THE-SHELLEYS 
 GEORGIA 
 
 BEATIUCE YORgl HOUGHTON
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA
 
 "COME BACK TO ME, ROSE." Page 395.
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 BY 
 
 BEATRICE YORK HOUGHTON 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY 
 
 J. HENRY 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP 
 PUBLISHERS
 
 Published, August, 1917 
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD Co, 
 
 All Rights Reserved. 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA
 
 FOREWORD 
 
 In these modern days, when so much time and 
 thought is spent on progress in the abstract; when 
 the air is full of vague idealisms ; and no one is quite 
 "up to date" unless he or she is advancing some the- 
 ory for the uplift of humanity ; it is refreshing and 
 stimulating to light upon a person who not only pos- 
 sesses a clear vision but a clear expression of it, 
 whose mind is bent on solving large problems in a 
 large way, and whose solutions are all the more as- 
 tonishing for their simplicity and practicality. Such 
 a person is James Arthur MacKnight of Atlanta, 
 Georgia. His splendid loyalty to his State and to 
 his country is only equalled by his intense longing to 
 help onward and upward that country and that State. 
 In this foreword I acknowledge my deep indebtedness 
 to him for material and for inspiration in the writ- 
 ing of this book, and I desire publicly to thank him. 
 
 BEATEIOE YOEK HOUGHTOIT. 
 
 2136146 '
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF 
 GEORGIA 
 
 CHAPTEE I 
 
 AT the close of the Civil War the town of 
 Salem, located at Bethel Corners in Bucks 
 County, Georgia, consisted of a small frame 
 church, a smaller schoolhouse, a meager country 
 store, and the scattered homes of perhaps a dozen 
 families. One of these houses, a big, old-fashioned 
 mansion at the town end of acres of rolling land, 
 had been unoccupied and desolate for years, with 
 its outhouses and stables falling into ruin, and itself 
 taking on the haunted look which attaches to places 
 that have once teemed with life and bustle. Then 
 its owner, Captain Gabriel Shelley, returned from 
 the war, weak and emaciated from a slowly healing 
 wound and the hardships he had undergone, but his 
 brain clear and overflowing with ideas. He opened 
 the house, hired the negroes who once had been his 
 slaves, and in less than thirty-three years he " made 
 Salem." 
 
 Captain Gabe, as every one affectionately called
 
 2 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 him, was a tall, broad-shouldered swarthy man, now 
 past sixty years of age, but hale and hearty and 
 vigorous. His hair was thick, curly, and iron-gray. 
 His face was clean-cut, with high cheek-bones, aqui- 
 line nose, and beetling brows. His mouth was 
 humorous and tender, belying the uncompromising 
 set of his jaws, and saving his face from being too 
 stern. He was the sort of man who, once seen, is 
 never forgotten. For years Salem had proudly 
 pointed to him as its leading citizen. 
 
 In October of the year 1897, the town could boast 
 a population of nearly ten thousand. It had 
 stretched out to take in some of this number from 
 the families scattered over the neighboring country- 
 side, but most of them were from other States, drawn 
 hither by the prosperity of this busy center. Ee- 
 covered entirely from the one war, it was eagerly 
 advocating another, doing all in its power to raise 
 the enmity towards Spain to a white heat, and 
 spreading broadcast the merits of its own special 
 crack company of Georgia Militia, whose Captain, 
 Thomas Blankenship, was easily the most petted 
 and spoiled young man in the county. He belonged 
 to one of the " best families," and still lived on the 
 old Blankenship estate, once far out in the country, 
 but now surrounded by suburban homes of the better 
 class. For several years he had taken an active part 
 in the politics of Bucks county, of which Salem was 
 the official capital. His love-affairs were legion,
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 3 
 
 and gossip was busy just now in coupling his name 
 with that of Gabe's beautiful daughter, Rose. 
 
 Rose was the Captain's child by his first marriage, 
 when he had given Salem one of many surprises by 
 eloping with its most popular belle. After her 
 mother's death the little girl's sedate assumption 
 of the role of housekeeper for her father, had 
 made the whole town take pride in her. When, 
 in 'ninety-three, he wooed and won Madge Ogle- 
 thorpe, daughter of the county judge, the grace with 
 which Rose handed over the reins of management 
 to the young and lovely bride, and the ensuing com- 
 radeship between them, became an interesting topic 
 in the town, cited on all occasions as a direct refuta- 
 tion of the old stepmother bugbear. Shortly after 
 the marriage Rose went away to study nursing at a 
 school in Atlanta. Why a girl of her expectations 
 Gabe was reputed rich should care to do anything 
 but enjoy herself, was one of the mysteries Salem was 
 never able to fathom. She was graduated in the 
 spring before this story opens, and as yet had put her 
 training to no practical use. 
 
 Some years back Captain Gabe had entered the 
 peach industry. His example was zealously followed 
 by other landowners, and Salem soon became the 
 center of a broad belt of orchards, producing an ex- 
 cellent quality of fruit. Gabe's other occupations of 
 politician, orator, sheriff, banker, lawyer, and news- 
 paper editor all bade fair to be overshadowed by this
 
 4 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 new business. His partial crop of peaches, the last 
 of which had been harvested in September, had been 
 of such quality and quantity as to promise him a 
 wonderful yield next year, and the fall had been spent 
 by him in putting his orchards into the best possible 
 shape for the short southern winter now to follow. 
 
 October is always a warm month in Georgia, more 
 beautiful than summer itself, because of a mysterious 
 something in the season which hints that its halcyon 
 days are soon to give way to the rains of winter. 
 This morning it was especially lovely, and all Salem 
 went out-of-doors into its gardens, basking in the sun- 
 shine and the abundance of the flowers. At the 
 Shelleys', the roses were still in bloom, and held up 
 their pink faces bravely, wondering, doubtless, why no 
 one came to admire them. They were not used to 
 being left alone. 
 
 But through the whole long October morning, the 
 big old-fashioned house idled in the glare of the sun, 
 in a quite unaccustomed solitude. It spread itself in 
 anxious hospitality among its trees and vines. Never 
 had its porch chairs and hammocks looked more com- 
 fortable and inviting; never had its gables achieved 
 such cool miracles in the way of shade, or its open 
 doors and windows given forth more tempting hints 
 of restfulness within. But it was all of no avail, and 
 the big house at last grew tired from its unappreciated 
 efforts, and drowsed disconsolately in the noonday 
 sun.
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 5 
 
 Then all of a sudden everything changed. The 
 place awoke to life as surely as if it were human and 
 really able to indulge itself in slumber. For such 
 homes gain in animation or sink into repose through 
 the presence or absence of their occupants, and now 
 Madge Shelley, Captain Gabe's second wife, was com- 
 ing quickly from the direction of the orchard and the 
 stables. 
 
 She was dressed in white, with the full sleeves and 
 skirts which were fashionable then, and wore a broad- 
 brimmed leghorn hat trimmed with violets. In one 
 hand she carried a bunch of crimson dahlias, in the 
 other a riding-whip. But she was pale and wan, with 
 shadows under her blue eyes, for she had spent a long 
 and tiring night with her Aunt Betty Oglethorpe, 
 who was ill; and as she neared the house her face 
 expressed increasing disappointment because Gabe 
 had failed to come part way to meet her upon this 
 lovely morning. She had counted on it, someway, 
 longing to rest her tired self in the strong tenderness 
 of his embrace, and in her present state of fatigue she 
 found no comfort in the thought that something very 
 important must have arisen to detain him. What 
 could be more important than her return? What 
 could have been sufficiently large in interest to step 
 between them ? She could think of nothing noth- 
 ing at all and when she reached the trees in front 
 of the house she sank down upon a bench, tossed her 
 flowers and whip upon a chair near by, and gave her-
 
 6 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 self over completely to the feeling of sadness which 
 the lack of his welcome had caused to grow in her 
 after her night of sorrow and alarm. 
 
 Her coming had quickened the inmates of the 
 house as well as the house itself, and she was allowed 
 no time for self-complainings, for Uncle Jack, the 
 negro butler, stepped at once out of the door. He 
 was distressingly black in contrast to the immaculate 
 white he wore, and possessed a pride of manner which 
 nothing was ever able to upset. He was an " edju- 
 cated niggah," with the intention of some day enter- 
 ing the ministry. Holding no opportunity too small 
 for practice, his least word was rolled forth sonor- 
 ously. 
 
 " Baig yo' pahdon, Miss Madge, but hyah am a let- 
 tah, which Cap'n Gabe done tol' me to gib you when 
 you come." 
 
 He held out a small silver tray on whose glittering 
 bosom the letter reposed which was to start a course 
 of events quite foreign to the bustling town of Salem. 
 
 Immediately Madge woke to eager life. She 
 snatched the letter from the tray, tore it open and 
 devoured its brief words. Immediately the color 
 deepened in her cheeks, her blue eyes shone, and the 
 dimples began to play hide and seek about her mouth. 
 
 " I reckon you wuz moughty glad to git dat ar 
 lettah, Miss Madge ? " insinuated Uncle Jack with 
 the utmost solemnity. He was a privileged member 
 of the household and so guilty of no presumption.
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 7 
 
 " Yes, Uncle Jack," laughed Madge, all her sad- 
 ness gone. " He says important business " 
 
 " Aw now, Miss Madge, do he begin it data way ?" 
 
 "Why? How should he begin it?" drawled 
 Madge, peeping over the paper roguishly. 
 
 " TJndah simlah circumstances, Miss Madge, I 
 reckon I should deliberate, ' Honahed an' highly re- 
 spectable lady : I takes my pen in hand to inf awm you 
 dat I is lamentably detain' f'om yo' beloved pres- 
 ence > " 
 
 Madge's clear laugh rang out again. " Nonsense, 
 Uncle Jack. You wouldn't begin a letter to your 
 wife like that, now would you ? " 
 
 A grin spread slowly over the negro's face. " Well, 
 no, mistis," he admitted. "I reckon I'd jus' say 
 ' Honey Lamb,' or some sech foolishness." 
 
 " That's what the Captain did, only he says * Darl- 
 ing,' " confided Madge. " ' My Darling : Important 
 business calls me to the hills beyond Cave Springs. 
 I am driving in a buggy and go alone, but I expect to 
 have a passenger returning. I will try to get back 
 by four or five o'clock. Say nothing to any one of 
 my movements. Yours wholly, G.' 
 
 "Isn't that a nice note, Uncle Jack? Of course 
 you knew something about it, so he didn't mean I was 
 to say nothing to you, did he? What do you sup- 
 pose he means by saying he went alone but expects to 
 have a passenger back ? Did you see who it was that 
 called him away, Uncle Jack ? "
 
 8 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 " Yes'm, dat I did, but I wuz not acquainted wid de 
 pusson, mistis." 
 
 " Oh ! " said Madge, with a smile. Evidently 
 Uncle Jack did not approve of " de pusson." It was 
 as well to change the subject. " I stopped in to see 
 your mother, Uncle Jack, on my way back from Aunt 
 Betty's." 
 
 " Did you, Miss Madge, did you ? " exclaimed 
 Uncle Jack, almost forgetting his dignity in his 
 pleasure at the news. " Now I calls dat right down 
 kin' ob you, mistis. Po' ol' maw, she cain't eben 
 git out ob baid dese days, an' I takes it right kin'ly, 
 Miss Madge, dat you stop to see huh." 
 
 " She seemed very bright and cheerful, and sent 
 her love to you, and said you were to be a good boy." 
 Uncle Jack put a hand to his whitening wool and 
 looked a trifle foolish. " Where is Miss Rose ? " 
 asked Madge abruptly. 
 
 " Miss Rose, she done gone into town," returned 
 Uncle Jack, recovering his equanimity and his dig- 
 nity at one breath. " She 'spect to be home in time 
 fo' dinner. Dah she, now." 
 
 Madge turned, and together they watched a tall 
 handsome girl on a tall handsome horse, riding into 
 the yard through the side gate. She was in the first 
 rosy bloom of young womanhood, perhaps nineteen 
 or twenty years of age. Her eyes were dark, and the 
 clear color of her cheeks was like that on the breast of 
 a ripe peach. Her skin had the creamy tint and
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 9 
 
 downy texture of the same fruit. She wore a khaki 
 riding-coat and hat and divided skirt, which had given 
 the old-fashioned folk in Salem quite a shock when 
 she first appeared in it. She was gauntleted and car- 
 ried a riding-whip. She guided her horse across the 
 short grass to Madge, and, disdaining Uncle Jack's 
 offered aid, swung herself down with a free and agile 
 motion, and let him lead the animal away. But all 
 the while she evaded Madge's eyes, and it was evident 
 that, had she been able to do so without appearing 
 rude, she would have evaded Madge herself. 
 
 " Awfully warm," she said now, fanning herself 
 vigorously with her hat, which she pulled off for the 
 purpose. " Almost like summer. How's your Aunt 
 Betty?" 
 
 But Madge had no intention of being put off, and 
 now she stretched out a slender hand and drew the girl 
 down beside her. " Eose," she exclaimed. " What 
 is it?" 
 
 " I don't know what you mean," said Rose, with a 
 vexed laugh. 
 
 " Yes, you do," retorted Madge. " You are keep- 
 ing something from me. I think I have a right 
 to your confidence, Eose. Won't you give it to 
 me?" 
 
 Eose stirred restlessly. " Why should I ? " 
 
 " Haven't I proved myself your friend ? " asked 
 Madge quietly. 
 
 Something in her grave question touched the
 
 10 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 younger girl. Impulsively she turned to Madge. 
 " If I could be sure ! " she cried. " If I could only 
 be sure!" 
 
 " The only way you can be sure is to try me," ex- 
 plained Madge gently. " Be frank with me. I 
 promise I'll be frank with you " 
 
 " That's just it " began Kose. 
 
 "What?" 
 
 " You'll be too frank," mutinied the girl. " You 
 don't like Tom. You'll tell me so. You'll op- 
 pose" 
 
 "Oppose what?" 
 
 " Our our engagement." This latter very low. 
 
 For a moment Madge was tempted to do just this 
 thing. But she controlled her impulse and said 
 slowly. " Then you have been riding with him, as I 
 thought. And you are engaged to him. Are you 
 sure you love him ? " 
 
 " Of course I do," asserted Eose. " And I am en- 
 gaged to him. But he warned me as if I did not 
 already know that I was in for it at home. I don't 
 understand," she went on petulantly, " how you and 
 my father can be so so narrow. Tom is almost as 
 popular as Father, and has as much influence in this 
 county. He knows every one and goes everywhere. 
 He's been telling me about some of his friends in 
 Washington and Xew York you'd be surprised if 
 you knew their names. He's good-looking, too, and a 
 gentleman. Father might be prejudiced through
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 11 
 
 their political squabbles, but you, Madge surely 
 jxm ought to be too just to condemn a man because 
 he loved you once, and has changed." 
 
 " So, he told you that? " 
 
 " Of course he told me. He has told me every- 
 thing. We are engaged, you know." 
 
 Madge rose with a hopeless gesture. She walked 
 toward the house, then turned and came swiftly back. 
 " How can I make you see ? How can I make you 
 understand ? " she cried. " You are so young, so in- 
 experienced, so untried. You have been kept so in- 
 nocent, and the wonder is that you yielded to such 
 keeping. I was kept innocent, too, and yet somehow 
 I knew things I was able to judge Tom Blanken- 
 ship even when he loved me. I told myself a mo- 
 ment ago that I must not interfere, that every word 
 I say will onlj strengthen your inclination towards 
 him. And yet I can't, in fairness to you, leave you 
 without warning you that you'll be sorry if ever you 
 marry Tom Blankenship." 
 
 " How do you know ? What proofs have you of 
 that?" 
 
 " I have no proofs, and yet I know," insisted 
 Madge. " And your father feels as I do. Doesn't 
 his judgment count ? " 
 
 "He makes mistakes sometimes," flared Eose. 
 " And Tom is too proud to stoop to self-defense. As 
 for you, Madge, I love you dearly, and I believe you 
 love me. But until you can show me that your mar-
 
 12 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 riage with my father was entirely disinterested, I'll 
 not believe you have the right to judge Tom Blanken- 
 ship." 
 
 " Rose, stop ! " cried Madge. " I know how you 
 feel, but some day you will discover your mistake. , 
 Perhaps it is because I am so happy that I know that 
 only a union like ours is worth while." 
 
 "Well then," cried Eose, springing to her feet. 
 " It is my intention to marry Tom, and to make our 
 marriage worth while, too. Does that satisfy you ? " 
 And she ran into the house. 
 
 Madge looked after her with a troubled face. She 
 felt quite helpless, and knew she would always be 
 helpless unless in some unexpected fashion she could 
 light upon certain proofs of what she felt instinctively 
 to be the truth. The telephone, which stood on the 
 Gallery table, now startled her from her musing. 
 She hastened to answer the insistent bell, and as she 
 listened, she gave a low cry of dismay. She put down 
 the receiver and called to Uncle Jack, who hurried 
 round the corner of the house in answer to her sum- 
 mons. 
 
 "Uncle Jack," she said sharply. "Aunt Betty 
 wants me right away. They are sending the carriage 
 for me. She has something to tell me. She always 
 has something to tell me " And talking breath- 
 lessly, she rushed down the steps and over to the gate, 
 as a handsome turnout dashed up to it. 
 
 She had entered the carriage when Rose, up-stairs,
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 13 
 
 leaned from an open window. " Madge," she called 
 softly. " I was a little fiend to you. Forgive me." 
 
 Madge turned to wave a magnanimous hand. 
 "Good-by, dear," she called. "Aunt Betty wants 
 me. I'll hurry back. Good-by." She managed to 
 put only the brightest, fondest love into her tones. 
 
 A second later she was out of sight and Kose with- 
 drew her pretty head. 
 
 3Tor a short space the old house sank again to slum- 
 ber. And then so silently as scarcely to disturb it, a 
 man stepped out from the orchard, and slipped over 
 to the same bench where Kose and Madge had sat and 
 talked a moment before. He was straight and tall, 
 extremely handsome, very self-possessed, and so well- 
 groomed as to make his slight look of dissipation 
 rather attractive than otherwise. He was dressed in 
 riding-clothes. He smiled to himself as he lit a ciga- 
 rette and took a few meditative puffs. It was a smile 
 of egoism, yet somehow lovable. Here was a man 
 whom one liked while condemning, and who knew and 
 traded on this fact. 
 
 Having settled himself on the bench to his satis- 
 faction, he gave a soft whistle like the love-note of a 
 bird, to apprise Rose that he was waiting, and then 
 turned to a newspaper which he found on a rustic 
 table near. It was Gabe's own paper, and the edi- 
 torial was a direct attack upon the war talk now circu- 
 lating through the town and county, and contained 
 more than one allusion to " The Captain of our
 
 14 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 troop," who, it seemed, had been busy stirring up still 
 greater excitement, and getting in some political rows 
 as well, wherein, according to said editorial, he had 
 shown that he had the interests of himself and of his 
 own particular class at heart, rather than the good of 
 the populace at large. 
 
 As the man upon the bench read through this edi- 
 torial his lips tightened, his eyes gleamed and his 
 nostrils widened in a cruel sneer. Indeed, so plainly 
 did he show that the feelings roused in him were due 
 to personal rancor and offended pride, that it was 
 not difficult to see that he was none other than the man 
 referred to, Thomas Blankenship himself. His 
 cheeks flushed, his handsome brow knit itself into an 
 ugly frown, the whole contour of his face changed 
 beyond recognition. One would have said that this 
 was not the same man who had entered the garden a 
 moment ago, eager, handsome, entirely complacent 
 and at ease. His look so altered that instinctively 
 one feared him. 
 
 It was so that Rose saw him, when at last she ran 
 out upon the Gallery and down the broad steps to the 
 lawn. 
 
 She had dressed to meet her lover, in a simple 
 gown of white. Her hair, caught up loosely in a 
 fashion he admired, shimmered in the sunlight. Her 
 cheeks were flushed with expectation, her dark eyes 
 like twin stars under their long lashes. But the first 
 glimpse of his face brought her quickly to a pause*
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 15 
 
 She changed from expectancy to hesitation, and even 
 to a something resembling fright. Then he realized 
 her presence, and, flinging down the paper, sprang to 
 his feet and came to meet her. Before his out- 
 stretched hands, his face now beaming with the love 
 it knew so well how to express, her momentary feeling 
 left her, and for all she remembered of it, had never 
 been. Yet it had left its impress on her heart, and 
 under its unconscious influence she spoke. 
 
 " What were you reading, to make you look so 
 
 " Oh, nothing," he answered lightly, striving to be 
 magnanimous before her at least. " Your father has 
 been holding up my virtues for inspection, and has 
 succeeded in finding a number of places in need of 
 patching. However, I am getting used to that sort of 
 thing." 
 
 " It is too bad," murmured the girl, much dis- 
 tressed. " But, Tom, Father does not understand, 
 that's all. I don't think he means those things quite 
 as personally as you suppose." 
 
 " They do not matter." With a careless gesture he 
 appeared to dismiss them entirely from his mind. 
 Then, in low, passionate tones, he continued. 
 11 Nothing matters but just you. I've got to make 
 sure of you, you beautiful thing! That's why I've 
 been hiding in the orchard, and why I've ventured 
 here in your stepmother's absence. I've got to make 
 sure of you, at once "
 
 16 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 " Make sure of me ? I do not understand you." 
 Her eyes grew mocking. 
 
 " You know you promised. You promised me this 
 morning " 
 
 " I promised nothing. That is I didn't exactly 
 promise. I said I said I'd think it over." 
 
 " And now you've thought it over, you are going to 
 say* Yes/ You shall! You must! I'll not let you 
 say anything else. I'll seal your lips with kisses 
 so and not let them open at all until I read in your 
 eyes that you are going away with me to-night, far, 
 far away, just you and I alone." 
 
 She slipped out of his clasping arms and shook her 
 curls at him in shy rebuke. " You take too much for 
 granted, Mr. Blankenship," she cried with flaming 
 cheeks. " You ought not to come here anyway. You 
 know my father doesn't like it. And I truly don't 
 know yet whether I shall go with you or not. I 
 haven't made up my mind." 
 
 " Why not, if you love me, Eose ? You are mine 
 and I want you now." 
 
 " You see I've never been engaged before," she re- 
 minded him. " And I have never run away to get 
 married, either. How do I know what it's like 
 to leave home and friends, to deceive my dear father, 
 to give up everything I call life now, just for for 
 you?" 
 
 " You know now how it feels to be engaged. You 
 have been engaged to me for two whole hours "
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 17 
 
 " Two whole hours ! Yes, and lots of girls are 
 engaged for as many years. Why, I haven't had time 
 to get used to it yet, and here you are begging me to 
 run away. I don't think I want to run away. I'd 
 rather be married here, in the church, with brides- 
 maids, and presents, and a wedding-cake, and, oh, a 
 veil, and lots of things ! " 
 
 "But your father does not like me. His wife 
 hates me. They'll never consent to our marriage, 
 much less to giving you a wedding." 
 
 " They might, if I coaxed," she said, demurely. 
 tl You don't know what a coaxer I am, nor how much 
 my father will do for me if I set myself to make him. 
 Let us wait and see." 
 
 He gave a groan of despair. " They'll teach you 
 to despise me," he cried passionately. " They'll 
 stoop to anything to accomplish that Oh, my darl- 
 ing, listen but a moment ! Your own mother she 
 whose place Madge Oglethorpe has usurped why I 
 can remember her, Rose. She was just like you, the 
 sweetest, prettiest girl that ever lived in Salem. She 
 was the light of your father's eyes, and they were 
 happy, oh, but they were happy! Yet her people 
 were against him, Eose, and she was forced to fly at 
 night, to marry in the face of opposition. You know 
 how Captain Gabe used to boast of it, and how often 
 he said that runaway matches, like runaway horses, 
 often turned out the best in the end ? " 
 
 Again he put his arm about her and drew her
 
 18 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 close, so close that his cheek pressed hers, and she 
 could feel the beating of his heart against her shoul- 
 der. " See ! " he breathed, pointing with his free 
 hand as if an actual scene lay there before them. 
 " See the glorious happiness that waits for us over 
 yonder. To-night I'll come for you, Eose. I'll be 
 waiting at the cross-roads at seven, with my fastest 
 horse. In an hour we'll be at th Junction, in an- 
 other hour we'll be in the city, and ten minutes later 
 we'll be married, you and I. And then the joy! 
 Think of it, Eose. I'll buy you everything. I'll 
 take you to New York, London, Paris, everywhere. 
 I'll lay the whole world at your feet. You'll be a 
 queen, I tell you, a queen, clothed in shining gar- 
 ments, your beautiful hair roped with pearls, with 
 diamonds flashing in those little ears and on these 
 dear white hands. You will not even have to wish 
 for things. They'll be yours before you have known 
 you wanted them. I'll make it my business to create 
 new longings in you, only for the pleasure of seeing 
 them gratified. And always, behind the pleasure and 
 the joy will be that deeper pleasure, that greatest of 
 all joys my love for you. I'll make you happy, 
 Eose." 
 
 "But, Tom," she interrupted, her eager eyes 
 clouded with sudden pain. " The suffering in the 
 world, could we be so happy when there is suffering 
 in the world ? " 
 
 He looked at her blankly for a moment, recalled
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 19 
 
 thus abruptly from his visioning. Then, " What has 
 a girl like you to do with suffering ? " he demanded, 
 roughly. 
 
 " Oh, but it's there ! " she exclaimed, her hands 
 against her heart. " Always it's there that dull 
 dark undercurrent. I don't know much about it, but 
 I feel it as I suppose all women must. And now we 
 are verging upon war. What of that ? " 
 
 " I shall make you forget it," he asserted boldly. 
 " My love shall so enfold you that there'll be no room 
 for brooding." 
 
 " But I don't want to forget it," she assured him 
 earnestly. " I don't want to be just lightly happy, 
 Tom. I want to be of use, and I'd never be quite 
 satisfied if we were not doing something for those 
 others who are not quite so fortunate as we." 
 
 " Then we will do something," he promised readily. 
 " We'll fling our gold abroad, feed the hungry, clothe 
 the ragged, and make our names blessed. They'll call 
 you an angel, you human Eose, and when you die 
 they'll build a monument to you why, what's the 
 matter, Eose ? " 
 
 For she had withdrawn herself again and was sit- 
 ting huddled on the bench, with white cheeks and 
 staring eyes. " Death ! " she whispered, hoarsely. 
 "Death!" 
 
 " Are you afraid of it ? " he asked, looking at her 
 strangely. 
 
 "Not afraid," she answered. "But let's not
 
 20 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 
 
 speak of it now, Tom. Life is calling me. I want to 
 live, to live to the fullest capacity I have in me, just 
 to live. That's all!" 
 
 Even at this moment he was constrained to marvel 
 at her self-expression. This impulsive and spirited 
 girl, standing on the threshold of her womanhood, felt 
 things all too keenly. If the mere thought of the 
 darker side of life could blanch her cheek, what must 
 be her capacity for suffering when the realities them- 
 selves confronted her? And then so quickly she 
 changed, and as she begged just to live, her eyes 
 glowed, and the color flooded her cheeks once more. 
 The man hesitated for a space, brought face to face 
 with his half-formed intentions, and questioning if 
 they were good. He knew he wanted her above every- 
 thing else in the world. Would the fulfillment of his 
 longing bring her all he promised her, and all she 
 craved? And then he shrugged his shoulders and 
 tossed his burden lightly off. He wanted her, and 
 that was all sufficient to him to justify anything that 
 he might say or do. 
 
 " Ah, but we will live," he cried, drawing her close 
 again. " Only say that you'll come with me, Kose, 
 and life shall give you of its best. Say Yes." 
 
 " How can I help it when you paint such glowing 
 pictures," she sighed. " Father will forgive me, I 
 know, for as you say he ran away with my own 
 mother, so he will understand. But wait a moment, 
 Tom. There is one thing I want to ask you to ex-
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 21 
 
 plain to me before I give my final answer. Not about 
 yourself, but about your brother." 
 
 " I'll tell you anything you want to know, you darl- 
 ing." 
 
 " Why did you inherit the Blankenship estates, and 
 your elder brother receive nothing but what you chose 
 to give him ? I don't ask this because people say ugly 
 things about you, but because I know your reasons for 
 taking your inheritance without a protest must have 
 been good, and because this is one of my father's 
 strongest items against you. Hadn't your brother 
 done something wicked, something unworthy ? " 
 
 " No, he was good enough," said Tom. " But he 
 is not a true Blankenship. I am, so it was my right 
 to take my father's place." 
 
 " What do you mean by that, Tom ? " she asked, 
 wrinkling her pretty brow. 
 
 " I'll tell you the tale as it was told to me," he 
 said, and, sitting with an arm about her, he began to 
 weave the story as though talking to a child.
 
 o 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 * ' ^"""^ NCE upon a time," he stated, playing 
 with the small firm hand that yielded it- 
 self to his. " Once upon a time, in Eng- 
 land, long ago, there was a Lady Blankenship whose 
 husband worshiped her as I do you. She was a lovely 
 lady, imperious, self-willed, and wanting costly 
 gowns, jewels, balls and parties, gaiety and fun. 
 She got what she asked for. More than once her hus- 
 band risked life itself to gratify her whim for some 
 gewgaw that she flung away, dissatisfied as soon as 
 she received it. And then, one day, when snow 
 was on the ground, she said she'd nevermore be happy 
 or content until she'd tasted cherries. There were no 
 hot-houses in those days and for once her wish was un- 
 fulfilled. He brought her curious fruits from China, 
 grapes from Italy, oranges from Spain, but at them 
 all she shook her small dark head and called for cher- 
 ries. l Only to taste but one,' she begged. And, 
 ' Methinks, milord, that your love can scarce be all 
 you claim it, if a dear wish of mine can thus be 
 slighted.'" 
 
 " Oh, I think she was horrid," exclaimed Eose. 
 He only smiled as he talked on.
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 23 
 
 " My Lord Blankenship tore his hair and cursed 
 his varlets all to no avail. Cherry-less my Lady was, 
 and cherry-less my Lady stayed, until springtime 
 came and brought the blooming trees. It brought as 
 well a young Lord Blankenship, and there upon his 
 arm, quite clearly cut, was a curious birthmark not 
 unlike a cluster of ripe cherries." 
 
 " How odd ! But what has this to do with you and 
 your brother ? " 
 
 " I'm coming to that. This Blankenship grew up 
 to manhood and in time became lord of great estates, 
 and his son, and his son's son bore upon them this 
 same curious mark. The cluster now began to be 
 regarded with superstition, and was embodied in their 
 <;oat of arms. The fourth generation saw four sons 
 without this cluster, and a daughter who bore it with 
 exceptional distinctness. So deeply had the awe of it 
 gone into their hearts that these four brothers volun- 
 tarily resigned their rights to her. When she mar- 
 ried her husband took her name, and their eldest son 
 bore the mark, upon his breast. So on, through gen- 
 eration after generation. The one who bore the 
 cluster became the heir, boy or girl, eldest or young- 
 est. Oddly enough in no single generation did it fail 
 to appear upon at least one of the children." 
 
 " And if it appeared upon more than one ? " 
 
 " The preference was given to the eldest boy who 
 bore it. In time the Blankenships fell from their 
 high estate. They took up the cause of Prince
 
 24 THE SHELLEY S OF. GEORGIA 
 
 Charlie, and their lands were confiscated. They fled 
 to save their lives and came to America, where they 
 waxed rich and great. With them they carried this 
 dear tradition of their race. So only those of us 
 who have this mark upon us are called true Blanken- 
 ships. The others, in our eyes, might better never 
 have been born." 
 
 " Then you have it ? " she cried. 
 
 " Upon my arm," he said. " My brother was un- 
 marked, and he stepped aside quite willingly, for he 
 was imbued with the same awe for it as I. See, 
 here it is ! " 
 
 He slipped his left arm out of his coat, rolled up 
 his shirt-sleeve, and showed her, above his elbow, five 
 small round crimson spots, and one elongated fainter 
 shape, which, to the imaginative mind, might repre- 
 sent a leaf. 
 
 " Yes," she said, examining it curiously. " I see 
 the resemblance. It is a very odd mark. I am glad 
 you told me the story. But was your brother com- 
 pletely disinherited ? " 
 
 " My father left it to me to do what was right," 
 said Tom grandly. " So long as I live, my brother 
 shall never want." 
 
 fl That's nice of you," beamed Rose, slipping out of 
 his reach. " I shall tell my father the whole story, 
 the very first chance I get. No, stay where you are," 
 she commanded, as he started from his seat. " Stay
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 25 
 
 right where you are, so I can say what I want to say 
 without being at all embarrassed." 
 
 He laughed at her pretty air of authority, and re- 
 mained on the bench watching her with gloating eyes 
 as she tripped across the grass and up the Gallery 
 steps. At their top she turned. " At seven, at the 
 cross-roads," she called softly. " I'll be waiting for 
 you." 
 
 Then indeed he made a mad rush across the grass, 
 too late, for the house door slammed in his very face 
 and she was gone, leaving behind her only the echo 
 of a merry laugh. 
 
 He shook his fist impotently at the sturdy barrier 
 between them. "Until to-night, then," he mur- 
 mured, and a smile of triumph lit up his face. 
 
 He had turned away and was going toward the gate, 
 when a carriage stopped before it and Madge alighted, 
 fagged and weary, and not at all pleased to see him 
 there. She did not trouble to hide her dislike of him, 
 and ignored the hand he dared to offer her. 
 
 "Mr. Blankenship," she said coldly. "Why do 
 you continue to disregard my husband's wishes? 
 How could you come here in his absence ? " 
 
 " A friendly call," he answered lightly. " Surely 
 there's no harm in that. Mrs. Shelley, your manner 
 towards me lately has been extremely cutting. Once 
 it was not so cold " 
 
 " You do well to speak of that time," she cried in-
 
 26 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 dignantly. " I was a girl then, as Eose is now, and 
 as susceptible to flattery as she. Mr. Blankenship, I 
 am going to make an appeal to your honor, and to the 
 best that is in you. There is no use in mincing mat- 
 ters. You know what both Captain Gabe and I have 
 been trying to show you by our aloofness. You are 
 not worthy of Eose, and you ought to be man enough 
 to acknowledge that, and to leave her alone." 
 
 Tom laughed, but all the same his eyes gleamed 
 angrily. " You say I am not worthy of her. I ad- 
 mit that, but what man is ? She is a princess, and I, 
 her humble subject. Surely there can be nothing but 
 good in worship such as mine. It transcends any 
 feeling I have ever known before, and is as far above 
 that semblance of love I once offered you, for instance, 
 as the stars are above this small brown earth of ours." 
 
 If he had thought to sting her so, he failed. She 
 made a scornful gesture. " The love you gave me 
 once was like the love you give her in this, that it was 
 the only kind of which such men as you are capable. 
 If you worship Eose, as you so frankly say, then that 
 worship is an insult and should be stamped out. I 
 believe I'd rather see her die than marry you, Tom 
 Blankenship." 
 
 " Hard words," exclaimed Tom. " Let's be fair 
 and temperate. What do you know of me that causes 
 you to judge me so harshly ? Nothing except that 
 your own beauty could not keep me as its slave. Was 
 that my fault, or yours? I'll acknowledge that a
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 27 
 
 lovely face and form attract me. That's Nature's 
 own law, to which I, a man, am forced to be obedient. 
 But behind the face and form must lie a loveliness of 
 soul which, pardon me, most women lack or else 
 my heart proves fickle. I see it there in Rose. I see 
 in her my own soul's salvation. And then you come 
 to me with your contempt, and petty jealousy and 
 spite, and ask me to renounce her, as if you thought 
 one such request sufficient. I tell you no power on 
 earth could ever make me give her up, so long as she 
 loves me and trusts in me." 
 
 " You coward ! " The low intensity with which 
 Madge spoke the commonplace words gave them new 
 meaning, and his face turned white. 
 
 11 A coward, am I ? " he exclaimed between his 
 teeth. " Well, maybe when it comes to facing 
 such as you. It takes a rarer courage than you can 
 comprehend, to see the heights as typified by Eose, 
 and to dare to attain them." 
 
 " Shame on you ! " panted Madge. " You talk of 
 heights to which you'll climb through her you 
 whose base passions long to drag her down " 
 
 He gave a low angry laugh. " If you were a man, 
 I'd say that such sentiments were inspired by the 
 character of the mind that lies behind them. We are 
 getting nowhere when we use them." 
 
 " We have gotten thus far," she retorted. " That 
 we are open enemies now. You never shall win Eose 
 while her father and I can fight against you."
 
 28 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 " What can you do ? What are your weapons ? " 
 
 " We can take her away." 
 
 "To Atlanta?" he scoffed. "She speaks with 
 pride} of having been that far from home. Poor 
 child! You and that father of hers would tie her 
 down for her whole life to Salem, and offer her At- 
 lanta for a bait when her restless spirit chafes at the 
 narrow confines of her prison. ' Oh, the peach 
 crop ! ' you exclaim. ' It needs us all. We cannot 
 spare you now. Later on, perhaps, when the fruit 
 has ripened and been gathered, we'll take you to At- 
 lanta.' And Eose, dear girl, has dreamed of her At- 
 lanta, as an acolyte might dream of Heaven." 
 
 His mocking tones roused all the fury in her. 
 tl Will you go, before I call the servants ? " she cried. 
 " Will you go before I lose all self-control, and tell 
 you just how low you stand in my esteem ? " 
 
 " I will, gladly, and leave you the last word," he 
 said. " Get what comfort you can from that, for the 
 game has just begun, and the next move is mine." 
 
 There was something so confident and self-assured 
 in the sneering words that Madge could only stand 
 still and stare at his retreating figure. What did he 
 mean? That he had something in reserve she could 
 not doubt. She longed for Captain Gabe, un- 
 consciously assuming that he could act where she was 
 helpless. A need for haste possessed her. It 
 seemed to her that this triumphant man must already 
 have set in motion the machinery which would take
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 29 
 
 Rose forever out of their reach. In this her woman's 
 instinct told her true. And into her need of haste, of 
 instant action, suddenly the face of her father, kindly 
 old Judge Oglethorpe, intruded. Next to Captain 
 Gabe himself, she felt that he was able to advise her. 
 
 She ran over to the gate, impulsively bent upon fol- 
 lowing up her new idea. Then she stopped dismayed. 
 " I can't go to my father, either," she cried aloud. 
 " He's busy at the court-house. Is there any one else 
 in this whole town who could advise me what to 
 do?" 
 
 " Try me," suggested a pleasant masculine voice. 
 
 11 Oh ! " screamed Madge, startled beyond self-con- 
 trol at the nearness of this voice. She had turned 
 toward the house again in her hesitation, and so 
 failed to see the man who had come so quietly up to 
 the gate. Now she whirled to confront a tall, rather 
 slender fellow, awkward in build and decidedly plain. 
 This plainness was garnished and set off by a quantity 
 of freckles, and his head, which he had uncovered, was 
 blazing red. Nevertheless one look into his gray eyes 
 was almost enough to make Madge relax and smile a 
 greeting, they were so engaging and so cheerful, so 
 downright sure of her friendliness and sympathy and 
 understanding. 
 
 " I beg pardon," she murmured. " I didn't know 
 any one was there." 
 
 " So I realized, the moment I had spoken," he an- 
 swered with a merry twinkle. " But, hearing a
 
 30 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 young and charming lady wondering if there was any 
 one in this town who could advise her, and knowing 
 my own excellence in counsel, and finding myself 
 Johnny-on-the-spot, so to speak, I ventured to offer 
 my services. Try them. Warranted wholesome and 
 easy to take. Of an excellent pattern and the design 
 
 merely to please you." 
 
 Again Madge hesitated, plainly uncertain what 
 answer to make this dapper stranger. He was so at 
 ease, so self-assured, that she unconsciously accepted 
 him at his own valuation. It seemed already that he 
 was an old friend, and so long as she looked into his 
 honest eyes she never could have snubbed him. She 
 might even confide in him, against her better judg- 
 ment. 
 
 She glanced away, and lo ! her whole conception of 
 him changed. Here was a stranger, presumptuous 
 and impudent, daring to address her familiarly whom 
 He had never seen until a moment before. He must 
 be taught his place. Yet in order to teach him she 
 found it necessary to keep on looking away. 
 
 " I do not know you," she said coldly. " But I do 
 know that you have taken an unwarrantable liberty in 
 speaking to me so. I must ask you to leave, in- 
 stantly." 
 
 The stranger leaned against the gate-post and be- 
 gan to fan himself with his hat. " But I've just 
 come," he complained. tl And I'm hot and tired and 
 
 why shouldn't I say it? thirsty. I was in-
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 31 
 
 formed that this was an hospitable country, where the 
 ladies were always gracious, and mint juleps so thick 
 you couldn't step between 'em or after 'em either, 
 for that matter. And the first lady I meet refuses 
 my offer of assistance, asks me to leave before I have 
 time to present my card of introduction, and I haven't 
 even heard a julep mentioned since I've been here. 
 So much for advice. Take mine, and don't take it. 
 Which may sound contradictory, but is nevertheless 
 true." 
 
 Madge drew herself up proudly and turned to 
 annihilate this insolent person with her most scorn- 
 ful glance. Unfortunately her eyes encountered his. 
 Her anger vanished and to her intense surprise she 
 found herself smiling and saying frankly, " I didn't 
 know you had a card of introduction. Why didn't 
 you tell me, before ? " 
 
 " Haven't had a chance," he answered. " Now I'll 
 be a good little boy and speak my piece nicely." 
 
 He drew himself up straight, put both feet to- 
 gether precisely upon the walk, and asked in formal 
 tones, " Is this the residence of Captain Gabriel Shel- 
 ley?" 
 
 " It is," answered Madge, trying to maintain her 
 gravity. 
 
 " Is the Captain at home ? " 
 
 " He is not." 
 
 " Have I the honor of addressing his daughter, or 
 his wife ? "
 
 32 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 To save her life Madge could not help but answer 
 roguishly, " Guess which." 
 
 " I give it up," said the stranger promptly, pre- 
 senting her with a card which he drew from his breast- 
 pocket 
 
 She took it from his outstretched hand and read 
 slowly, aloud, " ( Bucknam and Bates, Wholesale 
 Fruiterers and Produce- Venders, introducing Homer 
 Fort.' Oh ! " she exclaimed with quick dismay. 
 "Are you Mr. Fort? The Captain was expecting 
 you, though not so soon." Her thoughts flew back 
 over all that had just passed. Had she said or done 
 anything to offend this man? Not for the world 
 would she hurt her husband's chances of doing busi- 
 ness with him. 
 
 " The Captain's letter aroused considerable inter- 
 est, you see," he explained. " His partial crop this 
 year was a wonder, an eye-opener. His plan to form 
 a combine of the peach-growers in this vicinity, so 
 that our dealings may be simplified into handling one 
 large consignment instead of half a hundred small 
 ones ; his personal guarantee that only those growers 
 shall be admitted whose peaches are of like quality to 
 his own well, my firm decided to get busy right 
 away, before some other company got the chance. 
 First come, first served, holds good with Captain 
 Shelley as well as with other peach-growers, I pre- 
 sume?" 
 
 "I don't know about that," commented Madge,
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 33 
 
 pleasantly. " The Captain says he'd rather make a 
 thousand dollars out of a man he likes than a million 
 out of an enemy." 
 
 " Then he has got to like me, that's all," grinned 
 Homer Fort. 
 
 Madge signified that he was to enter the gate, and 
 he was quick to respond to her invitation. As they 
 walked toward the house he looked at her earnestly, in 
 a way she would have resented in any man less inno- 
 cent of wrong intent than he. Rose, coming out upon 
 the porch again to find Madge, surprised them thus 
 and hostility immediately bristled in her manner. 
 Madge called her merrily. 
 
 " Come here, dear. Let me introduce Mr. Fort. 
 He says he cannot tell whether I am Captain Shelley's 
 wife or daughter. Now, Mr. Fort," she continued 
 gaily as Rose came forward reluctantly. " Here we 
 are, his wife and daughter. Guess again and tell me 
 which is which." 
 
 Mr. Fort bowed to Eose who barely acknowl- 
 edged the salutation. He was about to speak when 
 she turned abruptly to Madge, and said coldly, " The 
 luncheon-bell rang a long time ago. Where have you 
 been?" 
 
 " Mr. Fort comes from Bucknam and Bates, dear," 
 was Madge's apparently irrelevant response. Rose 
 knew then that her father's interests were involved. 
 It was best to be cordial to this stranger, who, after 
 all, would be with them but a little while. Her sec-
 
 34 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 ond nod of recognition was distinctly warmer than 
 her first. 
 
 " I've decided," suddenly exclaimed Mr. Fort, and 
 pointing triumphantly at Rose, he cried, " That's 
 Mrs. Shelley. How do you do, ma'am ? " Seizing 
 her hand in his, he gave it a hearty shake. 
 
 " How dare you ? " cried Rose, snatching it away. 
 
 Madge laughed. " Why do you think she is Mrs. 
 Shelley? I'm the older." 
 
 " Well," said Mr. Fort, ignoring Rose and looking 
 straight into Madge's eyes. " You are the more ap- 
 proachable. I understand that the Captain is well 
 past middle age, and might have a daughter of per- 
 haps twenty-three you can't be more, you know. 
 Don't tell me so, for I sha'n't believe it. And he'd 
 choose a schoolgirl for a wife, of course. The older 
 men are, the younger they like 'em." 
 
 "Oh!" gasped Rose, outraged at being dubbed 
 schoolgirlish. Her antagonism toward this man rose 
 to fever heat. She would show him that very night 
 whether she was a schoolgirl or not. And all of a 
 sudden a tiny regret curled upward through the fire 
 of her thoughts. She could almost wish she were not 
 going quite so soon, if, by remaining, she could teach 
 this man a lesson. 
 
 " I am Miss Shelley," she now announced with 
 frigid distinctness. " And the lady you are pleased 
 to consider so approachable is my stepmother. She
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 35 
 
 was married to my father four years ago when she 
 was twenty-five." 
 
 That was really too bad of Kose. She shouldn't 
 have said it, and the moment it was out she regretted 
 it. But she did not let either of them see that, hurry- 
 ing ahead of them into the house, with her nose in the 
 air. 
 
 " Phew ! " whistled Homer Fort. " That was the 
 worst frost I've ever gotten in my life, Mrs. Shelley. 
 No wonder the weather feels chilly down this way. I 
 hate to accuse her, but I do believe she told a fib about 
 your age." 
 
 Madge forced herself to smile at his words, though 
 Eose had hurt her deeply. " I do hope Captain Gabe 
 will soon be home," she said. " You will lunch with 
 us, of course." 
 
 " If I won't be in the way," hesitated Mr. Fort. 
 
 " Oh, no," she assured him. " I shall be glad to 
 have you stay until the Captain returns. Unless you 
 have something else to take up your time " 
 
 " Not a thing," he answered heartily. " And per- 
 haps you will let me give you that advice of which you 
 stand so much in need." 
 
 She faced him a trifle defiantly. " What advice 
 could you give me that would fit in with my unspoken 
 needs ? " she asked. 
 
 " Only this. It is my creed. ' Don't worry. 
 Keep on smiling, and something always will turn up.'
 
 86 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 Say," he continued, with a sidelong glance. " Sup- 
 pose I take it myself. Do you think I could persuade 
 her to thaw out a little. I never saw a prettier girl 
 in all my life, Mrs. Shelley. She's a peach, she is, 
 a regular Georgia Peach." 
 
 Madge laughed at this, and so, laughing intimately 
 together, they went in to meet Rose's accusing eyes.
 
 CHAPTER ni 
 
 AFTER luncheon Rose, still frigid, went to her 
 room, to pack up a few necessaries in a 
 hand-bag, which was all the luggage she in- 
 tended carrying, and to write a tender letter to her 
 father, begging his understanding and forgiveness. 
 Madge also excused herself, for she was tired from 
 her long night with Aunt Betty, and from the morn- 
 ing's journey ings, and she suffered increasing alarm 
 as time passed and still nothing had been done to 
 thwart the plans which she felt sure were being per- 
 fected by Tom Blankenship. Homer's advice did 
 help her. She strove to keep cheerful, and to believe 
 that something must turn up. 
 
 Homer himself wandered about the Captain's or- 
 chards, which were among the largest he had ever 
 seen. He was enthused over the thought of the won- 
 derful harvest which the trees would yield next year, 
 through the vigilance of Captain Gabe. Here was 
 achievement which he could applaud. The acts of 
 men thrilled him always. 
 
 He had heard much about Captain Shelley since he 
 had come to Georgia. Gabe was not only a pioneer 
 in the peach industry there, but he seemed to be fore- 
 most in everything that worked for the betterment of 
 37
 
 38 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 his town and county. He "had a finger in every 
 business enterprise in Salem, and a toe in every 
 mix-up in the State," as one of his satellites once 
 aptly said. Another, at the time of his marriage, had 
 " allowed that Cap'n Gabe's bride wuz a-marryin' 
 a'most every notable man in Bucks County." This 
 was too good a joke to keep, and went the rounds to 
 the Captain's great delight. He loved to refer to it 
 slyly even now. When Madge kissed him he often 
 asked her for which one of him the caress was meant, 
 and it gave him the utmost pleasure if she pretended 
 to consider seriously, and decided that this time it had 
 been the editor, or the farmer, but never the poli- 
 tician, because she hated politics. They " weren't 
 nice." 
 
 Some of this Homer knew now, and some of it he 
 was to learn later on, but all musing on the interest- 
 ing personality he was soon to meet, was secondary to 
 the thought of Captain Gabe's beautiful daughter. 
 Homer was not easily stirred. He had met many 
 types of women, and, in spite of the disillusion inevit- 
 able for a man on the road, he had retained a heart as 
 pure and shy as a girl's. In it he had enshrined an 
 ideal which as yet no woman he had ever seen could 
 touch. Rose was lovelier in face and form than his 
 vision of this ideal. So he determined to know her 
 better, and as his determinations usually bore fruit, 
 the budding of this one might have alarmed the girl, 
 had she known of it and been less sure that fate was
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 39 
 
 soon to take her out of his way forever. He had been 
 amused by her unconcealed hostility and dislike, see- 
 ing that she had thought him and Madge too intimate ; 
 and had resented it for her father's sake. He set her 
 attitude down to girlishness, not to be considered seri- 
 ously for a moment. All the same he found it stimu- 
 lating, for in spite of his homely face and freckles 
 and red hair, he had never before met a woman who 
 really disliked him. 
 
 At last his inspection of the orchards was over, and 
 he slowly approached the house, pausing now and 
 then to admire its quaint air of hospitality, which the 
 nodding roses seemed to emphasize. As he looked, 
 Rose came out upon the porch, and, seeing him, beck- 
 oned him to come to her. He smiled at the manner 
 of her invitation, and at first was minded not to go. 
 But, on second thoughts, deciding that this girl was 
 worthy some concession, he walked toward her. 
 
 " I've been looking at the trees," he informed her 
 seriously. " They are in wonderful condition. I 
 am not surprised any longer at the kind of peaches 
 shipped to us this fall." 
 
 He perceived that this subject met with instant 
 favor, for her eyes kindled. 
 
 " My father is always so thorough in anything he 
 does," she explained with pride, "that we know it 
 will be a success before he begins it." 
 
 But even as she spoke her lips trembled, and her 
 eyes filled with tears. She was thinking that for the
 
 40 THE SHELLEYS OR GEORGIA 
 
 first time in her short life she had set herself deliber- 
 ately against this dear father, and was soon to bring 
 one of his most heartfelt wishes all to naught. Then 
 anger at her self-betrayal before this stranger flushed 
 her cheeks. She turned away for a moment, and 
 when she looked at him again her eyes were dry and 
 bright. 
 
 " Perhaps you would like to walk to town with me, 
 Mr. Fort," she said. " I am going for the mail, and 
 I have an errand for my father, also." 
 
 He hesitated. Although her words were cordial, 
 her manner was perfunctory. It was evident to him 
 that she was performing what she considered a dis- 
 agreeable duty, rather than a pleasure, a mere cour- 
 tesy to a stranger who must be entertained. Was this 
 because of the sudden birth of friendship between 
 himself and Mrs. Shelley, or was it because of some 
 vital preoccupation of the mind of the girl herself? 
 She appeared to be laboring under repressed excite- 
 ment, and her breakdown of a moment ago made the 
 latter supposition seem the more likely. Again he 
 was tempted to refuse, and again he reconsidered, 
 falling into step beside her with a formal thank-you 
 for her invitation. 
 
 " Is this a typical Southern town ? " asked Homer, 
 in an endeavor to lighten the atmosphere between 
 them. " I am most anxious to see a typical Southern 
 town, and a typical Southern man as well. Is your 
 father this last?"
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 41 
 
 Rose considered. " Hardly. My father is full of 
 life and vim, always doing something, or thinking up 
 something to do. I might call him the typical South- 
 ern-man-of-the-future, and not be far wrong." 
 
 " I like that," said Homer, smiling. " You think, 
 then, that the South is progressing ? " 
 
 " Most assuredly. After the Civil War there was 
 a period when it degenerated. Used to issuing com- 
 mands, overseeing, living well but lazily, its men 
 shrank from putting their shoulders to the wheel, 
 which ceased to spin, and for a while turned back- 
 ward. My father was one of the first in this neigh- 
 borhood, to get down to actual physical labor. He 
 has often told me how he went out among the negroes, 
 and did everything he wanted them to do, so that they 
 might learn of him, and, following his example, do 
 more and better work than they had been used to 
 when there were usually too many of them." 
 
 As she spoke they turned into the main street of the 
 town. It was irregular and dusty, lined with small 
 crooked houses, interspersed here and there with 
 larger, newer buildings. The court-house, which had 
 once been imposing, was over-shadowed now by the 
 city post-office, wherein the men of the younger gener- 
 ation had their offices for practising law, medicine, 
 and what not. Further down the street she pointed 
 out her father's newspaper office, a ramshackle build- 
 ing of the older type, which she said he was soon to re- 
 place with a gorgeous brick affair, on which the name
 
 42 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 of the newspaper, The Weekly Budget, was to be 
 blazoned ten feet high. Homer entered the post- 
 office with her, amused that such a small portion of 
 the place should be relegated to the purpose for which 
 the whole structure was named. Later on, she told 
 him, Salem expected to have mail-carriers, and then 
 the whole lower floor would be taken for the one use to 
 which the building was supposed to be devoted. 
 
 She mailed some letters and a package, taking her 
 time while Homer watched. The postman handed 
 her out so many different-sized envelopes that Homer 
 begged the honor of carrying them for her. As they 
 quarreled merrily over who should take possession 
 of the mail, a young man entered, at sight of whom 
 Rose changed so suddenly that Homer wondered. 
 From merriment she passed to tense silence. Her 
 cheeks flushed and her eyes grew starry. Her red 
 lips parted and took on a dewy tint, while into her 
 manner crept an odd and wistful appeal. She gave 
 the man her hand, and then stammered his name to 
 Fort, calling him Mr. Blankenship, and, a second 
 later, Tom. The two men then shook hands, and 
 Fort and Eose passed on into the street. 
 
 That was all there was to the incident, yet Homer 
 found himself most painfully impressed. The under- 
 current of the girl's excitement had become more 
 clear to him. It was in some way ascribable to this 
 Blankenship, and though he was yet but a mere ac- 
 quaintance of the Shelleys, he felt indignation rising
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 43 
 
 within him that any one of this type could so stir 
 her as she seemed now to be stirred. " She either 
 loves him already, or is on the verge of it," decided 
 Homer. " Does he love her ? I wonder." 
 
 They went together to the newspaper office, where 
 Rose delivered some papers, containing articles for 
 publication, and then she undertook to show him 
 about the town. It was so evident that she meant to 
 keep him with her until her father returned, that 
 Homer now inclined to his first supposition, and fan- 
 cied her intention merely to keep himself and Mrs. 
 Shelley apart. He was too much amused to be indig- 
 nant, and too much interested in the girl herself to 
 mind her reasons for entertaining him. As they 
 sauntered through some quiet, shady street, he found 
 himself delighted with the quaintness of the houses 
 she pointed out, and with the hints of the characters 
 of their inmates which her talk conveyed. When 
 they came out upon some more modern thorough- 
 fare, he was quick to note the slight contempt which 
 crept into her tones as she spoke of these newly rich 
 folk, many of them but lately come to Salem. It was 
 clear that, in spite of her boast of progress, and her 
 pride in the growth of the town, she was aristocrat 
 enough to cling to her old families, and to bar these 
 intruders out. Yet, when she spoke of her training 
 as a nurse, it was evident that she had many friend- 
 ships with girls far beneath her in social standing, 
 girls to whom she must have seemed like a being from
 
 44 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 another world, and whom her kindness must have 
 often helped. 
 
 " She is a creature of impulses and contradictions," 
 summed up Homer. " Vivid and emotional, yet not 
 in the least degree shallow or fickle. Capable of 
 great things if but given half a chance." 
 
 And again he thought of Mr. Blankenship. Was 
 this the man to whom the molding of her flexible 
 character was to be given ? Was he the sort to shape 
 it well, or ill ? 
 
 In the meantime Madge slept peacefully, her 
 troubles all forgotten. The servants, their work in 
 the kitchen finished until time for dinner, congregated 
 on the back porch and indulged in low-voiced badin- 
 age. There was Janey, the housemaid, and Margaret 
 the cook, a couple of negro lads, and Uncle Jack. 
 The last-named was holding forth at great length upon 
 his favorite subject of religion. 
 
 " G'long wid you," Janey interrupted at last, with 
 contempt in her voice. " You-all purten's to know 
 all o' Gawd's business. Pity you couldn' 'ten' to some 
 o' yo' own. Didn' I done hyah Cap'n Gabe tell you 
 to rake up dat lawn dis mawnin' ? When he gits 
 back an' sees it still covahed wid leabs, I reckon you- 
 all'll wish 't you'd done whut he tol' you. Dat's 
 whut!" 
 
 " I clar to gracious, I done f ergot all 'bout dat ar 
 lawn," muttered Uncle Jack, and, followed by a 
 chorus of laughter and sly quips at his expense, he
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 45 
 
 went slowly around the house, picked up a rake which 
 leaned against a tree, and was soon absorbed in his 
 labors. 
 
 While he worked the shadows lengthened. The 
 sun turned sickly with the cold, and hastened west- 
 ward. A promise of frost leaped into the air, and a 
 sharp wind sprang suddenly into being, making Uncle 
 Jack shiver and complain to himself. He had not 
 completed his task, however, when he spied a buggy 
 in the distance, and knew it for his master's. 
 
 " Looky yondah ! " he exclaimed to himself, run- 
 ning to open the gate. " Gawd a'mighty ! Who 
 am dat ar in de buggy wid Cap'n Gabe? Doan't 
 look lak none o' his folks. Bet dey's froze stiff, any- 
 how." 
 
 As he stood holding the gate and talking to him- 
 self, Captain Gabe urged his tired horse down the 
 road and into the driveway, pulling up in fine style 
 at the Gallery steps, and waking Madge up-stairs. 
 
 "Hullo, Unc' Jack," he cried. "Quick now, 
 catch this bag! Put it down anywhere! You've 
 got to take the baby! Can you hold him without 
 dropping him? You'd better, you black rascal! 
 Now then, Minnie, jump! I'll catch you. Quick! 
 Ah, Madge? Been asleep? Come see what I've 
 brought home with me. But first give me a kiss. 
 That's it ! How is my girl, anyway ? " 
 
 So talking, Captain Gabe alighted, after flinging 
 an enormous carpet-bag straight at Uncle Jack's
 
 46 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 astonished head. He then burdened the negro with 
 a small bundle inside of which something squirmed 
 and protested vigorously, literally snatched his com- 
 panion out of the buggy, gave Madge, who had come 
 out and down the steps, a smacking kiss and a bear- 
 like hug, and all with the utmost good-nature. Now 
 he paused for a space in his activities, that Madge 
 might see and make the acquaintance of the person 
 who defiantly confronted them. 
 
 She was a young and pretty woman, scarcely more 
 than a girl, in fact. She was deathly white, her 
 pallor accentuated by her dark-rimmed sorrowful 
 eyes. Her lips were stretched in a rigid smile, 
 which reminded Madge by its gameness of some lit- 
 tle street urchin's, beaten in a fight, yet refusing to 
 acknowledge his defeat. Her hands were coarsened 
 by hard work, and her slight figure was already stoop- 
 ing in pitiful imitation of old age. But her hat 
 was gay with scarlet flowers, and her gown, though 
 of calico, was gaudy, and desperately attempted style. 
 Her feet were shod in slippers much trodden down at 
 heel. Cheap gloves she carried carefully, evidently 
 believing that they added to her appearance, but not 
 liking to wear them out. In her whole shoddy at- 
 tempt at elegance, Madge saw real pathos, and when 
 Gabe introduced them, she tendered her kindest greet- 
 ing. 
 
 "Madge, this young lady is Minnie Gray. You 
 remember Corporal Gray, don't you? My old war
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 4,1 
 
 comrade? This is his daughter, Madge. And this 
 is her baby. I've brought them both to you because 
 they are in trouble, and need our help." 
 
 " My dear, I'm glad to know you," said Madge 
 warmly. " You must be tired and cold." 
 
 " No'm," answered Minnie quickly, still watchful 
 and defiant. " I had Maw's shawl. I took it off 
 when we turned into the gyarden, 'cause it don't look 
 noways smart, but it kep' us warm, li'l Tawm an' I. 
 Maw, she giv it to me just befo' she went to the hors- 
 pittal, an' she says to me, she says, ' whut's good 
 enough fo' yo' maw, an' yo' grandmaw befo' her, is 
 good enough fo' you, I reckon, an' if anybody tries to 
 shame you out of wearin' of it, hoi' yo' haid high an' 
 flaunt it in their faces.' An' so I aim to do." 
 
 " Why, of course/' Madge was bewildered by the 
 rapidity of the words and the manner of their utter- 
 ance, as well as by the contradictory fact that Minnie, 
 though she flaunted the shawl in her speech, had yet 
 been ashamed to wear it. But before she could de- 
 cide what to say next, Minnie responded to the muf- 
 fled cries of her baby, still in the arms of Uncle 
 Jack. 
 
 " Mammy's sugar lump ! " she cried, transformed 
 by the tenderest of mother love, as she snatched it 
 fiercely from his grasp. " Did he want to come to 
 his mammy, then? Thar now! Don't you cry. 
 Mammy's got her baby. It's all right, honey. 
 Thar! Thar!"
 
 48 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 The baby subsided into complacency upon his 
 mother's shoulder, and, sticking one fat fist into a 
 mouth much too small, yet which he had determined 
 to distend sufficiently to accommodate its occupant, 
 he looked placidly up at Madge, who surrendered at 
 once to his charm. 
 
 " You darling ! " she exclaimed. " You perfect 
 darling ! " 
 
 Minnie melted. Not so at home had people spoken 
 of her small son. Her eyes filled, and impulsively 
 she held out the child to Madge. 
 
 "Hyah! You-all can take him if you want. 
 He's dreadful heavy for his size, and that smart 
 why, you wouldn't believe how smart that young-un 
 is ! He knows me thar ! What'd I tell you ? " 
 
 As the child wailed again at touch of unfamiliar 
 arms, his mother recaptured him and strained him 
 to her breast. In spite of the gaudy hat and gaudier 
 dress, she was a picture not to be lightly forgotten. 
 Rose, coming up the road with Homer, and hastening 
 ahead of him to greet her father, first caught a 
 glimpse of Minnie thus. 
 
 "Rose," called Captain Gabe. "This is Minnie 
 Gray, and her baby. Take them in and make them 
 comfortable. Give your old daddy a kiss, first." 
 Drawing her aside he whispered in her ear. She 
 nodded ready comprehension, and went straight to 
 Minnie. 
 
 " Come," she said tenderly. " May I carry the
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 49 
 
 baby ? No ? All right, then. Mind the step there. 
 What a dear he is 1 " 
 
 By this time Uncle Jack had recovered from hold- 
 ing a "white-folk's baby." "So 'long, boss," he 
 murmured, and led away the horse. 
 
 Captain Gabe and Madge stood side by side watch- 
 ing Rose, as she guided the mother and baby into the 
 house. Homer watched, too, from a distance, more 
 than ever admiring the lovely girl in her new role 
 of ministering angel. Then, judging from the way 
 Gabe turned to his wife, that he had something to 
 talk over with her privately, he turned and entered 
 the orchard, unobserved by either of the two. 
 
 On his way he stopped to tell Uncle Jack where he 
 could be found when wanted, and finding that indi- 
 vidual disposed to gossip, learned considerable of the 
 Shelleys and their ways, which predisposed him still 
 further towards them. 
 
 Meanwhile, Gabe settled his stalwart length 
 along the steps, and drew his wife down beside him. 
 She smiled at his boyishness which she loved the 
 more because it went so oddly with his gray hair. 
 
 " You have something to tell me, Gabe. Go 
 ahead." 
 
 " Only this, dear. Since Gray died, two years 
 ago, Minnie and her mother have lived alone on 
 their farm in the hills. And some one took advan- 
 tage of their loneliness to wrong the girl. She will 
 not tell me who that some one was, but I found out
 
 50 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 enough about him to be pretty certain in my own 
 mind." 
 
 "Who was it, Gabe?" 
 
 " Tom Blankenship." 
 
 " Gabe ! Now I know whom that baby looks 
 like!" 
 
 " It is his baby," answered Gabe, putting his hand 
 to his chin in a way he had when he was much con- 
 cerned. "But Minnie doesn't know I discovered 
 that. She is the most faithful little soul! Think 
 of it, Madge no older than our Rose, and already 
 the discarded plaything of a brute who calls himself 
 a man ! But I must speak of this to no one but you, 
 Madge. I have no proofs. The baby's resemblance 
 to Tom, and the description of her betrayer which the 
 neighbors gave me from their year-old memory 
 that's all I have to go upon. Too bad I didn't learn 
 about this sooner. I feel somehow as if I were to 
 blame. I ought to have been a better friend to Cor- 
 poral Gray. Talking all the time about our days to- 
 gether in the war, and letting him slip out of my ken 
 completely! I ought to have been there when he 
 died, and to have taken charge of Minnie then." 
 
 " I can't have you blame yourself," cried Madge. 
 " How did you find out about her now ? " 
 
 "Trouble is," complained Gabe, "that once a 
 family gets into the hills, it's like looking for a 
 needle in a haystack to track them out. I've been 
 right up by Gray's farm scores of times. But there !
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 51 
 
 It's no use talking now. Minnie's mother has been 
 sick for a long time, and the doctor up there, a first- 
 rate chap, finally persuaded her to go to Atlanta for 
 an operation. She got along fine, but won't be home 
 for a couple of months yet slow recovery case 
 far advanced all that. The doctor thought it a 
 shame for Minnie to be so alone. There wasn't a 
 woman up there would speak to her. One day Mrs. 
 Gray mentioned me as having been her husband's 
 friend, so he finally sent down for me. I was cer- 
 tainly glad he did. I felt so sorry for the poor little 
 girl when I saw her, that I didn't know what to do. 
 She was like a wild animal, frightened to death, but 
 facing me all the same. She's never had a chance in 
 all her life. Let's give her one, if we can, Madge." 
 
