JAMES CREELMAN
7
EAGLE
BLOOD
ItNiV. OF CAUF. LWRARY. LOS ANGELES
"THE &WORD OF BUNKER HILL" (See page
EAGLE BLOOD
#23
JAMES CREELMAN
Author of
" the Great Highway"
ILLUSTRATED
BY ROSE CECIL O'NEILL
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BOSTON
LOTHROP PUBLISHING COMPANY
COPYRIGHT, 1902,
BY LOTHROP
PUBLISHING
COMPANY.
ENTERED AT
STATIONERS' HALL.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
PUBLISHED OCTOBER, 1902.
Norfoooti
J. S. Oushlng & Co. Berwick & Smith
Norwood Mans. U.S.A.
watt m
m
2128892
J" ITTLE were the change of station, loss of
I J rf
life or crown,
But the wreck were past retrieving if the
Man fell down."
OO his iron mace he lifted, smote with
might and main,
And the idol, on the pavement tumbling,
burst in twain.
LOWELL
Illustrations
The Sword of Bunker Hill" . . Frontispiece
Page
Marry a rich American" 16
^Ah ! good evening, my lady ' " . . . . ijcj
Leaped from his saddle, and lifting the fallen stars
and stripes ..." . . . . . 2 Jo
" c Would you be sorry if I should return to England,
Helen?'"
" c London Bridge is burning down ' ' .
5% % 5fi S & w % :?!- w w :?: ^ : -^ : ^ -j * S S ^ w
u
Eagle Blood
CHAPTER I
A BATTALION of stalwart grenadiers swung
through Fleet Street in the rain, with squealing
fifes and roaring drums, the dripping red ensign
flapping in the wind above the moving mass of
scarlet and steel and sodden bearskins. A thou-
sand faces looked down from a thousand grimy
windows and a hoarse murmur of cheering came
from under the lines of streaming black umbrellas,
crawling and bumping, turtle-like, along the
splashed pavements ; for if anything can move
the voice of that most British street in the
British Empire, it is the sight of the gloriously
sharp steel that guards the sacred cause of British
commerce throughout the dividend-paying world.
Even the fat little hairdresser who shears British
manes in Cardinal Wolsey's dishonored palace
12 EAGLE BLOOD
and can see from his back windows the Temple
Church, where the dead crusaders lie forgotten
waved a brave napkin as the mud-spattered sol-
diers halted at Temple Bar, faced outward and
moved backward to allow the brawling tide of
omnibuses and cabs to sweep into their wonted
channel, while a jaunty officer swore eloquently
at the jeering cabbies as he rode through the
jostling vehicles in search of his Exalted High-
ness, the Rajah of Jinghool, moving in state with
the Heir Apparent toward the shrieking central
market-place of Christendom.
The thousand faces receded from the windows,
and Fleet Street forgot for the moment the red
ensign and the shining bayonets.
" To put the matter quite plainly, my lord,
there is not a shilling left, not a shilling," said
Mr. Chadder, dryly, as the fifes ended with a
plaintive skirl. " The sale of the South London
Boot and Shoe Works to the Americans at a
time like this was, to say the least, unfortunate.
I did all I could to delay the foreclosure proceed-
ings, knowing that you would be ruined, but the
EAGLE BLOOD 13
court refused to grant any more time. I need
not say to your father's son that I am sorry
matters have ended so."
The burly solicitor pushed the iron-bound
spectacles up on his forehead and glanced under
his shaggy white brows at the pale young man
who stood looking through a sooty window at
the falling rain and the scarlet ranks of grenadiers
in Fleet Street. Something in the slim figure,
straight, narrow shoulders, and thin, boyish face
touched the old man's heart, and his countenance
softened.
There was silence for a moment. The young
Viscount Delaunay drummed idly on the win-
dow-pane with his ringers and watched a bewigged
barrister floundering in his drenched gown across
the roaring thoroughfare below. Then he turned
away and sat down beside the solicitor's desk.
His slender face was bloodless, and there were
dark rings under the haggard blue eyes.
" It's hard, I know," said Mr. Chadder, as he
twirled an inky quill pen between his sinewy
thumb and forefinger, " but, after all "
" Yes," cried the young man, in a sudden
i 4 EAGLE BLOOD
rage, "after all, I'm the first man of my blood
in more than eight hundred years without money
enough to buy a drink."
"As for drink, my lord," said the solicitor,
slowly, his face hardening, " I think that the less
we say about that, the better. You will remember,
sir if I may speak without offence that your
distinguished father "
" Be kind enough to leave my father's name
out of the conversation," said the viscount, as he
threw his head back and his cheeks reddened.
" You forget yourself, Chadder."
" As you will, sir," answered Mr. Chadder,
with a sudden deference. " God forbid that I
should say anything to wound your feelings."
"Oh, come, Chadder, I'm too quick," exclaimed
the youth, impulsively. "I'm face to face with
beggary. I don't know what I'm saying. I
don't know where to turn " the slender throat
gulped and the proud, weak mouth trembled.
" I can't help it. A man like you can never
understand. Good God, Chadder ! what am I to
do for a living ? "
Mr. Chadder settled his massive shoulders
EAGLE BLOOD 15
back in his leather chair and set the spectacles
down firmly on his enormous nose. He thrust
out his thick under-lip and brought the tips of
his fingers together with an impressive professional
cough.
" I've been thinking of that, sir," he said
gravely. " Yes, I've been thinking of it for a
long time. I've seen the end coming. But per-
haps your lordship might be offended if I ven-
tured to speak plainly." The solicitor's keen
eyes regarded the white face anxiously. " Your
pride "
" Oh, cut all that, Chadder. What am I to do
to pay my creditors and live ? "
" Sell the title."
" Sell why you're jesting ! An Englishman
can't sell his rank."
" It's done every year, my lord," observed
Mr. Chadder, with a wintry smile.
" Done every year ? Impossible ! Why, what
do you mean ? "
Mr. Chadder stood up, folded his arms across
his mighty chest, and looked the viscount straight
in the eyes. The silence was painful. The veins
16 EAGLE BLOOD
stood out on his great, wrinkled forehead, and the
muscles of his mouth quivered.
" Well, Chadder, out with it ! "
" Marry a rich American. It's the only way
out."
" What ? " gasped the youth, leaping to his
feet, "the heir to an earldom, with the blood of
Godfrey de Bouillon in his veins, sell himself to
a pork-packer's daughter for cash ? " The blue
eyes flashed angrily, and the slight figure seemed
to grow taller. " Chadder, I took you for an
honest Englishman, but you're a " the shrill
voice shook with passion " you're a damned
cad ! "
The old man shrank back as if from a blow,
and his arms dropped helplessly by his side.
For an instant the viscount stood trembling with
anger, his lips parted, teeth clenched, and bright
blotches of red glowing in his infuriate face.
Then he sank meekly to his seat.
" Forgive me," he faltered. " I didn't mean it
no, really, Chadder, I'm a bally, ungrateful
ass
Mr. Chadder placed his hand on the young
MARRY A RICH AMERICAN.
EAGLE BLOOD 17
man's head and leaned over him with a look of
deep affection.
" Lord Delaunay," he said in a slow, deliberate
way, " I would take that insult from no other
man. You are twenty-four years old, and, at,
your age, a man has ideals and prejudices that
seem foolish to one who has had to deal with the
hard facts of life, the empty pride of rank, the
stern necessities of changing conditions. I may
take a sordid view of matters, but we are living
in a sordid age. What I have said to you I said
as your dead father's friend and as your friend
and counsellor, for I am truly your friend."
"You are, Chadder, you are" and the blue
eyes brimmed with tears; "I'm an infernal "
" No," said the solicitor, quietly, " you are the
last of a house founded by force, and you inherit
the idea that the world owes you a living because
the great knight whose crest you wear helped the
Conqueror to crush the Saxon nobles and fought
with his kinsman in the conquest of Jerusalem.
The days of feudal chivalry are gone. Godfrey
de Bouillon refused to wear a king's crown in
Jerusalem because the Saviour wore a crown of
1 8 EAGLE BLOOD
thorns there ; the first Earl of Castlehurst, the
founder of your line, struck Louis the Fat in the
face for offering him a dukedom as the price of
disloyalty to the Conqueror, and was rewarded for
his fidelity with an English earldom ; but go out
into the streets of London to-day and see what it
is that moves the world. A title without money
invites pity or ridicule."
Mr. Chadder resumed his chair and his pro-
fessional manner. He seemed to feel himself
master of the situation.
" Now what have I proposed to you, sir ? " he
continued, as he softly rubbed his palms together
and cocked one leg over the other. " Simply
that you shall recognize things as they are and
not as you think they ought to be. England has
seen her best days. The competition of America
is driving our manufacturers and merchants to the
wall. We are becoming poorer every year, while
the Americans are becoming richer. The forced
sale of the South London Boot and Shoe Works,
which has destroyed your lordship's last source of
income, is simply an incident of the American
invasion. England offers no opportunities to a
EAGLE BLOOD 19
penniless nobleman. His very rank shuts him
out of employments in which others may engage.
The traditions of his family doom him to silent
poverty."
" And the alternative is that he must sell him-
self to an American squaw," remarked the vis-
count, bitterly, "and spend the rest of his life
trying to buy back his self-respect."
He took a bunch of violets from his button-
hole and pressed it daintily to his nostrils, as if to
drive away the thought.
" But all Americans are not vulgar," argued
Mr. Chadder, " and it's as easy to love a rich girl
as a poor one."
" I hate Americans," said the youth, setting
his single eyeglass in position, as though he were
surveying the offending race at that moment.
"They're loud-voiced, badly dressed, purse-
proud, aggressive and oh, Chadder, hang it, I
can't stand them ! They're all champagne and
diamonds and brag."
"The men um ; yes, perhaps some of the
men may be like that," said Mr. Chadder, "but
we were not speaking of the men."
20 EAGLE BLOOD
" And the women are vain and talkative.
They tell you all they know, and more too, ten
minutes after you've met them."
" It's a big subject," sighed the solicitor, evi-
dently beyond his depth, " and I can't pretend to
control your views in such matters ; but a mo-
ment's serious reflection ought to convince you,
my lord, that a young man in your position has
a better chance in America, where titles are
venerated yes, worshipped than in England.
After all, you would not be the first man of your
family whose marriage was based on other con-
siderations than affection. It seems to me that
wealth is as fair an object as political power.
Your great-grandfather married the daughter of
his bitterest enemy simply to end a political
quarrel."
The drums throbbed in Fleet Street and the
fifes shrilled piercingly.
" Rule Britannia ! Britannia rules the waves !
\
And Britons never shall be slaves."
" Listen to that, Chadder," cried the viscount.
" Doesn't it make your blood hot again ? "
EAGLE BLOOD 21
A roar of voices announced the arrival of the
Rajah and the Heir Apparent at Temple Bar.
The sound of a trumpet rang splendidly, and the
tramp of troops was heard.
" Rule Britannia ! Britannia rules the waves !
And Britons never, never, never shall be slaves."
" Marriage with a rich American," continued
Mr. Chadder, without taking notice of the inter-
ruption, " would enrich your own country. You
would be, as it were, nationalizing the wealth of
your wife. I need not tell you that the income
of Battlecragie now that all the timber has been
sold is eaten up by the interest charges on the
debts of the estate, and the Earl of Castlehurst is
in desperate financial straits."
" I've heard that my grandfather is having a
hard time of it on the old place. He was hard
enough on me, God knows ! "
"And it may yet be your fortune," said Mr.
Chadder, pursuing his theme, " to restore your
birthplace to something like its former dignity.
It is a mere matter of common sense."
The noise in the street swelled to a thunderous
22 EAGLE BLOOD
tumult ; the two men moved to the window and
looked out. A fog was descending, and they
could see the scarlet and steel and the red en-
sign disappearing in the mist, while the whining
of the fifes came faintly through the dull clamor
of the trampling multitude.
" I'd join the army if I had the physique," said
the viscount, " but my ancestors used up the vi-
tality of the family long ago. By God ! Chadder,"
and his face flushed, "I'll go to America.
No, I'll not sell myself to a tradesman's daughter
I'll leave my title behind me. If I go, I'll go
like a man, and make my way honestly. There
must be some drop of the old blood in me. No,
I won't be a target for the American newspapers.
Why, Chadder! I'll take my mother's name,
Dorsay. Hugh Dorsay ! That sounds demo-
cratic enough, doesn't it? Hugh Dorsay, plain
Englishman."
" But, my lord, there might be complications."
" Complications ? Complications, Chadder ?
What rot ! I'm an orphan, and there's nothing to
keep me in London a day longer. My grandfather
has cast me out, and my creditors bless them !
EAGLE BLOOD 23
have no idea of my present address ; and you,
Chadder, you shall be the keeper of my secret.
You shall forward my letters to me under cover.
You, Chadder, Chadder, the inscrutable and
the ever faithful ! shall keep the curious sup-
plied with discreet and careful tales of my
wanderings in Europe or Asia or Africa, or any
other bally place that occurs to you, in search of
health ; and mind you keep the Morning Post
well informed, Chadder, for the sake of well,
after all, there are a few who will miss me besides
my creditors."
" It occurs to me that we should consult the
Earl of Castlehurst," stammered the solicitor.
" It is customary "
"Never mind my grandfather," said the vis-
count, flourishing his hand gayly. " I'm my own
master. Why, Chadder, you're splendid. You've
put me on the right track. Don't deny it,"
the old man was shaking his head, " for I
swear to you that I'll do nothing in America to
make you ashamed of me. I know I'm hot-
headed and full of pride, but I come by it
honestly. You know that, Chadder. But that's
24 EAGLE BLOOD
all past now, and some day Hugh Dorsay may
surprise the man who knew him as Lord De-
launay. It's like a play, isn't it? but it's
true, Chadder ; I've made up my mind (it may
astonish you to know that I've got a mind),
and I'll start to-morrow for New York. The
steamer train leaves Euston station at noon.
I mean every word I say, Chadder. Hang it,
old man, be my friend ! say that you'll stand
by me."
There was a ring of manly sincerity in the
voice and a shining enthusiasm in the young
face that stormed the prejudices of the worldly-
wise veteran, and he took the outstretched hand
with quick emotion.
"So I will, so I will," he said; "and I'll ad-
vance you whatever money may be necessary for
the voyage. Ah, it's nothing, my lord, a matter
of fifty pounds. I'll send it to your lodgings this
afternoon, with a letter or two of introduction."
"You're a prince, Chadder, a bally prince!"
exclaimed the youth, gratefully; "and now I'm
oflf to make my arrangements. I'll see you at
Euston station at half-past eleven to-morrow.
EAGLE BLOOD 25
Good-by, Chadder. You see I've caught the
American get-up-and-go spirit already. Yes,
siree, by gosh ! "
The heavy door clashed behind him as the
viscount went down the stairs humming a tune.
Turning up Fleet Street, he made his way to
the Strand and walked briskly westward. His
brain was in a whirl, and the shuffling, chatter-
ing crowds confused him. For the first time
in his life he had been suddenly confronted
with the pitiless, practical problems of life. The
great multitude that moved around him in the
D
growing fog excited his interest. How did they
live, these teeming millions of London ? And
why did they suffer in the dirt and noise of the
mighty city when they, too, might go to Amer-
ica ? New thoughts, new sympathies, arose in
him as he realized what it meant to be alone
in such a place without money or friends. The
grimy buildings seemed so cold and inhospitable.
A ragged beggar jostled him, and he put a
shilling in the outstretched hand. Then he
found himself wondering why he had done it.
An hour before he would have thrust the im-
26 EAGLE BLOOD
pudent mendicant from him without a second
thought.
It was a dream, and he would presently wake
up and find himself in dear, old, warm-hearted
London again. No, it was all true. He had
promised Chadder to go to America and begin
life over. He would go.
At the corner of Trafalgar Square he stopped,
undecided where to go. He could see through
the mist the monstrous heads of the lions
crouching at the foot of Nelson's monument,
and the dim figure of Gordon, Bible in hand.
The bells of St. Martin's struck the hour, and
the sound of the Westminster chimes came
shivering up Parliament Street.
"I'll go and see old Muhlenberg," he thought.
" Dear old tutor. I wonder what he'll say."
Ten minutes later he entered a neat brick
house near Berkley Square and was shown into
a cosey little room whose walls were lined with
well-filled bookshelves and hung with portraits
of well-known men. Sitting before an open-
grate fire, with a torn manuscript on his knees,
was Professor Muhlenberg, the most dis-
EAGLE BLOOD 27
tinguished scholar of Oxford ; a small man,
with snow-white hair, close-cropped side whis-
kers, and clear, merry gray eyes.
" Why, Hugh ! " cried the professor, rising
and grasping the young man's hand ; " I'm so
glad to see you, my boy. Not in trouble
again, I hope ? Ah, you scamp ! you never
come to see me unless you're in a scrape.
How is Lord Castlehurst oh, yes, I forgot,
your grandfather hasn't forgiven you for that
last little affair. And Mademoiselle Ballafanti ?
I saw her in the ballet at Covent Garden last
week such eyes! such hair! such er ah
for shame, sir, when "
" I'm through with all that now," said the
youth, with a gesture of protest.
" Eh ? What ? " exclaimed the professor,
with a look of surprise.
" I'm going to America," said the viscount.
" Why, what new lark is this ? To Amer-
ica ha! ha!" and the old man's laughter
rang in the little room. " Is mademoiselle to
disport her charms on the American stage ? "
" Professor, I'm a ruined man. The South
28 EAGLE BLOOD
London property has been sold by the cred-
itors, and I haven't a penny left. I've decided
to go to New York. There's nothing else
to do."
The venerable face became instantly serious.
" But there's South Africa or India."
" They're both crowded with adventurers and
sharpers. I'd be lost there. I'm going to
see what I can do in a white man's country."
" Good ! " said the professor. " I like the
idea. Really, my boy," and the old scholar
paced the room with his hands behind his back,
his brows contracted, and his fine, thin mouth
drawn down at the corners, "I see no oppor-
tunities for an impoverished nobleman in Eng-
land. The Americans are driving all before
them. The old country has lost the knack of
success. The Americans will wear themselves
out in time, for they have not yet learned the
admirable art of leisure : they work so furiously
that they don't know how to play. But, mean-
while, England feels the pressure of the unequal
competition. Our trade and industry are passing
into foreign hands. As the idle aristocracy of
EAGLE BLOOD 29
England becomes poorer and poorer, the power
of money in society becomes more apparent.
Brewers, tradesmen, mere hucksters, have thrust
aside the old nobility and, after all, why not ?
They have done something. In America your
title "
" I'm going to drop my title there," said the
viscount. " Hang it, professor, I don't propose
to be laughed at."
The old man's eyes lit with quick humor,
and he shook his head.
" Americans don't laugh at titles, Hugh," he
said. " They are the only people in the world
who really revere them. A young man of your
rank and ancestry could marry the richest girl
in New York or Chicago."
" That isn't in my plan," exclaimed the youth.
" I will take my mother's name and make my
way as a man, without any false pretences."
"Bravo!" shouted the professor, and he
slapped the viscount's shoulder. " Hugh Dor-
say ! I like it. I knew a man named Stubbs "
the scholar's face puckered into a smile "a
successful ironmonger, who made some repairs
30 EAGLE BLOOD
in the buttery at All Souls. When I told him
that Stubbs was a contraction of St. Albans,
and that he had as much right to the name
as the duke himself, what do you think he
said ? f I don't want it,' said he, ' because the
Stubbses amount to somethink ' ha ! ha ! "
The little man shook with merriment.
" I don't see the point," said the viscount,
coldly.
" The point," said the professor, bluntly, " is
that the men of your family have been relying
on the deeds of their ancestors. They have
enjoyed life in a way, but each generation has
been weaker than the preceding one necessi-
tatis inventa sunt antiquiora quam voluptis, I hope
you haven't forgotten your Latin, Hugh, and
if you go to New York in the right spirit you
can make any name you choose to bear a name
that stands for something accomplished in the
present."
" That's my idea exactly."
" It's a good one. Remember Carlyle's jest
about a naked peer addressing a naked House
of Lords you see the whole system is pre-
EAGLE BLOOD 31
posterous when you strip it of wealth. Go to
America, my boy, and God prosper you ! I have
a few friends there, and I can give you letters
that may open the way for you. Let me
see "
The old scholar threw his head back and
closed his eyes.
" Oh, yes, there's David Irkins, proprietor of
the New York Mail, an extraordinary man, sort
of international proletarian, who cables messages
to reigning sovereigns on all sorts of popular
questions, and offers to print their answers in
his newspaper. He never gets a reply, except
from some little prince in the Balkans, but he
keeps right on bombarding the thrones of Eng-
land, Germany, Russia, and Austria, and prints
every message he sends with a grand flourish.
Shrewd fellow, Irkins, and knows the weaknesses
of the masses works himself into a moral rage
and weeps in public over the grave of human
liberty whenever the opposition party is successful
at the polls. He was my pupil for a year.
Irkins would make a place for you in his
office."
32 EAGLE BLOOD
" But he mustn't know my real name," said
the viscount. " He must know me only as
Hugh Dorsay."
" Then there's William Remington, the mill-
ionnaire banker," continued the professor. "A
coarse, harsh man, whose word is law to some
of the greatest syndicates in America. His son
was educated at Oxford, and the father sent me
a draft for two hundred pounds and a letter
of thanks when the boy returned home with a
degree. I sent the draft back. I believe that
Mr. Remington would do something for you.
" And now, Hugh," the professor placed
his hands on the young man's shoulders " are
you sure you are in earnest ? Are you quite cer-
tain that you won't change your mind when you
see Mademoiselle Ballafanti's pretty face again ?
Have you thought of what it means to leave your
native country and go among strangers, to com-
pete with men who know how to work, and will
make no allowances for your pride and your lack
of experience ? "
" I've thought it all over," said the viscount,
gravely. " God help me ! I'll do my best ; but "
EAGLE BLOOD 33
and his eyes flashed " I'd go, even if I knew
I should never come back."
" Then I'll write the letters now."
Seating himself at a table, the professor wrote
two notes of introduction and handed them to his
visitor.
" There is one thing you must never forget in
America," said the scholar, stroking his chin
thoughtfully and looking into the pink and violet
flames that flickered in the grate. " Be orthodox.
Don't undertake to reform the country. When-
ever you are consumed by a desire to remodel the
manners and customs of the United States, sit
down and remember the important fact that there
are seventy million Americans and only one Hugh
Dorsay. That will save you a lot of trouble, my
boy. When you meet an American whose refor-
mation becomes a source of serious anxiety to
you, why then you must "
"Yes."
" Marry her."
" Oh, pshaw ! "
" But don't fall in love with the first beautiful
face you see. You may find a still more beautiful
34 EAGLE BLOOD
one with a fortune to match it. At your age, who
knows what the future holds ? It isn't necessary
to be sordid or vulpine, Hugh, but if kind Heaven
leads a well-born young Englishman straight to
the feet of a rich American girl, why should he
not fulfil his destiny and make an English-
woman of her ? In other words, my boy, don't
be a fool."
"I'll think of it," said the viscount, as he rose
to go. " Upon my word, I've heard more matri-
monial advice to-day than I bargained for. I
don't know why it is that every time an unmarried
Englishman proposes to go to America, he is
solemnly lectured on the subject of matrimony."
" You don't ? ha ! ha ! " cried the professor ;
" then you haven't seen many American girls.
The danger is, not that you'll marry an American,
but that you'll marry the first one you meet."
" Not I. Why, professor, they are simply
skilful flirts, but there, we've talked enough ;
and now good-by, dear old friend. I'll write to
you and tell how I'm getting on. I may make
a mess of it, but I'll do nothing to make
you ashamed of me."
EAGLE BLOOD 35
" Of course you won't, Hugh," said the pro-
fessor, heartily. " Your blood and breeding ought
to keep you honest, even if you had no innate
qualities of your own. Remember that character
counts for more than anything else. Integer vit<e
scelerisque purus, and all the rest of it, eh ? A
clean life, a serious purpose, and industry and
who can tell but that in the free air and manly
competition of America, some spark that you
have inherited from the great knight whose blood
runs in your veins, may catch fire ? "
" Good-by, professor."
" Good-by, my son. God prosper you ! "
Thus it was that the Viscount Delaunay, heir
to the bankrupt Earl of Castlehurst, found him-
self in a cab, under a mountain of trunks crowned
by a pea-green tin bath-tub, on his way to Euston
station on Saturday morning, his heart beating
like a trip-hammer, and his mind filled with a
confused sense of the strangeness of his adventure.
The smell of the violets in his buttonhole
oppressed him. The dense fog invaded his very
brain.
Then, as the cab rattled along Victoria Street,
36 EAGLE BLOOD
he caught sight of the massive Gothic masonry of
Westminster Abbey, and impulsively calling to
the driver to halt, he stepped out and walked
into the penumbra of the mighty interior.
" Jolly old place," he murmured, " nothing like
it in America."
As he walked between the monuments of dead
heroes and sages of a thousand years of British
conquest, a realization of what he was leaving
behind him seized upon his mind. For the first
time he understood the meaning of his nationality,
and the Englishman rose within him. The vener-
able walls seemed to speak to his soul. Many a
time he had strolled through the old abbey, amused
by the eager enthusiasm of wandering strangers, but
now the place seemed filled with ghostly voices
proclaiming the greatness of his race. He found
himself reading the inscriptions and wondering
that he had never read them before. The shield
and saddle of Henry V above the altar fascinated
him. The gleaming white memorials in the
Poet's Corner whispered in the shadows. On every
side he saw the sculptured story of his ancestors
warriors, statesmen, men of might and renown.
EAGLE BLOOD 37
A sudden sense of weakness seized him.
How strong and majestic it all seemed! How
enduring, how full of power and victory ! Why
should he have to leave England, to go forth
from the home of his people a wastrel and way-
farer ?
And when at last he stood in the chapel of
Henry VII, and looked upon the dusty banner
of his own house hanging over the carved stalls
of the knights, his heart cried out in agony.
The great organ of the abbey broke the silence,
and through the vast hall trembled that sweetest
of all hymns :
"Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,
Lead Thou me on !
The night is dark, and I am far from home,
Lead Thou me on ! "
" They were great men," said a harsh voice.
" Not like the Englishmen of to-day. Fighters,
pushers, strong men ! "
Turning, the viscount saw a squat, broad-
shouldered old man, with hard, strongly marked
features, accompanied by the smug, black-robed
verger of the abbey. Beside him stood a tall
38 EAGLE BLOOD
girl reading a red-covered guide-book. As the
stranger pointed to the row of faded banners,
the girl looked up with a smile. Never had the
young Englishman seen a more beautiful face.
The broad, low brow, from which the pale, yellow
hair waved backward ; the perfect oval of the
cheeks, the tenderly curved mouth, the delicately
modelled chin, the large, gray eyes, the graceful,
slim neck, the almost childlike expression of sen-
timental wonder as she looked at the knightly
emblems, compelled his eyes. He watched her
with a secret thrill of pleasure until she observed
his too frank glance and the color rose to her
fair countenance. He felt an almost irresistible
/
desire to speak to her, to tell her what that place
meant to him.
" All Americans like this 'all," said the verger.
" Ain't anything of the kind in their own country ;
'ave to come over 'ere, sir."
"Yes," said the old man, with a stiff nod,
"we come over here, and we go back satisfied
with ourselves. These men spent their lives
killing human beings, while we are learning how
to feed the world. They were instruments of
EAGLE BLOOD 39
death ; we are instruments of life. Eh, Fanny ?
Not bad for me, daughter."
" I think it's simply divine," said the girl,
lifting her radiant eyes to the dim banners again.
"Just think of the splendid titles represented
there."
" You can buy them with cash, if you have
enough," growled the American. " There's
hardly a title in England that isn't for sale, my
girl."
" Oh, hush, father ! " cried the girl, with a con-
fused glance at the young Englishman, " we are
being overheard."
The old man turned toward the viscount and
hesitated.
" I trust that I've said nothing to offend you,
sir," he ventured.
" Certainly not," said the young man, quietly.
" I'm afraid there's more truth in what you say
than most good Englishmen like to admit."
The solemn verger moved out of the hall and
the Americans followed him. Then the viscount
made his way to the street, and ordered the im-
patient cabman to hurry his horse.
4 o EAGLE BLOOD
When he reached Euston station he found
Mr. Chadder, soberly arrayed in frock coat, tall
hat, austere black cravat, and black gloves, in the
midst of a babbling, hand-shaking, excited crowd.
The steamer train wa:s about to start, and the
guards were closing the doors of the cars and
frantically urging loitering passengers to embark.
A bell was ringing violently, and the locomotive
whistle shrieked a warning.
He entered a car, and, while the porter piled
his bags and bundles on the seat beside him, he
leaned out of the window and talked with the
solicitor.
" It was awfully good of you, Chadder," he
said. " They say an Englishman can't move
without having his solicitor beside him ; but
you've been a friend, Chadder, and I won't forget
it. I'll pay you back the money "
" Don't mention it, my lord," said Mr. Chad-
der, snuffling and showing signs of moisture in
his eyes. " God bless and protect you, sir, and
keep you a good, true Englishman."
" Here," said the young man, drawing a curi-
ously carved gold ring from his ringer ; " this was
EAGLE BLOOD 41
given to the first Earl of Castlehurst, at Jerusa-
lem, by the great knight Tancred. Take it as a
keepsake, Chadder."
"No, no!" cried Mr. Chadder. "It's too
much. Take it with you."
" Stand clear ! " screamed the guard, as the
train began to move.
" Take it, Chadder," urged the youth, stretch-
ing his hand toward him. " It's all I've got
to give you."
" Stand clear, there ! " commanded the guard.
"Take it, or I'll throw it."
The bell rang wildly, and the locomotive
panted. The wheels whined and the cars
creaked and clanked as the train rolled slowly
onward.
With a swift motion the viscount flung the
ring at Mr. Chadder. The little circle tinkled
as it struck the ground and ran flashing along
the level surface. And as the exile looked back
he saw the burly solicitor stoop over the edge
of the platform and search beside the shining
steel rail of the track.
CHAPTER II
BY dint of hard puffing, Mr. Martin had
surrounded his kindly old head with good to-
bacco smoke, and his pencil scratched comfortably
along under the fragrant cloud. An occasional
grunt and contraction of the brows indicated the
dissatisfaction of the veteran journalist with his
work. Now and then he screwed his mouth
sidewise, ran his hand through his snowy hair,
and twisted his feet nervously about the legs
of his chair, as a hard sentence halted him.
Presently he leaned back and glanced about
the big room with its rows of desks and dirty
white pillars. Here and there the reporters
toiled over their notes, and in a distant corner,
behind an iron railing, sat the city editor of the
New York Mail, a little, red-faced, erect man,
at the sound of whose awful voice the tousle-
headed office-boy started convulsively. A slant-
42
EAGLE BLOOD 43
ing wooden structure bearing files of newspapers
ran along one side of the room. The windows
on the other side looked out over Broadway,
and through one of them could be seen the
dingy brown fa9ade of a church and the statue of
St. Paul, an open Bible in one hand, a naked
sword in the other.
At the desk next to Mr. Martin's sat a tall,
slender young man, whose thin, white face, flaxen
hair, and mild blue eyes seemed to attract the
old man's attention. In spite of his straight
back and graceful bearing, there was something
in the flat breast and almost feminine head and
neck that indicated physical weakness. His
brow and nose had the lines of a Greek master-
piece, his pale temples were blue-veined, but
his mouth was soft and characterless.
As the young man raised his eyes from his
desk and pressed his pencil thoughtfully against
his lips, he observed the glance of the veteran
and smiled wearily.
Mr. Martin winked solemnly. It was Mr.
Martin's favorite signal of good nature.
" Hard work, eh ? "
44 EAGLE BLOOD
" I'm not up to it yet, I'm afraid," said the
young man. " I don't know my way about."
" Let's see what you've written," said Mr.
Martin, moving to the other desk and bending
over, with an air of friendly interest.
"Your style's too lean shows the ribs," he
muttered as he read the white sheets. " Irkins
likes plenty of color and dash. You must put
in more ginger "
"More ?"
" Ginger, my son. You're not writing for
an encyclopaedia. Just tear the words up by the
roots, with the earth sticking to them. M'm,
m'm, oh, this will never do there are no
' tram cars ' in New York; and gee whilikins !
* the barman in Alderman Murphy's public
house ' Ha ! ha ! that's great ! Ha! ha! Why,
for heaven's sake, what's that ? "
The young man had nervously fastened a
single eyeglass in front of his right eye.
" My monocle."
" Don't do it, my son," said the old man,
gently patting him on the shoulder. " When
you have to use windows on your face, use two.
EAGLE BLOOD 45
You mustn't mind advice from an old-timer like
me. A dandy has no place in an American
newspaper office ; and a man who looks at things
with one eye when God has given him two,
runs the risk of being taken for a fool there
now, shake hands ; I didn't mean to say it just
that way. I'm ' Bob ' Martin, my son, old
enough to be your grandfather."
" I'm Hugh Dorsay," said the young man,
allowing the offending monocle to drop from his
eye and grasping the outstretched hand with a
look of relief.
" Been long in New York ? "
"Just a week."
Mr. Martin drew his chair over and sat down
beside Hugh. Little by little he learned of the
stranger's loneliness in the great city, his desire to
win his way by hard work, and his absolute lack
of practical experience. The old man's heart
went out to the friendless youth, and he uttered
many a quaint saying of wisdom as the conversa-
tion became more familiar.
" Somehow I feel that I shall always be a
foreigner in America," said Hugh. " We
46 EAGLE BLOOD
speak the same language, but the blood doesn't
mix."
" There you're wrong, my son," said the vet-
eran. " The trouble with every Englishman who
comes here is that he looks on an American as a
sort of second-hand Britisher. He doesn't know
the difference between lion blood and eagle blood.
Now, when a lion eats an eagle, the eagle becomes
a lion ; and, likewise, when an eagle eats a lion, the
lion becomes an eagle. The blood'll mix all
right; it all depends on which stomach does the
mixing. Do you catch the idea ? "
" You mean that I must become an American ?"
" That's the only kind of an Anglo-American
alliance you'll ever live to see, my son. You can
wear feathers or fur, but you can't wear both at
the same time."
" But we Anglo-Saxons have a common history,
Mr. Martin. That ought to make it easier for
us to understand each other and be good friends."
" We Anglo-Saxons ? Why, the history of
the people you are living among is the history
of England, of Ireland, of Germany, of Austria,
of Italy, of Poland and Russia and Scandinavia
EAGLE BLOOD 47
and Africa ; our blood is drawn from every
country. We are the descendants of the whole
world. We Anglo-Saxons ? there, there, my
son, I always slop over when I get on that
subject."
The blood had risen to the old man's head, and
his deep gray eyes sparkled as he shook Hugh's
hand again.
" Where are you stopping, Mr. Dorsay ? " he
said.
" I live in the Waldorf-Astoria. Got a little
room near the roof."
" That's bad. You'd better get into some
good, home-like place, among plain people who'll
take an interest in you. By thunder ! " the
gray eyes kindled with a swift expression of kind-
ness "come out to my place and I'll see if we
can't find you a home somewhere near. I have a
mighty comfortable little house on Long Island
Sound, near New Rochelle. Lots of trees and
rocks and good salt water. I believe you'd like
it there. It's a quiet spot, right out in the open,
and only half an hour from the city."
" I'd like to go," said Hugh, his heart warming
48 EAGLE BLOOD
to the new-found friend. "New York is so noisy,
everybody seems so busy, the people in the
streets walk so fast it is all so confusing and so
tiresome."
" You'll see a real American girl, too."
" Does she live with you ? "
" My daughter," said Mr. Martin, with a look
of pride and tenderness. " She's all I have now."
Before the day was done, Hugh had been
introduced to ten or twelve members of the Mail
staff by Mr. Martin. There was " Jim " Smiley,
a jaunty young man, with a curling black mus-
tache, immense hooked nose, and keen dark eyes.
His crimson cravat, speckled waistcoat, and
patent-leather shoes were matched by the gold-
headed cane which lay across the desk. " He's
known as the American Dickens," whispered the
old man. Then there was Mr. Barrocks, the
political reporter, a huge blond man, with a bald
head, who smoked cigarettes incessantly ; General
Casey, an Irish patriot, who had served in a South
American army and indignantly resigned his com-
mand because the dusky President had ordered
him to kill and cook a chicken for him ; Mr.
EAGLE BLOOD 49
Tobin, another Irish patriot, who suspected that
General Casey was a British informer and stared
fiercely at Hugh when he noticed his English
accent; Mr. Carmer, the "news hustler," a lame
man with curiously beautiful forehead, hawk nose,
and retreating chin ; and Mr. Addison, the
" society reporter," a jolly little fat man, who
lisped, and made jokes that nobody laughed at
but himself.
It was all strange and surprising to the young
aristocrat. None of the staff seemed to have the
slightest personal interest in the matters they
wrote of, save to make a " good story." A spirit
of earnestness pervaded the place, and sometimes
enthusiasm ran high, but nobody appeared to
have any sense of public responsibility. Their
business was to write the daily history of the
community in the most interesting manner, and
to " beat " the other newspapers. Private opinion
seemed to have disappeared in the stern drill of
editorial discipline.
He was astonished to learn that the modern
news-hunter was as well fed, well dressed, and
conventional in his life as other men as accurate,
50 EAGLE BLOOD
industrious, and orthodox as the million common-
place men who envied him his imaginary frolics
in a non-existent Arcadia. The life was disgust-
ingly respectable and regular. There were no
enchanting quips and witticisms, no scholarly and
profound discussions of life, no genius starving
in garrets, no picturesque creditors haunting
shadowy stairways, and no ragged martyrs to
conscience.
Hugh won his footing in this fiercely com-
petitive atmosphere slowly and with many re-
buffs. His amiable manners made up in part
for ignorance of his surroundings. The spon-
taneous and hearty friendship of Mr. Martin
did much to lessen the rigors and anxieties of
his position ; but his sensitive nature received
many shocks. He discovered that the light-
hearted Bohemians to be found on the outer
edges of newspaper life were mere vagabonds,
plucking the fragments of livelihood from journal-
ism, but playing no part in it, moral invalids and
incompetents. On the other hand, the few grave
men who sat editorially close to the heart of things
and commanded the opinions and passions of
EAGLE BLOOD 51
the multitude were removed far beyond the
rim of his grinding routine. He heard of them,
but he never saw them.
Late one afternoon Hugh was surprised to
receive instructions to report in person to Mr.
Irkins, the proprietor, in the great man's private
office on the floor below. His first effort to see
Mr. Irkins had been a failure. In answer to the
letter of introduction which Hugh delivered to
the attendant, the proprietor of the Mail sent
word that he should " report to the city editor."
As he entered the little room, which was
cluttered with newspapers, books, maps, and
curious trophies from foreign countries, scattered
about on tables and chairs or heaped on the floor
in random confusion, he saw a tall, gaunt man,
whose pallid face contrasted strangely with his
pointed red beard and brilliant brown eyes. It
was a mediaeval visage, hollow-cheeked, bony,
and fierce. The lank, loose figure sprawled in a
cushioned chair, one leg thrown over the side
arm. Notwithstanding the careless attitude,
there was something commanding in the coun-
tenance, a suggestion of savage power and alert-
52 EAGLE BLOOD
ness. A lock of coarse hair hung satyr-like over
the slanting white forehead, and two deep wrinkles
between the bristling, tawny eyebrows indicated
the habit of mental concentration.
The master of modern journalism sat up
straight and nodded a welcome to the slim young
recruit.
" Come right in, Mr. Dorsay," he said, in a
clear, musical voice, with a wave of his hand.
" I haven't had a chance to see you since I got
Professor Muhlenberg's letter. I hope they
are treating you well upstairs."
The great brown eyes seemed to penetrate
Hugh's brain. He had never before encountered
such an intense glance. It was like looking into
the eyes of some wild animal.
" If I could have something more serious to
do," said Hugh. " It's very interesting, I'm
sure, but I'd rather try editorial writing."
" Now, Mr. Dorsay, don't begin by being
inspired," said Mr. Irkins, with a frown.
" I beg your pardon, sir, I don't quite
understand."
"The inspired man" the brown eyes seemed
EAGLE BLOOD 53
to grow black " knows it all at the beginning.
A man who knows everything has nothing
more to learn. I got that idea first from old
Muhlenberg at Oxford. The world has taught
me the truth of it since. Don't, don't, what-
ever you do, don't be inspired. Don't write
your opinions when you have no opinions.
Don't but really, Mr. Dorsay, all I mean is
that you must learn something about this coun-
try as a news-gatherer before you can hope to
rise to the dignity of an editorial writer. A
man may be born a reporter, but an editorial
writer is a slow growth."
Hugh moved restlessly in his seat. He felt
uncomfortable and embarrassed in the presence
of the glowering eyes. Everybody in New
York thundered advice at him. It seemed to
be an American habit. His individuality was
beaten down by the force of opinion that rode
rough-shod over his inexperience and moral
adolescence. It was a new and painful contact
with the world.
" Perhaps I have mistaken my calling, Mr.
Irkins," he began, with a show of emotion,
54 EAGLE BLOOD
" and if you think that I should withdraw
from journalism "
"Nonsense," said Mr. Irkins. "You are too
sensitive altogether. You will get over that.
Journalism will knock the opinions out of you,
unless you have opinions that can't be knocked
out. It all depends on the sort of stuff you
are made of. Now, I have a very important
matter to place in your hands. I want you to
see William Remington, who has just returned
from England, where he has been organizing a
sort of international leather syndicate. It is a
part of the system which is breaking down
British trade and extending our own. Get all
you can from him. We are on the verge of a
great industrial and commercial revolution, and
the great captains of industry developed in the
United States will soon conquer "England. I
want you to bring that fact out strongly in your
article. It will appeal to the pride of the public."
" But there is a very cruel side to the
story," said Hugh, growing paler. " There is
the ruin of thousands of English homes, the
sufferings of women and children "
EAGLE BLOOD 55
" Splendid ! " cried Mr. Irkins, with a radiant
smile of admiration. " You are a born news-
paper man. You have the imagination that
sees the inside as well as the outside of a fact.
Splendid! splendid!" the eyes shone with
pleasure. " It will make a great story. Bring
out the human side of it. Moral sentiment is
the secret of good writing. After you get the
facts from Remington, describe an imaginary
Englishman driven from home by the Amer-
ican trusts. Why, Mr. Dorsay, it's a great
opportunity. You ought to be able to paint
the picture to the very life a titled English
swell, with an ancestry a mile long, forced
actually to work for his living."
The idea seemed to please the proprietor of
the Mail, and a sudden fit of laughter convulsed
the gaunt figure.
" And if I were such an Englishman," said
Hugh, controlling his desire to seize the red
beard and smite the bony face, " would you
consider it a laughing matter ? "
The agony of his position was almost unbear-
able. He dug his nails into the palms of his
56 EAGLE BLOOD
hands in the effort to hide his pain. He felt
the blood of his knightly forbears leaping in
his heart. But the power of the brown eyes
that mocked his pride imbued him with a feel-
ing of lonely helplessness.
"If you felt like writing your own funeral,
I should call you a man of wit, with a sense
of proportion, something that God has not
given to every Englishman." The terrible eyes
were reading his soul again. " And now, Mr.
Dorsay, if you'll excuse me, I'm a busy man,
you .know, some night I'll have you up to
dinner and we'll talk about old Muhlenberg
and dear old stupid London."
Hugh rose and left the room. His first con-
tact with the omnipotent irreverence of Amer-
ican journalism had shattered his enthusiasm.
It was true that Mr. Irkins could not suspect
that he was talking to an English nobleman
reduced to beggary by the merciless power of
which he had boasted. That secret was safe
in the keeping of his London solicitor. But
how would it be possible for him to endure
the bitter humiliations of life in these new
EAGLE BLOOD 57
conditions ? Heretofore he had thought little
about his nationality. England had been to
him the centre of the world, the citadel of
civilization, the home of the all-conquering
Anglo-Saxon. Her enemies were men of other
blood and other speech, trained to hatred by
centuries of war. She had given birth to
nations beyond the seas, Australia, Canada,
and the United States ; to his mind they had
been alike in a common, Anglo-Saxon senti-
ment, uncouth and raw compared with the
motherland, but united by ties of kinship and
a thousand similarities of thought and custom.
He had judged the American people by the
few Americans he had seen in London, and
secretly despised them for grovelling before the
things they pretended to hate at home.
But the America that looked at him through
the eyes of David Irkins was a devouring mon-
ster of energy and audacity that gloated over his
weakness and challenged his breeding. His
English blood grew hot within him. He felt a
deep longing for power to retaliate upon these
haughty vulgarians, who trampled down the most
58 EAGLE BLOOD
sacred traditions of other people, loud-voiced,
coarse, and masterful.
Then he remembered that he was alone and
unknown in the metropolis of a great continent,
and that he must either announce himself as the
Viscount Delaunay, and take up a life of hope-
less sham, or bend himself to the forces that
environed him in New York.
As he left the office the lights were twinkling
in Broadway and thousands of quick-walking
men moved uptown in the early twilight. Look-
ing upward he saw the rusty, brown spire of St.
Paul's chapel, a star sparkling through the
branches of the graveyard trees, and the stern
figure of St. Paul.
He went with the crowd and was overwhelmed
by a sense of the mighty power that swept him
along, jostling, jamming, but never halting. It
was the vast strength that had been slowly gath-
ering for a hundred years, suddenly stretching
forth its arms to the corners of the earth. The
towering buildings emblazoned with strangely for-
eign names, the swift, clanging electric street
cars, the restless stream of tense faces, the nerve-
EAGLE BLOOD 59
exciting movement of the multitude, the feeling
of ceaseless effort that brooded in the noise, filled
him with an odd terror. He remembered the
picture of the first Earl of Castlehurst, in the
great hall of Battlecragie, a heavy-limbed, fierce
giant, with yellow hair and savage blue eyes, that
shone like the edge of his ponderous axe, a tram-
pier of men and nations, fearless and intolerant of
opposition. The spirit of his rough ancestor
eemed to walk abroad in that pouring Broadway
multitude.
But the signs on the buildings amazed him.
Jews from Germany, Jews from Poland, Jews
from Portugal, Jews from Palestine, Jews from
every tribe of the wonderful race these were
the impregnable tenants of that majestic highway
of wealth. The pride and power of renascent
Israel spoke from every window and doorway.
A man of Hugh's blood had reigned in old Jeru-
salem, but Godfrey de Bouillon himself might
ride down Broadway now and find the reassem-
bled fugitives of the Middle Ages possessed of a
power transcending sword or axe, rising again to
their ancient place in the world.
60 EAGLE BLOOD
The pregnant symbolry of Broadway stirred
the youth profoundly. He had never been much
of a thinker. His life in England had been too
careless, too narrow, and too full of headlong
frolic for serious reflection. He had never ques-
tioned the world which gave him his living. But
the immensity of human endeavor which pressed
him on all sides, the reversal of old-world condi-
tions in this new land, aroused his imagination.
If these thousands of men with unpronounceable
oriental names, who had been hunted like wild
beasts for centuries by triumphant Christianity,
could ascend to wealth and power so quickly in
New York, might not he, too, the descendant
of conquerors, reshape the broken fortunes of his
house ? The thought filled him with hope, and
he forgot the jeering voices that taunted his
nationality. He felt himself a sovereign com-
manding the gates of opportunity to open wide.
His heart grew large. He lifted his head high
and walked with a prouder step.
Then he recalled his mission to Mr. Reming-
ton, and realizing that the hour was late, he
entered a crowded electric car.
EAGLE BLOOD 61
" Step lively ! " shouted the conductor, as Hugh
got on the platform ; " Move along forward ! "
and the conductor prodded him in the back
unceremoniously.
" Please don't do that," cried Hugh, indig-
nantly.
" Aw, g'wan ! Move forward ! plenty of
room inside ! " roared the conductor, thrusting
him headlong against a fat little man, who clung
desperately to a leather strap to keep himself
from falling.
Down came Hugh's spirit to the earth again.
No, it was useless to struggle against the brutal
force that dominated New York, the ruffian
egotism that invaded all personal rights. He
hated it with a hatred born of impotency,
this free-and-easy privilege of affrontive democ-
racy.
" Here's your street," shrieked the conductor,
when the car stopped. " Step lively now " as
Hugh left the platform "and don't get red-
headed, young feller."
Unconsciously Hugh set his monocle to his
eye and stared haughtily. The conductor threw
62 EAGLE BLOOD
his head back and shook with derisive laugh-
ter.
" Same to you, sir," he chuckled, sticking a
silver half-dollar against one eye and throwing
out his chest, as the car moved on, leaving Hugh
in the street, trembling with rage.
CHAPTER III
WHEN William Remington realized that he
living in a world of tired men, anxious to
escape from the strain of competition, he also
discovered the principle of industrial monopoly.
As the consciousness of this tremendous truth
penetrated his worldly mind, the New York
banker felt as Franklin did when his kite drew
from the clouds the secret of electricity. He saw
the world and its people in a new light. When
men grew eloquent about the sacredness of indi-
vidual rights and opportunities, they were think-
ing of themselves and not of others.
Mr. Remington preached the doctrine of non-
competitive economy, not to the irrelevant masses
what had they to do with such matters ? but
to the rival proprietors of a particular industry.
It was a lazy man's, a coward's, gospel, but it
found favor with men working at white heat and
seeking for some way out of the increasing strain
63
64 EAGLE BLOOD
of the struggle. The matter was simple to Mr.
Remington's mind and, with the assistance of his
lawyer, he reduced it to the quality of a scientific
certainty. Having secured in writing the privi-
lege of buying each factory engaged in the indus-
try, at an exaggerated price, he organized the
whole industry into a single corporation and
persuaded the original proprietors to take tneir
pay in shares of the giant organization, proving
clearly that, with competition destroyed, the
company could fix its own prices and compel the
public to pay dividends hitherto undreamed of.
That was the beginning of Mr. Remington's
great fortune. He had discredited the feudal
idea of competition, and established the modern
principle of assimilation or monopoly. It was
a scientific theory toward which the human race
had been growing for ages. It was the true
goal of enlightened progress. It eliminated
sentiment and all other factors which had hin-
dered the evolution of an unwasteful industrial
system. To all who complained that he was
taking away from the young men of his country
their chance to compete, he replied * " The
EAGLE BLOOD 65
world is wide. Let them become monopolists
themselves and they will never complain again."
Which answer established him in some sort as
a wit and philosopher.
Notwithstanding the boon which Mr. Reming-
ton had conferred upon his unappreciative coun-
trymen, he sought no public recognition, and
was content to work out his plans as secretly
as the vigilance of prying journalism would
permit. Other men might wear out their lives
and fortunes in the pursuit of imaginary political
power, but Mr. Remington knew that, in the
end, the force of money controlled all other
things ; and the politicians might strut about
before the multitude in the robes of authority,
but, after all, so he believed, they were the
creatures of his hand and will.
Under the pressure of American competition
the industries of Europe began to fail. Mr.
Remington discovered that the manufacturers
of Great Britain and the Continent were as eager
to find relief from the stress of rivalry as those
of New York and Chicago had been. He con-
ceived a plan of international monopoly, and
66 EAGLE BLOOD
his lazy man's ideal of an industrial Nirvana
found favor in London. He began to feel the
arteries of world-power pulsing under his steady
hand. The mightiest captains of industry and
finance sought his friendship and shrank from
his opposition. Whatever thrills of pride this
secret sovereignty might have stirred in his
breast, the banker preserved an outward atti-
tude of stolid apathy.
