything for each other they -couldn’t have done it.” - -“George would--it was just the dare-devil sort of thing that George -Whitford _would_ do!” - -“Well, you’re not troubled about me any more!” he laughed. “A little -while ago you thought Connie had designs on me! Has it got to be -someone?” - -“That’s exactly it! It’s got to be someone with Connie!” - -But when he had left her and was driving on to his apartment it was of -Millicent he thought, not of Constance and Whitford. It was astonishing -how much freer he felt now that the Atlantic rolled between him and -Franklin Mills. - - -III - -Bruce, deeply engrossed in his work, was nevertheless aware that the -performance of “The Beggar” had stimulated gossip about Constance Mills -and Whitford. Helen Torrence continued to fret about it; Bud Henderson -insisted on keeping Bruce apprised of it; Maybelle deplored and Dale -Freeman pretended to ignore. The provincial mind must have exercise, -and Bruce was both amused and disgusted as he found that the joint -appearance of Constance and Whitford in Whitford’s one-act play had -caused no little perturbation in minds that lacked nobler occupation or -were incapable of any very serious thought about anything. - -It had become a joke at the University Club that Bruce, who was looked -upon as an industrious young man, gave so much time to Shepherd -Mills. There was a doglike fidelity in Shep’s devotion that would have -been amusing if it hadn’t been pathetic. Bud Henderson said that Shep -trotted around after Bruce like a lame fox terrier that had attached -itself to an Airedale for protection. - -Shep, inspired perhaps by Bruce’s example, or to have an excuse for -meeting him, had taken up handball. As the winter wore on this brought -them together once or twice a week at the Athletic Club. One afternoon -in March they had played their game and had their shower and were in -the locker room dressing. - -Two other men came in a few minutes later and, concealed by the -lockers, began talking in low tones. Their voices rose until they -were audible over half the room. Bruce began to hear names--first -Whitford’s, then unmistakably Constance Mills was referred to. Shep -raised his head as he caught his wife’s name. One of the voices was -unmistakably that of Morton Walters, a young man with an unpleasant -reputation as a gossip. Bruce dropped a shoe to warn the men that they -were not alone in the room. But Walters continued, and in a moment a -harsh laugh preluded the remark: - -“Well, George takes his pleasure where he finds it. But if I were Shep -Mills I certainly wouldn’t stand for it!” - -Shep jumped up and started for the aisle, but Bruce stepped in front of -him and walked round to where Walters and a friend Bruce didn’t know -were standing before their lockers. - -“I beg your pardon, Mr. Walters, but may I remind you that this is a -gentleman’s club?” - -“Well, no; you may not!” Walters retorted hotly. He advanced toward -Bruce, his eyes blazing wrathfully. - -The men, half clothed, eyed each other for a moment. - -“We don’t speak of women in this club as you’ve been doing,” said -Bruce. “I’m merely asking you to be a little more careful.” - -“Oh, you’re criticizing my manners, are you?” flared Walters. - -“Yes; that’s what I’m doing. They’re offensive. My opinion of you is -that you’re a contemptible blackguard!” - -“Then that for your opinion!” - -Walters sprang forward and dealt Bruce a ringing slap in the face. -Instantly both had their fists up. Walters’s companion grasped him by -the arm, begging him to be quiet, but he flung him off and moved toward -Bruce aggressively. - -They sparred for a moment warily; then Walters landed a blow on Bruce’s -shoulder. - -“So you’re Mrs. Mills’s champion, are you?” he sneered. - -Intent upon the effect of his words, he dropped his guard. With -lightning swiftness Bruce feinted, slapped his adversary squarely -across the mouth and followed with a cracking blow on the jaw that sent -him toppling over the bench. His fall made considerable noise, and the -superintendent of the club came running in to learn the cause of the -disturbance. Walters, quickly on his feet, was now struggling to shake -off his friend. Several other men coming in stopped in the aisle and -began chaffing Walters, thinking that he and Bruce were engaged in a -playful scuffle. Walters, furious that his friend wouldn’t release him, -began cursing loudly. - -“Gentlemen, this won’t do!” the superintendent admonished. “We can’t -have this here!” - -“Mr. Walters,” said Bruce when Walters had been forced to sit down, “if -you take my advice you’ll be much more careful of your speech. If you -want my address you’ll find it in the office!” - -He went back to Shep, who sat huddled on the bench by his locker, -his face in his hands. He got up at once and they finished dressing -in silence. Walters made no further sign, though he could be heard -blustering to his companion while the superintendent hovered about to -preserve the peace. - -Shep’s limousine was waiting--he made a point of delivering Bruce -wherever he might be going after their meetings at the club--and he got -into it and sat silent until his house was reached. He hadn’t uttered a -word; the life seemed to have gone out of him. - -Bruce walked with him to the door and said “Good night, Shep,” as -though nothing had happened. Shep rallied sufficiently to repeat the -good-night, choking and stammering upon it. Bruce returned to the -machine and bade the chauffeur take him home. - -He did no work that night. Viewed from any angle, the episode was -disagreeable. Walters would continue to talk--no doubt with increased -viciousness. Bruce wasn’t sorry he had struck him, but as he thought it -over he found that the only satisfaction he derived from the episode -was a sense that it was for Shep that he had taken Walters to task. -Poor Shep! Bruce wished that he did not so constantly think of Shep in -commiserative phrases.... - -Bud Henderson, who was in the club when the row occurred, informed -Bruce that the men who had been in the locker room were good fellows -and that the story was not likely to spread. It was a pity, though, in -Bud’s view, that the thing had to be smothered, for Walters had been -entitled to a licking for some time and the occurrence would make Bruce -the most popular man in town. - -“If the poor boob had known how you used to train with that -middle-weight champ in Boston during our bright college years he -wouldn’t have slapped you! I’ll bet his jaw’s sore!” - -Bruce was not consoled. He wished the world would behave itself; and in -particular he wished that he was not so constantly, so inevitably, as -it seemed, put into the position of aiding and defending the house of -Mills. - - - - -CHAPTER NINETEEN - - -I - -Bruce worked at his plans for the Laconia memorial determinedly and, -he hoped, with inspiration. He looked in at the Hardens’ on a Sunday -afternoon and found Millicent entertaining several callow youths--new -acquaintances whom she had met at the functions to which Mills’s -cautious but effective propaganda had admitted her. Bruce did not -remain long; he thought Millicent was amused by his poorly concealed -disappointment at not finding her alone. But he was deriving little -satisfaction from his self-denial in remaining away and grew desperate -for a talk with her. He made his next venture on a wild March night, -and broke forth in a pæan of thanksgiving when he found her alone in -the library. - -“You were deliciously funny when you found me surrounded! Those were -nice boys; they’d just discovered me!” - -“They had the look of determined young fiends! I knew I couldn’t stay -them out. But I dare ’em to leave home on a night like this!” - -“Oh, I know! You’re afraid of competition! After you left that Sunday -mamma brought in ginger cookies and we popped corn and had a grand old -time!” - -“It sounds exciting. But it was food for the spirit I needed; I -couldn’t have stood it to see them eat!” - -“Just for that our pantry is closed to you forever--never a cookie! -Those boys were vastly pleased to meet you. They knew you as a soldier -of the Republic and a crack handball player--not as an eminent -architect. That for fame! By the way, you must be up to something -mysterious. Dale gave me just a tiny hint that you’re working on -something prodigious. But of course I don’t ask to be let into the -secret!” - -“The secret’s permanent if I fail!” he laughed. - -He was conscious that their acquaintance had progressed in spite of -their rare meetings. Tonight she played for him and talked occasionally -from the organ--running comment on some liturgical music with which -she had lately been familiarizing herself. Presently he found himself -standing beside her; there seemed nothing strange in this--to be -standing where he could watch her hands and know the thrill of her -smile as she invited his appreciation of some passage that she was -particularly enjoying.... - -“What have you been doing with your sculpting? Please bring me up to -date on everything,” he said. - -“Oh, not so much lately. You might like to see some children’s heads -I’ve been doing. I bring some of the little convalescents to the house -from the hospital to give them a change.” - -“Lucky kids!” he said. “To be brought here and played with.” - -“Why not? They’re entitled to all I have as much as I am.” - -“Revolutionist! Really, Millicent, you must be careful!” - -Yes; no matter how little he saw of her, their amity and concord -strengthened. Sometimes she looked at him in a way that quickened his -heartbeat. As they went down from the organ his hand touched hers and -he thrilled at the fleeting contact. A high privilege, this, to be near -her, to be admitted to the sanctuary of her mind and heart. She had her -clichés; harmony was a word she used frequently, and colors and musical -terms she employed with odd little meanings of her own. - -In the studio she showed him a plaque of her mother’s head which he -knew to be creditable work. His praise of it pleased her. She had none -of the amateur’s simpering affectation and false modesty. She said -frankly she thought it the best thing she had done. - -“I know mamma--all her expressions--and that makes a difference. You’ve -got to see under the flesh--get the inner light even in clay. I might -really get somewhere if I gave up everything else,” she said pensively -as they idled about the studio. - -“Yes; you could go far. Why not?” - -“Oh, but I’d have to give up too much. I like life--being among people; -and I have my father and mother. I think I’ll go on just as I am. If I -got too serious about it I might be less good than now, when I merely -play at it....” - -In their new familiarity he made bold to lift the coverings of some of -her work that she thought unworthy of display. She became gay over some -of her failures, as she called them. She didn’t throw them away because -they kept her humble. - -On a table in a corner of the room stood a bust covered with a cloth to -which they came last. - -“Another _magnum opus_?” he asked carelessly. She lifted the cloth and -stood away from it. - -“Mr. Mills gave me some sittings. But this is my greatest fizzle of -all; I simply couldn’t get him!” - -The features of Franklin Mills had been reproduced in the clay with -mechanical fidelity; but unquestionably something was lacking. Bruce -studied it seriously, puzzled by its deficiencies. - -“Maybe you can tell me what’s wrong,” she said. “It’s curious that a -thing can come so close and fail.” - -“It’s a true thing,” remarked Bruce, “as far as it goes. But you’re -right; there’s something that isn’t there. If you don’t mind, it’s -dead--there’s--there’s no life in it.” - -Millicent touched the clay here and there, suggesting points where the -difficulty might lie. She was so intent that she failed to see the -changing expression on Bruce’s face. He had ceased to think of the -clay image. Mills himself had been in the studio, probably many times. -The thought of this stirred the jealousy in Bruce’s heart--Millicent -and Mills! Every kind