 " We will," was his wife's hearty answer. " May 
 I tell Rose of this?" 
 
 " I don't believe I would," mused Gabe. " If she 
 asked how I found it out, being my daughter, she 
 would pounce on all the weak points in my evidence. 
 She is as loyal in her way as Minnie. Has she seen 
 him, to-day ? " It was not necessary to name the 
 "him." 
 
 Madge nodded. " What's more, she told me that 
 they are engaged." 
 
 " That's bad news," sighed Gabe. 
 
 " He dared to come here, even. I met him. He 
 was mocking, insulting, everything that's horrid. 
 And someway I felt that he had mischief in his mind.
 
 52 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 Do let me tell her, Gabe. Then if she disbelieves 
 me, well, at least I'll have done all I could." 
 
 " All you could to send her right into his arms," 
 said Gabe. " ]SFo. If we could get Minnie herself 
 to identify him, honestly I doubt if Rose would take 
 her word even then if he denied it. That's just how 
 much she thinks she loves him. She doesn't really 
 love him, you know. JsTot a bit of it. But so long 
 as she thinks so, she'll act as if she does, and her acts 
 will live on long after her illusion has ceased 
 more's the pity. Don't let Eose out of your sight, my 
 dear. And don't worry. Something is bound to 
 turn up." 
 
 This repetition of Homer Fort's advice made 
 Madge smile. " I forgot," she said. " A Mr. Fort 
 has come from Bucknam and Bates, to have a talk 
 with you about your peach-growers' combine." 
 
 " Is that so ? " Gabe was surprised. " They must 
 have been interested indeed to send him down so 
 soon." 
 
 " Yes, so he says. By the way, Gabe, Eose was 
 suspicious." 
 
 " Suspicious ? What d'ye mean ? " 
 
 " She thought I was too friendly toward Mr. 
 Fort." 
 
 " Pshaw ! " chuckled the Captain, who knew of his 
 daughter's watchful attitude, and thought it quite a 
 joke. " Did she make you stand around ? If you 
 could take care of her half as well as she takes care
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 53 
 
 of you, my dear, Tom Blankenship couldn't get a look 
 at her sidewise, eh ? " 
 
 " It is an insult to her for him to even speak 
 to her," asserted Madge hotly. " He ought to be in 
 jail this minute, for the way he has treated this poor 
 girl!" 
 
 "If you women made the laws, I'd feel down- 
 right sorry for men like Tom," drawled the Captain. 
 " Still, even if you tarred and feathered him and 
 rode him on a rail, I don't know that I should inter- 
 fere. But so long as we men have the say-so, Tom's 
 hide is safe, and girls like Minnie haven't got a 
 show. I wish I could put all that into my editorial 
 for this week's paper, Madge. It'll be about the 
 war, of course, but I'll bet you I'll find a chance to 
 rile Tom a little in it somewhere. I'll get him on 
 his politics, on his office of tax assessor I'll think 
 up something. If he resents it, let him come across. 
 He'll find me waiting for him, Madge, and able to 
 protect my daughter. Now I'll go meet this Mr. 
 Fort."
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 ROSE led Minnie and her baby into the first- 
 floor bedroom, a pleasant and spacious 
 chamber, of a comfort and luxury such as 
 the mountain girl had never seen before. Captain 
 Gabe had whispered to Eose merely that Minnie had 
 been wronged by an unscrupulous man and needed all 
 her love and pity, and the generous-hearted girl had 
 responded ardently to his appeal. 
 
 She found Minnie difficult and requiring patience 
 and stratagem to melt, for the latter was quick-witted 
 enough to see the difference between herself and 
 Rose, and her defiant manner returned. She an- 
 swered " Yes'm," and " No'm," to all of Rose's talk, 
 and hugged the child to her bosom as though contact 
 with its warm body comforted the aching heart 
 within. Rose persuaded her to sit down, to take off 
 the monstrous hat, and at last to yield the baby, that 
 she might remove its wraps ; but through it all Min- 
 nie glared, and sat upon the extreme edge of her 
 rocker, straight as a ramrod, implying that the ac- 
 ceptance of a seat had committed her to nothing. 
 So Rose turned her attention to the mite in her 
 arms, and caressed and cooed over it, hoping thus to 
 reach its mother. 
 
 54
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 55 
 
 This wholesale possession of her baby, that treas- 
 ure which she had hitherto been forced to hide, 
 roused Minnie, and for his sake she disposed herself 
 a bit more comfortably, saying, " I reckon I'd better 
 take him now. Ain't you tired ? " 
 
 " Not a bit," said Eose. " But it isn't good for 
 him to be held too much. There. Now he is all 
 undone. Suppose we lay him on the bed so. 
 We mustn't yield to temptation and spoil him, must 
 we, bouncer ? Now Minnie I shall call you that 
 because Father said I might I am going to make 
 you, literally make you, let me brush your hair. I 
 just love to brush people's hair," she confided, as Min- 
 nie reluctantly transferred herself to the chair at the 
 dressing table. " And you have so much and such 
 a lovely color like ripe corn. You won't mind if 
 I try it in a different way, will you ? I saw such a 
 pretty style the other day, that I know would just 
 suit your face." 
 
 Girl-like, Kose, already determined to do all she 
 could to comfort this poor woman, started in upon 
 her hair. Her swift fingers undid the tight knot 
 into which it had been twisted. Minnie uncon- 
 sciously relaxed as she watched the lovely sympa- 
 thetic face reflected above her own in the glass. 
 " Yours is right pretty, and I like the way you fix 
 it," she drawled. 
 
 " Oh, do you ? That's nice of you," replied Eose, 
 with a smile. " It's a very easy way. I'll show you
 
 56 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 how. Did you ever hear that blue was your 
 color?" 
 
 "Aw, now," blushed Minnie, who had thought 
 anything her color. " This hyar pink dress kind o' 
 sets me off, don't you think ? " 
 
 The wistful appeal which crept into her voice 
 spurred Rose to fibs. " It is becoming," she said 
 warmly. " But blue is your color, all the same. 
 After I finish with your hair, you must let me get out 
 a lovely blue kimono that I have." 
 
 " What's a kimono ? " asked Minnie. 
 
 " A wrapper," explained Rose gently. " A loose 
 dress, to slip on when you're tired." 
 
 " Oh, a wrapper ! " said Minnie, her interest van- 
 ishing. " I've got a wrapper to home. It's yaller, 
 with li'l red berries in it I don't wear it on'y 
 whilst I warshes the dishes of mawnin's." 
 
 " There," said Rose, putting a few finishing 
 touches to the pretty coil which her deft hands had 
 fashioned. " How do you like that ? " 
 
 " It's kind o' nice," admitted Minnie cautiously, 
 still non-committal. " Purty loose. Up my ways 
 they wears their hair reel smooth an' tight. I allus 
 have wore mine tight, too. Seems neater, somehow. 
 But this looks right peart. I reckon I'll leave it stay 
 that-a-way for a bit." 
 
 " It makes your face so lovely," said Rose pleas- 
 antly, thereby advancing quite a distance in Minnie's 
 estimation. For in all her short life there had been
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 57 
 
 only one to tell her she was lovely, and that one a man 
 belonging to the same world as these new friends. 
 The starved heart opened just a little, and the sad 
 eyes brightened. In the meantime Rose hurried to 
 her own room, and soon returned with an armful of 
 blue silk, lace, and ribbons, caught up with pink rose- 
 buds here and there. 
 
 Amazement approaching awe dawned on Minnie's 
 face as she took the lace between her thumb and fore- 
 finger. " Is that a wrapper ? " she asked in hushed 
 tones. 
 
 "We call it a kimono," laughed Rose. "It is 
 rather fancy. That lace is the petticoat, which shows 
 when the kimono falls apart. These rosebuds fasten 
 it together so." 
 
 " Lawsy ! " sighed Minnie. " I ain't surprised 
 that you call it suthin' 'sides plain wrapper. You 
 don't warsh dishes in that kind o' thing, do you 2 " 
 
 " No, dear, I don't. In fact I don't do any of the 
 housework. I haven't been home very long from 
 school." 
 
 " You don't say. You must 'a' been kind o' 
 stoopid," marveled Minnie, submitting to having her 
 dress unbuttoned. " I finished school when I wuz 
 twelve. The teacher said I was that smart there 
 wa'n't nawthin' else as he could learn me." 
 
 " This was a school to study nursing," said Rose. 
 " If I had gone to college I wouldn't have been 
 through yet. I chose nursing instead."
 
 58 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 " Ain't it funny that folks have to learn to nuss ? " 
 asked Minnie. " Naow up to home, any of us kin 
 nuss an' do it all right. On'y Doc Green, he 'lowed 
 Maw needed special kind o' nussin'. It took him a 
 hull year to git Maw to consent to bein' cut up. She 
 couldn't see as how it could benefit her any to have 
 part of her insides tooken out. The Lord give 'em 
 to her, she says, an' he must 'a' knowed what he wuz 
 a-doin'. 'Twan't noway reasonable to suppose he had 
 made a mistake in the proper disposition of 'em. 
 But she got so bad hyar lately that I got plumb scairt, 
 I did, an' I says to her, says I, ' Maw 1 Lis'n naow ! 
 You better take Doc Green's advice. Mebbe that's 
 why they is doctors. The Lord puts in our organs all 
 right in the fust place/ I says, 'but livin' like we 
 do an' all, workin' so hard an' all, mebbe we get 'em 
 kind o' wore out like, an' so the Lord sends doctors 
 to mend 'em.' Well, that struck her as good com- 
 mon-sense, an' nn'lly she give her consent. That's 
 huccome she went to Atlanta, an' got op'rated on. 
 Doc, he wuz mos' afraid it wuz too late, an' tol' me 
 to prepare myse'f but Maw, she done fine. He 
 says she's as peart as a kitten, a'ready." 
 
 While Minnie talked, in tones so naturally musical 
 that her grammar sounded quaint instead of awk- 
 ward, Eose removed the staring calico and replaced it 
 with the lace skirt and the soft blue silken garment. 
 Xow the last rosebud was fastened, and with a little 
 cry of pleasure she stood back for a survey of Minnie.
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 59 
 
 " Look at yourself," she cried. " Just look at 
 yourself ! " She pushed Minnie in front of the 
 cheval-glass in the corner of the room. 
 
 Minnie shrank at first from the vision which met 
 her eyes. She could not believe that this was she. 
 Instead of the stooped and weary woman, whom she 
 had seen in sections in her small cracked mirror at 
 home, a slender, drooping form confronted her, all at 
 once, with soft brown eyes shaded by masses of wav- 
 ing hair. She was lovely. She knew that she was 
 lovely. And after her first astonished gasp she stood 
 still, staring, staring, as though she could never 
 stop. 
 
 It was so Madge found her, when she came in at 
 last, and her cry of surprise and delight helped to 
 make Minnie morn awake to what Rose had accom- 
 plished. Defiance returned. She faced them both 
 haughtily. 
 
 " Thar ! " she said, tearing at the rosebuds in a 
 fury of haste. " You've made a monkey outen me 
 long enough, I reckon. Take back your finery. I 
 don't want it. I'd ruther have my own clothes, poor 
 as they be. Needn't think I'm goin' to cringe an' 
 crawl. I'm a lady that is I wuz a lady oncet 
 and the poor creature sank down upon the bed beside 
 her baby, and burst into passionate tears. 
 
 " Dear Minnie," cried Madge. " Don't you un- 
 derstand ? Rose and I don't want to patronize you, 
 or to do anything but help you. We know some-
 
 60 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 thing of your sorrow and suffering, but see we do 
 not think it has disgraced you. We know that you 
 were young and ignorant, and that you really meant 
 no harm you had no chance against the man who 
 wronged you." 
 
 " Don't you dast say one word agin him/' panted 
 Minnie through her tears. " I love him to my 
 dyin' day I'll love him. It wuz all my own fault 
 I jus' lay myse'f out to please him an' he promised 
 to marry me, he did. An' he will come back yet I 
 know he will. He 'ain't seen the baby. But if I can 
 find him an' show him li'l Tawm, he'll marry me 
 right off I know he will." 
 
 " Bless your loyal little heart, I am glad you be- 
 lieve that," said Madge. " We won't say anything 
 to disturb your faith in him, ever. All the same we 
 want to help you to help you fit yourself for his 
 world, Minnie, You'll let us do that, surely." 
 
 " How do you mean ? " asked Minnie. 
 
 " Wasn't he a gentleman, and didn't he ever tell 
 you of anything different from your life in the 
 hills?" 
 
 " Oh, yes. But it all sounded like a dream," said 
 the girl wistfully. "Do you reckon I could ever 
 grow to be like you ? " 
 
 " Why, of course you can," cried Madge. " There 
 now, that is settled. You are to stay with us until 
 your mother is quite well, and we'll teach you every- 
 thing that will please him. Won't we, Rose ? "
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 61 
 
 Madge had been stooping over Minnie's prostrate 
 figure, and now she turned, expecting to receive con- 
 firmation from the girl. Instead she saw what she 
 was never to forget what froze her into silence 
 until Minnie, roused to curiosity by the cessation of 
 all sound in the room, stirred, lifted herself, looked : 
 too, and then cried out in wonder. 
 
 "Why, Miss Rose! What's the matter with 
 Tawm that you look at him like that? What's the 
 matter with my li'l Tawm ? " 
 
 Rose had left Madge to comfort Minnie and had 
 gone over to that side of the bed where the baby lay. 
 He was awake and quite content upon the unaccus- 
 tomed softness of the pillow. His fist again dis- 
 torted his mouth, and his small legs waved aimlessly 
 to and fro. His coarse dress impeded his movements 
 so that Rose lifted it to give him greater freedom. 
 She found his limbs quite bare and admired the pink 
 toes and dimpled knees to her heart's content. Then 
 suddenly she noticed a mark on the calf of his leg, 
 and, stooping to get a clearer view, she stood trans- 
 fixed. For the mark consisted of five small round 
 crimson spots, and a fainter elongated shape, and 
 differed in no respect from the one she had examined 
 with such interest upon the arm of her lover, scarcely 
 five hours before. 
 
 During those short moments that she stood staring 
 at the mark, she told herself that it meant nothing. 
 This was mere coincidence, this likeness to the
 
 62 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 Blankenship cluster of ripe cherries. And yet she 
 continued to stand staring, holding the baby's leg in 
 a vise-like grip from which it struggled vainly to be 
 free. It seemed to her years that she stood so, until 
 Minnie's astonished cry broke in upon the coma that 
 possessed her, and her heart began to throb painfully 
 in her breast. 
 
 " Nothing," she forced herself to answer. 
 " Nothing is the matter with your baby, Minnie. I 
 must see my father. I think I had better see my 
 father." * 
 
 " I'll come with you, Eose," cried Madge. " For- 
 give me," she said hurriedly in an undertone to Min- 
 nie. " But Rose looks very strange. Perhaps she's 
 ill. I'd better see what's wrong. Rest now, and 
 later we'll return." 
 
 She overtook Rose in the hall. The girl's hurry 
 had deserted her and she was leaning against the 
 wall, looking deathlike in her unaccustomed pallor. 
 At the moment she was conscious of nothing but the 
 awful beating of her heart, and that somewhere near 
 lurked a horror that sooner or later she must nerve 
 herself to face. Madge's coming was welcome to her. 
 She clung to her stepmother, and whispered hur- 
 riedly, " Madge, tell me ! How can I find out who 
 is the father of that baby ? I've got to know." 
 
 " Why, Rose ! What ails you that you talk like 
 this?" 
 
 " I've got to know, I tell you. Is there any way I
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 63 
 
 can find out ? Madge, is there any way ? " repeated 
 Eose in the same hurried breathless fashion. 
 
 "Minnie won't tell," parried Madge. "Your 
 father feels quite sure, but he has no proof." 
 
 " Who does he think it is ? " 
 
 " I promised not to tell you yet. We were to 
 wait for surer knowledge first." 
 
 "Then I know. You needn't wait," said Rose. 
 "The proof is there for all of you to see. He is 
 Tom's baby." 
 
 " I did not think the resemblance so strong as 
 that," cried Madge. " The baby looks like him, yes. 
 But then he is only a baby. Babies can look like 
 almost anybody. Don't stare so, Eose." 
 
 " It wasn't the resemblance," said Eose. " But 
 only this morning Tom was showing me the birth- 
 mark on his arm. The baby has that same mark 
 upon his leg. That's how I know. And to think 
 that I had promised to marry Tom. Why, a mo- 
 ment ago I loved him, oh, so dearly ! . Now I believe 
 that love is dead. I feel so strange. My heart has 
 stopped its beating and is numb and like lead in my 
 breast. I never knew that sorrow could make one 
 suffer so," she mused wonderingly. " I never knew 
 that sorrow was physical pain. Oh, Madge, help me 
 bear it! I have got to bear it well for let me 
 whisper this I was to have gone away with him 
 to-night in two more hours I would have started 
 to meet him at the cross-roads. Now well, I've
 
 64 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 changed my mind. But I've got to be brave because 
 oh, Madge, only this morning I was speaking to 
 him of the suffering in the world and how I longed 
 to help and this poor girl, and her little, darling 
 baby it is for them I must be brave, Madge. For 
 their sake I must try to think out what is best to do. 
 Let's go find Father." 
 
 The impetuous girl, as she talked, had actually 
 risen to such heights of self-control that for the mo- 
 ment she seemed inspired. Noble in her forgetful- 
 ness of self, she roused in Madge a similar nobility. 
 Her eyes glowed with a strange fire, and the color 
 again flooded her cheeks, while everything she said 
 and did seemed to come from a power within before 
 which Madge, and, later, Captain Gabe, were to stand 
 in awe. Under its influence Madge yielded her 
 hand to Rose, and the latter led her hurriedly out to 
 the Gallery. 
 
 Captain Gabe and Homer Fort were just coming 
 up the steps to enter the house. Already the two 
 were friends. Gabe was talking, in that sociable 
 way of his which always delighted those with whom 
 he favored it. "Yes," he was saying. "Uncle 
 Jack is like a bad dictionary his meanings are so 
 often obscure. I love to get him on the subject of 
 religion. There he entangles himself like a fly in a 
 saucer of molasses. We'll get him to talking some- 
 time. Ah, Madge, is supper ready ? " 
 
 " Not quite," said Madge. " Rose wants you for
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 65 
 
 a moment. Mr. Fort, I haven't the slightest doubt 
 that the Captain has taken bodily possession of you, 
 that Uncle Jack is already on the way to the hotel for 
 your bags, and that you are scheduled to spend the 
 remainder of your stay in Salem with us. The room 
 at the head of the stairs is yours." 
 
 " I see you are a lady of circumspection," laughed 
 Homer. " And though you are too polite to call at- 
 tention to the dirt on my hands, which got there in a 
 worthy cause, I will avail myself of this chance to 
 remove it." So saying, Homer, who saw at once 
 that something was much amiss, took his dismissal 
 gracefully, and entered the door. 
 
 " Well, Kose," said Gabe kindly. " I see you are 
 all up in the air about something. Tell your old 
 daddy the trouble, and perhaps he can help you." 
 
 " Father," returned Kose frankly. " I know who 
 Minnie's betrayer is. I found out myself from a 
 mark on the baby's leg." 
 
 "Hm!" was Gabe's comment. "Aren't you 
 rather quick at conclusions ? " 
 
 " Don't evade me, Father." 
 
 " I'm not trying to evade you, my dear. I know 
 well enough who the fellow is. But I want you to be 
 positive before I speak his name. Is the mark on 
 the baby sufficient proof to you ? " 
 
 " It is such a peculiar mark that it is sufficient. 
 Since Tom's brother went away five years ago, he is 
 the only one of his line left here in Georgia. I see
 
 66 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 no way of escape for him. So that is settled. 
 Father " she paused. 
 
 " Go on." 
 
 " I was to meet Tom to-night at seven. Don't ask 
 me why. I cannot bear to tell you. Madge knows, 
 and later on, when you have had time to forget all 
 my folly, you will be able to laugh when she tells you 
 this crowning piece. Father, I want to make Tom 
 see his fault, and mend it. He shall marry this 
 girl." 
 
 " But the mark on the baby, Eose ? " 
 
 " It is like a cluster of ripe cherries. Tom has 
 it on his arm. His brother did not have it. So his 
 brother went away and Tom inherited the estates. 
 Tom calls it the mark of a ' true Blankenship,' and 
 says it has been in the family for generations. He 
 wouldn't come near Minnie or the baby if he knew 
 they were here, but if he can once be gotten to look at 
 the child, and to recognize it for a true Blankenship, 
 it will influence him powerfully. And if I can make 
 him see the disgracefulness of his act, perhaps I can 
 bring him to do what is right. Minnie loves him, 
 Father. Her only thought is for him. Won't you 
 and Madge let me do as I like about this ? If you 
 will, then I can forget my own sorrow in planning to 
 lighten hers. If I fail, well at least I will have done 
 no harm. I won't let Minnie know that Tom is here, 
 unless success seems sure. I won't let her face him 
 herself. He would only hurt her cruelly now.
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 67 
 
 When he is ripe for such an interview, when she is 
 changed so that he can be proud of her, then perhaps 
 I can bring them together, and in doing so, find hap- 
 piness myself." 
 
 During the whole of this rapid speech, Gabe looked 
 at his daughter as though at a stranger. And, in- 
 deed, there was something so peculiar in the manner 
 of the girl, in her glowing eyes and fiery utterance, 
 that it was difficult to realize that this impassioned 
 woman was his little Rose. When she had finished 
 she stood with wide-flung arms, demanding, rather 
 than asking, his consent. 
 
 He spoke thoughtfully, with his hand caressing his 
 chin. " Well now, Eose, there is something in what 
 you say. Tom is a woman's man always has been 
 and if he ever gets his come-uppance, it'll be 
 through a woman. And yet you are just a girl, 
 Eose, and so impulsive that you are liable to make 
 mistakes. Tell me your plan. Let me decide if it 
 is wise." 
 
 She dropped her arms to her sides with a gesture 
 of despair. " I can't talk it over," she cried. " If 
 I do, the inspiration for it will slip from me. I 
 have got to act, not argue. Trust me, Father." 
 
 " But, Eose, if in your haste you compromise your- 
 self" 
 
 " What does it matter what happens to me now ? 
 All I want is to bring this man to his senses. I still 
 love him that much that I want him to make
 
 68 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 amends. I love Minnie that much that I want 
 her to have a chance, and to give the baby a better 
 start in life. The baby, Father his dear little 
 hands and dimpled feet they are so lovely it 
 isn't fair that through no fault of his he should be 
 branded as an outcast all his life. For the baby's 
 sake, Father, let me do what I can to open Tom's 
 eyes." 
 
 " But why not tell me of your plan ? " 
 
 " I cannot. You'd forbid it. You wouldn't un- 
 derstand. All I want you to do is to let Uncle Jack 
 go to the cross-roads with a note. I must see Tom 
 here, to-night." 
 
 " My darling, Tom is not over-scrupulous " 
 
 " He is with women of my class," said Rose bit- 
 terly.. " We've talked enough. Give me my way in 
 this, Father, and I promise you to keep my head 
 to do nothing unnecessary to the development of my 
 plan, which has an object that surely you approve." 
 
 "All right, my girl," said Gabe. "After all, 
 there is no way to learn like actual experience. 
 Fight your own battles, and do it in your own way. 
 Jack shall go with the note. Madge will stay at the 
 house, within call. Her presence here will lend our 
 countenance to your plan, and both of us, ignorant 
 of it though we are, will help you all we can." 
 
 Rose thanked him only by a grateful look and 
 passed rapidly into the house. 
 
 " What do you suppose she means to do ? " whis-
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 69 
 
 pered Madge. " Gabe, are you sure you are acting 
 wisely, to let her have her way ? " 
 
 " I am sure of this much, Madge, that if I am 
 driving a fine horse I give the animal its head all I 
 dare, and in the end it wins the race. If I tried to 
 coerce Rose I'd only spoil her. She is young and 
 she is untried. She doesn't know half the time what 
 she is talking about. Her soul is full of vague stir- 
 rings of which she is just beginning to be conscious. 
 She'll make mistakes. She's bound to. But she'll 
 profit by them. So let's stand aside, unless it is ab- 
 solutely necessary to interfere. I'm not afraid of 
 the outcome, nor of having her misjudged." 
 
 " Mr. Fort called her a regular Georgia Peach," 
 said Madge. 
 
 " Mr. Fort is a man after my own heart," replied 
 Gabe, gravely. " That's just what she is. And 
 when she ripens at last, my dear, she'll be the most 
 wonderful thing God ever made a true woman. 
 So let the sun shine on her, Madge, and the wind and 
 the rain beat upon her. There's nothing can harm 
 her save the frost and the blight and there's where 
 we have our job cut out for us. We've got to stand 
 pat and keep on the watch for the frost and the 
 blight."
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 AFTER dinner Gabe and Homer Eort with- 
 drew to the study, a small room opening off 
 the dining-room, and dedicated to the Cap- 
 tain's literary work when he was home. They shut 
 the door, lighted cigars, and were soon deep in a dis- 
 cussion of the project in which Gabe had succeeded 
 in interesting Bucknam and Bates. 
 
 Gabe had not written to the Chicago firm until he 
 was certain of his ground. He had a list of men 
 whose peaches were of excellent variety, and who 
 were eager to enter the combine. He had lists as 
 well of the probable yield of their orchards, the 
 facilities they had for handling the fruit when ripe, 
 and the manner in which it would be packed for ship- 
 ment. He had also seen the general manager of 
 the railroad which passed through the county, con- 
 necting with the Chicago expresses at Atlanta. He 
 had succeeded in getting remarkably advantageous 
 rates. As he had the whole matter at his tongue's 
 end, Homer let him talk, and, leaning back in his 
 comfortable chair, watched the strong face of his 
 new friend, and listened with growing respect and 
 admiration. 
 
 But although the study was so peaceful, through 
 70
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 71 
 
 the remainder of the house there dominated a spirit 
 of restlessness and haste. Minnie was persuaded to 
 occupy an up-stairs chamber, and to let Eose take 
 charge of " li'l Tawm" for his bath. The bath 
 alone was sufficient to rouse protests in the breast 
 of his mother, who had heretofore washed him off 
 with a rag dipped into a basin of cold spring water, 
 and regarded any other means of attaining cleanliness 
 with suspicion. However, Madge, who deserved 
 credit for obeying Eose without knowing why, quite 
 won her over by producing a number of tiny gar- 
 ments, which, she explained softly, had been intended 
 for her own little one, who died soon after its birth. 
 Her deep sorrow over her loss, which even Minnie's 
 untutored heart could understand, and her willing- 
 ness to give the unused clothes to the " li'l Tawm," 
 brought the two together as nothing else could have 
 done. 
 
 Eose kept the baby in the first-floor bedroom. 
 She was still under the influence of that strange 
 something which had taken possession of her very 
 soul, and every act or gesture betrayed the intense 
 excitement under which she labored. Yet she in- 
 dulged in not one single abortive movement, for she 
 had been given the training which above all others 
 makes for efficiency. Quietly she got ready the 
 baby's bath. 
 
 Janey was now ordered to bring in hot water 
 from the kitchen, to keep the fire blazing to remove
 
 72 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 all chill from the room, and to air the tiny garments 
 that were to clothe his sturdy limbs. When all was 
 in readiness, Rose, with the baby in her arms, took 
 her seat in the low chair before the fire. On one 
 side stood a screen to defend him from all drafts. 
 In front of her a low stool held the largest porcelain 
 basin in the house. A piece of flannel lined it, that 
 its rim might not chill the child when it came time 
 for his dip. On her other side a chair held soap 
 and towels, powder, vaseline, needle, thread, scissors, 
 and on its back the dainty clothes, now warming in 
 the glow. All these it took to make one small boy 
 clean. 
 
 It was not yet time for Tom, so Rose spent long 
 moments in unfastening the coarse dress, made of 
 flour-sacking, the coarser petticoat, and shirt cut 
 from a discarded adult garment, which had marked 
 the tiny body with its hardened seams. She touched 
 the ridged flesh pityingly, soaped, and at last dipped 
 the little form into the tepid water of the bath. The 
 accompanying gasp, which " li'l Tawm " removed 
 his fist to accomplish, stirred her into more than 
 perfunctory interest. By avoiding the mark upon 
 his chubby limb, she almost succeeded in forgetting 
 that it was there. And so, when the bell rang at 
 last, she was flushed and smiling, oblivious of all she 
 had at stake in the immediate pleasure of caring for 
 the child. 
 
 Uncle Jack was in the stable, so Janey answered
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 73 
 
 the door. She returned at once, eager with excite- 
 ment, and handed Eose a card. She knew enough 
 of current gossip to be curious. 
 
 Eose merely glanced at it. " Tell him to come 
 here. I cannot leave the baby, and you, Janey, 
 need not return until I send for you." 
 
 When Tom Blankenship stepped softly into the 
 room, at first he thought it empty. The big white 
 bed filled up one corner, the dressing table another, 
 the cheval-glass yet another. Across the fireplace 
 was drawn a screen. 
 
 " What in the devil " he was beginning to him- 
 self, when from behind the screen he heard Eose 
 saying softly, " Tom, come here." 
 
 He strode forward and set the screen aside. 
 "What does this mean?" he cried, and stood 
 amazed. 
 
 Eose had now lifted the child again to a heavy 
 towel spread across her lap. She was drying its 
 body with soft linen, and as he stared, she began 
 to coo to it in the way that mothers know so well. 
 She ignored Tom, after her first command. She 
 was entirely absorbed by the baby. 
 
 " What does this mean ? " he cried again. " Have 
 you forgotten that we must catch our train at eight ? 
 Why did you send Uncle Jack with a message that 
 I should come here and ring the bell and ask for 
 you? What has happened? Has your father 
 changed his mind? Has your stepmother retired
 
 74 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 from her position of defiance? Whose baby is 
 that? Why don't you speak to me, Eose? Can't 
 you see how puzzled I am by all this ? " 
 
 " Isn't he dear ? " asked Rose, powdering the 
 little body, and reaching for band and shirt from 
 the back of the chair. " Isn't he just the sweetest 
 thing you ever laid your eyes on, Tom ? I sent for 
 you because I couldn't leave him. Besides I wanted 
 you to see our baby." 
 
 " Why ? What have I to do with babies ? " asked 
 Tom with immeasurable scorn. " What baby is so 
 important as to interfere with our plans ? Whose is 
 it any way 2 " 
 
 " Ours." 
 
 "Yours? Eose, don't speak in riddles. Whose 
 is it?" 
 
 " Ours. I told you." 
 
 " Nonsense. You are trying to fool me." 
 
 " Oh, no, I'm not. See, Tom, the little duck 
 he smiled at me. He loves his bath. Look! How 
 he kicks and squirms ! " 
 
 " Now see here, Eose ! " Tom came and stood 
 over her in a threatening attitude which failed of its 
 effect because she had no eyes to spare for him. 
 "See here! There's something back of this. Of 
 course I know that baby don't belong to you folks. 
 It hasn't been so long since Madge's baby died. And 
 if you'd adopted one, the whole town would have been 
 ringing with the news. You've got to tell me why
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 75 
 
 you sent for me, and why you are busy with that 
 brat instead of getting ready to go with me. Fire 
 away ! I'm listening ! Go on ! " 
 
 " It hasn't been very long since I came home from 
 the hospital, Tom. You used to come to see me 
 there, while I was studying. Kemember ? " 
 
 " Of course I do. You couldn't ever go out with 
 me unless we took two or three nurses along for 
 chaperons. Won't need any chaperons now, will we, 
 Rose?" 
 
 " There was one night, Tom, when I went with 
 you alone, and we didn't get back until late. I got 
 a reprimand from the head nurse. Eemember ? " 
 
 " No. I wish I did." 
 
 " Tom, on that night of nights, you made me cer- 
 tain promises. You vowed to marry me as soon as 
 possible, and swore such love and loyalty as to dull 
 my sense of right and wrong. Eemember ? " 
 
 " What are you talking about, Rose ? You know 
 as well as I, that nothing of the sort ever hap- 
 pened." 
 
 " And I so trusted you. I gave you everything. 
 I put my honor in your keeping recklessly, without a 
 thought of consequences. Do you remember ? " 
 
 "No, no! I tell you, no!" 
 
 "And time went on, and still I trusted you. I 
 trusted you and loved you so that I was even happy 
 when I found there was to be a little baby, Tom 
 our baby."
 
 76 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 " Rose ! Are you mad ? You can't know what 
 you say." 
 
 " And then there came a time when others knew 
 and whispered that I was disgraced. I suffered, 
 Tom, and still I trusted you. I told myself all 
 would be well. You had promised, and later, you'd 
 fulfill." 
 
 " That's it ! You must be mad ! " 
 
 " No one would speak to me. I was sent forth 
 in shame. The hospital had no place for such as 
 I. And still I hugged my sorrow to my breast and 
 gloried in it. It was for you I suffered, and in time 
 I knew you would repay me." 
 
 " Listen to me, Rose. Listen, I tell you " 
 
 " In my supremest hour of agony I still wa.s happy. 
 And when our little son lay in my arms, and I, so 
 faint and tired from the pain, knew that there lay 
 part of your very self, then most of all I felt my 
 shame to be a glorious thing, yet longed with every 
 fiber of my being to have you lift the burden from 
 our baby." 
 
 " Rose, Rose ! I beg you, I implore you " 
 
 " At first I tried to keep his birth a secret. I 
 planned to have you come in ignorance of it, and 
 for my sake alone, to lift the veil of infamy that 
 clung so close." 
 
 " Oh, this is horrible ! Rose " 
 
 " And then I saw upon his tiny leg a mark that 
 you yourself had on your arm. Only this morning
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 77 
 
 I asked you for its history. Remember 2 You told 
 me of the importance of this mark, how Blanken- 
 ships stood aside and passed on their inheritance to 
 the favored one who bore it. I knew then that 
 my baby had claims which could not be ignored. I 
 knew it was time for you to learn of him. I knew 
 that when you saw him you would feel that here lay 
 not only the body of your son, but the one who had 
 been destined from the first to carry on your line. 
 Look, Tom his little leg " 
 
 She turned the body of the baby on her knee, and 
 for the first time the astonished and angry man 
 caught a glimpse of the small cluster, exact replica 
 of his own. He leaned closer, staring with dazed 
 eyes, for such a long interval that Rose said gently, 
 
 " He's not a ghost child, Tom. He's a real baby, 
 with a father and mother, like all other babies. And 
 he needs food and care, and the love of parents " 
 
 " Whose child is this ? " he whispered hoarsely. 
 
 "Yours, Tom." 
 
 " I'll swear it's not." 
 
 "It is. I see in your eyes the acknowledgment 
 you will not put in words. It is your child." 
 
 " Rose, tell me the truth. You have woven a 
 strange tale, for which you must have had some hid- 
 den reason. What is that reason ? " 
 
 " You will soon perceive, if for a moment you'll 
 believe my story true ; " 
 
 " I can't do that."
 
 78 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 "Hush, Tom, obey me. Let's think the story 
 true. Now, do you see what I want you to see ? Dt> 
 you realize what an awful thing you would have 
 done, had I been the mother of this baby without be- 
 coming your wife first. You have said you love me, 
 Tom. You have made me wonderful promises, 
 which no doubt you meant to fulfill. Tom, Tom! 
 How many other women have you loved ? To how 
 many of them have you made all sorts of promises, 
 without the slightest intention of carrying them out ? 
 You meant to honor me, because I am of your class. 
 You gloried in dishonoring them, because as men 
 say, they were legitimate prey. Now change the 
 point of view. Let it seem to be true of me, only for 
 a moment, what is true of them what is true of the 
 mother of this baby. Don't you get a very different 
 idea, Tom ? Don't you see that you did as great a 
 wrong to innocent little Minnie Gray, as you would 
 have done to me?" 
 
 " Minnie Gray ! Is this child Minnie Gray's ? " 
 
 "You didn't think she had one, did you, Tom? 
 It's only four months old, and for almost a year she 
 hasn't known where you were." 
 
 " And much she cared, either," exclaimed the as- 
 tounded man. " So she told you this boy was mine, 
 did she? You took her word for it a light 
 woman whom any man might have for the asking! 
 This baby might be anybody's child. Shame on you 
 for believing her ! "
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 79 
 
 " She didn't tell me. She isn't a bad woman. 
 She is loyal to you and has kept your secret faith- 
 fully. You know that, Tom. No, it was this mark 
 upon the child himself that made me first suspect. 
 Then I went to Madge and asked her if she knew who 
 had wronged Minnie." 
 
 " Oh, then, it was your stepmother who enlightened 
 you? I might have known." 
 
 "No, Tom. She wouldn't tell. It was I who 
 told her what I knew and then she said my father had 
 already found out what I stumbled on alone. 
 Both of them were just and fair to you, Tom, as I am 
 trying hard to be." 
 
 While she spoke her hands had been busy with the 
 child. Clothed at last, warm and rosy with sleep, 
 and sucking his fist with all his might and main, she 
 rang for Janey to take him to his mother. Feeling 
 better able to talk while her hands were occupied, 
 she busied herself with clearing up the disorder 
 caused by the baby's bath. 
 
 " Shame on you, Tom," she said in low indignant 
 tones. " How dared you come to me with your 
 promises, when you knew that your honor was already 
 bound?" 
 
 " Honor has no connection with girls like Minnie 
 Gray," he sneered. " Put you in her place ? Why, 
 I couldn't, Eose. She has no sensitiveness compared 
 to that you possess." 
 
 She turned upon him in a fury. " Tom, Tom !
 
 80 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 Has all my effort gone for nothing? Haven't I 
 made you see, by stepping into her place for a mo- 
 ment, that we women are all alike just human 
 beings equally capable of feeling pain and sorrow? 
 The fact that Minnie was a mountain girl, who had 
 never a chance, should have made you even more care- 
 ful of her innocence than of mine. I've had plenty 
 of opportunity to learn to protect myself, even if 
 my father's reputation had not placed a fence be- 
 tween me and lawlessness. Minnie, poor child, 
 lacked all protection. Her father, wounded in the 
 war, was unable to support her or look after her 
 properly. Her mother worn out with care and 
 drudgery the girl neglected and allowed to follow 
 her own ignorant inclinations oh, it was pitiful. 
 It was a coward's part to take advantage of her 
 helplessness, Tom Blankenship." 
 
 The man hesitated, roused by her words, yet un- 
 willing to admit that she had stung him. Then he 
 laughed lightly. " As I said before, you have not 
 the slightest conception of what you are talking 
 about," he asserted boldly. " What chance have you 
 had to know anything of life, or of the standards 
 that have been evolved by generations, and which 
 have proved themselves ? A couple of years in a hos- 
 pital pooh ! You have filled your pretty head 
 with all sorts of nighty fancies. And, Eose by 
 placing yourself in Minnie's place, you ran a risk. 
 A man less of a gentleman might be tempted to think
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 81 
 
 of you in a more intimate sense than I dare to think. 
 Where I revere you, such a man might now plot 
 boldly to possess you. We Southern men we are 
 like all men in this that the women we want for 
 our wives we place upon a pedestal. Those others . 
 well, being men, we have our fancies. We are all 
 alike. Let them look to themselves before they rail 
 at us. We only follow where they lead." 
 
 " Minnie was not that type," insisted Rose. " Her 
 pedestal was as real as mine. You should have 
 lifted her to it, instead of smashing it before her 
 eyes. Come, Tom, be a man. Marry her and give 
 your boy a name." 
 
 " Nonsense," said Tom roughly. " I am going to 
 marry you. You know that. I'll provide for Min- 
 nie, if you insist. I'll even claim the brat, if by do- 
 ing so I can satisfy your Puritanical conscience. 
 But further than that, I wash my hands of them both. 
 I advise you to do the same. She's not fit company 
 for you. Let's be going now. Perhaps we can still 
 catch our train. If not, well, I reckon we can get to 
 Atlanta by daylight in my dog-cart." 
 
 " I can't go with you, Tom. I couldn't marry you, 
 when your place is with Minnie." 
 
 " Do you mean that, Eose ? " 
 
 " I do." 
 
 " Then I might as well blow my brains out. 
 there's nothing left for me in this world if I've lost 
 you."
 
 82 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 " You have a man's work to do make restitu- 
 tion." 
 
 " To a thing like Minnie Gray ? I see myself I 
 No, I'll go to war and make myself a target for 
 Spanish bullets. Or else I'll shoot myself." 
 
 She came towards him with outstretched pleading 
 hands. " Ah, Tom," she said sadly. " You and I 
 are miles apart. I thought, in my foolish blindness, 
 that I could easily show you the truth. I was mis- 
 taken. My little play failed. No, I'll not admit 
 that, for it has affected you. If you don't see it now, 
 you will later. If I can't make you marry Minnie, 
 yet I think you will hesitate before you place any 
 other girl in the same position. But, Tom, the birth- 
 mark on the child the mark of your race are 
 you going to ignore that, too ? " 
 
 " I deny that it is the mark of my race." 
 
 " The time will come when you can no longer do 
 so," she cried. " Oh, Tom, believe me when I say 
 I am your friend. My love for you is dead. It will 
 never live again. But I feel no anger against you 
 nothing for you save the tenderest compassion. If 
 ever I can help you, come to me. If ever you need 
 me, you will find me waiting." 
 
 " I need you now," he muttered despairingly. 
 
 " Oh, no, Tom, you don't need me now," she an- 
 swered sorrowfully. " What you need now is Min- 
 nie Gray." 
 
 " Damn Minnie Gray," he shouted, stung to frenzy
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 83 
 
 by her insistence on this theme. " It's you I need. 
 If I can't have you alive, by God I'll take you dead ! 
 No other man shall have you, if you are not for me." 
 
 As though entirely bereft of sense or caution he ad- 
 vanced upon her, she retreating until she encountered 
 the wall of the room. She was conscious of no fear 
 only a dull sort of wonder. She could not have 
 screamed, had she tried. 
 
 There was no need, however. His loud tones had 
 penetrated to the study, and, with a hurried excuse 
 to his guest, Gabe went to see what was wrong. As 
 Tom raised his arm high, whether to strike or only 
 to call on Heaven, she was never to know, the door 
 flew open, and her father entered the room. 
 
 It was a dramatic moment. The girl, white and 
 silent, almost crouching, her father stern and un- 
 compromising, his whole attitude expressing his read- 
 iness to defend her, her lover beside himself with 
 fury, yet brought to a standstill by the presence of 
 Captain Gabe all three appeared for a second like 
 so many graven images, perpetuated thus for all 
 eternity. Tom was the first to stir. Still acting 
 under the influence of his tremendous outburst of 
 passion, he turned on Captain Gabe. 
 
 "Gabe Shelley," he cried. "You are to blame 
 for this. You have brought a common woman into 
 your house to-night. I am sure of it. Take care that 
 she does not turn your wife and daughter to like 
 conduct already she has poisoned Rose with her
 
 84 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 lies. I shall tell the town what sort of friends you 
 are providing for your household. You'll soon find 
 out what they think of you and all your kind." 
 
 Gabe looked mildly interested, but his hand sought 
 his chin, sure sign that he was striving for self- 
 control. " Well now," he drawled. " I don't know 
 as I'd do that, if I were you. You see, as soon as you 
 begin to talk, I'll begin too, and my side of the tale 
 is a darned sight worse than yours. I find that the 
 man who champions a wronged woman's cause 
 while other men might sneer at him their wives 
 won't let 'em. Why, if I spread the news, I'll bet 
 you ten to one there won't be a woman in this whole 
 town that won't be knitting stockings for your baby, 
 come fall. But though they'll take to the little one, 
 the place won't be big enough to hold you, too, Tom." 
 
 Tom's fists doubled, but he said nothing. 
 
 " No, if I were you I believe I'd keep my mouth 
 shut," repeated the Captain. " Let's take it out in 
 calling names, impersonally contemptible, Demo- 
 crat, muck-raker, low Eepublican, grafter you 
 know those things we're used to. I aim to show 
 you up to-morrow, Tom. But there's nothing per- 
 sonal in that. That's politics. I don't think I'd 
 want to descend to being personal, Tom." 
 
 " You let me alone, personally and politically," 
 panted Tom. " I've been made the butt of your rot- 
 ten paper long enough. You cut me out of your 
 print to-morrow, or I'll shoot you like a dog."
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 85 
 
 " I dare say you have not always been so perfect 
 that you can lord it over me with your damned 
 superiority," he continued with a sneer. " So I 
 warn you. If you so much as mention me in your 
 paper to-morrow, I'll make it personal. Do you 
 hear?" 
 
 And he strode from the room in a passion of rage. 
 
 Captain Gabe looked at Eose, who had drawn 
 nearer. " Well," he drawled. " What do you know 
 about that? Honey Girl, I won't ask you what was 
 doing when I happened in. I know you'll tell me if 
 you think I ought to know." 
 
 " I told him I could never marry him. He was so 
 angry that he lost his self-control." 
 
 This scanty information had to content the Cap- 
 tain. " Well, well," he said cheerfully. " If that's 
 what you told him, no wonder he had it in for me. 
 Better go to bed, Eose. You look fagged out." 
 
 "I'll go to bed, Father," answered Eose dully. 
 " But I don't believe I can ever sleep again."
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 WHEN Tom left the house he was beside 
 himself with rage, and as he walked rap- 
 idly away, bits of the talk between him- 
 self and Rose would repeat themselves with more 
 poignant meaning; or some lovely unconscious pose 
 of the girl's would present itself again to his inner 
 vision, serving to deepen his disappointment, his 
 anger, and his shame. 
 
 The shame was not for any act of his. There had 
 been no conscious sin in his episode with Minnie 
 Gray. He was only doing what his fellows did, and 
 to his thinking there was no harm in it. A man 
 knew how to look at such affairs, a woman did not 
 know. His shame was all because Rose had found 
 out and judged him. 
 
 There were two standards for a man, one towards 
 his mother, sisters, wife, another towards those who 
 inhabited a lower plane of civilization. He knew 
 how to conduct himself towards both classes properly. 
 He himself was a man, made in the image of God. 
 The fact that he could be one person to Rose and an- 
 other to Minnie, was something for which he was 
 not personally responsible. There was no possible
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 87 
 
 wrong in it so long as women kept their eyes closed. 
 Even now his chief feeling was anger at fate, at Min- 
 nie for being the stumbling block between his sweet- 
 heart and himself, at Rose for daring to face the 
 truth; but above all at the person most to blame, 
 Captain Gabe. There was no impatience with self 
 in his soul, only a conscious rectitude and sense of 
 power. A man, a real man, such as he felt himself 
 to be, could play with fire without being harmed. 
 
 It was characteristic of his type that he gave no 
 thought to Minnie. To him her status was clear. 
 As Rose had put it, she was lawful prey. She had 
 no rights. If she suffered, well, what of it ? S he 
 had the consolation of knowing that a man far above 
 her had stooped to her level for a time. Let that 
 suffice. Besides, some other fellow would be glad to 
 step into the place he had left vacant. As for the 
 boy well, if his mother could not keep him, there 
 were plenty of orphan asylums in the land. The 
 birthmark strange that the nameless brat should 
 bear it so clearly. And if there was any remorse as 
 yet in Tom Blankenship's soul, it was that this pre- 
 cious segregating mark, this sign of blood and race, 
 had affixed itself to Minnie's baby. This was not 
 fair. It should not have been. And in it he found 
 extra fuel for his wrath. 
 
 He would get even with Captain Gabe. He would 
 make Madge Shelley suffer. With them out of the 
 way, Rose was easier of access. And she had done
 
 88 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 
 
 herself this harm, that where before he had thought 
 of her only with the idea of giving her his name, he 
 now toyed with the possibility of getting her for his 
 own without that safety lock of civilization, a legal 
 marriage. She had dared to assume Minnie's place, 
 in order to teach him a lesson. He would force her 
 to occupy it in order to learn her own. Then per- 
 haps she would be ready enough to accept his offer. 
 How quickly she would abandon Minnie's cause 
 when it became hers. Ah, he would make her beg 
 and plead, and kneel to him and promise anything, 
 before he yielded to her importunings. 
 
 Indulging himself in such wild and evil fancies, 
 he reached the main street of the town. His own 
 home lay on the outskirts, but he rented a room in the 
 Yancey Hotel of Salem, where he conducted most of 
 his political affairs. It was to this room he now be- 
 took himself, after sending messages to a man named 
 Cuthbert, and another known as Broadhead, who soon 
 joined him there. Cuthbert was from the hills, in 
 the upper part of the county where Tom was all- 
 powerful. Broadhead was from the river section, 
 where the other faction had eaten into Tom's ma- 
 jority. Cuthbert had some education and was neat 
 and precise in his appearance. Broadhead was 
 coarse and slovenly, with tobacco juice on his chin 
 and shirt-front, and loose and careless in his speech. 
 Yet the two were boon companions, never far apart 
 when in town, and now they arrived together.
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 89 
 
 Tom really did not know why he sent for these two 
 men. They were of types which he ordinarily dis- 
 dained. He had always meant to play fair in pol- 
 itics, and had resisted almost all efforts to bribe him 
 into false assessments. It was true, as Captain 
 Gabe often charged through his editorials, that the 
 office of county tax assessor was one in which there 
 was peculiar liability to graft. But, hang it all, 
 Tom could hardly help showing favoritism to his 
 friends, now could he? He had never deliberately 
 used his office to his own advantage, never. 
 
 He did not deliberately plan to do so now. Only 
 he knew that Cuthbert and Broadhead were in town, 
 and sent for them to come in. 
 
 Upon their entrance he nodded carelessly without 
 troubling to rise. They silently found seats. 
 Broadhead put his hat beside his chair and spat upon 
 the floor. Then, wiping his gross chin with his 
 dirty sleeve, he spoke abruptly. 
 
 " Wai! Hev you made up your mind to jine us, 
 boss?" 
 
 " Sh ! 'Not so loud ! " begged Cuthbert in a whis- 
 per. " It wouldn't do to let folks know we're here." 
 
 " And why not ? What harm is there ? S'posen' 
 folks does know. What then ? We're in politics f er 
 what they is in it, and anybuddy what purtends to be 
 in it fer anything else is either a jackass or a hyper- 
 crite. I'm mighty glad to know that Mr. Blanken- 
 ship ain't either one."
 
 90 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 
 
 " You're giving yourself dead away," whispered 
 Cuthbert again, in a panic. " Mr. Blankenship 
 'ain't said what we've been sent for, you damn fool." 
 
 " They's only one thing he could hev sent fer us 
 fer. He's come across to our side of the fence. 
 Ain't that right, boss ? " 
 
 Tom made no reply to this, but signified by a nod 
 that they were to help themselves from a bottle that 
 stood on the table. Broadhead obeyed with alacrity. 
 Cuthbert followed more slowly, but as he swallowed 
 his liquor and it began to take effect, he grew jocose. 
 
 " I was telling Bob as we come along up, that, so 
 far as I can see it, life's nothing but a big grab-game. 
 If you don't get a prize out of the bag, it's your own 
 fault." 
 
 " But you're a church man, Cuthbert," said Tom, 
 speaking for the first time. " How do you reconcile 
 that point of view with your expectation of a blessed 
 future ? " 
 
 " That's easy," scoffed Cuthbert. " The preacher 
 says they make more fuss over one sinner brought to 
 roost, than over ninety-nine that have always been 
 good. So I'll do my repenting at the last minute, 
 and then I'll have the laugh on 'em all right up in 
 Abraham's bosom, being kissed and cried over by all 
 the angels, while the good little folks walk in un- 
 noticed." Cuthbert chuckled to himself as he took 
 another glass of whisky. He really believed what
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 91 
 
 he was saying, and thought himself a clever fellow 
 for thus outwitting the Almighty. 
 
 Tom poured a glass for himself and drank it slowly 
 down. He waited a moment until its glow suffused 
 his veins, and then he began abruptly. 
 
 " I have sent for you two men with one aim in 
 view. I have an enemy who is your enemy as well 
 Captain Gabe Shelley." 
 
 "That's right." 
 
 " That's so." 
 
 " He has attacked me more than once through his 
 paper, charging my department with petty graft, with 
 favoritism, and corruption. I will say this for him, 
 that he honestly believes he speaks the truth. How- 
 ever, whether he believes himself right or not, his 
 changes have got to stop, or else I lose my office at 
 the next election." 
 
 " That's right." 
 
 " That's so, boss. That's so." 
 
 " I won't say I haven't been incautious sometimes, 
 but I have tried to play fair. I have attacked him, 
 too. I have called him every name I could think of. 
 But somehow we were always friendly enough until 
 the last few years. It isn't my official self he hates, 
 but my moral self, which he chooses to believe loose 
 and vicious. To-night he told me that he meditates 
 a fierce attack upon our party in his next issue. My 
 name will be mentioned. I answered that, if he
 
 92 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 wrote one single word about me I'd shoot him like 
 a dog. I meant it, too." 
 
 " I'm with you there, boss." 
 
 " So'm I. So'm I." 
 
 " He is always armed, so it will require swift, sure 
 work. And in these days of courts, I'll need a 
 motive. The thing must happen when the crowd is 
 at the Post-office just before noon. There'll be so 
 much confusion then, nobody can tell a straight 
 story." 
 
 " I'll help you, I owe him a grudge for that land 
 deal of his'n on Beacher Creek," said Cuthbert. 
 
 " I 'ain't yet got even with him, boss, fer havin' me 
 tuk up as a moonshiner," said Broadhead grimly. 
 
 " Then we all owe him a debt which we can make 
 him pay in full," said Tom, who, under the influence 
 of the liquor and of his hate, was by this time beyond 
 self-control. "I'll start the quarrel. You two can 
 step in and make it appear that I shot in self-defense, 
 to which you both can swear. They couldn't get a 
 jury in this county to convict me, anyhow." 
 
 "It's simple as A B C," said Cuthbert. "We 
 don't draw a gun at all, but shoot from the pocket 
 so." He illustrated with a swift motion of his hand. 
 " If he should be unarmed, we'll arm him. There 
 won't be no witness in the crowd to swear to any- 
 thing except ourselves." 
 
 " How about the gal o' his'n, that rides like a cow- 
 boy and shoots like hell ? " asked Broadhead. " I'll
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 93 
 
 never fergit how she jined the posse that rounded us 
 fellers up when I got caught fer moonshinin'." 
 
 " She's busy," sneered Tom. " Her hands are full 
 just now. They have a kid up there whom she 
 cares for as if she were his mother. Gentlemen, to 
 the success of our plans, and the downfall of all 
 our enemies ! Drink ! " With a wild laugh Tom 
 drained his glass and sent it crashing to the floor. 
 
 Meanwhile, at the Shelley house Eose was lying 
 on her bed awake, thinking of Tom in a very differ- 
 ent fashion from what he was thinking of her. After 
 bidding Gabe good-night, she sought Madge, to find 
 her already in bed. Beside her stepmother she hesi- 
 tated for a moment, half inclined to avail herself of 
 help in warding off the suffering that still lay in wait 
 for her. Then her native courage squared her young 
 shoulders and sent her off to her own room to have it 
 out with herself for once and for all. 
 
 There in the darkness she fought a bitter, and at 
 first a losing, fight. The memory of his tendernesses 
 would intrude between her and her sense of right and 
 duty. The picture he had painted of their life to- 
 gether passed before her and added to her torture. 
 It was to have been so wonderful. And instead it 
 was dreary and sordid past belief. 
 
 At last exhaustion brought a measure of relief, and 
 towards dawn she slept. But in her dreams her lover 
 walked and smiled and kissed her, but always 
 with that cruel look upon his face which she had first
 
 94 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 seen when she had run down to meet him in the 
 garden. It bore fresh meaning now. And what was 
 this he said ? " I'll shoot you like a dog ! " He was 
 talking to her father. Again and again she dreamed 
 through the events of the day just past, ending al- 
 ways at that short sharp sentence, " I'll shoot you 
 like a dog!" 
 
 When she awoke, late in the morning, the words 
 were on her lips. 
 
 Janey brought up her breakfast, which she took in 
 bed. Then, wrapped in a dainty negligee, she 
 slipped in to see Minnie and the baby, to find them 
 gone to the lawn with Madge. She hurried back to 
 her own room to dress, choosing her riding-clothes be- 
 cause of those sinister words which persisted in her 
 brain. It would be as well to ride down and warn 
 her father to be cautious. And so at last she dressed 
 and hurried out. 
 
 To TJncle Jack, who answered her swift summons, 
 she issued orders to bring round her horse. And 
 then she ran to see the child and Minnie. 
 
 Madge had arrayed young Tawm in a silken coat 
 and cap, and in a bed improvised from a clothes- 
 basket, the small instrument of fate was taking his 
 morning nap. Beside him Minnie, in the pink cal- 
 ico, but with her hair awkwardly imitating Eose's 
 masterpiece of the night before, looked up with a wel- 
 coming smile. During the night she too had fought 
 her battle a battle between her shame and pride,
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 95 
 
 both of which prompted her to hold aloof, and the 
 longing to please these new friends by doing all they 
 told her. It had left its mark in a new gentleness of 
 expression. The eyes she now lifted adoringly to 
 Eose had the wistful look of a beaten dog. " Good- 
 mawnin' ? " she whispered. " Li'l Tawm, he's asleep, 
 an' Mrs. Shelley, she's in the orchard. We 'lowed 
 you wouldn't wake 'til noon." 
 
 Eose smiled. " I've got to go to town," she whis- 
 pered back. " There are some things to buy for his 
 Young Highness. Minnie " 
 
 " Yes, Miss Eose." 
 
 " Call me Eose, if we are to be friends," returned 
 the girl. " I want you to stay quietly at home for 
 reasons that I cannot give you now. Will you do 
 that for me ? " 
 
 " I 'ain't never been in a big town like this here," 
 said Minnie wistfully. " Cain't I holp you buy the 
 baby's things ? " 
 
 <e No, no," said Eose. " You have got to promise 
 that until I give you leave you'll stay right here. It 
 is for your own good that I ask you. Later on I'll 
 tell you my reasons." 
 
 Poor Minnie ! She was sharp enough to conclude 
 that Eose was ashamed of her in her present costume. 
 Eose saw her error, but let it pass. " All right, then, 
 that is settled," she said brightly. 
 
 "But there's something else not settled yet," re- 
 turned Minnie. " Come over here, whar li'l Tawm
 
 96 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 cain't hear. Thar! ]STaow what I want to ax you 
 is, Miss Kose, how am I a-goin' to pay you all fer 
 what you aim to do fer me ? You know I cain't take 
 so much without makin' some return." 
 
 " My dear, if you'll let us love < Tawm ' and help 
 take care of him: if you'll let us be frank with you 
 and show you what you need to know to fit in to 
 your husband's life surely you will put us in your 
 debt. I cannot tell you why just yet you would 
 not understand but my greatest happiness will 
 come about if you give me my way in this. Now 
 good-by. I'll be back in time for lunch." 
 
 She walked swiftly to her horse, which Uncle Jack 
 was holding in the drive, leaped into the saddle to 
 Minnie's great surprise, and galloped down the dusty 
 street. 
 
 In the meantime the Square was filling slowly with 
 residents of Salem, coming to the Post-office for their 
 mail. As many as could do so crowded into the small 
 room, while the post-master opened the mail. It was 
 put in pigeon-holes, unless the addressee happened to 
 be present. The crowd before the office augmented 
 bit by bit, until the crooked sidewalk spilled its con- 
 tents out upon the street. Captain Gabe was among 
 those near the curb. He loved the bustle and impor- 
 tance of " mail-time " and seldom failed to be there, 
 but he also loathed the close atmosphere of the Post- 
 office, and unfailingly remained outside. 
 
 He was in his shirt-sleeves, with his glasses on his
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 97 
 
 nose; in his hand a copy of the newspaper through 
 which he said all he could to help Salem and the sur- 
 rounding country. Upon the outside his editorial 
 held a promient place, and to Homer Fort, who stood 
 beside him looking interestedly at the scene, he was 
 reading bits of it which struck him as particularly 
 apt, when some one touched him on the arm and a 
 voice whispered in his ear. 
 
 " Cap'n Gabe, they's a man out yondah wants a 
 word with you." 
 
 He turned to encounter the shifty eyes of Cuth- 
 bert, with whom he remembered to have had some 
 trouble over a land deal. But he had no idea that 
 Cuthbert bore him malice, so, with a word to Homer 
 that he would soon be back, he turned and followed 
 through the crowd. On the outer edge Tom Blank- 
 enship stood alone, grim-mouthed and frowning, and 
 fortified in his purpose by many deep libations. He 
 was proud of his ability to keep a steady head, and 
 outwardly seemed perfectly himself. A little dis- 
 tance off, half -concealed by the people between, and 
 apparently with no design, stood Broadhead. 
 
 Gabe met Tom's lowering gaze calmly, although he 
 foresaw trouble. "Did you want to see me?" he 
 asked. 
 
 " Last night I warned you," said Tom between his 
 teeth. "I warned you what would happen if you 
 mentioned me in your paper. You can't deny I 
 warned you ! "
 
 98 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 He took a step forward and pointed a pistol at 
 Gabe's broad chest. No one noted his action except 
 Broadhead, who crept nearer through the throng, 
 while Cuthbert stood so as to conceal Tom's out- 
 stretched arm. 
 
 "Hold on," drawled Captain Gabe in an under- 
 tone. " Hold on, Tom, just a minute. I haven't got 
 my gun with me, so I'm at a disadvantage. Have 
 you thought what folks'll say if you shoot an un- 
 armed man ? " 
 
 But Broadhead was now directly behind the Cap- 
 tain, and even as Gabe spoke, a pistol was pressed into 
 his hand. He saw then that he was expected to raise 
 the weapon, that there would be a shot apparently 
 from himself, that he would then receive his death 
 wound from Tom, in " self-defense." He even had 
 time to wonder if Tom had been crafty enough to see 
 that the pistol had an exploded shell. Then he 
 dropped it on the ground. " I am unarmed, you 
 see," he cried. 
 
 But Tom was past heeding. He was fumbling his 
 gun with the indecision born of a bad cause, and a 
 vague sense of his own peril, when a shot rang out. 
 The weapon was knocked from his hand by a blow 
 so violent as to paralyze his arm. At first he did not 
 realize that he was shot. 
 
 Rose had come quietly into the square and dis- 
 mounted, leaving her horse standing in the street. 
 With her hand on her pistol, which she carried in
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 99 
 
 the hip-pocket of her coat, she hurried to her father. 
 She was in time to hear Tom's threat, to see Gabe 
 reject the weapon that would have made him appear 
 the aggressor, and to realize that there was no way of 
 intervening between her father and his would-be 
 murderer, save one. Then she fired. 
 
 While Tom stood in a daze, nursing his numb 
 arm while the people all about were yet startled by 
 the shot, she sprang to Gabe's side and called in a 
 ringing voice, " Look out, Tom ! Look out ! Don't 
 let them get away ! " 
 
 As she spoke she fired again and yet again, and 
 during the noise and confusion resulting, Cuthbert 
 and Broadhead slipped out of sight. 
 
 " What is it, Gabe ? Tom, what has happened ? 
 God bless my soul, Rose ! You here ? " It was 
 Judge Oglethorpe, who now waved back the crowd 
 so that he and the three stood alone, facing one an- 
 other. 
 
 Rose ran to him and grasped his arm in both her 
 own. " Let me explain ! There were two men who 
 were about to shoot my father. They would have 
 done it too, if Tom and I had not defended him. 
 I'm a deputy sheriff, you know, Judge, so I had a 
 right to interfere, even if it were not my own father's 
 life at stake." 
 
 As she spoke she looked at Tom. He saw she 
 meant to shield him. 
 
 "One of them was named Broadhead, a moon-
 
 100 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 shiner, from the hills," she added. " The other I 
 do not know." 
 
 " The other was Cuthbert, from Beacher Creek," 
 interposed Gabe quietly. He was looking with in- 
 terest from one to the other in the group, quite as 
 though he were the person least concerned. 
 
 " Captain," said Judge Oglethorpe solemnly. 
 " You have had a close call. Thanks to Blankenship 
 and to Rose you are alive this minute. I am glad 
 to see that you two men are enemies only politically. 
 I'm afraid we shall have a hard time to catch those 
 rascals, though. Why didn't you clap handcuffs on 
 them, Rose, instead of letting them run ? " And the 
 Judge laughed, for he considered this a joke. 
 
 " There was no time for anything," said Rose, 
 simply. " Father, Tom, take me over to the office. 
 I feel a little faint." 
 
 If she felt faint she did not look it, for the excite- 
 ment had brought vivid color into her cheeks. But, 
 since after all she was a woman, the excuse served to 
 gain a pathway through the crowd, and the three made 
 their way amid a storm of congratulations and ex- 
 cited questions, to Gabe's office, a short distance down 
 the street. 
 
 Once there, she locked the door and turned to 
 Tom. 
 
 " You see I lied to save you," she panted. " You 
 owe your life to me. If I had told them you in- 
 tended to shoot my father, they would not have waited
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 101 
 
 for Judge Oglethorpe to try you. They'd have hung 
 you to the nearest tree. You know that as well as I." 
 
 Tom made no answer. 
 
 "Father," cried Kose. "You proved my story 
 true by keeping silent. Does that mean that you will 
 overlook this mad act of Tom's? He must have 
 been crazy or drunk or he would not have dared 
 attempt it." 
 
 " Tom," said Captain Gabe. " I know your look 
 when you're in liquor. I shall forget that scene. 
 As far as I'm concerned, it never took place. I'll 
 see that those two rascals keep away, or else their tale 
 might harm you. Now go ! Be a man, Tom. Be 
 a man." 
 
 " I suppose you expect me to be grateful, but I'm 
 not," muttered Tom. 
 
 " Good-by," said Kose. " Remember that your 
 life belongs to me. As I have lied to save you, you 
 owe me something. I shall expect it of you, Tom." 
 
 There came a knock at the outer door. Gabe un- 
 locked it and admitted Homer Fort. His clothes 
 were disordered and he was breathing quickly. 
 
 "Well!" he exclaimed. "I had a time to get 
 here, and no mistake. That was the gentlest mob of 
 people I ever met. They didn't do one thing to me 
 when I tried to get through. What happened any- 
 way? I understand that four moonshiners fired 
 sixty shots at you, Captain, that Rose hit every last 
 one of them through the heart, that nevertheless
 
 102 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 they all escaped, but the coroner expects to recover 
 at least ten of them, stone dead, by to-morrow morn- 
 ing. Have I the story straight ? " 
 
 " Near enough," laughed Gabe. " Have you met 
 Mr. Blankenship ? " 
 
 "Fellow hero, I salute you," cried Fort, wring- 
 ing Tom's limp hand, and dropping it in dismay as 
 he perceived the red mark on the wrist. " I didn't 
 know you were wounded. You should be proud of 
 that but you look awfully down. Must be you are 
 mourning because Miss Rose shot more of them than 
 you did." 
 
 Tom snatched his hat, muttered something inco- 
 herent, and made a dash out of the door. " Gee 
 whiz!" said Homer. "That's the sulkiest-looking 
 hero I ever saw, and say, Captain, this morning has 
 furnished me with the realest thrills I ever felt. I 
 have but one more longing left. I've been here two 
 days almost, and I have yet to taste a julep." 
 
