I O cX tc 
 
 H 85 
 
THE 
 HUNDREDTH MAN 
 
 BY 
 FRANK R. STOCKTON 
 
 AUTHOR OF "RUDDER GRANGE," "THE LADY, OR 
 THE TIGER?" " THE LATE MRS. NULL," " THE CASTING 
 A IV AY OF MRS. LECKS AND MRS. ALESHINE," ETC. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 THE CENTURY CO. 
 
 NEW- YORK 
 
COPYRIGHT, 1886, 1887, 
 BY FRANK R. STOCKTON. 
 
 All rights reserved. 
 
 THE DE VINNE PRESS. 
 
THE HUNDEEDTH MAN 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 N one of the liveliest portions of a 
 very lively metropolitan street was 
 situated the popular resort known 
 as Vatoldi's. It was a restaurant 
 which owed its extensive patronage 
 to the inducements it offered to per- 
 sons of refined tastes and moderate purses. It was 
 in a shopping district, and from early breakfast-time 
 until a very late dinner or supper hour, Vatoldi's 
 seemed never to be without customers, and John 
 People seemed always to be behind the little desk 
 near the entrance of the long and handsome room. 
 In fact he was not always there, because his manifold 
 duties required his presence in a great many places, 
 but if a customer looked up from his meal and did 
 not see John at his ordinary post, he would be very 
 likely to see him there the next time he looked up, 
 and thus an impression was produced on the minds of 
 patrons similar to the impression given by the jug- 
 gler who makes one believe that because an object has 
 been in one place a great many times it is always 
 there. 
 
2 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 John People was a young man of vigorous and 
 rotund figure, with a slightly upturned nose, very 
 light-brown hair brushed smoothly on his well- 
 rounded head, and a general expression of sad good 
 humor combined with sleepless perspicacity. Dutiful 
 resignation to his lot raised his eyebrows and slightly 
 wrinkled his forehead, but his wide open eyes gazed 
 steadily on the business in hand as if they had noth- 
 ing to do with the future or with retrospection, no 
 matter how the brow might choose to occupy itself. 
 
 There was about John an air of strong independ- 
 ence associated with a kindly willingness, which made 
 it a pleasant thing to watch him as he attended to 
 his varied duties. He was the chief man and manager 
 at Vatoldi's, and although the cooks cooked, the wait- 
 ers waited, and the little boy opened the door for the 
 ladies, as they had been taught to cook, wait, and 
 open, they all appeared to act under John's personal 
 direction, as if they had been an orchestra moved by 
 a conductor's baton. He was not the owner of the 
 establishment, and yet he was the only visible head. 
 Early in the morning he went to the markets and 
 selected the most desirable meats and vegetables. He 
 personally inspected the commodities of grocers and 
 fruiterers, and he brought a keen investigation to 
 bear upon the necessary supplies of wines and malt 
 liquors. All expenditures were made by him, and all 
 receipts went into his money drawer, and were daily 
 deposited by him in a neighboring bank. But, 
 although he thus stood at the head of affairs, there 
 seemed to be nothing which John was unwilling to 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 3 
 
 do. If a truck arrived with some heavy merchandise, 
 John would put his hat upon his smoothly brushed 
 locks, and, with a slightly rolling yet energetic step, 
 would proceed to the sidewalk and give what direc- 
 tions might be needed, even sometimes lending a 
 very strong hand to a piece of difficult lifting or lower- 
 ing. The moment this duty was done he would step 
 vigorously back to his post, hang up his hat, leaving 
 his locks as smoothly brushed as ever, and be ready 
 again to receive the money of his customers. There 
 was a young man who acted as cashier during his 
 superior's occasional absences from the desk, but 
 nearly all the money that went into the till passed 
 directly through John People's hands. 
 
 Vatoldi's was a remarkably well-ordered establish- 
 ment ; its viands, its service, and its general equip- 
 ment were all of the best; and yet its prices were 
 extremely reasonable. To combine the advantages of 
 the two classes of restaurants generally found in 
 American cities seemed to be the moving principle of 
 John People's mind. To dine or lunch well at Vatoldi's, 
 one did not need to bring a friend with him to share 
 the expense and help eat a supply of food over- 
 abundant for one person. Instead of that, one had 
 enough, paid not too much, and went away with 
 pocket and stomach equally satisfied. There was 
 nothing, however, in the aspect of Vatoldi's to sug- 
 gest the ordinary cheap American restaurant. There 
 were no shelves filled with tin cans and bottles, no 
 tables spread with pies and cakes. Everything was in 
 tasteful order, and placards of any kind were totally 
 
4 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 tabooed. Even on the outer front one read but the 
 words, above the plate-glass door: 
 
 "VATOLDI, 
 BREAKFAST AND DINING ROOMS." 
 
 Yet there was not a total absence of display of viands. 
 After the fashion common to English hostelries, a 
 large round table stood near the center of the room, 
 on which were set out huge cold joints, poultry, and 
 game, in order that such persons who knew, or sup- 
 posed they knew, exactly what they liked to eat, could 
 say to the waiter, "Cut me a slice from here, or 
 there," or, " Let me have the liver wing of that fowl." 
 It was surprising with what faithfulness the clear 
 eyes of John People, looking out from under his re- 
 signed brow, kept themselves upon these details. 
 
 It was towards the end of May, and the weather 
 was getting to be very pleasant for outdoor life, and 
 it was about one o'clock in the day, an hour at 
 which the thought of Vatoldi's began to be very 
 pleasant to a great many people, when there walked 
 into the already well-filled room a tall gentleman, 
 who took his seat at a small table at the extreme 
 upper end of the room. As he walked slowly up the 
 whole extent of the apartment, his glossy hat held 
 carefully in one hand, while the other carried his 
 silver-mounted cane, most of the people seated at the 
 tables looked upon him as he passed ; and he, in turn, 
 gazed from side to side with such particularity that 
 his eyes fell upon every person in the room, to many 
 of whom he bowed, or rather nodded, with a certain 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 5 
 
 stiffened graciousness that was peculiarly a manner of 
 his own. This gentleman was a regular habitue of 
 Vatoldi's, and was a personage so very well known in 
 the metropolis that he seldom entered an assembly of 
 any size in which he did not meet some one with 
 whom he was acquainted. His name was Mr. Stull, 
 or, as signed by himself, J. Weatherby Stull. He was 
 not only tall, but large, bony, and heavy. His clothes 
 were of a costly quality, and had the appearance of 
 being quite new. He had a good deal of watch chain, 
 and wore several heavy rings. His manner was grave 
 and even solemn, but, when occasion required it, he 
 would endeavor to produce upon the minds of his 
 inferiors the impression that there were moments 
 when they need not look up to J. Weatherby Stull. 
 This was a concession which he deemed due from 
 himself to mankind. 
 
 Mr. Stull was a very rich man, and his business 
 operations were of various kinds. He was president 
 of a bank ; he was a large owner and improver of 
 real estate, and it was generally understood that he 
 had money invested in several important enterprises. 
 He lived with his family, in a handsome house, in a 
 fashionable quarter of the city, and his household 
 affairs were conducted with as much state as he con- 
 sidered compatible with republican institutions. 
 
 In addition to his other occupations, Mr. Stull was 
 the proprietor of Vatoldi's, but this fact was known 
 to no one in the world but himself and John People. 
 
 This establishment, which he had owned for many 
 years, had been placed, upon the death of the former 
 manager, in the charge of John People. John was a 
 
6 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 young man to hold such a responsible position, but 
 Mr. Stull had known him from a boy and felt that he 
 could trust him. Mr. Stull was a very good judge of 
 the quality of subordinates, especially in a business 
 of this kind. Those who gave John People credit for 
 keeping such an excellent restaurant, and even those 
 who supposed that the never-to-be-seen Vatoldi might 
 sometimes help him with advice, gave the young man 
 entirely too much credit. He was capable, quick- 
 sighted, willing, and honest, but he seldom did any- 
 thing of importance which had not been planned and 
 ordered by M. Stull. 
 
 This gentleman was, in fact, one of the best restau- 
 rant keepers in the world. His habits of thought, his 
 qualities of mind, all combined to make him nearly 
 perfect in his vocation. Every day, after John had 
 made his deposit at Mr. StulFs bank, he went into the 
 president's private room and had a talk with him. If 
 anybody noticed his entrance it was supposed that 
 the young man was consulting with Mr. Stull in regard 
 to the investment of his profits. But nothing of this 
 kind ever took place. John had no share in the 
 business and no profits, and the conversation turned 
 entirely upon beef, lamb, mutton, early shad, and 
 vegetables, and the most minute details of the manage- 
 ment of Vatoldi's kitchen and dining and breakfast 
 room. Every afternoon John received careful direc- 
 tions as to what he was to buy, what dishes he was 
 to have prepared, and, in general, what he was to do 
 on the following day. On the following day he did 
 all this, and Vatoldi's was the most popular resort of 
 its kind in the citv. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 7 
 
 But, notwithstanding the fact that in the manage- 
 ment of his restaurant Mr. Stull showed a talent of 
 the highest order, and notwithstanding the fact that 
 his present wealth was founded on the profits of this 
 establishment, and that its continued success was 
 the source of higher pride and satisfaction than the 
 success of any other of his enterprises, he would not, 
 on any account, have it known that he was the pro- 
 prietor of Vatoldi's. His sense of personal dignity, 
 and the position of himself and family in society 
 positively forbade that the world should know that 
 J. Weatherby Stull was the keeper of a restaurant. 
 He had thought, at times, of cutting loose from this 
 dangerous secret and selling Vatoldi's ; but there were 
 many objections to this plan. He did not wish to 
 lose the steady income the business gave him, an 
 income that could always be depended upon, no mat- 
 ter what the condition of stocks and real estate j he 
 did not wish to give up the positive pleasure which the 
 management of the establishment afforded him ; and 
 he felt that it would be a hazardous thing to attempt 
 to sell the business without betraying his connection 
 with it. 
 
 So Vatoldi's went on, and Mr. Stull's position went 
 up, and John People's honor and vigilance, the rock 
 on which they both rested, was always to be depended 
 upon. 
 
 Mr. Stull always took his luncheon at Vatoldi's, 
 and he believed that the fact of his being a constant 
 patron of the establishment was one cause of its 
 popularity. If a man in his high position took his 
 
8 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 meals there, other people of fashion and position 
 would be likely to do the same. 
 
 "I like Vatoldi's," he would say to his friends, 
 " because you can get as good a meal there as at any 
 of the high-priced fancy places, without having to pay 
 for any nonsense and frippery. Of course the extra 
 cost of taking my meals at one of these fashionable 
 restaurants would make very little difference to me 
 now, but I should never have reached the position in 
 which I at present find myself if I had not always 
 made it a point to get the worth of my money. And, 
 besides, it's a sensible place. They give you steel 
 knives for your meats, and keep the silvered ones for 
 fish and fruit, just as it's done in high-toned English 
 society. And you are waited on by men who look 
 like clean waiters, and not like dirty gentlemen." 
 
 As on this fine May afternoon Mr. Stull sat at his 
 meal, which was the best the place afforded, for in 
 every way he liked to set a good example to those 
 around him, his eyes continually traversed the length 
 and breadth of the room ; and had there been any- 
 thing out of the way John People would have heard 
 of it that afternoon when he came to the bank. While 
 he was thus engaged, a coupe, drawn by a pair of 
 small sorrel horses, with tails trimmed in English 
 fashion, stopped before Vatoldi's, and a handsomely 
 dressed young lady got out and entered the restau- 
 rant Mr. StulPs eyes brightened a little at this inci- 
 dent, and he looked about to see if other people had 
 noticed the entrance of the new-comer. The young 
 lady was his oldest daughter, and he had always en- 
 couraged his family to come to Vatoldi's whenever 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 9 
 
 they happened to be shopping at lunch-time. He did 
 not think it wise to say so, but he liked them to 
 come in a carriage. Whenever bad weather gave him 
 an excuse, he always came in a carriage himself. 
 Nothing would have pleased him better than to have 
 the street in front of VatoldPs blocked by waiting 
 carriages. 
 
 The entrance of Miss Stull had not been more 
 quickly and earnestly noticed by her father than by 
 John People. The eyes of that young man were 
 fixed upon her from the moment she leaned forward 
 to open the carriage door until she had been con- 
 ducted to an advantageous vacant table. This was 
 not near the one occupied by her father, for the 
 young lady did not care to walk so far into the room 
 as that. 
 
 In a refrigerator, near his little desk, John kept, 
 under his own charge, certain cuts of choice meats 
 which he handed out to be cooked for those cus- 
 tomers who had specific tastes in regard to such 
 things. In one corner of this refrigerator John kept 
 a little plate on which always reposed a brace of espe- 
 cially tender lamb chops, a remarkably fine sweet- 
 bread, or some other dainty of the kind. When 
 Miss Stull happened to come in, the waiter was 
 always immediately instructed to say that they had 
 that day some very nice chops or sweet-bread, as 
 the case might be ; and the young lady being easily 
 guided in matters of taste of this kind generally 
 ordered the viand which John had kept in reserve 
 for her. Sometimes, when she did not come for 
 several days, John was obliged to give to some one 
 
10 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 else the delicacy he had reserved for her, but he 
 always did this with a sigh which deepened the lines 
 of dutiful resignation on his brow. 
 
 Miss Stull was a young lady of rather small dimen- 
 sions, quite pretty, of a bright mind and affable dis- 
 position, and entirely ignorant that there was a man 
 in the world who for three days would keep for her 
 a brace of lamb chops in a corner of a refrigerator. 
 John's secret was as carefully kept as that of his 
 employer, but the conduct of Vatoldi's was no greater 
 pleasure to Mr. Stull than were the visits to that es- 
 tablishment of Mr. StulPs daughter to John People. 
 
 When Mr. Stull had finished his meal, he walked 
 slowly down the room and stopped at the table where 
 his daughter still sat. That young lady thereupon 
 offered to finish her meal instantly, and tal^e her 
 father to the bank in the coupe". 
 
 " No, my dear,' 7 said Mr. Stull, " there is no occa- 
 sion for that. Never hurry while you eat, and be 
 sure to eat all you want. Do you continue to like 
 Vatoldi's?" 
 
 " Oh, yes, papa," said Miss Stull, " everything is 
 very nice here, and I am sure the place is respectable." 
 
 " It is more than respectable," said Mr. Stull, a little 
 warmly. Then, toning down his voice, he continued : 
 " If it were not everything it ought to be, I should 
 not come here myself, nor recommend you and your 
 mother to do so. I always find it well filled with the 
 best class of people, many of them ladies. Bye-bye 
 until dinner-time." 
 
 Then he walked to the desk and paid the amount of 
 his bill to John People, with never a word, a gesture, 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 11 
 
 or a look which could indicate to the most acute 
 observer that he was putting the money into his own 
 pocket. 
 
 Mr. Stull had scarcely creaked himself out of 
 Vatoldi's when there entered an elderly man dressed 
 in a suit of farmer's Sunday clothes. His trousers 
 were gray and very wide, his black frock-coat was 
 very long, and his felt hat, also black, had a very 
 extensive brim. Deep set in his smooth-shaven face 
 were a pair of keen gray eyes which twinkled with 
 pleasure, as, with outstretched hand, he walked 
 straight up to the desk behind which John People 
 stood. John cordially grasped the hand which was 
 offered him, and the two men expressed their satis- 
 faction at seeing each other in tones much louder 
 than would have been thought proper by Mr. Stull, 
 had he been present. 
 
 " I am glad to see you, Uncle Enoch," said John. 
 " How did you leave mother *? " 
 
 " She's as lively and chipper as ever," said the other. 
 " But I didn't come here only to see you, I came to 
 get somethin' to eat. I want my dinner now, and 111 
 stop in in the afternoon, when people have thinned 
 out, and have a talk with you." 
 
 As he said this, Mr. Enoch Bullripple moved towards 
 the only vacant place which he saw, and it happened 
 to be on the opposite side of the little table at which 
 Miss Stull still sat, slowly eating an ice. At first John 
 seemed about to protest against his uncle's seating 
 himself at this sacred table, although, indeed, it 
 afforded abundance of room for two persons; but 
 then it shot into his mind that it would be a sort of 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALii-ORMA 
 
12 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 bond of union between himself and the young lady to 
 have his uncle sit at the same table with her. This 
 was not much of a bond, but it was the only thing of 
 the kind that had ever come between Miss Stull and 
 himself. 
 
 When Mr. Bullripple had taken his seat, and had 
 ordered an abundant dinner of meat and vegetables, 
 he pushed aside the bill of fare, and his eyes fell upon 
 Miss Stull, who sat opposite to him. After a steady 
 gaze of a few moments, he said : " How d'ye do?" 
 
 Miss Stull, who had thrown two or three glances of 
 interest at her opposite neighbor, which were due to 
 his air of countrified spruceness, now gave him a 
 quick look of surprise, but made no answer. 
 
 " Isn't this Matilda Stull ? " said the old man. " I'm 
 Enoch Bullripple, and if Pm not a good deal mis- 
 taken your father had a farm that he used to come 
 out to in summer-time that was pretty nigh where 
 I lived, which is a couple of miles from Cherry 
 Bridge." 
 
 Miss Stull, who at first had been a little shocked at 
 being addressed by a stranger, now smiled and an- 
 swered : " Oh, yes, I remember you very well, although 
 I never saw you before dressed in this way. You 
 always wore a straw hat, and went about in your 
 shirt sleeves. And you would never let us walk across 
 your big grass field." 
 
 " It wasn't on account of your hurtin 7 the grass/' 
 said Mr. Bullripple, " for you couldn't do that, but I 
 don't like to see young gals in pastur' fields where 
 there's ugly cattle. I hope you don't bear me no 
 grudge for keepin' you out of danger." 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 13 
 
 "Oh, no," said Miss Stull. "In fact, I'm much 
 obliged to you." 
 
 When John People looked over the desk and saw 
 his uncle talking to Miss Stull, he turned pale. This 
 was a bond of union he had not imagined possible. 
 He felt that his duty called upon him to protest, but 
 when he saw the young lady entering into the con- 
 versation with apparent willingness he made no 
 motion to interfere, but stood staring at the two with 
 such wide-eyed earnestness that a gentleman coming 
 up to pay his bill had to rap twice on the desk before 
 he gained John's attention. 
 
 " How's your father ? " said Mr. Bullripple. 
 
 Miss Stull replied that he was quite well, and the 
 other continued : " That's my sister's son over there, 
 behind the desk. He pretty much runs this place as 
 far as I can make out, for whenever I come here I 
 never see nothin' of Vatoldi, who must do his work in 
 the kitchen if he does any. John's mother used to 
 have the farm that your father owned afterwards, and 
 he was born there. But I guess you don't know 
 nothin' about all that." 
 
 " Was that young man born at our farm ? " said 
 Miss Stull, looking over towards John with the 
 first glance of interest she had ever bestowed upon 
 him. 
 
 "Yes, thatfs where he was born," said Mr. Bull- 
 ripple; "but he lived with me when you was out 
 there, and his mother, too, which she does yet ; and I 
 wish John could get a chance to come out there some- 
 times for a little country air. But Vatoldi keeps him 
 screwed tight to his work, and it's only now and then 
 2 
 
14 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 of a Sunday that we get sight of him, unless we come 
 to town ourselves." 
 
 " That is very mean of Vatoldi," said Miss Stull, 
 rising, " for I am sure everybody ought to have a 
 holiday now and then. Good-morning, Mr. Bull- 
 ripple." 
 
 As Miss Stull advanced towards the desk John 
 People knew that she was going to speak to him. He 
 felt this knowledge coming hot up into his cheeks, 
 tingling among the resignation lines on his brow, and 
 running like threads of electricity down his back and 
 into his very knees, which did not seem to give him 
 their usual stout and unyielding support. Whether 
 it was from the manner of her walk, or the steady 
 gaze of her eyes, or the expression of her mouth, that 
 this knowledge came to him, it came correctly, for 
 she had no sooner reached the desk and laid her 
 money and her bill upon it, than she said : 
 
 " Your uncle tells me, sir, that you were born on 
 the farm where we used to live, near Cherry Bridge." 
 
 " Yes miss," says John, " I was born there." 
 
 " Of course, there is no reason why this should not 
 have been so," said Miss Stull, pushing her money 
 towards John ; " but, somehow or other, it seems odd 
 to me. "What is your name, please ? " 
 
 John told her, and as she slowly dropped her change 
 into her pocket-book Miss Stull began to think. Had 
 her father been there he would not have been slow to 
 take her aside and inform her that, for a young lady 
 in her position, with a coupe and pair waiting at the 
 door, it was highly improper to stand and think by the 
 desk in a restaurant, with a person like John People 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 15 
 
 behind it. But Miss Stull was a young women of a 
 very independent turn of mind. She placed a good 
 value on fashion and form and all that sort of thing, 
 but she did not allow her social position to interfere 
 too much with her own ideas of what was good for 
 her. 
 
 "There was an old lady/ 7 she said, presently, 
 " whom I used to see very often, and her name was 
 Mrs. People. I liked her better than your uncle. 
 Was she your mother?" 
 
 " Yes," said John, " she is my mother." 
 
 "That is very nice," remarked Miss Stull, and with 
 a little nod she said " Good-morning, Mr. People," and 
 went out to her coupe. 
 
 John smoothed out the bank-note which she had 
 given him, and on the back of it he wrote " M. S.," 
 and put the day of the month and the year beneath 
 it. He left a space between the two initials so he 
 could put in the middle one when he found out what 
 it was. Then he took a note of the same value from 
 his pocket, and put it in the money drawer, and fold- 
 ing carefully the one he had received from Miss Stull, 
 he placed it tenderly in an inner receptacle of his 
 pocket-book. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 R. BULLRIPPLE returned to Va- 
 toldi's about the middle of the after- 
 noon to have a talk with his nephew, 
 but the young man who had charge 
 of the desk during this period of 
 comparative inactivity told him that 
 Mr. People had gone to the bank. 
 
 Mr. Bullripple reflected for a moment. 
 "Well, then/ 7 said he, "I would like to see Mr. 
 Vatoldi." 
 
 The young man behind the desk laughed. 
 " There isn't any such person/ 7 said he. " That's 
 only the name of the place." 
 
 Mr. Bullripple looked at him fixedly. " I 7 d like to 
 know, then/ 7 he said, "who is at the head of this 
 establishment. 77 
 
 " Mr. People is. If you want to sell anything, or 
 if you have got a bill to collect, you must go to him. 77 
 Mr. Bullripple was about to whistle, but he re- 
 strained himself, his eyes sparkling as he put on his 
 mental brakes. " Well, then/ 7 he said, " I suppose I 
 must wait till I can see Mr. People. 77 And, without 
 further words, he left the place. 
 
 " I suppose I might have waited/ 7 said Enoch Bull- 
 ripple, as he slowly strode up the street, " but, on the 
 
 16 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 17 
 
 whole, I'd as lief not see John jus' now. No Vatoldi, 
 eh ? That's a piece of news, I must say ! " 
 
 Mr. Bullripple did not try again to see his nephew 
 that day. He spent the rest of the afternoon in at- 
 tending to the business that brought him to the city ; 
 and, about eight o'clock, he found himself in one of 
 the uptown cross-streets, walking slowly with a visit- 
 ing card in his hand, looking for a number that was 
 printed thereon. He discovered it before long, but 
 stopped surprised. 
 
 " It looks like a hotel," he said, " but eighty-two is 
 the number. There can't be no mistake about that." 
 
 So saying, he mounted the few broad steps which 
 led to the front door, and looked for a bell. The 
 house was one of those large apartment houses, so 
 popular in New York, but with mansions of this kind 
 the old man was totally unfamiliar. He did not 
 know that it was necessary to touch the button by 
 the side of the doorway; but, while he was peering 
 about, the hall-boy saw him from within, and admitted 
 him. The house was not one of the largest and 
 finest of its class, but its appointments were of a high 
 order. The floor was inlaid with different colored 
 marbles, and the walls and ceiling were handsomely 
 decorated. 
 
 "Does Mr. Horace Stratford live here?" asked 
 Mr. Bullripple. 
 
 "Yes/ 7 said the boy, who was attired in a neat 
 suit of brown clothes with brass buttons, " fifth floor. 
 There's the elevator." 
 
 The old man looked in at the door of the brightly 
 lighted elevator, and then he glanced wistfully at the 
 
18 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 broad stairway which wound up beside it. But, re- 
 peating to himself the words " fifth floor/ 7 he entered 
 the elevator. Thereupon a second boy in brown 
 clothes with brass buttons stepped in after him, 
 closed the door, pulled the wire rope, and Enoch 
 Bullripple made his first ascent in a machine of this 
 kind. He did not like it. " I'll come down by the 
 stairs," he said to himself ; " that is, if they run up 
 that far." Arrived at the fifth floor, the door was 
 opened, and Enoch gladly stepped oat, whereupon the 
 elevator immediately descended to the depths below. 
 To the right of the hall in which he now found him- 
 self was a door on which was a small brass plate 
 bearing the name " H. Stratford." On this door Mr. 
 Bullripple knocked with his strong, well-hardened 
 knuckles. 
 
 The door was opened by an elderly serving-man, 
 who came very quickly to see who it could be who 
 would knock on the door instead of touching the 
 electric bell-knob. Mr. Stratford was at home, and 
 when the visitor had sent in his name he was, with- 
 out delay, conducted to a large and handsome room, 
 at the door of which Mr. Stratford met him with ex- 
 tended hand. 
 
 " Why, Enoch," he said, " I am glad to see you. 
 How do you do ? And how is Mrs. People ? " 
 
 " Spry as common," said Enoch. And putting 
 down his hat and umbrella, he seated himself in a 
 large easy-chair which Mr. Stratford pushed towards 
 him, and gazed around. 
 
 The floor was covered with rich heavy rugs ; fur- 
 niture of antique beauty and modern luxury stood 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 19 
 
 wherever it could find an inviting place ; the walls 
 were hung with water-colors and etchings ; here and 
 there appeared a bass-relief or a bit of old tapestry j 
 some book-shelves of various shapes and heights 
 were crowded with volumes in handsome bindings, 
 larger books stood upon the floor j while portfolios of 
 engravings and illustrated books were piled up on a 
 table in one corner of the room j articles of oddity or 
 beauty, picked up by a traveler in his wanderings, 
 were scattered about on mantel-piece or cabinet-shelf ; 
 a wood fire blazed behind polished andirons and fen- 
 der ; and, near by, a large table held a shaded lamp, 
 some scattered books and journals, a jar of tobacco, 
 and the amber-tipped pipe which Mr. Stratford had 
 just laid down. Through a partly-drawn portiere, 
 which covered a wide doorway at one side of the 
 room, could be caught a glimpse of another apart- 
 ment, lighted and bri ght- walled ; and beyond the 
 still open door by which the visitor had entered he 
 saw across the handsome hall, with its polished floor 
 and warm-hued rugs, other doors and glimpses of 
 other rooms. Only the apartment in which he sat 
 was open to view, but at every side there came sug- 
 gestions of light, color, and extent. Everything was 
 bright, warm, and akin to life and living. 
 
 Mr. Bullripple put his broad hands upon his knees 
 and gave his head a little jerk. "Well, this beats 
 me ! " he said. 
 
 Mr. Stratford laughed. "You seem surprised, 
 Enoch," he said. " What is it that < beats ' you ! " 
 
 " It isn't the fine things," said the old man, " nor 
 the rooms, without no end to ; em as far as I can see, 
 
20 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 for, of course, if you've got money enough you can 
 have 'em, but it's the idee that a man, with a top- 
 sawyer palace like this of his own, should come up- 
 country to Mrs. People and me, with our scrubbed 
 floors and hard chairs, and nothin' prettier than a tea 
 company's chromo in our best room." 
 
 " Now, come," said Mr. Stratford, " that won't do, 
 Enoch, that won't do. Your house is a very pleasant 
 old farm-house, and I am sure that Mrs. People makes 
 my room as comfortable and as cozy as a fisherman 
 and country stroller should need. And, besides, I 
 don't come to your house for things like these," wav- 
 ing his hand before him as he spoke ; " I can buy them 
 with money; but what I get when I come up to your 
 country can't be bought." 
 
 " That's true as to part of it," said Mr. Bullripple. 
 " The victuals and the lodgin' you do pay for, but the 
 takin' in as one of us, and the dividing up our family 
 consarns with you, just as free as we quarter a pie 
 and give you one of the pieces, is somethin' that's not 
 for sale neither by me nor Mrs. People. And if you 
 can stand our hard boards and country fixin's after 
 all this king and queen f urnitur', we'll be mighty glad 
 to have you keep on comin'. And that's one of the 
 things that brought me here to-night. I wanted to 
 ask you if we was to expect you when the summer 
 shows signs of bein' on hand ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes," said Mr. Stratford, "I certainly expect to 
 be with you this summer, and as early as usual. Has 
 anybody caught that old trout in the meadow brook? " 
 
 "No, sir," said Enoch. "I have seen him already 
 this year, an' he's jes' as smart and knowin' as ever. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 21 
 
 Now I take you into the family, Mr. Stratford, jus 7 
 the same as to that trout as to any of our other con- 
 sarns. If you ketch him, he's your'n, if I ketch him, 
 he's mine. It'll be fair play between us, and I'll wait 
 till you come. I wouldn't do more'n that for no man." 
 
 " No, I don't believe you would," said Mr. Strat- 
 ford earnestly. 
 
 " There's another thing I want to ask you about," 
 said Enoch, " and I will get through with it as soon 
 as I can, for I don't want to keep you up too late 
 talkin' about my affairs." 
 
 " Up too late ! " said Mr. Stratford. And he smiled 
 as he looked at the clock. 
 
 " I suppose you don't mind," said Mr. Bullripple, 
 " settin' up till ten or eleven, but I do ; and so I'll 
 get right at it. What I want to say is about my 
 nephew, John People." 
 
 " Your sister's son I " said Mr. Stratford. " Is he 
 still cashier at Vatoldi's ? " 
 
 "Yes," said Mr. Bullripple. " He's that, and pretty 
 much everythin' besides, as far as I can see. I don't 
 know that he washes the dishes, but I'm sure he sees 
 that it's done. You don't happen to know Vatoldi?" 
 
 " No," said Mr. Stratford. " I seldom go there, as 
 the place is generally crowded with ladies about the 
 middle of the day, the only time I would be likely to 
 drop in ; and I don't suppose I should ever see the 
 man, if I did go. Is your nephew in any trouble." 
 
 " No," said the other, " he don't seem to be. It's 
 me and his mother that's in the trouble. It's our 
 opinion he works too hard, and gets too little. We 
 like to see him come out to the farm sometimes to 
 
22 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 take some sniffs of the air he was born in, but he 
 never gets no time for that, and as for makin' money, 
 Fm sure he's not doin' it. Now I thought that per- 
 haps you might know Mr. Vatoldi, and could tell me 
 what sort of man he is, so I could know what sort of 
 ground I'm standin' on when I go to speak to him. 
 Perhaps you might have heard somethin' about him 
 that would help to put me on the right tack?" 
 
 Mr. Stratford reflected for a moment before answer- 
 ing. " No," said he, "I know nothing about the man 
 whatever. But let me give you a piece of advice, 
 friend Enoch. If it is considered well to say any- 
 thing to your nephew's employer about the young 
 man's duties and his pay, let him say it himself. You 
 can talk to him about it, and then let him speak 
 to Yatoldi. It is a bad thing, for all parties, for 
 mothers and uncles to undertake to arrange the 
 business affairs of persons as old as your nephew. 
 He must be twenty-five." 
 
 " He's all of that," said Enoch, " and it's time he was 
 doin' better. But I won't trouble you no more about 
 him. Since you don't know Vatoldi, there's nothin' 
 more for us to say about that. I've found out that 
 you're comin' to the farm this summer, and that's 
 enough business for one night, an' pretty nigh bed- 
 time too." And Mr. Bullripple arose, and took up his 
 hat and umbrella. "Now, I come to think of it," 
 he said, " have you found your hundredth man yet ?" 
 
 "No," answered Mr. Stratford, with a smile, "I 
 can't say that I have ; but I have a fancy that I'm on 
 his track and that I may come up with him before 
 very long." 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 23 
 
 " I often ketch myself laughin' out loud/' said Mr. 
 Bullripple, " an' I hope I won't never do it in church, 
 when I think of your chasin' after that hundredth 
 man. You make a dive at a feller an' ketch him by 
 the leg, an' hold him up, an' look at him, and then 
 you say : ' No, he's not the one, 7 an' drop him, an' go 
 after somebody else. I don't believe you'll ever get 
 him." 
 
 " I suppose the idea seems very odd to you, Enoch," 
 said Mr. Stratford, " but when I find my man I'll tell 
 you all about him." 
 
 " When they told me down-stairs that you lived on 
 the fifth floor," said Mr. Bullripple, as he stepped in- 
 to the private hall and gazed about him at the tall 
 clock, the antique chairs, the trophy-covered walls, the 
 many-hued glass of the great lantern which hung 
 above him, and the partly curtained doorways here 
 and there, " I had a sort o' pity for you for havin' to 
 lodge up so near the top of the house. But it don't 
 appear to me now that you're in need of pity." 
 
 " No," said Mr. Stratford, " not in that regard, at 
 any rate. As I own the whole house I might have 
 had any floor I chose, but this one seemed to suit me 
 better than the others, being high and airy, and yet 
 not quite at the top of the house. There are two 
 floors above me." 
 
 " You own this whole house ! " exclaimed Mr. 
 Bullripple. " Well, upon my word ! " For a mo- 
 ment he stood still, and then he resumed : " I was 
 thinkin', as I was sittin' in there, that I'd get Mrs. 
 People to buy some bits of fancified carpets, and to 
 hang up some more picters an' things about the 
 
24 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 house. But I guess now we'd better pull up an' take 
 down everything of the sort we've got. I should say 
 that after all this you'd like us better in bare boards 
 than with any sort of fixin's we could rig up." 
 
 "Now listen to me, friend Enoch/' said Mr. Strat- 
 ford. "If you and your sister make any changes in 
 that delightful old farm-house which I know so well, 
 I'll get up in the middle of the night and catch your 
 big trout, and never give you a chance to measure or 
 weigh him." 
 
 " All right," said old Enoch, with a grin. " I guess 
 you'll find us jes' as you left us." 
 
 "Are you not going to take the elevator?" said 
 Mr. Stratford, as his visitor, after shaking hands with 
 him, stepped briskly towards the stairway. 
 
 " No," said the old man, " I like my legs better." 
 And down-stairs he went. 
 
 "Now," said Mr. Bullripple to himself, when he 
 was out upon the sidewalk, " I think I'll follow that 
 advice Mr. Stratford give me not to speak to old 
 Vatoldi, for I don't believe there's any such man, but 
 I won't let on to John that I've got any idee of that 
 kind. I'll look into things a little more before I do 
 that." 
 
 Horace Stratford returned to his library, his study, 
 or his parlor, whatever one might choose to call the 
 room in which he took his ease, or did his work, as 
 the case might be, and, resuming his seat by the 
 table, he lighted his pipe. He was a man of thirty 
 years, or something more ; young enough to do what 
 he pleased, and old enough to think what he pleased. 
 To these two pursuits he devoted his life. Possessed 
 
TEE HUNDREDTH MAN. 25 
 
 of a fair fortune, he invested nearly the whole of it 
 in this apartment-house, which had been built ac- 
 cording to his own ideas, and which yielded him a 
 satisfying income. He was not a foolishly eccentric 
 man, nor a selfish one, but he lived for himself, and 
 in his own way. However, if a time came for him 
 to live for other people, he did so cheerfully, but he 
 always did it in his own way. 
 
 There were those who looked upon him as an old 
 bachelor; others thought of him as a good match; 
 and others again considered him as a hard-headed 
 fellow whom it would be very unpleasant to live 
 with. But the latter were persons who had never 
 lived with him. 
 
 Horace Stratford was not an idler. He was a man 
 of ideas, and his principal business in life was to 
 work out these ideas, either to please or benefit him- 
 self, or for the pleasure or benefit of others. 
 
 At present he was engaged in the study of a char- 
 acter, or, it might be better said, in the search for a 
 character. It had come to him, in the course of his 
 reading and thought, that in every hundred books 
 on a kindred subject, in every hundred crimes of a 
 similar kind, in every hundred events of a like 
 nature, and in every hundred men who may come 
 within one's cognizance, there is one book, crime, 
 circumstance, or man, which stands up above and 
 distinct from the rest, preeminent in the fact that 
 no one of the others is or could have been like it. 
 
 Horace Stratford's immediate occupation was the 
 discovery of a hundredth man among his present 
 friends and associates. This man, when found, was 
 3 
 
26 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 to be the central figure in a piece of literary work 
 he had in mind. As the tests he applied were severe 
 ones, he already had had several disappointments. 
 No one of the persons he had selected had been able 
 to maintain against his ninety-nine competitors the 
 position in the regard of the investigator to which 
 he had been temporarily exalted. 
 
 Mr. Stratford sat reading and smoking until about 
 ten o'clock, when he was called upon by a young man, 
 in full evening dress, with an overcoat on his arm, 
 and a crush hat in his hand. This gentleman had 
 just descended in the elevator from the seventh, or 
 top, floor ; and he had dropped in upon Mr. Stratford 
 for a few minutes 7 conversation before going out. He 
 was a younger man than Stratford, moderately good- 
 looking, somewhat slight in figure, and a little care- 
 worn in expression. His dress was extremely correct, 
 according to the fashion of the day ; his collar was 
 very high, and his patent-leather boots were observ- 
 ably pointed in the region of the toes. 
 
 Stratford was glad to see his visitor. "Will you 
 have a pipe or cigar ? " he asked. 
 
 "Neither, thank you," said the other. "I have 
 given up smoking." 
 
 " Thorne, you astonish me ! " exclaimed Stratford. 
 " Do you find it injurious to you?" 
 
 " Oh, no," replied Mr. Thorne. " You know I never 
 smoked very much." 
 
 " You were the most moderate smoker I ever knew/' 
 exclaimed Stratford, ".with remarkably good taste in 
 regard to tobacco, and smoking always seemed to 
 give you so much actual pleasure." 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 27 
 
 "That is all very true," said Mr. Thorne, " but, 
 in thinking of the matter, I have come to the conclu- 
 sion that a man who goes into the society that I go 
 into should not smoke. A cigar after dinner is sure 
 to leave some scent upon one, and one should not 
 carry that into a lady's drawing-room." 
 
 " If I were you," said Stratford, " I'd give up the 
 society rather than the cigar ; but I think it is not 
 necessary to do either. I smoke as much as I like 
 and I go into society whenever I please, and I have 
 no reason to believe that I am found objectionable." 
 
 " It is the right thing to do," persisted Mr. Thorne. 
 " I came to that conclusion day before yesterday, and 
 gave up smoking from that date, with a box of cigars 
 on my shelf that I had just opened." 
 
 Mr. Stratford made no answer, but for a few 
 moments gazed steadily at the fire. If almost any 
 young man of his acquaintance had told him that two 
 days before he had given up smoking, he would have 
 paid little attention to the statement, and would have 
 expected to see that young man in a week or two 
 with a cigar in his mouth. But if Arthur Thorne said 
 he had given up this indulgence he believed that he 
 would never smoke again. 
 
 " Going out ? " presently remarked Stratford. " I 
 should think you'd get dreadfully tired of that sort 
 of thing." 
 
 " I do," said Mr. Thorne, " but, of course, it has to be 
 done. Have you been buying anything lately ? " he 
 said, looking around the room. 
 
 " Nothing but experience," said Stratford, " and 
 that is not on exhibition." 
 
28 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 Mr. Thorne now put on his overcoat and departed. 
 He had had nothing particular to say to Stratford, 
 and had called merely because he considered it his 
 duty to look in occasionally on his friend. 
 
 Mr. Arthur Thorne occupied apartments on the 
 upper floor of this house. His rooms were not so 
 extensive as those of Stratford, nor so richly fur- 
 nished; but every detail of their appointments had 
 been carefully studied by Thorne, and executed or 
 arranged under his own supervision. The floors 
 were stained a dull red, and upon then were spread 
 Kensington rugs of the most somber green and unim- 
 passioned yellow, mingled here and there with a streak 
 of rusty black. The walls were clay-color ; some red 
 clay, some yellow clay, and some of an ashen-gray 
 hue, such as you find in very poor sections of the 
 country where farms are cheap. The doors and wood- 
 work were also colored in various shades of mud and 
 clay. At the windows were heavy curtains of sad 
 browns or yellows. Some of his furniture was antique, 
 consisting of pieces which he had " picked up w after 
 long and anxious searches. But much of it was 
 modern, and invariably of that class in which the con- 
 struction is plainly visible. He had a large rocking- 
 chair, the back formed of narrow rods and the bottom 
 of a polished board. Other chairs stood up, as strong, 
 as right-angled, and as hard as the character of the 
 Puritans who used the chairs from which these were 
 copied. On his mantel-piece stood a vase of white 
 roses which had been dead a month or more, but 
 which were kept with great care, because Mr. Thorne 
 knew that there was a certain harmony in their tones 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 29 
 
 which they had never possessed while living. There 
 were etchings on the walls, most of them tacked up 
 without frames, and some with a loose corner care- 
 fully curled, so as to give the appearance of conven- 
 tional ease. There were Japanese fans, but all of a 
 subdued tone, and over the corners of pictures and 
 by the sides of shelves hung pieces of drapery, all of 
 them suggesting the idea that they had once been 
 used by Arabs, and had never since been washed. 
 
 Along one side of the room was a row of book- 
 shelves, to which easy access could be had by getting 
 down on one's knees. These shelves were mostly 
 filled with courses of reading, many of which Mr. 
 Thome had begun, and some were nearly finished. 
 His apartments consisted of several rooms, and 
 throughout all of these, one perceived the same har- 
 mony of tone. Nowhere was there a single touch or 
 point of bright color to break in upon the lugubrious 
 unison of the saddened hues which Mr. Thorne 
 believed to be demanded by true art. 
 
 Unless it happened to be very cold or stormy, Mr. 
 Thorne walked every morning to his office, a distance 
 of some three miles, wearing no overcoat, and carrying 
 a heavy cane in his hand. He was not a very strong 
 man, and this morning exercise frequently interfered 
 with that freshness of mind and body with which he 
 liked to apply himself to his work, but he knew it 
 was the right kind of thing to do, and he did it. On 
 certain afternoons in the week he hired a horse, and 
 rode in the park; and this he did with a serious 
 earnestness which showed that he was conscientiously 
 endeavoring to do his duty by his physical self. Ab- 
 
30 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 stractly he cared little for dancing, preferring much 
 a partner on a chair by his side to whom he could 
 quietly talk ; but he had devoted a great deal of at- 
 tention and hard work to the study of the " german," 
 believing that a knowledge of that complicated dance 
 was essential to the education of a gentleman of his 
 age and position in society. 
 
 To the requirements of what he believed to be the 
 spirit of the nineteenth century, Arthur Thorne gave 
 zealous heed. He was fond of novels and the ballads 
 of Macaulay, but he read Spencer and Huxley and 
 Ruskin, and was a steady student of Rosetti and 
 Browning. The Proper, in his eyes, was a powerful 
 policeman, leading by the collar a weeping urchin, 
 who represented the personal inclinations of Arthur 
 Thorne. 
 
 There were times when Mr. Stratford believed that 
 he would yet find his hundredth man in Enoch Bull- 
 ripple or in Arthur Thorne. " Neither of them," he 
 said to himself, "has yet done anything which entitles 
 him to preeminence among his fellows, but I believe 
 they possess qualities which, under favoring circum- 
 stances, would send one or the other of them to that 
 unique position, which becomes every day more in- 
 teresting to me." 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 HE village of Cherry Bridge was lit- 
 tle more than a hamlet, lying on 
 the banks of Cherry Creek, which 
 came down from the mountains 
 some five or six miles behind the 
 village, and twisted itself, often 
 very picturesquely, between the hills and through the 
 woodlands of the lower country. Three miles from 
 the village, between the creek and the mountain, lay 
 the farm of Enoch Bullripple ; and about four o'clock 
 on the afternoon of a June day, Mr. Horace Stratford 
 stood on the farm-house porch, with Mrs. People, 
 Enoch's sister, by his side. He had arrived at the 
 place the day before, and was now going out for his 
 first drive. His horse, a large, well-formed chestnut, 
 with good roadster blood in him, stood near the 
 porch, harnessed to a comfortable vehicle for two 
 persons. This was, apparently, an ordinary buggy, 
 but had been constructed, with a number of improve- 
 ments of Mr. Stratford's own designing, for use on 
 the diversified surface of the country about Cherry 
 Bridge. The equipage had been sent from the city 
 a day or two before, but this was the first time Mrs. 
 People had seen it in its entirety, and she gazed at 
 it with much interest. 
 
 31 
 
32 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 Mrs. People was a pleasant-faced personage of 
 about forty-five, whose growth had seemed to in- 
 cline rather more towards circumference than alti- 
 tude. She was dressed neatly, but with a decidedleaning 
 towards ease in the arrangement of her garments. 
 
 " That's a better horse than you had last year, Mr. 
 Stratford/' she said ; " and I expect you'll get tired 
 of a day's driving as soon as he does. He stands 
 well without hitchin' too ; but you'd better take a 
 tie-strap along with you to-day, for Mrs. Justin has 
 got one of them little dust-brush dogs that seems to 
 have been born with a spite against horses. She 
 brought him from town with her, and he even 
 started old Janet when I drove there last Saturday." 
 
 " Why do you think I am going to Mrs. Justin's ? " 
 asked Mr. Stratford. 
 
 " Goodness ! " exclaimed Mrs. People, suddenly 
 turning the plenitude of her countenance upon him, 
 " you don't mean to say that you've quarreled ? " 
 
 " Of course not," answered Mr. Stratford, " but it 
 seems odd that you should take it as a matter of 
 course that I should go there the first time I drive 
 out." 
 
 " Fm sure I never thought of anything else," said 
 Mrs. Peop]e ; "and besides, you'll be obliged to go 
 because I told her you were comin'. I was at the 
 store in the village yesterday mornin', when she 
 drove up, and says I to her, ' Mrs. Justin, you'll 
 have another visitor to-morrow, for Mr. Stratford 
 sent up his horse and buggy yesterday, and he'll be 
 here himself to-night, and he'll drive over to your 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 33 
 
 house to-morrow afternoon. Pm not dead sure that 
 he won't come in the morning but I don't think he 
 will, because the afternoon is his time for goin'to 
 see people, and not disturbin' 'em before dinner when 
 they 're busy with their own concerns.' So, you see, 
 she'll be expectin' you, Mr. Stratford. And, knowin' 
 that, I never doubted you'd go." 
 
 Mr. Stratford smiled. , " I shall certainly go now, 
 Mrs. People," he said, " even if 1 had not intended to 
 go before. But what did you mean when you said 
 that Mrs. Justin would have another visitor ? " 
 
 "I meant, she's got two now. They was in the 
 carriage with her. One was a young girl, not twenty, 
 I should say, settin' on the back seat with her. The 
 other was a gentleman of some kind ; young, I think, 
 but I couldn't see him very well, havin 7 his back 
 turned to me, lookin' at Mr. Pritchett with the hind 
 wheel of his hay- wagon broke and a rail tied under. 
 From the way his back moved I think he wanted to 
 tell Mr. Pritchett what to do, but he didn't, and Mrs. 
 Justin she said she'd be glad to see you mornin' or 
 afternoon. And then that hare-lipped young man 
 that David Betts has hired to help him in his store 
 came out to get her orders, and I left without bein' 
 made acquainted with her company, for, of all things, 
 I think it's the meanest to stop and listen to what your 
 neighbor is orderin' at the store, and then go about 
 wonderin' why they don't order more of one thing, 
 and get it cheaper, or go without some other thing, 
 or else make it themselves at home, which, ten to one, 
 they couldn't, not knowin' how, and even if they did 
 
34 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 know, it would cost 'em more to make it than buy it, 
 they knowin' their own business, anyhow, better'n 
 anybody else." 
 
 " Well," said Mr. Stratford, going down the porch 
 steps, "I am not sure that I am glad to hear that 
 Mrs. Justin has strangers with her ; and I shall re- 
 member what you said, Mrs. People, about tying my 
 horse." 
 
 Mrs. Justin owned the only house in the region of 
 Cherry Bridge which could rightly be termed a 
 country mansion. It was spacious and handsome, 
 surrounded by well-kept grounds, gardens, and great 
 trees, and the prettiest part of Cherry Creek, or, as 
 Mrs. Justin always persisted in calling it, Cherry 
 River, flowed tranquilly at the bottom of the lawn. 
 A mile away, on the other side of the creek, lay the 
 farm on which John People was born, and which now 
 belonged to Mr. Stull. The house had been re- 
 modeled and enlarged, but the Stull family had 
 ceased to come there in the summer-time. The con- 
 stantly increasing elevation of their social position 
 rendered the fashionable watering-places much more 
 suitable summer residences than this out-of-the-way 
 country place, which was now leased to a farmer. 
 
 Mrs. Justin had no neighbors on whom she could 
 depend for social intercourse. There was a clergy- 
 man at the railroad town, eight miles away, and a 
 doctor's family in the village, and she saw a good 
 deal of Mr. Stratford, who usually spent a portion of 
 his summer at the Bullripple farm. But when Mrs. 
 Justin wanted company, she invited her friends to her 
 house, and thus, during her residence in this summer 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 35 
 
 home, she held the reins of her social relations in her 
 own hands. She came here every year because she 
 loved the place for its own sake, and because it was 
 the home in which her late husband had taken such 
 pride and delight. This husband, a good deal older 
 than Mrs. Justin, had died some four years ago j and, 
 although the world was now obliged to look upon 
 Mrs. Justin as a widow, she did not consider herself 
 in that light. To her it was as if she had married 
 again, married the memory of her husband, and 
 to this memory she was as constant as she had been 
 to the man himself. She was still young and charm- 
 ing to look upon, and there had been those who had 
 ventured to hint at the possibility that she might 
 marry again, but the freezing sternness with which 
 the slightest of these hints had been received had 
 warned all who wished to continue to be her friends 
 not to put their feet upon her sacred ground. 
 There was not a man, who knew her well enough to 
 like her well, who now would have dared to tell her 
 he loved her any more than he would have dared to 
 telpher so during the life-time of her husband. 
 
 Mrs. Justin had her life-work, in which she took a 
 warm and enduring interest. The object of her 
 thought and labor, especially during that part of 
 the year which she spent in the city, was the higher 
 education of woman ; and her plans for carrying out 
 this purpose were very effectual, but of a simple and 
 quiet nature. She belonged to a society which did 
 not have for its object the establishment of colleges 
 or similar institutions for young women, but aimed 
 solely to assist, in the most private and unobtrusive 
 
36 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 way, those who wished to enjoy the advantages of 
 such institutions as already existed, and were not 
 able to do so. Many a girl who had gone through 
 college with high honors would never have been able 
 to touch the hem of a freshman's dress had it not 
 been for the unseen but entirely sufficient support 
 afforded by the association of which Mrs. Justin was 
 the head and front. 
 
 In this enterprise Horace Stratford had long been 
 a hearty fellow- worker, and many of its best results 
 were due to his interest in its object, and knowledge 
 of men and things. He had known Mrs. Justin's 
 husband, and it was on his account that he had first 
 come into this region ; and now, for some years, he 
 had made a home in the Bullripple house, which stood 
 in the midst of a country which especially suited his 
 summer moods. 
 
 Mrs. Justin and Stratford had been sitting on her 
 piazza for about ten minutes when he remarked : " I 
 thought you had visitors here." 
 
 " So I have," said Mrs. Justin, " but they have gone 
 for a walk. One of them is Gay Armatt. You 
 remember her, don't you ? " 
 
 " I remember the name, but not the person." 
 
 "You ought to remember her," said Mrs. Justin. 
 " I expect her to be the brightest jewel in my crown, 
 if I ever get one. She is the girl we sent to Astley 
 University, and she has just been graduated ahead of 
 everybody young men as well as her sister students." 
 
 " What are her strong points ? " asked Stratford. 
 
 " Mathematics and classics," answered Mrs. Justin, 
 and the present ambition of her life is to continue her 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 37 
 
 studies, and get the degree of Ph.D. j and, knowing 
 her as well as I do, I believe she will succeed." 
 
 " I now remember hearing of the girl," said Strat- 
 ford. " But who is your other visitor ! " 
 
 " That is Mr. Crisman, to whom Gay is engaged to 
 be married." 
 
 " Indeed ! " exclaimed Mr. Stratford, " I must say 
 the young lady does not seem to be idling away any 
 of her time. How old is she ? And was this man her 
 fellow-student ? " 
 
 " She is over twenty," said Mrs. Justin ; " and Mr. 
 Crisman is not a student at all. He is in business in 
 the city. They have been engaged for more than a 
 year, and will be married next winter. And now, how 
 much more do you want to know! I see by your 
 looks that you are not satisfied." 
 
 " I like to know as much as possible about people 
 with whom I am going to associate," said Stratford, 
 " and I cannot help wondering why you have those 
 young persons here." 
 
 " Gray's family live in Maryland," said Mrs. Justin, 
 " but I did not want her to go down there this sum- 
 mer. I think her relatives have an idea that she has 
 studied enough, and I am afraid of their influence 
 upon her. Here she will have every opportunity to 
 work as much as anyone ought to in the summer- 
 time j and I flatter myself that my influence will be 
 good for her. I believe that Gay has an exception- 
 ably fine future before her, and I don't intend to drop 
 her until I see her enter upon it. And I couldn't 
 invite her here without asking Mr. Crisman to come 
 and spend his Sundays with her, and his vacation, 
 4 
 
38 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 when he gets it, which will be in August, I think. He 
 would have done all that if she had gone to Maryland." 
 
 " But haven't you any fears/' asked Stratford, 
 " that the girl's marriage will be an effectual extin- 
 guisher to this brilliant future that you talk of 1 " 
 
 " Not in the least," answered Mrs. Justin warmly. 
 " That has all been settled. Gay and I have talked it 
 over, and we have planned out everything. The 
 marriage is not to interfere in the least with her 
 studies and her future vocation in life. There is no 
 earthly reason why it should, and I shall be very glad 
 to see another proof in support of the fact that a 
 woman need not remain a spinster in order to become 
 eminent in art, science, or anything else. Here they 
 are now." And the young couple coming up the 
 steps of the piazza, Mr. Stratford was made ac- 
 quainted with them. 
 
 After a few minutes' conversation Miss Armatt and 
 her companion went into the house ; and Mr. Strat- 
 ford, as he arose to take leave of Mrs. Justin, re- 
 marked : " Did I understand you to say that girl is 
 over twenty ? She doesn't look it." 
 
 " She was nearly seventeen when I first met her, 
 four years ago," said Mrs. Justin, " and she was then 
 better grounded in mathematics than most students 
 of twenty. How do you like her ? " 
 
 " As far as looks go I think she is charming," said 
 Mr. Stratford. 
 
 "And you will like her just as much in every other 
 way," said Mrs. Justin, as she shook hands with him. 
 " Don't forget that you are to dine with us to-mor- 
 row." 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 39 
 
 Mrs. Justin's country dinner-hour was three o'clock j 
 and after that meal was over the next day, Stratford 
 and Mr. Crisman sat together for an hour smoking, 
 and talking. Mr. Crisman did most of the talking, 
 and he told his companion a great deal about himself 
 and his business, and also stated a good many opinions 
 he had formed in regard to the public questions of 
 the day. Mr. Stratford did not say much, but he 
 smoked very steadily, and was an admirable listener. 
 
 " Well," said Crisman, when, at last, he rose and 
 whisked away with his handkerchief some fallen 
 ashes from his coat, "I am going to look up Miss 
 Armatt, and see if we can't have a row on that little 
 river, as Mrs. Justin calls it, although I should say it 
 would have to grow a great deal before it would have 
 a right to that name. I have got to make the most 
 of my time, you know, as I start back to town early 
 to-morrow morning." 
 
 " You will find the navigation of the creek rather 
 difficult," said Mr. Stratford, " until you understand 
 its windings and its shallows." 
 
 " Oh, I don't mind that sort of thing ! " exclaimed 
 Crisman. " If we stick fast anywhere, I'll roll up my 
 trousers, jump out, and push her off. I'm used to 
 roughing it." 
 
 Stratford said no more, but he noticed that shortly 
 afterwards Miss Armatt and her fianc6 started for a 
 stroll in the woods, and did not go upon the water. 
 
 Early on the Monday Mr. Crisman went away to 
 resume his weekly business career in the city ; and on 
 Tuesday morning Mr. Stratford found himself again 
 at Mrs. Justin's house. He came this time on busi- 
 
40 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 ness, as the lady wished to consult him in regard to 
 some plans she was making for future work. Miss 
 Gay, being left to her own companionship, concluded 
 to take a walk along the shaded banks of the Cherry 
 River. There was no doubt in her mind as to the 
 propriety of this designation. Her affection for Mrs. 
 Justin was so warm that if that lady had called the 
 little stream a lake, Gray Armatt would have thought 
 of it only as Cherry Lake. 
 
 No one who did not know Miss Gay, and who now 
 saw her strolling by the waterside, would have con- 
 nected her in his mind with differential calculus or 
 Sophocles in the original. In coloring she somewhat 
 resembled Mrs. Justin, having light hair and dark 
 eyes, but there the similarity ceased, for one was 
 somewhat tall, with the grace of a woman, and the 
 other was somewhat short, with the grace of a girl. 
 
 Miss Gay was in a very cheery mood, as she slowly 
 made her way under the trees and the sometimes too 
 familiarly bending bushes which bordered the banks 
 of the stream j and stopping now and then in some 
 open space, where the glorious sun of June sprinkled 
 his gold on the leaves and the water, and filled the 
 petals of the wild flowers that moved their fragile 
 stems in the gentle breeze with a warm purple light. 
 She had a secret this morning ; it was not much of a 
 secret, but it was too much for her to keep to herself ; 
 she must tell it to some one or something. A little 
 bird sat on the twig of a tree, which still swayed on 
 account of the youthful haste with which he had 
 alighted upon it. Gay stood still and looked at 
 him. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 41 
 
 " Little bird/ 7 she said, " I will tell you my secret. 
 I must tell it to somebody, and I know it will be safe 
 with you. This is my birthday, and I am twenty-one 
 years old. I wouldn't tell Mrs. Justin because she 
 would have been sure to make me a present, or do 
 something for me on account of the day, and she has 
 done so much for me already that I wouldn't have 
 her do that. But I can tell you, little bird, and be 
 quite sure that you won't think that I expect you to 
 give me anything." 
 
 The little bird bobbed his head around and looked 
 at her with one eye ; then he bobbed it again and 
 looked at her with the other j after which he fluffed 
 up his breast-feathers with an air as though he would 
 say : "So old as that ! I am sure you don't look it ! " 
 And then he pressed his feathers down over the 
 secret and flew away. 
 
 Miss Gay walked on. " This is the most charming 
 birthday I ever had," she said. " I think it is because 
 I feel so free, and so glad that I have got through 
 with all that hard study. And now I am going to 
 breathe a little before I begin again, and I want every 
 one of you to know birds over there on the other 
 side of the river, butterflies on the bank, and dragon- 
 flies skimming about over the surface of the water, 
 yes, and even the fish which I can see whisking them- 
 selves around down there, and you, whatever you were, 
 who flopped into the water just ahead of me without 
 letting me see you, as if I would hurt you, you 
 foolish thing I want you all to know what a charm- 
 ing thing it is to breathe a little before you begin 
 again ; though I don't believe any of you ever do 
 
42 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 begin again, but just keep on always with what you 
 have to do." 
 
 And so she walked on until the stream made a sud- 
 den bend to the left, and then she took a path which 
 led through the trees to the right, into the open fields, 
 where she strolled over the grass and by the hedge- 
 rows, inhaling, as she went, all the tender odors of the 
 youth of summer. Her course now turned towards 
 the house and the farm buildings ; and after clamber- 
 ing over a rail fence she soon saw before her a large 
 barn-yard, in the midst of which stood a towering 
 straw-stack, glistening in the sun. Unlatching the 
 wide gate, she entered the yard, and stood upon the 
 clean straw which had been spread over its surface, 
 gazing upon the stack. 
 
 This little mountain of wheat-stalks had probably 
 stood there all winter, but fresh straw from the barn 
 had'recently been thrown out upon it, and it looked 
 as sweet and clean and bright as though it had just 
 been piled up fresh from the harvest-field. 
 
 Then spoke up the happy soul of the girl, and said 
 to her: "What a perfectly lovely straw-stack for a 
 slide!" It had been years since Gay had slidden 
 down a stack, but all the joys of those rapturous 
 descents came back to her as she stood and gazed. 
 Then her eyes began to sparkle, and the longings of 
 youth held out their arms, and drew her towards the 
 stack. 
 
 She looked here, and she looked there, she looked 
 towards the barn ; all the windows and doors were 
 closed. She looked towards the fields and the house j 
 not a person was in sight. Not a living creature did 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 43 
 
 she see, save two gray pullets scratching in a corner 
 of the yard. It is not an easy thing to climb the 
 slippery sides of a straw-stack, but Gay had once 
 been proficient in the art, and her hands and feet had 
 not lost their cunning. There was some difficult 
 scrambling and some retrogressions, but she was full 
 of vigor and strong intent, and she soon stood upon 
 the summit, her cheeks and lips in fullest bloom, and 
 her whole body beating with the warm pride of suc- 
 cess. Her hat had fallen off in the ascent, but she 
 tossed back her ruffled hair, and thought nothing 
 of this mishap. She looked up to the blue sky, and 
 out upon the green fields, and then down upon the 
 smooth sides of the stack, which sloped beneath her. 
 
 Now a little cloud spread itself over her counte- 
 nance. " Grabriella Armatt," she said to herself, " is it 
 proper for you to slide down this stack? That was all 
 very well when you were a girl, but think of it now." 
 Then she thought for a moment, and the cloud passed 
 away, and she spoke for herself : " Yes, I am really 
 and truly a girl yet," she said, " this is my birthday 
 and only the morning of it; I shall never have such 
 a chance as this again, and I oughtn't to take it if it 
 comes. Yes, I will have one slide down this stack ! 
 And that will be the very end of my existence as a 
 girl ! " 
 
 Mrs. Justin and Mr. Stratford had finished their 
 business and were walking across the lawn towards 
 the barn. Suddenly Stratford stopped as they were 
 passing under the shade of a wide-spreading tree. 
 
 " Is that Miss Armatt on the top of that straw- 
 stack?" he asked. 
 
44 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 Mrs. Justin also stopped. " Why, surely, it is ! " 
 she said. " And how in the world did she get up 
 there?" 
 
 " Climbed up, I suppose/ 7 said Mr. Stratford, " after 
 the fashion of boys and girls. Doesn't she look charm- 
 ing standing up there in the bright sunlight? n 
 
 " Her pedestal is too insecure," said Mrs. Justin. 
 "If she steps too much to one side or the other that 
 straw will give way beneath her, and she will have a 
 fall." 
 
 Mrs. Justin was just about to call out in a voice of 
 warning, but she suddenly checked herself. At that 
 moment Miss Gay sat down on the extreme edge of 
 the top of the stack, and then, as a gull makes its 
 swift downward swoop through the clear morning au- 
 to the glittering ocean crests, so Gay slid down the 
 long side of that straw-stack from girlhood into 
 womanhood. 
 
 As she arrived at the bottom, a mass of pink and 
 white, and tumbled hair, Mrs. Justin ejaculated, 
 " Well ! " But Horace Stratford said nothing ; and 
 the two walked on. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 N the day after Gay Armatt's birth- 
 day Mr. Stratford went fishing near 
 the foot of the mountains, and he 
 brought back a very fair string of 
 trout 5 but on the following day, 
 which was Thursday, he drove over 
 to Mrs. Justin's place, and found the two ladies 
 engaged in setting up a target on the lawn, where 
 they were going to practice archery. He received a 
 warm welcome, for Mrs. Justin knew him as a good 
 bowman, and he speedily took the arrangement of the 
 target and the stringing of the bows into his own 
 hands. 
 
 It was not long before he found that the course 
 of studies at Miss Armatt's college had not included 
 archery, and that, although she had a good eye and 
 a strong arm, she knew but little of the use of the 
 bow and arrow. Mrs. Justin was an excellent archer 
 and needed no assistance, and although Stratford took 
 his shots when his turn came, he gave the most of his 
 time to the tuition of Miss Armatt. He informed her 
 and in a manner which seemed as if he were tell- 
 ing her something she had once known and now for- 
 gotten how she must stand, how she must throw 
 back her shoulders and advance her left foot, how she 
 
 45 
 
46 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 must draw the feathered end of the arrow back to her 
 little ear, how she must set her eye upon the target 
 and her mind upon the arrow. Once he found it 
 necessary to place her fingers properly around the 
 string. But whatever he did, and whatever he told 
 her, was done and said with such a courteous, almost 
 deferential, manner, that the relation of teacher to 
 pupil scarcely suggested itself. It seemed rather as 
 if Gay and Mr. Stratford were partners in a match 
 against Mrs. Justin, and that they were helping each 
 other. 
 
 When he had gone, Gay Armatt expressed a high 
 opinion of Mr. Stratford. He seemed to know so 
 much, and was so kind, and gentle, and pleasant in 
 his way of telling people how to do things. And to 
 this remark Mrs. Justin answered that she knew of 
 no one who was more of a gentleman at heart than 
 Horace Stratford. 
 
 Whereupon Miss Gay had an idea, down at the 
 bottom of her mind, about a certain relation that she 
 thought would be very suitable indeed, and which 
 gave her pleasure to think of. But nothing would 
 have induced her to mention this idea to Mrs. Justin. 
 
 Mr. Stratford came no more to the Justin mansion 
 until Sunday, when he staid to dinner, and spent the 
 afternoon. Mr. Crisman was there, and he and Miss 
 Armatt were very glad to see a visitor, for it was a 
 rainy day, and there could be no strolling through 
 the woods j but with some one to talk to Mrs. Justin in 
 the library, there was no reason why the two younger 
 people should not wander off into some other part of 
 the house, and stay away as long as they pleased. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 47 
 
 In the evening, however, they were all together, 
 and Mr. Stratford, with that courtesy which was 
 characteristic of him, yielded the floor, during the 
 greater part of the time, to the younger man. Mrs. 
 Justin expressed the hope that Mr. Crisman might 
 arrange matters so that he could arrive earlier in the 
 day when he returned on the following Saturday. In 
 that case, they could make up a croquet party of 
 four for the afternoon. Croquet was a game of which 
 Mrs. Justin was very fond, although it had gone out 
 of fashion; but Mr. Crisman put his hands in his 
 pockets and smiled. Then he stated, with an air of 
 not unkindly superiority, that he had but a small 
 opinion of croquet and archery ; that is, considered 
 as recreative occupations for adults. 
 
 " If there were enough people here and in the 
 neighborhood to get up a base-ball match," he said, 
 " that would be something worth considering, but I 
 rather think my grass-billiard days are over. Then, 
 there's another thing," said Mr. Crisman, turning 
 suddenly towards Mrs. Justin ; " I sha'n't be able to 
 come here next Saturday, anyway, for some of my 
 friends and myself have made up a party to go on 
 a cruise on the Sound in a yacht. You see I want to 
 get a little sea air when I have a chance, and I shall 
 have plenty of the mountains when I come here to 
 spend my vacation." 
 
 " You never said anything to me of not coming 
 next Saturday," said Gay reproachfully. 
 
 "No," said Mr. Crisman, turning to her with a 
 smile; "I didn't want to plump it on you too 
 soon." 
 
48 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 Mr. Stratford now rose to go home, and Mrs. Justin 
 went out on the piazza with him to see if there was 
 any chance of a clear day for the morrow, thus giving 
 Mr. Crisman an opportunity to soothe the injured 
 feelings of Miss Gay. 
 
 The next day Stratford drove over to the railroad 
 station, and brought back with him his friend Arthur 
 Thorne, whom he had invited to the Bullripple farm 
 for a week's fishing. Mr. Thorne was a very earnest 
 worker at fishing ; and indeed he always worked 
 earnestly, whether in pursuit of pleasure or profit. 
 On the day after his arrival he walked steadily in his 
 wading-boots, and with his fishing accouterments, up 
 the middle of a long trout stream. The water was 
 very cold, and sometimes quite deep ; but when Mr. 
 Thorne did anything he did it in the right way, and 
 he knew very well that the way to fish a trout stream 
 was to wade up the middle of it against the current. 
 His friend Stratford was not so thorough in his 
 methods, and frequently did a great part of his day's 
 fishing while standing on dry land j but for all that 
 he generally caught all the trout that he and the 
 Bullripple family could eat. 
 
 When towards the close of the afternoon the two 
 friends returned to the farm-house, they found Mrs. 
 People in a state of wild agitation. Stratford had 
 scarcely set foot upon the porch when she took him 
 to one side, and communicated to him the cause of 
 her mental and physical commotion. 
 
 "I don't know how to begin to tell you, Mr. Strat- 
 ford," she said, " but me an' Enoch has got to go to 
 the city to-morrow morn in' the very earliest we can, 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 49 
 
 which is by the milk train, which leaves the station at 
 five o'clock. Enoch got a telegraph message from 
 John just as we was settin' down to dinner to-day, an 7 
 he sent for both of us to come to him just as soon as 
 ever we could, which we would have done this after- 
 noon, gettin' there after dark, to be sure, but we 
 wouldn't 'a' minded that in times like this if it hadn't 
 been for you and the other gentleman, who couldn't 
 be left with nobody but Marier to cook for you an' 
 take care of you, who isn't no more able even to set 
 your table, let alone a-cookin' a beefsteak, an' makin 7 
 coffee as you like it, than she is to go into the pulpit 
 an' preach j an 7 so, of course, we had to stay until we 
 could see what could be done to make you an' your 
 friend comfortable while we was away, which won't 
 be more than three or four days, judgin 7 from John's 
 message, which was a good long one, though I thought 
 that ten words was all anybody ever sent. An' I'm 
 sure no thin 7 could 'a' happened worse than havin' to 
 go away at this time just in the very week that you 
 have company." 
 
 "But what is the matter, Mrs. People!" said Mr. 
 Stratford. " You haven't told me that. Has anything 
 happened to your son ? " 
 
 " Happened!" she exclaimed. " Why, I should say 
 something had happened! Vatoldi's has been boy- 
 cotted.' 7 
 
 At this announcement Mr. Stratford manifested his 
 surprise by laughing outright. "What utter ab- 
 surdity ! 7 ' he exclaimed. " And why in the world 
 should you and your brother be called upon in an 
 emergency of this sort ? " 
 5 
 
50 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 '"John says/ 7 replied Mrs. People, "that he must 
 instantly have somebody he can trust, an' we are the 
 only ones. What he wants with us I don't know. 
 But down we must go, an' no later than five o'clock 
 to-morrow mornin 7 either. John knows very well 
 that Enoch's hired man, Jim Neal, can do everything 
 that's needed on the farm for two or three days, any- 
 way; and I suppose he'd forgot about Marier not 
 bein' able to cook for anybody but farm hands, and 
 they wouldn't stand her more 'n a week at the out- 
 side, an', of course, he didn't know your friend was 
 here. But there's no use talkin 7 about all that. 
 What's to be done now is for you two gentlemen to 
 make up your minds what you're goin' to do while 
 we're gone." 
 
 "You need not trouble yourself about that," said 
 Mr. Stratford, "if there is an urgent occasion for 
 your leaving home j and I suppose there must be, 
 though I don't understand it. Mr. Thorne and I will 
 do very well while you are gone. We will consider 
 that we are camping out, and what cooking Maria 
 cannot do I can do myself. I'm a very good hand 
 at that sort of thing." 
 
 "Not a bit of it ! Not a bit of it ! " exclaimed Mrs. 
 People. "I couldn't rest easy for one minute on 
 whatever kind of a bed John has to give me, an' I'm 
 sure I don't know what it's goin' to be, if I thought 
 of you here doin' your own cookin', an' with Marier 
 greasin' your way out of this world with her lard an' 
 her ham-fat. No, indeed ; it shall never be said of 
 me that I went off an' left you in any such a mess as 
 that. But here comes Mrs. Justin's man, Henderson, 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 51 
 
 on horseback, an' by the looks of him he's bringin 7 a 
 letter." 
 
 The man did bring a letter, and it was for Mr. Strat- 
 ford, and in it Mrs. Justin gave him and his friend a 
 very cordial and earnest invitation to stay at her 
 house during the absence of Mrs. People and Mr. 
 Bullripple. 
 
 "How did Mrs. Justin know anything about this? " 
 exclaimed Stratford, when he had read the note. 
 
 " Why, you see, the way of it was this," answered 
 Mrs. People. "As soon as Enoch an' me got over 
 the worst of our flurry, which was mostly mine, I 
 must say, I began to think about you an' what was 
 to become of you while we was gone. Then I says to 
 myself : l Mrs. Justin ought to know about this, not 
 as I'd ask anythin' of her, for I'm just as independent 
 as the next person ; but still, if she wants to do any- 
 thin' in a neighborly way, it isn't for me, who ever 
 sence she first come with her husband to live here 
 never had one word to say ag'in' her, to put myself 
 an' my independence in the way of her doin' it.' So 
 I jus' had the buggy hitched up, an' I drove over to 
 her house as hard as I could go j an' 'twould have 
 done you good, Mr. Stratford, to see how that mare 
 did trot when I worked her up to such a state of 
 mind that she forgot to shy at them upturned tree- 
 roots just at our line fence, which she's done reg'lar 
 ever sence the tree was bio wed down in September of 
 year before last. An' I told Mrs. Justin all about the 
 thing jus' as it really stood, an' she said I needn't 
 trouble myself about you an 7 the other gentleman, for 
 she'd invite you to stay till I got back. I made up 
 
52 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 iny mind I wouldn't say nothin' about this till she 
 sent over an' asked you, for it wasn't any of my busi- 
 ness to interfere with her concerns, nor her way of 
 attendin' to 'em ; but I must say I felt a mighty relief 
 when I saw that man Henderson comin' with a letter, 
 which, of course, I knew he had an' what it was. An' 
 now I'll be off and see about supper, or else Marier'H 
 give you a taste of what you might have expected if 
 you'd been left here with her to take care of you." 
 
 Stratford reflected some little time before answer- 
 ing Mrs. Justin's note, but then, after consulting with 
 Thorne, and considering that the invitation was a 
 very honest and kindly intentioned one, which should 
 not be declined without good reason, he determined 
 to accept it. 
 
 In the early gray of the next morning Enoch and 
 Mrs. People took the milk train for the city, and 
 Stratford and Mr. Thorne drove over to Mrs. Justin's 
 House in time for breakfast. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 HERE was indeed trouble at Vatol- 
 di's, and John People found himself 
 in a perplexed and soul-harrowed 
 condition. The establishment over 
 which he presided was such a well- 
 ordered one that everybody seemed 
 to be surprised at the sudden changes which had 
 taken place in this favorite resort. The employees 
 had always been well treated and well paid, and had 
 never shown any dissatisfaction with the rules of the 
 establishment. But recently they had broken out in 
 open rebellion against a fundamental regulation. 
 
 It was a cherished belief in the mind of Mr. Stull 
 that a waiter should look like a waiter, and that his 
 working-clothes should not be the same as those worn 
 by gentlemen on ceremonious occasions. None of the 
 waiters at Vatoldi's had ever made the slightest ob- 
 jection to their neat and appropriate costume. But 
 a man had recently been engaged, George Bencher by 
 name, whose soul soared above the restrictions im- 
 posed by narrow-minded authority. He made it 
 plain to the other men that in all first-class restau- 
 rants the waiters wore dress-coats in the evening, and 
 for him and his fellows to be attired in jackets and 
 aprons at all hours was a visible proof that they 
 
 63 
 
54= THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 worked in an establishment of a low order, or else 
 did not possess the manhood with which to assert 
 their rights. A united demand was therefore made 
 on John People that the waiters should thereafter be 
 allowed to wear dress-suits in the evening, instead of 
 jackets and aprons. 
 