and generous thought he had ever entertained for -the man was obliterated by this evidence that for many hours he had -been there with Millicent. But she, understanding nothing of this, was -startled when he flung round at her. - -“I think I can tell you what’s the matter,” he said in a tone harsh and -strained. “The fault’s not yours!” - -“No?” she questioned wonderingly. - -“The man has no soul,” he said, as though he were pronouncing sentence -of death. - -That Millicent should have fashioned this counterfeit of Mills, -animated perhaps by an interest that might quicken to love, was -intolerable. Passion possessed him. Lifting the bust, he flung it with -a loud crash upon the tile floor. He stared dully at the scattered -fragments. - -“God!” he turned toward her with the hunger of love in his eyes. -“I--I--I’m sorry--I didn’t mean to do that!” - -He caught her hand roughly; gently released it, and ran up the steps -into the library. - -Millicent remained quite still till the outer door had closed upon -him. She looked down at the broken pieces of the bust, trying to -relate them to the cause of his sudden wrath. Then she knelt and began -mechanically, patiently, picking up the fragments. Suddenly she paused. -Her hands relaxed and the bits of clay fell to the floor. She stood up, -her figure tense, her head lifted, and a light came into her eyes. - - -II - -He had made a fool of himself: this was Bruce’s reaction to the sudden -fury that had caused him to destroy Millicent’s bust of Franklin -Mills. He would never dare go near her again; and having thus fixed -his own punishment, and being very unhappy about it, a spiteful fate -ordained that he should meet her early the next morning in the lobby -of the Central States Trust Company, where, out of friendly regard for -Shepherd Mills, he had opened an account. - -“So--I’m not the only early riser!” she exclaimed, turning away from -one of the teller’s windows as he passed. “This is pay day at home and -I’m getting the cook’s money. I walked down--what a glorious morning!” - -“Cook--money?” he repeated stupidly. There was nothing extraordinary -in the idea that she should be drawing the domestic payroll. Her -unconcern, the deftness with which she snapped her purse upon a roll of -new bills and dropped it into a bead bag were disconcerting. Her eyes -turned toward the door and he must say something. She was enchanting -in her gray fur coat and feathered hat of vivid blue; it hadn’t been -necessary for her to say that she had walked four miles from her house -to the bank; her glowing cheeks were an eloquent advertisement of that. - -“Please,” he began eagerly. “About last night--I made a dreadful -exhibition of myself. I know--I mean that to beg your forgiveness----” - -“Is wholly unnecessary!” she finished smilingly. “The bust was a -failure and I had meant to destroy it myself. So please forget it!” - -“But my bad manners!” - -She was making it too easy for his comfort. He wished to abase himself, -to convince her of his contrition. - -“Well,” she said with a judicial air, “generally speaking, I approve of -your manners. We all have our careless moments. I’ve been guilty myself -of upsetting bric-a-brac that I got tired of seeing in the house.” - -“You ought to scold me--cut my acquaintance.” - -“Who’d be punished then?” she demanded, drawing the fur collar closer -about her throat. - -“I might die!” he moaned plaintively. - -“An irreparable loss--to the world!” she said, “for which I refuse to -become responsible.” She took a step toward the door and paused. “If -I may refer to your destructive habits, I’ll say you’re some critic!” -She left him speculating as to her meaning. To outward appearances, at -least, she hadn’t been greatly disturbed by the smashing of Mills’s -image. - -When he had concluded his errand he went to the enclosure where the -company’s officers sat to speak to Shep, whom he had been avoiding -since the encounter with Walters at the Athletic Club. Shep jumped up -and led the way to the directors’ room. - -“You know,” he began, “I don’t want to seem to be pursuing you, -but”--he was stammering and his fine, frank eyes opened and shut -quickly in his agitation--“but you’ve got to know how much I -appreciate----” - -“Now, old man,” Bruce interrupted, laying his hand on Shep’s shoulder, -“let’s not talk of ancient history.” - -Shep shook his head impatiently. - -“No, by George! You’ve _got_ to take my thanks! It was bully of you to -punch that scoundrel’s head. I ought to have done it myself, but----” -He held out his arms, his eyes measuring his height against Bruce’s -tall frame, and grinned ruefully. - -“I didn’t give you a chance, Shep,” said Bruce, drawing himself onto -the table and swinging his legs at ease. “I don’t believe that bird’s -been looking for me; I’ve been right here in town.” - -“I guess he won’t bother you much!” exclaimed Shep with boyish pride in -his champion’s prowess. “You certainly gave him a good one!” - -“He seemed to want it,” replied Bruce. “I couldn’t just kiss him after -he slapped me!” - -“I told Connie! I didn’t care for what Walters said--you -understand--but I wanted Connie to know what you did--for her!” - -His eyes appealed for Bruce’s understanding. But Bruce, who had hoped -that Shep wouldn’t tell Connie, now wished heartily that Shep would -drop the matter. - -“You made too much of it! It wasn’t really for anyone in particular -that I gave Walters that little tap--it was to assert a general -principle of human conduct.” - -“We’ll never forget it,” declared Shep, not to be thwarted -in his expression of gratitude. “That anyone should speak of -Connie--_Connie_--in that fashion! Why, Connie’s the noblest girl in -the world! You know that, the whole world knows it!” - -He drew back and straightened his shoulders as though daring the world -to gainsay him. - -“Why, of course, Shep!” Bruce replied quietly. He drew a memorandum -from his pocket and asked about some bonds the trust company had -advertised and into which he considered converting some of the -securities he had left with his banker at Laconia which were now -maturing. Shep, pleased that Bruce was inviting his advice in the -matter, produced data from the archives in confirmation of his -assurance that the bonds were gilt-edge and a desirable investment. -Bruce lingered, spending more time than was necessary in discussing the -matter merely to divert Shep’s thoughts from the Walters’ episode. - - -III - -Bruce had never before worked so hard; Freeman said that the designer -of the Parthenon had been a loafer in comparison. After a long and -laborious day he would drive to the Freemans with questions about his -designs for the memorial that he feared to sleep on. Dale remarked to -her husband that it was inspiring to see a young man of Bruce’s fine -talent and enthusiasm engrossed upon a task and at the same time in -love--an invincible combination. - -Carroll had kept in mind the visit to Laconia he had proposed and they -made a week-end excursion of it in May. Bruce was glad of the chance -to inspect the site of the memorial, and happier than he had expected -to be in meeting old friends. It was disclosed that Carroll’s interest -in Bruce’s cousin was not quite so incidental as he had pretended. -Mills’s secretary had within the year several times visited Laconia, -an indication that he was not breaking his heart over Leila. - -Bruce stole away from the hotel on Sunday morning to visit his mother’s -grave. She had lived so constantly in his thoughts that it seemed -strange that she could be lying in the quiet cemetery beside John -Storrs. There was something of greatness in her or she would never -have risked the loss of his respect and affection. She had trusted -him, confident of his magnanimity and love. Strange that in that small -town, with its brave little flourish of prosperity, she had lived -all those years with that secret in her heart, perhaps with that old -passion tormenting her to the end. She had not been afraid of him, -had not feared that he would despise her. “O soul of fire within a -woman’s clay”--this line from a fugitive poem he had chanced upon in a -newspaper expressed her. On his way into town he passed the old home, -resenting the presence of the new owner, who could not know what manner -of woman had dwelt there, sanctified its walls, given grace to the -garden where the sun-dial and the flower beds still spoke of her.... -Millicent was like Marian. Very precious had grown this thought, of the -spiritual kinship of his mother and Millicent. - -Traversing the uneven brick pavements along the maple arched street, -it was in his mind that his mother and Millicent would have understood -each other. They dreamed the same dreams; the garden walls had not -shut out Marian Storrs’s vision of the infinite. A church bell whose -clamorous peal was one of his earliest recollections seemed subdued -today to a less insistent note by the sweetness of the spring air. Old -memories awoke. He remembered a sermon he had heard in the church of -the sonorous bell when he was still a child; the fear it had wakened in -his heart--a long noisy discourse on the penalties of sin, the horror -in store for the damned. And he recalled how his mother had taken his -hand and smiled down at him there in the Storrs pew--that adorable -smile of hers. And that evening as they sat alone in the garden on the -bench by the sun-dial she had comforted him and told him that God--her -God--was not the frightful being the visiting minister had pictured, -but generous and loving. Yes, Millicent was like Marian Storrs.... - -After this holiday he fell upon his work with renewed energy--but -he saw Millicent frequently. It was much easier to pass through the -Harden gate and ring the bell now that the windows of the Mills -house were boarded up. Mrs. Harden and the doctor made clear their -friendliness--not with parental anxiety to ingratiate themselves with -an eligible young man, but out of sincere regard and liking. - -“You were raised in a country town and all us folks who were brought -up in small towns speak the same language,” Mrs. Harden declared. She -conferred the highest degree of her approval by receiving him in the -kitchen on the cook’s day out, when she could, in her own phrase, -putter around all she pleased. Millicent, enchantingly aproned, shared -in the sacred rites of preparing the evening meal on these days of -freedom, when there was very likely to be beaten biscuit, in the -preparation of which Bruce was duly initiated. - -Spring repeated its ancient miracle in the land of the tall corn. A -pleasant haven for warm evenings was the Harden’s “back yard” as the -Doctor called it, though it was the most artistic garden in town, where -Mrs. Harden indulged her taste in old-fashioned flowers; and there -was a tea house set in among towering forest trees where Millicent -held court. Bruce appearing late, with the excuse that he had been -at work, was able to witness the departure of Millicent’s other -“company” as her parents designated her visitors, and enjoy an hour -with her alone. Their privacy was invaded usually by Mrs. Harden, who -appeared with a pitcher of cooling drink and plates of the cakes in -which she specialized. She was enormously busy with her work on the -orphan asylum board. She was ruining the orphans, the Doctor said; but -he was proud of his wife and encouraged her philanthropies. He was -building a hospital in his home town--thus, according to Bud Henderson, -propitiating the gods for the enormity of his offense against medical -ethics in waxing rich off the asthma cure. The Doctor’s sole recreation -was fishing; he had found a retired minister, also linked in some way -with the Hardens’ home town, who shared his weakness. They frequently -rose with the sun and drove in Harden’s car to places where they had -fished as boys. Bruce had known people like the Hardens at Laconia. -Even in the big handsome house they retained their simplicity, a -simplicity which in some degree explained Millicent. It was this -quality in her that accounted for