His brownstone palace in New York, with
its cathedral-like doors of stained glass, was a
sort of domestic fortress, from which he looked
out upon a conquered community with cynical
contempt. The brilliant caperings of fashionable
society, the splashings and sputterings of art
and literature, the bellowings of politics, were
mere foolishness. To please his wife and daugh-
ter he built a marvellous Roman bath in his
house, and gathered art treasures from all coun-
tries. The canvases of Titian, Velasquez, Rem-
brandt, Botticelli, Rubens, and Murillo rivalled
the masterpieces of modern painters on his walls.
A fragment of the frieze of the Parthenon, found
in an Athenian house, stood in the hallway oppo-
EAGLE BLOOD 67
site to a bronze statue of Titus by Cellini, smug-
gled out of Italy by Mr. Remington's agent.
Priceless chandeliers of rock crystal from a
French palace reflected a hundred electric lights
in the vast drawing-room, whose plush-hung
walls, costly modern furniture, and gilded piano
were strangely out of harmony with the triumphs
of ancient art that met the eye on all sides.
Every device of ease and luxury that money
could procure was to be found in Mr. Reming-
ton's house.
Yet there was a subtle atmosphere of melan-
choly in the banker's home. His wife, a tall,
angular woman, with greenish gray eyes and
an aggressive nose that reminded one of the
Duke of Wellington, had social ambitions that
were frustrated by her husband's brutal indiffer-
ence to the amenities of social life. The power
that drained wealth from millions of helpless
toilers withered up the humanities. The ven-
geance of ruined men and women worked into
the springs of social happiness and poisoned
them. Her son had entered the army as a lieu-
tenant, and was serving in the Indian country.
68 EAGLE BLOOD
Her daughter, a girl of rare beauty and accom-
plishments, was likely to become the wife of
some millionnaire manufacturer, if Mr. Rem-
ington could have his way. To every delicate
suggestion of the social advantages which a
European title might bring to their child, her
husband had answered only with sneers. Titled
foreigners, he said, were generally fortune-hunters,
who neglected their wives and reserved their
money and their love for mistresses. None of
his money should pay the debts or minister to
the vices of a worthless English lord or degen-
erate French count. Fanny should marry a
man of her own country, fit to take care of
her.
To Mrs. Remington's mind, an international
marriage was the sure way to the social prestige
for which her soul hungered. An ancient title
would lift the family out of the doubtful status
of the new)y rich. The daughters of other
American millionnaires had married English
noblemen and brought the haughtiest of the
Knickerbockers to their feet. At each fresh
defeat her passion grew fiercer, and, while
EAGLE BLOOD 69
she encouraged her husband in his financial
pilgrimages to London, it was only that
she might advance her cherished matrimonial
plan.
Her daughter was surrounded by every in-
fluence that could arouse in her a romantic
interest in the British peerage. The novels she
read had titled heroes, and her songs were of
gallant knights and princely champions. She
pored over books that pictured the stately splen-
dors of hoary English castles. All the romance
of the world began and ended in Burke's Peer-
age or the Almanack de Gotha. Her warm
imagination was fed on tales of brilliant social
ceremonies in historic palaces.
Mrs. Remington guarded her daughter 'against
the candid advances of rich American suitors.
She inspired her with a worldly wisdom that
eluded the amorous intrigues of cunning matrons
and repelled the tender attentions invited by
her youth and beauty. None but a man of
noble blood might approach that well-disciplined
heart. When Prince Charming came and fitted
the crystal slipper to her shapely little foot,
70 EAGLE BLOOD
it would be time to talk of marriage ; meanwhile
the beautiful blue eyes looked coldly upon
men.
It was of this alluring subject that the Reming-
tons were talking over their coffee, when Hugh
Dorsay's card and Professor Muhlenberg's letter
of introduction were brought into the dining room
by the urbane butler.
" A visitor ? " asked Mrs. Remington, as her
husband tossed the card on the table and read the
note.
" A young Englishman graduate of Oxford,"
said the banker ; " comes to New York to find
a living. Why, Fanny, here's your chance ha !
ha ! He isn't an American, and he's looking for
a fortune."
" Mr. Remington ! " exclaimed the matron,
severely.
" Now don't, my dear," said the old man, shield-
ing himself with upraised hands from the reproach-
ful green eyes. " Let's go and see him. I'm
sorry Jack isn't here to meet an Oxford man.
Come, Fanny."
As they entered the splendid drawing-room,
EAGLE BLOOD 71
Mr. Remington held out his hand cordially to
the pale young visitor.
" Glad to see you, sir my wife my daugh-
ter be seated."
Hugh drew back in surprise.
" Why, I'm I'm sure we've met before," he
stammered. " It was oh, yes, it was in West-
minster Abbey."
"That's so," said the banker, smiling as he
remembered the scene, " and I think I was ill-
mannered enough to remark" with a trium-
phant look at his wife " that an American girl
could buy almost any title in England if she had
enough money. It must have sounded "
" One must have his little jest," said Hugh,
politely. Miss Remington's face crimsoned.
Her mother's eyes were reproachfully austere.
She gave a little hard cough of warning, and
frowned at her husband. " Besides, it's only too
true that there have been English noblemen who
have married / American heiresses under circum-
stances that justify suspicion."
" But their wives ? " exclaimed Miss Remington,
eagerly. " Did they count for nothing ? "
72 EAGLE BLOOD
" I'm sure I've always felt that they were lucky
to get such wives," said Hugh, gallantly, " and
that they didn't deserve them."
" Well, I'm glad to see you, sir," said Mr.
Remington. " Any Oxford man, any friend of
Professor Muhlenberg, is welcome here, even,"
the shrewd eyes flashed a sarcastic challenge to
Mrs. Remington "even if you haven't got a
title to sell."
The color started to Hugh's thin face. For a
moment he suspected that the secret of his title
had been betrayed. The lights swam before his
eyes. But the next instant his doubts vanished.
He saw the tall girl more radiantly lovely than
she had seemed in the gloomy old abbey smil-
ing at him with an expression of willing friendship,
the sweet lips parted, and the dainty head, with
its soft coil of faintly golden hair, bent in an atti-
tude of earnest interest. The virile forces within
him stirred as he smelled the rose she wore on her
bosom and felt the frank impact of her beauty.
" I've nothing to sell in New York but the
labor of my hands and brain," he said, "and that
doesn't seem to be a very valuable commodity."
EAGLE BLOOD 73
Hugh's courtly manner seemed to impress
Mrs. Remington. There was an easy grace about
him, an intangible courtesy in his bearing, that
aroused her admiration.
" I'm sure you'll succeed, Mr. Dorsay," mur-
mured the matron. " You come from a country
that "
" Has seen better days," suggested Mr. Rem-
ington, grimly.
" Mr. Remington ! " cried his wife, with a look
of anger. " How can you ? "
" That's all right, my dear," said the banker,
laughingly. " No one knows it better than Mr.
Dorsay. That's why he has come to New York.
This is a young man's country, and it's a young
woman's country, too, although Fanny doesn't
think so "
" Mr. Remington ! " The green eyes flashed
in protest.
" It's papa's way of teasing us," explained Miss
Remington. " He thinks that the British peer-
age is an organized conspiracy against the mar-
riageable maidens of America, and that, unless we
are careful, we shall all be carried off by the robber
74 EAGLE BLOOD
barons and shut up in their castles ; and the sorry
truth is " she tossed her shapely head " that
the robber barons stay in their castles, and won't
even look at us."
Hugh was staring at a curious gold ring on her
finger. It fascinated him.
" Why, Mr. Dorsay "
" That ring, Miss Remington. What a curious
thing."
"It is odd, isn't it?" and she held her hand
out. " I picked it up in the railway station in
London."
He recognized the ring which Tancred had
given to his ancestor at the siege of Jerusalem
and which he had thrown to Mr. Chadder from
the window of the railway carriage the day he
left London. His heart beat wildly at the sight
of the gleaming circlet that connected him with
a glorious past. There was a lump in his throat.
" See how the carving has been worn," she
said, slipping the ring from her finger. " I can't
make it out. It must be very old."
Hugh took the ring, still warm, and the touch
thrilled him with mingled pain and pleasure.
EAGLE BLOOD 75
" It's a crusader's ring," he said, bending
over it to conceal his emotion. " That is the
sign of the crusades, the lamb and the cross
see ! there is the lamb's head."
"How romantic and to find it in London,
too. I'm sure it must be an omen of the future."
Her eyes shone, and she clapped her hands.
Mrs. Remington beamed and nodded her head
in approval. The old banker sniffed contemptu-
ously.
" Probably a copy from the antique," he re-
marked.
" No," said Hugh, tremulously. " It's genu-
ine. See ! "
He pressed his thumb nail against the carving
and twisted the ring with a jerk. A tiny door
concealed behind the carved tablet flew open,
revealing a miniature enamelled head of Christ,
crowned with thorns.
" Good gracious ! " exclaimed the astonished
banker.
Miss Remington uttered a little scream of
delight and, throwing her arm around her
mother's neck, kissed her cheek.
76 EAGLE BLOOD
" Wonderful ! really wonderful ! " said Mrs.
Remington, solemnly.
With another swift motion Hugh closed the
secret shutter and handed the ring back to Miss
Remington, who tried in vain to open it again.
She knit her fair brows and pouted as she en-
deavored to solve the mystery of Tancred's
ring.
" It's too provoking," she said. " I can't
find the spring that opens it."
" No one can do that unless he has the old
crusader blood in his veins," said Hugh, with
a strange twinkle in his eyes. Already he could
feel his soul rising from the depression in which
it had lived since his arrival in America. These
people, in spite of their wealth and power, were
mere flies on the wheel of society.
" Then how is it that you could open it ?
Have you "
" Oh, no," he answered in alarm. " I'm just
a plain Englishman. I learned that trick from
an English viscount, a direct descendant of God-
frey de Bouillon, the knight who rescued the
Holy Sepulchre from the infidels."
EAGLE BLOOD 77
" Isn't it enchanting ! " cried the girl. " Do
tell us what he was like."
" Really, he was nothing extraordinary. Just
such another fellow as I am."
" But he must have been big and strong, with
lion eyes and a fierce mustache."
" No, he had no mustache, and he had mild
blue eyes, just like mine ; and he was thin and
narrow-shouldered, just like me, poor chap ; and
the last time I saw him he didn't have a shilling
to his name."
Hugh had to struggle hard to keep himself
from laughing while he drew his own portrait.
A spirit of deviltry seized him. His humility
vanished, and he grew superior to the splendid
chandeliers, the pictures, the gilded piano, and
the costly magnificences that had overwhelmed
him when he entered the room. After all, blood
was the thing, and money could not buy a noble
ancestry. What a farce the world was !
" But the crusaders were giants."
" Ah, yes, Miss Remington ; but they died
a long time ago, and their descendants have been
degenerated by lives of idle ease."
78 EAGLE BLOOD
" How I'd like to meet a real descendant of
Godfrey de Bouillon ! "
" What a privilege to be the wife of such a
man," murmured Mrs. Remington, rolling her
green eyes at the thought.
" And would you marry such a man if he were
poor and unable to earn his own living?" asked
Hugh, looking straight into the eyes of the beau-
tiful girl. " Would you, really ? Pardon me,
it isn't a fair question, of course, but "
" Yes, I really would. There, now ! " And
she nodded her head defiantly toward her father,
and kissed the ring on her finger. " Don't
frown, you naughty papa ; you know that you'd
be glad to have a son-in-law like that. Now,
now, now, don't be cross "
" Not by a hanged sight!" said the old banker,
roughly.
" Why, papa, where's your imagination and
your poetry ? "
"Stuff!" growled Mr. Remington. "It
takes a lot of imagination and poetry to stand
off creditors and fix up a rickety castle that a
dog couldn't live in without getting rheumatism."
EAGLE BLOOD 79
But there was a sly flicker in his deep eyes,
indicating that the idea was not so offensive to
him as he pretended.
" Besides," he added in a gentler tone, " you
haven't found your titled descendant of the
crusaders yet. Better not arrange for the mar-
riage till he turns up, eh, Fanny ? "
The temptation to reveal his name and rank at
once was almost too strong for Hugh, and the
avowal trembled for an instant on his lips. Why
should he not acknowledge his birthright and
seize this opportunity ? Then he realized that
he would place himself in a false position, that he
would be looked upon as a vulgar trickster. He
had gone too far, and his steps could not be
retraced. He grew dizzy, and a cold dew stood
on his forehead. He stammered and leaned
faintly against the back of his chair, with a
despairing consciousness that he had lost the
right to his own name.
"And now, my dear," said Mr. Remington,
blandly, " Mr. Dorsay looks tired, and I suppose
he wants to have a little talk with me in the
library. Never fear, you'll have plenty of time
80 EAGLE BLOOD
in the future to discuss the dukes and earls and
what-do-you-call-'ems, and the castles and credit-
ors and This way, Mr. Dorsay," rising and
leading the way to the hall staircase. " Good
night, my dear ; good night, Fanny. Don't marry
yourself off in your sleep, my child. Come,
Mr. Dorsay."
Hugh took leave of the ladies, and as he fol-
lowed the banker out of the room he caught sight
of Miss Remington in a mirror kissing his ring
again and again ; and his heart sank within him.
Mr. Remington's library was a large, square
room lined with book shelves and mysterious little
cupboards on top of which were bronze busts of
Washington, Lincoln, and Grant. In the middle
of the room was a huge table-desk, littered with
pamphlets and documents. There was a clock
and a telephone receiver on a stand beside it. In
spite of the rows of handsomely bound volumes,
there was a suggestion of hard work about the
place that impressed the young man as he sat
down in the stiff-backed chair toward which Mr.
Remington motioned him.
The banker lit a cigar and stood before the fire
EAGLE BLOOD 81
that played in rose and violet flames within the
fantastic cast-iron grate. He clasped his hands
behind his back and rocked gently on his heels,
looking keenly at his visitor, while the smoke
slipped through his lips and curled upward.
Now that he was alone with Mr. Remington,
Hugh felt less confident. He noticed the square
jaws and hard, straight mouth, and there was a
lurking sternness in the eyes.
" Now, Mr. Dorsay," said Mr. Remington,
curtly, " I presume that you want to talk to me
about your own affairs. Of course you must
appreciate the fact that a young man ignorant of
the customs of the country .cannot expect too
much in the way of an opening at first. I shall
have to think over the matter before I can find a
position suited to your inexperience."
" Thank you, sir," said Hugh, " but I have
already secured a place. I'm on the staff of the
Mail"
" Wha-a-at ? " Mr. Remington started as if
he had been struck in the face. " The Mail, you
say ?
Yes," said Hugh, with an air of pride, " and
82 EAGLE BLOOD
my first important assignment is to interview you
on international trusts. Mr. Irkins himself sent
me said it was a great opportunity."
The old man's eyes blazed, and his face grew
purple. He clenched his fists and stamped on
the floor. The terrible white eyebrows seemed
to bristle.
" I'd have you know, sir," he said, choking
with anger, " that no newspaper man is allowed
to enter my doors. I never talk to the news-
papers."
" Why, I thought everybody talked to the
newspapers in New York," cried Hugh, shrinking
before the infuriate banker. " I owe you an
apology, sir. I should have mentioned my mis-
sion at first, but the warmth of my welcome made
me forget "
" Well, well," said Mr. Remington, suddenly
mollified, " I shouldn't have forgotten that you
brought me a letter from Professor Muhlenberg,
and besides," there was a sardonic gleam in his
eyes, " you couldn't be expected to know what
a devil out of hell that man Irkins is, a sneaking,
meddling, unscrupulous scoundrel who keeps the
EAGLE BLOOD 83
country stirred up against every man who has a
dollar."
Mr. Remington lit his cigar, which had gone
out, and blew a great cloud of smoke straight
before him. He gave a harsh little chuckle and
shook his head.
" So Irkins wanted you to draw me out ? the
snake ! Well, I'll tell you what I'll do, Mr. Dor-
say, now that I've thought it over; I'll give you
an interview it'll help you out, I know but
it must be understood that hereafter you are to
be received in my house as a friend of Professor
Muhlenberg and not as a newspaper man. With
that understanding, you can go ahead and inter-
view me. Pitch in, sir."
The old man squared his huge shoulders, threw
his head back, and watched the circles of smoke
ascending slowly to the ceiling.
There was an absolute silence for a moment.
"Go ahead, Mr. Dorsay. Pump me dry."
Again the harsh chuckle.
Hugh looked at the strong figure. He felt
weak and empty in the presence of a master
mind of finance. The old sense of helpless-
84 EAGLE BLOOD
ness took possession of him. His limbs trem-
bled.
" The truth is, Mr. Remington," he said ap-
pealingly, " that I don't know enough about
business to ask intelligent questions."
" Oh, well," muttered the banker, thrusting
his hands deep into his pockets, " in that case,
I'll have to help you out."
In a few plain words Mr. Remington described
the conditions which had given to America the
primacy of the industrial and financial world, the
progress of invention and the development of
skill and energy in a continent of unrivalled natu-
ral riches, the consolidation of industries, and the
gradual reduction of the cost of manufacture.
"We have many of the British industries just
where we want them," he said. "They can't
stand our competition, and it will be better for
all to extend the principle of non-competitive
production to both countries, and, in time, to all
the leading industrial nations. In other words,
we are beginning to absorb British industries.
The effect of this policy will in time form a
powerful political bond between Great Britain
EAGLE BLOOD 85
and the United States. Business, sir, is the final
controlling factor in all human affairs, individual,
national, or international. This new development
of our national influence will afford the best guar-
antee of peace that the world can find. During
my visit to England I succeeded in making ar-
rangements that will in time give the control
of the leather industry to the United States."
Hugh had been taking notes.
" I'd like an illustration," he suggested.
" I secured control of several important fac-
tories, among others the South London Boot
and Shoe Works "
" Good God ! You Mr. Remington
you "
" What's the matter ? "
" Oh, nothing, nothing," gasped Hugh, as he
realized that he was face to face with the man
who had ruined him and made him an exile from
his country and rank. " I was thinking of a
friend who was beggared by the forced sale of
the South London Works. It was very, very
painful."
His voice broke and he shook like one in a fit.
86 EAGLE BLOOD
" Some worn-out aristocrat, too lazy or too
weak to work," remarked the old man.
" Yes, yes, something of that sort " his voice
was hoarse ; " a poor devil brought up to think
that the world was made only for him. But it
was a ghastly thing, Mr. Remington. It drove
him out of England without a penny in his
pocket."
Again Hugh had to wrestle to keep himself
from declaring his name and title and telling the
banker the story of his ruin.
" Good thing for him," said Mr. Remington,
unfeelingly ; " he'll have to work now. It'll
make a man of him. Why, sir," he took a
long puff at his cigar and blew a wreath of smoke
toward the ceiling, "if I hadn't learned to
work and think and plan, I'd never have been
able to get him out of the leather business.
From the moment we were born, that English-
man and I have been unconsciously approaching
this test of our capacity, he drifting along idly,
living on the fat of the land, and ignoring the
warnings that stare every man in the face ; and I
preparing myself night and day, studying, watch-
EAGLE BLOOD 87
ing, moving closer and closer, until finally I caught
him asleep. I tell you, sir, it's the working out
of God's will. We are living in a strenuous age,
and the man who forgets that fact is bound to
fail."
Hugh watched the banker with a sort of terror.
His ancestors had been men like this ; men who
trampled their enemies beneath their feet, but
they had risked their lives and shed their blood
in pursuit of power and glory. This short, fat
man, who gloated over the approaching downfall
of an empire founded by a race of warriors, had
never faced a naked blade. His victories were
won by the cunning of finance in cold blood.
That short arm and pudgy red hand had never
struck an open blow in the field. That eye,
glowing under the craggy white brow, had never
challenged a foe to manly combat ; yet Hugh
felt like a child in the presence of the silent force
that seemed to radiate from the commonplace
man who smoked his cigar so contentedly.
While he gazed at Mr. Remington in a stupor
of fascination, half dreaming, a shadow fell before
him, and a tall, slim figure glided forward. Miss
88 EAGLE BLOOD
Remington threw her arms around her father's
neck and kissed him.
" There, you wicked papa," she said, with
crimsoned cheeks and beaming eyes. " You for-
got that, and I brought it to you, and we mustn't
forget " with a kind, sidewise glance that
stirred Hugh's blood " that we haven't asked
Mr. Dorsay to dinner. I must, must, hear more
about those dear crusaders ; and so we'll make it
Friday evening, when Senator Bradford will be
here. You know, we're in town out of season,
and must be going to the country."
" I'm sure we'll be very happy, if Mr. Dorsay
will honor us," said Mr. Remington.
" Delighted," answered Hugh, looking thank-
fully at the beauty.
"Mr. Dorsay, I'm sorry to say, has entered
the service of the Mail" said the banker. " Of
course, my dear, that won't make any difference
in our welcome, but well, it is too bad that
he's got among those infernal scribblers."
" Fie, Mr. Dorsay ! " exclaimed the girl,
shaking her head at him. "To think that
you've joined the Philistines ! and yet " the blue
EAGLE BLOOD 89
eyes sparkled with enthusiasm "I think I'll
like you better because you're not a mere oh,
papa, what do you call it ? a money grubber,
who has no time for anything but stocks and
dividends and ridiculous board meetings. Just
think of having a live journalist, a vox -populi^ to
tell us everything about everybody! And I'm
dying to hear about Mr. Irkins, that dreadful
pasteboard dragon who frightens papa. There
now!" putting her dimpled white hands over
the old man's mouth " you know he frightens
you, and you mustn't deny it. You see " turn-
ing to Hugh, who looked embarrassed papa
gets rich by keeping secrets and Mr. Irkins gets
rich by destroying them."
" That's it," nodded Mr. Remington. " His
spies are everywhere. A man can't organize an
enterprise "
" Or steal a purse," chirruped Miss Remington.
" Fanny ! "
" I'm quoting Mr. Irkins, papa."
f: Or lay any business plans "
"To cheat his neighbor Irkins again,
papa."
90 EAGLE BLOOD
" Really, my dear," growled the banker, notic-
ing Hugh's smile, " this is not a joking matter.
Nothing is holy, Mr. Dorsay, to that prying
hypocrite, not even the most sacred matters of
the business community."
" Dear me," exclaimed the girl, raising her eye-
brows and gathering her dainty lips into a mock-
ing moue^ " how fearful ! It makes one's blood
run cold. Even a woman wouldn't dare to peep
into such awful matters. I don't see how we can
sleep at night with Mr. Irkins and his trained
basilisks prowling through the streets. But you
shan't say anything more to make Mr. Dorsay
feel uncomfortable." Hugh was squirming un-
easily in his seat. " We're not a bit afraid of
you and your Irkinses and sunlight of publicity
and rights of man ; and we shall expect you on
Friday, ready to tell us about the olden knights
and how they killed the dragons, and papa shan't
say another word about his dragon. Good night,
papa; good night, Mr. Dorsay don't forget
Friday."
She tripped out of the room with the airy grace
of a child, leaving a faint odor of roses in the air.
EAGLE BLOOD 91
An hour later Hugh sat at his desk in the
Mail office pouring his soul out on paper. He
recounted the interview with Mr. Remington in a
few simple words and repeated his bold proph-
ecy of world-wide conquest for American trade.
Then he told the story of a young English
nobleman, the heir of centuries of wealth and
social power, driven from his home by the pitiless
invasion of American syndicates, and forced to
wander in search of a living among strangers
under an assumed name. It was the tale of his
own strange fortunes, and he wrote with a passion
born of self-pity. Hour after hour he wrought
out the bitterness of his spirit in words, and he
grew eloquent while the spell of his agony was
upon him. He pictured the miseries of a man of
aristocratic birth and gentle breeding suddenly
called upon to humble himself to the raw social
forces of a new country, and to hear the very men
who had accomplished his downfall vaunt their
sinister prowess in his face.
It was a powerful and moving story, instinct
with tragic sentiment and convincing in its evi-
dent simplicity. He wrote the truth as it came
92 EAGLE BLOOD
from his mind and heart, inspired by his suffer-
ings. His blood ran lightning. All that could
feel pain in him uttered itself. It was a threnody
of real life, such an outburst of heartfelt lamenta-
tion as could only come from a soul that had
tasted the dregs of misery.
When he handed his copy to the city editor
that exalted person assumed an aspect of frozen
astonishment.
" Mr. Dorsay," he said in a voice of deep
melancholy, " do you think you are hired to write
by the yard ? There's let me see something
like three and a half columns here. You'll have
to chop it down to a column, with room for a
spread heading. Just cut all the gooslum out of
it and get down to the news no guff, but plain,
straightforward news."
" I've done m'y best, sir," said Hugh, wearily.
" I've written it just as Mr. Irkins told me to,
and I can't change it."
He was oppressed by a feeling of tired dizzi-
ness. The lights in the room seemed to change
to green and to red, and then to green again.
Curious black specks floated in the air. He saw
EAGLE BLOOD 93
the little editor perk and frown, and he heard a
sound as of rushing water. Voices of thunder
muttered around him.
He staggered back to his desk and sat down,
dazed and nerveless, with an exquisite conscious-
ness of pain. His thin face was as white as death.
He leaned his head on his hand and, through his
half-closed eyes, saw Mr. Martin, at the next
desk, suddenly look at him through a nimbus of
tobacco smoke.
" Why, hello ! " cried the veteran, with kindling
eyes. " I thought you'd never get through.
What makes you look so solemncholy ? Has
he" with a jerk of his thumb toward the
city editor " been jumping on you ? You
mustn't mind him. He's just a drooling, driv-
elling, shad-bellied "
" Mr. Martin ! " roared the editor.
"Yes, sir," answered the old man, meekly,
" I'll have my story ready in a minute." And
he returned to his desk, from which point he
winked mysteriously at Hugh and shook his
head, in silent condemnation of the editorial
tyrant.
94 EAGLE BLOOD
For a long time Hugh sat brooding. He
had emptied his heart of its passionate protest
against the wretchedness of his new life, and the
reaction deprived him of the power of consecu-
tive thought.
Presently he was summoned to Mr. Irkins's
room. As he went down the stairs he had a
dim foreboding of disaster. Had he offended
the proprietor by his bitter indictment ? Was
he to be dismissed? Well, he had had his
say, and if the end had come, he would face it
like a true Englishman.
Hardly had he opened the door of the little
office when Mr. Irkins bounded forward, wav-
ing his manuscript in the air, the brown eyes
blazing with excitement and the bony face
quivering.
" It's great ! great ! " he shouted. " You've
written the story of the year. It'll stir the
whole country, sir. You have the imagination
of a Milton, Mr. Dorsay. Marvellous ! I had
no idea you had such quality in you. Your
description of that titled nincompoop will tickle
the pride of the people. It's just what they
EAGLE BLOOD 95
need to make them realize the splendid progress
of American "
The young man reeled, and threw his hands
out before him.
" Here, quick ! some one ! help !" shrieked
the master of the Mail.
Hugh had fainted, and the heir of the crusaders
lay in a pitiful heap at Mr. Irkins's feet.
CHAPTER IV
THE next day Hugh gathered up his posses-
sions, went to New Rochelle, and drove over
the smooth country road to Mr. Martin's home,
a trim, green cottage, with rough stone foun-
dations, and a red roof, standing in a grove of
trees, and surrounded by a small garden of old-
fashioned flowers, with quaint box hedges and
all sorts of goodly, bitter-smelling bushes. The
climbing roses over the little diamond-paned
door, the scarlet beans creeping along the rail-
ing of the veranda, and the delicate confusion
of pink and white and lavender in the pea-vines
that trailed down from the sills of the dainty-
curtained windows, gave an air of sweetness and
cosey beauty to the place that appealed to the
English-bred youth.
Hugh could never think afterwards of that
quiet spot without calling up a vision of
Helen Martin as he first saw her in the sunlit
96
EAGLE BLOOD 97
garden, a slim, sprite-like girl in a filmy white
dress, lilac jacket, and jaunty straw hat, brown
eyed, brown haired ; a graceful, adorable, little
child-woman, moving with light feet and smiling
face, a shepherdess of roses while the smoke
of her father's pipe rose peacefully behind an
open newspaper on the veranda.
As the dusty carriage stopped in the road-
way, she came tripping to the gate, the blush
of health in her dimpled cheeks and a sparkle
of unconcealed happiness in her honest eyes.
" He's here, daddy," she cried, and Hugh
thought he had never heard such a musical
voice.
" Hurrah ! " shouted the old journalist, throw-
ing down his newspaper and running bareheaded
through the garden, his kindly face glowing
with excitement. " Welcome, sir ; this is my
little girl, Helen Mr. Dorsay, my dear."
Hugh jumped to the ground and took the
small, sun-browned hand that was offered so
frankly. The touch gave him an exquisite sense
of pleasure.
" We've been waiting for you, oh, ever so
98 EAGLE BLOOD
long," she said, and then she cast her eyes
down shyly.
" Yes, sir, and I've been reading that thumping
fine article of yours in the Mail" said Mr. Martin,
" and it's a wonder best thing I've seen in years.
It'll make your reputation. But, come, it's too
hot out here in the sun, and we must get your
things into the house. Here" to the driver
of the carriage, "just hand down that Why,
what on earth "
" It's my bath-tub," said Hugh, as the pea-
green tin clanked on the ground.
" You don't mean to tell me that you brought
it all the way from England ? "
" Why, of course."
" Goodness ! " exclaimed Helen, u you English-
men must have a flattering opinion of other
people, if you think it necessary to carry your
bath-tubs around the world with you. You'll
find a porcelain bath here. Mary " a neat
maid, in a white apron, appeared " you can
put that in the summer-house ; it will do for my
goldfish."
And while the maid carried the bath-tub away
EAGLE BLOOD 99
on her head and the driver removed the big
leather trunk from the carriage, Hugh and his
host walked to the house, with Helen flitting
before them, her sweet young face crimsoned at
the memory of her jest.
" She's the dearest little woman in the world,"
said the old man, as he watched the airy figure,
" and she's as full of fun as a kitten that way
all the time unless well, unless you just stir
her up, and then she has the nerve of a man.
You wouldn't think it to look at her, but she's
been through college, and it hasn't left a scar on
her. It makes prigs or blue-stockings out of
most girls," he added, noticing the young man's
look of surprise, " but she hasn't a twist in her
just as straight and simple and good-hearted
as God made her, and American to the core.
I want you to know her because" his voice
grew husky "I wish I had known some pure
young creature like that when I was your age.
I might have been a different man that is, be-
fore I was married."
Hugh was silent. In spite of the genuine
welcome which his new friends had given him,
ioo EAGLE BLOOD
he felt the instinctive shrinking of an English-
man in the presence of sudden familiarity, for
your true-blue Briton makes friends slowly and
resents the demonstrative stranger, being schooled
to suspicion in all things social ; and it may be
that this intrained coldness of Englishmen to the
warm-hearted and effusive people of America has
done more to breed bad blood and uncharitable-
ness between the two nations than all other
causes combined.
In vain the feastings and resounding professions
of international friendship, over the charmed cup,
if the blood-brotherhood which men swear at
night, when they are drunk, is repudiated in the
morning, when they are sober, and John stares
at Jonathan distantly through his single eyeglass,
haughtily formal and suspicious. " Mamma,"
whispers the daughter of the travelling British
matron, " those charming American ladies at our
table act as if they would like to know us."
" Then you may be quite sure," answers the
careful mother, " that they are people we do not
want to know." Who among you is there, O
you Europe-wandering sons and daughters of the
EAGLE BLOOD 101
western world ! that has not secretly repented the
too easily outstretched hand, and inwardly raged
over the unmerited British snub ?
The heir of the Castlehursts, with eight hun-
dred years of family pride and prejudice behind
him, found it hard to restrain the tidal influences
of his blood. Who were these people who
opened their doors and hearts so readily to
a stranger without credentials ? Why should he
be made the recipient of tender domestic con-
fidences from a man he had not even heard
of a week ago ?
" You see," said Mr. Martin, as though he
had divined his guest's thoughts, " I've taken an
old man's liking to you because you're just about
as old as my boy would have been if he had
lived, and somehow I think he'd have looked
like you; and" he patted Hugh's shoulder
gently "I want to keep you away from the
sharks that have eaten up the souls of most of
the young fellows I've known in the newspaper
offices. That's why I wanted you to come out
here in God's own green woods, where you can
get a breath of pure air and hear the birds sing-
102 EAGLE BLOOD
ing, and remember once in a while that the
world isn't half so bad as life in the Mail office
will make you think it is."
As he entered the cottage and glanced about
the little sitting-room, Hugh experienced a
peculiar sensation of peace. The graceful old
mahogany sofa, the carved colonial chairs, the
claw-footed table, with its lace cover and big
Bible ; the polished yellow brasses in the fire-
place, the ancient blue plates on the wall, the
portraits of Washington and Jefferson ; the
primitive colored picture of the surrender of
Cornwallis ; the hanging clock, with its repre-
sentation of the battle of the Bonbomme Richard
and the Serapis^ painted on glass, and the hun-
dred other evidences of a home not made in one
generation instinct with patriotism and domes-
tic love how different it all was from the op-
pressive magnificence of the Remington residence !
The quiet charm of the house grew on him,
when he saw the cool dining room, with its tawny
rafters of hewn oak, its curious china cupboards,
and well-worn sideboard of mellow satinwood ;
and the bedroom that was to be his, tricked out
EAGLE BLOOD 103
in dainty chintz hangings, with white ruffles finish-
ing off the four-posted bed ; a little mahogany
clothes-press, a bulgy old set of drawers, with a
small swinging mirror on top ; a portrait of
Martha Washington, a deep chair filled with pine-
stuffed cushions that scented the air, and a full
book-case.
" It's all very simple here," said Mr. Martin,
when they returned to the sitting room, " but we
live comfortably and within our means."
" It's the most charming house I've seen in
America," said Hugh, heartily.
" You don't call New York American ? " grum-
bled the old man, pressing a wad of tobacco into
the bowl of his meerschaum pipe. " New York's a
foreign city, an international metropolis there's
little of the original American blood in her. No,
sir, when you want to know what the real Ameri-
can is like, you must get out in the country among
plain folk. You'll never find out among the
millionnaires or in the tenements, where people are
packed together like cattle. New York bah ! "
He lit a match and puffed at his pipe. Helen
whisked into the room with an armful of roses.
104 EAGLE BLOOD
" Now, daddy," she exclaimed, with a dainty
nod, " I won't have tobacco smoke in this room ! "
" Didn't think you'd catch me at it," said Mr.
Martin, laughing and shaking his head. " I'll
take Mr. Dorsay down to the rocks where we can
smoke in peace. You can join us there, puss."
" And this," said the girl, holding up Hugh's
silk top hat with an air of comic solemnity, " is
this majestic object to be carried in procession or
will Mr. Dorsay wear it? "
" I'll wear a straw hat," said Hugh, promptly
surrendering, " that is, if "
" Daddy will lend you one."
" Never saw such a girl," muttered Mr. Martin,
with a look of pride, as he thrust an immense hat
of plaited grass on his guest's head. "She's just
like that all the time orders men about like a
well, just like a dear little American girl. I
suppose they're all the same ; it's the way they're
brought up and a mighty good way, too."
A few minutes' walk, over a path through the
fragrant woods, brought the two men to the rocky
shore of Long Island Sound, and they seated
themselves on a huge, moss-grown ledge, thrown
EAGLE BLOOD 105
up by some volcanic upheaval, the sea plashing
gently among the slimy boulders and dull weeds
below, and the sparkling salt flood stretching
away to the timbered shores and gray cliffs of
Long Island.
It was a scene of rare beauty. The sun wheeled
resplendent in a cloudless sky, and a gentle breeze
stirred the green branches that shaded the flower-
sprinkled turf rolling back from the dark tumult
of rocks. White sails drifted with the tide, and
far out at sea to the left, the smoke of an invisible
steamship trailed along the horizon. Somewhere
in the shadowy woods an oriole sang to its mate.
The air was electric with life.
" Pretty good out here, isn't it ? " observed
the veteran, taking a deep breath of the fresh
sea-air.
" It reminds me of the English coast."
" I suppose the world's pretty good everywhere
when you get away from men," mused the old
man. " Men seem to spoil everything. Now
these trees see how substantial they look.
That one, the big oak, was here when my grand-
father was alive, and I suppose it'll be here when
io6 EAGLE BLOOD
my grandson is born that is, if I ever have a
grandson."
" I hope so, I'm sure," remarked Hugh.
" Eh ? What ? Well, " Mr. Martin puffed
hard at his pipe, "I suppose my girl will leave
me some day." Hugh had a sudden heart-thrill.
" She's all I have left, but it's the way of the
world. Grandson ha ! ha ! that's looking a
long way ahead."
A pair of yellow butterflies fluttered around the
venerable head. Mr. Martin blew a whiff of
smoke at them.
" That was a great article in the Mail" he said,
changing the subject. " It'll do more for you
than all the letters of introduction in the world.
It made Helen cry," Hugh's heart stirred
again, " but you mustn't let on I told you.
She'd take my head off. Of course that story
about the English nobleman was all imagina-
tion."
" No, it's quite true."
" Oh, come now, my son, I wasn't born yes-
terday," said Mr. Martin, with a shrewd twinkle
in his eyes. " That'll do for the great American
EAGLE BLOOD 107
people God bless them ! but you mustn't
try to bamboozle an old stager like me."
" It's absolutely true," protested Hugh, with
an embarrassed smile.
"You mean to tell me that there's a titled
Englishman floating around New York in dis-
guise and hunting a living ? "
"I do, indeed."
" Well, for heaven's sake, if he's suffering for
friends, bring him up here ; we'll find a corner
for him."
" I'm keeping his secret."
" Well, I can see his finish," said the old
man, knocking the ashes out of his pipe and
feeling in his pocket for his tobacco pouch.
" He'll hang around for a while with his ideas
of self-made manhood, and then he'll sneak
home again, or he'll declare himself and marry
some millionnaire's daughter."
" I think not," said Hugh, calmly. " This
chap has made his mind up to stay in America
and work up as high as he can."
"He ought to marry some clever American
girl," suggested Mr. Martin. "She'd knock
io8 EAGLE BLOOD
some of the aristocratic nonsense out of his
head and spur him up. There's nothing like
an American wife to simply drag a man to the
top she's bound to take the lead if he
doesn't."
" Maybe he will marry an American girl
if she'll take him as he is."
" Of course," continued the old man, " there
are some American girls who wouldn't marry
a foreigner. Now there's my Helen. She's
opposed to international marriages."
" But you don't call an Englishman a for-
eigner ? that is, I mean, in that sense."
" And why not ? " cried a sweet voice, as
Helen fluttered forth from the bushes behind
them and sat down beside her father, a fold
of her dress sweeping against Hugh's feet.
"We were speaking of international marriages,"
explained the young man, reddening.
" Exactly so," said Helen, brushing her brown
tresses back from her dimpled face he noticed
for the first time the strangely beautiful taper
of her fingers " and you forget that a wife
takes the nationality of her husband, that an
EAGLE BLOOD 109
American girl who marries an Englishman be-
comes a subject of the British crown."
Mr. Martin shook with laughter.
" You're in for it now, my son," he wheezed,
as the smoke got into his throat.
" Would that be such a dreadful fate ? "
Hugh spoke gravely.
"It all depends on the girl," said Helen,
shading her eyes with her hands and looking
out to sea. " If she loved her country she
wouldn't forswear it. Imagine yourself renounc-
ing your allegiance to Queen Victoria and swear-
ing allegiance to the United States ; yet that's
just the sort of thing an Englishman asks an
American girl to do when he proposes marriage."
" But if she loves him, surely a mere question
of political opinion ought not to stand "
" I think I know what you mean, Mr. Dor-
say," said the girl, in a low tone, as she looked
him straight in the eyes, her cheeks aflame and
her brown eyes shining with intelligence. " An
English girl may be trained to set her emotions
against her conscience, to look upon her patri-
otic convictions as feminine impertinences to
no EAGLE BLOOD
be surrendered to the first stranger who knocks
at her heart ; but my grandfather, who com-
manded an American regiment in the war of
1812, and carried a British bullet in his shoulder
to the day of his death, taught me to love my
country and its free institutions better than
anything else, except God and daddy." She
stroked her father's hand affectionately.
The thrill of earnestness in the girl's voice
and the look of exaltation in her face warned
Hugh that he was treading on sacred ground.
She was so slight, so tenderly fair, so divinely
childlike and yet she revealed a depth of
feeling that astonished him. He found himself
comparing her to the girls he had known in
England, haughty and opinionless, or gushingly
sentimental, trained to shrink from knowledge
of public matters, and to hear the views of male
society with elegant indifference or simpering
enthusiasm ; leaving the unbecoming discussions
of politics to wrinkled dowagers and beautiless
spinsters. But here was a fresh young creature
uttering her patriotic love with a simplicity and
artless eloquence that shamed his own apathy,
EAGLE BLOOD in
a face beautiful with the light of an enfranchised
soul. His heart leaped to her, and his pulse
danced as he caught a breath of the sweet peas
fastened in her belt. The sky seemed to grow
bluer, and the glory of the sun on the water
entered his being.
" But we mustn't talk about such things now,"
she said, rising to her feet and letting the breeze
blow her white dress into graceful curves around
her bewitching little figure. " I'm saving you
up for another time, Mr. Dorsay. See how the
tide runs against the rocks over there. It's so
exciting to see the water boiling into spray, and"
she glanced roguishly at Hugh " it's the
same water that has washed the shores of merry
England, where the tin bath-tubs come from
the English sea, the French sea, the German sea,
the American sea come, Mr. Dorsay."
Hugh rose, offering his hand, and she leaned
shyly on him as they made their way with minc-
ing, careful steps along the spray-drenched rock
to a jutting crag, covered with pale barnacles
and jade-green seaweeds, where the tide
swirled madly and threw up jewelled fountains
ii2 EAGLE BLOOD
in the sunlight. Mr. Martin smoked thought-
fully and watched the youthful figures standing
out against the sky. The sight seemed to please
him, and he smiled and blinked. ' The world was
pleasant to look at this summer day.
The breeze blew fresher and the curling waves
heaved and hissed against the rock, receding with
a hoarse, sucking noise, only to return with
increased fury. The spray leaped higher and
higher. A great white steam yacht moved out
toward the open sea.
"That's the Invincible" said Helen. "She
belonged to Mr. Stewart, the greatest millionnaire
in the world, who died last month."
She turned toward her father, poised on the
edge of the crag, like some fair spirit of the
summer. " Daddy, doesn't it make you feel
envious to see that splendid yacht ? "
" No," cried the old man, removing the pipe
from his lips and stretching his limbs out com-
fortably ; "no, I can't say that it does. I'd
rather be a poor newspaper man and be alive,
than be the richest man in the world and be
dead."
EAGLE BLOOD 113
Hugh fumbled unconsciously in his pocket
for his single eyeglass and, finding it, set it
against his eye, out of sheer habit.
" Dear me," said Helen, with a pretty air
of surprise, " how distinguished and foreign we
look ! "
Hugh straightened his narrow shoulders. He
was determined to take no notice of her remark.
" It must be hard to keep a little thing like
that in place," she continued. " Just think of
the horrid wrinkles it makes."
He turned his face toward her, and the rays
of the sun reflected in the monocle struck her
eyes with blinding fierceness.
"Why, you look like some dragon "
Her foot slipped on the moist rock, and with
a little cry of terror she plunged forward into
the foaming water, striking her head on the lower
spur of the ledge. A white wave dashed her
body forward against the cruel shore and then
drew her out into the swift tide, in which she
sank, turning her face upward as she disappeared.
Mr. Martin uttered a cry of horror and strug-
gled to his feet.
n 4 EAGLE BLOOD
" My little girl ! " he shrieked, as he bounded
toward the edge of the rock. " My darling ! my
heart's blood ! "
For a moment Hugh stood foolishly looking
at the white face and the slim form receding in
the heavy water. The old man's voice roused
him, and, without hesitating, he leaped into the
sea and struck out boldly." A wave flung him
against the rock and cut his head, but he swam
with all his strength, and catching a gleam of the
trailing white dress in the depths, he dived toward
it. Failing to reach the girl, he rose to the sur-
face and looked about. An instant later he saw
her body rising a few feet away. Several strong
strokes brought him to her ; and he placed his left
arm around her small waist, her head falling help-
lessly on his shoulder, her sweet face touching his,
and her brown hair clinging about his neck.
Like most Englishmen, Hugh was an expert
swimmer, but his clothes were saturated and his
feet were tangled in the skirts of the unconscious
girl. He swam with his right arm and lowered
his lovely burden to ease the strain, summoning
up all his strength and will as he heard Mr.
EAGLE BLOOD 115
Martin's shouts of encouragement. The wind
was blowing hard and the waves grew larger. A
swishing swell carried him against a sharp reef, and
the undercurrent drew him under with a horrible
gurgling sound. He fought for life with desperate
energy, but his feet were hampered by the folds
of the dress, and although he managed to reach
the surface of the water again, he felt weak.
Strange fiery sparks flashed before his eyes, and a
thousand voices seemed to call him downward.
There was an intense pain in his arm, where he
had struck the reef. He could see the green
tree-tops of the shore, as the sea swept him on,
and the white gulls skimming lazily over the
water. He looked at the dear little face resting
so quietly on his shoulder, the long eyelashes wet
and the tender lips apart. His youth cried for
life, but his strength was gone. Suddenly he felt
her arm about his neck. " Dear daddy," she
murmured sleepily. Then a sudden darkness
came, and as he ceased struggling, he heard loud
cries and the thumping of oars.
The fisherman's boat arrived just in time. A
grizzled oarsman dragged the languid bodies out
n6 EAGLE BLOOD
of the water and laid them, still clasped together,
in the oozy bottom of his little craft.
" Well, I'll be durned ef it ain't old Martin's
purty darter ! " he exclaimed. " Here, boy," to
a ragged urchin who sat in the stern of the boat,
with a look of horror in his freckled face,
" gimme that pail o' water an' be dum quick."
He dashed the water in Helen's face, and rais-
ing her head on his knees, rubbed her hands and
temples vigorously.
" Never you mind this here," he roared to his
frightened assistant. " Jest get hold o' them oars
and pull fer th' beach like th' devil wuz after you.
Poor little maidy, poor little beauty." A tear
rolled down his brown face as he stroked the
small hands.
Helen stirred and moaned. " Daddy, daddy,
dear daddy," she whispered.
" Dear little missy," said the rough boatman,
caressingly, lifting the frail figure in his arms and
seating her against the side of the boat.
Helen opened her eyes and shuddered. Seeing
Hugh's prostrate form in the bottom of the boat,
she covered her face with her hands and sobbed.
EAGLE BLOOD 117
The youth lay on his back, one arm thrown across
his breast and his eyes closed.
"Thar, thar," the boatman put his arm
around her, " 's all right now snooked you
outen th' water jest 'n time."
Opening her eyes again she started up and fell
fainting across her young saviour.
" Now, now, little one," muttered the man, lift-
ing her light body in his arms, " don't worry 'bout
him. He'll keep. Nuthin' th' matter with him,
on'y jest his breath's giv' out. He'll be kickin'
'round right 'nough in a couple o' minutes."
" Is he " she gasped, rousing herself.
" He's jest es live es you be," answered the
boatman. " Kinder tired out. See thar, now."
Hugh moved his hand and groaned.
" He made a spunky fight for you, little one."
Helen knelt beside the white face and kissed
the damp brow. For a moment her cheeks
flushed. A faint smile came into the boyish face.
Hugh stretched his hands out, shivered, and
uttered a little cry of suffering.
The boat heaved in the surf and grated on the
gravelly shore. A group of men ran down to
n8 EAGLE BLOOD
meet it, and in the midst of them was Helen's father,
bareheaded and panting.
" Oh, thank God, my child ! " he cried as he
clasped the pale girl to his breast and kissed her
tenderly. " Thank God for all His mercies, my
dear one."
Hugh was carried out of the boat and laid on
a grassy knoll under a wide-spreading maple.
Mr. Martin bent over him. The youth's face
was pale and drawn, but there was a look of reso-
lution in the fine, thin features. The monocle
was still held in place against the right eye, giving
the countenance a curious touch of hauteur.
" By gum, thet thar's a game 'un," said the
boatman. " Never let go his peep-glass. Must
hev' bull-terrier strain in him."
" He's an Englishman," said Mr. Martin.
" Them thar Britishers hev' thar good pints,
I'll admit. They got spunk, sir ; by gum ! they
got spunk."
" And now, Tom Kitcher," said Mr. Martin,
" I feel that I owe my daughter's life to you."
" No, siree," protested the boatman, " it's him
thet did't," jerking his thumb toward Hugh;
EAGLE BLOOD 119
" hung on t' th' finish." He shook his griz-
zled head. " Greater love heth no man then this,
thet a man lay down his life fer his friend thet's
Scriptur'. But, 'scuse me, Mr. Martin, ef I'm
takin' liberties ; mebbe they wusn't friends."
The old journalist drew his daughter's head
down on his broad breast.
" I hope they'll be friends," he said soberly.
Then father and daughter knelt in the grass beside
the exile.
CHAPTER V
WHEN Hugh awoke he found himself lying
between scented sheets in the little bedroom of
Mr. Martin's cottage. His head throbbed with
pain, and his mouth was dry. A tall, thin young
woman, with intensely black eyes, stood beside
the bed waving a palm-leaf fan over him. She
was dressed in a loose, gray gown, and a green
crystal heart hung from her lean neck on a slender
gold chain.
" What has happened ? " he asked faintly.
" 'Ssh," whispered the young woman. " You
came near drowning. Your head was hurt, and
you've had some fever." There was a peculiar
purring softness in her voice. " You mustn't
talk ; the doctor has forbidden it."
The room seemed to spin around. Through
the window he could see the summer sky. A
great scarlet butterfly hovered in the casement
and then darted away. From the spotless canopy
of the four-posted bed a Dresden china cupid
EAGLE BLOOD 121
swung on a cord, its arrow aimed at his head.
The smell of honeysuckles made the air heavy.
Hugh blinked at the young woman, wondering
why she was there. Her snapping black eyes
fascinated him. He gazed at her in silence.
" I'm Miss Grush of the Mail" she purred,
looking intently at him and laying her strong,
warm hand on his forehead with a stroking motion.
" Miss "
" Miss Grush," she went on. " No, you
needn't think ; you never set eyes on me until
this minute. I used to be a trained nurse, and
Mr. Irkins asked me to take care of you when
he heard of your accident Mr. Irkins, the
owner of the Mail, you know. There, now,"
the purring sound made him sleepy, "just shut
your eyes so, so, so ; " she drew the tips of
her fingers across his eyelids. " Don't resist, but
try to go to sleep."
He opened his eyes again, and the power of
her glance sent little electric waves through his
body. Her brows were' knit, and there was a
weird expression of concentration and authority
in her dark, oriental face.
122 EAGLE BLOOD
" I can hypnotize you if you'll let me," she
whispered, bringing her black eyes close to his.
" You are blue-eyed and blond just the pale
complexion for a subject. It'll take away the
pain and give you rest. So, so, so, they do
it in the French hospitals, so, so," stroking
his forehead slowly and making her voice
drowsy.
He resisted the magnetic influence that was
stealing through him, and a sudden rush of
memory brought to his mind the struggle for
life in the sea.
"Miss Martin?" he groaned, "is she "
" Safe and sound," answered Miss Grush.
" She'll be here presently, but you really mustn't
speak; I'll do the talking."
With a noiseless, catlike tread she crossed the
room and brought a cool drink, which she held
to his greedy lips. Then she waved the fan
over him. There was an interval of silence.
Their eyes met.
" You've been talking a good deal in your
fever," she said with a mysterious smile.
Hugh avoided her eyes. They troubled him.