 John People, of course, was not empowered to make 
 a decision in an important case like this, nor could he 
 say that he would refer the matter to Ids superiors, 
 for, in the ordinary management of the business, he 
 was not supposed to have any. Everybody connected 
 with the place knew that the original Vatoldi must 
 now be dead, and that, if John had not bought out 
 the place, he was conducting it for the heirs. Mr. 
 Stull had always insisted that, while John must refer 
 to him in matters of any importance whatever, he 
 must, at the same time, take care that no one should 
 imagine that he was obliged to refer to anybody. 
 Mr. Stull was most anxious that no curiosity should 
 be aroused, and no impertinent investigations set on 
 foot, in regard to the ownership of Vatoldi's. 
 
 Consequently, John was obliged to tell the men that 
 he must take a little time to think over the matter, 
 and when he went to the bank that afternoon to make 
 his daily deposit and confer with Mr. Stull, he laid 
 the affair before that gentleman. Mr. Stull was very 
 indignant, and ordered John to tell the waiters that 
 on no account would their absurd and impudent de- 
 mand be complied with ; so long as they served at 
 Vatoldi's they should never wear dress-coats ; and 
 that, if they desired to adopt that style of dress, they 
 must go somewhere else and do it. John gave the 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 55 
 
 waiters his decision that evening, arid when it was 
 received every man took off his jacket and apron, put 
 on his ordinary coat and his hat, and departed, and 
 the establishment closed an hour or two earlier than 
 usual. 
 
 But John was equal to the emergency, and before 
 the busy hours began next day he had secured, from 
 the lists of applicants in his possession, enough 
 waiters with whom to carry on the service. Now the 
 war began, the offensive operations of which were 
 directed by the energetic Bencher. Many of the 
 newly employed waiters were frightened away, and 
 threats of loss of reputation and ill-usage weakened 
 the forces in the kitchen. More than this, Bencher 
 determined to produce an impression upon the patrons 
 of Vatoldi's, and, if possible, bring about a boycott of 
 the place. The discontented waiters were called upon 
 to contribute to a fund, and the money was employed 
 in efforts to make the public believe that they should 
 not patronize Vatoldi's. Men were hired to parade 
 the sidewalk in front of the place, bearing banners on 
 which were painted warning inscriptions. "Eat not 
 at the house of the oppressor ! " sounding like a text 
 of Scripture, was expected to have much effect. An- 
 other inscription, based upon the belief in Vatoldi's 
 decease, read thus : 
 
 "The Ghost's Eestaurant 
 Kept By A Dead Man. 
 Cooking Done In The Vault." 
 
 These banner-bearers, however, with the crowds 
 they attracted in the busy thoroughfare, were soon 
 
56 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 driven away by the police ; but the generous distri- 
 bution of hundreds of copies of a circular which Ben- 
 cher had composed and had had printed was found to 
 be of great service to the cause of the boycotters. 
 This informed the public that if they patronized Va- 
 toldi's they might expect that the conscienceless man- 
 agement would be just as ready to impose bad eggs 
 and tallow butter upon its patrons as it was to lay its 
 vile yokes upon the necks of its employees; with 
 much more matter of a like character. 
 
 As the authorship of these circulars could be re- 
 ferred to nobody in particular, and as they might be 
 scattered by any one as he passed the place, it was 
 difficult to prevent their distribution. People would 
 stop to look into Vatoldi's to see what was going on, 
 and other people stopped to see what these were look- 
 ing at. Under these circumstances very few ladies 
 came to Vatoldi's ; and although a good many men 
 persisted in taking their meals there in spite of the 
 inferior service, the ordinary luncher or diner pre- 
 ferred to go to some restaurant not so prominent in 
 public notice, and the patronage of the place fell off 
 greatly. 
 
 The heart of Mr. Stull was filled with indignation 
 and energetic resolve. If he could have appeared in 
 his proper person as proprietor and manager of the 
 boycotted establishment, he would have conducted 
 affairs with such courage and wisdom as would have 
 entitled him to the approbation of all good citizens. 
 But it was simply impossible for him to make up his 
 mind to avow himself the owner of Vatoldi's. His 
 pride in the high position which he held in social and 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 57 
 
 financial circles would never allow him to admit, even 
 in such a crisis as this, that his fortune in any way 
 depended upon his ability as a restaurant-keeper. 
 Social standing was dearer to him even than money, 
 and he would much have preferred to see Vatoldi's 
 deserted by its patrons for a month, or even a year, 
 than to see himself and his family deserted by 
 " Society." 
 
 But he did not intend that Vatoldi's should be de- 
 serted. He could do nothing openly ; but indirectly 
 as a patron of the place, and as an earnest defender 
 of the right of man to carry on a legitimate business 
 in his own way, he did a great deal. He took all his 
 meals at the place, and induced many of his friends 
 to go there. He urged them to do this for the " prin- 
 ciple of the thing," although he did not hesitate to 
 say that he should be very sorry to see this establish- 
 ment, the best of its kind in the city, come to grief. 
 He took his wife and three daughters to VatoldPs for 
 luncheon and also for dinner, and both his carriage 
 and his coupe were kept standing as long as pos- 
 sible before the door. 
 
 When John People came to him at the usual hour, 
 Mr. Stull fairly loaded him with injunctions and 
 directions. If anything very important occurred, 
 John was to telegraph to him at" bank or residence, in 
 a simple cipher, of which Mr. Stull prepared two 
 copies ; and the faithful manager was ordered, when- 
 ever his employer went up to the desk to pay his bill, 
 to give him with his change a brief report of the 
 state of affairs up to that time. It was at this con- 
 ference that it was agreed that Mr. Bullripple and 
 
58 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 Mrs. People should be sent for. It was quite obvious 
 that in this emergency John must have some assist- 
 ants in whom he could trust; and although his 
 mother and his uncle knew nothing of restaurant- 
 keeping, they were persons of varied abilities and 
 much energy, and he felt that he knew no one else in 
 whom he could place a like confidence. Mr. Stull was 
 acquainted with the old farmer and his sister, and 
 while they were not the people whom he would have 
 decided to call upon, had he had a choice, he knew 
 that they were honest and devoted to John ; and these 
 points decided him to authorize John to call upon 
 them. 
 
 Mr. Bullripple and Mrs. People arrived at Vatoldi's 
 about eleven o'clock on the second day of the boy- 
 cott an hour of the morning at which, even on 
 ordinary occasions, there were comparatively few 
 customers in the place. John expected them by this 
 train, and knowing that the meeting with his parent 
 would not be an exhibition suitable for the public eye, 
 he had retired at the proper moment to a small back 
 room used as a storage pantry ; and it was there that 
 his mother enfolded him in her arms, and assured 
 him with streaming eyes that she would stand by 
 him to the last bone in her body. 
 
 When the emotions of Mrs. People had been some- 
 what quieted, and Enoch Bullripple had taken his 
 nephew by the hand and had inquired what was the 
 trouble, and what John wanted him to do, they all sat 
 down at a table in the corner of the large room, and 
 everything was explained. Mrs. People was very 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 59 
 
 anxious to know what Mr. Vatoldi thought about it 
 all, but John evaded her questions. 
 
 " Everything is left to me'," he said. " The pro- 
 prietor is away and cannot come here, and I must 
 manage the whole affair myself; and I think I can 
 get through all right if you two will stay here for a 
 few days until things come straight again." 
 
 " We'll stay, John," said his mother, " just as long 
 as you need us. You may depend on that." 
 
 "That's so," added the old man. "We'll stick to 
 you till the place is either shut up or running along 
 as it used to. Now, do you want me to carve or wash 
 dishes?" 
 
 It did not take long for John to explain what he 
 wanted his new assistants to do. His mother was to 
 go into the kitchen. The head cook had been induced 
 to follow the waiters, and although the assistants 
 who remained were moderately skilled in their, duties, 
 they could not be trusted to work without supervis- 
 ion. Mr. Bullripple was to keep a general eye upon 
 the dining-room, and when John was out was to pre- 
 side at the cashier's desk. He was not quick at mak- 
 ing change, but he could do so with great accuracy, 
 having a very sharp eye for a penny. 
 
 Enoch Bullripple had not always been a farmer. 
 Although country-bred, he had at one time kept a 
 small grocery store in the eastern part of the city, 
 and after that he had made a voyage to the West 
 Indies, during which his speculations in early cabbages 
 and potatoes had proved very profitable to him. The 
 head, arms, and legs of Mr. Bullripple were very hard, 
 
60 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 and his movements and his wits were quick. He was 
 not ignorant of the ways of the town, and was one 
 of those countrymen against whom town dealers are 
 much more likely to endeavor to defend themselves 
 than to try to impose upon them. He entered with 
 much interest into the new line of business now open 
 to him at Vatoldi's. He was very willing to give his 
 nephew all the assistance in his power, but he also 
 had a strong desire to make use of the opportunities 
 that might now be afforded him to find out what was 
 that" nephew's true position in the establishment. If 
 Vatoldi were dead, as he had reason to believe, could 
 it be possible that John was now the real proprietor ? 
 In that case, what became of the very large profits 
 which must accrue from the business ? But if John 
 were merely acting as the agent of some one else, who 
 was that some one else? This was the question to 
 which Enoch gave his attention, for he did not believe 
 that John was actually at the head of affairs. He 
 was quite sure that there was a proprietor and gen- 
 eral director in the background, and he was quite as 
 sure that this person desired to remain very much in 
 the background. It was not merely curiosity which 
 prompted Enoch to discover the unknown owner 
 and his motives for secrecy. He believed that his 
 nephew was carrying a very heavy load with but 
 very little profit to himself, and that if he, Enoch, 
 could get one of his strong thumbs into the Vatoldi 
 pie, he would be able to pull out a plum for John. 
 
 Mr. Bullripple walked up and down between the 
 rows of tables in the long room, sometimes taking his 
 seat on an empty chair, of which, on this day, there 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 61 
 
 were a good many. He kept his eyes on the new 
 waiters who had been employed, looking sharply for 
 signs of disaffection and intimidation. Now and 
 then he stepped to the door to see if he could discover 
 any of those banners of which he had been told, and 
 several times he made a sudden swoop out upon the 
 sidewalk, and in the direction of a boy who was dis- 
 tributing circulars of the boycotters. He never 
 caught the boy, but he picked up a great many circu- 
 lars, and carried them in to be burned. 
 
 A little before three o'clock John asked his uncle 
 to take his place at the cashier's desk, a good deal 
 of a sinecure just then, as he was obliged to go to 
 the bank and make his deposits. 
 
 " Can't I go for you ? " asked his uncle. 
 
 " Oh, no," said John ; " I always do that myself." 
 
 The rest of the afternoon and evening passed disa- 
 greeably at Vatoldi's. As night drew on, a crowd of 
 idlers, apparently sent there for the purpose of mak- 
 ing the ordinary public believe that something was 
 going to happen, stood, dispersed, and reassembled 
 upon the sidewalk. Sometimes rough fellows would 
 come in and demand something to drink, without 
 anything to eat, and when told that refreshments 
 were not served here in that fashion, would complain 
 violently, and would go away with loud words of 
 derision and contempt. Nearly every one who passed 
 the place seemed to carry in his hand one of Bencher's 
 circulars; and when, in the course of the evening, 
 Mr. Stull and his friends, with other gentlemen who 
 had determined to patronize on principle this perse- 
 cuted restaurant, came in, nearly all of them ordered 
 6 
 
62 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 something or other which John had thought would 
 not be called for in these troublous times, and which, 
 therefore, was not on hand. If Mr. Stull said any- 
 thing to John when he went up to the cashier's desk, 
 it must have been spoken very quickly, and in an 
 undertone, for no one noticed it. But, as he walked 
 away, Mr. Stull's face was very red, while John's 
 seemed troubled. At the close of the day several of 
 the newly engaged waiters informed Mr. People that 
 they would like to have their money for their day's 
 work, and that they should not return. They had 
 not understood the state of affairs when they agreed 
 to come there, and they did not wish to mix them- 
 selves up in any such trouble. Of course no one of 
 them said anything about the private note he had 
 received that day from Bencher. 
 
 John had secured rooms for his mother and uncle 
 in the boarding-house where he lived ; and after the 
 young man had taken his weary body and soul to bed, 
 the two elders had a little confabulation in the parlor. 
 
 "If this thing goes on much longer," said Mrs. 
 People, " it will bring that boy to his dying bed. He's 
 pretty nigh worn out now." 
 
 " That's so," replied Enoch ; " John is mighty stout 
 on his pins, but he looks shaky for all that." 
 
 " Pins are no good/ 7 said his sister, " no matter how 
 fat they may be, when the mind is so troubled and 
 tossed it can't sleep. An' just look at that Vatoldi ! " 
 
 "I wish I could," said Enoch, "but I don't ex- 
 pect to." 
 
 " No, indeed," said Mrs. People ; " it's easy enough 
 to see that he's goin' to keep himself out of harm's 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 63 
 
 way, an' trouble's way too, an 7 leave my boy to bear 
 everything. I tell you what let's do, Enoch. Let's 
 shut the place up, an 7 take John away. Then, if 
 Vatoldi wants to open it again, let him come an' 
 open it." 
 
 " That wouldn't do, Hannah ; that wouldn't do," 
 said Enoch. " If the reg'lar customers, like Mr. Stull 
 and all them carriage people, was to find the place 
 shut up, they'd go somewhere else, and not come 
 back again. It won't do to spile a good business that 
 way." 
 
 " It's a long time sence John has had a holiday," 
 said Mrs. People, after a little pause, " an' he's always 
 told me he couldn't have one, because there was no- 
 body to take his place while he was gone. Now it 
 strikes me that this is just the time for John to get 
 his holiday. Here's you an' me on hand to be in his 
 place j an' as long as the restaurant's boycotted there 
 won't be much to do, an' what little business there is, 
 you an' me can attend to well enough without John." 
 
 " That's a good idea, Hannah," said Enoch, " a very 
 good idea. As long as the business is upset, and 
 hind-part foremost, and standing on its head, I can 
 do what marketing is needed, and boss the waiters. 
 But if everything was a-runnin' on as smooth and 
 even as the fly-wheel of a steam-engine, with hun- 
 dreds of people comin' in, and eatin' and drinkin', and 
 never seein' nothin' to find fault with, then you and 
 me would get the whole machinery out of order, 
 because we don't understand it, and John, or some- 
 body like him, would have to be on hand. But now 
 we can go into this rough-and-tumble business as 
 
64 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 well as anybody, and keep things as straight as they 
 can be kept till that lot of stupid waiters see which 
 side their bread is buttered, and come back. Then 
 John can take hold again, and everything go on as it 
 used to. You're right, Hannah. This is the time for 
 John's holiday, if he's ever goin' to get one." 
 
 " But he's got to get it ! " said Mrs. People, her 
 emotion lifting her to her feet. " I know he'll say he 
 can't an' he won't. But that's not goin' to make any 
 difference with me. I'm determined he shall have a 
 rest. Why, when he went off to bed jus' now he was 
 about able to get upstairs, an' no more.' 7 
 
 Enoch Bullripple had much more faith in the endur- 
 ing powers of John than had been expressed by Mrs. 
 People, but for more reasons than one he greatly 
 desired that the young man should have a holiday. 
 If he, Enoch, should be left in charge of Vatoldi's for 
 a few days, he felt sure that he could get at the bot- 
 tom of the mystery of the proprietorship. 
 
 " But, Hannah," said he, " I really don't see how 
 it's goin' to be done." 
 
 " I don't neither," said Mrs. People, " but it's got to 
 be done, an' that's the long an' the short of it." 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 HE two gentlemen, whose residence 
 at the Bullripple farm had been in- 
 terrupted by the boycott at Vatoldi's, 
 found the life at Mrs. Justin's house 
 a very pleasant one. Mr. Thorne, 
 having come into the mountains to 
 fish, fished ; and his friend Stratford usually went 
 with him on his excursions. In the evening this fam- 
 ily of four adapted itself very well to cards, conversa- 
 tion, or twilight strolls, and the ladies found fault 
 with Mr. Thorne because he worked so hard at his 
 fishing, and gave none of his daytime to pursuits in 
 which they could take part. But he was a thoroughly 
 conscientious young man, and as he came to the 
 mountains to fish, he fished. 
 
 As his friend now began to know the country, Mr. 
 Stratford frequently left him to wade the cold trout 
 streams alone, while he gave some of his time to the 
 entertainment of the ladies. One afternoon he took 
 them, with the Justin horses and carriage, on a long 
 drive through some of the valley roads. On the next 
 day he did not go out with Mr. Thorne at all, as Mrs. 
 Justin desired his opinion on a business letter she had 
 received from some of her fellow- workers ; and in the 
 afternoon, Mrs. Justin having retired to the library 
 
 65 
 
66 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 to compose her answer, Stratford proposed to Miss 
 Armatt that she should go in a boat on Cherry Creek, 
 and investigate the beauty of that winding stream. 
 
 " Why, I thought the Cherry River, as I shall call 
 it, was not navigable/' said Miss Gay. " When Mr. 
 Crisman and I wanted to go rowing, Mrs. Justin told 
 us that it was so full of sand-bars and snags and all 
 sorts of obstructions, that boating on it was not to be 
 thought of.'' 
 
 " She was entirely right," pursued Stratford ; " that 
 is, when speaking of persons not familiar with the 
 peculiarities of the stream. It would be extremely 
 awkward and perhaps dangerous for you and Mr. 
 Crisman to essay boating here. But in this case it is 
 different. I have lived here a great deal, and have 
 made myself perfectly acquainted with the eccentrici- 
 ties of the river, or creek. Suppose you come and 
 let us see what progress we can make." 
 
 " Oh, I shall be delighted/ 7 said Gay. And, tossing 
 on her hat, she walked with Stratford to the waterside. 
 
 In rowing of the sort that was required here Strat- 
 ford was an adept. With Miss Gay in the stern of 
 the boat, and himself placed moderately well forward, 
 so that the flat-bottomed craft should draw as little 
 water as possible, he rowed rapidly over the deeper 
 and open places, pulled close to one bank to avoid the 
 shallows by the other, crushed steadily through beds 
 of lily-pads, and once slowly and gently pushed the 
 boat beneath the trunk of a tree which spanned the 
 stream, keeping his eyes meantime on Gay to see that 
 her head and shoulders were bent low enough to pre- 
 vent contact with the rough overhanging bark. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 67 
 
 As they went on, the stream became wider and 
 deeper, and they met with fewer impediments j and 
 it was not long before, to Miss Armatt's great delight, 
 Stratford turned the boat into a narrow tributary 
 stream, which, running through the heart of the 
 woods, presented to the eye a lovely water-avenue, 
 passing under overhanging arches of green leaves, 
 mossy branches, and down-reaching vines. This little 
 stream, though narrow, was deeper and much more 
 open to the approaches of a little boat than the upper 
 part of Cherry Creek, and for ten or fifteen minutes 
 Stratford rowed quite steadily, keeping his head 
 the meanwhile turned well to one side so that he 
 should not run into either of the banks. 
 
 Then he stopped, and, drawing in the oars, said : 
 " Now Fll rest for a time and look about me." 
 
 "You'll see nothing," exclaimed Miss Gay with 
 sparkling eyes, " that is not perfectly lovely." 
 
 Stratford looked about him and perceived that she 
 was quite correct. Here and there was a break in the 
 green roof above them, and the sunlight falling in 
 little dapples on leaf and water enhanced the beauty 
 of the shaded vernal hues with which the scene was 
 mainly tinged. On one bank a matted grape-vine 
 bent down so low and wide that it formed a spread- 
 ing bower over the water, under which a little boat 
 might gently lie. On either side there were glimpses 
 of foresfc beauty; beyond them, the little stream 
 twinkled and rippled into the far-away heart of the 
 woods, and the perfume from the young blossoms of 
 the grape-vines filled all the air. 
 
 Miss Gay sat silent, her eyes wandering from side 
 
68 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 to side, and resting at last upon the water-bower 
 formed by the spreading vines. Then she said : " I 
 think I must try and remember all the twists and 
 turns we made in coming here, so that sometime I 
 can guide Mr. Crisman to this spot. I don't believe 
 he was ever in such a charming place." 
 
 Stratford looked into the face of Miss Gay, and 
 across the clear blue sky of her delight he saw float- 
 ing a thin gray cloud. He knew that she was think- 
 ing what a little heaven this would be if it were Tier 
 lover who was with her. But Stratford had not 
 brought Miss Armatt here that she might tell herself 
 how delightful it would be to sit in a boat with Mr. 
 Crisman under that roof of odorous vines. He 
 wanted to talk to her of herself, and this he now set 
 about to do. 
 
 He answered her remark by saying that she would 
 have to come over this course a good many times 
 before she would be able to act as guide for any one 
 else. He made no offer to be her instructor in navi- 
 gation, but began to question her on the subject of 
 her past studies and those victories in the field of 
 learning which she still hoped to achieve. He made 
 her understand how greatly interested he was in the 
 objects of Mrs. Justin's life-work ; and having heard 
 from that lady so much of Miss Armatt, he wished to 
 talk to her about what she had done and what she 
 intended to do. 
 
 Miss Gay was very willing to talk of these matters. 
 She had learned from Mrs. Justin that Mr. Stratford 
 was a man whose experience and knowledge were 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 69 
 
 very great, and whose opinions were of the highest 
 value, and she much desired to have his advice about 
 her future studies. 
 
 But very little advice she received on this occasion. 
 Mr. Stratford wished to look into her mind, and not to 
 exhibit his own. Miss Gay found it very easy to talk 
 to her companion. He seemed to want to know exactly 
 those things which she most wished to tell him. In 
 ten minutes she was speaking more freely of her 
 aspirations and half -matured plans than she had ever 
 spoken to any one before. Mrs. Justin was her dear, 
 kind friend, and always willing to listen and assist. 
 But Gay had perceived that there was not a perfect 
 sympathy between them when they talked of her 
 future intentions. Mrs. Justin wished her young 
 friend to climb, and climb boldly, but the spot at 
 which she would have been willing to rest content 
 was far below the altitude on which Gay Armatt had 
 fixed her eyes and her hopes. But there was one who 
 not only sympathized with her in her longings, but, 
 by his questions and his hearty interest, led her on to 
 bring forth ideas and plans which had long been laid 
 away in her mind because there was no one to whom 
 she could show them. She expected to talk about all 
 these things to Mr. Crisman after they were married ; 
 but just now their conversation never ran upon intel- 
 lectual or educational topics. There were always 
 things of a totally different sort which he wished to 
 say to her. 
 
 But now, side by side with this courteous gentle- 
 man, this scholar and careful thinker, she walked in 
 
70 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 the regions of high thought and far-spread prospects j 
 and when the sun had sunk so low that it no longer 
 threw its light upon the leaves and water, and Strat- 
 ford took up the oars and said it was time for them 
 to return, he looked into her face, and on the sky 
 of her delight there was no cloud. 
 
 Gay told Mrs. Justin all about this most delightful 
 little excursion, and hesitated not at the same time to 
 give vent to her high admiration of Mr. Stratford. 
 
 " It is a pity," said Mrs. Justin, " that Mr. Crisman 
 could not have rowed you into this woodland stream." 
 
 "It would have been perfectly lovely," exclaimed 
 Miss Gay, "if he could have been with me! But 
 then," she added, " I should have lost that most en- 
 couraging conversation with Mr. Stratford." 
 
 The next afternoon Mr. Thorne was prevailed upon 
 to stay at home and take part in Mrs. Justin's favor- 
 ite outdoor amusement, a game of croquet. Thorne 
 was a kind-hearted man, and as willing as anybody 
 to aid in the work of making other people happy, 
 provided such labor did not interfere with the things 
 which he really ought to do. But now he felt that 
 he had done his duty in the trout streams, and that, 
 having come into the mountains to fish, he had fished. 
 Therefore, a four-handed game of croquet was made up. 
 
 "Gay and Mr. Thorne will play together," said 
 Mrs. Justin, " leaving you and me for the other side." 
 
 Stratford smiled. " That will be a most agreeable 
 arrangement for me," he said, " but I am rather sorry 
 for Miss Armatt and Thorne." 
 
 " That is true," said Mrs. Justin. " I remember now 
 that Gay said she had not Jiad a mallet in her hand 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 71 
 
 since she was a little girl ; and you and I are both 
 good players." 
 
 " Thorne tells me he knows bnt little of the game/' 
 said Stratford. " Shall I take him on my side and 
 coach him ? " 
 
 " Of course not," answered Mrs. Justin. " We 
 won't divide in that way. You must take Gay, and I 
 will play with Mr. Thorne." 
 
 The game proved to be a very long one, for both 
 Mrs. Justin and Stratford were good shots and excel- 
 lent managers, and they so harassed each other that 
 advantages on either side were slowly gained. But 
 for Gay the game was none too long. She was sur- 
 prised to find that croquet, which she had supposed 
 to be a thing of bygone days, relegated now to chil- 
 dren and very old-fashioned grown people, was really 
 an interesting and absorbing exercise, in which many 
 powers of the mind, not omitting those of a mathe- 
 matical nature, were brought into vigorous play. 
 Every shot she made, every position she took, and 
 even her manner of standing and holding her mallet 
 were directed by Mr. Stratford ; and the pleasure of 
 doing these things properly, and of feeling that every 
 effort had its due value, helped very much to give the 
 game its zest. She and her partner won, and this 
 was not because Mr. Stratford was a better player 
 than Mrs. Justin, or that Gay knew more of the game 
 than Mr. Thorne, but because the younger lady sub- 
 ordinated herself entirely to Stratford. They moved 
 through the game as one player, neither advancing 
 far beyond the other, and at length side by side going 
 out of it. Mrs. Justin did not demand such subjec- 
 
72 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 tion from her partner. She thought that sometimes 
 he ought to rely on himself, and when he did so she 
 generally found that he had left little on which she 
 could rely. 
 
 As they walked towards the house, Gay Armatt 
 said to Mrs. Justin : " I believe Mr. Stratford would 
 make a splendid teacher. I think he ought not to 
 deprive the world of the benefit of his extraordinary 
 talents in that way." 
 
 "I know Mr. Stratford has not the slightest de- 
 sire/' answered Mrs. Justin, " to act as teacher to the 
 world/' placing a slight emphasis on the collective 
 noun. 
 
 Whether Stratford liked teaching or not, he and 
 Miss Gay spent more than an hour the next morning 
 on the back piazza of the house, with four large 
 books from the library and an ancient atlas. 
 
 " May I ask/' said Mrs. Justin, when she came out 
 to them, " what you two have found to keep you here 
 all the morning ? " 
 
 "We haven't been here all the morning/' said 
 Stratford, "and we have been visiting some of the 
 head springs of literature, and tracing the meander- 
 ings of their streams." 
 
 " You can't imagine/' cried Miss Gay, " how inter- 
 esting it has been ! But I had no idea," looking at 
 her watch, " that it was nearly twelve o'clock, and I 
 have two letters to write before you send to the post- 
 office ! 
 
 Gay ran into the house, and Mrs. Justin took her 
 place in the chair by Stratford. " It is a pity/' she 
 said, after glancing a few moments over the atlas, 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 73 
 
 " that Mr. Crisman chose to take his yachting expe- 
 dition just now. It would be so much more pleasant 
 for him to be here while you two gentlemen are in 
 the house. I heard from Mrs. People this morning, 
 and she says she will not be able to return home un- 
 til after next Sunday at the earliest." 
 
 Mr. Stratford looked at his companion with a very 
 small twinkle in his eye, but with a grave face. 
 " You think," he said, " that Mr. Crisman ought to be 
 here while we are here ? " 
 
 " I cannot but believe," she said, looking steadily 
 at Stratford, "that it would be better for his in- 
 terests/' 
 
 "And how about Miss Armatt's interests?" he 
 asked. 
 
 " What do you mean ? " said the lady, quickly. 
 
 " Mrs. Justin," said Stratford, closing the atlas and 
 leaning forward as he spoke, " I mean this : Miss 
 Armatt is a young woman in whom I have taken an 
 extraordinary interest." 
 
 "It is scarcely necessary to mention that," re- 
 marked Mrs. Justin. 
 
 " You should not be surprised," said he, " at my 
 interest in her, for you have the same feeling your- 
 self. You know she is a girl with an exceptional 
 future open to her, and you would do anything in 
 your power to help her. I am of the same mind. I 
 believe that I comprehend very clearly her present 
 condition of intellectual development ; and I see, too, 
 in what directions her inclinations will lead her in 
 regard to her future work. I think her views are not 
 exactly sound , She needs something more than her 
 7 
 
74= THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 college and her text-books can give her ; and I very 
 much hope that I shall be able to bring her to look 
 upon literature, philosophy, and science with the eye 
 of an untrammeled thinker. This she ought to do 
 before she takes another step forward. And I hon- 
 estly admit to you, Mrs. Justin, that I am very glad 
 to have the opportunity, uninterrupted by Mr. Cris- 
 man's weekly visit, to do what I can to assist in the 
 cutting and polishing of this jewel in your crown. 7 ' 
 
 " You know, Mr. Stratford/' said Mrs. Justin, "that 
 I expected you to take an interest in Gay, and that I 
 should have been very much disappointed if you had 
 not done so; but I did not expect that she would 
 take such a deep and absorbing interest in you." 
 
 "I cannot say/ 7 answered Stratford after a mo- 
 ment's pause, " that I am sorry to hear that ; because 
 if she is interested in me she will be the more likely 
 to give an earnest attention to what I say." 
 
 "Horace Stratford/' said Mrs. Justin, "did any- 
 body ever turn you the least bit to the right or the 
 left?" 
 
 "Yes," he answered. " Here is this young creature, 
 with the mind of a philosopher and the heart of a 
 girl, who has turned me entirely aside from what I 
 thought I was going to do when I came down here." 
 
 "It is just that girl-heart which troubles me," 
 thought Mrs. Justin. But she did not deem it proper 
 to speak her thought. Gay Armatt was engaged to be 
 married, and what had she or Mr. Stratford to do with 
 her girl-heart ? So she continued not this conversa- 
 tion ; but, after gazing a moment at the vines upon 
 the lattice- work beside her, she looked over the lawn. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 75 
 
 " What has Mr. Thorne been doing with himself this 
 morning?" she asked. " He is now sitting alone, 
 down there on the bench by the bank. I think he 
 has been outrageously neglected." 
 
 " I can't agree with you/ 7 said Stratford, " for im- 
 mediately after breakfast he started out on some sort 
 of pedestrian expedition, without saying anything to 
 me about it. I knew nothing of his intention until I 
 saw him marching away over the hills. He is an odd 
 fellow, and I suppose he thought it was his duty, on 
 a fine morning like this, to walk." 
 
 "Mr. Thorne is very conscientious, is he not?" 
 asked Mrs. Justin. 
 
 " He is entirely too conscientious." 
 
 "How can any one be too conscientious?" asked 
 the lady with some warmth. 
 
 " It is quite possible," answered Stratford. " Arthur 
 Thorne has an abnormal conscience. He has culti- 
 vated it so carefully that I believe it has grown to 
 be a thing which overshadows his life. Now, I prefer 
 for myself a conscience which is pruned down to 
 healthy and vigorous growth." 
 
 " And who does the pruning ? " asked Mrs. Justin. 
 
 " I do," answered Stratford with a smile. And 
 then he went down to join Mr. Thorne upon the 
 lawn. 
 
 " Why did you start off this morning without say- 
 ing anything to me about it?" asked Stratford, as he 
 took a seat by his friend. 
 
 Mr. Thorne smiled. " I thought," he said, " that if 
 I asked you, politeness might impel you to go with 
 me ; and as I saw Miss Armatt alone with her books 
 
76 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 on the piazza, I knew where your chosen place would 
 be. Would it be stepping outside of the privileges of 
 friendship if I were to offer you my congratulations, 
 together with my most unqualified commendation ? " 
 
 "My dear Thorne," exclaimed Stratford, "your 
 reason has taken grasshopper legs unto itself, and 
 has jumped most wildly ! Let us speak plainly. Do 
 you suppose I am making love to Miss Armatt ? " 
 
 11 1 supposed," said Thorne, " from the general tone 
 of your intercourse with the young lady, that the pre- 
 liminary stage of love-making had been passed, and 
 that you were engaged." 
 
 " You amaze me ! " cried Stratford. " There is 
 nothing whatever of that sort between me and Miss 
 Armatt ! I never saw her until I came up here, about 
 two weeks ago. I am exceedingly interested in her 
 studies and in her prospects, and that is the basis of 
 our intimacy." 
 
 "I shall not ask your pardon," said Mr. Thorne, 
 " for the mistake was a compliment to your taste and 
 good sense. I used to think that Mrs. Justin, with- 
 out question, was the most charming woman of my 
 acquaintance j but since I have seen Miss Armatt, I 
 have revolved the matter somewhat in my mind. In 
 fact, that was what I was doing just now when you 
 came." 
 
 " A most profitless revolution," remarked Stratford. 
 
 As the two men walked together towards the house, 
 it occurred to Stratford that he had not mentioned to 
 his friend that Miss Armatt was indeed engaged to 
 be married, though not to himself. But the subject 
 of Mr. Crisman was not agreeable to him, and he did 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 77 
 
 not care to discuss it; therefore he said nothing 
 about it. 
 
 That afternoon Arthur Thorne took Miss Armatt 
 to drive in his friend Stratford's buggy. Arthur had 
 taken lessons in driving from a professional, and he 
 was the only man with whom Stratford would trust 
 his horse. Mrs. Justin did not say to herself that 
 Mr. Thorne was the only man with whom she would 
 trust Gay, but she was very willing to have him go 
 with her, his abnormal conscience not appearing as a 
 fault in her eyes. It was not, perhaps, entirely suit- 
 able that Gay should go driving with any young man 
 other than her engaged lover; but, as Mr. Crisman 
 chose to stay away, Mrs. Justin did not feel inclined 
 to shut up her young friend on that account. 
 
 As for Gay herself, she went very willingly with 
 Mr. Thorne, but she could not help feeling a little 
 disappointed that it had not been Mr. Stratford who 
 had asked her. Several times during the drive, 
 which was a long and interesting one, she was em- 
 ployed in making mental comparisons between Mr. 
 Stratford and Mr. Thorne, at moments when the 
 latter thought she was absorbed in contemplation of 
 the landscape. And yet she liked Mr. Thorne very 
 much, and would probably like him better when she 
 knew him better. There was here none of that fire- 
 and-wax sympathy which had shown itself in the 
 early stages of her acquaintance with Mr. Stratford. 
 Mr. Thorne spoke but little on those subjects in 
 which her mind was most deeply interested, and what 
 he did say was not at all what Mr. Stratford would 
 have said. But she felt, when she returned from her 
 
78 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 drive, that she had spent the afternoon with one who 
 was truly a gentleman. Mr. Thorne had done noth- 
 ing which was peculiarly adapted to produce this im- 
 pression, but the impression had been produced ; and 
 Gay Armatt could not help thinking that it was a 
 very pleasant thing to be in the company of persons 
 who were truly gentlemen. 
 
 But, in her thoughts, Gay instituted no compari- 
 sons between Mr. Crisman and other men. Other 
 men were other men, and had their faults and their 
 merits. But Mr. Crisman was in a different sphere 
 altogether ; he was her lover, and she was to marry 
 him; and with him criticism and comparison had 
 nothing to do. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 ENOCH BULLRIPPLE lay in 
 his bed, in his room at his lodging- 
 house, and gazed steadily at a large 
 lithographic picture of the death- 
 bed of Jonathan Edwards which 
 hung on the wall opposite to him. 
 This work of art was moderately lighted by a cluster 
 of electric lamps, which, half a mile from his window, 
 was suspended two hundred feet in the air for the all- 
 night lighting of the city park and its surrounding 
 bedrooms. He thought nothing of the expiring theo- 
 logian, but he was thinking very earnestly and act- 
 ively of the conversation he had just had with his 
 sister in regard to the expediency of bringing about 
 a holiday for his nephew, John. Enoch would have 
 been very glad to do this solely for the sake of the 
 young man, who truly needed rest and recreation; 
 but he was much more willing to do it for his own 
 sake. He greatly desired to have the opportunity to 
 institute an inquisition into the constitution of the 
 Vatoldi establishment, and this he believed could be 
 done only in John's absence. In devising and discard- 
 ing this plan and that for getting rid of John for a 
 few days, Mr. Bullripple fell asleep. 
 
 79 
 
80 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 In another room of the lodging-house lay Mrs. Peo- 
 ple, gazing at a steel engraving of a hunter returning 
 from the chase, surrounded by piles of dead game, 
 the transportation of which could only be accounted 
 for by supposing that he coaxed the various creatures 
 to his doorstep and there dispatched them. But Mrs. 
 People thought not of the hunter or his victims ; her 
 mind was fixed upon the necessity of getting John 
 off for a holiday before old Vatoldi came in from the 
 country, or wherever it was that he was staying. In 
 devising and discarding plans for this purpose she 
 fell asleep. 
 
 Very early the next day this worthy brother and sis- 
 ter, each utterly planless, and somewhat dejected on 
 that account, made their way to Vatoldi's, where, of 
 course, they took their meals. Enoch was much the 
 faster walker, and, partly because she was tired keep- 
 ing up with him, and partly because she wanted an 
 apple, a fruit that was not to be had at Vatoldi's at 
 that season, she stopped at the stand of Dennis Roon, 
 where she had bought apples before, and had thus 
 formed a slight acquaintance with the proprietor. 
 
 Mr. Boon was an apple-stand keeper of prominence ; 
 in fact, his stand, which was at the corner of two 
 busy streets, not far from Vatoldi's, was, from a cer- 
 tain point of view, the most important place of busi- 
 ness in the neighborhood. This point of view was 
 Dennis Boon's point of view. Nothing could be so 
 important in the eyes of himself and his family as 
 that the stand should be opened at the proper time in 
 the morning; that certain apples should be rubbed 
 and placed in one compartment; that certain other 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 81 
 
 apples should be rubbed and placed in another com- 
 partment; that this bunch of bananas should be 
 turned this way, and that bunch should be turned the 
 other way ; and that just so many oranges should be 
 kept in a corner box where they would attract the 
 attention of people coming from different directions. 
 These matters, with many others, such as the prob- 
 able relation of the weather to the day's trade, or the 
 varied arrangements of the little awning, so that 
 keeping off the sunshine should not interfere too 
 much with the attraction of purchasers, were dis- 
 cussed with as much earnestness and warmth by 
 Dennis, his wife and son and oldest daughter, as if 
 they had been questions of Home Rule or Pan- 
 Electricity. 
 
 Dennis was a strong-built, black-bearded man, 
 loaded and crammed, from the crown of his head to 
 the heel of his foot, with active vitality. He was 
 never still so long as there was anything to do, and 
 never silent so long as there was anybody to speak to. 
 In connection with his stand he carried on the busi- 
 ness of boot-blacking, and two arm-chairs, one on 
 each street, were always ready for customers. The 
 son and heir, with shirt-sleeves of the same blue flan- 
 nel spotted with white of which his father's sleeves 
 were made, was the boot-black; but when occasion 
 required, Dennis would dash from boots to apples and 
 from apples to boots with astonishing readiness and 
 celerity. In the earliest hours of street pedestrianism 
 his stand was open, and his wares remained on view 
 and sale until after midnight. Even on Sundays the 
 business went on, and the halo of importance hung over 
 
82 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 the stand. If on a fine Sunday one of Dennis's custom- 
 ers, dressed in his best clothes and smoking the cigar 
 in which he always indulged of a Sunday morning, 
 came from his house with an air of leisurely inde- 
 pendence to buy his Sunday paper and have his 
 boots blacked, and chanced to bring his little girl 
 along with him, it was ten, or even eleven, to one 
 that Dennis gave that little girl an apple, selecting the 
 fruit from a box in the lower part of the stand. This 
 apple would be specked, and not one which the cus- 
 tomer would have bought had he been buying apples ; 
 but, as it was a present to his child, he walked away 
 with that feeling of elevated satisfaction which is 
 caused by the reception of presents which we feel are 
 tributes to the value of our patronage. 
 
 Mrs. People selected a well-preserved red apple 
 from the stand, and then she said : 
 
 " It seems to me it is very late for apples. In our 
 part of the country they were gone long ago. Where 
 do these come from ? " 
 
 " From the market down town," answered Dennis ; 
 "but where the trees grow I niver heard. But ye 
 can always thrust to there bein* apples all the year 
 round. The old ones always waits till the new ones 
 cooms." 
 
 " That's very different from what it is up our way," 
 said Mrs. People, " but it's a lucky thing that city 
 folks have something to console themselves with. I've 
 barely been here two days yet, and Fm hankerin' for 
 home." 
 
 "You're havin' a hard time there at Vatoldi's, 
 mum/' said Dennis, who knew all about the boycott, 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 83 
 
 and had taken a great interest in its progress ; " and 
 if ye'd coom to town when things was smoother ye 7 d 
 a liked it better. And ain't there no signs of them 
 blockheads coomin 7 back to work and givin 7 up their 
 coat-tails ? If I was Misther People that kapes the 
 place, I'd break the head of ivery one of 'em that 
 said ( tail 7 to me." 
 
 "Mr. People is my son, sir, and he don't keep the 
 place himself, which I wish he did, because then Pd 
 make him give it up, and come home, and go to 
 farmin', like his father before him. But here he is, 
 wearin 7 himself out, and killin 7 himself, for somebody 
 else. For, as I said to him yesterday, i it's no differ- 
 ence to you, John, whether they wear jackets or coat- 
 tails ; and if I was you, Pd just go home and rest for 
 a spell while there is so little doin', and let old 
 Vatoldi come down and settle the business with the 
 waiters himself. 7 77 
 
 " I thought that man was dead, mum, 77 said Dennis. 
 
 " He isn 7 t dead a bit," answered Mrs. People. " He's 
 livin 7 up the North Eiver somewhere, either at Yon- 
 kers or Newburgh ; at least, that's what I take it to 
 be from what John tells me, though he never named 
 either of them towns. And then, as I was sayin 7 , if 
 John could be got off into the country, and he 7 s 
 not had a decent rest for nigh on to two years, the 
 old man would have to come down ; and then me and 
 my brother that 7 s Mr. Bullripple could go home 
 too. 77 
 
 Dennis paused in the removal of the wrapping from 
 an orange he held in his hand, and turned towards 
 Mrs. People. " It's my opinion, mum, 77 he said, " that 
 
84 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 you've pitched your hat right into the middle of that 
 boycott business, and if you go there to pick it up, 
 you'll see things just as they is. As like as not, them 
 waiters is more set agin your son, mum, than they 
 would be agin anybody else, because he's the one 
 that won't let 'em have their coat-tails. Now, if he 
 was to go away, and let the head boss coom and talk 
 to them, he might be able to sthraighten things out 
 quicker than Misther People could do it. Though 
 I must say, mum, that I'd feel like warmin' their 
 jackets for 'em afther they put 'em on." 
 
 " But we can't get him to go," said Mrs. People, 
 who had half eaten her apple. " He won't listen to 
 
 it;' 
 
 " If ye could make him see, mum," said Mr. Roon, 
 " that it wasn't on'y for the good of his hilth, but for 
 the good of the business, perhaps he'd go." 
 
 " It's no use," said Mrs. People, shaking her head. 
 "Me and his uncle has talked and talked to him, but 
 you might as well try to push down a lamp-post as 
 to move John." 
 
 " There is them, mum," said Dennis, " which if 
 they won't move for their own good, must be moved 
 by their frinds. And that brings to me moind the 
 case of me sister-in-law, Missis Follory. She was 
 very bad with the consumption, mum, most part of 
 her lungs bein' gone, and the rest just like wood for 
 hardness ; and the doctor said she ought to go to 
 Cuby, and breathe sugar." 
 
 " Breathe what ? " exclaimed Mrs. People. 
 
 " They go into the houses where they make sugar, 
 mum, and the air is all full of sugar and melasses, 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 85 
 
 and they breathe that, and it ayther makes their 
 lungs grow agin, or softens 'em, I niver knew which ; 
 but it's good for consumption. And that's what the 
 doctor said she must do. But niver an inch would 
 Missis Follory budge, though all her frinds and rela- 
 tions got afther her and towld her that she was just 
 murtherin' herself to sit there a-sewin' and con- 
 thractin' her chist whin she might as well be re- 
 coverin' her hilth, a-breathin' sugar and melasses, and, 
 perhaps, a little bit of Jamaiky rum, too, for I don't 
 see how they can keep that out of the air any more'n 
 the ither things; and Mike Follory, her husband, 
 who married her afther me brother died, towld her it 
 ud be just as chape to go down there and get well, 
 and be able to take in washin' like she used to, as to 
 stay here and be dyin' for nobody knows how long. 
 And Missis McGee, she offered to board him for two 
 dollars a week till his wife come home, all for the 
 love she bore Missis Follory. But niver an inch would 
 Missis Follory budge. Then her frinds and relations 
 they put their heads togither, and they says, ' She's 
 got to go ! ' And, all unbeknownst to her, Mike he 
 bought her a ticket in a ship that was sailin' for Cuby. 
 And then he says to her, 'If you won't go to the 
 West Injees to get back your lungs, perhaps you 
 won't moind takin' a sail on the bay with me and 
 Misther Roon,' which is me, mum. And she didn't 
 moind, and she wint. And when she got outside the 
 bar the ship joggled her a good deal, and Misther Fol- 
 lory and me we towld her she'd better go down-stairs 
 and lie down till the ship turned roond to coom back, 
 which she did. Then me and Misther Follory we got 
 8 
 
86 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 into the poilot-boat and coom home. And Missis Fol- 
 lory she got sicker an' sicker till she died on the 
 second day of the v'yage. But it was saysickness she 
 died of, mum, and not consumption. She'd got well 
 of that if she'd only once set foot in Cuby. And 
 Misther Follory he married Missis McGee. So you 
 see, mum, there's a way for makin' people do things 
 for their own good, as won't do 'em without bein' 
 made. And if I was you, mum, I'd go to my son, 
 mum, and I'd say, l John, Misther Roon, as keeps the 
 apple-stand, has just towld me that there's a stamer 
 down the East Eiver that's goin' to sail for some of 
 them down south places this afthernoon, which the 
 steward of brings bananas to Misther Roon every 
 thrip j and if I was you, I'd go down south in that 
 stamer and buy a lot of chape cabbages and pittaties, 
 and coom back and foind the waiters all workin' 
 paceable in their jackets, and sell the pittaties and 
 cabbages to the boss.' " 
 
 "That would be very nice," said Mrs. People, 
 throwing away the core of her apple, " but I wouldn't 
 want my son John to die in two days of seasickness. 
 And I don't believe he'd go, anyway. But I must 
 hurry on, Mr. Roon. I am much obliged to you for 
 your story, though it's a great pity that your sister- 
 in-law died, and everybody in the kitchen may be 
 boycotted by this time, for all I know." 
 
 " Ye need niver be afraid of your son dyin' with 
 saysickness," shouted Dennis after her, " for he's got 
 a moighty different koind of a set-up from what 
 Missis Follory had." 
 
 When Mrs. People reached Vatoldi's she did not 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 87 
 
 immediately see John, but she explained to Enoch 
 her delay by recounting to him, with all its details, 
 her conversation with Mr. Roon. 
 
 Somewhat to her surprise, Mr. Bullripple listened 
 to her with patience, and even interest, and when she 
 had finished said : " Now, don't say a word to John 
 about this till you and me has had time to talk the 
 matter over a little more. I've got to go now to 
 attend to some things outside." 
 
 Thereupon Mrs. People betook herself to the kitch- 
 en, and Mr. Bulripple went to see Dennis Roon, with 
 whom he had an earnest talk. 
 
 " Now, look here, sir/' said Mr. Roon, after listen- 
 ing attentively to some remarks from the old man, 
 " that sort of thing moight do very well wid Missis 
 Follory, wid most of her lungs gone, but it's alto- 
 gither another piece of business wid a sthout young 
 mon like Misther People. I can stand on me own 
 legs as well as the nixt mon, but I'm the f eyther uv a 
 fam'ly, and I don't want me head cracked, even if I 
 am the top mon in the ind." 
 
 " Don't you trouble yourself about that," said Mr. 
 Bullripple. " When my nephew comes back he'll 
 find himself better off than he ever was before in his 
 life, and instead of fighting anybody, he'll want to 
 shake hands all round and stand treat." 
 
 " It moight be for his good," said Dennis, " to take 
 a thrip loike that, and git acquainted wid the chape 
 cabbage and pittaty men." 
 
 " It'll be for his good in a lot of ways," said Enoch. 
 "You don't suppose his mother and me would be 
 wantin' to send him away if it wasn't for his good. 
 
88 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 Now, if you'll attend to this business for me, well 
 just give you the thanks of the whole family, and I'll 
 throw in five dollars besides. And, if you have to 
 spend anything, I'll pay it back to you." 
 
 "All roight, sir! all roight!" exclaimed Dennis, 
 vigorously changing the positions of a dozen large 
 apples which stood in a row. " I'm not the mon to 
 back down from sarvin' a whole f am'ly in disthress. 
 You sind him to me, sir, and Fll fix it all sthraight. 
 I don't ask fur me f oive dollars nather, but I won't 
 be mane enough to run agin the intherests of me 
 own children, and the clothes they could buy for the 
 money." 
 
 When Enoch Bullripple got back to Vatoldi's he 
 found his nephew John in a very bad humor. A prod- 
 uce dealer who had long served him with vegetables 
 had been influenced by the boy cotters to decline to 
 furnish Vatoldi's with any further supplies in his line 
 until the demands of the waiters had been complied 
 with. This action on the part of the dealer, to whom 
 Vatoldi's had been a most excellent customer, so en- 
 raged John that he vowed that under no circum- 
 stances would he ever again buy anything from that 
 man. It was, therefore, with a wrathful independ- 
 ence of spirit that he listened to his uncle's statement 
 that the man who kept the apple-stand two blocks 
 below would be glad to make him acquainted with 
 the steward of the steamer which was to sail that 
 afternoon, who would, no doubt, make a contract 
 with him to bring him from the South all the vege- 
 tables he wanted, and a great deal better ones, and 
 cheaper than he could get them here. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 89 
 
 When Mr. Bullripple had said this, he said no nfbre, 
 but went about his duties, and John went about his 
 own. But at noon John put on his hat, and leaving 
 the establishment, at which few luncheon-desiring 
 customers had yet arrived, to the care of his uncle, 
 he went out to see the apple-man. 
 
 Dennis Roon was very eloquent in regard to the 
 subject of obtaining early vegetables direct from the 
 South. John listened attentively, but did not say 
 much in reply. He was not as angry as he had been, 
 but he was still determined to free himself from the 
 power of the dealers in vegetables. If one could be 
 influenced by the boycotters, so might the others. 
 
 " I'll tell ye, Misther People," said Dennis Eoon, 
 "what I'll do fur ye. I'll go down to that stamer 
 wid ye, and inthroduce ye to the steward. He's a 
 foine eye for bananas, and all he knows about thim 
 he knows about termatties and swate pittaties. If he 
 can't fetch ye thim things himself, he'll make a con- 
 thract for ye with thim as can sind 'em. Now, whin 
 can ye go down to the pier wid me ? " 
 
 John replied that he could go between three and 
 four o'clock that afternoon, that being the time when 
 he had most leisure. Having made these arrange- 
 ments, he went back to Vatoldi's, perceiving as he 
 neared the door that the sidewalks had been freshly 
 sprinkled with the boycotters 7 circulars, which many 
 passers-by were picking up and reading. 
 
 When John went to the bank that afternoon, his 
 report to Mr. Stull, combined with that gentleman's 
 own observations during the day, might have been 
 expected to produce a depressing effect upon the 
 
90 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 mind of the proprietor of Vatoldi's. But the mind of 
 Mr. Stull was not to be thus depressed. As a thor- 
 oughly equipped restaurant-keeper, engaged in com- 
 bat with a host of recusant employees, his abilities 
 shone at their brightest. The business at Vatoldi's 
 was demoralized in every branch ; many of the regu- 
 lar customers kept away, not only on account of the 
 present inferior service, but for fear of disturbance j 
 and, although the tables at some hours were moder- 
 ately well filled, it was by people who were brought 
 there by curiosity, or by a desire to assist the op- 
 pressed. These were not the patrons Mr. Stull 
 wanted, for he knew that Vatoldi's could only be sup- 
 ported by customers who came there for their own 
 good. Most of the new waiters were unpracticed 
 and inefficient, and, worse than that, several had left 
 the night before, being frightened by the boycotters, 
 and there was danger that the whole force might de- 
 camp at any moment. But the soul of Mr. Stull rose 
 grandly above this storm. He assured John that he 
 would never give in to the demands of the rascals, 
 and that no coat-tail should ever profane his estab- 
 lishment. 
 
 " If I could come forward in my own proper per- 
 son," he said, raising his tall and large-boned figure to 
 its greatest height, " which, as you well know, my 
 present social and business position forbids, I would 
 show those waiters that they were running against a 
 wall of rock when they ran against me. But as I can- 
 not do this, I expect you to stand up in my place." 
 
 Thereupon Mr. Stull loaded his manager with in- 
 junctions and directions. He instructed him in the 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 91 
 
 methods by which Mr. Bullripple and Mrs. People 
 could be made even more useful than they now were. 
 He approved of efforts to obtain direct supplies of 
 Southern products. And he poured into John's mind 
 more points of restaurant management, joined with 
 defense against boycotters, than that receptacle could 
 well contain. 
 
 As John went away to keep his appointment with 
 the apple-man, he took off his hat and walked with it 
 in his hand ; his head required cooling. Dennis was 
 ready for him, and the two took a street-car for the 
 pier. John noticed that his companion carried in his 
 hand a cheap but new valise, well filled; but, not 
 being in the habit of asking questions about the busi- 
 ness of other people, he did not allude to it. 
 
 On reaching the steamer they found it a scene of 
 great activity ; and when they went on board, Dennis 
 left his companion and hurried forward. In a few 
 moments he returned, and said to John : " By Jarge, 
 sir, they're jist a-goin' to sthart ! But the steward he 
 tills me that if we'd loike to take a little thrip doon 
 the bay, and coom back with the poilot, he'll have 
 toime to talk wid ye about the vigitables, which he 
 says he can git ye by the cart-load three times a week, 
 and as chape as the dirt they grow in." 
 
 "But won't we be charged for such a trip ?" asked 
 John. 
 
 " And do ye s'pose ye'd be expected to pay for a 
 small sail like that whin ye'r just takin' it to make a 
 conthract wid one of the ship's officers ? Bedad, sir, 
 there'll be none of that ! " 
 
 In the present condition of his brow and his body, 
 
92 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 John was very willing to refresh himself with a trip 
 down the bay; and, although he did not think he 
 could very well spare the time, his inclinations, com- 
 bined with what he believed to be a duty, induced 
 him to agree to the apple-man's proposal. 
 
 There were very few passengers going South at 
 that time of year, and John had the after-deck all 
 to himself. "When the steamer started, Mr. Boon's 
 expressions of delight at the pleasures of the excur- 
 sion were vehement and frequent. 
 
 " Even if ye niver buy so much as a pittaty skin, 
 this thrip will be worth the little throuble ye took to 
 git it by manes of its fillin' yer lungs wid say-air, 
 and settin' you up sthrong agin for your work." 
 
 Every ten or fifteen minutes this worthy Irishman 
 went forward to see if the time had come for John's 
 business to be attended to, but always returned say- 
 ing that the steward was very busy, but that he 
 would see Mr. People in plenty of time. 
 
 " How far do they go out before the pilot leaves 
 them f " asked John, who knew very little of marine 
 affairs. 
 
 " Oh, a long ways/' answered Dennis, " for they've 
 got to git clane clare of all the sand-bars afore they let 
 go uv him. And ye needn't be afraid that me, the 
 feyther of a fam'ly that's expectin' me to coom home 
 to supper, and thin be off to the stand to let Pat 
 coom and git his, is goin' to be lift. Pve tried this 
 thing afore, Misther People, and Pm not the mon to 
 git lift by the poilot." 
 
 The water was beginning to be pretty rough, and 
 the sea-breeze very fresh, when Dennis came to John 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 93 
 
 and informed him that the steward was ready now to 
 see him, and would he come down-stairs ? 
 
 John had so much enjoyed the unaccustomed pleas- 
 ure of this water excursion that he had almost for- 
 gotten that there were such things as cabbages and 
 potatoes ; and when he followed Dennis below he did 
 not notice that the engine had stopped, and that the 
 speed of the steamer was slacking. 
 
 " Jist set down there," said Dennis, " and I'll fetch 
 him in a minute. 77 
 
 And then the apple-man hurried on deck, descended 
 into the pilot-boat, and returned to New York. 
 
 The report of Mr. Boon was eagerly listened to by 
 Enoch Bullripple. "And you gave my letter, with 
 the ticket in it, to somebody to hand to him, and you 
 put his valise in the room that I engaged for him ? " 
 
 " Yis," said Dennis, " I did all of thim things, and 
 I put two apples on his bid to remoind him of home. 
 He'll be a happy mon, Misther Bullripple, to-morrow 
 and the nixt day, a-v'yagin* over the paceful say; and 
 coom back sthrong and hearty, and ready to let you 
 and his lady mither go back to yer home in the rural 
 disthricts. And I give the poilot a dollar, and me 
 car-fare was tin cints." 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 HE Saturday and Sunday on which 
 Mr. Crisman chose to join a yacht- 
 ing excursion, instead of making the 
 visit to Cherry Bridge which had 
 been expected of him, were two of 
 the most charming days of June; 
 and, although Mrs. Justin remarked several times 
 that it was a great pity Mr. Crisman could not be 
 with them in this lovely weather, she was obliged to 
 admit that such weather must also be very delightful 
 on the water. Miss Gay made no remarks concern- 
 ing Mr. Crisman's absence, but she seemed to be 
 doing a great deal of thinking, either on this subject 
 or some other. As for Mr. Stratford, it could not 
 have made much difference to him whether or not 
 Mr. Crisman was there on the Saturday, for he spent 
 the greater part of that day in writing letters. 
 
 Shortly after breakfast Miss Gay went into the 
 parlor with some books, and after remaining there 
 for a quarter of an hour or more she went out on the 
 piazza, where she ensconced herself comfortably in a 
 large arm-chair to read. She did not stay there very 
 long, however, but returned to the parlor, which, after 
 all, was perhaps a more secluded place at this hour, 
 and better adapted to purposes of study. The house- 
 
 94 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 95 
 
 hold affairs to which. Mrs. Justin attended, and the 
 long conversation she afterwards had with her farmer, 
 could have been attended to and carried on as well 
 upon a rainy day as during this beautiful morning : 
 and it may therefore be said that Mr. Thorne was the 
 only one of the little party who thoroughly enjoyed 
 the atmosphere of sunshine, tempered by the morn- 
 ing breezes, which threw its yellow light into the 
 dark-green tones of the dew-besprinkled grass, and 
 upon the fresh new foliage of the trees, and who 
 breathed with full appreciation the blossom-scented 
 air. 
 
 He breathed this air on the lawn, where the dewy 
 grass dampened his boots j and then he breathed it 
 on the piazza, where for twenty minutes or more he 
 walked steadily up and down. Then he looked into 
 the library, where Stratford was writing, and after 
 that he went into the parlor, and seeing Miss Gay 
 there, he said that he hoped he was not interrupting 
 her studies. Miss Gay laid the book in her lap and 
 said she was not studying, but reading. Mr. Thorne 
 took up one of Miss Gay's books which lay on the 
 table and asked if its subject was a new study, or 
 whether she had been engaged upon it while in col- 
 lege. The answer to this question led to a number 
 of inquiries from Mr. Thorne in regard to the young 
 lady's past studies and future intentions in that line. 
 This was a subject in which he took a deep and intel- 
 ligent interest, and it was impossible that Gay should 
 not also take an interest in the conversation which 
 followed; but, although she talked with willingness, 
 and even with some earnestness, her mind frequently 
 
96 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 wandered from the subject in hand. She felt that 
 this was what might be considered a temporary con- 
 versation, carried on while expecting something else. 
 But she listened and talked as well and as pleasantly 
 as she could until Mrs. Justin came into the room, 
 when indeed a faint shadow of disappointment passed 
 over her face as she looked up and saw that it was 
 Mrs. Justin. 
 
 The rector of the parish, with Miss Patty, his seven- 
 teen-year-old daughter, came to dinner. But shortly 
 after that meal he drove away to make another paro- 
 chial visit, leaving Miss Patty, at Mrs. Justin's solicita- 
 tion, to be picked up on his return. A four-handed 
 game of croquet was now possible, notwithstand- 
 ing Mr. Stratford had driven over to the Bullripple 
 farm. As Miss Patty was a mere beginner at the 
 game, which had scarcely been played at all during 
 her school-days, it was necessary that Mrs. Justin, 
 being the best player of the party, should take her as 
 a partner. 
 
 Miss Armatt had no reason whatever to object to 
 Mr. Thome as a partner, but she did not seem to care 
 very much for croquet that afternoon. Mr. Thome 
 assisted her in every possible legitimate way, but he 
 did not direct her course and manage her play as Mr. 
 Stratford had done. Gay, indeed, did not appear to 
 desire this, and developed a certain degree of inde- 
 pendence which had not been at all observable when 
 she played before. She went through her wickets as 
 rapidly as possible, and ended in becoming a rover 
 before her partner had reached the turning-stake. 
 This was a very different style of play from that upon 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 97 
 
 which Mr. Stratford had so pleasantly and wisely in- 
 sisted, and the result was that Mrs. Justin and Patty, 
 by keeping their balls together, won the game, al- 
 though their progress to victory, owing to the uncer- 
 tain play of the younger lady, was very slow and 
 dubious. 
 
 Mr. Thorne accompanied the ladies to church the 
 next morning ; and in the afternoon the four friends 
 set out for a long stroll over the fields and hills. 
 With the natural bias of the younger man towards 
 the younger lady of a party, Arthur Thorne walked 
 with Miss Gay, following the other couple quite 
 closely, however, as Mrs. Justin seemed desirous of a 
 general chat as they strolled along. Gay was not in 
 very animated spirits, arid, in fact, seemed a little 
 bored by the walk j and this, being soon noticed by 
 Mrs. Justin, was not altogether displeasing to that 
 lady. She had not forgiven Mr. Crisman for prefer- 
 ring a yachting expedition to the society of his lady- 
 love, but she believed it due to propriety that, in 
 some degree, Gay should feel his absence. 
 
 When they began the ascent of a long grass-covered 
 hill, which in some parts of our country would be 
 termed a little mountain, the party scattered some- 
 what, and Gay, who was very light of foot, soon 
 found herself in the lead. Stratford, however, who 
 was also a good uphill walker, overtook her before 
 very long, and the two continued their way together. 
 About this time, probably owing to the altitude of 
 the hill and the slightly increased rarefaction of the 
 air, Gay's spirits began to rise, and she talked in 
 quite an animated way about the distant scenery 
 9 
 
98 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 which now showed itself. She still pressed vigor- 
 ously onward and upward, Stratford keeping pace 
 with her ; and the two, without knowing that they 
 were leaving their companions out of sight, passed 
 over the brow of the hill and down a slight declivity 
 on the other side, towards an extensive grove of 
 sugar-maples, which was one of the objects of their 
 walk. They reached the grove and passed some dis- 
 tance into its shade, and then they rested and waited 
 for their companions. These not making their ap- 
 pearance, Stratford and Miss Gay walked slowly 
 along one of the winding wood-roads which led them 
 through the grove, and out upon an eminence, sur- 
 mounted by a rail fence which formed part of the 
 boundary between Mrs. Justin's estate and that of her 
 neighbor. 
 
 This eminence, Stratford assured his companion, 
 was one of the best spots in that part of the country 
 from which to view the approaching sunset, and here 
 he proposed they should wait for Mrs. Justin and 
 Mr. Thome. One of the top rails of the fence was 
 very broad and firm, and as Gay was rather tired 
 from her climb and walk, Stratford assisted her to 
 take a seat upon it; and the rail being strong enough 
 to support them both, he sat upon it also. 
 
 The sun, with its accustomed regularity of move- 
 ment, slowly went down, but Mrs. Justin and Thorne 
 did not come up. Gay wondered at their delay, but 
 she soon forgot them in gazing upon the glories of 
 yellow, red, and gold which began to spread over the 
 western sky reaching upward from the tender green 
 which lay along the horizon to the pink flush which, 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 99 
 
 half way towards the zenith, met the deep overhang- 
 ing blue. 
 
 No such scene as this was ever visible from the 
 lower country by Cherry Bridge, and Gay sat and 
 looked upon it as if it had been a revelation. Beau- 
 tiful cloud-forms glowed in this rich color and in that, 
 and faded away, through lilac and pink, to rose-tinted 
 gray, and out of the vast ether came other outlines 
 of clouds, to be delicately tinted and to fade away. 
 
 The evening star began to twinkle through the dull 
 golden mists, when Stratford stepped down from the 
 fence, and, saying that he did not believe that the 
 others were coming at all, proposed to Miss Gay that 
 they should re turn to the house. 
 
 With one lingering look above and around her, 
 Gay gave her hand to her companion and sprang 
 from the fence. They walked rapidly down towards 
 the maple grove, and when they reached it they found 
 that although the sky was still glowing with light, 
 the shades of the grove were shades indeed. It was 
 so dark that Gay was very much surprised, and she 
 declared that if she had been alone it would have 
 been utterly impossible for her to find her way along 
 that indistinguishable wood-road. But she was not 
 alone, and Mr. Stratford knew the road well, having 
 walked it by day and by night. It was necessary 
 that she should take his arm to avoid tripping over 
 unseen obstacles, and they walked slowly. Gay was 
 not the least afraid, and her eyes becoming accus- 
 tomed to the gloom of the grove, she was almost as 
 much entranced by its weird and somber beauties as 
 she had been by the glories of the sunset. 
 
100 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 Even when they came out of the woods and walked 
 under the open sky, they could not hasten, for the 
 shades of night were now upon them, and a misstep 
 on the hill-side might prove unpleasant. Slowly they 
 strolled homeward under the points of starlight that 
 began to twinkle above them, and Stratford for the 
 most part talked, and G-ay for the most part listened ; 
 and whatever feelings of impatience, or disappoint- 
 ment, or boredom she may have had during that day, 
 or the one preceding, now disappeared altogether. 
 
 It was quite dark when they walked over the lawn 
 towards the house, but Gay felt no compunctions of 
 conscience at having staid out so late. She had been 
 with Mr. Stratford, and that fact, to her mind, gave 
 to the proceeding all the sanction that it needed. 
 
 Mrs. Justin and Arthur Thorne had taken a path 
 through the maple grove which led them to a point 
 from which the rail fence where Stratford and Miss 
 Gay had seated themselves was not visible. Seeing 
 nothing of their companions, they had returned the 
 way they came, and reached the house about the time 
 that the sunset began to fade. 
 
 When Miss Gay and Stratford arrived, Mrs. Justin 
 made no remarks concerning the lateness of the hour, 
 for she did not consider that she had a right to scold 
 grown-up people, one of whom was engaged to be 
 married. But she remembered that when Mr. Cris- 
 man and Gay had walked together, they had not kept 
 supper waiting. 
 
 The next day Mr. Thorne returned to the city, and 
 exchanged the hues of forest and field for the lugu- 
 brious colors of his apartments. But into the midst of 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAX. 101 
 
 those dull greens and yellows, those clay-reds and weak 
 blues, he brought the delicate flush on a young girl's 
 cheek, the deep blue of her large eyes, the pink of 
 her lips, and the sunny brownness of her hair. As he 
 meditatively leaned back against the long thin rods 
 which formed the back of his antique chair, these 
 colors were very forcibly brought out by the somber 
 propriety of his surroundings. 
 
 After breakfast on that morning Miss Gay did not 
 wander from parlor to piazza to find a suitable 
 place in which to pursue her studies. She carried the 
 ancient atlas and the books directly to the place 
 where she had last looked over them with Mr. Strat- 
 ford, and in ten minutes he came there and joined 
 her. The atlas and the books were opened, and again 
 they followed the meandering streams of the springs 
 of literature. It was not very long before Mrs. Jus- 
 tin made one of the party, and she interested herself 
 to a considerable degree in their investigations ; but 
 household affairs interfered with the permanence of 
 her stay, and Gay was able to appreciate the immense 
 advantages of study and companionship with a kindly 
 sympathetic though dominant mind over the lonely 
 journeys which she had often made into the region of 
 intellectual investigation. 
 
 During the next five days, Mrs. People was still 
 absent from the Bullripple farm, and Mr. Stratford 
 remained at the mansion of Mrs. Justin. On any of 
 these days, when Mrs. Justin had the company of 
 either Stratford or Gay, she generally had that of 
 both of them. Sometimes she did not find them at 
 all, for they seemed to be subject to sudden determi- 
 
102 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 nations to row or stroll. They did not treat her dis- 
 courteously on these occasions, for they invariably 
 asked her to accompany them if she were anywhere 
 about; but it was astonishing to herself how seldom 
 she happened to be about at the right moment for an 
 invitation. 
 
 At last Mrs. Justin could endure this state of things 
 no longer, and determined to speak. It was not 
 necessary to ask anything of Gay, for the estimation 
 in which that young lady held Mr. Stratford not 
 only grew and brightened, as the day grows and 
 brightens after the rising of the sun, but was quite 
 as clear and apparent to Mrs. Justin as any light of 
 day could be. Against the brightness of this esteem 
 there never rose a cloud of obscuring vapor from the 
 Crismanic fires which Mrs. Justin firmly believed still 
 glowed deep down in the soul of Gay Armatt. This 
 absence of even transient obscuration troubled much 
 the mind of Mrs. Justin, for even the fires of the 
 strongest volcano must go out if the vents are per- 
 manently stopped. 
 
 As it was not needed to question Gay, who spoke 
 so often and so freely of Mr. Stratford, it would be 
 also a very delicate and difficult matter to advise her ; 
 and it was for these reasons that Mrs. Justin decided 
 to speak to Stratford. She would have a plain talk 
 with him, and tell him all her mind. With this object 
 she invited him to drive her to the village in his 
 buggy. For an earnest tete-a-tete there are few 
 places better than a buggy. Interruption is scarcely 
 probable unless a wheel comes off. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 103 
 
 When they were well on the road, Mrs. Justin 
 plunged into the subject. "Do you appreciate," she 
 said, "the influence which your constant companion- 
 ship is having upon Gay Armatt ? " 
 
 " What is the influence?" asked Stratford. 
 
 " It is the influence of a man who completely absorbs 
 the attention and interest of a young woman. I be- 
 lieve that when Gay is not reading, or walking, or 
 talking with you, she mentally places you before her 
 so that she can follow you in her thoughts. I know 
 that she does that when she is with me, for she is 
 satisfied to talk of nothing but you. I believe at this 
 moment she thinks more of you, and better of you, 
 than of any man in the world." 
 
 u And of this you do not approve," he said, "there 
 being no just foundation for such an opinion ? " 
 
 11 On the contrary," said Mrs. Justin vehemently, 
 " there is so much foundation that I have sometimes 
 almost wished that you could be suddenly turned into 
 the most ordinary of men. It is the fact that you 
 do possess those qualities which must attract the 
 admiration and regard of a girl like Gay that gives 
 you your influence over her." 
 
 " And why should not that influence be exerted f " 
 asked Stratford. 
 
 "You know very well," was the quick answer. 
 "If this influence does not cease, it will end in 
 the complete alienation of Mr. Crisman and Gay 
 Armatt." 
 
 "And that," said Stratford, "is exactly what I 
 want to bring about." 
 
104 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 Mrs. Justin started, and turning suddenly towards 
 her companion, she looked at him with wide-open 
 eyes, but said not a word. 
 
 " You have spoken plainly to me, Mrs. Justin,' 7 
 continued Stratford, u and I am going to speak quite 
 as plainly to you. I consider Gay Armatt a phenom- 
 enally fine girl. From what you had told me, I ex- 
 pected to find her a most interesting student, but I 
 did not expect to find her an independent thinker, 
 with a sensitive susceptibility to inspirations such as 
 I have not known before, and a mind as fine and 
 noble as the objects it fixes itself upon. I had 
 scarcely known this girl before I found out that she 
 was engaged to be married to a man who was utterly 
 unworthy of her and unfit for her, and whose union 
 with her would put an end to all her purposes and 
 aspirations, and finish by degrading her, as nearly as 
 such a thing is possible, to his level." 
 
 " I do not believe it ! v exclaimed Mrs. Justin. 
 " She would elevate him." 
 
 " Excuse me/' said Stratford, " but you are entirely 
 wrong. He is not capable of being elevated; and if 
 he were, he has no desire to be elevated. His mar- 
 riage with Gay Armatt would put an absolute end to 
 what we now look upon as her career. I know this, 
 and I do not see how you can help knowing it." 
 
 "I must admit," said Mrs. Justin, "that I have 
 feared this, and that I have spent hours in thinking 
 about it. But I have a better opinion of Mr. Cris- 
 man than you have ; I have more faith in Gay than 
 you have ; and I trust to her power over him. But 
 this should not be the question. Gay has promised 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 105 
 
 Mr. Crisman to marry him, and, to my mind, this is 
 just the same as if these two persons were already 
 married. To do anything which would induce her 
 to break this engagement is positively and absolutely 
 wicked." 
 
 " I cannot agree with you," said Stratford. " An 
 engagement is not the same as a marriage." 
 
 " Mr. Stratford," said Mrs. Justin, " it is of no use 
 for us to argue this question. All that we should con- 
 sider is that these two young people love each other 
 and desire to be man and wife ; and you have no 
 right to come between them." 
 
 "How did Miss Armatt happen to be engaged to 
 Crisman?" asked Stratford. "Was he not her first 
 lover ? " 
 
 " Yes," said Mrs. Justin j " the first and only one." 
 
 " I thought so," he said, " and that explains the 
 situation exactly. As I said before, she is a girl of 
 sensitive susceptibility; he is the first handsome 
 young fellow who made love to her, and she accepted 
 him. In some respects her character is unformed, 
 but she ought not to be made to suffer on that ac- 
 count." 
 
 "Your kindly disposition is as phenomenal as Gay's 
 mind," said Mrs. Justin. 
 
 Stratford made no answer to this, nor did he smile. 
 
 "Mrs. Justin," he said, "you have helped this 
 young girl to become what she is, and have put her 
 in a position from which she can go on, and take her 
 place among the eminent men and women of her day. 
 Now, I intend to save her from losing all you gave 
 her. You expert her to become one of the brightest 
 
106 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 jewels in your crown. I intend to prevent her from 
 dropping from that crown and being trampled in the 
 mud." 
 
 " Do you mean to say," said Mrs. Justin, "that you 
 deliberately propose to break off this engagement?" 
 
 " If it shall be possible," said Stratford, " I intend 
 to alienate Miss Armatt's affections from Crisman by 
 making her understand the value of the companion- 
 ship of better men than he is. I do not hesitate to 
 say that I consider myself a much better man than 
 he is." 
 
 "A noble undertaking!" exclaimed Mrs. Justin. 
 " And when you have made her cast him off, you will 
 kindly marry her yourself ! " 
 
 " I shall do nothing of the sort," said Stratford. 
 " I knew you would think that, and perhaps say it, 
 but you are mistaken. Positively, I shall not marry 
 her." 
 
 " And what will you do with her," asked Mrs. Jus- 
 tin, " when you have torn her affections from her 
 lover, and fixed them on yourself? Will you cast 
 her, heart-broken, out upon the world?" 
 
 " Your language is very strong, Mrs. Justin, and 
 you do injustice to my motives. Miss Armatt is not 
 one to be thrown out on the world, as you put it. 
 She is a young woman whom to win would be an 
 ambition worthy the best man of our day. Once 
 freed from this absolutely unsuitable engagement, 
 into which she entered because her young soul knew 
 so little about men, she will be free to marry a man 
 who is worthy of her, and there is no danger but that 
 man will appear." 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 107 
 
 " But," said Mrs. Justin, " it is not to be supposed 
 that he will appear instantly. It may be a year or 
 two before she meets the man you think she ought 
 to marry. Is she to be left unprotected from other 
 Crismans all this time ? Or do you intend to carry 
 her over the gap ? " 
 
 " I shall carry her over the gap/' said Stratford. 
 