 Gabe laughed again. " Come over to the Yancey," 
 he said. " We'll break you to them gradually, 
 Homer. If I mixed you your first one, the joy of it 
 might be too much for you. Eun along, Eose. Your 
 old daddy is proud of you. And here is a kiss for 
 Madge." 
 
 At the Yancey the two men found Judge Ogle- 
 thorpe, and while they waited to be served, Gabe told 
 the old man of the coming peach-growers' combine. 
 
 The Judge was enthusiastic. " God bless my
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 103 
 
 soul," he exulted. " I've got a son-in-law to be proud 
 of, if he is a year older than I. Let's drink his 
 health, Mr. Fort, and to the success of his plan. May 
 it be the best thing this State has ever known." 
 
 " I'm with you," said Homer, lifting his glass 
 high. " On this, the momentous occasion when I 
 first taste a julep, I drink to the glorious Georgia 
 Peach." 
 
 His eyes met Gabe's over their glasses as they 
 drank.
 
 CHAPTEK VII 
 
 THE days which passed after Minnie Gray 
 and her baby were first brought to the Shel- 
 ley home, were busy ones for the entire 
 family. In those times of awakening to the proper 
 amount of care necessary to one small infant's health, 
 " li'l Tawm," even in the most ordinary and normal 
 conditions, would have completely upset the well 
 regulated household. But Minnie had undergone so 
 much in the last year that she was quite worn out, 
 and under Doctor's orders she was compelled to wean 
 her baby, that both of them might thrive the better. 
 
 Eose took charge of preparing the artificial food, 
 and astounded the ignorant young mother by the 
 tremendous lot of detail necessary. 
 
 " I cain't see no sense to it," she had unhesitatingly 
 declared. " Up to home, thar's Mis Slocum she 
 takes a ol' whisky bottle, an' fills it up with milk 
 right outen the caow, an' then she puts some spring 
 water to it, an' ties a rag around the top, an' her baby 
 sucks that rag like it wuz his mammy's own breast. 
 And he's just as fat as butter." 
 
 To this Rose had answered by asking, "Are all 
 the hill babies fat?" 
 
 " Lawsy, no ! " exclaimed Minnie wonderingly. 
 
 104
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 105 
 
 " Some on 'em are peeny-weeny as can be. Mis Slo- 
 cum lost one on'y las' year the one befo' this baby. 
 Seems like they is allus a baby funer'l goin' on some- 
 whar. Some folks has so many chillun that s'posen 
 one does die why they don't make no account on 
 it a tall. Jes' digs a grave an' says some words over 
 it, an' 'pears like they fergits it in a minute." 
 
 " That's why we are going to be careful with our 
 baby," retorted Rose. " Mrs. Slocum may have one 
 infant so healthy that he thrives on germs, but we'll 
 take no chances with little Tom." 
 
 " What's germs ? " asked Minnie. 
 
 An older person might well have grown discour- 
 aged, for, thought Rose, no sooner did she mention 
 something a little out of the common A B C of every- 
 day intercourse, than Minnie avowed utter ignorance 
 of it. However, she set herself to work to explain 
 germs to the mountain girl, and did her job so thor- 
 oughly and well that for days afterward Minnie 
 looked with suspicion at everything that had not 
 been baked or boiled, although she declared that she 
 couldn't " see a thing a-crawlin' around nowhar, no 
 matter how hard she kep on lookin'." The micro- 
 scope, with its ability to show up minute organisms, 
 was a baffling mystery to her, which Rose was not 
 able to explain until later, when she took Minnie to 
 the nursing home and gave her a practical demon- 
 stration of its powers. 
 
 Thus Minnie's education progressed by leaps and
 
 106 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 bounds, through the medium of simple every-day oc- 
 currences, which each afforded its own peculiar op- 
 portunity for instruction. And her teaching was 
 so gently and wisely given, that under its influence 
 her mind unfolded rapidly, and her heart opened to 
 the love and kindness of these new friends like a 
 flower to the glowing sun, Freed from its burden of 
 disgrace and shame, her head lifted again, and her 
 slight frame straightened in imitation of Rose's agile 
 bearing. She saw her transgression in another light, 
 and while both sorry for it and eager to make amends, 
 she learned to regard her baby, not as a living symbol 
 of her sin, but rather as the outgrowth of all that had 
 been noblest and most selfless in her love for his 
 father, a Heaven-sent comforter to help her bear his 
 desertion, and a means for the attainment of her own 
 highest womanhood. Where before she had loved 
 him in a secret, guilty fashion, getting him out of the 
 way quickly if any one approached, she now basked 
 in the glory of actually being proud of him, and her 
 mother nature sprang to its full development unhind- 
 ered. 
 
 Her gratitude for this one thing alone the op- 
 portunity to enjoy her baby must have made her 
 yield to the suggestions of Rose and Madge, had there 
 not been as well their own genuine liking for her, 
 which Minnie felt instinctively through everything 
 they said and did, and appreciated more than they 
 could ever know. For though Rose had tried to step
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 107 
 
 into Minnie's place for a moment, and had grasped 
 intuitively something of what her sufferings had been, 
 she could have no real conception of their depths, nor 
 of the alleviation which her ministrations brought. 
 The good woman who has never sinned is miles apart 
 from the so-called fallen woman, and though love can 
 bridge the gap, and, standing over, peer within, it 
 cannot enter the abyss through which the latter has 
 just passed. 
 
 Minnie loved Madge with a deep abiding love, but 
 she worshiped Rose, and clung to her so pathetically 
 that when Gabe decided that she must be sent away 
 for a time, it was quite evident that she would not 
 be able to bear the separation. She was thriving 
 now, and growing strong and well, but if Rose were 
 taken from her at this critical period, it was only too 
 clear that she would sink again into that miserable 
 condition from which she was but just emerging, and 
 this in spite of the advantages laid before her. 
 
 Gabe had patiently explained his reasons to the 
 mountain girl, only suppressing the fact that in Sa- 
 lem lived Tom Blankenship, the father of her boy. 
 This was in truth the main object of sending her 
 away. After the shooting episode Tom had taken 
 himself and his wrath across to Europe for a while, 
 but at any time he might return, and come face to 
 face with Minnie. Needless to say this would ruin 
 the plans Rose had developed for them both. 
 
 There was another difficulty which had to be con-
 
 108 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 sidered. Minnie had been introduced to some few of 
 the townspeople as Mrs. Kemp, a young widow, who, 
 with her baby, was visiting Kose. But sooner or 
 later it was inevitable that some one of them would do 
 more than merely address her, when she was certain 
 to betray her mountain origin. This again would 
 defeat the plans of Rose. 
 
 So Minnie had been told merely that she needed 
 much which Salem could not give her, and which 
 New York could readily supply. She saw that this 
 was so, yet grew so piteous at thought of leaving 
 Eose and her baby, that eventually it was decided to 
 send all three away together. 
 
 " Of course! I can keep house and look after ' li'l 
 Tawm' while Minnie studies," said Eose merrily. 
 " Why didn't we think of that before ? We will hire 
 a flat, Father, and be quite settled. And I'll come 
 home as often as I can." 
 
 But just as the matter seemed to be decided to 
 everybody's satisfaction, Minnie balked again. 
 
 "I cannot let you do so much for me," she ex- 
 plained gently. " I can't possibly do it." 
 
 "You wish to be educated, don't you?" Gabe 
 asked kindly. 
 
 "I I reckon I do. Of course I must ! " hesi- 
 tated Minnie, a bewildered look creeping into her 
 brown eyes. 
 
 " See here. Are you doing all this of yourself, or 
 just because Eose wishes it ? "
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 109 
 
 " I I don't know," faltered Minnie. 
 
 " I'm very much afraid you have been swept off 
 your feet by my impetuous daughter," smiled Gabe 
 kindly. " However, you do want the education, and 
 you are willing to work to gain it aren't you ? " 
 
 " Y-yes. But, Cap'n Gabe, I cain't bear to leave 
 my baby so much to other people " 
 
 " Don't you want him to be Tom Somebody 
 some day, instead of Tom Nobody ? " 
 
 Minnie winced and nodded, unable to speak. 
 
 " Then that is settled." 
 
 " But I can't accept so much " 
 
 " Nonsense ! " interposed Gabe stoutly. " Didn't 
 you know that you have valuable land up in the 
 hills ? If you and your mother will agree to selling 
 some of it, I can easily find you a purchaser. Per- 
 haps I might buy it myself, for speculative purposes. 
 So you can pay your own way and feel under obliga- 
 tions to nobody." 
 
 This satisfied Minnie, who would have believed 
 anything Gabe told her, and November saw the three 
 ensconced in their small New York home. Minnie 
 was to have private lessons, so that she might ad- 
 vance as rapidly as possible. She was naturally 
 apt. As she had told Eose, the teacher in the moun- 
 tain school had taught her all he knew, which was 
 not inconsiderable since he was a city chap sent 
 mountainward for health's sake, and teaching to pay 
 his way. Naturally much of what Minnie then
 
 110 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 learned had slipped away from her. But the train- 
 ing helped her now. And her ancestry was in her 
 favor, too, for she was of the purest Anglo-Saxon 
 stock, which, in the mountains of Georgia, the Caro- 
 linas, and Eastern Tennessee, has remained isolated 
 from Revolutionary times. There was good gray 
 matter in Minnie's flower-like head, as well as the 
 marks of race in her small, graceful figure, and well- 
 shaped hands and feet. 
 
 On their way north the two stopped over to see Mrs. 
 Gray. Minnie's mother was now almost well enough 
 to leave the hospital, and had displayed unexpected 
 obstinacy in insisting upon going straight to the 
 mountains, instead of to Xew York with Rose and 
 Minnie, or to the Shell eys in Salem. 
 
 She was sitting up when they entered the ward, 
 a small, gray-haired woman, with a face seamed into 
 countless lines, flat bosom, and work-worn hands. 
 She looked indifferently at the two girls, supposing 
 them "ladies" bent on charity. She explained 
 later that numbers of these ladies visited the ward 
 from time to time, bringing flowers which she might 
 have enjoyed had it not been for her pride, which 
 rose in arms at their patronizing manner. 
 
 " Jus' ca'se I'm pore an' old an' sick, they think 
 they kin lay it all over me. I says to 'em, says I, ' I 
 nevuh axed you to come ter see me. When I wishes 
 yo' comp'ny, I'll send you a invite,' I says. ' I got 
 flowers to home mounting laurel, an' wild roses,
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 111 
 
 an' rhodydenden, that'll put your pore hand-raised 
 boughten flowers to shame. Gawd tends to my kind. 
 He 'ain't got no use f er your kind, no more'n I hev', I 
 says. En' they didn't know what to make of me. 
 But I meant it, every word." 
 
 Now as the nurse in charge led the girls to her 
 chair, she turned languid, incurious eyes upon them. 
 They carried flowers, so she straightened to do battle. 
 She was by nature militant, and under different cir- 
 cumstances might have fought and died joyously for 
 a cause. Her fiery spirit had worn out her feeble 
 body, so that she looked even older than mountain 
 women of her age usually do. She could not have 
 been much over forty at this time. But as her nos- 
 trils widened and her eyes flashed for the fray, she 
 perceived that these were wild flowers, of the kind she 
 loved. 
 
 " Glory be ! " she exclaimed, forgetting everything 
 in her interest. And, " Glory be ! " she said again, 
 when Minnie stooped and kissed her tenderly. 
 
 " 'Scuse me, leddies," she explained politely, as 
 soon as she had recovered breath. " But I ain't no- 
 ways used ter bein' kissed, nor to them kind of blos- 
 soms in a horspittal. You-all must surely be a new 
 kind of sick-visitors." 
 
 " Why, Mammy ! Don't you know me ? " Minnie 
 shrank back, astounded at the very thought. 
 
 The familiar name and voice made the little woman 
 jump. But she still looked doubtful. Her eyes
 
 112 THE SHELLEYS OF. GEORGIA 
 
 swept over Rose suspiciously. This was undoubtedly 
 a stranger. But the other dainty girl had called her 
 " Mammy," and the word had stirred her soul. She 
 reached out a bony hand, clutched Minnie's wrist 
 and drew her close. She looked long and searchingly 
 into the brown eyes. And then faintly, incredu- 
 lously, yearningly, she tried to give her feelings 
 words. 
 
 " Air you my li'l gal, my Minnie ? It ain't rea- 
 sonable. It cain't be true. Them purty clothes 
 wouldn't change a body so ! You're different some- 
 how. You're a reel lady such as I've allus wanted 
 my Minnie to grow inter. But you've got Minnie's 
 eyes and Minnie's hair and Minnie's smile and 
 voice. Lawsy! It mus' be true. What they done 
 to you, honey, to make you so smart and all ? " 
 
 She held the girl close to her meager breast while 
 Minnie, in a few words, told what had transpired in 
 the past two months told all she had been unable 
 to tell in letters which had to be read aloud to the 
 prostrate mother whose eyes were dim from suffer- 
 ing. 
 
 The little woman made no comment, beyond in- 
 telligent eyes and nods of her gray head. She had 
 learned the mountain way of scanty speech. 
 
 " And this is Eose she lets me call her that." 
 
 " I'm right glad to see you, Rose," said Mrs. Gray. 
 " Yes, I'm right glad to see you. And to thank you 
 fer all you've done."
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 113 
 
 " Don't speak of thanks." Eose was very tender. 
 " Don't speak of thanks. Minnie has done more for 
 me than I can ever do for her." 
 
 " You don't say ! " Mrs. Gray was polite, but 
 mystified. 
 
 " I have found happiness in planning for her hap- 
 piness. Mrs. Gray, when you go to Salem, you will 
 understand better what I mean. By the way, we 
 have not let Minnie's story become known. We have 
 introduced her to people as Mrs. Kemp, a friend of 
 mine." 
 
 " Jes's you say." Mrs. Gray was quite obedient. 
 " I reckon Minnie an' I hev no call to objec' to any- 
 thing you may feel to do. We cain't help bein' 
 grateful. Ef you don't want thanks, you don't hev 
 to hev 'em, but they is in our hyarts, jes' the same." 
 
 Eose went soon after to call upon some friends, and 
 Minnie spent a quiet hour by her mother's side. She 
 told her story over and over to the little mountain 
 woman, who gave free rein to her curiosity now that 
 she was sure this lovely girl was her own daughter. 
 She took the pretty dress in her wasted fingers, 
 praised its quality and dainty style, admired the rose- 
 trimmed hat, and let her hungry heart drink its fill 
 of Minnie's unexpected beauty. 
 
 " I'd never 'a' knowed you," she repeated again 
 and again. " Minnie, chile, I'd never V knowed 
 you. Good feedin', fine clothes, and such friends 
 makes a sight of difference in a body."
 
 114 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 It was characteristic of her, and something Minnie 
 did not dream of feeling sad about or of combating, 
 that she never once mentioned " li'l Tawm," left all 
 this time in the care of a nurse in the corridor outside. 
 
 When Rose returned and Minnie said good-by, she 
 clung to the girl wistfully. " I'd 'a' let you go to 
 New York a whole heap easier ef I hadn't 'a' seen 
 you a-tall," she whispered brokenly. " You wuz 
 shamed and disgraced and a burden on my back. 
 Naow you're so different I cain't begin to realize it, 
 even yet. Good-by, my li'l gal. Good-by, Hose. 
 Ef the prayers of a pore old woman are wuth any- 
 thing to you, wal, I allow you hev 'em with you. And 
 ef the time ever comes when I kin repay you, I'll 
 doit that's all." 
 
 " Your husband saved my father during the war," 
 reminded Kose. " If there is any talk of pay, I 
 fancy I could not discharge my debt. Good-by, 
 Mrs. Gray. When we get back again, I hope to see 
 you well and strong." 
 
 " Good-by, Mammy," whispered Minnie tearfully. 
 "When I return, it will be to try to be a better 
 daughter. Good-by." 
 
 From the hospital the two went directly to the 
 train, and from the train to their new home, which 
 was ready and waiting for them. 
 
 It was an eventful winter in more ways than one, 
 for while Minnie was making astonishing progress 
 with her studies, which, after all, was not so astonish-
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 115 
 
 ing when one realizes all she had at stake, occurred 
 that astounding catastrophe, the blowing up of the 
 battleship Maine, in Havana harbor. Although the 
 courts were unable to fix the responsibility for this 
 upon any one person or persons, it was instantly fol- 
 lowed by such a tempest of denunciation that it is 
 doubtful if the sufferings of the oppressed Cubans 
 continued to occupy their rightful place in the minds 
 of the nation at large. During the wait for the ver- 
 dict of the court, this thirst for vengeance was fos- 
 tered until people lost all ability to judge fairly, or 
 to choose an impartial attitude and to maintain it. 
 
 " Eemember the Maine I " became the nation^ slo- 
 gan, instead of " Help a defenseless and suffering 
 people ! " 
 
 So one thing led to another, and upon Monday, the 
 25th of April, 1898, after a series of misunderstand- 
 ing, recriminations, and accusations such as has never 
 been equaled, the House of Eepresentatives at Wash- 
 ington, D. C., declared that war had been begun by 
 Spain four days before. 
 
 The entire population of the United States, already 
 in a white heat of impatience, burst into flames at 
 this touch of the match. Apparently there was not 
 one single doubt or fear, not one demurrer or one 
 advocate for peace. Women advanced no protest, ar- 
 bitration schemes were dismissed as the most utter 
 folly, and everywhere the lust for battle spread. 
 
 Yet on this April morning Nature herself had
 
 116 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 never been more peaceful, or more serenely beautiful. 
 It was as though she tried to convey a message to 
 humanity, scrawling it in long lazy lines of budding 
 trees and plants, enveloping it in hazy green, and, 
 upon the little town of Salem she set a special seal 
 in the shape of myriads of rosy blooms, which filled 
 the air with their elusive fragrance. By no means 
 particular about the manner in which she affixed this 
 seal, long splotches of pink and white stretched out in 
 all directions from the nucleus of the town. 
 
 Salem was scarcely able to recognize itself in its 
 fine new costume. Old Judge Oglethorpe told the 
 children that they had suddenly been transported into 
 fairyland, and delighted them by insisting that they 
 must be fairies, gnomes, or goblins. The minister 
 likened it reverently to Paradise, and drew stern 
 morals for his congregation upon Sunday, which they 
 forgot promptly. But Captain Gabe Shelley called 
 the whole glory just " Peach-Blossom Time in Geor- 
 gia," and said he thought it quite enough to be alive 
 and able to see and smell upon this Monday morn- 
 ing. Perhaps he was the wisest of them alL
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 LESSER events will happen on the same 
 day that larger events take place, so 
 this April Monday not only sent broad- 
 cast the news of imminent war, but brought Salem 
 back Rose Shelley, Minnie Gray, and the baby Tom, 
 now nearly ten months old. Tom Blankenship, home 
 through the winter months but now away again on 
 a trip through the Western States, was reported to 
 be returning to take command of his "crack com- 
 pany." And Homer Fort had journeyed south- 
 ward to renew his acquaintance with the Shelleys, 
 give Gabe some further help in his peach-growers' 
 combine, and see the blooming orchards about Salem. 
 Rose frowned when she learned that Homer was 
 again their guest. He had been with them at a time 
 which was a painful memory to her. He had also 
 been unwisely friendly with her stepmother. Her 
 long winter away did not cause Rose to relax one 
 iota of her vigilance, and the first greetings were 
 scarcely over before she determined that Homer 
 should have scant opportunity to converse with 
 Madge. " It was well we came when we did," she 
 thought. And as soon as Minnie and the child were 
 117
 
 118 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 resting, she went with Homer through the aisles of 
 trees. 
 
 After lunch Gabe undertook to drive Minnie and 
 the baby to her mountain home. She was to stay 
 there for a short time, and then return to Salem for 
 a visit, when Eose hoped to bring about a meeting 
 between her protegee and Tom, though this plan was 
 frustrated owing to the latter's absence at camp in 
 Tampa. 
 
 The day was chilly, and the Captain left many di- 
 rections behind as to what was to be done in case 
 there came a frost, the one thing dreaded most at 
 blossom time. As the afternoon advanced and the 
 cold steadily increased, both Madge and Eose were 
 busied in carrying out these orders, and finally asked 
 their guest to join them. It was Uncle Jack who 
 brought Homer their message, finding the young 
 man busily writing letters in Gabe's study. 
 
 " Ain't it strange, boss, dat ol' Maw !Natur is so 
 crooel ? " Uncle Jack lingered to ask after fulfilling 
 his errand. " We plant de trees, an' prune 'em, an' 
 spray 'em, an' den de fros' come an' kill de fruit in 
 de bud, an' all our labor done gone fer nawthin'. 
 I reckon de Lawd knows bes', but hit do appear lak 
 he set a mighty poor example to his chillun some- 
 times, an' dat's a fac'. How am I gwine tu'n dish 
 yere into a lesson f o' de Sunday School ? Dat's what 
 I wants to know." 
 
 Homer laughed, professed himself unable to solve
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 119 
 
 .the problem, and followed Uncle Jack to the wind- 
 ward side of the trees. Here he found the orchard 
 bustling with activity. Madge, in plain blouse and 
 .short dark skirt, was directing the laborers who were 
 building smudges everywhere. Rose, similarly at- 
 tired, ordered the placing of the oil-burners, and as 
 soon as Homer reached them, she called him before 
 Madge could speak. He perceived, with deepening 
 amusement, that she had determined to keep him and 
 Madge apart. 
 
 " Here, Mr. Fort," she called. " Will you show 
 those stupid men how to lay that brush to make 
 the heaviest possible smoke ? I'm needed yonder. 
 You know how, don't you ? " 
 
 Homer did know, and assumed command of the 
 men who justified her complaint of their stupidity. 
 When this was done, she ordered him to oversee the 
 cutting of more green wood from the uncleared land 
 belonging to the place. She flitted here and there 
 and everywhere, unconsciously assuming entire com- 
 mand, and Madge obeyed her as well as Fort and the 
 workmen, to whom the Captain's girl was a superior 
 and wonderful being. Later she galloped off to town 
 like a whirlwind, to Homer's intense admiration. 
 He told himself that she was not only bewilderingly 
 pretty, but that she was as spirited and full of life 
 as the wild little horse she rode. She was back be- 
 fore the rest had missed her, but he knew the instant 
 she had come. He must have known soon in any
 
 120 THE SHELLEYS OR GEORGIA 
 
 case, for during her short absence Madge, passing by, 
 had stopped for a little chat, embarrassed because of 
 the constraint which Rose had placed upon her. 
 
 "We are almost through, Mr. Fort," she said, 
 striving to speak lightly. 
 
 " Do you know," exclaimed Homer, sweeping out 
 an arm to indicate the scene. " This is one of the 
 most amazing things I have ever witnessed, this in- 
 telligent, organized fight against Mature by her chil- 
 dren. It's great! It's inspiring! Those grimy 
 sweating negroes and the ugly piles they rear, against 
 the background of the glorious trees if I were a 
 poet I'd be tempted, I can tell you." 
 
 Her diffidence vanished before his enthusiasm. 
 Her eyes kindled, as she realized how the scene might 
 affect one unused to it. " Then you haven't minded 
 helping, have you, Mr. Fort ? I was afraid the work 
 might prove irksome." 
 
 " Irksome ! " Fort spoke emphatically and was 
 sorry the moment after, for Eose, alighting, had heard 
 the eloquence of his tone, and had again misjudged. 
 
 She turned to him with a superbly scornful gesture. 
 11 Mr. Fort," she said coolly, ignoring Madge, whose 
 eyes grew proud. " Mr. Fort, the workmen can finish 
 here alone, so perhaps you won't mind a little rest. 
 Will you come back to the house with me, please ? " 
 
 Fort looked at her calmly. Her beauty, though it 
 dazzled, did not bewilder him. He was not only able 
 to resist it, but to resent the girl's manner towards
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 121 
 
 Madge. "Miss Shelley," he answered. "Mrs. 
 Shelley and I are both tired. I daresay you are 
 tired, too. I quite agree with you that all of us need 
 rest. Mrs. Shelley, will you take my arm ? " 
 
 Rose quivered with indignation as Madge accepted. 
 There was nothing to do, if she did not wish to leave 
 them alone, but to tag along like a superfluous child. 
 Fort, apparently oblivious, was really keenly alive 
 to her presence just behind, and took impish delight 
 in aggravating her further by his solicitous attentions 
 to his companion. When they reached the Gallery, 
 he stood aside to admit of both ladies ascending the 
 steps before him. But scarcely had either reached 
 the top than he was there by Madge, with a deep cush- 
 ioned chair in which he installed her, with utmost 
 satisfaction. 
 
 " There ! " he announced, standing off to admire 
 the effect. " Now you are perfect, Mrs. Shelley. 
 Eest, and don't talk unless you feel like it." 
 
 There was mischief in his eye as he placed a chair 
 for Eose. She ignored it, deliberately choosing a 
 straight high-backed affair near Madge, and seating 
 herself with her back almost turned on Homer, who 
 sank down on the top step. Silence fell, deep, mys- 
 terious and baffling, a silence that Madge felt inade- 
 quate to break, and that Eose declined to. 
 
 " Well ? " inquired Homer casually at last. 
 
 !NTo answer. 
 
 " Miss Shelley ? " It was Homer again, not plead-
 
 122 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 ing, but pleasant and politely interrogative, as be- 
 fore. 
 
 " Well ? " Kose felt obliged to answer and took 
 refuge in the monosyllable. 
 
 " I always knew I was famous for my original re- 
 marks," said Homer modestly. " But I didn't know 
 I was famous enough to be copied." 
 
 " Keally, Mr. Fort, I don't know what you mean." 
 Eose was icily indifferent. 
 
 "I said, 'Well?'" explained Homer patiently. 
 " Then I called your attention to my remark by say- 
 ing, ' Miss Shelley.' You repeated it. You said 
 ' Well ? ' Don't you see ? I said ' Well ? ' and you 
 said ' Well ? ' Perhaps you copied me unconsciously 
 but you did it, just the same. Since I said ' Well ? ' 
 and you said ' Well ? ' all must be well." 
 
 Rose drew herself up with offended dignity. 
 " Really, Mr. Fort," she said again, " I fail to see 
 the connection." 
 
 " Between your ' Well ? ' and my ' Well ? ' is there 
 really no connection, Miss Shelley ? " questioned 
 Homer sadly. " Were they not both fed by the same 
 spring, ' well '-ing from a mutual desire to indulge in 
 social talk ? " 
 
 " How silly ! " murmured Rose. Nevertheless she 
 could not look quite so distant as before, and Madge 
 was smiling sleepily. 
 
 " Miss Shelley ? " implored Fort. 
 
 " Well ? " Rose caught herself too late, and, start-
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 123 
 
 ing guiltily, she looked into his triumphant eyes. " I 
 knew you'd say it," he exulted. " There ! At last 
 I've made you laugh. I feel repaid." 
 
 Rose composed her face again and looked away. 
 She was determined to dislike the man. Again si- 
 lence, deep and impenetrable as before. 
 
 "Miss Shelley." This time Fort whispered. 
 " Miss Shelley, she's asleep." 
 
 Rose looked. It was quite true. The long busy 
 day had been too much for Madge, and the sudden 
 quiet and comfort had accomplished a lovely end. 
 She lay sound asleep in her chair, her long lashes dark 
 on her flushed cheeks. Yielding to the helpless ap- 
 peal in her unconscious attitude, Rose hastened to 
 spread a wrap about her father's wife. There was 
 both love and tenderness in the action, and Fort drew 
 new conclusions therefrom. 
 
 As for Rose, her uppermost thought was that now 
 she could relax her vigilance. Yet when she turned 
 to Fort to excuse herself, and saw that he expected her 
 to go down with him to the settee under the trees, she 
 yielded. Just why she could not have told. Sit- 
 ting there, where she and Tom Blankenship had often 
 talked so intimately together, her thoughts were all 
 upon the man beside her. The antagonism which he 
 roused in her made her unable to erase him from her 
 mind. 
 
 Homer was a bold man when he thought boldness 
 expedient. He thought so now. "Miss Shelley,'*
 
 124 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 he began abruptly, and then stopped to reconsider. 
 " I shall not call you by that name again," he an- 
 nounced. " Our friendship has progressed beyond 
 it. Hereafter I'll address you as Miss Rose." 
 
 He beamed as she gasped with indignation. Then, 
 before she could voice her outraged feelings, he asked 
 her playfully, " Miss Rose, why do you dislike me ? " 
 
 " I dislike you ? " exclaimed Rose. " I have not 
 thought about you enough either to like or dislike you, 
 Mr. Fort." 
 
 " One can like or dislike a person without thinking 
 of him at all. You dislike me. If you thought of 
 me a little, you wouldn't. Try it, and see." 
 
 He smiled at her contagiously, but it was of no use. 
 She turned cold eyes upon him and answered scorn- 
 fully, in her pretty Southern drawl, which lent all 
 she said a peculiar emphasis. " Mr. Tort, you ask 
 too much. I couldn't think about you if I tried. 
 But I do think of of Madge, and I resent your at- 
 tempt to place her in an awkward position. I am 
 quite frank, you see." 
 
 Homer was nettled. " In what way have I placed 
 Mrs. Shelley in an awkward position ? " 
 
 " You admire her too obviously. She is young 
 still, and very pretty. My father is much older than 
 she." 
 
 " So you conclude," interrupted Homer, with steeli- 
 ness in his pleasant voice. " You conclude that be- 
 cause she is still young and pretty, and your father is
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 125 
 
 old, she is peculiarly liable to awkward positions ? 
 Why should that be so ? " 
 
 Eose moved impatiently upon her seat. " You for- 
 get that we live in a small place, where the old ladies 
 love to gossip. Such a sudden friendship as yours 
 for my father's wife is open to misconstruction." 
 
 " But, Miss Eose," cried Homer. " Does not Mrs. 
 Shelley realize this as well as you ? Is she not quite 
 as able to uphold your father's honor ? " 
 
 Eose looked annoyed. " We have already talked 
 too long upon this subject," she said crisply. 
 
 " One moment," returned Homer. " I am forced 
 to infer from your attitude that you are distrustful 
 of your mother. You fear that her affection for your 
 father is not strong enough to keep her loyal. You 
 are so sure of this that you feel the necessity of warn- 
 ing off possible trespassers. Is that it ? " 
 
 " No, no," said Eose, but that was it, as he saw 
 from the very force of her denial. 
 
 " If I were a different sort, I'd be inclined to take 
 up the gauntlet you fling down to prove her 
 loyalty," he said. "But why doubt it, for a mo- 
 ment?" 
 
 " You misunderstand me," cried Eose. " I do not 
 imply that her loyalty needs proving. All I ask is 
 that you keep your distance." 
 
 Homer smiled. Inwardly he was boiling with 
 wrath. He would have liked to shake this slip of a 
 girl who defied him. " We won't quarrel," he said
 
 126 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 calmly. " I did not use the phrase in the sense in 
 which you took it. Let that pass. We seem destined 
 to misunderstand each other. And when I try to cor- 
 rect your impressions of me, I only falsify them fur- 
 ther. Let us talk on impersonal subjects, the war 
 for instance. I dare say you have a number of ad- 
 mirers who are going to enlist." 
 
 Rose's eyes kindled. " I have many friends who 
 will enlist," she answered quickly. " And all who do 
 enlist I count my friends. If you really want my 
 friendship, Mr. Fort, you know now how to obtain 
 it" 
 
 " It is a temptation, certainly," murmured Homer. 
 " However, I have not yet made up my mind as to the 
 expediency of enlisting." 
 
 " How can you hesitate ? " 
 
 " There are so many things to consider," said 
 Homer comfortably. "First, am I needed? Kot 
 yet. Every harum-scarum in the country is crying 
 to be a soldier. Would it be fair to rob one of them 
 of his chance ? The camps will soon be overflowing, 
 with men burdening tne country with their support 
 while they are trained for a field they may never see. 
 Then, too, our business interests need to be looked 
 after now, as well as in times of peace." 
 
 " You are evading the question, Mr. Fort." 
 
 " Perhaps I am. As the poet says of his purple 
 cow, ' I've never been a soldier boy, I never thought 
 to be one. But this I'll tell you anyhow, I'd rather
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 127 
 
 live than " dee " one.' There's truth in that crude 
 poem, Miss Eose. I should no doubt admire myself 
 immensely, clad in regimentals and marching off to 
 the tune of Way Down South in Georgia/ But 
 supposing I got shot ? What then ? " 
 
 "How can you make a mock of your country's 
 needs ? " asked Eose indignantly. 
 
 " I am sorry. I did not know you felt the thing 
 so keenly. Well, then, if I have any objection to en- 
 listing, it lies in my deep-rooted conviction that war, 
 for whatever purpose, is never justifiable." 
 
 " The justifiability of war is an abstract question, 
 which, in times of peace, will bear discussing," cried 
 Eose stormily. " But this is not the time to broach 
 it. War is here. It is upon us now, justifiable or 
 unjustifiable. We have got to face it. If I were a 
 man I'd show you how quickly I'd enlist. The more 
 swift and merciless we are, the greater numbers we 
 send out, the sooner will the brutal work be over. We 
 might as well win quickly, for we'll win. We never 
 will be beaten while our women stand behind and urge 
 our men to face the enemy unflinchingly. I wish I 
 were a man," cried Eose, springing to her feet. " I 
 wish I were a man ! " So deeply was she moved that 
 tears rolled down her cheeks, and she ran away fo 
 hide them. 
 
 Homer looked after her in surprise. He had 
 stated his convictions frankly, merely omitting to 
 mention that in spite of them he had joined a regi-
 
 128 THE SHELLEYS OR GEORGIA 
 
 ment in Illinois. " I didn't think she had it in her," 
 he now soliloquized, as he went off to the orchard to 
 see how the men were progressing. " What a little 
 spitfire she is! She dislikes you, Homer Fort," he 
 continued thoughtfully. " Undeserved dislike, too. 
 Won't you do something to deserve it, Homer ? Per- 
 haps that might make it lose its sting." 
 
 Dinner was hurried that night, for already the men 
 were lighting the oil-burners and brush-piles, and get- 
 ting to work in earnest to fight the frost which now 
 promised to be a hard one. The thermometer 
 dropped with terrifying steadiness until at half-past 
 six it stood at thirty-five degrees. Although Gabe had 
 but just returned from a long and fatiguing ride, he 
 snatched merely a few bites of bread and meat, and 
 then hastened to don old clothes, with which he also 
 supplied his guest. And then the two men hurried 
 out to superintend the battle. 
 
 If Homer had been impressed by the activity of the 
 afternoon, he found it as nothing beside the bustle 
 now. Already it was dusk, and the fitful light of the 
 fires, now flaring into sheets of flame, now hidden by 
 volumes of smoke, alternately threw into relief or 
 obscured the fairy-like beauty of the trees, and the 
 rough, toiling figures whose business it was to keep 
 that smoke as heavy as possible. Where the flame 
 was too free, water quenched its ardor. And as the 
 wind shifted the fires shifted, too, new ones being 
 hastily built to take the place of the old. There was
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 129 
 
 contagion in the fury with which the fight went on, 
 and Homer threw himself gayly into the midst of it. 
 
 There was nothing for Kose and Madge to do now, 
 so they watched the workers, and cheered the men 
 with occasional words of encouragement or praise. 
 Cold water was dispensed by Uncle Jack, to cool 
 parched throats and mop blistered brows. As the 
 evening advanced some negro started crooning an old 
 plantation melody, and, taken up by the rest of the 
 band, it rose and fell amid the noise of combat like 
 a battle hymn. Homer felt as though indeed he had 
 been transported into some foreign country, so strange 
 the entire scene appeared to him. 
 
 At last Gabe ordered Madge and Kose to bed. 
 " You'll have to be up early, to superintend a hearty 
 breakfast for us all," he said. " Rose is tired, I 
 know. Why, my girl, I've hardly had a chance to 
 realize that you are home again, there's been so much 
 to do all day." 
 
 He took her in his smoke-begrimed arms for a 
 hearty hug, and she pretended to pick a clean spot on 
 his face for a kiss. So, with laughing good-nights, 
 she and Madge went to the house together, and to 
 bed. 
 
 However, the weary men in the orchard kept the 
 night stirring with the sound of their labor. The fit- 
 ful gleam of the flames now and again played on the 
 ceilings of the bedrooms. The cold was intense, for 
 the thermometer now registered only thirty-three.
 
 130 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 So Madge sought Rose at last in her pretty chamber, 
 and nestled in bed beside her. 
 
 " Has the winter really gone as well as your let- 
 ters pretended, Rose ? " she asked, lying with arms 
 crossed behind her head. 
 
 " Yes," answered the girl briefly. " We had so 
 much to do and see and hear. And there was always 
 ' li'l Tawm.' " 
 
 " Minnie has improved beyond belief," said Madge. 
 
 " She is a dear girl, Madge, in spite of that in her 
 life which would condemn her utterly to most peo- 
 ple." Rose paused for a long moment, and then con- 
 tinued thoughtfully. " I wish we need not have had 
 to use secrecy at all, but still I cannot see how else 
 we could have managed. Xow that she has gotten 
 used to the name, I think perhaps it has been an ad- 
 vantage to her. She is changed in appearance, 
 speech, and dress. The change in name was another 
 step away from the old life. Whereas Miss Gray was 
 branded, Mrs. Kemp is free. Miss Gray faced every 
 one distrustfully. Mrs. Kemp is staunchly unafraid. 
 All the same I fear for the result now that she is in 
 her mountain home again, and once more Minnie 
 Gray. Will she not suffer ? " 
 
 " I am afraid so," answered Madge. " But we 
 won't let her stay there long enough for the bitterness 
 to return. We'll get her back to us as quickly as we 
 can, and perhaps we may be able to get her mother 
 to come too. I love the baby, Eose. He seems a lit-
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 131 
 
 tie to me like my own that died. I should like to 
 have him in the house." 
 
 It was seldom that Madge spoke of her loss, and 
 Rose put up a sympathetic hand to pat her cheek. 
 " As for me," she said quickly, forestalling the ques- 
 tion which trembled on Madge's lips. " Don't worry 
 about me. I've learned to bear my sorrow bravely. 
 I don't love Tom any longer at least I do not think 
 I do. There is part of me that used to be alive and 
 throbbing for him, that now is dead. But I am just 
 as anxious as ever to see him marry Minnie, and make 
 himself into the fine man which I feel under his devil- 
 may-care exterior. I think of him often in this way, 
 but never in the old way, Madge never that, 
 again." 
 
 Nevertheless she burst into tears and wept her 
 heart out on Madge's breast, wept out the struggle 
 of the weary months away, the heartaches of the past, 
 the loneliness of the future. And weeping softly, 
 and yet more softly, at last she went to sleep.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 4 ' "T" 'M only home for a day or so, Rose/' said Tom 
 Blankenship wistfully. " I've come to see if 
 
 -- I cannot take your forgiveness with me to 
 Cuba, and your promise that you have reconsidered, 
 and will marry me when I come home again." 
 
 She stood very straight and still, her cheeks white, 
 her eyes dark with pain. She made no answer. 
 
 " Rose, as you loved me once I know you did, 
 or else you never could have been to me what you 
 were as you loved me in those old glad days, soften 
 your heart to me now, and listen while I plead. I 
 had not meant to plead, Rose. I was angry for a long 
 while, and filled with bitter thoughts. But during 
 the winter I've had time to miss you, and in spite of 
 me I've softened. You are everything in life to me, 
 my darling. If you would but just turn to me alone, 
 and let nothing intrude between us, I know you would 
 give in to me. You could not help it, Rose." 
 
 They were standing in the orchard, among the trees 
 whose blossoms showered rosy snow about them both. 
 For Gabe had refused to allow Tom to enter the 
 house, even for this one last interview. 
 
 " I don't like to think of you and him alone in a 
 
 132
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 133 
 
 room together," he had said with a shudder quite un- 
 like him. " Face him in the open, my girl, where 
 he will not dare attempt to coerce you. I won't deny 
 you the right to speak to him, but this much I do ask 
 of you." 
 
 So she had written him to meet her in the orchard, 
 where workmen went to and fro upon various tasks 
 connected with the trees. 
 
 " Won't you so much as speak to me, Rose ? " he 
 now asked reproachfully. " Won't you say one word 
 to me, to send me on my way less bitter, less sore- 
 hearted?" 
 
 She drew herself up as though she had at last 
 reached a decision. " Listen to me, Tom," she said 
 slowly, turning her eyes full upon him. " I shall not 
 preach or scold you at this time. You have my 
 prayers, and my sincerest wishes for a safe and speedy 
 return. I've not changed at all since the last time 
 we talked together, Tom. I still feel as I felt 
 then." 
 
 His sneering smile sprang readily to his lips. 
 " You've said enough," he answered. " You told me 
 then that my life belonged to you. If that is so, it is 
 because I love you, and not for any other reason. If 
 I belong to you, it is as your lover and your future 
 husband. I mean to win you yet, in spite of every- 
 thing just as in spite of everything I kiss you 
 now." 
 
 With a fierce and passionate gesture he caught her
 
 134 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 in his arms and pressed her lips cruelly with his own. 
 It was not a lover's kiss, because it bruised and hurt. 
 It was as though his burning mouth had placed a 
 brand where every one could see. 
 
 " Oh ! " she cried, passing her hand across her lips 
 as though to wipe off the horror of the kiss. " Oh ! 
 And do you think that is the way to win me back ? 
 If you do, you don't know me. Another like that, 
 and I should hate you, Tom Blankenship. I should 
 should loathe you." 
 
 He only laughed, pretending to take enjoyment in 
 her scorn, and in the curiosity of the workmen near. 
 " I wanted it to last until I returned. Forgive me, 
 Eose. I am mad about you. I scarcely knew what 
 I did, because I am so bent upon winning you that 
 I'd stoop to any means. Forgive me. Wish me 
 luck. Please, Eose." 
 
 Although he threw into his eyes all of that coax- 
 ing playful ardor which once had melted her, it was 
 of no avail. 
 
 "Good-by," she said faintly. "Go! At once! 
 -Good-by!" 
 
 With a despairing shrug he turned and strode 
 away. She remained where she was, debased, sore 
 and bewildered, not knowing how to face life again 
 under this odd new feeling of shame. But insensibly 
 the quiet loveliness of the orchard, the unceasing soft 
 shower of petals from the trees, soothed and calmed 
 her. And when another man approached her, she
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 135 
 
 turned to greet him quite naturally, glad of the added 
 sense of relief which his coming gave her. 
 
 " Do you go this afternoon ? " she asked. " Hasn't 
 my father been able to persuade you to stay any 
 longer ? He has such a fancy for you, Mr. Fort, that 
 I don't see how he is going to get along without 
 you." 
 
 " You make me feel proud and glad when you say 
 that," responded Homer gently. " Fact is, I have to 
 go join my regiment in Illinois, Miss Rose." 
 
 Although he had intended to surprise her, he was 
 not prepared for the effect his speech had upon her. 
 She gave a glad little cry, and her whole being was 
 transformed as she began to speak impetuously. 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Fort, I am so pleased. You never told 
 me why, you said you did not believe in war 
 
 " I don't," he assured her gravely. " Neverthe- 
 less, as you said, war is upon us now. It is not the 
 time for abstract judgment " 
 
 " Did what I said that day make you do what you 
 thought wrong ? " Her eager face was overclouded. 
 She could not bear to add to her other burdens that of 
 having made this man enlist. But his next words re- 
 assured her. 
 
 "No. I had taken the fatal step some time be- 
 fore. However, you are responsible for changing my 
 attitude considerably. You made a soldier out of a 
 pacifist," laughed Homer. "Don't you think I'll 
 look fine in my regimentals ? "
 
 136 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 " Of course you will. Every man does." 
 
 " This makes us friends, doesn't it ? " continued 
 Homer, dropping his bantering air so quickly as to 
 embarrass her. She met his eyes frankly, however, 
 and held out her hand. 
 
 " Yes, it does." 
 
 " Wish me luck ! " he said, as his fingers clasped 
 hers in a firm pressure. 
 
 It was the same thing Tom had asked of her so 
 short a time ago. How differently she felt now. 
 Tom had made her distrustful and afraid. Homer 
 Fort had unwittingly brought her comfort, and 
 aroused her trust. The two men were widely differ- 
 ent, and she thought she loved Tom best. And yet 
 
 " If you get wounded," she said suddenly. " If 
 you get wounded, I shall feel myself to blame. As a 
 pacifist, you would have been justified in keeping out 
 of danger. !Xow I fear you'll rush pell-mell into the 
 thickest of the fights. Your hair is too easy a mark, 
 Mr. Fort. Keep your cap on, for my sake." 
 
 As she dimpled, all at once a playful merry girl 
 again, he put on an injured air. " You, of all per- 
 sons, to make fun of me," he murmured. " Well, I'll 
 keep my cap on for your sake. Good-by, Miss 
 Kose." 
 
 " Good-by," she answered softly, almost tenderly. 
 " Good-by." 
 
 " And don't forget," said Homer eagerly, " that 
 there's very little I wouldn't do for your sake, Miss
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 137 
 
 Rose. All joking aside, there isn't anything I 
 wouldn't try to do for your sake." 
 
 Down the long dusty street they came, drums beat- 
 ing, colors flying, horses shying and sidestepping yet 
 somehow keeping well in line a company of gay 
 young blades, perfectly equipped, splendid as to 
 mounts, and eager and longing for the fray. At 
 their head the darling of the town, Tom Blankenship, 
 sat his horse like an image, looking neither to right 
 nor left, yet conscious of each admiring glance which 
 fell upon him as he passed. He had forgotten every- 
 thing in the excitement of the moment. It was like 
 wine to him as well as to his comrades. This was 
 war this glorious passage along streets lined with 
 cheering friends, every one sure that these brave boys 
 would lick the Spanish to a frazzle, and return un- 
 scathed, as bright and fresh as when they started. 
 This was war this passionate loyalty which up- 
 lifted them and bore them onward. This was war 
 this wonderful intoxication composed of the thud of 
 the horses' hoofs, the throb of the drums, the shrill 
 notes of the fife, but most of all of the envy in the 
 eyes of those men who were not to go, the worship in 
 the faces of the women, the enthusiasm everywhere. 
 
 " A finer company of men I never saw," declared 
 Judge Oglethorpe to Gabe as they stood side by side in 
 front of the Budget office. " With such a hero for a
 
 138 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 captain they'll come out at the head of the entire 
 army. Mark my words ! " 
 
 " Tom's all right when it comes down to fighting," 
 said Gabe dryly. " And he certainly is a handsome 
 man, eh, Rose ? " 
 
 Eose did not answer. She was standing with 
 Madge upon the top step of the short flight which led 
 downward to the sidewalk. With arms intertwined 
 the two were absorbed in watching the approach of 
 the company. The girl's eyes were like stars. Her 
 bosom rose and fell stormily from her quick breath- 
 ing. The color came and went in her cheeks. Then, 
 impelled to action by the nearing horsemen, she 
 slipped her arm from about Madge's waist, seized a 
 flag which had been used to drape the doorway, and 
 waved it high in the air. 
 
 Tom glimpsed the blur of color at his left and wav- 
 ered. For the first time he turned his head, and saw 
 her and saluted. His men all followed suit. Many 
 of them knew the pretty girl. Some of them had 
 loved her. All of them were touched by her act, by 
 her utter abandon and forgetfulness of self. It was 
 the crowning moment of the day. 
 
 " For God and for the Cubans," called Eose in her 
 ringing voice. 
 
 " Eemeinber the Maine ! " shouted a man standing 
 near. 
 
 Suddenly without warning, without conscious 
 thought almost, the troop of soldiers gave vent as with
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 139 
 
 one voice to that old Rebel Yell which had struck 
 terror to the heart of many a Yankee in the Civil War 
 days, and which both sides were to use with telling 
 effect in the coming struggle. It rose and ebbed and 
 died away into utter silence. There was something 
 presaged in it which chilled the hearts of the by- 
 standers something menacing something omi- 
 nous but before this feeling had time to grow into 
 tangibility the brief pause was over. The throb of 
 the drums, the thud of the hoofs, the figure of the 
 captain sitting erect upon his mount, the glory and 
 the glamor dominated the scene again. The glitter- 
 ing array swept down the street once more upon its 
 way to Cuba a way that was to prove long and dis- 
 heartening, and was to end for many of them in the 
 camp of disease, for a few in death upon the battle- 
 field, and for many in wounds that maimed and tore, 
 and left them but half men for all the rest of time.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 AFTER seemingly endless preliminaries and 
 delays, yet in advance of the time set for be- 
 ginning active hostilities, Shafter landed his 
 troops in Cuba, took Las Guacimas in a reconnoiter- 
 ing expedition on the 23rd of June, and then began 
 his advance upon Santiago. 
 
 This advance led through a country of wonderful 
 beauty, where the vegetation possessed all the wild 
 luxuriance of the tropics. The ceiba-tree, the ban- 
 yan, and the royal palm spread proudly above masses 
 of plants and trailing vines through which the 
 machete of the Cuban scouts could hardly cut a path. 
 Underneath this wealth of growth, glimpses could be 
 caught of rugged granite boulders, or deep yawning 
 chasms, which the violent agencies forming the island 
 had left in all their primal ugliness for Nature to 
 tenderly disguise. So, under the glory and excite- 
 ment with which war was invested by our troops, 
 lurked the horror of war itself, to be unfolded later. 
 
 From the valley three steep terraces arose, the first 
 of which was speedily surmounted, thanks to the guns 
 of our navy. Five days were spent in climbing the 
 140
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 141 
 
 second ridge, and in deploying out upon the broad 
 and undulating mesa beyond. Here the Second Di- 
 vision of the army camped while waiting for the First 
 Division and the dismounted Cavalry. 
 
 This table-land was high and comparatively dry, 
 but for at least two miles ahead the trails descended 
 into low-lying alluvial lands, filled with guinea grass 
 and coffee-bushes gone to seed, and bordered with 
 cactus and Spanish bayonet. In the distance rose the 
 heights of San Juan, the third step up to Santiago. 
 
 The struggle for bare existence among the soldiers 
 now became acute. They were lost in the jungle, 
 their only connection with the world three mule-trains 
 which crept endlessly back and forth. The men 
 " rustled " diligently for the hardtack, coffee without 
 sugar, and the bits of bacon rind which were scarcely 
 fit to clean their rifles, much less to satisfy their 
 hunger. The long-promised canned tomatoes were 
 the principal topic of talk. Would they come soon, 
 or wouldn't they? No bets were made upon this 
 point, however, for in the present situation money 
 was valueless, and treated with merited scorn. 
 
 The purpose which had brought the troops to Cuba 
 now seemed forgotten. Some of the dog-tents still 
 bore mildewed signs reading, " No War Talk Here," 
 but these were quite unnecessary. There was not 
 only no war talk, but there was no war attitude, and 
 when the familiar command, " Cannoneers For- 
 ward ! " at last rang out, it startled the army into a
 
 142 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 movement for which it was mentally and physically 
 unprepared. 
 
 On the night of the thirtieth of June, the Second 
 Division bivouacked upon the road to El Caney. It 
 was in some ways an infinitely pathetic sight those 
 thousands of men and boys, clad mostly in flannel 
 shirts and trousers, dirty and ragged and unkempt, 
 going placidly to sleep upon the open highway. Dur- 
 ing the hours of darkness they lay everywhere, singly 
 or in groups, profoundly unconscious that before an- 
 other night fell, death would have taken terrific toll 
 of their number. 
 
 At last the full tropical moon rose high enough to 
 shed its rays upon the scene. Those in the shadows 
 of the palm trees slept on. Those whose eyes were 
 protected by their arms also remained unaffected by 
 the effulgent light. But here and there a careless 
 sleeper, lying outstretched with face upturned, stirred 
 and woke from his dreams of home and satisfying 
 food, and sought the shade in the hope of further rest. 
 One of these, with a muttered oath at his rude recall 
 from the first real slumber he had known for days, 
 rose, walked down the road, and chose a seat upon the 
 trunk of a fallen palm. 
 
 In this roughly clad fellow, whose whole appear- 
 ance testified to the hardships he had just undergone, 
 the folks at Salem, Georgia, would have had some 
 difficulty in recognizing Tom Blankenship. His 
 flannel shirt was open at the throat. His face was
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 143 
 
 unshaven. His cheeks were thin and his eyes hollow 
 and wild. The change in him was not only ascribable 
 to the past few weeks, but to his state of mind. 
 
 Unfortunately for the man, he could not keep from 
 brooding upon what had transpired during the year 
 before his enlistment in the army. His last inter- 
 view with Kose, while in it he had endeavored to ap- 
 pear confident that in the end she must yield to his 
 claims, had really convinced him that she woulo^never 
 change. In his self-conceit he had thought a little 
 neglect would make her realize his value, and so had 
 gone away. When he returned it was to find her 
 gone. During his short spring absence she had re- 
 turned to Salem. So Fate had tricked him all the 
 winter through, except for that one short moment in 
 the orchard, before his company left for its Florida 
 camp. And that one moment had intensified the 
 painful memories of the preceding fall. It had 
 trebled the emotions those memories aroused. 
 
 In Tampa he had grown to welcome the prospect of 
 going to Cuba, more and more as a chance for self- 
 forgetfulness. Vacillating between a mad desire to 
 die upon the field, and an equal hunger to live, re- 
 venge himself on Captain Gabe, and humble Eose, 
 torn by the blackest of emotions, and by a conflicting 
 longing daily growing stronger to win again from 
 the eyes of the girl that look of love and trust with 
 which she had once honored him the man was not 
 accountable for his actions. Companioned by self
 
 144 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 justification, befriended by jealousy and thwarted 
 passion, fed on consuming rage and hate, and as yet 
 absorbed in the contemplation of his own bitter disap- 
 pointment, small wonder that he had changed from 
 the easy-going, reckless and confident Tom Blanken- 
 ship of former days in Salem. 
 
 On this night fatigue had closed his eyes for a 
 brief respite. Awake and somewhat rested, he knew 
 he should not sleep again, and so he sought the silent 
 shadow and the seat upon the log. Then, as his 
 thoughts began to whirl about the self -same cycle of 
 events, a hand fell on his shoulder, and he looked up 
 into the earnest eyes of a young lieutenant a man 
 so gentle and so boyish that he had been affectionately 
 dubbed " The Kid." 
 
 " I wouldn't say one word to you," the Kid now de- 
 clared wistfully, " if it wasn't that I like you more 
 than any other man in the troop." In the face of 
 this astounding statement, he released his hold of 
 Tom's shoulder and took a seat beside him. 
 
 "What do you mean?" growled Tom. "You 
 hardly know me. I've been in the devil of a humor 
 for the past two months. I frighten myself some- 
 times, so I know that I must frighten others, too. 
 They look at me askance, and whisper about me 
 among themselves. !N"ot one has dared to speak 
 freely to me but you. What do you want ? " 
 
 The Kid flushed a little at this surly speech, end- 
 ing with the abrupt demand. Then, " To-morrow we
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 145 
 
 are going to fight to-day, rather, since it is long 
 past midnight now. Some of us may lose our lives, 
 and many will probably be wounded. When I saw 
 you rise and come off here alone, I felt that I must 
 speak to you. I won't ask you to tell me what is 
 troubling you but I thought if you knew that you 
 have the liking and the sympathy of all the boys, in 
 spite of the distance at which you have held them, 
 you might go into battle in a better spirit. If I am 
 wrong, forgive me." 
 
 The simplicity of the words, backed by the young, 
 handsome face, stirred Tom profoundly. And in a 
 curiously softened manner he now spoke to the boy. 
 " Have you a sweetheart at home ? " he asked. 
 
 " Of course I have," flashed the Kid with a joyous 
 smile. 
 
 " Suppose she spurned you on the eve of your de- 
 parture," pursued Tom, too self-absorbed to keep 
 from the subject of his wrongs. " How would you 
 feel to-night ? " 
 
 " That would depend," answered the Kid wisely, 
 " on the reasons why she did this thing." 
 
 "I don't mind telling you," said Tom, still in 
 the same softened mood, and without the slightest 
 hesitancy he laid his case before the boy. 
 
 The result disconcerted him. He had expected a 
 little approbation, certainly some admiration, and a 
 large measure of sympathy. He had not looked for 
 condemnation, yet this was what he now read in the
 
 146 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 eyes of his listener, and it surprised him, coming 
 from a man. 
 
 " She must be very noble," the Kid now said 
 aloud. " She must have put aside all thought of self 
 in trying to make you understand." 
 
 " I have not said I was guilty of the things she 
 charged me with," defended Tom, though a moment 
 before he had regarded himself as anything but 
 guilty. 
 
 "You don't need to say so. An innocent man 
 would be less violent, and less resentful." 
 
 " Where did you learn such wisdom ? " mocked 
 Tom. "Well, yes, the child was mine, I believe. 
 The woman had been wronged by me is that the 
 way you moral prigs speak of such affairs? Now 
 cast me off and go back to your comrades. I am be- 
 neath your notice." 
 
 " Not so," asserted the Kid warmly. " You are 
 misguided. Her influence will win you over in the 
 end." 
 
 "Nonsense," sneered Tom. "Do you claim 
 prophetic faculties ? " 
 
 " No, and yet, upon the verge of battle, I do be- 
 lieve a new insight comes to us at times," said the 
 Kid so earnestly that Tom was silenced. " Some- 
 way I feel that in the coming fight, or later in some 
 scene which will be the outcome of it, you will be 
 brought to face the falsity of your position, and will 
 ask nothing better than to make amends. We men,"
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 147 
 
 continued the Kid proudly, unaware of Tom's smile 
 at this inclusive statement. "We men, with our 
 sense of special privilege, and our chivalry which 
 claims superiority for woman while yielding her con- 
 tempt we are too apt to underrate her power. 
 This girl you love will win you over yet. See if she 
 doesn't." 
 
 So saying he rose, laid his hand again affection- 
 ately upon Tom's shoulder and bade him good-night. 
 " Try to get more sleep," he begged. " You'll feel 
 the lack of it to-morrow." 
 
 " To hell with to-morrow," muttered Tom. 
 
 The Kid did not apparently hear but continued 
 down the road, stepping carefully across the sleep- 
 ing figures prostrate in the dust, toward the spot he 
 had vacated to follow Tom. The latter watched him 
 with a covert smile. He had already regretted his 
 confidences, although admitting that they had brought 
 him some relief. But he had not chosen his hearer 
 wisely. The Kid quite evidently thought purity 
 of morals admirable in men as well as women. This 
 attitude Tom set down to sheer boyishness, giving 
 it the contempt which he felt it merited. It was 
 something the fellow would outgrow. 
 
 And then again his heart softened, as he remem- 
 bered the frank earnestness of the boy, and what 
 he had said about all the fellows in the camp liking 
 him, Tom Blankenship. Tom's arrogant self-confi- 
 dence lifted its head again. People had always
 
 148 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 liked him, whatever he did. They liked him even 
 now. " The King could do no wrong." 
 
 And yet " She'll win you over in the end," 
 had prophesied the Kid. Well, he was wrong. 
 Rose would never, never win. He, Tom, would 
 stake his life on that, for he meant to win and on 
 his own terms, too. So hardening his heart with 
 repetitions of his vengeful purpose, he sat on the log 
 until the coming of the dawn. The poisonous mists 
 arose from the Valley to circle round his silent fig- 
 ure. At daybreak, when his companions stirred to 
 action, he still was sitting there alone. 
 
 The Second Massachusetts Volunteers descended 
 first into the Valley, where it was still night. From 
 the heights Tom watched the shadows flee before the 
 rising sun, until the village of El Caney floated out 
 like a mirage under the clear light. It was so 
 peaceful, with the smoke rising gently from the chim- 
 neys of the yellow-walled, red-roofed houses, that for 
 a moment he felt the war must be a dream. And 
 then he started as a sharp command to fire sent the 
 first shot crashing down into the sleeping town. 
 With a cry of impatient eagerness he ran forward 
 and rejoined his troop. He thirsted for the battle, 
 and scarcely waited for his orders before he plunged 
 himself and his men recklessly into it. 
 
 For hours he was dominated by this lust for war. 
 The bombardment of the field artillery was like the 
 throbbing of a gigantic heart which gave his blood
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 149 
 
 barbarous impulses. He saw men fall about him, 
 without bending a thought upon the fact that they 
 were wounded, perhaps dying, perhaps already dead. 
 As his own regiment crept doggedly nearer and 
 nearer, and was able to return the devastating fire of 
 the enemy, he put every faculty upon the work in 
 hand, gloating over each volley fired by his men, and 
 cheering them madly on. So passed the time until 
 midday. 
 
 It was now intolerably hot, and the sun, directly 
 overhead, seemed stationary in the sky. With the 
 rest Tom crossed San Juan creek, a short half-mile 
 below the heights from which the Spaniards poured 
 their shots unceasingly. Well hidden in the jungle 
 along the line of march Spanish sharpshooters also 
 picked off man after man from the rear. Some few 
 faltered under this nerve-racking attack. Tom 
 never hesitated for a moment, but by his rush on- 
 ward inspired not only his own men, but those of 
 other troops. 
 
 Formation was now no longer possible, and as 
 they plunged stubbornly ahead, regiments became 
 inextricably mixed. It was at this time that Tom 
 saw the Kid again, with a face so distorted by fear 
 as to be hardly recognizable for the calm, earnest 
 countenance which he had last seen in the moonlight 
 a few hours before. This fear-ridden grimy visage 
 gave Tom his first reaction from the passion for 
 fighting which had held him so completely.
 
 150 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 The men were now deploying into the jungle on 
 the opposite side of the creek. Inspired by a mix- 
 ture of emotions not the least of which was contempt 
 for the Kid thus blanching under fire, Tom turned 
 upon the open bank and pressed close enough to 
 speak. At first the young Lieutenant did not un- 
 derstand, but stared into Tom's eyes with an ex- 
 pression so agonized and so distracted that even Tom 
 was moved. 
 
 " Since you are so afraid," had been his sneering 
 speech, ' why don't you say you're sick and fall be- 
 hind ? " This, as he repeated it, he felt constrained 
 to turn into an entreaty. 
 
 But the Kid, now comprehending, replied with 
 stiff lips. " I'm sweating blood with fear ; but I'll 
 go ahead all right and keep my men in line, too, 
 never fear." 
 
 And so he went on into the undergrowth, with his 
 hundred or so of men, and Tom for the first time 
 perceived that courage could be of a rarer sort than 
 his own temporary mad oblivion to danger. Eespect 
 leaped into his heart for the boy who was born a 
 coward, and yet by sheer force of will could drive 
 himself onward at the head of his command. This 
 was a man whose opinions counted. His words re- 
 turned again, and, as Tom too pressed forward up 
 the slope, they repeated themselves to him with new 
 and more poignant meaning. 
 
 But the reaction, once begun, continued merci-
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 151 
 
 lesslj. Tom tasted weariness, physical and mental. 
 There had been no breakfast, nor time for hunting 
 food at noon. The water had been gone from his 
 canteen long ago, and he dared not fill it from the 
 fetid creek. The fight had degenerated into craw- 
 ling through the jungle, with volleys coming both 
 from front and rear. Tom crept on doggedly, with 
 head bent down, but he suddenly became conscious 
 of the helpless, writhing men upon all sides. Their 
 positions, at first seeming grotesque, now took on 
 the terrible significance of suffering, and Tom sick- 
 ened at the sight. But as too much horror dulls 
 the sensibilities, so in turn this feeling passed, and 
 he was able to look indifferently about, and to fling 
 a casual word or two of encouragement to the sol- 
 diers able to creep back to the temporary and wholly 
 inadequate field hospital in the rear. 
 
 And then among the dead he spied a face he knew. 
 It was the Kid's, his look of fear all gone and re- 
 placed by a smile of perfect peace. He lay in a 
 bunch of guinea grass, almost as though he were 
 asleep. Tom delayed long enough to make sure that 
 all was over. And when he felt the tears creep 
 down his blackened cheeks, he was quite unashamed. 
 His confidences were safely locked in the still boyish 
 heart which had been true to its master's highest 
 ideals unto the very end. There was no time to in- 
 dulge in sorrow or regret, and with a silent good-by 
 Tom turned and crawled on wearily.
 
 152 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 They had reached the tall sugar-cane and were 
 deploying to gain the partial shelter of a little knoll 
 about five hundred yards from the heights which 
 the First and Third Brigades were soon to storm, 
 when Tom, thinking to save his men a little from 
 the ceaseless storm of bullets, rose to his feet and 
 shouted to them to run forward with him to safety. 
 As the words left his lips he staggered, whirled about 
 and then fell prone. He had been wounded in the 
 head by a shell, a fragment of which also struck him 
 directly between the eyes. The glories of the charge 
 and final victory were not for him, and through the 
 remainder of that long hot afternoon he lay uncon- 
 scious in the sugar cane. 
 
 Towards evening a light shower fell, and the rain 
 upon his face brought him to himself. Seeing his 
 head stir restlessly upon the ground, a soldier pass- 
 ing by, stopped and gave him to drink from his can- 
 teen. 
 
 " Is it night ? " Tom asked in odd thick tones. 
 
 The soldier did not answer, being either indiffer- 
 ent or too moved by pity, and so Tom took his silence 
 for assent. He felt very tired but quite calm. The 
 passion in his brain had burnt itself out, and peace- 
 fully he went to sleep. 
 
 The night lasted long. Tom slept and waked 
 again, and still the darkness held. He heard occa- 
 sional footsteps passing, and called, but he had diffi- 
 culty in managing his tongue, which was parched
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 153 
 
 and swollen. He fancied himself unseen, because 
 of the enveloping darkness, and did not know that 
 those with a better chance for life were being cared 
 for first. Conscious of a dull grinding pain in his 
 head, he tried to raise a hand, but could not. So 
 time passed, interminably long, until he began to 
 wonder sillily if the Spanish guns had not shot the 
 sun down out of the sky, so that the night would last 
 forever. 
 
 At last he heard rough voices just above him and 
 felt a hand upon his heart. He moaned feebly for 
 water, which soon trickled through his lips. He 
 asked the time and was told that it was Sunday after- 
 noon, the third of July. The fact carried no im- 
 pression to his brain. They might as well have said 
 it was ten years ahead, for all he knew of time. 
 And then they lifted him, and the shock of the sud- 
 den movement jarred him into unconsciousness 
 again. 
 
 Another interval and he awoke once more. It 
 was still night. He was being jolted over a rough 
 road, continually coming into collision with other 
 men who shared the wagon bed with him. Some 
 of them screamed in their agony, and others fought 
 and struggled, delirious from long exposure. They 
 were being taken to the Division Hospital for treat- 
 ment, but Tom did not know that. He thought him- 
 self in hell, and wondered idly if it would always be 
 as easy to endure as this, for he was conscious of no
 
 154 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 pain only that pain was crouching near, a great, 
 black, ghoulish shape. And he wondered, too, if in 
 hell there were no sunlight. 
 
