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(716) 288- 5989 -Fa« •V*""^': i..iiii * ii iHi myajjijij ^^^^ra^^l53§^ H et|b(^:rs4^ ^M 1 ^B "^^ mW^^^W MISS PETTICOATS r: It MISS PETTICOATS Toronto McLeod & Allen MCMII n1 Ai I 155- COPYRIGHT I 9 o 2 BY C. M. CLARK PUBLISHING COMPANY ENTERED AT STAT lONERS HALL LONDON FOREIGN COPY- RIGHTS SECURED RIGHTS OF TRANSLATION PUBLIC READ- ING AND DRAMATIZATION RESERVED 8(S8^*©(S^8 ^ou want to raise a little something from us to pay his bills with, of course. I know him, you see." And she laughed significantly. Such were some of the solos in the furious chorus of opprobrium that assailed the gentlewoman's ears. She had ceased tiying to find her carriage now. and stood with folded arms looking scornfully at the nearest of her tormentors. Her calmness and her silence angered the crowd to desperation. Violence would surely be the next vent to its fury Suddenly the crowd in front parted a little as the stalwart figure of the coachman tore its way to the beleaguered lady. It was in just such emergencies as this that James found his former career as apprize! fighter of practical value. He was eminently re- spectable now, and never referred to the decently buned past, but as his fist shot back and forth with the r"'''''"?t'''^>"*y °^ ^ P^^t°"' he blessed the memory of his old master, Jem Mace, and never stopped to count the victims he laid low waistT!?i H "l!'??' V"'''"'"'°"^°"^^y ^'•o""d the waist, James dashed back toward the carriage sur- prising the mob into non-resistance by his prowess for w£hT ""', P"^'^'.' *^^ '^^y '"*°' h- -ehicTeS! for which he apologized most respectfully afterward —and prepared to mount the box and be off A well-directed stone from someone in the crowd animals sprang forward violently, throwing the coachman to the ground. With the frS un^ MISS PETTICOATS reasoning of their kind they swerved from the street and made directly for an open space ending in a precipitous bank, below which bristled an ugly array of spiles, the remains of an old pier now left un- covered by the outgoing tide. As the unharmed but sadly disheveled James picked himself up his quick eye saw at once the possibilities of a terrible catastrophe. He could not reach the horses himself, he knew; he could only pray for a miracle to happen. Then he saw a young girl, whose flashing red skirts he never afterward forgot, dash out from the crowd, plunge across the path of the animals and jump for their heads. He closed his eyes. Is she dead, he wonders. He looks again. No, she has caught the bit-rings of one of the horses and is cling- ing desperately to them, swaying in the air like a scarlet vine. And then— victory! The girl's sheer weight brings the animals to a standstill, panting and snort- ing with fear. A window of the carriage is lowered and a calm face looks out, the face of his mistress, who is unharmed. He goes to his horses and soothes them into a normal condition. Then he himself be- comes calm, and the prize-fighter is forgotten in the impassive coachman. The heroine of this adventure would have made her escape, but it was not so written by the fates. " Come here, my girl," said the occupant of the carriage so imperatively that the former could do no less than obey. . . . ,, " Closer yet, my dear. I am very short sighted. 6 "Swaying in the air like a scarlet vine." sae THE DEMON OF DISCONTENT A lorgnette of gold was raised to the gray eyes, and through it was seen a charming picture. " M'm, yes; a good face. Who aio you? " " My name is Agatha, ma'am." " Agatha ? Well, Agatha what ? There is another name, I suppose." " Agatha Renier." "M'm, yes; a foreigner, eh? Who's your father?" ^ " My father is dead." "Your mother, then?" The girl's bright face lost its sunny smile. " She is dead, too." *' Well, in goodness' name, who is there? " " There is grandfather and me." " M'm, yes; where does he live? " " On board the old whaler Harpoon at Tucker- man's wharf." " Indeed ? A sailor, I presume." "Yes, ma'am." " Come closer." The girl, with a little blush, yet in no wise un- conscious of her own good looks, did as she was told. . » ^S ^ ""^"^ ^°°^ ^^^^' ^"* ^°"'* 8^«* vain over It. The shrewd old eyes took in with one swift glance the shabby scarlet skirt. " Poor. I see. Yet," as she noted the piece of fine ribbon that put a dash of color to the dark hair, " yet proud." Agatha raised her glance valiantly to this strange old lady s. She had lost all her timidity now, for she had been told that she was poor and proud. She 7 ■■« MISS PETTICOATS iiif knew that she was poor, and she would show that she could be proud. " My grandfather is a captain," she said, with all the impressiveness her youthful voice could sum- mon up. "Captain what?" asked the lady, curiously un- moved by the importance of the disclosure. " Captain Stewart." "M'm, yes; I've heard of him. I'll see him. You've done me a service to-day, my dear. You must be repaid." The girl flushed rosily now, and her pretty lips were set firm. " Poor and proud ; poor and proud," was the refrain that kept ringing through her very soul. " I don't want any reward," she said brusquely, " it was nothing that I did— nothing that anyone couldn't have done. But," she continued with an odd little smile, " you may pay for the tear in my dress, if you like. That will do for me." The aristocrat gazed at the daughter of the peo- ple with keen curiosity for a moment. This type of working girl was new to her. They had generally been obsequious, grasping, deceitful. A trace of emotion stirred a heart not often given to sentiment, at least of this personal sort. "Tut, tut, child." she retorted, "you scarcely know what you have done, and you certainly do not know what you are saying. You are in a bit of a huff, my dear, that's all. But lest you forget it, I am going to tell you again that you are poor and 8 THE DEMON OF DISCOhTENT proud, as proud as— well, never mind. Home. James. Furious with anger as she was, Agatha watched the beautiful carriage roll up the street until it turned a faraway corner and was gone. Then she alowly turned her steps back to the mill. CHAPTER II AN ANIMAL AT BAY AS Agatha Renier walked back to the scene of the tumult that had brought so startling a vista of wealth and all its possibilities before her, she felt a great longing to be done with the never ending tasks in the grim fortress of toil she had now known for several years. She had seen many a fair and blooming girl transformed by the pitiless process of work into a pallid drudge. Only last night she had looked into her little round mir- ror at home with a sort of dread lest she herself were going the way of others. " Tell me the truth, glass," she had said, " no flattery, mind." She had laughed, yet with a sigh of relief, to find how reassuring was the answering message of the shining circle. It had told her that her finely- molded oval face was as delicately tinted over its olive surface as ever ; that her skin was of that satin texture that speaks of perfect health ; that her brown eyes were as limpid and brilliant as a pool on some rocky ledge ; that her dark hair waved with its usual saucy abandon around her low, smooth forehead; that her full lips were of the same hue as the little coral trees in her grandfather's quaint cabin-room. All was eminently satisfactory in this regard, and, 10 4N ANIMAL AT BAT bdng a very human young woman, Agatha had re- joiced in her own beauty. " I'll do for a while yet," she had told her mirror and herself. Why she should not " do " at sixteen might perhaps not have been clear to other auditors ; but Agatha's was a life that made for a sadly brief childhood. In those days of Old Chetford's in- dustrial history babies, almost, were pressed into the ranks of the providers, and as they stumbled on with tired little feet, they became old before they were fairly young. She herself had not been put to the toil under compulsion. Her grandfather's bit of property re- alized enough for the two to live upon, at any rate, and the old man's pride in the pretty child, with her alternating moods of storm and sunshine, had made him determined that she should grow up a " lady." She went to the public schools, where she was the delight and terror of her teachers. She acquired knowledge with surprising avidity, and with equal aptness gathered to herself all the inherent mischief of the schoolroom. She invented the trick of drop- ping a pmch of soda into some enemy's ink-well, and laughed at the horrible black eruption that would flood the hated one's desk. The tender ministra- tions of the ferule chastened her spirit not at all. Once, however, she was summoned before the awfui presence of the "committee" for some specially heinous breach of discipline, and only the rugged eloquence of Captain Stewart saved her from ex- pulsion. That incident sobered her in a marked degree. II MISS PETTICOATS Sir Blows upon the hand she could endure with a smile, and count herself something of a heroine; but to be turned out of school — that would be a public dis- grace and a bitter blow to her pride. With that fear hanging over her head she managed to preserve at least an appearance of good behavior. When Agatha reached her thirteenth year the leaven of unrest began stirring within her. She was now old enough to realize the poverty of her grand- father. There were little girlish luxuries she craved, and she saw but one way to get them. That way was the common method of the friends of her vi- cinity : work in the mills. She saw the visible bene- fits of such employment, without at all appreciating the dull grind demanded as the price of obtaining them. Her decision was soon taken. There had very nearly been a scene when Agatha ventured to inform her grandfather of her resolu- tion — as near as the gentle old man's love for thj girl would permit. In vain he had protested that they had enough, that Agatha would belittle herself in such surroundings, that she would grow up with- out education. She had keen and ready answers for every objection, and she triumphed. But her view-point had been gradually changing as she had grown older ; she had caught glimpses of another life up on the " Hill," where Old Chetford's whale-oil magnates had established their noble man- sions, and where their descendants still lived in the luxury of great esta ;:s. She began to hate the mill as the barrier that, '■■■ some indefinable way, kept her from the better things of existence. 12 ■■iii' ill M AN ANIMAL AT BAT As she went towards the gloomy old building, thrilling with her recent experience and speculating as to what the strange old woman's last words might mean, Agatha felt that her days in the factory were at an end. She would find something else to do, something that would bring her into contact with men and women of another class ; and as with her a thing thought of was as good as done, her spirits rose and she began to sing snatches of a gay little French song she had heard somewhere. The mob that had been cheated of its fair game was still standing sullenly around the gates as Agatha approached. Grimes, the weaver, was mounted upon a box and was haranguing his fellow workers, so that the girl joined the crowd practi- cally unobserved. "I tells yer," the orator was shouting, " if we don't do something now we're slaves for the rest of our lives. It's cut, cut, cut with these rich folks. Now they cuts off our meat ; bimeby they'll cut off our clo's, after that our roofs and then " "Well, what then, Peter?" The question was asked in a strong, rich voice, evidently trained to the addressing of people. The questioner was a young man of middle height dressed in gray tweed, and wearing a soft black hat with a rather jauntily curling brim. A brown mous- tache drooped over a pleasant mouth, and a pair of clear blue eyes spoke of an honest heart and a hatred of sham. A small white necktie gave the new comer a clerical appearance not at all in keeping with his general make-up. 13 r MISS PETTICOATS "WeU, what then?" The oratorical Peter stopped short in his speech, and nodded rather shamefacedly to the man in tweed. The others stood aside respectfully and al- lowed him to come close up to the improvised forimi. " The parson," went around through the gather- ing, and w'lh that announcement all the turbulence of a few moments before was stilled completely. The Rev. Ralph Harding looked about him for an instant, his keen eyes picking out the faces that were familiar. Then a peculiarly attractive smile lit up his face, a smile as of indulgence for bad children. "Now, then, Peter, what's all this rumpus about? " he asked cheerily. " I'm surprised to fold you mixing in any disturbance, and you, John Han- son, and you Margaret Evans. Why all three of you were at the reading room last night, and a better behaved trio I never saw. What's started you into mischief again ? " " It ain't us as has started it," declared Grimes doggedly, " it's the owners. Parson. They've cut our wages down ten per cent." •' Ah, that's bad." " Bad? It's worse than bad, sir. They put the notice up half an hour ago." " And what happened then ? " " Well, sir, we learns that old Mrs. Copeland is the one that's chiefly done it, and when she came out a little while ago we just told her what we thought of her, and then " " Then you stoned her horses, you idiots, and nearly killed her into the bargain. I saw the whole 14 AN ANIMAL AT BAT Do you know who Mrs. of it from across the street. Copeland is?" •• We docs, indeed, Parson. She's rich and owns a big lot of stock in the mill." "But perhaps you don't know that she started your reading room and coffee house and pays its expenses every day in the year; or that she owns that httle hospital down on Water street, where you and your children can be treated without paying a cait. And you stoned her horses! I'm disgusted with you." " The burly workman lowered his eyes before the clear pze of the minister. For the first time in his Iif- shame and regret were struggling within him to find utterance. The others looked sheepishly about, apparently seeking some shelter from the in- indignation of Mr. Harding. Grimes felt that it w^ incumbent on him to proffer an apology. "Well, sir, of course we didn't know anything about that, he said, " and bein' as them's the fact? we re sorry for what we done. But all the same' our wages is cut, and we've got to do something about It. It's hard, sir, that's what it is." The clergyman's heart relented. He had a genuine regard for many of these people, and he well knew the^ bitterness of some of their lives. "Now, men— and women," he added, with a courteous bow, " I am going to see what can be done about the matter. I can't promise you any- thing, for it may be that it is a case of reduction or a shutdown. I know that these mills did not pay one cent of dividend last year; your income from MISS PETTICOATS ' ir;i them was more than Mrs. Copeland's. I don't be- lieve that the owners would willingly grind you down without reason. You must never forget that they are too dependent on you to make you their enemies foolishly. I'll do the best I can for you, you may rely on that." " We does rely on it, sir, and thanks you hearty," and then the weaver called for three cheers for the " Parson," which were roared out lustily by the same throats that had a little while before been re- viling a woman. The trouble at old Number One was over, for the present at least. As the minister turned toward the mill door he caught sight of Agatha Renier behind one of the gate posts busily engaged in pinning up a long rent in her cherished red skirt. It was a very charming sight, and if the Rev. Ralph Harding's blood stirred somewhat at seeing it, who was there to say him nay? He was young and he was a man — that he had always insisted upon, in the pulpit and out. It had gained him the reputation of being " eccentric," for which he cared as little as for the natural ebb and flow of the tide in Old Chetford harbor. He con- ceived his mission to be the saving of souls and the helping of the body; and he believed that whether he did his work in solemn black or rough and ready tweed was a matter of small consequence to the Almighty. " A brave girl, as I have always thought," he said to himself as he entered the mill; " a brilliant girl and a beautiful one. God help her to go the right way." i6 jiN ANIMAL AT BAT Agatha, having finished her impromptu tailoring to her own sat: faction, started down the street for a walk dur ng the few remaining minutes of the noon hour. This tune iU was not unobserved, and the crowd, .>rcvoked bv its mistake in the assault on Mrs. Copeiana, aud smarting under the rebuke of the mmister seemed determined to make the pretty young girl the scapegoat for its own misdeeds. In this the women were the active spirits. "SP?^® y®^ ^^'"'^ yer a heroing." « ^in' to get into company on the ' Hill '? " Puttin' on such airs, the wharf rat! Did yer ever? ^ " Grandpa's ' Miss Petticoats ' ! " nisi^'va'flt'^a""' ' " ""^ ^^^ ^"^""^ ^^°- Amid such jibes Agatha walked haughtily alonff wSa'^V^^^^ u^ ^'^ °^ ^^^*^ '^^' ^as being ofnrhS ."v. ^ T\^^'^^^- ^^' ^y *^^ shoulder and pinched the tender flesh viciously. Then she backed ™^^'"rL *^^ mi I-yard wall and faced her tor- mentors like an animal at bay. There was warning enough in her compressed lips, her heightened color and the nervous writhing of her fingers, but the nagging crowd was too intent upon its business to ace ll, "She put on airs," cries one of the girls " whv she doesn't even know her father." ^ " And as for her mother " sneers Bess th«» peony-faced, " why " ^' ^"* Before the sentence can be completed Agatha, in 17 MISS PETTICOATS a fury of passion, springs upon the larger girl and tears her face till the blood streams down her coarse cheeks. It is like the darting of a panther upon a sluggish beast of burden, and the others retreat in terror. The luckless Bess falls on her knees and protects her face with her arms. No one else cares to try conclusions with this handsome young champion of her family honor, and she smiles scornfully down on the defeated and cowering Bess, who, sobbing with rage and pain, is trying to mop up the red rivulets on her cheeks and make herself presentable for a return to the mill. " Don't you ever dare speak ill of my mother again," says Agatha, then turns and walks slowly to the next comer. No one follows her. Once out of sight of her routed enemy, her re- pressed passion again bursts forth and angry tears fill her eyes. Then she is moved by a sudden de- termination, and, turning her face toward her float- ing home, she hurries thither as fast as her feet can carry her. i8 CHAPTER III IN THE CABIN OF THE " HARPOOK " T^^roSfe^?^ ^"^ interesting feature ^ . ^oi?^^ve^nrw^as^?^^^ from the golden stream oTth./^'"^"^ ^^'^""^^ The rows SS^.. j [uS casks h/hk"'"^ ''2^^'°"'- housesof Chi, ^Smn nL T ^^^"""^ *^^ P'^^" spra wling- a ^^ • [ ^''*' ^^^ ^"^""^ '" ^^zy, away m solitude under the sun and the storS. r ! and the stirring .hase ofthe s^™ °' "'' ^'"'* 19 MISS PETTICOATS I The deep pathos of this dead and gone regime was found in the abandoned ships that slowly—very slowly, for they were built of almost imperishable oak— were growing old at the wharves. A dozen of these veterans of the Pacific were there m all stages of dismantlement and neglect. The once- famous names of the Old Chetford whaling fleet might still be read by careful scrutiny of faded stern- letterings, while the figureheads of women, birds and statesmen, known in their day the world over, vet clung to the bows of the ancient barks in gro- tesque forms of decrepitude. Some of the hulks still boasted masts and spars, but from most the service- able material had been stripped away, leaving them mere floating tombs of dead ambitions and decayed Tuckerman's whar, although disused, and the last berth of one or two of the whalers, was neither un- kempt nor decaying. Evidently someone's care had kept the planking in a reasonable state of security, had fought down the weeds, and had given the ap- proach to the water a fictitious air of the conducting of business. , . j i * Evidently, too, someone had expended a deal ot attention upon one of the old craft tied up at the southerly side of the wharf in order to get the win- ter's sun. Its sides above water were painted black, and its deck was as clean and fresh as if holystoned yesterday. It had no masts, but a trim flagpole was fastened at the bow, and from its top the flag of the Union fluttered bravely in the soft spring breeze. 20 In the CABIN OF THE *'H ARPOON" Oyer the companionway of the after cabin a neat awmng was stretched, and a pair of comfortable- ^king chairs under ,t spoke of human occupation. On the stem the name " Harpoon " was brieH with gold-leaf on raised wooden letters. ^ On this particular day the chance passerby at the head of the wharf might have heard the rollicking strains of an old sea ditty trolled forth with morS wiergy than strict regard for harmony; had he stopped to listen, there would have come ti his ears the sound of boisterous laughter issuing from the th^.?.TJ co»"Panion-way. The voices now and then cracked, and the laughter died away in a wheezy chuckle, like the sound of the sea-mew; butl?^y rate the noise was human and distinctly cheerful in tnat place of memories. So thought an odd little man who happened to reach the entrance to Tuckerman's wharf juVt^ a partic^arly loud shout of merriment flung itself^u? ThinHH r^,^^ '^°PP'^ ^"^ "-^"^d attentively. 1 he odd little man was a living enigma. Plis fie- ure was very small, trig and youthful, and his evefy t^nl!?^ was agile and boyish. A tiny black round- topped glazed hat was perched over his chubby face with Its rosy complexion and small features, and seeZfn/" f^'jri^^d blue jacket x.hose sleeves seemed perpetually on the point of shrinking up over his elbows. His white flannel trousers were fkin tiffht until they reached the knees, from which Sth^ descended to his neat enamel shoes in Tcatarart of baggy folds. His grizzled hair was postered 21 Li i MISS PETTICOATS down in the schoolboy style of half a cehtury ago, and from this possession alone could his age of about fifty be approximately guessed. Hank Donelson felt that something unusual and probably attractive was going forward in the cabin of the " Harpoon." He walked slowly down the wharf, then paused. Shaking his head thoughtfully, he retraced his steps toward the street, when a burst of laughter that put to shame any of its predecessors smote his ears. With a strange little smile that just lifted the ".omers of his mouth, he turned for the last time and, running briskly to the gang-plank of the "Harpoon," quickly made his appearance in the cabin. A rousing chorus greeted Hank's entrance. "Ahoy, there, shipmate," "Hello, my hearty," " Drop anchor, you lubber," and other phrases of the sea told him how sincere was the welcome, and as through the fumes of tobacco smoke Hank's nose could detect the genial odor of grog, he was minded to make Iiimself thoroughly at home. Without answering the salutations of his cronies, Hank walked to the head of the table where a giant- frameo white-haired old man was sitting, and, tak- ing a hitch in his trousers, stood at stiff salute. " I begs to report, Cap'n." " Ay, ay. Hank, my boy," said the fine old fellow, " join the mess." Whereupon Hank proceeded to the pipe rack made of whales' teeth set in the shell of a huge sea turtle and chose his favorite clay. He filled it with 22 i i In the CABIN OF THE "HARPOON" very black and damp tobacco and began to smoke contentedly. " Avast there," roared a fat, oily-faced tar, whose fringe of encircling white whiskers made him look ,.Z . .astronomical representations of the sun. Dye think it's right, Cap'n Stewart, to let the young un smoke? " It was Captain Phineas Sykes's pet joke to treat Hank as a very small boy, who was allowed to mingle with his elders as a special privilege. *^ « ,V^°J!t greeted this sally, to which Hank paid not the slightest attention. ^ ^Zf^^'^u^ ^°^8^°?'" squeaked a weazened ex- whaler who rejoiced in the name of Artemas Slick- ersley, and who had been one of the finest " cro's fh^ h. "'*'" .? ^" ^T^' " ^' ^°' Srog, why in course the boy ain't a goin' to get any of that pizen." u«c c 'P ^if^'ii^'^^'"^"'" '•^torted Hank, "if I l^VL^JTV^^ ""^ ^"''"^'^^^ ^°"^ instead of srttm^ round drinkm' rum and makin' fun of my " «1^^!"^' ^?"'^' ^y^'" P»"otested Captain Stewart, no quarreling now, or you'll have to ud anchor and scud off. But Hank, how happens it youVe here 5 Didnt you say yesterday you were going to take down a stove for Tilly to-day? " « ^ '° ^^*^^ hJHI^- ^^%?^"'^'s "maiden sister, whose love for her vicious old parrot was only exceeded by her con- tempt and hatred for the "shiftless old gabbers " whose club was the after cabin of the " HariS)n" 23 i MISS PETTICOATS To Hank she was not a pleasant topic for discussion, and he shifted uneasily in his seat, as if he half ex- pected her grim face to appear in the companion- w? y. " Well, to tell the truth, Cap'n," said he guiltily, " I did sorter promise to take down that stove, but Tilly sent me out to buy some bird seed, and as I was goin' along I heard the boys down here, and — and here I am. Brown sugar in mine, Cap'n, thanky, and not a very powerful lot of water." At this auspicious moment Hank, as the newest arrival, was introduced to a frank and hearty young man who commanded a coasting schooner hailing from another port. As the nephew of Captain Sykes he was received with a certain amount of respect and consideration, but he was made to feel that he was not and probably never could be the exact equal of the men who scoured the northern seas for whales three long years at a time. "How do I happen to be living in this ship?" said Captain Stewart, in answer to the young sailor's question. " I'll tell you, lad. For twenty years I commanded the old ' Harpoon,' and I got to be part owner in her. Those were tb, days when five hun- dred ships hailed from this very port, and the catch was worth fifteen million dollars a year. Think of that, my boy. I was in a fair way to be rich, when all at once somebody struck the cursed kerosene in Pennsylvania, and that was the end on't. " We couldn't believe for a while that whaling fead got its death, and I kept on in the ' Harpoon,' tiH there weren't any market nor any price for the 24 In the CABIN OF THE **HA RPOON" stuff I brought home. 'Twas the same with all of us; the whales got scarce, and the whalers got ^J^V,- '^^^ *^« '"^"s came in, blast 'em, and the old oil firms were snuffed out. There weren't no more to do, and we quit. "Well, by and by I came in from my last v'yge with the go< d old ' Harpoon ' and tied up here at Tuckerman's wharf. The others took the spars and rigging and other stuff for their share and I took the ship, for I loved her like a wife. I made a home here for Aggy' and me, and here, please God, I'll stay till I m piped to quarters up aloft." The old man's voice trembled impressively as he finished his little story, and he made a vain pretence of mopping his forehead to hide the moisture in his eyes. Old Artemas accurately took in the situation, and to relieve the emotional tension of the moment gave the call : — " Pipe all hands to grog." After this order had been duly carried out, some- one suggested a " yam." Nobody volunteering, the men drew lots with some little yellow shells in a tin box. The smallest appeared in the big hand of captain Sykes, nd that worthy cleared his throat vigorously, took a pull at his " grog " and plunged into his favorite story. "Wall, messmates, 'twas in eighteen fifty-seven wh«i the good ship Mozambique, of Nantucket. Capn Sinims master, was in lat'tude forty-four, long tude hundred'n sixty-five an' a half. We had four hund:ed bar'ls aboard, an' was headin' sou' sou east for the Horn, a-thinkin' of home an' the as lit i MISS PETTICOATS babbies, when all to onst the man in the cro'nest sings out : — "'Thar she blows! • " Then I goes aft to the quarter-deck, an' I says to Cap'n Simms, ' Cap'n Simms,' says I, * thar she blows. Shall I lower 'er? ' " Cap'n Simms says to me, ' Mr. Sykes,' says he, • the wind's a blowin' right too peart, an' I don't see fit for to lower 'er.' " Then I goes for'ard, an' pretty soon the man in the cro'nest sings out : " ' Thar she blows an' belches! ' " Then I goes aft, an' I says to Cap'n Simms, ' Cap'n Simms,' says I, ' thar she blows an' belches. Shall I lower 'er?' " But ^ap'n Simms says to me, ' Mr. Sykes,' says he, ' tbe ,.'i id's a blowin' right too peart, an' I don't see fit for to lower 'er.' " Then I goes for'ard, an' 'fore long the man in the cro'nest sings out : — " ' Thar she blows, an' belches, an' breaches, an SPERM AT THAT.' " Then I goes aft, an' I says to Cap'n Simms, * Cap'n Simms,' says I, * thar she blows, an' belches, an' breaches, an' sperm at that. Now shall Ilower 'er?' " Cap'n Simms says to me, ' Mr. Sykes,' says he, ' blast your eyes, I told' you twic't afore that the wind was blowin' right too peart, an' I didn't see fit for to lower 'er. But if you want to go on your own response, ./hy lower 'er, and be dumed to you.' " Then we lowers the boat, an' I stands up in the 26 //I Mr CABIN OF THE "HARPOON' bow, for I was all creation on the long dart. We rows up to the critter, an' I lets drive, an' it tuk. " Then we kills the animile, and tows it back to the ship. Thar on the quarterdeck Cap'n Simms was a-standin' with tears as big as hickory nuts a-rollin' down his cheeks. " ' Mr. Sykes,' says he, ' you're the best fust mate that ever sailed on the Mo-zam-bique. In the locker in my cabin there's rum, gin, whiskey an' terbaccker. They're youm for the rest of the v'yage.' " * Captain Simms,' says I, a-drawin myself up as haughty as a dook, ' I don't want your rum, nor gin, nor whiskey, nor terbaccker. All I want is ci-vil-i- tee, and that of the gol darndest cheapest brand.' " A roar of applause greeted Captain Sykes's narra- tion of how he had '* put down " Captain Simms, who had been known in his day as a " hard man." Then a song was started to the effect that although Jack had " a gal in every port, the home gal's the one for me." The weather-worn choristers were startled in the middle of one of their most telling cadences by the sudden apparition of Agatha Renier in tears and a torn dress. She dashed past them without a word and entered her own little cabin, the door of which she shut with a bang. The visiting mariners looked at each other and then at Captain Stewart. Evidently there was to be no more jollity on the " Harpoon " that day. Old Artemas was the first to find words : "Squall, eh? Better run for port, hadn't we, Cap'n?" 27 j i MISS PETTICOATS Their host nodded. "Yes, messmates, that's about it. I'll have a little patching up to do, and you wouldn't care to be here. Some other time we'll finish that song." The little company dispersed, only the faithful Hank lingering on some pretext, in his great desire to be of service; but on the gruff order to be off, given with an assumption of jovialty by the cap- tain, he too, disappeared. The old man sat down in his favorite chair. " Aggy, dear," he called gently, " come out here and see your grandfather a minute." The door slowly opened, and the young girl ap- peared. Then with a swift movement she threw herself on her knees at her protector's feet, sobbing pitifully. • 28 CHAPTER IV " MISS PETTICOATS " THEY formed a curiously contrasted pair, this massive white-haired man who migh have been hkened to a mountain cra^ 7^S^S^L T^/h ^' '" ^'' T'' *^*" threescore ^s tkIo.hr; I,!? "**" ""^"y ^^"^« and sailed all S and^hl ^^^"«Tu^"^*"^^^ ^^'' ^^^^^ her little cabin and the circle of her world was enclosed bv the blue waters of Curlew Bay and theer2nuZ lands around Old Chetford ^ "P" the^^H'^J^vf l^ "^f" ^"* ^ '^'"^•y a"" around W^ h«rt h^ ^"^ °J ^?"^ ministrations. In his mL™.? .h T'''' ^^"^ '°^^ ^h^t Pa'-takes of the ?^^?n' inu"'"'' ^? " "^^"''^•- "^^" than Jol! wlh^lT' • r. h's eyes often gleamed the fire of ot&Vn ter '"' ^" '"'^'"^^^^^^ -" "he- uincrs tnan Agatha were concerned. The old salt.! hn, , J ■? -i^ *'" '" ''"PS '"■« to yer comoas^- »id oftm ^'rdZdf *\^" ''"•^•" -- ""« *«y s«iu oi mm around the wharves and offices. 39 MISS PETTICOATS i i Agatha, with a little petulant gesture, shook oflf the encircling arm, and seated herself on a bench. Affectionate as she was, she had lately conceived a distaste for " babying," as she called it. Her love seemed to be kept more in reserve, just as her eyes showed depths of purpose that were not to be sounded by the ordinary plummets of human nature. She dried her tears resolutely now, and looked stead- fastly at her grandfather. Captain Stewart had often seen that look of mysterious concentration on her face, and had won- f^ered what it might portend, but until to-day he had never feared for her future. Up to this time her childish griefs, though many and often tumultuous, had always been banished by tender words and com- forting caresses. But now her burst of passion had in it something of maturity, something not to be dispelled by a kiss. He realized that the great and wonderful change from girl to woman was be- ginning. And this change he dreaded with all his heart, for in the opening process he thought he saw some- thing of Agatha's fascinating, brilliant-minded, yet reckless and weak father. As she sat gazing into his eyes, her nervously intertwining fingers showing the agitation she was attempting to conceal, the old man was sure he traced a resemblance to the one who Lad inspired the only deep hatred of his life. He shuddered at the discovery. Neither spoke for some time. " Come, come," the captain at last said tenderly, " what's the matter with 30 il^ (« MISS PETTICOATS*' "SL l*"i^ J?.^^^r. ^^'^ * ^^°wer, too? Tell me all about It, Miss Petticoats." " Don't, grandfather," she returned, with a sud- den upflaring of passion, " not that name to-day." And why not to-day, Agatha?" queried the old sailor in much bewilderment. " What has hap- pened that your old grandpa mustn't pet you ? " " They would laugh if they heard you." minl?'"^^ W^o? What 'they' is there for us to "The girls at the mill. They taunted me with my red dress and this ribbon," and she snatched the dainty bit of silk from her hair and threw it impetuously on the floor. " Why I'm sure they're very pretty," faltered her grandfather. "Pretty!" echoed Agatha scornfully, "yes, thev ar^ pretty, but what right have I to wear them? A ' wharf rat,' they called me." "A wharf rat? I don't understand." You would if you had heard them jeer at mv homfr- water-soaked old hulk,' they called it " «o .u *' " °"'' ^o'"^, Aggy, our own," and here Tn?.. "v"V'"^?'*'°? °^ ^S:e in the tremulous voice. You have been happy here, haven't you ? " There was pathetic anxiety in this question, an appearance of dread lest he should hear some ter- rible news. JfJ.^v °''' ^^'' '"^^^^''^tunied the girl earnestly, with a lingering glance about the cabin, with all iis familiar nautical odds and ends, and into her own 31 T MISS PETTICOATS spotless little room in the stern of the ship, " who wouldn't be happy with such a dear old grandfather and such a love as he has for me." And Agatha fairly flew to the old man, clasped his seamed neck with her warm a"ms and passionately kissed his silvery hair. Then, indeed, the old cabin glowed with light and love and joy for the big-hearted mariner; he wanted no better thing in life than this girl's trust and affection. "I thought you were, my dear; I thought you were," he said, " but I began to fear just now. You didn't care for those taunts? You love the old ship as I do, do you not, dearie? " Again Agatha emphasized her feelings with a kiss. " Then what was it started the storm, little one? Tell me all about it." In a few swift sentences Agatha described the trouble at the mill, the attack on Mrs. Copeland, the panic of the horses and her share in averting an ac- cident. As she pictured herself clinging to the bit- rings and dangling before the legs of the runaway animals, Captain Stewart's lips muttered a prayer of thanksgiving that this day was not to end in the blackness of despair. Then the eager girl, with flushed cheeks and spark- ling eyes, told of the rich old woman's attentions and questions ; how she had said she was coming to see the master of the " Harpoon," and how—most re- markable of all— she had said that Agatha must be rewarded. 32 "MISS PETTICOATS'* " Not that I wanted or would take any reward " couldn t help wondering what she meant." terWbuk?n/.h'' '"'"T ^^^^ "'^"' °^ ^h« "Minis- ter s rebuke of the crowd and of the insults of Big to t^eTJ.T^'^ f^''^- ^^'^^ ^r^^ly confessed to the scratching of her tormentor's face, and when " aL T t^ ' ""t T"" '^" "^^"^^^ °^ her mother, for W 1, t"^ ^ ^^7/ "°*hi"8^ to be ashamed of nestly ' grandfather?" she concluded ear- «-avdv '^'tk "°*l!'"^'" '"*"™"^ th^ captain Slf t„ * J r ^^ "^^^ "M^y s^y yo" ^ave either do here.Xtia/' ^^ '^""^ *^'°"^^ '^"^^- ^ee the'^uoit^l"^' f ^^ °'l ™^" '°°^ ^°^n fro™ one of in? vT "?^' ^^°"S^ *h^ ^i^^ of the cabin a beauti- of mel'.^'^^^T^^ ^^' "^t^y in^^id with fibres of mermaids and flags, the work of his youthful De^itt^'l'P^"'^- . ^^^" ^^^*^ h-d never been fhe^l^t r/'^P '"'° ?.^ "^y^*^"^^- Unlocking the casket, he drew out a thin gold locket, and opened Iliir^ '^ *^5 ^^'^ °f your mother," he said. oithettf^ A ""^ ^""^ '^^^"*^y ^t th^ miniature nJ!^JT^"^^ ?°""S^ ^'■^^^"'•e wlio smiled so in- nocently from out her encircling gold. A world of ter'f d^n°"^^' ""^ wonderment dwelt in the daugh- ters deeper eyes as she kissed the picture , 1 knew she was good," she said at length with a sigh and an affectionate smile. ^ ' 33 MISS PETTICOATS " ^t « for you to keep now," said the caotain "T have long cherished it. but it rightfully^on^ to deLdl'^'' P"'' ^'*^ ''' ^"^ afwaysTeSJ to you ^hke to hear why you may always defend her " Yes f " put off telling you, partly be4„se you wer. f^ you've stonnPfi h^i^Ji 6?""ooa. ±Jut somehow ^ti||gpT.a^y»LtiSs-r for a «n,:^A5:,th'TJrcr.°i.^irs 34 "MISS PETTICOATS** Renier was a man of hTndS^Ti'* ^^^yo^nger manners and fascinating way^ ^''^"' «^^*='°"« wen cL^^S^edTnl^^^^^^^^^ Stewarts were mother, and was charmed wi^^^^^ '"^^ y°"** simplicity. He presseTthe n. ^' P'-^^tiness and strong French fash?on and von?"^'"^"<=e ^" ^«d- could she heJp being aSL^eTh^^^^ h°w saw that she was "heTheaj; T5 2 "'^^ ^ "'^?X^rnt^£^^---'^^^^^^^^^ feared. He smiled and^J th"at i!'^' ^'"^ ^^^* ' >ng fancy on his son's nart.Sf'. ^^^ """^^ ^ P^^^- nothing, and that in any ^'^ V """"^^ ^"'^^^^ *<> daughter would neve?bL r^" a marriage with my his family. I told ^our mS"'"'^ ^^ ^''"^^Jf o^ ^"ff^^„f.^7 never t^^^Je h^ „''^ ^' ^^is, and with^a1ilh'^^^;\rf h'^^^^ ti: '" '^ the old man much sulering. B^,^\t^' 11'^^^^^^ spared and Renier had been^rrTed oJ *'•"'"?."'« that she went there and fou" ^tha ' t^ilTv" ^'" ^'^^^- ^ and legal, and that ^our r^lw "^ \as straight Count Fomay's son ^^"^ "^^^ '^e wife of "Well, dear, I tried to put the best face on eveiy- 35 MISS PETTICOATS I m ij thing then, and when my Alice went away to France with her husband I gave them both Godspeed and hoped for good things to come." As this story proceeded, Agatha's dark eyes glowed with the fire of romantic enthusiasm. She the daughter of a high-bom father! This was ample repayment for all the little wretchedness she had undergone that day. What an armor against the petty slanders and innuendos of a crowd of fac- tory girls; she longed to face them with her new knowledge, but she would bide her time. Some day she would speak, and the world, which to her was Old Chetford, should know her right to mingle with the proudest families of the aristocratic town. Thus the simple child reasoned, little dreaming of the mountains of prejudice that must be removed before a slander can be brought to bay and scotched in its den. " For a while I got letters from France," the old man went on, " telling at first of happiness and pleas- ure. After a bit they grew fewer and fewer, and those that did come had a tone of disappointment and sorrow that nothing could hide. Then they stopped altogether. " About this time I came to live in the old * Har- poon,' and for several years after your grandmoth- er's death I was here all alone, except for the daily visits of Hank — God bless him. "I was torn with anxiety, and wrote again and again to France, but no answer came. 'Twasn't her fault, as I found out afterwards. Finally I de- 36 f when again that ??y^' * ""^ '""P » ""y «"•<»». "'Father!' «a;d"a:rclugr^rr'n^«'*^- ' "'*«<' '"■ come back toTr oM fa?i, '^ ^IHT'^ *^ «iri a"d her s^rraet all l>n, ^r'i ■■"■■ ""^^ ''™ken and .m„/her'S &^i ij^f "" *«« '- bandtlf mdet ^X^JuS''"? H "T "" >""- and then had tired ^h.,Jf °' ^" '<"■ » "me. life of dissi^t on how he^fn"'"'?' '""' •>« "M had at last openlv'insr»Jl *J neglected her and with a vile wS I* i k"" "■^ "aunting around once, the IST^'hlZ^T^^ "" '° •"' "<""« ^ i^n? ?h i^r!! —^^ 37 MISS PETTICOATS I swore by the Almighty that I'd go to France and kill him, but she showed me how foolish it was to think such things, and brought me back to reason. Six weeks after she reached home you came into my life. Within a year you were all I had." Agatha's eyes filled with tears, no less at the his- tory of her mother's ruined life than at the pitiable appearance of her grandfather. To see that giant frame shaken with emotion and that fine head bowed with grief was new and strange and terrible. She would have comforted him in her childlike fashion, but she instinctively felt that his sorrow would best wear itself out. Presently his old kindly smile came back. And so, 'Miss Petticoats,' you know the whole story except how you really got that name. Your mother used to fondle you, and call you ' Mon petit caur. I didn t know French then, and asked her what she meant. "'My little heart,' she said, and I laughed and told her that Miss Petticoats ' was as near as I could come to the jargon, and 'Miss Petticoats' you ve been ever since." " And I-K)h, think of it— I hated the name when you spoke it a little while ago," said the girl gently; 1 shall love it forever now for her sake." " And when you grew old enough to hold a needle, the name seemed to fit you, for you know how you have made clothes for yourself from your mother's dear old finery. Your knack of making pretty things was not from your mother, for she could never leam to sew well." 38 "■'. « year you were all I had." Ms it from— him? YnJJ^'J^' "^^Y- ^"' '** "«» *™8t that it is all You wUl be a good woman, Agatha ? " ' torn. qJ^"' ''«*""I«d the girl in musing, farawav thmg must be done, and the kindiv .m ^°'"*" 59 CHAPTER V * 3E. ' ' \ PROVriKETM THIEVES '* MR5 ^AiiA . ^ T; t ALAND'S mansion on Iristo' Uf :t was one of the notable h tuset J L I notable avenue of great es- tates in which the ; .pie of Old Chetford had an intense pride. They had been told that they pos- sessed the handsomest residential thoroughfare in New England, and they needed no encouragement to believe it. Bristol Street was the main artery of the upper city, the channel, as it were, of the blue blood of the oil magnates' intensely self-satisfied descendants. From the region of cotton mills en the north to the tossing waters of Curlew Bay on the south it stretched its long, beautiful course, bordered on either side by deep lawns, tree-dotted and not too closely shaven, rising gently to the houses of stately size and architecture that had been built from the treasures of the sea. The whaling princes had be- lieved in room and air, and most of their holdings were little private domains in themselves. The street was more like a succession of country seats than part of a busy city, and there was a grace and courtliness of life among the owners of these splendid properties that come by a sort of divine 40 = li "BEAVTr PROrOKETH THIEyRS " ^4{^&^rHar.s£r^^^^^ favorite path of the nVh k«^ i " ^"' across the .of huge and wia*:ott'„'Sm^^,h"Sa„'"T" brood of hid^us,^em„trus:f„d'X!^Sw„"e acTrvWeh»f, ^^'""""'y Road the squaT,r of Slk- *«/'e'0" °f 'he point slipp^ awav into shabbmess and neglect, and the few dann/onel "ho ;a^?c^B"^stV^s?^;^-t:■-^:§^^ 41 MISS PETTICOATS 1 ^ u' ^°J^^n' money had grown like Sef«i^!- f^^"*"^' ^^ ^e*" knew the stirmarket al,n ^i"""^^ '"°^^"- She for she was coorcalcufe^^^^^^ ^'' ^"'•^°^' in all her dealing;. HeXe^ktnn,' ""^"^^^ional on a scale that would have p. fn^^ 7^J^ sometimes of Old Chetford^had S^y' b" nTat n ilT^'^" fidence, but only Ralnh liJZ- • '"*° "^'' ^on- her buJinessl?^ Thev^fn ',!2 ^"^ "^"^'^ ^^"^ in charitable work and fro^^ 5f " '^T" *°^«^*h«»- man liked the „4r^^^^^^ wo- 43 MISS PETTICOATS has actually been selected by the Lord for the king- dom of heaven," she once told somebody, who promptly repeated it, to the great scandal of other eminently devout clergymen in town. She liked him because she believed that conscience guided his con- duct of life and not the opinions of others. Shortly after noon of the day that had brought Agatha Renier and Mrs. Copeland together in so unusual a fashion, a slim, fashionably dressed young woman ran lightly up the stone steps of the house in Bristol Street, and rang the bell. A hatchet-faced, pretematurally solemn butler opened the door. ^' Is Mrs. Copeland in, John? " asked the lady. " Not at present, ma'am, but she's expected soon. Will you come in and wait ? " " No, I think not. Tell her that Mrs. Worth- Courtleigh called, please.' She turned to go, but the sight of a tall, well-knit and manly figure coming up the driveway evidently caused a reconsideration of her intent. " On second thought, I think I will wait, after all," she said, and entered the house. " No, not there, John ; the drawing-room is so formal " — ^with a little pretense of a shiver — "I prefer to wait in the library." " Very good, ma'am," returned the well-trained servant, with just the suspicion of a shrug from his thin shoulders. With the utmost ceremony he ush- ered her into a restful, beautiful old room finished in dark walnut, from whose walls looked down the choice spirits oit genius. Now Mrs. Worth-Courtleigh was not a literary 44 "BE^Urr PROFOKETH THIEVERY DS"»n°I ^i? "^^'^ " ' ^^ ^°^<^ °^ books, but She ?1 ^K ^?u* ^a'^>n»an treatise that chancid to be on the hbrarjr table, and began turnint ?s oLe^ " m"J!'''"