 Mrs. Justin laughed outright, but not in merri- 
 ment. " What an utter piece of absurdity ! n she 
 exclaimed. " Why, Mr. Stratford/' she added with 
 much earnestness, " don't you know enough of men's 
 hearts and women's hearts to understand that if you 
 should win Gay from Crisman, and then desire to 
 give her up to another man, which I do not in the least 
 believe you would desire, that you could not do it? 
 Cannot you see, as plainly as you see the road before 
 you, that Gay's affections would by that time be so 
 firmly fixed upon you that she would not be given up? 
 Giving up would be impossible for either of you. 
 Now, don't you think you will be much more true to 
 yourself, should you determine to persevere in carry- 
 ing out this plan, which I call an iniquitous one, 
 frankly to admit that if you get Gay Armatt away 
 from Mr. Crisman, you will marry her yourself?" 
 
 "I intend to carry out my plan," said Stratford, 
 "and I shall not marry Miss Armatt." 
 
 "Stuff and nonsense ! " exclaimed Mrs. Justin; and 
 as they were now entering the village, the conversa- 
 tion ceased. 
 
 As they were driving homeward, Stratford said: 
 "You know very well, Mrs. Justin, that I have the 
 highest possible regard for what you think and say; 
 
108 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 but, in this case, even your opinion cannot turn me 
 from my determination to save this young girl, if I 
 can, and give her a chance to make her life what it 
 ought to be. But, now that I know that you disap- 
 prove of what I am doing, I do not think it is right 
 that I should remain at your house. But you must 
 not suppose that I am going away with any feeling 
 of resentment. I know you so well that nothing you 
 have said surprises me j and, indeed, looking npon 
 you as yourself, I am not sure that I should be sat- 
 isfied should you entertain any opinions on this mat- 
 ter other than those you have expressed to me." 
 
 " I might have expressed them more gently," said 
 she 5 "but, indeed, Mr. Stratford, this is a matter 
 which I feel very deeply. I suppose, of course, that, 
 remembering what you have said, I ought not to wish 
 yon to stay with us while G-ay is here, but it is to me 
 one of the saddest features of the whole aifair that 
 there should be any objection to your staying in my 
 house." 
 
 " I thank you most kindly for that," said Stratford. 
 
 "But you can't go to the farm-house," she said. 
 " Mrs. People has not returned, and there is no one to 
 take care of you." 
 
 " Oh, I shall do very well," said he. " Now that 
 Thorne has gone, I shall not mind being there with- 
 out Mrs. People. But I suppose she will return in a 
 few days ; and, in any case, I shall make a visit to the 
 city next week." 
 
 Nothing was said for some minutes, and then Mrs. 
 Justin exclaimed: "I do wish, Mr. Stratford, that 
 you could see this affair as I see it ! If you could, I 
 am sure you would instantly abandon your purpose." 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 109 
 
 " How different we are/' said Stratford. " I hope, 
 and what is more, I expect, that the day will come 
 when you will say, although you may not even then 
 believe, that my methods were proper, that their re- 
 sult has been most happy." 
 
 " You may think/ 7 said Mrs. Justin, " and you have 
 reason for it, that you are a man who is never turned 
 from his purpose. You may be very steadfast in your 
 present purpose of merely carrying Gay over that 
 gap, but you will be turned from it." 
 
 " By whom ?" asked Stratford. 
 
 " By Gay. You will marry her." 
 
 WHEN Mr. Stratford took leave of the ladies that 
 afternoon, Gay Armatt did not feel so sorry as she 
 would have felt if she had not known that Mr. Cris- 
 man was coming in the evening train. She was a 
 woman now, and all sorts of young and half -fledged 
 sentiments were fluttering into her soul, some flying 
 restlessly about and then out again, and some settling 
 first here and then there, as if very uncertain whether 
 they ought to stay or not. But one little sentiment 
 nestled down as if it felt itself at home, and it made 
 Gay feel that while Mr. Crisman was with her it was 
 just as well that Mr. Stratford should be away. 
 There was no reason connected with this sentiment. 
 It was nothing but a little partly feathered thing that 
 did not know itself where it had come from. It found 
 Gay's soul a very quiet and pleasant place in which 
 to nestle, for the young lady did not know that Mr. 
 Stratford was not coming to the house again while 
 she was there. 
 10 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 HEN Mr. Enoch Bullripple found 
 himself with the Vatoldi establish- 
 ment upon his hands j with John 
 People steaming southward down 
 the coast 5 and an unknown proprie- 
 tor far away in some hazy distance, 
 he rubbed those horny hands with 
 much satisfaction. He had never managed a restau- 
 rant, and under ordinary circumstances he would not 
 have considered himself competent to undertake such 
 responsibility; but this was a peculiar case, and 
 Enoch believed himself fully able to treat it in the 
 peculiar fashion which he had in view. He was a 
 shrewd, quick-witted man, and in the course of his 
 varied life had adapted himself to a great many out- 
 of-the-way circumstances. 
 
 He had but a single object in this scheme of get- 
 ting control of Vatoldi's, and that was to discover the 
 owner, the man behind the scenes. That this owner 
 was determined not to come forward into public 
 view was plain enough, for if anything would have 
 brought him forward, it would have been the recent 
 disturbance of his business. That for some reason 
 John was determined not to reveal the identity of 
 this person was equally plain. 
 
 no 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. Ill 
 
 That John himself was at the head of affairs was a 
 supposition well enough suited to the public mind, 
 but Mr. Bullripple's mind would not entertain it for 
 a moment. In the first place, he knew that his nephew 
 had not the capital nor the interest to control such a 
 business, and that he did not enjoy the income nor the 
 independence which it would have given him; and, 
 more than this, he did not believe that John had the 
 ability to plan and carry on the admirable organiza- 
 tion which had given Vatoldi's its reputation and its 
 success. That John had abilities of a high order, his 
 uncle did not doubt, but these, in Enoch's belief, were 
 the abilities to do well what he was told to do. If he 
 could find out the man who told his nephew what he 
 was to do, and who rewarded him so indifferently for 
 doing it, he did not doubt but he could make a very 
 considerable revolution in the state of affairs, and one 
 which would result to John's advantage. He had his 
 nephew's welfare very much at heart, and he did not 
 share his sister's opinion that the young man should 
 return to them and become a farmer. From his own 
 experience and observation he believed that there was 
 more money in restaurant-keeping than in farming. 
 
 "When Mrs. People heard that her son had gone off 
 on a sea trip, she was glad of it, of course, because 
 she believed he needed such a trip, but she was very 
 much disturbed that he had not taken leave of her. 
 Of the means employed to send John away Enoch 
 told her nothing. She was not a person who could 
 prevent the outside world from sharing in any infor- 
 mation which she possessed, and besides, she would 
 have been very much troubled, and, therefore, might 
 
112 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 have very much interfered with her brother's plans 
 had she known that John had gone off against his 
 will. 
 
 " You see, Hannah," said Mr. Bullripple, when he 
 communicated the fact of John's departure, " there 
 wasn't no time for good-byes. The steamer started 
 off sooner than he expected, and it was lucky I had 
 packed his valise for him and sent it down. But now 
 he's off all right, with the best kind of weather, and 
 he'll be back in about a week, well set up with good 
 sea air. And what's more, if he's got his wits about 
 him, he ought to do a little profitable tradin' down 
 there, if it's nothin' but early peaches." 
 
 " Does Mr. Vatoldi know he has gone?" asked Mrs. 
 People. 
 
 " No, he don't," said Enoch. " And if he wants to 
 know anythin' about it, let him come and ask me ; 
 that's all he's got to do And now, Hannah,' 7 con- 
 tinued Mr. Bullripple, "as long as you and me has 
 got charge here, there's goin' to be a change in this 
 restaurant. Things is goin' to be twisted around, and 
 made very different from what they was before." 
 
 " What's the good of twistin' 'em ? " asked Mrs. 
 People. "I'm sure John's ways was all very good 
 ways." 
 
 " That was all jus' so," replied her brother, " when 
 the business was on its legs. But now that it's flat 
 on its back we've got to put a pillow under its head, 
 and do a lot of things to make it comfortable. I don't 
 suppose there'll be more customers than you and me 
 can manage to do for, and if we jus' keep ourselves bold 
 and chipper, and let people see that we're afraid of no- 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 113 
 
 body, and that we're goin' to do what we please with- 
 out carin' what anybody thinks about it, it won't be 
 long before them old waiters will git tired howlin' for 
 their coat-tails, and they'll all be beggin' to be took 
 back. And when John comes home we can jus' hand 
 over the place to him, and let him run it along as he 
 used to." 
 
 "But I should think Mr. Vatoldi would have some- 
 thin' to say to all this," said Mrs. People. 
 
 " Very good," replied her brother ; " and all he's 
 got to do is to come and say it." 
 
 Vatoldi's was closed early that evening, and Mr. 
 Bullripple went to work to inaugurate the new sys- 
 tem by which the establishment was to be conducted. 
 By the end of the following day the place was in 
 pretty good running order. All the recently engaged 
 waiters, many of whom showed signs of faint-hearted- 
 ness and might be at any time frightened away by 
 the boycotters, were discharged, and their places 
 were supplied by a body of men whose training had 
 been received at what is known as the cheap Ameri- 
 can restaurant. 
 
 If there remained extant anything of the spirit 
 which used to animate the volunteer firemen of our 
 city, the " Jakeys " and the " Sykeses " who " ran with 
 the machine," and considered that banging each other 
 over the head with their brass horns was one of the 
 necessary accompaniments of a conflagration, it re- 
 mained in these men. With a bold, undaunted air 
 they strolled up and down the rows of tables with 
 the peculiar intrepidity of shuffle known only to 
 waiters of this class. In strong, untrammeled tones 
 
114 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 they rang out the orders of the customers, sounding 
 startling changes, brought about by continued repeti- 
 tion, upon the names of standard dishes and viands, 
 and tossing to each diner his pasteboard check with 
 an accuracy of aim which was sure to deposit it upon 
 some retentive article of food. 
 
 These men had never worn dress-coats, and the 
 army and navy would have to march over their dead 
 bodies before they could be made to wear them. If 
 a strike were on foot in which they sympathized, not 
 a fallen spoon would they pick up from the floor 
 until the matter in dispute had been settled ; but in 
 a strike like this at Vatoldi's they could see no sense, 
 and if a boycotter had attempted to tamper with one 
 of them, he might have imagined that the volunteer 
 fire department had been revived, and that he and 
 the waiter ran with rival companies. 
 
 The class of restaurant to which these men be- 
 longed was a very familiar one to Mr. Bullripple. 
 When he was in business in the city he took his 
 meals in such places, and many of their prominent 
 features were fixed in his memory. In its palmy 
 days, when everything was flowing smoothly at Va- 
 toldi's, Enoch would never have advised his nephew 
 to adopt any of these familiar features; but now 
 there had been a great change in the conditions of 
 the place, and the old man seemed to think it neces- 
 sary to act in harmony with this fact j and he there- 
 fore set about making everything as different as pos- 
 sible from what it used to be. Placards were hung 
 on the walls on which prominent articles of the 
 ordinary bill of fare were inscribed in large letters 
 of black and red. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 115 
 
 Mrs. People was very proud of her ability in the 
 manufacture of various kinds of pie, and as soon as 
 she found she could do what she pleased in the kitchen, 
 she went to work with radiant delight to make and 
 bake pies. Many of the largest placards were em- 
 blazoned with the legend, "Home-made pies/' fol- 
 lowed by an enumeration of varieties, and the price 
 per slice. A table near the door was covered with 
 cans, jars, and bottles, selected from the storeroom 
 on account of the brightness of their labels; and on 
 an adjoining table there were plenty of them to spare 
 just now were specimens of cheese, pastry, fruit 
 cakes, etc., all covered with gauze netting to keep off 
 the flies. In the two large show windows, which had 
 never before contained anything but some luxuriant 
 and handsome specimens of tropical plants in aesthet- 
 ically decorated jars, now appeared some of the afore- 
 mentioned placards, together with plates of uncooked 
 chops or steaks, a box of live crabs packed in sea- 
 weed, a few particularly resplendent tin cans, with 
 other objects of the sort adapted to catch the eye of 
 the passer-by. 
 
 When the boycotters discovered John's absence, 
 and noticed the great alteration in the aspect of Va- 
 toldi's, they naturally supposed that the place had 
 changed hands, and that in this way their oppressors 
 had eluded the punishment which was being dealt out 
 to them. But a few inquiries made to Mr. Bullripple 
 by an emissary soon dispelled this notion, and they 
 found that Mr. People was only temporarily absent, 
 and that the establishment had not been sold, and 
 that they could expect no favors from the parties in 
 
116 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 charge. They therefore continued their annoyances, 
 and endeavored, by every method with which they 
 did not expect police interference, to create a public 
 feeling in favor of themselves, and against the heel- 
 grinding practiced in the den called Vatoldi's. 
 
 When Mr. Bullripple and Mrs. People first appeared 
 at Vatoldi's, that constant customer, J. Weatherby 
 Stull, met them as he would have met any man or 
 woman whom, years ago, he had been in the habit 
 of occasionally seeing in the neighborhood of Cherry 
 Bridge, where he then lived. He spoke to them with 
 a good-natured condescension, into which he infused 
 enough cold dignity to show them the immense dis- 
 tance between their station and his own. He asked 
 a few questions in regard to crops, etc., and then 
 ordered his meal, and took out his newspaper. When 
 he first discovered John's absence from his accus- 
 tomed post, he was surprised and uneasy; and al- 
 though he was careful not to show any interest in the 
 matter, he could not avoid asking Mr. Bullripple 
 what had become of his nephew, adding that he was 
 so accustomed to seeing him there that the place ap- 
 peared odd without him. 
 
 Enoch replied that John had gone away to make 
 arrangements for regular supplies from the South, 
 and that he would not be back for several days, per- 
 haps a week. 
 
 " But that won't hender this place from goin' all 
 right," added Mr. Bullripple. "John's mother and 
 me will run the place, and you can always git your 
 breakfast, dinner, and supper here, Mr. Stull, with 
 somethin' to eat between meals, if you want it." 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 117 
 
 There was not a more astounded person in the city 
 of New York than the proprietor of Vatoldi's when 
 he received this information. A hundred questions 
 rushed towards his tongue, but he could ask none of 
 them. His long-continued habit of guarded non-in- 
 terest when performing his part of a regular patron 
 of the establishment had made him very prudent, and 
 he could not help feeling that more than ordinary 
 caution would be required in dealing with a sharp- 
 witted old man like Enoch Bullripple. So he con- 
 tented himself with some simple remark, paid his 
 bill, and went away. 
 
 But his way was not a quiet one. His mind was 
 troubled and tossed by conjectures regarding John's 
 amazing stupidity at leaving his post, and, without 
 consultation with himself, putting VatoldPs in charge 
 of those two country clodhoppers. To be sure, John 
 had spoken to him about supplies from the South, 
 but nothing had been said which could possibly lead 
 him to suppose that that young man would actually 
 leave the city for several days, or perhaps a week. 
 Such idiocy, such criminal insubordination, he had 
 never heard of ! He could not understand it, and no 
 supposition in regard to the matter which he brought 
 before his reasoning powers was able to satisfy them. 
 
 But this state of mind was oil-smoothed tranquillity 
 compared to the typhoon of emotions which swept 
 through him when he perceived the changes which 
 Mr. Bullripple had wrought in Vatoldi's that ideal 
 restaurant, which was at once his pride, his profit, and 
 his closet skeleton. When he saw the firemen -like 
 waiters striding up and down among his tables; 
 
118 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 when he saw the black-and-red-lettered placards, 
 bearing the words, " Clam Chowder," " Golden Buck," 
 " A Fry in a Box," " A Stew in a Pail " ; but partic- 
 ularly when he saw the sign, " Home-made Pies, Five 
 Cents a Slice," did the blood of Mr. Stull run in his 
 veins like trickling streams from a glacier. He was 
 so much astonished by the aspect of the place that he 
 forgot to sit down, and stood almost motionless at 
 the end of a table, until one of the new waiters strode 
 up to him, and in a correspondingly strident voice 
 inquired, " Have ye give yer order ? " 
 
 For a few minutes Mr. Stull felt as if his whole 
 nature demanded that he should rise up and assert 
 himself; that then and there he should announce that 
 he, J. Weatherby Stull, was lord and king of this 
 establishment, and thereupon drive out the rowdy 
 waiters, pack off to their homes the execrable Bull- 
 ripple and his sister, tear down those vile placards, 
 and, if necessary, shut up the place until the time 
 should come when it could be restored to its former 
 high position. 
 
 But he did not rise and speak. Even this soul- 
 harrowing desecration could not give enough courage 
 to this bank president, to this owner of the highest- 
 priced pew, to this dignified condescender in society 
 to avow to the world that, besides all this, he was a 
 restaurant-keeper, and that it was the income from 
 the sale of beefsteaks and mutton chops, tea, coffee, 
 and ice-cream that had enabled him to establish the 
 bank, to hire the pew, and to reach that high position 
 in society from which he was accustomed to conde- 
 scend. No, he could not do it. For too many years 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 119 
 
 had he kept this vulgar source of wealth concealed 
 from the public eye to allow it now to appear and 
 stain with its gravies and its soups that unblemished 
 eminence on which he believed himself to stand. 
 
 There was nothing for him to do but to sit dumb 
 and see all this ruinous profanation of Vatoldi's with- 
 out lifting a finger to prevent it. But if ever the 
 time came when he could grind into dust the heart 
 and fortunes of that rascally old farmer and his 
 nephew, to whose treachery the present state of affairs 
 was due, Stull swore to himself that with a firm and 
 rapid hand he would grind. 
 
 He could not eat the meal he had ordered, and 
 when he had sat over it long enough, he went up to 
 the desk behind which Mr. Bullripple stood. As a 
 well-known and regular customer, Mr. Stull thought 
 he might speak without exciting suspicion. 
 
 "You have made great changes here, Mr. Bull- 
 ripple," he said. " I have been a patron of this estab- 
 lishment for some years, and I have never seen any- 
 thing like this before. I am not accustomed to being 
 waited upon by men of this class, and I do not like 
 to sit in a room surrounded by such placards as I 
 see upon these walls. The place has fallen very much 
 from its former condition, which was highly credit- 
 able to its managers and its proprietors. Was it your 
 nephew who decided to make these changes ? " 
 
 " Now, look here, Mr. Stull," said Enoch, leaning 
 forward on the desk, and speaking in a conciliatory 
 tone of voice, " John hasn't got nothin' to do with all 
 this. John's away on business, and till he comes 
 back, I'll have to run the consarn. I've got head 
 
120 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 enough on my shoulders, Mr. Stull, to know that a 
 place that's bein' boycotted can't be run like a place 
 that everybody's got good words and good money 
 for. Now, till John gits home I'm goin' to let them 
 strikin' waiters see that neither them nor their 
 coat-tails is needed here. And let me give you a 
 piece of advice, Mr. Stull. It's easy enough to see 
 that the kind of restaurant I'm goin' to run isn't 
 suited to you and your likin's, and, if I was you, I'd 
 keep away for a time. There's other restaurants that 
 would suit you better, and if things ever gits round 
 to the way they used to be, you might come back 
 ag'in." 
 
 It was difficult for Mr. Stull to control his voice 
 and his manner, but he did it. "I am not accus- 
 tomed," he said in a tone as cold and disinterested as 
 he could command, " to change the place where I take 
 my meals. I have been coming here for a long time, 
 and I shall continue to do so. By the way," and 
 here Mr. Stull determined to make a somewhat haz- 
 ardous stroke, " do the proprietors of this establish- 
 ment approve of these changes ? " 
 
 Mr. Bullripple leaned farther over the desk, and 
 his tone became very confidential. " John never told 
 me what sort of man Vatoldi is, and I've never asked 
 him anythin' about him. But it's my opinion, Mr. 
 Stull, that he is a mean, sneakin' hound who gits as 
 much as he can out of other people, and gives 'em 
 jus' as little as he can make 'em take, and when any 
 trouble comes up he puts his tail between his hind 
 legs and sneaks off like a dog that's been whipped fur 
 stealin' victuals off the kitchen table, and keeps out 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 121 
 
 of sight and hearin' till everythin' is all right ag^in, 
 leavin' other people to stand up and be boycotted and 
 abused. Now, if that coward of a proprietor, with a 
 ham sandwich for a soul, and a stale one at that, don't 
 like the way things are being managed here, let him 
 come out of his hole and say so to me. That's all I 
 want. Let him come and tell me what he thinks 
 about it ! " And, with that, the old man brought his 
 hand heavily down on the desk. 
 
 Mr. Stull was a strong man, especially in those 
 mental faculties whose duty it was to guard his long- 
 preserved secret, but his strength was scarcely equal 
 to this occasion. If he had spoken a word he would 
 have exploded like a dynamite bomb. All that he did 
 was to turn away suddenly with a " Humph ! n as if 
 he had been wasting his valuable time in listening to 
 this talk about matters in which he took no interest. 
 He then stalked off, the condescension with which he 
 stepped out of the way of an incoming customer 
 being mingled with a ferocity which, had it been 
 observed, must have been considered a singular com- 
 bination. 
 
 Furious as was the mind of Mr. Sfcull, raging as it 
 did by day and by night against the cruel fate which 
 obliged him to bear these insults, these wrongs, and 
 these treacheries without opening his mouth or mov- 
 ing his hand in his own defense, his mental turmoil 
 did not prevent his regular attendance at Vatoldi's. 
 He might, he thought, have staid away without excit- 
 ing remark, for his absence would naturally be at- 
 tributed to his disgust at the present state of affairs. 
 But he could not stay away. He must go there, he 
 
 11 
 
122 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 must see what that black-hearted scoundrel of a 
 farmer was doing with his property. Since the 
 departure of John People, no money had been paid 
 in at the bank, the manager having probably neg- 
 lected to inform his uncle of that part of the daily 
 duties of the establishment. But Mr. Stull was not 
 disturbed on this account. Monstrous as he consid- 
 ered Enoch Bullripple's conduct to be, he knew that 
 the old man was perfectly honest, and he felt sure 
 that he would account to John for all moneys ex- 
 pended, and hand over the surplus. That John him- 
 self was a defaulter was out of the question. Mr. 
 StulTs constant supervision never gave him a chance 
 to be dishonest, and he had made his regular deposit 
 on the day he left. Stull also believed Enoch's state- 
 ment that the young man had not betrayed his secret. 
 No matter to what height his manager's stupid folly 
 might rise, he still felt sure that he was to be trusted 
 in this. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 R. CRISMAN spent a very pleasant 
 Sunday at Cherry Bridge, and he 
 detailed to the ladies, with much 
 more satisfaction than if Mr. Strat- 
 ford had been present, his yachting 
 experiences of the previous week. 
 These were by no means extraordinary experiences, 
 but they were rather novel to Mr. Crisman, and he 
 talked about them to his heart's content. Mrs. Justin's 
 heart was content before she had heard the half of 
 them ; and Gay sometimes caught herself wondering 
 if some of the things her lover told were of sufficient 
 importance to deserve so much careful elucidation on 
 his part and attention on her own. Of course she 
 wanted to hear his adventures, but she was not very 
 desirous to be told precisely how Pete Cummins and 
 Charley Slocum sat together in the stern, and how 
 Abe Henderson, who was just abaft the mast trying 
 to smoke out one of those smuggled cigars which he 
 had bought from a sailor on the Battery, sung out 
 that there was a squall coming and would strike them 
 on the port quarter in about six minutes, and that 
 the best thing they could do was to put into the 
 island until the blow was over, if they staid all night; 
 and how everybody aboard, except Tom Wilson, knew 
 
 123 
 
124: THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 that there was no likelihood of a squall, or, if there 
 was, Abe didn't know anything about it, and that 
 Abe was just trying on the nautical to torment Tom 
 Wilson, who was making himself comfortable on a 
 roll of sail-cloth in the bow this comical Tom Wil- 
 son having on a blue flannel shirt which he bought 
 too big by mistake, and full nineteen inches in the 
 collar, giving him the air of a lady going out to an 
 evening party, and causing him to be particularly 
 anxious not to go on shore and make a guy of him- 
 self, which, of course, he would be obliged to do if a 
 squall came up. 
 
 It was not that this, and similar incidents, possessed 
 no interest for her, but Gay's mind was a quick one, 
 and could comprehend situations upon very terse 
 presentations. Mr. Crisman's elaboration of minutige 
 became, therefore, a little tiresome to her, although 
 she did not acknowledge this to herself, and listened 
 with such gentle attention that Mr. Crisman felt it 
 was almost as pleasant to tell about these things as 
 to be at the happening of them. 
 
 On Sunday morning he went to church with the 
 two ladies, and in the afternoon he strolled with one, 
 but the scent of the yacht trip hung around his con- 
 versation still. But he was so good-humored, so 
 buoyant and hearty in his talk and manner, and 
 withal so handsome, that Gay reproached herself 
 every time there came stealing into her mind a sense 
 of distaste for small vessels on salt water. It was a 
 quiet, uneventful day, but Mrs. Justin and Gay Armatt 
 enjoyed it very much. The conditions for enjoyment 
 were so exactly what they ought to be, and it ap- 
 peared so just, right, and perfectly natural that the 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 125 
 
 presence of Mr. Crisman should give pleasure not 
 only to Gay, but to her dear friend, that the pleasure 
 came to these two ladies as the delightful conscious- 
 ness of virtue comes to the virtuous. 
 
 When Gay took her charming, beaming face up- 
 stairs that night, she sat by the window and looked 
 out into her future her future with Charley Cris- 
 man. It was very bright, brighter than the sunset. 
 It was full of glowing visions of a voyage, not in a 
 little boat upon a bay, but in a great ship upon the 
 rolling ocean $ of far-away and lovely lands j of the 
 weird charms of foreign life, and the mountains and 
 plains whence trickled the headwaters of literature ; 
 and through these visionary scenes she moved with 
 Charley, hand in hand, until at last they came to a 
 lovely rural home, which, after all, would be more 
 charming than the ruins of the past or the palaces of 
 to-day. 
 
 And then she rose, and the future faded, and in its 
 stead she saw the sky, and there were some stars 
 there which reminded her of the stars which had 
 come twinkling out the week before, when she had 
 walked home after dark from the hill where she had 
 seen the sunset. And now it came into her mind 
 that, for some reason or other, she did not know 
 exactly why, it was more pleasant for Mr. Stratford 
 not to be here on the Sundays Charley was here. 
 This was very odd, and she did not try to explain it 
 to herself. And so, with the Charley-smile still upon 
 her lips, she went to bed. 
 
 Mr. Crisman did not immediately retire, but, light- 
 ing a cigar, he went out on the piazza to have a walk 
 and a smoke, and to build some castles in the air. 
 
126 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 His thoughts went immediately forth to a medium- 
 sized frame house, probably in the Queen Anne style, 
 somewhere in the suburbs of the city. From the 
 parlor and dining-room floor to a room in the attic 
 which he intended to fit up with a work-bench, at 
 which he could make all sorts of little things that 
 would be needed about the house, he furnished this 
 home. To be sure, he could not expect to be in it 
 very much on week-days ; for, as he had to be at the 
 store at nine o'clock in the morning, and as it would 
 take him at least an hour to reach the city, he would 
 have to have his breakfast at half-past seven, and 
 therefore get up at seven ; and, as for coming home, 
 he could not hope to reach the house before dark, 
 except in the long summer days. But then there 
 would be Sundays and holidays ; and even on ordi- 
 nary days, if they did not sit up too late, he could 
 rise in the morning quite early enough to have a good 
 time working in the garden and getting an appetite 
 for his breakfast. He knew lots of fellows who lived 
 out of town who did that. In some way or other, 
 they really seemed to have more time to do things 
 than his friends who lived in the city. 
 
 As to Gay, he pictured her as the most charming 
 mistress of a house that the world ever saw. He did 
 not suppose that she had any domestic abilities, for 
 she could gain nothing of these while she was grind- 
 ing away at school and at college ; but all that sort 
 of thing would soon come to her, as it does to every 
 woman who is worth anything. Of course they 
 would have a servant, but there would be lots for 
 Gay to do to keep her busy and contented while he 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 127 
 
 was away. For one thing, he would have a poultry- 
 house and yard, and the care of the hens and chickens 
 would give Gay no end of fun and occupation. He 
 saw her, in his mind's eye, collecting the snow-white 
 eggs, and tenderly caring for the downy little chicks. 
 If his circumstances improved, and there was rea- 
 son to believe that, if he married, he would be pro- 
 moted into the foreign woolens department, he 
 would have a cow, although, now he came to think of 
 it, a good cow ought to give at least ten quarts of 
 milk a day, and what he and Gay were to do with ten 
 quarts of milk he could not see, unless, indeed, they 
 churned, and, by George! that was a jolly idea! 
 They would make their own butter, and Gay should 
 have charge of it. He was glad Gay was not a rich 
 girl, because she would take so much more pleasure 
 in all this sort of thing than she would if she had 
 been rich. She would find that she would have a lot 
 to learn that they didn't teach in college. But, when 
 she once came to give her mind to it, he knew very 
 well that she would get along splendidly. 
 
 And then, throwing away the stump of his cigar, 
 Mr. Crisman danced twice up and down the piazza, 
 holding out his arms as if he were waltzing with Gay. 
 And having finished this exercise, he went into the 
 house, locked the hall-door, and betook himself to bed. 
 
 Mrs. Justin did not have a very long rest that 
 night. She never could sleep when any one was 
 walking up and down the piazza under her window ; 
 and when Gay married Mr. Crisman and to-day 
 Mrs. Justin had no doubt that this would happen 
 she hoped that she would cure him of this practice. 
 
128 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 When Mr. Crisman had gone, and the week of 
 ordinary life had begun again at Cherry Bridge, 
 Gay let one day pass without saying anything on 
 the subject, and then she asked Mrs. Justin if she 
 did not think it somewhat strange that Mr. Strat- 
 ford had not called upon them since he went back to 
 the farm-house. 
 
 "It has been scarcely three days since he was here," 
 said Mrs. Justin, " and I do not think that can be con- 
 sidered a very long absence." 
 
 " That depends," said Gay. " It is only a half -hour 
 drive for him. Have the people at the farm returned 
 yet?" 
 
 " I have not heard that they have returned," said 
 Mrs. Justin. 
 
 " Well, then," said Gay, thoughtfully, " from what 
 you said about the state of the farm household when 
 you invited the two gentlemen here, I should think he 
 must be having a very uncomfortable time of it." 
 
 Mrs. Justin possessed an excellent temper, but this 
 remark irritated her. She felt that Gay was not 
 called upon to interest herself in Mr. Stratford's wel- 
 fare. And, more than that, she perceived in Gay's 
 words something of a reproach to herself. Her con- 
 science told her this was not altogether undeserved. 
 Affairs must be going on roughly at the farm, with 
 no one but a very incompetent woman to manage the 
 household, and it did not at all conform to her high 
 ideas of hospitality to allow an old friend, such as 
 Mr. Stratford was, to remain in discomfort, with her 
 own large house so near. But Stratford's intentions 
 and conduct made it impossible for her to have him 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 129 
 
 at her house while Gay was there. But that was no 
 reason why the duties of friendship should be entirely 
 neglected. She then remarked that she intended to 
 drive over to the farm and find out when Mrs. Peo- 
 ple was expected back and how matters were going 
 on there. 
 
 " I will go with you," said Gay. 
 
 Now did the irritation of Mrs. Justin increase so 
 much that she was unable to conceal it, and she an- 
 swered in a tone more severe than she had ever be- 
 fore used towards her young friend : 
 
 " It is not at all necessar/, Gay, that you should 
 visit the farm. I am going to the village this morn- 
 ing, and will then drive over and see if Mr. Strat- 
 ford needs anything that I can do for him." 
 
 Gay could not fail to perceive that Mrs. Justin did 
 not approve of her putting herself forward in the cause 
 of Mr. Stratford's welfare, but she was not offended, 
 though she said no more upon the subject. It might 
 be that her friend was sensitive about having other 
 people interfere in a case like this, which was clearly 
 within her own province ; and as Gay considered the 
 matter, she thought of several other things which 
 might have induced Mrs. Justin to set her aside in 
 this affair. But Gay's considerations of these possible 
 reasons did not in the slightest degree diminish her 
 interest in Mr. Stratford. 
 
 Mrs. Justin was not only irritated but disappointed. 
 Mr. Crisman's last visit had produced the impression 
 upon her that perhaps, after all, there was no reason 
 for her fears in regard to Stratford. The lovers ap- 
 peared so happy and content in each other's company 
 
130 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 that even if Mr. Stratford found further opportuni- 
 ties of interfering with their engagement, he would 
 discover that he had no ground to work on. As soon 
 as he had gone, Gay had ceased to think of him, and 
 had returned to her allegiance to the man she was to 
 marry. But now Crisman was scarcely out of the 
 house when Gay was filled with anxiety about Mr. 
 Stratford's domestic comfort, and with disappoint- 
 ment that he did not come to see her. All this was 
 very disheartening to Mrs. Justin. Mr. Stratford 
 was out when she called at the farm-house, but her 
 inquiries convinced her that he was probably doing 
 very well, as it was evident that he had taken the 
 general direction of his domestic economies into his 
 own hands. She gave the woman in charge some 
 advice in regard to the gentleman's comfort, but she 
 made no report of her proceeding when she returned. 
 Gay asked no further questions about Mr. Strat- 
 ford, and she and her friend soon returned to their 
 ordinary condition of amicable intercourse. It was 
 Mrs. Justin's custom to leave her visitors free to 
 spend the mornings as they best pleased, and to claim 
 that privilege for herself. The next morning Gay 
 pleased not to read or study. She was restless and 
 thoughtful, and concluded that she would take a 
 walk. So she walked over the fields and hills to the 
 little eminence where she had seen the sunset. She 
 climbed up to the broad rail where she had sat, and 
 she sat there again and looked at the sky. The sky 
 was blue now, with white clouds floating over it, but 
 it was not a very interesting sky, and Gay got down 
 from the fence on the other side from that on which 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 131 
 
 she had climbed up. Then she walked on into a 
 country which was new to her, and in which she ex- 
 perienced some of the sensations of the adventurer, 
 for she knew she was not now on Mrs. Justin's land. 
 
 She kept on until she came to the bottom of a hill, 
 where there was a little brook ; and when she had 
 rested herself by its banks a few minutes, watching 
 the hurrying water as it pushed around and between 
 and over the big stones which lay in its course, she 
 stepped upon one or two of the driest of these stones, 
 and was over the brook in a flash. She followed the 
 opposite bank of the stream around the end of a low 
 hill, and then she found herself in a pretty little valley 
 with this mountain stream running down the middle 
 of it. Not far away there was a clump of trees by 
 the side of the brook, and just above these a man was 
 fishing. 
 
 Almost as soon as she saw this man Gay knew it 
 was Mr. Stratford. She stopped, uncertain whether 
 or not to go on. Before the conversation of yester- 
 day she would not have hesitated for a moment, but 
 would have hurried, as fast as she could run, to see 
 Mr. Stratford fish; but now a recollection of the 
 words and, still more, the manner, of Mrs. Justin 
 produced a vague impression upon her mind that she 
 ought, perhaps, to turn around and go back the way 
 she came. But instantly she began to ask herself 
 what possible reason there was for this impression. 
 What was there in Mrs. Justin's words or manner 
 which should prevent her from speaking to Mr. Strat- 
 ford when she saw him ? If he happened to turn his 
 head she would be full in his view, and if he saw her 
 
132 THE HUNDEEDTH MAN. 
 
 going away what would he think of her ? She would 
 be treating him as if he were some stranger to be 
 avoided. It would be most unkind and improper in 
 her to behave to him in an unfriendly way, and so 
 she would go on and speak to him. 
 
 This she did, but she did not run. She walked 
 very sedately over the grass; and when she came 
 near him he heard the slight rustling of her dress, 
 and turned. 
 
 " Good-morning, Mr. Stratford," she said. " Shall 
 I frighten the fish if I come there ? " 
 
 Mr. Stratford was surprised, but very glad to see 
 Gay. He put down his rod, and came forward to 
 greet her. He said it did not matter in the least 
 whether she frightened the fish or not, and wanted 
 to know how she had happened to come this way. 
 
 When this had been explained, Gay begged him to 
 go on with his fishing, because nothing would so 
 much delight her as to see how he caught a trout. 
 Thereupon they both approached the brook, and 
 while Gay stood a little to one side, Mr. Stratford 
 took up his rod and began with much dexterity to 
 throw his fly among the ripples at the bottom of a 
 tiny waterfall. In a few moments he caught a trout 
 and threw it out upon the grass ; then Gay ran up 
 to it, dropped down on her knees, and was full of 
 admiration for its beautiful colors and spots. If it 
 had been Mr. Crisman who was fishing, Gay would 
 have implored him to throw the poor little thing back 
 into the water, but in regard to a fish hooked by Mr. 
 Stratford she had no such thought. If he caught it, 
 it was of course quite right that he should do so. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 133 
 
 And now Mr. Stratford asked her if she would like 
 to fish. Gay declared that she would be perfectly de- 
 lighted to do so, but unfortunately she did not know 
 how ; she had never fished since she was a little girl, 
 and then in the most primitive way, with worms. 
 She had heard and read a good deal about artificial 
 flies, but she had never before seen any one use them. 
 Thereupon Mr. Stratford took out his book of flies, 
 and showed Gray the various kinds of feather insects, 
 and told her when and why he used this variety or 
 that. Then she was very anxious to begin, and 
 Stratford put the rod into her hands, explained the 
 use of the reel, and going a little farther along the 
 brook, he began to give her lessons in managing the 
 rod, throwing the fly, and in various other branches 
 of trout-fishing. Gay's business in life was to learn, 
 and she was so bright and quick at seeing what 
 ought to be done, and Stratford was so earnest and 
 patient in teaching, that after half an hour's practice 
 she could make a fly skim above the surface of the 
 water with something which resembled in a certain 
 degree the skill of a practiced fisher. 
 
 In the course of time a trout actually rose to her 
 fly, and she hooked it. With a wild, spasmodic jerk, 
 which would have broken her tackle had the fish 
 been a large one, she threw it far out on the grass, 
 the line just grazing Mr. Stratford's hat as it flew 
 over his head. She was now in raptures, and she 
 fished on with much zest, although her success was 
 small. 
 
 And so Gay did all the fishing, for Mr. Stratford 
 assured her that he could fish any day, and that it 
 
 12 
 
134 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 was ever so much more pleasure to show her how to 
 use the rod than to use it himself. And they walked 
 and they talked, and Gay declared that she had found 
 out something which was not taught in colleges, and 
 that was that the way to superoxygenate the air was 
 to fish. The atmosphere seemed truly full of exhila- 
 ration, and not only she herself, but everything else, 
 seemed to be breathing it with delight. 
 
 " I wish Izaak Walton had written his book in 
 Greek," cried Gay, " for then I would put it among 
 my Greek reading next winter, and in that way keep 
 before my mind this fussy little brook with real fish- 
 ing fish in it. And now won't you show me again 
 how to give that little wobble to the fly as I wave it? " 
 
 And so Mr. Stratford took Gay's little hand into 
 his own, she still holding the rod, and the fly on the 
 end of the line began to wobble itself more over the 
 water, and less over the grass. 
 
 At length Stratford stopped and took out his watch. 
 " I think, Miss Armatt," he said, " that we must now 
 give up fishing for to-day. You will have just time 
 enough to get home to luncheon." 
 
 " You don't mean to say," exclaimed Gay, " that it 
 is nearly one o'clock ! " 
 
 " It is half -past twelve," said Stratford, " but I can 
 show you a much shorter way to Mrs. Justin's house 
 than that by which you came." 
 
 And now the little feather fly was put away with 
 its brothers, the rod was disjointed and packed up, 
 and Gay and Stratford walked along one edge of the 
 stream until they came to a good place to cross, when 
 he, with one foot upon a rock and the other on the 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 135 
 
 bank, took both her hands in his, and she made a fly- 
 ing skip over the brook without any need of a step- 
 ping-stone. They now followed the course of the 
 valley until they came to a fence, in one panel of 
 which were movable bars, and these being taken 
 down by Mr. Stratford, Gay passed through. Then 
 he put them up again, but remained on the other side 
 from her. 
 
 " Now all you have to do/' he said, " is to keep 
 straight on until you get to the corner of that bit of 
 wood. When you have turned that, you will see the 
 house before you at the bottom of a long hill." 
 
 "But are you not coming to take luncheon with 
 us ? " said Gay. " I thought, of course, you'd do that !' ? 
 
 "Oh, no," replied Stratford, with a smile. "I 
 couldn't lunch with ladies in these fishing clothes and 
 muddy boots." 
 
 "The clothes are quite good enough," said Gay; 
 " and I am sure that Mrs. Justin won't like it at all 
 when she hears you have been so near and wouldn't 
 stop to luncheon." 
 
 Stratford smiled, but shook his head. 
 
 " Then you will come to-morrow ? " said Gay. " You 
 haven't been to see us for ever so long ; and I have 
 six pages marked, on which there are things I want 
 to ask you about." 
 
 Mr. Stratford stood by the fence, leaning on the 
 upper rail. " Miss Armatt," he said, " I shall not be 
 able to visit you to-morrow. In fact, as I am going 
 to the city in a day or two, it will be some time before 
 I can give myself the pleasure of calling at Mrs. Jus- 
 tin's house." 
 
136 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 " I don't see what going to the city in a day or 
 two has to do with it," said Gay, "when you live 
 so near." 
 
 Stratford laughed, but made no answer to this re- 
 mark. " You must not think, Miss Arrnatt," he said, 
 " that I have any intention of evading those six 
 marked pages. But I must not keep you here any 
 longer, or Mrs. Justin will think you are lost. Good- 
 bye, for just now." And he reached out his hand 
 over the fence. 
 
 Gay put her hand in his, and as she did so she said 
 nothing, but looked straight into his eyes with an 
 expression full of interrogation. 
 
 " Good-bye," he said again. And then he gently 
 dropped her hand, and she went her way. 
 
 Gay's way was now a thoughtful one, and her 
 thoughts could have been formulated to express the 
 idea that the best plan to expel the oxygen from the 
 air was to have Mr. Stratford say the things he had 
 been saying. There was something wrong, and she 
 could not understand it. In fact, she soon gave up 
 trying to understand it ; and her mind, for the greater 
 part of the walk home, was entirely occupied with 
 the contemplation of the fact that never in her life 
 had she met any one who, in certain respects, could 
 be compared to Mr. Stratford as a companion. It 
 was not merely that he knew so much about all sorts 
 of things ; it was a good deal more than that. His 
 mind seemed to possess the quality of hospitality j it 
 seemed to open its doors to you, to ask you to come 
 in and make yourself at home ; and you could not 
 help going in and making yourself at home at least 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 137 
 
 Gay could not. And she did not want to help it, 
 either. She had never known any one on whom, in 
 certain respects, it was such a pleasure to depend as 
 Mr. Stratford. Even when he helped her over the 
 brook, or showed her how to use a fishing-rod, there 
 was something encouraging and inspiriting in his 
 very touch. 
 
 And yet Gay's thoughts and sentiments in regard 
 to Mr. Stratford did not interfere in the least with 
 her thoughts and sentiments regarding Mr. Crisman. 
 These were on a different plane, and in a different 
 sphere. She did not exactly say this to herself, but 
 reflections of similar significance passed across her 
 mind, and being of such easy comprehension, were 
 not detained for consideration. 
 
 When Mrs. Justin heard where Gay had been, with 
 whom she had met, how she had fished, how she had 
 enjoyed it, what a perfectly lovely morning it had 
 been, what a charming thing it was to have a man 
 like Mr. Stratford teach one how to fish, how Mr. 
 Stratford had declined to come to lunch, and a good 
 deal of what he had said on this and other subjects, 
 that lady listened in silence ; her face was grave, and 
 her heart was pained. She felt that Fate was against 
 her in the effort she was making in behalf of the 
 right. When she spoke she said few words in regard 
 to Mr. Stratford's visit to the city, and then changed 
 the subject. In the course of an hour or two a bas- 
 ket of trout was sent over from the Bullripple farm, 
 and they were cooked for dinner ; but Gay noticed 
 that Mrs. Justin, who, as she knew, was very fond of 
 trout, partook not of this dish. 
 
138 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 Mrs. Justin's peace of mind was not increased when, 
 next morning, she received a letter from Arthur 
 Thorne requesting her permission to address Miss 
 Armatt. Mr. Thorne wrote that he was aware that 
 Mrs. Justin was not related to Miss Armatt, nor was 
 she that young lady's guardian, but as Miss Armatt 
 was at present a member of her family, he would con- 
 sider it an instance of bad social faith were he to 
 carry out his present intention of securing board in 
 her neighborhood for the express purpose of visiting 
 Mrs. Justin's house and endeavoring to win favor in 
 the eyes of Miss Armatt, without frankly apprising 
 Mrs. Justin of said intention. The letter closed with 
 an earnest hope that this proposed step would meet 
 with Mrs. Justin's approval. 
 
 " Is it possible," exclaimed the lady as she rose to 
 her feet, with this letter crushed in her hand, " that 
 Stratford has never told his friend of Mr. Crisman ? * 
 
 For an hour Mrs. Justin walked the floor, this mat- 
 ter galloping through her mind, and then she sat 
 down and wrote a letter to Mr. Thorne informing 
 him of Gay's engagement to Mr. Crisman. She did 
 allude to the strangeness of the fact that he had not 
 heard of this, and she made her letter as kind and as 
 appreciative of honorable motives as she believed such 
 a truly honorable man as Arthur Thorne deserved. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 HE cyclones and the typhoons still 
 continued to rage through the soul 
 of J. Weatherby Stull as he daily 
 visited Vatoldi's and beheld the 
 performances of Enoch Bullripple. 
 Whatever deed an absolute fool 
 might do, that, in the eyes of Mr. Stull, did Enoch, 
 and whatever a wise man might perform, that thing 
 Enoch left undone. With John People gone he knew 
 not whither, and not a soul on earth with whom 
 he could share his misery and rage, Mr. StulPs con- 
 dition was such that every hour threatened the down- 
 fall of Mr. Bullripple, and the simultaneous toppling 
 over of the lofty social pedestal of the Stull family. 
 But the head of the family had made that pedestal 
 his only object of adoration, and it was that adora- 
 tion which, time after time, saved the pedestal from 
 the destruction threatened by its builder. 
 
 As has been said, Mr. Stull came every day to Ya- 
 toldi's, but he no longer brought his family, nor urged 
 them to come. That restaurant, with its swaggering 
 waiters and its flaunting placards of " Chowder" and 
 " Golden Buck," was no place for them. In its pres- 
 ent condition he did not wish to see the place patron- 
 ized. He went there himself because he must know 
 
 139 
 
140 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 what was going on, but lie would have been very 
 glad if no one else had gone. Attracted by Enoch's 
 showy inducements, and by the notoriety which the 
 boy cotters had given to the place, a great many per- 
 sons took their meals at Vatoldi's. But they were 
 not the former patrons of the establishment. They 
 belonged to a much lower social sphere ; and, had 
 circumstances permitted, it would have delighted the 
 soul of Mr. Stull to take each one of them by the 
 neck and put him out into the street, and then to close 
 the shutters of Vatoldi's and lock and bar its doors, 
 keeping them closed and barred until affairs could be 
 so ordered that he could re-open his old establishment 
 upon its old basis of order, propriety, and systematic 
 excellence. 
 
 One afternoon Mr. Horace Stratford arrived in 
 town, and being very desirous to obtain news of his 
 landlord and landlady, from whom he had received but 
 two very unsatisfactory notes, he repaired directly to 
 Vatoldi's. When he reached the place he was sur- 
 prised to see a crowd before the door, who regarded 
 with much lively interest a man who was taking a 
 meal at a small table placed on the sidewalk directly 
 in front of one of the large windows. Over this man's 
 head hung a placard, on which was inscribed : 
 
 "YESTERDAY THE BOYCOTTEES GAVE ME 
 
 TWO DOLLARS 
 TO PLAY SHAM, AND TO-DAY I AM PAID 
 
 THREE DOLLARS 
 TO EAT, DRINK, AND BE MERRY." 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 141 
 
 Mr. Stratford did not stop to ask questions ; but, 
 seeing Mrs. People inside the door, he immediately 
 walked in and accosted her. The good woman's face 
 was beaming with the pleasure which frequently fol- 
 lows a benevolent action. A big policeman all 
 sorts of people now came to Vatoldi's had just 
 been partaking of a repast at a table near the door, 
 and Mrs. People, who had been temporarily left in 
 charge of the cashier's desk, and who liked to encour- 
 age the patronage of policemen in these troublous 
 times, had cut a large slice of one of her own cherry 
 pies, and had taken it to him with her own hands as 
 a gratuitous addition to his meal. 
 
 " That's from me," she said, in her brusque, cheer- 
 ful way. "It's all right. Don't mention it." And 
 then she bustled back to the desk. 
 
 When the policeman came up to pay the amount of 
 his check, Mrs. People, who was not an adept at addi- 
 tion and subtraction, gave him his change with a 
 deficiency in the amount which was larger than the 
 price of the piece of pie. The good policeman per- 
 ceived the error, but hesitated a little before mention- 
 ing it to a person who had just been so generous to 
 him. He stood for a moment undecided whether to 
 speak or not, when Mrs. People exclaimed : 
 
 " Now, don't say anything about that pie. That's all 
 right. Did you think it was good? It ought to be, 
 for I made it myself." And then, with a jolly little nod, 
 she turned aside to speak to a waiter, and the police- 
 man, in a state of uncertain gratefulness, departed. 
 
 The glow of kindliness upon Mrs. People's counte- 
 nance brightened into the radiance of joy when she 
 
142 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 beheld Mr. Stratford. With outstretched hand she 
 hurried to meet him, and poured forth an instan- 
 taneous torrent of questions regarding his welfare at 
 the farm, broken by great bowlders of regret at the 
 unfortunate state of affairs which obliged her to leave 
 him there alone. 
 
 It was an hour when there were few persons in the 
 long room j but had the place been crowded, it would 
 have been all the same to Mrs. People. 
 
 After a time Mr. Stratford began to ask questions. 
 " This place seems very much changed/' he said, 
 looking about him. " Has boycotting done all this?" 
 
 " The dear knows what it has done, and what it 
 hasn't done," said Mrs. People. " Enoch attends to 
 the upstairs business, and I have my hands full tryin' 
 to keep things straight in the kitchen. He is out 
 now, and so I had to come up here ; but he'll be back 
 directly, and mighty glad he'll be to see you." 
 
 "What is the meaning," asked Stratford, " of that 
 man eating at a table outside, with the people stand- 
 ing along the curb-stone looking at him ?" 
 
 " Oh, that's one of Enoch's contrivances/' said Mrs. 
 People, with a laugh. "Yesterday the boycotters 
 hired that man to come in here and get somethin 7 to 
 eat j and, dear knows, they didn't give him money to 
 git much ; and when he had finished, he went out on 
 the pavement right in front of the door, and bent 
 himself nearly double, and began to howl as if he was 
 suff'rin', and to holler out that he'd been p'izened by 
 what had been given him to eat in here. As true as 
 I live, sir, 'twasn't more'n half a minute before there 
 was a crowd outside, a-blockin' up the pavement; 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 143 
 
 and where they came from so quick I don't know ; 
 and that man in the middle of them a-howlin' and 
 groanin 7 and shakin' his fist at the people in here for 
 p'izenin' of him. It wouldn't 'a 7 been two minutes 
 before there'd been a row, and windows broke, for all 
 I know, but the very second that Enoch sat eyes on 
 the man and saw what was up, he made one dash out 
 the front door, and grabbed the feller by the collar, 
 and pulled him inside in no time. Then two of the 
 waiters they took the man one by each arm and 
 Enoch pushin' behind, and they whisked him out 
 lively into the little back-yard, and then they got him 
 down right flat on the bricks, and Enoch he called for 
 a big bottle of olive oil to give to him quick to stop 
 the p'izen. Then the feller he got frightened, not 
 knowin' what he'd be made to take, and he sung out 
 that he wasn't p'izened at all, and that 'twas all sham. 
 Then Enoch he sent the waiters away and let the man 
 up, and then and there he made a bargain with him ; 
 and as he had been hired yesterday to make believe 
 he was sick, Enoch hired him to come to-day and set 
 out in front of the shop and eat, and let people see 
 that the victuals we furnish here agree with him. 
 Enoch has give orders that they're to take victuals 
 out to him a little at a time, so's he can be kep' eatin' 
 all day. This mornin' some boycotter's boys threw 
 mud at him, but the perlice ketched 7 em, and there 
 was an end to that. And here comes Enoch now." 
 
 Mr. Bullripple was quite as glad to see his boarder 
 as Mrs. People had been, and the two sat down at a 
 table and had a long talk on the state of affairs. Mr. 
 Stratford was greatly interested in Enoch's account 
 
144 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 of what he had done, for the old man told him every- 
 thing, even to his method of getting rid of John Peo- 
 ple in order to have a clear field to work in. 
 
 "You see, sir," said Enoch, " what I'm about is a 
 good sight deeper than what folks is likely to think 
 that jus' looks at it from the outside. There's a rat 
 in a hole in this Vatoldi business, and all these things 
 that surprise you about the place is the stick that I'm 
 tryin' to punch him out with ; and I think that feller 
 eatin' outside has just made the stick about long 
 enough to reach the mean, sneakin' varmint at the 
 bottom of his hole. Fm almost dead sure I tetched 
 him, for if he didn't stick out his head this morning 
 I'm wuss mistaken than I ever was before in myj/pe. 
 I'm pretty sure that it won't be long now before I'll 
 have him. And then, if I choose, Mr. Stratford, I 
 don't say that I'm goin' to do it, but I can do it, if I 
 like, I'm of the opinion I can show you your hun- 
 dredth man. For if there's one man that sticks out 
 sharp from any hundred people you know, it's this 
 one I'm after." 
 
 " I have a very strong notion, Enoch," said Mr. 
 Stratford, " if you catch the person you call your rat, 
 and bring him to me yourself, that I shall see my 
 hundredth man." 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 N the day of Mr. Stratford's arrival 
 in the city, and very soon after he 
 had parted from Enoch Bullripple, 
 the latter received a letter from his 
 nephew, John People. It was a 
 long letter, and full of indignation 
 and reproach. In the strongest terms which John's 
 sense of duty would allow him to use towards a re- 
 spected relative, he protested against the injustice and 
 injury which had been done him by the unwarrant- 
 able trick played upon him by his uncle. Mr. Bull- 
 ripple's letter had assured him that it was all intend- 
 ed for his good, but this declaration made no impres- 
 sion on John. He had been ruthlessly forced to break 
 his faith with his employer, and to desert and neglect 
 the interests which had been intrusted to him. Noth- 
 ing on earth could have tempted him voluntarily 
 to do what he had been tricked into doing. Instead 
 of this enforced absence being a benefit to him, he 
 felt sure it would work him an injury. He had writ- 
 ten to his employer explaining the whole affair, but 
 he had no reason to believe that his explanations 
 would clear him from condemnation by that person ; 
 and disaster, both to his fortune and to the busi- 
 13 " 5 
 
146 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 ness, must certainly result from his uncle's deplor- 
 able action. 
 
 John further stated that, instead of writing, he 
 would have hastened home himself, but that he had 
 no money by which to come by rail, and that the 
 steamer on which he had a return ticket would not 
 start North for several days. He had written for 
 money to be telegraphed to him, and would be in the 
 city at the earliest possible moment. 
 
 When Mr. Bullripple had read this letter his coun- 
 tenance was not that of a man whose conscience had 
 been touched by the reproaches of one he had wronged. 
 On the contrary, he allowed himself a smile of much 
 content as he folded the letter and slipped it into an 
 inner pocket of his coat. 
 
 " Written to the boss, has he ! " he said to himself. 
 " That's all right ; and now we'll wait and see what 
 happens next. If the boss can stand that punch with- 
 out comiii' out of his hole and showin' himself, he's 
 got more grit than anybody Fve met yit on this 
 planet." 
 
 The fact that John had not been able immediately 
 to set out on his return to the city was a comfort and 
 relief to the soul of Mr. Bullripple, for he had found 
 that the task of ferreting out the concealed proprietor 
 of Vatoldi's was more difficult than he had expected 
 it to be, and for the past day or two he had feared 
 that his nephew might make his appearance and pre- 
 vent the successful working out of his plans. But 
 now there was some time yet in which, with his per- 
 ceptive faculties keener than ever, he could keep a 
 bright lookout for the other man to whom John had 
 written. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 147 
 
 When Mr. Stull received his letter it was a happy 
 thing for him that he was alone, for he fairly roared 
 with fury. He had thought that his detestation of 
 Enoch Bullripple could not be greater than it had 
 become during the time that the old man had had 
 sole charge of Vatoldi's ; but now Mr. Stull found 
 that he had been mistaken. Nothing that Bullripple 
 had done could compare with this act of demoniacal 
 villainy. If ever a man had been revenged on another, 
 he would be revenged on this old farmer. It was not 
 necessary for him to show himself, nor to do anything 
 at the present moment. It would not be long before 
 John People would return, and then he could act, as 
 before, unseen and unknown. The first thing he 
 would do would be to order his manager immediately 
 to send his uncle and his mother to their home in the 
 country ; and then Mr. Stull determined to devote all 
 the energy of his intellect to schemes by which that 
 reprobate of a Bullripple should be made to suffer 
 for his sins, without knowing who caused him his 
 pangs and his agony. There were weak places in 
 Mr. Bullripple's affairs which Stull knew, and it was 
 at these spots he intended to strike until he had 
 reached the very heart of his victim. 
 
 During the rest of that day, and a great part of the 
 night, the mind of Mr. Stull was almost entirely given 
 over to schemes for the ruin of the man who in such 
 scoundrelly fashion had thrust himself into his path. 
 
 The next day, he lunched at Vatoldi's, as was his 
 custom. No matter what happened, he said to him- 
 self, he would make no change in his ordinary hab- 
 its, and give no one reason to suppose that what 
 
148 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 was occurring there was of the slightest concern to 
 him. 
 
 But the difficulty of restraining himself to his pre- 
 scribed line of action was now greater than he ever 
 imagined it could be. To look at Enoch Bullripple 
 without hurling knives, forks, and imprecations at 
 him induced a strain which few minds except that of 
 J. Weatherby Stull could have withstood. He ate with 
 assumed appetite the meal which he had ordered, and 
 no knives, forks, or imprecations flew through the 
 air. But his soul writhed, groaned, and gritted its 
 teeth within him, and he longed for the coming of 
 John People, and the beginning of his vengeance. 
 Not only the uncle, but the nephew, should suffer. 
 He had to be very careful in his treatment of the only 
 person who held his secret, but he would not allow 
 himself to forget that John had been weak and fool- 
 ish enough to be led away by a most flimsy trick 
 from his post of duty at a time when it was so neces- 
 sary that he should be there. Mr. Stull had not yet 
 determined how John should be punished, but that 
 this punishment should take place he most solemnly 
 promised himself. 
 
 Mr. Stull was a man who, if he had anything to do, 
 liked to go to work and do it as soon as possible; 
 and the very next morning, he set on foot some par- 
 ticular inquiries in regard to the tenure by which 
 Enoch held his farm. He thought that said tenure 
 probably resembled that by which he held his own 
 farm ; and, if this should prove to be the case, he had 
 conceived a plan by which the meddling old man 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN, 149 
 
 could be brought to a just punishment, and that, too, 
 without knowing who had brought it upon him. 
 
 He ate his luncheon at Vatoldi's that day with a 
 good appetite, for the prospect of making himself 
 even with old Enoch, and the knowledge that John 
 would very soon return, had restored his mental and 
 physical systems to something of their ordinary con- 
 dition. His indignation against Enoch received, how- 
 ever, fresh fuel to-day. New placards had been hung 
 upon the wall, one announcing that certain puddings 
 would be furnished with " Boycotter Sauce " ; and 
 the general vulgarity and low tone of the place 
 seemed to be on the increase. Before the receipt of 
 John People's letter, Mr. Stull had believed old Bull- 
 ripple to be a stupid blunderer, who, knowing nothing 
 of the business he had undertaken, had done every- 
 thing in the way it should not be done ; but now he 
 believed him to be a designing rascal, who, hating 
 anything better than that to which he was accus- 
 tomed, was taking a vicious delight in pulling Vatol- 
 di's down to his own level, for nothing but the de- 
 praved love of power, and the desire to make the 
 restaurant what his groveling soul thought it ought 
 to be, could have induced the old man to take so 
 much trouble to get his nephew out of the way. 
 
 Shortly before three o'clock that afternoon, Mr. 
 Stull was astounded, almost paralyzed, in fact, by be- 
 holding the entrance, unheralded by announcement 
 or knock, of Enoch Bullripple into his private room 
 at the bank. His astonishment was instantly suc- 
 ceeded by an influx of savage fury at this intrusion, 
 
150 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 and, rising to his feet, he was about to launch his 
 indignation against the old man, but Enoch spoke 
 first. Holding out a large wallet stuffed with bank 
 notes, the exuberance of which was restrained by a 
 piece of twine, he said : 
 
 " I want to know, Mr. Stull, what Pm to do with 
 this money. There hain't been none deposited in the 
 bank since John went away, and there's a good deal 
 more of it now than ought to be kep' in that little 
 safe under the desk. Now, I don't know whether Pm 
 to deposit it in John's name, or in your name. You 
 know I haven't got no account at this bank." 
 
 Mr. Stull sat down. His face was gray, his eyes 
 were wide open. Mr. Bullripple took a chair on the 
 opposite side of the table, on which he laid the wallet. 
 
 " Sick I " said he, looking over at the other. 
 
 Stull's face now began to work. "What do you 
 what do you mean," he stammered, " by bringing that 
 to me ? " And he made a faint motion as if he would 
 push the wallet from the table. 
 
 Enoch leaned back in his X3hair, half closed his eyes, 
 and grinned. " It appears to me," he said, u that the 
 man that owns a lot of money is the best person to 
 ask what's got to be done with it. Game's up, Jona- 
 than Stull," he added. " 'Tain't no more use keepin' in 
 your hole ; you might jus' as well walk right out and 
 show yourself." 
 
 Dumb, gray, and open-eyed, Mr. Stull still stared 
 at the old man. One thought only filled his mind: that 
 arch-fiend on the other side of the table possessed his 
 secret. When John People was his only confidant 
 Mr. Stull had felt safe and satisfied. The incalcu- 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 151 
 
 lable importance of secrecy had been made known to 
 John. The young man was honest and faithful, and 
 he would as soon have thought of stealing his em- 
 ployer's money as of betraying his sacred confidence. 
 
 But now the secret was known to a black-hearted 
 wretch. Mr. Stull said nothing, because no words 
 would come to him ; but it was unnecessary to say 
 anything. No questioning was needed to make him 
 see plainer than he saw now that Enoch Bullripple 
 knew that he was the owner of Vatoldi's. 
 
 The old man had no intention of forcing his victim 
 to express himself, nor of prolonging the interview 
 merely to enjoy his triumph, and he proceeded at 
 once to business. " Now, Jonathan Stull,' 7 he said, 
 leaning forward on the table, " you and me has got 
 somethin' to talk about, and the sooner we git at it 
 the better. You're a good deal took back, I can see, 
 and don't appear to be ready to be very glib with 
 your words. But that ain't needed. All you've got 
 to do jus' now is to listen ; and when I'm through, 
 and you've come a little to your senses, you can tell 
 me what you've made up your mind to do." 
 
 It may be here remarked that not for one moment 
 did Mr. Stull suspect that John had betrayed him to 
 Bullripple. The tone of the young man's letter to 
 him, and the fact that his uncle found it necessary 
 to get rid of him, made it plain to Mr. Stull that 
 John's integrity had not been shaken. He knew, as 
 well as if he had been told, that in some way he had 
 betrayed himself to that sharp-eyed old wolf who 
 was now glaring at him. A tidal wave of rage came 
 rolling back upon him. It was necessary to restrain 
 
152 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 himself, but he could look upon Enoch only as a 
 venomous creature from whom it was difficult to 
 withhold a blow. 
 
 " Be quick/' he said savagely. " What do you want I 
 Is it that 1 " And he pointed to the wallet. 
 
 Enoch struck the table with his fist. He, too, was 
 roused, but he felt under no restraint. " Get out 
 with you ! " he said. " What do you suppose I want 
 with your pancake and molasses money f But I'll let 
 you know what I do want and in short order too. 
 It's not been very long since I've found out that the 
 person who was working my nephew John by day 
 and by night, and givin' him mighty little for it and 
 no show for himself, was a mean sneak, who, for 
 some reason or other, was afraid to show his face, 
 even when his own business was goin' to rack and 
 ruin ; and ever sence this was made clear and plain 
 to me, I've jus' given myself up to the business of 
 rooting out that feller, and have left my farm to be 
 took charge of by a hired man ; and how much I've 
 lost I don't know, nor I don't keer, for I've got him 
 out. He's settin' right here in front of me. By 
 George ! " the old man exclaimed, while an enormous 
 grin elevated his wrinkled cheeks, " you must 'a' been 
 tored up wuss than a sassafras field that's bein' 
 grubbed and plowed when you seed me turnin' your 
 eatin' house upside down, and a-doin' every thin' I 
 knowed was agin the creed and catechism of whoever 
 it was who owned the place. It took a good deal 
 longer to fetch that rat out than I thought it would, 
 fur he had more grit than I give him credit fur. But 
 I did it. By George ! I did it. When I got John's 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 153 
 
 letter, and he said he'd wrote to the owner, I says to 
 myself, * That feller's bound to show up now, if ever 
 he does.' And, sure enough, he did. I'd had my eye 
 on you for a good while, though there was times 
 when I thought you couldn't be fool enough to let me 
 rip and stave jus 7 as I pleased, without ever liftin' 
 your finger or sayin' a word. But from what I'd had 
 to do with you afore, I knowed you was the man to 
 do any thin' mean and sneakin' if it was called fur ; 
 and your comin' there so constant made me suspicion 
 you. It wasn't like you to be eatin' every day in a 
 place like that if there wasn't a better reason for it 
 than what you said about your allus bein' in the habit 
 of comin'. And yesterday, when you got John's let- 
 ter, you came in a-glarin' like a two-eyed locomotive, 
 and I could 'a' swore before an alderman you was the 
 man. But I wasn't quite ready to come out on you, 
 fur I hadn't got my accounts all squared up. But I 
 was glad I waited, for the way you looked at me this 
 day while you was eatin' made the thing as sure as if 
 you'd gone before an alderman and swore it. And 
 here I am ; and there's the money on hand, up to two 
 o'clock to-day ; and inside the wallet is a statement 
 of all I've took in and all I've spent. And now I'll 
 come to the p'int. If you've got any reason fur 
 keepin' yourself hid and out of sight, that's your 
 affair, and not mine. But if you want me to keep 
 mum about it, you've got to come to my terms, and 
 them's these : John must be took into the business, 
 and have a decent share of the profits ; and he's not 
 to be kep' slavin' at it neither, but he's to have help 
 enough so's he can git off now and then, like other 
 
154 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 people. Fve made up my mind that he's to have a 
 clean two weeks to begin with, to come down into the 
 country to see his mother and me. That trip down 
 South ain't to be counted in at all. He didn't git no 
 pleasure out of it, and it jus' went in in the way of 
 business. What in the name of common sense made 
 him stick to you as he has stuck is more than I can 
 tell. It's out and out beyond me. But he's got to be 
 paid for it now. As soon as he comes home I'm goin' 
 to set the whole thing fair and square before him, 
 and I'll see to it that you and him makes out the right 
 kind of a contract. Now, then, Jonathan Stull, you 
 see what's before you. And if you back out, and say 
 you are not the owner of Vatoldi's well, then, by 
 George ! John and me will keep the place and run it 
 ourselves until the real owner turns up. There's the 
 money ; and what have you got to say ? " 
 
 Into the gloomy ferocity of Mr. Stull's soul there 
 entered a gleam of satisfaction. The scheme of the 
 old man was not one of simple malicious vengeance. 
 He wanted something. He desired to make a bar- 
 gain. This showed a way out of the difficulty. The 
 bargain could be entered into, and everything go on 
 as before; and Mr. Stull had confidence enough in 
 his own ability to feel sure that he could carry out 
 the plan of vengeance he had devised. He did not 
 strongly object to giving John a moderate share in 
 the business. On some accounts it might be a very 
 wise thing to do. But, whatever arrangement might 
 be made, and whatever good might come of it, he 
 would never forgive the wretched old scoundrel who 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 155 
 
 had ferreted out his secret and forced himself into 
 his affairs. 
 
 He stood up suddenly, almost overturning his chair 
 as he did so. Seizing the bulging wallet with one 
 hand, he waved the other towards the door. " Now 
 you can go ! " he snarled to Enoch. 
 
 Mr. Bullripple did not immediately move. " HI go 
 whea I'm ready," he said. " And, as Pve nothin 7 
 more to say, HI go now. And you see to it, Jonathan 
 Stull, when I come to you about that contract, that 
 you're ready to make it." 
 
 Thereupon he slowly rose and went out. He knew 
 his man would be ready. 
 
 The next evening, Mr. Bullripple called upon Mr. 
 Stratford at his city apartments to inform that gen- 
 tleman that he and Mrs. People would return next 
 morning to the farm-house, where they would be 
 glad to welcome their friend and lodger as soon as he 
 chose to return, and to make him as comfortable as 
 he had been accustomed to be in their house. 
 
 " We've been away a good deal longer than we 
 expected," said Enoch, " and I hope you didn't feel 
 yourself druv to come to towo." 
 
 " Not at all," said Mr. Stratford. " I should have 
 come to the city in any case. But how have you suc- 
 ceeded in the complicated scheme of which you told 
 me the other day ? And are you ready to show me 
 my hundredth man ? " 
 
 " Oh, I've got him ! I've got him ! " cried Enoch, his 
 eyes sparkling. " But the mischief of it is, I can't 
 show him to you. It would jus' tickle me to death 
 
156 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 if I could p'int him out, but things is fixed so it can't 
 be done." 
 
 " I suppose, from what you told me the other day," 
 said Stratford, " that you have discovered the owner 
 of Vatoldi's." 
 
 " That's the f eUer ! " cried Enoch. " And, by George ! 
 he squealed when I made him come out of his hole. 
 But out he came, and I fixed it all right with him. 
 And I tell you, Mr. Stratford, if I could take you 
 where that man is, and p'int him out, and let you 
 know what he's done and what he didn't do, you'd 
 say, ' Enoch Bullripple, that's my hundredth man, 
 and I needn't look no further.' " 
 
 Mr. Stratford laughed. " And yet you can't show 
 him I " said he. 
 
 "No, sir," said Enoch. "Pve agreed to let him go 
 back in his hole, and have promised not to rout him 
 out no more so long as he sticks to what he says ne'll 
 do. But I've made a pretty good thing of it for John. 
 He's to have a share in the business, and has got 
 to be treated more like a man and less like a plow- 
 horse." 
 
 " Did John agree to your stepping in in this way," 
 inquired Stratford, " and arranging his affairs for him 
 in this extraordinary fashion ? " 
 
 " He couldn't do nothin' else but agree to it," said 
 Enoch. "I got my thumb on both of 'em, and if 
 either of 'em had skipped from under, all I had to do 
 was to wash my hands of the whole business, and to 
 tell you and everybody else what I'd found out ; and 
 that would 'a' knocked the eatin' house proprietor 
 higher'n a kite. And John knowed it. He was as 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 157 
 
 mad as hops when he got back last night, but that 
 didn't hurt nobody 5 and this afternoon he and the 
 other feller jus' walked up to the scratch, and the 
 contract between 'em was signed and sealed. And 
 that's why me and Mrs. People is goin' home, havin' 
 no more to do here, and lots to do there. And I hope 
 it won't be long before you'll be comin' too." 
 
 " You'll see me in a day or two," said Stratford ; 
 " and it strikes me that you needn't trouble yourself 
 about not being able to show me the hundredth man. 
 I am not sure about it, but I expect I can put my 
 finger upon him before very long." 
 
 " Now look here, Mr. Stratford," said Enoch, a little 
 anxiously j " if you do find him, I hope it won't be on 
 account of any thin' I've said. I've promised to keep 
 him shady, and I'm not a man to go back on my 
 word." 
 
 " Be perfectly easy on that point," said Mr. Strat- 
 ford. " I'm not thinking of the owner of Vatoldi's, 
 and I have no desire to seek him out." 
 
 " You wouldn't be likely to find him, if you tried," 
 said Enoch, rising to depart ; " and I can't help you. 
 And as it's my opinion there ain't no other one like 
 him, I advise you to give up the search for your 
 hundredth man." 
 
 14 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 HORTLY after Mr. Stratford's arrival 
 in the city he was called upon by his 
 friend Arthur Thorne, who had a 
 grievance. 
 
 "Do you know/' said Thorne, 
 "that you got me into a pretty 
 scrape up there at Cherry Bridge ? " 
 " How so?" asked Stratford. 
 
 " By not telling me that Miss Armatt was engaged. 
 When you told me that you were not her lover, I 
 made up my mind that as I am her lover, I would 
 win her if I could. I never supposed that any one 
 else was in the way. I wrote to Mrs. Justin asking 
 permission to go there and push my suit, and I've 
 had a letter from her telling me that for more than a 
 year the young lady has been engaged to be married. 
 Now, what a position is this for me to place myself 
 in ? Why didn't you tell me that she was engaged ? " 
 "Because I do not approve of the engagement," 
 said Stratford, " and think it well to say as little of 
 it as possible." 
 
 Mr. Thorne gazed at his friend in amazement. 
 "What in the name of common sense," he asked, 
 "have you to do with it? And what matters it 
 
 158 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 159 
 
 whether you approve of it or not? She is not re- 
 lated to you ? 77 
 
 " Not in any way 77 said Stratford. " But I wish 
 to be a good friend to her, and, at least, intend to 
 try to be. And now let me tell you how things 
 stand. 77 Thereupon Stratford proceeded to speak of 
 Gay Armatt. He told his friend what sort of girl 
 she was, what her career had been, what her aspi- 
 rations were, and what her future ought to be. He 
 told how she had been engaged, while yet a student, 
 and a very girl in all social matters, to a man whose 
 marriage with her would degrade her, put an end 
 to her mental development, and make only a hard- 
 worked housekeeper of one who now had everything 
 to hope for that was open to a woman. He proceed- 
 ed to say that he believed that the girl should be 
 saved from such a fate ; and that, as there was no 
 one else to do it, he intended to save her himself, if 
 possible. And then he detailed his plans regarding 
 Miss Armatt. 
 
 " By which you mean, 77 cried Arthur, when he had 
 finished, " that you intend to break off this engage- 
 ment, and then marry her yourself." 
 
 Stratford shook his head. "I shall do nothing of 
 the kind. If the engagement comes to an end, as I 
 hope it may, I shall greatly desire that Miss Armatt 
 shall marry some man worthy of her ; and all that I 
 shall do will be to endeavor to carry her over the gap 
 between the present engagement and one which shall 
 be suitable." 
 
 " Monstrous ! 77 cried Arthur. " You might as well 
 try to break up a marriage because you think the man 
 
160 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 and his wife are not suited to each other j and I am 
 surprised to hear you speak as you have done about 
 a wife's position as mistress of her house. There is 
 no nobler place for a woman. I have no doubt Miss 
 Armatt looks forward with most joyous anticipations 
 to those household duties and pleasures which you 
 have decided that she ought not to have." 
 
 " You do not grasp the situation/' said Stratford. 
 " I know exactly what Miss Armatt looks forward 
 to. She expects to be mistress of a household, and 
 to be happy in that position. Her hopes in this direc- 
 tion are vague and ill-defined, while her views in 
 regard to her future intellectual life are as clear and 
 definite as those of any brain-worker who ever lived. 
 But she does not know, as I do, that her marriage 
 with Crisman will totally wreck this intellectual life, 
 and make her a disappointed and unhappy woman." 
 