 Another interval, and he lay upon the ground. 
 He knew this because of the rough grass beneath 
 him. He was almost naked for, in common with 
 others similarly exposed to the weather, his clothes 
 had rotted so that they tore apart, and there was 
 nothing with which to replace them. He now be- 
 gan to suffer from a cold so piercing that it seemed 
 to attack his very heart. And still it was night, 
 long, black, interminable night. 
 
 Some one stooped over him, and a hand fell on his 
 wrist. " When will the day come ? " he asked of this 
 some one, whom he felt to be kind and sympathetic 
 from the pressure on his pulse. 
 
 " My good fellow," said a pleasant and somehow 
 a familiar masculine voice. " The day has half gone. 
 It is noon now." 
 
 " There has been no day," protested Tom. 
 " There has been no day." 
 
 Ignoring this protest, which was, indeed, so low 
 and mumbled as to be incoherent, the pleasant voice 
 asked gravely if he wished to send a message to his 
 friends. He considered for a moment. Had he 
 friends ? And then in his sick brain a picture 
 formed of Kose, with a baby on her knee, and the 
 firelight playing on them both. It was a pretty pic- 
 ture and he smiled and whispered that Rose Eose
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 155 
 
 and then again fell silent, to concentrate upon this 
 vision of her. 
 
 " Rose who ? " The pleasant voice intruded on 
 his dreams. 
 
 " Rose. Tell her I love her." 
 
 " Rose who ? " Again the voice, insistently, trying 
 to hold his thoughts. 
 
 "Rose," he answered readily. "Rose Shelley. 
 Salem, Georgia." And then, wistfully, " Do you 
 think she will forgive me ? " 
 
 " I know she will," the kind voice answered in an 
 odd, interested sort of way. " Good God, man ! But 
 it's a shame to let you die ! " 
 
 The hand then withdrew itself from Tom's limp 
 wrist, but its owner could not keep his thoughts from 
 the wounded man. Not that he knew it was Tom, 
 for by now Tom was simply a case a very serious 
 case. He had been brought in and laid upon the 
 surgeon's table for examination some time ago. 
 There the surgeon had looked him over, and had then 
 asked sternly, " Why do you bring a man to me in 
 such a condition as this ? " 
 
 "Because, Major," the contract surgeon had an- 
 swered hopefully, "I thought we might save his 
 life by operating." 
 
 The Major had looked interested. "A pretty 
 case! It is true we might operate, but do you im- 
 agine he could recover from the shock of it on hard- 
 tack and rancid pork ? "
 
 156 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 To this bitter speech the contract surgeon made no 
 reply. 
 
 " Anyhow," the Major had continued, " we can't 
 waste time on doubtful cases." 
 
 And so Tom had been carried over to the ceiba- 
 tree, and left to die. 
 
 Here, in a semicircle, lay the hopeless cases. 
 Some were babbling the names of their dear ones. 
 Others were falling quietly into their last long sleep. 
 Still others were struggling valiantly for life against 
 odds too heavy for them. And here Tom lay, vacil- 
 lating between consciousness and unconsciousness, 
 while the time passed on. 
 
 Among those whose sympathies were not too 
 blunted by horror to make them quite indifferent, 
 was a ragged man with freckles and a shock of car- 
 roty hair. On this hair he wore a cap shot through 
 and through by bullet holes, which he found time to 
 examine anxiously now and then. Asked why he 
 looked it over, he answered calmly that he was won- 
 dering how best to mend it, lest his hair get sun- 
 burned, and joined readily in the laugh he thus un- 
 failingly aroused. But though disposed to treat 
 every incident with levity, he was all the time work- 
 ing quietly and efficiently among the wounded. It 
 was he who had gone over to the hopeless cases, to 
 alleviate a little of the suffering crowded mercilessly 
 together there, and it was his hand which had felt 
 Tom's pulse. His kindly eye had taken note of the
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 157 
 
 first-aid bandage, hurriedly replaced after the sur- 
 geon's examination, and it was he who exclaimed so 
 earnestly, " Good God, man ! But it's a shame to 
 let you die." His name was Homer Fort. 
 
 Homer could not get this particular hopeless case 
 out of his mind. He did not recognize the fellow 
 as Tom Blankenship, but realized now that it was 
 a friend of Eose Shelley's, who had thus interested 
 him. Later he returned to the ceiba-tree, there to 
 find the dying man muttering to himself that day 
 would never come, and where on earth was Eose? 
 This further roused his sympathies, so that he made 
 up his mind to a final effort to save the wounded sol- 
 dier. 
 
 There had come a lull in the work of the surgeons, 
 due to the fact that the last wagon-load had been 
 gone over, and the next had not yet arrived. Homer 
 approached the surgeon major who had passed judg- 
 ment upon the case in question. 
 
 " Major," he drawled whimsically, " there's a 
 fellow over there among the hopeless cases who is as 
 stubborn as a mule. He just won't die." 
 
 The surgeon looked up aggressively, inclined to 
 resent this interference with his brief moment of 
 rest. But as he encountered the guileless blue eyes 
 of Homer, he found himself smiling in response to 
 their honest friendliness, and answered cordially, 
 " That so 2 Let's have another look at him." To 
 his own surprise, he walked across to the ceiba-tree,
 
 158 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 guided by Fort, and bent over Tom's prostrate body. 
 
 " Friend of yours ? " he now inquired, as he took 
 off the first-aid bandage. 
 
 "No," answered Homer. "But he is a plucky 
 devil, and somehow I couldn't help liking him and 
 wanting to help him." 
 
 " Has he said anything ? " 
 
 " Spoke of a girl at home, in Georgia." 
 
 " Are you from Georgia, too ? " 
 
 " No. Just a volunteer from Chicago." 
 
 " Your name ? " 
 
 " Homer Fort." 
 
 " Well, Homer Fort, I'll give the man a chance. 
 Get an orderly to help you, and shift him over to the 
 table. I'll do my best. And don't thank anything 
 but your own powers of persuasion. If you told the 
 devil Hell was Heaven, he'd believe you, and get out 
 to make room for the saints. Now then " 
 
 Homer had beckoned to an orderly who came run- 
 ning across the grass, and poor Tom was flung again 
 upon the table, very much like a sack of meal. The 
 operation was performed, hastily but well, the wound 
 was dressed, and with a hope expressed that the man 
 might live, and not be blind if he did live, Tom, still 
 a case, was laid again upon the grass, but this time 
 with those waiting removal to the hospital at Siboney. 
 
 There Homer Fort kept watch of him, and when 
 his consciousness returned, was ready with water, 
 into which he had put a few precious drops of lime
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 159 
 
 juice. Tom signified that this was good, and then 
 Homer, leaning very close, asked softly, " Is Rose 
 Shelley your sweetheart ? " 
 
 " I don't think so," replied Tom. li I'm not quite 
 sure. Sometimes I could swear she isn't, and then 
 again I could swear she is. What do you think ? " 
 
 " I think if she were you'd be quite sure about it," 
 answered Homer with a curiously lightened heart. 
 " What's your name, anyhow ? " 
 
 " Blankenship. Tom Blankenship." 
 
 " Oh ho." Homer beamed with satisfaction. 
 When he had entered Gabe's office, on the morning of 
 the. Captain's close call, he had seen signs of tension 
 in the group, and Tom's sulky withdrawal had been 
 significant that all was not plain sailing for him with 
 Rose. Tom then, had been a different-looking man 
 from what he was now, and Fort could not help con- 
 trasting that handsome, well-dressed fellow, with 
 the poor wreck of humanity to whom he was now min- 
 istering. What would Rose say, if she knew? 
 Would she be only sorry, or would she feel that 
 deeper, more vital grief inspired by love? Homer 
 was not at all certain, even yet, but in any case he was 
 man enough to feel thankful that he had been drawn 
 to Tom sufficiently to save him. If he lived, Rose 
 would be grateful. Another step forward in her esti- 
 mation, thought Homer gleefully, and this comfort- 
 ing thought stayed with him when later he was or- 
 dered again to the front.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE blossoms were now gone from the trees 
 in Salem, and the green fruit was forming 
 splendidly. The laborers were busy pick- 
 ing off the smaller peaches, to make room for the de- 
 velopment of the good crop. This picked fruit was 
 not wasted, however, as it made a good ration for the 
 
 The orchard, therefore, was still a scene of bustle 
 and activity, visited constantly by Captain Gabe, who 
 was jubilant over the prospects. But this joy of his, 
 which would ordinarily have transcended everything, 
 was wistful and subdued, for there were many things 
 upon the Captain's mind. Himself a veteran of the 
 Civil War, he recollected all too keenly the hardships 
 of those days, and his heart went out to the boys in 
 Cuba as it could never have done had he been less ac- 
 quainted with all they were enduring and must still 
 endure. Perhaps his sympathy with their sufferings 
 lay at the bottom of his consent to let Rose go to Cuba 
 as a nurse. 
 
 It was true that it had taken Rose a long time to 
 win this consent, and twice already, when she had 
 been given an opportunity of becoming one of a band 
 160
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 161 
 
 of nurses, she had refused for her father's sake. She 
 had but just come home, he said. Surely she loved 
 them well enough to tarry just a little while. What 
 would he do again without his Rose ? It was begin- 
 ning to look as though she must give up all her hopes 
 of helping at the front, when news came which altered 
 everything. 
 
 It was Tuesday, the fifth of July. Minnie had 
 come down from the hills the week before the Shel- 
 leys kept her with them except for short visits home 
 and was sitting this afternoon, with one 'eye on " li'l 
 Tawm," who was crawling about the room on mis- 
 chief bent, and the other on Rose, who was half-heart- 
 edly practicing on the bandaging of wounds. Her in- 
 telligent eyes missed nothing of Rose's movements, 
 and her fingers, long since grown deft, itched to per- 
 form the same feats with the shapely rolls of linen 
 and the dummy figure. " Let me try," she said at 
 last. " I know I could do it almost as well as that, 
 Rose, even though I never was taught how." 
 
 This made Rose smile, and yield her place to Min- 
 nie. The latter found the task much harder than 
 she had thought, and the two soon became absorbed, 
 Rose in teaching, and Minnie in learning, what she 
 discovered to be a series of complicated problems. 
 
 " I think you have done wonders," beamed Rose, 
 when the lesson was over at last. " And will you just 
 look and see what ' li'l Tawm ' has accomplished ? " 
 
 In truth, for a baby, the result was noteworthy.
 
 162 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 He had found a roll of linen, fallen unobserved upon 
 the floor, and with consummate skill and ingenuity, 
 he had proceeded to wind it about his own person and 
 an adjacent table leg. 
 
 " I prophesy nothing less than a doctor-of-medi- 
 cine out of him," exclaimed Rose, when they discov- 
 ered that the only way of getting the young rascal out 
 with any degree of haste was to cut the bandage in a 
 dozen places. 
 
 " No," roared Tommy loudly, tired from his con- 
 finement, and sleepy as well. It was the only word 
 he said with any confidence yet. 
 
 Rose, still in her nursing costume, went with Min- 
 nie to put the child to bed. Then the two friends, 
 with arms intertwined, answered the call to supper, 
 which had been served on the veranda. Here they 
 found Madge, with the evening papers still unopened, 
 for this was an honor Gabe liked to have reserved for 
 himself. He hurried in from the orchard, and the 
 four were soon settled about the pretty wicker table. 
 
 " My Greensboros are ripe," he announced jovially. 
 " I shall set the pickers at work to-morrow. They are 
 slow this year, but I never saw a better crop. Xext it 
 will be the Crosby, and then the other midsummer 
 varieties. But it is the late peaches which will be the 
 eye openers. What is it, TJnc' Jack ? " 
 
 " Can'les, suh ? " inquired Uncle Jack. 
 
 " What do you mean, you villain ? " thundered 
 Gabe. " It is still light enough and will be for an
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 163 
 
 hour. Do you dare to insinuate that my eyes are 
 growing dim with age ? " 
 
 " Naw, suh, naw, suh, I ain't in insinnatin' naw- 
 thin'," chuckled Uncle Jack, delighted with the sally. 
 " But but ain't you gwine read de papuhs, suh ? 
 Won't you want a light fo' readin' ob de papuhs ? " 
 
 " We'll keep the papers until after we have eaten," 
 decided Gabe eyeing them askance. " There are so 
 many horrors in them lately that they don't go well 
 with a cheerful social meal. Honey girl," addressing 
 Eose, " how goes it ? " 
 
 " Fine, Father," answered Eose affectionately. 
 She knew that his question had not been aimed at ex- 
 ternals, but at her inner self where he had discerned 
 the sorrow which she hid so valiantly. Now she 
 turned her eyes frankly up to his, and a long look of 
 perfect love and understanding passed between them. 
 Madge saw it with a little ache at her heart, not for 
 the love Captain Gabe bore Eose, but because as yet 
 she was shut out from the confidence the girl yielded 
 so bountifully to her father. And again she resolved 
 that the time must come when she, too, would share 
 this confidence. Until it did come, her happiness 
 would not be quite complete. 
 
 " Baby asleep ? " asked Captain Gabe of Minnie. 
 
 "Yes, sir, sound asleep." 
 
 " That's good. Any news from your mother ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes, a note this morning. She sent love to 
 all of you, and hopes I'll soon come home."
 
 164 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 " You shall stay here with us for a while, anyway. 
 I hope you told her that ? " 
 
 Receiving an affirmative reply, he turned to Madge. 
 " My dear, have you decided yet what you are going 
 to do with your riches ? " 
 
 Madge shook her head. " But, as Mr. Fort said," 
 she asserted brightly, " I shall keep smiling and not 
 worry. Something will turn up. I can't get over 
 Aunt Betty's leaving me all that money," she con- 
 tinued thoughtfully. 
 
 " She sent for you often enough," flashed Rose. 
 " She made your life a burden the whole year before 
 she died." 
 
 " She didn't realize that, of course," answered 
 Madge. " But Tom Blankenship was her favorite 
 nephew " 
 
 " Not really her nephew, my dear," corrected Gabe, 
 passing his plate for more fried chicken, that staple 
 of a Southern meal. 
 
 " What is the relationship, anyhow ? " queried 
 Hose. She had accustomed herself to mentioning 
 Tom casually, so Minnie had heard his name often 
 enough not to be startled by it. Now she toyed with 
 her food while Madge attempted to trace that elusive 
 kinship which exists less often in the North than in 
 the South where the old families formed a class apart 
 and intermarried recklessly. 
 
 "Let me see," she mused. "Uncle John Ogle- 
 thorpe was my grandfather's brother, and that makes
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 165 
 
 me his great-niece. I was Aunt Betty's niece through 
 her marriage with Uncle John. She was a Munro, 
 and an aunt on her mother's side married Tom's 
 grandfather. So Aunt Betty was own cousin to 
 Tom's father, and second cousin to Tom. But he was 
 so much younger that he called her aunt, out of re- 
 spect, and so came to be regarded as her nephew. She 
 was certainly fond of him, and she told me repeatedly 
 that he was to get all her money, because she felt so 
 badly about having no children of her own, and Tom 
 had in a manner seemed like her own son." 
 
 " You must have seemed just as much like a daugh- 
 ter," said Hose indignantly. " I should think you'd 
 have said so, when she made remarks like that." 
 
 " What was the use ? " asked Madge tranquilly. 
 " I never did believe in reminding people of past 
 favors. And the dear old lady really appreciated 
 everything after all. She must have had a squabble 
 with Tom, or she wouldn't have cut him off with a 
 paltry thousand. But it was odd she never told me 
 about changing her will." 
 
 " Aunt Betty was always quite a character," said 
 Gabe genially. " I remember once, when I was a lit- 
 tle shaver, and she a tall young lady, a lot of us 
 youngsters were teasing a disreputable little nigger, 
 whose mother had been sold to work in the cotton 
 fields. She rushed into the bunch of us, boxed all our 
 ears, took that filthy ragamuffin up in her arms, dried 
 his tears on her lace handkerchief, carried him back
 
 166 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 to his master, and bought him on the spot. He was 
 her servant for several years, but he ran away at war- 
 time, the ungrateful dog ! My ears tingle yet, when I 
 think of the whack she gave me, but I deserved it and 
 I always admired her after that." And the Captain 
 rubbed his ears as he laughed at the recollection. 
 
 " She was opinionated," declared Madge. " But 
 I liked her, and I think she liked me because I would 
 never argue or get mad." 
 
 " I'd have done both," laughed Rose. {t Poor dear 
 Aunt Betty ! It's a mercy her sufferings are ended." 
 
 " It is," agreed Madge. " I'd feel her death more 
 if it hadn't been such a relief. And then to think she 
 loved me all the time, enough to will me fifty thousand 
 dollars! I can't realize it even yet." The tears 
 sprang to Madge's eyes, but she wiped them quietly 
 away and looked at Gabe with a loving smile. " Tom 
 doesn't need the money, or I'd think it my duty to step 
 aside. I don't need it, either, with you to care for 
 me. So it shall remain in the bank for the present, 
 and something will surely come up for which I can 
 use it, and so pay a tribute to her memory. Now, 
 Gabe, if you are through let's have the news, and the 
 candle, too, Uncle Jack." 
 
 " Xot a bit of it," cried Gabe stoutly. " I could 
 read the paper from A to izzard and then back again 
 in this light." 
 
 So saying he settled his glasses on his nose, and took 
 the folded sheets. The battles of San Juan and El
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 167 
 
 Caney had by now been given in full detail, so the 
 first page was taken up with a repetition of events, 
 a few local items, and a partial list of the killed and 
 wounded in the two battles. From the headlines 
 Gabe picked out the bits of news most interesting to 
 his audience, and scanned the list of names, reading 
 aloud those of men they knew or had heard about. 
 So rapidly did he go down the columns, that his sud- 
 den pause gained significance, so that the three 
 women were prepared when he laid the paper gently 
 down, and said in an altered tone, " Tom Blanken- 
 ship was wounded seriously wounded at El 
 Caney." 
 
 At first they sat in silence, while the shock of the 
 news bit in. Then Minnie shrank back into the 
 shadow and slipped away. Rose sprang to her feet, 
 her first impulse to refuse credence to the report. 
 " It isn't true. Oh, it can't be true," she cried. 
 
 " I am afraid it is true," answered Gabe gravely. 
 " If this list were not official I should question it, but 
 by now they have had time to correct any mistakes. 
 And they give his full name, his rank, and that he 
 fell while attempting to gain a shelter in front of the 
 Spanish fort. I am quite sure it is true." 
 
 As he spoke, to Rose there appeared a vision of 
 Tom as she had seen him last, tall, handsome, virile, 
 angry. Into the eyes of this vision leapt the look of 
 love and passion which she had so often encountered 
 in the eyes of the living man. And then she saw him
 
 168 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 
 
 lying wounded, sick unto death, and her whole heart 
 throbbed with tenderness and pity. But before she 
 could speak Minnie had returned and confronted 
 them, her eyes alight with suffering beneath which 
 Rose's emotions sank into insignificance. 
 
 " Whar is he ? " she asked abruptly, returning in 
 her stress to the plain mountain speech so recently 
 discarded. " Whar is he ? I've got to git thar some- 
 how. I've got to git thar befo' he dies. 
 
 " They's somethin' I ain't nevuh tol' you-all," she 
 continued, turning her tortured face from one to the 
 other in an agony of appeal. " But it wuz Tawm 
 Blankenship I loved. It wuz him as wuz father to 
 my baby. Now he's dyin' shot 'way off in 
 Cuby! I've got to git thar someway, I tell you. 
 Ain't thar no way I kin git thar quick ? " 
 
 " Of course there is a way," cried Eose, suppres- 
 sing her own sorrow at the news, as she realized its 
 effect on Minnie. " Of course there's a way. I had 
 just written a letter to refuse an opening with a 
 Ladies' Auxiliary from Georgia. The letter has not 
 yet been mailed. I'll write instead and say I'll come 
 if they'll let me take you, too." 
 
 " Oh, will you ? " Minnie's sad eyes brightened, 
 and her hands relaxed their pressure against her 
 heart. " Will that be the quickest way the very- 
 quickest ? " 
 
 " The very quickest way," Eose assured her. 
 "Come! We'll write the letter now. You shall
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 169 
 
 watch me do it, to be sure I put everything straight. 
 Let's hurry, so we'll catch the evening mail." 
 
 " Just a moment," interrupted Gabe. " How 
 about the baby ? And Minnie's mother ? " 
 
 "I'll take the baby with me," answered Minnie, 
 into whose head the thought of leaving " li'l Tawm " 
 had not entered for a moment. 
 
 " But you can't take him," explained Gabe. 
 
 " Why can't I ? " asked Minnie piteously. " Why 
 can't I, Eose ? " 
 
 " I'll keep him here with me," said Madge, now 
 speaking for the first time. " And your mother shall 
 come here to wait for you. I'd love to keep him. It 
 won't be a bit of trouble." 
 
 "Then that's settled," exclaimed Eose. "JSTow 
 come ! Let's write our letter." 
 
 It spoke volumes for Minnie's love for Tom that 
 she did not question this decision. With a grateful 
 look at Madge she let the impetuous girl hurry her 
 away, and the letter was sent which would bring her 
 nearer to the man she loved, and would grant Eose 
 her opportunity for service. 
 
 " Are you sure you want to take so much upon 
 yourself?" asked Gabe of Madge. "The care of 
 this baby" 
 
 "Will be a pleasure," Madge interposed. "A 
 pleasure that would be greater only if he were my 
 very own. If Mrs. Gray is willing to come down 
 here, she will help me, though I really do not need
 
 170 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 help. Oh, Gabe, there is nothing in this world that 
 appeals to me like a baby. I love every one, black 
 and white, rich and poor. And they say there are 
 thousands of little ones who come to people who don't 
 want them! They say there are tens of thousands 
 whose homes are so poor, whose chances of life are so 
 feeble, whose birthrights have been so travestied, that 
 their coming is a misfortune instead of a joy. l Li'l 
 Tawm's* birth was this, even in his mother's eyes, 
 until we taught her better. In helping her and him, 
 perhaps we may find a way to help those other little 
 ones. If we ever do, then the short life of our own 
 baby will not have been in vain. He taught me how 
 to love all babies, Gabe." 
 
 " Thank God for that, anyhow," said the stalwart 
 man, with tear-filled eyes. " It is the maternal in- 
 stinct in you, Madge, which draws us closer every 
 day."
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 TO both Rose and Minnie the trip to Cuba 
 was merely a period during which they had 
 time to gather their strength for the ordeal 
 to come. They kept much to themselves and their 
 intimacy grew. Long hours they spent looking out 
 across the blue "waters of the Gulf, straining their 
 eyes to catch the first glimpse of Cuba. As time 
 passed, Minnie's quiet endurance of her anxiety and 
 distress quite awed Rose, whose nature was more im- 
 patient, and who was so apt to chafe at delay. If she 
 had taught Minnie much in the last few months, 
 Minnie had also taught the spirited girl, especially 
 since the news of Tom's wound had reached them. 
 Rose often paused to look with both wonder and re- 
 spect at Minnie, as she carefully rehearsed every bit 
 of refinement or difference of speech which she had 
 learned, that she might reflect no discredit on her 
 lover. 
 
 A great deal of the preliminary work in Cuba had 
 been finished by the time this particular auxiliary ar- 
 rived. When Miss Barton, the first to reach the 
 scene, had offered the services of her band of nurses 
 to the United States Hospital, they had been indig- 
 171
 
 172 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 nantly refused. The intrepid Eed Cross leader, 
 nothing daunted, had turned her attention to the 
 Cuban hospital, which was in horrible condition, but 
 scarcely worse than the American. Such wonders 
 did she and her eight nurses accomplish there, that 
 at last they were requested to take charge of the other, 
 and it speaks well for their spirit that they wasted 
 no time in resentment at their first reception, nor 
 waited to be coaxed. Tom lay in a department di- 
 rectly under the charge of Mrs. Trumbull White, 
 whose efficient services saved scores of men from 
 blindness, and through Mrs. White, Eose was able to 
 secure permission for Mrs. Kemp to help in those 
 particular cases, and thus gain access to Tom. Eose 
 herself was put in a larger ward, as being one of the 
 more skillful graduate nurses, so needed in the dress- 
 ing of abdominal wounds. 
 
 The two girls were together when Minnie first pre- 
 sented herself for service. She begged Eose for this 
 favor, feeling more equal to the meeting with Tom 
 if her friend was near. And Eose put aside her own 
 feelings in her endeavor to help Minnie through her 
 agony of suspense, which grew greater as the end of 
 it approached. 
 
 " Eose," she whispered, as they walked across to 
 the tent where Tom Blankenship lay. " What shall 
 I say to him ? How must I act ? I reckon I'll for- 
 get all you have taught me. Will he recognize me ? " 
 This last question she had asked a thousand times.
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 173 
 
 "No, dear Minnie, I do not think he will recog- 
 nize you," answered Rose, her head high and her 
 cheeks aflame. It was her way to meet her trials 
 with a courageous front. " You must remember that 
 he is blind." 
 
 " I do," half sobbed Minnie. " But I'd know him 
 if I was blind and deaf. I'd feel his presence, no 
 matter how sick I was." 
 
 "Dear," said Rose, stopping short. "You love 
 Tom, but you must not overlook the fact that as yet 
 he does not love you. This is a truth which you have 
 go"; to face and set yourself to undermine. Now is 
 your opportunity. To a sick man there is no one 
 like his nurse, and if she be sweet and bright, pa- 
 tient and tender and cheerful, as well as a trifle co- 
 quettish, she can usually do what she wills with him, 
 provided his heart is not otherwise engaged. I have 
 told you that Tom once thought he loved me. He 
 may still think so, but even if he does, the odds are 
 in your favor. This may sound cynical, but we have 
 got to consider everything. Now calm yourself, and 
 forge ahead. I am here to help you through the 
 worst of it." 
 
 So they entered the tent together. 
 
 At first they were blinded by the sudden change 
 from the glare of the tropical sun outside to the cool 
 shadow of the canvas. As they hesitated in the 
 opening, a Red Cross nurse came forward with a 
 welcoming smile, for she was worn out and knew this
 
 174 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 meant relief. " Which of you is Mrs. Kemp ? " she 
 whispered. 
 
 " This is she," answered Eose, pushing forward 
 Minnie, now quite incapable of speech in her excite- 
 ment. 
 
 " How do you do ? " said the) nurse. " Please do 
 not fail to change the bandages as often as this chart 
 indicates. Replace them with those soaking in the 
 ice over there. Here are the medicines with full 
 directions. I have just taken the temperatures, so 
 you will not need to do that again before the Doctor's 
 visit." Eapidly she explained what else it was neces- 
 sary for her substitute to know, and Minnie had to 
 force attention, while all the time her heart throbbed 
 with alarming anticipation, and her eyes longed to 
 search out Tom. 
 
 At last the Bed Cross nurse took her departure and 
 the girls were free. Eose hesitated, looking from one 
 to another of the double row of cots, but Minnie never 
 faltered. Swift as an arrow she sped down the 
 middle aisle, and stopped by the bedside of a man so 
 straight and still that he seemed like an effigy carved 
 in stone, rather than a living being. With her hands 
 against her heart she stood there for a moment, and 
 then dropped on her knees beside him. 
 
 At first Eose thought she meant to call Tom's 
 name, and spoil everything by a too sudden revela- 
 tion of her identity. But even in this, her supremest 
 hour, when she first faced the father of her child
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 175 
 
 after months of anguished uncertainty, Minnie re- 
 membered and was dumb. 
 
 His head and eyes were bandaged. His face was 
 thin and of that ghastly pallor which olive skins take 
 on through loss of blood. His lips were colorless and 
 so drawn that the shapes of his large and perfect 
 teeth were outlined beneath them. He seemed to be 
 asleep, but whether he felt the presence of some one 
 near, or only reiterated a request which was often 
 on his lips, he now moved his head restlessly and 
 moaned for water. 
 
 In a pitcher Eose found a concoction made by soak- 
 ing dried apples in ice-water. This, which the sick 
 men would ordinarily have disdained, had been a 
 happy thought of Miss Barton's, and was welcomed 
 now as nectar from the gods. Rose poured a glass 
 and passed it to Minnie, who raised Tom's head and 
 held it to his lips. He drank it thirstily, with a sigh 
 
 <rf joy- 
 
 " Ah ! But that's good ! " he gasped when he was 
 through. And then something in the tender reluc- 
 tance with which Minnie released his head, and 
 wiped his mouth, roused him to languid interest. 
 
 " Are you the nurse ? " he asked faintly. 
 
 " I am Mrs. Kemp," faltered Minnie slowly. 
 
 " Have you been here long ? " 
 
 " I have just come." 
 
 " Are you going to take care of me of us poor 
 fellows here?"
 
 176 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 " Part of the time I shall take care of you." 
 
 He was silent for a moment. Then, " You have a 
 pretty voice. I like to hear you speak. God ! But 
 my head burns ! " 
 
 She changed the bandages and he whispered feebly 
 that she was an angel, with a magic touch. 
 
 But now the talk, low as it was, had roused others 
 of the sufferers, and Minnie dared not linger by the 
 side of the man she loved. With a last light smooth- 
 ing of the bandage on his head, she left him, to do 
 what was needed for the rest. Well for her that she 
 had to be so occupied, or else she must have broken 
 down and cried his name and told him all her story. 
 
 As soon as she was quite composed, Rose returned 
 to her own part of the hospital camp, where, in her 
 incessant duties, she too obtained relief from the 
 storm which raged within her. That night, when 
 she was given a few hours for sleep, she fought her 
 last battle with herself about Tom Blankenship. She 
 knew that her love for him was gone, but in its stead 
 she bore a wound that every thought of him pierced 
 through and through. She had given him her first 
 love. He had betrayed her trust and so she suf- 
 fered. But she now perceived a rift in the clouds 
 ahead, that meant the future substitute of peace for 
 pain. Before she forced herself to the sleep she 
 needed so badly, she had made herself believe that 
 this peace was nearer than she had at first supposed. 
 
 In the morning, she saw Minnie for a moment;.
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 177 
 
 The eyes of the mountain girl held a new look of reso- 
 lution. " He does not know me," she whispered to 
 Eose. "But already he turns to me. The nurses 
 here are not sympathetic. They haven't time to be. 
 From a few words of his, I think he has suffered 
 dreadfully. He imagines he is going to die, and has 
 made me promise to be there to help him through. 
 He is too sick to be unselfish." 
 
 " Then the start is good," Eose responded. 
 " Make yourself indispensable to him, dear." 
 
 The days went swiftly by, for where there is much 
 to do, the waking hours pass like dreams and sleep is 
 mere oblivion. At first Eose was anxious, fearing 
 Minnie's frail strength too sorely tried. But Minnie 
 thrived in the presence of her lover and of Eose, the 
 two people she most adored. 
 
 As it became certain that Tom's wound was heal- 
 ing, "by first intention," that his paralysis was 
 slowly leaving, and that his recovery was only a mat- 
 ter of time, all of her anxiety sank itself in the joy of 
 having him so in need of her. When she was relieved 
 from duty and went to the nurses' quarters to sleep, 
 his sightless face turned to the tent opening as she 
 passed from it, and when she returned he would still 
 be lying so, with ears alert for the sound of her foot- 
 steps. His welcoming smile was glorious to her. 
 The gloom with which he invested her absence 
 stirred her equally. 
 
 At last he was considered well enough to return to
 
 178 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 the United States, and received his discharge. But 
 he did not want to go home. By now he had grown 
 so used to Mrs. Kemp's presence that he could not 
 bear the thought of being helpless and without her. 
 No other nurse was half so kind and gentle. No 
 other nurse knew how to fix his bandages properly, 
 or keep his pillow comfortable. No other grasped so 
 readily how hot he liked his broth, or the exact cool- 
 ness necessary to quench his thirst. In a word it was 
 quite impossible for him to get along without Mrs. 
 Kemp. He had early judged that she must be a 
 widow. 
 
 " Take care of me until I am well," he begged in 
 one of their last few brief moments of conversation. 
 " I'll pay you anything you ask." 
 
 " It isn't a question of pay," she told him. 
 
 " Ah ! I know that," he murmured. " It is a 
 question of having you at any cost. I've got to have 
 you." 
 
 It was difficult indeed for her to put him off. " I 
 am sorry," she said, and her tones showed that she 
 was really so. " But you know that they do not al- 
 low women nurses on the transport which will take 
 you home. Besides, my duty is here, and will be for 
 some time to come." 
 
 " Damn duty," he growled. He was still impetu- 
 ous and yet, even in his illness, enough of a gentle- 
 man to apologize for the oath. te I didn't mean that. 
 But I am a sick man still, and your duty is with me.
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 179 
 
 At any hospital in Georgia I would not even be con- 
 sidered convalescent, or out of danger. Here I am 
 shipped off as soon as possible. It isn't fair." 
 
 " I am sorry," said Minnie again. " But in 
 Georgia you have friends to care for you " 
 
 " Friends ? I tell you, Mrs. Kemp, there is only 
 one other woman in the world who could take your 
 place, and she has cast me off." 
 
 Minnie knew all the story, for Eose had thought 
 it wisest to prepare her, in case Tom grew confi- 
 dential. So now she only smiled and held her peace. 
 Her silence piqued the man. Although he was still 
 positive that he loved Rose, she was beginning to 
 represent to him the unattainable, while this nurse 
 was very near and very sweet. 
 
 " Well," he said in an injured tone. " Aren't you 
 curious at all ? Wouldn't you like to know who that 
 woman is ? " 
 
 " Why should I ? " replied Mrs. Kemp coolly. I 
 am simply your nurse, Mr. Blankenship, and when 
 we part we may never meet again. I not only have 
 no right to your confidences, but I should much prefer 
 not to receive them." 
 
 This was very hard for Minnie to say. It is 
 doubtful if she could have said it, had Eose not 
 primed her for some such talk, and drilled her in the 
 proper answer. The crestfallen man lay still to di- 
 gest her speech, while she forced herself to move 
 away. When next she returned to his bedside, he
 
 180 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 made a superhuman effort, and stretched out a skele- 
 ton hand. 
 
 " That's wonderful," she cried, pretending to mis- 
 understand the reason for his act. " It won't be long 
 before you can move about as well as anybody." 
 
 " I didn't do it to show off," he growled. " But I 
 want you to shake hands and forgive me for my in- 
 sistence. You see I've become so dependent on you 
 that I quite forgot you may have other claims much 
 greater than mine. You you may stay here if you 
 think it best. And if I die without you I don't 
 suppose you'll ever even know it." 
 
 So weak and childish was he that from under the 
 bandages the tears rolled down his hollow cheeks. 
 That was almost too much for Minnie. As she wiped 
 them away she said playfully, "Big baby! Of 
 course I shall keep track of how you are getting 
 along. Didn't you know that I have friends in 
 Salem?" 
 
 "No! Why, that's great! Who are they?'' 
 cried Tom. 
 
 " Eose Shelley, for one," answered Minnie. 
 
 Tom paused for a moment while the shock of this 
 penetrated. If Eose and Mrs. Kemp were friends 
 
 had Eose made damning confidences? Then, 
 "You don't say," he faltered. "Has Eose but 
 I have no right to ask that. Wait a bit Do you 
 know anything about me that might tend to make you 
 
 dislike me disapprove of me ? "
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 181 
 
 " Not a thing," Mrs. Kemp assured him heartily, 
 so heartily that his heart gave a great throb and sent 
 the color into his white cheeks. " Did you know she 
 was here, in the camp ? She came on the same ship 
 with me." 
 
 " No. I didn't know," he muttered, turning his 
 head away. 
 
 " Would you like to have her come in for a word 
 with you before you leave for home ? " 
 
 There was a distinct silence. Then Tom said 
 slowly, " No. I do not think I want her to see me 
 as I am just now. I can bear to have you see me, 
 because you are so kind and sympathetic. But Rose 
 is strong, and lithe, and well. She is a nurse, I 
 know, and of course she is kind, too but not like 
 you, Mrs. Kemp. She saw me last when I was able 
 to meet her upon her own ground. Now - well, I 
 am at a pitiful disadvantage. I'd rather wait 
 but while I wait I want you. God! How I want 
 you!" 
 
 " Well, you can't have me," she retorted, stung by 
 the tenderness with which he spoke of Rose, and by 
 his very reluctance to meet the girl he loved. " For 
 I shall stay here, and you are going in a day or two 
 as soon as they can get you and all the rest on 
 board the transport. But " she relented. " If I 
 should go to Salem, perhaps I'll meet you there." 
 
 With this he was forced to be content.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 "'W IT TELL, well! Tom Blankenship! How 
 \/\/ are you ? Didn't expect to see me first 
 * of any one in Salem, did you, my 
 boy?" 
 
 Thus Gabe Shelley, in his hearty voice, with a 
 hand outstretched to shake Tom's wasted fingers. 
 
 " You forget," returned Tom drily, " that I cannot 
 see at all." 
 
 " I beg your pardon, I'm sure," protested Gabe dis- 
 tressfully. " I meant no harm. It was a mere 
 figure of speech. I heard last night that you had 
 arrived, so I thought I'd drop in to see how you 
 were, and to let you know something of what has 
 gone on in your absence. Perhaps you'd rather I'd 
 come back some other time ? " 
 
 " No," decided Tom. " I'll talk with you now, 
 for I might as well save us both trouble by letting you 
 know at once that I wish you never to come back. 
 When I left Salem we were open enemies, Captain 
 Gabe. It was like you to come and gloat over me 
 in my present miserable state. Well, look your fill, 
 for you'll not have the chance again. Nor would 
 182
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 183 
 
 you have had it now, if I had anticipated this, for I 
 should have forbidden you entrance to the house." 
 
 " There, there ! " soothed Gabe. " I see you still 
 hold malice, Tom. That isn't fair, especially as I 
 am willing to forget the past and start afresh. As a 
 matter of fact," he considered whimsically, " I 
 ought to be the injured party, Tom. And to tell the 
 truth I should have kept my distance, if circum- 
 stances had not arisen that made me have to see you. 
 A mighty good joke on both of us, eh, Tom ? " 
 
 " I don't know what you mean," muttered Tom, 
 lying back on his pillow. 
 
 He was in his own big room on the second floor of 
 the old Blankenship mansion, and hither Captain 
 Gabe had come, an uninvited guest. Putting his 
 broad hat down upon the table, and pulling a chair up 
 close to Tom's bed, he now proceeded to explain, with 
 many a chuckle, for he had that saving humor which 
 can always appreciate a joke. 
 
 " Well, Tom, everybody in town thought you had 
 been instrumental in helping Rose to save my life. 
 Their mouths were full of it all winter long. So 
 Judge Oglethorpe, when he heard you were mortally 
 wounded and likely to die he appointed me to take 
 charge of your affairs until you did die, or recovered 
 sufficiently to manage them yourself. There I was. 
 If I declined, they would think it mighty small of me 
 after you had done me such a sendee. If I accepted, 
 I had you to reckon with. Between the whole of
 
 184 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 Salem and just you, Tom, well, I decided on just 
 you. It is a darn sight easier to get along with one 
 enemy than with a hundred interfering friends. Be- 
 sides, after Aunt Betty Oglethorpe died, there 
 was" 
 
 " Don't talk to me of Aunt Betty." Tom meant 
 to thunder but his voice squeaked pitifully, as he was 
 angrily aware. " After that wife of yours cut me out 
 of my inheritance " 
 
 " Stop, Tom ! " Gabe's voice took on the steely 
 note which made men pause, and it now had this ef- 
 fect on Tom. " Don't you dare to say one word 
 against Madge, or I'll tell my story to the town, and 
 let you get along as best you can. It wasn't because 
 I liked it, or wanted to peek and pry, that I took over 
 this guardianship business. I found things in a 
 mess, and I've done well by you, Tom, and I am 
 doing it for nothing, too, which I take a sight of 
 comfort in. I know what Madge does not know, that 
 Aunt Betty cut you off because you played her a 
 trick on those Bascom lands of hers. You talked her 
 into buying them at a big price, and then she was 
 just smart enough to discover that they were yours, 
 and not worth a damn. So she thought the money you 
 got then was quite enough to do you, and gave the 
 rest to Madge. She told Judge Oglethorpe, and he 
 told me, but nobody else in this town knows, and they 
 won't know if you behave yourself. I don't like to 
 threaten, but you force me to it. Hadn't you better
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 185 
 
 declare a truce, Tom ? I'll do my best for you, and 
 you'll have to bear it so far as I can see reckon, I 
 mean. Now I know it isn't good for you to get mad, 
 and you know it, so calm down and let's have a good 
 sensible minute of conversation before I leave. Be- 
 lieve me or not, Tom, I haven't called you a name in 
 my paper for so long that I'm kind of aching for you 
 to get well, so I can begin again." 
 
 Tom refused to smile, but he had been given time 
 to think, and perceived the wisdom of Gabe's advice. 
 He had unwittingly put himself in the power of this 
 man, and politically his future would be ruined if the 
 three items against him became generally known. 
 The men might laugh at his escapade with Minnie 
 Gray, but they would not laugh at the Bascom land 
 deal, with an old and helpless lady for the victim, nor 
 at the attempt to shoot Gabe Shelley in the public 
 square. So, until he was well and able to marshal 
 his forces and declare war in proper style, Tom de- 
 cided to accept Gabe's proposition. 
 
 " All right," he said sulkily at last. 
 
 " That's fine, Tom," cried Gabe heartily. " I'm 
 glad you see reason. Personally I always liked you, 
 however much I disapproved of you. Now here are 
 a few papers you'd better sign I'll guide your 
 hand and some bills for repairs against your River 
 Street houses, which seemed a little exorbitant. I 
 thought I'd better ask you about them before I set- 
 tled " The two became absorbed in business mat-
 
 186 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 ters, wherein Tom was forced to acknowledge that 
 Gabe had acted conscientiously and well. 
 
 Before the Captain left, he sprung a bit of news on 
 Tom, which had tremendous effect. " By the way," 
 he said casually, stuffing the bills and memoranda 
 into his capacious pocket, and reaching for his hat. 
 " Did you know Rose was coming home ? " 
 
 " No," cried Tom. " When ? " 
 
 " Day after to-morrow. They are sending back 
 the men as fast as possible, now that peace has been 
 declared. Yellow fever is raging in Cuba, and I 
 wouldn't hear to Rose's nursing those cases. I can't 
 afford to lose my girl just yet, so I put my foot right 
 down." 
 
 " I did not meet Rose in Cuba." Tom tried hard 
 to speak naturally, but his voice quivered with ex- 
 citement. "I had a nurse, Mrs. Kemp, who knew 
 her well." 
 
 " Mrs. Kemp ? Oh, yes." Gabe was quite indif- 
 ferent. 
 
 " Is she does she will she visit you soon, do 
 you think ? " 
 
 " Might. She's quite a friend of my wife's and of 
 Rose. I'm rather fond of her, myself." 
 
 " When when do you expect her ? " 
 
 "Couldn't say, exactly. Good-by, Tom. Good- 
 by." 
 
 " Hold on a moment, Captain Gabe. I want to 
 know"
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 187 
 
 But Gabe had gone, and with a groan of impa- 
 tience Tom sank back again. " Damn my eyes ! " he 
 exclaimed. " Why couldn't I have been wounded in 
 some other place, so that I could at least see." 
 
 Before him there was the constant fear of perma- 
 nent blindness, and already he had lost much of the 
 strength he had gained in Cuba. Although he had 
 then felt and voiced his need for the ministrations of 
 Mrs. Kemp, he had not fully realized what she had 
 meant to him, until on the return voyage. There his 
 utter helplessness struck home. He felt that in very 
 truth he could not do without her. He would die if 
 she did not come to him. 
 
 He was, of course, quite positive of the founda- 
 tion for this longing. He had loved Rose deeply, 
 and this love he still believed in. He told himself 
 that his desire to keep her away from him, in Cuba 
 rose from his wish to spare her the sight of his rav- 
 aged frame. In his dreams he still idealized her, 
 while angry with her and bent on humbling her if 
 ever he got his eyes, and strength again. The scorch- 
 ing, vital rage against her and Gabe no longer 
 flamed in his heart. It had burned up, it is true, at 
 Gabe's coming this morning, but it had speedily sunk 
 again into the glowing embers which he refused to 
 let quite die. Above it and beyond it, his thoughts 
 hovered about Mrs. Kemp that personality known 
 to him only by voice and tender touch. The music 
 of her tones haunted him. His ears ached for it.
 
 188 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 She might be old and ugly badly built and awk- 
 ward these things had always repelled him in a 
 woman, but now they did not matter. Nothing mat- 
 tered except that he wanted her. Her presence in 
 the room spelt Heaven to him. 
 
 Of course this was because he had been ill. When 
 he was well again, then he would return all the more 
 loyally to Rose. This new obsession was founded 
 only on his helplessness, and not on the fatal attrac- 
 tion which beauty always held for him, which he 
 called love. If Eose were homely, awkward ah, 
 but how could she be Eose, if she were not her own 
 lovely, charming self? 
 
 He had scant time for self-communion, for others 
 of his old friends called, and he insisted upon seeing 
 every one. And then there were countless messages 
 to while away the time, and gifts of flowers, jellies, 
 fruits and custards, to be acknowledged through his 
 colored boy, Xathan, who ran endless errands all that 
 day, quite overcome by his importance. When 
 night came Tom fell sound asleep, and was quite 
 grieved about it next morning, for he had meant to 
 lie awake, and heap reproaches on Mrs. Kemp, the 
 one person in all the world, it seemed, who was not 
 interested in his wretched condition. 
 
 When Gabe arrived that day, shortly before eleven, 
 he ran into the family physician, old Doctor Pearsall, 
 at the door. 
 
 " Hello, Gabe," said the Doctor. " I've been sent
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 189 
 
 for. I guess Tom's welcome home was a little mite 
 too warm, from all I hear." 
 
 " Good morning, Doc," Gabe answered. " All 
 Salem tried to play nurse to him yesterday. I 
 thought, when I saw the stream of people coming in 
 this direction, that it would be too much for Tom. 
 And every last one of 'em had something to tempt 
 his appetite. Lord ! It would have been the death 
 of a well man ! " 
 
 And then the two solemnly clasped hands and en- 
 tered the house together. 
 
 Doctor Pearsall shook his head over Tom's pulse, 
 and put a positive veto on the sort of excitement 
 which had filled the preceding day. Gabe suggested 
 a famous specialist in consultation about Tom's eyes. 
 Doctor Pearsall, though somewhat peeved because he 
 had meant to do all the suggesting himself, thought 
 this might be wise. He admitted being at sea as to 
 the proper treatment for them. So Gabe sent for 
 the specialist, and Tom lay in a quiet darkened room 
 for the whole of that and the succeeding day. 
 
 The great specialist proved to be, instead of an 
 awesome personage, a fussy little man with a rasping 
 voice. He commended Doctor Pearsall's treatment, 
 so far as it went, swore at certain symptoms due to 
 negligence in Cuba, for which he persisted in holding 
 the overworked surgeons there responsible al- 
 though Tom assured him they had done their best 
 after they once got hold of him he had lain upon
 
 190 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 the field for two days as near as he could make out. 
 And finally he decided that a very delicate operation 
 might relieve the pressure on the optic nerve and re- 
 store Tom's sight permanently. He set the date for 
 this operation ten days ahead the patient must be 
 in better physical condition and took his fussy lit- 
 tle self and rasping voice away by the next train. 
 
 Tom did not brighten at the prospect before him. 
 Instead he grew so depressed that Doctor Pearsall 
 shook his head over him. Rose had now returned 
 and upon hearing of this depression, she said she 
 thought she knew a way to overcome it, and asked 
 Gabe to take her to see Tom. She and Minnie 
 they had come back together made Gabe see their 
 reasons, and upon Saturday morning, three days after 
 the visit of the specialist, Rose entered the darkened 
 room. 
 
 Tom had been prepared for her coming. At first 
 he was tempted to refuse to see her, but then the 
 thought popped into his head that through Rose he 
 might hear something of his nurse. Therefore he 
 was eager, and at the light footstep on the stair, he 
 raised himself in bed, and turned his sightless face 
 toward the door. As Rose came in, she exclaimed 
 aloud in pity, and running across the room, grasped 
 both his weak hands. 
 
 " Why, Tom ! " she cried. " You have been very 
 ill, haven't you ? I really did not know how ill, be- 
 fore."
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 191 
 
 "I'm all right," answered Tom roughly, scarcely 
 able to restrain his impatience. But politeness de- 
 manded something of him, and with almost a groan, 
 he said, " So you were in Cuba, too ? " 
 
 "Yes," she responded, trying to keep her voice 
 cheerful and steady, although the tears rained down 
 her cheeks. " Tell me ahout yourself, Tom. I 
 haven't seen you since you went to Tampa. Ke- 
 member ? " 
 
 With another groan, which Rose heard and under- 
 stood although he did not know it, he gave her some 
 particulars of the camp life, and of his soldiering, up 
 to the time that he was shot. He spoke of the Kid 
 Lieutenant, and found her touched to the heart by 
 the manner of his death. " Ah, he was a man! " she 
 exclaimed, with flashing eyes. 
 
 And then he spoke of his first hours of conscious- 
 ness, alone and suffering among the sugar cane, and 
 she cried out with pity for him. He told of the 
 journey to the Division Hospital, and of being left to 
 die under the ceiba-tree, as he had gathered from the 
 pitying words of a man who questioned him. He 
 told of this man's going away and of his returning 
 later on with a surgeon. This part of his tale was 
 mere hearsay, of course, since he had been conscious 
 only at rare intervals, and then not so that he could 
 remember accurately. "But that man, whoever he 
 was, saved my life," he declared. " Some day I hope 
 to find him out and thank him."
 
 192 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 Eose hoped so, too. 
 
 And so he came at last, by a long and devious way, 
 to the hospital at Siboney, and to the arrival of Mrs. 
 Kemp. Did Rose not know her ? Yes. "Where was 
 she now ? Eose couldn't say. In Cuba still ? !N"o, 
 Eose was quite certain that she had left Cuba. 
 
 And now Eose must know about the coming opera- 
 tion. Her interest was sweet, very sweet, but her 
 light dismissal of the woman who had come to mean 
 so much to him quite broke down Tom. He longed 
 so to hear some definite news of her. He had 
 thought of her so much that he had fancied her in 
 other people's minds as much as in his own. Eose's 
 meagerness of detail astonished him. It grieved 
 him, and before he knew it he was sobbing out that 
 he could not bear it, he just could not bear it. His 
 thin hands sought to cover his shamed face, but the 
 tears trickled out between the bony fingers, so that 
 Gabe, a silent listener in the background, had to blow 
 his nose vigorously and announce that time was al- 
 most up. 
 
 " What can't you bear, Tom ? " asked Eose very 
 gently. 
 
 " I'm a fool, I know," muttered Tom, controlling 
 his voice with difficulty. " But she was so kind and 
 tender that I feel I cannot stand this operation unless 
 she is here to help me. I know I shall die without 
 her." 
 
 Eose half smiled, and then repressed her smile, for-
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 193 
 
 getting that Tom could not see. " Do you miss her 
 so much as that ? " 
 
 "Miss her? Why shouldn't I miss her?" Tom 
 demanded savagely. " There was no one like her. 
 She knew my wants before I told them. She knew 
 just how to make me comfortable. I tell you I must 
 have her to get me through this thing. Can't you 
 persuade her, Rose ? If you can " His pause was 
 eloquent. 
 
 " Perhaps I can." Eose pretended to consider. 
 " I am not sure. But I'll try. I'll go to see her, and 
 do my best." 
 
 " Will you, Rose ? I shall be grateful indeed, if 
 you do. It will put new heart into me." 
 
 " Well then, set yourself to obeying Doctor Pear- 
 sail, and gaining the strength they want you to gain, 
 and I'll add my word, too," promised Gabe. 
 
 " All right," said Tom. " Say, Rose, what does 
 Mrs. Kemp look like? I I have a fancy I 
 should like to know." 
 
 " She is young " said Rose. 
 
 " Is she pretty ? " 
 
 "Yes, I should call her so, shouldn't you, 
 Father?" 
 
 " Pretty ! " snorted Gabe. " She's a beauty." 
 
 " Tall or short ? " asked Tom impatiently, avid for 
 more detail. 
 
 "Neither tall nor short," said Rose. "But 
 just right. She is slim and frail, for she has not been
 
 194 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 well. She is growing stronger now, and developing 
 a dimple that is distracting. Her hair is fair and 
 wavy. Her skin is fair also, but her eyes are golden- 
 brown. She has a sad look, as though she has suf- 
 fered, and her mouth is inclined to droop. This 
 makes her what people call ' interesting/ So she ex- 
 cited a good deal of comment at the camp. One 
 young doctor went quite wild about her," laughed 
 Rose reminiscently. "He followed her all about, 
 and me, too, because I was her friend. I think he 
 meant to propose before we left, but she didn't give 
 him the chance." 
 
 " Does does she like him ? " asked Tom breath- 
 lessly. 
 
 " Oh, yes, after a fashion," answered Eose care- 
 lessly. " But she is such an attractive sort of person 
 that she pays very little attention to a foolish young 
 fellow like this doctor." 
 
 Tom breathed again, but Hose, with mischief in 
 her eyes, added casually " There was an older 
 man with whom she seemed much struck one of 
 her patients. I shouldn't wonder if they hit it off 
 some day but of course that is only my fancy," she 
 hastened to say as she saw the look upon his face. 
 " Now hurry up and gain strength while I do my best 
 to get her to come to you." 
 
 Having given Tom much food for thought, Eose 
 was content to leave him. Gabe scolded her for 
 worrying the poor sick fellow, but she only laughed.
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 195 
 
 "It won't hurt him one bit," she declared. "He 
 will spend his time now thinking of Mrs. Kemp and 
 of this 'older man/ and won't have any room for 
 brooding on himself." 
 
 She was right. Tom did spend his time thinking 
 of his nurse and the man with whom she had seemed 
 much struck. Not for a moment did he imagine it 
 was himself, blind and helpless, but rather some hero 
 just interestingly ill, and able to plead his cause with 
 eloquent eyes. Still, why should he mind her hav- 
 ing a lover ? He was in love with Bose, himself 
 but Mrs. Kemp! Ah! Pretty, attractively young, 
 mysteriously alluring he wanted, he needed Mrs. 
 Kemp. 
 
 When he was told that she would take charge of 
 his case, he went mad with joy. When he found 
 that it would not be necessary for her to come until 
 the morning of the operation, his transports died a 
 little. When he discovered that she would not be 
 with him until after it was over, he set his jaw and 
 developed a new patience and a grim determination. 
 He went under the ether without a murmur, so well 
 prepared that the specialist smiled his approval and 
 pronounced the operation a success before it was per- 
 formed. 
 
 When he returned to consciousness again her small 
 hand held his own, and her soft musical voice be- 
 sought him not to struggle, that she, Mrs. Kemp, was 
 there. Rose was there, too, although he was not in-
 
 196 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 formed of that, for a nurse of more skill than Minnie 
 had been needed for the actual operation. 
 
 When he was out of danger, and Minnie could be 
 trusted to do all that was necessary now, Kose left, 
 and for the first time the mountain girl and her 
 former lover were entirely alone. Entirely alone ? 
 Not so, for Rose's counsel still dominated Minnie, 
 so that she held to her part faithfully. Mrs. Kemp, 
 that fictitious personality in whose identity Minnie 
 had lost herself, now stood between Tom and the 
 mother of his baby. It was her hands which held 
 the reins, not Minnie's. 
 
 It was Mrs. Kemp, not Minnie, who was alone with 
 Tom.
 
 CHAPTER XIV, 
 
 UP OK a warm afternoon in the middle of 
 August, Tom received the glad news from 
 Doctor Pearsall that the next morning he 
 would be able to see. He went to sleep with this 
 comforting knowledge, and in his dreams he thought 
 a fairy hand removed the disfiguring bandages and 
 also, with its healing touch, the last remnant of his 
 pain. The hand must have been more substantial 
 than a fairy's, however, for in the morning, after a 
 sound refreshing sleep, he opened his eyes quite nat- 
 urally to the blessed light of day. 
 
 At first he was scarcely conscious of any strange- 
 ness in the act. For years he had been accustomed to 
 a similar experience, while his period of blindness 
 had been so short that it now fell away like an ugly 
 veil, and was entirely forgotten for a space. But as 
 he lay, staring lazily up at the ceiling, where a lone 
 fly buzzed busily, realization dawned upon him and 
 he could have shouted out his joy. True the room 
 had been darkened by closely drawn shades, and all 
 those precautions taken which spelt the necessity for 
 watchful care, but Tie could see! His recovery 
 was only a matter of days, and the long dark night 
 was over for good and all. 
 197
 
 198 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 For a while it was just happiness enough to lie and 
 revel in this knowledge. Then gradually he shifted 
 his gaze to take in the familiar objects about him, 
 each one now gifted with a new and poignant charm. 
 He could have kissed every bit of old mahogany, 
 which, even in the semi-dusk, showed its perfect 
 luster. His mother's picture on the bureau its 
 shining frame informed him that it stood in the self- 
 same place. The bureau itself, with its huge drawers 
 in which his clothes were always so carelessly stored 
 that he had to rummage endlessly for the things he 
 wanted the washstand, with its hideous green- 
 figured toilet set that he had laughed at once, but now 
 adored the table by the window indiscriminately 
 piled with boots and shoes, and papers and tobacco, 
 and collars and ties ah, that was bare of everything 
 but bottles, and bending over it, in the only ray of 
 light she had permitted to enter, was the slender fig- 
 ure of a woman was she his nurse ? 
 
 He held his breath and watched her. She evi- 
 dently thought him still asleep. That little pile of 
 white was that the stifling bandage ? Had she but 
 now removed it to give him the joy of coming to a 
 full awakening directly from his dreams ? As she 
 moved noiselessly, setting to rights the table which to 
 his masculine eyes had been neat enough before, the 
 light caught her hair. It shone like pulled molasses, 
 beneath her nurse's cap, in little tumbled waves and 
 curls. Her eyes were downcast, so he had to guess
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 199 
 
 them, but her nose was straight and small, and her 
 mouth a series of delicious drooping curves. Her 
 hands had the deftness which he had often admired in 
 Rose. Her figure was outlined by the close-fitting, 
 blue undergraduate's costume which she wore. He 
 could have looked at her forever and was almost 
 moved to tears that his first conscious sight should 
 have been rewarded by this lovely picture. 
 
 As though his gaze compelled her, she suddenly 
 paused in her work and looked toward the bed. 
 Then, with a cry of joy, she ran swiftly across the 
 room. 
 
 " You are awake ! " she exulted. " And you can 
 see ? Can you ? Tell me quickly ! I was so impa- 
 tient for this moment " She checked herself, and 
 ended primly, " Good morning, Mr. Blankenship." 
 
 Bewilderment entered into Tom's intent regard. 
 
 " Where have I seen you before ? " he exclaimed, 
 and then repeated it, slowly, wonder ingly. " Where 
 have I seen you before ? " 
 
 " People are always taking me for some one they 
 know," said Mrs. Kemp readily. "I sometimes 
 think I must look like everybody but myself. Tell 
 me, can you really see distinctly? Are things in a 
 haze to you, or clearly outlined ? " 
 
 " I can see as distinctly as this dim light permits," 
 answered Tom, impatiently. " Go back to the table, 
 Mrs. Kemp." 
 
 "Why?"
 
 200 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 "You were in the light there. Now you are in 
 the shadow." 
 
 " But you must not look at the light," she com- 
 manded brightly. " And I must call is athan to give 
 you your bath and dress you, and get you into your 
 big chair for breakfast I wonder what he will say 
 when he discovers that you can see again ! " 
 
 " Then if you won't go back to the light," said 
 Tom crossly, " come here beside the bed." 
 
 She ignored his request, but busied herself in get- 
 ting ready for Nathan. However, this brought her 
 closer as she moved about the room, and each time 
 that she approached him she felt his eyes upon her, 
 with that same puzzled bewilderment in their intent- 
 ness. The flush on her fair face crept up to the roots 
 of her hair, but she bent her attention scrupulously 
 upon the clean linen, towels, soap, and brushes, which 
 she was laying out, talking busily about the joy that 
 every one would feel at the certainty of his absolute 
 recovery. 
 
 Nathan entered and Tom spoke. " Ah, Nathan, I 
 am glad to be able to see that black moon-face of yours 
 again." 
 
 " Lawd ha' mussy, kin you see ? " exclaimed the 
 negro. He came close and gazed into Tom's eyes. 
 " So you kin ! Ain't dat gran' ? Um-yum ! Dis 
 am a proud day f er us all, suh. Dis suah am a proud 
 day fer us all." 
 
 While the colored boy performed his master's
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 201 
 
 toilet, Mrs. Kemp went to help the housekeeper with 
 breakfast. She was back by the time Tom was ready 
 to move into his big chair, which he occupied the 
 greater part of the day now. With Nathan on one 
 side to steady him, and she on the other as an extra 
 safeguard, he made the short journey between the 
 bed and chair. Then she sent Nathan for his break- 
 fast tray, while she settled him comfortably. 
 
 As she bent over to adjust the cushion behind his 
 head he grasped her hand in both his own. His eyes 
 continued to scrutinize her earnestly. 
 
 She tried to pull away, without success. "Mr. 
 Blankenship, let me go," she ordered sharply. 
 " You are stronger than I thought you were. I half 
 believe you have been ' putting on ' your prostration. 
 Let me go ! " 
 
 " Not until you tell me who you are," he an- 
 swered. " Your face is familiar to me more than 
 familiar. I not only have seen it before but I 
 have the feeling that I have kissed it " 
 
 "Mr. Blankenship! You forget yourself!" 
 Her tone was horrified, and this time she succeeded 
 in wrenching herself free. " I suppose," she con- 
 tinued angrily, " that you have given my voice and 
 presence a personality which you now see more or 
 less in me." 
 
 " That may be it," he mused, enthralled. " Yet I 
 could swear that I have felt your lips against my
 
 202 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 " Mr. Blankenship ! " Her voice was determined. 
 " If you persist in speaking to me in this fashion, 
 I must leave the room, and perhaps the house. You 
 have no right to think of me or talk to me so. I am 
 simply your nurse, hired by you to care for you until 
 you are well enough to care for yourself. If I am to 
 be insulted, then I am very sorry that I yielded to 
 Miss Shelley's importunings and took over your case. 
 Perhaps I had better go at once I must confess I 
 cannot understand your strange manner and stranger 
 words." 
 
 This stung him and suddenly he realized what he 
 had said. The thought of losing her made him ab- 
 ject. " I beg your pardon," he said humbly. " You 
 will surely forgive a sick man's rambling remarks, 
 and set them down to his dependence on you. Ah, 
 Nathan, I expect to enjoy that breakfast this morn- 
 ing, I tell you! Set it down, you scoundrel, before 
 you drop the tray. I know you and your proclivities 
 too well to trust you, now that I can see you again." 
 
 The negro grinned as he placed the heavy tray on 
 a small table by Tom's chair. " Dis suah am a proud 
 day fer us all, suh," he said again. 
 
 "It's a proud day for me, all right," said Tom. 
 " Has Mrs. Kemp had breakfast ? " 
 
 " Missy Smif, she done sent word to tell de nuss 
 it's ready," replied Nathan. 
 
 " Bring it here, so we can eat together." 
 
 "All right, suh. All right, boss." And before
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 203 
 
 Mrs. Kemp could interpose he had hurried from the 
 room. 
 
 " I cannot do that, Mr. Blankenship," she said 
 slowly. " The ethics of my profession forbid it." 
 
 He leaned forward with pathetic eyes. " You'll 
 surely not deny me this one crumb of comfort," he 
 protested earnestly, throwing into his voice all its 
 most winning qualities. " I feel that I must cele- 
 brate this great occasion in some way. Spoil me a 
 little, as you used to do when I was blind. You were 
 so kind and tender then be kind now! Ah! I 
 had fancied you my friend, but I suppose I was mis- 
 taken. My helplessness misled me. Forgive me and 
 leave me alone. I no longer need you to feed me, 
 and so can manage very well. Forgive me ! " 
 
 She hesitated a moment, and then threw scruples to 
 the winds. " If you will promise to be kind in your 
 turn" 
 
 " I'll promise anything, if you'll only share my 
 meal." 
 
 " All right," she laughed, and drawing up a chair 
 to the other side of the small table on which the tray 
 was set, she busied herself with its solitary cup and 
 plate. Nathan soon returned with another laden 
 tray, from which she transferred the china and food. 
 
 "Now we can begin," she said brightly. "Mr. 
 Blankenship, I will still claim the privilege of pour- 
 ing your coffee and opening your eggs. Be patient 
 and everything will soon be ready."
 
 204 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 " I could be patient forever," murmured Tom, 
 lying back in supreme content. " I have a vague 
 premonition that this is too good to last. Mrs. 
 Kemp, I wish there were some way of chaining you 
 to your present position, so you could do this for me 
 every morning " 
 
 " Nonsense ! I am a usurper," she flashed at him. 
 " This is a wife's prerogative, when a man is well." 
 
 " For the first time I realize the advantage of hav- 
 ing a wife." 
 
 " Why for the first time ? I understand that you 
 are in love " 
 
 u Love ? So I am, but what is love compared to 
 my present state of bliss ? " 
 
 " Well ! " she exclaimed with a long breath. " It 
 is the woman he loves whom a man usually wants to 
 do such things for him. Picture to yourself the 
 woman you love in the place I now occupy, and you 
 will understand that there is no comparison. Don't 
 you get quite a different feeling ? " 
 
 He considered seriously. "No," he confessed. 
 " I don't get half so nice a feeling. Because I should 
 have to exert myself, wait upon her, pay pretty com- 
 pliments, assure her I loved her more now than I did 
 ten seconds ago all that sort of thing." 
 
 " There ! Here is your orange-juice, and your 
 eggs. It is too bad you don't like cereals, for you 
 need to gain so much. I like them, you see, so you'll 
 have to wait for me."
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 205 
 
 She was demurely unconscious of a sudden change 
 in his expression, which had followed his last re- 
 mark. He was gazing at her open-mouthed, as 
 though some stupendous idea had suddenly leaped to 
 life within him in connection with her. 
 
 Silently he drank the fruit-juice and then applied 
 himself to his beaten biscuit, eggs, and coffee. All 
 the time he watched her openly, still with the strange 
 new expression, but she pretended not to notice and 
 was really remarkable in her splendid self-control. 
 He noted with approval that she had dainty manners, 
 the hall-marks of a lady to him who judged so much 
 by mere externals. The quirk of her little finger as 
 she drank her coffee was adorable. Did she look so 
 sedulously at her plate that he might the better see 
 how long and golden her eyelashes were ? Or was it 
 because she was affected by his gaze and chose this 
 way to avoid it ? 
 
 It was the last-named reason, and in spite of her 
 happiness she was tremulous and almost afraid, for 
 she perceived that she was soon to face the crowning 
 moment of her life. Being a woman whose hopes 
 had been crushed to earth, she hesitated at their pos- 
 sible resurrection. Poor hopes ! With bruised and 
 broken wings they had crept back to nestle in her 
 heart, and perhaps to be renewed. Thank Heaven 
 for " Mrs. Kemp," that kind cloak which had made 
 this moment possible. 
 