much--the sincerity and artlessness -with which she expressed beliefs that gained sanctity from her very -manner of speaking of them. - -On a June night he put into the mail his plans for the memorial and -then drove to the Hardens’. Millicent had been playing for some callers -who were just leaving. - -“If you’re not afraid of being moonstruck, let’s sit out of doors,” she -suggested. - -“It’s a habit--this winding up my day here! I’ve just finished a little -job and laid it tenderly on the knees of the gods.” - -“Ah, the mysterious job is done! Is it anything that might be assisted -by a friendly thought?” - -“Just a bunch of papers in the mail; that’s all.” - -They talked listlessly, in keeping with the langurous spirit of the -night. The Mills house was plainly visible through the shrubbery. In -his complete relaxation, his contentment at being near Millicent, -Bruce’s thoughts traveled far afield while he murmured assent to what -she was saying. The moonlit garden, its serenity hardly disturbed -by the occasional whirr of a motor in the boulevard, invited to -meditation, and Millicent was speaking almost as though she were -thinking aloud in her musical voice that never lost its charm for him. - -“It’s easy to believe all manner of strange things on a night like -this! I can even imagine that I was someone else once upon a time....” - -“Go right on!” he said, rousing himself, ready for the game which -they often played like two children. He turned to face her. “I have a -sneaking idea that a thousand years ago at this minute I was sitting -peacefully by a well in an oasis with camels and horses and strange -dark men sleeping round me; that same lady moon looking down on the -scene, making the sandy waste look like a field of snow.” - -“That sounds dusty and hot! Now me--I’m on a galley ship driving -through the night; a brisk cool wind is blowing; a slave is singing a -plaintive song and the captain of the rowers is thumping time for them -to row by and the moon is shining down on an island just ahead. It’s -all very jolly! We’re off the coast of Greece somewhere, I think.” - -“I suppose that being on a ship while I’m away off in a desert I really -shouldn’t be talking to you. I couldn’t take my camel on your yacht!” - -“There’s telepathy,” she suggested. - -“Thanks for the idea! If we’ve arrived in this pleasant garden after a -thousand-year journey I certainly shan’t complain!” - -“It wouldn’t profit you much if you did! And besides, my feelings -would be hurt!” she laughed softly. “I do so love the sound of my own -voice--I wonder if that’s because I’ve been silent a thousand years!” - -“I hope you weren’t, for--I admire your voice! Looking at the stars -does make you think large thoughts. If they had all been flung into -space by chance, as a child scatters sand, we’d have had a badly -scrambled universe by this time--it must be for something--something -pretty important.” - -“I wonder....” She bent forward, her elbow on the arm of the chair, her -hand laid against her cheek. “Let’s pretend we can see all mankind, -from the beginning, following a silken cord that Some One ahead is -unwinding and dropping behind as a guide. And we all try to hold fast -to it--we lose it over and over again and stumble over those who have -fallen in the dark places of the road--then we clutch it again. And -we never quite see the leader, but we know he is there, away on ahead -trying to guide us to the goal----” - -“Yes,” he said eagerly, “the goal----” - -“Is happiness! That’s what we’re all searching for! And our Leader has -had so many names--those ahead are always crying back a name caught -from those ahead of them--down through the ages. But it helps to know -that many are on ahead clutching the cord, not going too fast for fear -the great host behind may lose their hope and drop the cord altogether!” - -“I like that; it’s bully! It’s the life line, the great clue----” - -“Yes, yes,” she said, “and even the half gods are not to be sneered at; -they’ve tangled up the cord and tied hard knots in it---- Oh, dear! -I’m soaring again!” - -There had been some question of her going away for the remainder of -the summer, and he referred to this presently. He was hoping that she -would go before the return of Mills and Leila. The old intimacy between -the two houses would revive: it might be that Millicent was ready to -marry Mills; and tonight Bruce did not doubt his own love for her--if -only he might touch her hand that lay so near and tell her! In the -calm night he felt again the acute loneliness that had so beset him in -his year-long pilgrimage in search of peace; and he had found at the -end a love that was not peace. After the verdict of the judges of the -memorial plans was given it would be best for him to leave--go to New -York perhaps and try his fortune there, and forget these months that -had been so packed with experience. - -“We’re likely to stay on here indefinitely,” Millicent was saying. “I’d -rather go away in the winter; the summer is really a joy. A lot of -the people we know are staying at home. Connie and Shep are not going -away, and Dale says she’s not going to budge. And Helen Torrence keeps -putting off half a dozen flights she’s threatened to take. And Bud and -Maybelle seem content. So why run away from friends?” - -“No reason, of course. The corn requires heat and why should we be -superior to the corn?” - -“I had a letter from Leila today. She says she’s perishing to come -home!” - -“I’ll wager she is!” laughed Bruce. “What’s going to happen when she -comes?” - -He picked up his hat and they were slowly crossing the lawn toward the -gate. - -“You mean Freddie Thomas.” - -“I suppose I do mean Fred! But I didn’t mean to pump you. It’s Leila’s -business.” - -“I’ll be surprised if a few months’ travel doesn’t change Leila. She -and Freddy had an awful crush on each other when she left. If she’s -still of the same mind--well, her father may find the trip wasn’t so -beneficial!” - -From her tone Bruce judged that Millicent was not greatly concerned -about Leila. She went through the gates with him to his car at the curb. - -“Whatever it is you sent shooting through the night--here’s good luck -to it!” she said as he climbed into his machine. “Do you suppose that’s -the train?” - -She raised her hand and bent her head to listen. The rumble of a -heavy train and the faint clang of a locomotive bell could be heard -beyond the quiet residential neighborhood. He was pleased that she had -remembered, sorry now that he had not told her what it was that he had -committed to the mails. She snapped her fingers, exclaiming: - -“I’ve sent a wish with it, whether it’s to your true love or whatever -it is!” - -“It wasn’t a love letter,” he called after her as she paused under the -gate lamps to wave her hand. - - - - -CHAPTER TWENTY - - -I - -Franklin Mills landed in New York feeling that his excursion abroad -had been well worth while. Leila had been the cheeriest of companions -and Mills felt that he knew her much better than he had ever known -her before. They had stopped in Paris and he had cheerfully indulged -her extravagance in raiment. Throughout the trip nothing marred their -intercourse. Mills’s pride and vanity were touched by the admiring eyes -that followed them. In countries where wine and spirits were everywhere -visible Leila betrayed no inclination to drink, even when he urged some -rare vintage upon her. The child had character; he detected in her the -mental and physical energy, the shrewdness, the ability to reason, -that were a distinguishing feature of the Mills tradition. Shep hadn’t -the swift, penetrating insight of Leila. Leila caught with a glance of -the eye distinct impressions which Shep would have missed even with -laborious examination. Shep, nevertheless, was a fine boy; reluctant -as he was to acknowledge an error even to himself, Mills, mellowed by -distance, thought perhaps it had been a mistake to forbid Shep to study -medicine; and yet he had tried to do the right thing by Shep. It was -important for the only son of the house of Mills to know the worth of -property. - -The only son.... When Mills thought of Shep and Leila he thought, too, -of Storrs--Bruce Storrs with his undeniable resemblance to Franklin -Mills III. There were times when by some reawakening of old memories -through contact with new scenes--in Venice, at Sorrento, in motoring -into Scotland from the English lake country--in all places that invited -to retrospective contemplation he lived over again those months he had -spent in Laconia. - -Strangely, that period revived with intense vividness. Released from -the routine of his common life, he indulged his memories, estimating -their value, fixing their place in his life. That episode seemed -the most important of all; he had loved that woman. He had been a -blackguard and a scoundrel; there was no escaping that, but he could -not despise himself. Sometimes Leila, noting his deep preoccupation on -long motor drives, would tease him to tell her what he was thinking -about and he was hard put to satisfy her that he hadn’t a care in the -world. Once, trying to ease an attack of homesickness, she led him into -speculation as to what their home-folks were doing--Shep and Connie, -Millicent, and in the same connection she mentioned Bruce. - -“What an awful nice chap he is, Dada. He’s a prince. You’d know him for -a thoroughbred anywhere. Arthur Carroll says his people were just nice -country town folks--father a lawyer, I think Arthur said. The Freemans -back him strong, and they’re not people you can fool much.” - -“Mr. Storrs is a gentleman,” said Mills. “And a young man of fine -gifts. I’ve had several talks with him about his work and ambitions. -He’ll make his mark.” - -“He’s good to look at! Millicent says there’s a Greek-god look about -him.” - -“Millicent likes him?” asked Mills with an effort at indifference which -did not wholly escape Leila’s vigilant eye. - -“Oh, I don’t think it’s more than that. You never can tell about -Millie.” - -This was in Edinburgh, shortly before they sailed for home. All things -considered the trip abroad had been a success. Leila had not to the -best of his knowledge communicated with Thomas--she had made a point -of showing him the letters she received and giving him her own letters -to mail. Very likely, Mills thought, she had forgotten all about her -undesirable suitor, and as a result of the change of scene and the new -amity established between them, would fulfill her destiny by marrying -Carroll. - - -II - -The town house had been opened for their return, this being a special -concession to Leila, who disliked Deer Trail. Mills yielded graciously, -though he enjoyed Deer Trail more than any other of his possessions; -but there was truth in her complaint that when he was in town all day, -as frequently happened, it was unbearably lonely unless she fortified -herself constantly with guests. - -Mills found all his business interests prospering. Though Carroll -was no longer in the office in the First National Building, the -former secretary still performed the more important of his old -functions in his rôle of vice-president of the trust company. Mills -was not, however, to sink into his old comfortable routine without -experiencing a few annoyances and disturbances. His sister, Mrs. -Granville Thornberry, a childless widow, who had taken a hand in -Leila’s upbringing after Mrs. Mills’s death--an experience that had -left wounds on both sides that had never healed--Mrs. Thornberry had -lingered in town to see him. She had become involved in a law suit by -ignoring Mills’s advice, and now cheerfully cast upon him the burden of -extricating her from her predicament. The joy of reminding her that she -would have avoided vexatious and expensive litigation if she had heeded -his counsel hardly mitigated his irritation. But for his sense of the -family dignity he would have declined to have anything to do with the -case. - -Carroll had been present at their interview, held in Mills’s office, -and when he left Mrs. Thornberry lingered. She was tall and