 Thorne arose suddenly, and began to walk up and 
 down the room. " It angers me," he said, " to hear 
 you talk in this way. How on earth do you know 
 what her life will be ? Is she not a rational being, 
 able to plan out such things for herself ? " 
 
 " She is not as able to do it as I am," said Strat- 
 ford ; "for she does not know Crisman as I know him." 
 
 For answer Mr. Thorne snapped his fingers, and 
 then laughed derisively. " I speak mildly," he said, 
 " when I call this a most unusual way of getting a 
 wife. It is courtship after the eagle and fish-hawk 
 fashion." 
 
 " I tell you," said Stratford, turning sharply upon 
 him, "that I have no intention of making love to or 
 of marrying Miss Armatt." 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 161 
 
 " Do you mean to say," asked Thorne, stopping in 
 his restless walk, "that if you succeed in convincing 
 this girl that there are much better men in the world 
 than the man she is engaged to, and a much better 
 kind of love than the love which exists between him 
 and her, and that there is for her a happiness which 
 is far greater than anything she could expect if she 
 married Crisman, and in this way break off the 
 match do you mean to say, I ask, that you would 
 then be willing for another man to step in, myself, 
 for instance, and try to win her ? " 
 
 " Entirely willing/ 7 said Stratford. " Nothing would 
 please me better than to see her married to you." 
 
 Thorne burst out into a loud, contemptuous laugh, 
 and taking up his hat, he walked away without a 
 word. Never since he had been a man had he been 
 guilty of such a breach of good manners. 
 
 Stratford was left with his temper somewhat 
 aroused, but it soon cooled down. He was discov- 
 ering that he could not expect sympathy in the task 
 he had undertaken. 
 
 Arthur Thorne did not so soon cool down. It was 
 not very easy to warm him up ; but when he became 
 heated, the reduction of his mental temperature was 
 generally a slow process. He was angry with Strat- 
 ford. He had persuaded himself, since the receipt of 
 the letter from Mrs. Justin, that, as an honorable 
 man, he had given up, absolutely and utterly, all 
 amatory ideas in regard to Miss Armatt. She be- 
 longed to another person, and he had no right even to 
 think of her in that sort of way. It was very hard 
 for him to do this, for the girl had made an impres- 
 
162 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 sion on him such as he had never received before. 
 He believed that it was his duty to marry, and he 
 wanted to marry j and when he was living in the 
 house with Miss Armatt, and his friend Stratford had 
 told him that he had no matrimonial intentions toward 
 her, it had come to him much more forcibly than 
 things usually came to him, that here was the woman 
 out of all the world whom he would like to make his 
 wife. But he believed he had been torn from every 
 thought of this kind, and had gone to Stratford 
 merely with the intention of mildly upbraiding him 
 for having allowed him to put himself in a false posi- 
 tion. 
 
 But now, as has been said, he was very angry with 
 his friend, and the more he thought of it, the more 
 he thought he perceived a very strong element of 
 jealousy in this anger. But why should he have 
 feelings of jealousy in regard to Miss Armatt ? He 
 had no right to such feelings, and could have none. 
 It was a vile and wretched state of affairs, and Strat- 
 ford had led him into it. Therefore was he angry. 
 
 It was on a Tuesday morning, and several days 
 after Mr. Stratford had concluded the business which 
 brought him to town, that Miss Gay Armatt sat on 
 the porch of the Cherry Bridge house writing a letter. 
 The paper lay upon a portfolio on her lap, and on the 
 floor by her side stood her little traveling inkstand 
 with its two tops open at angles which invited upset 
 on the slightest provocation. She was writing very 
 slowly, stopping often to think what she should say. 
 She wished to be very careful to make this letter 
 exactly what it ought to be, for it was to go to Mr. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 163 
 
 Stratford, and it was the first one she had ever writ- 
 ten to him. Her work, although slow, did not seem 
 to be irksome to her ; on the contrary, she appeared 
 very much interested in it. "Whenever she held her 
 pen motionless, raised a little above the paper, and 
 gazed up into the trees or the vines about her, there 
 came into her eyes a brightness, and on her cheeks a 
 faint deepening of their warmer tones, which made 
 those eyes and cheeks more charming than in ordinary 
 times, while her lips moved as though she might 
 smile or speak or even hum a tune before she began 
 to write again. On the tulip poplar near by, there 
 sat a little bird which looked very like the bird to 
 which, not long ago, she had told the secret of her 
 birthday. If it had been truly the same bird, it 
 would have been easy to imagine that his little breast 
 was filled with wonder that that young creature sit- 
 ting down there, in the shade, and in the fragrance 
 of the honeysuckle vines, writing a letter on her 
 knee, could be really twenty-one years old, and a very 
 woman. 
 
 If the little bird could have looked into her brain, 
 he would have seen that it was stored with the result 
 of years of study and conscientious intellectual work ; 
 and if he could have looked into her heart, he would 
 have seen that it was filled with impulses and emo- 
 tions which were truly womanly. But could he have 
 known her cheerful, half -blown notions about men, 
 women, and the world, and could he have understood 
 that joyousness of disposition which sprang from 
 lovers 7 words, or woodbine scents, or clusters of wild 
 strawberries, he might have said to himself that many 
 
164 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 a wiser bird than he would think that this young 
 creature, writing a letter in the shade of the vines, 
 was mistaken in supposing that she was no longer a 
 girl. 
 
 Gay had heard only the evening before that Mr. 
 Stratford had returned to the Cherry Bridge neigh- 
 borhood ; and as she had something to say to him, 
 she thought it her duty to write without loss of time : 
 and that it was a duty she did not in the least shrink 
 from might easily have been perceived by any human 
 being or bird capable of making deductions of this 
 kind. Mr. Crisman had been with her on the pre- 
 vious Sunday ; and she had noticed, or had thought 
 she noticed, that he was a little, a very little, wearied 
 by what he called the monotony of the country. 
 Now she was very desirous that he should not become 
 wearied by Cherry Bridge. This was a region which 
 could never be monotonous to her, but she could 
 easily see that it might be so to Charley. He spent 
 no whole day there except Sunday, and there was so 
 little a person of his tastes could do in this part of 
 the country on Sunday. He was fond of fishing, but 
 he arrived too late on Saturday afternoons for any 
 diversion of that sort ; and, besides, he had told her 
 that he did not like to go wandering about by him- 
 self with a fishing rod. If there were pleasant fellows 
 along, that was Another thing, but solitary fishing was 
 too lonesome a business for him. He might sometimes 
 stay over Monday for a day's fishing ; but as there 
 was no one to go with him, there was no use talking 
 about it. Gay offered to go with him herself; but 
 he laughed at her in a very good-humored and su- 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 165 
 
 perior way, and told her that if he ever found a stream 
 where the fish were too plentiful and needed to be 
 frightened and made gamesome, he would take her. 
 She assured him that Mr. Stratford told her that she 
 could, in time, learn to fish very well; but at this 
 Crisman laughed again, and said that Stratford prob- 
 ably did not know women as well as he did. When 
 it came to a real day's fishing, he thought that Mis- 
 tress Gay would be much better pleased in a ham- 
 mock on the lawn, with a novel and a box of 
 caramels. 
 
 Gay did not dispute this point, for she knew that 
 Charley was not fond of having his propositions con- 
 troverted, and she herself took no pleasure in argu- 
 ments ; but she said she did not doubt that Mr. Strat- 
 ford would go fishing with him, and he could have 
 no better companion, for that gentleman knew the 
 country so well he could take him where the best 
 fishing was to be found. This proposal suited Mr. 
 Crisman very well. If Stratford would go with him, 
 he would make his arrangements to stay up some 
 Monday, and have a long day's tramp among the 
 trout streams. Gay said she would ask Mr. Stratford 
 about it as soon as he came back; and when she 
 heard of his return, she did not wait until he should 
 call on them, but set herself to work to write him a 
 letter. 
 
 The letter, when finished, was a very good one, 
 and explained the situation in a satisfactory manner. 
 Gay gave it to Mrs. Justin to read, who was surprised 
 when told it had been written, but who, on reading it, 
 could find nothing in it to which reasonable objection 
 
166 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 could be made. On general principles she objected to 
 Gay's writing to Mr. Stratford on any subject, or in 
 any manner whatever. But as this was really Mr. 
 Oisman's affair, and as he had desired that Gay 
 should write the letter, Mrs. Justin of course had no 
 right to interfere. She read the neatly written pages 
 a second time, but she could discover nothing in them 
 which would lead the recipient to suppose that the 
 writer thought of aught else but that her lover should 
 have a pleasant day's fishing, with an agreeable com- 
 panion and competent guide. 
 
 Gay was anxious that her epistle should be dis- 
 patched as soon as possible, because, if Mr. Stratford 
 would go fishing on the following Monday, she wanted 
 to write immediately and let Mr. Crisman know. Mrs. 
 Justin said she was going to send a man to the vil- 
 lage, and that he could ride on and take the letter to 
 Mr. Stratford. Gay went back to the porch to put it 
 into an envelope and address it, and when she was 
 pressing it down on her portfolio while sealing it, a 
 thought came into her head. Taking up her pen, she 
 wrote on the back of the envelope: " Are you ever com- 
 ing to see us again ? n When the man came she gave 
 him the note, and he rode away. 
 
 At luncheon time the returning messenger brought 
 back an answer. Mr. Stratford wrote that he would 
 be much pleased to accompany Mr. Crisman on a fish- 
 ing excursion on the day proposed, and he felt under 
 obligations to Miss Armatt for giving him this oppor- 
 tunity of serving her friend. It was a very pleasant 
 note, and a very polite one ; but when Gay had read 
 it through, there was a shade of disappointment on 
 her face. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 167 
 
 " He doesn't say a word," she exclaimed, " about 
 coming to see us !" 
 
 Mrs. Justin was a little surprised that Gay should 
 expect any such word, and she remarked that prob- 
 ably Mr. Stratford did not think it necessary to an- 
 nounce any intention of that kind. 
 
 The fishing expedition came off the following Mon- 
 day j and in order to stay out of town for that day, 
 Mr. Crisman came to Cherry Bridge on Sunday, in- 
 stead of Saturday, as was his custom. This made his 
 visit to Gay a comparatively short one ; but as she 
 was easily brought to see that putting on time to one 
 end of his visit made it necessary to take off some 
 from the other, she did not complain. 
 
 Mr. Stratford's motives in agreeing to the proposal 
 for a day's fishing were of varied kinds. He had no 
 particular desire to gratify the piscatorial propensities 
 of Mr. Crisman, but he was more than willing to do 
 anything which should be asked of him by Miss Ar- 
 matt. But his principal object in consenting to be 
 Mr. Crisman's companion for a whole day was to 
 give that young man an opportunity of changing 
 the opinion which he had formed of him. u It may 
 be," Stratford had said to himself, " that I am mis- 
 taken in my estimate of the man. There may be 
 qualities in him which will counterbalance those to 
 which I so greatly object. At present he is very com- 
 monplace and vulgar j but his nature may be weaker 
 than I take it to be, and he may be susceptible to the 
 impressions which Gay would make upon almost any 
 one, and thereby be drawn under her influence. If 
 there is a possibility of anything of that kind, the 
 
168 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 marriage may be well enough. There is no reason to 
 suppose that she could elevate him very much, but 
 she might raise him high enough to enter with some 
 sort of sympathy into her pursuits and purposes. He 
 must always be a drag upon her, but he might not 
 be able to pull her down. And, again, he may have 
 points which are so good in themselves as to overbal- 
 ance some of the bad ones I have noticed in him. If 
 that be the case, I will let Mrs. Justin and Thorne 
 have their way. If there is anything good in the 
 man, it is bound to come out in the course of a 
 day's tramp." 
 
 Stratford was perfectly honest in his intentions 
 towards his companion. He did not like Crisman, 
 and would have been sorry, under any circumstances, 
 to see him married to Gay, whose nature was of an 
 entirely different order from that of her lover. But 
 if there was any reason to believe that the marriage 
 would not prove the wreck and ruin of which he 
 thought so much and spoke so frequently, then he 
 would consider it his duty not to interfere with the 
 course events were taking. He did not intend during 
 this day with Crisman to be a spy upon him ; in fact, 
 he made up his mind to avoid saying or doing any- 
 thing which would be calculated to bring into view 
 the bad points of the young man; he had seen enough 
 of them, and desired to know no more concerning 
 them. What he would make it his business to dis- 
 cover was the good that might be in Crisman. 
 
 The day was an admirable one for trout fishing. 
 The sky was slightly overspread by clouds; there was 
 breeze enough, and none too much; and if Crisman 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 169 
 
 had been a fellow inclined to grumble, which he was 
 not, he would have found no reason for discontent 
 this day. He had not known before what an agreeable 
 and talkative companion Stratford could be, and what 
 a generous fellow too, as was shown by his constantly 
 surrendering favorable fishing opportunities to the 
 younger man. There was another thing which Cris- 
 man very much liked in Stratford : he obtruded no 
 advice. Crisman had not had very much practice with 
 the rod and fly, and his only mental objection, when 
 Gay proposed this expedition, was founded on the 
 fear that Stratford, whom he knew to be a skillful 
 angler, would be continually telling him what he 
 ought to do. Stratford had too much good feeling, 
 as well as tact, for this. He knew that the young 
 man had come out for a day's fishing, and not a day's 
 teaching j and he felt quite sure, too, that Crisman 
 was not the man to submit to the presumption that 
 teaching was necessary. So they got on capitally 
 together, each fishing in his own way, and Crisman 
 catching a good many trout, and rejoicing a great 
 deal in his fortune. 
 
 About the middle of the day they sat down in the 
 shade of a great pine-tree to rest and eat the luncheon 
 they had brought with them. When Crisman had 
 satisfied his appetite, which was a very fine one, he 
 lighted a cigar and stretched himself upon the ground, 
 covered thickly with sweet-scented pine needles, to 
 have a smoke and enjoy the situation. Stratford sat 
 near by, looking upon the young man with an expres- 
 sion in which there was an odd mixture of kindly 
 feeling and antipathy. He had found in Crisman 
 
 15 
 
170 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 much of that buoyant good nature which was so 
 noticeable in Gay, and it seemed difficult to believe 
 that under any circumstances he would be aught but 
 a cheery and heartening companion; and this dis- 
 position should count against a great many short- 
 comings in a matrimonial partner. But at the same 
 time there was an air of self-assertion about Crisman 
 which was unpleasant to the other. There was no 
 occasion for his asserting himself against anything, 
 or in favor of anything ; and this assertion seemed 
 to be a habit consequent upon a belief in a man's right 
 to demand from others a recognition of his merits. 
 His theories, his creeds, and his prejudices were 
 placed, so to speak, in his shop window, and he stood 
 at his door calling upon the passers-by to look upon 
 them. 
 
 " There's something very jolly and independent in 
 all this," said Crisman, as he unlaced and kicked off 
 one of his heavy boots. " There are no bonds of 
 slavery here ; no goods to sell, no books to keep, no 
 customers, no firm, no women." 
 
 " Do you number women among your bonds of 
 slavery?" asked Stratford. 
 
 " That depends," answered Crisman. " There are 
 moments when a woman is a good deal of a clog. 
 For instance, if we had brought the ladies with us, I 
 could not have made myself comfortable by kicking 
 off that boot." 
 
 " Very true," said Stratford. 
 
 "I don't want you to think," continued Crisman, 
 after a puff of tobacco smoke had leisurely curled 
 itself up from his mouth, as he lay stretched upon his 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 171 
 
 back, his head resting on his coat, which he had 
 rolled up for a pillow, " that I have anything to say 
 against women. I am the last man in the world to 
 do that. I suppose you know I am going to marry, 
 and one of the finest human beings to be found 
 on this planet will be my wife. If you knew Miss 
 Gay Armatt as I know her, you'd agree to that." 
 
 " I agree perfectly/' said Stratford. 
 
 " I truly believe," continued Crismau, " that there 
 isn't a girl like her. I am not fool enough to say she 
 is absolutely perfect, an angel all but the wings, 
 but I will say this : that, with the exception of the 
 way she has been over-educated, and that, in my 
 opinion, was the fault of other people more than her 
 own, she can't be improved upon." 
 
 " Over-educated ? " remarked Stratford. 
 
 " Yes, sir," said Crisman ; " that's exactly the word. 
 She spent four solid years in learning things which will 
 be of no more use to her than another pair of legs 
 would be to that bird which you see flying up 
 there. When she entered her college she was seven- 
 teen years old, and as well educated as any girl on 
 earth need want to be ; and yet she has wasted four 
 years of her life in slaving at mathematics, Latin, and 
 Greek, and I don't know what else besides, which are 
 of no use whatever to a woman who expects to be a 
 wife and a mother and the head of a family. I don't 
 say this to Gay, because it is done now and can't be 
 helped, and there's no use raking up trouble about it. 
 And I don't say it to Mrs. Justin, because she had a 
 very large finger in the pie, having pushed Gay on in 
 this college business more than anybody else. But I 
 
172 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 say it to you, because you are a man, and can under- 
 stand how I feel about it. I speak warmly on this 
 matter, because I know lots of other girls who are 
 going on in the same way Gay has gone, and I 
 think it's a shame that they are allowed to waste a 
 good part of their lives in stuffing their minds with 
 what to them is no more than dead leaves and ashes. 
 Now, look at Gay Armatt. You wouldn't believe it, 
 but she's twenty-one years old, and she might as well 
 have been married three years ago. In that case she 
 wouldn't have married me, because I didn't know her 
 then; but that doesn't alter the principle of the 
 thing. Now, allow one year for courting, just look 
 at the four years of absolute happiness that have 
 been taken out of her life by this absurdity of send- 
 ing her to college. If it had been really necessary 
 for her to earn her living as a teacher, that would 
 have been another thing but her friends ought to 
 have known that for a girl like her there would be 
 no necessity for anything of that kind. And that's 
 the case with nine-tenths of the girls who go to col- 
 lege. They don't intend to be teachers ; and as soon as 
 they get themselves graduated they begin to be inter- 
 ested in the things which really concern them, and 
 forget all they have been taught at college in a con- 
 founded sight less time than it took them to learn it. 
 The education that sticks to them is what they got 
 before they went to college. Now, I want you to 
 understand I'm not saying anything against Gay 
 Armatt. She has lost a lot of time, but that can't be 
 helped; and what she has learned isn't going to hurt 
 her. She talks a great deal about keeping up her 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 173 
 
 studies after we are married, and making herself 
 mistress of this and that thing which I don't under- 
 stand, and which, to tell the truth, I never tried to. 
 I don't say a word against all this, but just leave it 
 to her own good sense to find out that when she has 
 got her hands full of what makes up a woman's real 
 work in this world, she will have to give these other 
 things the go-by." 
 
 u But suppose she does not see that for herself? 7 ' 
 asked Stratford. 
 
 " My dear sir," said Crisman, sitting up and throw- 
 ing away his cigar, " I am one of the most indulgent 
 men in the world, and an easier-going temper than 
 mine you won't meet with often ; but if I had a wife 
 who didn't see that her true duty in life had nothing 
 to do with the higher mathematics and Greek verbs, 
 Fd make it my business that she did see it. There 
 won't be anything of this kind necessary with Gay, 
 because she's not the sort of girl to want to make my 
 life miserable by poking among rubbish of that sort. 
 When she knows I don't like it, she'll stop it." 
 
 At that moment a drinking-cup of glass which 
 Stratford had been holding in his hand came heavily 
 to the ground. 
 
 " Anything broken ? " asked Crisman, with a quick 
 turn of his head. 
 
 11 Yes," said Stratford, rising ; " I think there is." 
 
 Crisman looked at the fragments of the cup, and 
 laughingly remarking that that was a case past mend- 
 ing, put on his coat, and took up his rod and basket. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 HEN Mr. Crisman, towards the end 
 of the afternoon, returned from his 
 fishing excursion, he was seen afar 
 by Miss Gay, who ran to meet him. 
 As she came up to him she first 
 inquired why Mr. Stratford had not 
 come back with him, and then asked 
 if he had had a good day's sport. She might have 
 asked the second question first had it not been, in 
 fact, only a matter of form ; for she saw in her lovers 
 face and demeanor that he had been enjoying himself. 
 " Success ! " he exclaimed. " I should say so ! " 
 And he lifted the lid of his basket. " Look at that ! 
 I should have caught a lot more, for they were rising 
 just as well as ever, but Stratford said we had all that 
 the two families could possibly eat, and he didn't see 
 the use of catching any more. That is not my way, 
 for when I go fishing, I go to catch all I can get and 
 make a big count j but, of course, as I was using his 
 tackle and things, I didn't press the matter, and we 
 stopped an hour or two sooner than there was any 
 need to. I did suggest that he should come back 
 with me, but he didn't seem to take to the idea." 
 
 Gay thought that when people had caught all the 
 fish for which they had any use, it was a very sensible 
 
 174 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 175 
 
 and humane thing to stop fishing. And she thought, 
 moreover, that Mr. Stratford appeared to have good 
 ideas on a great many different subjects ; but she did 
 not speak her thoughts. She had no doubt that, as 
 Charley grew older, he would discover for himself a 
 great many of the things which Mr. Stratford had 
 discovered for himself. 
 
 At dinner that evening the apparent disinclination 
 of Mr. Stratford to visit at Cherry Bridge was men- 
 tioned both by Gay and Crisman ; and although Mrs. 
 Justin passed the matter over without comment, her 
 mind was a good deal disturbed. It was an abnormal 
 and exceedingly unpleasant state of affairs when her 
 old friend Stratford lived at the Bullripple farm and 
 did not come to Cherry Bridge. Not only did Mrs. 
 Justin regret it because it deprived her of the com- 
 pany of her friend, but she feared very much that 
 Stratford's absence might be noticed, and that the 
 people in the neighborhood might connect it in some 
 way with Gay's presence at Cherry Bridge. Gossip 
 of this sort would be painful and even abhorrent to 
 Mrs. Justin, and she determined to put an end to what 
 she considered a very unnatural condition of things. 
 
 After Mr. Crisman's departure the next morning, 
 she drove herself over to the Bullripple farm, where 
 she was fortunate enough to find Mr. Stratford mend- 
 ing some fishing-tackle under the shade of a great 
 oak in the front yard. 
 
 " I have come to have a very plain talk with you," 
 she said. 
 
 " I am glad of it," said Stratford j "and here is the 
 easiest outdoor chair the place affords." 
 
176 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 " It may not be a very long conversation," she said, 
 " for I hope you will readily agree with me that it is 
 absolutely wrong, from whatever point it may be 
 looked at, for an old friend, such as you are, to live 
 so near my house without visiting it. Of course I 
 know the reason ; but I don't think there ought to 
 be any such reason. I trust you have come to the 
 conclusion that you are altogether mistaken in your 
 ideas about the engagement of Mr. Crisman and Gay, 
 and that you no longer think it your duty to inter- 
 fere in the matter. That being the case, I am most 
 anxious to tell you how earnestly I desire that you 
 should visit my house as you used to, and be the 
 same good friend to all of us that you once were." 
 
 Mrs. Justin leaned forward as she spoke, and there 
 was a touch of moisture in her beautiful eyes. 
 
 Stratford looked at her steadily for a moment 
 before he spoke. " Mrs. Justin," he said, " you can- 
 not imagine what pain it gives me to hear you speak 
 in that way, and to answer you as I must." 
 
 " It often seems to me," said Mrs. Justin, drawing 
 herself a little back, " that when persons do things 
 that not only give themselves pain but greatly grieve 
 their friends, it should be self-evident that the way 
 to make everybody happy is to stop doing those 
 things." 
 
 Stratford smiled. " That quick way out of trouble 
 will not answer in this case. I have the greatest pos- 
 sible desire to visit your house, but I must also state 
 that since our last conversation your views and mine 
 concerning Miss Armatt's engagement have become 
 more widely different than they were before. I now 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 177 
 
 believe that it would be an actual crime to allow that 
 man to marry her." 
 
 " And you still persist/' said Mrs. Justin, " in your 
 intention of endeavoring to win her away from him." 
 
 " If the end can be accomplished in no other way, 
 I most certainly do," said Stratford. 
 
 " Then, of course," said Mrs. Justin, her face pal- 
 ing a little as she spoke, " it will not do for you to 
 visit Cherry Bridge while Gay is there." 
 
 She made a motion as if she were about to rise, 
 but Stratford quickly said : " Do not go. There is 
 much more I wish to say to you." 
 
 She kept her seat, and, leaning back in her chair, 
 she sighed. " Oh," she said, " if you would only tell 
 me that you had determined to let these two be happy 
 in their own way, how thankful I should be ! " 
 
 "I have been thinking over this matter a very 
 great deal," said Stratford^ and if you will be will- 
 ing to join with me in what I wish to do, I will make 
 an entire change in my plan." 
 
 " Join you ! " exclaimed Mrs. Justin. 
 
 " That is exactly what I mean," he continued. " I 
 want you to help me save this girl your friend, 
 whose promise and worth you know so thoroughly 
 from an absolutely unfit marriage." 
 
 " Mr. Stratford," said she, " you know very well 
 that I would sooner cut off my hand than to try to 
 make a girl and a young man break the solemn prom- 
 ises that they have made to each other, especially 
 when I know that they love each other with all their 
 hearts." 
 
 "I have believed," said Stratford, "and still be- 
 
178 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 lieve, that the very best way of making Gay Armatt 
 understand the wrong position she has taken in 
 engaging herself to Crisman is to give her an oppor- 
 tunity of becoming acquainted with other men j and 
 I do not think I have nattered myself very much 
 when I drew her attention to myself as a better man 
 than Crisman. I do not hesitate to say to you that 
 I believe that, had I the opportunity, I coukj make 
 her understand what a companionship for life ought 
 to be, and that she could never expect such a com- 
 panionship in Crisman." 
 
 " It is perfectly horrible to hear you talk that way," 
 said Mrs. Justin. 
 
 " But I do not intend to insist," said Stratford, 
 "that this plan of mine is the only one by which 
 Gay Armatt can be saved from the fate which 
 threatens her; and if you will undertake to make 
 her perceive that it is^p duty she owes to herself 
 not to marry Crisman, I will give up the scheme 
 which is so objectionable to you, and will retire 
 absolutely from the affair." 
 
 " Why do you talk to me in that way ? " said Mrs. 
 Justin. " You know perfectly well that I would 
 never consent to do anything of the kind." 
 
 " I thought it right to give you the opportunity," 
 said Stratford. " I knew you could exert a powerful 
 influence on your young friend ; but, in spite of that, 
 I should have very great fears for your success. The 
 arguments of parents and friends against the suit- 
 ability of lovers are generally but words wasted. In 
 such cases it is better to divert the stream than to 
 try to dam it. But, as I said before, notwithstanding 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 179 
 
 my preference for my own plan, I am perfectly will- 
 ing if you will undertake this work " 
 
 "Which I will not/' interrupted Mrs. Justin. 
 
 " to put it into your hands. But, as you decline 
 to take it, I feel it my duty to go on with it, if I shall 
 have the opportunity ." 
 
 "Mr. Stratford," said his companion, leaning for- 
 ward towards him again, " do you know anything 
 terrible about Mr. Crisman, which makes you so re- 
 lentless towards him ? Has he committed a crime, 
 or what is the matter with him, that you stand up 
 so obstinately and declare that he shall not marry 
 the woman of his choice ? It cannot only be that he 
 is of a lower intellectual grade than she. There 
 must be something more than that which makes 
 you wish to interfere between persons with whom 
 you have no connection whatever." 
 
 " If you will look upon the matter with unbiased 
 judgment," said Stratford, " I think you must see 
 that Crisman, for his own benefit and advantage, 
 purposes to commit a crime." And then, more 
 minutely and forcibly than he had ever spoken of it 
 before, he told Mrs. Justin what he had found Cris- 
 man to be, and deduced from that the disastrous 
 result to Gay of her marriage with him. 
 
 Mrs. People sat at one of the open windows of the 
 farm-house, shelling peas and looking across the yard 
 at the two who were talking under the great oak-tree. 
 It was very easy to see that their business was im- 
 portant, and she hoped, from the bottom of her heart, 
 that Mr. Stratford was making up his mind to buy 
 a certain outlying portion of Mrs. Justin's estate. 
 
180 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 Often and often had Mrs. People urged that purchase 
 upon him, and she did trust that now her words were 
 beginning to coine to something. To be sure, she 
 would be very sorry not to have him live with them 
 every summer, but all that might stop at any time ; 
 and he would make a most excellent summer neigh- 
 bor, both to herself and brother, and to Mrs. Justin. 
 And, more than that, the fact that a city man came 
 to Cherry Bridge and bought property and built, 
 would help the sale of land in the neighborhood, and 
 might put money into Enoch's pocket, and, ultimately, 
 into that of her son John. Therefore she did most 
 truly trust that Mr. Stratford was telling Mrs. Justin 
 just exactly what he was willing to give, and that she 
 would agree to it. 
 
 Stratford talked earnestly and steadily and a long 
 time; and when he had finished, Mrs. Justin arose 
 from her chair. 
 
 "You have convinced me but of one thing," she 
 said, " and that is, you truly believe your motive is a 
 good one. What you say of Mr. Crisman may be 
 true now, but he is still young, and I cannot believe 
 that it will always be true j and, in any case, there is 
 the fact before us that the two have promised to 
 marry each other." 
 
 She moved towards her pony carriage, he walking 
 by her side. " I see that I can make no impression 
 on you," she said ; " but still I do not intend to give 
 up my object of restoring the old condition of friendly 
 intercourse between us. I cannot say now what I 
 shall do, but the thing must be done. If necessary, 
 Gay's visit to me shall be brought to a close." 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 181 
 
 " I beg of you," said Stratford, earnestly, " not to 
 think of anything of that sort. I will go away my- 
 self." 
 
 " How will that help to restore our friendship, and 
 give me an opportunity of discussing with you all 
 those points I have set down in my memorandum- 
 book? No, you must stay here ; and in a day or two 
 I will let you know what I have determined upon. 
 I will do nothing without first advising you of it." 
 
 And she stepped into her phaeton, and took the 
 reins which Stratford handed to her. 
 
 When Mr. Stratford returned from a long drive at 
 the close of the next day, he was handed a note from 
 Mrs. Justin, which had arrived for him in the morn- 
 ing. It read as follows : 
 
 " DEAR MR. STRATFORD : From the moment you read this I 
 wish you to understand that you are to come to see us as 
 often and stay as long as your important engagements with 
 trout and mountain views will permit. Do not imagine from 
 this that I have exiled my dear Gay. Her presence here need 
 not have the slightest effect on your coming, and your coming 
 will not have the slightest effect upon her. This may appear a 
 little cruel, but I must admit that I take a certain wicked pleas- 
 ure in writing it. As I do not wish to mystify you any longer, 
 I will immediately state that I have had a long conversation 
 with Gay, and I find that you and I might have saved ourselves 
 the trouble of discussing the subject of her engagement. She 
 
 is perfectly devoted to Mr. C , and I am positive that there 
 
 is no person living who could divert her affections from him. I 
 always knew she loved him most sincerely, but I never imagined 
 the strength and depth of her affection until I had that talk 
 with her last evening. And, more than that, if you could hear, 
 which you shall not, the plans which this dear girl, now opening 
 her soul for the first time in fullest confidence to a friend, has 
 
 16 
 
182 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 made for work with him and for him, you would long for the 
 power to deny to yourself that you had ever thought of inter- 
 fering- with their happiness. One of the strongest points in 
 favor of her complete success in carrying out her plans is that 
 she knows his shortcomings, and, in my opinion, has most ad- 
 mirable ideas with regard to the way in which they ought to be 
 treated. She will be a guardian angel to him, and I firmly 
 believe that, in one year after their marriage, Mr. Crisman will 
 be an entirely different person from the young man whom we 
 now know. So you see, my dear philanthropist, that your 
 schemes for this young lady's benefit can come to nothing ; that 
 is, they cannot produce the result which you desire. Their 
 only effect will be that her studies will be assisted, her knowl- 
 edge of the world will be increased, and her mind will receive 
 that polish from contact with the mind of a thoroughly well- 
 educated and cultured man, which I desired when I planned for 
 the frequent companionship of yourself and Gay. 
 
 " Yours, in a most delighted state of mind, 
 
 " LILIAN JUSTIN. 
 
 " P. S. Of course, in my conversation with Gay, I never 
 alluded to you in any way. 
 
 "In reading over this letter, I cannot help feeling a little 
 sorry for you. I know I ought not to have such a feeling, but I 
 have it just a little." 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 T was deeply exasperating to the soul 
 of J. Weatherby Stull to find that 
 his tact and cunning had been over- 
 matched, and his important secret 
 discovered by that wily-souled old 
 farmer, Enoch Bullripple. To many 
 men this defeat would have been humiliating, but Mr. 
 Stull could not be humiliated ; he was simply enraged 
 and filled with a desire for vengeance. 
 
 The advantage which Mr. Bullripple had gained 
 over him with regard to the future prospects of John 
 People troubled Mr. Stull not at all. In fact he was 
 glad to make John a partner with a very small in- 
 terest in the Vatoldi concern, and probably would 
 have done so some day of his own accord. This posi- 
 tion secured John's secrecy concerning the identity 
 of the principal owner, for the young man had been 
 made to understand thoroughly that in case of bad 
 faith on his part the business would be brought to a 
 sudden close. Regarding the old man's possession 
 of the secret Mr. Stull felt perfectly safe. Enoch 
 Bullripple had promised him before the agreement 
 with John had been concluded that he would never 
 divulge the fact that Mr. Stull owned Vatoldi's ; and 
 when Enoch Bullripple had given his word, Mr. Stull 
 
 183 
 
184 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 knew that it would be kept. In fact the secret was 
 much safer when Enoch knew it and promised to 
 keep it than when unknown to him and the subject 
 of his prying curiosity. 
 
 But his satisfaction in regard to this phase of the 
 affair made no difference in Stull's feelings towards 
 the old scoundrel who, with unparalleled effrontery, 
 had laid his sacrilegious hands upon that thing of 
 inestimable worth, the product of years of thought 
 and experience, the Vatoldi system. In his vandalic 
 operations Enoch had shown such fiendish ingenuity 
 that Mr. Stull felt sure he must for some time have 
 suspected the identity of the man against whose peace 
 of mind his machinations were directed, and that 
 he was thus endeavoring, in some degree, to take a 
 spiteful vengeance on Mr. Stull for that gentleman's 
 acquisition, perfectly legal and proper, of his sister's 
 farm. 
 
 That Enoch Bullripple should suffer for his mali- 
 cious wrong-doing, Mr. Stull was fully determined, 
 and he believed he had tact enough to ruin the old 
 farmer, and yet give him no reason to believe that 
 he had anything to do with it. 
 
 With all this arranged and ordered in his very 
 orderly mind, Mr. Stull found himself once more in 
 buoyant and cheerful spirits. He had work before 
 him, and he was glad to do it. With regard to 
 Yatoldi's his action would be prompt and vigorous. 
 The place had been desecrated, and the most radical 
 measures would be necessary to place it again upon 
 its former footing. The boycotters, who had been 
 much disheartened by the changes that had taken 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 185 
 
 place under the Bullripple administration, were en- 
 couraged to fresh efforts by the return of John People 
 to his post. They imagined that his absence had 
 been a ruse to make them suppose that the business 
 had passed into other hands, and they determined to 
 show Mr. People that they were not to be deterred 
 by such tricks as that. 
 
 But little Mr. Stull cared now for the boycotters. 
 With his faithful manager again at his command, 
 and with Vatoldi's, such as it used to be, absolutely 
 gone and vanished, so that no thought of interference 
 with its orderly system and its prosperity need pre- 
 vent his making any change he might choose, he 
 decided upon a bold step. He would close up the 
 place, renovate, beautify, and enlarge it, and reopen 
 it as the old Vatoldi's invigorated with fresh youth. 
 All the circumstances of the case were in his favor. 
 It was the season when the patrons he most cared 
 for were out of town. A large adjoining store on 
 which he had for years cast longing eyes was now 
 at his disposal, and, above all, there was no better 
 way to cleanse the establishment from its recent con- 
 taminations than to blot it out of existence for a 
 time, and then recreate it in its old form. 
 
 Accordingly the firemen- waiters were discharged, 
 the business was closed up, and when some boycotters 
 arrived with a quantity of new circulars printed on 
 bright red paper, they found the shutters up and the 
 door locked, and a notice posted, which stated that 
 in consequence of extensive alterations and enlarge- 
 ments the establishment would be closed for some 
 weeks. This put an end to the boycotting business. 
 
186 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 The body of former waiters, who for some time had 
 been regretting that they had not been willing to 
 stick to their aprons and jackets, had been lately 
 assured by their leader that John People's running 
 away and coming back was a sign of weakness, and 
 that a fresh attack upon him would surely be suc- 
 cessful. They now lost all hope. Their strike had 
 brought a great deal of privation upon them. Even 
 supposing their action had been the real cause of the 
 closing of the establishment, it had not been of the 
 least benefit to themselves. Having now nothing to 
 fight against, they determined to go to work as soon 
 as they could; but, before doing so, they took the 
 man who had led them into all their troubles into a 
 lonely back yard, and after giving him a most unani- 
 mous beating, they emptied upon him two barrels of 
 ashes, and would have provided him with sackcloth 
 if they had supposed it would add to the gloominess 
 of his reflections. 
 
 Through John People, Mr. Stull now arranged with 
 contractors for his intended improvements ; and when 
 all the plans had been made, and everything prepared 
 for the beginning of the work, Mr. Stull thought it 
 a suitable time to give John the holiday for which 
 his uncle had stipulated. During the preliminary 
 demolitions of partitions, and tearing up of floors, 
 and carting away of rubbish, the contractors would 
 need no supervision. But when the new work was 
 actually begun, Mr. Stull would wish his managing 
 partner to be on hand to make daily reports and 
 receive daily instructions. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 187 
 
 The usually serene John had been very angry dur- 
 ing his brief sojourn in the South, and when he re- 
 turned he had not hesitated to tell his uncle what he 
 thought of the trick which had been played upon him. 
 But old Enoch had received his nephew's reproaches 
 with such imperturbability, and had taken such im- 
 mediate and decided steps for the furtherance of 
 the young man's business prosperity, that the latter 
 could not but forgive him. With nothing, therefore, 
 to cast a cloud upon the radiant skies of his holiday, 
 John repaired to the scenes of his boyhood. 
 
 Mr. Stull's family usually went into the country as 
 early in the season as any other fashionable people, 
 but this year the domestic economies had been very 
 much interfered with by the Vatoldi disturbances, 
 and the family was still in town. For reasons of his 
 own Mr. Stull determined not to go to a watering- 
 place, but to the farm which he owned in the pleasant 
 region of Cherry Bridge. His wife and daughters 
 were ready to leave town much sooner than he him- 
 self desired to go, and they were therefore dispatched, 
 in company with their voluminous baggage, to take 
 possession of the apartments that had been prepared 
 for the family in the house of the tenant of the farm, 
 with whom they were to board. 
 
 It might have appeared to an ordinary observer, 
 cognizant of Mr. StulPs designs against the financial 
 prosperity of Enoch Bullripple, that it was a rash and 
 imprudent step for Stull, if he wished to remain un- 
 known as the author of the intended injuries to the 
 old farmer, to come into the neighborhood at the time 
 
188 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 when the injuries were about to be inflicted. But 
 Mr. Stull had his wits about him. He had resolved 
 that under no circumstances would he show in this 
 affair, and when his working operations had been 
 finally decided upon, he found that his occasional 
 presence at Cherry Bridge would be a great aid in 
 the preservation of his secret. This, therefore, was 
 the principal reason for selecting this Ion g-unvi sited 
 farm as a suitable place for his summer sojourn. 
 
 Mrs. Stull, whose tastes were rather domestic than 
 otherwise, was very willing, after a winter of a some- 
 what goaded social activity, to retire into an unevent- 
 ful country life ; the two younger girls, both in short 
 dresses, were delighted at the prospect of field ram- 
 bles and mountain scrambles 5 and even Miss Matilda 
 thought she might find a good deal to amuse and 
 interest her independent and practical mind at Cherry 
 Bridge. 
 
 During the first week of their stay on the farm Mr. 
 StulPs family found their anticipations of pleasure 
 fully realized; but towards the end of that period 
 Miss Matilda was obliged to admit to herself that 
 things were getting a little dull. She had taken all 
 the drives she cared to take with her mother and 
 sisters ; she had taken all the walks she cared to take 
 by herself, for her mother never walked, and the two 
 girls always ran j and she began to see that nature 
 had not designed her to be happy under any circum- 
 stances in which she had nobody to talk to. 
 
 It was in this mood that she sauntered one day 
 across a broad pasture-field through which a narrow 
 path meanderingly ran. With one small and tightly 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 189 
 
 gloved hand she held a bright red parasol over her 
 head, and with the other hand she raised the skirt of 
 her fashionably modeled dress just enough to show 
 her tightly fitting boots. To those who were ac- 
 quainted with this small but very pretty young 
 woman, everything about her seemed to partake of 
 the characteristics of her gloves and boots. Even 
 her ideas, although they were not very far-reaching, 
 were admirably adapted and shaped to their objects. 
 
 Raising her eyes as she daintily trod the narrow 
 path, she saw, approaching her, a young man of 
 rotund and sturdy proportions, an upright carriage, 
 and a strong, energetic, though rather rolling gait. 
 His rounded cheeks were somewhat flushed, perhaps 
 from exercise, and on his brow there was an air of 
 gentle resignation, mingled now with some other feel- 
 ing which might be embarrassment, uncertain antici- 
 pation, or some form of indeterminate anxiety. The 
 moment the eyes of Miss Matilda fell upon this young 
 man she recognized him by the resigned brow which 
 she had frequently noticed while taking refreshments 
 at Vatoldi's. 
 
 John had seen Miss Matilda long before she had 
 noticed him. He was not altogether surprised at the 
 vision of this being, who for many months had been 
 so prominent in his thoughts ; for he knew the family 
 were coming to their farm, and it was very natural 
 that Miss Matilda should give herself the pleasure of 
 a walk abroad. His soul was rejoiced to look upon 
 her again, but his ideas of propriety and exact social 
 conduct were in a sad tremble. He did not know 
 what he ought to do when he met her. Strictly speak- 
 
190 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 ing lie was not acquainted with her, although some 
 slight conversation had once taken place between them 
 at the cashier's desk at Vatoldi's. It might be that 
 she would not resent a bow from him, should she but 
 remember that she had spoken with him, notwith- 
 standing a collateral recollection of having very often 
 paid him for her luncheons. Moreover, the two were 
 now in the country, upon a narrow path through a 
 field, and under such circumstances it was certainly 
 proper for a man to raise his hat when he passed a 
 lady, no matter whether she recognized him or not. 
 But more powerful than these motives impelling him 
 to bow to Miss Matilda, was the remembrance that he 
 was now her father's partner. To be sure she did not 
 know this, but he was very conscious of it, and this 
 consciousness had already begun to have a stiffening 
 effect upon his character. Miss Matilda might not 
 deign even to look at him, but a rebuff of this kind 
 would not have the effect upon him it would have had 
 a few weeks before. " Therefore," said John to him- 
 self, " I shall take off my hat as I pass her." And as 
 this act, look upon it as he might, had in it a gentle 
 flavor of acquaintanceship, it was quite natural his 
 heart should flutter and his cheeks increase their 
 healthful glow. 
 
 But, to the great surprise of the young man, Miss 
 Stull stopped before he reached her, and stood, looking 
 pleasantly at him as if she were awaiting his approach. 
 This was indeed the case, for the heart of Miss Matilda 
 was cheered by the sight of a young man whose ap- 
 pearance was familiar to her, and to whom she had a 
 very fair excuse for speaking. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN, 191 
 
 " Good-morning," she said, when he was near 
 enough. 
 
 John, his whole being thoroughly moved by this 
 salutation, stopped, took off his hat, put it on again, 
 ejaculated " Good-morning," and without any volition 
 on his part was about to pass on. But Miss Matilda 
 had no intention of allowing this. 
 
 " Are you not the gentleman who attended to the 
 desk at Yatoldi's restaurant?" she said. "I have 
 seen you there so often that I recognized you imme- 
 diately, although it appears very odd to meet you 
 out here in this far-away country place." 
 
 John indistinctly murmured something to the effect 
 that it was rather odd. 
 
 " But now I come to think of it," she continued, 
 " you once told me you were born here. In that case 
 of course it isn't odd that you should sometimes come 
 here." 
 
 The fact that she remembered the little conversa- 
 tion gave John such a rush of delight to the head 
 that he was incapable of making an immediate 
 remark suitable to the occasion, and stammered out 
 instead some words which seemed to indicate that he 
 thought it was rather odd that he should have been 
 born here. 
 
 " Everything must seem very familiar to you," said 
 Miss Matilda, " and things ought to be very familiar 
 to me too, for I used to live here when I was a girl. 
 But, somehow or other, they are not. These fields are 
 not so large as I remember them, and the mountains 
 and woods seem a great deal nearer than they used to 
 be. I wonder if this is the field where that old gen- 
 
192 THE HUNDREDTH MAN, 
 
 tleman who told me in the restaurant that he was 
 your uncle used to keep a savage bull for the sole 
 purpose, as I believed, of frightening children off the 
 grass." 
 
 John's tumultuous emotion was now subsiding into 
 an astonished delight at the friendly words and man- 
 ner of Miss Stull. " Yes, ma'am," said he, " this is the 
 field, but there is no bull here now. w 
 
 " Oh, I am not in the slightest degree afraid of that," 
 said Miss Matilda, " with some one here to drive him 
 away." 
 
 John smiled and glowed, and, emboldened by his 
 pleasure, made an independent remark. " You 
 couldn't have been very much afraid of it, ma'am," 
 he said, " when you came into the field with your red 
 parasol." 
 
 " I did think of the bull," said Miss Matilda, twirl- 
 ing the parasol in front of her as she spoke, " and I, 
 thought if he should come at me it would be a very 
 good thing to have this red parasol. I should have 
 thrown it down in the way he was coming, and then, 
 while he was horning it, I should have run away." 
 
 " That would have been a tip-top thing to do," said 
 John, admiringly. " I don't believe anybody could 
 have done better than that." 
 
 " Except keep out of the field altogether," she said. 
 "And now can you tell me which way I ought to go to 
 find a path which will lead me to some place where I 
 can get into the road that runs by my father's farm. 
 You know where that is? " 
 
 "Oh, yes," said John, "that is the place I was 
 born on. If you just walk across the grass to the 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 193 
 
 fence-corner over there, you will come to bars which 
 can be let down, and then on the other side of the 
 next field is a gate which opens into the road." 
 
 " How do you let down bars ? " asked Miss Matilda. 
 
 u Oh, Fll go over and do it for you/ 7 said John. 
 
 Miss Matilda smiled and thanked him, and the two 
 walked together over the grass to the fence-corner. 
 
 " It seems strange," said Miss Stull, " that, being 
 born on a farm, you did not stay there and become a 
 farmer instead of going to the city and keeping a 
 restaurant." 
 
 " I didn't have any choice in the matter," said John. 
 And in his heart he thought that he was rejoiced that 
 his mother's home had been snatched from her, and 
 that he had been cast forth upon the world ; for, 
 otherwise, he would never have come in contact with 
 the Stulls, and this enrapturing walk across the fields 
 could never have been a reality. 
 
 " After all," continued the lady, "it isn't such a 
 very bad arrangement, for I suppose your uncle can 
 raise bulls here and send them down to be used in 
 your restaurant." 
 
 John smiled vigorously. " Uncle does sometimes 
 sell us things from the farm, but we never have any 
 call for the kind of meat you speak of. All that we 
 buy is the tenderest and best." 
 
 " That is very true," said Miss Matilda, " for I 
 remember that I often used to get there the nicest 
 kinds of lamb-chops, and, sometimes, sweet-breads." 
 
 Had the heavens opened ? Was it possible that the 
 memory of those carefully reserved chops and sweet- 
 breads still lingered in her soul ? Could it be that 
 
 17 
 
194 THE HUNDEEDTH MAN. 
 
 they had made an impression thereon ? Dared he to 
 believe that she saw in these delicacies something 
 more than the lamb or the calf could offer ? Be the 
 truth what it might, it was enough now to know that 
 she remembered those choice bits which he had so 
 carefully preserved for her in the corner of his ice- 
 box, and which represented the feelings that filled, not 
 a corner, but the whole of his heart. 
 
 "If ever again," he said to himself, as he strode 
 proudly beside her, "she doesn't come for two or 
 three days, and any of those cuts are left over, no soul 
 on earth shall eat them but myself ! " 
 
 The bars were taken down with great alacrity. 
 Then John offered to accompany the lady to the gate, 
 for, as he remarked, it was more than likely that it 
 was fastened up in some way that would make it 
 hard for her to open it. Miss Stull had no desire to 
 lose John's company at that point, and, accepting his 
 offer, the two continued their walk. 
 
 When they had passed through a gate, which really 
 did require the hand of a man to open it, John said, 
 pointing to a farm-house which stood some little dis- 
 tance back from the road : " That is the house of my 
 uncle, Mr. Bullripple. My mother lives with him, and 
 I am spending my holiday there. Wouldn't you like 
 to step in and rest ? My mother will be very glad to 
 see you, and it is a good mile to your father's farm 
 along this road." 
 
 Miss Matilda hesitated a moment. " Do you think 
 your mother could give me a glass of milk ? " she said. 
 
 " Milk ! " exclaimed John, " gallons of it ! Rich as 
 cream, and right out of the cool spring-house. 7 ' 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 195 
 
 " That sounds nice," said Miss Matilda, " although 
 I don't want gallons. I think I shall stop and rest." 
 
 With more of a roll, and more of a swell, and more 
 of a vigorous step than he had ever shown before, 
 John crossed the road and threw open the Bullripple 
 gate. Up the short lane shaded by cherry-trees he 
 proudly escorted Miss Stull. The young lady declared 
 she did not care to go into the house, but would 
 rather rest in the shade outside, so John led her to a 
 chair under the great oak-tree where stood the table 
 at which Mr. Stratford frequently wrote his letters. 
 
 " I will tell mother you are here/ 7 said John, " and 
 you shall have some milk in a moment." 
 
 When Mrs. People heard who was sitting under the 
 tree, she knitted her brows. Her opinion of Mr. Stull 
 was one of the strongest reprobation, and, years ago, 
 had been personally stated to him. She had never 
 changed this opinion, nor did she know of any reason 
 why she should like anything belonging to him. If 
 his daughter stopped in her yard and asked for a 
 drink of milk, she would give it to her just as she 
 would give it to a needy tramp, but she did not want 
 to go out and see her. Besides, she was busy in the 
 kitchen, and was not in a condition to see folks. 
 
 " Mother," said John, " I will go to the spring-house 
 and get a pitcher of milk, and will you please put 
 some of those big raspberries that were picked to-day 
 into something, and I will take them out to her." 
 
 The chin of Mrs. People went up into the air, and 
 she made no answer. She was not accustomed to 
 refuse any request made by her dear boy, but this 
 was going very far. Why should John put himself 
 
196 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 to so much trouble to refresh old StulPs daughter? 
 She stepped to a window of the kitchen which was 
 in the end of the house and commanded a view of 
 the oak-tree. That girl out there was certainly very 
 pretty, and wore as stylish clothes as ever had been 
 seen in this part of the country. Mrs. People did 
 not affect such things herself, but she knew them 
 when she saw them. 
 
 As she stood and gazed on Miss Matilda, a brilliant 
 idea flashed into Mrs. People's mind. " Suppose/' 
 she thought, " just suppose that should happen ! " and 
 she rubbed together her floury hands. She knew 
 that Miss Stull, as well as her father, frequently 
 came to Vatoldi's, and she supposed it was there John 
 had made the young lady's acquaintance, and noth- 
 ing could be more natural than that they should like 
 each other. She was truly a pretty little piece of 
 goods ; and as for John, a manlier figure and an 
 honester face were never created for the delight of 
 womankind. Yes, indeed, if that should come about, 
 the family would get back more than they had lost; 
 and if old Stull didn't like it, he could lump it. And 
 to know that he lumped it would be a rare joy to 
 Mrs. People. 
 
 Quickly now the good woman washed her hands. 
 A handsome glass dish was heaped with bright red 
 raspberries, several slices of her nicest cake were put 
 upon a pretty china plate, a bowl of white sugar was 
 brought out, and when John appeared with the milk 
 she sent him back for a pitcher of cream. And while 
 he was gone she glanced along her pantry shelves, 
 and added some guava jelly to the other refreshments. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 197 
 
 When John came, he covered a tray with a large 
 napkin, and with much celerity arranged upon it 
 the articles mentioned, together with the necessary 
 spoons, saucers, napkin, and tumbler, and a glass of 
 water. Throwing a small table-cloth over his left 
 arm, John took up the tray and stepped briskly into 
 the yard ; his mother assuring him that she would go 
 out and speak to the young lady as soon as she had 
 put on something fit to be seen. 
 
 Arrived at the tree, the tray was daintily placed 
 upon the grass, the cloth was swiftly but correctly 
 spread upon the table, and then, with the skill of the 
 head-man at VatoldPs, John placed dishes, glasses, 
 pitchers, and saucers upon the fine white cloth. 
 
 " Goodness gracious ! n exclaimed Miss Stull, when 
 John appeared. " You've brought me a regular meal ! 
 But I must say this seems quite natural ! Why, I 
 could almost imagine myself at Vatoldi's, and you, or 
 one of your waiters, fixing up everything in such a 
 tempting way ! 7? 
 
 And Miss Matilda, not at all loath to enjoy what 
 was set before her, drew off her gloves and began 
 her repast ; while John poured out the milk, served 
 the berries, handed the cream and sugar, proffered 
 the cake, and performed every service with the grace 
 and foresight of an accomplished knight of the 
 restaurant. 
 
 Now appeared, at the front door of the house, Mr. 
 Stratford, prepared for an afternoon drive. Some- 
 what surprised at the scene under the oak-tree, he 
 stood and gazed at it with considerable interest. "Are 
 the business instincts of that young man so strong," 
 
198 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 he thought, " that he has started a restaurant in the 
 yard? He has, certainly, a very nice-looking cus- 
 tomer." 
 
 It was plain to a man of observation that John's 
 attentions to the lady who was refreshing herself 
 were much more assiduous than those paid by the 
 ordinary waiter ; and Stratford smiled as he noticed 
 the alacrity and readiness with which the young man 
 anticipated and provided for the desires of the lady. 
 
 Having put on his gloves, Mr. Stratford walked 
 across an opposite corner of the yard towards a hitch- 
 ing-post where his horse and buggy awaited him. 
 Miss Stull now first noticed him, and immediately 
 inquired of John who was that gentleman. John 
 gave her the necessary information, and, while ex- 
 pressing her surprise that a gentleman like that 
 should be willing to shut himself up here in a farm- 
 house, she watched Mr. Stratford as he prepared to 
 drive away. She admired his straight and well-pro- 
 portioned figure ; she appreciated to the full the cor- 
 rect and handsome fashion of the clothes he wore j 
 and although* his face was somewhat embrowned, it 
 met with her entire approval. Instantly she began 
 to think that this neighborhood, which that morning 
 had seemed to her so dull, might yet prove quite 
 interesting. 
 
 Stratford drove away, and almost immediately 
 afterwards Mrs. People appeared under the oak-tree, 
 attired in a pink and white striped frock, very much 
 washed and starched. She offered Miss Stull a very 
 friendly greeting which that young lady received 
 with suitable moderation. John placed a chair for 
 his mother, and, the repast having been concluded, 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 199 
 
 he carried away the dishes, the table-cloth, and 
 napkin. 
 
 "Pm very much obliged to you for your milk/' 
 said Miss Matilda, " and the berries were really deli- 
 cious." She said nothing about the cake, which Mrs. 
 People had made herself, and praise of which she 
 anxiously awaited, but proceeded to ask Mrs. People 
 if there were many persons from the cities now stay- 
 ing in this part of the country. 
 
 "No," said Mrs. People, generously refraining 
 from any hints in regard to the quality of the cake. 
 "There's Mr. Stratford, who, perhaps, you noticed 
 just goin 7 away in his buggy. He's been spendin 7 
 the summers with us for a good many years, and no 
 President of the United States ever came near him 
 for bein 7 an out-and-out gentleman from his hat to 
 his boots. He's goin' now to see Mrs. Justin, who 
 lives about three miles from here, and she might, 
 perhaps, be called city folks too, because she has a 
 house in town, although this one is her real home, 
 bein' where her husband died, and where she comes 
 every year just as certain as the Spring lambs. Be- 
 sides these, there's no city folks except a gentleman 
 who comes every Saturday to Mrs. Justin's to see a 
 young lady who is stayin 7 there, who is just about as 
 pretty as any pictur' that ever was painted, though 
 John has said to me two or three times, and when I 
 first heard him speak of it I couldn't for the life of 
 me think why he made such a p'int of her looks, that 
 she's not the kind of a girl he fancies, there bein' 
 somethin 7 too much of her, and an air about her 
 which he calls 'too larky/ havin' seen her once or 
 twice walkin' over the fields, and goin 7 along in a 
 
200 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 way which I suppose reminded him of a lark bird ; 
 and says he to me : ' Mother/ and I declare I didn't 
 understand what he meant when he first said it 
 ' Mother/ said he, i the kind of a girl I fancy is more 
 like a wren ? ; one of these Jenny wrens, ma'am, that 
 build in a box. You don't see ? em in the city, per- 
 haps, but there's plenty of 7 em here. And John says 
 he fancies a girl that's more like them, bein 7 littler 
 than a lark, and more natty and smarter j an' I am 
 sure no one would ever be offended if they could once 
 see a wren settin' on the top of her box, just as neat 
 as a new pin, and always there when wanted, at least 
 I suppose so, though never havin' wanted a wren I 
 can't say for certain, though I know very well that 
 a lark is a different kind of a bird, and not to be 
 depended on." 
 
 About larks and wrens Miss Stull cared nothing at 
 all, and she perceived none of the delicate allusions 
 in Mrs. People's remarks. But she took great inter- 
 est in Mrs. Justin, and asked many questions about 
 her. The Justins had always kept aloof from the 
 Stulls, and Miss Matilda had never heard the name 
 mentioned. Now, however, she determined that she 
 would make it a point to become acquainted with 
 Mrs. Justin. If the neighborhood was to be made 
 interesting she must know her neighbors. 
 
 Miss Matilda soon took her leave, and although 
 John offered to walk with her as far as her father's 
 farm, she declined his services. The road would lead 
 her directly home, she said, and there was ever so 
 much of the afternoon left. 
 
 Mrs. People and John accompanied their visitor to 
 the gate, and as she went out she turned to the latter 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 201 
 
 and said with a smile : " If I thought there was any 
 chance of meeting a bull in the road perhaps I might 
 let you go with me." 
 
 If John had read her expression he would have 
 seen that it indicated a desire not to drop wholly the 
 acquaintance of one who might yet be useful to her. 
 But he could find no immediate answer to this re- 
 mark, and merely allowed himself a melancholy smile. 
 But his mother did not hesitate an instant. 
 
 " Now, Miss Stull," said she, " just let me tell you 
 this. Old Mr. Barclay, who lives, himself, down at 
 the Bridge, has got a field just at the turn of the 
 road there, where he most commonly pastur's some 
 cattle, and sometimes he does have a bull among 'em, 
 which it may be cross and it may be not, which is not 
 for you nor me to say, Miss Stull, not havin' seen 
 him. And though Mr. Barclay always does keep up 
 his fences, like a good neighbor as he is, he hasn't 
 been along this way for more'n a week yes, I guess 
 it's a good two weeks and I've found out in the 
 course of my life that no farm hand is to be depended 
 on in the matter of top rails bein' up like the master 
 himself. And now, you see, Miss Stull, if there is a 
 bull in that field, and he happens to be a cross one, 
 and some of the top rails has been knocked down, 
 or been left not put up, and none of us not knowin' 
 can say that none of them things isn't, why then it 
 would be a great sight safer, Miss Stull, for you to 
 let my son John walk along with you as far as your 
 father's gate." 
 
 Miss Matilda laughed. "Thank you," she said, 
 " but I think I'll take the chances." And she walked 
 briskly away. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 S Mr. Stratford rode away from the 
 Bullripple farm, his mind was some- 
 what occupied by conjectures re- 
 garding the young lady who was 
 being served with refreshments un- 
 der the great oak-tree. He began 
 to fear that Mrs. People had been induced to take 
 other boarders, which would be in violation of the 
 verbal contract he had made with her. The no- 
 tion of it troubled him, especially as nothing had 
 been previously said about it, and this would imply a 
 total change in the frank and communicative manner 
 of his landlady. Resolving to inquire into the matter 
 as soon as he returned to the farm, he put it all be- 
 hind him long before he arrived at Mrs. Justin's house. 
 The lady of the mansion was on the piazza, and 
 she was very glad to see him. A return to the 
 friendly intercourse of so many years was delightful 
 to her true soul, as loyal to her friends as to her 
 memories. But her reception of Stratford, warm and 
 cordial as it was, appeared tame and lukewarm when 
 compared to the greeting given him by Gay when 
 that young lady came flying downstairs and out of 
 the front door to meet him. She ran to him with 
 glowing cheeks and sparkling eyes and both hands 
 outstretched. 
 
 202 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 203 
 
 As she looked on at this meeting the spirits of Mrs. 
 Justin fell a degree or two, and her faith in Gay's 
 unalterable devotion to Mr. Crisman wavered for a 
 moment. Never had she seen that young lady so 
 glad to meet her lover. But quickly the assuring 
 reflection came to her that lovers do not exhibit their 
 true feeling before other people, and that Gay's joy 
 at having Mr. Crisman with her was probably shown 
 to him alone. This was all open and free for any- 
 body to see, and meant nothing but that Gay was 
 delighted to meet again this kind friend and teacher. 
 If the girl had suspected for a moment what Strat- 
 ford had thought about her and Mr. Crisman there 
 would have been no such greeting as this. So the 
 free-hearted openness of Gay's manner to her friend 
 proved the strength of her love for her lover, and the 
 spirits of Mrs. Justin rose to their previous level. 
 
 " And now you must tell us," said Gay, " why you 
 have staid away so long. It was very kind of you 
 to take Mr. Crisman fishing. He says he has not had 
 such a good day for ever so long. Everything would 
 have been simply perfect if you had come back with 
 him to dinner, and we all could have talked over the 
 day's adventures." 
 
 At this Stratford smiled, but a touch of pity came 
 into his heart when he thought of what a bad day he 
 might make of that good one of which the young 
 man had spoken so cheerily. But all sentiment of 
 this kind quickly vanished as he looked at Gay and 
 thought of Crisman. 
 
 Mr. Stratford would not stay to dinner, but he 
 promised to come and dine on the morrow, when Mr. 
 
204 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 Crisman would be there. Mrs. Justin and Gay 
 walked with him to his vehicle, and the young girl 
 broke into strong admiration of the horse. Without 
 a thought of anything more than she said, she de- 
 clared that it must be absolutely delightful to ride 
 behind such an animal as that. 
 
 "Wouldn't you like to test it?" said Stratford, 
 " There's plenty of time for a drive of a mile or two." 
 
 Gay, with her face full of the most ardent consent, 
 looked at Mrs. Justin, while Stratford remarked that 
 he was sorry the capacity of his vehicle did not 
 permit him to ask them both. 
 
 Mrs. Justin hesitated, but quickly concluded that 
 any disapprobation of the drive, such a common- 
 place thing in itself, would show to Stratford that 
 she did not believe what she had written to him in 
 her letter. So she stiffened her mind with the thought 
 of Gay's fidelity, and she said : " Why not take her a 
 little drive? And some other time you must show 
 me the quality of your horse." 
 
 " Do you always drive as fast as this ? " exclaimed 
 Gay, when they were on the public road. " What a 
 magnificent horse ! His hind legs work like a steam- 
 engine ! It's perfectly splendid to see him let him- 
 self down with the skin wrinkling on his back, and 
 his ears up. Why, this is going like the wind ! " 
 
 " I seldom drive so fast," said Stratford, " but I 
 thought you would like a short spurt of speed, and 
 as we have but little time I want to get you up to the 
 Summit as soon as possible. There will be a fine 
 view from there this evening." 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 205 
 
 " You can't go too fast for me," said Gay, " and I 
 wish the Summit were twelve miles away instead of 
 two. What! There already!" she exclaimed pres- 
 ently, when they reached a spot where the road began 
 to dip into the valley beneath. " Why, Mr. Strat- 
 ford, it's a long, long walk ! " 
 
 " And a short, short spin on wheels," he replied. 
 "And now, look out there! Isn't that worth com- 
 ing to see ? " 
 
 Gay had looked upon this view before, but never 
 at this hour. They were on a different side of the 
 ridge from which, sitting on a rail fence, they had 
 once viewed the sunset; and a far wider extent of 
 country was spread out before them. The opening 
 glories of the western sky were at their backs, but 
 beneath them stretched a far-reaching plain, green 
 here with pastures, yellow there with ripening grain, 
 and these brighter colors relieved by great masses of 
 thick forest which seemed to be retiring in irregular 
 columns towards a distant line of mountains which 
 raised themselves, clear and blue, along the horizon. 
 The great, white clouds which floated in the sky were 
 tinged with a delicate pink by the reflections from 
 the west, and over everything there fell the veil of 
 evening, which at this hour softened, without obscur- 
 ing, the scene. 
 
 " This is altogether new," said Gay, her hand un- 
 consciously resting on her companion's sleeve. " I 
 have never seen it like this." 
 
 She said little, but her eyes were feasting; and 
 Stratford sat and looked at her. Presently he got 
 18 
 
206 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 down and opened a gate by the side of the road, and 
 then mounting again to his seat he drove into a field 
 and along a narrow way between rows of corn towards 
 a grassy acclivity which stood higher than the place 
 at which they had first stopped. 
 
 " Where are you going ? " asked Gay. 
 
 " To get a view from a different point," was the 
 answer. " I think you will like it." 
 
 She did like it. She actually rose to her feet with 
 a cry of delight. Not far away, and amid the soft 
 beauty of the evening landscape, lay a small and al- 
 most luminous sheet of water, shining like a diamond 
 in a rich, dark setting of green banks and overhang- 
 ing pines. 
 
 " A lake ! cried Gay. " A lovely little lake ! I 
 never knew there was such a thing in all this country ! " 
 
 "It is not a lake," said Stratford. "It is nothing 
 but our little Cherry Creek, which makes a broad 
 bend beneath that bank, and shows no more of itself 
 from this point, either coming or going j but it gives 
 a master's touch to the scene ; don't you think so ? " 
 
 " It makes it perfect/' said Gay ; " simply perfect." 
 
 As she gazed, there came into the mind of Gay 
 something she was about to say, but she checked her- 
 self. She remembered that the most beautiful and 
 peculiar views she had seen in this neighborhood had 
 been shown to her by Mr. Stratford. She was about 
 to express her gratitude in words which should show 
 her appreciation of this fact, but there came into her 
 mind another recollection with which some feelings of 
 regret were mingled. She determined, on the spot, 
 that one of the things which it was her duty to do for 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 207 
 
 Mr. Crisman was to induce him to appreciate the love- 
 liness which nature has to show us in a country like 
 this. He not only ought to like them for himself, 
 but he ought to like to see her enjoy them. Of course 
 this could not be expected just now, because, as he 
 had often told her, it did not matter to him where 
 they walked or what he saw, so that she was with 
 him. It was delightful to have Charley think in this 
 way of her, but she wanted him to love hills and val- 
 leys and distant mountains and beautiful skies as 
 much as she did. She intended to lead his mind into 
 a true regard for these things, and she knew she 
 could do it. 
 
 As they were returning on the high road, going 
 more slowly than when they came, Gay looked at the 
 horse and then at the reins in Mr. Stratford's hands, 
 and then she looked at him, and plucked up courage 
 to ask, in hesitating words, if he would let her drive 
 a little. 
 
 " Of course, 77 said Stratford, handing the reins to 
 her ; " do yon like driving ? 77 
 
 " I have scarcely ever tried it, 77 exclaimed Gay, " but 
 I know I should like it above all things. I used to 
 ride sometimes with the other girls when I was at col- 
 lege, but I believe I should like driving better. 77 
 
 " It depends upon the horse and the country you 
 are in, 77 replied Stratford. " You must draw the reins 
 a little tighter. Let me show you how to hold them. 77 
 
 Gay's ideas of driving were exceedingly crude, but 
 she was a girl of quick observation, and her little 
 hands grasped the reins in exactly the manner which 
 Mr. Stratford, by word or touch, now indicated. The 
 
208 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 horse gave his head an approving nod or two as he 
 felt the tightening pressure on his bit, and stepped 
 out well, and the spirit and the life of him seemed to 
 come through the long leathern lines into Gay's hands, 
 and her face was flushed with a new-born pleasure. 
 
 " I feel/' she cried, as they rolled along, " exactly as 
 if I were doing it all myself." 
 
 Stratford laughed, and showed her how to do it 
 better, warning her in good time, before she reached 
 them, of awkward ruts or obtruding stones. Some 
 of these she hit and some she missed; but within her 
 glowed and sparkled the pleasure of the driving, until, 
 with a wholly unnecessary " Whoa ! " she drew up at 
 Mrs. Justin's gate. 
 
 " I ought to be ashamed to admit it," she exclaimed 
 when, her hands in those of Stratford, she had sprung 
 to the ground, " but I really believe that driving your 
 horse was a greater delight than looking at those 
 lovely views. That ought not to be, but it is." 
 
 The next day, Mr. Stratford came to Mrs. Justin's 
 house to dinner, and his hostess found herself doing 
 something which she had never done before. She 
 was watching her guests, particularly Mr. Crisman. 
 She was curious to know what he would think, if Gay 
 should be as glad to see Mr. Stratford as she had 
 been the day before. There was no reason to expect 
 such strong demonstrations of delight, and none such 
 occurred; but there was a show of hearty good-fel- 
 lowship, as Stratford and the young lady shook each 
 other by the hand, which produced an impression 
 upon Mr. Crisman. It was plain to Mrs. Justin that 
 he was surprised to see it. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 209 
 
 In her observations of Stratford the lady of the 
 house hoped to perceive that what she had said in her 
 letter had had its due effect upon him, and although 
 he might not be willing to acknowledge that he had 
 made a mistake, that he would show by his conduct 
 and Mrs. Justin felt quite able to read her friend's 
 convictions through his conduct that he had aban- 
 doned the mad plan he had proposed to himself. 
 
 But she saw no evidence of any such determination. 
 In fact, Mr. Stratford's conduct gave her more con- 
 cern than it had ever done before. On previous 
 occasions, when he and Crisman had been together 
 at her house, Stratford had been very careful not 
 to obtrude himself upon the lovers, acting in unison 
 with his hostess to give them every opportunity of 
 enjoying undisturbed the society of each other. But 
 now he seemed to treat Gay as a young lady to whom 
 the conversation of one man was as pleasant as that 
 of another. There was no attempt to interfere with 
 Mr. Crisman's efforts to make himself agreeable to 
 Gay j but, on the other hand, there was no attempt 
 to offer him facilities for doing so. The conversa- 
 tion, therefore, continued to be a general one, even 
 for some time after dinner. The talk turning upon 
 foreign cities, a subject in which Gay was greatly 
 interested, Stratford opened a portfolio of photo- 
 graphs collected by Mrs. Justin in an Italian tour, 
 and began to show Gay some of the places they had 
 been talking about. 
 
 The soul of the young lady was soon completely 
 absorbed in traveling from temple to palace, from 
 olive grove to crumbling ruin, in company with one 
 
210 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 who had seen them all, and who made her feel as if 
 she were really seeing them herself. While this was 
 going on, Mrs. Justin and Crisman continued to con- 
 verse; but the young man soon became impatient, 
 and, rising, began to walk up and down the room, 
 regarding the couple at the portfolio with evident dis- 
 approbation. 
 
 The two had come up from Naples, had wandered 
 through portions of Rome, and were in the court-yard 
 of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, when the mind 
 of Gay became troubled. She was greatly enjoying 
 herself, but there seemed to be something wanting ; 
 and, looking up, she asked Mr. Crisman if he did not 
 wish to come and look at these photographs and have 
 Mr. Stratford tell him all about them. 
 
 " Thank you kindly/' said Crisman, " but I don't 
 care for photographs. If I can't see the real thing 
 I am perfectly willing to let it all go by." 
 
 Gay made no answer, but her countenance became 
 a little troubled, and she began to turn rapidly the 
 photographs, merely asking a question here and there. 
 Stratford quickly noticed her mood, and the tour 
 by photography was soon brought quietly to an end, 
 as if they had both grown a little tired of it. Cris- 
 man had now gone out on the piazza to see what sort 
 of a night it was. Gay followed him to assist him in 
 making his observations, and Stratford saw no more 
 of the two that evening. 
 
 Mrs. Justin felt a little provoked with her friend, 
 and somewhat inclined to scold him, and yet, she 
 said to herself, why should she do so ? After asking 
 him to come to her house and be the same friend he 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 211 
 
 had been -before, should she now begin to find fault 
 with him for his civilities to her other friends? 
 There was really no occasion to reprove him, and she 
 did not, but she continued to feel dissatisfied with 
 him, all the same. When he took his leave he per- 
 ceived a little of that dissatisfaction in her manner, 
 but he resolutely took no notice of it. He had de- 
 cided that enough had been said between him and 
 Mrs. Justin on the subject of Gay and her lover, and 
 of his purpose regarding them ; and, so far as it lay in 
 his power, he would avoid saying anything more. 
 
 The next morning at breakfast Mr. Crisman allowed 
 himself to make some remarks which were decidedly 
 uncomplimentary to Mr. Stratford. He made no 
 attack upon that gentleman, but he delivered himself 
 of some general opinions which were evidently in- 
 tended to include Mr. Stratford in their application. 
 The tone and purpose of these remarks were very 
 displeasing to Mrs. Justin. It was not unnatural, 
 although she believed it to be without sufficient rea- 
 son, that Mr. Crisman should feel somewhat annoyed 
 that a man should engross for a time the attention of 
 his lady-love, but there was no reason whatever why 
 Mr. Stratford should be so spoken of in the house of 
 his friend. Mrs. Justin's eyes flashed a little, and 
 she was on the point of making a sharp reply, but 
 remembering that Crisman was also her guest, she 
 restrained herself, and found a quick occasion to 
 change the conversation. Gay said nothing, but it 
 was easy enough to see that she understood the full 
 purport of Crisman's words. She would have been 
 glad to burst out with the vehement assertion that if 
 
212 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 Mr. Crisman intended to include Mr. Stratford among 
 the people he was talking about, he had made a great 
 mistake. But her woman's sense taught her that it 
 would be unwise in her to undertake the defense of 
 Stratford against her lover. She felt it was cowardly 
 to remain silent, but she did so, hoping, however, most 
 earnestly, that Mrs. Justin would speak. 
 
 Mrs. Justin did speak. Crisman would not allow 
 the conversation to remain changed, and made an- 
 other unpleasant allusion to Stratford, more pointed 
 than anything he had said before. This was too 
 much for the hostess to endure, even from a guest, 
 and in a few words, a little more prompt in delivery 
 than she intended them to be, she assured Mr. Cris- 
 man that she knew many persons who were extremely 
 willing to impart their information, and very quick 
 to see where such information would be of advantage, 
 but who were neither vain of their knowledge, nor 
 used it as a means of insolently showing their supe- 
 riority to other people. As an instance of such per- 
 sons she mentioned Mr. Stratford. 
 
 Gay was delighted with this reply, and looked her 
 thanks to Mrs. Justin. The latter noticed them, but 
 received them with slight satisfaction. She was de- 
 fending her friend for her own sake, not for Gay's. 
 
