m 
 
 H 
 
 m^n 
 
 Hi
 
 Southern Branch 
 of the 
 
 University of California 
 
 Los Angeles 
 
 Form L-l
 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below 
 
 JUL 7 1925 
 
 APR : J > 1923 
 MAY 181923 
 
 1 8 1923 
 
 OCT 
 
 
 APR 
 
 
 MAY ? 
 
 Form L 9-5//'-T,'l
 
 THE PINES OF LORY
 
 
 
 It is no gardener's cottage "
 
 THE 
 
 PINES OF LORY 
 
 By 
 
 J. A. Mitchell 
 
 Author of "Amos Judd," " That First Affair'"' 
 " Gloria Pictis," etc. 
 
 DECORATIONS BY ALBERT D. BLASHFIELD 
 
 New York 
 
 Life Publishing Company 
 i 901
 
 Copyright, 1901 
 
 BY J . A . Ml TCHELL 
 New York City 
 
 Entered at Stationers' Hall, London 
 Printed in the United States 
 
 All rights reserved
 
 /v\ 
 
 3 
 
 
 TO 
 
 ALL LOVERS OF LOVERS 
 
 AND LOVERS OF OUT-OF-DOOR THINGS 
 
 AND MILDER FORMS OF 
 
 FOLLY 
 
 THIS BOOK 
 
 IS AFFECTIONATELY 
 
 DEDICATED
 
 ere is a pleasure in the pathless wood, 
 ere is a rapture on the lonely shore. 
 
 Bjrtn. |J 
 _ ,J*
 
 A RELIC FROM AFRICA 
 
 THE 
 sea. 
 
 HE Maid of the North was ready for 
 
 Only the touch of the engineer was 
 wanting to send her, once again, on a homeward 
 voyage to the St. Lawrence. Meanwhile, in 
 solemn undertones, she was breathing forth her 
 superabundant steam. 
 
 Behind the wharf lay the city of Boston. 
 
 A score of passengers, together with friends 
 
 who had come aboard to see them off, were 
 
 scattered about the little steamer. Among 
 
 them, on the after deck, indifferent to the hot 
 
 June sun, moved a gentleman of aristocratic 
 
 mien. His raiment was above reproach. He 
 
 gave the impression of being a distinguished 
 
 ^on. But this impression was delusive, his 
 
 :mction being merely social. He was too 
 
 9
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 well provided for, too easily clever and in too 
 many ways, to achieve renown in any field re 
 quiring serious labor. 
 
 He inhaled the salt air as it came in from the 
 sea, took out his watch, scanned the wharf, 
 picked a thread from his sleeve, and twirled, 
 somewhat carefully, the ends of a yellow mous 
 tache. His glance moved indifferently over 
 various passengers and things about him until 
 it rested on a man, not far away. The man 
 was leaning against the railing of the deck 
 watching the scene upon the wharf below. 
 
 The extreme attenuation of this person had 
 already rendered him an object of interest to 
 several passengers. His clothing hung loosely 
 from his shoulders. Both coat and vest were 
 far too roomy for the body beneath, while the 
 trousers bore no relation to his legs. But the 
 emaciated face, deeply browned by exposure, told 
 a story of hardship and starvation rather than 
 of ordinary sickness. Two thin, dark hands 
 that rested on the ship's rail seemed almost trans 
 parent. 
 
 The aristocratic gentleman regarded this per 
 son with increasing interest. He approached 
 the railing himself and furtively studied the 
 stranger's profile. Then, with an expression in 
 
 10
 
 A Relic from Africa 
 
 his face less blase than heretofore, he approached 
 the man and stood behind him. Laying a hand 
 on one of the shoulders to prevent his victim 
 turning, he said: 
 
 " I beg your pardon, sir, but could you tell 
 me the name of this town ? " 
 
 There was a short silence. Then the stranger 
 answered, in a serious tone, and with no effort 
 to see his questioner : 
 
 " This is Boston, the city of respectability 
 and other delights." 
 "Yes?" 
 
 " It is also the home of a man who does n't 
 seem to have matured with the passing years." 
 " Well, who is that man ? " 
 " A fellow that might have been a famous 
 tenc if he had a voice and some idea of 
 mus':." 
 
 Tho other man laughed, removed his hand, 
 
 and ns friend turned about. Then followed 
 
 'ng as between old intimates, long sepa- 
 
 And such was the mutual pleasure that 
 
 Soring spectator, many years embittered. 
 
 pepsia, so far forgot himself as to allow 
 
 of sympathy to occupy his face. 
 
 countenance of the attenuated person 
 
 usual ; not from any peculiarity of fea-
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 ture, but from its invincible cheerfulness. This 
 cheerfulness was constitutional, and contagious. 
 His face seemed nearly ten years younger than 
 it was; for the unquenchable good-humor hav 
 ing settled there in infancy had thwarted the 
 hand of time. No signs of discouragement, 
 of weariness or worry had gained a footing. 
 There were no visible traces of unwelcome ex 
 perience. While distinctly a thoughtful face, 
 good-humor and a tranquil spirit were the two 
 things - most clearly written. His eyes were 
 gray frank, honest, mirthful, with little 
 wrinkles at the corners when he smiled. 
 
 After many questions had been asked and 
 answered, the more pretentious gentleman laid 
 a hand affectionately on the other's arm, and 
 said: 
 
 " But what has happened to you, Pats ? 
 How thin you are! You look like a ghost 
 a mahogany ghost." 
 
 " Fever. A splendid case of South African 
 fever." 
 
 " Too bad ! Are you well over it ? " 
 
 " Yes, over the fever ; but still tottery. My 
 strength has not come home yet. And the lead 
 was a set back." 
 
 " You mean bullets ? " 
 
 12
 
 A Relic from Africa 
 
 " Yes. I caught two, but they are both out. 
 I am getting along all right now." 
 
 "And you have just reached America?" 
 
 " Landed in New York yesterday ; got here 
 this morning at half-past seven, found my 
 family were up on the St. Lawrence, and here 
 I am. But what are you doing on this boat ? " 
 
 " Oh, I just came down to see somebody off." 
 
 An excess of indifference in the manner of 
 this reply did not escape the friend from Africa. 
 With a sidelong glance at his companion, he 
 said, " A man, of course." 
 
 u How clever you are, Pats ! " 
 
 w No need of being clever, Billy, when you 
 advertise your secret by blushing like a girl of 
 fifteen." 
 
 " Blush ! I, blush ! How old do you think 
 I am ? Ten ? " 
 
 " Yes all of that. But if you did n't actually 
 blush, old man, you did look foolish. And 
 this explains a state-room full of flowers that 
 I noticed. Is that her bower I " 
 
 " I think so." 
 
 "Well, who is she, Billy? You might as 
 <>11 tell me, for I shall be sure to discover if 
 goes on this boat." 
 1 Elinor Marshall." 
 
 13
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 u Elinor Marshall ? Why, that name is 
 familiar. Where have I heard it?" 
 
 " She is a friend of your sisters." 
 
 " Of course ! " 
 
 " And she is going to your place now, on a 
 visit. " 
 
 "Good! I'll cut you out. Is she fond of 
 bones?" 
 
 Mr. William Townsend did not answer, but 
 he looked at his watch. " She ought to be here 
 now. The boat sails at ten-thirty, does n't it? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " It 's ten, now. I shall trot you up as soon 
 as she arrives." 
 
 ** Thanks. You will excuse my asking a 
 cruel question, old man, but you certainly did 
 not send all the flowers in that cabin ? " 
 
 "Oh, no!" 
 
 " Then there are other appreciators ? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 Mr. Patrick Boyd, with a slight gesture 
 toward two carefully attired gentlemen who 
 were pacing the wharf, raised his eyebrows 
 interrogatively. 
 
 His companion smiled. "Yes. She can 
 also have either of them, and without the 
 asking." 
 
 14
 
 A Relic from Africa 
 
 The attenuated man regarded the two gentle 
 men with interest. " That chap has a familiar 
 face." 
 
 "Which? The one with the bouquet? " 
 
 " No ; the one with the nose." 
 
 " That 's Hamilton Goddard." 
 
 "To be sure! And I should know his friend 
 was a lover. His anxious glances up the wharf, 
 and those flowers give him away. Such roses 
 are for no aunt or sister." 
 
 u Better for him if they were ! " 
 
 "Why? No chance?" 
 
 " Well, that is not for me to say. But he 
 is one of those fearfully earnest chaps, with a 
 tragic soul, and a rebuff would be a dangerous 
 thing for him." 
 
 " Poor devil ! " 
 
 And the man of cheerful countenance slowly 
 wagged his head, as he added, in a sympathetic 
 voice, " This being in love seems a painful 
 pleasure." 
 
 Mr. William Townsend regarded his friend 
 with half-shut eyes, and asked, " Are you still 
 the superior person who defies the the 
 malady ? " 
 
 " Even so." 
 
 You ne*- .r had it ? " 
 15
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 " Never." 
 
 " How old are you ? " 
 
 " Thirty." 
 
 "Then it's a lie/' 
 
 " It 's the truth. Of course I have known 
 very fine girls who caused the usual thrills, 
 whose conservatory kisses I should never un 
 dervalue. But when it comes to the fatuous 
 delirium the celestial idiocy that queers the 
 brain and impairs the vision why, I have been 
 unlucky, that 's all." 
 
 " You are a liar, Pats. Just a liar." 
 
 " Mumps have been mine, and measles ; and 
 I have fooled with grape juice, but that other 
 drunkenness has been denied me." 
 
 His companion's grunt of incredulity was 
 followed by the exclamation : 
 
 " There she comes ! " 
 
 The two men below had halted, wheeled 
 about, and were watching an approaching car 
 riage. Down the wharf with this equipage 
 came an atmosphere of solidity and opulence, 
 of luxury and perfect taste. On the box, in 
 quiet livery, sat a driver and a footman. The 
 driver, from his bearing and appearance, could 
 easily have passed for the president of a college. 
 As the carriage halted before the gang plank, 
 
 16
 
 A Relic from Africa 
 
 the gentleman with the nose stepped forward 
 and opened the door, while he of the roses 
 stood by with a radiant visage, his hat in one 
 hand, his offering in the other. 
 
 First, emerged an elderly gentleman, tall, 
 slender, and acutely respectable. After him, a 
 girl descended, also tall and slender. She was 
 followed by a maid, and a Catholic priest. As 
 the young lady stood for a moment conversing 
 with the two admirers, her glance, in running 
 over the little steamer, encountered Mr. Town- 
 send, and she nodded pleasantly. 
 
 " Lovely ! Enchanting ! " murmured the 
 man from Africa. 
 
 " Of course she is ! Come down, and I '11 
 present you." 
 
 " But, first, tell me something about her. 
 What are the interesting facts?" 
 
 "Why, there's nothing to tell that I can 
 think of." 
 
 "Of course there is ! There must be ! Women 
 like that don't bloom in every garden. What a 
 patrician type ! And all that black hair ! She is 
 unusual." 
 
 " Well, she is unusual, Pats. She is a splen- 
 girl, an orphan ; and she is giving her 
 me all away." 
 
 17
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 " The devil ! And to whom ? " 
 
 " To philanthropy ; to societies for the ad 
 vancement of woman ; to hospitals and other 
 bottomless pits. But above all to the Catholic 
 Church." 
 
 " Too bad ! She does n't look so unintelli- 
 gent." 
 
 " No : and she is not. Her mother and sis 
 ter, all that remained of her family, were both 
 drowned in the same accident, and the shock 
 upset her for a time." 
 
 "And it was then the Church got in its work ? 
 That explains the Holy Roman Cherub who 
 seems to be along." 
 
 " Yes ; that 's Father Burke. He is a part of 
 the comedy." 
 
 " Comedy ! It 's a blood-curdling drama ! 
 Has n't she a brother or some relative to reach 
 out a hand and save her ? " 
 
 " She does n't care to be saved. She is one of 
 those women with a conscience. A big one : 
 the sort that becomes a disease unless taken in 
 time." 
 
 " I know. She feels guilty if she 's happy. 
 But she does n't look all that. She seems a trifle 
 earnest, perhaps, but very human, and with real 
 blood in her veins." 
 
 18
 
 A Relic from Africa 
 
 Mr. Townsend sighed a long, deep sigh that 
 seemed to come from below his waist. "Yes, 
 she was mighty good company and rather jolly 
 before the vultures closed in on her." 
 
 " Is she really in the coils of the anaconda ? " 
 
 " I am afraid so. She won't talk about it her 
 self, at least, not with Protestants, but some 
 of her friends say she thinks of going into a 
 convent." 
 
 "Well," said Patrick Boyd, with a sudden 
 warmth, as they turned to go below, " all I can 
 say is, that the institution, sacred or secular, that 
 tries to lure such a girl into a convent ought to 
 be hustled into space." 
 
 " Amen to that ! "
 
 II 
 
 FROTH OF THE SEA 
 
 AN hour later, as the Maid of the 
 North was steaming for the open 
 sea, the man from Africa and his new 
 acquaintance formed a group on the after 
 deck. 
 
 The day was a rare one, even for early June. 
 Across the surface of the water now a spark 
 ling, joyful blue the air came free and full 
 of life. This air was exhilarating. It inspired 
 Father Burke to tell a funny anecdote, and he 
 did it well. For not only did Father Burke 
 possess a sense of humor, but his heavy, be 
 nevolent face, white hair, and deep voice gave 
 unusual impressiveness to whatever he chose to 
 utter. Even Mr. Appleton Marshall, a victim 
 of acute Bostonia, eluded for a time his own 
 self-consciousness. He soon went below, how 
 ever, to revel, undisturbed, in a conservative 
 
 20
 
 Froth of the Sea 
 
 local paper. Mr. Patrick Boyd, or Fats, as 
 we may as well call him, being always of a 
 buoyant spirit, added liberally to the general 
 cheer. 
 
 The young lady regarded this addition to her 
 party with a peculiar interest. She knew that 
 the mention of his name in his own family was 
 for years a thing forbidden. Just how bad he 
 was, or how innocent, she had never learned. 
 And now, as she studied, furtively, this exile 
 of uncertain reputation, and as she recognized 
 the open nature, the fortitude, the tranquil 
 spirit, all unmistakably written m his emaciated, 
 sunburnt face, her curiosity was quickened. 
 She knew that Sally, his elder sister, her own 
 intimate friend, had persisted in a correspond 
 ence with her brother against her father's wishes. 
 And that, perhaps, was in his favor. At least, 
 he had a good mouth and honest eyes. His 
 neck, his hands, and his legs were preternatu- 
 rally thin, and she wondered if the gap between 
 his collar and his throat told a truthful story of 
 11 African fever. If so, the change had 
 sen appalling. However, neither bullets nor 
 had reduced his spirits. 
 
 conversation touched on many things. 
 
 she happened to say that this was her 
 
 21
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 first visit to the Boyds' Canadian house, he 
 replied : 
 
 " And mine too." 
 
 "Have you never seen it?" she asked in 
 surprise. 
 
 " Never. My father bought this place about 
 ten years ago, and I have been away over 
 thirteen years." 
 
 " I had forgotten you had been away so 
 long." 
 
 With a smile and a slight inclination of his 
 head, he replied : 
 
 "That you should know of my existence is a 
 flattering surprise. Any mention of my name, 
 I understand, was a state's prison offence until 
 my father died." 
 
 " Not quite so bad as that." 
 
 "A man's fame is not apt to flourish when 
 corked up in a bottle and laid away in a closet, 
 with * Poison ' on the label." 
 
 Here was a chance to gratify a natural curi 
 osity, and he seemed willing to throw light on 
 the mystery. She was about to offer the neces 
 sary encouragement, when Father Burke took 
 the conversation into less personal fields. It 
 may have been the contagion of this young 
 
 man's cheerfulness, or the reaction on the lady's 
 
 22
 
 Froth of the Sea 
 
 part from an acute religious tension, but the 
 priest had noticed Miss Marshall was awaken 
 ing to a livelier enjoyment of her surroundings. 
 The spontaneity and freedom of her laughter, 
 on one or two occasions, had caused him a 
 certain uneasiness. Not that Father Burke was 
 averse to merriment. Too much of it, however, 
 for this particular maiden and at this critical pe 
 riod, might cause a divergence from the Holy 
 Roman path along which he now was escorting 
 her. So he gave some interesting facts concern 
 ing this summer residence of the Boyds, winding 
 up with the information that the hunting and 
 fishing, all about there, were unusual. 
 
 " But we women cannot hunt and fish all 
 day ! " 
 
 "Perhaps it's like Heaven," said Pats, 
 " where there 's nothing to do except to realize 
 what a good time you are having." 
 
 " I hope that is not your idea of a woman's 
 ambition." 
 
 " What better business on a summer's day ? " 
 
 " Many things," replied the priest, " if she 
 has a soul to expand and a mind to cultivate." 
 
 " But I was speaking of the natural, un 
 varnished woman we all enjoy and are not 
 afraid of." 
 
 23
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 Miss Marshall, in a politely contemptuous 
 manner, inquired, "Then, personally, you find 
 the intelligent woman of high ideals less con 
 genial than the other kind?" 
 
 " I find the superior woman with a gift of lan 
 guage is a thing that makes brave men trem 
 ble. I think wisdom should be tempered with 
 mercy." 
 
 After a pause, and with a touch of sarcasm, 
 she replied: 
 
 " That is quite interesting. A fresh point of 
 view always broadens the horizon." 
 
 Ignoring her tone, he answered in an off-hand, 
 amiable way : 
 
 " Of course there is no reason why a woman 
 should not enter politics or anything else, if 
 she wishes. And there is no reason why a rose 
 should not aspire to be a useful potato. But 
 potatoes will always be cheaper than roses." 
 
 She smiled wearily and leaned back. As their 
 eyes met he detected a look of disappointment 
 perhaps at her discovery of yet one more man 
 like all the others, earthy and superficial. But 
 she merely said, and in a gentle tone : 
 
 "You forget that while all men are wise, all 
 women are not beautiful." 
 
 With a deep sigh he replied, " The profundity 
 24
 
 Froth of the Sea 
 
 of your contempt I can only guess at. What 
 ever it is, I share it. We are a poor lot. 
 
 " At thirty, man suspects himself a fool ; 
 Knows it at forty, and reforms his plan.' 
 
 Which is all true except the last line." 
 
 She smiled. " You are too severe. I consider 
 man the highest form of animal life after the 
 dog and the elephant." 
 
 " Then where does woman come in ? " 
 
 " Oh as man's satellite she is hard to place. 
 Her proper position might be anywhere between 
 the peacock and the parrot." 
 
 Pats shook his head, slowly and sadly. 
 " That 's an awful utterance i " 
 
 " But it enables you to realize her vanity in 
 aspiring to the wisdom of man." 
 
 Father Burke laughed. " Fighting the Boer, 
 Captain Boyd, is a different thing from skirmish 
 ing with the American girl." 
 
 " Indeed it is ! For on the battle-field there 
 is always one chance of victory. But I have not 
 been fighting the Boers. I was trying to help 
 the Boers against the English. " 
 
 " Ah, good ! " said the priest. " You were on 
 the right side." 
 
 But the lady shook her head. " I don't know 
 25
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 about that. I should have joined the English 
 and fought against the Boers." 
 
 " But, my dear child," exclaimed Father Burke, 
 " the cause of the Boers is so manifestly the cause 
 of right and justice ! They were fighting for 
 their freedom, the very existence of their 
 country." 
 
 " Possibly, but the English officers are very 
 handsome, and so stylish ! And the Boers are 
 common creatures mostly farmers." 
 
 Pats regarded her in surprise. " That does n't 
 affect the principle of the thing. Even a farmer 
 has rights." 
 
 " Principles are so tiresome ! " and she looked 
 away, as if the subject wearied her. 
 
 " Does it make no difference with your sym 
 pathies," he asked with some earnestness, 
 " whether a man is in the right or in the wrong ? 
 Would you have had no sympathy for the 
 Greeks at Marathon ? " 
 
 She raised her eyebrows, and with a faint 
 shrug replied, " I am sure I don't know. Was 
 that an important battle ? " 
 
 "Very." 
 
 "In South Africa?" 
 
 Pats thought, at first, this question was in 
 jest. She looked him serenely in the face, how- 
 
 26
 
 Froth of the Sea 
 
 ever, and he saw nothing in her eyes but the 
 expectation of a serious answer to a simple 
 question. Before he was ready with a reply, 
 she inquired : 
 
 " Were you at that battle ? " 
 
 He was so bewildered by this question, and 
 from such a woman, that for a moment he could 
 not respond. Father Burke, however, in his 
 calm, paternal voice, gave the required facts. 
 
 "The battle of Marathon was fought about 
 twenty miles from Athens between the Greeks 
 and invading Persians nearly five hundred years 
 before Christ." 
 
 " Ah, yes, to be sure ! " she murmured, indif 
 ferently, her eyes looking over the sea. 
 
 Pats, who was sitting in front of his two com 
 panions, regarded her in surprise. As she fin 
 ished speaking, he turned away his head, but 
 still watching her from the corners of his eyes. 
 Her own glance, with an amused expression, 
 went at once to his face, as he anticipated. He 
 laughed aloud in a frank, boyish way as their 
 eyes met. " I knew you had some sinister mo 
 tive in that speech. You almost fooled me." 
 
 And she smiled as she retorted, " I was merely 
 trying to please you. You say you are averse 
 to intelligence in a woman." 
 
 27
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 "Well, I take it all back. I am averse to 
 nothing in a woman, except absence." 
 
 Father Burke took all this in, and he disap 
 proved. Captain Boyd was by no means the 
 sort of man he would have selected for compan 
 ion to this maiden. The young man's appreci 
 ation of the lady herself was too honest and too 
 evident. It bore, to the observant priest, sus 
 picious resemblance to a tender passion unskil 
 fully concealed. Perilous food for a yearning 
 spirit ! Of course she was heavenly minded, 
 and spiritual to the last degree, at present ; but 
 she was mortal. And the soul of a girl like El 
 inor Marshall was too precious an object to be 
 thrown away on a single individual above all, 
 on a Protestant. Was it not already the prop 
 erty of The Church ? And then, there was lit 
 tle consolation in the knowledge that she was to 
 be in constant intercourse with this man for a 
 week, and during that time beyond all priestly 
 influence. 
 
 The Maid of the North, until she passed 
 Deer Island, bore a cheerful band of passen 
 gers. Then, in the open sea, she turned her 
 nose a little more to the north, and while riding 
 the waves as merrily as ever, she did it with a 
 
 28
 
 Froth of the Sea 
 
 greater variety of motion. And this variety of 
 motion, a complex, unhallowed shifting of the 
 deck, first sidewise down, then lengthwise up, 
 then all together and further down with a 
 nauseating quiver was emphasized by zephyrs 
 from the engine-room and kitchen zephyrs 
 redolent with oil and cooking and bilge water. 
 All these, in time, began to trifle with the inte 
 riors of certain passengers, and to paralyze their 
 mirth. 
 
 Among early victims was Mr. Appleton Mar 
 shall. After storing his mind with the financial 
 news and social gossip of the morning paper, he 
 had rejoined his friends. Sitting beside his niece, 
 he participated, at intervals, in the conversation, 
 his manner becoming more and more distant 
 until, at last, it vanished altogether. To all who 
 cared to see, it was plain that this stately and 
 usually complacent gentleman was losing interest 
 in external matters. 
 
 He seemed annoyed when a steward, about 
 one o 'clock, appeared on deck and rang a bell, 
 announcing dinner. At this summons Patrick 
 Boyd took out his watch and was obviously 
 astonished at the flight of time. 
 
 " I had forgotten my friend," he exclaimed, 
 and he hurried below. 
 
 29
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 At the dinner-table Elinor Marshall sat be 
 tween her confessor and her uncle, the latter 
 clinging bravely to his post through the soup 
 and fish. Then, after watching for a moment 
 the various viands as they rose and fell with the 
 heaving of the ship, accompanied, as it seemed 
 to him, by a similar rising and sinking of his 
 own digestive apparatus, he remarked, with some 
 severity, th^t he felt no hunger. And he left 
 the table with dignity, yet with a certain expedi 
 tion. As the uncle disappeared, Patrick Boyd 
 came in and took a seat opposite the lady and 
 the priest. 
 
 "How did you find your friend?" Father 
 Burke inquired. 
 
 " Discouraged." 
 
 " Poor fellow ! Nothing serious, I hope." 
 
 " No. But he does n't quite understand this 
 starting right off again on another voyage." 
 
 " Is he er is his mind affected ? " 
 
 This question appeared to surprise Captain 
 Boyd. " No. But they have fastened him to 
 a windlass, near the engine-room, and he re 
 sents it." 
 
 This reply merely intensified the curiosity 
 of the questioner. 
 
 " Did you say they have fastened him ? " 
 30
 
 Froth of the Sea 
 
 " Yes. It seems to be a rule of the boat." 
 
 The young lady also opened her eyes. After 
 a pause, she inquired, in a low voice, " Is he 
 dangerous ? " 
 
 " No, indeed ! Not at all ! " 
 
 " Then why tie him ? " 
 
 " It is a rule of the boat, as I said." 
 
 " A rule of the boat to tie passengers ? " 
 
 At this question Pats smiled, for a light broke 
 in upon him. " My friend is a dog. I thought 
 I told you." 
 
 " A dog ! " and she seemed to find diversion 
 in the seriousness with which Father Burke ac 
 cepted the explanation. " I love dogs. Why 
 shouldn't I go down and see him ? " 
 
 " The honor would be appreciated." 
 
 '" I will go after dinner. What sort of a dog 
 is he?" 
 
 A setter." 
 
 " And what is his name ? " 
 
 Pats hesitated. " Do you really wish to 
 know ? " 
 
 "Of course!" 
 
 ^ell, his full name is Jan Bartholomeus 
 Vlotens Couwenhorn Van der Heist 
 iburgh." 
 'hen he is Dutch."
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 "Yes. He was the property of four officers, 
 and each owner bestowed a portion of his 
 name." 
 
 " What do you call him for short ? " 
 
 " Solomon." 
 
 " Solomon ! " 
 
 "At first we called him Jan, but the other 
 three sponsors objected. They said it was favor 
 itism. So we all agreed on Solomon for every 
 day use." 
 
 " And he never resented it ? " 
 
 "No. He understood it as a tribute to his 
 extraordinary wisdom." 
 
 She seemed amused. " Is he so very 
 remarkable ? " 
 
 " Well," said Pats, laying down his knife and 
 fork, and giving his whole attention to the sub 
 ject, " as to general intelligence, foresight, logic, 
 and a knowledge of human nature, he is a won 
 der, even for a dog. And when it comes to dig 
 nity and tact, ease of manner and freedom from 
 personal vanity, why the other Solomon was 
 a beginner." 
 
 She nodded and smiled approval. <c I know 
 something of dogs and men, and I can easily 
 believe it. Certain men exist, however, who 
 are mentally superior to dogs. But it's the 
 
 32
 
 Froth of the Sea 
 
 moral gulf between the two species that is so 
 disheartening." 
 
 "All owing to the fatal power of speech." 
 " Possibly." 
 
 " I am sure of it. If dogs could talk, they 
 would abuse the power, as humans do, and soon 
 descend to the human level. They would lose 
 the dignity that silence alone bestows, and be 
 come bores like the rest of us." With a 
 deferential movement of his head toward the 
 priest, he added, " Except as they apply to my 
 self, these remarks are in no way personal." 
 
 As Father Burke, with a perfunctory smile, 
 bowed acknowledgment, the girl at his side 
 inquired, with a serious face, " Well, what can 
 be done ? " 
 
 Pats, with equal seriousness, replied, " How 
 would it do to establish an institute for the 
 propagation of silence ? " 
 
 " The millennium would be in sight 1 " she 
 exclaimed. 
 
 d of rhetoric and declamation 
 in words ; show the pupils by 
 example how much better they 
 
 mouths are not open." 
 jle idea ! And award medals to 
 che highest flights of silence." 
 33
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 "The very thought is restful," said Pats. 
 "And would you mind if I offered Solomon 
 a professorship ? " 
 
 "Not at all! It would look rather well in 
 the catalogue, f Solomon Boyd, Instructor in 
 Moral Philosophy and Deportment." 
 
 With a glance at the mirthless face of the 
 reverend gentleman beside her, she added, " And 
 on the dome of the college shall be a colossal 
 statue of Father Burke, in solid gold. He has 
 not uttered a word in half an hour." 
 
 The priest answered pleasantly, but the tone 
 of the conversation had given him little pleasure. 
 Folly was in the air, and Elinor Marshall, to 
 his surprise, seemed in harmony with it. Here 
 tofore he had known her as a thoughtful, serious- 
 minded woman, with a leaning to melancholy ; 
 and this unexpected and evidently enjoyable 
 flight or plunge into pure nonsense, caused 
 him a distinct uneasiness. The girl was bright 
 ening up, even becoming merry ; a state of mind 
 that never leads to a nunnery. 
 