slender, -quick and incisive of speech. She absorbed all the local gossip and in -spite of her wealth and status as a Mills was a good deal feared for -her sharp tongue. It was a hot day and Mills’s patience had been sorely -tried by her seeming inability to grasp the legal questions raised in -the law suit. - -“Well, Alice,” he said, with a glance at his desk clock. “Is there -anything else?” - -“Yes, Frank; there’s a matter I feel it my duty to speak of. You know -that I never like to interfere in your affairs. After the trouble we -had about Leila I thought I’d never mention your children to you again.” - -“That’s very foolish,” Mills murmured with a slight frown. He thought -she was about to attack Leila and he had no intention of listening to -criticism of Leila. Alice had made a mess of Leila’s education and -he was not interested in anything she might have to say about her. -And Alice was richly endowed with that heaven-given wisdom as to the -rearing of children which is peculiar to the childless. Mills wished -greatly that Alice would go. - -“The matter’s delicate--very delicate, Frank. I hesitate----” - -“Please, Alice!” he interrupted impatiently. “Either you’ve got -something to say or you haven’t!” - -At the moment she was not his sister, but a woman who had precipitated -herself into a law suit by giving an option on a valuable piece of -property and then selling it to a third party, which was stupid and he -hated stupidity. He thought she was probably going to say that Leila -drank too much, but knowing that Leila had been a pattern of sobriety -for months he was prepared to rebuke her sharply for bringing him stale -gossip. - -“It’s about Shep--Shep and Connie!” said Mrs. Thornberry. “You know how -fond I’ve always been of Shep.” - -“Yes--yes,” Mills replied, mystified by this opening. “Shep’s doing -well and I can’t see but he and Connie are getting on finely. He’s -quite surprised me by the way he’s taken hold in the trust company.” - -“Oh, Shep’s a dear. But--there’s talk----” - -“Oh, yes; there’s talk!” Mills caught her up. “There’s always talk -about everyone. I even suppose you and I don’t escape!” - -“Well, of course there have been rumors, you know, Frank, that you are -considering marrying again.” - -“Oh, they’re trying to marry me, are they?” he demanded, in a tone that -did not wholly discourage her further confidences. - -“I can’t imagine your being so silly. But the impression is abroad -that you’re rather interested in that Harden girl. Ridiculous, of -course, at your age! You’d certainly throw your dignity to the winds if -you married a girl of Leila’s age, whose people are said to be quite -common. They say Dr. Harden used to travel over the country selling -patent medicine from a wagon at country fairs and places like that.” - -“I question the story. The Doctor’s a very agreeable person, and his -wife’s a fine woman. We have had very pleasant neighborly relations. -And Millicent is an extraordinary girl--mentally the superior of any -girl in town. I’ve been glad of Leila’s intimacy with her; it’s been -for Leila’s good.” - -“Oh, I dare say they’re all well enough. Of course the marriage would -be a big card for the Hardens. You’re a shrewd man, Frank, but it’s -just a little too obvious--what you’ve been doing to push those people -into our own circle. But the girl’s handsome--there’s no doubt of that.” - -“Well, those points are settled, then,” her brother remarked, taking -up the ivory paper cutter and slapping his palm with it. Alice was -never niggardly with her revelations and he consoled himself with the -reflection that she had shown her full hand. - -“This other matter,” Mrs. Thornberry continued immediately, “is rather -more serious. I came back from California the week after you sailed and -I found a good deal of talk going on about Connie.” - -“Connie?” Mills repeated and his fingers tightened upon the ivory blade. - -“Connie’s not behaving herself as a married woman should. She’s been -indulging in a scandalous flirtation--if that’s not too gentle a name -for it--with George Whitford.” - -“Pshaw, Alice! Whitford’s always run with Shep’s crowd. He’s a sort of -fireside pet with all the young married women. George is a fine, manly -fellow. I don’t question that he’s been at Shep’s a good deal. Shep’s -always liked him particularly. And Connie’s an attractive young woman. -Why, George probably makes love to all the women, old and young, he’s -thrown with for an hour! You’re borrowing trouble quite unnecessarily, -Alice. It’s too bad you have to hear the gossip that’s always going -around here; you take it much too seriously.” - -“It’s not I who take it seriously; it’s common talk! Shep, poor boy, is -so innocent and unsuspecting! George hasn’t a thing to do but fool at -his writing. He and Connie have been seen a trifle too often on long -excursions to other towns when Shep, no doubt, thought she was golfing. -What I’m telling you is gossip, of course; I couldn’t prove anything. -But it’s possible sometimes that just a word will save trouble. You -must acquit me of any wish to be meddlesome. I like Connie; I’ve always -tried to like her for Shep’s sake.” - -She was probably not magnifying the extent to which talk about his -son’s wife had gone. His old antagonism to Constance, the remembrance -of his painful scenes with Shep in his efforts to prevent his marriage, -were once more resurgent. Mrs. Thornberry related the episode of -the dramatic club play which had, from her story, crystalized and -stimulated the tales that had previously been afloat as to Connie’s -interest in Whitford. Mills promptly seized upon this to dismiss -the whole thing. Things had certainly come to a fine pass when -participation in amateur theatricals could give rise to scandal; it -merely showed the paucity of substantial material. - -He was at pains to conceal his chagrin. His pride took refuge behind -its fortifications; he would not have his sister, of all persons, -suspect that he could be affected by even the mildest insinuation -against anyone invested with the sanctity of the Mills name. He told -her of having met some old friends of hers in London as he accompanied -her to the elevator. But when he regained his room he stood for some -time by the window gazing across the town to the blue hills. The -patriarchial sense was strong in him; he was the head and master of his -house and he would tolerate no scandalous conduct on the part of his -daughter-in-law. But he must move cautiously. The Whitfords were an old -family and he had known George’s father very well. With disagreeable -insistence the remembrance of his adventure in Laconia came back to him. - - -III - -Several weeks passed in which Mills exercised a discreet vigilance in -observing Shep and Connie. Whitford was in town; Mills met him once and -again at Shep’s house, but there were others of the younger element -present and there was nothing in Whitford’s conduct to support Mrs. -Thornberry’s story. He asked Carroll incidentally about the dramatic -club play--as if merely curious as to whether it had been a successful -evening, and Carroll’s description of Whitford’s little drama and of -Connie’s part in it was void of any hint that it concealed a serious -attachment between the chief actors. - -The usual social routine of the summer stay-at-homes was progressing in -the familiar lazy fashion--country club dances, motor trips, picnics -and the like. On his return Mills had called at once upon the Hardens. -Millicent’s charms had in nowise diminished in his absence. With -everything else satisfactorily determined, there would be no reason -why he should not marry Millicent. His sister’s disapproval did not -weigh with him at all. But first he must see Leila married, and he -still hoped to have Carroll for a son-in-law. Leila had entered into -the summer gaieties with her usual zest, accepting the escort of one -and another available young man with a new amiability. One evening at -the Faraway Country Club Mills saw her dancing with Thomas; but it was -for one dance only, and Thomas seemed to be distributing his attentions -impartially. A few nights later when they had dined alone at Deer -Trail--Leila had suggested that they go there merely to please him--as -they sat on the veranda all his hopes that her infatuation for Thomas -had passed were rudely shattered. - -“Well, Dada,” she began, when he was half through his after-dinner -cigar, “it’s nice to be back. It’s a lot more fun being at home in -summer. There is something about the old home town and our own country. -I guess I’m a pretty good little American.” - -“I guess you are,” he assented with a chuckle that expressed his entire -satisfaction with her. The veranda was swept fitfully by a breeze warm -sweet with the breath of ripening corn. It was something to be owner -of some part of the earth; it was good to be alive, master of himself, -able to direct and guide the lives of others less fortunately endowed -than he with wisdom and power. - -Leila touched his hand and he clasped and held it on the broad arm of -his favorite rocker. - -“Dada, what a wonderful time we had on our trip! I was a good little -girl--wasn’t I? You know I was trying so hard to be good!” - -“You were an angel,” he exclaimed heartily. “Our trip will always be -one of the happiest memories of my life.” - -At once apprehensive, he hoped these approaches concealed nothing more -serious than a request for an increase in her allowance or perhaps a -new car. - -“I want to speak about Freddy Thomas,” she said, freeing her hand and -moving her chair the better to command his attention. - -“Thomas!” he said as though repeating an unfamiliar name. “I thought -you were all done with him.” - -“Dada,” she said very gently, “I love Freddy. All the time I was away I -was testing myself--honestly and truly trying to forget him. I didn’t -hear from him and I didn’t send him even a postcard. But now that I’m -back it’s all just the same. We do love each other; he’s the only man -in the world that can ever make me happy. Please--don’t say no!” - -He got up slowly, and walked the length of the veranda and came back to -find her leaning against one of the pillars. - -“Now, Leila,” he began sharply, “we’ve been all over this, and -I thought you realized that a marriage with that man would be a -mistake--a grave blunder. He’s playing upon your sympathy--telling you, -no doubt, what a great mistake he made in his first venture.” - -“I’ve seen him only once since I got back and that was the other night -at the club,” she replied patiently. “Freddy’s no cry-baby; you know -you couldn’t find a single thing against him except the divorce, and -that wasn’t his fault. He’s perfectly willing to answer any questions -you want to ask him. Isn’t that fair enough?” - -“You expect me to treat with him--listen to his nasty scandal! I’ve -told you it won’t do! There’s never been a divorce in our family--nor -in your mother’s family! I feel strongly about it. The thing has got -too common; it’s taken away all the sanctity of marriage! And that I -should welcome as a husband for a young girl like you a man who has -had another wife--a woman who’s still living--keeping his name, I -understand--I tell you, Leila, it won’t do! It’s my duty to protect you -from such a thing. I have wanted you to take a high position in this -community--such a position as your mother held; and can you imagine -yourself doing it as the second wife of a man who’s not of our circle, -not our kind at all?” - -He flung round, took a few quick steps and then returned to the attack. - -“I want this matter to be disposed of now. What would our friends think -of me if I let you do such a thing? They’d think I’d lost my mind! I -tell you it’s not in keeping with our position--with your position as -my daughter--to let you make a marriage that would change the whole -tone of the family. If you’ll think a little more about this I believe -you’ll see just what the step means. I want the best for you. I don’t -believe your happiness depends on your marrying this man. I may as well -tell you