EAGLE BLOOD 123
Miss Crush uttered a soft, mirthless laugh, and
tapped him playfully with the fan.
"You're a thoroughbred," she remarked.
At that moment a gentle step and the rustle
of a skirt announced Helen. She came into
the room all light and sweetness, with a look
of affection and pity in her wan face. A white
band wound about her little head gave a touch
of meekness to her beauty. She seemed so
slight, so airy, so fashioned for love, as she
stood for a moment poised on tiptoe, with a
red rose in her hand.
" I'll leave you alone with your hero," purred
Miss Crush, gliding out of the room and paus-
ing for an instant at the door to watch Hugh
out of the tail of her eye.
That was a week of transcendent peace and
happiness for Hugh. Under the influence of
Helen's gentle ministrations his recovery was
swift. She told him stories, read to him, and
insisted on serving his food. Mr. Martin occa-
sionally sat by his bedside, and regaled him with
shrewd discourses on men and things. The
i2 4 EAGLE BLOOD
kindly old journalist was a sort of human library.
He knew all the famous men, the politicians,
the writers, the financiers, the actors, the musi-
cians, the artists, the athletes, the clergymen ;
and his tales of news-hunting for the Mail in
the highways and byways of New York were
colored with a quaint, good-natured philosophy
that made the young man love him. His honest
face would kindle with humor as he talked
about the proprietor of the Mail.
" Irkins is a wonderful creature," he would
say. " He's honest enough, but when a moral
impulse gets hold of him he wants to stand on
the roof-top and call attention to it. He lives
and thinks and has his emotions in full sight
of the public, like St. Simon, a dirty Syrian
monk, who lived for nigh fifty years on top
of a pillar, so that everybody could see how
holy he was. When the circulation of the Mail
increases he considers it a public endorsement,
although the extra sales may be caused by a
prize fight or a divorce scandal, and writes
solemn editorials, consecrating himself to the
sacred cause of the people."
EAGLE BLOOD
125
And now Helen would trip into the room
and drive the old man away, and Miss Crush
would purr insinuatingly as she readjusted the
bandage on the patient's head. If the black-
eyed nurse had penetrated the secret of Hugh's
title, she gave him no hint of it, and although
he tried by guarded sallies to discover what he
had said in his delirium, she evaded his covert
questionings and smiled. In spite of the hawky
sharpness of her eyes and the indefinable atmos-
phere of secrecy and mysticism which she carried
with her in her silent glidings, he felt a thrill
of physical pleasure, mingled with a nameless
dread, when she touched him with her big, warm
hands. There was an unspoken familiarity in
her attitude which disturbed and puzzled him.
And if he had seen her eyes glitter as she read
and reread his story of the exiled English noble-
man in the seclusion of her chamber, and had
heard her shrill laughter, his mind might have
been even more unquiet ; for Miss Grush had
heard enough in his ravings of home to explain
the passionate and despairing article in the Mail.
Then Helen would sit beside him and perk
126 EAGLE BLOOD
her dear little brown head, as she talked of
everything under the sun ; now picking a flower
to pieces and explaining its structure, now saucily
arraigning the British Empire for its wars of
conquest, now glorifying the simple history of
her own country, and now analyzing a compli-
cated stitch of needlework.
" Ah, but you seem to forget that your coun-
try and mine have the same history," he would
say, when the little patriot pressed him too hard.
" The same history ? " The dimples in her
cheeks would come and go. " Your history is
our history, but our history isn't your history,
you wicked monarchist. Up to the war for
Independence our history was the same, but since
then we've been making history for ourselves.
We can claim Alfred and Cromwell and H amp-
den, but we can also boast of Washington, who
was greater than them all, and Jefferson and
Jackson and Grant and Lincoln. Now you
know that you'd like to claim Lincoln as your
countryman, wouldn't you ? "
" I know some one else some one who isn't
dead and isn't even a statesman whom I'd
EAGLE BLOOD 127
like to claim as a compatriot," and his blue eyes
would dwell tenderly on her.
" Pooh ! That's the way with the benighted
Briton ; always the argumentum ad bominem.
When you're beaten, you become personal.
Now, sir, I'll call Miss Crush, and you shall
have a double dose of medicine as a penalty."
And when at last he was strong enough to
venture out-of-doors, Helen accompanied him
in many a pleasing ramble through the fragrant,
shadowy woods, and he leaned on her arm and
listened to her sweet voice and thanked God
humbly for her companionship.
She was so arch, so feminine, so full of youth-
ful grace and loveliness, and yet so perfectly bal-
anced, so shrewd and frank. Her knowledge
and cultivation amazed the young aristocrat,
accustomed to the governess-made misses of
England. She seemed to be unconscious of
her learning, and talked of matters that taxed
even his university training with the artless
candor of a child.
Hugh's education had given him the conven-
tional male British view of women, so well con-
128 EAGLE BLOOD
fessed by Lord Chesterfield: "Women are only
children of a larger growth ; they have an enter-
taining tattle, and sometimes wit ; but for solid,
reasoning good sense, I never in my life knew
one that had it, or who reasoned or acted conse-
quentially for four and twenty hours together. . . .
A man of sense only trifles with them, plays with
them, humors and flatters them, as he does with a
sprightly, forward child ; but he neither consults
them about, nor trusts them with, serious mat-
ters ; though he often makes them believe that
he does both, which is the thing in the world
that they are proud of." And Hugh, looking
down from this height upon the milk and
roses of insular womankind, had easily adopted
an inward attitude of chivalrous condescension
toward all the daughters of Eve. They were
to be petted and flattered and amused and flirted
with and protected and they were even to be
respected, sometimes, for their goodness and
charity but it never occurred to his exalted
mind that a woman could be his equal in the
large matters of life. It is true that the horizon
of his experience had been narrow. His knowl-
EAGLE BLOOD 129
edge of womanhood had been confined to a few
demure maidens in his native county, who made
soft eyes at him and giggled prodigiously over
his profound sayings ; the stiff matrons who
frowned upon the escapades of his adolescence,
and sat with such forbidding dignity in the
dining-hall of Battlecragie Castle ; and the frivo-
lous, flirting, fiddle-faddling, shallow creatures
of London's social vortex. Then, of course,
there was Mademoiselle Ballafanti, of the Covent
Garden ballet, divinely ordained for glorious
midnight suppers, but utterly without heart or
reason. There was one woman for whose mental
acuteness he had an awful respect, a shrivelled,
sour-faced countess, who would have married
her only daughter to an unspeakable South
African millionnaire had not the gentle victim
died before the willing Right Reverend could
pronounce the mystic syllables that can unite
hell and heaven ransomlessly on earth a social
tyrant before whose terrible tongue even his
stern grandfather trembled. But of maidenhood
adorably poised between fearless intelligence and
feminine modesty he was totally ignorant. And
ijo EAGLE BLOOD
thus the soul of a continent was partly revealed
to him in the companion of his walks. He
began to understand the land in which woman
has reached her own estate.
Needless to say, Miss Grush returned to
New York when Hugh was able to walk
about.
" She's a remarkable woman," said Helen one
day when they were sitting under the shade of a
huge oak. " She has dabbled in all kinds of
oriental mysteries. Although she has been very
kind to me, I confess that I'm afraid of her.
She has such strange eyes. Every time she
looks at me in that mysterious way I feel as if
I had done something wrong. No one knows
where she comes from or who she is. She knows
all about theosophy and Christian science, and all
sorts of occult things."
" A new woman," suggested Hugh.
" In a way, yes ; but it's unfair to the new
woman to suppose that she's always like Miss
Grush. The new woman in America is simply
the woman who believes that she has as good a
right to aspire to a career in any of the trades
EAGLE BLOOD 131
and professions as a man, and who sets out to
claim her right."
" And you do you like the new woman ? "
" Well, I don't dislike her. It's all a matter of
taste. Personally, I prefer the idea of the old-
fashioned woman ; I'm just selfish enough to
love the sheltered position which the world gives
me because I'm not a man. I don't want to earn
my living if daddy is willing to earn it for me,
and well, I'm not sorry I was born a girl; I
suppose it's because I was lucky enough to be
born in America."
" But think of the social possibilities of an
English girl the ancient titles, the marvellously
organized leisure class, the brilliant ceremonies,
the romantic conditions, the social system reach-
ing to the throne itself! "
" Dear me," said Helen, opening her brown
eyes in mock wonder, " how enticing it sounds !
But do you really think, now be honest,
that any girl in the world could be half as happy
with a title as she would be with the privileges
of an American girl ? I mean really happy."
" I don't know," said the young Englishman,
132 EAGLE BLOOD
musingly. " I've an idea that all women love
aristocracy deep down in their hearts. They are
too fastidious to admire the unclean mob. Democ-
racy may be a fine thing in its way, but it's not
beautiful, and its manners are vile. Somehow I
feel that although a woman may see something
sentimental in democracy, she is all the time
secretly shrinking from its rudeness and longing
for the graceful and ornamental really I do."
"And I believe," said Helen, quietly, "that
the Queen of England herself would not object
to changing places with an American girl if she
knew what it was to live among men who ask
nothing for themselves which they are not willing
to grant to others."
" The right to vote, for instance."
" When the women of America want to vote,
they will have the right to vote."
" By Jove, I believe it ; I do indeed ! " cried
Hugh, enthusiastically. " They deserve anything
they want. I wonder how the deuce it is we
know so little about American girls in England
real American girls."
" Or American men," added Helen, earnestly.
EAGLE BLOOD 133
" No, I think we understand the American
man. If he were like the American woman "
"You forget, Mr. Dorsay, that the American
woman is the creature of conditions made by the
American man ; and I think that the men of my
country are the dearest, noblest, kindest men in
human history, a thousand times finer than the
knights who used to fight in honor of the women
they carefully locked up in their castles to keep
them true."
That night the Martins had an old-time
American dinner, with roast turkey, green corn,
sweet potatoes, and scalloped oysters ; and al-
though Hugh ate corn on the cob with as much
patience and grace as he could command, he
could not refrain from expressing his surprise.
" It makes one feel like a horse when he's
munching it," he explained, " but it has a de-
licious flavor. I shall never see a quadruped
eating maize again without envy." Whereupon
the three laughed until the tears came.
" Speaking of corn," said Mr. Martin, as he
laid down his third cob, " I've an idea. The
air's so cool to-night that I think we might have
134 EAGLE BLOOD
a log fire and teach Mr. Dorsay how to pop
corn ; ever see it done ? "
" No, but I should be delighted, I'm sure,"
said Hugh.
" Good, good ! " exclaimed Helen, clapping her
hands. " Your education is just beginning.
And after you've popped corn, you shall eat
corn mush and corn pone, that's southern,
you know and corn fritters and "
" Corned beef," said Mr. Martin.
" Now, daddy, do be serious ! "
How the logs crackled and blazed on the
broad brick hearth ! How the red flames roared
up the chimney ! And, when a bed of glowing
coals had been prepared, how the heat made one
perspire ! It was so delightful to watch the slim
little beauty moving about the fireside while the
scarlet lights danced through the misty web of
her white dress and shone in her sparkling eyes.
What jokes the old journalist cracked and what
tales he told of corn-poppings and corn-roastings
in earlier days ! Then there was a huge jug of
old cider such cider !
Presently the trim maid brought the popper,
EAGLE BLOOD 135
a wire box on the end of a long stick, and
Helen shelled the corn into it, twisting the little
cobs in her white hands, while Hugh held the
handle of the popper.
There was a small handful of corn in the pop-
per when Hugh held it over the coals. It barely
covered the bottom of the wire box.
" Why not fill it up ? " he asked.
" You just wait," said Mr. Martin.
" I really don't see much fun in this. It's
rather tame."
Suddenly the corn began to explode. Hugh
dropped the popper and leaped to his feet with
an outcry of alarm. The old man shrieked with
laughter. Hugh seized the handle again and
held the corn over the fire, in spite of the contest
that raged in the popper.
" It's tremendously exciting," he cried.
" Keep jiggling it or it'll burn," commanded
Helen. " Oh, you're spoiling it ; I can smell it
burning." And Hugh knelt down and danced
the popper over the coals till the perspiration
streamed down his face aad the snowy pop-corn,
in one last startling volley of explosions, burst
136 EAGLE BLOOD
open the top of the wire box and scattered over
the floor.
" By George ! " exclaimed the youth, excitedly,
" it's like fighting a battle. It's ripping good
fun."
When the pop-corn was heaped in a quaint
yellow bowl, Helen buttered it and sprinkled
pinches of salt here and there.
" It's awfully good," said Hugh, as he munched
the savory kernels.
" There are many other American things you'll
like, if you live here long enough," observed Mr.
Martin. " The best side of this country is the
simple and natural side. It's when Americans
become ashamed of their national traits, when
they try to imitate the things of other countries,
that they go to pieces."
" I haven't been in America many days, but
I've been conscious of a sort of ostracism," said
Hugh. "The mere fact that I'm an English-
man seems to prevent men from associating with
me."
" You shouldn't allow that to disturb you,"
cried Helen, twisting a cob and allowing the corn
EAGLE BLOOD 137
to rattle into the popper. " Six hundred citizens
of Athens could have a man banished for ten
years by merely writing his name on an oyster
shell and handing it in to the government. That
was called ostracism. Yet that one man could
ostracize every citizen of Athens by simply retir-
ing from the city. Everything depends on how
you look at such things."
" And how do you come to know so much
about the Athenians ? " asked the astonished
youth.
" Oh, I haven't forgotten everything I learned
at college," said the girl, and as she knelt before
the fire and shook the popper over the shining
coals, she recited in the Greek tongue the sono-
rous opening lines of the " Iliad," until the pop-
ping of the corn interrupted her voice.
" And now we'll string it," she said, emptying
the popper into the bowl.
With needle and thread she made wonderful
garlands of the pop-corn, winding them in dainty
festoons about her father's chair until the old man
protested, whereupon Hugh twisted several
strands together, and tying them in a wreath, set
138 EAGLE BLOOD
it upon her soft brown hair. She made a pretty
figure as she stood there before the fire, crowned
like some slender wood-nymph, and blushing at
the compliment.
" Give us a song, Helen," said Mr. Martin ;
" something with a ring to it."
" Please do," urged Hugh. " I'd like to hear
a real American song."
" Yes, a patriotic song no French fal-lals
just a plain old-timer," exclaimed the veteran.
" f The Blue and the Gray,' " suggested Helen,
removing her wreath.
" No, Mr. Dorsay wouldn't care for that.
Give us something revolutionary."
" But he mightn't like the sentiment."
" Indeed, you can't hurt my feelings by singing
about the American war for Independence," Hugh
insisted. " We all know now what a terrible
duffer George the Third was. He's the most
unpopular king in English history. If he hadn't
been crazy, I would be your countryman to-day."
In a sweet soprano voice Helen sang "The
Sword of Bunker Hill." In spite of the primi-
tive theatricalism of the simple ballad, Hugh was
EAGLE BLOOD 139
profoundly moved by the patriotic earnestness of
the singer. Love of country shone in her dear
little face. She seemed to be inspired by his
presence, and her voice trembled with emotion
when she came to the last lines :
"The son remains, the sword remains,
Its glory growing still ;
And eighty millions bless the sire
And sword of Bunker Hill."
" There, my son," said the old man, with a
kindly smile, as the last note died away, " you
don't hear that song in the drawing-rooms of
New York, nowadays. Our rich men are getting
a little ashamed of the past, and Bunker Hill
sentiment is too much associated with men who
cared more about principles than property to stir
the cockles of most millionnaires' hearts. Well,
well, I suppose the early Americans were pretty
radical, and perhaps I'm a fool not to remember
that all nations forget the past when they grow
rich ; still, it's a pity that the old spirit is dying
out in some places. There's no sentiment in
money, my boy, and there's no wisdom in
money."
140 EAGLE BLOOD
" But surely you are overlooking the American
millionnaires who have given such enormous sums
for charity and education ? " said Hugh.
Mr. Martin shook his head.
"They're old men who have grown rich by
cruelty and injustice. They won't have pockets
in their shrouds and they can't take their money
out of the world with them. Here and there you
find a man who has plundered the public all his
life, trying to square accounts with the Almighty
by dividing some of his booty with his victims ;
but you can't bribe God, my boy."
The old man stretched his arms out and yawned
prodigiously.
"It's growing late," he said, "and you ought
to have been in bed long ago."
Hugh arose to go, when Helen arrested him.
" Daddy and I always say our prayers together,"
she said. " Perhaps you'd like to say yours with
us.
Hugh felt the blood mounting to his face.
Years had passed since he had prayed outside
of a church.
" I'd like to stay."
EAGLE BLOOD 141
So they went to their knees and bowed their
heads about the dying embers, and the old man
uttered a prayer so simple, so beautiful, so full of
childlike faith and love, that the stranger's soul
was lifted up and there were tears in his eyes when
he went to his room.
CHAPTER VI
DURING the first year of his busy life in the
service of the Mail, Hugh received letters regu-
larly from Mr. Chadder. Then his solicitor's
communications became less frequent. The effort
to conceal the young viscount's presence in New
York had been difficult at first, for his grand-
father had endeavored to trace his movements ;
but, as time passed, even the old Earl of Castle-
hurst seemed to abandon all interest in the
whereabouts of his wilful heir.
In spite of Mr. Irkins's friendly interest in
his career, Hugh found the struggle for life
in a new country a bitter one. The headlong
rush and nervous strain of newspaper work
to-day's effort counting for nothing to-morrow ;
the toiling by night and sleeping by day ;
the perpetual contact with extremes of life
now a glittering social pageant and now a brawl-
ing scene of crime, here a meeting of millionnaire
142
EAGLE BLOOD 143
trust directors and there a night ramble through
the cabins of starving coal-miners ; the desperate
ingenuity used in interviewing unwilling victims
of publicity; the daily glimpses of pride, hypoc-
risy, and cruelty ; the trailing of loud-mouthed
and lying politicians through hotel corridors ;
the dull, droning days in ill-smelling law courts ;
and always at night the fierce glare of electric
lights in the Mail office ; the grinding agony of
writing in an atmosphere of hurry and confusion ;
the never ceasing cry of copy ! copy ! copy ! the
terrible periods when neither ideas nor words
would come to the mind; the moral white-heat;
the fury, the breathlessness, the delirium of the
last few minutes before the paper went to press ;
and then the sudden silence and idleness when
the movement of the revolving iron monsters
made the building tremble ; the yawning, the
languid inspection of timepieces, the heart-
depressing reaction when it was all over, these
experiences, repeated day after day and week
after week, hardened him.
There was no lack of color or adventure in
his life, but his impressions became blurred.
144 EAGLE BLOOD
Events followed each other too swiftly, and
one extraordinary scene or experience dulled the
memory of another. There was no time for
analysis or digestion, and he suffered moral
dyspepsia. He was like a man on a treadmill,
continually moving forward, but never arriving
anywhere.
He still had a room in Mr. Martin's cottage,
and occasionally he went out to it for the sake
of seeing Helen, but the exacting discipline of
his duties compelled him to sleep in the city
most of the time, and he occupied a small
apartment in the neighborhood of Gramercy
Park, having his morning coffee, toast, and eggs
served in bed, and taking the rest of his meals
in the restaurant that happened to be nearest
when he was hungry. This semi-vagabondage,
its contact with many events and actual par-
ticipation in none, its reversal of ordinary hours
of work and rest, its tendency to produce
acquaintances without friendships, its social iso-
lation breeding loneliness in the midst of
multitudes drove Hugh into close companion-
ship with his fellows in the Mail office ; and
EAGLE BLOOD 145
many a night he sat in an " all-night restaurant "
with a company of weary comrades long after
the paper had gone to press, only to wake up
in the morning with a headache and a realization
that he must go through the nerve-racking
routine again.
The keen competition of life in New York
had aroused in him a fierce desire to succeed.
He began to understand the busy, restless
people of the metropolis, and to feel the quick-
ening influences of democratic associations. The
sense of helplessness and confusion which his
first days in America had brought to him
disappeared ; confidence grew with experience.
There was a sharper, shrewder look out of his
eyes. He caught the most delicate meanings of
the local vernacular; his sense of humor expanded
in his nervous surroundings. He became more
aggressive, and the weak lines about his mouth
were replaced by an aspect of virile firmness.
There was more color in his face, his figure
was more robust, and he walked with a quicker
tread.
Miss Grush had grown into his life strangely.
146 EAGLE BLOOD
Ever since she nursed him in the Martin cot-
tage, the black-eyed adventuress had assumed
a mysterious attitude of intimate sympathy. She
threw herself into his daily affairs, praised his
work, prompted his impulses, haunted his hours
of leisure, hovered about him when he was at
work. Her dark, thin countenance smiled upon
him, and her purring voice was forever at his
ear. There was something curiously attractive
about Miss Crush, notwithstanding her stealthy,
feline temperament. She possessed an extraor-
dinary power of attraction without sentiment,
a subtle mental and physical mastery of others,
and, although Hugh had seen her eyes mo-
mentarily flash into an expression of devil-like
malice, he straightway forgot it when she looked
at him softly and purred out some mysterious
reference to the weakness of womankind.
The comings and goings of Miss Crush were
as strange as her personality. She would disap-
pear for two or three days at a time, and return
in the company of some long-haired mysteriarch
or silken-bearded Asiatic. She was a member of
numerous psychological circles and a contributor
EAGLE BLOOD 147
to the various periodicals devoted to occultism.
She was a theosophist and had consorted with the
fat and voluble Blavatsky, high priestess of
mysticism ; and when the white-haired hiero-
phant of theosophy successor of Blavatsky
wended his way from Madras to New York, it
was Miss Grush who welcomed him on his
arrival. She knew the yogis, the mahatmas, the
adepts, the mediums. There was no corner of
esotery, no recondite cult, into which she had
not penetrated. She had seen and talked with
Buddha in a midnight council of spiritualists ; she
had witnessed the arrival of an astral message
from India, was present at the avatar of a Thib-
etan abbot who had been dead for a thousand
years, and saw his soul enter the body of a child.
The history of this extraordinary young woman
was unknown. It was said that the proprietor of
the Mail was familiar with her antecedents, but
Mr. Irkins had given no hint of his knowledge
to his editors. At one time she had been a
trained nurse and had studied hypnotism. It
was this glimpse into the mysteries of the mes-
meric trance that led her into the shadowy regions
148 EAGLE BLOOD
of organized esoterism, and in time her fascinat-
ing articles on ghosthood and its corollaries won
her a place on the staff of the Mail. Mr. Irkins
believed that the public liked to read about
" spookology," and he favored Miss Crush.
And, although she pretended to believe in the
mysteries she described, she was possessed of a
mental sharpness compounded with cunning, that
brought her successfully into the general work of
news-gathering.
It was not difficult for such a woman to in-
terest Hugh's frank and trustful nature. There
was nothing in heaven or earth that she did not
seem to know, and her very subtlety appealed to
his blunt mind. She planned odd feasts in out-
of-the-way Italian restaurants and introduced him
to all sorts of mystics. He drank sour wine in
obscure cellars, dined on sharks' fins in a Chinese
inn, revelled in cheap French resorts, fared on
beer and pigs' knuckles and wonderful krauts and
wursts in picturesque German beer gardens, and
laughed and sang with the priests and priestesses
of every ism and ology under the sun. At times
he was permitted to attend wonder-working seances
EAGLE BLOOD
149
in dimly lighted rooms, and although he laughed
wholesomely at the pretensions of the adepts and
mediums, he found these adventures on the
borderland of infinity interesting and sometimes
entrancing.
Miss Grush was not beautiful. Her face was
too lean, her lips too thin, her skin too yellow,
and her eyes too close together. There were
deep lines about the corners of the straight
mouth, and the fine nostrils had an unpleasant
trick of expanding. In moments of mental ex-
citement there was an intense look in the black
eyes and an impressive expression of concentra-
tion in the gypsy countenance. She had a rare
power of arresting attention by suddenly lowering
her voice to a whisper and dilating her eyes.
But there was an indescribable hardness, a sly
vigilance about her, that gave one a feeling of
restlessness in her company.
There was no sentiment in Hugh's relations
with this daughter of mysteries. She was simply
a professional comrade who wove spells for his
entertainment ; a witty, witchlike, tactful vagrant
who never failed in variety, and whose orbit of
150 EAGLE BLOOD
weird follies reached from the spectacled psychol-
ogists of the great universities to the table-
tipping fakirs of the cheap restaurants.
Little did the young man dream of the deep
cunning that lay hidden behind those friendly
black eyes, or of the confidential correspondence
with a firm of London solicitors which had dis-
covered to Miss Crush the secret of his rank and
title. His wild ravings, while lying unconscious
in the Martin cottage, coupled with his article in
the Mail, had put her keen mind on guard, and
the inquiries she sent to England were sufficient
to identify Hugh as the missing Viscount Delau-
nay. And one day, finding his desk unlocked,
she read a letter from his old solicitor.
" While I hope that your lordship does not
contemplate a permanent residence in America,"
wrote Mr. Chadder, " I believe that your present
experiences will be of lasting benefit to you.
Contact with Americans must inevitably awaken
a keener pride in your own country and bring
out the latent qualities of your noble blood. It
would serve no useful end to return to London
now, for I will not attempt to conceal from you
EAGLE BLOOD
the sometimes humiliating straits to which your
lordship's distinguished grandfather is driven to
satisfy creditors, and to live in the most modest
way. The earl has secured an American tenant
a Mr. Swinton of Chicago for Battlecragie
Castle, and is now in small lodgings in Jermyn
Street. He is greatly broken in health, and
shows little interest in anything, except the com-
mercial invasion of England by the Americans,
and the mere mention of this subject is sufficient
to provoke violent outbursts of anger. It would
be a great blow to his pride to know that you
were living in New York. He refused to attend
the last levee at St. James Palace, when he read
in the Times that her Majesty had bidden the
American ambassador to dinner at Windsor, and
declares that no Englishman who has a drop of
patriotism in his veins will eat anything that
comes from America ; although the truth is that
the beef he eats every day, and the flour from
which his bread is made, were grown in the
United States. I fear that, if he learns of your
present life, he will never be reconciled to you.
In spite of my sincere sympathy with your lord-
152 EAGLE BLOOD
ship's manly effort to work out a career for yourself
on your own merits, which I am sure does credit
to your intentions, I must admit that it shocks
me to think that the last man of a family which
adorns the greatest pages of English history
and, particularly, your distinguished father's son
should be reduced to the necessity of winning
his livelihood by reporting the doings of others.
I am sure that your lordship will forgive me if I
say again that a suitable American marriage would
not be an unworthy object of your youth, and that
it would solve a situation too painful to discuss in
detail."
Miss Crush read the letter again and again be-
fore she replaced it in Hugh's desk.> And from
that day she increased her efforts to win his regard
and establish her influence over him. She was
too intelligent not to recognize the tender affection
which had grown up between Hugh and Helen
Martin. As yet it was an unspoken sentiment,
too vague for words, a sweet comradeship, a fond
concord, unconscious of passion. Notwithstand-
ing her frank and self-reliant nature, the slightest
approach to the secrets of Helen's heart discovered
EAGLE BLOOD
a girlish shyness that defied investigation, while it
heightened the charm of her innocent youth and
beauty.
Try as he might, Hugh could never cross the
barrier between them. He was an Englishman,
a leal subject of the British crown, while she was
the daughter of a nation that recognized no higher
rank than the sovereignty of manhood. Her
ancestry, her education, her environment, and her
patriotic temperament combined to strengthen
her national prejudice. With the egotism of
youth and what is there like the egotism of a
young girl living in an atmosphere of homage,
sweeping away resistance with the tidal power
of beautiful maidenhood ? she clung to her first
patriotic conceptions as settled convictions, and
declared that no true American could ever become
the subject of a king, by marriage or otherwise.
And Hugh came to know the little patriot well
enough to understand that an avowal of his rank
and title would bring the intimacy of their com-
panionship to an end ; and so he guarded his
secret and allowed himself to drift pleasantly with
her, without a thought of the future.
154 EAGLE BLOOD
All this was known to Miss Crush. She
found many excuses to visit the little green
cottage in the woods, and by playful allusions
to Hugh surprised Helen into a blushing ad-
mission that the young Englishman's nationality
had been the cause of some restraint in their
intercourse ; and by a hundred feminine devices
of hint and insinuation, Miss Crush sought to
widen the breach.
One night, after Hugh had finished a long
article on the now furious agitation for American
intervention in Cuba, and stood looking out of
a window in the Mail office, watching the occa-
sional drops of rain that trickled down the
pane, Miss Crush touched his arm.
"Tired?" she asked, as he turned lazily.
"Yes, I'm fagged out," he yawned. "This
Cuban business has stirred me up. It's horrible
to think that Spain is allowed systematically to
exterminate a brave little nation simply because
the moneyed men ot the United States are
fearful that business might be disturbed and
stocks depressed if the government interfered
with the Spanish policy of massacre. It sickens
EAGLE BLOOD 155
me to be told that a newspaper man has no
right to allow his personal feelings or opinions
to enter into his work."
" Poor fellow ! " murmured Miss Grush, sym-
pathetically. " I know how you feel. It's
maddening."
" There's not a man on the staff that hasn't
had his turn on the Cuban question, and yet
not one of them cares a rap about it except to
make a good story. Journalism seems to deaden
a man's soul. Even Mr. Irkins told me to-
night that he stuck to the insurgent cause
because there was circulation for the Mail in
it. And yet war may be declared before the
week is out."
" A man's soul can't be deadened it he goes
to the gate of life," purred Miss Grush, laying
her warm hand on his shoulder and watching
him through her half-closed lashes. " You laugh
at the evidences of the spirit life that broods in
the air about you, but I can take you to-night to
one who will convince you."
" Pshaw ! " he laughed wearily, shaking her
hand off, " more sour wine, villanous cooking,
156 EAGLE BLOOD
and spooks. I'm not in the humor for it to-
night ; it's like hearing the Lord's Prayer to a
banjo accompaniment. I'm sure it's kind of
you to think of me, but I'm in a serious
mood and these ghost tricks are tiresome ; you'll
have to excuse me."
The dark face grew paler and the thin figure
stiffened at the rebuff.
"You never think of me," she said bitterly.
" Oh, come now," said Hugh, moved by her
tone, "you know better than that; but I'm
beat out to-night and I'd rather turn in and
have some sleep really, I would."
" Do come," she pleaded. " I have to go
for the paper and I feel lonely ; besides, there
are to be manifestations by Madame Grocroft,
the greatest medium in the world. Her house
in Paris is the resort of the most famous writers
and scientific men in Europe. She is a woman
whose learning and social position are sufficient
to obtain a serious hearing for her in any com-
munity, and the Society for Psychical Research
has received her evidence almost without criti-
cism."
EAGLE BLOOD 157
Hugh stuck his hands in his pockets and
flattened his nose against the window-pane. The
rain was thicker in the air, and the Broadway
pavements were already streaming.
"They're all humbugs," he said. "That
Gerzmanowli woman told me that I would in-
herit a great fortune within a month, and then
tried to borrow twenty-five dollars from me.
Prince Chownda insisted that he could see a
beautiful angel through my flesh, and afterward
attempted to sell me a glass sapphire. The
holy Lama what-do-you-call-him ? assured
me that he had not eaten for ten years, and left
for parts unknown after running up an enor-
mous bill at the Waldorf-Astoria restaurant.
The spirit princess who insisted on kissing me
at Mrs. Kemmer's ghost show had been drink-
ing gin. The whole thing's a fraud, and it's
the cruelest sort of imposition, because the
victims are generally sorrowing women. I can't
bear it. No, I'll go home to-night."
" Please come," she purred in his ear. " Do
it for me. I've a reason for asking it."
" A reason ? "
158 EAGLE BLOOD
" Yes, a reason. I want to convince you
to-night of truths that may affect your whole
life. I can't tell you everything now, but I
want you to trust me to-night."
" Oh, well," said Hugh, good-naturedly,
" hang it ! I suppose I must go. You never
let up on a fellow till you've had your way."
" It will be the night of your life," whispered
Miss Crush, with a strange smile.
An hour later they entered an old-fashioned
and somewhat shabby brick house near Washing-
ton Square, and were ushered into a large, half-
lighted room where twenty or thirty men and
women were seated in a semicircle facing a tall
Japanese screen. The room was plainly fur-
nished, and there were a few commonplace steel
engravings in cheap frames on the faded walls.
A cracked marble mantel over a vacant fireplace
was adorned with imitation bronze statuettes
flanked by ground-glass vases filled with dried
pampas grass. Two doors behind the screen
were half concealed by gaudy Turkish hangings.
The people in the room spoke in whispers.
Most of them were women. In the middle
EAGLE BLOOD 159
of the semicircle sat an old man, whose white
hair hung in curls down his back. Beside him,
and evidently his companion, was a smooth-faced
youth with a harelip, who stared about with
an expression of awe. Two seats away was a
curiously wizened man, with a bald pate and
bulging forehead, whose ivory-handled walking-
stick stood upright between his knees. He
whispered incessantly to a sickly young woman
dressed in widow's black and heavily veiled.
Next to him was a huge, red-faced man with
close-cropped side whiskers and a triple chin,
who wheezed and goggled his eyes apoplectically
when he was not listening to the little, thin
woman who sat beside him.
As Miss Crush and her companion entered
the room, Madame Grocroft, a tall, graceful
woman, whose singularly strong face was marred
by a great wart, came from behind the screen
and welcomed them. She spoke with a slight
foreign accent and was dressed in a prim black
silk dress devoid of ornament. She greeted
Miss Crush with marked deference and glanced
sharply at Hugh.
160 EAGLE BLOOD
" A friend of the cause ? "
" A doubter," said Miss Grush. " One who
seeks light."
" Ah, faith ! faith ! we are nothing without
faith," sighed Madame Grocroft, raising her eyes
to the ceiling. " We shut our eyes and say that
the world is dark, but when we open them we
perceive the light and beauty of heaven. We
think of the flesh as the only reality, forgetting
that it is merely a garment for the spirit. Ah,
Miss Grush, if this seeker for light will only
have faith to see, who can tell what blessed
message may come forth to him from the spirits
who surround us."
" Don't make a fool of me," whispered Hugh,
angrily, to his guide.
" You have the face of a prophet," said the
Madame, looking him in the eyes.
" Pooh ! " answered Hugh, rudely.
" And you must have the faith of a prophet
the faith to see, to hear, to know. It is not
given to every one to know the truth."
"When does the show begin ? "
" The show ? Ah, my dear Mr. "
EAGLE BLOOD 161
" Dorsay," said Miss Grush.
" My good Mr. Dorsay, the revelation, the
sublime transmutation of disembodied soul ether
into material forms, the meeting of infinite and
finite how can you speak so lightly of such
sacred things ? "
" I suppose it's because I've seen so much
humbug," said Hugh, frankly. " Show me a
spirit that I can recognize. Ghost voices and
table rappings are easy enough."
A swift signal passed between the eyes of Miss
Grush and Madame Grocroft.
"You shall see and hear to-night what will
be understood only by yourself," said the
medium, raising her glance to the ceiling again
and clasping her hands as if in prayer. " I feel
your psychic forces stirring ; you are on the
verge of a great event, a great awakening."
Hugh sniffed contemptuously and took a seat
with Miss Grush among the devotees, several
of whom knew her and nodded their heads.
Then Madame Grocroft rustled forward and
disappeared behind the screen. There was
silence for a few minutes, interrupted only by
i6<z EAGLE BLOOD
the wheezing of the red-faced man and the tick-
ing of a clock. The lights in the room were
extinguished. Hugh stared into the darkness
until he grew drowsy and nodded. The sharp
tinkling of a bell aroused him, and he noticed
a pearly radiance shining faintly behind the
screen. The light grew brighter, changing from
white to silvery blue, to rose-tinged gray, to
violet, with tremulous flashes of pale green, and
then to a misty glare of sulphurous yellow, which
died down to a ghastly white flicker.
"Chemicals," whispered Hugh to Miss Crush.
"She's burning alcohol mixed with salt now I
know the trick."
" For God's sake be serious ! " she replied.
" We are in the presence of the dead."
A tall figure robed in white stalked from be-
hind the screen. At every step there was a clank-
ing of metal and the jewelled hilt of a sword
protruded through a slit in the trailing garment.
A white cloth was twisted about the head, throw-
ing a shadow on the face, over which there played
a deathly phosphorescence. The robe was slightly
parted below the square chin, revealing a massive
EAGLE BLOOD 163
neck and the shining edge of a steel breastplate.
The eyes were hidden beneath bushy eyebrows.
" Lord Delaunay," said the figure, in a deep
voice that echoed through the darkened room.
Hugh sat silent and motionless. His skin
tingled and his head throbbed, but he clenched
his teeth, resolved not to have his secret ravished
from him.
" He's looking at you," whispered Miss Grush,
nudging him.
The figure advanced toward Hugh with long,
heavy strides, making the boards of the floor creak.
" Lord Delaunay ! "
A long finger pointed at him from the white
folds. The swathed head bowed, and there was a
terrible grin on the dim visage.
" Speak, speak ! " urged Miss Grush. He could
feel her hand trembling as it touched him ; but
he gave no sign and uttered no word.
" Lord Delaunay ! " The voice rolled harshly
and ended in a wail. The figure moved onward
until the white robe touched his knee.
" Hang it, you've stepped on my foot ! " shouted
Hugh, indignantly, as he leaped from his seat.
164 EAGLE BLOOD
" Thou knowest me," groaned the apparition.
" I don't," snapped the young man.
" I am Godfrey de Bouillon, Marquis of Ant-
werp, Duke of Lorraine, Baron and Defender
of the Holy Sepulchre. Thou art my kins-
man."
" Nothing of the sort," said Hugh, in spite of
his shaking knees. "Godfrey de Bouillon couldn't
speak English."
"Alas ! that one of my blood should renounce
his name. Know, then, that the tongues of all
men are known to those who have risen from the
bondage of the flesh. Thou wast born in Battle-
cragie Castle and "
" Nonsense ! I was born in London."
The tall figure started and shrank backward.
A bell tinkled, and the glow behind the screen
died out. There was utter darkness. Hugh was
conscious that the white figure was slowly retreat-
ing. Not a sound broke the stillness but the
creaking of the floor. There was a sudden rush
of blood to his head, and with a fierce bound for-
ward he grappled the apparition. His wrists were
seized with an iron grip, there was a piercing
EAGLE BLOOD 165
scream, followed by the crash of the overturned
screen. A powerful hand struck him on the fore-
head and he fell to the floor, while the room was
filled with the cries of the frightened company.
As he staggered to his feet, Hugh could hear
men and women rushing to and fro in the dark-
ness in a wild endeavor to escape. Then a warm
hand was laid on his head, and Miss Grush's voice
purred in his ear.
" Be cool," she said. "You've lost your head.
Stand where you are."
Suddenly the lights were turned up. The
screen was in its place again, the white figure was
nowhere to be seen, and Madame Grocroft issued
forth to survey the upset chairs and huddled
groups with an air of surprise. Hugh rubbed the
bump on his forehead and frowned. His face
was white with passion. The tall medium raised
her hands and clicked her tongue.
" T'ck, t'ck, t'ck ! what does this mean ? " she
cried. " I have been roughly awakened from the
trance. What brawler has done this ? "
The red-faced man pointed to Hugh and
wagged his fat head.
i66 EAGLE BLOOD
" He's a newspaper spy," he growled. " It'll
all be in print to-morrow."
" Ah, Mr. Dorsay," said the Madame, reproach-
fully, " is it possible ? Have you forgotten the
laws of social intercourse so far as to violate the
privacy of this circle ? "
" Nothing is further from my mind," answered
Hugh. " I'm sorry to have disturbed your meet-
ing, but I insist upon seeing the man who struck
me. There is a conspiracy here that must be
explained. Where is the man who called himself
Godfrey de Bouillon ? "
Madame Grocroft smiled and closed her eyes
dreamily.
" You speak of the great knight who conquered
Jerusalem and rescued the Holy Sepulchre," she
murmured. " He it was who spoke to me from
the other world. Indeed you have been fortunate
to speak with the illustrious spirit so fortunate!"
Her eyes remained closed and her face grew
radiant. "I remember now a tall man in
shining armor, a long sword at his side, and a
cross on his great shield."
" Let's go," said Hugh, dryly. " I've had
EAGLE BLOOD 167
enough of this. No, thank you," to Madame
Grocroft, who begged him to sit again at the
bright gate of truth " not any more."
As he went out into the night with Miss
Crush, the rain beat in his hot face. Neither
spoke. He was dazed by the discovery that the
secret of his identity was known in New York.
He gave his arm mechanically to his silent com-
panion and walked aimlessly toward Broadway.
A squad of drunken roisterers went reeling past
him in the storm, singing in chorus. He could
hear their voices sounding along the street as they
disappeared in the drifting gray ness. He shivered
and turned up the collar of his coat.
" What did he mean by calling you Lord
Delaunay ? " asked Miss Grush, clinging to his
arm.
Hugh stopped abruptly and peered in her face,
the bright drops falling between them.
" You are too sharp altogether," he said gruffly.
CHAPTER VII
THEY walked in silence through the storm for
a few minutes. It was growing colder. The
wind caught up little whirls of rain and rattled
the shutters on the houses. At the corner of
Broadway they halted under an electric light that
made the shadows of the descending shower flutter
over the gleaming street like flocks of frightened
bats.
" Where are we going ? " purred Miss Crush.
" Going ? " Hugh stared at the dancing shad-
ows. " Where should we be going ? "
"It's early yet. We might find the Prince of
Bpoonung at Podelli's. He generally drops in
late for a dish of spaghetti ; and some of the
others are sure to be there Bulga Toomi, Miss
Cassatto, or Professor FrichkofF."
" No, I'm tired and I have a splitting head-
ache. I've been terribly upset to-night. I'll go
1 68
EAGLE BLOOD 169
home and turn in. I wish I hadn't gone to that
ghost show and made a spectacle of myself."
" Won't you come to my apartment and talk it
over ? " she suggested with an eagerness that
escaped his notice. " I feel that something has
wounded you deeply, and perhaps I can help you
to understand it."
Hugh hesitated.
" I oughtn't to have asked you to Madame
Grocroft's to-night ; but she is the most famous
medium in the world, and I didn't want you to
miss the opportunity of seeing her. I'm sure
you're mistaken in supposing that the apparition
was a trick. If I thought so, I'd But you'll
come with me and let me explain, won't you ? "
There was something in her manner that
aroused Hugh's interest. After all, what reason
could she have for deceiving him? He could
feel her black eyes looking into his very soul.
The electric light struck green sparkles from the
crystal heart hanging at her throat. Her hand
trembled on his arm.
" If you really could explain "
" I'm sure I can explain everything."
i yo EAGLE BLOOD
"Then I'll go."
And so it happened that the heir of Battle-
cragie Castle found himself near midnight seated
in Miss Grush's little sitting room, with a smok-
ing Welsh rabbit and a bottle of ale before him.
It was an interesting place. The dull red walls;
the colored Turkish hangings ; the rows of photo-
graphs of oriental celebrities in picturesque cos-
tume ; the canopy of embroidered silk held over a
many-cushioned couch on the points of ancient
halberds ; the carved blackwood cabinet, filled
with painted and gilded idols, Eastern daggers,
bits of jade, rare snuff-bottles and all sorts of
Chinese odds and ends ; the green bronze dragon
on the steam heater, emitting sandalwood incense
through its nostrils ; the big blackwood chair with
a marble seat ; the hanging placards covered with
prayers and odes in Sanscrit and Chinese charac-
ters ; and the altar-like framework in front of the
piano, containing a portrait of the lamented Bla-
vatsky, dead priestess of occultism, lent an air of
mystery to the room that even the smell of burn-
ing cheese and the flavor of good ale could not
dispel.
EAGLE BLOOD 171
" It's a cosey little den," said Hugh, looking
about him. "Just the place for a midnight sup-
per. What strange things you must have seen
here. I suppose every incantation known to the
ghost-workers has been uttered in this room.
Stunning good ale, too just cold enough and
this rabbit's as tender as can be."
Hugh was recovering his spirits and laughed
heartily at Miss Crush's stories.
"You may not believe it," she murmured,
"but I've seen the soul of a cousin who died ten
years ago sitting on that steam heater, beside the
bronze dragon."
"Jolly uncomfortable place to sit, if the steam
was on," said Hugh, sipping his ale. " Perhaps
he got used to heat after he died."
"You don't believe me?"
" I'm like Walpole. I believe everything but
history it's a lie."
" This," said Miss Crush, bringing a ball of
rock crystal from the cabinet and handing it to
her guest, " was cut from the heart of a mountain
in Thibet, and was brought to me by a Bonpa
monk."
172 EAGLE BLOOD
" What was his particular style of entertain-
ment?"
" Oh, he didn't give entertainments at all. He
went on foot from Thibet to Calcutta, and took
ship to New York, to expose some of the heresies
of Buddhism which he had been led to believe was
establishing itself in America. When he started
back for his native mountains, he left that prayer
wheel which you see in the corner."
" How beautiful it is," said Hugh, holding up
the polished crystal ball, which mirrored every
tint and color in the room. " The ancients used
to believe that rock crystal was congealed ice."
" Hold it closer to your face and examine it
carefully," suggested Miss Crush.
Her eyes glittered and her hand shook. The
dark face grew gray, save for a bright spot in
either cheek. The heaving of her bosom be-
trayed her excitement, and the deep lines at
the corners of her mouth gave her an aspect
of cunning and cruelty.
" It strains my eyes to do that."
Miss Grush stole closer to him, with a gentle,
undulating step.
EAGLE BLOOD 173
" Don't take your eyes off it. Concentrate
your mind on that bright spot in the centre."
He could feel her hot breath on his cheek.
Brilliant waves of color swam through the clear
depths of the shining sphere. The rich fra-
grance of sandalwood seemed to steal into his
senses. She stroked his forehead gently.
" Put your whole soul into that spot of light,"
she whispered. " See, see how fair it is, how
marvellous ! " Hugh stared at the crystal, held
by sheer fascination. He felt his will power
leaving him, but he could not resist. " There,
there," drawing the tip of her fingers across his
brow and cooing in his ear, " see how your
soul yields to mine."
" My soul," he muttered in a feeble mono-
tone.
"Yes, yes. It's all right. Don't resist, but
give yourself up to me."
" To me," he echoed. His eyes opened
wider and the pupils dilated. The muscles of
his face twitched, and he moistened his dry lips
with his tongue.
" I don't like this infernal "
174 EAGLE BLOOD
His tongue refused to move, and his eyelids
drooped slightly over the staring blue eyes.
He was in a hypnotic sleep. Miss Grush closed
the eyelids and drew a deep breath of relief.
Her face was ghastly in its pallor. For an
instant she watched her victim keenly, and then
a sudden tigerish beauty came into her counte-
nance and she kissed Hugh's pale lips. As she
bent over the helpless youth, his fine, thin
features and aristocratic brow seemed to excite
her evil nature, and her lip curled scornfully.
" Easier than I thought," she murmured.
" Good blood run to seed no will power."
With noiseless step she moved to the wall
and touched an electric button. A boy answered
the summons.
" Tell Mr. Frewen I want to see him im-
mediately. He's waiting for this message. You
know where to find him ? " The boy nodded
and vanished.
No sound broke the stillness of the room
but the regular breathing of the hypnotized
victim. His face was as white as death, and the
crystal ball was still clutched in his rigid hand.
EAGLE BLOOD 175
A lock of yellow hair had fallen across the
high, blue-veined forehead. Miss Grush watched
him for a moment and rubbed her hands softly
together. Then she glided to a large mirror
and looked critically at her own face, perking
her head from side to side and smoothing her
black hair.
" Not so bad," she whispered. " A little
thin and sallow, but distinguished enough for
a viscountess. Ah!" with a slow, sweeping
courtesy to her smiling reflection "good evening,
my lady ! How charming your ladyship looks."
Presently she sat down beside her victim and
stroked his brow again.
" Open your eyes," she commanded.
The eyelids fluttered for an instant, and Hugh
regarded her with a fixed stare. Her black eyes
burned feverishly. She put her face close to his
and looked into his pale eyes.
" Lord Delaunay, you love me."
Hugh continued to stare at the temptress
without speaking.
" You love me and want me to be your wife,"
she purred.
176 EAGLE BLOOD
" Yes," answered Hugh.
"What is your father's name? "
" Father's name," he echoed mechanically.
" Yes, dear. Think hard your father's
name."
" The Viscount Delaunay."
" He's dead, isn't he ? "
" Dead."
" What was his Christian name ? "
" Christian name " he knit his brows as if
struggling with the thought.
" Your father's Christian name." She drew
her ringers across his cheek and brushed his
hair back.
" Philip Eustace Godfrey."
" Your mother's name ? Tell me, dear."
" Catherine Le Breux Marie Dorsay."
" Oh, Hugh ! how you love me ! And we are
to be married now married forever and ever.
Where is your ring ?" she looked in alarm at
his hands "the ring Miss Remington gave
you that curious old crusader's ring ? "
Hugh brought it forth from his pocket. It
was the historic family ring given to his fighting
EAGLE BLOOD 177
ancestor at the siege of Jerusalem by Tancred.
In an impulsive moment Miss Remington had
remembered him at Christmas by presenting him
with the curious old ring, unknowing that it had
been his since childhood.
" What a lovely bit it is ! " said Miss Crush,
fitting it on her finger. " Where did it come
from ? "
Before he could answer there was a knock at
the door, and Miss Crush admitted a little old
man in shabby clerical attire. His wrinkled face
and watery eyes, seen through iron-bound spec-
tacles, bespoke cunning and avarice. Behind
him strode Madame Grocroft, the spiritualist
medium, whose strong face beamed with smiles.
" Oh," cried the Madame, " we have come from
the gate of truth to sit in the temple of love.
A thousand congratulations, my dear young
people."
" A nasty night," said the old man, laying his
hat on the table. " But love defies the elements.
The wetter the night the dryer the heart." And
he cackled shrilly.
" My fiance, Mr. Hugh Dorsay," said Miss
178 EAGLE BLOOD
Grush, presenting Hugh, whose countenance was
expressionless. Hugh, dear, this is the Rev. Mr.
Frewen."
" Delighted to meet you, sir," exclaimed Mr.
Frewen, producing a prayer-book and clearing
his throat with a cough. " My congratulations."
Hugh's face was like a mask. His eyes had a
fixed, stony look.
" Mr. Dorsay is not well," explained Miss
Grush, stroking her victim's head. He is a little
deaf, so that you must speak clearly. We would
like to have the ceremony over as soon as possi-
ble, as he must leave the city at once. We have
urgent reasons for keeping the marriage secret for
the present. I think I have explained to you,
Mr. Frewen, that the condition of his nerves is
such that he cannot endure any excitement.
Please make it as short as you can."
" Certainly," said Mr. Frewen, thumbing his
prayer-book, " I shall take no more time than is
necessary. The situation is a little unusual, but
we must all accommodate ourselves to the exi-
gencies of love he ! he ! he ! "
" What a beautiful sight it is to see two lovers
EAGLE BLOOD 179
asking the benediction of God upon their union ! "
said Madame Grocroft, piously. Then she leaned
over to Miss Grush. " Is it safe ? " she whis-
pered ; "will he answer?" Miss Grush winked
and laughed. Madame Grocroft playfully pinched
her hand.
All this time Hugh sat motionless, with a far-
away look in his wide-open eyes. The exhaus-
tion of his day's labor in the Mail office, the
nervous strain of the scene in Madame Grocroft's
house, and the intense reaction following the dis-
covery that the secret of his identity was known
to some one in New York had so weakened him,
so unbalanced his normal condition, that he had
easily fallen into Miss Grush's trap. The ex-
traordinary conjunction of mystery and mental
shock had given the wily adventuress her oppor-
tunity.