^ ["'^J'*'" ^ *^" ^O' ma'am? " Ar^ w»" ao,so, ma'am," and the butler closed the door noiselessly, the shadow of a smile flittinfoier his punt face. That evening below stars he al most became cheerful, and avowed to hs chostn S'-trrw^^^rthT^^^^^ inar Mrs. Worth-Courtleigh s a re-": r deeo 'un steaa of the drawmg-room. I took a look at th. book sh. picked „p and pretended to re^d for I al 5s p^ce to window and from window back to fireplace She was undeniably a prett- picture in her a^ta ha"pelv h'Sd' • ' It^'"'}^^ -ere piled highTn a snapely head m the mode of the oeriod 5nH ^C c«am and pink complexion that is thT^mp^TsltLn 45 MISS PETTICOATS for such tresses was saved from insipidity by a pair of lustrous gray eyes that sometimes darkened to violet. Her mouth was large, but finely curved, and her nose thin and well-shaped. It was not a common face, nor was its owner easily placed in the catalogue of temperaments, except that one would have readily believed that under the stress of emotional abandon she would go to almost any lengths. ^ Her husband was a middle-aged lawyer of sober habit and judicial turn of mind. He had succeeded admirably as the legal adviser of great corporations, and the money he made was freely turned over to his pretty wife to give her the luxuries she had en- joyed as a girl and to help her ambition to become the leader of Old Chetford's fashionable set as Mrs Copeland was the acknowledged head of the older regime. He loved his wife deeply, but he was too engrossed in his profession to study her daily life critically, even had he been disposed to do so. It was enough for him that she was an ornament to his home and a woman much sought after and admired. Mrs. Worth-Courtleigh's unrest increased as the minutes passed. " He will surely come here," she said half-aloud. Then she caught sight of her own fair reflection in the great gilded mirror over the marble fireplace. "I am not changed for the worse, am I? Of course not," she asked and answered in the same breath, as she studied her features more critically. She saw her rare beauty and was satisfied. How could she detect in her own face that something 46 "BEAUTr PROrOKETH THIErRX" S!m%5S," "•"" '""'"^'- "-' "■«'« have b«„ amon^K^ ''^.^' "P°" °^^^^i°" that made him popuS S'^^o^' *"' '"■'•! '««"«. especial y„?.h" r sir ^"^^"^ '-«' ' -St^;^! As he came face to face with Mrs. Worth-Court leigh m the room he had come to consider Smol; Bu ^hl"' ^\'^'''^ ^'' ^^°^^ '" well-bref urS " wt^TSf*'"ir^' "°"^^"t'«"«"y polite. ^ Why Mrs. Worth-Courtleigh-ldon't rise please --I scarcely expected to find you here • but it if f pleasure to see you anywhere" he Sd wit^ the 47 ■■■■I MISS PETTICOATS smooth ceremony habitual to him when in the so- ciety of women of his world. The large gray eyes flashed fire. " If it is such a pleasure, Mr. Hamilton, I am surprised that you have deprived yourself of it so long. Since when have you taken to denying your- self any self-satisfaction, however small?" " Come now, Lucy, don't sneer, that's a good girl. It hurts me and doesn't improve you." " Ah, you do remember my name, after all ! " " Remember your name? Really, why shouldn't I ? " he queried with a light laugh. "Your formality, somewhat unusual in private as you will admit, would indicate that you had for- gotten, and forgotten other things beside a name." "There, there. Lady Imperious, be your own sweet self," and with the flourish of a cavalier he raised a little gloved hand to his lips and kissed it. " But Guy " " Now, now, Lucy, don't scold. I'll admit I've been beastly unsociable, but the fact is I've been deucedly busy, and " "Busy! You busy!" A smile of scorn, of in- credulity, of fast-rising temper curled Mrs. Worth- Courtleigh's handsome mouth into something not at all attractive. " I fear I shouldn't care to know the business you have been engaged in for the past month or two." " By George," cried the imperturbable Guy, " I wish Parks could paint you with that expression. Queen Elizabeth — royal wrath— all that sort of thing, you know." 48 ^■if """^ """dered which ' "" " **«•«■• knew, ~- "-"«*.n;u wnicn. spite his rule mavai- ♦« k. .._. . , . he had thou^^^^^^^^^ ^^"I^.o^ the woman hut ^st^^^^^^^ had think yir^ouW'^^' "''^ ' ^°^ ^^^«*^«' " I almost would fig^[^':e^!i:};^';?u!dr^ °3 ^^''^'y^ -^ " But there Tno 'she ' a^iu '^k'"^'^' *° '"^*=^-" estly, "at least no n7rf,vi' ^^ Protested earn- wo4n-hater youT^ow rJ^; ^ ""'* ^ » you see thaHt wouW m^tr '^"" *^"" ^"- ^^0"'^ " Whatl I^7e?'^sh ' Tk!Jd°f? "^^'^^^W*^? " " Well T Ar. T a^*^^" fiercely. proteU^ "iursdf S^oTi^ ''"H'.:^ ^^ "'" ™' would deliX tn f„=c *' meddling fools who 49 MISS PETTICOATS all the pathos he could summon up—" whatever ex-. pectations I have in the world are fixed in her. It is only the lack of money that keeps us from never partmg." A tenderly wistful look softened the face of this woman who had just been utterine the fiercest threats. "If I could only believe you, Guy Hamilton," she said. " Don't talk of ' belief ' between us two," he re- turned soothingly, " of course you may." "But you have— have loved," and the speaker seemed to choke over the word, " so many women." * But that was before I met you," he whispered tenderly. *^ Mrs. Worth-Courtleigh seized one of his white, handsome hands with both hers and held it passion- ately to her cheek for a moment. As for Guy, he was on the point of giving the lady some further re- assurmg token when the sound of wheels was heard on the driveway outside. " Aunt Sarah," said he, striding to the door with the vigorous alertness that was part of his fascina- tion for women, " she's getting out now. Pull your- self together, Lucy, for she's got an eye like a hawk." He stepped into the hall, and in another moment the visitor heard his voice in an almost caressine tone: * " Aunt Sarah, Mrs. Wortti-Courtleigh is waiting to see you. She is in the library." 50 CHAPTER VI A woman's intuition collected self Her h.n7? "°[.^*^ "^"^^ cool and removed her black bo„"t ,^^^^^^^ * «t«« as she noticeably. After ^So-^^ ^^- •"'°"*^ t^^^^hed thing of stately cerem?r^.^' T^''^' ^'^ «onie- curt and broken mJ^ner^7/.!,5^^ "^^<^d her liked and trusted the most-sh, r^" /°^*^°^^ ^''^ " A decanter of p^rt Jo^ tL??^^^^'' t^*" l>»tlcr. cellar." ^ ' •'°"" ' *"at 47 m the further " The hnffJL'' 1 -^ °' "^^ adventure, the rlt 1 S Se aSj^^' ^."^ sympathetically at Pect them to draw finrdkHL- ^1.^^°" ^- confronted by the ha^d t^T?"!' ^^^" ^^ are they grind from theh^ wretrhU f ^T ^' dollars you like to have vour pTi. ^ ^"'^''^ ^o^ would ^ °^*^^ suggestion, made with 5' MJSS PETTICOATS grim humor though it was. Already he was harassed by demands he could not meet, and he had seriously considered asking his aunt for an income " more fitting for a man in his walk of life," as he had proposed putting it. In terse but picturesque style Mrs. Copeland de- scribed the flight of the frightened horses and the bravery of the mill girl who had stopped them. " Just think of that slip of a thing dashing out and clutching a pair of runaways by the bit," she went on with enthusiasm, "and hanging on like grim death till they halted! Of course I called her to the carriage and had a little talk with her." " What was she like? " asked the melodious voice of Mrs. Worth-Courtleigh, who had been greatly in- terested in the story. " Was she pretty? " "M-m, wdl; yes. Pretty enough for her own good, I should think. But that wasn't the chief thing about hen" * " What, then? " queried Guy, in a politely bored tone. " Pride. Hot, passionate pride. The kind that will carry her to a brilliant future or to destruction.*' " Destruction, most likely," observed Guy, " it's the way of the breed," and the debonair man of the worid thought he had good reason to know whereof he spoke. The " breed " was to him a pretty species of game in whose preserves he thought himself en- titled to poach with impunity. If his snares resulted in disaster sometimes, there were ways by which the facts could be kept from too wide publicity. He believed thoroughly in the efficacy of the guinea to 52 of hers will b«%i"?±JSl^"'' 'J^' f™ Pri* Mrs. Worth-CoartWrt? ani™.L' "/ '"""•" that this discussion wTo„i?r,T.r' ?,?? *"*«' ?««n«d to '*'" almost snapped his fn ?L 1, ^ i^^y '°^«'' »^«"el^ by goine down bn liJ^e Jn.%°^ H ^ ^'^^^^^^ °" ^ respectable mTs" sion like mine? How can any good ever be Arm^ with such sentiments as those ? If thTsamaritrn had waited for the wounded traveler to com^o h m ^Z^t::'"'^ '""' ^" immortalized i^the New SiSl^^^'*,,^ ^r «^°'"«^ ^°^" to sec aptain btewart at the earliest opportunity." ^ aliipH I ^t"^^ ^"^^ 'y'°"8^ *^^^ altogether. Guy re- sid;^t*r^:n'tati"^^ ^"^'^^ ^' ^^^ -*^^ -*^ -. at i'h? rfr*' I ''^''*. ^" «"&agement with Clayboume at the club m ten minutes," he said, " I must t^off '' 55 MISS PETTICOATS And he picked up his hat and cane and sauntered into the hall. "I, too, must be going, Mrs. Copeland," said Mrs. Worth-Courtleigh with a pleasant smile. " I trust you will soon recover from your adventure. Come and see me, do." They walked down the path together and along Bristol Street to the comer where Mrs. Worth- Courtleigh was to turn on her homeward way, the man moodily thinking of the youthful intruder into his peace of mind and the woman of the one thing that had been uppermost in her heart for days. As he stopped for an instant to bid her good-by her stress of emotion overcame her. " Guy, look at me," she cried passionately. He gazed into her fine eyes for an instant, then flinched before the absolute mastery of their search. Adept in concealment as he was, he found that no man can endure that kind of ordeal before the wo- man he is deceiving. " Is there no other? " she asked tremulously. " Now Lucy, don't be silly. You will attract at- tention. Of course there is no other." With a sigh, half of satisfaction, half of doubt, she turned and left him. As he proceeded toward the club, with his swing- ing manly stride, Guy mused on the unpleasant way circumstances have of taking liberties with the com- fort of mankind. " Confound Lucy," he thought, " who would ever have supposed she would kick up this sort of a row 56 A WOMAN* S INTUITION h^^r^^ world would she do if she knew about The Attawam Club was a comparatively recent .n?lt^ '\^°J- y'^l' P^'^ *^*^ ^^'PPing offices and the Oceanic Reading Room had furnished about an the general social intercourse the male inhabi- tants of the city had enjoyed. But a new generation had sprung up that voted the musty old rooms of the latter venerable organization slow and boresome. bo it came about that when the estate of a former merchant prince fell into the market his fine old residmce was purchased and the Attawam Qub started upon its prosperous career. With the ad- dition of an enormous piazza for summer lounging and the more critical observation of whatever wo- mankind might chance tc pass up Liberty Street, as well as suitable alterations inside, the Attawam members possessed a clubhouse in which they felt legitimate pride. A famous old negro cook was in- stalled as chef, and the " Committee on Bar " was always composed of men whose genius along liquid lines was undeniable. Being conducted on these ju- dicious principles, the club had sprung into im- mediate popularity, and its waiting list was a long and formidable one. V'h . Guy Hamilton reached the billiard room he fou .iis fnend. Captain Clayboume, idly practising some fancy shots in which he excelled. The cap- tain was a rather short, middle-aged man. with smooth-shaven face and iron gray hair which he 57 MISS PETTICOATS brushed down above his ears. He had inherited some money with which, by strict economy where economy was not visible, he managed to lead a very well-ordered existence. He held himself aloof from the hurly-burly of life, and delighted to give the im- pression of bemg a philosophical spectator of the world rather than a participator in its activities. Ah, dear boy," he said in his drawling voice m response to Guy's greeting, " Glad to see you so we 1 set up to-day; I am, indeed. Shall we have a little game — with spirituous attachment? " " Anything you say," gruffly assented Guy, in no very good humor with himself or mankind, " only I would amend by requesting that we have the ' at- tachment ' first." This being duly attended to, the game proceeded. But Guy was no match for his clever little antago- nist, and after a badly beaten half hour threw down his cue in disgust and dropped into a big leather chair. He drew up a little club-table on which was a siphon of soda and a decanter of brandy, and pre- pared to make himself comfortable for the rest of the afternoon. The gallant captain took a neiirhbor- ing seat. "Clayboume," exclaimed Hamilton suddenly apropos of nothing they had said, " do you know that women are the devil ? " The older man looked benignantly at his friend. My dear boy, is that a recent discovery? Don't you think it high time you found it out with all your experience? Why not learn the part of wisdom and let them alone, as I do? Because one of 'em— a 58 A WOMAN'S INTUTT rnKr make cinders of^^ Ut'I^7 '^°"^^ ^'' '«" let you alone, and then yt^'U ^^e f n ' ""f '^*^'" out any rotten apples^ * P^"^^** with- a clZ^'^n^'^J^I.^^^Z'^ *'^ Attawam?" asked Ralph Harding swun^ 11 *%r"'''' '^^ R^^e^end knit^gu'anf'CrchTs^^^^^^^^ ".'? "^»- appearance of a trained SI !i?''^ ?''" *^« looked like that of fmanu^S^^^^^^^^^ ^^« as well as souls. He wore a hi^- "^ ^'^^*=^s soft shirt with rolIint!^T u ^^""^^ ^^'^ and a a wide, bluTdottei tif "■' ^'^'^ ^^^^^ flowed tha7w"'is"SlHf^^^^^^^^^ -*»» «ore chalantly, " glad To see vn„ t ^ ^"^ "°^^^d non- Playing billifrds wi h Th. v""'"* '°"'~"^ ^^^^ cidedi; off color to-day pUr/1% ^T' « d<^ was merely remarkin/'how ?hj i'^!"* d^' y^^' ^ up this dull world of^ours pU^"^''' Wffhtened points, ten or no count ° ^ ^°" ^ ^""^'^^ off^'ircrari'ndleSVa' ''"^u"^' ^^^"^ Thenhelitaci^ranfn^ffL''.^^ ^'*^ "^"^^ care " By Jove TouVe S"ff ^ '* appreciatively. of sprW hadTsha^tThi"''^ ^''^ ^'^^ '"^^"^^ F K aa a snare in the process; or, possibly, 59 MISS PETTICOATS the little club-table may have contributed toward his greater cheerfulness, which took the form of rallying the minister. " Should think your parishioners would raise the very deuce at your coming up here, Harding," he ventured, " club and the cloth don't jibe very often, you'll admit." The minister laughed as he made a beautiful and difficult masse. " Well, I won't deny that there was a little warmth in the breasts of some of my people when I joined. But they soon foimd that I preached just as well and helped just as many poor souls as I had before. In fact, I think I always do better work after billiards than at any other time." The subject of billiards and the Reverend Ralph Harding had been a standing joke in the Attawam since the memorable Friday night when the faithful of the Third Congregational Church had assembled in the vestry for prayer-meeting and had awaited their pastor's coming in vain. At last old Deacon Snow had arisen and declared that he thought he could find Mr. Harding. A few minutes later the venerable church-pillar had appeared in the biHiard room of the club and remarked to one of the players gently : " Brother Harding, the meeting is waiting." The minister, in astonishment, had pulled out his watch. It was nearly eight o'clock. " I declare, Deacon, I'd forgotten all about it," he answered, amid a general roar of laughter, " but tell them to wait until I finish my run." 60 ■^ If^OMAN'S INTTTTT TnM with a sure touch »^i / " «^""' »"'' •■. played -55^n. wi«. a,, his";hrasr*«• txing almost half fiJ.l^foiS^wr/rots'^Thr -jV™^'-' n»..Jwi.h a"X^rof mtTha^wSr; done honor to a Gtrman stad 1^ §22 12.0 1.8 jS ^ .APPLIED IIVHGE Inc t65J Eoit Main StrMi Rochtsttr. New York 14609 USA (716) 482 - 0300 - Phon, (716) 288 - M89 - Fox MISS PETTICOATS of sailors who formed a pleasant leaven in this mass of poverty and baffled aspirations. Some had Sme for amusement only, others to jeer inwardly if „^t outwardly, believmg with Susy Brent that "no works ,s good " A few had been drawn in by a fang for the hearty, humanity-loving ^oung S^n an r> ';''' ""j'^ *° ^^''' '^'''' condidons^They all, as It chanced, were listening intently as nS Scairoic^r ^'^" -''^^ '-^ °^ Ha^dS^^ who work or have worked all their ives wlu show you why good works are the only works worth wWte Sent to'^'r """^^^ "^ ^^"^^°"^ «^^Pt '^ he ch Idren TV, ! ,l°" ^n"f '"^" ^"^ ^^^en and children. The talks will be short and you can all understand the talkers, for they will sa/ whaTthey mean in simple words. They will not be orators but I m sure they will interest you. Between Sks' there will be music, and after it^ all over tSre will be a bite of something to eat." . A ripple of applause, evidently for the final prom- ise interiiipted the speaker at this point. He sS for he knew human nature, and he had seen the raiment-npping struggles of well-born citizi? when feeding time came at functions on the " Hill "He ot the humble would show more genuine politeness The music to which the speaker had referred was 68 MEN OF GOOD fFORKS %^JT^'^^i ^y ^ ^'^ orchestrion, which by a summer before. ^ ^^^ Chetford the " tLY^!! "^'^ •'■^'^"y understand." he continued little speeches. an/rouV^^ortoT^^;?^^^^^^^ ^,^ew lofCatuVdVer? bTi^f 0^!^ '^^^ "^-P^'^^--" my own officer." ^''°" '"^"''"^ ^'" '^ looke^'Jh?^'^^'*-^"**'^'*^ *^^ ^^^^^^^"d Mr. Harding n^^ ^^•''^'■^ incarnation of the church militant and his audience was quick to spp th*. '""^^"."^"'tant, action behind the SfLter or mn ''°'"'' doubted his prowess Mr l/ml/' a , "^ ^"^°"^ Copeland eoacLan,^ul^U^^^^^^^^^^ ^e tment and interesting information as to ceS^ Se ^a^ronU^^^^^^ "'^"^ ^" ^'^ stablt^hS "And now." said the minister, "we are ^n\r^« The jolly and rotund sea-doff was ha,>H .vift, venhonal greetings that can.e from the crowd to heed, but cleared his throat with the sound of *S 69 MISS PETTICOATS fog-horn, pulled his fringe of whiskers and launched his address. " Messmates and landlubbers," he began, in a tone he would ordinarily have used in shouting orders during a storm at sea. " I ain't goin' to spin yarns nor yet do any sky-pilot business. I'm here jest to te 1 ye what I've found to be the best thing in my toleibly long v'yge an' that is the vally o' good works, an good works ain't in no way possible with- out obejence to orders. "When yer sure that yer orders comes from the quarterdeck an' is all right, jest ye obey 'em so well that yer messmates can see th?t there ain't a better man aboard ship then you be. '' Tain't alius easy to understand the why an' wherefore o or-lers, I know, mates. When I was cabin-boy on t, ■. oV bark Henry Clay nigh on ter sixty years ago, there was plenty of 'em I couldn't see the use nor the vally on. The fust mate would shout an bellow until I thought he was clean out'n his cocoanut. But arter a while the reefs would be shaken out and the sheets made fast to the cleats an' belaym pms, and we'd scud away under full sail at a clip no other durned whaler in them days could hold a candle to. " I wants ter say that ye've all got yer stations an' duties on the great ship o' life. Do whatever comes to yer with all yer heart an' soul, an' yer'U be better an happy ferit as sure's my name is Sykes. Thankee hearty for yer kind attention." " That's the sort of thing that will do good," said Harding to himself, " it's a breeze oflF the ocean 70 MEN OF GOOD WOR KR right into their stifling- souls T'li «„oU •. l atune." ""«& souis. 1 11 push it home with rJ^^J^^"^^^ .^- the first constructed with a ^[ew to 1 «^^^«ntly not been for its firstXing was a st'r-«''' ^^-^^^ ^^, second Berlioz' fiery^" Rakoczkv '' mLY''« ^"^^^^ it lacked in devouLess k S f"' .^"* ^''^^ and beauty of tone !nH .k ^ "^ ^"^ ^" ^°'»"»« posedTcSvil at its woriHi ' ""'^f '^ ^^^ "°^ ^is- delight of ht peopr'^''"'" ^' ^^ ^^^^ tJ^« evident the^"rL"fi;,fe"oft^^^^^^^^^^^ T^^^^eld proceed down the aisle ?ff?^'/f"'' Anderson, of ceremonie^. ^'t wt ^b^S a^STo^S^ Tf saw when he turn#>ri w.. •'^ " , ^i* aoubt, as she face toward .he Sle ^■"°°«'-»''aven, resolute cease**"H,'r"' "'', '.T "'^' ''""''"•s will never cease. Hes a cood fpllnw t'h • ,. "cvcr Ar„ri^:?e', S L-ts^.tz "'' ■;?' 'I'- ^rw^r^expres^d it. a„7 det^^'edT J.?,' "Ladies and gentlemen," he starred rh^^c- his word' with ereat m-*. " , starred, choosing a« be two-ten troners'Tuf e^en^f ^r^ S 71 MTSS PETTICOATS horses we can be good ones and be respected in the stable. We— er— that is— I dcn't know as I've irot anything more to say." " Go on, James," said Mr. Harding in a whisper. you're doing first rate." " Well, as I was saying, when we get into the ring— the track, I mean— we want to be always on the lookout to jab the other fellow on the point of the jaw— no, no, to beat all the other horses, and to land on his stomach— that is, to come in under the wire, and give the knockout— well, ladies and gentlemen, I may as well admit that I was a prize fighter once, and when I get excited all the old lingo comes back to me. But I want to tell you, just the same, that good works pay, and I know it" "You're a liar!" The ex-pugilist's jaws set firm and his fist clenched mvoluntarilv. *' Who said that ? " he shouted. "I did," came the answer in thick tones, as the burly figure of Peter Grimes, the weaver, rose from a seat near the door, "an' I mean it, too." Anderson started from the platform in a towering rage to wreak vengeance on his insulter, but quicker than he had been the Reverend Ralph Harding. Be- fore the men in the audience had time to become ex- cited or the women to scream, the minister seized the big weaver by the coat collar, twitched him skilfully into the hall and, with a supreme effort of strength, shot him accurately through the open outside door and down over the steps, where he fell in a sprawling mass on the sidewalk. Having thus amply justified 72 MEN OF 'GOOD fFORKS Mr "S^Ti?" *',' "!' "'"'''' ^ >•» own policeman mind ^ '"^J"* *^^* *^^d so filled her "What do you know of Agatha— what's hi.r shTa^fc^titf w'^"^r^ °^ ^^P^^ Stewart V' " TU,, i.^u . "*"*^ abruptness. refinJJ K • r^' *' ?°^^'" ^^^ ^^e reply. " She is mni ^H rf '^"*' charming-much superior to any 1 1™^ herV How'^Lf f °^ ^^^^^^^X ^r me ? Could "T ♦u- I P°^ ^^"' ^^^ education? " 1 think she would be entirely satisfactorv «:i,« ™ "^f ^hrough the grammar :Soofw?en!Se tmst he?' ^' ^°' ^'■"'^'"S^ her-well, I'd ''Sfi^'T^^'>'^ M^«- Copeland. fullv " A r'^^'u*^^ ""'"'^^^^ continued thought- vore'd ofTa^X'-^^^^^ ^^^^^^ ^"^^^-^ *^^'- ladVwltra^l^r' h!l-^'' ""'' "^^"^"'" ^^'^ the muy witn a smile, besides m a year's time she will be made valuable to me if education will do it' '^'" Then she went I - ne under the escort of her coach- man, who was sec. .tly rather annoyed at the honor, 7Z MISS PETTICOATS for he had hoped he might meet Peter Grimes on the way and have the pleasure of landing his left on some susceptible portion of that public disturber's anatomy. 7A CHAPTER VIII TILLY HAS HER SUSPICIONS N^iy^^^^A^ *" It ""^'^ *^"^^'" ^"d caress- ing mood as Mrs. Copeland went forth '' Hamnnr '^ morning m search of the good ship Harpoon. Birds were madly attempting to sine one another down in the noble elms of Bristol Stri"^ the air was fresh and laden with the balm of The young season; dandelions and violets and liHes of tne valley ran riot along the street edges of the lawns in the far-famed Old Chetford fafhion and drinkVfTy/^ ^'"^ ^'^ "'^^^ ^"^°--*- °^"e ho^e\r7hff.^""'V'^' g^reat buoyancy and a nope tor the future. A serene nie-ht's r^cf u.^a strengthened her determination in r^^rdUh gi f added to her own strong bias in Agatha's favo^ She was about to pass the Rubicon, she knew and she^gloned in every firm step that drew nearer' that Even the harking-back of memory, as she passed was" wholl'v' rl ''^^- '\^'' y°""^- woman'hood was wholly lackmg m that melancholy that often was herself.""''"'' """"'" ''''^ '°' '^"^ '""^'^^^^ She smiled almost gaily n.s she went by the ancient 75 MISS PETTICOA TS drab Friends' meeting-house on April Street itm cerned at its evident loss of prestiire Time ^ oircZ,' ^7"^!,' ^l^ " ^^^ "^^^ «^' Pow^rfuU Ola Chetford used to throng to the spot m the soh«^ Tir liS: St °H'i^'^ -"^^"" ---t in ine little sani-detached vestry Mrs rrtn^ian^ ';« t?Sir" ''''I''' ' famous ^hooi%y ve? fratb^to hTh ''^°'* ^^ "P""* ^^^ ^ i" i"^ Md uS^S S^. If "^^- ?r ^^^ y^'^ ^^^s dusty ana unkempt, the horse-shed abandoned and thi meeting-house itself almost shabby. * re,i^t.fi^ ".^1?^ "^'^'' S^''^*' ^h« looked up with reminiscent affection to a little hall over a crocerv store^ There she had learned to danceTnder^STof he Papantis rom Boston, and there had swTrleS the silks and satins of the town's elect. Althourfi it was now a cheap billiard room. aTd aUhough ^^^^^ sftirt-sleeves smoking a very rank and dirty oioe or^',Ttiife'"*'^'^'l^ ^"^ actuaSHodSd tor Old times sake, out of the exh'Nration of a dav in^r ^"^^.^^^"^hed objec. m vFew ^ 5>he had some difficu ty in finding Turk«^a«'. tf' ^^'.T^ °^ ^'^ JandmarW To„n-ncc of the picture with quiet beauty, while the St! 76 TILLr HAS HER SUSPICIONS A few gulls wheeled lazily across th# vi.*, ««j from the mill chimneys ""** °* '"°''« racKs, She kept her ssthet c opinion of thm. i« . qurte separate recess of her nature '" * . Tuckerman's wharf seemed deserted this nw,™ nw, so far as she could determine atrcursT^ Z,« "^«i■ded"Ta^^' •'. ',^7s^;& H^Sr made up her mind to sirdi La^for a JSfe ^1^ Lnrtir"""" "" "« "<' °' '-e^i^r'-iSrSS wal^s;A?h7ra'z^dtv:,ir,r^^^^^^^ there^ was a human head somewhere^wFthinhs rl "Gracious, can that be Agatha Renier?" *.v claimed Mrs. Copeland with a shudder Th^ T dismissed the thought with a smile "" '^' 77 MISS PETTICOATS I .he iw **''"^urj-n*''"' *'*°?*'1«'-- And too stiff." •ne said. But 1 11 go and find out who it is and ^"r^l^ ''" "*• ^'"'^^^"^ about tie ''iS? Ha'il V!!**!*'' °' ***'*' ^^« woman on the pier was Hank Donelson's maiden sister Tilly Hank had d7slX"M.;" ?. -l^-^jnde&bS^er hiif . J shortly after breakfast when there was half a cord of wood to saw. and Tilly had^eJISJ K'dX'^'Bur?*"'' ""i^' '° ••»'''*« «"pri^ thi " H.,^ " »"'• *"'"'"' «'»« ""M »1« find on ?ini]ss;re^,n'r.»rf;;;n%^l1-':j?.-^ 1,3* looked around suspiciously at Mrs Cone- ladL anH i. ^"'^ "^^^ *.«^y ^'^^« among the ladies, and she was m morta terror lest som^onr ,^•'^-5 ''°? a-Iookin' for someone?" she asked fniT/;;?.*^%"'?^'^ °^ ^''^'" °" h*^ hook and iow2: mg It with infinite caution to the water. « X^^; ^°,r Captain Stewart." Cap'n Stewart?" l,rr'^^'^r<' ^T\^^^' iV; ^^^ ^^d<^ "nder her 1)1; 11 1, • I* 1 "^"''- Then aloud :— Well, he ain't here." " This is the ' Harpoon,' isn't it ? " 78 TILLr H^s HER SUSPICION him." * ' ^P" J"*" ""W a' laken it wi5i OMXm:Lt""^^ " "»"■■ »*«> Mr.. water, but tWnkTng, ""hf^hSt'"" rJ'** " "^ laclc " ■^ *^' " " '*"*' '" a ship, rw can't Ulk •ny ^VS:^"" °' '"^* """ >■"• <«" bitt«, '«^";r''N.v^^'":if"'^''i„- about it; do„., folks I" **" "*" ""«:h of it in other Ca;MLart '^rpro^brj"'''™ "■•' "'"" anyone else who cai. do "-' '^ """• ^ " ""« thi™StS're"f'r:, ■C'^%"' ""'^«' "y part of this fine h3y V„i^f^"".^*"'.'» °" the about someone else I' - 4w L?I^"*.°' «"Wtude happiness ., Hank.' nhe thanS ™ '''•':,'^« '"-i hewasnotp.tsentfnfaii, • ?" Pp^'fence that Then she d^ided to mal^"™ ™ •" ''"'"'"' «il«. " Are you quite suTei'sCao'n'^'^' ""*• *°.^,r *« ^*«1 anxiously "^ ^"™'" '"'" """' himP^^CtS^a^'/o'' -•": '"ould r ask for at this pe^L-'^^'ilS ^'"^ " "" »'««■«■' 79 MISS PETTICOATS I dunno," replied Tilly rather helplessly, " but Aggy Renier says that one of them boolcs she's alius a-readin says lan'widge was given us ter hide our thoughts. "This time speech expresses thought, and I do wish to see Captain Stewart," was the forcible an- swer. "Well," returned Tilly dubiously, " ef yer dew. that s him a-comm' daown the wharf," As Mrs. Copeland turned and went to meet the old man, she saw that Agatha Renier's grandfather was no common sailor. She was filled with ad- miration at his splendid frame and she liked his frank and honest face at first sight. She held out her hand cordially, and introduced herself. " I am Mrs. Sarah Copeland," she said, '" perhaps your granddaughter has spoken of me." " She has, ma'am, she has, and I am proud and happy to meet you. If I can be of any service—" You may be of great service to me and to vour pnddaughter. It is about her that I wish to'talk to you. " Will you come aboard my home, ma'am ? I can make you comfortable in the cabin, and perhaps show you some interesting things. And mebbe you 11 smile but I can think better down there than anywhere else in the world." " By all means. Captain. I have heard of your snuggery down here and I want to see the whole of ^est/° ^'^^'^ ^"^ '^''"'^^ ^ '^"'^ appreciative The captain, with inborn stately courtesy, led her 80 She sK her held ''o^n'n "."'' "if'™^""' '^^ vow that she woSd noTTf ^.u ""^ "''^^'•"^ « "that woman -Tad Uk^i rde^^tu'r'"' ""'" in the-hStpTS'LTff'hl J" "■r^'^'"^ covering from a rare nM i!! ^ ^""^"^ *^« chintz picked fp in his vov^Jc ^J ^™^^''' ^^ had ceremony o h^ "^eT ' He f"'tu '\ ^'''^ "^"^^ pleasure in Mrs cSnHW ^"^ *?^ ^°°^ °^ «-eal unique reHeHf'l^ffo^V beautiful and costiv ivnrf .! • *^^ ocean— the colored shells;SVb;7he"S';/if ^^"^^ll^ great glowing branches of com^^i.^ ^ '^^.' *^*^ dim light like Siegmund's trpJ u .u '"^ °"* '" ^^^ one bits of odd a^^nf.L^ ' ^u-*^^ ^""^^^^ and Agatha's fine sense of 1 '"^ ^^T^^ ^'•'•^"^^d by aLole that waT^s ^Z'^^l'^'tr' ^^^^ ^ his floating parlor and Jlf? .1 . "^ "^^^ P^^"^ o^ ture had cfm^e to see it af "^ ' ^°"^^" °^ '^^^ 8i J MISS PETTICOATS And he was curious— there was no denying that Something for Agatha's advantage was in the wind', but what? Money? She would never take it, no/ would he allow it. A present? That would be permissible, perhaps; it depended on the nature of « . 1.^*"^^ speculate no further, but pulled him- selt together to receive the coming proposition 82 CHAPTER IX love's mightiest test THE captain's uncertainty as to how Mrs Copeland would introduce the object of h"; visit was soon ended by that ladv herself Z " CanL-"t'"' -compromfsing'r^anLr " be^n " w? f^'tf T ^ ^"^>"^^s ^oman," she n^taess." "^'^ ^"''"'^^ ^ "«^ b"«'n«ss di! mal^blX r •/!? reassuring to the simple old Smmk hirni^^^^^^^^ *° await developments, and not commit himself by any extended speech. ^^ Yes m, he replied rather feebly. "She has tDld me the story; the service was " aSroLh'if^?"" '". ^^1" '^' captain ;^esTr; Thl^f ' J ^« '^^^ '*' ^^^^^^ '' a brave girl." an answerin^J '^""^T •'" ^-^^ ^"^ '^'"^ eyes found an answering of admiration in the erav ones Each thought of Agatha in different wf^s^u" to ea^h she was the dominating figure of ?he inter' iul'A^^l ^^""^ ^^^^^^y ^^^d'" continued Mrs. Cooe- land It was a great service, and I must r^paylt '' We are not rich," broke forth the old sailor 8 MISS PETTICOATS with rugg«d emphasis, "but Aggy and I do not want pay for doing our duty." ^^',Aggy'? That's the girl's pet name, I sup- The captain admitted the fact with a bow. " J??,!'^**^^ ^°^ ^ P** name— altogether." " Atf ' "^^'^"'' '"ebbe; but there's another." the (nherV^° °^ ^^^^'^ ^^^ ^^ fortunate. What's A shade of embarrassment passed ever the cap- tarn's face as he replied :— ^ " Miss Petticoats." "Miss what?" " Miss . . . Petticoats." "What rubbish!" "Well, ma'am, you see 't was this way—" Now Mrs. Copeland knew the habits of sailors. She would not have been averse to a tar's remi- niscence under ordinary circumstances, but this was ^^L^''u\^'''i'^.T'^- ^° '^^ good-naturedly cut into what she felt was about to become a long kJ-^^1*'"V^^ "^^J' ^ ^^^'^^^' yo" seafaring men begin what you call a ' yarn.' Well, I'll have it on another occasion; to-day I'm pressed for time Your granddaughter has done me, a stranger * a great sen^ice. How can I repay it? " The captain rose abruptly at this second mention of payment, and drew himself up to his full height of SIX feet, two. He felt no abashment now, no diffidence in the presence of this fine lady. One of the powerful elements of his character had been 84 LOVES MIGHTIEST TEST stung into action as by a rankling dart. He would put an end to all this talk of recompense, and at once I have said, ma'am," said he stern y, " that the Stewarts accept no pay for freely given service You are my guest, and courtesy demnds tLtlTea; wha tyou wish to say, but I ask you kfndly not to mention the word pay again in connect on with the t^A^f^ '°"'^"> ^""^ ^^>^ked without forfdt! mg a good opportunity." *"i^icii "Ah, Captain Stewart," returned the lady with some amusement "it isn't hard to se. where ^our 11^^ .f^^^^^^P^^^r gets the pride she cherishes so Z% tT "° disrespect. I am abrupt because- well, I have my reasons. I am greatly interested in your grandchild. Tell me about her '' '"'^'^'^^'^ *" Under the warmth of this request all the good old man s resentment melted in an instant. This r°ch and cultured woman wanted to know about his be- loved Agatha ! Why, that very request in itself wS reward enough for the girl's service. He wouldTS her everythmg without reserve, tell her of .Wha's strange, yet easily accounted for, contradictions of character; tell of her devotion to those she loved her scorn for those she hated ; tell of his own hopes scllf ' -fi: «^,^^^' ^'^^ ^^^ "^^^ standing, bu ^r:!:? "'"^^^'■'^ ''''' '' ''^ ^^^--^ o^ u iyS ^i^ eloquence, inspired by the su ^t, he held Mrs Copeland's deepest interest for ncari; an hour, as he poured forth the storv of his daughter's rumed life, Agatha's coming and the growth of cer^ 85 MISS PETTICOATS tein traits from both her parents in her young heart He dwelt tenderly upon her warn, affection for him^ self her love for the old ship, her scrupulous pride in dress and person, her newly-inspired reverence lor her mother. ti«l^ J?" ^i^^^ interruptions and judicious ques- tions. Mrs. Copeland had no difficulty i,. obtaininjr a complete compendiiim of Agatha Renier's mental moral and physical characteristics, and. making al due ai owance for the strong bias of a doting^old l?v.H i ""^^ ?u • Pf .^^*^y "^"^^ *h^t no common girl lived here m this ship. ^ "She works in the mill?" asked Mrs. Copeland when at length the captain seemed to have exhausted his fountain of eloquence. do'it^^^' ^^^ "^^^""'^ *^''*^ ^*^^" "°^- ^^^ ^^'*^^ " Doubtless " was the dry rejoinder. " Then she has no education, I presume." indi^^£S5''^""l'"l'^"''" ^^^ '^P*^'" '^P^'^^ almost mdjgiiantly. she has a very good education in- *.7^^"J'^ explained how he had learned French ZZ^^T'^ '^i""' ^'^'' ^^^ that he might read young ' '^ ^^^'^^ '''^'" '^^ ^^' ^^^y " See here, ma'am," said he proudly, as he threw Dack a curtain and brought to view a large collection of yolumes arranged on shelves fitted into several bunks, she has read these, every one." " M-m, well," observed his visitor dubiously as she 86 LOVES MIGHTIEST TEST noted the ti" i of some of these cherished books. I should sa, that a few of 'em, at least, mieht iust as well be left unread by a girl o'f Agatha'Tage '' ^Jomewhat crestfallen, the captain tried another ' hJl^w ".?'"'* °^ ^f writing," he said, "and here a lot of her sums; " as he dragged into view a "*i*h.°! ^?^" ^'T'*'^ "^'^^ arithmetical problems. . Shes always been a master hand at figur- ing. The time had now arrived for Mrs. Copeland to strike, and she struck deep as usual. "Captain Stewart," she said incisively. "?s a sensible man, a man of the world in a way, y.i , ast see that it is impossible for your grandc' -..ghier to grow to womanhood under these st: roundinls - fortable as they are," glancing about tne rosy rs - She IS evidently a g. 1 of great refinem.-- h ' aspirations and a deal of brilliancy, but as " ^ ^nr ^nl'tTV ""?,°;-^«d- How and by whom a. . you going to form Jl ? " ' .u " T?" m'"*^ '''^^*' "^^'^"^' I ^'^n't doubt," replied the old sailor. " I nave loved h.. and bee; go?d to her and done what I could for her, but I couldn't be a mother to her; Aggy has needed a woman's com- C"t Jf'-/*\^^^" f ^^^^ ^°^^ t^ her that she hasnt had it A man's an anchor, but a mother's a rudder, so to say, Pnll'"" ^^"""^ ^°" recognize the situation. Captain, furthermore you must perceive that the drudgery of the mill and the companionship of sailors-excel- lent men, I have no doubt— are not fitting for such ^7 MISS PETTICOATS wSk st^t ?n ^P^^^"^ ^^^ '''"^""y penetrate! a w«k spot in his armor, and he was now her pris- 'il Now here is what I have to say. IwantAiratha to come and live with me, to help me ^^W^^ respondence and accounts and otherwise t7b? a companion to me. In return she will hive a hoSie clothmg and education. Think for a mom^t Sd thm give me your answer." "foment, and the S'ehtTthl^nM ^' f ^'^ ?nT"^*^ '° «^'" »>«^°'« ine sigm of the old sailor. The magnitude of the ta^nJ''^ ''' '"°""°"^ possibilities for the years to come ., /erpowered him. He seemed the helSs virtim of some terrific stroke of fate ^ ' his fa"c« L! ;^^"^\'^^ ^°^ '^^' ^"'^d to surround his faculties^ there began to steal the realization that all this portended the separation from his one joy could!: tS^^"'% '°^'"S^' ^^^^ ^g^tha- How could a kind providence work in any such way aT hil' ^"*: "^^1^""'" ^"^ ^"^"y ^o"nd words to say in a^oldmaJ'^rK' ^^PT'"' ^"^^^ »"^? A?J i" an old man— to be parted from her always > I— oh nia;am. I can't do it, I can't indeed." ^ * ^' . Now Captain," said Mrs. Copeland kindly pitv- Zt' Vnti r ' n "'^^ - y— If In'Z aII !u ..r^* ^' doesn't mean parting at all Agatha will come to see you often^ and^ou ^ come to see her at any time you please " 88 LOVES MIGHTIEST TEST «,,^ r ' ^.'Jl^u^ *]°^ '^^"^ •" ™y dear child't way. Im an old hulk that'll soon be broken up: she s just ready for launching, you might say, al new and tnm and taut. The hulk has no business getting in the way just as the new boat's going to aild'^w.'*^' "^T: ^^".?"^*^ '"y consentrma'am. and there s my hand on t. u.Jr^^J^Xl'^^ u *' ^f '■^"S^^ P^^ ^n«J shook it warmly. Then she said suddenly : ''You love your grandchild, Captain?" u i,*^" ' **" y°" ^°^ "^^^^' ma'am." Then listen to this, and never forget it: the mightiest test of love is sacrifice." In the silence that followed on the part of both voices were heard on the wharf above. ' "I ^??' "^f^, ?»"'**■' ^^^^ yo" seen anythin' of No, rilly, was the musical contralto reply. " I haven t, but I think he's up at Norton's store talkine with the new clerk." ^ ;; New clerk, eh? Is he— is it a woman?" Shesa woman, and a mighty pretty one, too," A u^ tantalizing voice, and the next instant Agatha dashed down the companion-way in her breezy fashion, and then came to a sudden halt as she saw her grandfather's guest. " How do you do, my dear," was the pleasant greeting, and then with no more preliminaries, '* I have just made a proposition for your future Your grandfather will tell it to you." In a very few words the old man outlined the offer that had come to her. She, too, was dazed for a mo- 89 MISS PETTICOATS ment, but as the full significance of it all dawned upon her, she broke int? a passionate storm 07^2 monstrance, threw her arms aboHer Sfath^ and jmplored him not to send her awa^. ^ "^^^^^ No, no, httle girl, there'll be no real sendinir away," reassured the old man, "you're tr^m? here and I'm to go there as of en as we \L I^a everything will be as right as a trivet" ^'^'' "'^ land i!! w *^f ^*^^""y' I"y ^ear,- said Mrs. Cope- vantll »"°st convincing tone, "think of the ad^ vantages you will be sure to gtt in such a new life- " "Ay, ay. ma'am," broke in the sailor bravelv when the last bo'sn's whistle calls the old mn aloft you mean. It can't be very far off." At this not over-cheerful conversation Aeatha burst into tears, and sobs shook her body as thf storS a young saplmg. Then she rose defiandy a„S fS the^two who seemed to be conspiring against h«r shilZT'' ^°' ^ ''°"'*' ^° °"" '^^" "^^^^ "«>" eyef he t^Tihtl.^"''^.."* '^' ^"P*^^"' ^"^ >" h«r eyes ne thought he saw the request to be left aloni. ove? to thTnt" ^ ^'J^ '': r ^^'^- So he if;ndte"d over to the pipe-rack and then up to the deck And strangely enough-for the sun was stiU Sn^^n a cloudless sky-he seemed to haTe d fficu^ mg to fill and light his pipe. ^ ^ .oV*^M'°"^ "^'^^ ^^"^ P'"^**^ Picture of despair in the cabin, the stem, hard-faced Mrs. Copeland did a 90 LOFES MIGHTIEST rirc >r She went to the^^de of l^hT^ "^'^^ ^^^spkion. her gently to a s^t and nUn^'!u'Pl"«^ «^''''' ^^'^ on hir b4st with thi^^^S ^''^ ^"*'^"^ head moments ^^lt:^V^^rS'^l'T'''^, ^^^ spoken. Bat the soha h,^- . "° *""■<• W" ceased altogether. " ' '"* """"y. *ey .•"f ?s;rhearS%::'^'X4 ^ ^rr""? "- nine years agoTh?^ 'I'od teHl'" 'T grave of a tnrl of ahnnf v^ "^^ new-made You are not afraid of m/' ^^^^V only child. Thetear-di'm^'d°eyeT?er^^^^^ t^*!?"' saw that the stern iStnr^ll^^u ^^""T^^^' ^hey into a smile that had somShw'^r/^^^ ^"^ ""^'^^^ r4^d-cZp,e\'r~^^^ her binefac or onX chJL™'^- ^^e softly kissed in which rePTtt and h:.n^ • ^"'' *'"" =" "«'« sigh fuilOr of such ma„if«"lSo&n. ""' '" ""'°'" 91 MISS PETTICOATS Agatha spent the evening in overhauling and furbishing up her small stock of fineries, although it had been decided that she should not take up her residence at Mrs. Copeiand's until the following As for Captain Joel, he consumed incredible quan- tities of tobacco as he sat at ease in his cabin watch- ing the lithe young figure flitting to and fro at her task, but his pipe was dften out and he made a £reat litter with his half-burnt matches. Far into the night Agatha heard him pacing the deck overhead with measured tread. When the glim- mering in the east began to note the coming of a new day, the captain took his stand on the prow of his beloved vessel and communed aloud witii him- " Jo«l Stewart," he said. " yoi^'re a mutineer. You had sealed orders f-nm Alice to do the best you could for her child. .,ow that the right course has been worked out for her by a safe pilot, you want to dispute the reckoning and steer a wild course with no compass but your heart. You mean well but you're twisted on latitude and longitude by your affections. ^ ., ",9^^''^^"l yo"*" "gging, old shipmate, and sail the httle one into a safe harbor. Remember what ii says on Mrs. Copeiand's chart, that ' the mightiest test of love is sacrifice.' Now turn in, you old bar- nacle, and when it's your watch again see that you come up smiling for duty." Staunch old fellow that he was, he could not go to his bunk without a glimpse at his idol. As he passed 92 gnuidiather down at the foot ottL^^ """ 93 R CHAPTER X SOCIETY AMUSES ITSELF OBERT WORTH-COURTLEIGH came home to dinner with a pleasant anticipation of an evening of quiet literary browsinr. good cigars and a big leather arm-chair in his ?x?"^i.^°^^™ ^°"^^ °" ^ " "«w " street— for Mrs. Worth-Courtleigh, having inhabited one of the an- cient residences until her marriage, absolutely in- sisted on " something fit to live in." So she had a long, rambling place with stubby towers, unexpected eaves, outjutting windows, big plate glass effects and a painfully new stone foundation marked off into weird geometrical figures by black lines of putty. The lawn was treeless but diversified by rockeries and beds of early plants. Perhaps there was the same difference between this establishment and the estates of Bristol Street as between its fair mistress and the high-bred women of the old regime. Worth-Courtleigh himself would have been con- tent anywhere with his pretty wife, his library and his cigars. He was a heavy, stolid-looking man, with a face of granite and a voice that seemed a perpetual threat. He wore a short, bristling gray beard that was as pugnacious as such things could well be, and the steely glint from his greenish eyes, added to his other formidable attributes, was enough 94 SOCIETr AMUSES ITSELF ^e^le called him brutal in the court-room but Sd ™t oft- "J^ '■'' =«r^'- physS quali- •od not of his heart. Mrs. Worth-Courtleis-h I. fof^e^lS'H""'"'' ^d humanity, as she hfS r .W ^^ "?/■■ "P"''™ » harsh word to '5f i-rfiff^rmainTyThXh" hdr^a't T'" §«««Ma^s, althoJ^^h itts'evWeuTrhat'Tad »»<*«^ce "Aha," said the woman to herself "U fVi-r- . something between the Apollo Belvidere Parson an5 my fair hostess? No; he is scarcely hrstyirWhat IS It then, that has floored her so?^ I-have it-^he S;ft't?.Tt Lav h' ^^^'^■''"^^• M'mM'n store' max away, it may be of use sometime." The approacn of Madame Smyjane and the dutv of introducing her to the rest brought Mrs Worth^ Cour tleigh to her usual state of self-possession Tn a little while Worth-Courtleigh himsS apneared and phlegmatically went through a t?sk he detested as thoroughly as he did his clawhammer coat ''"^ Jy George," he remarked afterward to RalnJ, ^rw^sf W%"^:^*^"^'^^^"^ ^ cigaHnlhf li^rai^' 1 wish Jane Smith's grandfather could come to hfe and walk in here, that's all. He was dir?^ .nS always smelt of whale-oil. but he wasnTa sham " sk^n th/"'^'^ n*'?""^ ^^°^^^^' the swTh of skut^, the guffaws of the men, the little shrieks of amusement from the women, the rippling scales f?om the piano as someone touched it carelesflv the huT dred sounds from human beings in a herd a„d all 99 MISS PETTICOATS the subtle odors of refined femininity—none of these things touched the emotions of the big-brained lawyer m the least. But he knew that they were a part of the bread of life to his young wife! Tnd he tolerated if not encouraged them. moPf Presentation of the singer having been duly ^ V" the assembled crowd, about thr« quarters Of whom had known her well since childhood the conversation became general and little groups col! lected according to their tastes. A number of the wTan'e tS^nh^ °vf """''' ^'^""'^^ ^^"^ Madame bmyjane to obtain her views upon the noble art ArrhfhL'ir?- "" "''*°!l'" '?^ ^'^ to the Reverend tor nJ^fi^f «?/T^''V^" ^^eek and optimistic pas- evei^ht \v^^' ^^^co^^\ Church, " method is everything, believe me. in the art of singing. Shake- speare said to me in London : ' my deafyounff ladv you have a glorious voice, a true lyric soprano but without my method what would it avaif w' methnr '^'^ ^^es^'"! thing in Paris. I took l^ih lfhntV^\^^'}''''t '^^ ^^^e very dissimilar, I chose the best of each and added something of m; m^vV.7 ' '''"^* ^f P'"^^^^ several managers, I may tell you m confidence. But to all I say the same thing : method is the secret of power " vine m1d^r'~^^''"-~'^^*^^^-''°^^--«^ the di- " Method, all method, my dear rector. Voice ten per cent; method ninety, as Lamperti said to mV^ Milan. But I hear dear Professor Arpeggio at the piano, and I must go and get my voice in trim, for loo SOCIETr ^:MUSES rrxj^n? theLisztian style was runnint i'"''''' 'j™*'''^ '" modulations unti H,. ™""'"e «a'« and blending The Pro?e"LTd tgunTfei'oM 'ru'' ,*="«■ •he pianist in a sailors^rnceh^^ Sfh^'l''''"'''" •a ents and a keen .!,„ r ' . ^^ ""is native high. ^ ""* °' sycophancy had risen an^'aLi'oriutivrcSh "'Vh'""!?'' ,'° =■ ^'-' -* helter-skelter of a Bach fZ^f.