 Breakfast over, she piled the things up in the tray
 
 206 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 and rang for Nathan. The negro came eagerly, and 
 after him Mrs. Smith, the white housekeeper, who 
 was religiously inclined and " praised Gawd " abund- 
 antly for the restoration of " Mister Tawm." Then 
 Gabe entered, with his hearty voice exclaiming as de- 
 lightedly over Tom as if he had been his own son. 
 Then Doctor Pearsall, to express his approval of 
 things in general, then old Judge Oglethorpe, some 
 few other friends, and finally Madge and Eose. 
 
 It was the first time Madge had come in to see 
 him, and she was quiet and exceedingly grave. Their 
 greeting was punctilious in its courtesy. The truce 
 between them was merely temporary. Tom still re- 
 sented Aunt Betty's legacy, and remembered all too 
 keenly their last stormy interview. 
 
 Eose was overjoyed in friendly fashion at his 
 progress, and spoke warmly of Mrs. Kemp's ability, 
 giving her much of the credit for his swift con- 
 valescence. The two girls whispered apart for a 
 time, while Madge and he took refuge in po- 
 lite commonplace. As Tom uttered his platitudes, 
 he watched Mrs. Kemp and Eose, and that odd 
 change in his expression further strengthened. He 
 was making comparisons, and while he could find no 
 flaw in either, he had learned which one occupied 
 first place in his heart. And he formed a new reso- 
 lution which he proceeded openly to put into effect, 
 asking abruptly if he might speak to Eose alone a 
 moment.
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 207 
 
 Madge hesitated, but Rose glanced at her mean- 
 ingly, so she took Mrs. Kemp aside. 
 
 "What is it, Tom?" asked Eose gently, taking 
 the chair Madge had vacated, which was close to 
 his. " I see you have something important to say 
 to me. What is it ? " 
 
 " Eose," whispered Tom, tremendously in earnest. 
 " There is something you can do for me, for which 
 I'll thank you all my life." 
 
 " What is it ? " she repeated. 
 
 *' First tell me what has become of Minnie Gray ? 
 Is she still at your house ? " 
 
 " N-not just now." 
 
 "Has she gone back to the hills with her 
 baby?" 
 
 " tf-no." 
 
 " Where is she, then ? " 
 
 "I I don't think I had better tell you." 
 
 " It is necessary that I should know. I have got 
 to get into communication with her at once." 
 
 " Tom ! Have you made up your mind to 
 atone " 
 
 "In a way yes. I am prepared to recognize 
 the justice of her claims, and to buy her off." 
 
 " Oh, Tom ! At first I thought your interest in 
 her and in the boy inspired by a real change of 
 heart." 
 
 " It is," said Tom. " But a change of which you 
 are not yet cognizant. Eose, for a long time I have
 
 208 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 
 
 loved you dearly, but I know you will forgive me 
 when I tell you that I was mistaken in thinking that 
 love the best of which I was capable. I love an- 
 other woman so much more deeply that I am con- 
 vinced it is the greatest passion of my life. Can you 
 guess who she is ? " 
 
 " I I'd rather not try." 
 
 "Rose, until this very morning, I fancied you 
 still foremost in my heart. Yet all the time I longed 
 to hear her voice, to feel her touch, to see her 
 face " He pointed to Mrs. Kemp who talked 
 with Madge by the window. " It is strange that I 
 did not at once understand what that longing meant. 
 But now the truth has burst upon me, and I know 
 that I love her with a love that transcends every- 
 thing. I feel myself inconsequential, insignificant, 
 incomplete finding a road to definiteness only if 
 I can be sure of her presence for the rest of my life." 
 
 " Oh, Tom ! This is sad news," murmured Eose, 
 turning her head away. He fancied her grieving, 
 though really she was smiling in triumph to herself. 
 
 " I am sorry," he began awkwardly, when she in- 
 terrupted. 
 
 " Don't think I said that from any personal sense 
 of slight," she laughed. " I meant that it was sad 
 news from Minnie's standpoint." 
 
 " It is the best of news. I had lost you, and I 
 never hoped to experience such happiness as that I 
 feel to-day," boasted Tom.
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 209 
 
 " So you want to buy off Minnie ? " asked Eose. 
 " Does Mrs. Kemp approve of your course ? " 
 
 " Mrs. Kemp ? She knows nothing of Minnie." 
 
 " Are you sure ? " 
 
 " She told me, in so many words. I quizzed her 
 once to see if you had given me away. Her answer 
 showed you had not. Now, Eose, if you have any 
 heart at all, you will let me settle with Minnie in 
 the generous way I shall propose, so that she will 
 never come between me and the woman I love, as 
 she did once between you and me." 
 
 Eose considered for a moment. " Mrs. Kemp has 
 accepted you, I suppose ? " she ventured. 
 
 " Not yet, but I hope to make her do so before 
 long." In his eyes shone the old reckless self-con- 
 fidence. He was quite sure of his ability to win 
 the love of any woman, and Eose longed to drag him 
 from his pedestal. Eut she refrained, for that was 
 Minnie's task. Instead she parried by another ques- 
 tion. 
 
 " Suppose I refuse to see Minnie for you ? " 
 
 " Then I shall try to see her for myself. You 
 need only promise to stand aside and keep my se- 
 cret." 
 
 e< Do you still persist in thinking you can be dis- 
 honorable to one woman, and worthy the love of an- 
 other like Mrs. Kemp ? " 
 
 " I do not propose to be dishonorable," he retorted 
 angrily. " On the contrary I intend to be most hon-
 
 210 THE SHELLEYS OR GEORGIA 
 
 orable, but I mean to have Mrs. Kemp for my wife." 
 
 " Then all I sacrificed to make you see the truth 
 was useless," mused Rose sorrowfully. " I forgot 
 pride and self-respect in trying to open your eyes. 
 And then I shielded you and saved your life was it 
 for this, Tom ? " 
 
 "All that is beside the question," said Tom im- 
 patiently. " What is past, is past. You do as I say 
 and I in my turn will relinquish certain plans which 
 I had intended to carry out later. Will you, Rose ? " 
 
 " Most emphatically, No." 
 
 " Do you mean that ? Is it final ? " 
 
 " I do. It is final. I shall continue to claim for 
 Minnie all that I have claimed before. I will make 
 you this one concession to say nothing unless Mrs. 
 Kemp promises to be your wife. If I know her, she 
 will not marry you in the face of my opposition." 
 
 " She will if I can keep this knowledge from her, 
 as I intend to do," stormed Tom. " If you thwart 
 me, and advance your ridiculous demands so that she 
 hears of them I'll make you suffer. Take heed, 
 before it is too late, and decide to help me." 
 
 " Kb," said Rose. " I'll not help you. I'll do all 
 in my power to hinder you, waiting only to see if your 
 own heart will not prompt you finally to the course I 
 must insist upon your following. Would you mock 
 the woman you claim to love, as you once mocked me, 
 Tom ? Would you offer her the place that belongs to 
 Minnie Gray, as you once offered it to me ? Would
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 211 
 
 you drag her highest ideals in the dust, as you once 
 dragged mine ? Shame on you, Tom. What sort of 
 love is this you brag about? Selfish unscrupu- 
 lous" 
 
 " Stop ! " Tom's voice shook with passion. He 
 banged his fist on the arm of his chair, and, leaning 
 forward, spoke in Rose's ear. " I'll not stand for 
 this. I am a sick man still, but I am a determined 
 one. I've warned you. I have offered to make every 
 concession possible, to this mountain girl and her 
 bastard baby. JSTow I'll withdraw my offer. I'll 
 marry Mrs. Kemp before you can hinder me. She 
 isn't like you. She'll believe me when I swear your 
 story false. And as for Minnie Gray, she can starve 
 before I'll lift one finger to help her I'm through 
 with her forever, and you can tell her so. I'll deny 
 every claim she makes. Let her prove one of them if 
 she can. What testimony has she to bring against 
 me ? I can command a hundred witnesses to swear 
 to anything I choose to state. Is this plain enough ? 
 Are you satisfied ? Do your worst you'll 
 never " 
 
 "Mr. Blankenship ! " It was Mrs. Kemp's 
 authoritative voice at his side which brought him to a 
 standstill. " Calm yourself. Miss Shelley, I am 
 surprised that you, a nurse, would permit my patient 
 to become so excited. You must surely know that 
 it is very bad for him. Please go at once, and let me 
 quiet him as best I can."
 
 212 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 Rose looked at Minnie in astonishment. In her 
 alarm for her patient the gentle mountain girl had 
 changed to a veritable lioness, and very like one in- 
 deed she hustled the two visitors from the room and 
 down-stairs. Eose's eyes filled with tears which she 
 was too proud to let fall. She had been defending 
 Minnie's cause so earnestly that for a moment she 
 had forgotten Tom was ill. That was his fault, not 
 hers, and now she must bear the blame. It was not 
 fair. 
 
 And then, from behind, Minnie's arms stole about 
 her. " Forgive me, Rose," she besought, in her 
 gentlest tones. " I had to scold you, but I quite un- 
 derstood that Tom was urging you to some course 
 against me, for I am almost sure, Rose dear, that he 
 has fallen in love with guess who ? Mrs. Kemp. 
 Oh, Rose, think of it ! I am my own rival ! " And 
 with a parting hug and kiss which made everything 
 all right, she ran back to Tom. 
 
 She found him still laboring under the greatest 
 excitement. He seized her hand in both his own and 
 began to speak in a breathless hurried way, before she 
 could interpose. I 
 
 " Mrs. Kemp," he exclaimed. " Listen to me ! 
 Our talk this morning led me to believe that perhaps 
 I can persuade you into loving me." 
 
 " Loving you ? " 
 
 " Don't speak until I am through ! I worship you !
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 213 
 
 I am mad about you ! There is nothing I would not 
 do to win you no price I would not pay, no barrier 
 I would not attempt to overcome. I want you with 
 every fiber of my being. Such love as mine must 
 compel yours. It is unthinkable that it should not." 
 
 " Mr. Blankenship, I " 
 
 " Wait ! I do not dare presume that you love me 
 now. But you will come to that in time. Something 
 has happened which makes it vital that you marry me 
 at once. There must be no delay. I had meant to 
 go slowly in my wooing to win you by presents, 
 ardent lovemaking all the gallantries which make 
 a courtship sweet. But there is no time for that. 
 Marry me to-day, Mrs. Kemp this very afternoon 
 and then I'll set myself to woo you in such fashion 
 as to tear down your defenses. Marry me now." 
 
 " Mr. Blankenship, have you quite suddenly taken 
 leave of your senses ? What right have you " 
 
 " The right of my tremendous passion for you. It 
 seems to me that I have always loved you. I never 
 really lived until I loved you. And, in spite of my- 
 self, I cannot help the belief that you love me too. 
 Why, I can close my eyes and feel your kisses on my 
 lips your arms about my neck your head upon 
 my breast I have held you against this breast of 
 mine and pressed you close and called you tender 
 names where ? In some other life perhaps ! But 
 as truly as I live I am convinced that you belong to
 
 214 THE SHELLEYS OF. GEORGIA 
 
 me. Make this odd feeling real. Be my wife. 
 Marry me ! Say ' Yes/ and make me the happiest 
 man on earth to-day." 
 
 Almost she was persuaded. The eloquence of his 
 voice carried her away as it had carried her once be- 
 fore, when he had proffered her less honorable love: 
 She felt herself yielding to his clinging fingers, being 
 drawn nearer and nearer by those hands so weak and 
 yet so powerful. She was almost in his arms when 
 suddenly remembrance of Rose and of her counsel in- 
 truded. There were things more important than the 
 present joy of his caresses. If she received them 
 now, how could she hope to gain that deeper, more 
 vital happiness in store for her if she was patient? 
 She resisted and succeeded in freeing herself from 
 his persuasive grasp. 
 
 " Xo, no," she faltered hurriedly. " I cannot. 
 You do not know you do not understand." 
 
 " What don't I know ? What don't I understand ? 
 I know now that you love me. I understand that al- 
 most I embraced you, and that, if I could once do so, 
 your doubts would melt away before the onslaught of 
 my love. Come to me, dear. Why do you hesi- 
 tate?" 
 
 "Ask yourself that." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " 
 
 " There is a barrier between us, Mr. 
 Blankenship." 
 
 " Then tell me what it is, and I'll remove it."
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 215 
 
 "You cannot. It is there, irrevocable. Mrs. 
 Kemp can never marry you, Mr. Blankenship." 
 
 He gave a low incredulous laugh. " Explain your- 
 self. Is this barrier something in your own past 
 life? Is it connected with the man whose name 
 you bear ? " 
 
 ":N T -no!" 
 
 " You are a widow, aren't you, Mrs. Kemp ? " 
 
 "Y yes." 
 
 " Do you love some one else ? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Then what lies between us ? " 
 
 "Mr. Blankenship," she said bravely, "I must 
 ask you to stop this questioning. I cannot bear it. 
 You are making me suffer cruelly. It is enough that 
 I have said I cannot marry you. !Now it rests with 
 you whether or not I leave this house at once, and 
 never see you again, or stay until you are fit to be 
 left alone. Which shall it be ? " 
 
 "You shall stay, of course." 
 
 "On one condition that you observe the same 
 lines in our relations that have defined them in the 
 past. I will try to forget this scene and act as though 
 it has never been. You must do the same." 
 
 Tom looked at her as though he would penetrate 
 her soul. He saw that she not only meant all she 
 said, but would indeed leave him upon the instant, 
 if he refused obedience. The thought of life without 
 her was so unbearable that he must prolong her stay
 
 216 THE SHELLEYS OF. GEORGIA 
 
 at any cost. When he was well and strong then 
 let her escape him if she could. In the meantime 
 
 "All right," he said, with a short hard laugh. 
 " I'll try to veil the love within my eyes and mask my 
 worship under the guise of friendship. Later I'll 
 prove to you that nothing can keep us apart, but 
 for the present I'll lay down my weapons and observe 
 your conditions faithfully." 
 
 Her face relaxed. " I'll stay then," she replied. 
 " Now, as your nurse, I shall have to scold you for 
 indulging in so much excitement, and order you 
 to take a nap. Shall it be on the couch, or back in 
 bed?" 
 
 " The couch, by all means. But I cannot sleep 
 unless you hold my hand " 
 
 "Mr. Blankenship " 
 
 "How else am I to get calmed down?" he in- 
 quired with an injured air. "Every professional 
 nurse is supposed to hold her patient's hands at 
 times. Her duties include it." 
 
 " This one's duties do not," she retorted laughing, 
 glad of his return to raillery. " Now remember, Mr. 
 Blankenship." 
 
 " I will remember," he assured her, and watched 
 her gloatingly as she left the room. 
 
 He tried to close his eyes, but could not. In his 
 heart he knew that the barrier, the real barrier, be- 
 tween them, lay on his side. Yet if Rose had kept 
 quiet and he believed she had then how could
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 217 
 
 Mrs. Kemp know of this barrier ? Perhaps she did 
 not actually know, but was so pure and high and noble 
 that her instinct made her guess that he had not been 
 quite frank. How best could he combat this instinct 
 for he was determined never to acknowledge its 
 truth? He was not yet humble enough for confes- 
 sion. Rather, his pride was up in arms, willing to 
 compromise on any terms save open acknowledgment. 
 Mrs. Kemp should never know of Minnie Gray if he 
 could help it. Mrs. Kemp should never know.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE peaches now were ripe upon the boughs. 
 The trees were heavy with their weight, 
 and leaned on props, languid with maturity 
 and lacking strength to support the burden they had 
 been prodigal in yielding. Gabe loved his orchards 
 with a love that made them almost human, not only to 
 himself, but to all those who heard him talk about 
 them. Part of his land was apt to hold the moisture, 
 and he was continually putting in new systems of 
 drainage, which were not always improvements on 
 the old. But, " The peach trees hate to get their 
 little feet wet," he explained whimsically. " They 
 curl up their toes and forget to pay attention to their 
 fruit as they should." And one immediately had a 
 vision of the poor things cringing, stretching out 
 boughs in mute appeal for help. 
 
 About the tying of those same boughs together, 
 the better to support their loads, Gabe exercised the 
 utmost care. The limbs must be wrapped, so that the 
 cord could not bruise them. The cord itself must be 
 interlaced. And in the propping of the heaviest 
 branches, he exhibited the caution of a man who felt 
 218
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 219 
 
 that life itself was at stake, rather than a few perfect 
 peaches in a perfect crop. 
 
 By this time the first peaches had been gathered. 
 Gabe followed the practice of all commercial growers, 
 in selecting such varieties of the fruit as would give a 
 long succession. The White Mountain Rose, and the 
 delectable Carman, Champion, and Crosby, had been 
 packed and shipped by the end of July. The golden- 
 fleshed Elberta had been picked on the first of Au- 
 gust, and already the fall varieties, such as Hill's Chili 
 and Crawford's Late, were turning rosy cheeks to the 
 sun, and demanding the attention of the harvesters. 
 
 But Gabe held off as long as possible, for in the 
 spring he had only arranged, through Homer Fort, to 
 send the earlier and much smaller crop to Bucknam 
 and Bates. And Homer had agreed to be in Salem 
 in time to examine this later mammoth yield, and 
 name his price for it at its gathering. Would he 
 come ? Gabe knew that he had enlisted, and so far 
 not one single word had been heard from him. How- 
 ever he said comfortably, for he knew his man, " He'll 
 come himself, unless he's dead in Cuba. And if he 
 is dead, he will have made arrangements for some one 
 else to come in his place." 
 
 As usual the shrewd man's judgment was not mis- 
 placed. Homer arrived in time, though it took a 
 hack to bring him from the depot, and the driver had 
 to help him up the walk and steps to the great front 
 door. He sank into a chair while the negro rang the
 
 220 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 bell, and when Janey opened the door, she was fright- 
 ened for a moment, thinking this pallid figure must be 
 nothing less than a ghost. His smile reassured her, 
 so that she took his card, and with an exclamation of 
 " Lawsy ! Mistuh Fo't ! But you-all is suahly fell 
 away sence you wuz hyar las' spring," she hurried 
 with it to her master. 
 
 The family were at breakfast, for Homer had taken 
 a night train, arriving at Salem before seven in the 
 morning. " By George, it is Fort come back, just as 
 I said he would," exclaimed Gabe at sight of the 
 name on the card, and, napkin in hand, he hurried 
 out to greet his guest. 
 
 "Well! Well! I am glad to see you," he cried 
 as he stepped out of the open door. ''Why in 
 thunder didn't you come right in ? Don't dare to say 
 that you have had your breakfast " And then he 
 caught sight of Fort's emaciated figure, and his eager 
 welcome died on his lips. " For God's sake, what 
 has happened to you, man ? " he asked in the tenderest 
 tones Homer had ever heard his hearty voice assume. 
 
 " K-nothing much," stammered Fort, moved al- 
 most to tears by the effect of his condition upon the 
 Captain. " W-wasn't it j-just my 1-luck, Captain 
 Gabe, to go through the fight without a scratch, and 
 then, j-just as I was c-crowing loudest, to come down 
 with y-yellow fever? No g-glory, no p-praises for 
 heroism just plain tough work all through, and 
 then a n-nasty, 1-1-low-down disease like this to lay me
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 221 
 
 out but I said I'd be here in August, and I g-got 
 here, Captain." 
 
 "By Gosh, so you did," sputtered the Captain. 
 " I knew you would, if you were alive, Homer. Can 
 you walk in to breakfast ? " 
 
 Oh, yes, I can w-walk," said Homer, "if 
 you'll lend me a hand now and then. You see," he 
 went on as Gabe supported him through the doorway 
 and down the shadowy hall, " the floor may appear to 
 be solid to you, but to me it is as full of waves as the 
 ocean, and about as stable. Thank you. Mrs. Shel- 
 ley, I am overjoyed to see you again. Miss Rose, 
 good-morning." 
 
 The two women rose hurriedly, suppressed their 
 exclamations of pity and tried to suppress as well the 
 emotion his condition aroused in them. He sank into 
 a chair and smiled at them whimsically, always game. 
 " Well," he drawled. " Why don't you comment on 
 my appearance ? You m-might tell me I have an in- 
 teresting 1-look, at least. I've always heard that men 
 with hollow cheeks and cadaverous eyes were called 
 interesting, and I've been trying hard to cultivate 
 that appearance. Anyway, I haven't a freckle left, 
 that's one comfort." 
 
 " Mr. Fort, how did this happen ? " It was Madge 
 who spoke. " You must have been very ill 
 wounded, perhaps." 
 
 " N-no," said Fort with a melancholy shake of his 
 head. "Nothing so lucky as that. Just yellow
 
 222 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 fever, and the insinuating beastly bacilli laid me out 
 as thoroughly as a bullet, only it took more time about 
 it. Gabe, I'm famished. Stand over me with a gun, 
 or I'll eat more than I'm allowed. I haven't seen a 
 waffle like that since I left Georgia. And peaches ? 
 Do you suppose a peach would hurt me, Mrs. Shel- 
 ley?" 
 
 Madge didn't know, but feared it might, so with 
 many regretful sighs Homer settled down to toast 
 and milk, and gave the others a respite from his talk 
 which had been designed to put them at their ease, 
 but had only served to impress them more deeply with 
 the seriousness of the illness through which he had 
 just passed. As he had said, he was ravenous, and 
 Madge had to restrain him, even to threaten that 
 Gabe should get that gun, and " stand over " with it. 
 But at last he had finished, and looked up with a 
 contented smile and such frank cheerful eyes, that the 
 hearts of all three ached for him far more than if he 
 had been peevish or complaining. 
 
 " You shall come straight to the Gallery," cried 
 Madge warmly. "We won't allow you out of the 
 hammock all day long." 
 
 " I am a well man, I assure you, Mrs. Shelley. I 
 have been discharged from the hospital at Siboney as 
 cured. I missed almost everything good about the 
 war," he continued plaintively when at last he lay 
 ensconced in the hammock, with Madge hovering 
 about him, and Gabe and Eose sitting near. " First
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 223 
 
 I missed San Juan and El Caney, "because I was de- 
 tailed to carry messages between El Poso and Sib- 
 oney. Then I was hurried to the front to help guard 
 the places the other men had taken. And just as we 
 were about ready to march into Santiago with colors 
 flying, then I had to come down with the yellow 
 fever." 
 
 " And I suppose all the time you were working 
 like a Trojan among the poor fellows already sick 
 with it, or you wouldn't have gotten it," interrupted 
 Gabe suddenly. It was what he would have done, 
 and by his own nature he translated Homer. (The 
 pun was his own, which he took delight in spring- 
 ing.) 
 
 " I couldn't do much," disclaimed Homer mod- 
 estly, turning his sallow face toward Gabe. " By the 
 way, I did meet up with a friend of yours who was 
 wounded at El Caney the fellow who helped Miss 
 Kose to save your life " 
 
 " You mean Tom Blankenship ? " 
 
 "Yes, that's the man. They gave him up for 
 dead, but finally they decided to operate, and I don't 
 know whether he lived or not. He talked a lot about 
 Miss Eose and wished to know if I thought she'd for- 
 give him. I told him I hadn't any doubt she would, 
 from what I knew about her. I suppose he was de- 
 lirious, and fancied he had offended you, eh, Miss 
 Eose?" 
 
 Eose looked up with eager interest. Her heart
 
 224 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 softened toward Tom at the news that in his extrem- 
 ity he had sent her such a message. But now another 
 idea burst upon her. 
 
 " You were the man who saved him, weren't you ? 
 He's here and getting well. He told me about some 
 one who said it was a shame to let him die, and went 
 and persuaded a surgeon to give him a chance for 
 life. That was splendid of you, Mr. Fort." 
 
 All the blood in Fort's thin body seemed to settle 
 in his cheeks. " I didn't know he took in what was 
 going on, or I would have held my tongue about him," 
 he muttered. " The fellow was so fine about it all 
 that I just had to help him. Any one else would have 
 done just as I did. I'm glad to know he lived, and 
 bears me no malice for all the extra suffering I put 
 him to." 
 
 His hearers laughed. Just then a queer old-fash- 
 ioned little woman appeared in the doorway, dressed 
 in spotted calico, and holding in her arms a crowing, 
 laughing baby. " He's awake, Miss Eose," said this 
 lady. 
 
 " Why, Mrs. Gray ! " cried the girl, springing to 
 her feet. " You know you should not lift that heavy 
 child. You aren't strong enough." 
 
 Yielding her burden to Eose, the odd little 
 woman bobbed a courtesy and disappeared. Eose 
 cooed to the youngster, who gurgled in reply, and set- 
 tled herself in a big rocker with him upon her lap. 
 He was not contented, however, but clutched the col-
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 225 
 
 lar of her gown and pulled himself up until he stood 
 upon his bare pink feet. 
 
 " Isn't he a buster ? " she exclaimed, turning her 
 bright eyes to Homer, for his approval of this Her- 
 culean effort on the part of " li'l Tawm." 
 
 " I haven't the honor of the gentleman's acquaint- 
 ance," said Homer lazily. " But I don't know when 
 I've seen a chap whose looks I've envied more. He 
 is positively fat." 
 
 (< He is the baby of a friend of mine," explained 
 Eose ambiguously. " The old lady is his grandma. 
 Now I've got to give him his bath and get his milk 
 ready, haven't I, Sport ? Show Mr. Fort how much 
 you love Aunt Eose." 
 
 The baby put his rosy face to her pink cheek and 
 grasped her hair. " Ouch ! " she cried. " Let go ! " 
 
 But when she attempted to free the clinging fingers, 
 they grabbed in deeper, and the whole mass of her 
 glorious hair came tumbling about her face. " Li'l 
 Tawm " chuckled with delight at this, and pulled with 
 all his sturdy ;might. Eose laughed. " Oh, you 
 rascal," she cried. " You little, precious, rascal ! " 
 And with a pretended shake, she lifted him and car- 
 ried him into the house. 
 
 " She loves that baby, Homer," said Gabe. 
 
 " He's a lucky fellow," said Homer. " Whose is 
 he?" 
 
 "Minnie Gray's?" 
 
 " Then the grandmother is the husband's mother ? "
 
 226 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 Gabe looked dismayed. " Now I've done it ! " he 
 exclaimed. <( I can't lie to you, Homer. She is 
 Minnie's own mother." 
 
 " Is Minnie er divorced ? " 
 
 "Look here, Homer," said Gabe with a comical 
 look of chagrin. " I can keep a secret pretty well 
 when it comes to outsiders, but you'll be a member of 
 our household for some days to come, and will see 
 some things you might not understand. So I think 
 I'd better make a clean breast of the whole story to 
 you. I like you well enough to believe that you will 
 understand and won't be prejudiced against Minnie. 
 I'm an old blunderer, ain't I, Madge ? " 
 
 " Not a bit of it," retorted Madge loyally. " I 
 myself think that Mr. Fort had better be taken into 
 your confidence. Now I will go out to the kitchen to 
 give my orders for the day, so this is your best chance. 
 I wouldn't let on to Rose that you have told him, 
 Gabe. She is so intense in her partisanship, and she 
 is so afraid that Minnie will be condemned you 
 know." 
 
 " I know," answered Gabe. Madge departed, and 
 he proceeded to give the details, all that he knew and 
 some that he could guess, concerning Tom and Min- 
 nie, and the part Eose had played in the matter. " I 
 shouldn't have spoken so frankly, Homer," he fin- 
 ished. " If I didn't count you as our friend. I trust 
 my friends. Besides you saved his life in Cuba for 
 Minnie, and it begins to look as though she were
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 227 
 
 going to win him. Since you have had a finger in 
 the pie, you might as well be allowed a peep beneath 
 the crust." 
 
 Homer looked thoughtfully up at the vines, through 
 which the blue sky glimmered. " I'm not sure," he 
 said at last, " that I'd want the girl to marry such a 
 man." 
 
 " Under the circumstances it is the only thing for 
 her to do," declared Gabe vigorously. " There's the 
 boy." 
 
 " He has some claim to consideration, I will admit. 
 But the man is a sad rascal. If I had known this in 
 Cuba, I'd have been tempted to let him alone." 
 
 " No, you wouldn't, either," retorted Gabe confi- 
 dently. "Being what you are, you just couldn't, 
 Homer Fort. I sized you up as a fellow who has al- 
 ways kept pretty straight isn't that so ? Yes, 
 that's what I supposed," he continued as Homer 
 nodded. 
 
 " Well, then, it is probably hard for you to compre- 
 hend the complex nature of that type of humanity 
 which we wrongly call a ' Southern gentleman.' 
 Tom's environment and ideals have been different 
 from yours for generations back. His father and his 
 grandfather were slave-owners. The lax morality of 
 the average slave-owner permeated them, and through 
 them, Tom. There are men like him in the North, 
 whose ancestry is just as much responsible. But at 
 heart Tom is a fine fellow, with warm, albeit some-
 
 228 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 what promiscuous affections. He has been taught 
 to consider himself first, and his peculiar idea of 
 honor is a high and very real one. He demands 
 everything from his own class of women, and would 
 kill the man that wronged one, while he scorns all 
 other classes, and regards the ruin of one of them as a 
 joke, something to be laughed over at the Club, and 
 something which it was rather smart of him to have 
 accomplished than otherwise. Eose has hit upon the 
 only possible way to wake him up, and I believe she is 
 going to do it." 
 
 " I hope so, but I have my doubts," said Homer. 
 " Thank you for telling me the story, anyway. I 
 shall be interested in how it all turns out. How are 
 the peaches, Gabe?" 
 
 " Simply great," said Gabe enthusiastically. 
 " I'll bring you up some samples of the coming crop. 
 And if you say the word I'll set the men to work to- 
 morrow. The Crawfords will soon be too ripe for 
 shipment almost that now, unless you have a quick 
 sale for them in Chicago." 
 
 " I have," declared Homer. " They have written 
 me to hurry the fruit along. The quicker you get it 
 off, the better. I will be fit enough as soon as I am 
 over the fatigue of the journey here, and then I'll go 
 over the orchards with you. How's politics ? " 
 
 "Nothing doing, since Tom stepped out," said 
 Gabe regretfully. "I rule the county now, and
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 229 
 
 everything is orderly and consequently dull. Heard 
 anything about my hotel ? " 
 
 " No. What about it ? " 
 
 "Oh, nothing," Gabe chuckled. "I've a good 
 mind to tell you all about that, too, but I reckon I'd 
 better not," he continued. " Rose is wild with curi- 
 osity, and it wouldn't be fair to tell any one else 
 first." 
 
 " You make me curious," smiled Homer. " It 
 isn't a hotel, then ? " 
 
 " They call it that, and so I let 'em," said Gabe. 
 " I've bought a tract of land from Mrs. Gray and 
 I'm putting up a fair-sized building on it laying 
 roads, and planting shrubs and flowers and a garden. 
 Rose is helping me, and Madge, bless her, has put her 
 all into the project. I doubt if I could have planned 
 it yet, without her." 
 
 " Are you keeping its object a secret ? " 
 
 " I am getting on in years, Homer," stated Gabe. 
 " And while I feel as young as ever, it may be due to 
 my age that I like to surprise people. Every one, 
 even Eose, has settled it that I am going into the sum- 
 mer-resort business, so I let 'em talk, and I say noth- 
 ing, one way or the other. Talk never hurt any- 
 body, Homer. When the time comes, I'll show my 
 hand, and then stand by and enjoy the effect. Now 
 I guess I've talked you blind and deaf, and it's time 
 for me to go to the office. Here comes Uncle Jack,
 
 230 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 with my horse. He's a regular clock. Well, Jack, 
 did you get religion all over again at the revival last 
 night ? Here is Mr. Fort come back again. Don't 
 you know him ? " 
 
 " I knows what's lef ' ob him, suh," said Jack with 
 a broad grin. The news of Homer's coming had been 
 carried to his ears long ago. " I hope you-all is tol- 
 luble, suh? I'se tolluble, myse'f, thank yo' kin'ly." 
 
 " How about the revival ? " repeated Gabe. 
 
 " It was shuah some glorious meetin', suh," cried 
 Jack exultingly. " 'Mos' ever'body git happy, an' 
 fall on de no' an' writhe wid de inflooence ob de Holy 
 Ghos'. Myse'f," he continued, scratching his woolly 
 head. " I doan't eber git happy lak dat ar. I doan't 
 ezackly onderstan' huccome it is dat I doan't I jus' 
 doan't, dat's all. I say de alphumbet baccards, an' 
 de Lawd's prayer thew an' thew, an' I can't flop to 
 save my soul. But I kin make de res' do it, so mebbe 
 dat am my share ob de blessin'." 
 
 " Maybe the spirit is with you all the time," sug- 
 gested Homer. " Therefore you don't go through the 
 agony of getting it now and then. Perhaps you did 
 your flopping when you were a baby." 
 
 "Dat mus' be it," said Jack, his face clearing. 
 "I'se mighty obleeged to you foh de suggestion!. 
 Maw, she often tell me how pernickety I use' to be. 
 Reckon she'll bress Gawd when I tells her it wuz de 
 Holy Ghos', 'stead ob de debbil, which las' she has 
 allus allowed it wuz befo'. Good-mawnin', boss.
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 231 
 
 Good-mawnin', Mistuh Fo't. Hopes to see you-all 
 lookin' mo' peart right soon. Good-mawnin'." 
 
 The old negro returned the way he had come, and 
 Fort looked on while Madge came out to give Gabe his 
 farewell kiss. She was very sweet this morning in a 
 dress of softest pink, and now she turned to Homer 
 with a smile. 
 
 " I'm going to get you an egg-nog, and you shall 
 have to drink every drop. And then I will put up 
 the screen to shade your eyes, and after that I will 
 read you to sleep." 
 
 " You are too good," protested Homer. " I shall 
 be horribly spoilt, but the process is so pleasant that 
 I don't mind a bit." 
 
 A half-hour later, Rose, coming softly out, sur- 
 prised them on the Gallery. Homer lay half asleep 
 in the hammock, listening while Madge went through 
 the pages of a popular magazine. They were both so 
 absorbed that the girl stole quietly away, without 
 disturbing them. 
 
 Her slightly suspicious attitude towards Madge 
 was now revived, and strengthened by a queer rebel- 
 lious sensation of which she did not know the mean- 
 ing. She felt that Madge should have been busy in 
 the house, and that it was her place to be caring for 
 the semi-invalid. Her heart was stirred with pity 
 and with admiration for Homer Fort. Like Gabe 
 she had been quick to see the real heroism which lay 
 behind his modest statements, and she liked his re-
 
 222 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 fusal to brag about what he had done. This was in 
 accordance with her idea of a man. 
 
 But all the same her old indignation returned at 
 his ingenuous possession of Madge. She had argued 
 with him once upon this subject. Why couldn't he 
 have realized how much better it would have been had 
 she, Rose, been the one to read to him ? 
 
 Why couldn't Madge have realized this, too ?
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 IT was an endless task to pick the Captain's 
 peaches, or so said the laborers to one another 
 while they worked, for he possessed an eye that 
 missed no slightest negligence on the part of his em- 
 ployees. He was here and there and everywhere, and 
 not a speck upon a peach escaped him. The imper- 
 fect ones were laid aside for quick sale to canneries 
 in Georgia. Only the perfect fruit was put in crates 
 for the Chicago market. And every peach must be 
 handled just so carefully, and placed just so par- 
 ticularly among its fellows, or else the picker received 
 a sound berating, and sometimes a dismissal. 
 
 There is nothing like the odor of a peach orchard at 
 harvest tima If it is lovely in the spring, with a 
 fairylike scent and beauty, it is lovelier when all its 
 promise is fulfilled and substantial to the taste and 
 smell. The pink-clad branches are more graceful 
 than the heavy-laden ones, but they lack the bountiful 
 richness of the latter. Nature becoming pregnant is 
 mysterious and alluring, but only in the completion 
 of her time and in the yielding of her fruit, does she 
 climb to heights which inspire and overjoy. Those 
 
 233
 
 234 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 who have helped to gather a harvest, know the su- 
 preme delight of it, and the sense of exaltation which 
 takes possession of them in the apparent drudgery of 
 the garnering. 
 
 A few days after Homer's coming, he announced 
 himself entirely rested and quite strong enough to go 
 down to the orchard. Leaning on Gabe's strong arm 
 he made the trip slowly, and with many pauses to ex- 
 claim at the wonder of the crop. 
 
 " I thinned the fruit unsparingly," said Gabe. " I 
 didn't leave two peaches anywhere within four inches 
 of each other. I've kept the trees low, so it is easy 
 picking, but those damned niggers need constant 
 watching, or they'd spoil half the crop for me. Every 
 penny I make out of this sale goes into my Hotel, 
 Homer." 
 
 " Is it for summer boarders, Gabe ? " teased 
 Homer. 
 
 " Summer boarders and winter boarders, too," 
 chuckled Gabe. " Ain't that so, Rose ? " he called 
 over his shoulder to his daughter who was following 
 with Madge and Uncle Jack, the latter bearing " li'l 
 Tawm," an honor which made him perspire unduly. 
 
 " I've heard you say so, but I don't know a thing 
 about it, really," pouted Rose. " I don't think you 
 treat me fairly to be so mysterious, especially as I am 
 writing all your letters for you and fairly taking 
 charge of the building, while you are so busy here." 
 
 " That's so," said Gabe. " And I'm a cruel par-
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF. GEORGIA 235 
 
 ent. All the same I won't be done out of my sur- 
 prise. Now here's a good place for you folks to sit. 
 Hurry, Jack, and fetch more cushions." 
 
 " I don't want any," said Kose. " Here is a 
 blanket for the baby." 
 
 She unfolded a shawl she had carried on her arm 
 and spread it out upon the grass. But the moment 
 "li'l Tawm" was placed upon it, he developed a 
 strenuous desire to walk over the edge, and Madge and 
 Homer were constrained to offer their help to Rose 
 in keeping the young rascal within bounds. 
 
 " We'll each take a side," laughed Homer. " It'll 
 be a sort of game, with the baby as a large-sized, ani- 
 mated ball. Gabe, can't you guard the fourth side ? " 
 
 This the Captain agreed to do, and the four had a 
 lively time with their prisoner, who enjoyed being 
 headed off as much as anybody. But Gabe could not 
 stand leaving the pickers long to their own devices, so 
 he indulged in hurried trips about, always returning 
 with another peach for them to sample, and being 
 much crestfallen if they failed to go into proper 
 ecstasies over it. 
 
 The baby tired of the fun at last, and went to sleep 
 with his head in Eose's lap. She turned thoughtful, 
 musing upon the scene, with wide dark eyes and 
 serious face. 
 
 " What is it ? " asked Homer, tossing her a peach. 
 
 She caught it with a smile, and set her white teeth 
 into its luscious depths. " I was just thinking," she
 
 236 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 explained, when the mouthful was consumed. " I 
 was thinking of Cuba and the horrors there. It all 
 seems like a dream. And I was wondering how it 
 would be if this pleasant land of ours should be in- 
 vaded. All this beauty would be blasted. These 
 trees, the result of years of care, would be cut down 
 ruthlessly" 
 
 " Don't talk so, Rose," shivered Madge. " Let's 
 just be thankful that peace has come so soon. It has 
 been bad enough, but it might have been so much 
 worse." 
 
 " That is true," asserted Homer. " In history, as 
 wars go, this Spanish-American War of ours will not 
 amount to much. Yet it took a fearful toll of the 
 brave boys who went to Cuba, and is still taking it in 
 the shape of sickness and privation, both there and 
 in our camps at home. The whole thing was mis- 
 managed from the very start. I heard one of the 
 fellows say, while we waited in front of Santiago, 
 ' Pshaw ! Let's go back home and start all over again/ 
 A good many of the rest of us felt that same way." 
 
 " Is that really so ? From the newspapers one can 
 never tell how much is talk and how much is fact." 
 
 "You may be sure of this," responded Homer, 
 rousing to energy. "The newspapers were not al- 
 lowed to divulge the real state of the case. Only the 
 soldiers themselves know what they suffered, and they 
 are too proud to spread it broadcast. If ever we go 
 into another war, I hope to God we'll be better pre-
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 237 
 
 pared than we were for this. And another thing, I 
 hope politics will be kept out of it. Men shouldn't 
 be appointed through their 'pull/ to care for an 
 army of soldiers and recruits. Such fellows bungle 
 the job beyond repair. 
 
 " The trouble with us Americans is that we've got 
 such swelled heads," he complained. " Take that 
 word, ' American/ for instance. We have grabbed it 
 for ourselves, so that the average citizen of the United 
 States considers the South American a foreigner, with 
 no right to this appellation. Folks who live in 
 Canada are called Canadians. Brazil inhabitants are 
 Brazilians. But there's no such word as ' United 
 Statian.' We are ' Americans/ if you please. Like 
 little Jack Homer, we sit in our particular corner, 
 with the plum of our democracy on our little thumb, 
 and invite the whole world to witness what a big boy 
 we are. Then we get properly slapped in the face, 
 and we start to wipe out the fellow who slapped us. 
 But while we have been busy feeding up on Christ- 
 mas pie, the others have been hardening their muscles. 
 We've got the thing all wrong, and we will always 
 have it wrong, I am afraid, until some other country 
 comes along and beats us good and plenty." 
 
 " I thought you didn't believe in war, Mr. Fort," 
 said Madge gently. " Yet you sound as if you'd like 
 to see us prepare for it." 
 
 " So I should," answered Homer stoutly. " Yet 
 I don't believe in war. More than ever now, since
 
 238 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 I've been in the field, and seen something of its hor- 
 rors. Miss Rose, you were in Cuba. In the hos- 
 pitals you saw a moiety of the suffering which went 
 on in the battles themselves. Wasn't that enough to 
 make you realize that war is hell ? " 
 
 " It was," agreed Eose. " And I too believe that 
 we should be prepared. Then at least some of the 
 more cruel aspects would be eliminated. So many 
 lives need never have been lost, to accomplish the 
 selfsame ends " 
 
 " That's so," interrupted Gabe, coming up behind 
 them. " Eose thinks as you and I do, Homer, and as 
 all earnest people must. If ever we have another war 
 I prophesy that we will not go into it with the same 
 reckless confidence that we exhibited in this. Our 
 women are waking to the fact that they pay the 
 heaviest toll of suffering right here at home. They 
 wouldn't be half so apt, again, to invite their sweet- 
 hearts to be soldiers, and to cheer at the sight of a 
 uniform." 
 
 "It's a funny thing what you said about the 
 word l American,' " mused Eose, who had been turn- 
 ing over Homer's little speech. " It has just struck 
 me that some of the States have names for their peo- 
 ple, and some haven't. For instance we are Georg- 
 ians. There are Pennsylvanians, and Virginians, 
 and Californians. But there are no Massachusetts- 
 ians " 
 
 " Instead we have Bostonians, who think they rep-
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 239 
 
 resent the entire State, and Maniacs from Maine, and 
 pie-eaters from Connecticut " 
 
 " Or Michiganians, or or Illinoisians, and all 
 that sort of thing," continued the girl, frowning at 
 Homer's levity. " What do people from those States 
 call themselves, anyhow ? " 
 
 " They say proudly, ' I am from such and such 
 a State, and let it go at that," laughed Gabe. " Well, 
 Fort, how about a little walk over to the wagons? 
 I've got a barrel there for you to sit on, and I'd like 
 you to see how we handle the fruit." 
 
 " I'm game," said Homer, rising slowly from the 
 ground. 
 
 Rose and Madge, left alone with the sleeping child, 
 were silent for a space, each occupied with her own 
 thoughts. Then Rose spoke softly, for she had been 
 going over in her mind what had just been said of 
 war. 
 
 " If little Tom had to grow up to fine young man- 
 hood, just to be shot to pieces on a battlefield, would it 
 not seem a waste ? Yet, oh so many died who could 
 not have been much beyond twenty and almost all 
 had sweethearts, or wives, or mothers I believe I'd 
 rather he'd die now, than live for such an end." 
 
 " Poor ' Li'l Tawm,' " said Madge tenderly, giving 
 the words Minnie's drawling accent. " But it begins 
 to seem as though he might be lucky little Tom after 
 all. He is lucky now, for that matter, for he has 
 many to love him and to care for him. Rose, do you
 
 240 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 ever think of the homeless and worse than homeless 
 little ones? The children with drunken fathers, 
 widowed mothers, impoverished homes ? Those with 
 the brand of illegitimacy and those with that other 
 brand of vicious parenthood ? Do you ever think of 
 the poor little orphans in asylums, bound down to 
 rigid routine, trained not to think, and molded out of 
 all semblance to healthy, happy childhood ? " 
 
 " Of course I do," grieved Rose. " Who wouldn't I 
 Tom is lucky. Sometimes I think we have no right 
 to be so comfortable here at home. We ought to be 
 helping those not so fortunate, and especially the 
 children. Don't you agree with me ? " 
 
 "Yes, I do." 
 
 " Why don't you use Aunt Betty's money give 
 it to a home, or something ? " 
 
 " That is just what I won't do," declared Madge. 
 " I have no use for institutions as such. Neither has 
 Gabe. Besides, I have given him that money for his 
 ' Hotel.' " 
 
 Rose curled her lip scornfully. "An old hotel, 
 when little children needed it! Shame on you, 
 Madge ! But there ! For all I know, Father is build- 
 ing some kind of an institution forgive me for the 
 word, and for speaking as I did. His hotel can't be 
 any sort of an asylum, since you object to those, but 
 as the poor cannot be reached except through an 
 asylum, or through individual effort which is always 
 inadequate, I really do not see that you have any
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF. GEORGIA 241 
 
 solution for really worth-while philanthropy. So 
 what's the use? Why, hello, Minnie! You don't 
 mean to say that you've come back for good ! " 
 
 Madge started and followed Hose's eyes. Mrs. 
 Kemp, now simply Minnie Gray again, was coming 
 across the tall orchard grass toward them. She had 
 hidden her nurse's dress under a long linen coat, and 
 carried a suit-case, which, in her excitement, she had 
 forgotten to leave at the house. She was flushed and 
 breathless, triumphant and yet tremulous, so ridden 
 by her state of mind that at first she was unable to 
 speak. 
 
 She sank down between her two astonished friends, 
 without a word of greeting, and laid her hot face upon 
 " li'l Tawm's " sturdy body. He opened his sleepy 
 eyes and favored her with a beatific smile, at which 
 she caught him to her breast and kissed him hungrily. 
 Holding him so, she looked at Madge and Eose. 
 
 " Yes, I've come back for good," she announced 
 with a catch in her voice. " As soon as possible I 
 must go home with Mother. Up there in the hills I'll 
 wait, with the forests and the great wide spaces to 
 teach me patience." 
 
 " Then Tom has said nothing definite " 
 
 Minnie laughed wildly. " He has been very defi- 
 nite. He loves Mrs. Kemp. He despises Minnie 
 Gray. How was it, Eose, that when your father 
 brought that poor down-trodden creature home, you 
 and Madge did not turn from her in disgust ? "
 
 242 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 "Why, Minnie, you are not like yourself at all. 
 There was nothing about you then to inspire anything 
 but tenderness and pity." 
 
 " Pity ! Ah, yes. That is something to which I 
 am still entitled I and <li'l Tawm.' To Tom 
 Blankenship we both are loathesome. I am afraid 
 horribly afraid " 
 
 " Minnie, what has happened ? Calm yourself and 
 tell me all about it," ordered Rose. 
 
 " I told him what he must do to win Mrs. Kemp, 
 that's all," said Minnie. " It was the same thing you 
 had told him, long before. He knows that Mrs. 
 Kemp shares your opinion, takes your stand, and de- 
 mands the self -same things. It is all up to him now 
 it is all up to him."
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 WHAT did Tom Blankenship know, which 
 had driven Minnie to desert him before 
 he had sufficiently recovered no longer to 
 need her care ? Let ns return and gather the thread 
 of their relations up to this same August morning, 
 when something definite occurred which forced Min- 
 nie to snap it hurriedly in twain. 
 
 It may seem strange that Tom did not at once 
 identify Mrs. Kemp with Minnie Gray, when his 
 sight returned to him. But consideration will re- 
 veal the reasons for this failure on his part. Over 
 two years had passed since he last saw the little moun- 
 tain girl. At that time she was only seventeen years 
 old, and thin with the awkward angularity of youth. 
 She seemed all hands and feet. Her hair, too, was 
 rough and uncared for, and burnt by the mountain 
 sun. She wore it strained tightly back from her 
 childish face. Her eyes then possessed the rumina- 
 tive qualities of a brown-orbed mountain heifer's, and 
 character had yet to be developed in her. She was 
 browned by sun and wind, coarsened by unceasing 
 toil, and yet sufficiently pretty in spite of everything 
 to rouse his momentary interest. So slight had been 
 243
 
 244 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 the attention he paid her, that since he left her he 
 had scarcely given her a thought until Rose forced 
 him to it. 
 
 Between his memory picture and Mrs. Kemp lay 
 an abyss so deep that no effort on his part could pos- 
 sibly have bridged it. In reaching motherhood Min- 
 nie had reached maturity, and though still slender, 
 she had rounded. Her seclusion before and after the 
 birth of " li'l Tawm " had bleached her skin, and re- 
 stored her hair to its original glossy tints. Her 
 suffering had molded her and given her strength and 
 poise. Under Rose's tutelage, her carriage had be- 
 come graceful, her hands soft and well-cared for, and 
 she had quickly acquired a veneer of culture that was 
 now becoming part of her very self. She was quite 
 unmistakably " a lady," which Minnie had not been. 
 She was moreover interesting, mysterious, alluring 
 all qualities foreign to the ignorant girl of seven- 
 teen. Even if Tom had recognized that the elusive 
 likeness which Mrs. Kemp bore to some one he had 
 known before, was a likeness to the girl he had 
 wronged, he would have counted it an insult to his 
 nurse to make such a comparison. It is safe to say 
 that the two entirely distinct personalities were never 
 associated by him. They lay as far apart as the 
 poles. 
 
 After the scene between himself and Mrs. Kemp, 
 in which he finally promised to be good, relations 
 were strained between them. Mrs. Kemp attempted
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 245 
 
 to act as though it had never been, and at first she 
 succeeded admirably. But what could she say or do 
 to combat those beseeching eyes of Tom's, which fol- 
 lowed her about the room and spoke as eloquently of 
 his love as any words he could have voiced ? In spite 
 of herself she became silent and embarrassed, avoid- 
 ing his gaze and absenting herself as frequently as 
 possible. This last made Tom feel injured. He 
 was amused at her embarrassment, and took pleasure 
 in increasing it by throwing into his expression all he 
 could of the worship he dared not speak. But her 
 absence was a weapon he could not combat. During 
 its lengthening intervals, he had time to foresee what 
 he must soon endure without her, and to wonder if 
 he did well to be obedient. 
 
 Another thing, fear haunted him lest Rose betray 
 him. He knew the girls met often, and in spite of 
 his confident assertion that Mrs. Kemp would believe 
 him, he grew more and more to feel that she would 
 incline to take the stand Eose had adopted. He be- 
 gan dimly to realize that this was the only possible 
 stand for a modern intelligent woman, and to per- 
 ceive that his respect for Mrs. Kemp would decrease 
 if she did not take it. But he hoped she would not, 
 while he trembled lest she would. 
 
 What was the barrier between them, of which she 
 spoke so positively? Was it on her side? If so, 
 then he must know what it was, and meet it face to 
 face, or else how could he hope to vanquish it 2 So
 
 246 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 
 
 he bolstered up his courage and sought an oppor- 
 tunity. 
 
 It came unexpectedly, as such opportunities usually 
 do, and on this very morning which the Shelleys spent 
 with their guest in the peach orchard, watching the 
 picking of the fruit. The day was sunny, but, with 
 carefully shaded eyes, Tom had been helped out upon 
 the awninged Gallery to which the long French win- 
 dows of his room gave access. Meanwhile Mrs. 
 Kemp and Mrs. Smith " turned out " his bed to air, 
 and gave the large chamber a vigorous cleaning. 
 Xathan washed windows and beat rugs, and ran 
 errands, with his usual good-nature, and Tom, safe 
 from all the bustle and confusion, yet near enough 
 to listen and look on, by turns made the two women 
 laugh or scold at his multifarious orders. 
 
 " Don't you touch the inside of the bureau, any- 
 how," he called. " I have everything just as I like in 
 there, and nothing must be disturbed." 
 
 " It has already been done," responded Mrs. Kemp 
 from within. " Things may not be where you like 
 them, but they are where you can find them, which is 
 much preferable, I think." 
 
 " Well, you leave my desk alone," he growled. 
 te My private papers " 
 
 " Love-letters ? " she mocked. " I promise you I'll 
 be discreet and not read one." 
 
 " You can give ISTathan those things in the corner 
 of the wardrobe," he further ordered. " I suspect
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 247 
 
 he's been wearing 'em, anyhow, and he might as well 
 do it openly as on the sly. I reckon I'd better 
 part with all my clothes, for I'll be so thin I can't 
 wear 'em." 
 
 " We'll fatten you, so don't get discouraged yet," 
 retorted Mrs. Kemp. " Are these the ones you 
 mean ? " She came to the window with an armful of 
 tailored garments. 
 
 " Those are the ones. Here you, Nathan, come 
 here." 
 
 " Fer de Lawd's sake, boss," stammered the colored 
 boy guiltily, when he came through the window and 
 saw the pile of clothes. " W-whut you want wid 
 me?" 
 
 " See those clothes ? " 
 
 "Yassuh! Y-yassuh! I see 'em! But I swar 
 to Gawd, boss, it's de fust time I'se took a look at 'em, 
 sence you wore 'em las'. I s-swar to G-Gawd it is ! " 
 
 "Who said it wasn't? Do you think they'll fit 
 you ? " asked Tom carelessly. 
 
 Cunning dawned in Nathan's eyes. He now per- 
 ceived that he was not to be accused, but to receive a 
 gift. That changed everything. 
 
 " Co'se dey'll fit me," he said proudly. " Specially 
 dat black Prince Abbut. It goes on lak it wuz made 
 f o' me, boss, dat it do. Ca'line dat's my gal, boss 
 she say I looks so good in dat ar coat dat she 
 bleeged ter say ( Yes ' when I propose to her wid it
 
 248 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 " When will you be married ? " asked Mrs. Kemp 
 with a twinkle. 
 
 " Nex' Sunday, ma'am. Thank you kin'ly, boss. 
 Dis'll make a scrumptious weddin' outfit fer me 
 better trueso dan whut Ca'line has got fer her own 
 se'f. Thank you, thank you, boss." 
 
 Nathan's gratitude was wordy, and occupied the 
 foreground until Tom ordered him to shut up and get 
 out. The housekeeper now came through the window 
 with an armful of cushions, and while she beat and 
 dusted them, she gave minute particulars of last 
 Sunday's sermon, and rendered Tom quite desperate. 
 He sandwiched orders in about every possible or im- 
 possible thing, and listened for Mrs. Kemp's musical 
 comments or replies. 
 
 At last the cleaning was over and the housekeeper 
 and Nathan departed to see about the lunch. Tom 
 called softly, but received no answer. Mrs. Kemp 
 must have gone, too. He wanted to get inside now, 
 for it was growing hot under the awning, so, after 
 waiting patiently for a reply and getting none, he 
 gathered his courage together, resolved to make an 
 attempt to enter without help, and rose feebly from 
 his chair. 
 
 It was hard work that journey all alone. But 
 from the support of his chair back, he reached for 
 and grasped the shutter, and then the window-frame. 
 Holding on desperately, he urged his body over the 
 sill. There the table was handy and he reached it
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 249 
 
 breathlessly, pausing to lean upon it while he gained 
 strength to proceed into the room. As he looked 
 about he saw Mrs. Kemp beside his desk. 
 
 She had heard neither his call nor entrance. She 
 was holding a photograph of his which had been taken 
 a couple of years before, and which displayed him as 
 he had then appeared in all his arrogant and manly 
 beauty. So absorbed was she in its contemplation 
 that, holding on by chairs, by the bed, by anything 
 that might serve to help him, he went softly toward 
 her and was almost at her side when he noted sud- 
 denly that her eyes were wistful and full of tears. 
 As he paused uncertainly, she spoke in a half whis- 
 per, to the portrait in her hand. 
 
 " I love you. Oh, I do love you," she murmured 
 yearningly. 
 
 He gave a cry of triumph, she an exclamation of 
 surprise. But before she could replace the picture 
 or ward him off, or say one single word in explana- 
 tion, he had his arms about her and was planting 
 burning kisses on her lips. " You darling ! " he 
 whispered. "You darling! You cannot evade me 
 any longer, for I heard you say you love me. You 
 belong to me now, do you understand ? " 
 
 At first she made no effort to resist him. Indeed 
 her own lips answered his hungrily, and her arms 
 stole round his neck. But when his first transports 
 were over, and she felt him stagger with sudden weak- 
 ness, she was quick to seize her advantage and to
 
 250 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 force him into a chair. Then, cheeks still aflame 
 with the fire of his kisses, she faced him. 
 
 " Of course you know the result of this madness on 
 your part," she panted. 
 
 " That you are mine now, and will soon be my 
 wife!" 
 
 " No, never ! The result is this that I must 
 leave you." 
 
 "Are you crazy?" 
 
 " I wish I were," she mourned. " If I were, then 
 indeed I might yield to you. But I am most hope- 
 lessly sane, and there is nothing before us but re- 
 nunciation." 
 
 " Say that you love me," he besought with wily 
 eyes. 
 
 " I do love you. But " 
 
 " And I love you. What matters besides those 
 facts?" 
 
 " Eight matters," she said firmly. " You had no 
 right to take me in your arms or kiss my lips. You 
 had no right, Mr. Blankenship." 
 
 " I had the best of right, after what I had just 
 heard you say," he boasted. "What greater could 
 there be than that 3 " 
 
 " The right of honesty," she retorted. " You have 
 not been honest with me, nor I with you. Love can- 
 not last that is based upon deception. I would only 
 lose respect for you and for myself if I allowed myself 
 to be conquered by it. You heard me say I loved you,
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 251 
 
 but that meant nothing. I can control that love and 
 live it down. I shall never let it control me 
 again." 
 
 The last word was so low he missed it. Intent 
 upon making her surrender, he bent frowning brows 
 upon her. 
 
 " Deception ? " he repeated. " What deception ? " 
 
 " Is there nothing you have kept from me, Mr. 
 Blankenship ? Have you been entirely frank 
 with me ? " 
 
 " Why not ? " he parried lightly. " Is it your idea 
 that I should hold up my whole past life for your in- 
 spection ? I have asked you no questions. I am en- 
 tirely willing to take you on trust. My love would 
 turn a deaf ear to anything that might be said against 
 you. Forgive my plain speech, for of course there 
 could be nothing said. I am just trying to convince 
 you. Should you not be as generous, and show as 
 sturdy a belief in me ? I think you should. Come 
 to me, dear, and let me kiss away your doubts ? " 
 
 But she stood quietly before him, her hands clasped 
 tightly and her eyes wide with pain. Although he 
 held out his arms pleadingly, she made no move to 
 enter them. 
 
 " You are not fair to me," she said at last. " You 
 have me at a disadvantage, but I am resolute. I have 
 suffered much in my life, and I know that happiness 
 is not possible for us unless I share your confidence. 
 I should have much preferred to have you tell me
 
 252 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 what I am obliged to tell you that the barrier of 
 which I spoke is of your own making. I know " 
 
 n What ? What do you know ? " 
 
 " I know the story " 
 
 "Yes, yes! Goon!" 
 
 "The story of Minnie Gray." 
 
 His eyes flamed fire with rage. " Ah ! " he ex- 
 claimed between his teeth, striking a clenched fist 
 upon his knee. " I might have known that Rose 
 would not keep faith with me. Damn her for a mis- 
 chief-making, meddling " 
 
 " Stop ! Before you say what I could never 
 forgive," she interposed with steady eyes. " It is 
 true that Eose and I have discussed this subject, but 
 not until I had first told her that I knew you were the 
 father of Minnie's baby I learned it from a source 
 quite different from any you could guess." 
 
 " I don't believe you. It was Rose who told you. 
 Who else could it have been ? And now I swear that 
 she shall pay for it " 
 
 " I am speaking the absolute truth. Rose is not 
 responsible for my knowledge of this." 
 
 " Then Madge Shelley, or Captain Gabe " 
 
 " !Not one of them betrayed you, though to my 
 thinking it would not be betrayal. Tom Blanken- 
 ship, if I had been ignorant of this, and in my igno- 
 rance I had consented to marry you don't you un- 
 derstand that they would not have been true friends 
 to me unless they warned me ? "
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 253 
 
 " That's what they've made you think," he snzered. 
 " But I say that the past is closed and done with. 
 Minnie Gray is not worthy your commiseration. I 
 have been indiscreet, but no more so than other men 
 who are still bachelors at thirty-six. I will be faith- 
 ful and loyal to you more faithful and more loyal 
 than a less experienced man cduld ever be. You see 
 I know the difference between gold and dross. I'll 
 never fail you, dear." 
 
 "What you might be to me is not the question., 
 Minnie has a son whose rights demand considera- 
 tion." 
 
 " I suppose you saw the woman and her brat at the 
 Shelleys' ? " 
 
 " Perhaps." 
 
 " And you took her word, as Hose did, that the child 
 was mine ? Why ? Why do you good white-minded 
 women at once assume that one man alone is re- 
 sponsible for a situation like this vicious girl's? 
 You decide everything by your own virtuous point of 
 view, and prattle of love as part of such lives as hers. 
 You don't know what you are talking about ! " 
 
 She was white to the lips. " I do know what I am 
 talking about," she repeated quietly. " It is you 
 who are unjust and unfair, Mr. Blankenship, and 
 while you hold one member of my sex in such con- 
 tempt, I should fear, indeed, to trust myself in your 
 keeping. You make the mistake of differentiating 
 between woman and women. Of woman you sound
 
 254 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 the praises. Women you scorn. I won't sink to 
 your level. Any argument you may advance is use- 
 less. I have made up my mind irrevocably, and I 
 tell you finally that unless you make full and honor- 
 able amends to Minnie Gray, Mrs. Kemp will never 
 marry you." 
 
 He laughed bitterly. "You speak in paradoxes. 
 If I make full amends to Minnie, it means marriage, 
 according to Rose Shelley. If I marry her, how can 
 I marry you? Friendship is not possible between 
 us two, so in any case I should have to part from you. 
 This I will not do. I once thought I loved Rose, and 
 in the suffering to which her scorn condemned me, I 
 had a foretaste of the hell into which I must descend 
 if I lose you. It is more than you have any right 
 to demand. I'll have you yet, at any cost." 
 
 "Then marry Minnie," she besought him. 
 " Marry Minnie Gray." 
 
 " And lose you ? No, by Heaven ! " 
 
 " Marry her and make me happy ! " 
 
 " Make you miserable, you mean. No ! " 
 
 11 Marry her and save yourself and me ! " 
 
 " And damn us both ? No, no ! " 
 
 She held out imploring hands. Like a child ask- 
 ing a wanted toy, she murmured beseechingly, 
 "Please! For my sake!" 
 
 He rose from his chair more quickly than she had 
 thought him able, and started toward her. She did 
 not shrink from him. On the contrary she stretched
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 255 
 
 out her hands to meet his own, and lifted her face 
 courageously to his. This balked his passion. 
 Tenderly he kissed her. 
 
 " I don't even know your first name," he said sadly. 
 " I don't know where you live, or what your past life 
 has been. You speak of sorrow, and sometimes your 
 face is very sorrowful. Give me your confidence, my 
 darling, and see how understanding I shall be. I 
 love you so much that I never could condemn you." 
 
 " I'll tell you all my story, if you wish," she an- 
 swered readily. " But first you must offer marriage 
 to the woman you have wronged." 
 
 Her persistence stung him past endurance. Fling- 
 ing her off with sudden angry strength, he cried, 
 " Do you suppose that Minnie is the only woman I 
 have ' wronged ' ? " 
 
 Her eyes grew wild. "Don't say that," she 
 begged. " Don't say that ! Don't tell me that other 
 children look to you for fatherhood ! Don't say it ! " 
 And then, in the same breath, imploringly, " Tom, is 
 that true ? " 
 
 He shook his head, moved by her agony. " No, it 
 is not true. So far as I know Minnie is the only one 
 of her class whom I have made a mother. I'll do 
 anything you ask of me but marry her." 
 
 That is all I do ask." 
 
 " It is the one thing I will not do." 
 
 "Very well! Good-by, Mr. Blankenship." 
 
 " You mean that you will leave me ? "
 
 256 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 " I must Until you consent to do what I ask, I 
 cannot see you again. Good-by." 
 
 He started forward, but the room was dim. She 
 slipped aside, and was gone, even as he spoke her 
 name. He staggered over to the door and found it 
 locked. He pounded on it, and called Xathan. 
 
 But before the colored boy could answer his sum- 
 mons, she had crammed her things into her bag and 
 left the house. He knew her well enough to realize 
 that she would never return.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 TOM, left alone, gave way completely to the 
 sorrow and despair which now over- 
 whelmed him. He saw before him a future 
 bereft of everything to make it worth the living. 
 Her absence accomplished this, that it made him com' 
 prehend to the fullest just what she had come to 
 mean to him. At first he was desperate, physically 
 prone and mentally distraught. He could not think 
 connectedly, and the strides he had made toward 
 complete recovery were in danger of being all un- 
 done. He wanted to see no one but Mrs. Kemp, and 
 in his darkened room, which he locked against every 
 one but Xathan, he allowed his torment free rein, giv- 
 ing himself entirely over to its grinding pain. 
 
 Lying upon his couch with face turned to the wall, 
 he lived again through the hours he had spent with 
 her. He felt again those first mad kisses on her 
 lips, that somehow seemed like kisses he had given 
 her before, only so much more sweet and full of 
 ecstasy that there was no comparison between the 
 reality and that elusive haunting memory. Again 
 he felt her yield to his embrace, and grew intoxicated 
 with the knowledge that she loved him. 
 
 257
 
 258 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 And all to come to this that he had lost her. 
 For a mere principle she had renounced him. Her 
 love for him had not been what it should be, or it 
 must surely have overridden everything but just the 
 fact that they had been created for each other. It 
 must be that women did not love like men, or they 
 could not give up so easily. 
 
 Marry Minnie Gray? Marry that ignorant com- 
 monplace creature, and spend his life beside her ? It 
 was unthinkable, actually absurd. He had nothing in 
 common with such a woman. There was not one 
 thought in his brain which she could comprehend. 
 There was not one situation in his life which she 
 would grace. Her presence would be torture. She 
 might be teachable, but who would teach her ? Xot 
 he, a man in love with such perfection. He saw a 
 home in which she was the wife and groaned aloud 
 in contemplation of it. She was repulsive to him. 
 He would have none of her. He hated the very 
 sound of her name. 
 
 And then his thoughts returned to her he loved and 
 all was changed. He fancied her the mother of his 
 children, and the picture was so vivid and delightful 
 that he could not dismiss it. With his child upon 
 her breast, she became a Madonna, worthy his rever- 
 ence and worship. He could have knelt to her. 
 