 In this conversation, which ran on with rare 
 intervals of seriousness until the meal was ended, 
 Father Burke took no part. And when the 
 younger people had gone below for their inter 
 view with Solomon, he decided, after long re- 
 
 34
 
 Froth of the Sea 
 
 flection, that considering the gravity of the case 
 his obvious duty was to drop a word in the 
 lady's ear concerning this new acquaintance. 
 The rest of the Boyds the two sisters 
 were good Catholics, and from them there was 
 nothing to fear. But if he, Father Burke, 
 could counteract the influence of this interesting 
 heretic, it would be a pious work. He must 
 find his opportunity for an earnest conversation, 
 and before she landed. 
 
 The more he meditated, the more anxious 
 he became. But Fate, the practical joker, 
 the fickle, the ruthless, the forever mocking, 
 was only waiting to lay his enemy at his feet. 
 
 
 35
 
 Ill 
 
 A FOOL AT THIRTY 
 
 TOWARD the end of that day it became 
 evident, in the west, that preparations 
 were going on for an American sunset. 
 Preliminary colors, chiefly gold and crimson, 
 crept swiftly across the sky. These colors, 
 more dazzling as the sun approached the water, 
 were caught and tossed about upon the sur 
 face of the sea until all the universe seemed 
 ablaze. 
 
 Of this gorgeous spectacle Elinor Marshall, 
 in a sheltered corner of the deck, was an ap 
 preciative witness. 
 
 Pats, in his mercy, had decided to allow the 
 lady a respite from his society, at least during a 
 portion of the afternoon. The lady, however, 
 was so much more interesting than anything else 
 aboard that he finally ignored his better judgment. 
 
 36
 
 A Fool at Thirty 
 
 And now, leaning against the rail in front of her, 
 he found the sunset duller, more monotonous and 
 commonplace than the human combination in the 
 steamer-chair. She, however, her head thrown 
 back, with half-closed eyes, seemed fascinated by 
 the glories in the west, and almost unconscious of 
 his presence. As too much staring might cause 
 annoyance, he did most of it on the sly. And the 
 opportunity was good. As a mystery, she proved 
 an absorbing study: an irresistible blending of 
 contradictions, of sympathy and reserve, of sad 
 ness and of wit of a character and tempera 
 ment not half-divulged. Whenever their eyes 
 met, he felt a mild commotion, a curious, un 
 familiar excitement, something that made him 
 less at ease. For it invariably brought the 
 keenest anxiety as to her good opinion. He 
 also experienced a consciousness of guilt ; why, 
 he knew not, unless from the expression of her 
 eyes. They seemed to be reading his thoughts, 
 and to be a trifle saddened by the result. That, 
 in itself, was disconcerting. 
 
 He began to see why those other fellows were 
 
 love with her. Although fireproof himself, 
 
 understood, now that he knew her better, 
 
 nature of the conflagration that devoured 
 
 men in Boston. 
 
 37
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 In her sensitive face, in her reserve, and in her 
 sometimes melancholy air, he saw traces of in 
 ward struggles between a passionate, impulsive, 
 pleasure-loving nature and standards of virtue 
 unattainably high. And when he remembered 
 that she was doomed to the seclusion of a con 
 vent, that this life, with every promise of being 
 exceptionally rich and full, was to be crushed, 
 deadened and forever lost to the outer human 
 world, his resentment became difficult to sup 
 press. He wondered, in a hot, disjointed way, 
 if there was no possibility of a rescue. 
 
 Awakening from a revery, she caught him in 
 the act, regarding her with earnest eyes, and with 
 a frown. He also came back to earth or to 
 the boat suddenly, and he observed a slight 
 movement of her eyebrows as in surprise or dis 
 approval. With a guilty air, he looked away, 
 and she wondered if the warmer color in his 
 mahogany cheeks came entirely from the sunset. 
 After an awkward silence, he said. 
 
 " I beg your pardon for staring at you. You 
 are so very contradictory, and in so many ways, 
 that I took the liberty of guessing at your real 
 character ; whether after all you are unpleasantly 
 perfect, or whether it is merely your luck to 
 possess an awe-inspiring exterior." 
 
 38
 
 A Fool at Thirty 
 
 She was unable to repress a laugh. " And 
 what have you decided ? " 
 
 " I have not decided ; that is, not finally. I 
 keep arriving at new conclusions. My first im 
 pression was that you were a person of frigid 
 altitudes, severe, exacting, and abnormally 
 superior. Then, later, I have thought you 
 warm-hearted even impulsive: that your in 
 difference is not always real. But of that, I am 
 not sure. Still, I believe you possess a lower 
 and a better nature." 
 
 " You seem to have made wonderful discoveries 
 in a very few hours." 
 
 " I have been working hard." 
 
 " I hope the verdict is favorable.'* 
 
 " Well, yes in a way." 
 
 "So bad as that!" 
 
 " No, not bad at all. It is merely that you 
 have bullied your natural character. You have 
 made it toe the mark and behave itself. Never 
 given it any vacations, perhaps." 
 
 She regarded him intently, as if in doubt as to 
 his meaning. 
 
 " But you don't know the cause," he added. 
 
 ~ le made no reply. 
 
 The cause," he said, " is the expression of 
 r face." 
 
 39
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 "Ah!" 
 
 " Yes. It is impossible for any being of earthly 
 origin to possess the celestial qualities promised 
 in your countenance. It is out of harmony 
 with terre .1 A things. Why, when those three 
 men put out their hands this morning for you to 
 touch, I held my breath at their presumption. 
 I looked for three bolts from heaven to wither 
 the extended arms." 
 
 " And your own face, Mr. Boyd, gives no in 
 dication of the subtleness of your irony : unkind, 
 perhaps, but extremely clever." 
 
 " Irony ! Never ! I had no such thought ! 
 I am merely announcing the discovery that with 
 a different exterior you would have been less 
 perfect; but more comfortable." 
 
 " If this is not irony, it is something still 
 more offensive. I gave you credit for a finer 
 touch." 
 
 " I may be clumsy, but not malicious." 
 
 " Then explain." 
 
 "Well, you see, having a tender conscience, 
 you have felt a sense of fraud whenever con 
 fronted by your own reflection. Being human, 
 you have had, presumably, ambitions, envies, 
 appetites, prejudices, vanities, and other human 
 ills of which the face before you gave no indica- 
 
 40
 
 A Fool at Thirty 
 
 tion. And so, feeling the preternatural excel 
 lence of that face a lie, you have tried to live up 
 to it; that is, to avoid being a humbug. In 
 short, your life has been a strenuous endeavor 
 to be unnecessarily wise and imposs. ^ good." 
 
 As their side of the steamer rose high above 
 the sea, after an unusual plunge, he added: 
 " And I am afraid you have succeeded." 
 
 She remained silent, lost apparently in another 
 revery, watching the changes in the west. 
 
 The light was fading. On sea and sky a 
 more melancholy tone had come, dull, slaty 
 grays crowding in from every quarter. And 
 over the darkening waters there seemed a tragic 
 note, half-threatening, intensified by every plunge 
 of the steamer and by the swish of waters very 
 near the deck. There was a touch of melan 
 choly, also, in the steady thumping of the 
 engines. 
 
 She said at last, pleasantly, but in a serious 
 tone : 
 
 " I have been reflecting on your discourse. 
 
 If ironical, it was unkind. If sincere, it was 
 
 Dt impertinent perhaps, but certainly not justi- 
 
 id by our short acquaintance." 
 
 " True : and I beg your pardon. But was 
 
 correct? "
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 " I hope not." 
 
 Something in her manner invited a discontin 
 uance of that particular topic. He drew an 
 attenuated hand across his mouth, changed his 
 position, as if on the point of saying more ; but 
 he held his peace. 
 
 Some minutes later, when Miss Marshall's 
 maid approached this silent couple, her progress, 
 owing to the movement of the deck, consisted of 
 rapid little runs followed by sudden pauses, 
 during which she hung with one hand to the rail 
 and with the other clutched her hat. She had 
 come up to ask if her mistress needed anything. 
 Was she warm enough ? Would she have an 
 other wrap ? Miss Marshall needed nothing 
 herself, but asked for news of Mr. Appleton 
 Marshall, and if Father Burke was feeling bet 
 ter. Louise had seen nothing of Mr. Marshall 
 since dinner, but she had left Father Burke re 
 clining in the main saloon, not very sick, nor 
 very well, but lower in his mind. As her maid 
 departed, the lady expressed sympathy for the 
 suffering uncle. " And poor Father Burke ! 
 He is terribly uncomfortable, I am sure." 
 
 " Yes," said Pats. " I saw in his face a look 
 of uncertainty : the wavering faith that comes 
 from meals with an upward tendency." 
 
 42
 
 A Fool at Thirty 
 
 Pats thought this want of sympathy was 
 resented. 
 
 "He is a most lovable man," she said, "of 
 fine character, and with a splendid mind. You 
 would like him if you knew him better." 
 
 Here was his opportunity ; his chance for a 
 rescue. He would snatch her from the clutches 
 of the Romish Brute. A few stabs in the 
 monster's vitals might accomplish wonders. So 
 he answered, sadly, in a tone of brotherly 
 affection : 
 
 " I like him now. That is why I regret that 
 he should devote himself to such a questionable 
 enterprise." 
 
 " What enterprise ? " 
 
 " His Church." 
 
 With a forced calmness she replied, "This is 
 the only time I ever heard the first religion of 
 Christendom called a f questionable enterprise.' " 
 
 " Leo X. spoke of it as a * profitable fable.' 
 Perhaps that was better." 
 
 " Did Leo X. say that of the Catholic 
 Church?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " I don't believe it." 
 
 " Because you have too high an opinion of 
 Leo? " 
 
 43
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 " No ; but he was a Pope of Rome, and I 
 simply cannot believe it." 
 
 I " Some popes of Rome have been awful ex 
 
 amples for the young." 
 
 " So have men in all positions." 
 
 He smiled and shook his head. " Yes, but 
 when they set up as Christ's apostles, they 
 really should not indulge too freely in assassi 
 nation and torture: at least, not out of business 
 hours." 
 
 Then in a reflective, somewhat sorrowful 
 manner, he continued, " But the Roman Enter 
 prise has two enemies that are thorns in the 
 flesh, the bath-tub and the printing-press. 
 Wherever they march in, she marches out. 
 The three can't live together." 
 
 Of this statement there was no recognition, 
 except a straightening up in the steamer-chair. 
 
 He continued pleasantly, " In England, Ger 
 many, and America, for instance, where these ad 
 versaries are in vogue, Catholicism quits. As the 
 devil shrinks from the sign of the Cross, so does 
 the Holy Enterprise gather up its bloody skirts 
 and decamp." 
 
 " Perhaps you forget that in the United 
 States alone there are more than seven million 
 Catholics." 
 
 44
 
 A Fool at Thirty 
 
 " But they are not victims of the bath-tub 
 habit." 
 
 " That is not true ! There are thousands of 
 exceptions ! " 
 
 He laughed an amiable, jolly, yet trium 
 phant laugh as he retorted, " You admit the 
 truth of it when you call them exceptions." 
 
 In the dim light which had gathered over 
 everything, he could see the delicate eyebrows 
 drawing together in a frown. But he went on, 
 cheerfully, as if giving offence had not occurred 
 to him, " Now Spain is enthusiastically Catho 
 lic. And for ignorance, solid, comprehensive, 
 reliable ignorance, there is nothing like it in 
 the solar system. You can't hurt it with a 
 hammer. It defies competition. If a Spaniard 
 were to meet a bath-tub on a lonely highway, 
 he would cross himself and run." 
 
 " Their ignorance is their own fault. Edu 
 cation and progress have always been encour 
 aged by the Catholic Church." 
 
 "Encouraged? Oh!" 
 
 " Certainly." 
 
 " You mean by the stake and boiling lead ? " 
 
 " I do not." 
 
 " When, for example, she notified Galileo that 
 she would roast him alive, as she had already 
 
 45
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 roasted Bruno, if he persisted in his heresy that 
 the earth was round instead of flat? " 
 
 " If you are happy in that belief, I will not 
 destroy it." 
 
 " It is a historic fact, but I am no happier 
 for believing it. However, too much education 
 is a nuisance, and very likely Mamma Church 
 was wise in toasting an astronomer now and 
 then." 
 
 "Your conclusions are rather entertaining. I 
 am a Catholic myself, and my own reading has 
 brought opinions that are quite different." 
 
 She spoke calmly, but he detected a less 
 friendly tone. In a joking, incredulous manner 
 he replied, " Well, then, I am a Catholic, too." 
 
 " I am serious. My faith to me is a sacred 
 thing. It has brought me a more tranquil 
 spirit, a deeper knowledge, and a fuller concep 
 tion of what I owe to others and to myself." 
 
 She was very much in earnest. 
 
 " Then I beg your pardon," he said, " for 
 speaking as I did." 
 
 She tried to smile. " It is more my fault 
 than yours. Religious discussions never do 
 any good." 
 
 Then she arose from her chair, and he knew 
 from the exceeding dignity of her manner that 
 
 46
 
 A Fool at Thirty 
 
 his offence was serious. But this dignity met r 
 with cruel reverses. As she stood up, their side 
 of the steamer was just starting on a downward 
 lurch, one of those long, deep, quivering 
 plunges, apparently for the bottom of the sea, 
 slow at first, but gaining in rapidity. And 
 Elinor Marshall, instead of turning away with 
 frigid ceremony, as she intended, first stood 
 irresolute, as i^fafeeft unawares, yet suspect 
 ing danger, then tiptoed forward and rushed 
 impetuously into the gentleman's arms. These 
 arms were forced to encircle the sudden arrival, 
 otherwise both man and woman would have 
 tumbled to the deck. Then, she pushed him 
 hard against the rail. But even that was not 
 the end. For there she held him, to her shame, 
 pressing against him with the whole weight of 
 her body. And this lasted, it seemed to her, 
 an hour a year a lifetime of mortification 
 and of helpless rage ; the wind all the time 
 screaming louder and louder with a brutish 
 glee. 
 
 Her choking exclamations of chagrin were 
 close to his ears, and he felt her hair against 
 his face. But he was powerless to aid in her 
 struggles to regain the lost equilibrium. How 
 ever good his wishes, he could do nothing but 
 
 47
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 stand as a cushion poorly upholstered at that 
 between herself and the rail. 
 
 Finally, at the end of time, when the deck 
 came up again, she backed away with flaming 
 cheeks. Pats apologized; so did she. He 
 wished to assist her to the cabin stairs, but the 
 offer was ignored, and she left him. 
 
 4
 
 IV 
 
 NORTHWARD 
 
 NOT since her change of faith never 
 in fact had Elinor Marshall listened 
 to such open abuse of a sacred insti 
 tution. And the memory of it kept her wide 
 awake during a portion of the night 
 
 Although she had decided to ignore that 
 argument of the printing-press and bath-tub, it 
 wormed itself into the inner chambers of her 
 brain; and it refused to make way for better 
 thoughts. As the possessor of a depositic con 
 science she suffered the miseries of guilt. For 
 despite all reasoning of her own, she began to 
 feel that unless those arguments were refuted, 
 her faith might suffer : and, with her, an untar 
 nished faith was vital. 
 
 The motion of her berth, the rhythmic pound 
 ing of the engines, the muffled sound, at inter 
 vals, of feet upon the deck, all were soothing ; 
 
 4 49
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 but the remembrance of that discussion, with its 
 mortifying climax, made sleep impossible. This 
 childish sensitiveness she fully realized, and 
 despised, but/anerves achieved an easy victory 
 over reason. 
 
 She was glad when daylight came. Long be 
 fore the breakfast hour she left her state-room and 
 sought the deck for fresh air, and for Father 
 Burke. He, also an early riser, was discovered 
 in the lee of the upper cabins, his little prayer- 
 book in his hand. Sitting close beside him she 
 gave, in detail, the story of her conversation with 
 Mr. Boyd. It was in the nature of a confession, 
 but delivered in the hope and in the faith of the 
 enemy's discomfiture. She felt, of course, that 
 the statements concerning the press and tub were 
 false and foolish, and she knew that Father 
 Burke could tell her why. 
 
 Her confidence was not misplaced. This 
 was not the first time Father Burke had been 
 called upon to stiffen the faith of wavering con 
 verts. Considerable experience and a perfect 
 familiarity with the subject rendered the task an 
 easy one. The tones of Father Burke's voice 
 were, in themselves, almost sufficient for the 
 purpose. Deep, calm, mellow, ravishingly sym 
 pathetic, they played like celestial zephyrs upon 
 
 50
 
 Northward 
 
 the chords of the maiden's heart. They filled 
 the inmost recesses of her soul with security 
 and peace. His arguments were the old, 
 familiar things, considerably damaged by Prot 
 estants and other heretics ; but he knew his 
 audience. And when the spell had worked, 
 when the wings beside him ceased to flutter, he 
 drove the final bolt. 
 
 " You know, my child, that the value of a 
 statement depends largely upon the character of 
 him who utters it. I have no desire to injure 
 this young man, nor to prejudice you in any 
 way against him. But it is clearly my duty to 
 warn you that he is not a person with whom it 
 would be safe for you to permit a very close 
 acquaintance." 
 
 " You need have no anxiety on that point." 
 
 " I am very glad to hear it." 
 
 " But tell me what you know about him, 
 Father Burke. His family never mentions his 
 name, and I supposed there was something to 
 conceal. Was it anything very bad ? " 
 
 " Yes, bad enough. He is a wilful man, 
 of a perverse and violent temper. His utter 
 ances of yesterday are in perfect accord with 
 the spirit he displayed in youth. He broke his 
 father's heart."
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 " From his face one would never suspect that 
 part of it the violent temper. He appears to 
 be a person of unusual cheerfulness and serenity, 
 most offensively serene at times." 
 
 " Very possible, my child. One of the 
 hardest things to learn, and we seldom achieve 
 it in youth, is that outward appearances often 
 bear no relation to the inner man, that the 
 most inviting face can hide a vicious nature." 
 
 " Do you really think him a bad man ? I 
 mean thoroughly unprincipled and wicked ? 
 I don't like him, but somehow it does n't seem 
 as if he could be utterly bad, with such a face." 
 
 " Ah, my daughter, be on your guard against 
 those very things ! Heed the voice of experi 
 ence. Remember his career." 
 
 " But what especial thing did he do ? What 
 drove him away from home ? " 
 
 "In a fit of temper he tried to kill his 
 father." 
 
 " Really ! " 
 
 "As an old friend of the family, I knew the 
 circumstances." 
 
 " Awful ! How did it happen ? " 
 
 "They were in the garden in an arbor, 
 engaged in a controversy. In his anger he 
 struck the old gentleman and knocked him 
 
 52
 
 Northward 
 
 down, and would have killed him had not 
 others interfered." 
 
 A silence followed, not broken by Father 
 Burke. He desired his listener to realize the 
 iniquity of the deed. 
 
 At last she inquired half timidly : C^\^} 
 
 " And there was no provocation ? " 
 
 " None whatever." 
 
 After another pause she said, reflectively : 
 
 " The father had a temper too, I fancy, from 
 what I know of him." 
 
 Toward the face beside him the priest cast a 
 sidelong look, which was detected. 
 
 " I am not defending the son," she said 
 hastily. " Heaven forbid ! I almost hate him. 
 But you must admit that the father was not 
 an especially lovable character, nor very gentle 
 in his ways." 
 
 "He had his faults, like the rest of us ; but 
 he was a rare man, a religious man of deep 
 convictions, and the soul of honor." 
 
 " Yes, I suppose so, but I was always afraid 
 of him." 
 
 Father Burke laid his hand on her arm and 
 said, very gently but with unusual seriousness : 
 
 " I should regret exceedingly, my child, to 
 have you listen to the flippant sacrilege of this 
 
 53
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 young man, or be subjected to his influence in 
 any way." 
 
 " There is no cause for alarm. I shall have 
 as little to do with him as possible." 
 
 " An excellent resolve. And now, will you 
 grant me a request?" 
 
 " Certainly." 
 
 " I have no right to exact a promise. I only 
 suggest that while on this boat you avoid, as far 
 as possible, his companionship." 
 
 " I promise." 
 
 They both arose. His voice and manner 
 were always impressive, even in ordinary con 
 versation. But now a moisture gathered in the 
 maiden's eyes as he gazed benignly into her 
 face, and murmured in tones tremulous with 
 feeling : 
 
 " May Heaven bless you, my daughter, for 
 your noble spirit, and for your unswerving 
 devotion to a holy cause." 
 
 Then they went below to breakfast. 
 
 The girl was hungry ; Father Burke was not. 
 The undulations of the boat- so tempered his 
 appetite that food had lost its charm. A cup 
 of tea and a bite of toast were the limits of his 
 endeavor. Even these descended under protest 
 and threatened to return. When the heretic 
 
 54
 
 Northward 
 
 the victim of the plot appeared soon after and 
 took his seat at the table, he noticed that the 
 greetings he received, while friendly and all that 
 etiquette required, were less cordial than on the 
 day before. 
 
 And this was emphasized later, when he 
 joined Miss Marshall on the deck. After a 
 moment's conversation, she spoke of letters to 
 be written, and went below. 
 
 And once again, to make sure that this dis 
 grace was no fancy of his own, he approached 
 her as she sat reading, or at least, with a book 
 in her hand. In his best and most easy 
 manner, he inquired : 
 
 " Did you ever hear of the Magdalen Islands, 
 Miss Marshall ? " 
 
 She looked up, and nodded pleasantly. 
 
 " Well, we are passing them now." 
 
 " Indeed ! " 
 
 " They are off there to the westward, between 
 twenty and thirty miles away, but out of sight, 
 of course." 
 
 Amiably she inclined her head in recognition 
 of the news, but made no reply. 
 
 It began to be awkward for Pats. But he 
 resolved to suppress any outward manifestations 
 of that state. This task was all the harder, as 
 
 55
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 his legs embarrassed him. He knew them to 
 be thin, of a thinness that was startling and 
 unprecedented, and now, as he confronted the 
 northeast wind, their shrunken and ridiculous 
 outlines were cruelly exposed. He was sensi 
 tive about these members, and he thought she 
 had glanced furtively in their direction. How 
 ever, with his usual buoyancy he continued : 
 
 " And now we leave land behind us until we 
 reach the northern shore of the Gulf." 
 
 "Yes?" 
 
 Although she gazed pensively over the water, 
 and with conspicuous amiability, something 
 seemed to suggest that the present conversation 
 had reached a natural end. So the skeleton 
 moved away. 
 
 With Pats a hint was enough. During the 
 remainder of the voyage, at meals, and the few 
 occasions on which he met the lady, he also was 
 genial and outwardly undisturbed ; but he took 
 every care that she should be subjected to no 
 annoyance from his companionship. This out 
 ward calmness, however, bore no resemblance to 
 his inward tribulation. Such was his desire for 
 her good opinion that this sudden plunge from 
 favor to disgrace or at least, to a frigid toler 
 ation brought a keen distress. Moreover, he 
 
 56
 
 Northward 
 
 was mortified at having allowed himself, under 
 any pretext, to jeer at her religion. 
 
 "Ass, ass! Impossible ass!" he muttered 
 a dozen times that day. 
 
 Meanwhile, the Maid of the North was 
 driving steadily along, always to the north and 
 east. On the morning of the second day her 
 passengers had caught glimpses, to the larboard, 
 of the shores of Nova Scotia. Later they 
 rounded Cape Breton, and then, against a howl 
 ing wind and a choppy sea, headed north into 
 the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The Maid of the 
 North was a sturdy boat, and though she 
 pitched and tossed in a way that disarranged 
 the mechanism of her passengers, she did noth 
 ing to destroy their confidence. 
 
 It was the evening of this last day of the 
 voyage, when Pats, feeling the need of compan 
 ionship in his misery, descended for a final 
 interview with Solomon. Through a dismal 
 part of the steamer he groped his way, until his 
 eyes became accustomed to the gloom. Solo 
 mon heard his step and knew him from afar. 
 He whined, pulled hard at his chain, and stood 
 up on his hind legs, waving his front ones in 
 excited welcome. 
 
 " There is somebody glad to see me, anyway," 
 57
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 thought Pats, as he sat on an anchor bar with 
 the dog's head between his knees. There had 
 always been more or less conversation between 
 these two : not that Solomon understood the 
 exact meaning of all the words, but he did 
 thoroughly understand that trust and affection 
 formed the bulk of the sentiments expressed. 
 And these things being the basis of Solomon's 
 character rendered him a sympathetic and grate 
 ful listener. The monologue, address, oration, 
 confidence or whatever was delivered in 
 a low tone, accompanied by strokings of the 
 listener's head, taps, friendly pinches, and wan 
 dering of fingers about the ears. 
 
 " Bad place for a dog, old chap. Lots of 
 motion here, and smells, but 't will soon be over. 
 So cheer up. Any way, you are lots better off 
 than I am. In a single interview I have secured 
 the contempt of an exceptionally fine woman. 
 Yes, your Pats has done well." 
 
 He smiled in the darkness, a melancholy 
 smile. 
 
 " She probably told everything to the priest, 
 and he has explained to her satisfaction wherein 
 I am a fool, a malicious, blaspheming, danger 
 ous villain, and a stupendous ass. And he is 
 right. Perhaps, in time, a long time, I may 
 
 58
 
 Northward 
 
 learn that insulting people's religion is n't the 
 shortest road to popularity." 
 
 In his abstraction the hand, for an instant, 
 was withdrawn. Solomon protested, and the 
 attentions were resumed. " Keep still, old man, 
 I am not going. And don't get that chain 
 around your legs. But she is a fine girl, Sol : 
 too fine, perhaps. Just a little, wee bit too ever 
 lastingly high-minded and superior for ordinary 
 dogs like us." 
 
 While administering these pearls of wisdom 
 the speaker had become interested in two ap 
 proaching figures, dimly visible in the obscurity. 
 As they came nearer, he saw that one, the older 
 of the two, a man with gray chin whiskers and 
 a blue jersey, was drunk. This man stopped, 
 and holding the other by the arm exclaimed: 
 
 "It's so, damn it! It's so, I tell yer ! 
 What's he doin' this minute? He's blind 
 drunk in his cabin. Why, the jag on him 
 would sink a man-o'-war. Oh, he's a daisy 
 cap'n, he is ! He's the champion navigator." 
 
 " He '11 be all right in the mornin'." 
 
 "All right in the mornin' ! It '11 be a week ! 
 And where '11 we be to-morrer mornin' ? Where 
 are we hie now ? God knows, and he ain't 
 tellin'." 
 
 59
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 With a maudlin gesture and a reverberating 
 hiccup, the speaker, following the motion of the 
 boat, pushed his friend against the wall and held 
 him there. " I '11 tell yer where we are ; we are 
 more 'n fifty miles east of where we think we 
 are. We ain't sighted Anticosti yet. And we 
 ain't goin' to." 
 
 The other man laughed, " Oh, shut up, Bart. 
 You are gettin' a jag on yerself." 
 
 " Yes, sir ! We are fifty miles too far to 
 easterd now, and by to-morrer mornin' it '11 be 
 a hundred miles." 
 
 They passed on, the older man still holding 
 forth. " I Ve been this cruise a dozen times, 
 but, by God ! this is the first time I ever tried 
 to get there by hie headin' for Labrador." 
 
 They disappeared in the darkness, in the 
 direction of the forecastle, the sound of their 
 footsteps dying away among the other noises of 
 the boat. 
 
 Here was food for thought. But, then, the 
 man was exceeding drunk. And his companion, 
 who probably knew him well, paid no attention 
 to his words. However, Pats took a look about 
 the boat when he got on deck. The pilot and 
 second officer were in the wheelhouse, both 
 silent, serious, and attending to their duty. The 
 
 60
 
 Northward 
 
 watches were all at their posts and the Maid of 
 the North was ploughing bravely through the 
 night as if she, at least, had no misgivings. By 
 the time Pats went to bed, an hour later, the 
 drunken sailor was forgotten. 
 
 It was a long time before he slept ; and the 
 sleep, when it came, was fitful. Perhaps he had 
 brooded too much over his fall from grace. As 
 the night wore on he was not sure, half the time, 
 whether he was dreaming or awake. And so 
 eventful were his slumbers, and so real the events 
 therein, that his dreams and his waking moments 
 became painfully intermingled. As, for instance, 
 when he entered the cathedral. For a moment 
 he stood still, overcome by its vastness and by 
 the size of the congregation. Truly an impos 
 ing assemblage ! And the great edifice was ablaze 
 with light. A wedding, apparently, for there, 
 before the altar, stood the bride, awaiting the 
 groom. 
 
 As Pats sauntered up the nave she turned 
 about and smiled. And, lo ! it was Miss Mar 
 shall, more beautiful than ever, more stately and 
 more patrician, if possible, than in her travelling 
 dress. For now she was all in white with a long 
 veil and orange blossoms. She smiled at him 
 and beckoned. 
 
 61
 
 The Pinen of Lory 
 
 Yes ! He was to be the groom ! It was for 
 him they waited ! 
 
 He strove to get ahead. His feet refused to 
 budge. The harder he tried, the tighter he 
 stuck. He opened his mouth to explain, but 
 no sound came forth. Again and again he tried. 
 Again and again he failed. The huge congrega 
 tion began to murmur and he could hear them 
 whispering, " What a fool ! " 
 
 Then, from behind him came three men : 
 Billy Townsend, the man with the nose, and the 
 other fellow with the flowers. They walked by 
 him, easily, all in wedding array, and they lined 
 up by the bride. Pats tried to raise his voice 
 and stop it, but in vain. The Pope stepped for 
 ward and performed the ceremony, uniting them 
 all in marriage. The four bowed their heads 
 and received a blessing. 
 