^' P'"".«^ '"«» *< under his pufTv little fin „f' i™' '''^''''^ theme At the finalTm^n±fchoTH, if ■""'"« '^P'*'''- .inh^perspiri„/f^crgCe°dtth%rsur'''"''''' ,uai[rt:?^irr';^^r 'sif?^ -« Ke„^S^-.^i-frWpeTrte^ ^"^SenTUijS-^"'-— - young woman could ha^dtre^su^^nil t^ ^l Ha'mm™' o??apt■!!'V^aXP™^<'°r ?" a*ed applause that w^^roud^MoXtr^tce?: lOl MISS PETTICOATS personal comment to be made with impunity. It is one of the curiosities of musical criticism that the hand and the tongue are often at complete variance. Voice ten per cent; method ninety/" quoted the captain sententiously, " consistent example of the value of her own theory." " You're a duffer, Clayboume. I tell you she's gr^t ; we re going to hear from her, see if we don't." I'rom all about came murmurs of admiration and expressions of ecstatic delight. " Charming," " So soulful," Spontaneous as a bird " were some of the spoken comments— especially near Mrs. Worth- Courtleigh. It was well for that lady's peace of mind that she could not hear other whispered opinions wherein Madame Smyjane was set down as an T start without a voice and she herself criticized ior oTd ChTtford '*'*' ^ fledgling into the favor of ci, Harding, .t haJ^'mr U^„S ""=»»«»"y- Although h. •rate his miSd. He biwLd m "^""V? «<> P«n*- elaborate ceremony "" "'"'"*' "'* your fmr^ in Sq™J„%«;''°"y ""war. of Keep your concern for yourself HJlSf"^.. on the oart of Prn? ^ welfth Hungarian Rhapsody o.^«4r^fterr«h:d'°dS^*^Hf^]^^^^^^ if that girl that A^aVh? 7c « alon^I wonder say she is "' ^ ^' " '^^^^^ ^' P^««y as they shall answer for it to me."' ' "* CHAPTER XI :1 TWIXT SMILES AND TEARS THE little company of gallant old sea dogs whose affections were entwined around the Harpoon" and Agatha inclusively, would not hear of letting the great event of the girl s departure to the glorious realms of Bristol ^tJJJt.pass without a worthy celebration. Their honest souls were a little puzzled as to what form the festivity should take, and it required all of Hank Donelson's superior knowledge of such thmgs— he had sometimes acted in the capacity of extra serving man on the " Hill "—to evolve a plan befitting the young: 'a.'\ 's conspicuous merits. Tell ye what, Cap'n Joel," Hank remark in his brisk little manner a day or two before th» time set for Agatha's departure, " jest you turn the ship over to me, stem to stern, an' I'll make a swarry that'll do justice to the heroing. You jest be cabin-boy fer a bit an 1 11 be master. Go aloft, ye landlubber, to aloft, and he cackled loudly at his joke. But he did work with all the powers of his diminu- tive body, and the result was eminently satisfactory With infinite secrecy he stowed away a mass of decorations in the fo'castle, some mysterious sorts of grub m the galley and a quaint collection of chairs borrowed from neighboring wharfingers in io6 " Wh,."" ^^A ^° *^^* ^^^ °"t ter ride." What, me drive a horse? " nuerieH th* ^a«» • growing nervous at the form idaWe idea J^fv?^*^'"' hauled sheets over that S^A^i-' . ^ v« "ever Aiid what's it franyway v' '^ ' "«^ '" "'>' "^'=- fh- i k^ *^'* j^ ^^^ ^'"t '" the way whiles I trim. " Do T «. -T-n ™ STWnhom 1 1 m master here " . "0 I see Tilljf coming down the sfr~.f >" • qujred the captain innocently "'' '"■ .^ Poor Hank's important manner vanished in an '™"edTwat»fod ^7 '"' «"* He [he ha?i«r''t^'ntfot::irr:^anTrnd*V"^^ °' kmgdon,s of dreams. The1^",t e" s filM^ " "^ t«.rs, more, perhaps, at the ,u^.t,,Z\\'Z^t MISS PETTICOATS tiful scene than at the sorrow of separation. The final breaking of powerful ties was yet to come. She smiled when Hank's head darted from the companion-way like a teal's from the water. Faith- ful old soul, she would some day see that he got his reward. " Now, Miss Aggy, jest ye come below half a shake, an' give me a bit of advice on a p'int of im- portance. Will ye, now?" he added, rather wist- fully, as he saw the girl's lingering, faraway gaze held by the faint silvery twinkle of an early star. " Why of course Hank," she said pleasantly, drop- ping from her revery at the appeal. " Lead on, you dear old boy, and I'll follow you — to the keelson, if you say so." Almost bursting with pride, the little sailor con- ducted Agatha to the after-cabin, and then into an ordinarily unused section of the hold amidships. She stood at the entrance for a moment filled with the innocent amazement of girlhood. Then she gave a little cry of delight. " 0-O-h, Hank, how lovely ! You never did all that yourself!" " Yes'm," admitted the diminutive tar, trembling with delight, " Hank Donelson — that's me— only able seaman at it ; cap'n, fust mate, crew an' cabin- boy all in one. Is it — is it swell ? " " Elegant. And what is it all for? Why— yes— of course. For me ; a good-by party. You bad boy to go to all that trouble. It s a perfect vision ! " And indeed an older and more sophisticated wo- io8 'TWIXT SMILES AND TEARS man than Agatha might have been pardoned for ex- pressing frank admiration at the sight. From end to ei.o ind overhead the hold had been festooned with banting of red and white, Agatha's favorite color combination. Here and there the strips were looped up by rosettes of immense scallop shells, from which hung long bunches of rockweed. A masth^d light was brilliantly glowing at either end, while along the sides a dozen red and green por^ and starboard lanterns shone most cheerily At ^htn^A^^t? 'J:%' *^^.'''" preserved figurehead of the old whaler "Juno," and the goddess's hair was comT^ TV *^ ^ V^^^^ °^ variegated Maytime blos- A^fl i was fondly supposed by Hank to typify Agatha and the honors to be paid her A long table was set forth as for the feast of a company of seagods. The cloth was a brand new duck sail, and the candles were stuck in shells of all sizes and hues. An immense pyramid of freshly boiled lobsters formed the centre-piece of the unique banquet-board, and high over all was suspended a rnagiiificent stuffed gull, whose outspread wings a'Xtt:."" '' '""^ "°" ^"' ^'^^^^ ^^° .rr'^^V^li'"'"^'^ *° ^^' ^^^'" *° P"* on her bravest ^Zll?"" %^'^^* ^''^"*' ^"^ ^^^ i"st ^"^er&ed from the little sanctuary, soon to know her no more, when the guests began to arrive. Practically they all came at once for they had never learned that it was a mark of distinction to be late at social festivities. Hank, as master of ceremonies, received the com- 109 MISS PETTICOATS pany at the gang-plank with wonderful urbanity, and shouted the name of each as he or she boarded the " Harpoon." All the old salts who had known and petted Agatha for years were on hand, as a matter of course. Captain Sykes, Artemas Slickersley and a few other of Captain Stewart's cronies were re- splendent in their choicest land-togs and well greased hair. The young skipper. Captain Sykes's nephew, came, too, with frank and honest admiration for the lovely heroine of the occasion shining in his eyes. Rev. Ralph Harding, escorting two or three of Agatha's mill friends, arrived a little later. Mr. Hardmg had been invited in an especially elaborate manner by Hank, who, although his literary attain- ments were blocked when it came to combining the letters of the alphabet, was a great frequenter of the readmg-room, where he perused the illustrated magazmes with all the dignity of a college professor. All the guests paid their respects to Agatha, who stood, blushing and radiantly happy, in the after- cabm, and then " Smash my binnacles, ef thar ain't Tilly! " cried Hank, in dire distress, as all the visions of playing lord of the feast vanished in a twinkling. How she had learned of the celebration he was at a loss to know, but here she was, an embodied kill-joy. Prob- ably she would drag him back to the dullness of their little kitchen. His infantile face puckered as if he were about to cry. But, wonder of wonders, Tilly calmly descended the companion-way with an absolutely gracious ex- IIO a'Trbrdl^in'^^Vr ^-r" she carri«, youthful da;7aS°ship. "'■"*' """"■" °« "- bustlto^Hfnk 'offerwT' ,."' .f^dships," cried scallops simply couldn'f hi K T^ ^'^"^^ ^"d else- fh*. o^^ * "^^^ ^««i found anywhere w th ZXllt:!^'?^;^' f . '- ?e plu^Suff artwo„MSvrcTurdThe'f*;;r'?f.^^^^ «& 'h-^-'Kardfu"/ '""' - '-in,™ pen^up'ffrofrfvet '"'^-."T ="' *' one end if .h/.able in^TeaT^L.^rderf^/o^e" Tn A^^r^T" "''"'^'^ •°°"'- »<", fixing Wslf'e 'ivcfefhts:!'" ™" =" '"^ "'^'^^ end^hus"d" swL™''""^''?' "f s-na'es. hearties and all : this ere swar^r-wich I learned on the ' Hill '-isTr us III MISS PETTICOATS I I ! ! ! ter show Aggy Renier what a fine young craft she is, an' how glad we be that she's a-goin' ter leave us." " Don't be a fool, Hank," interjected Tilly se- verely. " No, no, not glad she's a-goin' ter leave us, in course, but glad the little craft we all thinks such a sight on is goin' ter run inter a fine port where there ain't goin' ter be no squalls or shipwreck. " I ain't much of a hand on wrastlin' with gab, 'specially on a great 'casion like this 'ere. I'm a lubber on speechifyin', but what I says I means, an' when I says that we all on us thinks Aggy Renier is the sweetest, purtiest an' lovm'est gal that ever trod deck, that I stand by till I'm broke up fer junk." Under cover of the uproarious applause that fol- lowed his oratorical flight, the warm hearted little fe. 7 wiped his eyes. So did old Captain Stewart, for upon him was the heaviest blow to fall. " Love's mightiest test " kept singing itself in his soul, and he knew that by the measure of his grief was meas- ured also his manhood. Tilly, who had disappeared during the closing portion of Hank's speech, now returned bearing Nicodemus in his cage. She hung him from one of the under hatch-rings so that he was brought into direct line of view with the stuffed gull, which he viewed with gloomy suspicion and cursed earn- estly once or twice. Then he startled everyone, ex- cept his mistress, by screeching: "Good-by, Aggy; good-by, Aggy. Good luck, good luck, good luck." " Oh, you old dear," cried Agatha, " you taught iia 'TWIXT SMILES AND TEAKH you all?" ^ ° '""'^' '^ow can I thank of approval from the sea-dol -V "^"''?' '^°"*« your gratitude in your new !Se Z '^"i'"* '^^^ these old friends as tru^ .1 ^ "'''^^'" ^^--fi^^tting . have " ' ' "^ ^^ ^"y you will ever di^ant/y/ '^" ^°"^^ ' " ^-^^ - the girl rather in- " I do not believe you will," he continue " tu is large and 7ou a s^^aUpartTf? f h'^"' '^" ^°'-'*^ make that part of woXLT value ' b"A^'' T ""^ upright and true, and~I will nnf'K ^'^''^' ^°"^^t' say that you will necessariTv L ? ^"^ '"°"S^^ *« serve to be haDov fnH 2 w ^ PP^— you will de- all trust y^u'r^'^veyriS^^^^^ ^^ heartiest Godspeed." '^ga™, you have oar blushing pJe'tilylhetS""" '" "" ^^^^'h^. Jl^l^ugh the rose-colored f.asrof'tpp^:!,tSS^ "3 MISS PETTICOATS II " Dear, good friends, all of you," she said, " I am going away, but not out of your hearts at all. Oh, you will see how I shall think of you when I come into my kingdom. I shall be a great lady some day, and everyone will love me for the good that I shall do. No more taunts, no more insults; the world will be glad that Agatha Renier is living." " Poor little girl," thought Harding, " when the disillusioning comes what a crash there will be." " But it is hard to say good-by to the old ship," she continued, " I've lived here all my life and I love every timber and nail in it. You'll all come here very often, won't you, and tell the ' Harpoon ' how sorry you are that Aggy has gone? And tell my 0-ar grandfather that I shall never cease to love him and — that — I — oh. Grandpa, Grandpa ! " She broke into sobs and threw herself impetuously into his arms. He soothed her with a few words and brought her to a realizing sense of her duty to the g^uests. She looked about, smiling through her tears. It was then that Captain Phineas Sykes arose to the opportunity. Dragging forth a large box from under the table, he proceeded to untie its strings clumsily and put the cover in readiness to remove at the proper time. He got upon his feet and waved his right arm at Agatha. " Miss Aggy— Agatba Renier," he began with stentorian voice, " we old friends an', ye might say, gardeens, have seen fit for ter present ye with a gift as a ' slight token of esteem,' — w'ich they alius says in perlite society. This 'ere gift ain't much ter 114 it triumphantly btf^TI t ^ '?"• '"■■• »"<< waved parent, yet after th, fircf" l f «'««ness all too ap- ture rallied bravdy and 1°"^ "^.^"^'' *""> "a- in^i?^S^?,™^::i-:-^^.he„„suspect. vised so that it dSared th« t'" '"S^n'ously re- tars kissed Agatha a„Hfhl ^^Pany. The old were put out and tLT' ^^^ ^^"^ ^^^^^ the lights night^cla Je^i ?h1 '^'^'^^or'^ tt^n^ ^^^ ^^^ "5 CHAPTER XII AT NEW MOORINGS LITTLE sleep came to the eyelids of the ex- cited girl in the cabin of the " Harpoon " that night. A transition so stupendous, so full of promise she verily believed had never come to a young woman before, and she must keep awake to face it ; she would greet the dawn of the wondrous day with all her faculties alert. She tried to project herself into the years to come; she saw herself well-dressed, well-groomed, bloom- ing with beauty, like some of the girls of the aristoc- racy she had envied. She loved good clothes, not from any birdlike desire to merely flaunt fine plu- mage, but because, like good friends, they were more companionable than bad. Shabbiness hurt her as something unclean. And now she would never know it more ! She felt, too, with a strange throb of gladness, that her character was to be molded by influences and per- sons fitted for that delicate task. She knew herself thoroughly, and now that she had heard the story of her birth she felt that she understood hitherto unaccountable contradictions in her nature. She was ii6 new light h«- Dridf hi ^ ?""* '■" "* '"> » ing alonif Bristol cSrLf "^"^ !"•"«• . She was walk- ^eoutSfthefc^^^^^^^ a lady aS)'i? *''«,I«o'-. ««I' girl a tart. Mary" ^O't^rTte*' up instamly.l. r«all«l and di^ppofflttTe'ro^'^ade^:!"" "' "" '-'o™ ^ p^4"iLtX Is a^^^t .'iJ'" ^''- ^"^ .hatTeTo^„,'d'";:irve°''trj'*^^''''"- ?s a dependent: Z m" tlTgh? fan^ed"^^'""';' into hot ndietiatinn M« ! "^"' canned her pride could grant f favor* .Zr m"?' ^°'"S^ ^^"^^ ^*^ could Sake the graid ladvt . '"'.^^ ^''"^' ^^^ 117 If! 11 MISS PETTICOATS light far outshining all others to Agatha's percq;>- tions. It was the call of duty to clear her mother's name of every cloud, however filmy. Since hearing the story of the tragedy from her grandfather, it had become Agatha's passion to dwell upon her part in the future exoneration, until she had become a trifle morbid on the subject. She had even dreamed that her mother's form had come to her and had made her the chosen avenger of an unjustly despoiled reputation. Ah, she would carry out her part at rny cc3t — ^that she vowed with all the strength of her aident nature. liow she could become the instrument of justice for her mother she did not know, nor did She much care. She realized, however, that the higher she climbed in the social world the more crushing a blow she could deliver when her moment arrived. She prayed that the time might be delayed until she had achieved power and position ; that she might not attain either, never once entered into her scheme of the future. After all these sleepless dreams the girl fell into a dreamless sleep spite of her resolution, to be aroused late in the morning by her grandfather's knock and his cheery call : — " Come Aggy, my girl, this is the day you set sail." • I* Mrs. Copeland's reception of Agatha was char- acteristically cordial and direct. ii8 U AT NEW MOORINGS i.«l^^ ^^^' y°" ^^ welcome. This is vour ThU^K ^-^^ ^"^ ".°*' **" '"^ ^^ frankly." ^^^ Ho ^ *>, s^'d as she met the girl at the door ^tut7 T'j- ^""«'n& her few little belonirines 7hl ^^""'l '"11"°"' '^'•*- Nothing could Sde them to enter, however, and they immediately w^f Agatha gulped down the suspicion of a sob th«, tunied to Mrs. Copeland withVofher'^ic^aS Placiand w?.h ^ ''"".^ ^"PP^ »" ^^is beautiful are not 1^ 1^7' ' u' '"P""^' " ^nd when you are not g ad that I am here, tell me so." ^ I shall my child. Now come to your room " To Agatha's rather exotic color sense therf^inH, white and blue of her chamber see^d wL'aL ImS^ tionless at first yet even at that early stage of T^ development she recognized the perfect taste t£j ruled there as well as all over the hou e shelelt the SaSvVr' of the simple and old fish oned beauty that governed the estate, indoors and out SppineT" '""'' "P ^° ^^^ ^^-- with supreme oln^fn^X^'"^ ^""u '?'"P^^ '"t^"or of the " Har- poon to the airy brightness of the mansion was a change that drew out all the buoyancy of °he^rl's nature She sang the old French songs with a^r 1 haricy that attracted the attention of LrTth^^o'e 119 MISS PETTICOATS "Who is that girl with the delicious voice?" asked an out-of-town friend one day as the sound of a merry chanson came from above stairs. ^ " That's my new secretary, Miss Agatha Renier. She does sing well, doesn't she? " " Like a thrush. Is she as pretty as her name and her voice ought to have her? " " M'm, ye-c-s, I am inclined to think she is." " Then why not exhibit h-^r? " "Not yet," replied the wise old woman, "you spectators might be inclined to criticize the picture as unvarnished. Her day will come, though." Agatha's first week in her new home was busy enough, even for her extraordinary activity. First of all came the dressmaker, an object of awe and ad- miration. She was a fat and bustling little woman who knew where all the skeletons of Old Chetford's wst families were kept, and was prone to make them dance merrily. More than once Mrs. Cope- land's raised finger and pursed lips gave her silent warning that the sound of the rattling bones was not good for the young girl's ears. The dresses themselves surprised and rather dis- appointed Agatha. Her convictions in the matter of raiment were of long standing and were full of that delight in the primary colors shown by the women of the Latin races. These clothes were simple, pale, undemonstrative ; she feared she would look insignifi- cant in them. But when she put them on one after the other in their completed state, she knew at once that they brought her beauty into greater prominence than ever, and gave her a manner she had never at- I20 f k ■1 i »h. never for^ti,'"' ""* '"»" '" 8°»<' «»"•. «d was to act todav as if vn., .' ^°P*'^"^' whose rule it Even you-—" ^ *" '^°'' "°' '^""e are right. of her CTze'fulH^'"^ uncompleted, but the depth course ^li'lZZS'^^\^i:^;S'^^' h.m a strange sense of helplessS^s befe'stSTg MISS PETTICOATS character. As he went home he wondered how she would have finished the application of Walpole's aphorism to himself, and in the quiet of the evening m his study that wonderful look haunted him. With such a world of delightful novelty to oc- cupy her, Agatha was very happy. She missed her grandfather, of course, but that fine old fellow came up to Bristol Street later in the week to see how the girl " liked her new moorings," and she had little chance to feel homesickness. The captain reported to the assembled tars that evening that everything was taut and shipshape and that Aggy sent her best love to all her old messmates and assured them that not one of them should ever be forgotten as long as she lived. Whereat a tremendous cheer shook the very ribs of the old " Harpoon," the like of which had not been heard since, in its palmy days, the gal- lant bark used to start down the harbor on its three year cruises to the north Pacific. Agatha quickly won the allegiance of the Cope- land servants by her kindness and lack of offensive superiority. She had the good sense to avoid famil- iarity with them, and she did not go to the other ex- treme of presuming on her position to order them about needlessly. John, the hatchet-faced butler, was made her slave by a little incident which he described in the servants' hall to an admiring audi- ence. " You see Miss Agatha," he related, " ain't what you might call bang-up on the way the quality con- ducts itself at the table, an' she knows it. So to- 122 li^^ AT NEW MOORINGS ^y she comes to me an' she slips a dollar into my nand, an says to me : — ' A " 7f ^"'' .^^®, ^^y^' ' ^ ^^^ that I've been makin' « too kind to correct me. Now I want you to watch me at dmner an' when I do anythin' wrong, you jes^ clear your throat, an' I'll see what I'm doin' an' cor- fhJ'.^^?' lu^ '*^'*' "S^^* ^" t^kin' her soup off'n Se ?n"* °?'' ^P^"' ^"' ' ^^^'' »"e throat. Then lo,^ ^T^P ^'J: P^^*'' ^' ^ ^^^^« »t ^S^^' good an" iwav ul fn"tt' i-^"' "/r^ °^ bread an'' butters it Drr^Ztfv l l^""^ ,^ ^^^' ^"°t^^»- «Jd whop- per. Pretty soon she makes so many mistakes that I sounds hke a man with gallopin' broLketers when aU to once Mrs. Copeland gives me one of the^ aw" ful looks of hers an' says :-— «" «iw ^ "'John, you may leave the room. If your throat aV"hrv?aVor !^°" "^ *'"' ^°"'^ ^"- ^° ^^^ « ?iIjn"M'''r ^^!^^'P'^''^ "&^t "P' an' says.— deed ies'nof"' T^^P' f "^.' '''' "°^ ^'^ ^^"^t at all ; in- th^oa when *T ^V^ '" ""'l^' -^ ^°* ^'"^ ^o clear his tnroat when I made mistakes in eating, and oh dear I made so many that he had hard work to keen un' wh"en Mr^'cVodaL" ^'"^ ^'°"' ^° ^^ off'intVa^s wnen Mrs. Copeland gives a rousin' big laueh an' everythin' ended jolly. She's a brick, that il is" fh?u^ Hampton's attitude toward the newcomer in ^e household was studiously neglectful anrsrerior His disgust for his aunt's « visionary scheme^' was "3 MISS PETTICOATS f^MW Ai^h."^^"^ "^''^ '^".^"^ *^^ ever-present lear that Agatha was a potential menace to his oe- cumary prospects. Of course this feeling was nev^ t^S^nHH^H^^'^^^'J'^ ^'^'''' unconcern^ to the girl and did everything in his power to solidifv Stvxrrab^^^^^ ^^^ -^' --^^ -^^^^ wa^lSf^V^^^- *° Agatha and what he did say wt W \^^ ^'' of condescension. He thouSt his best policy was to " keep her down " as he S- Tau J^^^,^>"Je sympathy for such a campaien wom^Sre"""'""' ""' ""^^ ^^ ^^ ^^-^ He^a"nd'^A^rf,i"h "^'"^ ^^T""^ ^' ""^^ ^" ^ '"^^sure. He and Agatha happened to meet in the library for bell rang. The butler was out and the maid far in another part of the house. l,/l'^^"''^tu*^ bell Agatha, there's a good girl" he said, with a sort of patronizing authority. ^ ' thJuXsSS^d hen"^^' *° ^°"^P^^^ ^^- ^ -^^- " 5^°:," ^^t.^ ^^''^' " ^ '^^" "o* answer the bell » And why not, pray," sneered Guy, "is it be- neath you, do you think ? " ^ ^ " What I think is of no consequence Mr TTa«,;i yoursdf.^'' '"' '^'* ^°" '"^y P^^^^ to aS her " By Jove," he thought afterward as he tried tQ 124 Iff! ^T NEfr MOORINGS nmr fails with womS? ^^er S ^ """""^ " "5 *a^ib SUnas an^ arrows CHAPTER XIII A PIRATE CRAFT SIGHTED THE slipping away of a year and a half in the life of Old Chetford was marked by no external changes of great importance. To be sure, the electric rails had writhed their way through many of the business streets and even down to Promontory Road, but that had long been con- sidered inevitable; Deacon Snow had built a large new stable to the great discontent of some of his co-workers in the vineyard who could not see why a deacon should have more than one horse in any event; another cotton mill had been erected, and the city was climbing into the first rank of manufactur- ing communities; more plate glass had appeared in the places for retail trade, and a new theatre had been constructed out of the remains of the ancient iipiscopal L^hurch on Liberty Street. But none of these things was absolutely essential to the drama of human life in the old town More noteworthy was the passing to his fathers of the Reverend Dr. Evans, the pastor of the Central 126 A PIRATE CR^FT urnTrmr. ^t^Z^^Jlr"- This blow wa, «,ft- vilbge as in a New England town. " =^'<"™>"' and women. The never enHin J k -i^- ^® ?^ '"^^ Agatha Renier's share in fhl 1 .. ^°''^^- been very ereat tS. k ,1 u ?f"8^es of time had flower wLTfraJil. ^"^^ ^^^ ^^°°"^«^' ^nd the promiseTad^g,t:n^ltr' ChSh'"/^ '? ^^^'^ 127 ^' MISS PETTICOATS her voice, her gestures. She seemed quite to the manner born, which delighted Mrs. Copeland be- g)nd measure, as justifying her warmest predictions. Her boasted woman's intuition " had made no mis- take, and she gloried in the fact. "Agatha has certainly made wonderful progress by her own inborn qualities," she said to Mr. Hard- mg one day. " But don't you think that I, too, de- serve some of the credit?" she asked, wistfully. She felt a childlike desire to be praised. " You certainly do," he returned with his kindly earnestness, " a part no one can overestimate. Had It not been for you, I dare not think what she mi^ht. perhaps, be to-day." Tears of gratitude came to the stem old woman's eyes. It was her most cherished pleasure to feel that she had turned the strong tide of this young life mto safe and happy channels. She loved the girl more than she would have confessed to anyone even to herself. ' Agatha's mental progress had been equally re- markable. For no moment had she lost sight of her determination to become strong in mind and powerful in personality. She applied herself to her studies with immense energy, choosing, so far as she was allowed, the things that would make her amount to something." All the practical elements of finance and business she had drained from old Samuel Henderson, the pensioned cleik, until he declared that his attendance was a waste of time— pleasant, he had to admit, but still a waste. 128 A PIRATE CRAFT SIGHT ED tfilv^ '""*'"? °* "er affairs. Alllh s wSS ^ndfaeher woald have p„t ft, .^T-.JL'Z She would not have been herself h- u^^ «^ r«5? * •^' "^*' ^^"" *«np«r, her pride ever b™s;,u^tr^'" "^"^ *" ** Sirl a tou^h of and fflf> """^ '' *" "«" I »*«d you to copy r«mSo^>^- ' ""'^^ " "o™ fron, -y aJI."^"'' ^ i *?"Wn't have asked you." Agatha caught s.ght of the envelope on the desk "Vou will find it there, Mrs. Copeland; you've MISS PETTICOATS no right to accuse me without looking," and swept out of the room and up to her chamber. A few minutes later a very penitent Agatha came down agam. " Oh, Mrs. Copeland," she cried, striving to keep back her sobs, " will you forgive me ? I— did bring back the envelope, but I left the letter in a book I was readmg, and— just found it. What can you thmkofme?" ^ Such incident? as this were few, and when they did occur they made Mrs. Copeland's heart warm toward the giri rather than otherwise; she recoe- nized Agatha s firmness in standing on her rights when justice seemed to be on her side, and her in- stant yieldmg when she was shown to be wrong and she was by no means displeased. Agatha's musical tastes were given every en- couragement; in fact, when Mrs. Copeland found what a natural aptitude she had for the piano she insisted on a thorough course of instruction for the girl. Prof. Arpeggio went into ecstacies over his new pupil s cleverness ; allowing for his characteristic flattery however, she did play very well indeed. She had no very exalted opinion of her talents ; once ?^u?* a world-famous woman pianist came to Old Chetford for a recital she sat spellbound through it all, and nothing could induce her to touch her piano for a week. f « '^ Jl?5 f ^,^^rs a,l-e still full of that wonderful, wonderful playing," she said, in answer to Mrs. Copeland s remonstrance. " Don't make me spoU it all by listening to myself. I want it to last" 130 derment at Z^^Z^J^tT '"'' e»«<' '" won- "Grandfather!" cried th^ o-;-! The captain roared with laughter. rou hear mef " he reioin^rf " wru^,. - , .. that crash-bang and lickettv Tr^'^n ^ ^*' "^'^ ^" pianner ? Why I couW h. J.^^ ^°'"u^ °" ^" t^<^ ship's crew here and WHn! ^°"^^^ ^ ^^^^^ en|.; ThenTe addeZend"eri;- '"°"" *'^ ^'«^- « Ah^ ^°" f^^i *° ^^^^ ^"u^°'^.y*'''^ «^°^ an' kinder ?«^nH nL ^y' y^^^-f a °"t an' out lady with yer grand new nggin , an' as fer good looks-well. I am t a gom' ter make yer vain, that's all. I says yetier alct*" ' ^°*- ''"^ " ^'"^ °^ ^'^^^^^^^ " Nonsense. Hank." said the girl as she cordially Kf ^' w ?/ " '^"^'^ y^" '"y f riend Tn 'he c^anXbi?^^"'' '^^^^^^•*''- I^-en't By skilful little touches, mostly reminiscent ^^I o,r?v""?^'^ ^'? ^''^^"^^^ and his senSof bemg out of his element in such luxurious surround- "Now I'll play something for you Hank" «Ti# «ch,m.d. merrily. " Wtaf ,h^^-^ "" '"""^ ^^''- 1 ve been- wonderinff—whether T'm . or a failure here." ^vnetner Im a success ^"AsIcAi It Sarah." "Nc," Agatha replied very gently, "she is too '35 MISS PETTICOATS prejudiced in my favor. Oh, of course I have l^med many things and quite outgrown the old Harpoon ' girl. I can play and sing and talk in a decent fashion. But-^m I— really fit for— ? " " For what? " he asked, as the pause seemed likely to contmue indefinitely. "For the higher world!" she blurted out, "the world of grand people, the world of society." Guy looked at her in silent astonishment. She had ambitions, then, this girl from the ranks, am- bitions not to be measured by the ordinary standards of youth. She had fixed her eyes on the mountain tops Yet why not? " he asked himself hurriedly; she had the magic fascination of beauty, the power- ful force of personality, the irresistible attraction of a brilliant mind. Everything but station was hers, and he knew that that objection was by no means insuperable, even in race-proud Old Chetford And there were far fields beyond. At last he an- swered her, but by a question in return. "^ Why do you ask me that, Agatha? " " Because," she replied fervently, " because you know everything; you are a man of that work' and a leader too; oh, I know it," she hurried on as if to ward off any complacent deprecation, " I have seen it and heard of it. And your stories of the things you go to— don't you suppose I have drunk them all in, and longed for the time when you would come home and tell me about everything? But I— what real chance do I get to grow? I never see anybody nor go anywhere." ' " But, my dear Agatha, you mustn't suppose that 136 _AN IDOL OF CL^r ^^^nttoXons.tZi^^':^'''' ^^^ little, and when I see you s^Jn^tli^ ^^. "°^«^°' .^^ among them all, it simply make ' m. i """^ u ^^^^^ for a wider range of Hfe %k. !. ^°"8^ ^^^ "«>« stilted and absufd ° I^s thJ^'f ' ^"^'^ ^^^^ ^"^^ though. I would it/L , ^* ^^y I can put it. Coartleigh's SS^^«3S!,'"™"°? »' ««• Worth! evening, at which tim^ IkI k- p , ^ Michets' one unpleaLt referen Sat^^^^^^^ ^^^ »"ade de. the horsewhip. However Thi?/' salutary arti- the necessity of usin^ it ITr,, """^T^^ ^^^^^ted of Louise none tTfil'h ^ or?,7 "°"^'^r^^ the loss public scandal. Therf l^inJ no ^2 ^°' "'^P'"» traction for the time he h. i^ ° "^^^^ ^P^^'^I at- Worth-Courtleigr whL/t^^7'*^''^ ^^^"^ to Lucy still found St Hav^n^ "'^-^"^ ^""^^"^y he she kept a Auf and^'SfJ,^^^^^ It was for this reasnn fW ^ ?^ . "'^ domgs. Agatha about as n^^r^^foSSCiS '^^^ MISS PETTICOATS I ni -? 1 did occasionally escort her to a race of the Curlew Bay Yacht Club or to some other public entertain- ment, for which favors she was always grateful in simple fashion. For his part, he enjoyed her fresh, vigorous mind and the charm of her personality. The old hostility had long since disappeared. He realized, being by no means a fool, that this wry attractive girl was in turn attracted by him. He could see by the expression of her eyes when he came into a room where she was that her interest was m him before all others. And yet there was in that look a something that baffled him. He never saw her heart nor her soul within those liquid brown depths— that he could swear. Admiration was there, but not of a man— that nettled him some- times; It was more the semi-worship of an imper- sonal being standing for something grand and far off. " Ah, well," he said at last, " your day is sure to come, Agatha. Don't try to hasten it, for the throne of the society queen is generally studded with spikes. As for Mrs. Worth-Courtleigh— well do you imagine she's entirely happy? " " It isn't a question of happiness," returned the girl stoutly. " If I ever reach such things, I shall have too much to think of to waste time trying to be happy. Ah, you shall see." The intensity of her words and manner stirred the smooth man of the world into a species of won- derment. He felt something more in this deter- mination than the mere childish determination to be a great lady. But he preferred her in other moods 138 AN IDOL OF CLAr Dort Po^L S * S^V^ to-morrow over at Fair- Thtc • V ^""^ "^""^^ y°" "ke to go? " rn„H^l-T*^*'°" "^^^ ^^^«' because Mrs. Worth- A«Tfh^ ^-2; M *^^ '"?'•«"'« court. " ffJ^r'^f childlike gratitude. « Vn,', «f!°"^1.^°'^^ *°'" ^^^ answered. ture. Each m«nber is to.take ten, and there are to Sf P"-"/°K "" ^' '""^ the worst After 7tet Xdo';,u1aytfa"'S^t> ""^ ^^P^'" "yl^S' «. «nd^ twro'ft"?'"'' ^"^ ^"«'' " --^ ^-'^ hJ^'JiT ^'' *^'''' ^ '■" '<»'' '0 charming as now m^/ "^^u""* "'''"S^ «•" '«• banner of excit": ment and her eyes shone with anticiDation Sh. leaned over him until her breath fa.mTfe fece th^Vf^^ "^."" f°'8r««"' °f everything^ve w^iid^r clfsp^ed\Tt^tSsirl:H F 139 MISS PETTICOATS "Why, how funny you look' " nr w/Pf"w" ^?^^- When did «vcr ridicule «?;^ ^t.^^JV° *=°°^ impending passion? should" ^* '^"«d feebly, " I don't know why I "Oh but you did; it's gone now." lo Hamilton the situation was perplexing and unsatisfactory. How he, a man of ^ ex^?ieS^2 and gr^t sang-frotd, had come so near to making rWtS?t • ^/ breakdown with this young and still !ff JI! "Pu^ ^' ^*^^ Prettmess would never have so af^ed him, nor yet diablerie of the purely physical sort He was ordinarily cool, even in his most as- SffTrSt'Terf'- ^"^*^^^ *"^P"^^ ^^« tolaJ'y different there was m it impelling force he had never felt before. He wonderS if it could b^ thlt bve so contemptuously waved aside by h^ friend pittoly™'' ""^ *^^ ^^^"^^^^ **»« suggestion im- Agatha had turned away, and was eazinir out at whet&eY.d ''^ rV° ^'^ -^"- - to Whether she had seen his almost involuntary intent to «,fold her and had evaded it by a la^gh or whether, as she said, there had been^omeS on his face to excite her mirth. He finally d^ dS to the ways of women were past finding out, and that P^u!''''' '' ^^^'^ ^'^ "^'*h- Ple^iint nor upTh^%^;[iewfy""^'* *'^ """' °^ -^^^^ --"^ "There comes Mrs. Copeland," she said, "and 140 to diiSier with us And H^ J? Pwsuaded to stay «njoy Hank aithe taSj^" ""''-'■°* John would Oh, It's going to be such fun " rrit^ tu^ • , '^m^.^n "'• H-«t™"iu.s^«te!' l»nd°witlJa'?„iI.*'°" "°"'^" »»''' Mrs. Cope- fluence o'i such a '^.uTa!.*!"'",'. ""'''^ *« '"" had happened. shefoM herself »d th,?."«^V"«^ her^e., satisfaction. Shr'i^ld' t'v*^ 1^™ 141 CHAPTER XV A ROLUNG STONB THE day for the Camera Club's outing was one of those beautiful gifts of mellow October for which Old Chetford is famed above all other New England towns. The air was spicy and just tempered to the degree for out-of-door pleas- ure. If it were the intent of the members of the select organization to woo nature with their plates and films, that gracious lady seemed ready to lend herself smilingly to the process. It was a day to feel the gladness of young life, to send the blood along its course in leaps and bounds; the melancholy of later weeks was still afar off. Agatha's spirits were more than characteristically buoyant as she walked along with Hamilton to the rendezvous of the club. He was a fine and command- ing figure in his fashionably cut outing suit, and his air was that of a man who knows his social value and his personal charm. As the unsophisticated girl at his side stole glances at him from time to time, she was sure that no one in all Old Chetford could compare with her own special cavalier in the manly graces, and she felt the pride that is but natural to a young woman selected by so notable a figure. 142 A ROLLING STONE of tS C^JlTlnV^r^'^^'^^^^^-rn^^rl Agatha and Hamilton arrived f^''''"^^'^ ^^^" pleasure in introducing his nrS^^;.^"^ ^"^^ ^^^^^^ leading lights of the dub whS^^?'T."*°" ^° '^^'^ know. He had carefully 7ns?S.H • f'^'u""^ ^^'''^^ly tha membership was oS^ Tfhf '"'° ^^"^ *^^ ^^ct distmctions in the town^H cl .T'^ P"^^^ social day was perhaps the Si^^^AVh ' "^"^ ^" ^"^^t hadMytrq)idation,Slver », u''^'"*^"- ^^^^^ to Thomas Harrin^on e ' ^ ?f T^' P''^^'^^ banker, and the pr^deit of ;h^ fi h^vy-jowled evidence of it and i^Al a ^"^ ^^^^' she gave no such tact and da?it;"tl2L^T':^^ ^'"h thoroughly delighted ^ *^^* Hamilton was better to examine h^' ?ace V"^ ?'^ eyeglasses the course, of Mrs. CopelSdW^.'^'^'^^T^" ^^^^rd, of enjoy our little tn> T tamvnf '' ^. '""^^ ^°" ^i" Hamilton, howeveV; he's a dJn ^^^'"? "^^ ^"end dangerous indeed. Ha ha ha?"^'°"« ^^llow, veiy Others of the " Hill " t^^t. Captain Qayboume who hf^'^^'^''" ^^"^' notably brought by Miss M^hTtabel l^?'"!^'"^ to be I maiden of maturity who woS f \^°'"^^^^'^^. brown curls at the bart^T*, T ^ cataract of little a book of poems '^ °^ ^^' ^^^ «nd had written Claybourne looked uncomfortable. For years it MISS PETTICOATS had been an accepted fact that Miss Postlethwaite had been setting her cap at the gallant captain ; so far back, in fact, that, as the frivolous expressed it, " she outgrew the article of headgear twenty years ago." The Reverend Archibald Greenacre, with an im- mense tripod camera, under whose weight he fairly staggered, hurried up a little later, preceded by his tall and bony wife, whose personal appearance might have suggested a cause for his own meekness. Mr. Alphonso Emerson, custodian of the Old Chet- ford Public Library, was paired off with a mis- chievous schoolgirl, whose love of fun was not damp- ened in the least by her diffident, stammemg escort. Mr. Emerson was very near sighted and could not see to take a picture, but that mattered little to him; a camera was a good enough peg to hang a club on, and he hailed the new organization as distinctly educational. ^ His wife, a simpering lady with a youthful taste in dress, was also of the party, es- corted by Dr. Hackett, a jolly old surgeon who had seen service in the Civil War. The company at last completed by the addition of a dozen more couples of local distinction, a start was made for Fairport. The sight of the two score persons armed with hand cameras, which were not so familiar at that time, was especially grateful to the street urchins along the water front, who some- how lacked that reverence for ancestry felt by most of the c;ub members. A few of the bolder f<3rmed themselves into a whistling band and took upon themselves the honor of 'trading the procession. 14 A ROLLING STONE «n enjoyed than^W^TuJJS ° jffi'^Pi^' »" ■ndignant policeman ' ' """" <>* >>y an {feparS^r,,^-^^^^^^^^ ,«d way over harbor to Fairportf ALha^L^S^"'^ ^"°^^ the for a moment ^d lo^3^^fZ*^ ^'"""^ *^^ "-^nks wharves. Yes, thereTas t^Tn^^*^ ^ ^«« o^ tmct because of its sSess nil ^^J^^r dis- floated the flag at its W ^"^^^ ^^ th*^*'^' too, PerhS^Hatt^;'"^^^^^^^^^ "and apicjireof it, Mr. HSIihonf)^' Wouldn't we take rather ijn^^iiX^^^^^^^ j!-^'" ^e said on her face, he added Sit "i'^t^'^fPP^^^tment way. Perhaps when wi come h/2 *°° ^^' °ff' ^ny- ^dget a good shot aUt^° ^^^^ ^*^ <^n &o down tempted'byrKfumtarh;^^*'^ ^"^ Hamilton the direct road to t^e fort ^T "' *^^ «^'^«' 'eft a imle path which sWrtS^a fu^f Jf^'?' ?"** ^°"°^*^ Here was Guy in hTclean^'^* ""^ ^^^^'^^ <=olor. ward women. The l^aufl? i 5 ""^"t^' ^"itude to- peaceful scene, thrpreincl of th' *^' '^^"^" ^"^ charmmg girl at his side 'ad/ tJ's.«nspoiled and •jent a man of fine impose, °?'"i ^°^ '^^ ^o- Agatha, brimming over wffnLc^'r^" ^"^^'^ at outmg which was so hS vi,^"'" ^1°"" '^' ^'^^e her hfe he could not hefp /Jm?^"? 'he routine of W Worth-Courtleighf i? r Trp,? ^^rt. MISS PETTICOATS blush-rose beside a brilliant and overpoweringly in- tense exotic. The girl was bubbling over with a pretty curiosity that led her to ask all sorts of questions, as if he were a great repository of fact and fancy. It flattered him. and he answered good-naturedly when he could and with humorous evasion when he could not. " What about your pictures? " she queried, as they walked along at a swinging pace. " Pictures; what pictures? " he replied blankly. " Why, these," tapping the handsome and costly camera slung at his side. " Ah, to li sure — ^pictures— of course. Stupid of me, by Jove. Do you know I'd forgotten all about them. It would be the proper thing to take a picture, wouldn't it? But what shall it be? " " That," cried Agatha, pointing to an opening in the trees through which showed a bit of road and a quaint red farmhouse. Beyond the russet arch of the leaves glimmered the deep blue of the bay. It was a vista to delight an artist. " It is pretty," returned Hamilton, unslinging his camera. " I'm a bit rusty on this sort of thing, but I guess I can make it work." " O-o-h ! " exclaimed Agatha, as she looked into the "finder" at Guy's request and saw the lovely miniature reproduction of the scene. " Isn't that fine? A little to the right. There! Splendid!" Her hair brushed his hand as she bent to the camera to take her observation. The just perceptible contact tingled like electricity. He pressed the little knob, and at the dull click she started up. 146 A ROLLING STOMn " No? They Sif tK ^^^u^ ^ beautiful." with a measurVd Xd/i^'y rj* ^^'•«^'" he replied, devil.may-care%2Jh ^""^^ ^^'^^S^ *° ^is usual tt home." ^ ^ ^^^^ ^^ s l»ke our Corot Agl/h^'gS^ l^trthe'Sfnllf "^*^' P"«»»'"^ to a spot ^he?e the sun sEbriiSr'^".'''" ''^' With"t1,rT r ^«^P -' w^^^^^^^^ ^^^ the'Sr^Mk -d'rl^drr' ^^W face, had fallen back, and he7hair l- m"'"*" " ' ""' ^' wque confusion by the soft w,^H .k °7" '"*° P'^"*"- th« Gulf Stream.^ She ^asX n'* """1" "P ^'•°»" bloom of life marf* mZJ^ . . '"carnation of the the dying y^r "°'^ "^""'** hy contrast with W^^^T.*^"^ help you.?" ^ "Not n««Jri,y?T«S^^'y°"?«ast„,ak/,en." here," tappint the blackhnv . j! P"'.'^* ?'«•"■« « not convftlced ^"^ confidently. She was '" "rnrca^wSat^wtr'" -^y S-d? " MISS PETTICOATS iHff. H f ; "Everything. You see— upon my soul, Agatha Renier, don't you icnow that you are a beautiful girl?" She felt the hot blood mount to her face. No man save her grandfather had ever told her such a thing before, and there was the whole world of difference between his simple-hearted flattery and this bold and disquieting admiration- She raised her eyes and found him gazmg at her with an expression she could not fathom, but was sure she did not like. She took refuge in that woman's way that is as old as the sex: an apparent ignoring of the great salient fact, and a changing of the dangerous sub- ject to the commonplace. "Don't you think we had better be going on?" she said, " It is quite a distance to the fort." " As you please," Guy replied stiffly, as with some- thing very like a sigh he followed her toward the roadway. A stone wall was directly across their path, and Agatha stepped upon it with little care. Her one desire was to return to the party and so be rid of the awkwardness that had so suddenly arisen between them. "Wait; let me help you," said Hamilton, as he stretched out his hand toward hers. "Oh, no, thank you; I " The little deprecatory laugh was interrupted by a dull grind as one of the stones on which she was standing became dislodged and rolled to the ground. She tottered for an instant, striving to regain her balance, and uttered a sharp cry of pain. 148 ^ ROLLING STONE ^^'-y^^'^t:;^^^^^ ^--a:^tin-^s;i;r.ted?9'E^="-.> sne asked in a trembling voice, as they 151 MISS PETTICOATS passed an unusually placid cow chewing her cud in a farm door-yard. "I perceive but uncertainly," replied the near- sighted gentleman, hastening his pace with alacrity, but the animal does bear a resemblance to the ' tau- rus ingens ' of the Romans. Let us accelerate our sttps," and the frightened man fairly dragged the laughmg damsel along after the others. As they neared their destination, Clayboume be- came as uneasy as his philosophical mind would per- mit over the continued non-appearance of Hamilton and Agatha Renier. He had been suspecting for some time that Guy was not wholly oblivious to the charms of his aunt's protegee, and as the young man's closest friend he had warned him in vague fashion once or twice, al- ways to be met with a laughing discUimer that did not convince him. The propinquity of a pretty young woman was to him always a position of danger, and he knew Guy's inflammable nature. The thud-thud of a horse's hoofs and the rumble of a passing carriage interrupted his musing. Hello, old man," cried a gruflly cheery voice. get theT''^^^^ '""^ ^^' " '*'" ^^°"^' °' y°" " "^^*^ Clayboume caught a glimpse of Mrs. Worth- Courtleigh s face. It was set and hard, and bore traces of some unpleasant experience. He wondered If she had been quarreling with her husband, and ended, as usua , by thanking God that he had no wife. PoorMissPostlethwaitel 152 m ^ The .SL th"?Z"^S^ S^" *' .»">* of ">« the shipping slidine oT^f .1,^?' '5* ""^ °PI»«". eveiy conceivable ooinrS ■ '"'V'*?'' Iwxes from Tho, th^ ph^^gr^hed "Tl ^'- ^"""°"- pairs and oies ^ '^ ""* °"'" '» SToups and «»' «X"-w'j!c,^i"';:?S'" -'<«'«- Emer. without hii^ in thJri^H ,1, . """■ ** "Mnplete what can hTve k^.'S,^^ .;*«" P"*"/ R'"!" girl- though h^^tS':;?^!:' ^"'^ «» psited the writhr„g «•«„ lo£s Lll ' """ .h.^?o *T„T husi 1 te'^'^'l- r *- "™ Sykes's own i-Irden ir,^ .f""* ''■°"' Captain -e tucked^in"a"rord"re:i,efr .i:Ter;°?S MISS PETTICOATS themselves, and a great canvas was stretched over aJl to keep the heat in. Now the pile was left to st«m Itself into one glorious repast, of different parts, to be sure, but blended into a gastronomically harmonious whole by the touch of the mighty savor With ever shaipening appetites the club folk gath- ered around the fragrant pile to watch the progress of events. Captain Sykes and Artemas were plied with questions. ^ '. i ^}' 5^?