bluntly now that I can never reconcile myself to the idea of -your marrying him. I’ve thought it all over in all its aspects. You’ve -never had a care nor a worry in your life. When you marry I want you to -start even--with a man who’s your equal in the world’s eyes.” - -He had delivered this a little oratorically, with a gesture or two, -and one might have thought that he was pleased with his phrases. Leila -in her simple summer gown, with one hand at her side, the other thrust -into the silk sash at her waist, seemed singularly young as she stood -with her back to the pillar. The light from the windows, mingled with -the starlight and moonlight playing upon her face, made it possible to -watch the effect of his words. The effect, if any, was too obscure for -his vision. Her eyes apparently were not seeing him at all; he might -as well have addressed himself to one of the veranda chairs for any -satisfaction he derived from his speech. - -It was on his tongue to pile up additional arguments against the -marriage; but this unresisting Leila with her back to the pillar -exasperated him. And all those months that they had traveled about -together, with never a mention of Thomas; when she had even indulged in -mild flirtations with men who became their fellow travelers for a day, -she had carried in her heart this determination to marry Thomas. And -he, Franklin Mills, had stupidly believed that she was forgetting the -man.... - -He again walked the length of the veranda, and as he retraced his steps -she met him by the door. - -“Well, Dada, shall we drive in?” she asked, quite as though nothing had -happened. - -“I suppose we may as well start,” he said and looked at his watch to -hide his embarrassment rather than to learn the time. - -On the way into town she recurred to incidents of their travels -and manifested great interest in changes he proposed making in his -conservatories to embrace some ideas he had gathered in England; but -she did not refer in any way to Thomas. When they reached home she -kissed him good-night and went at once to her room. - -The house was stifling from the torrid day and Mills wished himself -back at the farm. His chief discomfort was not physical, however; Leila -had eluded him, taken refuge in the inconsequential and irrelevant in -her own peculiar, capricious fashion. It was not in his nature to -discuss his affairs or ask counsel, but he wished there were someone he -could talk to.... Millicent might help him in his perplexity. He went -out on the lawn and looked across the hedge at the Hardens’, hearing -voices and laughter. The mirth was like a mockery. - - -IV - -On the following day Bruce and Millicent drove to the Faraway club for -golf. He was unable to detect any signs indicating that Mills’s return -had affected Millicent. She spoke of him as she might have spoken of -any other neighbor. Bruce wasn’t troubled about Mills when he was with -Millicent; it was when he was away from her that he was preyed upon by -apprehensions. He could never marry her: but Mills should never marry -her. This repeated itself in his mind like a child’s rigamarole. Their -game kept them late and it was after six when they left the club in -Bruce’s roadster. - -Millicent was beside him; their afternoon together had been unusually -enjoyable. He had every reason to believe that she preferred his -society to that of any other man she knew. He had taken a route into -town that was longer than the one usually followed, and in passing -through a small village an exclamation from Millicent caused him to -stop the car. - -“Wasn’t that Leila and Fred at the gas station?” she asked. “Let’s go -back and see.” - -Leila saluted them with a wave of the hand. Thomas was speaking to the -keeper of the station. - -“Hello, children!” Leila greeted them. “Pause and be sociable. What -have you been up to?” - -“Shooting a little golf,” Millicent answered. “Why didn’t you drop the -word that you were going to the club for dinner? You might have had a -little company!” - -Bruce strolled over to Thomas, who was still conferring with the -station keeper. He heard the man answer some question as to the best -route to a neighboring town. Thomas seemed a trifle nervous and glanced -impatiently toward Leila and Millicent. - -“Hello, Bruce,” he said cheerfully, “how’s everything?” - -“Skimming!” said Bruce, and they walked back to the car, where Thomas -greeted Millicent exuberantly. Leila leaned out and whispered to Bruce: - -“We’ll be married in an hour. Don’t tell Millie till you get home!” - -“Are you kidding?” Bruce demanded. - -“Certainly not!” - -“But why do it this way?” - -“Oh--it’s simpler and a lot more romantic--that’s all! Tell Millie that -everything is all right! Don’t look so scared! All right, Freddy, let’s -go!” - -Their car was quickly under way and Millicent and Bruce resumed their -homeward drive. - -“Leila didn’t tell me she was going to the club with Freddy,” remarked -Millicent pensively. - -“One of those spontaneous things,” Bruce replied carelessly. - -When they reached the Hardens’ he walked with her to the door. - -“That was odd--meeting Leila and Fred,” said Millicent. “Do you think -they were really going to the club for supper?” - -“They were not going there,” Bruce replied. “They’re on their way to be -married.” - -“Oh, I’m sorry!” she said and her eyes filled with tears. The privilege -of seeing tears in Millicent’s eyes was to Bruce an experience much -more important than Leila’s marriage. - -“It will be a blow to Mr. Mills,” said Bruce thoughtfully. “Let’s hope -he accepts it gracefully.” - -Both turned by a common impulse and their eyes rested upon the Mills -house beyond the hedge.... - -The town buzzed for a few days after Leila’s elopement, but in her -immediate circle it created no surprise. It was like Leila; she could -always be depended upon to do things differently. Mills, receiving the -news from Leila by telephone, had himself conveyed the announcement to -the newspapers, giving the impression that there had been no objection -to the marriage and that the elopement was due to his daughter’s wish -to avoid a formal wedding. This had the effect of killing the marriage -as material for sensational news. It was not Mills’s way to permit -himself to be flashed before his fellow citizens as an outraged and -storming father. Old friends who tried to condole with him found their -sympathy unwelcome. He personally saw to the packing of the effects -Leila telegraphed for to be sent to Pittsburg, where she and her -husband, bound for a motor trip through the east, were to pause for a -visit with Thomas’s parents. - - - - -CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE - - -I - -Bruce returned late one afternoon in August from a neighboring town -where Freeman had some houses under construction, found the office -deserted, and was looking over the accumulation of papers on his desk -when a messenger delivered a telegram. - -He signed for it and let it lie while he filled his pipe. The -potentialities of an unopened telegram are enormous. This message, -Bruce reflected, might be from one of Freeman’s clients with whom he -had been dealing directly; or it might be from a Tech classmate who had -written a week earlier that he would be motoring through town and would -wire definitely the hour of his arrival. Or it might be the verdict of -the jury of architects who were to pass on the plans for the Laconia -memorial--an honorable mention at best. The decision had been delayed -and he had been trying to forget about it. He turned the envelope -over--assured himself that it didn’t matter greatly whether he received -the award or not; then, unable to prolong the agony, he tore it open -and read: - - It affords the committee great pleasure to inform you that your plans - submitted for the Laconia memorial have been accepted. You may - regard our delay in reaching the decision as complimentary, for the - high merit of some half dozen of the plans proposed made it extremely - difficult to reach a conclusion. We suggest that you visit Laconia as - soon as possible to make the acquaintance of the citizens’ committee - with whom you will now take up the matter of construction. With our - warm cordial congratulations and all good wishes.... - -He flung his pipe on the floor with a bang, snatched the telephone and -called Freeman’s house. Dale answered, gave a chirrup of delight and -ran to carry the news to Bill on the tennis court. Bruce decided that -Henderson should know next, and had called the number when Bud strolled -into the room. - -“Looking for me--most remarkable! I was on this floor looking for -a poor nut who needs a little stimulus as to the merits of the -world-famous Plantag!” - -“Fool!” shouted Bruce, glaring at him. “Don’t speak to me of -Plantagenets. Read that telegram; read it and fall upon your knees! -I’ve won a prize, I tell you! You called me a chicken-coop builder, -did you? You said I’d better settle down to building low-priced -bungalows---- Oh, yes, you did!” - -He was a boy again, lording it over his chum. He danced about, tapping -Bud on the head and shoulders as if teasing him for a fight. Bud -finally managed to read the message Bruce had thrust into his hands, -and emitted a yell. They fell to pummeling each other joyfully until -Bud sank exhausted into a chair. - -“Great Jupiter!” Bud panted. “So this is what you were up to all -spring! We’ll have a celebration! My dear boy, don’t bother about -anything--I’ll arrange it all!” - -He busied himself at the telephone while Bruce received a newspaper -reporter who had been sent to interview him. A bunch of telegrams -arrived from Laconia--salutations of old friends, a congratulatory -message from the memorial committee asking when they might expect him. -The members of the committee were all men and women he had known from -childhood, and his heart grew big at the pride they showed in him. In -the reception room he had difficulty in composing himself sufficiently -to answer the reporter’s questions with the composure the occasion -demanded.... - -“Small and select--that’s my idea!” said Bud in revealing his plans for -the celebration. “We’re going to pull it at Shep Mills’s--Shep won’t -listen to anything else! And the Freemans will be there, and Millie, -and Helen Torrence, and Maybelle’s beating it from the country club to -be sure she doesn’t miss anything. Thank God! something’s happened to -give me an excuse for acquiring a large, juicy bun.” - -“Oh, thunder! You’re going to make an ass of me! I don’t want any -party!” - -“No false modesty! We’re all set. I’ll skip around to the Club and -nail Carroll and Whitford and any of the boys who are there. I’ll bet -your plans are rotten, but we’ll pretend they’re mar-ve-li-ous! You’ll -probably bluff your way through life just on your figure!” - -“But there’s no reason why the Shep Millses should be burdened with -your show! Why didn’t you ask me about that?” - -“Oh, their house is bigger than mine. And Shep stammered his head off -demanding that he have the honor. Don’t worry, old hoss, you’re in the -hands of your friends!” - -The party overflowed from the house into the grounds, Bud having -invited everyone he thought likely to contribute to its gaiety. Many -did not know just what it was all about, or thought it was one of Bud’s -jokes. He had summoned a jazz band and cleared the living-room for -dancing. - -“Bud was unusually crazy when he telephoned me,” said Millicent. “I -don’t quite know what you’ve done, but it must be a world-shaking -event.” - -“All of that! The good wishes you sent after the mail train on a -certain night did the business. I’d have told you of my adventure, only -I was afraid I’d draw a blank.” - -“I see. You thought of me as only a fair-weather friend. Square -yourself by telling me everything.” - -Their quiet corner of the veranda was soon invaded. Carroll, Whitford, -Connie and Mrs. Torrence joined them, declaring that Millicent couldn’t -be allowed to monopolize the hero of the hour. - -“It’s only beginner’s luck; that’s all,” Bruce protested. “The -pleasantest