 And when the happy grooms with their bride 
 came down the main aisle, they gave Pats a 
 look, a look so triumphant and so contempt 
 uous, that it set his soul afire. He boiled with 
 fury and humiliation. But stir he could not, 
 nor speak. The bride's contempt, and she 
 showed it, was beyond endurance. Gasping 
 with passion, he tried to rush forward and smite 
 
 62
 
 Northward 
 
 the grooms to scream to do anything. But 
 he could only stand immovable. 
 
 Suddenly the music changed. From a stately 
 march it galloped into the air of a comic song 
 that he had always hated. The Pope, as he 
 marched by, stopped in front of him and cursed 
 him for a Protestant. And now, beneath the 
 jewelled tiara, Pats recognized the drunken old 
 sailor with the chin beard. 
 
 But in the midst of these curses came tremen 
 dous blows against the outer walls, resounding 
 through the whole interior of the Cathedral ; 
 then an awful voice, as from The Almighty, re 
 verberated down the aisle : 
 
 " Time to get up ! We are there ! " 
 
 The martyr, in the violence of his struggle, 
 banged his head against the berth above, and 
 shouted : 
 
 "Where?" 
 
 " At Boyd's Island, sir, where you get off."
 
 WONDERLAND 
 
 WHEN Pats, in the early morning light, 
 stepped out upon the deck, he found, 
 enveloping all things, a thick, yellow 
 fog. Miss Marshall, her maid, and Father 
 Burke stood peering over the starboard rail at 
 an approaching life-boat. This boat had been 
 ashore with baggage, and was now returning for 
 the passengers. 
 
 The fog lifted at intervals, allowing fugitive 
 glimpses of a wooded promontory not a quarter 
 of a mile away. 
 
 Pats was struck afresh this morning by Miss 
 Marshall's appearance. She wore a light gray 
 dress and a hat with an impressive bunch of 
 black, and he saw, with sorrowing eyes, that 
 she and all that pertained to her had become 
 more distantly patrician, more generally exalted 
 
 64
 
 Wonderland 
 
 and unattainable, if possible, than heretofore. 
 He knew little of women's dress, but in the 
 style and cut of this particular gown there ex 
 isted an indefinable something that warned him 
 off. No mortal woman in such attire could fail 
 to realize her own perfection. He also knew 
 that the apparent simplicity of the hat and gown 
 were delusive. 
 
 And this woman was so accustomed to the 
 adoration of men that it only annoyed her ! 
 Verily, if there was a gulf between them yester 
 day, to-day it had become a shoreless ocean ! 
 
 Moreover, he thought he detected in Father 
 Burke's face, as they shook hands at parting, a 
 look of triumph imperfectly suppressed. While 
 causing a mild chagrin, it brought no surprise, 
 as the lady's manner this morning, although 
 civil, was of a temperature to put the chill of 
 death upon presumptuous hope. 
 
 After a formal good-by to the uncle, Pats 
 climbed into the little boat and assisted the lady 
 to a seat in the stern. Then he turned about 
 and held forth his hands toward the maid. She 
 stepped back and shook her head. 
 
 " Don't be afraid," he said. " There is no 
 danger." 
 
 " But I am not going ashore, sir." 
 5 65
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 He looked toward Miss Marshall, who ex 
 plained : " Louise is not coming with us. She 
 goes on to Quebec, where I am to meet her in 
 a fortnight." 
 
 So they pushed away and rowed off into the 
 fog, waving adieus to the little group that 
 watched them from the Maid of the North. 
 Both kept their eyes upon the steamer until a 
 veil of gauze, ethereal but opaque, closed in 
 between them. The sun, still near the horizon, 
 lit up the mist with a golden light, and Pats 
 with the haughty lady seemed floating away 
 into enchanted space. 
 
 Nearing the shore they made out more clearly 
 the coast ahead. This fragment of primeval 
 forest, its rocky sides rising fifty feet or there 
 abouts above the water, was crowned with gigan 
 tic pines, their tops, above the mist, all glowing 
 in the morning light. The two passengers re 
 garded this scene in silence, impressed by its 
 savage beauty. The little pier at which they 
 landed, neglected and unsubstantial, seemed 
 barely strong enough to bear their weight. 
 
 " Is this the only landing-place ? " Pats de 
 manded of the boatswain. 
 
 " No, sir. There 's another one farther in, 
 but the tide isn't right for it." 
 
 66
 
 Wonderland 
 
 Just off the pier stood their trunks, and be 
 side them two boxes and a barrel. Of the three 
 passengers, the gladdest to get ashore, if one 
 could judge by outward manifestations, was 
 Solomon. He ran and barked and wheeled 
 about, jumping against his master as if to im 
 part some of his own enthusiasm. His joy, 
 while less contagious than he himself desired, 
 produced one good result in causing the lady 
 to unbend a little. At first she merely watched 
 him with amusement, then talked and played 
 with him, but not freely and with abandon, 
 only so far as was proper with a dog whose 
 master had become a suspicious character. As 
 the life-boat disappeared toward the invisible 
 steamer, Pats turned to his companion. 
 
 " Welcome to this island, Miss Marshall. I 
 am now the host and your humble and obe 
 dient vassal. Shall I hurry on ahead and send 
 down for the baggage ? Or shall we go on to 
 gether and surprise the family ? " 
 
 Her lips parted to say : " Let us go on 
 together," but she remembered Father Burke 
 and his warning. So she answered, with a 
 glance at the trunks, " Perhaps you should go 
 first. The sooner the baggage is removed the 
 better." 
 
 67
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 With a little bow of acquiescence Pats turned 
 and climbed the rocky path. She followed, but 
 at a distance, and slowly, that there might be no 
 confusion in his mind as to her desire to walk 
 alone. To make doubly sure she paused about 
 half-way up and listened for a moment to the 
 tumbling of the waves upon the little beach 
 below 
 
 Reaching the top of this path she found her 
 self at the edge of a forest. It was more like a 
 grove, -- a vast grove of primeval pines. Into 
 the shadow of this wood she entered, then 
 stopped, and gazed about. Such trees she hr 
 never seen, an endless vista of gigantic trunk, 
 like the columns of a mighty cathedral, all tow 
 ering to a vault of green, far above her head. 
 And this effect of an interior of some bound 
 less temple was augmented by the smooth, 
 brown floor, a carpet of pine-needles. With 
 upturned face and half-closed eyes the girl drew 
 a long deep breath. The fragrance of the pines, 
 the sighing of the wind through the canopy 
 above, all were soothing to the senses ; and yet, 
 in a dreamy way, they stirred the imagination. 
 This was fairy land the enchanted forest 
 the land of poetry and peace of calm content, 
 far away from common things. And that un- 
 
 68
 
 Wonderland 
 
 ending lullaby from above ! What music could 
 be sweeter ? 
 
 From this revery of longer duration than 
 she realized she was awakened by a distant 
 voice of a person shouting. She could see Pats 
 off at the end of the point waving his handker 
 chief and trying to attract the attention oi -some 
 body on the water. Perhaps the gardener, or 
 some fisherman. 
 
 Walking farther on, into the woo^ she be 
 came more and more impressed by ^ie solemn 
 iauty of this paradise. And the carpet of pine- 
 ^edles seemed placed there with kind intent as 
 : to insure a deeper silence. She resolved to 
 spend much of her time in these woods, and, 
 even now, she found herself almost regretting 
 the proximity of her friends. 
 
 In the distance, between the trunks of the 
 trees, came glimpses, first of Solomon, then of 
 his master, moving hastily about as if on urgent 
 business. She smiled, a superior, tolerant smile 
 at the inconsistency and the sacrilege of 
 haste or of any kind of business in the sacred 
 twilight of this grove, this realm of peace. And 
 so, she strolled about, resting at intervals, 
 inhaling the odors of the pines, and dreaming 
 dreams.
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 In these reveries came no thoughts of time 
 until she saw the enemy Pats approaching. 
 His silent footsteps on the smooth, brown car 
 pet made him seem but a spirit of the wood, 
 some unsubstantial denizen of this enchanted 
 region. But in his face and manner there 
 was something that dispelled all dreams. He 
 stopped before her, out of breath. " There is 
 no house here ! " 
 
 With a frown of dismay she took a backward 
 step. Indicating by a gesture the cottage out 
 upon the point, she said : 
 
 " The house we saw from the boat ; what is 
 that?" 
 
 " I cannot imagine. But it is no gardener's 
 cottage." 
 
 "Then what is it?" 
 
 " Heaven knows," he answered with a joy 
 less smile. " It looks like a room in a museum, 
 or a bric-a-brac shop." 
 
 " But how do you know there is no other 
 house ? " 
 
 " I have been over the whole point. I 
 climbed that cliff, behind there, and got a view 
 of the country all about There is not a house 
 in sight." 
 
 " Impossible ! " 
 
 70
 
 Wonderland 
 
 " Nor a settlement of any kind." 
 
 " Surely, somebody can give us information." 
 
 " So it would seem, but I have hunted in 
 vain for a human being." 
 
 " The people you were calling to from the 
 cliff, could n't they tell you something ? " 
 
 " There were no people there. I was trying 
 to stop the steamer." 
 
 She regarded him in fresh alarm. " Do you 
 mean they have landed us out of our way ? at 
 the wrong place ? " 
 
 He hesitated. " I am not sure. But we can 
 always get the people of this cottage to take us 
 along in their boat. It is still early ; only nine 
 o'clock." 
 
 As they walked toward the cottage she no 
 ticed that he was short of breath and that he 
 seemed tired. But his manner was cheerful, 
 even inspiriting, and while she took care to re 
 member that he was still in disgrace, she felt her 
 own courage reviving under the influence of his 
 livelier spirits. Besides, as they stepped out of 
 the woods into the open space at the southern 
 end of the point, a space about two acres in 
 extent and covered with grass, and saw the 
 blue sea on three sides, she found new life in 
 the air that came against her face. In deep
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 breaths she inhaled this air. Turning her eyes 
 to her left she beheld for the first time the front 
 of the building they had sighted from the 
 steamer. This building, one story high, of 
 rough stone, was nearly sixty feet long by about 
 thirty feet in width. 
 
 " What a fascinating cottage ! " she exclaimed. 
 " It is almost covered with ivy ! " 
 
 " Yes, it is picturesque, and I am curious to 
 see the sort of family that lives in such a place." 
 
 " Is no one there now ? " 
 
 " Nobody." 
 
 " Nor anywhere near ? " 
 
 " No. I have looked in every direction 
 and shouted in every direction. They are prob 
 ably off in their boat." 
 
 As Pats and Elinor approached the building 
 and stood for a moment before the door, a 
 squad of hens and chickens, most of them white, 
 began to gather about. They seemed very 
 trusting and not at all afraid. The guiding 
 spirit of the party a tall, self-conscious rooster, 
 attired, apparently, in a scarlet cap, a light gray 
 suit with voluminous knickerbockers, and yel 
 low stockings studied the new-comers, with 
 his head to one side, expressing himself in sar 
 castic gutturals. 
 
 72
 
 Wonderland 
 
 "That fellow," said Pats, "seems to be 
 making side remarks about us, and they are not 
 complimentary." 
 
 His companion paid no attention to this 
 speech. She had regretted her enthusiasm over 
 the cottage. Enthusiasm might foster a belief 
 that she was enjoying his society. So she re 
 marked, in a colder tone, " I think you had 
 better knock." 
 
 He knocked. They listened in silence. He 
 knocked again. Still no answer. Then he 
 opened the door and entered, she following 
 cautiously. After one swift, comprehensive sur 
 vey, she turned to him in amazement. He was 
 watching her, expecting this effect. 
 
 The interior of the building was practically a 
 single room. From the objects contained it 
 might be the hall of a palace, or of an old 
 chateau or of a gallery in some great mu 
 seum. On the walls hung splendid tapestries 
 and rare old paintings. Beneath them stood 
 Italian cabinets of superb design, a marriage 
 chest, a Louis XV. sofa in gilt, upholstered 
 with Beauvais tapestry, chairs and bergere to 
 match. Scattered about were vases in old 
 Sevres, clocks in ormolu, miniatures, and the 
 innumerable objects of ancestral and artistic 
 
 73
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 value pertaining to a noble house. Over all lay 
 the mellowness of age, those harmonies of color 
 that bewitch the antiquary. 
 
 Dumfounding it certainly was, the sudden 
 transition from primeval nature without to this 
 sumptuous interior. Conspicuous in the som 
 bre richness of these treasures were two marble 
 busts, standing on either side of the great tap 
 estry fronting the door. They were splendid 
 works of art, larger than life, and represented a 
 lofty individual who might have been a marshal 
 of France with the Grand Conde, and an 
 equally exalted personage, presumably his wife. 
 These impressive ancestors rested on pedestals 
 of Sienna marble. 
 
 Elinor Marshall found no words to express 
 her amazement. She stood in silence, her eyes, 
 in a sort of bewilderment, moving rapidly about 
 the room. At last in a low, awe-struck voice 
 she said: 
 
 " Have you no idea what it all means ? " 
 
 " None whatever. But I am sure of one 
 thing, that it has nothing to do with Boyd's 
 Island. If such a house as this were anywhere 
 within reach of my sisters, they surely would 
 have mentioned it." 
 
 Oh, surely ! " 
 
 74
 
 Wonderland 
 
 " It being off here in the wilderness is what 
 takes one's breath away." 
 
 " I can't understand it or even quite be 
 lieve it yet." Then forgetting herself for an 
 instant, she added, impulsively : " Why, just 
 now I closed my eyes and was surprised, when 
 I opened them again, to find it still here." 
 
 " Yes ; I expect an old woman with a hook 
 nose to wave a stick and have the whole thing 
 vanish." 
 
 As their eyes met she almost smiled. For 
 this lapse of duty to her church and to herself, 
 however, she atoned at once by a sudden 
 frigidity. Turning away she studied a huge 
 tapestry that hung on their left as they entered. 
 This tapestry extended almost across the room, 
 forming a screen to a chamber behind. 
 
 " That is a bed-room," said Pats. " I looked 
 in," and he drew aside the tapestry that she 
 might enter. She shook her head and stepped 
 back. But in spite of her respect for the 
 owner's privacy, and before she could avert her 
 eyes, she caught a hasty glimpse of a monumen 
 tal bed with hangings of faded silk between its 
 massive columns ; of two portraits on the walls 
 and an ivory crucifix. This gla.nce at the bed 
 room served to increase her uneasiness. Mov- 
 
 75
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 ing toward a table that stood near the centre of 
 the room she turned, and regarding Pats with 
 the lofty, far-away air which never failed to con 
 geal his courage, she asked : 
 
 "Where do you think we are? How far 
 from your house ? " 
 
 " I have not the remotest idea. It is hard to 
 guess. But I have a suspicion " 
 
 He hesitated. " Suppose I go out and make 
 another effort to find these people." And he 
 started for the door. 
 
 " What'is your suspicion ? " 
 
 He stopped in obvious uncertainty as to his 
 reply. Looking away through the open door, 
 he said: "Oh, nothing except that we are 
 not where we want to be." 
 
 "Well, what else?" 
 
 Pats met her glance and saw that she was 
 becoming distrustful. Standing with one hand 
 upon the ancient table, with the tapestries and 
 busts behind her, she was a striking figure, and 
 in perfect harmony with the surrounding mag 
 nificence. She reminded him of some picture 
 of an angry queen at bay confronting her 
 enemies. In her eyes and in her manner he 
 clearly read that she had resolved to know the 
 the truth. Moreover, she gave at this moment 
 
 76
 
 Wonderland 
 
 a distinct impression of being a person of con 
 siderable spirit. So, to allay her suspicions, 
 which he could only guess at, he related, after 
 the briefest hesitation, all he had heard the 
 night before between the two sailors, repeating, 
 as nearly as possible, what the drunken man had 
 said. When he had finished she replied, calmly, 
 but evidently repressing her indignation : 
 
 " Why did you not tell me this earlier ? on 
 the boat, before it was too late ? " 
 
 " I did not suppose you would care to know. 
 I attached very little importance to it." 
 
 "Importance! I think I might have had 
 some choice as to being landed in the wil 
 derness with you alone, or going on to your 
 sisters." 
 
 Pats regarded her in a mild surprise. Her 
 sudden anger was very real. He answered, 
 gently : " The man was so drunk he hardly 
 knew what he was saying. His companion, 
 who probably knew him well, paid no attention 
 to his words." 
 
 " But / should have paid attention to his 
 words. And so would my uncle, or any friend 
 of mine, if he could have heard him." 
 
 Pats, taken aback at the new light in which he 
 stood, retorted, with some feeling : 
 
 77
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 " I hope you don't mean to say that I did 
 this intentionally ? " 
 
 " Then why did you keep such information 
 so carefully to yourself? " 
 
 " Because when I woke up I found we were 
 here that is, as I supposed at Boyd's Island. 
 Both the steward and the first officer told me so. 
 My only doubt when I went to bed was about 
 our getting here. And this morning here we 
 were. It had come out all right, so far as I 
 knew." 
 
 With a curl of her lip that expressed a world 
 of incredulity, she dropped into one of the 
 chairs behind the table, and rested her chin 
 upon her hand. 
 
 In a lower tone, he continued : 
 
 " 1 have never been here before, and had 
 no idea how it looked. Why did n't Father 
 Burke tell you this was not the place ? He 
 knows our island." 
 
 "It was foggy. Nobody could see it ; and 
 he knew nothing of the warning you were 
 keeping to yourself." 
 
 Beneath this avalanche of contempt, Pats's 
 feeble knees almost let him to the floor. 
 
 " Miss Marshall, at least do me the justice 
 to believe " 
 
 78
 
 Wonderland 
 
 " Would you mind leaving me for a time ? " 
 Into his hollow cheeks came a darker color, 
 and he closed his eyes. Then, with a glance* of 
 resentment, he took a step or two in her Direc 
 tion as if to speak. But instead of speaking, he 
 turned toward the open door and walked slowly 
 out. 
 
 For a long time she remained in the same 
 position, boiling with resentment, yet keeping 
 back her tears. She knew this coast was wild, 
 almost uninhabited, neither to the east nor west 
 a sign of life : behind them, northward, the un 
 ending forest. And the owner of this myste 
 rious habitation, what manner of man was he ? 
 Perhaps there were several. And she, a woman, 
 alone with these men ! From such bitter re 
 flections she was recalled, slowly, by the realiza 
 tion that her eyes were resting upon a little 
 portrait about twice the size of an ordinary 
 miniature a woman's face confronting her 
 from across the table. It hung against the 
 back of the opposite chair, on a level with her 
 own eyes, and was suspended by a narrow 
 black ribbon, an odd place for a portrait, but 
 in glancing at the table in front of her she 
 thought she guessed the reason. Before the 
 place in which she had thrown herself she 
 
 79
 
 The Pines of Lory- 
 noticed for the first time a plate, a pewter mug, 
 a napkin, and a knife and fork. Evidently the 
 host expected to eat alone, for there were no 
 other dishes on the table. And the portrait, of 
 course, must be his wife, or his mother, perhaps, 
 or daughter. It proved a pleasant face as it, in 
 turn, regarded her from the little oval frame, 
 rather plump and youthful, with a curious little 
 mouth and large dark eyes, with a peculiar 
 droop at the outer corners. The hair was 
 drawn up, away from the forehead ; the shoul 
 ders were bare, and a string of pearls encircled 
 the neck. She was dark, with good features, 
 not strictly beautiful, but gentle and somewhat 
 melancholy, in spite of the mirthful eyes. 
 
 So this was the romance of their mysterious 
 host ! She of the miniature, whatever her title 
 wife, mother, daughter, or sweetheart, was 
 ever present at his table, looking into his eyes 
 across the board. 
 
 The American girl felt a quickening interest 
 in this host. Was it love that drove him to the 
 wilderness ? And why did he bring into it such 
 a wealth of household gods ? 
 
 As she leaned back in the old-fashioned chair, 
 her eyes wandering over the various objects in 
 this unaccountable abode, her imagination began 
 
 80
 
 Wonderland 
 
 to play, giving a life and history to the people 
 in the tapestries and portraits. The outside 
 world was almost forgotten when she was re 
 called to herself by the chimes of an enormous 
 clock behind the door. This triumph of a 
 previous century, after tolling twelve, rambled 
 off with a music-box accompaniment into the 
 quaint old minuet attributed to Louis XIII. 
 Before it had finished, two other clocks began 
 their midday strike. 
 
 Elinor looked about in alarm, under a vague 
 impression that the various objects in the room 
 were coming to life. Then, with the reaction, 
 she smiled and thought : 
 
 " Our friend is methodical with his clocks." 
 But still, in this atmosphere, she was not at 
 ease ; there was an excess of mystery, too much 
 that needed explanation. And now that it was 
 midday, the host might return at any moment 
 and find her there, alone. So she went out; 
 and to avoid any appearance of pursuing Mr. 
 Boyd, she followed a little path behind the 
 house that led among the pines. Hardly had 
 she entered the wood, however, when she saw, 
 off to her right and not many yards away, the 
 man she was trying to escape. He was lying at 
 full length along the ground, one arm for a 
 6 Si
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 pillow, his face against the pine-needles. In 
 this prostrate figure every line bore witness to a 
 measureless despair. 
 
 In her one glance she had seen that Solomon, 
 as he sat by his master's head, was following her 
 with his eyes. And these eyes seemed to say : 
 " We stand or fall together, he and I. So go 
 about your business." 
 
 She also saw that a warning from the watcher 
 had aroused the downcast figure ; for it raised 
 its head and looked about. Mortified and 
 angry with herself, and still angrier with him, 
 she averted her eyes and passed coldly on ; but 
 with the consolation of having witnessed some 
 indication of his own misery and repentance. 
 However, it was an empty joy. Of what avail 
 his remorse ? The evil was done ; her good 
 name was forever compromised. 
 
 Preoccupied with these thoughts, she halted 
 suddenly, and with a shock. At her feet, across 
 the little path she had unconsciously followed, 
 stretched an open grave. It was not a fresh exca 
 vation, for on the bottom lay a covering of pine- 
 needles. And the rough pile of earth alongside 
 was also covered with them. Projecting into the 
 grave were several roots, feeders sent out by the 
 great trees above ; and from the stumps of other 
 
 82
 
 Wonderland 
 
 and larger roots it was evident that he who dug 
 the grave had been driven to use the axe as well 
 as the shovel. Close beside this grave was a 
 mound with a wooden cross at the head. 
 
 " There," she thought, " rests the lady of the 
 miniature perhaps." This mound was also 
 covered with pine-needles, as if Nature were 
 helping some one to forget. 
 
 The silence of this spot, the murmuring of 
 the wind among the branches high above, all 
 tended to a somewhat mournful revery ; and 
 she wondered how this empty grave had been 
 cheated of its tenant. With reverence she gazed 
 upon the primitive wooden cross, evidently put 
 together by inexperienced hands. Then she 
 looked upward, as if to question the voices in 
 the boughs above. But of the empty grave and 
 its companion the whispering pines told nothing. 
 
 Approaching footsteps gave no sound in this 
 forest, and she was startled by a cough behind 
 her. It was only Pats, not wishing to startle 
 her by a sudden presence. His face seemed 
 flushed, and even thinner than before ; and 
 about his mouth had come a drawn and sensi 
 tive look. But her eyes rested coldly upon 
 him as they would rest upon any repugnant 
 object that she despised, but did not fear. 
 
 83
 
 The Pines of Lory- 
 Smiling with an effort, he said : " Excuse my 
 following you, but it is nearly one o'clock and 
 time for food. I am sure we can find something 
 in that cottage." 
 
 " I am not hungry." 
 
 " Did you have breakfast on the boat ? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 " Then you must be hungry." 
 
 " I do not care to eat." And she turned 
 away. 
 
 " Excuse me, Miss Marshall," and he spoke 
 more seriously, " pardon my giving you advice, 
 but you have had a hard morning and you will 
 feel better, later on, for a little food. As for 
 me, I have had nothing since yesterday, and 
 shall collapse without it. Suppose I go to the 
 house and scrape up some sort of a lunch. 
 Won't you come there in a few minutes?" 
 
 Her eyes travelled frigidly from his face to 
 his feet. But before she could reply, he added : 
 
 " Besides, the owner may come back, now, 
 at any minute, and if he finds us together it 
 will save time in our getting off." 
 
 Turning away to resume her walk she an 
 swered, indifferently : " Very well, I will be 
 there soon." 
 
 84
 
 VI 
 
 THE SECRET OF THE PINES 
 
 AT one o'clock the lunch was served. 
 Pats had placed before the lady a 
 portion of a ham, a plate of crackers, 
 some marmalade, and a bottle of claret. 
 
 " There are provisions in the cellar," he said, 
 " to last a year : sacks of flour, dried apples, 
 preserved fruits, potatoes, all sorts of canned 
 things, and claret by the dozen." 
 
 As he spoke, he laid his hand upon the back 
 of the chair that held the miniature, the seat 
 opposite her own. 
 
 "Don't sit there!" she exclaimed. "We 
 must respect the customs of the house." 
 
 " Of course ! " and he drew up another seat. 
 
 Food and a little wine tended to freshen the 
 spirits of both travellers. Pats especially ac 
 quired new life and strength. The arrival of 
 
 85 
 
 \
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 a glass or two of claret in his yearning stomach 
 revived his hopes and loosened his tongue. 
 Noticing that her eyes were constantly returning 
 to the little portrait that faced her, he said, at 
 last: 
 
 " By the way, there is something in the cellar 
 that may throw some light on this lady, or on 
 that empty grave back there." And he nodded 
 toward the pines. 
 
 "What is that?" 
 
 "A coffin." 
 
 He smiled at her surprise and horror. In a 
 low voice, she murmured : 
 
 " It is empty, of course ! " 
 
 " Yes, I raised the lid." 
 
 " What can it mean ? " 
 
 " I have no idea, unless some one disappointed 
 somebody else by remaining alive, when he 
 or she ought to be dead. That sometimes 
 happens." 
 
 " It is very mysterious," and she looked into 
 the eyes of the miniature as if for enlightenment. 
 
 " Very, indeed ; but on the other hand, certain 
 things are pretty evident. Such as the character 
 of our host, and various points in his career." 
 
 " You mean that he is a hermit with a history? " 
 
 " Yes, and more specific than that ! " Then, 
 86
 
 The Secret of the Pines 
 
 turning about in his chair and surveying the 
 room : " He is an aristocrat, to begin with. 
 These works of art are ancestral. They are no 
 amateur's collection. Moreover, he left France 
 because he had to. A man of his position does 
 not bring his treasures into the wilderness for the 
 fun of it. And when he settled here he had no 
 intention of being hunted up by his friends 
 or by his enemies." 
 
 Elinor, with averted eyes, listened politely, 
 but with no encouraging display of interest. 
 
 " But let us be sure he is not within hearing," 
 Pats added, and he stepped to the door and 
 looked about. " Not a sail in sight." 
 
 At this point Solomon renewed his efforts to 
 get his master to follow him, but in vain. 
 
 "Why don't you go with him? " said Elinor. 
 " He may have made an important discovery, like 
 the graves, perhaps." 
 
 " More likely a woodchuck's hole, or a squirrel 
 track. Besides," he added, with a smile, as he 
 dropped into his chair again, " these broomsticks 
 of mine have collapsed once to-day, and I am 
 becoming cautious. It has been a lively morn 
 ing for a convalescent." 
 
 With a look that was almost, but not quite, 
 sympathetic, she replied : " You have done too 
 
 87
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 much. Stay here and rest. I will go with him, 
 just for curiosity." 
 
 She went out, preceded by the bounding 'Sol 
 omon. Through the open door Pats watched 
 them, and into his face came a graver look as 
 he followed, with his eyes, the graceful figure in 
 the gray dress until it disappeared from the sun 
 light among the shadows of the forest. 
 
 That he and she were stranded at a point far 
 away from his own home he had little doubt. 
 No such extraordinary house as this could have 
 existed within fifty miles of Boyd's Island with 
 out his hearing of it. Moreover, he keenly re 
 gretted on her account his own physical condition. 
 Since rising from his bed of fever he had care 
 fully avoided all fatigue, according to his doctor's 
 injunction. But now, after this morning's ef 
 forts, his legs were weak and his head was flighty. 
 Things showed a tendency to dance before his eyes 
 in a way that he had not experienced heretofore. 
 When he lay upon the ground an hour ago he 
 did it, among other reasons, to avoid tumbling 
 from dizziness and exhaustion. 
 
 The lady's situation was bad enough already. 
 To have a collapsible man upon her hands was 
 a supreme and final calamity that he wished to 
 spare her. He leaned back in his chair and 
 
 88
 
 The Secret of the Pines 
 
 rested his feet on the heavy carving beneath the 
 table. How good it was, this relaxation of all 
 one's muscles! 
 