 Crisman smiled. His shot had hit, and the hit had 
 been acknowledged. He was satisfied, and, after 
 remarking that it was all right to stand up for one's 
 friends and that he did not intend to pitch into any- 
 body, he changed the conversation of his own accord, 
 and bore during the rest of the meal the greater part 
 of it himself. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 213 
 
 All that afternoon Mr. Stratford was expected by 
 Mrs. Justin and Gay. They hoped he would come, 
 not only because they were always glad to see him, 
 but because they felt that, in a manner, he owed it to 
 himself not to keep in the background when his char- 
 acter had been assailed. To be sure, he did not know 
 that anything had been said against him, but Mrs. 
 Justin and Gay knew it, and that was sufficient rea- 
 son for them to think he should come forward and 
 show himself. But, on the other hand, they both 
 feared his coming. For every reason they greatly 
 desired peace, and they had some cause to suppose 
 that if Mr. Crisman and Stratford were in the house 
 together that day there might not be peace. This 
 was a very unpleasant thought to think; and Gay, 
 on her part, assured herself that there was not the 
 least reason in the world for thinking it ; and yet, 
 being a young person with a sensitiveness of percep- 
 tion which she was not yet capable of appreciating, 
 she thought it all the same. As for Mr. Crisman, he 
 intended, if that very superior gentleman from the 
 Bullripple farm made his appearance at Mrs. Jus- 
 tin's house that day, to give him a cold shoulder, and, 
 if necessary, a sharp elbow. But Mr. Stratford did 
 not come, and although the day proved to be rather 
 a dull one, it was a very placid one. 
 
 That afternoon Mr. Stratford took a walk by him- 
 self over the fields and hills. He had intended going 
 to Mrs. Justin's, but he, too, had quick perceptions, 
 and, while he had no idea of relinquishing his pur- 
 poses, he would not intentionally do anything that 
 might disturb the harmony of Mrs. Justin's home, 
 
214 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 and lie had believed, when on the evening before he 
 had seen Crisman walk restlessly up and down the 
 room, that harmony might easily be disturbed. 
 
 Over the fields, that afternoon, also, walked Miss 
 Matilda Stull. When she saw from afar a gentleman 
 crossing the same field, she recognized immediately 
 that this was the Mr. Stratford who lived at the Bull- 
 ripple farm. Then said Matilda to herself, " How I 
 do wish that he had lived here when I was a little 
 girl playing about these fields ; that his uncle had 
 owned a wicked bull; and that I knew him well 
 enough to stop and talk about it. Of course I don't 
 wish that I had met him at a restaurant where I paid 
 him money for my luncheon, but it would be ever so 
 nice if I had made his acquaintance at some suitable 
 place, and could now stop and talk to him about old 
 times. And if he would walk with me, and show me 
 the way, and let down the bars for me that would 
 be another sort of thing altogether ! " 
 
 As Mr. Stratford passed, he raised his hat, and Miss 
 Stull slightly bowed. She knew that when gentlemen 
 and ladies met each other in these out-of-the-way 
 places it was quite proper that they should recognize 
 each other's presence. And now Miss Stull walked 
 on with a quick step. It was only the afternoon be- 
 fore that, standing in a little shop, she had seen Mrs. 
 Justin and Gay drive through the village on their 
 way to the station, where they were going to meet 
 Mr. Crisman. And now she had encountered face to 
 face that gentleman who had excited her interest 
 when refreshing herself under the Bullripple oak. 
 
 "It is perfectly ridiculous," she said to herself, 
 "that all these people should be in this neighbor- 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 215 
 
 hood, and I not know them. None of them have 
 called, but I suppose they haven't the slightest idea 
 we are here. Mother does n't want to know anybody, 
 and is glad to shut herself up. If father were here it 
 would be different; but I am not going to wait for 
 him. They have got to call on us, and I shall make 
 it my business to see that they do it." 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 R. STULL did not go into the coun- 
 try with his family, for it was nec- 
 essary for him to remain some time 
 longer in the city, in order to give 
 attention to several branches of his 
 varied business which had been neg- 
 lected when his mind and time had been so greatly 
 occupied by the disturbances at Vatoldi's. But this 
 occasioned no delay in the opening of his operations 
 against the peace and welfare of Enoch Bullripple. 
 He had no intention of doing anything in his proper 
 person, and his presence was not at all necessary at 
 the scene of action. Without allowing his motives 
 to make any appearance whatever, he had engaged a 
 competent agent to investigate the title-deeds and 
 original surveys of the Bullripple farm ; and he had 
 found, as he had expected to find, that not only was 
 the old man's tenure of his property a very uncertain 
 one, having depended for its endurance principally 
 upon the fact that no one had ever cared to investi- 
 gate its validity, but that there was an equal doubt 
 of legal ownership in regard to the farm which he 
 himself had acquired from Mrs. People. Mr. Stull 
 had reason to suspect this when he bought up the 
 mortgages which eventually gave him possession of 
 
 216 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 217 
 
 the farm, but the property came to him so easily he 
 was willing to take the risks in regard to the title. 
 Now it would serve his purpose very well, if, when 
 the time came to push Enoch Bullripple to the wall, 
 the old man could also see that Mr. Stull was being 
 pushed. That would make it impossible for Enoch 
 or his nephew to suppose that he had anything to 
 do with the matter. 
 
 But Mr. Stull was an excellent manager and a 
 shrewd business man, and he did not propose that 
 the pushing he might receive should hurt him in the 
 least. His present action was not entirely based on 
 his desire to retaliate on the old farmer for the insults 
 and injuries the latter had heaped upon him. If 
 things should turn out as he expected, there was 
 reason to hope that there would be much profit for 
 him in his proposed transactions. The lands in ques- 
 tion were not worth very much, looked upon from an 
 agricultural point of view, but it was possible that 
 they might, otherwise, be very valuable. Iron ore 
 in paying quantities had been found in various parts 
 of this region ; and Mr. StulFs observations had led 
 him to believe that the rolling country about Cherry 
 Bridge was as likely to contain iron as any of the 
 places where it had already been found. It would 
 please him very well to form a company and put up 
 a smelting-furnace on some spot convenient to the 
 railroad ; but, before he did this, he would like to 
 become the owner of as much valuable mineral land 
 in the vicinity as he could lay his hand upon. If there 
 should be iron on his own farm, he would be very 
 willing to give up his present hold upon it in order 
 19 
 
218 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 to acquire another hold which should be firm and 
 secure ; and if the Bullripple property should contain 
 the desirable metal, he would most certainly buy up 
 that property if it were forced into the market. 
 
 The agent selected to conduct these investigations 
 was exceedingly well adapted to the work ; and, had 
 he not undertaken it, it is doubtful if Mr. Stull could 
 have found any one to whom he would have been 
 willing to intrust it. This individual was Mr. Zenas 
 Turby, who lived in the county town not far from 
 Cherry Bridge, where he engaged in a variety of 
 vocations, most of which had some connection with 
 the law. He collected debts, and took up any odds 
 or ends of legal business which could be attended 
 to by one who was not an actual lawyer. In the 
 course of a long and intrusive life he had picked up 
 a great deal of information, legal and otherwise, 
 which frequently caused him to shine in the light of 
 a useful man. There was one piece of business which 
 most of his neighbors would have been very glad to 
 see him engaged in, and that was an early attendance 
 at his own funeral. But Mr. Turby had declined 
 for many years to gratify this popular desire, and, 
 although now over sixty, was so hale and hearty 
 that the prevailing hope in his direction seemed likely 
 to be much deferred. 
 
 Among his other accomplishments Mr. Turby was 
 skilled in the search for iron ore, and this helped in 
 a great degree to make him unpopular. The farmers 
 in this part of the country had no desire to profit by 
 the discovery of ore on their property. The profit 
 they received from the culture of the surface of their 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 219 
 
 fields was as satisfactory to them as it had been to 
 their fathers, and they did not wish to dig and blast 
 into the bowels of their farms in the pursuit of what 
 might or might not be concealed therein. There were 
 a few who had been shown the errors of this con- 
 servatism, but the greater part of them still asserted 
 that they wanted nobody prowling and prying around 
 their farms looking for iron. Even if it should be 
 found, there was at present no furnace in the neigh- 
 borhood, and, consequently, no immediate demand 
 for the ore ; and, more than that, they were unable 
 to rid their minds of their old-fashioned prejudices 
 against allowing other men to come and work upon 
 their lands. 
 
 Mr. Turby was very well pleased to take up this 
 piece of business for Mr. Stull. There was gain in it, 
 and, besides, all the fighting that would have to be 
 done would be against Enoch Bullripple, and Turby 
 liked that. For many years, and in various ways, 
 these two had been pitted against each other, when- 
 ever occasion could be found for such pitting. What- 
 ever one believed in politics, religion, or in regard to 
 almost anything else, was doubted or denied by the 
 other, and the fact that they were the two sharpest 
 old fellows in that county was reason enough for 
 their being very sharp against each other. 
 
 Hitherto Enoch had generally got the better of 
 Zenas Turby, and the latter, therefore, was very zeal- 
 ous in an affair which might give him the upper 
 hand and a very hard and horny upper hand of 
 a man who had not failed to get him down whenever 
 it had been possible. 
 
220 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 The investigations regarding the title-deeds and 
 surveys of the estates in question had been carried 
 on at the county town, and Mr. Turby having made 
 a satisfactory report upon these, it now remained to 
 look into the iron branch of the business before Mr. 
 Stull definitely determined how he would proceed in 
 the affair. This made it necessary for Zenas Turby 
 to visit the village of Cherry Bridge ; and to Cherry 
 Bridge he came. 
 
 It was on a rainy morning that Mr. Bullripple, 
 mounted on a gray horse which would have been 
 plowing in the corn-field had the weather been fair, 
 rode up to the village house of entertainment, and 
 tied his horse under a shed. There were several men 
 , sitting in a large covered porch in front of the house, 
 but the first person Enoch saw was Zenas Turby. It 
 cannot be said that in the mind of either of these 
 men there ever arose a desire for social converse with 
 the other, and yet, whenever they happened to meet, 
 each experienced certain snappy emotions which were 
 not unpleasurable. 
 
 "You here, Zenas Turby?" said Enoch, as he 
 took his seat in the one vacant wooden arm-chair, 
 " Haven't seen you in Cherry Bridge for a good 
 while. I thought, perhaps, that sulky of yourn had 
 broke down at last from your havin' forgot yourself 
 and taken somebody in with you." 
 
 As he said this Mr. Bullripple smiled, and looked 
 around at the other men sitting in wooden arm- 
 chairs, most of whom being his neighbors returned 
 him an answering grimace of approbation of the lit- 
 tle thrust he had given Zenas Turby. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 221 
 
 The latter did not smile. He was a strong, heavily 
 built man. His face was smooth-shaven, and the 
 little hair he had on his head was curly and of a 
 reddish, sandy hue which made it difficult to perceive 
 whether it was turning gray or not. He wore a long 
 black coat, and the rest of his clothes and his hat 
 were black, and he carried a stout cane with a long 
 curved handle, well polished by the use of many 
 years. He did not need this cane, but always took 
 it with him when he drove. On such occasions he 
 used it as a prodder with which to remind his horse 
 that time is money j and when walking he carried it 
 as a symbol of authority and a punctuator of his re- 
 marks. Now he gave a tap upon the floor which 
 might indicate the opening of a paragraph, and fix- 
 ing his sharp blue eyes upon his old antagonist, he 
 said: "It's all very well for you, Enoch Bullripple, 
 to keep on talking about my sulky, for I expect 
 there's been many a time when you've wished it held 
 two instead of one, so that you might get a chance of 
 using some other person's horse-flesh instead of your 
 own, but I've lived long enough to know it's a sight 
 better for a man that's got business to attend to to 
 drive about in somethin' that will hold himself and 
 nobody else ; so that wherever he goes he won't be 
 asked to give somebody a lift who's too lazy to walk, 
 or too stingy to keep a horse. My sulky carries me 
 about all right, but it won't carry nobody else, and 
 this suits me very well, even if it does sometimes 
 come hard on you, Enoch Bullripple." And the big 
 cane came down on the floor, marking a period appar- 
 ently very satisfactory to the speaker. 
 
222 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 Mr. Bullripple grinned. " There's no man in this 
 county/ 7 said he, " outside of a lunatic asylum that 
 would see you driving by with an empty four-seated 
 wagon and ask for a lift in it if he didn't have enough 
 money in his pocket to pay you a little more than 
 common stage fare. And I shouldn't wonder if the 
 reason you stick to a sulky is to keep yourself from 
 the temptation of stagin 7 without a license." 
 
 At this two or three of the company laughed, and 
 Mr. Turby frowned. But Enoch, not caring for any 
 reply to this remark, continued to speak. 
 
 " But what brought you up here anyway, Zenas ? " 
 he said. " 'Tain't the time o' year for collectin' bills. 
 Did you come to look for iron ! I've heard you've 
 been goin' into that business." 
 
 Now nothing could have angered Mr. Turby more 
 than this remark. Sneers in regard to his narrow- 
 ness of disposition were not new to him, but he flat- 
 tered himself that he always succeeded in keeping 
 his business a secret until he chose to divulge it. 
 But here, at the very first question, Enoch had hit 
 upon the object of his visit to Cherry Bridge. 
 
 "Whether it's iron or gold or paper money, it's 
 none of your business, Enoch Bullripple. That is to 
 
 say " but here he checked himself. He wished 
 
 to make it very much the business of the other, but 
 that was a matter which must not now be touched 
 upon. "All that I've got to say about iron is just 
 this: that there never was a bigger fool than the 
 man who'd go on plowin' and workin' his stony old 
 fields and not get enough in any year to pay his hon- 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 223 
 
 est debts, when all he has to do is to say the word 
 and have a company dig iron out of his hills and 
 not hurt his fields and pastures nuther and pay 
 him fifty cents for every load of ore took out. But 
 there are fools of that kind and plenty of ? em, who 
 might live in comfort and send their children to 
 school if they only had sense enough to let other 
 people come and get out of their farms the only 
 thing worth gettin' out of ? em." 
 
 " It's one thing/' said Enoch, " to own land with min- 
 erals in it and to go to work and get them minerals 
 and make money on ? em. But it's altogether another 
 thing to have a man come that p'raps don't know no 
 more about it than that p'inter dog, and dig here, 
 there, and anywhere, on your farm, and then go off 
 and say that there ain't iron enough on it to make a 
 horse-shoe, arid so spile your chance of sellin' a part 
 of your land if a company ever did come along that 
 wanted to buy it. Nobody wants a fellow huntin' 
 for iron on his place who's got a report to sell to the 
 highest bidder." 
 
 This was a hard hit, because a story had once 
 been told that a farmer in the neighborhood of the 
 county town had been urged by Mr. Turby to employ 
 him to make a report on the mineral value of his 
 lands, offering as a reason that it would be much 
 better for the owner of a farm if the investigating 
 agent had his interests at heart instead of those of 
 the would-be purchaser. As the country people of 
 that region had an old-fashioned idea that a report 
 should be a simple statement of facts without refer- 
 
224 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 ence to the interests of any particular employer, this 
 story thickened the cloud that for a long time had 
 shaded Mr. Turby. 
 
 Zenas frowned and looked steadily at the floor. " I 
 shouldn't think/ 7 said he, speaking slowly but very for- 
 cibly, " that a man that goes off on some sort of a 
 shindy in the very busiest part of the year and leaves 
 his farm to take care of itself and go to rack and 
 ruin fur all he knows, ought to have anythin 7 to say 
 about what industrious fore-handed people choose to 
 do with their lands." 
 
 " A part of what you say, Zenas Turby," answered 
 Mr. Bullripple, " is exactly right, and that is that 
 you shouldn't think. Thinkin 7 is a business that you 
 ain 7 t suited for. There's a good many kinds of work 
 that you can do first-rate, but you ought to get some- 
 body else to do your thinkin 7 . You was just right 
 when you said you should n 7 t think. 77 
 
 At this there was a burst of laughter from the men 
 in wooden arm-chairs ; and Mr. Turby rose to his 
 feet to make an angry reply. But he was not so 
 quick of speech as was Enoch, and the moment the 
 laughter ceased, the latter, also rising, got in ahead 
 of his antagonist, and remarked : " I haven't got no 
 time to stay here any longer palaverin' about iron 
 lands. But I 7 11 just say this, Zenas Turby, that it's 
 a mighty good thing when a farmer gets his place 
 in such a condition that when he wants to go a-way 
 for a while to attend to some other business, it can 
 run itself.' 7 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 ISS MATILDA STULL was very 
 well aware that in her endeavors 
 to get into the Cherry Bridge so- 
 ciety she need not depend in the 
 least on her mother. That lady 
 was too glad to get away from the 
 irksome and often embarrassing social demands of 
 the city to wish now for society of any kind. Usu- 
 ally spending the summer at some fashionable water- 
 ing-place, the quiet of this mountain farm-house gave 
 her a sense of delightful repose she had not known 
 for years, and she was entirely satisfied with the pro- 
 tracted absence of her husband, who, if he had been 
 upon the scene, would most probably have insisted, 
 as he always insisted elsewhere, that she should push 
 to the front of whatever society she might find about 
 her and make herself clearly visible as the wife of 
 J. Weatherby Stull. 
 
 But the eldest daughter of the house felt that she 
 was quite able to further her own interests in this 
 matter, and, with this view, she set out on a walk to 
 see Mrs. People. When her father should return she 
 knew that she would be obliged to take the horses 
 and the carriage when she wanted to go about the 
 country, but now it suited her purpose much better 
 
 225 
 
226 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 to walk. It was easier to meet people, and perhaps 
 to stop and talk with them, when walking than in 
 driving in the carriage. She looked upon Mrs. People 
 as the only present thread of connection between her- 
 self and the Cherry Bridge gentry, and it was her 
 intention to make that good woman understand that 
 it was her duty to impress upon the mind of Mrs. 
 Justin the importance of an early call upon the ladies 
 of the Stull family, people of high position who had 
 recently arrived in the neighborhood. She did not 
 attempt to deceive herself with the notion that anxi- 
 ety to make the acquaintance of Mrs. Justin was at 
 the bottom of her intended action, but she freely 
 admitted to her own consciousness that through that 
 lady the acquaintance of gentlemen, often a most 
 necessary adjunct in the enjoyment of country life, 
 would probably be made. 
 
 She was yet some little distance from the Bullripple 
 house, when she met John People, who was coming 
 toward her on the narrow path through the grass at 
 the side of the road. John was in his shirt-sleeves. 
 He wore a broad straw hat, and on his shoulder he 
 carried a hay-rake. His portly and upright figure 
 appeared so well in this rural guise that Miss Stull 
 could not help wishing for a moment that he were a 
 gentleman disporting himself thus for his own pleas- 
 ure, instead of being the son of that fat Mrs. People, 
 taking a holiday from his restaurant, and working on 
 the farm. Had she expected no other opportunities 
 of male society during her country sojourn, Miss 
 Matilda would have been willing to ramble over the 
 woods and fields with the sturdy John but, as she 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 227 
 
 had a lively hope of doing something better in this 
 line, she now looked upon him only in the light 
 of a possible stepping-stone to some advantageous 
 foothold. 
 
 " Good-morning, Mr. People/' she said, " isn't this 
 a beautiful day ? 77 
 
 John returned the salutation, and, taking off his 
 hat, exposed to view his short yellow locks, as 
 smoothly and evenly brushed as Miss Stull had ever 
 seen them at Vatoldi's. 
 
 " Are you going to work in the fields ? " she said 
 presently, as the two stopped. 
 
 " I was going," said John, with an emphasis upon the 
 " was ' 7 intending to indicate that such should not be 
 his present purpose if Miss Matilda gave him an 
 opportunity of remaining in her society. 
 
 Miss Matilda understood the intonation perfectly, 
 and she hesitated for a moment before she spoke. If 
 the mother should happen to be away it might be a 
 good thing to take a walk with the son, and if she 
 could derive no other advantage from the ramble she 
 felt that she could obtain from John some additional 
 information in regard to the persons whose acquaint- 
 ance she desired. 
 
 " Is Mrs. People at home ? " she said, " and disen- 
 gaged? 7 ' 
 
 " Oh, yes," said John, " and she will be very glad to 
 see you. There's a lady in the house now, but I don't 
 think she intends to stay very long." 
 
 " Who is it t " asked Miss Stull quickly. 
 
 " It is Miss Armatt, the young lady who is staying 
 with Mrs. Justin. 7 ' 
 
228 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 "Oh, indeed ! said Miss Matilda. " I think I'll go 
 in and make a little call on your mother. Good- 
 morning. 7 ' 
 
 John stepped aside to let her pass, and over his face 
 there came a shadow of disappointment. He did not 
 know exactly what he had expected, but, whatever it 
 might have been, he was not going to get it, and he 
 could not prevent the shadow. 
 
 "Won't you walk with me as far as the gate?" 
 asked Miss Matilda with a smile. "I don't always 
 understand the opening of these big gates." 
 
 She was not a workman who dropped her chisel 
 and saw into the dust and chips whenever she did not 
 happen to be using them. 
 
 When, with another smile, she parted from John at 
 the gate, she stepped very quickly towards the house. 
 Miss Armatt's presence there was a rare piece of good 
 fortune, and she was very anxious to arrive before 
 that lady left. 
 
 Gay had walked over, across the fields, on an errand 
 for Mrs. Justin, who was very glad to give her young 
 friend an object for her morning walk, and thereby 
 secure for herself the uninterrupted company of Mr. 
 Stratford, who had come, by appointment, to assist 
 her in the auditing of some complicated accounts of 
 the association of which they both were members. 
 
 Mrs. People was about half through one of her long 
 statements of facts when Miss Stull appeared, and 
 she and Miss Armatt were made acquainted. 
 
 The visit of the two young ladies proved to be quite 
 a long one, for Mrs. People was very anxious to talk. 
 Miss Gay did not wish to leave until she had fuDy 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 229 
 
 attended to her errand, and Miss Matilda did her 
 best to make herself agreeable without regard to the 
 passage of time. When, at last, Gay had said that 
 she positively must go, and her business had been 
 promptly brought to a conclusion, Miss Stull dis- 
 covered that she would not be going out of her way 
 if she should walk over a field or two with her new- 
 made acquaintance, and so they set out together. 
 
 Mrs. Justin and Stratford, having finished their 
 business, were standing together on the piazza, when 
 the former exclaimed : 
 
 " Who's that coming over the field with Gay ? " 
 
 Stratford looked steadfastly, but at first he was 
 unable to answer. Presently, however, he recognized 
 the young lady whom he had seen at the Bullripple 
 farm, and in regard to whom he had made inquiries 
 of Mrs. People. 
 
 " That." said he, " is a daughter of J. Weatherby 
 Stull. His family are, at present, at his farm. But 
 it seems rather odd that Miss Armatt should be ac- 
 quainted with his daughter." 
 
 Mrs. Justin had never heard anything of J. Weath- 
 erby Stull that she liked. It was during the life-time 
 of her husband that Stull had acquired his present 
 possessions in the neighborhood, and Mr. Justin had 
 been very indignant at the relentless manner in which 
 Mrs. People had been driven from her home. Even 
 if she had not looked upon the opinions of her hus- 
 band as a guide for her own judgments, Mrs. Justin 
 would have despised the things that Mr. Stull had 
 done, and would have despised the man who did 
 them. He had lived very little on his farm after it 
 20 
 
230 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 had come into his possession, and, while there, it had 
 never entered into the mind of Mrs. Justin that it 
 was possible for her to call upon his family. She 
 had heard that they had again come into the neigh- 
 borhood, but, although much of her old resentment 
 at the man's actions had faded away, she did not 
 consider the Stulls as people with whom she had the 
 least concern, and had almost forgotten that she had 
 been told of their coming. 
 
 Mrs. Justin looked gravely at the two young 
 women, who had now stopped and appeared to be 
 talking quite earnestly. " I don't understand it," 
 she said; "Gay never mentioned the Stulls to me, 
 and that does not look like a recent acquaintanceship. 
 They are evidently taking leave of each other, and 
 yet it seems impossible for them to tear themselves 
 apart." 
 
 This difficult deed was, however, accomplished, and 
 while Miss Matilda turned back and took her way 
 across the fields, Gay came hurrying homeward. She 
 threw herself into a piazza chair and made her report, 
 and it was plain enough to her hearers that she had 
 been very favorably impressed by Miss Stull. 
 
 "She's a very nice girl," she said, "and as friendly 
 as she can be. She intended to walk only a little way 
 with me, but we had so much to say that we got 
 almost here before we knew it. I wanted her to 
 come in and rest herself, but this she would not do, 
 for she seems to be very particular about such things, 
 and said it would not be proper for her to come here 
 before any of this family had called upon her mother 
 and herself. I suppose we ought to call on them as 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 231 
 
 soon as we can," she continued, turning to Mrs. Justin. 
 " I should think they would be very pleasant neigh- 
 bors. And what I particularly like about Miss Stull is 
 that she seems so much fonder of this country than of 
 the fashionable places she is in the habit of going to." 
 
 Mrs. Justin did not immediately answer. She had 
 an instinctive aversion towards anything that bore 
 the name of Stull, but her conscience would not allow 
 her to believe that the sins of a husband and father 
 should be visited upon a wife and daughter, and she 
 could readily understand that it would be a severe 
 punishment to ladies accustomed to society to find 
 themselves in a country place where their few neigh- 
 bors would not associate with them. But it is possi- 
 ble that even these conscientious and kindly feelings 
 would not have been sufficient to urge her to an early 
 movement in the direction of her social duties to the 
 new-comers had not a fresh motive come to their as- 
 sistance. It was evident that Gay had conceived a 
 liking for Miss Stull, and it occurred to Mrs. Justin 
 that if her young protegee could form a friendship 
 with one of her own sex and age, it would interfere 
 very much with that friendship for Mr. Stratford 
 about which she found that she still had some fears, 
 notwithstanding the fact that she had persuaded her- 
 self that Gay's love for Crisman would be invulner- 
 able against all attacks, whether made under the guise 
 of friendship or any other sentiment. 
 
 She was glad to find that Mr. Stull was not ex- 
 pected to join his family very soon, and that his 
 daughter had said that, when he came, he probably 
 would not stay long. 
 
232 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 Miss Matilda had heard that there had once been 
 unpleasant feelings between her father and the Jus- 
 tins, and she was a young woman who generally 
 knew what to say and when to say it. 
 
 If, therefore, there was but little chance of having 
 anything to do with Mr. Stull, it might be well, so 
 reasoned Mrs. Justin, to call upon his wife and 
 daughter j and if the latter should appear to be the 
 extremely pleasant young lady that Gray thought her 
 to be, a companionship between the two would prob- 
 ably be a desirable thing. Gay's enthusiasm over 
 this new acquaintance was very encouraging to Mrs. 
 Justin. " That seems to be her natural disposition, 77 
 she thought, "in regard to friendships, and it may 
 not mean as much as I supposed it did." 
 
 She therefore determined that she would call on the 
 Stulls. But when this decision was announced to 
 Mr. Stratford he gave it a cold approval. It was well 
 enough, he remarked, to be courteous to new-comers, 
 but he had always had a great dislike for Stull him- 
 self, and from the little he had seen of his daughter 
 he did not believe that her companionship was 
 needed by Miss Armatt. But Mrs. Justin laughed 
 was he such a judge of the nature of girls that he 
 could tell their capabilities. and qualities by a glance 
 or two ? 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 FEW days after the entrance of 
 Miss Matilda Stull into the Justin 
 field of view, Mr. Horace Stratford 
 was driving slowly along one of the 
 by-roads in the neighborhood of 
 Cherry Bridge. It was about the 
 middle of the afternoon, and he was starting out on 
 one of those mountain drives with which he varied 
 his fishing and walking experiences. He had allowed 
 his horse to fall into a small jog-trot ; for, a sensible 
 man will not drive fast over the ordinary by-road of 
 mountainous neighborhoods when his mind is fixed 
 upon a subject entirely unrelated to roads and driving. 
 Mr. Stratford's mind was intently fixed upon the 
 subject of his plans and purposes regarding the 
 future welfare of Miss G-ay Armatt. His desire to 
 promote this welfare was as strong as ever, and his 
 belief in the justice of his purposes was unshaken, 
 but his hopes of their success were not quite so bright 
 as they had been. He could not but admit to him- 
 self that while he had made upon the mind of this 
 young lady quite as forcible an impression of the 
 value of worthy male companionship as he had ex- 
 pected to make, that impression had not produced 
 the result which he had hoped from it. Miss Gay, 
 
 233 
 
234 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 indeed, appeared capable of entertaining, at the same 
 time, a true and earnest friendship for one man and a 
 true and earnest love for another man. Thus, while 
 he had gained for himself a most charming and sym- 
 pathetic friend, Mr. Crisman still retained a loyal 
 lady-love. Now, while Stratford had no objection 
 whatever to make for himself a charming friend, that 
 was not the ultimate object of his carefully con- 
 sidered conduct towards Gay Armatt. If Mr. Cris- 
 man's hold upon the girl were not loosened, it mat- 
 tered little to her future what hold any one else re- 
 tained upon her. 
 
 " Perhaps," said Stratford to himself, " Mrs. Justin 
 may be right, and the girl, having plighted her word, 
 will stand to her promise through good or evil." 
 Now, this blind constancy was a quality of the soul of 
 which Stratford did not approve. Adherence to the 
 wrong under any circumstances was, in his opinion, 
 unworthy of a true man or woman. If, by any means, 
 by comparison with other men, or by direct study of 
 his character, Gay should discover that her lover was 
 not the man she would have chosen had she deferred 
 her decision until a little more age and a little more 
 experience had given her better powers of judgment 
 in regard to what a husband should be, then Gay was 
 false to herself, and, in a manner, to Crisman also, if 
 she married him. 
 
 If Mr. Stratford had been consulted on the sub- 
 ject of the young lady's action after she had arrived 
 at this conviction, he would have advised a clear 
 and frank statement of her change of views, coupled 
 with a proposition that the engagement be set 
 
TEE HUNDREDTH NAN. 235 
 
 aside by mutual consent. He truly believed that if 
 women were to do this when they found they had 
 made a mistake in the plighting of their affections, 
 not only would they avert a great deal of future un- 
 happiness, but they would find the matter much 
 easier than they had supposed. The lover might 
 flout and rebel at first, but there were ten chances to 
 one that, if the engagement had existed for any con- 
 siderable length of time, he would have discovered 
 for himself that the cog-wheels of the attachment did 
 not run smoothly together, and that he would be will- 
 ing to separate them before they had become worn or 
 injured. It often happens that it is easier for an 
 inferior man to sever his attachment to a superior 
 woman than it is for her to disengage her affections 
 from him. The material of the attachment in the 
 first instance is of poorer quality. 
 
 But as Stratford was a sensible man, as has before 
 been said, he did not expect any such severe moral 
 action on the part of Gay Armatt. He had hoped no 
 more than that she might gradually grow away from 
 Crisman, and Crisman, consequently, dropping away 
 from her, the engagement would come to an end with- 
 out any particular effort on either side. But, so far 
 as he could now see, nothing of this kind seemed 
 likely to happen. 
 
 " I have not understood," reflected Stratford, " the 
 varied powers of sympathetic action which exist in 
 the soul of this young girl. I came to her as a friend, 
 and she has received me as a friend, whereas with 
 Crisman she connects no idea but that of love. 
 Consequently, she has never made any comparison 
 
236 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 between us. If I wish to make an impression 
 which shall be of the slightest use, I must get her 
 to compare me with her lover. At first I thought I 
 was about to succeed in this, but now I have my 
 doubts. She takes him for what he is, and me for 
 what I am, and is perfectly satisfied with us both." 
 
 It may be said here that if Mr. Stratford's ability to 
 read the mind of a young girl had been as great as 
 his belief in the obviousness of his superiority to 
 Crisman, he might not have come to this conclusion. 
 He was in the not unusual position of a person who 
 doubts his ultimate success at the very moment he 
 begins to succeed. Gay had already compared her 
 lover, and that not favorably, with her friend. 
 
 Mr. Stratford was so absorbed in his important 
 cogitations that his horse now fell into a contempla- 
 tive walk, and the two proceeded very slowly. 
 
 "But/' Stratford continued in his converse with 
 himself, "I do not wish her to look upon me as a 
 lover. In the first place, I am not her lover in the 
 least degree. And, again, I should consider it dis- 
 honorable and entirely opposed to the spirit of my 
 plan, even to appear to be her lover. I would like her 
 to look upon me as a man who might be somebody's 
 lover, and, in that regard, to compare me with Cris- 
 man. I would like her to say to herself, 'If some 
 one may have the love of a man like Mr. Stratford, 
 who will appreciate her tastes and her aspirations as 
 he will appreciate them, who will sympathize with 
 and help her as he will sympathize with and help her, 
 and who will, in every way, offer her that sufficient 
 companionship which he will offer her, why may not 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 237 
 
 my lover be such a man V If I can induce her to 
 ask herself this question, and then seriously to con- 
 sider whether or not Crisman is that sort of man, I 
 shall be perfectly satisfied." 
 
 Easier were the tasks of tangled skeins and wind- 
 driven feathers set by wicked step-mothers to forlorn 
 princesses in the olden tales than was the task which 
 this man now proposed to himself. And yet, without 
 the slightest hope of the assistance of a fairy god- 
 mother, he steadfastly set .his mind upon it. 
 
 " Upon my word," exclaimed Stratford, speaking 
 out in very decided tones, and drawing up his horse 
 to a full stop, " this is exactly like a story in a book ! 
 Only it is too improbable." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " asked Gay, who had just 
 emerged upon the road from a broad pathway through 
 the woods. 
 
 " I mean," said Stratford, " that I am busily think- 
 ing of you when you suddenly appear in the most 
 unexpected manner, and in the most unexpected 
 place." 
 
 "The place and the manner are simple enough, 77 
 she said. " Mrs. Justin has gone to call on the doc- 
 tor's wife, and after that she will drive over to the 
 railroad station to pick up Mr. Crisman, and I 
 thought I would kill the time until they came back 
 by going out to look for rhododendrons, but it 
 must be rather early for them, for I have found only 
 this one little sprig." 
 
 And she held up a small cluster of the delicately 
 tinted pink and white blossoms for which she had 
 been searching. 
 
238 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 " It is not too early for them," said Stratford, " but 
 you would be likely to find only straggling bushes 
 along that pathway. It would be difficult for you to 
 go where they are abundant. But why did not you 
 visit the doctor's wife ? " 
 
 He would have been glad to extend the question, 
 but saw no appropriate way of doing so. 
 
 " I don't care about going to see strangers," said 
 Gay, " and as we called upon the Stulls two days ago, 
 I thought tha.t was enough ceremony for me in one 
 week." 
 
 " If you will allow me," said Stratford, " I will say 
 that, however much you may desire to escape from 
 social boredom, it is not right for you to be wauder- 
 ing by yourself in these woods." 
 
 Gay laughed. " There is nothing in the world to 
 hurt me except snakes; and, do you know, I have 
 tried hard to see a snake, but never could. And now 
 tell me how you came to be thinking about me." 
 
 "It may have been," said Stratford disingenuously, 
 " that I had some premonition of your appearance, 
 but I don't believe it. I could not even have imagined 
 that you would be wandering in these woods by your- 
 self, and, really, Miss Armatt, you ought not to do it. 
 But I am delighted to see you, for now I shall ask you 
 to take a drive with me. You will come, will you not ? " 
 and as he spoke he stepped down from the buggy. 
 
 Gay looked at him with a little smile upon her lips. 
 " May I drive f " she said. 
 
 Her expression as she smiled and spoke, with her 
 head a little on one side as she looked at him, was 
 very youthful and very charming ; for Gay, when she 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 239 
 
 slid down the straw-stack, had not, as she supposed, 
 left all her girlishness behind her. But Stratford was 
 not altogether pleased. He did not wish to teach her 
 to drive ; he did not want to appear in the character 
 of a tutor of any kind. But he answered promptly, 
 " Certainly you shall do as you choose ; drive or be 
 driven. All that I ask is the pleasure of your com- 
 pany." 
 
 " How easily pleased ! w said Gray. And almost 
 before he could touch her arm to assist her, she had 
 stepped into the buggy. 
 
 " No," said Stratford, " you must not sit there. You 
 must sit on the right side. If you drive you must do 
 it properly." 
 
 " That will be delightful, 7 ' said Gay, quickly chang- 
 ing her seat. " I do so like to do things in a regular 
 way." 
 
 It did not altogether satisfy Stratford that Gay's 
 pleasure in the mere act of driving seemed to exclude 
 every other motive for wishing to accompany him. 
 But he put the reins into her hands, adjusting them 
 with much care, and made her also hold the whip. 
 
 " In difficult driving," he said, " you should have 
 the whip in your hand, in order that you may touch 
 your horse if he hesitates.^ 
 
 " Is this to be difficult driving ? " asked Gay. 
 
 " Yes," he said. " These rough country roads de- 
 mand constant care and prudence, or you might find 
 yourself in trouble." 
 
 " Oh, I like that ! " said Gay, settling herself squarely 
 in her seat, "and I am going to be awfully particular. 
 Will you jump in?" 
 
240 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 " Before I do so," said Stratford, " I must ask you 
 to turn your horse to the right, and separate the 
 wheels on this side. As you are the driver, that is 
 part of your duty to your companion. 77 
 
 Gay laughed as she turned the horse rather more 
 than was necessary on one side. " This is simply per- 
 fect !" she exclaimed. u I feel as if I were managing 
 everything. Are you quite comfortable, sir!" she 
 added when Stratford had taken his seat. 
 
 " Go on/ 7 he said, laughing, but quickly exclaimed, 
 "Not so fast! You will dash us to pieces against 
 some stone or stump." 
 
 Gay drew in the horse, and then Stratford, in spite 
 of his dislike of appearing on this occasion in the 
 role of a teacher, proceeded to instruct his companion 
 in the art of eluding the rocks, ruts, stumps, and 
 fallen branches with which this seldom-used road 
 was frequently obstructed. She applied herself with 
 much earnestness to the difficulties of her task, but 
 Stratford, desiring to put an end to this soul-absorb- 
 ing occupation, which did not suit his purposes, and 
 must, eventually, tire his companion, directed her to 
 turn into a road in the woods which would shortly 
 lead into the highway. 
 
 "You should have told me to beware of these 
 branches," he said, as he pushed aside a protruding 
 bough. " To be sure, I saw them myself, but it is the 
 driver's place to give warning of such things." 
 
 " I don't take much care of you, do IP said Gay, 
 turning around and looking up into his face with a 
 glance of laughing kindliness. " I ought to manage 
 things so that you would never have the least bit of 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 241 
 
 a brush or a bounce. There now ! " she cried, as a 
 sweeping branch took off her hat, " I was thinking so 
 much of you that I forgot myself. Whoa, sir ! " 
 
 Stratford jumped out and picked up the hat, and 
 when he resumed his seat Gay requested him to put 
 it on for her, as her hands were so full. 
 
 " And I am going to ask you," she said, as Stratford 
 placed the hat on her head, and adjusted, not very 
 awkwardly, an elastic band beneath the thick coil of 
 hair, " if you will not hold this whip until we get out 
 of the woods. It is really too much for me to have to 
 attend to the reins, the whip, the stumps, the bushes, 
 and you." 
 
 When they turned into the broad, open road, Gay 
 had the pleasure of a mile or two of good rapid driv- 
 ing. During this period of delight they met an open 
 carriage, drawn by two horses, driven by a coach- 
 man, and containing a lady. Gay was so much 
 occupied in keeping her horse exactly midway be- 
 tween the right-hand side of the road and the left- 
 hand wheels of the other vehicle that she could do no 
 more than give a little nod as she swiftly passed the 
 carriage. 
 
 Stratford took off his hat, and then remarked to 
 Gay that it was a pity Miss Stull had to drive about 
 the country by herself. 
 
 " Yes," said Gay. " Her mother does not care to be 
 out-of-doors, and she does not like to have her 
 younger sisters with her. She said she would come to 
 take me to drive, and perhaps she is now on her way 
 to our house." 
 
 " Do you wish to turn back?" said Stratford. 
 21 
 
242 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 " No, indeed," she answered. " That was the merest 
 supposition of mine. And besides, even if she does 
 want me, why should I slight your invitation for one 
 from her?" And she gave the horse a little touch of 
 the whip, of which she had again taken possession. 
 
 Gay's prompt decision was a very gratifying one, 
 but Stratford could not help asking himself if her 
 preference for his company was not due, in some 
 degree, to the fact that she was driving. 
 
 Presently he made a proposition. " How should 
 you like," said he, " for me to take you on a mount- 
 ain drive ? It will be a novel experience for you." 
 
 " I shall like it ever so much," said Gay, " and if you 
 want my seat I am quite ready to give it up, for this 
 tight-rein driving has begun to tire my wrists." 
 
 " In the work we have before us," said Stratford, 
 " I shall certainly want the driver's seat." 
 
 They now stopped at a gate by the side of the road, 
 and, Stratford having opened it, Gay drove through, 
 and then he took the reins. They passed at a good 
 trot along a cart road which wound through a field of 
 young corn, and, leaving this by another gate, they 
 emerged upon a wide stretch of grassy hillside, inter- 
 spersed with bushes, rocks, and trees. They skirted 
 the base of the hill, following a track that gave some 
 indications of being a road, and which, by a series of 
 gentle ascents, brought them to a forest on the side of 
 a line of low mountains. Here Stratford turned into 
 a wood-road which for some time led them steadily 
 upward. At a point with which he seemed very well 
 acquainted he turned boldly into the woods, and 
 wound in and out among the trees, which here, being 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 243 
 
 principally pines, were little encumbered with under- 
 brush, until he emerged upon the open mountain- 
 side, where could be seen no track of wheel or hoof. 
 
 "You did that splendidly," said Gay. "I can't 
 imagine how you dared to drive right in among the 
 trees." 
 
 " I have been through that way before, and knew I 
 could find a free passage. And now, my lady, I want to 
 warn you that we are going to leave everything which 
 resembles civilized driving. Do you think you shall 
 be frightened ? " 
 
 " I am sure you will not take me into any danger- 
 ous places," she said. 
 
 " There will be no danger whatever/ 7 he answered. 
 " I shall go nowhere where I have not driven before ; 
 and although we shall pass over a great deal of 
 shelving ground, I assure you that we shall not upset." 
 
 "If you say it is safe, I am perfectly satisfied," 
 said Gay. " Please go on." 
 
 Stratford now proceeded at a steady walk along 
 a slight terrace upon the mountain-side which 
 afforded a very good roadway. To the left the vast 
 forest stretched upward, while to the right lay a long 
 green valley closed on three sides, and utterly wild 
 and uninhabited. Very soon they rounded a turn in 
 the mountain-side, and here the terrace disappeared. 
 The surface of the ground, however, was diversified 
 by rounded knobs and horizontal shelves of project- 
 ing rock, and the general incline, even in the smoother 
 places, was not great. 
 
 Around and over the inequalities of the ground 
 Stratford steadily made his way, taking advantage of 
 
244 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 every favoring surface ; but, in spite of his careful- 
 ness, the buggy sometimes tipped very much to one 
 side. 
 
 " You are sure we can't upset ? " asked (lay. 
 
 " Quite sure/ 7 Stratford replied. " It would be 
 extremely difficult to overturn a low-hanging vehicle 
 like this, and everything about the buggy and harness 
 is strong and intended for rough work. 7 ' 
 
 " It is delightfully exciting/' said Gay, " and I don't 
 intend to be afraid. The view is getting better all 
 the time." 
 
 " When we round that next point, just beyond us," 
 said Stratford, " we shall have the view I brought 
 you here to see. It is different from anything else in 
 the neighborhood." 
 
 Having reached the point indicated, Stratford 
 stopped, and they looked out on a scene of solemn 
 grandeur. Below them was a deep and vast ravine, 
 through which a dark river of tree-tops seemed to 
 run into the valley they had first seen. Beyond this 
 ravine rose a heavily wooded mountain, and to the 
 right of that, and back of it, stood other mountain 
 peaks, purpled by the distance. Still farther, tower- 
 ing high on the left, its eastern side now dark in 
 shadow, stood the loftiest mountain of them all, 
 looking down upon its lower brethren with a certain 
 stern solemnity, while between it and the nearest 
 peak Gay could see, far, far away, a line of light-blue 
 mountain waves against the sky. For a few moments 
 she sat without a word, and then she exclaimed : 
 
 " What magnificence ! I never knew we had such 
 mountains near us ! " 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 245 
 
 " They are the same mountains we always have in 
 view," said Stratford, " only we are on a point where 
 we can see between their broken lines, and not merely 
 look up against them as we generally do. 77 
 
 The spot where they had stopped was the most 
 available one in the vicinity for a mountain view, 
 but the ground was very sloping, and even if they 
 had had plenty of time before them, Stratford would 
 not have taxed the patience of his horse by requiring 
 him to keep a stationary position there very long. 
 After devoting some minutes to Cray's intense enjoy- 
 ment of the scene, he told her they must now turn 
 round and go back; and as this turning round on 
 the mountain-side might excite nervousness in the 
 mind of a lady, he proposed to Gray that she should 
 get out of the buggy while he performed this feat. 
 
 " Are you going to stay in f n she asked. 
 
 " Of course/' he answered. 
 
 " Then so am I," said Gay. 
 
 Stratford made no further remark, but, driving 
 upon a projecting knoll, he backed the buggy up on 
 a shelf of rock behind it, and, turning the horse, drove 
 down again to the spot where they had been stand- 
 ing. He knew what he was about, and his horse was 
 perfectly trustworthy j but the knoll was very small, 
 and the downward view from the outer border of it 
 was likely to give one a good idea of the precipitous. 
 
 Stratford drove a short distance along the mount- 
 ain-side, and then he drew up his horse. "Now," 
 said he, " I am going to give you your choice. We 
 can either go back the way we came, which you 
 know is a long road, or I can drive down the mount- 
 
246 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 ain-side, which is not very steep just here, and when 
 we reach the valley we shall find a wood-road which 
 will lead us to that low hill, over there. Having 
 crossed that, we shall soon find ourselves upon one 
 of Mrs. Justin's farm-roads, which will take us directly 
 to the house." 
 
 " Oh, let us go that way, by all means ! v said Gay. 
 " It must be ever so much nearer, and, after what we 
 have done, I am ready for anything." 
 
 " Very good," said Stratford ; and he began the 
 descent of the trackless mountain-side. He did not 
 go directly down, but wound along in a serpentine 
 way among the rocks, low-growing bushes, and over 
 occasional stretches of coarse grass, which would some- 
 times have proved difficult of passage had not the yield- 
 ing mold given a sure foothold to the horse. Gay was 
 very merry over the varied contingencies of this novel 
 drive, although she could not refrain from some starts 
 and exclamations when they found themselves going 
 straight down some short, steep incline with the horse 
 so far beneath the buggy that there seemed to be 
 danger that the vehicle with its occupants would 
 double over upon the steed. Once when the horse, 
 thoroughly well trained in the business of holding 
 back, actually sat down on his haunches, Gay gave a 
 little cry and seized Stratford by the arm. 
 
 "Oh!" she exclaimed, instantly relinquishing her 
 hold, "I must not do that or I shall hinder your 
 driving." 
 
 Stratford was not afraid of any interference with 
 his driving, but he was a conscientious man, and 
 essayed no unnecessary slopes for the purpose of 
 encouraging an intuitive reliance. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 247 
 
 When they reached the valley, and had struck the 
 wood-road, now almost overgrown, which led through 
 a narrow stretch of forest, Gay gave a sigh of relief. 
 
 " I can't deny," she said, " that it is a comfort to 
 feel that the buggy- wheels and the horse's feet are on 
 a level with each other. But I would not for any- 
 thing- have missed that mountain drive ! It had more 
 of delightful adventure about it than anything that 
 ever happened to me. But I would not have allowed 
 any other man in the world to drive me where you 
 drove me." 
 
 " And let me say to you," said Stratford, turning 
 towards her, " that I know no other woman than 
 yourself whom I could have trusted to be brave 
 enough to trust me absolutely and entirely." 
 
 " I like to hear you say that," said Gay, with an 
 expression that could not be mistaken for anything 
 else than honest earnestness. 
 
 So far, although these two had spent a good part 
 of the afternoon together, they had had but little 
 conversation except that which had been called forth 
 by the unusual character of the surrounding circum- 
 stances, and this condition of things Stratford thought 
 had lasted quite long enough. He certainly did not 
 regret the circumstances, because they had pleased 
 Gay, and had brought out in a strong light some 
 interesting points in her disposition. But now he 
 was glad that the rest of their trip would be un- 
 eventful. 
 
 "You are pleased, then," Stratford said, "that I 
 think well of you I n 
 
 " Indeed I am ! " exclaimed Gay. " I am a great 
 deal more than pleased. Do you know," she continued, 
 
248 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 "that it seems very strange, in fact it is absolutely 
 funny, when I think in what a different way I regard 
 you now from that in which I looked upon you when 
 I first knew you. I don't mind telling you that I 
 liked you ever so much from the first day. Then I 
 used to wish that you were my father, and to think 
 that it would be perfectly charming to have such a 
 father, entirely forgetting that you did not begin to 
 be old enough to be a father to me. After that I 
 wished you were my brother. But that did not last 
 very long ; for, if you analyze the relationship of a 
 brother, which I have done, having a very good 
 brother who is a professor in a college out West, you 
 will find that he is wanting in some of the varied 
 qualities of companionship ; at least, that is what I 
 discover in my one specimen. Now, in you I find no 
 want of the kind." 
 
 " Am I to understand/' said Stratford, " that you 
 have analyzed my character ? " 
 
 " Indeed I have," she replied. " In fact, I have 
 done so two or three times." 
 
 "And what is the result?" he asked. "And in 
 what light do you now regard me ? " 
 
 " The result is," said Gay, " that it is impossible to 
 place you in any class. I tried it and utterly failed. 
 So I am going to let you stand all alone, by yourself." 
 
 "Whatever of approbation there was in Gay's words 
 or manner, there was nothing to indicate that she had 
 ever thought of putting him into that class of men 
 who, not being fathers or brothers, might, upon 
 occasion, make love. 
 
 " Do you analyze everybody ? " he asked. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN, 249 
 
 " Oh, no indeed ! " said Gay promptly. " Only a 
 very few persons. You more than anybody else." 
 
 " Am I, then, so very difficult to understand ? " 
 
 " I do not think you would have been," said Gray, 
 " if I had known you a long time, and had, in a man- 
 ner, grown up with you j but, you see, you came upon 
 me so suddenly and swiftly, and I have known you 
 so fast, if you understand that, that I had to look 
 very closely into the matter in order to comprehend 
 it all." 
 
 " And do you comprehend it ? n he asked. 
 
 " I think so/' said Gay. 
 
 " And are you satisfied ? " 
 
 " Perfectly," she answered. 
 
 Stratford was not perfectly satisfied. " I wish," 
 said he, "that I could have been put among those 
 persons who do not need to be analyzed." 
 
 Gay turned upon him suddenly. There was a little 
 frown upon her brow, but when she spoke she could 
 not help smiling. " You are dreadfully grasping," 
 she said. " Here I have been putting you up higher 
 and higher, on a loftier pedestal every time, and yet 
 you are not satisfied." 
 
 " Pardon me," said Stratford, " but if you had ever 
 analyzed yourself you would not be surprised that I 
 am hard to satisfy." 
 
 "Now I wonder what that means!" said Gay. 
 " Are you going on developing and changing, so that 
 I shall have to analyze you again ? " 
 
 " I hope you will not do it," he answered quickly, 
 " if there is any danger of my being placed on a lower 
 pedestal, or perhaps being toppled over altogether." 
 
250 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 " Don't you be afraid of that," said Gay, in voluntarily 
 laying her hand upon his arm. " And HI tell you one 
 way in which I think of you. I have a feeling that if 
 you were to ask rne to do anything, I should instantly 
 go and do it. What do you think of that, sir ? n 
 
 A thought had come with much promptness to 
 Stratford, and he had said to himself that if he could 
 thoroughly believe what Gay had said, he would 
 impress the seal of happiness and success upon her 
 life by instantly demanding that she should give up 
 the man who would be to her like a worm at the root 
 of all to which her ardent young soul looked forward. 
 But he did not believe her, at least to such an extent, 
 and he kept this thought to himself. 
 
 " You do me the greatest honor," he said, " by plac- 
 ing such trust in me ; and I wish I could tell you to 
 do something which would make you happy for the 
 rest of your days." 
 
 Gay turned and looked at him with an expression 
 of inquiry which seemed somewhat foreign to her 
 face, for her desires to know were generally promptly 
 expressed in words. But now she said nothing, and, 
 turning again from Stratford, sat quietly looking out 
 before her. 
 
 They had now crossed the valley and had reached 
 the top of the rounded hill upon the other side. The 
 day was drawing to a close, and in this exposed posi- 
 tion the evening wind came fresh and cool upon 
 them. Gay's dress was thin, and Stratford, without 
 remark upon the subject, stooped forward and drew 
 from under the seat a light woolen lap-robe which had 
 hitherto been unneeded. This he placed around Gay's 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 251 
 
 shoulders, carefully arranging it so as to protect her 
 well from the somewhat chilly mountain breeze. 
 
 " Thank you," said Gay. And then she went on 
 with her thinking. 
 
 Among the many things which came into the mind 
 of Stratford on their homeward road was the convic- 
 tion that this mountain drive had occupied more 
 time than he had expected it would, and that Cris- 
 man must have arrived at least an hour ago at Mrs. 
 Justin's house. He wondered if Gay was thinking 
 about this, but, if so, she certainly manifested no 
 anxiety upon the subject. Comfortably wrapped up, 
 with her hands folded under her improvised shawl, 
 she nestled quietly in her corner of the buggy as if she 
 were perfectly satisfied with everything that was. 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 ISS Matilda Stull, who really was on 
 her way to invite Miss Gay Armatt 
 to drive with her, was very much 
 surprised when that young lady, in 
 company with Mr. Stratford, rapidly 
 passed her on the road. She turned 
 quickly, and looked back at them, saying to herself : 
 " Is it possible that I have been mistaken, and that 
 that is the man she is engaged to ? I don't under- 
 stand it, for they certainly told me that the one I saw 
 in the carriage with Mrs. Justin is named Crisman, 
 and that he comes up every Saturday, on account of 
 the engagement. But that doesn't look like it, I must 
 say ! And this is Saturday afternoon too ! " 
 
 In all matters which pertained to love, engage- 
 ments, or marriage, Miss Matilda took a deep and 
 abiding interest, and in this affair, so immediately 
 within her observation, her interest was greater than 
 usual. The apparent complications of it which had 
 suddenly arisen in her extremely active mind, which 
 needed but very slight impulses to set it working in 
 matters of this sort, puzzled her exceedingly. She 
 could not bring herself to give up her visit to Mrs. 
 Justin's house, where she might hope to lay hold of 
 some clew to this mystery. It was plain that Gay 
 
 252 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 253 
 
 could not drive with her, but she saw no reason why 
 she should not return Mrs. Justin's call, although her 
 mother was not with her. That lady was as likely to 
 be indisposed one day as another, and she could not 
 afford to let the acquaintanceship she desired depend 
 upon Mrs. StulFs dispositions or indispositions. If 
 that Mr. Crisman were coming to-day, she knew the 
 hour when he should arrive, and determined to plan 
 her own drive so as to reach the house when he 
 should be there. Mr. Stratford and Gay Armatt 
 would be back by that time, and when she saw them 
 all together she could judge for herself how matters 
 stood. 
 
 Miss Stull drove about the country for some time, 
 and, when the proper hour arrived, she directed her 
 coachman to turn the horses towards the Justin house. 
 There she found the lady of the mansion and Mr. 
 Crisman, seated upon the broad piazza. Mrs. Justin 
 received the young lady very cordially, and was on 
 the point of stating that Gay had gone for a walk, 
 but would certainly be back in a very short time, 
 when Miss Matilda remarked that she had supposed she 
 might not see Miss Armatt as she had met her driving 
 with Mr. Stratford, but that she had come all the 
 same, because this was a call not only from herself 
 but from her mother, who was extremely grieved that 
 she was not able to make it in person. 
 
 At the intelligence thus conveyed by Miss Matilda 
 the soul of Mrs. Justin was smitten by a sudden 
 chill, and the face of Mr. Crisman grew stern and 
 dark. This gentleman had been annoyed when he 
 reached the house and found that Gay was not there 
 22 
 
254 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 to meet him, and had been talking to Mrs. Justin 
 about the propriety of that young lady keeping her 
 watch properly set and regulated, and carrying it 
 with her when she went out for a walk, so that she 
 would know when she ought to return to the house. 
 But now, when he learned that she had not gone for 
 a walk at all, but was out driving with Stratford, his 
 mind was a good deal darker than his face. He said 
 nothing, but his eyes flashed angrily on Mrs. Justin. 
 That lady glanced at him, caught the flash, and 
 knew instantly that he believed she had told him a 
 falsehood. 
 
 " I did not know/ 7 she said, addressing Miss Stull, 
 " that Miss Armatt had gone driving. Mr. Stratford 
 must have called for her while I was away, and they 
 will doubtless return presently. And, before I for- 
 get it, Miss Stull, did your mother engage that wash- 
 erwoman I recommended to her? If she does not 
 suit, there is another one who might answer, but she 
 lives at a greater distance." 
 
 During the discussion upon washerwomen which 
 followed, Mr. Crisman arose, went into the house, 
 and began to stalk up and down the parlor. A good 
 deal of conversation, mostly on domestic subjects, 
 now took place between Mrs. Justin and her visitor, 
 and, to the great regret of both, it was not interrupted 
 by the arrival of Gay and Mr. Stratford. 
 
 Miss Matilda staid just as long as it was possible 
 to extend her visit ; and this extension was encour- 
 aged by her hostess, who did not at all wish to be 
 left alone with Crisman. Gay had done a very fool- 
 ish and wrong thing in going away on this Saturday 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 255 
 
 afternoon with Mr. Stratford, and it was she who 
 should make the explanations and bear the reproaches. 
 At last Miss Stull felt bound to admit to herself that 
 the evening was coming on rapidly, and that she 
 could not with propriety stay any longer, and so de- 
 parted, disappointed. She had seen very little of 
 Mr. Crisman, she had not made the acquaintance of 
 Mr. Stratford, and she had learned nothing definite 
 in regard to the engagement. She had seen enough, 
 however, to make her believe that everything was not 
 right, and that that young man who was walking so 
 heavily about the parlor was very angry. This con- 
 vinced her that he was really the engaged man, but 
 she was sorry, very sorry indeed, that the couple in 
 the buggy had not arrived before she left. 
 
 The heavens were kind to Mrs. Justin. She had 
 not returned to the house after seeing Miss Stull to 
 her carriage and it must be admitted that she did 
 not hasten that return when Stratford and Gay 
 drove up over the grass, coming from the back of the 
 house. 
 
 The horse had no sooner stopped than G-ay inquired 
 of Mrs. Justin if Mr. Crisman had arrived, and on 
 being told that that gentleman had been there some 
 time and was now in the parlor, she bade Mr. Strat- 
 ford a hasty farewell, skipped out of the buggy, and 
 hurried into the house. As she hastened past Mrs. 
 Justin, that lady felt assured that although Gay might 
 be very anxious to meet her lover, her conscience as 
 well as her affection had a good deal to do with the 
 exceeding alacrity with which she went into the house. 
 
 "I had no idea," said Mrs. Justin to Stratford, 
 
256 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 " that you and Gray were going off to drive this after- 
 noon." 
 
 "Nor had I," he answered. "I picked her up on the 
 road. We have had a most delightful drive.' 7 
 
 "It may prove anything but delightful to Gay/ 7 
 said Mrs. Justin. 
 
 Stratford smiled. " I am very sorry/' he said, "that 
 upon this subject you and I should so frequently dif- 
 fer, both in our desires and our expectations." 
 
 "And I am also very, very sorry," said the lady. 
 
 And then Mr. Stratford drove away at dinner time 
 without being invited to stay to dinner. This unu- 
 sual omission was not due to want of hospitality or 
 to resentment on Mrs. Justin's part. That lady did 
 not desire an awkward situation at her evening meal, 
 and Stratford understood her feelings perfectly. 
 
 That dinner was indeed an awkward meal, but not 
 as Mrs. Justin had expected it to be. She had looked 
 forward to sitting at table with a black-browed and 
 scowling lover upon whom the sweetness and kind 
 attention of two ladies would make but very faint 
 impression. Instead of that, only she and Gay had 
 dinner together ; that is to say, they sat at the table 
 together, but neither of them ate much. 
 
 When Mr. Stratford had driven away, and Mrs. 
 Justin had gone into the house after a stroll among 
 the shadows on the lawn sufficiently prolonged to 
 give Mr. Crisman time to get over the brunt of his 
 indignation, she met Gay on the piazza, and immedi- 
 ately asked where Mr. Crisman was. 
 
 " I don't know," said Gay, her voice a little shaken 
 either by emotion or shortness of breath. " I haven't 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 257 
 
 seen him at all. Jane says he went out of the house 
 and down the steps of the back piazza just as Mr. 
 Stratford and I drove round to the front, and that 
 she thought he went into the garden. I ran out there, 
 and have been looking for him everywhere. What 
 do you suppose has become of him? Can it be that 
 he is angry with me, and has gone away ? n 
 
 Mrs. Justin turned pale, and her paleness was 
 reflected in the face of Gay. " Come into the library," 
 said the elder lady. And they went into the darken- 
 ing room and sat down together on a lounge. 
 
 Now Mrs. Justin spoke to her young friend more 
 plainly than she had ever spoken before. She opened 
 her anxious heart to her, and with earnest affection 
 explained to the young girl the danger she was in. 
 Gay listened with a tear or two but with no words. 
 
 When Mrs. Justin had finished, Gay asked : " Do 
 you think he will come back to-night ? " 
 
 " I have no doubt of it/' said the other. "He has 
 probably gone for a long walk, which will cool off his 
 anger; and when he comes back, my dear, it will be 
 your duty to see that he has occasion to take no more 
 such walks." 
 
 Then the two went out to dinner. 
 
 About half -past nine that evening a boy belonging to 
 the tavern at Cherry Bridge came to the Justin house 
 bringing two letters. One was for Miss Armatt, and 
 one was for Mrs. Justin, and they were both written 
 by Mr. Crisman, who, the boy said, had taken supper 
 at the tavern and would stay there that night. 
 
 Gay, who had been reading and waiting and listen- 
 ing all the evening, took her letter in her hand but 
 
258 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 did not open it. The pallor on her face when instead 
 of her lover there came thisjnissive was not at all of 
 the reflected sort. 
 
 " I think I will go up into my room and read it,' 7 
 she said. And taking a lamp, she went upstairs. 
 
 Mrs. Justin sent word to the boy that he need not 
 wait for answers, and then she sat and looked at her 
 letter a long time before she opened it. She was so 
 much averse to a correspondence with Mr. Crisman 
 that once she made up her mind to tear up his letter 
 and refuse to take part in a very unpleasant quarrel 
 which she had earnestly endeavored to avert. But 
 she knew that this would not be just, and she could 
 not but believe that if she read Mr. Crisman's letter 
 and treated him with courtesy, she might thereby be 
 of great service to Gay. 
 
 Having come to this determination, she tore open 
 the letter and read it. At the opening words her face 
 began to redden, and as she went on the crimson glow 
 increased. When she finished, the color died out of 
 her face, and she leaned back in her chair and looked 
 out between the parted curtains of the window into 
 the dark night with an expression of somber sternness 
 which was very unusual upon Mrs. Justin's lovely 
 countenance. For a long, long time she sat thus; 
 and it was after twelve o'clock when Gay came quietly 
 into the room. 
 
 Mrs. Justin started with surprise. " Why, Gay, ?? 
 she exclaimed, "I did not expect you downstairs 
 again !" 
 
 Gay made no answer, but advanced to the table 
 with two letters in her hand, one open, and the other 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 259 
 
 folded and addressed. Her hair was somewhat rum- 
 pled, as if her fingers had been in it ; but her dress 
 was unchanged, and she evidently had had no thought 
 of retiring. 
 
 " Here is a letter," said Gay, laying the one which 
 was folded and addressed upon the table, " which I 
 should like to have sent to Mr. Crisman as early as 
 possible in the morning. I have ended our engage- 
 ment.' 7 
 
 Mrs. Justin rose to her feet, her amazed eyes fixed 
 on Gay. 
 
 " My letter is not sealed," said Gay, " and you can 
 read it if you like. But I think it would be better if 
 you read his letter first." 
 
 Mrs. Justin put out her hand for the letter which 
 Crisman had written, and took it as though it were 
 something hot which she feared to touch. She looked 
 at Gay, and then she looked at the letter. Then she 
 read a line or two, and put it down. 
 
 " I cannot, Gay," she said ; " I cannot read it." 
 
 It was Gay who had been hard-stricken, but her 
 nature was young and strong. She bore her blow 
 better than Mrs. Justin bore the one she had received. 
 
 " You need not read it," she said. " It would only 
 pain you. I can tell you in a few words what is in it. 
 He upbraids me cruelly for what he calls my faith- 
 lessness, and, after saying a great deal for which there 
 is no cause whatever, he orders me to write him a 
 letter asking his forgiveness for what I have done, 
 and promising never to do again the things with 
 which he has charged me. If I do not write such a 
 letter and send it to him immediately, he declares 
 
260 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 that everything shall be at an end between us. In 
 my answer I told him that his charges had 110 founda- 
 tion at all, and that I would never write the letter he 
 demanded. Did I do right?" 
 
 Mrs. Justin's face was flushed, not only by the 
 words which Gay had spoken to her, but by a hot 
 recollection of the letter which she herself had re- 
 ceived, in which Mr. Crisman had indignantly charged 
 her with treachery and falsehood, with having en- 
 couraged and assisted the attentions of Mr. Stratford 
 during the absence of Gay's rightful lover, and with 
 having made him believe that Gay was out walking 
 by herself when of course she knew that she was 
 driving with that other man. 
 
 Never was there a woman who attached more sol- 
 emn importance to an engagement or promise than 
 did Mrs. Justin. Never was there a woman who 
 looked with more horror upon the breaking of a 
 compact upon which two loving hearts had entered, 
 and yet she stretched out her arms to Gay, and, press- 
 ing the girl to her bosom, she said : " You did right, 
 exactly right ! n 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 HEN Mr. Crisman, before breakfast 
 the next morning, received Miss 
 Armatt's letter, its effect upon him 
 was to renew the anger which a 
 night's sleep had somewhat sobered 
 down. When he had written to her 
 he had formed no conjectures in 
 regard to her reception of his letter. He meant all 
 that he had written, and his only desire and intent 
 was that Gay should thoroughly understand what he 
 meant. He had not cared to anticipate what she 
 would do when she read it ; but when he found what 
 she had done, a most stubborn indignation took pos- 
 session of him. His nature was one which hardened 
 quickly beneath the sun of angry passion, and when 
 this happened, neither rain, nor kindly warmth, nor 
 the dews of night, nor any blessed breeze, could pene- 
 trate its crust. 
 
 "Very well," he said, as he tore up Gay's letter, 
 " she loses more than I do." And then he went to 
 breakfast. 
 
 The only resolve which Mr. Crisman now made was 
 to the effect that every one should be made to under- 
 stand that his engagement with the Armatt girl was 
 broken off, and that he was not in the least crushed 
 
 261 
 
262 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 by the event. He had come prepared to spend a 
 week at Cherry Bridge, having made arrangements 
 by which his vacation came earlier in the season than 
 usual. He had sent his baggage to the tavern with- 
 out saying anything to Mrs. Justin about it, prefer- 
 ring first to inform Gay of his intended stay in the 
 neighborhood, and thus give Mrs. Justin an oppor- 
 tunity of inviting him to spend a week at her house. 
 If she did not do so, he would stay at the tavern. 
 But although he had told no one of his intentions, 
 he determined to make no change in them. This was 
 a good place to hunt and fish, and he would stay here 
 and hunt and fish for a week. Then he would go and 
 spend the other week of his vacation in sailing, as he 
 had planned. He liked sailing better than anything 
 else, but having decided to give up half his holidays 
 to the country in which Gay was staying, he would 
 not allow her conduct to influence his plans in any 
 way. If, in the course of his sojourn here, Gay 
 should come to feel that she ought to be ashamed of 
 herself, he would then determine what he would do. 
 But this was to be entirely her own affair. Not one 
 step would he take to lift her out of the pit into 
 which she had deliberately thrown herself. If she 
 chose to climb out and come to him but he stopped 
 here ; he would make no promises, and offer no 
 hopes, even in his own mind. He was obstinately 
 angry. 
 
 On that Sunday afternoon Mr. Stratford walked 
 over to the Justin house. He would have preferred 
 not to go, but there were reasons why he thought it 
 would be better for him to do so. Mrs. Justin had 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 263 
 
 not treated him with her customary cordiality on the 
 evening before, and he did not wish to appear to re- 
 sent this by omitting his usual Sunday call. He had 
 reason to believe, if he judged from nothing but Mrs. 
 Justin's words, that he would not find the family at- 
 mosphere altogether bright and agreeable, but he did 
 not feel himself justified in staying away on that ac- 
 count. If he found a storm there, or the signs of 
 one, he would know that he was the cause of it, and 
 there was no reason why he should shrink from his 
 share of the rains and winds. 
 
 He was rounding the foot of an abrupt hill which 
 lay on the extreme boundary of the Bullripple farm 
 when he suddenly came upon a man who was making 
 a shallow excavation in the soil with a small pickaxe. 
 It was such an uncommon thing to find any one in 
 this part of the country working in the fields on Sun- 
 day, that Stratford was quite surprised at the sight. 
 In a moment, however, he perceived that this was not 
 an ordinary laborer, but an elderly man dressed in 
 black, who was, apparently, interested in geology. 
 
 " Good afternoon," said Stratford. 
 
 The man turned suddenly, and his face showed 
 plainly that, whatever he might be looking for, it was 
 not company. Stratford could not imagine why the 
 man should object to being seen digging for specimens 
 of rocks, fish-worms, or anything else, unless it was on 
 account of doing so on Sunday. He took no notice 
 of the forbidding expression, and inquired pleasantly 
 what there was to be found on this hillside. 
 
 " Nothing," said the man, dropping his little pick. 
 " There's nothing at all in land like this, either inside 
 
264 .THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 of it or on top of it. I live in this county, though not 
 in this stony paft, and I like to know what kind of 
 soil we've got in one place and another. But this 
 land ain't worth the trouble of scratching it." 
 
 "It does not appear to me in that light/' said Strat- 
 ford. " The pasturage is fair, and the crops in the 
 valley lands are very good." 
 
 "Oh, yes," said the man. And as he spoke he 
 kicked some stones and loose earth into the hole he 
 had made. "Some of the land is good enough for 
 crops, but there is nothing in it that is really worth 
 anything." 
 
 "I suppose you are alluding to ores," said Strat- 
 ford. "From what I have observed in sections of the 
 country where iron is found, I should think there 
 might be ore of that kind here." 
 
 " Humph ! " said the man. " You might dig here 
 for ten years, and you wouldn't find no iron except 
 what was worn off your shovels or picks. Good-day 
 to you." And, taking up his pickaxe and a stout 
 grape-vine cane which lay on the ground, the man 
 walked away towards the village. 
 
 Stratford continued on his way, but in a few mo- 
 ments he stopped and looked back. The man was 
 carrying the little pickaxe under his coat. Stratford 
 smiled as he went on. " I cannot imagine," he said to 
 himself, " why he should have been so disturbed at 
 my seeing him. He could not have been stealing any- 
 thing, for there is nothing here to steal. I am afraid 
 that after going to church this morning he intended 
 going fishing this afternoon. He chose a very poor 
 place, however, in which to look for bait." 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 265 
 
 Stratford was met by Mrs. Justin before he reached 
 the house. "I saw you coming over the hill," she 
 said ; " I want to have a little talk with you before 
 you go in." And then, as the two walked down to the 
 bank of the creek, she said : " Your work is accom- 
 plished. The engagement between Gray Armatt and 
 Mr. Crisman is broken." 
 
 " What ! " exclaimed Stratford. And for a moment 
 he felt a pang of contrition. He had greatly desired 
 to see this engagement broken off, but it was a shock 
 to be suddenly told that there had been a rupture, and 
 that he had made it. But Mrs. Justin's next words 
 were positively astounding. 
 
 " I would not have told you this so abruptly/ 7 she 
 said, "if I had not intended to also say that I am very 
 glad that everything is at an end between these two." 
 
 " You doubly amaze me ! n cried Stratford. " Is it 
 possible I have converted you ? " 
 
 " Not a bit of it," promptly answered Mrs. Justin. 
 " You were wrong, wrong, absolutely wrong in what 
 you did. You had no more right to come between 
 those two than you had to try to come between any 
 other man or woman, either engaged or married. It 
 so happens that you have done a good thing, but you 
 deserve no credit for it. You did not know Mr. Cris- 
 man ; you merely had a prejudice against him, and 
 for no reason but this you endeavored to make a 
 girl forswear herself." 
 
 " A strong statement," remarked Stratford. 
 
 " None too much so," continued the lady. " I have 
 come to believe that what you did has had a most ex- 
 cellent result, but, for all that, it was a very wrong 
 23 
 
266 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 thing to do; it was a crime. Now that Mr. Crisman is 
 out of the way, everything is free and open to you, and, 
 in the course of time, I suppose that you and Gay will 
 be married. I have no doubt that you will both be 
 very happy, and that neither of you could possibly 
 have made a better match. But, for all that, you 
 ought never to look back upon the part you have 
 played without sorrow and repentance." 
 
 "I wish to heaven," exclaimed Stratford, "that the 
 words I have spoken to you about Miss Armatt and 
 myself could be believed ! But I suppose this is too 
 much to expect, and we need say no more about it. 
 If you do not object, I should like to know how this 
 thing happened, and what is the present state of 
 affairs." 
 
 " As you are a party very much interested," said 
 Mrs. Justin, " of course you ought to know all about 
 it." And then she went on to tell him what had hap- 
 pened. She repeated the substance, as she had heard 
 it, of Crisman's letter to Gay ; told him what Gay had 
 written in answer ; and how she had heartily sup- 
 ported the girl in her resolution. 
 
 In regard to the letter which she herself had re- 
 ceived from Crisman, and which had done more to 
 show her the true character of the man than even 
 what he had written to Gay, she said but little. If 
 she had told what that letter contained she would 
 have had good reason to fear that Stratford would 
 have thrown the young man into Cherry Creek, or 
 that he would have been thrown into that stream him- 
 self. 
 
 " I cannot be too glad," said Mrs. Justin, in conclu- 
 sion, " that the man, before it was too late, showed us 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 267 
 
 his true character, and that he himself made it impos- 
 sible for the engagement to continue. But I shall 
 never cease to grieve that my friend chose to take the 
 part that he has played in this affair." 
 
 " Knowing you as I do/' said Stratford, "I am 
 quite sure that I like you better for that opinion." 
 
 A meeting between the girl whose engagement of 
 marriage had suddenly been broken off and the man 
 who had been the cause of such fracture must natu- 
 rally be an awkward one, and feeling this very strongly 
 Stratford was not anxious for an immediate interview 
 with Gay. If he had known what serious conse- 
 quences had followed his mountain ride with Gay he 
 would have postponed for a day or two his visit to 
 this house. Thoughts of this awkwardness may have 
 come into the mind of Mrs. Justin also, but if they 
 did she allowed them no weight. 
 
 " Gay is in the house," she said, " and you may as 
 well see her at once. You know how the matter 
 stands, and it will not be pleasant or wise for any 
 of us to put ourselves in stiff or constrained posi- 
 tions." 
 
 When Stratford took Gay by the hand and looked 
 into her face he saw that she had had a hard blow, 
 one that might have crushed her if, at the same time 
 that it wounded her, it had not aroused the most 
 emboldening sentiments of self-respect and just re- 
 sentment. She was not a girl who would parade an 
 affliction or misfortune by retiring on account of it 
 from the society of her ordinary friends and associ- 
 ates. Nor was she one who would care to conceal 
 a trouble from those who took an interest in her life 
 and happiness. She was aware that Stratford knew 
 
268 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 what had happened, for she had asked Mrs. Justin 
 to tell him, and as this was the most important event 
 of her life, not even excepting her engagement, she 
 could not bring herself to avoid the subject with 
 Stratford, whom she believed to be her true friend, 
 and whose mind she knew must be occupied with it. 
 As he probably understood that their innocent drive 
 had brought about the catastrophe, and as she 
 believed that no blame should attach to him, she 
 wished him to see that she intended to visit him with 
 no punishment, negative or positive. She did not 
 know much and had never thought much of the way 
 in which the world is in the habit of forming its 
 opinions, but her good sense and experience were 
 quite sufficient to show her what kind of opinion 
 might easily be formed in a case like this, where the 
 former lover had torn himself away and where the 
 engagement-breaker continued in favor; and she 
 was very desirous that that part of the world rep- 
 resented by Stratford should not have a mistaken 
 opinion. 
 