thing about it is that it’s my native burg; that does -tickle me!” - -“It’s altogether splendid,” said Carroll. “Having seen you on your -native heath, and knowing how the people over there feel about you, I -know just how proud you ought to be.” - -“What’s the name of the place--Petronia?” asked Constance. - -“Laconia,” Carroll corrected her. “You will do well to fix it in your -memory now that Bruce is making it famous. I might mention that I have -some cousins there--Bruce went over with me not so long ago just to -give me a good character.” - -“How very interesting,” Constance murmured. - -“Mr. Mills once lived for a time in Laconia,” Carroll remarked. “That -was years ago. His father had acquired some business interests there -and the place aspired to become a large city.” - -“I don’t believe I ever heard Mr. Mills speak of it; I thought he was -always rooted here,” said Constance. - -The party broke up at midnight, and Bruce drove Millicent home through -the clear summer night. When he had unlocked the door for her she -followed him out upon the steps. - -“I’m afraid I haven’t said all I’d like to say about your success. It’s -a big achievement. I want you to know that I realize all that. I’m -glad--and proud. Many happy returns of the day!” - -She gave him both her hands and this more than her words crowned the -day for him. He had never been so happy. He really had hold of life; -he could do things, he could do much finer things than the Laconia -memorial! On his way to the gate he saw beyond the hedge a shadowy -figure moving across the Mills lawn. When he reached the street he -glanced back, identified Mills, and on an impulse entered the grounds. -Mills was pacing back and forth, his head bowed, his hands thrust into -his pockets. He started when he discerned Bruce, who walked up to him -quickly. - -“Oh--that you, Storrs? Glad to see you! It’s a sultry night and I’m -staying out as long as possible.” - -“I stopped to tell you a little piece of news. The Laconia memorial -jury has made its report; my plans are accepted.” - -“How fine! Why--I’m delighted to hear this. I hope everything’s as you -wanted it.” - -“Yes, sir; the fund was increased and the thing can be done now without -skimping. I put in the fountain--I’m greatly obliged to you for that -suggestion. You ought to have the credit for it.” - -“Oh, no, no!” Mills exclaimed hastily. “You’d probably have thought of -it yourself--merely a bit of supplementary decoration. You’ll be busy -now--supervising the construction?” - -“Yes; I want to look after all the details. It will keep me busy for -the next year. Carroll is going over to Laconia with me tomorrow.” - -“Good! It will be quite an event--going back to your old home to -receive the laurel! I hope your work will stand for centuries!” - -“Thank you, sir; good-night.” - - - - -CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO - - -I - -Brief notes from Leila announced the happy course of her honeymoon in -the New England hills. She wrote to her father as though there had -been nothing extraordinary in her flight. Mills’s mortification that -his daughter should have married over his protest was ameliorated by -the satisfaction derived from dealing magnanimously with her. The -Mills dignity required that she have a home in keeping with the family -status, and he would provide for this a sum equal to the amount he had -given Shep to establish himself. He avoided Shep and Connie--the latter -misguidedly bent upon trying to reconcile him to the idea that Leila -had not done so badly. He suspected that Connie, in her heart, was -laughing at him, rejoicing that Leila had beaten him. - -He saw Millicent occasionally; but for all her tact and an evident -wish to be kind, he suspected that her friendliness merely expressed -her sympathy, and sympathy from any quarter was unbearable. He felt -age clutching at him; he questioned whether Millicent could ever -care for him; his dream of marrying again had been sheer folly. The -summer wore on monotonously. Mills showed himself at the country club -occasionally, usually at the behest of some of his old friends, and -several times he entertained at Deer Trail. - -Shep and Connie were to dine with him in the town house one evening, -and when he had dressed he went, as he often did, into Leila’s room. He -sat down and idly drew the books from a rack on the table. One of them -was a slender volume of George Whitford’s poems, printed privately and -inscribed, “To Leila, from her friend, the author.” Mills had not heard -of the publication and he turned over the leaves with more curiosity -than he usually manifested in volumes of verse. Whitford’s lyrics were -chiefly in a romantic and sentimental vein. One of them, the longest -in the book, was called “The Flower of the World,” and above the title -Leila had scrawled “Connie.” - -The lines were an ardent tribute to a lady whom the poet declared to be -his soul’s ideal. Certain phrases underscored by Leila’s impious pencil -were, when taken collectively, a very fair description of Constance. -Mills carried the book to the library for a more deliberate perusal. -If Leila knew that Constance was the subject of the verses, others -must know it. What his sister had said about Whitford’s devotion to -Constance was corroborated by the verses; and there had been that joint -appearance of Constance and Whitford in the dramatic club play--another -damning circumstance. Mills’s ire was aroused. He was standing in -the middle of the room searching for other passages that might be -interpreted as the author’s tribute to Constance when Shep entered. - -“Good evening, father,” he said. “We’re a little early--I thought we -might take a minute to speak of those B. and F. bonds. You know----” - -He paused as his father, without preliminary greeting, advanced toward -him with an angry gleam in his eyes. - -“Look at that! Have you seen this thing?” - -“Why, yes, I’ve seen it,” Shepherd answered, glancing at the -page. “It’s a little book of George’s; he gave copies to all his -friends--said nobody would ever buy it!” - -“Gave copies to all his friends, did he? Do you see what Leila’s -written here and those marked lines? Do you realize what it means--that -it’s written to your wife?” - -“That’s ridiculous, father,” Shep stammered. “It’s not written to -Connie any more than to any other young woman--a sort of ideal of -George’s, I suppose. Connie’s name written there is just a piece of -Leila’s nonsense.” - -“How many people do you suppose thought the same thing? Don’t you know -that there’s been a good deal of unpleasant talk about Connie and -Whitford? There was that play they appeared in--written by Whitford! -I’ve heard about that! It caused a lot of talk, and you’ve stood by, -blind and deaf, and haven’t done a thing to stop it!” - -“I can’t have you make such statements about Connie! There was nothing -wrong with that play--absolutely nothing! It was one of the finest -things the club ever had. As for George having Connie in mind when he -wrote that poem--why, that’s ridiculous! George is my friend as much -as Connie’s. Why, I haven’t a better friend in the world than George -Whitford!” - -“You’re blind; you’re stupid!” Mills stormed. “How many people do you -suppose have laughed over that--laughed at you as a fool to let a man -make love to your wife in that open fashion? I tell you the thing’s -got to stop!” - -“But, father,” said Shep, lowering his voice, “you wouldn’t insult -Connie. She’s downstairs and might easily hear you. You know, father, -Connie isn’t exactly well! Connie’s going--Connie’s going--to have a -baby! We’re very, very happy--about it----” - -Shep, stammering as he blurted this out, had endeavored to invest the -announcement with the dignity it demanded. - -“So there’s a child coming!” There was no mistaking the sneer in -Mills’s voice. “Your wife has a lover and she is to have a child!” - -“You shan’t say such a thing!” cried Shep, his voice tremulous with -wrath and horror. “You’re crazy! It’s unworthy of you!” - -“Oh, I’m sane enough. You ought to have seen this and stopped it long -ago. Now that you see it, I’d like to know what you’re going to do -about it!” - -“But I don’t see it! There’s nothing to see! I tell you I’ll not listen -to such an infamous charge against Connie!” - -“I’ll say what I please about Connie!” Mills shouted. “You -children--you and Leila--what have I got from you but disappointment -and shame? Leila runs away and marries a scoundrel out of the divorce -court and now your wife--a woman I tried to save you from--has smirched -us all with dishonor. I didn’t want you to marry her; I begged you not -to do it. But I yielded in the hope of making you happy. I wanted you -and Leila to take the place you’re entitled to in this town. Everything -was done for you! Look up there,” he went on hoarsely, pointing to the -portraits above the book shelves, “look at those men and women--your -forebears--people who laid the foundations of this town, and they -look down on you and what do they see? Failure! Disgrace! Nothing but -failure! And you stand here and pretend--pretend----” - -Mills’s arm fell to his side and the sentence died on his lips. -Constance stood in the door; there were angry tears in her eyes and her -face was white as she advanced a little way into the room and paused -before Mills. - -“I did not know how foul--how base you could be! You needn’t fear him, -Shep! Only a coward would have bawled such a thing for the servants -to hear--possibly the neighbors. You’ve called upon your ancestors, -Mr. Mills, to witness your shame and disgrace at having admitted -me into your sacred family circle! Shep, have you ever noticed the -resemblance--it’s really quite remarkable--of young Mr. Storrs to your -grandfather Mills? It’s most curious--rather impressive, in fact!” - -She was gazing at the portrait of Franklin Mills III, with a -contemptuous smile on her lips. - -“Connie, _Connie_----” Shep faltered. - -“Storrs! What do you mean by that?” demanded Mills. His mouth hung -open; with his head thrust forward he gazed at the portrait as if he -had never seen it before. - -“Nothing, of course,” she went on slowly, giving every effect to -her words. “But when you spent some time in that town with the -singular name--Laconia, wasn’t it?