 The pompous rooster, with a few favorites of 
 his seraglio, came and stood about the open door, 
 eying him in disapproval, and always muttering. 
 
 In looking idly about Pats found himself 
 becoming interested in the huge tapestry ex 
 tending across the room at his right, the one 
 that served as a screen to the bedchamber. 
 While no expert in no such matters, he rec 
 ognized in this tapestry a splendid work of 
 art, both from its color and wealth of detail, 
 and from the quality of its material. The more 
 he studied it, the deeper became his interest 
 and his amusement. The scene, a formal Italian 
 garden of the sixteenth century, of vast dimen 
 sions, showed fountains and statues without 
 limit, and trees trimmed in fantastic shapes, with 
 a chateau in the background. But the central 
 group of figures brought a smile to his face. 
 For, while the gardens were filled with lords and 
 ladies of the court of Henri III., those in the 
 foreground being nearly the size of life, all clad 
 in their richest attire, feathers in their hats, high 
 ruffs about the neck, and resplendent with jewels, 
 the ladies in stiff bodices and voluminous skirts, 
 
 89
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 there were two figures in the centre in start 
 ling contrast with their overdressed companions. 
 These two, a man and a woman, wore nothing 
 except a garland of leaves about the hips. 
 
 Pats smiled and even forgot his fatigue, as he 
 realized that he was gazing upon a serious con 
 ception of the Garden of Eden. And the bride 
 and groom showed no embarrassment. The 
 groom was pointing, in an easy manner, to any 
 thing, anywhere, while the bride, in a graceful 
 but self-conscious pose, ignored his remarks. 
 
 And all the lords and ladies round about ac 
 cepted, as a matter of course, the nakedness of 
 this unconventional pair. While still fascinated 
 by the brazen indifference of this famous couple, 
 and pleasantly shocked by their disregard for all 
 the rules of propriety, he was aroused by the 
 sudden appearance in the doorway of Elinor 
 Marshall. She had evidently been hurrying. 
 There was excitement in her voice, as she 
 exclaimed : 
 
 " He is here ! He has come back ! " 
 
 "The owner?" 
 
 " Yes, he is taking a nap on a bench, on the 
 other side of the point." 
 
 In another moment Pats was beside her, both 
 walking rapidly through the wood. Approach- 
 
 90
 
 The Secret of the Pines 
 
 ing the western edge of the point, they saw, be 
 tween the trees, a figure sitting upon a bench, 
 overlooking the water, his back toward them. 
 With one elbow upon an arm of the rustic 
 seat, his cheek resting on his hand and his 
 knees crossed, he seemed in full enjoyment of 
 a nap. 
 
 Pats took a position in front of the sleeper, at 
 a respectful distance, then said, in a voice not 
 too loud : 
 
 " I beg your pardon, sir." 
 
 There was no responsive movement. When 
 it became clear that he had not been heard, Pats 
 stepped a very little nearer and repeated, in a 
 louder tone : 
 
 " I beg your pardon, sir." 
 
 Still the sleeper slept. 
 
 Pats glanced at Elinor Marshall, who smiled, 
 involuntarily. Pats also smiled, as he realized 
 that this ceremonious and somewhat labored 
 greeting had a distinctly comic side, especially 
 when so completely thrown away. However, 
 he was about to repeat the salutation and in a 
 louder voice, when he was struck by the color 
 of the hand against the cheek. He went nearer 
 and, stooping down, looked up into the sleeper's 
 face. A glance was enough.
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 Slowly he straightened up, then reverently 
 removed his hat. 
 
 Elinor, with a look of awe, came nearer and 
 whispered : 
 
 " Dead ! Is it possible ! " 
 
 For a moment both stood in silence, looking 
 down upon the seated figure. It was that of an 
 elderly man, short, and slight of frame, with thick 
 gray hair, and a beard cut roughly to a point. 
 The face, brown, thin, and bony, was unduly em 
 phasized by a Roman nose, too large for the other 
 features. But the face, as a whole, impressed 
 the two people now regarding it as almost hand 
 some. He was clad in a dark gray suit, and a 
 soft felt hat lay upon the seat beside him. 
 
 " How long has he been here, do you think ?" 
 asked Elinor, in a low voice. 
 
 "A day or two, I should say. His clothes 
 are a little damp, and there are pine-needles on 
 his shoulders and on his head." 
 
 " But how dreadfully sudden it must have 
 come ! Not a change in his position, or in his 
 expression, even." 
 
 " An ideal death," said Pats. " I have helped 
 bury a good many men this year, both friends 
 and enemies, but very few went off as comfort 
 ably as this." 
 
 92
 
 The Secret of the Pines 
 
 He took out his watch, seemed to hesitate a 
 moment, then said, reluctantly : 
 
 " This is bad for us, you know, finding him 
 dead this way." 
 
 " Why ? " 
 
 " It means there is no boat to get away with." 
 
 A look of alarm came into her face. 
 
 " We may as well face the situation," he con 
 tinued, looking off over the water. " This man 
 lived here alone, as we know from what we have 
 seen in his house. And he evidently selected 
 this place, not wishing to be disturbed. We are 
 at the end of a bay at least ten miles deep, with 
 no settlement in sight. There is nothing what 
 ever to bring a visitor in here. The traffic of 
 the gulf is away out there, perhaps thirty miles 
 from here." 
 
 She made no reply. Venturing to glance at 
 her face, he saw there were no signs of anger, 
 only a look of anxiety. 
 
 " I will tell you just what I think, Miss Mar 
 shall, and you can act accordingly. I shall, of 
 course, do whatever you wish. But, as nearly as 
 I can judge, we are prisoners until we can get 
 away by tramping through the wilderness." 
 
 He indicated, with a gesture, the broad cur 
 rent at their feet, washing the western edge of 
 
 93
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 the point. " That river we can never cross with 
 out a boat, or a raft ; and in that direction I 
 don't know how many miles away is Boyd's 
 Island. In the other direction, to the east, there 
 is nothing but wilderness for an. indefinite dis 
 tance. That is, I think so. Now, if you prefer, 
 I will go up this bank of the river at once, tie 
 some logs together and try for a passage ; then 
 push on as fast as possible for our place, or the 
 nearest settlement, and come back for you. Or, 
 I will stay until we can go on together. What 
 ever you decide shall be done." 
 
 He had spoken rapidly, and was ill at ease, 
 watching her earnestly all the while. 
 
 As for her, she was dismayed by his words. 
 She had been listening with a growing terror. 
 Now, she turned away to conceal a tendency to 
 tears. But this was repressed. With no resent 
 ment, but with obvious emotion, she inquired : 
 
 " Can you get across the river ? '* 
 
 " Very likely." 
 
 " If you fail, or if anything happens to you, 
 what becomes of me ? " 
 
 " You would be here alone, and in a very bad 
 plight. For that reason I think I would better 
 stay until we can start together." 
 
 A slight gesture of resignation was her only 
 94
 
 The Secret of the Pines 
 
 reply. There was a pause, uncomfortable for 
 Pats from his consciousness of her low opinion 
 of him. However, he continued, in a somewhat 
 perfunctory way, turning to the silent occupant 
 of the bench. 
 
 " Now, as we take possession of this place, the 
 least we can do is to give the owner a decent 
 burial. Fortunately for us a grave is dug and a 
 coffin ready." 
 
 " Yes, his grave and his coffin," and she re 
 garded with a gentler expression the sitting 
 figure. "And I think I know why he dug 
 the grave." 
 
 " To save somebody else the trouble ? " 
 
 "To be sure of resting beside his com 
 panion." 
 
 "Of course! that explains it all. He knew 
 that strangers might bury him in the easiest 
 place ; that they would never chop through all 
 those roots." 
 
 He stepped around behind the body, placed 
 his hands under the arms, and made an effort to 
 raise it, but the weight was beyond his strength. 
 Looking toward his companion with an apologetic 
 smile, he said : " I am sorry to be so useless, 
 but together we can carry him, if you don't 
 mind." 
 
 95
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 At this suggestion Elinor, with a look of hor 
 ror, took a backward step. 
 
 " I beg your pardon," he said, " for suggest 
 ing it. I have been doing so much of this work 
 that I had forgotten how it affected others." 
 
 "What work?" 
 
 " Burying people. In the Transvaal. One 
 morning, with a squad, I buried twenty-eight. 
 Nine of them my own friends. So, if I go 
 about this in the simplest way, do not think 
 it is from want of sympathy." 
 
 " I shall understand." 
 
 " Then I will bring that wheelbarrow I saw 
 behind the house." 
 
 He started off, then stopped as if to say some 
 thing, but hesitated. 
 
 " What is it, Mr. Boyd ? " 
 
 " I am afraid that coffin is too heavy for me. 
 Would you mind helping with it ? " 
 
 " No. And I can help you with the body, 
 too, if necessary." And together they returned 
 to the cottage. 
 
 Never, probably, did simpler obsequies befall 
 a peer of France. 
 
 Sitting up in the same position as on the rustic 
 bench, his chee!c upon his hand, his elbow on 
 
 96
 
 The Secret of the Pines 
 
 the side of the barrow, the hermit was wheeled 
 to his final resting-place beneath the pines. Be 
 side him, with a helping hand, walked Elinor 
 Marshall, shocked and saddened by these awful 
 incongruities. 
 
 Behind came Solomon. 
 
 Among the pines, in the solemn shade of this 
 cathedral, grander and more impressive than 
 any human temple, moved the little procession. 
 
 No requiem ; only the murmuring in the 
 boughs above, those far-away voices, dearer to 
 him, perhaps, and to his companion in the 
 grave beside, than all other music. 
 
 97
 
 VII 
 THE CLOUDS GATHER 
 
 THE supper that evening was late. 
 After the simple repast of crackers> 
 tongue, and a cup of tea Pats and 
 Elinor strolled out into the twilight and sat 
 upon a rock. The rock was at the very tip of 
 the point, overlooking the water to the south. 
 
 On the right, off to the west, the land showed 
 merely as a purple strip in the fading light, 
 stretching out into the gulf a dozen miles or 
 more. Behind it the sinking sun had left a bar 
 of crimson light. To the east lay another head 
 land running, like its neighbor, many miles to 
 the south. These two coasts formed a vast bay, 
 at whose northern extremity lay the little point 
 at which Miss Elinor Marshall and Mr. Patrick 
 Boyd had been landed by the Maid of the 
 North. In the gathering gloom this prospect, 
 
 98
 
 The Clouds Gather 
 
 with the towering forest that lay behind, was 
 impressive and solemn. And the solemnity 
 of the scene was intensified by the primeval 
 solitude, the absence of all sign of human 
 life. 
 
 Both travellers were silent, thoughtful, and 
 very tired. It had been a long day, and then 
 the misunderstanding in the middle of it had 
 told considerably upon the nerves of both. To 
 Pats the most exhausting experience of all had 
 been the business of the baggage, its transpor 
 tation from the beach below to the house above. 
 Elinor's trunk, being far too heavy for their 
 own four hands, Pats had suggested carrying the 
 trays up separately ; and this was done. Certain 
 things from his own trunk he had lugged off 
 into the woods, where, as he said : 
 
 " There 's a little outbuilding that will do for 
 me. Not a royal museum like this of yours, 
 but good accommodations for a bachelor." 
 
 She did not inquire as to particulars. The 
 gentleman's bed-chamber was not a subject on 
 which she cared to encourage confidences. 
 
 Her fatigue had merely created a wholesome 
 desire for rest, the sleepiness and indifference 
 that come from weary muscles. But Pats's ex 
 haustion was of a different sort. All the 
 
 99
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 strength of his body had departed. Every 
 muscle, cord, and sinew was unstrung. His 
 spine seemed on the point of folding up. A 
 hollow, nervous feeling had settled in the back 
 of his head, and being something new it caused 
 him a mild uneasiness. Moreover, his hands 
 and feet were cold. Dispiriting chills travelled 
 up and down his back at intervals. This might 
 be owing to the change in temperature, as a 
 storm was evidently brewing. 
 
 The wind from the northwest had grown 
 several degrees colder since the sun went down, 
 and the heavens were sombre. There was not 
 a star in sight. A yearning to close his eyes 
 and go to sleep came over him, but he remem 
 bered how offensive was his presence to this 
 lady, even at his best behavior. He must take 
 no liberties ; so he remarked, cheerfully, in a 
 tone indicative of suppressed exuberance of 
 spirit : 
 
 "I hope you will not feel nervous in your 
 chateau to-night." 
 
 " No, I think not. It is a weird place to 
 sleep in, however." 
 
 " Yes, it is. Would n't you like me to sleep 
 just outside, near the door? I am used to 
 camping out, you know." 
 
 100
 
 The Clouds Gather 
 
 " No, I thank you. I shall get along very 
 well, I have no doubt." 
 
 After that a prolonged silence. At last the 
 lady arose. 
 
 " I think I shall go in, Mr. Boyd. I find I 
 am very tired." 
 
 While they were groping about the cottage for 
 a lamp, Elinor remembered two candelabra that 
 stood upon a cabinet, stately works of art in 
 bronze and gilt, very heavy, with five candles 
 to each. One of them was taken down. 
 
 " Don't light them all," said Elinor. " We 
 must not be extravagant." 
 
 But Pats did light them all, saying : " This 
 is a special occasion, and you are the guest of 
 honor." 
 
 The guest of honor looked around this ever- 
 surprising interior and experienced a peculiar 
 sense of fear. She kept it to herself, however; 
 but as her eyes moved swiftly from the life-sized 
 figures in the tapestry to the sharply defined 
 busts, and then to the canvas faces, the whole 
 room seemed alive with people. 
 
 " Plenty of company here," said Pats, reading 
 her expression. " But in your chamber, there, 
 you will have fewer companions, only the host 
 and his wife." Then, with a smile, " Excuse 
 
 101
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 my suggesting it, if an impertinence, but if you 
 would like to have me take a look under that 
 monumental bed I shall be most happy to do it." 
 She hesitated, yet she knew she would do it 
 herself, after he had gone. While she was hesi 
 tating, Pats drew aside the tapestry and passed 
 with the candelabrum into the chamber. He 
 made a careful survey of the territory beneath 
 the bed and reported it free of robbers. Solo 
 mon, also, was investigating ; and Pats, who was 
 doing this solely for Elinor's peace of mind, 
 knew well that if a human being were anywhere 
 about the dog would long ago have announced 
 him. But they made a tour of the room, look 
 ing behind and under the larger objects, lifting 
 the lids of the marriage chests and opening the 
 doors of the cupboard. Into the cellar, too, 
 they descended, and made a careful search. The 
 five candles produced a weird effect in their prom 
 enade along this subterraneous apartment, light 
 ing up an astonishing medley of furniture, garden 
 implements, empty bottles, the posts and side 
 pieces of an extra bed, a broken statue, another 
 wheelbarrow, a lot of kindling wood, and the 
 empty corner where the coffin had awaited its 
 mission. There seemed to be everything ex 
 cept the man they were looking for. 
 
 1 02
 
 The Clouds Gather 
 
 " Fearfully cold down here ! " Pats's teeth 
 chattered as he spoke, and he shivered from 
 crown to heel. 
 
 " Cold ! It does n't seem so to me," and her 
 tone suggested a somewhat contemptuous sur 
 prise. 
 
 "To me it is like the chill of death." The 
 candles shook in his hand as he spoke. 
 
 " Perhaps you have taken cold," and with 
 stately indifference she moved on toward the 
 stairs. 
 
 " Proximity of a Boston iceberg more likely." 
 But this was not spoken aloud. 
 
 Upstairs, when about to take his departure, 
 Pats was still shivering. As he stood for a mo 
 ment before the embers in the big open fireplace 
 at the end of the cottage, his eyes rested upon a 
 chest near by, with a rug and a cushion on the 
 top, evidently used as a lounge by the owner. 
 After hesitating a moment, he asked : 
 
 " Would you object to my occupying the top 
 of that chest, just for to-night ? " 
 
 As she turned toward him he detected a 
 straightening of the figure and the now familiar 
 loftiness of manner which he knew to be unfail 
 ing signs of anger or contempt. Possibly 
 both. 
 
 103
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 " Certainly not. If you have a cold, it is 
 better you should remain near the fire. I have 
 no objections to sleeping in that other house. 
 You say there is another house." 
 
 " Oh, yes ! There is another house," he 
 hastened to explain. " And it 's plenty good 
 enough. Of course I shall go there. I beg 
 your pardon for suggesting anything else. I 
 forgot my resolve. I did n't realize what I was 
 doing." 
 
 " I prefer going there myself," she said, 
 rapidly. " I much prefer it." 
 
 And she turned toward the chamber to make 
 arrangements for departure. But Pats stepped 
 forward and said, decisively, and in a tone that 
 surprised her: 
 
 " You stay here. I go to the other house 
 myself." 
 
 He took his hat, and with Solomon at his 
 heels strode rapidly to the door. There he 
 stopped, and with his hand on the latch said, 
 more gently, in his usual manner : 
 
 " Would n't you like Solomon to stay here 
 with you ? He is lots of company, and a pro 
 tector." 
 
 She made no reply, but looked with glacial 
 indifference from the man to his dog. 
 
 104
 
 The Clouds Gather 
 
 "You would feel less lonesome, I know." 
 Patting Solomon on the head and pointing to 
 the haughty figure, "You stay here, old man. 
 That 's all right. I '11 see you in the morning." 
 
 The dog clearly preferred going with his 
 master, but Pats, with a pleasant good-night to 
 the lady, stepped out into the darkness and 
 closed the door behind him. 
 
 Solomon, with his nose to the door, stood for 
 several moments in silent protest against this 
 desertion. Later, however, he followed Elinor 
 into the bed-chamber, and although his presence 
 gave her courage and was distinctly a solace, she 
 remained vaguely apprehensive and too ill at 
 ease to undress and go to bed ; so, instead, she 
 lay on the outside of it, in a wrapper. 
 
 Without, the northeast wind had become a 
 gale. The howling of the storm, together with 
 the ghostly silence of the many-peopled room 
 excited her imagination and quickened her fears. 
 
 But weariness and perfect physical relaxation 
 overcame exhausted nerves, and at last the lady 
 slept. 
 
 105
 
 VIII 
 "WOMEN ARE DEVILS" , 
 
 SO sound was Elinor Marshall's sleep that 
 when she awoke the old clock behind 
 the door was celebrating, with its usual 
 music, the hour of nine. From the fury of the 
 rain upon the roof and the sheets of water 
 coursing down the little panes of the window in 
 her chamber, it seemed as if a deluge had ar 
 rived. And upon opening the front door she 
 stepped hastily back to avoid the water from 
 the roof and the spattering from the doorstep. 
 But Solomon was not afraid. He darted out 
 into the rain and disappeared among the pines. 
 
 " Mr. Boyd will surely get a soaking when 
 he comes for his breakfast," she thought. And 
 she wondered, casually, if he had a waterproof 
 or an umbrella. He would soon appear, prob 
 ably, and, as men were always hungry, she 
 
 106
 
 "Women are Devils" 
 
 turned her attention to hunting up food and 
 coffee for a breakfast. These were easily found. 
 Having started a fire and set the table for two, 
 she got the coffee under way. Crackers, boiled 
 eggs, sardines, marmalade, cold ham, and apples 
 were to appear at this repast. 
 
 But at ten o'clock Mr. Boyd had not ap 
 peared. At half-past ten she realized the folly 
 of. waiting indefinitely for a man who preferred 
 his bed to his breakfast, and she sat down alone. 
 In the midst of her meal, however, she heard 
 Solomon scratching at the door. No sooner 
 had he entered dripping with rain than he 
 began the same pantomime of entreaty as that 
 of yesterday when he tried to get somebody to 
 follow him. Now, perhaps his master was in 
 trouble. 
 
 But Elinor remembered what Mr. Boyd him 
 self had said, "He has probably found a wood- 
 chuck or a squirrel track." 
 
 Looking out into the driving rain she decided 
 to take the benefit of the doubt. But Solomon 
 was persistent ; so aggressively persistent that in 
 the end he became convincing. At last she put 
 on her waterproof and plunged forth into the 
 tempest, the overjoyed dog capering wildly in 
 front. Straight into the woods he led her. 
 
 107
 
 The Pines of Lory- 
 Only a short distance had they travelled 
 among the pines when she stopped, with a new 
 fear, at the sound of voices. Two men, she 
 thought, were quarrelling. Then a moment 
 later, she heard the fragment of a song. After 
 listening more attentively she decided that the 
 voice of Mr. Boyd was the only one she heard. 
 But was he intoxicated ? All she caught was 
 a senseless, almost incoherent flow of language, 
 with laughable attempts at singing. At this, 
 Elinor was on the point of turning back, 
 prompted both by terror and disgust, when 
 Solomon, with increasing vehemence, renewed 
 his exhortations. She yielded, and a few steps 
 farther the sight of Pats lying upon the ground 
 at the foot of a gigantic pine, his valise beside 
 him, its contents, now soaked with rain and 
 scattered about, brought a twinge of remorse. 
 
 So he had done this rather than oppose her 
 ideas of propriety ! And yesterday, when he 
 spoke of another house, she, in her heart, had 
 not believed him. 
 
 All scruples regarding intoxication were dis 
 missed. She hastened forward and knelt beside 
 him. Pats, with feverish face, lay on his back 
 in wild delirium. The pine-needles that formed 
 his bed were soggy with rain, and his clothing 
 
 108
 
 " Women are Devils " 
 
 was soaked. She laid her hand against his face 
 and found it hot. His eyes met hers with no 
 sign of recognition. 
 
 " That 's all right," he muttered, rolling his 
 head from side to side, " nobody denies it. 
 Run your own business ; but I want my clothes. 
 Damn it, I 'm freezing ! " 
 
 His teeth chattered and he shook his fist in an 
 invisible face. Involuntarily, from a sense of 
 helplessness, she looked vaguely about as if 
 seeking aid. 
 
 Here, in the woods, was protection from the 
 wind, but the branches aloft were moving and 
 tossing from the fury of the gale above. The 
 usual murmuring of the pines had become a roar. 
 Great drops of rain, shaken from this surging 
 vault, fell in fitful but copious showers. This 
 constant roar, not unlike the ocean in a gale, 
 the sombre light, the helpless and perhaps dying 
 man before her, the chill and mortal dampness of 
 all and everything around, for an instant con 
 gealed her courage and took away her strength. 
 But this she fought against. All her powers of 
 persuasion, and all her strength, she employed 
 to get him on his feet. Pats, although wild in 
 speech and reckless in gesture, was docile and 
 willing to obey. The weakness of his own legs, 
 
 109
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 however, threatened to bring his rescuer and him 
 self to the ground. And, all the time, a constant 
 flow of crazy speech and foolish, feeble song. 
 
 Half-way to the cottage he stopped, wrenched 
 his arm from her grasp and demanded, with a 
 frown: "I say; you expect decent things of 
 a woman, don't you?" 
 
 " Yes, of course." And she nodded assent, 
 trying to lead him on again. But he pushed 
 her away and would have fallen with the effort 
 had she not caught him in time. 
 
 "Well, there's this about it," he continued, 
 trying feebly to shake his arm from her hands 
 yet staggering along where she led, " I 'm not 
 stuck on that woman or any other. I 'm not 
 in that line of business. Do I look like a 
 one-eyed ass ? " 
 
 " No, no, not at all ! " And, gently, she urged 
 him forward. 
 
 " Because three or four fools are gone over her, 
 she thinks everybody else oh ! who cares, any 
 way ? Let her think ! " 
 
 It was a zigzag journey. He reeled and 
 plunged, dragging her in all directions ; and 
 so yielding were his knees that she doubted if 
 they could bear him to the house. Once, when 
 seemingly on the point of a collapse, he muttered, 
 
 no
 
 "Women are Devils" 
 
 in a confidential tone : " This hauling guns un 
 der a frying sun does give you a thirst, hey? Say, 
 am I right, or not ? " 
 
 " Yes, yes, you are right. Come along : just 
 a little farther." 
 
 " Did you ever swim in champagne with your 
 mouth open ? " 
 
 No." 
 
 " What a fool ! " 
 
 Then he stopped, straightened up and sang, 
 in a die-away, broken voice, with chattering 
 teeth : 
 
 " See the Britons, Bloody Britons, 
 Millions of 'em doncherknow, 
 All a swarming up the kopje 
 Just to turn about an hopje ! 
 O, where in hell to go ! 
 Bloody Britons!" 
 
 Grasping her roughly by the shoulder, he 
 exclaimed : " Why don't you join in the chorus, 
 you blithering idiot? " 
 
 This song, in fragments and with variations, 
 he sang or rather tried to sing repeatedly. 
 At the edge of the woods he seemed to shrink 
 from the fury of the storm which drove, in cut 
 ting blasts, against their faces. And on the 
 threshold of the cottage he again held back. 
 
 in
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 In the doorway, leaning against the jamb, he 
 said, solemnly : 
 
 " Look here, young feller, just mark my words, 
 women are devils. The less you have to do with 
 them the better for you. D n the whole tribe ! 
 That 's what I say ! " 
 
 But she dragged him in and supported him to 
 a chair before the fire. He sat shivering with 
 cold, his chin upon his breast, apparently ex 
 hausted by the walk. The water dripping from 
 his saturated garments formed puddles on the 
 floor. 
 
 Elinor, for a moment, stood regarding him in 
 heart-stricken silence. Once more she felt of 
 his clothes, then, after an inward struggle, she 
 made a resolve. As she did it the color came 
 into her cheeks. 
 
 112
 
 IX 
 
 A SINNER'S RECOMPENSE 
 
 ATER a lapse of time an unremem- 
 bered period of whose length he had 
 no conception Pats awoke. 
 
 Was it a little temple of carved wood in which 
 he lay ? At each corner stood a column ; above 
 him a little dome of silk, ancient and much faded. 
 Gradually and slowly he realized that he was 
 reposing on a bed of vast dimensions and in a 
 room whose furnishings belonged to a previous 
 century. A mellow, golden light pervaded the 
 apartment. This light, which gave to all things 
 in the room an air of unreality as in an an 
 cient painting luminous with age came from 
 the sunshine entering through a piece of anti 
 quated silk, placed by considerate hands against 
 the window. 
 
 Pats's wandering eyes encountered a lady in a 
 chair. She sat facing him, a few feet away, her 
 
 8 113
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 head resting easily against the carved woodwork 
 behind, a hand upon each arm of the seat. She 
 was asleep. In this golden mist she seemed to 
 the half-dreaming man a vision from another 
 world something too good to be true a 
 divine presence that might vanish if he moved. 
 Or, perhaps, she might fade back into a frame 
 and prove to be only another of the portraits 
 that hung about the room. So far as he could 
 judge, with his slowly awakening senses, he was 
 gazing upon the most entrancing face he had ever 
 beheld. At first the face was unfamiliar, but 
 soon, with returning memory, he recalled it. But 
 it seemed thinner now. There were dark lines 
 beneath the eyes, and something about the 
 mouth gave an impression of weariness and 
 care ; and these were not in the face as he had 
 known it. However, the closed lids, and the 
 head resting calmly against the back of the high 
 chair made a tranquil picture. For a long time 
 he lay immovable, his eyes drinking in the vision. 
 There was nothing to disturb the silence save the 
 solemn ticking of a clock in another part of the 
 cottage. He heard, beyond the big tapestry, the 
 sound of a dog snapping at a fly. Pats smiled and 
 wer!d have whistled to Solomon, but he remem 
 bered the weary angel by his bed. With a sort 
 
 114
 
 A Sinner's Recompense 
 
 of terror he recalled this lady's capacity for 
 contempt. 
 
 Being too warm for comfort he pushed, with 
 exceeding gentleness and caution, the bed-clothes 
 farther from his chin. But the movement, 
 although absolutely noiseless, as he believed, 
 caused the eyes of the sleeper to open. She 
 arose, then stood beside him. A cool hand was 
 laid gently upon his forehead ; another drew up 
 the bed-clothes to his chin, as they were before. 
 With anxious eyes he studied her face, and when 
 he found therein neither contempt nor aversion 
 he experienced an overwhelming joy. And she, 
 detecting in the invalid's eyes an unwonted look, 
 bent over and regarded him more intently. As 
 his eyes looked into hers he smiled, faintly, ex 
 perimentally, in humble adoration. The face 
 above him lit up with pleasure. In a very low 
 tone she exclaimed : 
 
 " You are feeling better ! " 
 
 He undertook to reply but no voice responded. 
 He tried again, and succeeded in whispering : 
 
 " Has anything happened ? " 
 
 "You have been very ill." 
 
 " How long ? " 
 
 " This is the eighth day." 
 
 " The eighth day ! " He frowned in a men-
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 tal effort to unravel the past. "Then I must 
 have been out of my head." 
 
 " Yes, most of the time." She was watching 
 him with anxious eyes. " Perhaps you had 
 better not talk much now. Try and sleep 
 again." 
 
 "No, I am full of sleep. Is this the same 
 house we discovered that first day ? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 He closed his eyes, and again she rested a 
 hand upon his brow. 
 
 " Who is here besides you ? " he asked. 
 
 " No one except Solomon." 
 
 " Solomon ! " and he smiled. " Is Solomon 
 well ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes ! Very well." 
 