 " You know," she said, as soon as they had taken 
 their seats, "that Mr. Crisman and I are no longer 
 engaged ? " 
 
 " I have heard it," said Stratford. 
 
 " It was all very sudden and unexpected/ 7 she con- 
 tinued. "I have been greatly distressed, and Mrs. 
 Justin also, and we are not ourselves at all. But we 
 hope our friends will not find fault with us any more 
 than we find fault with them." 
 
 As she said this Stratford looked steadfastly at her, 
 but made no answer. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 269 
 
 " I don't care to talk about this any more than I 
 can help/ 7 she continued, "and all that we can do is to 
 wait, and hope for the best." 
 
 " What is the best 1 " asked Stratford. 
 
 " The best thing that could possibly happen/ 7 said 
 Gay, "is for us to find ourselves able to come to- 
 gether on our old ground, when everything can be so 
 easily explained. Mr. Crisman knows, as every one 
 knows, that I always have been, and am now, per- 
 fectly loyal to him." 
 
 This assertion greatly surprised Stratford, and in 
 his heart he did not believe it. 
 
 u I do not understand you/ 7 he said. " How can 
 you be loyal to him when you have seen fit to break 
 your engagement to him ? ' 7 
 
 " I don't know that I can exactly explain myself/' 
 she said, "but I want to make it understood that 
 while I am not willing to be engaged to Mr. Crisman 
 so long as he holds the position he has taken, I have 
 never turned aside from any of my promises ; and 
 when I find him as he was a week ago he will find me 
 exactly what I was then. Is that plain! 7 ' And she 
 looked with anxious inquiry at Stratford. 
 
 " Oh, yes, quite so/ 7 he said to her. But he said to 
 himself that Crisman could never be to her the same 
 man that he was a week ago. He saw her object: 
 she wished to establish the fact that there had been 
 no unfaithfulness on her part. 
 
 Here was an opportunity to do a thing which Strat- 
 ford considered righteous, honorable, and kind. Here 
 was a chance to tell this girl that she had done all 
 that the world and her conscience should call upon her 
 
270 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 to do; that after what had happened, the loyalty of 
 which she spoke could be but a thing of principle 
 without feeling; that the reasons which prompted 
 her to break off the engagement were just as strong 
 reasons why she should never think of it again, and 
 that, setting arguments and words aside, she should 
 embrace, with all the force of her nature, this oppor- 
 tunity of escaping a ruined life. But he said nothing 
 of all this. He was a brave man and an able one, 
 but he now shrank from the task of doing what he 
 thought to be his duty. He did not believe he could 
 give her the counsel he wished to give, and at the 
 same time maintain the position he wished to keep. 
 
 " It will be better," he thought, " that she should 
 find out these things for herself, and I am sure she 
 will do it. And, besides, she has Mrs. Justin to back 
 her." 
 
 Under the circumstances, the hours could not be 
 expected to pass in a cheery way; and, soon after 
 dinner, Mrs. Justin and Stratford found themselves 
 sitting alone in a very quiet house. 
 
 "I cannot quite understand Miss Armattfs de- 
 meanor," said he. " If she is deeply grieved at the 
 dissolution of her engagement, I should expect more 
 evident signs of distress ; and, on the other hand, if 
 she is glad of her great deliverance, I think she would 
 let that be seen. As it is, it would be very difficult to 
 classify her apparent emotions." 
 
 " I believe," said Mrs. Justin, " that Gay does not 
 thoroughly understand herself. As far as I am able 
 to judge, her mind is now occupied in assuring her 
 that she has always stood by her promises, and that 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 271 
 
 her steadfast fidelity gave her a right to break with a 
 man who insisted that she should admit that she was 
 not true to her given word." 
 
 " So long as she reasons," said Stratford, " the 
 state of the case is perfectly satisfactory. But what 
 surprises me more than anything else is the readiness 
 with which you accept the situation. I should have 
 supposed that no matter how bitter the quarrel be- 
 tween these young people, you would have hoped to 
 see them reconciled aod the engagement renewed." 
 
 "I am quite willing to admit/ 7 said she, "that it is 
 not at all like me to feel the satisfaction and thank- 
 fulness that I do feel in knowing that Gay is not to 
 marry Mr. Crisman. But this is a very unusual case, 
 and my conscience fully justifies me." And then, in 
 her mind, she added : " If you could have read Mr. 
 Crisman's letter to me you would not wonder at my 
 feelings." 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 HERE was not at this period a more 
 ardent match-maker in the country 
 than Mrs. People. For a long time 
 she had been much dissatisfied with 
 the condition and prospects of her 
 son John. For one thing, he was 
 growing up to be an old bachelor, and she was 
 opposed, on principle, to old bachelors. To be sure, 
 it was a very fortunate thing for her that her brother 
 Enoch belonged to this class, for otherwise it is not 
 at all probable that she would have been at that time 
 the mistress and director of the household ; but the 
 principle remained unchanged. Mr. People was not 
 much more than twenty-one when he married her ; 
 and here was John, who in four short years would be 
 thirty, still single. It was plain enough, she thought, 
 that he was beginning to be a man of importance in 
 his business, for otherwise old Vatoldi would never 
 have allowed him to manage his affairs all by himself 
 during the late disturbances. His having a vacation, 
 too, showed that things were getting to be better with 
 him; and what was next to be expected was an 
 increase of salary. Taking all these matters together, 
 it was as clear as the light of day in Mrs. People's 
 
 272 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 273 
 
 mind that John should lose no time in getting 
 married. 
 
 And here was Matilda Stull ; and if anybody knew 
 of a better match for John than she was, Mrs. People 
 would like to see that girl, be she black-haired or 
 brown, a foreigner or a native-born American, pro- 
 duced at once. It was not only that Miss Stull was 
 a very pretty girl, and very well dressed, and one 
 with whom John was deeply in love, but there was 
 an eminent propriety in marriage between the heir 
 of her house and that of Stull, which loomed up in a 
 gigantic form in the mind of Mrs. People. If John 
 married Matilda, the farm on which he was born 
 would, in the course of time, come into his possession ; 
 and this, from Mrs. People's point of view, was the 
 most desirable thing that could possibly happen. 
 
 She would sit, in one hand a table-knife with its 
 blade half ground away by repeated sharpenings, 
 and in the other a partly peeled potato, and muse 
 upon the happiness, the absolute felicity, which would 
 be hers when the old farm should belong to John. 
 To buy back this estate appeared to her a simple 
 impossibility; to get it for nothing by means of this 
 marriage would be a grand stroke indeed. 
 
 Many were the plans she formed while the potato 
 waited to be peeled. She would go and live with 
 John, for it was not likely that that city girl knew 
 anything about housekeeping or the management of 
 a dairy. And yet as she, Mrs. People, could not 
 expect to live for ever, it would be necessary that her 
 son's wife should learn how to manage his household 
 affairs. . Matilda,, for thus the good woman already 
 
274 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 thought of her prospective daughter-in-law, should 
 do some things, and thus gradually learn the duties 
 of her position. She could begin by washing up the 
 tea things and feeding the chickens. In course of 
 time she might be able to take charge of the churning, 
 although Mrs. People very much doubted if that girl 
 could ever produce such butter as she now set before 
 her son. 
 
 On the other hand, it would be very hard for her 
 to leave her brother Enoch, who was getting some- 
 what oldish now, and must sometimes feel a little 
 stiff in his joints, although he never mentioned any- 
 thing of the sort. She had lived a long time with 
 her brother, and in some respects he had become as 
 necessary to her as she was to him. And yet, how 
 would it be possible for her to give up that desire of 
 her life, to live once more in the house and on the 
 farm to which Mr. People had taken her as a bride ? 
 
 These conflicting feelings troubled her greatly, and 
 she would sometimes sit and muse upon them much 
 longer than was conducive to the regularity of the 
 dinner hour. One day, however, a consoling thought 
 came to her. It was possible, nay it was even more, 
 it was very probable, that Matilda had in her com- 
 position a good deal of spice, and not only such spice 
 as ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, but pepper, and 
 good hot red pepper, too, if Mrs. People knew any- 
 thing about the outward signs of a woman's disposi- 
 tion. Now, this peppery disposition might make the 
 situation of a mother-in-law in John's home a very 
 unpleasant one, and it might be well, therefore, that 
 she should remain in her present very comfortable 
 position in her brother's house. It was truly com- 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 275 
 
 forting to the mind of Mrs. People to settle this 
 vexing question by reflecting that in all probability 
 Matilda would be too peppery to live with ; and the 
 remainder of the potato was peeled. 
 
 It was not so easy, however, for John People himself 
 to settle the question of Matilda Stull. He was now 
 having opportunities for forwarding his suit which a 
 short time before he would not have believed possible. 
 He was living near fields through which Miss Stull 
 walked and wandered, and where she had actually al- 
 lowed him to walk and wander with her. He had no 
 duties, and could walk and wander when he pleased. 
 But the days of his vacation were rapidly passing, 
 and he had done nothing decisive yet. At any mo- 
 ment he might expect to hear that the alterations at 
 Vatoldi's had progressed so far that it was necessary 
 for him to go to the city and take charge of affairs. 
 If he could again be alone with Miss Stull, and could 
 make up his mind to show her the state of his feel- 
 ings, he believed he ought to do it. In the city he 
 had worshiped her from afar, and had never believed 
 that there was the slightest chance of possessing her ; 
 but here in the country, where people were ever so 
 much more the equals of each other, he had wor- 
 shiped her at a distance of a foot, or, perhaps, 
 eighteen inches ; and if a young lady was willing to 
 walk with a young man through fields and gates so 
 close as that, John thought that young man ought to 
 be greatly encouraged, and might feel justified in 
 speaking out his mind. 
 
 In regard to what old Stull might say, in case of a 
 favorable reply from the daughter, John was not 
 over-sanguine. It was true that now, being a part- 
 
276 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 ner in the concern, although with a very small share 
 of the profits, it might be possible that Mr. Stull 
 would turn a favorable eye upon a connection which 
 would, in a way, make the whole business a family 
 affair. But, in spite of this encouraging thought, if 
 John had been compelled at this time to make his 
 proposals to the father instead of the daughter, he 
 would have calmly resigned himself to perpetual 
 bachelorhood. But, should he be accepted by Miss 
 Stull, he would wait and bear to any extent. 
 
 John's mind was in this condition when, one fine 
 morning, Miss Matilda paid a visit to the Bullripple 
 household. To John and his mother she came like 
 an angel with white wide-spreading wings 5 to old 
 Enoch she appeared as an uppish young woman with 
 a cattle-irritating parasol j and to Mr. Stratford, who 
 regarded her from his window, she was an enigma. 
 He knew who she was, but he could not imagine why 
 she should come to that house and sit with John Peo- 
 ple under the great tree in the front yard. Miss 
 Stull had really called upon Mrs. People, but that 
 sagacious mother had sent John to say that she 
 would be out in a very few minutes, and had told 
 him that he must entertain the visitor until she came. 
 Mrs. People was devoured by desire to know the ob- 
 ject of Miss StulPs visit, but she restrained herself 
 for the love of John. It was a heroic sacrifice, but 
 she made it, and for ten minutes sifted sugar over a 
 mass of bread dough without knowing what she did. 
 
 Miss Stull was very desirous that Mrs. People 
 should come out; she wanted to ask her a lot of 
 questions j but she did not betray any impatience 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 277 
 
 towards John. The young man might be useful to 
 her, particularly in the way of making her acquainted 
 with Mr. Stratford, if the chance should occur. Miss 
 Matilda wished very much to know the handsome 
 gentleman she had seen driving with Gay Armatt. 
 She had not supposed when she came to this part of 
 the country, that she should find such a man as that. 
 She was therefore very gracious to John, and asked 
 him so many questions about the present composi- 
 tion of the Bullripple household that the young man 
 was obliged to say a good deal about Stratford, and 
 could not have failed to present him had he made his 
 appearance. 
 
 When she had waited quite as long as she could, 
 having, in the meantime, made her dough all cake, 
 Mrs. People came out, and John was constrained to 
 walk away reluctantly, to give the young lady an 
 opportunity of stating her business to his mother. 
 He did not go very far, however, but busied himself 
 about the wood-yard, from which point, with his face 
 ever turned towards the object of his devotion, no 
 matter how he might move and revolve, he held him- 
 self ready, the instant the conference should be over, 
 to accompany Miss Stull to the gate and to go with 
 her as far over our continent as she would permit. 
 
 What Miss Stull came to find out was the true 
 state of things in the Justin house. Was Miss Gay 
 engaged to the young man who was walking about 
 in the parlor without her, or to Mr. Stratford, whom 
 she had seen driving with her? In what business 
 was this Mr. Crisman, and was he related to Mrs. 
 Justin ? Was Mr. Stratford rich ? Was Mrs. Justin 
 24 
 
278 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 entirely satisfied with Gay's match ? All these things, 
 and a number of other points, Miss Stull had hoped 
 to learn from Gray; but having failed to see that 
 young lady, and not being able to wait until her 
 call was returned, she had made a swoop upon Mrs. 
 People. 
 
 After some very thin talk about butter and eggs, 
 Miss Stull found it easy to introduce the subject she 
 had at heart. Mrs. People had also a subject at 
 heart which she wished to introduce, and in order to 
 get at it she rushed with haste and freedom into the 
 subject presented by her visitor. She told Miss Stull 
 so much, in fact, that that young lady turned pale 
 with surprise, and then pink with delight, at being 
 the recipient of such startling information. Mrs. 
 People had been at Mrs. Justin's house, and as that 
 lady was desirous that it should be generally known 
 that Mr. Crisman was no longer engaged to Miss 
 Armatt, she had informed Mrs. People of the fact, 
 and that good woman had easily possessed herself of 
 as much of the detail of the event as Mrs. Justin 
 judged proper to give her. This information, rapidly 
 and generously garnished from the resources of her 
 own mind, Mrs. People laid before Miss Stull. 
 
 The interview was protracted so long that John's 
 ingenuity was greatly taxed to keep himself busy in 
 view of the couple under the tree. When Miss Ma- 
 tilda rose to go, thus interrupting an abruptly intro- 
 duced maternal panegyric of the manager of Vatol- 
 di ? s, her mind was filled with a pleasing consciousness 
 that there was in this neighborhood a city gentleman, 
 handsome and stylish and not engaged to be married. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 279 
 
 What advantage to herself she expected to result 
 from this Miss Stull might not have been able to 
 state in clear and convincing terms. But it was a 
 great satisfaction to a person of her temperament to 
 know that the facts were as they were. 
 
 John was with her before she reached the gate, and 
 opened it for her. Then she stopped. 
 
 " Isn't there some way, Mr. People," she said, " by 
 which I can go home across the fields instead of walk- 
 ing by the side of this monotonous road ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes," said John, " but there are fences in the 
 way, and draw-bars would have to be taken down." 
 
 "And isn't there anybody," she continued, "who 
 can take down those bars ? " 
 
 To hear this question, and to see at the same time 
 the meaning little smile on the face of the young 
 lady who asked it, suffused John's soul with more 
 actual joy than it had ever before known. Yes, 
 indeed, there was somebody who could not only take 
 down bars, but who would tear away walls, fill up 
 ditches, and slay bulls, if necessary. John did not 
 say this, but his manner indicated it. 
 
 As they walked across the fields, Miss Matilda's 
 spirits were very lively, and her manner was very 
 cordial. She had no idea of alluring this happy fly 
 into her web, but she desired to make of him a thread- 
 carrier, so to speak, who would take out beyond her 
 present sphere of action those finely spun induce- 
 ments by which she hoped to draw to herself the larger 
 and brighter flutterer upon whom her eyes were fixed. 
 John now lived with Mr. Stratford, and through him 
 her very limited circle of acquaintance here might be 
 
280 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 enlarged by the addition of this gentleman. She 
 considered it her right to know every presentable 
 man who might find himself within the limits of her 
 social range. 
 
 Miss Stull also hoped to make Mr. Stratford com- 
 prehend through John what an exceedingly desirable 
 thing it would be to become acquainted with her. 
 But her methods towards this end had only the effect 
 of causing John to feel that she was a more charming, 
 desirable, and gracious superior being than even she 
 herself had ever supposed it possible for her to become. 
 On his side he was emboldened to a point of courage 
 he had not imagined he could reach. Before they had 
 gone three-quarters of the distance through a clover 
 field, John determined to make his sentiments known. 
 He would not ask her plumply if she would marry him, 
 as if she were a mere country girl, but he would show 
 her his glowing soul. Had she not with the sweet 
 words and enrapturing smiles of angels deliberately 
 set it on fire ? And was it not due to her that she 
 should see that it had kindled ? 
 
 "Another set of bars ! " exclaimed Miss Matilda, as 
 they approached the fence. " Oh, dear, Mr. People, 
 what a deal of trouble I am putting you to ! " 
 
 " Trouble ! " exclaimed the sturdy John. " I wish 
 that I could take down every bar that you might 
 meet with through your whole n 
 
 " Way home," quickly interpolated Miss Matilda, 
 " and that is just what I want you to do. You are so 
 strong and seem to understand these fences so well/' 
 
 " That is not the point/ 7 said John, as he seized a 
 rail and jerked it from its sockets. u Other people 
 might be able to take down bars ?? 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 281 
 
 " Yes," interrupted Matilda ; " Mr. Stratford, for 
 instance. He has lived so much in this country that 
 I suppose he knows all about such things." 
 
 " It isn't the being able to do it," said John, looking 
 intently into the face of the young lady, " it is the 
 wanting to do it." 
 
 Miss Matilda smiled upon him. " It is very good 
 of you," she said, " to be willing to do for other peo- 
 ple what they cannot do for themselves Now, if I 
 were walking here alone I could never lift those heavy 
 rails, and would have to crawl through the fence, or 
 to climb over it as best I might." 
 
 " If I had my way," exclaimed John, forgetting in 
 his excitement as he walked by Miss Matilda that it 
 was necessary to put up the bars he had taken down, 
 "there should never be in the way of your feet a 
 stick, a stone, a clod, a lump, not so much as a piece 
 of gravel." 
 
 " Those things must be expected," said the young 
 lady with demure triteness. 
 
 " Oh, no they needn't be ! " cried John in quick and 
 fervid tones. " They need never be known at all, if 
 there is one ever ready to brush and hurl them away ; 
 to make your paths as smooth as smooth as roses." 
 
 " Which are not smooth," said Miss Matilda, " at 
 least not when they are used to make a path of. That 
 reminds me tha,t at our house there are a lot of rose 
 bushes, and some of them have flowers on yet, but 
 mother and I both think that they are a poor kind of 
 rose bushes, and that if we are to come up here in the 
 summer time we might as well have some good ones 
 planted. Do you know the names of some good 
 roses that would grow here ? Perhaps, if you don't, 
 
282 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 Mr. Stratford could tell you. City men are so apt to 
 know the names of good kinds of things." 
 
 "I am a city man myself/ 7 said John in a tone 
 somewhat different from that in which he had just 
 spoken, " and I'll get you all the roses you will ever 
 want. 77 
 
 " I don't want you to get them," said she. " I only 
 want the names of them. And there is another thing 
 I would like to ask you about. How do you make 
 grass grow ? Mother and I think there ought to be a 
 great deal more of it about the house, but the farmer 
 who lives there don't seem to understand how to plant 
 it." 
 
 With well-plied questions concerning the adornment 
 of their country home Miss Matilda engaged the 
 attention of her companion until they had reached 
 the last fence. Then she turned and held out her 
 hand. 
 
 " Good-bye, Mr. People," she said. " There are now 
 no other obstructions between me and the house, and 
 I will not make you go any farther." 
 
 " There is an obstruction, Miss Stull," said John 
 very earnestly, " an obstruction to my every joy, 
 which " 
 
 "Oh, yes, I know," quickly interrupted Miss Ma- 
 tilda ; "those dreadful waiters who boycotted your 
 place. It must be an awful obstruction, but it is 
 bound to disappear in time, if you stand up boldly. 
 Father has talked about it, and he says so. He is 
 very fond of Vatoldi's, and he says we must go there 
 again as soon as things are all right. Good-bye, Mr. 
 People." And with one of her pretty smiles, she 
 tripped away. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN.- 283 
 
 Regarding the state of affairs from John's point of 
 view, it was quite evident that angelic beings have 
 their disadvantages, for their beautiful wings enable 
 them to keep just out of one's reach without feeling 
 at all compelled to flee the company of the one who 
 wishes to reach them. 
 
 On the other hand, Miss Matilda, in her character of 
 web-maker, discovered that a fly who may be sent out 
 to inveigle other insects is apt to become entangled in 
 a very troublesome and apparently hopeless manner in 
 the subtile threads with which he has been intrusted. 
 
 This young lady, however, troubled herself very 
 little about John's condition. She liked to see a 
 young man in this sort of involvement, especially 
 when she herself had produced it, and her only regret 
 in the present case was that the young man probably 
 could not prove as useful as she had expected him to 
 be. The most important object of her life at the 
 present moment was to become acquainted with Mr. 
 Stratford. It made her positively angry to think that 
 she did not know him, and that she saw no way open 
 by which she could become acquainted with him. She 
 had called twice at the house where he lived, and 
 accident had not favored her. She made a visit at 
 Mrs. Justin's at a time when he was expected there, 
 but she had not met him. She had hoped to know 
 him through Gay Armatt, but she was now in trouble 
 and could not be expected to do much in the way of 
 introducing gentlemen. Miss Matilda's acute mind 
 had discovered what sort of person was Mrs. Peo- 
 ple, and she was afraid to allow that good-hearted 
 but exceedingly open-natured woman to know that 
 she positively wished for the acquaintance of Mr. 
 
284 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 Stratford. Had she done this, Miss Stull might have 
 expected to be placed in a very undesirable position 
 by the irrepressible frankness of Mrs. People. John 
 had been her chief dependence, but she was now very 
 much afraid that she would not be able to make use 
 of him. He had become so addled that he could not 
 understand any hints of her desires, and she was 
 even afraid that if she should succeed in making him 
 understand what she wanted, the numskull might 
 actually refuse to make her acquainted with a man 
 who might prove to be a rival. 
 
 There was nothing to be done but to depend upon 
 herself ; and as Miss Stull was quite used to this sort 
 of dependence, she was not long in forming a plan. 
 She must meet the man by accident. In a country 
 place like this, where people wandered about as they 
 pleased, this ought not to be a difficult matter ; and 
 as Mr. Stratford had probably by this time heard 
 of her, and as he knew of course that she had heard 
 of him, they would not meet as positive strangers, 
 and a chance encounter might be worked up to ad- 
 vantage. 
 
 Miss Matilda was rather fond of sketching, and 
 although she had but small ability as an artist, she 
 was extremely clever in a general way, and could so 
 arrange her slight artistic gifts that they made a very 
 good show. The weather being now quite suitable 
 for outdoor sketching, Miss Stull arrayed herself in 
 a most becoming and appropriate costume, and with 
 a sketch-book and a little camp-stool under one arm, 
 and a large umbrella with a long, pointed handle 
 over her right shoulder, repaired to a pleasant spot 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 285 
 
 at the foot of the hills, where some very good views 
 could be had, and close by which she had observed, 
 from a distance, that a sportsman occasionally passed 
 on his way to the trout streams on the higher 
 grounds. 
 
 The sketcher did not immediately select a spot at 
 which to begin her work. She rambled about a good 
 deal, and looked about a good deal, in order to see 
 what suitable thing there was in view which might 
 be drawn. At last she decided upon a distant view 
 which included a path that led through the Bullripple 
 farm towards the village. 
 
 Miss Matilda was a lucky young woman, especially 
 when she put her own shoulder to her wheel of fort- 
 une, and she had scarcely sketched in the outlines 
 of some rocks and gentle eminences when she saw 
 coming towards her, among these outlines, a gentle- 
 man with a fishing-rod upon his shoulder. For some 
 minutes she kept her eyes fixed upon her paper, and 
 then, giving a little shrug to her shoulders and look- 
 ing up at the sunlit sky, she put down her book and 
 picked up the umbrella, which lay, closed, on the 
 ground by her side. The pointed end of the long 
 handle she now endeavored to thrust into the ground, 
 but she found this a difficult performance. In one 
 place the soil seemed very hard, in another there was 
 long, tangled grass, and, after a jab or two, she de- 
 cided that she would not like to sit there. After some 
 deliberation, with her back to the object she intended 
 to draw, she selected another spot, but here she found 
 a large stone just under the surface of the ground. 
 Having quarried on this for some moments, she 
 
286 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 stopped and began fanning herself with her handker- 
 chief. Such exertion was certainly very unusual with 
 her, and she stood panting a little. The man must 
 now be very near. 
 
 In less than a minute she heard a step, and a gen- 
 tleman's voice said to her : " Allow me, miss, to plant 
 your umbrella for you." 
 
 She turned quickly and saw, not Mr. Stratford, but 
 Mr. Crisman. She knew him the moment she saw 
 him, and was now truly surprised, for she had sup- 
 posed that when he had ended his engagement he had 
 also ended his visit to these parts. But her soul did not 
 shrink with disappointment. This was a very hand- 
 some young fellow, and she would be delighted to 
 know the ex-lover of Gay Armatt, about whom she 
 had had so much curiosity and so much doubt. 
 
 With an ingenuous smile she accepted his offer, and 
 the strong arm of Mr. Crisman soon fixed the handle 
 of the umbrella in the ground as firmly as if it had 
 been the mast of a boat. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 HILE Mr. Crisman was engaged in 
 setting up Miss StulPs sketching 
 umbrella, that young lady looked 
 upon him with much more interest 
 than she regarded the work which 
 he was doing for her. He was cer- 
 tainly a handsome young man, and 
 in some respects pleased her better than did Mr. 
 Stratford. Mr. Crisman, too, proved fully equal to 
 the exigencies of this chance meeting. He was natu- 
 rally chatty and sociable, and having become intensely 
 bored during his companionless stay at the Cherry 
 Bridge tavern, he was delighted at this legitimate 
 opportunity of assisting and of talking to a very 
 pretty young lady. He did not hesitate to ask ques- 
 tions or to offer suggestions in regard to the sketch- 
 ing business, and in her answers to these Miss Matilda 
 managed, with much deftness, to inform him who 
 she was and where she lived, and also to make him 
 aware that she knew who he was. 
 
 Crisman delayed his walk and watched the sketch- 
 ing for some time, but at last he took up his rod. He 
 asked her if she was coming again to this place to 
 sketch, and she answered : 
 
 287 
 
288 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 " Of course, if I do not finish this to-day I must 
 work on it to-morrow." 
 
 When she came again on the morrow, she found 
 Mr. Crisman there. 
 
 " I thought I would come over," he said, " and see 
 how you were getting on with the picture." And 
 that was all the reason or pretense he deemed it 
 necessary to give for his presence. 
 
 Miss Stull liked this. It showed that there was no 
 nonsense about the young man ; and she greeted him 
 very pleasantly. Although she had known him but 
 such a very short time, and although their introduc- 
 tion consisted of nothing but the words she herself 
 had spoken concerning their respective identities, Mr. 
 Crisman possessed the present qualification which in 
 her eyes raised him above all other young men in the 
 world : he was there. 
 
 He staid with her a full hour, during which the 
 drawing made little progress, but the acquaintance- 
 ship made much. John People was a simple-minded 
 young man, while Mr. Crisman was, in many ways, ex- 
 tremely sharp-witted ; yet Miss Matilda drew from the 
 latter twenty times more information in regard to the 
 persons of their mutual knowledge than she had ever 
 been able to extract from the former. They barely 
 mentioned Gay, for Mr. Crisman did not wish to talk 
 about her, and Miss Stull did not think it wise to do 
 so ; but they discussed Mrs. Justin and Mr. Stratford 
 very thoroughly, and when Mr. Crisman had fin- 
 ished his analysis of the character of the gentleman, 
 Miss Stull began to perceive how very kind chance 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 289 
 
 had been in sending her the fisherman she did not 
 expect instead of the one she had been looking for. 
 
 Mr. Crisman then proceeded to give his companion 
 a pretty good account of himself ; and as this was 
 a subject on which it always pleased him to talk, 
 he dwelt upon it to a considerable extent. He 
 omitted all allusion to the original cause of his 
 visits to this neighborhood, contenting himself with 
 stating that he was at present staying here to fish 
 and shoot, that is, if he could ever find anything to 
 shoot, and that in a few days he was going on a 
 yachting expedition, which would fill up the re- 
 mainder of his vacation. 
 
 Mr. Crisman walked home with Miss Stull, carried 
 her stool and her umbrella, went into the house, and 
 was presented to her mother as a friend of Mrs. Justin. 
 There was something extremely frank and straight- 
 forward in the conduct of Mr. Crisman. There seemed 
 to him nothing strained or unusual in his making 
 the acquaintance of the Stull family in this informal 
 manner, and he showed a readiness to enter into any 
 intimate social relations to which he might be invited. 
 Mrs. Stull liked the absence of that stiffness which 
 she often noticed in the society which her husband 
 compelled her to enter, and, altogether, these three 
 persons, each of whom was beginning to feel some- 
 what lonely in this country neighborhood, were very 
 well satisfied with the new acquaintanceship. 
 
 Miss Stull sat by herself that evening, after her 
 mother had gone to bed, and seriously pondered upon 
 Mr. Crisman. She knew better than any one who 
 
 25 
 
290 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 merely looked upon her, that not only were the 
 months and years passing by her, but that a very 
 good proportion of them had already passed, and 
 that the period had arrived when she should begin to 
 think seriously of some young man or other. As far 
 as she could judge, Mr. Crisman fulfilled all her 
 requirements. Personally he was entirely satisfactory, 
 and, although she did not suppose he was rich, he 
 had told her he was in a very good business, and 
 she felt sure of this, for otherwise, in her opinion, the 
 engagement of Gay Armatt would never have been 
 allowed. In fact, this engagement was a strong 
 recommendation to Miss Stull, it was as though his 
 preliminary examinations had been passed, and she 
 might therefore take him at a much more advanced 
 stage of friendship than a person who had not thus 
 been proved. That the engagement had been broken 
 off did not trouble her at all. From what she had 
 seen, she attributed it entirely to Mr. Stratford's 
 agency, and if the girl preferred to marry that man 
 instead of Mr. Crisman, she, Miss Matilda, was quite 
 satisfied. 
 
 That her father would approve of Crisman she was 
 not at all sure, but then her father disapproved of so 
 many things it would not do to consider him always. 
 If she should become engaged to this gentleman, she 
 herself would see to it that the marriage took place at 
 the proper time, and as she saw no good reason for any 
 objection on the part of her parent, she felt quite sure 
 that the name of J. Weatherby Stull would be signed 
 to such checks as might be needed at the beginning 
 of housekeeping. As to the future, Miss Matilda was 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 291 
 
 very hopeful. She was the principal child of the fam- 
 ily, and she did not believe that her father would dare 
 to divert permanently from her any portion of her 
 rightful share in his property. 
 
 Having thought over this matter for nearly two 
 hours, she determined, unless subsequently she saw 
 some reason for changing her mind, that she would 
 marry Mr. Crisman, and that she must lose no time 
 in making very good use of her present exceptional 
 opportunities. 
 
 During the next few days, several admirable meth- 
 ods for enjoying the scenery and the air of the coun- 
 try about Cherry Bridge were suggested by Mr. 
 Crisman. He believed these to be original sugges- 
 tions, not perceiving that they were produced by the 
 adroit and quiet working of Miss Matilda's mind upon 
 his own. There was nothing accidental about these 
 walks and drives ; Mr. Crisman came boldly to Mrs. 
 StulPs residence, and boldly stated what he came to 
 propose. 
 
 Miss Stull found that the remaining days of Mr. 
 Crisman's vacation were not sufficient for the comple- 
 tion of her work, and she resolved to extend his stay 
 at Cherry Bridge. For the day on which he was to 
 join his yachting friends she proposed an excursion 
 to a somewhat distant point of interest which she 
 would never see unless she had some one like Mr. 
 Crisman to accompany her. At first he declared that 
 it was impossible for him to go on this excursion, but 
 subsequently telegraphed to his friends requesting 
 them to postpone for a day their start for the yacht 
 trip. On his return from his drive with Miss Stull he 
 
292 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 found a telegram informing him that wind, tide, and 
 friends with limited time wait for no man, and that 
 the yachting party had sailed. 
 
 Now, there was no reason why Mr. Crisman should 
 not spend the rest of his vacation at Cherry Bridge ; 
 and there he spent it, and for the greater part of the 
 time in the society of Miss Stull. On his side Mr. 
 Crisman had no serious thoughts in connection with 
 this very pleasant companionship. He enjoyed it, 
 but he never expected anything to come of it. He 
 expected to marry Gay Armatt, and would not have 
 been surprised at any time to receive a note from Mrs. 
 Justin stating that it would be in the interest of all 
 parties if he should call at her house and see G-ay, 
 who was beginning to look at the matter in dispute 
 between them in a different light from that in which 
 she had first regarded it. He had not the slightest 
 idea of making any conciliatory propositions himself ; 
 his nature was too obstinate for this ; and he believed, 
 besides, that anything in the way of "knuckling 
 down " on his part would be injurious as a precedent 
 to the matrimonial relations he proposed to establish. 
 He was very willing that the people at the Justin 
 house should see that he was not pining away on 
 account of the rupture of the engagement, and that he 
 did not even have to leave Cherry Bridge in order to 
 find agreeable companionship. 
 
 And thus he wound his merry way among the 
 subtile threads which Miss Matilda spread about him, 
 sometimes breaking away in this direction or that, 
 imagining the while that he was as free as a bird in 
 the air, but carrying with him, all unknown to him- 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 293 
 
 self, attachments strong enough to bring him back 
 whenever Miss Matilda wished to draw him to her. 
 As his holidays approached their close, the lady dex- 
 terously tightened and strengthened his bonds, until 
 one day he found himself so enwrapped and secured 
 that he could not fly, nor run, nor walk, save at the 
 will of his captor ; he was so skillfully bound, in fact, 
 that he could not even wish to flutter. He was 
 engaged to be married to Miss Matilda Stull. 
 
 When he discovered this fact, it was natural that 
 Mr. Crisman should experience some sudden emotions; 
 one of these was an emotion of vanity : how quickly 
 had he conquered this fine girl ! He could not but 
 think of what so ' lately had been, Miss Matilda 
 could not prevent that backward glance of his mind, 
 but the thoughts of what had been were overpowered 
 by the thoughts of what existed now. All those fond 
 feelings towards Gray which had been cooled and hard- 
 ened by his jealousy and his anger Miss Matilda had 
 warmed into strong glow and directed towards her- 
 self. One thing very potent in preventing Crismaii 
 from looking backward was the remembrance that 
 never had Gay given that value to his utterances 
 which had been so earnestly accorded them by 
 Matilda. That deft spinner had actually spun her 
 web over his heart. He loved her. He felt that she 
 exactly suited him, and paying no thought to peculi- 
 arity of circumstances nor to hastiness of action, 
 he was proud and happy that he had won this girl. 
 
 When all this had been settled and these two were 
 pledged to each other for life, Miss Matilda enjoined 
 upon her lover strict secrecy for the present. Nothing 
 
294 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 was to be made public until the parties should meet 
 in the city in the autumn, and then the lady would 
 herself attend to the announcement of the engage- 
 ment to her father. She felt quite sure she would be 
 able to make him look upon the matter in a proper 
 light; when this was done, all else would be easy. 
 And then she allowed Mr. Crisman to depart. 
 
 Miss StulFs next move was to inform Gay Armatt, 
 as soon as possible, of what had happened. This was 
 not in accordance with the injunctions of secrecy 
 which she had imposed upon Mr. Crisman, but she 
 considered it a necessary step, and did not hesitate to 
 make it. Until Gay had been positively assured that 
 her lover had gone from her forever, Matilda could 
 not feel safe. 
 
 Miss Matilda had not seen her young friend since 
 she had met her in the buggy with Mr. Stratford. 
 Mrs. Justin, having heard that Crisman was still in 
 the neighborhood, said nothing about it to Gay, but 
 endeavored to keep her, as much as possible, at home, 
 in order that there might be no accidental and unde- 
 sirable meeting. Stratford, too, thought it would be 
 wise at this time to leave the trout streams and the 
 woods to the supposed irate young man, and he paid 
 a short visit to the sea-shore. About what Crisman 
 might do or say, should he meet Stratford, the latter 
 attempted to form no supposition ; but he desired 
 above all things to avoid scandal regarding Gay, and 
 therefore went away. 
 
 Miss Matilda had noticed this state of affairs, and 
 thought that matters had been managed very wisely ; 
 but now that Mr. Crisman had gone, there was no 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 295 
 
 reason why Miss Armatt should be kept any longer in 
 seclusion and ignorance, and she determined to see 
 her. It is true that Miss Stull did not owe the Justin 
 house a visit, the debt being the other way. "But in 
 the country, she argued, social rules may sometimes 
 be set aside j and happening to be driving that way, 
 she stopped in to see Gay. It had been so long, she 
 explained, since she had heard from her that she 
 feared she might be ill. It was during this interview 
 that Miss Matilda allowed Gay to suspect, and at last 
 actually admitted to her, that she was engaged to 
 Crisman. 
 
 " I did not intend, my dear," said Miss Stull, " to 
 tell you this at present, but the secret has come out 
 almost without my knowing it. This is a queer 
 world, isn't it, dear? People pair off this way, and 
 then they find they have made a mistake and they 
 pair off that way. But, so long as we are all the 
 happier for it, we ought to be very glad. And now, 
 my dear Gay, I want you to understand that both 
 you and Mrs. Justin owe us a visit 111 be generous 
 and won't count this and if you don't pay it very 
 soon you'll find us standing on our dignity. So now 
 you see what you have to expect. Good-bye, and I'm 
 very sorry Mrs. Justin is not at home." 
 
 Gay remained standing by the chair from which 
 she had risen when her visitor took her leave. Since 
 the actual confession, and while Miss Matilda spoke 
 her few concluding words, Gay had not opened her 
 lips ; and now she remained struck by a heavy pain, 
 the nature of which she did not understand. She 
 had sent this man away, and she ought to have known 
 
296 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 
 
 him well enough to comprehend that he would not 
 return ; why, therefore, should she feel pain at what 
 he had done ? A man who could so quickly turn his 
 affections upon another could not be worthy of her. 
 Why, therefore, should she now feel pain ? He had 
 treated her as no man should treat a woman; she 
 had declined to be longer engaged to him; and he 
 had gone to another woman. Her pride, her reason, 
 her womanly self-respect, stood by her to comfort 
 and support her. But, in spite of all support and 
 comfort, she did feel pain. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 }OHN PEOPLE had been summoned 
 by Mr. Stull to the city, the alter- 
 ations at Vatoldi's having reached 
 a stage where the daily supervision 
 of the manager was necessary. In 
 the course of a week or so, however, 
 John contrived to arrange matters in such a way as to 
 give himself two days in which to visit Cherry Bridge. 
 He informed Mr. Stull that there were some affairs 
 he wished to attend to which the somewhat unex- 
 pected conclusion of his holiday had forced him to 
 neglect. He did not say that this neglected business 
 was a proposition of love to Mr. StulFs daughter, but 
 such was the fact. John fully determined that be- 
 fore he left his native fields again he would boldly 
 lay the state of his heart before Miss Stull, and find 
 out how she regarded him. 
 
 For the first day after his arrival in the country 
 John wandered over the fields, along the roads, and 
 in every place where he thought it might be possible 
 accidentally to encounter Miss Matilda. But, Mr. 
 Crisman having recently left, that young lady had 
 gladly given herself a rest from country strolling, 
 and John met her not. A visit to her house naturally 
 suggested itself to his mind, but this course was 
 
 297 
 
298 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 repugnant to him. In the first place, he thought that 
 if he went to the Stull house everybody would know 
 what he went for, and that he could not endure. 
 Then, again, he could not be sure of seeing Miss 
 Matilda alone in her home, and, even if he had this 
 good fortune, he felt that in a room or on a piazza he 
 could not speak to her as freely and eloquently as 
 if he were with her in the open fields. 
 
 On the second morning the pensive resignation on 
 his brow deepened into positive trouble, for it now 
 seemed quite probable to him that fate had decreed 
 that he should visit Miss Matilda at her home. How 
 he should do this, at what time he should go there, 
 how he should demean himself, what primary reason 
 he should give for his visit, were questions which 
 greatly preyed upon his mind. Wandering slowly 
 along the verdant banks of Cherry Creek, he lifted up 
 his eyes, and beheld Miss Gay Armatt approaching 
 him. Instantly there came into his mind a happy 
 thought. He had met Miss Armatt several times, 
 both at his uncle's house and at Mrs. Justin's, and, by 
 his mother's report, he knew her to be a most kind 
 and good young woman. " Now, why should she not 
 help me ? " was John's happy thought. " I don't mind 
 telling her just what is the matter, and if she is as 
 kind as they say she is, it will be easy enough for her 
 to get Matilda to take a walk with her and so give me 
 all the chance I want." 
 
 Having come up with the young lady, John took 
 off his hat, bade her good-morning and stopped. Gay 
 raised her eyes towards him as she returned his salu- 
 tation, and John thought that the lady probably did 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 299 
 
 not feel very well. She was not looking her best. He 
 made some inquiries about Mrs. Justin which had 
 the effect of arresting Miss Armatt's steps j and then, 
 finding that he could think of no other prefatory 
 remarks, John perceived that it would be necessary 
 for him to say immediately what he had to say. 
 
 " Excuse me, miss/ 7 said he, " for taking your time, 
 but I want to ask you something, and I hope you are 
 not in a hurry." 
 
 " I am in no hurry at all/' said Gay. " Is there any- 
 thing I can do for you ! n 
 
 This question helped him very much. " Oh, yes, 
 indeed/ 7 he said, " there is something you can do for 
 me. It may seem very queer to you, Miss Armatt, 
 for me to stand here and plump things out to you in 
 this way ; but the fact is there's no time to be lost, 
 and what I don 7 t do to-day can't be done at all j at 
 least there is no likelihood of it. It will amaze you a 
 good deal, I have no doubt, when you hear me say 
 and I must own that Fm amazed to hear myself say 
 it out freely this way that I am in love." 
 
 "In love! 77 exclaimed Miss Gay, and there came 
 into her face a quick look which startled John. It 
 seemed to him as though she might bound into the 
 bushes and flee from his sight like a deer. Could it 
 be possible that this young lady thought that he was 
 about to make an amatory proposal to her ? 
 
 " It is Miss Stull I 7 m in love with/ 7 said John, 
 quickly, "and Fm pretty sure I shall never get a 
 chance to let her know it if somebody doii 7 t help me, 
 and so I thought Fd ask you, thinking if you wouldn't 
 do it for my sake, which would be natural enough, 
 
300 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 not knowing me very well, you might do it for my 
 mother's, who looks on you and Mrs. Justin as her 
 most valued neighbors." 
 
 It had been days since Gay had smiled, but she 
 could not help smiling now. " I am always glad to do 
 anything neighborly," said she, " but this seems very 
 odd. Does your mother wish you to marry Miss Stull ?" 
 
 "She just builds on it," answered John, "and I 
 want you to know, Miss Armatt, that although this 
 thing might look out of the way to an outside party, 
 there's a good deal more reason for it than anybody 
 except just two or three has any idea of. Miss Stull 
 is the daughter of a rich man, and I am only the 
 manager at Vatoldi's. But there are things that I 
 can't tell you, but which will come out some day, 
 that make matters a good deal more even between us 
 than you would be likely to think. And I don't doubt, 
 either, that old Stull will come round all right when 
 the affair has been settled between me and his daugh- 
 ter, and has run on long enough to get seasoned." 
 
 " But what would you have me to do with it ? " 
 asked Gray. 
 
 " It's just this," said John : " This is the last day I 
 have got to stay here, I don't know for how long, and 
 I am bound to tell her before I sleep to-night. Now, 
 I can't go to her house to tell her, Miss Armatt. Upon 
 my word I can't! If I was to meet her mother or 
 those two young sisters, it would drive every word 
 out of my mind. But on the green grass and under 
 the blue sky I could tell her all I feel and think. And 
 that is what I want to get a chance to do. Now, if 
 you would ask her to take a walk with you this after- 
 noon, and I was to fall in with you, and you'd think 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 301 
 
 of some reason or other for being obliged to go home 
 and leave us two there, then you'd be doing for me 
 more than any woman on earth could do except Ma- 
 tilda herself, if she be so minded to say the word I 
 want her to say." 
 
 Gay stood and looked upon the ground. This was 
 all very unpleasant and embarrassing. Here was a 
 young man whom she had heard of as a very good 
 and deserving young man, who had been so unhappy 
 as to fall in love with Matilda Stull. She did not 
 thoroughly understand the relative social conditions 
 of the two, but she knew that one was a rich young 
 lady, and the other was the son of Mrs. People. 
 These situations in life appeared quite incongruous 
 to Gay, but she only thought of them in connection 
 with her wonder that this love of the young man had 
 ever been suffered to grow up. In regard to the 
 present and important phase of the question, there 
 was but one thing to think of, and that was that 
 Miss Stull was already engaged. 
 
 And yet Gay could not say this to John People. 
 She had not told Mrs. Justin, nor Mr. Stratford, nor 
 any one, for it was not only the pledge of secrecy 
 which prevented her from telling of this engagement. 
 Had she been free to speak, she could not have told 
 any one that the man who but a few weeks before had 
 been her lover had now promised to marry another 
 woman. 
 
 " Now, you see, Miss Armatt," said John, " it is a 
 very simple thing I ask of you. Won't you be kind 
 enough to do it for me ? " 
 
 There was that in the tone and voice and look of 
 John People which was so honest, and withal so ten- 
 26 
 
302 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 der, that it touched Gay's heart. There could be no 
 doubt that this man was truly in love. Would her 
 conscience permit her to let him hurl himself against 
 that cold steel wall which he adored, and in which he 
 fancied he saw a reflection of himself? 
 
 " It is a very hard thing/' thought Gray, "for me to 
 have to do this. It is just the same as if I were refus- 
 ing him for Matilda Stull. People ought to attend 
 to these things for themselves. And yet I know, and 
 he doesn't know. Ought I to let him go on in this 
 blind way ? It would be too cruel." 
 
 " Mr. People," she said, " if I were you, I think I 
 would not carry this matter any further. Indeed, I 
 would not." 
 
 John looked at her very steadily, and a little of the 
 ruddiness seemed to fade out of his face. " Why do 
 you say that, Miss Armatt ? Have you any reason to 
 think that I ought not to speak to her ? " 
 
 " Yes," said Gay, " and a very good reason. I can't 
 explain it to you, but " 
 
 " Now, Miss Armatt," interrupted John, with eager 
 haste, " I understand what you mean, but you are not 
 right. You don't know Miss Stull as I do. And even 
 if things were as unequal between us as they look to 
 be, and upon my word, Miss Armatt, I tell you they 
 are not, it wouldn't make any difference to her. 
 I've walked with her, and Pve talked with her, and if 
 you could have heard her, you would know what I 
 know. And besides," he added, throwing into his 
 voice a tone of strong entreaty, " I want to have this 
 settled. I can't live this way any longer. Even if 
 she didn't mean all she seemed to mean, and if she 
 didn't care about what I said, I want to know it. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 303 
 
 Perhaps if she thinks I am too forward, I might be 
 able to make her understand that there have been 
 changes. Things are not exactly as they used to be. 
 You see, Miss Armatt, all I ask is, just help me to see 
 her; only let me talk to her." 
 
 " Mr. People/ 7 said Gay, looking at him very earn- 
 estly, and with a certain gentleness in her voice, " I 
 really would not try to see Miss Stull. It will be much 
 better for you to give it all up at once. I know that 
 you can never be anything to her.' 7 
 
 " You know ! ' 7 cried John. " Do you really mean 
 that ? 
 
 " I mean it, 77 she said j " most earnestly and truly I 
 mean it. You ask me to help you, and there is no 
 way in the world in which I can help you so well as 
 to keep you from making one step more.' 7 
 
 " Miss Armatt," said John, his voice a little broken, 
 " do you know anything which gives you the right to 
 say that? 7 ' 
 
 "Yes, I do, 77 answered Gay, "and it would be 
 wicked and cruel in me not to say so. I am very, 
 very sorry for you, Mr. People, but it would be of no 
 use at all for you to go to Matilda Stull, and you 
 ought not to do it. 77 
 
 John stood looking upon the ground; then he 
 raised his eyes. " No use at all ? " he said. 
 
 " Not one bit/ 7 answered Gay. " I positively know it. 7? 
 
 John's breast heaved, and he turned to one side. 
 Then he held out his hand. " I am much obliged to 
 you, Miss Armatt/ 7 he said. And he went away. 
 
 Gay stood and looked after him. Never again 
 could that young man walk under blue skies and 
 over green fields with the woman he loved. If he 
 
304 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 had ever done anything of the kind, all that was left 
 to him now was to look back upon it. 
 
 And she, herself ? She must look back too. 
 
 She walked on a few steps, and then she sat upon 
 a stone. " It is too hard,' 7 she said to herself, " that 
 this should be brought to me from both sides. It is 
 too much ! n And, putting her face into her hands, 
 there burst from her the first tears she had shed since 
 she became a woman. 
 
CHAPTER XXV 
 
 R. ZENAS TURBY had not been 
 very successful in his search for 
 iron on the farm of Enoch Bull- 
 ripple. He had found strong evi- 
 dences of the existence of the ore 
 on the lands of Mr. Stull, but the 
 deposits did not seem to extend themselves in the 
 direction of the Bullripple hills and fields. When 
 Mr. Turby returned to his country town, after the 
 Sunday on which Mr. Stratford had seen him making 
 his investigations, he wrote Mr. Stull a report of the 
 result of his searches, and it was very plain to him 
 from the reply which he received that this report was 
 not at all satisfactory to his employer. 
 
 Mr. Stull was a man of business as well as a man 
 of feeling, and while he would have been very glad to 
 see Enoch Bullripple ousted from his farm and to 
 possess himself of the same, he did not care to go 
 into this transaction solely from motives of revenge; 
 he wished also to derive some direct advantage 
 from it. 
 
 The question of the tenure of the lands was a very 
 simple one. Mrs. People's husband and Enoch had 
 each bought their farms from the heir of an old 
 farmer who had been one of the earliest settlers of 
 
 305 
 
306 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 Cherry Bridge. The sale had been perfectly satis- 
 factory to all parties, and Enoch had paid in full for 
 his farm, but Mr. People had never been able to do 
 this, and therefore it was that Mr. Stull, desiring a 
 country place in a picturesque region for his growing 
 family, had found it possible to buy up the mortgage 
 against said farm, to oust the People family, and to 
 possess himself of the property. During the last few 
 years, however, it had become known that the old 
 farmer before mentioned had had other heirs besides 
 the one who sold the farms to Mr. People and Enoch 
 Bullripple ; but as these heirs lived in the West, and 
 probably did not know that their relative had owned 
 this mountain property, and, if they did, were not 
 likely to enter into litigation for their share of the 
 comparatively small value of the farms, the sandy 
 foundations of this real estate transaction were con- 
 sidered to be quite sound enough for ordinary intents 
 and purposes. 
 
 Now, Mr. Stull looked upon the matter in this 
 light : If his land and that of old Enoch were rich in 
 iron ore, he wished to possess himself of it all on a 
 secure tenure, and would, therefore, gladly take 
 measures to have the distant heirs come forward 
 and prove their claims, and cause the property to be 
 put upon the market, whereupon he would buy it, 
 willingly sacrificing what he had paid before for the 
 sake of the larger gain. But if this should prove to 
 possess no mineral wealth, its agricultural value was 
 not sufficient to make him desirous of buying it 
 again, and he was perfectly willing to trust his good 
 fortune and his lawyer to hold possession of it. Nor 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 307 
 
 was the fact that Mr. Turby had found iron on his 
 farm sufficient to induce Mr. Stull to take the meas- 
 ures he had meditated. If he could not have Enoch 
 Bullripple's land, and perhaps some adjoining prop- 
 erties, so as to form a large tract which would be 
 worth working, Mr. Stull did not care to go into the 
 iron ore business. Therefore it was that Turby's 
 report was not satisfactory to him. 
 
 Now, the energetic Zenas had hoped for himself a 
 very fair profit from this piece of business, and he 
 was loath, therefore, to see it dropped. Perceiving 
 more plainly than he had perceived it before that he 
 ought to find iron ore on the laud of Enoch Bullripple, 
 he determined to do it, if the thing were possible. He 
 thereupon made another visit to Cherry Bridge ; and 
 as Enoch and his sister were sitting down to dinner 
 on a pleasant summer day, they both saw the tax col- 
 lector and amateur professor of applied geology busy 
 at work near the top of a little hill not a half mile 
 from their window. 
 
 " Confound that sneak of a Zenas Turby ! " ex- 
 claimed Enoch, rising to his feet. " Pve a mind to 
 take my gun and blow off the top of his head ! He 
 knows Fve told him not to come scratchin' here at my 
 land. He thinks he's so far away we can't see him. 77 
 
 Mrs. People was not in a happy humor. It had not 
 been very long since she had been told by her son 
 John, just before he had left her for the city, that the 
 brilliant hopes she built upon the basis of a Stull- 
 People combination had come to naught, and must 
 be allowed to vanish utterly. It was very hard for 
 her to bear a blow like this, and her customary 
 
308 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 expression of outreaching good-nature had changed 
 to one of mild ill-humor. The vision of herself as the 
 central figure in her old homestead, or at least declin- 
 ing to assume that position only from the fact that 
 Matilda Stull might prove a disagreeable daughter to 
 live with, had been a very dear one to her. She had 
 seen it by day and by night 5 while making pies, at 
 the working of butter, and even during the intricate 
 processes of the preserving of plums and the concoc- 
 tion of currant- jelly. To give it up was like a spoon- 
 ful of brine in a custard-pudding. 
 
 The worst thing about Mrs. People's ill-humors, 
 which were of very rare occurrence, was the fact that 
 no one could tell in what direction they would vent 
 themselves. Like a howitzer strapped to the back of 
 a mule, they were as likely to be directed against 
 friend as foe. 
 
 " Now, what in the name of common sense, Enoch," 
 said she, " are you workin' yourself up into such 
 tantrums for? *If Zenas Turby finds iron on your 
 land, how's that goin' to hurt you ? What with the 
 rains one year, and the drought the next, and the 
 chicken-pip regular every spring, there ain't much else 
 you get ofi it. If he finds ore, it's yours and not his. 
 So what's the use of jumpin' up that way and pullin' 
 the table-cloth all crooked ? " 
 
 Enoch sat down, but he kept his eye fixed on Zenas, 
 who was now engaged in filling up a hole he had 
 made in the ground. When this had been done, he 
 gathered some large flat stones and made a little pile 
 of them near the place where he had dug his hole. 
 " Markin' the spot, eh ? " said Enoch to himself, for 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 309 
 
 he thought it not wise to make any further remarks 
 on it to his sister. " What is he doin' that for ? " 
 
 There now came into the shrewd old mind of Mr. 
 Bullripple, as he watched the intruder disappear 
 across the fields, a suspicion that those people out 
 West, who it had been rumored ought to have had a 
 voice in the giving of a title to this land, might have 
 commissioned Zenas Turby to examine into the value 
 of the property and find out whether or not it was 
 worth fighting for. This supposition disturbed the 
 mind of Enoch, for although he had declined to be- 
 lieve in the alleged claims of the far-away heirs, and 
 had very strong faith in the virtue of possession when 
 it related to land that had been bought and paid for, 
 it was natural enough that he should be troubled by 
 any actual evidence that an attack might be made 
 upon the validity of his land deeds. 
 
 Even if Turby were merely searching for ore in the 
 interests of some one who desired to open mines on 
 his land, Enoch was dissatisfied. He had been told 
 years before, by a scientific friend of Mr. Stratford, 
 that there was no probability that his land contained 
 iron, and he would have had no faith in the value of 
 any propositions which might be made to him on the 
 subject. 
 
 When he had finished his dinner, Enoch put on his 
 hat and went out. 
 
 " Now, if you meet Mr. Turby , v said Mrs. People, 
 " don't you bother him. If he can find any thin' that's 
 worth havin' on this place, I'm sure I'd like to see 
 him do it ! I always told you, Enoch, that you took 
 the poorest farm, and let Mr. People have the one 
 
310 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 that was ever so much better. Of course I was glad 
 enough of that at the time, but if you'd been a little 
 sharper, you'd got the best farm, and you and me 
 would have been livin' on it now, and that Stull man 
 would have had this dried-up place. Mr. People was 
 very sharp." 
 
 Enoch said nothing about his having preferred a 
 farm for which he felt he could pay, leaving to his 
 brother-in-law the larger one for which it would be 
 very difficult to pay, and went out over the fields. He 
 walked straight to the spot where Turby had been 
 digging, and stood and looked at it, and with a sharp- 
 pointed stone he began to turn up the loose soil. 
 When he had scratched out the most of it, he looked 
 into the bottom of the hole. 
 
 "It may be," thought he, "that that rocky stuff 
 has got some iron in it ; and, at any rate, Fm dead 
 sure that old Zenas is goin' to bring somebody here 
 to look at it." 
 
 Mr. Bullripple, in a reflective mood, stood kicking 
 the loose earth and stones back into the hole. Then 
 he suddenly pulled his soft felt hat down over his 
 right brow. A broad grin illumined his countenance, 
 and with rapid steps he started for home. In about 
 half an hour he returned, pushing before him a heav- 
 ily loaded wheelbarrow. When he reached the little 
 pile of stones, he took from the barrow a spade and 
 a pickaxe, and began vigorously to deepen the hole 
 which Mr. Turby had made, throwing most of the 
 excavated soil into the wheelbarrow, which had been 
 emptied of all its contents. When the hole was deep 
 enough, he nearly filled it with said contents, and then, 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 311 
 
 throwing in some soil, he smoothed up the place and 
 made it look very much as it had done when Turby 
 left it. Then Enoch took away his tools and his bar- 
 row, dumping the soil the latter contained into a hol- 
 low at some little distance, and returned to his house. 
 
 All that afternoon, no matter what else he might 
 be doing, Mr. Bullripple kept an eye on the spot 
 where he and Mr. Turby had been working. Nobody 
 came to it, however, and the next morning he found 
 himself obliged to go to the village. He left the spot 
 in question in charge of his sister, telling her that if, 
 during his absence, she saw anybody go there to dig, 
 she must put on her bonnet and hurry over there to 
 see what they got out of the ground. As Mrs. Peo- 
 ple always possessed a lively curiosity to know what 
 people might get out of the ground, or out of any- 
 thing else, she willingly accepted this charge. 
 
 When Mr. Bullripple arrived at the Cherry Bridge 
 tavern, he found there Zenas Turby, who was osten- 
 sibly visiting the village for the purpose of collecting 
 some debts. 
 
 "How d'ye do, Turby?" said Enoch. "Still keepin' 
 up your right, I see, to the name of * Old Scratch ! ' " 
 
 " What do you mean 1 " asked the other. 
 
 " I mean," said Enoch, " that you're still goin' 
 round, scratchin' up people's land to see what's under 
 the grass. I do sometimes think that the ground- 
 hogs must owe you somethin' and that you're tryin' 
 to levy on 'em." 
 
 As usual there were several village loungers in the 
 room, and among these it was quite natural that 
 Enoch's remark should raise a laugh. 
 
312 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 " Humph ! " growled Turby. " When I get any- 
 body levied on either for not payin' what he owes, or 
 else for holdin' what he don't own, it isn't goin' to be 
 a ground-hog, mind, I tell you." 
 
 " Now, look here, Zenas," said Mr. Bullripple, seat- 
 ing himself astride of a chair with his arms over 
 its back, "it does make me laugh to see you come 
 huntin' and grubbin' about my land to find iron ore 
 when everybody knows there isn't any there." 
 
 " Confound your land ! " said Turby. " What do I 
 care about it ? " And taking his big cane in his hand, 
 he rose to depart. 
 
 " Care about it ! " shouted Enoch in a tone which 
 arrested the steps of the collector. " I should say 
 you cared lots about it. Perhaps you will hardly 
 believe me/ 7 he said, turning round to the company, 
 " but it's as true as preachin' that I saw Zenas Turby 
 yesterday diggin' away in one of my fields as if he 
 was after a gold mine. Now, I believe it's nothin' 
 but contrariness that makes him do that. I've told 
 him, over and over again, that there ain't no ore 
 there, and jus' to prove that I am wrong, he's tryin' 
 to find it ; but he's found himself to be the worst mis- 
 took man in this county, in spite of all he says he 
 knows about mines and ores, and that sort or thing." 
 
 Mr. Turby's rugged face was turned severely upon 
 Enoch. "Mistook, eh!" he growled. "That's all 
 you know about it ! I don't mind sayin' that I make 
 it my business to know what sort of land there is in 
 every part of this county, and I don't make no mis- 
 takes nuther. And, to prove it, I say there is iron on 
 Enoch Bullripple's place. I don't say there's enough 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 313 
 
 of it to make the land worth anything, which every- 
 body knows it isn't now; but it's there, for all 
 that." 
 
 Enoch laughed derisively. " It is easy enough to 
 say that/ 7 he cried, "but you couldn't show me a piece 
 of ore on my land as big as a hickory-nut. I dare you 
 to do it." 
 
 Enoch's contemptuous tone was very irritating to 
 Mr. Turby. 
 
 " Now, to show you and the rest of these people 
 what sort of fool you are, Enoch Bullripple, Fll jus' 
 take you over to your own farm and let you see the 
 ore that you haven't got sense enough to know is there 
 till I come to p'int it out to you. And anybody can come 
 along that chooses." 
 
 " All right ! " said Enoch. " If you want a chance 
 to show what you don't know, Fm ready to give it 
 to you." And he went out to his horse. 
 
 Mr. Turby's sulky was tied near by, and the tavern 
 loungers did not mind a walk of a mile or so to find 
 out which was the fool, Zenas Turby or Enoch Bull- 
 ripple. Enoch called upon Pat, the stable-man, to 
 come along and bring a spade and pickaxe, for he did 
 not wish, he said, that Mr. Turby should fail in his 
 search because his own little pick would not grub 
 deep enough. 
 
 The party proceeded by the road for a considerable 
 distance, and then they tied their horses to a fence 
 and went over the fields until they came to the spot 
 where Zenas had been digging. 
 
 " There's iron ore here," he said, " for I found it 
 myself just about this spot." 
 27 
 
314 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 "You have a great eye for spots/' said Enoch, 
 assuming to take no notice of the little pile of stones, 
 " and you can dig here jus' as well as anywhere, for 
 you won't find nothin'." 
 
 "We'll see about that," said Zenas. "You can begin 
 there," turning to Pat and pointing to the place where 
 the soil had been disturbed. 
 
 Pat made a blow with his pick, and scattered some 
 loose dirt and stones j then again he brought down 
 the heavy implement, and its point penetrated to 
 some distance into the earth, where it appeared to 
 fasten itself. The stout Pat gave a dexterous double- 
 twist and jerked it out, and lo ! upon its point there 
 hung an old and somewhat rusty flat-iron ! 
 
 Everybody started with surprise, and then there 
 was a yell of laughter. 
 
 " Upon my word ! " shouted Enoch, " my sile has 
 got iron in it, after all ! Go ahead, Pat ! " 
 
 The laughing Irishman went ahead with right good 
 will, and in a few moments he brought out of the hole 
 a piece of old chain, two or three horseshoes, and sev- 
 eral pieces of broken stove-pipe. 
 
 Everybody was in a roar of delight except Mr. 
 Turby, who stood purple-red and furious. " I'll pay 
 you for this, you Bullripple!" he said, shaking his 
 fist at his old enemy. And without another word, he 
 marched away. 
 
 If his anger had not dulled his usually sharp wits, 
 he might have stopped long enough to show that 
 really there was iron in the soil. But the boisterous 
 derision of the little party made him forget every- 
 thing else. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 316 
 
 " Good-bye, Zenas/' shouted Enoch after him. "I'll 
 give in that you are right and I am wrong. Nobody 
 can say now that there ain't no iron on my land, for 
 you've come here yourself and p'inted it out. v 
 
 And a fresh burst of laughter followed the retreat- 
 ing Turby. 
 
 Enoch now related with much glee how he had 
 planned out and created this novel mineral deposit ; 
 how he had gone to the village in the hope that he 
 could find Turby and stir him up to come and get 
 himself caught in this trap. And then the jubilant 
 little company departed, to tell to whomsoever they 
 could find to listen this capital joke upon an old cur- 
 mudgeon whom nobody liked. 
 
 "Ef iver he ses oiurn ore agin," said the jovial 
 Pat, " it's shure there'll be somebody to fetch him a 
 bit of a sthove-poipe, and axin him ef that's the sort 
 he's afther." 
 
 The first person to whom Enoch had the chance to 
 tell the tale was his sister, whom he met as he was 
 leading his horse homeward across the fields. Mrs. 
 People had seen the men on the hill, and, true to her 
 promise and her curiosity, had hurried oft to find out 
 what they were going to dig up. Rapid progress was 
 impossible for her, and she did not arrive in time; 
 but Enoch's story so warmed her with delight that 
 the clouds and fogs that had come up on account of 
 the Matilda Stull disappointment melted and vanished 
 away, and the disposition of Mrs. People again dwelt 
 under its naturally sunny sky. 
 
 Mr. Turby drove directly home to his county 
 town, and on the way he turned over this matter in 
 
316 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 his mind. He had made a blunder in allowing to 
 slip from him in his anger the admission that he had 
 found iron ore on the Bullripple farm. But, after 
 all, the case was not as bad as it might be. The re- 
 sult of "the joke would be to cause those giggling 
 fools to believe that there was no ore there, and that 
 suited him exactly. But he would make Enoch Bull- 
 ripple pay for his trick ; and the first stroke in this 
 present labor of hate would be to write to Mr. Stull 
 and inform him that, having made renewed investi- 
 gations on the Bullripple farm, he had found large 
 deposits of iron. 
 
 " If that stirs him up," said Mr. Turby to himself, 
 " to start out fresh ag^in after that land, he's the man 
 to git it. And when he's got it, it'll be my turn to 
 do the grinnin' ! 
 
CHAPTER XXVI 
 
 HEN Horace Stratford returned 
 from the sea-shore to his summer 
 home on the Bullripple farm, his 
 mind was in a state of uncertainty 
 which was not usual to it. This 
 was occasioned by doubts in regard 
 to the proper conduct of his rela- 
 tions with G-ay Armatt. Everything was now very 
 different from what it had been. In his former inter- 
 course with her the two had been separated by a 
 barrier which protected them both, and, while it sepa- 
 rated them, actually gave them a sense of freedom in 
 their social relations which they could not have felt 
 had they not always been able to see that the engage- 
 ment with Crisman stood between them. That barrier 
 no longer existed, and Stratford could not but ask 
 himself if Gay and he could continue to move in 
 close parallel lines without a bar between them. 
 Would not their lines be ever liable to meet ? Would 
 not the world wonder if they did not meet ? Would 
 not Gay herself wonder ? 
 
 But he was not at all willing to create an effectual 
 barrier of space by removing his line to a great and 
 safe distance from that of Gay. He knew nothing of 
 the new bonds into which Crisman had entered, and 
 
 317 
 
318 THE HUNDEEDTH MAN. 
 
 he had not that faith in the absolute sundering of the 
 mans relations with Gay which he would have liked 
 to have. If the two should come together, the one 
 a little lonely, still loyal as far as principle could go, 
 and always apt to be tender-hearted, and the other 
 repentant of his brutal folly and with renewed desire 
 to possess that treasure on which he had turned his 
 back, Stratford would be very fearful of the conse- 
 quences. And if those consequences should be a re- 
 engagement, the last condition of Gay would be far 
 worse than the first, for she would take a man whom 
 she knew to be unworthy of her, and this step would 
 give his unworthiness peculiar advantages in their 
 future life. 
 
 Looking at the matter in this light, it was plain 
 enough that Gay should not be left to feel the want 
 of that companionship to which she had been accus- 
 tomed during this bright summer, and to miss that 
 support and stimulation which Stratford had given 
 her almost ever since he had known her, and which, 
 in his opinion, had been productive of such good re- 
 sults. He could not forget that the devil finds some 
 mischief still for idle minds as well as for idle hands, 
 and he wished that Gay's mind should be worthily 
 and industriously engaged with something which 
 should not be Crisman. 
 
 If Stratford had been asked why he had not before 
 considered the possibility of this dilemma, he would 
 have answered that the present state of affairs came 
 about much more suddenly than he had expected. 
 He had believed that Gay would gradually be led to 
 see her false position, and as the problems of the case 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 319 
 
 formed themselves, the solutions would also appear. 
 But now there was no time for the natural growth of 
 solutions. They must be artificially constructed, and 
 Stratford felt the task a very difficult one. If he 
 could have been taken into the confidence of Miss 
 Matilda Stull, his mind would have been very much 
 easier. 
 
 In this mental condition Stratford went to visit 
 Mrs. Justin, and when he had been ten minutes in 
 the company of Gray, all his doubts and uncertainties 
 regarding his proper course of action were dissipated. 
 This was in consequence, first, of the girl's demeanor, 
 for she met him with the same frank and earnest 
 friendliness which she had shown to him on the last 
 day they had met. " She has not changed in regard 
 to me," he said to himself, " and why should I change 
 in regard to her ? " 
 
 In the second place, Stratford was affected by 
 Gay's appearance. There was something of sadness 
 about her, and while he could not determine exactly 
 how this sadness showed itself, he could see that it 
 was there. She had lost none of her bloom, her fresh- 
 ness, or her beauty ; but, apart from her friendliness 
 and her delight in meeting him again, she was not 
 exactly the same Gay. 
 
 " Poor child ! " thought Stratford, " she has been 
 touched more deeply than I supposed, and I must do 
 what I can for her." 
 
 Therefore it was that the next morning the old 
 readings were recommenced on the piazza ; and there- 
 fore it was that on many days afterwards Stratford 
 staid to luncheon, and often to dinner j and that the 
 
320 THE HUNDEEDTH MAN. 
 
 beautiful country freely yielded its pleasures, some- 
 times to the three of them, and sometimes to the two. 
 Stratford was very anxious to see the full joyousness 
 of Gay's nature assert itself. He thought it due to 
 her character that there should disappear from her 
 demeanor as soon as possible all vestige of regret for 
 a step which her own good sense and high honor had 
 impelled her to take. He knew nothing of that second 
 blow, that revelation of the fact that not only had she 
 no lover, but that she never had had a lover. To be 
 affianced now to Matilda Stull, Crisman must always 
 have been false to her. So thought Gay Armatt. 
 
 The full joyousness did not appear, but Gay entered 
 with great earnestness and hearty good will into 
 everything that Stratford proposed, whether it were 
 study or pleasure. She had not known before how 
 much restraint she had been used to put upon herself 
 in her intercourse with this friend. She now knew 
 that not only had there been a good deal of restraint, 
 but that it had all disappeared. As the days passed 
 on, she became Stratford's disciple. No one ever 
 more thoroughly believed in a master than she be- 
 lieved in him. 
 
 With the exceedingly friendly intimacy which re- 
 sulted from all this, Mrs. Justin did not interfere. She 
 had thought Stratford's course wrong in the begin- 
 ning, and she thought it wrong now. She did not 
 believe it was right in a man who had just broken off 
 a match to step forward so promptly to turn the rupt- 
 ure to his own advantage. And yet she could not 
 deny to herself that no greater good could have hap- 
 pened to Gay than her delivery from Crisman. And 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 321 
 
 neither could she believe that any possible good could 
 now come to the girl which would be greater than a 
 marriage with Stratford. She had opposed that which 
 she believed to be evil which was being done that 
 good might come of it, and the good had come in spite 
 of her opposition. She now considered that she had 
 done enough. She would oppose no more. 
 
 It was on a warm morning, well forward in August, 
 that Stratford was very much surprised by a visit 
 from Arthur Thorne. It was such an unusual, in fact 
 such an unheard-of thing for Thorne to make a visit 
 without either being invited or announcing his inten- 
 tion, that Stratford did not attempt to conceal his 
 astonishment when he met his friend. 
 
 " I thought you would be somewhat amazed," said 
 Mr. Thorne, as he took a seat on the Bullripple porch 
 and fanned himself with his straw hat, " but I didn't 
 suppose your emotion would really injure your con- 
 stitution, and as I wanted to come, I came. I'll tell 
 you all about it as soon as I am a little cooled off." 
 
 In a few minutes Mr. Thorne became more com- 
 fortable, and then he settled himself back in the 
 big wooden arm-chair, and asked his friend for a 
 pipe. 
 
 " A pipe ! " exclaimed Stratford. lt You don't mean 
 to say you smoke ! " 
 
 " Yes, I do," said Thorne. " Why shouldn't I smoke ? 
 In fact, I like to smoke. The family don't object to it 
 out here, do they ? " 
 
 " Of course nobody objects to it," said the other, 
 " but I must admit that I am surprised to find that 
 you want to smoke, and especially a pipe." 
 
322 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 Stratford brought the pipe and one for himself, and 
 the two friends composed themselves for a chat. 
 
 " I can talk so much better when I am smoking," 
 said Arthur. 
 
 " That is a new thing, isn't it ? " remarked Strat- 
 ford. 
 
 "Rather newish," said his friend. "And indeed 
 there seems to be a tendency towards newishness with 
 me. Now, I am well aware that it isn't proper for 
 me to come here without knowing whether you want 
 me or not, or even writing to let you know I intended 
 to do it. But I took it into my head to come, and here 
 I am. If it is not entirely convenient for you to have 
 me, I can go to the tavern in the village. I dare say 
 it is a very good tavern." 
 
 " Convenient ! " said Stratford. " Of course it is 
 entirely convenient. Here is the room which you had 
 before, all ready for you?' 
 
 " That is very good of you," said Thorne, " and I 
 don't mind in the least telling you why I came down 
 here, or up, whichever it is. It is all on account of 
 Miss Armatt. I never had anything take possession 
 of me as that girl has ! I have tried to be proper 
 about it, but it's of no use. In fact, I am tired of 
 being proper. It doesn't pay. Sometimes it makes 
 me sick to see everything straight and proper about 
 me, for I am just the other way myself. I have 
 worked hard at one thing and I have worked hard at 
 another ; that doesn't help me at all ; I am thinking 
 of her all the time. Then I sat down, and said to 
 myself : ' This trying to do the right thing is all stuff 
 and nonsense. There is Stratford j he doesn't trouble 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 323 
 
 himself about anything of the sort, and he is happy. 
 If he likes a girl, he makes himself agreeable to her, 
 he spends his time with her, and he carries out his 
 theories. It doesn't make any difference to him that 
 she is engaged to be married to some one else, and 
 why should it make a difference to me ? I cannot 
 expect to make myself agreeable to her, nor to spend 
 my time with her, and I have no theories to carry 
 out, but I can go there and look at her again.' And 
 that I determined to do. Now, I know very well that 
 even this is not right ; that it is unjust to myself, and 
 unjust to the man who is engaged to Miss Armatt. 
 But, as I said before, I am tired of doing right. That 
 sort of thing doesn't help me any. It simply gives 
 me the worst of everything and puts me in the back- 
 ground ; and I have made up my mind to drop it. Of 
 course this is all very astonishing to you, Stratford, 
 but I determined to be quite frank and open with 
 you, and let you see everything just as it stands." 
 