***"'" ^^^^ Miss Postlcthwaite, " does L " * ^\f^^ cJams, do you think, to be put on those terrible rocks ? " " Wall, ma'am," replied the veteran urbanely. " I alius suspects that it does. Cause why? The critters opens their mouths an' gives a hiss when they hits the heat. Ef ye puts yer head down cluss, ye can hear "Why, so I can," exclaimed the lady, "isn't it hornble. I don't think I ever can eat oie again.'' And she then and there determined that her next poem should have for its central thought the tyranny of man as applied to the helpless bivalve. . Now, Captain," said Harrington with his best air of patronage, "we want you and Artemas to stand up by the ' bake ' and be photographed. We are all going to snap you at once." " Sho, now," returned the old man, " I weren't never took by anybody in my life, nor Artemas, nuther, I'll be bound." « '?^*^'*,^r' "'«<1 SUckersley triumphantly, waU, tbet s jest whar yer off'n yer bearin's, ship- 156 PtUNBAS STKE^S CLAMBAKE ^ row of laughter gr«t«l a.e and«,t mariner-, "Shet up, ye ol' fool," growled Sykes "wanter we^JSTl" r\*'"%''' *«« ™«'^. do yeTsS H we"ia*te,o",:Sl^"'" ''°*'^ «'• ««Woa "^lalSh?" -^T"* "»" picturesque." '^ «.ou^'LSu!let'doSbt'^*.o"aSt°M ^?&?u^'C-'^-^"^=^'^--- firir,„ 7 ^^^' ^°^y Clicks resounded like the firing of some midget batterv andth^ruL^ 5 CantAi'n CvL-^ rr^ j ""/'*"« inc deed was done. In jest five mmoots more " he Hf^la~^ " mi' be a-wrastlin' with the best ^'b the Wn .' ^' " ye in this ere world of our'n^ ^'"^ " ^'^^^ «^" In the meantime stakes had been driven into the 157 MISS PETTICOATS cround near by, and cross pieces nailed on them. Over these were placed long boards, and a rude but substantial table was the result This was now spread with coarse earthen dishes and cups and pew- ter eating utensils. Artemas had made coffee in a gigantic pot that had once helped cheer a crew of whale hunters beyond the Arctic circle. \, ?*"^ off'!' ^e the cheery cry from the captain. Ay, ay, sir, piped Artemas, and in a minute or two the lu&cious treasures of the deep were un- covered. *^ There was a rush for seats and a great rattling of plates, knives and forks. Some of the men served as waiters, bringing up the clams in immense bread- ^s and the lobsters in little wooden trays. The Keveraid Archibald Greenacre, who conceived the Idea that he ought to be helpful, was among the most enthusiastic of the servitors. Not even the fact that he lost his balance while stooping to gather some dams from the " bake," and burned his hands on the hot stones as he fell, could quench his ardor. He even overheard himself called a " lubber " by the disgusted Captain Sykes without making any protest so full of the joy of assisting was he. But his happiness, like other joys of life, as he had often preached, was transitory, for when he took his place at the table to indulge in his favorite creature comforts of clams and mtXtca butter, his wife whis- pered to him with her air of authority •— "Archibald Mrs. Worth-Courtleigh tells me that she saw Mr. Hamilton kiss that girl of his aunt's. I don t know whether to believe her or not ; but it's our 158 PHtNEAS SrXES-S CLAMHylUu at heart, and had little t^Sfnr u""^ ^ fi:«ntleman his wife's pers^S wS L '-h\^" '"^"^- ^^^ own, and her income^ !^,S^^f '*'°"«^^'' ^^^n his fallen into a slouS^f Z^^^^ ^^'^^\ ^^^ »>« had after the feast hf d tLn ^.^^! "'"? ^'^^•"^ce. So, best in Old ChetfofdT^^t^*' V'""^ Pronounced the Co^leigh. Who ^^.'^^^\^:tX^, = tj: "v^^ ^sZf^r^ from the bar~a„d mv olS? "?'' ^- "^^'^ withdraw ent. Have a d^r "^ ^ ^''^ '' ^""' ^^''^'^ at pres- of^hit"^rttriL^„:i^^^^^^^ «?hed to^hi^wLVTrS^hef t'^^^^^^^^^ ^^ miipht arouse. ^rouoie her thoughtlessness '59 CHAPTER XVII A 8HATTBKED IDOL KEPT within the Bristol Street mansion for the next week or two by her sprained ankle, Agatha found herself a very cheerful pris- oner. Guy was careful to see that she was pro- vided with the rarest of flowers and the daintiest of sweetmeats, to both of which tributes her heart warmed instinctively. He himself devoted much time to her pleasure, and talked and read to her with all the ability he possessed. He looked upon himself as in a certain sense the cause of her accident; he even experienced a feeling of shame sometimes as he remembered the kisses he had pressed upon her lips under circumstances which he would have been quick to condemn in any- one else. He admitted freely now the fascination of the giri, yet something kept in restraint his impulse to make open love to her. " Confound it," he said to himself one day, as he watched Agatha's lovely profile half-eclipsed by a book she was reading, " I want her, and yet I can't tell her so. What's the matter with me ? I never was troubled in that line before." Then the face of Mrs. Worth-Courtleigh rose into i6o A SBATTBRED IDOL ««««!««* H«la^^,"vi°'"«;'J»'«"«-W «... Perfume he wouwSt^Ttaown''"" T!'»P« »"»« no.up.r«:nptioa T^'elSSid.'JeSS:-'"'^ «wA /o «, ,0 ,<^ «««'*««* o/ fr«,/ imporlanc, I that admi,..?^ no temr^S"" *fi ? *'«' «nd for him. Ever sincf 1^'?!?. '''«. <'~'I«1 to ^^^^at't^h-I^S'-^Sf/^^^^^^^^^ ■rride urged her to let him go with loi MKaOCOfY RtSOUITION TBT CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART hte. 2) la 12.8 lit U ■lUu 123 13.6 IM IPO |Z2 1.8 ^ APPLIED IN/HGP ^gRi 1653 East Main Street ^T^^ Rochester. New York 1*609 ii«a ra (716) «2 - 0300 -Phone ^ ^^ (716) 288 - 5989 - Fox MISS PETTICOuiTS scornful silence; but the jealousy bom of a powerfu infatuation spurred her to meet him face to face an( see If there were any glimmer of excuse for hii conduct. ruA'J*^ ??' »* *^e appointed hour, this leader of Ok Chetfords "modem" set and this hero of socia romance found one another. .. Ti!^ ^'^S.°^ their rendezvous was a public house " H^ "^^^f"^ f "i °^ ^"^t°^ Street known as Howard s." It had once been the home of a rich old recluse, and even now it looked like a private estate, set far back from the street in a heavy Sh walH^f "1";'^°""?"^ ^^ ^ ^'^h ^"d dark stone rSl K ! /^"ff r ^°' ^"^^ ^"« ^as unimpeach- able, but for all that the women who had occasion thJ^- i ^P^^"^^ generally did so heavily veiled. Ihe kind who would not have cared whether their faces were seen or not were strictly debarred by the proprietor, a retired English army man, who prided himself greatly on the quality of his patronage. In a little private parlor of " Howard's " there that ^?\LT aI 'f "^ ^^"^^^ ^^^ *^^' so violent that the landlord had to come and gently beg for less noise. Mrs. Worth-Courtleigh thfew all cfudo„ to fisn-wife ' ^ ^* *^^ unfortunate Guy like a " So you have found a new toy to take uo vour time, have you ? " she said when he'^^tered the^room! a new woman to kiss, another to add to your string of conquests, you liar. You'd deny it, would you ? creature from the wharves, over in Fairport that day. 162 * t, ■/. ^* Come now. Lucy • Agatha's a good 3- WIM that Cghr ^' " °" >'°" '«'""'• »"<""«." ^he mo„Sa"ed."°"' ^'"^= '^^">^'^ » e°°d girl," he r.- he;i^a'cou^i^l*:,'4'-"^4f'whole,s,„„Mss she doesn't belie her sS_R„f' °*. ^''t °"e'"' ^nd passionate pleadiW ,,°? ^•« y"" ' she cried with bering m^ How • Id "'"l^ ^™ '^° "• "'"^- Som«h:n„ J^ "'".y™' how could you'" yc st that I r, *" T"""' '™*' Lucy, and very unfus ly I^* 1^,H^'™ '^" '^'^'"^ ™' is .ha. i,J^ I :."r.S''rharS'a,''clt t" MISS PETTICOATS p?dition I went to the club and got to drinking; drank altogether too much and wasn't myself at ?Tl. What I did in the field I hardly remembered after- ward. Do you think I could forget you in my right mind? Never, Lucy; I swear it." This bit of diplomacy on Guy's part was well timed. Mrs. Worth-Courtleigh's anger had passed its climax, and in the reaction came tenderer thought of the man who so filled her horizon. Partly because she wished to, and partly because it seemed plausible, she believed the story, and gradually came to her normal frame of mind. To clinch the advantage and make her quiet, if nothing more, Guy added a quite gratuitous lot of vows and protestations of fealty, which he argued, would not hurt him, and would do wonders for her peace of mind. She went home completely mollified as regards Guy, but more determined than ever in her hatred of Agatha, who, she reasoned, must have taken ad- vantage of her escort's condition with some deep intent of bettering herself — ^perhaps a future mar- riage. That, she felt, she could and would prevent. Hamilton sought the sheltering fold of the At- tawam Club as soon as the interview was over. He felt that he needed some antidote against the nerve- racking experience of the afternoon, and, as usual, he relied upon alcohol to supply the remedy. He drank heavily there, but no resulting joy came from the potations. Instead there was only a sodden discontent with life and its burdens. He remem- bered a new French romance at home in the library, 164 1 n A SHATTERED IDOL ^^nt^"^ '^ «° »" -d it fat h. mighi Agatha, who had been LS to a ^, L°'S'^ sm«ean\a'^i.eeff'S;Xte:° """ ""* " ""«■« dulled G a dee^"? f±.- '''".?''°"F^ ^'^ ^""k. of her aspirations, of her visions for the future In that The; «tf?riL''o *""■'' '"'"'' "«"'" ^O" '««> Sha? " '" """^'^ P""""''" f"^ us S; yourself? she asked in larg«-eyed wonder. 165 MISS PETTICOATS " Oh, hang it, don't make it so hard for a fellow. Don't you know, can't you guess that I love you? " Had the aristocratic roof of the Copeland mansion fallen about her ears, Agatha could have scarcely been more astonished. Keen of perception though she was, she had seen nothing heretofore to suggest such a thing. Hamilton had been to her too imper- sonal, too much an ideal standing quite beyond her, to dream of as a lover. Now she heard, but did not credit her senses. " That you — love tnef " she gasped. She was so startled that when Guy drew her closely to himself, throwing an arm about her shoulder, she made no effort to release herself. "Is it such a surprise, Agatha?" he asked hoarsely, bending- his head so closely to hers that their faces almost touched. At that moment she knew the truth. She slipped from his grasp, and faced him with an air of defiance. " Agatha ! Have you no word for me? I love you — love you. You must know what that means." " Mr. Hamilton, I am truly sorry ; but I fear you are not quite — not quite yourself to-day." " Not quite myself, eh ? Well, how can a man be himself when he's in love ? But what do you mean ? " " I mean that you have been drinking," she an- swered steadily- " Well, and what if I have? " he queried, with a harsh laugh. " Nothing, except that the words you have just used were evidently inspired by liquor and not by i66 y SHATTERED IDOL °y the aid of tahi*. o«^ ' *^H«t. to the be]l-cord ^M^tf?!' ^J^^' ^'^ ^ay what she was doZ ran^ ?"^ .u^^ u^"">^ '•^^""d njou^ful functionary afte^ f^!. '^9^ ^^'^^'' That Hamilton, assisted wf her T'^'^^l «^'^"^« ^* ceremony. ^^ "*^ room with elaborate futen oveftK^ "^'^'^ ^^P* '" youth- had hitherto adm!?ed Guyls^^^^ '^°' She which to her stood for a mvsHroi^ "^^^"J^'" ^ title human symbol of nobilitrof „if "^ °^^^"^' ^^e fection of courtesy ^ ^*"^® ^"^ the per- fouli^^^^^^^^^^^ don. she had had become as common as Th^ "^'^^ '^^^"^t- He msult to her pride TV/JL ^ , commonest by his man f It wasTncrediS^ ^le l^J^ *° '^^ ^ ^^""^^n felf sne ought to purge hersel^^^^^^^^ ?J ^^^^^ «he men of old. Love ? She Lni \^^^ ^«^hrew wo- ;•• oneofitsman^LstSnT^^^^^ ^ - 'i it more. ^"'^^'^^^^ons, she wanted never h-\ b3^ts;i!;;^X"s& ^^«-^-ns in the honored by hi! alancef ?f ^.^•"^"S^^' ^^^ "ot French romance which Sh ^^ *"^^ ^^ ^^^ad the the latest trouble o7a troubL r''"iJ>^ Precipitated of the type of heroine in which J^" ^% '^' ^"^^"'•^ had no power to chprJv. i? "^ usually dehVhted the book into'l t ^ner j;; "7' -nd ^t last he to^ed great mecca, the club ^"" ^'^^ ^°"«^ ^^^ his 167 T mm f-i» MISS PETTICOATS Then; he found a rather congenial crowd, and again drank more than was necessary. Yet he could not shake off the thought of Agatha's hatinting eyei and the vision of her proud face. " By heaven," he said to himself, " I almost be- lieve I'd have asked her to marry me." i68 tt CHAPTER XVIII GOD almighty's GENTLEMAN u DINNER that evenins was not a speciallv «. sr.'^:s 'a^'zr 4h^^"-^^ ^^t^^^^^ from her silence with anv J^ff "? ''"' *« "°"« ^^^'^-.b^^Sy o:^e^r\'S''*"'"' ''*-«'^ the keen Mrs. Copland *^^ something lo her pretty vis-a vis ^ ' '^"'''"S^ searchingly at MISS PETTICOATS " Very," assented Agatha, and the meal concluded with no more light on the wherrabouts of the wander- ing Guy. " Play me something, child," said Mrs. Copeland, as she called for lights in the drawing-room. The wretched girl was in no mood for the piano, but she sat down dutifully and opened a folio of music at random. It chanced that Schubert's " Death and the Maiden " came to the surface, and she began to play it gently. T^e tender melancholy of the music, the Haunting beat / of its .rmonies and the suggestion of its name were too much for Agatha in her overstrung state of mind ; she was the maiden, and the " death " was the death of that maiden's dream of a hero. Tears filled her eyes and she could not go on. " I — I'm not feeling very well to-night, Mrs. Cope- land," she said brokenly. " I don't think I'll play any more, if you'll excuse me." "Tut, tut," the old lady thought, "nerves! A new thing for Agatha. There's something back of all this, I'll be bouna. But I'll let nature work." Then she said aloud kindly : — " Well, well, my dear, you needn't play any more, of course. Get a good sleep to-night, and I don't doubt you'll be all right in the morning. You want to be, for Mr. Hardingf i"; coming, you know." Yes, Mr. Harding - ; coming, and Agatha felt a sense of satisfaction at the knowledge. He was to be relied upon, in any event. Not b«ing on a ped- estal, he could not fall. She liked him heartily and 170 realized. d'scuMion o( equals than she who was to b« the subic« 3 .„ "« Tennyson, tried to read. But not «in fh.^""™* ' '«"'' "d of the lines could ho?d 2T ■ p T«"y »"«' t*""/ The handsoiS face o<- (1^* ?:[' """VKhts for long": -». and n.ean;.%^^Hs?Wor.hrpti^^ Shi' S,: tfle'^: t ^^'O >■"«"• Wha. had could be treitS witM« "°" '° **"«« 'hat she She did n™taow of c«r"{'^"°'''" *■'"»"• lower life. She L^ m. ' °f ^" ««apades in »ex by what she siw to",^! rhi'.'™'""?' »' *« Even if he did lovL h^ u °*'' 'P*^"*- though. gave\* „X?Uucf asThrn'TV''' ** to know in fiction— h#.I,o!i • ^* ^"^ ^^^ ^^"^ d such a fashionTd in'tuch^a^n'^^^ h' HV L." himself, and had he askeH hZ . """^ '''^ ^n might have hesitated in he? a„,v- ""l"' ^''"'' '^^ doubted whether tStemo^stu"'' ''^^ " '^^''^ have which she knew she did n^f ^ "'''*' °^ romance, son, and she mVht^n'orh^^: ^Td^rnal ''' ''''' ^'nlrrn^T-^^^^^^^^^^^ For- the Httle lapses of manS I tJ'^'"^'^ '"'^^ ^"• case, for the truth was S ^h "^ "^'/^"'^ '" ^^is sceneintheIibra:y:^rrlT;fe?t?^^^^^^^ 171 MISS PETTICOATS Hi ( ton. Forgiveness can never change a fact; forget- fulness is a glossing that cannot be trusted. There was to Agatha a very real and poignant grief in this, mingled with strong resentment that a man of her own household should be the one, of all, others, to destroy a bright illusion. She wondered if all the men of the set in which he shone were as empty and false as he. She went to bed early, and after a bit more oii self-communion in the dark, fell into sound sleep with the locket in which her mother's face was framed clasped close to her heart. Once she awoke and thought she heard an unusual noise in the hall below. She knew it was Guy coming home. Had she seen him, her disgust would have been complete. Next morning Agatha was up with the sun, hummmg gaily as she busied herself with the pretty mysteries of her toilet. Her mood matched the crisp and glowing morning, and gone was all the dark melancholy of the night before. As she passed through the lower hall on her way to the breakfast- room, she caught sight of Guy's hat and coat on the hat-tree. " Good-morning, Mr. Hamilton," she said making an elaborate courtesy to the articles of apparel, " I'll venture to say that you do not feel as well as I do this momi.ig." The owner of the hat and coat did not appear until Agatha and Mrs. Copeland had breakfasted, and then he made a wry face at his egg and dallied in- effectually with his coffee. " What an ass I must have been," he mused as he 172 i " GOD ALMtOHTrS GENTLBM^K" tried to find somethini? of inferpct ;« ♦!,- grt some .s;nnr^Je"hrr.er„"r r„t' " bra«r '?af h.T '^ ?^' P''y*''=»' "««i of a dus^nJthl n'^' drawi„g..room, where he found her "Good morning, Mr. Hamilton," she said .1. rene^ but w.th no trace of interest in her vc^cL mJn,?^ morning. Agatha," and for the next tZroom' Th '^t "^'" ^'^' '' ^^ ^^ were afonefn " A^tha?"'" ' "^""'"''^ inquiringly: ;; Yes " she replied, facing him. 1 — 1 owe you an apology." "Indeed?" ^' MISS PETTICOATS u Yes, I thought so." "I was not — ^not myself, you understand." " Yes— I— understand." " You will pardon me ? You will not bear me ill- will ? " " What you really mean, I presume, is that I will not tell your aunt." " Well — I— that is—" he stammered, taken aback by this keen penetration of his thought. " You needn't be alarmed, Mr. Hamilton; I shall not tell her. I owe her too much to wish to cause her the slightest annoyance." " You are not flattering to me. You would not keep silent for my sake? " he queried. " Scarcely. Why should I? You did not for your own. If this is all you have to say, I will go on with my work." Had Agatha seen the look of malevolence he gave her retreating figure, she would have had still further cause to distrust him. But she went about her task with a song very irritating to Guy in his present condition. He was about to say something, he knew not what— something, perhaps, he might have been sorry for, when the door opened and the butler an- nounced in an especially funereal tone : "The Reverend Mr. Ralph Harding." Guy never felt any special interest in " sniveling parsons," as he called them, although this one could have put him hors de combat with the boxing gloves in three minutes, and less than ever did he care to see Harding at this time. So he bolted from the room 174 GOD ALMIGHTrs GENTLEMai^- tion. ~m«ning m answer to his saluta- «ro4"ai'"y.];'^«f» ha^. b«n going it pretty the libraAr for his ?w„ h^f^*"^'.?^ ••« Passed into "he loolc^ as if heZS^r, T^"f '"'* Agatha! "■jrateg; it's the Sid %S.' * '"'"'' o" '^'^ *is conven«ona^^;^s'h.'s oUl't"*.'"' '*«^ »'• student, came towird hta ' ^' *" P"' '•• '«"<>» fash,>*"' ^'^^ "^^''»«'" she returned in like "ut im atraid I've been a KoT"" ,"■''' ^° " «• hardly touched my lesso„ Yn^f ^Tl' ^°^ ^ ^ave the thinking to-day " °" '^'" ^^^^ to do all ^^^^&^\^^^^,}-^^- to read ahud. rose and fell in the nXl^caSe. .''.f ^^' ^"^ ^^^^^ the girl's mind could not S. '^^ ' ^^''^^ P^"" - .. .ho a little tjrh^.,Trrndeftt: of te^e:^; iSr^^iTe^i^ ^." ^-^ ^^^-^ an the external^ at lefsf oTHl^:^"^''^^''«^^^^^^ hked for his genial person, it I' l"^ °^^^'" ^^^ had .oc.worlc,fn<,har4rt'S'S^ha^'';r mmmm MISS PETTICOATS isters were a very excellent part of creation, no doubt, but they were neither picturesque nor inspir- ing to the imagination. A great shock had changed her point of view com- pletely, just as an earthquake might alter the ap- pearance of a familiar landscape. She found herself judging the two men by that great touchstone, the use of which all must learn sooner or later — the test of character and that native gentility that is not cut out on the same system a tailor uses in shaping a coat. Applying this rule she knew, once for all, which was the true gentleman. Although her thoughts were far away from Ten- nyson, these lines at last struck in upon her musings with a meaning that fairly startled her : " And thus he bore without abuse The grand old name of gentleman. Defamed b^ every charlatan And soil'd with all ignoble use." "Ah, Mr. Harding," she broke in impetuously, " what is a gentleman? What did Tennyson mean by a gentleman ? " He was struck by the intensity of her manner and the look on her face. He felt sure that no love of literature was responsible for those parted lips and those shining eyes. " A gentleman, Agatha ? Why, my dear girl, there are as many standards as there are classes of society. My own is simple enough : first of all he is a man. Then he is a courteous man, who will not wound others' feelings without cause; he loves honor and 176 truth and decencv iTuT- '^ ' ' • A man first of all I " a i. .. of the whole matter, thou;fhVAV?,f "^^^ '^^^ ^^y^^it He who is not a man canfot^f±„i^ ^'^^ "lan f f^'^^!^^^ to say, Agatha, ['lean. The cut of a coat L "^^^"^^n^ent, you suavity of a phraselJSc i ^""^^^^ °^ ^ bow, the ""akes its gen?Iemar fit i^^,«>rt °f tiding ^ that between society's .renHL ^^" >'°" this Agatha gentleman thereT:^^"^^"?"^"^ God Almifhty^ wide and so deep that th^ ! ^°^.^^ ^"^ "ntruth so would and the othlnvtl^n^^T^^^^^^^ ^.^ '^ ^^ ^e .We spoke with the Mr!!l * " "* could." with the eloquence of^^'*"'? °^ ^ Prophet of old ^ne had seen the smash nf t " '° ^ of service *e knew now thaHt ts^alr "t"'"- '■<* ^t She was young, and the ea„ht! *^?'''' '" '■™ *> .^t'd^^f,™**"*.-?^^';-^'-^^^^^^ «eved, ?nd shTtum^^-iX^rrt "" * ^- of grahtude which he dW not Th* ' ''""''f"! look -".ch he treasured ,on,^t ".t tSr^:iZ^^^ ^77 ' CHAPTER XIX THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS MUCH to her disgust Agatha went out too soon and strained her ankle by a long walk down Promontory Road. She was immensely exhilarated by the sweep of the wind up from the bay, the shrieking of seabirds and the toss- ing waters before and around her, but when she reached home she could hardly walk, and next day she was again helpless. It was very near to Christmas before she was able to leave the house. During this time her relations with Guy were unchanged so far as the superficial observer could have noted. But there were no more of those intimate tete-a-tetes that Hamilton had come to find so desirable, no more of the stories of society life she had once drunk in with such avidity. He had tried many times to pin Agatha to the subject of that momentous interview in *^he library, but in skilful, 'mtterfly fashion she flitted away from the danger ; she treated him with a deferential cour- tesy that was far more exasperating than downright rudeness would have been. " A battle now and then would signify interest," he thought more than once, " but this ^politeness 178 - ^^^ ^P^ R^r OF CHRISTKT^f! t ™-S^„'» -"den a fellow. Yo„ ca, uiy^, complaisance H^^!. "^ ^ "'"'■«' f""- her heriidwkhallhi^woriHT? ^'* ''™««. "'"• trod hard upon th. h °W if i"'^'' '■'P^'^ion so that his S> S at n°„7 °' """ «°'«"«>t. -VEiSzr?— neSStt in his mind and Srb F^^\^^« «t'" don^inant wise IcS. ^^*''^ °^ *^*^ S^*-^ >^as in no ^^t^X^^^^^^'l^trT'' re not averse tc ment thatVake^li^J" ^^^^^^^^^ «'«'"^ - i«<^ff- sciences as inquisitor^ "'^ *° °"" °^" "^on- footman, after cfmpS ;^'aL^'^^^^^^ ^^^ "She'll not eithenTr. Robert'd'^^^^^^ even if he found it in one nf h?c ^\ ''^heve it, Mrs Worth r^; Ti °^ "*^ °^ affidavys." facdon th^Mh;^:";^^^^^^^ "^^^ ^-^t satis- was not of herXburnf W? '?!"^"*"^"^ Renier. Scandal Le^ spraS^^^^^^ ^^^'^^ saw her own innuendoes as to th.t h"^-'' ^"-^ ^^" nite and dark proportions. When it was r^^ted to 179 MISS PETTICOATS her she smiled significantly, but was non-committal; she did not propose to be made the responsib: party should trouble come. Worth-Courtleigh heard the tale in some round- about way, and was troubled thereby, especially as he remembered what he had seen in the fields, and feared there was some basis for it. "Lucy," he said to his wife at lunch one day, " have you heard this wretched story about Hamil- ton and that protegee of his aunt's ? Oh, yes, I know what we saw, but that hardly accounts for the stuff now going. Somebody has added to it and circu- lated the thing till it's everywhere. It's a burning shame, I say." " It is too bad, Robert," sh.^ jplied earnestly. " I hate gossip, as you know, and yet— well, the best of us seem fond of it." " I'll admit that some reasonably good people love to talk scandal," he said. " It is a form of their self-conceit to imagine that it makes current coin of their own virtues. But that doesn't absolve them from a share in the dirty work, at all. I'd like to hear Harding talk on it just for a while." "Oh, Harding," she exclaimed somewhat petu- lantly, " Harding is a saint, of course. He is one of those absurd characters who never do anvthin? wrong." * The lawyer laughed. " I fancy he wouldn't care to hear you say that of him, Lucy, for he is a man and a good fellow to boot. But there are some things he doesn't stoop i8o THE SPIRIT OF nu„r.Tn..^ La, er thai 3ft!^jr^?*'*.*''i"»""'an«s" down to the veZ^? ";?• Worth-Courtleigh went was dir«.l7opSe the c^"' |^«?? Church, which range for the cStaa, t^To il" ''°'"'' '° ""P "• tion by the parish™ of rI^^m r-^""" '" <^bim- graceinIendineher%iHf^1 I* '""* °' «»'"ig isthetic so™ *" *"' '<= *"'='' work of this mor! wood, its laWcld^bl ' *?'•■:" ?'•'='«' °f »a»"ral lights', was is; tatSr trcha™ th'^T'^ "T""''' now made still more b«,«ift^i, , ™"i"- " "^ ev«-green intertS though th^'f^^^^^^^^ °f on a .o„g a'of^^zr^^^rz^^ - <*. PBACE ON EARTH, GOOD WILI, TO MEN in arranging'^ihe tw fimit S "'"' ""'"S^S") trimminl the tree Mr. r^ *' "'^"''y "^g^ and thwaite !„d Mrs EmfrL ™T' ^''' P«"«- Whe^memberrofbo^rScheT'Virp' '' "?' =■' Greenacre was tmtHnJ ,i! . !' ^"' R«verend Mr. mildly encorr^^;";' "hf latrersTthr •" '° ^T' do.ng nothing fi„l,, te^ffi^t VrSsr i8i MISS PETTICOATS armed with a little wooden mallet, was breaking slabs of candy into pieces small enough to go into the little bags for the tree. Mrs. Worth-Courtleigh, whose artistic sense was recognized to the full, was given the task of hanging the glittering baubles of red, silver and gold on the tree, and of disposing the gifts so that the picture should be irreproachable. The others knelt and stood about her to hand her the various articles she needed. "We were saying just before you came," ob- served Mrs. Emerson with her simper, "that it's too bad dear Mr. Harding isn't married. Of course Mrs. Brown is a good soul, but a housekeeper isn't a wife." I' True," sighed Miss Postlethwaite. And they say he has such a delicate task," con- tinued the librarian's wife, " in keeping off the wo- men. I hear it's scandalous the advances the eldest Prudover girl— the tall one with the hook-nose, you know — makes on every occasion. They say she even ogles him in prayer-meeting." " it is not good for man to be alone," said Mrs. Greenacre, in her deep and sententious voice. Hear- ing which the Reverend Archibald came very near to heresy on one scriptural text at least. "But," interposed Miss Postlethwaite, "if he were to marry, of course he would have to stop those lessons with Mrs. Copland's secretary— the Renier girl." It needed but the mention of Agatha's name to turn the tide of scandal-mongering in a new direction. 182 THE SPIRIT OF rj ^msTMAS "; IhrSS?" "«'«' ""-" al^u. z of Bethlehem "'' "'"'"• "■« mimic star tation left her It f„ ^^ "?' * '■^"^ "f repu- Hamilton hSL^^S'red SterT,?"^' "".^»<' dent, and had not bSTsem f!,, .J * '^'"?°« '™i- Mr,. Worth-CourtS,^^ •.'"^ *"'"• ■">«■ Looking down from Sr ™ ?* " "*" '° interpose. -f«frw tr. Jh" S'ge?.,*!'*""^' *^ « .he ^r^'^UntXi^ -%.b,e toward wo"ri;;S'u„tito"irmi.^''"""""" '- »*"• sires to hear more of thfTale ^ ^'" '"P"^^ ''«- JDear me, who was she?' Tell us about if •• and a shrug orhe'r sClderr'"^ °^^''• "^^'''-^^s must be particular nri..' 7°" ^"^^ society ;; Wj. Sd%^°U?^rrt^-.e of itP^ calmi^ThafXtrj''' ^^'^" ^ "^^ voice scandalous s?or^ ak,ut .no^r^" apologizes for a certain that SstmWn'u' T" "^" '^ almost it is true." ^'"^ *° "'^^^ ^e*" bearers believe hous'e^i;:/:^V;„^/-- ^""^T' ^^- ^-^'Vs ceper, a matronly woman who had befriended 183 MISS PETTICOATS more unfortunates than she would care to acknowl- edge. She had slipped in quietly, and had heard much of the talk. "As for Mr. Hamilton and Miss Renter," she continued, " what real eviuence is there that their relations have been anything but most correct? " "My dear lady," broke in the Reverend Mr. Greenacre, with his most sacerdotal air, "when a man stoops to a woman beneath him in the social scale it is not to raise her up." Mrs. Brown would have combated this theory to the end, had not the attention of the whole company just then been diverted by the appearance of a queer little figure at the door. It was the morsel — Susy Brent — the bit of a child who had long ago warmed Mrs. Copeland's heart by that chat in Mr. Harding's study. She was a quaint apparition, with her little woolen cap and shawl and a muff that h- ' done its best service long ago. " Please, ladies an' gcnlemen," she piped loudly, " is Mrs. Brown up here? 'Cause if she is I've got a message for her from Mr. Hardin'. Yes, I sees her now," she added, as she went to that lady with- out hesitation and whispered something in her ear. "All right, Susy, I'll see to it," said the lady pleasantly. " Now wouldn't vou like to look at our tree? " The others added their invitation. Here was a chance to patronirn a poor fellow-being, and they gushed over her rapturously. If the morsel was at all excited by the unusual scene and the more than unusual attention, she gave 184 THE SPIRIT OP ru^r^^Tff^, someono ^ "*^ °^ *^^"«Jy by and by," said meat than ^mdrops '• ^ '^*^'' *^^^« » bit o' Icold ,, Don't you go to church?" " i should think vour mix P^**"^*^ ^'"^^S. -jd Mrs. GreentrjvTrdy""°At„"^rr ^•'' go to church." ^' ^" n>ce little girls w«kS^"i„t^tr,?.''°"''^ «'■->'«. Pa excIaM^'^il^''"'' ii" '■« "fvice of ,h. Lord • '• That's what ^aS^„T "'^'' P-«" fervSr rilege. such--^' ^^^^"^ 'gnorance, c.,ch awful sac- 185 MISS PETTICOATS m ceedings. She was made happy by a bag of candy and a doll which Mrs. Brown purloined for her sake, and she began to think that after all it might be well to cultivate churches. In the midst of the chatter and the bustle, Mr. Emerson entered from the hall with direful tidings. " S-s!he's c-coming! " he stammered, in great per- turbation. " Who's coming? " was the general query. " T-that R-renier girl." " How can you tell, my dear?" asked his wife. "You can hardly see ten feet away." " W-well, I know it's she," he said, becoming more composed, " I can tell her by that red cloak with the black braid and frogs." This cloak was one of Agatha's favorite garments ; it was, in fact, the only article of her mother's attire she had kept. In a moment more the girl was in the room, fresh and hearty and smiling radiantly at the little party. She bore in her arms a big box containing Mrs. Copeland's oflfering for the Christmas tree. She seemed the incarnation of good-will and holiday cheer. "Where shall I put it, Mr. Greenacre?" she asked of the rector, evidently regarding him as the responsible head of the affair. " Put It on the floor, Miss er-Renier, if you please," he answered stiffly. Agatha deposited her burden carefully and turned to speak to the others. They seemed extraordinarily busy over their tasks. Only Mrs. Worth-Courtleigh was looking at her. i86 THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS! here " ^ "^ ^"*<^* you've made of holiday Lmv^^^r' ' ~"'™' '°"« "'^ f°™ «n:jce Miss Postlethti " MS't^ToT'Mrs'"'"" slightest heS^to°he?wor^'" Trl' ?[ P^"" *« yes, she knew ?hey hid heard^ K ^^'^- <"'• under the leadershtr. ^t .1, ! ' .""y '"»<' ">' her 4, andn^'etaTSTroX""XS foT" """ Wh'a't'd"-?:; telS'ditt jl^e^S-^ ^'»""'- . What did they mean— the cats?" ci,^ -j ^ jn^t shifting in /™on,ent. "'"?;?,„ ^-^-^.^^ 187 MISS PETTICOATS T„st as she reached the inner door she heard Mrs. W h-Courtleigh's melodious voice : '• vVell, poor girl, what's bred in the bone, you know; she is not responsible for her mother." "She too! " cried Agatha fiercely, and sprang for- ward like a wild thing almost upon the tiny figure of a little girl, knocking her down. " Why, you poor little mite, did I hurt you? " she asked anxiously. " No, mum," replied Susy— for it was the morsel wftom Agatha had so unceremoniously felled—" I'm used to being knocked around; our house is small for so many." atJ^*^* y°" a mother?" cried Agatha passion- « S^' i"""''" ""^^'^ *^^ wondering child, her! " ^^ ^°^ ^^^' *^^"' ^^^^' *^^"^ ^^ ^°^ "Take these," said the little voice after a mo- ment s silence. The girl held up the doll and the candy. "These, child; why?" " I seed you weren't to get anythin' in there, and 1 came out to give you them things. No, I don't need 'em, really I don't." Tears filled Agatha's eyes and she gathered the httle girl into her arms and kissed her tenderly. Le" Rl^/. ^^''l-^'r^'/'^u'^"^'*'^'"^ *^^t sounded like Bless your bi^T httle heart, my dear," and ran swiftly across the street and into the house. *♦****♦ i88 and it's a pity ste'^he'cfT 7'"^ %^'y' *o"gl>. me with our motto^ .ht^V- *^?™ Emerson, lielp twisted, don't you "hinl? ^. "V" ' '\=' ««'« ladder, that's a good fellow.'' "^ ^ "■' '"P" • * did a paper parcel tS * '^"'"^ ''°"" ''h' "n- trimmS'^^itf'Sack SdTH"H'' """»" "°ak across the bacic of a ch?ir ** " "'"'""'^ the At^wl'aur '"" "™'' ^ "°'^' ""'' -t it to 189 CHAPTER XX THE WHIP OF SCORN THE five o'clock loungers at the Attawam Club that afternoon had something out of the ordinary to occupy their minds and their conversation. It had been snowing fitfully during the day, and the flakes were still lazily pirouetting in the air. The clubmen were interested. It was not for any special love of the beauty of the feathery element nor sentiment as to its Yuletide appearance that moved the hearts of the company. The potent fact was that for years Captain Howard had offered a prize of a magnum of champagne to the first man who should reach his roadhouse each season on runners. It was a seductive prize; those who would have scorned a money reward were de- lighted if they could bring back the great bottle of wine to the club and make merry over its outpour- ing. So the " Leather Room "—thus called because all Its fittings, chairs, couches, tables, wall-hangings and carpet were of that material decoratively treated — was buzzing with talk of the snow, and bets were plentiful as to which member, if any, would bring the magnum back in triumph to the Attawam. Guy, who had spent most of the day in these con- 190 eye on the clouds ^nd the s^n ^^ ^^^ ^ ^^^^"^"^ mare was even now stand nT' ^""^ ^'' ^'S roan stable hitched into ThanH«o^ '" ^ "^^^^X "very by James Anderson the cte^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ hour, Hamilton be lieved th j- '°^,f ?^"- ^n an snow for the trip t^'^wSdV' w*? '"^^'^"* belief to himself toward s but he kept his At last the moment ^et^^A sauntered "onchalandy imX"*. P^^^^ and he a quick dash for the stab e R '" °''^^'* ^^ "'ake pass the outer door, when am^- "^^^ l""'^ ^^"^ ^° note He tore it open read it "^'^ ^^"^'^ ^'"^ a left the club. ^ ' ^^^ '*' swore roundly and the" W:^i:'c^l;;,{^^^03i^^ as he drove toward asperating- habit of tuniL ud wLn^l * • ' ^^'^ ^^" What's in the wind, I w^ondeT^'r^'^n't wanted. ?nce, and take me ^ommhere'' 1?°;?^ *° ""' at .ng.y: perhaps, she rea^ wUh^T.h^oToTS- MISS PETTICOATS ousy, perhaps because he had intended to meet some- one else. "Guy," she whispered tenderly, "you are not pleased. Have I — ^have I offended you ? " Then he told her of the wager about the first sleighing, and how her note had ruined his chances of winning the magnum. Her spirits rose at once ; no woman could possibly figure in that. She cried gaily:— " And so you think I've spoiled your plan ? Don't look so disconsolate. You shall have your ride to ' Howard's,' and I'll go with you; that's all the dif- ference." "You?" He looked at her wonderingly. Why was it he must always suspect some ulterior design in most of her propositions? ^^ "Yes, why not?" she answered brightly. " Worth-Courtleigh's away, you know." " All the fellows will be there; always are on the night of the first snow." "What of that?" " What of it ? Great Scott, Lucy, don't you real- ize that they'll see you — recognize you, very likely?" " I'll risk it. It will add spice to life and spice is what I need just now." " But—" "Besides, I'll bundle np so my own husband wouldn't know me. Now go, and I'll meet you at the comer of Bristol Street in ten minutes." 192 I2EJ^2HL2EjcoRN^ ^fiml.?;^^^,^ ?" '°"^ Guy paced his place in no happy con^Son^^^^^^^ '^^ ^^^^'^^ ffPidly, and he Wd to h. Jff V"T ^^« falling When ^ .y at lastSa °^^^^^ ^ Howard's." even he would not have rS^^? 5^u *° ^^"^^^ that was enveloped in a large S'VI ^'^ ^'' ^^'^ the tip of her pretty n£e w.c • •?,°"'^ ""^il only W red cloak ?rinimedwitrKi'^'t'u'- • ^^e wore a which seemed famTar to Guv ^f^h^^^^^^^ " ^^""«"t connected with her ^' although not exactly the'trsl^rrotel^^^^^ *° ^."/ - he tucked mare was given her he^Ho"^ A'- ^^en the rangy Street to t!lt exh Lrat^^g'^ T'"" "P «""t^ pulses of youth and maki "fl / * • ^^ ^"'^'^^"^ the northern mills, along by the SverT^"'' ^^'' ^^e out mto the open count^ she rh.J?^^ '^^' ^"^ ^^' answering in monosySles tn"'"^ 5^''>^ ^"^ he overtook some sleighersT" or uT ^"^ *hen they and they were far fS'in' a mom „? ''' '^^* "'-^' it was a strange ride in fVt ??",*• on their faces, th^e w nd rushin ' ' ?t '"°^ Seating hearts filled with stoZ. emot^^P"^; ^heir ears, thei? nature. It pleased Tekh^fh^/jl^'^^ ^''^^'•^"^ Courtleigh p-^.haps the ess Af^™' ¥'' ^^^h- 't she said suddenly •-! ^^^^' ^ ^ew miles of you got rW of 'thaUd^a y "t V' ^''^'''^^y^ " haven't 193 MISS PETTICOATS " I'm awfully hungry, and it's altogether the best place in town," she persisted gaily. He pulled the mare almost upon her haunches, and swung her sharply around toward the city. " Well, if you must," he said sullenly. He cut the roan sharply with the whip, and she sprang forward under the indignity and tore along through the loose snow. " Howard's " was a blaze of light when they ar- rived, and the yard about the house was lively with sleighing parties constantly coming from the city. Guy recognized several of his club friends, who lifted their hats punctiliously, but scrutinized the well dis- guised woman with sardonic smiles. "I'm safe, safe!" thought Mrs. Worth-Court- leigh with exultation. " They don't recognize me; they can't. And this cloak— ah, I can play the game to the end." They were shown to a handsome private parlor where a fire was blazing and a dainty table set for two. Guy ordered supper, and the pair sat down cosily before the fire and spread their hands to the blaze. Under the influence of a preliminary pota- tion Guy became quite cheerful, and forgot the un- pleasant things of life. After all, why should he object to Lucy's coming here, if she herself did not? It was a jolly place, she was a pretty woman and a good supper was on the way. Existence was not so bad a thing as he had thought. A party of his friends had a room near by. and he could hear them talking of him. " We all thought Hamilton had cleaned up the magnum," said a voice, 194 THE WHIP OF smoAT wht^l'r a';j^»^'^» -riy Bu. h. wasn't uZ him." '"• ^"""y- "hat could have kept A woman most likMv " .,«„ »d there was g«,e;i hughter*"*^ "^"^ "«- f^«rtiergh!"w?.'r;„'Sir;ri,r'' ^"- worth. a woman, wasn't itftorT Ri^^' *""" '' ««« who?" ' °^'' But they can't guess cig^r'Tr ?wo "nrfeV^r 9"^ ^^k'" » But the doo' of the r^ "'°"?'" "' home-goine was wide open!Ufornatdy":P„'f th'/ ^l' t^^ detected in the glaring li^h. „ . * "^ °^ ^"g nervously. « WT^n^"' ^"'"' 9«y/' she elclaimed your hat We my face "'!' '' '°"'"^°^- ^old as we go by. Now!" ' ^°"'' ^""' °'" anything ho^W?h1p?^Vo? ro^L'^^^ -^^^^<^^ they too much occupied wi?h rlT-^'V''^^''' ^PP^ared Christmas punch to Tote Sff" ^^^^rd's famous hall. But They too were on tlT"' ?°'"^ ^" '" ^he "P. and they fo lowed Hn! *^^ P""'"* of breaking ilton and W X had i^? '^' ^f '^ ^^ ^^^"^ selves into the cutter^and li 'ff Vx? ^""^'" *'^^"^- *>wn the stairs sin%W ''^J^V' ^u^ °x*^"" ^^me the top of their lungf ^ Good-night, Ladies," at "Good-night, gentlemen;^ cried Lucy mockingly. MISS PETTICOATS " you'll not see us again." She had full confidence ill the roan mare, and it was not misplaced. Guy took the back streets and left Mrs. Worth-Court- leigh near her home. Then he drove back to the club. A few minutes later Lucy left her house and walked hurriedly to Bristol street. She crossed over to the vestry of Saint Agnes Church, and after look- mg carefully about once or twice, tried one of the windows. It yielded to her touch. " Ah, I thought so," she said. Then she took a parcel from under her coat, slipped off its paper cov- ering, dropped the contents upon the floor inside and shut the window. " And now. Miss Agatha, even if you had a chance to explain, you might not find it easy," she said aloud, and with that comforting remark wen^ home and to bed. When Hamilton reached the Attawam he found th?t several sleighs laden with his cronies had just arrived from " Howard's." The jingling of bells, the neighing of horses, the shouts of stable boys, the peals of laughter, the snatches of song, the out- flaring of light from every window in the club- house—all gave promise of a notable " night of it." It suited his mood to perfection, and, giving his horse to a club servant, he hurried into the house and ordered a lackey to call James Anderson, who was below stairs, to take the animal home. A convivial and not altogether sober shout greeted Guy as he made his appearn^^-e in the "Leather room." It was a hubbub of r ;)roaches, of banter, 196 THE iruiP OF srn^^r and of mock-pathetic r^,?c! i° ^?^^ '"^st clearly) «ar and uncIuSe con^ct ^^^^'^ ^'^^' °" ^'^ P^^" ous feeling of re^enJ S),^^"°*^^' with a^ri- was sitting^„ theSn?„V'?i,^rD ^'' "^'•d'ng as calmly as if all X! r^ ^^^^ ^o^m " readinl "brary. ^Whi ?Lt had a T' " P^"-' °^ ^is own «Pf>ning sport byrte'rj'p^es'enc^^^ Th""'^ ^ ""^ all hi£ latent dislike of the m.w ^^*" ^"^ t^ere hot and unreasoning hatred ^^' crystallized into elb^."^fS^eg7aX y/""^ ^-^hed his office, and waKis ordeis'" "' ^"^'"°" " »" 'he coachnlirwhj t Tatd '^rL^'^ '^•^ ^^"^ ^he The chaffing crowd no?l T\ ^^^ '"structions. followed, and kepTup"t° L ^f ?T-^ °? '^^ P^ey. cism. ^ P "^ ""^e o* dnnk-mspired witti- :: V^sa'jo'^;^^^^^^^ ^" V^3f « ^t,<^arling was." "No deniis- we „i\ ^'^ "J?' °'^ man." , "Bet anybody a 'V' t\''^'P*"'"J^^'^'«-'' blurted a tipsy ^oung fool tt°H ^^° ^^« ^a^'" respected bank pres "d!nt " t t ^"^t"* ^" ^^ a wore, he, he, he! ive seen l w"^ '^^' ''^^'^ «be your life." ^ ^^^ '* before, you can bet revlllr *° °"^ ^°" ^°"'* ^"ow," shouted another tha?-;^ nTe ory/^:!:!!:>-^ed Guy. ",„, Understand?" ^ ^^"S'"«ss who she was. 197 MISS PETTICOATS Oh, come, Ham'lt'n," hiccoughed someone pa- thetically, "don' shpoil th' bet. BeUh ish betsh 'tween gen'lemen." "^ Name her," demanded two or three in unison. " Well, I'll take my oath it was that pretty Agatha —what's her name," cried the youth who had of- ferred the " V." "Nonsense. I've won, haven't I, Hamilton?" said the second bettor. Guy flushed angrily. " Find out for yourselves," he said, " I'll have nothing to do with such caddishness." At that moment Harding entered the main hall from the "Leather Room." The sight of him roused all the worst elements in Guy's nature and completely obliterated any compunction he might have had on Agatha's account. He would humiliate this meddling parson once and for all, and he saw a clear and effective way to do it. " It will do no harm to deny such a palpabk c* i t as that, Mr. Hamilton," said the minister, in pre- cise and measured tones. Guy looked him over contemptuously. " Why do you interfere ? " he asked. " Merely as a friend in behalf of a woman ; a woman who appears to need defenders," returned Harding, with a glance of scorn about the crowd. " As a friend, eh ? " sneered the other. " Well, you may as well understand that I shall not be drawn into this thing, even if you are." " But, Hamilton, don't you see that if you don't deny it—" 198 •i»rilv "• «" '''"^ "<"• affirm it," si,„„,„, r ~ •olminity that would ta« i^'ri"","'"" "'"• » '1<»P to men in their sTsT ^r'"* """!« "-"victio,. ton«; thejustice-loviTgh^rtofr' ''""«'' '» W" m» to the surface, and tS rk! ' """" «"" •»■"- away, but the fatuou: GUI'"' w'Sl" *- '^^'-e A livid wel. spran^toX'sulUr' '''"''"'"' '"«• ;,ain,'ti;rt1;: 'Slit^d'^Tarttr^^K"''!: -«« and dramatic terminatiorof T cene'"^^!^ >• ""' separate the men " vnn'ii „. ™'. ""shed m to in the Copeland ke J?e " ^" "'' *" ""ip again h- knee, " I wouidn't^ Slstlt'ltt' ''"'' ^"°- '99 CHAPTER XXI THE PATH OF THE STORM AGATHA went about her little duties next morning with a heaviness of heart that not even the white loveliness of the day could lighten. It had cleared during the night, and the sun was shining from a sky of richest blue upon a world as yet spotlessly pure. A flock of snow-birds swept from tree to tree scattering bright powder from limb and twig, and a few of the venturesome fluttered about Agatha's window-sill, perhaps mindful of past favors. But their pretty pleading was unheeded. The girl's grief was matched by her wonderment. She was absolutely bewildered by the blow struck at her pride and self-respect by Mrs. Worth-Courtleigh and the others. Women of their rank, she reasoned, would not stoop to such a thing without cause, and she was afraid she had unwittingly done something that merited their displeasure. If so, she could and would make amends; perhaps Guy would find out for her what it was. She might unbend to him to that extent. But that insult to the memory of her mother I Ah! that was vile, mean, unpardonable. Nothing 200 she could see the p ai< and vhr'^V^"^ '^^ ^^^' that torture unmoved. . ut oh 'Vi"' >^"ty suffer any her own helplessnes,:' S^ '^v-a „n?'^^''"^«s of it, the goal of herambitionl- to W "fu ^" '""'^ "^^^-er nition of her motherCod°es7 ,?' T'"^^'^ '^^^S' Big Bess had shouted her co.rr-.'^^ ^^^^ ^^^^n «^e m,„ Here in tWs u^per 3^^^^^^^^^^^ ^own by was as impotent as before ve, 1?. °^ '"'''^^y ^he old days she had silenced /s].'n7"K'"°[^' ^°^ ^" the But what had she doTytsterdavf \ ^5^^'^^^ ^"'"y- walk away like a traLjv on J* ^?i^'"S:, except have any effect on wfmen wh^A ^'-'^ *^^* ^^"Id could have cried with m^ .-^ °.''^'P''^^ ^er. She She threw hSh he? ^ despair glorious air tingli„t w hh ^^ """"^ l''"^^ °"t to the fallen snow. H^w LSul nT ^'^'^ *^^ "^^^y disposed to all her children L."'