 "Then you have taken care of me all this 
 time ? " 
 
 She turned away and took up a glass of water 
 from a table near the bed. 
 
 " Yes ; Solomon and I together. Are you 
 thirsty? Would you like anything?" 
 
 Pats closed his eyes and took a long breath. 
 There was no use in trying to say what he felt, 
 so he answered in a husky voice, which he found 
 difficult to control : 
 
 " Thank you. I am thirsty." 
 116
 
 A Sinner's Recompense 
 
 " Would you like tea or a glass of water ? " 
 
 " Water, please." 
 
 " Or, would you prefer grapes ? " 
 
 " Grapes ! " 
 
 " Yes, grapes, or oranges, or pears, whichever 
 you prefer." 
 
 His look of incredulity seemed to amuse her. 
 " Do you remember the two boxes and the bar 
 rel left by the Maid of the North on the beach 
 with our baggage ? " 
 
 He nodded. 
 
 "Well, one of those boxes was filled with 
 fruit." 
 
 " Is there plenty for both of us ? " 
 
 " More than enough." 
 
 " Then I will have a glass of water first and 
 then grapes and all the other things." 
 
 He drank the water, and as she took away the 
 empty glass, he said, in a serious tone : " Miss 
 Marshall, I wish I could tell you how mortified 
 I am and how how " 
 
 "Mortified! At what?" 
 
 " All this trouble this whole business." 
 
 " But you certainly could not help it ! " 
 
 " That 's very kind of you, but it 's all wrong 
 all wrong ! " 
 
 She smiled and moved away, and as she drew 
 "7
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 aside the tapestry and disappeared, he turned his 
 face to the wall, and muttered, " Disgraceful ! 
 Disgraceful ! I must get well fast." 
 
 And he carried out this resolve. Every hour 
 brought new strength. In less than a week he 
 was out of bed and sitting up. During this 
 early period of convalescence the period of 
 tremulous legs and ravenous hunger the 
 Fourth of July arrived, and they celebrated the 
 occasion by a sumptuous dinner. There was 
 soup, sardines, cold tongue, dried-apple sauce, 
 baked potatoes, fresh bread, and preserved 
 pears, and the last of the grapes. At table, 
 Elinor faced the empty chair that held the 
 miniature, for the absent lady's right to that 
 place was always respected. Pats sat at the end 
 facing the door. They dined at noon. A 
 bottle of claret was opened and they drank to 
 the health of Uncle Sam. 
 
 Toward the end of the dinner, Pats arose, 
 and with one hand on the table to reinforce his 
 treacherous legs, held aloft his glass. Looking 
 over to the dog, who lay by the open door, his 
 head upon his paws, he said : 
 
 " Solomon, here 's to a certain woman ; of all 
 women on earth the most unselfish and forgiv 
 ing, the most perfect in spirit and far and away 
 
 118
 
 A Sinner's Recompense 
 
 the most beautiful the Ministering Angel of 
 the Pines. God bless her ! " 
 
 At these words Solomon, as if in recogni 
 tion of the sentiment, arose from his position 
 near the door, walked to Elinor's side and, with 
 his habitual solemnity, looked up into her 
 eyes. 
 
 " Solomon," said Pats, " you have the soul 
 of a gentleman." 
 
 In Elinor's pale face there was a warmer color 
 as she bent over and caressed the dog. 
 
 After the dinner all three walked out into the 
 pines. Pats leaning on the lady's arm. The 
 day was warm. But the gentle, southerly 
 breeze came full of life across the Gulf. And the 
 water itself, this day, was the same deep, vivid 
 blue as the water that lies between Naples and 
 Vesuvius. The convalescent and his nurse 
 stopped once or twice to drink in the air and 
 the scene. 
 
 Pats filled his lungs with a long, deep breath. 
 " I feel very light. Hold me fast, or I may 
 float away." 
 
 Both his head and his legs seemed flighty and 
 precarious. Those two glasses of claret were 
 proving a little too much they had set his 
 brain a-dancing. But this he kept to himself.
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 She noticed the high spirits, but supposed them 
 merely an invalid's delight in getting out of 
 doors. 
 
 Under the big trees they rested for a time, in 
 silence, Elinor gazing out across the point, over 
 the glistening sea beyond. The shade of the 
 pines they found refreshing. The convalescent 
 lay at full length, upon his back, looking up 
 with drowsy eyes into the cool, dark canopy, 
 high above. Soothing to the senses was the 
 sighing of the wind among the branches. 
 
 "This is good!" he murmured. "I could 
 stay here forever." 
 
 " That may be your fate," and her eyes 
 moved sadly over the distant, sailless sea. "It 
 is a month to-day that we have been here." 
 
 " So it is, a whole month ! " 
 
 Elinor sighed. " There is something wrong, 
 somewhere. It seems to me the natural the 
 only thing would be for somebody to hunt 
 us up." 
 
 " Certainly." 
 
 " Could they have sailed by this bay and 
 missed us ? " 
 
 " Not unless they were idiots. Everybody 
 on the steamer knew we sailed into a bay to get 
 here." 
 
 120
 
 A Sinner's Recompense 
 
 " Still, they may have missed us." 
 
 " Well, suppose they did go by us, once or 
 twice, or several times ; people don't abandon 
 their best friends and brothers in that off-hand 
 fashion." 
 
 After a pause he added, " Something may 
 have happened to Father Burke or to Louise." 
 
 " But even then," said Elinor, turning toward 
 him, " would n't they try and discover why I 
 had not arrived ? And would n't they hunt 
 you up?" 
 
 " No, I was to be a surprise. None of them 
 knew I was coming. They think I am still in 
 South Africa." 
 
 There was a long silence, broken at last by 
 Pats. " What a hideous practical joke I have 
 turned out ! In the first place I strand you 
 here and " 
 
 " No ! I was very unjust that day and have 
 repented and tried to atone." 
 
 " Atone ! You ! Angels defend us ! If 
 atonement was due from you, where am I ? In 
 stead of getting you away, I go out of my head 
 and have a fever and am fed like a baby." 
 
 She smiled. " That is hardly your fault." 
 
 " Yes, it is. No man would do it. Pugs 
 and Persian cats do that sort of thing. For 
 
 121
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 men there are proper times for giving out. But 
 there is one thing I should like to say that is, 
 that my life is yours. This skeleton belongs to 
 you, and the soul that goes with it. Henceforth 
 I shall be your slave. I do not aspire to be 
 treated as your equal ; just an abject, reverent, 
 willing slave." 
 
 She smiled and played with the ears of the 
 sleeping Solomon. 
 
 " I am serious," and Pats raised himself on 
 one elbow. " Just from plain, unvarnished 
 gratitude if from nothing else I shall 
 always do whatever you command live, die, 
 steal, commit murder, scrub floors, anything 
 I don't care what." 
 
 " Do you really mean it ? " 
 
 " I do." 
 
 " Then stop talking." 
 
 With closed eyes he fell back into his former 
 position. But again, partially raising himself, 
 he asked, " May I say just one thing more ? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 Again he fell back, and there was silence. 
 
 For a time Elinor sat with folded hands gaz 
 ing dreamily beyond the point over the distant 
 gulf, a dazzling, vivid blue beneath the July 
 sun. When at last she turned with a question 
 
 122
 
 A Sinner's Recompense 
 
 upon her lips and saw the closed eyes and tran 
 quil breathing of the convalescent, she held her 
 peace. Then came a drowsy sense of her own 
 fatigue. Cautiously, that the sleeper might not 
 awake, she also reclined, at full length, and 
 closed her eyes. Delicious was the soft air : 
 restful the carpet of pine-needles. No cradle- 
 song could be more soothing than the muffled 
 voices of the pines : and the lady slept. 
 
 But Pats was not asleep. He soon opened 
 his eyes and gazed dreamily upward among the 
 branches overhead, then moved his eyes in her 
 direction. For an easier study of the inviting 
 creature not two yards away, he partially raised 
 himself on an elbow. The contemplation of 
 this lady he had found at all times entrancing; 
 but now, from her unconscious carelessness and 
 freedom she became of absorbing interest. Her 
 dignity was asleep, as it were : her caution for 
 gotten. With captivated eyes he drank in the 
 graceful outlines of her figure beneath the white 
 dress, the gentle movement of the chest, the 
 limp hands on the pine-needles. Some of the 
 pride and reserve of the clean-cut, patrician 
 face of which he stood in awe had melted 
 away in slumber. 
 
 Maybe the murmur of the pines with the 
 123
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 drowsy, languorous breeze relaxed his conscience ; 
 at all events the contours of the upturned lips 
 were irresistible. Silently he rolled over once 
 the soft carpet of pine-needles abetting the ma 
 noeuvre until his face was at right angles to 
 her own, and very near. Then cautiously and 
 slowly he pressed his lips to hers. This con 
 tact brought a thrill of ecstasy an intoxication 
 to his senses. But the joy was brief. 
 
 More quickly than his startled wits could fol 
 low she had pushed away his face and risen to 
 her feet Erect, with burning cheeks, she 
 looked down into his startled eyes with an ex 
 pression that brought him sharply to his senses. 
 It was a look of amazement, of incredulity, of 
 contempt of everything in short that he had 
 hoped never to encounter in her face again. 
 For a moment she stood regarding him, her 
 breast heaving, a stray lock of hair across a hot 
 cheek, the most distant, the most exalted, and 
 the most beautiful figure he had ever seen. 
 Then, without a word, she walked away. 
 Across the open, sunlit space his eyes followed 
 her, until, through the doorway of the cottage, 
 she disappeared. 
 
 For a moment he remained as he was, upon 
 the ground, half reclining, staring blankly at the 
 
 124
 
 A Sinner's Recompense 
 
 doorway. Then, slowly, he lowered himself 
 and lay at full length along the ground, his face 
 in his hands. 
 
 Of the flight of time he had no knowledge : 
 but, at last, when he rose to his feet he appeared 
 older. He was paler. His eyes were duller. 
 About the mouth had come lines which seemed 
 to indicate a painful resolution. But to the 
 shrunken legs he had summoned a sufficient 
 force to carry him, without wavering, to the cot 
 tage door. He entered and dropped, as a man 
 uncertain of his strength, into the nearest chair 
 the one beside the doorway. Solomon, who 
 had followed at his heels, looked up inquiringly 
 into the emaciated face. Its extraordinary mel 
 ancholy may have alarmed him. But Pats 
 paid no attention to his dog. He looked at El 
 inor who was ironing, at the heavy table the 
 dining-table in the centre of the room. Her 
 sleeves were rolled back to the elbow ; her head 
 bent slightly over as she worked. 
 
 The afternoon sun flooded the space in his 
 vicinity and reached far along the floor, touching 
 the skirt of her dress. Behind her the old tapes 
 try with the two marble busts formed a stately 
 background. To the new arrivals she paid no 
 attention. 
 
 125
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 After a short rest to recover his breath, and 
 his strength, Pats cleared his throat : 
 
 " Miss Marshall, you will never know, for I 
 could not begin to tell you how sorry how, 
 how ashamed I am for having done what 
 I did. I don't ask you to forgive me. If 
 you were my sister and another man did it, I 
 should " He leaned back, at a loss for words. 
 
 " I don't say it was the claret. I don't try 
 to excuse myself in any way. But one thing I 
 ask you to believe : that I did not realize what 
 I was doing." 
 
 He arose and stood with his hand on the 
 back of the chair. As he went on his voice 
 grew less steady. "Why, I look upon you as 
 something sacred ; you are so much finer, higher, 
 better than other people. In a way I feel toward 
 you as toward my mother's memory; and that 
 is a holy thing. I could as soon insult one as 
 the other. And I realize and shall never forget 
 all that you have done for me." 
 
 In a voice over which he seemed to be losing 
 control, he went on, more rapidly : 
 
 " And it 's more than all that it 's more than 
 gratitude and respect. I " For an instant he 
 hesitated, then his words came hotly, with a 
 reckless haste. " I love you as I never thought 
 
 126
 
 A Sinner's Recompense 
 
 of loving any human being. It began when I 
 first saw you on the wharf. You don't know 
 what it means. Why, I could lay down my life 
 for you a thousand times and joyfully." 
 
 From Elinor these words met with no out 
 ward recognition. She went quietly on with her 
 ironing. 
 
 Pats drew a deep breath, sank into his chair 
 and muttered, in a lower tone, " I never meant 
 to tell you that. Now I I have done it." 
 
 During the pause that followed these last 
 words she said, quietly, without looking up : 
 
 " I knew it already." 
 
 He straightened up. " Knew what already ?" 
 
 She lifted a collar she was ironing and ex 
 amined it, but made no reply. 
 
 " You knew what already ? " he repeated. 
 " That I was in love with you ? " 
 
 She nodded, still regarding the collar. 
 
 " Impossible ! " 
 
 She laid the collar beside other collars already 
 ironed and took up another ; but he heard no 
 answer. 
 
 "How did you know?" he asked. "From 
 what?" 
 
 " From various things." 
 
 " What things ? " 
 
 127
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 There was no reply. 
 
 " From things I did ? " 
 
 She nodded, rather solemnly, and her face, 
 what he could see of it seemed very serious. 
 Pats was watching her intently, and exclaimed, 
 in surprise : 
 
 " That is very curious, for I kept it to my 
 self! " 
 
 "Any woman would have known." 
 
 Pats leaned back, and frowned. A torturing 
 thought possessed him. In an anxious tone he 
 said : " I hope I did not talk much when I had 
 the fever." 
 
 As she made no reply he studied the back of 
 her head for some responsive motion. But 
 none came. 
 
 " Did I ? " he demanded. 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 A look of terror came into his face and his 
 voice grew fainter as he asked : " Did I talk 
 about you ? " 
 
 " Freely." 
 
 With trembling fingers he felt for his hand 
 kerchief and drew it across his brow. " Did I say 
 things that that I should be ashamed of? " 
 
 She nodded. 
 
 Pats sunk lower in his chair and closed his 
 128
 
 A Sinner's Recompense 
 
 eyes. Judging from the lines in his cadaverous 
 face the last three minutes had added years to 
 his age. 
 
 " Would you mind telling me," he asked in a 
 deferential voice, so low that it barely reached 
 her, "whether they were impertinent and un- 
 gentlemanly or or what ? " 
 
 " Everything." 
 
 His lips were dry, and on his face came a 
 look of anguish of unspeakable shame. There 
 was a pause, broken only by the faint sound of 
 the flatiron. 
 
 "Then I really talked about you at one 
 time ? " 
 
 She nodded. 
 
 " More than once ? " 
 
 " For days together." 
 
 Pats closed his eyes in pain, and there was 
 a silence. Then he opened them : " Would 
 you mind telling me some of the things I 
 said?" 
 
 " I could not remember." 
 
 " Have you forgotten all? " 
 
 " No but I prefer not repeating them." 
 
 On Pats's face the look of shame deepened. 
 In a very low voice he said : " Please remember 
 that I was not myself." 
 9 129
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 " I make allowance for that." 
 
 " Excuse my asking, but if I was out of my 
 head and irresponsible, what could I have said 
 to make you believe that I was in love with 
 you ? " 
 
 "You protested so violently that you were 
 not." 
 
 With unspeakable horror and humiliation 
 Pats began to realize the awful possibilities of 
 that divulgence of his most secret thoughts. A 
 cold chill crept up his spine. He looked down 
 at the floor, from fear that she might glance in 
 his direction and meet his eyes. Solomon, who 
 felt there was trouble in the air, came nearer 
 and placed his cold wet snout against the 
 clinched hands of his master ; but the hands 
 were unresponsive. 
 
 At last, the stricken man mustered courage 
 enough to stammer in a constrained voice : 
 
 " It is not from curiosity I ask it, but would 
 you mind telling me giving me at least some 
 idea of what I said ? " 
 
 Elinor carefully deposited a neatly folded 
 handkerchief upon a little pile of other hand 
 kerchiefs. Then, looking down at the table and 
 not at Pats, she said calmly, as she continued 
 her work : 
 
 130
 
 A Sinner's Recompense 
 
 " You said I was a pious hypocrite cold 
 blooded and heartless and a fool. You re 
 peated a great many times that I was superior, 
 pretentious, and ' everlastingly stuck on myself/ 
 I think that was the expression. Of course, 
 I cannot repeat your own words. They were 
 forcible, but exceedingly profane." 
 
 "Oh!" 
 
 " You kept mentioning three other men who 
 could have me for all you cared." 
 
 Pats felt himself blushing. He frowned, 
 grew hot, and bit his lip. Mingled with his 
 mortification came an impotent rage. He felt 
 that behind her contempt she was laughing at 
 him. As there was a pause, he muttered 
 bitterly : 
 
 " Go on." 
 
 But she continued silently with her ironing. 
 
 " Please go on. Tell me more ; the worst. 
 I should like to know it." 
 
 Raising one of the handkerchiefs higher for 
 a closer examination, she added: "You sang 
 comic songs, inserting my name, and with 
 language I supposed no gentlemen could 
 use." 
 
 Pats gasped. His cheeks tingled. In shame 
 he closed his eyes. The ticking of the old
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 clock behind the door seemed to hammer his 
 degradation still deeper into his aching soul. 
 As his wandering, miserable gaze encountered 
 the marble face of the Marshal of France he 
 thought the old soldier was watching him in 
 contemptuous enjoyment. 
 But Elinor went on quietly with her ironing. 
 
 Suddenly into his feverish brain there came a 
 thought, heaven-born, inspiring. It lifted him 
 to' his feet. With a firm stride he approached 
 the table. No legs could have done it better. 
 He stood beside her, but she turned her back 
 as she went on with the ironing. His expres 
 sion was of a man exalted, yet anxious ; and he 
 spoke in a low but unruly voice. 
 
 "You say you have known I was in love 
 with you ever since the fever?" 
 
 She nodded slightly, without looking up. 
 
 " And yet you have been very kind, and 
 not not annoyed or offended. Perhaps after 
 all, you you oh, please turn around ! " 
 
 But she did not turn, so he stepped around 
 in front. Into her cheeks had come a sudden 
 color, and in her eyes he saw the light that lifts 
 a lover to the highest heaven. 
 
 It was Pat's cry of joy and his impulsive 
 and somewhat violent embrace of this lady 
 
 132
 
 A Sinner's Recompense 
 
 that awakened the dog reposing by the door. 
 Looking in the direction of the voice Solomon 
 seemed to see but a single figure. This was 
 a natural mistake. In another moment, how 
 ever, he realized that extraordinary things were 
 happening, that these two distinct and sepa 
 rate beings with a single outline signified some 
 momentous change in human life. Whether 
 from an overmastering sympathy, from envy, 
 delicacy, or disgust, Solomon looked the other 
 way. Then, thoughtfully, with drooping head, 
 he walked slowly out and left the lovers to 
 themselves. 
 
 133
 
 TRAPPING A QUAIL 
 
 HAPPY were the days that followed. 
 Pats, uplifted with his own joy, be 
 came a lavish dispenser of cheerfulness 
 and folly. Elinor, with unclouded eyes and a 
 warmer color in her cheeks, seemed to have 
 drifted into the Harbor of Serenity. Both were 
 at peace with creation. 
 
 In pleasant weather they strolled among the 
 pines, worked in the little garden behind the 
 house, fished, played upon the beach , or explored 
 the neighborhood. When it rained, which was 
 seldom, they cleaned up the house, read 
 books and old letters, ransacking trunks and 
 drawers trying to discover the secret of the de 
 parted owner. But in vain. The departed owner 
 had been careful to leave no clew to his identity 
 
 134
 
 Trapping a Quail 
 
 or of his reason for abiding there. They did 
 find, however, between the leaves of a book, a 
 little chart of the point done by his own hand 
 apparently, and beneath it was written 
 
 La Pointe de Lory. 
 
 So they felt they had learned the name of the 
 place, but whether it was the official name or one 
 given by the old gentleman for his private use 
 they could not discover. 
 
 " There is a town of St. Lory in the south of 
 France," said Pats. " I knew a man who came 
 from there. Perhaps our host was from that 
 vicinity." 
 
 The days went by and no sail appeared. This, 
 however, was of slight importance. In fact, dur 
 ing that first ecstatic period, nothing was import 
 ant, that is, nothing like a ship. It was during 
 this period they forgot to keep tally of time, and 
 they either lost or gained a day, they knew not 
 which nor cared. 
 
 All days were good, whatever the weather. 
 Time never dragged. With a companion of 
 another temperament Elinor could easily have 
 passed moments of depression. For a girl in 
 her position there certainly was abundant mate 
 rial for regret. But the courage and the un- 
 
 135
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 wavering cheerfulness of Pats were contagious. 
 He and melancholy were never partners. A dis 
 covery, however, was made one morning on the 
 little beach that, for a moment at least, rilled 
 Elinor with misgivings. 
 
 Midway along this beach they found a bucket, 
 rolling about on the sand, driven here and there 
 by the incoming waves. 
 
 "That is worth saving," and Pats, watch 
 ing his opportunity, followed up a receding 
 breaker and procured the prize. It resem 
 bled a fire-bucket ; and there were white letters 
 around the centre. Elinor ran up and stood 
 beside him, and, as he held it aloft, turning it 
 slowly about to follow the words, both read 
 aloud : 
 
 Of the North Maid." 
 
 " Maid of the North ! " exclaimed Elinor, 
 grasping Pats by the arm. " Oh, I hope noth 
 ing has happened to her ! " 
 
 " Probably not. More likely some sailor lost 
 it overboard." Then, looking up and down the 
 beach, " There is no wreckage of any kind. If 
 she had blown up or struck a rock there would 
 surely be something more than one water-bucket 
 to come ashore and tell us. I guess she is all 
 right." 
 
 136
 
 Trapping a Quail 
 
 " But how exciting ! It seems like meeting an 
 old friend." 
 
 She held it in her own hands. " Poor thing ! 
 You did look so melancholy swashing about on 
 this lonely beach." 
 
 When they returned to the house they carried 
 the bucket with them. 
 
 Pats had his own misgivings, however. One 
 or two other objects he had discerned floating on 
 the water farther out, too far away to distinguish 
 what they were. And the fact that no search had 
 been made for Elinor was in itself disquieting. 
 But as his chief aim at present was to bring con 
 tentment to the girl beside him, he carefully 
 refrained from any betrayal of these doubts. 
 Nothing else, however, that might cause alarm 
 was washed ashore. 
 
 And Pats, all this time, was growing fat. 
 His increasing plumpness was perceptible from 
 day to day, and it proved a constant source of 
 mirth to his companion. One morning he ap 
 peared in a pair of checkered trousers purchased 
 in South Africa during his skeleton period. 
 They seemed on the verge of exploding from 
 the outward pressure of the legs within. Elinor 
 made no effort to suppress her merriment. She 
 called him " Fatsy." And to the dog, who 
 
 137
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 regarded the trousers with his usual solemnity, 
 she remarked : 
 
 " O, Solomon ! 
 
 See him grow fat ! 
 Our erstwhile skinny, 
 Diaphanous Pat." 
 
 But with " Fatsy's " flesh came increase of 
 strength, and he proved a hard worker. As 
 soon as he was strong enough he began to build 
 the raft by which they hoped to cross the river. 
 But progress was slow for his endurance had 
 limits, and he could work but an hour or two 
 each day. Their plan was to paddle across the 
 river on this raft as they floated down. Owing 
 to the swiftness of the current they built the 
 raft nearly a mile farther up the stream. With 
 the walk to and fro, which also taxed the 
 builder's strength, the month of July brought 
 little progress. One afternoon, they sauntered 
 home, the broad, swift, silent river on their 
 right, the sun just above the trees on the oppo 
 site bank. Close at hand, on their own side 
 of the river the nearest pines stood forth in 
 strong relief against the mysterious depths be 
 hind. Near the river's bank long shadows 
 from these towering trunks lay in purple bars 
 across the smooth, brown carpet. It was about 
 
 138
 
 Trapping a Quail 
 
 half-way home that the man, with an air of 
 weariness, seated himself upon a fallen tree. 
 Elinor regarded him with an anxious face. 
 
 " Patsy, you have done too much again." 
 As he looked up, she saw in his eyes an ex 
 pression she had learned to associate with levity 
 and foolishness. " Be serious. You are very 
 tired, now are n't you ? " 
 
 "Just pleasantly tired. But if I were sud 
 denly kissed by a popular belle it would give 
 me new strength." 
 
 When, a moment later, he arose, fresh life 
 and vigor seemed certainly to have been ac 
 quired. Catching her by the waist, he hummed 
 a waltz and away they floated, over the pine- 
 needles, he in gray and she in white, like 
 wingless spirits of the wood. When the 
 waltz had ended and they were walking hand 
 in hand, and a little out of breath, the lady 
 remarked : 
 
 " When I am frivolous in these woods I feel 
 very wicked. They are so silent and reserved 
 themselves, so solemn and so very high-minded 
 that it seems a desecration." 
 
 " All wrong," said Pats. " This is a temple 
 built for lovers : shady, spacious, and jammed 
 full of mystery and safe." 
 
 139
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 " But it 's the spaciousness and mystery that 
 make it so like a temple and suggest serious 
 thoughts." 
 
 "Not to a healthy mind. Oh, no! This 
 gloom is here for a purpose. Pious thoughts 
 should seek the light, but lovers need obscurity. 
 They always have and they always will." 
 
 A few steps farther on he stopped and faced 
 her, still holding her hand : " If you will feed 
 the hens to-night, bring in the wood and wash 
 the dishes, you may embrace me once again 
 now, right here." 
 
 She snatched away her head. He sprang 
 forward to catch her but she was away, be 
 yond his reach. She ran on ahead and Pats, 
 after a short pursuit, gave up the chase, for his 
 fallible legs were still unfit for speed. With a 
 mocking laugh and a wave of the hand she hast 
 ened on toward the cottage. Following more 
 leisurely he watched the graceful figure in the 
 white dress hurrying on before him until it was 
 lost among the pines. 
 
 Just at the edge of the woods, not a hundred 
 feet from the house, he stopped. Standing be 
 hind a tree so that Elinor, if she came to the 
 door, could not see him, he whistled three notes. ; 
 These notes, clear and full, were in imitation of 
 
 140
 
 Trapping a Quail 
 
 a quail. And he did it exceedingly well. The 
 imitation was masterly. 
 
 But no one appeared at the cottage door, and 
 after a short silence he repeated the call. 
 
 " Perfect ! " 
 
 Pats started and turned about. 
 
 " A very clever hoax ! " 
 
 And as Elinor stepped forth from behind a 
 neighboring tree, there was a look in her eyes 
 that caused the skilful deceiver to bow his head. 
 With a slight movement of the hands, the 
 palms turned outward, as if in surrender, he 
 offered a mute appeal for mercy. 
 
 "So you are that quail ! " And slowly up and 
 down she moved her head as if realizing with re 
 luctance the bitterness of the discovery. " What 
 fun you must have had in fooling me so often 
 and so easily ! And the many times that I 
 have hurried to that door and waited to hear it 
 again ! What was my offence that you should 
 pay me back in such a fashion ? " 
 
 " Oh, don't put it that way ! Don't speak 
 like that!" 
 
 " And my sentiment about it ! My saying 
 that I loved the sound because it took me back 
 to my own home in Massachusetts all that 
 must have been very amusing." 
 
 141
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 " Listen. Let me explain." 
 
 " And to keep on making me ridiculous, day 
 after day, when I was on the verge of collapse 
 from pure exhaustion yes, it showed a nice 
 feeling." 
 
 " Elinor, you are very unjust. Let me tell 
 you just how it happened. The first morning 
 that I could walk as far as this, you left me here 
 at this very spot, and you went back to the 
 house. I was told to whistle if I wanted any 
 thing. You remember ? " 
 
 Almost perceptibly and with contempt she 
 nodded. 
 
 " Well, when I did whistle, I whistled in that 
 way like a quail. You thought it was a real 
 quail and you did n't come out. When finally 
 you helped me back you spoke of hearing a 
 quail, and of how much pleasure it gave you. 
 You hoped he would not go away." And he 
 smiled humbly, as he added : " And you made 
 me promise not to shoot him." 
 
 She merely turned her eyes away, over the 
 river, toward the sunset. 
 
 " And I thought then that if it gave you so 
 much pleasure, why not keep on with it ? The 
 Lord knows the favors a helpless invalid can 
 bestow are few enough ! And the Lord also 
 
 142
 
 Trapping a Quail 
 
 knows that I have no accomplishments. I can 
 not sing, or play, or recite poetry. At that 
 time I could not even start a fire or bring in 
 water. In fact, my sole accomplishment was to 
 imitate a bird. 'Tis a humble gift, but I re 
 solved to make the most of it." 
 
 She stood facing him, about a dozen feet 
 away, a striking figure, with the light from the 
 setting sun on her white dress, the dark recesses 
 of the wood for a background. Into her face 
 came no signs of relenting. But he detected 
 in her eyebrows a slight movement as if to 
 maintain a frown, and he ventured nearer, 
 slowly, as a dog just punished manoeuvres for 
 forgiveness. Removing his straw hat he knelt 
 before her, his eyes upon the ground. 
 
 " I confess to a guilty feeling every time I 
 did it. I knew a day of reckoning would come. 
 But I was postponing it. I am ashamed, really 
 ashamed ; but on my honor my motive was 
 good. Please be merciful." 
 