 Stratford drew a long breath. " I wish to be per- 
 fectly frank and open with you? he said, " and there- 
 fore deem it my duty to tell you that Miss Armatt is 
 not under promise to marry any one. Her engage- 
 ment with Mr. Crisman has been broken off." 
 
 "Good Heavens !" exclaimed Thorne, springing up 
 so suddenly that his chair fell backward on the porch. 
 
CHAPTER XXVH 
 
 HEN Arthur Thorne jumped up so 
 suddenly on hearing the surprising 
 announcement that Gay Armatt 
 was not engaged to be married to 
 any one, the noise made by his 
 falling chair brought Mrs. People 
 hurrying to the porch. 
 " Oh, how do you do, Mr. Thorne f " she exclaimed. 
 " I hadn't the least notion in the world that you was 
 here, and if you've been trying to tilt back in that 
 chair I wonder you didn't break your neck ! The hind 
 legs is too straight up and down. I'm very glad to 
 see you here again, though Mr. Stratford never told 
 me a word of your comin', and I'll have your room 
 ready for you in ten minutes." 
 
 To these remarks Mr. Thorne made no reply, but 
 stood looking at Stratford. He was a man notable 
 for his courteous manners to every one, but his mind 
 was so completely occupied with what he had just 
 heard that he scarcely noticed that Mrs. People was 
 talking to him. 
 
 After a very searching gaze directed upon Mr. 
 Thorne, that good woman stepped inside the front 
 door, and beckoned to Stratford. The latter excused 
 himself to his visitor, who was still standing in blank 
 
 324 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 325 
 
 staring astonishment, and went into the house. He 
 was very glad to do so, for conversation with Thorne 
 in his present state of mind, and with Mrs. People 
 near by, was not to be desired. 
 
 Mrs. People conducted Stratford into an inner 
 room, and closed the door. " If I was you," she said, 
 quickly, " I'd take him upstairs jus' as soon as I've 
 put on the clean sheets and pillow-cases, and I'd have 
 him in bed before his chill comes on. Of course he 
 brought it with him, for there's nothin' of the kind 
 here, but this mountain air often does bring 'em out 
 dreadful sudden, when the system is full of malari- 
 ousness. It won't do to give him any quinine till he's 
 got through with his fever, and Pm no hand to be 
 recoinmendin' mustard-plasters and hot foot-soaks 
 before there's any real reason for usin' 'em j but what 
 I'll make for him, and bring it up to his room almost 
 as soon as you've got him tucked in comfortable, is a 
 big bowl of hot quassia tea. Mr. People, when he 
 was livin', used to say that there was nothin' that 
 suited more of the different chronic things that he 
 was afflicted with than quassia tea. It's bein ? such a 
 good honest bitter is one of its strong p'ints, and Mr. 
 People has told me often, when he took it for some of 
 his more triflin' complaints, that he forgot he had 
 anythin' the matter with him but a taste in his 
 mouth. So I'll put the quassia on to draw, and then 
 I'll take Maria right up to his room, and we'll get it 
 ready." 
 
 Stratford did not interrupt Mrs. People in these 
 remarks, for they amused him, and he was very will- 
 ing, moreover, not only to give his friend time to 
 28 
 
326 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 somewhat tranquilize his mind, but to get an opportu- 
 nity to arrange his own ideas. But he now told Mrs. 
 People that Mr. Thorne needed no medicine whatever, 
 but was merely a little disturbed in his mind by some- 
 thing that had occurred. 
 
 " Disturbed ! I should think ! " said the kind-hearted 
 woman. " And if he's lost all his money I hope you'll 
 tell him, Mr. Stratford, that as long as he's a friend 
 of yours there's always a room for him here, and the 
 board may run on for a year, if he likes." 
 
 Stratford thanked her, and went out to meet his 
 friend. " Let us go under that big tree," he said, 
 " where we can talk more at our ease." 
 
 When they reached the big tree Stratford took a 
 seat, motioning his friend to another; but Thorne 
 remained standing. " Do you mean to tell me," said 
 he, " that Miss Armatt is perfectly free and disen- 
 gaged I " 
 
 " Yes," said Stratford, " that is what I said." 
 
 " Well, then," asked Thorne, " what reason is there 
 why I should not pay my addresses to her ? " 
 
 " There are two very strong reasons," said Strat- 
 ford. lt One is that it would be heartless in any one 
 to address a girl whose sensitive nature has just re- 
 ceived a very severe shock in the breaking off of an 
 engagement; and in the second place it would be 
 very bad policy both as regards Miss Armatt and 
 yourself. But from what I know it is not at all cer- 
 tain that Crisman has lost all his chances. Were he 
 to repent and return, and there is no reason why he 
 should not do this if he is not an absolute ass, I 
 should be very much afraid of the result. With a 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 327 
 
 girl of Miss Armattfs principles it would be much 
 easier to renew a former engagement than to make a 
 fresh one. Any attempt now to enlist her affections 
 would throw her mind into such disturbance that, 
 were that man to return, he would find her troubled 
 mental condition greatly to his advantage." 
 
 Thorne snapped his fingers impatiently. " For these 
 reasons," he said, " I suppose you are now keeping 
 away from her." 
 
 " The reasons have nothing to do with me," said 
 Stratford. "As you very well know, I have no inten- 
 tion of addressing her, and my object is, as it has 
 been, to bring her mind into such a condition that 
 the element of regard for Crisman must necessarily 
 be eliminated from it." 
 
 Thorne stood for some moments steadily gazing at 
 his friend. Then he said : " Stratford, that may all be 
 very well, but it seems to me that I am the one who 
 should undertake the task of encouraging and help- 
 ing this young girl in the way you speak of. I have 
 an object in it, which you say you have not. I have 
 heard you speak of carrying her over the gap which 
 the success of your plans might create. Very well, 
 then, let me carry her over. I shall not drop her on 
 the other side, as you say you intend to do." 
 
 " My dear boy," said Stratford, with a smile, " you 
 could not do it. You do not know her, and she does 
 not know you. In many respects you are strangers to 
 each other, and i^ will be utterly impossible for her 
 to have that confidence in you, and I may say that 
 regard for you, which is absolutely necessary in this 
 case. It would be impertinent, and utterly unjusti- 
 
328 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 fiable, for me or any one else to attempt to arrange 
 Miss Armatt's future for her. I have simply endeav- 
 ored to avert from her an evil which she did not 
 understand, and I hope I have succeeded. With any- 
 thing further than that I have nothing to do ; but I 
 will say, as I have said before, that it would delight 
 me very much to see her married to such a man as 
 you. And, by the way, I wish you would sit down." 
 
 Mr. Thorne did not move. " Stratford," said he, 
 "you are very difficult to understand, and I don't 
 pretend to be able to do it ; but you have said two 
 things with which I agree. One is that it would be 
 wrong to address the lady openly at this time ; and 
 the other is that my comparatively slight acquaint- 
 ance with her places me under a very great disadvan- 
 tage. This I shall endeavor as soon as possible to 
 remove. I shall try to know her, and let her know 
 me. I came into these parts solely to see her ; I shall 
 remain for the purpose of becoming thoroughly ac- 
 quainted with her; that is all; and I shall do no 
 more until the proper time comes. It is a. good first 
 step, and I am glad you suggested it to me." 
 
 Stratford did not immediately reply, but presently 
 he said, " Then I am to have you here with me ? " 
 
 " No," said Thorne, " that would not be well. You 
 are very kind, and so is that good woman. But I 
 shall not be satisfied to stay here. I shall wish to 
 feel perfectly independent. I shall go to the hotel in 
 the village. There is one there, I believe ? " 
 
 " There is no hotel," said Stratford ; " there is noth- 
 ing but a tavern, and I am sure it will not suit you at 
 all. It will be much better for you to stay here." 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 329 
 
 " You are very good indeed/' said Thorne, " but I 
 prefer the tavern. I left some baggage at the station, 
 and I will have it sent there. Good-bye." 
 
 Stratford rose and took his extended hand. " I sup- 
 pose I shall see you again," said he. 
 
 "Oh, yes," said Mr. Thome. "No doubt we shall 
 meet often." And he strode away. 
 
 " He don't believe in me," thought Stratford. "And 
 he is wonderfully changed." 
 
 The next day Mr. Thorne made a formal call at 
 Mrs. Justin's house. He saw both the ladies, and 
 although there was no trace of the fact in their 
 manner, neither of them was glad to see him. Gray 
 thought that he would prove an interruption to the 
 course of reading that she and Mr. Stratford were 
 carrying on together ; and Mrs. Justin could not but 
 imagine, remembering Mr. Thome's letter to her, that 
 in some way he had heard of the broken engagement, 
 and, considering the field open, had come to pay his 
 addresses to Gay. Of this she did not at all approve, 
 for, after what had happened, there was only one man 
 she favored as a husband for her young friend. She 
 would not have Gay tossed about like a shuttlecock 
 from this man to that. 
 
 Mrs. Justin was not long left to conjecture upon 
 this subject. Mr. Thorne took an early opportunity 
 of speaking to her privately. He informed her that 
 his feelings and aspirations in regard to Miss Armatt 
 remained the same as when he had previously com- 
 municated with her by letter; and that having re- 
 cently heard that the young lady's affections were 
 now disengaged, he desired, at the proper time and 
 
330 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 season, to endeavor to win those affections ; but that 
 he was very well aware that any such attempt would 
 be useless and reprehensible at present. All he now 
 wished was to obtain Mrs. Justin's consent, as the 
 young lady's friend and guardian, to visit her and 
 make her as thoroughly acquainted with him as pos- 
 sible. Mrs. Justin might feel assured that more than 
 this he would not do during his present stay in the 
 vicinity. 
 
 To all this Mrs. Justin could make no outward 
 objection, although she did not like it at all. She 
 knew Mr. Thorne to be a perfectly honorable man, 
 and therefore felt justified in inviting him to visit her 
 frequently during his stay; but she gave him no 
 encouragement whatever, stating that she did not 
 feel that she had any right to say or do anything 
 which could be construed to affect in any way Miss 
 Armattfs prospects of the kind alluded to. 
 
 " I wished to make my object and intentions plain 
 to you, madam," said Thorne, "without leaving any- 
 thing to conjecture; and if, after hearing me, you 
 permit me to visit your house, it is all I ask.' 7 
 
 " He is too horribly correct," thought Mrs. Justin, 
 when Thorne had gone, " and in this case nothing 
 could be worse than that, for it gives me no oppor- 
 tunity to oppose him. 77 
 
 When Mrs. Justin next saw Stratford she expressed 
 her impatience with this visit of his friend Thorne. 
 " He is a thoroughly good fellow, 7 ' she said, " but I 
 do not want him to interfere with you." 
 
 " Mrs. Justin/' said Stratford, his brows contract- 
 ing as he spoke, " am I never to expect to be believed 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 331 
 
 by you regarding my intentions towards Gay Ar- 
 matt?" 
 
 " I do not wish to believe what you have said to me 
 about them/ 7 she answered, "and I earnestly hope 
 that you will say nothing more of the kind. You 
 ought to marry Gay Armatt for your own sake, for 
 everybody's sake, but above all for her sake. It would 
 be cruel, positively cruel, for you to drop her now." 
 
 " I do not wish to say anything," said Stratford, 
 "which might give rise to unpleasant feelings be- 
 tween us, but I will merely reassert, entirely for my 
 own satisfaction, that I do not intend to marry Gay 
 Armatt." 
 
 " I should be grieved indeed," said Mrs. Justin, " if 
 any unpleasant feelings should arise between us, but 
 I will say, entirely for my own satisfaction, that you 
 cannot help marrying her." 
 
 And with that she left him. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 JHEN the alterations at Vatoldi's had 
 reached that stage at which John 
 People could personally carry out 
 the manifold directions and plans 
 of Mr. Stull, the work went on rap- 
 idly, and it was not long before the 
 famous restaurant, greatly enlarged, 
 and very much improved, opened its doors again to 
 the public. The boycotting campaign having come 
 to an end, it was very easy to secure a corps of 
 trained waiters, nearly all the old ones being eager to 
 return to their former positions, and being no longer 
 under the influence of the contumacious Bencher, they 
 were perfectly willing to renounce all aspirations in 
 the direction of coat-tails. 
 
 But against any further trouble of this kind Mr. 
 Stull had fully provided. The employees were all 
 very well paid, but each man signed a printed con- 
 tract by which he agreed that a certain percentage of 
 his wages should be held back and forfeited in case 
 of dismissal for misconduct, the most important 
 breach of rule being any attempt to redress griev- 
 ances by other means than those stated in the con- 
 tract. Mr. Stull had given a great deal of time and 
 thought to the construction of an agreement which, 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 333 
 
 while it offered good men inducements to enter his 
 service, would make it a losing business for them if 
 they attempted to interfere with his methods of reg- 
 ulating the establishment. All these arrangements, 
 with many others tending to place Vatoldi's on a 
 higher pedestal than it had yet stood upon, were 
 carefully carried into effect by John People, whose 
 conferences with his superior not only took place 
 every afternoon, but frequently occupied a large por- 
 tion of the evening. An increase of custom quickly 
 greeted the reopening of the restaurant, and Vatol- 
 di's soon became a more crowded and fashionable 
 resort than it had ever been before. 
 
 When all this had been accomplished, Mr. Stull 
 thought himself entitled to a holiday, and repaired 
 to his farm near Cherry Bridge, where not only could 
 he take some country air, but look into the business 
 with which Mr. Turby had been intrusted. It might 
 seem a little odd to those who were not well ac- 
 quainted with Miss Matilda Stull that she should 
 have chosen the time of her father's coming for a 
 visit of herself and her mother to the city ; but Miss 
 Matilda never allowed the coming or going of any 
 one to interfere with her plans ; and, although she 
 had not formed this plan until she had heard of her 
 father's intention, she declared it to be absolutely 
 necessary that she should go to town to confer with 
 mantua-makers, in preparation for the autumnal sea- 
 son. As she could not go alone, her mother, of 
 course, must accompany her. 
 
 The absence of his wife and daughter at the time 
 of his arrival at his farm did not at all disturb the 
 
334 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 mind of Mr. Stull, who, having come to the country 
 for a holiday, was not averse to a few days 7 freedom 
 from interruption to thought and action. To be sure, 
 his two younger daughters remained, but these were 
 little girls who had learned how pleasant it was not 
 to interfere with their father's occupations. 
 
 Mrs. Stull had now been made acquainted with her 
 daughter's engagement, and it was, therefore, in the 
 handsome rooms of the Stull city mansion that Mr. 
 Crisman paid his frequent visits to his lady-love dur- 
 ing her stay in town. 
 
 John People, once more behind his cashier's desk, 
 and behind, indeed, nearly everything else in the 
 establishment, deepened the lines of pensive resigna- 
 tion on his brow. The gentle roll in his gait became 
 more than ever indicative of a determination to go 
 ahead and do his duty, no matter how much care and 
 trouble weighed upon him. All his hopes in the di- 
 rection of Miss Stull had entirely departed. When 
 Gay Armatt had told him that it was positively use- 
 less for him to speak a word of love to Miss Stull, he 
 had gone away believing her absolutely and entirely. 
 Of a truthful nature himself, he could appreciate 
 truth when it was told to him by such a girl as Gay, 
 and told as she told it. He had come to town fully 
 convinced that Matilda Stull could be to him no more 
 than an occasional customer in the restaurant over 
 which he presided. 
 
 He took from an inner recess of his pocket-book a 
 two-dollar note, in the corner of which were some 
 initials and a date ; and placing this in the money- 
 drawer, he repaid himself with two dollars in silver. 
 It gave him a sad pleasure a few minutes afterwards 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 335 
 
 to give this note, with other change, to a lady who 
 was paying her bill. Thrown into the vortex of met- 
 ropolitan circulation, there was no reason to suppose 
 he would ever see it again. Not only did John thus 
 snap asunder the only actual link between him and 
 Miss Stull, but, like the practical man that he was, 
 he resolved, if possible, to teach himself that he must 
 turn away from looking after her ; and in order to 
 do this he must learn to look steadfastly in another 
 direction. Therefore it was that with steadfast heart 
 and resolute eyes he looked at Miss Burns. 
 
 Miss Burns was a young lady who stood behind 
 the gentlemen's furnishing-goods counter of a large 
 dry- goods store directly opposite Vatoldi's. John 
 had bought cravats and gloves of her, and she, in 
 turn, had taken many a meal at Vatoldi's. There 
 were those of her companions who asserted that she 
 thus sacrificed economy to convenience, because there 
 were other restaurants, not far distant, where she 
 could have been served more cheaply. Miss Burns 
 liked Vatoldi's, and John had reason to believe that 
 she also liked him, for in the two years during which 
 they had interchanged patronage he had found fre- 
 quent opportunities of making himself agreeable to 
 her, and she had shown that he was agreeable. She 
 was a girl of pleasant appearance, although a trifle 
 over-thin; but John liked thin girls, and until his 
 regard for Miss Stull began to crystallize itself into 
 yearning, his occasional intercourse with Miss Burns 
 had been exceedingly pleasant to him. But for 
 months and months he had almost forgotten her. 
 For her there was no corner in the refrigerator, nor 
 any corner in his heart. 
 
336 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 This change of manner had been noticed by Miss 
 Burns, and for some time before the troubles began 
 at Vatoldi's she had been forced to admit that it 
 would have been quite as well for her to study econ- 
 omy at the expense of convenience and to take her mid- 
 day meal at the restaurants frequented by her com- 
 panions. But lately she had had a desire to view the 
 renewed glories of Vatoldi's, and had several times 
 visited the place. John had noticed her, and once 
 had spoken to her, but there was that in his manner 
 which showed the young woman that even this atten- 
 tion she owed entirely to his memory. But, as has 
 been said, John had come to the determination to oc- 
 cupy his saddened eyes by turning them in the direc- 
 tion of Miss Burns. 
 
 It was about this time that there was brought to 
 the restaurant a quantity of very choice clams. These 
 were of such unusually attractive appearance that 
 John bethought himself of exhibiting some of them 
 on a long inclined shelf near his desk, on which were 
 occasionally displayed some extraordinary fine speci- 
 mens of fish, flesh, or fowl. To this work he devoted 
 some comparatively leisure moments of the morning. 
 As he arranged them on the shelf, his meditative 
 soul began to influence his hands, and he formed the 
 clams into letters, and gradually into words. He soon 
 became much interested in his work, and selecting 
 the smallest of the shell-fish, and carefully placing 
 them, he formed a sentence in clams, which, in large 
 letters, ran the whole length of the shelf. It read : 
 
 " Gone are all the hopes I cherished." 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 337 
 
 Stepping back, John gazed at his work with much 
 satisfaction, and several of the waiters remarked upon 
 it with approbation. 
 
 " You might have a new piece of poetry there every 
 day," said one. 
 
 John smiled sadly. His desire for poetic selections 
 was now very limited. 
 
 A little before one o'clock that day there entered 
 into Vatoldi's Miss Matilda Stull. She was shopping 
 in that region, and she wanted her luncheon. She 
 expected, of course, that she would see John People 
 there, but that made no difference to her ; she had no 
 intention of deserting her favorite restaurant because 
 this young man happened to be the manager of it. 
 She was well aware that she had led him by a very 
 short string during the period in which she had 
 hoped to make use of him, but she did not believe 
 that here, in his place of business, he would presume 
 upon that familiar intercourse which in the country 
 is allowed among persons of different classes. If, 
 however, anything of the kind should occur, she 
 knew well how to treat it ; and she entered Vatoldi's 
 with all freedom and confidence. 
 
 The room was well filled, but she had not made 
 three steps within the door before John saw her. A 
 thrill went through him, and he stooped to conceal 
 the consequences of it which appeared in his face. In 
 a moment, however, he raised himself, and went on 
 with his duties, keeping his eyes upon the work before 
 him. He did not dare to look at her, for fear she 
 would not recognize him, and that would be a jagged 
 wound. It would be better for her to think he had 
 29 
 
338 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 not seen her. At any rate he must have time to grasp 
 the situation, a very unexpected one to him, for he 
 had supposed the lady to be in the country. 
 
 But it was not long before he found it impossible 
 to avoid raising his eyes in her direction, and as he 
 did so he met her glance. With a very slight smile 
 which bore no sign of friendship, but merely indi- 
 cated that acquaintance which, in the way of business, 
 any one might have with another, she beckoned him to 
 her. Surprised and very much embarrassed by this 
 action, John approached her. 
 
 " Mr. People," she said, " how do you do ? I would 
 like to have the clams in those first three words/' 
 pointing as she spoke, " for my luncheon. Will you 
 please have them stewed for me 1 " 
 
 John turned and gazed somewhat blankly at the 
 sentence he had formed. " ' Gone are all ' won't make 
 a full stew," he said. " Those clams are very small." 
 
 " They will be quite enough," said Miss Stull. 
 " Please order them cooked." 
 
 There was a look which accompanied this injunc- 
 tion that would have convinced John, if he had 
 needed convincing, of the absolute truth of what 
 Gay Armatt had said to him. He turned without 
 speaking, and walking to the shelf; gathered up, with 
 his own hands, the clams which spelled " Gone are 
 all." He handed them to an attendant, and ordered 
 them stewed for the lady at the table opposite, and 
 then stepped back to his desk, his heart like a clam 
 within him. 
 
 In about five minutes he raised his eyes at the open- 
 ing of the door, and he beheld Miss Burns entering. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 339 
 
 He looked at her for a moment, and then his blood, 
 which apparently had been greatly occupied else- 
 where, came up into his face. He stood more erect, 
 his whole body seemed to stiffen, and with a sudden 
 resolve he walked to the new-comer, who sat behind 
 Miss Stull, and much nearer the door. 
 
 " Miss Burns," said he, " we have some very fine 
 clams to-day. Will you let me have a stew made for 
 you?" 
 
 Gratified by this attention, Miss Burns immediately 
 gave her assent. John now quickly stepped to the 
 shelf, threw aside the last two letters of his sentence, 
 and gathering up the clams which formed " the hopes 
 I cherish," sent them to be stewed. 
 
 Miss Burns, following John's movements, saw the 
 words before the clams were swept together, and, 
 stooping, fumbled with the buttons of one of her 
 boots. 
 
 The waiter thought the stew would be a large one, 
 but he made no remark. There was something in 
 John's eye which showed that he meant what he did. 
 
 Miss Stull, who was waiting for her stew, and had 
 turned half around when John left the desk, saw the 
 whole proceeding. It brought upon her face a smile, 
 a very different one from that which had last been 
 there, and a very good smile for John People. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX 
 
 N the day of his arrival at his farm 
 Mr. Stull drove over to the county 
 town, and had an interview with 
 Zenas Turby. That energetic col- 
 lector of debts and facts had made 
 a very favorable report in regard to 
 the iron on the Bullripple farm ; and Mr. Stull now 
 also received valuable information concerning the 
 "Western heirs to the farms held by himself and 
 Enoch. These persons had been made acquainted by 
 Mr. Turby's letters with the loss and injustice they 
 had sustained, and of the fact that although the 
 property in question was not very valuable, it was 
 quite certain, if the affair was properly managed, 
 that they could come into their rights without expen- 
 sive process of law ; the case being so plain that the 
 parties in possession would probably not think it 
 worth while to resist the setting aside of the illegal 
 transfer and the immediate sale of the property with 
 a rightful division of the proceeds. 
 
 " They must think," said Mr. Stull, " that the par- 
 ties in possession are very great fools to give up what 
 they have paid for without making a fight for it ; but 
 if it is to our advantage to appear foolish, let us do 
 so by all means. I am perfectly willing to decline to 
 
 340 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 341 
 
 throw good money after bad in defending my title, 
 and as to that man Bullripple, I imagine there will 
 not be much trouble in making him take the same 
 position, for I don't believe he can afford to go to law 
 about it." 
 
 " Not he/ 7 sneered Mr. Turby. " When he can pay 
 his taxes he is doing very well." 
 
 " What we have to do now,' 7 said Mr. Stull, " is to 
 have the matter legally arranged as quickly as pos- 
 sible, and the sale ordered. I shall then buy both 
 tracts." 
 
 " You will get them cheap," said Turby, " for there's 
 nobody in these parts who will care to bid against 
 you." 
 
 Mr. Stull wanted, of course, to get the land as 
 cheaply as possible, having already paid for part of 
 it ; but as the amount paid had not been very large, 
 he would have preferred to lose that, and to give a 
 fair average price for the two farms, rather than to 
 hold one of them by a tenure which would make it 
 impossible for him to dispose of it justly, and unad- 
 visable to invest any money in its improvement and 
 development. His business sagacity had never before 
 allowed him to buy property to which he could not 
 receive a good title, but the opportunity to become 
 possessed of the late Mr. People's farm for a small 
 sum had been a tempting one, and had caused Mr. 
 Stull to close the bargain and take his chances as to 
 future settlement with heirs who might or who might 
 not turn up. His chance now, he thought, was very 
 good, and even if the land should not be valuable 
 from a mineral point of view, he would be glad to 
 
342 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 have a large and extensive country place in this 
 picturesque region. 
 
 " I will see Bullripple myself/' he said to Turby. 
 " I think I can make him understand that his wisest 
 course will be to step aside and make no opposition. 
 And, by the way, you can mention to those Western 
 people that it might be well for them to offer some 
 inducements to the parties in possession to vacate 
 their claims. Considering that we have paid our 
 money, they ought to do that." 
 
 " I'll put that to them," said Turby, " and if they 
 agree, it ought to help persuade that thick-headed 
 Bullripple to step out." 
 
 The next morning Mr. Stull called upon Enoch, 
 and appeared before him in the light of an injured 
 man. His sense of injury, however, was mingled with 
 a solemn dignity which forbade any violence of 
 expression. 
 
 He told Enoch of the information he had received 
 concerning the Western heirs, and then he added : 
 "You have brought me, sir, into a very annoying pre- 
 dicament 5 a situation, I may say, which is unworthy 
 of me." 
 
 "I'd like to know what I had to do with it?" 
 asked Enoch. 
 
 " You had a great deal to do with it," replied Mr. 
 Stull, with lofty severity. " You were apparently a 
 man of probity in this vicinity, and you were the 
 alleged owner of a property which had been acquired 
 at the same time and in the same way as that which 
 had belonged to your brother-in-law, and which I 
 bought. With your example before my eyes, there 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 343 
 
 was no reason why I should hesitate to pay my money 
 for that land." 
 
 " Considering how little you paid/ 7 said Enoch, " I 
 don't think you had any reason to hesitate." 
 
 " That land, sir," continued Mr. Stull, without 
 attention to the last remark, " as I am now informed, 
 does not belong to me any more than this land 
 belongs to you. But I have not come here to make 
 reproaches. There are some losses which my self-re- 
 spect teaches me to accept and say nothing about. I 
 am here simply to know what you intend to do in the 
 matter. If it is carried to the courts, I have no case, 
 and you have no case. That will be followed by 
 great expense and much annoyance, and by the loss 
 of the land the same as if we had not gone to law. I 
 consider that the proper, the honorable, and the 
 honest course is for me and for you to accept the 
 situation, to cease to insist upon an ownership in 
 lands for which we have not paid all the rightful 
 owners, and to accept whatever terms said owners 
 are willing to offer us. Now, sir, do you intend to 
 join me in this just and honorable course? Or do 
 you propose to act in a stubborn and litigious man- 
 ner, and so bring trouble and expense upon all 
 concerned ?" 
 
 Mr. Bullripple sat with his eyes half shut and fixed 
 upon the ground. " It may be," he thought, " that 
 this land has iron in it after all." Then he replied to 
 Mr. Stull. " I can't say," said he, " upon a suddint 
 this way, just exactly what I'll do. But I do declare 
 it doesn't look a bit like you to give up this way 
 just as soon as the thing is mentioned." 
 
344 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 "When I am right/ 7 said Mr. Stull, with much 
 loftiness, " I never give up ; but when I am wrong, I 
 deem it my duty to do so without delay, and I hope, 
 sir, that you will see that it is also your duty as well 
 as your interest." 
 
 " Well, Mr. Stull," said Enoch, rising, and taking 
 two strides with his hands in his pockets, " I'll think 
 it over, and see what is best to be done. And I guess 
 the first thing to be done is to wait till we hear some- 
 thing positive from those fellows in the West." 
 
 " I have said all I have to say," said Mr. Stull. 
 And he took his leave. 
 
 " Bull ripple is too stupidly obstinate to agree with 
 anybody," he said to himself as he walked away, "but 
 if I give in, he'll have to.' 7 
 
 Enoch was a good deal more disturbed by Mr. 
 Stall's information than he had appeared to be. He 
 had heard of these Western heirs, but had never put 
 much faith in them, and he had believed, moreover, 
 that his possession would in time give him a valid 
 title which would be good against all claims. But he 
 had never given himself any trouble to ascertain the 
 existence or non-existence of other claimants, and 
 had taken no legal measures, in fact, to protect him- 
 self in case claims should be brought. 
 
 Nothing, however, so disturbed his faith in the 
 strength of his tenure of his farm as the fact that 
 Mr. Stull had admitted that the title to his own farm 
 was not a good one. He had never liked Stull, and 
 since his discovery of the ownership of Vatoldi's he 
 had had a thorough contempt for the man. But he 
 knew him to be an unusually astute business man, 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 345 
 
 and when Mr. Stull stated that his title to a piece of 
 property was not good, there was as much reason to 
 believe that he had thoroughly examined the case and 
 was correct in his view of it, as there was to believe 
 that he never would have made the admission if it 
 were possible to avoid it. 
 
 But Enoch's belief in Mr. StulPs business sagacity 
 went still further. " That pie-man," he thought, " is 
 pushin' this thing, and he wouldn't do it if he didn't 
 expect to make somethin' out of it. If there wasn't 
 no more of it than what he told me, he'd jus' keep 
 quiet and let other people do what had to be done. 
 Yes, sir," he said aloud to himself, after he had taken 
 a few meditative turns with his hands in his pockets, 
 " there's more in this thing than he wants me to see. 
 It may be iron, and it may be something else ; but, 
 whatever it is, the pie-man is on the grab for it ! " 
 
 Mr. Bullripple thought over this matter all the rest 
 of the day and a good part of the night ; and in the 
 morning he laid the subject before Mr. Stratford. 
 That gentleman listened with much attention ; he 
 was always interested in Enoch and his concerns. 
 But before he could form any opinion in regard to 
 the case, Mr. Bullripple, who was one of those per- 
 sons who ask counsel of others for the purpose of 
 having their own decisions supported, proceeded to 
 give his views. 
 
 " Of course, I can't tell," said he, " exactly what that 
 Stull is after, but I've given my brains a good bad- 
 gering and I've pretty well made up my mind that 
 when the whole thing is settled, it'll be Stull that's 
 got these two farms, and not them Western men. 
 
346 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 And when that's happened, I may as well get ready 
 to walk, for he hates me wuss than he hates the 
 devil. 77 
 
 "Why should that be?" asked Mr. Stratford, sur- 
 prised. 
 
 " Oh, well, 77 said Enoch, " he and I once had a little 
 business together, and I got the better of him. It's 
 not a thing I can talk about ; but it made him hate 
 me ; there's no gettin 7 7 round that. 77 
 
 Remembering all that Enoch had told him at Va- 
 toldi 7 s about his being in search of a rat in a hole ; 
 and assuming, for he had never been so informed, 
 that this search had been successful, it was not diffi- 
 cult for Mr. Stratford to put this and that together. 
 He reflected that Enoch, who was always very free- 
 spoken about his affairs, had never told him the 
 result of his hunt for the rat, and had just admitted 
 that he had had a piece of private business with Mr. 
 Stull of which he could not speak, and it was natural 
 that in Mr. Stratford's mind said Stull and said rat 
 should merge themselves into the same personality. 
 
 This conclusion surprised Stratford very much. If 
 Enoch had been earnestly looking for some one, it was 
 tolerably certain that there was some one to look for, 
 and he knew no reason why that some one should not 
 be Mr. Stull. Stratford knew the man but slightly, 
 and cared little for what he knew. It was, therefore, 
 a matter of small concern to him that the bank presi- 
 dent sold oyster stews, but it was a matter of very 
 great concern that Enoch had discovered the fact. 
 This old farmer was a man whose character and 
 methods deserved careful study. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 347 
 
 " Now, this is the way I've worked it out/ 7 continued 
 Enoch. " If what Stull says is so, and I'm inclined to 
 believe it is, for he wouldn't come to any man and 
 tell him that he didn't own any particular thing if 
 there was the least chance in the world of his keep- 
 in' it without fairly ownin' it, then Pm of the opinion 
 that the quicker somethin' is done the better." 
 
 " What would you do ? " asked Stratford. 
 
 " What Pd do," said Enoch, " would be this : Pd go 
 straight out West, and see them other heirs. Pd look 
 into their claims and see how good they was. It 
 wouldn't cost much to do that. Then, if everything 
 was all straight, Pd just ask 'em what they'd take for 
 their claims. If they had any sense at all they'd 
 rather take a middlin' fair price down in cash than to 
 go to a lot of trouble and perhaps have the land sold 
 for mighty little. I think I could put all that before 
 'em so's they could see it. Then Pd come home and 
 go to somebody, say to you, Mr. Stratford, and 
 borry the money Pd have to pay down ; Pd be mighty 
 keerful, too, to hunt up any other heirs, if there was 
 any, and buy up their claims. When that was all 
 done, Pd take the same law steps that them fellows 
 would have took, and when the case was settled, the 
 property needn't be sold to divide the money, for 
 there'd only be one owner to the whole of it, and that 
 would be me. When I'd got the deed all safe in my 
 possession, Pd give the man who lent me the money 
 he'd have to trust me till then a mortgage on the 
 whole property. Then there couldn't be no turnin' 
 out of house and home. Pd go on here the same as 
 ever, payin' a fair and reg'lar interest on the mort- 
 
348 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 gage. And as for Stall, if lie likes that place, he could 
 just live there as long as he liked, and I'd put the 
 rent high enough to cover the interest I'd have to 
 pay on the two places. If he didn't want to do that, 
 he might go, and that farm could easily be sold for 
 enough to pay off the whole mortgage. Now, isn't 
 that a pretty straight and even plan ? With all the 
 iron left out, too, for that's a thing I don't believe in." 
 
 Stratford laughed. "It certainly is an ingenious 
 plan, and may hold together. If I were you, I'd try 
 it. I fear there are some weak points in your scheme, 
 but they may not prevent its success. At all events, 
 you would lose nothing by the trial, and I should be 
 very sorry indeed to see this farm taken from you." 
 
 "Well, sir," said Enoch, "that's what you'd do if 
 you was me. Now then, bein' yourself, would you 
 advance me the money, and then take a mortgage on 
 the land for it?" 
 
 " Yes," said Mr. Stratford ; " if the facts are what 
 you suppose them to be, and all the heirs are willing 
 to sell out their claims, I'll advance the money." 
 
 " Good ! " cried Mr. Bullripple, slapping one hard 
 palm with the other. " And now I'll see if I can't 
 match farm work ag'in' pie-bakin'." 
 
 " Enoch," said Mr. Stratford, with a smile, " you 
 said too much that time." 
 
 " Perhaps I did," said the old farmer, " but slips 
 don't count." 
 
 As he walked away Mr. Stratford felt more than 
 ever convinced that if Enoch Bullripple, instead of 
 being driven from his farm by the revengeful Stull, 
 should succeed, without loss to himself or to any one, 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 349 
 
 in making that lofty personage pay him rent for his 
 present country-seat, he would add very much to his 
 previous claims to be considered a hundredth man. 
 It was not the old farmer's cleverness and natural 
 cunning that Stratford considered in this connection j 
 it was his willingness, as shown in his extraordinary 
 conduct at Vatoldi's, to throw himself, for the pur- 
 pose of gaining his ends, into a position which no- 
 body else would be likely to think of, or be courageous 
 enough to take, which made our friend imagine that, 
 in all probability, his search for a man, entirely 
 unique and exceptional, had, at last, met with suc- 
 
 30 
 
CHAPTER XXX 
 
 AY ARMATT did not find the pres- 
 ence of Mr. Thorne in the Cherry 
 Bridge neighborhood that interrup- 
 tion to her studies and daily pur- 
 suits which she had supposed it 
 would be. Her expectations had 
 been that Mr. Stratford would find it necessary to 
 give so much of his time to his friend that very little 
 of it would be left for her. Of course there were 
 studies and a good many daily pursuits which could 
 very well be carried on without the presence of Mr. 
 Stratford, but this did not suit Miss Gay. She had 
 become accustomed to Stratford's helpful counsel and 
 to the pleasure of his society. She liked them, and 
 she did. not wish to give them up. She was sitting at 
 the feet of a master, and it would have greatly grieved 
 her had circumstances compelled her to rise. 
 
 But Arthur Thorne did not prove to be such a cir- 
 cumstance. On the contrary, he was scrupulously 
 careful not to interfere with the life which Gay was 
 now leading. Stratford determined to go on with his 
 visits to Mrs. Justin and his intercourse with Gay as 
 if Thorne had not been there ; while the younger man 
 determined that his intercourse with Gay should 
 be largely influenced by the fact that Stratford was 
 
 350 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 351 
 
 there. It was not his object to endeavor to supplant 
 Stratford j this he knew he could not do ; all he 
 hoped was to make himself known, and perhaps favor- 
 ably known, to the woman he loved. If, then, Stratford 
 held to his word, his opportunity might come ; at all 
 events, he would not be a stranger to Gay Armatt. 
 That point in Stratford's argument had made a strong 
 impression on him. 
 
 It was Thome's custom to walk over from the 
 Cherry Bridge tavern in the afternoon, and often in 
 the evening, and if he could talk or walk with one 
 or both of the ladies, or play croquet with them, or 
 do for them anything which they might wish him to 
 do, he was very glad. If it happened that Stratford 
 were there, and it often did so happen, Thome 
 showed no indisposition to join in any general occu- 
 pation, though he avoided thrusting himself into any 
 special one. He took the goods the goddesses gave, 
 and was very thankful. 
 
 Mrs. Justin noticed all this, and though she really 
 wished Mr. Thorne would stay away, she could not 
 help honoring him for his thoughtful and courteous 
 conduct. His visits could not be pleasant to her, 
 favoring, as she did, a union between Stratford and 
 Gay, but no man whom she knew could have brought 
 upon himself under similar circumstances so small a 
 taint of unpleasantness. 
 
 Gay did not know Mr. Thome's object in coming 
 to the house, but she soon found that, as far as she 
 was concerned, his coming made no difference. This 
 was very pleasant, and made her look upon the 
 gentleman, especially at croquet, as an agreeable 
 
352 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 addition to their little circle. She could not but see, 
 too, although it did not strike her mind as soon as it 
 did that of Mrs. Justin, how he refrained from putting 
 himself in those paths which she and Mr. Stratford 
 were wont to walk together. For that she liked Mr. 
 Thorne better than for anything else. 
 
 As the days went on, the ladies of the Justin 
 household began to appreciate the fact that two 
 gentlemen friends were better than one, because the 
 little vacancies and gaps which must occasionally be 
 left by one of them could almost always be filled by 
 the other. A more useful and agreeable second man 
 than Mr. Thorne could scarcely be found. In most 
 cases he was perfectly able to take the place of first 
 man, and yet he was always willing to fall into the 
 subordinate position. This indicated mental endow- 
 ments of a kind very rare and very valuable. 
 
 Though Mr. Stratford was a frequent visitor at the 
 Justin house, he did not come every day, and some- 
 times, of a morning, Arthur Thorne would stand and 
 lean against the railings of the shady piazza where 
 Gay was in the habit of doing her reading and study- 
 ing, which, by the way, had become much more of a 
 habit than in the early summer. At such times he 
 did not stay very long, nor say very much, but it 
 cost him an effort, which only a strong man could 
 have given, to tear himself away and leave Gay un- 
 disturbed with her books. Several times Mrs. Justin 
 noticed this proceeding, and she could not refrain 
 from giving Mr. Thorne her unqualified admiration. 
 
 On one of these occasions Thorne remarked to 
 Gay : " I wish very much, Miss Arrnatt, that there 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 353 
 
 was something inside the vast scope of human knowl- 
 edge which I could help you to study. There ought 
 to be something, but I don't believe there is." 
 
 Gay smiled. "I expect there are ever so many 
 things/' she said, "that you could teach me from 
 beginning to end." 
 
 Thorne shook his head. "No," said he, "your 
 studies are extensive enough already, and there is 
 nothing I would undertake to teach except law ; and 
 in that, of course, you would take no interest." 
 
 " I am not so sure of that," said Gay. " There are 
 a great many things about law which a woman ought 
 to know, especially those things which particularly 
 concern her, and of which I am totally ignorant." 
 
 " And would you like to know them ? " eagerly asked 
 Thorne. 
 
 " Certainly," answered Gay. " The object of my 
 life, Mr. Thorne, is to know. 7 ' 
 
 As she said this a little shade of darkness crept into 
 that young face, which Thorne had never seen there 
 before. It was so slight a shade that most persons 
 would not have noticed it, but Thorne marked it, and 
 referred it to the fact that a little while ago this young 
 person had another object in life, which, in a tangible 
 and acknowledged form, did not now exist. 
 
 " If you will allow me, Miss Armatt," he said, " it 
 will give me very great pleasure to indicate to you 
 some points of law which I really think you ought 
 to understand, and without a knowledge of which, I 
 do not hesitate to say, I believe no person should be 
 called thoroughly educated. I can write out the points 
 to which it would be well to direct your attention, 
 
354 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 and give you authorities and references which you 
 can make use of if you like. Then you can look 
 into the subject at your convenience, and I can 
 always furnish you with any books you may want." 
 
 " You are very kind, indeed, Mr. Thorne," said Gay, 
 " and I think your suggestion a sensible and practi- 
 cal one. There are many general principles of law, 
 and particular applications, too, which I am sure 
 would be of use to me, and which I really ought to 
 know if I ever expect to call myself well informed. 
 It would be entirely too much for you to write out 
 subjects and references, as you are so good as to 
 suggest, and I would not ask you to put yourself to 
 so much trouble ; but if you could talk over the mat- 
 ter with me when it is perfectly convenient to you, 
 I should be very much obliged indeed. It wouldn't 
 interfere at all with my other work, for I have plenty 
 of spare time." 
 
 As Gay said this she had a consciousness that she 
 was conferring a favor, and that it was pleasant to 
 confer it. She was entirely honest in the expression 
 of her desire to know something of the laws under 
 which she lived; but she also felt that Mr. Thome 
 was a young man of such kindly disposition that it 
 was a kindness to him to give him an opportunity to 
 be kind. 
 
 Mr. Thorne was charmed. He went away to his 
 room in the Cherry Bridge tavern, and set himself to 
 work to prepare from the resources of his very exten- 
 sive information a concise but comprehensive sum- 
 mary of some of the fundamental principles of law 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 355 
 
 which everybody ought to know, and also of such 
 specific points as women in particular ought to know. 
 The work interested him greatly, and it was not until 
 his lamp burned out that night that he laid down his 
 pen. Early the next morning he hired a horse and 
 rode over to the county town, where he asked the 
 privilege from a lawyer to make abstracts from some 
 of his legal books. 
 
 It was several days before Arthur Thorne had 
 prepared to his satisfaction his ground plan of the 
 legal education of Gay Armatt. When it was finished 
 he betook himself to the Justin mansion with his 
 papers in his pocket, determined on no account to 
 obtrude the matter upon her attention did not a 
 favorable opportunity present itself. 
 
 His opportunity came immediately. He found Gay 
 and Mrs. Justin sitting together, and the young lady 
 received him with unusual cordiality. " I hope, Mr. 
 Thorne," she said, " that you have come prepared to 
 talk law. I have thought of no less than four things 
 that I want to ask you immediately, although I sup- 
 pose you will wish to begin with Magna Charta, or 
 some such foundation-stone." 
 
 " I am quite ready," he said, pulling out his papers, 
 " and Magna Charta can wait. Now, what are your 
 four points ? " 
 
 Mrs. Justin had been told by Gay of the proposed 
 plan of legal instruction, and she had not favored it. 
 It would give Thorne too many advantages, and 
 besides, she thought that Gay was working too hard 
 already. But her young friend set aside all her ob- 
 
356 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 jections. These things would be but trifles, she 
 declared, and even were it otherwise, she had never 
 felt so much like work in her life. 
 
 Mrs. Justin had not withdrawn her objections, but 
 after a little talk with Mr. Thome she withdrew her- 
 self, and left the two to settle the four points. When, 
 that evening, she told Mr. Stratford of Gay's new 
 course of study he did not object. 
 
 " It seems rather an odd thing to do," he said, " but 
 then Gay Armatt is somewhat of an odd young lady, 
 and as for Arthur Thorne, although he is generally 
 most oddly proper, I have found that, upon occasion, 
 he can be properly odd." 
 
 Mrs. Justin shrugged her shoulders. "I do not 
 like it at all," she said. 
 
 "I think I do," replied Stratford. "A certain 
 amount of knowledge of that kind will be very useful 
 to Miss Armatt, and Thome is just the man to give it 
 to her." 
 
 " He is just the man who should not give it to her," 
 quickly replied Mrs. Justin. " Horace Stratford, you 
 are either blind or wickedly foolish." 
 
 "My dear friend," said Mr. Stratford, "I wish that 
 I could make you understand that I am neither." 
 
 "That you can easily do," said Mrs. Justin, "by 
 marrying Gay." And there the conversation stopped. 
 
 Not every day, but still often, Gay and Arthur, 
 with a great deal of earnest interest on each side, 
 pursued their legal studies. It was but a slight 
 skeleton of a course of study, but it was one calcu- 
 lated to place a woman in a position of intelligence 
 with regard to her relations with her fellow-beings 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 357 
 
 which would give her great advantages over other 
 women who did not occupy that position. To Gray it 
 was all very pleasant j it helped and satisfied her 
 desire to make herself thoroughly well informed and 
 cultured. .To Arthur Thorne it was heaven. 
 
 The weeks passed on, and touches of red and yellow 
 began to appear here and there in the foliage, while 
 the days became so perceptibly shorter that those 
 who drove out in the afternoon frequently came home 
 under the twinkling light of the evening star. The 
 accustomed intercourse of Stratford and Gay con- 
 tinued without a change, except that it now received 
 from Mrs. Justin certain favoring impulses which, 
 before, she had not been wont to give it ; and the 
 occasional intercourse of Gay and Thorne became 
 more friendly and easy, in spite of the absolute want 
 of encouragement shown to it by Mrs. Justin. 
 
 Had any one appeared in the neighborhood of 
 Cherry Bridge, and declared that at any season of 
 the year in any part of that country there was the 
 slightest trace of malaria, he would probably have 
 fared badly. Mrs. People would have been glad to 
 scratch the skin from his defaming face, and if no 
 one, in fact, should offer to him personal injury, he 
 would have been so borne down with contempt and 
 condemnation that he would have yearned to flee to 
 some region the pride of whose people in their healthy 
 surroundings he had not shocked. 
 
 Mrs. Justin was very prudent concerning public 
 opinion. Upon no account would she say a word 
 against this general belief in the healthfulness of the 
 neighborhood. But in her own mind she now began 
 
358 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 to be of the opinion that Gay Armatt was suffering 
 from some sort of malarial influence. She was not at 
 all the same girl that she was when she came to that 
 Cherry Bridge country. Her mental activity was as 
 great as ever, but she could now be tired by a mode- 
 rate walk, or even a very long drive. There were 
 other indications of an unsatisfactory state of health, 
 which were not generally noticeable, but easily per- 
 ceived by the quick eye of Mrs. Justin. At first she 
 attributed Gay's apparent decrease in physical stamina 
 to her studies, but she soon gave up that idea. The 
 work done by her young friend was not enough to 
 injure any healthy person of her years, and it was 
 intermingled with constant recreation and outdoor 
 life. There was something too much of it, and it might 
 occasionally have made Gay appear a little weary. 
 But the effects of study were not sufficient to account 
 for the symptoms Mrs. Justin noticed. 
 
 The village doctor was called in, and he prescribed 
 a tonic, but this was of no benefit ; and therefore it 
 was that Mrs. Justin privately made up her mind that 
 there were in the atmosphere malarial influences to 
 which Gay was peculiarly susceptible, and that she 
 would not be better until she should go away. 
 
 If Gay had moped, or had been lowspirited, or had 
 shown any symptoms of retrospective melancholy, 
 Mrs. Justin would have attributed her condition to 
 the broken engagement. But there was nothing of 
 the kind. Gay had behaved admirably after her 
 great trial. She had kept up her spirits, and it was 
 only in physical action that she showed any decrease 
 in strength and activity. This state of mind Mrs. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 359 
 
 Justin attributed in great degree to the influence of 
 Mr. Stratford. There was no possible doubt of the 
 fact that Gay could not so constantly associate with 
 him without discovering by contrast the inferiority 
 and unworthiness of the man who had left her. 
 
 Having determined that Gay's health demanded a 
 complete change of scene and air, Mrs. Justin also 
 considered it her duty to bring about that change 
 without loss of time ; she therefore made the neces- 
 sary preparations to go to her winter home in New 
 York. Gay expected at the end of her Cherry Bridge 
 sojourn to spend some time with her relatives in 
 Maryland, but this Mrs. Justin would not allow. The 
 country at this season was evidently no place for Gay ; 
 she must go to the city. In the course of a week the 
 Justin house was closed, and Gay and its owner had 
 departed for New York. 
 
 Mr. Thorne had already gone home. He had not 
 had so many of those delightful interviews with Gay 
 as he would have liked to have, and he had not 
 taught her a quarter as much law as he would have 
 wished to teach her. But he had seen her frequently, 
 and his course had been so well begun that it would 
 be easy to take it up at any time ; and, on the whole, 
 Mr. Thorne was well satisfied j nay, more, he was 
 warmed and exhilarated by his sojourn at Cherry 
 Bridge. To give himself this special holiday he had 
 broken away from his professional pursuits and had 
 left his business in the hands of an associate. But he 
 did not in the least reproach himself for this depart- 
 ure from his usual habits of life. Nothing could be 
 wiser than to give a few weeks to the furtherance 
 
360 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 of an object which was more important to him than 
 any other object could possibly be. 
 
 Mr. Stratford remained at the Bullripple farm. 
 The weather was still pleasant and there was no rea- 
 son why he should not stay in the country as long 
 as he had hitherto been accustomed to stay. It was 
 true that the region seemed more lonely than in 
 former years when he had been there by himself, and 
 he thought he was a little tired of the country. But 
 it would have been ridiculous for him to have hurried 
 away after Mrs. Justin and Gay. He promised him- 
 self, however, and indeed he had said as much to the 
 ladies, that he would not stay among the mountains 
 very long. His promise to himself was partly based 
 on conviction that Gay's future happiness might 
 depend in a greater degree on his presence in the city 
 than it had lately depended on their companionship 
 out here. What sudden exposure to her former peril 
 might there occur he did not know. 
 
 One afternoon Stratford came to the fence on 
 the top of the eminence from which he and Gay had 
 once watched the sunset. He seated himself on the 
 upper rail of the fence, and thoughtfully gazed over 
 the landscape towards the western sky. Suddenly 
 his eyes fell upon two persons emerging from the 
 grove of sugar-maples on the level ground beneath 
 him. It was Miss Matilda Stull and a gentleman, 
 whom, to his astonishment, he speedily recognized as 
 Mr. Crisman. They did not come up towards him, 
 but turned away, walking along the bottom of the 
 hill. Their very intimate manner as they moved 
 away, hand in hand, gave assurance that they had 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 361 
 
 not noticed Stratford, and the very intimate converse 
 in which they were evidently engaged gave good 
 reason for their not noticing anything but themselves. 
 
 Stratford could scarcely explain to himself why the 
 appearance of these two persons, for whom he had 
 such slight regard, should have such a sudden and 
 disturbing effect upon him. He had heard from Mrs. 
 People that Miss Stull and her mother had returned 
 to the farm, but he had known nothing of Crisman's 
 presence in the neighborhood. It was simply im- 
 possible to doubt the relations of these two young 
 persons to each other. The expression of their faces, 
 and their whole demeanor and action, showed that 
 they were lovers. 
 
 Nothing should have given Stratford greater satis- 
 faction than this. If Crisman were in love with that 
 young woman down yonder, Gay's peril was over. 
 But, instead of a thrill of pleasure, Stratford felt a 
 shock. His soul was filled with a startling conviction 
 that his work was done; that he had carried Gay 
 Armatt over the gap ! 
 
 Slowly, and without noticing the world beneath his 
 feet, or the sky above him, Stratford descended from 
 the fence and walked homeward. 
 
 31 
 
CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 HE sugar-maples were yet in a glow 
 of crimson; the hillsides were yet 
 green ; the sunshine was yet warm 
 and cheering, when Mr. Stratford an- 
 nounced to Mrs. People his inten- 
 tion of returning to his city home. 
 " It's a good deal earlier than you've ever gone yet," 
 said she, " and Fm very sorry for it. But it's not to 
 be wondered at, for you must find it very lonely here 
 with everybody away, and even Enoch himself gone 
 out West, which is a thing he never did before, and 
 which I hope won't end by his becomin' a emigrant, 
 for Pm sure I don't want to go into any such wild 
 country, or indeed into any country at all, except 
 here, which I'm sure is a good enough place for any- 
 body ; and why Enoch shouldn't be satisfied to stay 
 where he is, with everything comfortable around 
 him, and crops as good as his neighbors, and plenty 
 to eat and drink, I can't see for the life of me. If you 
 knew the Stull fam'ly, now, they might be some com- 
 pany for you ; but then, ag'in, I don't s'pose you could 
 git much out of 'em. Old Stull himself has gone back 
 to town, and the two little girls have gone to school, 
 but that Stull young woman and her mother are here 
 ag'in, and, what's more, that Mr. Crisman, who Miss 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 363 
 
 Armatt gave the sack to, is here too and courtin' Miss 
 Matilda as if he was tryin' to ketch a train. Well, 
 well," continued the good woman, corrugating her 
 brow as the memory of broken schemes came to her, 
 "things don't always turn out as they're wanted to, 
 but I don't mind sayin' it to you, Mr. Stratford, that 
 if I had ever turned out to be that girl's mother-in-law, 
 I couldn't have lived with her, which would have had 
 its advantages in one way, for then I'd 'a' lived here, 
 and not there, which would 'a 7 suited me better, for I 
 don't want to leave Enoch, and if John had got the 
 old place I'd been satisfied and asked no more j and, 
 although Mrs. Stall is her own mother, the best I can 
 wish for her is that she won't have to live with her, 
 which, considerin' what kind of a man he must be 
 which Miss Gray and Mrs. Justin had to give his 
 walkin' papers to, won't be exactly what people mean 
 when they talk about a heaven on earth." 
 
 When Stratford returned to New York, thoroughly 
 convinced of Mr. Crisman's new attachment, his mind, 
 instead of being in a state of certainty and decision, 
 was in a condition of very great uncertainty, in regard 
 to what he would do, and of very great indecision as 
 to what he ought to do. Gay being free from Cris- 
 man, as she surely was, his appointed work was done ; 
 and what excuse could he make to himself for con- 
 tinuing that work? That dangerous space over 
 which he had proposed to carry the young fellow- 
 being in whom he had taken so great an interest had 
 proved narrower than he had supposed it would be, 
 and was already crossed. The vision of Arthur 
 Thorne standing on the opposite bank proved this. 
 
364 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 Whatever might or might not happen to Gray from 
 Thome's love of her, the girl had no present need of 
 Horace Stratford. 
 
 This was all clear and plain enough, and yet Strat- 
 ford did not say to himself that his work being done 
 he would step aside. " I will see her first," he thought, 
 " and then I will decide upon my plan of action." 
 The next morning after his arrival in the city, he 
 went to Mrs. Justin's house. Gray had gone out, but 
 Mrs. Justin was delighted to see him. 
 
 "I was afraid," she said, "that this fine weather 
 would keep you in the country, and it is very encour- 
 aging to see you make your appearance so soon. 
 And as for Gray r I am glad to say that her condition 
 is improved. To be sure, she eats very little, she is 
 easily tired, and she will not take medicines, but since 
 she came to the city she is brighter and shows more 
 interest in things. And I am quite sure," said Mrs. 
 Justin, looking steadfastly at Stratford, "that your 
 exchange of the pleasures of the autumnal season for 
 premature town life will have a beneficial effect upon 
 her." 
 
 There was point to this remark, for Stratford was 
 an earnest sportsman, and it had hitherto been his 
 custom to invite some of his friends to Cherry Bridge 
 during the shooting season. 
 
 " I shall be very glad," said he, " if in any way I 
 can be of benefit to Miss Armatt." 
 
 " Don't be so cold and formal ! " exclaimed the 
 lady. " Why not look at the matter in a natural and 
 sensible light? Gay has missed you, and will be 
 ever so glad to meet you again, and you know that I 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 365 
 
 shall be more than glad to see you together again. 
 Do you know why she is brighter and more cheerful 
 than she was ? " 
 
 " On account of the change to the city air, I sup- 
 pose," he answered. " That is often of as much 
 advantage as change to country air." 
 
 " It is nothing of the sort/' said Mrs. Justin. " As 
 soon as I decided that she was to come with me to 
 town and not to make her expected visit to Maryland, 
 she began to brighten. I know she wants to see her 
 sister, but I also know that she wishes very much 
 more to be with you, and if she had gone home she 
 probably would have staid there until she began her 
 post-collegiate course. But now that her health 
 obliges her to be here with me, and, consequently, 
 with you, her conscience is satisfied, and she is 
 happier." 
 
 Stratford made no reply, but turned to a window 
 and looked out. 
 
 tl Of course you have heard," said Mrs. Justin, after 
 a short silence, "that Mr. Crisman is paying atten- 
 tion to Miss Stall. I had the news from Mrs. People, 
 who wrote to me about my winter supply of poultry, 
 and inserted the item as a bit of flavoring. She says 
 he is there every week." 
 
 "I have heard that," said Stratford. 
 
 " I must admit," continued the lady, " that when I 
 received this news I was mortified that a man could so 
 quickly turn from our Gay to Matilda Stull. And 
 yet, upon thinking it over, I believe that we ought to 
 feel rather satisfied than otherwise. Knowing as I do 
 that Mr. Crisman is totally unworthy of Gay, I can- 
 
366 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 not but feel somewhat pleased that he has been able 
 to compensate himself for any injury he may imagine 
 he received at our hands." 
 
 Mrs. Justin arose, and stood beside Stratford. 
 " Our old ships are now all behind us, and burned/' 
 she said, " and I pray for the most favoring winds to 
 fill the new sails which shall bring Gay and you to- 
 gether. Now, don't say anything! That is one of 
 the remarks to which no answer is required." 
 
 When Stratford called the next day he was received 
 by Gay in the library, a room which Mrs. Justin now 
 almost entirely surrendered to her young friend. The 
 light from the high, wide window fell full upon the 
 young girl as she arose, bright-eyed, to greet her visi- 
 tor. When Gay reseated herself upon the soft-cush- 
 ioned chair, the action showed a change in her which 
 was instantly noticed by Stratford. The Gay Armatt 
 of the old days at Cherry Bridge had never reclined. 
 She was a girl who sat up straight, who moved 
 quickly, whose presence suggested youthful vigor 
 and activity. 
 
 Stratford drew a low chair near her and placed it 
 so that he could face her as they talked. Whatever 
 might be her present lack of strength or vitality, it 
 had not affected her beauty. Never had she seemed 
 so charming to the eyes of Stratford. Her morning 
 dress of blue may have relieved the delicate color in 
 her cheek, and brought out the pure whiteness of her 
 neck and wrists, arid the happy light in her eyes may 
 have given something of its brightness to the smile 
 upon her perfect lips, and even her unwonted languor 
 may have infused new grace into that half -reclining 
 figure j but, whatever were the reasons, Stratford now 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 367 
 
 sat before a woman whose beauty fully satisfied him. 
 He had always given due appreciation to Gay's per- 
 sonal attractions, but heretofore he had felt that there 
 was something wanting, some little touch, he knew 
 not what. That touch had now been given. 
 
 " Do you see this ? " said Gay, holding up a book 
 which had been lying open and face downward upon 
 a little table at her side. "Perhaps you are not 
 familiar with this style of literature. It is what is 
 popularly called a novel." 
 
 " I am very familiar with novels," said Stratford, 
 " and I have read that one." 
 
 " And I have read those/' said Gay, pointing to a pile 
 of books on the floor by the window, " and all of them 
 in a little more than a week. I expected that by this 
 time I should be working away in superheated mathe- 
 matics and that sort of thing, but Mrs. Justin has put 
 an interdict on study. I do scarcely anything but 
 read novels and look at clothes. Whenever we go 
 out we always go to shops, and, although we don't 
 buy much, we have all sorts of things spread out and 
 wonder how they would look made up. Mrs. Justin 
 says that clothes-cogitation is very restful to the 
 mind." 
 
 " Does your mind need rest?" asked Stratford. 
 
 " I don't know," said Gay. " My body seems to 
 need a good deal of it, and Mrs. Justin says I must 
 show no favoritism ; one must have just what the 
 other gets. You see, I have given up thinking for 
 myself ; Mrs. Justin does that for me now." 
 
 " I did not suppose," said Stratford, " that you 
 would ever allow any one to do your thinking for 
 you." 
 
368 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 " Oh, dear me ! " exclaimed Gay, " you don't know 
 how nice it is ! You ought to try it. By the way/' 
 she added, with a quick start of animation, " will you 
 let me do some thinking for you V 
 
 "It will be something entirely novel to me/' said 
 Stratford, "and I should like it as a bit of ex- 
 perience." 
 
 " Well, then/' said Gray, " please empty your mind 
 of everything in it, and I will fill it for you. You 
 are now thinking as follows : Here is a girl, or I 
 should say a young woman, who is not feeling so 
 much like an English sparrow as she did during the 
 summer, but is quite as well and quite as strong as a 
 good many people who work or study or slave in all 
 sorts of ways all day long, and a great part of the 
 night besides. She has a friend, a dear friend, who is 
 one of the noblest women on earth, and who is quite 
 as good and lovely as it is possible for any woman to 
 be, but who has, in spite of all this, a blot upon her 
 character. This is that she is too kind. It is a white 
 blot, and a very beautiful one to look at, but still it 
 is a blot, and it interferes with her ability to make the 
 young person I am thinking of do what she ought to 
 do. She lets this white blot spread itself over her 
 sober judgment and several of her other good quali- 
 ties, and she tells this young person that she must 
 not do anything all day that is in the least bit like 
 work or study. Now, I know this is all wrong. That 
 girl would be a great deal happier, and it would be 
 ever so much better for her in every way, if she were 
 to shut up the novel she is reading, and stop short 
 without knowing what happens next or how it ends, 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 369 
 
 and apply herself to matters that are of importance 
 and value; and if she takes up again those things 
 which are the real object of her life she will become 
 as much interested in them as she used to be, and will 
 pay no attention to those little tired feelings which 
 soon grow up into incurable laziness if one is not 
 very careful. Now, I shall talk to that young person 
 and make her see these things as I do. I don't think 
 it will be at all difficult. I shall tell her that if she 
 continues in her present indolent condition she will 
 get rusty in the studies she has been working at this 
 summer, and if she goes backward instead of keeping 
 straight on, as I am sure her soul is longing to do, 
 I really do not know what will become of her. I am 
 quite certain she will take my advice, because she has 
 the greatest confidence in my judgment. And indeed, 
 considering how I have helped her and counseled her, 
 and in all sorts of ways been of the greatest good and 
 service to her, she must be horribly stupid if she don't 
 know by this time that what I advise she ought to 
 do. There is another reason, too, why I should advise 
 her. If I sit and look at her reading novels and 
 neglecting her duties and cultivating habits of lazi- 
 ness, and say nothing about it, I shall make her 
 think that, though I must disapprove of what she 
 is doing, I am keeping quiet merely because she is 
 not quite well and ought to be treated like a child or 
 an invalid. Now, I know that this will grieve her 
 very much, and so I shall speak out, and tell her that 
 she ought to take up her work just where she put it 
 down when she left Cherry Bridge, and I shall also 
 tell her that when I can that is to say, of course, 
 
370 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 not so often as I used to do in the country, but at times 
 when it will not interfere with anything else I want 
 to do I will come and help her, and give her little 
 hints about all sorts of things, just as I did when we 
 were in the country together. And now, sir," said 
 Gay, who by this time was sitting up straight in her 
 chair, her face slightly flushed and every trace of lan- 
 guor gone, " how do you like your train of thought ? " 
 
 While Gray had been speaking, Stratford had sat 
 gazing upon her. He had heard nearly all she had 
 said, but some phrases here and there had escaped 
 his attention, because his mind was so busily at work 
 for itself. " Do I love this beautiful girl ? " he asked 
 himself, as Gray's words gave to his mind a vision of 
 one who extends her hands to a friend without in- 
 tending or knowing that those outstretched arms 
 may, instead, receive a lover. 
 
 As Stratford thus sat, thinking and listening, one 
 of his arms hung over the side of his low chair, and 
 as he unconsciously moved his hand his fingers 
 touched a bow of ribbon on one of the folds of Gay's 
 dress which lay upon the floor. Entirely unnoticed 
 by her, he took an end of the ribbon between his 
 thumb and finger and gently held and pressed it. 
 This was on Gay ; it was a part of her ; it was a link 
 between him and that beautiful creature flushing and 
 warming before him. Through that bit of blue ribbon 
 might pass an electric thrill which should change his 
 being and make him blind to extended hands, seeing 
 only outstretched arms. 
 
 He crumpled the ribbon in his fingers, his blood 
 flowed quicker, and his eye grew brighter. " I could 
 love her/' he said to himself. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 371 
 
 Gay went on talking. She was making him know 
 now how much she depended on him, and how desirous 
 she was for his society. She was sitting erect, and 
 therefore nearer to him, but her eyes were fixed upon 
 his face, and she knew not that he held her ribbon. 
 " I could love her," he repeated to himself. Then his 
 mind stopped, and began to work backward. " But 
 if I do love her/ 7 he thought, " I shall never love my- 
 self again. I have sworn that I would do this thing, 
 and that I would go through it without blame or 
 blemish ; and, to me, the purest love of this girl would 
 be blame and blemish.' 7 
 
 He dropped the ribbon from between his fingers, 
 and placed his hand upon the arm of his chair. 
 
 " And now, sir, 7 ' said Gay, " how do you like your 
 train of thought ? 77 
 
 Stratford answered slowly. " I am not sure/ 7 he 
 said, " but that it might be of advantage for you to 
 take up your studies again ; at least to a moderate 
 extent. At any rate, as you so much desire it, it may 
 be well to make the trial. Of course I shall be much 
 pleased to drop in here from time to time and give 
 you all the assistance that I can/ 7 
 
 Then, after some inquiries in regard to Mrs. Justin, 
 and some messages for her, he took leave of Gay, 
 and went away with a cold face and a hot and 
 troubled heart. 
 
 " My work is done, 77 he said to himself. u Yes, 77 he 
 reasserted, as he clinched his fist, " it is done, done, 
 done ! 77 
 
 When Mrs. Justin returned home, she disapproved 
 entirely of what Gay told her Mr. Stratford had 
 
372 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 advised. Indeed she spoke a little petulantly about 
 it. " I cannot imagine what he could have been think- 
 ing of,"- she said. " Instead of being well enough to 
 study, you seem to me to be less able to endure any 
 sort of work than you were some days ago. I shall 
 allow no studying ; you may be sure of that." 
 
 Gay was lying back in the library chair, her novel 
 in her lap, open at the same pages which had been 
 turned down on the table when Stratford had left her 
 an hour before. " You mustn't find fault with Mr. 
 Stratford," she said. " I advised him to advise me as 
 he did, and I told him I hoped he would sometimes 
 come and help me in the old way. He said he would, 
 and I don't think he minded the trouble at all. I 
 don't think he minded much either way. He is 
 always very good." 
 
 " Gay," said Mrs. Justin, " have you been talking a 
 very great deal ? Why do you close your eyes in that 
 way while you speak to me ? " 
 
 "I don't know," said Gay. " I can't explain exactly 
 how I feel. I am not hungry ; I can't think of any- 
 thing in particular that I care for. I have been trying 
 to rouse myself up by thinking how I am wasting my 
 time, but I don't believe I care just now whether I 
 am wasting my time or not. I don't know exactly 
 why, but this world seems to me an aimless sort of 
 place." 
 
 Mrs. Justin gazed tenderly and kindly on the face 
 of her young friend. " But it would be an easy mat- 
 ter, my dear, to make it a world full of purpose." 
 
 "I suppose so," answered Gay, closing her eyes 
 again as she languidly clasped her hands above her 
 head. 
 
CHAPTER XXXII 
 
 was now enjoying what 
 might be called a regenerated success. 
 The total cessation of business dur- 
 ing the alterations had given the 
 public time to forget all about the 
 boycotting troubles as well as the 
 decadence of the establishment during the adminis- 
 tration of Enoch Bullripple, while the great improve- 
 ments now seen in the restaurant brought it not only 
 its old customers but an abundance of new ones. 
 The cooks, in their caps, baked, boiled, and broiled 
 with enthusiasm and content ; the waiters, in their 
 jackets and aprons, gave solicitous attention to the 
 desires of every comer; and John People stood be- 
 hind his new desk, with his form as round, his carriage 
 as upright, and his hair as smoothly brushed as of 
 yore. But upon his brow there was more of cheer- 
 fulness and less of resignation. Some of this change 
 arose from the fact that John was now a partner 
 in the concern a partner in a very small degree 
 in fact, but still a partner 5 and it was not neces- 
 sary to be so much resigned when what he did 
 was partly for his own benefit. It is probable, 
 although John would not have admitted it, that his 
 increase of cheerfulness was due in a very great part 
 32 3 ? 3 
 
374 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 to his total loss of Matilda Stull. John's attachment 
 to this young lady had been very wearing upon him. 
 When hope lent him no assistance his progress was 
 slow and painful, and when she gave him a helping- 
 hand she carried him along entirely too fast j he lost 
 his breath, his legs became weak. It was well for 
 him that he was stopped in time ; now his breath was 
 full and regular, his pace moderate, and his legs were 
 strong. 
 
 There was a new refrigerator, and in one corner 
 there frequently stood a plate containing a plump, 
 fat mutton-chop, a piece of tenderloin, or a choice 
 veal-cutlet ; seldom did it hold a sweet-bread or bit 
 of dainty game, for Miss Burns was the owner of a 
 vigorous appetite and a moderate purse. This young 
 lady was now an habitual customer of Vatoldi's. 
 There was something about the place which made a 
 meal in any other restaurant extremely unsatisfactory 
 to her ; and if, for any reason, a day passed without 
 her coming there, John was sure to drop in at the 
 store and inquire about her health. 
 
 Miss Burns enjoyed more than the ordinary advan- 
 tages of Vatoldi's, for John made it his business to 
 see that her preference for that place was not detri- 
 mental to her fortune. From the amount due on the 
 little bill which she presented to him he invariably 
 deducted a certain percentage. To this the young 
 lady frequently demurred and shook her head, but 
 John, who had always something else to do, and who 
 was not in the habit of talking much to customers at 
 the desk, passed over her objections with a smile and 
 gave his attention to the something else. Miss Burns 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 376 
 
 would have demurred still more had she known that 
 John never failed to make up the deficit in her pay- 
 ments out of his own pocket. She ought to have 
 supposed this, but young ladies who are thinking of 
 Johns do not always think of everything else. 
 
 The time came, however, when John felt that he 
 must explain this financial method ; and one evening, 
 when the diners at Vatoldi's had all finished their 
 meals, he called on Miss Burns at her boarding-house. 
 
 " I am sorry," said John, when he had explained 
 the object of his visit, "that you ever thought it 
 worth while to say anything about those little dis- 
 counts, for the matter is really of no consequence at 
 all. You see, I have a share in the business." 
 
 "Oh, yes/' said Miss Burns, "I always supposed 
 that." 
 
 " Yes/' said John, " and people have thought I 
 owned a good deal bigger part of it than is really the 
 truth. But that's neither here nor there, and don't 
 hurt anybody. Now, it is to my interest to make the 
 restaurant as pleasant a place as I can to everybody, 
 and if I have any particular friend who finds it con- 
 venient to come there, I'm sure I ought to make it 
 pleasant for her. And I leave it to yourself to say if 
 it is not pleasanter to feel that you're partly taking 
 lunch with a friend not entirely, for perhaps you 
 wouldn't do that, but partly than to always sit 
 down to an out-and-out bought meal ? " 
 
 Miss Burns was crocheting an afghan. It was a 
 good-sized one, big enough to cover a lounge which 
 would be long enough for a gentleman to lie down 
 upon. She got the wools at cost price from the store 
 
376 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 in which she was employed, and could, therefore, af- 
 ford to make a fine large afghan. It had three plain 
 dark green stripes, and two Roman stripes of bright 
 and variegated colors. She was working on one of 
 the Roman stripes now. 
 
 " That would be very nice," she said, " if one came 
 to visit, but then you know I don't come to visit you." 
 
 John was about to ask, "Not even partly?" but, 
 being a slow speaker, he had time to think that it 
 would not do to intimate anything like that. 
 
 " And you know," continued Miss Burns, working 
 a thread of dark blue into her stripe, " that it isn't 
 right to have a gentleman regularly giving you things, 
 especially your daily food 5 though, of course, you 
 only do it partly ; but that is what it comes to." 
 
 John passed his hand over his brow, and then turn- 
 ing his chair so as more directly to face Miss Burns, 
 he put his right elbow upon the table at which they 
 sat, and, intently gazing into her face as he spoke, 
 he said : "I am sorry your mind is made up in such 
 a way that you don't like to accept a little hospital- 
 ity from a friend, not because of what it is, for it 
 really amounts to nothing at all, but only because 
 it comes regular. But what would you say to a 
 friend who would give you not only part of your 
 lunch, but all of it ? And not only your lunch, but 
 your breakfast and dinner, and a supper too if you 
 were inclined that way ; and not only week days, but 
 Sundays, and every day; and who would give you, 
 besides, every frock you wore, your shoes, your bon- 
 nets, gloves, umbrellas, and trimmings, and every- 
 thing needful from hair-pins to cloaks ? " 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 377 
 
 As John spoke thus, Miss Burns's complexion, 
 which was usually a little pallid, began to assume the 
 hue of some pale pink wool which lay in her basket, 
 but she did not speak, nor look up from her work, 
 and John went on : 
 
 "And what would you say if, every time you 
 wanted anything, whether it was to wear, or to eat, 
 or to use in a house, or for sickness or health, or for 
 journeys, or for friends in trouble, or for your own 
 pleasures and joys and comforts, you went to this 
 friend and you took them from him ? " 
 
 Miss Burns's complexion had been gradually chang- 
 ing from the color of the pink wool to that of a ball 
 of ashen gray hue which also lay in the basket. A 
 sickening fear came over her that she might have 
 mistaken the significance of John's words. 
 
 " Do you mean Providence ? " she asked. 
 
 " No, me," said John. 
 
 The color of the brightest scarlet in Miss Burns's 
 basket now flushed into her face. " That would be 
 very nice," she presently said ; and no Berlin wool 
 could be softer than her tone. 
 
 JOHN PEOPLE was a straightforward man of busi- 
 ness with a conscience, and when everything had 
 been satisfactorily arranged between Miss Burns and 
 himself, he deemed it his duty to inform his principal 
 that he was going to be married. Seldom before had 
 Mr. Stull been so thoroughly angry. John had been 
 forgiven for the sins of his uncle and had been again 
 taken into dignified favor, but the vile and treacherous 
 action which he now proposed raised against him the 
 
378 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 wildest storm of Mr. StulFs indignation. What would 
 a secret be worth an overwhelmingly important 
 secret in the hands of a newly married man ! With 
 John as a bachelor and Mr. Stull expected that his 
 sense of honor and duty to his employer would keep 
 him such the secret was safe; but with a young 
 wife secrecy might as well be blown to the winds and 
 the bank president advertise in the daily papers that 
 he was prepared to furnish the public with refresh- 
 ments at his restaurant known as Vatoldi's. John's 
 intentions might be honorable, but his wife would 
 worm the secret out of him, and the world would soon 
 know all. Better that John should die than marry ! 
 Had Mr. Stull lived two hundred years before, he 
 would have slain his manager on the spot. 
 