^ Y^^' ^°^ ^^11- meannesses of the men TnJ^ ^'^ ^'^'^ the petty Over across the streeT she saw r""'" '^^ ''^''^'^^^ nestling beneath ISw-lden K"' P'-etty little vestry S^^ding to give ^benediction w'' '^^' '"'"^^^ flamed up anew. ''^"^^'^tion. Her resentment t^^^^^^^^^^^^ "jn that place ,n«liate me and lie ZT^f' ^\7 "^"^^ to hu- ' servant of the Lord ' S h. Tv v^'^r^^'' ^"^ that 201 MISS PETTICOATS head chirping lustily. She threw a few bits of bread upon the snow. " You're greedy and quarrelsome, you birds," she said, " but I don't believe you gossip and lie about each other. If I thought you did, I'd never give you a bit of fooc again, never." At that moment she perceived a neat little figure coming up the path. It was that of Nelly Nevins, the prankish schoolgirl who had made existence such a burden for Librarian Emerson on the day of the Camera Club's outing. Nelly was an honest and warm-hearted young thing who had become very fond jf Agatha in their somewhat limited compan- ionship, and whom Agatha liked in turn for her gen- erous impulses and lack of snobbishness. She was glad to see her this morning, for she felt that the bright girl would be in some degree an antidote for her own melancholy. " Come right up, Nelly," she cried cordially, " you know the way." She found her little friend in a very unusual frame of mind. For a wonder, Nelly was ill at ease, and instead of the roguish questions she generally asked Agatha as to how she was getting on in " society," she seemed at loss for words, incredible as that would have been to Mr. Emerson. " What would you do, Agatha? " she queried at last, " if you were ordered not to do something you wanted to do, and knew was all right to do, and thought you ought to do, and — oh, dear, oh, dear, I know I'm talking nonsense, but I'm the wretched- est girl — oh, you car 't imagine ! " 202 __TBEP ATH OF THE STORM noon " '■ '"'"*'' *'«'^'' " •'ntilyesterdayafter- Yesterday afternoon! At that »;-. . ^ , pome Agatha's most intense bit eme^AnTvil mcidence, she thoue-ht R.,f ;t u l' .. "" ">- ""^%^^-f^ r? ^ o^el' Nelfy."""" "'"' "° P«.ed"':^steX aft^t:? ^'""^' " -<> -"« -='P- Then Nelly poured forth her storv excif*.r1lv q», and nnf fif' f^r^^ ^^^ ^een shown to be a bad eirl and not fit for her assoc ation. Her aunt holi k Agatha listener* '■ a fare ac r.'nr;^ « t, a heart turned i. .,^ ^^^^^sngid as marble and would Ani? I , * ^ '°^^^ yo" and always Ah, the light; cold, cruel, pitiless but ^\\\\ fi,« 203 MISS PETTICOATS Agatha s mind and she saw many things clearly. Not all, for she was as yet ignorant of the origin of the mfamous scandal, but she could now understand t^e ves^y °"''^"^^'' '"""'^^ ^""^ '^' ""'"" ^" Ji^ u '^ Mr. Hamilton's name they couple with SbrSrfortra^ir"^^ *°"^ *^^^ -^^^ ^eHys "What do they say?" "I wouldn't listen to them. I said thev were horrid to talk about you." ^ ^ * mnrJ?" ^7 f-,"^^"' ^?°'^ 8^'^' ^cUy; I wish I had more friends like you. ' ^ "But what can I do?" pcted Nelly plaintively. I don't h^^v"il" ^T ^°"'" ' ^ ^"^ '^^^' ^"d if Lh ? J5^" '^."^ ""^ ^^^-^ to boarding-school and forbid my writing to you. So I promised I'd not come here to see you any more. That's better than being sent away off where I wouldn't be able to see you even accidentally/' thJlTl'io^^7f,'*°"^ P^'^f ?y "8:ht, Nelly, and now that I know the reason, I shall not be a bit offended at whatever you do. We'll leave it to time d^r and It will come out all right in the end " ' • . , ^^^^*^""^^ ^^"'« ^"end had gone Aeatha quickly decided on her course of action. She went down to the hbraiy and rang for the butler. Will you ask Mr. Hamilton to come here a mo- ment, John? " she said to the prim ser4nt 204 "P,^l"°'*»r?y«, Miss." you.. M, Ha™S„11-SX-e^a.d have heard of bst ni.*,'. """"^'f' 'hat she could else co„,d possiSJ ™t' h^T^d^ "" ''"''■ ^ha? one persisted "V a "^"'"' are^Wnj, taW ahouT I^reatm,;?^; *''"'• *« - "NSSlg!"efd™'trr^^''''-'" " Then whaf u ^^*"'"ed gloomily. it?; '" "'^^ '^^^ ^^« ^one tha^ subjects me to sureU'''"' ''"' "°^^'"^' "°thing, Agatha, I as- Her lip curled with scorn an^ u her eyes that he instinctivTfdtL/.'^^ a look i„ to himself. ^'^ '^'t meant grave danger Ha'miUrn. '""fs^ Z^: -^^^^-^ the truth, Mr. mg." ^°n^de in your aunt this morn- . ^^ felt his house of raMc *, ui. » an instant. OnceMt £ ol7 ""^ ^"'^ «"" "dt Keen old woman interest 205 MISS PETTICOATS herself in this affair, and trouble would follow as surely as night the day. It was a catastrophe he must avert. ;; You—you will tell her? " he asked pathetically. Everything that has occurred; all that I have heard. "No no, Agatha, there's a good girl; I wouldn't do It If I were you; it will cause her a great deal of " Perhaps ; but I am to be considered now. I owe It to myself, my grandfather and my mother that I am cleared from tiiis awful suspicion." Rage for her obstinacy and the old slumberine passion for the physical Agatha blazed up together withm him till he lost all sense of proportion all power of self-control. He seized her roughly by the wrist. s, j "j 'W^*»" *° '"^' Agatha," he exclaimed vehe- mently It s a nasty mess, but really I'm not re- sponsible. We can't live it down in this beastly country town. We might as well be hung for sheep as lambs. Let s cut stick, and go away together." ^^ I — don't— understand." • "^,^way with me to a big city— New York. No ""r^^J I T y^"* *^,^'*^- ^^ ^^" ^^a"&e our names. Come Agatha; you know I love you; give me your answer. ^ ' o ^ «» All the fury of the girl's fervid temperament, all the pent-up emotion of hours of brooding burst forth !!!/ *°'"''^* *^^ '^^^ °^ wJ^ich she had never known betore. This was the crowning degradation— to be 206 suit me?"""' ■' ^'« '"«!. " you I And you again i„. He would have uttPrpri c^ some new plea for h s basenT^ l"'^^f P'-otestation, frozen on his lips bv thT '' ''"^ *^^ ^o^^ds were grim and terrifvL L f h. tP'^'^"*^^ °^ Ws aun^! world seemed Sra;d totV^''^^^^; ^^' ^im the ^irf of light hadXtThr?^^^^^^ -^^^^^^ - I will /five voii x,«., companion, woman icil/' "Z^VZ T'^"'"'" ^^'^ the old ^'^g^'-n. Your Sj^ngii'" v^^^^^^^ No, no," exclaimed ASfhl- 5-'^"* ^^ ^o"-" nie go, Mrs. CopelZ " ^ ^ '" ^''"^ '^'^^''^s, " let and °strS h'e" t'e^ll^g^t JSf ^^ '^^ ^^ ^^r arms act of affection Guy saw t^f ^Jl'^^^- ^" this cessation of his lif^of ease fnl.^'^ ^°P^^' ^^e stsr ^^^ -^ ^ei-b{::ituru5s iudgfre7n\^urfTaf\^?^^^^^'"^^o^^ Agatha; I have indeed I have L ^ ""^^"^ ^e" ^y and-and trouble. I am w«lL .'" •'f '^ ^y ^""^ Pnde and marry her y^s T w^^ ''"u^ ^" P^'-^o^al and she shall Ld i over them ^^-^k'^^' "^'"^' Wha^more could a man do"' '^ '^' ^•^'^^^• you?'?^skedVr:"^o p7a„f ^'- «'^^" ' «Peak for The head on her shoulder nodded an assent 207 MISS PETTICOATS " Then I tell you, Guy, nephew of mine though you are, that I would rather see Agatha dead at my feet than your wife. Now go; my house can be your home no longer." Hamilton went out like one in a trance. He realized in a dull way that the pleasant thread of his life had been snapped asunder, that henceforth he was to be an alien to the noble estate he had once hoped to inherit. He strode down the path and into the street with no object in view, except, perhaps, to find a friend in his hour of need. Friends? They would be few enough once the story of his downfall should be made public. Even Claybourne would very likely turn him a cold shoulder. He directed his steps toward the club in the chance that that worthy might be there; he would tell him all his woes, and take advantage of his valuable advice. After Guy's exit, Agatha's overtaxed brain gave way completely under the accumulation of trouble that had borne down upon her. She was seized by an attack of hysterical mirth, followed by a fainting fit of such long duration that Mrs. Copeland sent for Dr. Hackett in a great hurry. " The girl's been overworked," said the bluff old physician, " and has been subjected to a great nerv- ous strain of some sort. Let her get a good night's rest, and she'll be all right in the morning." Reassured by this statement, Mrs. Copeland went away to an important engagement, leaving Agatha lying (k/wn in care of one of the housemaids. After a little she dismissed the servant and lay, with half- closed eyes, trying in some fashion to peer into her 208 Now £o ! my house can be your home no Ion ger I?B. PATH OFjn^ STORM own future a. - "•"IT. and then ^"cam/ra;^ 1"^ *^« <^-^»-" John the butler. He menSLl *^^ P'"^«^"<^« «f Donelson, and her 4S" L?,!"^'"" °^ "^"k »n an instant. "aering faculties came home ^hat is it. Hank?'' c^ ^ ." *'^'^ terrible day Now, Miss Aeev rlnn". k T »k«r«J " he said Sv "'r/" ''''«■■«". don't b« «rter all. But yer Sther r'" •'' ""* <« «> bad •trudt down at [he S ' ^"^ " J«'- ^^ been when all ,« onct hfeot rhV^'iT'^*'"' « "ttle note h.s chair. The doctS ^avfa'^ '"■' /"' ""^^ and beckoned Ha'fclf ^^P^' ""her coat and hat. '«« the house, and has.e„ed°To Z'lV^S^^7, 20g CHAPTER XXII CAPTAIN JOEL SAILS AWAY AS Agatha walked to the home of her child- he^, her feet ever urged onward by love and the fear of disaster, she thought of the determination she had taken that very morning to leave the mansion on Bristol Street forever, and return to her grandfather, for a time at least. She had tested " society " — or, at any rate, cer- tain eminent members of it — and she had found how insincere, if not evil, was its heart. How mean and shallow they all were compared with the staunch old friends of her girlish days. Only Mrs. Cope- land was true, but even with her affection and con- fidence, Agatha had now begun to feel like an in- terloper in the house. She had been the cause of the expulsion from his Eden of the old lady's only near kinsman, had aroused the bitterness of hate between those of the same blood. Oh, what a miserable failure she had been ; what a wretched defeat of her dear ambitions had come at last. Her one consolation was that her valuable ex- perience in business and finance under Mrs. Cope- land would make it very easy for her to earn a 2IO CAPTAIN JOEL SATT.s ^u. ^^ old tor to d««r. h ? Wov^shio L'"" ''-.^"''T "» " he would put it "'°'^" *"■?• 'o strike colors," «h";;:.r i";, '^hneiSir/*'"^ -?" «»• an authority that aHn,,-.^ < ''"'"" "' home by hurri«i .•«oi!r.'.itro''/c&t-. ^i"? o^"thr^^«^f-;^" '^ '??s"auh:t:' and at the t^T the «aff '^^ "" "'^ «^' %'"« She was met on the deck hv n^ u • was kind, but not sanLin. I ""■ P^^kett. who in his he;rt to decefve iis nr^^^ '°"'^ "°' ^"^ '* to drug her achiS^^ rrebodfnrT 7^ "^^«*"'-«. He told her h^ seHou, wf '"^\*«'"PO'-ary quiet. old man, that th^e was a chanc!."f ^l^''^'^ '" ^" covery, but only a I^ender one ^ ^""'"^ ••*■ her to the large cabin ^n^r^u \ ,?^, accompanied from the smalLr comnartmen I ^^-P'"'" ^^^'^ lay on the bunk that he uS ""I^^T ^'P'^'" J°*' i-oor girl, he said to the vf>f«.rar. . u face was an unwonted nirlnl / ' ^^""^^ '■o""*^ with him whiirshe Iv r«-" '^''^V ^^* ^^' ^ We'll go up on\« ^Jb \rin"call'' '^^ ^°"^- Agatha crept into the liffii k- • «?Iicitude. but'the o d man heard ^^"f^'? '""'"^ his dimmed eyes to her fnr^ ^ [' ^'''' ^^ ^"™ed the light of recSnkion Sh?' ""^ '^^ '^^ '" them contrS that shX^appeaVcaT"^^ ^" ^- -^^- 211 MISS PETTICOATS "Grandfather, it is I, Agatha," she said softly, approaching the bunk. The old hps trembled into a smile, and he nodded his head slowly. It was the girl's first coming face to face with serious illness, but her woman's heart told her what to do. She smoothed the pillow under the snowy head, and rearranged the bedclothes deftly. She took the rough hand in hers, and was rewarded by a feeble pressure of love and gratitude. She sat down by the bedside and mournfully gazed at t'.e splendid head brought low. Was this, then, to be the end of her new resolution? Was she to be thrust back into the life she had just de- cided to forswear? For the first time fate loomed up before her as an active element of existence; there were things she could not control, be she never so brave nor so honest. The captain began to mutter indistinct phrases in delirium. She bent over to catch his words, terri- fied at the weird manifestation which seemed to her as the touch of another world. His grip on her hand suddenly became strong and vice-like, so that she could have cried out with pain, had not a greater agony possessed her. After a little his babbling became intelligible. " After him, after him, messmates," he cried, try- ing to raise himself upon his poor, palsied elbow, "give me the long dart— A-ah — Well struck, my hearties. So much more prize money for us all Struck?— Who struck?— Who struck my Alice to 2X2 _ CAPTAIN JOEL SAILS AWAr htvthL^.lixlJ^SlSrt'''""' "y si^' with bosom, opened it and held th! face^ h„ i" funny Fren^lfo a fon^Xtfe'^rTh '°^"'"' seK^to a s.tt.ng posture. His face .TiS^^% face them, and I'll 1" ^ ^ ^' ^^ "'^ 8^° and But the end was not vet Dr Wo/.i,^* l . . m Th'e ot"' ■'"-f -io™ "" els:, 5 ^.^ SC.OUS and rational. But tfis'didTot ml' h^X MISS PETTICOATS added. He would return in an hour; meantime Hank and Captain Sykes would be on deck, if thcv were needed. ' nu^f A^^*^^ looked about the larger cabin she was filled with remorse at the changed appearance of the room. Not that things had altered a great deal, but there was a lack of that divine something that comes from the touch of a woman's hand. She felt that she had been a deserter, had left an old man to his loneliness — and for what? She was going about sadly putting things to rights when a bit of crumpled paper on a bench at- tracted her attention. She would have thrown it mto the fire, had not an envelope on the floor near by stayed her hand. All at once she remembered what Hank had said— that the captain was reading a little note when he was stricken. Mechanically she turned the envelope over and looked at the superscription. In full, round hand it read : — " Captai.i Stewart, " The Harpoon, _, , , , " Tuckerman's Wharf." bhe looked again at the paper and saw that folded once as it lay in her hand it just fitted the envelope Anything connected with the loved old man was of solemn interest to the girl, and she opened the let- ter with a feeling of awe. The words that met her eye were seared into her mind as with a red-hot brand. If Captain Stewart loves his granddaughter, he will take her from the Copeland house without de- 214 before she fully realizS H,^ f if ' " *" ^"e '""e ;• The scandal of Se town ,h, .'"■'!?? °/ *« ""<'»• M singing thenS^Im .U' grh"?" ortJJ^'r " the past two^s ^ ''"'^ "P '>>' «« "««» of .h^'set«.td'Sr"o?rilt™'"2 '-San to assert who had s ooped to such ,^r "l1 "^t""^ '"""der «»niined the note w^fh ="'"'''* "'"■««• 3he 'ih:?o:^l-,iHr?V^^^^^^ " HaX^t^i5tSf5-¥— ^ the light, she saw «nbeddedln .1 ^^" i""^^^ ^"^ the letters " A q,,^^"^^^^ »n the very fabric itself pu^b'^hf kn^rthat ' i7n, '^^'^ ^^^ ^«— hearing Guy say that the H, K ''^^^^'^^ once -de to eraser ^^^f:^^;^^^ ^rsIftT'^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^.r' she asked be made a victim to soS.'c '''^ ^^""^^^^ »"»st was it necessary to woun?iheH""I'^f"'"^ ^^^''^' inoffensive old mwT ^^"^ °^ ^ ^'"^P^e and MISS PETTICO ATS This thought filled her with a new terror. Now she understood Hank's remark to the utmost It ar?„Hfl'.K *^'i^^ ^^*^' *^^' ^^^ struck down her grandfather and was probably to carry him to his grave. As she thought of what it meant to be bereft W intn^t? i> '" ^^' ^^"^' '^" ^"'•"^d ^nd, look- mg mto the little room, saw her grandfather feebly tryjng^to beckon to her. She wfs at his sideTl^ " Aggy, dear," he whispered. Yes, grandfather, I am here. I shall always be here now I shall not leave you any more." ^ No, dearie, you will not leave me; I am the one who IS going My course in this worldTpret^y near sailed. I'm going to start on the grealvW " thing^s> ribbed th^^r^^^' ^°" '"-^"'^ -/-^ "It must be; the orders have been given I'd hke to stay for-for you, but the Ca?t^"' says He tried to raise himself up, and looked about anxiously as if in search of something '^°"* asked^^Aglt^' ^^^"^^^*^-? What do you want? " whileTgo-'FJlTke tVfi^ '' '^"^ ^" *^^ ^^^^ ^ " Is It this? " asked Agatha, holding up the letter 216 CAPTAIN yOEL S^TT..<, ^r^fT. She bowed her head ^°" read it ? " sten,"°"'"Ta''Zi':;«' "' ''^"' " *'''^?" h* «i«'' -there-behind y!S I ^1;.,"!; ''«"'"»? *«re dark, and it's vet earlv Lwu ' y"" '">^> so head lantern-^ll&'^^'^™ '<> ^ght the mast- " Here, grandpa!" ^ '' "''"' ^"•^ 5">«? " M^' K^^m^^rod^i;,'^'..'"-^^ -« a upo?t'har.aXsf'ri:'t :^t:\"'l"'''' - out has never yet chartJd " n^f ^' *'!'?'' ""ort'' hand turns to port. ' "'' ^'°'" "'■''^h no ship re- 217 MISS PETTICOATS Agatha looked helplessly for a moment at the still face before her. Then comprehension gradu- ally crept into her face. She gently forced apart the fingers that held the letter, and secreted it in her dress. In another moment the full flood of her sor- row rushed in upon her, and with a long cry of agony she fell prostrate upon the floor. Hank Donelson and Captain Sykes clambered down the companionway with blanched faces. They knew too well the meaning of that scream. From the figure on the floor they looked to the white features in the bunk. " My God," blubbered Sykes, " Joel's sailed away, an we weren't here to say good-by." Hank said never a word, but with tears rolling down his ruddy cheeks stole up on deck and out to the bow. There he hauled the flag down to the deck, Avalked slowly around it three times, and then raised it solemnly to half-mast. A self-appointed and tireless sentinel, he paced the old " Harpoon " until a glow in the east pro- claimed the birth of a new day. 2l8 CHAPTER XXIH A WOMAN SCORNED T™ '"° oM Milors had at first thoueht Aptha dead, as well as her erandfaSS of the " iS;j„*?..tr„ '■'LP-'^'f "hetcT; •we, neither rfS,L?^' •^'"'' ^azed at her with ful wW e faa S^ vwhinng to touch the beauti- th«>™^m?S'iS'^S'^--d them from The calm face in the Z,A;ill^'<"P°" *' ""»'• He applied somi^,t*p,^,",tto^,f J L'T^^^™^^ soon the warm «rf. ^f i:7 a ^ . -^S^'ha, and heart, butTte™woke to W J"*"" ''** fr<»" her tragedy atout hS''* Her J^i'Tf -'ti'T °' *' mtensity of the strain put ™"„'^?\S"r' '" ■I"'.' va«,ousIy at her distres'se^ Sfrfendf "" '"""'' Grandpa .s asleep," she whisper^ "and we MISS PETTICOATS must make no noise; he is so easily disturbed T think I will go to bed, too." ^ aisiurDed. I HeJed' CaoLt° 9^'''- ^?P''""^ ^' ^^is juncture re- iZu aE ?y^^^ °^ a ^''eat load of anxietv nn,.V ^J'" ""'""""S """^ loosened, the fateful note dropped upon the floor. Mrs doeland frif fevera!S'he'LS''x«""f"'-^8^*^'' "'""s brain lever and he had difficulty in savin? her lif<. irj days her faint spirit hovered on the terderland th^n cZtfl? "?\ °"""^ 'he anxS weeks' Mr" grritKafrec-S ^^i^r^dl-'in^ h^:;'^ ^.d^^UitK;iu^ite;xs:S 220 A WOMAN SCORN F.n '^'l^tl^r' ^° ''' ^^" '^^^ ^^« -^Ht be docloV Ynfei^otd't "^^^^^^^^ TT'- ^^^ ^^^ must have completeTange^^^^^^^^ She go from Old Chetford for an Lf fi^I ^ ^^'^' "^"^^ complete recovery were f^h '"^^^"'^^ Pe^od if her insisted Mrs cS a ^ ^°"^^ ^ disastrous, he in PurLnce of h^^""?,:P^^^^^ °^ t»^e idea, and! leigh's office one day tfmVTrU' ^^^^Court^ care of her property durw! ^'^'^^"S^«|^ents for the might stay awav cu""? ^"^Jength of time she lawyer impViS^rand'lTat^^^^^ attorney to act in her behalf ;« T " " P^^^*" ©^ . " By the way, Mrs. CoplLnd "^^^^^^ r''''' .important details had been setttd "l^'^^'r *f" mg over Captain Stewart". !ff!- '.u ^.""^ '" ^^^k- assumed some obS^„! ^^'"/^^^ ^^^ o'd man the poor old 'ellowXu^hrr" ^^'^^'' ^"t^'-^^*' bepaidd^ectiy w^r,f;,^'s'^:':^r.'^ theltea^i^^^^^^^^^ But even as h!r pen wf fS?. J ^'^ l'^'" ^*<^hel. ink, a second thou/ht cam^^ '" Sl^ ^^^^^^'s that Agatha's peSrVnTJiltT^^^^^ '''''^'^ ment of her grandfather'. Ik/^M^^^' ^* ^"^ Pay- to havXrn'b^r-^"'' ^"^ '^'^-^i' "I ought 221 * MISS PETTICOATS A^tha cannot use it any more, ana it would just about square things up. The other little propirty for thSfer ' ' '"' ' ^"^ "«' ^^^^ '° ^-^ a si Jh^*"-' U'i^^'* *^f i' ^'^'" '**"™«d she with fiei^rtrrc "r^ *^*' ?f "f^ *h^* Mr. Harding justi- fied all Mrs. Copeland's faith and regard. He waa a tower of strength to the house, ^d his chw^ presence and entertaining chat d d much to heb ^ent°T'''°^'^: He. most of all, noticed SS "nmense change m the girl. Physically she was wan, hstless and bereft of all her old r?und(^ pr^" ness; spiritually she was a different Agatha No more of the old exuberance was visibleT^t she ^ still as kmd and considerate as ever. But there w^ l^mr^l^^t'i.' ^"^^^^^°" ^' Pessimismrt^h^; heZuX' "V' tZ^tt^ ^^' ^^"^^ ^^' nature," aS swe^ning." ^'^ '* ^^' "°* ^"'^^"^^^^ ^er pait npS;!''^'^^^" '°T^ '''''^^^ ^^^"ced to mention Guv's name, he saw a hatred bum in the brown eyes S^d As for the man who had wrouehl thi. ,^^t change, he had declined to accept h°s *smu2l SS,' the Copeland mansion as final tj,o* u- « had not yet been storpe^heT^Cu^^^.'^^ ^,^« aWe omen, and he made several attend,. L V' aunt, but with „osu ess. jrelffl^trbj^ 222 A WOMAN SCORNE D tolH" ^W^aCr,:" «"°«»h. Mrs. Copdand claiW ^""'' ^"<'' ^''™-" *« °M woman «- home of her ancesS'pTrh^a^^^S'tt/L'i' ' "" SO many air castle va^iJi, • . , ?"^ "^" seen ether that she cSliheri^^ *^/ impenetrable deal with the hard commnn' ^^"f ^^^h she would Po-:- 1. ' conimon-sense facts of life v«* tir frgJlS "'™"""-' -0 ^-e made ^Vra'! nes"'„?l tiTre tr^' ^H"- "' "« '»">«'- tugging at hi o": Cn%trilJ°f:^u*^l' ^' T' with the departure of A^tha 'ii L ''^'"' " much of his^own i„teresn?i!g ^o^*^^; ^^^^^ MISS PETTICOATS t V "J before a notary, •1 the paper. When rrnt to do with it, she he felt It best that A-r^xhn should grow to complete womanhood away from Old Chetford, the scene of such tremendous fboc . to her faith in human nature. One day, at Agat . s lernest, Harding drove her over to Mill Rive : t.u in a little old church there they found the re onf . f the mirriage of Alice. 1*?^*'?'",?^ J°*' Stc a ,-, .Md Fr^ncois, only son of Adolph Renier, Co.-: t c. i . .i.v The minister witnessed the cop> >f t!r and Agatha took pi j?css asked by Harding wl.rit shi would only say : — " The day may come when I shall need it." Just before Mrs. Copeland and Agatha were to start for New York, whence they were to sail for France. Guy made one last desperate attempt to see his aunt. To his great joy he was admitted to her presence. The old lady wasted no time in greetings, nor did she allow Guy to enter upon his intended plea of mercy. Going straight to her desk, she brought out the " A.C." note, and thrust it before his eyes. " Did you write that? " she asked slowly. To whom ? " "To Captain Joel Stewart; they say it killed him." Guy read with ever deepening astonishment and horror. He began to see the enormity of the crime against the girl, and he was fairly stunned by the discovery. ' " r'tyS"" "^y ^°"^' ^""*'" ^^ declared earnestly, I had nothing to do with it— know nothing of it. 224 this thin/ and by its t^hi ^°''''' '*" ''^« ''<'™ added to thT wrSl< nVTuf* ^n^quences, have aimost incredi^-ife 1 iMTrU' "" the'^Jo'.erdt r«"r 'w^r "-". \~- of condemned befje J ' I T"^'' ' '"" "»^ self- &.- -%■ '>--Horu:^ir:fjH° <'°»f TIHa.^."^^^^^^ "you thebTS' Jncffhr^if^o^l?"'' I -«? I hated " Vnlf "* ^' '"'" '" *"">« '»■• a moment saidll°„:,y.' """ «■- 1 'hou^ht JSTlucv." he with. Ah, that's the n«h *][' '"'" "^ '" '"ve you? So now she's I^* ^™' "'"« ''°"'' w.uonther<^rs5rrmrsrn°^i '•a;dnv:s^-rt:%^i.A^Vtr;te 225 MISS PETTICOATS come here again, for, by heaven, I've had enough of And then, despite the pleading of the woman n whom anger had been succeedfd by the^S^f ^smg her all, he left the house of Robert ^^ Courtleigh never to enter it again. ^' 226 CHAPTER XXrV AT HANK DONELSON's danSd into ^SvTnd ItaJ f^^^t ? ^"'^ SO distinguished her Qh^ u j V '"at had once -_^a senmive pU„. Coses a. r.lrr^ -^1; travel before she JSs L^^ ■f"'."^ '^'i"^' »« sne gets into sun-land again. When 227 MISS PETTICOATS she does— well, it will be worth some man's while to be there to see the unfolding of her nature." He took a last critical look at the sermon that was ready for to-morrow's preaching. "And the greatest of these is charity " stood out in bold hand- writing on the first page of the manuscript. « .hnVT i. ^ ™ ^u''??'!'" *^°"8^^* *^« clergyman, that the human shell is quite as much in need of chanty as of any other divine attribute. We all agree m theory, but as for practice— ah, we diflfer as violently as the doctors of different schools, ex- cept that we are prone to be homeopaths, and eive as minute doses as possible." As he read, the vision of that Agatha of other days wou d come before the written words, spite of every endeavor. He saw her brilliant, vivacious sweetly imperious, as she was, he remembered, when with shining eyes she had asked his definition of a gentleman The scene of the little festival in the cabin of the Harpoon," where she had blushinrfy announced her intention of becoming a ereat ladv was still vivid before him. How soof had Ws prophecy of the disillusioning come to pass He tossed the sermon on the table, and arose to pace back and forth before the fire. "A proud creature," he mused again, " she even preferred to sell her beloved old ' Harpoon ' rather than accept help to pay her grandfather's debts— I believe 111 go down to see Hank and find out what s been done in the matter. The cold air will blow the cobwebs out of my brain, anyway " The Donelsons lived in a quaint little' wooden 228 AT HANK DONELSON*S t^e n^rr^ J^ Windows gave immediately upon the Tr^l ^'^^^^% and as Mr. Harding rLched the door he saw a queer picture within Hank's little legs were stoutly spread apart, like those of tosm^r-hol^!?"' °' ~' ^" thVattemp Ss sLter T,M u^^ ^I^^ ^^^^ ^^« ^^^S laid by drWng tac^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^""^^ up hke a jackknife^ The sitting-room, where this ceremony was in progress, was a tiny, low-studded apartmenT with waist, and walls of fantastically stenciled figures of impossible birds flitting about amongst weird^crolls on h^T ''. ^'^ 'f ^^^ ^^^^'^ °^ furnitur. w on the broad mantel over the ancient iron FrauK- lin stove was a heterogeneous collection of china dogs wax flowers, worsted cushions and sea-shells ^Tl"" ^'S '° '^^ ^"^^^^ h^^rt of Tilly's kTnd Iri ful dress the room boasted a black walnut "what not ma corner devoted to curiositi'.s, a set of slio- Kca^^llafir'*"'^:,^ ^^" diamond-windoJd th^^ff t^ w ^1 '°""^ centre-table of mahogany, the gift to Hank from an old captain to whom he once had been of service. Over the place thrusuall^ tX JS^Th^r '^' NicodeV tt parS but™^Xs?asm^ ^^"^^ "^*^ P^^P- -P-^' " Howdy do. Parson," she mumbled, her speech b^ng somewhat impeded by a mouthful of tacks ♦nl ^s more cordial, and evinced a disposhion to knock off work in honor of the visit. 'P°'"'°" 229 MISS PETTICOATS ♦u'^T^'..^"' ^^"^ Donelson," sputtered Tillv ^rougi the tacks, "you jest kee^ rigTbiltrSi^ m this ere cayet, 'cause the best ream's got to b^ ready for Sunday, minister or no minister.^ in^lv^"hn«"^^'' J;">^'" ^^^*«^ Harding smil- nof I'helo V "^-^ ^^°'^ P'^^"^« «^^ «*"« Can- not 1 help you in some way? " an''om1t i'/trjl",* ^^t"^«^"J. iest git a chair an put It m the middle of the carpet, then set on it JSJsSSd" ^* "^"^ *°^^'^ '"^ «^« ^^ ne^l^'i^TrSl'^v*^" clergyman with due meek- Mss, as he took his seat and waited the word fc'ndThfd^"?''^ ^T'"^^^ efforts to W sty?n tt%';2a;?or* ^'^* ""^^^'-"^ ^-"«^ Vi^v^^^A^^- sympathetic, too, for once when Hank missed his aim and hit his fingers an ex asperating blow Nicodemus swore rSlv and" thereby earned the litUeter's deep gratitude "^ Yer see Parson," he said, "I couldn't verv •^^n v.-*^" ""T °'f "°"' ^^^»"' lived among ^azin' ^'/J°"^^' \" l^« helps a messmate ouf ^^Ih. J ?f ^ ^°^ y^ " «^<^"se him, for in course he don't know as how ye're a minist*»r- vi don't dress like one, ye know " """'^ter, ye sai?^« N^f J^"^''"'? ^'^^'y- " ^^"' Hank/' he to 1;co^^.e ^.1 ' ''" * *^" °"'y ^^^^^^'-^ that fails to recognize a clergyman except bv his black copf and white choker ; I found that out a long time a^ '' 330 . ^f ween hammer taps and Mr HarHin^'c " u ing forward " on the ca^t thL ^ ^ P"*^- versation, and as Tm^TJ "" "^^^t ^'^' °^ ~n- centred upon A^thr H.ntw "''/^" '^^^ ^^ J^^t worldly-wise TVuy under t^ ^"h"""" ""« T" aslild^^gri,*^,^*^^^"?*'"' S««« to do," ,h. a good ^ «ke aJU^^ '"""^ "'"" «" '!»<>» enough to do to hum Vnl.; V, '"• They'd have Slay There. There'sa'tao' 1 T '* ""y'<* ""'^ • Hill,- an- thin „n« tt that •?'"'' ''°"*' "P o" *« of her ffmet and'l'S"''^"*"™^ «^»"*« Hanlc's neatTttie toots "s a'ml? unthinkingly hit stress on her remariB %l "eans of iay,„g. sptd^i sion which cameTrSntlf *"' ^"^ °' *« ''"«^- sjoLdTrthfz^-as'irs "^ ^^'''^y the floor. It v,:v,^J: I ? • "''' ^"^^ through never heard herappt^a^h'Jhe h',/"'^ *« °"« hand, and looked aD^l?;,„i. 'it''' ' "^"P " her tress of the house. ^'' "' "" ^"e"'^' >»«- shrrSy"""I°i'^v'°""*'"'' ""•" »'« Tilly "T^ess sh^-rgh,^ Z'^t T f^^nded.-'^ &iaa sne am t, cause then she'd 231 MISS PETTICOATS have ter do twict as much work ever any four-handed folks? " « r\\- T _ « It • ... _. Say, wuz they Oh, Lord," ejaculated Tilly, " the ignorance o' II people! What is it you want this time? " [inein mill ^^^^j,.^, ,,»,c»i lo li jruu warn, uiis iimer Ma said ef yer could spare a cup o' merlasses— Billy's been cryin' fer somethin' sweet ail day, an'~" " There, there, child, of course I'll spare it," said Tilly, relenting. And she went to get the desired commodity. As she left the room, Nicodemus sent after her retreating figure a volley of execrations that fairly startled even the case-hardened little Susy. "My, wot a awful bird!" she exclaimed. Don t yer do nothin' to him when he talks so. Mr. Donelson ? " " Well, Tilly she whips the critter when he cuts up wuss nor usual, an' he don't dare to cuss much when she's near. But onc't let her go out'n the room, an' he rips out blue blazes. Howsumever he don t mean any harm by it, an' otherwise he's durn good company. So I alius begs hard when Tilly threatens to sell him." Harding, whose fancy had been taken long ago by the eerie little daughter of the mills, spoke to busy kindly, and soon had her completely at ease Something they said must have suggested Agatha to the girl, for she suddenly asked :— "The pretty young lady on the ' Hill '—her as used to live m the Harpoon,' an' work in Number One — hain't she gone away?" "So you know that?" 232 ^T HANK DONELSONS cnr'iJ?' ^^*'^«^°"« on a big ship, they say. I'm sorry I am; she wuz kind to me/' /• ^ ^ ,i V ^^ ^*"*^ *° everybody." *^ I ^L ^ ^^^^ ^'^^ 's- An' everybody had oueht to love her. hadn't they? Do yo7love her? "^ HaTdini"fh"""'°u'^^'^^r*'°" ^^°"^ ^ <=bild thrilled Harding through and through. It was more than he had hulierto dared ask even himself. Now he felt Ike crjntng out his answer: "Yes, I dolve alw^r^o^^LT'' VI "^^ '«^^ ^"^ -"''• I «ha^! wITand Lv! i- ^yi ^' """^ ^'"' J^« held his " W^S V? T'^ f "P. ^° ^'« "°tO"« thoughts. Well, / loves her," said Susy, after rerardine- him^lemnlyforatime. " Why did she goS ?^ She has been very ill." ^ ' at^^eXrct"^'* "'' "^ '" ^'^ ^^-'-^^ ^^^n^y ''Oh, you were there, weren't you?" bhe went home widout her pretty red cloak How I'd hke one." she sighed. "I wuz a W to ook '^n/it'a nd'°""' '"; •^^^- W^^t Vhf'nam: look care of ,t and wrapped it up nice in paper." £reaf H^ht h. • f'^t ""'"^'"^ vehementfy, as a great light began to shine n upon him " wi,^ took it. Susy? What was her name? " ^^° 233 f MISS PETTICOATS Susy's surprise at this very unusual exhibition of **n ?S"n ,^ * clergyman was cut short by the call of Tilly from the entry ; "Here's your molasses, you wretched mite." Out in the dark hall a wonderful thing happened to the little girl. Her hands and pockets were mied with cookies, and then she was kissed and pushed out of the front door. As Tilly reentered the sitting- room she rubbed her eyes with her apron, and dt Glared that coming into the light from the dark always did make *em run water " When the n . her in the hour wh« sh^^^T^ ''^^ ^^^ fo' that he couJd not br^iTifi. r *' '^^^^ He felt tional words he had w^" '? ""«• ^« <^^^ Other who had come irS./°' ^'f.«°<^' 'Ws hw fair exterior hS^^o,!^ .^'J "°?^ ^^'^y and must burst forth in S^ ^! ^"^ «"°«»on *hat the quiet of the study H^^^l^TJ*' "°* P^^n^d in within him. let Uie conseo^^fS? *i?^ ^*^« ^a« He would go 1^ to ti?e^?!i** ^^*Mhey might, and sparing ntT^ ^* ^'^^^ at the Book of Provi^h; * ™°*»«t- He stopped ss'c^ the gJertsr^Srt^s v^± "^r ^ dehl^te solemnity these word^ ""'"^ ^ *"^ theyk^eSo'^tKi-gLthf^ •^^-' ^- they were believed more^readl T™'"*^' ^^ ^^^^ Let one be accused of some?hW K^" f^ ^°'d«- the world accepts it as Tn^ ^ ^^^^ ^« ^'d, and be reported T^m!l^.^^J!^'''^'}^^ ^^<^^ forever poking"^ about with Lif ^"^ P*°P'*^ ar« cov^r^n imprU It^fblllli^d r aS' ^^ *° ^- even if it dealt wholly in umriths. «^^^ ""^ "^'"' 238 SOCIETr IS SCANDALIZED .^i Til^^^ persuaded." he declared, "that in- be true, society's course is to accept as true ever7 thuig evU, even if false. ^ ^*^ nj;^%nhVi;::dy^;^^H^^^^ ^rt^ z Sef ZTTh "">" rf^son'r who" dW -nff ^^l^^'^/o'Htt-s of forged stones. hHnliil * ^*!?^ ?^ scandalous reports is generally helpless, for he has an army arrayed ai-ainst I^m ^S ,t^,»^"-lf'"^hoS ran';;?: e S 2^Iing and whose tents always encompass him J'^!*^^^ ^"•' ?** «°^'P« are murderers as )^e as the slayers of human beinjrs for th*v murder reputations with no other oSgk than S Wl tune; worse than thieves, for they fob peoole of nZr^^^'' ^ P°^"-°" '^' profits X&es erahzation. or was it the orelude ta .™,. • *^ dous personal denunciatL'SstouM shir*: church from foundation to spire?" B„,wto.ver 239 MISS PETTICOATS :^j^:zx^^^''' °' ^^ "^ ^^ '^^^ "Oh men and women." continued the speaker I would to God I could adequately picture to you vicfrr -^ IV''*^'" °^ ""J"^^ scandal Such a victim has just been driven from amongst us Some of you know the one to whom I reffr the rest are probably aware of the facts, for when scanda -mongers triumph they are quick to procTaim era ly the same, if the target of malice is a woman trJ^^'^^Ku ^^^" ^« <^"«d. his fine ^c^ce ouS?^ ^**^ «"^*i°"' "that girl is to-dajan So this was the application! The "victim" was all but named and few in the church did not knTw the story of Agatha Renier. Guy Hamilton sud denly b^ame the central figure in the sanctuary and he flushed deeply as he felt his disagreeabfe prominence He cursed the hour when he had a! leTmiS' *!? ^ r ^" '''' P°-- of this fear- less minister who had more than once shown ani- mosity toward him; he even hated the pSTty Si at his side as the means of his wretched predicaL^t Among the others there was a ten^ silenTe a dread and yet an eager desire to know where Ihe iexfdJs^en^' T^ ^'^'^^^^'^ "^^^^^"^ wrath wo^W next descend They were not long in doubt. . /hat girl IS to-day an outcast," he repeated in ringing tones; "were she to enter' this cSlh^ mommg for the consolation of the spirit of God! 240 SOCIETr IS SCAND^LlZRn which one of you would invite her to your new' touche/STeirhe^ "■-»"'"»'ion if she but .ft^^histr^vST^' °' ■"'■?' " y°" "«« him will vou f,if, '•, * "lany of you doubtless will hou4? Win ^^''fXr.'™' '° '""'\'""' '» y°" him? Will vou mofhlr ' T™ ^°'"' """y' *«»'"'« you? If thet^wasnoymlt „"r tru"^l<^ assumed its hideous mi^ 1 Z • ' °' ^^e. who him will be as St as vou^"h,r ^'^' ™"' '" victim of his deoe"f is blade V "^ «'^"" "' "'^ male youth-S have t flS" "yo7^ r?-: custom, convention Sh^mr ^' '""•,»"" P'rad Horror' for su^h'c"„ventoT "■"" '"^'' "•^'°™' of God mere is JsVTZ " " '*' "^«'"'"' *"' flowing ,W^hXmssi„nlA*^'""?"' •""' °''"- too, b^ a man- ~o ° enZelV'V'"'' *°""'"'- who had been mi. • , °^ tenderness for a woman union of l^e ani nv^i '' T"«^''- '• -"'^ " duty tha, nrman c^uTdlSL" Thaf r ""^ "' n»ny the culmination of'^Sa^Jdinlfca';::; .r^o!d 241 MISS PETTICOATS t^ril fnl- '*i,^ '""^ "^^^ ^'^ eloquence was most thnUing, the moment when his strength bore down upon their souls with most profound eflFect But there were many, and especially of the more rich and powerful set, who were scandalized beyond f^^Tu^ "^^^ ^^^^ ^™^ ^^«r pastor's unwar- ranted abuse of society, his pointed insult to a man of position his almost indecent reference to thinirs their daughters ought never to hear mentioned aI SLr"*^^^.*'"" ^"^^ °"' ^"*° ^^^ brilliant sun- shine, few stopping to shake their pastor by the hand as formerly, the comments on the semion spoke clearly enough of its unpleasant eflFect. There were threats of secession, hints at parish meeting whnK'''°?' of dire discipline for the ministS Tf thefts Tf^^°"2 ^i P''^^'"^^ ^« a servant of the Lord. The few who believed him in the ri^ht were overawed by the carriages and fine ^Ss of the indignant section, and quietly wSt tS r homeward ways on foot. * 5°' S?'.^^"* ^^ ^«v. Ralph Harding to his study, filled with a grim satisfaction he ^had no known for many days. He believed that he had spoken-or. rather that a higher power had sooken though him-truths that lould^one day bSr a nch fruitage. Of the immediate consequent of his daring he concerned himself not at all as vrt 242 CHAPTER XXVI MODERN CHIVALRY H^^r^l^^ 7^^ f^'^y ^fi«^^ n«xt morning i^ H ^ •^^!f '^"^ ^^^^' °^ ^ n«v. plan hf . had devised to help the wa^e-earni^rc nJ ^aty to habits of greater LgaliTy^VSLTLl penny savings-bank that he had induced one nithl ^tf°n?, financial institutions of Old Che^ w ?« g^b ish as a sort of branch of its re^St^^^^^^^^ On his way down town he met " Tnm " w, " .^"l^^s- who had promised to assist him ^ Harnngton. fed ^T-''^'^^^''^'''^'" ^'^ that sleek and well- fed financier, " hope you're all ri^ht aff«,. terday. Awful row^all over ,o^''„'^":— ''«: your sennon. You meant well T u,„ w?^' "' as well tell you in " SdW way tfc "'.r^ on such matters has created Syln^XXST Jasfkf.Srn',XT«;;o?^;T; .0 ief you?h'e tl' H^aJdi^r rm^ro*:!-, '"' pared to go ahead with the mltter^JSI^'^S 243 MISS PETTICOATS 7^J-^'^^^^^l *°. ^°°^ »"t° »t ^"rther. Come around ma week." And the pompous banker strode anTp^os^^^^^*^ °«^-' ^^« P^^t- of selSS: co^r|far?xSr:^i^„^ ended by the sight of Robert Worth CourtS commg down the street to his business Here wis a man he could rely on. he thought, with a filing of w^tS^sSiSnT '^' ^°'^^ ^"^ "°' wholly ll^' hJrSr •?/;* ^°"' Harding." said the lawyer ?h^^?' "^'i^ ^ "^^"^ «^P °^ tJ^^ hand." you'reX whi/h M ^ ?^"'^^ ? ^- ^'^^ g°t the deeds by SSd an5^h!;,-i?°P''%"^u«^;:'' your%ssociation the land and bui dmg of the CoflFee House and I want you to have them now." ^' waTdown."'°^ ^°"' ''"^^ ^^'^ '^^"^ °" ^y t,t,^5°H^ f^ ^.?^ °" "'y ^^<^°""t. Robert." re- turned Hardmg, "any other time will do. I'll admit tov bl^T^i'^'v '^"^ '^^''' ^^" promised a nTw ^' Nn . °Ki ' "^^"5,*° P"' y°» *° ^"y trouble." som. of L'°"^'' ^* ^"' "^'■^'"&' besides. I've left iTs^ec^^^u^r re^ps^^^' ^"^ ^ "^"^' ^^ ^- to Ws'd"ei^'inThrk''"'^^^ ^^ ^^' di'-ectly to ftis desk m the library. Lying upon the broad, 244 MODERN CHIVALRT clean blotter he saw one of his wife's pretty squares of note-paper filled with her large and bold hand- writing He would have quietly put it one side unread, but that the word "Dearest." with which the q>istle began, thrust itself upon his sight. Ah, to me," he said softly, " what a queer child Luo: IS to be sure." Then he read on. You mil be surprised, I know, at my writing "Well, it is unusual; wants a new dress or a string of pearls, I suppose." I* It certainly is pearls." "/ may be doing a foolish thing, but I feel J must tell you. You know that I love you. I heme gtven you ample proof of that, hut " " But what? " thought the lawyer, with some mis- giving, as he turned the sheet. "/ fear that you have never really returned mv feelings. But I tell you, Guy Hamilton, I will not be thrown aside like a discarded glove. I " Here the letter ended abruptly, and the ink of the nnal word was scarcely dry. The first eflfect of a tremendous shock upon an exceptionally strong man is often that of dazed as- tonishment and a refusal to credit his own senses bo It was with Robert Worth-Courtleigh He turned the letter mechanically and dully read it again. As the full force of its terrible meaning gradually iwept m upon his brain, a purple flush spread over 245 MISS PETTICOATS 11 JiL!!!* ^^^J^^J'i a man in apoplexy; then suc- ^d t>w^ S^ .^"^"PP^':*- "^ ^ i"to Ws chair m one hand as ,f it were some animate thing whose hfe he would strangle out. finf^h !;{f "^^^f ^f"""* *"*"* ^^«" »h« hurried back to the S1:k* / T""^^^ ^'^^^ °^ him at that desk. *"^°* panic of apprehension. start25"~^°^'" '^^ screamed, "how-you- startled me. Are you— ill ? " ^ There was no answer from the bowed figure She riSI han'd '^"^K^'^" '.^^^' Perhaps! bufthat hi note At th. ^^»?.'i ? ^^ '^"'^^^^ the damning 2? f^u^*^*^ ^'?^' °^ 'he bit of blue paper she knew that the hour of reckoning had struck. She tumS to go with a great desire to postpone the evU mS menUnat her husband heard h7r, Ld slowly'^irS *,/^"l^*™^. '"onient the drawn and haeeard co?„t^ei?^/"M '" '°"^P^'"^ °^ ^'^ fi^re K ^^Jf ° °^*^ ^f^ ^""^"""^ w'thin her a sharp pang of remorse and regret, such as a woodsmaT tree. It was as transitory, however, for there fol- lowed a rushing flood of defiant indignation as she realized that this man held her at hifmercy His very silence increased her bitterness. They looked 246 MODERN CHIFALRr u Well," she cried, "you have read— have dared to read my private correspondence." WM for m? ^^ ""'' ^ ^°"«ht-I thought it " A likely story," sh« sneered. " Well— what do you propose to do ? " "To do?" thiil^*?/ ''^^"-^^- ^ith-him? With-^" ^"» be'^aSow'd a S^ouffr!r„T'v°' *^.f, ^r'""^^ entertainment 01 your friends. You will, of course, never see A,-, - t. alone, she would have fSt it btl^e^s'LSd"^^^ All day long she felt the sting of his eoodneTs ^t^s^TZJTJ^^- She^denied\&S aiSf ♦ ?^f^ ^1°*" '■°°'" *o *'oom »n the vain attoipt to shake off the burden of her thoughts Was she to remain in his debt perpetuallv tn £ atdTmaT "ilS' ^ *'^ '^^ tharsHa^; tole^ ated inmate of the house, a prisoner on parole? No a thousand times. There was th^r*. J^cViL ' other wav fh-,- , ' ^'^ "'"s' DC some umer way—there v.-as one way. W. /!f- '■^"^^'^^c. ^^^* ^*^*- husband did not come S^rK^^'^L""?- ^^" ^^^ determined to pkad S! ™rt , f "" .^' gathered together her jewels iraveumg tag. Then she threw on her fine furs -an she could reasonably wear-^„d left the hous^ A few moments later she amazed Guy HamS ^y^appeanng at his apartments near tTe aSwSS ;; What on earth, Lucy » he began. she told him^oHh'; d^cove.^'^'H^ttterTnZr ♦fcof tu • , ' ^^'^ "^ couW scarce v HpUpva that the iron-hearted lawyer would Svi L . vengeance upon himself. ^ ^^'^ ^"^ ^'^^ 248 MODERN CHIFALRr done r^ God, Lucy," he muttered, " what's to be '' Done done-don't you know what's to be done? Si/? T^'"*" y '^"^^^ ^^^'^ *« ^^^' house like a you again? Oh, Guy, can you not see that my love for you has brought me to this, that all I have to hoi^ for now is m you, that I am here to throw myself on your mercy? " fl.f!'^ ^'"r''^ '^°'^"' ^""^ "^^P* piteously. and he, by roh .^? ^^"i u?""'^! °^^'^' ^h'^^Jo^ that ciuld rob a man of his wife without a qualm and yet feel ^T^'^^/^P'T* '^"^ ^°"'^" ^h^n the crash^mT offered to do that of which in his sober sensS he never would have dreamed. .,J,'f^*^"' ^T"" *^'' "Miserable town. Lucy," he said gently, and never step foot in it again We w II go far away, and begin things anew. Now-T night— we will start, and to-morrow they may do their worst. Will that satisfy you, my de?r V' ^ Joy and triumph and the delight of undisputed possession shone in her eyes. She seized his hand and kissed it passionately, and he smoothed her hair caressingly and felt that he had never loved her ZZf^'il that moment. It was a fine thing to be TTt ^yf'^^ T" '° '"'P""*'^' «"d he vowed fafth^n S ^^^ """ "^"'^ *° '^^^ °^ her r^JyTl^'^^^^u^^^- 'f^* °'^ ^hetford on the mid- sio^ for .h. ^^ •''■ ^'^i' ^^' " "^h field of discus- of w^.V ^^'I'P^^ho imputed to the ladv faults of which even she had never been gulity. But the 249 MISS PETTICOATS dignified attitude of Worth-CburtkJgh and his abso- lute refusal to say a word about the* matter to^ ZilnT^ ^ '*/'"'" '^' ^»"d^' which fiiShr fc^oft.^, "/';'• '^'^'^' '"? ^" resurrected le^and less often as time passed on. Even at the club the topic at last became stale, and ClaylLoSe S^lSd to mourn the loss of his friend, who, h^d^SJjS sj^^iously. had fallen a victim to " too mu^S wr^ a letter"/ °^- *^* ?^^P«n«»t Ralph Harding ^S^J} Pu u "f'Spat'on to the Third ConS^ gational Church. In it he told his people thath^ iin^i,^' ^^'. ^'^°"**"t aroused W his se^! S?nesf as'a'L^or '"' ''''' ^^ '''' ^^^ ^Is Z lumess as a pastor was over. He reirretteri ♦»,- the work of ,?; M ."*' <'?«™in« » tremendous drubbine ^■^srood^-iH'S--^^^^ You say that Mr. Harding is i„New V„rb portwn of each month I shit hJ,i. ■ . " and shall be glad to lie A,W; " """' '" '^^"'' ha^ta^rf ,ol'?«^^ he wondered, firs, what potent spell of pkril r • . *'*""" ""<'"• the t^hin,, rai?:rr,:e"ataosrS?air;vr ^,S''^ m her removal from Old Chetford hfl, J^ u "."^ what he felt H. i,,^ .. i , ™ "°' P« her would take the initkir -""I '"''*'' 'hat Agatha but she had n)f, y"'*"™ "1 the matter of Liters h"rom her°ha''d"b:en°s,mnl "'^"?" '"« l'' ^Td through the meStaXr&"cottnr""^' Now and then he had^lean Jbteformation ^54 AFTER FIVE YEARS from Worth-Courtleigh, who was more or less in touch with Mrs. Copeland, and had learned that the two had traveled to some extent, but had lived quietly in Paris for the most part, Agatha studying art, music and 'iterature with much thoroughness. One day the news of the death of Mrs. Copeland had come to the lawyer's office, and thence to Hard- mg in New York. Then he would have written to Agatha, but was uncertain as to her whereabouts. In a week he received a brief note from the girl, saying that after some months of travel she ex- pected to return to America. He had arisen each morning after that with the hope that this day he would hear from her, but nothing further came. And now she was here— he was to see her within a few moments, was to find what time had done for good or ill with a girl who had had such vast possi- bilities for either. On his arrival at the big house he was shown to a small reception room of pink and gold by a for- eign-looking flunky in green livery, who looked at him curiously when he asked for " Miss Renier " Across the wide 1.