Mr. Frewen opened his book and adjusted
his spectacles.
" Please stand up," he said.
Miss Grush took Hugh's hand, and together
they stood before the clergyman.
" How sweet ! " murmured Madame Grocroft,
i8o EAGLE BLOOD
clasping her hands on her bosom. " How lovely
it is ! "
Miss Crush cast her eyes down for a moment
with an affectation of shyness, and after that she
looked steadily into Hugh's white face.
Mr. Frewen read the marriage service, and
under the compulsion of Miss Crush's eyes and
voice, Hugh made the responses, intoning his
words like the clergyman. He placed the ring
of Tancred on her finger and repeated the vows
like a man in a dream. He knelt beside her
while the blessing was uttered, and afterward
signed his name in the record-book while Mr.
Frewen made out the marriage certificate.
" Kiss me," said Miss Crush in his ear.
He pressed his lips against her mouth and
smiled faintly. Then they stood hand in hand.
" My sincere congratulations," cried the
Madame, embracing the bride and kissing her
on both cheeks. " Your ladyship "
" 'Ssh ! not now " and the black eyes
snapped with anger. " We'll speak of that to-
morrow."
" H'm, I think we'd better retire," said Mr.
EAGLE BLOOD 181
Frewen, with a prolonged cackle. " He ! he !
Two's company and well, you know the rest."
And he took up his hat and moved toward the
door with Madame Grocroft.
An hour passed. The heavy crystal ball rolled
from the table and crashed on the floor. Hugh
o
started and shook himself. His face twitched,
and a look of returning consciousness came into
his eyes. Miss Grush bent her glance upon him
and placed her hand on his head, but he shook
her off. His lips were wet with saliva. He was
dimly aware of having yielded in a struggle with
some invisible enemy. The air seemed to be
filled with drifting fiery sparks. Something in the
room fell with a loud thud, and Hugh awoke in
his right mind, to find himself alone with the
black-eyed adventuress. He blinked his eyes
and yawned.
"Why, what a curious experience I've had,"
he said with a smile. " I'm afraid I've been rude
enough to fall asleep. Do you know, I dreamed
that we were married right in this room, and I
can recall a book in which I signed my name as
plainly as if it had happened ; and, and " he
182 EAGLE BLOOD
laughed nervously "I dreamed that I put
my old ring on your finger, and why, there's
that crystal ball on the floor, and I remember
it all now you were trying to mesmerize me,
and I tried to hold my own against you."
He pressed his hand across his face and looked
around the room in a bewildered way.
"I I could have sworn we were married," he
said. " It was so real and Madame Grocroft
was here and a funny old rag-bag of a parson."
Miss Griish looked at him tenderly and played
with the green crystal heart at her throat.
" Would you have been sorry to find the dream
true ? " she said softly.
" Oh, come, now," he answered, " you can't
expect me to say how I'd feel if I were an
enchanted prince in a pantomime. Perhaps the
joke would have been on you."
She leaned her head sidewise and gave him a
strange look out of her half-closed eyes. The
indescribable gypsy expression that impressed
him when he first saw her had returned to her
face. She came nearer to him with a sinuous,
swaying motion.
EAGLE BLOOD 183
" Hugh, my husband," she purred.
"What? " he cried with a look of horror.
" It's all true, dearest," she said with a mock-
ing smile, as she held up her hand and showed
the ring of Tancred. " See, here is the ring,
beloved. I am now your wedded wife, Viscount-
ess Delaunay and the Countess of Castlehurst
to be."
He gasped and staggered back.
" You're mad ! " he shouted. " What vile
trick is this and why have you stolen my ring,
you shameless creature ? "
" No, I'm not mad,'' she said in a steady voice.
" We were married in regular form by a clergy-
man in the presence of a witness within the hour.
My God, Hugh," her bosom heaved and her
cheeks glowed with color "I was driven to this
by my love. Don't, don't look at me like that.
Forgive me and take me to your heart. I know
I've taken a desperate chance for happiness, but
my life has been so lonely, so miserable, and I
love you as no woman ever loved a man before.
Take me, Hugh, for I am your true wife before
God and man."
1 84 EAGLE BLOOD
" You damned adventuress ! " he roared ; but
she fell on her knees at his feet and bowed her
head.
" Curse me," she cried. " I deserve it ! See,
I am at your feet, dear your lawful wife, whom
you have sworn to love and cherish until death.
Trample on me if you will, but oh, Hugh, Hugh,
I've dared to do this for the love I bear you.
I've had you for my own for this one hour, at
least. I know it was wrong, but I have been so,
so unhappy all my days, and seeing this one
chance of heaven before me, I took it."
She burst into a wild fit of weeping.
"I'll work for you, I'll plan for you, I'll con-
quer success for you, dear," she sobbed. " I
have brains and experience ; I know the world ;
I know how to serve those I love and I'll be
your slave for life. Tell me to die, and I'll kill
myself tell me to live, and I'll live for you.
Have pity, for you are a strong man and I am
a weak woman whose existence has been one
prolonged misery until this hour."
She raised her tear-stained face, her black hair
unfastened and hanging about it like a cowl.
EAGLE BLOOD 185
Hugh's countenance was stern, and there was
a dangerous glitter in his blue eyes.
" Have you no fear of prison ? " he said in
a hard voice. " No, you needn't try any more
tricks, for I'm on my guard" she was gazing
fiercely into his eyes as if to overpower him
again. " You can't do it a second time. Wise
men as well as fools may make mistakes, but it's
only a foot who makes the same mistake twice.
If it's true that I was trapped into a marriage
ceremony, you'll have a chance to try the power
of your arts on a judge and jury. Out of my
way, you low woman ! "
With a piercing cry of " Hugh ! " she rose
and tried to throw her arms about him, but he
thrust her from him in disgust and rushed out of
the room.
The deserted bride stood motionless, listening
to the sound of his retreating footsteps. There
were dark rings under her eyes, and she seemed
to have suddenly grown older. She shivered
and drew her garments about her as she went
to the table and drank a mouthful of ale left
in Hugh's glass. Then she perched herself on
186 EAGLE BLOOD
the edge of the table, with one leg curled under
the other, and lit a cigarette. In her hand was
a crumpled paper, which she carefully straight-
ened out. It was the marriage certificate. The
cigarette smoke slipped from between her lips
and curled about her head, and she smiled as she
read the proof of her victory through the mist.
" Hugh Dorsay and Barbara Grush." She
repeated the names over and over. Then, catch-
ing a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she slid
from the table and regarded herself earnestly in
the glass.
" Poor girl ! " she murmured, " you've had
a hard time of it in this world. Fate has played
you strange tricks." Then, with a sudden change
of mood, she frowned at her face. " You devil,
you ought to succeed."
Taking the ring from her finger, she examined
it closely. The strange carving of the worn
tablet, with its almost obliterated inscription,
excited her curiosity, and she picked at it. The
secret shutter of the tablet flew open, disclosing
the sorrowful face of Christ. She shuddered and
turned out the light.
CHAPTER VIII
MR. IRKINS was irritated. For years his
newspaper had fiercely advocated war against
Spain for the emancipation of the Cuban Re-
public ; and now Congress had authorized the
President to drive the Spaniards out of the west-
ern hemisphere, without even mentioning the
Mail. Such ingratitude was not to be borne in
silence. Nay, more, there was even a disposition
on the part of rival newspapers to jeer at Mr.
Irkins and to make light of the countless offer-
ings he had laid upon the altar of freedom. The
President had joined the crowned despots and
brutal ministers of Europe in refusing to reply to
Mr. Irkins's messages answers prepaid ask-
ing for signed statements regarding the Mail's
war policy. His plan of campaign, telegraphed
to the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the
Navy, had been ignored, and a distinguished
187
i88 EAGLE BLOOD
Admiral, to whom he had offered advice, had
heartlessly asked him by wire whether he had
ever heard of the man in Chicago who made a
large fortune by minding his own business.
The master of strenuous journalism sat in his
office reading the proofs of a double-leaded edi-
torial challenging the leagued powers of Europe
to interfere with the Mail's armed policy in
Cuba, and darkly hinting at certain dire conse-
quences that would follow. He tugged at his
red beard and occasionally lifted his head to
listen to the crowd in the street cheering the
Mail's war bulletins. Mr. Irkins liked the
sound. It was music in his ears. No other
newspaper in the world could make the mob roar
like that.
Presently he touched an electric button, and
the door opened slightly.
"No, sir," said an unctuous voice, " I tell you
that Mr. Irkins isn't in. I saw him leave the
office a moment ago. You can catch him in the
street, sir, if you're quick."
There was a pause, and then the door swung
back and a white-haired, clean-shaven man, with
EAGLE BLOOD 189
the saintly aspect of a bishop, entered and bowed
to Mr. Irkins.
"You're invaluable, James," said the proprie-
tor, without looking up from the proof sheets.
"I really don't know how I'd get along without
you."
The venerable attendant smiled gratefully.
" You lie like an angel."
James's shrewd eyes twinkled, and he coughed
modestly at the compliment.
" Has Miss Grush come in ? "
" Not yet, sir."
" Tell Mr. Benthorp I want to see him, and
when Miss Grush arrives tell her to come to me
immediately."
Mr. Irkins paced the room with long strides,
pausing each time he reached the window, to
watch the frantic, hurrahing crowds in front of the
Mail's bulletin board. His big, bony hands were
locked behind his back, and there was a grim look
in his pallid face. He smacked his lips impatiently.
He was a strange man, with a strange ambition.
Money, political honors, social distinction, literary
eminence, domestic bliss for these he cared little.
190 EAGLE BLOOD
His one aim in life was to be able to say that the
Mail had a larger circulation than any other news-
paper in the world. Circulation was his god.
Nothing interested him unless it contributed to
the sale of the Mail. His philosophy was simple.
The financier was great according to the number
of dollars he owned, the politician was great accord-
ing to the number of votes he could command, and
the journalist was great according to the number
of newspapers he sold. He was honest and even
generous in his dealings with men. His power-
ful personality, penetrating mind, lightning-like
intuition, amazing capacity for continued effort,
and courage would have brought success to him
in almost any sphere of life. But he worshipped
at the altar of publicity, sacrificing fortune, health,
friends, and peace for the sake of his deity. The
great multitude in the street, which at that moment
was lustily singing the national anthem, was simply
so many readers. He was patriotic enough and
eager to serve his country, but the war with Spain,
after all, was a great opportunity for increasing
the circulation of the Mail ; the greater the battles
and the fiercer the outburst of national passion,
EAGLE BLOOD 191
the larger would be the sales of the Mail. The
human race was a mere market for printed white
paper.
The door opened and a tall man, with a severe,
scholarly countenance and close-cropped white
beard, entered the room.
"Ah, Mr. Benthorp ! " said Mr. Irkins, briskly,
taking up the proofs from his table. " I've been
reading your editorial."
" How does it strike you, sir ? "
"'Um, the type's too small," said the pro-
prietor, thrusting out his lower lip and eying the
proofs critically. " Man alive, how do you expect
to pound anything into the heads of a New York
crowd in small type ? Haven't I preached and
preached and explained the necessity for large
type ? What man in that crowd out there knows
the difference between an important or unimpor-
tant statement unless you scream it into his face ? "
" But this editorial, sir, is addressed to the gov-
ernments of Europe."
"Governments of Europe !" cried Mr. Irkins,
with a frown. " How many copies of the Mail
do you suppose the governments of Europe buy ?
192 EAGLE BLOOD
Everything in my paper is addressed to the millions
who read it and who forget to-morrow what they
learn to-day. Why, think of a war editorial
printed in brevier type ! just think of it soberly,
Mr. Benthorp ! You ought to be ashamed of
your carelessness, sir. How can you hear the
patriotic cries of that crowd and think in small
type ? " With a wave of his hand : " No, I won't
hear any argument. Set it in large type and
that's all, Mr. Benthorp."
As the tall editor retired, there was a rustle of
skirts and Miss Grush stood before Mr. Irkins,
pale and smiling, her close-fitting gray costume
exhaling the odor of violets. His great brown
eyes regarded her steadily, and he plucked his
beard thoughtfully.
" Sit down, Miss Grush."
" You wished to see me ? " she asked meekly,
without moving.
"Sit down. I've something to say to you."
Miss Grush slid into a seat without taking
her eyes off her employer. For a moment
neither spoke. Mr. Irkins tapped the edge of
his table with his fingers and drew a deep
EAGLE BLOOD 193
breath. Then he swung his revolving chair
around and faced her. The crowd outside roared
like the ocean in a storm, the sound dying away
in shrill ululations, with droning undertones of
tin horns.
"Is it true that you have married Mr. Dorsay?"
There was a steely coldness in his voice.
Miss Crush started and changed color.
"Has he "
" No," said Mr. Irkins, in the same icy tone,
" he has said nothing to me about -it. He told
me that he was in deep trouble, and asked to
be sent to the firing line in Cuba. He starts
for the front to-day."
She breathed a sigh of relief.
" But the marriage is recorded in the Bureau
of Vital Statistics."
" Well ? "
" Well ? "
" You have no explanation to make ? "
" None."
Mr. Irkins opened a drawer in the table and
drew from it a document which he unfolded and
examined with an air of interest.
i 9 4 EAGLE BLOOD
" Your husband, John Baird, who is serving
a term in the Joliet prison in Illinois for
forgery, will be interested to know that his
wife has "
" For the love of God, Mr. Irkins, don't,
don't betray me ! " she cried in a terrified voice.
"He is dying almost dead and I've a right
to a divorce ; I would have gone to the courts
but for the shame of it. I couldn't let the
world know me as a convict's wife. Have pity
on me, sir. I've tried to live it down. A man
can live two lives, but a woman the world
has no mercy for her. Oh, if you only knew
what a hell life has been for me."
Her voice broke and she bowed her head,
twining and twisting her fingers in agony.
" It seems to me, Miss Grush," said the
journalist, grimly, " that this is a simple case
of bigamy and that you cannot hope to escape
a long term of imprisonment unless " he
hesitated and looked at her keenly "unless
you are willing to let your victim out of the
trap."
She made an impulsive movement and at-
EAGLE BLOOD 195
tempted to speak, but he raised his hand
sternly.
" I can't imagine why you wanted to marry
this young man," he continued. " He is poor,
and you are not the kind of woman who falls
in love."
"Your brother thought otherwise," she said
sullenly.
" Ay, poor boy ; but we'll let him and his
sins rest in the grave. He wronged you in
your youth, and he paid bitterly for it after-
ward. Your dissolute, vagabond mother
making a weapon of your shame drove him
to suicide."
" He found me an innocent girl, scarcely old
enough to know right from wrong," she cried
passionately.
" And your soulless parent cozened and
tempted him into the sin that ruined his life
and embittered mine. I lost sight of you
until you turned up in my service, and it was
agreed between us that this matter should never
o
be spoken of again." He gulped, and clenched
his hands. " Why do you disturb the dead ? "
196 EAGLE BLOOD
" You would rob me of my last hope in life,"
she panted, her black eyes blazing with hatred
and a deadly grayness stealing over her face.
" John Baird is dying in prison ; he'll not live
a week. What if I have anticipated his death ?
What have I to do with him ? I changed my
name in order to escape from the shame he
brought upon it, and I've lived an honest life
oh, God!" she clutched at her flat bosom
savagely " why do you stand in my way ?
Why do you torment me ? Isn't it enough that
I've kept silent all these years? and now
now "
The lean throat choked with passion. Mr.
Irkins paced the room without speaking, his hands
clasped behind him, and his gaunt countenance
working with suppressed emotion. The thunder-
ous applause of the crowd in the street shook the
air again and again, but he took no note of it as
he moved to and fro with regular, noiseless tread.
" Your mother was a half-breed Arab," he said,
without looking at her. " You have inherited
her black art as well as her blood. God knows
how you tricked young Dorsay into this marriage,
EAGLE BLOOD 197
but it was some cunning deviltry that blinded his
eyes and turned his brain. I know him too well
to believe that he'd do it in possession of his
ordinary senses. He's not a fool. You trapped
him as your mother "
" We were married by a clergyman in the pres-
ence of a witness," said Miss Grush.
" Yes, I know, I know," he continued to
tread the carpet restlessly, "but it was a damnable
plot of some kind. If I can't make him open
his lips, by God, I've the key to yours."
He turned upon her a face so terrible in its
suggestion of ruthless force the upper lip un-
covering a row of sharp teeth, and the great brown
eyes glowing under the bristling brows that she
cowered before him.
" Come, out with it ! " he exclaimed, stamping
his foot.
" What do you want ? " she whimpered, without
raising her eyes.
" The truth, without reservation or evasion ! "
" And if I refuse to discuss my affairs with you
any further ? " She glanced at him furtively.
" I'll hand you over to the police as a bigamist."
198 EAGLE BLOOD
" I love him."
" Bah ! "
" Oh, Mr. Irkins, have some pity ! Mr. Dor-
say sought me as a wife believe me, he did.
There was no trick, no deceit. We have been
friends, companions, lovers for a long time."
" And you expect me to believe this ? "
" It's the simple truth. My only fault was in
not waiting till my till he was dead. Heaven
be my judge, I am innocent of any offence but
that." Her black eyes brimmed with tears.
"Ah, you are a strong man, Mr. Irkins, and you
can afford to be merciful to a woman. Take this
from me and I am lost."
She stretched her hands out toward him and
pleaded with her eyes. The harsh look died out
of his face, and he ran his fingers through his coarse
hair with an uneasy movement.
"I'm only a man," he said quietly, "and men
sometimes make mistakes. You say Mr. Dorsay
loves you, and married you of his own free will ? "
" As I hope for salvation."
He made a gesture of disgust and turned
away.
EAGLE BLOOD 199
" I have a strong affection for this young Eng-
lishman," he said gravely, " and no harm shall
come to him if I can prevent it."
Touching an electric button, he waited in silence
until the venerable attendant thrust his snowy
head cautiously in the partly opened door.
" If Mr. Dorsay is in the building, tell him I
want to see him at once."
"Yes, sir."
" And telephone to the Superintendent of Police
that I would like him to send a detective sergeant
to me on an urgent case that won't wait. Stay ! "
with a wave of his hand ; " no, never mind
that it'll do later. Get Mr. Dorsay. Be
quick, James."
Miss Grush bounded out of her chair like
a frightened animal.
" What do you mean to do ? " she screamed.
Mr. Irkins sat down at his table and looked
at her calmly. Her drawn lips were bloodless,
her thin nostrils dilated, and her eyes twitched
from side to side.
" I mean to bring you face to face with him.
If you have lied, you know your fate. There
200 EAGLE BLOOD
is no escape. No, you can't get out," she
glanced wildly at the door, " this electric lever
on the table locks it. The door can only be
opened from the outside now. I had that con-
trivance made after Senator Bantry assaulted me
and escaped."
She looked at him dully for a moment; then
an evil light played in her inky eyes. The old
catlike softness came into her voice.
" Do you understand what you're doing ?
what it means to me ? "
He regarded her steadily. The hollow cheeks
were bright with a sudden flow of blood ; she
was almost beautiful.
" I think I understand the situation, Miss
Crush," he said slowly, as he sliced a sheet of
a paper with a keen-edged paper-knife and
flicked the fragments away with his fingers.
" You're a more subtle student of the human
heart than I take you to be, or you're a very
desperate criminal. In either case you're playing
a game which I confess I do not at this moment
understand. One thing is quite certain you've
placed yourself within the reach of the law.
EAGLE BLOOD 201
Bigamy" he nodded his head and pursed his
lips "is a felony in this state."
He paused for a moment and played with the
glittering point of the knife. Then he went on.
" It is fortunate that I learned of this marriage
in time very fortunate. Curiously enough,
you and I are the only persons who are aware
of the crime."
" What would you have me do ? " she de-
manded, with a gesture of impatience. " The
thing is done now."
" Give up your victim. Sign a confession of
your crime and leave the country at once."
" And if I refuse ? "
Mr. Irkins laid down the paper-knife and
leaned his head on his hand, studying the pattern
of the carpet.
" You shall go to prison," he said without a
trace of feeling.
She sat rigidly upright with stunned, staring
eyes. There was a faint rattle in her throat.
" You might as well appeal for mercy to that
bronze," he added, tapping a massive paper-
weight.
202 EAGLE BLOOD
She gazed at him as he rose from the table
and turned his back upon her. Her dark face
was convulsed with instant fury. She crouched
in her seat for a moment, trembling with passion-
ate hate. Then she seized the bronze weight
and hurled it at him. It struck the back of his
head, and he fell to the floor without a
sound.
Clutching the paper-knife, she stood over the
prostrate body and watched a thin stream of
crimson run along the white neck and lose itself
in the beard. She seemed to be fascinated by
the sight.
A sudden roar burst from the multitude in
the street. The tumult grew louder and fiercer,
with a hoarse accompaniment of singing and
piercing, whistling notes.
As the storm of sound raged in the air, Miss
Crush stirred the body with her foot. The hand
in which she held the knife was seized from
behind, and, turning with a low cry, she faced
Hugh, who had closed the door behind him as
he entered.
" You ! " she stammered ; and then, seeing
EAGLE BLOOD 203
the look of horror in his face, she tried to twist
herself from his grasp.
" Murderess ! " he cried, as he caught her other
wrist and forced her toward the wall.
For answer she sank her teeth in his hand and
fought tigerously to escape. The shrieking of
the crowd outside rilled the little room with its
discordant din, and through the tremendous roar-
ing came the dull tramping and chanting of a
passing procession. She writhed in his hands
with desperate courage until the veins stood out on
her forehead and her eyes started from their sock-
ets. But his arms were too strong, and he pinned
her against the wall. The knife fell to the floor.
" No ! no ! " she moaned. " Let me go. I
didn't touch him. He fell he " A fit of
sobbing choked her utterance.
" Why have you done this ? " demanded Hugh,
tightening his hold.
" He insulted me. Oh, Hugh ! my husband !
save your poor wife from shame. I can't tell you
now my brain is on fire I can't think. Oh,
Lord Delaunay, I did it for your sake, believe
me."
204 EAGLE BLOOD
" You lying snake ! " he muttered. " You would
have murdered him."
In a twinkling the passion left her face and she
drooped.
" Release my hands," she whispered. "I can't
escape now ; I'm in your power. You're hurting
me."
He relaxed his grip, and she staggered to a
chair and sat down with a convulsive sigh. Her
countenance was haggard, and a bright stain of
blood showed on her lips. Instinctively she
smoothed the folds of her gray dress and
straightened her bonnet, which had fallen awry
in the struggle. Her coolness seemed to return.
" I'll give you up," she said. " All I ask is
my liberty."
"Your ?"
" Hush ! " she purred, watching his eyes.
" Give me a chance for freedom, an hour's start,
and you'll never hear of me again. It was all a
mistake" she panted like a hunted creature
" a blind, foolish mistake. I was mad, mad ;
your title tempted me. As there is a God in
heaven, I will never trouble you. What will you
EAGLE BLOOD
205
gain by sending to prison a woman who can claim
you as her husband ? "
Hugh set his jaws hard and shook his head.
A deep groan came from the figure on the floor,
and Mr. Irkins struggled to raise himself. In an
instant Hugh was kneeling beside him, supporting
the languid, bloody head in his arms. Mr. Irkins
opened his eyes. They were bright with fever.
"Big type!" he commanded wildly. "Big
type for the common people. They can see it
and understand it. Let the aristocracy read small
type there's no circulation in it. I want to
address the millions. What? midnight! and
no pictures for the first page. Print the Presi-
dent's picture, the governor's, the mayor's, any-
body's picture make a brilliant show-window
if you want to sell eh, Mr. Dorsay ? " Hugh
was rubbing his employer's temples. " Why,
what are you doing ? what's the matter ?
who, why, what's that shouting for ? oh, my
head ! " The wounded man swooned.
Glancing behind him, Hugh saw that Miss
Grush had escaped from the room. Dashing the
door open he summoned the attendant.
206 EAGLE BLOOD
" Miss Grush," he exclaimed, seizing the aston-
ished old man by the shoulders and shaking him.
" Why didn't you stop her ? "
" Stop her ? " answered James as he wrested
himself indignantly away from the excited youth.
" Why should I ? "
" Where is she ? "
" Don't know, sir. She left the building just
now, and she asked me to tell you not to forget
that she had your ring."
Hugh's jaw dropped at the mention of the ring
of Tancred which he had placed on her finger in
the hypnotic trance when he uttered his marriage
vow.
"Call the police!" he shouted. "She has
attempted to kill Mr. Irkins. Give the alarm !
telephone for detectives ! send for a doc-
tor ! quick! quick! he may be dying."
Returning to the room he found Mr. Irkins
half-raised on his elbow, his head resting against
the leg of the table. The proprietor of the Mail
raved in a weak voice. His mind was battling
with problems of journalism, fiercely criticising,
denouncing, exhorting, and commanding. When
EAGLE BLOOD 207
the pale little doctor arrived, he declared that
the patient would recover, but that it might
be many weeks before he could explain the
crime.
All through the night Hugh sat by the sick
man's bedside, while the police were searching
New York in vain for a trace of Miss Crush.
From time to time the detectives came to the
hospital and questioned him, but he could give
them no clew to the whereabouts of the fugitive.
Mr. Irkins was a childless widower, and there
was none to question Hugh's right to watch
the gaunt face and moisten the fevered lips.
Just before daybreak the sufferer became partly
conscious. Seeing Hugh bending over him, he
smiled.
" It's all right, my boy," he said. " She
can't harm you. She "
But the effort to think was too great, and
he relapsed into delirium, appealing to the quiet
nurse to get the paper to press in time for the
Southern mail connections.
After a few hours' sleep Hugh went to the
office. As he reached his desk, an attendant
208 EAGLE BLOOD
handed him a note addressed in Miss Grush's
neat handwriting.
"A boy brought it about midnight," he
explained.
Hugh opened the envelope and read her
message :
"To THE VISCOUNT DELAUNAY :
" My dear Hugh : I write to you as one
dead. Whether I seek safety in the grave or
find some other asylum, I want you to know
that you shall never see my face again. Try
to think of me as a woman tempted beyond
her strength. There are others, with less
temptation than mine, who have sold their
bodies and souls for titles, without a word of
condemnation from the world. I thought I
saw a new life opening before me, a life in which
I might live up to the full measure of my
woman's vanity. And now the black pit yawns
at my feet.
" The ring you gave me I shall keep ; and
yet it seems to burn my flesh. I opened it
to-night and the Christ head made me weep.
EAGLE BLOOD 209
So I saw that face when I was an innocent child.
My God ! what have I done ? Is there no
expiation for my sin ? Am I to live the life
of a hunted criminal? and only yesterday the
brightest ambition of my heart was almost realized.
" I ask you to believe that I had no thought
of injuring Mr. Irkins when I entered his room.
I was in a trap. He threatened me, and I lost
my head. The blow was not premeditated.
You saw me with a knife in my hand, but there
was no murder in my soul. I was bewildered,
stunned, almost crazed by the result of my mad
act. Even now I can see the blood stealing
across his neck and hear the shrieking of the
crowd in the street. It seemed to me at that
moment as if a thousand spirits of the air were
clamoring for vengeance. And then you came
and I need not tell you the rest.
" Where shall I turn for rest or hope ? I
dare not give the least hint of my heavy sorrow
to any one ! I must bear my anguish alone.
O that I might tell some one tell it all
free my mind and heart ease my soul of its
burden. I have never known what it was to
210 EAGLE BLOOD
be lonely until now. Ah, friend that once was,
pity me and pray for me, and, if you can, forgive
me. I seek the road that leads to peace ; God
only knows how I will find it. To-night I tried
to pray for the first time since my childhood,
but the words stuck in my throat.
" There is one thing in my life that I have not
told you that I cannot tell you, because my
woman's hand will not write it ; for, after all, I
am a woman, even though the police are track-
ing me and the stain of blood is on my hands.
If you knew my history, it might help you to un-
derstand how hard it is for some to live sinlessly.
" This is the last you shall ever hear from me.
From this day I shall die to all who have
known me.
" BARBARA CRUSH."
" Any news of the woman ? " said a voice at
his elbow.
Hugh turned and saw the sharp-eyed detective
who was in charge of the search for the fugitive.
" None," he answered, thrusting her letter in
his pocket.
It was drawing toward noon, and the crowd
EAGLE BLOOD 211
which gathered every day in front of the Mail
office to read the war bulletins began to find its
voice. Hugh walked to a window and watched
the swaying, heaving stretch of upturned, eager
faces. As he looked, the deep murmuring of
voices swelled into a deafening shout. Hats
were thrown into the air. The crowd surged
forward frantically, and men and women ran
from every direction to join it. Louder and
louder grew the utterance of the multitude, until
it seemed to come from the throat of a whirl-
wind. Something unusual had happened. An
acre of human beings seemed to have suddenly
gone stark mad. Here and there men were
dancing and waving their hands. A small boy
carrying an American flag was lifted from the
ground and tossed from hand to hand over the
heads of the crowd. Some mighty emotion
swept along Broadway. An endless stream of
humanity poured swiftly toward the central
scene of frenzied enthusiasm.
An office-boy approached Hugh.
" The managing editor wants to see you, Mr.
Dorsay," he said.
212 EAGLE BLOOD
As he went toward the editor's room, Hugh
experienced a strange feeling of excitement. The
atmosphere was electric. Messengers were dash-
ing through the rooms and corridors ; hatless,
coatless, wild-visaged men came pressing up the
stairway ; above the tempestuous roaring of the
crowd sounded the iron clamor of church bells
near and far.
" Mr. Dorsay," said the managing editor,
" this news means that you must start for Asia
as soon as you can get ready."
" What news ? "
" Why, haven't you heard ? Admiral Dewey
has sunk the entire Spanish fleet in Manila Bay.
There was a rumor of the victory in one of the
papers this morning, and it has just been con-
firmed by the government."
" And I ? "
" You're to go to the Philippines at once. I'm
sorry I can't consult Mr. Irkins, but I'm sure he
would have chosen you. It's a great opportunity
for you, Mr. Dorsay."
" Thank God ! " said Hugh. " I'm glad to go
away."
CHAPTER IX
THE tropical sunlight lay hot on the shrivelled
brown rice-fields and the dusty road reaching
tortuously along fringes of waving green and
straggling lines of native huts toward old
Manila. In spite of the heavy carts rumbling
behind slow-pacing water-buffaloes and the saun-
tering movement of peasants along the way, there
was an impressive stillness in the parched air.
Here and there could be seen an American soldier,
in russet khaki uniform, keeping guard in the
shadow of a tree, and across a stretch of bare,
shimmering meadows a huddle of military tents
whitened the green slope on the verge of a cool
bamboo thicket. The dense vegetation in the
rank ditches, touched with vivid spots of scarlet
and orange, the brilliant green of the fronded
woods in the distant heat-haze, and the lazy liz-
ards, lying, jewel-like, on every boulder, spoke of
213
2i 4 EAGLE BLOOD
a climate innocent of snow or ice, an eternal ger-
mination, without death or resurrection.
In the shade of an ylang-ylang tree a young
American lieutenant sat on a wiry Philippine
pony, plucking fragrant green blossoms from the
drooping boughs, and occasionally watching a
point where the road turned under a group of
cocoanut palms toward the bamboo jungle in the
distance. As he gazed along the highway, a tall
young man in a white linen riding-dress rode into
sight. His tanned face was eloquent of exposure
to the sun, and the dust and foam on his jaded
pony indicated a long and hard journey. The
officer shaded his eyes with his hands for a moment
and then spurred his beast forward with a ringing
cry of welcome.
" Hello, Dorsay ! " he shouted. " What's the
news ? How's the nigger government? "
" Glad to see you again, Perry," said Hugh,
heartily. " It was good of you to come out to
meet me. I've had a rough ride, and I'm hun-
gry and thirsty. Lend me your canteen
mine's dry."
After a gurgling draught from the canteen, the
EAGLE BLOOD 215
two young men walked their ponies side by side
toward the city.
" I couldn't understand the hints in your mes-
sage from Malolos," said the lieutenant, " and I'm
blessed if I can see why you rode in here instead
of taking the railway ; but the ways of an English-
man are past finding out."
" I came down on the train as far as Malinta,"
said Hugh, " and rode around this way to take a
look at the Philippine troops and sound the offi-
cers. We're going to have trouble, Perry.
They're getting ready to fight. Don't laugh, old
fellow ; I know what I'm talking about now. An
hour ago I saw them serving out cartridges in the
trenches. It was all I could do to persuade them
to let me through the lines."
The officer whistled.
" That looks like business," he exclaimed. " I
don't believe they realize it at headquarters ; and,
yet, I don't know the sentries are being doubled
and every man that can be spared from the city
has been sent out on the line. We are throwing
up new earthworks everywhere around Manila
to-day."
216 EAGLE BLOOD
They passed a settlement of thatched huts. A
group of chattering natives was suddenly silent
and scowling. One youth, bolder than the rest,
brandished a keen-edged bolo and spat contemp-
tuously on the ground. The riders exchanged
glances and laughed.
"They won't stand fire after the first volley,"
said the lieutenant. " Every man-jack of them
wears an anting-anting under his shirt to charm
away bullets, and so long as they had to deal with
the marksmanship of the Spaniards, that super-
stition grew stronger ; but they'll change their
minds when they face men who know how to
shoot straight. It'll take a powerful hoodoo
to save a man from a Krag-Jorgenson with an
American soldier behind it."
" I talked with Aguinaldo to-day," said Hugh.
" At first he strutted up and down his audience
room and refused to speak. Every time he
passed a mirror he looked at himself. I could
hardly control the muscles of my face. Then he
raised himself to his full height which wasn't
very impressive, mind you and declared that
the Philippine Republic was prepared to main-
EAGLE BLOOD 217
tain its independence ; and that if blood was
shed, the guilt would be ours those were his
very words."
"The little humbug!"
" I don't know, Perry. He takes himself seri-
ously, and that's half the secret of leadership.
His people are ready to follow him, no matter
what the odds may be."
" See here, Dorsay," cried the lieutenant, " I
don't mind telling you that I'm glad a fight is
coming on. Mine's a poor trade in times of
peace. We'll have to take the conceit out of the
niggers sometime, and we might as well do it now.
You can bet your last dollar that Americans will
never let go of anything they get their hands
on not if it's worth keeping. A Britisher like
you ought to understand that sort of feeling."
" I understand it," said Hugh, " but I don't
admire it. I'm getting to be a good deal of an
American myself, and now that the Spaniards
have been driven out "
" We ought to turn the archipelago over to
the natives and say : c Here you are ! Kill, rob,
burn, raise merry hell, and enjoy yourselves.'
218 EAGLE BLOOD
Not on your life, Dorsay. We've left our conti-
nent at last, and we're a world power. The stars
and stripes are in Asia to stay."
Something in the young soldier's tone brought
the blood to Hugh's face. The fighting instinct
of his ancestry was stirred. Eight months with
the American army in the Philippines had rough-
ened and toughened him. He was no longer the
pale, diffident youth who cowered helplessly
within himself in the midst of the whirl and rush
of modern American life, but a brown-faced, alert
adventurer, half correspondent and half scout.
From his dusty slouch hat to his spurred boots
he looked like a soldier, and he sat in his saddle
with a firm and easy grace. A life of keen com-
petition in the open air now trailing over the
rough mountain paths, now sleeping in an iso-
lated hut among treacherous natives, and now
riding, as if for life, to reach the cable office in
Manila before his rivals had awakened in his
blood some of the fire of his crusading fore-
bears.
" I'm in for the fight if it's coming," he said,
" but I'm terribly worried just now. An old
EAGLE BLOOD 219
friend of mine is due here from Hong Kong to-
morrow, and his daughter accompanies him."
The lieutenant threw his head back and rolled
about in his saddle shrieking with laughter.
" I don't mind telling you that you're an ass,
Perry," said Hugh, indignantly.
" Of course, of course," exclaimed the officer,
with another convulsion; "but what's her name? "
" Mr. Martin is the veteran of the Mail staff, a
dear old fellow who thinks that human history
began on the Fourth day of July, and he's
coming out to study the situation here from the
standpoint of the Declaration of Independence.
Miss Martin is the sweetest little patriot that
ever made an Englishman wish he had been born
somewhere else. I didn't understand why people
raved about American girls till I met her. I say s
Perry," Hugh looked at his companion ear-
nestly, " this will be a dangerous place for a
woman if the natives break loose, eh ? "
" You're right, Dorsay. If the niggers ever
force their way into Manila and get the upper
hand, they'll spare neither women nor children.
You ought to get permission for your friends to
220 EAGLE BLOOD
stay in the old fort in the walled city till the
crisis is over. In case the natives break through
our lines Miss Martin could reach one of our
men-of-war in the harbor. But why, in heaven's
name, does an American girl come to Manila at
a time like this ? Why doesn't she stay in Hong
Kong ? "
Hugh smiled, and stroked his pony's neck
affectionately.
" When you meet her, you won't ask that
question," he said. "She's the only woman I've
met who would be likely to make a great sacri-
fice for her country."
" Then you haven't met many American girls.
Why, they're the very backbone of the republic.
It was my mother who chose a military career
for me ; my father wanted to take me into his
office and make a lawyer of me. Bless her dear
face, she kept my sword under her pillow for a
week before I came out here."
In a few minutes they were in the actual
suburbs of the city, and a cool breeze from the
salt water beyond fanned their faces as they
clattered along the dusty streets. Fair resi-
EAGLE BLOOD 221
dences, surrounded by wide latticed verandas,
rose in the midst of gardens and groves ; little
rows of huts, with here and there a native shop
or wine shanty ; stone churches and monasteries,
scarred and splintered by artillery fire, and in-
habited by the invading American soldiery ;
dreary reaches of ashes and blackened ruins
the wreck of hundreds of homes ; picturesque
Spanish houses pitted with bullet holes re-
minders of the last futile stand of the Spaniards ;
abandoned military trenches and overturned bar-
ricades of stone ; processions of clumsy carts
drawn by sluggish water-buffaloes ; half-naked
Chinese porters staggering under burdens carried
on poles across their perspiring shoulders ; crazy
little carriages without springs, bumping and
swaying behind thin ponies, these were the
sights and sounds that greeted the riders as they
entered the seat of American power in Asia. ;
Soldiers in khaki were still swaggering valiantly
along the pavements of the Escolta richest and
busiest of Philippine streets but the native
soldiers and their bedizened officers had vanished
from the city.
222 EAGLE BLOOD
"They've all gone to the field," said the lieu-
tenant. " Why, only this morning I saw my native
cook in a colonel's uniform. When he caught
sight of me, he gave a military salute, threw his
chest out, and strode grandly up the street, with
his brand-new sword swinging between his legs.
I nearly fell off my horse. Damn the rascal ! he
hadn't even the manners to wash the dishes before
he gave me the slip."
" Such are the stern necessities of war," said
Hugh.
They turned into a side street and encountered
a native carrying a huge serpent coiled around the
branch of a tree. Reining in their ponies, they
watched him as he caressed the drugged reptile and
entreated the passing throngs to buy it.
" Best rat-catcher in the world," said Perry.
" I know it. I've seen lots of them for sale.
It's a funny idea, though, to keep a monster like
that in the house instead of a cat. By George,
I've an idea. Here, you ! how much ?" Hugh
beckoned to the serpent vender.
"Twanty-fi peseta," answered the native, hold-
ing up the sleepy python.
EAGLE BLOOD 223
" Twenty-five pesetas ? Good ! Will he bite ? "
" No bite. See ! " and he rubbed his grimy
hand over the serpent's nose. " Muy bien ser-
piente y senor."
With the assistance of the native Hugh wrapped
the big reptile in his saddle blanket, and swinging
it across his saddle, moved down the street with
his astonished companion.
" What in thunder are you going to do with
it ? " demanded the lieutenant.
" Can you keep a secret ? "
" Of course."
" On your honor, now ? "
" Certainly."
" No matter what happens ? "
" Torture shall not wring it from me."
" Well, I owe Captain Spildew, the censor, a
grudge, and I'm going to give the old churl a lively
experience. You must come along, Perry, and
help me out. He's taken the heart out of every
despatch I've written for the Mail, and I can't get
the news through on the cable. This time I'll
D
square accounts. You'll come, won't you ? "
" I might get myself into a scrape, Dorsay,"
224 EAGLE BLOOD
said the young officer. " This is a bad time for
pranks. Still, Spildew is such a boorish old
scoundrel that I'd like to see the thing through.
He has a holy horror of snakes."
" And correspondents," added Hugh. " It's
an extraordinary thing that a practical nation
should allow a dunderhead like that man to decide
what shall be known in America about the occu-
pation of this great empire."
" Well, count me in," said the officer. " Spil-
dew cut my name out of the cabled description
of the charge I led when we attacked Manila."
Passing through a narrow street lined with
Chinese shops, the young men dismounted at
the Hotel Oriente, a vast square structure,
facing an open space, around which a score of
weaponless Spanish officers strolled dejectedly
under the scant shade of half-grown trees, wait-
ing for the tardy funds that were to carry them
back to their native land. Hugh nodded to a
noble-looking Spaniard in a captain's uniform.
" How are you, Blanco ? No news from
home ? "
" None," said the officer. "It is a terrible
EAGLE BLOOD 225
fate for a soldier, to wait and wait and wait,
after our flag has been conquered and furled.
Spain has forgotten us. We are ignored by
the Americans and are mocked by the natives.
And this after four hundred years of sovereignty
over this soil. Ah, what have you here ? "
poking the muffled serpent, which Hugh had laid
on the pavement.
"A live python."
The Spaniard opened the blanket and exam-
ined the serpent.
" It is the saud, a gentle monster that lives
on rats. When he grows larger, he will eat
chickens and pigs. We used to have one in
our barracks at San Fernando, but he made a
meal of the general's pet dog and was killed
for it."
" See here, captain, he's too drowsy. I want
to make him lively. We're going to have
some fun with a friend that is, a sort of a
friend."
The officer's black eyes sparkled.
" A cold bath will make him wide awake.
My servant will assist you. Aqui, Manuel!"
226 EAGLE BLOOD
And he carefully instructed the surprised peon
in the art of arousing a stupefied serpent. " Asi^
asil avdnte, Manuel!" The servant rolled his
eyes, hesitated, and then, flinging the sleeping
reptile on his shoulder, carried it into the hotel.
" And now to write my despatch announcing
the coming battle with Aguinaldo's forces," said
Hugh. " If I get it through, Perry, my repu-
tation as a prophet will be made. It all de-
pends on Spildew. Come up to the room and
get ready."
Hugh's room was on the first story a large
chamber, with a floor of polished wood, smell-
ing strongly of kerosene oil. A four-posted
bed with a woven cane bottom, two chairs, a
washstand, and a small table were the furniture.
On the walls hung native spears and bolos, a
shield of buffalo hide, a Spanish flag, a picture
of the Virgin, riddled with bullet holes, and the
correspondent's scant wardrobe. Two saddles
and a heap of riding-boots were piled in the
corner.
At the head of the bed a photograph was
pinned to the wall. It was the portrait of a
EAGLE BLOOD 227
girl. As the comrades entered the room, the
young lieutenant stood before the photograph
and examined the face intently.
" Jee-rusalem ! What a lovely face, Dorsay."
" Miss Martin," said Hugh, seating himself
at the table and beginning to write his de-
spatch.
" The girl who comes to-mOrrow ? "
Hugh nodded his head.
" No wonder you're nervous, you scamp ! "
The officer stood with his feet wide apart and
studied the portrait with a critical air. " An
American, that's sure; no other girl in the
world carries her head like that. And the
eyes how sweet and true they look! I don't
want to be impertinent, old man, but is she
your " and he slowly winked one eye.
" Perry," said Hugh, rising and placing his
hand on the lieutenant's shoulder, " you're the
best friend I have out here, and I'd trust you
to the end of time. We've seen some rough
times together, and I've learned to know you
as a straight, manly fellow. Yes, that's the girl
of my heart, the only woman I have loved or
228 EAGLE BLOOD
can love. And yet, Perry, I can't marry her.
I dream of her night and day. Her face is
always before me. But in a weak moment I was
trapped into doing something There, I've
said enough ; I can't tell you my secret. It's
enough that I've forfeited the right to ask any
woman to be my wife."
"Was it "
"Nothing disgraceful, Perry you'll believe
that? No, I'm simply tangled up by fate
tied hand and foot."
" You're a queer chap, Dorsay. I don't be-
lieve I ever met another like you. Here we've
been eight months together, and I've told you
the history of every member of my family and
confessed my soul to you a hundred times ; and
now, by thunder ! I find you the mysterious hero
of a romance that has no beginning and isn't
going to have any ending. Come, now, I've
earned the right to talk frankly to you, and there
can be only two explanations of your situation.
Either you have compromised your name"
Hugh shook his head " or you have a wife
already. I've hit it. I can see it in your eye.
EAGLE BLOOD 229
By God, Dorsay ! I didn't think you were that
kind of"
" Hold on ! " exclaimed Hugh, with a look
that chilled his companion's enthusiasm, " you're
striking deeper than you intend. If another
man said that, I'd knock him down."
" I'm sorry I said it, Dorsay. There now,"
he grasped Hugh's hand fervently, "I
know you're a decent fellow."
" Somewhere in the world, Perry, there's a
woman who wears a ring I put on her finger.
I didn't know what I was doing, I was in a
mesmeric trance, but I pronounced the words
that can bind heaven and hell together on earth.
I'm an innocent victim, but the thing's done.
You're the first man I've told since it hap-
pened."
"Does she know?" with a jerk of the
thumb toward the photograph.
" No, thank God ! "
" Do you mean to tell me that you've been
hugging this thing to your breast all this time,
when a lawyer could have got you out of the
scrape in a jiffy ? "
230 EAGLE BLOOD
" No lawyer can bring me back my ring."
" Ring be hanged ! What you want is the
decree of a court."
" I've no proof."
" Neither has she."
" She has two witnesses."
" Where is the hussy now ? "
" I don't know, Perry. Nobody knows/"
"Well, I'll be thumped if this isn't the strang-
est case I ever heard of. It's a regular mediaeval
plot a witch, an enchanted ring, a spell-bound
hero, and a beautiful maiden just out of his
reach. Why, it sounds like a story out of a
yellow-covered novel. Wake up, my boy,
you're dreaming."
" No, it's not a dream, but a frightful reality.
And now you can understand why I haven't
always been as jolly as the others, and why I've
gone off by myself on these long journeys into
the interior, just to think and think. And now
she's coming to Manila Perry, do you under-
stand ?"
A vigorous hand-shake was the lieutenant's
only answer.
EAGLE BLOOD
231
"You'd better write your despatch," he sug-
gested. "Time's flying, and I must get back
to headquarters."
" Order something to eat," said Hugh, sitting
down to his work again.
The officer left the room, and, as the door
closed behind him, Hugh took the photograph
from the wall, kissed it, and thrust it in his
pocket. Before he had finished the despatch
Perry returned.
" Fried eggs again ! " he groaned. " It's at
least the thousandth time you've had that dish
since you came here. My laundryman has taken
a commission in the Philippine army, and all
my shirts have disappeared with him. No ice,
either. The fellow with the key to the re-
frigerator put on a lieutenant's uniform this
morning, and has gone forth to seek liberty or
death, taking my new trousers with him."
They went into the great cool dining room,
where a barefooted native, in a ragged, unwashed
shirt, served the despised fried eggs on cracked
plates, and watched them with sullen, sly
eyes.
232 EAGLE BLOOD
" That fellow will be in the trenches with
a rifle before morning," said the officer. " He'd
like to cut our throats."
After their meal the young men descended
to the street, where they found a ramshackle
carriage, with the Spanish captain's servant sitting
on the seat with the driver, the awakened ser-
pent wriggling in a canvas bag between his brown
feet. On the way to the censor's house Hugh
explained his plan and gave the servant minute
directions.
When they reached the two-storied white villa
in which Captain Spildew planned his devices
to keep war correspondents from evading the
rules of censorship, that redoubtable individual
appeared at an upper window and summoned
them to ascend to his presence. They were
followed by the noiseless native, who carried
the bound python and skulked stealthily in the
shadow of the upper corridor while they entered
the censor's sitting room. The oppressor of
militant journalism was of harmless aspect, short,
stocky, paunchy, and inclined to baldness, a
precise, emotionless man, who regarded his vis-
EAGLE BLOOD 233
itors coldly through his spectacles, and received
Hugh's despatch in a grudging manner.
The comrades seated themselves and watched
the door beyond which the soft-footed native
was releasing the serpent, while Captain Spildew
read the despatch and smacked his lips un-
pleasantly.
" This reference to Colonel Danton has got
to come out," he growled, as he made a mark
with his fat blue pencil against the offending
words. " No heroizing ; it's forbidden. No,
you needn't explain it can't pass. The mo-
ment an officer gets his name in the newspapers
he thinks he's entitled to run the whole army."
The head of the python appeared in the
doorway, and the glistering folds of mottled
green and brown came undulating after it. The
comrades nudged each other as the reptile drew
its pulsing length slowly over the sill.
" This is simply idiotic," muttered the captain.
" I won't allow a word of it to go on the cable.
Why, it's a prediction of war, a flat contradiction
of the official reports."
Silently the serpent moved along the smooth
234 EAGLE BLOOD
white matting, coiling its body and raising its
head with a steady, oscillating movement, the
beady eyes glittering and the red tongue playing
restlessly.
Spildew crumpled the paper in his hand con-
temptuously. At that moment he caught sight
of the python. His jaw dropped and his face
whitened. His look of horror brought the
young men to their feet. The reptile drew
its tail around a chair and overturned it. Hugh
drew his revolver and advanced toward the
monster.
" Don't move, captain," he said in a tragic
whisper. " If you attract his attention he'll
strike it's sure death."
The censor shuddered and closed his eyes.
Hugh aimed at the serpent's head and fired.
With an upward leap, the python twisted itself
into a writhing knot, its bloody head beating the
floor furiously. Again Hugh fired. The ser-
pent struggled over the stained matting, twisting
and untwisting its terrible form, striking wildly
with its shattered head and waving its tail. It
wound itself about a sofa and crushed the wood
EAGLE BLOOD 235
in its agonized embrace. Again and again Hugh's
revolver sent bullets into the blood-dripping,
curling folds. Then, seizing a bolo which hung
on the wall, he cut the python in two with a
single stroke of the razor-edged weapon.
There was no tremor in his muscles, no fear in
his steady blue eyes. The lion blood of his
ancestors ran red in his veins, and like them, he
could play in the presence of death. The weak-
ness wrought by centuries of overbreeding and
luxury had vanished. He laid the reddened
blade on the censor's desk with a smile.
" That was a close shave," he said quietly.
The captain sat in his chair like a man para-
lyzed. His eyes bulged from their sockets. His
native servants crowded in the doorway, cowering
and chattering. Perry stood in the middle of
the room, revolver in hand, his eyes shining with
excited admiration. No one spoke for a moment.
Then the censor raised himself to his feet with
an effort.
" How did it get here ? " he roared at his ser-
D
vants, pointing to the ghastly wreck. " I'll have
you beaten black and blue for this, you dogs ! "
236 EAGLE BLOOD
Then turning to Hugh he put forth a grateful
hand. " I can't express my feelings, Mr. Dor-
say," he stammered. " I believe that I owe my
life to you."
The tall young correspondent struggled to
keep a straight face His sense of humor strove
hard with a perception of the advantage his prac-
tical joke had given him over the bully. The
great snake had been as harmless to man as a
tame kitten, and he felt an inward twinge in the
presence of undeserved gratitude.