 This blow to Mr. Stull was aggravated by the fact 
 that his mind was beginning to assume its normal 
 condition of august tranquillity. All his branches of 
 business were now proceeding to his entire satisfac- 
 tion, and Enoch Bullripple, the only present thorn in 
 his side, promised soon to become an insignificant 
 prickle. The Western heirs of the Cherry Bridge farms 
 had been informed of the nature of their claims, and 
 Mr. Turby, who desired to act as their agent as well as 
 that of Mr. Stull, had written to them that there was 
 every reason to believe that the matter could be set- 
 tled with but little loss of time and the sale of the 
 property ordered for the benefit of the heirs. Mr. 
 StulPs plans were all made. He would buy both 
 farms, not in his own name, but in that of a Mineral 
 Development Company which he would organize. In 
 the course of time this purchase would probably 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 379 
 
 prove a good investment. Enoch Bullripple would 
 be ejected from the farm he now held, but, as he pos- 
 sessed Mr. StulPs secret, his subsequent treatment 
 must be very prudently managed. Mr. Stull owned 
 some Western lands, and he would sell Enoch Bull- 
 ripple a small tract of these, securing himself by 
 mortgage. He would then, if necessary, assist the 
 old man to go out there and settle. The motive 
 for this great generosity would be ascribed to Mr. 
 StulPs interest in John People. With Enoch Bull- 
 ripple out in Idaho, and under obligation, Mr. Stull 
 would feel that he had punished the cunning villainy 
 of the old farmer without endangering his secret. 
 
 But now John's announcement had banished every 
 trace of august tranquillity. Mr. StulPs anger almost 
 overcame him. Anathemas, reproaches, and denun- 
 ciations crowded to his lips, but in the midst of his 
 indignation he felt the necessity for prudence. Even 
 so faithful a worm as John might turn. 
 
 " I shall say nothing to you now/ 7 he growled ; " I 
 will speak about this another time." 
 
 It would have been utterly impossible for Miss 
 Matilda Stull to choose a more unsuitable moment 
 than the evening of that day in which to announce 
 to her father her engagement to Mr. Crisman. Mr. 
 Stull was in the library of his spacious city mansion, 
 a room furnished with everything that the library of 
 a gentleman of wealth and culture should contain. 
 The books on the shelves were most admirably 
 selected, many of them being imported expressly for 
 Mr. Stull, as he declined to introduce reprints into his 
 library. The furniture was heavy and elegant. The 
 
380 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 walls, the floors, the windows, showed that the room 
 had been furnished with thoughtful taste. Even 
 those things with which a gentleman solaces himself 
 in the intervals of study were not forgotten ; on a 
 pair of stag's horns over the mantelpiece hung sev- 
 eral handsome pipes, and an Eastern jar filled with 
 tobacco stood beneath them ; through the glass doors 
 of a buffet which stood in a corner could be seen 
 decanters and glasses ; and between two framed en- 
 gravings of hunting-scenes hung a pair of fencing- 
 foils and wire masks; while from a nickel-plated 
 hook was suspended flat against the wall a large 
 hammock of rare and beautiful workmanship which 
 might be stretched to another nickel-plated hook in 
 the opposite wall. 
 
 Yet in spite of all these appurtenances of elegant 
 and comfortable studiousness, this was a room to be 
 looked at, but not used. Mr. Stull was content to 
 own his books ; he did not care to read them, and the 
 cases were always locked. He did not smoke, and 
 the pipes on the stag's horns had never been used. 
 He tasted wine or spirits only on rare occasions, and 
 not a drop of their contents had ever been poured 
 from the decanters in his buffet. He was not a 
 fencer, and the foils and masks were fastened to the 
 wall. He was a man who did not lounge, and the 
 hammock on the hook was never stretched to _ the 
 opposite wall. The room was furnished so as to 
 appear as Mr. Stull thought a gentleman's library 
 and study ought to appear, but he used no part of it 
 except a small table under a gaslight, with a drawer 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 381 
 
 in which he kept writing materials, and a leather- 
 covered chair which always stood before it. 
 
 In this chair, and at this table, sat Mr. Stull 
 when his daughter entered the room. Paper lay 
 before him, and he had a pen in his hand, but he was 
 not writing; he was savagely thinking, and endeavor- 
 ing to form a plan of action in regard to John Peo- 
 ple. Miss Matilda saw that her father was in a very 
 bad humor, and yet she did not hesitate in her pur- 
 pose. She had not come to ask anything of her 
 august parent ; she had come to tell him something. 
 
 Mr. Stull looked up darkly, and encountered the 
 somewhat petite but extremely well-formed features 
 of Miss Matilda, upon which an expression of calm 
 determination seemed to have been set and screwed. 
 Without a preface, and with no sign of embarrass- 
 ment, she briefly announced the fact that she and Mr. 
 Charles Crisman, now in business in the mercantile 
 house of Irkton, Perrysteer & Co., had made an 
 engagement to marry each other. 
 
 Mr. Stull pushed back his chair with an impreca- 
 tion which seldom fell from his dignified lips. "What 
 do you mean ?" he exclaimed. 
 
 " I mean exactly what I have said," answered his 
 daughter Matilda. 
 
 Now rose J. Weatherby Stull in his wrath. In one 
 day two persons, wholly dependent on him for every- 
 thing they had in the world, had come to him and 
 declared their intention of making unlawful marriages, 
 for to him a marriage against his will was unlawful. 
 To the first offender he had, as yet, said nothing or 
 
382 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 done nothing ; but in this case, no caution, no pru- 
 dence was necessary, and he launched upon his 
 daughter the paternal thunder. He bade her never 
 to mention again to him this stranger of whom she 
 had spoken. He forbade her ever to speak to, or to 
 write to, or even to think of, said stranger; and 
 he ordered her to her room, there to remain until 
 he had determined how she should be punished, 
 and where she should be sent to be cured of this 
 most unnatural, most disrespectful, and most atro- 
 cious folly. 
 
 Miss Stull declined to do any of these things. 
 
 Mr. Stull arose. " Do you wish me to take you by 
 force to your room? Am I to be driven crazy by 
 members of my family and by hirelings ? Am I to 
 hear twice a day that these dependents upon me in- 
 tend, without my permission, and against my will, to 
 marry ? n 
 
 " Was the other one John People ? " asked Miss 
 Matilda. 
 
 Mr. Stull sat down as if he had been shot. 
 
 " John People ! " he gasped. " What is he to me ? " 
 
 " He manages your restaurant,' 7 calmly replied his 
 daughter, "and I have reason to believe that he 
 wants to marry." 
 
 Mr. Stull sat and looked steadfastly at his daughter. 
 Not a word did he speak, and it might almost be said 
 not a thought did he think. His involuntary muscles 
 and functions went on with their work, but every 
 faculty, physical or mental, over which he ordinarily 
 exercised volition was at a standstill. In only one 
 way did he give any evidence of his ordinary reason- 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 383 
 
 ing powers. He presently turned to look towards 
 the library door. 
 
 "Oh, that's all right," said Miss Matilda. "I shut 
 it when I came in. I intended to speak of this 
 restaurant business before long," she went on to say, 
 " and I may as well do it now as at any other time, 
 for it is a matter which concerns Mr. Crisman and 
 myself as much as it does you. I began to suspect 
 you had something to do with Vatoldi's when you 
 used so often to urge mother and me to go there, and 
 made a point of it especially on those days when you 
 knew we were going shopping with the carriage. 
 Mother never thought anything about it, but it struck 
 me that you wouldn't take so much interest in a place 
 of that sort if you didn't make something out of it. 
 At first I supposed you had merely put some money 
 into the concern, but I got into the habit of watching 
 you when you were sitting in your regular place at 
 the upper end of the room where you could see every- 
 thing, and if ever a man looked like the proprietor 
 of an establishment, you looked like the proprietor 
 of Vatoldi's. I remember one day that two young 
 men came in and sat down with their hats on, and 
 John People was so busy he didn't see them ; but you 
 looked at him just as you look at our two little girls 
 in church, and the instant he caught your eye you 
 told him, just as plainly as if you had spoken, to 
 attend to those two men, which he immediately did. 
 And then, when the strike began there, and the boy- 
 cotting, and all that sort of thing, and I saw how you 
 were troubled, that stamped and sealed the matter in 
 my mind. I knew very well that you would never 
 
384 THE HUNDEEDTH MAN. 
 
 concern nor worry yourself so much about a business 
 that didn't belong to you. Still I didn't know whether 
 you were only a partner or sole proprietor, but when 
 I saw John People up in the country this summer, I 
 asked him if the restaurant belonged to one person 
 or a firm, and he answered, 'One person/ and im- 
 mediately changed the conversation. He had no idea 
 what his words meant to me, but he might just as 
 well have said, l Your father is the proprietor. 7 I kept 
 this little bit of knowledge entirely to myself, know- 
 ing it would be of use some day. I think it is the 
 first really valuable possession I ever acquired entirely 
 by my own exertions, and I am sure it comes in very 
 well now. If you had not shown so much objection 
 to my marriage with Mr. Crisman, I should not have 
 mentioned it at present. But I should have spoken 
 of it before long, so it does not matter. I won't say 
 anything more this evening, but will leave you to 
 think over the subject of my engagement. I will say, 
 though, that Mr. Crisman is a very genteel and stylish 
 young gentleman, and that mother is entirely satisfied 
 with him. You know the house he is in is one of the 
 best in the city, and there isn't a speck of fault of any 
 kind to be found with him. As to money, he can 
 make it fast enough if he is properly helped." 
 
 With this remark Miss Matilda left the room. 
 
 What was in Mr. Stull's mind during the next 
 three days nobody knew. Even his wife, although 
 she saw that the soul of her consort was a storm- 
 center of passion, heard nothing from him except an 
 occasional thunder-clap of indignation concerning 
 her complicity in Matilda's engagement. That there 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 385 
 
 was some reason greater than this for the wrath that 
 raged within him was plain enough to her, but she had 
 no idea what it was, and her daughter would not tell her. 
 
 To Miss Matilda, her father spoke not a word dur- 
 ing this period. He ignored her. He did not even 
 look at her. In fact, he had very little to say to 
 any one. When he was at home he shut himself 
 up for the greater part of the time in his library, 
 and when John came to him at the bank he spoke 
 as few words as possible, and made no allusion to 
 his manager's intended marriage. John was con- 
 tent to wait awhile for his employer's decision, but 
 he had determined, no matter what the decision 
 might be, that he would marry Miss Burns. 
 
 But Matilda was of a different turn of mind. She 
 was not willing to wait more than three days for a 
 decision concerning her affairs. At the end of that 
 time she went to her father's study, where she knew 
 he had shut himself up. When she entered she 
 closed the door quickly behind her and stood by it, 
 her hand still on the knob. Her father on seeing her 
 sprang so suddenly to his feet that he nearly over- 
 turned the table before him. 
 
 " Now, don't shout out anything, father," she said, 
 " for old Miss Manderson is in the parlor with mother, 
 and if you begin that way I shall open the door, and 
 if she hears you abusing your daughter the whole 
 church will soon know it. As you won't speak to me, 
 I have come to speak to you. I have been thinking 
 over this matter, and I have worked out in my mind 
 the very best things that you can do. In the first 
 place, you must give up that restaurant business; it 
 33 
 
386 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 isn't fair to me, nor to Mr. Crisman, nor to mother 
 and the girls, nor to yourself, for that matter, that 
 you should keep it any longer. The secret is sure to 
 be found out, and very soon, if John People gets 
 married, which I know he will, and think he ought to, 
 besides, for the young woman is very suitable. I have 
 bought things of her several times in order to find 
 out what sort of person she is. If that restaurant 
 matter is made public while you are still in the busi- 
 ness it will ruin us all as far as society is concerned, 
 and you have no right to bring anything of that kind 
 upon Mr. Crisman and me, to say nothing of your 
 wife and two young daughters. I don't want to seem 
 hard, but I have got to speak the truth. If it is found 
 out after you are out of the business it will be bad 
 enough, but it will be a different affair. I know very 
 well that in this city it doesn't matter much what a 
 man has been, but it matters very much indeed what he 
 is. You can either sell out to John People, or to some- 
 body else, and take a mortgage on what he can't pay 
 cash for, so you will still have an income from the 
 place without having anything to do with it. And 
 the sooner you get rid of it, the safer and better it 
 will be for us all." 
 
 During this speech Mr. Stull had remained stand- 
 ing, and at two or three points his lips and face had 
 moved as if the provocation to speak had been 
 stronger than the resolution he had taken to hold no 
 converse with this unnatural daughter ; but, as was 
 usually the case with him, his resolution triumphed, 
 and he remained sternly silent. No one but his 
 daughter Matilda could have forced a communication 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 387 
 
 of any kind upon him, but he knew well that unless 
 he was willing to take the consequences of a very dis- 
 agreeable scene, which he was not, he would be 
 obliged to listen to her. 
 
 There was another reason why, in spite of the rage 
 which boiled within him, he stood and listened to his 
 daughter : he was keenly interested in what she was 
 saying. 
 
 Miss Matilda continued : " As for Mr. Crisman and 
 me, the best thing to do is to consider that matter as 
 settled, because, having made up my mind to marry 
 him, of course I shall do it. If you ever intend to 
 give me any money at all, there can be no better way 
 to do it than to let Mr. Crisman have it, and put it 
 into his business and be made a partner. He told me 
 that the ( Co. 7 is composed of persons belonging to the 
 house who have been taken in, in that way, and he 
 says a partnership is open to him whenever he has 
 the money. That will not only help me to become a 
 rich woman, but will also give me a position in soci- 
 ety, for being the wife of a partner in a leading mer- 
 cantile firm is very different from being the wife of a 
 mere salesman. And you know that my position in 
 society will be as much to you and all the family as it 
 is to me. That is all I have to say, and if you have 
 made up your mind not to speak to me for a week, I 
 don't object to waiting for the three or four days that 
 are left; but if it is for a longer time than that, you'd 
 better write to me what you decide to do. And now 
 111 go and send somebody to see if she can clean the 
 carpet of that ink which you didn't know you spilled 
 when you jumped up so suddenly. 7 ' 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII 
 
 N several occasions, moderately near 
 each other, Mr. Stratford went to see 
 Gay Armatt, and, together, they took 
 up the old books and studies. But 
 the reading and the discussing did not 
 go on in the old way. Gay had lost 
 her interest in her work and in her future, and seemed 
 to have forgotten that she had had aspirations. If 
 study did not actually tire her or bore her, at least 
 the earnest enthusiasm with which she used to pursue 
 it was entirely gone. Stratford was not slow to see 
 this, and gradually, and always with sufficient reason, 
 he lengthened the intervals between his visits to Gay ; 
 and then, taking advantage of standing invitations 
 from some of his old friends, he went on a visit of a 
 few weeks to Boston and Cambridge. 
 
 He was glad to go. Not only did he tell himself 
 that his work with Gay was done, but she now told 
 him, though not in words, that such work as he had 
 been doing was done. The friends whom he visited 
 did not find him quite the lively companion he used 
 to be, and this proved to them that summers and 
 autumns spent in quiet, sparsely settled mountain 
 regions are not beneficial to the spirits of a man. 
 One afternoon in Cambridge he was invited to attend 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 389 
 
 a Thursday tea given by the young ladies of the Har- 
 vard Annex, which invitation he promptly declined. 
 The friend who had proposed to accompany him was 
 much surprised. 
 
 " I thought you took an interest in the higher edu- 
 cation of girls," she said, " and would like to see what 
 we are doing at the Annex." 
 
 "That is all very true in the past tense," he an- 
 swered, " but you really cannot expect a person always 
 to take the same interest in a thing." 
 
 Mr. Arthur Thorne, however, made it a point to 
 visit at Mrs. Justin's house as often as he could find 
 any reasonable excuse for so doing. He saw a good 
 deal of Gay, and, in a measure, his society interested 
 her. He gave her no law lessons, nor did he talk upon 
 any subject fifteen seconds after he fancied that she 
 had lost interest in it, striving always to find out 
 what would best please her. He was often able to 
 engage her attention pleasantly, and after a time she 
 became rather glad to see him. Every day he grew 
 more and more in love with her, but of this Gay knew 
 nothing. Had she been any one but herself, or even 
 had she been truly herself, she might have seen it, but 
 just now her mental as well as her physical powers 
 were working slowly and feebly. 
 
 Mrs. Justin perceived plainly enough that Thome's 
 love for Gay was becoming devotion, and this knowl- 
 edge greatly troubled her. But there was nothing 
 for her to do. She could not, with any show of rea- 
 son, throw obstacles in the way of the young man's 
 visits, for she had no right to constitute herself the 
 guardian of Mr. Stratford's interests, and these inter- 
 
390 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 ests formed the only possible reason why Arthur 
 Thome's course should in any way be obstructed. If 
 she could have used obstacles at all, they would have 
 been piled up in the present path of Mr. Stratford, 
 who was wandering away from what was most desir- 
 able, just, and right, not only for himself but for Gay, 
 and even for poor Mr. Thorne, who was blindly and 
 ardently striving for something which she was quite 
 certain he could never possess. 
 
 One afternoon when Mr. Thorne called he was told 
 that Miss Armatt was not well, and was confined to her 
 room ; and the next day, and the next, and a good many 
 days afterwards, and often several times a day, he 
 came and made inquiries, but he could not see her. 
 
 There was something the matter with Gray, believed 
 to be malarial, which greatly prostrated her, but the 
 disease was one in which the attending physician 
 found very little of what might be called pronuncia- 
 tion. The malaria, which is so generally believed to 
 be at the bottom of all disorders which do not assume 
 definite and recognizable forms, declined to put forth 
 any point which might advantageously be laid hold 
 of. To add to this difficulty in the way of the phy- 
 sician, Gay would do nothing to assist him. All his 
 appeals for cooperation on her part were totally una- 
 vailing. Food, medicine, and other agents for restor- 
 ing health and strength had proved of so little service 
 that after having lost her interest in them she seemed 
 also to have lost interest in the effect they were de- 
 signed to produce. 
 
 Mrs. Justin gave up all other pursuits of her life 
 and devoted herself to the nursing of Gay. The 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 391 
 
 relatives in Maryland were written to, and the mar- 
 ried sister came to this city, but was obliged soon to 
 return to her home and her family of small children. 
 Other doctors were called in to consult with Gay's 
 attending physician, but still that sly, cunning, and 
 malicious malaria refused to come forth from the 
 roots of Gray's energy and life, among which it ap- 
 peared to have intwined and intrenched itself. 
 
 Stratford came home from Boston, and on him fell 
 not only the heavy weight of sorrow at the sad con- 
 dition of his young friend, but sundry sharp stings 
 from his own conscience and an amount of reproach 
 and condemnation from Mrs. Justin for which he was 
 not at all prepared. The time had passed, she believed, 
 for ordinary censure or admonition. Stratford ought 
 to be made to feel that on him alone depended Gay's 
 restoration to health. 
 
 " Whatever else is the matter with Gay," she said, 
 " I believe that her life is now ebbing away from her 
 because she does not care for it. This world is empty 
 to her. You made it empty, and you can fill it. Even 
 now, if you become to her what you used to be, and 
 give her the hopes which I am sure you once gave 
 her, I believe she will want to live." 
 
 Stratford was much moved. " I cannot believe," 
 he said, u that what you say is true. But even if it 
 were true, and Gay's life depended on me, I could not 
 save her as you propose without being false to her 
 and false to myself ." 
 
 Mrs. Justin looked almost angrily at him for a 
 moment. " Then," she said, " you should not have 
 taken from her the man who did love her." 
 
392 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 Stratford walked home, his heart chilled and pained. 
 The first thought that had come to him after Mrs. 
 Justin's last words was that it was better that Gay 
 should die than to be married to such a man as Cris- 
 man. But now he asked himself : Was it better ? 
 Hard, cold reason did not deny him her support, but 
 the support was neither cheering nor bracing. " Can 
 it be true," the other question came to him again and 
 again, "that I am the only one who can make her 
 care to live 1 " He had believed that Arthur Thome 
 could be such a one; but now, when things were 
 coming to him very bare and true and sharp, he could 
 not say to himself that he had unreservedly hoped 
 that Arthur Thorne, or any other man, would take Gay 
 Armatt wholly to himself. There is a selfishness that 
 sometimes lives within our noblest impulses without 
 OUT knowing it. Some sudden burst of light may 
 make the impulse transparent and show us the little 
 hard stone lying at the heart of it. Some such light 
 now broke upon Stratford, but he saw nothing 
 plainly. All that was clear to him was that he must 
 assert again and again : " I will be true to myself, and, 
 thereby, true to her ! " 
 
 Two days after this, when Arthur Thorne came as 
 usual in the afternoon to Mrs. Justin's house, he met 
 Stratford, who was just leaving. 
 
 " You cannot see Mrs. Justin," said the latter, " she 
 has been up the greater part of the night, and is now 
 asleep.' 7 
 
 " How is Miss Armatt f " asked Arthur. 
 
 " They tell me she is weaker to-day than she was 
 yesterday," answered Stratford. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 393 
 
 "And that is what they said yesterday/ 7 said 
 Thome. 
 
 " Yes,' 7 said Stratford ; and turning away his face, 
 he made a step towards the door. 
 
 Arthur laid his hand upon his arm. " Tell me," he 
 said, in words low-spoken but trembling with force, 
 " can it be that I am never to see her again ? " 
 
 Stratford turned and put his hands upon his friend's 
 shoulders and looked for a moment in his face. Then 
 he said, speaking slowly: "I have been to see her 
 physician this morning, and I am convinced he has 
 given up all hope of a rally of her strength. My dear 
 boy, I am afraid that you will never see her again." 
 And with that he went away, leaving Arthur standing 
 in the hall. 
 
 The two men were not rivals : they loved each 
 other and were now especially drawn together ; but 
 it was impossible for Stratford to talk longer with 
 Arthur. The half -hour before, Mrs. Justin had come 
 to him, and, putting a cold white hand in his, had 
 said: "We must think no more about those things 
 of which we have been talking. It is now too late." 
 She did not say, " even for you," but there was that 
 in her large, sad eyes which carried these words 
 straight into his heart. 
 
 Arthur Thome stood in the hall until a maid- 
 servant came to him ; and knowing so well who he 
 was and why he came, she gently told him that the 
 nurse, who was preparing some broth for Miss Gay 
 just now, would stop on her way upstairs, and might 
 be able to tell him something about her. And she 
 opened the drawing-room door and left him. 
 
394 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 Without answer, Arthur walked into the room, 
 and, after a few steps, stopped, his eyes upon the 
 floor. He was waiting for no one; he expected no 
 one j he stood there without a purpose j he knew 
 nothing in the world but that he should never see 
 Gay again. 
 
 This young man was truly, powerfully, overwhelm- 
 ingly in love. Since he had not been able to see Gay, 
 he had loved her more than when he had been with 
 her. His soul reached out towards her with an agony 
 of craving that only a wildly loving heart can under- 
 stand. His love was based upon no hopes, no expec- 
 tations, no purposes ; it had nothing to do with the 
 future, nothing to do with the past ; it was, simply, 
 that now, this very moment, he loved her ; his soul 
 lived in her. And now he knew that never again 
 should he hear her voice, never look into her eyes, 
 never see her, in life again ! 
 
 His blood ran fire and ice. He knew it was true 
 that, although she was not dead, she had gone from 
 him. He had no rights ; he was nothing to her ; he 
 had never made himself anything to her. Why should 
 any one allow him to see her again ? To all intents 
 and purposes he was an outside stranger. He would 
 never see her again ! 
 
 Suddenly his body trembled. His right hand 
 stretched itself open, and then shut close and tight. 
 His soul rose up in rebellion. This thing could not 
 be. Heaven and earth might say so, but he would 
 not admit it. It must be that he should again see 
 Gay. She was not his Gay, but she possessed him 
 wholly and utterly. He must see her again in life 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 395 
 
 were it only one glance at a tip of a curl of her 
 hair. 
 
 Arthur Thorne was the most conventional of men, 
 but down about him fell his conventionality as if it 
 had been shaken to pieces by an earthquake. 
 
 He put his hat upon a chair j he listened ; he knew 
 exactly what he was about ; every faculty rushed to 
 the aid of the one action for which he now lived. 
 He knew where Gay was. Mrs. Justin had told him 
 of the large bright room at the back of the house 
 adjoining the young girl's chamber, where, upon a 
 lounge from which she could look out at the sky, she 
 lay through the livelong day, thinking less, eating 
 less, living less, as each day passed on. " It may be 
 this is the one moment," Arthur said to himself, " in 
 which I can see her. The nurse will come up, Mrs. 
 Justin may awake, the relatives are expected. Now ! " 
 
 "With noiseless steps he passed along the hall, then 
 up the one flight of softly carpeted stairs to a door 
 with a portiere partly drawn across it. He looked 
 through the narrow opening into the large bright 
 room in which of late his thoughts had so constantly 
 dwelt. And, O Heavens ! there was Gay, upon a 
 lounge, close to the window, the sunlight falling on 
 the soft folds of her lightly tinted dress and on the 
 bright colors of a shawl thrown partly over her. It 
 was Gay ! He saw her ! 
 
 The young girl lay perfectly motionless, her face 
 slightly turned towards the window, her half-open 
 eyes gazing out into the bright air but looking upon 
 nothing. Her beautiful face was not changed in 
 contour j all the roundness and softness and delicacy 
 
396 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 of outline were there, but the color had faded away. 
 Her light-brown almost golden hair curled and 
 waved, as of old, upon her forehead, and a mass of it 
 was thrown to one side upon a cushion on which her 
 head was resting. Her little hands were clasped 
 together under her shawl, and they were very thin, 
 and her form, under its soft drapery, was thin and 
 weak and almost done with everything. 
 
 Gay, herself, was nearly done with everything. It 
 was not a malady of the soul or of the affections 
 which had prostrated this young girl, and under 
 which her life was wasting. It was, indeed, that 
 malignant and subtle spirit of disease for which the 
 doctors had been seeking, and which would, long ago, 
 have come forth, its head bowed for the death-stroke, 
 had Gay brought up her forces against it. But she 
 brought up none. Medicine and skill can do nothing 
 without the assistance of vital force, and the only 
 warfare in which Gay's young soul was able to en- 
 gage seemed directed against her vital forces. All 
 that would sustain her body or her mind had become 
 repulsive to her. Her soul had ceased to be hungry, 
 and the example of her soul was followed by her body. 
 
 This girl had been true to every normal impulse of 
 her nature. She had had a purpose in life, noble, intel- 
 lectual, of high aim. But this had not been all. She 
 had loved. Thus stood her woman's nature, equipped 
 for the battle of life. But love had been taken from 
 her, roughly and suddenly, and the manner of its 
 taking had been such that it had gone, absolutely 
 and utterly. There had been nothing to take the 
 place of this love. The warmest, truest friendship 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 397 
 
 could not do it. Already a true friendship, un- 
 ripened into love, had shown its powerlessness. 
 What was left was a half-soul ; and girls like Gay, 
 with half -souls, die. 
 
 Gay was in a dream. It was a day-dream, although 
 not one which sprang from her own volition. She 
 was too weak for that now. Whatever came into her 
 mind wandered there of its own accord; and the 
 dream that now came to her was one of earlier days, 
 of the days when her life began to fill with purpose 
 and meaning, and yet days that were so near they 
 scarcely seemed to belong to the past. Into this 
 dream came all her youth and happiness; and so 
 came love. But it was not a vision of flowing 
 streams and bending shades, of warm-tinted, sun- 
 set skies, of the majesty of mountains, or the 
 wide-spreading verdure of the fields. No kindred 
 soul breathed to her words of high intent and stir- 
 ring hope. She wandered in thoughtless, bright con- 
 tent with the young Charley, she first had known and 
 loved. The moonlight of their walks fell upon city 
 squares and parks. They talked and laughed in the 
 midst of walls and windows, cold ceilings and un- 
 yielding floors, but the spirit of young love made 
 these as delicate of tint and tone, as odorous of per- 
 fume, and as soft of footfall as white clouds in the 
 clear blue sky, the tender blossoms of the grape, and 
 the soft grass upon the fields. This was the early, 
 fresh, and blossom love, and as it first showed the 
 signs of woman's life within her, so memory, wander- 
 ing freely, went back to it and sat beside it, finding it 
 purer, sweeter, more enduring than all else. 
 34 
 
398 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 And thus the young girl lay, knowing no present 
 and no future ; lost even to all the past except that 
 she was simply happy, and held the boy, Charley, by 
 the hand. 
 
 Suddenly she felt a touch upon her shoulder. A 
 man was kneeling by her. 
 
 " I could not help it," he said. " I saw you, and I 
 could not keep myself from coming to you. Will you 
 not speak to me, dear Gay ? n 
 
 She slowly turned her head towards him, and her 
 large eyes opened wide, but in them was no surprise, 
 no questioning. Just now dreams were to her like 
 real life, and real life like a dream. She wondered 
 not at either. 
 
 "Mr. Thorne," she said, in a voice very low and 
 perfectly calm. 
 
 " Yes," said Arthur, his words trembling with pas- 
 sionate emotion which he was struggling to subdue, 
 " it is I, and I came to tell you Heaven has given 
 me this chance, and I must tell you quickly. Gay, 
 I love you! I have loved you almost ever since I 
 knew you! And now, dear Gay, it nearly kills me " 
 
 The poor fellow could not speak his mind. His 
 fine sensibilities would not suffer him to say to Gay 
 that he could not let her die without knowing that he 
 loved her. But this is what he meant. 
 
 Gay looked at him very steadily and quietly. Her 
 mind was going back. "Was that the reason that 
 you taught me law ! " she said. 
 
 "It was the reason I lived," said Arthur. "It was 
 the reason for everything I thought, and everything 
 I did. O Gay, perhaps I ought to have told you 
 before, but then I did not think and afterwards 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 399 
 
 came the time when there was no opportunity. But 
 now I have this one chance. I know that you may 
 not care anything about me, but I could not help it ! 
 I must come and tell you how I love you, love you, 
 love you ! " 
 
 As he spoke tears came into his eyes, and some of 
 them rolled down his cheeks. Gay looked at him 
 with more interest than she had looked at anything 
 for days, but her manner was still very quiet and 
 apparently untouched by any emotion. 
 
 " Do you know," said she, " that I am not going to 
 live f 
 
 Thorne did not answer, but the expression that 
 came into his face showed, even to the listless mind 
 of Gay, that he knew it. 
 
 " It is a great pity," she said, her large eyes fixed 
 upon him, " that you should feel this way now." 
 
 " I feel so now," he said, " and I shall feel so always. 
 It don't make any difference what happens, I shall 
 feel so all my life always forever ! " 
 
 Gay still looked at him, but said nothing. Sud- 
 denly his manner changed. 
 
 " O Gay ! " he exclaimed in a tone almost wild with 
 importunity, " why will you die ? It is too terrible, 
 too dreadful ! Why will you not do everything to 
 make yourself live ? They tell me you do not fight 
 against Death. Why will you not rouse yourself up 
 and fight against it? For the sake of everybody who 
 loves you for the sake of this beautiful world for 
 your own sake, dear Gay ? " 
 
 She looked at him for a moment, a slight shade 
 of uncertainty upon her brow. For weeks she had 
 received from Mrs. Justin, from her doctor, from her 
 
400 > THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 attendants and friends, the most earnest and anxious 
 entreaties to battle against Death, but there was 
 nothing in Gray's nature to give response to these 
 prayers, and day by day they fell upon her ear colder 
 and more commonplace. But the words spoken by 
 Arthur Thorne, coming from him, and in this way, 
 and at this time, and with something behind them of 
 which her mind took cognizance but did not act upon, 
 seemed altogether different and novel. 
 
 " What do you mean ? w she asked. 
 
 Arthur did not answer. The words that came to 
 him were too many, too ordinary, too weak. His eyes 
 fell upon a tall, heavy flask, the sight of which struck 
 a pang to his heart. He knew it well. It contained a 
 strengthening and revivifying cordial which had been 
 ordered by Gay's doctor, and which Arthur, at Mrs. 
 Justin's request, had procured for her. This he had 
 done more than a week before, and as it now stood 
 between him and the light it told the tale of this 
 young girl's surrender. Its contents had scarcely 
 been tasted. 
 
 Arthur arose, and approached the table. He did 
 not speak; he could scarcely shape his thoughts. 
 The power of this remedy, upon which so much hope 
 and reliance had been placed, had never been tried. 
 Somewhere there was a cruel sin. He had made him- 
 self well aware of the nature of the cordial, for it 
 concerned Gay. Pouring a small quantity of the 
 liquid into a glass, he again knelt by the side of the 
 young girl. 
 
 " Will you not drink this ? he said. " It will help 
 you to fight Death. Dear Gay, do not refuse it ! n 
 And he held the glass towards her. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 401 
 
 She looked steadily into his eyes, and upon her lips 
 came a smile, faint and shadowy ; but no fainter nor 
 more shadowy than the interest in life and this world 
 that awoke within her. 
 
 " If you wish it so much, I will try," she said. 
 " But you must raise my head. 77 
 
 With the glass in one hand, Arthur passed the 
 other beneath her head. Her soft masses of silky 
 hair enveloped his hand, and some of it fell over his 
 wrist. It was Gay's head that lay in his open palm, 
 warm, round, and heavy. She could not lift it ; he 
 it was who should raise it! Every fine hair that 
 touched him seemed to send an electric thrill through- 
 out his soul and body ; it belonged to that dear Gay 
 whom he loved. 
 
 Slowly and gently he raised her and placed the 
 glass to her lips. She drank it, and then he tenderly 
 lowered her head and drew out his hand from her 
 hair. 
 
 Gay turned her eyes towards him with a full, earnest 
 gaze. " Thank you," she said, " and I think you had 
 better take some of it yourself. You are very pale." 
 
 That she should say it was enough. He rose to his 
 feet, po.ured out a glassful of the cordial and drank 
 it. Then he came back to the lounge. 
 
 "Do you feel better?" she said. 
 
 For a few moments Arthur could not speak, and, 
 when he did, his voice was husky and slightly tremu- 
 lous. That she should think of him ! 
 
 " Dear Gay," he said, " will you not let them give 
 it you ? Think of this dear world, and do not die. 
 And now I must go. Perhaps I have staid too long. 
 But I have seen you ! I have told you! " 
 
402 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 She drew out from tinder the shawl one of her thin 
 little hands, and Arthur clasped it in both of his own. 
 He was about to press upon it a passionate kiss, but 
 with a sudden effort he restrained himself. He had 
 told her ; that was all ; and he had no right to touch 
 her with his lips. His eyes filled with tears, and he 
 left the room. 
 
 When the nurse, who had experienced delaying 
 difficulties in the preparation of a delicacy with 
 which she designed to tempt whatever lingering trace 
 of appetite might yet remain with her young charge, 
 heard above her the quick closing of the front door, 
 she exclaimed : " There ! that gentleman has gone ! 
 But I can't say I'm sorry. It's a harder thing to 
 answer his questions now than it ever was before." 
 
 An hour or two afterwards she said to Mrs. Justin : 
 " I wish that young gentleman had staid, for I know 
 it would have pleased him wonderful to hear that 
 Miss Armatt took three tablespoonfuls of the broth 
 I made for her. How she suddenly came to have all 
 that appetite I can't imagine.' 7 
 
 Gay was then sleeping, and when she awoke Mrs. 
 Justin was sitting by her side. The eyes of the 
 young girl instinctively moved towards the window, 
 outside of which the air was still bright with the 
 light of day ; but suddenly she turned them on her 
 friend. 
 
 "Dear," she said, "don't you want to give me some 
 of that drink Mr. Thome poured out for me ? " 
 
 " Mr. Thorne ! " exclaimed Mrs. Justin. 
 
 " That is it," said Gay, glancing towards the table. 
 " He was very good, and I am glad I took it." 
 
CHAPTER XXXIV 
 
 our poor Gay had been suffi- 
 ciently aroused from her lethargy 
 of soul and body to make one feeble 
 stroke in the battle against Death, 
 the action and its result appeared 
 to interest her, and she made other 
 strokes with encouraging effect. Day 
 by day her arm grew stronger, her attitude more deter- 
 mined, until the enemy, from falling back little by 
 little, retreated altogether, accompanied by the insid- 
 ious ally who had incited him to the conquest of Gay's 
 young life. 
 
 To all Gay's friends this was a season of great 
 rejoicing, and to Mrs. Justin it was a resurrection. 
 She had watched the gradual death of the bright, 
 strong young friend she had known so well, and had 
 seen her utterly pass away, leaving in her stead a 
 helpless, listless, careless being whose living was not 
 life and of whom there was but little left to die. But 
 now Gay was once more the true Gay, not yet quite 
 her old self, but hour by hour approaching nearer to 
 that most lovable creation. 
 
 As she grew stronger her friends came to her; 
 and among them, Stratford. This friend, from the 
 moment he had heard of the change in Gay, had 
 
404 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 4fr 
 
 braced himself for action should she return to that 
 life which had been supposed lost to her. In that 
 event there must be no doubt, no indecision, no hesi- 
 tation ; his part must be chosen and must be enacted 
 steadfastly and honestly unto the end. 
 
 There was no hesitation, no doubt, no indecision. 
 He came to her as the friend of old, the adviser, the 
 helper, the master. These, and no more, he intended 
 ever to be. Without a question or a thought, Gay 
 seated herself at his feet. To her the action was 
 again as natural as when she had sat there before. 
 
 Arthur Thome came also to Gay; came earlier 
 than Stratford. He had told Mrs. Justin of that 
 memorable interview with the almost dying girl, and 
 he concealed nothing of what he had done, or felt, or 
 said. Mrs. Justin smiled sadly. Her heart was pained, 
 but she could not reproach him. If it should be that 
 he had given Gay back to her, he deserved gratitude 
 which could not be measured. She was ready to yield 
 him this, but she gave him no more. His hopes were 
 not her hopes. 
 
 When Gay was strong enough to come into the 
 library and sit in the easy-cushioned chair before 
 the tall wide window, Arthur, as has been said, was 
 among her earliest visitors. Nothing could have 
 induced him to deny himself this privilege, and yet 
 it was a hard thing for this young man to present 
 himself before this young girl. He had said all that 
 lover could say, but as a lover he must now say noth- 
 ing. What may burst forth from a full soul to one 
 whose life is ending must be repressed when that 
 life is slowly and feebly beginning again. He must 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 405 
 
 meet her as though that other meeting had not been, 
 and without knowing what effect his words had had 
 upon her. 
 
 Arthur had plunged into love's Rubicon, but he had 
 not crossed it. Chilling and dangerous as might be 
 its waters, he would make no stroke forwards until 
 the time had come for him to seek his fate upon the 
 other shore. 
 
 While Gay had been constantly in the mind of 
 Arthur, so into Gay's mind, as she quietly lay on her 
 lounge and in her chair during the happy hours when 
 in a slow and steady tide her health and strength 
 flowed back upon her, came thoughts of Mr. Thorne. 
 On that day when his voice had roused her from her 
 dream of girlhood and from her half -unconscious 
 gazing into the bright world of empty air beyond 
 her window, she had not wondered when she turned 
 and saw him at her side. The faculty of wonder had 
 gone to sleep or had died. All things to her were 
 commonplace and ordinary. But it was not long 
 before the recollection of that kneeling figure by her 
 side caused wonder to revive. At first she asked 
 herself why he had come to her? why it had been he 
 who had incited her to turn on Death and resist him ? 
 But this question she did not ask long; it answered 
 itself. She remembered well his words, and having 
 looked on his pale and earnest countenance, it was 
 impossible to forget it, or to misconstrue its mean- 
 ing. Then she asked herself, Why did he feel this 
 way? Thus questioning, musing, pondering, she 
 went back over her intercourse with Arthur Thorne, 
 called to mind this and that thing he had done or 
 
406 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 said, suited motives to his actions, or resolved his 
 actions back to motives, and so Arthur came often 
 and dwelt long in her thoughts without meeting with 
 any hustling or incommoding company. 
 
 The matter was now plain enough to her on his 
 side, but not at all plain on hers. Often and often 
 she tried to make it plain to herself on her side, but 
 she could not do it. She came to the conclusion 
 that this was something too hard for her just now, 
 and she gave up the attempt. One definite thing she 
 did for Mr. Thorne, she gave him a new position 
 in her mind. Up to thi^ time she had always looked 
 upon him as a Number Two. He was gentle; he 
 was considerate ; he was kindness itself ; he was 
 talented ; he had learned many things and he knew 
 how to think for himself; he was handsome, with 
 the bearing of a gentleman ; and in his soul she had 
 found many sympathies ; but, notwithstanding all 
 this, she had looked upon him as a Number Two. 
 But now there was a change. Speaking as he had 
 spoken, and feeling as he had felt, no matter why or 
 to what end, there was no one to whom Arthur 
 Thorne could stand second. 
 
 When the time came that she could see visitors the 
 heart of Gay was troubled. Of course he would come 
 to see her, and what would he do ? His presence 
 might be embarrassing, but then, on the other hand, 
 it would be so very strange if he did not come. What 
 would he say to her ? Would he look as he did when 
 she last saw him? As for herself what she should 
 say, or think, or do, she knew not. The whole 
 affair was very puzzling, and it depended so much 
 upon circumstances. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 407 
 
 When Gay's friends began to come to her, Mrs. 
 Justin never left her alone with visitors. Enthusi- 
 asms and draughts needed her watchful eye. She 
 too was anxious about Mr. Thorne, but when he 
 came he brought with him no cold accompaniment of 
 outer air, left behind him no open doors nor undrawn 
 portiere, and his manner was under the same quiet 
 restraint that it was wont to be. But his face was 
 very pale, and any stranger could have seen that his 
 interest in Gay's condition was deep and true. Gay 
 herself was a little pale at first, but this soon passed 
 away. When he had gone, she fell into a state of 
 wonder. Could it be true that all that had happened 
 which she remembered ? Or was it one of the queer 
 dreams which had come to her at that time ? But 
 after he had made her two or three visits, Gay began 
 to imagine that what she saw in him was an outer 
 crust of kind restraint and tender regard for her new 
 strength, and that there was something under this 
 crust which sometimes shook it, although so slightly 
 that perhaps no one knew it but herself. The pres- 
 ence of Mrs. Justin was a bar to words or emotion, 
 but Gay wondered that there was not the least little 
 bit of a sign that he remembered what he had said ; 
 if, indeed, he had ever said it. If he ever should 
 speak, would he show that he had repented having 
 been carried away by his sorrow that she was going 
 to die? Or would he think it well not to speak again ? 
 Or would he repeat what he had said ? 
 
 Gay was quite right when she thought she saw 
 beneath Arthur's quiet restraint some signs of inter- 
 nal commotion. In fact he was torn, he was almost 
 
408 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 riven ; he slept not by night, nor took aught of com- 
 fort in his life. He, too, questioned himself, but he 
 only asked : " What does she think of me ? What 
 does she expect of me ? " 
 
 One day, when Arthur was with the two ladies in 
 the library, Mrs. Justin was called away to receive a 
 visitor. Gay offered no opportunity to the embar- 
 rassment of silence, and began instantly to speak. 
 
 " Do you know, Mr, Thorne," she said, " that I have 
 a very funny idea about you ? I believe that you have 
 forgotten my name, and that you are ashamed to ask 
 anybody what it is. You don't address me by any 
 name whatever, and I sometimes fancy that while 
 you are sitting here you are going over the alphabet 
 in your mind, hoping in that way the name will come 
 to you, and I suppose that in such cases people gen- 
 erally slip too quickly over A, because it is the first 
 letter, and they are in such a hurry to get on to the 
 others." 
 
 Arthur drew closer to her. " Once," he said, speak- 
 ing very quickly, and in a low tone, " I called you by 
 a name which perhaps I had no right to use, but, until 
 I know that, I can never call you by any other. Do 
 you remember ? " 
 
 A tender glow came into Gay's cheeks and temples 
 as though the fair Hygeia had suddenly touched her 
 with a wand and sent into her veins the rich young 
 blood which once coursed through them. There was 
 a faint sparkle in her eyes, but this was hidden by 
 the long lashes which now shaded them. 
 
 " You spoke very kindly to me that day," she said. 
 "You were so good to me " 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 409 
 
 " Oh, don't speak of kindness," interrupted Arthur. 
 "I beg you not to think of that now. Don't you 
 remember that I called you Gay ? that I said I loved 
 you ? Don't you remember that ? " 
 
 " I remember," said Gay, speaking very softly, with 
 her eyes still more shaded, "but I have thought 
 have fancied that it might have been one of those 
 dreams I used to have." 
 
 "It was not a dream,' 7 said Arthur, a trembling 
 earnestness in his voice. " It was all real. Oh, Gay, 
 dear Gay, I called you that. I said I loved you. 
 May I call you so again ? May I say so once more ?" 
 
 " Mr. Thorne," said Gay, still speaking very softly, 
 " I think that this is all too soon. You could not 
 have had those feelings very long ; and as for me, 
 not knowing but it might be a fancy or a dream, 
 what you now say seems to come so unexpectedly. 
 Do you not think you ought to wait ? " 
 
 " Wait ! " exclaimed Arthur. " How long ? " 
 
 " I don't know," said Gay " some time." 
 
 " And may I love you while I wait ? " asked Arthur. 
 
 The glow on her cheeks and temples increased 
 somewhat, as if Hygeia had forgotten to remove her 
 wand, and it spread to the little ears which lay 
 among the soft light brown, almost golden, hair 
 which once had covered Arthur's hand, and even 
 spread itself upon his wrist. The light in her eyes, 
 now but slightly shaded, seemed to flash something 
 of itself into her lips, which tremulously moved, as 
 though they held between them a word with which 
 they might play but not let go. But the word was 
 too strong for them, and as for a moment Gay's large 
 35 
 
410 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 eyes were turned upon Arthur's glowing face, it made 
 a quick escape. 
 
 " Yes," said Gay. 
 
 "Wait ! Who on earth could have waited ? 
 
 Arthur did not; in a moment he had her in his 
 arms. And, when she was there, it came to her in a 
 flash of consciousness that all the thinking she had 
 been lately doing, all the wondering, all the question- 
 ing of herself, had been but the natural, simple, and 
 certain pathway to those arms. 
 
CHAPTER XXXV 
 
 HEN Enoch Bullripple reached the 
 Western town in which lived those 
 persons who were said to have in- 
 herited legal rights in the Cherry 
 Bridge farms, he found but one 
 of them. This was a Mr. Hector 
 Twombly, a man of about forty 
 years of age, a very stout and even plump figure, a 
 round face totally devoid of beard, red cheeks and 
 lips, and with as much of an outward air of boyish- 
 ness as is compatible with forty years of actual age. 
 By profession he was a stock-raiser, a general mer- 
 chant, a grist and saw mill owner, and one of the pro- 
 prietors of an important stage and mail route. 
 
 Mr. Twombly listened with great attention to 
 Enoch's account of the business which had brought 
 him there, and then he invited the old farmer to take 
 supper with him, and to stay all night, and, in fact, 
 to make his house his home as long as he should 
 be in that part of the country. The next morning, 
 in the very plainly furnished counting-room of his 
 store, in which the greater part of his extensive and 
 varied business was conducted, he communicated to 
 his visitor his decision regarding the Cherry Bridge 
 property. 
 
 411 
 
412 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 "Now, then, Mr. Bullripple," said Mr. Twombly, 
 sitting up very straight in his chair, with one plump, 
 well-shaped hand upon each of his outspread knees, 
 " this is about the size of this business as it appears 
 to me. My uncle, Thomas Brackett, who I never saw 
 and have heard very little about, my mother having 
 married young and come out here pretty much among 
 the first settlers, owned the farm you live on and 
 that other one, and when he died they went, naturally 
 enough, as everybody thought, to his nephew Peter, 
 who was living with him, and who everybody looked 
 upon as the same thing as his son and heir. That is 
 the way in which I have heard the matter stated." 
 
 " You've put it just right," said Enoch. 
 
 " Now, then, when Mr. Peter Brackett walked into 
 the property there wasn't nobody there to ask any 
 questions, and it isn't likely that Mr. Peter Brackett 
 bothered his head about any sister of his uncle who 
 went out West ever so long ago, and might be dead 
 by that time, for aught he knew. Perhaps he never 
 heard of her." 
 
 "You bet he did ! " said Enoch, "but that's neither 
 here nor there." 
 
 " No," said Mr. Twombly, " that's neither here nor 
 there. Well, then, after a while Mr. Peter got tired 
 of farming and concluded to sell out, and he did sell 
 out to you and to that other gentleman, and you two 
 paid for the property, cash down, clean and finished, 
 bargain and sale. You showed me your papers, and 
 I suppose the other gentleman could show his, if he 
 was here." 
 
 " Yes/' said Enoch, " but that farm was first bought 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 413 
 
 by my brother-in-law, and he had to give a mortgage 
 on the land. This was took up and paid by Mr. 
 Stull, who now owns the farm." 
 
 "All right/ 7 said Mr. Twombly. "You and Mr. 
 Stull now own the two farms, having bought and 
 paid for them; and then, somehow or other, you 
 hear that old Tom Brackett had other nephews 
 besides the aforenamed Peter, and that I am one of 
 them and my brother Ajax the other, and you come 
 out here and put the whole case before me. Now, 
 it ain't for me to ask whether you did this because 
 you was so touchy honest that you couldn't sleep in 
 your bed till you knew everybody had his rights, or 
 because you thought somebody else might come out 
 here and make a bargain with us and so get the 
 inside track of you. That's what I haven't got the 
 right to bother myself about." 
 
 " No," said Enoch, " you hain't." 
 
 " But this much I have got a right to do, and that 
 is to say that when you bought that farm you bought 
 it, and when you paid for it it was yours. Now, if I 
 and my brother Ajax have any rights in this busi- 
 ness, and there isn't any doubt but what we have, our 
 rights are in the money that Peter Brackett got for 
 those farms, and not in the farms themselves, which 
 you two men have fairly bought and paid for." 
 
 " That's not the way the law looks at it," said 
 Enoch. " Peter Brackett sold what wasn't all his." 
 
 "That's the way I look at it," said Mr. Twombly. 
 "Durn the law ! And my brother Ajax will look at 
 it just as I do, because if he don't I'll break his back, 
 and he knows it. Now, sir, we've got nothing to do 
 
414 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 with those two farms that have been fairly bought 
 and sold. What we've got to do with is the money 
 Peter Brackett got for them. You've told me where 
 he is settled, and when we're ready well come down 
 on him. That's our business. And all we've got to 
 do with you is to have the papers made out, giving 
 you a clear title to your farm, as far as I and Ajax 
 are concerned. My lawyer here will attend to that, 
 and there is a cowboy in town who is going to start 
 out early to-morrow morning to the ranch where 
 Ajax is just now, and he'll sign them and send them 
 back day after to-morrow. And if that Mr. Stull 
 wants his business fixed up in the same way, all he's 
 got to do is to send his documents out here and let 
 me see for myself that everything is all straight, and 
 we'll give him the same sort of title as we give you." 
 
 Thereupon Mr. Twombly and Mr. Bullripple shook 
 hands on the bargain. And while waiting for the 
 arrival of the return cowboy with the signature of 
 Ajax, Enoch's host drove him about the surrounding 
 country in a handsome buggy with two fast trotters, 
 showed him over his two mills and his store, his 
 stock-yards and his stage-stables, and gave him to 
 eat and drink of the best and the most abundant. 
 
 When Mr. Bullripple returned to Cherry Bridge, he 
 felt that he now truly owned his farm, but that he 
 had lost his opportunity of triumphing over Mr. 
 Stull and Zenas Turby. It was true that he had pre- 
 vented those two plotters from triumphing over him. 
 Enoch had expected more than this, but this was 
 really so much he felt that he ought to be satisfied. 
 He had, indeed, come off wonderfully well. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 415 
 
 But there was a minor triumph left open to him, 
 and the crafty old farmer was not slow to avail him- 
 self of it. He would assume the position of the bene- 
 factor of Mr. Stull. He would say to him : " You 
 need trouble yourself no more about this affair; I 
 have been out West myself and have arranged every- 
 thing with the heirs of your property. I will tell you 
 exactly what you have to do in order to make your 
 title quite secure. I am very glad to be able to put 
 you once more on a sound footing in our part of the 
 country; and this, too, without any trouble or ex- 
 pense on the part of yourself or your agents.' 7 
 
 Enoch knew that this would be very hard on J. 
 Weatherby Stull, whose soul would naturally scorn 
 the idea that it was possible for any one to bestow a 
 benefit upon him, especially one whom he hated on 
 account of injuries conferred. He knew too that by 
 this course of action he would deal a heavy, although 
 an indirect, blow at his old enemy, Zenas Turby. 
 Enoch had put this and that together to such pur- 
 pose that he had become convinced that Turby was 
 StulPs agent in this matter of the Cherry Bridge 
 farms ; and that, when the principal should be made 
 aware that the whole business had been settled with- 
 out the knowledge of his agent, the latter would, as 
 Enoch put it to himself, " ketch fits." 
 
 To a certain extent Enoch's plan was quite success- 
 ful. When Mr. Stull was informed of what had 
 been done he was angry, and would have been mor- 
 tified had he not attributed the failure of his scheme 
 to the stupidity of Turby, who was summoned to New 
 York, and who did, in very truth, catch fits. 
 
416 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 Had this failure of a well-planned project occurred 
 a month or two earlier, Mr. Stull would have been 
 much more affected than he now was. Other plans 
 and purposes had failed about the same time, and the 
 strong mind of Mr. Stull was rising above the storms 
 which beset him, in order that he might see how he 
 could take advantage of them. It was his custom to 
 turn, if possible, bad fortune, as well as good, to his 
 advantage. When he discovered that his ownership 
 of Vatoldi's was becoming dangerous, not only on ac- 
 count of John People's intended marriage but because 
 of his daughter Matilda's possession of his secret, and 
 her opposition to a Vatoldi connection, and when he 
 found out that Matilda would certainly marry Mr. Cris- 
 man, with or without paternal consent, he was at first 
 extremely indignant, and afterwards sternly resolved. 
 
 He brought his mind to the determination that 
 Vatoldi's had had its day, and must be put behind 
 him, but he would put it behind him in his own and 
 in an advantageous way. He came to the same deci- 
 sion concerning his daughter's marriage. Crismau, he 
 found, was a man of good character and fair connec- 
 tions and of more than the average business ability. If 
 his hard-headed and inflexible daughter would marry 
 this man she might do so, and he would place the 
 couple in a position which would be creditable to 
 himself and his family, and in which Crisman might 
 rise if he should prove equal to mercantile soaring. 
 Then Mr. Stull would put Matilda and her husband 
 behind him. Another object grander than a restau- 
 rant or a daughter's marriage loomed up before him, 
 and to this he would" devote his life. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 417 
 
 When John People was informed by Mr. Stull that 
 the latter had decided that John should buy out 
 Vatoldi's, the young man was frightened. It was 
 too much! He would much prefer that Mr. Stull 
 should sell out to some one else, and that he should 
 continue as junior partner and manager. But Mr. 
 Stull told him that it was impossible to sell to any 
 one else. The transaction could take place between 
 John and himself, and no others. The terms decided 
 upon by Mr. Stull were not easy ones. John was to 
 raise a certain sum in cash, and pay it down $ he was 
 then to make payments at fixed and frequent inter- 
 vals both as interest and as installments on the 
 remainder of the high price put upon the establish- 
 ment, which would make it necessary for him to do a 
 very lucrative business, and for a long time to hand 
 over to Mr. Stull a very large proportion of his profits. 
 
 When Miss Burns heard of Mr. StulPs purpose in 
 this matter she was not frightened. It would be a 
 hard and long fight, she knew, but she advised John 
 to go into it. In fact, she decided that he should go 
 into it. As soon as the transfer of the business 
 should be completed they would marry, and then she 
 would give up her position in the store, and enter, 
 heart, soul, and body, into her husband's business. 
 She would sit behind the desk and be the cashier, 
 thus saving money to John and giving him the 
 opportunity to be in all the other places in which he 
 ought to be, and to do all the other things which he 
 ought to do. 
 
 John People is now owner of Vatoldi's. He has not 
 paid for it, and it will be years before he does so, but, 
 
418 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 so far, he has fulfilled all his obligations. His brow 
 has been a good deal furrowed by the necessity of hard 
 work and careful calculation in order to do this, but all 
 signs of resignation have disappeared from it, and 
 have been succeeded by a general air of cheery earnest- 
 ness. His wife is much plumper than when she was 
 Miss Burns ; sweet-breads, lamb-chops, and all the 
 delicacies of the restaurant are her own whenever she 
 wants them, without a preliminary reservation in the 
 corner of an ice-box. Mrs. People makes her son 
 long visits, especially in the winter, when there is 
 little to do at the farm, and although she thinks John 
 the most fortunate as well as the most deserving of 
 men, she is convinced that no better fortune ever 
 befell him than when he escaped the clutches of that 
 Stull girl. 
 
 There is one great change in the Vatoldi establish- 
 ment : Mr. Stull is never seen there. He has put it 
 behind him. The restaurant, however, is as well 
 managed and as popular as it ever was. 
 
 " I shall make it a rule," said John People to his 
 wife, "to manage that place exactly as if I expected, 
 at from fifteen to twenty minutes past one, to see Mr. 
 Stull walk in at the door and clap his eyes on every- 
 thing on the premises, from a spot on a table-cloth to 
 an overdone steak." 
 
 Thus over the fortunes of Vatoldi's hovers the 
 invisible but protecting influence of J. Weatherby 
 Stull. 
 
 The good fortune of John People not only bore 
 heavily upon that young man, but upon his Uncle 
 Enoch. Mr. Bullripple entirely approved of the pur- 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 419 
 
 chase of Vatoldi's, although he fully appreciated the 
 weight of the load that it would lay not only on his 
 nephew's shoulders, but his own. John had not been 
 able to save much money, and in order to make the 
 first cash payment it was necessary that he should be 
 generously helped. To this end Enoch collected every 
 cent that he could possibly gather together, and put 
 himself under obligations to Mr. Stratford for the 
 remainder of the money needed. The old farmer had 
 no fear but that in the course of years John would be 
 able to pay back everything, and would eventually 
 die a rich man. If his nephew had desired assistance 
 in order to enter into agricultural pursuits Mr. Bull- 
 ripple would not have lifted a finger to aid him. But 
 he had great faith in the right kind of a restaurant. 
 
 Miss Matilda had most truly succeeded in her vari- 
 ous plans, but while she was entirely satisfied, she 
 was not elated. She had expected to succeed. She 
 thoroughly understood her father's character, and 
 although she knew that it would be utterly impos- 
 sible to dam or stop the powerful current in which 
 his nature flowed, it was quite possible, were the 
 impediment wide enough, high enough, and solid 
 enough, to turn the stream in a new direction. She 
 could be such an impediment, and having thrown 
 herself across his current, suggesting at the same 
 time a change of channel, she was not at all surprised 
 to see the change made. 
 
 In the course of the winter Mr. Crisman and Miss 
 Stull were married in a manner entirely suited to the 
 social position of the bride. To these proceedings 
 Mr. Stull gave a lofty and dignified assent. The ele- 
 
420 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 merit of interest in his approbation appeared to be 
 but moderate, and, entirely contrary to his previous 
 record, he interfered very little with the details of this 
 important family occasion. It is probable, however, 
 that no feeling, whether of apathy or disapprobation, 
 could have prevented him from taking his usual place 
 as director of affairs had he not known that that posi- 
 tion had been assumed by his daughter Matilda. 
 
 With capital furnished by his father-in-law, Mr. 
 Crisman entered, as a junior partner, the great mer- 
 cantile firm of which he had been an employee, and 
 he looked upon himself as in every way a most for- 
 tunate and successful man. In his marriage relation 
 he was indeed quite fortunate. From the very begin- 
 ning his wife set herself to work to manage him, and 
 in order that she might do so without trouble to her- 
 self or dissatisfaction to him, she also set herself to 
 work to make him happy. Having, by diligent study, 
 made herself thoroughly acquainted with his charac- 
 ter, she succeeded admirably in both these regards. 
 
 When Mr. Crisman thought of that love affair 
 which antedated his engagement to Miss Stall, and 
 during said engagement such a thought did some- 
 times come to him, he found that the place in his 
 sentiments which once had been filled by this love 
 was now occupied by a modified form of anger, which 
 was principally aimed at a want of respect for his 
 opinions, his position, and himself which had been 
 exhibited by all the persons with whom that affair 
 had connected him. But these thoughts came less 
 and less frequently like Mr. Stull, Crisman was a 
 man who could put things behind him. 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 421 
 
 When the powerful current of Mr. StulPs action 
 and interest had been turned from its course by his 
 daughter Matilda, aided by the force of events, she 
 had no idea of the new channel in which it would 
 flow. No one, indeed, except her father, could have 
 had such an idea, and even he, when he came to sur- 
 vey and fully comprehend the nature and extent of 
 this fresh channel, was surprised at what he deemed 
 its importance and its grandeur. 
 
 Mr. Stull was a man whose pleasure in life was to 
 be found in lofty flight. Whether he soared as a 
 restaurant-keeper, a social and church pillar, or as a 
 financial operator, he wished to fly high and look 
 down on his fellows ; and his strength of wing was 
 powerful and enduring. There were some flights 
 he could not take, and these he did not essay. He 
 would have liked to look down upon railroad kings, 
 but he dwelt upon no Andes, nor were his wings of 
 condor size. 
 
 He had long had in mind a scheme which pleased 
 him much ; and for some years he had thought that a 
 great part of the fortune which he intended to leave 
 behind him should be devoted to carrying out this 
 scheme. But now his purpose was changed. His 
 speculations and investments had been exceptionally 
 successful, and he was a very rich man much sooner 
 than he had expected to be. It was quite possible for 
 himself to do, in these vigorous years of his natural 
 life, what he had expected to order that others should 
 do after his death. When this decision had been 
 reached, it greatly gratified the soul of Mr. Stull. 
 This new object of his life was far higher, far nobler, 
 36 
 
422 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 than anything he had yet touched. It would give 
 him loftiness, it would give him power. 
 
 Mr. Stull determined to found, create, and direct a 
 Law Hospital. He had never studied law, nor did he 
 pretend to understand its principles or practice ; but, 
 in the course of his varied business life, he had 
 become acquainted with many phases of its effect 
 upon society as well as many phases of its relations 
 to the ordinary and to the extraordinary man. Pon- 
 dering upon this subject, he had come to the conclu- 
 sion that, in its general relation to mankind, law was 
 to be looked upon in the same light as medicine and 
 surgery. If the latter demanded hospitals for their 
 perfect and complete practice, so did the former. As 
 the means of amelioration or removal of those evils 
 against which the powers of medicine and surgery 
 are directed are open to all, so Mr. Stull thought the 
 amelioration or removal of those evils against which 
 the power of the law is directed should be equally 
 open to all. Therefore he determined to found a 
 Law Hospital, where those persons who were unable 
 to pay for legal protection should receive it as freely 
 as the ailing poor receive medicine and treatment in 
 hospitals of the other kind. 
 
 When Mr. Stull undertook an important enterprise, 
 he brought his strong and practical intellect to bear 
 upon its probable disadvantages, as well as its advan- 
 tages, and before he spoke of this great scheme, he 
 made himself quite ready to meet any objections that 
 might be urged against it. When persons came to him 
 and said that such an institution would have a very 
 bad effect upon the poor, for it would encourage them 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 423 
 
 to be quarrelsome and go to law, Mr. Stull rose easily 
 above the objectors and replied : " There is no more 
 reason to suppose that than to suppose that the 
 ordinary hospital encourages sickness or broken legs 
 among the poor. It will be almost impossible for a 
 sham or unworthy case to get into my institution. 
 There will be a Board of Examiners, composed of 
 high legal talent, who will investigate every applica- 
 tion, and if there are not good grounds for taking it 
 into the courts it will be rejected ; but if, on the other 
 hand, it shall be found to be based on good grounds, 
 it will be carried through to the very end, to the very 
 end, sir; if it should be the case of a brakeman 
 against a millionaire, it will be carried through ; 
 you may be sure of that. And then, again, sir, it 
 will prevent a great deal of litigation. There are 
 lawyers, sir, who take up unjust cases for clients 
 who are unable to pay, in hopes of sharing in unjust 
 advantages. My institution will greatly assist in 
 putting an end to such practices. The fact that it 
 never takes up an unjust case will shine as an 
 example, sir, and those who are unjustly proceeded 
 against will find in my Law Hospital a strong ally 
 in defense. 7 ' 
 
 Mr. Stull was a vigorous upholder of strict justice. 
 He was not generous, he was not forbearing, he had 
 not a kindly spirit. His present enterprise was in- 
 tended as much to defeat and humble the unjust rich 
 as to assist the oppressed poor. If he could have 
 legally revenged himself upon Enoch Bullripple he 
 would have done so gladly ; and had he seen another 
 person oppressing the old farmer in a perfectly legal 
 
424 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 way lie would have had no disposition to interfere. 
 Furthermore, what he did for the advantage of man- 
 kind must carry out some of his own practical ideas, 
 and must be of advantage to himself. These condi- 
 tions he fully expected the Law Hospital to fulfill. 
 
 In the first place, it would give him power and 
 position. By its aid he might be enabled to take an 
 occasional flight above the head of even a railroad 
 king. There was no station which would please and 
 suit him so well as that of the Founder and Director- 
 in-Chief of the great institution he intended to estab- 
 lish. Then, again, he expected his Law Hospital to 
 become a source of profit. It would be an admirable 
 school of practice for young lawyers who would pay 
 fees for this advantage, and who would not only be 
 supervised by the body of high legal talent who 
 would direct the operations of the institution, but 
 would receive from said body much valuable assist- 
 ance and instruction. The vast resources of the Hos- 
 pital would be open, not only to the poor, but to 
 those who would be able to pay, and its strictly 
 regulated charges and prompt and vigorous methods 
 would prove a great inducement to persons who 
 would hesitate to place themselves, in the power of 
 unrestricted and irresponsible legal advisers. 
 
 The scope of this institution was a very wide one. 
 It would be a great Law School ; the decisions of its 
 Board of Examiners would meet with such high 
 regard that, in time, it would come to be looked 
 upon almost in the light of a court of law ; it offered 
 to the poor the legal redress of wrongs ; and to all 
 men it would afford the opportunity of obtaining the 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 425 
 
 assistance of the law of the land in a systematic, 
 economic, and perfectly practical and business-like 
 manner. 
 
 And it would enable this generation, and in all 
 probability many generations hereafter, to read on a 
 marble slab in the great entrance-hall the name of its 
 Founder and first Director-in-Chief, J. Weatherby 
 Stull. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVI 
 
 S the winter months went on, the 
 Goddess Hygeia did so truly touch 
 with her wand the fair Gabriella 
 Armatt that this young person 
 bloomed out in full health and 
 vigor j and when the jonquils in 
 the little yard in front of Mrs. 
 Justin's town house forced their tender blossoms into 
 the uncertain air of spring, they were greeted with 
 no happier eyes than those of Gay. 
 
 Our heroine was not one who had put things be- 
 hind her. In her life it had seemed as if certain 
 things had pushed her before them, and, remaining 
 stationary themselves, had gradually faded from sight 
 as she went on. That first young love, which had 
 grown to be a true, conscientious, but anxious affec- 
 tion, had not gone on with her. She had now begun 
 a new life, and it was a life without that old 
 affection. 
 
 If, in those melancholy days in the past year when 
 she seemed to be left alone in the world, her soul had, 
 half unconsciously, looked towards Horace Stratford 
 with vague feelings other than those of friend to 
 friend or scholar to master, those feelings existed no 
 more. Her new life had begun without them. When 
 
 426 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 427 
 
 Stratford looked upon her now he saw not that cer- 
 tain something, that sympathetic stamen which at 
 times springs suddenly from a woman's heart, and 
 which had made her perfect in his eyes ; she was his 
 friend, loyal and warm j she was his disciple, earnest 
 and trusting ; but on her face that certain something 
 never appeared for him. 
 
 The effect upon Arthur Thorn e of his love for Gay 
 was somewhat surprising, even to himself. He had 
 thought it would change him, make a different man 
 of him, but in fact it produced in him but little 
 change that was radical. His tastes, his strict regard 
 for the proper, and his conscientious views of duty to 
 himself and society, still remained upon the solid 
 foundations on which they had always stood, but into 
 his nature had come a warm-hued liberality of feeling 
 which was born of his admiration for Gay's nature. 
 
 Gay's nature was a strong one and fully animated, 
 and it would have had its influence upon any man, 
 but it could not put into a man's nature what was 
 not there. With Crisman she would have failed 
 utterly, but in the warm radiance of her influence 
 the colors came out in the nature of Arthur Thorne 
 as the bright spots and brilliant hues appear upon 
 the wings of a moth as he draws their somber folds 
 from his cocoon into the bright light of day. 
 
 As to Gay's aspirations and the life-work to which 
 she had looked forwards, these two young people, 
 from having widely different opinions, came to think 
 alike. When Gay started on her course of advanced 
 study, she had not definitely fixed her mind upon the 
 special path in life to which this study was to lead 
 
428 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 her, but she had determined that she would do some- 
 thing which should satisfy her ambition and be of 
 service to other people. She had no notion that one 
 whit of her work in college and afterwards should be 
 wasted. She was to be something which should be 
 worthy of herself, of her instructors, and of those 
 heights of knowledge to which she hoped to climb. 
 Even when she became engaged to Crisman her ideas 
 did not change, although by the counsel of Mrs. Justin, 
 and, subsequently, by the influence rather than by 
 the direct advice of Stratford, she modified them. She 
 would put her intellect in perfect training before she 
 decided on what field she would send it forth to do 
 battle. Even the academic degree to which she 
 directed her course was looked upon more as a guid- 
 ing-point than an object ; she might never claim it, 
 but if she made herself worthy of it her intellect 
 would be well trained. 
 
 When Gay's purpose of study was made known to 
 Arthur Thorne during the days he spent at Cherry 
 Bridge, he was very much opposed to it and talked 
 a great deal to Mrs. Justin about it. He believed 
 that when any one entered upon a course of earnest 
 endeavor, it should have a fixed and definite object. 
 If the young lady intended to devote herself to any 
 branch of philosophy, science, or literature, she should 
 concentrate her energies upon those studies which 
 would prepare her for her future work. When he 
 became engaged to Gay this idea of the limitation 
 and concentration of her energies, even at her present 
 stage of progress, was still in his mind. But when 
 the two had talked over the matter they came to 
 
.THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 429 
 
 think alike. Arthur still believed that earnest study 
 should have its object, but he soon understood that 
 Gay had an object, and his soul expanded itself to 
 appreciate its beauty and value. He agreed with her 
 that the conviction that one's intellect has been well 
 cultivated is a sufficient reward for the labor of the 
 cultivation. 
 
 They would work together, there could be no 
 doubt about that, and if the time came when they 
 felt they were able to do something for the world 
 which in a degree would repay the world for what it 
 had done for them, then they would do the thing 
 which they believed they best could do. If their 
 young ambitions led them truly, they would not only 
 penetrate to the head- waters of thought and knowl- 
 edge, but they would lend their services towards 
 clearing out their channels and digging down into 
 their sources. But if ambition led them not so far, 
 they would stop when they could feel content that 
 they had fulfilled the duty they owed their intellects, 
 and had done their best to qualify themselves to 
 think and act and live. 
 
 There is no danger that they will flag in this pro- 
 jected career. They are strong, earnest, and enthu- 
 siastic ; and in Stratford they will always have a wise 
 and steadfast friend and backer. Their life-work 
 and their life-love will go on together, and the one 
 will not be interfered with by the other. 
 
 Gay and Arthur were married in the time of early 
 roses ; and then they went away and wandered joy- 
 ously, coming back when the peaches were ripe and 
 the juice of the grape-clusters was beginning to turn 
 
430 THE HUNDREDTH 
 
 red and purple. Then it was that Mrs. Justin invited 
 the young couple to her house at Cherry Bridge, to 
 which Stratford still came over from the Bullripple 
 farm on most of the days of the week. These holi- 
 days of Gray and Arthur could not last much longer, 
 for in the early autumn they must go into the city 
 and begin the life they had marked out for them- 
 selves, which, for Arthur, would not be a very easy 
 one, for it was necessary that his professional labors 
 should keep pace with every other kind of work or 
 study. 
 
 They made good use, therefore, of this pleasure- 
 time, and Gay, knowing the country better than her 
 husband, generally acted as guide and suggestor. 
 She took him, at the close of a day, through the 
 sugar-maple grove to the little eminence where they 
 could sit on the top rail of the fence and see the sun- 
 set glories of the western sky. They rowed upon the 
 creek, and it was astonishing what a memory Gay 
 possessed for sunken trees, shallow places, and sharp 
 turnings. She guided Arthur into the tributary 
 stream overshadowed by the forest-trees, and they 
 stopped at the spot in the heart of the woods where 
 all seemed quiet and motionless save the dragon-flies 
 and the flecks of sunlight on the surface of the pool, 
 and where a spreading and low-hanging grape-vine 
 formed a water-arbor under which a little boat might 
 lie. Now the air bore not the perfume of the tender 
 blossoms of the vine, but the wild grapes hung dark, 
 though not yet ripe, from under their broad leaves, 
 and Gay could put up her hand and touch them. 
 
 One morning the two were sitting together on a 
 
THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 431 
 
 rustic bench on the lawn. Gay held a book in her 
 lap, on the blank leaf of which she was making a 
 sketch, not from nature, but from her imagination. 
 Arthur, one arm on the back of the seat, watched 
 with ardent interest the rapid growth of the drawing. 
 They were in the shade, but all the air was -full of 
 light. Gay was very lovely that day. She wore a 
 morning gown of pale blue, the front generously 
 draped with white soft-hanging lace which ran away 
 in graceful lines into the folds which lay about her 
 feet. The wide brim of her hat was lined beneath 
 with light blue silk, which threw a subduing influ- 
 ence upon the golden tints which always seemed 
 ready to break out in the masses of hair beneath it, 
 and extended its shade over the fair face, now slightly 
 bent towards the drawing. Upon the crown and 
 broad straw brim of this hat were clusters of apple- 
 blossoms, which lay as naturally as if it had been 
 spring-time and they had just dropped there from 
 some tree. 
 
 Mrs. Justin and Stratford were standing upon the 
 piazza looking at the young people on the lawn. It 
 was a charming picture and well worthy their con- 
 templation. 
 
 " Now, sir, 1 ' said the lady, u there we see the full 
 fruition of your work. Are you satisfied with it ? n 
 
 " I am/ 7 he answered. " It was good work. And 
 are you yet fully content ? " 
 
 "Yes," said Mrs. Justin, "I believe I am. You 
 know it was hard for me to be content, but I am 
 beginning to see that events, as you controlled them, 
 have resulted in great good." 
 
432 THE HUNDREDTH MAN. 
 
 Stratford made no answer. If he had spoken from 
 the depths of his heart he must have said that great 
 good indeed had resulted from what he had done; 
 great good to Gay, great good to Arthur, and even 
 good to that first lover, Crisman ; good to every one, 
 except himself. For in the fight he had fought he 
 had been hurt he had conquered, but he had been 
 hurt. 
 
 The essence of Mrs. Justin's nature was loyalty, 
 loyalty to past affection, loyalty to present friend- 
 ships, and it was the ardent earnestness of this senti- 
 ment which threw into her friendship a sensitive and 
 perceptive sympathy. Stratford said nothing; but 
 she saw in his face something of what he thought. 
 
 " My friend," said she, laying her hand upon his 
 arm, "could you have loved that girl?" 
 
 " Yes,' 7 said Stratford, " I could have loved her." 
 
 Mrs. Justin looked at him intently for a moment, 
 and then she said : " Horace Stratford, I believe that 
 you, yourself, are the hundredth man you have been 
 looking for.' 7 
 
 An expression of surprise came into the face of 
 Stratford, and then he smiled, but the smile did not 
 last long. " If you think so," he said, " I accept your 
 decision, and my search is ended." 
 
 THE END. 
 
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