^ ' in the drawing room servants were putting things in order after what had ap- parently been a reception of some sort. Evidences of wealth were not lacking, but he wondered if Agatha's st; us in the family were not less desirable than in the old days at Mrs. Copeland's. She was secretary or companion, he presumed, p-rhaps gov- erness. He knew that the girl could net be the mistress of much money, for it was n matter of common information that the crash in the Attawam 255 MISS PETTICOATS mills and the Oceanic National Bank at Old Chet- "%.''? w""*"^ '^' defalcation and suicide of lorn Harrington, had engulfed most of Mrs Copland s property, especially as she had decided,' at Agatha s solicitation—so Worth-Courtleigh had told him-to stand behind the bank, in which she Sefc'"''^^'"' "^^ p^^ ^-^^ ^<^"- -' ^': The flunkey returned with the announcement: endy/' "''''' ^^ ^°""'«^' v»" be down pres- He felt a little irritation that his card should have ot this fine establishment insterd of to the— well rZV.^*!!°"^u '^^n^*' democratic spirit recoiled Slh?% A '^'u'^^^" ^" ^'^^ ^^s obliterated by the sight of Agatha Renier standing in the doorway, and the sound of her cordial voice. "I am so glad, so glad," she said simply, nof fi' i ? ^T^ '" ^^' "^^' R^^Ph Harding could s"ons of r'-', l°''/^P'-^^«'°"- Not one of his vi- a ^all li l!^""^ ^^^ F*"'"''"^ ^^' ^'^^ t^'«- Here was a .all, lithe, graceful woman instead of the plump and vivacious girl; a cultured, self-poised, high- bred creature who seemed born to the purl f?e l""^- ^^"^\'^"°^" her anywhere and yet there was that m her beautiful face that was new and strange -a firmness of the mouth, a depth in the eyes a ^tent something more than physical that fJr re iXred with""T!\^ P"?", ^"^^ ^^^^^ education he labored with such heartfelt zeal. He gazed at her 256 AFTER FIVE TEARS long and earnestly without speaking. He was re- lieved when she rang for the servant. " I am at home to no one, Pierre," she ordered. She faced him again, with a trace of her old pretty impetuosity. " Well, are you not glad to see me? " ]' Glad? Surely I am." "Ah! It was once the American usage to ex- press such sentiments. Perhaps it is changed — you have changed," she added suddenly, and was about to say " grown older." "You have a careworn look. I fear you are working too hard. But you are standing." she said kindly, offering him a chair and sitting down herself. Harding obeyed mechanically; he was still em- barrassed, still under the spell of the new Agatha. What a curious reversal of their positions ! In the old days he was the mentor, the quasi guardian of her mind and emotions, the one looked up to; now she was the ruler of the situation. At last he real- ized with vexation that his gaze was still upon her. "Well, do I stand the scrutiny?" she asked laughingly. " I — I am afraid I have been very rude." " Look at me as long as you wish ; that, at least, shows some interest. Am I greatly changed?" "It is more than five years, Agatha— I mean Miss " "Why 'Miss?' It is Agatha still, or, if you must be formal, be correct. You heard Pierre, I know." 257 .^ MIS ^ PETTICOATS "Countess? I didn't understand." .y.fu A^^^''^\ ^""r"^^ °^«'' ^"d o^er his card which she had brought down from her boudoir. I saw that " she said. " You have not heard of the Countess Fornay, then? " The light of the truth began to dawn. Countess Fornay? You— you are " plied ml?riir ^'"'''"'' "* """''' ''^''" '^^ '^ ''But " " It's very simple. You recall the marriajre rec- ords we found at Mill River ? " ™'^"age rec- He nodded. ^'a\^^^^ Stewart to Francois Renier son of Adolphe Renier. Count Fornay.' it read The son three 'monthrh;;'' ?*'^^;/^ grandfather^ "u fho?^*" ''^i!''- ''V^''^ ^^^^ emotion, a manifestation hat somehow cheered Harding's heart, deei v S h^ tro. felt the loss of his staunch old fVknd now t' keenly brought home to him. ^ A^il ^JJeve." she went on earnestly, "that her death was hastened if not caused, by the trouble at the mills and the bank in Old Chetford The fir t «ea ng tidings of disaster she grew weaker fill Sd frL.'':^e'^' '°°' *^' "" f°""- should be' "Ah, but that was your own doin^ Aratha your voluntary sacrifice; I have the facts!' yoif see." 258 AFTER FIFE TEARS Don t call it a sacrifice, Mr. Harding ; I'm not the woman who makes them. It was only that I couldn t and wouldn't allow innocent victims of a man s rascality to suffer, if I could help it-and I did help It. But the worst blow of all was when five thousand dollars of the little money remaining to "aI^^^^"^ ^^* ^^*P* ^^^y ^y Guy Hamilton." Ah! exclaimed Harding, almost jumping to his feet at the sound of this name, which came with- out a tremor from Agatha's lips. He feared that the flood of bitter memories it recalled might upset her, might create a scene in which he would be but a helpless comforter. But she looked him bravely in the face from her luminous brown eyes, paying no heed to his interrup- tion. She spoke in a hard and emotionless voice. * Guy Hamiiton forged his aunt's name, and she, for her dead sister's sake, kept silent, and let the check be considered genuine. He pleaded that he was on the verge of a great coup in the stock market, that he had only needed the money for an hour to achieve success, when the sudden death of a "-eat financier smashed the market and ruined him. groveled needlessly, for his aunt would never ^^e prosecuted him." ' It was the act of an ingrate and a scoundrel," exclaimed the minister indignantly. "And they say he is now successful, a lucky operator in the 'Street,' but looked upon as reckless, dangerous, unscrupulous. I hear he is engaged in shady tran- sactions and companies." " And— that woman ? " asked Agatha, with just 259 MISS PETTICOATS H.«^^fi "^ °^.^f '°'°'' ^"^ ^ tightening of her Jasper! fingers the woman he took from her hus- she had tirerl of Worth-Courtleigh, and ran awav r"i^i"°?^[ *"'"• Hamilton was grateful enough ofh^fo^/stTa/yf:;:.'^^- ^ '^^ •^-^ -hi^^ what you have been doing in Now York, what vou Chetford—my people, you know-are getting along Wo^^no ; no excuses, / am mistress here " A^L'^^'u^ J'^''^. ventured a little later to ask Agatha what her plans f .r the future were, wonder- ing what she intended to do with this splenZ and expensive house, but that the chiming of a tiny go"d clock on the mantel caused her to rise ^ ^ JnJ" ^K^^ ^•^'' not appear inhospitable, Mr. Hard- "f\ .1 %'^"^- "^1*^ * *°"^'' o^ P'-etty confusion to-night and— well, we women have to dress, you know. I want you to promise to come and se. le to-morrow and spend the afternoon. There are many things for us to talk about. Will you? " He promised A^ith a new feeling of pleasure at his heart, and she saw him to the door herself oih?J^'l ^T^ ^'.'^ ^ ^"'■"^ ^"^ ^"^"dly clasp of hands that the minister seemed to carry with him tl^ ^ercity." "'^ '' ^'^ '^""^^ ^°-- P-^« -" 260 CHAPTER XXVIII THE PENALTY OF FAME RALPH HARDING awoke early next morn- ing with an undefined satisfaction lying pleasantly upon his half-dreamy conscious- ness It slowly took words: "Agatha is here: I saw her yesterday, and shall see her again to-day" l^or the moment all vexing questions as to her status in the world, her coming life and her choice of associates faded before the light of the happy fact. Atter breakfast and a little correspondence were out of the way he set forth for the Realists* Club where he often went of a morning to see if he might obtain some sort of suggestions for the work of The djy. He had joined the organization purely on its reputation for embracing within its membership the mocf heterogeneous set of men who ever touched elb under one roof. He expected fresh thoughts, Ideas for fresh fields of labor to spring from his Asso- ciation with the radicals he knew were of the Real- ists band. In truth there were all sorts of men in the club- decadent poets, dramatists of half a dozen "new" schools, impossible political reformers, ultra social- ists who talked loudly of what ought to he. but never attempted to better what was, " symbolists " in art 261 MISS PETTICOATS ^'^:s^^^^'' ^^ --p-p^^ -- -^ -a. i5ts^"u™i^^?,;'i^'J?*TlP^''^^°^' '"OS* o^ the Real- ists turned out to be Idealists of the pronounced sort sucn absolute devotion that any practical work in comb,nat.on was quite out of the ques ioT So Hardmg found that, like other clublhirvei as a ^Z U^l^ '""^ '^''. ""^" ^'^^ homes mifh m^m^ T^ T °" «^asion. Still he kept up his trg^ntrch"ai^"^^^*^ '^'^^ -^- ^^- '- yeaTs'h^'Jt!:^''' Hfe in New York for the past five fn^l I ^ .°"* °/ ^^"*^*t and earnest endeavor to better humanity as he found it. It was not alwavs '♦ll!7 PT' *^' ^'^«'' he recognized the MasTer^s them ye have with vou alwavQ " ^«a1 '^^^^^J ^ single-handed he could'^c^arc^ V"' X't'he number very materially. But he did mnr^ ♦», supply a dinner or bu/a new coatf he hunted uo unfortunates with aspirations for higher tSs and these aspirations he helped to exoand in mf«f m ways. He cultivated th? acquaSce of S^ s wfth fTi 'i'^ • ^'T'^" '''' °^ employment agency with free service; he obtained scholarshios in jrrJ ous institutions for those he knew would appr^^^^^^^^^ tnem ; he rescued sailors from the clutches ^of land sharks; he taught the law to many a rascally pawn broker; in short, he did the strange nZ^Lu dmary things . ..„„<, no^"Z' ^T,''*^^ 262 THE PENALTr OF FAME believed that he was filling his niche in the world ai effectually as when he was in the pulpit. u D*^u ^^ ",°^ '^" altogether content in the huge Babylon of a city. Its immensity precluded any real affection for it; who could love such a heart- less giant that rushed unceasingly about its business with no care for suffering or for sin ' His regular trips to Old Chetford had been the bright parts of his existence; although he may not have recognized it, his visits to the first children of his sympathy, the Coffee House and the hospital, had really been more necessary to his own well- being than i> those now flourishing institutions. , The quarters of the Realists' Club, to which Hard- ing made his way with his customary swineine eait were as odd as its members. They completely filled the top story of a tall office building on Madison Avenue and the view from the many windows was superb. Being on one floor the effect wr.s like that of an immense suite of rooms whose owner had jrone mad on the subject of varied decorations. The art- ists had a room specially devo.ed to t' Hr fraternity the musicians another, while the ault ■ ;. saints and sinners alike rejoiced in a great t .rtment that contained a dozen private d^.slcs. It was a sight for the gods when these literary serines were all occu- pied by wooers of tl e Muses N.i.o performed their devotions by no meaui u. silenct. The comfortable and well-stocked reading room was the favorite resort of the club gossips, but this morning it was deserted when Harding reached the 263 _ MISS PETTICOATS thf" <^LT^ "Sr ^ "lT'"fi^ P^P^^ and turned to tlie Situations Wanted " column, as he was accus hTr:'th: 0^0? ''' ''''' '! '"•^^^ PercL'crfind hdo nit ^ , '°^^, P°°^ ^«"o^^ whom he could %^ ^°"^ ^J^"""' '^^ a-t'^t, strolled in "saw^, n^ornmg Harding." he said pleasantly saw you going to the Countess Fornay's yesterdav afternoon, didn't I ? Do you know h!S? " ^ ^ "Lucicy fellow. She has the holy trinity of l^uty style and brains and the greaL of These W^ •;'^"' T '^'""^ '' '^ °"^' then you are co^! tWrd n/ '"°'^"''' ^"^ ^* 'a^t you swear T^s the " M. " ^Tf y^"^^ '■^ad her book." didnfknow-'? ' "^'"•''''' ^''''^y ^"'•P"^^d. "I theSTtLlptge^-,^^^^^^^^^ The latter tSt iJ^ ""w" remembered name was like a Wo w „ the SrSard "h^ere rerllt^or ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^ook^H^w could Ag^S.^^^^^^^^^^ "Translated from the French Editinn oc d pnr^^ ,from L. i.^^. .. z,,,^]: ^^^^ - ^e- artLP''^'rw"1?"r' '^- " ^^'^ the enthusiastic artist. Clever book, too. and bitter as wormwood 264 THE PENALTY OF FAME Handles society shams without gloves. Everybody IS talking about it, and wondering where she got her insight. By Jove, she's the greatest woman New York has seen for years." " Who is now receiving the endorsement of your impressionistic ardor, Dalzell.? " said a coldly suave voice behind Harding. " Hallo, Atherton, that you? What brings you here so early in the mornine? " " Business." '' Little need of asking." '' I answered your question, but you " "ii^?\^^^''® "^^ *° answer yours ? Of whom could I be talking except the Countess Fornay> Pardon me Mr. Harding; I think you don't know my friend Atherton." "Delighted, I'm sure," murmured the financier, while Harding, as he shook the outstretched hand perfunctorily, felt an instinctive dislike for the craftily sensual face that but half-concealed a sneer in every smile He wondered what this man and the frank and honorable Dalzell could have in com- mon. And that he should know Agatha— that was a profanation that made his blood grow hot Nor was It cooled by the calm tones of the newcomer as he went on : — VW.^^^ ^0""tess is certainly worthy of your paeans, r'nihp. She is ravishing." .7\^V^^ Y^""^}^^ ^^"'^^'" ^h^ compliment was an insul , and Harding writhed under it as a dog under a lash. He would have burst forth into somf sort of remonstrance, but that he knew he would 265 MISS PETTICOATS make himself ridiculous and Agatha worse than that He walked deliberately away from the two and tic v^s o/ThSoi.""'"'" "'" "" """"'^ — " Why not, pray ? " A,^.-'" ^""P °' loungers, seeing Dalzell and lor granted that there wou d be something x^nrth repeating when these two wits clashTd wL^^^^^^^ tare" Lf' 5^'''^-*° ='' ^°^ ^^ allegorical pic- '"!;f Vu^^f^"^ *^^ artist serenely. ^ ^ 1 hen she can't want notoriety Dalzpll fr.r cU^'ii be swallowed up in your theorS'-- ""' ^'^ '"' " incL i P°'"' ''" as ' The Modem Circe ' but '^\'^':^:i^.:^^ ponrait^rtot ^v:in thrust^""' ""^ appreciative laughter greeted this banklr^'-if °"^ comfort," retorted the ruddy banker, ,f you pamt it, I shall never be recog^ 266 THE PENALTY OF FAME Then a shout at the artist's expense, and a tenta- tive expression of the opinion that it might not be too^ early in the day for gentlemen to take a drink. Well, anyway," declared Dalzell, ** you are at her feet already, though you've seen her but once." ' Nonsense, my boy, it's only a matter of busi- ness mvestments." This entertaining dialogue was ended by the sud- den appearance of a fair-haired, boyish fellow with a fresh complexion and a wholesome atmosphere about him, who dashed up to the gioup wavine a newspaper. * " Here, you fellows," he exclaimed. " have you seen the Morning Crier? Here's a whole page about the Countess." And he held aloft a sheet half cov- ered over with illustrations and shrieking headlines. Even from his distance Harding could see the un- mistakable likeness of Agatha Renier. The crass baldness of the thing made him shudder. "Read it to us," cried several of the company. Nothing loth, the youth begar the glowing article. « xT^r?* satisfaction he rolled forth such phrases as Nobles at her feet abroad." " Welcomed by the most select literary circles," " Talk of adding her name to the roll of the Immortals," " Another book m preparation." Inevitably Agatha's personal life then received the attention of the writer's vivid imagination. Upon the one fact that she was the granddaughter of Count Fomay was builded a most marvellous struc- ture of falsehood and fancy. After stating that she 267 MISS PETTICOATS had received from her noble ancestor a fortune es- timated at several million francs, the artictepr^ ^il^^^ *^^ ^u""^^ °^ ^^'"^ beautiful, titled and tal- IS not surpiismg when it is known that for several TASl^ ^^) the open rival of the Grand Duches of Holstein for the affections of her hitherto de- voted and scandal-free spouse. Sh^" wtV^S""^ 1^7^^^^ P^P^^' ^'" yo«. Armstrong? " Harding had jumped to his feet, impelled bv an overpowenng sense of anger and Outraged juSice He broke into the group and faced the toy wUh as much calmness as he could command for sei^ke Why, certainly, Mr. Harding, if you wish it " replied the young fellow in some astonLhmrt ' The minister crushed the paper in his hand, rnn emptuously tore it backwards^and fo waSs m^^^^^^ times and then slowly let the pieces faT u^Hh^ neve^'tol?'";' ^^ '"'^-""^ ^'^ ^"^ ^oice had never Deen more impressive — "that «fnr„ «f *u h'Tr^v^'r^^ '^ ' ^'-"^^f ext avTgS^t Lse! 5^/4:^^^^^^^^^ '"^"^^ 'I ^ ^°°d woSTn and t Thf ^ newspaper that published them " The company was undoubtedly interested Her*, was a parson who was worth while , he rushed t^the defence of the wonderful Countess Fornay and he n- '^ !k '^ ^' ^"""^ ^"'•^ o^ Jiis ground Others ia^foXS^^^^^^^^^^^ ^-^ aground- hX^ I knew the Countess Fornay," he went on 268 THE PENALTT OF FAM E " when she was— well, a girl. She has beauty, as you all know. She has also good blood and Lood brains, and her heart is pure, her character sucli as you desire for your sisters. She is a woman en- titled to the respect and protection of every decent man. Would you. Armstrong, like to have your sister or your future wife the subject of the public gossip of club loungers?" *i."J^°' "^' ^^' Harding, I would not," returned the boy with great earnestness. " I am really sorry • It was thoughtless of me," and he shook the min ister warmly by the hand, making a sincere friend by his honest avowal. " H'm," thought Atherton, as he left for th.e finan- cial district and his never ending scheming " pretty warm defence on the part of our clerical friend. How sifs the wind in that quarter, I wonder? I shall make it my business to find out." After the crowd separated, Harding read a little more, this time in peace, and then bethought himself of his engagement with Agatha. His watch told him that by going afoot he would reach her house at about the appointed time. "How will it all end?" was the question that kept time to his step as he walked rapidly uptown 269 CHAPTER XXIX THE EMBERS OF HATE THE green-clad servant who took the minis- ter s card had evidently received his in- k * .1- st^ctions, for he did not carry it upstairs. r^IJkfn^;!!"'' ' ""^^ ''^'^ *-y - tL 174"? " Mad'moiselle La Countess gave ordaires vou vere to be shown zis vay." "raaires you Harding followed the flunkey toward the stairs ht ev« Sf !>"' " '^""'" ^^'^ made him'ub T ^ u . ^°',*^'«^e was no mistake about it: it was the well-kmt frame of James Anderson, who had disappeared from Old Chetford shortly afte7 the d^ parture o Agatha and Mrs. Copeland The e^^ ^mll "1' square-cut face was illumined by a broad sm,le as he saw his old-time antagonist wttHhe sTeSuiir^' ""' ''^"^^'^' ^"^ ^-^ - " I thought I couldn't be mistaken, James " said are ft"L":"' '"' *""' '' "^"O'^- ' "opes you "As usual, Anderson, and glad to see yon atrain " Oblmous to the disdain which, this exSto of THE EMBERS O F HATE "S^h^JtTi fhl'rT ^ " ««,^^nt had aroused in low^ hi! I- V * ^^^' ' gentleman. Harding fol- r^m whlh'' "P °"' ^^^' ^° ^ d^'"ty "corning room which was just now in a state of deliehtful confusion occasioned by the presence of several gllv adorned pasteboard boxes and fluffy hips of silks mus ins tulles and other fabrics l^lovTby fern -' mmty. A large, yellow-haired womanTstreet cos- tume was just leaving the apartment. wav^n.\' ^'***'"^ ^^' '^'"^ '" a volatile sort of qf^Z hTEt^:L':"^ ^^°"^^^' -^ -- H.r J°" 'J^' u P^'"'^^" ^'^'s confusion. I know Mr i^sb^f'shn^- '""'"^K^"' "''"' Madame Ufarge gowns ner hrm has just comp eted for me 'VoniH ^°H '''' 'a/^ '^^ ^'""''"•"^ ' canities ^^' He nodded as a matter of court ,y, and she nick- ,T»f , M^S^'?" Shallowness of the new ™Lhi you"£tni?o'i^^lnVhS..^-*-^-'- MISS PETTICOATS " I mean James Anderson." "Oh, yes; Mrs. Copeland sent for him to come to I'aris on the steamer next after ^urs. He was an mvaluable body-guard, even if he did sometimes get mto trouble through his truly British determination not^ to learn French." And she laughed heartily. *u t^f ^'^^ *° ^ ^'"'' *' was like a breath of the old days.— Do you ever miss them, Agatha? " Miss them ? ' There was a suggestion of tears in the voice, a sudden shiftmg from gaiety to deep yearning. « Do you prefer this— this style of life? " Preferit! " she echoed again, with a bi.temess of accent that stung him to the very core " Then why— ?" ^ " "You ask why ^ ' she cried, rising impetuously. Have you forgotten what happened five years ago ? Have you forgotten that the kindliest, noblest woman m Old Chetford was driven from her home because she had befriended a youne eirl and was true to her in the hour of calumi;y? ^H^ave you Tor! gotten that that girl's grandfather was sent to his under the guise of friendship and the respectability lent him by the countenance of his upright aunt, in- sulted and incited others to insult a girl whose only fault was that she accepted his counterfeit of de- cency as genuine? Have you forgotten those things, sadl^°' ^^^^^' ^ ^^^^ "°* forgotten," he replied " Perhaps you may not have forgotten, too, how 2^2 THE EMBERS OF HATE the memory of that girl's mother was reviled in the streets; yes, even in the church; how the false accusers of her daughter smiled knowingly, and in- famously suggested that the daughter of such a woman could not be other than they said she was. I have not forgotten. For five years I have thought and thought of the cruelty of it all. For five years I have schemed and planned that I might fit myself to exact the measure of vengeance that such crimes demand To-day I stand on the threshold of the templt of justice in which I shall be judge and exe- cutioner. I will humble these people who have out- raged the dead and maligned the living. I care little for myself, but the memory of the dead will not suffer me to forget or overlook their wrongs. I have position and the influence of friends. Fate has been kind to me. My birthright came to me almost by accident. Years ago I swore that Old Chetford should one day kneel to me, and that I would turn away m disdain. I tell you, Ralph Harding, that day is near at hand ! " As the fires of this outburst burned themselves away, leaving only the ashes of their wrath, the girl sank to her knees before a great stuffed chair and buried her face in her hands, Tl:en came the need- ful flood of tears. The minister watched her sob- shaken figure for a minute or two and then gentiv raised her with quieting words. He was greatly per- turbed ; here was a soul in distress, such as he had long since vowed to help. But how, in such an in- stance ? To comfort this beautiful woman whom he held 273 MISS PETTICOATS so dear was a vastly different thing from solacing his " people " in trouble. He who knew all, who knew even more than Agatha herself, of the injustice of society s attitude toward her, could scarcely bUme her for bitterness against the powers that were. Yet he feared for the corroding force of long-cherished desire for revenge upon the soul of this unhappy He would have given five years of his life for the eloquence that should show her the truth, but he Knew her nature well enough, even in its changed form, to be sure that open opposition and direct argu- ment would but add fresh fuel to the flames. He went to the window for a moment, and looked out upon the tide of traffic flowing up and down with ceaseless gaiety under the spring sun. Not far away, where the delicate twin spires of the cathedral pierced the blue, he saw in the street a long line of carriages drawn up against the curb. A bright canopy was stretched across the sidewalk, evidently to be the first avenue into the worid of some newly-made bride With a sigh he turned from the scene, to meet a gaze of intensity from Agatha which he could not fathom. He crushed down all other thoughts and «A^rL° P"* ^^^^ practical questions to the girl. What do you propose to do? " he asked, trvinir to speak calmly. ^ ^ " I shall go to Old Chetford in June. The Cope- land house— It IS mine now— is being renovated, and 1 shall see to it that those who are my guests while 1 am there will prove to calumniators that in mere position they are not worthy to tie my shoe." 274 THE EMBERS OF HATE " And your money, Agatha? You have enough to enable you to live as I find you here? " " For the present, yes. The Count left me an estate of three hundred thousand francs; of this I have thirty-five thousand dollars left. I hate the money, and would not touch it, save for this one purpose. If I need more, I can make it. Indeed, I have already proved this to my own satisfaction here in New York." Harding wondered how, but did not seek to inves- tigate. Instead he ventured another inquiry. " You spoke of a letter to your grandfather. May I know about it?" " Is it possible you do not know ? Yet, why should you?" She told the story, and he, too, felt much of her passionate indignation. But he saw that she had not read the authorship of the letter aright, and his sense of fairness would not allow him to keep silent, even for such a man as Guy Hamilton. Knowing the cloak episode, he was morally certain that the miser- able wife of his lawyer-friend had penned the words that sent Captain Stewart to his grave. So, in a general way, he defended Guy as a possible victim of unwarranted suspicions, and urged that the meanest creature was entitled to justice. He could not help wondering if Agatha had ever heard of the episode at the Attawam Club on that tumultuous night when James Anderson became her champion by proxy. In her present condition, how- ever, he would not have dared interrogate her. The name of Guy Hamilton, coming from his lips 275 MISS PETTICOATS and uttered in tones of attempted charity, was like flame to flax in the girl's already surcharged heart. An mtensity of hatred burned in her eyes, and her face was hardened into something that troubled the minister deq)ly. Justice to him ! " she said with curling lip. " A horse-whip or a hempen noose would be justice, per- haps. But I do not want that kind of justice. He must be reached, as I shall reach him, through his selfish impulses. His pride, his self-esteem, must be abased. I shall find a way. As for that woman— the woman who, while she was trying to disgrace me was paving the road to her own shame— she, too, shall suflfer through me. How I do not know, but vengeance will come. Right, fate. God, everything *l°"J^^.*'***lT^°' ^ '^"ow what you would say." she added quickly, as Harding made a deprecatory ges ure and would have spoken. " but it wou.vi be useless. You are a true friend and a noble man, but IZi V^f "°*,^suffered as I " ve. and you cannot realue the truth. You must let me work out my own salvation in my own way." For a long time after this there was silence be- tween them, she dreaming of the day of her triumph, of which she was as sure as that she should wake on the morrow, and he again turning the pages of the past until he came to that scene of the whalers' fare- Toi i"rf ^^ *" ^^^}' " ^^^'" "°w o^ten had he re- called that warning phrase of his. tinged with a darker hue of fate than he dreamed at the time. This harking back to the "Harpoon" suff^ested something that might break the tension of their present attitude; he would try it 276 THE EMBERS OF HATE " I saw Hank Dondson the last time I was in Old Uietford, Agatha, and he spoke of you, as he always does. In an instant the clouds rolled away from the girl s mmd, and she saw only the brightness of the days far back of her first great trouble. She clapped her hands gaily, ^nd smiled as charmingly as of old. • And Captain Sykes and Artemas—ditl you see them, too, dear old barnacles that they are ! " " Yes, both of them ; hale and hearty, too, they were, and still talking of their ' little craft that ain't been spoken for a thunderin* while an' is a good deal overdue. ' "The salt old tarry angels! And is Artcmas as much of a roistering blade as ever, and is Captain bykes tired of telling the ' Mozambique ' yam yet ? " "They're the same to a dot, Agatha." Then sud- denly : How would you like to see them ? " i; See them?" "Yes ; I've been thinking of inviting them to New York for a day or two as my guests. U I do that, would you like to have me bring them up here> " r V^}^ ?^ ^''""^' ^''- Hardrq:," cried she de- lightedly, and you are so P^ooa to have thought of It. You know I cannot go to Old Chetford— yet. Get them over as soon as ever you can." Harding agreed to expedite matters, and went down town with a far brighter hope for Agatha than he had yet felt. The last few moments of their inter- view had told him that she still had a heart. That night a letter was sent to Old Chetford on a mission that was destined to bring much joy to the three musketeers of Tuckerman's Wharf. 277 CHAPTER XXX A RIFT IN THE CLOUDS FOR several days Agatha was to Harding a flitting and a fleeting vision. He had called ( II , °"*^^.'^f *^'*^^' ^^^ ^"""^ that her time was so fully claimed by the exactions of social duties as to pve little opportunity for friendly chats. Receptions to which she was invited and which she herself gave suppers, theatre-parties, musicales and the dozens ci° xt"S''H" "^'^^ ^h'^h the semi-Bohemian mSy. f-T X°'^ '^^f *° ^"^"^e itself, absolutely fined her life almost to the exclusion of personal com- " I am sure she doesn't really care for this sort of 1 II?^K T""^^ ?-^ minister over a pipe in his plain little bedroom, " it isn't in her nature to. All these tnpperies, I can see, are being used simply as a means to an end. On the whole, I rather wish the life she IS leading interested her a little more It would be better for her nature than that dull hunger for vengeance that's gnawing at her soul." He thought of trying to enlist her in his work fZ."!' ^if ?^ed^o"J«-" but abandoned the idea as impracticable for the present. He could do nothing now but wait and hope. ^tmns A letter from Captain Sykes. flavored with the 278 A RIFT IN THE CLOUDS breath of the ocean, came to him in due time accept- ing gladly the invitation to visit New York. In it some nautical phrase suggested his own relations with Agatha — it was curious how most things of power or picturesqueness did iuggest her. He seemed to be the keeper of a lighthouse near a reef. Agatha's safety was threatened on a dark and tem- pestuous night, and he, imprisoned, could only guard and trim the light until wind and wave should drive their precious burden nearer to him. But — would she see the beacon tended by his love and care and be guided by it into the safe channel ? It was a question that almost stunned him. He was greatly delighted when James Anderson hunted him up at his lodgings one evening to talk over old times in the smoke of good tobacco. He sincerely admired that sturdy ex-prize-fighter for a devotion to Agatha »vhich was like the honest love of a noble dog for its mistress, and he thought more of him than ever when James, in hesitating fashion, made evident that the girl's manner of living and bitterness of spirit had impressed him profoundly. As a result of this consultation it was agreed that James, who was now Agatha's courier and agent in many things, should keep a sharp watch upon affairs in the big house, and report at once to Harding if any untoward events should occur, "That is a bit like playing the spy," thought the minister after James had gone, " but if ever the end justified the means, this is the case." The next evening, as a dainty card on his study table told him, Agatha was to give an " At Home, 279 MISS PETTICOATS with Music." Although this sort of thing had long been foreign to Harding's mode of life, he deter- mined to go. He argued that he might be able to formulate some plan to help her by seeing the sort of people with whom she was surrounded ; but the fact was that even in the crowd that was certain to be in attendance upon a reigning favorite he would obtain pleasure from her mere presence. When he reached the Fifth Avenue house on the following night it was aflame with many window lights, and a long line of carriages was crawling along the -urb, each stopping for a moment to dis- charge its butterfly occupants. The music of a string band floated vaguely out upon the night air, its individuality blurred by the ceaseless chatter of many tongues. James Anderson stood at the steps, dignified and unperturbed, but the French servants within the hall were running about and gesticulating with great apparent excitement in their attempts to settle the guests. The great double drawing-room of crimson and silver tones, and just now beautifully decorated with choice flowers, was filling rapidly, and Harding joined the throng unobserved by anyone he knew. He determined to hold aloof for a time and note the conditions by which Agatha was environed. Just at present the girl was gaily chatting in French with M. Sayer, a famous violinist whom she had met in Paris. He was a tall, ponderous man with a smooth face and straight black hair that fell over his ears in somewhat saintly fashion. There was nothing saintly about the real individual, how- 280 A RIFT IN THE CLOUDS ever, for the story of his amours, one of which had been with a world-renowned prima-donna, would have filled a volume. Harding knew the artist's reputation, and a chill struck to his heart as he saw the leer the player cast upon Agatha's beautiful shoulders and neck. He himself had never seen her in evening dress before, and to have this almost holy first impression marred by the satyr-genius was in- tolerable. Nor were some of the others who fluti -ed about the radiant young woman any more reassuring. He saw the sensual-faced Atherton greeted like an old friend by the girl ; he saw Theodore Edlington, one of the Realists' nastiest poets of decadence, engage her in conversation ; he saw " Satan " Montgomery, with most horrible of reputations, touch that white and shapely hand. At last came Harry Armstrong, fresh, honest and admiring, and Harding was thank- ful for the little leaven that his presence aflforded. The women were, of course, irreproachable. Agatha was now wise enough to know that whatever the masculine portion of her devotees might lack in the virtues, the feminine contingent must counter- balance in order that her own status might be secure. She had invited several leaders in consular circles, a woman novelist or two, an actress of excellent social standing, some music patrons an^ a sprinkling of others well known as bohemians of position. It was a bright and entertaining crowd, and the event was at once a success. M. Sayer's playing was de- lightful as ever ; his air of rapt spirituality as fascin nating and as inscrutable. 281 MISS PETTICOATS As the evening wore away, the minister, who had been very cordially received by Agatha and made to feel somehow like a guest of honor, could not fail to notice the avidity with which the sleek Atherton hung upon the girl's words and the ill-concealed grossness of the attentions he paid her. Others, too, were impressed, as he learned when young Arm- strong approached him with boyish wrath upon his fair face. " Isn't it disgraceful, the way Atherton looks at the Countess?" he exclaimed impetuously. "He hasn't a bit of respect for any woman, that fellow. I wish I were her brother for a few minutes: I'd — I'd—" Harding had no real fear for Agatha ; he felt in- dignation, however, that so much moral leprosy should be almost in touch with her. Yet he smiled, too, as he saw her surrounded like a queen by the cro^yd of sycophants, thinking of Philip Dalzell's in- tention of painting her as a Circe, with men instead of swine as her victims. He was sure that this gathering did not appeal to her as made up of indi- viduals; they were a collective means to an end, like the whole life she was now leading. Yet again this Atherton — Did not Agatha's pronounced favor toward him raise him from the level of being simply a part of the whole ? He was much relieved when DaLell sauntered up to the window, where he was standing in semi-retirement, and observed: " Atherton's at it again, talking shop now to the fair Countess, and, strangre to say, she appears to 282 A RIFT IN THE CLOUDS know as much about stocks as he does." And he yawned and wandered away. Atherton had interested Agatha very deeply. He was a brilliant talker where finance was concerned, and he spread before her mind pictures of the " mar- ket " that were vivid and seductive. Here they met on common ground, ground upon which she hoped to erect the fabric of her ambition. He told her in particular of a company in which he was interested and which would repay her investigation, if she cared to place her money to good advantage. Her instinct told her that he was sincere, that he was fascinated by her and would put wealth in her way so long as he was favored. " Some of the best operators on the ' street ' are in it," he had declared, " and its president is that luck- iest of plunders, Guy Hamilton. You've heard of him, perhaps." Agatha started at the name, and breathed heavily for a moment. Her hand sought her heart ; he'* face was tense and drawn. To think that that despised name should come forth at such a time and in such a place! Atherton must certainly have noticed her agitation, for he was as keen as a ferret, but that the noise of a sudden disturbance in the hall attracted his attention in common with that of all the guests. The protesting tones of a servant uttered in very rapid broken English rose above the general hum of conversation, followed by a high-pitched, squeaky voice in reply. " Huh ! I tell ye we will go in, consarn ye. Parson 283 MISS PETTICOATS Hardin's in thar, an' it's him we come tcr see. An' mebbe our Aggy's thar too. Leastwise, we're a-goin' ter find out, so avast thar, ye land lubber." In another instant there appeared in the broad doorway the strangest trio that ever set foot in a New York drawing-room. The tiny figure of Hank Donelson in the centre, was flanked on one side by the big and ruddy Captain Sykes and on the other by the wea/ened Artemas. There they stood shoul- der to shoulder, like the three guardsmen of death- less fame, but with all their courage of a moment ago utterly wiped out by the brilliancy of the scene before them. Then, too, they felt that their apparel, which they had thought so elegant and modish when they left Old Chetford, was after all scarcely adapted to evening wear. Even the Captain's long frock coat, the pride of them all, into which he had managed to stow his capacious chest with tremendous effort, now seemed commonplace; Hank began to despise his cherished tight lavender trousers and Artemas had dark suspicions of the immense scarlet necktie he had purchased especially for the trip. A well-bred titter added to their pitiable confusion. They were helpless, speechless and were just about to turn and flee precipitately when — A tall, beautiful vision in moss-rose satin sprang from somewhere within the gay throng and ran across the room to greet them. The vision wrung each one's hands warmly and kissed each in the sim- ple fashion of childhood. It was Agatha, yes, their dear " Aggy " grown so handsome and so grand that she overawed them, yet not too grand to remember 284 "Vet not too grand to remember old friends." A RIFT IN THE CLOUDS old friends and the days when she was their pet and their pride. The warm-hearted little Hank could have wept with delight, but he realized that digni- fied composure was due this splendid young woman, and he whispered to his companions that they must " keep sheets taut and head up into the wind like a frigate." Agatha turned with a little apology for the inter- ruption and introduced the three mariners to the company. " They are very dear old friends of my child- hood," she added simply, " and comrades of my dead grandfather." All this was accepted by Agatha's guests as a de- lightful manifestation of the eccentricity of genius ; give a woman a title, and society will applaud if she chooses to turn handsprings in public. So they made much of the tars as interesting specimens from an- other world, and before the evening had far spent itself Dalzell had exacted a half-promise from Arte- mas that he would give him a sitting for a study to be called " The Ancient Mariner." When the people dispersed, Atherton was among the last to leave, loth to depart from this woman who had so impressed him. After Agatha had bidden him good-night, she added : " I will call at your office to-morrow, Mr. Ath- erton, and we can resume our very interesting dis- cussion." As the financier descended the steps he chuckled and rubbed his hands together with a lingering, ca- ressing motion, characteristic of him when he 28s . MISS PETTICOATS thought that his plans were maturing satisfactorily. His overweening vanity led him to imagine that Agatha s mterest in him was special and personal, and he determined to foster this by every means in his power, good or ill— it mattered very little. .J ! , .^ reentered the house, his smile of self- congratulation might have turned to a grimace of chagrin, for, forgetful of him and even Sf the Guy Countess Fomay, was sitting cross-legged on the floor m her satin gown, and^before hl^charmed! a^ed and a bit bewildered, were the threTold sailors of Tuckerman's Wharf. 286 CHAPTER XXXI FOR HIGH STAKES THE visitors from old Chetford were installed for the night in the most luxurious quarters they had ever known. To Harding's pro- posal to take the tars down town and provide lodg- ings for them near his own chambers Agatha turned a deaf ear. She would not hear of the old fellows' departure, especially as spare rooms were plentiful in the big house. So Hank, Artemas and Captain Sykes each got as beautiful a bedroom as any so- ciety queen. What to do with such magnificence they scarcely knew, but a bed, at least, needs no introduction to tired human beings, and at last they were settled for the night. At breakfast next morning they were as happy as larks, although Artemas did mildly repine at his failure to sleep. " Yer see, Miss Aggy," he observed, " it's the fust time in nigh on ter forty years, when I came ter York afore, that I've spent a night out'n the ol' hammock. Yer bed was terrible purty an' powerful soft, but thet thar sinkin' down whenever ye moved was more'n I could stand. So I jest pulled the mat- tress off'n thet thar wire contraption and put it on «87 1 i MISS PETTICOATS the floor. Ye won't mind, will ye, Aggy?" he queried, in some trepidation. "No, indeed, Artemas," she replied, laughing gaily. " To-night you shall have the spring removed and slats put in, if you like." " Thankee; thankee kindly," said the grateful old man. The meal was not achieved without sundry per- turbations of spirit on the part of the whalers. Gentlemen at heart, they feared that their ignorance of the amenities of a refined table might shame Agatha in the eyes of her servants. Wonderful men, those servants I Such lordly dignity as encompassed the butler, m particular, had never been seen before. Hank watched him closely, wondering what stroke of fate had brought such an evident scion of a noble family into service. As the man brought him his coffee with the suavity and pomp of a diplomatic dean his eyes nearly popped out of his head, and the food he was carrying to his mouth stopped half- way Sykes noted Agatha's r^ovements and imi- tated all that she did, while Artemas, more inde- pendent than either of his friends, fed himself iii his own way serenely, and made a breakfast that warmed the cockles of his heart. " Suthin' like ol' times, eh? " asked Captain Sykes jovially, as they ate and chatted and were very happy. Then, seeing the shadow that passed over his hostess face he added gently: " 'ceptin'— one." •*u ,' - °'^ grandfather," murmured the jrirl with glistening eyes. " And the ' Harpoon '-has she — ^has she been broken up?" 288 FOR HIGH STRIKES No answer came from a single tor. Artemai looked at Sykes, Sykes looked at him, and both looked at Hank Donelson. Hank looked at the French clock on the mantel with a gaze of intense concentration. " Ye heem what Miss Aggy said," observed the captain mildly. " Yes. Hank, is she broke up? " piped Artemas. The little tar started as from a deep revery. "Oh, no; she ain't broke up— yet," he replied, and his ruddy face gradually worked itself into the semblance of a smile. " I'm glad of that," said the girl simply. Where- at all three of the old sea-fossils chuckled immoder- ately. Agatha wondered a little as to what amused her guests so much, but knowing them to be " odd fish," nothing they could do appeared strange to her. Breakfast over, the trio retired to the library at Agatha's express command for a pull at their pipes. From that room came, from time to time, the sound of Hank's voice addressing something in a pleading tone to Artemas. Then Sykes's deep bass joined in, and finally all three seemed to be talking at once and rather excitedly. Agatha ventured in to ask what the matter was. " Why, yer see, Miss Aggy," explained the cap- tain, "the boy, here, is pesterin' Artemas ter take him down ter the Bow'ry ter see the sights. Artemas was here onct afore an' knows the ropes. But we don't know as how the young feller ought ter be took ter such a place." 289 MISS PETTICOATS " Oh, I think it entirely safe," replied Agatha, ai seriously as she was able. "With two such guardians as you, Hank will not be corrupted, 1 am sure." Thus encouraged, they sallied forth under the pilotage of Slickersley, who, forty years before, had actually been in the classic street that Hank desired to tread, and felt intensely proud of his superior knowledge. Soon after their departure Agatha was driven by James Anderson to Wall Street, and reached that dark canon of finance as its rushing flood of business was at its height. The offices of Atherton were high up in an im- mense building near the Stock Exchange, and were typical of that luxury with which the kings of gam- ing delight to surround themselves. Carpets of the richest velvet hushed the hurrying footfalls of em- ployes and "customers; " fine paintings gave relief to eyes wearied by the ceaseless procession of figures on the " tape; " beautiful and elaborately appointed desks were at the service of speculators, and there was a handsome, glass-enclosed room for women "clients," of whom Atherton had a large number. Here Agatha sat for a moment until the broker should appear ; she knew he would not delay. A " ticker " was spewing forth its endless strip of narrow paper, hammering upon it the fateful figures which so many thousands of eyes, bright with hope, or " dim with unshed tear," were watching at that very moment as far as Wall Street was a power. Agatha lifted the coil from its tall wicker basket 290 FOR HIGH STAKES and passed it quickly through her fingers, noting the selhng prices of certain stocks. Evidently the gods of chance wer«» well inclined, for she smiled at wha- she saw, an«j reached for one of the little order blan s .