--you were young and probably quite -fascinating--Storrs came from there--an interesting--a wholly admirable -young man!” - -“Connie--I don’t get what you’re driving at!” Shep exclaimed, his eyes -fastened upon his grandfather’s portrait. - -“Constance is merely trying to be insolent,” Mills said, but his hand -shook as he took a cigarette from a box and lighted it. When he looked -up he was disconcerted to find Shep regarding him with a blank stare. -Constance, already at the door, said quietly: - -“Come, Shep. I think we must be going.” - -The silence of the house was broken in a moment by the closing of the -front door. - - -II - -Shep and Constance drove in silence the few blocks that lay between -Mills’s house and their own. Constance explained their return to the -maid by saying that she hadn’t felt well and ordered a cold supper -served in the breakfast room. Shep strolled aimlessly about while she -went upstairs and reappeared in a house gown. When they had eaten they -went into the living-room, where she turned the leaves of a book while -he pretended to read the evening newspaper. After a time she walked -over to him and touched his arm, let her hand rest lightly on his head. - -“Yes, Connie,” he said. - -“There’s something I want to say to you, Shep.” - -“Yes, Connie.” - -He got up and she slipped into his chair. - -“It’s a lie, Shep. What your father said is a lie!” - -“Yes; of course,” he said, but he did not look at her. - -“You’ve got to believe me; I’ll die if you don’t tell me you believe in -me!” and her voice broke in a sob. - -He walked away from her, then went back, staring at her dully. - -“I’ve been foolish, Shep. George and I have been good friends; we’ve -enjoyed talking books and music. I like the things he likes, but that’s -all. You’ve got to believe me, Shep; you’ve got to believe me!” - -There was deep passion in the reiterated appeal. - -When he did not reply she rose, clasped his cheeks in her hands so that -he could not avoid her eyes. - -“Look at me, Shep. I swear before God I am telling you the truth!” - -“Yes, Connie.” He freed himself, walked to the end of the room, went -back to her, regarding her intently. “Connie--what did you mean by what -you said to father about Bruce Storrs?” - -“Oh, nothing! Your aunt Alice spoke of the resemblance one night at the -country club, where she saw Bruce with Millicent. It’s rather striking -when you think of it. And then at Bruce’s jollification the other night -Arthur said your father once spent some time at Laconia. I thought -possibly he had relatives there.” - -“No; never, I think.” - -“That’s what your aunt Alice said; but the portrait does suggest Bruce -Storrs.” - -“Or a hundred other men,” Shep replied with a shrug. “You must be -tired, Connie--you’d better go to bed.” - -“I don’t believe we’ve quite finished, Shep. I can’t leave you like -this! Your father is a beast! A low, foul beast!” - -“I suppose he is,” he said indifferently. - -“Is that all you have to say to me--Shep?” - -She regarded him with growing terror in her eyes. He had said he -believed her, but it was in a tone of unbelief. - -“I suppose a wife has a right to the protection of her husband,” she -said challengingly. - -“You heard what I said to father, didn’t you? I told him it was a lie. -I’ll never enter his house again. That ought to satisfy you,” he said -with an air of dismissing the matter finally. - -“And this is all you have to say, Shep?” - -“It’s enough, isn’t it? I don’t care to discuss the matter further.” - -“Then this is the end--is that what you mean?” - -“No,” he replied in a curious, strained tone. “It’s foolish to say what -the end of anything is going to be.” - -She looked at him a moment pleadingly and with a gesture of -helplessness started toward the door. He opened it for her, followed -her into the hall, pressed the buttons that lighted the rooms above, -and returned to the living-room.... - - -III - -Their routine continued much as it had been for the past two years, but -to her tortured senses there was something ominous now in the brevity -of their contacts. Shep often remained away late and on his return -crept softly upstairs to his room without speaking to her, though she -left her light burning brightly. - -Constance kept to her room, she hadn’t been well, and the doctor told -her to stay in bed for a few days. For several nights she heard Shep -moving about his room, and the maid told her that he had been going -over his clothing and was sending a box of old suits to some charitable -institution. A few days later he went into her room as she was having -breakfast in bed. She asked him to shift the tray for her, more for -something to say than because the service was necessary, and inquired -if he were feeling well, but without dispelling the hard glitter that -had become fixed in his eyes. - -“Do you know when Leila’s coming home?” he inquired from the foot of -the bed. - -“No; I haven’t heard. I’ve seen no one; the doctor told me to keep -quiet.” - -“Yes; I suppose you have to do that,” he said without emotion. He went -out listlessly and as he passed her she put out her hand, touched his -sleeve; but he gave no sign that he was aware of the appeal the gesture -implied.... - -It was on a Saturday morning that he went in through his dressing room, -bade her good morning in much his old manner and rang for her coffee. -He had breakfasted, he said, and merely wanted to be sure that she was -comfortable. - -“Thank you, Shep. I’m all right. I’ve been troubled about you, -dear--much more than about myself. But you look quite fit this morning.” - -“Feeling fine,” he said. “This is a half day at the office and I want -to get on the job early. I’m dated up for a foursome this afternoon -with George, Bruce and Carroll; so I won’t be home till after the game. -You won’t mind?” - -“Why, I’m delighted to have you go, Shep!” - -“I always do the best I can, Connie,” he went on musingly. “I probably -make a lot of mistakes. I don’t believe God intended me for heavy work; -if he had he’d have made me bigger.” - -“How foolish, Shep. You’re doing wonderfully. Isn’t everything going -smoothly at the office?” - -“Just fine! I haven’t a thing to complain of!” - -“Is everything all right now?” she asked, encouraged to hope for some -assurance of his faith in her. - -“What isn’t all right will be--there’s always that!” he replied with a -laugh. - -He lingered beside the bed and took her hand, bent over and kissed her, -let his cheek rest against hers in an old way of his. - -“Good-bye,” he said from the door, and then with a smile--Shep’s -familiar, wistful little smile--he left her. - - -IV - -Shep and Whitford won the foursome against Bruce and Carroll, a result -due to Whitford’s superior drives and Carroll’s bad putting. They were -all in high humor when they returned to the clubhouse, chaffing one -another about their skill as they dressed. Shep made a tour of the -verandas, greeting his friends, answering questions as to Connie’s -health. The four men were going in at once and Shep, who had driven -Carroll out, suggested that he and Bruce change partners for the drive -home. - -“There are a few little points about the game I want to discuss with -George,” he explained as they walked toward the parking sheds. - -“All right,” Bruce assented cheerfully. “You birds needn’t be so set -up; next week Carroll and I will give you the trimming of your young -lives!” - -“Ah, the next time!” Shep replied ironically, and drove away with -Whitford beside him.... - -“Shep’s coming on; he’s matured a lot since he went into the trust -company,” remarked Carroll, as he and Bruce followed Shep’s car. - -“Good stuff in him,” said Bruce. “One of those natures that develops -slowly. I never saw him quite as gay as he was this afternoon.” - -“He was always a shy boy, but he’s coming out of that. I think his -father was wise in taking him out of the battery plant.” - -“No doubt,” Bruce agreed, his attention fixed on Shep’s car. - -Shep had set a pace that Bruce was finding it difficult to maintain. -Carroll presently commented upon the wild flight of the car ahead, -which was cutting the turns in the road with reckless abandon, leaving -a gray cloud behind. - -“The honor of my car is at stake!” said Bruce grimly, closing his -windshield against the dust. - -“By George! If Shep wasn’t so abstemious you’d think he’d mixed alcohol -with his gas,” Carroll replied. “What the devil’s got into him!” - -“Maybe he wants a race,” Bruce answered uneasily, remembering Shep’s -wild drive the night of their talk on the river. “There’s a bad turn at -the creek just ahead--he can’t make it at that speed!” - -Bruce stopped, thinking Shep might check his flight if he found he -wasn’t pursued; but the car sped steadily on. - -“Shep’s gone nutty or he’s trying to scare George,” said Carroll. “Go -ahead!” - -Bruce started his car at full speed, expecting that at any minute Shep -would stop and explain that it was all a joke of some kind. The flying -car was again in sight, careening crazily as it struck depressions in -the roadbed. - -“Oh, God!” cried Carroll, half-rising in his seat. Shep had passed -a lumbering truck by a hair’s breadth, and still no abatement in -his speed. Bruce heard a howl of rage as he swung his own car past -the truck. A danger sign at the roadside gave warning of the short -curve that led upward to the bridge, and Bruce clapped on his brakes. -Carroll, on the running board, peering ahead through the dust, yelled, -and as Bruce leaped out a crash ahead announced disaster. A second -sound, the sound of a heavy body falling, greeted the two men as they -ran toward the scene.... - -Shep’s car had battered through the wooden fence that protected the -road where it curved into the wooden bridge and had plunged into the -narrow ravine. Bruce and Carroll flung themselves down the steep bank -and into the stream. Shep’s head lay across his arms on the wheel; -Whitford evidently had tried to leap out before the car struck. His -body, half out of the door, had been crushed against the fence, but -clung in its place through the car’s flight over the embankment. - - -V - -To the world Franklin Mills showed what passed for a noble fortitude -and a superb resignation in Shep’s death. Carroll had carried the news -to him; and Carroll satisfied the curiosity of no one as to what Mills -had said or how he had met the blow. Carroll himself did not know what -passed through Franklin Mills’ mind. Mills had asked without emotion -whether the necessary things had been done, and was satisfied that -Carroll had taken care of everything. Mills received the old friends -who called, among them Lindley. It was a proper thing to see the -minister in such circumstances. The rector of St. Barnabas went away -puzzled. He had never understood Mills, and now his rich parishioner -was more of an enigma than ever. - -A handful of friends chosen by Constance and Mills heard the reading -of the burial office in the living-room of Shep’s house. Constance -remained in her room; and Mills saw her first when they met in the hall -to drive together to the cemetery, an arrangement that she herself had -suggested. No sound came from her as she stood between Mills and Leila -at the grave as the last words were said. A little way off stood the -bearers, young men who had been boyhood friends of Shep, and one or -two of his associates from the trust company. When the grave was filled -Constance waited, watching the placing of the flowers, laying her -wreath of roses with her own hands. - -She took Mills’s arm and they returned to their car. No word was spoken -as it traversed the familiar streets. The curtains were drawn; Mills -stared fixedly at the chauffeur’s back; the woman beside him made no -sign. Nothing, as he thought of it, had been omitted; his son had been -buried with the proper rites of the church. There had been no bungling, -no hysterical display of grief; no crowd of the morbidly curious. When -they reached Shep’s house he followed Constance in. There were women -there waiting to care for her, but she sent them away and went into -the reception parlor. The scent of flowers still filled the rooms, but -the house had assumed its normal orderly aspect. Constance threw back -her veil, and Mills saw for the first time her face with its marks of -suffering, her sorrowing eyes. - -“Had you something to say to me?” she asked quietly. - -“If you don’t mind----” he answered. “I couldn’t come to you -before--but now--I should like you to know----” - -As he paused she began to speak slowly, as if reciting something she -had committed to memory. - -“We have gone through this together, for reasons clear to both of us. -There is nothing you can say to me. But one or two things I must say to -you. You killed him. Your contempt for him as a weaker man than you, as -a gentle and sweet soul you could never comprehend; your wish to manage -him, to thwart him in things he wanted to do, your wish to mold him and -set him in your own little groove--these are the things that destroyed -him. You shattered his faith in me--that is the crudest thing of all, -for he loved me. So strong was your power over him and so great was his -fear of you that he believed you. In spite of himself he believed you -when you charged me with unfaithfulness. You drove him mad,” she went -on monotonously; “he died a madman--died horribly, carrying an innocent -man down with him. The child Shep wanted so much--that he would have -loved so dearly--is his. You need have no fear as to that. That is all -I have to say, Mr. Mills.” - -She left him noiselessly, leaving behind her a quiet that terrified and -numbed him. He found himself groping his way through the hall, where -someone spoke to him. The words were unintelligible, though the voice -was of someone who meant to be kind. He walked to his car, carrying his -hat as if he were