" It's nothing at all, captain," he said with an
involuntary blush. " You'd do as much for me.
It was an ugly customer, though. Ugh ! " and
he spurned the still quaking monster with his
foot.
" This despatch," said Spildew, spreading out
the crumpled paper with trembling fingers "is
it an important matter to you to get it through ? "
" Very."
" I'll take chances on it."
He ringed each page with a blue line, signed
his initials, and handed the despatch to Hugh.
" You've just got time to make the cable
EAGLE BLOOD 237
office," he said. " Better hurry. It's nearing
five o'clock."
" This is very handsome of you, sir," said
Hugh, gravely, as he put the paper in his pocket
and returned his revolver to its holster.
" Oh, you'll find me pretty generous when you
take the right side of me," said the captain,
swelling out his breast with conscious virtue.
The lieutenant winked over the censor's
shoulder.
"Yes, sir," continued Spildew, squaring him-
self and wagging his head. " I'm the most
misunderstood man in the army. There isn't a
better-natured or more obliging man in Manila
that is, when you understand me."
" I think I understand you now," said Hugh,
with a meaning smile. " Come, Perry, we must
make a dash for the cable."
When they reached the street, the lieutenant
threw back his head and uttered a roar of laugh-
ter. He doubled up as if in pain, slapped his
thigh, straightened out and guffawed until the
O ' D O
tears ran down his cheeks.
"Whoof ha! ha! ha!" he wheezed, hold-
238 EAGLE BLOOD
ing his sides and shaking his head. "It was
tre-mendous ! I wouldn't have missed it for
a captain's commission. Ha ! ha ! ha ! St.
George and the dragon wasn't in it. By thunder !
Dorsay, for an Englishman you're not so
slow."
They stepped into the squeaky carriage and
went lurching over the rough street toward the
cable station, a fresh rush of air from the spar-
kling bay blowing against them.
" Do you know," said Hugh, " for a moment
I was afraid that the snake would do some harm.
It was a brutal joke ; but I've had my revenge
at last. A year ago I couldn't have done it
to save my life."
" I've noticed the change in you, Dorsay.
You're like a new man. There isn't a steadier
hand or braver heart in the Philippines."
"Don't chaff me, Perry."
" It's atavism, my boy. Somewhere, away
back in your family, there has been a stout old
English bulldog, and it only needed a touch of
this rough life to bring his spirit to life again.
I'll bet you had soldier forefathers."
EAGLE BLOOD 239
" Some day I may be able to tell you the
story of my house it's a queer tale."
" What ! more mystery ? more romance ? "
" You shall judge for yourself when you hear
it."
The despatch was handed in to the manager
of the cable station five minutes before the hour
for closing. Then the comrades separated, the
young officer pleading that duty compelled him
to return to headquarters.
Hugh went back to the Hotel Oriente in a
state of serene elation. He felt confident that
an immediate conflict between the American
army and the native troops was inevitable, and
the news he had cabled to the Mail would put
a proud feather in his professional cap.
Throwing himself on his bed, he took Helen's
photograph from his pocket and looked at the
fair young face. His mind ran back to the day
he first saw her moving like a summer sprite
in the garden before her father's cottage. He
recalled her every look and gesture. The sen-
timent that grew up in those days had ripened
into a love, deep and strong. But how could
240 EAGLE BLOOD
he meet her now ? No moral law could hold
him to the fraudulent marriage; he was sure
of that. Miss Grush was a fugitive from justice
and would probably never cross his path again.
Yet his ring was on her finger, his name was
signed to the marriage register. He turned the
problem over and over in his mind as he had
done so many times before in his lonely wander-
ings through the back country of Luzon. He
might return to London and resume his rank
and title, trusting to good luck and the
help of his friends to make his way. But that
would be going back to conditions that now
seemed to him false and ridiculous. It would
be a life of shams and shiftiness. The elixir of
American democracy was in his blood, quicken-
ing and strengthening his ambition to win a
place in the world by his own efforts. To give
up his new life would be to confess himself a
failure, to surrender the ideals of his manhood ;
and she he looked longingly into the pure,
honest eyes she would despise him. No, he
would be no penniless, fortune-hunting noble-
man, no social wastrel. He might fail in his
EAGLE BLOOD 241
desire to restore the fortunes of his impoverished
life, but at least he would build up character
and would live worthy of her.
The tropical twilight slowly died out of the
purple sky, and the shadows deepened. The
clatter of feet in the corridors and the tolling
of bells warned him that the dinner hour was
passing. Still he lay in the darkness with his
thoughts. The next sun would bring her to
him and then ?
CHAPTER X
A DISTANT crackle of infantry firing roused
Hugh from his musings. He sat up on the edge
of his bed and listened. The sound died out and
there was a moment of silence followed by an-
other crackling of far-away rifles, which deepened
into volleying noises spreading around the city.
A cannon boomed ; then another and another.
The evening air was filled with a clamor that
slowly swelled into a sullen roar. The war had
begun, and the Eastern and Western republics
were grappled in an embrace of death.
Hurriedly changing his linen riding-dress for a
suit of khaki, filling his canteen and loading his
revolver, Hugh left his room, only to find the
corridors of the hotel a scene of the wildest con-
fusion. Officers were rushing hither and thither,
calling in vain for the native servants, who had
suddenly disappeared. The place resounded with
oaths and the trampling of hurried feet. Dashing
242
EAGLE BLOOD 243
down the stairway to the street, he saw officers
flinging themselves on their horses and galloping
furiously away. A platoon of soldiers crossed the
square in front of the hotel at double quick, with
an ambulance behind them. Mounted couriers
swept along the streets in every direction.
He called to an artillery officer who had just
leaped into his saddle.
" Hell's loose ! They're righting all along the
line," cried the officer, hoarsely, as he spurred his
horse and vanished in the darkness.
Now the guns of the warships in the bay began
to flash and thunder. White glares from the
naval search-lights moved across the sky. The
rattling of infantry grew louder and fiercer.
The American forces lay in a great crescent
around the landward side of Manila, facing the
uncounted soldiery of Aguinaldo, which was
apparently attacking the city at all points.
Hugh ran to the stable in the rear of the hotel,
D
and finding no native to assist him, saddled his
pony and rode at a dash to the palace of the
military governor of the Philippines. That
august person had been driven from his stately
244 EAGLE BLOOD
halls by a body of native riflemen stationed in a
swamp on the south side of the Pasig River and
was holding court on the sidewalk in the midst
of his staff. The American line had been at-
tacked from one end to the other, and every
courier arriving from the front reported that he
H
had been shot at by natives from windows within
the city.
" We have eight or nine thousand men in our
trenches and the enemy has perhaps twenty thou-
sand," said the general, in answer to Hugh's
questions.
Away across the roof-tops, through an opening
in the trees, Hugh saw an American flag shining
out of the darkness in the brilliant ray of a search-
light, its colors rippling and tossing like a beauti-
ful spirit of the air. His heart beat quickly.
" If you're short of men, I'd like to offer my
services," he said.
The general stared at him in surprise.
" Any company commander can enroll you."
" I hadn't quite thought of enlisting."
"You're an Englishman?"
" I am, sir."
EAGLE BLOOD 245
" Never saw it fail, major," muttered the gen-
eral, turning to one of his staff. " A Britisher
can't smell gunpowder without wanting to fight."
Then, smiling at the tall young volunteer, he
shook his white head. " I've no use for civilians
just now," he said. " This is a time for soldiers.
When you get ready to put on our uniform, Mr.
Dorsay, step up to the nearest company head-
quarters and enlist. I'll give you plenty to do
then. Meanwhile, you'd better keep to shelter.
Both armies are standing to their trenches, and I
don't see how there can be any advance until
daybreak."
Hugh rode away with his head in a whirl.
To see the closing in of the two forces, he must
work his way to the front, and yet the man within
him shrank from the part of a non-combatant.
How could he, the descendant of a race of
warriors, bear to stand among men in battle as
a mere spectator ? What man of the blood of
Godfrey de Bouillon had ever looked upon the
great game of life and death without arms in his
hands ? He heard the voices of the dead
knights calling to him, and he saw their stern
246 EAGLE BLOOD
faces looking forth from the walls of Battlecragie
Castle.
Again he caught a glimpse of the American
flag high in the night, with the glory of the
search-light streaming through its folds and sur-
rounding it like a nimbus.
A perspiring company of soldiers went march-
ing swiftly toward the thunderous outskirts of the
city, singing in the dust they made. A bullet
whistled close to his head. The sound of ar-
tillery crashed louder, and the shrieking of the
shells, hurled by the warships over the city, added
to the appalling clamor that rose on every side.
Rushing, noisy life swarmed in the narrow
streets ; galloping messengers ; rocking, creak-
ing carriages ; troops of men running hither
and thither ; frightened merchants hurrying from
shop to shop in search of news or safety ; white-
clad natives skulking timorously in the shadows,
with fearful glances at the armed patrols ; and in
the middle of the noisest, busiest scene, a re-
bellious water-buffalo lying down in harness and
stubbornly resisting the goad of its driver.
Hugh's pony picked its way nimbly along the
EAGLE BLOOD
247
street, while the rider watched the radiant flag
soaring against the sky emblem of civilization
and humanity.
There was a time when that banner represented
to him only the crushing force which had ruined
him the slowly spreading despotism of organ-
ized money, vulgar, boastful, and heartless. And
now, as he rode through the tumultuous streets of
Manila and listened to the iron voice of the great
republic speaking to its new-found subjects, he
remembered that rainy day in London when he
learned that the American trust system had swept
away his only means of support, compelling him
to abandon rank, title, name, and country. There
was no bitterness in his soul now. He could look
at the stars and stripes with a fond impulse of
loyalty. He had learned the lesson of human
equality in its shadow. Nor could he forget that
he was bound to that shimmering patch of color,
flying so gallantly above the rifle-ringed city, by
another tie it was Helen's flag; and within a
few hours he would see her in all her youth and
beauty and innocence.
He made his way toward the northern side of
248 EAGLE BLOOD
the city, intending to ride out to the front on the
road leading to La Loma church, where the native
army would be likely to offer fierce resistance.
Only a few hours before, he had seen Aguinaldo's
troops concentrating there ; and it was somewhere
in this general direction that the firing had begun,
although no one seemed to know just how or
why.
As he reached this highway, he met the division
general and his staff galloping hotly forward.
Hugh spurred his pony and swept on with the
officers in a rush of hoofs and a cloud of dust.
" Hello, Dorsay ! "
"Just in time!"
"Thought we'd see you!"
He waved his hand at each greeting shouted to
him from the swift troop. Pressing his animal
for speed, he reached the side of the commander.
" Our wires are cut and they're trying to assas-
sinate our couriers in the streets," explained the
general. " I'm moving out to get in touch with
the firing line. You'll see some stiff fighting in
the morning, Mr. Dorsay."
It was all so strong and manly and blood-
EAGLE BLOOD 249
stirring, that splendid rush over the dry road into
the dark gulf of war ripping and roaring in the
night beyond them, effete peace and caution
left behind and nothing but the mystery and
romance of glorious conflict in front. Hugh rose
in his stirrups and shouted for the very joy of it.
He felt a new power coming into his body and
sniffed the air with a strange sense of pleasure.
The thunderous noises, the lurid flashings, the
faint smell of burning gunpowder, thrilled him.
Bullets came " ting "-ing through the darkness
from hidden marksmen. The shells from the fleet
hurtled and screamed overhead. On, on, on they
swept, riders and horses jostling each other, past
houses and fields, under fragrant trees, leaping
over heaped stones, scattering groups of terror-
stricken natives to right and left, sweeping in
confused curves around wagons in the road,
breathing the honeyed scents of gardens, clat-
tering, clashing straight toward the battle line.
Then a halt so sudden that their ponies were
thrown back upon their haunches. A rough cart
filled with American soldiers accompanied by an
officer was before them. It was a squad of
250 EAGLE BLOOD
telegraph linemen belonging to the Signal Ser-
vice.
" Cut the wires and connect me with the front,"
cried the general.
Two men, spurred with steel, leaped from the
cart, climbed a telegraph pole, and severed the
wires.
" We'll open headquarters here," said the com-
mander, dismounting and taking possession of a
house porch.
A telegraph instrument was carried from the
cart, set on a chair, and connected with the wires.
In a moment an army operator was clicking a
message to the front. The general, lit a cigar and
waited for the answer. Presently the instrument
began to speak.
" The enemy are sticking to their trenches and
firing steadily," said the general, as he read the
despatch. " That's their Spanish training. Not
much for you to write about yet, is there, Mr.
Dorsay ? "
Hugh was leaning on the back of the officer's
chair, his blue eyes radiant with excitement and
his nerves tingling.
EAGLE BLOOD 251
"I'd like to ride on and see for myself," he
said.
"Well spoken, sir," exclaimed the commander.
" There's the road, and the whole island of
Luzon lies before you. We shall stay here
to-night and move forward as soon as there's
light enough. If you prefer to feel your way
to our trenches in the dark, you're welcome ;
but look out for native sharp-shooters along the
road ; several men have been killed to-night
between the city and the firing line."
After a word of farewell, Hugh regained his
saddle and started at a brisk trot for the trenches.
He had not gone more than a thousand yards
when the confidential hum of a bullet warned
him that he had undertaken a perilous journey.
Again and again the concealed marksman sent
messengers of death singing through the gloom.
The tough little pony began to snort and shiver.
Hugh patted the animal's neck and found his
hand covered with blood. The wounded pony
broke into a gallop, shaking his head and utter-
ing sounds of pain.
A loud cry for help caused Hugh to rein in
252 EAGLE BLOOD
his steed. He could see several white figures
struggling in the road just ahead, and his keen
eyes caught the flash of a blade. Another
appeal for help in an American voice came from
the blurred group. Drawing his revolver, he
rode straight on, to find a young officer fighting
desperately in the clutch of natives. With a
ringing cry he charged the group, firing as he
advanced. A piercing scream and the lurching
of a white figure to the ground followed the
first shot. Slipping from his pony, he fired
again and hurled himself among the natives,
felling one with a blow and sending a bullet
into another. The others fled into the bushes
at the side of the road, and the officer fell
heavily into the arms of his rescuer.
" I'm wounded," he groaned, " but I don't
know how badly. Here, in the back, it was
a bolo thrust ; and my head hurts please
let me lie down. They've taken my horse,
my God ! just before my regiment goes into
action, too."
Hugh carried the wounded man to the road-
side, and lighting a small bull's-eye lantern which
EAGLE BLOOD
2 53
hung on his saddle, he removed the officer's
jacket and stanched a deep wound in the back
with a strip torn from the sleeve of his shirt.
There was an ugly gash on the scalp, which he
carefully bound.
The soldier was a singularly handsome man.
The broad brow, regular features, big gray eyes,
and pale, smooth hair reminded Hugh of some
one he had seen before.
" Thank you," he said feebly, as Hugh washed
the blood from his face. " They stretched a rope
across the road and my horse was thrown. I
was on my way to headquarters. You came just
in time to save me. I'm Captain John Reming-
ton."
"I'm Hugh Dorsay."
The wounded man stared and tried to raise
himself from the ground.
" Dorsay ? Dorsay ? " he gasped. " Not the
young Englishman my sister wrote to me about
not the newspaper man ? "
" What ! " exclaimed Hugh, seizing the sol-
dier's hand, " is this Jack Remington ? Thank
God forever for this night ! Yes, I'm the poor
254 EAGLE BLOOD
t
devil of a stranger to whom your family opened
their door when I needed friends."
"You'll find a despatch for the division com-
mander in my pocket there. It must be deliv-
ered at once. Leave me here and take the
message back. You can send assistance to me."
" Damn the despatch ! " answered Hugh. " I'll
see to your safety first. How near are we to
the firing line ? "
" About a quarter of a mile ; but never mind
me now. Get the despatch in; it's terribly im-
portant. The colonel wouldn't trust an ordinary
messenger."
" Do you think you could sit on my pony if I
held you ? "
" The despatch, the despatch ! " moaned the
officer.
" I'm not going to move a foot without you,"
said Hugh, firmly.
" I'm in your hands I'm helpless but my
duty "
" Your duty is to put your arms around my
neck and hold on tight." And Hugh gathered
the soldier up in a strong embrace. " There ! steady
EAGLE BLOOD 255
now so!" And staggering into the road, he
lifted his groaning burden to the back of the pony.
Holding the swaying figure in the saddle, he drove
the animal forward and walked beside it.
The heat and the effort to keep the swooning
man from falling made him faint, but he struggled
on, while the volleying of the armies shook the
air. Across the open spaces to the right he could
see flashing lines of rifle fire, and once he saw the
belching flame of a cannon. Hoarse cries of com-
mand were borne to his ears from the distance.
Somewhere ahead of him were marching men.
He could hear their voices and the thud-thud of
their feet. A riderless horse plunged by him.
Then a quick, harsh challenge brought him to a
standstill. He had reached the American line.
A few hurried words explained the situation.
The wounded officer was carried to a small house
in the garden, where a surgeon took charge of
him ; the undelivered despatch was sent on to
headquarters ; and after being assured that Captain
Remington's injuries were not serious, Hugh
mounted his pony and moved out to the firing
line.
256 EAGLE BLOOD
Tying his horse to a tree, he walked along the
trenches and saw a continuous row of men in
khaki lying against the low earthen breastworks
and firing into the darkness. Through the drift-
ing smoke for the volunteer troops were using
black powder the officers strode up and down,
peering out at the enemy's ground and giving
their orders in quick, sharp sentences. As far as
the eye could reach, the blazing front of the army
stretched on either side. There was nothing to
be seen of Aguinaldo's troops but the incessant
flashing of their rifles. Now and then a rocket
trailing in the sky or a flickering bonfire indi-
cated that the native commanders were signalling
orders.
A squad of ambulance men carried a blood-
stained body on a stretcher into a tent. Hugh
followed to the narrow entrance and saw a line of
ghastly forms on the ground within. It was a
scene of unspeakable horror. In the wavering,
yellow lantern light two surgeons were busy with
splints and bandages. An expressionless, stolid
Chinaman stood by, holding a basin of water and
a dripping sponge. Two silent, rigid shapes lay
EAGLE BLOOD 257
in the corner of the tent under a covering of
rough matting.
As his eyes became accustomed to the gusty
light, he was surprised to see a woman in black
kneeling beside a wounded soldier, holding a tin
cup to his lips. He could hear her soft voice
indistinctly as she reached her hand out and
stroked the sick man's brow with a curious sway-
ing of the thin shoulders that made him think of
the night he was hypnotized and trapped into
marriage with Miss Grush. How different this
noble nurse from that evil adventuress, and how
separate their fates ! one tenderly ministering to
the dying in the presence of God and His angels,
and the other cowering away from the pursuit of
human justice. He found himself pitying the
woman who had so deeply wronged him. In
such a place there was no room in his heart for
hate. The nurse seemed to be praying. Her
hands were clasped and her head raised, although
her face was turned away so that Hugh could not
see it. The sufferer smiled, and made the sign of
the cross with his hand.
" 'Tain't no place fer a woman, sure," said a
258 EAGLE BLOOD
broad-shouldered private in Hugh's ear, "but
Miss Agnes goes everywhere."
" I've heard of her, but I never saw her before."
"She's just got over smallpox caught it
tendin' some of the boys in Cavite. What d'ye
think of that fer a woman ? Why, there ain't a
durn regiment in the island that don't know Miss
Agnes. She'd give her life fer the meanest cuss
in the hull outfit, that's what."
How weirdly reminiscent that murmuring tone
was, and how familiar the sidewise droop of the
head and the sinuous turn of the meagre figure !
The kneeling nurse leaned her face close to the
stricken soldier, and Hugh had a momentary
glimpse of her features in the shadow. His
heart leaped, and a chill spread through his limbs.
He looked eagerly at her hands no, there was
no ring there. But it was the face, the form, the
voice, of Miss Grush.
He clutched the flap of the tent door and
watched her as she smoothed the dank hair back
from the rough face. Her every movement
struck fear into him. Was this tre sorceress who
had wrung from him an oath of marriage ? Could
EAGLE BLOOD 259
that be the hand that struck down David
Irkins ?
He forgot the thunder of the armies, the row
of ashen, upturned faces, the voices of preparation
for the coming battle, and saw only a lean woman
on her knees, with a crucifix raised in her hand.
His first impulse was to confront her, to denounce
her, to demand the ring of Tancred which he had
placed on her finger. Pshaw ! It was impossible ;
there must be a mistake. That saintly, tender
nurse what could she have in common with a
desperate criminal? He would speak to her
not now, but when she rose.
" Why, Dorsay ! "
Lieutenant Perry slapped him on the back.
" You're right in the thick of it, my boy, and
just in time to see the niggers drive in our out-
posts. See them coming ? "
Hugh wheeled around and saw a band of dusty
pickets leaping in over the earthworks, while a
storm of bullets made the dust fly along the line.
A cheer burst from the trenches, and volley after
volley flamed out over the rough ridges against
which the firing line lay.
260 EAGLE BLOOD
" Down on your face, for your life ! "
He threw himself flat on the ground. Then
the whole American line rose in obedience to
command and swept over the bulwark to drive
the charging natives back. Hugh climbed up on
the breastworks and saw the brown line go out
into the darkness, shouting and firing as it ad-
vanced, only to return, after the enemy had fled,
to take its place in the trenches again.
Then he went back to the tent and looked in.
The nurse had vanished. No one could tell him
where she had gone. Miss Agnes was a volun-
teer nurse who came and went on her own respon-
sibility. Where did she live ? Sometimes in one
place and sometimes in another. She had been
in the smallpox hospital for a long time and had
but recently recovered. At one time she lived in
the Dominican convent, but when the military
governor declined to accept the nuns as army
nurses, she had abandoned the shelter of their
cloisters.
" Some say she's American and others say she's
English," said a soldier, " but she never talks
about herself. One of the chaplains got a little
EAGLE BLOOD 261
gay to-night about our boys bein' soldiers of God,
or somethin' like that, and she told him we were
makin' war on the only Christian people in Asia.
Jee ! you ought to have seen him shut up."
After visiting the improvised hospital where he
had left Captain Remington, and learning that
the wounded officer had been sent to the main
hospital of Manila in an ambulance, Hugh
accepted Lieutenant Perry's invitation to share
his quarters, and in a few minutes he was stretched
on a blanket in a little tent, listening to the never
ending sound of the rifles in the trenches.
He closed his eyes, but haunting thoughts
of the woman in black tortured him and drove
away sleep. The suspicion that Miss Crush
had followed him to the Philippines for some
sinister purpose filled him with a nameless dread.
He racked his tired brain to find some explana-
tion of the mystery. Then the face of Helen
Martin came before him, calm, sweet, and trust-
ful. He might keep her in ignorance of his
marriage to Miss Grush, but could he dare to
live falsely in the presence of that pure nature ?
And if he told her all, would he not break the
262 EAGLE BLOOD
tender charm of their companionship and darken
all the future ?
He tried to reason with himself. It was
a fraudulent marriage ; he had not spoken the
fateful words or signed his name as a free moral
agent ; it was mere superstition and Quixotism
to allow an involuntary contract to stand between
him and his heart. The passion that had slept
for months awoke, and his veins ran lightning.
Love ? Yes, it was love so deep and sure that
life without it would be intolerable. The ship
was even now, perhaps, outside of Manila Bay,
waiting for the sunrise, and Helen was straining
her eyes across the water to catch a sight of the
harbor lights. Did she give a thought to him ?
Ah, he was sure that she had not forgotten
those days and nights when the spirit of an
unspoken tenderness brooded between them.
What would she say if he told her now that
somewhere there was a woman who called her-
self by whatever shadowy title his wife ?
Through all these months of hardship and
danger he had developed a larger capacity to
feel as well as to endure. The boyish vanity
EAGLE BLOOD 263
of birth and rank engendered by the narrow
limits of his life in England had changed into
pride of manhood, and with it had grown a virile
love for the brown-eyed little American patriot
that wove itself into every thought of the future.
There were times when he believed that he had
conquered his affection for Helen days when
he dreamed of going back to England but
as he lay on his rough bed and thought of to-
morrow, he knew that he had been deceiving
himself, and that his life and happiness were
inseparably bound up in her smile or frown.
If he were only free to seek his fate in her " yes*
or " no " ! But how could a man of honor turn
coward to his past? His ring the traditional
emblem of his line was on Miss Crush's
finger. He had put it there fairly or foully
and until he recovered it and legally annulled
the union it symbolized, he was bound to silence.
There were instincts of mediaeval ancestry that
refused to die in him, heritages of superstitious
chivalry compounded with his flesh and blood,
as inseparable as the color of his eyes.
In time he fell asleep. When he awoke,
264 EAGLE BLOOD
Perry was shaking him roughly, bugles were
blowing, the ground shook to the tread of march-
ing feet, and the first gray light of dawn was
straggling in at the open end of the tent. The
young lieutenant was in boisterous spirits, and
capered about wildly.
" Get up and see the dandiest fight of your
life," he cried. " Dash some of this water over
your head while I get you a cup of coffee and
some hardtack. The whole line is being formed
for an advance. It's the prettiest sight you
ever saw." And while Hugh splashed the cold
water in his face, his companion broke into
song :
" Her golden hair with ringlets fair,
Her eyes like diamonds shining,
Her slender waist, with carriage chaste,
Might leave the swan repining.
Ye gods above, O, hear my prayer,
To my beauteous fair to bind me,
And send me safely back again
To the girl I left behind me."
Looking out of the tent, Hugh saw the faint,
saffron glow of the tropical daybreak stealing into
EAGLE BLOOD 265
the haggard sky. There was a silvery mist on
the rice fields, and the intense green of the trees
and grass sparkled with dew. While he looked,
a rosy flush spread upward from the dawning
sun, with slowly changing tints of amethyst and
gold, cloudless and serene. An iridescent dove
fluttered down from the cool depths of a mango
tree and preened its soft plumage in the shade of a
bush of flaming scarlet. A sunbird flashed its
lovely colors in the growing light.
The shrill, clear voice of the bugles thrilled
the morning air, the sound of the tramping bat-
talions increased ; through the lofty screen that
drooped about the tent could be seen the moving
brown ranks and the gleam of arms ; and beyond,
the heaving streams of slouched hats and slanted
rifle barrels, the tawny earthworks and the empty
trenches. Save for a random shot here and there,
the sounds of conflict had ceased. Both armies
were making ready for the death grapple.
The colors were borne into sight, and as he
saw the trembling folds of the American ensign
unfurled for battle, Hugh's soul rose in salute.
These were the dyes of the British flag in another
266 EAGLE BLOOD
design, uttering a newer and broader message to
the world. The course of civilization had run
westward around the earth and this was the van-
guard of mankind reappearing in the gray old
East, still armed and still shedding blood in the
name of human liberty. A prayer for victory
rose involuntarily to his lips. Her flag ! had it
not at last become his flag, too, unutterably beau-
tiful and inspiring ?
His revery was broken by the lieutenant, who
appeared with a can of smoking coffee and a pan
of army rations.
"Die on a full stomach," he roared. "In
peace there's nothing so becomes a man as
modest stillness and humility (that's Shake-
speare) ; but when the blast of war blows in our
ears, then imitate the action of the tiger, gobble
the bacon, the hardtack and coffee, unleash the
appetite that's not Shakespeare, but it's good
horse sense. By George, Dorsay ! " he paused
midway in a draught of coffee " I've heard the
story of how you saved Captain Remington last
night. It's the talk of the whole brigade and
you never said a word to me about it. I'd give
EAGLE BLOOD 267
ten years of my life to do such a thing and have
the modesty to keep my mouth shut afterward.
" ' Sound the clarion, fill the fife,
To all the sensual world proclaim,
One crowded hour of glorious life
Is worth an age without a name.'
I tell you, I believe half the fellows would
resign their commissions but for the hope of get-
ting their names in the newspapers some day
soak your hardtack in the coffee, my boy and
here you are a real hero "
" Perry, I ought to be in the city to-day," said
Hugh. " You know Miss Martin's steamer is
due, and if the enemy should break through our
lines and enter Manila, they would burn and kill
without mercy. Think of a young girl with no
one to stand by her but an old man, who "
" Oh, love, love, love !
Love is like a dizziness ;
It winna let a poor body
Gang about his biziness.'
sang the officer, wagging his head and patting the
ground with his feet.
"Can't you see," he added, "that the best way
268 EAGLE BLOOD
to keep the niggers from getting at your friends
is to stay out at the front and help us to chase
them off the face of the earth ? "
"You're right " Hugh lifted his head proudly.
" I don't know how I could have been such an
ass as to forget myself. Perry, I'm going to
enlist."
" Wha-a-at ? Enlist ? Come to me arms, me
sojer boy."
" Hang it ! Perry, don't make a fool of me
and you've spilt every drop of coffee. Yes, I
mean it. I shall offer myself at once."
The blood of his crusading forefathers spoke in
the set face and steady blue eyes.
" I'm not the first of my family to be a soldier,"
he said gravely ; " and if I prove to be the last, it
will be a fitting end to the race."
He spoke with a depth of feeling that checked
his companion's frolicsome mood.
"That flag" stretching his hand toward the
trenches " has been calling me for many days.
I shall make my answer now."
They left the tent together, and after Hugh
had been duly examined by a surgeon and pro-
EAGLE BLOOD 269
nounced sound, he took the soldier's oath and
signed the muster-roll of Captain Remington's
company. Ten minutes afterward he was pro-
moted to be a sergeant, and later he was detached
from his regiment and assigned to duty among
the scouts at the headquarters of the division
under direct orders from the general.
And when at last the battle opened, and the
widespread lines, gathered from the farms and
workshops and offices of the western world,
lurched out against the insurgent sons of Asia,
all through the red-blazing track of slaughter
Hugh rode near the flag in a tempest of death,
with as stout a heart as ever beat in the mailed
breasts of his knightly ancestors. It was a day
never to be forgotten in history, a day stained
with the blood of two peoples calling upon God
to witness the justice of their cause ; freeman slay-
ing freeman, as when brothers strike each other
in the dark. Over the fields and the roads
strewn with the dead and dying, the American
troops pressed their fierce way, carrying barri-
cades, intrenchments, fortified houses, and fair
groves filled with fighting men. The gray battle
270 EAGLE BLOOD
mist drifted slowly in the swooning air across a
vast spectacle of carnage, and the smoke of burn-
ing dwellings blackened the summer sky. The
natives fought with desperate valor, and from
the pale blue swarms of riflemen there issued
maddened bands of bolo men, who fought with
their rude blades against bristling ranks of bayo-
nets, hacking and stabbing until they fell under
the feet of the resistless American soldiery.
Women and children joined in the dreadful
conflict ; flights of arrows and poisoned darts
marked the presence of half-naked savages sum-
moned from the distant mountains by native
leaders. Gradually Aguinaldo's forces fell back,
fiercely contesting every foot of ground, rallying
behind groups of huts or around churches, firing
from the shelter of gravestones in the cemeteries,
but slowly retreating toward the green thickets of
the outlying country.
Once, when a color-bearer was struck down,
Hugh leaped from his saddle, and lifting the
fallen stars and stripes from the dust, remounted
and carried the flag forward amidst the cheers of
his comrades. It gave him a thrill of mingled
"LEAPED FROM HIS SADDLE, AND LIFTING THE
FALLEN STARS AND STRIPES . . ."
EAGLE BLOOD 271
/
pain and pleasure, for although he bore the
colors to which he had sworn loyalty and his
pulse leaped at the thought that Helen would
know of his deed yet the Englishman was
strong within him. Lion blood and eagle blood
struggled for mastery in his veins. He was a
soldier of the great republic, but still a subject
of the British crown and heir to an ancient earl-
dom. And while he moved onward through the
smoking conflict, with the brilliant ensign trailing
over him, traditions of the past and sentiments of
the present griped him inwardly.
All through the burning day Hugh carried the
American colors, delivering them to their regi-
ment when the field was won and the tired
soldiers had manned a new line of trenches.
" And now, sir," said the general, after compli-
menting the new-made sergeant on his gallantry,
" you have my permission to go to the city and
serve your newspaper. There will be no more
fighting at present. The enemy has had a taste
of American steel, and we shall give them a few
days to think it over as a steady diet. You may
remain in Manila for a day or two 'if you desire
272 EAGLE BLOOD
it, sergeant. Under the circumstances it would
be hardly fair to prevent you from doing your
work as a correspondent. " Besides," and the
general prodded Hugh gently in the ribs, "I
hear that you have friends coming from Hong
Kong to-day. Oh, well," as the tall youth raised
one hand in protest "I was that way myself
once. Damm it ! I wouldn't give a rap for a
fellow that didn't "
" Thank you, I shall go at once," said Hugh,
interrupting him. " There may be disorders in
the city and I might be useful to my friends."
" Until further orders, you may remain with
them. You've earned a rest, and besides, as I
was saying, when a man's sweetheart comes eight
thousand miles "
Hugh saluted and fled, with the laughter of
the general in his ears.
CHAPTER XI
AFTER cabling his story of the battle to New
York, Hugh went to the wharf of the little
Custom House on the Pasig River which di-
vides modern Manila from the moated walls and
battlements of the close-built city reared by the
Spanish conquerors and waited for the arrival
of Mr. Martin and his daughter. The Hong
Kong steamer had entered the bay, but under the
compulsion of naval regulations had anchored
far out ; and the passengers were to be brought
ashore in a steam launch.
Although the distant, piled-up clouds still
faintly shone with mottled reflections of the van-
ished sun and dyed the gloomy waste of the bay
with shimmering streaks of copper and sulphur-
ous green, the canal-like river looked ghostly in
the growing dusk, with its crowded ships, roofed
hulks and barges, shallops, junks, scows, and
puffing launches, swarming with deck-life and
273
274 EAGLE BLOOD
twinkling with lights. Grimy English colliers
ground their sides against the painted hulls of
Chinese smugglers ; trim American merchantmen
swung in the stream beside fantastic native fish-
ing boats ; Spanish freighters creaked against
Malay prows and marvellously contrived rafts
of bamboo.
Traders, adventurers, and ruffians from almost
every corner of the earth were to be found in the
babbling multitude that peopled the narrow
stream, Japanese, Chinamen, Hindoos, Tartars,
South Americans, Australians, Hawaiians, Rus-
sians, Germans, Frenchmen, Spaniards, Austrians,
Italians, Englishmen, Americans, and men of all
the tribes of the Philippine Islands, noisy and
picturesquely squalid.
Beyond the floating inferno that choked the
mouth of the river and the neglected monument
of Magellan on the opposite bank, rose the huge
bulk of the Walled City, with hoary stone bul-
warks and ancient fortifications ; and above them,
dimly seen, the triumphant stars and stripes.
As the shadows deepened, the scene grew more
mysterious in the yellow light of the myriad Ian-
EAGLE BLOOD 275
terns swinging among the rocking acres of craft,
and the half-clad figures leaping from deck to
deck looked like evil spirits.
There were smart officers to be seen on the
river front and brawny sailors from the American
fleet and the foreign warships, all eager for news
of the battle. Armed boats loaded with ammuni-
tion and other provisions of war moved to and
from the wharves. Now and then a messenger
from the admiral to the military governor leaped
ashore and hurried away.
It was all so strange and homeless that Hugh's
heart leaped when he saw the familiar slim figure
of a girl in white, standing beside a sturdy, gray-
haired man in the bow of a launch that swept
through the labyrinth of shipping toward the
Custom House wharf. There was no mistaking
that airy form, high-held head, and jaunty hat
with brim upcurling from the breeze made by the
motion of the boat. Hugh waved his hand and
shouted a welcome, but the noises of the river
drowned his voice, and he was unrecognizable in
the crowd that waited for the landing of the
passengers.
276 EAGLE BLOOD
As Helen stepped lightly to the wharf, her
youthful beauty and grace attracted every eye,
and a dozen hands were stretched out to assist
her. Even the tired Chinese coolies, straining at
the mooring ropes, turned to watch the lovely
stranger. Her brown eyes searched the crowd
anxiously, and then, as she saw Hugh, her face
lit up with a smile that brought the color to his
tanned face, and she reached out her hands to
him with the simple honesty of a child.
" Hugh ! how glad I am to see you ! Here,
father, don't you see Mr. Dorsay ? "
He took her hands and held them for a
moment, but utterance failed him.
" Bless my soul ! " cried Mr. Martin, as he
swung the young man around and examined him
critically, " what a magnificent fellow you've got
to be ! You're as brown and tough as bronze."
" We've been in a state of wild excitement,"
exclaimed Helen, " and we've heard all about
how you rescued Captain Remington from an
ambush and how you raised the fallen colors
and carried them all through the fight, and we're
so proud "
EAGLE BLOOD 277
" I did nothing more than my duty."
" Daddy was for landing and going to the
front to find you the moment we anchored ; but
although they told us all about the fight, they
wouldn't let us ashore until the order came from
the Captain of the Port. Even then, they in-
sisted that women were expected to remain
aboard until all danger was over. Why, we
would have swum ashore, if the launch hadn't
taken us. Daddy felt sure that you would be
waiting for us."
" That's right ; put it on me," said the old
man, with a shrewd twinkle in his eyes.
She lowered her eyes demurely, and a faint flush
of wild rose answered the veteran's sly challenge.
" I've been thinking of you all day," said
Hugh, bluntly.
" What ! even when you saved the flag ? "
" Yes, then more than ever." And, realizing
that his words embarrassed her, he changed the
subject abruptly. " We must get your baggage
out of the hands of the customs officers," he said,
" and then we'll go to the worst hotel in the
whole world, where I've secured quarters for you."
278 EAGLE BLOOD
" O dear ! Must we really go to a hotel ?
I thought we'd live in a tent and be waked
up by bugles every morning. It will be just
like living in New York."
" No, I can guarantee a distinct change from
anything you've ever experienced before. After
a week in this hotel, you'll understand why a
man is willing to face death cheerfully. Seri-
ously, though," Hugh's voice showed his
anxiety, " Manila is still a place of danger ;
and I'm sorry you've come at a time like this.
We've driven back the native army on all sides,
but there may be an uprising in the city any
hour, and with nine-tenths of our troops out in
the trenches, God knows what horrors we may
have to encounter in the streets and houses.
Centuries of oppression have made the natives
as treacherous and cruel as wild beasts."
" I hope your fears may be unfounded," said
Mr. Martin, solemnly; "but my daughter and
I have come eight thousand miles to see where
our flag has been raised, and, please God, we
won't turn back now."
"There's the walled city, anyhow," said
EAGLE BLOOD 279
Hugh. "If things grow desperate, I can get
you shelter in the fort."
After a parley with the revenue officers, the
trunks were slung on huge bamboo poles and
carried off to the hotel by stalwart, bare- legged
Chinamen, much to Helen's astonishment. The
little party followed them in a native carriage.
" Thunderation ! There's a man walking in a
public street with his shirt outside of his trousers,"
cried Mr. Martin indignantly, as he caught sight
of a jaunty native. "He ought to be arrested."
" That's the honest native style," said Hugh.
" When a Filipino tucks his shirt in, he'll bear
watching."
"It's a fool idea."
" On the contrary, the native custom is a
sensible one in such a climate as this, and when a
man changes from the habits of his people to
please foreigners, he's apt to be a hypocrite. We
consider the untrammelled shirt-hem as an emblem
of moral integrity out here."
" Really ! " exclaimed Helen. " And are we to
see the embattled patriots advancing upon our
army, flaunting their Oh, it's unthinkable ! "
280 EAGLE BLOOD
" No, the enemy's as unromantically belted and
uniformed as our own soldiers."
" It's hard to believe there's a war here," said
the old man. " The streets are quiet, the wagons
move along slowly, and the soldiers seem to be in
no hurry."
" The wagons you see are ambulances rilled
with wounded men ; those soldiers just ahead of
us are a part of the city patrol (we have no
police, you know) ; that big cart drawn by water-
buffaloes is a sort of hearse, carrying our boys to
their graves."
Mr. Martin uncovered his head.
" Poor fellows ! " he muttered. " The whole
archipelago isn't worth one of them."
" And you," said Helen, in a low voice, as she
turned to the young soldier, " you have been in
the midst of this scene of suffering and death."
" I did nothing more than my duty."
" Ah, no. These men were soldiers obeying
the call of their country, while you "
" I am a soldier, too."
" Hugh ! "
" It's true."
EAGLE BLOOD 281
" But you're not in uniform."
" I enlisted this morning and haven't had time
to bother about my clothes. I'm a sergeant, serv-
ing with the scouts at division headquarters, and
to-morrow I'll wear my buttons and chevrons."
She uttered a little feminine cry of delight, and
her eyes sparkled.
" Then then oh, you're an American citi-
zen at last, Hugh ? "
" No, I'm still an Englishman."
" But you've taken the oath of allegiance ? "
" The soldier's oath, not the citizen's. There's
lion blood in me yet, although I'm bound to fight
for the eagle."
Silence fell between them for a space. The
rickety vehicle rattled and swayed over the
uneven streets, and presently it was brought to a
standstill by a long procession of bare-footed
natives, guarded by a few American soldiers.
" Prisoners of war," said Hugh.
The native driver in front of them watched the
melancholy train here and there a blood-stained
coat or bandage with cold eyes. His dark
visage was expressionless, and he sat as still as
282 EAGLE BLOOD
a wooden image while his captive countrymen
shuffled on to the walled city.
" Our friend," said Mr. Martin, jerking his
thumb toward the driver, " doesn't seem to be
excited by the situation."
" It's hard to read these people," answered
Hugh. " They seldom show emotion. I saw
their soldiers die to-day without a sign of feeling,
tearless and silent. Look at that chap's calm,
indifferent face. The chances are that his heart
is black with hate and that he'd like nothing
better than to cut our throats. Do you smell the
odor of the tree above us ? "
" What a lovely perfume," exclaimed Helen.
" It's like honeysuckle."
" That tree has no scent in the daytime. It
gives out fragrance only in the dark. So it is
with the people of the Philippines : they reveal
their hearts when they are hidden from other
races. To understand their natures, we must be-
come like them or make them like ourselves ;
there's no middle course."
When they arrived at the hotel, there was an
hour devoted to settling down. Helen was in
EAGLE BLOOD 283
a flutter of excitement. Everything she saw
aroused her interest, the immensity of the
rooms, the wonderful polished floors, the woven
cane beds without mattresses, the bunches of
sweet-smelling ylang-ylang, the barefooted native
waiters, the melancholy groups of Spanish officers,
the field-stained American officers, the restless and
anxious war-correspondents ; and out in the plaza
under her windows, the armed patrols and the
clatter of the mounted couriers.
After dinner Mr. Martin smoked his cigar in
the cool, wide corridor, while Helen and Hugh
strolled up and down before him. The old
journalist's kindly face wore an expression of
deep satisfaction and pride, as he watched the
young pair under the yellow radiance of the
lamps. He marked the tender smile with which
she watched the soldier's face when he spoke to
her, and the fond, proud look in Hugh's eyes as
he bent his head to hear her voice.
" Oh, I'm so, so glad you've made such a
record, Hugh," she said. " Every one was talk-
ing about your brilliant despatches, when we left
New York. And now that you're* an American
284 EAGLE BLOOD
soldier, somehow I feel that you're nearer
to us."
"You always were such a little patriot. I half
believe that if I'd been knocked out to-day "
" No, no ! don't even joke about that," she
said with an effort to hide the tremor, in her
tone. " If you only knew how we suffered when
we heard that you were in the thick of the fight,
and how we prayed for your safety "
"Do you know, Helen," he hesitated and
looked lovingly into the fair, upturned face,
"perhaps I oughtn't to say it when I dis-
mounted in the field and picked up the colors
from the ground, the boys cheered, but I saw
only your face and heard only your voice saying,
1 It is my flag. Do this for me.' There, I'm
sorry I said it, but, hang it all ! I just couldn't
keep it in."
Once more the pink of the wild rose flushed
her face.
" You mustn't talk so," she said with a look
of happiness that belied her words. " The eagle
doesn't catch flies, and a soldier shouldn't, stoop
to flatter a silly girl."
EAGLE BLOOD 285
" Nor does the eagle breed doves," he an-
swered with a smile, "and I felt your spirit in
the very air I breathed. Now I have offended
you."
She half averted her face, and they moved
without words for a few moments.
" I had hoped to find you inspired by the
sentiment for which so many brave men died
to-day," she began.
"And so I am." His voice was deep and
true. " Every drop of blood in my veins is
thrilled by the challenge of the United States to
Asiatic barbarism ; but I'm also inspired by the
sentiment for which so many men have died in
every country and every age "
A sudden sense of guilt arrested his tongue,
as he remembered his marriage to Miss Crush,
and he drew back from the perilous verge of
avowal.
"I think we'd better go to Mr. Martin," he
said in a constrained manner. " He looks
lonely, and the tobacco out here isn't all it's
cracked up to be."
" It would be better," she answered.
286 EAGLE BLOOD
Her feminine instinct perceived the change
in his mood, and a subtle feeling of estrangement
chilled her tone. They had reached an angle
of the great corridor which ran around the build-
ing, and turned to go back.
" I suppose you've not changed your ideas
about marrying an Englishman," he ventured
with an unsuccessful attempt to laugh.
" The gulf is as deep and wide as ever," she
answered gayly. " As you were saying of the
Filipinos a little while ago, we must surrender
to them or they must surrender to us ; there's
no middle course. And as I won't be a British
subject, why, there's only one way. But I really
haven't any interest in the matter, anyhow."
" We think we see into the looking-glass
when, the truth is, the glass sees into us," ob-
served Hugh, with a sigh.
"That's an owlish remark, and sounds as if
it ought to be very profound, Mr. Philosopher."
" I was thinking of myself. If my nationality
were the only gulf that divided us "
The note of despair in his speech caused her
to look up quickly at the handsome brown face,
EAGLE BLOOD 287
and something she saw there filled her with
alarm. They were approaching Mr. Martin,
but she stayed him with her hand.
" Hugh, you have some secret trouble^' she
murmured, looking into his face with the sweet
seriousness of a privileged sister. " There has
been a mystery in your life ever since the day
Mr. Irkins was wounded. You're so changed ;
and have you ever stopped to think that it's
nearly a year since I've had a letter from you?
What is this thing that makes you turn cold
and forget your friends ? Can't you trust
me?"
He listened to her with unquiet eyes and gloomy
brow. Taking her hand in his, he pressed the
little fingers and shook his head.
" Your father is beckoning," he said. " Let
us go to him."
The color fled from her face, and she drew
away from him with an offended air.
" I want to have a private chat with you,
Hugh," said Mr. Martin, "unless you have to
report for duty to-night."
" No, I have leave to stay with you for two
288 EAGLE BLOOD
or three days, if nothing serious happens ; and
as the enemy has had a good thrashing, it's not
likely that we shall be troubled for some time
except by outbreaks in the city."
After bidding Helen good night, Hugh led the
way to his room.
" I'm almost worn out," he said, as he threw
himself into a chair. " Now that the excitement's
over, I feel as weak as a kitten."
" I don't wonder," remarked the old man,
" but you look as though you could stand any-
thing. I never saw such a change in a man in
my life."
" I got a ripping good story off to the paper
to-day."
" Good ! But how do you propose to do
newspaper work in the future, with your duties as
a soldier to attend to ? "
" The general has promised to let me have
plenty of time for that ; besides, my understand-
ing was that you were to take charge of the Mail's
principal correspondence."
" Well, we'll have to work it out some way, my
son."
EAGLE BLOOD 289
Mr. Martin puffed his cigar slowly and studied
the young man's face.
" I've something serious to say to you to-night,"
he said, reaching out his hand and laying it with
a kindly touch on Hugh's knee. " I've had it in
my mind all the way from New York."
He paused and puffed his cigar again in evident
distress.
" Did you " and he nodded his white head
toward the door "did you say anything to her
to-night ? "
" Why, of course I did," said Hugh, smiling
in spite of the veteran's ominous manner.
" Yes, yes, I don't mean that, Hugh ; but
did you dammit ! you know what I mean.
Tell me the truth. My little girl looked un-
happy just now." The journalist's voice shook.
" Mr. Martin, I understand you." The ring
of his words was steady. " No, I said nothing.
I know that you can't be blind to feelings which
I'm not always able to conceal, but there are
circumstances which prevent me as an honorable
man from "
The old man raised his hand for silence.
290 EAGLE BLOOD
" She's all I have in the world," he said, as
the tears gathered to his fine old eyes. "Just
like her dear mother come back from heaven
to comfort me. She wasn't made for sorrow,
my son ; and although she's been through college,
she knows little of the seamy side of the
world."
He laid his cigar down, and clasping his
knees with his wrinkled hands, looked straight
into Hugh's face.
"I've heard a story about you that has given
me some sleepless nights. I can't believe it,
and yet I must hear the denial from your own
lips. As you hope for heaven, my boy, tell me
the truth. No, don't look away ; let me see
your face. Have you a wife ? "
" Before God, no ; before man, I can't say."
Mr. Martin sank his face into his hands and
groaned. His sturdy frame trembled.
" My God ! and I never suspected you."
" I haven't spoken to Helen since the night
it happened, until to-day. God be my witness,
sir, that I've been the innocent victim of an
adventuress I first met under your roof."
EAGLE BLOOD
291
"Miss Crush? The hell cat!" The old
man's eyes grew stern. " So it was I heard it.
And you you, my boy. Oh, my poor little
girl!"
Hugh experienced a bitter pang as he realized
the confession of shattered hope in that broken
cry. Never before had he understood how close
he was to Mr. Martin's heart; and the snowy
head bowed in despair stirred a sense of profound
misery in him.
Then a hot current of indignation ran riot.
A thousand wild thoughts rushed in upon his
brain. Why should he be condemned for play-
ing the part of an honest man ? What had he
done to deserve this moral crucifixion ? Ah !
now he knew what love meant, gnawing, tor-
turing love. He would fling himself on his
knees and tell the whole cruel story. No, he
was guiltless condemned without a hearing.
Mr. Martin raised his head. His face was
seamed and puckered ; there were dark hollows
under his eyes, his mouth drooped pitifully, and
his lips were ashen. All the strength seemed to
have gone out of him.
292 EAGLE BLOOD
" I haven't told her a word. She doesn't even
suspect it. Oh, Hugh, my lad, this is a sore
night for me."
" Mr. Martin," said Hugh, " it's all a horrible
mistake."
The journalist shook his head sorrowfully.
" Too late, too late, my son."
" But you must hear me. I'm not what you
think I am. My father's son can look any
man in the face without fear or shame."
" It'll break her little heart when she hears
it," muttered the old man.
" I'll tell you the whole truth, sir ; and when
I've finished, if you think I've flinched ever so
little from the line of duty or honor, I'll go
back to England by the next steamer, or as
soon as I can get my discharge."
He was standing in the middle of the room,
his hands on his hips, his head thrown back,
and his clean-cut, brown features standing out
in the lamplight like chiselled bronze. The
veins in his sinewy neck strained like whipcords.
A red blotch stained the breast of his jacket.
Even the rough and wrinkled field costume could
EAGLE BLOOD 293
not disguise the aristocratic lines of the tall,
supple figure.
" I can't see how it will matter much now,
my lad," said Mr. Martin, " but you can tell
your tale in your own way. God knows I had
hoped for something else in my old age. No,
I can't believe you guilty of treachery, for
even an Arab respects the house in which he
eats salt. Go on."
The first words of the story of his marriage
to Miss Crush in a hypnotic trance had scarcely
crossed his lips when the sound of a rifle-shot
in the plaza, followed by a death scream, inter-
rupted him. The next moment a bullet crashed
through the screen of the open window, and
split a panel in the door leading to the corridor.