 . He saw her in a hundred pretty poses in a low 
 chair, sewing, like his mother ; reading in the library 
 with the lamplight glowing upon her pretty hair;
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF. GEORGIA 259 
 
 picking roses in the garden where she was the love- 
 liest of all the flowers; or sitting by the fire with 
 her head against his knee and his hand cupping her 
 cheek while they two exchanged intimate noth- 
 ings. . . . 
 
 And then again he held her in his arms, and called 
 her dear tender names, and kissed her soft red mouth. 
 Ah, God! The exquisiteness of the dream was al- 
 most enough to make the torment of it bearable. Bet- 
 ter to love a woman such as she, and live in unending 
 regret for what might have been, than to sink down 
 to Minnie's level in order to achieve mere dull mor- 
 ality. 
 
 What was it she had said ? " Unless you make 
 full and honorable amends to Minnie Gray, Mrs. 
 Kemp will never marry you." 
 
 It was a pretty conceit of hers, which he had often 
 noted, this speaking of herself as a third person. In 
 her earnestness she had become confused, or she 
 would not have made a statement such as this. 
 
 " Unless you make full and honorable amends to 
 Minnie Gray, Mrs. Kemp will never marry you." 
 
 Was it perhaps possible that in her mind such 
 amends did not include marriage? Was this so? 
 Why, he'd do anything, pay over any sum, acknowl- 
 edge the boy and take him into his own home even, if 
 she demanded it. There was nothing he would hesi- 
 tate at doing, which made her his. Then he remem- 
 bered her subsequent pleading, and knew himself too
 
 260 THE SHELLEYS OF. GEORGIA 
 
 hasty. " Marry her and make me happy," she had 
 said. There was no getting out of it. Her meaning 
 had been clear. Amends, to her, implied all that it 
 had to Rose. He could not do this thing. 
 
 " Marry her and make me happy." The irony of 
 it ! Could she find happiness in mere abstract devo- 
 tion, and in condemning Minnie, too for the igno- 
 rant country woman could never adapt herself to his 
 environment ? Far truer would it have been for 
 her to say, " Marry her and ruin all our lives." 
 
 Yet she had vowed she loved him ! And she did 
 love him, too. He knew at last why she had been so 
 joyous over his returning sight. He had been joyous 
 also, but what did it matter now ? What difference 
 did it make whether he was blind or not, if the light 
 of his life was to be forever gone ? Everything was 
 worthless without her to give it worth. Life was at 
 its darkest, without one ray of hope. 
 
 So that day passed, and the next and the next. 
 His friends grew anxious at his persistent refusal to 
 see them, and feared, they knew not what. Doctor 
 Pearsall gained admittance by bribing Nathan, and 
 shook his head over the patient who had so suddenly 
 taken a turn for the worse. " If this keeps up, he'll 
 suffer a relapse," said the old Doctor. But it kept 
 up, unceasingly. 
 
 " Unless you make full and honorable amends to 
 Minnie Gray, Mrs. Kemp will never marry you" 
 
 The phrase seemed written in letters of fire upon
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 261 
 
 his brain. It mocked him, and when he tried to dis- 
 miss it, still it clung. 
 
 " Marry her and make me happy." Such altru- 
 istic irony ! Such clever evasion ! He could not get 
 it out of his mind, and from long brooding on it, at 
 last he read anew its meaning. 
 
 It was on Sunday afternoon that suddenly it 
 dawned upon him what Mrs. Kemp must have really 
 meant. Her paradox was no paradox. She herself 
 had supplied him with a solution of the whole diffi- 
 culty, which he had been fool enough not to perceive 
 at the time, and which it has taken all these days of 
 brooding to bring to his attention. The dear little 
 rogue had indeed meant exactly what she had said. 
 He could marry Minnie Gray, and still make Mrs. 
 Kemp happy. 
 
 In his sudden relief at his new translation of her 
 speech, he could have shrieked out his joy. He sent 
 posthaste for Nathan, and bade him fling every win- 
 dow wide. Under his impatient supervision, the 
 negro hurriedly laid out fresh linen, bathed, shaved 
 and dressed his master, and then rode off to Gabe 
 Shelley's with a note. So certain now was Tom 
 that he began to make his plans, and already in 
 imagination he saw her laughing eyes and felt her 
 arms about him. " l You stupid boy,' she'd say. 
 ' Why didn't you guess my riddle sooner ? ' ' 
 
 The Shelleys had their Sunday dinner at two 
 o'clock, so that the servants might have the afternoon
 
 262 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 free. They were at the table still, when ^Nathan 
 brought Gabe Tom's note. He read it aloud to the 
 assembled family, of which Fort was temporarily a 
 part. 
 
 " DEAR GABE : 
 
 "Hurry over here as fast as you can, and bring 
 Eose with you. I've thought of something. I'll get 
 my own way yet, and give you and Rose yours, too. 
 We will all be happy. Hurry like the devil. 
 
 " T. B." 
 
 " Now what do you suppose he means by that ? " 
 asked Gabe, folding the sheet of paper and looking 
 quizzically at his audience. 
 
 "He refers no doubt to the matter he and Eose 
 were discussing," said Madge tranquilly, seeing a way 
 to dispose of the subject comfortably before their 
 guest. 
 
 " That must be it," cried Rose, her face clearing. 
 " Perhaps he sees reason at last." 
 
 "He may not see reason, but he certainly has it 
 back of the note, somewhere," suggested Homer hope- 
 fully. He was already looking much better and 
 vowed he owed it to Madge, who cared for him inde- 
 fatigably. 
 
 " We'll go, I suppose ? " said Gabe to Rose. 
 
 " Of course," she flashed. " I wouldn't miss it for 
 anything." 
 
 She sent a confident look into Minnie's troubled
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 263 
 
 eyes. "Keep from worrying," she advised in a 
 whisper. " You'll see ! Everything is coming out 
 all right. He is going to give in." 
 
 Minnie smiled oddly. Had Rose been less ab- 
 sorbed, she might have wondered at this smile. But 
 she only thought of it as inspired by gratitude which 
 Minnie could not voice in Homer's presence. Even 
 had the girls known that Gabe had told Fort most of 
 the story, they would have hesitated in discussing it 
 before him. All interest in the excellent dinner was 
 now quite lost, by Eose, at least, and she hurried her 
 father until he complained that she ought to be 
 ashamed to order her old daddy about the way she 
 did. 
 
 They drove to Tom's house, as being the quickest 
 way to get there, and Gabe's lively mare gave them no 
 chance for speech. But father and daughter were 
 so well attuned that they understood without words, 
 just what each hoped and feared from the coming 
 interview. 
 
 In his impatience Tom had made Nathan help 
 him down-stairs, for the first time since his return 
 from Cuba. He was seated in the window, watching 
 for them, and called to them that the door was open 
 and not to stop to ring. They made their way into 
 the big parlor, and over to his chair. He waved them 
 to seats, showing a face all flushed and eager with 
 anticipation. 
 
 " I have just thought what she meant/' he ex-
 
 264 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 claimed, with no preliminaries. " I'll do exactly as 
 
 " First you had better explain what she suggested," 
 interposed Gabe, testing a delicate Chippendale chair 
 before trusting it with his weight. 
 
 " She said she could never marry me unless I made 
 full and honorable amends to Minnie Gray," ex- 
 plained Tom. 
 
 " Who said this ? " Gabe was deliberate. 
 
 "Mrs. Kemp," cried Tom, chafing at his dense- 
 
 . " Oh ! She did, did she ? When ? " 
 
 " Just before she left me the other day. You 
 knew she had left, because she went straight to your 
 house. Doctor Pearsall told me so." 
 
 " Did he tell you as well that the whole town is 
 positive that you have been behaving so queerly be- 
 cause she refused you ? " asked Gabe with a provok- 
 ing smile. 
 
 " No, but of course they would be. It is so, any- 
 way," said Tom sulkily. 
 
 " So she left because you proposed to her ? " 
 
 "Yes. Didn't she tell you?" 
 
 " No, but I kind of suspected it," said Gabe com- 
 fortably. He reached for a palm-leaf from the table, 
 and fanned himself as he talked. 
 
 Rose had perched herself on the broad window- 
 seat, facing the two men, and now she interrupted. 
 
 " Mrs. Kemp told me something of what had oc-
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 265 
 
 curred," she announced. " So that I got a fair idea 
 of the situation." 
 
 " Well, that is what I am driving at," exclaimed 
 Tom, almost beyond self-control. " Now I've just 
 thought of a way to satisfy everybody. I'll marry 
 Minnie to-morrow, if you say so." 
 
 Eose looked up in glad surprise. "That's fine, 
 Tom. I knew you were all right at bottom." 
 
 " It's the best news I've heard this long time," de- 
 clared Gabe. 
 
 "Yes, I'll marry her to-morrow to-day the 
 sooner the better," declared Tom. " You can't hurry 
 matters enough to suit me. Where is she ? In the 
 hills? Hurry her down here, will you? I'll send 
 my carriage after her, and perhaps you, Eose, will go 
 to break the glad tidings and prepare her a little for 
 the ceremony. Will you ? " 
 
 Eose was about to tell him that Minnie was at the 
 house, when Gabe motioned her to silence. " You 
 have certainly made up your mind in a hurry," he 
 drawled. " Now fire ahead, and tell me what is back 
 of this. You might as well, for I won't stir one step 
 towards getting this ceremony performed, until you 
 show me your hand. You play a good game, but you 
 can't blufi me. You have some scheme in your 
 mind." 
 
 " Of course I have the plan Mrs. Kemp sug- 
 gested to me." 
 
 "What's that?"
 
 266 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 " { Marry her and make me happy.' That was 
 what she said to me, and I, like a fool, never saw 
 what she meant until to-day." 
 
 "Well? What did she mean?" 
 
 " Why, that I should give Minnie my name, of 
 course," laughed Tom, so relieved at his plan and his 
 certainty of its finding favor in his lady's eyes, that 
 he failed to note how Gabe's hand caressed his chin, 
 or how keen and disapproving his eyes were growing. 
 " And then, as soon as a decent interval has passed, I 
 can give her a divorce and marry Mrs. Kemp. In 
 this way I will reinstate Minnie, legitimatize the boy, 
 please everybody, and in the end gain happiness for 
 myself and her. Don't you see ? " 
 
 " Yes, I see," commented Gabe, while Rose's glow- 
 ing face grew downcast. " But I reckon you are still 
 a long way off from our point of view, Tom. I 
 thought it was kind of sudden for you to be coming 
 around." 
 
 " Tom," said Eose, very low. " Don't you know 
 Mrs. Kemp better than that ? She did not mean any- 
 thing of that sort. She would not be your wife if 
 you divorced Minnie. Moreover, I feel certain that 
 Minnie would refuse to marry you on any such 
 terms." 
 
 " She needn't know the terms." Tom was sullen 
 and crestfallen. 
 
 " Ah, but she'd soon learn them. And she'd never 
 sue you, nor ever give you grounds to sue her," cried
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 267 
 
 Ttose warmly. " No, Tom, if Minnie marries you, 
 it will be with the expectation that you will be her 
 husband, and the father of your boy." 
 
 " The father of my boy ! " repeated Tom bitterly. 
 " That boy has become a millstone which you are all 
 determined to hang about my neck. Why should I 
 feel any special interest in this nameless brat ? What 
 have I to do with him, or he with me ? " 
 
 " Tom, he is your own. He bears your mark," ex- 
 claimed Eose. " Besides, I have often heard you say 
 that, even if there were no life beyond the grave, a 
 man could always attain immortality through his 
 children. You may never have another son, Tom. 
 And so I think you must have something to do with 
 'this boy, in spite of yourself, for through him you 
 will live on after your death. He will represent you, 
 and by his means you will impress yourself on count- 
 less future generations " 
 
 " Stun 1 and nonsense ! " said Tom roughly. 
 "Now, leaving out your own decided objections to 
 my plan, why not find out what Mrs. Kemp thinks 
 about it 2 " 
 
 "I will. I'll call her up on the telephone, at 
 once." 
 
 Rose ran from the room, upstairs to his chamber, 
 whither the telephone had been removed during his 
 illness. 
 
 Tom turned to Gabe with freedom, for now he was 
 man to man and could say what he pleased.
 
 268 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 "All this fuss about Minnie Gray," he growled, 
 moody in his reaction from the eagerness which had 
 possessed him. " Why, Gahe, if every man who had 
 wronged a woman ended by marrying her, some of 
 the outcasts would have fifty husbands, and the re- 
 spectable women would have to get along without 
 any. You know that ! " 
 
 "Tom, you mistake my meaning in urging this 
 marriage upon you," returned Gabe quietly. " Leav- 
 ing out the small per cent, of natural wantons, 
 the majority of so-called prostitutes enter their 
 life of degradation through loving unwisely. Even 
 so, this first man concerned might find a basis for 
 square dealing with the woman, aside from matri- 
 mony. I am not urging this for Minnie's sake. She 
 transgressed, and could no doubt redeem herself with- 
 out your help. But the child needs you. He is 
 yours. He has the right to your paternity, and to 
 the honor of both his parents. The moment he came 
 into the world he had claims which could not be ig- 
 nored." 
 
 "Bosh!" muttered Tom. "Who cares for a 
 
 " The country cares ! " thundered Gabe. " It has 
 got to care. Nature has laid down a law which says 
 that a child must have two parents, and ages of civili- 
 zation have been spent in making both of those par- 
 ents alike responsible for the being they bring into 
 the world. That is why Minnie's claim is just. Lit-
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 269 
 
 tie Tom needs you, and you, his father, should be 
 thankful that he is a fine, strong, healthy boy. You 
 have been fortunate enough to escape disease." 
 
 Tom made a gesture of disgust, but Gabe con- 
 tinued, bent on establishing his point. "Yes, you 
 have been fortunate, and the baby has been fortunate. 
 Ah, Tom! The poor little crippled bodies I have 
 seen ! The poor little deformed minds ! And blind 
 you've had a taste of blindness, Tom. How would 
 you like to bear it always, because of your father's 
 self-indulgence ? Suppose little Tom had been born 
 blind, or lame ? " 
 
 "Nonsense!" 
 
 " Not nonsense. Good sound common-sense, which 
 the women of our land are waking to, now that they 
 have their female doctors to tell them what was so 
 carefully kept from their ears before. Prudery has 
 had its day, Tom, and the double standard is seeing 
 the last of its time as well. Eugenics is an almost 
 unknown science now, but it won't be long before 
 every man and woman will be required by law to 
 show a clean bill of health when they marry. You 
 laugh, Tom, but, much as I want to see you marry 
 Minnie, were I not sure of your physical condition I'd 
 oppose the union." 
 
 " I am surprised that any consideration could move 
 you one iota from your position," mocked Tom. 
 
 " I knew you would be," responded Gabe dryly. 
 " As a matter of fact, Tom, I am not half so inter-
 
 270 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 ested in you as you imagine. Rose has set her heart 
 on making you over, but personally I don't care a 
 damn about you. Your change of heart interests me 
 only in the light of its bearing on the boy. It is the 
 future of the race that we must consider, not the pres- 
 ent. That has pretty well taken care of itself al- 
 ready, and in your person has just now informed me 
 that I am a meddlesome old man who had better be at 
 home attending to his own business. Well, Eose ? " 
 
 Rose came quickly across the room, directly to- 
 Tom. " Mrs. Kemp is horrified that you so misread 
 her meaning," she said clearly. " Mrs. Kemp wishes 
 me to assure you that nothing was further from her 
 thoughts than that you should divorce Minnie. In- 
 deed, all she asks is that you live happily with Min- 
 nie. This, she says, will make her happy, too." 
 
 " Tell her that, having known her, happiness with- 
 out her would be impossible to me," stormed Tom. 
 " Ask her how she can expect a man of my ability 
 and social standing to content himself with a girl 
 like Minnie Gray ? Tell her I'll end by blowing out 
 my brains, and she'll have only herself to thank." 
 
 " That is a cowardly message, which I forbid Rose 
 to deliver," replied Gabe. " Face the issue like a 
 man, Tom. Play fair. Take your medicine. It 
 may be a bitter pill to swallow, but after you get it 
 down, it'll do you a sight of good." 
 
 Tom did not answer, but flung himself back in his 
 chair and turned his face away. In his action Gabe
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 271 
 
 rightly read an intention to end the interview which 
 had by now grown painful to them all, so he nodded 
 to Rose, and they went out quietly, leaving bitterness 
 and disappointment behind them. 
 
 Tom knew now that there would be no compromise, 
 and he was still determined never to yield to Gabe's 
 and Rose's counsel. He would marry Mrs. Kemp, 
 in spite of them all. Yes, and in spite of her, too. 
 As for Minnie and that boy let them never come in 
 his sight if they did not wish to feel his wrath. Let 
 them keep away if they did not wish to suffer. He 
 had suffered enough through both of them, God knew ! 
 And now, in his last stand, he had no support but 
 pride. Would that sufficiently uphold him ?
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 GABE had an errand at his newspaper office, 
 so he parted with Eose in front of Tom 
 Blankenship's home. 
 
 " Don't look so blue, girlie," were his final wo-ds 
 to her. " Rome wasn't built in a day." 
 
 She smiled bravely, and stood on tiptoe for a kiss. 
 " I never was so sorry for anybody as I am for 
 Minnie," she said softly. " You should have heard 
 her voice when I told her Tom's proposition. She 
 was more than horrified, and now I know she is locked 
 in her own room, crying her eyes out. She couldn't 
 tell me what to say to Tom. I had to make it up. 
 All this has hurt her cruelly." 
 
 " Let her alone for a while," advised Gabe, " The 
 tears will do her good. After the storm has spent it- 
 self, see if you can't put a rainbow into her sky. 
 Tell her I think it very encouraging that Tom is 
 working so hard to solve the difficulty. It is natural 
 that he should twist and dodge and double, but he 
 will be kept facing the right road, and he is bound to 
 take it at last. But there ! You know how to pre- 
 sent the matter ever so much better than I, because 
 you understand Minnie better." 
 
 272
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 273 
 
 " I'm not sure that I do," returned Eose thought- 
 fully. " Minnie has not been herself since she re- 
 turned to us. There is something strange in her man- 
 ner, and in her longing to go home." 
 
 " I think you may exaggerate a little, dear. Min- 
 nie has had much to bear, and you should be patient, 
 very patient. Good-by." 
 
 " Good-by, Father. Don't get interested and stay 
 in that old office the rest of this lovely afternoon. 
 Madge and I want you." 
 
 Gabe nodded as he gave the mare her head, and 
 the restive little animal side-stepped down the street 
 before settling into the long stride that pleased him 
 most. Eose's eyes kindled at the picture the pretty 
 creature made, and then darkened again as her 
 thoughts returned to the interview just past. 
 
 But on this glorious day it was quite impossible to 
 continue melancholy or distraught. The citizens of 
 Salem were on their porches, and each one knew and 
 loved the beautiful girl. From every side they hailed 
 her with merry greetings, to which she was quick to 
 respond. The children ran to meet her and hung 
 upon her skirts. Even the dogs barked gaily, and 
 one terrier in particular waltzed backward before 
 her until she grew fairly dizzy at the sight, and or- 
 dered his small owner to take up his wriggling body 
 and bear it home again. 
 
 Some there were in Salem who were outspokenly 
 curious regarding Mrs. Kemp. Only the most inti-
 
 274 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 mate friends of the Shelley family those who could 
 be trusted to keep their own counsel knew that she 
 was Corporal Gray's daughter. Gabe was always 
 furnishing excitement for the town, and on top of the 
 sensation caused by bringing a baby into his home, 
 with a queer mother who shrank from meeting folks, 
 " just like she had something to be ashamed of," he 
 had raised a mountain of conjecture about his big 
 hotel. Therefore, Eose had to run a gauntlet of 
 eager seekers for information. Little old ladies 
 strolled down to their gates when they saw her com- 
 ing, and after a rapid fire of questions were loth to let 
 her go. Young gentlemen were also on their garden 
 paths, quite by accident of course, and wanted to 
 detain her. Girl acquaintances, who thought her odd 
 but worthy of imitation, stopped her for chats while 
 they appraised her slyly, taking mental notes of her 
 dress and hat, or her parasol or shoes, and quizzing 
 her as to where she bought her gloves and perfumes. 
 Like a queen she held a little court before each house 
 she passed, dismissed would-be escorts, parried eager 
 questions, and escaped at last, flushed and smiling and 
 breathless, into the quiet country road which led 
 home. 
 
 " Goodness gracious ! " she exclaimed aloud, fan- 
 ning herself vigorously with her handkerchief. " It 
 is fearfully nice to be so popular. I wonder if it is 
 because of the father I have, or because of the girl I 
 am?"
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 275 
 
 To a certain coterie it was undoubtedly because of 
 the girl she was, and she dimpled as she remembered 
 the admiring glances of the young gallants who had 
 tried to intercept her. Then her active thoughts 
 flew on ahead of her, and she wondered if Minnie 
 were still weeping, and where Madge was, and Homer 
 Fort. With winged feet she sped on and into her 
 own front gate. Ah, it was as she had imagined. 
 Homer was in the big chair beneath the trees, and 
 Madge, on the old settee, was reading aloud to the 
 buyer. Minnie was nowhere to be seen. 
 
 All the life seemed to go out of Rose. She drooped 
 visibly as she went slowly up on the big porch, tossed 
 parasol, gloves and hat upon the table there, and then 
 hesitated, with downcast eyes and petulant mouth, 
 a pretty sulky child. 
 
 Madge looked up and called her, but she did not 
 answer. With a slight sigh, the elder woman laid 
 her book aside, and went to greet the girl. "You 
 look tired, dear. Did you have a bad time with 
 Tom?" 
 
 In a few words Rose spoke of what had passed, try- 
 ing to seem her usual bright self, but failing so sig- 
 nally that Madge could not ignore her attitude. 
 " What's the matter, Eose ? " she asked. 
 
 " I do think," burst out Rose, as if against her will. 
 "I do think it is scarcely necessary for you to be 
 quite so attentive to that man. He is nothing but a 
 business friend of Father's. Surely it is not essen-
 
 276 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 tial for you to wait upon him every single minute, 
 read to him, feed him, hang upon his words as though 
 he were a marvel, instead of an ordinary common- 
 place red-headed freckled ugly " 
 
 " Eose ! " Madge's quiet voice recalled the girl 
 abruptly. " Do you realize what you are saying ? 
 Mr. Fort is Gabe's friend, and I am proud and glad 
 to call him mine as well. He should be yours, too, 
 and would be if you were not so unreasonable. 
 There, there ! I didn't mean to be so cross, but you 
 are usually frank and generous to a fault, and that 
 makes it all the harder to understand your hostility 
 toward Mr. Fort, and your resentment at my playing 
 the part of hostess. It is not like you, Eose." 
 
 " I am sorry," murmured Eose contritely. " I 
 don't know what does get into me, sometimes," she 
 confessed, with one of those sudden confiding impulses 
 which were irresistible. " I love you, oh, so dearly, 
 Madge, and I love my father so dearly, too, that I 
 cannot bear to have your thoughts stray away from 
 him. When I see you reading to Mr. Fort, and ap- 
 parently so friendly with him, something comes up 
 into my throat, and I get wild and quite unlike my-, 1 , 
 self. Then I say things I do not mean, and after- I 
 wards I feel so badly but it seems to be something 
 I cannot help. Perhaps I have been through so much 
 in the last few months that I am not responsible, and 
 you should be patient with me. What do you 
 think?"
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 277 
 
 She smiled engagingly at Madge, to find the older 
 woman regarding her intently, with a new and 
 strange expression dawning in her eyes. 
 
 " Why do you look at me so ? " asked Eose, blush- 
 ing furiously. "Is there anything odd about me? 
 Have I suddenly turned black, or green, or some- 
 thing?" 
 
 " No, but you have turned red," laughed Madge. 
 " My dear, I believe I know what ails you." 
 
 " Do tell me," begged Eose. " I am dying to find 
 out." 
 
 " No, I sha'n't tell you, but I shall prescribe for 
 you. Will you obey my orders, you naughty girl ? " 
 
 Eose put up both hands in mock appeal. " I've 
 got to, since I am not twenty-one," she said. " But 
 don't be too hard upon me, Mother dear." 
 
 "If you call me that, I shall be merciless," re- 
 torted Madge. " First you are to kiss me and tell me 
 you are sorry, and promise to be good. Then I am 
 going in to rest, and I shall expect you to read to 
 Mr. Fort while I am gone, and to see that he gets his 
 egg and milk at exactly half-past four. Will you do 
 that?" 
 
 Eose put her arms around Madge and gave her a 
 hearty hug and kiss. <c Where is Minnie?" she 
 whispered. 
 
 " In her room." 
 
 " I thought so. I am sorry. But I won't bother 
 her just yet I'll do as you bid me, Mother
 
 278 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 Madge, though it is a distasteful task, and one I would 
 forego if I could." 
 
 All the same her eyes were dancing as she went 
 over and took a seat beside Homer, who had been 
 looking on wistfully at the pretty byplay between the 
 two women on the porch. 
 
 " I am ordered to entertain you for a while, Mr. 
 Fort," she announced demurely. " As we can neither 
 of us help ourselves, we shall have to make the best 
 of it Is this the article that tyrannical Madge was 
 reading ? Where did she leave off ? " 
 
 As Rose held out the magazine for Homer to find 
 the place, he took it from her hands and closed it 
 firmly. 
 
 " I thought I was to read to you," she protested. 
 
 "Mrs. Shelley does that," he answered. "The 
 rare moments in which you condescend to stay with 
 me are too precious to be so wasted. If you are here 
 to amuse me, you must do as I want you to." 
 
 Eose folded her hands, and adopted an expression 
 of patient resignation. " Very well," she said 
 meekly. " What shall I do first ? " 
 
 " Look at me." 
 
 She raised long dark lashes and showed him laugh- 
 ing eyes. 
 
 "Next?" 
 
 " Talk to me." 
 
 Obediently she began. " Talk is the name for a 
 method of communication between souls by means of
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 279 
 
 lips, tongue, teeth, and palate. Sometimes the lungs 
 are used as well, and sometimes, for emphasis, the 
 hands, feet, or other parts of the anatomy. When 
 talk deals with abstract questions, it becomes con- 
 versation. When it tackles politics or religion, it be- 
 comes argument. When it descends to personal dis- 
 agreement, it becomes quarreling. And when it is 
 used as a way of entertaining, it becomes rhetoric, 
 oratory, declamation, discourse, flights of eloquence, 
 or plain speech-making. Which will you have, Mr. 
 Port?" 
 
 " I'll have conversation, if you please." 
 
 " I can't do that all by myself." 
 
 u I'll keep up my end if you'll keep up yours," he 
 answered, and they laughed gayly, like two happy 
 children. 
 
 " Start me," she begged. " Ask me a question and 
 get me going. You don't know what a flood you are 
 unchaining, or you might beg off beforehand. I'm a 
 talker when I get started." 
 
 " All active thinkers are," he answered. 
 
 " No compliments, please." 
 
 " Mentioning a fact is not making a compliment," 
 he averred. " Now if I told a woman she was beauti- 
 ful when she wasn't, that would be a compliment." 
 
 " It would be a lie, you mean," said Kose. " If I 
 informed you that your hair was auburn instead of 
 red, it would be " 
 
 " A kind evasion," he retorted. " But you can't
 
 280 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 hurt my feelings by calling my hair red, Miss Eose. 
 I am proud of my carroty locks." 
 
 "Eeally?" 
 
 " Yes. They are distinctive. People always no- 
 tice me. For the same reason I am glad I am homely 
 and awkward, and usually freckled. Every one be- 
 gins by feeling very sorry for me. ' What an unpre- 
 possessing fellow ! ' they say to themselves. ' We 
 must be extra nice to him, to make up to him for his 
 misfortunes.' So they set out to be extra nice, and 
 this makes me feel very pleasant and responsive, and 
 first thing you know they are saying, ' After you get 
 to know him, you really don't mind his looks one bit.' 
 Husbands are never jealous of me. Mothers regard 
 me as safe and reliable. So I am privileged to have 
 many friends among both men and women and all 
 because I'm homely." 
 
 Rose laughed. 
 
 " You, for instance, would be on the defensive with 
 a handsomer man," continued Homer, regarding her 
 narrowly. " Isn't that true ? " 
 
 " Of course not," denied Eose. 
 
 " Wait a bit To how many of your men friends 
 do you talk naturally and freely ? " 
 
 "To all who talk freely and naturally to 
 me." 
 
 " How many do so ? " 
 
 She pretended to count on her fingers. 
 
 " Name them."
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 281 
 
 " Father, for one." 
 
 "Yes?" 
 
 " Judge Oglethorpe, for another." 
 
 " Go on." 
 
 " The minister, Doctor Pearsall, Uncle Jack " 
 
 " Get down to the younger ones, and keep to the 
 one color." 
 
 " Tom Blankenship " 
 
 " Did he always ? " 
 
 She flushed rosily. "No," she confessed. 
 " Among the young men here one has to be careful. 
 But that is the fault of their bringing up. They have 
 been taught to regard women as creatures set apart 
 for admiration and worship, instead of sensible 
 human beings, with brains and the ability to use 'em. 
 They always start in by being silly. Before they go 
 very far with me they discover that I don't like it, 
 so then they take refuge in silence and eloquent 
 glances. How tired it does make me! " she ex- 
 claimed, outspoken in her indignation. " Here am 
 I, educated, well-read, interested in the news of the 
 day and eager for information. I like men intel- 
 lectually, and would like to have some real comrades 
 among them. But what is the result of any such at- 
 tempt on my part? Those near my own age 
 promptly give way to a species of insanity which they 
 call ' falling in love.' If I am friendly, then I am 
 giving them encouragement. If I evade them, I am 
 a coquette, drawing them on by holding aloof. I am
 
 282 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 forced to look to the older men between the ages 
 of fifty and ninety but to them I am merely a 
 child, whose opinions should never be treated seri- 
 ously. The consequence is that I must either de- 
 pend for friends upon girls who are occupied just 
 now in making conquests, and in talking of nothing 
 else except clothes, or upon older women whose minds 
 are taken up with their homes and babies. Madge is 
 my only real, true friend, outside of Father." 
 
 " How about this Mrs. Kemp ? And me ? " 
 
 " Mrs. Kemp has so far been a responsibility," she 
 said frankly. " But she is going to be another friend, 
 and for that I am thankful. As for you " she 
 paused. 
 
 "Well? "he encouraged. 
 
 " I don't know you well enough to place you yet. 
 I do know that I could not have spoken as I have 
 just done to you, if you were like those others " 
 
 " I am not like those others," he declared. " Miss 
 Rose, there is always danger, when a young and sus- 
 ceptible man meets a young and beautiful girl 
 there is always danger that he may fall in love. That 
 should be his misfortune, not his fault. I myself 
 have never seen much fun in having it expected of 
 me. Flirtations are waiting round the corner every- 
 where. Girls are taught early to consider sex their 
 most effective weapon, and to be on the lookout for a 
 mate. They raise shy eyes to every newcomer, and 
 ask as plainly as if they spoke aloud, ' Are you the
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 283 
 
 man who is to be my husband ? ' We men object 
 sometimes to such frank appraisal. We would like 
 to be taken on our merits, and allowed to stand or fall 
 for what we are, and not for what we might become. 
 I cannot imagine anything nobler or more inspiring 
 than a real friendship with an intelligent woman. I 
 have many such friendships, and I hope to have many 
 more. I count Mrs. Shelley as my partner in one of 
 them. May I also count you, Miss Rose ? " 
 
 Rose looked seriously into his eyes. The expres- 
 sion of them reassured her. He meant all he said. 
 
 " Of course I warn you," he continued with a smile, 
 " it may be my lot to fall in love with you. But 
 should I do so I should treat the malady with proper 
 respect, and with no levity. I should even be willing 
 to discuss it with you, and to try any remedy you 
 might suggest. And you might possibly fall in love 
 with me, red head and all. That is a risk that men 
 and women take, when they are friends. To my 
 thinking it is a risk worth while. How about you ? " 
 
 She was embarrassed, plainly at a loss. This frank 
 discussion of the possibilities alarmed her. She 
 knew how to parry the advances of the amorous fel- 
 lows she had known, but Fort's clear, judicious state- 
 ment of fact was something she had never encount- 
 ered in any other man. 
 
 I tell you what," he beamed suddenly. " We'll 
 mark out certain lines for our friendship. Here ! " 
 He drew pencil and paper from his pockets, and
 
 284 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 sketched a map of a highway, traversing valleys and 
 hills, with here and there another road branching 
 off. 
 
 " This highway is called Comrade Street," he said, 
 and wrote it down. " It starts at the Bridge of Ac- 
 quaintance, and goes down through the Valley of 
 Douht and Circumspection, up the Hill of Under- 
 standing, to the Heights of Friendship. We have 
 traveled through the valley, I think, and up the hill 
 to the heights. Already I catch a glimpse of the view 
 beyond, which we two may behold together. But 
 now the bypaths to Love fork out invitingly. We 
 will put up 'No Trespassing' so before them 
 all. There, how is that? The warnings will be 
 heeded by us both, and so will hold us safely in the 
 path." 
 
 " But," objected Eose, with mischief in her eyes, 
 "some men would be tempted by such warnings. 
 No path is so inviting as the forbidden one." 
 
 " That is true," he assented gravely. " It will be 
 your part, Miss Eose, to keep my eyes ahead. If I 
 should side-step, you must seize my hand and pull me 
 on. Keep the no-trespassing signs so big and ugly 
 that I get not the slightest hint of the wonderful 
 beauties of the secret paths beyond them, which all 
 lead to the selfsame goal. I have not the protection 
 of being in love with some one else. I am heart- 
 whole as far as any other woman is concerned, and 
 thus must throw myself entirely on your mercy.
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 285 
 
 Shall we try the Heights of Friendship together un- 
 der these conditions? I know that we would find 
 much pleasure there self -less, impersonal, ab- 
 stract, and free from the elements of love and passion. 
 iYou keep to your part of the bargain, putting no 
 temptations before me, and I'll keep to mine. Will 
 you shake hands upon it ? " 
 
 She continued to look thoughtfully at the map, 
 while his extended fingers almost touched her own. 
 From the map she raised clear eyes to his face, turned 
 them down to the rough sketch again, and again up- 
 ward to meet his earnest gaze. And then, slowly, 
 seriously, she shook her head, and drew her hand 
 away. 
 
 Immediately a new something leaped into his eyes. 
 " Why not ? " he demanded. 
 
 " I am afraid," she answered. 
 
 "Afraid of what?" 
 
 " That one of the no-trespassing signs might fall 
 down." 
 
 " And you dread the possibility of straying from 
 the path?" 
 
 " I wouldn't stray," she answered firmly. " But 
 you might. And I would not needlessly cause you 
 pain." 
 
 "Why, needlessly?" 
 
 " Because I could not go down the path with you. 
 Mr. Fort, your frankness and honesty bid me be 
 frank with you. Many boys have pretended that they
 
 286 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 loved me. They sobered for a little, when they could 
 not move me, and then turned to other girls for con- 
 solation. One man has sworn that he loved me, and 
 after all, his heart proved fickle. But you seem dif- 
 ferent from him, or those others I have known. I 
 do not wish to appear vain or self -conceited, but my 
 experience has taught me that it is better to be care- 
 ful. We'll tear up your ridiculous map, with its 
 signs calling attention to forbidden paths. We'll 
 make no compact with each other. Accept me as I 
 am, and I'll accept you in the same spirit. And I'll 
 not be held responsible if you fall in love with 
 me." 
 
 " Wouldn't you even be sorry ? " 
 
 " Yes, very sorry. From what I have seen of you 
 I do not believe you would recover lightly, like the 
 rest. I could not fall in love with you, so I shall 
 hope for the time when you can come to me and tell 
 me of some lovely girl who has your heart and will 
 become your wife. Then I will shake hands gladly, 
 and promise to be your friend and hers. And the 
 road we will travel together will have no branching 
 paths to cause trouble but will be straight and un- 
 deviating. 
 
 " What a long time we have talked," she cried, with 
 a sudden change of manner. " I must go tell Janey 
 that you want your egg and milk, and then I must see 
 Minnie for a moment. Please don't misunderstand 
 what I have said, Mr. Fort."
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 287 
 
 " I will not. Instead I thank you for it, from the 
 bottom of my heart. There comes your father." 
 
 " Good ! " cried Rose. " He can talk to you and so 
 I won't feel like a deserter." 
 
 She tripped hurriedly across the grass, while 
 Homer watched her with something more than mere 
 friendly admiration in his eyes. He missed no 
 slightest movement of her lithe young body, and when 
 she waved her hand to her father and called a greet- 
 ing, he drew in his breath sharply. Uncle Jack led 
 the mare away and Gabe came over to occupy the 
 bench. 
 
 " I've been giving a few orders about to-morrow's 
 edition," he said. " Newspaper offices have to work 
 Sundays, Mr. Fort, to please the good Christians who 
 like to get the latest news on Monday morning." 
 
 " Captain, you have a lovely daughter," said 
 Homer slowly, turning his eyes toward Gabe, now 
 that Rose had disappeared from view. 
 
 " So a good many have told me," answered Gabe 
 satirically. 
 
 " I am head over heels in love with her already." 
 
 " A good many have told me that, too." 
 
 "I am different from those others," protested 
 Homer. 
 
 " So each of them has informed me. However, I 
 have a different answer for you. I have always said, 
 'Rose is old enough to choose for herself. Go see 
 what she has to say.' They have followed my advice,
 
 288 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 and been sent about their business. Tom Blanken- 
 ship had the nerve not to approach me on the sub- 
 ject. Now to you, all I've got to say is that I like 
 you, Homer, and I'd like to see Kose marry you. 
 But you haven't the ghost of a show, and you might 
 as well save yourself trouble by knowing it now." 
 
 " You seem very positive," demurred Homer. 
 
 " I am positive," replied Gabe with conviction. 
 " Rose was very much in love with Tom, as I told you 
 once before. She has suffered more than I like to 
 think about. The suffering did not hurt her except 
 in one particular. It made her lose her faith in men. 
 She measures them all by Tom now, and she hasn't a 
 bit of use for any one of them. She has decided to 
 be an old maid, and she is a good, steady, hard-to- 
 change decider. She excepts me from the general lot 
 because I am her father," he continued whimsically. 
 " She regards me as a person set apart. But she has 
 her suspicions of everybody else, and I don't see how 
 you or any other mere man could combat them." 
 
 " All the same I intend to try," returned Homer 
 quietly. " I have offered her friendship, which she 
 refused." 
 
 " That's odd. I had thought her willing enough 
 to be friends with men. The only trouble is that 
 they won't stay friends with her." 
 
 He mused for a space, and then, as Janey came up 
 with a brimming yellow glassful on a tray, he roused 
 and turned to Homer with a smile. " I like your
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 289 
 
 self-confidence," he said. "But it hasn't a chance 
 against her prejudice." 
 
 " We'll see about that," answered Homer, taking 
 the glass, with a nod of thanks to Janey. " We'll 
 see about that, later." 
 
 His attitude puzzled Gabe. He would have been 
 still more puzzled had he known what was passing 
 in Homer's mind. For the young man regarded it as 
 a distinct advance that Rose had torn up his map. 
 
 "She is afraid of me," he thought. "If she 
 wasn't, she would have shaken hands upon the bar- 
 gain I proposed. And she is not quite sure of her- 
 self, or she'd have done it anyway. She fenced well, 
 but not well enough to deceive me. A little jealous 
 for Mrs. Shelley, a little afraid of me and of her- 
 self take courage, Homer. If you can once 
 bring her to a standstill before one of those no-tres- 
 passing signs that she objected to, you may coax her 
 to take a peep into the path beyond. And then, if 
 you are cautious and very, very patient, she may 
 step in a little way, and so be lost. At any rate the 
 thing is worth a trial, and I am going to try."
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 SEPTEMBER passed, and October tinged the 
 leaves rustily in Salem. While the vivid 
 beauty of the northern autumn coloring was 
 lacking in this southern State, the soft balminess of 
 the air, and the clear skies and tempered sunshine, 
 more than made up for the bright reds and yellows 
 which meant a speedier waning. 
 
 The summer just gone by had witnessed two kinds 
 of harvesting. The gathering of crops was one, 
 which turned all men to saving for the winter, to the 
 elimination of waste, and the husbanding of every 
 resource. The harvest which Death gathered in the 
 tropics was another, which taught them brutally to 
 cast away what their womenfolk had labored to bring 
 into being, and that the sacrifice of stalwart man- 
 hood was glorious and right and fitting. The harv- 
 ester called Peace garnered for the ultimate good of 
 all humanity. Her breast was firm and full, her 
 rounded arms heaped blessings on mankind. Yet 
 through all her busy season of growth, war had been 
 harvester as well, reaping the bitterness of men's 
 deeds, and getting ready the ground for further sow- 
 ing of the seeds of contention and strife. What 
 290
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 291 
 
 greater contrast could there be than lay between these 
 two extremes ? 
 
 The weather was still warm enough for the out-of- 
 door life in which the Southern folk love to indulge. 
 At the Shelley homestead, on a morning early in 
 October, the entire family deserted the house for the 
 green lawn and the still welcome shade of the trees. 
 The grass was sprinkled with fallen leaves, which 
 Uncle Jack raked into piles and then carried off in 
 barrow-loads to heap about the peach-tree roots. 
 " They like to be nice and warm in winter," Gabe ex- 
 plained. " So I cover them with Nature's own 
 blanket." 
 
 Minnie and her mother had long since gone to the 
 hills, where their old home had been put into good 
 condition with part of the money Gabe paid them for 
 their land. Rose had been out to see them, and had 
 spoken to Minnie with pity of the condition of Tom 
 Blankenship, still half-invalided, and alone in his big 
 house. 
 
 "I am tempted to go to him," she said. "He 
 must be Brooding and it can't be good for him." 
 
 " Do you think he has suffered any more than I ? " 
 was Minnie's unexpected answer. " Let him alone, 
 and he will reach a definite decision all the sooner." 
 
 The two girls had wandered through the grounds 
 of Gabe's hotel, and through the hotel itself, which 
 was now complete. 
 
 "What do you think my father will do with
 
 292 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 this ? " Rose asked. " Is it an old ladies' home, or a 
 sanatorium, or what ? " 
 
 " I don't know," answered Minnie. " He has 
 asked my mother to be housekeeper, but he threatens 
 to lock the gates on me, until he is ready to unfold his 
 plans to the rest of you. I have begged him not to do 
 that, and have promised faithfully to keep away as 
 soon as he gives me the word." 
 
 This word had been given over two weeks ago. 
 Mrs. Gray went to the " hotel " mornings, and re- 
 turned to her own home at night. Minnie remained 
 outside, according to her promise. 
 
 " How much longer are we to wait ? " Eose teased 
 Gabe, seated beside him on the big settee, with a lap 
 full of gorgeous dahlias and chrysanthemums, which 
 she was fashioning into bouquets for the veranda. 
 
 " Perhaps next week, perhaps this afternoon," he 
 answered with a smile. " Things are almost ready 
 out there now, and I promised you should be the first 
 to see what I have done." 
 
 " Mrs. Gray sees," Eose pouted. 
 
 " Ah, but I have to have some people working to 
 get ready for you." 
 
 " Madge knows. She hasn't said so, but I guessed 
 it. It is mean for you to leave me out, and tell her 
 all your secrets." 
 
 " Not a bit of it. She put in her fifty thousand 
 dollars, and besides she was the one to give me the 
 idea in the first place," declared Gabe stoutly.
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 293 
 
 " Now it isn't a bit of use, your teasing me like this. 
 I'm not going to give myself away. I've done this 
 thing partly for you, and I shall spring it on you 
 properly. Don't grudge this surprise to your old 
 daddy, little girl." 
 
 His answer was all he had expected it to be, quick 
 penitence, a hearty hug and kiss, and a promise to be 
 good and bide his time. 
 
 Homer Fort, now strong and considerably stouter, 
 and also possessing another good crop of freckles, 
 came over from the steps, where he and Madge had 
 been busy reading the morning papers. 
 
 " I heard that last speech of yx>urs, Captain," he 
 remarked. "I wish you'd hurry up. I've almost 
 outstayed my welcome here, I'm afraid, and it is time 
 I was getting back to Chicago." 
 
 "Your welcome has been drawing compound in- 
 terest," returned Gabe heartily. " Now see here, 
 Homer. After I took the trouble to write to your 
 firm and describe your condition so eloquently as to 
 get you this extension of your vacation, don't you 
 think I ought to have the say-so as to how you spend 
 your time ? It won't be up until the fifteenth of the 
 month, and until then your days belong to me. 
 I am certainly delighted with your appearance 
 now." 
 
 " When I get back they will think I have been play- 
 ing off," laughed Homer ruefully. " I have gained 
 thirty pounds and I haven't an ache nor a pain in me
 
 294 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 anywhere. I believe I could throw you in a tussle, 
 Captain." 
 
 " I'd like to see you try it," roared the Captain, to 
 Fort's surprise. But then the Captain was always 
 surprising people. He was proud of his strength and 
 would brook no belittling of it. In a twinkling his 
 coat was off and he was facing the young man, who, 
 at a slight nod of encouragement from Eose, promptly 
 followed suit. 
 
 The two regarded each other warily for a moment, 
 and then clinched. Homer was no match for Gabe, 
 and before he realized what had happened, he lay 
 flat upon his back on the grass. 
 
 " Why, you haven't the grip of a baby," chuckled 
 Gabe, as he helped the crestfallen young fellow to his 
 feet. " Practice up, man, practice up. But I allow 
 you couldn't throw me, however much you tried, for 
 I've stood up against practically every man in Bucks 
 County." 
 
 " You are pretty spry," admitted Homer. 
 
 " And so were you," cried Eose. " All the same, 
 you couldn't trip my father." 
 
 The pride in her tones made Homer glad that he 
 had been beaten. He sat down beside her, still 
 breathing hurriedly, while Gabe drew up chairs for 
 himself and Madge. 
 
 "Uncle Jack," called Madge. 
 
 " Yas'm, yas'm," answered the negro, hurrying for- 
 ward.
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 295 
 
 " Bring our lunch out here and we'll picnic. And 
 call up my father and ask him if he can join us." 
 
 " M-me call him up ? How do you mean ? On 
 dat ar 'phome ? No'm, doan't ax me fer to do dat. I 
 doant lak to do dat nohow, Miss Madge." 
 
 "See here, Jack," thundered Gabe. "You've 
 begged off long enough. You'll have to learn to use 
 the telephone, so you might as well begin right now, 
 when all of us are here to prevent it's hurting you. 
 Get a move on ! Off with you ! " 
 
 " A-a-a'right, boss," stammered Jack. "D-d'you 
 reckon I kin use dat 'phome widout no trouble, same 
 as white folks, huh ? " 
 
 "Of course," laughed Gabe. "Why not?" 
 
 Jack shook his head dubiously. " White folkses' 
 contraptions ain't got much use fer niggers," he. 
 muttered as he shambled across the grass. 
 
 " I've never been able to get him to send a mes- 
 sage before," whispered Gabe to Fort. "He has 
 such respect for a Yankee that he is ashamed to back 
 out before you." 
 
 They watched with interested eyes while Jack 
 went slowly up on the porch, his feet lagging more 
 at every step. When he reached the table he hesi- 
 tated perceptibly, nerving himself to touch the in- 
 strument. At last his trembling fingers snatched the 
 receiver from the hook, and he spoke into the mouth- 
 piece. 
 
 " S-scuse me, Miss Thome," he said aloud. " But
 
 296 THE SHELLEYS OF. GEORGIA 
 
 I wants to speak to Jedge Oglethorpe, thank you 
 kin'ly. W-what's dat ? Numbuh ? De Jedge ain't 
 no jailbird, to be spoke at by a numbuh, miss. 
 Yas'm. I has heard de boss gib numbuhs, but I 
 doant reckon dey wuz aimed at no pusson lak de 
 Jedge." 
 
 R*>se was about to call the number of the Judge's 
 telephone when Gabe restrained her. " Sh-h ! Wait 
 a bit," he cautioned. 
 
 " Infohmation ? What f oh does I want inf ohma- 
 tion? I ain't axin' foh no infohmation jes' de 
 Jedge. He ain't no infohmation. Yaas, dat's whut 
 I done said. I wants Jedge Oglethorpe. What's 
 dat ? West 235 ? Mus' I say dat to de op-ratuh ? 
 Suah enuff, now? Aw, g'long wid you you'se a 
 foolin' dis oP nigger. Hoi' on a minute. Say, boss, 
 dis 'phome do switch aroun' somethin' scan'lous. I'se 
 kinder skeert to hyah fust one voice an' den anudder, 
 comin' right outen de same instrument, lak it wuz 
 folks. Hullo? Who am dat? Jedge Oglethorpe? 
 Please to see you, suh. You're lookin' tolluble dis 
 mawnin'. Kin you-all come ovuh to de Captain's 
 foh lunch, suh? Ya-as suh. Yas suh. Good- 
 mawnin', suh. Good " 
 
 The Judge evidently shut off and though Jack lis- 
 tened for a moment longer no sounds came to his ears. 
 " I reckon de spring is run down, suh," he said, turn- 
 ing to Gabe. " Does I win' it up f om dis en' ? " 
 
 " Ko. The Judge is all through "
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 297 
 
 But Jack was listening to the telephone again. 
 " Gawd a'mighty," he screamed. " Dis thing am 
 a-axin' me to hang up. Hit suah am somethin' scan'- 
 lous, how it talk lak it got brains. Law-cfy ! Hit 
 keeps on a-talkin', an' it's a-gittin' mad ! Reckon I 
 better put it down ? Aw, now," he soothed in wheed- 
 ling tones, venturing to stroke the mouthpiece with 
 one black hand. " Doan't you go to gittin' riled, 
 honey, doan't you go to gittin' riled. Soon's you shet 
 up, I'll shet up. Dar, now." 
 
 With a sigh of immeasurable relief, Jack put the 
 receiver back upon its hook. " He say he come, an' 
 I done use de 'phome all right. Dis am a proud day 
 foh dis ol' nigger." 
 
 " Jack," commanded Gabe. " Come over here and 
 explain the doctrine of original sin to Mr. Fort. He 
 is a little mixed on the subject, and I know you can 
 set him straight." 
 
 "'Course I kin," said Jack proudly, willing to 
 tackle anything so simple as religion, after he had 
 just come safely through the ticklish process of hand- 
 ling the telephone. " You see, it's disaway, suh. 
 When de Lawd Gawd put Adam in de gyarden, you 
 mought a-thought dat man would a-been satisfied now, 
 moughtn't you, suh? Naw, indeedy! He say to 
 Gawd, i Has I gotter lib hyah all my life widout no 
 comp'ny but you an' de sarpint, Lawd ? ' Gawd, he 
 'low dat wuz what he had intended to do, an' he 
 'pollygize to Adam. He say to Adam, ' Go to sleep,
 
 298 THE SHELLEY S OF. GEORGIA 
 
 an' bime-by you'll hab comp'ny.' So Adam, he go to 
 sleep, an' Gawd took outen a rib an' say some words, 
 an' it tu'n right smack into a lady. Ya-as suh! 
 When Adam woke, he wuz right please'. He say, 
 1 Thank you, Gawd,' an' he set out to play wid de 
 lady. But right dere is where he met his come-up- 
 pance. She say to Adam, ' You-all is done make a 
 mistake, suh. De las' shall be fust, is Gawd's own 
 words, written in de !New Testamen'. I may get 
 hyah late, but I'se right on de job. You wuz meant 
 to serve me, an' now git busy an' bring me a apple. 
 I'se hongry.' Adam, he 'low Gawd done ferbid 
 apples. Eve say she want one, an' dat's enuff. So 
 Adam fotch huh one, an' she eat, an' he eat, an' so 
 dey gits sont out ob de gyarden. Dat wuz de 'riginal 
 sin, suh, what Gawd ain't nebbuh done fergib, untwell 
 Chris' die on de cross. Eben dat wasn't quite enuff 
 f oh Gawd, so we all has to be bo'n agin bef o' we kin 
 be save'." 
 
 " That is a very clear explanation," said Fort seri- 
 ously. He felt genuine respect for the fervor of old 
 Jack, and went up another step in the estimation of 
 his friends because he did not joke nor laugh. " Do 
 you think you ought to put quite so much blame on 
 Eve?" 
 
 " Wai, bein' in de presence ob ladies, I doan't know 
 ezzackly how to 'spress myse'f," hesitated Jack. 
 " But it suah am de truth dat Gawd made a mistake 
 in makin' Eve aftuh Adam. Bein' de las' one fin-
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 299 
 
 ished up, 'course he put in some extry improvements. 
 When I hyah folks a-talkin' nowadays about women 
 gittin' eddicated lak Miss Rose, an' women's rights, 
 an' women votin', an' all sich, I jes' shakes dis ol' 
 woolly haid, an' I says, ' Dey's still atter dat ar apple, 
 an' de menf oiks mought as well gib in. Dey's gwine 
 to git it anyhow, an' pore old Adam hatter do de 
 climbin' foh 'em, jes' de same.' Fas' as dey finishes 
 up wid one apple, dey wants anudder. De on'y ad- 
 vantage I kin see in ebery one ob deir deman's is, dat 
 dey allus is williri foh de menfolks to hob a bite. 
 Now if Adam had a-been made af tuh Eve, suh, an' he 
 had wanted a apple lak she want it, an' Tie had made 
 Eve git it foh him, suh, why Adam would 'a' set 
 right down an' eat it all up his-se'f. Ta-as suh! 
 
 " Dar am de Jedge a-comin' yondah. Thank you 
 kin'ly foh listenin' to dis ol' nigger, suh. May you- 
 all come to see de truth ob de doctern ob 'riginal sin, 
 an' all othuh docterns, suh." 
 
 He hurried off to open the gate, and to hold the 
 Judge's horse while he alighted. Although a stout 
 and elderly man, the Judge liked to ride horseback, 
 and still indulged himself in the habit, though he was 
 forced to groan audibly as he eased himself down 
 from the saddle. 
 
 " God bless my soul ! " he sputtered, rubbing an 
 aching knee. " The rheumatism got in some pretty 
 licks on me this morning, while I was in bed asleep. 
 I woke feeling like a hen that has set three weeks
 
 300 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 
 
 on stones instead of eggs. How are you, Gabe? 
 Rose, you are lovelier than ever ? Mr. Fort, I'm glad 
 to see you looking so hearty Gabe knows how to 
 stuff waffles and fried chicken down your throat 
 and mint juleps, too, eh? Got any of those last 
 about, Gabe? I'm thirsty as usual. Madge, give 
 us a kiss and a hug. How is everybody, anyway ? " 
 
 They all acknowledged his greetings, and he took 
 a chair among them. " Well, Gabe," he said. 
 " Tom Blankenship thinks he can manage his own 
 affairs now. I went in to see him this morning. So 
 if you'll come down to the courthouse to-morrow, we'll 
 relieve you of this guardianship business." 
 
 "How is Tom?" Gabe inquired. 
 
 The Judge shook his head dubiously. " Such a 
 change in any man I never saw," he declared 
 solemnly. "Do you remember how Tom used to strut 
 about like a fighting cock ? I tell you I'd give a good 
 deal to see a little bit of that old time self-conceit in 
 him now. He is so moody, downcast, and so lacking 
 in energy and life, that it almost breaks my heart to 
 talk to him. No more political quarrels, I am afraid, 
 Gabe. And they were the richest things in the news- 
 papers, too." 
 
 " I reckon Tom has gone through a whole lot," said 
 Gabe. " He'U come out all right" 
 
 "I don't know," answered the Judge thought- 
 fully. "I don't know. He looks to me as 
 though he hasn't got enough nerve left to raise an
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 301 
 
 umbrella when it rains. If I hit him in the face, 
 he'd not resent it. He'd just turn the other cheek 
 and invite me to help myself. No spirit left God 
 bless my soul ! Whatever will Salem do without its 
 bold reckless devil-may-care Tom Blankenship ? 
 Who will furnish us our thrills, supply us with food 
 for gossip, make our heads shake over his misde- 
 meanors, and all the time command our heartiest lik- 
 ing? It was a sad day for this town when Tom 
 joined the army," mourned the Judge, shaking his 
 old head. " It was a sad, sad day for Salem." 
 
 " Captain Gabe seems able to furnish some excite- 
 ment," interposed Homer with a smile. 
 
 " Of a good kind," objected the Judge. " It is all 
 very well as far as it goes, but the virtuous old ladies, 
 bless their hearts, will never be happy unless some 
 scapegrace is hashing up the other kind for their 
 benefit. It's the same with us old men, and with the 
 young folks, too, for that matter. We hold up our 
 hands and gasp. ' How awful ! ' And then we 
 stand breathless, watching to see him do it again. It 
 helps us to be moral, Mr. Fort, to contemplate the 
 immoralities of others. The church folk could never 
 be so saintly without the sinners to look down upon. 
 Heaven wouldn't be worth shucks, if it wasn't for 
 hell. We measure our future bliss in one by the 
 future pain in the other. Take away hell, as you 
 modern thinkers are doing, and heaven won't be left 
 a leg to stand on. Brotherly love will take the place
 
 302 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 of orthodoxy. Saints will consort with sinners, in- 
 stead of laboring with their souls. Then where will 
 the churches be ? Instead of Sunday places of wor- 
 ship they will degenerate into week-day club-houses, 
 with libraries, swimming-pools, gymnasiums, theaters 
 and dance-halls. God bless my soul ! It's enough to 
 make the Almighty hasten Judgment Day. He'd 
 better hurry up, anyhow, before the new-fangled ideas 
 have done away with it entirely. The line between 
 the righteous and the unrighteous will be wiped out, 
 and then what will become of us ? Every last one of 
 us will turn into Democrats, and this great republican 
 nation will go to smash." 
 
 How much of this was irony, and how much was 
 due to the Judge's sorrow at the passing of an old 
 day, Homer was unable to tell. As Rose and Madge 
 and Gabe laughed, he joined in, too, and then per- 
 ceived that the Judge's half -querulous complaints had 
 been made with this end in view. He laughed him- 
 self, patted Madge on the back, shook hands with 
 Gabe, beamed at Rose and Homer, and asked for the 
 latest news. 
 
 Meanwhile Uncle Jack and Janey had set the table 
 in the garden, and the family now drew up their 
 chairs to partake of a bounteous meal, which Gabe 
 called, and evidently considered, a light lunch. 
 
 "No wonder yon grow fat fast, Homer," com- 
 mented the Judge with his mouth full. " How Rose 
 and Madge keep their figures is beyond me."
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 303 
 
 "We control our appetites, Father," laughed 
 Madge, and then she jumped, as a small and respect- 
 ful cough sounded just behind her back. 
 
 " Who's there ? " she exclaimed, and turning, faced 
 a slender sunburnt boy, who stood first on one bare 
 foot and then the other, in an agony of embarrass- 
 ment. 
 
 " Why, hello, Jimmy," she said. " What do you 
 want ? " 
 
 Jimmy swallowed, made a desperate attempt to 
 speak, then turned and ignominiously fled. 
 
 " Aw ! Whatcher scairt about ? " came in shrill 
 staccatos from the other side of the fence, where the 
 grown folks perceived a group of white boys from the 
 poorer quarter of the busy town. 
 
 "That's what I want to know," roared Gabe. 
 " Jimmy Brown, come back here and tell me what you 
 boys have come for, or I'll lick the stuffings out of 
 you." 
 
 This threat had the. desired effect. Jimmy paused, 
 and jeered on by his comrades outside, slowly re- 
 traced his steps. 
 
 " Here ! Have a piece of cake," invited Madge. 
 " And a glass of iced tea. Shall I put sugar in it ? " 
 
 " Madge ! " exclaimed Judge Oglethorpe in mock 
 horror. " The idea of asking a boy if he will have 
 sugar in his tea ! What you should ask him is will 
 he have iced tea in his sugar." 
 
 Madge took the hint and liberally sweetened the
 
 304 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 
 
 tall, frosty glassful. The sight of Jimmy cramming 
 tea and cake was too much for the boys outside, and 
 they promptly advanced in a body, to support their 
 leader who had been basely left to go through the 
 ordeal alone. 
 
 " Now see what you've done," sighed the Judge. 
 " I'll give up my share of cake it ain't good for my 
 rheumatism, but, God bless my soul, I won't give up 
 my tea." 
 
 "There are plenty of both, Father," laughed 
 Madge, with a nod to Uncle Jack, who disappeared 
 kitchenwards. " Did you forget that I am the wife 
 of a man famed for his hospitality? I don't ever 
 make a cake I make calces. Come on, boys, we'll 
 have an impromptu picnic. Jimmy, you wait for the 
 rest. Maybe you'd like some bread as well. Here 
 is a plateful to begin on. Janey, get a whole lot 
 more, and bring out that ham I ordered boiled yes- 
 terday. Send one of the boys down to the spring- 
 house for more butter, and have Uncle Jack bring 
 out the whole water-cooler." 
 
 At these commands the last shyness on the part of 
 the youngsters disappeared. With whoops of de- 
 light they swarmed about the table, their mission 
 quite forgotten. Ten minutes later they were busy 
 stowing away eatables as fast as Madge, Eose, and 
 the servants, could get them ready. 
 
 "Now, Jimmy," said Gabe when momentary re-
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 305 
 
 pletion brought a lull in the hubbub. "What did 
 you want me for ? " 
 
 " Our new baseball team, Cap'n Gabe," said the 
 boy eagerly. 
 
 " You don't want me to join, do you ? " asked Gabe 
 with a comical look of dismay. 
 
 " Naw. But we need some bats and balls, and we 
 want a place of our own to play in, where the bigger 
 boys won't be allowed to maul us. And we want to 
 mark out our field with lime, like the big boys do, 
 and have a flag, and uniforms, and a catcher's mask, 
 and mitt, and lots of things." 
 
 "Well! Why don't you get 'em?" Gabe was 
 mildly inquiring. 
 
 " 'Cause we 'ain't we 'ain't got no money." 
 
 " How do you usually get money ? " 
 
 " Sometimes we do odd jobs, and sometimes our 
 folks gives us pennies. But we thought, bein' as how 
 this is a regular nine we are forming, maybe you'd 
 give us a donation of five dollars," stated Jimmy 
 modestly. " If you could make it ten, we could put 
 up a bench so as you could watch us play." 
 
 " God bless my soul," snorted Judge Oglethorpe. 
 "I'm glad I haven't the name of being a philan- 
 thropist. Why don't you ask me to help on this 
 thing, Jimmy ? " 
 
 Jimmy looked doubtful. " My maw says as how 
 you don't never put but fifty cents in the missionary
 
 306 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 box," he blurted out at last. " And the f urreign 
 kids git so much more attention than us Salem kids 
 do, that we thought if that was all you'd give to them, 
 you wasn't likely to give nothin' to us." 
 
 " Hear, hear ! " sputtered the Judge, much 
 amused. " Jimmy, my boy, I don't happen to be 
 enthused about foreign missions. If I can spare fifty 
 cents for the heathen, I reckon I can give you young- 
 sters a dollar. Now tackle Mr. Fort over there, and 
 see what he has to say." 
 
 Homer searched his pockets. As the Judge tossed 
 four quarters into the group of boys, he followed with 
 a handful of small change, and there was a wild, en- 
 thusiastic scramble. When the noise had subsided, 
 Gabe looked into Jimmy's expectant eyes, and said 
 slowly, " You see the Judge is more of a philan- 
 thropist than I am, if that word means the giving 
 away of things. If I donate anything to your base- 
 ball nine, it won't be money, but something you can 
 turn into money. Your field will be more precious 
 to you if you earn it. Now don't look sorry until I 
 have told you what I have in mind. I've got a peach- 
 tree nursery over yonder, where the trees are the 
 right size for sale. I expect to get a dollar apiece 
 for every nursling. I'll give you boys ten cents on 
 each tree you sell for me around the town here. You 
 take the orders, and I'll deliver the goods, collect 
 the money, and turn over your share to the treasurer 
 of the nine. How about it ? "
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 307 
 
 " We-ell," hesitated Jimmy. " If that's the best 
 you can do, I reckon we'll just have to hustle and see 
 how many peach-trees we can sell. If we had the 
 money now we could go ahead with our grounds. 
 Will you give us a place on a field somewhere, and 
 warn off the big boys, or have we got to earn that, 
 too?" 
 
 "Ill loan you some ground," promised Gabe. 
 " And I'll see that you get protection. Now you all 
 get to work and sell those trees for me. Good-by, 
 boys." 
 
 "Good-by. Good-by, Cap'n Gabe. Good-by." 
 With nods, and sheepish smiles the boys filed away, 
 leaving their elders much amused as well as enlight- 
 ened by the incident. 
 
 " Don't ever tell me you are a philanthropist again, 
 Gabe," said the Judge. " You're a regular skinflint. 
 You know darned well you'd have to pay a man a 
 salary and a commission, to sell those same nurslings 
 for you. You are getting off cheap, God bless my 
 soul!" 
 
 " So I am," admitted Gabe. " But then I aim to 
 come across with some extras if the boys make good. 
 I'll print 'em handbills, and give their nine a write- 
 up, and get their uniforms for next to nothing. But 
 I don't believe in promiscuous giving. Every boy in 
 town would be after me, if I had forked out what 
 Jimmy asked for. Now they will all be selling trees 
 for me, which will suit me very well. As for you,
 
 308 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 Judge, and you, Homer, you look out. Your charity 
 will hound you to your graves." 
 
 "That's so," sputtered the Judge. "That's so, 
 Gabe. Never mind. If another boy comes to me 
 for money, I'll threaten to set the sheriff on him." 
 
 But other boys did come, and the Judge's hand 
 went into his pocket unfailingly, just the same. 
 Whether he thus created paupers, while Gabe's 
 scheme created workers, it is not for this story to de- 
 taiL Suffice it to say that the peach-tree nursery was 
 emptied of its trees by spring, and the number of new 
 uniforms, bats, balls, masks, and other paraphernalia 
 which blossomed forth in Salem, quite put the peach- 
 trees in the shade. And Gabe said whimsically, as 
 he paid the last money over to the treasurer of the 
 nine, " It's a good thing, Jimmy Brown, that I lim- 
 ited you to the nurslings, or every tree on my place 
 would have been sold." 
 
 " Just give us a chance at the big trees, Cap'n," 
 answered Jimmy modestly. "By gosh, we could 
 show you some profits."
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 IT might seem as though Judge Oglethorpe ex- 
 aggerated Tom Blankenship's condition, but on 
 the contrary his statement was mild and far 
 short of the truth. During the old man's visit Tom 
 had made a tremendous effort to appear like his 
 former self. How far this effort failed we have al- 
 ready seen, and yet it was in a measure successful, 
 since the Judge was kept from realizing the true 
 state of the case. 
 
 It was now considerably over a month and a half 
 since Mrs. Kemp's departure. That month and a 
 half had been a nightmare of longing and despair to 
 Tom. He alternated between one tortured mood 
 and another, until he was no longer capable of active 
 suffering and sank into a dull apathetic state, into 
 which nothing intruded except his love for Mrs. 
 Kemp, the acme of his pain. 
 