>n a shelf near by. She was about to write somef-mj n^^(\tT the boldly printed " SELL " on the slip, when Atherton entered. The strong man of finance was most fastidiously dressed and freshly groomed; even his daily orchid had been chosen with lingering care. He greeted his beautiful visitor with so deferential a manner that even the clerks took notice, especially as one of them recognized the Countess from her newspaper por- trait. The whisper ran around the room, even to the other feminine " clients," and Agatha was at once the object of keen scrutiny, for which she cared not at all The days of the blush at searching glances were long since passed. "Ah, my dear Countess, I am indeed charmed to see you. I trust you are as well as you look this morning," was Atherton's greeting, to which Agatha replied m a few direct words and with no notice whatever of the broadly implied compliment She told the delighted financier that she had been much interested in his conversation of the evening before; that she had often wished to learn something of stock transactions from a master of the subject She even confessed to having taken a few little flyers " since her arrival in New York which had resulted rather well. To the blase man of the world she seemed almost like a pretty child rejoicing over a new toy. 291 MISS PETTICOATS "The stock market is so much more exciting than Monte Carlo," she exclaimed with enthusiasm. There you see all the cards, and poof! it's all over m a moment; you're happy or wretched, and that's an end to it" ixr ',?o* ^' ^°"*® ^^""'^ *^^y P'^y fair. Here in Wall Street the cards are marked," he said signifi- cantly, leaning toward her with a look in his beady eyes that aroused her distrust and told her that if she were to use him as a pawn in her match with fate she must make her moves skillfully, "but I can teach you to play the game in safety." She wondered what his price for the instruction might be— she knew that all men of his stamp had a pnce. But she dismissed the thought as having no immediate bearing on her visit, and turned again to the matter in hand. " I thank you, Mr. Atherton. But you were talk- ing of mining stocks last night, were you not? What is thert in particular that you can recom- mend ? " " There are several, Countess," he replied, lower- ing his voice almost to a whisper, " but the best of them all, the king-pin in the money making line, is, m my opinion, the stock of the ' United Mines Syn- dicate '." ^ " I do not know it." " It has only been listed a few days. As a matter ,of fact, It is not a mining company at all, but an amalgamation made up to control the handling of a number of concerns whose stocks are now active, 292 FOR HIGH STAKES such as ' Huronide,' ' Gotham and Michigan,' ' Don Quixote,' • Norumbega ' and others of that sort." " But not one of those stocks is paying a dividend now, and there are assessments on two of them," said Agatha quietly. The broker flushed deeply, and into his little eyes there came a look of greater respect for his caller's calibre. " My dear young lady, it is not a question of get- tmg dividend-payers, or even of escaping assess- ments. The simple facts are that we have consoli- dated those stocks under one management; that many of the stockholders in the smaller companies have handed in their shares for exchange; that there are, however, a great many transactions still un- closed " " A large ' short ' interest, you mean? " u ^^ lool^ed at her with ever growing wonderment. Yes, a large ' short ' interest in the various stocks. F '-ome time we have been buying in all these I ' les through a varied assortment of brokers to av ' suspicion, and to-day we have practically a comer ' in every one of them. When we get ready to move we shall " ]'' Squeeze' them?" "Ah, Countess, you are superb! We shall do more— we shall wring them by the neck until there is not a drop of gold left in their wretched bodies Hr '? Very simple. When the ' shorts ' find that thty are struggling against a 'corner' of the most unrelenting sort, we -hall announce that shares of 293 MISS PETTICOATS the United Mines Syndicate ' will be accepted for dehveo^ m place of Norumbega, Huronide or what- ever the stock may be. Then you will see a rush for United Mines' such as Wall Street rarely knows, and we who hold it will profit by hundreds of thousands of dollars. I hold success in my very hand; I cannot fail," he said solemnly. "About Mr. Hamilton— you said that was the name of the president, I believe?" " To tell you the tnith," he replied cautiously, al- though his infatuation was now complete, " Hamil- ton has net played square with me in this deal, I'm afraid. At any rate, he ii carrying a great load just now, and with proper manipulation, he might be forced out of the ' United,' " " Beatpn at his own game ! " said Agatha, her lips tightenin ^ " Exactly." They talked a little more as to the profits that would arise from the coup, and then Agatha rose to go. " Well, the prospect is alluring," she said, " per- haps I may invest a little money in the plan." At that moment she glanced through the glass partition and noted a tall, elegantly dressed man talking with one of the clerks. There was some- thing so familiar in his figure and bearing that she was scarcely surprised when he turned and she saw that It was Guy Hamilton. She crushed down a great impulse to cry out; she commanded herself to compose her face, that the broker standing so 294 V it: FOR HIGH STAKES close to her should not read the secret of her hate. She turned to him with an admirable counterfeit of nonchalance. "I really must be going," she said. " That mining stock you speak of—how hign are the stakes ? " " I think twenty-five thousand would be needed if you wish for large returns." *' So little? Well, you may depend upon me" As Atherton returned from the escorting of his fascinating visitor to her carriage, his joy was pro- found. For her money he cared little; it was the prospect of at least friendly relations with her dur- ing the progress of the coup, the assured propinquity to a beautiful woman, that intoxicated his material- istic soul. Perhaps he might even win her love! Agatha went away feeling that she had embarked on a dangerous voyage, in the course of which she would need her utmost cleverness and self-posses- sion. More money than she now had would also be demanded, but t^'^s she had good reason to believe she could obtain; her ventures in the market thus far had been very successful, and she followed the maxims of Mrs. Copeland in every move she made. Just how she should proceed against Guy Hamil- ton she did not know, but, since the mention of his name the evening before, her determination that in some way he should feel the blight of her revenge had been intensified to the proportions of mania. Cost what it might in money or temporary fjf- abasement, she would bring him to the dust in which he had once prostrated her. 295 MISS PETTICOATS She lunched at Delmonico's, and was then driven There, bethinking herself of her three old fri?ndf 296 CHAPTER XXXII A SIGNAL OF DISTRESS THE three sailors, after leaving the shelter- ing walls of Agatha's house, hailed one of the archaic stages which were still plying on Fifth Avenue and began their rattling, creakin' course toward the Bowery. The motion, not so remote from that of a ship in a storm, so soothed the marmers that they failed to note the little fare- box in front, into which they were supposed to drop their money, and were equally oblivious to the re- peated ringing of the impatient driver. At last the shabby jehu opened a tiny trap-door near his seat and yelled in no very considerate tones : — " Hey, you in there; ain't you never goin' to pay your fare?" ' "In course we be," cried Artemas shrilly, aroused at this imputation against his comrades, "an' ye needn't be so consarned peart about it, nuther. But whar's yer conductor, or whatever ye calls him that takes the cash?" " Aw, drop it into the box, you, you " The driver's voice failed him through sheer dis- gust, and he thereafter did his best to make his vehi- 297 MISS PETTICOATS i tnJii '^^^' •''" 'S?'°'"*"* °^ tJ^e actual satisfac- tion he was g,v,ng to his queer fares. At the end of the stage hne the three disembarked and st <^ for a moment m the middle of the sidewalk, unm^dful They wer'eT f ' ^''? "' ?"^^^'"^ P^^-^"'-"' s,V^{ J .L- ^ ' ^ew into mendous puffMhey Wh.2 ""^'Sr"'"^ ""''^ ^ ''^- taurant on baked gansandlr?/Hf^ f ^ ^'"^'^ ^"■ found a row of coSable fh^ ^' "">'' ^^^^ ^^en into which they rmt^H .^ ? "".^^" ^" ^^"'"ff. to discover tStt was a Sh. 'I"' ^'P^^' °"^y nient, and that th^y must sub^. f''^'"? ^'^^^''^- Pplishing. and finailyXy trudL .f ""^ ^^^ J""' ^ theatre, that ultima thvul T^Ft ^^-^^^^ ^"^ ^ to the great city ^" provincial visitors yello'v. and brill LrnnA/ ''•'^ ""^^ ^"^ very tertainmen? whllSr ^iZ^i^Z'^uT''''^ ^"- twentv and thirty centr.nJ tt ^'^''^^^ ^^''^ ten, *. best was no.''ar-r,o-,XZnS A SIGNAL OF DISTRESS themselves in orchestra seats well toward the stage. The piece that afternoon was a melodrama of the fine old sort in which villainy runs rampant for four acts, only to be crushed to earth with a tremendous thud in the fifth. To the simple old salts, no one of whom had ever been in a playhouse before, the mimic scenes were intensely real. The harrowing sufferings of the heroine stirred their manly hearts to pity, and they moved uneasily in their seats as woe was piled upon anguish and horror upon both. At last came one of the most widely advertised scenes in the play; the villain was to seize the heroine by the hair and drag her about the stage, laughing in fiendish glee. The lovely girl was prone upon the floor and the evil gentleman had grasped her tresses preparatory to the great feat of realism, when Sykes, unable to control himself, arose in his seat and shook his huge fist at the actor. " Avast thar," he roared angrily, " let that thar gal alone, ye consamed sculpin, or I'll ** The house was in an uproar in a moment. Jeers, whistles, cat-calls and cries of "sit down" and " put him out " made a bedlam of the place. There were shouts of laughter, too, for many thought the interruption a clever trick of the management, and expressed their approval of the captain's "make- up." But he, nothing daunted, his chivalrous soul thinking only of duty to be performed, started down the aisle on the work of rescue. " Come back, ye gol darned fool," piped Artemas, " don't ye know it's only actin* out? " 301 with. Then Hank «L a J^*^*'*^ '^"'^ '^'"' ^^^h- dragged to the^s"dS and a lit '^"^ ^"* moned. '"^waiK, and a pohceman sum- here ain't th* «m » surveyed the rueful trio. " If Joe • X.L'^bi? *rp^' *r/V'"''; '•'?""''«"» to run you in, my anffir ,'ml, •™&':i;;"! in sight^ if l^S^L„ ii- "^^T^^ officers/heaved sengfrs. ^ "^ ^«^'"'* ^^"^ ^^^^b for its pas- .^„ lys expense, chuckled the policeman. "Get trail througl, X BOW.V '' '" '""""'"^ *«' on'^°rrvls''e4;^at;r "T '"■■P'^'^l'"' ""ors the well k™w„ face ,r,h,T!~™ "S"' 'han wa, dersbn quiddy Sn,° ^12^'/"' '"™- An- That gentli^n cTm^/XaTwi r °' !'"-""»''^ requested the r^^ of'Z^Hjr::^^,^}^^ 3Q2 A sigFjal of distress supplemented this with a certain transaction of hands, the tars were set free. A cab was called, and Anderson bundled the old fellows into it. •' Number Fifth Avenue," he directed the driver. "Must be a museum," jeered somebody in the crowd, and the others set up a shout as the vehicle rolled away. It so happened that one of the spectators of the discomfiture and rescue of the three was another Old Chetford man of former days, Guy Hamilton, who had been called into the district by his desire to see a certain lawyer of rather shady reputation. Noting the tumult, he had joined the crowd in idle fashion, and had been startled to see James Ander- son and the three sailors. All the bitter hatred he bore the man who had once struck him was over- mastered by curiosity, and he went as near as possi- ble without detection to the centre of disturbance. He heard Hank say something about Agatha's probable displeasure and he caught the number given by Anderson to the driver. There was no doubt about it — she was in New York, and living in an aristocratic quarter. With characteristic reasoning he jumped at the conclusion that she was spending what remained of the Copeland money in a life of gaiety. Further particulars he must have, and he forthwith employed the Bowery lawyer, who was not above playing detective for a consideration, to investigate for him. The old spirit moved within him, and he determined to renew the acquaintance with Agatha if there were any possible way to do so. 303 MISS PETTICOATS The musketeers had had enough of life in the metropohs and on the following day they took the boat for Fall River. Not one of them could b^ persuaded to go by train, if a boat could be found to take them. Q„^^^*^ r^ )**^^"^ "^ ^ dangerous/' declared bykes, the hero of more thrilling escapes from perils of the sea than any man in Old Chetford. 304 CHAPTER XXXIII THE SKIRMISH LINE WITHIN the next fortnight Ralph Hard- ing saw many things in the brown-stone house that convinced him that a critical mental and spiritual crisis was near at hand in the life of the woman he had vowed to save from her- self. From the reports of James Anderson he learned more. The honest coachman and guardian of his mis- tress's outward welfare used to make pleasant little pilgrimages down to Harding's lodgings, and there, through the persuasive aid of pipes, they would sit and plan bright things for Agatha, one of them, at least, dreading that they might never come to pass. Harding could not feel that he was breaking the proprieties in any sense by this familiarity with a servant, for Anderson's long service, absolute loyalty and keen penetration raised him to the position of confidential friend. So the two who loved Agatha, each in his own fashion, talked of her as if she were a girl, whose interests were in their keeping. One evening Anderson came with curious news. Three days before, 'he said, a lot of workmen had arrived with wire and some strange-looking ma- chines, which they had taken to the library. Other 305 MISS PETTICOATS laborers had performed some mysterious operations on the roof, and since then the library had been kept locked, and his mistress had spent most of her day- times mside. All he could tell was that a peculiar clicking, like the sound of a horse champing a bit " could be heard faintly from the hall. The minister knew from experience that Agatha's evenings vere more than ever given up to social gaieties. He rarely mingled in them, although in- vited cordially enough, for he felt that he did not speak the language of the flippant and artificial set by which she was surrounded. And then came the old, o d question : to what extent did the girl's soul actually participate in this existence? Was she merely a chameleon, changinrr color with each set of surroundings, or would she at last become per- manently tinged with frivolity from being a part of It so long? Although he still believed in her nobility of nature, he sighed at the difficulty of the problem. -^ A ^i' *° Harding the real, the hideous menace to Agatha s happiness war ;he continued presence of Atherton in her house. He now knew the ante- cedents of that sleek sensualist, knew his disregard for the honor of womankind, and to learn tha he was a favored visitor, as well as the girl's escort to places of amusement, was as of the bitterness of ^^w°u ^i'"/"'^^*'"'' ^'S^^y organized nature. With all his indignation, however, Harding felt that neither he nor the world knew the truth that must be behind Agatha's apparent preference for the financier. Best of all men living, he thought, he 306 THE SKIRMISH LINE understood her nature; it was preposterous to believe that she could feel any sympathy with a man of Atherton's stamp. Nor was it possible to deceive her now, as in the days of Guy Hamilton. But here was the fact of favors bestowed, and it haunted him. After considerable of this self-communion he suddenly grew disgusted with himself and his " moonings," as he termed them. Was he to think and dream and hope forever, and do nothing? Where was his reputation as a practical man? He had won many another from a dangerous road, and why should he shrink now because it was the woman he loved who needed help> He determined to take the initiative boldly, and try to interest her in other directions— perhaps in some plan of his own — and at leaf; distract her impressionable nature from its morbidness. He would go to her at once. And with that decision a bit of sunlight seemed already to cut into the gloom. Almost at that very moment Agatha was in the midst of a deep discussion with Atherton in her library. The broker's little eyes shone with a satis- faction not wholly derived from the matter they were outlining. His friends who declared that he never mixed business and pleasure did not know their man; they had been right simply because he had never before met a business woman who was also alluringly feminine. The Countess talked of stocks like an intelligent man, and his commercial ear heard her with respect; she breathed adorable womanly charm, and he drank that in with the thirst 307 MISS PETTICOATS S!.*^*" mT'- ^^'^ ^«^^*^^ ^^o^ to be Delilah! she could have shorn this financial Samson without a protest on his part. , " So you think the situation in ' United Mines ' IS favorable to us, do you, Mr. Atherton?" asked Agatna. 1 '/^f^^°'■^^'^ ^^ ^ 3*" able to make it," he re- plied '' But I will be frank with you, and tell you that I have not quite a controlling interest in it. ^ il'tlT^' °*i^' '**?''/"P •"*« *h^ "market than a1.!u ^fr' ^1*^ ,^™ebody is holding on like grim S' T ,?[^ u"^"^ ^°'" ^ ^"'■^ty what Hamilton holds I would be better satisfied. Of course he and I could combine, and do as we chose with the com- pany; but if he should get offish and unite his big holdings with others, they could— well, they could make It unpleasant for me. But I don't thiik that can happen; I don't see how he can get control without my knowing it." ^""irui J' T?*" M^ °"* ^^"^^^ 8^'" tbe confidence of this— n„^'J* might make a very great difference to me and to you," he replied. " If he has not got control we can beat him by buying the outstanding stock ^shnrK^T" ^f *^'" ^°'' '^^' ^^<^»^^"&e with the shorts I spoke to you about. If he has, we are at his mercy so far as this deal is concerned be- cause he could then go over to the enemy compel Wr.?T"^ '"^ K^""^?" "^y P^^"' and"^ make a barrel of money by going short on the stocks of the amalgamated companies. He would beat the 308 THE SKIRMISH LINE 'comer/ and you and I would fail to get our profits. The great question is how he stands on ' United Mines.' He says he has not got control; I don't believe him, somehow. I wish I knew." " Perhaps I can find out." "You?" he asked wonderingly. " Yes— that is, I— I think I may be able to as- certain." " But you don't know Hamilton." " There are many ways in which one can get in- formation in the market," she returned. " If we can find out positively how Hamilton is situated in the matter," said Atherton, " all will be clear sailing." The broker departed a little later on excellent terms with himself. Not only had he apparently become a needful element in this attractive woman's life, but he was in a fair way to have the whip- hand over Hamilton. As for Agatha's financial in- terest in the "United Mines" scheme, that was bound to turn out to his advantage, he thought, whichever way it resulted. H he and Agatha won, he would reap the reward of her gratitude; if they lost, she might need his help financially, and that he would pour out lavishly. But he would win; the dice were loaded; he was victor even before the cast. Coming down the steps he met Harding, He bowed graciously, showing his white teeth with a sinister smile. He had at first feared the " parson," but of late had seen so little of him at the house as to drop him from consideration. He could aflford, 309 MISS PETTICOATS ^^'jfS^lnJ^ ^ magnanimous. The minister nodded stiffly; he would not play a part with such a man. Harding was told by a servant that the Countess would see him m the library. There he found her at a desk m a maze of papers, pamphlets, reports, balance-sheets and yellow tissues. A "ticker" at her nght side was tapping out its monotonous sone. and a beautiful desk-telephone was within easy reach of her left hand. She turned with a bright smile. « V M?' ^^^ *? ®** y°"' M""- Harding," she said. You have not been any too sociable of late. Are you, too. busy— as I am? " and she drew his atten- tion to the financial paraphernalia with a compre- hensive sweep of her pretty hand. " Yes, Agatha very busy. But not, I fancy, in a very profitable way pecuniarily. Your occupa- tion I suppose, IS more to the point in dollars and cents, he said qmzzically, tapping the tape-basket as he spoke. JIIa^ ^'ZT%^^''^ ^ '^°"^^ ^^ "loneX'" she St thatT""-' "" ^"^"^ ''' '' *^- -^ Jl ^° ^1!^, *". *?^^^' ^S""^^^' perhaps, but do you ever think of the result of continued gambling on a nature like yours? Don't you fear the eflFect ^u} A T. f ^^l«"l«.nt o^ the robber game of stocks, the devil-take-the-hmdmost spirit that actuates ZT^ ^u T *^^»f ^ket? Can you play with fire Zt Tw n c"™^"*- ^^" y°" "^« »" the malarial belt of Wall Street, and not catch the fever? I would 310 THE SKIRMISH LINE rather see you the poorest of the poor than to have you dragged down to spiritual ruin by the weight of gold thus obtained." The girl flushed, and her eyes glinted with resent- ment. What right had this man, old friend though he were, to talk to her thus, to assume proprietorship over her affairs, to try to block the course of her righteous resolve? Far away in the shade other figures were calling for vengeance; their thin id eerie voices were more powerful than even the mu- sical tones of this earnest, virile helper of souls. " I am grateful — I have always been grateful to you, Mr. Harding," she said, " for your kindly in- terest in me. But now that I am a woman I must help myself. I have a work to do— you know how sacred a work. I am doing it by the only me-ns possible. I have no fear for myself." But your happiness, Agatha?" She looked at him almost scornfully. " Long ago I said that when I had achieved for- tune and social position, I should have too much to do to think of trying to be happy. It has come true. "Ah, but this exacting life of yours— you look weary." She laughed, but not with the merriment of old days. "I never felt better. I need work, and more work, and still more work ! " " Then, Apatha, listen. If you need something more than you get from your society life and your 3" MISS PETTICOATS finance — and God knows I believe you ought to have it — why cannot you spare some of your time to me, to the things I am trying to do to make mis- erable hearts a little less wretched? I know of some strange cases of suffering just now for which a woman's hand is needed. Can you help? " All her feminine sympathy came to the surface at his earnest words and the expression on his fine, pleading face. For the first time in years she thought of the past without bitterness, of the old days in the Copedand house before sorrow had withered a single petal of the roses in her spring garden of happiness. " In years gone by," she said very slowly and tenderly, " you were kind enough to devote a part of two days each week to my education and culture ; I will give two afternoons a week to you and your interests." After Harding had gone, his heart full of thanks- giving, Agatha turned to her "ticker" and her telephone. She called up a great many numbers which financial experts would have recognized as ap- pertaining to brokers' offices, and to each answering voice she gave orders about like this : — "Buy 'Huronide,' 'Gotham and Michigan,' ' Don Quixote,' ' Norumbega ' and ' Cross-Cut ' at the market. Buy all you can get, but in small lots. Keep the prices down if possible." Then she began writing hurriedly, and for a long time her pen kept pace with the clack of the " ticker." At last she threw it down wearily. 312 THE SKIRMISH LINE " Hdgho » she sighed, " I shall be glad when three o clodc comes. Then I shall be fref from the ThTcS*?, ^atch;n/ you, you old monster," and she shook her sniall fist in mock anger at the garru- lous machme at her side. ^ 313 CHAPTER XXXIV AN AMBUSCADE FROM afar-off Guy Hamilton heard enough of Agatha Renier's beauty, brilliancy and charm to make him thirst like a traveler in the desert at the sight of an oasis of blue waters and green trees. Mirage or not he did not know, nor did he stop to think. Only he was certain, from what his lawyer-detective had gleaned, and from the newspaper accounts of the Countess's victorious passage through the social "forbidden country," that the once fascinating girl had become a magnet that seemed to draw him ever forward — perhaps the more irresistibly bec?use its power was unseen. It was that infatuation of memory which often casts a tinge of glory about its ob" ?t, strengthened by the half-jealousy that shakes ? lan of strong passions at the thought that a wcnn once almost his own is kept from him by a strong guard of other courtiers. He heard of Atherton's apparent supremacy in the Fifth Avenue house and a bitter hatred filled his heart. That his financial chief — or, at least, one who deemed himself so^should be in the place he ought to occupy at the side of a beautiful girl, was an added blow of fate. 314 AN AMBUSCADE But the pastl Despite his attempts to placate conscience with the theory that he had been the victim of circumstance, he knew that Agatha had a clear and tenacious memory. A woman will forget a wrong when she feels that a man can right it by allowing her to love him; but here there was no opportunity even for attempting such reinstatement. He believed that should he go to her house in a des- perate attempt to see her, she would have him thrust out of doors like some importunate and tmworthy b^gar. He racked his brain to find something that would make a visit even plausible, but all his ingenuity stopped short, and he cursed his impotence to devise a plan. Time was when he would have turned from his perplexity to the reassuring spirit of drink, but for three years he had kept his old enemy almost com- pletely under subjection. His reentrance into the field of speculation after the Waterloo which re- sulted in his becoming a forger, had opened his eyes to one important fact : iron nerves were needed for the successful playing of the great game of Wall Street; it was a question under which king he should serve, Alcohol or Mammon, and he chose the latter. Then, too, his peculiar nature found in the excitement of the market a substitute for the artificial stimulus of liquor. Even in the days at Old Chetford, when he had drunk heavily, it had been for a mental result, never from a physical cause. Fate's favorites are very often the unworthy, and Hamilton had prospered from the first day of his 315 MISS PETTICOATS icst as well asX^f ^'^^ ^^'^ °~ o^ th« luck- fie was alway. t' tXTa^'^'t"^ "^ P'""^*"' hich the least £e«e of J^^ " ^^"^^ obligations raised above his hSS But 'f ''''""' ^^"^^ »«^« s. mething would Scur fo hf T"^ '"**«»^ P^'"^ w^uld ei^erge triuSnt .hh' "^^^"?fi^. and he ■•^^uit h. hpd Snivel Mrr^"*!'"- A« * •':«s Iu.K ° "*^* * Napoleonic faith in /t'J ^ ^ce ofX old adL^-^ f Ti, ^d ^^^t the lucky m love " Ye, h!^ ' ^r."*^'*^ ^* ^a^'ds. un- now' foolish a. iT llj^' ^'"'"^ ^° <^" it love knew who^ hV^Ln;^."'- -^° — ly ous^^^utglond^^^^^ '"I^" '"^--^y nerv- baclc and foiS^ Va fonr;.' ^"^ "'^^^^ ^« P^ced house. He S^ a car S^e ^L^'T'"'' .^^^^^^'« on the box beside the " W i« ^^^' Anderson front and discharge a Das^InaJS "f *^ *^«^ ^"^ without another fmk ^fn^l^ 5* ^"'""^^^ ^^^V himself to s^ fleeting, ,o„k tatuation complete. It was 316 Agatha of every AN AMBUSCADE roseate vision, yet with something more compelling than he could have imagined. That night he slept little. It terrified him, almost, to think that the Agatha Renier whom his aunt had befriended in her pretty poverty, and whom he had msulted in his drink-fanned passion, had become this radiant woman, courted for her beauty and ad- mired for her intellect. Through his excited brain there rolled the pictures of the days when she, a simple child, would hang upon his elaborate stories of what had occurred in " society "-—the society of Old Chetford, he thought with a smile — ^and he would encourage her and tell her that she was worthy to take her place anywhere. What a fulfilment of his prophecy ! But what grim satire in it all! Once he conceived the idea of writing to her, and actually began two or three letters. He almost per- suaded himself that he had a reasonable excuse for communicating with her. When he had begun to make money in the market one of his first acts had been to send his aunt a draft for $5,000 with ac- crued interest, to cover the amount of which he had robbed her by his forgery. The letter had come back unopened to his address a prir d on the envelope. He had retained it and it con ents intact, through some impulse of self-'-ej)roach that he himself did not fully understand. He thought of making this letter a peg upon which to hang a n. le to Agatha, but upon reflection i se< ned too slender. Several weeks oa^ sed by, and then Guy Hamilton met the Countess Fornay face to face. It was at a 3^7 MISS PETTICOATS r««Jtion given by the French consul, a volatile SSiin V k'^^^ ^^^«* ^h«"" and varied to h s official life by a considerable dabblinir in stocks H^ h^m^^filerL^^ °' """^^ 1"'^' -"ic^S'/up to' 3** broaching with thrconsul's wife H* Wall^^f;?JH°,* Tf '^-P"*"' *° yo" one »' our on-irrj^f jj^is^- «^:v« <«^^^^ come home at Ss' Th^r" "^ '*« retributioj « Mr u M?°" ^'^ ^^^ "'^e an awakening bell Mr. Hamilton and I have m*.f y^ ^ early days," she said ™^* ^^^^' »" "^ "Ah," returned their hostess "fi,«« him to snealf hnf L "'* mcumbent upon nurks in her paffte^* s b e foTjLir ^1 ,r ■n wh,ch she trusted had brougit^^Ss ^^^ AN AMBUSCADE which she had believed inevitable; but now that it was here she found it difficult to enact the role she had so often rehearsed. By a supreme effort she steeled herself to play her part. "Well, Mr. Hamilton, Madame Bouvet will scarcely believe we have met before," she said coldly. "I — I— didn't expect to see you here," stam- mered the man. " Oh, the Bouvets are very dear friends of mine. They were kind to me in Paris, and I could not fail to be present at an affair in which they have so much pride." The unreality of the meeting was intensified for Guy by the calmly conventional tones of Agatha's speech. Remembering their last words years ago he wondered what had happened to make this emo- tionless conversation possible. "Are not the decorations superb?" she asked. ' Let us walk about a bit, and see them." Like a man in a dream he went by her side through the handsome rooms, noting with a pang the count- less salutations she received, the eagerness of many to pay her attention. He wondered if this very change in her life might not furnish the key to the alteration of her sentiments toward him; perhaps the new conditions, the complete knowledge of the worid, had thrust out the old bitterness from her mind. This theory at last took complete possession of him. and, after he was separated from her by one of those kaleidoscopic changes best known to social functions, and had time to muse in an obscure cor- 319 MISS PETTICOATS H^iHl!5%'**"f^'^'°" ."^^^ ^ self-flattering that he decided to ask permission to call. He saw Agatha just before she was leaving radi- ant glowmg with comeliness and proud of her tr rnnphs. Why should others rush in where he dared "°" ?^h' ^- ^f^?* ^^"^^^^^ He would dare, t^ Good night, Countess," he said humbly. " Mav I be permitted to see you-to call upon you ? There are some things " •' ^ncre she SSt^: ' "■ " """* Thursdays," was all In her carri^ she had the first opportunity to «flect upon what she had done. Hw she tated hun. How the mere touch of his hand oL^ m contaminate her I And she hated SlfSi; less mtensety. She could rub her handl t^X of her cloak and feel it somehow purified- Wh!^ soul she could not rid of its taint.^ ^t she muS eo on. Some day there would come a ^^ m"oS :!s"futtdt "•"' ""^ "" -^«^ -^ Hamilton's days until the following Thursday were full of uneasiness and apprehension. Wh^^ hLc ? S ^"^ ,^°''" '" t^e privacy of her own house? He was half inclined not to see her ^ had made no positive engagement. But then came t^^^thought of the other, and jealousy g^^JeTm' Agatha was alone when he was ushered in She saw his embarrassment, and tried to put him at easl 320 AN AMBUSCADE Their talk wns conventional for a while, till he could no longer steer away from the subject that he knew must arise sooner or later. He spoke with humiliating self-contempt of his forgery, and asked her to believe that it was undertaken only at the direst necessity and with the solemn intent to pay wi. !,r"7r ^". P'^^^ °^ ^^'^ h^ showed the letter and the draft of restitution. She listened with apparent kindliness, and helped him m the difficult task of excusing himself. Then he went a step further back in both their lives, and attempted to refer to the days in the Copeland house, bhe only smiled. " I hoped you had forgotten that vouthful folly." she said. Perhaps I was quite as much to blame as anyone. We are men ^ ■ I v-omen of the world ,w' f*u ^".^.f^*"^ to fo'-get the misunderstand- ings of the past." He was surprised and delighted that the obstacles Th'^'^uT ^'^ .^^' ^^'^°'' ^^""^ ^ easily removed. The old bonhomie returned, and he chatted easily and entertainingly of stocks, spurred on by skilful Agatha found that his information as to certain ;rf^l4J?"TT f ^"l^r'^^' .1"°'* "^^"^- ^^ the status tinn Vh.ry"^,!'^ ^'T oP^'-ation and his connec- tion therewith, she learned enough to warrant the writing of a note to Atherton as soon as he had hJ^!"if^''-^u^^ exclaimed, as she set to work at her desk, with pads and memorandum books for 321 MISS PETTICOATS her only companions, " the price we have to pay for siKxess IS heart-sickening sometimes. What if Ra^ph Harding were right? But even if he were. I shall carry niy work through to the end, and when aJ!», i5 '^ "^u^' ****" ^*^ «^^" see whether Agatha Renier \s better or worse for it" 3» CHAPTER XXXV TO FORGIVE divine" HARDING, with the quick intuition of affec- tion, had already begun to see the traces upon Agatha's face of the wearing, grind- ing life she had chosen so deliberately. Even if he had not learned from his ally, James Anderson, of the visit of Hamilton, followed by several others within a fortnight, and of the girl's frequent inter- views with Atherton, he would have known from her appearance that she was under a great mental strain. Even the allurements oi society were now relent- lessly cut off in favor of the new and absorbing in- terests that clustered about the glass-covered ma- chine in her library. She went nowhere, excusing herself on the plea of ill-health, and she held no more functions in the fine house. Society wondered, and then ceased to inquire about her. The paper hinted at all sorts of mysteries— that the beautiful Cuuntess was immersed in the writing of a new book that was to set New York altogether by the ears; that she was deeply interested in holy things and might soon take the veil, and, finally, that some unhappy love affair had cast a deep gloom over her hitherto sunny nature and that the world might hope to see her no more. 323 MISS PETTICOATS work^?he Wdlf^^' ""^^"^ contemptuously, and felf ""af^ ^'hf ^j!'°; Tl '°"""^^ *h« '"^""tcr leit, as II the case of Atherton, that Aeatha was using him as pawn in the development of h^eSn^of vengeance, the playing of whid, he f ear^ faT b^- coming a mania with her. hJ^V"^^!^"^ ^^ ^^^ ^"°t^^ earnest talk with hfh.^ f "^'"^ !;°i '^'^ *^*^ ^o"se till after three for he had learned from experience that she rareW left ma'rk^S.^:; T'»*^^ anyone undl The^^stick full of moody silence that told that this was Ih#: moment to strike if he wished to do any 1^ ul her weifaJ^l^ ' '^^° ^\^ P'*""*^^ «° ^^0"sly for Xisr^7ofl?;^e^es "iZ^^u'S-rj'^^^^ monster of the quotations-tape "^ '"^ '^^ ^°" have suffered, it is true," he went on "Rnf do you know that in this great bedlam of^ town th^?c 324 « TO FORGIVE DIVINE** are thousands whose tortures of soul are tenfold greater than any you can even imagine? You said the other day that you would give me two after- noons a week whenever I should call for them. Whv not one to-morrow ? " 1-^**^..?*^,"!°*^ o^ pity strong upon her she re- Su f,'*T \ '^" ^ ^^^^ '° fi^°-t° »^«^P. »^ possible. Shall I take—money? I am willing, you know, to do — anythmg." " Not to-morrow. I shall show you human be- ings beyond the reach of conventional charity. Some other time, perhaps " When he had gone, Agatha, still full of her new tenderness, went to her room and took a packet of letters from the Uttle satinwood box her grandfather had made long ago. Her eyes filled with the gentle mist of a revived sorrow. Then another thought came to her heart, perhaps for the first time, as she saw the many envelopes addressed "Mrs. Sarah Copeland, Hotel Richelieu, Paris, France," in the bold and symmetrical handwriting of Ralph Hard- " Why did he never write to me? " she asked her- self, trembling with a strange emotion that she only half-heartedly tried to subdue. For the first time in many weeks she drew forth the picture of her mother and kissed It as in girlhood days. Then she replaced It with loving care and closed the box. Suddenly she remembered that Atherton was to call on the mor- row, and she went to the telephone. "I shall not be at home to-morrow afternoon," she said, so if you will call this evening then we can 325 MISS PETTICOATS talk over the last necessary steps of our deal — the ' U. M.,' you know." Agatha's carriage was in front of Harding's house early the next afternoon. " Now," she exclaimed brightly, as the minister opened the brougham door, " I am at your service. Command my driver." She had expected an immediate pilgrimage to the horrors of the East Side tenement region, and was astonished when they stopped before a splendid apartment house on Madison Avenue. In a hsmd- some suite they found a wealthy widow, whose son lay crippled and speechless on a bed of pain. But the chief sufferer was the mother, through whose lack of caution had occurred the accident that had brought her idol low. Her agony of self-blame had finally settled into deep melancholy as it was seen how hopeless was the case of her son, and it was this that Harding sought, in his lovable and manly way, to banish. " Oh, if he could only speak to forgive me, or even to reproach me, I could endure it," she was wont to say. It was the minister's mission to try to lighten this morbid grief, to stimulate new interests where the cripple was concerned. It was a hard task, but he had persevered until he had, at least, aroused re- spect and admiration in the burdened heart. Upon Agatha, who had been warmly welcomed by the sufferer as an old friend of her counsellor, this visit made a profound impressiov. She saw as never before the compelling charm of I. ding, she realized 326 « TO FORGIVE DIVINE »» the soothing power of his voice, and, as they rode away from the place, she felt proud that the man beside her was her friend. A warm physical delight in life took possession of her; she was glad to be near this wholesome man on this beautiful afternoon. He chatted entertainingly about his various " cases," little dreaming of the very personal form his di- version for Agatha was taking. And it was well for his peace of mind that he did not. Next they visited a writer of books whose young wife was a confirmed dipsomaniac. For the elysium of alcohol the beautiful woman would trample honor, truth and self-respect in the mud, only to awake to the frightful torture of broken nerves and intense self-loathing. Either before or after one of her sen- suous outbursts Harding had a peculiarly magnetic influence upon the woman, and the literary husband had often called the minister from his bed in the dead of night to come to the work of mercy. Agatha caught a glimpse of the poor creature, and the sight of her bloated face and red eyelids haunted her for many a day. These things and many more the girl saw, and in all of them there was some peculiar element that showed Harding's originality in the matter of doing good. She was impressed for the time being, but the force that held the citadel of her soul was still too strong to be dislodged, and she returned to her schemes with scarcely abated zeal. Several days after this trip Harding suddenly ap- peared at the Fifth Avenue house in a cab, and asked Agatha if she could come with him at once. It was 327 MISS PETTICOATS not one of his afternoons, she reminded him pleas- antly, and she was afraid she could not spare the time. " I would not trouble you, Agatha," he said, " but a dying woman has asked that you might come to her." The deep solemnity of his tone and a subtle some- thing in his face had its effect upon her, and she made no further remonstrance, but put on the simple attire she was accustomed to wear when on her rounds with him, and they were soon being rapidly driven toward the lower East Side in a direction they had several times taken before. A throng of conflicting emotions surged through the girl's mind as they proceeded on their way. More and more, she told herself, with a thrill of impatience, she was obeying the behests of this strong person- ality. What did it mean, and where would it end? Would he at last win her from her allegiance to duty as she conceived it? No, that should never be, she thought almost fiercely. He was good and kind, and doubtless believed that he was right; but there were different standards for different natures, and who should say that hers was not as lofty as any? For some time neither spoke; then it was she who broke the silence. " Is it the Cartwright woman who is dying? "No, Agatha," he replied, with an accent that somehow precluded any further inquiry. The carriage drew up before a tenement house which Agatha did not remember to have seen. It was a shabby building, but with some brave attempts at gentility. Up four flights of stairs they climbed, 328 - TO FORGIVE DIVINE it assailed by the odors of coarse cocrfcery and the cries of fretful children. A woman in the garb of a nurse opened a door in response to Harding's ring. " Is she — ? " he whispered. " Still alive, but very low," was the reply. Agatha, vaguely wondering why she should be brought to a death-bed, gazed about the two rooms visible from the hallway. They were pitifully bare of furniture, but the few remaining pieces showed that the apartments had once boasted better things than could have been expected in such a place. Evidently the awful pressure of poverty had grad- ually squeezed all the comforts from the rooms to the pawnshops. " C(Hne," said the minister, beckoning to his com- panion, and, as they crossed the threshold he whis- pered gently : " Remember, she has but a few mo- ments to live." And there, stretched upon a bed from which she would never rise again in life, Agatha saw Lucy Worth-Courtleigh. The poor, pallid face, wasted by disease and drawn by mental suffering, hadi lost all of its loveliness. C5nly the rich beauty of the hair remained of all the glowing treasures of comeliness that had once been so admired. Yet somehow the countenance had been purified, as if by bitter repentance and the con- quest of a weak and shallow nature by an immortal soul. No one spoke and no one moved for, it seemed to Agatha, interminable hours. And yet this meeting, totally unexpected as it was, gave no shock to the 329 MISS PETTICOATS girL pe solemnity of the scene, the hovering pres- ence of the angel of death, robbed the situation of all but Its aspect of human suffering. At last Harding said gently to the frail figure upon the bed : " Agatha is here." ... "^^ ^^^ °" *•»« pillow turned with painful de- liberation, and into the dimned eyes came a transi- tory gleam of recognition. A thin finger beckoned slowly to Agatha, and she leaned over toward the Dioodless lips. " I sent for you," came the thin and trembling tones, like some ghostly utterance from another world, to beg your forgiveness. I felt— that with It I could have more hope of the— forgiveness of the hereafter. No, don't speak. I did you a terrible wrong, but I was mad— mad with outraged pride, jealousy, infatuation." ** ^ * The grip of mortal pain throttled her utterance, and she lay for a minute inert and like one dead. Agattia raised her head tenderly and moistened the trembling lips with water. " I wronged you." the pitiful voice resumed, " and I wronged another But for me Guy Hamilton might have been a different man. I have been told, °^'i^. ^^' P.*'*1J"«^ *^** *"y wretched letter was attributed to him." There was a swift gesture from Agatha at this confusion, and Harding turned quickly, fearful as to what might follow. But he saw the beautiful face he loved so well looking down on the dyine woman with a gaze of divine compassion. It wm tfte victory of an awakening soul. 330 If- «• I sent for you — to beg your forgiveness ll "TO FORGIVE DIVINE** " Bitter has been my punishment and bitter my repentance," quavered the dying woman. " If you can find it in your heart to pity, if not forgive, I shall '^ie morccasily." Agatha opened her lips to speak, but the other lifted a warning finger. " Wait one moment. I have done what I could to make reparation. . . . Mr. Harding, give me the packet." The minister drew from his pocket a large en- velope and gave it to Mrs. Worth-Courtleigh. She in turn placed it in Agatha's disengaged hand. " There," she said faintly, " ic my sworn state- ment of the facts — my confession of the greatest sin, great sinner though I have been, of my life. It will exonerate you, if my own disgrace has not already done so. Think well before you answer. Can you forgive me?" Harding had left the room a little before, for he believed that the scene was too sacred for even his kindly presence. In a few minutes Agatha joined him, pressing her handkerchief to her tear-stained eyes. She pointed to the inner room with a gesture more eloquent than words. He left her, but returned almost immediately. " All is over," he said quietly to the nurse, " and, thank God, all's well." Then, with the grandeur of the presence of death still about them, they sought their carriage in the squalid street below. 