The cracking and rip-ripping of rifles in the
streets, the fierce, hoarse shouting of men, the
trampling rush of feet across the plaza, and
the wailing of some one in pain, caused the two
men to run to the window. White figures
were dashing in frantic confusion across the
plaza, and groups of American soldiers were
entering the open space from all the streets,
294 EAGLE BLOOD
firing as they advanced. Windows and roof-
tops blazed with rifle fire. Some of the flying
figures knelt, fired, and resumed their flight.
The hotel was in a general uproar, soldiers and
guests pouring out into the plaza.
" My God ! the outbreak ! " cried Hugh.
" Run, run ! Find Helen and stay with her till
I come to you. Let no one enter your room.
The native servants are not to be trusted ; they'll
join with the enemy if the revolt spreads, and
they're sworn to kill every foreign man, woman,
and child. Here ! " he thrust a revolver into
Mr. Martin's hand " lock your door and
defend it. We must get Helen into the walled
city. The garrison will be turned out at once,
but the outbreak may be general, and before
relief can reach us the hotel may be fired. Bar-
ricade your door and don't open it till you hear
my voice."
He spoke quickly, but with the authority
of a man accustomed to action and to danger,
fastening a belt of cartridges around his waist
and blowing out the lamps in the room.
" Turn out your lights," he exclaimed, as
EAGLE BLOOD 295
he hurried the old man into the corridor. " If
the hotel is attacked, the natives may think
your room is vacant. Barricade the door with
the bed and keep away from the windows.
Make no sound till I come, and be dressed
and ready to follow me."
A few minutes later Hugh knocked at Helen's
door and announced his name. He found father
and daughter arrayed for a journey, with a small
handbag of clothing set on a table. The sounds
of conflict in the plaza had died out, but distant
echoes of musketry were still to be heard.
" It's the work of the Katipunan, the secret
revolutionary society," he explained. " There
are assassins in every window and on every roof-
top. We must leave the hotel by the rear way."
Helen still wore the white dress in which
she had reached Manila, and a misty scarf was
draped about her head. Her face was pale,
and her brown eyes flashed as she saw the belt
of cartridges around his waist.
" I'm not a bit afraid," she said ; " at least,
not while you are with us."
His cold, formal manner puzzled her.
296 EAGLE BLOOD
"You must cover yourself with something
dark," he said, without noticing her impulsive
tribute. " A white dress will be sure to draw
fire from our men to-night ; all the natives wear
white. Here, this black rain cloak is just the
thing." And he drew the garment about the
slim form.
The distant attitude of respect assumed by
the young soldier did not escape the mind of
the watchful father, who recognized the delicate
motive which prompted it, and, as they passed
through the corridor, he pressed Hugh's hand
gratefully. Descending a dark stairway and
groping their way through an arched passage,
they reached a narrow lane at the back of the
hotel. At the corner stood a horse and carriage.
After assisting his friends into the carriage, Hugh
mounted the driver's seat. Turning the corner,
he drew up in front of a stable. He leaped
from the carriage, disappeared in the stable door,
and presently returned with a horse, paddled,
bridled, and haltered.
" I'll have to ask you to lead my horse," he
said, giving the tail of the halter to Mr. Martin.
EAGLE BLOOD 297
Then he remounted the seat, seized the reins,
and the carriage rattled away through the un-
lighted back streets. At every corner they were
challenged by sentries. Once a bullet whistled
over them.
" Don't mind it," cried Hugh, looking back.
" They're poor shots, even in daylight."
" Can't hear a bullet, anyhow, till it's passed,"
answered the old man, recovering his spirits under
the influence of Hugh's calm voice. " Why, sis,
this is quite romantic, isn't it ? Where are we
bound for, Hugh ? "
" Fort Santiago, in the walled city."
" That sounds safe."
At that moment three white figures darted out
of a doorway and ran into the street. One seized
the rein of the carriage horse and the other two
dashed at the carriage, with gleaming bolos up-
raised. Hugh whipped out his revolver and
fired at the two ruffians. With a cry of pain
one of them fled. The other bounded toward
Hugh, screaming with rage, and aimed a blow
that narrowly missed his head. He heard the
sharp blade hiss as it descended. In another
298 EAGLE BLOOD
moment the assassin lay motionless on the ground,
with a bullet through his head. The third native
uttered a shriek of terror and bounded away in
the darkness.
" Lie down in the bottom of the carriage,"
commanded Hugh ; " there may be others."
There was a rush of men toward them from
the shadows just beyond, and Hugh raised his
revolver.
" Don't shoot ! " cried a voice.
It was an American patrol. The soldiers
pressed around the carriage, and when one of
them recognized Hugh, he uttered a cheer and
swung his hat above his head.
" Damned if it isn't the Englishman who
saved our colors to-day," he shouted.
" Holy smoke ! that was a corking good shot,"
said a soldier, kneeling beside the dead native.
" Square in the middle of the forehead. Went
straight to hell without knowin' what struck
him."
"I must move on; make way there!" cried
Hugh. " I'm escorting this lady and gentleman
to the walled city for safety."
EAGLE BLOOD 299
A cheer burst from the group of soldiers, as
the carriage swept away in the shadows. Hugh
felt his heart dance within him. He was knight
to her at last.
Helen and her father had been silent all
through the swift tragedy. The old man had
his arm around the slight figure of his daughter.
She was crying softly.
"There, there now. It's all over. No one's
hurt but a miserable cutthroat who deserved
what he got." Mr. Martin's voice was full of
tenderness.
" Oh, daddy ! thank God he's safe ! "
Hugh heard, and his whole nature sang
responsively.
" This is no time to thank you, Hugh," said
the veteran, " and I don't believe I could tell
you all I think, my son."
They swung into the brilliantly lighted Escolta,
but none were to be seen save the patrols and
sentries. Then came the Bridge of Spain, heavily
defended at both ends ; the bayonet-guarded gate
of the walled city ; the silent, narrow streets and
ancient Spanish houses ; the little park with its
300 EAGLE BLOOD
cathedral, white palace, and monastery ; a turn
down a deserted street, a loud challenge and a
quick answer from Hugh, a dash under a stone
archway and they were in the arsenal yard of
Fort Santiago, the mightiest stronghold of the
Spanish conquistadors.
The immensity of the walls, the heaps of aban-
doned cannon, and the vastness of the stone ram-
parts, seen obscurely in the gloom, gave a sinister
appearance to the place.
As the carriage stopped under a huge tree in
front of a small building, the door opened and a
stout officer hailed the party, raising his hat when
he recognized the presence of Helen.
" Hello, Dorsay ! " he cried heartily. " They've
been kicking up ructions in the city to-night, but
we've got them under control."
" Colonel Denby Mr. Martin, Miss Martin,"
said Hugh, as he assisted Helen out of the carriage.
" Delighted to meet you, I'm sure," replied
the officer, removing his hat. " These are the
friends you spoke of ? "
" Yes. Under the circumstances, I felt that
the hotel would be unsafe to-night."
EAGLE BLOOD 301
" You showed good judgment, sir, and we have
ample accommodations, rough as they are. Sev-
eral of my officers are in the field and their quar-
ters are vacant. If there is a safe place in the
Philippines" to Helen "this is it. We've
nothing here but some old guns and a few case-
mates filled with native prisoners. By the way,
Dorsay, I hear that you've enlisted."
" It's true ; I'm a sergeant."
"Then, sir," with an air of mock severity,
" you will please bring your heels together,
turn your toes out, and salute your superior
officer in proper form."
Hugh saluted. The colonel returned the
courtesy gravely.
" We've been attacked on the way over," said
the young sergeant, " and I had to use my re-
volver. I'm afraid Miss Martin has been ex-
hausted by the experience and needs rest."
" We owe our lives to Mr. Dcrsay," said
Helen, turning her sweet face toward Hugh.
" He's a lucky dog to have the chance of serv-
ing a charming American girl," growled the colo-
nel, leading the way into his quarters. "The
302 EAGLE BLOOD
rest of us have to face the music and trust to
luck for our thanks. But I will say that he made
a jim-dandy record in the fight this morning.
Saved the colors, by thunder ! An Englishman,
too what do you think of that?"
The garrulous old officer punched Hugh in
the ribs.
"And now he has the cheek to intrude his
services on one of our girls allow me, Miss
Martin."
He removed the rain cloak from her and she
stood revealed in all her youth and loveliness,
the crushed white gauze of her dress clinging to
the slim, graceful form and the brown hair
shaken loose about the pale, beautiful face. The
colonel started back with a look of surprise and
admiration.
"You are the real thing, sure enough," he
exclaimed. " I'd almost forgotten what a beauti-
ful American girl looked like. Excuse me for
being so blunt. And you, sir, " bowing to Mr.
Martin, " will pardon an old soldier for his
plain speech ; but this is well, it's simply over-
powering. Miss Martin, I'm the commanding
EAGLE BLOOD 303
officer here, and so far as I'm concerned, you
can own this fort."
They were taken upstairs, and the clack of
the colonel's tongue was ceaseless, as he pointed
out the bare mess hall and the officers' sleeping
rooms, the walls of which were hung with strange
weapons and flags, monstrous hats, buffalo horns,
brilliant embroideries, and other trophies of the
American occupation of Manila.
" This will be your room, Miss Martin," said the
colonel, showing Helen into a small corner com-
partment. " The regular tenant was ordered to join
his regiment, but he is now in the hospital. Mr.
Dorsay might be able to tell you how it happened."
"Jack Remington!" exclaimed Hugh, paus-
ing in front of a photograph.
" It's the captain's room, sir."
" How strange that I'm to have the room
of the man whose life you preserved," murmured
Helen, turning to Hugh.
" And here's a picture of his sister," he said.
" I know her well. You remember the hand-
some blond girl I introduced you to on the
golf links at Larchmont ? "
304 EAGLE BLOOD
" Yes, indeed," she answered with a darkening
brow, as if the recollection afforded her no
pleasure.
" Remington has had a bad turn, poor fellow,"
said the colonel. " That bolo thrust in the
back went deeper than the surgeons thought at
first."
A light step brushed the entrance to the room,
and Lieutenant Perry, covered with dust, saluted
the colonel.
" I've followed Dorsay over from the hotel,"
he said apologetically.
" What's up ? " cried Hugh.
"You're to report at headquarters immedi-
ately. The enemy are pressing their lines in
closer. I promised the general to pass the word
to you. We may have a nasty fight before the
night's over. The uprising in the city was a
failure, but the niggers outside of the lines are
getting sassy."
" I must leave at once," said Hugh. " For-
tunately I brought my horse with me."
Perry saluted again, wheeled about, and dis-
appeared.
EAGLE BLOOD 305
" Mr. Martin, I feel sure that you are both
in safe hands now. I'm needed at the front and
must go without delay. If all goes well, I'll
see you to-morrow or the next day. Meanwhile
I ask you to trust me." He looked the old
man straight in the eyes. " I promise that you
shall know the truth."
" I believe you, my son."
Hugh turned to Helen. Her face was white
and her eyes feverish.
" Oh, must you go ? " she pleaded, her little
head drooping sidewise, and her lip trembling.
" It's so dangerous out there, and "
" God keep you ! " said Hugh, soberly, as he
bowed to her with an air of restraint. His coun-
tenance was calm and his voice steady, but
there was a mistiness in his blue eyes. " Colo-
nel, " with a salute, "I leave them in your
care. Good night ! "
Without another word he left the room.
They saw him from the window as he swung
himself into the saddle and galloped through
the arched gateway.
"There's a man," said the colonel, "who's
306 EAGLE BLOOD
likely to make a good American if he doesn't
get killed in the making. Why, Miss Martin,
what's the matter ? "
Helen had fainted in her father's arms.
" Poor little girl," said the old man, tremu-
lously. " She's tired out body, head, and
heart."
CHAPTER XII
THE movements of the enemy which brought
Hugh out to the firing line proved to be nothing
more than feints by which the native commanders
hoped to draw the Americans out of their trenches
into an ambush ; but the scouts were kept busy
stealing out here and there on the ground lying
between the two armies, climbing trees and
searching out the details of the insurgent posi-
tions. Hugh's courage and resourcefulness in
reconnoitring made him a favorite among his
comrades. Several times he barely escaped cap-
ture while seeking for weak points in the hostile
lines. The general recognized his valor and
intelligence by giving him command of the scout-
ing force, a small body of men picked from the
various regiments of the division.
The young scout's favorite resting-place was a
little wooden platform lashed in the top of a
37
308 EAGLE BLOOD
towering cocoanut palm and reached by a series
of wooden cleats nailed to the smooth trunk of
the tree. For hours he would remain in the airy
lookout, under a dingy strip of canvas, scanning
the insurgents through his field-glasses or jotting
down notes of field news, which he managed to
send regularly to Mr. Martin for use in his cable
despatches to the Mail. He would watch the
clouds drifting against the blue of the sky and
the great shadows moving across the brilliant
green landscape, and there would come a longing
that would send his spirit ranging into the sound-
less space between heaven and earth. From his
lonely post in the tree-top he could see beyond
the checkered squares of rice paddy, the alterna-
tions of bush and hut, the crooked roads and the
roof-tops shimmering in the heat, to the gloomy
fortress which sheltered the dearest girl in all the
world.
He might have obtained permission to go into
the city, but instinct held him where he was.
Once he caught a wonderful beetle that exhaled
the perfume of a rose and sent it to Helen in a
bottle, and the little note of thanks that came
EAGLE BLOOD 309
back tempted him sorely to yield to his heart and
visit her. Then the dark, lean face of Miss
Grush rose before him in silent warning. Mr.
Martin came to the firing line, but, seeing the old
man in the distance, Hugh avoided him. In
answer to repeated messages from father and
daughter, complaining of his absence, he pleaded
the urgency of his duty as a soldier.
Up in his aerial retreat Hugh fought over and
over the battle of heart and conscience. He told
himself that he was in no way bound to respect
an obligation of marriage imposed by fraud. By
working a hypnotic spell upon him, Miss Grush
had relieved him of all responsibility for his sub-
sequent words or acts. Her letter to him was a
tacit acknowledgment that he was still free. Yet,
argue as he would, he could not relieve himself
of the feeling that, until he had cleared up the
mystery of his sham wedding, he had no right to
approach the sacred precincts of Helen's heart.
He recalled the figure of Miss Grush, with his
ring on her finger, and her words came back to
him with torturing significance, " I've had you
for my own for this hour at least."
3 io EAGLE BLOOD
He was sure that the woman he had seen
in the hospital tent on the night of the battle
was Miss Grush ; but in spite of his efforts
to find her, the nurse had disappeared. Not
even the Dominican nuns knew where she might
be found, and although Hugh enlisted the
friendly influence of the surgeons, he failed to
discover a trace of the soft- voiced " Miss
Agnes." Once he thought he saw her through
his field-glasses, standing near the door of his
tent, but when he descended from his tree-top,
she was gone.
" Sergeant," said the general, " I've a sur-
prise in store for you."
Hugh saluted and waited expectantly.
"At my request the President has given you
a lieutenant's commission. The announcement
came by cable to-day. I congratulate you
heartily, sir. No man has ever won a better
right to wear an officer's sword."
" Thank you, general, but there surely must
be some mistake. I'd be proud to hold a com-
mission in the American army, but I'm still
an Englishman."
EAGLE BLOOD 311
"That's all right, sir. You're a lieutenant
of volunteers, and your nationality has nothing
to do with it. The Marquis of Lafayette was
a major-general in Washington's army, and
still remained a Frenchman. Permit me to
present you with a sword " he handed Hugh
a handsome blade " that was worn by a man
who loved our flag well enough to die for
it. As the Spaniards say, may you never
draw it without cause or sheathe it without
honor."
It was the afternoon of the fifth day of
Hugh's service as a scout. He hung his sword
in his little tent and wandered out into a thick
grove of bamboos and palms. As he left the
camp, a courier from Manila handed him a
letter bearing the London postmark, forwarded
from New York, and addressed in his solicitor's
familiar handwriting. On reaching the shade
of the trees he threw himself on the soft grass
and tore the missive open. " Poor old Chad-
der," he thought. " I wonder what he'd think,
if he saw me in an American uniform ? " The
letter ran :
3 i2 EAGLE BLOOD
"THE VISCOUNT DELAUNAY :
" My Lord : The failing health of your noble
grandfather, Lord Castlehurst, and the perni-
cious activity of the newspaper gossips, make
it highly desirable that your lordship should
return to England as soon as possible. The
earl has not yet taken to bed, but he is confined
to his room, being afflicted with rheumatism.
The medical man is of opinion that his lord-
ship may live for some years yet ; but the news-
papers according to their meddlesome habit
have taken it into their heads that the earl
is in extremis, and there are frequent references
to the succession. Already the radical journals
have fallen into the practice of referring to your
lordship as { the lost Lord Delaunay.' I have
done my utmost to prevent this, and have re-
monstrated with the editors, assuring them that
your lordship is still travelling in Europe for
your health's sake ; however, they will insist
on making a mystery of the matter. I shall
continue under your lordship's strict injunction
to withhold all information regarding your pres-
ent name or whereabouts, although I take
EAGLE BLOOD 313
the liberty to say the time has come when
you should take counsel with yourself as to the
wisdom of abandoning the experiment of anony-
mous life in America and resuming the dis-
tinguished name and rank to which your birth
entitles you.
" I note with some regret the views expressed
in your lordship's last letter touching the Amer-
ican theory of equal privileges, and can only
hope that time and experience will convince you
that government by the masses, unrestrained by
the conservative influence of a cultivated and
hereditary aristocracy, must, in time, destroy civ-
ilization and liberty. You are living in a coun-
try which is rapidly falling under the dominion
of money, and as you must see upon reflection,
conditions of equality cannot long endure in a
people blinded by the mere instinct of acquisi-
tion.
"It occurs to me that the prospects of war
in South Africa might persuade your lordship
to return to London and apply for a commission
in her Majesty's army.
cc With every wish for your continued health
3H EAGLE BLOOD
and prosperity, I am your lordship's devoted
and obedient servant,
"ALFRED CHADDER."
Enclosed in the letter was a cutting from a
prominent radical newspaper:
' The mysterious disappearance of the Viscount Delaunay,
heir to the venerable Earl of Castlehurst, is another illustration
of the decay of our institutions. At a time when British trade
and influence are staggering under the blows dealt by organized
American capital, and when legislative means must soon be
devised to meet the crushing competition which threatens the
prosperity of the empire, this young man, who will one day
sit in the House of Lords, vanishes from his native country.
It is said that he is wandering about Europe under an assumed
name in search of pleasure. How long will the good-natured
British public consent to have its laws made by a hereditary
legislative body the only one in the world whose members
prepare themselves for the serious business of government in this
manner ? The missing Viscount is the last descendant of a
famous line stretching back to the Conqueror. Is it possible
that the rugged race that won these islands from barbarism is
at last wearing out ? Must we soon have to admit that Eng-
land has become like ' a sedge field, exhausted by excessive
cultivation ' ? "
He folded the letter and stared through the
darkness made by the trees. Beyond the gloomy
EAGLE BLOOD 315
tangle of branch and vine, the distant sunshine
sifted softly, like light in a mullioned window.
A breeze stirred the palm trees overhead; a
flying lizard leaped above his head and ran glow-
ing to the end of a fluttering branch ; a bird
called tenderly to its mate ; the faint notes of a
bugle echoed in the air.
As his eyes became accustomed to the deep
shade, Hugh was aware of a white figure leaning
against a tree. Something in the graceful atti-
tude made his blood run fast, and he rose to his
feet. A peal of girlish laughter rang through
the grove and Helen came tripping through the
grass like a sylvan sprite, the incarnation of
youth and innocence. He uttered a glad cry.
" Well, Lieutenant, I've been watching you
for ever so long. I thought you'd never get
through that letter."
" Lieutenant ? Why, how did you know that ?
I only learned it myself a few minutes ago."
" It's gazetted in the Manila newspapers.
Everybody knows it now. And daddy says
you've been living in a tree, like a bird ; and,
oh," she clapped her little hands, " how well
3 i6 EAGLE BLOOD
you look in uniform ! You know I haven't
seen your sergeant's chevrons before. What a
wonderful thing it must seem to be a real scout !
I'm just dying to hear about it But I forgot!"
she drew her slight figure up with an adorably
graceful gesture "you've turned away from
your old friends, and I'm deeply offended."
" Helen ! "
She colored before the yearning glance of
the steady blue eyes.
" I wouldn't have come here but for daddy ;
really, I wouldn't. I left him in the general's
quarters and strolled out under the trees
when "
" When you heard I was here ? Be
honest ! "
" Your modesty, sir, is "
" Helen ! "
His voice was low and deep.
" Hugh ! "
He took her hands in his.
" I have waited so long," he said. " Even
now I dare not speak."
She drew herself away from him shyly.
EAGLE BLOOD 317
" I must go if you insist on talking like that,"
she said, with down-dropped eyes. " You know
that daddy and I think the world of you and
it isn't fair, after you've saved our lives, to take
advantage of an accidental meeting; it was an
accident " his eyes were laughing " and
you needn't flatter yourself that I expected to
find you here."
He slid into the grass at her feet and stretched
out his sinewy form with boyish abandon.
" How beautiful this place is," he remarked
irrelevantly.
She plucked a spray of scarlet blossoms that
grew beside her and stripped the petals one by
one.
" The whole world is beautiful, Hugh. It's
just as we make it ourselves. We sometimes
shut our natures up and complain that it's dark
and lonely, when all the time the sun is shining
and the birds are singing outside ; but when
we open the doors and windows we know that
the light and beauty of heaven is to be had for
the seeking. We don't even have to seek them
always ; they'll come if we only let them in."
318 EAGLE BLOOD
"In my tree-top I've been seeing the world
as I never saw it before."
"Ah, Hugh, the world looks different when
you get high enough up to see it as it is."
" On each side of a beautiful landscape I've
seen men with homes and wives and children,
men who had no quarrel with each other wait-
ing and watching for a chance to kill."
" Why, what a gruesome turn ! "
"This morning I saw a great bird soaring
against the sun and then searching the earth for
prey. I couldn't make out whether it was a
vulture or an eagle I don't even know if there
are eagles in the Philippines. Wouldn't it be
strange if the American eagle which has stretched
its wings over these islands should turn out,
after all, to be a vulture, tearing the vitals out
of the only republic ever established in Asia ? "
She made no answer, but stood stripping the
scarlet blossoms and strewing them on the grass.
" The letter you saw me reading was from
England," he said. " It reminds me that the
country of my birth may soon need soldiers to
fight for her; and the question is whether it is
" 'WOULD' YOU BE SORRT IF I SHOU1
TO ENGLAND, HELEN? ' "
EAGLE BLOOD 319
better to serve under the lion in Africa or under
the eagle in the Philippines."
For a few moments there was silence. He
watched the deepening shadows in her face.
" Would you be sorry if I should return to
England, Helen ? I'm a gentleman there by
right of birth."
She hung her head. The flowers dropped from
her hand.
" It's a question for your conscience," she said
with an effort.
" Isn't it a question of patriotism ? "
" Patriotism ? Yes, but who can say what
country he belongs to ? Has the country of his
nativity a better claim upon him than the country
of his choice ? You are an Englishman by the
accident of birth ; you couldn't help yourself,
could you ? And now, when America is calling
the best blood of all countries to her oh, Hugh,
Hugh, can't you see that the hope of the world
is in our flag ? "
The long, clear call of a bugle sounded through
the trees. It was repeated in varying cadences,
now high, now low, and died away tremblingly.
320 EAGLE BLOOD
"Do you understand the meaning of that call ? "
he asked.
She shook her head.
"It is assembling men for the game of life or
death."
"Is there to be another battle ? "
" To-morrow the left wing of the division will
swing forward until our line is straightened. We
must press the enemy's main force back. It will
be rough work, Helen."
" I tremble when I think of it."
She was pale now. Her bosom heaved, and
she drew her hands up with a little shiver. He
noticed the movement, and the man within him
rejoiced.
" Must you must you go into the fight ? Is
there no service that calls for intelligence
you're an officer now, Hugh something that
won't expose you ? "
" I'm not so sure that the safest place isn't
right in front," he answered grimly. "The little
beggars are such bad shots that a fellow in the
rear is more likely to be hit than the one aimed
at."
EAGLE BLOOD 321
He raised himself on one elbow and brushed
the pale hair back from his bronzed forehead.
" Would you care very, very much, if anything
should happen to me ? "
" Can you ask me that ? "
He saw the tears starting in her brown eyes
and the insurgent pink in her dimpled cheeks.
" I think I'm just a little bit of a brute, Helen,
but I well, I wanted to hear you say it just that
way."
Again the bugle notes swelled through the air,
this time with a quick lilt.
" No, you needn't mind that one. It's nothing
more heroic than the dinner call."
" Is it so late ? " exclaimed Helen, noticing for
the first time the low slant of the sun's rays
through the grove.
" Oh, there are two hours of good daylight yet
and by George ! just the thing won't you
stay and have a soldier's dinner ? We needn't go
to the mess tent ; I can have a table carried under
the trees."
" I should be delighted. What a lark ! "
" Roast beef from Australia, onions from Cali-
322 EAGLE BLOOD
fornia, potatoes from Oregon, coffee from Java,
and hardtack from I don't know where."
" Sumptuous ! "
" And all served on tin dug from the mountains
of South Dakota."
" Hurrah ! There's daddy now, waving his hat
at us, across the rice fields. Dear old daddy ;
doesn't he look funny with a revolver strapped to
him ? And he insists on wearing spurs, although
he always rides in a hack."
" I've been looking everywhere for you, sis,"
panted Mr. Martin, as he reached the edge of the
wood. " How do you do, Hugh ? My congratu-
lations on your promotion. My ! but it's hot,
and these blessed spurs catch in everything ; got
to wear them, you know can't tell the moment
I'll have to risk my neck on one of these native
animals. War's war, and we must be prepared
for anything. But how did you manage to stray
out here, sis ? "
" Why, daddy, you were so busy with the
general that I rambled over to the shade, and to
my surprise, who should I find here but our new
officer."
EAGLE BLOOD 323
" Urn, I see," muttered her father, with a sly
glance at the blushing face. " Very remarkable
very ! Simply extraordinary ! "
The old man seated himself on a fallen bamboo
trunk and bared his head in the shade.
" Well," he exclaimed, " who'd ha.ve ever thought
of seeing Uncle Sam's sword buckled on your
thigh ? Do you remember the night Helen sang
* The Sword of Bunker Hill ' to you ? Never
saw a man look bluer than you did."
"You could hardly expect a fellow to feel
cheerful over his country's defeat, could you ? "
" Tut, tut, my boy ! When any outsider talks
to you about those days, just look him straight in
the eye and tell him that Anglo-Saxons have
never surrendered except to Anglo-Saxons."
" I never thought of it that way before," said
Hugh, slowly.
" Of course you haven't. There are lots of
things you haven't thought of. For instance,
my son, it hasn't probably occurred to you that
it's dinner time."
" Oh, yes, it has, daddy," cried Helen, trium-
phantly, slipping her little round arm about the
EAGLE BLOOD
veteran's neck, " and we're invited to dine on real
army rations ; and I've accepted."
"Good!" said Mr. Martin. "It'll be tough
fare if it doesn't beat' the eternal fried eggs of the
hotel."
" But I thought you were both living in Fort
Santiago ? "
" We were, but we've gone back to the hotel.
I couldn't think of intruding on the officers' mess
after the danger was over. My only trouble now
is with the army censor."
" Muttonhead ! " observed Hugh.
" That's just it, my boy. I bang him in every
despatch I send to the Mail"
" That'll make things worse, won't it ? "
" Maybe yes, and maybe no. You see " the
old man cocked his head in a judicial attitude
and pursed his lips " I'm proceeding on an old
theory. It's just this : If you see a horse, hit him
on the nose. He may never love you, but he's
always sure to be deeply interested in your move-
ments. That isn't an original idea, but it's a
mighty sensible one. I guess I'll get my de-
spatches through all right in time. Just now I
EAGLE BLOOD 325
have to send them by steamer to the cable office
in Hong Kong. The military governor threat-
ened to have me sent home, if I didn't change
the tone of my articles."
" And what did you say to that ? "
" Oh, nothing, nothing just told him that
home had no terrors for me. Neat, wasn't it ? "
They walked through the crackling rice stubble,
and Hugh laughed heartily at the old man's
picturesque sallies against the military martinets
of Manila. Presently they reached the young
officer's tent, and Helen insisted on holding
his sword in her hand. Then a rough table
was set out under the wide-spreading branches
of a mango tree, and the three sat down to a
meal served from the mess tent.
The dying sun shed a ruddy glow over the
scene, and a cool breeze from the west set the
leaves rustling. Across the fields stood a row
of white tents, rose-tinted in the radiance of
sunset. An indescribable charm of color dwelt
on tree and bush and meadow. They could
hear the laughter of the soldiers, and the clank-
ing of their tin cups and plates. Before the
326 EAGLE BLOOD
repast was ended, the sun had set and the earth
lay hushed in twilight under a sky of amethyst
and gold. Suddenly they heard the sound of a
man's voice singing high and clear :
" Abide with me, fast falls the eventide ;
The darkness deepens, Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me."
They left the table and listened to the battle-
eve hymn.
"I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless,
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death's sting ? Where, grave, thy victory ?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me."
" It's Chaplain Gray, holding an open-air
prayer meeting," said Hugh. " He believes that
there's a time to pray as well as a time to fight."
They strolled in the deepening shadows across
the parched fields, and just beyond a screen of
trees they came upon the soldier congregation,
kneeling bareheaded in the grass, with the young
chaplain in the midst, his hands locked, his
handsome, spiritual face upturned, and his lips
moving in prayer.
EAGLE BLOOD 327
It was a scene of exquisite beauty and peace.
The dying light fell on the rows of bowed
heads, and shone in the face of the chaplain like
a benediction. All was dusk, save where the
reflected afterglow of sunset descended through
an opening in the green branches. The strong,
lithe bodies bent so humbly were motionless
as stone images, and the voice of the chap-
lain was the only sound that disturbed the
silence.
Instinctively Hugh took Helen's hand, and
the young pair knelt at the foot of a tall bamboo.
Mr. Martin followed their example.
" O Thou, who seest into the hearts of men,"
prayed the chaplain, " look into our hearts and
banish anger and passion, that we may do Thy
will even unto death in a righteous spirit. Make
strong the hearts of our soldiers, O Christ, but
keep them still merciful."
"Amen!" exclaimed Mr. Martin, fervently.
" Let no drop of blood be shed to-morrow,
save for the sake of liberty."
" Amen ! "
" God of the nations, waste not the lives of
328 EAGLE BLOOD
Thy children. May freedom germinate in the
battle-field and blossom and bear fruit."
" Amen ! "
The chaplain arose and glanced smilingly
toward the old journalist, whose hearty re-
sponses had caused several of the soldiers to
turn their heads.
" Come forward, friends," he said.
The three moved out and -stood among the
soldiers, and presently they were singing with
the rest:
"Our fathers' God ! to Thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing:
Long may our land be bright
With freedom's holy light ;
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God, our King."
By the time the benediction was given they
were in darkness, and the sound of random firing
announced that the enemy had begun the ordi-
nary night's work.
As Hugh led his friends away from the prayer
meeting, his keen eyes caught a glimpse of a
woman in black, who rose from her knees and
EAGLE BLOOD 329
glided toward a clump of trees. As she reached
the edge of the deep shade, she appeared to turn
and watch him. He recognized the catlike
steps and alert poise of the head. Was it Miss
Grush ? His heart seemed to stop beating.
Without a word of explanation, he strode rap-
idly toward the mysterious figure, but, as he
advanced, the stranger vanished into the gloom
and he could find no sign of her. There could
be no doubt that she had fled to avoid him. He
searched among the trees and bushes and strained
his eyes over the surrounding rice paddies in
vain. The mystery maddened him. Once he
thought he heard a mocking laugh in the dark-
ness, but it proved to be the clucking of some
bird disturbed by his movements.
" I thought I saw an old friend," he explained,
when he returned to his companions and started
them toward his tent.
" I could have sworn I saw a woman out
there," said Mr. Martin.
Hugh was silent. Their way led them close
to the trenches, through a lane of low tents
crowded with soldiery, the officers' canvas being
330 EAGLE BLOOD
set here and there beyond, under the trees, with-
out any attempt at regularity. Companies of
infantry moved quietly along the front like
hundred-legged caterpillars ; ammunition and
commissary wagons rumbled in from the Ma-
nila road. They passed a small stone church
set in the open country ; a surgeon and his
assistants were preparing bandages and litters on
the doorstep. The starry glory of the sky and
the tropical perfumes borne on the night air
stirred Helen to an outburst of admiration.
But the young officer spoke no word. Mr.
Martin was also glum and averse to conversation.
When his tent was reached, Hugh lit a
lantern.
" How pale you are ! " cried Helen.
His face was drawn and his lips hard set.
" Look as if you'd seen a ghost," said the old
man.
" It's nothing," said Hugh, turning to Helen
with a faint smile. "You must expect to find
a soldier serious before battle. You know we
go into action to-morrow morning."
" That isn't it," she said gently, with a quick
EAGLE BLOOD 331
glance from her brown eyes. " I know you well
enough to understand that these sights and
sounds of preparation only move your enthusi-
asm. You are ill."
" Would you mind waiting in here alone while
I have a few words with your father ? I must
speak to him now and speak alone."
Mr. Martin raised his eyebrows and coughed
in an embarrassed way. Helen clasped her little
hands above her head and pouted.
" A secret ? "
" Well, a sort of secret."
" Does it " she smiled nervously " does
it concern me ? "
" Oh, come now, sis," objected the veteran,
" that isn't fair. Anyway, we've got to talk over
arrangements for getting the news in from the
front to-morrow."
" I wish I could tell you to-night, but I can't,"
said Hugh, earnestly, as he went out of the tent,
followed by Mr. Martin.
The two men walked a short distance away
from the camp without speaking, and then Hugh
stopped and faced the old man.
332 EAGLE BLOOD
" I'm sure I've seen her to-night," he said
hoarsely.
" Miss Crush ? No ! "
" Yes, I can't be mistaken. It was she you
saw in the edge of the woods. I've been trying
to find her for a week. She was watching us
to-night I'm sure of it; and when I went after
her, she disappeared as if the earth had swallowed
her. My God ! Mr. Martin, what shall I do ?
I promised to tell you everything, and yet I'm
surrounded by a mystery I can't fathom. She
has followed me here, and shadows my life like
some evil spirit."
" Is she your wife, Hugh ? " The old man
laid his hand on his companion's shoulder.
" Don't beat around the bush, my son."
They stared face to face in the darkness.
Each could feel the trembling of the other.
" Before God, I am the victim of a cruel plot."
" Answer my question."
" I can't."
" Why ? "
" Because I don't know."
Hugh felt the old man's hand gripping his
shoulder fiercely.
EAGLE BLOOD 333
" That's not the answer of an honest man."
" Listen, and you shall be the judge."
In a few words Hugh told the story of his
marriage to Miss Grush while in a hypnotic
trance, the assault on David Irkins, the letter
of the fugitive adventuress, and the scene in the
hospital tent on the night of the battle. He
told his tale bluntly, making no attempt to
extenuate his own faults, and concealing only
his rank and title. They walked back and forth
on the edge of a rice field under a group of
palms. Mr. Martin listened in silence.
" Thank God, my boy ! " he said when the
story was done. " I always believed in you, and
you've taken a great weight off my heart. The
thing now is to find that woman."
" She has the heart of a fiend."
" I don't know. You can't always tell about
a woman. There never was one since the world
began that hadn't some goodness in her, if any-
body knew just how to reach it. Of course that
was no marriage, but it's always better to untie
a knot than to cut it. I tried to get Miss
Crush's story out of Mr. Irkins he's the only
334 EAGLE BLOOD
one who knows it but that blow on the head
paralyzed his memory, and he couldn't recall
anything about her."
" That explains why he has never referred
to the assault in his letters to me."
" Exactly. His mind is a complete blank on
some things. He insists that you saved his life,
but he can't remember just how it was."
" And you trust me still, Mr. Martin ? "
"Trust you ? Why, my son, I'd trust you to
the end of the earth. But not a word of this to my
little girl ; " he put his arm around Hugh's shoul-
ders. " She mustn't know a thing about it till "
" Till ? "
" Oh, well, till you've got your ring back."
And Mr. Martin laughed heartily.
"And then?"
" Now you're anticipating matters, my boy,
but I've a good pair of eyes in my head, and per-
haps I'm able to make a good guess at what'll
happen perhaps not."
On their way back to the tent they arranged a
system for getting news of the coming battle to
the cable office.
EAGLE BLOOD 335
" We must get the story on the wire before the
other fellows," said Mr. Martin. " News is only
news when you're the first to print it ; after that
it's history."
"Why, you look like another man. What
. has happened ? " exclaimed Helen when Hugh
returned. " Your eyes are bright, and you have a
color like a young girl."
" I've been making a confession."
" Why didn't you let me hear it ? "
" My next confession shall be to you."
She blushed deeply and became instantly ab-
sorbed in the tent arrangements. Her father
assumed a look of profound gravity, but there
was a suspicious twinkle in his eyes.
A sound of some one running was followed by
the appearance of Lieutenant Perry, who saluted
and delivered himself excitedly :
" The general presents his compliments and
requests the presence of Lieutenant Dorsay at
once."
Hugh returned the salute.
" It's a big chance, Dorsay. The niggers are
trying to steal in on our left along the shore of
336 EAGLE BLOOD
the bay, and you're to take a company of scouts
and capture the whole outfit in the dark. Jee-
rusalem, but you're in luck ! "
" All right, Perry," said Hugh, quietly. " I'll
be there in a minute." Then, turning to his
guests, he said : " I'm sorry to leave you so ab-
ruptly, but there's not a moment to lose. I can't
even see you on your way back to the city."
Helen grew white and her bosom heaved, but
she picked up his sword with a smile.
" Let me buckle it on," she said.
" I'm sorry to disappoint you, but we don't
wear swords in the field."
She looked at him mistily and smiled again.
Her lip quivered.
"You're going into danger, Hugh?"
" Oh, a little swing around in the rear of the
natives. It probably won't amount to much."
Her eyes grew big with horror.
" But if " The slim white figure reeled and
fell into Mr. Martin's arms.
" Go, go ! " cried the old man. " By God ! my
son, you ought to be a good man to deserve a
tribute like this."
CHAPTER XIII
A PLUNGE in the salt water of the bay and a
frugal breakfast eaten with his tired scouts re-
vived Hugh after his night pursuit of the elusive
bands of natives and a dreamless sleep on the
floor of a native hut.
Already long lines of troops were forming in
the early light across the fields and gardens ly-
ing between the scattered houses. The general
and his staff were seated on the edge of the dusty
road to Caloocan, beside a battery of artillery.
As Hugh strolled into the highway, he could
hear the general speaking sharply to one of
his aids.
" No, I can't permit it," he said. " It's too
embarrassing. The firing line's no place for a
woman. Every damned female in Manila seems
to want to see the fight. As if we haven't trouble
enough on our hands without having petticoats in
the way ! Tell her I won't have it ; no, sir, I
337
338 EAGLE BLOOD
won't have it ! Ah, good morning, Lieutenant
Dorsay. That was great work last night. Fine,
sir, fine way, way up."
" Thank you, sir. I'm sorry I lost two of my
men."
" Well, well," said the general, cheerfully,
" you must avenge them to-day."
The aid whispered in the general's ear, whereat
the officer grew red with anger.
" Not another word, sir," he roared. " If I
catch her on the line to-day I'll " he clenched
his fist and struck his knee. " What do you
think, Dorsay ? Here's a woman who's been
pestering me for leave to serve as a nurse on
the firing line ; won't take no for an answer.
It's simply hell." And he mopped his perspir-
ing face.
" Who is she ? " asked Hugh.
" God only knows. Here, captain, order those
wagons out of the road ; dammit ! man, can't you
see there's no room for the guns to pass ? "
and turning to Hugh again " She's a volunteer
nurse, an American, I think, who has done some
brave work; but she will insist "
EAGLE BLOOD
339
" Not Miss Agnes ? "
" That's the woman pock-marked, lean as
a plank most mysterious creature. Everybody
seems to know her, but nobody knows who she
is."
" I think I know something of her," said Hugh,
guardedly. " I should like to take your message
to her."
" What ! you too ? I didn't think it of you,
lieutenant."
" I've been trying to find her for a week."
" No," said the general, turning to his aid
again, " tell her she must keep away from the
line until the end of the action. Then she can
report to the surgeons and pitch in. I'm sorry,
Dorsay, but I can't spare you just now. You
must move your men into position at once.
That swampy ground on the extreme left is
just the place for your scouts. The tall grass
will be full of nigger sharp-shooters."
After a few words of instruction from the
general, Hugh returned to his scouts. Every-
where squads of men in khaki moved toward
their places. The brown lines of fighters be-
340 EAGLE BLOOD
came more solid and rigid. Mounted messen-
gers moved busily between the general and the
line officers. The agile signal-service men were
stringing telegraph wires from tree to tree, and
a uniformed operator on the roadside was peace
fully ticking off messages to the military gov-
ernor's palace. In the corner of a meadow a.
grave-faced surgeon was drilling two Chinamen
in the science of carrying a dead man in a litter,
the corpse being for the time represented by a
laughing artilleryman, and cursed them heartily
for their awkwardness. A hungry cavalryman
stealthily pursued an emaciated chicken, follow-
ing the unwilling fowl beyond the trenches until
a patter of bullets from the enemy's sharp-shooters
compelled him to relinquish the chase.
Hugh was hailed with enthusiasm as he moved
through the camp, for the young Englishman was
already a hero to the private soldiers, and his
graceful manners and frank character made him
a favorite with the officers. He nodded in a
friendly way to his old comrades in the ranks.
" Hold on, lieutenant," cried a panting voice
behind him.
EAGLE BLOOD 341
Hugh turned and saw the general's aid run-
ning toward him.
" I heard what you said over there," he ex-
claimed, as he reached Hugh, " and if you'd like
to send a message to Miss Agnes, I'd be glad to
oblige you."
" Thank you. Where is she ? "
" In a native house on the road, about a quar-
ter of a mile back."
" Tell her that I want to see her as soon as the
fight's over. She'll find me at headquarters or
with my men."
" Is that all ? "
" Yes, that's all ; and yet, I wonder if any one
is going into the city now."
" I'll be sending a messenger with despatches in
a few minutes. Anything I can do for you ? "
" I wish you'd get word to Mr. Martin, at the
Hotel Oriente, that I want him to come out to
me as soon as he can. It's tremendously im-
portant."
" Anything more ? "
" Do you suppose I could get a few words
through on the field wire ? "
342 EAGLE BLOOD
" The general is pretty strict about private
messages on the military telegraph, but I guess
I can manage it."
" It's awfully good of you."
Hugh drew a small pad of paper from his
breast and wrote his message :
" Robert Martin, Hotel Oriente, Manila :
" Miss Grush is out here. Come.
" HUGH DORSAY.'
An hour later the cannon bellowed, the bugles
rang shrilly, and the American line swept forward,
with Hugh and his scouts dashing through the
sour mud and razor-edged grass on the ditchy
shore of the bay. The little brown men fought
fiercely, but they drew back slowly before the ter-
rific onset, while the lead-colored warships, steam-
ing in the bay, raked their lines with bursting
shells.
The thunder of the fight was music to Hugh.
A thousand voices seemed to call to him from the
air, as the storm of death swept around him. The
blood of his furious ancestors turned to flame in
his veins, and he bounded forward at the head of
EAGLE BLOOD 343
his men with short, sharp cries of savage pleasure,
his tall, lithe figure and aristocratic face stirring
the scouts to a frenzy of enthusiasm. The vol-
leying roar of the battle grew louder, and the
explosion of shells shook the earth. The air
vibrated with the tense humming of bullets.
Once more the smoke of burning dwellings black-
ened the fair sky, and all the bloody horrors of
war stained the rice fields and trampled gardens.
His heart swelled with a sudden accession of
power, and a 'great light seemed to be shining
within him, now fiercely white, now burning red.
Ah ! his crusading forefathers had gloriously con-
fronted heathen steel and coats of mail, but they
had never faced a hidden enemy using smokeless
powder ! He felt that he could trample the
world beneath his feet, and he knew that some-
thing had taken place in his soul he could
never again know weakness.
There were hidden barricades in the foul
mire, ditches filled with dusky riflemen, bands
of sharp-shooters crouching in the dense, high
grass ; fierce swarms of bolo-men, slashing and
stabbing even in their death agonies. He saw
344 EAGLE BLOOD
dead men staring up hideously in the weeds,
and he heard man call to man along the line,
the rack-racking of the rifles, the bellowing of
the batteries, the clear, high voice of the
bugles, the hoarse cheering of the advancing
soldiery and he understood that he had risen
out of centuries of impotency, and was kin to
the knights who founded his line.
And when the struggle was over, when the
pluck and brawn of the American troops had
swept back the beaten regiments of the Filipino
Republic, and the stars and stripes floated
tranquilly above the battle-scarred Caloocan
church a telegraph instrument rattling on the
ancient altar and a row of saddles on the chancel-
rail the roll-call of the scouts showed that
Hugh was missing.
It was late in the afternoon. A careful search
of the battle-field failed to discover any trace
of the lost lieutenant. No one had seen him
fall in the fight, and it seemed to be incredible
that a man so strong and resolute could be taken
prisoner and carried off by a flying enemy.
There was great excitement at headquarters
EAGLE BLOOD 345
when the scouts reported that Hugh could not
be found. The general stormed and swore.
New search-parties were ordered out. The
military governor, on learning the facts, directed
that, if the body were not discovered within
a reasonable time, an officer with a flag of truce
should go to the enemy's line and ask whether
Lieutenant Dorsay were among the prisoners.
For hours Helen and her father who had
reached the front early in the day hurried
from officer to officer in search of news of the
missing man. The old journalist grew haggard
with anxiety, as he watched his daughter's blood-
less face and hollow eyes. The officers shook
their heads and turned away.
Then she went out into the swampy grass
and wandered about, with a wild look in her
white countenance, calling his name and listening
to the echo of her own voice. Mr. Martin
lost trace of her and waited in the road for her
return. She roamed over the track beaten in
the quaggy ground by the charging scouts,
examining the shallow creeks, peering under the
bushes and beating aside the sharp grass, until
.346 EAGLE BLOOD
her little hands bled and her filmy white dress
was ragged. Her feet and ankles were stung
and torn by hidden thorns.
At the edge of a scummy ditch she stumbled
on a native corpse, gory and ghastly, the grin-
ning mouth showing wolfish teeth, the eyes
glaring, and the dead hands clutching at the
air. Just beyond was the body of an Ameri-
can, face down, with a bolo sticking in the back.
The marsh was strewn with empty cartridge
shells. Here and there were canteens, bayo-
nets, slouch hats, rifles, bolos, and other accou-
trements dropped or thrown away in the fury
of the fight.
Overhead the red and yellow butterflies sailed
gayly to and fro, and the sunbirds flashed their
iridescent beauty in the air. Still higher up,
raw-necked vultures wheeled heavily against the
blue sky.
Suddenly she came upon the figure of a
woman in black stooping in the grass and drag-
ging something. Moving closer, she saw that
it was the body of a man in uniform. She
recognized Hugh's yellow hair and pale face.
EAGLE BLOOD 347
With a scream she bounded forward and
knelt beside him. He was alive but uncon-
scious. The breast of his jacket was stained
with blood. Looking up, she saw Miss Crush's
bony face. The cheeks were pitted and color-
less. The dark eyes blazed with passion. A
green crystal heart hung from her scrawny neck,
and a brass crucifix swung at her belt.
" You ! " cried Helen, starting back with
an instinct of fear.
"Yes," hissed the thin lips. "Who has a
better right than I ? "
For an instant the two looked into each
other's eyes.
" He's dying," moaned Helen.
Miss Grush's face changed to a look of cun-
ning, and the anger left her voice.
" I found him in the bushes," she purred,
with a catlike motion of her head. " He's
shot through the breast, but he'll live. You,
you " she glanced sidewise at Helen, and
her voice dropped to a drowsy whisper "you
love him ? "
A look of unutterable affection was Helen's
348 EAGLE BLOOD
only answer. She leaned over the prostrate
figure and kissed the earth-stained brow.
" How dare you ? " The dark face flushed
with hate, and the black eyes glittered like a
snake's.
" Hugh ! Hugh ! speak to me," wailed
Helen, stroking his face.
With a shriek of rage Miss Crush thrust
her back. Helen jumped to her feet and faced
the adventuress. She looked like a young
goddess as she stood before her assailant, her
brown eyes shining with love and courage.
" Criminal ! " she cried. " You were his
evil spirit, and you shall not touch him again."
In a burst of fury Miss Grush leaped upon
her rival and clutched the slender round throat
with her lean hands. HeMen fought with all
her strength. Love filled her young body
with power, and she struggled desperately.
The bony hands relaxed their grip, and Miss
Grush began to weep.
" I was mad, mad ! " she whined. " Forgive
me, Helen, for God's sake. The whole world's
against me. I've been hunted like a wild beast,
EAGLE BLOOD 349
and now, now, to find him here to see his
blood I don't know what I'm doing. Have
pity on me ! "
She covered her face with her hands.
" I'm sorry," faltered Helen, her eyes filling
with tears in spite of the jealousy that flamed in
her breast. " But " she threw herself on her
knees beside Hugh " we must save him. See,
see ! he is breathing."
" Leave him to me," said Miss Crush, in her
softest tone. " I'm a trained nurse. Go, quick !
get the ambulance. Every minute counts."
Helen glanced at the fallen officer and hesi-
tated. A prolonged groan issued from Hugh's
lips. With a shudder she sped away through
the tangled grass toward the road. Suddenly she
stopped and listened. What was it ? A sound
of derisive laughter was in the air. In a few
minutes the slim, graceful figure was flying
breathlessly along the rough road, the brown
hair fluttering loose and the dimpled cheeks rosy
with excitement.
" Why, sis, what's happened ? Where have
you been ? Look at your dress and your feet ! "
350 EAGLE BLOOD
" He's alive, thank God, daddy."
"What?"
" Shot through the breast. Oh, daddy, daddy ! "
She threw herself into the old man's arms like a
child.
" There, there ! " he crooned, patting her head.
" It'll all come out right. Where is he ? "
" Out in the swamp with Miss Crush."'
" That woman ? "
" She found him in the bushes. Quick, daddy,
we must get an ambulance. She'll take care of
him till we get help."
" Ay, she's a nurse, that's so," muttered Mr.
Martin. Then, seeing the marks of Miss
Grush's fingers on her white throat, his lip quiv-
ered. " What's that ? you're hurt."
" I caught my neck against a branch," she
murmured, shrinking from a confession of the
scene that provoked the assault.
" Heaven keep you from sorrow, my little
girl," he said, with brimming eyes. " We'll save
him from more than that bullet hole, please God !
Keep a steady heart, for you'll need it. Come,
hold my hand tight, sis."
EAGLE BLOOD 351
It took but a few minutes to reach headquar-
ters, and great was the joy of Hugh's comrades
on learning that he was alive. A surgeon started
out at once with an ambulance and a squad of
litter-bearers, Helen and her father riding with
them by permission of the general.
When they found the wounded man, it was
twilight and the ambulance-men had to light
their lanterns to avoid the treacherous mud-holes.
Miss Grush had removed his jacket and bandaged
the wound. As they came upon her, she was
crouching in the grass and watching Hugh's wan
face like some great cat.
The stricken soldier was placed on a litter and
carried to the road. Helen walked beside him,,
Mr. Martin and Miss Grush followed. The old
man eyed the adventuress wrathfully and tried to
avoid her as they trudged through the bog, but
she kept step with him in the waning light.