 At first he paced his room and wrung his hands 
 and wept the bitter scalding tears of bereaved man- 
 hood. At first, too, he experienced rare moments of 
 ecstasy in which he again held her in his arms and 
 pressed his lips to hers. But those moments were 
 followed by others so black that he learned in time to
 
 310 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 
 
 fight shy of all such recollections. He even sought 
 to cast her image from his heart, hoping to find relief 
 in absence of all thought and memory, but this was 
 impossible. Though he no longer dwelt upon her in 
 his mind, he was conscious of her in the same way 
 that he was conscious of himself. This conscious- 
 ness persisted through the dark days which fol- 
 lowed, wherein he forced himself to be quiescent and 
 resigned. 
 
 However, in spite of himself, Tom was a conva- 
 lescent. His body was cared for by Nathan, and his 
 appetite coaxed by his housekeeper. The Doctor put 
 his brain to sleep sometimes, out of sheer pity for the 
 once splendid physique that was now struggling to 
 return. And his long abstinence from dissipation, 
 together with all the other influences which had been 
 at work upon him, made his brain tissues healthy. 
 He needed only a touch to wake to clear thought and 
 understanding. 
 
 This touch he received shortly after the Judge's 
 visit. The cheerfully querulous old man had al- 
 ways amused Tom, who liked him heartily enough to 
 make an effort at his entertainment. When he left 
 Tom felt exceptionally lonely. He looked at the 
 paper, decided that nothing interested him there, 
 tried a novel with no success, lounged about his room 
 aimlessly for a while, and then began to rummage in 
 his desk. 
 
 It had been locked ever since the day Mrs. Kemp
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 311 
 
 had put it into order for him, and now, as he glanced 
 at its neat arrangement, his letters all tied into or- 
 derly packets, the dull ache in his heart throbbed into 
 active pain. He took down one of the bundles, and 
 found it labelled " Business Correspondence." She 
 had sorted out some envelopes with return addresses 
 in the upper corners, and banded them together. He 
 reached for another packet. " Legal Matters " was 
 written upon this one. He noted that the return ad- 
 dresses were all those of attorneys. Another ah, 
 these were upon notepaper, and the mischievous little 
 nurse had labelled them boldly, " Love-letters." On 
 the reverse side of the tag, so fine that ho could hardly 
 read it, he found a tiny verse of poetry : 
 
 "Oh, letters of love, with each word a caress, 
 Kissed by the lips that against mine would press, 
 I am jealous of you, for the words you contain 
 Would be stale if by me were repeated again. 
 Had you all been by me, then you all had been true. 
 Since you all were by others, your phrasings won't do. 
 This makes it much harder my love to confess, 
 Since I must seek new words my thoughts to express." 
 
 Tom read and re-read the faulty little verse, and 
 then he laid his tired head down upon the package of 
 letters. They were not all love-letters, but, alas, some 
 of them were, and of a type he would not have had 
 her pure fingers touch. Did she guess this? Or 
 had her rhyming been inspired by mere impulse to 
 tease ? Didn't she know that, even if she did repeat
 
 312 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 the words of some of the letters, they would never 
 sound the same from her as they did coming from 
 those others ? Was it true that he had cheapened 
 himself and his love, and had lost her respect for- 
 ever? 
 
 Suddenly he rose, went to his bureau, lifted up his 
 mother's picture in its silver frame, and carried it 
 back to the desk. He started to put it beside the 
 packet, and then gave a slight shiver of disgust. Had 
 he been guided by some instinct in keeping her face 
 in one spot, and these records of his loves in another ? 
 He only knew that now he could not see them to- 
 gether, and after removing the poetic label, he threw 
 the letters into the grate and touched a match to them. 
 After watching them burn merrily, he returned to the 
 desk again, where Mrs. Kemp's writing lay against 
 his mother's face. 
 
 "Mother," he said aloud to the sweet placid 
 countenance of the photograph. " Did you ever think 
 your son would come to this ? You were an old-fash- 
 ioned mother. There were many things unspoken of 
 between us. Dad was an old-fashioned father, too. 
 How often he spoke to me of sowing my wild 
 oats, as if it were the only natural thing for a man 
 to do ? How often he told of other men sowing theirs, 
 and of his own young days when l wine, women, and 
 song ' took up all of his waking hours and most of 
 his sleeping ones. ' I was a rare dog then,' he would 
 say with a wink, and of course I thought it was great
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 313 
 
 sport to be a rare dog, and longed for the time when I 
 could be one too. And I early learned that such re- 
 marks were not for your delicate ears. Ladies were 
 to be loved and honored and deceived. Oh, 
 Mother, wouldn't it have been better if you had been 
 less satisfied with your anomalous position ? Was it 
 quite fair to your son, to accept the old traditions 
 and customs, and resign yourself to the one niche in 
 Dad's life which he fashioned for you to occupy? 
 I've been proud, too, of the pedestal on which we keep 
 our women. But is it not wiser for them to step 
 down, than to remain forever aloof ? I wonder ! " 
 
 For a space he sat in silent thought with his eyes 
 still bent upon the fair faded countenance. Then 
 again he spoke, this time with conviction. "Why 
 wasn't I told things ? " he demanded fiercely. " Why 
 was I allowed to suppose that I could do as I pleased 
 with impunity ? Why was I encouraged instead of 
 restrained? Why were wild oats given a glamour, 
 and purity made to seem the cloak of passionless 
 fools ? It hasn't been all my fault this mess I 
 have made of my life. You, Mother, with your 
 pretty smiling lips, your unworried brow, your calm 
 proud eyes you were to blame. You had no busi- 
 ness to be calm and proud and unworried when you 
 knew you must have known you couldn't help 
 "bui know what sort of life my father led. You 
 had no business to sit serene and watch my feet start 
 on the same course without one single protest be-
 
 314 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 cause ' there are some subjects ladies do not discuss.' 
 And my dad was to blame, too. He pointed out the 
 way for me. He taught me my morals while you 
 taught me my prayers. He was to blame but back 
 of him and you goes the long line of my ancestors 
 fighting, roistering young blades, smooth-browed, 
 smirking damsels, old men boasting of their youthful 
 follies, old women indulging virtuously in spicy 
 gossip. What chance had I ? I was foredoomed to 
 the sort of life I have led and would in time have 
 become a boaster in my turn, had it not been for 
 Rose, and the Kid Lieutenant, and Mrs. Kemp. I 
 ought to be thankful for being made to halt upon the 
 road down which I was galloping so gayly. They 
 did me one good turn." 
 
 He leaned his forehead upon his hand and con- 
 tinued to gaze earnestly at the picture, while he toyed 
 with the bit of verse. " Still," he mused, " they do 
 not seem to be able to take all this into consideration. 
 They hold me responsible alone, and alone they would 
 have me pay the dreadful price. They condemn me 
 willingly to such a course. I wonder I do not hate 
 them all. I wonder that I can consider so calmly 
 what they would have me do. I wonder that I no 
 longer feel those wild longings for revenge, which 
 once leaped within me. Eegret and melancholy have 
 sapped my soul and left me nothing but my love for 
 Mrs. Kemp. It is all of me that is alive to-day. If, 
 in the future, I could see one ray of hope that some
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 315 
 
 day she would be my own, I would be able to ac- 
 complish anything, but now all is dark before me. 
 Life with Minnie Gray? Is there no alternative 
 that would please her? I can see her in my fancy, 
 with her brown eyes so clear and unfaltering, her lit- 
 tle head poised so proudly, her lips so firm and un- 
 compromising. She stands at the branching of the 
 roads and points one way to Minnie. ' Marry her 
 and make me happy,' she said. Is that true ? " 
 
 Another pause, and again he spoke aloud. " I 
 love her so dearly that I should try to make her 
 happy. But for the life of me, I cannot see that such 
 a course as this she proposes could ever make her so, 
 or Minnie either? Minnie Gray would be as much 
 at a loss with me as I would be with her. During 
 that one short episode, which I now regard with such 
 regret and shame, there was no intimacy between us 
 save the fleeting one of sexual attraction. Why, 
 then, should we have to be bound together to the 
 wheel ? Wouldn't it be as much of a penance to her 
 as to me ? The boy ? Always the boy ! He is the 
 reason they advance. Well, let me consider that 
 reason calmly. Could I ever hope to be the proper 
 sort of father for him ? Could I train him to honor 
 and revere his mother, and, through her, all women ? 
 I wonder! Suppose I go to Minnie Gray, as she 
 would have me do. Does she intend that my task 
 should end with the mere act of marriage ? No, for, 
 she wishes me to remain a husband to Minnie and a
 
 316 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 father to the boy. Husband and father! Father 
 and husband ! For the first time I perceive a glim- 
 mering of what those words contain. To be a hus- 
 band to Minnie Gray, I must suppress myself en- 
 tirely. I must be kind, sympathetic, understanding. 
 I must merge my personality in hers O God ! 
 and try to lead her on and upward. To be a father 
 to the boy I must teach him purity of heart and soul, 
 nobility of purpose, gentleness of spirit, faith in 
 God and man! And I must teach him to respect 
 his mother more much more than I respected 
 mine. I see now what I must do first of all and 
 that is, teach myself. Yet surely in teaching them 
 I will teach myself, and perhaps some day I may at- 
 tain the heights as well, and be worthy of this wonder- 
 ful love I bear Mrs. Kemp." 
 
 He paused again, and re-read the bit of poetry, 
 with a tender smile. After all, who was he to dare 
 aspire to the pure, alluring, tender, mysterious bit of 
 femininity he knew as Mrs. Kemp ? She was right 
 and he was wrong. She was farther above him than 
 the stars. Her own small feet were firmly planted 
 upon the way of truth. And yet he had dared to lift 
 his stained soul and try to compass hers ! She was 
 right and he was wrong. She was a being set apart, 
 whom he had done nothing to deserve. Whosesoever 
 the fault, the expiation must be begun, or else the 
 future generations too would bear the yoke which he 
 had borne, and bearing it, would drag others down.
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 317 
 
 And so at last the weary man surrendered. He 
 locked away his mother's picture, half ashamed that 
 he had arraigned her, yet conscious that he had 
 heen merely just. He put the scrap of paper in his 
 pocket, a talisman the only bit of his nurse which 
 he possessed. It would stay with him, a constant 
 reminder that she had loved him, and had placed his 
 honor before everything. He would act as she would 
 have him act, and justify her love. Then perhaps 
 the "new words" would spring unbidden to her 
 heart, and though he might never hear her speak 
 them, yet he would know that they were there. 
 
 The morning had passed by while Tom made his 
 resolution. His long vigil had put its mark upon 
 him. He was still pale and thin, and walked slowly, 
 but with a new vigor now that he had at last reached 
 active purpose. His eyes were quite restored. 
 Upon his forehead the cruel mark was partially hid- 
 den under his hair, and time would whiten it into 
 less fiery prominence. He tolerated it because it 
 had brought him her whom he worshiped with the 
 best that was in him. And when he left his own 
 door for the first time in months, he bore well the 
 curious glances which swept over him to rest in- 
 evitably upon it. 
 
 " Laws*/ ! If it ain't Tom Blankenship ! " This 
 sentiment, differently expressed, preceded him down 
 the street, and he ran the gauntlet of curiosity, inter- 
 est, sly questions and genuine friendly sympathy, all
 
 318 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 of which he knew enough to regard leniently as the 
 most natural thing in a town like Salem. To all who 
 accosted him he answered in a manner so different 
 from his former devil-may-care raillery, that the 
 noise preceding his coming died after his passing, and 
 silent wonder took its place. The town's-folk had no 
 words fo express this new something they sensed in 
 the young man unless it was that he had " gone 
 and got religion." Later on this conjecture became 
 current gossip, and was developed into permanent his- 
 tory. 
 
 Tom hent his steps towards the Shelley house. 
 Having flung down his arms, he was willing to go to 
 extremes in his expiation, and it seemed to him only 
 right and fitting that Rose and Madge and Gahe 
 should come first. He realized now how truly his 
 friends they had tried to be. He was bent upon 
 humble acknowledgment of this fact. And it was 
 in keeping with his attitude of mind that he walked 
 instead of using his fast horse. 
 
 For this reason he was tired when he reached their 
 gate, and paused for breath and to look about at the 
 beautiful garden and dignified mansion. There were 
 evidences that a lunch party had been in progress, but 
 the place was now deserted, for a wonder, and its 
 peace struck him anew. The characters of those who 
 lived within had made their impress on the scene. 
 Again a sense of his unworthiness stole upon him, so 
 overwhelmingly that he was tempted to turn away.
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 319 
 
 'But his will held him, and with bowed head he en- 
 tered. 
 
 As he neared the porch merry voices from within 
 the house struck on his ear. Eose was laughing and 
 talking to some one, a man, as his gruffer tones now 
 told Tom. But before he could wonder who this man 
 might be, the front door opened, and Gabe came out 
 with Madge and old Judge Oglethorpe. 
 
 " God bless my soul ! " exclaimed the Judge, while 
 Gabe called, "Bose, look who's here!" and then 
 dashed down the steps to seize Tom's limp hand in so 
 hearty a grip as to quite bewilder the poor fellow, 
 who, from too much brooding, had imagined a recep- 
 tion more in accord with his just deserts. 
 
 Madge followed Gabe, and caught hold of Tom's 
 other hand. " It does seem good to know that you 
 are well enough to be walking about again," she 
 beamed. 
 
 " By Jove, it does," seconded the Judge, and, since 
 Tom had no other hand available, he grabbed a coat- 
 lapel, and shook it vigorously. 
 
 " Who is it, Father ? " called Eose's gay voice, and 
 while Tom was still helpless in the hands of his 
 friends, she ran out and spied him. The color left 
 her cheeks, and for a moment she stood wide-eyed. 
 Slowly, hesitantly, she came forward, while the others 
 stepped back so that Tom stood alone. And then, 
 with a glad little rush, she swooped down the steps. 
 "Tom, Tom!" she cried. "How glorious to see
 
 320 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 you here once more ! " And in her excess of extrava- 
 gant emotion she gave him a hearty hug and kiss. 
 
 " Here, here ! " cried the Judge. " This won't do, 
 Kose." 
 
 " Oh, I know," she cried. " But I had to express 
 myself somehow. Tom, how are you ? Come up on 
 the porch and rest, and tell us all the news about 
 yourself. Come up and meet Mr. Fort. He was at 
 the front when you were, and it was he who saved 
 your life. Hurry ! Mr. Fort, come here ! This is 
 TomBlankenship!" 
 
 So speaking breathlessly in a whirlwind of joy, 
 Rose pulled Tom up the wide steps. He protested 
 laughingly, touched to the heart by his welcome. 
 
 " I don't want to meet Mr. Fort yet, nor I don't 
 want the Judge around either. I want to speak to 
 just you, Kose, and Madge and Gabe. I have some- 
 thing to say to you all." 
 
 Fort, from the doorway, had seen the welcome 
 Rose gave Tom, and had quite understood. That 
 was one of the likable things about him, his readiness 
 to understand. He now came forward with a smile 
 of greeting, and extended his hand to Tom. " I'll 
 say, how do you do ? first," he remarked, " and then 
 the Judge and I will go for a stroll. I met you once 
 before, Mr. Blankenship, in Captain Gabe's office." 
 
 Every vestige of the color which had flooded Tom's 
 sallow cheeks left them as Homer spoke and grasped 
 his hand. There was no mistaking that kindly voice,
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 321 
 
 nor the warm clasp. Tom was carried back to a night 
 in Cuba, when he lay dying. 
 
 " It was you who saved me," he now said simply. 
 " I know your voice and touch. I didn't deserve 
 your kindness, but some day perhaps I can make you 
 glad you went out of your way to help me. After 
 all, why should you or the Judge leave us ? I pre- 
 sume you both know the particulars of my story, don't 
 you?" 
 
 Homer nodded, at which Eose looked surprised, 
 and Gabe a trifle guilty. The Judge chuckled softly. 
 " God bless my soul, the whole town knows your 
 story, Tom. You'd be surprised how near they come 
 to some of it, too. They know you were in love with 
 Eose and that she refused you. They know you are 
 in love with Mrs. Kemp and that she left you. But 
 it has been so long since you have furnished Salem 
 with any real thrills that they are quite disconsolate. 
 I came to Madge and got straight information, so I 
 had the excitement of waiting for the final outcome. 
 If you don't mind I'll stay, and so will Homer." 
 
 Tom, eager to acknowledge his fault, was ready to 
 humble himself wholesale. " I don't mind at all," 
 he said. " What I have to state can be gotten over 
 in a very few words. It is merely that I have taken 
 time to think the matter over, and have come to see 
 the reasonableness of yours and Mrs. Kemp's posi- 
 tion. My only honorable course is to do as you de- 
 sire. I have also decided that I made an utter fool
 
 322 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 
 
 of myself that day at the post-office, Captain Gabe, 
 and several other times that I could mention. I 
 have been punished severely for the past. I am 
 ready to turn about. Madge, will you forgive me, 
 and give me a chance to prove myself your friend ? " 
 
 " This is fine of you, Tom," said Rose earnestly. 
 She was the first to clasp his hand. 
 
 "Don't say another word, my boy," commanded 
 Gabe. " Your coming here to-day was quite enough 
 to show how you had changed. We'll just turn over 
 a new leaf and start fresh. By the Lord Harry! 
 You just wait until you see my editorial to-morrow. 
 I'll rip you up and down the back, Tom, in my best 
 old-time style." 
 
 This brought a faint smile to Tom's lips. " You 
 can call me all the names you like, Captain," he said. 
 " So long as you take me by the hand and call me 
 friend as well." 
 
 " Gabe," said the Judge plaintively. " Can't we 
 celebrate with a julep ? " 
 
 " Of course we can," answered Gabe. " Jack, you 
 rascal, where are you ? " 
 
 " Hyar, boss ! " The negro appeared so suddenly 
 from behind the corner of the veranda that the Judge 
 exploded. 
 
 " God bless my soul, the scoundrel was listening, I 
 do believe." 
 
 "Baigin 5 yo' pahdon, suh," responded Jack with 
 dignity. "I wuzn't ezzackly listenin', but I I
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 323 
 
 jus' happened to be in de vimcimity, an' ob co'se silt- 
 tin words reached my years. But listenin' ! Huh ! 
 Ain't dis ol' nigguh got a right to listen, foh dat mat- 
 tuh ? Ain't I one ob de f ambly ? Ain't I done been 
 wid de Boss eber sence Miss Rose wuz a baby? 
 Ain't much goin' on around hyar dat I doan't hab a 
 finguh in, is dey, Miss Eose ? " 
 
 "That's right, Uncle Jack," said Eose. "And 
 we'd all trust you anywhere." 
 
 " Dar now," grinned TJncle Jack, much mollified, 
 and departed upon his errand. Tom nervously 
 turned to Eose. 
 
 " Where shall I find Minnie Gray ? " he asked di- 
 rectly. " I mean to marry her as soon as possible. 
 The sooner I can get it over, the better." 
 
 " Is that the way to approach your wedding, 
 Tom ? " reproved the Judge. 
 
 " It is the only way to approach this one," said 
 Tom quickly. " I have made up my mind to do the 
 best I can," he continued frankly. " I shall devote 
 myself to Minnie and the boy. I'll try to teach him 
 to avoid the course I followed. I'll try to educate 
 her and turn her into a woman he can be proud to 
 call his mother. I may fail, but at least I will have 
 made the effort. And my reward will be in your re- 
 spect and friendship, and perhaps, once in a great 
 while, a word from Mrs. Kemp. Do you think she 
 would grant me that one small favor, Eose?" he 
 asked wistfully. " Do you think she will send me a
 
 324 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 
 
 word of encouragement now and then, to sustain me" 
 on my course ? " 
 
 " Oh, I am sure she will," cried Rose, with tear- 
 filled eyes. " I am quite sure she will. Minnie is 
 in her old home, waiting for you, Tom. You will 
 find her changed by suffering, as well as you. And 
 perhaps your task will prove easier than you now 
 apprehend."
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 ""W "IT T E have got to hurry if we are going to 
 \/\/ get to the hills ahead of Tom Blanken- 
 ship," announced Gabe, after Tom had 
 gone. 
 
 Eose looked up in glad surprise. " Oh, Father," 
 she exclaimed. " Then it is to be this afternoon, 
 after all ? I had been so afraid you meant to make 
 me wait until next week." 
 
 "Perhaps I might, if Tom had not come," re- 
 turned Gabe. " Well, no, I won't say that, either. I 
 was debating whether to go to-day or to-morrow, and 
 now I think it had better be to-day. I want Minnie 
 to be with us, and I want all of your attention, my 
 dear. So, before your pretty head gets filled with 
 wedding plans, I'll get in my innings." 
 
 " I'm going along, Gabe," said the Judge at his 
 elbow. " But I can't ride horseback that far. How 
 soon shall we start ? " 
 
 " As soon as Jack can get the team harnessed," an- 
 swered Gabe. " How are all of us going to pile in ? 
 You, Judge, need a whole seat to yourself, and even 
 then you may break the springs." 
 325
 
 326 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 " I don't care, I'm going," declared the Judge ob- 
 stinately. " I've got to know your secret as well as 
 Eose and Madge and Homer Fort. If I break the 
 springs, I'll pay for 'em, Gabe, you old skinflint." 
 
 " I shall ride Betsy," said Eose calmly. 
 
 " Lend me a horse, and I'll keep you company," 
 cried Homer. 
 
 " You can take mine, so that's all settled," inter- 
 posed the Judge. "Madge, I'll drive, so you and 
 Gabe can spoon behind my back." 
 
 "If Gabe goes as sheriff, I shall keep my dis- 
 tance," retorted Madge placidly. "But if he goes 
 as the gentleman farmer he has been all summer, 
 I'll not answer for the consequences." 
 
 " Gentleman farmer it shall be," chuckled Gabe de- 
 lightedly. 
 
 " I see," laughed the Judge, " that you have a 
 choice of gallants, Madge. Don't you care for the 
 editor, or the politician, or the Civil War veter- 
 an?" 
 
 Madge shrugged her pretty shoulders. " I pre- 
 fer my farmer husband," she said loyally, " for ordi- 
 nary every-day existence. But I don't mind telling 
 you that the philanthropist is the one I really most 
 adore." 
 
 She went with Eose into the house to get ready for 
 the journey, which Gabe had announced with such 
 scant preliminaries. The three men walked out to 
 the stables, and a half -hour later they were on their
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 327 
 
 way to the hills, with Rose and Homer leading the 
 way on their spirited mounts. 
 
 The two young people were silent, at first, Rose oc- 
 cupied with her own thoughts, and he with watching 
 her. While he was " head over heels in love " he had 
 his emotions well under control, and until his oppor- 
 tunity came he meant to continue to restrain them. 
 The intimacy between himself and Rose had daily 
 grown. During the past few weeks Madge had 
 sought out opportunities to throw them into each 
 other's company, and Rose had been unwontedly meek 
 and docile, accepting demurely the plans Madge made 
 for her, and outwardly had been calm, quiet and 
 friendly. But her eyes baffled Homer. He could 
 not guess what went on in the active brain behind 
 them. Frank though the girl was, up to a certain 
 limit, her reserve beyond that point was impene- 
 trable. 
 
 However, it was clear that Rose had been deeply 
 touched by Tom's visit, and Homer was wondering 
 if her softened mood did not give him the chance he 
 wanted, of probing into the deeps of her heart. So 
 he continued watching her covertly, while he kept his 
 horse beside hers. 
 
 At last she roused from her reverie, and it was 
 evident that his gaze upon her was what had accom- 
 plished this end. She fidgetted on her horse, gal- 
 loped ahead, and then waited his coming with a sud- 
 den change of front.
 
 328 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 "Mr. Fort," she asked soberly, "how long have 
 you known of this affair of Tom's ? " 
 
 " Your father told me the whole story the very day 
 of my arrival here," confessed Homer. " He 
 thought I ought to know, because, being his guest, I 
 would inevitably see what was going on, and might 
 draw false conclusions." 
 
 " And besides," mused Eose, " you saved Tom's 
 life, and so were entitled to the knowledge in a way." 
 
 " I did nothing," replied Homer shortly. " I was 
 fortunate in being on the spot at the time, but that 
 was all. Is it true," he continued with characteristic 
 directness, "that you once loved this Blankenship 
 yourself ? " 
 
 Eose colored. "You have no right to ask me 
 that." 
 
 "Perhaps not. Yet I am interested enough to 
 transgress. I should like to know something of what 
 has gone before in your life. There are certain sad 
 little poses of yours which tell me you have suffered 
 deeply. I claim the right of friendship to sympathy 
 and understanding." 
 
 She looked bravely into his eyes. What she read 
 there reassured her. " Well, yes," she admitted, 
 while their horses went shoulder to shoulder down the 
 dusty road. " I once thought the world of Tom. 
 He was older than the other men I knew and he 
 seemed very wonderful to me. I woke from my 
 dream soon enough to realize that it was founded on
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 329 
 
 what I had imagined him to be, rather than what he 
 was. Did my father tell you the circumstances which 
 led to my refusal of him ? " 
 
 " Yes, something of them. I guessed the rest." 
 
 " Did he tell you how I tried to make Tom see 
 the truth?" 
 
 " Something of that, too," said Homer. " But I 
 gathered that even he and Madge were not in your 
 entire confidence there." 
 
 " No," said Rose wearily. " I shall tell them some 
 day, I suppose, especially now that Tom has turned 
 about and given my foolish act results. I debased 
 myself, Mr. Fort, for Minnie's sake. I played a part 
 took ' li'l Tawm ' and pretended he was my own 
 so that Tom Blankenship might see how it would have 
 seemed if I had been the girl he had wronged, in- 
 stead of Minnie. He refused to concede that Minnie 
 might be affected as I would be, and I know that for 
 a time I lost his respect." 
 
 " Why have you told me this ? " asked Homer ab- 
 ruptly. 
 
 " Because," she parried. 
 
 " Shall I tell you why ? " he answered clearly, pull- 
 ing their horses to a walk. " You realize that I love 
 you, and you wish to warn me off. You think I will 
 adopt Tom's point of view, and like you less for this 
 act of yours. Isn't that it ? " 
 
 She was silent. It was true and she could not 
 deny it.
 
 330 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 "Rose, I respect you for that impulsive deed," 
 cried Homer earnestly. " It was like you. Instead 
 of making me love you less, it has made me love 
 you more. I think the time has come for me to 
 
 " No ! " she interposed breathlessly. " I will not 
 let you do so, for I can give you but one answer." 
 
 " Then don't answer yet," he begged. " But tell 
 me, do you still care an iota for Tom Blanken- 
 ship?" 
 
 "No, no!" 
 
 " Then there is a chance for me." 
 
 " No, there is not. I cannot let you deceive your- 
 self," stated Rose firmly. 
 
 " Why not ? Is it because I am so ordinary, 
 commonplace red-headed freckled ugly " 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Fort ! Did you hear me say that to 
 Madge?" 
 
 " Unfortunately for my peace of mind I have keen 
 ears," he answered with a smile. " However, Rose, 
 I don't mind telling you that those very handicaps of 
 mine which you mentioned so frankly, spur me on to 
 the race. I'll win you yet, in spite of my homely 
 face and commonplace manners. I'll make you love 
 me." 
 
 She looked troubled, then defiant. " I am sorry 
 you heard me call you names," she worried. " I 
 didn't mean them, really. I was in a temper. I do 
 like you very much, Mr. Fort. I I think your
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 331 
 
 face decidedly attractive. But I cannot love you. I 
 do not believe I can ever love again." 
 
 " Because one man deceived you, is your whole life 
 to be spoiled ? " 
 
 " As far as love goes, yes. Mr. Fort, you cannot 
 appreciate the depth of the feeling I had for Tom. 
 I was just a foolish young girl, and I gave my whole 
 heart to him. If you could go back to the time of 
 your first love and could then imagine her proven 
 false and wholly despicable you might perhaps 
 realize a little of what I suffered." 
 
 " I can go back to that time, but I cannot imagine 
 her false. You are the only woman I ever loved," 
 vowed Homer. 
 
 " That is what they all say." She looked at him 
 askance. 
 
 He stared back in blank astonishment. " Rose," 
 he said slowly. " If loving Tom Blankenship has 
 made you lose your faith in men, then indeed he has 
 done you irreparable harm." 
 
 " That is just what he has done," declared Eose 
 stubbornly. " The wound has healed, but it has left 
 its scar upon my very soul. I'll never trust a man 
 again." 
 
 There was a pause. Then Homer mused aloud, 
 " I scarcely know how to combat your prejudices. I 
 might usher witnesses to prove to you that there are 
 men whose ideals are as high as yours, but you would 
 probably think them perjured."
 
 332 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 Rose curled her lip. " You are a traveling-man. 
 I have heard many tales of such men. They stop 
 often at the Yancey Hotel. I know that you are 
 much better than the average, or my father would 
 never have invited you into our home. Yet, how can , 
 I tell what slips you may have made ? " 
 
 "You must take my word for that," asserted 
 Homer quietly. <( If it is necessary I will swear to 
 you that I am not like those others. I had a wise 
 mother, God bless her, who taught me to demand 
 nothing from the woman I would one day marry, that 
 I could not give her in return. I knew that the 
 woman I loved must be pure, and years ago I re- 
 solved to keep myself so, against the day I met her. 
 I have found her in you, and now I can face you hon- 
 estly, and tell you that my past has been consecrated 
 to you just as fully as my future will be. There is 
 not a conscious act of mine that has not been held up 
 beforehand for judgment in this light. Look at me, 
 Eose, and tell me you believe me." 
 
 Rose looked into his eyes. Her own were troubled. 
 " Unfortunately you have the sort of face to inspire 
 confidence," she retorted. "You could tell a lie 
 straight from the shoulder, and, backed by your 
 eyes, could get yourself believed. Mr. Fort, I do not 
 dare to trust you. Frankly, I do not dare." 
 
 This admission left him breathless, and before he 
 could recover she had touched Betsy with her whip, 
 and flashed ahead of him down the road. He gal-
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 333 
 
 loped after in mad pursuit. When he caught her 
 again she was laughing, a bewitching embodiment of 
 the clear sunny afternoon. 
 
 " Mr. Fort," she cried gaily. " I see you have 
 ' baleful intent in your eye. I won't have it. I feel 
 about ten years old to-day, and I am on my way to the 
 hills, to a surprise which is sure to please me tremend- 
 ously, because my father has worked so hard for it. 
 This party shall not be spoiled. Be kind and lose 
 yourself with me in the present moment. Laugh 
 with me. Don't look so stern, or I'll turn back to 
 ride beside the carryall, and flirt with old Judge 
 Oglethorpe." 
 
 " Give me a promise, first," he answered her. 
 "Promise me you will let me speak of this again 
 later." 
 
 " Anything to oblige," she mocked. " I'll do even 
 better than that. If ever I feel like returning to this 
 subject I will do so of my own accord, and invite you 
 to make love to me. I won't be at all bashful. Now 
 I'll race you to the crossroads, and then we'll get 
 down and drink from the spring there, and maybe the 
 persimmons will be ripe, and the chinquapins 
 Oh, Mr. Fort, I do love persimmons when they don't 
 pucker my mouth." 
 
 Who could resist her, as she pursed her rosy lips 
 and opened her dark eyes wide ? !Not Homer, and 
 with a laugh he joined in the mad race. Later they 
 knelt together at the spring, drinking from cups
 
 334 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 made of big plantain leaves. She was as active as 
 he in throwing sticks at the persimmons. He got a 
 puckery one and was almost glad when he saw how 
 she enjoyed his wry faces. They searched for chin- 
 quapins in the bushes by the road and found a few 
 which the squirrels had overlooked. And then, like 
 two children indeed, they played at hide-and-seek 
 among the low scrub-pine, until the arrival of the 
 carryall warned them to grow up again in a hurry. 
 
 They now fell in behind, and amused themselves 
 by flipping the tiny nuts at the Judge's tall silk hat, 
 until Gabe threatened to stop and chastise them both. 
 After that they indulged in jokes and merry badinage 
 until the woods rang with their gay laughter. 
 
 "Kose," called Gabe at last. "You are not in 
 the proper serious mood for my surprise. We have 
 only a mile to go now. If you don't stop your 
 frivolating I shall turn around and make for home." 
 
 " Just as though you could get me to turn back 
 now/' she mocked. " Wait a minute, Father. I want 
 to show Mr. Fort the view. See how high we are ? 
 That little strip of white, way down yonder, is the 
 road we were on an hour ago." 
 
 She pointed and the eyes of the party followed. 
 It was a familiar scene to every one but Homer, so he 
 was a trifle startled when Gabe emitted a low whistle 
 of astonishment. 
 
 " Whose team is that down there ? " asked the Cap- 
 tain.
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 335 
 
 Rose strained her eyes upon the speck below. 
 " Tom Blankenship's," she exclaimed. 
 
 " God bless my soul, he lost no time," cried the 
 Judge. " Hurry up with your surprise, Gabe." 
 
 " Yes," seconded Rose. " Please hurry, if Minnie 
 is to share it with us, Father. Then I can send her 
 out in time to meet Tom." 
 
 So it was at a gallop that the party rode up to the 
 gates of Gabe's hotel.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 MES. GEAY'S little old weatherbeaten 
 house stood just outside the arched en- 
 trance through the tall new fence that sur- 
 rounded Gabe's portion of her land. It had been 
 renovated within to an astonishing extent, but for 
 reasons of her own Minnie had kept the exterior in 
 its former dilapidation. She wanted everything to 
 appear as though she had not changed, in case Torn 
 should come into the hills to find her. But plans 
 were already on foot to repair and paint the clap- 
 boards, and to enlarge and beautify the porch, for 
 Gabe meant the place to ultimately serve as a sort of 
 lodge for his hotel, and to present a pretty rustic 
 appearance. As yet the plot of ground remaining 
 was neglected, and chickens and black " shoats " 
 scratched and rooted contentedly about the door- 
 step. 
 
 Minnie heard the noise the arrival of the merry 
 party made, and came out to greet them. Eose 
 leaped from her saddle straight into the arms of the 
 mountain girl, while Homer dismounted more at 
 leisure. With many groans the Judge forced his
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 337 
 
 stout bulk out of the carryall, and Gabe, almost as 
 spry as his daughter, jumped out and lifted Madge 
 to the ground. 
 
 "An imposing gateway, Gabe," commented the 
 Judge, wheezing from his exertion. " Is that the 
 name of the place, ' Suncrest ' ? Good name for a 
 summer resort beautiful lawn, too. What are the 
 swings and seesaws for ? Are you going to take only 
 boarders with children ? " 
 
 Gabe did not reply, but walked forward and swung 
 wide the big gates. " Welcome ! " he cried. " Wel- 
 come to Suncrest, all of you. Rose, come and take 
 my arm. Minnie, come around to my other side. 
 Madge, Homer, and the Judge can bring up the rear. 
 Now then, forward, march ! " 
 
 Rose was looking with all her eyes at the rolling 
 land before her. It had once been a rocky mountain 
 pasture, and the larger stones had been allowed to re- 
 main where they were. But the grass had been cut, 
 and presented a trim prophecy of the velvet turf into 
 which Gabe meant it to develop. Huge pines and 
 hemlocks, oaks and chestnuts, bounded the open 
 space, and beyond, through their close ranks, a 
 glimpse of a long, low brick structure could be caught. 
 
 But now, as Rose gazed about she saw movement 
 in the trees. Little figures were creeping stealthily 
 forward under cover. At a given signal they 
 swarmed into the open, and shouting, laughing, talk- 
 ing, in the noisy happy abandon of childhood, some
 
 338 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 thirty small boys and girls launched themselves upon 
 the group. 
 
 " Hi, Cap ! Hillo, Cap'n Gabe ! What you got 
 in your pockets for us this time ? " " Oh, Cap ! 
 The black cow has got a calf a'ready, with the wob- 
 bliest legs, and a white star on her nose, what won't 
 hold her up, sca'cely." And, " Cap'n, whatchu 
 think ? We f oun' a bees' nest in a ol' holler maple. 
 D'ye reckon they is honey in it ? " 
 
 Rose and Minnie drew back, leaving Gabe alone to 
 bear the brunt of the onslaught of children. They 
 surrounded him, each eager to get in his or her own 
 bit of important news. Small moist fingers searched 
 his pockets, eager arms reached up towards his shoul- 
 ders, and one tiny creature hugged his leg and 
 shinned up it like the trunk of a tree, so eager was he 
 to reach the Captain's ear. 
 
 The stalwart man among this bevy of admirers 
 made a picture that brought the tears to the eyes of 
 the rest. "'Never mind, now," he shouted laugh- 
 ingly. " Here ! This won't do ! Take yourselves 
 off and play while I explain your presence. Scoot ! " 
 
 As reluctantly as before they had been eager, the 
 children scattered, some to the swings, some to the 
 sand piles, some to seesaws, merry-go-rounds and 
 sliding boards, all bent on showing off before their 
 audience. Such prodigious feats as were performed 
 must at any other time have won Eose's heartfelt ad-
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 339 
 
 miration, but just now she had something else to 
 think about. 
 
 " Those children have been here for almost a week," 
 whispered Minnie in her ear. " I know because I 
 heard them. And I saw some of them come in, but 
 very few had mothers." 
 
 Rose had noticed that many of the little faces 1 
 were pinched and pale, and some few of the little 
 limbs were sadly crippled. Now as Gabe turned to 
 her she looked up with shining eyes. 
 
 "It isn't a hotel, after all, is it, Father? But 
 you and Madge do not approve of asylums so I 
 don't quite understand " 
 
 " I reckon that now is as good a time for my speech 
 as any," said Gabe. " So I'll get it over. Every- 
 where in this country they are conserving the forests, 
 the water-power, the minerals, the cattle even the 
 hogs. I've been interested, but it seemed to me that 
 another kind of conservation was more imperative 
 the conservation of the children born under the stars 
 and stripes. The only ways in which this has been 
 attempted are private charity, and sectarian institu- 
 tions. Both are imperfect. The first only reaches 
 the individuals of a small number of families. The 
 second rears boys and girls under dwarfing condi- 
 tions, with inadequate food, rigorous punishments, 
 set rules for conduct. It establishes a routine under 
 which it attempts to pour every variety of char-
 
 340 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 acter into the same mold, and to drive each child to 
 the same goal. To my mind this is a crime. Im- 
 agine yourself, Rose, as a child of twelve, suddenly 
 snatched from your free and merry life, clothed in 
 an ugly uniform, forced to conform to the rules of a 
 machine in which you soon become merely a cog. 
 Imagine your spirit broken down, yourself shaped 
 into one groove from which there can be no deviation, 
 and you will see why I abhor all such institutions." 
 
 " But, God bless my soul, Gabe, ain't this an insti- 
 tution ? " 
 
 Gabe only smiled at the Judge and continued. 
 
 " In every State of this union there are tracts of 
 unoccupied land. Suppose the Government secured 
 such tracts, and started state reservations for work 
 and play, discipline and recreation, and the mental 
 education and training of every ward that comes 
 under its care. These reservations would consist of 
 orchards, vineyards, gardens and fields, in which the 
 necessary food stuffs could be grown by the children 
 themselves, under the care of men and women living 
 on the reservations with their own families, and men- 
 tally trained and fitted for the work. They would , 
 be similar to Annapolis and West Point. The man > 
 at either of those places does not feel himself a de- 
 pendent, a charity pauper, though he is being trained 
 at the expense of the Government for the nation's 
 service. But there would be this difference, that 
 whereas every boy educated at West Point is intended
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 341 
 
 to become a soldier, the children trained in these 
 State reservations would be free to develop along 
 the lines indicated by their individual talents and 
 propensities." 
 
 " Hear, hear," shouted the Judge. " God bless my 
 soul, Gabe, what would become of the criminal class ? 
 I'd lose my position, I'm afraid." 
 
 " You have hit it, Judge," returned Gabe. " My 
 proposed system would be an extension of the public- 
 school system, to take in the thousands of children 
 now left on the outskirts of our civilization as a 
 menace, and would train them to become hardy, 
 brawny, robust men and women, instead of criminals 
 diseased in mind and body. Of course some few 
 would turn out badly in spite of any care, but I 
 speak for the vast majority who have never had a 
 chance." 
 
 " But would you separate the child from its par- 
 ents, Captain Gabe ? " asked Homer, deeply inter- 
 ested. 
 
 "No," answered Gabe stoutly. "There is al- 
 ready a plan on foot, to keep the dependent mother in 
 her home, and supply her with enough to support her 
 children until they are old enough to support them- 
 selves. But that home is often poor and unsanitary, 
 in a vicious neighborhood, or an unwholesome atmos- 
 phere. The dependent mother should be allowed a 
 place on the reservation, to assist in bringing up her 
 children, and to have a part in their work and recrea-
 
 342 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 tion. Herself thus taught, would have a better 
 chance later on, when her sons and daughters are 
 equipped to make their own ways in the world. The 
 entire scheme, carried out in its fullest and most thor- 
 ough detail, would cost the country less than the or- 
 phan asylums, the almshouses, and the jails to-day, 
 while such schools can eventually become entirely self- 
 supporting. The military advantages are too ob- 
 vious to mention. You all know the intense patri- 
 otism of a West Pointer, or an Annapolis man. 
 Many of these boys, otherwise mere pariahs, would 
 develop into soldiers, and the entire school would 
 foster a pride and feeling of national unity that would 
 be a tremendous asset in case of war. To the intelli- 
 gent parenthood of the State, her children would re- 
 spond passionately." 
 
 " This is all very well," observed Homer, " for 
 those children too young to work and those others too 
 ill or crippled. But what of the tens of thousands 
 of boys and girls who swarm about our great fac- 
 tories, who have both father and mother, and yet no 
 adequate home or education ? " 
 
 " You forget that our state-mothered children are 
 to be taught trades," said Gabe. " How better could 
 they learn them than by exchanging places with such 
 children for a month or so at a time ? There are a 
 thousand ways in which the wards of the State could 
 be made agencies for good. There are a thousand 
 ways they could be turned to account during their
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 343 
 
 growth to helpful manhood and womanhood. I can- 
 not go into every detail now. Many of your ques- 
 tions will answer themselves after a little thought. 
 I will only add that this is the kind of work 
 that Jesus Christ himself might inaugurate were he 
 living in the American republic to-day. His won- 
 derful text, ' Suffer little children to come unto Me, 
 and forbid them not, for of such is the Kingdom of 
 Heaven,' hangs in every room of my State Home 
 yonder. It is the kind of work of which Abraham 
 Lincoln would approve, and perhaps he would urge 
 for it as a motto, his slogan, ' Free the slave.' So 
 firmly am I convinced of this that, in the best way I 
 could command, I have started this Conservation 
 School for Georgia. As soon as it becomes self-sup- 
 porting and has proved itself, I shall turn it over to 
 the State if the State will accept my gift. Rose, 
 what do you think of it all ? Do you approve ? Will 
 you help Madge and me to develop this scheme, and 
 gather from the cities and towns the little waifs and 
 strays who must form our first material ? " 
 
 Eose did not answer at once, and the eyes of all 
 turned upon her, a fact of which she was quite un- 
 conscious. Homer thought that he had never seen 
 anything so lovely as the slender girl, in her khaki 
 riding clothes, standing a little apart and looking at 
 the long, low house through the trees. She was ab- 
 sorbed in a dream that partook of the nature of a 
 vision, as was evidenced by her glowing cheeks, her
 
 344 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 
 
 rapt eyes, dewy lips, and the quick rise and fall of 
 her bosom. 
 
 " Father," she said at last in thrilling tones, " it 
 is more wonderful than anything I had imagined pos- 
 sible. How did you come to think of it ? " 
 
 " First Madge, with her sorrow over our baby, 
 stirred me into yearning over all children," said 
 Captain Gabe simply. " Then little Tom, so help- 
 less and dependent, bound to go under if circum- 
 stances had not placed him in our hands little Tom 
 roused Madge to more active and insistent longing. 
 Aunt Betty's legacy came opportunely. She wanted 
 to use it to benefit the uncared for and abandoned 
 children of humanity there were so many of them 
 and she could not bear to sit idly by when they needed 
 everything. Between the two of us we worked out 
 this plan. To her principal I added all I could, and 
 set to work to realize our dreams. Perhaps I should 
 have included you in this preliminary planning, 
 Rose, but you were in Cuba when first we hit upon 
 the idea, and so I made Madge promise to help me 
 to surprise you." 
 
 " It was a glorious surprise," exclaimed Rose, run- 
 ning to her father and standing on tiptoe to put her 
 arms around his neck. " It was the best one I have 
 ever had. I cannot tell you how I am stirred, ex- 
 alted, touched to the heart by the whole grand idea, 
 and by your development of it. I should be deeply 
 hurt indeed if I were not allowed to help you now."
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 345 
 
 She emphasized her words by a warm kiss which 
 Gabe heartily returned. 
 
 And then the impetuous girl, quite carried away 
 by her emotion, turned to Madge. " You world- 
 mother ! " she said softly. " I've not always been 
 quite fair to you, dear Madge. Forgive me. I 
 know now how noble your heart is, and how faithful 
 and loyal. I'll never judge you again, never distrust 
 you, never fail you. Oh, Madge! How perfectly 
 splendid to be able to help the children in such a way 
 as this ! How like you to have thought of it ! How 
 could I have missed seeing the real you all this time ! 
 Forgive me and love me, Madge ! Forgive me ! " 
 
 Madge put her arms about the girl and drew her 
 close, while Rose wept happy tears upon her breast. 
 " My dear girl, I have nothing to forgive. I am the 
 happiest woman in the world to-day. You know 
 now that I love your father." 
 
 "Yes, yes, I know," sobbed Eose. "For some 
 reason I have known lately, anyway." 
 
 And then with one of those sudden unexpected 
 transitions which made her so delightful, she lifted 
 up her face and smiled radiantly through her tears. 
 " What are we standing here for ? " she asked. 
 " Show us the house, Father, and the rest of the chil- 
 dren, and the people who look after everything. 
 Where is Mrs. Gray ? " 
 
 " Mrs. Gray is learning how to be the housekeeper, 
 under the tutelage of an expert who will return to
 
 346 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 Atlanta as soon as she is no longer needed. It is 
 quite wonderful how she has taken hold. She is nat- 
 urally apt, like Minnie here." 
 
 " And she is as grateful as I am, for all you have 
 done for us," interposed Minnie gently. 
 
 " God bless my soul," snorted the Judge. " Don't 
 you go to getting grateful, Minnie, or Gabe won't like 
 it. He knows well enough, the rascal, that he 
 couldn't show off his generosity except the world had 
 lots of destitution in it. What will future philan- 
 thropists do, I'd like to know, if Gabe eliminates the 
 flotsam and the jetsam of society by his schemes ? 
 Have a little mercy, Gabe. There are others who like 
 to work over poverty-stricken humanity as well as 
 you do. Give 'em a chance, Gabe, give 'em a 
 chance." 
 
 Gabe smiled contentedly, for he had seen the tears 
 in the Judge's eyes and knew his heart. " Judge," 
 he said earnestly. " If the time ever comes when 
 there will be no privileged class, but one class, with 
 equal opportunities, equal rights, and equal chance to 
 exercise both, I'll be the first to stay at home and 
 enjoy myself. Besides you know I never give some- 
 thing for nothing. Even in this conservation school 
 I expect to gain a lot more than I ever pay out. Not 
 in money, perhaps but well, let's continue our 
 investigations." 
 
 He led them through the field and woods to the 
 school itself, still so new that it smelt of paint and
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 34,7 
 
 turpentine. And he was in his element explaining 
 the careful working out of his scheme. The house- 
 keeping was as thorough and efficient as expert help 
 could make it. The school-rooms were under teachers 
 whose kindly faces inspired confidence. The chil- 
 dren were being sent out by the Associated Charities 
 in the cities, and already workmen were busy knock- 
 ing up rows of tiny cottages, for mothers who wished 
 to continue guardians of their own broods. The 
 stables were well stocked with gentle-eyed milch cows, 
 and the new calf with the wobbly legs eyed them dis- 
 trustfully from beneath his anxious mother. The 
 Plymouth Kocks were cackling in the coops, the sheep 
 were grazing on a pasture near at hand, and alto- 
 gether the entire scene was typical of a well-to-do and 
 thriving country home. The possibilities, as Gabe 
 had said, were manifold, and increased at every turn. 
 
 " Rules ? " said Gabe contemptuously. " We don't 
 have 'em, except for the grown folks. The children 
 learn without knowing that they are being taught. 
 They are so happy it is punishment enough for any 
 misdemeanor, to deprive the culprit of his share in 
 the work and play. Children are naturally the 
 busiest folk in the world, and here we encourage 
 them to do what they like to do. Ben Tolman, show 
 the ladies what you are at work upon 3 " 
 
 Gabe knew all the names of the children already, 
 tc their great delight. And this remark had been 
 addressed to a little ten-year-old, seated on the edge
 
 348 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 
 
 of the big veranda, whom Gabe discovered as he led 
 his party around the house and up to the wicker 
 chairs upon this porch. The child had a lump of red 
 clay over which he was quite absorbed. He lifted a 
 flushed face, and, forgetting to be self-conscious or 
 shy, he cried out, " See, Cap'n Gabe ! This here is 
 the funniest stuif. The gutter-mud in Cabbage Alley 
 wasn't nawthin' like it a-tall. That there was black 
 an' sticky. But this is kinder waxy-like, so when 
 you punch a hole inter it, it stays. I'm a-makin' a 
 hoss, a real, fire-engine hoss. Ain't it a beaut ? " 
 
 Strangely enough, by careful scrutiny, they were 
 able to discern which was the head and which the tail. 
 " Them bendin' marks is the legs, which is a-goin' 
 lickety-split," explained Ben proudly. "Ain't I a- 
 gittin' along fine, though ? " 
 
 " He works in that clay all day long," whispered 
 Gabe as they left the child. " He is simply crazy 
 over it. Garnet, the superintendent, told him that, 
 if he really wanted to be able to make animals and 
 people out of clay, he must learn arithmetic, so as 
 to judge dimensions, and anatomy, so as to know the 
 shape of the bones and muscles under the skin, and 
 geography, that he might seek out the natural habitats 
 of the beasts he meant to copy. You ought to see 
 the child study. He is working for a purpose now, 
 and he is going ahead like mad, though in the school 
 at home he was considered a very backward child 
 almost deficient. So it is with all the rest. Leave
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 349 
 
 'em free to choose, and they gravitate to their own 
 particular line of best development, as naturally as a 
 rabbit to its warren." 
 
 Through all her enthusiasm and delight, Kose did 
 not forget that Tom was coming, and when an hour 
 had elapsed, she whispered to Minnie that there 
 would probably be some one to meet her outside the 
 gates. Minnie did not need to be told who that some 
 one was. Her face glowed, her eyes looked fright- 
 ened, and then oddly determined, and she slipped 
 hurriedly away.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV, 
 
 IN" the meantime Tom's spirited horse settled 
 down to the steady climb up the long hill, shak- 
 ing his head and switching his tail about it, for 
 it was a task decidedly not to his liking. Tom paid 
 small attention to the handsome animal's disinclina- 
 tion, however, for he was immersed in thought, and 
 though still bent upon fulfilling the object of his 
 journey, he was more and more tempted to lag upon 
 the way. 
 
 He was aware that Gabe was building some sort of 
 ;a hotel in the hills somewhere, and now saw the deep 
 ruts made by the teams which had hauled cement 
 and bricks. He began to wonder if it was Minnie's 
 land which had served Gabe's purpose, and was in a 
 measure prepared for the change in the entire land- 
 scape which greeted him on his emergence from the 
 tree-screened mountain road. 
 
 He saw the high fence in its pristine newness, and 
 the children happily at play beyond. He read the 
 gilded name, " Suncrest," in the iron scrollwork of 
 the arch above the gate. He glimpsed the brick 
 building through the trees. But in the foreground 
 350
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 351 
 
 and most prominent to his reluctant vision, stood the 
 house which was his destination. 
 
 As he looked disgust overwhelmed him. It was so 
 poor, so mean, so altogether undesirable. Con- 
 trasted with the beauty of Suncrest, it shrank into 
 an abject, shiftless poverty far beyond what even he 
 remembered. With its sagging doorstep, its unkempt 
 garden, its chickens and shoats, it seemed typical of 
 the down-at-heel Minnie, whose commonness aug- 
 mented each time he thought of her. He was blind 
 to every virtue, of which there had been many in the 
 untaught girl. But his eyes were wide open to faults 
 which she had never possessed. Classing her as 
 wholly despicable, he experienced actual physical re- 
 vulsion and nausea at this final moment. How could 
 he face the reality of a memory that had grown to be 
 so loathesome? 
 
 He saw the horses and the carryall, and judged that 
 the Shelley family were in the spacious grounds some- 
 where beyond. He told himself grimly that this 
 suited him exactly. He wanted no witnesses to his 
 first scene with Minnie Gray. He stopped his horse 
 at the edge of the clearing, and, alighting and leav- 
 ing the tired animal to graze at its will, he walked 
 slowly toward the dingy front door. 
 
 And then he paused. Why need he hurry mat- 
 ters ? Why shouldn't he have a moment's respite, a 
 glimpse again of Eose ? She was Minnie's champion 
 it was true, but she was also Mrs. Kemp's friend.
 
 352 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 She would instill new courage in him, and make his 
 hard task less distasteful. 
 
 While he hesitated the voice of Judge Oglethorpe 
 sounded almost in his ear. 
 
 " God bless my soul, Tom Blankenship ! You 
 haven't let the grass grow under your feet, have you, 
 Tom?" 
 
 Tom whirled about " Hello, Judge. No. Why 
 should I ? Where did you spring from, anyway ? " 
 
 " I'd just walked down to see if the horses were all 
 right. You were so busy looking at everything else, 
 you never saw me. Good luck to you, Tom." He 
 held out a plump hand. 
 
 Tom shook his head sadly. " I've lost my nerve," 
 he confessed. tf I'm not going in there just yet. I 
 want to see Rose first What is this Gabe has built, 
 Judge?" 
 
 He fell in beside the old man and they walked to- 
 gether through the gate and towards the school, talk- 
 ing on the way. The Judge explained the purpose of 
 Suncrest, and the presence of the children there. 
 Tom looked about with new appreciation. After all, 
 he thought, Gabe had some right to his authoritative 
 stand. He wasn't just an idle theorizer. He was 
 really accomplishing something for children, many of 
 whom were probably nameless, as was little Tom just 
 now. In his mind's eye he saw his small son grown 
 older, and playing with the rest, and to his own great 
 surprise a sob welled in his throat. For the first
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 353 
 
 time lie realized the justice of the child's side of the 
 case, and the pathos of it as well. And he turned 
 and interrupted the Judge in the midst of a sounding 
 homily on the merits of Suncrest and its future de- 
 velopment. 
 
 " Judge," he said abruptly. " I take it you are 
 fully informed of my fix respecting this Gray girl ? " 
 
 " Yes." Judicial sternness predominated in the 
 syllable. 
 
 " Has Minnie sought your legal advice, perhaps ? " 
 
 " Not that I know of " 
 
 " Well, Judge, as the old-time legal adviser of my 
 father, and on a suitable retainer from me I want 
 to ask you just what the legal standing of that girl 
 is concerning me ? " 
 
 Judge Oglethorpe thought a moment and then 
 spoke slowly. " Well, Tom, first she has good cause 
 for action against you, as the father of the child, un- 
 less you can prove, as I hear you claim, that she had 
 other lovers prior to the child's birth." 
 
 Tom made a gesture of disgust. " Judge, I lied 
 about that. I think the girl absolutely innocent. 
 What else?" 
 
 " Well then, Tom, she can sue you for support in 
 any case, and can maintain an action under the com- 
 mon law to force you to give her your name, and to 
 legitimatize her child. Her mother heard you prom- 
 ise to marry her, I believe ? " 
 
 " I know it and I admit it," said Tom, now past
 
 354 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 evasion. " Judge Oglethorpe, liere is the point. 
 I've made up my mind to marry the girl and do my 
 duty by her. This is voluntary. She has made no 
 threats to coerce me that I know of. I want you to 
 marry us here, to-day, and I want to have the mar- 
 riage certificate and record dated back to October 
 eleventh, eighteen hundred and ninety-six. I now 
 claim that we were really married in all that concerns 
 the fate of ourselves and our child in all that con- 
 cerns the law or society on the day I first took her 
 in my arms. Can this be done ? " 
 
 " It can be done, and shall be. The law has a 
 spirit, Tom, as well as a letter, and as I interpret it, 
 its mission always is to help a man do his duty, and 
 to hinder him from committing a wrong. The date 
 is an affair of the contracting parties, so long as no 
 fraud or deceit is contemplated which might interfere 
 with the property or other rights of any other person. 
 As no such question is involved in this case, and as 
 you propose to set back the date for Minnie's protec- 
 tion and benefit, I can and will do it with a clear 
 conscience." 
 
 Tom turned and grasped the Judge's hand in a 
 hearty grip. " I am glad I yielded to the impulse to 
 speak to you like this," he said. " You have helped 
 me in the worst crisis of my life. I can recover 
 ground in the eyes of Eose and Madge and of 
 Mrs. Kemp only by doing my full duty towards
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 355 
 
 this girl and her child. I mean to take Minnie to my 
 relatives in England, and put her in a good school. I 
 will teach her myself also, and before long I am sure 
 she will be outwardly my equal, as she is already my 
 superior for I betrayed her trust in me so I am 
 guilty she is innocent." 
 
 " God bless my soul ! " groaned the Judge. 
 "What a long, long road our pet scapegrace has 
 traveled, to be able to talk like this ! " And then 
 with a sudden change of tone, " I congratulate you, 
 my boy. A man who can take the stand you have 
 taken is an honor to his name and a credit to human 
 nature. I am proud that it falls to my lot to help 
 you." 
 
 He returned Tom's hearty grip with one as hearty, 
 blew his nose like a trumpet, and preceded Tom up 
 the steps of Suncrest. 
 
 The Shelleys, with Homer Fort, had been sitting 
 at the end of the porch, talking to some of the chil- 
 dren, and drawing Gabe out still further about his 
 schemes, which were apparently limitless. They wel- 
 comed Tom as one of themselves, making room for 
 him and for the Judge, while Gabe went on with 
 what he had been saying. In Homer he had found 
 an unexpected and eminently satisfactory interest, 
 and it was to Homer that his talk was now chiefly 
 addressed. Fort had numberless questions as to how 
 the place was to be made self-supporting, and its ulti-
 
 356 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 mate good to the race, but so thoroughly had Gabe 
 gone into the subject that not one question caught him 
 napping. 
 
 At last Tom rose. " Captain Gabe, I thank you 
 from the bottom of my heart for letting me listen to 
 what you have just said. It has done me good, and 
 brought me peace of mind. I shall want to help in 
 any way I can, when I return again." 
 
 " Tom, that is good news," said Gabe, touched to 
 the heart by the spontaneity with which his plans had 
 so far been met. " And now where are you starting 
 out to go ? " 
 
 "To Minnie," answered Tom manfully. "May 
 Eose go a little way with me ? I'd like to speak to 
 her alone " 
 
 Eose came forward at once, and walked with him 
 toward the gate through which he had so recently 
 come. 
 
 " I meant to have it out with her at first, but I lost 
 my nerve," confessed Tom in much the same way 
 that he had done to the Judge. " Give me a word of 
 encouragement, Eose ? " 
 
 "I will do better than that," answered Eose 
 warmly. " I will go with you to the house, and help 
 you through that first, worst moment. I know how 
 it is, Tom. I can even feel what you are feeling." 
 
 " Oh, no, you can't. You never could unless 
 Eose, you are wise beyond your years, but though we 
 both thought you loved me, you never did. When
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 357 
 
 the time comes, and you fall in love, then you will be 
 able to comprehend all I am renouncing to-day, and 
 will understand." 
 
 " But I do understand. Believe me, Tom, I do. 5 " 
 " If you do, you are in love. Who is he ? " 
 She colored hotly. " Why do you insist that one 
 must feel love to know love ? " she asked. " Haven't 
 I seen my father with Madge ? Haven't I seen my 
 girl friends married and happy ? Haven't I had 
 love proffered me ? " 
 
 " It isn't the same." Tom was obstinate. " I tell 
 you no one knows what love is unless they actually 
 experience it. I thought I knew, but I didn't. I 
 was just a blind fool, Eose, and even under the spell 
 itself, was slow to realize its meaning. That must 
 be how it is with you. You are in love and do not 
 know it. Or else you could not be so sure of what 
 lies in my heart." 
 
 " Nonsense," interrupted Eose, brusquely. " I 
 will never let myself fall in love, Tom, until I meet a 
 man who fills my highest ideal " 
 
 "Nonsense," interrupted Tom in his turn. 
 " You'll fall in love with the man meant for you, ideal 
 or no ideal. If he is weak, you'll try to help him. 
 If he is bad, you'll try to make him good. But you'll 
 love him all the same, good or bad, weak or poor 
 because you cannot help it. Take that red-headed 
 peach-buyer, for example. I suppose there is no per- 
 son farther from your ideal than he. Yet if it had
 
 358 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 been decreed that you should love him, you'd overlook 
 everything unsavory about him " 
 
 " I fail to see why you should take it for granted 
 that there is anything ' unsavory ' about Mr. Fort," 
 said Eose cuttingly. " You forget his help to you in 
 Cuba." 
 
 " I forget nothing. I am grateful to him beyond 
 words. But that does not hinder me from taking 
 him at his real value. What is he, anyway? An 
 upstart ! A nobody ! A ' man-on-the-road ! ' We 
 all know what lives such men lead, as a matter of 
 course." 
 
 " I will not listen to such talk," cried Rose indig- 
 nantly. " Mr. Fort is my friend. He is a gentle- 
 man. You are cowardly, Tom, to say such things 
 about him. You would not dare say them to his 
 face." 
 
 " Wouldn't I ? My dear Eose, what do men talk 
 about when they are alone ? He'd be the 'first to in- 
 troduce the subject of his numerous affairs. But I 
 didn't mean to enter into a discussion of his merits or 
 demerits. I merely used him as an example of the 
 realities which women love. Their ideals are all 
 very well, but in real life they are much more apt to 
 meet men like Homer Fort, and love them, too." 
 
 " And I say you had no right to bring him into the 
 discussion at all," insisted Eose stonnily, with flash- 
 ing eyes. " I must ask you to take back what you 
 have just said about him. My father does not choose
 
 THE SHELLS YS OF GEORGIA 359 
 
 his friends at tap-hazard. Besides I have Mr. Fort's 
 own declaration which I firmly believe as to the 
 sort of life he has lived." 
 
 " So he has been telling you about his past ? " 
 sneered Tom, returning for a moment to his old domi- 
 neering self. " And you believed all that he told you 
 
 when not for a moment would you believe all I told 
 you Why, Rose, you love that man already." 
 
 " I do not." 
 
 " You do. You may not know it, but you do. 
 Well, Rose, I'll apologize most humbly for my state- 
 ments. I am not prone to believe in faultless pasts 
 
 I know men too well for that but I'd be the last 
 one to disturb your faith in him if you really love 
 him." 
 
 " I tell you I do not. I am sorry I came with you, 
 Tom." 
 
 Her cheeks were rosy, and her eyes confused. She 
 tried to look defiantly at Tom, but wavered. Why 
 had her heart throbbed so when she defended Fort ? 
 Why had she felt such deep resentment when Tom 
 spoke lightly of him ? She did not know. But Tom 
 thought he knew, and as he smiled it seemed to her 
 almost as if he did. However, that was just because 
 he was so certain. 
 
 They passed out of the big gate together and over 
 to the dingy house. As they neared the porch Tom 
 perceived that a huge clothes-basket occupied almost 
 half of its narrow space. Within lay a baby asleep
 
 360 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 his baby, no doubt. Side by side, he and Kose 
 looked down upon the unconscious child. 
 
 " Li'l Tawm," now almost sixteen months old, lay 
 sprawled on a pillow, one fat arm flung above his 
 head, the other stretched out beside him as far as the 
 confines of the basket would permit. He had been 
 bathed before his nap, and was fully dressed except 
 for bare rosy feet, which had kicked aside the cover- 
 lets and short white frock. He was a handsome 
 baby, pink-cheeked and robust, with a quantity of 
 dark curls clinging close to his shapely head. In 
 spite of himself Tom's heart lightened just a little at 
 the thought that this was his son, sturdy and dimpled, 
 with deep chest and broad shoulders like his own. 
 Stooping, he lifted one rounded limb, and saw the 
 birthmark clearly outlined there the mark of a 
 true Blankenship. Come, it was something to be 
 father to such a boy. And the child was sweet and 
 clean and healthy, which spoke well for Minnie's care. 
 Already Tom's repulsion lessened, and he perceived 
 the baby to be a rift among his clouds. 
 
 Infants are nervous, even the calmest of them, 
 and " li'l Tawm " stirred under the eager gaze of the 
 man. His brown eyes opened sleepily, and rested on 
 Tom with that first blank stare which follows on 
 sound sleep. So for a space the child and the man 
 looked gravely at one another. Then a smile dimpled 
 the baby face, and " li'l Tawm " yawned, stretched, 
 and held up confiding arms.
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 361 
 
 Tom lifted him and hugged him to his breast. 
 
 "He's a fine boy, isn't he?" he asked of Rose. 
 
 "Li'l Tawm" yawned and stretched and rubbed 
 his eyes. " Da-da," he announced. 
 
 " By George, he knows me ! " exclaimed Tom de- 
 lightedly, not being versed in the ways of babies, and 
 supposing this an attempt at intelligible speech. 
 " Have you got a kiss for your daddy, eh ? " 
 
 The baby only yawned again and said " Da-da " 
 plaintively, for he was hungry. At least he supposed 
 he was hungry, as he was always fed promptly upon 
 awakening, and did not know that he should have 
 slept an hour longer. "Da-da" he wailed, and 
 punched a fat fist in Tom's eye. 
 
 " Oh, is he awake ? " cried a voice from the open 
 door. 
 
 Tom jumped, and turned, for it was a voice he 
 knew. Yet surely it was not possible that Mrs. 
 Kemp was here ah, of course she had come up 
 with Eose. That explained it. Tom did not have 
 time to feel hurt that he had not been allowed a 
 glimpse of her during his interview with the Shelleys 
 at Salem some three hours ago. He was too happy at 
 seeing her now. 
 
 She was bare-headed, her soft fair hair tangled by 
 the mountain wind into an aura about her brow. 
 Her serious brown eyes were upraised to his. Her 
 sensitive mouth trembled in a nervous attempt at a 
 smile.
 
 362 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 " How do you do, Mr. Blankenship ? " she faltered. 
 " I had not expected to see you again so soon." 
 
 Transferring the baby to his other arm, Tom Held 
 out an eager hand. " By Jove, Mrs. Kemp ! This 
 is more happiness than I had hoped for," he ex- 
 claimed, seizing her rosy palm in a warm pressure. 
 " If I could have just a word with you " He 
 looked helplessly at Rose. 
 
 " I'll take the baby to Janey," said Rose readily. 
 <f Janey is his nurse now, Tom. She adores him. 
 Minnie will lend you her parlor for awhile I am 
 sure she won't object to this final meeting with your 
 nurse," she added mischievously as she bore " li'l 
 Tawm " through the doorway and back towards the 
 kitchen. 
 