 " Are you serious ? or trying to be funny, 
 and not really caring much about it?" 
 
 " I am serious ; very serious." 
 
 " Do you realize what a contemptible trick it 
 was how mean-spirited and ungrateful ? " 
 
 Lower still sank his head. " I do." 
 143
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 "And you promise never to deceive me 
 again ? " 
 
 " I swear it." 
 
 " You value my good opinion, I suppose." 
 
 " I would rather die than lose it ! " 
 
 "Well, you have lost it, and forever." 
 
 From the bowed head came a groan. At this 
 point Solomon approached the kneeling figure 
 and placed his nose inquiringly against the 
 criminal's ear. And the criminal involuntarily 
 shrank from the cold contact. At this the lady 
 smiled, but unobserved by the kneeling man. 
 
 " Are you sincerely and thoroughly ashamed? " 
 
 "Yumps." 
 
 "What?" 
 
 "Yes, oh, yes!" 
 
 " I don't like your manner." 
 
 "Please like it. I am honest now. I shall 
 always be good." 
 
 "You could n't It is n't in you." 
 
 " There is going to be a mighty effort." 
 
 "Get up!" 
 
 He obeyed. As their eyes met, he smiled, 
 but with a frown she pointed toward the cottage. 
 " Turn around and walk humbly with your head 
 down. You are not to speak until spoken to. 
 And you are to be in disgrace for three days." 
 
 144
 
 Trapping a Quail 
 
 " Oh ! Three days ? " 
 
 " Go ahead." 
 
 And again he obeyed. 
 
 Elinor was firm. For three days the disgrace 
 endured. But it was not of a nature to demol 
 ish hope or even to retard digestion. And 
 Solomon, who was a keen observer, displayed no 
 unusual sympathy, and evidently failed to 
 realize that his master was in any serious 
 trouble. 
 
 On pleasant evenings Pats and Elinor often 
 went to the beach below and sat upon the rocks, 
 always attended by Solomon, the only chaperon 
 at hand. Here they were nearer the water. 
 And one evening they found much happiness in 
 watching a big, round moon as it rose from the 
 surface of the Gulf. The silence, the shimmer 
 of the moonlight on the waters all tended to 
 draw lovers closer together. Already the 
 heads of these two people were so near that the 
 faintest tone sufficed. And they murmured 
 many things things strictly between them 
 selves, that would appear of an appalling foolish 
 ness if repeated here or anywhere. They 
 also talked on serious subjects ; subjects so tran- 
 scendentally serious as to be of interest only by 
 night. Like all other lovers they exchanged 
 10 145
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 confidences. Once, when Pats was speaking of 
 his family she suddenly withdrew her hand. 
 " By the way, there is something to be ex 
 plained. Tell me about that interview with 
 your father." 
 
 " Which interview ? " 
 
 " The disgraceful, murderous one." 
 
 Pats reflected. " There were several." 
 
 " Oh, Patsy ! Are you so bad as that ? " 
 
 "As what?" 
 
 " But you did not mean to do him injury, 
 did you ? " 
 
 " / do him injury ? " he inquired, in a mild 
 surprise. " Why, what are you driving at, 
 Elinor ? " 
 
 " I mean the quarrel in the arbor." 
 
 " And what happened ? " 
 
 " You know very well." 
 
 " Indeed I do ! But there were several quar 
 rels. Which one do you mean ? " 
 
 " I mean the one when you were violent 
 and murderous." 
 
 " But I was n't." 
 
 " Yes, you were. I know all about it." 
 
 " If you know all about it, what do you want 
 me to tell * " 
 
 " Tell about the worst quarrel of all." 
 146
 
 Trapping a Quail 
 
 " That must have been the last one." 
 
 " Well, tell me about that." 
 
 Pats took a long breath, then began : " The 
 old gentleman was a hot Catholic. There was 
 no harm in that, you will think. And I am not 
 such a fool as to spoil a night like this by a 
 religious discussion." 
 
 " Go on." 
 
 " Well, he insisted upon my becoming a 
 Catholic priest. Now, for a young man just 
 out of college and Harvard College at that 
 it was a good deal to ask. Was n't it?" 
 
 " Continue." 
 
 " One day in that summer-house he sailed 
 away into one of his .tempers did you ever 
 happen to see him in that condition ? " 
 
 " No, but I have heard of them." 
 
 " Well, my mother was a Unitarian. So was 
 I. And the gulf between a Unitarian and a 
 Catholic priest is about as wide as from here to 
 that moon. It was like asking me to become a 
 beautiful young lady or a green elephant 
 I simply could n't. Perhaps you agree with 
 me?" 
 
 " Go on. Don't ask so many questions." 
 
 " I told him, respectfully, it was impossible. 
 Then as he made a rush for me I saw, from his 
 
 147
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 eyes and his white face, that murder and sudden 
 death were in the air. Being younger I could 
 dodge him and get away, and that so increased 
 his fury that he fell down on the gravel walk in 
 a sort of convulsion or fit. I ran into the 
 house for assistance, and while Sally and Martha 
 tried to bring him to I went for the doctor." 
 
 A silence followed this story. At last Elinor 
 inquired if his father persisted. 
 
 " Persisted ! That question, oh, Angel Cook, 
 shows how little you knew my father ! As 
 soon as he recovered he lost no time in telling 
 me to leave the house and never see him again." 
 
 " And what happened ? " 
 
 " I vanished." 
 
 " Oh ! " A sympathetic pressure of his hand 
 and the girl beside him leaned closer still. 
 " Horrible ! So you wandered out into the 
 world and this is your home-coming. Well, 
 Patsy, I shall never treat you in that way. 
 When you are very obstinate I shall just put 
 my arms around your neck and treat you very 
 differently." 
 
 "Well," said Pats, " I think it safer for you 
 to be doing that most of the time, anyway. It 
 might stave off any inclination to obstinacy." 
 
 Here followed a snug, celestial silence, broken 
 148
 
 Trapping a Quail 
 
 at last by Pats. " Would you mind telling me, 
 O Light of the North, where you heard I was 
 the attacking party at that interview ? " 
 
 " No, I must not tell." 
 
 " Did Father Burke make you promise ? " 
 
 " Why do you mention him ? " 
 
 " For lots of reasons. One is that he is the 
 only person on earth who could possibly have 
 told you. But it was clever of him to warn you 
 against me. I knew from his expression when 
 he said good-by, on the boat, that he thought 
 he had settled my prospects, and to his perfect 
 satisfaction. However, I don't ask you to be 
 tray him. And I bear no malice. He did his 
 best to undo me, but Love and all the angels 
 were on my side." 
 
 She laughed gently. "And you all made a 
 strong combination, Patsy." 
 
 Then another long silence, and soon he felt 
 the lady leaning more heavily against him. 
 The head drooped and he knew she slumbered. 
 Having no wish to disturb her, he sat for a while 
 without moving, and watched the moon and 
 thought delectable thoughts of the creature by 
 his side. And as his thoughts, involuntarily, 
 and in an amiable spirit, travelled back to Father 
 Burke, he smiled as he pictured quite a different 
 
 149
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 expression on the face of the priest when he 
 should learn what had happened. And the 
 smile seemed reflected in the radiant counte 
 nance of the big, round moon mounting slowly 
 in the heavens. She appeared to beam approval 
 upon him and upon the precious burden he 
 supported. But with the drowsiness which 
 soon came stealing over him he saw or 
 dreamed he saw out in the glistening path of 
 light between the moon and him, not far from 
 where he sat, an object like a human face, up 
 turned, moving gently with the waves. And 
 mingling among the quivering moonbeams 
 around the head was a silvery halo that might 
 be the hair of Father Burke ; for the face re 
 sembled his. 
 
 Pats was startled and became wide awake. 
 Even then, he thought he had a glimpse of the 
 face with its silver hair, as it drifted out of the 
 bar of light into the darkness, slowly, toward 
 the sea. 
 
 150
 
 XI 
 FOOD FOR THOUGHT 
 
 THERE came, with August, a percepti 
 ble shortening of the days. Cooler 
 nights gave warning that the brief 
 Canadian summer was nearing its end. 
 
 Pats labored on the raft, but the work was 
 long. A float that would bear in safety two 
 people down the river's current and possibly 
 out to sea demanded size and strength and 
 weight. Felling trees, trimming logs, and steer 
 ing them down the river to the " ship-yard," 
 proved a slower undertaking than had been fore 
 seen. But nobody complained. The air they 
 breathed and the life they led were in them 
 selves annihilators of despair. It was an exhil 
 arating, out-of-door life, a life of love and labor 
 and of ecstatic repose. 
 
 Both Elinor and Pats were up with the sun, 
 and the days were never too long. To them it
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 mattered little whether the evenings were long 
 or short or cold or warm, for by the time the 
 dishes were washed and the chores were done, 
 they became too sleepy to be of interest to each 
 other. And when the lady retired to her own 
 chamber behind the tapestries, Pats, at his end 
 of the cottage, always whistled gently or broke 
 the silence in one way or another as a guarantee 
 of distance, that she might feel a greater 
 security. 
 
 As for lovers' quarrels none occurred that 
 were seriously respected by either party. In 
 fact there was but little to break the monotony 
 of that solid, absolute content with which all 
 days began and ended. 
 
 " 'T is love that makes the world go round." 
 
 There is no doubt of that, but two lovers, 
 with unfailing appetites, however exalted their 
 devotion, are sure, in time, to produce conspicu 
 ous results with any ordinary store of provi 
 sions. In the present instance the discovery 
 or realization of this truth was accidental. It 
 came one morning as Elinor, in a blue and 
 white apron, with sleeves rolled up, was prepar 
 ing corn-bread at the kitchen table so they 
 called the table near the fireplace at the end of 
 
 152
 
 Food for Thought 
 
 the room. Pats came up from the cellar with a 
 face of unusual seriousness. 
 
 " I have been an awful fool ! " 
 
 She looked up with her sweetest smile : 
 
 " And that troubles you, darling ? " 
 
 Without replying, he laid three potatoes on 
 the table. 
 
 " I told you to get four." 
 
 " These are the last." 
 
 " Is n't there a second barrel ? " 
 
 "No." 
 
 " Why, Patsy ! We both saw it ! " 
 
 "That's where I was a fool. I took it for 
 granted the other barrel held potatoes because 
 it looked like the first one." 
 
 " But it was full of something." 
 
 " Yes, but not potatoes. It is crockery, glass 
 ware, a magnificent table-set. Old Sevres, I 
 should say." 
 
 " What a shame ! " And with the back 
 of a hand whose fingers were covered with 
 corn-meal, she brushed a stray lock from her 
 face. 
 
 " Yes," he went on, " it 's a calamity, for we 
 cannot afford it. I took an account of stock 
 while I was down there, and all we have now in 
 the way of vegetables is the dried apples. Of 
 
 153
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 course, there's the garden truck, the peas, 
 beans, and the corn, if it ever ripens." 
 
 After further conversation on that subject, 
 Elinor said, with a sigh : " Well, we did enjoy 
 those baked potatoes ! We shall have to eat 
 more eggs, that's all." 
 
 " Eggs ! " and his face became distorted. " I 
 am so chock full of eggs now that everything 
 looks yellow. I dream of them. I cackle in 
 my sleep. My whole interior is egg. I breathe 
 and think egg. I gag when I hear a hen." 
 
 " But you are going to eat them all the same. 
 We have a dozen a day, and you must do your 
 share." 
 
 " I won't." 
 
 "Yes, you will." 
 
 As Pats's eyes fell on Solomon, he brightened 
 up. " There 's that dog eats only the very 
 things we are unable to spare. Why should n't 
 he eat eggs ? " 
 
 " You might try and teach him." 
 
 "Tell me," said Pats, "why hens should 
 lay nothing but eggs, always eggs ? Why 
 shouldn't they lay pears, lemons, tomatoes, 
 things we really need ? " 
 
 In silence the lady continued her work. 
 
 "Angel Cook?"" 
 
 154
 
 Food for Thought 
 
 "Well?" 
 
 " What do you think ? " 
 
 " I think, considering your years, that your 
 conversation is surprising. Eggs are very nour 
 ishing, and we are lucky to have them. Did n't 
 I make you a nice omelette only a few days 
 ago?" 
 
 "You did, and I never knew a better for 
 its purpose. I still use it for cleaning the 
 windows." 
 
 " Really ! Well, you had better make it last, 
 for you won't get another." 
 
 " Oh, don't be angry ! I thought you meant 
 it as a keepsake." 
 
 He approached with repentant air, but when 
 threatened with her doughy hands, he retreated, 
 and sat on the big chest by the window. 
 This chest had served for his bed since his 
 convalescence. 
 
 Elinor frowned, and pointed to the fire. 
 Pats arose and laid on a fresh stick, then knelt 
 upon the hearth and, with a seventeenth-century 
 bellows, inlaid with silver, that would have 
 graced the drawing-room of a palace, he coaxed 
 the fire into a more active life. 
 
 " Now go out and bring in some wood. 
 More small sticks. Not the big ones." 
 
 155
 
 XII 
 THE WOLF AT THE DOOR 
 
 DURING dinner, which occurred at 
 noon, there were fewer words that 
 day, and with somewhat more reflec 
 tion than was usual. The store of provisions 
 now rapidly disappearing, together with no pros 
 pect of immediate escape, furnished rich material 
 for thought. Both knew the raft might prove 
 a treacherous reliance. Instead of landing them 
 on the opposite bank of the river there were 
 excellent chances of its carrying them out to sea. 
 And the prevailing westerly wind was almost 
 sure to drive them backward to the east again. 
 Pats had been all over this so many times in 
 his own mind, and with Elinor, that the subject 
 was pretty well exhausted. But still, from habit, 
 he speculated. 
 
 156
 
 The Wolf at the Door 
 
 " A penny for your thoughts." 
 
 He raised his eyes, and as they met her 
 own his habitual cheerfulness returned. " My 
 thoughts are worth more than that, for I was 
 thinking of you." 
 
 " Something bad ? " 
 
 " I was wondering how many days you could 
 foot it through the wilderness before giving 
 out." 
 
 " For ever, little Patsy, if you were with me." 
 
 "Then we have nothing to fear. We can 
 both march on for ever. You are not only 
 food and drink to me, that is, the equivalent 
 of corncake, potatoes, marmalade, and claret, 
 but your presence is life and strength and a 
 spiritual tonic." 
 
 " That is a good sentiment," and she reached 
 forth a hand, which he took. 
 
 " Merely to look at you," he continued, 
 " will be exhilarating on a long march. And 
 to hear your voice, and touch you why, my 
 soul becomes drunk in thinking of it." 
 
 " Then you expect to be in a state of intoxi 
 cation during the whole journey ? " 
 
 " That is my hope." 
 
 It happened, a few minutes later, that she 
 herself became preoccupied, her eyes fixed 
 
 157
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 thoughtfully upon the little portrait on the 
 opposite chair. 
 
 " A dollar for your thoughts." 
 
 " Why so much ? " 
 
 " Because any thought of yours," said Pats, 
 "is worth at least a dollar." 
 
 " Thanks." 
 
 " You are thinking, as usual, of that woman. 
 The woman who has my place." 
 
 " It is her place ; she had it before we came." 
 
 " But you ought to be looking at me all this 
 time. I am the person for you to think about. 
 I shall end by hating the woman." 
 
 "Oh, you mustn't be jealous. You can't 
 hate her. Such a gentle face ! And then all 
 the mystery that goes with her! I would give 
 anything to know who she was." 
 
 Pats scowled : " You would give Solomon 
 and me, among other things." 
 
 " No, never ! " And again she extended the 
 hand, but he frowned upon it and drew back 
 into the farther corner of his chair. She 
 laughed. "And is Fatsy really jealous?" 
 
 " No, not jealous ; but hurt, disgusted, out 
 raged, and upset." 
 
 " Because I insist upon treating our hostess 
 with respect and recognizing her rights ? " 
 
 158
 
 The Wolf at the Door 
 
 " Our hostess ! More likely some female 
 devil who beguiled the old man. Probably he 
 was so ashamed of her he never dared go home 
 again." 
 
 " Oh, Pats! I blush for you." 
 
 " It 's a silly face." 
 
 " It is a face full of character." 
 
 " Oh, come now, Elinor ! It would pass for 
 a portrait of the full moon." 
 
 " Well, the full moon has character. And I 
 love those big merry eyes with the funny little 
 melancholy kind of droop at the outer corners. 
 Poor thing ! She must have had a sad life out 
 here in the wilderness." 
 
 " Thank you." 
 
 As their eyes met he frowned again, and she, 
 for the third time, extended the hand. " A sad 
 life, because she had no Pats." 
 
 But he refused the hand. " That is very 
 clever, but too late. The stab had already 
 reached home." 
 
 She smiled and began to fold her napkin. 
 
 " To return to business, Miss Marshall, of 
 Boston, the provisions are so low that we really 
 must decide on something." 
 
 " How long will they last ? " 
 
 " Perhaps a month or six weeks. Could you 
 159
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 pull through the winter on eggs and dried apples 
 and candles? " 
 
 " If necessary." 
 
 He laughed. " I believe you could ! You 
 are an angel, a Spartan, and a sport. Your 
 nature is simply an extravagant profusion of 
 the highest human attributes. And the worst 
 of it is, you look it. You are too beautiful 
 in a superior, overtopping way. You scare me." 
 
 She pushed back her chair. " You have said 
 all that before." 
 
 " You remember the frog who was in love 
 with the moon? " 
 
 She regarded him from the corners of her 
 eyes, but made no reply. 
 
 " He used to sit in his puddle and adore her. 
 One pleasant evening she came down out of the 
 sky and kissed him." 
 
 "That was very good of her. And then 
 what happened ? " 
 
 It killed him." 
 
 Elinor pushed back her chair, arose from the 
 table and stood beside him. " Do you think it 
 was a happy death ? " 
 
 " Of course it was ! Lucky devil ! " 
 
 "Well, close your eyes and dream that I am 
 the moon looking down at you." 
 
 160
 
 The Wolf at the Door 
 
 With face upturned, just enough to make it 
 easier for the moon, Pats closed his eyes. In se 
 rene anticipation he awaited the delectable con 
 tact that never failed to send a thrill of pleasure 
 through all his being. But the tranquil, beatific 
 smile changed swiftly to a very different expres 
 sion as he felt against his lips a slice of dried 
 apple. And the cold moon stepped back be 
 yond his reach, and laughed. 
 
 When the table had been cleared and the dishes 
 washed Pats, Elinor, and Solomon went out be 
 hind the house and stood near the edge of the 
 cliff. Eastward, across the bay, Pats pointed to 
 a distant headland running out into the Gulf, 
 the highest land in sight. 
 
 "As near as I can guess that hill is about 
 twenty miles away. If there is nothing between 
 to hinder I can walk it in a day. Now, from that 
 highest point I can probably get a view for many 
 miles. Who knows what lies beyond ? There 
 may be a settlement very near. In that case we 
 are saved." 
 
 " And suppose there is none ?" 
 
 <{ Then I return, and we are no worse off than 
 we were before." 
 
 Elinor stood beside him, regarding the distant 
 ii 161
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 promontory with thoughtful eyes. He put his 
 arm around her waist. " You see the sense of 
 it, don't you ? " 
 
 "Yes, I suppose so. How long would you 
 be gone ?" 
 
 " Not over three days." 
 
 "That is, three days and two nights." 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " And if the ground is very rough, and there 
 are swamps, and divers things, it might be longer 
 still." 
 
 Hardly likely." 
 
 " And what am I to do while you are gone ? " 
 
 " Oh, just wait." 
 
 She moved away and stood facing him. 
 
 " Yes, that is like a man. Just wait ! Just 
 wait and worry. Just watch by day and lie awake 
 at night. Just be sick with anxiety for four or 
 five days. You would find me dead when you 
 returned. Why should not I go with you ? " 
 
 He seemed surprised. Into the ever-cheerful 
 face came a look of anxiety. " I am afraid it 
 would be a hard tramp for you, Angel Cook. 
 And there would be twice as much luggage to 
 carry, and we should be a longer time away." 
 
 " I will carry my own luggage." 
 
 "Never!" 
 
 162
 
 The Wolf at the Door 
 
 <f But I shall go with you." 
 
 " Is that a final decision ? " 
 
 She nodded, an emphatic, half-fierce little nod, 
 and frowned. 
 
 Pats smiled. " Miss Elinor Marshall, I am, 
 as I have before remarked, your humble and 
 adoring slave. Your will is law. When shall 
 we start?" 
 
 " Whenever you say." 
 
 " To-morrow?" 
 
 She nodded, this time with a smile. 
 
 "Early?" 
 
 " As early as you please." 
 
 " Then at crack o' dawn we go." 
 
 And the next morning, at crack o' dawn, they 
 started off, Pats with a knapsack so voluminous 
 that he resembled a pedler. 
 
 Elinor thought it too much for him to carry. 
 " You can never walk all day with that on your 
 back. Pedestrians that I have seen never carry 
 such loads." 
 
 " Then you have never seen pedestrians who 
 carry their food and lodgings with them. And 
 you forget that we are not in the zone of 
 large hotels." 
 
 " I feel very guilty. If I were not along you 
 would have less to carry." 
 
 163
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 " Have no fears, Light of the North. If one 
 of us three falls by the wayside it will be neither 
 Solomon nor myself." 
 
 This knapsack consisted of three blankets, 
 two of flannel, one of rubber, some claret 
 bottles filled with water, and food for five days. 
 There was also coffee and a little brandy. 
 
 As they started off, along their own little 
 beach, the sun was just appearing over the 
 strip of land ahead. Solomon, in high spirits, 
 galloped madly about on the hard sand, with an 
 occasional plunge among the breakers. But Pats 
 and Elinor, although similarly affected by the 
 morning air, economized their steps, for a long 
 day's tramp was before them. 
 
 At the eastern end of the beach, before enter 
 ing the woods, both stopped and took a final 
 look toward home. A rosy light was on sea 
 and land. Beyond the beach, with its tumb 
 ling waves all aglow from the rising sun, 
 stood the Point of Lory, and their eyes lin 
 gered about the cottage. Nestling peacefully 
 among the pines, it also caught the morning 
 light. 
 
 " Adieu, little house," said Elinor. And then, 
 turning to Pats, " Why, I am really sorry to 
 leave it." 
 
 164
 
 The Wolf at the Door 
 
 " So am I, for it has given me the happiest 
 days of my life or of anybody's life." 
 
 In and out among the trees they tramped, 
 three hours or more, with intervals for rest, 
 generally through the woods, but always keeping 
 near the coast unless for a shorter cut across the 
 base of some little peninsula. Elinor stood it 
 well and enjoyed with Pats the excitement of 
 discovery. After a long nooning they pushed 
 on until nearly sunset. When they halted for the 
 night both explorers were still in good condition ; 
 but the next morning, in starting off, each con 
 fessed to a stiffness in the lower muscles. This 
 disappeared, however, after an hour's walking. 
 
 Early in the afternoon of this second day's 
 march they stood upon the top of the hill which, 
 from a distance, had promised a commanding 
 view. But they found, as so often happens to 
 every kind of climber, that another hill, still 
 higher and farther on, was the one to be attained. 
 So they pushed ahead. Just before reaching the 
 summit of this final hill Pats halted. 
 
 " Now comes a critical moment. What do you 
 think we shall see ? " 
 
 Elinor shook her head sadly. " I am prepared 
 for the worst; for the wilderness, without a sign 
 of human life." 
 
 165
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 Pats's ever-cheerful face took on a smile. " I 
 suspect you are right, but I am not admitting it 
 officially. I prophesy that we shall look down 
 upon a large and very fashionable summer 
 hotel." 
 
 " Awful thought ! " And she smiled as she sur 
 veyed her own attire and that of Pats. " What a 
 sensation we should create ! You with that faded 
 old flannel shirt, your two days' beard, and those 
 extraordinary South African trousers ; and I, sun 
 burnt as a gypsy, with my hair half down " 
 " No hair like it in the world " 
 " And this weather-beaten dress. What would 
 they take us for ? " 
 
 " For what we are tramps, happy tramps." 
 Five minutes later they stood upon the sum 
 mit. To the eastward, as far as sight could reach, 
 lay the same wild coast. For several miles every 
 detail of the shore stood clearly out beneath a 
 cloudless sky. Of man or his habitation they 
 saw no sign. To the vast sweep of pines like 
 an ocean of sombre green there was no visible 
 limit either to the east or north. And southward, 
 over the blue expanse, no sail or craft of any 
 kind disturbed the surface of the sea. Here and 
 there along the coast shone a strip of yellow beach 
 with its fringe of glistening foam. Not far away 
 
 166
 
 The Wolf at the Door 
 
 an opening among the trees, extending inland 
 for several miles, showed the grasses of a salt 
 marsh. 
 
 In silence Pats and Elinor gazed upon this 
 scene. Beautiful it was, grand, indescribably 
 impressive ; but it brought to both observers 
 the keenest sense of their isolation. The vast- 
 ness of it, and the stillness, brought a vague 
 despair, and, to the girl, a sort of terror. Tears 
 came to her eyes. 
 
 Pats turned and saw them. His own face had 
 taken on a sadder look than was often allowed 
 there, but his eyes met hers with their customary 
 cheerfulness. For the first time since their ac 
 quaintance, Elinor wept very gently, but she 
 wept. All that a sympathetic and unskilful lover 
 could do was done by Pats. He patted her back, 
 kissed her hair, and suggested brandy. Her 
 collapse, however, was of short duration. She 
 drew back and smiled and apologized for her 
 weakness. 
 
 " I am ashamed of myself for breaking down. 
 But it's the first time, is n't it ? " 
 
 "Yes, it is; and I have wondered at your 
 courage. But do it all the time if you feel the 
 least bit better." 
 
 She smiled and shook her head. " No, I shall 
 167
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 not collapse again. I shall follow your example. 
 You are always in good spirits." 
 
 " I ? Well, I should think I might be ! Here 
 I am alone in the wilderness with the girl that all 
 men desire, and not a rival in sight! Why, I 
 am in Heaven ! I had never dreamed that a fel 
 low could have such an existence." 
 
 When they descended the hill and started 
 leisurely on the homeward march two smiling 
 faces were illumined by the western sun. 
 
 168
 
 XIII 
 
 THE HORN OF PLENTY 
 
 HEAVY showers escorted the travellers 
 during the last afternoon of their home 
 ward march. Of the trio Solomon 
 was the wettest, for his two friends were 
 enfolded in a rubber blanket, drawn over their 
 heads and shoulders and held together in front. 
 Thus, by walking arm in arm and keeping close 
 together, they escaped a soaking. But Elinor 
 was tired, with a tendency to sadness. This 
 was excusable, as the failure of the expedition 
 left the choice of a perilous experiment on the 
 raft or of starvation at the cottage. Even the 
 saturated Solomon, as he preceded them with 
 drooping head, seemed to have lost his 
 buoyancy. 
 
 169
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 But Pats, whatever his inward state, continued 
 an unfailing well-spring of cheerfulness and 
 courage. Not a disheartening word escaped 
 him, nor a sign of weakening. And his efforts 
 to enliven his companion were persistent 
 and successful. Being of a hopeful and sel 
 reliant nature this task was not so very 
 difficult. 
 
 At last, toward the middle of the afternoon, 
 in rain and mist, they came to the eastern end 
 of their own beach. But all view was shut 
 out. Both the cottage and the point of land on 
 which it stood were hidden in the fog. As they 
 tramped along this beach, on the hard wet sand, 
 the wind and rain from the open sea came 
 strong against their faces. 
 
 "It will be good to get back," said Elinor. 
 
 " Yes, but I like this better," and Pats drew 
 the rubber blanket a little closer still. " Our 
 life at the cottage is too confined ; too cut and 
 dried, too conventional and ceremonious." 
 
 " Too much company ? " 
 
 " No, just enough. But too much routine 
 and sameness. Above all, it is too laborious. 
 The charm of this life is having no chores to be 
 done. No shaving ; no floors to scrub or win 
 dows to clean." 
 
 170
 
 The Horn of Plenty 
 
 " Poor boy ! And you must work doubly 
 hard when we first get back. To begin with, 
 you will have to eat your half of all the eggs 
 that have been laid." 
 
 " Not an egg ! I swear it ! " 
 
 " Let 's see four days. That will make 
 about thirty-six eggs. You must eat eighteen 
 this afternoon." 
 
 Their heads were of necessity very close 
 together, and as Pats with a frown turned his 
 face to look at her, she continued : " And 
 to-morrow being your birthday, you shall have 
 a double allowance. Just think of being thirty- 
 one years old ! Why, Patsy, it take one's 
 breath away." 
 
 " Yes, it is a stupendous thought." 
 
 " How does it feel ? " 
 
 "Well, I can still see and hear a little; and I 
 am holding on to my teeth. Of course, the 
 lungs, liver, brain, and all the more perishable 
 organs have long since gone." 
 
 " Naturally." 
 
 " But the heart is still there, and thumping 
 hard and strong for the finest woman in the 
 world." 
 
 " Well, the heart is everything, and you are a 
 good boy I mean a good old man." 
 