" Don't you know me, Mr. Martin ? " she said
at last, with a loud sigh.
" Know you ? " There was anger and withering
contempt in his tone. " I should say I do. So
does he," and he pointed toward the swaying litter.
352 EAGLE BLOOD
" Poor Hugh ! " she evaded the veteran's
mordant challenge "he'll be surprised when
he knows whose hands raised him from death."
Mr. Martin's answer was an indignant snort.
"It isn't the first time I've nursed him, and"
the threat in her soft voice was unmistakable
" it won't be the last."
" Woman, have you no fear of God or man ? "
he cried sternly. " You would have dragged
him to hell but for "
" But for what ? You seem to know a good
deal about my affairs, Mr. Martin ; and since
you know so much, you are certainly aware
that I have rights "
" Which you dare not claim. You forget that
you're not dealing with an inexperienced boy.
He's an officer now and has authority and in-
fluence. By heaven ! he'll make you rue the
day you put yourself in his power."
" You're unmanly to take advantage of a help-
less woman," she murmured, with sudden meek-
ness. "Has Mr. Irkins "
" It's a wonder God doesn't wither the tongue
in your head," he interrupted harshly. " The
EAGLE BLOOD 353
blow you struck paralyzed your victim, and he
can't even remember your name."
Miss Grush halted and seized him by the arm.
" Do you mean that ? " she screamed.
" From that day to this all memory of you
has disappeared."
" But it will return some day ? " Her voice
trembled, and she gripped him until he roughly
threw her off. " He will remember in time ? "
"The doctors say he'll never recover his
memory." Then, seeing the swift flash of tri-
umph in her livid face " damn you ! I believe
you're glad of it."
The drooping figure in black straightened up,
and the thin face was held high. Mr. Martin's
unconscious revelation of the fact that all - danger
of her first marriage being known was past,
seemed to electrify her. Mr. Irkins knew of
her convict husband, but if his mind were sealed
against the past, he could not bear witness, and
she was free to pursue her ambition.
" Why are you so bitter ? " she pleaded, with
a wheedling change of manner. " Mr. Irkins
insulted me and I lost my temper. Have I
354 EAGLE BLOOD
not suffered enough for that one mad blow?
Do you blame me because in my loneliness and
misery I have sought my husband ? "
" He's no more your husband than I am."
The litter-bearers had reached the road, and
Helen bent tenderly over Hugh as he was lifted
into the ambulance. Miss Grush uttered an
exclamation of anger.
" I don't want to be hard at a moment like
this," said Mr. Martin, as he watched the cruel
look in the adventuress's face and marked her
clenched hands ; " but if you utter one word
of what you've said to me, I'll demand your
arrest as a fugitive from justice."
She came closer to him and stared. His eyes
were hard and his features set.
" You want to save her feelings ? " She
swayed her head with a curious feline move-
ment and dropped her voice to a thin whisper,
as she pointed to the sprite-like girl who fanned
the wounded man's face.
He made no answer, but she caught the fleet-
ing expression of fear in his gray eyes and smiled
faintly.
" I'll wait," she said.
CHAPTER XIV
HUGH recovered from his wound, 6ut his
career as a soldier was ended. The bullet had
destroyed an important muscle, and the surgeons
declared that the injury would permanently unfit
him for military service. It was also necessary
that he should seek a northern climate if he
would regain his strength. Declining the pro-
posed retirement on half-pay, he resigned his
commission.
The first dreary days of suffering in the hos-
pital were brightened by Helen's visits, and as he
became stronger, she was allowed to sit for hours
at a time by his little iron cot. Her gentle pres-
ence refreshed and soothed him in the long,
stagnant days. She decked his table with sweet-
smelling flowers and fanned him in the breathless
midday stretches. She brought him mangosteens
from Singapore, strawberries from Hong Kong,
and delicate persimmons from Japan. She read
355
356 EAGLE BLOOD
the newspapers to him, and by a hundred arts
beguiled his mind. And he watched her day by
day, and thanked God that she was so beautiful
and good.
Sometimes Captain Remington, who was now
convalescent, would come to his bedside and sit
there with Helen, and Hugh would have thrills
of half-conscious jealousy, as he marked the fair
young patriot's open admiration for the handsome
officer. The captain seized every opportunity to
be in her company, and he fell into the habit of
bringing delicacies to Hugh for the sake of seeing
her. And when he had a slight relapse, and
Helen paid him a visit, Hugh felt sure that he
had taken to his bed simply for the purpose of
luring her tender ministrations to himself. But
Hugh's bitterest pangs were when he heard her
praise the captain as a gallant and loyal American,
for then he dimly realized his own nationality as a
burden.
There was no want of tender solicitude and
sympathy on her part, but a subtle something
hung between them like a veil. Mr. Martin had
bluntly informed him of his conversation with
EAGLE BLOOD 357
Miss Grush and had admitted that the situation
was more complicated than he had supposed. It
was plain that the old man was depressed by the
mysterious threat of the adventuress. Hugh
suspected that Helen's smiling evasions, by which
she baffled every attempt at too intimate conver-
sation, were due to her father's careful attitude.
All he could learn of Miss Grush was that she
had called at the hospital several times to ask
about his health, and that she had been seen in
the neighborhood of the firing line occasionally.
Her abode was unknown.
One evening as he lay alone, a rumor spread
from bed to bed that Miss Agnes was visiting the
wards. The fame of the heroic nurse had grown,
and she was known to all. The strange atmos-
phere of secrecy which surrounded her identity
and movements, and the mystic powers which she
was said to possess, intensified the interest of the
soldiers in her personality. She was known to
have hypnotized a wounded teamster before a
serious surgical operation, and there were some
who claimed that she had restored a demented
Dominican nun to her right mind by simply
358 EAGLE BLOOD
stroking her head and talking to her. So there
was a mild fever of excitement among the patients,
when the presence of the famous Miss Agnes was
announced.
When the door at the end of the ward
opened, and a thin figure in black glided in,
Hugh tingled with expectant emotion. He
felt that she had come to see him, and he
braced himself for the meeting. She wavered
at the door for a moment, and her black eyes
took a swift survey of the scene. As her glance
met his she moved languidly toward him, and,
kneeling at the foot of his bed, bowed her head
as if in prayer. He could see the brazen cru-
cifix and rosary in her hand, and he noticed
the trembling of her meagre shoulders.
Then she raised her head and looked at
him. Her features were wasted and ashen.
The marks left by smallpox gave a grisly
cast to her countenance. The mouth was
straight and thin and hard, and the fine nostrils
were distended. It was like a dead face ; a
stray lock of black hair lying against the hollow
temple heightened the ghastly effect. Yet the
EAGLE BLOOD 359
eyes were alive. They seemed to burn and
flash as they sought his.
" Well ? " he said coldly.
" I am lonely," she whispered in the purr-
ing tone he remembered so well.
" Why have you come here ? "
" Because you are my husband. I followed
you half around the world to be near you. I
followed you till you fell."
The black eyes dilated. He felt her hand
seeking his as she moved nearer on her knees,
and he knew that she was concentrating her
power in an effort to seize control of his mind
again.
" Get up," he said. cc You are attracting
attention and making yourself ridiculous."
She rose and sat beside him without with-
drawing her glance. The old gypsy look was
in her face. He had a faint experience of the
drowsy thrill that had once held his brain and
will in thrall. She murmured softly, and tried
to lay her hand upon his brow, but he drew
away and frowned.
" No more of that," he said sharply. " I'm
360 EAGLE BLOOD
too tough to be hypnotized again. You suc-
ceeded once because I was fool enough to trust
you." Then, seeing the expression of saintly
indignation with which she rolled her eyes
upward, he laughed. " By thunder ! if you
weren't as deadly as poison, I could admire
you. You're a wonder."
" No, no," she whispered passionately.
" That's all done with. I've had my lesson.
There was a time when the world seemed to
be full of mysteries, when I lived day and night
in the company of invisible spirits. The souls
of all the millions who had died were around
me and above me, and I sought to draw power
from them. You never knew me as I really
was in those days when we were companions
in New York. I dared to seek the inmost
secrets of God Himself, to wrest authority from
heaven or hell that I might have my way in
the world. I knelt before every altar, damned
or blessed. The sight of blood on that terri-
ble day " she covered her face with her hands
" awoke me from moral death. I fled from
justice, and I fled to our dear Lord Christ.' :
EAGLE BLOOD 361
She raised the crucifix from her belt and
pressed it to her lips.
" Don't blaspheme," said Hugh, unmoved.
" Only stupid people do that, and I've never
thought you stupid."
A shadow of admiration swept her thin face
and left it tense and hard. Hugh winced as
he raised himself on the pillow with an effort.
The pain of the movement drove the blood
from his face.
" Let me help you," she purred, half rising
from her seat.
" Don't touch me, you devil ! " he cried ; and
then, with a smile, he added, " That was bad
form, wasn't it ? "
"Lord Delaunay "
" Drop that ! Do you hear ? " His face
was red with anger, and his blue eyes flashed.
" Repeat that name and I'll call the nurse and
have you Well," his voice dropped "I
leave the rest to your imagination."
The meekness vanished from her face and was
succeeded by a mocking sneer.
" Your manners haven't improved," she said.
362 EAGLE BLOOD
" I see that you are still wearing my ring."
" I shall wear it till I die."
" Isn't it about time to end this farce ? What
have you to gain by it ? "
She leaned toward him a countenance of fury.
" You shall not cast me off," she snarled.
" You may send me to prison, but I shall still
remain your lawful wife."
" And you came here to tell me this ? "
" I came to tell you that you cannot marry
Helen Martin while I am alive. You needn't
threaten me ; I know the worst you can do, and
I am prepared for it."
" What a magnificent figure you'd cut in hell,
Miss Grush. You're certainly out of your ele-
ment."
His eyes were steady and his voice clear.
" Do you know," he continued, " I've been
thinking out why you came here to-day. It's
because you're losing your courage. There
never was a criminal that wasn't a coward at the
bottom. You want to make your peace. It's
incredible that a woman of your intelligence
should walk into a trap with her eyes open
EAGLE BLOOD 363
without having some idea of the way out. You
are a fugitive from justice, and I am, or have
been until this week, an officer in the army.
The situation, to an imaginative person like
yourself, needs no comment. Now, what do
you want ? "
" I want you."
" I'm flattered, but it's out of the question.
Next ? "
She turned her black eyes up until the whites
showed, and her lips moved silently.
"You're taking some sort of an oath," he
said calmly. " I wouldn't do that ; you'll have
to break it."
" What do you intend to do ? " she murmured
in a voice so gentle that he was startled.
" Do ? I'm simply waiting for you. I'm
waiting till you tire of this miserable game and
openly confess the trick you played on me in
New York the night you got that ring."
" And do you think anything can force me to
do it ? "
" Well, I don't know." He surveyed her
gravely. " It's unsafe to bet on what you'll do.
364 EAGLE BLOOD
You're really a wonderful creature, Miss Crush.
No; I wouldn't hazard a guess. But" and
he flung the words at her in a burst of wrath
" I'll give you just four days in which to return
my ring and confess your treacherous crime
under oath."
"And if I refuse to allow you to abandon
your lawful wife ? "
" From what the doctor says I shall be strong
enough then to give you my answer."
Without speaking she rose and glided away.
He saw her kneeling at another bed, with the
crucifix in her hand and a nunlike smile of ten-
der pity on her upraised face.
" That woman," he remarked to the trim
nurse who came to serve his medicine, " that
woman is a" he paused to select a strong
enough word " she's a peach."
" Indeed, she's a saint out of heaven if there
ever was one," murmured the nurse. " It's hard
for persons like us to understand such a nature."
" That's true," he sighed.
" And here's Miss Martin, bless her sweet
face."
EAGLE BLOOD 365
Helen came to the bedside, bringing the fresh-
ness of the outside world in her pink cheeks and
smiling-brown eyes. She seemed the very spirit
of health and happiness, and the morbid gloom of
the place vanished before her springing step and
honest, blooming face.
"You carry the sunshine with you," he said, as
she laid a handful of loose roses on the table.
" Sunshine ? I've just escaped a wetting. The
sky is as black as ink and all jiggledy-joggledy
with lightning. Look ! "
Beyond the window they could see the white
lightning stabbing through the murky clouds, and
a tremendous crash of thunder shook the air. A
powerful wind made the building vibrate. Again
and again the lightning smote the sky dazzlingly.
Then the rain fell straight and heavy. It was
one of the tropical storms that sweep out of the
sea without warning.
" Our boys in the field will get soaked, poor
fellows."
" Always thinking of others, Hugh."
Her eyes ranged the white ward, and as she
saw Miss Grush she started violently.
366 EAGLE BLOOD
" That woman ! Do you see ? "
The lean black figure came gliding between
the rows of beds toward the door, with a
stealthy, sinuous grace, the narrow shoulders
held high and the head bent low.
" Miss Grush," muttered Hugh, between his
teeth.
" Oh, Hugh, Hugh, if you only knew what a
dangerous woman she is." Helen shrank toward
him with a little shiver. " She struck me the
night we found you on the field. I believe she
would have killed me if she could."
" My God ! I didn't know that."
As Miss Grush reached the door, she turned
slowly and looked at Helen with a countenance
diabolic in its malevolence. A flash of lightning
shone for a moment on the sinister face and cruel
eyes, showing the parted lips and clenched white
teeth. A terrific peal of thunder and she was
gone.
" Do you know, Helen," said Hugh, with a
curious smile, " I can almost imagine I smell
brimstone in the air. That exit was simply stag-
gering. It beats anything in Milton or Drury
EAGLE BLOOD 367
Lane. Don't! don't!" the tears were shining
in her eyes "I'll be on my feet in four days,
and I promise you she'll trouble us no more."
" ON BOARD THE STEAMSHIP ' WOON SUNG,'
"EN ROUTE TO HONG KONG.
"ROBERT MARTIN, ESQ.:
" Dear Sir : A lingering remembrance of
your former kindnesses persuades me, in spite
of your recent brutality, to address this letter
to you as I leave the Philippine Islands. Don't
deceive yourself. I hold the proofs of my mar-
riage, and I will establish my rights in spite of
every obstacle. If you have any regard for your
daughter's reputation, you will take her home
at once. Nothing but shame and sorrow can
come of her association with my husband, and
I warn you that I shall spare no one in my
effort to compel him to recognize his lawful wife.
What do you know of Hugh Dorsay ? What
do you know of his history or his family ?
Nothing. And yet, in a matter that affects
your daughter's honor, you have taken his bare
368 EAGLE BLOOD
word against the written proofs of his marriage.
Are you blind ? Can't you see that after months
of intimate association with me culminating in
our union Mr. Dorsay took advantage of my
unfortunate blow and my flight from the police
to repudiate me, because of his mad infatuation
for Miss Martin ? Whatever my faults may
be and I'm not called upon to account for
them to you don't allow your prejudices to
obscure facts.
" Hastily yours,
" BARBARA CRUSH."
" We're going to leave for America on the
next steamer."
Hugh looked up from his bed at Mr. Martin
with an expression of bewilderment.
" You're not in earnest ? " he 'gasped.
The old journalist nodded his head and looked
away. He made no attempt to conceal his
emotion.
" I cabled to Irkins for permission to go back
to New York, and the answer came an hour ago."
EAGLE BLOOD 369
" What's happened ? I can hardly believe
my ears."
"My health." The old man averted his
face.
" Why, I never saw you looking so strong
and well."
"I said my health."
"For God's sake, Mr. Martin, tell me the
truth. You're holding back something. That
isn't the real reason."
" It'll do as well as any other for the present,
my son. Do you understand me ? "
" I think I do ; and yet " A flash of intelli-
gence lit his eyes. " You've seen Miss Grush ? "
" She's gone."
" What ? " He shook like a man palsied.
" Gone to Hong Kong."
" You've heard from her ? "
The venerable head nodded assent.
" Mr. Martin, have you lost faith in me ? "
"No, my boy; when I lose faith in you, I'll
trust no man alive. But, until this matter is
straightened out, I must protect my little girl
from the slightest risk of scandal. It isn't that
370 EAGLE BLOOD
I doubt you, Hugh you ought to know that
but this is a plain duty that I can't shirk.
For the present we must go away. Do you
understand now, my son ? "
" I think I do," said Hugh, closing his eyes
and sinking back on his pillow.
CHAPTER XV
THE fog that held London in afternoon dark-
ness was thick enough to permit the Earl of
Castlehurst to take tea at the front windows of
his lodgings in narrow Jermyn Street, without
having to bear the visual ordeal of the hair-
dresser's shop on the opposite side ; and al-
though the view of a scarlet sentry pacing before
the time-blackened gate of St. James's Palace
a cheerful bit of color, to be seen on clear days
beyond the jutting corner of St. James Street
was cut off, and the squawking of the adjoining
bootmaker's parrot was a reminder of the ple-
beian elements in that region of needy British
gentlemen struggling to maintain their dignity
in the midst of obsessing tradesmen, still, there
was a sort of privacy in the sooty haze, not unlike
the solitude of rainy days at Battlecragie Castle
now, alas, the residence of an upstart manufacturer.
The earl was a sick man in a sick neigh bor-
372 EAGLE BLOOD
hood. Like Jermyn Street, he had seen nobler
days, and, like Jermyn Street, he yielded grudg-
ingly to changed times and conditions. There
were traces of dingy grandeur in his three rooms,
dimly gilt chairs covered with well-worn
brocades ; quaint bits of old silver, bearing the
Castlehurst arms ; odd pieces of cut glass ; a
seven-branched candelabra ; a few miniature por-
traits set in a honey-colored Sheraton cabinet ;
two fine paintings of former masters of Battle-
cragie Castle, in full armor ; and a huge chest
of carved black oak, studded with Gothic nail-
heads. Yet the rooms were small, the carpets
were threadbare, and there was a disquieting
suggestion of distress in the faded wall-paper
and grimy white woodwork. The wizened
butler who had served the earl since boyhood,
having followed the broken nobleman to Jer-
myn Street, was to be found in the dark and
dilapidated hallway, clad in frayed livery and
seated in an infirm chair, as proud and jealous
of his position as if the smutty stubble of chim-
ney-pots seen through the little back window
were the tree-tops of his master's ancient woods.
EAGLE BLOOD 373
There was no lack of fine carriages at the
door and distinguished visitors, for the Castle-
hurst blood was spread through many counties ;
but the old earl fiercely declined pity in his
poverty and drove his callers away, sometimes
with sneers, and sometimes with curses. To-
ward his creditors he assumed an attitude of
amused disdain. He never talked about busi-
ness that was a matter for solicitors and trades-
men. They might see Mr. Chadder and be
damned to them. In reply to an offer of finan-
cial assistance from a grateful merchant whom
he had once befriended, he wrote a curt letter
of declination, saying that times had come to
such a pass that a gentleman needed to be mort-
gaged up to the eyes to distinguish himself from
shopkeepers.
As the proud old man sat by the window,
wrapped in a gray dressing-gown and sipping
tea from a cup of rare Chinese porcelain, his
fine, slender hands and clean-cut face, puckered
and cross-hatched by age, bespoke the inbred
aristocrat. His eyes were blue and cold. The
long, thin, high-bridged nose, the sharply up-
374 EAGLE BLOOD
turned white mustache, and the heavy eye-
brows, bristling outward, were signals of an
irascible temperament.
On this particular day Lord Castlehurst was
in an irritable mood. Under the pressure of
sharp questioning, Mr. Chadder had confessed
that the earl's defiant grandson and heir was
living in the United States under an assumed
name ; nay, that he was an enthusiastic admirer
of the Americans and had expressed advanced
ideas about political and social equality. The
solicitor had loyally refused to give any further
details about Hugh, asserting that he was bound
to silence by professional honor and the instruc-
tions of his young client.
The earl detested Americans. His one speech
in the House of Lords had been a bitter denun-
ciation of the Monroe Doctrine as " a piece of
insolence worthy of a nation of vulgar ruffians " ;
and upon being called to order for his intem-
perate language by the Lord Chancellor, the
enraged peer had stalked out of the chamber,
never to return. When Lord Salisbury agreed
to refer the Venezuelan boundary question to
EAGLE BLOOD 375
arbitration in order to avoid hostilities with the
United States, the earl had the Prime Minister's
portrait hung in the Battlecragie stables. The
American captains of industry were merely edu-
cated brigands, who would presently plunder
the world unless they were destroyed by a
European tariff league. His furious hatred of
the United States was increased by the fore-
closure sale of the South London Boot and
Shoe Works to an American syndicate, whereby
the last remnant of his once ample fortune
not to mention his grandson's moiety was
swept away.
The burst of anger which followed Mr. Chad-
der's revelation had frightened the honest solic-
itor, for the earl had had a slight stroke of
paralysis only a month before. His lordship
raved against Hugh for an hour and then fell
into a senile sleep, from which he awoke to
take tea at his front window and contemplate
the all-pervading fog.
Having served his irate master with tea and
a warmed-over muffin, the trusty butler had
resumed his chair in the hallway, with a com-
376 EAGLE BLOOD
fortable yawn, when the slender figure of a
strange woman moved noiselessly up the narrow
stairway and stood before him.
" You've mistook, ma'am," he said, with a
majestic downward wave of the hand. " The
apartments to let is downstairs first floor,
front; and gentlemen only."
The visitor was dressed in black and wore a
thick veil. She carried a small leather bag in
her gloved hand. A green crystal heart hung
from her neck on a threadlike gold chain.
" I wish to see Lord Castlehurst." Her voice
was low and the accent betrayed the American.
Instantly the butler was on his feet.
"'Is lordship isn't receivin', ma'am."
" But I must see him." There was something
insinuating in the tone. " Tell him a lady wishes
to see him."
" It can't be done, ma'am," said the butler,
haughtily. " 'E wouldn't receive the Prince of
Wales without a written happointment; no, nor
the Severing 'erself, 'e's that partic'ler."
She hesitated a moment, and he could feel her
eyes looking at him through the dense veil.
EAGLE BLOOD 377
" Tell him the Viscountess Delaunay desires
to see him."
The man's jaw dropped and his eyes goggled.
" Very well, my lady," he gasped, bowing
almost double and retreating into the earl's sit-
ting room. A moment later the door opened,
and she was ushered into Lord Castlehurst's
presence.
" You will pardon me for not rising I am
an invalid and for receiving you in this attire.
Pray be seated."
The earl's voice was as cold as his eyes. He
pushed the tea-table from him and drew himself
up in the chair expectantly.
She lifted her veil, revealing a gaunt, white
face, scarred by smallpox, and a pair of keen
black eyes. With a slight inclination of the
head, in acknowledgment of the old man's
courtesy, she took the nearest seat and set the
leather bag on the floor. She smiled timidly and
showed her white teeth.
" Of course, my lord, this visit is a surprise
to you."
" Nothing surprises me," said the peer, icily.
378 EAGLE BLOOD
"To what am I indebted for your presence in
my my lodgings ? "
" I am the Viscountess Delaunay, the wife of
your grandson, and I naturally sought your lord-
ship on my arrival in London. The wretched
weather "
" The weather ? Ah, yes, we'll defer that
subject," said the earl, with a polite shrug of the
shoulders. " I had not heard of Lord Delaunay's
marriage. You are an American ? " His teeth
came together with an ominous click.
" I am."
" A-a-ah ! " His breath came quick and
hard. There were bright patches in his withered
cheeks. " And he sent you to me ? Almighty
God ! "
" He has abandoned me. I have come to you
for justice and protection."
" Abandoned you, has he ? " cried the earl, in a
sudden paroxysm of anger. " The dog ! the
ingrate ! the renegade ! He has made his bed,
and, by heaven, he shall lie on it ! We've had
more than one misalliance in our house, but it's
the first time an American "
EAGLE BLOOD 379
"You forget yourself, my lord. I'm a woman
and entirely at your mercy."
" Your pardon, madam," he said, with a stately
gesture.
" The fault is not mine," she began, in her
peculiar soft voice.
" No, no," he exclaimed, with a cruel light in
his blue eyes, as he struck the arm of his chair
with his clenched hand. " Not yours, not yours !
The, the" his face purpled horribly, and he
shook like a man in a fit "the joke is on
him. Ha, ha, ha ! On him ! " The harsh
voice broke into a weak falsetto.
" I'm afraid you're not strong enough to bear
my story," she suggested, with a wheedling look.
" I can bear anything," he answered proudly.
He had recovered his calmness and was studying
the shrewd, dark face. " First, your maiden
name ? "
" Barbara Crush."
" Your family ? "
" I am an orphan, without brothers or sisters.
I have been a trained nurse, and then a
journalist."
380 EAGLE BLOOD
" And Lord Delaunay has been ? "
"A journalist, my lord. We met profes-
sionally."
The earl uttered a half-suppressed groan, and
passed his hand aimlessly across his wrinkled
forehead.
" Are you quite, quite sure there has been no
mistake, madam ? "
" None whatever."
" And you expect me to take your simple word
in a matter like this ? " His thin little body was
erect now and his face was. alive with intelligence
and suspicion. " Pardon me for pressing the
point, but, although I do not know the habits
of America, it is customary among civilized
people to preserve proofs "
" I'm fully prepared to satisfy your lordship."
She drew the glove from her left hand and dis-
played the ancient ring given to her by Hugh in
his hypnotic trance.
" I know it," he said weakly. " It is Tan-
cred's ring. Two countesses of Castlehurst
were married with that ring. It was taken from
my grandmother's hand as she lay in her coffin.
I wore it myself, as a boy."
EAGLE BLOOD 381
She slipped the golden circle from her finger
and held it out to him.
" Take it again and wear it, my lord."
He drew back with a frown.
"I couldn't touch it. Woman," his voice
rose in passion, "you cannot understand."
For a space the earl stared vacantly at the
ring. Then he roused himself with a feeble
jerk of the head.
"Is that all?"
Without a word she opened the leather bag
and handed him her wedding certificate and the
marriage register book showing. Hugh's signature.
" That's not his name."
" It's his handwriting."
" But not his name."
" It's the name by which he married me."
The earl lowered his head and peered sharply
at her from under his bristling white eyebrows.
" How do you come in possession of this
book ? " he demanded. " It is an official record."
" The clergyman who married us is in London.
He is at the door now, if your lordship wishes to
see him. I did not dare to come alone."
382 EAGLE BLOOD
She dropped her eyes coyly.
" Thompson ! "
The butler opened the door.
" Did your lordship call ? "
"Show Mr. "
" The Reverend Mr. Frewen."
" Show Mr. Frewen up. He's at the door."
His lordship eyed the clergyman with uncon-
cealed disgust as he entered the room and stood
forth in all his shabbiness, one shrivelled hand
nervously covering the crooked mouth.
" Are you a regularly ordained clergyman ? "
" I am, sir."
" And did you marry the person whose name
is written in this book to this per this lady?"
He pointed to the lean figure in black.
" I did, sir. It was one of the most touching
ceremonies of my long and varied "
"You may go," said the sick man, sternly,
pointing to the door. " Thompson ! "
" Yes, m' lord."
" Show this man out."
As the little, bent figure shuffled out of the
room under the withering eye of Thompson,
EAGLE BLOOD 383
Lord Castlehurst turned quietly to the eager face
of his visitor.
" Enough ! " he exclaimed. " The Viscount
Delaunay has made his choice in life and he shall
stand by it."
A gleam of triumph shone in her face for an
instant.
" Of course you cannot expect me to show any
enthusiasm in my welcome, Lady Delaunay," he
continued, " for, to be quite frank, I feel none.
I have been estranged from my grandson for
several years ; and even were the case otherwise, I
hold views which make this marriage a source of
pain to me. However," he raised his hand to
prevent her from speaking, "we must make the
most of an unpleasant and embarrassing situation.
It shall not be said that I turned a Viscountess
Delaunay from my door."
"You are so kind," she murmured, with a
growing softness in her black eyes.
" No, I'm not kind," he answered, with a touch
of resentment. " Please make no mistake ; I
receive you and recognize you simply as a means
of retribution ; and unless I am a poor judge of
384 EAGLE BLOOD
human character " his lip curled contemptu-
ously "I can find no heavier punishment for
Lord Delaunay than this. I hope I make my
meaning quite clear."
In spite of his physical weakness and the senile
lines about his mouth, there was an imperious
irony in his manner that overawed her. Her
thin lips moved, but no sound came from them.
" I shall do what I can to make your status as
my grandson's wife valid," he went on, " but
beyond that, you may expect nothing. I am too
old and too infirm to present you at court ; still,
in any case, her Majesty would not receive you
for the first time in the absence of your husband."
The fog had lifted, and a beam of sunshine lay
on the worn carpet at the old man's feet. A
street piano, accompanied by two strident voices,
broke the stillness :
"Flow gently, sweet Afton, amang thy green braes,
Flow gently, I'll sing thee a song in thy praise ;
My Mary's asleep by thy murmuring stream,
Flow gently, sweet Afton, disturb not her dream."
" Thompson ! " cried the earl.
The butler opened the door.
EAGLE BLOOD 385
" Close the windows."
He pulled the windows down carefully, but
still the sound persisted.
" Thompson ! "
"Yes, m' lord."
" Do you remember that song at Battle-
cragie ? "
" Ay, that I do."
" Do you remember the boy who used to
sing it to his mother ? "
" Master Hugh the viscount."
" Thompson," the earl's voice trembled
slightly, " this is his wife, the Viscountess
Delaunay."
The butler made a deep bow to the stranger,
and looked irresolutely at his master, as if
awaiting instructions.
" That will do, Thompson."
"And now," said his lordship, as the door
closed behind the bewildered Thompson, " a
word about the relations which are to exist
between us. There must be no familiarity on
your part. I have, I hope, already made it
plain that I accept you in order that my grand-
386 EAGLE BLOOD
son shall not escape the consequences of his
rash rebellion against my authority. I cannot
disinherit him because the entire estate and its
revenues, such as they may be, are in the hands
of my creditors. The succession to my title
is fixed by law, beyond my power to alter.
But, if he has seen fit to abandon his country
and name and marry out of his station in
life "
" Oh, my lord ! "
"And marry out of his station in life, I
repeat, then he must eat the bread of his
own baking."
His mood changed, and he laughed bitterly.
" Fool ! fool ! fool ! "
" May I remind your lordship that the
heir "
"Is there a child?"
" Not yet." As she uttered the lying insin-
uation her face reddened.
"And he knew this when he abandoned
you ? "
" No, he was ignorant of my condition."
" There must be no scandal about the women
EAGLE BLOOD 387
of my family," said the earl, with a show of
feeling. " You are alone in London ? "
She bowed her head.
" I will provide quarters for you in this house
a room or two it is what you are accus-
tomed to, I suppose ? "
" I will be content with anything your lord-
ship provides."
" An heir ! Great God ! " The earl stared at
her helplessly, and then, with a look of rage
that made her cower, he screamed : " Go ! go !
I can't stand it another moment. Thompson
will see about the rooms. Go ! "
Thus Miss Grush came to dwell in Jermyn
Street, under the same roof that sheltered the
broken Earl of Castlehurst. Her position was
a difficult one, for his lordship, after the first
interview, declined to receive her personally,
and insisted on communicating with her through
his faithful butler. In answer to her messages
the earl sent word that the condition of his
health would not permit him to endure any
further excitement and for the present Thomp-
son would attend to her wants. She bit her
388 EAGLE BLOOD
lips and smiled. Within a few hours her black
eyes and purring voice made the butler her
slave. Under her subtle influence the naturally
reticent and suspicious servitor became garru-
lous, and she was able to investigate her social
bearings. She called at the London addresses
of Lord Castlehurst's relatives, and left her
cards, but the visits were not returned. Then
she wrote a note to the Morning Posf, and the
result was a paragraph in that organ of fashion-
able intelligence announcing the arrival of the
Viscountess Delaunay in town, and giving her
number in Jermyn Street. After that a few cards
were received from outside friends of the family.
She eagerly returned the calls and was greeted with
discouraging formality. She was an American, un-
familiar with the ways of her new acquaintances,
somewhat underbred, they thought, and there was
no common ground for intercourse between them.
On the fourth day after her conquest of Lord
Castlehurst, Lady Laiksley, the earl's second
cousin, called. She was a tall, stout woman with
white hair, heavy, red face, loud, harsh voice, and
a grenadier stride.
EAGLE BLOOD 389
" My dear," she groaned, after kissing the thin,
dark face. " I never could bear Americans, but
for Hugh's sake, you know."
Her ladyship was brutally frank. She sur-
veyed the lank American through her lorgnette,
criticised her clothes, commented on her nasal
accent, and laughed outright at her frequent utter-
ance of " your ladyship."
" Don't say that, my dear it's bad form ;
domestics use it, not persons of breeding. Of
course you don't mind my setting you straight
on these little points they're so important
here."
A dangerous light came into the black eyes.
The worm was turning.
"You really won't be able to do anything
socially till Hugh comes," continued Lady Laiks-
ley, unmindful of the warning scowl in her vic-
tim's face. " That sort of thing may be possible
in America, but it's different in England, isn't
it ? We're such gossips and people jump at such
conclusions, my dear."
The new " viscountess " drummed on the table
with her fingers.
390 EAGLE BLOOD
" Really, you're not half so bad as I had sup-
posed," added her ladyship, coolly examining the
American through her glasses.
" What did you expect? " snapped the white lips.
" A woman in a blanket, with a ring in her nose ? "
" I'm sure I don't know, my dear. You see,
we know so little about Americans here. I really
believe " the big gray eyes regarded her through
the lorgnette with cynical curiosity "you're the
first one I've spoken to. Well, I must be going.
We must see something of you when Hugh
comes ; but for the present, the fact is, my dear,
we're seeing practically nobody." And Lady
Laiksley swept out of the room.
The next day the Countess Granbaire called
a quiet little old lady in prim black silk and
Mechlin lace, who laughed softly and said all
manner of pretty things and forgot to leave her
card when she smilingly took her departure.
Then came Mr. Chadder, ponderous, grave,
and practical. The sturdy solicitor was cautious
at first, recognizing the subtle quality of the
mysterious woman whose story had established
her so soon in the confidence of the earl.
EAGLE BLOOD 391
At first she evaded his questions, slipping from
point to point with an easy elusion that baffled
his blunter mind. She saw in him an enemy and
concentrated her powers to defeat him. Mr.
Chadder was professionally deferential in his
manner. As Lord Delaunay's solicitor, he stood
ready to serve my lady to the utmost of his
powers, but and the deep gray eyes searched
her treacherous soul the circumstances were so
unusual. The viscount had not even hinted in
his correspondence that he had taken upon him-
self the responsibilities of marriage. Of course
it would be an easy thing to relieve my lady of
embarrassment by cabling to his lordship, but
Then my lady put herself in her enemy's hands
by admitting that Lord Delaunay denied the
marriage.
" And now," said Mr. Chadder, imperturbably,
" perhaps you will explain how you happened
to come into possession of the ring I see on
your finger."
She held her bony hand up with an air of
triumph.
" It's the ring the great knight Tancred gave
392 EAGLE BLOOD
to Lord Delaunay's ancestor at the siege of
Jerusalem."
" Yes," said the solicitor, drawing his iron-
bound spectacles out to the end of his powerful
nose and examining the ring, "I'm quite familiar
with its history. I'm curious to know how
you got it."
"You must be very dense, sir."
" I confess, my lady, that I'm getting on
in years," he exclaimed respectfully, " and an
old man's mind is apt to grow dull." Mr.
Chadder's mind might be dull, but his eyes
were bright enough ; they seemed suddenly to
have become microscopes.
" My husband put it on my finger when we
were married. It's my wedding ring."
" I happen to know that the ring was not
in the Viscount Delaunay's possession when he
went to America."
" Do you " she began hotly. " Ah, well,"
with an insolent smile, "what does it mat-
ter ? It must have been sent to him. There
it is."
Mr. Chadder pushed his spectacles up on his
EAGLE BLOOD 393
broad forehead and fixed his steady gaze upon
the defiant black eyes.
" I saw Lord Delaunay throw that ring from
the window of a railway carnage the day he
sailed for New York," he persisted relentlessly
" Well, and what if you did ? It was found
by some friend and sent to New York."
The solicitor wetted his lips with his tongue
and brought the tips of his thick fingers together.
His manner was distinctly less respectful, and
there was that in his keen gray eyes which drove
the confident look from her face.
" That is impossible."
" You lack imagination," she remarked, stung
out of her self-possession by his glacier-like
steadiness of approach.
"True," he answered gravely, "but the fact
is that no one in England, except myself, knew
his assumed name or address."
" How dare you insinuate ? " Her cunning
had vanished. He could see the terror in her
eyes.
" I dare do much in the service of a gentleman
whose family I've served all the years of my
394 EAGLE BLOOD
manhood. And now, madam," he twisted
his strong hands about one knee and watched
her sternly from under his shaggy brows, " we
might as well understand each other at once.
As you remarked a moment ago, I lack imagina-
tion, but I am fortunate in having some pene-
tration, and I give you credit for possessing an
unusual degree of intelligence. You must cer-
tainly see you will excuse my directness,
madam ; we solicitors develop an unhappy
plainness of speech that this situation is be-
coming perilous." He pursed his lips and
threw his head back.
" Perilous ? " she repeated with a sneer.
"Perilous for whom? I don't understand."
" For you, madam. The peril is imminent
and real."
" You dull fool," she snarled. " If I were
a man, I'd "
"You'd have less imagination and more cau-
tion," interjected the stolid solicitor, without a
trace of emotion. His coolness made her de-
lirious with anger. " However," he rose and
moved toward the door, " I see that you intend
EAGLE BLOOD 395
to hold to this adventure (if I may call it
by so mild a name) and I feel that I have
said all that duty requires me to say for the
present " he paused thoughtfully " yes, for
the present. Verbum sat pardon the Latin;
it's another vice of solicitors." And he lumbered
out of the door, making the floor creak beneath
his weight as he went.
Mr. Chadder's subsequent interview with Lord
Castlehurst availed little. The earl was in a bitter
mood and resented the solicitor's patient cham-
pionship of Hugh's cause. There is no corrosive
like wounded egotism. It eats into the moral
nature, corrupting its victim, destroying all sense
of proportion, and blinding him to everything
save his own passionate longing for reprisal. The
imperious old man still remembered Hugh's
boyish repudiation of his authority, and in spite
of an inward agony that he could not hide from
Mr. Chadder's experienced eyes, he cursed his
heir as a renegade ripe for retribution.
" But, my lord," said the solicitor, " with a
strong prima facie case against the woman,
surely "
396 EAGLE BLOOD
" He shall stand by his bargain, Chadder. It's
none of my making."
" Yes, yes, if there was a marriage, of course.
In that case I should have nothing to say. But
I'm convinced, my lord, that she's an impostor.
As I have already explained, the ring itself "
" He hadn't decency enough to leave that out
of it," cried the earl, bitterly.
" The ring itself, as I was saying, is to my
mind a plain indication of fraud. It seems to me
that your lordship has been somewhat hasty in
accepting a perfect stranger as the Viscountess
Delaunay. Her story if I may say so without
offence is simply preposterous."
" Damn it, Chadder ! " roared the earl, " haven't
I told you that I saw the marriage register with
my own eyes? the clergyman, too, I talked
with him, a vile-looking old hound, but still a
clergyman."
" You have not the slightest evidence, my lord,
that either register or clergyman was genuine.
And you have the admitted fact that Lord De-
launay denies the marriage. I have already cabled
to him and am awaiting his answer."
EAGLE BLOOD 397
" Of course he'll deny it."
" My lord, have you ever known your grand-
son to tell a deliberate lie ? "
" Probably not," said the earl, reluctantly.
" He couldn't have my blood in his veins and be
a liar, could he ? "
" And you would condemn him without a hear-
ing, this high-spirited youth, whose only fault is
that he has inherited your own unbendable pride
and impatience of control. Forgive me, my lord,
if I go too far and overstep the bounds of my
dutiful relationship to you, but what could you
expect of a boy with such an inheritance ? "
The strong, coarse face was full of tenderness,
and the deep gray eyes shone with love and loy-
alty ; but there was no sign of pity in the earl's
blue eyes.
" He has borne his fate without a whimper."
" That's blood," muttered his lordship, with a
faint quiver in his voice.
"Ay, it's his blood, my lord, your own blood,
the last blood of your race. And now he a
mere youth and you a white-haired man will
you close your lonely heart to him ? "
398 EAGLE BLOOD
There were tears in the blue eyes now, and the
fine, thin lips trembled. The old man struggled
to master his feelings, but a sob broke in his
throat.
" If he hadn't taken up with Americans, Chad-
der," he lamented, " I might have forgiven him.
He looks like me, Chadder ? "
" Your very likeness, sir."
" They're a race of vandals, Chadder," he
screamed, with a wild look, " a mob, a rabble
the enemies of social order "
" My lord, you are ill," exclaimed the solicitor,
as the earl beat the air with his thin, white hands.
" The world is ill ill unto death poisoned
with the doctrines of mobocracy. Our fogs,
Chadder, are simply the vapors of the American
Gulf Stream bearing down the smoke of our
own chimneys to strangle us. Ill ! ill ! we're all
ill."
A gray foam appeared on his lips, and he
laughed shrilly.
" My poor little Hughey," he moaned. " How
could I do it ? "
Mr. Chadder left the room, and after instruct-
EAGLE BLOOD 399
ing Thompson to look after his master, hurried
away for a doctor.
Hardly had the sound of the solicitor's heavy
footsteps died away on the stair when the new
" viscountess " glided into the room.
" 'E's took again," explained the butler, who
was frantically chafing the unconscious earl's
temples. " Never been so bad as this, my
lady."
She passed her hand over the sunken features s
drawing the finger tips caressingly across the
wrinkled forehead. The earl ceased to tremble,
and a sigh of content escaped from him.
Thompson drew back and watched her while
she leaned over the stricken peer, stroking his
brow and muttering a curious purring sound.
As she fondled the sick man her lean body
swayed with a sinuous, snaky motion. Her eyes
glowed like the eyes of an animal in the dark c
The dark visage was alive with intelligence.
The earl coughed and opened his eyes, with
a feeble yawn. He looked in a confused way
at his nurse and seemed to be struggling against
the command in her face. Gradually the firm
400 EAGLE BLOOD
lines reappeared about his scornful mouth and
his eyes grew bright and hard.
" Woman, I have something to say to you,"
he said weakly.
" Leave the room," she cried to the butler,
who retired precipitately.
" Your lordship is not well." The bony hand
reached out to stroke his forehead again, but he
pushed it away wearily.
"What what was it I wanted to say?" he
demanded. "I oh, yes," his eyes grew
piercingly bright and he tugged tremblingly at
his white mustache, " you forgot to tell me
where you saw Lord Delaunay last."
" In Manila."
" Manila ? So far away ? " A tear rolled
down the fine, proud face.
" I came all the way alone," she said, with a
touch of self-pity in her tone.
" What was he doing in Manila ? "
" He was a soldier,, my lord."
" What ? " he shrieked, with an angry glare.
"Not an "
" Yes, my lord, an American soldier."
EAGLE BLOOD 401
The earl struggled to his feet. His mouth
foamed, and a ghastly grayness stole over his
pinched features.
"The end," he gasped, with a strange whis-
tling sound in his throat.
A senile smile came into the venerable face,
the eyes grew dull, and with a lurch the earl
fell back into his chair.
For an instant she bent her- head down and
listened at his bosom. Then, hearing footsteps
at the door, she turned to meet the austere
doctor.
" This, I assume, is Lady Delaunay ? " he said,
with a bow.
"No," there were wicked lightnings in her
face, " this is the Countess of Castlehurst."
" The Countess of Castlehurst ? " he stam-
mered. " Surely, there is some mistake ? "
" There is no mistake," she answered, point-
ing to the still, white face in the chair.
The frightened butler approached her.
"Thompson," she said, with a smile she could
not repress, " say to all callers that Lady Castle-
hurst is not receiving to-day."
CHAPTER XVI
IT was arranged that Captain Jack Remington
and Hugh should travel back to America to-
gether, and during the long voyage the two
young men became firm friends. Before reach-
ing San Francisco they had regained strength
enough to take their daily deck exercise arm in
arm. The captain was full of gratitude to his
saviour, and honestly sought to increase the in-
timacy which had sprung up between them,
baring his bosom to Hugh with a confidence
begot of admiration and sympathy.
During one of their long talks it was a
moonlit evening the captain confessed his love
for Helen Martin, unknowing the pain he was
inflicting upon his companion, and Hugh, look-
ing out on the miles of silvered sea, was silent.
But when Remington, in the fulness of his
heart, added that his journey to New York was
undertaken in the hope of winning Helen's
402
EAGLE BLOOD 403
hand rather than in search of health, Hugh re-
tired to his stateroom, there to lie sleeplessly
for the rest of the night, cursing Miss Grush
and torturing his soul with visions of Helen.
He guarded the secret of his passion from his
rival, and for the rest of the voyage listened to
the captain's sentimental outbursts with a calm
face that gave no hint of the inward heart-
tempest.
They reached New York together and parted
at the dock, each to pursue his path of love
alone.
The staff of the Mail welcomed Hugh back
with moderate cordiality, which presently de-
veloped into uproarious enthusiasm and a
speechful banquet when it became known that
Mr. Irkins, in an outburst of eccentric generos-
ity, had presented the young Englishman with
a one-fifth interest in the paper.
" I have no heirs," said Mr. Irkins, who was
now an invalid and seldom left his room, " and
you're just the sort of a fellow I'd have liked to
have for a son. It will be an interesting thing
to watch young blood work out in the manage-
404 EAGLE BLOOD
merit of the Mail. You have the grit and te-
nacity I admire; besides, I don't believe you
could be disloyal even if you tried. It isn't
gratitude that moves me, although you did pro-
tect my life. I feel drawn to you, and I want
to keep you near me."
The story of Hugh's gallantry in the Philip-
pines was well known in New York, and he was
mildly lionized. There was often a seat for him
at the Remington dinner table, and Miss Rem-
ington was more archly coquettish than ever.
The millionnaire's attitude toward his guest was
midway between hearty admiration and cynical
condescension. Mrs. Remington encouraged
the handsome, courtly visitor as a desirable bach-
elor whose good manners and innate distinction
added a charm to her social plans, but she kept
a more than ever jealous guard on his inter-
course with her daughter. Her greenish hawk
eyes were alert for signs of danger. Captain
Remington's tales of his comrade's valor in the
field were interminable.
Miss Remington's beauty grew with her years.
The queenly head, crowned with pale gold, was
EAGLE BLOOD 405
the harmonious corollary of a form endowed
with Juno-like grace. Yet the gray eyes were
less soft than before, the tenderly curved mouth
was more disdainful, and there was a worldly
expression in the fair face that puzzled Hugh.
He found her more experienced and less frank.
Her tongue was as sharp as her wit. She still
talked to him of European castles and titles,
but the girlish imagination, which saw knightly
armor under the baggy tweeds of every English
nobleman, had hardened to a calculating percep-
tion of the social value of rank. Feminine
Quixotism, peopling the courts of Europe with
romance and chivalry, had vanished. Miss
Remington went the way of the world. Under
her mother's relentless schooling she had learned
to read Burke's " Peerage " as her father read the
daily stock reports.
Notwithstanding the subtle atmosphere of self-
ish ambition which surrounded the stately heiress,
Hugh found much to admire in her sparkling
repartee and merry temperament. He bore
with her father's sometimes too obvious spirit
of patronage for the sake of hearing her clever
4 o6 EAGLE BLOOD
parodies and engaging in conversational bouts
in which she gradually revealed her love of social
glory.
The more he saw of Miss Remington, the
more he loved Helen Martin. He rarely en-
countered the little patriot now. On the few
occasions when they met, she seemed to avoid
him, save in the presence of her father. His
pride held him back; and although he sometimes
felt as though he could no longer restrain him-
self and must gather her slight form into his
arms, he maintained a consistent bearing of re-
spectful friendship. Not that her eyes lacked
the warm love-light, but there was an unspoken
truce between them. Yet there were times when
the ordeal of silence was almost too great for
his strength.
Captain Remington devoted much of his time
to the Martins, and took every occasion to press
his attentions on .Helen. Hugh saw and suf-
fered, but gave no sign of his agony. But for
an occasional glance of sympathy from her honest
brown eyes, he might have broken down in his
high resolution to refrain from approaching her
EAGLE BLOOD 407
heart until the mystery of his hypnotic marriage
to Miss Grush was cleared up.
Mr. Martin looked on and understood. He
said little, but at critical moments a friendly
hand-clap on Hugh's shoulder assured him of
the old man's sympathy and confidence.
" The last mile's always the hardest, my son,"
he would say with a kindly smile.
Sometimes he was seized with a longing to
return to England and visit the scenes and
friends of his youth. Then the spirit of his
adopted country would arise within and drive
him into the crowded streets to wander about
until his soul went forth in fellowship to the
mighty forces of the life thronging about him.
In these days he saw everything with new eyes.
The great republic was simply the completion
of the immense design which had been working
out through history since the Dooms of Alfred,
each succeeding age advancing, the Magna
Charta, the Mayflower compact, the Declaration
of Independence. He could see them all now
as parts of one majestic plan, stretching from
century to century, and culminating on the
4 o8 EAGLE BLOOD
free continent reserved for the last stage of
human emancipation. It was toward this su-
preme end that all his warrior ancestry had been
unconsciously working, each seeing only the page
opened in his own day. Here, at last, was a
land in which all men were free to rise or fall
according to their own worth, a nation built
upon the solid rock of human equality.
The search for news of Miss Grush was kept
up through all these days, but the most diligent
investigation failed to yield any clew. It never
occurred to Hugh's mind that the adventuress
might go to England and attempt to steal into
his grandfather's confidence under cover of the
fraudulent marriage, and he failed to write Mr.
Chadder any hint of his difficulties. Indeed, he
had ceased to answer the solicitor's increasingly
urgent appeals to return to London. Hugh's
New York lawyer had examined the official
record of Miss Crush's plot, and declared that,
on the face of things, the wedding was in due
form, although it would be possible, when the
witnesses could be found, to have the contract
annulled ; meanwhile he must have patience and
EAGLE BLOOD 409
wait such a woman as Miss Grush would be
bound to reveal herself in some way before
long.
So things drifted along for weeks, and Hugh's
sad face and musing air became a matter of gossip
in the Mail office. He seemed suddenly to grow
older. The doctor advised him to go abroad for
his health, warning him that the habit of brooding
melancholy might have serious consequences in
his already weakened condition. Hugh shook
his head and continued to pace the floor pensively.
" A fellow can't get away from sorrow by
travelling," he said. " If hfe has any real trouble,
it's inside of him, and he can't get rid of it
by moving from country to country. When he
reaches the next port, he finds that the enemy
he has been flying from is himself."
Matters were in this way when, one evening,
he was surprised to find himself seated opposite
to Helen at dinner in the Remington house. She
was lovelier than he had ever seen her before,
although his quickened discernment brought him
comfort in the discovery of a shadowy trouble in
the sweet face and earnest brown eyes. Captain
4 io EAGLE BLOOD
Remington sat beside her, with an air of confi-
dent gallantry that sent devil-leaps through the
helpless lover's veins. He watched the officer's
tender looks and wondered why he had not let
him die that terrible night in Manila. Miss
Remington's seat was next to Hugh. It was
evident that the heiress suspected her brother's
passion for Helen, and she darted many a mean-
ing glance at the radiant captain.
Mr. Martin, from his place beside the austere
mistress of the house, observed the play of moral
lightning that flashed between these three, and he
labored prodigiously to divert their spirits by
drawing Mr. Remington into a discussion of
industrial concentration. The banker was in a
heavy humor and responded loathly to the jour-
nalist's efforts to penetrate into the sacred arcana
of finance.