331 CHAPTER XXXVI TIGHTENING THE NOOSE THE progress of the great coup in " United Mines " was rapid, and it was satisfactory to Atherton for more reasons than the merely financial. Besides the profits he expected to make, would be involved the defeat of Hamilton, who, he now felt sure, was attempting his overthrow in the councils of the new company; and finally most roseate thought of all— he would be able to appeal to the Countess Fomay as the maker of her fortune and the possessor of a magnific-mt one of his own. He would then stand in double favor as a suitor. He knew himself well, this shrewd manipulator of others, and he felt that in his personality was little to attract a woman of Agatha's qualities. He felt, too, that her hot pursuit of money in the market, her placing herself in dangerous situations, was not for any small object. The key to her secret, was, without doubt, her ambition to become a woman of great fortune, and with that golden lever to pry open the doors of the socially elect of New York. Ah, how he would slave and plan and grasp opportunities m order to be able to gratify her imperious desire; 332 TIGHTENING THE NOOSE with the elaborate setting that wealth could give he felt that he could pass muster. So he had been weaving his web for several weeks, tightening a thread here, breaking another there, but ever sitting in the center, fat, bloated, ap- parently asleep. By and by, when the flies, which to him were Hamilton and the public, should be where he wanted them he would strike. His scheme had changed two or three times in as many weeks. At first it was merely to invest the money Agatha had entrusted to him — some $25,000— together with $40,000 of his own, in the quiet purchase of enough " United Mines " to give him control. But he found it impossible to get hold of a sufficient quantity in the open market. Hamilton had evi- dently taken alarm, and was gripping his shares tenaciously. Atherton had found that his associate was holding a great portion of his stock on margin, and that the demand inspired by himself merely sent up the price and made Guy's position more secure. He had learned, too, from Agatha that Hamilton had told the truth when he said that he did not con- trol. There was one thing to do, a dangerous, au- dacious thing — ^but he would do it. As the scheme flourished, so did his infatuation for the woman involved in it. Her beauty called loudly to his senses, while her keen wit, her clear financial vision, her intellectual grasp of stock " sit- uations," appealed powerfully to his mind. The un- usual combination was irresistible. But shrewd as he was, he failed to consider that Agatha might be playing her own game in the mar- 333 . MISS PETTICOATS ket quite apart from his tender care, which, in fact, she was doing. Using information from both Atherton and Hamilton, she employed the fluctua- tions in the smaller stocks that formed the " United Mines " to her great advantage. She made money rapidly, and, flushed with success, felt herself com- pletely ready for Atherton's promised stroke that was to shake Wall Street and ruin Guy Hamilton. Her plan would have astonished the rosy-faced broker who adored her, for it involved his own de- feat as well as that of his rival. She felt justified in attempting to humble him, for his coarseness had given her frequent offense, and she despised his pro- posed treachery to his business associate and friend. Once the battle were over, and she a victor, she could teach him his place. For Hamilton, however, she had no pity. Al- though the scene at Mrs. Worth-Courtleigh's death- bed had affected her deeply, it had increased rather than lessened her bitterness toward the man, for, in spite of the wretched woman's self-accusation, she held him in great measure responsible for luring a wife from her honor and duty; his arts of fascina- tion she knew too well. She would crush him, and by her own hand alone, although she now knew that Atherton would have brought about his ruin had she not existed. One evening when she was nursing her impatience at the long-continued failure of Atherton to launch his thunderbolt, she received a note which read : — " / shall come to your house to-morrow before the 334 TIGHTENING THE NOOSE marketopens--^Hd stay untU it closes, perhaps, in that privacy I can work to better advantage H is away on a yachting trip, and the hour to strike is at W You will applaud the plan; it is impreg- "H.A." That night sleep was long in coming to the youth- ful mistress of the great house. The eve of her l^f^T"" uf I ^J'?' ^^"^ ^•"'^ tow^d which her every thought had long set its current was winging Its way softly toward her. She was not happy shf ^er.J?T' -n ^''^ ^'"""«^ '^^"^ tf^^o^gh her own energy and will a wrong was to be righted, a mem- ory avenged and a defamer brought low. twin iT"^ Harding's grave and handsome face be- t,X .1^"^ ^^l «^°^^- ^°^ "°We he looked, how unlike either of the men she was to play one a^inst re^rH ."h"" '^! T"T ^^^ '^"'^ how he would regard the coup, but she stifled the whisperings of conscience by the resolution that after to-morrow she Sh. w ^Tu^T ^T ^"'^^"^ '^' ^^« ^or the past She would be free, free ! She would help him as he ilr'p ^''" ^'^^^ ^*=^°'-«' ^' «houM s^ that Agatha Renier could be Lady Bountiful as wel as Countess Fornay. She would—. Then came the gentle touch of sleep, and forget- fulness of all things mortal, for her dreamsTat night were of her mother. Atherton arrived early next morning, smiling and immaculate. He rubbed his hands in joyful ant'c^ 335 MISS PETTICOATS 11 : pation of the day's triumph, and, after a few of his custcmuiry compliments, he unfolded to Agatha his plan of campaign. She listened with every faculty alert. " Now, my dear Countess," he began, " the situa- tion at this moment is plain : we are not in control of ' United Mines,' nor is Hamilton. We have not been able to acquire the stock in the market — nor has Hamilton. We must get control to-day, if ever, for Hamilton, as I wrote you, is out of town. How shall this be done?" Agatha shook her head slowly. Even had she known, she would not have suggested at this time. But she hung upon his words as she had never lis- tened to a human being before. On her correct comprehension of what he should say rested im- mense possibilities. " It shall be done by a stroke that will make the 'street' talk for many a month. We shall sell ' United Mines.' " " But I thought—" " Exactly. We shall sell— but we shall buy." "Ah!" The audacity of the move fascinated her. It was as clear as crystal now. "They will be 'wash' sales, of course. My brokers have orders to pick up the stuff that my other iM-okers let out. After an hour or two we'll put a raft of ' United ' on the market, and smash the price to smithereens. The bottom will drop out, and as Hamilton holds thousands of shares, mostly 336 TIGHTENING THE NOOSE Z!!!a-^\^'! "^"^ ^ ^'P«^ °"t while he is on the bounding billow, and we will pick up what hi! romes, we shall be joint masters of ' United Mines ' DJiZ"t?i ^ f'fJl "^V" buying on the break " bus^ wkh th. nr *w ''"?' ^^^^'^^'^ b'^'" ^ad been misy with the problem she had set herself to solve How should she outwit this man of iron nerves and unscrupulous will, and at the same time be emp^w frame? By one of those sudden mental illumina- lons that are like the broad lighting up of a dark wUenT^r "^ flashShe^olutl came ,^^ of fh '^'^"'P^*'^ •'• '^^^ preliminary buzz- now if ever L^ """"""l!;^ *"''' ^^'""^^ ^^^ ^hat now, II ever, time was golden. bookf L «?r' °^* f^^"?'"'«8: her memorandum Dooks, she sat down at her desk and wrote something on a small slip of paper. Then she went to the door opened it quickly and looked into the hall The sHo oLTdr.h^'"' '"'" '. ^'^ j^^^'"'^^^ standing jus? short time' ,>^"'' T^ ?!'"' i" " ^"'^^ remafkibly r«,H ; ^ V"^^' ^°""'' by J^"^«s Anderson, who W '"'^ "^"^ '° ""°^^*^'' P^^t of the about the door, she said as she returned "One can never be too careful in such matters, you know^"' *nrl .t J^^' """^^^ approval, and picked up the tape that was now being belched forth with a ?egu! 337 II MISS PETTICOATS larity that denoted the opening of the market. For many minutes he sat in silence, his eyes glued to the battalion of figures as they followed one another in single file from out the glass case. At last he mut- tered his satisfaction. " Here's the first sale of ' United/ " he said. " A hundred shares at ninety-one. Good. It closed yesterday at ninety-two and a quarter. The game begins well, my dear lady." For an hour or more the stock was offered in moderate quantities, and practically held its own in price, as the ticker told the two anxious watchers. As the noontide hour aj^roached Atherton pulled out his watch. " In a few minutes," he said grimly, " the slaugh- ter will begin. It's the greatest joke of the season. Everybody will see my stock going to smash and pity poor Atherton. . . . Ah, see this. Five hundred ' United ' at ninety — ^Three hundred at eighty-nine and seven-eighths — Four hundred at eighty-nine. Bravo, Countess! It won't take much of this sort of thing to hamstring our friend Hamil- ton. . . . Eh; what's this? Four hundred ' United ' at ninety-one — Five hundred at ninety- one and three-quarters — ^A thousand at ninety-two. My God, what's going on ? " He whirled the telephone call convulsively and asked for his ofHce number. " Hello, Jones ? " he said in a low voice that was tremulous with excitement. " Have I seen the boom in ' United Mines ' ? Certainly. No, I don't know what it means, but order everybody to pour 338 TIGHTENING THE NOOSE out all I've got of it. Flood the market, d'ye hear ? Flood It 1 ' Then back to the ticker again, where the story of misfortune was accentuated every moment. Huge blocks of the " United Mines " were coming out, only to be snapped up with a readiness that sent the pnce soarmg. Great beads of perspiration stood out on Atherton's forehead as he surveyed the terri- ble miscarriage of his plans. Then the telephone bell rang. He answered the call. " Eh ? so it will, by heavens. Order 'em all to stop selling my holdings at once." He turned to Agatha to tell her what he had learned. "My man says that there is some tremendous force supporting ' United,' nobody knows what. My brokers, who were not ordered to protect the stock, but to depress it, have been outbidden on the floor by the brokers of this other power. Who it can be the devil himself only knows. Hamilton is away, and I can conceive of nobody else who could possibly want the stock. Ah, that suggests something." He pulled the long strip of paper from its basket and, beginning at the opening of the market, made a swift mental calculation of the number of shares of United Mines " that had been sold. As he brought into the total the latest transaction in the stock, he groaned with dismay. "Countess," he said humbly, " I have to ask your pardon for bungling one of the most promising deals I ever undertook. It is morally certain that we have lost control of the company by my stupidity in 339 i MISS PETTICOATS *'i not imtructingr "V broken to buy in ray stock at any price if they saw any special outside demand for it I am sorry and ashamed." " Don't let yourKlf be troubled overmuch about It, Mr. Athcrton," said Agatha sweetlv. " Perhaps you were not so much to bUme, after all." " I fear I was. And it is too late now to recoup ourselves; we evidently cannot buy back the stock at any price from the combination that has got pos- SMsion of it. If I had only put your money into Huronide ' and the others, you would have made a handsome thing of it. See how they're booming with • United.' " ^ » " But I own five thousand of ' Huronide ' and the others, as you call them, already." He looked at her with admiring wonderment. "I congratulate you. Countess," he said dryly. You have made a neat thing by to-day's work. Perhaps if I had let you engineer the big deal, it might have resulted differently." Confessing himself baffled by the result of the coup, he went down town to see if any light could be obtained in the " street," leaving Agatha to her jubilant thoughts. She felt certain that her instruc- tions to her brokers: to buy all the "United Mines ' thrown upon the market, at any price, had been obeyed to the letter. She was the power that had so mystified Atherton; she controlled the stock. The knowledge that vengeance was within her grasp, that on the morrow she had but to give the signal and Hamilton would be ruined, filled her with supreme content 340 I TIGHTENING THE NOOSE In the nuddle of the afternoon a note was brought to her by a lervant. It had been delivered by a nws- senger, he said, and an answer was expected. It was from Guy Hamilton, asking if she would re- ceive him that evening. With a thrill of triumph she wrote at the bottom of the note the single word yes. Although she dined alone, she dressed with an extraordinary care and beauty that somewhat as- tonished her usually impassive niaid. 341 Ul MKROCOPV RBCXUTION TiST CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) LSI 2.8 JUl |M «— warn HA iSm ■ 2.2 ^ f^ mm liS£ 1.8 ^ APPLIED IM/1GE Ir 1653 Eost Moln StrMt RochMter, New York 14609 USA (716) 482 - 0300 - Phone (716) 288 -5989 -Fax CHAPTER XXXVII THE MASK THROWN OFF IN the early afternoon of the day of Atherton's financial discomfiture the steam yacht " Buc- caneer" drew up to her dock on the East River side of the city, and her rather hilarious human freight disembarked and went their several ways. The " Buccaneer " had not been expected until the morrow, but a slight accident to her machinery made it advisable to return to port. So she limped in, and brought with her Guy Hamilton. That gentleman was in high feather, for during the trip he had secured the promise of several finan- cial princes that they would cooperate with him in his projected " scoop " of " United Mines " stock. A fortune and a great reputation were within his grasp. In a week he would be able to lord it over Atherton, and then— well, then for a fairer and more desirable conquest than the winning of mere dollars Emboldened by what seemed a foregone conclu- sion of success, he at last cut the rope that held him to his anchor of sobriety, the anchor that had been his salvation in the immediate past, and joined with the other guests of his millionaire host in the con- sumption of heroic quantities of champagne. Under 342 THE MASK THROWN OFF the inspiration of the choice wine, life, for Hamilton, had absolutely no obstacles to the winning of what- ever prize he cared to take. And so his thoughts turned to Agatha with a boldness they had not known since that night at the French consul's. Their relations had been cordial enough on the surface, yet there had been a con- straint in her presence, like some barrier of in- visible wire whose strength he felt rather than saw. But to-day his attitude changed, and great was his joy when his messenger brought back his note with t^e eloquent " yes " in Agatha's handwriting. The Countess received him in the library with a graciousness that put to flight any lingering embar- rassment he might have felt. She was a vision of beauty in her Worth gown of black lace and jet, and he would have given half his anticipated fortune to fold her at once in his arms. He came in like a conqueror, and she noticed the change in his de- meanor before he had waUod halfway across the room. "Did you think it strange that I should have written for permission to call to-night?" he asked sentimentally. "Why, no," she replied gaily, "of course not. It s quite customary, isn't it? " " But not between old friends," he replied with an air of assurance that roused her spirit immedi- ately. Was it possible that he, of all men, had lost his memory ? "I knew yon would take an interest in what I have done to-day," he continued. "I have been 343 MISS PETTICOATS with the kings of Wall Street. I have won them to my side completely. They listened to me, Agatha, —think of it, to me— as if I were one of them. I shall be soon, for everything is fighting for me. All I need is inspiration." She smiled in supreme contempt at his meaning, which was clear enough to her woman's wit. Blinded by passion and the vinous excesses of the day, he mistook the smile for something else. u ^ ^^' y°^ ^® ™y meaning," he went on rapidly. You will let the past rest in its forgotten grave? The present is for us two together. We can con- quer the world, I of finance and you of society. I love you, Agatha, I have always loved you. I want you to be my wife. I am at your feet; trample m if you will, bat keep me near you." The girl turned her head to hide for the moment the triumph that glowed richly in her face. It was the act of modesty, hesitation, yielding, he thought. He seized her hands and clasped them warmly. " \h, Agatha, dear," he cried wildly, " surely you will not keep me in suspense. Tell me " " Tell you," she echoed, tearing her hands from his grasp and facing him in a sort of fury. " You offer me yourself and your— fortune. You your- self have claims, of course, for you have said it! But your fortune— what of that?" In bewilderment he began a disconnected recital of his present position and his hopes for the future. She cut him short with scornful words. " But the price ? You are to buy, and I am to sell. 344 d=^.J THE MASK THROWN OFF I must know the terms. How much do you bid? What is your cash offer for my hand ? " Scarcely believing his ears, absolutely unable to judge whether this were the height of bitter sarcasm or a cold-blooded proposition from an ambitious woman of the world, Hamilton blundered on. " I am on the verge of a great coup in stocks," he said at last. "A coup?" exclaimed the girl contemptuously. " One has been made to-day while you were wining and dining. Look there! " She threw aside a magnificent Japanese screen with a swift movement and there, silent but with its mass of paper still clinging to its maw, stood the ticker of the New York Stock Exchange. He looked at it dully for a .nonj.nt, and then into her face. Something he saw ^hert chilled his easy confidence into dread. "I — I haven't seen the tape for two days," he said vaguely. " What is it you mean ? And what's that ticker doing here?" " See for yourself," she replied coldly, pointing to the tape. He whirled the writhing mass out of the basket, and began at the opening quotations. He frowned angrily at the innocent iigures. "A break in 'United Mines,' eh? Worse* a slump, a pounding. Who on earth has been at us? If I had only beer '-^re! And what the deuce is the meaning of it ? ^ .e market is strong enough. It's a raid on me. Can Atherton? — no, he's too thick- headed, too business-like." 345 MISS PETTICOATS He passed the loa^ strip swiftly through his fin- gers, noting with adept eye the prices of his soe- cialty as they glided by. Then J^ultation to^k Se placf of anxiety. " Ah, she strengthens f They didn't have it their own way-That's it, up it goes. Somebody is figh - mg for us, as I should have done. Magnificent! It closes at ninety-five. I see-Atherton w?s to the Se fight^"*^"^ ^^"^ ^"* To-morrow we shall aII°"™7''°'^ y°" "^"^ ^ * ™'"ed man," said Agatha solemnly. "Nonsense! I tell you they can't beat me Doesn't to-day's battle show it?'' " Nevertheless, you are on the brink of a great catastrophe," she insisted gravely. , He tried to gain some light from her face, but its ampassiveness baffled him. Then the signifiince of the paraphernalia of the market in this room began to dawn upon him. * "ww!l' ^"^ 7*"" JV.^"' " *»« <="ed hoarsely. \\ hat do you know ? " He seized her roughly by know?"' ^^'" d'^manded: "What do you in "/r^fJi.?^* every dollar you have is locked up n United Mines » and the smaller companies form- ing It. I know, too, that you are holding these shares on margin. Well, you will never see a penny of your money again." ' ilv" «°.nH^ r ^'^l ?? '"'f^^ '^°"'^"'" ^e said sulk- ily, and Im half inclined to believe you are. 346 THE MASK THROWN nvv Siday?^°" '~ ^°^ ^^^^°" ^"PPorted the stock w'lZ?i!' *J"i*f^ '""apprehend the situation Mr Hamilton. Atherton did not save von ^7a\a I' he could not, buy those stcX." ^ ' ^'^ "°*' But someone — " Yes, someone, of course Tii^f ^ Her thorough undersSnSS^g '„( X sch"I/T ^«^n.h?SS^----.-to -whlT^'" '^^!' Agatha," he whimpered " what — what made you do this > " f^icu, wnai cau.f flT I ?"!"* y°"'" ^h« said bitterly "be- cause I have hated you for five veirQ t », ; j hated you more intensely when ^ gr^ndfath™ 347 MISS PETTICOATS to his death, the victim of a slander caused by you. My hate grew daily, hourly, in the years in Paris. When I gazed at the picture of my dear mother, in- stead of peace her features brought storm, for they recalled the insults that, because of your unmanli- ness, were heaped upon her grave by your scandal- izing set." " I— I surely had no share in that," he pleaded, but she went on without heed. " Your theft from one who had befriended and loved you till you proved too base for respect, in- creased my hatred. But I despised you most when you came in the day of my prosperity and fawned upon me, and cringed to me from the depths of your degradation, for then you proved yourself a fool as well as a knave." He shrank, as one would shrink from the lash of a whip, under her lacerating contempt. " Now you are on the verge of ruin, and I have done it. I control your boasted company. I can depose you from its presidency, and make your margin-held shares your undoing if I choose. To- morrow the whole world shall know that your at- tempt to make of yourself a king, you who are not fit for a king's fool, was balked by a woman. Now go, you cur ! " There was no appeal, he knew, as he looked at the stern determination on her countenance. Baffled, beaten, humiliated, he walket' slowly toward the door. Then he turned with a sudden blaze of wrath. "This is not your work," he exclaimed, "you 348 THE MASK THROfFN npr tof "'Vn^ r„ ??' T^^'"^ Harding put you up Well ??"„?!•. '■'' '*"' '"'y- y"" »« observed. "V P ^""T*"^'"^ scene. Z Aff K ! !"""""' ""^^ attempted to shake the serv- ant off, but to no avail, and he was forced fmmtil m^potent fury Then the one-time favorite of Old Chetford's aristocracy, the would-be monarch of finance, was thrust into the street HkeT^^vHe No sooner had the shutting of the outer door an nounced Hamilton's expulsion than tL stre„^^^^^^^ 349 MISS PETTICOATS bitterness that had susUiiK.-d Agatha deserted her, and a violent reaction set in. Trembling in limb and faint at heart she hurried to her chamber. She took from its satinwood box the miniature of her mother and pressed it to her lips. Fsdling upon her knees by the bedside, she held the picture in her out- stretched hands and gazed at the sweet and childlike face as if she would call it back to life. " Have I done right ? Are you satisfied with your child? "she asked. Then overtaxed nature bent beneath its burden, and the girl slipped away into tuicon:>;iousness. Ill 350 CHAPTER XXXVIII A NEW DAWN A^^^^i"'^ apparently lifeless body was cftamber to announce a caller The .riri was a self-possessed little thing, anTshe „eit1^e screwed nor rushed in a panic for help l"s cad S^ ^PP !f* * ^^O^stal of smelling-salts, and forc5 wrsSi'dXhtirr"".'^^ -Less' tStl Shi ^Sut^« ,nf^^ ? "°'* ^'^^ °^ returning con- She looked blankly about, when the gold locket ^ lovely occupant gazing into her face,^^augK; sCasktl htSV" ^"' *"S '" her" and 3SI MISS PETTICOATS "But, Mad'moisdle/' said the little servant, "I came all on ze purposs to tell you zat a caller is for you down-stairs." '' A caller, Jeannette ? Who ? " "It is ze cure, zc — what you call meenestaire, Monsieur Harding." In some magical way— she did not then under- stand how — all of Agatha's weariness and despond- ency vanished at the sound of that name. In their place came a throbbing of the heart that iUled her with nervous energy. She dispatched her maid to make excuses for her lelay, and Segan to tear off her beautiful gown as n every setv»nd were of price- less value. She chose from her wardrobe a simple dress, reddish in tone, and took the diamond orna- ments from her hair. Harding had come to the house in response to an urgent telephone message from James Anderson. " You are needed at Fifth Avenue," it said, and the minister rejoiced, even in his foreboding, for he felt that the time had come when he could take a positive position and stake his all on one final cast of the die. His heart swelled with thanks- giving as he saw from the faces and bearing of the servants that no outward harm, at least, had come to his beloved. And when she appeared before him at last, clad with a beautiful simplicity he had not sc-e" Jnce the old days on the " Hill," when he was Uacher and she his pupil, his intuition told him of some spiritual change for the better. By a queer turn of memory the color of her dresi recalled that day in the mill 352 y«r^: ' «»" «•'« teling. the Hebrairs^rt*tJ''i, "» ?" '"^'"'« his life had filled his Sii,l ■ " '*""■ ''■™» '" upon him. ' ""* «°"viction, was again Ht SrfJ^'' '","* y™> Mr- Harding." of the i^Z lin"gVrrhit ow^'™*""? tonger than might havl b«„'"absZd" neSS^J' And the eyes, around whirh h« Ko^ ^ necessary, dark circles of late hoJl-^ \^^ '"* °^*"' "ot«d derson had S-asid ^eM f !°^ ^T'* ^^^ ^n- conversatbn excLr th^r °^ "'u"^'"«^ ^"^ '" ^^'^^ 353 MISS PETTICOATS strange sense of weakness, a hunger for human sym- pathy. Oh, for an hour of Mrs. Cop^land or her grandfather! How easily she could become a girl again under their loving shelter. Yet here— and she thrilled with the swift realization— was their legitimate successor, the true and faithful link be- tween her present and past. Had Harding known the tenderness of her musings, he would not have interrupted them, even for the words of sympathy that he delicately expressed. " I fear you are not quite yourself, Agatha " — again that dear name—" you look weary, and, if I may be pardoned, ill." " I am ill," she replied passionately, " ill at heart, sick of the cruelties of the world, the world's wrongs. So sick, and so tired." Tears flooded her eyes, tears that were more wom- anly than she had shed since the loss of her benefac- tress. Harding would gladly have soothed the girl with the caress that his whole being cried out, "give, give," but before his own impulses he put a practical desire for her welfare. First must the body and the brain be restored to health, and the heart— ah, if ever the time came for him to minister to that, he would know what to do. Agatha," he said with gentle insistence, " the time has come for you to break from the stifling in- fluences of the life you lead in this house, if vou wish to really live. Go out into the country. ' Breathe God's fresh air, with his green carpet beneath your feet and his blue sky over your head. Try that 354 A NEffr HAW N beautifnl life forawhil» =nH I ' and your heart LJ^ , 5u "^ ''°'"' 'h** will rfow Char™ of .hepic e,pStto hS ^ mood, the -Ji^'t^Si ,''7.ht«T^r'^, ^"•°-'' ■ng up suddenly !„d oaci^ th. •«'^'»!"'«1, start- •"ad- " Tc^morrow'he lill J"*"" T^} "'"<»» under the weight of my reT^L'?. ""^''«'' ^^^ed •■in. Jhirthe'^S^-^.^:;*"!^" r'"« '""ng n«ted with Agatha's wl '■ '"""Mtely con- loathed the feltow now^i'S,T;'' "Pheaval. He that he did not hate S ^ ''* ^"^ "<" think bring ^rttf 'CV^Zi^t ** T""" — « and that I alone was r^'^'slb^..""™"' '''^''^''^■ pn-s/°" '"'^' ™'" ^-^ How? » heasked in sur- hant*^^.-:^ -loll^in^th^'-rK ''-'>«' and her dark ev*.c ori^ • rnythm with her sten thing ^Pytng oritfXVefolf^ «^ ^ -ITd incoherent fashion thelto^oJ^ ^^ '" somewhat and the situation into wS 1 ^^ j^"/"<^ial victory ton. " '"t° wh'ch she had forced Hamil- she" fintl^d'^i:; Ca^Sbf "?• " ^^ ^-*-^. - prove?" "^ remarkable story, "does it ap- 355 MISS PETTICOATS " Perfectly. What claim has that man for con- sideration ? For the second time in his life he tried to force his so-called love upon me. This time I was not defenceless, and I had him kicked from the house by a servant.'* All the man within the minister's stalwart body rose up in a great thrill of joy at this reference to the past, coupled as it was to her present attitude Then there had never been any affection for Ham- ilton ! The thought was a subtle intoxication. And yet the peril to Agatha was as vital as ever. She stopped her measured walk, and faced him as if in defiance. " You speak of conscience," she cried. " Would it be worthy of the name if it did not approve what I am doing? His sins against me I could forgive, perhaps, but his sins against the dead are pardon- less. You are an honest man; tell me, does he not merit a far greater punishment than I can inflict? " " His evil has been great; the punishment is trivial. It is not of him that I am thinking, but of you." "Of me? Am I worth considering at such a crisis, when the memory of those he made wretched cries for vengeance ? " " Ah, Agatha, but does it? Mrs. Copeland, your grandfather, your mother — would they wish it? Would they wish to see the girl they loved trans- formed by hate into a vindictive woman? Would they be happy to see your nature hardening under the stress of a revenge cherished for years, and feeding upon your better self to its ultimate de- 356 A NEJV DAJVN w«p„„_to punish .te ^atf * ' ""'' "'" '' y^ get. i 1°C fo^ve " °"'^ """^ "»' I -""ot for- P>ost difficult to^Scrice I^u'^n"""' '°^ " « ">, « is the most ennowSg " ""^ '"°'' """e- '<>' s>.e'cri^'rth^«:,trr; 7°"J"^' «"»' " . " No," he repW '3 " l'^."?f? ■""> deeply, giveness is the beacof Trv m ,» J *'' "' "'«'« fo^" ^<^- bat He fc^ve'° ' °'^- "« "•«"«"- >ooI2'hLnuTi„nrIst7a'^H^'T'1: "r"- ^he self, could not forgive'^ ''''"' = ^°"' y™"-- "Yes." ey;;|S':S^,Cstl:n.^^-^"*^^-ied,her '^rt f^^'JtZX^'-'' "- <<- to injure " ?«'"C"lfaT'- •'-' """'' ""dersund." -.no.»H^-Te;;"JJ-^Hes.^^^^^ Z17 MISS PETTICOATS heard from his lips. " Yes, for I loved you, loved you then as I — ^as I love you now." "You^-love—mer" She stood before him in adorable wonderment, her head bent forward toward his own, her lips parted and her eyes filled with a soft radiance. His long repressed ardor burst forth in a torrent of tender words, a storm of passionate phrases that would not be denied. Never had he pleaded for a soul more eloquently than for the cause of his own manly heart, .nor ever had he a more entranced lis- tener. And yet — " Why have you not— told me this before? Why did you not tell me — then? " " I did not speak then," he answered gently, " be- cause you were in distress and scarcely more than a child. I could not try to force myself into your heart, for — ^pardon me, dear, I did not know every- thing then as since— I feared that the heart Guy Hamilton wounded so deeply held some tenderness for him." " And yet you would have thrashed him that night at the club," said Agatha, the sunlight dancing into her eyes through the mist of recent tears. Whose was the face that Harding saw with sur- prise before him ? It was strange, yet familiar. The years had rolled backward; there was no more a Countess Fornay; the Agatha Renier of old stood there in masquerade in another's brilliant drawing- room. And, most wondrous of all, the hard lines had vanished from her face, and the benison of peace seemed to have descended upon her. 358 A NEW DAIVN used are ^onrmy dtar^^'"'' °^ '"^^ ^^'P he looked at S! Sve Cii 'Tr'- ^^*^" ^« ^ your arm JSat 4rV?eTd^v L n'^' '*'°"«^ "'""'^ "And ever havrb^rdtr ^Sh^'^' '"^ ^h*^"-" ways shall be, if—'' ' "^ ^^^ "^^ and al- "atSsT-thi^HH ?(,'' ?" ''^^'^^ '" impetuously / 'an offer.' ''' ''^''' ^^^^^'"^ ^n^^X. "nonSt " Koufd iritT-of 4'rr"^-^'' must I say it aloud ?" °^' ^^^P^' »"y ^^^r, A^dVr'f^^'"*' '^"-^ '« another way-" -find that other way she cho««& » nSil u ^8^Pt'^" tobacco, for which accom- plishment he had a great reputation, "you look radiant, positively. Quite a change, in dc^ W the down-m-the-mouth face you've been wearZ around the club lately. Have vo« ;,t^cf u i ? the devil rM,f *«.. J nave you at last knocked wfth "n I " ^°°^ '"■* ^" '" y<"«- prize-fight 361 MISS PETTICO ATS old mat' I'tlm rv^^''"" '' ^'^ billiard-balls, to thfnk aS"'' Mo"t^-«ry. I have other things And, in fact he had. For him there was the ^h?! K-"" K^ k.owledge of Agatha's love, for S.,* iL ^"^^«n& had hungered these many years. Ki ^^2.""* T" .*^^^' *° h's stem integrity, was the blessed thought that the beacon light he had tended so long and so lovmgly had been seen, and the peril 1.C 1 ''^- ?,^«^*!^-. Now he could rest from his ceaseless vigil, and the realization brought him un- utterable peace. He knew that the desire of the high-minded gir» niVrS ^?^J'ht^t»o« of her mother and herself in Old Chetford was pure and worthy, and he rejoiced that It could be realized without any of the spec- tacular eflFects she had planned. As his wife— '^s wife! how the words thrilled him— she would com- mand respect, and her fine gifts and finer nature would soon win for her the loyal affection of all who were worth while. He would not have felt it un- warranted had he choked a public confession of his deceit and dishonor from Hamilton, but that, he realized, would only set new tongues wagging. No! Oyer the obliterated grave of the dead scandal his wife should erect a new temple of truth that would do her honor evermore. But what should be the man's punishment? He could not conjecture, but he felt a great certainty that in some way fate would exact a reparation. He had no patu ice with the doctrine that the wicked 362 A DEBT IS PAID flourish upon earth more than do the eood nor did he care to leave to 'he hereafter the Se?e con- demnation of the scoundrel. ""V*«c con The ending of the stock transaction, which re- leved Agatha from the sullying presenci of Ham'N ton forever, suggested that something was to be done to save the innocent persons who wonld be in^ volved by any sudden turning of "UnU^' MiW' pTn" o'f%rJ?' ?' dete^ined that 'i^^L £^ c f'*^ ^"** "^«"8^« should spring great good. So he wrote to a broker of his aaiuaintfnS a man he knew to be honest, asking himX "n a^' S'rS;* °". the following day, whli the control S the stocks should be handed over to him for such S cllr i;^ I .''°"!: *^^ '°^^ °^ happiness would Dface^hkt Si • ^-^ *^^ "'^ "^^ '" *h« °>d' fa"»iHar place that his imagmation even now pictured smiline m the venial beauty of early summer ^ He had sealed his letter to the broker, and was trlctedTI il; "r'" % ^°""^ ^' ^°"d VokesTt! tracted h s attention. He saw a little knot of men SsThafredt%h'r' 22"^^"^ -- "^ -"e ^^Z^ \u *^^ ?°°'" '^^°^- Prominent among the men was the tall frame of Hamilton and a^ thf crowd parted a little, he could make out' the fat tl UnltT^ y^' ^^ "^'■^t'^ Atherton. ' ^^ tw^ but H^H^ '^^'\T' ^'°^""* '^^^ ^tween the two but Harding could not at first distinguish their words. Could the double-dealing in stocksTknown to Hamilton, he wondered. In that case there w^s a possibility that Agatha's name might be dragged 363 MISS PETTICOATS into the quarrel. He arose hastily, armed with a new feeling of responsibility, and walked toward the group of excited men. " I tell you, Hamilton, you're drunk," Atherton was saying with his utmost suavity. " I hate a 'T?Sf^."'*"' *"^ ^ ^°"'t dispute with you." Well, you can hate and be . You've £ot J°^^^!l»'I'v««ottosay. I tell you you tried to The minister's teeth set hard, and his limbs stif- fened instinctively. He dreaded, but was ready for the next word. "Hamilton, you're a fool. Go to bed, and you'll apologize m the morning," said Atherton coolly, hghting one of his black cigars. " Easy, now T^'a rr * .•;«^''l««d. With a blandncss that mad- deaied Hamilton, as the latter started forward, his Sireatt ^" "^' babbling unintelligible The drink-crazed man was seized and pinioned by some of the clubmen as he lunged viciously at Ath- erton. who merely laughed and blew a cloud of smoke into Hamilton's face. " Let me go," shrieked the struggling Guy, " I tell you he took that third ace out of his discards. I saw him do it, d him." A great weight lifted itself from Harding's soul. The disgraceful row had no stronger basis than a quarrel over a gambling game. He prepared to go home giving a servant instructions as to the send- mg of the letters early in the morning. 364 in A DEBT IS PAID and S^'?f"' ««"''«»"'•" Mid Atherton amtably, and stqjped down the marbk >uin. ^ H.™,!, "'"'•''"K »«•" of the object of his wrath Hamilton, by a tremendou. effort, broke avray from h., aptor.. and .tart«l for the .tkir^ re^fa^^iT •hilp'i^anTjj^rlli^f Thi'''" '*"'" '"«? "»"«»« fri^H^k . ''!.""*'' J?^ fro" «»"« Of Hamilton's t'c ™fce o "l'^"i r *' W«h-pitched^rS^' lure evXly ^°^'«°^'y "7ing to reas- ow. when they went down and Wif^ *»,« ; l j 365 MISS PETTICOATS and an occasional heaving of the chest were all that spoke of life within him. His fair hair was streaked with blood, aid his handsome face was the color of death. A medical member of the club who had dropped m after a late emergency call, applied restoratives and tried to make the suiierer comfortable. Then he spent a long time in careful examination of the mjuries. "Well, Doctor?" asked Harding, as the physi- cwii came from the room at last. The answer burned into his brain indelibly. •* No bones are broken. The shock was great, but the inertness of the fall prevented fracture. He will live, but the injury to his spine is permanent. He will never spc' or have the power of motion again. tk)d knows, it would be better if he were not to think, as well." Harding left the club with a strange conviction of the unreality of everything. He was like a man under the influence of some powerful drug that takes all substance from the surrounding world. The long, almost unearthly battle for Agatha's soul, cul- minating in his triumph and the winning of her heart as well, together with the tragedy he had just witnessed, was too heavy a burden for his emotions. As he paced slowly along to his lodgings every sound m the streets— the whirr of cars, the rattle of be- lated carriages, the boisterous laughter of revelers — ^all seemed to reiterate in varied measure: "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." 366 A DEBT IS PAID Agatha hnrd of the terrible visitation upon Ham- ilton with a horror in which, Harding was thankful to see, was also pity. The retribution that had over- taken him was so terrible in comparison with her own puny schone of rtvtng*. that, as in the case of Mrs. Worth-Courtleigh. she felt how weak were human plans of vengeance by the side of the awful decrees of fate. In a short time the disposal of all of Agatha's stock ventures *vas arranged. A new and conserva- tive element was put in control of " United Mines." anci the comer " in the smaller companies, so nUhli^ Pl-«ed by Atherton. was never accom- n^lt^t A 1^^ ^ily financier, learning how she had outwitted him m the deal, admired the Countess more than ever. But, on coming up to the brown- stone house to express that admiration and inci- dentally ask for her hand, he had received a curt dismissal and the assurance that their business relations were at an end. This he accepted with his usual stolidity, although he was bitterly disap- pointed Those who knew him well found him nervously irritable for a few days. Then it was over; he had simply lost another coup. No slave ever released from bondage was more glad than was Agatha in handing over to Hardin? the complete management of her business aflfairs She was tired of struggling, happy to have some- one to act for her. So he arranged that all her holdings should be sold gradually and profitably. 367 ^ISS PETTICO ATS Alargt sum of money was realized, but she did not .honl?"^'^.*^ ^'^°*" ^ P^^t o^ his futu^re Jrir should mmister to those poor suflFerers whose ^s aCh-o^"^ "'^^^^ ^° ^^ ^- from h^TS In due time the " Sarah Copeland Hosoital " ««c tt' urrt tt'""l'?'*' ■" *« «"^»^ ""^ aft J !L h. u- ' ^"'.•"■'ance to enter its gateway after the building was in readiness for the SeoS fete'^i? cllf H " t ""-"l"' -ercy'thrSS w^p^^^rfoM-rratTjti^S 368 CHAPTER XL INTO SAFE HARBOR down the%iTtTo^"'ofTe"oK^^^^^ v4 station, awaiting the arrival of th^ "^ '^'^'^^^ One of their number? aSuXi^LZT^ ''^''' distinguished from the resYby a & tre^^^^^ T more nervous mannAr tj ^ , , '^ ^'^^^d and a dow behind which sat the teCph'^LS^oV """' .hin-ttd' yr„rn;rw?o"''^'('' t"'"^ «■« in-coming S|e ° "^ '"'"'>' ™""S =" 'ight, like a pale sUr^^^^^^ „f '«°™°''« "^d- most depresZlf aVe^rw'""?'""™ "^ *=" rival o^a lovedVnet'hXrnS^^r" *' "' 11 .AM fmm^mmim MISS PETTICOATS But now the t i was at his side, and in a mo- h^^ ^^ INTO SAFE HARBOR Captain Sykcs, resplendent in a new " frock-suit" gave Agatha away with an impressive air that ex- cited the envy of his two associates. But they in Jhl^K ^A^ ^^^l "''*"«^*' ^y ^'"fi^ the first to kiss the bride. Then, when the storm of hearty con- ^^^^'""l '^^' °'''''' ^"^ ««od-nights said, they all united in throwing such immense quantities of rice and so many pairs of formidable boots after the car- nage that the fat driver whipped up his sleepy horses to escape the storm. . Thus the wedded pair rode away into their new world, the ^race and tenderness of the '^°'"*" "^**"*^ ^**^*" ^^ strength and loyalty :.r^!^A\l^'' u^*'*' ^^^ 8^°"^' "^"k ^«nt slowly around the ship putting out the lights and tidying ?'*u '^^ ^^^ "° ^°""^ ^v« the gentle lappinl of the water against the " Harpoon's " sides, and W^r ''^iV^.^''^ °/ ^^"^ '^^^"^ heacon in the ^^La P* -.'"^'"^^ "^"^ °^ the summer night enfolded the sailor m its soft arms, and he moved as ma dream. At last he found himself before the door of the spotless little cabin that was once Agatha liZ^'l^'. ^ looked long and lovingly at an old- mZ ?^*°^fPV°u *\^. ^''^ *hat he had fastened hiTface*" ""^^ ""^^ '"""^ illumined Ja ^t"J^^V ^"^ ^o^ ^o^e ye, dear little gal," he S^^« iT w ^^ f 'l°'''"y ^'yS^^ an' c«ne nigh ter shipwreck but thanks be ter the great Pilot ye're in a safe harbor at last." THE END 377 !£ I The Nosf Talked Mout Book of the Oay ^ BLENNERHASSETT I A THMLUNO ROKANCC | , " The Incl- Identioftheule Jarc inteniely I dramatic, inj I tht pictures bj J C. H Stephena I are among the jmoit itriJdng lever given to I any hkwical I novel." BtiloH G.'ebtf Octthtr J. M All I Bookiellan. Bound in Blue SUk Cloth. cut Top. BY CHARLES FCLTON PIDGIN **Tlirott|Iioutj the clever cliain of the event! of I Aaron Burr's i dnmatic life nws the thread of a unique love [ ««*y— •golden thread that I gives iti gleam to (ombre reali- j t'W' A brave | book and a I •tofjr /orceAiily and clearly told." Chicagol Ricord-Htrald, Stfit. iS" M FULL-PME ILLUSTIMTI0N8 PRICE. The Author of [QUINCY ADAMS SAWYER Both thee Volumc» in fat of «*6 Bet Semng B oot..» [C. M. CLARK PUBLISHING COMPANY. BOSTON. Adaiu "THE BEST NEW ENGLAND STORY EVER WRITTEN" A SIMPLE LOVE TALE OF COUNTRY UFB MtWltllM* A WEALTH OF NEW ENGLAND VILLAGE CHAR^ ACTER, SCENES AND INCIDENTS. OF HOMELY HUMAN INTEREST. nite4«lalito ■«•«. ta«T«l«Br«9ii. **Ittaa4awwtlr iwt- iDlka who moT* In lu ttOr hoDMt bwBor Mid 1 W« pfwUot th« book will bo moro lUlTola FULL KoMMGHy _"»!•• Now U, rtory, bat Itb oo"--, • *>n"»»2 n»tnro pletiiro tbo United SUtao.** Nov York Joaraat. '•Ulsfollofintonoting IneidraU. anoint oor- inn, booltbraentliaoat an\aoertofn Irrwlatl- bio hnmor that mokoo It a book that will appool to naden who aro tlrod of tho oonvon- tional society and tho ■o-o ailed hlatorioal novel" Naalivllla Aaorioaa. .v"'*, *■,''? *«>5« odd" the tlmpleat and tmeat Bictnre of New Kngland fe and character ever penned." Now York World. "There la no atorjr with a more vigorooa — ^^— ^^«^. hSiSifaliif. """•*''' OMAmLmm teuton noaiN thm author op mLmMMmmHAasmrr." C M. CURK PUBLISHING COMPANY, BOSTON THE SWCCTCST LOVE STORV EVER TOtD HESTER BLAIR THE RONANCe OP A COUNTRY GIRL • • • ■ ■ ... WILLIAM HENRY CARSON A BOOK YO U_Wiri. HEAR ABOUT. READ. A[«5__TALIC ABOUT HESTER BLAIR I. a ,w««t .„d fovabte cfiarMter Uwugh « puwUng one Attrmetlveljr Bound in Red SOk Cloth and Gold. Gilt Top ILLUSTRATED $,,^1 C. M. CLARK PUBLISHING COMPANY. BOSTON THE CLIMAX Of, WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN By OHABLBS FBLTON PIDOIN Author of BLENNERHAaSETT and QUINCY ADAMS SAWYER I Attractively Bonnd lUnstrated by C. H. STEPHENS PRICE, $1.50 Tf 7c i * °°* f" hJstoncal novel in any sense of the word It IS a fascinating romance with Aaron Burr as the central figure. The author makes of Aaron Burr mi American musketeer-asortof United SUtes Don C^^wS, rSS ^hr™,^'^**^'^*"*-^"^'*!- HeleadfTiigltylSJ the Briii^h"^'^!?:!?^'^"!' ^i"? valuable possesfions K the British, Spanish and French. Evervthine he under takes 1. for love of country. He is th73e'sidof A love adventure is of the same important to him ak aS aflfair of state, and he slights neither: It Is Blmply the author-s fanoiftil Idea of "what ml»ht have been" if Burr had not shot HamUton. C. M. CLARK PUBLISHING CO., BOSTON II A BOOK TO STMOER SORROW If JUN'^ ♦♦ WrnrrmM and iLLumritMTmo my LBON uempbrt. jh. RRINTED ON HEAVY PAPER, BOUND IN ILLUSTRATED CLOTH, PRICE, 91.29 OVER 100 ILL USTRATIONS to Cure WEEPS ...ATTRACTIVELY P RINTED IN COLORS... ORIGINAL VER SES ON FAMILIAR TOPICS RRESa OOMMBNT9 " Th« author is a sort of a George Ade in Rhyme," —Boston Post, Nov. 13, 1901. J' '^^^% if rather that of Field, the rhyme and rhythm are good and the subjects sufficiently diwrse to shoCTfhS wnter's ver8atiUty.»-C^«r>4 and Sa^le, Dec. i?o? "There is a world of humor in this book of unioue and humorous verse, with many iUustrations." ^^V^^ and —The Book Ntws, Dec. 1901. " A lot of comically clever jineles." —N.Y. World, Nov. 83, 1901. C. M. CLARK PUBLISHING CO., BOSTON • • • IN PREPARATION... ON SATAN'S MOUNT BY DWIGHT nLTON, Audior of MISS PETTICOATS" et fal and unique «h«n.. The rtc«y of a «n««nete«p- teBon and the uplifdn* of ^ «>ulTough tl!!; f|^en«alin< power of love. Told tdtfa i«narl«a,le »*yl« ^rith • vital. .odaJ «uid econondc problem. ARTISTICALLY BOUND. ILLUSTRAVED. C. M. CLARK PUBLISHING COMPANY. BOSTON 4