 171
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 " Thanks." 
 
 "And as soon as we get to the cottage 
 I shall " She pressed his arm, stopped 
 suddenly, and listened. " Why, what was 
 that ? " 
 
 " What was what ? " 
 
 " Out on the water, off the point there. I 
 heard a noise like a steamboat/' 
 
 Both listened. 
 
 " Are you sure ? " he asked. 
 
 " I certainly thought so." 
 
 Again they listened. Nothing was heard, 
 however, except the lapping of the waves along 
 the beach. 
 
 At last, in a low tone, Pats muttered : 
 
 " A whole fleet might be within a mile on a 
 day like this and nobody know it. Are you 
 sure it was n't Solomon ? He is a heavy 
 breather sometimes." 
 
 She sighed. "Very likely. With this blan 
 ket about one's ears anything was possible." 
 
 They started on again. A few moments later 
 the final shower had ceased. Swiftly the clouds 
 dispersed, but the mist, although illumined by 
 the sun, still lingered over land and sea. Solo 
 mon, followed by his friends, climbed the gentle 
 ascent at the end of the beach, and as they has- 
 
 172
 
 The Horn of Plenty 
 
 tened on among the pines all felt a mild excite 
 ment on approaching the cottage. 
 
 Gathered about the doorway, as if to welcome 
 the returning travellers, stood a few white hens 
 and the pompous rooster. To this impressive 
 bird Pats took off his hat with a deferential 
 bow. 
 
 " Glad to see you again, Senator." 
 
 " Why c Senator ' ? Because nobody listens 
 when he talks ? " Elinor had been to 
 Washington. 
 
 " Yes ; and he knows so little and feels so 
 good over it." 
 
 From its hiding-place behind the vines, Pats 
 took the key and opened the door. With a 
 military salute he stood aside, and the lady en 
 tered. He followed ; and as he unslung his 
 knapsack Elinor looked about her with a 
 pleased expression. 
 
 " How rich it all is ! " she exclaimed. " I 
 had forgotten what a splendid collection we 
 had." 
 
 Pats drew a long breath, as if to inhale the 
 magnificence. 
 
 " Are you familiar with bric-a-brac shops ? " 
 he asked. 
 
 " Yes. " 
 
 173
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 "And with the rooms of old palaces and 
 chateaux that are opened only when visitors 
 arrive ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 "Well, this is that smell." 
 
 She also inhaled, and closed her eyes. " So 
 it is." 
 
 " It 's the tapestries and old wood, and the 
 bloom on the paintings, I suppose. But it 's 
 good. I like it." 
 
 " It 's a little musty, perhaps, but " 
 
 She stopped so suddenly that Pats turned 
 toward her. With a look of surprise she was 
 pointing to the dining-table, close beside them. 
 In the centre of this table, and very white against 
 the dark oak, lay an envelope. Upon it had 
 been placed a silver spoon to prevent disturb 
 ance from any possible gust of air through the 
 open door. 
 
 " Some one has been here ! " And she re 
 garded Pats with startled eyes. 
 
 Before touching the letter he instinctively 
 cast a look about the room for other evidence. 
 While he was doing it, Elinor pointed toward 
 the farther end of the cottage, to the kitchen 
 table, and whispered : 
 
 " Look ! " 
 
 174
 
 The Horn of Plenty 
 
 Upon that table rested a pile of cans, boxes, 
 and sundry packages. For a short moment 
 both regarded in silence this almost incredible 
 display. Then Pats took up the letter. On 
 the envelope was no address no name nor 
 writing whatsoever. He turned it over in his 
 fingers. " I suppose it is intended for the old 
 gentleman, the owner of the place." 
 
 " And how careful they are that nobody shall 
 know his name." 
 
 " There must have been several men here to 
 bring up all these provisions, and whoever left 
 the letter had no intention of giving the old 
 gentleman away," and Pats tossed the letter 
 upon the table. 
 
 Elinor in turn picked it up and looked it 
 over. " I would like to know what it says;" 
 
 " So would I," said Pats. " Let 's open 
 it." 
 
 "Open another man's letter!" And she 
 frowned. 
 
 " It may not be a letter. It may be some in 
 formation as to when they are coming again, or 
 what he is to do about provisions or something 
 important for us to know. Our getting away 
 from here may depend on what is inside that 
 envelope." 
 
 175
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 " Yes, that is possible." 
 
 " Well, open it." 
 
 But she handed it back to him. "No, you 
 must do it." 
 
 Pats tore open the envelope. Elinor stepped 
 nearer and stood beside him, that she also might 
 read. 
 
 " It is in French." Then he began : 
 
 " Monsieur le Due " 
 
 " Why, the old gentleman was a duke ! " ex 
 claimed Elinor. 
 
 " I am not surprised. You know we always 
 suspected him of being a howling swell. But 
 this writing and the language are too much for 
 me. You really must read it." And he put 
 the paper in her hands. 
 
 Elinor's French was perfect, but after the 
 first sentence Pats interrupted : 
 
 "Translate as you go along. It is too im 
 portant to take chances with, and I never was 
 at home in that deceitful tongue." 
 
 Elinor dropped into the chair that stood 
 beside her. Pats sat upon the edge of the 
 table. 
 
 MONSIEUR LE Due : 
 
 It is with a grand regret that I find myself unable to pay 
 my respects in person to your Grace, but a broken ankle keeps 
 
 I 7 6
 
 The Horn of Plenty 
 
 me a prisoner in the cabin. If there is anything your Grace 
 wishes to communicate, have the extreme goodness to send 
 me a note by the bearer. He can be trusted. 
 
 I leave the stores following last instructions. Enclosed is 
 the list. The bearer will bring to me your new list from 
 behind the door, if by chance you are not at home. 
 Your Grace's devoted servitor, 
 
 JACQUES LAFENESTRE. 
 
 She laid the letter on the table. " What a 
 shame ! It really tells us nothing." 
 
 " Not a thing. Lafenestre might at least 
 have mentioned the date of the next visit." 
 
 "They all seem dreadfully afraid we may 
 learn something." She took up the other paper 
 and unfolded it. " This is the list." 
 
 Then she read : 
 
 "Four sacks corn-meal, 
 Two sacks Graham flour, 
 Four boxes crackers, 
 Two barrels potatoes." 
 
 " Those must be downstairs," said Pats. " I 
 see the cellar door is open." 
 Elinor continued : 
 
 " One box lemons, 
 Four dozen candles, 
 Four dozen Pontet Canet, 
 Six pounds tobacco " 
 
 " Good ! " said Pats. " Just what we need." 
 12 177
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 She went on : 
 
 " Four pounds coffee, 
 Four boxes matches, 
 One pocket-knife, 
 Six pairs woollen socks, 
 Six old maids " 
 
 "Six what?" 
 
 " Six old maids : vieilles files that is cer 
 tainly old maids." 
 
 "Yes, but, Heavens! What does he want 
 so many for? And where are they? In the 
 cellar?" 
 
 She smiled, still regarding the paper. " But 
 you needn't worry. They are something to 
 wear. It says six old maids, extra thick and 
 double length." 
 
 " Double length ! Well, each man to his 
 taste. Go on." 
 
 " That is all," and she dropped the paper on 
 the table and looked up into his face. Thought 
 fully he stroked the three days' beard upon his 
 chin. He was watching through the open door 
 the last clouds of mist as they floated by, driven 
 before the wind. 
 
 Suddenly he jumped to his feet. " Then 
 you were right about the boat ! You did hear 
 one. And it was here an hour ago! " 
 
 178
 
 The Horn of Plenty 
 
 Quickly he snatched a shotgun from the wall, 
 rushed out of the house, down to the edge of 
 the point and discharged one of the barrels. 
 He shouted at the top of his voice, fired the 
 second barrel and shouted again. For a few 
 moments he stood looking off into the slowly 
 dissolving fog, listening vainly for an answer 
 ing sound. 
 
 Elinor joined him. 
 
 " I know it *s of no use," he said, " for the 
 wind is in the wrong direction. But I thought 
 I would try it." 
 
 A moment later the final cloud of mist in 
 which they stood was swept away, giving a clear 
 view over all the waters to the south. And 
 they saw, disappearing toward the west, around 
 a promontory, a speck upon the blue horizon, 
 and behind it a line of smoke. 
 
 In a melancholy silence both watched this far 
 away handful of vapor until it faded into space. 
 When no trace remained of the vanished craft, 
 Pats dropped the empty gun, slowly turned his 
 head and regarded his companion. In Elinor's 
 eyes, as they met his own, he recognized a gal 
 lant effort at suppressing tears. Remembering 
 her resolve of yesterday he smiled, a smile of 
 admiration, of gratitude, and encouragement. 
 
 179
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 She also smiled, for she read his thoughts. 
 And something more was plainly written in his 
 face, that self-effacing, immortal thing that 
 lovers live on ; and it shone clear and honest 
 from this lover's eyes. Whereupon she stepped 
 forward ; he gathered her in his arms, and an 
 ancient ceremony was observed, very ancient, 
 indeed, primitive and easily executed. 
 
 Solomon, weary of this oft-repeated scene, 
 looked away with something like a sigh, then 
 closed his eyes in patience. 
 
 180
 
 XIV 
 PILGRIMS 
 
 ANOTHER June. 
 Along the northern shore of the St. 
 Lawrence Gulf, through the cold, gray 
 light of early dawn, a yacht was steaming 
 eastward. 
 
 Leaning against the rail, near the bow, a 
 woman with eager eyes watched the elusive 
 coast. But this coast, in the spreading light, 
 was rapidly revealing itself, becoming less 
 ethereal, more savage and majestic. The 
 woman was daintily attired. Every detail of 
 her apparel, from the Parisian hat to the per 
 fect-fitting shoes, while simple and designed 
 expressly pour le voyage, was sumptuous in its 
 simplicity. Although about thirty-five years of 
 age, her round, rather wide face, graceful figure, 
 and vivacious expression would have made de- 
 
 181
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 ception easy if she cared to practise it. In 
 feelings, in manner, and in appearance, she was 
 eighteen. And she would never be older. A 
 peculiar droop at the outer corners of two large 
 and very dark eyes, and a mouth too small 
 for the face with a slight and rather infantile 
 projection of the upper lip gave a plaintive, half- 
 melancholy expression to an otherwise merry and 
 youthful face. 
 
 Behind her, pacing to and fro, a strongly built, 
 elderly man with heavy face and heavy hands, 
 also watched the coast. 
 
 (c Voila, Jacques ! " and the lady pointed to a 
 promontory in front, just revealed by the vanish 
 ing mist. " Le voita, n'est-ce pas ? " 
 
 The man stepped forward and stood beside 
 her. After a careful scrutiny he replied, also 
 in French : 
 
 " Truly, I think it is." 
 
 " Ah, le bonheur ! At last ! And how soon 
 shall we land ? " 
 
 He hesitated, stroking the end of his nose 
 with a stubby finger. "In less than two 
 hours." 
 
 " In less than two hours ! Absurd ! You 
 mean to say in less than twenty minutes, is 
 it not?" 
 
 182
 
 Pilgrims 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders in respectful pro 
 testation. " But, Princess, deign to remember 
 that we are still some miles from this headland, 
 and that Monsieur, your father, is yet farther 
 away, some fifteen miles, at the very end of 
 the bay which lies beyond." 
 
 She frowned and turned away. " Are we 
 going as fast as possible ? " 
 
 " I think so." 
 
 " Well, if you are not sure of it, Jacques, go 
 down and tell that engineer to enliven his exas 
 perating machinery. Make everything turn 
 faster, or I shall jump into the sea and swim 
 ahead. It is of a slowness to rend the 
 nerves." 
 
 Jacques Lafenestre moved away to carry out 
 this order. From his youth up he had served 
 this lady and her parents. And when the father, 
 for excellent reasons, left France in haste and 
 came into the wilderness, the old servant fol 
 lowed. Later on he settled in Quebec as 
 keeper of an inn. And ever since that day he 
 had maintained communication with his master. 
 
 As the Princess walked impatiently up and 
 down the deck, erect and with elastic tread, 
 often looking at her watch and frowning, she 
 gave the impression of a commanding little per- 
 
 183
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 son, much accustomed to having her own way 
 and with no talent for resignation. And when, 
 a few moments later, another individual appeared 
 upon the deck, a tall, thin, dark-robed ecclesias 
 tic, evidently of high degree, with fine features 
 and a stately bearing, she hastened to express 
 her annoyance. To his polite greeting she 
 replied rapidly : 
 
 " Good-morning, your Grace ; but tell me, 
 did you ever see anything like this boat ? Did 
 you ever imagine a thing could crawl with such 
 a slowness such a slowness ? I shall die of 
 it ! I believe the screw is working backwards." 
 
 The Archbishop smiled, that is, his mouth 
 lengthened, for mirth and he were strangers, 
 " But it seems to me we move, Princess, and 
 quite rapidly." 
 
 " Rapidly ! Well, never mind. Time and 
 the wind will get us there. But why are you 
 up so early ? This is an hour when gentlemen 
 are abed." 
 
 " I could not sleep." 
 
 " Ah, the misfortune ! For you may have a 
 hard day. Remember, you are to do your best, 
 and use your strongest arguments. You will 
 need them. My father is wilful." 
 
 " Have no fears, Princess, I shall do all in my 
 184
 
 Pilgrims 
 
 power, for the cause seems righteous. The Due 
 de Fontrevault is, as you say, too old a man to 
 be left alone under such conditions." 
 
 " Surely ! And you are the one of all others 
 to convince him. He will not listen to the 
 rest of us. And don't fail to impress upon 
 him his duty to his family. That is your 
 strongest point, is it not ? " 
 
 " Yes, and that now he can return with 
 safety." 
 
 She shook her head. " No, do not rely too 
 much on that, for he loves his wilderness. And 
 he has known for a long time all danger was 
 past. Better attack his conscience, and his 
 sense of duty." 
 
 " As you say, Princess. And I shall spare 
 no effort." 
 
 "Then you will succeed." And looking up 
 with a smile, " You could convince anybody of 
 anything, dear Archbishop. A few words from 
 you, if you could only get him alone, and the 
 devil himself would turn over a new leaf per 
 haps join the Church. Who knows ? " 
 
 For these sentiments his Grace had no 
 responsive smile. This lady from Paris, while a 
 good Catholic, seemed to have so little reverence 
 for certain sanctities that he was always on his
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 guard. Her nature was not of the sort he pre 
 ferred to deal with. There were too many 
 conflicting elements. No one could tell with 
 precision just when she was serious or when she 
 was having a little fun. And, moreover, the 
 dignity of an archbishop was not a thing to be 
 Compromised. But she was a grande dame y a 
 person of great influence also of great wealth 
 and a free giver. And the Archbishop was no 
 fool. 
 
 As they rounded the promontory and came in 
 sight of the bay the emotion of the Princess was 
 apparent. Impatiently she walked the deck. 
 With the sun once fairly above the water, the 
 little point of land at the farther end of the bay 
 showed clearly in the morning light. 
 
 She beckoned the old servant to her side. 
 
 " There it is, Jacques ! I see distinctly the 
 cottage, a little mass of green against the shadows 
 of the pines. And surely there is smoke from 
 the chimney ! My father is an early riser ; 
 already up and cooking his breakfast. Is it not 
 so, Jacques ? " 
 
 " Yes, I do not doubt Monsieur le Due 
 cooks his breakfast at this moment." 
 
 " What enormous trees ! " she went on. 
 " Beautiful, beautiful ! And they stretch away 
 
 186
 
 Pilgrims 
 
 forever. An ocean of pines ! I had forgotten 
 they were so tall so gigantic. How many 
 minutes now, Jacques, before we arrive ? " 
 
 Jacques frowned and shrugged his heavy 
 shoulders. " I shall not tell you." 
 
 " Wicked old man ! " 
 
 And again, through her glass, she studied the 
 coast. 
 
 He had carried this lady in his arms before 
 she could walk ; he had superintended, in a 
 way, her childhood ; and so, like many old ser 
 vants in France, he was not expected to bear in 
 mind, at all times, certain differences in birth. 
 
 With a fresh enthusiasm she exclaimed : 
 " And there, down below, to the right, is the 
 little beach the ravishing little beach ! How 
 I loved it ! Here, take the glasses, Jacques, and 
 regard it." 
 
 Jacques regarded. " Yes, it is a good beach." 
 
 She dropped the glasses in their case, folded 
 the daintily gloved hands' upon the rail, and for 
 several moments gazed in silence at the coast in 
 front. Her face, in repose, became somewhat 
 sadder, and now there was a moisture in the 
 eyes. 
 
 " Tell me again, Jacques, just how long it is 
 since you were here ? " 
 
 187
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 " Eight months." 
 
 " Much can happen in eight months." 
 "Yes, without doubt, but then it is to be 
 remembered that when I was here last, in the 
 month of September all went well." 
 " You did not see him yourself, however." 
 " No, my broken ankle kept me aboard, but 
 those who went ashore with the provisions 
 brought a good report." 
 " But they did not see him." 
 " No, for he was away, probably on one of 
 his hunting trips. But why disquiet yourself, 
 Princess? We see the smoke rising from the 
 chimney." 
 
 " Yes, it is true. You have reason." 
 When, at last, they arrived, the Princess was 
 one of the first to land, and she hastened up the 
 narrow path to the grove above. Although in 
 haste to greet her father, she paused among the 
 big trees to inhale the piney fragrance. With a 
 smile of rapture she gazed upward and about. 
 These old friends ! How unchanged ! And 
 how many years they carried her back ! As a 
 very little girl her imagination had revelled with 
 out restraint and, to her heart's desire, in this 
 enchanted grove. And now she was listening 
 to the old-time murmurings, high above the 
 
 188
 
 Pilgrims 
 
 same plaintive whispering the familiar voices, 
 never to be forgotten that told her everything 
 a little girl could wish to hear, and whenever she 
 cared to hear it. 
 
 But she lingered for a moment only. With 
 eager steps she hurried toward the cottage 
 picturing to herself an old gentleman's amaze 
 ment when he recognized his visitor. 
 
 The door was open. She stood upon the 
 threshold and looked in and listened. No 
 sound came to her ears except from the old 
 clock behind the door. How familiar this 
 solemn warning of the passing time ! It seemed 
 a part of her youth, left behind and suddenly 
 found again. But her heart was beating many 
 times faster than the stately ticking of this pas 
 sionless machine. Silently she entered and stood 
 beside the table. She saw the hangings, the 
 pictures, the busts, the furniture, precisely as 
 she had known them, years ago. 
 
 From behind the tapestry came a sound, 
 faintly, as of some one moving. She smiled and 
 there was a quivering of the lips. Then, in a 
 low but clear voice, she said : 
 
 "Petifpere." 
 
 189
 
 XV 
 REVELATIONS 
 
 THE rustle of a sudden movement and 
 an exclamation half suppressed came 
 from within the chamber. Then the 
 tapestry was pushed aside. 
 
 The Princess, at sight of the figure that 
 emerged, took a backward step, her smile of 
 welcome supplanted by a look of wonder. 
 Another woman stood before her, also pausing 
 in surprise, a hand still holding the tapestry. 
 This woman was young and slight of figure, 
 erect, dark-haired, and sunburned. In a single 
 glance the quick eye of the Princess took in a 
 number of details. She noticed that the stranger 
 wore a jacket so faded that no trace of its origi 
 nal color remained ; that the skirt, equally faded, 
 was also stained and patched. But to the critical 
 Parisian it was obvious that these garments, 
 although threadbare, frayed, and weather-beaten, 
 fitted extremely well. 
 
 190
 
 Revelations 
 
 Now, while the Princess was the more sur 
 prised of the two, the girl in the faded garments 
 experienced a greater bewilderment. For this 
 visitor bore a startling resemblance to the minia 
 ture, the wife whose grave was among the 
 pines. And Elinor stared, as if half awake, at 
 the round face, the drooping eyes, and the very 
 familiar features of this sudden guest. Even the 
 arrangement of the hair was unchanged, and the 
 infantile mouth appeared exactly as depicted in 
 the little portrait that hung beside her. Had 
 this portrait come to life and stood near its own 
 chair, the effect would have been the same. 
 
 But the lady from Paris was the first to find 
 her voice. In French, with somewhat frigid 
 politeness, she said : 
 
 " Pardon me, Mademoiselle ; I expected to 
 find another person here." 
 
 Also in French the girl replied : 
 
 " Madame is the daughter, perhaps, of the 
 gentleman who lived here ? " 
 
 The Princess, with her head, made a slight 
 affirmative movement. And she frowned more 
 from anxiety than resentment as she asked : 
 " You say lived here. Does he not live here 
 now?" 
 
 And she read in the face before her, from 
 191
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 its sympathy and sadness, the answer she 
 dreaded. 
 
 Elinor, before replying, came nearer to the 
 table. " Do you speak English ? " 
 
 The Princess nodded, and seated herself in 
 the chair of the miniature, and with clasped 
 hands and a pale face, whispered : 
 
 " He is - dead ? " 
 
 Elinor took the opposite chair. " May I tell 
 you about it in English ? I can do it more 
 easily and better than in French." 
 
 " Certainly, certainly. And tell me all 
 everything." 
 
 Bravely the Princess listened. The tears 
 flowed as she heard the story, pressing her 
 handkerchief to her eyes, and even trying to 
 smile at times in grateful sympathy for the 
 narrator's efforts at consolation. 
 
 " Tell me how he looked the day you found 
 him. Did he seem to have been ill to 
 have suffered ? " 
 
 " We thought him asleep. There was no 
 trace of suffering. The color of his face sur 
 prised us." 
 
 When the story of his burial was finished, 
 the Princess rose from her seat, came around 
 and stood by Elinor, and took her hand. " I 
 
 192
 
 Revelations 
 
 owe you so much. You were very good and 
 considerate. I am grateful, very grateful. He 
 was unfortunate in his life. It is a consolation 
 to know his death was happy, and that he was 
 reverently buried." 
 
 Then Elinor, after hesitating, decided to ask 
 a question. 
 
 "If it is no secret, and if you care to do it, 
 would you mind telling me why he came across 
 the water, out here in the forest, and lived in 
 such a way ? " 
 
 " Assuredly ! And even if it were a secret 
 I should tell you. In the first place, he was 
 the Due de Fontrevault, a very good name in 
 France, as perhaps you know. He fell in love 
 oh, so fiercely in love ! with a lady who 
 was to marry well, who was betrothed to a 
 king. It sounds like a fairy tale, n'est-ce pas? " 
 
 " It does, indeed ! " 
 
 The Princess was now sitting on the arm of 
 Elinor's chair, looking down into her face, in a 
 motherly, or elder sisterly, sort of way. 
 
 " Well, you would know all about the king 
 if I told you. He died only the other day, so 
 you will soon guess him. Cetait un vaurien, un 
 imbecile. My father not only loved this " 
 
 She stopped, abruptly, leaning forward with 
 13 iQ3
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 one hand upon the table. " Mais, Mon Dieu ! 
 there is my portrait ! My old miniature of 
 twenty years ago ! How came it there ? " 
 And she pointed to the opposite chair. 
 
 "We found it hanging there when we came, 
 and have never disturbed it." 
 
 " You found it hanging there, on the back of 
 that chair ? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " My own chair where I used to sit ! So, 
 then, I was always before him ! " 
 
 Elinor nodded. In the eyes of the Princess 
 came fresh tears. She undertook to say more, 
 but failed ; and getting up, she walked around 
 the table and dropped into Pats's chair, gurgling 
 something in French about the petit pere. Then 
 she broke down completely, buried her face in 
 her hands, and made no effort to control her 
 grief. 
 
 When she recovered composure, her self- 
 reproaches were bitter for allowing so many 
 years to go by without a visit to this devoted 
 parent. Smiling as she dried her eyes, the 
 eyes with the drooping corners, old friends to 
 Elinor, she said : " You, also, had me for a 
 guest all this time." 
 
 " No, for a hostess. It is your house/' 
 194
 
 Revelations 
 
 " And where do you sit ? " 
 
 " Here, where I am." 
 
 " Then I have been your vis-a-vis ? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 The Princess smiled. "Well, my face must 
 be terribly familiar to you. Perhaps you recog 
 nized me at first ? " 
 
 " Yes ; I supposed you must be his daughter. 
 But we believed the portrait to be your mother." 
 
 " How amusing ! But poor mamma ! there 
 is no portrait of her here. She came away in 
 too much of a hurry to stop for trifles." 
 
 She studied the miniature in silence, then, 
 leaning back in her chair: 
 
 " MaiSy voyons ! I was telling something." 
 
 " About your father why he came here." 
 
 " Ah, yes ! Well, for a man to marry, or try 
 to marry or to dream of marrying a prin 
 cess formally betrothed to a king was quelque 
 chose d'inoute. But he was badly brought up, 
 this little father of mine : always having his own 
 way, un enfant gdte y you know, a child made 
 worse a child damaged hurt what am I 
 trying to say ? " 
 
 " A spoiled child." 
 
 " Of course ! But the King also was a 
 spoiled child, which is to be expected in a king- 
 
 195
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 However, that did not smooth things for my 
 little father, as the King was beside himself with 
 rage furious, wild ! " 
 
 " He was jealous ? " 
 
 The Princess laughed more of a triumphant 
 chuckle than a laugh. " And well he had rea 
 son ! " 
 
 " Then the lady preferred your father to the 
 King?" 
 
 " Man Dieu ! She had eyes." Then, with a 
 slight motion of a hand : " And she had sense." 
 
 Elinor smiled. " But a king is a great catch." 
 
 The little lady shrugged her shoulders. 
 "That made nothing to her. She was as good 
 as the King. She was a grande princess. Not 
 an every-day princess, like me." 
 
 "Arc you a princess?" Elinor asked in sur 
 prise. 
 
 "Yes, an ordinary princess the common, 
 every-day kind. But she was a princesse royale. 
 And so he did this." With a comprehensive 
 gesture of both her hands she indicated the tap 
 estries, paintings, busts, furniture, and the entire 
 contents of the house. 
 
 "You mean he brought his own possessions 
 off here, across the water?" 
 
 " Precisely." 
 
 196
 
 Revelations 
 
 " And did he bring the Princess with him ? " 
 
 "What a question! It is evident, Made 
 moiselle, that you were not acquainted with my 
 father, the Due de Fontrevault." 
 
 "Then this princess was your mother?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " And that is her grave out there, beneath the 
 pines, next to his ? " 
 
 The Princess nodded, and blinked, but smiled: 
 " Poor mamma ! She only lived a few years 
 after that ; I was nine when she died." 
 
 " Were you born here ? " 
 
 " In there." And she glanced toward Eli 
 nor's chamber. 
 
 "You must have had a lonely childhood." 
 
 " No. In those days we had a servant and 
 a cow." 
 
 " But why should your father and mother 
 escape to this wilderness ? Surely a woman may 
 marry whom she pleases in these days." 
 
 " Certainly. But an agent was sent to arrest 
 my father on a legal pretext and in the 
 quarrel this agent also a gentleman of high 
 rank was killed. So that was murder. Just 
 what his Majesty wished, perhaps. And my 
 father, in haste, packed a few things on a ship 
 and disappeared." 
 
 197
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 "A few things ! " 
 
 " The King never knew where he went. Nor 
 did any one else. But enough of myself and 
 family. Tell me of your coming here. And 
 of your friend. Is she still here ? " 
 
 " My friend was a man." 
 
 "Ah!" 
 
 The Princess raised her eyebrows, involunta 
 rily. " Pardon me if I am indiscreet, but you 
 are not married ? " 
 
 " No." 
 
 Now this Parisian, with other Europeans, had 
 heard startling tales about American girls ; of 
 their independence and of their amazing free 
 dom. She leaned forward, a lively curiosity in 
 her face. To her shame be it said that she was 
 always entertained by a sprightly scandal, and 
 seldom shocked. 
 
 " How interesting ! And this gentleman, 
 was he young ? " 
 
 But the American girl did not reply at once. 
 She had divined her companion's thoughts and 
 was distressed, and provoked. This feeling of 
 resentment, however, she repressed as she could 
 not, in justice, blame the Princess nor any 
 body else for being reasonably surprised. So, 
 she began at the beginning and told the tale: of 
 
 198
 
 Revelations 
 
 the stupid error by which she was left with a 
 man she hardly knew on this point of land ; of 
 their desperate effort to escape in September, by 
 taking to a raft and floating down the river ; 
 how they failed to land and were carried out to 
 sea, nearly perishing from exposure. She de 
 scribed their reaching shore at last, several miles 
 to the east. And when she spoke of the early 
 snow, in October, of the violent storms and the 
 long winter, the Princess nodded. 
 
 " Yes, I remember those winters well. But 
 we were happy, my father and I." 
 
 " And so were we," said Elinor. 
 
 " Then this stranger turned out well ? A 
 gentleman, a man of honor ? " 
 
 "Yes, oh, yes! And more than that. He 
 gave his life for mine." 
 
 From the look which came into Elinor's face, 
 and from a quiver in the voice, the sympathetic 
 visitor knew there was a deeper feeling than had 
 been expressed. She said, gently : 
 
 " Ypu are tired now. Tell me the rest of 
 the story later." 
 