" If I ever thought so, I have changed my
mind," said Hugh, with heightened color, in
answer to a whispered remark of Miss Rem-
ington.
"What was that?" asked the captain, look-
ing across the table.
EAGLE BLOOD 411
" I was saying to Mr. Dorsay that an heredi-
tary aristocracy was the only possible means of
preserving the refined instincts of civilization."
" Why, Fanny ! " cried her brother, " where
did an American girl ever get such an absurd
idea ? "
" I appeal to history," answered the heiress,
with a toss of her chapely head.
" Take your o\vn history," said Hugh,
gravely. " Apply that reasoning to Washing-
ton and Lincoln."
" It isn't fair to drag politicians into the
subject. We were talking of the social life
of the world."
" I fail to recognize the moral agency of a
title to-day."
" Perhaps if you had one "
" Perhaps," answered Hugh, with a faint smile.
"That's just it," remarked Mrs. Remington^
sourly.
" It's an anchor for society," said the heiress.
" Something to hold to."
" When you get it," exclaimed the captain,
with a wicked laugh at his sister.
4 i2 EAGLE BLOOD
" Jack ! " Mrs. Remington's green eyes
snapped. " I'm really surprised ! "
" So am I," replied the officer, defiantly.
" I'm surprised to hear the daughter of an
American father and mother utter such senti-
ments."
" Tut ! tut ! " said Mr. Remington, testily.
" Fanny's not so far out of the way."
" You too, father ? " The captain laid down
his knife and looked at his parent in astonishment.
" There's just as much sentiment on the one
side as on the other," observed the banker.
" Then there's the practical side," he cleared
his throat portentously, "which appeals very
strongly to me. I confess that I've held other
views, but the truth is that a good European
title carries with it an enormous social advan-
tage, and " - with a gay nod toward his daughter
" I don't wonder that a sensible girl feels
tempted by the substantial privileges of rank."
" There, now ! " cried the heiress, trium-
phantly.
" Father, you amaze me," said the soldier.
"You used to "
EAGLE BLOOD 413
" Yes, I used to think differently, Jack. I've
changed my mind, that's all. Time has taught
me a good many things. How many senators
or representatives or governors of states are
there who would care to hold office, if it wasn't
for the titles? Fudge!" And the banker
thrust out his heavy under lip contemptuously.
"And now I remember that Washington
wanted to be called 'Your Highness,' but Con-
gress refused to sanction it," said Miss Rem-
ington, shaking her head at Hugh.
" That was one of John Adams's lies," said
Mr. Martin, sternly.
" And you, Miss Martin ? " She turned
appealingly to Helen, with a pretty droop of
the blue eyes.
" I think American Citizen is the finest title
in the world," answered the little beauty, quietly.
" It's the one I should want my husband to wear."
Blue eyes looked into brown eyes steadily
for a moment. It was a duel of temperaments.
The blue eyes drooped.
" Magnificent ! " cried the captain. " Just
my sentiments."
4H EAGLE BLOOD
Helen's face flushed at the silence which fol-
lowed. Hugh caught a look from her honest eyes
which quieted the jealous tumult in his breast.
" Mine, too," he said.
The color vanished from her cheeks. What
did he mean ?
" Of course American citizenship is honor-
able," said the heiress. " Perhaps you've mis-
understood me. (Jack, I want you to stop
laughing.) What I mean is, that there's a ro-
mance and sentiment about ancient titles which
appeal to the social imagination. A noble fam-
ily living up to its traditions is a conserver of
civilization. We're all so practical and plain
and uninteresting in America. There isn't a
bit of romance about us. Rank, too, involves
social leadership and social responsibility con-
tinued from generation to generation."
Helen looked across the roses, heaped in a
silver bowl on the table, at the haughtily beau-
tiful face and wonderful white throat, from
which the shoulders sloped away in exquisite
curves. Was ever anything more stately than
this daughter of millions ?
EAGLE BLOOD 415
" And yet, Miss Remington," she said simply,
" I'd rather be the wife of an American citizen
than marry the subject or be the subject of any
monarch in Europe. You mustn't think I
don't appreciate the practical social value of
titles ; I've thought of the subject a good deal.
But from a woman's standpoint, even if I had
no other reason for my patriotism, I can't for-
get that, without the aid of titles, woman has
reached her highest, noblest station in America.
Here she is honored as nowhere else in the
world."
Her face was glorified by emotion. There
was inspiration in her soft eyes. Her bosom
swelled, and the tints of the wild rose fluttered
in her cheeks. Suddenly she realized that the
diners had stopped eating and were listening
intently.
" I'm afraid you'll think me a bluestocking,"
she added, with a little tremble in her voice.
" And are traditions of chivalry and romance
nothing?" Miss Remington asked, with a po-
litely checked yawn.
" They are very, very much," said the young
4 i6 EAGLE BLOOD
enthusiast. " But the present is better than
the past, because it is our own ; and there's
nothing in the thousand years of feudal history
so romantic or so chivalrous as the attitude of
the American man to the American woman."
" Do you know, Fanny," said the captain,
merrily, " I believe that you'd like to be a
languishing lady in a rheumatic castle, with a
husband in armor rattling around the country
like a milk wagon."
" No, but I shouldn't mind being a duchess
or a countess, with an automobile, a steam yacht,
and a visiting list as long as the peerage. I'm
distinctly modern in my tastes."
By a skilfully placed question, Mr. Martin
drew his taciturn host into a grudging defence
of industrial monopoly, and the dinner passed
without further incident. During the evening
in the drawing-room, Hugh was thrown much
into the society of Miss Remington, while the
captain devoted himself to Helen.
When at last the company broke up and
Hugh was about to leave, Helen touched him
gently on the arm.
EAGLE BLOOD 417
" I hope you don't feel hurt," she said ; and
then, seeing that he misunderstood, she added,
" I mean the conversation at dinner perhaps
I was carried away by my enthusiasm."
" I think you are the best and dearest girl
in all the world, and "
" Come, daddy, we must hurry," she called,
blushing furiously and turning to her father.
That was a memorable night in Hugh's life.
He went to the Mail office and tried to forget
his passion in work, yet a girlish face and a
pair of true brown eyes came between him and
his manuscript. He sought refuge in sleep,
but his soul was on fire. Daylight found him
in the street with slow step and dreaming face.
He strolled onward in the fresh morning air,
taking no note of time or place until he found
himself standing on the stone wall of Battery
Park, looking out over the swift, rippling tide
of New York Bay, the green shores of Staten
Island and Bay Ridge showing dimly through
the early mists, and the giant Statue of Liberty
towering out of the shining flood in solitary
majesty.
4 i8 EAGLE BLOOD
It was this scene that had greeted his eyes
on his arrival in the new world, and conflicting
emotions arose within him as he remembered
the strange feeling of loneliness with which he
first saw the ragged sky-line of the American
metropolis looming beyond the fair waters.
He could never be lonely in America again.
The sky, the trees, the tall buildings, the streets,
the swift-walking, earnest pedestrians, all had
a friendly, familiar look now. The flag flut-
tering so brightly in the new sunlight over the
quaint little cheese-box fort on Governor's Island
was the symbol of a people who dared to live
largely. It had drawn twenty million recruits
from Europe more than the whole population
of Great Britain when the battle of Water-
loo was fought, and even now he could see
in the Narrows the smoke of steamers bearing
new pilgrims from the old world to swell the
forces of democracy. How good and pleasant it
was !
The voice of his ancestry cried against the
thought that slowly took shape in him. An
American citizen ? Why not ? Why should
EAGLE BLOOD
419
he cling to the empty honor of a title won
by other men ? What was there in England
for him but a life of struggle to maintain a
rank that had no root in his own worth ?
Yet it was a name gained bravely in the open
field : it would stand while England stood. He
o
recalled his gentle mother as he saw her last
in the gardens of Battlecragie Castle. What
would she say to him now ? Would she not
bid him be a man and strive for manly things
in spite of all ? of that he was sure. To be
an American citizen was to fulfil the unwritten
thought of English history, to serve the cause
of man, which was more sacred than the interest
of monarchs.
The face of his queen came before him,
honest, kindly, worn with years ; his eyes grew
dim, and there was a lump in his throat. Could
he forswear his venerable sovereign, the pattern
of blameless womanhood, whose gentle hands had
been laid upon his childish head in blessing ?
Out of the darkness of his soul rose the image
of Helen, appealing to his pride of manhood
against his pride of birth. He seemed to see
4 2o EAGLE BLOOD
her again as she said : "American Citizen is the
finest title in the world. It's the one I should
want my husband to wear." Dear little patriot !
She little dreamed what her words meant to him
or how she would set the tempest raging in his
bosom. How could she know that her heart's
captive was the heir of warrior lords ? The
strength of his love and his youth swelled in
him. Yes, she would understand what it cost
him to renounce his country and rank, she would
know the victory he had won over himself. He
would go to her as a man, wearing only the
honors he had won in his own right.
It was a long and bitter moral struggle, but
when he reached his lawyer's office there was
peace in his blue eyes and a smile on his lips.
" The thing is perfectly feasible," said the
lawyer. " Your service in the United States
army gives you the right to become a citizen
at once. Ordinarily an alien must wait five
years for full citizenship ; but in your case,
being an honorably discharged soldier and
having lived in New York for a year, a simple
petition to the court reciting the facts will be
EAGLE BLOOD 421
sufficient. Of course you will have to renounce
your title as well as your nationality."
" I quite understand that," said Hugh.
" It is an extraordinary case, sir ; the first of
its kind, if my memory serves me right."
"There's Lord Fairfax."
" True ; but he has not renounced his baron-
age, he simply lives here. Besides, he was born
in the United States."
"And I am to be reborn here."
" This will possibly affect your rights as heir
to the estate. Perhaps it would be better to
delay action until I can consult your London
solicitor."
" The estate is in the hands of strangers, mort-
gaged beyond recovery. It will never pay the
interest on the family debts. I have nothing to
renounce but my rank and my nationality."
" Does your lordship "
" I prefer to be known as Mr. Dorsay."
" Ah, yes, precisely I understand. Do you
desire me to prepare the papers at once, Mr.
Dorsay?"
" At once."
422 EAGLE BLOOD
That afternoon Hugh sought out Mr. Martin
at his desk in the Mail office. The old man's
head was surrounded by its customary cloud of
tobacco smoke, and the kindly face was bent
over the slow-moving pencil. In a few simple
words Hugh announced his intention to become
a citizen and invited Mr. Martin to be present
in the court.
" Praise God ! I'll be there," said the veteran,
heartily. " You'll never regret it, my son."
" And Helen ? " said Hugh. " Do you think
she'd come ? "
"Well, now " He paused and looked
sharply at the eager face. " I shouldn't wonder
if she would. But, remember "
" I remember everything, Mr. Martin, every-
thing. Her honor and happiness are no dearer
to you than they are to me."
" Any news of Miss Grush ? "
" None," said Hugh, sadly. " We've searched
everywhere. My lawyer is now on the track of
the clergyman who was her confederate. He
went to England a little while ago."
" Um, I see." Mr. Martin puffed at his
EAGLE BLOOD 423
pipe thoughtfully. " Ever strike you that she
might have gone to England ? "
"No. Still, perhaps "
" Got relatives there, haven't you ? "
A sudden light flashed in Hugh's eyes.
" By heaven ! I never thought of it. And
yet, she wouldn't dare "
" Dare ? " The old man blew a swirl of smoke
straight out before him. " That kind of a
woman would trail through hell to gain her
point."
" And the clergyman ? "
" Gone to help her, of course."
" I think you're right, Mr. Martin," said
Hugh, slowly. " To-morrow I'll tell you some-
thing about myself that will explain her anxiety
to claim my name something I've kept to
myself ever since I came to America. She may
not care to be my wife when I'm a plain Ameri-
can citizen."
" I don't quite catch your drift, my son."
"Wait!" said Hugh. "I think I see light
at last."
CHAPTER XVII
THE judge was late in coming, and they sat
in a corner of the bare court room while the
lawyer arranged preliminaries with the clerk. A
dusty beam of sunlight came through the un-
washed window between heavy crimson curtains
and made a glory on the dirty wall. The rows
of vacant chairs and the threadbare carpet on
the floor gave a cheerless aspect to the place,
although a fresh nosegay in a glass of water be-
side the well-worn Bible on the bench of judg-
ment lent a welcome note of color.
Now and then the clerk peered over the
lawyer's shoulder at the slim, brown-eyed girl
in a soft-trailing mist of pale violet, who looked
so happily up from under the drooping brim of
her dainty hat at the spectacled patriarch and the
tall, sun-tanned young man on either side of her
a vision of youthful grace and beauty un-
wonted in that dreary atmosphere.
424
EAGLE BLOOD V 425
" Helen, I've a confession to make," said
Hugh, "and I'm going to ask you" turning
to Mr. Martin "to let me speak plainly."
The muscles about his mouth quivered. " I
know I have no right to speak of the thing that
lies closest to my heart you understand "
His voice choked.
"Yes, yes, my son," muttered the father.
" It'll all come right all in time."
"And it is because I hope the day will soon
come when I can let my heart speak for itself
that I am about to engage in the most serious act
of my life."
Her head drooped down until the brim of her
hat hid the rosy face.
" Hugh ! here ? in such a place ? " she pro-
tested faintly.
" It's but a step from one nationality to an-
other," he continued, without answering her, " a
few words, a whisk of the pen, and it's all over. It
may be easy for some men to take that step, but
in my own case it is not merely the choosing of a
new home, or the acceptance of a new political
creed : it is the extinction of a title which twenty
426 EAGLE BLOOD
generations of my blood have been proud to
bear."
" A title, my son ? Why, what does this
mean ? " asked Mr. Martin, in astonishment.
Helen raised her head and looked wide-eyed at
him.
" I came to your house under an assumed name
my dear mother's but it is the name I intend
to carry to my grave," he said, with a sigh. " I
owe you an apology for the deception, even
though it was my only means of carrying out an
honorable plan forced upon me by unexpected
poverty. It may have been a foolish idea, but it
was an honest one."
" Needn't tell me that," said the old man.
" I am the Viscount Delaunay, heir to the Earl
of Castlehurst, my grandfather. We are both
poor. A series of misfortunes has swept away
everything but our rank. Rather than live a life
of shame and contract debts I could never pay to
support a title earned by other men, I assumed
my mother's name and came to New York to
make my way by my own merits. It's a short
story, devoid of romance and well, you don't
EAGLE BLOOD 427
know how glad I am to tell it and set myself
straight in your eyes."
" Oh, Hugh," cried Helen, with a look of
pride and love, " it's the most beautiful story I've
ever heard, but " the soft voice shook a little
"for your own sake think of what you are
doing. The sacrifice is too great. It's your
birthright you may go back to England some
day " in spite of all the tears brimmed in her eyes
as her imagination caught the shadow of disaster.
"Think it over, my boy," said Mr. Martin.
"You're throwing away in a minute what you
can't get back in a lifetime."
" But you said that "
" Ah, yes," answered Helen, turning away from
the search of his too candid eyes, " but how could
I know that it meant so much to you ? "
"Would it" he hesitated and dropped his
voice to a whisper " would it make any differ-
ence to you if ever you know I can't speak
plainly, Helen" she raised one little hand in
appeal "I know it's not the same with women ;
the social prestige of rank is so important some-
times. And if I thought that you "
428 EAGLE BLOOD
" There's no reason why you shouldn't speak,
sis," exclaimed Mr. .Martin, observing his daugh-
ter's deep agitation. " It's a matter that may
concern both of your lives, and Well, I guess
I'll take a turn in the hallway for a minute or
two ; only " his tone became hard and precise
" don't forget Well, hang it ! you're both
grown up, and I'm getting to be an old fool."
Whereat he strode out of the court room, leaving
them alone.
" Am I to call you * my lord ' or just ' Hugh,'
as before," she asked, looking up.
" That is for you to decide, Helen."
" Oh, Hugh, Hugh, it's your own life, your
own future, I think of."
"You said once that your husband could
have no other title than American citizen."
His soul was in his face. " Do you say so
now ? "
" I never thought you could be so shameless
as to resort to such a stratagem. It's it's
simply cowardly to take advantage of me."
The wild rose color rioted in her face, and
the white fingers twisted themselves into the
EAGLE BLOOD 429
violet draperies. Even the peeping clerk had
sense enough to turn his head away.
" Do you say so now ? " he repeated.
She raised her head, and a look of ineffable
sweetness came into her face.
" Yes, Hugh," she said.
" Amen ! " he answered soberly.
" But, oh ! I wish I knew what this trouble
is that hangs over you," she whispered, " this
nameless thing that makes you talk in riddles
to me, this mystery that has darkened "
" It's all very simple, Helen. There's noth-
ing you shouldn't know, and I'll tell you now."
" There's the judge at last," said Mr. Martin,
hurrying in ; " and the clerk's beckoning to
you."
They advanced to the wooden railing together,
and after a few questions and answers, the clerk
set the Bible forth for the oath.
" I prefer the open Bible," said Hugh. " It's
a good old custom."
Running the pages rapidly through his fingers,
he opened the ragged volume at the Book of
Ruth and set his hand upon one side of the
430 EAGLE BLOOD
page. In a firm, clear voice he repeated the
oath of renunciation and allegiance. His face
was pale, but his eyes shone with a new tender-
ness and pride.
" I have taken two oaths to-day," he whispered
to Helen, " one on earth and the other in
heaven. You have heard one, and I want you
to see the other."
He pointed to the spot on which his hand
had rested, and she read the promise of Ruth :
" Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following
after thee : for whither thou goest, I will go ; and" where thou
lodgest, I will lodge : thy people shall be my people, and thy
God my God. Where thou diest, will I die, and there will
I be buried : the Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught
but death part thee and me."
The little head sank lower and lower, until
the drooping hat-brim almost hid the sacred
page and the red lips touched the words.
CHAPTER XVIII
WHILE the heir of the house of Castlehurst
was vowing allegiance on the altar of democracy,
William Remington sat in the deep silence of
his well-guarded office reading a cablegram
which a noiseless attendant had just placed on
his desk :
" LONDON.
" WILLIAM REMINGTON, New York:
" Earl of Castlehurst just died. His heir,
Viscount Delaunay, is living in New York
under name Hugh Dorsay. Have cabled
him, but get no answer. Please put him in
communication with me.
" CHADDER, Solicitor"
The banker's hard visage softened as he read
and re-read the message. He whistled softly,
an event so unusual that the door was gently
opened by a clerk, who closed it again when
he saw his employer's cheerful countenance.
431
432 EAGLE BLOOD
Experience of the social limitations of wealth,
and a reluctant recognition of the fashionable
triumphs attending the marriage of American
daughters of wealth to titled aliens, had modified
the cynical views of Mr. Remington's earlier
years. After all, a rich American husband
could bring nothing to his daughter but money,
and of that she would have no need. It could
not be denied that hereditary rank was a sub-
stantial thing from many standpoints ; it would
survive the loss of wealth. An ancient title
might accomplish for a woman in a year what
money could not compass in a lifetime. The
banker's pride in his beautiful daughter, and
his ambition for her social success, powerfully
inclined him to the arguments of his scheming
spouse ; and while he pretended to sneer at
her ravening passion for coronets and castles,
the delightful poison was already at work in
his own stolid mind. His recent business
operations in the British metropolis had brought
him in contact with more than one peer, and
he observed with surprise and conviction the
deference shown by even the most powerful
EAGLE BLOOD 433
and hard-headed English financiers to noble-
men of moderate means and slight abilities.
There was no adumbration of sentiment in
Mr. Remington's slow conversion to his wife's
social ideas. His imagination was limited to
the utilitarian aspects of life, and he weighed
men and things according to their practical
values. If a title would open to his daughter
worldly distinctions and opportunities other-
wise inaccessible, then a title was worth having.
The intense struggle for wealth and commer-
cial power had left the banker without moral
or mental resources other than those necessary
for his vast money-making schemes. He
bought pictures and tapestries, and maintained
a steam yacht, a country house, and a box at
the opera, because they ministered to the pleas-
ure of his wife and daughter. Music and
painting bored him, the sea made him ill, and
life in the country meant an intolerable exile
from the scene of his real interests. His seden-
tary habits deprived him of the physical vigor
and resilience indispensable to the enjoyment
of athletic sports, and his deliberate tempera-
434 EAGLE BLOOD
ment shrank from the speculative follies of
horse racing. He knew little of politics and
less of literature. In short, his moral bounda-
ries were parochial and devoid of beauty.
Midas-like, he learned the secret of turning
everything into gold, but starved his nature.
The sudden discovery of Hugh's real rank
stirred the millionnaire's sluggish imagination.
With an English earl for a son-in-law he might
open doors as yet sealed against him. Such
an alliance could be made a powerful weapon
in the industrial invasion of England.
He crumpled the cablegram in his hand,
smoothed it out again, and pondered the words.
No, there could be no mistake. The circum-
stances of Hugh's arrival in New York, his
letter of introduction from Professor Muhlen-
berg, his reticence about his family, his aristo-
cratic face and figure, and his obviously gentle
breeding, all corroborated Mr. Chadder's message.
The Earl of Castlehurst ! Mr. Remington
allowed his squat body to snuggle back in the
leather chair. He rubbed his hands and laughed
softly to himself.
EAGLE BLOOD 435
Within the hour he returned to his house
and broke the astounding news to the partner
of his bosom, who, in turn, whispered it in the
ear of her daughter, whereat the blushing heiress
threw herself into her mother's arms, and kissed
her rapturously, and burst into tears.
" We must have him to dinner to-night,"
said Mr. Remington, with a knowing look.
" He should learn the news under the most
propitious circumstances."
" But we're having a late afternoon party for
Mrs. Grant's children the house will be simply
filled with the tots."
" It can't be helped, Fanny, we'll have to
get our dinner guests by telephone and ask them
to come early to see the little ones before they go.
It would never do to let this opportunity slip."
"And he doesn't know he's an earl yet?"
" He'll know it for the first time to-night."
" Oh, you dear, dear old darling ! " cried the
excited girl, falling upon the astonished banker
and kissing him in an ecstasy of joy.
" I'm glad Jack's away," said Mr. Remington,
thoughtfully. " He'd spoil everything."
436 EAGLE BLOOD
" And to think we never suspected ! " cried
the heiress. " Just think ! One of the oldest titles
in England ! I wonder why he never told us."
" Oh, some boyish prank, you may be sure.
Now that I remember it, he did say something
to me once about his ambition to make a place
in the world for himself."
"A very proper sentiment, I'm sure," ob-
served Mrs. Remington, with oracular solemnity.
" And we never dreamed ! Oh, papa ! I'm
simply crazy about it."
" I telephoned to Bradshaw's," said Mr.
Remington, dryly, " and they say the old earl
hadn't a dollar property mortgaged up to the
limit. But, nous allong cbawnjay toosy la I
never could manage French, my dear, but it's
all right ; we'll change it, just the same."
" The hand of God is in it," remarked Mrs.
Remington, turning her hawk eyes toward the
ceiling.
" Um," answered the old man, grimly.
" I always felt that he was different from other
young men."
" Um."
EAGLE BLOOD 437
" So courtly, so distinguished, so noble in
his mind and person."
" It isn't necessary, my dear," said the banker.
" He's not here now, and you might save it
for this evening."
" How can you be so coarse at a moment
like this ? " exclaimed the matron, loftily.
" Bah ! " he retorted, with a gesture of im-
patience, " what's the use of hypocrisy ? He's
a good-looking, well-mannered fellow, no better
and no worse than a thousand young men I
could pick up here in a day's walk but he's
an earl, and that makes all the difference. Don't
talk nonsense. You wouldn't think of him for
a son-in-law if he were an American."
" Why, papa, you talk as if I were being sold
on the auction block," cried Miss Remington,
indignantly.
" Well, well, Fanny," he said, with a rough
show of tenderness, as he regarded the beautiful
face, " I used to have other ideas about your
future, but Oh, well, it's best after all as it
is, perhaps, and I suppose we ought to act as
if it were a love match. It comes to the same
438 EAGLE BLOOD
thing in the end, my girl ; the heart interest
doesn't last forever."
" But aren't you taking a good deal for granted ?
Mr. Dorsay "
" Lord Castlehurst."
" Lord Castlehurst has never spoken to me
about "
" Never fear, Fanny, we've enough to gild a
hundred coronets and to spare. He hasn't been
enjoying the society of the handsomest heiress
in America for nothing. It's all a matter of
hard cash."
" Would you corrupt your own child ? "
groaned Mrs. Remington, rolling her eyes upward.
" Confound it ! " roared the old man, wrath-
fully, " what do you expect me to say ? "
" I expect you, Mr. Remington, to act like
a father," said the matron, indefinitely.
" I'll do my part when the time comes," he
growled. " Now you do yours. See that the
dinner is something unusual ; ask Delmonico's
for suggestions."
" We might invite the Bradfords and the Gay-
lors," suggested Miss Remington.
EAGLE BLOOD 439
"Just the people."
" And the Van Pelts."
"That would never do. Old Van Pelt's
chairman of the South African Emancipation
Committee."
"Judge O'Connor."
"Nonsense; he's a sort of a Fenian. Better
get the De Lanceys and the Stevensons
they're prominent in the Anglo-American
League. Then there's young Hodley, a
frightful ass, but a cousin of Lady Pendleton
we might invite him."
" We can ask some of the grown-ups to stay
when the children's party breaks up," added
Mrs. Remington.
After that the great house was a scene of
excitement and confusion as the preparations
for the dinner were pressed. The invitations
were given by telephone, with alluring hints
of a remarkable event which was to take place,
and acceptances were demanded as a matter of
honor. The young heiress herself talked to
Hugh over the wire, and persuaded him to
come, in spite of his engagements at the office,
440 EAGLE BLOOD
by promising to tell him a surprising piece of
news that would affect his whole life. Thinking
that some clew to the hiding-place of Miss
Grush had been discovered, he agreed to come
early and stay to the dinner.
Mother and daughter racked their brains for
original ideas. British flags surrounded by
American beauty roses were ordered, English
pheasants, ices moulded in the form of coronets
a conception of Delmonico's chef bon-bon
boxes adorned with the Queen's portrait, and
even a figure of Britannia, in Chelsea porcelain,
which the delighted girl found in a fashionable
antique shop.
It meant hard work and much ingenuity to
arrange a worthy feast in such a short space
of time, but womanly wit and the resources of
wealth bridged every difficulty, and long -before
the guests arrived, the great Flemish-oak din-
ing room had been transformed into a scene of
beauty, with blossoming branches depending
from the dark, cool ceiling ; roses mingling with
trailing vines on the walls, fairy garlands twin-
ing about the carved pillars, and costly vases
EAGLE BLOOD 441
running over with floral loveliness. Here
and there in the dazzle of silver and glass on
the snowy table were little British flags, and
in the centre stood the image of Britannia, set
on a wonderful base of white jade, with the
heraldic crest of the Castlehursts copied from
Debrett's Peerage outlined, against it in tiny
flowers.
Hugh arrived just as the lights were being
lit and the children were swirling through the
vast drawing-room in a romping dance, their
shrill voices ringing high above the merry lilt
and thrum of the music. Mrs. Remington's
greeting amazed him. The green eyes were
almost affectionate. She held his hand when
he would have withdrawn it, and smiled upon
him with motherly intimacy. Miss Remington
received him with shy glances, a blushing air
of self-consciousness, and pretty accusations of
neglect murmured in his bewildered ear. Why
had he remained away so long? It was fully
two days since anybody had had a sight of him.
Had he no thought of the feelings of others ?
He could scarcely believe his senses as he
442 EAGLE BLOOD
entered the resplendent drawing-room, with
the stately girl beside him, when Mr. Reming-
ton rushed forward with outstretched hands
and a glad cry of welcome.
The sudden change from friendly condescen-
sion to deference and flattery mystified Hugh.
He was the centre of attention. His lightest
word was listened to with marked respect,
his smile was the signal for answering smiles.
Hitherto he had been treated as a welcome but
negligible factor in the social functions of the
house ; now he was the hero and favorite. He
was introduced to the other guests ceremoniously.
Even the children were requested to shake hands
with him, and as they trooped about his tall
figure in the middle of the room he was surprised
to find the banker looking at him with an unmis-
takable air of pride and satisfaction. But he was
not to be long in doubt as to the meaning of
it all.
The children were presently gathered in the
rear part of the room for a new game, while the
adults stood in a group in the front to watch
the dainty scene. The little ones formed a ring
EAGLE BLOOD 443
and noisily debated the advisability of " Ring-a-
ring-a-rosy " or " London Bridge."
Mr. Remington drew a paper from his pocket,
cleared his throat with a portentous cough, and
turned to his guests.
" My friends," he began, in a voice that silenced
the childish babble, " you are all aware that for a
long time my house has been honored by the fre-
quent presence of a young man whose high charac-
ter and noble qualities have endeared him to us."
The old man paused and looked benevolently
at Hugh, who was overwhelmed with embarrass-
ment to find himself the target for all eyes.
" I need not say," continued the banker, sweep-
ing the eager company with his glance, " that my
feelings toward him have been those of a father
rather than a friend."
Hugh's face was a study. Mrs. Remington
sighed and wiped her eyes. The queenly Fanny
looked at her mother, and having a sense of
humor, was inclined to laugh.
" This dear friend came to us in the modest
character of a private gentleman, wisely preferring
to seek his associations among those who, how-
444 EAGLE BLOOD
ever they may esteem rank and title, know how
to appreciate and honor unassuming worth."
The ring of children began to revolve, and
as the dancers tripped around, a sweet chant in
piping treble filled the room :
" London Bridge is burning down,
Burning down, burning down,
London Bridge is burning down,
My fair lady."
" It is my privilege," said the old man, holding
up the crumpled paper and raising his voice to
make himself heard, " it is my privilege to
announce that the Viscount Delaunay, whom we
have known as Mr. Dorsay, has, by the death of
his distinguished grandfather, become the Earl of
Castlehurst. My lord," turning to Hugh,
whose face paled, "here is the cablegram."
With a childish halloo the dancers came sweep-
ing across the carpet, and surrounding Miss
Remington, whirled about her, singing their gay
chorus :
" What' 11 we do to build it up,
Build it up, build it up ?
What' 11 we do to build it up,
My fair lady?"
"'LONDON BRIDGE IS BURNING
EAGLE BLOOD 445
" 'Sssh ! " commanded Mrs. Remington, shak-
ing her finger at the circle of laughing, rosy faces,
as Hugh seized the paper and read the message.
The children ceased from singing and silently
caught hands about him, rising on tiptoe in their
eagerness to resume the romp. He drew himself
to his full height and turned upon the hushed
group a countenance full of perplexity.
" I'm really sorry, Mr. Remington, that it
should have been considered necessary to an-
nounce the death of my grandfather in this
formal manner," he said in a quiet voice. "It
is, of course, a shock to me, although our rela-
tions were unfortunately strained. But you have
made a mistake I'm not the Earl of Castle-
hurst."
" Not the earl ! " exclaimed Mrs. Remington,
with a gasp.
"What?" cried the banker, purpling with
indignation.
" No, indeed, I'm a good American citizen. I
was naturalized this morning. That extinguished
the title."
Had a thunderbolt descended through the
446 EAGLE BLOOD
painted ceiling it could not have caused more
consternation than Hugh's simple announcement.
A moment before Miss Remington had faced
him with a smile of admiration, which changed to
o
a haggard stare. Her mother started, with a sigh
of horror. Young Mr. Hodley was ill-mannered
enough to snigger, and his " Oh, Lord ! " sent the
hot blood rushing to the banker's temples.
"Why, what jest is this?" said the old man,
with a look of rage.
Hugh surveyed his angry host with an expres-
sion of wondering surprise. His steady blue eyes
met the furious glare without flinching. The
encircling children were tugging at his coat, their
little feet tapping the floor in frolic fever and
their pretty faces protesting saucily against the
interruption of their sport.
" It's no jest, sir," he said, " and I'm at a loss
to understand why you should consider it so.
Of course it's very embarrassing to me to explain
matters in this semi-public way, but your attitude
compels me to speak plainly."
" Oh, Lord ! " repeated young Mr. Hodley, in
an audible whisper. Mrs. Remington seized her
EAGLE BLOOD 447
daughter's hands and drew her away. The
banker eyed the expatriated peer in stern silence.
" Mr. Remington," continued Hugh, calmly,
" when you first saw me in Westminster Abbey
I was looking for the last time on the banner of
my house. The dust you saw on that banner
wasn't got by trailing on the ground. It was
dust of the sloth that brought poverty yes,
poverty, but honest poverty to my family.
Rather than live a life of sham and wear a title
that I could not support with dignity, I chose to
come to a country in which all men are equals.
I owe all I have and all I am to that country, and
God being my judge, I'll bear true allegiance to it."
As he ceased, the dancers swung around him,
and the childish song swelled out trium-
phantly :
" Build it up with brick and stone,
Brick and stone, brick and stone,
Build it up with brick and stone,
My fair lady."
c f For God's sake, take them away," roared
Mr. Remington, and as the pouting roisterers
were led out of the room, he turned to Hugh
448 EAGLE BLOOD
sourly. " There is no necessity for further
explanation," he said. " The fact of your
citizenship is sufficient."
" He's only an American, after all," observed
Mr. De Lancey, in an undertone of disgust.
" Isn't that enough ? " asked Hugh, whose
keen ear caught the remark.
" Oh, quite, quite, I'm sure," said Mr.
De Lancey, reddening at the thrust.
" I'm simply de-light-ed ! " exclaimed Mrs.
Bradford, darting a malicious glance at her
tragic hostess. " Let me congratulate you, Mr.
Dorsay. It's so romantic."
" Hello, Hugh," cried Captain Remington,
bursting into the room with outstretched hand.
" Just got back from Washington in time to
hear the news. Threw away an earldom to
become an American citizen ! By George, I
envy the country that can breed men like you.
Isn't it magnificent, father ? "
" Very ! " said the old man.
" There's romance and chivalry for you,
Fanny," added the impetuous officer. " There's
the real thing."
EAGLE BLOOD 449
" Charming ! " lisped Mrs. Stevenson.
" Oh ! I do congratulate you, Mr. Dorsay,"
said Miss Remington, impulsively offering her
hand. " I think you are a good, brave gen-
tleman."
"As congratulations seem to be in order, I
suppose we should all welcome Mr. Dorsay
to his er to his new station in life," observed
Mr. Remington, coldly. " The thing's done,
and, after all, it's a matter of taste. There are
worse things than American citizenship."
As the guests recovered from the shock of
the incident and a confused babble of whispers
succeeded polite silence, Hugh approached Mrs.
Remington.
" I trust you will excuse me from remaining
to dinner," he said. " The news of my grand-
father's death "
"We shall miss you so much," she mur-
mured, her green eyes glowing with malevolence.
And so the dinner was eaten without Hugh's
presence.
" Never saw such a ghastly affair," said young
Mr. Hodley, the next day. "It was positively
450 EAGLE BLOOD
tragic. The Remingtons hadn't a word to
say, not even when that low ruffian, Jack Rem-
ington, made coarse jokes about the British
flags and the statue of Britannia. But when
the iced coronets were served, oh, Lord ! And
the deuce is that nobody can understand why
What's-his-name was such an ass as to do it."
CHAPTER XIX
" CAN you remember anything about her,
Mr. Irkins ? " asked Mr. Martin, leaning on
the arm of the sick man's chair, and watching
the feverish eyes that glittered under the gaunt
brow.
" Nothing," said the invalid, wearily. " Ever
since that blow here " he raised a wasted
hand and touched the great scar on his head
" my mind has been blank as to a good
many subjects."
" It's so important," urged the veteran, anx-
iously. "I'm absolutely certain that this mys-
terious Countess of Castlehurst mentioned in
the cable news is the woman who tricked Dor-
say into the sham marriage. If you'd only
think hard, Mr. Irkins; the slightest clew
might save him."
" Her assault on me was a felony, yet it
would be hard to prove an intent to kill. The
English are so strict about their extradition laws."
451
452 EAGLE BLOOD
He leaned his head back among the cushions
and stared at the ceiling, as if he were search-
ing for the secret of memory there.
" I can't remember ; and my head is throb-
bing again," he complained, drawing his hand
across his shrivelled face, and letting it fall
weakly on his breast. " Her name gives me
a curiously painful sense of horror like the
sight of a snake and yet I can't recall her.
What was she like, Martin ? "
"Tall, thin, black hair, black eyes, bony
features something like an Arab or Indian
soft voice "
" No, its useless useless."
" My God ! what a situation ! " groaned Mr.
Martin, with a gesture of despair. " Think of
what it means to Dorsay ! "
"Ah, Dorsay, Dorsay," echoed Mr. Irkins,
with a smile. " Like my own son, Martin.
And he gave up an earldom without a
regret ? "
" Never moved an eyelash, sir. It was a
beautiful sight. Even the judge left the bench
to shake his hand. 'The seeds of death can-
EAGLE BLOOD 453
not germinate in this nation, Mr. Dorsay,' he
said, f so long as it can draw men like you.' '
" ' Ye are the light of the world. A city that
is set on an hill cannot be hid,' " muttered Mr.
Irkins.
" Ay."
" He'll be my heir, Martin ; I've no chil-
dren. He'll be your employer some day. It
won't be a bad thing to have a son-in-law "
" Don't, don't," pleaded the old man. " It's
like thrusting a knife in my heart. My girl
you've never seen her and this thing, I
dare not tell her."
"If you only had a photograph of Miss
Crush it might awaken "
" Great heavens ! why didn't I think of it
before ? " Mr. Martin thrust his hand in his
pocket. " Here, here she is, damn her ! "
handing the faded portrait to the invalid
" and there's not her like this side of hell."
A ghastly change came over the sunken face
of the sick editor, as he looked at the smiling,
treacherous countenance of the adventuress.
His bluish lip hung loosely, and his great
454 EAGLE BLOOD
eyes seemed to blaze from their dark caverns ;
his white, hollowed features twitched. The scar
on his head was a vivid line of crimson.
" Bar Barb Barbara " he stammered ex-
citedly.
"That's if, Mr. I rkins Barbara Crush."
"Barbara Baird."
"Grush! Crush!"
" Barbara Baird," repeated the invalid, trem-
bling violently. "She she ruined my younger
brother. Her husband John Baird forger,
convict in Joliet prison. A-a-ah ! " he
screamed, " I remember now. I was going to
tell Dorsay, and she struck me down and
what ? eh ? what am I talking about, Mar-
tin ? " His eyes dulled and wandered. " This
photograph, eh ? No, I can't remember any-
thing about her." A strained, vacant look
revealed the sudden extinction of memory.
It was a mere flash of the crippled brain, but
it lit up the dark mystery.
Not even the oldest member of the Mail staff
had ever seen Mr. Martin in such a state of
EAGLE BLOOD 455
hilarious excitement. He joked and laughed
and moved through the office with the springy
step of youth. But he was busy no man had
ever seen him busier. He wrote long telegrams,
drove the telephone operators to distraction, and
searched old newspaper files. As he went about,
he hummed and whistled, explaining his indus-
try to no man.
His message to the warden of the Joliet
prison was answered promptly. John Baird,
convicted of forgery in Chicago and sentenced
to eight years' imprisonment, had served his
term and was discharged. He was a married
man ; wife's name, Barbara ; address unknown.
His second message elicited the information that
the convict's abiding-place was known only to
the chief of police of Chicago. A telegram to
that official referred the inquirer to a New York
lawyer. Mr. Martin telephoned to the lawyer,
who explained that John Baird, after vainly
searching for his wife, had gone to London in
the hope of finding work. He could be found
at The Gray Dog, a lodging-house in White-
chapel Road. His long confinement and the
456 EAGLE BLOOD
cruel circumstances in which his wife for
whose sake he had committed forgery aban-
doned him had weakened his mind, and he was
subject to violent fits of anger.
When Hugh reached the office, after leaving
the Remingtons and their guests in consterna-
tion, he found Mr. Martin in a state of joy
verging on delirium. His hand was seized and
shaken until it ached. Then he was embraced,
pounded on the shoulder, and poked in the ribs.
The old man's laugh was uproarious and con-
tagious ; Hugh found himself laughing, too,
without knowing why.
" We've got the hell-cat cornered at last,"
cried Mr. Martin, " and we'll singe the hair off
her."
" You don't really mean "
" I do, I do, my son ! "
" Miss Crush ? "
" Got her dead as Caesar."
" You've discovered "
" That she's Mrs. John Baird."
"What?"
" The wife of an ex-convict, who is still living."
EAGLE BLOOD 457
" Then I'm " Hugh looked bewildered
"I'm not "
"You're the finest young bachelor in New
York, my boy."
" God ! What an escape ! How did you
find it out?"
" I'll tell you that when I've finished a little
matter I've been working on. Meanwhile I'd
like your opinion of this as a neat and suitable
message to your solicitor." And he handed a
cablegram to Hugh, who read it :
" CHADDER, London :
" Woman claiming to be Countess Castlehurst
is fugitive from justice ; wanted in New York for
felonious assault. She is wife of John Baird,
discharged convict, at present living Gray Dog
lodging-house, Whitechapel Road, London. You
can simplify matters by sending her address to
her husband.
"HUGH DORSAY."
"It beats hell how things do work out," said
Mr. Martin. " My ! oh, my ! I'd give a thou-
sand dollars to be there when they meet."
CHAPTER XX
THE clouds hung low over London, and a
damp wind whipped through Jermyn Street,
tossing the black crape on the door of the late
Lord Castlehurst's lodgings and creaking the
sign-boards on their rusty hinges, a bleak,
dolorous day, rawly suggestive of rain, with no
hint of summer green in the prevailing gray, in
which the ruddy light of firesides, seen through
shut windows, intensified the outside dreariness.
" A man to see Lady Castlehurst ; won't give
'is name, m' lady." The meagre little butler
stood blinking expectantly before his mistress,
who continued to write at her desk for a moment
and then turned in her chair with a yawn of
indifference.
" A man, did you say ? "
" Yes, m' lady."
" Something about the earl's funeral ? "
" I think not, m' lady. The undertaker's man
458
EAGLE BLOOD 459
is downstairs now arrangin' for his lordship's
'atchment to be put over the door."
" What does he want, Thompson ? "
" Don't know, m' lady ; 'e says it's very par-
tic'ler private. I think " the butler hesitated
'e's an American ; talks like one."
" Why, it must be Mr. Frewen, the clergy-
man who came with me the other day "
" Not 'im, m' lady. This one's tall."
"And an American?"
" I think so."
"Well, don't stand chattering there." She
threw the pen from her impatiently. " Show the
person in. And Thompson "
" Yes, m' lady."
"If Mr. Chadder calls, tell him that the
Countess of Castlehurst can't be seen and
that the family affairs you won't forget,
Thompson? "
" No, m' lady."
" that the family affairs are in the hands of
her solicitor."
The butler withdrew, with a melancholy air
and downcast eyes. There was an interval of
460 EAGLE BLOOD
silence. Then footsteps were heard on the stair-
case. As the sound reached her ear she started
and listened intently. A timid knock preceded
the opening of the door, and the stranger entered.
He was a tall, angular, loose-built man, whose
clothes hung awkwardly on his powerful frame.
His emaciated countenance, half-hid by an
unkempt black beard, had a wolfish sharpness.
The deep-set, sullen eyes gave him a singular
expression of repressed ferocity. His arms were
long and the hands white and fine.
" You wished to see me ? " she asked.
" Yes," he answered in a hoarse voice.
" Well, what can I do for you ? " He was
staring at her fiercely, and she tapped the carpet
with her foot nervously. " Come, what is it ? "
He folded his arms across his breast and con-
tinued to stare. His eyes were bloodshot. The
hairs of his beard bristled visibly with the mus-
cular play of his jaws.
" You don't know me ? " The voice seemed
to come from a cave.
" Know you ? Why, of course I don't."
She glanced up sharply, with a look of annoy-
EAGLE BLOOD 461
ance, not unmixed with fear, at the uncouth,
sinister figure.
"Do I remind you of any one you knew
years and years ago ? "
She had turned her face away, but her head
turned slowly back and her black eyes crept
sidewise at him.
" Barbara Baird ! "
With a little scream she leaped to her feet and
met his eyes.
"Jack ! " she gasped, with a shudder. " How
did you find me ? I thought you were dead.
I thought " The words died away, leaving
her lips dry and blue.
" Never mind how I found you," he said sav-
agely, with a quick step forward that drew a
suppressed sound of terror from her. " I'm
here and that's enough. You don't seem very
glad to see me."
"But you don't" she stammered "you
don't understand "
" Don't I, though ? " he growled, with an
oath.
" How could I know you were alive, Jack ?
462 EAGLE BLOOD
They told me you were dying, when I went to
Asia because I was alone and poor and had to
seek work as a nurse."
" Liar and traitor ! " he answered in a paroxysm
of fury. "You used your devilish powers of
mesmerism to make me commit the crime that
sent me to a living death, and after I had lost
my name and my soul to pamper your vanity,
you abandoned me to my fate like a dog. From
that day on I consecrated my life to hate, and
the thought of your punishment gave me
strength to bear my sufferings. When I left
the prison, I searched America for you ; no
bloodhound ever followed a trail more keenly.
I starved myself to save money for the chase.
Sometimes I would dream that I had my fingers
around your throat and wake up to find myself
cheated."
He grinned hideously and showed his teeth,
his white, sinewy hands working convulsively.
There was a maniacal glitter in his eyes.
" Oh, Jack ! Jack ! for Christ's sake spare
me !" she begged, with clasped hands and droop-
ing figure. " I've a great title and can help you
EAGLE BLOOD 463
now. You don't know how I've worked and
what I've dared to win it. No, no, Jack, don't
look at me that way you terrify me." Her
voice sank to a drowsy sweetness, and her lean
form swayed to and fro, sinuously graceful.
"You used to love me, Jack. You promised
to cherish and protect me, dear. See ! see !
your wife, Jack," she reached her hands out,
" your little Barbara."
"You treacherous beast!" he cried, "what
mercy have you shown to me ? "
She straightened up with a desperate effort to
hide her fright.
" What are you going to do ? " she asked.
He moved nearer. She retreated step by step,
watching his terrible eyes and corpselike face.
" Do ? " The great jaws snapped and the
nostrils spread wide. " Do ? " His breath
came hard and short. " I'm going to take you
to hell with me."
With a leap he was upon her. Her scream
for help ended in a gurgle, as the strong ringers
closed around her lean throat. He bent her
head slowly backward, snarling and growling like
464 EAGLE BLOOD
a wild animal as he heard the bones of her neck
crack. And when her struggles ceased and her
eyes were stark, he picked the lifeless body up
and hurled it under the table.
There was a rush of feet on the stairs and a
clamorous group, headed by a constable, burst
into the room. The murderer greeted them
with a roar of laughter.
CHAPTER XXI
WHERE the sun shone brightest on the ve-
randa of the little red-roofed cottage among the
trees, Mr. Martin lay asleep in his easy-chair,
his goodly white head nodding dreamlessly and
his overturned pipe scattering its ashes along
the broad railing. The smell of roses and the
song of birds were in the peaceful air. Helen
Martin, bending among the flowers, raised her
head and smiled at the sight of the drowsy
patriarch.
It was a pleasant sight, this quaint house,
framed in green branches, with its prim, many-
colored garden and fragrant shrubs. The rustling
of the morning air among the leaves, the droning
of the bees, and the clucking of the fat hen in the
hedge were sounds in harmony with the tranquil
contentment of the place. Even the open door,
running over with roses, seemed to say that all
within was rest and quiet.
465
466 EAGLE BLOOD
The young mistress of the cottage was fair to
look upon. Her brown eyes sparkled, and the
bloom of health was in her cheeks. The slim,
girlish lines of her figure had ripened into the
dignity of womanly beauty, yet she moved with
the lightness and grace of a child. Her hat lay
on the grass beside her, and the breeze blew her
soft brown hair about her dainty head. One
white arm, bare to the elbow, held the gathered
roses in crushed confusion against her breast.
Presently the little gate of the garden creaked,
and a tall young man came bounding along the
gravel path, halting, hat in hand, before her.
The vigor of youth was in the spring of his step
and the glow of his tanned face.
" Oh, is it you, Hugh ? " she said, stooping
over a rose-bush with a maidenly effort to seem
indifferent that made him smile.
" How beautiful you are, Helen ! "
" You've left the gate open again, sir."
" What of it, dear ? Let us open the gates of
all the gardens in the world to-day and leave
them open for ever and ever."
" Which means in sensible language ? "
EAGLE BLOOD 467
" That I want you to come with me for a stroll
in the woods. I've something to say to you,
Helen, and he " pointing to the sleeping guar-
dian on the veranda " might wake up, which
is not desirable."
" Now, why do you always interrupt me when
I'm busy ? " she demanded, with an adorable
frown that would not have deceived a child.
" Yes, I know it's unpleasant. I hate to be
interrupted myself, and " with another glance
toward the unconscious figure on the veranda
"that's why I thought "
" Hugh, you're standing on my hat ! "
" why I thought of the woods."
" It's simply ruined."
" So it is," he admitted, holding the trampled
hat up and surveying it calmly. " It shows how
the slightest misstep in a man's life "
" Do you suppose it would do to go as I am,
bareheaded ? "
" may turn his feet from heaven for
a while."
Mr. Martin coughed and stirred in his chair.
" If you really want me to go, Hugh "
4 68 EAGLE BLOOD
" Of course it's annoying to be disturbed when
one is so busy "
The sleeper sneezed loudly, and the lovers fled
laughing through the gate into the shady path
that led under the murmuring boughs.
" How good these trees are," said Hugh, as
they stood in the pleasant shadow of a clump of
oaks. " How strong and sure of life they seem.
They were here before we were born, and they'll
be here when we're gone. Oh, Helen ! " his
voice brought the wild rose tints to her cheek
" with such a short time to live, can we afford to
jest and play with the best impulses God puts in
our hearts ? Can we sit here before these silent
witnesses of human brevity and forget the lesson
they teach ? "
A gray squirrel whisked up a rough trunk,
leaped out on the low-hanging branch, and
stood watching them with bold, bright eyes and
swaying tail. The hollow rat-tat-tat of a wood-
pecker echoed through the dim woods.
" I think " the words trembled on her lips
"I think we had better return to the house,
Hugh."
EAGLE BLOOD 469
" Sweetheart ! "
He gathered her in his strong arms and
kissed her passionately.
" Oh, little one ! it has been so long, so very
long."
She lay in his embrace, still and white, her
head resting against his breast and her lips half
parted.
" Do you forget the past, Hugh ? "
" No, dear."
" And have you no regrets ? Ah ! some day
you may remember with bitterness what you
have given up." She sprang from his embrace
in a passion of fear. " Some day you will want
to go back to England, and everything will
remind you of your old days, of the rank you
have abandoned."
" Yes, dear ; and everything will remind me
of what I have won. Oh, Helen ! Helen ! can't
you understand? I've left all the sham and
pretence behind."
" You gave up your name for me ? "
" And you hesitate "
" I ? "
470 EAGLE BLOOD
" to give up your name ? "
With a little cry, she threw her arms about
him.
" No, no, Hugh," she murmured. " Take
me and keep me."
They sat at the foot of the great oak, and he
drew a ring from his ringer. It was the talisman
of Tancred.
" Mr. Chadder brought it to me from Lon-
don," he said. " A great knight gave it to
one of my forefathers at Jerusalem. It has
been worn by the just and the unjust, by the
living and the dead."
He took her hand in his.
" Which is the proper finger, Helen ? "
" Not that, you goose, the left hand."
"And ?"
" The third finger."
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