 With a slight inclination of her head, which Tom 
 interpreted to mean that he should follow, Mrs. Kemp 
 led the way through the tiny hall into the front room 
 of the small house. There she turned to confront 
 Tom, and found him staring with surprised eyes at 
 the transformed room. It was dark still, as it boasted 
 but one window, but white paint and creamy paper 
 had worked wonders, while the pictures and simple 
 furniture were of a kind he could appreciate. 
 
 " You and Rose have been at work here," he said 
 suddenly, his face clearing. '< Perhaps you have 
 been at work on Minnie, too, and thus prepared her a 
 little for the changes I mean to effect in her. She 
 may be hard to teach these mountaineers are such
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 363 
 
 a strange mixture of superstition and obstinacy 
 but if you help me we'll make her into a woman 
 whom little Tom will yet be proud to call his mother. 
 Mrs. Kemp, I presume you know why I am here, 
 don't you ? " 
 
 " I can guess." 
 
 She had remained standing, probably feeling bet- 
 ter able to face him when firmly 'planted on her feet, 
 and he, placing his hands upon the center table, 
 leaned toward her above its polished surface. 
 
 " I came to offer marriage to Minnie Gray. I did 
 not know that I should find you here. I shall be 
 grateful for this moment all my life. Have you 
 known long about this girl ? " 
 
 " I have known all along." 
 
 " And that the baby there was mine ? " 
 
 " Yes, I knew that, too." 
 
 " Have you seen Minnie^ " 
 
 " Often." 
 
 " And you still have the heart to condemn me to 
 her?" 
 
 " I still have the heart to do even that." 
 
 The monotony of her repetition showed him the 
 strain under which she labored. His eyes kindled. 
 His breath came sharply. He longed to hold her in 
 his arms with a longing that could scarcely be gain- 
 said. He was starving for her with a hunger which 
 clamored to be appeased. By these signs he read her 
 present feeling to be equal to his own.
 
 364 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 And yet he must command himself for she was not 
 for him. Once again a wave of utter bewilderment 
 swept over him, that she could know the wonder of 
 this love and still renounce it. 
 
 " Mrs. Kemp, I won't ask you to reconsider your 
 decision," he whispered hoarsely. " I will hear my 
 punishment as best I can. I will only repeat that all 
 my life you will be my guiding star. I will try to 
 make myself worthy of the love I feel for you." 
 
 " You must forget me," she said breathlessly, as if 
 speaking a part to which she adhered with difficulty. 
 " Think of Minnie. Try to care for her." 
 
 " I will be tender toward her and loyal but I 
 will not forget you. If I did, I should sink again to 
 that level at which you found me. Only by remem- 
 bering you dwelling on you picturing you to 
 myself at every turn, and loving you with my whole 
 soul can I keep my martyrdom before me and find 
 it worth while. Only for your sake can I compass 
 it" 
 
 " You are wrong to speak so." She tried to keep 
 her voice from trembling, but his passion swept her 
 on, as it always did when she was with him. And 
 as she faltered she felt his hands upon her. She gave 
 a little moan of sheer terror not at him, but at her- 
 self, for she had nerved herself to resolution which 
 slipped from her at his touch. But he misread her 
 exclamation. 
 
 "Don't be afraid " he whispered tenderly.
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 365 
 
 " Don't be afraid. I shall not break down or act the 
 fool. I have control over myself I can even smile 
 see ? But you know how I adore you and this 
 may be the last time that we shall ever meet. Let 
 me just take you in my arms a moment, and kiss your 
 lips once more before we part. My darling " 
 
 " This is more than I can bear," exclaimed the girl 
 in an agony, wrenching herself free and facing him 
 again. " This farce has continued long enough. 
 Can't you see ? Can't you understand ? I am Min- 
 nie Gray. I am the woman you have wronged 
 the girl you scorn." 
 
 He stared at her uncomprehendingly. " You are 
 Mrs. Kemp," he protested. 
 
 "No! !Not that again. That was a name I 
 hid behind. I am Minnie Gray who spurns you 
 as you have spurned her." 
 
 He looked so strange that she became alarmed. 
 The watchful attitude of the nurse returned to her. 
 " If I am not very careful he may lose his mind," she 
 caught herself thinking. 
 
 " This is the absolute truth," she said aloud, slowly 
 and clearly, as if speaking to a child. " Captain 
 Gabe took me to his home, when I was ill and worn 
 out with suffering and shame. Rose taught me all I 
 know. I went with her to Cuba, and nursed you 
 there. I came back with her. I lived with the Shel- 
 leys all the time except the days I spent with you, 
 until I came back to my home here. I am Minnie
 
 366 THE SHELLEY S OF. GEORGIA 
 
 Gray, the mother of little Tom. Do you believe me 
 now?" 
 
 Still he continued gazing at her with uncompre- 
 hending eyes. 
 
 "Wait just a moment," she commanded quickly. 
 " I know a way to prove it to you " 
 
 She ran swiftly from the room, and returned in a 
 moment, with an armful of gaudy calico. " Don't 
 you remember this ? " she asked. " It was my Sun- 
 day best at the time when you used to come to the 
 hills to meet me secretly. I'll put it on, so. Button 
 me up the back, Tom." 
 
 While his fingers bungled awkwardly, in tune to 
 the pounding of his heart, she lifted her arms and 
 took out the pins which confined her hair. Straining 
 it back she wound it into its old-time knot. Then, 
 slipping on a yellow sunbonnet, she faced him. 
 
 " Naow," she drawled. " I reckon you-all air 
 some surprise' ter see me, ain't you ? " 
 
 Her tones became beseeching, and she lifted clasped 
 hands pleadingly. 
 
 " Ain't you gwine ter kiss me, ner nawthin' ? " 
 she asked brokenly. " I sure do like ter have you kiss 
 me seems like you loved me still which some- 
 haow you doan't act s' if you do noways lately. I 
 feel awful sorry-like an' full of fear. Doan't fool 
 me, Mister Tawm. Ef you doan't love me no mo', 
 say so, an' I'll go away. I ain't aimin' ter hang atter 
 a man what doan't love me no longer."
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 367 
 
 If there had been any further doubt in his mind 
 as to the identity of the girl before him, it must have 
 been dispelled forever by the nasal drawling repeti- 
 tion of these, the last words he had ever heard from 
 the lips of Minnie Gray. He remembered now that 
 he had answered with a taunt that he had never loved 
 her. He remembered how she had turned sobbing, 
 and had run away through the woods, with her face 
 hidden in her hands so that she collided with the trees 
 and once fell prone. It all came back so vividly that 
 he recoiled and grew white to the very lips, while the 
 sweat stood out in great drops on his scarred brow. 
 
 " My God ! Take off that awful dress ! " he whis- 
 pered. " Let down your hair your beautiful, 
 beautiful hair ! Don't torture me like this ! " 
 
 In a twinkling the dress lay at her feet, and she 
 was pulling her hair into the loose knot which so be- 
 came her. She was Mrs. Kemp once more, and now 
 he needed nothing else to prove that she and Minnie 
 were the same. The two extremes had met. 
 
 But as he realized this potent fact, new wonder 
 dawned, for everything became clear to him. In 
 marrying Minnie he would make Mrs. Kemp happy. 
 How well he remembered that speech, and his in- 
 terpretation of it! Blind fool that he had been! 
 He had made no allowance for the girl's native wit. 
 She was a wonder ! What mentality must have been 
 lying dormant in that childish brain, that she had 
 been able to remold herself like this? What love
 
 368 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 
 
 she must have borne him, to spur her on to accom- 
 plish this miracle of change ? What happiness lay 
 before him in place of the misery he had pictured ? 
 What joy was his for the taking! Was it possible 
 that this lovely woman was the mother of his boy ? 
 
 She watched him with troubled eyes as he passed 
 from realization into triumph. She shrank back 
 when he at last approached her. 
 
 " Now I know why I felt that I had kissed you," 
 he laughed, his face transfigured. " Now I know 
 why I felt that I had held you in my arms before. 
 The joy of it! The wonder of it! Minnie! My 
 wife! Come to me! Kiss me again as you used to 
 once ! Tell me you love me ! " 
 
 Intoxicated with joy, mad with desire, he snatched 
 her to him, and kissed her hair, her eyes, her shrink- 
 ing lips, all unaware that she was struggling desper- 
 ately against him was evading, enduring, but not 
 yielding, in the slightest. 
 
 " I have hungered for you," he cried between his 
 kisses. " I have longed for you until it seemed to 
 me that I would die only for a touch of your hand, a 
 smile, a glance from your beautiful eyes " 
 
 " Let me go ! " she managed to say at last. " Let 
 me go ! " 
 
 " Never ! You are all mine ! I love you ! " 
 
 " Tom, you must release me ! There is that I 
 have to tell you which will "
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 369 
 
 " There is nothing more to say. You belong to 
 me." 
 
 " I'll calif or Kose " 
 
 "Rose would not come. Besides, you know you 
 love me. Kiss me, Minnie, kiss me. Put your arms 
 about my neck. Why don't you respond to my 
 caresses ? " 
 
 He was waking at last to the meaning of her strug- 
 gles. She was trying to escape his arms, and being 
 sure of her he let her go, for the mere pleasure of 
 taking her again. With a low delirious laugh of 
 utter content, he watched her as, still panting from 
 the force of his embrace, she faced him once again. 
 
 And then he read the purpose in her eyes, and won- 
 dering, he waited. He had no doubt that she be- 
 longed to him absolutely. But something troubled 
 her lay still between them. Very well ! She had 
 only to speak, and she would find him ready to yield 
 anything. 
 
 "Mr. Blankenship," she began. He laughed 
 fondly at the absurdity of this formal title from her 
 lips. " Mr. Blankenship, you misunderstand. You 
 take too much for granted. It may be true that I 
 love you I shall not deny it but I have had time 
 to think things over, and I must tell you now, once and 
 for all, that neither as Mrs. Kemp nor as Minnie can 
 I for a moment consider your proposals. I shall 
 never marry such a man as you, never never ! "
 
 CHAPTER XXV 
 
 * * ~1 " SHALL never marry such a man as you 
 never never ! " 
 
 -*- The words rang in his ears as he looked at 
 her with the love still shining in his eyes. He 
 laughed unbelievingly. 
 
 " Don't play with me any longer, Minnie darling," 
 he said fondly. " The time for that is over." 
 
 11 It is, indeed," she panted. " The time has come 
 when we must face things squarely, and see them as 
 they are. At first Rose dominated me. She had 
 such plans for you and me together. And I, igno- 
 rant, shamed, deeply in love how could I judge if 
 they were wise or right ? She carried me on by her 
 impetuosity. She painted such glowing pictures of 
 you to me, and of my part in making you different 
 what could I do but acquiesce in all she wanted of 
 me?" 
 
 "What else? "assented Tom. Sit down. We'll 
 have done with this for once and for all." 
 
 She sank into a chair by the window, glad of the 
 
 support, for the scene just past had left her strangely 
 
 weary. He, seeing now that something was really 
 
 amiss, seated himself beside her and watched her 
 
 370
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 371 
 
 warily, by no means ready to admit her first words 
 true, though they still repeated themselves within his 
 brain, as he listened to her explanation. 
 
 " Captain Shelley, too he encouraged her and 
 me, and seemed to think her plans the very thing for 
 us. And Madge, dear patient Madge helped Rose 
 in every way she knew. Marriage for us was the 
 only possible solution in their eyes. Of course I 
 thought so too at first." 
 
 " Why don't you think so still ? " 
 
 " They held the baby up before my eyes always. 
 They talked of his rights until I became confused. 
 And then, I loved you, Tom. Had they left me igno- 
 rant as I was in the beginning, I could have imagined 
 no greater bliss than just being allowed to go on lov- 
 ing you and serving you unhindered." 
 
 " And don't you feel so now ? " 
 
 " Wait ! This thing went on all of us openly 
 conniving in bringing you to your knees, ready to 
 humble yourself to the woman you had wronged 
 until the very moment I came back to my home here. 
 Had you sought me then with your promises, I should 
 have flown into your arms I say it frankly." 
 
 " And something has happened since ? " 
 
 " Nothing has happened no. But I have had 
 time to recover from the confusion into which so 
 much sudden knowledge thrust me, to recover from 
 the influence Rose exercised over me, to think and 
 weigh and judge to find myself."
 
 372 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 "And so ?" 
 
 " I reached the conclusion that I don't want to 
 marry you on any terms." 
 
 " Tell me your reason for this decision," urged 
 Tom. He was all at sea. His swiftly built castle 
 was tumbling about his ears. 
 
 " I will try to explain it just as it came to me,'" 
 continued Minnie quietly. " First of all, the peace 
 of the mountains entered my soul and healed it. 
 The hurry and the bustle of the town, and of the ac- 
 tive life there, intruded no longer. I saw every- 
 thing clearly, and not distorted by the minds of 
 others. While still with Kose and Madge, I had 
 felt that this culture they talked about, this veneer 
 of civilization, this ability to walk and talk as they 
 did, to wear their kind of clothes, to read their kind 
 of books this was everything. I really felt that 
 I had become a different woman. And when they 
 added to all these other differences, another name, I 
 believed that my personality must have entirely 
 changed. At any rate my old self seemed impos- 
 sible a dream. I wondered at the funny, awk- 
 ward mountain girl named Minnie Gray. I was 
 able to feel but scant sympathy for her, to hear you 
 speak of her scornfully, and to use her deliberately 
 to work upon you and to bring about my own happi- 
 ness with you at some later date." 
 
 " I understand. Go on." 
 
 " But up here, the false veneer soon slipped away.
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 373 
 
 Under it all I saw I had not changed. I was still 
 Minnie Gray, with my baby a burden and a shame 
 again as he had been but a short year ago. I 
 found the disgrace no easier to bear because I had 
 learned to think. Instead it was harder, more hu- 
 miliating. I learned that one does not change char- 
 acter with clothes or education. Instead one intensi- 
 fies it, and with that intensifying comes no new ca- 
 pacity for suffering only what was once dumb an- 
 guish can be now expressed that's all." 
 
 " Yes, I think that is true. Go on." 
 
 "I saw you, Tom, struggling between the girl I 
 was, and the girl I had become. You loathed the 
 one, you loved the other. Yet they were the same 
 girl. Only the outer cloak was different. The 
 things you loved in Mrs. Kemp were exactly the 
 same things you hated in Minnie. I asked myself 
 why this was so. The answer was plain. Mrs. 
 Kemp was of your class. Minnie was a rejected 
 outcast. What sort of passion was it that fed on a 
 change in voice and manner ? What sort of love was 
 it that depended on the way I held my fork, the ac- 
 cent I gave my words, the clothes I wore? I was 
 just the same exactly under a few externals just 
 as jealous, just as loving, just as selfish or unselfish, 
 just as ready to serve you as when I was the moun- 
 tain girl in calico. But you " contempt crept into 
 her voice. " You were unable to see all this. You 
 regarded Minnie as a bauble, a toy, a plaything.
 
 374 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 Her happiness was nothing to you. You tossed her 
 lightly aside, never discovering that she had the same 
 qualities which delighted you in Mrs. Kemp. And 
 why? Because she wore queer clothes. Her face 
 was tanned. Her nails horrors ! were unmani- 
 cured. She was well enough for amusement, but 
 for a wife ? Ah, no ! ' You still have the heart to 
 condemn me to her?' Were not those your words? 
 And hearing them, do you think I, that girl herself, 
 could enter your arms willingly, knowing that she 
 and I were one? And are you still surprised and 
 incredulous, that I will not marry you ? I wish I 
 could tear this love for you from my heart and 
 trample on it so ! I wish my eyes had gone blind 
 before ever they rested on your face and found it 
 beguiling. I wish that I had died when I was a 
 little child, before I had ever known the joy and 
 pain of loving you ! " 
 
 She had risen again to her feet, with a passionate 
 gesture as though, indeed, she longed to tear her very 
 heart out and stamp it into the ground. And as 
 Tom looked and listened, he felt that, in spite of all 
 his love, he had never sounded the deeps of Mrs. 
 Kemp's soul had never given Minnie credit for 
 the character she possessed. None of them had, not 
 even Rose. But at thought of Rose his face lighted. 
 Minnie had said that Rose dominated her. Perhaps 
 this old domination would help him now. And he 
 strode to the door and opened it.
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 375 
 
 "Rose," he called loudly. 
 
 "Yes?" The gay voice showed how Rose 
 thought things were going. 
 
 "Come here!" 
 
 " Madge is with me. May she come, too ? " 
 
 "Yes, yes! Hurry!" 
 
 " It has been a long interview," said Rose laugh- 
 ingly to Madge. They could hear her plainly. 
 
 " And probably highly satisfactory to them both," 
 was Madge's response. 
 
 But as the two entered the little room they saw at 
 once that things were far from satisfactory. Minnie 
 had reseated herself by the window and was looking 
 pale but very determined. Tom was frowning, 
 troubled, and began at once to speak. 
 
 " She says she has had time to think, and does not 
 want me." 
 
 " Why ? " Rose was direct, as usual. 
 
 " She is the girl I scorned, for all her culture. 
 She thinks I should have perceived the character of 
 the mountain girl as quickly as that of the nurse, 
 Mrs. Kemp. She will have none of me." 
 
 " Minnie, is this true ? I thought you loved him 
 dearly, and agreed to all my plans." 
 
 " So I did," assented Minnie. " But, as I told 
 Tom, I have had time to find myself. I only agreed 
 because I had not taken this time before. If he 
 could see no virtue in the girl I was well, I am 
 still that girl, and I don't want him. Don't you
 
 376 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 see that I would sacrifice myself if I yielded to him ? 
 I would be virtually saying what my mother used 
 often to declare ' It is clothes that make the lady.' 
 I was just as much a lady then as I am now down 
 in my soul, I was." 
 
 "But, Minnie" 
 
 " Now, Rose ! The fact that I have learned a few 
 pretty tricks makes not the slightest difference. You 
 can teach a dog tricks. But you cannot teach him 
 fidelity. If he is a good dog, his loyalty is born in 
 him. Frankly, I resent Tom's inability to see be- 
 neath externals." 
 
 "But, Minnie" 
 
 " Oh, I know what you are going to say. You 
 are going to tell me that Tom was not used to re- 
 garding the mountain people as having souls or 
 hearts. It simply never occurred to him that souls 
 and hearts existed out of well-bred, well-clad bodies. 
 He could not recognize their presence unless prop- 
 erly labeled. Very well! But I am proud of my 
 mountain origin. My mother still uses the plain 
 mountain dialect, and I love her just as dearly as 
 if she tried to change. I have neighbors as much 
 gentlemen and ladies as any college graduates. I 
 care more for earning their respect than that of 
 anybody you could name to me. Marrying Tom 
 now may gloss everything over in the eyes of the 
 world, but not in their eyes. So I shall settle down 
 among my mountain folks, and by my life I'll win.
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 377 
 
 them into reinstating me among them. Don't mis- 
 understand me, please, Rose. I shall not forget all 
 you have taught me, and I'll try to pass some of it 
 along to the people here that part which is worth 
 while. Unfortunately that part is just what Tom 
 does not care about, for it isn't the style or polish, 
 but the fundamental knowledge such as boiling a 
 baby's bottle, and keeping houses sanitary." 
 
 As she paused for breath, Eose spoke quickly, re- 
 membering what every one else had so far failed to 
 mention. 
 
 " But the baby, Minnie. Have you forgotten how 
 prominent a place we gave him ? His rights " 
 
 " I've not forgotten one of them. But, Eose, his 
 rights received consideration too late, since he was 
 already wronged. Marriage now won't help him, so 
 far as I can see. I'd rather have him grow up here 
 among these mountain people, a simple lad with sim- 
 ple aims, than to live in the town in surroundings 
 like his father's, with perhaps the same results. 
 You may say what you like about our mountain boys, 
 but they don't betray women. They defend them. 
 I will give my life to making up to * li'l Tawm ' for 
 the harm he has already suffered, but I'll not give 
 him a father who scorns his people while blind to 
 their true worth." 
 
 " But, Minnie ! It is your business to show Tom 
 all these things. I daresay he is quite ready to ac- 
 knowledge the worth of your mountain friends. I
 
 378 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 am sure lie will help you in educating them. He has 
 already yielded everything in coming to Minnie 
 Gray." 
 
 " In coming to the girl he considered Minnie 
 Gray," corrected Minnie. " Rose, I know what sort 
 of man he has been all these years. Come now, I'll 
 put you a straight question. Suppose you loved a 
 man and suddenly discovered that in the past he 
 had lived as Tom has lived. Would you marry 
 him?" 
 
 " I don't see what that has to do with it." 
 
 " That lies at the bottom of it all. I know you 
 refused Tom, but you had never really loved him. 
 Suppose the man you loved came to you, and you 
 found out those things about him. Would you marry 
 him? Answer me, Rose." 
 
 "I would not," admitted Rose. "The man I 
 love must be as pure as I." 
 
 " I knew that was how you felt. I should like it 
 to be true of myself. If Tom's transgression 
 against Minnie had been his only one, I might have 
 condoned it. He has accused her of faithlessness a 
 score of times. He has offered that as his excuse for 
 abandoning her completely. I am ready to acknowl- 
 edge that, had it been true of her, he would have 
 been justified. Well, so am I justified when it is 
 true of him." 
 
 Rose turned to Tom with a hopeless gesture. She 
 was as surprised as he. That all this had been brew-
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 879 
 
 ing in Minnie's brain had been wholly unsuspected 
 by her. Consequently she had no weapon ready to 
 combat it. 
 
 But Madge, with a magnificent belief in Gabe to 
 uphold her, felt none of the hesitancy which char- 
 acterized Kose. 
 
 " I'll call my husband. He'll know what to do," 
 she said, and left the room. 
 
 But Minnie looked more resolute than ever, and 
 Tom frowned and grew increasingly disconsolate. 
 Rose went to her friend and sought in whispers to 
 alter her point of view. And in a short time Madge 
 returned, with Gabe. 
 
 His face was inscrutable. Madge had told him 
 of the unexpected development, but he gave no sign 
 of this knowledge. 
 
 " What's the trouble here ? " he asked at once, and, 
 going to Minnie, took her hand in his. " Tell your 
 father's old friend all about it, my dear," he said in 
 his kindest tones. 
 
 Instantly Minnie responded, pouring out again all 
 her doubts and troubles which had still further crys- 
 tallized in her first expression of them. She had 
 been brooding, perhaps unwisely, but too well. Even 
 Gabe was stumped as from Madge, and then from 
 the girl herself, he heard her reasons against marry- 
 ing Tom. 
 
 As she finished, he looked at her admiringly. " I 
 must say, my dear, that I didn't think you had it
 
 S80 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 in you. What has Tom said in reply to these ob- 
 jections of yours ? " 
 
 " Only this," burst out Tom. " I will admit that 
 in the past I have been crass and cowardly. I have 
 insulted Minnie Gray a thousand times but I had 
 no conception of the personality that she possessed. 
 I can only make amends if she will let me, by devot- 
 ing my whole future life to showing her that I too 
 have changed." 
 
 " Doesn't that satisfy you, Minnie ? " Gabe was im- 
 personal, a kindly mediator. 
 
 " No." She shook her head. " I can't forget." 
 
 "Nor forgive?" 
 
 " Yes. But it would rise between. And he has 
 been that sort of man." 
 
 " He will not be again." 
 
 " But he has been." 
 
 "I cannot deny that. He has been, it is true. 
 Minnie, have you stopped to think that Tom was not 
 altogether responsible for this ? " 
 
 " Of course he was responsible. He was a man, 
 free to choose " 
 
 " Ah, but he wasn't. That's just the point. He 
 wasn't free to choose. He was a victim, just as you 
 were." 
 
 " I don't know what you mean." 
 
 " Let me tell you something. When Tom was a 
 little fellow he was given over into the hands of a 
 colored nurse. All the white babies of his class are.
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 381 
 
 Now this particular nurse understand, I don't con- 
 demn her, for she was a victim, too this particular 
 nurse was the child of a slave by that slave's white 
 master. There was no morality put into her com- 
 position. Her mother was proud of her relationship 
 with her master, and boasted of it on every occasion. 
 The girl grew up as rank as any wayside weed. She 
 was sly and respectful to her mistress. Behind her 
 back she was bold and vulgar to a degree. I daresay 
 baby Tom received his first lessons in sex from her." 
 
 " How did you guess ? " Tom was amazed. 
 
 " I have eyes and ears," said Gabe drily. " ISTow, 
 then ! From the influence of this nurse Tom passed 
 to school with other boys fresh from like influences. 
 I have heard it said that the talk of school-children 
 would often shock their parents. I know this to be 
 true. Tom came home steeped in morbid, unhealthy 
 knowledge. He saw his father with keen eyes. I 
 don't condemn that father, either, for he also was a 
 victim. But from him Tom learned more lessons. 
 His first transgression was applauded his second 
 was accepted as a matter of course. He soon learned 
 how men regarded such things, and of course he did 
 not wish to be a mollycoddle. He was as clear a vic- 
 tim of the double standard as one can hope to find 
 nowadays. He was educated in the code from the 
 moment of his birth. The only wonder is that he 
 did not go still farther. In spite of his teaching, 
 he must have had a saving sense of decency, to keep
 
 382 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 himself clean and healthy. Through you, Minnie, 
 he has had his eyes opened at last. He sees the jus- 
 tice of your claims. He sees the immorality of his 
 past life, and with him you can make the little Tom 
 a better man than you can without him. And you 
 love him " 
 
 " But I do not respect him." 
 
 "You will. You must. Conscious reaching for 
 the higher things of life always earns respect in the 
 end. Minnie, I did not expect to find you cold, and 
 hard, and unforgiving " 
 
 " Captain Gabe, I'm not " 
 
 " Oh, yes, you are. You are showing yourself to 
 be narrow and Puritanical. I had counted on your 
 broad-mindedness. You have suffered enough your- 
 self to make allowances. Minnie, Jesus did not con- 
 demn the sinner. Rather he rejoiced over ' the sin- 
 ner that repenteth.' I know what is the matter with 
 you, Minnie." 
 
 " What ? " Minnie looked eager. 
 
 " You are so used to being miserable that you are 
 afraid to look happiness in the face. Now it con- 
 fronts you, you've run away like a rabbit from the 
 gun of the hunter, and, hiding way back in the 
 dark burrow you have made for yourself, you are 
 fancying everything to be true but truth. Come out 
 into the sunshine, Minnie. Know that Tom loves 
 you. Know that you love him. Nothing matters 
 but just that."
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 383 
 
 "Bose wouldn't marry a man with a past like 
 Tom's." 
 
 "Perhaps not. I sincerely hope she will fall in 
 love some day with a fellow who, by birth and en- 
 vironment, by influence and by heredity, is clean 
 morally and physically. Such a man is hard to find. 
 He is an accident nowadays. He should be a com- 
 monplace. However, if Kose should love a man with 
 a past and he 'fessed up and promised good be- 
 havior and showed he meant it, every word and 
 if he had no other claims upon him I'd say, ' Bless 
 you, my children.' There are plenty of us morally 
 besmirched in other ways that I am almost more 
 afraid of, Minnie. And now I am going to say some- 
 thing you may not like. Minnie, did I ever speak 
 to you of what you yourself have done ? " 
 
 " Captain Gabe " 
 
 "Yes, I know. Eose has been busy holding up 
 your wrongs until you have grown to believe in them. 
 But you were seventeen years old and ought to have 
 had better sense. Tom did not sin alone, Minnie." 
 
 " Captain Gabe ! " The girl was sobbing. 
 
 " There, there ! I did not mean to make you cry. 
 What I wanted to show you was that if it comes right 
 down to rock bottom there isn't one of us that hasn't 
 done something to be ashamed of at one time or an- 
 other. We are all human, Minnie. Give over think- 
 ing about wrongs, my dear. Think of rights. Tom 
 has a right to you and to his boy. You have a right
 
 384 THE SHELLS YS OF GEORGIA 
 
 to him. Help one another, and between you help 
 the little son. Now, folks, I'm done. Come out and 
 leave these two alone. They'll soon decide " 
 
 He rose to lead his wife and Rose away but Minnie 
 rose too. " You don't have to go," she said tremu- 
 lously. "I've decided. I'd gotten everything all 
 mixed up, I reckon. If Tom still wants me, after all 
 I've said " 
 
 " If Tom still wants you ! Hurry, Rose and 
 Madge. Let's give Tom a chance to tell her if he 
 wants her." 
 
 It was a chance of which Tom made the most.
 
 G 
 
 CHAPTER iXXVI 
 
 * ' ^*">1 OD bless my soul," chuckled old Judge 
 Oglethorpe. " I didn't expect to officiate 
 at a wedding when I decided to come out 
 to the hills with Gabe this afternoon. What I want 
 to know, Tom, is what the folks at Salem are going 
 to say about all this ? " 
 
 " 111 attend to the folks at Salem," said Gabe con- 
 fidently. " Tom, how about an article on the front 
 page of The Budget, headed something like this: 
 ' Sheriff unearths romance of long standing. Judge 
 Oglethorpe guilty of performing secret marriage. 
 Tom Blankenship a married man.' Then I'll go on 
 to explain that you fell in love with a mountain girl 
 and married her secretly, for fear of your Aunt Betty 
 Oglethorpe's disapproval. I will state that the young 
 lady is a daughter of the late Corporal Ben Gray, and 
 every one knows how I loved my old war comrade, so 
 that is voucher enough, to my thinking. And then 
 I'll say that, under the name of Mrs. Kemp, Minnie 
 has been busy finishing her education and getting 
 ready to assume the high position now hers as Tom's 
 wife. Also that the young son and heir is thriving. 
 How about it, Tom ? " 
 
 385
 
 386 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 
 
 " You may say what you please, Captain," replied 
 Tom heartily. "I am content to leave matters in 
 your hands.. For myself, I'd face the music, but I 
 have to think of Minnie now. It wouldn't do for her 
 to start life in Salem under a cloud. That is why I 
 have asked the Judge to ante-date the marriage cer- 
 tificate." 
 
 The men were waiting in the living room of Sun- 
 crest, while the women packed Minnie's few be- 
 longings, and the girl said her farewells to her 
 mother. Now Homer Fort suggested, with a smile, 
 " It is the modern inclination, Mr. Blankenship, to 
 stand forth in one's true colors, and let people take 
 you for exactly what you are. Maybe Minnie has 
 some of those high-flown ideas, and will not want to 
 hide under a false date." 
 
 " We have the baby to think of," said Tom with 
 magnificent simplicity. " From those who would 
 understand, we have no intention of hiding our true 
 selves. Salem generally would never understand. 
 Minnie would be ostracized. That wouldn't do, you 
 know. I can't have her hounded all her life for a 
 girlish indiscretion that was all my fault. You men 
 know that she would bear the burden of shame, while 
 I'd go scot-free." 
 
 "That's true," admitted Gabe sorrowfully. 
 "Minnie wronged, sad and humble, would come in 
 for a measure of patronizing sympathy. But Min- 
 nie righted, taking a place in the community she
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 887 
 
 wouldn't have the ghost of a show. Salem would 
 tear her heart open with its scorn and then rub salt 
 into the wounds. You are quite right, Tom. I shall 
 go ahead and put that article in the paper. Here 
 come the ladies ! Ready, gentlemen ! " 
 
 Mrs. Gray was weeping softly as she entered the 
 room, leaning on her daughter for support. " I 
 nevuh thought to see this hyar day, Cap'n Gabe," she 
 murmured. " I'm a moughty proud ole woman. 
 My gal has gotten to be a real lady, thanks to you- 
 all." 
 
 " Now, Mrs. Gray," said Eose, who followed close 
 behind with Madge, "you must calm yourself and 
 listen while the Judge performs the ceremony. Min- 
 nie, are you ready ? " 
 
 Minnie had changed to a simple suit of blue. Un- 
 der her small hat her face was pale and composed. 
 One would hardly have guessed from her quiet man- 
 ner, how momentous the occasion was to her. She 
 and Tom took their places before the old Judge, who 
 dropped his usual half -joking, half -querulous atti- 
 tude, and adopted the solemn dignity which consorted 
 best with his office. He proceeded at once with the 
 simple words which he thought suited to the occasion. 
 
 " We are gathered here, as the friends and wit- 
 nesses of this man and woman, to unite them as hus- 
 band and wife. 
 
 " Thomas Blankenship, do you take this woman, 
 Minnie Gray, to be your lawful wedded wife, to have
 
 388 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 and to hold, to comfort and to bless, so long as your 
 united loves shall endure ? " 
 
 " I do." Toin's voice was steady and firm, and 
 yet with a touch of sadness in it. 
 
 " You will love, honor, cherish and care for her, 
 and for her children, in sickness and in health, in 
 prosperity and in adversity, and will cleave tenderly 
 and loyally unto her as a true husband unto a true 
 wife?" 
 
 " I will." The words were spoken with purpose 
 and conviction. 
 
 "Minnie Gray, do you take this man, Thomas 
 Blankenship, to be your lawful husband ? " 
 
 " Yes," answered Minnie simply, her earnest eyes 
 upon the Judge's face. 
 
 " You will love, honor, cherish and care for him 
 and for his children, in sickness, in health; in pros- 
 perity and in adversity; and cleave unto him with 
 loyalty and tenderness, so long as your united loves 
 shall endure?" 
 
 " I will." Though the words were clear and dis- 
 tinct, the tears rained down her cheeks. The hearts 
 of those present swelled in sympathy, but the Judge 
 went on with low and fervent voice. 
 
 " Such a union is ordained in the laws of our 
 being, the welfare and happiness of ourselves and of 
 mankind ; and, therefore, is not to be entered lightly 
 or unadvisedly, but with honest hearts, discreetly, ad- 
 visedly and soberly. To be true, this outward trust
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 389 
 
 must be but a symbol of what is inner and real a 
 sacred personal union, which society deems fitting 
 and honorable, and which our laws make legal, but 
 which neither laws nor society can either create or 
 annul. Its high quality and success depend upon 
 the wisdom and temperance of you who enter into 
 this relation ; and on the steady unwavering devotion 
 of each of you to the other; and in the fidelity of 
 both of you to the noblest ends and purposes of life. 
 Believing that you have carefully weighed these obli- 
 gations, and that you intend to faithfully fulfill them, 
 we, your friends and witnesses, pronounce you man 
 and wife ; which I, as a servant of the state, confirm 
 and publish in her name and with Tier authority." 
 
 As the last solemn word fell softly on the air, Tom 
 turned to Minnie with a tender smile. He did not 
 kiss her there before them all. Some way he felt too 
 humble and too thankful for that, even in front of 
 these friends who knew his story. But as they two 
 looked into each other's eyes, it seemed as though 
 their very souls leaped together in a mute caress 
 a promise of what was to be. 
 
 " We have the Captain to thank for everything," 
 cried Minnie, turning impulsively to Gabe. " And 
 Madge and Rose every one of you has had a share 
 in making this moment possible. By your kindness 
 you have made me all I am or ever hope to be as 
 Tom's wife. How can I express my gratitude ! " 
 
 " Don't try," whispered Rose, as they all crowded
 
 390 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 around the pretty bride. tl Don't say another word 
 ahout it, dear." 
 
 " And remember/' warned the Judge, " I shall 
 keep my eye on both of you, for I feel a deep sense 
 of responsibility towards you now. God bless my 
 soul ! To think of Tom a married man, and liking 
 the situation ! I am surprised ! " 
 
 " May I say just a word ? " asked Homer from the 
 outskirts of the group. 
 
 " Fire away, Homer," ordered Tom familiarly. 
 
 " It is just that I am very happy to have been 
 counted in on this. I feel it an honor. I am a 
 Northerner, and a commonplace business man, and I 
 am proud to be included just as if I were one of you. 
 This has been a mighty pretty wedding, and the bride 
 one of the loveliest it has ever been my good fortune 
 to kiss." Here he suited the action to the word, to 
 the embarrassment of Minnie and the delight of 
 every one else. " We made a mistake in not foresee- 
 ing this, Judge, and bringing Uncle Jack along with 
 the necessaries for a julep how are we to drink 
 the health of the bride and groom ? " 
 
 " Law-S7/ / " exclaimed Mrs. Gray. " I clean f er- 
 got. I have fruit cake an' dandelion wine. Do you 
 reckon them'll do ? " 
 
 " Anything will do, Mrs. Gray," cried the Judge. 
 " Anything will do." 
 
 So a little later Gabe lifted high his glass and pro- 
 posed a toast to Tom and Minnie. " May their life
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 391 
 
 be all roses with the thorns removed. May they be 
 as happy as happy as you and I are, Madge." 
 The Captain's deep sincerity left nothing to be de- 
 sired. 
 
 Just then a wail sounded from the adjoining room. 
 " Li'l Tawm " felt that he had been left there with 
 Janey quite long enough, and expressed his resent- 
 ment with a lusty pair of lungs. For a moment the 
 wedding party were at a loss. Though they were all 
 old friends, they really did not know what to say or 
 do about the baby. But Tom knew. He hastened 
 out and was soon back with " li'l Tawm." 
 
 " Judge," he said gravely. " It isn't every man's 
 luck to have a boy like this." 
 
 " At least not on his wedding day God bless my 
 soul, Tom, I didn't mean that " 
 
 " It's all right, Judge," Tom assured him. " It's 
 all right. Minnie and I were really married almost 
 two years ago." 
 
 " That's the way to talk, Tom," approved Gabe. 
 " There is always merit in a struggle upward, and 
 the farther down the start, the more glorious the 
 finish at the top. For myself, I have forgotten 
 everything except that you and Minnie are my 
 friends, entitled to my sincerest liking and respect 
 except when I am writing a political article, Tom. 
 Then I reserve the right to lamm you." 
 
 The party separated soon after, for Tom was in a 
 hurry to be gone. Janey and the baby were to ac-
 
 392 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 company them, on a trip long enough to allow gossip 
 to wax and wane before their return. 
 
 Gabe and his family were to have dinner at Sun- 
 crest, so good-bys had to be said. Minnie clung to 
 Hose and Madge, and to her mother, and cried a little 
 and laughed a great deal. Tom shook hands all 
 round, and then, with his wife, led a merry procession 
 across the lawn, through the gateway, and over to his 
 waiting team. He swung Minnie into the seat be- 
 side his own, settled Janey, the baby, and the small 
 amount of luggage in the back, and amid a chorus 
 of good wishes he drove away, bound directly for At- 
 lanta. From there he intended to take his small fam- 
 ily North. 
 
 "Well, Rose," said Gabe as the wagonette disap- 
 peared over the brow of the hill. " A year ago 
 you set out to bring this event to pass. Now that you 
 have succeeded, how do you feel about it ? " 
 
 "Father," replied Eose earnestly, "to-day has 
 been the happiest of my whole life. I can think of 
 nothing to make it more complete." 
 
 "I can," said Homer. "Wouldn't you like to 
 climb to the summit of this hill and look down upon 
 all Georgia ? Your father tells me there was never 
 such a view." 
 
 " Yes, I should like that," responded Eose with a 
 bright smile. " Can Judge Oglethorpe stand the 
 walk?" 
 
 " I'm going back to ' Gabe's hotel,' " replied the
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 393 
 
 Judge. " You don't think I'd be fool enough to at- 
 tempt that climb at my time of life, do you ? " 
 
 " Gabe and I will go back, too," said Madge. 
 
 " All right, then. Even though every one deserts 
 us, we will make the trip alone," cried Homer. 
 " Come on, Miss Rose. It is nearly time for sunset, 
 and we have a glorious picture waiting for us at the 
 mountain top, if we hurry." 
 
 They ran away together, laughing. Eose was as 
 free as a boy in her riding-suit, and Fort had a hard 
 time to keep up with her. She had left her hat be- 
 hind, and now her beautiful hair escaped its bonds 
 in a hundred bewitching little wisps and curls. As 
 she looked around to mock at Homer for a laggard, 
 her flushed cheeks and starry eyes made her lovely 
 past belief. His keen intuition told him that the 
 events of the day were not alone responsible for this, 
 though each one had undoubtedly influenced her. 
 The lunch party on the lawn at home, with the visit 
 from the boys, had first served to lift her out of her- 
 self. Then Tom's visit, with its unfolding of his 
 change of front, had made her fairly tremulous with 
 joy. During the ride up the mountain-side she had 
 behaved like a child indeed, and Homer knew that 
 her mood had been induced by Tom's declarations. 
 Swiftly upon this had come the springing of Gabe's 
 surprise, with its wonderful possibilities. And then 
 the marriage of Tom and Minnie, in which her secret 
 plans had borne fruit.
 
 394 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 And yet she was so remarkable in her glowing 
 beauty, so stirred to the deeps of her soul, so soft- 
 ened and tender and appealing, that Homer felt that 
 something else must have transpired, of which he was 
 yet ignorant something which had wrought a 
 change in the heart of the girl herself, so wonderful 
 that his vague sensing of it tempered his thoughts of 
 her with subtle reverence. A new quality crept into 
 his love which was to endure through all the coming 
 years. 
 
 While he was pondering as to what this could be, 
 they reached the summit of the hill, and Rose uttered 
 a cry of pleasure at the scene which spread itself be- 
 fore them. Far down in the valley, where it was 
 growing dusk, they could see the tiny glinting lights 
 of Salem. Peach orchards stretched away in all di- 
 rections from the nucleus of the town. The road 
 wound in and out, and the river, like a silver thread, 
 showed sections of itself stitched through the willows 
 which crowded its banks. Farther away it widened 
 into a placid lake, which reflected the rosy tints now 
 spreading over the sky. 
 
 Beyond the rim of another hill the sun had already 
 hidden its jovial face. Broad rays shot outward, 
 veritable Jacob's ladders. The clear, translucent 
 blue of the autumn sky showed through the tumbled 
 clouds, which were no longer ordinary banks of mist, 
 but resplendent canopies of gold and purple, and
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 895 
 
 crimson shading into rose, transmitting the after- 
 glow. 
 
 They stood side by side in a long silence. At last 
 Rose gave a little sigh and murmured, as if fearing to 
 break the spell if she spoke aloud. " How this com- 
 pletes the day, Mr. Fort ! I feel as though the uni- 
 rerse had conscious thought, and had spoken to me 
 just now, making me promises which are sure to be 
 fulfilled. I know that God is, and more wonder- 
 ful than humanity has dreamed more mighty and 
 more infinitely tender and compassionate." 
 
 " Come back to me, Rose," whispered Homer. 
 
 I am here." 
 
 " You stand beside me, but your self is far away. 
 I feel cold and lonely. Come back to me. Give me 
 your hand." 
 
 So great was the spell, into which his words ac- 
 corded, that she stretched out her arm and laid her 
 hand in his. He drew her closer. 
 
 "Rose, your eyes see visions yonder. Let me 
 share them." 
 
 " I will try. First I see Tom and Minnie, going 
 far away together. They will be very happy. Next 
 I see my father and Madge. She has no thought 
 beyond him, he none for any one but her. I used to 
 doubt that, guarding a little jealously the memory of 
 my own mother. Now I am glad that it is so, for 
 together they will work for the good of the children
 
 396 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 everywhere. Suncrest will grow and broaden. 
 When Father gives it to Georgia, I can fancy his gift 
 being looked at askance at first. But it will prove 
 itself and will lay the foundation for similar schools 
 all through the land. I see this whole country stir- 
 ring to life, and leading in a world-movement for 
 peace and progress, which must come sooner or later. 
 Mr. Fort, I see things so great, so vast, so wonderful, 
 that I cannot quite grasp them but I know that 
 they are there, and are destined to come to pass." 
 
 " And in all this visioning do you catch no glimpse 
 of me?" 
 
 "Of you?" 
 
 " Yes. Am I left quite out ? Is there no future 
 for you into which I enter ? Rose, surely this after- 
 noon's events have restored your faith in humanity. 
 I love you, oh, so dearly, that I cannot let the day 
 come to an end without another plea for your con- 
 sideration. Have I no chance at all ? " 
 
 She was silent, looking into the distances which 
 were now fading into duller hues, but clear and 
 transparent still. He felt it some concession that 
 she did not withdraw her hand, and that it trembled 
 a little in his grasp. 
 
 "Rose, take me with you into that future about 
 which you are dreaming. Tell me that I am to be 
 happy as well as all the rest, and that in being happy 
 I will make you happy, too." 
 
 So still was she that as his words died on the air
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 397 
 
 it seemed that the silence reached out from her to 
 enfold him. With her hand in both his own he 
 stood waiting for her answer. But her eyes brooded 
 over the distant hills and sky. She was so remote 
 from him that he felt suddenly as if his life itself 
 depended upon arousing her. Eoughly he dropped 
 her hand and caught her to him. 
 
 "You shall come back and hear me," he cried 
 boldly. 
 
 And then he saw that she was dimpling, and that 
 her eyes were mischievous. In"the quick revulsion 
 he let her go, and his own face grew stern. " You 
 are playing with me," he accused her. "I would 
 not have believed it of you, Rose." 
 
 " Forgive me. I was thinking " 
 
 "Of what?" 
 
 " Sit down here, on these stones beside me. 
 There ! Now we can talk." 
 
 " Of what were you thinking ? " 
 
 " Of a little map you drew for me some time ago 
 of a highway called Comrade Street, which went up 
 the Hill of Understanding to the Heights of Friend- 
 ship Mountain. Do you remember ? " 
 
 " Yes, I remember. What of it ? " 
 
 " It was symbolical. I tore up the map, but I 
 could not alter the progress of our acquaintance, Mr. 
 Fort. I couldn't even keep the 'No Trespassing' 
 signs as high as you advised." 
 
 u How do you know ? "
 
 398 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 " Because, Mr. Fort, I have caught you twice in 
 the very act of peeping over. Mr. Fort let me 
 whisper this so that even the birds can't hear I 
 should like to take a peep myself, to see what lies be- 
 hind." 
 
 She was so bewitching in her pretended confidence 
 that he feared to speak lest he spoil her mood. But 
 as she waited for his answer, he ventured, " Why ? " 
 
 " Because, I might look all by myself, but I fear 
 I could not see plainly. It is all so very mysterious. 
 If we looked together, you might explain things to 
 me, so I would know what love is what it is 
 like " 
 
 " Very well." He pretended to be calm and judi- 
 cious, in spite of the racing of his pulse. " Take 
 my hand so. Look where I bid you, into the heart 
 of that huge cloud. Do you see nothing ? " 
 
 " Nothing." 
 
 "Don't you catch even a glimpse of the elusive 
 form of Love?" 
 
 "No. It is only a big purple bank, promising 
 rain to-morrow." 
 
 " Then look yonder, down into the valley. Per- 
 haps love lies there, below us." 
 
 " No. I see nothing but a busy town " 
 
 " Above you, then, in the places which held visions 
 for you just a little while ago." 
 
 " No. Love is not there. It is all growing cold 
 and still."
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 399 
 
 "Ah, Rose, I can tell you why. Love does not 
 lie hidden away in secret places, guarded by signs. 
 It is about you, everywhere. It lies in my eyes, if 
 you will only read them. It lies on my lips, if you 
 will let them speak. It lies in my heart, yours from 
 the moment I first saw you. Look only at me, Rose, 
 if you wish to see Love, Listen to me if you want 
 to hear its voice." 
 
 She turned her head away and he was silent, wait- 
 ing and fearing lest he had said too much. Would 
 her mood hold ? 
 
 " Mr. Fort," she said after a long pause. " You 
 and I once promised to be always frank with one an- 
 other. I even went the length this afternoon of tell- 
 ing you that if I ever felt like returning to the subject 
 of your love for me, I would do so of my own accord. 
 You see I meant what I said. I have made up my 
 mind to consider this matter seriously. There is 
 only one drawback to such a consideration my own 
 ignorance." 
 
 "Your ignorance? I don't know what you 
 mean." 
 
 " Some time ago I began to suspect that Madge 
 suspected I mean I perceived that Madge per- 
 ceived this is harder to say than I supposed it 
 would be." 
 
 " Do go on. I think I understand you." 
 
 "Madge thought I was falling in love with 
 you. She kept this to herself, but she is so transpar-
 
 400 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 ent that I read through the meaning of her actions. 
 She sent me to you at once that was the day you 
 drew the map for me and ever since she has 
 worked valiantly to throw us two together." 
 
 " Yes, I know. Madge has been on my side for 
 some timo past." 
 
 " Indeed ! Well, it all amused me very much. I 
 liked you, and so I did not mind. But this after- 
 noon Tom told me roughly that I was in love with 
 you." 
 
 " What did you say to him ? " 
 
 "I denied it." 
 
 " Did he believe you ? " 
 
 "No He didn't." 
 
 " So you denied it again, I suppose, and looked 
 him in the eyes " 
 
 " That's just it. I was quite able to deny again, 
 but" 
 
 "But what?" 
 
 " I could not look him in the eyes." 
 
 " Rose. Do you mean " 
 
 " I don't know what I mean, Mr. Fort. I don't 
 even know why I am telling this to you. I only know 
 I could not meet his gaze and say I did not love you. 
 I don't believe I love you. I don't believe I shall 
 ever love any one. Only what is it that I feel 
 for you ? Is it friendship ? I should like to classify 
 it, and label it plainly, so I would no longer mis- 
 understand, or be misunderstood. That is why I
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 401 
 
 venture to speak out like this. I want you to help me 
 analyze the sincere liking I have for you, so that our 
 future relationship may be clearly denned." 
 
 Was she laughing at him? Apparently not, for 
 the eyes she lifted up to his were as clear and limpid 
 as a mountain brook. Yet it was too absurd, thought 
 Homer, for her to come to him like this, and ask him 
 point blank for such a definition. Should he fling 
 scruples to the winds, take her into his arms, and kiss 
 her soul awake into either love or loathing ? 
 
 He considered for a time and a new feeling rose 
 within him which he soon recognized to be resent- 
 ment. She had no right to tax him so. Did she not 
 know how hard this was for him ? And then, in its 
 turn, resentment gave way to admiration. Her cour- 
 age was superb in thus flinging down the barriers, 
 and meeting him face to face. He saw that she was 
 really in earnest about it all. She was puzzled, 
 alarmed perhaps, and in throwing herself upon his 
 mercy she had unconsciously displayed reliance on 
 him of which he could be justly proud. And with 
 this realization came to him the knowledge of how 
 best to meet her frank confession. 
 
 " I will help you," he said gravely. " Rose, I 
 think we have been such true comrades that you have 
 lost your perspective. I have been in your home 
 and near you, so that you've grown to accept me some- 
 what as you would if I were your brother." 
 
 " I should have liked a brother "
 
 402 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 " Yes, I know. But, Rose, I love you in a differ- 
 ent way from that. I want you to think of me dif- 
 ferently. So the very best thing for both of us will 
 be for me to go away sooner than I had planned 
 to-morrow." 
 
 " Away ? From Salem ? From me ? " 
 
 " From Salem and from you. You need time to 
 get a new point of view. You need to miss me, Eose. 
 If I am absent, then perhaps your own heart will 
 plead my cause. You will learn just how much of 
 yourself belongs to me. And when you have settled 
 everything, write to me either to come to you or 
 stay away, forever." 
 
 "But I could never endure that," she cried 
 quickly. " I could not bear never to see you again. 
 Why need that be ? " 
 
 " Rose, don't you know what torture mere friend- 
 ship with you is, when I want so much more ? " 
 
 " But we've been happy this summer " 
 
 " Indeed we have. The memory of it will never 
 leave my heart. I'll take that memory with me to 
 Chicago " 
 
 "So far away?" 
 
 " So far away. My work lies there, Eose. It will 
 help me bear the suspense I'll feel while waiting there 
 alone." 
 
 She thought a moment. Then, with eyes upon the 
 ground, "I do not want you to go away," she an- 
 nounced quietly.
 
 THE SHELLEY S OF GEORGIA 403 
 
 " I must go," he repeated. " It is the only way. 
 Come, Rose. We shall be late for dinner." 
 
 He helped her to her feet, and hand in hand they 
 went down the mountain path together. She was 
 silent, preoccupied, and he, wise from the depths of 
 his love for her, was silent too, for he knew she was 
 dwelling on his absence, picturing the time without 
 him, and wondering how it would seem. They had 
 reached the level ground once more, and had turned 
 into the narrow way which led to Suncrest, when sud- 
 denly she paused and faced him, speaking with con- 
 viction. 
 
 " I do not want you to go away." 
 
 He smiled. " But I must go." 
 
 11 1 wish I were a man, and could go with you." 
 
 t( I wish you were my wife, and so could go." 
 
 She shook her head and preceded him down the 
 path. And then again she paused, this time with up- 
 lifted hand to enjoin his silence. He stopped beside 
 her. Ahead, half-hidden by the leafy undergrowth, 
 lay the clear spring from which the mountain folks 
 about were wont to come to get their drinking water. 
 Minnie's mother, stifling her own emotion at the 
 events of the day, and busy in discharging her new 
 duties as housekeeper for Suncrest, had come alone 
 with a pitcher to the spring. 
 
 Once there, however, the thought of her daughter, 
 her "li'l gal," had risen uppermost. How many, 
 many times, in the days gone by, had Minnie come to
 
 404 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 this same spring for water? First, as a barefoot 
 child, so little she could scarcely lift the pail, next as 
 a maiden, shy and diffident; then as a woman, with 
 the near prospect of her motherhood to shame her, 
 and at last as a mother, shunned by her friends, for- 
 saken and disgraced. Now she had gone away a 
 happy wife and mother it was too much. The 
 fountain of Mrs. Gray's tears had been so long dry 
 that she could not find relief in weeping, so, in her 
 gratitude for the final outcome of her daughter's suf- 
 fering, she had knelt by her full pitcher, and with 
 uplifted hands she was pouring out her soul to the 
 only God she knew. 
 
 " Gawd, I hev been a hard an' onforgivin' ole 
 woman, thinkin' as how you had deserted me an' 
 mine. I laid things up agin you, Gawd, an' wouldn't 
 pray ner ax fer mercy. An' all the time you wuz 
 a-plannin' out how best to make Minnie happy. But 
 I didn't know. My faith wuzn't built on a rock, I 
 reckon, but it is naow. O Lawd, do give me another 
 chanct, an' I'll show you how I am desarvin', in spite 
 of all my meanness. When you took away my Ben, 
 I wuz jus' natterally plumb wore out, an' it did seem 
 like as though I didn't hev no prop to lean on no 
 longer. Fer a long time the bottom jes' seemed to 
 drop right out of ever'thing. O Gawd, them years 
 without Ben them years without my Ben ! But 
 naow, sense Minnie is righted, someways I feel like 
 Ben wuz near to me once more. I feel like he'd
 
 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 405 
 
 sorter helped you plan, Gawd. Mebbe he went up to 
 you, an' whispered in your ear 'bout his ole frien' 
 Gabe, an' started you inter doin' all this what's come 
 to pass. An' I'm sure, Gawd, that when I come ter 
 die, Ben'll be thar beside you, waitin' fer his ole 
 woman. - Gawd, somehow I cain't think of Heaven 
 an' you without thinkin' of my Ben. A-men." 
 
 It had seemed the kindest part to stay discreetly 
 silent, and let the woman think herself unwatched. 
 As she rose from her knees, with her worn face trans- 
 figured by the fervor of her prayer, Eose shrank still 
 further back into the leafy path, pulling Homer with 
 her. Together they watched the work-worn figure go 
 slowly toward Suncrest. And then Homer saw that 
 his companion's eyes were soft with tears. 
 
 " Gawd, somehow I cain't think of Heaven an' 
 you, without thinkin' of my Ben." It was those 
 simple words, from the lips of Minnie's mother, that 
 woke Rose up at last. Prepared for them by Homer's 
 announcement that he was going away, touched to 
 the heart by Mrs. Gray's passionate outcry against 
 the years when she had seemed to be without Ben 
 those long, sad years, when poverty and shame had 
 made her hard and rebellious Eose was roused 
 as she had never been before in her whole young 
 life. She did not try to analyze the meaning of the 
 feeling which swept over her. She did not have to 
 try. She knew. And, knowing, she was not the 
 sort to keep her lover waiting. Like a homing bird
 
 406 THE SHELLEYS OF GEORGIA 
 
 she turned and flew straight into his arms. They 
 closed hungrily about her. Though it is safe to say 
 that Homer was the most astonished man in Georgia 
 at that moment, he allowed nothing of his bewilder- 
 ment to betray itself in his manner. And when she 
 lifted up her face, with her mouth all rosy for his 
 kiss, he lost no time in placing that kiss exactly where 
 it belonged. 
 
 " Mrs. Gray once told me that she hoped the time 
 would come when she could repay me for all I'd done 
 for Minnie. Homer, she has repaid me," whispered 
 Rose. 
 
 " How do you mean ? " Homer was completely 
 puzzled. He had but just now made up his mind to 
 months of doubt. 
 
 " She said she couldn't think of Heaven and God 
 without thinking of her Ben. Homer, that is exactly 
 the way I feel about you. I cannot think of any- 
 thing at all without including you. You were right. 
 I had fancied Love as something high, something to 
 be attained, when all the time it is just life and 
 
 you." 
 
 "It's life and you, you mean," cried Homer, 
 straining her to his heart. 
 
 " I think it's just we two together," answered 
 Rose. 
 
 THE END
 
 JOHN FOX, JR'S. 
 
 STORIES OF THE KENTUCKY MOUNTAINS 
 
 May IN had wherever books an sold. Ask for Gromt and Dnlap's list 
 
 THE TRAIL OF THE LONESOME PINE./ 
 Illustrated by F. C. Yohn.' 
 
 The "lonesome pine" from which the 
 story takes its name was a tall tree that 
 stood m solitary splendor on a mountain 
 top. The fame of the pine lured a young 
 engineer through Kentucky to catch the 
 trail, and when he finally climbed to its 
 shelter he found not only the pine but the 
 foot-prints of a girl. And the girl proved 
 to be lovely, piquant, and the trail of 
 these girlish foot-prints led the young 
 engineer a madder chase than "the trail 
 of the lonesome pine." 
 
 THE LITTLE SHEPHERD OF Klh'GDOM CO.\i 
 Illustrated by F. C. Yohn. 
 
 This is a story of Kentucky, in a settlement known as "King- 
 dom Come." It is a life rude, semi-barbarous; but natural 
 and honest, from which often springs the flower of civilization. 
 
 ' Chad." the "little shepherd" did not know who he was nor 
 whence he came he had just wandered from door to door since 
 early childhood, seeking shelter with kindly mountaineers who 
 gladly fathered and mothered this waif about whom there was 
 such a mystery a charming waif, by the way, who could play 
 the banjo better that anyone else in the mountains. 
 
 A KNIGHT OF THE CUMBERLAND.. 
 Illustrated by F. C. Yohn. 
 
 The scenes are laid along the waters of the Cumberlandt 
 the lair of moonshiner and f eudsman. The knight is a moon- 
 shiner's son, and the heroine a beautiful girl perversely chris- 
 tened "The Blight." Two impetuous young Southerners' fall 
 under the spell of "The Blight's " charms and she learns what 
 a large part jealousy and pistols have in the love making of the 
 mountaineers. 
 
 Included in this volume is " Hell f er-Sartain" and other 
 stories, some of Mr. Fox's most entertaining Cumberland valley 
 narratives. _\ 
 
 AA for comfrt* frc* 1i*t *f G. & D. PojuJar Copyright,* Fiction. . 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP, 526 WEST 26th ST., NEW YORK
 
 MYRTLE REED'S NOVELS 
 
 May be had wherever books are sold. Ask far Grosset and Duntap's list 
 
 LAVENDER AND OLD LACE. 
 
 A charming story of a quaint corner of New England, where by- 
 gone romance finds a modern parallel, The story centers round 
 the coming of love to the young people on the staff of a newspaper 
 and it is one of the prettiest, sweetest and quaintest of old-fashioned 
 love stories. 
 MASTER OF THE VINEYARD. 
 
 A pathetic love story of a young girl, Rosemary. The teacher of 
 the country school, who is also master of the vineyard, comes to 
 know her through her desire for books. She is happy in his love tiH 
 another woman comes into his life. But happiness and emancipa- 
 tion from her many trials come to Rosemary at last. The book has 
 a touch of humor and pathos that will appeal to every reader. 
 OLD ROSE AND SILVER. 
 
 A love story, sentimental and humorous, with the plot subor- 
 dinate to the character delineation of its quaint people and to the 
 exquisite descriptions of picturesque spots and of lovely, old, rare 
 treasures. 
 A WEAVER OF DREAMS. 
 
 This story tells of the love-affairs of three young people, with an 
 old-fashioned romance in the background. A tiny dog plays an im- 
 portant role in serving as a foil for the heroine's talking ingenious- 
 ness. There is poetry, as well as tenderness and charm, in this tale 
 of a weaver of dreams. 
 A SPINNER IN THE SUN. 
 
 An old-fashioned love story, of a veiled lady who lives in solitude 
 and whose features her neighbors have never seen. There is a mys- 
 tery at the heart of the book that throws over it the glamour of 
 
 THE MASTER'S VIOLIN. 
 
 A love story in a musical atmosphere. A picturesque, old Ger- 
 man virtuoso consents to take for his pupil a handsome youth who 
 proves to have an aptitude for technique, but not the soul of an 
 artist. The youth cannot express the love, the passion and the 
 tragedies of life as can the master. But a girl comes into his life, 
 and through his passionate love for her, he learns the lessons that 
 life has to give and his soul awakes. 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
 
 STORIES OF RARE CHARM BY 
 
 GENE STRATTON-PORTER 
 
 May be had wherever books are sold. Ask for Cresset * Dunlip't Itet 
 
 MICHAEL O'HALLORAN, Illustrated by Frances Rogers. 
 
 Michael is a quick-witted little Irish newsboy , living in Northern 
 Indiana. He adopts a deserted little girl, a cripple. He also as- 
 sumes the responsibility of leading the entire rural community up- 
 ward and onward, 
 LADDIE. Illustrated by Herman Pfeifer. 
 
 This is a bright, cheery tale with the scenes laid in Indiana. The 
 Btory is told by Little Sister, the youngest member of a large family, 
 but it is concerned not so much with childish doings as with the love 
 affairs of older members of the family. Chief among them is that 
 of Laddie and the Princess, an English girl who has come to live in 
 the neighborhood and about whose family there hangs a mystery. 
 THE HARVESTER. Illustrated by W. L. Jacobs. 
 
 "The Harvester," is a man of the woods and fields, and if the 
 book had nothing in it but the splendid figure of this man it would 
 be notable. But when the Girl comes to his "Medicine Woods," 
 there begins a romance of the rarest idyllic quality. 
 FRECKLES. Illustrated. 
 
 Freckles is a nameless waif when the tale opens, but the way in 
 which he takes hold of life ; the nature friendships he forms in the 
 great Limberlost Swamp ; the manner in which everyone who meets 
 him succumbs to the charm of his engaging personality ; and hia 
 love-story with " The Angel " are full of real sentiment, 
 A GIRL OF THE LIMBERLOST. Illustrated. 
 
 The story of a girl of the Michigan woods ; a buoyant, loveable 
 type of the self-reliant American. Her philosophy is one of love and 
 kindness towards all things ; her hope is never dimmed. And by 
 the sheer beauty of her soul, and the purity of her vision, she wins from 
 barren and unpromising surroundings those rewards of high courage. 
 AT THE FOOT OF THE RAINBOW. Illustrations in colors. 
 
 The scene of this charming love story is laid in Central Indiana 
 The story is one of devoted friendship, and tender self-sacrificing 
 love. The novel is brimful of the most beautiful word painting of 
 nature, and its pathos and tender sentiment will endear it to alL 
 THE SONG OF THE CARDINAL. Profusely illustrated. 
 
 A love ideal of the Cardinal bird and his mate, told with delicacy 
 and humor. ._. 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
 
 ZANE GREY'S NOVELS 
 
 May bt had whorevtr books ire sold. Asfc for firotset . Dunlin's itst 
 THE LIGHT OF WESTERN STARS 
 
 A New York society girl buys a ranch which becomes the centtr of frontier war- 
 fare. _ Her loyal superintendent rescues her when she is captured by bandits. A 
 surprising rhmat brings the story to a delightful close. 
 
 THE RAINBOW TRAIL 
 
 "P 16 * s l ory -? f a , yy n ? clergyman who becomes a wanderer In the great western^ 1 
 
 DESERT GOLD* 1 
 
 The story describes the recent uprising along the border, and cads with the finding 
 the gold which two prospectors had willed to the girl who is the story's heroine- 
 
 RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE 
 
 A picturesque romance of Utah of some forty years ago when Mormon authority 
 ruled. The prosecution of Jane Withersteen is the theme of the story. 
 
 THE LAST OF THE PLAINSMEN 
 
 This is the record of a trip which the author took with Buffalo Jones, known as the 
 preserver of the American bison, across the Arizona desert and of a hunt in "that 
 wonderful country of deep canons and giant pines." 
 
 THE HERITAGE OF THE DESERT 
 
 A lovely girl, who has been reared among Mormons, leams to love a young New 
 Englander. The Mormon religion, however, demands that the girl shall become 
 the second wife of one of the Mormons Well, that's the problem of this great story. 
 
 THE SHORT STOP 
 
 The young hero, tiring of his factory grind, starts out to win fame and 'ortune as 
 a professional ball player. His h?jd knocks at the start are followed by such success 
 as clean sportsmanship, courage a nd .Scnesty ought to win. 
 
 BETTY ZANE 
 
 This story tells of the bravery and her Jsra of Betty, the beautiful young sister of 
 old Colonel Zane, one of the bravest pioneers. 
 
 THE LONE STAR RANGER 
 
 After killing a man in self defense, Buck Duane becomes an outlaw along the 
 Texas bordr._ In a camp on the Mexican side of the river, he finds a young girlheld 
 prisoner, and in attempting to rescue her, brings down upon himself the wrath of her 
 captors and henceforth is hunted on one side by honest men, on the other by outlaws. 
 
 THE BORDER LEGION 
 
 Joan Randle, in a spirit of anger, sent Jim Cleve out to a lawless Western mining 
 camp, to prove his mettle. Then realizing that she loved him she followed him out. 
 On Tier way, she is captured by a bandit band, and trouble begins when she shoot 8 
 Kells, the leader and nurses him to health again. Here enters another romance- - 
 when Joan, disguised as an outlaw, observes Jim, in the throes of dissipation. A ?oL| 
 Strike, a thrilling robbery gambling and gun play carry you along breathlessly. 
 
 THE LAST OF THE GREAT SCOUTS; 
 By Helen Cody Wetmore and Zane Grey 
 
 The life story of Colonel William F. Cody, " Buffalo Bill." as told by his sister and 
 Zane Grey. It begins with his boyhood in Iowa and his first encounter with an In- 
 dian. We see " Bill " as a pony express rider, then near Fort Sumter as Chief of 
 the Scouts, and later engaged in the most dangerous Indian campaigns. There is 
 also a very interesting account of the travels of "The Wild West " Srow. No char- 
 acter In public life makes a stronger appeal to the imagination o* America than 
 " Buffalo Bill," whose daring and bravery made him famous. 
 
 GROSSET & DUNLAP, PUBLISHERS, NEW YORK
 
 A 000035877 o