 " No, no. I will tell you now. One morn 
 ing, about a month ago, the first pleasant day 
 after a week of rain, we started off along the 
 bank of the river to see if the flood had carried 
 
 199
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 away our raft the new one. Just out there, 
 in the woods, not far from here, I stepped to 
 the edge of the bank and looked down at the 
 water. The river was higher than we had ever 
 seen it, fuller, swifter, with logs and bushes in 
 it. Even big trees came along, all rushing to 
 the sea at an awful speed." 
 
 " Yes, I know that river in spring. The 
 water is yellow, and with a frightful current, 
 fascinating to watch, but it terrifies." 
 
 Elinor nodded. " Fascinating to watch, yes. 
 But Pats told me " 
 
 "Pats?" 
 
 " My friend. His name was Patrick." 
 
 " And Pats is the little name the familiar 
 for Patrick?" 
 
 " Sometimes." 
 
 "Ah, I never knew that! But pardon me. 
 Please go on." 
 
 " He told me to come back that the bank 
 was undermined by the river and might give 
 way. He said : f Whoever enters that river to 
 day leaves hope behind.' At the very instant 
 I started back the earth under me gave way, 
 and and, well, I went down to the river and 
 under the water an awful distance. I thought 
 J should never come up again. But I did come
 
 Revelations 
 
 up at last, gasping, half dead, several yards from 
 the shore. The current was carrying me down 
 the river, but I saw Pats on the bank above, 
 watching me. His face was pale and he was 
 hurrying along to keep near. Oh, how I en 
 vied him, up there, alive and safe ! " 
 
 " Poor child ! I can well believe it ! " 
 
 "He cried out, c Try and swim toward the 
 shore ! Try hard ! ' And I tried, but was 
 carried along so fast that I seemed to make no 
 headway. Then I saw him run on ahead, pull 
 off his shoes and outer clothes, slide down 
 the bank and shoot out into the water toward 
 me." 
 
 " Bravo ! " exclaimed the listener. " Bravo ! 
 That was splendid ! " And in her enthusiasm 
 she rose, and sat down again. 
 
 Elinor sank back in her chair. But the 
 Princess was leaning forward with wide open 
 eyes and parted lips. 
 
 " Then what happened ? " 
 
 " He reached me, caught me with one hand 
 by my dress between the shoulders, and told 
 me again to swim hard for the shore. It seemed 
 hopeless, at first, for the current was frightful 
 oh, frightful ! It washed us under and tried 
 to carry us out again. But Pats pushed hard, 
 
 201
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 and after an awful struggle it seemed a life 
 time we reached the shore." 
 
 "Ah, good!" 
 
 But in the speaker's face there came no en 
 thusiasm. She closed her eyes, leaning back in 
 her chair as if from physical weakness. The 
 Princess got up, and once more came and stood 
 by the girl's chair, and gently patted a shoulder. 
 
 " Tell me the rest later. There is no haste." 
 
 " I shall feel better for telling it now. I 
 started to climb up the bank. It was steep, all 
 stones and gravel, and a few little bushes. The 
 stones gave way and kept letting me down 
 slipping backward. He was still in the water. 
 I heard him tell me to go slow and not hurry. 
 He was very calm, and his voice came up from 
 beneath me, for " and here she laughed, a 
 little hysterical laugh more of a sob than a 
 laugh, as if from over-taxed nerves "for I 
 seemed to be sitting on his head." 
 
 The Princess also laughed, responsively. 
 
 " I shall never know just how it happened, 
 but in one of my struggles the whole bank 
 seemed to slide from under me into the river. 
 I clung to a bush and called to him, and tried 
 to look down, but he was gone." 
 
 A silence followed. The Princess rested her 
 202
 
 Revelations 
 
 cheek against Elinor's hair, and murmured words 
 of comfort. " How long ago did this happen ? " 
 
 " A month ago." 
 
 More from sympathy than from conviction 
 the Princess said : 
 
 "He may return. Stranger things have hap 
 pened. Perhaps he was carried out to sea 
 and rescued." 
 
 Elinor shook her head. " He was buried 
 beneath the rocks and gravel. If he had risen 
 to the surface, I should have seen him, for the 
 day was clear. No, I know where he is. I see 
 him, all night long, in my sleep, lying at the 
 bottom of the river, his face looking up." 
 
 " My child," said the Princess, " listen. 
 With your sorrow you have precious memories. 
 From what you have not told me of your Pats, 
 I know him well. He loved you. That is 
 clear. You loved him. That is also clear. 
 Alone with him in this cottage through an end 
 less winter, and perfectly happy ! Voyons^ you 
 confessed all when you said ' we were happy ! ' 
 He was the man of a woman's heart ! With no 
 hesitation, he gave his life for yours : to save 
 you or die with you. Tell me, what can Heaven 
 offer that is better than a love like that ? " 
 
 She closed her eyes and drew a long breath. 
 203
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 "Ah, these Americans! These extraordinary 
 husbands ! I have done nothing but hear of 
 them ! " 
 
 " He was not my husband.'* 
 
 " But he was to be ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes ! " 
 
 The Princess rose, walked around the table 
 and stood beside the chair that held her 
 portrait. 
 
 " My child, I respect your grief. My heart 
 bleeds for you, but you are to be envied." 
 With uplifted eyebrows, and her head slightly to 
 one side, she went on : " My husband, the 
 Prince de Champvalliers is good. We adore 
 one another. As a husband he is satisfactory, 
 better than most. But if, by chance, I should 
 fall into a river, with death in its current, and 
 he were safe and dry upon the bank " 
 
 Sadly she smiled, and with a shrug of the 
 shoulders turned about and moved away. 
 
 Erect, and with a jaunty step, she walked 
 about the room, renewing acquaintance with old 
 friends of her youth : with the little tapestried 
 fables on the chairs and sofa ; with certain por 
 traits and smaller articles. But it was evident 
 that the story she had heard still occupied her 
 mind, for presently she came back to the table 
 
 204
 
 Revelations 
 
 and stood in front of Elinor. With a slight 
 movement of the head, as if to emphasize her 
 words, she said, impressively, yet with the sug 
 gestion of a smile in her half-closed eyes : 
 
 "Were I in your place, my child, I should 
 grieve and weep. Yes, I should grieve and 
 weep ; but I should enjoy my sorrow. You are 
 still young. You take too much for granted. 
 You are too young to realize the number of 
 women in the world who would gladly exchange 
 their living husbands for such a memory." She 
 raised her eyebrows, closed her eyes, and mur 
 mured, with a long, luxurious sigh : " The 
 heroism ! the splendid sacrifice ! I tell you, 
 Mademoiselle, no woman lives in vain who in 
 spires in an earthly lover a devotion such as 
 that 1 " 
 
 205
 
 XVI 
 NEWS FROM THE WORLD 
 
 JACQUES soon appeared. As his know 
 ledge of English was scant, the Princess 
 gave him the story she herself had heard. 
 Great was his horror on learning that when last 
 he came in September and left the usual 
 provisions, the Due de Fontrevault had been in 
 his grave since the previous June. 
 
 He asked many questions. Elinor told him 
 everything that could be of interest, and the 
 Princess listened eagerly to these replies. The 
 old servant seemed pleased when Elinor turned 
 to him with a smile and said, in his own lan 
 guage : " So you are the French Fairy. That 
 is what we always called you after finding your 
 letter. Our lives were saved by that unexpected 
 supply of food." 
 
 Then they talked of other matters, of 
 what things should be carried back to France. 
 
 206
 
 News from the World 
 
 And as the strength and energy of the American 
 girl seemed to have gone owing, perhaps, to 
 a too meagre diet the Princess insisted upon 
 having her own maid sent up to pack the trunks. 
 Jacques departed on this errand, and to get one or 
 two men. He soon returned with them, and ac 
 companied by the Archbishop. With a half- 
 suspicious interest His Grace studied this young 
 woman, still seated in her usual place by the table, 
 her eyes, with a listless gaze, following the daughter 
 of the house as she opened drawers and cabinets. 
 
 His Grace was standing by the big tapestry, 
 between the two busts, his hands behind him. 
 
 " Pardon me, my child," he said with a deep- 
 toned benevolence, calculated to impress the 
 guiltless and to awe the guilty, " but what I 
 find it difficult to understand is why your friends 
 did not look for you. They certainly must 
 have guessed the situation." 
 
 Elinor shook her head gently, as if she also 
 recognized the mystery. 
 
 " To what do you attribute this singular 
 indifference to your fate on the part of your 
 family and friends ? " 
 
 " I cannot guess. I have no idea." 
 
 " It was purely accidental your your arrival 
 here ? " 
 
 207
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 " Naturally." 
 
 In this reply there was something that smote 
 the Archbishop's dignity. It seemed verging 
 upon impertinence. Again he scrutinized the 
 faded garments, the sunburned face, the hands 
 somewhat roughened by toil, now folded on the 
 table before her. His perceptions in feminine 
 matters were less acute than those of the 
 Princess. He remembered a young man had 
 been a companion to this girl in this cottage, 
 and during a whole year. It was only natural 
 that the Princess, in treating this person with 
 so much consideration, should be misled by a 
 very tender, romantic heart, and by a Parisian 
 standard of morality too elastic and too easy 
 going for more orthodox Christians. Into his 
 manner came a suggestion of these thoughts, 
 his tone was less gracious, a trifle more patron 
 izing. But as the victim supposed this to be 
 his usual bearing, she felt no resentment. 
 
 " It was certainly a most unprecedented 
 one might almost say, incredible blunder. 
 And in daylight, too." 
 
 She nodded. 
 
 " Do I understand that you came here in a 
 steamboat ? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 208
 
 News from the World 
 
 "And the steamboat, after leaving you and 
 the young man, kept on her course toward 
 Quebec ? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " Do you remember the name of the boat ? " 
 
 "The Maid of the North" 
 
 " The Maid of the North ! " 
 
 Elinor took no notice of this exclamation of 
 surprise. In a purely amiable manner she was 
 becoming tired. 
 
 " The Maid of the North, did you say ? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 " But, my child, when was that ? When 
 were you left here ? " 
 
 With a sigh of weariness, she replied : " A 
 year ago this month, on the ninth of June." 
 
 " The ninth of June," he repeated, in a lower 
 tone, more to himself than to her. "Why 
 then, she was lost between this point and 
 Quebec." 
 
 " Lost ? " 
 
 And Elinor looked up at him with startled 
 eyes. 
 
 "Yes." Then he added: "But I see that 
 you could not have known it." 
 
 " Do you mean the Maid of the North never 
 reached Quebec ? " 
 
 14 209
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 " Nothing has been heard of her since the 
 eighth of last June. On that day she was 
 spoken by another steamer near the Magdalen 
 Islands." 
 
 Elinor had risen from her chair, and stood 
 leaning against the table. " That is horrible ! 
 horrible ! It does not seem possible ! What 
 do they think became of her ? " 
 
 " Nobody knows. There are several theo 
 ries, but nothing is certain. You are probably 
 the only survivor." 
 
 " But were there no traces of her, no 
 wreckage, nothing to give a clew ? " 
 
 " Nothing." 
 
 With drooping head and a hand across her 
 eyes, she murmured : " Poor Louise ! And 
 my uncle and Father Burke ! " And she 
 sank back into her chair. 
 
 The Archbishop took a step nearer. " Did 
 you know Father Burke ? " 
 
 " He was a dear friend." 
 
 At this reply the eyebrows of the holy man 
 were elevated. A light broke in upon him. 
 With a manner more sympathetic than hereto 
 fore and less patronizing he said gently : 
 
 " Father Burke was a dear friend of mine, also, 
 an irreparable loss to the Church and to all 
 
 210
 
 News from the World 
 
 who knew him. Is it possible you are the young 
 lady whom he held in such high esteem and 
 affection, and of whom he wrote to me ? Were 
 you in his spiritual charge, with thoughts of a 
 convent ? " 
 
 She nodded. 
 
 Into his face came a look of joy. Then, in 
 a voice brimming over with tenderness and 
 paternal sympathy : 
 
 " I cannot express my pleasure, my heartfelt 
 gratitude, that you have been spared us. Of 
 your exalted character and of your holy aspira 
 tions our dear friend spoke repeatedly. And 
 now, in your hour of affliction, it will be not 
 only the duty, but the joy and privilege of our 
 Holy Church to serve you as counsellor and 
 guide." 
 
 As the girl made no reply, he went on, in a 
 subdued and gently modulated voice : 
 
 "At this time more than ever before, you 
 must need the consolation of Religion. Am I 
 not right in believing that you feel a deeper 
 yearning for the closer love and protection of 
 our Heavenly Father, for that security and 
 peace which the outer world can never offer? 
 And too well we know that the outer world is 
 uncharitable and cruel. It might look askance 
 
 211
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 upon this strange adventure. But the arms of 
 Our Mother are ever open. You are always 
 her daughter, and with her there is nothing to 
 forgive. All is love, and faith, and peace." 
 
 To this deeply religious girl, now stricken and 
 weary, whose heart was numbed with grief, whose 
 hope was crushed, these words came as a voice 
 from Heaven. She held forth a hand which the 
 prelate held in both his own. 
 
 " God bless you, my child." 
 
 212
 
 XVII 
 VOICES OF THE WOOD 
 
 WHEN the Princess realized the some 
 what famished condition of her new 
 acquaintance she ordered a tempting 
 lunch from the yacht, and had it served in the 
 cottage: fresh meat, with fruit, vegetables, and 
 cream and butter new dishes among the Pines 
 of Lory ! Of this repast the Archbishop par 
 took with spirit. 
 
 "Truly an invigorating air. What an appe 
 tite it gives!" And he devoured the viands 
 with a priestly relish, but always with arch- 
 episcopal dignity. The person, however, for 
 whom the meal was served leaned back wearily 
 in her chair, barely tasting the different dishes. 
 " You will starve, my child," said the Princess, 
 gently. " Really, you must eat something to 
 keep alive." 
 
 213
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 The effort was made, but with little success. 
 And in Elinor's face her friend divined an 
 over-mastering grief. 
 
 The two women, after lunch, strolled out 
 among the pines, toward the bench by the 
 river. It became evident to the Princess, from 
 the manner in which her companion leaned upon 
 her arm, that days of fasting and of sorrow 
 had diminished her strength. Upon the 
 rustic bench Elinor sank with a sigh of relief. 
 But into her face came a smile of gratitude as 
 her eyes met those of the little lady who stood 
 before her, and who was looking down with 
 tender sympathy. 
 
 To Elinor's description of how she and Pats 
 found the old gentleman reclining upon this 
 same bench, the Princess gave the closest at 
 tention. Every detail was made clear by the 
 narrator, who took the same position at the end 
 of the seat, crossing her knees and leaning a 
 cheek upon one hand, as if asleep. Then the 
 Princess, after asking many questions, took the 
 vacant place beside her and they sat in silence, 
 looking across the river, to the woods beyond. 
 To both women came mournful thoughts, yet 
 with pleasant memories. And soothing to the 
 spirit of each was the murmur of the woods. 
 
 214
 
 Voices of the Wood 
 
 cess regarded the drooping head and closed 
 eyes ; then she stood up and placed a hand 
 affectionately upon Elinor's shoulder. 
 
 " I understand your feelings. Rest here 
 until the boat goes." 
 
 Indicating, with a wave of her hand, the big 
 trees towering high above, she added : 
 
 " Your last moments with these old friends 
 shall be respected. I am going to the two 
 graves over there, and will return before it 
 is time to start." 
 
 She walked away, into the grove. 
 
 Again, among the shadows of these pines, 
 came memories of her childhood, with the feel 
 ing of being alone in a vast cathedral. And the 
 fragrance, how she loved it ! And she loved 
 
 O * 
 
 this obscurity, always impressive and always 
 solemn, yet filling her soul with a dreamy 
 
 joy- 
 In her passage between the columns of this 
 
 shadowy temple she stopped and turned about 
 for a parting glance at her friend. In the same 
 position, her head upon her hand, Elinor still 
 sat motionless, a picture of patient suffering. 
 For a moment the Princess watched her in 
 silence, then slowly turned about and started 
 once again upon her way. Only a step, how- 
 
 217
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 ever, had she taken when the color fled from 
 her cheeks and she halted with a gasp of ter 
 ror. Gladly would she have concealed herself 
 behind the nearest tree, but she dared not 
 move. 
 
 In the gloom of the forest, scarcely a dozen 
 yards away, a figure was moving silently across 
 her path in the direction of the cottage. Such 
 a figure she had seen in pictures, but never in 
 the flesh. The North American savage she 
 always dreaded as a child ; and once, at a French 
 fair, she had seen a wild man. This creature 
 recalled them both. He was brown of color, 
 with disorderly hair and stubby beard, and no 
 covering to his body except strips of cloth, faded 
 and in rags, suspended from one shoulder, held 
 at the waist by a cord, and dangling in tatters 
 about his legs. Bending slightly forward as he 
 walked or rather glided among the pines, 
 he was peering eagerly in the direction of the 
 house. Had his gaze been less intent, he 
 would have seen this other figure, the woman 
 watching him in silent terror. Furtively she 
 glanced about the grove to see if other creatures 
 were stealing from tree to tree. But she failed 
 to discover them. 
 
 Now the Princess, while fashionable and friv- 
 218
 
 Voices of the Wood 
 
 olous, and reprehensible in many ways, was 
 not devoid of courage. And her conscience 
 told her to give warning to her friends. This 
 heroic decision was swiftly made. In making it, 
 however, her cheeks grew paler. 
 
 But she was spared the sacrifice. As she 
 drew in her breath for the perilous attempt, she 
 saw the man himself stand still and straighten 
 up. Then, before she could utter the warning, 
 
 before her own little mouth was ready, the 
 shadowy silence of the wood was broken, not by 
 the dreaded warwhoop, but by an imitation, 
 startlingly perfect, of the notes of a quail. 
 
 That this was a signal to his followers she 
 had no doubt. But suddenly, while these clear 
 notes were yet in the air, the stillness of the 
 pines was again disturbed by a cry a cry of 
 joy, intense and uncontrolled from behind 
 her, toward the river. She turned about. In 
 astonishment she saw the grief-stricken maiden 
 
 a moment ago too weak to walk alone 
 already lifted from the rustic bench as by a 
 heavenly hand, now flying in this direction over 
 the brown carpet of the pines, swift and light of 
 foot, with wings, it seemed. The savage, too, 
 had heard the cry and already he was running 
 toward the approaching figure. And he passed 
 
 219
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 so near the Princess that he would have seen her 
 had he wished. 
 
 They met, the wild man and the girl. And 
 the mystified spectator mystified for a 
 moment only saw the maiden fling herself 
 upon this denizen of the wood and twine her 
 arms about his neck. And he, with a passion 
 ate eagerness, embraced her, then held her at 
 arms' length, that again he might draw her to 
 him, kissing her hair, mouth, forehead. 
 
 From the rapturous confusion of excla 
 mations, of questions interrupted and un 
 answered, the Princess understood. For a 
 moment she looked on in wonder, fascinated by 
 this astounding miracle. But she soon re 
 covered. With a lump in her throat she began 
 backing away, to escape unobserved. Elinor, 
 through her tears, happened to see the move 
 ment and came forward, leading the savage by 
 the hand. With a new light in her eyes, and 
 her voice all a-quiver, she exclaimed : 
 
 " This is my Pats ! " 
 
 The Princess courtesied. 
 
 " And, Pats, this is the Princess the Prin 
 cess de Champvalliers : our girl of the minia 
 ture." 
 
 Pats nodded for he recognized the eyes 
 220
 
 Voices of the Wood 
 
 with the drooping corners and he smiled and 
 bowed. And the Princess, as she looked into 
 his face and forgot the wild hair and scrubby 
 beard, the stains, the rags, and the nakedness, 
 met a pair of unusually cheerful, honest eyes, 
 and impulsively held out her hand. 
 
 221
 
 XVIII 
 
 A NUNNERY? 
 
 IN very few words Pats told his story. 
 As Elinor had believed, he was forced 
 beneath the water by the sliding earth and 
 stones ; but instead of lying at the bottom he 
 had been carried by the under-current far out 
 toward the middle of the river. On coming to 
 the surface, more dead than alive, he found him 
 self among the branches of an uprooted pine, 
 also speeding toward the sea, at the mercy of 
 the torrent. 
 
 Numb with cold from the icy water, he clung 
 to this friend all one day and night, ever 
 drifting toward the Gulf. At last, when rescued, 
 he was barely conscious. And on recovering 
 his wits he found himself aboard a Government 
 coaster just starting on a two months' cruise. 
 
 " I insisted on being landed. They refused 
 at first, but when I told them the situation 
 
 222
 
 A Nunnery? 
 
 of the solitary girl I was leaving alone in the 
 wilderness, they not only put me ashore, but 
 gave me all the provisions I could carry." 
 
 " Bravo ! A boat-load of lovers ! " exclaimed 
 the Princess. " And they did well ! " 
 
 " Indeed they did ! " said Pats, " for they 
 were pressed for time, and it cost them several 
 hours. So, in high spirits, I started westward 
 along the coast, expecting to get here in three 
 or four days." 
 
 Then, turning to Elinor : " Do you remember 
 the wide marsh we noticed from the top of that 
 farthest hill to the east, at the end of our journey 
 last autumn ? " 
 
 " Yes, I remember. We thought it the mouth 
 of a river." 
 
 " Well, it was the mouth of a river, with a 
 vengeance. That marsh extends for miles on 
 both sides of a river as impassable as ours. 
 Ten days I tramped northward up the farther 
 bank. And then, in swimming across, I lost 
 nearly all my provisions, and most of my 
 clothes." 
 
 With a slight bow to the Princess, he added, 
 " I hope madam will pardon these intimate de 
 tails : also certain deficiencies in my present 
 toilet." 
 
 223
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 " Make no apologies, and tell everything," she 
 answered, " I am one of the family." 
 
 Pats continued : " During nine days I travelled 
 south, retracing my steps, but on this side of the 
 river. The woods are different up there, with a 
 maddening undergrowth, and it soon made an 
 end of what clothes I had left. Yesterday morn 
 ing I saw the sea again." 
 
 To every word of this narrative Elinor had 
 listened, absorbed and self-forgetful. As for the 
 Princess, she loved the unexpected, and here she 
 found it. The more she studied Pats, the better 
 she liked him and his cheerfulness, a cheerful 
 ness which seemed to rise triumphant above all 
 human hardship. She took an interest in his 
 unkempt hair and barbaric, four weeks' beard, 
 m his scratched and sunburnt chest and arms. 
 Even in the tattered remnants of his clothes she 
 found a certain entertainment. And she noticed 
 that while he stood talking in the presence of 
 two ladies he appeared unembarrassed by his 
 semi-nakedness, perhaps from the habit of it. 
 And, after all, what cause for embarrassment ? 
 How many times, on the beach at Trouville, had 
 she conversed with gentlemen who wore even 
 less upon their persons ? 
 
 Another surprise was given her when a brown 
 224
 
 A Nunnery? 
 
 setter, from somewhere in the forest, came fly 
 ing toward them, and threw himself upon the 
 long lost Pats. And the dog's delight at the 
 meeting was similar to Elinor's. He, in turn, 
 was presented to the Princess, who patted his 
 head. 
 
 " Bon jour, Monsieur Solomon. I am happy to 
 meet you : and for your enthusiasm I have the 
 profoundest regard." 
 
 Then, as they all started toward the cottage, 
 Pats still answering Elinor's questions, there 
 appeared among the pines a black figure which 
 recalled pictures of Dante in the forest of 
 Ravenna. This figure halted in surprise at 
 sight of the half-naked savage approaching 
 with an easy self-possession, a lady on either 
 side. And evidently the savage was a welcome 
 object a thing of interest of affection even, 
 if outward signs were trustworthy. And his 
 Grace, when presented to this uncouth object, 
 made no effort at assuming joy. Whether from 
 an unfamiliarity with wild men, or from some 
 other reason, this creature proved offensive to 
 him. The lately lamented lover appeared 
 politely indifferent to the -priest's opinion, 
 good or bad, and this so augmented his 
 Grace's irritation that his words of welcome 
 15 225
 
 /^ 
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 displayed more dignity than warmth. After 
 proper congratulations on the return of her 
 friend, he said to Elinor, in impressive tones, 
 with a fatherly benevolence : 
 
 " We always rejoice when a human life is 
 saved, but it would prove a sad misfortune, 
 indeed, should it cause you to falter in your 
 high resolve and return to worldly affairs." 
 
 Elinor instinctively edged a little closer to 
 Pats and slid a hand in one of his, a movement 
 observed by the Princess. 
 
 His Grace, with yet greater impressiveness in 
 tone and manner, added : 
 
 " Yours is not a nature to forget or lightly 
 ignore a pledge once given. And please under 
 stand, my dear child, it is for your spiritual 
 future tha f I remind you of your solemn words 
 to our dear friend to him who is no longer 
 here to recall them to you, and whose beneficent 
 influence is forever gone." 
 
 Into Elinor's face had come a look of pain, 
 for these words to a conscience such as hers were 
 as so many stabs. Pats frowned. Still clasping 
 the fingers that had slid among his own, and 
 with a slight upward movement of the chin, he 
 took one step forward toward the prelate. But 
 before he could speak the Princess acted quickly, 
 
 226
 
 A Nunnery ? 
 
 to avert a scene. In a vivacious, off-hand man 
 ner, yet with a certain easy authority, she said, 
 smiling pleasantly in turn upon her three 
 listeners : 
 
 " You speak of a convent ? Ah, your Grace 
 forgets something ! Religion is a mighty thing. 
 We all know that. But there is one thing 
 mightier and here are two of its victims. 
 'Tis the thing that makes the world go round. 
 You know what it is. Oh, yes, you know ! 
 And it has made archbishops go round, too ; 
 even Popes and many times ! And when 
 once it gets you well ! // s'en moque de la reli 
 gion et de touts les Saints for it has a heaven of 
 its own. Moreover, we must not forget, your 
 Grace and I, that this unconventional gentle 
 man " 
 
 Here she turned a mirthful glance upon Pats 
 and his rags, and he smiled as his eyes met 
 hers : 
 
 " That our unconventional gentleman has al 
 ready tried to give his life for this girl. More 
 over, he will do it again, whenever necessary, 
 and she is not likely to forget it." 
 
 Indeed not, if truth were in the look that 
 came to Elinor's eyes. 
 
 " Princess," said the Archbishop, " this is not 
 227
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 a matter for argument. It is a question to be 
 decided by the lady's own conscience." 
 
 " But I have made no promise," said Elinor. 
 "I told Father Burke it was my intention to 
 enter a convent. It was merely the expression 
 of a wish not in the nature of a binding 
 promise." 
 
 " But to me," said Pats, smiling pleasantly 
 upon the Archbishop, " she did make a binding 
 promise a very definite promise of a matri 
 monial nature. If she enters a convent I go 
 too." 
 
 Thereupon the Princess laughed, a gentle, 
 merry laugh, spontaneous and involuntary. "A 
 nunnery with a bridal chamber ! Fi, rhorreur I 
 Imagine the effect on the other sisters ! " 
 
 At this utterance the Archbishop closed his 
 eyes in reprobation. Then, with a paternal air 
 he regarded Elinor. " Dear lady, I have no 
 desire to argue, or to persuade you against your 
 wishes or against the wishes of your friends. 
 Pardon me if I have appeared insistent. I only 
 ask that you will not forget that our Church is 
 your Church that in sorrow and in trouble, 
 and at all times, her arms are open to you." 
 
 Then addressing the Princess : " I am the 
 bearer of a message from Jacques Lafenestre. 
 
 228
 
 A Nunnery? 
 
 The baggage is aboard, and the yacht can sail 
 whenever your Highness is ready." 
 
 With a ceremonious bow ceremoniously re 
 turned by the group before him his Grace 
 strode slowly away toward the little path that 
 led to the beach. The Princess also after 
 handing to Pats the key of the house moved 
 away in the direction of the two graves, promis 
 ing the lovers another half hour for their parting 
 visit to the cottage. She had gone but a few 
 steps, however, when she stopped and wheeled 
 about as if moved by a sudden thought. 
 
 "You know well the tapestry that screens 
 the chamber. The scene in the Garden of 
 Eden?" 
 
 Both nodded ; and Pats exclaimed : " The 
 most entertaining work of art I have ever 
 seen!" 
 
 " I give it for my wedding present, so that 
 Madame Pats may have a portrait of her hus 
 band as he appeared when first I met him." 
 
 With a smile and a nod she turned away and 
 the jaunty figure was soon lost among the trees. 
 
 Once more alone, Pats and Elinor turned and 
 looked into each other's eyes ; and both discov 
 ered an overflowing happiness that choked all 
 words and all attempt at words. 
 
 229
 
 The Pines of Lory 
 
 Pats opened his arms. As of old, she en 
 tered, and the familiar rite was observed. 
 
 The surrounding silence remained unbroken. 
 But in the murmuring of the pines, in that float 
 ing music now dear to both, there came to the 
 reunited lovers a subdued but universal rejoic 
 ing felicitations from above.
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 AA 000066407 
 
 UNIVEf -LiFORNIA 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 LO ANGELES, CALIF.