unequal to the effort of lifting it to his head. The -chauffeur opened the door, and as he got in Mills stumbled and sank -upon the seat. - -When he reached home he wandered aimlessly about the rooms, oppressed -by the intolerable quiet. One and another of the servants furtively -peered at him from discreet distances; the man who had cared for his -personal needs for many years showed himself in the hope of being -called upon for some service. - -“Is that you, Briggs?” asked Mills. “Please call the farm and say that -I’m coming out. Yes--I’ll have dinner there. I may stay a day or two. -You may pack a bag for me--the usual things. Order the car when you’re -ready.” - -He resumed his listless wandering, found himself in Leila’s old room, -and again in the room that had been Shep’s. It puzzled him to find -that the inspection of these rooms brought him no sensations. He felt -no inclination to cry out against the fate that had wrought this -emptiness, laid this burden of silence upon his house. Leila had gone; -and he had seen them put Shep into the ground. - -“_You killed him._” This was what that woman in black had said. She had -said other things, but these were the words that repeated themselves -in his memory like a muffled drum-beat. On the drive to the farm he -did not escape from the insistent reiteration. He was mystified, -bewildered. No one had ever spoken to him like that; no one had ever -before accused him of a monstrous crime or addressed him as if he were -a contemptible and odious thing. And yet he was Franklin Mills. This -was the astounding thing,--that Franklin Mills should have listened to -such words and been unable to deny them.... - -At the farm he paused on the veranda, turned his face westward where -the light still lingered in pale tints of gold and scarlet. He remained -staring across the level fields, hearing the murmur of the wind in the -maples, the rustle of dead leaves in the grass, until the chauffeur -spoke to him, took his arm and led him into the house. - - - - -CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE - - -I - -Carroll and Bruce dined at the University Club on an evening early -in October. The tragic end of Shepherd Mills and George Whitford had -brought them into a closer intimacy and they were much together. The -responsibility of protecting Shep’s memory had fallen upon them; and -they had been fairly successful in establishing in local history a -record of the tragedy as an accident. Only a very few knew or suspected -the truth. - -“Have you anything on this evening?” asked Carroll as they were leaving -the table. - -“Not a blessed thing,” Bruce replied. - -“Mr. Mills, you know, or rather you don’t know, is at Deer Trail. The -newspaper story that he had gone south for the winter wasn’t true. He’s -been ill--frightfully ill; but he’s better now. I was out there today; -he asked about you. I think he’d like to see you. You needn’t dread it; -he’s talked very little about Shep’s death.” - -“If you really think he wants to see me,” Bruce replied dubiously. - -“From the way he mentioned you I’m sure it would please him.” - -“Very well; will you go along?” - -“No; I think he’d like it better if you went alone. He has seen no one -but Leila, the doctor and me; he’s probably anxious to see a new face. -I’ll telephone you’re coming.” - -As Bruce entered Mills’s room a white-frocked nurse quietly withdrew. -The maid who had shown him up drew a chair beside the bed and left -them. He was alone with Mills, trying to adjust himself to the change -in him, the pallor of the face against the pillow, the thin cheeks, the -hair white now where it had only been touched with gray. - -“This is very kind of you! I’m poor company; but I hoped you wouldn’t -mind running out.” - -“I thought you were away. Carroll just told me you were here.” - -“No; I’ve been here sometime--so long, in fact, that I feel quite out -of the world.” - -“Mrs. Thomas is at home--I’ve seen her several times.” - -“Yes, Leila’s very good to me; runs out every day or two. She’s full of -importance over having her own establishment.” - -Bruce spoke of his own affairs; told of the progress that had been made -with the Laconia memorial before the weather became unfavorable. The -foundations were in and the materials were being prepared; the work -would go forward rapidly with the coming of spring. - -“I can appreciate your feeling about it--your own idea taking form. -I’ve thought of it a good deal. Indeed, I’ve thought of you a great -deal since I’ve been here.” - -“If I’d known you were here and cared to see me I should have come -out,” said Bruce quite honestly. - -While Mills bore the marks of suffering and had plainly undergone a -serious illness, his voice had something of its old resonance and -his eyes were clear and alert. He spoke of Shep, with a poignant -tenderness, but left no opening for sympathy. His grief was his own; -not a thing to be exposed to another or traded upon. Bruce marveled at -him. The man, even in his weakness, challenged admiration. The rain had -begun to patter on the sill of an open window and Bruce went to close -it. When he returned to the bed Mills asked for an additional pillow -that he might sit up more comfortably, and Bruce adjusted it for him. -He was silent for a moment; his fingers played with the edge of the -coverlet; he appeared to be thinking intently. - -“There are things, Storrs,” he remarked presently, “that are not helped -by discussion. That night I had you to dine with me we both played -about a certain fact without meeting it. I am prepared to meet it now. -You are my son. I don’t know that there’s anything further to be said -about it.” - -“Nothing,” Bruce answered. - -“If you were not what you are I should never have said this to you. I -was in love with your mother and she loved me. It was all wrong and the -wrong was mine. And in various ways I have paid the penalty.” He passed -his hand slowly over his eyes and went on. “It may be impertinent, but -there’s one thing I’d like to ask. What moved you to establish yourself -here?” - -“There was only one reason. My mother was the noblest woman that ever -lived! She loved you till she died. She would never have told me of you -but for a feeling that she wanted me to be near you--to help in case -you were in need. That was all.” - -“That was all?” Mills repeated, and for the first time he betrayed -emotion. He lay very still. Slowly his hand moved along the coverlet -to the edge of the bed until Bruce took it in his own. “You and I have -been blessed in our lives; we have known the love of a great woman. -That was like her,” he ended softly; “that was Marian.” - -The nurse came in to see if he needed anything, and he dismissed her -for the night. He went on talking in quiet, level tones--of his early -years, of the changing world, Bruce encouraging him by an occasional -question but heeding little what he said. If Mills had whined, begged -forgiveness or offered reparation, Bruce would have hated him. But -Mills was not an ordinary man. No ordinary man would have made the -admission he had made, or, making it, would have implored silence, -exacted promises.... - -“Millicent--you see her, I suppose?” Mills asked after a time. - -“Yes; I see her quite often.” - -“I had hoped you did. In fact Leila told me that Millie and you are -good friends. She said a little more--Leila’s a discerning person and -she said she thought there was something a little more than friendship. -Please let me finish! You’ve thought that there were reasons why you -could never ask Millicent to marry you. I’ll take the responsibility of -that. I’ll tell her the story myself--if need be. I leave that to your -own decision.” - -“No,” said Bruce. “I shall tell her myself.” - -Instead of wearying Mills, the talk seemingly acted as a stimulus. -Bruce’s amazement grew. It was incomprehensible that here lay the -Franklin Mills of his distrust, his jealousy, his hatred. - -“Millicent used to trouble me a good deal with some of her ideas,” said -Mills. - -“She’s troubled a good many of us,” Bruce agreed with a smile. “But -sometimes I think I catch a faint gleam.” - -“I’m sure you do! You two are of a generation that looks for God in -those far horizons she talks about. The idea amused me at first. But -I see now that here is the new religion--the religion of youth--that -expresses itself truly in beautiful things--in life, in conduct, -in unselfishness. The spirit of youth reveals itself in beautiful -things--and calls them God. Shep felt all that, tried in his own way to -make me see--but I couldn’t understand him. I--there are things I want -to do--for Shep. We’ll talk of that later.... Every mistake I’ve made, -every wrong I’ve done in this world has been due to selfishness--I’ve -been saying that to myself every day since I’ve been here. I’ve found -peace in it. There’s no one in the world who has a better right to hear -this from me than you. And this is no death-bed repentance; I’m not -going to die yet a while. It’s rather beaten in on me, Bruce”--it was -the first time he had so addressed him--“that we can’t just live for -ourselves! No! Not if we would find happiness. There comes a time when -every man needs God. The wise thing is so to live that when the need -comes we shan’t find him a stranger!” - -The hour grew late, and the wind and rain made a continual clatter -about the house. When Bruce rose to go Mills protested. - -“There’s plenty of space here--a room next to mine is ready for a -guest. You’ll find everything you want. We seem to meet in storms! -Please spend the night here.” - -And so it came about that for the first time Bruce slept in his -father’s house. - - -II - -Bruce and Millicent were married the next June. A few friends gathered -in the garden late on a golden afternoon--Leila and Thomas, the -Freemans, the Hendersons, a few relatives of the Hardens from their old -home, and Carroll and Bruce’s cousin from Laconia. The marriage service -was read by Dr. Lindley and the music was provided by a choir of robins -in the elms and maples. Franklin Mills was not present; but before -Bruce and Millicent drove to the station they passed through the gate -in the boundary hedge--Leila had arranged this--and received his good -wishes. - -The fourth of July had been set as the time for the dedication of the -memorial. The event brought together a great company of dignitaries, -and the governor of the state and the Secretary of War were the -speakers. Mills had driven over with Leila and Thomas, and he sat with -them, Millicent beside him. - -Bruce hovered on the edges of the crowd, listening to comments on his -work, marveling himself that it was so good. The chairman of the local -committee sent for him at the conclusion of the ceremonies to introduce -him to the distinguished visitors. When the throng had dispersed, -Millicent, with Carroll and Leila, paused by the fountain to wait until -Bruce was free. - -“This is what you get, Millie, for having a famous husband,” Leila -remarked. “He’s probably signing a contract for another monument!” - -“There he is!” exclaimed Carroll, pointing up the slope. - -Bruce and Mills were slowly pacing one of the colonnades. Beyond -it lay the woodland that more than met Bruce’s expectations as a -background for the memorial. They were talking earnestly, wholly -unaware that they were observed. As they turned once more to retrace -their steps Mills, unconsciously it seemed, laid his arm across Bruce’s -shoulders; and Millicent, seeing and understanding, turned away to hide -her tears. - - -THE END - - - - -TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES: - - - Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_. - - Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. - - Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized. - - Archaic or variant spelling has been retained. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HOPE OF HAPPINESS *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -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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